A/N: Wow, thank you to everyone who reviewed! I'm glad everyone's really liking the story! :) I hope you enjoy one of the last few chapters from first year...
"Miss Evans, is there something wrong?"
Lily didn't look up. She knew she would be in trouble for refusing to participate in today's Defense lesson, but she didn't care. Professor Chapluck could give her detention if she wanted to.
"Look up," the eccentrically-dressed woman demanded, but Lily shook her head defiantly. All of the others were practicing already, and Lily didn't want them to see the tears streaming down her face. A couple days ago, she had found out that the locket would not come off unless she wanted to virtually decapitate herself; Laika had tried everything to get it to come off, but after a while, she too, had given up. Lily's attitude had taken a turn for the worse ever since then, since nobody wanted to be around her, no matter how hard she tried being nice to them. She felt abandoned and alone. Narcissa had suggested going to Professor Slughorn or even McGonagall about it, but Laika had shrieked for Lily not to do that, and she was forced to promise that she wouldn't tell any teachers about her suffering. Laika's motives for this were left unclear, and Lily was feeling more frustrated than ever with her friend.
"I'll be your partner Lily," a quiet voice came from behind her. She knew at once that it was Melika, the forgotten Slytherin girl. The sympathy in her voice was too much to bear, and Lily— without thinking— lashed out at her.
"No! Stay away from me!" Lily slammed her fist on the table violently, but kept her head down as she yelled at the girl. She was just trying to be nice to Lily, but Lily wasn't in the mood for random acts of kindness from anyone at the moment.
Professor Chapluck, slightly worried by her young student's reaction, pulled Lily to her feet with surprising strength and motioned for her to draw her wand.
"Miss Evans," she said with a hint of exasperation in her voice. "I shall be your partner today. Now stand back and look up at me."
Lily numbly walked in reverse and faced her teacher. Her eyes were puffy and reddened, and to Chapluck's slightest discomfort, her pupils were disturbingly off colour…
Feeling nothing but hatred for the woman for making her do this, Lily held up her wand, preparing to strike. Chapluck tried to smile reassuringly, but Lily noticed that she was avoiding her eyes. Even this tiny action enraged Lily.
Forgetting what spell she was supposed to perform, Lily involuntarily flicked her wand at her teacher. The power behind the spell overwhelmed Lily; she had never performed such magic before, and the effect was shocking. Chapluck was immediately blasted backwards, hitting the wall with a deafening boom and falling to the floor, motionless.
Everyone in the class paused and stared at Lily, who was glaring down at her unconscious teacher with no trace of remorse. Her expression was strangely neutral, even though she had just attacked a teacher with rather powerful magic.
Severus, who had been practicing with Sirius, was absolutely shocked by his friend's actions. Lily wasn't the type to do that, but then again, she was a completely different person lately. He had tried his best to be a supportive and helpful friend at first, but after a while, he had no choice but to avoid Lily; every time he was around her, she would just scream at him to get away from her. Well, now he was respecting her wishes.
He looked over at Malfoy; her face was stony and slightly sweaty. She no longer smirked whenever Lily had another one of her outbursts; instead, she appeared more and more troubled every time Lily lost control. Unknowingly, Severus and Laika made eye contact. He raised an eyebrow curiously, making Laika scowl and look away at once.
"Evans has really done it this time," James muttered as he poked at their teacher's unmoving body with the tip of his foot. Severus looked around for Lily; she had already left the classroom. Narcissa Black and Malfoy were just now starting to leave as well; Severus desperately wanted to follow and find out their involvement in Lily's new behaviour, but unfortunately that would have to wait. Seeing that the four Gryffindor boys were the only ones left in the classroom, they had apparently been volunteered for the task of getting Chapluck up to the Hospital Wing. Luckily James and Sirius were the Kings of Excuses; otherwise they'd end up taking the blame for this as well…
xXxXxXxXx
"Did you bring your cloak?" Severus whispered to James, who was sitting next to him at their table in the Great Hall. James nodded and continued shoving food into his mouth, anxious to get going as soon as possible.
