Underneath

I love wearing black…

It transforms me

Into a colorful string

Linked to the universe.

A faraway constellation~

Covered in the purest hue of night.

-Clairel Estevez

….

Rose Weasley was bored. It was Friday morning on the first week of her fifth year at Hogwarts and since she had put her feet in the castle for the first time, never a week have felt so long. She had already finished all her homework for the week and if people always told her she was as passionate about school as her mother, she, on the contrary, knew the truth; she only leaves nothing for tomorrow because she knows that sooner or later, she'll have to do what their teachers ask them to do. So, if there's no running from it, wasn't it better to do it at ease than to stress herself out in the last minute? Besides, she took care of her education and wanted to get to her maximum potential, and if there was no running from always being compared to her mother, her route was assured to be long.

However, right then, she was bored. With a final glance to her looks in the mirror, Rose let out a sigh as she put a lock of hair back into place and left the girl's bathroom. It was 8:30 and all fifth year Hogwarts students had a Muggle Studies session that day from 9 am to 10:30. After the war, the ministry of magic made it official that all wizards should study the muggle's way of living; it has become crucial to know about muggles as the wizarding community gets each day more and more confronted to them. In addition, muggles' technology was fascinating and understanding it would develop the wizarding world and open up new fields that were unknown by them until then. That's how muggle studies have become no more facultative but an obligation.

Rose decided to go back to the Great Hall. If she was this bored, a fresh and juicy apple would only improve her day. What's better than food in lifting up the spirits? She was walking through the corridors and looking out of the windows whenever she had the occasion. Outside, the sky was crystal clear except for some arrogant white clouds that dared to show up in that day of September, confident that they 'd soon be joined by other clouds. Another banal day.

Sometimes she envied her parents. At least they had some action during their scholarship and even if it was very hard and they had lost many dear souls, their life was at a very young age glorious afterwards and will forever be written in History books. That, it was something she wanted to accomplish: being remembered by humanity after her death. She wanted to achieve glory. Not in a way Voldemort wanted, no, she wasn't cruel, but in a way that wizards -and why not muggles- would appreciate a work she'd done.

"What about a new discovery, hein Rose? What about we come out with something that would revolutionize the world? The problem is that magic does it all. So the minister was right; the future lays in muggles. However, they don't teach us much in the fifth year. We're stuck with simple facts about discovering the names of muggle objects that I already know and not actually understanding how they work. Uh, I'm bored. Sometimes I wish I was stupid, that way I won't hurt my head thinking about things others with my age don't and actually enjoy living…"

Rose was lost in her thoughts as she was walking when, suddenly, she went into something stiff, or rather someone and fell on her butt.

"Ouch, that hurt!", she told herself, then she left her head and actually yelled:" Is it really that hard to watch where you're going?!"

She found herself confronted with two sapphire blue eyes that looked apologetically to her. With a peak to his uniform, she knew he was a Ravenclaw. His black hair was quite long and messy, he had a two days light beard and his tie was lose. Rose resumed from his physical portrait and the way he looked at her that the boy was a bit rebellious but kind. She guessed that he was in his sixth or fifth year, but it was the first time she ever saw him.

-"Oh I'm sorry, didn't see you coming. I've just woken up and I only have fifteen minutes until 9 and I'm really hungry so I was running and trying to do my tie at the same time and …"

-"Stop, stop. I get it, you're sorry…", Rose calmed him down while taking the hand he gave her and standing up.

Rose was bored, it had been that way for too long. Now, she thought she had found a way to pass time. Why didn't she have a little bit of fun and try to court him? Besides he was handsome and should be smart since he was wearing the blue and bronze uniform. Therefore, the best way to make someone like you is to make him laugh, and that's how the Granger-Weasley girl declared with a controlled voice and a mysterious smile while restarting to walk towards the Great Hall:

-"Your apology will only be accepted if you tell me your name…"

-"Uh… Hum…", the boy's face got a bit red, "Yes, you're right, didn't tell you my name, should be the first thing to do, right? Well, I'm Alexander, but you can call me Alex. Alexander is a bit antic, don't you think?"

-"Alexander,…" Rose replied while quickly blinking her eyes once in a perfectly controlled manner and with a light but charming laugh, she continued, "like the great conqueror Alexander? Well, if you find it antic, you should feel blessed that your parents didn't call you Caesar or Napoleon!"

