The Act Chapter 6

A/N:

Thanks to my awesome reviewers for keeping me going on this fiction, as well as giving me suggestions. You guys are really helping me out. This is the most reviews I've ever gotten on any fiction I've written, and the best response (14 reviews, 37 favorites, 69 alerts in the space of less than two weeks, as well as a bunch of favorite author and author alerts. I'm proud because I didn't require reviews and people gave them anyway… I did ask you to, but I didn't say I needed 5 reviews before I update next). The last chapter got my fiction to 20,000 words, which is pretty long for me. I'm at 55 pages for this fiction… which makes me pretty damn proud. Judging by the length of my latest chapters, this very well could be more than 300 pages by the end. We've got a lot of chapters ahead of us, but this is one fic I know I'll finish. I love reviews, so keep it up, please, and those who haven't reviewed please do a two word or more review… takes 30 seconds to make a writer over-the-moon happy. Again, not required, but if you have 30 seconds to spare and like this fiction, please review.

Poison has two chapters up, and is my excuse for fluff, smut, and humor. Check it out… I think it's funny and interesting. It's me branching out yet again, so it may not be the best, but I love it. It's really different from this fiction, so I'm not sure if I'll get the same audience or as many people loving it, but if you like my writing give it a try.

I really don't care about the ages of the people. My Harry Potter books had to be put in a bin because I couldn't fit them on a small bookshelf in my room, and my bin is under the stairs and buried under a mound of heavy stuff. I'm not going to get them until I move out, so… I won't spell names right and the ages will be messed up. Sorry.

Also, I will be talking about World War II in the History of Magic class, just because I find some aspects a lot like the war with Grindelwald and Voldemort and because it leads to a main part/turning point in the story. Those who support Hitler, don't believe that it happened, supported what happened… leave, I don't want to deal with that bullshit. If I offend anyone by speaking about it, I apologize (except to the people I mentioned in the last sentence). I will try to be as accurate as possible. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, and I will fix it, however, I will not cut all of it out. I have done research and won't put anything in this fiction that doesn't have a reliable source, and will provide the site name and references. In other fanfictions, they say Grindelwald and Hitler were working together (similar goals but different victims, around the same time, etc)… I will be using that idea. Let me make this clear: I am appalled at what the Nazis did, I hate that humans can be so cruel, and think that Hitler and the Nazis were evil and should rot in hell (or burn in hell). This fiction in no way is meant to support them. My goal is not to offend the survivors, their families, or anyone who is connected or affected by the war... I respect them deeply, and am sorry if it brings up any memories or hurts you in any way. Again, my apologies if I offend anyone, it is not my intention. And the characters in my fiction are all against it as well… I couldn't bear to even think about putting anything to support the Nazis in this fiction.

Review Replies:

TESKATLIPOKA: Thanks for your suggestions. I'm adding most of them to the story, and using one of yours for a different story. I'm really glad you PM'd me, and you actually are the reason I updated today.

Walking Stranger, Yachiru-chan92, SevloverKat, Florpis: Thanks for loving/liking the story (all of you had similar reviews, so instead of writing them separately and saying the same thing, I put you all together. Hope you don't mind).

Korienna: He and Hermione will have a lot of issues to deal with before they can become friends. He'll be a follower. So far he's third in command, but that'll change when they get more followers.

ShadowCub: "Its five o'clock somewhere" line is a quote from a Jimmy Buffet song. I don't normally like him, but the song is catchy and is always on the radio. I did try several little attempts at humor.

Pennfold: I'm glad you weren't being sarcastic… thanks, I'm glad you like it. I think this chapter is better than the last two, with more Quirrel.

X-Bubblegun-X: Thanks for both your reviews. I'm glad you're loving it… I'm trying.

Last thing: this chapter contains femmeslash (just kissing) and possession. I've warned you guys throughout that I will do this, so… flames about that will be laughed at.

Tom writing

Tom thinking

Aurora thinking.

