So, who likes a good cliffhanger??? When I'm writing them I like them!
Here's part seven, it picks up right where part six left off. Thanks to
everyone who reviewed... and thanks in advance to those who will review!!!
Enjoy! Oh and this has passed the 40th page mark!! OMG It's my longest
story to date... and still going strong!
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Anything but Ordinary, Part 7
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"What?" Harry and Hermione asked.
"I learned a lot in Azkaban," Sirius sighed. "None of it good. This spell is used to cast people from the third dimension. It's not a gift," he said.
"I can't touch her," Hermione moaned. Tears were in her eyes.
"And she cannot touch anyone or anything," Dumbledore said. "She can pass through doors and fire and not feel a thing, because she does not exist in our world right now."
"How do we get her back?" Remus asked.
"There is only one way," Snape said to them. "It's a very complicated potion that must be created, and then sent into the fourth dimension. She must drink it for her body to become part of this world again," he told him.
"Are you telling us that her life is in your hands?" Sirius asked.
"You didn't think this one out, did you Black? If you had I'm sure you would not have performed such magic," Snape sneered.
Samantha had stayed silent through the discussion and explanations. "Enough," she said, her voice one again echoing. "I won't have this. Sirius, you have to trust him. I need him to get me out of here."
Sirius turned to her glowing form. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I couldn't think of anything else to save you from Malfoy killing you." He reached for her, but grasped only air. He closed his eyes and dropped his head when he could not touch her. Shaking his head, Sirius turned and left the entrance hall, making his way to his quarters.
"Listen to me, child," Dumbledore said. "None of this exists in the world you are in now. For you to even climb the stairs, you must concentrate extremely hard. Your body must believe that you can go up. It will be difficult, but I think you can figure it out," he said to her.
"It will take at least ten days before I can have the potion ready," Snape said aloud.
"I'll be all right," she said softly.
"Very well, until that time, Professor Granger, various teachers shall be covering for your classes. I don't see it being very easy for you to be helping your students levitate feathers when you yourself cannot do it," Dumbledore said.
"All right," she sighed. "I need to find Sirius," she said and turned to the stairs. Slowly, as if she were a child taking her first climb up the stairs, she made her way up the many staircases.
"Harry, Hermione," McGonagall said to them, "please go inform the houses that everything is secure."
"I'll go with them. I put some complicated charms on the portraits," Lupin offered. They made their way to the dormitories, Harry's arm around Hermione's waist while she leaned on his shoulder. McGonagall headed to the owlry to contact the Ministry of Magic.
Dumbledore turned to Snape. "Do not judge Sirius on the events that transpired this evening, Severus," he requested.
"He could have simply disarmed Malfoy. Instead, a professor is floating around like our resident poltergeist and could slip from our grasp at any moment," Snape pointed out.
"He was only taking her best interests to heart," Dumbledore reasoned.
"I'll be in the dungeons," Snape muttered.
"Oh, dear," Albus sighed. "This could get interesting," he said, and headed back to bed.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
A slow tear slipped down Samantha's cheek. 'How has this happened?' She wondered to herself. After trying to "walk" up several dozen steps, Samantha began to realize that, like the ghosts that occupied the castle, it would be easier to simply float. She wandered down several hallways until she came upon Sirius's quarters. "Sirius?" She called out. She raised her hand to knock, but her hand passed through the portrait. Steeling herself, she raised up and floated through the painting.
Sitting on a chair by the fire, Samantha found Sirius nursing a glass that was filled with amber colored liquid. She surveyed the room and found it to be in several stages of disarray. The other chair in the room was over turned, there were books thrown from the bookshelf, and there were several broken bowls, glasses, and vases in the room as well. "Sirius?" She said softly.
He jumped out of his seat. "Get out," he growled.
"I most certainly will not! You listen to me Sirius Black!" She yelled, her voice echoing eerily. "I will not have you sitting around here like a git for ten days feeling sorry for yourself. Yes, you did something you should not have, but I don't blame you! You saved my life!" She told him, floating closer to him.
"I saved your life, but at what price? You exist now in another world. Don't you realize what's happened to you?" Sirius asked. He took a long swig of what she assumed to be brandy.
"Yes, I'm trapped here for some time, but I'm going to get out. I'm going to come back. come back to you," she whispered.
"Samantha," he whispered. He reached for her and let out a strangled moan when he remembered he could not touch her.
"I trust Severus and I trust that he can get me out of here. He better, because you owe me a date Mr. Black," she said with a soft smile.
Sirius gave her a half-smile. "I guess I could have picked worse timing to get you trapped in the fourth dimension," he laughed. "You look beautiful," he said.