The plan was simple: James and Severus were going to follow Malfoy back to her common room and try and find out if she had anything to say on Lily's condition. Severus strongly suspected her to be the main cause of his poor friend's suffering, and James wouldn't just give Severus his cloak; he had to come along for the adventure as well.
Throughout dinner, the two continually peeked over their shoulders towards the Slytherin table; most peculiarly, Malfoy was watching her brother more than Lily. Interesting indeed…
"She's getting up!"
"Huh?"
With his mouth still stuffed with food, James tried jumping away from the table, but ended up tripping Severus instead. Grinning sheepishly, James pulled Severus to his feet and they innocently walked towards the corridor which led to Gryffindor's tower. Once hidden from the rest of the teachers and students, James threw the cloak over the two of them and they ran back into the Great Hall, this time unseen. Instead of heading back towards the Slytherin common room, Malfoy was heading for one of the little-used exits that faced the Forbidden Forest.
"That way," Severus breathed, unable to point without revealing his hand first. Their hearts pounded as they ran past the teacher's table; none of them could see through Invisibility Cloaks, could they?
Once outside, they saw that Malfoy wasn't alone: Lucius Malfoy was with her. This would certainly complicate things if they were discovered; Lucius was a prefect and he undoubtedly knew spells they didn't.
The two siblings reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest and stopped. Severus and James, unbeknownst to the Malfoys, caught up and stood back fifteen feet, straining their ears to catch snippets of the conversation because they were not willing to go any closer.
"Snape is onto us," Laika reported, sounding extremely irritated at the moment. "He's been watching me in Defense…especially whenever Lily goes mental."
Lucius scoffed. "Are you seriously trying to tell me that a Gryffindor is going to stop you from getting the locket?"
"I can't get it even if I tried…it won't come off her neck."
"Why not?" Lucius demanded, gripping his wand tightly and looking around as though he knew he had been followed.
"How am I supposed to know? She's gone crazy, though…something's wrong with her…"
"Your only concern should be the locket," Lucius snapped.
"Okay, and how am I supposed to get it off her?" Laika asked sardonically. "I don't know any magic that could get it off."
If they could see each other's faces, James and Severus would have seen the other gaping at them in shock. So, the Malfoys did have a role in this. Under the cloak, James tugged at Severus' arm, eager to get closer. At first, Severus shook his head, before realizing that James couldn't see him anyways.
"Ask Bella," Lucius replied thoughtfully. "She would know something to—"
"—why not you?" Laika snarled. "Why are you always making other people do your dirty work?"
"Because, the only time you can possibly get to it is when she is asleep. And boys are not allowed in the girls' dormitory."
Laika glared at Lucius for a while, then sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll ask Bella. And what are you going to do once we get it back? You can't possibly keep it here…"
"I won't. I have a plan."
After Laika and Lucius had departed, James took off the cloak and stared at Severus.
"You were right."
Severus turned his head away from the Malfoys' retreating figures and scowled. "I really wish I wasn't," he said grimly. "But Lily won't listen to me anymore, and there's no way we can get to the locket before Malfoy does."
"I wonder why it's so important to them anyways," James said thoughtfully. "You reckon that's been making Evans go loony lately?"
"Probably…unless it's the Imperius Curse, but I doubt—"
"What's that?"
"You've never heard of the Imperius Curse?" Severus asked in disbelief.
James shook his head. "My dad mentioned it once or twice…what is it?"
Severus looked around for eavesdroppers then whispered: "It's one of the three Unforgiveable Curses. This one deals with controlling another person. But if someone cast the Imperius on Lily, they did a rather awful job of it…people aren't supposed to know when someone is under the Imperius, its best used subtly."
James shook his head in amazement. "You really know a lot about the Dark Arts, huh?"
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Severus snapped, feeling slightly irritated by the tone in which James spoke.
"Oh, I didn't mean it like that," James added hastily. "I was just saying…so, uh…how can you find out if Evans is under the Imperious?"
