Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
AN: There was a bit of a time skip this chapter. It will be explained more below.
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Dear Timi,
You won't believe what just happened to me!
I was playing near the swing sets, just minding my own business when Steven Caldwell walked up to me.
He stared at me for a few minutes, before I finally asked him what he wanted. His face turned bright red, and he asked if he could play with me.
I was gonna say no, but he seemed really nervous for some reason. He doesn't bully people anymore so he's not as annoying.
He was… nice for some reason.
After we finished playing on the swing sets, I smiled at him and told him that I had a lot of fun.
He stared at me again and leaned forward slowly.
I really didn't understand what he was doing at first. I was going to move away, but he pulled me towards him. He just pushed his lips against mine.
I didn't really like it that much, and I don't understand why he did it. Aren't you only supposed to kiss people you like?
After he did it he just ran away from me. Why are boys so stupid? Just last year he was throwing mud pies at me.
How are things with you? How are your nightmares? Have you been kissed by anyone?
Lots of love,
Lily
P.S. Happy birthday Timi! I hope you enjoy it!
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Septima glared at the newspaper in front of her as she slowly chewed up her breakfast.
THE KNIGHTS OF WALPURGIS STRIKE AGAIN!
By Linden Clarke
It has been no secret that the Wizarding World has been in a disarray for quite some time now. People are afraid to address the issue at hand, but I will not be.
Muggleborns, muggles, anyone that hails from a muggle heritage is being targeted by a terrorist organization. That is the only way to describe these savages. They have no remorse, no feelings for their victims. The minister wishes to brush this issue under the rug, he believes that if it is ignored it will go away automatically. I'm writing this article to warn you that it won't.
Just a few days ago, Lucy Martin and her family were massacred by these animals. Lucy was a dear friend of mine, she was also a muggleborn that openly spoke out against the Knights. They attacked her when her back was turned. They mutilated her body until it was unrecognizable and brought it to her elderly parents before killing them as well. Knights symbolize honor, where's the honor in attacking someone from behind?
I will-
"What are you doing?" Waverly snaps as she snatched the newspaper from Septima's grasp.
Septima jumps before glaring at her.
"I'm eating my breakfast," Septima states innocently "What does it look like I'm doing?"
Waverly frowns at her, before taking the seat across from her and putting the newspaper away.
"Tima," Waverly starts off tentatively "You really shouldn't even be reading the newspaper now. It's mostly rubbish anyway-"
Septima struggles not to roll her eyes as Waverly gets ready to dive into another lecture.
"Yes, Yes I know," Septima states as she gets ready to leave the table. "The content is too dangerous for my young mind to be exposed to." she quotes mockingly as she goes to her room.
Septima knows Waverly means well, she knows she's acting like a brat. But at the moment she can't bring herself to care.
Voldemort was starting to come to power. The man that would bring so much terror to the Wizarding community that people would even be afraid to say his name. She needed to be prepared for it.
Her tenth birthday had just passed, and she had been living with Waverly for about three years now. For her birthday, she had been gifted with multiple books about the basics of potion making, and a whole bunch of books on defensive spells. She was glad Waverly knew her well enough to not get her some flimsy dresses.
Her real birthday party had taken place a few days ago. She had celebrated with Florence, Waverly, and Tansy at the manor.
Since she was the heiress, she was expected to attend a lavish party later on and socialize with her cousins and other heirs and heiresses near her age. Hogwarts was no longer a far away time for her, and she needed to have as many allies as possible.
She glanced at the notebook that she and Lily shared and sighed. She would make allies, not friends.
Ever since Marlene had left to Hogwarts, Septima had barely interacted with anyone her own age. Well… anyone her age that she actually liked. Her cousins were still cold towards her, and everyone else was far too spoiled for her liking.
(She had once had the great displeasure of meeting James Potter. Florence and his mum Euphemia were apparently old friends, so they were basically forced together on a playdate of sorts. It ended with James being tied to a chair, while Septima went to her room and read her books in peace. To this day, she regretted nothing.)
(The weird thing about it was that he still wanted to spend time with her once in awhile. The kid must have been a masochist.)
She wrote letters to Marlene of course, but it wasn't the same. Marlene was a free spirit. She had already made multiple friends, and would probably forget about Septima in a little while anyway.
Septima looked over her studies, while Tansy threw multiple dresses in her direction. Septima forced a smile on her face as she looked at the house elf.
"Tansy, I already have a dress picked out for tonight," Septima says as she slowly puts her book down "Thanks for your help."
Tansy nods her head, bows, and pops out of Septima's room.
Septima sighs as she covers her head with her pillow. It sometimes felt as if her world was closing in on her. Every night she would be plagued with nightmares. Of the original's life at Spinner's End, of Hogwarts, of what she might be forced to do in the future…
She could kind of understand why Waverly sheltered her so much.
