A Subtle Obsession
By: Twisted Mister
Chapter 12:
"He's down here. Jump the last step, I think its rotted." Regulus said leading him down a dank and musty smelling staircase. "How far are we going? I thought this part of the dungeons was closed off." Carwyn said as he jumped the step. "Yeah it is, my dad told me that they used to hold dangerous creatures down here. We'll be fine I don't think there are any snarks hiding in the shadows." They stepped into dimly lit corridor, dusty ornaments flanked the walls from some bygone era. "Did you have a good New Years Reg?" He asked, Regulus snorted. "I begged my mum to let me go out and fly for a bit, but she said no as always. We're going to have practice later this evening, I can't wait to get back on my broom.. How was yours?"
A doxy poked its head out from behind a tapestry as they passed. "It was alright, me, Bellatrix, and Narcissa stayed up late playing exploding snap. Merlin there is so much dust that I can hardly breath." Carwyn said sneezing. "My mum didn't let me stay up because I had to board the train early the next morning to Hogwarts. It's so weird how you are all buddy-buddy with my cousins now, especially Bellatrix. Me and Sirius have never been fond of them." Regulus said as they approached a wooden door. "Maybe you should give them another chance." Carwyn said his eyes watering.
Shaking his head Regulus knocked on the door, stirring up even more dust. "Who is it?" A voice drawled from the other side. "It's us... Regulus and Carwyn." Someone wrenched a deadbolt free then the door creaked open. A pale lanky boy stood before them, long black greasy hair covered half his face. "Regulus, Quigley." Severus smirked at them. "You may come in." The boy turned around leading them into the room. A wave of humid air hit him as he stepped inside, Carwyn felt his skin grow wet and clammy. The potions lab was dingy. Cauldrons bubbled over enchanted flames, smoke rose and clung to the ceiling. A variety of scents wafted from them combining to make a peculiar odor.
Severus walked to a table full of ingredients, all of which were organized. He took a few livers out of a bowl and started crushing them with a mortar and pestle. "I thought I would find you down here Sev. How was your holiday?" Regulus said eyeing a bowl of live grasshoppers. "It was... passable. I spent most of my time experimenting." "I was wondering where you went all of those days Severus. You must have been hard at work" Carwyn added. Severus didn't reply, he lowered his eyes focusing on mashing the liver into pulp. "So how was Christmas all alone with your mother?" Regulus sighed. "Mind numbingly boring, without Sirius there to cause mayhem or you to intimidate my mother." The boy let out a little chuckle behind his greasy veil. "That's about the only thing the imbecile is good for.. stirring up trouble." He took the bowl over to a cauldron and up ended it into the smoky concoction.
"Someone gave me a book on Alchemy, this Christmas. It's really interesting, not to mention complicated. How similar is Alchemy to potions Severus?" Carwyn tried hoping to break the ice. "Not very.." He said stirring the cauldron. "The art of potion making came from ancient Alchemy, but the two are drastically different. In order to practice alchemy you must do inner work as well as physical, opposed to potions where you only do the physical. Alchemy deals with the four elements, emotions, and archetypes. It is more philosophical and mystical than anything." Carwyn pondered for a moment and said. "Thanks." Severus cleared his throat.
"Speaking of imbeciles.. I heard those three, made a run for it. I'm surprised they got away, considering how they had some of the best aurors in the ministry on their tail." Carwyn's heart skipped a beat as the topic shifted, Regulus gave him a searching look. "We honestly thought that they would have been captured. Somehow they knew about the raid and ambushed those aurors… they even killed one." Carwyn said as his stomach clenched like a fist. Severus examined them cooly.
"The dark lord has eyes and ears everywhere. I'm not surprised in the slightest. Regulus, did they…. approach you?" Regulus swallowed and pulled at his collar nervously. "Yes they did. At our annual party, they tried to recruit me.. to join the dark lord, those bastards where the one's that offered me..." Carwyn felt his jaw drop. "You didn't tell me that! What did you say!?" Regulus looked between the two of them and said. "Sorry I couldn't in the letter, it might have been intercepted. I told them that I would think about it…. after I graduate perhaps."
He turned stark white as Severus stepped forward. "That will not suffice for the dark lord. You know as well as I do Reg…. he doesn't like to be kept waiting." Fear spread across Regulus's face. "I don't want to take the dark mark and become his servant…. All of those murders, the innocent people he's killed." Severus's features sharpened. "I know I feel the same way, but he will kill us if we don't. Even if we do run away, he will take vengeance on our families. Your family to be certain, everyone in mine is already dead." Regulus hung his head.