"There are ways…but we'll have to wait until tomorrow. Come on, we have Transfiguration homework to get to—"
"Evans is in danger, and you're worried about homework?" James asked, astonished.
"Well, seeing that there's nothing we can do for the time being, we might as well," Severus shot back hotly. James Potter could be so infuriating when it came to academics…
xXxXxXxXx
"Why don't you go to Dumbledore?" Remus asked in a weary voice once James and Severus had recounted everything they had heard that evening. The common room was almost deserted by now, even though it was only eight o'clock. Still, the boys took advantage of this privacy and told the other two every detail about the two Malfoys' discussion. Sirius had been more excited by the prospect of sneaking out and invisibly eavesdropping into the Slytherins' conversation, while Remus was more concerned for Lily's safety and the fact that James and Severus had broken the rules by leaving the castle after curfew.
While James babbled on about reasons why they shouldn't tell Dumbledore anything, Severus continued observing his friend: he looked extremely ragged and exhausted tonight, more than usual, anyways. He'd looked like that many times this past year, as though he had some kind of periodic illness that came and went at random. Maybe it was time he got some medical attention…
"Remus, you need to go to the Hospital Wing," Severus said suddenly, quieting James and Sirius immediately, and they stared at the fourth boy as though Severus had seen something in him they had not.
Remus' eyes widened, but he managed a weak smile. "I'm fine, really. Just a bit tired…"
"No, you really ought to see Madam Pomfrey," Severus insisted, getting to his feet and attempted pulling Remus to his feet as well. "Here, I'll come with you."
Remus darted a furtive glance out the window and turned back to his friends, trying to appear as calm as possible. "I'm feeling great…honestly, I don't need to go tonight, and if I'm feeling worse I'll go tomorrow…"
"Nonsense. You need to see a healer."
Without any further arguments, Severus dragged Remus through the portrait hole and escorted him all the way to the Hospital Wing, even at Remus' persistence that he was perfectly healthy.
When they reached their destination ten minutes later, they were slightly surprised to see that Madam Pomfrey was not alone.
"Now Poppy, you know how I want— why…Mr. Lupin, Mr. Snape…good evening."
Dumbledore seemed to lose his train of thought at the sight of the two Gryffindor first years entering the almost-empty Hospital Wing. Off in the corner, looking rather bruised and pitiful lay Professor Chapluck.
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled mysteriously as he smiled with what looked like sympathy towards Remus; Madam Pomfrey immediately hustled over to them and began fussing over Remus without even diagnosing his illness first. Severus thought this was rather peculiar, but ignored it as Dumbledore quietly ushered him along. He numbly waved goodbye to Remus, figuring he shouldn't further embarrass the boy by prodding the mediwitch to tell him what was wrong with his friend. He was in good hands, and that was all that mattered.
Once outside of the vast doors, Dumbledore turned and faced Severus.
"Is he going to be okay?" Severus asked before Dumbledore could say anything.
Dumbledore smiled. "Rest assured, Mr. Lupin will make a full recovery. You are a kind friend, Mr. Snape."
"Thanks," he mumbled in return. "What's wrong with him though?"
"That is a matter between Madam Pomfrey and Mr. Lupin," Dumbledore replied seriously.
Well, at least he's going to heal, Severus thought. His mind then wandered back to Lily. Standing in front of him was perhaps the most powerful and brilliant wizard alive…this was his chance to get Lily the help she so desperately needed…
"Professor?"
"Yes?"
"My friend…Lily Evans…she has…a problem," Severus stuttered, unsure of how to explain Lily's predicament to Dumbledore.
"A problem? Could you please elaborate?" the old headmaster asked gently, motioning for Severus to walk with him along the shadowy corridors.
"Well," Severus bit his lip as he walked along. How should he say it? He didn't want to get Lily into trouble, but he couldn't allow her to continue acting like the monster he knew she wasn't. "She's not herself. She's…well, more angry than usual. She's my best friend, but she's not the Lily I thought I knew," he finished lamely, feeling slightly intimidated by Dumbledore's formidable appearance.
