Well, that last chapter was kind of long, huh? I wanted to stop myself at one point, because I prefer shorter chapters for fanfics, but I decided to keep going on it anyway.
So, I am thinking of writing a new HP fanfic. I love romance, and this story isn't going to get to its romantic peak until later, though there will be romance coming up. Don't forget about Michael Chang!
But I have always loved romances, especially ones about star-crossed lovers, or lovers who at first hate each other but then fall in love.
So, if you like my writing, let me know what you think about a more romantic story! Any ideas?
Disclaimer: I was unable to pronounce Hermione's name for the longest time. I thought that it was pronounced "Her-mee-own". Obviously, I am not J.K. Rowling, and therefore I don't own Harry Potter, because it would be stupid to create a character with a name its own creator could not pronounce.
Get it? Good.
The third years' Herbology class was a lesson on Bubbleblia plants, which were bubble-shaped pulsating plants that, though they looked tough, exploded easily when prodded. There was a certain way to prod them, and the water-like substance that came out of the Bubbleblia plants smelled like soap and old flowers, called Bubbly Juice. When extracted the correct way, the Bubbly Juice could cure any type of body odor, be it from a mismatched spell or poisonous plants, to horrific sweat odors.
Lily never learned any of this on that first day of her third year of Herbology. She spent the entire lesson with her head in her hand, trying to interpret what Malfoy had meant. She was completely stumped. Unless he was trying to make some lousy student prank from the Slytherins sound like something much worse, Lily had no idea what it could be. There had been no recent sightings of Voldemort. Her father had killed him some twenty or so years ago. Though there were rumors of former Death Eaters, new Death Eaters, and the children of previous Death Eater's uprising, Lily had not heard much about it.
"Where were you that entire class?" Ari asked as she waved her hand in front of Lily's far-off eyes. They were leaving Greenhouse 3 and heading towards the Great Hall for lunch. "You didn't even laugh when Thomas, Mr. I-Can-Do-Anything-In-Herbology, prodded the Bubbleblia plant the wrong way and got old flower and soap water sprayed in his face!" Ari cackled. "He was choking on that stuff for five minutes!"
Lily glanced over at Thomas who, though he was glaring at Ari, could not form words because his throat was still sore form coming in contact with the Bubbly Juice. He was clutching his throat and glaring violently at Ari, who was dancing around with her hands clamped around her throat, laughing.
"Maybe you should go see Madame Pomfrey?" Lily asked Thomas. Thomas shook his head yes, and headed off in the opposite direction, towards the hospital wing.
"Why'd you make it worse on him? You know he loves showing off in that class; it's his best subject!" Lily asked Ari.
"Because that's exactly why! He thinks he's so smart, well, I make good marks also! He needs to air out that giant head of his, it's so filled with egotistical air!" Ari was getting angry now.
"Lovely use of metaphors," Lily muttered as they rounded the corner to the entrance of the Great Hall.
"Listen, Ari, I was trying to think of what Malfoy meant when he said I would be wishing my dad was here."
"Don't give it any more thought. Malfoy just wants to syke you out. It's his thing."
"Yeah, but he's never talked like this before. I think that maybe—OUCH!" Lily collided with something hard, and fell onto her back. She could hear the contents of her bookbag spill out over the floor.
"Here, let me help you up," a voice above Lily said. A warm hand clamped around Lily's own cold one, and she was pulled to a sitting position.
"Owww…" Lily rubbed her head in pain. She blinked rapidly, allowing her eyes to become more focused on the blurrish figure in front of her.
"You there, Lily?" asked the figure. He had a distinctly male voice…
Michael Chang swam into focus. He had a worried look on his face. "Gee, I'm sorry Lily. I didn't see you coming."
"It's okay, Michael," Lily started to blush, and began to search around her for her bookbag's contents.
"Here let me help you," Michael said, and the two collected everything together. Lily allowed Michael to pull her to her feet, and did not even think about protesting when Michael lingered on releasing her hand.
"Thanks," Lily said, looking up at Michael. He was so good-looking. Lily couldn't believe how lucky she was to run into him, and even more so to be asked out by him.
"I'll just…um…oh, hey there, Lizzie!" Ari spotted Lizzie Macmillan, Hannah Abbot and Ernie Macmillan's daughter, who was a third year in Hufflepuff, and whom neither Ari nor Lily knew very well. "WAIT UP!" Ari dashed after a bewildered looking Lizzie, and the two entered the Great Hall together.
"So, how's your first day been?" Michael asked Lily.
"It's been…interesting," Lily responded, thinking of Fiona Featherstone and Malfoy's warning.
