3rd Chapter
Aly's Thoughts….
It's hard… for me to watch the world through Lisha's eyes. She's so innocent, still, despite… well in spite of me. I wish it were different, that she didn't know what I know, hadn't seen what I've seen. I wish I had died, truly, completely…. But… what about Draco. It's a horribly terrifying thought that the Draco I knew… the Draco I loved doesn't exist and never will. And it's my fault. I stopped Voldemort from killing Harry. I changed the past, and Draco grew up in a world without war. I should be happy about that, shouldn't I? Am I truly that selfish? That I wish decades of war on this world just so I can have my Draco back? Maybe… Maybe I am. I used to think that I'd see him again after I die… but now even that hope is gone, torn from my figurative fingers. And that is what I imagine hell to be like. There is nowhere left for me to go… If I die now if I somehow figure out how to leave Lisha's body, where would I go? I'm not supposed to exist! So there's nothing left for me… or almost nothing. I can do whatever is in my power to make sure that that remains true, that I never exist, that I never have to. I can make sure that Voldemort never takes over, never wins. That's my purpose now, and then? Well… I'd rather not think about it.
Finally it's Wednesday and time for me to meet up with Harry, Neville and the others. I am horribly excited!
"It's time to go, Mum!" I yell, already standing by the fireplace.
"I'm coming… Goodness, I swear you used to have more patience… I'm old you know?"
"You're not that old! Just a little."
"What was that?" She playfully cuffs my head and I grin up at her.
"Let's go!"
We stumble out of the fireplace in Diagon Alley and are immediately surrounded by a bunch of red heads. My mother, who is much better at travelling by Floo and isn't dizzy like I am, goes up to Mr. Weasley, holding out her hand.
"Arthur! So good to see you."
"Sara! Lovely, lovely, this is my wife, Molly. "
"How do you do."
I ignore the adults introducing themselves and look around. I see the twins, Percy, Ron and a little red-headed girl that must be Ginny.
"Hey Ron!" I call over at my friend and he gives me a wide grin.
"Hey Lisha! How ya been?"
"Pretty good" I shrug. "Where's Harry?"
It's Ron's turn to shrug. "Don't know… He was supposed to already be here, but… well he's never travelled with the Floo before, can you believe it?"
I actually can, having been raised by muggles and all, but decide to play along.
"No way? Where could he have gone?"
"Mum reckons he just went one stop too far… We're about to go look for him, she's awfully worried."
You're kidding me, right? Aly suddenly pipes up and I jump, making Ron frown at me. That boy attracts trouble!
He just got lost in the Floo…
And probably straight into Voldemort's lair….
"You alright?" Ron asks me concerned, and I wonder what kind of a face I just made.
"Yeah… Just... um… worried, bout Harry."
"He's fine, I'm sure. Mum will find him in no time. She's like a bloodhound, that one."
"Ronald Weasley! I heard that."
Ron blushes profusely and I chuckle until Mrs. Weasley's gaze turns on me. She is a short, plump, kindly-looking woman and I immediately like her.
"And you must be Alicia, it's so lovely to meet you" her smile is warm and kind and I feel myself blush.
"It's lovely to meet you too, Mrs. Weasley."
She gives me another smile and then a worried look returns to her face as she turns towards her husband.
"We really should go looking for Harry…. "
And so we head off into the crowd. I'd be afraid of losing everybody, but the cluster of red heads is sort of hard to miss and so I just follow them along. My mother has already left for Gringotts and some business, as she called it. Suddenly the boys in front of me start sprinting and I nearly lose them. But then I see Hagrid towering over the crowd and I just head for him which turns out to be a good thing because there is Harry.
"Harry," Mr. Weasley pants. "We hoped you'd only gone one grate too far… "He mops his glistening bald patch.
"Where did you come out?" Ron asks.
"Knockturn Alley," Harry says grimly.
"Excellent!" the twins say together and I chuckle, drawing Harry's attention to me for the first time.
"Oh! Hi Lisha!" he says with a smile and I give him a short hug that seems to startle him.
"Hi Harry. Glad we found you."
Then I turn to Hermione, whom I've just noticed, and give her a quick hug too.
"Oh, Harry – oh, my dear – you could have been anywhere – "Mrs. Weasley pants as she comes galloping into view, her handbag swinging wildly in one hand, Ginny just clinging to the other. Gasping for breath she pulls out a large clothes brush out of her handbag and starts sweeping off the soot that's covering Harry.
Hagrid leaves and once Mrs. Weasley's attention is no longer on him Harry turns towards us.
