The truth of the matter is that Gryffindors are scum. They've always been and will always be scum.
Some might say that my sentiment is biased as its roots lie with Salazar himself. But what's a Slytherin to do when one murky Gryffindor makes it his personal vendetta to belittle me every chance he gets just because he can't beat me in class? And seriously, when is Hogwarts ever going to learn that having Slytherins and Gryiffindors together in subjects such as Defense against the Dark Arts or Potions or Care of Magical Creatures is never a good idea?
And how is it fair that practically half the school is related to that dipshit?
"Let it go Lea. It wasn't that embarrassing" my genius of a best friend gives his usual nonchalant effort just to seem like he's doing the best-friend's job, which I might add, he's getting lousy at.
"Shut it Skyler. You'd be singing a different tune if it happened to you"
He props himself on his elbow, letting the leaves that have fallen on his torso lazily fall off to the ground. The evening breeze makes the lake sound as if it's humming a deep tune, which is quite creepy to be honest. It's not an impossibility that Hagrid would give the lake to another strange beast within a night. Let's not forget the Dragon incident he talks so much about.
"First of all" Skyler starts calmly and I groan dramatically. It's never a good sign when he starts a sentence this way. "I would never have the wit to be as sarcastic as you and that would lead me to lesser embarrassing situations than it does you"
He flops back down, a satisfied grin spreading across his face, but doesn't stop berating me. "The way you analytically proved that each defensive spell he used on you would have been totally useless if he was facing an actual dark wizard was kind of an ego shrapnel, given fact that he's a Potter. Besides, he's got mad skills that actually can't be beaten by the rest of us. You just happen to be better. The worst is that you don't know you're better and end up going all out in .class."
I shift my legs from a crossed position to lie below my butt just to give myself more height "I do not-"
"Yes you do Lea. Just beating him would have been enough, but you had to analyze his defeat, all because Freddy said that your obsession to belittle him is starting to look like you're trying really hard to cover up your infatuation." He cuts me off as I begin to protest "and you know what, I'm beginning to believe him".
It could have been the effect of the receding sun but he looks disgusted as he says it.
Both of us settle into a comfortable silence. He spaces out over the slow motion of the water, his head resting under his arm and one leg bent at the knee, the other resting comfortably against my knees. I sit in my uncomfortable position for a long time, going over the incidents of the recent past to see if I've given any sort of indication that I'm infatuated with Potter, accidentally. There's no way anyone could draw up that conclusion, given our history. Not once in these four years have we ever spoken a word without arguing and most of our conversations end up in a physical or magical fight anyway.
Making a mental note to avoid the Ginger clan all together, I lie down beside Skyler and muse over the beginning of the universe.
"Settle down, class" Professor Slughorn says excitedly, his hands rubbing against each other and his eyes the size of saucepans. "I've looked over your essays and graded them. However, I've written remarks on how well or badly you did your Euphoria Elixir last week on your essay parchments and would like to discuss them personally throughout the week. Now!" He claps his hands together and moves behind the table he has set up at the head of the class. "Can anyone identify the potion in this cauldron?"
The students crane their necks to get a better view of the cauldron resting on top of the table. It has a royal purple hue and smells of garlic and dung in a weird mixture.
"That's wit-sharpening, no doubt about that" Quips Fred excitedly. The rest of the class picks up the excitement. It's amazing how any Potion that Professor Slughorn brings to the class has the same effect on the students every time. Fred is extremely good at Potions as his father is recreational in this area.
"Precisely" Professor Slughorn beams at Fred, "Fifteen points to Gryffindor" I keep my mouth shut with the greatest difficulty but the rest of the Sytherins protest. Fifteen for identifying a potion? That's insane!
"Now, now. That was a tough one. People tend to mistake Wit-sharpening potion for Volubilis potion because of the distinct dung aroma. Well done Freddy, my boy" he beams at Fred again before giving us his attention.
"What are you waiting for, children? The ingredients are in the cupboard and the instructions are in your books. Get into your usual pairs and get on with it. Put your hand up when you're done and if your potion is brewed correctly, I'll let you have it". The class gasps in unison "Don't worry. It'll wear off within the day."
Skyler looks at me in bewilderment as the rest of the class shuffles about to and from the ingredients cupboard. Usually I'd be up and about before any of them. But I did make a resolution to be less "me" so I softly ask Skyler, "Can you do it for me today? Please? I'll prep the cauldron"
He purse his lips as if he's contemplating saying something but decides against it. With a curt nod he sets off and I begin prepping the table.
Half an hour goes by in moderate silence apart from random hissing noises emanating from different cauldrons throughout the class. Skyler is prepping the Armadillo Bile and Ginger Roots to be added on the second round while I stir the potion when Fred's and Potter's hands shoot the air.
"Already? That's some talent, my boy" Slughorn chuckles while walking to their table. He mumbles while inspecting the potion, "Yellow in color, just like Lily used to make" He beams at the two boys and bends closer to take a whiff off the aroma. "Smells about right too! All right, you can have a sip."
The two boys high-five each other before gulping down mouthfuls and I shrink in my seat trying not to be seen, knowing what is about to happen.
"Now that you're settled, why don't you two come to my desk to discuss last week's potion and your essay grades?" Professor Slughorn says to Fred and Potter and I feel myself releasing a breath I didn't know I was holding.
We finish our potion as the bell rings and Professor Slughorn asks us to leave any finished potions without clearing up for him to inspect. "I expect a 2-feet essay on my table by Friday evening on the merits and demerits of Wit-Sharpening Potion. Class dismissed".
Disregarding the rest of the class's protests, Skyler and I pack our bags quickly to get out of the class before Potter has a chance to catch up. We almost make it to the door when Potter screams, "Leanna are you actually running away from me?"
And I bite it.
