Hello and welcome to my first HP story! :)
I love Sirius Black as a character so much and, while I know he is meant to be such a player, I've always been interested in experimenting with what it would be like if he actually had a love interest. Also, I understand that I messed with timeline a bit here... Some of these characters didn't really overlap at Hogwarts, but it's what worked best for the story I'm envisioning.
I hope you enjoy it! Please follow, fav, and review!
- CHAPTER 1: WOLFSBANE -
The smoke of the Hogwarts Express briefly clouded my vision and lungs as it floated over me while we made our way down the platform. My mother, Hettie Ledoux, sputtered dramatically, waving her hands in front of her face as if swatting away a fly. It happened every time we passed through the wall at Platform 9¾. I rolled my eyes.
"I swear," she said haughtily, "they should just leave the train off until it's ready to go."
"Mother," my older brother, Byron, groaned. He was tall and muscular, with chocolate brown eyes and matching brown hair. A picture-perfect copy of my father before he started greying. "It has to heat up or something. You're being dramatic."
"Why would they need to do that? We have magic, no need to reduce ourselves to Muggle methods."
I gave out a sigh as my brother shot me a wary look. We both resented how our parents were able to shove in the 'pitfalls' of Muggles and their ways of living into any conversation. They were able to do it in the morning before we were even able to take a sip of tea, during strolls through Diagon Alley as we accompanied them on shopping trips, and now even on the train platform as we prepared to go off to school. At least my father hadn't accompanied us today or it would have only been worse.
My father, Baptiste Ledoux, came from a prestigious pureblood French family based in Paris. The descendants of French royalty, growing up we spent many summers not only with relatives in the French capital but also at family castles located throughout the country, from Nantes to Bordeaux to Marseille. Having worked his way up in the French Ministry of Magic very quickly, he was transferred to the English Ministry where he met my mother's father, another member of the pureblood elite. The betrothal was almost instant. My parents met at a gala three months after his arrival in London and they were married not even six months later. Needless to say, we grew up in a very uppity environment, and that was putting it politely.
Yes, so thankfully today we were just accompanied by our mother and one of our house elves, Flippy. She struggled to carry Byron's owl cage, having to hold it on the side where the bird had free range to peck at her. I carefully removed it from her grasp, replacing it with a bundle of my books so my mother couldn't complain that 'she wasn't doing her part.' She gave me a grateful smile as I placed Byron's owl on his cart.
"Carry your own bird," I mocked my brother lightly.
"Shut up," he said back playfully.
"Oh!" My mother exclaimed. "There they are! Elsbeth, come here."
We stopped as she waved me over frantically from her position just in front of our carts. As I walked over to stand in front of her, I saw who she was referring to. Just down the platform were a mother and father with their son. The Malfoys could be spotted from a mile away by their hyper-blonde hair and haughty attitude, with the elegant and clearly expensive wardrobe being the icing on the cake. Serpentina Malfoy was adjusting her son's collar, while Abraxas Malfoy stood off to the side, judging every non-Slytherin that walked by. Their son, Lucius, was getting annoyed by his mother's prodding, eventually swatting her hand away with his own. The nerve of the prick.
"Now, Elsbeth," my mother said as she straightened my own collar. This morning, Flippy had dressed me in a regal ivory sundress with a velvet blazer jacket at the behest of my mother so I could 'look my best.' "Let's straighten you up. Yes, yes, you've got to look your best when you're on the arm of the best!"
"Yes, mother," I said in my utmost obedient voice.
She moved to lightly comb through my hair, which was the same chocolate brown as my brother. It was the only physical trait we had in common. He was tall and muscular, while I was just at average height and leaned towards curvy. His eyes were brown, while I possessed the bright blue eyes of my fraternal grandmother. Sometimes I felt bad for my mother, as neither of us had inherited the dirty blonde and green eyes combo from her side of the family.
Sighing once more as she continued to fuss, I looked back over to Lucius Malfoy, now watching as his house-elf moved his things onto the train.
Over the summer, I had learned that we were set to be married, our families meeting for an excessive dinner to tell us the good news. Externally, I had kept myself composed and feigned happiness. I knew a betrothal was bound to happen eventually but was still so caught off guard that I couldn't help the tears that rocked me to sleep that same night. The plan was for Lucius to begin working at the Ministry after graduating this year, waiting for me to finish school next year, after which we would almost immediately be married.