Dumbledore's smile disappeared. "Not herself? Do you know what has caused this change?"
"No," Severus lied. He had a strong suspicion that it was Dark enchantments from the locket, but he didn't want to tell Dumbledore too much. Avoiding the old man's gaze, he continued: "I was just wondering…if you could…I dunno…watch over her, I guess?"
Dumbledore sensed the boy was lying to him, but he didn't mention this. The boy obviously cared deeply for his friend, and he knew that having a Gryffindor friend would prove beneficial to Miss Evans over time. It would be a crime to allow their friendship to collapse if there was something he could do to alleviate the situation…
"Yes, Mr. Snape. I will do my best to ensure Miss Evans' safety."
"Thank you sir."
xXxXxXxXx
Laika's eyes fluttered open at the sound of faint footsteps making their way up to the first years' dormitory. Laika checked her wristwatch: it was just after midnight. Lily and Melika were probably lost in the land of dreams by now; hopefully Narcissa was asleep as well. Laika didn't want her messing with their plans…
The door creaked open. There was no light emitted from the opening. If Laika hadn't noticed the vaguely solid outline and familiar glittering black eyes of Bellatrix Black, she would have believed that a ghost had just entered the room.
Bellatrix paid no attention to Laika; she wasn't supposed to. Everything was already planned out, and Laika trailing behind her would only impede her efforts. She wore no invisibility cloak; Bellatrix had destroyed it after one of the seventh year boys called her a coward for hiding under it. Nobody called Bellatrix Black a coward, however, and the boys eventually got what they deserved.
As swiftly and noiselessly as a dementor, Bellatrix made her way over to Lily's bed and towered over her; calculating which spell would do the job of releasing the locket from the small girl's delicate neck. Her pale, claw-like nails reached into her robe's pocket and retrieved her wand; Laika felt chills go down her spine as she silently watched the older girl examine her wand with perturbing enthralment. Laika was sorely envious of Bellatrix's power; she knew more spells than people twice her age. The Dark Lord would undoubtedly welcome her with open arms once she was ready to join him. This was more than what Laika could say for herself. She was an average student, but she would never be as good at Potions as Lily was or a genius at Transfiguration as Narcissa was.
Bellatrix never had these kinds of problems. All her friends cowered in fear whenever they were around her, and she was one of the most respected members of Slytherin House. She was a prodigy, and Laika couldn't help but despise her for this. Narcissa, surprisingly, didn't seem to mind her sister's popularity as much as Laika did….
Suddenly, there was a flash of blue light and a mild breeze swept through the room. Lily let out a low cry of pain, but did not wake up, perhaps due to the fact that Bellatrix had wisely poured a strong sleeping potion down the girl's throat before attempting the removal of the locket.
Bellatrix did not laugh nor cheer with triumph; she merely held up the newly-freed treasure so that Laika could see it clearly. Something was dripping from the chain of the locket; with a jolt, Laika saw that it was blood. Lily's blood.
Laika did not get up or say anything, but simply watched as Bellatrix quickly made her way for the exit, her dark bed robes rippling behind her. Unbeknownst to the two girls, the eyes of Narcissa Black had seen everything…
xXxXxXxXx
Waiting in the common room for her was Lucius Malfoy. Bellatrix wordlessly acknowledged his presence and headed for the exit at a sprint. She was surprisingly graceful, even though she ran in knee-length boots and had a ragged spidery-skirt bound to her slim waist.
Lucius darted after her, hoping that this meant that she had indeed recovered the locket, and they were moving on to phase two in their plan. Both fifth years jogged along the darkened corridors outside of the dungeons; neither of them spoke for a very long time. The silence was deafening, and for a while, the only sounds they could hear were the echoes of their footwear quietly thumping along the stony floor. Once they were above the ground, their whitened faces were vividly illuminated by the moonlight spilling in from the windows. While Lucius' eyes darted side to side in anxious terror, Bellatrix's cold black eyes remained focused on the path ahead, and no trace of victory or defeat could be detected from her neutral facial expression. Still, there was an unmistakable glint of gold flickering in between Bellatrix's bony fingers, telling Lucius they had won the locket back after all.