"Of course not. We have places to be at".
"I'm sure you do. Give me the chance to gloat over this will you? I actually beat you this time. We beat you by at least half an hour".
"Thanks to Fred's dad's mad skills you don't seem much of a letdown of Slughorn's memory of your Parentage. It would have been hard to be regarded as Lily Evans's dimwit grandson".
He doesn't turn red and storm away like he usually does. Neither does he scream out indiscernible insults or try to hex me. He walks up-to me, his ever growing 5'8'' towering over my 4'10'' and smiles.
And I shiver inside.
"This potion really does work, you know? Because I finally see what your problem is, Leanna Selwyn. You put on a big show because you don't really have anything of worth to be seen. You're neither knowledgeable nor elegant like the rest of the Purebloods and you don't have an ounce of sports or creativity in you. You walk around all day belittling everyone because you're downright bitter and end up at the top of the class because you have a good memory. That's all you have. Memory. It'll work on you as long as you're in school but what good is memory alone when you can't do anything original with it? The highest you'll ever reach is the Minister's Office and that too will be to read and remember the Minister's fucking mail".
With that he leaves me and the audience in a state of shock. The silence remains for another minute until Skyler drags me away and the crowd breaks into high shrieks.
What little he said he did so calmly, and it broke what it had to break perfectly.
Skyler wouldn't leave my side all day. He doesn't say a word but walks and sulks next to me like an extended part of me. We hid in the Astronomy Tower until darkness took over and then crept towards the lake where we now lay cuddled up against each other under a hedge. He's drawing circles on my back and fixing my hair randomly - non-verbally telling me that he's there for me. Unable to bear my silence anymore, he starts, reluctantly, "That's not why they left, Lea. You have to know that".
"Yes I know they didn't leave. They abandoned me. They abandoned me twice". My voice breaks at that and the tears I've been holding all day start to pour down effortlessly.
I have a very vague memory of my childhood. My biological parents left me at the church yard - wrapped in a blanket and nothing else but a necklace around my neck with a "Selwyn" pendant - on Christmas Eve, where the priest found me and gave me over to an Orphanage run by Nuns. I was only a week old then. The shock of that night changed me. I didn't cry or laugh until I was adopted two years later by a rich couple who were unable to have children. They have been looking to adopt a child who suited their quiet and busy lifestyle. They were Muggles.
Once I was given a home, the Pureblood magic in me started to erupt in ways that scared the rich couple - enough to ditch me on the Orphanage's doorstep and leave the country overnight. They only had me for a little over a week.
I was the odd one even in the Orphanage so I spent most of the time hiding in the Church yard, making up excuses for my biological parents who just left me there on a cold winter night. I would justify it, every which way possible because what I saw in other parents - who would bring their kids to the church yard to play with them - didn't add up to my parents' treatment of me. The only other possibility was that there is something fundamentally wrong with me, which a four-year old me wouldn't have been able to cope with. I was the only Magical child in the Orphanage so Mother Superior, who knew about magic, preferred my isolation.
That's how I met Skyler. In a sense, my life started when I met him. He would walk down the street with his mother to visit another Magical family every evening (He would be allowed to practice magic with the Governess who also looked after the younger kids while the mothers had a tete-a-tete). For a week he and his mother – a really nice woman – would wave at me as they pass by. Then Mrs. Longbottom started to send over pie every evening with Skyler. He would bring napkins for both of us so we sit there in the yard and eat pie, talking about how mean the Priest is to "kids like him" (Kids who don't come to church). It wasn't until an accidental burst of Magic on my part (The pie melted in hands when a bunch of boys started throwing stones at us screaming "Freak's got herself a boyfriend" and Skyler screamed at the boys saying "Run! Run! She's a Witch" and then we stayed there laughing until Mrs. Longbottom came to find us. Until then I thought he hadn't seen my little outburst but when Mrs. L showed up Skyler said, "Momma you won't believe it! She's a W!").
Mrs. L's countenance changed and I feared that she might take Skyler away from me. But she knelt down beside us and asked Skyler, "Did you tell her, Sky?" to which he shook his furiously, proud of being able to keep a secret. Mrs. L then dropped me off at the Orphanage and told me that she'll be back for me next morning.
Since then I've lived with the Longbottoms. Mr. Neville Longbottom works at the Ministry with Potter's Dad – He heads the Auror's Hitwizard squad. Mrs. Hannah Longbottom is a Healer at St. Mungo's. She specializes in everything related to the Mind, including recreational drug abuse. Skyler is an only-child. He looks exactly like Uncle Neville – with Aunt Hanna's color palette – Blonde hair, pale skin and blue eyes.
He's a Hufflepuff through and through but chose to be a Slytherin because he knew that's where I'd be sorted into. Skyler is the best thing that has ever happened to me.
I snuggle closer to him and feel my sobs recede. He pulls me in willingly and kisses the top of my head gently. Softly, so as to not startle me, he brushes my hair away from my face and says, "They had to go so I could find you".
I let him pull me in closer and we stay like that, skin glued to skin, until a Weasley Prefect (This one's called Victoire I think) finds us and gives us detention.
A/N:
Hi folks,
I'm returning to writing after YEARS! Hope I haven't got worse because I wasn't that good all those years ago to begin with. A couple of things;
As you can see, this doesn't go inline with Canon.
Our main character is a bit of a b***
Skyler is an Angel.
Potter / Weasley boys are just Potter / Weasley boys.
As per this chapter, James, Fred, Skyler and Leanna are in their fourth grade.
Neville is married to Hannah but their jobs are different.
We'll get to know more of Lea's parentage in the future.
This story will get more sensitive as it goes on. If I end up portraying a certain group of people incorrectly, please do correct me. If I'm wrong it's because I don't know and I would love to be corrected