Carwyn interrupted them. "No! You don't have to go down that path, Dumbledore can protect you and your family. What we need to do is stand up against Voldemort." They flinched at the use of the dark lords name. The sound of bubbling cauldrons filled the room as the silence stretched, until Severus let out a dry chuckle.
"Help Dumbledore fight the dark lord? As if he could protect us. The dark lord grows more powerful everyday, some even say he is immortal. We need to be concerned with choosing the winning side, not some idealistic old fool who thinks he can defeat the enemy with tolerance and kind words." He finished giving Carwyn a mocking smile. "At least we will die with our wands in our hands fighting this tyrant! He wants to kill all muggleborns and enslave muggles. You used to hang out with Lily Evans all of the time Severus. How would you feel if the dark lord killed her because of some stupid blood purity ideological bullshit!" The words tumbled out of his mouth one after the other, leaving him gasping for breath.
It must have struck a cord in Severus, who now looked absolutely livid. "How noble of you Quigley, wanting to die hand in hand with your little girlfriend! The world isn't all sunshine and rainbows, people have to make difficult choices!" Carwyn felt taken aback. "Lily isn't my girlfriend, we are just friends. All you want to do is save your own skin, maybe if you decided to work with us. You wouldn't seem like such a big jerk to her!" Carwyn knew Lily was angry at Severus for some reason, but she never told him. It must have been something pretty bad to end their friendship.
Regulus stepped in between them, sticking his arms out to separate the two. "Enough! This is ridiculous, the first bell is going to ring soon we need to get up to the castle." Severus went over to a table and grabbed his bag, stalking out without a word. "Come on." Regulus said. Carwyn followed feeling frustrated.
"Daddy told me to knock the fire-crab on it's back or it'll shoot flames out of it arse. So I-" The bell pierced through the den of chatter in the great hall. Everyone was more upbeat than usual this morning, all of the students that went home for the holiday's returned last night. Bellatrix sat at the Hufflepuff table listening to Pandora talk about her Christmas present. Carwyn didn't show up for breakfast today, so she decided to slip in with the Hufflepuffs. Bellatrix felt so happy to finally see her best friend again that she gave her a big hug.
They exchanged a few tales about the break. Pandora caught on immediately that she didn't want to discuss the nasty bits about hers in public, she gave her a look saying. "Some other time." Whenever Bellatrix glanced over her friends shoulder she would see Andromeda on the far side of the table talking with Ted. 'Merlin this is difficult.' She thought when her sister finally noticed her. Bellatrix willed herself to keep her eyes on Pandora as Andromeda stared a hole through her from far away.
"Do you want to come to the common room with me after dinner Bella? We can talk about it then.." Pandora whispered the last part in her ear. "Sure I'd love to." Bellatrix said standing up collecting her schoolbag. "I'll see you later." She waved. "Bye." The girls parted ways in the entrance hall, Bellatrix walked down a corridor towards the transfiguration room. 'Double transfiguration today.' Bellatrix thought groaning. She didn't like the subject very much, hopefully she would survive the next two and a half hours.
She entered the classroom with a crowd of Griffindors, taking her usual seat. Everyone streamed in over the next few minutes. Carwyn gave her a little smile when he passed, Bellatrix returned it warmly as he took a seat beside her cousin. "Quiet, quiet." Professor McGonagall said walking to the front of the class. The professor took a moment to survey her students when she got to the podium, scanning the room her eyes rested on Bellatrix. "I almost forgot... Miss Black needs a new partner… would anyone like to volunteer?" She was thankful that the professor didn't draw attention as to why her previous partner was absent, but she blushed when they turned their heads all the same.
Carwyn looked like he was about to say something when a voice called out behind her. "I volunteer to be her partner." Bellatrix turned around to see the muggleborn redhead Lily Evans standing up. 'No not her please Merlin.. I'll be at her throat before the day is over.. I swear.' The professors response left a bad taste in her mouth, akin to skele-grow. "How sweet of you Miss Evans. I can arrange Miss McKinnon to partner up with Mr Fenwick after he gets out of the hospital wing." Lily gathered her things up hastily, muttering a quick apology to Marlene. Her shoes clicked on the stone floor as she approached the desk. Lily put her schoolbag down and took a seat a bit too close for Bellatrix's liking, she scooted her chair a few inches away avoiding her eye.
