Elysian Potter: The Forgotten Queen.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, nor d I own the original idea for this story. All rights for the characters go to the magnificent J. K. Rowling and the original idea belongs to CharmedMilliE-Karry Master.

Elysian's Theme Song: You Should See Me In A Crown, Billie Ellis

Chapter Five: Midnight Duel

Elysian had never believed he would meet a girl she hated more than Harry, but that was before she met Lavender Brown. Still, first-year Slytherins only had Potions with the Gryffindors, so she didn't have to put up with them much. Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Slytherin common room which made them all groan. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday – and Slytherin and Gryffindor would be learning together.

"Draco!" Elysian called, the moment she saw the sign up.

"Yes?"

"Come on," said Elysian, "we've got Flying Lessons tomorrow and we need to make sure no one gives away anything."

"Why? Gryffindors aren't exactly smart."

"That doesn't matter," said Elysian, "because Dumbledore is. We need to make sure that neither Ronald Weasley nor Harry Potter go running off to the 'Leader of the Light' with any queries that may ruin everything I've planned."

"Okay."

They walked down the dungeon corridor towards an empty classroom where she normally met the group. She knew Hermione was waiting inside along with Neville and Susan Bones – who had become a good friend after hearing the male Potter slandering her. Elysian and Draco entered the classroom and immediately sat down in order to draw up a battle plan for their Flying Lesson. Hermione and Draco kept sharing 'secretive' glances as Elysian went through everything they would need to do so they could get away with this scot free.

Hermione, at first, was apprehensive at the prospect of lying to an authority figure having always relied on them in the muggle-world. Elysian, understanding this, soothed her fears almost immediately and simply pointed out that they weren't truly lying, simply omitting all the facts.

"Doesn't that still count as lying?" asked Hermione.

"No," said Elysian. "Omitting the truth simply means we are projecting one thing while doing another. We aren't truly lying to Dumbledore because he won't be there."

"…I suppose you're right."

"Hermione," said Elysian, soothingly, "trust me. When have I ever steered you wrong?"

"Yeah."

Hermione nodded with a small smile and hugged her before rushing off to get to the library. Draco and Elysian shared a look before returning to their common room. Spotting Blaise in the corner, Elysian walked over and sat in front of him, watching as he stared at the chessboard with a raised eyebrow.

"You do know that the pieces won't move without you telling them, right?" said Elysian.

"Huh? Oh, hi."

"I never understood the fascination with playing chess," she said softly, placing a finger on one of the pieces and gently stroking it. "It's an old man's game."

"It's a game of strategy," said Blaise defensively.

"It's an amateurs' game of strategy. Try playing 'GO' it's much more enjoyable and far more difficult."

"…I don't know how."

"Come on," said Elysian with a slight grin, "I'll teach you."

Blaise followed Elysian into her room and stared at the board that sat next to Ares. The panther cub purred at the sight of Elysian and immediately jumped into her arms, purring with delight while she pet him. Elysian sat down at one end of the board, Ares on her lap, and gestured for Blaise to do the same. She then went through the rules and the pair played a few games. Blaise was practically sweating at the end of their little practices, he hadn't realised how intense the game was and suddenly understood Elysian's thought process a lot more. Each move she made was heavily calculated and her poker face was flawless.

"What are you two doing?" asked Draco and Daphne, entering the room.

"Playing 'GO' Elysian's winning."

"Well she is the only one who knows how to play," said Daphne, settling down next to Elysian. Ares jumped onto Daphne's lap and purred while Daphne pet him.

"Perhaps I should teach you all how to play," said Elysian with a sly grin. "After all, it's a strategic game and far more sophisticated than wizarding chess."

"I'll play," said Draco, eager to learn anything that could give him an advantage against the male Potter.

"Alright. Here are the rules…"

~EP~

On the day of their lesson, Elysian was sat listening to Harry boast about his flying skills. He complained loudly about first-years never getting on the house Quidditch teams and told long, boastful stories which always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters. Elysian knew these stories were complete and utter nonsense, having watched from her window or from the library balcony when Harry had lessons with James. She made this fact known to Draco – who was constantly seething whenever he heard Harry's voice – and that seemed to placate him, if only for a little while.

