AN:
Yes, it has been forever, and ya'll have my sincerest apologies for the hiatus, but things are getting back on track, so six months between updates shouldn't ever happen again.
Side note: Review responses are at the bottom, and because there were so many due to my lengthy hiatus, I'm not going to answer every one, if I've left your response out, I apologize in advance, and if I've forgotten to answer a question, feel free to PM me or leave another review.
She woke before dawn broke over the sky, Black lake still dark as night though Lillian knew that if she looked long enough, she would be able to see the shimmers of life within the otherwise still body of water.
She had awoken early because her sleep had been plagued by things better left unthought-of; things like black dogs, kisses that went soul deep, wands split into pieces and magic stifled to the extent of pain. Her wand is what currently held her attention, the unyielding device laid innocently upon the oak table set before the common room's lounging furniture, the burning green embers of the dying fire giving off a barely discernible light so that should someone step into the common room, she would be seen in between the edge of light and darkness; which is what Blaise noticed when he stepped up the final step from the boy's dormitories.
He saw Lillian sitting there, staring with a troubled glaze to her eyes, upon the instrument used to conduct her magic, the darkness behind her trying to claim her but the dying light in front of her battling it back so that she was still exposed.
"It's not yet dawn," A murmured question without the intonation at the end signaling her curiosity.
He padded, still barefoot and in his pajamas – pajamas loose around his shoulders and long at his legs, pajamas bought new but that would be nearly outgrown by Christmastime – towards the little lounge area he and Lillian tended to occupy during the quiet nights, the two sole Slytherins awake.
Eyeing the seating arrangements, he decided to take up position on the couch behind her, a little to her right so that she was in his line of sight but the fire's touch wasn't impeded. "Brazil." Was his one-worded response, and it was the only response she needed.
They had written of his time in Brazil with his parents, and from their letters came her innate understanding that the change in time zone would have altered his sleeping schedule. "Draco was up," Blaise murmured, "Staring hard at the ceiling."
"Too much on his mind," Lillian wouldn't be surprised if her cousin hadn't slept at all that night.
"And yours?" Blaise noted, eyes lingering on the inky black of her curls, curls that were falling in soft disarray around her.
She hummed, but didn't really say anything else on the matter; Blaise wasn't so easily dissuaded, however.
"The headmaster?" A guess had any other made the prose, but they were Slytherin, and Slytherin's didn't ask questions they didn't already know the answer to.
Blaise noticed the way her jaw clenched, soft muscle dancing under the smooth, pale curve of her jaw. "Wishes to bind my magic." She confessed darkly, and had she been looking at Blaise, she would have seen his shoulders turn to stone, his gaze flashing dangerously in the green hue of firelight – but she wasn't look at him and thus she didn't see the notable but quick change in physical expression.
"Draco…" He began, knowing the boy would be furious if he found out the Headmaster's intent from any other than his cousin.
"Was told last night, when I returned and he was waiting outside of the stone wall." A small smile pulled at the corner of her mouth, "He wasn't pleased."
A gust of air behind her, a soundless chuckle, the first he had ever given around company not blood, "Tore up the room in a frenzy. Nearly took off Parkinson's head when she stood between he and our dorm after you had gone down to yours."
She turned her head towards her left, hid her smile from him though he knew the expression was there. He couldn't help but smirk himself at the remembered spectacle; a rare moment where Draco lost his cool bravado and showed the acid temper within, a hint of the person hidden within.
Eventually Lillian's attention returned to her wand, marveling at the tool a swirl of brown and tan yew wood, something so simply carved, cut from a tree and embedded with two hairs bound together, yet a cause for such concern by a wizard with only one destiny in his minds' eye, and it wasn't hers.
Hands clasped together, Blaise leaned forward, elbows to his knees as he studied the girl whom, against all odds, had gained not only his allegiance, but had turned his mere acknowledgment of fellow Slytherins into solid acquaintanceships he had no intentions years ago of ever baring to fruition.