"Today you will be learning how to conjure objects out of thin air, It may be difficult at first but I'm sure you will get the hang of it with some practice. First we must go over the theory." She animated a piece of chalk to write on the blackboard. For the next hour and a half Professor McGonagall explained the Inanimatus Conjurus theory in depth. Most of what she said went right over her head. "Now it is time for you to practice the spell, remember the incantation is 'Inanimatus Conjurus.' Focus on the object you wish to conjure, it's best to start small and simple. The wand movement is illustrated on the board." Chatter broke out as the professor left her podium.
Lily cleared her throat. "Bellatrix would you like to practice together?..." She said in a friendly voice. "No I don't want too.. but I have to now that you're my partner." Bellatrix said icily, anger burning in her chest. "Okay.. I guess I will try it out." Lily pulled out her wand. 'The ginger always has some witty comeback up her sleeve, I wonder why she is being so reserved? Maybe I make her feel intimidated." A grin played on the corner of her lips as she retrieved her wand.
The only thing the girls said aloud was the incantation to the spell, they didn't spare a single word to one another. In front of her Bellatrix saw Carwyn conjure a teacup within the first few minutes, while everyone else struggled to do anything. 'It's like I'm just waving my wand and muttering nonsense, nothing is happening.' The redhead was making it even worse, she kept huffing and puffing making all kinds of weird noises as she tried to perform the spell.
Out of the corner of her eye Bellatrix saw that her face was growing redder, until forty five minutes later. "Yes I did it! Finally." She exclaimed, an excited expression spread across her face. Bellatrix met her eye for the first time and scowled. "Look Bellatrix." Lily held up the tube of lipstick she conjured. "Wow." Bellatrix put on a face of mock surprise. "Maybe you can use it to doll yourself up. Merlin knows that you need it." For a moment an angry look flickered across her face, she composed herself quickly biting her lip. 'Am I pushing your buttons ginger?' Bellatrix thought smirking.
"Do you want me to show you how to do it Bellatrix? You need to focus on the object you want to conjure really hard. I couldn't help but notice your wand movements, they need a little bit of correcting.. Here let me help you." Lily reached forward brushing her fingers against Bellatrix's. "Don't touch me! I can do it by myself thank you." She said stiffly withdrawing her hand. "What's wrong? I'm just trying to help you! Do you have a problem with me or something?" Lily's facade finally broke, her ears turning red. "You are the problem not me! You think you are so good don't you? Griffindor prefect, Miss paragon of virtue. Trying to sink your claws into me hmm... you think I'll sing of your praises like everyone else. Well you can take your courtesy and shove it up your ass. Go bugger yourself ginger." Bellatrix looked straight into the girls emerald green eyes, unblinking. Lily took a deep breath shaking, trying to control her anger. "I'm not trying to win you over. I want to-"
"Silence!" Professor McGonagall's voice cut through the air like a knife. Bellatrix looked away and noticed that everyone was staring at them. Even Carwyn and Sirius were turned around in their seats, looking at them with confused expressions. The professor strode over stiffly and said. "Ladies, if you have some quarrel with each other please do it on your own time. My classroom is not the place to fight like school girls, if you continue I will not hesitate to assign the both of you a detention. Do I make myself clear?" The class was deadly silent. "Yes Ma'am." They droned out, McGonagall eyed them for a second and then turned on her heel.
She didn't even so much as look in Lily's direction for the rest of the class. Bellatrix sat brooding her arms crossed feeling embarrassed. 'That bitch, next time she touches me I'll hex her.' When the bell finally rang Bellatrix got up and walked over to Carwyn's desk. "I would have paid a couple of galleons to see you and Lily go at it cousin. Probably be the best money I ever spent to see the two of you rolling on the floor ripping each others hair out." Sirius smiled mockingly up at her. "Shut up.. comon Carwyn lets go." Nearly lifting him out of his seat, she led him out of the classroom.
"What was that all about?" He asked quietly when they escaped the crowd. "Nothing.. She started acting all noble like I was some scared child that needed help. So I told her the what for. I dunno why she even volunteered to be my partner. She knows as well as I do that we don't get along.." Bellatrix stood up a little straighter. Carwyn looked as if he was trying to find the right words. "Well maybe Lily did it as a gesture to improve relations. I thought she was trying to be friendly, please don't take it the wrong way but I think you may have acted a bit… rash" Carwyn put a hand on her elbow.
"Rash!" The fires burst to life inside her, she spun around wrenching her arm free. "Are you seriously defending her!? I see that she's played her little tricks on you too, you're obsessed! I shouldn't be surprised, you two get along sooo well in potions. Tell me.. how do you like your little mudblood girlfriend?" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, but at the same time it felt like a weight was lifted from her chest.