"Shame, shame, Sirius. I'm in my nightgown. I'm going to wander down the dungeons and check on Severus," she said.
"Good night, Samantha," he called as she floated out of the portrait. She was only a few yards away when she heard the sound of breaking glass emanating from Sirius's quarters.
She sighed looked at the staircases that lay before her. 'Your body must believe that it can go up,' she heard Dumbledore's words echoing. "Well, if I can go up, I can go down. But can I just, fall down?" She asked herself out loud. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and willed herself to imagine the bottom-most floor of the castle, where Snape's dungeons were. Suddenly she felt a rush of cold air and then it was gone. She opened her eyes and saw the dark hallways of the Hogwarts dungeons. She smiled to herself and floated down the corridor.
Upon arriving in the potions classroom, Samantha looked around at her dark and gloomy surroundings. 'If only I had my wand,' she thought, 'and if only I could actually pick it up.' Severus Snape sat in the back corner of the room, hunched over a pile of parchment and surrounded by several delicate-looking vials and glass jars. "Professor?" She said quietly, to not scare him.
He looked up with a scowl, but nodded when he recognized her. "I need to talk to you, Professor Granger," he said.
Samantha floated across the room, and he watched her intently. "It's easier then trying to walk around," she told him as he watched her float about the room.
"Peeves will be pleased to have a new playmate," he said.
"How bad does it look?"
"It will take me about ten days to prepare the potion. I might be to complete it in six. Then, I can cast a spell to send it to you. I must ask you some questions before I begin," he said. Samantha nodded for him to continue. "How do you feel?"
Samantha thought about this for a moment, crossing her arms. "It's strange to say this, but I feel heavy," she said. Snape crinkled his nose at this. "It almost feels like the world is closing in around me."
"It might have something to do with you trying so hard to remain in this world," Snape commented, jotting down some notes. "Are you cold?"
"When I pass through solid objects, like a flight of stairs, I feel cold rushed of air. Other then that, I feel like I'm at a normal temperature."
"What else do you feel?"
"No much," she sighed. "It's very disconcerting not being able to touch anything or anybody," she told him.
He nodded, watching her moving softly. She seemed to float up a foot or so, then close her eyes and concentrate on staying in one place. "I suggest getting some rest. I'm going to need you to come down here tomorrow. I'm sure there will be more for us to discuss."
"Very well. Good night, Professor," she floated back toward the door as he hunched back over his notes. "Oh, and you can call me Samantha. I don't see the need for formalities." Snape looked up at her with a strange expression. He cocked his head to one side, contemplating her, then sighed and went back to his notes. Samantha laughed and left.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Meanwhile, Harry, Hermione, and Remus made their way through to the four dormitory towers to unlock them and inform the students of what was going on. As expected, the Slytherins were the only unaffected group. Remus bid good night to Harry and Hermione, then proceeded to his quarters.
In the Gryffindor common room, the students were wide awake and roaming around when Harry and Hermione entered. They were bombarded with dozens of questions. "All right!" Hermione shouted. "Everyone one in bed! We've told you everything we can this evening, and Professor Dumblefore will be making an announcement to the student body in the morning," Hermione explained.
Harry tugged on Ron's sleeve, silently telling him to stick around. As the crowd thinned and things quieted down, Hermione made her way to the couch and sunk down, her head in her hands. Harry made his way to her side when he saw her shoulders shaking with sobs. "What's really happened?" Ron asked, sitting on the other side of Hermione.
"Everything we told you guys about the Death Eaters is true," Hermione said, lifting her head from Harry's chest and turning to Ron. "But there is more."
"Lucius Malfoy tried to kill Professor Granger," Harry supplied.
"But at the last moment, Sirius cast a spell that sent her to the fourth dimension," Hermione said.
"The what?" Ron asked, confused.
"From what little I know," Hermione explained, "it's a parallel dimension running along side ours. It's devoid of human life, or any life for that matter. She can only be seen in our dimension but cannot interact in it."
"Professor Snape has to prepare a potion for her to drink. Apparently it takes ten days to brew," Harry said.
"Will she survive?" Ron asked.
Hermione's eyes widened. "Of course she will! How could you even think about that?" She said, her voice rising.
"I'm sorry. It's just that you said there's nothing in this fourth dimension and if she can't interact in ours. how will she eat or drink?" Ron asked.
Hermione looked up at Harry with frantic eyes. He could only shrug. The three friends stared at each other, wondering how their professor would survive in a world that had nothing for her.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Floating back up the stairs to the main floor of the castle, Samantha had her first encounter with the school poltergeist, Peeves. "Lookie what I gots here," he sang. "I heard you were hovering about, Professor Granger. Have you come to play with lil ole me?"
