AN:
I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter in its' entirety, it was difficult to get all of the pieces together to make a whole. But there are a few parts I am super satisfied with.
Enjoy the chapter!
Side note: Review responses are at the bottom - if there are any errors please feel free to POLITELY point them out. :D
x
Draco was absolutely livid, for a number of reasons but most predominantly because his father was unable to, at present, do anything about Dumbledore and his desire to take his cousin's magic. Any plans to see the Headmaster thrown out of Hogwarts would have to wait until Hogsmeade, and any length of waiting was too long for Draco, whose strength of need to protect his cousin was inescapable and making his temper near impossible to control; it didn't help that Lillian was so goddamned blasé about the whole ordeal, calm and patient where Draco himself was volatile and hurried. Lillian's control just served to further lessen Draco's own, which only made those around him miserable, he was a right prick on a good day...he hadn't had a god day in a while.
In other words, his tolerance for stupidity had lessened a good deal, consequently, he had absolutely zero desire to suffer through potions with the insufferable Gryffindors – with Harry filthy Potter.
First, the blubbering idiot that was Neville couldn't make an accurate potion to save his life, and know-it-all Granger was doing her best to get Professor Snape to pop a vein with her numerous attempts to assist Neville even though these were not partner assignments. Then, the completely oblivious Gryffindors had to go and bring up Sirius; honestly, had they not learned he was Lillian's father, or had they and were they just trying to be unnecessarily cruel to a girl who hadn't ever been cruel despite the many good reasons she had to be? He didn't know which option pissed him off more, their ignorance, or their attempt at cruelty.
He cut a glance towards the cousin who was sharing a table with Blaise, Devon and Theo behind them; used to be, it was Devon and Lillian sharing tables but since Devon and Theo had paired up for Arithmancy and Muggle Studies, the quartet had been splitting into different duos as of late. Draco didn't mind the change. Truthfully, Blaise Zabini was the person Draco trusted most in company of his cousin outside of himself, the older boy could both keep an eye on her, and keep her distracted – as evidenced by Lillian's lack of attention in regards to the current subtopic of her father.
"The Muggles think he's just an ordinary criminal, don't they? So she phoned the telephone hot line. By the time the Ministry of Magic got there, he was gone."
"Not too far from here…" Weasley repeated, peering significantly at Potter. Weasley turned around and caught Draco's sudden interest, "What, Malfoy?"
Draco's eyes took on a malevolent shine, his gaze fixed upon Harry. He had been in as foul a mood as any, just itching for an outlet to his fury that wouldn't see him offending anyone he deemed important. He had already snapped at Pansy Parkinson, whom, despite not being terribly unattractive, couldn't take no for an answer no matter what form he gave it to her. He had even scowled Crabbe and Goyle into two blubbering masses of cowardly boneheads just that morning at breakfast. Lillian wasn't paying attention, the Gryffindors were idiots, and this was just the opening he needed. "Thinking of trying to catch Back single-handedly, Potter?"
"Yeah, that's right," Potter said offhandedly.
Draco's mouth curved into a deprecating smile. "Of course, if it was me," He began quietly, just because Lillian wasn't currently paying attention didn't mean he was willing to risk drawing her attention, "I would have done something before now. I wouldn't be staying in school like a good boy, I would be out there looking for him."
"What are you talking about, Malfoy?" Ron demanded roughly.
"Don't you know, Potter?" Draco breathed, ignoring Weasley, his pale eyes narrowed in disbelief, surely the boy knew.
"Know what?"
Draco let out a low, sneering laugh, was the boy so out of the loop in regards to his own life?
"Maybe you'd rather not risk your neck. Want to leave it to the Dementors, do you? But if it were me, I'd want revenge. I'd hunt him down myself." Though Draco knew the full truth of what happened that night, knew of Sirius Black's innocence, wouldn't dream to act against Lillian's father, his own blood; but very few were aware of the truth, and it made excellent canon fodder against Potter.
"What are you talking about?" Harry demanded angrily, fury blotting his cheeks red, but before Draco could even think to answer Professor Snape was calling attention to class and Draco was left to quietly stew in the mind-boggling information he had just garnered.
