Chapter 4
Nelda drifted awake in confusion. She could feel a heavy warmth on her right side and felt something tickle her nose. Then she felt the weight shift and her eyes snapped open. Glancing down her got a face full of riotous raven curls and the events of last night flooded back. She reached down and pushed her friend's hair out of her face and took in the trails of tears that ran down her cheeks, she was pretty sure she looked the same.
Last night was a harrowing affair. She really could not believe the luck the two of them had, having soulmates on the wrong side. Last she heard though, Crouch died inside of Azkaban. That couldn't be right though since the mark didn't fade to grey and was still a pure black color. Dead names couldn't provide the power necessary to keep up the mark after all. She had a sinking feeling that somehow he escaped and was at large. She curled her arm over the smaller girl protectively. She would need to explain some more things about soul marks when she woke her up, but for now she will let the girl get a couple more minutes of rest.
She could feel it the moment Aza started to wake up. She had frozen up completely and her eyebrows furrowed, then she let out a confused hum. Her eyes snapped open then glanced up and she could see fear in the emerald depths before Aza recognized who she was cuddling against.
"Morning Nel." She mumbled out sleepily, reaching one hand up to rub the sleep out of her eyes.
"Good morning Aza" Nelda whispered, still holding on to her. She sighed before burying her face into her hair. "We need to discuss more things about our soul marks. I think there are some important things you need to know."
"Like what?" She groused, burying her face into Neld's shoulder.
"Like the fact that no one can demand to know who your soulmate is, not even a magical guardian or any government employee. That is nobody's business but your own. You can choose to tell people or keep it a secret.' She lectured as Aza watched on, soaking up all of the information given to her.
"Also your soulmate, Barty Crouch jr. is a registered death eater. His last known whereabouts was in Azkaban prison where he supposedly died in captivity which has to be false due to the fact that your soul mark has not faded to grey. I believe he has escaped from prison, which means he is at large. If he knows you're his soulmate he most likely will not harm you but I don't know how he would have emerged out of Azkaban. It is notorious for driving people insane." She informed. "Both him and Rodolphus Lestrange, my soulmate, have been in that place for ten years now." She whispered, looking off to the side.
"It's okay Nel. I have you and Theo and Daphne now. I'll be fine. And you have me. We can get through this together. It doesn't matter who our soul mates are, we will always have each other's back,right?" Aza said with a shy look in her eyes.
"Yea, together." Nel uttered. "Let's get ready for breakfast okay? We have defense afterwards."
"Will you braid my hair again after my shower?" Azalea asked hopefully.
"Yea. Let's hurry to the bathrooms before Padma, Su lí and Lisa wake up." She said mischievously, trying to take her mind off Rodolphus and Barty. She needed to have a sit down with her Nan about this situation. She doesn't know how the blood feud would affect the soulmate bond.
By 7:20 they were walking into the common room to meet up with Theo and Daphne since it seems that Daph was an early riser and ready before they even woke up.
Both Theo and Dee looked up when they walked in. Nel could see that they were worried but too polite to say anything. She tried to offer them a comforting smile but it came out more as a grimace and shrugged one shoulder at them. Aza immediately reached for Theo's hand as soon as she reached them. She felt like she still needed reassurance that she didn't do anything wrong even though Nel told her that it wasn't her fault.
I'll tell you guys who it is but please don't tell anyone. I don't want people I don't trust to know." Azalea whispered with an unsure look in her eyes. She kept her tone low so only her three friends could hear it.
"You don't have to Aza." Theo reassured her.
"I know but I want to." She replied back firmly though still quietly.
She led the three others down an empty hallway on the same floor as the common rooms so that they wouldn't get lost and ducked into an unused classroom and locked the door.
"My soulmate is a death eater." She stated, looking at the ground. She could hear two sharp inhales. At the silence she looked up only to lock eyes with Theo's steady gaze, no look of judgement whatsoever in them. She took comfort in that and turned to look at Dee. There was only a look of curiosity, no judgement or distaste at all. At that she could feel her shoulders loosen. She didn't even notice that she had tensed up. "His name is Bartimus Crouch jr." She revealed.
The two kids looked at Nelda at that. When they didn't see anything other than acceptance they looked back at Aza and shrugged.
"So what do you want to do about it?" Theo said calmly.
"How can we help?" Daphne asked right after.
Azalea let out a sniffle. She couldn't believe the level of acceptance that her friends were showing her. She had dreamed about this kind of acceptance when she was a little girl in her cupboard. By the time she was ten she had lost all hope of ever finding someone who would accept her as her and yet here she was. She flung her arms around Theo's and Dee's necks and felt tears escape out of the corner of her eyes.
