Fragments

Katherine saw everything around her traveling back in time: people walked backwards, she re-lived the conversation with Professor Dumbledore and the other three students. Time began to move faster and faster until it was all one uniform blur. She closed her eyes to keep from throwing up. Finally, she felt the motions slow to a stop, her feet hit ground, and she opened her eyes, staring at what she guessed was the old headmaster. He wore burgundy robes and looked nothing like Dumbledore: his blue eyes did not have the encouraging kindness Dumbledore's had.

“Er, um, hello,” Katherine stammered out.

“Oh, hello, dear. May I ask how it is you appeared out of thin air?” The headmaster questioned.

“I, er, didn't, sir,” Katherine lied. “I opened the door, but you didn't notice me. A student gave me the password. I apologize for not knocking.” She held her breath, hoping the headmaster would believe it.

He smiled. “Oh, it's quite alright, child. I don't believe I've seen you before?”

“No, sir, you haven't. Actually, I'm a transfer student. From Beauxbatons. My name is Katherine O'Hara,” she said, fiddling with the sleeve of her robes.

“Ah, I see! Well, I am Armando Dippet, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I can't recall having a transfer student before...” Headmaster Dippet trailed off, looking over Katherine before smiling once more. “No matter. The Sorting of the first years will commence in a few minutes; I'll add your name to the list. The Sorting will decide what House you will be in- Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff. You will sleep in a dormitory according to your House. Your House will become like your second family for your stay here,” he continued, searching in his drawer and turning up a somewhat faded uniform. “I don't know what it is you are wearing, but you must comply with school dress code as of tomorrow, Miss O'Hara.”

Katherine glanced down at her school robes and noticed her House emblem had mysteriously vanished. 'I'll have to thank Dumbledore later,' she thought, realizing how that simple detail would have ruined the plan.

“Thank you, Headmaster,” she answered, gratefully taking the uniform.

“Well then, we must be off, the Sorting will begin at any moment,” Dippet said, and Katherine followed him out, trunk and uniform in hand.

Katherine pretended to be impressed with the stories Dippet recounted, with the magnificence of Hogwarts Castle, but she had heard and seen it all, and it didn't seem Hogwarts had changed all that much in the fifty years that had passed. Still, the glory of her school, with its stone walls, torch-lit corridors, and all its hidden mysteries, was always awe-inspiring. Katherine's stomach flipped when they arrived before the massive oak doors leading into the Great Hall. Dippet looked down at Katherine and smiled in an unexpectedly reassuring manner. He pushed the doors open and strode into the Great Hall, his vibrant robes billowing behind him and Katherine's small figure trying to keep pace with his strides. They'd arrived just in time for the Sorting: the first years were lining up in front of the Sorting Hat, and Katherine fell to the back of the line, tall compared to the rest of the eleven year olds.

She tried not to make eye contact for fear of drawing any more attention to herself, but she was paying close attention to the Sorting and her surroundings. She did not recognize many of the professors at the teachers' table, and she couldn't help but notice the students' 1940s haircuts, attire, and demeanor. A self-conscious hand instinctively shot out to smooth down her dark hair.

“O'Hara, Katherine!” Headmaster Dippet called, and she shakily pushed her jelly legs forward and into the stool.

She had only a moment to look out into the curious faces in the Great Hall before Dippet placed the Sorting Hat on her head and it shrouded her vision in darkness.

Ah, you again, a voice whispered in her ear.

Yes. Me again. Wait, how do you know- I am only a hat, time is irrelevant to my existence. Now, where to place you, is the question... I dunno, Gryffindor again? I could do that, yes... The Hat's voice purred, contemplating. But I daresay a few things have changed since we last met. Still brave and loyal as ever, I can see... perhaps not enough hard work and a little too much discriminatory eye when it comes to your perception, can't be Hufflepuff... it seems you value your intelligence and attention to detail, yes... but how far will you allow yourself to go in order to succeed? A slick cunning... Slytherin-esque for a Gryffindor, I would say... Don't you dare sort me into Slytherin, you old, raggedy piece of-

“RAVENCLAW!”

Katherine unceremoniously peeled the Hat off of her head and made her way to her House table, feeling extremely relieved. That was close. And odd. She took the closest empty seat she could find, and the people around her smiled and congratulated her. She was surprised: she didn't remember Ravenclaws ever being this warm.