Still, much to his discomfort, Lucius felt his heart pounding ferociously against his chest; here he was, a prefect, out of bed well after curfew and running along the hallways with a cursed necklace that was apparently covered in blood, judging by Bellatrix's hands. Highly suspicious indeed.
All of sudden, Bellatrix slid to a stop. Lucius, not realizing she had done so, collided with her and they both tumbled to the ground. She glared icily at him, but said nothing as she scrambled over to a statue and hid behind it. Lucius hurriedly followed the suit, but couldn't figure out what she was doing. Had she seen someone?
"What are you doing?" he hissed. Bellatrix painfully shoved him with her elbow to shut him up and pointed upwards. Hovering just a few feet above their heads was Peeves. Grinning maliciously, he crossed his arms and cackled in a loud voice: "Well, well, well…students out of bed…"
"Shut your mouth," Lucius ordered authoritatively; next to him, Bellatrix was hitting her head against the statue in frustration at Lucius' inability to control rather precarious situations. Ordering Peeves around was not the best way to get him to leave them alone.
Peeves roared with laughter at Lucius, bringing some colour to his once-pale cheeks. "Prefect eh? I really ought to let the headmaster handle this—"
"—NO!"
"— but what fun would that be?" Peeves smirked, holding up several swollen water balloons, but it didn't look like they were filled with water…
Lucius, noticing that Bellatrix had already begun to run away, sped after her, with Peeves right on his heels.
"Protego!" he whispered in his quietest voice as Peeves lobbed a couple of balloons at him. The shield wasn't strong enough, and two balloons nailed him right in the back. They smelled horrible, and it took all of Lucius' patience not to shout out. They were supposed to be silent, after all; otherwise, they would be caught. Avoiding Peeves was more of a priority at the moment, so Lucius decided it was time to use magical force against the poltergeist.
Just as Bellatrix shrieked— no doubt having been struck by a balloon or two— Lucius flicked his wand furiously up at Peeves, who immediately fell silent. Out of balloons and unable to talk, Peeves gave Lucius the one finger salute and floated away, no doubt silently mouthing curses at the two as he left.
Lucius, ignoring the horrendous smell on both his and Bellatrix's robes, pulled her to her feet and they resumed their journey, though at a cautious walk this time. The liquid— whatever it was, Lucius didn't want to know— had a rather nasty effect on their clothes, turning their once-emerald green cloaks an ugly brownish colour. Luckily, Bellatrix managed to get most of it off with "Scourgify!"
"We're almost there," she panted, trying to sound as calm as possible. Lucius was actually more shaken up than she was; after all, it was his and his parents' reputation and standing in the Dark Lord's ranks on the line. The idea alone was terrifying, not to mention possible suspension for everything he had done that night. Well, it wasn't the thought of leaving Hogwarts that disturbed him, but rather what he would do if he was forced to return home forever. He had a reasonably good idea of what his future held for him, but it was wiser to remain at Hogwarts for as long as possible, in order to prepare himself for the ever-heightening war…
"We really ought to Transfigure this," Bellatrix muttered tonelessly once they were just thirty or so feet from their destination. She paused and held her wand over the bloodstained locket.
Suddenly, Lucius heard footsteps behind him. They were very soft, as was the grave voice that accompanied them.
"Miss Black…Mr. Malfoy…you two are certainly up late this evening."
Bellatrix's jaw dropped in horror and she whirled around to face Dumbledore. Lucius didn't want to turn around, fearing that that meant he was admitting his identity to the headmaster. There was no other options, however, so he numbly turned around and gaped at Dumbledore's strange violet-coloured robes. His mind seemed to freeze under the intensity of the situation; with the plan forgotten completely, he glanced sideways at Bellatrix. She was clutching the locket as though it was her lifeline; unfortunately, Dumbledore noticed this.