"Guess who I saw in Borgin and Burkes?" Harry asks us as we climb the Gringotts steps. "Malfoy and his father."
I'm assuming that Borgin and Burkes is a shop in Knockturn Alley… And here they come, the conspiracy theories about Draco and his father.
"Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?" Mr. Weasley's sharp voice comes from behind us and I nearly jump out of my skin.
"No, he was selling –"
"So he's worried," Mr. Weasley says with grim satisfaction. "Oh, I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something…"
As would I… preferably I'd like to get him with a pretty green curse… but a knife would do.
The sudden rage coursing through me at Mr. Malfoy's name nearly makes me stop in my tracks.
Don't do that! I think angrily. It's hard to seem sane when you suddenly make me want to kill people.
Sorry, Aly mumbles but it doesn't feel like she's sorry at all.
"These are my parents" Hermione announces as we come up to the counter. Mr and Mrs. Granger look nervous and uncomfortable and I remember that they're muggles. Which Mr. Weasley loudly points out.
"But you're Muggles!" He says delightedly. "We must have a drink! What's that you've got there? Oh, you're changing Muggle money. Molly, look!" He's pointing excitedly at the notes in Mr. Granger's hand. Ten pound notes, I realize and wonder why I know that.
Because of me, I presume. We had to hide among muggles in the beginning… before … well you know.
And I do know. Before they were enslaved, before there was no muggle currency, before people started tearing each other apart.
Yeah… before all that.
We head down to the vaults to collect some money, well the others do as I already have a nice and full purse on me that my mother entrusted to me reluctantly. "Don't spend it on candy." She trusts me so little.
Back outside on the marble steps, we all separate. Fred and George have spotted Lee Jordan and taken off, while Percy mutters something about needing a new quill. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny are going to a second-hand robe shop. Mr. Weasley is insisting on taking the Grangers off to the Leaky Cauldron for a drink, and that leaves the four of us.
"We'll all meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour to buy your schoolbooks," Mrs. Weasley says, setting off with Ginny. I watch the little girl go with a curious glance. She hasn't said a word, the entire time I've been here, but as soon as her mother and she are a bit further away I can see her babbling excitedly.
What was Ginny like, in your time?
She wasn't like anything. The Weasley's didn't have another child after Ron.
What about Ron then? You have memories of Fred, George and Charlie… but the others?
Dead. Never knew them.
Oh.
Harry, Ron, Hermione and I stroll off along the winding, cobbled street and head towards Fortescue's where we've arranged to meet Neville and there he is, waving at us shyly. His grandmother isn't there, luckily.
"Hey Neville!" I say and run ahead towards him to give him a hug.
"Hi, Li…isha." He stutters and I don't need to look at him to know he's blushing. One of these days he's going to get used to it. I hope.
"Hi Nev!" Ron says as the others reach us. "Don't mind Lish, she seems to be a bit huggy today."
I stick my tongue out at him and he just grins back at me.
"It's ok." Neville mutters.
"Who feels like Ice crème?" Harry suddenly asks and is met by four enthusiastic I's. He buys an ice crème for each of us, strawberry-and-peanut-butter, which we slurp happily as we wander up the alley, examining the fascinating shop windows. Ron gazes longingly at a full set of Chudley Canon robes in the windows of Quality Quidditch Supplies until Hermione drags us off to buy ink and parchment next door. Neville makes us stop by the Herbology store.
"Gran says I can pick out something for my winter garden!" he exclaims excitedly and we try our best to share his enthusiasm as he stares at the different plants.
In Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop, we met Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, who are stocking up on Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks. In a tiny junk shop full of broken wands, lopsided brass scales, and old cloaks covered in potion stains we find Percy, deeply immersed in a small and deeply boring book called Prefects Who Gained Power.
The boy has issues…Aly states dryly and I can't help but agree.
An hour later, we are headed for Flourish and Blotts. We are by no means the only ones making our way to the bookshop. As we approach it, we see to our great surprise a large crowd jostling outside the doors, trying to get in. The reason for this is proclaimed by a large banner about Gilderoy Lockhart stretched across the upper windows.
I know he's famous and all… but I've never heard of him. Then again…If he's just climbed to fame in the last twelve years than that would explain that.
Mum, doesn't like him. Don't know why… but she was not happy that he's our new DA teacher.
"We can actually meet him!" Hermione squeals next to me. "I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!"
I roll my eyes and Neville grins at me.
"Not a fan?" he asks me and I shake my head.
