Chapter 18
Jason picked at his food like always, prodding it with his fork and fingers. Finally, just like always, he shoved his plate away from him and put his head down on the table. Shawn stared at him from across the table. It was no use trying to get him to eat. He wouldn't eat.
The school year had ended, and Lilus was no where to be found. The centaurs had searched the forest multiple times, not to mention the searches that the teachers did. No one was in the forest. Lilus was gone. She had just vanished. Jason had failed his classes, but his professors passed him anyway. He wasn't going through any good times. His parents had came up dead, killed by Death Eaters. He had stayed with Remus. There was no one else that he could stay with. Although Remus was not a very controlled werewolf, he did take care of his younger friend.
Being a werewolf wasn't necessarily hard, and being with another one made the full moon go by a lot faster. All they did was fight, but it was a show of power, and Remus was just a tad bit stronger than Jason was. School began again, and the adoption papers for Jason had been finalized by Remus.
It had become evident to just about everyone that Jason had been in love with Lilus one week after her disappearance. Shawn did have his suspicions, but he never really put any into deep thought. Jason had cried every night after that, and even in his room, he heard it. He spent a lot of time with Professor Lupin, and a lot of time in the hospital wing. The poor boy had lost everything. His parents were dead. His love was probably dead. His emotions had just stopped.
His emotions were dead.
Jason raised his head and looked at Shawn. "I'm going to bed."
"But Jason, it's only lunch time."
"I don't give a shit. Tell the professors I'm skipping."
He stood up and began to walk towards the door. Shawn nodded at his back, and Jason disappeared through the doors. Justin stared at him.
"Lilus again?"
"Poor boy."
Jason wandered around the halls, slinking along the walls and poking at the paintings. Finally, he came to the library where he sat down at the table farthest away from the door, the one hidden behind the bookshelves. He put his head down and closed his eyes, although sooner or later, the tears began to flow again, and he bit down on his bottom lip to keep from sobbing.
The nightmares. Burning. Screaming. Pain. Then nothing. It was always the same thing. Nightmares about her dying. Seer dreams that he didn't want to have. Death Eaters. Voldemort. Torture. Burning.
He fell asleep sometime during that; he wasn't sure how he could. He jerked up, his eyes half closed. When they finally focused, there was a boy in front of him. He looked unamused, brown hair, brown eyes. His arms were crossed, and he was leaning back in the chair, propping his feet on the table.
"Evening, Jason."
Jason squinted. "Who the hell are you?"
"You haven't seen me before. My name is Snid."
Jason's eyes lit up. "You're that Snid guy? The Ravenclaw?"
The boy nodded. "Yes."
"Why are you here?"
Snid shrugged, but then his eyes connected with Jason's, and he cast his glance to the floor. "Lilus is alive."
Jason nearly leapt across the table. He had the boy pinned against the floor, straddling his waist. "WHERE IS SHE?!"
Snid coughed. "I...don't know. Just know...please get off me."
Talon jumped to the side. "Where is she?"
"She's going to come back here, but, listen to me, LISTEN TO ME! She isn't going to be herself."
Snid sat up and pulled Jason under the table. "What do you mean?"
"You know what the Crimson Tears is a symptom of? Possession of an evil spirit. Voldemort is alive."
"I know that..."
"Voldemort has been inside her body ever since the death of her parents. The Death Eaters have beaten her into submission, and when she comes back, she will be under Voldemort's control. We have to wait until the right time to strike. Jason, you can't tell anyone this. If anyone else knows, we will die. Voldemort will see, hear, and feel everything she does. If you even mention any of this, then the plan will be ruined."
"We?"
"Lilus and me."
"What? How the hell would you know all this stuff?"
"Because I'm a Death Eater."
Jason grabbed his shoulders. "Tell me what the fuck they did to her."
"Listen, if I told you, you would lose all sanity left in your head. She's alive, and we're going to get rid of Voldemort once and for all, but right now, you can't breathe a word."
"I swear it."
"Jason, we both love her. Be thankful that you did not have to watch her get tortured. Know that she is alive, and she's coming back here. Act like you always do, but never mention me or Raphael. Understand?"
"Raphael?"
"Yes."
"Why did you mention him?"
"He's the Death Eater that gives me my information."
"Gees, Hogwarts has gone to the Death Eaters!"
Snid drug him out of the floor, and he sat in his chair again. "Be strong for her. If you have ever loved her, be strong for her."
"Where can I find you?"
"You can't."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't always look like this."
"Who do you look like?"
"Not for you to know. Remember what I have told you."