"Thank you for not hating me." She whispered in their ears. She felt Nelda join in on the hug from behind her.
"I told you we wouldn't hate you for something out of your control." Nel whispered. At that she could feel the other two nod.
"Let's get to breakfast guys. We're about fifteen minutes late." Daphne muttered while looking down at her wrist watch.
"We better hurry up now girls." Theo said softly.
When they disengaged out of the cuddle pile they made, Theo kept a hold of Aza's hand. He hadn't liked the look of uncertainty that was in her eyes before they had the talk and he wanted to make sure she knew he didn't care. He was from a dark family after all, what was one more dark wizard. He would have to talk to his dad about training though. He won't let any man hurt his friends, soulmate or not.
They ended up making it to the great hall with twenty minutes to eat. They sat with Aza and Theo on one side and Dee and Nel on the other. Azalea filled up four cups of tea, this time Darjeeling, and handed it out as she typically did now. Theo of course was filling up both of their plates again. This time she ate a spinach, mushroom, and sausage omelette with hollandaise sauce and hash browns on the side.
After breakfast they had to rush to defense. The four of them just barely made it in time before the class started. Luckily for them there was a desk open in the back that had four seats open. Theo sat on the outside corner with Azalea next to him. Next to Azalea sat Daphne who pulled Nelda down next to her. They each pulled out a piece of parchment and their quil before taking out their textbook.
Then the teacher came shuffling in and walked to the desk. He looked as if he was trying to make himself seem smaller. When he opened his mouth Aza could feel her eye twitch. The stuttering was so bad she couldn't make out what he was saying. How were they supposed to learn anything if they couldn't make out a single word that the teacher said?
When the teacher turned his back to her she let out a faint hiss. A sharp shooting pain started to throb where her scar sat. 'Oh great first an incompetent teacher and now a headache. Can this day get any worse!' She thought to herself then let her head rest on Theo's shoulder.
"You okay." He whispered.
"Yea just a headache." She muttered back. She could feel him nod before she drifted off on his shoulder. She Felt someone shake her shoulder after what felt to her like five minutes.
"Aza. Aza! It's time to wake up! Class is over,come on now." She could make out a voice that sounded vaguely like Theo.
"Five more minutes big brother." She grumbled out with a yawn before her mind caught up to her, causing her to freeze up and a blush to wash over her face. She squinted her eyes open and looked up at him through her eyelashes. She hadn't meant to admit that she already thought of him as a brother since they have only really been friends for three days but when she met him it was an instant connection.
Theo's expression was that of pleased contentment though. He looked happy at the thought of being considered a brother. Matter of fact he looked like the cat who ate the canary.
"Little sister, come on let's make our way to flying now that you deemed it fit to wake up. I sent the other two ahead to get decent brooms." He said as she stood up and packed her bag.
"I'm sorry I fell asleep Theo. I was just closing my eyes to stave off the headache. I didn't mean to use you as a pillow." She admitted. She felt elated though that he reciprocated the familiar bond they had. She had always wanted an older sibling, or a sibling in general so that she didn't always feel alone. It helped though that they were related in a way, it didn't take much for her to cling to any family that wasn't the Dursley's.
"It's fine. I don't really mind Aza. We really do need to get on our way though. We have about eight minutes to get to the field to fly." He said as he started to drag her out the door.
They made it with one minute to spare. Off to the left stood Nel and Dee, each holding two brooms. Theo and Azalea strolled over and threw their bags over with the other two and took their respective broom from the two girls.
"Thanks for holding them for us guys. I really appreciate it." Aza spoke softly with a small smile. Azalea and Theo stood on either side of Nelda with Daphne next to Azalea. Hopefully all went well in class, she was a little nervous as she had never flown before. At least they had this class with Hufflepuff and not Gryffindor. She really didn't want to deal with Ron.
A woman with short spiky grey hair and golden hawk-like eyes strolled over to the group of kids. "My name is Rolanda Hooch. I will be teaching you how to correctly ride a broom today. Please lay the brooms on the ground to your dominant side then we can get started." She spoke in a confident voice, looking around the field.
Once all the students had done as she asked she continued. "Now raise your hand over the broom and say up. It should raise into your awaiting hand."
"Up." Azalea said firmly and the broom basically jumped into her hand. To her right she could see that Nelda's broom just rolled and never left the ground while Theo got it on his second try and Dee on her third.
