"Oh, look at that, it's the werewolf," came a familiar yet sickening voice.
Of course, they were talking about Jason who had been lingering just outside Moony's office for whatever reason. Jason looked at the end of the hallway and saw Alex, followed by four or five of his cute wittle thuggies. They wandered over to Jason and surrounded him, but Jason did little more than snarl.
"Ah, you short pain in my ass, go away before I puke," Jason growled, making a desperate gagging noise.
"That's no way to talk to a superior," Frenchy scolded.
Jason reached out and grabbed the shorter boy by the collar of his robes and slammed him against the wall.
"Let me tell you something, you little shit. If you so much as even come within eyesight of Lilus Potter, I'll kill you in the most painful way imaginable."
Jason was jerked off of Alex and thrown to the floor. He was standing in an instant, ready for more, but a wall had formed around the Slytherin.
"Werewolf, I suggest you play nice before you end up getting yourself hurt."
Jason just smiled. "Yeah, jerk off, I'm sure all your little buddies want to be turned into werewolves." He snapped his teeth a few times and the smirk widened. "Leave Lilus alone."
"That demon will be vanquished when the time is right."
"Yeah, but I wouldn't go telling her daddy about that, now would I?" the werewolf said with a smirk.
Alex got an extremely quiet look on his face. "You don't know your place, do you, American?"
"Well, I can say it's going to be a lot higher than yours, French fry."
Amused, Alex crossed his arms and smiled. "Ah, what makes you say that?"
Jason flashed his arms in front of him, trying to look mystical while also appearing dangerous. "I foresee a war to end all wars among wizards and witches alike. After it, there will be no more Death Eaters, no more Dark Lord. Your kind are going to be extinct."
"Ah, yes, you are a seer. Very well foretold, but I do believe the results are wrong. Farewell, Werewolf."
"Adios, loser."
He had tried to remain out of everyone's sight during the remaining two weeks, fourteen days, 336 hours, 20160 minutes, 1209600 seconds. Lilus he avoided at all costs at all times, even skipping classes to return with the false excuse of illness. He avoided his cousin at all costs, using the same method. He used every method available to stay out of sight.
Raphael Malfoy was the traitor of the Malfoy family, and some part of him hated that, but some part of him relished it. Letting his enemy's parents die was a strike below the belt, too harsh even for her, but she had been able to outlive most of it. Now, he figured what he was doing was making up for his silence on the two murders, although he knew he was lying to himself to say that was the only reason.
There was so much more to everything, it seemed. It all slowed down, moved to a halt. Whenever he thought of Lilus or even of Jason, he realized what he was looking at was just a face, and he knew that faces weren't always truthful. Jason had always been obnoxious, but there was an intelligent side to him, something he did not believe existed.
Thank God his cousin was not suspicious of him. Alexander had remained the center of the Slytherins' eyes, and Raphael had been left to himself. Everything seemed so frightfully close, even though there were ten days left. Lilus had not been acting strange, but there was just something about her eyes that seemed odd. They were too real. Too accepted.
And he knew that Voldemort was in control. Lilus was the distant shine in her dull eyes now. Whatever was said, he said it, whatever was done, he did it.
Raphael was afraid of Voldemort, but there were few Death Eaters that weren't. His father and grandfather were two of them. Voldemort was to be revered in holy silence, he was always told. Do as you were told and you would be fine, he was always told.
Voldemort had taken more than his family from him. He had instructed Draco to kill his mother, just to kill what few feelings Draco Malfoy had left. Lucius was entirely obedient to the wizard, and now, Raphael was rebelling against what he would soon turn into. He never wanted to be like his grandfather or his father. He wanted to be his own person, be himself.
Not Voldemort's lackey.
He would never be Voldemort's lackey.
Less than a week left.
Raphael had made it most of the way, but he was gradually becoming more nervous by the day. Alex knew something was up with him, even if he hadn't questioned him about it. Lilus had not changed at all, but Jason had kept his distance, complaining constantly of a stomach ache or migraine. That was probably the only change, but there was a lot in that change. Voldemort suspected something because of Jason's sudden abandonment, and no doubt Alex did also.
He looked at her now and remembered how she was. He had found it so incredibly hard to hate her, even though it had been in his family for two generations. Her eyes really weren't that red. They were more of a copper color, and he found them quite intriguing. When he got a good excuse not to pick on her anymore, he didn't.
He remembered the time when he first saw her again after the murders. He watched her as she struggled with herself, trapped in the violent prison of her mind. She had no will to live anymore. Everything she had ever known had been stripped away from her. That look in her eyes.
