Fourth Part: REVISED. hope you like it.
Fern was on the train, and her mum was telling her to have a great last year at Hogwarts.
“Bye Mum!” Fern said, then walked away. Kaytlyn then went to talk to Michael.
Fern went to find Blaise. She found him easily.
“Hey Blaise.” she said.
“Hey.” he replied. They kissed each other on the lips. Then they went to find a compartment.
They found the Slytherin compartment easily. Fern walked inside first, and sat down across Malfoy. Blaise sat next to her. Crabbe and Goyle sat near Malfoy.
“Hello Draco.” Fern said coldly.
He nodded a hello. They both had not forgotten that day.
Blaise just sat there, and had nodded also to Malfoy.
“Those first years are awfully puny. Who do you think will be Slytherin?” Fern commented as a group of first years passed their compartment.
“That one with the black hair. He looks like a Slytherin.” Blaise observed.
After a while, a tall, black-haired boy walked past the compartment.
“Hey. Isn’t that Adrian Pucey?” Fern noticed.
“Yeah. Didn’t he graduate last year?” Blaise commented.
“He was supposed to, but didn’t. He failed his exams.” Draco cut in.
No one really talked after that. Then before the train pulled into Hogsmeade, Blaise asked Draco where Pansy Parkinson was.
“I have no idea, nor do I care. She told me she wasn’t coming back this year.” he said icily.
“So, are you two still together?” Fern asked.
“No. It doesn’t matter anyways. She wanted to get more active in our relationship.” he replied.
“Like you weren’t active enough?”
“Shut it Fern.” Blaise said. She expected Malfoy to say that, not her boyfriend.
“Sorry.” she said coldly. The train then pulled into the station. The group of Slytherins got their trunks and filed out onto the platform.
Then, after leaving their stuff with the station master, they filed into carriages and were then pulled into the Hogwarts gates. They clapped when some of the first years were sorted into their house, and stayed silent when the other first years were sorted to different houses. The first year with the black hair was indeed sorted into Slytherin, as predicted by Blaise. The Feast went as usual, a lot of talking, a lot of eating.
The next morning, at breakfast, Fern and Blaise received their schedules from the new Head of House. Fern and Blaise had a free period, so they walked to the common room. Blaise walked ahead of Fern, and Fern had to run to catch up. She caught his arm, and was surprised that Blaise flinched.
“Let go of me!” he yelled.
“I didn’t grab it that hard did I?” she asked.
“Yes. You did. Now let go!” Blaise wrenched his arm away from Fern. He walked on, rubbing his arm, and left behind a very confused Fern.
Fern walked to the common room alone, and when she tried to find Blaise, to apologize, but she didn’t see him. So, she just sat on a chair, and pondered. Fern thought about her past…
FLASHBACK
“Fern! Your grandfather is at St. Mungo’s! Come down here now!” Kaytlyn Gerdal screeched up the stairs.
Fern heard the screaming, and rushed immediately down the stairs. She was only a sweet ten year old then, not knowing what lie in wait for her. “What happened to him?” she asked.
“A couple of curses were cast on him, hon. Nothing to worry about. He should be about in no time Fern.” her mum had lied.
“Are we going to visit him?”
“You bet we are. Go get your traveling cloak, and get your brother. We’re going down there right now.”
“Okay mummy.” Little Fern went to find her dark burgundy traveling cloak (it had been her mother’s Gryffindor winter cloak), and after finding it, got her brother and rushed him downstairs. Fern followed.
“Ready you two?” Fern nodded, her brother had no clue what was going on. Kaytlyn and her husband led the two children out onto the street, and the next thing Fern knew, she was at St. Mungo’s. Fern and her brother were led inside by Kaytlyn, and the witch at the desk was asking her what floor Grandpa was on.
“He was hit by curses…” Kaytlyn answered. Herald, Fern’s and Michael’s father, was talking to both of them.