Carwyn's eyes turned the color of ice, as he glared at her. Bellatrix crumpled under his cold stare. "Is that what you think? That Lily is my girlfriend, that she is somehow controlling me? She's my friend Bellatrix, my friend! Don't you dare call her that! Is that what you still see me as.. a mudblood? She was trying to help you for once, mend the bridge between the two of you, but you threw it back in her face!" He turned to walk off but she threw herself on him before he could leave. Pushing him up against the wall, wrapping her arms around his torso.
"Please don't, not again. I don't want to lose you again. I'm sorry I was an idiot. I didn't mean to call her that, I don't see you as a mud-a-mudblood. I was just.. angry." Bellatrix nuzzled her face into his chest, keeping a tight hold onto him. His rigid muscles loosened after awhile, as he melted into her arms. Carwyn ran a hand through her hair, it felt so good. "That's the Bella I remember, feisty as ever. What am I to do with you? She laughed. "I dunno forgive me?" Carwyn took in a deep breath. "Alright, but you have to promise me that you'll try and get along with Lily. She is really sweet and helpful once you get to know her." Bellatrix looked up at him doe-eyed. "I promise for your sake.. I'll try." He grinned back at her.
His grin soon turned into a grimace when his gaze shifted down the hall. Bellatrix looked over in horror to see Lily with her friend Marlene walking past, the pair stared at them looking dumbfounded. They broke apart blushing furiously as if nothing was amiss. After they passed Carwyn said. "Lets go to lunch."
Bellatrix took a seat across from him in the great hall, Narcissa was busy talking to her friends and her cousin Regulus was sitting with the Quidditch team. So they enjoyed each others company alone together for once.
"Hey Bellatrix, are you excited about the inter-house games? Dumbledore told us that it would take place during spring break in Wales." Carwyn picking through his food. "I almost forgot. They haven't said anything about it yet, I wonder if it's been canceled... you know with the dark lord still on the loose." Bellatrix said eating a spoonful of soup. "Yeah, I wouldn't doubt it. Imagine if old Voldy showed up while we were having the tournament, that would be one hell of a challenge. I'd be pissed right off if they didn't give me the gold medal after I killed the noseless freak." Bellatrix snorted soup up her nose, she laughed so hard her side hurt. Carwyn was keeled over shaking from a fit of silent laughter.
"Apparition classes will start in a couple weeks, I hope I do well. My dad said he failed his test the first time." Bellatrix sipped on her pumpkin juice. "Yeah I've read about apparition. They say it's hard to learn at first. You have to be careful not to splinch yourself." Carwyn said conversationally. "Yeah my dad side-along apparated with me once it felt-" "What are you doing talking to that mudblood Bellatrix? Are you fond of him or something?" A high snotty voice drawled to her left, Carwyn's smile vanished turning into a frown almost instantly. She turned her head and saw a girl, Bellatrix knew her face but not her name. The girl was in seventh year, she was a prefect according to the badge pinned to the front of her robes.
The girl had a pale skinny face, high cheekbones and dark hair tied in a bun behind her head. What pissed Bellatrix off the most was the look of cold contempt she wore, it reminded her sickly of her mother. Her nose was scrunched up as if there was dragon dung beneath it. The fire returned to her yet again. "Go fuck yourself you ugly whore. What are you jealous? Don't go sticking that beak of yours in other peoples business." Bellatrix looked back at Carwyn calmly as if she had just exchanged a greeting. His cheeks were pink, surprised that she defended him.
The Slytherin table went silent as a graveyard as everyone turned their heads to look at them. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the girl shaking with rage. "Fifty points from Slytherin! Go shag your mudblood traitor. Talk to your sister Andromeda maybe she will give you some tips!" Bellatrix stood up intending to hit the girl from behind as she walked off, but Carwyn grabbed her by the sleeve. "No Bellatrix sit down! It's not worth it." The entire hall was watching them now, they tried their best to ignore them.
A few long minutes passed until the bell rang for second period. Bellatrix followed him out of the hall towards the dungeons, avoiding the stares. When they reached the potions classroom they parted ways to their separate desks. She groaned inwardly when Lily took the seat beside him. 'Does she really act this way every time they see each other? Merlin you'd think they had been separated for twenty years..' Bellatrix thought as she watched her fawn over him. Avery took his seat a few minutes later, he was as skilled in conversation as he was in potions which wasn't saying much.