“Hey, you're new here, aren't you?” asked the girl seated directly in front of Katherine. She had a thin, friendly face, brown hair, and expressive, grey eyes.

Katherine smiled. “Yes. I came from Beauxbatons.”

“Ooh, interesting. What year are you?”

The girl beside her turned with pursed lips. “Silver, it really is not proper for a young woman to be so forward and, well, nosy.” She turned to Katherine with an apologetic smile. “I apologize for my sister here. She sometimes forgets her manners.”

Katherine resisted the urge to snort. She didn't imagine the girls of the 1940s to be so prim and proper. She would definitely not fit in here. “Oh, it's alright. I'm a s-fifth year,” Katherine replied, looking back at the girl named Silver.

“Me too! I'm Silver Ardova, by the way. That's my sister, Celeste Ardova,” she said, nodding at the girl beside her, who harbored a remarkable resemblance to Silver except for her dark eyes. “She's a seventh year. Thank Merlin,” she added under her breath. “I've been waiting for her to leave, to be honest. Right pain.”

Katherine smiled. She was beginning to like Silver. “I'm Katherine O'Hara. It really is lovely to meet you.”

Celeste shot them a look, and Katherine noticed that Dippet had been giving the start of term speech. When she looked up, however, Dippet took a seat and food magically appeared in the plates before them. Katherine was rather surprised; she couldn't remember ever having missed one of the headmaster's speeches. Still, she dug into the food, tearing apart a piece of ham while the girls beside her looked on in horror, Celeste daintily eating bite-sized pieces. Regardless of what they though of her eating habits, all of the girls around Katherine introduced themselves, much to her delight. Unlike Silver, they asked no personal questions, except what school she had attended, and if she really spoke French.

Just as she was going in for another pumpkin pasty, Headmaster Dippet's loud voice rang through the Great Hall. “Now that we've all gorged ourselves to a healthy condition,” he called, “I must ask that each Head of Houses and Prefect aid in the journey to your dormitories. Have a good night. Sleep well, classes start bright and early tomorrow!”

Celeste and three other people Katherine hadn't had the opportunity to meet yet took the lead for Ravenclaw House.

“Come this way!”

“Ravenclaws, here!”

“In an orderly line, now!”

Silver and Katherine began walking together. “I'm really glad we've finally got a transfer. You'll love it here,” Silver chattered animatedly.

Although Katherine could hardly be labeled talkative, she quite enjoyed the other girl's company. Silver made her feel at home in a time where she already knew she did not fit in.

“-all nice enough and all, but I hardly have friends, to be honest,” Silver finished. “Oh, and you've got to solve a riddle in order to enter the common room. Not a big deal, really. You must be astute to have gotten sorted into Ravenclaw in the first place.”

Katherine eyed the wooden door that was supposed to be the entrance to the common room. It had no keyholes or door knobs, there was only a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle.

“What gets bigger the more you take from it?” The knocker asked.

“Oh, come on,” Silver muttered, rolling her eyes. “A hole, of course.”

The door swung open, though Katherine had not even thought of an answer anywhere near the correct one.

In the common room, there was a midnight blue carpet on the floor, statues and pillars set elegantly, blue and bronze tapestries on the walls, and, to Katherine's utter delight, shelves upon shelves of books. The room was circular, unlike the Gryffindor common room, and the ceiling was tall and domed with realistically painted silver stars. Overall, it gave a sophisticated, relaxing air that Katherine greatly appreciated.

“Nice, isn't it?” Silver asked, and Katherine grinned in reply, nodding. “I'll show you to your dormitory. They're behind that white statue over there, see it? The biggest one? Left door is for boys, right for girls.”

“Rowena Ravenclaw,” Katherine breathed, admiring the huge marble statue of a beautiful woman with sharp eyes and a radiant elegance.

“I see you've done your reading,” Silver said appreciatively. “Well, come on, else we'll be yelled at. Don't know why you're carrying your trunk with you, but alright.”

Beyond the right door, there were other doors separated by school years. The dormitories' inhabitants' names were engraved into bronze plaques on the doors. Almost immediately, Katherine found her name-- on the seventh year aisle. She froze.

“Oh, that can't be right,” Silver tutted. “Those seventh years probably changed your plaque. Look, your name is the fifth one when there's only four per room. How dim of them,” she murmured, taking Katherine's plaque. Katherine breathed a sigh of relief: safe, again. But the castle could not be lied to. “Oh, look! I'd almost forgotten to look at my own door. There's three names, which means...” Silver stuck Katherine's plaque onto the new door and beamed at her, “We're your new room mates!”