Every time I thought about it, I couldn't help but be frightened about what the future held. On the few occasions we interacted at school and during pureblood-hosted social events, he was cordial if not curt. However, I always saw how he treated his house-elves when we had gatherings at Malfoy Manor, yelling or sometimes even kicking them if they messed up even slightly. I also constantly observed the way he treated anyone who wasn't a pureblood Slytherin at school, or sometimes even his own friends if they didn't agree with him. Bottom line, he was cruel, and who's to say he wouldn't be so to his own wife and family.
"Alright," my mother said with a final pat on the shoulders, "you look stunning, my love. Let's go see them!"
With a brisk turn, she started off towards the trio of blondes, with my brother following right behind.
"I'm just going to check on something in my trunk," I called out and they both turned to look as I positioned myself back next to my things. "Go on without me, I'll catch up."
"Alright, but don't take too long. Flippy, please grab the gift we got for Mrs. Malfoy and follow me."
Flippy placed my books on top of my cart before grabbing an elegantly wrapped box and rushing after my mother. Meanwhile, I started absentmindedly fiddling with the contents of my bag. I wasn't actually looking for anything, but trying to delay the inevitable of meeting up with my betrothed. After a moment of angrily moving books and ink pots around in my satchel, I slammed it on my trunk as I leaned on my cart to take a few deep breaths.
"You know," my brother said quietly as he came to stand in front of me, a playful look on his face. "You might want to work on your acting skills. Mum may be oblivious, but you're not really fooling anyone."
"Oh, shove off," I said with a light shove of his shoulder. "I just needed a few more seconds before all that."
I nodded in the direction of where my mother was now chatting delightfully with the Malfoys. Luckily none of them were looking my way, so they didn't see my second-long lack of composure. Instead, they were sending resigned smiles towards one another as they conversed amongst themselves, the typical passivity of a pureblood interaction.
"It'll get better, Beth," he said sadly. "Just keep your chin up and go along with it for the next couple of years. He'll mostly be busy with the Ministry after all the wedding business is done. Plus, my friend Stella says it gets better when the kids come along. You can just ignore him completely and focus on them."
"Ugh," I groaned, leaning my head down to rest on the cool handlebar of the cart. Marrying him already made my stomach hurt, but the thought of having kids with him? Repulsive. "That doesn't help at all. Besides, it's easy for you to talk when you're going to marry Andromeda Black… At least she seems like a decent girl."
Besides my engagement to Lucius, Byron's wedding had been the talk of the Ledoux household this past summer. With both he and Andromeda going back to school, wedding planning was in full swing since they were set to get married next summer after they both graduated. No doubt our Christmas and Easter breaks would be filled with dress fittings and cake tastings.
I was envious of my brother. Andromeda wasn't just decent, she was actually pretty nice when I got the chance to really sit down and talk to her. Despite being a Black and a sister to the likes of Bellatrix and Narcissa, she seemed fairly open-minded. We sometimes even had hushed conversations about the egotistical nature of our immediate peers and the desire to live in a wizarding world where blood status didn't matter. She still kept herself highly guarded for the most part though, but I was beginning to imagine that she was like me in that regard. Faking it when it was necessary in order to keep the peace. Either way, my brother was beyond lucky.
"Yeah, but there's a lot of pressure on us 'cause she's 'damaged goods,'" my brother mocked. It was a phrase used by many pureblood families, Malfoys included, behind the Blacks' backs. "We really need to be the perfect couple so they can resurrect their family name."
My brother found out he was betrothed last summer, just two months before the scandal in the Black household exploded. I remember the morning my father had found out that Andromeda's cousin Sirius had finally fled home and went off to live with the Potters. This was after years of 'bloodtraiter'-esque behaviors, all starting when he was sorted into Gryffindor. My father had thrown his teacup, huffing all around the room and cursing in French. But there was nothing to be done, the engagement was finalized at that point. He calmed down eventually, seeing it as an opportunity to rebuild the image of a great household and therefore furthering our status amongst the elite of British purebloods.
If Sirius had been disowned, you wouldn't know it by how he flounced around the halls of Hogwarts. He was a mischief-maker and a flirt before, but it was amplified almost by ten when he came back to school last year. I had the displeasure of watching it all up close since we were in the same year and took many of the same classes.
Admittedly though, there were times where I was intrigued. It was almost as if leaving his family had finally given him complete freedom to be himself and sometimes I wondered what that must feel like. But then I saw how dejected and deflated his younger brother Regulus had been all year and it was enough to snap me out of it. He skulked around the castle, only showing emotion during glare-offs with his brother when they ran into one another in the corridor. The younger boy was miserable, but I could never tell if it was because he hated his brother or just really missed him.
I groaned again. Once again, I was made to understand how the life of a pureblood was equal parts privileged and miserable.
