Chapter 7: A Mother's Shadow
Trinity did not sleep well on her first night back at Hogwarts. Her dreams were filled with the sound of Kathryn's laughter and the memory of how she discovered her heritage.
The following day was spent unpacking and getting a head start on her studies. She spent the majority of her time in the dorm, preferring not to risk a confrontation again in the Common Room.
When she woke that Monday morning, Rose and Sorcha were already fussing over their ties. She rolled out of bed and dressed in a white button up shirt and black slacks. She quickly tied her tie, having spent many late nights over the summer learning to tie them without thinking. She straightened it before quickly running a brush through her unruly hair.
"Really, slacks?" Rose's eyebrows rose skeptically.
Trinity shrugged. "They're more comfortable. And I don't want to be caught wearing a skirt if we have Herbology. I hear we get to work in the greenhouses this year."
"She's got a point," said Sorcha.
"Are you two ready yet?" Trinity asked, almost impatiently. "I'm surprisingly hungry."
"After last night's feast?" Rose sighed and shook her head.
"Mercy's mum got me used to large breakfasts."
"Alright, let's go."
Rose led the way down the staircase with Trinity and Sorcha not far behind. They all greeted Ian, who was just coming off the stairs from the boys dormitories. A couple third years sidled by him.
They went down to the Great Hall together. Trinity noted that many of the students they past in the corridors were avoiding her, giving her a wide berth and whispering when they thought she would not notice. She ground her teeth together and had to force herself to remain calm. Even at the Ravenclaw table, many tried to avoid sitting anywhere near her.
She scooped some oatmeal into a bowl and grabbed some toast and an orange and ate sullenly. She barely paid any attention to the conversation her friends were having; all she knew was that it had to do with plans to walk down to the Great Lake after classes.
Just as she was finishing her breakfast, Professor Flitwik began handing out schedules to those at the Ravenclaw table. She thanked him when she received hers.
"Oh great, Potions first thing in the morning," groaned Ian.
"Don't forget about Defense Against the Dark Arts with Diederich," added Trinity sullenly.
"At least we have Herbology and Charms," said Rose cheerfully.
"Thankful for small favors," sighed Trinity. She got to her feet and walked back up to the Ravenclaw Tower. Rose, Sorcha, and Ian chased after her.
Once up in the dormitory, she gathered the books she was going to need that day, along with her cauldron and work gloves for Herbology. She waited for Rose and Sorcha to be ready before going back down to the Common Room, where Ian was waiting.
"I need to find a spell to create a doppelganger to go to Potions in my place," groaned Ian as they walked down the staircase and down to the dungeons.
"Potions are useful though," said Rose. "And it could be worse. My parents told me that when they were in school, they had to deal with Snape, and he was nasty toward anyone who wasn't in Slytherin."
"That sounds unfair," said Trinity, frowning.
They lined up outside the classroom, and were the first ones there, which made Ian more irritable. Trinity leaned against the stone wall.
Class started sooner than any of them would have liked. Professor Slughorn lectured Wiggenweld Potion, but there was not enough time to brew it before class ended.
Rose had to nudge Ian awake when they were getting ready to leave. She agreed to let him borrow her notes, if he promised not to fall asleep again.
Sorcha led the way down to the greenhouses. On the way, Rose and Sorcha chatted animatedly about their summer holiday.
Professor Longbottom lectured about Mandrakes and their properties, going over some review of what they covered the year before. When he was finished talking, he had everyone put on earmuffs and repot the Mandrakes that were in the greenhouse.
Trinity found the Mandrakes malformed and rather unfortunate looking. She struggled to pull hers out of its pot, and once she did, she practically chucked it in the new pot. Her roughness got Ravenclaw docked five points, which made most of the rest of her House upset with her. She did her best to ignore them, and was glad that her friends weren't that mad at her.
"The year's only started," said Rose as they left the greenhouses. "There'll be plenty of opportunities to get the House Cup."
"Tell that to Maeve and Kyla," replied Trinity sullenly. She glared at the backs of their heads.
"They're just using that as an excuse to get under your skin. They want you to be like Kathryn because that's what they expect."
"Yeah, well I'm nothing like her." That was what Trinity wanted to believe at any rate.
"We know that," said Sorcha. "All of us do."
"Let's just get to Charms. Hopefully Flitwik will have something more up my alley to do." Trinity forced a smile for her friends' benefits.
They sat together at the front of the classroom. Professor Flitwik, as per usual stood atop a stack of books so that the class could see him. After he welcomed them all back to Charms, he started teaching them the Tickling Charm. His eyes were mainly focused on Trinity, which made her shift uncomfortably.
