Chapter III - Chasing the Chasers
Lucius spent the next days trying to follow Andromeda and Alexis everywhere they went but, being the popular boy he was, the task proved to be a bit more difficult than he expected.
Another problem was following Alexis.
He could easily find Andromeda between classes, but she was often alone, thought with a double set of books. A few minutes before the end of the break, Alexis would join her, usually would ask her if she was ok, and then they would pick their books and head for next class.
He concluded from this that Alexis was indeed in the final preparation of a potion and that she went to check on it regularly, usually right after class. But to find out where she was hiding it would be tricky. He had to catch her right after the end of a lesson. He had had a chance on Tuesday, after their Potions lesson, one of the few they shared, but Alexis went straight to Andromeda and they chatted about clothes for the whole break. He also had the feeling she was getting suspicious. Or maybe just paranoid, but she often caught his eye before he could look the other way and it was getting more and more difficult to get closer.
Andromeda seemed to be getting more nervous with each passing day, and the dark look the girls sometimes exchanged had a note of uneasiness that they couldn't shake and that excited Lucius imagination.
Finally, on Thursday morning, tired of watching over and over the same things without ever coming closer to the truth, he decided to skip a class to be able to follow her. They had only two more classes together and if the week's scenario was repeated, he would never know what was happening. And so he didn't show up at Arithmancy and instead went to spy on the Care of Magical Creatures outside, where he could see MacNair, Andromeda, Alexis and Arthur Weasley among the other students.
He peered closer. No, actually he couldn't see Arthur Weasley. But he should be there in class. What had happened to him?
"Are you looking for something?" asked Arthur's voice from behind him.
Lucius turned around slowly.
"Why, it's our Big Headboy."
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in class?" asked Arthur, suspiciously.
"Well, I was wondering the same thing."
"I came to collect these" and he showed Lucius some strange brown leaves he had brought from the outskirts of the Forest.
"What a coincidence." said Lucius with the same smooth smile. "So did I. Can you tell me where to find them?"
Arthur frowned.
"You came to collect Licca leaves for some class?"
"Yes, potions." said Lucius.
"Well, then you'll find Licca leaves over there" and he pointed to a reddish bush twenty feet away. "These are Lucilla leaves."
Lucius narrowed his eyes. He had always been terrible at Herbology. Arthur was smiling and seemed to be waiting for him to go.
"Shall I help you, Lucius?"
"No, Arthur, that won't be necessary."
"Should I report you then?"
"No need. I'm in too much of a hurry to collect the, uh, Licca leaves for Potions."
Arthur smiled again. But he only turned around to return to his class when he saw Lucius far away near the reddish bush.
***
"Hell, Weasley!" he kept saying while collecting the Licca leaves. "Hell, hell, hell!" He also said some other things and called some names to Mrs. Weasley, but which I will have to omit due to large audience age-profile.
He tried to stay and collect the leaves as slowly as he could, to stay until the end of class. But after twenty minutes of taking leaves out of a tiny bush, for as much as you may take to do it, the bush just doesn't have much more to give. And Lucius didn't want to raise up an alarm by leaving it completely empty, so from then on he just pretended and went on waiting for end of class.
He couldn't see the class from where he was, as the bushes behind which he had hidden to spy stood there in-between. But he was hoping he could see them leaving class, since they would surely take the way he had taken to return to the castle.
It had been nearly an hour when he suddenly remembered they may not come out of class from that side since it was the last class before lunch and there was a quicker way to go to the Great Hall. And it was so obvious now that it would happen that he decided to risk a closer look again. Right at that moment, Alexis, looking back apprehensively, showed up from behind the bush he had been hidden. She had walked a few paces before she looked ahead again and noticed Lucius. And it was unquestionable where she was going and how surprised (and alarmed?) she was by seeing him there. She tried to change route, but must have decided that it looked even more suspicious, and so she walked straight to him.
"Malfoy" she said when she reached him "Andromeda told me she needs to talk to you."
"Did she?" Lucius frowned. He did not expect this approach at all. He thought she would simply deny she had a clear objective in going there. "And why didn't Andromeda come and see me herself?"