Hermione writing,

Alright, Let the Chapter now Begin:

Neville followed Aurora to lunch, where he sat at the Slytherin Table to the right of Draco to the shock and horror of the Gryffindors and Slytherins. Haley smiled and sat across from Aurora, Belinda to Haley's right.

"What's he doing here?!" Hermione hissed in Aurora's ear. "He's the spawn of the son of a bitch who raped my mother; left her when she was pregnant with me, caused her to go to Azkaban, and ruined my entire life, forcing me to live with filth instead of a loving home!"

Neville overheard her and looked horrified.

"M-my dad did that?" Neville asked, now disgusted. "I-I'm s-s-s-sorry."

"Yes… Bellatrix got sent to Azkaban for torturing someone who wholly deserved it. It made me get stuck with abusive Muggles." Hermione spat.

Everyone who overheard the conversation started whispering and telling everyone else at the Table, who shot Hermione looks of wariness and respect. Aurora had never seen Hermione like this and was surprised.

I'm not. She is the daughter of Bellatrix Lestrange, a vindictive, revenge seeking, and sometimes insane witch who loves torture. She has the potential to become a great asset. I'd bet a million galleons that she'll be your most loyal and devoted servant."

"I'm not my father. I didn't choose who I'm related to, otherwise I never would have been born into that family. I didn't do that to your mum. Frank is no father of mine." Neville said to her, honest and firm. "Give me a chance to prove my worth to you, to show I'm nothing like him… please."

"Hermione, he makes sense. Just please try and work with him." Aurora reasoned.

"One chance. If you do anything that reinforces my bad opinion of you, I will try my hardest to get you friendless and the pariah of Hogwarts." Hermione told him.

"Fair enough. I swear on my life I'll never be like my father. So mote it be." Neville vowed, smiling as their hands glowed gold.

"You just did an unbreakable vow…" Hermione told him, shocked. She held out her hand to shake.

"Annabella Lestrange, your half-sister. Please to meet you." She told him.

"Neville. I believe that if you let me, I'll take the Lestrange name. I no longer want to be a Longbottom. I swear on my life that I won't take even a Sickle of your inheritance if you don't want me to." He told her, and his hands glowed gold again as they shook hands.

Dumbledore didn't see them do that, thankfully, but walked over to them.

"I'm glad to see you are trying to unite the Houses. I never thought I'd see Gryffindors and Slytherins befriending each other, let alone sit by each other. Ten points to Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and 50 points to Slytherin for displaying courage and harmony."

Dumbledore was beyond please that Neville was part of the group. There was no way that they knew who Hermione really was, or Neville would be in a bed next to his parents in Saint Mungos, he reasoned as he walked to his office.

"He's an idiot." Aurora told Neville.

Neville agreed, not wanting to ruin his new friendships, even though he was brought up with a devotion to the Headmaster. He was willing to let his old beliefs die to belong to a group for the first time ever.

He had never belonged. He was at first mocked because of his bad teeth, his clumsiness, his fears, and because everyone thought he was a squib. He began eating away his sorrows, and being heavy made him mocked even more, and began a cycle. Get upset, turn to food, gain weight, be mocked, get upset… the cycle kept going. But now… he was being defended and complimented, told he was powerful and could achieve anything, and he wanted to prove himself so bad it hurt.

"Aurora… I have a binging problem. I want to fix it. I don't want to be Lard-O. tubby, chubster, Pillsbury Doughboy… I want to be healthy and look better."

"After lunch, let's see Severus. He'll know what to do. And you'll need help to get over it. We'll all chip in, but we need to get some adults involved so we know for sure that we're helping. I'm glad you can trust us. We'll be there for you, every step of the way." Aurora said gently.

Hermione smiled at Aurora, falling for her more than ever for how nice she was being.

Neville didn't want to tell anyone, but knew she was right and nodded.

"I also want to fix my teeth."

"I can shrink them slightly." Aurora promised.

"Me too." Hermione said. "And do you think Severus knows how to tame bushy and uncontrollable hair, maybe help me with my dry and acne covered skin?"

