Disclaimer: I own what you don't recognize, and unfortunately, nothing more
A/N: Hah! Writer's block, begone! It took me a while, but I've finally finished this chapter. One more week and exams are done; summer, here I come!
Of Cowards and HeroesChapter 8
Hogwarts Express, September 1st, 1996
"Harry! Hermione…in here!"
Harry looked up ahead and saw Ron leaning out of a compartment, waving wildly to get their attention. He grinned back, letting Hermione pull him through the throng of students trying to find a place to sit for the train ride back to school.
"Hi, Ron," he began, feeling pleased to see his friend. Suddenly he pitched forward as a very warm body collided into him, almost knocking him to the ground.
"Oh, sorry, Harry," came Ginny Weasley's rather embarrassed voice. "I think I tripped over something…oh…eww…Neville! Neville, I've found Trevor."
Beside him, he heard Hermione tut-tutting as Neville came out of a nearby compartment, looking around frantically. Ginny merely grinned unrepentantly at Neville, poking Trevor as she picked up the now spilled contents of a bag she'd been carrying.
"Don't worry, Neville, I didn't actually step on him or anything; he'll be fine."
Harry shook his head and turned back towards Ron, but found that his best friend was now hidden behind an extremely pretty black-haired girl. Harry blushed slightly as she smirked; in his momentary confusion he'd been staring at her. Feeling rather foolish, he bent his head slightly and walked on, trying his best not to look at her as she passed by. He would have succeeded, too, had it not been for her tripping on a small round object that Ginny had apparently failed to pick up. Reflexes kicking in, he quickly leaned forward and caught her before she fell. Startled, she looked up at him, the amused look she'd been sporting earlier gone in her bewilderment. Harry stared back unashamedly, not registering Ginny's snickering in the background as he and the girl locked eyes.
Suddenly, though, she seemed to regain her composure, and with a hastily muttered 'thanks', slipped out of his grasp to hurry on down the train. Ginny was laughing fully now, Ron joining in as Harry walked into their compartment with his face flushed red. Hermione looked extremely amused, as did Neville; and it seemed that even Luna, who had apparently been talking to Ron earlier, was laughing at him.
This was the last straw for Harry, who raised his chin defiantly to stare his 'friends' down. "What?" he snapped, eyes flashing enough that the laughter faded.
"Sorry, Harry," Hermione ventured. "But that…that was priceless, really."
"Looks like Cho's been replaced, no?" Ron teased, and Harry glared at him.
"It was just her eyes, really…they were so blue." He tried to defend himself, knowing the second the words left his mouth that he'd only made matters worse. "No, really!" he insisted, as another fresh wave of laughter erupted in the small compartment. "They seemed so familiar."
" 'It was just her eyes'" howled Ron, tears leaking out of the corner of his eyes. "Did you hear him, Neville… 'they were so blue'!"
"Ron," admonished Hermione, although she was visibly trying to hold in her own laughter. "Ron, shut up!"
It took several minutes, though, before everyone calmed down, Harry's earlier pleasant mood now completely replaced by both confusion and irritation. He knew he'd seen her eyes before…
"Er…" he tried, once everyone was silent. "So…don't start on me again, but…does anyone know who she is?"
Ron and Neville predictably shrugged their shoulders. "Er, she's a Ravenclaw, I think…" Hermione began. "Fifth year, right, Gin?"
"Yeah…" Ginny agreed, but Luna shook her head.
"No…not a Ravenclaw, but she does have several Ravenclaw friends."
"Right," Ginny picked up. "Yeah, I remember now. Nadia Zabini."
"Zabini?" Neville looked confused. "A Slytherin, then?"
Ginny nodded.
"Zabini?" Harry asked. "Like…Zabini, in our year?" He frowned. Maybe, he thought, trying to call up an image of the Slytherin boy to mind. Maybe that's why she was so familiar…
"He's her uncle, actually." Luna commented, and everyone's head swivelled towards her
"He's her uncle?" Ron said incredulously, echoing Harry's thoughts. Luna, however, simply turned to the window, and it was Ginny who spoke.
"Well, yeah, Ron. Her dad is Blaise's half-brother…you know, different mothers and all. Mum explained it to me once, I don't remember the whole story, but there was this huge scandal."
"Ooh, yes, it was in Hogwarts, A History," Hermione jumped in eagerly, and everyone rolled their eyes. She gave no indication that she had noticed, however, and continued. "Apparently, back in 1971, a seventh-year girl got pregnant while she was still in school. It caused quite the disturbance, because she was the daughter of a prominent pureblood family, and the father was the heir to another old wizarding family. People in the school took sides, and there was a huge inter-house war; four students were expelled."
Harry frowned. "And that was Nadia's parents? But if she was born in 1971…then…the dates don't add up."
"No, that was her older brother or sister; they'd have long graduated by now."
"Oh," Harry said, still utterly confused as to why her eyes were affecting him so greatly. Ron smirked at him.
"Still thinking about those blue eyes, mate?"
"Shaddup…" Harry grumbled. Ron grinned at him before pulling out a pack of cards.
"Exploding Snap, anyone?"