Katherine smiled back. “Good. I'm not sure the other girls would have taken a liking to me,” she admitted.

“Nonsense,” Silver said, opening the dormitory door. “It'll be nice having you around.”

The girls entered a spacious room with four beds and, again, those blue and bronze tapestries. It had a simple but elegant grace to it, which Katherine again appreciated. The other girls hadn't arrived yet, but Katherine chose the empty bed, the one beside the window, and heaved her trunk onto it.

As soon as Katherine opened her trunk, a large manila envelope and loose piece of parchment flew out. She glanced at Silver to make sure the other girl was unpacking before turning her attention to the parchment.

Miss O'Hara, it read,

I've enclosed in this envelope your previous school records and information from Beauxbatons. Please give the envelope to the headmaster as soon as possible.

Thank you,

-D

“Hey, er, Silver? I've got to give this to the headmaster. I'll be back in a moment,” Katherine said, tucking the envelope under her arm.

“Alright. Are you sure you won't get lost?”

“I've already had a tour of the school, don't worry. See you in a bit,” Katherine lied easily, slipping out of the dormitory.

As she continued through the throngs of Ravenclaw students that were collected in the common room, she couldn't help but feel rather proud of her newly acquired lying skills. She'd never been one to lie, but now she felt as though she would be a very convincing liar, especially since she was well-equipped with a good level of Occlumency. So far, Katherine felt hopeful and rather relaxed in her ambient; she'd imagined herself to be panicked and nostalgic, seeing as she was forced to live fifty years before her time, but she felt surprisingly calm. Katherine tended to worry about everything, but she trusted Dumbledore; if he'd chosen her, surely she was the one for the job. As soon as she became well-adjusted in her environment, she would find-

“Hey! You there!”

Katherine very nearly jumped out of her skin, instead opting for dropping the envelope as she turned to the source of the voice, wand at the ready. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but it certainly wasn't what she saw. A pale boy of around her age came striding toward her, wand out. He towered over her.

“What are you doing out past curfew?”

“I, er, was...” Katherine couldn't remember another day beside the current one where she had stammered 'er' so many times. “I was going over that way. I have to speak to the headmaster.”

The boy stared at her, his dark eyes burning into her blue ones. She was slightly taken aback when she felt a tingling sensation behind her eyes, and she forced a wall to rise up in her mind's eye. This boy was no older than fifteen or sixteen... so where in the world had he learned Legilimency?

“You are not from here, are you?” He asked carefully, scrutinizing her.

Katherine felt her stomach drop to her knees. Had he seen the fact that she was a time-traveler? “W-What?”

“You are the new transfer student.” It wasn't a question.

“Oh!” She laughed nervously. “Ah... yes! Yes, I'm new. Er, sorry, but I've really got to get this to Headmaster Dippet,” Katherine said, eagerly preparing to escape. This boy gave her the creeps within sixty seconds of meeting her, with his burning dark eyes and methodical actions.

He considered her for a few seconds, and Katherine was positive he would simply hex her, when he finally smirked slightly and said, “I don't believe you know the password to the headmaster's office.”

Katherine stared at him. Bollocks. “Oh, right. I didn't know I needed one.”

“Yes, most teachers' offices require a password. I'll escort you to Headmaster Dippet. Students can't be out of bed past curfew, see, but seeing as I am a Prefect, I can take you there,” the boy said rather smugly, picking up Katherine's folder and handing it back to her. “I apologize for being so impolite. My name is Tom Riddle,” he continued, extending his hand to her with a polite smile.

Warning bells shot off in Katherine's mind. For the second time that day, she resisted the urge to run in the other direction. “Nice to meet you, Mister Riddle. I'm Katherine O'Hara,” she replied pleasantly, shaking his hand. It was surprisingly warm, like the smile on his face that she knew was false.

They began walking, and Katherine discreetly slipped a hand into her robe pocket, gripping the handle of her wand tightly. This was no time for pleasantries with the enemy! She could just Avada Kedavra him on the spot and travel back to 1996, no questions asked. She could do it. It would save them time, which was continuously running out. It would be so easy...

“Ravenclaw, then, Miss O'Hara,” Riddle said, interrupting her thoughts. She reddened. What had she been doing, thinking of murder? For all she knew, Riddle was still an innocent child, though she doubted that very, very much. “Must be clever.”