"It is a personal thing. It concerns her sister."
"Which one?"
"Well, Narcissa, naturally."
"Did she?" he eyed her suspiciously.
"Yes." And after a moment, she began to look impatient. "So? Are you coming with me?" Lucius noticed she kept glancing at something behind him.
"Sure. Let's go see Andromeda then."
They started walking slowly to the castle. He noticed as they passed the bush that everyone had gone and that he had been right in thinking they had left by the other side.
"And, how did you know I was here?"
"I saw you."
"Oh, I thought I had been discreet."
"You don't know how to be discreet, Malfoy."
"I will prove you wrong one day." he said smiling. And if it weren't for the fact that it would ruin everything, he would show her right now how he had been spying on them without her knowledge.
"I've known you for seven years now, Malfoy. Do you really think there is something you could do that could make me change what I think about you?"
"Why don't we let time be the judge of that?" and he looked at her a bit more intensely. Alexis was about to answer when she saw Andromeda looking very worried at the sight of the two of them. Alexis reassured her with an imperceptible gesture and said: "Andromeda, I found Lucius for you. Didn't you have something to talk to him? About your sister?"
"Oh, yes" she said, looking at him and suddenly noticing where they had come from. "Please, let's go to a quieter place."
Lucius stood there for a moment. He felt like blowing their whole game right now, make them show him what they were hiding. But he was too curious about the outcome and he didn't want to spoil everything now. He ended up smiling and following Andromeda far far away from the Forest. Alexis didn't move until they were out of her sight.
"So, what do you want to talk to me about Bellatrix?" asked Lucius.
"The thing is... where to start... You know she is only a girl and maybe this Quidditch thing is a bit too much for her."
"Is it?" Lucius grinned while thinking to himself "You are one damned liar, Miss Alexis. And with guts, too. But I'll get you in the end..."
And for almost twenty minutes, the time that took Alexis to rejoin them, Andromeda spoke about Bellatrix and Quidditch as if they were her absolute priorities in life.
Lucius spent the next days trying to follow Andromeda and Alexis everywhere they went but, being the popular boy he was, the task proved to be a bit more difficult than he expected.
Another problem was following Alexis.
He could easily find Andromeda between classes, but she was often alone, thought with a double set of books. A few minutes before the end of the break, Alexis would join her, usually would ask her if she was ok, and then they would pick their books and head for next class.
He concluded from this that Alexis was indeed in the final preparation of a potion and that she went to check on it regularly, usually right after class. But to find out where she was hiding it would be tricky. He had to catch her right after the end of a lesson. He had had a chance on Tuesday, after their Potions lesson, one of the few they shared, but Alexis went straight to Andromeda and they chatted about clothes for the whole break. He also had the feeling she was getting suspicious. Or maybe just paranoid, but she often caught his eye before he could look the other way and it was getting more and more difficult to get closer.
Andromeda seemed to be getting more nervous with each passing day, and the dark look the girls sometimes exchanged had a note of uneasiness that they couldn't shake and that excited Lucius imagination.
Finally, on Thursday morning, tired of watching over and over the same things without ever coming closer to the truth, he decided to skip a class to be able to follow her. They had only two more classes together and if the week's scenario was repeated, he would never know what was happening. And so he didn't show up at Arithmancy and instead went to spy on the Care of Magical Creatures outside, where he could see MacNair, Andromeda, Alexis and Arthur Weasley among the other students.
He peered closer. No, actually he couldn't see Arthur Weasley. But he should be there in class. What had happened to him?
"Are you looking for something?" asked Arthur's voice from behind him.
Lucius turned around slowly.
"Why, it's our Big Headboy."
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in class?" asked Arthur, suspiciously.
"Well, I was wondering the same thing."
"I came to collect these" and he showed Lucius some strange brown leaves he had brought from the outskirts of the Forest.
"What a coincidence." said Lucius with the same smooth smile. "So did I. Can you tell me where to find them?"
Arthur frowned.
"You came to collect Licca leaves for some class?"