"No… I mean he sounds impressive, sure, but… well so did Harry before I met him."
Harry looks up at that and lets out a mock outcry.
"Hey!"
I just grin back at him the look at the crowd which seems to be made up mostly of witches around Mrs. Weasley's age. A harassed-looking wizard is standing at the door, saying, "Calmly, please, ladies… Don't push, there… mind the books, now…"
The five of us squeeze inside, and I grab on to Neville's sleeve as to not get lost in the crowd. He raises his eyebrow at me, but says nothing. A long line is winding right to the back of the shop, where Gilderoy Lockhart is signing his books. We each grab a copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 and sneak up the line to where the rest of the Weasleys are standing with Hermione's parents.
"Oh, there you are, nice to see you Neville", Mrs. Weasley says. She sounds breathless and keeps patting her hair. "We'll be able to see him in a minute…."
Oh goodness… That's just embarrassing. That woman's older than I am…
And how old exactly are you?
I don't want to talk about it… too old, my dear, too old entirely to be in a twelve-year-old body.
I chuckle and Neville glances at me, giving me another smile. He's probably assuming that I'm chuckling at Mrs. Weasley who, luckily, is too nervous to notice.
Slowly Gilderoy Lockhart comes into view, seated at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing dazzlingly white teeth at the crowd. I make a gagging sound and Hermione swats my arm. The real Lockhart is wearing robes of forget-me-not-blue that exactly match his eyes; his pointed wizard's hat is set at a jaunty angle on his wavy hair.
A short, irritable-looking man is dancing around taking photographs with a large black camera that emits puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash.
"Out of the way, there," he snarls at Ron to my right, moving back to get a better shot. "This is for the Daily Prophet – "
"Big deal," Ron says, rubbing the foot where the photographer has stepped on it. I chuckle and Ron gives me a glare.
"That's not funny."
"It's a little funny" I whisper back and he pouts.
Gilderoy Lockhart seems to have heard us. He looks up, sees Ron and I – and then he sees Harry. He stares, then he leaps to his feet and positively shouts. "It can't be Harry Potter?"
The crowd parts, whispering excitedly; Lockhart dives forward, seizing Harry's arm, and pulls him to the front. The crowd bursts into applause and Harry looks utterly uncomfortable as Lockhart shakes his hand for the photographer, who is clicking away madly.
Oh that poor boy! Now I really don't like that Lockhart guy! Look at Harry squirm
I have to agree with Aly. Lockhart is utterly oblivious to the fact that Harry looks like he'd rather be anywhere else. He finally lets go of Harry's hand and Harry tries to sidle back over to us, but Lockhart throws an arm around his shoulders and clamps him tightly to his side.
What a creep!
"Ladies and gentlemen," Lockhart says loudly, waving for quiet. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!
"When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to by my autobiography –which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge –"The crowd applauds again as Neville and I both make gagging noises. "He had no idea," Lockhart continues, giving Harry a little shake that make his glasses slip to the end of his nose, "that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
The crowd cheers and claps as I look over at Neville in disbelief.
"He's going to be our teacher?" I hiss and Neville shrugs, his face not looking any happier than I'm feeling.
"Well… he must be pretty powerful, I mean… he did do all those great things he writes about…"
If he actually did them, Aly supplies.
Harry makes his way out of the limelight to the edge of the room, staggering slightly under the weight of the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart. Neville, Ron and I make our way over to him, trying very hard to avoid the hysterical witches around us.
"You have these," Harry says as he tips his books into Ginny's cauldron. "I'll buy my own – "
"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" says a very familiar voice and I feel a nervous flutter. Draco is standing in front of Harry, wearing his "Potter sneer" as I have dubbed the expression.
"Famous Harry Potter," he says. "Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page.*
"Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" Ginny says to everyone's surprise. From the look on Harry's face it may well have been the first time she's actually said anything in front of him. Draco looks like he's about to drawl something back and I decide to step in. I walk up to the three of them, a pleasant smile on my face.
"Hi Draco", I say and he spins around, the sneer sliding right off his face.
"Oh… Hi Lisha." If I didn't know better I'd think he looked embarrassed. I ignore my friends who are looking at me as if I've grown another head.
"How's your summer been?"
"Uhm, fine, not much else besides France…. "He is now most definitely feeling uncomfortable.
"What are you talking to Malfoy for?" Ron suddenly snaps next to me, glaring at the blonde boy and just like that, the sneer is back.
"I'm surprised to see you in a shop, Weasley, "Draco sneers before I can respond. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those books."