"Definitely. Let's finish up lunch though."

She grabbed Neville's plate and filled it with salad and a small side bowl of dressing, a bunch of fruit, a tuna sandwich on whole grain wheat bread with a tablespoon of mustard.

"It's healthy for you, and you can eat a lot of veggies and fruit. They don't fill you up quickly, but you need a lot of them for a balanced diet. The salad dressing helps absorb vitamins in small doses, the bread is a good source of grains, as it's whole grain wheat, and tuna."

Neville dug in, surprised that it tasted good. "I can't believe I kept myself away from this since I was five!"

The group smiled, chattering about the classes and eating when they had nothing to say.

"Charms was brilliant. Aurora is absolutely amazing. She flew around the classroom, then helped us with wandless magic. I actually got my feather up to the ceiling!"

"When did you have charms?" Haley asked. "Did classes start extra early?"

"Nine." Neville said, puzzled. "Why?"

Belinda and Haley were shocked, until Aurora showed them her time-turner.

"There was a rumor going around that we'd have to get up super early for classes this year. I'm glad it's wrong." Belinda lied smoothly.

The group accepted that. Everyone had their plate cleared in four minutes.

"Let's take you to Severus." Aurora said to Hermione and Neville. Draco tagged along.

They walked to his office, knocking.

Severus was extremely glad he had drunk a sobering potion after he finished his cognac and opened the door.

"Professor… Neville has an eating problem he needs to get over. I was thinking about giving him nutrient potions, anti-depressant potions, and an appetite suppresser."

"Ah… he's depressed and that makes him eat. The anti-depressants would curb some of his appetite, the appetite suppresser would help him lose weight, and the nutrient potions would keep him healthy." Severus told the rest. "Brilliant, Aurora. 30 points to Gryffindor for courage to tell someone and determination to get over an obstacle. 50 points to Slytherin for being helpful, loyal, and doing the right thing."

Neville's mouth dropped open.

"I was scared to go to you because of the rumors about you, but you're helping me. Thank you so much, sir." Neville told them.

Aurora felt both impressed and fascinated by Severus' reaction to Neville, liking the Professor more than ever. When she remembered the potion, she blushed. Severus looked at her, who was avoiding his eyes. He wondered what she was thinking, but would never break into her mind.

"Can you shrink our teeth? We keep being made fun of."

Severus wondered why he was the problem-solver of the day, but gave them perfect teeth.

"I have the perfect things for your hair and skin."

He brought out a taming potion for hair that gave the girl soft, shiny, silky, and curly hair. They both got skin cleansers, and Hermione got scented lilac lotion that would immediately improve her skin and make it softer.

"Thank you, sir." Neville and Hermione told him.

"Class starts in a half an hour. You might want to get going." Severus dismissed them.

Hermione, Draco, and Neville left, then Aurora after hugging him, her rose scent lingering.

Aurora ran to Defense, making it with five minutes to spare. Belinda and Haley were there, talking, along with Adrain Pucey, Warrington, and Montague (the Quidditch players), a platinum blonde-haired girl who resembled the Malfoy family (probably Draco's cousin, Aoide), Alliyah Archer, a Gyrffindor that stood alone because she was the daughter of the infamous Sirius Black named Raven Black, three Gryffindors (Amy Tolly, Mia Dawn, Sandy Dawson) who had formed a clique, two Ravenclaws (Shannon Davies and Cami Diggory). No Hufflepuffs had made it.

Aurora nodded at Belinda and Haley, who smiled at her, but moved to be next to Raven, who was shocked. She was used to being alone and ignored, left out of everything, so when Aurora started talking, she barely knew what to say.

"They said you were a fifth year?" Aurora asked. "Good to see I'm not the only one who skipped a few years."

"My mom taught me how to duel and was a stickler for defensive magic. We practiced it every day. She was pretty Dark and taught me powerful curses and the like." Raven explained. "I overheard some people talk about you skipping up to NEWT level. Congratulations."