Snid turned and looked at him, and his brown eyes melted into blue. "Don't come looking for me. I'll find you."
"One more question. When is she coming back?"
"Two days. Midnight. In the lake."
Snid left the room, and Jason found himself wide-eyed on the floor.
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Lilus was alive.
But, that Snid guy. He liked Lilus too, and from what she had told him, she was interested. He might have lost his chance with her, but she was still his best friend, not that Snid guy's. That would always be his.
She was alive. She wasn't dead.
But that torture. The torture that he spoke of.
Lilus...
He would find her. The lake. Two days. Lilus was coming back. It was close to the half point of his seventh year. She had been taken about a year ago, but now she was coming back. That night, Jason went to sleep. He was content. He was going to get to see his friend again.
***
The Cruciatus Curse.
The Imperius Curse.
Two of three Unforgivables.
Slowly, she rose from the ground, her arms shaking from the force. Her arms and shoulders were black, but only her hands were scaled. The newly grown tail lay limp on the ground behind her, and she lifted her head just enough to stare at the Death Eater who had cast the spell. Blood dripped from the corners of her mouth, and he could see the tattoo that covered her back through the rip in her shirt. The Dark Mark. She stood, her long beautiful hair cropped off crudely. She shot a glance to him, the pale man with red eyes sitting in the throne in the corner.
*Why? You claim to be my father, but this is no parenthood,* she hissed.
*This is your training,* he answered back as coldly as a frostbitten winter.
*This is torture! What do you want from me!?*
*I want to see your limit!*
*You want to see me suffer!*
*You are not dead, daughter. Nor will you ever die by my hand.*
*You will die by mine.*
*I will teach you your place, child.*
He nodded his head to the man in front of her. He raised his wand, and Lilus fell backwards from the blast, new gashes being ripped through her clothes and skin. She howled with pain, finally falling back on the ground again. Instantly, she was on her feet, charging at the Death Eater with outstretched claws.
"Imperio!"
She sank to her knees, her face placid and beautiful like it had always been.
"Crucio!"
She was wrenched onto her back, wreathing on the ground as the invisible torture raged on her body. It didn't take long that time.
*You...will...die...Father. I will...kill...*
And she passed into darkness once again.
***
He jerked upwards, drenched in cold sweat. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, something shot out of the window. He was in the bedroom, his bedroom. The twins were sleeping in their beds, and the lights were out. The window...
He rushed to the window and looked out, his skin glistening in the moonlight. Something had been there.
He really didn't want to go to bed again. The thing at the window, he didn't know if it was coming back. And...the nightmare. Crucio! Lilus, what happened to you?
He did sleep again, but there was no dreams this time, only the darkness.
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Jason woke up the next morning shaking like hell. He slid his legs out of bed and looked at the twins across from him. They were still sleeping. The sun had not come out yet. It was too early, but he was too excited to go back to sleep. Lilus was alive. Almost an entire year of her absence, but she was alive. She was coming back.
But inhabited.
Voldemort didn't know when to quit!
Lilus was coming back. Everything was going to be okay. She was alive.
One year in the Death Eater's capture.
What torture, he couldn't imagine.
He slid into his robes and walked out into the common room, plopping down on the sofa. He'd hug her. He'd hug her so tight. He would never let go.
But that Snid guy didn't pass the smell test. He was hiding way too much. It was one of those...sense things.
He stared into the fire, watching the picture from last night's nightmare. Short hair? Why did they cut off her hair? Her eyes were the same. Her body had been riddled with scars and bruises, and her arms were black. But she was still the same, wasn't she? There was no way she had agreed to be the one thing that killed her parents. It had to be forced.
Voldemort was inside her. He would hear everything she would hear. He would feel everything she felt. See what she saw.
She would have a parasite living inside of her.
He heard something stalk downstairs, and he turned his head curiously. It was Diego.
"Hey," Jason said.
Diego instantly rose his head and stared. "You're awfully happy today. What's wrong?"
Jason jumped. Had he really been that depressed?
"Good dream," he said. "Lilus was alive, and we were making out at the lake."
Diego rolled his eyes. "Yup, you're back to normal. Took you a long time."
"Shut up. My best friend vanished in thin air. How would you feel if Kimmy was gone like that?"
Diego nodded. "Yeah. I know. Sorry about that."
He sat down next to him and stretched his limbs.
"What...do you think happened to her?"
Jason nodded his head. "I know what happened to her. Death Eaters took her from the forest."
Diego's eyes got really big. "What?"
"That's what happened."
Jason stood up and walked towards the door.
"That's what happened."