Bellatrix couldn't focus on her work as usual, she spent more time looking at the back of their heads than she did at her potion. Every little giggle the redhead made drove her closer to the edge, until she gave up on her potion completely. 'Why do I feel so jealous! Do I really think that the ginger can steal him away from me?' She sat brooding with her arms crossed. Professor Slughorn checked their work an hour and a half later, he drew his head back in disgust when he examined her concoction. His face lit up like a Christmas tree as usual when he passed their cauldron, they were given top marks. When the bell rang Bellatrix walked over to their desk and took Carwyn by the arm, almost dragging him out of the classroom. Lily glanced up, giving her the smallest of smiles.
"Bellatrix your nails are digging into my arm. I wanted you to stop and talk to Lily for a bit." Carwyn grunted in pain as she led him away from the classroom. "Not right now, we need to get to defense class. We have a test today." Bellatrix loosened her grip slightly. She had been acting so weird today, getting into half a hundred fights. At times he wondered where her fire went, Carwyn would be lying if he said he didn't miss it….. It felt strangely good to see that familiar look of scorn in her eyes when she defended him, almost nostalgic. 'Bella can be fierce when she wants too... my little dragon.' He thought as they approached the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
They were the first ones to arrive, taking their usual seats in the back. "Have you been practicing the Patronus?" Bellatrix asked ruffling through her bag. "Yeah but I haven't quite mastered it yet... I'm going to fail." Carwyn hung his head miserably. "Don't worry, just focus on a happy memory that's how I did it." Shaking his head he said. "Yeah as if I don't already know." The Hufflepuffs and Slytherin's poured in a few minutes later. They shut up immediately when Professor White walked in. "I hope everyone had a good holiday, now it is time to get back to work." He turned around to face them. "I'm sure you have mastered the Patronus by now… form a line starting here please to demonstrate the spell." He pointed to a spot beside him. "Up you go, I cannot wait to see all of your Patronus's."
The students that were the most nervous or the least prepared shuffled to the back of the queue. Bellatrix led him near the front. "Might as well get it over with." He said under his breath. Professor White stood to the side with a clipboard in hand, when everyone was in position he told the first student to begin. In order the people in front of him preformed the spell, one conjured a doe, another a hare, the class exclaimed as one when a silvery elephant lumbered across the room. "Miss Black." Professor White said motioning her forward. Bellatrix closed her eyes for a moment, a simmering turtle shot from the end of her wand and glided across the room. 'It's beautiful, but it doesn't feel like Bellatrix. If I would have to guess she would be a bear, a cheetah, some kind of fierce animal.' The figure vanished.
"Excellent Miss Black, you did it non-verbally extra credit I think." Professor White scribbled something on his clipboard. "Good luck." She whispered to him.
"Mr. Quigley your turn." Carwyn stepped forward his legs wobbling. 'A happy memory, think of a happy memory.' Closing his eyes, he searched his mind. 'I shouldn't choose any of my old ones they never work. Maybe something more recent.' The days rewound in his head until he found it. Hagrid's hut, a walk around the lake, the feast, a book, a pair of socks, a handwritten note, Christmas… 'Bellatrix.' The warmth radiated from the center of his chest as he muttered the incantation. "Expecto Patronum."
His wand vibrated as a figure shot out of it, brilliant light danced across the room. A turtle floated serenely above them, flying in graceful arcs. 'I did it! Wait.. It's the same as Bellatrix's?' He felt confused turning his head towards her. "You did it! Congratulations." She said excitedly. "Bella why-" "Professor!" A Hufflepuff girl exclaimed throwing her hand up.
"Yes Miss Maddox?" Professor White asked calmly. "They have the same creature sir." She said pointing to Bellatrix and Carwyn. "Yes I can see that." The professor grinned. "Does it mean anything sir?" His eyebrow's were raised as he looked between the two of them, a funny expression on his face. "Sometimes people have the same Patronus, it's less likely if you had an exotic animal say like a dragon. Close… friends tend to have the same animals as they have grown attached to each other." The queer expression on the professors face gave him a hunch that he wasn't being entirely truthful.
"I guess that explains it." He said to Bellatrix who looked redder than usual. Most everyone was able to preform the spell, only a few didn't manage. For the rest of the period they were entertained by an assortment of different creatures, a small skinny boy from Hufflepuff conjured a harpy much to everyone's amusement.