"I'm Aurora Potter… your name is Raven, right?" she asked.

"Um… yeah. Why are you talking to me? My father led to your parent's death." She asked, nervous that she would walk away.

"You look like you need someone." Was Aurora's simple reply.

Raven looked like she would cry as she nodded her head, but stopped herself from tearing up.

Quirrel rounded the corner and let them all in.

Raven sat in the front corner, expecting no one to sit next to her. Her eyes widened when Aurora chose the seat next to her. Haley and Belinda sat to the right of them, the rest of the Slytherins sitting to the right of them, some of the Ravenclaws glaring because they took their spots.

Quirrel looked surprised at the seating arrangement but said nothing about it.

"Everyone, quiet down." He said, looking at the Gryffindor clique, who decided to talk about Witch Weekly. They blushed at his glare.

"This is not a class where you can fool around. Dueling is dangerous, and the first quarter will be spent on that and actually practicing the Dark Arts."

The Gryffindors started protesting.

"If you don't want to, leave." Quirrel told them.

The clique discussed it, but they decided to stay, one muttering about needing it to become an Auror, which made the Slytherins sneer.

"Anyway, this is not a class just for defensive magic. It isn't a class to just protect against the Dark Arts. To believe that the Dark Arts are the only thing you need to worry about is the epitome of idiotic. Neutral magic can cut a person's throat."

"Diffindo!" he yelled, and a mannequin lost its head, blood spurting out, making the Gryffindors pale and Aurora grin.

"If you want to be an Auror, you've got to learn how to cope with blood. You'll be dealing with violence beyond your darkest nightmares, against you, and you very well could be using the same spells they do. Aurors are now required to kill instead of capture unless they plan on torturing others for information. Less people get thrown in Azkaban that way, meaning less guards are needed, which costs much less for the government. Simple mathematics and politics, kid." Quirrel told the girl who wanted to be an Auror. "If you can't do that, find a different career path."

She looked horrified and sick.

"Neutral magic can burn a person alive, or strangle someone with vines, levitate someone and drop them out a window… most spells can kill if you have a good enough imagination to dream up ways to do that." Quirrel told them.

"Light magic, such as the cheering charm, can distract a person enough for someone to kill them or rape them. Healing spells can cause severe pain or death if botched on purpose." He continued. "Do you know why some magic is considered Dark and others Light?"

Aurora raised her hand.

"Go ahead."

"It's all decided by the Ministry, who come up with a pros and cons list: if the cons outweigh the pros or are heavy minuses or what is considered evil, such as pain or torture, its Dark, unless it's used by the Ministry, which makes an exception. Light is when the pros outweigh the cons and heal or do 'good' things, defined by the masses, like Occulmency and healing (unless painful). Neutral are neither good nor bad: growth spells, cleaning, and cooking spells are some examples. The bad thing about the Ministry classifying it is that everyone has a different set of morals: some view killing as necessary in war, to stop pain, or to get revenge or justice, others are as extreme as wanting torture to make people pay or to get information, while others are complete pacifists. What is legal and what isn't changes every day." Aurora said.

"30 points to Slytherin." Quirrel said, completely interested in her and her reasoning.

Quirrel went over the rules next: no fooling around at all, no being late, come prepared, no late or missing homework, study, pay attention, no talking while he's talking, he will grade notes, and work hard. The consequences to breaking the rules would mean being kicked out of class.

Because it was just an hour long class, they went over the dueling rules and were told to read and take notes on chapter 1, which had both dueling rules that they hadn't completed and dueling styles.

The rest of the class was spent silently reading and taking notes.

The bell rang.

"Aurora, stay behind for a bit." Quirrel called.

She walked up to him.

"Whatever do you need, sir?" she asked.

"Tomorrow, at eight is your first private lesson with me. Do not be late." Quirrel told her.

She nodded, walked out, and used the time-turner to a grab a quick nap before History of Magic, then used the time-turner again and walked to the class with Draco and Hermione.

