Everyone knows the drill, right? Who do the characters you know belong to? Good job. JK Rowling.
Chapter Two
The two Slytherins walked side by side down the corridors to transfiguration with the usual "Slytherin" bearing. They had decided to go to class early because Tempest needed help with transfiguring her partner into a humming bird. Normally her best subject, Professor McGonagall had allowed her to go ahead of the class as long as it was in the same general area.
Minerva McGonagall looked up from where she was grading papers as they walked into the room. "Miss Lestrange, Mr. Malfoy." She acknowledged with a nod.
"You said you'd help me with the smaller transfiguration." Tempest reminded her. McGonagall nodded again.
"Yes, yes. I know. Has Mr. Malfoy volunteered to help?" Lucius nodded. The professor nodded curtly and took out her wand. "Now, Miss Lestrange, you need to use the proper movements and annunciate." She said briskly, clearly stating the incantation. Lucius changed and changed back quickly. He looked a bit ruffled. "Just do that, wandless for the moment."
Tempest obeyed.
"Good, good…" the older woman nodded her approval. "Now do it with your wand."
"Ready?" She asked Lucius. He smirked. Tempest raised her wand and muttered the incantation. Lucius grew small green wings and a long beak. Tempest scowled, just barely managing not to crack up.
McGonagall changed him back. "Not bad, but try again. This time a little more magic through your wand please." Tempest did as asked and Lucius became a giant hummingbird. "A little too much…" McGonagall observed, changing him back again.
Tempest sighed. After another minute, he turned into a small hummingbird.
McGonagall smiled. "Good! Now change him back." Tempest obeyed and Lucius appeared looking extremely disoriented.
"That was so…" he paused. "Humiliating." Tempest grinned, again just barely restraining laughter and the professor smiled primly.
Lucius ran a quick hand through his long hair just as the rest of the class filed in. Severus looked at Lucius and Tempest and smiled thinly. Both of them raised an eyebrow in response.
So?
Yes.
Snape smirked and joined them in their seats. The rest of the Slytherins sat behind them and the class began.
Lunch was a busy time in the Great Hall. All of the students between eleven and seventeen sat at long tables with the rest of their house and acted like the kid magicians that they were.
Hufflepuffs: cheerful, rowdy and trusting.
Ravenclaw: calculating, friendly and intelligent.
Gryffindor: loyal, playful, courageous.
Slytherin: subdued, separated, cunning.
Oh yes, Slytherin was subdued. Especially the sixth years. Each and every one of them acted like they were eating their last supper before they died.
Indeed many of them were nearing the day when they would ensure their own doom.
Tempest ate quickly again, but no one commented even when she slipped out as she had at breakfast. One Slytherin's business was their business and theirs alone.
This time, she remembered an umbrella.
Caine was waiting for her, golden hair wet. Tempest ran over to him and held the umbrella over them both.
"How long have you been waiting?"
"Not long. Don't worry about it."
She smiled. "That's good." She studied his face quietly for a second. "You wanted to talk to me?" The girl asked finally.
He nodded. "Tempest… look. I know we broke up last year, but…" Caine took a deep breath. "Could we try again?" She stared at him. "Please?" He added.
Tempest almost groaned. Caine was one of her best friends and she didn't want to hurt him. But she had also gotten together with Lucius that morning. "I…" she paused. "Let's just be friends." She told him quietly. "Our friendship is too important for me to wreck it again."
"Why?" He asked her.
She sighed. "I told you. That and I'm with Lucius."
"Malfoy?" She resisted the urge to ask if he knew another and just nodded. He looked at her sadly for a minute before brightening. "Congrats." She smiled but could hear the pain in his voice.
"Sorry." She whispered. Giving him a friendly hug and the umbrella, she ran back to the castle.
Lucius met her in the hall. "Tempest, you're soaked!" he commented quietly.