"Sod off, Peeves," she said, floating by him without another glance.
"Oooooh hooo hooo hoooo!" He laughed, doing a somersault in the air. "I like her!"
Samantha passed through the portrait leading to her quarters and floated directly to her bedroom. "I can't even lie down!" She shouted, her voice echoing. She floated above the mattress then turned to lay parallel above it, just hovering. Her hair hung down through the pillow. She sighed and closed her eyes, a single tear falling down her cheek. She took a deep breath and tried to relax.
Samantha soon found herself to be extremely tired. She felt herself floating away to a deep slumber. As she began to doze off, she felt a huge weight on her chest, like she was being pushed down. Fighting fatigue, she struggled against the weight, trying to come back to consciousness. Upon opening her eyes, Samantha saw nothing.
She flew up, but there was no up. She looked around and saw that there was no down as well. 'Help!' She screamed, but she had no voice. 'What's happened?' she thought to herself. She looked around and saw nothing but endless, blinding whiteness.
She looked down and saw that she didn't appear ghost-like anymore. Taking a cautious step, she felt nothing below her, but she could move. 'Where am I?' she thought. Moving in no particular direction she journeyed through the white. Squinting, Samantha thought she could see something in the far off distance. Frantically waving her arms, Samantha began running. Or was she still floating?
After what seemed like an eternity of running, Samantha was able to tell that the figure was a person. The person was sitting cross-legged, as if meditating. Moving faster, Samantha tried to scream, but there was no sound. Her voice did not exist in this place. The person had their back to her as she approached. When the gap between them was mere feet, the person spun around, and Samantha once again tried to scream. 'It can't be!' She screamed in her head.
'Why not?' Another voice entered her head. She saw the man moving toward her, his face distorted, his body shriveled.
She tried to remember what Dumbledore had told her. Believe it's there and it will be there. 'Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogwarts.' she repeated it over and over in her mind. The man moved toward her. She closed her eyes and pictured the castle in her head.
When she opened her eyes, she was the castle. She was hovering a few inches from the ground in a sitting position. She looked around and realized that she was seeing the same image that she had been picturing in her head. She was back in the dungeons. "Severus!" She screamed.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
What? You didn't think I'd actually give you more?? Oh the wheels in my evil head are spinning. Is that triangle taking form in your head?? Drop me a line pleeeeeease
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Anything but Ordinary, Part 7
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
"What?" Harry and Hermione asked.
"I learned a lot in Azkaban," Sirius sighed. "None of it good. This spell is used to cast people from the third dimension. It's not a gift," he said.
"I can't touch her," Hermione moaned. Tears were in her eyes.
"And she cannot touch anyone or anything," Dumbledore said. "She can pass through doors and fire and not feel a thing, because she does not exist in our world right now."
"How do we get her back?" Remus asked.
"There is only one way," Snape said to them. "It's a very complicated potion that must be created, and then sent into the fourth dimension. She must drink it for her body to become part of this world again," he told him.
"Are you telling us that her life is in your hands?" Sirius asked.
"You didn't think this one out, did you Black? If you had I'm sure you would not have performed such magic," Snape sneered.
Samantha had stayed silent through the discussion and explanations. "Enough," she said, her voice one again echoing. "I won't have this. Sirius, you have to trust him. I need him to get me out of here."
Sirius turned to her glowing form. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. "I couldn't think of anything else to save you from Malfoy killing you." He reached for her, but grasped only air. He closed his eyes and dropped his head when he could not touch her. Shaking his head, Sirius turned and left the entrance hall, making his way to his quarters.
"Listen to me, child," Dumbledore said. "None of this exists in the world you are in now. For you to even climb the stairs, you must concentrate extremely hard. Your body must believe that you can go up. It will be difficult, but I think you can figure it out," he said to her.
"It will take at least ten days before I can have the potion ready," Snape said aloud.
"I'll be all right," she said softly.
"Very well, until that time, Professor Granger, various teachers shall be covering for your classes. I don't see it being very easy for you to be helping your students levitate feathers when you yourself cannot do it," Dumbledore said.
"All right," she sighed. "I need to find Sirius," she said and turned to the stairs. Slowly, as if she were a child taking her first climb up the stairs, she made her way up the many staircases.
"Harry, Hermione," McGonagall said to them, "please go inform the houses that everything is secure."
"I'll go with them. I put some complicated charms on the portraits," Lupin offered. They made their way to the dormitories, Harry's arm around Hermione's waist while she leaned on his shoulder. McGonagall headed to the owlry to contact the Ministry of Magic.