It was with Gryffindors (again). The door was left open, and they walked in together, Neville sitting to the right of Draco again, Hermione at Aurora's left, again grabbing the front seats.

Draco decided he was dead when he saw the absolutely gorgeous professor. Unknown to his friends, Draco was bi, but liked men more than girls. And this man was exactly what he wanted.

Remus knew he was dead when he got a good look at the Malfoy boy. Moony came roaring to the surface, trying to get Remus to claim him as his mate. For a werewolf, there's only one person that the wolf would go crazy for and want, the person that Fate made for them. Remus had stayed away from relationships just in case the wolf in him would find their soul mate and leave whoever he was with, even if whoever he was with was pregnant, Moony wouldn't care, and Remus wouldn't either because of him.

He knew that if Lucius knew what Moony wanted, he would kill Remus, leaving no chance for him to claim Malfoy or stay with Aurora.

He forced Moony down, told him to wait because Malfoy was too young, a cub still, and he would panic and leave if he tried anything anytime soon. Moony protested, then relented after a while once Remus told him that it would be too painful to claim him, and that he wouldn't want to hurt the boy. Moony agreed, making Remus realize that he must be his mate, because wolves were ruled by instinct, not kindness and being gentle. They were predators and took what they wanted when they wanted, without giving a damn about anyone or anything.

It took him about a minute to conclude this.

"Hello everyone. I introduced myself yesterday, but for those who didn't pay attention, my name is Professor Lupin, and clearly I'm your History of Magic teacher. This year, we'll be going through modern history and current events, modern meaning from a century ago to today. My goal is to make you all able to think for yourself and reason through why things happened the way they did. We are not just going through wizard events: magical creatures and Muggle events will be talked about as well, because some are eerily similar to what goes on in our world." The professor began.

"We'll start with the Dark Lord Grindelwald and what a Dark Lord is. We will learn about his rise to power, the meaning of dictatorship, his followers, his ideologies and how they make sense and don't, why people let him take power, how he got a country to worship him, the war, his enemies, their ideology, what they stood for, the differences in ideals in Dark and Light cultures, the relation to World War II and his role in it, the role of propaganda on both sides, the horrors committed on both sides, the beginning of human experiments, what World War II was about, and the effect of his reign on our world today, This will take up a month to two months of our time together." He told them. "It sounds like a lot… and it is. You will have many readings, a research paper due at the end, several reading tests, and a before and after test. I encourage you to ask questions, and have both Muggle-borns and purebloods work together, as Muggle-borns know about World War II, and purebloods know a lot about Grindelwald. In fact, you are required to be in a study group, once a week, on Saturdays, after dinner until 8, but you can stay until 9 if you need it."

"I have a test for you that will be ungraded. It's for me to see what areas we need to focus on the most and what you know." He handed them out.

"Before you leave, I have copies of the books you will need for this class. You will hand them back at the end of the year, because they are quite expensive and self-update. They're titled 'Major Events of the Twentieth Century: Muggle and Wizards alike.' It is extremely graphic and descriptive about war, with pictures. It's real life though and you need to see it."

The test was hard, even for Aurora. She had browsed through histories of different Dark Lords and knew basic questions, had studied World War II in Muggle classes and out of curiosity, but the details left her. Tom, who had lived through both, was eager to help out for once. She managed to answer 80% of the questions, Tom stuck on ten of them and a bit angry about that, but willing to learn much more about it.

Hermione completed only the ones on World War II, looking frustrated, Draco and Neville only on Grindelwald, Draco getting a lot more because he had an in-depth study of him while Neville got more biased towards the Light and less depth in his lessons. They handed them in, and they were dismissed.

"I'm really excited about this class." Hermione told them. "I really want to know more about Wizarding history. It is where I belong, and I want to be educated about it."

"We're lucky we don't have Binns. He's the least interesting ghost in the world." Draco said. "I really think I'm going to love this class."

"Me too." Aurora said, and Neville agreed.