"Well, I guess both of our lives stink," I finally said, lifting my head from the handlebar. I reached for the compact mirror in my satchel and doublechecked that it hadn't left a dent in my makeup. My brother gave out a hearty chuckle as I did so.
"That they do, dear sister. C'mon, let's go say hello to the in-laws."
We pushed our carts towards them, our mother animatedly turning in our direction as she saw us come near.
"There they are!" She pulled me aggressively to stand on the other side of her and next to Lucius.
"Elsbeth," he greeted me, raising my hand with his to his lips and lightly kissing it. I tried not to scoff at the antiquated greeting. "I hope the rest of your summer was well."
More proof of how absurd this engagement was, was the fact that we hadn't seen each other since the night of the announcement almost a month ago. Neither did we write because what was the point, really? We both knew this wasn't about love.
"It was lovely, thank you for asking," I answered when I noticed everyone was waiting on me to respond. I turned to his parents. "It's a pleasure to see you, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. Is that a new dress? You look absolutely stunning."
Only I saw as my brother rolled his eyes at how thick I was laying it. Abraxas remained level-faced as he simply nodded, while Serpentina's face broke out into a curt smile.
"Why, yes it is," Serpentina said smugly. "So nice of you to notice."
"Lucius," my mother butted in, "Elsbeth is so excited to be a Prefect for Slytherin alongside you this year."
I mentally groaned. How could I have forgotten about the shiny emerald badge that awaited me just inside my bag? It would be just another excuse for me and Lucius to spend time together, which I dreaded.
"Yes, but it's nothing compared to Head Boy," Abraxas spoke up, shocking me. There was a pointed glare in Lucius' direction before he turned to Byron with a fake smile. "Congratulations, my boy."
"Lucius definitely gave me a good fight," my brother said lightly, trying to appease the Malfoy patriarch. His response was a small huff.
"Well," I said, breaking the awkward silence that had formed, "we really should be getting on the train. We all have to get in our robes and head to the Prefect car to meet everyone."
"Indeed," Lucius agreed. "Dobby, you will assist Miss Ledoux with her luggage."
"Yes, sir," a house-elf said as he emerged from behind Serpentina. He was young, underfed, and clearly terrified. I imagine he was born into the family, probably knowing only fear at the hands of these blondes his entire life.
We said our goodbyes to our parents, Serpentina giving Lucius a loving hug while Abraxas just gave another curt nod towards him. Byron wrapped our mother in a hug, tears forming in her eyes as she turned to me and I did the same. At least the Ledoux family was a little more loving than my future husband and in-laws.
"Oh, Elsbeth," she whispered in my ear. "Remember how important this is. Please be on your best behavior."
I pulled back and gave her a small nod, face contorted into a forced smile.
Byron assisted Flippy with his luggage, followed by Dobby somehow hauling both the remainder of Lucius' and all of mine. The blonde boy didn't move a finger to help the small elf out, which I wasn't surprised by. Feeling pity for the poor thing, I reached out and grabbed my satchel and some books, attempting to lighten the burden.
"Don't bother yourself with that, dear," I heard the chilling voice of Serpentina come from behind me. "Let a house-elf do his job."
My mother sent me a stern look and with rigid movements, I set the things back down. If the elf was upset, he didn't show it.
Lucius hopped on the train after our luggage was loaded, reaching back and offering me a hand in assistance. I reluctantly grabbed it and he pulled me towards him, landing me a bit too close to him for comfort. With a smirk, he leaned in and pecked me on the cheek and I could just imagine how happy Serpentina and my mother probably looked. However, my face melted into a sneer, obscured to our parents since my back was facing them. Putting on one last fake smile, I turned and waved to them alongside Lucius. I imagined, from the outside looking in, we were the picture-perfect example of a pureblood couple at that moment.
The door to the train closed and it started to move out of the station. I turned back to Lucius, frowning with disgust.
"Was that really necessary?" I asked him harshly.
"Oh get over it," he rolled his eyes, dropping my hand. "We have to keep them appeased somehow."
"Well just don't do it again without warning me. I'm going to go get changed into my robes, so I'll see you in the Prefect car."
I made to grab my robes from my stored luggage but was stopped by a hand on the elbow.
"Wait," he grimaced as if he had eaten something rancid. "I have to give you something. Follow me."
"Please?" I mocked, not willing to bend to his orders.
"Oh, just come on," he went to stand in front of the open door of an empty compartment. He continued in the same mock tone. "Please."
Dragging my feet, I passed by him to stand in the empty compartment, turning my back to the window and the countryside as it rushed past. He came in right after and closed the door.
