AN:

I'm an awful person for the delay, but it's a hefty chapter so, there's that. I should be settling into a routine again though, so updates should start to be relatively more consistent now. Hopefully, you all enjoy the chapter, I had fun writing it, specially towards the end. :)

As always, if there are any errors, please let me know.

Side note: Review responses are at the bottom, as per usual.

x


When the train finally came to a stop at Hogsmeade station, the Slytherin trio waited for the great scramble of students outside to dwindle down so that as they left, though they were some of the last of the remaining students, they were also some of the few students not slammed, shoulder-to-shoulder, in an attempt to elbow their way towards their secondary mode of transportation.

When they made it to the rough mud track, there were just a few stagecoaches left; stagecoaches other students believed to be pulled by nothing. Others saw nothing, but Lillian saw something else entirely.

Attached to the front of each stagecoach was a large, reptilian looking creature that stood like a horse, but possessed demonic, skeleton features and large, leathery, bat-like wings.

Devon gasped beside her, "What are those?"

Blaise looked between the two girls and the empty carriage, a slight furrow to his brow telling Lillian that he couldn't see. "Thestrals," Lillian answered quietly, already approaching the beasts – much to Devon's fond exasperation – beasts that so completely dwarfed Lillian's small frame.

"Thestrals?" Devon queried as she uncertainly inched her way after Lillian. Lillian, who stood in between the two enormous Thestrals, petite hands gently cupping the nuzzle of one's head while the other gently rubbed its' cheek against her back.

"Very few can see them," Lillian explained, and Blaise may have not been able to see them, but he knew of them, and so he also mentioned, "Very few are even aware that they exist."

"Why can't everyone see them?" Devon wondered, intrigued despite their ghastly appearance.

"Because to see them, one has to have witnessed death and understood it for what it was." Lillian's quiet intonation sent chills down Devon's back, and when her friend's eyes found Devon, the muggle-born girl answered the unspoken question.

"I'm an orphan for a reason." And they left it at that.

"They're rare, and deemed dangerous by the Ministry of Magic." Blaise spoke on the heel of the brief pause punctuating Devon's revelation.

"And yet, here you are, cuddled up to two of them," Devon rebutted, not seeing how the creatures could be deemed dangerous when they were practically purring beneath Lillian's touch.

"Lots of misunderstood creatures are deemed dangerous by the Ministry of Magic." And her explanation had Blaise thinking Lillian didn't just mean the creature beneath her hands, but certain wizards and witches themselves.

"At least we know you'll pass Care of Magical Creatures with outstanding marks." Devon teased, doing for Lillian what the black-haired girl had done for her, letting the heavy subject drop after a moment of it settling in the air.

"What else do you know of them?" Blaise queried, for though he knew about the Thestrals, he didn't doubt that Lillian's knowledge on the beasts far surpassed his own.

"They're supremely intelligent, and unendingly loyal to those they discern as friend." Lillian's hands idly shifted to the flowing mane and tugged on the strands as the Thestral behind her began to quietly mouth at the ends of her ponytail. "They're protectors at their core despite their bad reputation and rather off-putting appearance."

The Thestral behind her snorted into her ear, and she couldn't stop her smile had she tried, "Though I find them rather breathtaking." The offended creature behind her returned to teething at her hair, appeased by her own opinion.

Devon laughed at the display, her nerves settled by the rather docile-like behavior of the beasts, not that the interaction lessened her opinion on how dangerous they were – Lillian just possessed the uncanny ability to turn the most volatile of creatures into tame teddy bears. "I can see their beauty." And Devon could, it was impossible not to when Lillian regarded them with such reverence.

Lillian had just finished the absentminded braid when the Thestral behind her stepped back and the Thestral in front of her, careful of his sharp bones, ducked his head and prodded her stomach; tossing his head towards the other coaches, most of which were so far ahead of them that she could barely see the flickering of the lanterns within the cabins.

With a parting touch to both beasts' muzzles, she headed for the carriage, Devon already stepping into the coach and Blaise waiting patiently beside the open door; eyes searching and intense as he extended a helping hand.

With a questioning gaze, she slid her hand into his already much larger one, curiosities quieted at the comforting warmth as he supported her steps into the carriage, climbing in behind her once she was settled and the transport began to trundle its way towards a pair of magnificent wrought iron gates flanked with stone columns topped with winged boards; her jaw clenched unmistakably when she caught sight of two more towering, hooded Dementors, standing guard on either side of the gate.