As soon as they made eye contact he ran. He barely made it to the bathroom in time to throw up his guts. Afterward, he sat in the bathroom for a long time. Such a long time, wondering what death would feel like. He didn't have a razor, but he drew his nails over the gentle part of his wrists, sometimes scratching sometimes tracing his veins.
He wanted to die on many occassions, but never had his feelings been so strong. How could he have let himself let that happen to her? How could he do that to her? Especially knowing about the feelings he had for her now. If he hadn't known them before, there was at least enough evidence to be suspicious of. Yet, why had he done that? How could he do that?
He thought it would be so easy to cut his wrists and watch his blood sleep along the tiles' edges. He thought it would be easy to lean against the wall and feel his life slowly drain from him. It was so enticing too. When he looked at his razor, it looked so pretty and kind. It looked so inviting. He remembered running his fingers over it, even cutting his middle finger along its blade. It felt good then, but the next day it hurt. He remembered how good it felt at the moment, how good it felt to see his blood slide down his finger. He watched it curiously, as if he had never seen his own blood before. It flowed in a one way path down his hand finally stopping to drip onto the floor.
But he wasn't brave enough for suicide. That's when he made that pact. The pact to help her escape the tormented circle that the Dark Lord had planned for her. Voldemort was a parasite, and he would always be a parasite.
After years of tormenting her as well as himself, he realized why he found it so hard to hate her. Was it because he didn't hate her? Sure, she had obnoxious friends, but her friends loved her. His friends admired him and feared him. They didn't love him. They wouldn't put their lives on the line for him. Jason would die for Lilus. There was no doubt about that. Jason had fought a werewolf for Lilus. Jason had smarted off to the Headmistress for Lilus. Raphael knew Jason loved her. He loved her beyond everything mortal. Beyond friends, beyond boyfriend and girlfriend, beyond marriage, beyond lovers. Beyond all imaginable was Jason's love for Lilus.
And Jason knew now. He knew that Raphael loved her too. Snid had been evidence enough to prove that. And he knew. He knew Snid's secret too. They all loved her. Snid had made his move. Jason knew his move could never be made now. Raphael could only watch her from a distance. Raphael kept that distance, and he watched her. He watched her as she and Jason flew around on brooms and threw the Quaffle to one another. He thought it very valient of her to forsake her Quidditch position to her underling. They would all die for her. They would all put their lives on the line for her, and they knew she would do the same for them.
Her hair was short. He liked it short. He liked to see it flick and swish with the wind. He liked to watch her smile. She was brave. She was someone worth protecting. Her strength was unimaginable. Able to survive the death of her parents when she loved them so dearly, able to survive what Hell her father had sent her through. She was stronger than he could ever hope to be, and it was for that reason that he wanted to protect her. There are things in this world more beautiful than one's life, and Raphael Malfoy believed that Lilus Potter was one of them.
Wouldn't his father be angry if he ever found out that his son had a crush on his enemy's daughter. Raphael wanted to chuckle at the thought. He didn't care what his father thought. He didn't care what his grandfather thought. He was Raphael Malfoy. He cared about what Raphael Malfoy thought.
He was almost ashamed to admit to himself that he had dreams about her, about them. He found them to be quite wonderful. The way she looked at him. The way they moved. He wanted more dreams like that. If he couldn't have her in real life, he wanted to keep her safe inside his dreams. He remembered how she felt against him, warm and soft, yet he felt like he was petting a tiger. His skin still tingled when he thought about it. He loved those dreams about her.
Raphael had been with other girls, even intimately, but he had never wanted them like he wanted her. He had never loved them. He used them like his father used his mother, and his grandfather used his grandmother. They were fuck toys, just there for his entertainment. That's what women were. Then he began to feel strongly about Lilus. Those feelings confused him at first, but as time went on, as the years went by, he found it harder and harder to hate her. When Alexander took over the Slytherin mob, Raphael felt a certain freedom follow with his isolation.
It was ironic where he found friends. Slytherins were never supposed to befriend Gryffindors. That was unimaginable. But he had loved one and found a friend in another. Wasn't it funny where allies lay? He had found a friend in Jason, as well as another point of view in Snid. He had found love in the strangest place, but it's the unexplored places of the world that people want to see. Lilus Potter. How odd would her name be if it were Lilus Malfoy? His father would disown him, but he didn't care. He wasn't afraid of poverty, although he wouldn't be in poverty. He would work if she was with him. He would work for her, and she would work for him. It was the equal standard.