"Nel, say it with confidence. You can do it and Theo and I are right next to you if something happens." Azalea said.
"Up!" This time Nelda felt it smack into her hand. She never flew at the manor because it seemed dangerous.
"Okay kids I want you all to mount the brooms and I will come along and correct your grip." Madam Hooch said while going down the line of children. Once she was done she went back up to the front.
"On the count of three I want you to hover off the ground. When I blow the whistle I want you to land by leaning gently forwards. Ready! Three, two-"
She got cut off by Nelda's broom malfunctioning. It rose on its own without warning causing Nelda to let out a yelp. Luckily for her Azalea reacted on instinct alone and as quick as a whip grabbed her arm and hauled her off the broom, which continued to raise on it's own before flying itself into the castle wall.
"Well that's a first." Madam hooch muttered while staring at the broom that now laid on the ground. "Hold on dear I'll get you another broom. No one is to fly until I'm back" She said before hurrying off.
Nelda clung onto Azalea shaking, her face completely pale. "Thank you." She whispered into the smaller girl's hair while she felt the other two close ranks around them.
"It's okay. You're safe. I told you that we wouldn't let anything happen." Azalea soothed, rubbing her hand up and down her back. She could feel Nel nod into her hair.
When Madam Hooch returned with a newer looking broom she could practically feel Nelda's reluctance but the rest of the class went off without a hitch.
As they were walking down the hallway to go back to the common room Theo pulled Azalea aside.
"Do you think I can borrow your owl later. I have to write my father a letter and I've put it off for too long." He asked quietly.
"Yea that's no problem. Just let me know when you want to go up to the owlery."she replied.
"Thanks." He said as they walked through the door. He made his way over to a desk and pulled out a piece of parchment.
Father
First off, hello dad how has time away from me been? I'm doing well here at Hogwarts. I was sorted into Ravenclaw with a couple of other people I made friends with on the boat ride over the lake. Their names are Daphne, heiress to house Greengrass, Nelda, heiress to house Longbottom, and Azalea, heiress to house Potter.
On another note I will need training when I come home. I have decided that I must learn how to protect my friends better. No boy or man will touch them under my watch. It seems I might have become a little protective of them.
Oh and I adopted Azalea so you now have a daughter.
With high regards from your loving son,
Theodore Nott
Heir to house Nott
Heir to the Earl of Louth
After he finished the letter he sealed and pressed his heir ring into the wax. With that done he joined the other three in the empty spot along the north wall.
"Remember guys we have astronomy at midnight so after dinner we should take a small nap so we won't be exhausted tomorrow." He spoke as he sat down. "What did you think of the defense class?" He asked.
"I couldn't understand a word he said. It's a joke! I think we would be better off with self study in that class.''Azalea sighed out with disappointment radiating off of her.
"I concur. I think it's best we stick to what we planned out yesterday along with self study. Like Azalea said, I couldn't understand what he said." Daphne said evenly.
Each of them pulled out their self assigned textbooks and a piece of parchment. They were determined to get ahead even if one of their core teachers was incompetent. For the next three hours they didn't lift their heads out of their books. It wasn't until they heard someone say it was dinner time that they surfaced.
"I got the letter I want to send before dinner. Do you mind coming with me, Azalea." Theo said distractedly.
"Sure thing Theo. We will meet you guys in the hall okay?" She told the other two as she dragged Theo out of the common room by his hand.
"They really act like siblings don't they?" Daphne asked Nelda.
"Yea they really do. It might be because Euphemia Potter was born a Nott." Nelda admitted.
"Oh I think I remember Azalea saying that on the boat. How did you remember that?" Dee asked.
"The Longbottoms have been close allies with the Potter for well over five hundred years. Even our generations match up so that the heirs are close in age." Nelda admitted. It was rare for a house to be as close as theirs was. "Typically both heirs are raised with the history of both houses though I know no one has taught Azalea. It's fine though. I'll just do it myself." She told the taller girl.
The two walked side by side into the great hall and found a spot to sit down. This time Nelda filled out four cups because Azalea wasn't there. It only took about five minutes before the other two sat down in front of them.
"Hey guys did you hear the blonde kid challenging Ron to a wizarding duel? We walked in just as he challenged him. Honestly I think he just set him up." Azalea chirped as she sat down.
"No Dee and I were busy talking. What house is the blonde kid in?" Nel asked.
"He is in Slytherin. He has light blonde hair and grey eyes. He's supper pale too." Azalea said.
"She is talking about that ponce, Malfoy." Theo stated dryly.
