Fear of a Name

Chapter Thirteen: The Howler

I practically ran down to breakfast the next day and was one of the first to arrive, so great was my hunger. Sitting down at the Gryffindor table, I grabbed whatever food I could get my hands on and ate and ate, enjoying the feeling of fullness after a week of hunger.

Hearing footsteps, I looked to the door and saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all walking in. They were followed by Professor Lupin, who smiled as he saw that I had finally eaten.
"Ivory I-Don't-Know-Your-Middle-Name Riddle, I was worried sick when I woke up and couldn't find you!" said Hermione, looking relieved and sitting down next to me.
"Sorry Hermione, I'll leave a note next time," I said, smiling.

Ginny and the boys sat down too and started to eat.
"Ivory, why aren't you eating again?" asked Ginny, looking worried.
"I've already eaten, Ginny," I replied, pointing to the huge gaps on the plates of food nearby. "It was really good."
"Well thank goodness for that, it took you long enough," interjected Harry as the room began to fill up.

"Where were you last night?" Hermione asked me. "We waited and waited for you, but you didn't come."
"Oh — I lost track of time... I snuck in an hour after curfew."
"Well really, I do think—" Hermione started, but she was quickly interrupted by Ron.
"Ah, mail's here!"

I looked up and saw hundreds of owls swooping in, one in particular catching my attention. It was Thunder, Mother's owl, and in his beak —
"Oh no, she's sent me a howler," I said, grabbing the bright red envelope, my hands shaking.
"Open it, Ivory. It'll all be over in a few minutes," Ron advised me.
"I think I'll go into the entrance hall..." I said, before running out of the room.
As soon as I got there, I ripped open the howler, and Mother's voice started yelling at me, magnified to a hundred times its normal volume.

"IVORY FERALI RIDDLE, HOW DARE YOU DEFY YOUR PARENTS AND OUR NOBLE TRADITION; YOU HAVE BETRAYED OUR NOBLE CAUSE, AND THE NOBLE HOUSE OF SALAZAR SLYTHERIN—"

I could tell that everyone was listening, teachers included, because it had gone deadly silent in the great hall. I closed my eyes and waited for it to be over.

"GRYFFINDOR? GRYFFINDOR IS FOR THE WEAK, AND THE STUPID. YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THE FAMILY; YOU DO NOT DESERVE THE NAME OF RIDDLE. YOUR FATHER IS FURIOUS—"

I whimpered at these words, trying not to imagine the pain I would be in on Sunday.

"MAKING FRIENDS WITH BLOOD-TRAITORS, A FILTHY MUDBLOOD AND HARRY POTTER, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU—"

I put my hands over my ears, trying to block out the sound, but to no avail.

"—DIDN'T RAISE YOU LIKE THIS, YOU FILTHY PIECE OF SCUM, YOU ARE IN BIG TROUBLE, AND IF YOU DEFY US AGAIN THERE WILL BE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES!"

I slid down the wall to the floor, bringing my knees to my chest and, again, trying not to think of the pain they were going to put me through.

"You should know better than to disappoint us, girl."

Her voice suddenly became low and threatening, and it was worse than when she was shouting. This was her most dangerous voice — if she started speaking like this, you knew you were in serious trouble.

"You know what will be waiting for you when you get home."

I watched, shaking, as the howler finally burst into flames and curled into ashes. The Great Hall was still utterly silent, you could've heard a wand drop, and it took a fair few minutes for the noise level to return to normal.

I walked off quickly before anyone came out, not paying attention to where I was going, only coming to my senses in front of a painting of a bowl of fruit. I tickled the pear like I'd read in one of my books, watching as it turned into an emerald green doorknob, before opening the door and walking into the kitchens.

I only got a short glimpse of five long tables and a ceiling as high as the great hall before I was swarmed by house elves, all asking what I wanted.
"Can I have a small goblet of pumpkin juice please?" I asked, knowing that the Hogwarts house elves would get you food or drinks only if you were kind to them; not that I wouldn't have been kind otherwise — I know what it's like to be ordered around all the time.
"Of course, Miss," said one of the elves in a squeaky voice, and the next thing I knew, two of the elves brought me a goblet of pumpkin juice on a silver tray.
"Thank you," I said, smiling at them and taking a sip. When I had finished I said, "Now, do you know the way back to the Great Hall? Could you draw me a map or something?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Take a left here, then climb the stairs," I said, looking at the roughly drawn map the house elves had given me, and following the route that they'd marked in red ink.
"There you are!" said Harry as I emerged by the entrance hall. "You missed Care of Magical Creatures, we were really worried that you'd got lost or something."
"No, I just found the kitchens," I replied. "What's our next lesson?"
"Double Potions with the Slytherins," groaned Ron.

Hermione checked her watch.
"Merlin's beard, we're going to be late if we don't hurry!" she practically shouted.
We all ran down to the Potions classroom in the dungeons, sitting down just before Snape arrived. I shuddered as he swept in, remembering one of the Potions lessons he had given me at the Manor, specifically the last one.

"YOU STUPID GIRL, WHY DID YOU ADD THE TREE SAP BEFORE THE SHREDDED MANDRAKE LEAVES?" Snape was yelling at me.
"I-I'm s-sorry, sir, I-I..."
"NO EXCUSES! FIX IT NOW!"
"Y-yes, s-s-sir," I whispered, adding some sugar to try and counter the effects of the sap. The next thing I knew, there was a huge explosion and the sound of falling rubble; as the smoke cleared, I saw a huge hole in the wall of the Manor.
"Crucio!" Snape yelled, and I heard myself screaming.

"Miss Riddle! That is the third time I have asked you now!"
Snape's voice brought me back into reality, and I bit my lip as I realised I hadn't been listening.
"Twenty points from Gryffindor. Now tell me what the Wolfsbane potion does."
"The Wolfsbane potion does not cure, but eases the symptoms of lycanthropy, allowing one to hold onto their mental faculties post transformation, which otherwise would not be possible," I replied quickly, remembering the entry for it in Moste Potente Potions.

"And what are the characteristics of this potion?" Snape asked me, trying to hide his shock that I had known the answer to his previous question.
"When brewed correctly, it should have a faint blue smoke and a bitter taste. Adding sugar, or any other sweetener, will counter the effects of the potion, thus rendering it ineffective."
"Five points from Gryffindor," Snape sneered, "for being such an insufferable know-it-all."
I didn't say anything; Mother had given me a lesson about not answering back when I was six, and it wasn't a lesson I was going to forget any time soon.
"But—" Ron started to argue, but I shook my head at him discreetly. It would not do to anger Snape when he was in such a bad mood.

"Today you will be brewing the Confusing Concoction. Anyone who has failed to do so correctly by the end of the lesson," Snape said, looking directly at Neville and me, "will get detention tonight at nine. Begin."
I looked through my book until I found Confusing Concoction on page thirty-seven, got the needed ingredients, and started brewing.