Begin to Hope

Immediately after we had finished rejoicing our induction into Voldemort's school, a large burly man dressed in satin blue robes appeared in front of us, waving us onward.

"'Ello! I ish yur guide fer todae."

Klaus and I exchanged glances.

"Mine name ish Raskol. Say it wif me now, Raskol!" He moved his arms wildly about, trying to get us to pronounce it with him.

"Raskol..." The three of us repeated, looking confused.

"Vury gud! Now I haf the pleasure ov showing yous around ze castle. Follow mer." He started off down the hallway, bouncing up and down and shaking the floor as he walked.

"Just kidding. That's not my real accent. This is. And my name's not Raskol. It's actually Jeremy. Nice to meet you." He threw us a backward glance and smiled. "Did you fall for it? My accent? Pretty sweet, right?"

"Yeah, I definitely fell for it..." Klaus said, trying hard to show enthusiasm, but failing miserably. "Why did you need an accent?"

"Well, duh! What do you think we're here for?" He lowered his voice so only we could hear, "If I ever met traitors in here, I'd use that accent on them."

The three of us nodded solemnly as if we understood perfectly.

"Anyway," he said, straightening back up, "I'm here to take you on a tour of the castle, show you your rooms, and get any questions out of the way before you start working. Are the three of you younger than twenty-one?"

We nodded.

"Alright. That means you're most likely starting out in the school. The Dark Lord's school." We followed him down a complicated path of corridors, all of them more dark and foreboding than the last. There were countless doors on each of the sides of the hallways, sometimes closed and bolted shut, other times the doors would be open and inside we'd see a flurry of activity.

"Jeremy, how do you remember where you're going?" I asked after we had gotten so lost in the mazes of hallways I would never be able to find my way back.

He shrugged. "I've been here since I was eleven. You get used to it."

We passed an open door with two people standing over a corpse, operating on it. I cringed and put a hand to my mouth, feeling extremely sick.

Jeremy noticed me clutching my stomach and commented, "You won't fare well here if you get sick at the littlest thing. You need a strong stomach to work with the Dark Lord."

Klaus patted me on the back reassuringly. "We'll just sign you up for classes that don't involve anything gruesome," he whispered.

We continued moving about the school. Jeremy showed us where the Infirmary, Owlery, all of the classrooms, the dormitories, library, the meeting rooms, the lunch room, and everything else we'd need was located. Our dorms were on the second floor. The three of us were bunking together, each with a separate twin bed. The libraries happened to be on the same floor, perfect for exploring all their shelves for anything of use.

The Infirmary, Jeremy told us, was barely any help at all. They only took people in if they were Level Six or higher. Everyone else had to fix their own health problems, get help from a friend, or die.

"Level Six?" Maverick asked. "What's that?"

Jeremy explained, "Each person is given a Level, depending on how useful they are to the Dark Lord. There are ten Levels in all. I'm a Level Four." he said proudly.

"What Level are we, then? Level One? Because we just got here?"

"Nah, you're not even that yet. When you get your hardcore questioning next week, if you can give them any information, then you're a Level One. You have to do something or tell them something useful before you're even put up to Level One. Then you work your way up, killing important people that are in the way of our cause, or searching, finding helpful objects, what-have-you."

"How late we allowed to be up and about?"

"There's no curfew or anything. Most people are only awake at night, anyway. Go inside at the full moon, though, we do have werewolves living here, and I don't think most of them are given any antidotes. There might be vampires too, so be careful. Watch out, a lot. Don't turn your back. Don't get others aggravated. Watch who you make friends with. If you're friends with someone, and they turn out to be a traitor, you'll be questioned as well."

The three of us soaked in as much as we could. We listened hard, taking mental notes, preparing ourselves for anything anyone there would throw at us.

After several more hours of listening to Jeremy explain about the school, I felt ready to explode. I was so tired, and my head was spinning with information of all kinds.

Weakly holding on to Klaus for support, I thought for sure I would fall over. I clutched his sleeve, and managed to moan, "K--Will, I don't feel good..."

He looked down at me and grimaced, "Ria, you're all pale and sickly-looking." He looked up at Jeremy, "Is there anything weird in this air? Why would she be sick like this?"