Hogwarts, 1977
"Aunt Jules?"
The rat perked its ears, listening intently. A small part of him felt guilty for following James to the Room of Requirement, but the bespectacled young man had looked so urgent and hadn't even told Sirius or Remus where he was going; the reason they had asked Peter to follow him. So far he'd done nothing spectacular…but this…something told him that he was about to hear something very, very important.
"James!" came a woman's soft voice. "How's my favourite nephew?"
"I'm fine, Aunt Jules…and I know you said not to contact you unless it was an emergency, what with you being…well, supposedly dead and all."
Peter's small rat eyes widened, his mind on the brink of remembering just why that piece of information was so very significant.
James, though, had lowered his voice, and no matter how hard he strained, Peter couldn't hear anything else. Sighing internally, he settled down and waited for James to finish talking, unable to leave the room in his rat form. Soon enough, James got up and strode to the door, his face looking far less worried than it had before. Peter quickly followed him out, transforming as soon as he found the shadows to do so. By the time he returned to the common room, James had already gone upstairs with Remus, Sirius waiting for Peter by the fireplace.
"So?" he asked. "Prongs obviously looked better…what'd he do?"
"He just…" and Peter gasped. Juliana Malfoy, whom the world thought had been dead for five years, was alive.
"What?" Sirius demanded, curiousity piqued by Peter's dramatic intake of air.
"Oh!" Peter realized, stopping just short of blurting out his revelation. "Sorry…I just realized I forgot to do the transfiguration homework for tomorrow! McGonagall's going to kill me!"
Sirius looked thoroughly annoyed. "That's it?"
"Yeah…sorry, Padfoot…he just paced around, muttering under his breath. I couldn't hear a thing he said, but it looks like he's sorted things out, no?"
His friend gave him a withering glare before standing up. "Well, thanks Pete. Remus has the homework, by the way…just copy it off of him."
"Right." Peter said, giving him a small salute. Sirius smirked before sauntering across the fairly empty room towards the staircases. Peter, however, remained staring at the fire, wondering why he hadn't told Sirius that James's aunt was alive. 'If James doesn't want him to know' he reasoned, ignoring the voice that pointed out that he, Peter, shouldn't know either. 'Then I won't say anything.'
Malfoy Manor, September, 1996
"Gabriella! How are you? I trust you're keeping well?"
Narcissa Malfoy smiled warmly at her friend as she stepped into the entrance hall of Malfoy Manor, noting with satisfaction that the brunette's eyes rested on the newly hung portrait of their family.
"Do you like it, dear?" she asked, knowing that Gabriella did. "We had it done just before Draco left for school."
Gabriella turned away from the painting to smile at Narcissa. "It's lovely," she commented, not bothering to add the fact that the painter had quite skilfully deleted ten years from Narcissa's face. "Draco is growing up to be quite a handsome young man. I hear the young ladies are quite taken with him."
Narcissa raised an eyebrow, not fooled by Gabriella's praise of her son. She still smiled, though, leading the way through the hallways to a high-ceilinged room where tea for two had been laid out.
"Are they really?" she asked as they seated themselves.
"Why, of course," Gabriella responded. "I hear that one Miss Parkinson is especially intrigued by him."
She smirked at the tightening of Narcissa's lips; it was no secret that the blond woman considered the pug-nosed girl to be quite beneath her son.
"Well, Nadia informed me that she met Harry Potter on the train; he was quite taken with her, apparently."
Narcissa laughed. "Harry Potter," she said rather derisively. "Is nowhere near good enough for your Nadia." Gabriella smiled at her then, and Narcissa's eyes widened for a moment before they narrowed suspiciously. "But then, we can't be too hasty, Gabriella,"
"Oh?"
"Of course," Narcissa continued, enjoying her upper hand. "I mean, given the tragic circumstances with your Adéla-"
Gabriella's eyes flashed momentarily before she composed herself, looking coolly at Narcissa. "It has been many years, but Michael and I have finally been able to move past her most unfortunate death. Nadia, however, is an excellent young woman, with much promise."
Narcissa regarded her levelly before gesturing to a plate of small biscuits. "Of course," she smiled generously. "Nadia and Draco will make a wonderful match. I shall speak to Lucius about it when he returns. I am certain he will be most open to the idea."
Gabriella smiled back at the other woman, graciously accepting a biscuit.
"Speaking of Lucius," Narcissa suddenly spoke again, and Gabriella looked up, intrigued despite herself. Narcissa rarely bothered herself with her husband unless it was a matter of importance; which, of course, was infinitely preferable to mindless chatter about the latest fashions.
"Yes?"
"Well, dear, I happened to be walking by his study one day…"
Gabriella had to hold back a snort; Narcissa was a notorious eavesdropper, whether in person or through her house-elves.
"And Pettigrew was there, evidently asking for money for some ridiculous excursion or another."
This time she allowed herself a small smirk. Lucius had had to spend a huge part of his fortune in order to gain freedom from Azkaban, and she knew that Narcissa had been rueing the suddenly much depleted Malfoy 'fortune'.