Elysian was worried though. Unlike the rest of Slytherin House – or anyone whom was raised in the Magical world – Elysian had never been taught how to ride a broom. It wasn't all that surprising that the Potters had focused on their 'Golden Boy' over their daughter, that she doubted they remembered they had, but the realisation that she could possibly embarrass Slytherin House in front of the Gryffindors sent her into a slight melt down. Pansy, Blaise and Theodore Nott, upon hearing her woes, immediately went to find Flint and convinced him to sneak Elysian into their Quidditch practice so she could learn how to ride. At first, the older boy had been hesitant, not wanting to get caught and possibly have practice suspended, but after hearing Elysian's tale, he jumped at the chance. She was now perfectly content with her flying skills and had even been offered a spot on the team as a Chaser for second-year.

Neville, she knew, had never been on a broomstick either, his grandmother had never let him near one. Privately, Elysian thought she had a very good reason: Neville was a rather clumsy boy and after what happened to his parents, Elysian was sure that Lady Longbottom was simply being over-protective. It was an understandable reaction. His lessons were the day after Elysian's though so she hoped she could sooth her friend's fears before then.

Hermione was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was. This was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book – not that she hadn't tried. Thursday she bored them all stupid with flying tips she'd got out of the library called Quidditch Through the Ages. Neville was hanging on her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang onto his broomstick later, but everybody else was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the post.

Elysian hadn't gotten a single letter from her parents. Not even one stating their disappointment in her for being in Slytherin! She watched with green-eyed envy as the rest of her friends and house received owls and large packages from their loving parents or guardians. Harry, no surprise, was constantly boasting about his newest acquisition and that only seemed to boil her blood more. Draco and the others were constantly trying to sooth her anger and even went so far as to offer her some of their sweets from care packages.

"I thought you were exaggerating," said Pansy, eventually. "Even muggle parents send their children letters."

"It's fine," said Elysian firmly, "I'm used to it by now."

A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed full of white smoke.

"It's a Remembrall!" he explained after Hannah asked. "Gran knows I forget things – this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red – oh …" his face fell. The Remembrall was red. "… you've forgotten something…"

Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco, who had headed over with Elysian, gently took it from Neville's hand before he broke it – he was still squeezing it really hard.

Potter and Weasley jumped to their feet, about to run and defend the 'poor defenceless Hufflepuff' from the 'Evil Snake' only to be stopped by Professor McGonagall. Draco and Elysian and Neville shared a look but otherwise didn't move when McGonagall looked at them questioningly.

"What's going on here?"

"Malfoy took Neville's Remembrall, Professor," said Harry, smirking as he assumed Draco would be in trouble.

"Is this true, Mr Longbottom?"

Harry and Ronald looked at him expectantly, as if commanding him to back up their story.

"No Professor," said Neville, immediately receiving glares from the Gryffindor Duo. "Draco was taking it from my hands, so I wouldn't break it…" he blushed and scratching the back of his neck. "I was holding it too tightly."

"Very well," said McGonagall, "carry on."

~EP~

At three-thirty that afternoon, Elysian, Draco and the other Slytherins casually strolled down the front steps into the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns towards a smooth lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the Forbidden Forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.

The Gryffindors took about half-an-hour to get their themselves and Elysian was delighted to see her brother paling as he looked at the school brooms. She could stop the smirk that slipped onto her face as she rested her head on Blaise's arm. James had told both children horrible stories about the school brooms, she remembered some of them well: there was one about a student whom had the misfortune of having their broom break mid air and came plummeting to their death; the story of the broom that had taken on a life of its own and had chased a student around the practice pitch; the story of a broom flying over the forbidden forest and getting the student swallowed by one of the massive spiders within and finally the story of professor Snape being hung from two brooms by his ankles. The last one wasn't told as a horror story but Elysian viewed it as such.

Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, grey hair and yellow eyes like a hawk.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

Elysian glanced down at her broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.

"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say, UP!"

"UP!" everyone shouted.

The broom took a few seconds to jump into her hand but she didn't mind all that much. Elysian had never been very… excited about flying seeing how much her brother had always enjoyed it. Harry's broom immediately jumped into his hand and he send a smug look to everyone around him, much like James had done when he had first practiced with a broom. Draco glared at her brother with a furious envy that was soon quenched as Elysian gently placed her hand on his arm.

"Just wait," said Elysian softly. "We'll both out do him eventually, but we need to be patient."

"I wanna slap that smirk off Potter's face," Draco snarled but he didn't move. He knew Elysian was right: they'd get him eventually.

Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without slidding off the end, and walked up and down the rows, correcting their grips. Draco and Elysian were delighted to hear Harry grumble as Madam Hooch told him he had been riding wrong for years. She even went so far as to say James had done the same thing and had always ended up falling until Lily had convinced him to listen to her.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet and them come straight back down by leaning forwards slightly. On my whistle – three – two –"

But Tracy Davis, with all of her fears of being left behind and becoming a laughing stock, pushed off as hard as she could before the whistle blew.

"Come back, girl!" cried Madam Hooch.

Without thinking of the consequences, Elysian mounted her broom and shot like a rocket up to her house-mate. Madam Hooch could do nothing to reprimand her as she saw Elysian grab hold of Tracy's broom and hold it as steady as she could while Tracy herself jumped so she was now sitting behind Elysian. Slytherin and Gryffindor watched in awe and shock as Elysian, with perfect technique, lowered herself and Tracy onto the ground again.

Tracy clung to her like a life line and whimpered into her back and Madam Hooch had to practically pry the girl away so she could be looked over. For a second, Elysian believed she was going to be reprimanded for flying after Tracy but those fears were soon relieved as Madam Hooch asked her to take Tracy to the hospital wing before returning to lesson.

"Thank you," said Tracy, clinging to Elysian's arm. "You saved my life."

"There's no need to thank me," said Elysian with a small smile.

"You do realise… I owe you a life debt now, right?"

"Yes."

Tracy nodded softly, obviously unsure what to say next.

"Tell you what," said Elysian, a plan forming in her mind, "in order to satisfy the life debt, you just have to be my friend… does that sound fair?"

Tracy's face lit up like a Christmas light and she vigorously nodded her head. Elysian chuckled and made sure to sit quietly in the hospital wing as Madam Pomfrey fussed over Tracy.

~EP~

It was dinner time. Draco had just finished telling Elysian and Tracy what had happened after she had left for the hospital wing. Apparently another student had gotten lost after losing control of their broom so Madam Hooch had to rush off after them leaving Harry Potter to activate his 'Hero' Complex. Neville had apparently forgotten to get his Remembrall back and so Draco had found it in his pocket during flying. It seemed that Harry had wanted to find some way to get Draco in trouble and so decided to give Draco hell for simply forgetting to give an item back. Harry Potter was then caught up in the air by Professor McGonagall who proceeded to drag him off.

"He'll be rewarded," said Elysian softly. "Dumbledore won't let his precious 'savour' be punished in anyway."

"I bet he's already on the Quiddich Team," said Tracy, who was now sitting beside Daphne and Elysian as they knew about the life debt.

Elysian could practically see the steam coming from Draco's ears and nose as he stared at Harry from across the Great Hall. Tracy, it seemed, had hit the nail directly on the head as Harry was gloating smugly about his triumph in becoming Gryffindor Seeker and Elysian could hear him saying: "Well, I obviously knew I was going to be seeker, my dad was the best, after all."

No greater statement had ever been so incorrect.

James Potter had bought his way onto the team through Dumbledore. His skills were subpar at best and only got worse the more he played Quiddich. Elysian always thought he had taken too many bluggers to the head.

Draco, enraged at such a comment and having not heard what Harry had said, motioned for Crabbe and Goyle to follow him and strutted over to the Gryffindor table. Elysian sent a look over to Neville and stood up, gracefully following Draco in hopes of doing as much damage control as physically possible. Tracy and Daphne shared a look but chose not to move as Pansy began speaking in hopes of stopping the other Slytherins from following Elysian with their eyes like normal.

"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"

"You're a lot braver now you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry coolly.

Elysian subtly grabbed Draco's wrist causing him to immediately calm. A grin slipped onto Draco's face as a plan was constructed in his mind. He sent Elysian a sneaky look and turned back to Harry.

"I'd take you on any time on my own," said Draco. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only – no contact. What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"

"Of course, he has," said Ronald, wheeling round. "I'm his second, who's yours?"

"I am," said Elysian, stepping beside Draco.

Harry's eyes widened but he said nothing.

"Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room, that's always unlocked."

With that Draco, Elysian, Crabbe and Goyle left towards the Slytherin common room. Elysian sent the Slytherin table a secretive grin and was soon splitting off from the group to find Finch in order to get her brother in trouble.

"Perfect."

End Chapter Five: Midnight Duel