Salai Malfoy let out an angry cry as he waved his wand another time, sending a jinx flying towards a Death Eater. He held Vilandra's hand tightly, standing before her so that he shielded her with his body.
Leroux, Rhett and Talak were throwing their own spells from all around Salai and Vilandra. The Death Eaters—they were everywhere. Almost everyone above Fourth year was yielding their wand, attacking as many Death Eaters as they could. The problem was: they were only students. The twins and Vilandra were probably the only ones who knew any really damaging spells, but since Salai was stopping Vilandra from joining the fight, all she could do was stare helplessly.
Jase, Lexa, Alca, Chaim, Kian and Sharka were hiding beneath the table right where the four cousins and Salai were. Chaim was unusually pale, Kian was sweating profusely and Alca had tears steaming down her cheeks. Vilandra couldn't blame them. This was their First year and so far, it hadn't gone too well for them.
Vilandra scanned the crowd of people fighting for her last cousin. She spotted Kei close to the door, throwing hexes and curses at lightning speed. She was training to be an Auror, so Vilandra wasn't surprised. And then, her eyes widened. A Death Eater stood up behind her—having recovered from a previous curse—and aimed his wand at Kei's back. Before Vilandra could breathe—before she could even blink—a green bolt flew from the Death Eater's wand, heading straight for Kei. Vilandra stared horrified when the most incredible thing in the world happened. Inches away from Kei, the green light turned blue, and Kei merely flew off her feet, lying unconscious on the floor.
Vilandra couldn't understand why the Killing Curse had suddenly turned into something else—at first, anyway. That sod must still have some of his humanity left, she thought bitterly. Other people had the Killing Curse flung at them, but theirs didn't turn blue. Only Kei's had. Only family's would.
"No! Let him go!" The shriek was like a knife to Vilandra's gut. Her eyes found Alca as she shrieked after the Death Eater to let go of him. And 'him' was Chaim.
"Chaim!" Vilandra shrieked ten times louder than Alca did. Wrenching herself free from Salai, she pushed past him, whipping out her wand. Chaim was struggling hard as he was being carried over the Death Eater's shoulder. She would have to be careful not to hit him. She threw a curse at the Death Eater, but he dodged it. She continued to throw everything she knew at him, and he either dodged the curses, or countered them—and he was getting closer to the exit.
Two hours earlier.
Vilandra twirled the straw in her drink, her eyes locked on Salai's as he sat across the room at the Slytherin table. His eyes, in turn, were locked on her. It had been almost a month since their conversation by the lake, and as January neared its final week, the two had spent a lot of time together—behind Vilandra's cousins backs, of course. Vilandra had lied for almost the entire Christmas break, telling her cousins she went to the library when, in fact, she went to the Slytherin dormitory. Salai was the most influential person in Slytherin, so no one dared say anything. Also, the fact that his father was Draco Malfoy, and a Death Eater, helped a lot. So, the two of them had secretly been dating behind the Potter's and Leroux's backs. Vilandra wanted to find the right time to tell them, but it was hard to tell your cousins that you were dating the person who used to be—and still was—their worst enemy.
"There has to be another one!" Leroux exclaimed angrily, slamming his fist down onto the table. Vilandra half-listened, but her eyes stayed glued on Salai.
"Let's go over it again, shall we?" Rhett asked, taking a bite of his chicken. "There's only about six or seven in the dungeons, so I'm betting there's one down there that the Marauders haven't found."
"I'm still liking the seventh floor." Talak insisted, waving his fork at Rhett. Lexa—who was sitting beside Talak—rolled her eyes at their conversation. "You know, because Gryffindor is up there. I'm thinking there's got to be more coming from the dormitories." Leroux nodded and looked at Vilandra.
"How come you're not disagreeing?" He asked her.
"Huh?" She asked, not looking at him. "Oh, yeah. Absolutely." Leroux raised an eyebrow as Rhett's chewing slowed down, watching Vilandra. Talak, who was beside her, leaned close to her and turned to follow her gaze. Salai noticed and pretended to be talking to Rogers—who'd been in the middle of talking to Gregson.