For a second, she got worried that he wouldn't know the muggle conquerors she was talking about and that her joke wouldn't pass on, but, for her pleasant surprise, he exclaimed laughing while mumbling, "still better than Hitler!" All right, now he got her respect. Isn't it the house's best motto: "Wit beyond measure is Man's Greatest Treasure"? As they almost arrived to their destination, Rose declared:

-"Well, nice to meet you Alexander. I'm …"

-"Oh I know who you are, doesn't all Hogwarts do? Especially us, the fifth year's Ravenclaws, we always ask ourselves how you're in Gryffindor and not among us, you know?"

She knew then that he was a fifth year. It was strange how she never remarked him before, maybe meeting him exactly today was in fact a prank or a bet he prepared with his friends? Then, if she was only talking to him because she was bored, she couldn't blame him either, there's no problem in him having fun too, right?

-"Then I'm not the only one thinking that the Sorting Hat should've made a mistake? "In my not so humble opinion", I really don't see myself acting on impulse to a danger without giving it a thought first, which my stupid brainless cousins don't understand", Rose said as she thought of those cousins that she loved but never failed to tell them that she, indeed, found them brainless whenever they acted that way. And isn't reacting on impulse one of the main traits that make you a Gryffindor?"

-"That make you a Gryffindor, not me", Alex pointed out with a laugh. "Then, I think that this sorting method is someway wrong; don't we all possess the four traits that make you belong to one house and not another?"

Rose took a peak at her watch and announced:

"-I would be happy to continue this conversation with you Mr. Alexander but you really have to hurry if you want to make it in time."

-"Yeah, right, I totally forgot about that. Well, hum, goodbye then, see you later maybe!"

-"Bye!", she replied with a little wave of her hand as he made his way towards his house's table.

As she picked a green apple from her table and headed back for the door, she had enough time to see that Alex's friends who were sitting with him were pointing at her and laughing.

"Exactly as I thought, this is only a bet…", she mentally sighed ignoring the little tweak she felt in her stomach.

…..

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lily and Roxanne were sitting on a bench in the little yard in front of the Muggle studies' classroom. They had half an hour before the beginning of the class.

-"I can't do this Lily, I really can't be in the same place with him. As soon as I see him, my hands start shaking and my mind goes blank. He scares me Lily, and my strength fails me whenever I see him. So please, just let me go back to the dorms…"

Roxanne was trying to hold her tears as her cousin tried to comfort her:

-"You don't want to let him win Roxy, you're stronger than that. Besides, I got his wand and he can do nothing without it."

-"You're kidding right? You saw what he did against the Slytherins that day; He's using Dark Magic, dark magic!" Roxanne took her head in her hands as she started sobbing, her cries growing stronger as she whispered:

-"You better give him back his wand, I really don't want anything bad to happen to you… Screw me, screw me and the ounce of pity I felt for him! He's an abuser Lily! Only Merlin knows what could happen to me if you didn't come!"

-"But nothing happened Roxanne, nothing! Come on, you know how strong you are. You're not letting someone as shitty as he is make you doubt that. You know what? Let's go see Mcgonagall, she'll know what to do!"

-"You mad?! And with what proof will we do that? We have no evidence, none at all! Besides, the whole school would hear about this, you know how her office is full of portraits and won't let go of any information including us, I don't want to be the one who everyone avoids scared to anger that Devil! No, we won't tell anyone about his, I already told James to keep quiet. I don't know, just let me get those tears off, I'll calm down after a bit of crying. Just stay with me for now…"

-"See? I told you; you are so strong Roxy. Don't worry, I'm here with you, I'll never leave you."

Lily put her cousin's head on her shoulder and kept passing her hand through her hair. Slowly, her friend's crying got lower and after a few minutes, stopped completely.

-"Come on Roxy, take a deep breath, it's okay. " She looked at her watch and said:

-"Are you ready to go? It's time. Don't worry, I'm here with you. That bastard won't step anywhere near us."

With a nod, Roxanne wiped her last tears and stood up, taking Lily's hand, and together, they made their way towards the class. They entered when the Professor Nadini Johas told them to. The room was expanded for the matter and the whole fifth year students made their way in. Lily chose a two-places desk in the last row next to the wall; like that, they'll be able to keep an eye on their enemy who, as soon as he came in, opted for the last row as well, but next to the exact opposite wall. There they were, and there they'll be for the next one hour and a half.

…

OOOOOOOOOOOO

"Hello class. Like you all know, this is the first session of the year and allow me to tell you this: Studying the way muggles live, the way they think and how they invent has become a fundamental subject for us all, as they found a way to replace the magic they don't have by something more magical than we've ever expected. Us, wizards, have come to count on magic in almost everything, however, the instant we lose our tool, the moment we forget our wand or lose it, the only thing we can do if we want to survive is to, subconsciously, act like the way a muggle would do, like a human would do. If you're focused enough with what I'm saying – which is not your case Miss Parkinson! – You'd notice I mentioned the word "subconscious". That, my friends, is the most magical entity that ever existed, as all human being share it, wizards and muggles. Can anyone enlighten us about this "subconscious"?