Potter hadn't the foggiest idea. They had sent the boy off to school, off to Hogwarts, not knowing that the man convicted of murdering his parents had broken free of prison. A man, not only to whom was father of one of his peers, but just so happened to be the godfather to the very boy whose parents he 'murdered'. Bloody Hell. Draco didn't look forward to the day the boy discovered Sirius Black's list of crimes, he most definitely didn't look forward to the showdown that would inevitably result between Sirius Black's victim and Sirius Black's kid. Bloody freaking hell.
PoA
"So," Devon began from the seat beside Lillian, "Do you think Professor Lupin is any good at this?"
"Considering our track record with Defense Against the Dark Arts professors, I wouldn't count on it." Theo chimed in from the seat behind Devon.
"Professor Lupin is more than adequate." Lillian assured her friends with a quick-fire confidence that wasn't new to Lillian, but nonetheless surprised Devon and Theo.
"You know of him?" Devon inquired, curious about the professor she hadn't yet seen.
She was just a babe, barely capable of standing on her own two feet but more than capable of loosing an accidental surge of magic to make her stuffed animals float or her meals to smash against her father's grinning face when it was his turn to feed her. A scruffy man she was comfortable with – comfortable with because of his familiarity to her and the obvious affection between he and her parents – with dirty yellow hair she liked to pull and scarred skin that she like to place open-mouthed kisses upon, showing her pretty light magic; magic she later recognized as a safety measure to ensure that she didn't hurt herself with her wild bursts of magic, a safety measure that protected her, but didn't restrict her growing magical core in the slightest.
"Yes." Lillian cleared her throat, aware of her friend's curiosity but unwilling to divulge, though she was sure Blaise and Theo could probably make an educated guess considering they were purebloods fully aware of her father's past, a well-told bedtime story to traditional purebloods as James Potter was to those aligned to the Light. "He was an accomplished student here at Hogwarts and is, subsequently, a fully qualified Wizard."
Devon grinned at that, she wanted to learn something worthwhile this year, their last two professors were total shams: one a coward, the other a liar. But just because Lillian vouched for this professor's competency, Devon still planned to stick close to her friend, just in case this professor had a knack for unleashing wild beasts upon the class to battle on their own. Lillian was always good to have on hand in instances such as those.
Before anything else could be said between the two, Professor Lupin arrived to the lesson, smiling vaguely and setting down his tatty old briefcase – a briefcase Lillian recognized from her youth, she had the oddest recollection of napping in it at one point – on his desk. He was a shabby-looking man, Devon wondered if he had ever consumed a full meal before he arrived at Hogwarts, he looked an awful lot like the homeless people she would see on the streets near her orphanage.
"Good afternoon," He said, "Would you please put all your books back in your bags. Today's will be a practical lesson. You will need only your wands."
A few curious looks were exchanged, Devon shot Lillian a bewildered look herself, but she put away her things.
They had never had a practical Defense Against the Dark Arts class before, and Lillian couldn't help but to smirk at Professor Lupin's methods, she was already pleased.
"Right then," Professor Lupin exclaimed once everyone was ready, "If you would follow me."
Puzzled, but interested, the class got to its feet and followed the Professor out of the classroom. He led them along the deserted corridor and around a corner, where the first thing they saw was Peeves the Poltergeist floating upside down in midair and stuffing the nearest keyhole with chewing gum.
Peeves didn't look up until Professor Lupin was two feet away; then he wiggled his curly-toed feet and broke into a song that echoed with a familiarity that suggested it wasn't just made up on the spot. "Loony, loopy Lupin –"
Rude and unmanageable for all that wasn't pranksters and the spawn of pranksters, Peeves lack of respect towards a Professor startled others, who looked to Professor Lupin to see his reaction, to most of their surprise, he was still smiling.
"I'd take that gum out of the keyhole if I were you, Peeves, Mr. Filch won't be able to get to his brooms." He pointed out pleasantly.
Peeves ignored Professor Lupin's words, except to blow a loud, wet raspberry. Professor Lupin sighed and took out his wand before addressing the class, "This is a useful little spell, please watch closely."
