AN:
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To my reviewers, big thank you to you nine (all beautifully wonderful 9 of you)! Ya'll make me smile too, and your responses are at the bottom! :D
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The good thing about being a second year Slytherin with the last name Black, was that even if students didn't fully understand why they were supposed to be cautious around her, they were still cautious; which meant that despite all of the other students who were being jostled, pushed, and elbowed every which way in the cramped, crowded corridor, Lillian was not being jostled, pushed, or elbowed.
She was given as wide a berth as physically possible in the space provided, but that wasn't saying much on a train flooded with hyperactive classmates and traffic was ridiculous. Most of Hogwarts had decided to return home for Christmas, and as such, there was a flood of students who were unaware just what a winter holiday train ride entailed.
The morons didn't realize that nothing was different between the train ride home for Christmas than any other train ride home; and thus students were peaking into almost every compartment in search of a familiar face or empty seat, which consequently prolonged Lillian's own journey to her compartment, making the normally two minute journey a fifteen minute ordeal.
She was two seconds shy of withdrawing her wand and pointing it at the other students just to get them out of her way when she finally came upon the compartment that had quickly become their compartment; 'their' being she, Blaise, Devon, and, on occasion, Draco.
When she slid the compartment door close with a tad more force than was normal for her, Blaise pulled his attention from the window to look at her, his gaze unwavering.
"More people than usual have decided to return home for holidays." She said by way of explanation; and that was enough of a response because she knew that he was aware of the discomfort she felt in crowds.
"Draco has decided to stay," He noted, the prompt a subtle maneuver for answers.
She leant against the clear door softly, "It'll be the first Christmas we've spent alone since I became a Ward of the Malfoys." She noted, all previous bouts of her irritation leaving her in the face of that realization.
Every year for as long as she could remember, she would lay in bed with Draco on Christmas morning; they would talk for hours, about anything they wanted to do, everything they couldn't do, everything they shouldn't do. It was one of the few times in the year that they could interact without the pressures of formality or acting, there were no facades; they were just two kids, two cousins – cousins who were more like siblings than anything else – and it had always been a rather liberating experience.
It often helped them both to stay strong, helped them to keep their sanity in a world that would only become more cutthroat, more particular about accepted behaviors, the older they became.
She didn't like it, but they hadn't spoken in weeks and Draco had no reason to believe that she had forgiven him just yet; so instead of dealing with the repercussions at home, where it would be impossible to ignore her ire, he had elected to remain at Hogwarts. Draco couldn't know that as Devon's hurt transcended into anger, Lillian's own anger had dissipated, the hurt buried into the deep, confined parts of her Gryffindor heart to leave only the quiet sorrow she felt at his lack of presence in her days.
Shaking herself from her silent reverie, she ignored Blaise's continuous, studious gaze in favor of clamoring onto the seat across from him and pulling down one of her luggage bags.
Gracefully stepping from the cushioned seat, she rifled through the confines of her luggage until she found a simply wrapped, rectangular-shaped package that was of a hefty weight and firm texture. Sitting the package along the bench she would claim as her own, she withdrew her wand and aimed it at her misplaced bag.
She murmured the spell to lift her luggage back onto the metal holding, the unhurried wave of her wand motions a synonymous show to the relative ease in which she spun her magic. "Wingardium Levio-" But before she could finish the spell, her bag was lifting until it rested upon the desired location.
"They'll think you're the Heir," Blaise noted once she had reclaimed her seat, his eyes lingering on her wand until she had tucked it away into the folds of her robes. She was undeniably skilled, and as soon as the school caught wind of her power, it would make her even more dangerous in the eyes of their peers.
"I'm a half-blood," She countered, "It can't be me."
"I'm aware," Blaise responded, "But others aren't. Most don't even know why they should fear the Black name." If they were to learn she could do silent spells, they wouldn't need a reason to; had she been in any house besides Slytherin, others would be impressed, but power in Slytherin equated solely to the execution of dastardly deeds.
"My ancestors would be so proud." And it was true, they would most definitely enjoy the fear the Noble House of Black was still acquiring; especially since Lillian was the descendant of the black sheep of the family. She was the descendant of the one that had chosen good, the one that had chosen Potter and yet, her father had given even more strength to the bad Black lineage. Her father had been the one to further the cause of the Dark Lord the best.
The irony did not escape her.
In the face of Blaise's contemplative silence, Lillian picked up the package and offered it to him. A miniscule widening of golden eyes spoke of his surprise as he accepted the package in a lazily firm motion that told her he was curious, but unwilling to show her his intrigue.
"You didn't think that I had forgotten, did you?" A quiet tease that had his lips quirking in one corner as his lowered gaze studied the package. "It's both for Christmas and your birthday," She explained, "But you aren't allowed to open it until you've returned home." She instructed.
His head lifted and he quirked a brow in a silent challenge, "Humor me." She said in response, a slight hint of cheek to her tone that had his lips quirking once more and his chin tilting downward in silent acquiescence.
The rest of their trip was spent in amicable silence, and when it came time to depart, Blaise accompanied her through the corridors and into the station. Keeping to her side until the crowds had dissipated and she had caught sight of Narcissa, waiting poised and elegantly just beyond the fray of reunions taking place.