"Aah." Understanding lit in Nels eyes. "He was definitely set up. Malfoys always set others up to take the fall. That's just how they work. That's why they are always politicians."
At the word politician she immediately understood. Uncle Vernon always said that they were good decent folk like him which translated into slimy and underhanded to her. After all, if her uncle Vernon liked them that meant that they were bad people but she understood the necessity of them. After all, some actually went in hoping to change things.
"Well it couldn't happen to a better person than Ron." She smirked, making the other kids burst out laughing.
While they were talking Theo once again filled her plate up. He put on fresh steamed vegetables and crab stuffed flounder with steamed shrimp. When he was done with hers he filled his up with the same thing.
As they were eating a great horned owl swooped down onto the table right in front of Nelda and held it's foot out to her. She reached out and took off the letter that had her name on it. She knew this owl. It was one of her grandmother's nicer owls, named Meridia, who she used with people she liked.
"It's from my Nan. I told her about you guys." She admitted as she opened it.
My dear granddaughter
I am pleased you made friends with heiress Potter
And I do give my permission for her to stay with us during Yule. I am also pleased that you have gained strong friendships with heir Nott and heiress Greengrass. I will of course trust your instincts on what you wrote about Azalea's guardians and offer her sanctuary in our ancient halls and the protection of our hearth for however long she may need it.
Let your friends know that during any of the breaks they can visit at any time.
Onto the matter with the wand we will go to Ollivanders on Yule break. It was shameful of me to think it would work and I would like to apologize for hoping that it would. I know you aren't your parents and I shouldn't have treated you such. I will hopefully see you and Azalea soon.
With regards,
Augusta Longbottom
Dowager Longbottom
She smiled as she read the letter. She really appreciated that her Nan accepted who she made friends with. She also couldn't wait to tell Aza that she could come to her manor for the Yule holiday. She also couldn't wait to tell her that she would never have to go back to her aunt's house again. She especially couldn't wait to get her own wand. She knew her Nan meant well. It was hard on her after what happened to her son and daughter in law, she knew she was just trying to keep any little bit of the memory alive.
"Azalea I need a word with you before our nap. Is that fine?" She asked.
"Yes, that's fine. If your done we can leave now." She said looking into her friends hazel green eyes.
"Sure. It's best to get it out of the way as fast as possible." She admitted.
They both got up and slipped out of the room. Nelda grabbed onto Azalea's hand and led her into an empty classroom.
"Azalea, my house would like to offer you sanctuary from whoever raised you. As allied houses it is well within our power to take you in. You would never have to go back." She stated firmly. She watched as surprise and shock bled into a fierce hope on the smaller girls face.
"Please. Is there a certain way I should accept? I really want to accept." She pleaded.
"Once I am done my part just say 'I then your name accept the willing offer from house Longbottom of sanctuary in your halls and the protection of your hearth in my times of need, so mote it be' that's all. The so mote it be makes it binding". She informed.
"Azalea Dorea Potter of house Potter, house Longbottom offers to you the sanctuary of our noble halls. We offer you the protection of our hearth and food at our table in your time of need. Do you accept?" Nelda's voice sounded like it was layered with power.
"I, Azalea Dorea Potter do accept the willing offer from house Longbottom of sanctuary in your halls and the protection of your hearth in my times of need, so mote it be." She could feel a rush of magic binding her words and felt relief. She would never have to go back to the place of her nightmares. In her happiness at that thought she flung herself at Nel knocking the girl back a step. "Thank you, thank you." She kept repeating into her shoulder.
"It's okay Azalea. You'll be okay now." Nelda comforted. She wrapped her arms around Azaleas thin waist and hugged her back for about a minute. "Come on it's best we head up for that nap if we want to function tomorrow morning." She mentioned.
The two girls walked back to the common room in silence. When they got up the stairs to their dorms they noticed Dee was already in bed and that they were the only ones there. The other girls were probably at the library or in the common room doing extra studying. They decided to forgo changing into anything else and climbed into bed still in their uniforms.
Luckily for Nelda and Azalea, Daphne woke up in time to wake them up. They walked briskly to the common room where they found Theo leaning against the wall by the exit. His hair looked a little messy and his tie was crooked. Azalea padded over two him and straightened it before looking up at him.
"Nelda offered me the sanctuary of her halls. I get to go there for Yule and summer. Do you think you'll be allowed to visit?" She asked, staring pleadingly into his eyes.
"If I'm allowed to, I will." He said while patting her head.