The witch responded by saying the floor number, and which Healer they should look for. Kaytlyn then called her kids and husband to follow her. They went up the funny elevator, and then were being led to the room by a Healer dressed in green.
“He’s just in here. Only three are allowed at a time. You may take turns.” the Healer informed them. Then she left without another word.
“Herald, take Fern, I’ll bring in Michael first. He needs to understand it all.” Kaytlyn told her husband. She took hold of Michael’s hand, and led him inside to see his grandpa.
“Fern! Stay here. You can’t go in yet.” Herald called out, for Fern tried to follow her mother inside. He got up and grabbed Fern by the arms, and flung across his shoulders. She struggled the entire time. “Come here and sit on my lap. I’ll tell you stories about the Purple-Eared Wizard!” Herald was bribing Fern. He set her on his lap. That was her favorite story.
Fern didn’t care. To her, the Purple-Eared Wizard could wait for her. She wanted to see her grandpa. “Fern! Sit still.” Herald demanded. But Fern kept struggling. Herald had to keep a good grip on his daughter, or else she would burst through the door. “No Fern. You can’t go in there! You are to stay here with me! Fern, behave!” Herald was getting strained. Fern finally stopped struggling, and just sat there, staring at the door like a cat stares at a mouse.
“Here’s Fern Dad.” Fern’s mum said. Then she whispered, “Fern, you can see him now. You can be alone if you want.” Fern nodded yes to this. Kaytlyn walked out of the room, and Fern walked in. Michael had already gone to Herald’s lap. Fern then closed the door.
What she saw frightened her. She wasn’t even sure it was her grandfather. His face was covered in red marks, black marks, and gauze to cover the worst wounds. His hands were a greenish color. One eye was swollen shut, and his upper lip was puffy. In short, Fern thought he looked like he ran into a wall, then ran into a train.
“Grandpa! What happened?” she had asked.
“Not much Fern.” both of them knew that he was lying. “I just got caught up in the midst of things. A curse here, and a curse there. The only we need to worry about are my hands. They’re infected.” he explained to the ten-year old. Fern was amazed, yet scared. He held out his hands for Fern to take hold of them. “Ya wanna know how I got these marks? Well… I’ll tell ya.” he whispered when Fern was close enough. She looked at him, she didn’t feel as frightened. “The story goes like this… I was walking down the sidewalk, and two young wizards pop out of the bushes. They beat me, and broke a few of my bones. Then they started to hex me, that’s how I got-” then he fell silent. Fern looked at him.
“Grandpa?” she asked. He didn’t seem to hear her. His head lolled backward, as if to rest on the pillow. “Grandpa?” he didn’t answer. “Grandpa!” Fern was frightened now. She ran to the door, and started screaming.
“Grandpa won’t talk! He’s not talking to me! He- He’s all silent! Help! Grandpa isn’t talking, or asking or anything! Mummy! I’m scared.”
“He’s all right Fern.”
“No! He’s not! He’s not all right! He’s not talking or anything!”
The Healer, hearing the commotion, rushed into the room, and forced Fern out (who didn’t like that idea). About twenty minutes later, the Healer walked out of the room. Her head was down.
“I’m afraid that your father, Kaytlyn, has died. The poison in his veins from the hexes have gone through him. I’m sorry.” she walked away.
“He’s dead?!” Fern screamed. She ran into the room to see for herself. There he was, all prepped and clean. He didn’t have any scarring, or wounds, or green hands. He looked like he was sleeping. “Grandpa!” Fern reached for his hand, but let go suddenly. “Mum. His… hands are cold.” She backed away. For the rest of the day, she stood away from the bed. While her family cried, she just merely stared at her grandfather’s cold face.