"What?" I asked impatiently.
"Here," he said, facing me and holding out a luxurious black box. Oh, great.
"Oh no, is this…?" I asked, taking it. Something told me I already knew the answer, though.
"Just open it" he said just as impatiently. "And before you throw a fit, my mother is making me give it to you."
With a solid snap of the lid, I popped open the small box. Inside rested an elegant ring bearing a beautiful emerald surrounded by smaller round diamonds. Despite that I hated what it represented, it was beautiful and I found myself mesmerized by its sparkle. Unconsciously, I began gently touching the delicate stones. Snapping out of it quickly, I sent a glare in Lucius' direction. It was so like the Malfoys to be this extravagant.
"My mother wanted me to give it to you during some sort of grand romantic gesture, so I thought this would do."
I rolled my eyes at his sarcasm. Yes, a dingy compartment on the Hogwarts Express was known to melt the heart of any girl.
"I'm not wearing it," I said sternly as I closed the box.
"You don't really have a choice," he retorted with a steely look.
"Says who?"
"Says me. My mother has little birds everywhere. If it gets back to her that you're not wearing your engagement ring, both of our heads will be on the line."
"Ugh," grunting, I handed the box back to him. "Fine, but you have to put it on me. Consider it part of your 'grand romantic gesture.'"
I smirked evilly at him, knowing that he would hate this more than me. He furiously ripped the ring out the box and grabbed my left hand. Harshly, he slid the band around my ring finger and I felt as it contorted in size to fit me perfectly. Of course they would spring for a self-sizing engagement ring.
"I have to admit," I said, holding the ring up in the light as it rested on my finger, "it does look quite lovely on me."
"Yes," he said, "it's the only lovely thing about you."
I opened my mouth to retort, but before I could the compartment door slid open with a loud bang. Jumping a little in shock, we watched as four boys tried to make their way through the door all at once. James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew were talking all at once, voices getting louder as their conversation went on. Finally, Remus spotted us and hushed the other boys with a point in our direction. Great, this was definitely not the situation I wanted to be in right now.
"Well, well," Sirius started. "We were hoping to take this compartment, but it looks like someone already stunk it up. How's it going, cousin-to-be?"
He gave a nod in my direction before locking glares with Lucius who had turned to face them.
"You don't get to speak to her, bloodtraiter," the latter spat out. "Try it again and you'll be sorry."
"What? I can't greet my future in-laws?" Sirius pushed, looking back towards me. "I'm looking forward to the big day, I do love a summer wedding."
Minus Remus, who just looked down uncomfortably, they all shared a good laugh. He knew he wasn't invited, but it was an ongoing gimmick they played whenever they passed me or Byron in the hallways.
I made my way to brush past them and get out of the compartment when Lucius stopped me with a raised arm. Unexpectedly, he whipped out his wand, pointing it at the tall, long-haired boy. Sirius, James, and Peter were quick to pull out their wands in a rebuttal.
"You vile filth," he said maliciously, "I'm warning you for the last time. Shut your grimy mouth before I shut it for you permanently."
Sirius was clearly about to egg him on, but I was over the entire situation.
"Oh, shut up all of you!" I exclaimed. The Gryffindors across from us looked momentarily shocked, having never heard me raise my voice. I rested my hands on Lucius' raised arm in an attempt to pull it down. "Merlin, it's like you all are in first and second year again. Grow up and put your wands down."
They all paused for a moment, before doing so hesitantly, all watching one another in case someone tried to pull a fast one. I kept my eye particularly on James, as he was known to be the real trickster, but breathed a sigh of relief when he finally pocketed his wand. With a sneer we locked eyes for a moment before his trailed down to my hands, still elevated by Lucius' arm. His eyes focused on the ornate rocks now positioned on my finger.
"Oh, just great," he said with disgust. "There's yet another wedding on the way, boys."
He brought the attention of his goons to my ring with a nod in its direction. They all contorted their faces in various levels of disturbance and I felt my face flush slightly under their gazes.
"Tell me, did the Malfoys pay off the Ledouxes for a bride, or was it the other way around?" James foolishly continued.
Before I could blink, Lucius had pulled his wand back out and sent a hex towards the group, apparently not aiming at anyone in particular. It hit Peter on the shoulder and he winced, falling back into a seat. Flashes of purple and blue and red bounced around the compartment as jinxes flew between the group of boys and Lucius. Astonishingly, besides Peter, no one had yet to get hurt, with each side throwing up shield charms just as they were about to get hit. I crouched behind Lucius, not caring if he got hexed so long as I didn't.
