Chapter Six The Black Knights and the Evil Essay
September 13th
Pulling her bag farther up on her shoulder, she walked slowly across the stone bridge that crossed the small creek running a few feet below, and watched as sunbeams filtered bleakly through the heavy gray clouds to illuminate horizontal sections of the stone and warm her chilly skin.
As sunlight broke through here and there, certain areas were illuminated, a mountain face here, a crowd of trees the next, it sparkled appealingly across the lake and as she walked from the stone bridge to the grass, wet beneath her feet, she lifted her face and starred contemplatively up at the cloudy gray sky.
Drawing in a deep breath of rain saturated air, she began to faintly hear the chatter of her peers around the next corner. Stepping out from behind the castle walls she spotted a group of students crowded down around a small pen close to the lake. She stopped and starred, before taking a deep breath and continuing on down the hill till she stood on the edges of the crowd.
Students stood in groups chattering here and there, some were laughing while others shoved each other playfully and a couple in the back held each other in a hug and watched the crowd with dreamy eyes.
Of coarse Luci spotted no one she knew, she didn't even bother to look, she'd looked before. She'd had a few friends before she'd left but the Marauders had taken up a lot of her time and so she'd had no real need for other friends. Her bag was growing heavy on her shoulder and she hefted it higher, starring around curiously, she spotted no professor and walked slowly toward a few benches placed close to the back of the crowd.
The bench farthest to the back was closest to the lake. While the possibility of being tipped into the lake and walking around with wet clothes all day didn't sound appealing, the need to get her bag off her shoulder and to sit was greater, and she wasn't about to sit in front, that was suicide.
Walking between the benches she dropped her bag on the bench and sat down, wrapping her fingers around the wood beneath her, she leaned back and looked randomly up at the sky. The clouds swirled like dirty cotton candy across it, thunder boomed in the distance and she tipped her head back so far she could see the expanse of the lake upside down.
There was a thump beside her and she sat up quickly. Her head was bent over her lap, so the identity of the person beside was unknown but she could tell he was a boy because his pants were brushing the grass, and beneath was her favorite brand of sneaker.
She questioned this since her cousin in America had sent her, her pair. Where had this boy gotten a pair, usually the boys wore trainers, actually didn't everyone wear trainers, well, except Sirius, he wore Doc Martins. She peered up through her hair and saw only that the boy wearing, instead of the normal sweater and tie, but….wait….. She looked up abruptly, that was the new concert t-shirt for Black Knights!! Luci shot around in her seat,
"Where did you get that t-shirt!!" she hissed. There was no response, Luci stared covetously at the t-shirt.
"The concert doesn't even get to England until like..three months from now", she muttered to herself,
"Not in America", Luci's head shot up and she startled back nearly tipping off the bench before the boy grabbed her arm and steadied her. The warmth of his palm seeped through the sleeve of her cloak and tingles shot up her arm. Russet brown hair flopped casually over ocean green eyes. He starred at her quizzically before placing his hands on the bench beneath him again.
Luci placed her trembling hands between her thighs and starred intently at her shoes for a moment schooling her breath to evenly go in and out of her body instead of escaping in shallow ragged breaths which gained her no oxygen.
Marcs face raced across her mind and she closed her eyes, he'd be 16. He would have been 16 with her this year, he would have been gorgeous and talented and smart. He would have drawn the looks of every girl on campus and he would have been loved.
She shook her head quickly and took deep breaths. Then avoided looking at this odd replica of Marcello and instead focused on the small green creature which slithered along the ground within the cage.
Every once in awhile these odd creatures would come to close together and like magnets be drawn together absorbing into one creature. Until there was only one large one sitting drowsily in the middle of the pen. She heard faintly the professors voice begin to drone on, a light buzz in her ear.
The Professors wand lit with a bright orange glow and the creatures swiftly reversed the process and were once again numerous small single creatures, and the pattern began again. Her thoughts drifted across this odd concept, as everyone around her shuffled in their bags for parchemt and quill. The odd concept of melding together until you were almost one person, one moving mass of united individuals, all contributing deficiencies together until you made a whole person.
That mass was the stronghold, the protective barrier, the fortress you were allowed to hide within, how could it be then that in an instant all that effort, all that time, all that strength could be undone by one flash of blinding orange light, and you were but a single unit again, alone and empty, one part of a whole, left to wander with pieces of yourself missing, scattered all over the world. She knew as she starre down at the odd creatures that she was completely missingt he lesson. That she was missing all the notes. That it might be vital to her education to participate. And while all these things had mattered before…kinda. They mattered less than nothing to her now, why was she even here. It wasn't like it mattered, who would hire a half breed Malfoy who had a history of instability. No one.
So, as the bell rang faintly in the distance and Luci looked up startled to realize the class had rushed by in the blink of an eye and everyone was walking away, she starred blankly out across the clipped grass and to the borderline of the forbidden forest.
The boy beside her had turned in his seat halfway through the lesson and was now starring off behind them at the lake. She stood quietly so as not to draw his attention and went to draw her bag onto her shoulder when the boy looked up suddenly and his eyes caught hers.