Michael laughed. "So listen, there is a Hogsmeade visit coming up right before Halloween, and since you can go now that you're a third year, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out together."
Oh my gosh, now he's REALLY asking me out! Lily's insides screamed in joy. "Oh, uh, sure, that would be cool, I guess," Lily tried to say nonchalantly, and put her hand on a candelabra attached to the wall. Unfortunately, even though she was trying to appear casual, the candelabra broke off in her hand and flew to the floor, landing with a loud "THUD!"
"Miss Potter!" Professor Forte was coming up behind her with an appalled look on her face. "I am not sure if you intended to break school property, but I can assure you that while this school is your home, you should treat it with more respect!" She bustled into the Great Hall with her nose in the air.
Lily and Michael looked at each other, and then burst into laughter. They clamped their hands over their mouths so that Professor Forte would not hear them.
As they walked into the Great Hall together, Michael asked Lily casually, "So, what's the deal with that new girl in Gryffindor?"
Lily sighed. She was getting sick of all this "new girl" talk. "Her name's Fiona Featherstone, and she just enrolled here. Why do you ask?"
Michael got a serious look on his face and stared straight ahead. "I don't like the looks of her."
Lily was surprised. "Why?"
"I don't know, she just…" Michael stopped walking and got a strange expression on his face. Lily saw that Fiona was a little ways from Ari and Thomas, her posture straight and proper. Fiona was watching Ari and Thomas eat, but the food on the plate in front of her was untouched. "She looks untrustworthy." Michael finished with an air of finality. "I'll see you later, Lily."
"Okay. Sure. See you later!" Lily smiled at Michael, who grinned back, and they went their separate ways to their tables.
"I'm starving!" Lily announced as she slid into a space near to Fiona.
"Well hurry up, Defense Against the Dark Arts starts in ten minutes!" Thomas told Lily. "You can't waste time, you need to get a good meal in so you can give your classes your full attention!" Ari glared quickly at Thomas, and then leaned forward towards Lily.
"Ignore him. That's not important. What's important is did Michael Chang ask you out?"
Lily gave a small, excited giggle, and leaned towards Ari. "Yes, yes, YES! He asked me to meet him on the Hogsmeade trip!"
Ari's face slipped for a moment, but she was quick to grin back. "I'm so happy for you! I only wish that the three of us would spend our first Hogsmeade trip together."
"Oh Ari, I'm so sorry! I'm sure that we can spend time together, I doubt that Michael and I will spend the entire trip together."
"How come I don't get an apology?" Thomas asked accusingly.
"Because," replied Ari smoothly, sliding back into her seat, "You could probably care less about whether or not Michael Chang asked Lily out."
"True, but Lily's my best friend also. I would care if she stopped hanging out with us to be with Chang," Thomas shot back.
"That's not going to happen," Lily assured her friends. "Look, I haven't even been on a date with him yet! Let's talk about something else. Like how about what Malfoy said in the corridor?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that!" Thomas exclaimed. "Yeah, so I think that—,"
"Can I join you?" Erick cut in, and slid into the seat next to Lily.
"Erick! I haven't seen you all day!" Thomas hastily reached across the table to smack hands Erick. Unfortunately in his effort to look cool, Thomas knocked over his goblet of pumpkin juice. The creamy liquid splashed Erick in the face, and some of it fell on Lily's robes.
"Yurck!" spluttered Erick, swiping his hands across his face.
"Here, let me help!" Ari said quickly, withdrawing her wand. "Evanesco!" The pumpkin juice vanished from Lily's robes and Erick's face. Lily and Erick muttered their thanks.
"So, how are you liking Hogwarts so far?" Lily asked Erick. "Come to think of it, I don't even know what year you're in."
"Oh, sorry. I'm in fourth year. And thanks for asking. Hogwarts is great so far."
"Has anyone figured out who your mom is yet?" Ari asked.
Erick shook his head. "No, not yet. I have all my classes with Lyla, but thankfully she hasn't said anything yet." Erick laughed. "Although I'm sure it looks odd the way Lyla rushes to sit by me in every class, and laughs at everything I say."
"No, that's typical Lyla fashion anyway," giggled Lily.
The four headed out together and said their goodbyes when they reached the staircase.
"He's quite normal for having such a famous parent," Ari remarked as she waved at Erick.
"Is that some subtle way of saying that I am abnormal, because I have a famous parent?" Lily frowned and crossed her arms.
"Maybe," Ari gave Lily a sly smile.