“I suppose so,” Katherine answered modestly. “What House are you in, if I may know, Mister Riddle?” She asked, throwing a question out for the sake of conversation.

“Slytherin,” he replied shortly. “I've been hearing some rumors about you, Miss O'Hara. I assume it is true that you are from Beauxbatons?”

“Yes.”

“And...” Riddle's voice trailed off.

Katherine glanced over at him. A small smirk played the corner of his lips. For the first time, she realized the truth behind Dumbledore's warning: He can be a very persuasive person. Well, of course he could, what with his long-lashed dark eyes, structured face, and dark, well-groomed hair; it was obvious anyone with any normal human sense would trust his charm. She fought back the urge to hex him. And vomit.

“And?”

“And I assume it to be a lie when the students claim that you are part Veela?”

Good Merlin, did rumors travel fast. She hadn't even heard that one yet. “Why assume it is a lie? Are you saying I'm not attractive enough to be part Veela, Mister Riddle?”

Riddle's smirk grew wider. “No, of course not, Miss O'Hara, I would never. I simply mean to say that Veela charm is rather hard to resist. And it seems...” He looked down at Katherine, still smirking, “I am resisting you rather well.”

Katherine could feel her cheeks flush crimson. Really, at this point he seemed more like any other stupid, adolescent git rather than a future Dark Lord. “Yes, well, that is a good quality in any young gentleman,” Katherine replied sweetly. “Although, from what I've heard, I am part Veela,” she added, just for good measure.

“From what you've heard?” Riddle repeated. “Where did you, ah, hear that story from? I would think you would be the one to hold such personal information, Miss O'Hara.”

“And I would think, Mister Riddle,” Katherine began, “that that is none of your concern. With all due respect,” she finished, casting him her most charming smile.

She had to hand it to him, he really was a good actor: he did not react at all to her blatant disrespect, but rather, continued smiling. “Orion's Belt,” he said.

Katherine was sure he'd gone mad when she realized they were standing before a familiar ugly gargoyle leading to the headmaster's office. At the sound of the password, the gargoyle slid aside.

“Thank you. It was... a pleasure meeting you, Mister Riddle. I do hope we see each other more often,” said Katherine, her voice dripping honey.

“The pleasure is all mine, Miss O'Hara. And I am sure we will,” Riddle answered. The smile was still plastered on his features, but the scorching, intriguing look in his eyes betrayed him.

She stepped into the opening the gargoyle had left behind. “Good night, Mister Riddle.”

“Good night, Miss O'Hara.”

Katherine felt the platform under her feet rise, and she finally tore her eyes away from Riddle's. So that was him. Well, she had to hand it to him: as Dumbledore had said, Tom Riddle really was something. Push aside the fact that he was a git, and a creepy one at that, and one might say he really was charming. Sickeningly so. It was frightening, in fact, that a future murderer could smile and joke around so normally, and with her of all people. Katherine exited the platform, approaching the large wooden door she knew gave entrance to the headmaster's office. Thinking of her mishap from the last time, she knocked lightly on the door.

“Enter.”

Katherine cracked open the door, entering to see the headmaster at his desk, seemingly writing a letter of some sort. He glanced up, and Katherine offered a small, apologetic smile.

“Miss O'Hara, what a surprise,” Dippet said, smiling politely. He seemed in a better mood than when she'd first arrived in his office. “Are you quite alright? You look rather flushed about the face.”

“Oh... er, yes, sir. I, erm, I'm fine, thank you.” Katherine stumbled over her sentences and felt her face burn brighter. “I apologize for showing up this late. One of the, er, Prefects gave me the password. I forgot to give you this,” she said, handing Dippet the large manila folder. “All my old school files and transcripts are in there, sir.”

“Ah, yes! Thank you, Miss O'Hara. That saves me the trouble of owling Madame Cheveri to ask for them,” said Headmaster Dippet, delighted. “I will use these to arrange for your course schedule by tomorrow, yes?”

“Yes, thank you, Headmaster. Er, well, I'll leave you now and head off to bed. Have a good night, sir,” Katherine said, realizing suddenly just how tired she was.

“Good night. Oh, and Miss O'Hara? You really should visit the hospital wing. You look quite flushed, I believe you might be coming down with something.”

Katherine smiled politely. “Yes, thank you, sir,” she answered before leaving once more.

She was relieved to find no one in the corridors as she safely made her way back to Ravenclaw Tower.