"WHAT IS GOING ON?" I heard a young female voice screech. Standing up and looking around Lucius, I saw Lily Evans fuming in the doorway. "I really hope I'm not seeing what I think I'm seeing."
"Not at all Lil," Sirius replied with levity, but not taking his eyes off Lucius. "Just a little fun between us boys."
"Leave it to you buffoons to get into trouble before we even get to school. You're lucky my Prefect duties haven't technically started, yet. Speaking of which, you two," she looked over at Lucius and me, "aren't we all supposed to be gathering in the Prefect car right about now?"
I scoffed. "And what about Lupin over there?"
"I was getting to him, don't you worry," as she turned to Remus, I couldn't help but smile a little. I had never really interacted with Lily beyond classes, where she could seem like a know-it-all. But the way she had command over these boys made her seem more interesting to me now. "Don't you dare disgrace the pride of Gryffindor by partaking in these dramatics. Robes. Prefect car. Now."
And with that, she turned and left with a swoosh of her immaculately tidy robes. The compartment fell into a thick silence.
"I still don't understand what you see in her, mate," Sirius broke the quiet as he finally turned away from us to look at James.
"What's not to see? She's brilliant," James replied dreamily as he watched Lily stalk away.
"Ugh," I groaned, repulsed. Aggressively, I pushed past all of the boys that stood in my way and broke free into the hallway. Without even looking back, I headed down the corridor, leaving all five idiots behind.
"Sorry Professor Puffywood," I huffed as I finally opened the door to the giant greenhouse, out of breath from my run from the castle. The humidity hit me like a brick and I regretted not taking off my cardigan before entering. We were just over a month into the school year and the weather had begun to chill, so I needed the extra coverage as I made my way down here but definitely no longer. "I was running late at dinner and then I wanted to change out of my robes before I came."
A tall, svelte woman dressed in tan dungarees popped her head out from behind a crop of Wiggentrees. She placed her trimming shears down and her face burst into a wide smile when she saw me. Attitude-wise, you would think she just graduated, but the reality was that she already had a decade of post-education experience under her belt. After traveling the world to study herbs, she had the revelation that teaching was her calling and so she came back to her Alma Mater. She blamed her young complexion on her positive outlook on life.
"Beth! Not at all, my Flitterbloom," I giggled, she always addressed me as a different plant each time she greeted me. She took off her gloves and placed them next to her discarded sheers before rubbing her sweaty forehead with the back of her wrist. "And how many times do I have to tell you to call me River when it's just the two of us, eh?"
"You got it, Prof - er - River," I kept smiling as I walked towards her and took off my cardigan at the same time, my torso finally able to breathe again under my lightweight t-shirt.
I was taking many advanced courses, but Herbology was hands down my favorite. I had been enamored by the subject since first year, easily becoming the best student in my year, perhaps even the school if River wasn't lying to me. Since fourth year, I had been coming down to the greenhouses in my spare time to help out with the maintenance of all the plants and foliage, including growing and plucking potion ingredients for both personal projects and to replenish the school's inventories. As a result, I was also excelling in potion-making, knowing practically every recipe that included some sort of plant or fungi by heart.
"Hmm," I mused heading over to a cluster of greenery that caught my eye. "Some of this Dittany seems to be wilting… Have some of the Glumbumbles gotten out again?"
"I think so," River mused, going back to clipping a couple of leaves off of the Wiggentrees. "Or maybe the Dittany sprouts just miss you terribly since you don't visit them as often as you used to during the school year."
Her face fell in mock sadness and I groaned. Additional Prefect duties on top of my advanced NEWT work had made it difficult for me to come down as often as I would like. The only redeeming aspect of this packed schedule was the fact that I rarely spent time in the Slytherin common room when it was occupied, often coming in well past curfew by abusing my Prefect privileges.
For night rounds, I was usually paired with either Lucius or Lily Evans. When I was with the former, we barely chatted beyond discussing the wedding planning materials we were being sent by our mothers. There had been a little bit of drama since we left for school. Serpentina obviously wanted the theme to be centered around emerald green, while my mother was in favor of royal purple. She was quick to change her mind when Serpentina told her about my engagement ring, thinking a purple color scheme would clash, after which I got a strongly-worded letter reprimanding me for not telling her about my new piece of jewelry.