She shrugged and told him that she had gone outside to talk to Caine. He shook his head but made no comment except to squeeze her shoulder reassuringly. She smiled and walked into the potions dungeons.
Professor Antoinan Solendri separated them efficiently into teams of two to make their potions, as always, placing Lucius with Narcissa. Tempest did have to wonder what Narcissa gave the professor to make him always put her with Lucius.
Lucius smiled thinly at her from across the dungeon. Potions – very definitely not her best subject – had seen her paired with the best student: Severus Snape. She returned it cautiously before turning back to their cauldron.
"So… two suitors in one day… not bad." Severus muttered to her. She barely managed not to laugh. Serverus's sense of humor was quirky, but it fit perfectly with his personality. Lucius and Tempest had similar senses of what was amusing.
"Good observation, Sev." She whispered back. Solendri hated his students talking during the "exact art of potion-making". Severus was good enough at it that the two of them weren't too concerned about some distractions. "What now?"
"Newt tail, cut into quarters the long way."
She grimaced. "You want to do that?" He smirked and complied.
"Another year…" Severus murmured in a wooden voice. Tempest could understand what he meant without asking.
All of the higher-class Slytherin families had at least on death eater. Most would have two by next Christmas' end.
The bell signaling the end of the class rang and the students filed out of the room.
The four Marauders had been well behaved for class, but in the halls they couldn't resist poking at the Slytherin students. Their favorite target had always been Severus. Ever since Potter and Black had seen the pale stripling of a boy stroll onto the Express they had been out to get him.
"Hey Snivellus!" James called across the student body. Their favorite nickname always made the Slytherins cringe. Even Sirius, who had been raised much like Bella and Narcissa (his cousins), was fond of using it.
Snape ignored them, but from where Tempest and Lucius were standing they could see a fist clench and a jaw tighten.
Luckily for the entire school Potter's crush with far too many ideals crammed into her mudblood – not an insult for them; the house liked her well enough – brain intervened.
"Leave Snape be, Potter." She commanded. James shrugged and backed off.
"Only for you Evans." The four continued walking, Pettigrew scuttling along behind them.
Tempest sighed and gave Lily an appreciative nod. The other girl smiled back.
"Don't worry about them, Sev. They aren't worth it."
"I don't need the mudblood's help." He hissed between his teeth. So Snape wasn't so fond of her.
Lucius smirked. "But she's giving it freely, take advantage of it while you can." The three relaxed into meal mode as Celeste, Breeanna and Caine joined them. Caine stared at Tempest longingly until Lucius stepped forward to be between them. The rest of the group soon joined them.
Alexander laughed jovially at Severus' grimace. "The Gryffindors again?" The pale, raven-haired boy ignored him, choosing instead to watch Narcissa try to flirt with Lucius while the boy fingered Tempest's hand. Tempest herself was laughing at something Celeste had said. Breeanna smiled and chuckled softly.
The Slytherin sixth years followed the rest of the school into the Great Hall, somewhat softer than the cheers and shouts of the rest. The group remained quiet as they fell into their usual seating arrangement. Rudolphus and Bella hurried to sit on Lucius' left and Tempest sat on his right. Narcissa sat across from him before anyone else could take that seat. Severus sat beside Tempest. He always found it amusing to watch Celeste, Caine, Alex and Breeanna try to prevent Narcissa from disgusting – or amazing – the rest of the long table with her flirting. Goyle and Brown sat further down, making sure to rub legs under the table.
Tempest smiled the tiniest bit and began to eat.
Three friends gathered outside by the lake, one for the third time that day. None of them smiled or spoke for a long time.
Then: "I don't want to be a deatheater, Lucius!"
"No one does." Severus muttered softly from where he was leaning against a tree watching them argue. "Anyone who thinks otherwise is half raving already."
Lucius looked at him gratefully, Tempest glared. "Besides," He continued jokingly. "You just can't live without those adorable little critters." The other two stared at him.