"What are they?" Devon's quavering question forced Lillian's attention off of the cloaked guards, a fact she was glad for.

"They're Dementors," Lillian answered quietly, but with a false calm that belied the inner turmoil of feelings that accompanied the presence of the dark creatures. "Guards of Azkaban…they're looking for my Father."

Devon inhaled sharply, and Lillian made it a point to avoid Blaise's intense gaze. "What was that spell? That drove them back?"

"A Patronus Charm," Blaise answered before Lillian could, eyes never leaving the dark-haired girl as questions ripped fast across his mind but didn't dare pass his tongue. "An advanced spell far beyond NEWT level, so advanced," Blaise continued on, gold catching silver as Lillian slanted him with a look from her peripheral, wondering at his low tone, the meaning behind the gruffer-than-usual voice. "That some of the most qualified witches and wizards have trouble with it."

Silence was heavy as it engulfed the trio, but Lillian couldn't escape answering the unspoken question, not with Devon staring at her in gaping disbelief, and Blaise watching her in the way that he was. "I've made bi-yearly visits to Azkaban since I was a child." Devon flinched in utter horror; the things the brunette had learned just in the past few weeks alone about Azkaban was enough to traumatize her, but to visit? As a child... it was inconceivable to her. "I needed a means to protect myself against the Dementors, I took up tutelage under a heavily seasoned Auror."

"Is that even legal?" Devon demanded when she found her voice.

"Legality isn't a factor that comes into play considering my origins, Devon…" Lillian hesitated, "And there is much you have yet to learn about Slytherin society." And that seemingly ominous statement was the end to their conversation for a long while; the trio not exchanging anymore words until they were through the giant oak front doors of the castle, into the cavernous Entrance Hall lit up with flaming torches. They hadn't yet made it up the hundreds of marble staircases, staircases prone to twisting and turning mid-step, when their Head of House called her to attention.

"Black," Professor Snape's voice was firm and unforgiving, though when Lillian turned to meet his dark gaze, it was to find a volatile mix of unidentifiable emotions in his eyes. "With me."

Lillian looked to her companions, noted Devon's uneasy expression and Blaise's stony one; his eyes, as always, steady on her as Devon looked between her friend and her Professor. "Let Draco know I'll catch up shortly." Her cousin would be frantic when she didn't arrive with Blaise and Devon, especially considering he seemed to only trust her without him when she was with the older boy currently beside her.

Blaise ducked his head in acknowledgement, turning stiffly and walking away, Devon scrambling after him after a reassuring look from her friend; Blaise would leave Devon behind if the muggleborn witch lagged behind.

Instead of going all the way to the Dungeons, the Professor took her to the closest classroom, didn't bother telling her to sit as he got straight to the point, "I was informed by our newest Professor that there was an incident on the train." Framed as a command though it was a question he asked.

"Just Dementors." And if the casual way in which she spoke of the nasty creatures shocked the seasoned wizard, well, he didn't let it show.

"I won't mollycoddle you like I'm sure McGonagall is doing to Potter; you're level-headed enough to know your own limitations. Do you need medical attention?"

Lillian shook her head in the negative, "Charmed them away before they could get to any of us in the compartment. Nonetheless, a Kiss doesn't require medical attention," At least she didn't think so, maybe others had differing opinions, but she was strong-minded and exposed.

"I've already sent an Owl to Lucius," Snape warned, as he had been under the strictest of instructions to keep an eye on the young Ward; a burden should it have been anyone else but he had developed a reluctant fondness for the girl early in their acquaintanceship, unwillingly impressed with her wand skill and somewhat seamless ability to blend in to a society that wanted only to rip her apart.

"I'll be on the lookout for his response, then." Lillian assured.

The older wizard huffed out a breath, "Then on we go. Back to the feast." There was nothing more to be said until she received word from Lucius.

The arrived at the Great Hall at the heel end of the sorting ceremony, and though she was mildly disappointed to miss the announcement of the first years' fate, she was happy enough to clamor into the open space between Devon and Draco – across from Blaise (a reemerged Theo at his side) – and only have to sit through Dumbledore's welcoming speech before she could eat.

"Welcome! Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" Dumbledore began, but Lillian tuned the Headmaster out as Draco demanded her attention.