She spent the rest of the day locked up in her room until Waverly came up to retrieve her.
The older witch looks tired, but she spares Septima a smile.
"Mother wishes for you to come to the manor now, Tima." She said as she starts to gather all of her books from her bed.
Septima nods as she starts to head for the bathroom. She stops and looks back at Waverly.
"I'm sorry for worrying you Aunt Waverly," She states as she turns away. Long arms gather her in a hug. She takes this time to fully observe her aunt. Her aunt was no great beauty, neither had Eileen been. But she had this air surrounding her. It made you feel safe with her.
Waverly strokes her hair.
"It's alright kiddo," Waverly starts "You were just curious. There's nothing wrong with reading the newspaper necessarily, I just…" Waverly sighs "There's so much going on right now. Things that you shouldn't have to worry about. You should know with all the funerals we've had to attend lately."
Septima nods her head warily because, in the end, it was true. Just last week they had to bury Clarissa Rue. Septima wasn't exactly sure how they had been related, but then again all pureblood families were related in some way.
"You've always been so bright, so knowing," Waverly whispers "It's better for me to tell you than for anyone else."
Septima lifts her head and widens her eyes. Waverly was always so… tough, rough around the edges. She had never expected this much emotion from her.
"You've always known that the Prince family was dying off, right?" Waverly starts off bluntly.
Septima slowly nods her head as Waverly stares at her, and takes a seat. She runs a hand through her pixie cut and steels herself.
"The reason for that is because of… him," Waverly hisses "The man behind all of these attacks. We don't know much about him now, admittedly. He's a new player. All we know is that he's going after those with a 'dirtier' heritage." Waverly starts mockingly. "He's most likely a pureblood. He's manipulating all of the older families to join his cause."
Septima stared at her shoes for a second before looking at her aunt again.
"Did he try and recruit the Prince family?" Septima asks hesitantly, afraid of the answer.
Waverly puts her head in her hands and nods. Septima shudders. The fact that… that monster was already so close to her made her want to hurl.
"He didn't come directly, of course, he sent one of his minions. Mother turned him down obviously." Waverly revealed. "Septima… you play a part in the Prince family going against him."
Septima froze.
"H-how so?" Septima questioned, cursing herself for her stutter. She had tried so hard to get rid of it, but it would always come back at random times.
"Having an heiress that hails from a muggle heritage goes directly against what that man stands for. I told you that the reason you were chosen was that the Prince main line was dying off, and while that is true it isn't the main reason. That's why you need to be better Septima. That's why I'm so hard on you at times." Waverly stressed.
Septima can't even bring herself to nod her head.
Waverly stares at her for a moment and gracefully gets up to leave her room.
"Good luck Tima," She whispered, "Give the Prince family a good name."
Septima stares at the woman and finally nods her head.
"Of course Aunt Waverly." Septima states as she tilts her chin up and walks to the bathroom to get ready.
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She truly hated parties like these.
She forced another fake smile on her face as she greeted one of her cousins. Barty Crouch Jr. was one year younger than her and had a nervous look about him. His mother pushed him forward with a smile as he bowed to her.
"I-it's nice to meet you, Heiress Prince." He mumbled quietly.
Septima bowed towards him as well much to his shock.
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well Bartemius," She stated, as his face screwed up a bit at being called his full name. "Is it alright if I call you Barty?"
Barty nodded his head furiously.
"Of course Heiress Prince!" He squeaked, before cowering a bit.
Septima frowned at that and patted his shoulder.
"You can call me Septima then." She stated as gently as she could. She didn't want the kid to be afraid of her. "It's only fair isn't it?"
Barty looked down at his shoelaces and mumbled in agreement. Septima smiled a genuine smile at him and tugged him along.
"Would you mind accompanying me for the evening, Barty?" Septim inquired. "Everyone else her is so… boring." Septima whispered as if it was some great secret.
Barty nodded with the utmost seriousness, and it made Barty feel warm inside. Truth be told, she had been planning on spending the night by herself.
But… when she looked at Barty, it reminded her of herself. Before Lily, before Waverly, before Florence. It reminded her of when she had no one.
This shy kid in front of her barely had anyone. His father was a workaholic that barely gave him the time of the day. His mother loved him, dearly. But something was missing when she looked at him. It reminded her of the look that had frequented Eileen's eyes multiple times.
She would be his Lily, his Waverly if she had to. The kid in front of her would not become a death eater. He would not spend a good majority of his life in Azkaban.
She looked at him and smiled. There was so much potential in his brown eyes.
He held onto her arm as she went to greet other people.
Florence had basically given her free reign. She said that Septima needed to learn how to navigate these places on her own.
Meeting Lucius Malfoy was most possibly one of the weirdest moments she had ever experienced.