A deep silence followed her question. All Professor Nadini could see was students running away from her gaze, looking everywhere else but at her. Then, she turned her head to the left of the class and met a bored gaze. Hopeful, she asked:

-"Miss Granger-Weasley, I'm sure you can tell us the answer. Go on, please."

Sighing, Rose stood up as she could swear she heard her cousins laughing at her in her back. It was true she had brains, but that didn't mean she'd die if she didn't answer!

With a second sigh, she declared:

-"The word subconscious can be divided into two words: sub and conscious which means under the conscious. The subconscious is existing or operating in the mind beneath or beyond consciousness; it is the part of the mind below the level of conscious perception. For example, we call our fear of death subconscious as it is not an active fear. The concept is analyzed by a famous muggle psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud."

Pleased, Professor Johas continued while Rose sat downback on her seat:

-"Brilliant Miss Granger-Weasley, ten points for Gryffindor! As Miss Granger said all too well, the famed psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud believed that behavior and personality were derived from the constant and unique interaction of conflicting psychological forces that operate at three different levels of awareness: the preconscious, the conscious, and the subconscious."

As she enumerated the three terms, and with a flick of her wand, three definitions got written on the black board.

-"Would anyone like to read the first definition?" When she asked, three students raised their hands.

-"Mr. Mcartney, go on."

Peter Mcartey, sitting next to Albus, started reading:

[-"The conscious mind contains all of the thoughts, memories, feelings, and wishes of which we are aware at any given moment. This is the aspect of our mental processing that we can think and talk about rationally. A part of this includes our memory, which is not always part of consciousness but can be retrieved easily at any time and brought into our awareness."

-"Very well, Mr. Mcartney, five points for Gryffindor. Other Houses, you don't want Gryffindor to win this year ay?" The enthusiasm in the class was gradually raising." Who wants to read the second definition? Yes, M. Istadore."

Rose was surprised to hear that M. Istadore was no one else but Alex. "Alexander Istadore, what a name... Isn't that a name of a real conqueror! If not, an almighty knight or perhaps a prince! Stop Rose, focus!"

-" The preconscious consists of anything that could potentially be brought into the conscious mind."

-"Good, five points to Ravenclaw! Now the third one, why don't we pick a Slytherin this time?"

A common "bouuuh" filled the class in one second.

-"No one? Okay, I'll choose then. Hum, what about you Mr. Malfoy?"

If there was any sound in the class, after selecting Scorpius, everyone went so quiet that if you focus enough, you'll hear a fly buzzing. Scorpius ignored the class, as usual, and said with the deep voice of his:

-"The subconscious mind is a reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that outside of our conscious awareness. Most of the contents of the unconscious are unacceptable or unpleasant, such as feelings of pain, anxiety, or conflict. According to Freud, the unconscious continues to influence our behavior and experience, even though we are unaware of these underlying influences. The unconscious can include repressed feelings, hidden memories, habits, thoughts, desires, and reactions."

-"Excellent Mr. Malfoy. Five points to Slytherin as well!"

Roxanne felt uneasy, when she heard his voice, her hands started shaking. Under the concerned look of her cousin, she quickly whispered:

-"Lily, I'm not feeling well, I think I'm going to vomit."

-"Try to keep up for just a little bit longer. We're almost done."

-"Now, let me ask you this, What exactly happens at each level of awareness? One way to understand how the conscious and subconscious mind operate is to look at what are known as slips of the tongue that many of us have experienced at some point or another. These misstatements are believed to reveal underlying, unconscious thoughts or feelings. Many of us might blame the slip on distraction or describe it as a simple accident. However, a Freudian analyst might tell you that this is much more than a random slip of the tongue. Freud believed that while the unconscious mind is largely inaccessible, the contents of the unconscious could sometimes bubble up in unexpected ways such as in dreams or inadvertent slips of the tongue."]

The professor took a paused to see the effect of her information on her students; they were calm and for most of them quite focused.

-"We studied last time about the different scientific fields that muggles work on and we talked about psychology. Who'd like to come here to remind us about psychology and write it on the board?"

A Hufflepuff girl raised her hand and after the professor's approbation, she went to the board and wrote while reading:

-"Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, the mental characteristics or attitude, especially those affecting behavior in a given context."

-"Brilliant! Ten points to Hufflepuff.