"What kept you?" He hissed, his anger a shield for his concern.

"Professor Snape wished to make sure I was alright after the incident on the train." Lillian reassured.

"As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."

"Are you going to be alright, Lillian?" Draco wondered quietly, voice so quiet she almost had to strain to hear him. "With the Dementors loose on school grounds?"

"They're nothing I can't handle, Draco," Lillian promised, "And if they continue to hassle students," Because Lillian was under no misimpression that they were to steer far and clear of Hogwarts students, "I doubt their stay will be at length."

"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds…Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises – or even Invisibility Cloaks – "

"Be that as it may, Father will be most displeased to discover the news." Draco grumbled, already displeased enough for the entirety of the Malfoy home.

"Professor Snape sent news already about the night's transpired events."

"Be that as it may, I'll send him my own words; see if nothing can be done about these filthy ghouls. Lurking around." Because yes, Draco had relentlessly teased Harry Potter earlier about fainting, but he would be damned if that meant he approved of their presence. He was aware of Lillian's history with the creatures, had helped coax her back into a healthy living more than once after she had been touched by the depressing guards, and thus would do absolutely anything to prevent her from suffering again.

"They won't be gone until Sirius is, Draco," Lillian murmured quietly; knowing that uttering her father's name aloud, considering the current circumstances, would be like uttering Voldemort's name aloud.

Draco's jaw clenched, but he said nothing else on the matter, there was nothing else for him to say; just as there was nothing more he could do to comfort or protect his cousin, a fact that near obliterated the burgeoning man he was becoming.

"It is not in the nature of a Dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the Dementors."

A snort on her left had Lillian giving Devon her attention, "They expect teenagers to be able to keep the rest of the students in line and safe from these so called 'guards'?"

"If you've nothing to hide," Lillian assured her still shaken up friend, "They'll give you a wide berth."

"That didn't seem to stop them earlier." Devon countered.

Lillian frowned, "They overstepped their bounds earlier, yes, but they weren't completely unprecedented. From what I've heard, Harry and I were the only ones targeted, and we're the ones most likely to hear from Sirius."

"On a happier note, I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was some scattered applause, it seemed that only a few were truly enthusiastic, however, about the newcomer.

"Snape looks far angrier than usual." Devon murmured, astonished by their Head of House's particularly foul expression; the man was known to covet the DADA position, but even this seemed worse than usual.

"Professor Lupin attended Hogwarts the same time as Professor Snape," Lillian informed, "He was Gryffindor, so I don't doubt that there is some bad blood between the two."

"How do you know that?" Would Devon ever not be bewildered by the breadth of Lillian's knowledge? She highly doubted it.

Lillian was saved from answering when a particular piece of Dumbledore's speech caught her attention.

"I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs." A bunch of the first years shifted uneasily at Dumbledore's casual disregard of missing limbs, and when Lillian caught the frightened eyes of a first year Slytherin just a few seats down along the bench, she offered a gentle smile and was relatively surprised that it seemed to calm the young blonde; Lillian wasn't aware that Blaise had caught the exchange, his expression shifting the smallest amount to become almost…soft, not that anyone aside from Lillian would have been able to tell, but she wasn't looking.

"I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties."

The clapping was significantly louder in honor of Hagrid's new position, and Lillian and Devon were both unashamed to admit they were amongst the enthusiastic supporters, though Draco was rather annoyed, "What a wonderful idea. Get the half-giant smitten with Potter to teach Slytherins."

Lillian nudged her cousin with her elbow, "Don't be a prat, he's fair."

"Besides, Draco," Theo leaned forward, shifting uncomfortably when the position inevitably put him in Blaise's personal space, much to the golden-skinned boys' disdain. "Have you forgotten Lillian's a creature savant?"

Draco smirked, though it was Devon who replied with a witty, "Guess it'll be her duty then to keep him from making a fool of himself." Draco feigned offense but didn't take any, ever since second year, the friendship between Draco and Devon had become an acquaintanceship full of witty barbs with a side of snarky banter.