********************************************************************
Whips, chains, the curses. She rose against them all, having been beaten numerous times. The room she was in was small, build of stone and bewitched not to break apart should she transform. There were transparent green chains on her wrists and around her ankles, and one around her neck. She crouched next to the fireplace, taking in as much heat as she could. Her tail waved in the fireplace, taunting the flames to come closer.
The rips in the white and red shirt she wore revealed the Dark Mark once again, now permanently scarred into her being. It had been accepted. The creature at the fireplace stood up and moved to the center of the room, the chains rattling.
"Father, father, please, help me. Help me control this power inside of me. Mother, mother, mother, forgive me for what I have done. I just...wasn't accepted there. In your world, I don't belong. Father, there is a force that's growing inside of me. He claims to be helping me enslave it, but he only wants to see what I can withstand. Father!"
She sat on the ground and stared at the ceiling, her tail curling around her stomach.
"Help me, mother and father. I need your help."
For a long time, she didn't move. She remained still for the next few hours, moving just barely to breathe. Finally, the Death Eaters came to fetch her again, but they paused just inside the door. One drew his wand out.
"Imperio!"
The light shot towards her, but it vanished within inches of her back. The two men drew their wands out together and muttered the same curse, but it ended with the same result.
She stood up slowly, turning around to face them, her eyes closed. A demonic grin made its way across her pretty face, and the two men shrank away as her eyes opened, her grin nearly stretching from ear to ear.
"The world is yours," she chanted, "if you desire. Let's go set the world on fire!"
She reared back her head, and suddenly, the men were engulfed in flames. The jet of red didn't cease from her mouth until she extinguished it from laughing.
"VOLDEMORT! HEAR ME! YOU SHALL NEVER ENSLAVE ME! I AM BLACKWING, BORN OF DRAGON'S BLOOD!"
*****************************************************
Fell asleep in class again.
Jason fell out of his chair, and the class sniggered at him. Professor Snape was not amused.
"Detention, Mr. Alus!"
Jason rubbed his head and climbed into his chair again. "Sorry, sir. You're inspirational lecture inspired me to a whole new world," he said with a laugh.
Normally, Snape would have given him double detention, but this was good news. Jason hadn't done anything even remotely comical since Lilus disappeared. Snape covered his smile expertly, and returned to the board, continuing with his lecture.
Two days. One day down, she was coming tonight. He would see his friend again. He would still accept her like always, even though the Dark Mark covered her back was real. He would accept her even though her hands couldn't be turned back. He would accept her even though she was Voldemort's daughter. He would accept her as Lilus Potter, daughter of the greatest hero of the wizard world and one of the greatest scholars the world had ever seen. He would accept her as Gryffindor's greatest Seeker. He would accept her with her red eyes. He would accept his friend.
She was coming back.
Words could not describe how happy he was. He was ready to run up to Snape and kiss him on the cheek, but, due to disgusting and wrong circumstances, he wouldn't. Lilus was coming back.
She was alive.
***************************
Jason first noticed it when he walked into the room. Raphael slinked in as usual, the beautiful, icy blue eyes piercing the floor.
Raphael looked at Jason.
It was a fast glance, but it would have been longer had Jason not been looking back. Jason had a satisfied smirk on his face, and Malfoy had seen it.
Something was hidden.
Snid payed him another visit in the library, at the table that no one could see from the door. "You've been acting strange."
Jason's stupid grin played across his face again. "How do you figure?"
Snid looked into his eyes for a moment, as if trying to read his mind.
"It's funny," Jason said. "The senses you gain while being werewolf are much more advanced than those of a normal wizard. Sight, hearing, smell..."
He let his voice linger on his last word. Snid shook his head and laughed.
"What are you talking about?"
Jason just grinned wider. "You know what I'm talking about. The deal with you and Malfoy."
Snid still had the smile on his face, but it faded ever so slightly. "I don't know what you mean."
Jason leaned over the table and crossed his arms. "When are you going to tell Lilus?"
Snid's expression changed entirely. "You do know."
He nodded. "I don't know. Never if I can keep this up. It's a lot easier this way, talking to her and all."
"You are too shady. You haven't passed the smell test, Ravenclaw. She'd never be able to get close to you. The bad thing about Lilus is that she knows when you're keeping something from her. You'd never make it two weeks. She'd figure out one way or another."
Snid sighed. "I know. You're right, but you can't tell her. I will tell her when the time comes. After the plan is complete."
Jason nodded. "You're lucky I'm nice."
"Why are you talking about Lilus and me? You want her too."
Jason shrugged. "Maybe, but if she chooses a punk like you over me, I'll stick with just being her friend."