Jeremy shrugged. "There's always chemicals floating around in the air. Always different potions brewing. Who knows what it could be?"

"Can I lie down?" My breathing became ragged and my vision began to blur.

"Yeah, we'll take you back to our room. Come on, Prosper. Jeremy, will we see you later?" Klaus wrapped his arm around my waist to keep me from falling to the ground. I was slowly losing consciousness and losing sight of my surroundings.

I didn't catch Jeremy's response, but then I felt myself being hauled down the hallway and up the stairs to our dorm. I caught glimpses of other peoples' expressions as they stared as we passed. Nobody offered to help, or get a Healer, or anything. I had a half-conscious thought how cruel these people were. Why weren't they making me better? Then I realized we were in a castle full of Dark wizards and witches.

I giggled to myself as Klaus kicked our door open and managed to stagger in with me in his arms.

"Klaus, isn't it funny? We're in here with a whole bunch of--bad people! Hahahahah." I started laughing uncontrollably and I couldn't stop.

"Yes, Kerry, very funny. Now why don't you take a little nap and when you wake up I'll have something for you to eat?"

His voice was oddly soothing. I agreed and before I knew it I had fallen asleep.

When I awoke Klaus was standing over my bed, looking down at me, with an oddly worried expression on his face. When our eyes met he gasped.

"You're awake!"

I coughed, sitting up. "Yeah. Geez. That was one kick-ass nap. I feel loads better. What happened?"

"Apparently it happened to more than just you. A few others were affected. They were boiling some strange herb and it sent up chemicals that affected a few females."

I nodded knowingly. "How long was I asleep?"

"Almost two days. It's Sunday morning. I got our schedules for classes." He held out a folded slip of parchment for me. "Maverick's out picking up some lunch for us. Classes start tomorrow." He sat down next to me on the bed and watched as I opened my schedule.

I frowned as I read it:

Ria Truth
16 yrs
Level Zero.

Legimency
Mondays & Wednesdays
10 A.M.
Kershwitz

History of Magic
Tuesdays
10 A.M.
Astley

Dark Potions
Mondays & Fridays
Noon.
Byington

Arthimancy
Tuesdays & Wednesdays
Noon.
Denton

Trailing A Muggle
Mondays & Tuesdays
6 P.M.
Lewis

Healer Introductory Course
Wednesdays
2 P.M.
Dixon

Study Period
Saturdays & Sundays
All Day
None

Muggle Torture
Mondays & Fridays
4 P.M.
Bennett

Ancient Runes
Tuesdays & Fridays
8 P.M.
Carter

Time Travel
Tuesdays,
Wednesdays, & Fridays
10 P.M.
Harrison

The Unforgivable Curses
Thursdays
11:59 P.M.
The Dark Lord

I groaned. "Did you sign me up for all this bullshit?"

He shook his head. "They have a sort of intercom system, and they called me over it and bid me come down to the office. They handed me schedules for the three of us. I had no choice in the matter."

"Well, can I see yours? Do we have any classes together?" He dug in his robes and pulled out another piece of parchment. I quickly scanned over his schedule, comparing ours. I groaned again as I noticed we only had History of Magic and the Unforgivable Curses together.

"Do you have any classes with Maverick? Or do I?"

"I have two classes with him: 'Trailing A Muggle'. Oh, and then he also has History of Magic with us. My free periods are on Sundays and Mondays. Same with Maverick."

Just then we heard a knock at the door. Klaus yelled for the person to come in, and Maverick burst in with a dozen lunch items on a huge tray.

"Ah, Sleeping Beauty, how wonderful you are looking!" He laid the tray down on the table next to the bed and grabbed my hand, shaking it roughly. "How nice to see you again, yes indeed it is, and I'm glad you could make it this evening. No, don't get out of bed, I'll be a good host and serve you myself." He began piling sandwiches and drinks on my lap. I laughed and pushed the food off my lap to wrap my arms around his neck.

"Thanks, Maverick."

"No problem. I didn't know what you wanted, so I got you one of everything." He laid the now empty tray down on the floor and looked at Klaus, who was already shoving his face with crackers. "So what now, oh mighty evil one?"