Devon put up with Draco because there was no Lillian without Draco, and Draco put up with Devon's passive aggressiveness because it was his penance for slipping too far into the façade that was as necessary to his livelihood as Blaise's indifference and Lillian's calm coolness was to their own character portrayals. Draco tried not to recognize the fact that each of their facades seemed to be splintering in certain areas: Draco losing his foulness because he cared too much for the relationships he had formed to risk them; Lillian loosing her collectedness to a temper she came by naturally though the control she needed to hamper it was worked desperately for; and Blaise loosing his indifference – that is, if you knew where to look for the older boy's personality – when it came to Lillian, and Lillian alone.

Whatever cunning retort that would have rolled off Draco's snake tongue was interrupted by the loud chatter that flooded the Great Hall as Dumbledore concluded his tidings and students yelled to be heard by their neighbors; plates full to the brim and still overflowing as food and drink replenished itself with the assistance of carefully crafted magic.

Dinner was a rather peaceful affair once started, the Slytherin friends most familiar with each other – Theo, Blaise, Devon, and Lillian – catching up on all the missed nuances of their summer lives with Draco occasionally tuning in when he wasn't regaling a gaggle of his loyal groupies – namely, Goyle, Crabbe, Parkinson, and a few other girls of their year – with exaggerated fables of his time spent traveling the world as his Father conducted business.

Their peace ended, however, when one of the older students, a repeat sixth year who was finally in his seventh year, stood up and lumbered his way towards the third years, more specifically, towards Lillian.

Marcus Flint, charming as a troll, he was a cocky bastard that left little to be desired and set off the same gut instinct as the presence of Dementors did. Lillian truly loathed the boy, something about him driving her to have as little interaction with him as she possibly could; a remarkable feat considering he was the Quidditch Captain of the Slytherin House team, a team her cousin was a key and valuable player for.

"Malfoy," Flint addressed when he came to a stop behind the empty space between Blaise and Crabbe, and he may have been speaking to Draco, but his guileless brown eyes were looking upon Lillian. "Be on the lookout for a timetable with practice hours on it. I'll be damned if we don't get House Cup this year, I've had enough of those dumbarses in Gryffindor beating us."

"Of course, Flint." Draco's response was cold; his eyes still lakes of grey as he regarded the boy he knew his cousin couldn't stand.

Draco may play a fool, but he wasn't one, and he knew the only reason Flint sought him out before even the first day of classes was not to insure their quidditch victory against the large cats, but to stir up trouble, trouble involving Lillian. Flint was the fool for ever thinking Draco would just idly allow anyone, let alone a repeating bastard of a wizard – if one could even call Flint a wizard – to prod at the one person Draco would not only kill for, but die for.

Flint made a show of his gaze scanning the students surrounding Draco until his eyes fell on Lillian, his expression twisting into mock surprise, as if the older boy hadn't been aware of her the whole time.

"Ah, if it isn't the prodigal daughter, heard about your little display of magic." The boy's eyes raked over what little of her body he could see, failed to notice the way it made her male friends bristle; had he noticed the promise of pain in grey eyes, or the promise of something far worse in the gold slivers peering at him from the peripheral, he wouldn't have made the mistake of continuing his taunt.

"Impressive," He leered appreciatively, though his brown eyes were cold pits of nothing, "Sure you aren't a Lestrange with that kind of power? They're quite adept at spells that should be impossible to perform."

Lillian's jaw clenched, wanting nothing more than to ignore the bait of Flint's well-placed words but she would be more accepting to being likened to Voldemort than a Lestrange.

"I'm a Black," She corrected in a calm tone that just barely masked the budding storm of her fury. "Not a Lestrange."

"Is that any better?" Marcus should have taken heed to the veiled power in the younger girl's words. "Your father is a murderer. A rather infamous mass murderer at that, the destroyer of the New Era's hope."

"Watch it, Flint," Lillian warned, her grip on her temper loosening, she had been through a lot that day, didn't know if she had the patience to deal with a boy playing at a powerful dark wizard – because make no mistake about it, Lillian pegged the Slytherin boy as a Voldemort groupie.

"What? It's true, the infamous Sirius Black," His rise in voice made his words echo, the utterance of her father's name so freely spoken that it caused a hush to fall upon the Great Hall, turning everyone's attention to the previously ignored duo, "How are the family reunions at Azkaban, it's only a matter of time before you spend a more permanent vacation there."

A collection of murmurs lit the silent room as a few of the Professors rose from their seats, prepared to intervene but astonishingly frozen in place, as though watching a natural disaster and wanting to look away but being unable to do so; the only professor capable of movement seemed to be the slowly moving Headmaster.