"May I see what are you holding, Miss Black?"
"No," Bellatrix replied too quickly. Dumbledore's eyebrow rose in curiosity.
"May I ask what you two are doing out of bed so late then?"
The two Slytherins looked at each other. They were far from their common room; how in the world could they reasonably explain themselves? Lucius knew Bellatrix was an accomplished Occlumens, but even she was at a loss for words at the moment.
"Needed a bit of fresh air," Lucius croaked, knowing Dumbledore would probably see right through his lie.
Dumbledore, still gazing at the locket in Bellatrix's hands, smiled sadly. "I do not wish for you to lie to me, Mr. Malfoy. You have realized, I am certain, that you are on the opposite side of the school from your dormitories after curfew?"
"Yes," Bellatrix replied defiantly, still holding onto the locket for dear life. She hadn't managed to Transfigure it before Dumbledore showed up; if he took it from her, they were doomed.
"I see," Dumbledore responded thoughtfully. "Well, this is quite a problem then, isn't it?"
"It…is?" Lucius repeated, unsure of how Dumbledore would punish them. They had been caught red-handed, and he would not let them off easily.
"Oh yes," Dumbledore continued gravely. "I'm afraid I must take that from you."
"Why?" Bellatrix snarled boldly, hiding the locket behind her back as Dumbledore looked at her again.
"Miss Black, you are clearly very fond of that locket, however, I must take it due to these suspicious circumstances. You will not be punished if you give it up willingly."
"Never," Bellatrix hissed passionately. She knew of the importance of the locket, and freely giving it up to the stupid old man would be a terribly traitorous thing to do.
Dumbledore frowned. "Then I must take it by force, then."
Bellatrix shrieked as Dumbledore lazily flicked his wand towards her; the locket immediately sped out of her hands and landed softly into his own. He examined it with great interest, though the green stones in the shape of an "S" seemed to trouble him slightly. Lucius and Bellatrix were unable to breathe as Dumbledore prodded at the locket with his wand, continuously muttering incoherent incantations under his breath. Neither of them dared to say anything, lest they give away just how valuable it really was.
Finally, after nearly a lifetime of waiting, Dumbledore looked back up at them.
"Goodnight you two."
Bellatrix, stunned by this abrupt dismissal, charged up to Dumbledore and got right in his face. She fearlessly towered over him— she was surprisingly tall next to his old, seemingly-frail figure— and held out her hand.
"I want my locket back," she hissed in a voice that would have sent chills down anyone's spine, but Dumbledore looked merely amused by this confrontation. By now, Bellatrix had realized that since she had lost the locket, the Dark Lord would blame her, rather than Lucius, who had apparently lost it to the Evans girl in the first place. Bellatrix would not give up without a fight if the blame could potentially rest on her shoulders…
"I am keeping this locket."
"Why?" Bellatrix nearly spat in his face, but Dumbledore didn't back away. Without warning, Bellatrix felt his piercing blue eyes examining her own, and she instantly put up her Occlumency shields. How dare he try using Legilimency against her...
Dumbledore chuckled softly and turned to leave. "I said goodnight, Miss Black."
As he departed with the locket safely hidden within his pocket, Bellatrix couldn't bring herself to run after him. Instead, she fell to her knees in despair and Lucius slumped against a nearby wall. The impact of their failure was mind-numbing. They had lost the Dark Lord's prized possession to the only one he had ever feared.
A/N: Just in case you didn't notice, I adore Bellatrix. Partially because I've always liked the crazy mental case characters like her, and partially because I think Helena Bonham Carter does a wonderful job with her in the movies. Next chapter is probably my favorite one in the entire story so far (hence the reason why this chapter may have seemed a bit rushed...I'm too excited to move on to chapter thirteen haha). Just to warn you, it will be somewhat darker than anything I've written so far. Nothing horrendous at least. As for Lily and Severus: they will come back to the spotlight soon. Right now, there's just more important things to cover...
So what'd you think? Good? Not so good? Try something else? Reviews are always appreciated ;)