She froze for a moment, waiting. A smile, a word, a frown even, and she would have sat back down but he just starred up at her blankly before standing up himself and walking past her to amble slowly up the hill to the castle, alone.
She wondered who'd initiated his bright flash of orange light, who'd split him from his single creature, his family group. She couldn't remember how long it'd been since she was a part of a single creature, a single united mass, who'd caused her flash of orange light?
Luci's head dropped down onto her desk, last period of the day and she was straining against the restraints placed around her neck. As the Professor droned on, his voice lulling her silently into oblivion she smiled at the irony of it all. Come nightfall she wouldn't be able to stay still but this irritating mans voice was practically sending her into a coma.
Maybe he'd be willing to come and lecture her tonight around 10 o'clock. She grimaced, no that sounded too disturbing for words. As his speaking lulled into a quiet drone Luci looked down at her watch, 15 minutes until class was over. She lifted her head a fraction of an inch off the desk and spotted him writing instructions on the board. She squinted for awhile before pulling her glasses off her head and onto her nose,
A Brief History of the 1820's Black Magic Epidemic
3 ft long
Cover the following spectra's…
Luci's head flopped to her desk, yet another essay. What was wrong with these people and they're damn essays, did they trust so poorly in their teaching abilities that they felt the need for their students to regurgitate the information in a 1000 foot essay. She closed her eyes against the migraine pounding at the back of her head.
As the room began to buzz with chatter a screech of wood against stone sounded beside her and she peeked out from beneath her bangs to see Don's smiling face peering down at her. She blew the bangs away from her face only to have them topple back into her eyes, after a couple of hopeless puffs he reached out long elegant fingers to brush them slowly away and behind her ear.
She glowered at him, squinting her eyes comically so, apparently because the infuriating boy smirked at her.
"Something you need Don, are you here to alleviate my pain and bash my head in",
"I assume your referring to the essay we have due next Monday on the lesson that you are going to forget by tomorrow morning probably because while Professor Binns gave his lesson you were more than likely determining a way to kill either him or yourself",
"The latter",
"As I assumed", Luci turned to bury her face in her arms again,
"Why are you even still talking to me?" She muttered through her arms,
"Excuse me?", she lifted her head a fraction of an inch,
"Why are you still talking to me, I'm a Grfindor you're arch rival, you're supposed to hate me!",
"yes well most of the Gryfindors happen to hate you too, so I figure I'm safe. Plus the Slytherins are so caught up in there own plans of deceit they're not to worried about the fourth son of a minorly wealthy sea merchant, I think I'll live",
"And other than that?",
"What are you vying for compliments", Luci glared at him once more. As the bell rang she pulled her bag off the floor and began to walk from the room,
"Aren't you going to copy down the assignment?", Luci pulled her bag further up on her shoulder, placed her thumbs and pointer fingers in a box around her eye,
"Click", she said before pulling her bag back up on her shoulder and walking out of the room,
"What was that?" he muttered.
"I took a mental picture"
"with what?
"A camera"
"A what?"
"A camera, you know that thing that takes pictures"
"Oh right, I've never heard it called that but sure whatever"
"I believe I've died and gone to hell" Luci murmured as Don chuckled behind her and followed her out. As they maneuvered slowly though the crowd, Don turned to her.
"You've got a detention tonight don't you?", she turned to him quickly and he pulled her forward before she was trampled by a group of eager 2nd year boys rushing past, As she pushed herself away from his chest she looked up at him warily,
"How did you know that?",
"Oh didn't I tell you, I'm psychic. I know all", he whispered in an eerie voice. Luci raised one disbelieving eyebrow and Don burst into laughter. She glared at him once again,
"You realize if you continue to glare at me, someone might suspect were just an old married couple and start implicit rumors", she smacked him smartly on the head and walked off. Rubbing his head he rushed after her,
"The entire school happened to hear about the little scene you and Black put on in front of Durgess's class", he whispered in her ear. She swatted at him as a group of young third year girls giggled and Don smiled charmingly at them. Luci threw up her hands and maneuvered through the crowd toward the nearest restroom as Don casually charmed the young naïve fools.
As she slipped inside she was quickly assaulted by the strong odor that usually wafted there about females of this school, strong perfume and hairspray, and a mixture of many cosmetic spells. She coughed disgustedly and pinched her nose, when she went to walk out she was met by a small girl with sunshine blonde ringlets pulled back into a messy bun and large sky blue eyes that were watching her quietly. They stood for a moment before each other, and Luci felt the spark that raced along her skin before the girls intent focus.
"Can I help you?", the small girl walked forward and Luci had the urge to snicker as the girls menacing scowl was at odds with her small demure look. She managed to hold it in though as the girl circled her slowly before coming to a stop only a few feet from her,
"So you're the Great Lucianna Malfoy", her voice was quiet and velvet soft, this girl brought little boys to their knees.