"Now, while this spell could be used to lift the spirits of one who is down, it can also drive the person mad," squeaked Professor Flitwik. "For today, you will practice it on each other, and count to ten before ending the spell." He took out his wand to show them the correct movement. He drew it on the blackboard as well for students in the back who would not be able to see it. "Now, repeat after me: Rictusempra."
"Rictusempra," the class said in unison.
Once he was satisfied, he split them into pairs. Trinity was partnered with Rose, while Ian and Sorcha worked together.
"Do you want to go first?" Rose offered.
Trinity shrugged. "I guess." She whipped her wand out and with a flourish, muttered, "Rictusempra."
Rose nearly fell out of her seat from laughing so hard. She was the only one adversely affected. A few others (Charlie Dursley, Wynne Elgin, and Alice MacDougal) chuckled.
Trinity counted to ten before lowering her wand. Rose slowly caught her breath, still grinning when she regained control.
"Well done, Ms. Jones!" Professor Flitwik squeaked excitedly. "Ten points to Ravenclaw.
She blinked, and she barely had time to prepare before Rose used the charm on her. She laughed, though not as hard as Rose had.
Professor Flitwik awarded Ravenclaw another ten points for Rose performing the spell successfully.
The rest of the class period was spent practicing. Professor Flitwik assigned practice to anyone who had not successfully performed that day before they left for the Great Hall to eat lunch.
Trinity left in a much better mood. She sat down, surrounded by her friends. Mercy joined them a few minutes later.
"I didn't see you at breakfast," commented Trinity.
"Hn? Oh, I got up early to study."
"Didn't you pass your O.W.L.s?"
"I did," sniffed Mercy. "But now I'm a N.E.W.T. student, and my workload's increased."
"Of course it did," sighed Trinity.
They ate a hurried lunch before going back to classes. The second years went to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
"Hey Jones, I thought you'd run off to your mum by now," sneered Scorpius as he passed her leaving the Great Hall. He was surrounded by Athol Macay, Aedan Wareine, and Myra Maclean; all of them were second year Slytherins.
Trinity glared at him. She reached in her robe for her wand, although she did not take it out right away. She wanted him to initiate the fight.
"Hey Malfoy, I wouldn't be talking if I were you," said Albus, coming up behind Trinity. He did have his wand out, but it was lowered at his side. "Your grandparents and dad were Death Eaters."
"Furnunculus!" Scorpius snarled.
Albus shoved Trinity out of the way. She landed on her side and winced upon impact. She looked up to see Albus's face break out into pimples.
"You'll pay for that, Malfoy!" She pointed her wand at him. "Petrificus totalus!"
Scorpius's body went rigid, and he fell to the floor. Athol, Aedan and Myra had their wands out before Professor Diederich swooped down on them, disarming all three of them before they could do anything.
His dark eyes pierced through all of them. His dark expression was a foreboding one; his scarred face made it more so. He loomed over them, looking at each of them in turn.
"What is the meaning of this, eh?" He demanded in his gruff Russian accent. "Duels are not allowed in the school corridors. Second years ought to know this."
"Professor…Malfoy started it," said Albus meekly.
"Is your face the work of Malfoy?" Professor Diedrich growled.
"Yes," answered Albus.
"Detention, all of you."
"But Rose, Sorcha and me didn't do anything!" Ian protested, aghast.
"Do you want points taken away from Ravenclaw too, boy? Oh, and ten points from Slytherin, Mr. Malfoy."
Trinity put her hand against Ian's chest before her friend could do anything she was sure he would regret. She watched the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor undo the spell she used on Scorpius, and there was a glint in his dark eyes as he looked down at her for a moment. She did not know what it was, but it made her uncomfortable.
"You'll pay for that, Jones," threatened Myra.
"No," said Scorpius, and no one caught it except Trinity. "C'mon guys. Let's not waste our time with these losers." He led his fellow Slytherins away.
"Albus, you ok?" Trinity asked.
"Oh this? I think Malfoy could've done worse." He forced a smile.
Trinity frowned. "You didn't have to take that hit for me." She sighed. "I'll walk with you to the Hospital Wing."
"We have Defense Against the Dark Arts in ten minutes," warned Rose. "Professor Diederich won't be happy if you're late. He'll take points away."
"Let him," growled Trinity. "I want to make sure Albus is ok. Can you guys take notes for me? And if necessary, find out when I have to go to detention and for how long."
"Yeah," answered Ian. "Don't take too long."
Her friends went toward the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom while Trinity and Albus went to the Hospital Wing.
"You don't have to come with me," said Albus. "They're just pimples."