She wasn't afraid of Voldemort. She spat in his face once, in front of every Death Eater in Europe. He remembered how he wanted to laugh, but he was too afraid of what was going to happen to her to laugh. Voldemort hit her so hard that it knocked her off her feet and off of his stand. She landed on the back of her neck, but Raphael learned that something that trival wouldn't kill her. At least not now that she had the dragon within her.
Voldemort would have never killed her. Not because she was his daughter. Merely because of the potential power he could harness within her. But she was no fool. She wasn't seduced by power. Once he recovered his body, he'd brainwash her to the best of his ability, and in a way, that was killing the woman that Raphael knew as Lilus Potter.
But Lilus Potter was a part of the world that made the world a better place to live in, and Raphael would die to keep her there. Jason would die to keep her there. Snid would die to keep her there.
And that's why he rebelled against tradition and stood before Death's door with the intention to knock. He just hoped that Death wouldn't answer.
Time moved so fast, yet time moved so slow.
But it was upon them suddenly.
That night...
They met outside of Moony's office. Snid had come with an invisibility cloak, and he and Jason had trekked to Remus Lupin's sleeping quarters, avoiding the army of cats that owned the castle at night. For a long time they waited, waited and whispered to each other.
"My stomach really hurts today..." Jason whispered, rubbing his forehead.
"Mine too. You got something to throw over her head? We have to get out of there fast, because Lupin will wake up."
"Yeah, I know. I'm a werewolf too."
There was more silence, but Jason's watch hadn't ticked to one yet.
"When are you just going to tell her? When all this is over if you can. You do know that she could die tonight, and you'll never get to tell her."
"Let's not discuss that now. Come on. It's time."
"But it's not one..."
"It will be by time we get her out there."
The door opened easily with a few Muggle tricks of Jason's and a spell of Snid's. Jason peered inside and first saw the office, then the stone block in the back that Moony had locked himself in. Jason entered quietly with the Slytherin, and both froze as they heard a growl from the stone prison. It was more or less a sigh of the older werewolf.
"Dude, I don't think I can make it outside..."
"You have to try, Jason. For Lilus, the real one."
They stole past the stone cell, spying the giant beast inside curled in a corner. The door that was to the right of the prison was the one that led to the bedroom where Remus had one bed on one side of the room, and Lilus had one bed on the other side of the room.
Lilus was sleeping just as they had expected, on her back, with one arm dangling off the bed. Jason held the cloth sack open, and Snid readied his wand. Jason threw the sack over Lilus's head, and she shot up in surprise, screaming wildly. Jason snatched her arms and held them behind her back, holding the sack on her head with a sleeper hold.
"MMmm! MMFfff!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Lilus froze and trembled, then her body went as rigid as a board. Jason and Snid heard a wild roaring in the next room. They had woken up Remus Lupin, and now the beast was wrecking havoc in his room. Jason lifted Lilus easily and carried the statue out of Moony's office.
"Run, Jason, run! Faster! We have to get her outside!"
Jason was running as fast as he could, and both of them were attracting quiet a few amount of Ms. Norris's brood. Filch would alert the teachers, and the teachers would follow.
The Courtyard doors were locked, but the glass was broken easily, and they were finally outside, running towards the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid's house was dark, but the commotion and that old mutt's barking had caused some sound from inside. Hagrid soon appeared at the door of his hut, and Fang burst from the door and was running helter skelter towards them.
Jason put Lilus on the ground.
"Amarc Nutinutus!" Snid yelled.
Instantly, the body bind on Lilus disappeared. Her body levitated vertical off the ground, and her arms shot straight out. Her head was tilted back, and the sack flew off. Her mouth was wide open, and there was a deep white light building in her throat.
"Oh shit!"
Jason dropped to the ground, holding his stomach. "I'm changing..! Ugh..."
Her fingers and toes were stretched to the max, and light began to build up on them as well. Suddenly, all the light was released. The sky flashed as the column of light hit it, the earth sparked and was set aflame. The rows of light from her hands went on seemingly forever. Finally, all the light converged into a single figure behind her, and she was dropped to the ground.
Jason's transformation was fast. His snout shot out of his head, filled with rows of daggers for teeth. His body sprouted the dark fur all over, and his clothes were ripped apart. His body spasmed and grew larger, and his tail finally poked itself out of his backside. He lay on the ground for a few seconds just twitching and growling, snarling, howling, making as much noise as he could. Snid rushed in and yanked Lilus away from Voldemort's ghost-like figure.
"Ugh..."
"Lilus, you have to wake up. Come on, girl!"
