Update! It'll get even more exciting. By the way, university lectures have rarely been more inspiring! I think it was about Hegel and... uh, don't ask me, but the atmosphere was enjoyable and helped my writing ^-^
Yes. Thank you for your comments so far! Miss Granger's still biding her time, I'm afraid, and Harry needs to get to know Ginny so well because... Ahh, you'll see.
Your reviews, as always, are very welcome!!
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Chapter 2 - Making friends
In the evening, the low clouds became too heavy and burst open. Rain was splashing violently against the windows of the common room the orphans and Helen were sitting in. The common room had a huge chimney, so Flinch had lit a fire. Flames were now dancing merrily, sending sparks flying every now and then. A few of the logs were still wet and hissing violently. Harry was sitting contentedly on the carpet, enjoying the sensation of warmth and company. Looking around the room, he could tell that the others were feeling similarly - except for Tom, who was crouched in a corner, his face illuminated in a ghastly fashion by the scarce rays of light that were not absorbed by his jet-black hair. It was an eerie sight.
Next to Harry, Ginny heaved a sigh. She had already let him know that she was not enjoying herself. They had been waiting more than half an hour for the last person scheduled to arrive tonight. Considering the weather, it seemed highly unlikely, but Helen had decided they wait nonetheless.
Thunder resounded dully from the outside. Somebody coughed, then there was silence again.
The newly arrived kids, two boys and a girl around Harry's age, were sitting together near the window farthest away from the chimney, looking as though they had swallowed something that had too many legs and was now parading up and down their stomachs. One could not help but feel sorry for them.
Harry's thoughts strayed to his own arrival the night before. He was not exactly a long-term inhabitant of this orphanage just yet; still, the arrival of the three kids had somehow made him feel less... tense. Ginny had of course shared her thoughts on the matter already - not that Harry had asked to hear them - and it seemed she did not feel particularly impressed by their presence.
The door opened and all faces turned. Flinch the caretaker skulked into the room, exchanging significant glances with Helen. He then whispered something to her - everyone pricked up their ears - and left.
"Our last addition", Helen announced into complete silence, "has called in to let us know she will not be arriving before midnight." Her face was unreadable. "Well then, shall we introduce those that have arrived. Please, stand up..."
Realising that this included him, Harry scrambled to his feet hastily. He felt very much like staying seated - many eyes were on him.
"You have already seen Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, they have been around all day." Helen indicated them with a careless wave of her right hand. Harry noticed Tom lay hateful eyes on Ginny. "The other three arrivals... Neville Longbottom..." The round-faced boy by the window shuffled his feet, not looking at anyone, "Luna Lovegood -" Some people sniggered and Helen looked suddenly stern, while the girl with the straggly blonde hair bowed slightly - "and Ronald Wheezy." The tall, thin boy whose hair was flaming red gave them a smile.
"Yes... Let me see... All rooms are full except for Miss Weasley's, Mr Potter's, and... Tom Riddle's. So, Mr Potter, Miss Weasley, if you might be so kind to show them to your rooms later..."
Ginny nodded and elbowed Harry, whose thoughts had momentarily drifted away. Somehow, the mentioning of Tom's full name had reminded him of something important... very important...
The moment passed, and Harry concentrated on Helen's words again.
"Actually, Mr Flinch and I were planning to take you out to the sea tonight, but seeing as it is raining..."
"It has cleared up", the girl called Luna Lovegood said. Her voice had a strange tone, as though a veil had been draped lazily over it. She sounded mystified, as though the fact that the rain had stopped was odd to her. A ripple of stifled laughter crossed the room. Harry could not help smiling. Ginny smirked, but only slightly.
And in fact, the rain had stopped as quickly as it had begun.
"Well... who's for setting out?" Helen asked, sounding relaxed.
Nearly everyone was for it; having been inside almost all day, they were eager to visit the beach. Tom Riddle, however, refused to come without uttering a word. Helen did not ask him twice.
When thinking about that evening later, Harry was not quite sure what had made him do it. While everyone was tying up their shoelaces, his eyes were on Tom who was walking up the flight of stairs to return to his room. Nobody was paying attention to Harry in the din - Ginny was occupied in talk with Luna - so Harry sneaked up the stairs before Tom was completely out of sight.