You may be wondering why I suddenly asked you about psychology, isn't it clear? Freud explains one's psychology which, like we said, studies the mental state, with his three different levels of mind. From tongue slips and dreams to body language, Psychoanalytic therapy explores and treats the mental illness and psychological distress. And these, my friends, are harder to cure than normal body distress, it takes patience, qualified psychologist who can go back to the source of the distress and cure it. Now, there is a problem in our world as wizards that immediately occurs. Can anyone tell me about it?"

This time, Rose was glad to raise her hands, as the entire class was quiet.

-" Most of wizards don't know that psychology concerns every human being, we all have what Freud calls subconscious, conscious and preconscious no matter if we are a wizard or a muggle. With the lack of the wizarding world in understanding it and therefore curing it, many wizards suffer from mental illnesses that can be really destructive sometimes without them or their entourage realizing it and thinking about going for therapy."

-"Exactly! Fifteen points to Gryffindor. Now, I'll leave you some time to copy what's on the board and for next time, I'll ask you for twenty cm of parchment about the most known mental illnesses. What are you waiting for? Start writing!"

….

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The three girls were heading towards the Great Hall for lunch.

-"The first session today was interesting, wasn't it?" Rose asked her two cousins.

-"We could say so…" Lily answered, more concerned about Roxanne than any Muggle Studies. "Roxy, today's meal is your best: steak and fries!"

-"Well, I don't have much of an appetite…"

-"Wait, Roxanne and no appetite can't be put in a same sentence", Rose noticed. "Are you sure you're all right?"

When no one of the two girls answered her, she knew something was really off and being the best friends they were, Lily, after a brief silent exchange between her and Roxanne, told their chestnut-haired friend about everything.

-"This is unacceptable!", Rose yelled immediately. "We can't stay silent about this and let it slide. If you don't want to tell the professors Roxanne, we'll move on our own then!"

-"Exactly!" Lily exclaimed, "This is what I've been thinking. No one hurts a Gryffindor without hearing from us!"

-"What do you want to do then?", Roxanne weakly mumbled.

-"Oh, leave it for us. Rosey, James knows about this, he'll help us prepare a plan."

-"Yes, count on us, we'll avenge you in a way that Devil won't ever think about touching you again."

-"All right, I leave it for you. Thanks a lot girls, I don't know what I would do without you!"

-"There's no need to thank us, you'd do the same." ,Rose replied with a smile.

-"Now,", Lily concluded," enough of this talk, there's some beef waiting for us to be devoured!"

…

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Dear Ryleigh,

How are you son? The professors are sinking you under homework, aren't they? Well, you should know that it's for the best, even if they can become crazy sometimes – you better not repeat that word in front of them- and I trust you'll do your best to prepare yourself for your O.W.L.S.

At home, nothing special had happened. Everything is as usual, work, family matters, no big thing can change in a week, you know? Ah, your mother is telling me to remind you to eat well and put enough clothes on, winter is coming, she says.

Now, the matter you told me about: I went to visit Draco this week and when I mentioned his son, he said nothing out of normal and he didn't act in any suspicious way possible. Let me tell you this, during all our scholarship together, I've never noticed anything about eye color changing or a thing like that, are you sure you saw it right? Or maybe he's using a spell to make his eyes look darker?

I don't know, but really, he's not a bad person. I already told you this before but let me repeat it for you: why don't you try getting closer to him or, why don't you ask him directly about his eyes? When I visited the Malfoy family during summer, Scorpius looked nothing but sad. He's not a bad kid, he's just lonely. Promise me you'll try knowing him, all right?

That's it then. Don't forget to tell me if there's anything troubling you or if you need something.

We love you.

Dad.

Ps: "Why did you write to him and not to me? This isn't fair, I'm your mother!"

-"Incendio!"

Zabini burnt the letter immediately after finishing reading it. He didn't want the other freak finding it. Getting close to him, yes, that's exactly what he needed! If his dad saw how dangerous that scorpion was, he'd order him to get the farther away from him, and quickly. No, he didn't want to. His thoughts went back to the two times when he noticed that his eyes were pure black. No, he wasn't hallucinating. Something was wrong. But why was he caring exactly? Maybe, after all, he got contaminated with his father's kindness. Nonetheless, the fact was there: He just wanted to know the truth and maybe, just maybe, he'll ask Scorpius about it someday.

….

OOOOOOOOOOO

It was five in the afternoon on that Friday. Lily was heading back to her dorms to get her quidditch uniform; they had a training in half an hour. She was humming a soft tune under the warm light that came through the windows when suddenly, she felt her back smash on a wall.

-"Give me my wand, Potter."