"Lucianna Malfoy I am, Great I am most certainly not",
"Oh but Great you are, you've got them all wrapped around your little finger and I mean to break that bond. To achieve what I want your presence is going to be but a nuisance. Your going to permanently remove yourself from them if you know what's good for you. I won't tolerate they're focus deviating. Before you I was very close, you're simply a minor distraction easily dealt with, remember that",
"You seem to think I'd fear such a very small creature. You look like a cupie doll. To be menacing your going to need a new look, and a different vocabulary", Luci said. Her arms crossed her chest. She knew how to deal with snake like little girls. She had no idea what the little girl happened to be talking about but tolerating a 4 foot imp trying to threaten her she would not. The girls eyes turned a hard ice blue and she glared up at Luci,
"You'll see soon enough, remember my name Malfoy. You'll be begging for mercy before I'm done with you",
"And I'll get your little dog too", Luci cackled and the girl reached out quickly and raked her nails across Luci's face. Luci stood sedately before her, the scratches across her skin turning bright red.
"Point one for Dorothy", she murmured. The small blonde girl sneered up at her,
"next time I won't go easy on you",
"mmm, you see your not understanding the rules of the game. You drew first blood, now it's my turn. And it won't be now, and it may not be tomorrow but I will. Because little girls like you, they live in little gingerbread houses with little fluffy kittens and everything at their disposal. My life wasn't so easy, and neither will yours, not anymore", she said staring down calmly at the bright red face of her cupie doll.
"next time you feel the need to turn a couple of tricks, remember, once they grow tired of your tricks, girls like me are a lot harder to crack. And boys always love a challenge".
Cupie doll glared at her before turning and fleeing from the bathroom. After washing her face in the sinks she placed her hands on the rim and starred up at herself in the mirror. How long had it been since she'd had to deal with jealous little females, 3 maybe 4 years. She thought she'd escaped this when the Marauders had disassociated themselves with her, apparently not.
Whoever had started this rumor, was going to be very put out when they discovered that her power over those boys had died long ago. She had managed to not follow that friendship to the grave, and she wouldn't stand for it coming back to haunt her. She wasn't demure and she wasn't weak, and she wasn't going to stand for all of Blacks little fan girls taking punches at her everywhere she went.
She stood from her position and saw Don't head peeking in through a crack in the door, reflected in the mirror. She turned around abruptly,
"What are you doing in the girls bathroom", she screeched. Don ducked quickly back behind the door and it slammed shut behind him. She felt a drop slide down her cheek to drop to her finger. Lifting it she spotted a small drop of blood sliding down the underside of her finger, wiping her hand across the minor injuries she swore. Now everyone was going to want to know what happened, and what had she done now, and blah blah blah blah blah. She growled low in her throat and swiped her wand from her pocket, except damn if she didn't know the healing spell.
"Don!", she yelled and walked through the bathroom door, and into a end of the day traffic jam. A group of boys were scuffling on her left and there was a tightly packed group of students around them, on her right was a gaggle of females of undistinguishable age giggling and hissing and choking the hallway. Don was nowhere to be seen and the noise was bringing on a throbbing at the base of her skull,
"HEY!", she yelled deafeningly throughout the hall. At first only a half of them turned to look at her, she lifted her fingers to her lips and let out an ear piercing whistle, as cries of complaint echoed through the hall, everyone did turn to look at her,
"CLEAR OUT!!", she yelled over the whispers, they all stood and looked at her for a moment before the smarter of the group began to file slowly out through the crowd to disappear around corners, a couple of the girls stayed behind to glare at her but most lifted there noses primly and walked away, a tall boy up front announced boldly,
"And why should we listen to you, you're just a girl",
"yeah, you think. Well this wound on my face didn't come from playing with a kitten. I have a couple more on my back from the Psych ward at St.Mungo's and a nasty run in with a werewolf, lets see your battle scars big boy", she said smiling menacingly at the boy, he sneered but turned and walked away, his cronies following in his wake. As the crowd dispersed Don stood leaning against the wall, slowly clapping his hands,
"Very nicely done", he murmured," You would do very nicely as Prefect",
"Don't even mention the word pretty boy, I just had a run in with the angel from hell and was forced to disable the most bloodcurdling thing any upper student will ever have to face, a collection of arrogant lower students, just fix my face already", he drew his wand from his pocket and drew it slowly down her face. Her skin tingled and then started to itch, she reached up and he caught her wrist,
"If you mess up and I turn purple I'll find a way to turn you purple too", he let her wrist go and she felt along her cheek and face, running back into the bathroom she peered into the mirror and found her face was gloriously healed. Except for a few pink scars that were already fading from view, she walked toward her bag which had slipped from her shoulder when Dorothy arrived and reached down to pull it over her shoulder. She pushed through the door and out into the corridor,
"You do very good work Mr. Zabini I must recommend you to Madame Pomfrey as her student aid, I'm sure she'd be most obliged." Luci smiled as Don's face quickly went from indignation to absolute fear,
"Don't you dare", he whispered.
"Of coarse I feel the same way", she said turning from him and walking down the gloriously empty hallway. Don ran after her,
"hey don't you have a detention in a few minutes",
"Precisely!", she said before disappearing behind a canvas.