Lupin raised his wand to shoulder height, said, "Waddiwasi!" and pointed it at Peeves.
With the force of a bullet, the wad of chewing gum shot out of the keyhole and straight down Peeve's left nostril; he whirled up and went about trying to furiously blow his nose, splattering some of the laughing students with ghostly snot.
Lillian smiled, amused by the ghosts' antics, as well as Professor Lupin's ease at dealing with the ghost she was sure he had had many dealings with in his time as a Hogwart's student. Peeves hovered close by and, as the others picked up movement again, stared at Lillian imploringly.
"Little Black," He began.
Lillian shook her head, giving a small laugh at Peeves obvious discomfort, "My apologies Peeves," She replied with mischief in her eyes, "But you're on your own with this one."
He gave a dramatic pout before peering at the chuckling Devon, "What about you, Snoozer?"
Devon scowled at the nickname but shrugged at the ghost helplessly, "Sorry Peeves, I wouldn't even know where to begin."
"Useless." Peeves pouted.
Lillian and Devon began to move with the rest of the group, "Have a good afternoon, Peeves." Lillian winked at the ghost going cross-eyed trying to see inside his nose – unaware that Professor Lupin had watched the exchange with rapt attention, wondering at his best friend's child's familiarity with the ghost notorious for disliking just about everyone.
The class came to a stop outside of the staffroom, filing in after Professor Lupin gave permission, most students shuffling uncomfortably when they realized the room was empty bar for one scowling potions professor. "Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this." Snape declared as he rose from a low armchair, "Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear."
Professor Lupin raised his eyebrows, "I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation, and I am sure he will perform it admirably."
Devon gave a low whistle beside Lillian, "Did he just stand up to Snape. I wonder what that's about?"
"You mean aside from Snape picking on a student?" Theo quirked a brow at Devon, and she flushed before scowling at him, "The only other professor who dares is McGonagall."
Theo shrugged, "They must have not gotten along when they attended school together."
They followed when Lupin beckoned them towards the end of the room, where there was nothing but an old wardrobe where the teachers kept their spare robes. As Professor Lupin went to stand next to it, the wardrobe gave a sudden wobble, banging off the wall.
"What do you think it is?" Theo murmured curiously.
"My guess?" Lillian theorized, "A boggart." A quiet retort, meant for none but those beside her to hear, though Lupin's gaze unmistakably flickered towards her for a brief moment, slight surprise coloring his expression minutely before he addressed the class.
"Nothing to worry about, there's a Boggart in here."
"What's a boggart?" Devon wondered to herself aloud when she realized that some of the other students seemed to be aware of what it was, and they seemed to fear it.
"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces; wardrobes, the gaps beneath beds, the cupboards under the sinks – I've even met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. This one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice."
"The bogeyman is real." Devon hissed towards Lillian, utterly terrified to learn the bedtime scare was in fact, fully capable of coming out of the dark and taking children.
Lillian hid her amusement at her friend's sudden desperation, turned her head and saw Blaise smirking beside her, Theo himself smiling openly even as he gave Devon's shoulder a comforting pat.
"So the first question we must ask ourselves is what is a Bogart?"
Hermione, with no surprise to anyone, put up her hand; Lupin took a glance around the room, wondering if anyone else would raise their hands, specifically, if Lillian would considering she had named the creature hidden before he had divulged it's nature – Lillian was looking at Miss Granger's raised hand with fond exasperation, obviously with no intentions of stealing the Gryffindor Muggleborn's intellectual glory.
Lupin just about called upon Lillian when Miss Granger spoke up, "It's a shape-shifter, it can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most."
"Couldn't have put it better myself," Miss Granger glowed under the praise, "So the Boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a Boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears.
"This means, that we have a huge advantage over the Boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Harry?"
A difficult question to answer with the pressure of an eager Hermione beside him, Harry managed to give the correct answer, though his voice was less than confident.
"It's always best to have company when you're dealing with a Boggart. Which should he become? I once saw a Boggart try to frighten two people at once and turned himself into half a slug, not remotely frightening.