****
A year later, before Fern was accepted into Hogwarts, her mother had left her father. Herald had gotten to be a drunk at the beginning of the year. He would go to a pub, and drink until he was sick. Then he’d come back home, and start yelling, and slamming things around. At times, he picked up glass vases, and threw them so that the vases shattered. A few times he had hit his kids while he was drunk. If you cried, he would hit harder. Fern learned to not cry, even when it hurt. The day Kaytlyn left Herald was an ugly one. Kaytlyn had started to yell, and Herald had started to slam things about.
“I’m tired of it Herald!” she had yelled.
“Tired of what?” he asked.
“I’m tired of your drunken ass in my house!”
“Excuse me?” he started to bellow.
“You heard me! I’m tired of you. I don’t want anything to do with you!”
“And why not?”
“You can’t keep a job at the Ministry! All you do is drink. You haven’t even paid a knut for Fern’s new books for her first year! What kind of father is that?” Kaytlyn reasoned.
“It’s a pretty damn smart one! Let Fern pay her own books. She can get a job…”
“She can’t until she’s seventeen Herald.” she replied. Herald had gotten another Firewhiskey. Kaytlyn grabbed the bottle and threw it outside.
“What the fuck was that for?”
“I’m tired of your drinking! It’s ruining our life! Our kids life!”
“Whatever. Get me another bottle.” he demanded.
“NO! It’s either the bottle or the kids Herald! It can’t be both!”
Herald stood up, and whipped out his wand. Before Kaytlyn could grab hers, he hexed her. She flew into the kitchen countertop. Both parents didn’t know that Fern was sitting at the top of the stair, listening to it. When she had heard the “Bang”, she rushed down the stairs. Herald was gone. He had gone to the study. Fern got her mum’s wand, and rushed to her. Kaytlyn said, “Episkey,” and whatever was broken was fixed immediately. She then sent a letter she had been hiding for weeks to the Ministry by her owl. Then, after telling Fern to stay in the kitchen, Kaytlyn headed for the study. She knew her husband would be there. Fern had listened to more bangs and shouts, and then, all of a sudden, a half dozen adult wizards popped into her kitchen.
“Hey kid. Where’s Kaytlyn Gerdal?” one grizzly man asked. Fern pointed to the study. They went into the study. The next thing Fern knew, was that her father was being led away, and her mother was telling a man about Herald.
“He’s abused our kids, and he’s been a sick drunk. Don’t know if that’s a real serious charge though…” Kaytlyn pondered.
“Watch out! He’s gotten loose!” another man yelled from outside. Herald appeared in the doorway, and was about to curse Kaytlyn, and the man she had been talking to said:
“Avada Kedavra.” Herald fell on his back, spread-eagled. “Sorry ma’am. Had to. He was about to kill you. Good day.” the Auror (as they called themselves) said to a shocked Kaytlyn.
“Fern. Go upstairs for a few minutes. I need to clean up.” she said in a monotone. Fern rushed upstairs. She stopped halfway to hear her mother crying in the kitchen. Fern never liked her father, but she knew that he was gone, out of her life, and she knew that she loved him, no matter how much she hated him.
END FLASHBACK
Ever since then, Fern has never cried. Except on a few occasions, where she feels alone, and about to explode with emotions. But even then, she cries for half a minute than stops. She hasn’t had shed tears for about seven years.
“Excuse me.” a voice said.
Fern started.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you. I was just wondering if anyone was sitting there?”
“Oh, No. Go ahead. The couch is there to sit on.” Fern said.
The boy smiled. “I don’t think we’ve ever met. I’m Adrian Pucey.”
“Fern. Fern Gerdal.”
“Are you a seventh year Fern?”
“Yeah.”
“I was supposed to graduate last year. But I failed my NEWTs, and they wouldn’t let me leave until I had at least two NEWTs.” Adrian runs his hand through his dark brown hair. His brown eyes gleam.
“Oh.” Fern smiled. “I got to go Adrian. I have a class to get to. Later!” She says as she walks out of the Slytherin common room. Adrian follows, and goes to the same class. | 