"I'm not going for that," replied Trinity. "I landed on my wrist, and it is throbbing."
"Oh…sorry 'bout that." He blushed.
She shrugged. "That was a brave thing you did, standing up to Malfoy like that."
"Yeah?" His chest swelled with pride and he grinned smugly.
"Yeah."
When they got to the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey had Albus drink a potion to get rid of his boils. She also healed Trinity's broken wrist with a flick of her wand before she sent them on their ways.
"Are you going to be at that picnic on the lake after class?" Albus asked, sounding vaguely hopeful.
"Probably," answered Trinity.
"See you then." He waved as he ran down the corridor; Trinity assumed it was to whichever class he was late to.
She hurried to Defense Against the Dark Arts. She snuck in while Professor Diederich was lecturing the class on Cornish Pixies.
"—class three, according to your Ministry of Magic. I think they are class one. They like to play tricks on unsuspecting witches and wizards, and will go after muggles from time to time. The best way to deal with them is the freezing charm, Immobulus."
Trinity scratched down some hurried notes into her notebook she had set aside for Defense Against the Dark Arts. As soon as she was finished, she looked up to find a cage of tiny blue humanoid creatures that she concluded were Cornish Pixies.
"For the last fifteen minutes of class, I want you all to get these creatures back in their cage." Professor Diederich pointed his wand at the cage, and the pixies flew around the classroom, breaking things, pulling hair, and causing general chaos.
Trinity barely had enough time to get her notebook back in her bag before three pixies came swarming at her. She swatted them away.
"Immobulus!" Sorcha pointed her wand at those pixies, and they were immobilized.
"Immobulus!" Charlie Dursley caught a couple in his spell.
Trinity whipped out her wand and tried it, but her spell missed and hit Willow Barron instead. Willow blinked and fell to the floor. Trinity rushed over to her and apologized profusely while everyone else got the pixies back in the cage.
Professor Diederich sauntered over. He muttered something, and the spell Trinity misfired was lifted.
"Just like her mother," some students whispered as Willow scrambled away from Trinity.
"Jones, your detention will start tonight at six o'clock sharp. Meet me in my office. If you are late, another day will be added to your two weeks. Class dismissed!"
Trinity gathered her belongings silently. She waited for everyone but her friends to leave before exiting the classroom.
"Trinity, were you really aiming for Willow?" Rose asked seriously.
"What? No! I would never attack Willow!" Granted, she did not really know Willow, but Willow had never done anything to her.
"Sorry…just asking. You've been on edge ever since we got back. It's worrying me."
Trinity looked at Sorcha and Ian, looking for their input.
"She's right," admitted Ian.
"What did Kathryn do to you?" Sorcha asked.
Trinity remembered the pain of Kathryn's torment. Her mother kept on using Crucio on her, and she begged for it to end. She did not realize she stopped walking until Sorcha waved her hand in front of her face.
"She tortured me, and almost killed Mercy's older sister," said Trinity. "She might be my mother, but I hate her just as much as everyone else." Her eyes blazed with barely contained anger. "If you guys think I'm anything like her, you can just go off and join the club of everyone who thinks so."
"Trinity—we—you aren't anything like Kathryn," said Rose in a small voice.
"Then you shouldn't have asked if I was trying to aim for Willow," snapped Trinity.
"Easy, Trinity," said Sorcha, standing between her and Rose. "She meant nothing by it. We're all just worried about you."
"Hmph!" Trinity marched ahead of them. "See you guys in detention."
She went alone to the Ravenclaw Tower, glad that when she got there, some seventh year students were just leaving. She ignored their whispers as she walked past them and went straight to her four-poster bed.
Melunise meowed plaintively from her bed. She purred as she rubbed up against Trinity.
Trinity felt tears well up in her eyes as she stroked Melunise's soft fur. She refused to allow them to fall. Despite her best efforts, she began trembling as she held her cat against her chest.
"Trinity? You up here?" It was Sorcha, and she sounded worried.
"What do you want?" Trinity snapped, and she regretted her tone as soon as she heard her friend gasp.
"Everyone's going down to the Lake for that picnic we discussed earlier," said Sorcha cautiously. "Do you still want to come?"
Trinity released a long sigh. She looked down at Melunise when she meowed. "Oh, don't look at me like that," she grumbled to the feline. "I'll come," she called out to Sorcha.
Before she climbed out of her bed, she wiped her tears away and set Melunise down on the floor. She watched her cat strut across the dorm before her eyes fell on Sorcha. She forced a smile at her friend before grabbing her robes and pulling them on.