"Snid? Jason...?"
"Wake up!"
She continued to lay on the ground, but Voldemort's figure was becoming solid. He was finally dropped to the ground a few metres away, unarmed but entirely dangerous. Her body was limp and spasming, and Jason was crawling onto his feet.
"Jason...?" Lilus whispered, as her head wobbled in the direction of the raging animal.
"Jason! Get him!"
The werewolf looked furious, but the snarling disappeared as he watched the figure lying on the ground in front of the Ravenclaw.
-Lilus...
Instantly, the snarl returned, and the werewolf's head shot towards the robed man across from them. Lilus leaned on Snid, and he tried to help her stand, but her limbs were very weak, and her legs weren't cooperating.
-You...
Jason lunged for the wizard, three hundred pounds of bloodraging muscle, fur, claws, and teeth. Jason took a giant lunge into the air and came down hard against Voldemort. The beast was lifted upwards and thrown back, smashing into the ground.
Lilus had been watching her animalistic comrad, but a light from the shadows of the forest caught her attention. Then more lights appeared, and it took a long time for her eyes to focus on what they were. Snid looked at the forest as well, and he gasped.
"Death Eaters..."
Lilus watched a single robed man exit the shadows and come into the light of the full moon. Then another. Hagrid rushed towards them, Fang right behind him.
"What the hell yer doin?"
"Hagrid! The Death Eaters! Go wake up the professors in the castle!" Lilus croaked.
"Lilus, I ain't leavin you out ere!" said the great man as he held up his crossbow.
"HAGRID! GO!"
More robes came out of the forest, more figures, more shadows.
"Oh my God...there's more than a hundred of them..."
"Lilus, this is probably most of the Death Eaters alive," Snid whispered. "Transform, Lilus. It's the only way we can win this. Voldemort is still not capable of moving on his own. While he's immobilized, get rid of the Death Eaters!"
Lilus looked deep into his eyes and held onto his shoulders tight. "I don't know if I--"
Snid grabbed her shoulders tightly, almost fearfully and shook them.
"You have to try...please, Lilus. If you don't, everyone will die. If it isn't now, it will be later."
She pushed him away from her and fell onto the ground. Her hands widened and her body grew longer. Her arms became wings, and her legs fused together and were covered with scales. Her head gained a massive snout, and horns that could knock through the walls of Hogwarts. Eyes became bloodshot with the hunger for flesh, and teeth became more deadly than ever. Seventy feet of cold-blooded fury, flanked by a wizard and a werewolf, now faced 190 of the world's Death Eaters.
The giant beast reached forward and snatched the nearest Death Eater in her mouth, throwing his robed body into the air before grabbing him from it and swallowing him whole. Every man there instantly became very nervous, but most had not long to worry, because they were being plucked from the ground and thrown down the constricting throat of a seventy foot dragon with a vengeance. Death Eaters began to form groups and each and every non-lethal spell was used to try and stun the great animal, but there was no weakness in those scales. The dragon's tail began flailing forward, flattening large groups of Death Eaters instantly.
But then, suddenly, with roughly a third of them eaten and one-third of them crushed, the dragon stopped. With her wings, she lifted a single Death Eater off the ground and held him so close to her face that he could touch her teeth. She had seen those eyes before.
Draco Malfoy no longer wore the mask that covered his face. Draco Malfoy had killed her parents. Draco Malfoy was inches from death.
Draco Malfoy was his dad.
"So, you finally know, Lilus?" said Voldemort.
Draco Malfoy was not killed because of Raphael Malfoy. The dragon slowly shrank in size, and Draco was placed unharmed on the ground. Jason was unconscious on the ground, and Snid was the same. Now it was just Lilus Potter.
"I will kill you," she said, her eyes narrowing into deep slits.
"Not in your lifetime, wench," Draco said simply, turning to face Voldemort.
At about this moment, a horde of teachers rushed out of the castle, armed with wands and clad in night clothes. Lilus walked towards Voldemort and stared at him.
"I hate you."
Voldemort did not say anything.
"Avada Kedavra!" she cried, her wand pointed straight at Voldemort's chest.
Almost as soon as she said that, flashes of light came from all over the remaining Death Eaters, and that light struck him before her green light did. The figure was thrown into the air and disappated right before her eyes.
And she uttered the spell once more time, to the teachers' horror, with the wand aimed at herself. The bright green light danced across the two figures, and Lilus's body fell. Voldemort was no where to be seen, and the Forest's edge only sported dark shadows between the trees where the Death Eaters had once been.