"Well, now that Ria is finally awake, we need to write a letter to...our grandmother and tell her how we're doing. Then we'll go to the library and check things out."

"Our grandmother? What grandmother?" Maverick asked, sipping on a juice box.

"You know, Maverick -- our grandmother." I winked at him several times.

"Ohh, you mean Annabelle?" he said loudly.

"Well, thank you, Mr. Secretive." Klaus said, rolling his eyes. "Listen, these walls are nearly paper thin. We have to have code words for everything. Our grandmother is Annabelle, and... the rest of them can be our 'cousins'. So if we have to talk in front of other people about them, that's what we'll call them."

"Fine, fine." Maverick waved his hand, dismissing the subject. He dropped to the side of the bed and rummaged under it, finally pulling out a dirty piece of parchment and a quill. "What are we writing in this letter?"

"Take this down: Dear Grandmother: We miss you so. We have just settled down in the Dark Lord's castle. It is fairly lovely here--"

"Slow down! I can't write that fast!"

Klaus stood up and started pacing the room, waiting impatiently until Maverick had caught up to him, and then continued, "It is fairly lovely here--"

"Klaus, do you really think that the three of us, being in Voldemort's castle, imitating being a bunch of heartless cruel bastards, would really ever say 'fairly lovely'?"

He made a face at me. "Fine, then put, 'It is really shitty here and we all hate it.'"

Maverick wrote that down and then looked back up expectantly. "What next?"

"We have found out information about..." Klaus stopped pacing and looked at me, "What do we call the group that Gabrielle Delacour headed? So if they intercept the letter they won't know what we're talking about?"

"Okay...put...'We have found out information about the...cooking utensils we were talking about, and we will begin to use them immediately. We hope to make some yummy breakfasts, which will of course be good.'"

"Cooking utensils? How the hell will they decipher that?" Maverick asked, writing it down anyway.

"I don't know. Even if they don't, it won't matter. We'll just have to do the research ourselves. Anyway, continue the letter. We are safe here, hoping to begin lessons early tomorrow morning. Right back and tell us how our lovely little cousins are doing. Love-- Will, Ria, and Prosper."

Maverick finished writing it all down and looked at it, nodding his head. "This is a very good letter. I don't think any Death Eaters would be able to get anything out of it at all... then again, neither will our dear Grandmother." He sniggered and folded the parchment and put it in his pocket. "Let's head down to the Owlery, shall we? We'll purchase ourselves a nice new owl, send this pretty little letter to Grandma, and then get started searching in the library."

We agreed and I got dressed in something other than my robes from two days ago, and we were about to step outside of our dorm room when we heard a noise from next door.

"Get out of here! Leave me alone, you bastard!" The door on our left opened and shut violently, shaking our door as well.

I opened our door and peeked out into the hallway. There was a scruffy-looking guy, probably in his early twenties, laying on the floor on his back, looking lazily up and down the hall. He tipsily got to his knees and banged on the door with a fist.

"Come on, baby, let me back in!" he shouted through the thin wooden door. "I promise I won't try nothin' again!" He pounded again, getting to his feet. He stumbled around, clearly drunk. "Listen, I'm gonna get something to eat--then I'll be back. Don't leave me, baby!" He stubbornly gave the door one last smack with the palm of his hand and then wandered off down the hallway, stumbling into things as he went.

Moments after he staggered down the stairwell, the door swung open and a pretty blonde-haired girl stuck her head out. "Is he gone?" When I nodded, she heaved a sigh of relief and opened the door the rest of the way, coming out into the hallway.

"That jerk. I knew I should have dumped him that first day when after we had sex, he punched me in the stomach." She shook her head, her hands on her hips. "Anyway--oh, nice to meet you--my name's Kristy." She grabbed my hand and shook it. "What's yours?"

"Oh, my name's Ria." I pulled my hand out of her grasp and looked around nervously.

"Ria, who are you talking to?" Maverick looked out of our door and his jaw fell open upon catching sight of Kristy. "Why... hello there, you young, suave thing, you." He looked her up and down, taking in her entire presence: her low-cut black shirt, her white shorts, her blonde hair flowing around her head seductively, and her sparkling blue eyes. "My God! Are you seeing this too, Ria? This angel, before me? This surely cannot be real." He made his way to her and grabbed her by the hand, kissing his way up her arm. "And may I have the pleasure of hearing your name uttered?"