"It would be great to get an unbiased perspective for a change." Neville told them. "All I hear about at home is how great the Light side is and how evil the Dark Side is. It can't be all true."

"For World War II, he won't be unbiased. What the Nazis did was horrific." Hermione said, shuddering.

"We should all work together. I think we all know bits and pieces of this and can help each other understand it all. Professor Lupin seems to know his stuff, so it shouldn't be as hard as we think. No need to get cocky though, we should still study and work hard." Aurora told them.

Thankfully, History of Magic was the only class she had that block. Aurora was absolutely spent and fell asleep for two hours, waking up for supper.

She ate quickly, heading to her room.

Hermione was in her room, writing to Tom.

Hey Tom. Sorry I haven't wrote to you in two days, I've been so busy.

It's fine, Hermione, as long as you don't make a habit of it.

I told you I got sorted into Slytherin, but I forgot to tell you about my new friends. I think I'm falling for one of them. Her name is Aurora Potter, I told you about her before I met her and how she saved you as well. Anyway, she got my teeth fixed and tamed my hair. Her power is indescribable and she's so smart. She's only in my class for basic Charms, History of Magic, and Herbology. She can do wandless magic. Even though she's clearly Dark and Slytherin, she's really nice. The only thing that made me mad was that she befriended the son of the person who raped my mum. I found out that I'm a pureblood and now the whole Table knows that I'm Bellatrix's daughter. No one bullies me now, they're too afraid, and it feels really good to be respected and feared.

Are you a lesbian or bisexual?

I only feel this way about Aurora so I think I'm lesbian.

Wizarding culture is fine with that. There's rituals to make a woman carry the baby of her lover. Look it up. I think it's in 'Rituals of Passion'. Of course, you'll only need that when you're older and have your mother back, as she will want you to have a powerful heir. No pureblood family accepts their son or daughter to not carry on the line, so even if it's magically induced, it will be accepted.

I'll look it up soon. I think Aurora wants a family like me. She was abused as well, badly, to the point where if she didn't use magic she would have died, by her family. She craves acceptance and love. If I can give that to her later on, I will.

How does she feel about you?

I don't know. I'm scared to ask.

Suddenly, Annabella, as she preferred to be called in private by Tom and Aurora, collapsed. The diary Tom decided to possess her once to find Aurora for his Annabella. It was odd for him to have a body, especially a young girl's, so he took a while to get used to it. He went to the mirror, making sure he looked presentable.

Instead of the busy brown hair he thought he'd have, Annabella had soft chestnut brown ringlets. The once acne covered skin turned soft and clear. She was still petite and slender because of having subpar food and nutrition thanks to her parents, but she looked good. Aurora would like her.

Tom walked to Aurora's room and knocked.

"Come in if you're a friend. If you're a bitch or hag, leave." Called a voice.

She entered.

"The potions worked wonderfully. You look beautiful, Annabella." She told her, looking her up and down.

She smiled. "Thanks."

Aurora smiled at him, then her expression turned to shock when Annabella kissed her on the mouth, soft and gentle. She didn't respond for a couple seconds, then kissed her back hungrily, her Tom completely interested. The kiss turned passionate quickly, but Aurora pulled back.

"We're eleven. So I don't want to go any farther than kissing, hugging, and holding hands, but I'd definitely be willing to do more in a year or two. So… are we still friends or something more?" she asked, nervous that it was a joke.

"Girlfriends." Annabella/Tom told her.

After a while, Aurora yawned and Annabella/Tom excused herself, Aurora obviously exhausted.

Journal Tom gave Hermione his memory and went back to the diary, and Annabella woke up.

Tom? You helped me?

I can do more of that for you, whenever you're scared, hurt, or unable to do what you need to do, I can take control, if you want.

Definitely.

Back in her bedroom, Aurora smiled.

So this is what it feels like to have someone love you.

A/N:

I didn't want to get graphic or go far at all, as they are only eleven. They'll get farther when they're twelve or thirteen.

I figured the only way Remus would obsess over Draco was if they were mates… its overused, I know, but run with it.