"And my husband, being the generous soul he is…" heartless, conniving bastard "…agreed to help him. Naturally, this caught my attention…" because you have no money in the first place…it's why you want your son to marry my daughter " And so I listened for a moment. Ella…"
Gabriella made no attempt to hide her curiousity this time; Narcissa only reverted to her childhood nickname when she was extremely excited. "Cissa?" she asked, unconsciously doing the same.
"Pettigrew needed money because he had to find someone, someone who disappeared a long time ago; someone we all thought was dead."
"Cease the theatrics, Cissa." Gabriella demanded, her patience completely gone. If Narcissa was referring to who she thought she was…
The blond scowled, but continued nonetheless. "Juliana, Ella."
Gabriella's mouth hung open. "Juliana Malfoy?" she managed, a smile beginning to form on her face.
"Juliana Malfoy." Narcissa affirmed, and smirked at the utter look of satisfaction on Gabriella's features. "Oh, I know, Ella, I know."
Gabriella smiled lazily at Narcissa. "I assume they're going…ahem…persuade her to ah, divulge her secrets?"
"You assume correctly, Madam Zabini."
Both women snapped around to the doorway, where Lucius Malfoy was leaning against the doorframe, looking rather amused at the surprised look on their faces.
"Oh, come now, ladies. Narcissa isn't the only one who just happens to stroll by private conversations."
Gabriella noted that her friend's face had flushed, a small pink dot visible on each cheek. She, however, stared unashamedly at Lucius. "What I'd like to know," she said, looking him in the eye. "is when this is taking place, and how I can become a part of it."
"Gabriella!" Narcissa exclaimed; and for a second, Gabriella's heart beat wildly as Lucius simply held her gaze. After a moment, though, he smirked, walking forward and offering her his hand.
"Narcissa, darling, you will not mind if I borrow your guest?" His wife merely nodded, calling to a house-elf to clear the tea. Gabriella smiled at Lucius and rose, taking his hand as she did so.
"Ah, my dear Madam Zabini, I knew there was a reason I liked you…"
Hamilton, Canada, September 1996
"James?"
He stilled his movements instantly, mentally slapping himself for his tossing and turning. He rolled onto his back, turning his head to look at his sleepy wife.
"Sorry, Déla," he murmured. "I didn't mean to wake you up."
"Mmm," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. "I was having trouble sleeping anyway. Jamesina decided to exercise her legs tonight."
James chuckled. "Can't decide between Rebecca or Allison, can you?"
"Yes, and you're no help, Mr. I-like-them-both-just-fine-so-why-don't-you-pick?"
James snorted, and she sighed, slipping closer towards him and laying her head on his shoulder.
"So why couldn't you sleep?"
"Hmm? Oh, just thinking," he replied, putting an arm around her. "Adéla…what do you think about…moving?"
"Moving?" she looked up at him quizzically. "You mean, somewhere far away, or close by? The house is big enough for us and the baby and then some, so I don't see why we need to…"
"No, I meant far away."
Adéla was silent for a moment before turning to look up at him again. "No, I haven't thought about it. I thought you liked it here."
"Oh, I do, I do," James assured her. "I was just…wondering, that's all."
"Alright," his wife murmured, snuggling closer to him. "Well, think about it in the morning, baby, and let's go back to sleep."
"Mmm," James replied, and soon enough, Adéla's breathing became rhythmical, her chest rising and falling slightly as she slept. He, however, simply lay still in the dark, holding onto the woman at his side. 'I can't,' he thought, his hand softly caressing her bare skin. 'I can't run again.'
A/N: I hope that was slightly longer; but don't expect any huge chapters until I'm finished for the year…although seeing as that will be in a week or so, that's coming soon. Many thanks to everyone who reviewed, especially…
Cherrysinger: hmm, make Harry go to Canada? That's a good idea… but I've got a very definite idea about how Harry is going to meet up with his dad and step-mom that is extremely crucial to the plot line. Other persons may be coming to Canada, though…hint hint! (p.s. That wasn't a long review? Lol – thanks anyhow!)
Swordsmistress: Yeah, there's a small part of me that actually wants to name baby girl Potter Jamesina just for kicks. Sorry, but Cassandra just had to die. I'll see what I can do about Sirius…it'd have to be believable, you see, and that's the hard part.
tweeny-weeny: Harry and James will meet. At least, sort of. I can't say anymore…it'd give away the whole story! I think this chapter was longer…I struggled with last weeks, hence the slightly shorter length. But yeah, things are definitely moving along.
Chrissy8887779999: my goodness that is a lot of numbers. To answer you…there was a flashback there, but unlike ones in recent chapters, it flowed as a part of the narrative, since the circumstances with Adéla are very similar to those he'd experienced 17 years previously with Lily. Glad you liked it, though!
Alright, I think that's everyone…thanks so much for reviewing, guys. So…gold star to anyone who can figure out why Harry can't stop thinking about Nadia's eyes…there's a reason, I promise, and it's in the story! Also…anyone got any good names for baby girl Potter? As you can see, I'm still undecided…and I don't want to get too attached to Jamesina! Feel free to sound off about anything in the chapter – Laren.