Ron turns beet red and drops his books, starting towards Draco, but I grab his arm, surprised to see Harry grabbing the other one.
"Ron!" Mr. Weasley shouts, struggling over with Fred and George. "What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."
I think that might be a good idea. Stupid Ron! Stupid Draco! Boys were just stupid!
And that never changes, an amused Aly supplies.
"Well, well, well – Arthur Weasley."
My blood runs suddenly cold at the voice and I turn around. It's Mr. Malfoy. He is standing with his hand on Draco's shoulder, sneering in just the same way.
Lucius! Aly's snarl is vicious, and I clench my fists, trying to control he sudden burst of hate that's coursing through me.
Stop it!
He killed Draco!
Not this time! I think fiercely and some of the anger subsides, but it does not go away completely. Neville notices me tense up and squeezes my hand quickly and then let's go, blushing slightly.
"Lucius," Mr. Weasley says, nodding coldly.
"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," Lucius says. "All those raids … I hope they're paying you overtime?"
He reaches into Ginny's cauldron and extracts, from amid the glossy Lockhart books, a very old, very battered copy of A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration.
"Obviously not," he says. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"
I clench my fists, my own anger now mingling with Aly's, and Mr. Weasley flushes darker than Ron.
"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," he says.
"Clearly," Lucius says, his pale eyes straying to Hermione's parents who are watching apprehensively. "The company you keep, Weasley… and I thought your family could sink no lower –"
There is a thud of metal as Ginny's cauldron goes flying; Mr. Weasley has thrown himself at Lucius, knocking him backward into a bookshelf. Dozens of heavy spellbooks come thundering down onto our heads; there is a yell of, "Get him, Dad!" from either Fred or George; Mrs. Weasley is shrieking, "No, Arthur, no!"; the crowd stampedes backward, knocking more shelves over; "Gentlemen, please – please!" the assistant cries, and then, louder than all –
"Break it up, there, gents, break it up – "
Hagrid is wading towards us through the sea of books. In an instant he has pulled Mr. Weasley and Lucius apart. Mr. Weasley has a cut lip and Lucius, I notice with some satisfaction, has been hit in the eye by an Encyclopaedia of Toadstools. He is still holding Ginny's old Transfiguration book. He thrusts it at her, his eyes glittering with malice.
"Here, girl – take your book – it's the best your father can give you –"Pulling himself out of Hagrid's grip he beckons to Draco, sweeping from the shop. Draco follows, avoiding my eye, out of embarrassment, or something else… I don't know.
"Hey Ginny, you alright?" Neville asks, helping her collect her books and the little redhead nods, looking more than just a little shaken up. I kneel down as well and help her collect her books.
"Is this yours?" I ask, holding up a small, rather shabby looking, black book. She looks at it and shakes her head. I shrug.
"Maybe it's the stores. Hard to tell with the mess."
I put it onto one of the shelves and the three of us get up, having collected all of Ginny's books.
"Thanks" she mumbles, giving me a small smile and I smile back at her.
"You're welcome. Are you excited about starting Hogwarts?"
She nods, and opens her mouth to say more but then we are ushered out the door by Hagrid, before she can. We hurry up the street, the Grangers seem to be shaking with fright and I can't blame them. Mrs. Weasley is beside herself with fury.
"A fine example to set for your children… brawling in public… what Gilderoy Lockhart must have thought – "
"He was pleased," Fred says. "Didn't you hear him as we were leaving? He was asking that bloke from the Daily Prophet if he'd be able to work the fight into his report – said it was all publicity – "
We are all quite subdued as we head back to the fireside in the Leakey Cauldron, where Harry and the Weasley's will be heading back to the Burrow using Floo powder. I sigh… This is not exactly how I hope the day would go. Once the Weasley's and Granger's are gone it's just Neville and I. I look over at him.
"Well… that was… interesting."
He gives a little laugh.
"Yeah, I guess so…. I didn't really expect Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Weasley to get into a fight. It was a bit frightening, don't you think?"
"Yeah, a bit. But… Mr. Malfoy was really being awful!"
"Yeah! Now I see where his son gets it."
Neville says the words casually, almost jokingly but I still look at him sternly.
"Draco's not like that! He's actually quite nice."
Neville frowns at me.
"Is that what you call his behaviour today?"
"No…" I admit reluctantly, "but Ron and Harry are never particularly nice to him either, you know."
"If you say so. I gotta go, my Gran will be worried."
We hug each other and step through the fire, but I feel as if the issue isn't yet resolved.
You're probably right, little one.
Don't call me that.