The walk down to the Lake was tense, but no one dared mention the earlier fight, or Kathryn. Trinity did not mind. She smiled brightly when she saw Albus and James waiting for them with a blanket and a platter full of food Trinity assumed the brothers had pilfered from the kitchens.
"Hungry?" James asked, holding up a chicken drumstick.
Trinity rolled her eyes as she took the offered morsel. She took a bite and savored the tender meat.
"So I hear you and Al got into a tussle with Malfoy," said James with a laugh and a wink.
Trinity glowered at the mention of the reason she had detention for the following fortnight. "He's such a bloody prat."
James grinned. "Well, he is in Slytherin. And the son of Death Eaters."
Trinity frowned at the mention of Scorpius's parentage. Did her friends secretly think the same of her because she was Kathryn's daughter? Would they turn their backs on her the first opportunity they got? Was she really more like her mother than she cared to admit?
"Trinity, are you alright?" Rose asked, obviously concerned by Trinity's blank stare.
"Huh?" She looked up quickly. "Oh, I'm fine. Just tired. First day back, and all." She forced a grin, hoping that her friends would not question the fake expression.
"Yeah, I think you broke some sort of record for getting detention," barked James.
"That's nothing to be proud of, James," said Rose reproachfully.
"Professor Diederich can be such a git," grumbled Ian as he fell back against the grass. "Why did McGonagall ever hire him?"
"He's probably the only one who applied for the post," said Sorcha thoughtfully. "My aunt told me that when she went to school, people thought the Defense Against the Dark Arts post was cursed."
Trinity grunted. She grabbed a dinner role and began stuffing it into her face.
The rest of the evening was relatively relaxing. Trinity felt comfortably full when she returned to the castle with Rose, Sorcha, Ian, and Albus for their detention. She grimaced when she saw Scorpius and his group of fellow Slytherins from earlier already waiting outside Professor Diederich's office.
"You'll pay for this humiliation, Jones," sneered Athol.
"Really? I'd like to see you try it, Macay," said Albus, rising to Trinity's defense rather quickly. "You couldn't curse your way out of a flytrap."
Athol was on top of Albus before anyone could properly react. He pounded on Albus's face again and again. It all happened too fast. Just as soon as it started, Athol was pulled up roughly by his shirt collar.
"What—is—the—meaning—of—this?" Professor Diederich snarled.
Albus got to his feet with Ian's help. His face was all bloodied, and some bruises were already starting to form. He spat out a broken tooth.
"Potter!"
"Macay started punching him, sir!" Trinity said quickly, a hint of desperation in her voice.
"Only after Potter egged him on!" Myra screeched.
"He threatened Trinity!" Ian supplied.
"Enough! Furguson, take Potter to the Hospital Wing. Potter, I still expect you to serve your detention. Macay, an extra week of detention for you, and twenty points from Slytherin ought to serve as a reminder that this sort of attitude will not be tolerated."
Trinity met Athol's glare with an even one of her own. She refused to flinch or show any sign of weakness on her part. She sneered victoriously at the pronouncement that Athol was getting an extra week of detention for hurting Albus. Yes, justice was being served, despite the fact that she had to deal with her own punishment for her earlier actions against Scorpius. In her own perspective, it had been worth it.
"Jones, Muir, you two will go to the owl barn and clean it," said Professor Diederich.
"Yes, sir," Trinity mumbled through gritted teeth. She walked, dragging her feet with Sorcha next to her.
"And report back to me when you two are done!"
Sorcha acknowledged him before they rounded the corner.
"At least we're together in this," said Sorcha after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.
Trinity grunted, but she was glad she at least had Sorcha to work alongside instead of one of the Slytherins. She kept it from showing though, adopting a blank expression.
"I do hope Al is ok," she added, biting her bottom lip.
"Al?" Trinity blinked at her friend. She had heard the nickname for him before, but only from his siblings and cousins.
Sorcha nodded. "Yeah."
"Hmph." Trinity gave a noncommittal grunt.
"Something wrong?"
"Nothing. I just never heard you calling him 'Al' before is all." The shortened name felt odd on her tongue, and yet she found that she much preferred it over "Albus". It felt more familiar. A strange knot twisted in her stomach without warning. "Bloody hell."
"What is it?" Sorcha sounded mildly alarmed.
"Nothing," said Trinity forcefully. She grimaced. "Just forgot that we have Charms homework."
"Didn't Professor Flitwik say that you performed the Tickling Charm perfectly?"
"Well, yes," admitted Trinity, blushing slightly. "But I imagine there's still room for improvement. And besides, Mercy told me over the holiday that Flitwik always includes the Tickling Charm on the final exam."