Snid nodded.
"But be warned. You screw with her, I'm gonna kill you. And I mean that."
Snid looked at him and shivered slightly.
"Please, believe me that I wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Not after what she's been through. But you can't tell her anything."
"Deal. What are you going to give me for my silence?"
"Give you?"
Jason grinned. "Give me. You tell me everything that went on there. Understand? I want to know what those bastards did to her."
The Ravenclaw sighed. "Jason, those terms aren't agreeable. I am bound by oath never to reveal..."
"Lilus is my best friend. You tell me what happened to her. I don't fucking care about an oath of the Death Eaters or whatever. I care about her."
"I will tell you when she gets back."
Jason nodded. "Okay, deal, but if you forget..."
"I won't forget."
"Good. I'm leaving. She's coming tonight."
He left Snid, and the last thing he heard was the Ravenclaw cursing about how troublesome werewolves were.
***********************************************
She was pulled out of the burning inferno with the evil grin on her face. She stared at him with just as much intensity, waiting for him to say anything about the prison of flame that she had left.
"Two down, Dad. You're next."
She snorted, fire blowing through her nostrils. Smoke followed, and the excess drained out of her mouth.
"You're mine," she hissed.
Voldemort shook his head. "Child..."
"My name is Lilus POTTER! DAUGHTER OF HARRY AND HERMIONE POTTER! GET FUCKING OVER IT!"
She threw her arms in the air, breathing a short jet of flame and whipping her tail at any who came close.
"Yes, Draco, you may do the honors."
The man with the black hood came forward, drew his wand, and pointed it at the humanoid creature.
"Crucio!"
Lilus sank to her knees, but no cries of pain came from her. Her grin remained the same, and she just laughed at him.
"You've already lost, Voldemort. No matter what you do to me, I'll come back and bite you in the end..."
"CRUCIO!"
She was thrown backwards, her body tightening. The grin and laughter disappeared, and she groaned in agony in response.
**********************************************
Remus Lupin, clad in his sleeping gown and nightcap and his nose in a book, trudged through his bedroom. That book was a baby album, the baby book that had been given to him by Ron Weasley. Lilus's baby book. First picture for everything. First steps, first burp, first spoonful of baby food slung across the room.
His goddaughter was dead, presumed dead a month after her disappearance. If Voldemort was alive again, what else could he possibly want than to wipe out the Potter family? He did it.
He suddenly lost his footing and slammed against the wall, which was very strange since he usually knew ever inch of his office. Something snapped. He gathered himself up again and drew the picture from beneath his foot.
The Originals. The four boys stared at him and waved, endlessly happy, endlessly caught in youth. James Potter. Sirius Black. Peter Pettigrew. And last, hiding a little towards the back, dressed in his Gryffindor school robes. Those were the good days, but now, he was the last of the Marauders. Thank God Lilus had started the Marauders again.
Lilus...
Where did the picture come from? Its shelf was across the room, but it was here, behind his desk.
Lilus...
It was inescapable. All he wanted was to think of her. She had died young. Too young. Jason had taken it hard. The Weasley gang did too, but they didn't show it at all except with each other at most of the Quidditch games. He heard them talk amongst each other about her at the beginning of each game, asking her to help them in their games, and to, even then, show the new Seeker Kyle Jasin how the job was done. They hadn't lost a game yet, but that was only because Lilus had trained their new Seeker and co-Seeker so well. She had been prepared. It had been as if she knew that she was going to be taken. Jason took the liberty of making the two younger boys even sharper by taking to his broom and training with them one at a time. He was no where close in comparison to Lilus, but he was better than most thought he was.
Remus sighed and plucked the picture from the floor, muttering a spell to fix the broken glass. That was her favorite picture. She loved the way he looked at that age. She loved everything in his office. His small library behind his desk. She had read just about every book twice. He never let her grade his papers though. She wasn't a professor.
Minerva had been very sorrowful since Lilus vanished. Jason had no respect for that woman. If she rose to give a speech, he stood up in the middle of it and left the room, making as much commotion as he could in the meantime. She could do nothing to punish him. He had been right. She had caused his best friend to run away, leading to the events of her death. He never spoke to her again, and when he was around, he'd throw her the meanest glances.
He stood up and put the picture on his desk. He heard a squeaking at his window, and he turned quickly, brandishing his wand as if it was a sword. There, on the window, was something red, being traced out of thin air. He could see nothing behind it, no light, no wand. Just blackness.
IM BACK
Remus felt something run up his spine. Voldemort. It had to be, but that wasn't the most chilling part.
It was written in blood, and that blood smelled...too familiar.