Dumbledore turned to Snape. "Do not judge Sirius on the events that transpired this evening, Severus," he requested.
"He could have simply disarmed Malfoy. Instead, a professor is floating around like our resident poltergeist and could slip from our grasp at any moment," Snape pointed out.
"He was only taking her best interests to heart," Dumbledore reasoned.
"I'll be in the dungeons," Snape muttered.
"Oh, dear," Albus sighed. "This could get interesting," he said, and headed back to bed.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
A slow tear slipped down Samantha's cheek. 'How has this happened?' She wondered to herself. After trying to "walk" up several dozen steps, Samantha began to realize that, like the ghosts that occupied the castle, it would be easier to simply float. She wandered down several hallways until she came upon Sirius's quarters. "Sirius?" She called out. She raised her hand to knock, but her hand passed through the portrait. Steeling herself, she raised up and floated through the painting.
Sitting on a chair by the fire, Samantha found Sirius nursing a glass that was filled with amber colored liquid. She surveyed the room and found it to be in several stages of disarray. The other chair in the room was over turned, there were books thrown from the bookshelf, and there were several broken bowls, glasses, and vases in the room as well. "Sirius?" She said softly.
He jumped out of his seat. "Get out," he growled.
"I most certainly will not! You listen to me Sirius Black!" She yelled, her voice echoing eerily. "I will not have you sitting around here like a git for ten days feeling sorry for yourself. Yes, you did something you should not have, but I don't blame you! You saved my life!" She told him, floating closer to him.
"I saved your life, but at what price? You exist now in another world. Don't you realize what's happened to you?" Sirius asked. He took a long swig of what she assumed to be brandy.
"Yes, I'm trapped here for some time, but I'm going to get out. I'm going to come back. come back to you," she whispered.
"Samantha," he whispered. He reached for her and let out a strangled moan when he remembered he could not touch her.
"I trust Severus and I trust that he can get me out of here. He better, because you owe me a date Mr. Black," she said with a soft smile.
Sirius gave her a half-smile. "I guess I could have picked worse timing to get you trapped in the fourth dimension," he laughed. "You look beautiful," he said.
"Shame, shame, Sirius. I'm in my nightgown. I'm going to wander down the dungeons and check on Severus," she said.
"Good night, Samantha," he called as she floated out of the portrait. She was only a few yards away when she heard the sound of breaking glass emanating from Sirius's quarters.
She sighed looked at the staircases that lay before her. 'Your body must believe that it can go up,' she heard Dumbledore's words echoing. "Well, if I can go up, I can go down. But can I just, fall down?" She asked herself out loud. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and willed herself to imagine the bottom-most floor of the castle, where Snape's dungeons were. Suddenly she felt a rush of cold air and then it was gone. She opened her eyes and saw the dark hallways of the Hogwarts dungeons. She smiled to herself and floated down the corridor.
Upon arriving in the potions classroom, Samantha looked around at her dark and gloomy surroundings. 'If only I had my wand,' she thought, 'and if only I could actually pick it up.' Severus Snape sat in the back corner of the room, hunched over a pile of parchment and surrounded by several delicate-looking vials and glass jars. "Professor?" She said quietly, to not scare him.
He looked up with a scowl, but nodded when he recognized her. "I need to talk to you, Professor Granger," he said.
Samantha floated across the room, and he watched her intently. "It's easier then trying to walk around," she told him as he watched her float about the room.
"Peeves will be pleased to have a new playmate," he said.
"How bad does it look?"
"It will take me about ten days to prepare the potion. I might be to complete it in six. Then, I can cast a spell to send it to you. I must ask you some questions before I begin," he said. Samantha nodded for him to continue. "How do you feel?"
Samantha thought about this for a moment, crossing her arms. "It's strange to say this, but I feel heavy," she said. Snape crinkled his nose at this. "It almost feels like the world is closing in around me."
"It might have something to do with you trying so hard to remain in this world," Snape commented, jotting down some notes. "Are you cold?"
"When I pass through solid objects, like a flight of stairs, I feel cold rushed of air. Other then that, I feel like I'm at a normal temperature."
"What else do you feel?"
"No much," she sighed. "It's very disconcerting not being able to touch anything or anybody," she told him.
He nodded, watching her moving softly. She seemed to float up a foot or so, then close her eyes and concentrate on staying in one place. "I suggest getting some rest. I'm going to need you to come down here tomorrow. I'm sure there will be more for us to discuss."