"Yes, potions." said Lucius.
"Well, then you'll find Licca leaves over there" and he pointed to a reddish bush twenty feet away. "These are Lucilla leaves."
Lucius narrowed his eyes. He had always been terrible at Herbology. Arthur was smiling and seemed to be waiting for him to go.
"Shall I help you, Lucius?"
"No, Arthur, that won't be necessary."
"Should I report you then?"
"No need. I'm in too much of a hurry to collect the, uh, Licca leaves for Potions."
Arthur smiled again. But he only turned around to return to his class when he saw Lucius far away near the reddish bush.
***
"Hell, Weasley!" he kept saying while collecting the Licca leaves. "Hell, hell, hell!" He also said some other things and called some names to Mrs. Weasley, but which I will have to omit due to large audience age-profile.
He tried to stay and collect the leaves as slowly as he could, to stay until the end of class. But after twenty minutes of taking leaves out of a tiny bush, for as much as you may take to do it, the bush just doesn't have much more to give. And Lucius didn't want to raise up an alarm by leaving it completely empty, so from then on he just pretended and went on waiting for end of class.
He couldn't see the class from where he was, as the bushes behind which he had hidden to spy stood there in-between. But he was hoping he could see them leaving class, since they would surely take the way he had taken to return to the castle.
It had been nearly an hour when he suddenly remembered they may not come out of class from that side since it was the last class before lunch and there was a quicker way to go to the Great Hall. And it was so obvious now that it would happen that he decided to risk a closer look again. Right at that moment, Alexis, looking back apprehensively, showed up from behind the bush he had been hidden. She had walked a few paces before she looked ahead again and noticed Lucius. And it was unquestionable where she was going and how surprised (and alarmed?) she was by seeing him there. She tried to change route, but must have decided that it looked even more suspicious, and so she walked straight to him.
"Malfoy" she said when she reached him "Andromeda told me she needs to talk to you."
"Did she?" Lucius frowned. He did not expect this approach at all. He thought she would simply deny she had a clear objective in going there. "And why didn't Andromeda come and see me herself?"
"It is a personal thing. It concerns her sister."
"Which one?"
"Well, Narcissa, naturally."
"Did she?" he eyed her suspiciously.
"Yes." And after a moment, she began to look impatient. "So? Are you coming with me?" Lucius noticed she kept glancing at something behind him.
"Sure. Let's go see Andromeda then."
They started walking slowly to the castle. He noticed as they passed the bush that everyone had gone and that he had been right in thinking they had left by the other side.
"And, how did you know I was here?"
"I saw you."
"Oh, I thought I had been discreet."
"You don't know how to be discreet, Malfoy."
"I will prove you wrong one day." he said smiling. And if it weren't for the fact that it would ruin everything, he would show her right now how he had been spying on them without her knowledge.
"I've known you for seven years now, Malfoy. Do you really think there is something you could do that could make me change what I think about you?"
"Why don't we let time be the judge of that?" and he looked at her a bit more intensely. Alexis was about to answer when she saw Andromeda looking very worried at the sight of the two of them. Alexis reassured her with an imperceptible gesture and said: "Andromeda, I found Lucius for you. Didn't you have something to talk to him? About your sister?"
"Oh, yes" she said, looking at him and suddenly noticing where they had come from. "Please, let's go to a quieter place."
Lucius stood there for a moment. He felt like blowing their whole game right now, make them show him what they were hiding. But he was too curious about the outcome and he didn't want to spoil everything now. He ended up smiling and following Andromeda far far away from the Forest. Alexis didn't move until they were out of her sight.
"So, what do you want to talk to me about Bellatrix?" asked Lucius.
"The thing is... where to start... You know she is only a girl and maybe this Quidditch thing is a bit too much for her."
"Is it?" Lucius grinned while thinking to himself "You are one damned liar, Miss Alexis. And with guts, too. But I'll get you in the end..."
And for almost twenty minutes, the time that took Alexis to rejoin them, Andromeda spoke about Bellatrix and Quidditch as if they were her absolute priorities in life.