To Be or Not To Be

Chapter 1

**The eighth book doesn't exist as far as this story is concerned**

The silence was deafening one night after dinner as my brother, Chris, brought me to his study. He said he had something important he wanted to get my opinion on before he replied. Now, sitting on the mahogany floor in front of the fireplace, I waited for him to speak.

Several times, he opened his mouth as if he were going to actually start talking, only to close it again with either a sigh or a facepalm. "Rain," He said at last, grabbing some of my attention with the use of my nickname, though my eyes continued to stare at the hearth. "I've been offered a job by an old friend of mine and," He trailed off, taking a deep breath before trying to explain. "The pay is good, and we won't have to worry about my boss firing me suddenly." I glanced up at the desk before resuming my original position. There was something wrong with the job. He wouldn't have brought me into the situation otherwise. "It's really a good opportunity. It's just," He paused again, his eyes narrowed.

And there it was. The cause for this whole one-sided conversation. "What's stopping you from taking the job if it's so good?" I asked. "You know I'll go along with whatever you decide."

"It's a teaching job at Hogwarts. You remember seeing me off to school, right?"

I chuckled, thinking of all the stories my siblings had told me each year when they returned for the holidays. "So the legendary school of witchcraft and wizardry wants a twenty three year old, ex-mischief maker for a teacher? May I just say now that I fear for the lives of the students who find themselves stuck with you. What would you teach, anyway? You told me that the only teacher that really changes is Defense Against the Dark Arts but you remember less about that than what Alix taught me." I imagined Chris standing in front of a class of first years, at a complete loss for words when a student asked him one of the most simple of questions, and then a more serious thought occurred to me. "So, if you're teaching then where am I going to be? Mom died ages ago, dad hasn't been seen since I was seven, and according to whoever's in charge of child custody, we don't have any other living relatives besides Mya and Alix, who went with dad."

Chris laughed. "You'll see what I teach later but for now, I talked to the headmaster and he said you should become a student and some kind of magical school, be it Hogwarts or otherwise and has offered to let you come with me and enroll. He said that because you spent the last two years searching for Mya and Alix, causing the lack attendance at a magical school at the proper age has made it much more difficult for you to get into one of the other schools but since you were studying curriculum according to what Hogwarts teaches each year while you were looking, you could transfer in with a lot less trouble than normal. Since you'd been studying all the required fields while Alix was in attendance, you should already be caught up to the people your age. Alix didn't disappear until the summer after his fourth year, so you can test out of those classes you missed."

"Right. Because I want to make myself out to be a freak of nature in front of a bunch of people I may very well be stuck with until I'm eighteen." I turned to face Chris, a subject change popping up right when I needed it. "So what's the deal with that murderer on the loose? The guy with the really weird name who broke out of Azkaban. The daily prophet said that he killed a lot of people too, but I can't remember the exact number."

That got Chris's attention away from school like a charm. "Twelve muggles and a wizard. And now he's apparently gotten out of Azkaban." His voice sounded worried as he continued. "The ministry's gone berserk looking for him. They have dementors doing routine checks all over Great Britain. Dumbledore said that they've decided to place them around Hogwarts as well."

I lowered my head to my knees momentarily, before getting to my feet. My topic change definitely hadn't gone very well. Then again, they rarely did when one brings a murderer into the mix. I'll have to keep that in mind next time, but it's too late now. "Back to the job offer, take it if you want it. The old man was right in saying that I should actually attend a school instead of using my brother's old books to study on my own. I might as well go to Hogwarts if Dumbledore's already offered me a place. Knowing my plans, your acceptance of the job is completely your own choice."

"I guess if you're really okay with enrolling, I'll take the job. Dumbledore sent me with your supply list just in case, so we can go shopping tomorrow to get everything you'll need." He pulled a piece of parchment from his back pocket and handed it to me with a smirk. I glared back at him. I hated shopping, of any kind, with all my heart and he knew it. "I took the liberty of choosing your electives for you since the other third years decided at the end of their second year. I hope you like fortune telling and old languages. I also put you in Care of Magical Creatures because I thought you'd like that class the most. My friend Hagrid is teaching this year due to the retirement of the last professor. You two will get along wonderfully. Especially if you let him meet Heston. He's obsessed with the dangerous beasts, and a magical version of a Python Reticulatus is definitely on that list."

I sighed, grateful that my brother had placed me in at least one decent elective. Animals were my life, be it a mouse of a dragon, I loved them all. Snakes however, were among my favorite. When I was younger, Chris would always tease me about being a Slytherin in the future, to which I would always deny. Yes, I liked snakes, but that didn't mean I would ever be in Slytherin. Now, it's a running joke between the two of us that I didn't want to be a Slytherin so much that I turned myself into a Gryffindor. It wasn't my fault that Chris and Alix liked to play a lot of tricks on me growing up. I was practically forced into being brave.

"It's about time for you to go to bed. You'll have a long day ahead of you." Chris's words brought me out of my memories, and I nodded before making my way to the door. "And don't forget to bring Heston back to your room. The last time you forgot, he managed to scare the daylights out of three owls."

I chuckled. "That wasn't because I forgot. It was because he's a smart snake. He knew I left the window open." I left the study before Chris could say anything more, and skipped to my room. Then I remembered about the shopping tomorrow and groaned. He was right about it being a long day. After trudging up the stairs and into my bedroom, I jumped into my bed, wishing it were a little more springy. At least I didn't have to worry about bouncing off in my sleep, though it would certainly be something interesting to explain in the morning. I could just see it now. The crash when I hit the floor. Then the booming footsteps when the sound woke up Chris, and finally the laughing when he heard what happened.

Before I could fantasize any farther, Heston slithered in and wrapped himself around my bed post. I smiled, patting his head before I felt myself slowly drifting off.