My first few nights with Lily had been awkward and we didn't really talk at all. Then, I made the mistake of asking her if she was alright one night after she looked particularly upset about something. It was like the floodgates opened and she now rambled every time we were together. Apparently she was being constantly fawned over, or more like harassed, by James Potter. He'd been out to 'win her heart' as she put it since third year, all advances of which she'd been able to refuse up until this point. Beyond James, she also chatted about classes and her home. She was Muggle-born, which I actually found quite fascinating. At first, my replies were curt nods or indistinguishable noises, but I started to chat lightly with her as the nights went on. Nowadays, we had full-fledged conversations and I was finding that we had more in common interest-wise than I thought possible considering our vastly different upbringings.
It was a dangerous road. We have to meet up with the other Prefects on duty at the end of every shift for a 'post-patrol' recap of sorts, which usually meant meeting up with Remus and Lucius who always looked like they had just had the worst night of their lives. My husband-to-be would shoot me the most menacing glare when he saw the smile on my face leftover from my conversations with Lily. More than once, he had dragged me back to the Slytherin common rooms roughly by the arm, scolding me about I 'shouldn't associate with Mudblood filth.' A bruise had even begun to form, which I now saw prominently peeking out from the sleeve of my t-shirt.
I only paused on it for a moment before sliding my engagement ring off of my finger and tucking it away in my cardigan pocket. Strapping on an apron, I went over to the wilting Dittany and waved my wand over the falling sprouts, each of them slowly coming back to life as I did so. I then brewed up a quick batch of bug repellent that I sprayed lightly over them all. There, that should do the trick for a while.
Moving closer to River, I picked up an additional set of shears and started to assist her with clipping the Wiggentrees. We chatted animatedly about her summer. Last year, she met the shopkeeper of Zonko's son, a Magizoologist studying Nifflers in the countryside. They'd gone on a couple of dates that apparently went really well. So well that they were planning on spending Christmas break together. I loved how much of an open book she was around me, a contrast to her more reserved, but still really fun teaching methods. It made me feel like I had a real friend, not just another fake acquaintance like the likes of my Slytherin peers. Lucius would definitely not approve and I smiled at the thought of it.
"I dunno," she said with a girlish giggle, "he's just so intelligent, you know? It's hard to find a man with a brain these days."
"Tell me about it," I giggled back, feigning like I knew what she was talking about. There was no chance to explore the different kinds of men out there when you were set to get married before you even graduated from school.
"What about you?" She asked coyly with a wiggle of the eyebrows, placing her sheers down and rubbing her hands on her pants legs. We began to gather the clipped leaves in preparation to wash, package, and send them to the potions storage room. "Any men you've got your eye on?"
"Well, I would hardly call anyone around here a man," I said jokingly, lifting a bucket of the leaves and walking behind her to the prep station. "But no, not really. Don't have too many options in that regard anymore, anyway."
She noticed the slouch of my head and the sad drop in the tone of my voice. I didn't meet her eyes as I started scrubbing the Wiggentree leaves.
"I'm sorry, Beth," she said quietly. "I had heard rumors, but I had hoped they were only that. So it's true?"
"Yeah," I sighed. "You're looking at the future Mrs. Malfoy."
"Oh, my sweet Sneezewort," I snorted at the chosen plant as she pulled me into a hug. The foliage she surrounded herself with everyday left her smelling both sweet and musky at the same time. She pulled back after a moment and looked me in the eyes lovingly like a mother would to her daughter. "I'm sorry. I wish I could say congrats, but no one should be put in your position. I was hoping you would at least have time, given your brother's engagement."
I shrugged. "We're pretty fast and furious with the weddings, it would seem."
"And to that boy," she surprised me with her tone. I guess it wasn't inappropriate, as Lucius hadn't bothered to continue his Herbology studies after his OWLs, so he technically wasn't her student anymore. "I didn't say this, but he was always a nasty student… The day we learned Mandrakes with him was a bloody nightmare."
I let out a full-blown laugh. In his first year, Lucius had tried to prank the Gryffindors in his class by pulling out the Mandrake from its pot too quickly. Unfortunately for him, his ears were a little sensitive, even with the earmuffs, and he had fainted instantly.
"Yeah, what a twat," I said through giggles and she joined me.
"Ah," she sighed as our laughter died down, "but if there's anyone that can handle him, it's you."
She sent me a reassuring look and I fought the tears that pricked my eyes. I was appreciative of her blind support, but I couldn't be quite so sure about surviving my upcoming marriage.
Desperately in the mood to change subjects, we settled into a comfortable discussion over various herbs. She had strong opinions that some of the unorthodox herbs she had learned about in the countryside of Japan were actually better sleep remedies than the commercial ones we used in Europe. She was trying to push through a government research grant that would allow her to explore them more next summer, but it wasn't looking optimistic.