The corridor was pitch-dark. Just why there were no lamps installed, Harry could not fathom. A door slammed shut below. Tom Riddle walked on peacefully in the semi-twilight, passing room number 17, which gave Harry a start, and bending round the corner. Harry sped up. He peered around the edge carefully. Tom was not in sight anymore.
There were no further doors behind the corner, only a small wooden staircase leading up towards the ceiling. Harry could just barely recognise a trapdoor. It was open - Tom had entered the room above.
Still not knowing why on earth he was doing this, Harry ascended the stairs and quietly, carefully squinted through the trapdoor.
He did not hear or see anything; his curiosity getting the better of him, he stuck his head through the trapdoor.
The room above was empty. The moon was shining in through the window, drawing circles on the wooden floor. Harry could see no furniture, but there was a door to his left. Riddle must have disappeared through it. What was he up to?
Climbing up fully, Harry made sure to remain in proximity of the trapdoor. The floorboards conveyed an air of trickiness - some of them might be loose, some might creak, betraying his presence to Tom Riddle.
Finally, Harry stood up fully. He was still holding his breath as he took a step away from the trapdoor. Immediately, and with no one in sight who could have done this, the trapdoor slid into its frame with a sharp, metallic sound.
Harry froze.
Someone was taking small, nasal breaths behind his back.
But nobody had been there!
At last, he mustered all his courage and whirled round on the spot.
Tom Riddle, his eyes flashing red, was pointing a wooden stick at him.
Harry passed out.
***
"Where have you been?" demanded Ginny. Harry said nothing; his head was still sore, his eyes were blurred even with his glasses on, and anyway, the whole story was too incredible to tell. He had come to in his room, on the bed nearest the door that was now Ronald Wheezy's.
"I was tired", Harry flared up at last after having been questioned for the umpteenth time. "It was too cold to go to the beach anyway. The rain had only just stopped."
"Well, it was fun", Ginny said coldly. "What with that Riddle not around..."
She seemed to have a realisation. "Hang on", she continued in a lower voice Harry's head greatly appreciated, "you have not been following..."
"Oh, don't be ridiculous, why would I?"
Harry left it to Ginny to talk some more and, with increasing despair, hoped for the two boys to show up, so he could send Ginny to bed at last.
During the following fifteen minutes, however, Ginny recounted the events at the beach without disturbance - she had splashed Ronald Wheezy and found that he preferred the name "Ron", she had talked to Luna and realised that the girl might not exactly count as sane, and she had been kissed on the cheek by a completely flustered Neville, because they had all played a game of hide-and-seek, which he had lost, and she had won. She was about to embark on the details of that game, and its rules, but Harry, feeling thoroughly exhausted, sent her to her own room, and she left with another snappish "Well, I was only trying to amuse you, wasn't I!"
Thirty seconds after she had left, Ron and Neville entered room number 23 as though on cue. They were, as they explained to a fairly amused Harry, a little scared of Ginny, who had been very active and alive on the beach.
"She really enjoyed herself, then", Harry yawned.
Ron gave him a curious look. "Are y' two... You don't mind me asking? I mean, are you..."
"No, we only got to know each other today", Harry said, finally understanding what Ron was talking about.
Neville gave a nervous laugh. "She wouldn't be easy to handle, would she?" he said, his voice quivering. Ron grinned.
"How come we're not sharing with that Tom Riddle guy?" Ron asked. Harry explained the situation. His two new roommates shook their heads in unison, looking exasperated.
"I mean, he can't go around bullying people, can he?" Ron said. "There's someone like that at every orphanage, I reckon, but... Normally, there's ways to deal with such people..."
"Helen seemed scared of him", Neville observed. "When she asked about who wanted to come. I saw she looked at him once, and he didn't say anything, and she just let him walk off. Maybe if that caretaker..."
Harry shook his head. "I think Riddle's got something like a bully's license around here. People just don't get into his way, and he even commands them to avoid him. He's best left alone."
"Nuts", Ron muttered.
They abandoned the topic of Tom Riddle soon afterwards. Initially, Neville was quite happy to leave most of the talking to Ron, whom he had become acquainted with on the journey.
"I'm an only child", said Ron, "and I've never known my parents. But I think they didn't have the money to raise me. Actually, I'm sorry for them." He stuffed a slice of bread he had nicked over dinner into his mouth while continuing his speech. "I want to grow up to be a rich man, and then I'll go and find them. If I can't, I'll at least have a family." He grinned. Harry felt his heart lighten.