When they reached their Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, it was obvious that the Gryffindors and Slytherins were not happy to be sharing a class together. The two houses were huddled amongst themselves, and were a good distance away from each other. The Gryffindors were standing with their arms folded, shooting wary and angry looks at the Slytherins, who were standing as if they were preparing to attack the Gryffindors.
"Nice to see the house unity, at least," Thomas nodded at the close group of Gyffindors.
"I wonder who our new teacher is. I forgot to look for them at the Sorting feast yesterday, and today at breakfast and lunch," said Lily. The jinx upon the teaching post of Defense Against the Dark Arts had been broken after Voldemort had been defeated, but the Defense teacher from the previous years, Professor Ramwell, had been from America and had transferred back to his southern wizarding school in Texas: The Spindletop School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He had been okay as far as Lily was concerned, but after hearing the stories about Dumbledore's Army and such from her father, Lily had been expecting someone more knowledgeable and interesting.
"What does it matter?" remarked Ari. "It's common knowledge that you're the best at Defense Against the Dark Arts in the entire school, with the exception of your brother. You knew more anti-jinxes than Ramwell and the headmistress combined in your first year here."
Lily looked flustered. "I'm not that great at it. You're exaggerating."
"Ari's right, you are quite talented at Defense Against the Dark Arts," Thomas said a little angrily.
"Do I detect a note of jealousy?" Ari teased Thomas.
"There is no reason to be jealous of Lily's accomplishments. I was merely agreeing with what you said." Thomas replied indigently.
"Sure you were. There's nothing wrong with being first in almost every class," Ari stressed the 'almost'. Like it was common knowledge that Lily shone in Defense classes, it was common knowledge that Thomas was one of the brightest people in third year. Though he was a daydreamer like his mother, and a bit of a klutz like his father, Thomas' study habits were reminiscent of those like Hermione's had been.
Thomas was about to reply, when the classroom door swung open. When nobody stepped out to greet the class, the students took it as their cue to enter the classroom.
As they filed in, it became clear to the students that their new teacher was not only serious about their craft but also rather disorganized. The classroom was dimly lit, and there were piles of books; what appeared to be dark-wizard catching devices practically falling out of cupboards; papers and posters tacked to every wooden post, displaying pictures and sketches, messy notes, and foreign words; and a small cage on the floor near the front of the classroom. The cage held a snowy white bird that resembled a peacock, except that instead of tail feathers it had elegant pointed spears. It was walking around in its cage, watching the students curiously.
"Where d'you reckon the teacher is?" Thomas whispered as the threesome sat down at a table in the front row. Thomas' question was answered when the door at the top of the stairs in the back of the room—the teacher's living quarters—swung open and shut loudly. A tall man walked down the stairs, surveying the class.
"Oh wow…" Ari trailed off, wide-eyed.
The teacher was very tall and young, with long, unruly dark hair. Wiry silver glasses that looked as if they would break with the smallest touch were perched on his nose. He wore long, old robes in bright green with a paisley neckline. He looked a bit like a grasshopper that had fallen out of a dusty cupboard in an antique shop.
"He looks kind of familiar…" Lily whispered to Ari, frowning. "I'm sure I've seen him somewhere before." Ari nodded and turned to face the teacher.
"Good afternoon, class." The teacher nodded at the students, and went to perch on the edge of his desk. "My name is Professor Atley Trellum, and I am your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
"Trellum!" hissed Ari to Lily. "He's an Auror! I remember meeting him when I went to work with my mum."
Lily frowned and whispered back, "No, he's not. He works with the Auror department, but he's not an Auror. He does something else, something really important, but I can't remember what it is."
Professor Trellum was now talking about what they would be covering. "I plan on teaching you not just what's on the curriculum but things that many dark wizards have never even heard of." He stood up and began to slowly walk around the room. "I will even teach you potions and spells that are not even Ministry approved yet.
"Do you know what they are, sir?" asked Grant Rothen, a Gryffindor.
"Yes, of course I do. How else could I teach them to you?" smiled Professor Trellum. He went back to his desk and picked up the roll sheet. "Please raise your hand and tell me your favorite animal when I call your name."
Ari, Lily, and Thomas exchanged looks with each other. Favorite animals?
"Toads," said Thomas when his name was called. He had a toad named Theodora. Professor Trellum smiled.
"Arisilla Lupin?" he called, and looked up with an anticipating expression.
"Oi!" Ari threw her hand up in the air and slouched in her seat. Lily and Thomas laughed. "I like werewolves, even though they are only half-human. If you want me to say an actual animal, I like otters. And call me Ari, sir."
Professor Trellum laughed. "I take it you are Remus' daughter?" Ari nodded, happy to be noticed. "Yes, you can say werewolf, Ari."