Lillian turned to her slightly taller companion; a companion who had turned his attention to her once he had spotted Draco's Mother in the distance. "Have you found your parents?" She inquired.
When his line of sight shifted, she turned her head to follow it, surprised to find his parents waiting calmly at the other end of the station, his beautiful mother smiling softly up at her husband as she spoke to him.
The sight of Blaise's father smirking – smirking in a manner eerily similar to Blaise's own mouth quirks – and the knowledge that Blaise had escorted her until she had found her Guardian, had Lillian smiling, her eyes darkening a shade or two in warmth as she regarded the Slytherin boy. "Have a wonderful holiday, Blaise," She murmured softly, "Give your parents my regards?"
He nodded his affirmation, "You as well."
When Lillian reached Narcissa, she looked back to track Blaise's movements, and she couldn't stop the small spread of a genuine smile when she spotted him; he had just passed the doors leading from the train, which meant that he had waited a good few seconds before he had turned from her and made his way for his parents.
"That was the Zabini's child, correct?" Narcissa mused, pulling Lillian's attention to the blond haired woman who was gazing thoughtfully across the Station.
"Yes," Lillian confirmed.
"Is he acquaintances with Draco?" Narcissa inquired as they headed for the platform exit.
"They're friends," Lillian responded, telling Narcissa that the boys were more than just alliances and that their relationship was genuine, despite their overt lack of time spent together.
Narcissa's brows rose in obvious surprise, she hadn't expected for Draco to befriend someone of such power; because though the Zabini's were neutral in most matters of politics, they were prominent, powerful figures in both the wizarding and muggle world, and Draco – god bless his soul – tended to associate with those with less power than himself in order to ensure dominance and control. Narcissa didn't personally know the Zabini's child, but she knew enough of both Nadia and Nicolai, to know that Draco wouldn't ever be able to assert himself over a child of theirs.
Then Narcissa recalled the way the boy had accompanied Lillian; recalled the way that Lillian had smiled at the boy when Lillian smiles were gifted to those few and far between.
"Are you the one that sent the letter?" The sudden remembrance had Narcissa regarding her niece from her peripheral.
The question had been asked nearly a year prior during one of Madam Deverity's social functions; they had come across the Zabini family in passing and Nadia had made the query to Narcissa's niece, who had confirmed the Lady's question without pause.
The remembered exchange caused Narcissa to wonder, were Draco and Blaise friends from their own merits? Or had Lillian been the one to transform a possible alliance into something more?
Narcissa doubted she would ever truly know the answer to those questions, but she knew her suspicions were not unfounded and were, in fact, completely plausible.
AN:
Special Shout outs:
xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: Thank you! No Theo here, and I apologize in advance for the distinct like of Theo for the next few/couple of chapters!
Dauntless14: Thank you! I actually didn't know much about Theo (or Blaise really, aside from what I saw in the movies) before I started this series so I'm really glad that you've liked what I've done with him (and Blaise). I'm glad you liked the show of Lillian's anger, I'm trying to slowly implement that aspect of temper into her personality, because it comes in handy later in the series. I couldn't have said it better myself! Sirius is Sirius - and he's the kind of character that you love but kind of hate at the same time (at least in regards to what I've got planned for him in my installments). [Side note that is completely unrelated to CoS, so forgive me::Are you a fan of the Divergent series?]
Lizzie Salvatore: ;)
Mira SeverusSirius Snape-Black: I don't know about you, but this Friday came by super fast for me. Like, it feels like it's still monday fast. :)
Moon-chan: Thank you! I'm glad you do, I'm slowly implementing that 'firecracker' bit into her personality, it'll be an instrumental part of her personality, especially when it comes to certain future interactions. ;) I couldn't resist throwing that in there, I'm glad you liked it too, because I was slightly worried it would be too far stretched for her to logically figure out. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
StrawberryObsession: Thank you! I'm glad you thought so. Some of it's innate skill, because despite the crazy bloodline, she hails from some powerful people, and some of it's all of her advanced reading. Good question - spoiler alert now, she won't know, because, as you may have realized from this chapter, she won't be there (however, another slight spoiler, that doesn't mean Devon can't react). They will have a moment together, really, really soon. And it'll be a big one too, so look forward to it!
Foxe165: Thank you! I'm so happy that you're anticipating it! And it makes me superbly happy that you like Lillian! :) tgif? ;) Surprisingly enough, I already have a tentative plan for Devon's end game romance, however, it is subject to change so my mind is open. Personally, I absolutely abhor love triangles, god there's nothing more frustrating; but as I said before, my mind is open so, who knows? 0.o And yea, I agree, it would be pretty difficult for her and Draco to be the endgame, not after the blood slur (twice). Tell you what though, I can't wait until I can delve into that stuff (stuff being romance). Happy Friday and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Guest 1: Yes, yes she is. haha. And next chapter! I'm glad you found it interesting, and that you like her badass-ness. I figure she's got to be a force to be reckoned with for her own reasons and not just because of her namesake; and who's to say that the only powerful ones had to be Harry and Hermione? 0.o
Guest 2: I live to please! haha. Even if that takes a few days. Here's chapter 10, see you for chapter 11! :)
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