The dinner bell rang overhead after everyone had finished, the pair walked together towards the great hall. "So tell me what memory did you think of?" Bellatrix asked softly. He gave her a funny look. "Only if you tell me what you thought about..." She swallowed. "It was the day you saved me, you know a few weeks ago. It came to a point where I started to disassociate myself with my surroundings when they were-. Until you showed up… I couldn't believe it, I thought it was a dream. That was the one of the worst days of my life but it was also the happiest."
Carwyn nodded. "I thought about Christmas this year. Usually the holiday is a pretty somber event for me; the only gifts I would receive were from my parents, if you could even call them gifts. Well Hagrid always sent me a tin of fudge or something so it isn't that bad. When I crawled out of bed this year and saw a stack of presents waiting for me I thought it was a dream!" He chuckled. "Not to mention all of the time I spent with you and your sister. For the first time at Hogwarts it felt like I had a family.. I loved it!" She gave him a warm smile. "I'm glad you liked it." "It's funny how we used memories about each other, isn't it?" He said as they turned a corner, but she didn't have time to reply.
"Hey Carwyn, we were actually looking for you mate." Sirius, James, and Remus stood before them, the former grinning. "What's up guys?" Sirius shrugged. "Nothing much really… hello Bellatrix." His eyes rested on her, she scowled. "What do you want? If you have nothing important to say, then sod off! We have somewhere to be." She said moodily crossing her arms.
Sirius clenched at his breast as if her words had wounded him. "Icy as ever cousin. We need to speak to Carwyn in private." Bellatrix stamped her foot. "I don't care what it is, its probably about some girl you tried to seduce or something." The boys burst out laughing. "Do you understand what the word private means cousin?" Carwyn held out his hand. "It's alright Bellatrix, I'm sure it will only take a moment. I'll be right behind you after I get done." Her face fell. "Fine… be careful my cousin is a snake." Bellatrix glared at the trio as she passed them. "You're thinking of the wrong cousin. That's my brother!" Sirius called out after her.
"Where are we going guys?" He asked as they led him down a fourth floor corridor. "Somewhere secret." James gave him a wink. They stopped in front of a large mirror that went floor to ceiling, their distorted reflection stared back at them. "A mirror?" He asked confused as to why they stopped. "Not just any old mirror." Sirius said. "
Tell me no lies." He muttered and the glass vanished as if it had never been, revealing a wide passage that stretched into the darkness. "Comon." James checked his surroundings for prying eyes and stepped inside. "Where does this lead too?" He said following them in. "Hogsmeade under the Three Broomstick's to be exact, but that not the point." The glass reformed behind them, from this side it acted as a window rather than a mirror.
The marauders looked at each other smiling as if they knew something he didn't. "Carwyn we need you to swear. Swear that you will keep our secrets, swear that you won't rat us out." They looked serious. 'What did they do murder somebody?' He thought sweat forming on his brow. "Did you commit a crime?" He asked, a part of him didn't want to know. "In a sense yes we did. Nothing bad at face value, but on paper we could get into a heap of trouble." James said airily. "Okay... I swear to keep your secrets." Carwyn grimaced.
Sirius smiled and stuck a hand down the front of his robes. Carwyn felt his jaw drop, when he pulled out a squirming rat by the tail. "Have you missed him?" The rat bounced to and fro as Sirius swung it around. "You said you had no idea where it was this morning Sirius! You didn't even respond to my letter. Why am I even surprised? Carwyn seethed. "A white lie, it was necessary... ask my mother I've told her hundreds!" The rat squeaked loudly. "You're hurting him, let him down Sirius." Remus said watching the creature thrash. "Fine, Peter you can change now." He let go.
It didn't make it to the ground, instead it transformed into a small pudgy boy midair landing on his knees. He didn't understand at first, he looked at each of their smiling faces in turn confused. Then it dawned on him. "Is he an animagus?" Carwyn said hardly believing his own words.
He had seen this boy before he was in Griffindor, he had messy auburn hair, beady eyes and small almost pointed ears. "Caught on quickly I see." Sirius looked impressed, the boy kind of resembled a rat now that he thought about it. "This is Peter Pettigrew, our assistant. Aren't you Wormtail?" Peter smiled showing a row of crooked teeth. "Yes, pleased to meet you Carwyn." He held out a pink hand. Carwyn shook it, something felt off about the boy.
"How did you do it? I heard it was really difficult… did you use him as a test? You know things could have gone severely wrong." He shook his head in disappointment. "Wormy isn't the only one!" Sirius and James looked at each other grinning, then in a whirl of color they transformed. In Sirius's place stood a shaggy black dog, in James's stood a towering stag it's antlers grazing the ceiling. Carwyn pinched himself. 'Am I dreaming?' The dog padded up to him and licked his hand. "Sirius is that really you?" The dog barked in confirmation, the stag plopped beside him. Then they reverted back to their original forms laughing.