She had bumped into him by accident, and after apologizing profusely he just stared at her. His grey eyes were analyzing her, sizing her up. It made Septima felt uncomfortable.
She bowed to him and bid him farewell in proper pureblood fashion. He just smirked at her.
"It was nice meeting you as well… Heiress Prince." He drawled mockingly causing Septima's face to redden slightly. He performed a half-hearted bow and completely dismissed her presence.
It made her feel so… angry.
(Worthless, worthless, worthless, that's all you are-)
She stomped on Lucius's robes as he turned away, effectively causing him to trip. He turned on her, grey eyes flashing.
She smiled demurely and bowed again.
"How clumsy of me." She drawled.
Lucius observed their surroundings and noticed that people were now indeed staring at them. He forced a smile on his face and bowed properly towards her this time.
"The fault was all mine Heiress Prince." he insists before hurrying away.
She greeted the Parrish's with a small smile and inwardly cackled when Sophia had to bow to her.
(Her and Sophia still didn't get along. Since they were close in age they had been forced together on many play dates. Needless to say, they always ended with the two girls cursing at each other.)
It was the same thing for the next twenty minutes at least, before Septima finally snuck away with Barty.
She kicked her shoes off and let out a huge sigh.
"I hate these type of parties," Septima grumbled as she looked over the balcony.
Barty stared at her in barely concealed amazement.
"You… you don't enjoy it?" He questioned, gobsmacked "You looked so happy in there."
Septima smirked at him and shook her head.
"I hate parties like these." Septima revealed, "People are always so...fake."
Barty nods sagely as he lowers his head.
"At least people respect you," he mumbles before quickly covering his mouth in horror.
Septima shakes her head sadly.
"They don't respect me, Barty," Septima states "They respect my Grandmother Florence and the Prince name but they don't respect me. You saw that ponce Malfoy. To them, I'm nothing but a dirty stain." Septima summarizes bitterly.
Barty nods his head silently and they stand like that for a little while.
"I like you, Barty, you remind me of Regulus, Regulus Black. Do you know him?" Septima inquires.
Barty shudders and shakes his head. He had never formally met the Black family, but their reputation was horrifying.
"Maybe you guys could become friends?" Septima offered "The Blacks are a bit… stuffy, and His older brother Sirius is a complete idiot. But he's a sweet kid, you might find you have something in common with him."
Barty nods and stares at Septima.
Septima looks at him and smiles.
"You say people don't respect you, Barty," Septima starts off "The thing about human beings is that you have to earn their respect. I've been here three years and the Purebloods still look at me as if I'm something that was caught on the bottom of their shoes."
Barty gapes and clears his throat.
"I respect you," He reveals quietly causing Septima beams at him.
"Thanks for that, maybe we can help each other." She states reaching her hand out.
"Help each other with what?" Barty sputters staring at her outstretched hand.
Septima smiles a mysterious smile.
"World destruction of course," She jokes. "We'd be unstoppable."
Barty looks at the girl in front of him, and wills himself to believe. Believe that he isn't a waste of space, that he is worth someone's time.
He grabs her pale hand.
"I'd like that," He states firmly with a fire burning in his cinnamon eyes.
Septima nods and gives herself a pat on the back.
One year younger or not, she had just made her first ally.
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Dear Lily,
I… I really don't know what to say.
You should've punched him again in my opinion. What weirdo goes around just kissing people?
Things have been fine on my end. It's been very tame recently. To answer your second question, I thankfully haven't been kissed by anyone. If anyone tried to, I'm quite confident my Aunt Waverly would kill them.
Other than the unfortunate kissing incident, has anything been happening with you? Is Petunia still acting like a bint?
Only one more year until Hogwarts, Lily, so just try and bear with it.
I still have nightmares sometimes, but it's okay. I'm getting used to it.
I'll try and write again soon!
Love,
Timi
P.S. Thanks a bunch! Your birthday's coming up soon too. I'll try and send you something.
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Author's Note 2: So… here's Bellātor chapter 10. Septima is now 10 years old and has been living with Waverly for about three years now. There most likely won't be any more major time skips before Hogwarts, I wasn't even planning on having this one in all honesty. This chapter Septima met Barty Crouch, and they ended up becoming allies of sorts. You won't truly get to see their full dynamic until they're both in Hogwarts though. She also met Lucius Malfoy. As you can see they have a bit of a rocky relationship right now, but he will play a role later on in the story. As of right now, Bellātor has 149 follows 84 favorites and 61 reviews. I will truly never be able to thank you guys enough.
Questions I have for you Guys:
Would you guys ever want me to write a one-shot of James and Septima's meeting? It wouldn't happen right away, but I would consider it.
How do you guys feel about the newspaper article? Do you think I'm pacing Voldemort's rise to power in a good way?
I plan on having the journal entry with Lily happen every chapter. How do you guys feel about that?
P.S. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.