Jason picked at his food like always, prodding it with his fork and fingers. Finally, just like always, he shoved his plate away from him and put his head down on the table. Shawn stared at him from across the table. It was no use trying to get him to eat. He wouldn't eat.
The school year had ended, and Lilus was no where to be found. The centaurs had searched the forest multiple times, not to mention the searches that the teachers did. No one was in the forest. Lilus was gone. She had just vanished. Jason had failed his classes, but his professors passed him anyway. He wasn't going through any good times. His parents had came up dead, killed by Death Eaters. He had stayed with Remus. There was no one else that he could stay with. Although Remus was not a very controlled werewolf, he did take care of his younger friend.
Being a werewolf wasn't necessarily hard, and being with another one made the full moon go by a lot faster. All they did was fight, but it was a show of power, and Remus was just a tad bit stronger than Jason was. School began again, and the adoption papers for Jason had been finalized by Remus.
It had become evident to just about everyone that Jason had been in love with Lilus one week after her disappearance. Shawn did have his suspicions, but he never really put any into deep thought. Jason had cried every night after that, and even in his room, he heard it. He spent a lot of time with Professor Lupin, and a lot of time in the hospital wing. The poor boy had lost everything. His parents were dead. His love was probably dead. His emotions had just stopped.
His emotions were dead.
Jason raised his head and looked at Shawn. "I'm going to bed."
"But Jason, it's only lunch time."
"I don't give a shit. Tell the professors I'm skipping."
He stood up and began to walk towards the door. Shawn nodded at his back, and Jason disappeared through the doors. Justin stared at him.
"Lilus again?"
"Poor boy."
Jason wandered around the halls, slinking along the walls and poking at the paintings. Finally, he came to the library where he sat down at the table farthest away from the door, the one hidden behind the bookshelves. He put his head down and closed his eyes, although sooner or later, the tears began to flow again, and he bit down on his bottom lip to keep from sobbing.
The nightmares. Burning. Screaming. Pain. Then nothing. It was always the same thing. Nightmares about her dying. Seer dreams that he didn't want to have. Death Eaters. Voldemort. Torture. Burning.
He fell asleep sometime during that; he wasn't sure how he could. He jerked up, his eyes half closed. When they finally focused, there was a boy in front of him. He looked unamused, brown hair, brown eyes. His arms were crossed, and he was leaning back in the chair, propping his feet on the table.
"Evening, Jason."
Jason squinted. "Who the hell are you?"
"You haven't seen me before. My name is Snid."
Jason's eyes lit up. "You're that Snid guy? The Ravenclaw?"
The boy nodded. "Yes."
"Why are you here?"
Snid shrugged, but then his eyes connected with Jason's, and he cast his glance to the floor. "Lilus is alive."
Jason nearly leapt across the table. He had the boy pinned against the floor, straddling his waist. "WHERE IS SHE?!"
Snid coughed. "I...don't know. Just know...please get off me."
Talon jumped to the side. "Where is she?"
"She's going to come back here, but, listen to me, LISTEN TO ME! She isn't going to be herself."
Snid sat up and pulled Jason under the table. "What do you mean?"
"You know what the Crimson Tears is a symptom of? Possession of an evil spirit. Voldemort is alive."
"I know that..."
"Voldemort has been inside her body ever since the death of her parents. The Death Eaters have beaten her into submission, and when she comes back, she will be under Voldemort's control. We have to wait until the right time to strike. Jason, you can't tell anyone this. If anyone else knows, we will die. Voldemort will see, hear, and feel everything she does. If you even mention any of this, then the plan will be ruined."
"We?"
"Lilus and me."
"What? How the hell would you know all this stuff?"
"Because I'm a Death Eater."
Jason grabbed his shoulders. "Tell me what the fuck they did to her."
"Listen, if I told you, you would lose all sanity left in your head. She's alive, and we're going to get rid of Voldemort once and for all, but right now, you can't breathe a word."
"I swear it."
"Jason, we both love her. Be thankful that you did not have to watch her get tortured. Know that she is alive, and she's coming back here. Act like you always do, but never mention me or Raphael. Understand?"
"Raphael?"
"Yes."
"Why did you mention him?"
"He's the Death Eater that gives me my information."
"Gees, Hogwarts has gone to the Death Eaters!"
Snid drug him out of the floor, and he sat in his chair again. "Be strong for her. If you have ever loved her, be strong for her."
"Where can I find you?"
"You can't."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't always look like this."
"Who do you look like?"
"Not for you to know. Remember what I have told you."
Snid turned and looked at him, and his brown eyes melted into blue. "Don't come looking for me. I'll find you."
