AN:
As promised! A quicker update than has been my norm for the better part of a year. woot woot!
This chapter is really just a means of setting up for Harry really mixing himself up into Lillian's life. It is important simply for that fact, even if it doesn't seem too incredibly exciting. Sorry! But, slowly and surely, we're getting there, to the plot heavy aspect of PoA.
Also, can't remember if I proofread this, so if you see any errors please kindly point them out so I can correct them.
SIDENOTE: reviews at the bottom
"Lillian!" A short, sharp order that had her suddenly fatigued body forcefully focused; the command coming from Blaise beside her, his hands firm around her elbows to support her trembling body.
"I'm fine," She tried to assure him, but the words were weak, barely audible, she couldn't be positive she actually gave any volume to the platitude.
"You aren't." Blaise denied firmly, "But you will be." And it was almost a challenge, as though he dared her to not be okay and then face his not inconsiderable wrath should she fail to do as bidden by him.
She had been inconspicuously supported out of the stands, only making it away without hassle because everyone else still seemed to be overwhelmingly shell-shocked – and not many had yet to realize it was Lillian Black who had caused such a powerful charm.
She had been unceremoniously ferretted to the Slytherin common room couch, the fire forced to explosive life as Theodore plied her with Draco's secret chocolate stash and Devon fretted, not knowing how to handle Lillian's delicateness when the girl had never – in Devon's mind – been capable of such weakness. Devon was a spastic mess, hovering unhelpfully until Blaise ordered her confined to a chair, out of his and Theo's way as they covered Lillian's pale form with blankets; Blaise crouched before her, eyes intent and unwavering as she worked her way through most of Draco's chocolate under his careful scrutiny.
And then Draco was racing into the common room, no one with him, still covered in his muddy uniform, waiting just long enough for Blaise to scourgify the mess of his attire before doing away with decorum and claiming the limited space available beside his cousin. Wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close until her smaller figure was confined by him, murmuring quiet thanks and praise for what she had just done for him.
PoA
Harry could hear the voices whispering, but they made no sense whatsoever. He didn't have a clue as to where he was, or how he'd got there. All he knew was that every inch of him was aching as though it had been beaten.
"That was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life."
"And the most spectacular."
Harry's mind lingered on scary, before his eyes snapped open and he jerked upwards, recognizing the Gryffindors surrounding him.
"Harry!" Fred exclaimed.
"What happened?"
"You fell off," Fred supplied, "Must've been – what – fifty feet?"
"We thought you dead." Alicia murmured, shaking.
"But the match, what happened? Are we gonna have a rematch?"
No one spoke, "We didn't lose?"
"Game ended on a rather spectacular note," George shrugged, "Slytherins were in the lead and honestly, no one could right see afterwards so there was no hope of Malfoy catching the snitch."
"What do you mean? Why wouldn't anyone have been able to see?" And why did the word spectacular keep showing up when there was nothing spectacular about Dementors.
It seemed everyone shifted uncertainly, all but the twins, who near vibrated in glee. "Such impressive spell work – "
"An incredible amount of power – "
"Unparalleled, I would think – "
"Definitely not something any of the so called professors thought to do – "
"Honestly, think she was singlehandedly – "
"Responsible for driving the Dementors back."
"Wonder where she learned?"
"Wonder how she learned," The twins volleyed.
"What?" Harry felt just as confused as before.
Hermione, with a huff at the twins, took Harry's hand within her hand and squeezed comfortingly, "Harry, Lillian cast a patronus charm powerful enough that the light blinded any who looked upon her foci, powerful enough to drive back hundreds of Dementors. It's why you're the only one in the hospital," Hermione gestured to the otherwise empty hospital wing, "Her patronus charm kept anyone else from being…"
"Feasted upon," Ron completed grimly.
"But why would she do such a thing?" Because not only was she a Slytherin, she was Sirius black's daughter, why would she cast a spell that would protect him?
The twins gave the dark-haired boy a look that suggested he was daft. "Draco was the closest target after you, mate – "
"Everyone was focused on you falling, none of the teachers were responding to the threat of the Dementors – "
"So she did something about it." Fred completed.
Ah, that made sense, Harry thought, because why on earth would she have done something to protect him? He even blushed at such a shallow notion, that everything was about him, he hadn't even thought about the danger the Dementors posed to the other students, so focused he was on his own plight.
"Draco was the focal point," Hermione added, "Her spell was most concentrated around him, so those in his vicinity or looking at him were the most blinded."
"Right…" Harry trailed off, not really know what to say to such information.
Yes, it sucked that they lost the game to Slytherin, and now with very little chance at the house cup; and he was sure Oliver was off somewhere trying to drown himself, but he was more distracted by the fact that Lillian Black, a girl his age, had been able to cast a charm to repel the Dementors. Considering this was now his second brush of the foul creatures, he would really like not to repeat it now that he knew there was a countermeasure to be taken.
PoA
"I heard about the match, and I'm sorry about your broomstick. Is there any chance of fixing it?"
"No," Harry mumbled, almost more upset by the loss of his broom than losing the match on account of Dementors. "The tree smashed it to bits."
Lupin sighed, "They planted the Whomping Willow in the same year that I arrived at Hogwarts. People used to play a game, trying to get near enough to touch the trunk. In the end, a boy called Davey Gudgeon nearly lost an eye, and we were forbidden to go near it. No broomstick would have a chance."
Harry shifted upon his feet uncomfortably, trying to gather his Gryffindor courage to ask, with no little amount of difficulty, "Did you hear about the Dementors, too?"