"Very well. Good night, Professor," she floated back toward the door as he hunched back over his notes. "Oh, and you can call me Samantha. I don't see the need for formalities." Snape looked up at her with a strange expression. He cocked his head to one side, contemplating her, then sighed and went back to his notes. Samantha laughed and left.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Meanwhile, Harry, Hermione, and Remus made their way through to the four dormitory towers to unlock them and inform the students of what was going on. As expected, the Slytherins were the only unaffected group. Remus bid good night to Harry and Hermione, then proceeded to his quarters.
In the Gryffindor common room, the students were wide awake and roaming around when Harry and Hermione entered. They were bombarded with dozens of questions. "All right!" Hermione shouted. "Everyone one in bed! We've told you everything we can this evening, and Professor Dumblefore will be making an announcement to the student body in the morning," Hermione explained.
Harry tugged on Ron's sleeve, silently telling him to stick around. As the crowd thinned and things quieted down, Hermione made her way to the couch and sunk down, her head in her hands. Harry made his way to her side when he saw her shoulders shaking with sobs. "What's really happened?" Ron asked, sitting on the other side of Hermione.
"Everything we told you guys about the Death Eaters is true," Hermione said, lifting her head from Harry's chest and turning to Ron. "But there is more."
"Lucius Malfoy tried to kill Professor Granger," Harry supplied.
"But at the last moment, Sirius cast a spell that sent her to the fourth dimension," Hermione said.
"The what?" Ron asked, confused.
"From what little I know," Hermione explained, "it's a parallel dimension running along side ours. It's devoid of human life, or any life for that matter. She can only be seen in our dimension but cannot interact in it."
"Professor Snape has to prepare a potion for her to drink. Apparently it takes ten days to brew," Harry said.
"Will she survive?" Ron asked.
Hermione's eyes widened. "Of course she will! How could you even think about that?" She said, her voice rising.
"I'm sorry. It's just that you said there's nothing in this fourth dimension and if she can't interact in ours. how will she eat or drink?" Ron asked.
Hermione looked up at Harry with frantic eyes. He could only shrug. The three friends stared at each other, wondering how their professor would survive in a world that had nothing for her.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Floating back up the stairs to the main floor of the castle, Samantha had her first encounter with the school poltergeist, Peeves. "Lookie what I gots here," he sang. "I heard you were hovering about, Professor Granger. Have you come to play with lil ole me?"
"Sod off, Peeves," she said, floating by him without another glance.
"Oooooh hooo hooo hoooo!" He laughed, doing a somersault in the air. "I like her!"
Samantha passed through the portrait leading to her quarters and floated directly to her bedroom. "I can't even lie down!" She shouted, her voice echoing. She floated above the mattress then turned to lay parallel above it, just hovering. Her hair hung down through the pillow. She sighed and closed her eyes, a single tear falling down her cheek. She took a deep breath and tried to relax.
Samantha soon found herself to be extremely tired. She felt herself floating away to a deep slumber. As she began to doze off, she felt a huge weight on her chest, like she was being pushed down. Fighting fatigue, she struggled against the weight, trying to come back to consciousness. Upon opening her eyes, Samantha saw nothing.
She flew up, but there was no up. She looked around and saw that there was no down as well. 'Help!' She screamed, but she had no voice. 'What's happened?' she thought to herself. She looked around and saw nothing but endless, blinding whiteness.
She looked down and saw that she didn't appear ghost-like anymore. Taking a cautious step, she felt nothing below her, but she could move. 'Where am I?' she thought. Moving in no particular direction she journeyed through the white. Squinting, Samantha thought she could see something in the far off distance. Frantically waving her arms, Samantha began running. Or was she still floating?
After what seemed like an eternity of running, Samantha was able to tell that the figure was a person. The person was sitting cross-legged, as if meditating. Moving faster, Samantha tried to scream, but there was no sound. Her voice did not exist in this place. The person had their back to her as she approached. When the gap between them was mere feet, the person spun around, and Samantha once again tried to scream. 'It can't be!' She screamed in her head.
'Why not?' Another voice entered her head. She saw the man moving toward her, his face distorted, his body shriveled.
She tried to remember what Dumbledore had told her. Believe it's there and it will be there. 'Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogwarts.' she repeated it over and over in her mind. The man moved toward her. She closed her eyes and pictured the castle in her head.
When she opened her eyes, she was the castle. She was hovering a few inches from the ground in a sitting position. She looked around and realized that she was seeing the same image that she had been picturing in her head. She was back in the dungeons. "Severus!" She screamed.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
What? You didn't think I'd actually give you more?? Oh the wheels in my evil head are spinning. Is that triangle taking form in your head?? Drop me a line pleeeeeease