Kristy looked at me oddly. "Um, does this belong to you?" she asked, shaking him off.

I laughed and pulled Maverick away. "Prosper, behave. This is Kristy, she lives next door. Kristy, Prosper."

"You are gorgeous!" Maverick shouted, not jumping on her only because I was holding him back with all my might. "My name is Prosper, but you can call me tonight."

"What are you yelling about, Prosper?" Klaus came out of our room, locking it behind him, and stopping short the same way Maverick had at the sight of Kristy. "Oh, hello," he said, not being very urbane. He turned pink, but saved himself with a quaint response of "Um, who are you?"

"I'm Kristy." She held out a hand for him to shake and he only stared down at her hand until I motioned for him to grab her hand. "I live next door."

"Nice to meet you, Booby--I mean Kristy!" He turned a darker shade of red. "Sorry, I--uh--"

She laughed and smiled at him. "It's okay--er--what's your name?"

"My name is--um--" He looked at me frantically. "What's my name again?"

"William. That's William." I rolled my eyes at his stupidity.

She nodded toward me. "Is that your girlfriend?" she asked him.

"My--my girlfriend? No, of course not--that's just my stupid sister--ignore her." I didn't listen to the rest of the conversation, as he unsuccessfully tried to woo her. Rather, I was kind of hurt by the fact that he had just pushed me to the side by claiming me as his sister. Which, of course, I was supposed to be pretending that I was--but, still.

"Come on, Will, aren't we going to the Owlery?" I pulled Maverick along down the hallway, even though he was still drooling over Kristy as well. "What if it closes?"

Klaus followed along slowly after me, looking behind him at Kristy.

"Oh, it never closes!" Kristy offered, following behind Klaus. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along. "I'll show you the way to the Owlery. Are you guys new here?"

He nodded, trying to think of an intelligible sentence as I hissed to Maverick, "Why did Klaus become such a bumbling idiot all of a sudden?"

Maverick glanced behind his shoulder. "Because she's gorgeous."

I looked back at her. Klaus and Kristy were laughing at something she had said. Their arms were linked and he was now chatting amiably with her.

"She's not that pretty," I replied irritably, quickening my pace and pulling Maverick with me.

"What's your rush?"

"We'll just get down to the Owlery immediately and send this letter off. You still have it, right?"

He patted the inside of his robes and nodded.

After twenty minutes of searching, we finally found the Owlery: a wide open room with bare crossed beams being the only protection from the outside. There was hay strewn all over the floor, and thousands upon thousands of owls flocking around the room, just waiting patiently to be sent away with a letter.

I marched up to the nearest owl, grabbed it by one leg and quickly attached the parchment. It hooted at me, trying to take a bite out of my finger, but I let go before it could latch on. I whispered the address, and it flew away out the ceiling. Maverick and I watched as it disappeared into the distance.

"And so then I said, 'What, no beans?' and she replied, 'I thought you said greens!'" Klaus and Kristy both exploded into a fit of laughter as they came strolling through the Owlery door together, still arm in arm.

I stared at them, unbelieving that Klaus could be so thick.

"Oh, Will," Kristy grushed, "You are so much better than my last boyfriend!" She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He blushed.

I turned to Maverick, fully intending to mock the shit out of Kristy. I turned on the same bullshit voice she had on and said as nastily as I could, "Oh, Prosper! You are so much better than my last fuck buddy! Here, lower your pants right here so I can blow you!"

Maverick laughed, but hastily managed to turn it into a cough.

Kristy and Klaus looked over at us, finally aware that we were in the room.

"Oh, there you two are. We wondered where you are." Klaus said mildly. "Did you--er--send the letter?"

"Yes, no thanks to you." Pulling Maverick along behind me, I brushed past him roughly. "We will now be up in the library until dinner time. You can join us if you regain your senses, or you can stay with little Kristy."

I was fuming. I was stomping mad. Who did Klaus think he was, schmoozing in with that little slut within the first ten minutes he meets her?

"What's her problem?" I heard Kristy ask Klaus as we tramped off down the hallway. I shook with anger, too frustrated to even say a word.