His golden gaze, intense and scrutinizing, caught on the pale gleam of glistening silver wrapped around a delicate ankle; and at sight of the simple piece of jewelry, something within him – something that wasn't new but had grown exponentially in a way he had yet to determine its' meaning – settled.
"Your wand…"
"Is as bound to me as I am to it. To see it restricted…" A wizard or witch's wand was as much a part of the individual as their magic itself; no two wands were the same, not even if they were cut from the same bark, or forged with the same core. Each wand bore it's own personality, wands picked their handlers, and handlers earned their wands' devotion; and as with magical creatures, Lillian bore a respect for the tool used to conduct the magic in her veins to the air that surrounded her, a respect that was unmatched by most wizards and witches of the age.
"And should the wand be no longer necessary?" Because Blaise Zabini was and never would be disillusioned; Lillian Marlene Black would one day soon no longer require her wand to pull the magic from her blood.
"Its lack of necessity doesn't render it obsolete." Lillian didn't discard meaningful things just because they were of no longer use to her. She had a bond with the near sentient object that few practitioners of magic could, or would, ever understand; a bond she would never willingly break or tarnish.
"Then none shall touch it." It was as much observation as it was promise. If the wand meant so much to a girl who could lay claim to little, then he knew she wouldn't ever let it be tampered with, and should it come between she and whatever higher power would seek to go against her personal desires, she had a group of others willing to stand beside her.
Reviews:
randomgeekygirl: Nothing good comes from Lucius and Draco, I can guarantee that, even if the next punishment takes awhile to brew.
juliedoo: Yes, Dumbledore does view everyone as chess pieces, but those pieces revolve around Harry's future and no one else's. So he's not a bad man, just one with a zillion blindspots. Yes! Lillian would be a terrifying Dark Lord, and that's what I wanted to sort of show, that the fear of her power paired with the circumstances of her upbringing is a terrifying combination.
Guest3: I don't really have a face-claim for Lillian or Devon. I have a picture in my head, and I did my best to describe them how I saw them. India Eisley is close, but I picture Lillian as a little less soft-looking.
RenataMM: I'm glad you liked it enough to follow! They have the names they have because I like 'em, simple as that. I'm sorry if it bothers you, but I wanted the Zabini's to have powerful names, and I found those names suited my purposes. If it helps ease the annoyance, I know plenty of people with names that don't match their origins.
Lillian1Fan4Ever: She is smarter than Hermione, she just doesn't come from a background that demands she prove her intelligence to everyone around her. Everyone knows Lillian's smart, and dangerous and Hermione has this desire to prove that she belongs in Hogwarts because she's muggleborn. Hermione knows Lillian's intelligence supersedes her own, and yes, it bothers her, but not to the point of making her jealous.
Guest4 and Guest5: Exactly. It's when you try and prevent something from happening that you tend to be the cause of aforementioned thing happening to begin with.
Guest6: I love the dynamic between the Malfoys that I can show due to their roles in Lillian's life. If you love her appeal to animals, you'll absolutely adore next chapter then. ;)
Guest7: No, Flint hadn't spoken loud enough for the room to hear as a whole.
Artandmusicclubs: Hope their reactions don't disappoint, even if they are subtle.
Long live marshmallows: It's not so much that Dumbledore is a bad man in this fic, just that he's a man solely focused on one purpose, and that purpose revolves around Harry Potter, not Lillian Black. He just wants to make sure she doesn't hinder his 'greater plan'.
Also to: Mizz Alec Volturi, iblamegreenberg, unknownher, Guest1, Guest2, AACM25, Guest8, Fanficsmiles, Guest9, Riariabookworm, .148553, momo chunkies, jafcbutterfly, thegirlinyellow: Thank you all soooo much for the encouragement, the recognition, the likes and the desire for me to update quick even though I failed you guys on that. I hope these next two chapters don't disappoint.
I am posting a second, longer chapter, after this one so be on the lookout.