"What are you looking at?" Talak asked confused. Vilandra tore her eyes away from Salai, looking at Talak.
"What? Nothing. I-I was just—daydreaming."
"Must've been some daydream." Leroux teased, taking a bite of his potatoes. "Was I in it?" He asked after swallowing. Vilandra rolled her eyes.
"No, Leroux. Sorry. Hot men who aren't related to me only." She smiled at him. He laughed, shaking his head, and as the three boys continued their conversation, Vilandra turned her attention back to Salai. He was already watching her again. Vilandra cocked her head towards the door slightly, and Salai smirked. Vilandra stood up, turning to her cousins.
"I'm going to the library." She told them.
"Again?" Rhett asked through a mouthful of chicken.
"Bloody hell, woman, we're only Fifth years. You can relax." Leroux insisted. She shrugged and Talak looked down into her plate.
"You haven't eaten anything." He insisted, looking back up at her. "Are you all right?"
"Never better." She flashed them a grin. "I just wasn't very hungry." She headed towards the door before they could keep her there any longer. Across the Great Hall, Salai wiped his mouth with his napkin, standing up.
"I'll see you later." He said to Gregson and Rogers. They both grunted replies as he made his way towards the door, following Vilandra out. Lexa's chewing slowed down and she frowned, the three boys still talking. Jase turned around—she'd been looking over her shoulder at the door—and she and Lexa shared a look. Clearly, they were both thinking the same thing. Lexa looked down into her plate and began to play with her food.
"You know," She said, interrupting the boys' conversation. "Vilandra's been acting weird lately, don't you think?" The boys shared a look.
"No." Leroux said slowly.
"No, she has." Jase agreed.
"She's just upset about her mum." Rhett whispered uncomfortably.
"Upset? You're all blind, aren't you?" They frowned. Lexa motioned the Great Hall doors. "She left here grinning. She's been acting weird lately in the sense that she was all mopey for all that time, and all of a sudden, she just became this happy, cheerful, bubbly person. Didn't any of you find this a little concerning?" Rhett shrugged.
"Maybe she found a boyfriend." Leroux hit him in the arm, pointing at him.
"Of course! She's always going off to the library, but she's never there when we look for her!" He slammed his hand on the table, smiling. "She's got a bloke, and he makes her happy. He makes her forget about—" He cut himself off, casting a glance at Lexa and Jase. They didn't seem to care about that. Both of them had their lips pressed tightly together.
"Did-did it ever occur to you that maybe this boy was—Malfoy?" Talak coughed into his drink as Leroux and Rhett burst out laughing.
"My lungs have pumpkin juice in them." Talak coughed.
"Lonnie and Malfoy?" Leroux continued to laugh. "You're mad."
"Haven't you noticed her always looking towards Slytherin's table?" Lexa inquired. "And how every time she goes somewhere, he follows seconds later." The laughter died immediately.
"She wouldn't." Rhett insisted. "She would tell us."
"Not if she thought you wouldn't approve." Jase commented awkwardly. "Which you don't." Leroux stared at Jase horrified while Rhett and Talak shared a look. The three of them jumped to their feet at exactly the same time and bolted from the Great Hall.
"She's going to kill us." Jase commented. Lexa nodded.
"Yup." She replied as they watched the three boys head for the door.
As they ran for the exit, Sharka Malfoy noticed their haste to leave the hall after Vilandra and Salai. She knew about them—and she knew how dead the two of them would be.
"Gotta go!" She said frantically to her friends as she flew out of her seat and bolted for the door. She caught up to them outside the Great Hall as they debated which way to go.
"Hi!" She said loudly, running past them and stopping in front of them. "How are you? I just—I saw you, and I thought I'd come and say hi. So, hi." She smiled nervously, waving. Rhett frowned at her, but she ignored his gaze. "Um, did you guys hear about the new professors?"
"Look, Malfoy, we're in somewhat of a hurry." Leroux insisted. His head snapped to the left as he heard a laugh he recognized. He and the twins began to head in that direction.
"No, wait." Sharka scrambled in front of them, holding both hands out before her. "Um, you see—you don't understand. The-the professors—they want to meet you." She blurted out. "They're—they know who your parents were, and they-they want to meet you personally."