"One more question. When is she coming back?"
"Two days. Midnight. In the lake."
Snid left the room, and Jason found himself wide-eyed on the floor.
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Lilus was alive.
But, that Snid guy. He liked Lilus too, and from what she had told him, she was interested. He might have lost his chance with her, but she was still his best friend, not that Snid guy's. That would always be his.
She was alive. She wasn't dead.
But that torture. The torture that he spoke of.
Lilus...
He would find her. The lake. Two days. Lilus was coming back. It was close to the half point of his seventh year. She had been taken about a year ago, but now she was coming back. That night, Jason went to sleep. He was content. He was going to get to see his friend again.
***
The Cruciatus Curse.
The Imperius Curse.
Two of three Unforgivables.
Slowly, she rose from the ground, her arms shaking from the force. Her arms and shoulders were black, but only her hands were scaled. The newly grown tail lay limp on the ground behind her, and she lifted her head just enough to stare at the Death Eater who had cast the spell. Blood dripped from the corners of her mouth, and he could see the tattoo that covered her back through the rip in her shirt. The Dark Mark. She stood, her long beautiful hair cropped off crudely. She shot a glance to him, the pale man with red eyes sitting in the throne in the corner.
*Why? You claim to be my father, but this is no parenthood,* she hissed.
*This is your training,* he answered back as coldly as a frostbitten winter.
*This is torture! What do you want from me!?*
*I want to see your limit!*
*You want to see me suffer!*
*You are not dead, daughter. Nor will you ever die by my hand.*
*You will die by mine.*
*I will teach you your place, child.*
He nodded his head to the man in front of her. He raised his wand, and Lilus fell backwards from the blast, new gashes being ripped through her clothes and skin. She howled with pain, finally falling back on the ground again. Instantly, she was on her feet, charging at the Death Eater with outstretched claws.
"Imperio!"
She sank to her knees, her face placid and beautiful like it had always been.
"Crucio!"
She was wrenched onto her back, wreathing on the ground as the invisible torture raged on her body. It didn't take long that time.
*You...will...die...Father. I will...kill...*
And she passed into darkness once again.
***
He jerked upwards, drenched in cold sweat. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, something shot out of the window. He was in the bedroom, his bedroom. The twins were sleeping in their beds, and the lights were out. The window...
He rushed to the window and looked out, his skin glistening in the moonlight. Something had been there.
He really didn't want to go to bed again. The thing at the window, he didn't know if it was coming back. And...the nightmare. Crucio! Lilus, what happened to you?
He did sleep again, but there was no dreams this time, only the darkness.
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Jason woke up the next morning shaking like hell. He slid his legs out of bed and looked at the twins across from him. They were still sleeping. The sun had not come out yet. It was too early, but he was too excited to go back to sleep. Lilus was alive. Almost an entire year of her absence, but she was alive. She was coming back.
But inhabited.
Voldemort didn't know when to quit!
Lilus was coming back. Everything was going to be okay. She was alive.
One year in the Death Eater's capture.
What torture, he couldn't imagine.
He slid into his robes and walked out into the common room, plopping down on the sofa. He'd hug her. He'd hug her so tight. He would never let go.
But that Snid guy didn't pass the smell test. He was hiding way too much. It was one of those...sense things.
He stared into the fire, watching the picture from last night's nightmare. Short hair? Why did they cut off her hair? Her eyes were the same. Her body had been riddled with scars and bruises, and her arms were black. But she was still the same, wasn't she? There was no way she had agreed to be the one thing that killed her parents. It had to be forced.
Voldemort was inside her. He would hear everything she would hear. He would feel everything she felt. See what she saw.
She would have a parasite living inside of her.
He heard something stalk downstairs, and he turned his head curiously. It was Diego.
"Hey," Jason said.
Diego instantly rose his head and stared. "You're awfully happy today. What's wrong?"
Jason jumped. Had he really been that depressed?
"Good dream," he said. "Lilus was alive, and we were making out at the lake."
Diego rolled his eyes. "Yup, you're back to normal. Took you a long time."
"Shut up. My best friend vanished in thin air. How would you feel if Kimmy was gone like that?"
Diego nodded. "Yeah. I know. Sorry about that."
He sat down next to him and stretched his limbs.
"What...do you think happened to her?"
Jason nodded his head. "I know what happened to her. Death Eaters took her from the forest."
Diego's eyes got really big. "What?"
"That's what happened."
Jason stood up and walked towards the door.
"That's what happened."