When Professor Trellum called on Malfoy, Lily thought there was a flash of what looked like anger in his eyes, but it was hard to tell. Malfoy did not even say his favorite animal, but merely glared at the teacher.
After Rayna Perfusus was the seventh Slytherin to say,"I like snakes," Lily cleared her throat. Rayna Perfusus, a sour-faced pudgy girl with a pointy nose like a bird-of-prey's beak, always came before Lily when Slytherin shared a class with Gryffindor.
Professor Trellum looked down at his list. "Potter," he said with great interest. "Famous Potter. Lily Potter?" He looked up.
Lily's face flushed. Teachers had been excited to meet her before, but she had never been called famous. She raised her hand and said, "I like phoenixes."
Professor Trellum did something very odd. He shot a look at someone sitting to Lily's far left. Lily glanced over to where he had looked, but all she saw was Fiona sitting by herself next to the window. Professor Trellum cleared his throat.
"The phoenix is a beautiful animal, and holds a lot of significance in the study of the Dark Arts. It is also associated with the previous headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, the only person Lord Voldemort," everyone except for Lily and Ari shuddered, "every feared."
"Now, who can tell me what this animal is?" Professor Trellum gestured towards the white animal with the pointy tail feathers. The animal looked up at him with interest, then at the class.
"No idea!" called out Ari. Everyone laughed, including Professor Trellum.
"This is a Spear-Tailed Featherpeak. Her name is Viola. The feathers on the end of its tail are soft save for the points, which are razor sharp. But pointy feathers are not what makes the Featherpeak special." Professor Trellum bent over and unlocked the cage. Viola waddled out and went to stand next to him. Professor Trellum gently picked her up and set her on the desk.
"What makes a Featherpeak special is, if it detects that someone is in danger, it can cause whoever is pursuing you to forget about you, simply by the blink of its eye."
"Cool, I want one," Ari whispered to Lily.
Lily giggled. "How many dark wizards are after you?"
"Nah, not dark wizards, only Filch. It'd be nice to get away with my mischief." Ari winked.
"Sir, what are the pointed tail feathers for?" Thomas raised his hand.
Professor Trellum looked at Viola with a mixture of bewilderment and humor. "Actually, I have no idea." He laughed along with the class. "I'm not a Care of Magical Creatures teacher, you know. But Viola is nice to have around. She is very well behaved and requires no training. The only problem is those spear-like feathers…" he held up his right hand, which had a bandage wrapped around it.
When class ended, Ari shot out of the room ahead of her friends, muttering, "Loo break, see you in Potions." Thomas left also, trailing behind Fiona.
As Lily gathered up her things, Professor Trellum said, a grin in his voice, "So, you're Harry's daughter."
"Yes," Lily straightened up.
He smiled. "I was good friends with him at the Ministry, since I was constantly in the Auror office."
Lily cleared her throat. "Sir, may I ask, what exactly did you do at the Ministry?"
Professor Trellum looked around the classroom. Everyone had left for his or her next classes. With a small smile, he asked, "Can you keep a secret?"
Lily nodded. Professor Trellum leaned in towards Lily.
"I studied to be an Auror, but I preferred assisting them instead of actually being out there in the field, catching dark wizards."
"What do you mean, sir?"
"I invent things, but it's more complicated than that. I create spells and curses and potions for the Aurors to fight with. I have a special permit that allows only myself and the Aurors to use them, without Ministry approval. You'd best believe that the Death Eaters would have loved someone like me. But ever since the fall of Lord Voldemort, my services have not been in so much of a need, though there are still dark wizards out there." He glared suddenly. "The Ministry is full of a bunch of idiots. There are reports…anyway, they released me, and that's how I ended up here. They thought having me around was too much trouble."
"But sir, why work here? Wouldn't your talents be in better use with the Aurors, even though you don't work at the Ministry anymore?"
Professor Trellum smiled wryly. "No, a lot of the Aurors don't like me. They think a lot of my inventions are a little too dark. But the Ministry contacted me immediately when I graduated from Hogwarts. Anyway, I decided that using my knowledge of the dark arts to teach students would be better spent." Professor Trellum did not look at all like he meant it.
"I must get to Potions!" Lily glanced at the clock. "Bye, Professor!"
"Good-bye, Lily Potter," Professor Trellum smiled back. But as Lily closed the door, she could swear that she heard him say to Viola darkly, "Don't worry, the Ministry will want me back soon enough."
Okay, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! I worked for a long time on it, editing things and trying to decide if I wanted to use them or not. I almost gave something away, but I decided against it, so you should keep reading! And as always, PLEASE comment!!!