"We're busy, Sharka." Rhett insisted as the three of them pushed past her.
"No!" She shrieked, running after them. She grabbed Rhett's arm and tugged it slightly. He spun to look at her.
"What the bloody hell are you doing!" He demanded, Talak and Leroux stopping to stare at her. She was acting very odd, and they didn't like it.
"Sharka, go back to the Great Hall. This doesn't concern you." Leroux insisted as he began walking again.
"No, it does!" Sharka pushed past Rhett and Talak and grabbed Leroux's arm, pulling on it as hard as she could. He was much stronger than her though, so he continued to walk, with her being dragged behind him. Leroux rounded the corner and his jaw dropped. His eyes practically popped out of his head at the sight that greeted him.
-----
Vilandra slowed down as she rounded the corner, waiting impatiently for him to catch up. She hated how they couldn't just leave at the same time. She waited a few more seconds, and then felt his hands wrap around her waist from behind. He buried his face in her neck and inhaled deeply, enjoying the vanilla scent she appeared to give off.
"Took you long enough." He mumbled against her neck. "I thought you were never going to leave the Great Hall. Teasing me from across the room like that. For shame, Ms. Weasley." She giggled and turned to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"You know, Mr. Malfoy, you could leave the Great Hall first." She bit her bottom lip seductively and he laughed.
"You'd never chase after me." He mumbled as his lips inched closer to hers. The second their lips touched, Vilandra felt the kiss spread throughout her entire body. She could feel the warmth of his touch on her neck, on her shoulders, on her stomach. It was as if somehow, Salai could kiss every part of her body without moving his mouth from her own. It was the most incredible feeling in the world, and as the two of them stood at the end of a long corridor, making out, the world dissolved around them. They saw nothing but each other, heard nothing but the other's heart-beat—which was probably why the hands wrenching Salai away from Vilandra scared the two of them to death.
"You sod!"
"Leroux!" Vilandra shrieked as he drew back his fist and smashed it into Salai's nose. He fell to the floor, blood gushing from his nose, grunting in pain. "Are you mad!" Vilandra demanded, bending down beside Salai.
"What the bloody hell is going on!" Talak demanded angrily.
"Sorry. I tried to warn you." Sharka said to the couple sitting on the floor. Vilandra pulled out her wand, tapping Salai's nose lightly.
"I can take care of myself." Vilandra insisted angrily, speaking to her cousins but keeping her eyes on Salai's nose.
"Obviously not! You're fraternizing with the enemy!" Rhett exploded, motioning Malfoy.
"He's no enemy!" Vilandra insisted angrily, standing up and facing Rhett, Salai wiping the blood from his healed nose.
"How could you just—how could you make out with him in plain sight!" Talak demanded. "Did you assume that because everyone was eating no one would come out here and find you?"
"Yeah, that was sort of the idea." Salai grumbled as he got to his feet. Leroux started to lunge at him again, but Rhett and Talak held him back forcefully, not wanting their friend to be expelled.
"He's the enemy, Vilandra!" Talak insisted.
"No he's not! He's been helping me!" These words seemed to click in the twin's brains. As usual, they were on the same frequency. Leroux continued to struggle between them, but they ignored him.
"I get it." Rhett said. Talak sighed.
"Vilandra, whatever you think you're feeling towards Malfoy—"
"—it's not love." Rhett continued for his brother. "You're going through a hard time—"
"—and you need comfort." Talak continued. "Comfort you can't get from family."
"Comfort you can only get from a boyfriend, but Lonnie—"
"—it's not real. He doesn't understand your pain, he—"
"—can't help you through it."
"We're your family—"
"—and we care about you."
"And we know this is hard—"
"—but what you're doing now is—"
"Oh, bloody hell, are you finished?" Salai demanded, getting bored. "I understand her because I know." The twins frowned confused and Leroux finally stopped struggling. "Sharka and I both know."
"About?" Leroux asked, not quite sure if what Salai was saying was what he thought he was saying.
"We know that Ronald Weasley is the King of Darkness." Sharka whispered from behind the three boys. They turned to her stunned and she forced a laugh. "Surprise."