"You should see the look on your face! Priceless.." Carwyn sighed. "Is this what you wanted to show me that the four of you are unregistered animagi?" "The four of you?" Remus stepped forward. "I am not an animagus. I am just as guilty though, I am the reason why they are animagi…. I am a werewolf." Remus said darkly hanging his head. "A werewolf! Wait you chased me and Bellatrix a few months ago, you nearly killed us!" Remus nodded. "I'm sorry… I cannot control myself when I transform, I'm glad that neither of you were hurt." James stepped forward. "Remus used to feel lonely whenever he changed into a werewolf. He would hurt himself, the full moon is never a good time for him. So we decided to help him by becoming animagi." The four of them took turns explaining the story.
"So you finally managed it last year?" Carwyn asked awestruck. "Yep, it was really difficult Peter nearly disfigured himself when he made the potion wrong. It took us nearly three years of practice and research, but we did it." James drew a folded up piece of parchment from his pocket. "We have something for you.. look." He handed it to Carwyn. "This is just a blank piece of parchment..' He said looking it over. "To the naked eye." Sirius grinned. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." He tapped the parchment with his wand. Ink began to spread out from the point, to form a multi layered map. "Whoa!" He exclaimed examining hundreds of little footprints moving across the page, names scrawled under them in microscopic writing.
"Merlin, this is insane. It must have took you ages to make this! I couldn't imagine how many homunculus charms you had to cast." The marauders laughed. "A lot, I still have nightmares about it." James said. "Carwyn we are going to let you borrow that for the time being. We need you to do something for us in return though." He clutched the paper close to his chest. "What do you need?" Sirius began. "Every full moon we need you to be on look out for us. Say if Remus goes madder than usual in wolf form and attacks one of us we need you help. Or if somebody wanders out of the castle, like you and my cousin we need you to bring them back inside. We've been on edge for a long time, imagine if Dumbledore found out or if Remus actually hurt someone." Carwyn folded up the parchment. "Okay, just don't do anything stupid." Sirius shrugged tapping his wand on the paper. "No guarantees there, Mischief managed."
"Pandora!" Bellatrix called out as she left the great hall. Dinner had been so boring. 'Carwyn skipped out on another meal today, it's starting to get annoying.' She felt someone tap lightly on her shoulder during supper, Bellatrix turned around to see Carwyn's little first year friend. 'What was his name?' "Hey um… do you know where Carwyn is? Professor Slughorn told me to hand these out." The boy quivered when she turned around to look at him, a stack of envelopes shook in his hands.
"No, he was supposed to join me but he hasn't arrived yet." Bellatrix said sweetly as she could, it was obvious that the boy was terrified of her. "Oh okay please give him this when you see him, it's an invitation from Professor Slughorn to a party this Friday. Are you B-Bella-trix-" The boy stammered nervously. "Bellatrix Black? Yes that's me." He handed over two letters sealed in wax. "T-thank you." Bellatrix smiled. "Don't worry I don't bite… whats your name again?" The boy swallowed turning pink. "Dirk." He shuddered. "Nice to meet you Dirk." She held her hand out, the boy stared at it for a second. "We've already met." Dirk legged it back to the Griffindor table. 'Merlin why do I scare children so much? I would make a horrible mother.."
"Hey Bella how was your day?" Pandora hugged her. "Crazy I'll tell you all about it, do you want to head down to the common room?" Bellatrix asked as a crowd of students passed. "We should go to the greenhouses first, I need to check on a few plants. I haven't been in there for a few weeks." Bellatrix followed her to the greenhouses, the halls were mostly empty since everyone was turning in.
"Xeno wants to start a career publishing his own magazine after he graduates, to cover all of the important stuff the Daily Prophet neglects." Pandora tittered. 'Like what? Most of his articles are ridiculous, what does she see in that loon?' Bellatrix thought. "Sounds like he has a plan.. I don't know what I'm going to do. I haven't even begun to think about it yet." She said as they reached the entrance of the greenhouse. "I want to be a botanist. Xeno promised that he would take me on a tour around the world to see all of the strange plants and creatures, after the war is over. Did you know that there is a tree in Greece that grows golden apples!" Bellatrix shook her head. "I want to experiment with spell creation on the side, maybe I could create something to improve everyone's life." A flowery scent filled the air as they opened the door.