********************************************************************
Whips, chains, the curses. She rose against them all, having been beaten numerous times. The room she was in was small, build of stone and bewitched not to break apart should she transform. There were transparent green chains on her wrists and around her ankles, and one around her neck. She crouched next to the fireplace, taking in as much heat as she could. Her tail waved in the fireplace, taunting the flames to come closer.
The rips in the white and red shirt she wore revealed the Dark Mark once again, now permanently scarred into her being. It had been accepted. The creature at the fireplace stood up and moved to the center of the room, the chains rattling.
"Father, father, please, help me. Help me control this power inside of me. Mother, mother, mother, forgive me for what I have done. I just...wasn't accepted there. In your world, I don't belong. Father, there is a force that's growing inside of me. He claims to be helping me enslave it, but he only wants to see what I can withstand. Father!"
She sat on the ground and stared at the ceiling, her tail curling around her stomach.
"Help me, mother and father. I need your help."
For a long time, she didn't move. She remained still for the next few hours, moving just barely to breathe. Finally, the Death Eaters came to fetch her again, but they paused just inside the door. One drew his wand out.
"Imperio!"
The light shot towards her, but it vanished within inches of her back. The two men drew their wands out together and muttered the same curse, but it ended with the same result.
She stood up slowly, turning around to face them, her eyes closed. A demonic grin made its way across her pretty face, and the two men shrank away as her eyes opened, her grin nearly stretching from ear to ear.
"The world is yours," she chanted, "if you desire. Let's go set the world on fire!"
She reared back her head, and suddenly, the men were engulfed in flames. The jet of red didn't cease from her mouth until she extinguished it from laughing.
"VOLDEMORT! HEAR ME! YOU SHALL NEVER ENSLAVE ME! I AM BLACKWING, BORN OF DRAGON'S BLOOD!"
*****************************************************
Fell asleep in class again.
Jason fell out of his chair, and the class sniggered at him. Professor Snape was not amused.
"Detention, Mr. Alus!"
Jason rubbed his head and climbed into his chair again. "Sorry, sir. You're inspirational lecture inspired me to a whole new world," he said with a laugh.
Normally, Snape would have given him double detention, but this was good news. Jason hadn't done anything even remotely comical since Lilus disappeared. Snape covered his smile expertly, and returned to the board, continuing with his lecture.
Two days. One day down, she was coming tonight. He would see his friend again. He would still accept her like always, even though the Dark Mark covered her back was real. He would accept her even though her hands couldn't be turned back. He would accept her even though she was Voldemort's daughter. He would accept her as Lilus Potter, daughter of the greatest hero of the wizard world and one of the greatest scholars the world had ever seen. He would accept her as Gryffindor's greatest Seeker. He would accept her with her red eyes. He would accept his friend.
She was coming back.
Words could not describe how happy he was. He was ready to run up to Snape and kiss him on the cheek, but, due to disgusting and wrong circumstances, he wouldn't. Lilus was coming back.
She was alive.
***************************
Jason first noticed it when he walked into the room. Raphael slinked in as usual, the beautiful, icy blue eyes piercing the floor.
Raphael looked at Jason.
It was a fast glance, but it would have been longer had Jason not been looking back. Jason had a satisfied smirk on his face, and Malfoy had seen it.
Something was hidden.
Snid payed him another visit in the library, at the table that no one could see from the door. "You've been acting strange."
Jason's stupid grin played across his face again. "How do you figure?"
Snid looked into his eyes for a moment, as if trying to read his mind.
"It's funny," Jason said. "The senses you gain while being werewolf are much more advanced than those of a normal wizard. Sight, hearing, smell..."
He let his voice linger on his last word. Snid shook his head and laughed.
"What are you talking about?"
Jason just grinned wider. "You know what I'm talking about. The deal with you and Malfoy."
Snid still had the smile on his face, but it faded ever so slightly. "I don't know what you mean."
Jason leaned over the table and crossed his arms. "When are you going to tell Lilus?"
Snid's expression changed entirely. "You do know."
He nodded. "I don't know. Never if I can keep this up. It's a lot easier this way, talking to her and all."
"You are too shady. You haven't passed the smell test, Ravenclaw. She'd never be able to get close to you. The bad thing about Lilus is that she knows when you're keeping something from her. You'd never make it two weeks. She'd figure out one way or another."
Snid sighed. "I know. You're right, but you can't tell her. I will tell her when the time comes. After the plan is complete."
Jason nodded. "You're lucky I'm nice."
"Why are you talking about Lilus and me? You want her too."
Jason shrugged. "Maybe, but if she chooses a punk like you over me, I'll stick with just being her friend."
Snid nodded.