We had just packed the last of the leaves into vials when there was a very audible grumble from her stomach. She quickly placed her hands over her abdomen in embarrassment.
"Blasted tummy," she said quietly. "Guess I'm a little more peckish than I thought."
"Haven't you eaten?" I asked in shock as I placed the final vial in the box set to be sent up to the castle. She simply shook her head. "River! You have to go! Before the house-elves clean up for the night. Go, onto the kitchens!"
"But I haven't even been down to feed the Bowtruckles and as always Silvanus can't make it tonight," she said with a sigh. Our Care of Magical Creatures professor constantly ducked out on the feeding duties of his plant and insect-based beasts, leaving River and me to handle them.
"Don't worry about them, I'll head down there."
"No, no," she shook her head vigorously. "I can't let you do that. It'll be way past curfew by the time you get out of there."
"I'll just flex my Prefect privileges if Filch catches me," I waved her off and started shooing her towards the door. "Really, go!"
"Fine, fine," she smiled, slipping a light jacket on over her dirty dungarees. "Don't forget to give Twigward a treat, it's his birthday today. Thanks so much, Beth!"
With a wink and a wave she disappeared out the door. Alone, I breathed in the thick air of the greenhouse, listening as various insects buzzed around the foliage.
Only pausing for a moment, I filled up a nearby small bucket with woodlice and headed out the door. I walked down the path that led to the secondary group of greenhouses situated on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, about a Quidditch field's length behind the Whomping Willow. It was located strategically, the angle of the moon combined with the coverage of the forest made for the most viable conditions for our more nocturnal foliage. It also housed our Bowtruckles, as one of the buildings itself was built around the trunk of a large tree that stuck out from the edge of the forest.
The crescent moon now shone brightly above me as I reached the door to the greenhouse. Taking off my cardigan before entering this time, I walked in and headed straight for the tree at the opposite end. I could already see the small green creatures scrambling down and gathering on some of the lower hanging branches.
"Hi, everyone," I said cheerfully, placing the bucket of lice on the table right in front of the tree. Some of the small creatures tried to jump over to it, but I stopped them with a hand in the air. "Ah, ah. We've talked about this. Patience is a virtue."
Picking up a handful of the lice, I walked over to the branches and made sure to feed each of the Bowtruckles. Greedy little buggers, I always had to keep an eye on who was who in order to make sure they didn't get second helpings.
"Wilbark!" I exclaimed playfully, lightly pushing away a particularly aggressive one with my index finger. "I know what you're trying to do. You've been fed, now off with you."
The little twig scampered off with what could only be described as a huff and I let out a little giggle. I made my way through all the branches, making sure everyone got their fill. By the end, all the Bowtruckles were lazily resting on the trees, bellies plump.
"Twigward!" I yelled in a sing-songy voice. "Come out, come out wherever you are!"
Timidly, one of the creatures stepped forward on the nearest branch. I could easily recognize him, the tiny white flower growing out of his shoulder giving him away in an instant.
"There you are," I cooed, holding out a hand for him to climb on. His spindly legs tickled my palm as I brought him closer to me. I knew if I gave him his birthday treat while he was still on the tree, he would have been mobbed. He quickly grabbed the blueberry I held out to him and started munching away. "Happy birthday, little guy."
I watched on as he furiously nibbled on the berry, finishing it off in about ten seconds. With another giggle, I placed him back on the tree. Some of the surrounding Bowtruckles walked up to him to see if he had any leftovers but stormed away bitterly when they saw he was empty-handed.
Rubbing my hands clean on the apron I was still wearing, I went over to the Belladonna patch just to check in on the growth. Professor Slughorn had specifically asked if they were ripe yet, wanting to teach a course on them before Christmas break. I carefully prodded at the poisonous berries. Hmm, almost there, but not quite ripe enough for picking.
Crash!
I heard a loud noise come from right outside the wall in front of me, seemingly in the direction of where we grew our outdoor plants. Freezing for a moment, I thought I could hear faint voices speaking rapidly. Standing, I reached for my wand and made my way outside. Rounding the greenhouse, I noticed the gate to the garden was ajar and I stepped in hesitantly.
"Lumos," I whispered and the tip of my wand lit up. I couldn't see anyone lurking around. "Hello?"
I made my way deeper into the garden, my lit wand increasing my visibility of the grounds beyond just the light emitting from the greenhouse windows. As I neared the end of the fenced-in garden, I thought I heard some sounds to my right, coming from inside the forest. My eyes might have been deceiving me in the darkness, but I thought I saw something dart in between the trees.