"No!" Leroux exploded. "You-you told them! THEM!"
"Don't yell at me, Leroux Weasley!" Vilandra snapped. "And I told them nothing! They knew by themselves."
"Oh, oh, what happened? Did some little birdie come flying in to let them know!" Leroux asked, sounding more and more hysterical with each passing second.
"Why are you making such a big deal out of this!" Vilandra hollered angrily.
"You're dating Salai!" Talak screamed.
"So what! Rhett's been dating Sharka since Third year!" Talak's eyes bulged as silence fell over the group. Rhett was staring at her horrified as Sharka slowly began to back again. She took two steps and turned to run, but Talak released Leroux and grabbed her by the back of her robes, pulling her back towards him. He let out a long sigh, shaking his head.
"Vilandra and Salai, and Rhett and Sharka. We are officially in another dimension." Leroux muttered, leaning back against the wall angrily and crossing his arms. Talak turned to his twin, still holding Rhett's girlfriend by the back of her robes.
"Explain." Was all Talak said. Rhett opened and closed his mouth a few times.
"W-well, I—well, I, um… you see, it—" Rhett stuttered. He continued like this for about thirty seconds. Sharka couldn't take it any more, so rolling her eyes, she began the story of how they met.
"It happened in my First year." She said, everyone turning their attention to her now. "I was in the library studying for my end of year exam for Defence Against the Dark Arts. I tried everything to memorize all the counter-curses and creatures, but I just couldn't. None of it was sticking in my head, and I knew I was going to fail. So, I was sitting in the library, my book open in front of me, and I was crying." She looked at Rhett and smiled. He smiled too, despite the circumstances. Both remembered that day so well. "I was bawling my eyes out, and then someone appeared beside me. It was Rhett. He asked what was wrong, and I told him my problem. I was so scared of failing in my First year, I—I really needed help. So, Rhett sat down beside me and he began to help me learn everything."
"Rhett managed to help you?" Talak asked stunned, the fact that Rhett's girlfriend was Sharka Malfoy completely forgotten.
"Rhett was in a library! I didn't even know he knew what those were!" Leroux exclaimed, just as stunned as Talak. Rhett rolled his eyes, and continued the story.
"After I helped her out, we talked a bit about ourselves. I knew she was a Malfoy, and she knew I was a Potter, but we didn't care. I said nothing to her about it, so she didn't, either. So during the year—when the four of us weren't getting detentions or pulling pranks—Sharka and I would meet up and have a chat. We started sending letters during the summer and when we returned—me as a Third year and her as a Second year—we decided that we were perfect for each other. So, we started dating—behind all of your backs." He added, his eyes locked on Salai's. Salai's mouth was hanging open. He could hardly believe it.
"Wait a minute." Leroux said confused. He pointed at Salai. "He didn't know about them dating, so how did you find out?" Vilandra smiled at Sharka.
"Dating a Malfoy, you become friends with the other. Or—I did, anyway." Sharka returned the smile gratefully.
"But—I thought you guys all hated each other." Talak insisted, motioning Sharka and Rhett, and then Salai and Vilandra.
"We put on the fake-hatred show when you're around." Salai shrugged. "And then we sneak off and meet up when we have the chance." Talak snorted, rolling his eyes.
"How Romeo and Juliet of you." He muttered.
"I don't believe this." Leroux whispered. He sank to the floor, burying his hands in his hair. Talak let go of Sharka's robes and went to join his cousin on the floor.
"Yeah. They're dating Malfoys, that's pretty—"
"No." Talak stared at Leroux confused. "I can't believe I'm the only person out of all of us who's still single!" Talak's eyebrows shot into his hairline. He opened his mouth to speak, but Salai interrupted him.
"Has anyone else noticed that it's a lot—louder than usual?" He asked. They all fell silent as they listened.
"Sounds like screaming." Vilandra said slowly. "Panicked screaming." They shared a look. Malfoy took her hand and made his way down the corridor towards the Great Hall, Vilandra following closely. The cousins and Sharka followed them as they walked slowly. The two before them rounded the corner and Vilandra screamed. Salai ducked as Vilandra threw herself to the side, a green bolt flying right past them.