-"Or else?", Lily replied arrogantly. She gripped her wand in her pocket and waited. Meanwhile, Scorpius put his forearm on her neck and repeated:

-"Give. Me. My. Wand.", he dangerously whispered.

Luna thanked her aunt Hermione for the self-defense actions she taught her. With a press of her back on the wall, she gained enough force to put her hands on his forearm and push it off, then she took two steps away from the wall and from him and disdainfully mocked:

-"You're quite violent, don't you think? I'm humbly sorry, but politics don't work that way, so let's parley. "

Scorpius was surprised. Usually, people were scared from him and would give him anything he wanted but this, this girl talking to him with no ounce of fear, it was a first. The boy wasn't willing to actually hurt her, he just wanted to scare her and he really didn't want to have to buy another wand. So he surprisingly found himself asking:

-" Parley?"

-"Yes, parley. You want your wand right?"

-"Right."

-"But you hurt my friend?"

-"I don't remember hurting anyone.", he stated.

-"Excuse me? Are you taking me for a fool?", Lily shouted out raising her brows.

-"I'm not, I didn't hurt anyone. All I know is that you punched me then took my wand, a punch I'm willing to return if you don't give it back to me this instant!"

Lily didn't find anything to respond. She just stood there, dumbfounded, looking at the merely taller boy searching for any sign of him joking, but his grey eyes was extremely sincere.

-"I don't have it.", she finally said.

-"What?"

-"I don't have it.", Lily repeated." I'm not dumb enough to circulate with it in my pocket where it's easy for you to find. It's hidden and you did hurt my friend. Now, you have a debt to pay. You'll get your wand back when that debt is payed."

With those final words, Luna turned her back on him and continued her way to the dormitories, leaving a dumbfounded wizard behind her, telling himself :"That witch is bluffing, I never hurt anyone! What is she talking about anyway?"

Could he know that Lily was asking herself questions at the same time? :"What a liar," she was repeating to herself. "What a goddamn liar! He almost raped my Roxy and he's acting like nothing ever happened! Oh, I'm going to show him what he gets when he dares to hurt a Gryffindor!"

….

OOOOOOOOOOO

-"Lily, you're late!"

Her face red from running, Lily answered:

-"I'm sorry James, some idiot bothered me on my way. I'll change very quickly you won't even feel like I left and came back!"

-"Stop bluffing and hurry up!"

Lily run towards the changing room, whispering:

-"He can be really scary sometimes!"

OOOOOOOOOO

As Lily Luna was leaving the changing room after the training, she saw her brother's silhouette in front of her heading back to the castle and run to catch up with him.

-"Lil's!" James yelled with appearing enthusiasm as soon as he remarked her, "You did great today! You play like that on the match next Saturday and I won't even need to catch the Golden Snitch; you'll get us two hundred points anyway!"

-"Thanks James, that's good to hear." She marked a pause, warm air getting out her nose and making a white mist in front of her.

-"I wanted to tell you something, you know, about what happened to Roxanne that night. She doesn't want to tell the professors, all right, that's her choice, but we won't let it slip, aren't we? We need to do something!"

-"I'm one hundred percent okay with you, no one hurts my family without dealing with the consequences. Who's with us?"

-"Roxy doesn't want many people to know, she says that'll bring her trouble. There's you, Rose and me. We tell Albus and you Fred, like that we'll be sure no one tells the secret."

-"Okay Lil's. Meanwhile, you think of something that could serve him as a lesson, and we'll do too." As they almost reached the Gryffindor tower, James added:" We'll meet Sunday in the Three Broomsticks at 4 pm to discuss what we got, deal?"

Lily told the fat Lady the password and answered: "Deal!"

The two siblings wished themselves a good night as Lily quickly climbed the stairs to her dorm and told Rose, whom she found reading a novel, about everything. She headed back down and went for a shower. Afterwards, she put on her pajamas and stretched her back, wished her dorm comrades a good night and fan out on her bed, her mind working. Yes, she had the perfect plan for that Devil!

OOOOOOOOOOO

….

A.N: The definitions written between […] are taken from this website:

the-conscious-and-unconscious-mind-2795946

Now, let's talk about us, what do you think so far? I really worked hard on this one, ay ?(I've been watching the whole Pirates of the Caribbean series again, I think this "ay" thing should last for a while! xD) Did anyone notice the "winter is coming"? Haha *wink* , aaaand tadaaam: 4767 words, that's my record! Now, your turn:

-What do you think about Lily's character? Do you like it?

- Give me your ideas about the plan, maybe it would coincide with mine! *another wink*

-Scorpius, did you get the clues about his state?

I'd like to hear from you, don't hesitate dear friends!