"My Nan said that you guys are allowed over at anytime while on we are out of school. She is quite happy about who I made friends with. I can make up guest rooms permanently for you in my wing of the manor. Just tell me what colors you would prefer for the rooms." Nelda informed. While taking out a piece of scrap paper and using her book to write while they started on their way to the astronomy tower.
"I wouldn't mind turquoise and white. I think those colors would go beautifully together." Daphne supplied thoughtfully.
"I personally would like a nice jade color with dusty blue." Theo said distractedly, watch Azalea as she vibrates in happiness.
"Can my room be grape purple with steel grey?" Asked Azalea.
"Yea I don't see why not." Nel answered while jotting down the colors. All of the wooden furniture in the manor was made from fir. They grew in abundance on their land due to her ancestor, Adair Longbottom, planting a couple of them around a thousand years ago.
Just as she finished writing down the colors and the respective names next to it they reached the stairs to the tower. She slipped the piece of parchment in her bag and started to climb the stairs, dreading how tired her legs were going to be by tomorrow.
They made their way into the classroom while being slightly out of breath and plopped down at the first open desk. They took a minute to just rest before they pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill along with their textbook.
"Okay class my name is professor Aurora Sinistra I will be teaching you for the next five to seven years. We will be going over the names for the core planets today." A tall woman with warm bronze skin and dark braided hair with copper wire coiled through it said as she swept into the room. Her warm cinnamon color eyes swept over each student in the room. "Can anyone tell me which planets are in our solar system?" She asked.
Immediately a girl in Gryffindor with hair bigger than she is stated to wave her hand sporadically. When no other student raised their hand she sighed. "Yes, miss?" She asked.
"Granger ma'am. The planets in our solar system are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto." She answered primly.
"Yes, that is correct, Miss Granger. Now can anyone tell me the name of a star that we can see?" She asked. This time there were more hands up but Granger's was still the fastest one. "Yes Miss Potter."
"The sun ma'am." Aza replied softly.
"That's correct. Any more?" She continued. "How about you, Mr Malfoy."
"Um, the North Star?" He blurted out looking unsure.
"That is also correct Polaris also known as the north star can actually be used as a way of finding your direction it always points north hence the name the north star."
The rest of the class went by relatively fast in the same vein. Soon they dragged themselves through the common room door and said their good nights.
The next Morning Azalea woke up to find Dee already out of bed. She padded over to Nelda's bed to gently wake her up. "Nel wake up. We're going to be late to breakfast." she softly muttered to the older girl.
"I'm awake Aza." she grizzled out with her eyes still shut. She turned over onto her back and flung an arm over her eyes. Sthen let out an 'oof' when Azalea flopped onto her stomach.
"Nelly please. We don't even have time to braid our hair." Aza mumbled into Nelda's stomach.
"Okay, okay I'm awake. Let's head out to meet up with Theo and Dee." she supplied as she rolled out from under Azalea and sat up on the bed. It took about five minutes for the both of them to get dressed and walk to the common room, where Theo and Dee sat on the couch once again. She watched with a soft smile as once again Azalea drifted over to Theo's side and grabbed onto the sleeve of his robes.
They made their way to the great hall where breakfast had already started. They all took their seats at the end of the table with Azalea sitting with Theo. Then a black as night great horned owl landed with it's leg out to Theo. He gently untied the letter while Azalea filled up four cups of Earl Grey tea and handed some crumbled up pieces of sausage to the bird.
Theodore,
My days without you are blissfully quiet and I can finally read in peace. It is nice to hear that you have settled in well at Hogwarts and even better knowing that you have made friends.
I will admit to being shocked at finding out who though. I would have thought that the Heiress' Longbottom and Potter would stick to light families and avoid those that align with the dark. I have no complaints though with your choices since they all would make decent connections and maybe new alliances.
I will gladly help teach you spells that can help you better protect your friends as well. Let it be noted though that Notts always accomplish what they set out to do.
Know that I am proud of you son and don't let anyone tell you differently.
Also tell my new daughter hello for me and that I'd like to meet her whenever possible during Yule break.
With Fondness,
Thorros Nott
Lord Nott
Earl of Louth
After Reading his fathers letter Theo sighed in relief and turned to Azalea. "Father wants me to tell you hello My new daughter ." He said with a smirk as a faint blush spread over Aza's cheeks. He could already tell that today was going to be a good day.
Author Note:
( ps...yes I know Pluto isn't considered a planet anymore but it wasn't until 2006 that scientists decided that it didn't fit the definition of planet ~Jess)