"Lonnie!" "Salai!" The shouts were simultaneous as the three cousins and sister of the two before them scrambled back around the corner. Salai grabbed Vilandra's hand again, running with her down the corridor. The six of them bolted down the corridor, Talak in the lead. He skid to a halt as ten Death Eaters rounded the corner in front of them and turned to the left. The five behind him followed hurriedly, screaming and ducking the curses flung at them.
Talak ran down the corridor, slamming painfully into the wall as he attempted to turn but slipped instead. Regaining his balance, he pushed off the wall and continued to run, heading for a tapestry. He pushed it aside and placed his hand on the wall behind it.
"What's the password for this one again? What's the password!" He hollered to his cousins as they ran towards him.
"Agrippa!" Vilandra screamed as they neared him. "No, no, no, Alchemy! No, it's—one of the 'A' ones! Um—"
"No time!" Salai continued running, still holding Vilandra's hand. They couldn't stand there trying to guess the password. They had to run. Salai bolted up a set of stairs with Vilandra, the other four following.
"Do something!" Salai yelled over his shoulder at the four cousins, also making sure his sister was keeping up. Rhett held her hand the same way Salai was holding Vilandra's. Sharka was in good hands.
"Like what!" Talak demanded Salai, demanding an explanation as to why he thought they should be the ones to think something up.
"I don't know, something! You're the children of Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger for Merlin's sake!" Salai hollered as they continued running up the stairs.
"We may be the children of heroes, but as individuals, we're chicken!" Rhett hollered. He cried out as a curse flew right over his head, barely missing him.
"We need to get to one of the dormitories!" Sharka shrieked frantically as they ran.
"Well, Slytherin's out of the question now, since we're heading up!" Talak ignored them as he flew past Salai and Vilandra. He ran up the stairs and just like before, he was running so fast that he slammed into the wall—or in this case, a portrait that hung on the wall. As he smashed into it, it swung backwards, revealing a secret passage. He stared at it stunned, still lying on the ground. The others scrambled in behind him, Leroux and Rhett pulling him in hurriedly and slamming the portrait shut. The six of them breathed hard as they stood in the passage, Talak still on the floor. Rhett looked around, frowning.
"Hey, this isn't on the Marauder's map." He insisted.
"We did it!" Talak whispered, and all turned to him. "We did it! We finally found a secret passageway the Marauders missed! This calls for a celebration!" He jumped to his feet, dancing like an idiot.
"How about when our lives aren't in jeopardy?" Vilandra reminded him between breaths. He looked at her, his own chest heaving.
"Oh. Right. I forgot about that bit." He admitted.
"How do you forget something like that!" Leroux demanded incredulously. Rhett slapped his hand against Leroux's mouth, listening hard. The six of them continued to breathe hard, listening for any signs of the Death Eaters. They heard none.
"Come on." Rhett pushed past the others with Sharka, leading the way up the stairs.
"What do you think those Death Eaters are doing here?" Talak inquired as he and Leroux took the rear of the group, Vilandra and Salai having followed Rhett and Sharka. Everyone was silent for a few minutes until Leroux finally spoke.
"He stopped the Dementor from sucking out Lonnie's soul, so he obviously cares about his family. So maybe he wants—" Leroux cut off immediately because Vilandra had spun around, absolute terror in her gorgeous Prussian blue eyes.
"What?" Talak asked urgently. "What is it!"
"Oh my God, Chaim!" She pushed past her two cousins.
"Hey, Lonnie!" Talak hollered after her. She ignored him as she flew down the stairs. Leroux looked around frantically and his eyes fell on another passage branching off the one they stood in. He took it, hoping it would let him catch up to her faster.
"Leroux!" Rhett screamed after him.
"Bloody hell!" Talak hollered angrily, unsure of who to go after. Leroux ignored his cousins, wanting to catch Vilandra before she died. Vilandra, in turn, ignored them so she could find out if her brother was all right or not. She hit the bottom of the stairs and slammed out of the portrait, running down the corridor at full speed. She rounded the corner and screamed seconds before a red blast slammed into her chest.