"How come you're here?" he asked.
Ron chuckled. "Ever since I heard about this place, I've been developing a nasty cough. Wouldn't go away. One night, it was so bad my dinner ended up in my neighbours' faces. They decided I'd best spend some time by the sea. Mind you, they'll be surprised how well I'm doing here. And after a month, I can apply for a permanent stay. Piece of cake. My old lodgings were in Manchester, in an old factory. Dreadful place."
"Well done", Harry grinned, impressed. "And what about you, Neville?"
"I -" Neville spoke slowly, and his voice was less cheerful than Ron's. "I grew up with my parents until I was about nine. I also had a baby sister. She was very cute... Her name was Aurelie. She was behind in talking, so... when my parents died from a disease, she was put into care for special cases."
"What happened to her?" Harry asked warmly.
"She - she died from malnutrition, I was told." Neville's voice shook, and Ron patted him on the shoulder.
"My grandfather's dead, too", Harry said quietly. "I'd been living with him ever since my parents died. I don't remember them, though I have seen photos."
"When did your grandfather - I mean, pass away?" Neville inquired, concern in his voice. "Five years ago", Harry said. "I went to several orphanages afterwards."
"Why the trouble?" Ron asked. Harry's insides went cold without warning. The dreaded question had come up after all.
"Well..." he began slowly, "it was... difficult for me to cope. And the other kids were... I don't know... somehow, scared of me?"
"Why?" Ron demanded, looking puzzled. "Come on, if there's skeletons in your closet, best spit them out early." Neville nodded earnestly.
Harry gulped. "You see, it's not easy to explain. It's like... Weird things happened when I was around... I don't know how they happened, but they somehow always seemed to be linked to me. After a week, nobody would talk to me, and usually I'd leave before the month was over."
"What things? I mean, how were they weird?" Ron persisted.
"Let me see... Well, one day, we went out on a picnic. One of the boys sneaked up behind me, took my glasses and shattered them on a rock."
"That's rude", Neville said quietly.
"I ran after him, of course, but I couldn't catch him. We were near a river when he stumbled and fell into the water. He nearly drowned. Later, he told everyone I'd pushed him, because they had seen me with outstretched hands. He told them he had actually felt my hands."
"He was lying", Ron said flatly.
"But that was dangerous, wasn't it? Why would he fake it?" Neville argued, his eyes on Harry.
"I really don't know, but there was nothing else that could have made him fall. The weirdest thing was that when I picked up my shattered glasses, they were suddenly fixed the moment I had them on my nose. Of course, everyone was convinced that I had been violent for no reason. If that boy didn't even shatter my glasses..." Harry noticed that the tone of his voice had changed to a bitter note, and he hastened to correct it. "Anyway, I'm here now, and people seem much more open..."
"It is weird, that thing about your glasses... Maybe you've got magical powers, and you just don't know?" Ron joked. "Anyway, it's the end of the world at this place, mate. Nobody's living here at all, except for some weirdoes in the forest, but they're never in touch with anybody. I guess that's why we ended up here... We don't fit in with the normal bunch."
Harry laughed. "You've got a point there."
"And speaking of strange", Ron went on, his eyes sparkling, "that Luna Lovegood!"
Neville chuckled. "Yes, well, she's really -"
"Nuts", Ron confided. "On the way here, she tried to convince Neville and me that there were green heart-shaped clouds that rained yellow frogs! I mean, come on..."
"I quite like her", Neville piped up. "I mean, she talks about a lot of strange things, but they are sort of interesting..."
Ron barked with laughter. "Oh, really, Neville."
Harry, feeling happier than ever in his life, fell asleep shortly before sunrise in a much more comfortable position than he had in room number 17. For the first time in his life, he had come to make friends. Why these two people did not reject him, he was not sure, though he felt almost certain that this would continue. Who cared about Tom Riddle pointing wooden sticks at people? He did not feel the need to approach him anymore.
How woefully wrong he was.
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Coming up: "Hermione". In which Harry learns more about himself and Amy, and is swept off his feet unexpectedly while talking about Riddle. Stay tuned. And sorry about the change in Ron's name -_^