"Who's there?" I asked, not as confidently as I would have liked. "I'm a Prefect! I could get you in some real trouble for being out this late!"
There weren't any more sounds or noticeable movements as everything remained eerily quiet in the echo of my voice. I was chilled to the bone, but I didn't think it was the weather. Now properly spooked, I turned quickly on my heel to head back into the greenhouse.
"Ah!" I yelled in complete shock when I came face to face with a large black dog. It didn't move but just sat watching me with spookily bright grey eyes. I took a second to control my breathing. "Merlin, you nearly scared me to death!"
The dog moved it's head to the side as if looking at me inquisitively, and I noticed it had something in its mouth. I stepped up and kneeled in front of it, placing my wand on the ground to illuminate us. He, now realizing the gender, moved back an inch, but I made up the space, slowly wrapping my hands around his head to give some scratches behind the ears. He leaned into my hands as he seemed to enjoy it and I giggled.
"Where did you come from, eh?" I mused out loud. "And what have you got there?"
I reached for what was inside his mouth, but he pulled back abruptly and gave out a low growl.
"Oi, that's not very nice. C'mon, let's have a look."
Trying not to push my limit too far, I carefully grabbed for what he was holding so protectively in his teeth. He eventually gave in and released the plant into my hands. Instantly, I recognized it as Monkshood, or Wolfsbane, and I looked over to our supply planted on the windowsill of the greenhouse. So that had been the noise. In the process of him plucking the flower, he had also toppled over and broken a planter of Fluxweed that we were preparing to pick at the next full moon.
"Ah, so that's what that was. Why are you wrecking my garden?"
With a giggle, I pet him once more, of course not expecting an answer. He was caught up in the scratches again, but quickly broke out of it and made to bite for the flower I was still holding in my hand.
"Ah, ah," I wagged a finger and pulled it out of his reach. "You need to be careful with this, you know. The leaves are very poisonous. To both humans and animals alike. One wrong bite and you could have been sent to the doggy hospital."
It might have been the less than ideal lighting situation, but it almost looked like his eyes widened in shock before they melted into worry. He began whining, looking back and forth between me and the supply of Wolfsbane in the window. With a small sigh, I started plucking off the leaves, making sure to rub off any remnants with my apron before holding the clean flower stem and roots out to him.
"Here, you rascal," but he hesitated. "Don't worry, it should be fine now… What do you want with Wolfsbane anyway? Are you a werewolf? Brewing up some Wolfsbane Potion with stolen ingredients?"
His eyes seemed to once again widen and I just laughed. I think I was so tired I was going crazy. It was the only explanation for why I was imagining a dog could understand what I was saying.
"Nah, you're too shaggy to be a werewolf," I said with another scratch of his ears as I stood up. I took some time to rub my knees free of the soil that had accumulated on my jeans. "Well, I guess it's off with you then. And please, don't mess up my garden again, yeah?"
Instead of walking away, he raced over to the windowsill with his tail wagging rapidly. He began hopping eagerly in front of the Wolfsbane supply.
"Okay, now you're just being greedy," I said playfully.
I waltzed over to the windowsill, using my illuminated wand to make sure I didn't step on any precious herbs on the way. When I got there I plucked and cleaned three more flowers before handing them over to the eager dog. The entire time, he had just sat there, attentively watching me with his tail still wagging.
"Here, but that's all I can spare for now. Come back in two weeks if you need any more," I joked. I really was losing it.
The dog jumped up excitedly and landed a few soft thuds of his feet on my apron, wagging his tail in what I assumed could be gratitude.
"Yeah, yeah. On you go!" I gave him one last scratch on the head before lightly shoving him in the direction of the open gate. I had no clue why I just did that, but we could spare a few flowers for a dog that really seemed to want them. The wizarding world never failed to surprise me.
He raced off with the flowers in his mouth, quickly swerving to head straight into the Forbidden Forest. I gave out a chuckle and moved back into the greenhouse at a sluggish pace, the weight of my exhaustion hitting me. I replaced my apron with my cardigan and slid my engagement ring back on my finger after I washed my hands. The last time I had come back without it on, Lucius had been furious, so I always made a point to avoid that now.
I turned off the lights to the greenhouse and locked the door as I stepped outside. Relighting my wand to illuminate my path, I held my cardigan closer to me to guard against the light breeze. Feeling a chill run down my spine, I turned to face the forest once more. I had the suspicion that someone was watching me, but couldn't see anyone or anything. Opening my mouth, I thought about calling out again but reconsidered. Shaking it off, I turned around and power walked back to the castle.