Lupin looked at him quickly, attention no longer on the Hinkypunk he was closing away. "Yes, I did. I don't think any of us have seen Professor Dumbledore that mad before." Though Lupin made sure to make no mention of how the esteemed headmaster had made no attempt at driving back the Dementor force – at least, not before a student had beaten him to it. "Were they the reason you fell?"
"Yes," Harry agreed, hesitating before asking the question he really wanted to know, "Why do they affect me like that? Am I just –"
"It has nothing to do with weakness," Lupin cut in sharply, eyes fierce, "The Dementors affect you worse than the others because there are horrors in your past that the others do not possess."
"They say…" Harry stopped, chose to continue on with caution because his instincts – for whatever reason – were telling him bringing Lillian into the matter was a dangerous thing. "—They say that Lillian Black drove them off."
A stillness overcame Lupin then, and Harry realized he had, indeed, discovered a very sensitive, potentially dangerous avenue of conversation.
"Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them. Even Muggles feel their presence, though they can't see them. Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself — soul-less and evil. You'll be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life…Miss Black's father, as you well know, is Sirius Black."
Harry nodded, wondering what all this had to do with his question in regards to Lillian's skill at driving off the foulest creatures to walk this earth. "Her father, was housed at Azkaban. The Dementors feast, daily, off of the convicted residents."
"Azkaban must be terrible," Harry offered, unknowing of what exactly the older wizard wanted him to say.
"The fortress is set on a tiny island, way out to sea, but they don't need walls and water to keep the prisoners in, not when they're all trapped inside their own heads, incapable of a single cheery thought. Most of them go mad within weeks…
"It is from my understanding that Miss Black visited her father there. Frequently. I don't know how young she was upon her first visit, but any age is to young if not convicted, in my opinion."
Harry didn't know what to think of the fact that Lillian would visit her father, a convicted murderer, in such a place as Azkaban. Didn't understand how she hadn't been robbed of all her happy memories from so many visits over the years…unless, he concluded, she had no happy memories to begin with. After all, she was basically the Malfoys adopted daughter, and Harry couldn't see the Malfoys being kind her.
Harry seemed to readily dismiss all forms of kindness and gentility that he had witnessed from Draco towards his cousin; mostly because to recognize would be to make Draco more than the snotty, rich prat who lived to make his life insufferable.
"You both made the Dementors back off, you at the train, her at the pitch." Because very few had realized what Lillian had done – and those who had known, hadn't seen fit to spread such valuable information (information now obsolete because she had rather made a spectacle of herself at the match).
"There are certain…defenses one can use." Remus hedged hesitantly, fully aware of where the boy would take such an offer of information.
"What defenses?" Harry demanded to know, "Can you teach me?"
"I don't pretend to be an expert," Remus began to deny, not at all positive he wanted to take Harry under his wing in such a way; despite whatever ties he held to the boys parents.
"But Lillian learned." He countered, with a rude edge of petulance.
"She was trained by experts, no doubt." And Remus didn't at all like the tone Harry was suddenly using in regards to Lillian, both the man in him and the wolf, fiercely protective of the girl they called cub – they wouldn't take disrespect towards her, not even from James' son.
"But if the Dementors come to another Quidditch match, I need to be able to fight them!" His demands were borderline offensive, and had it not been for the obvious desperation in his voice, the fear coloring his face, Remus would have reprimanded the youth for such flagrant insubordination.
Remus looked into that desperate, determined face, hesitated, judged the boy's sudden attitude, and then agreed because despite everything, he owed James this favor. "Next term. After the holidays." He added, before the boy could get too excited or demanding. "I picked a bad time to fall ill. I've too much to do before this term is up." He also needed to speak with Lillian, needed to gauge whether or not she would be willing to assist in the instruction.
She had already volunteered to tutor those struggling within his class, but teaching the Patronus charm would require significantly more of her time and effort than regular lessons, and that was if she even wanted to go out of her way to help Harry Potter with such a request. He knew the girl held no animosity for her god brother, from what he could see, the only one she held any animosity towards was one Marcus Flint; but there was a difference in cordial and overly helpful, especially when the one being helped was under the impression the helper's father was a homicidal maniac bent on killing him.
AN:
THANKS TO ALL WHO READ, FAVORITED, FOLLOWED, ETC. YOU ALWAYS HAVE AND WILL ALWAYS REMAIN TO BE AWESOME.
Review Responses:
Guest, Lottie, and FurionKnight THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING. It means the world to me; it continues to keep me inspired to publish.
LovelySakura777: So glad I could pleasantly surprise! Especially after a long work week, believe you me, I have more than my fair share of those weeks. Nothing makes me feel more rejuvenated than reading a favorite. My cat kinda does that, at least, he gives me his version of an enthusiastic hug and bites out of love. They wouldn't be friends if they couldn't at least somewhat read her moods. Like mentioned in the story, Lillian does not abide by bullies, definitely not bullies targeting her loved ones - even if said bully is a loved one. Hopefully this chapter went a little ways towards showing you outsider POV of Lillian's actions. It'll be touched on a little bit more in other chapters, but it probably won't be an in-depth analysis of everyone's POVs regarding her spell work.
Tinsela: Well if I wind up killing him, I hope you can forgive me! NOT that I'm saying that's gonna happen - cause honestly, I haven't the foggiest. It might be sooner than you think...though it might not. haha.
Stormey-chan: Thank you so much! You've no idea how much your rave review means to me. And the fact that I haven't lost my touch yet? My gratitude knows no bounds to hear that. Gah! Like I said, thank you!
See you next time!
x