Sorcha giggled. She failed to stifle herself, even with Trinity's deadpan glare.
"What?"
"You're impossible, Trinity," she mused, shaking her head. "You're among the top in our year, and you still think you have to work hard."
"I'm not the top of our year!" Trinity scoffed. "Rose is."
"Aye, she might get better scores on most written exams, but you're better at spell casting, and you're the only one I know of who is getting by in History of Magic."
"C'mon, let's get to the owl barn and finish our task before Diederich has our heads on a platter."
They continued walking in near silence. As they worked, they were still silent, although through it all, Trinity never once felt uncomfortable. She grunted as she shoveled owl droppings into a pile to be dealt with later. She ignored the owls screeching at her.
After a couple hours, the barn was finally cleared out, although Trinity knew that wouldn't last long. She returned to Professor Diederich's office with Sorcha at her side. When she entered the professor's office, she noticed that Scorpius was sitting alone in a corner, writing lines on a roll of parchment.
Professor Diederich barely glanced up at them. "Finished already?"
"Yes, sir," murmured Sorcha.
"If it isn't clean when I go there later tonight, you two will receive an extra night of detention. You're both dismissed."
Trinity gaped at his words, but remained silent. She marched out of his office, trailing behind an equally angry Sorcha.
"He can be so unfair sometimes!" Sorcha ranted once they were well out of earshot.
"He's probably going to find some excuse to lengthen our punishment," grumbled Trinity, agreeing with Sorcha.
The common room was still mostly full when they walked in. Trinity spotted Rose and Ian sitting in a far corner. Neither one seemed to notice them, which didn't really bother Trinity all that much. She was exhausted from her work in the owl barn.
"Hey guys," Sorcha greeted them with a wide grin. She walked over to them.
"Hey," they both replied in unison.
"How's Albus?" Trinity asked, looking to Ian.
"Malfoy broke his nose," reported Ian. "But Madam Pomfrey healed him, good as new."
Trinity frowned. She leaned against the window and huffed in mild irritation.
"Trinity."
She looked up at the sound of Mercy's voice. What her eyes met made her nervous. Mercy's eyes were narrowed dangerously, and her nostrils flared. She had her arms crossed over her chest.
"What the bloody 'ell do you think you were doing getting yourself detention?"
"Malfoy was the one who started that fight," grumbled Trinity sullenly.
"I don't care who started the figh'! You acted rashly, without using your brain! I can't 'ave Quidditch practice with one of my Chasers in bloody detention!"
Trinity looked up, meeting Mercy's fierce green orbs. She noticed everyone in the common room staring at them.
She felt the sting of Mercy's words, but she refused to allow it to show. She forced her chin up defiantly. "I wasn't going to just stand by and watch that prat attack my friend! I don't regret what I did, Mercy, so you might as well stop trying to make me feel guilty."
"To bed with all of you!" Mercy snarled.
Everyone filed out of the common room and toward his or her dormitories. Trinity stayed, preferring to pace back and forth in front of the still blazing fire. After a long while, she sat at a table and pulled out a piece of parchment. She grabbed a discarded quill and ink, and wrote:
Mr. Potter,
I don't think I thanked you properly for taking me to the Quidditch World Cup. It was very nice of you.
Hogwarts couldn't be more different this year. Most everyone is open about their dislike toward me. Even my friends are starting to turn against me. I don't know what I'm supposed to do, or who to trust anymore.
Have you found Kathryn yet?
Trinity
She read over her short letter a couple times before folding it up and addressing it to Mr. Potter. She snuck up to her dormitory, and was pleased to find that everyone was at least hidden away behind her four-poster curtains. She went to Artemis's perch and woke the sleeping raptor.
"Sh, Artemis." She stroked down Artemis's breast feathers to calm the bird. "Take this to Mr. Potter, and be quick about it."
Artemis clicked her beak as Trinity tied the letter to her leg. She flapped her wings excitedly before Trinity sent her off.
Trinity watched in the dimming twilight as her falcon disappeared into the horizon. She put thoughts of her letter aside; there was nothing to do but wait for Artemis to return with a reply that she hoped would help set her mind at ease. No, her thoughts were settled on her fight with Mercy. She felt a pain in her gut that felt similar to how she imagined it felt to have a knife buried there and twisted.
She sobbed silently as she allowed for the stress of the day to overtake her. Nothing was as she imagined it should be. Her return to classes was supposed to be a happy time, but instead that happiness was tainted by the sole fact that she was the daughter of an evil witch. She cursed Kathryn for not just being evil, but for being her mother.