"Pandora! You know creating spells can be dangerous, people have died… I don't want to wake up one day and hear that my best friend died trying to make a stupid spell." Bellatrix said seriously as they passed a shelf full of venomous tentacula. "That will never happen! I'm really cautious Bella." She laughed plucking a rose from a bush placing it in her hair.
"What does Carwyn want to do after he graduates?" Bellatrix had to think about that. "I dunno, he doesn't seem like the kind of person to take a job at the ministry. I don't think he would like it..." Pandora nodded her head in agreement. "Maybe he could be a curse breaker for Gringotts, a lot of them work in Egypt. They delve into the tombs of ancient sorcerer's and pharaohs, it sounds really cool." They approached Pandora's booth, all of her plants were lively as ever.
"So tell me what happened today that was so crazy?" Pandora picked up a pair of shears and began pruning a flutterby bush. "Let's see I got into three argument's, two of them nearly turned into fights. Lily Evans became my new partner in transfiguration, she witnessed a rather..intimate moment between me and Carwyn which has probably spread halfway around the school by now. I cursed out a prefect, and I discovered Carwyn has the same Patronus as me." She said counting them off her fingers. Pandora dropped her shears "Merlin.. you were busy today." Bellatrix rolled her eyes. "I'll start from the beginning."
Bellatrix helped her with the chores as she recounted it all. It took her nearly an hour to finish her story, Pandora laughed at certain parts and gasped at others. "Lily Evans seems pretty nice from what I've seen..." Bellatrix scoffed as she watered the petunias. "Whatever, she acts like a goody-goody to win people over. I'm going to hex that pretty little ginger head, next time I see her flirting with Carwyn. When I came over to get him after class, she smirked at me as if to make a statement!" Bellatrix crossed her eyes, mimicking Lily's expression.
Pandora giggled. "You have a lot in common with her Bella.. Try and get along I think the two of you could be great friends." Bellatrix held the watering tin over a daisy drowning it. "I have nothing in common with her. She's loud and obnoxious, the ginger rushes headlong at any problem that stands in her way… typical Griffindor. While I-" Pandora cut her off. "While you are too afraid to show your true feelings to the boy you like?" She faltered sloshing water on the floor, her insides writhing. "You got me there Pandora.." Pandora grinned. "Lily has more confidence than you Bella. If you start being nice to her maybe she can show you how to win him over. She has plenty of experience." The redhead always seemed to have a new boyfriend every time she saw her.
Bellatrix gulped. She could only imagine her mothers reaction to her daughter a pureblood lady getting schooled in the ways of dating by a muggleborn. Sighing she said. "Okay." "Good, well I'm done for today lets go Bella." Icy wind stung her cheeks as they left the greenhouse, after trudging through the snowy lawn they reached the double doors leading to the entrance hall. "Did I tell you? We were tested in the Patronus charm today. It was strange.. Me and Carwyn have the same animal." Pandora glanced at her curiously as she pried open the door. "Yeah that's weird. I dunno much about Patronus's maybe we can go to the library sometime and look it up."
The hall was dead silent as Pandora led them down a staircase opposite the one to the dungeons. "The first day back always is exhausting." Pandora yawned as they passed a large painting of a bowl of fruit. "I know I can't wait to sit down and relax." A few minutes later they stopped in front of the great circular door. "Mimble Wimble." It swung open revealing the empty common room. "Everyone must have already gone to bed." Pandora said leading her to a couch beside the hearth. "I guess we will enjoy it by ourselves then." Bellatrix kicked off her shoes, sinking into the cushions. "Maybe." Pandora shrugged giving her an odd smile.
"Bellatrix heard a door creak open, it sounded like one…. no two people entered the room. A feeling of dread radiated from the pit of her stomach, spreading to the rest of her body. Somehow Bellatrix knew who they were, she tried to turn her head but her body wouldn't respond. 'I need to go! Run! I don't want to face them.. not now.' Their footsteps were silent as they drew near, almost foreboding. Bellatrix squirmed feebly in her seat, it felt as if her legs had turned to jello.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw two figures moving closer mere feet away. She closed her eyes. "I'm glad you could join us. Please sit down." Pandora said pleasantly beside her. She heard the pair take a seat on the couch across from them. "Bellatrix.." An all too familiar voice said. She swallowed opening her eyes slowly. Their faces were blurred at first, until they came into focus by the flickering firelight. "H-hey Dromeda."
Intervention! Wassup guys? I hope you've been doing well!
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