"The charm that repels a Boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. You see, the thing that really finishes a Boggart is laughter. What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing. We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please…riddikulus!"
The class repeated the charm together, "Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this is where you come in, Neville."
"Oh, god." Devon slapped a hand over her eyes, "I can't watch this inevitable disaster."
"It won't be awful," Lillian assured Devon, "It's much easier than you're making it out to be. And like Professor Lupin said, its' greatest weakness is high quantity, there are so many of us here, it won't take long for others to affect the success of your casting."
"If Neville is successful, the Boggart is likely to shift his attention to each of us in turn," Announced Lupin once he had walked Neville through the process of defeating a Boggart. "I would like all of you to take a moment now to think of the thing that scares you most, and imagine how you might force it to look comical…"
The room grew quiet, and Lillian became lost in her head, too distracted to assuage Devon, too distracted to note Professor Lupin's brief, worried glance over to her, or the way Draco had turned from his place a few feet in front them, debating whether or not to go to her side in case she needed him, she didn't even notice Blaise's own curious attention from directly beside her.
Her greatest fear wasn't a visual image, not really, but the thing she feared most was the sound of her Aunt's deranged cackles echoing through the corridor of nothing better than an insane asylum, until even her echoes had echoes and everything was mixed into a never-ending nightmarish scream. How does one even begin to turn the true evil that is her aunt into something worth laughing? The only laughter that could come would be over her empty corpse, and even then, it would be the laughter of a broken being because no one would gain vantage over Bellatrix Lestrange unless she had taken more from you in turn than you would ever be willing to part with.
Lillian was so lost within her own thoughts, she hadn't noticed her peers face and conquer the Boggart, couldn't revel in the boisterous atmosphere that suddenly flooded the room, probably even wouldn't have ushered further up the line had Blaise not been leading her forward with a quiet press of his hand against her back from his position beside her, his caramel eyes darkened to liquid gold, concerned over her uncharacteristic lack of awareness.
And then, it was Harry's turn, and everything that had been fantastic about Lupin's lesson turned dark. The Boggart, confused from having faced so many opponents beforehand, stalled in front of Harry, whirling between dozens of different forms within seconds before settling on a daunting figure that stole everyone's breath and brought Lillian's mind to the present with a near violent snap of awareness.
The Dementor fully emerged and the room took a collective three steps back, fearful cries flooding the air as Harry stood, utterly petrified before the demonic figure.
Devon latched onto Theo behind Lillian and Blaise, Lillian who stood stock still, white-knuckling her wand as she stared narrowly upon the floating figure; Blaise, who stood just a little before her, eyes not on the Boggart, but on Lillian. It was because his eyes were on her that he spotted the budding white glow emanating from the very tip of her wand, slowly building in strength until she was just seconds from drawing everyone's attention, everyone including the faux Dementor. Reaching out, he wrapped his hand around hers, until his lean fingers enveloped hers, both of them sharing in the grip of her wand; the light pulsed beneath his grip.
Silver eyes jerked towards him, dark brows slightly furrowed, full mouth parted on a silent exclamation before her gaze lowered to their hands; the dark gold of his skin a brilliant contrast to her own pale hand, and Lillian found herself almost incapable of looking away from the confusingly intriguing sight. His warm grip briefly tightened in an acknowledgment of her awareness, though he only released her once her wand stopped emitting visible magic.
Professor Lupin threw himself before Harry just as the Boggart-turned-Dementor went to grip the quivering boy-who-lived, the Boggart twisting into the silvery shadow of a full moon before he shouted, "RIDDIKULUS!" and the moon turned into a deflated balloon he threw back into the old wardrobe.
Lupin spun to face the stunned silent class, his eyes roaming his students, looking for anything out of the ordinary aside from the white-faced Harry, his eyes catching on the miniscule distance between one Blaise Zabini and Lillian Black, whose aura seemed to be pulsing with a hidden glow before he forced himself to focus on the class as a whole, pushing a cheerful grin onto his face. "Class dismissed. Good job everybody! Read up for next class!"