The Slytherins sitting around her trusted friends moved, scooting as far down the bench as they could from the demolition zone as her eyes darkened to the point of obsidian shards, a signifier of emotions that were like a bad omen to those who knew her – those who stayed close despite the obvious danger of her statue-still body.

"Lillian Marlene Black," Flint went on, either that oblivious or that Merlin-damned stupid. "Named after the wife of your father's best friend, named after the woman he murdered, and the muggleborn bitch that bred you."

Those words were powerful enough to hush all the whispers, were powerful enough to stop even Dumbledore from continuing his journey to the Slytherin table.

What couldn't have been stopped, however, was her complete loss in control. Her anger was suddenly so great that after a quiet pause – a pause where Flint let his sharp words linger and take affect, everyone else holding their breaths as if waiting to see what happened next – the center dishes lining the Slytherin dining table all splintered into thousands of pieces. Food exploding three feet into the air drawing enough attention so that when the spectators returned their awed gaze upon the petite third year who had managed such an impressive strength of uncontrollable magic, they were startled to find her standing, her expression a furious mesh of a dozen different emotions as she glared up at the slack-jawed Slytherin boy, the confined ponytail once falling in loose, silky curls tightening like coils and almost cackling with magic.

"My father didn't kill anyone, and you know it Flint." She said it so quietly that no one else but those closest to them in proximity would hear it, her voice still frightening calm despite the powerful rage churning within her eyes.

"Oh yeah," He demanded, voice weak but pushing on because he had already started and was too stupid to stop. "Then why was he in jail, losing was little of his mind he had left? Why is it that the precious Potters are dead?"

"You know why!" She snapped, the volume of her voice causing everyone sans Blaise and Draco to flinch back; Draco eviscerating the seventh year with his gaze, but Blaise keeping a steady watch on the volatile Lillian.

A dark sneer crossed Flint's face, briefly doing away with his fear; yea, he knew, and had his back not been facing the Great Hall, the rest of the school would have known of his knowledge, of her father's innocence in the crimes he was accused of.

"Enough." Dumbledore's booming voice announced; Lillian didn't flinch at the sudden interruption though Marcus visibly paled at the sound of Dumbledore's obvious anger, an emotion not one soul ever thought the wizened wizard capable of.

"Miss Black, Mister Flint, that'll be enough entertainment I think." The Headmaster continued on in his usual tones of jovial goodness, though his eyes were still sturdier than usual, "Miss Black, my office please, Mister Flint, I do believe I'll let Professor Snape deal with you."

Flint paled at the sight of their Head of House standing at the front of the Slytherin table, permanent scowl somehow deeper than usual as he gazed upon the seventh year with undisguised disdain and a promise of pain. Though whatever Snape did to the boy wouldn't compare to whatever it was Draco or his Father, Lucius, decided to do to the boy; because once Lucius got word of this encounter, in addition to the Dementor situation? There would be unmistakable hell to pay.


Reviews:

xXMizz Alec VolturiXx: so glad you thought it was so good! You are the most loyal Theo shipper I have ever known. haha. Theo isn't the only one's who has had a dark past, most of my Slytherins do. Lillian will definitely be interacting with Remus, allies and friends? Maybe.

Juliedoo: Yay! Yes, the gang is back together (I hope you enjoyed the increased Blaise action in this chapter - there will be lots more of it in this book than in any other of my prior installments thus far [I'm building up to something great]). So glad the Dementor scene carried through so well, I'm always nervous about how I read things and how you (as my reader) read things. Lillian's a Slytherin raised in really peculiar circumstances, she has few loved ones, so she'll always protect them with everything she's got. Remus is definitely going to be getting hit by the ghosts of his past, so brace yourself. Thanks so much for your review! Everything about it made me smile. :D

random geeky girl: Thanks so much! I'm glad you liked the way I incorporated Remus. There will be plenty more scenes of Lillian and Remus interacting, just brace yourself, because they'll be a lot like the Dementor scene; him being hit by how horribly everything turned out, how wrong it all is.

coffeebookchiller: Yay! Lot's of readers have told me liked the meeting, super glad it hasn't disappointed. YES! I'm so happy Lillian and Blaise are your OTP. Expect more interactions between Lillian and Blaise, more in PoA than CoS Or SoS. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)

jafcbutterfly: Hope the wait was worth it! Thank you greatly for your continued support. :)

unknownher: Great timing on my part then! haha. So glad you got good news and that the new chapter made it even better. :) If you liked their worries then, you should have really enjoyed this chapter then. ;) Will definitely be more Lillian and Remus later on. Caps letters is cool, no worries, haha, reads off as enthusiasm and I love enthusiasm. Ah. Harry and Lillian...that'll be fun. 0.o

Psyco-babydoll: haha, I love fangirling, so please, fangirl away. :D Thanks so much!