"But be warned. You screw with her, I'm gonna kill you. And I mean that."
Snid looked at him and shivered slightly.
"Please, believe me that I wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Not after what she's been through. But you can't tell her anything."
"Deal. What are you going to give me for my silence?"
"Give you?"
Jason grinned. "Give me. You tell me everything that went on there. Understand? I want to know what those bastards did to her."
The Ravenclaw sighed. "Jason, those terms aren't agreeable. I am bound by oath never to reveal..."
"Lilus is my best friend. You tell me what happened to her. I don't fucking care about an oath of the Death Eaters or whatever. I care about her."
"I will tell you when she gets back."
Jason nodded. "Okay, deal, but if you forget..."
"I won't forget."
"Good. I'm leaving. She's coming tonight."
He left Snid, and the last thing he heard was the Ravenclaw cursing about how troublesome werewolves were.
***********************************************
She was pulled out of the burning inferno with the evil grin on her face. She stared at him with just as much intensity, waiting for him to say anything about the prison of flame that she had left.
"Two down, Dad. You're next."
She snorted, fire blowing through her nostrils. Smoke followed, and the excess drained out of her mouth.
"You're mine," she hissed.
Voldemort shook his head. "Child..."
"My name is Lilus POTTER! DAUGHTER OF HARRY AND HERMIONE POTTER! GET FUCKING OVER IT!"
She threw her arms in the air, breathing a short jet of flame and whipping her tail at any who came close.
"Yes, Draco, you may do the honors."
The man with the black hood came forward, drew his wand, and pointed it at the humanoid creature.
"Crucio!"
Lilus sank to her knees, but no cries of pain came from her. Her grin remained the same, and she just laughed at him.
"You've already lost, Voldemort. No matter what you do to me, I'll come back and bite you in the end..."
"CRUCIO!"
She was thrown backwards, her body tightening. The grin and laughter disappeared, and she groaned in agony in response.
**********************************************
Remus Lupin, clad in his sleeping gown and nightcap and his nose in a book, trudged through his bedroom. That book was a baby album, the baby book that had been given to him by Ron Weasley. Lilus's baby book. First picture for everything. First steps, first burp, first spoonful of baby food slung across the room.
His goddaughter was dead, presumed dead a month after her disappearance. If Voldemort was alive again, what else could he possibly want than to wipe out the Potter family? He did it.
He suddenly lost his footing and slammed against the wall, which was very strange since he usually knew ever inch of his office. Something snapped. He gathered himself up again and drew the picture from beneath his foot.
The Originals. The four boys stared at him and waved, endlessly happy, endlessly caught in youth. James Potter. Sirius Black. Peter Pettigrew. And last, hiding a little towards the back, dressed in his Gryffindor school robes. Those were the good days, but now, he was the last of the Marauders. Thank God Lilus had started the Marauders again.
Lilus...
Where did the picture come from? Its shelf was across the room, but it was here, behind his desk.
Lilus...
It was inescapable. All he wanted was to think of her. She had died young. Too young. Jason had taken it hard. The Weasley gang did too, but they didn't show it at all except with each other at most of the Quidditch games. He heard them talk amongst each other about her at the beginning of each game, asking her to help them in their games, and to, even then, show the new Seeker Kyle Jasin how the job was done. They hadn't lost a game yet, but that was only because Lilus had trained their new Seeker and co-Seeker so well. She had been prepared. It had been as if she knew that she was going to be taken. Jason took the liberty of making the two younger boys even sharper by taking to his broom and training with them one at a time. He was no where close in comparison to Lilus, but he was better than most thought he was.
Remus sighed and plucked the picture from the floor, muttering a spell to fix the broken glass. That was her favorite picture. She loved the way he looked at that age. She loved everything in his office. His small library behind his desk. She had read just about every book twice. He never let her grade his papers though. She wasn't a professor.
Minerva had been very sorrowful since Lilus vanished. Jason had no respect for that woman. If she rose to give a speech, he stood up in the middle of it and left the room, making as much commotion as he could in the meantime. She could do nothing to punish him. He had been right. She had caused his best friend to run away, leading to the events of her death. He never spoke to her again, and when he was around, he'd throw her the meanest glances.
He stood up and put the picture on his desk. He heard a squeaking at his window, and he turned quickly, brandishing his wand as if it was a sword. There, on the window, was something red, being traced out of thin air. He could see nothing behind it, no light, no wand. Just blackness.
IM BACK
Remus felt something run up his spine. Voldemort. It had to be, but that wasn't the most chilling part.
It was written in blood, and that blood smelled...too familiar.