"Did you just call them... adorable little critters?" Tempest squeaked. He only grinned. Then all three of them broke down and laughed until tears ran from their eyes...
At midnight, a pure black cat walked down the hallway by the entrance to the Slytherin dormitories. Its icy silver eyes glowed in the darkness. As it strolled up the stairs to the school's entrance, a big black dog came out of the shadows to meet it. It mewed softly and the rat that was behind the dog squeaked. The dog made a subtle bow with his head and the three animals disappeared onto the grounds in the night.
Once far from the castle, the cat grew quickly into a black haired girl. A tall black haired boy stood across from her and a cowardly bucktoothed sandy-blonde haired boy stood behind him. Tempest didn't like Pettigrew, but he followed the Marauders everywhere, enjoying their protection and popularity. Sirius Black grinned mischievously and gave the girl a giant bear hug. She grinned and pushed him back as two other boys approached.
"Remus, James!" She exclaimed cheerfully, hugging both in turn. These three were some of her greatest friends, but as a Slytherin, she couldn't talk to them during the day. They were great at night, but in sunlight they never stopped tormenting Severus – another best friend. The three of them grinned at her and all sat quickly in a circle at the border of the forbidden forest.
Sirius spoke first. "So… what's new?" All of them took turns asking the traditional questions like that since none of them liked such obvious things.
"I have a boyfriend." She stated bluntly. The four boys' eyebrows rose almost to their hair.
"Who?" James asked quickly. "Please say it's not Snivellus."
"It's Severus, and no, it's not. Lucius." Sirius made a choking noise that Tempest ignored. James congratulated her half-heartedly. Only Remus Lupin seemed interested.
"How did that come about? I would've guessed Caine again."
"No… I don't want to wreck that friendship again." She smiled softly. "He asked me during breakfast. You guys know that I've had a crush on him since I dumped Caine last year."
James Potter sighed. "I had really hoped that you would have gained some sense and gone with a Ravenclaw." She grimaced.
"None of them are exciting enough!"
James laughed. Peter laughed too after a minute, copying the other boy. "Isn't that a fact? Anyway, how much longer till… you know."
"Next year." She whispered quietly. "We swear to it on Christmas Eve."
Remus flinched visibly. The mischief left James's eyes. Sirius looked away. Pettigrew swallowed loudly. After a minute, mischief re-entered James's brown eyes. "Well you and Lucius had better get busy then, huh?"
Tempest gaped at him. "How… YOU!" She smacked his shoulder and he grinned.
"Sorry, sorry!" He begged, ducking her relentless swings. "Hey, I said sorry! Sheesh!" She sighed and stopped trying to hurt him.
Sirius looked into her eyes. "So what's your plan?"
"I have to agree to it unless I want to die." She whispered. Remus looked down, eyes looking as though they were doomed in the half moon's light. "But that's exactly what I plan on doing." Sirius's eyes widened and James stared at her, no sign of laughter left in his eyes. Remus only gazed at her steadily. He understood what it was like to feel doomed to something and want it changed badly enough to die for it. He had known since he was six.
In the library late the next day, Tempest, Lily and Remus watched Sirius and James scribbled in one of the books in the library, snickering. A potions book, just to show their appreciation for the subject.
"They're such kids." Remus muttered to her. Pettigrew jumped up and down behind the other two, trying to get his turn to draw on the book. The girls laughed.
"It always feels good to not have to be cold to hold your place." She murmured. Remus smiled.
"I don't think I could manage it like you do, you know... being in Slytherin. I think I'd go mad." Lily's voice was quiet, but strong and gentle.
She laughed. "I think you've gone mad anyway." Sirius tossed her the book and she looked at it, laughing out loud when she saw what it said.
'Polyjuice Potion- (Perfect for making a girl want to make out with you if you pretend to be her boyfriend.)'
Remus smiled. "You guys know how many people have tried that?"
Tempest grinned and Lily covered his mouth before he could tell them about the history of such a strange topic. James and Sirius laughed.