No one could protest the dismissal, not even the more rowdy of third year Slytherins; mostly because the rowdiest of Slytherins – Draco Malfoy – was too busy pushing his way through somber students to get to his cousin.
Just as he approached, he saw Blaise's hand let go of Lillian's, though the taller boy didn't step away from his cousin despite Draco's obvious attention to the proximity. "Lillian?"
Lillian gave Draco an easy smile, soft and reassuring, as though nothing had been wrong, "I'm fine, Draco. It wasn't my Boggart." And for that, Draco could only be thankful, he didn't ever wish to be subject to Lillian's greatest fear for he was more than positive it was far worse than anything he could ever dream up.
"You're sure?"
"Positive, though I am hungry," She volunteered to distract him, he let her, nodding to Blaise before leading the way out of the room and towards the Great Hall.
Lillian didn't immediately follow her cousin, instead, she lingered. A ghost touch along her back and Lillian peered up at the boy who had remained beside her, he didn't say anything, though he didn't need to in order to convey his quiet question.
Looking up at him, Lillian didn't smile for him as she had Draco because she knew Blaise wouldn't appreciate the sentiment, instead, she gave a sigh far more weary than should be capable of a girl her age and gently ducked her head in acknowledgement, his own chin tilted down briefly in response before they joined the rest of their peers on the way to lunch, walking so their shoulders brushed together until they parted to their separate seats along the Slytherin bench.
AN:
Not too sure how I feel about the ending, it felt a little lacking. Hope it didn't disappoint!
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED, FOLLOWED, AND FAVORITED! YOU ALL ROCK AND I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. EACH NOTIFICATION I GET SERIOUSLY KICKS MY BUTT IN GEAR WHEN I'M FALLING BEHIND, EVEN IF IT DOESN'T SEEM AS THOUGH IT IS.
Reviews:
: Haha! So glad you were so excited for the update. Hope you were as excited for this one! Thank you so much for your crazy enthusiastic support. It really makes writing worthwhile. :D You yourself are an amazing wizard. ;)
Furionknight: Hope 'more' didn't disappoint! Thank you!
randomgeekygirl: Thank you so much! Her relationship with Dobby is one of my favorite relationships. I can't have everything fall in line with the 'Golden Trios' ideals, I feel like, in a lot of ways, their opinions lacked in ways that I can expand upon through Lillian's story.
iblamegreenberg: I'm so glad you like Lucian and Lillian's relationship. He is a right prick in the movies and when other stories portray him as such, they're totally right in doing so. I had started Lillian's story with the intention of Lucius being a douche, however, their relationship sort of evolved and ran away from me. There will be more of the unique relationship in later chapters to come! Thank you so much for your continued support!
jafcbutterfly: Sorry for the wait! But I hope it was worth it!
Guest: Thank you so much!
LovelySakura777: I'm back again! haha. And with more to give you! Dobby is definitely going to help Lillian out, tremendously in the future. Though I wouldn't discount Kreature just yet, Lillian does have a way with creatures. ;) I haven't fully worked out what I'll be doing to Grimmauld place, but it will most definitely be an experience for all involved. And if you enjoyed their moment last chapter, how'd you enjoy their moments this chapter? 0.o
Darequeen: So do I! If one doesn't love Dobby, something is seriously wrong in your life. haha.
Guest2: Hope the lesson didn't disappoint!
Guest3: Hope this answered your question on whether or not Lillian recognized Remus. Lillian will definitely be a good part of Remus' life. I'm sorry you didn't get to see other students reaction to her boggart, but I hope her fear didn't disappoint you. I love Blaise and Lillian as well, haha. Here's was a little Devon for you!
artandmusicdubs: So happy you liked Lillian's compassionate moment and Lucius' respect for her talents. Whether Blaise learns her entire story with Dobby is up for grabs, though it could be one of those, unvoiced discoveries of his. Thank you so much for your understanding! I hope you give school a good kick in the butt back! Hopefully you took a couple pauses between that bated breath of yours. haha.
Guest4: I haven't! I want to sooo bad though! And I totally see how the movie reminds you of Lillian, I think of her every time I see the trailer. :)
See ya'll soon!
Happy upcoming Holidays!