The Dancing Huntress: Thank you so much! So glad you love it! Sorry for the delay in update, hope it was worth it though!

Jessica (Guest): I'm so glad you think so! Thank you! I love hearing it's a favorite. Maybe, maybe not. haha. I could have sworn I mentioned the endgame in one of the earlier stories, SoS or something, but I've gotten a lot of reviews mentioning wanting a certain endgame so maybe I didn't. Either way, I won't spoil it for you (unless you want it spoiled), but there will be lots more Blaise x Lillian interaction in this story than others so far. And thank you so much for your understanding on posting delays, so far, all of my readers have been super patient and tolerating and it's really awesome to know that though you guys might hate waiting, you're all super nice about it. :)

TenebrisRosis: Yay! Thank you! So glad you love the story and I'm so glad you gave it a try and that it surpassed your expectations. :D Thank you so much for the compliments, I try to make it a really good read, try to make sure the characters aren't shallow in portrayal because I'm trying to write about Slytherin in a way that's not typical. Don't count Sirius out yet, don't bank on him though, either. I'm taking a darker twist to the story, and Sirius is one mind-screwed dude, and unfortunately Lillian is where his problems show themselves. He will be a part of her life, I promise you that, and he will recover (as much as one can after all the hell he's been through). I plan to incorporate more about Sirius and Marlene's relationship, I just have to figure out how to work it in. I needed Sirius to be brother to Narcissa, Bellatrix, and Andromeda because everybody in Rowling's verse seem to be cousins and cousins don't seem to mean crap because of it, I needed it to be reasonable that Narcissa would take in her orphaned niece despite her Gryffindor father and muggleborn mother, a closer tie of blood to convince Death Eater Lucius to take in the daughter of of James Potter's best friend. Devon understands Draco to a certain point, and they could have grown a lot closer, had Draco not betrayed her by devaluing her worth simply because of her parentage. Devon gets it, but she won't ever be able to forgive Draco for the way he hurt her.

Lillian1Fan4Ever: haha, she'll grow even more badass as time goes on. Harry will certainly be something in regards to our favorite Malfoy Ward. Lucius does care for her, make no mistake about that. :) She will be needing her protective friends this year, so it's a good thing she has befriended the people she has. :)

Princess Aziza: So sorry it hurt! But it was a necessary hurt...expect more (sorry!). Lillian will see Tonks this year, have no fear. I actually have something I find entertaining on its way in regards to Tonks' arrival once more to the plot. I missed her too! I really regretted not putting the Tonks into the story.

Guest: Sorry for the delay! Hope this wasn't what you were expecting to happen. ;)

Long live marshmallows: Oh yes, misunderstandings abound! Believe you me. haha. Lupin's relationship with Lillian will get better, but by no means is it seamless. So glad you enjoyed last chapter, hope you enjoyed this one as well.

Sam (guest): Hopefully this satiates your need for more (for now, anyways). ;) So happy you enjoy Blaise and Lillian, expect plenty more of them (far more than the last two stories) in this story and the stories to come. :) As I mentioned in the AN, updates should be more consistent now, I do apologize for the delays though. It'll be awhile for them for them to finally be together. Something big does happen though, I think in either GoF or HBP. I do remember Dauntless, great to see you again!

Guest: I know this wasn't soon, but I hope it was worth the wait! I hope you checked this story before Saturday since it's so much earlier in the week! I'm so happy that you love this story, and that Lillian is a character you enjoy reading about. I try to make all of the characters three-dimensional, I fear having characters come up short. I absolutely adore her and Blaise too, haha, so be prepared for more of them. :)

Riariabookworm: Sorry for the wait! Hope you enjoyed more of Lillian. :)

Dare Queen: Thank you so much! The fact that you think so means a lot! I hope you continue to enjoy it! :)


Have a great week!

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