A/N: Is anyone following this? Just curious.
Disc.: Creation is a start. Manipulation is divine.
My Trips
It was curious, at least to me, the way that of all the first years, even my betrothed, I watched Lily stand there with her minions, in straight lines. Our unofficial Slytherin seventh year leader paced between the lines of 'us', the mature Slytherins, and 'them', the first year students. She had a cold sneer on her face, a disapproving look upon what might have been a pretty face if it didn't have such a nasty look plastered on it. Lily didn't look down at the ground or fearfully around. I nearly laughed at the look she gave her boy minion, a slightly raised eyebrow and a smirk lingering on her face.
I wasn't listening to the seventh year, but instead watched Lily bite back a smile, her teeth seizing her traitorous bottom lip. Shale snickered; his attempt to cover it up with a sneeze which caused Lily and Kate to cough to hide their laughter. I felt the corners of my mouth tug upwards. I fought it and won, but for a moment, I nearly laughed along with her. Expectantly, the seventh year pulled the three of them free of the ranks of the other first years and I tensed. I don't know why, but I felt tense with Lily stepping away from the safety of the pack of first year Slytherins, standing between Johann Bucket and the first year students. Even with Shale and Lily flanking her, I was anxious.
I could begin to describe the unusual swirl of desires that turned my stomach in circles. It was almost a protective, feral feel. I felt ready to pounce between them, a father lion to defend his cubs. I frowned. Johann was pacing, berating, and I wanted nothing more than to put myself between Lily and her. I looked at Lily, expecting to see her recoiling from Johann's verbal assault. I ignored Johann's words, but I watched Lily.
"Yes, ma'am," Lily said reluctantly in unison with her minions. Her eyes flickered to me for a second, though she may just have been breaking eye contact with the others in our refined group. Johann stepped closer to Lily, increasing my urge to pull Johann back away from her. Lily looked at the other girl, her face blank.
"You, Potter, have to more Slytherin than the rest of us, because we all know we belong here," the seventh year sneered at Lily. I struggled to move forward and place myself between the two, and reveled in the curiosity of such. I had never felt so driven to protect another person, ever. "You are going have to work harder, be a better Slytherin. You already have two detentions against you, which is shameful, especially this early in the school year. That is behavior unfitting of a Slytherin. We never get caught when we are performing the eradication and torment of lesser beings."
I cleared my throat, interrupting Johann before she could get her second wind. She jerked her head in my direction and I got the full on glare that she had been using against Lily. I felt something more rearing its head deep within, something I couldn't explain. I reminded her that the first years couldn't afford to be late to their Astronomy lesson. The change in her face was like night and day, and the tension in me eased some. Dismissed, the first year students gathered their bags and headed out of the common room. I watched Lily, flanked by her minions. Lily glanced back at me and smiled. It felt as if someone punched me in the chest.
I glanced at her, curiously, during breakfast the next morning. She, like the other first year students, looked exhausted. I laughed to myself as her head bobbed a few times, as if she nodded off for a moment there between bites of her breakfast. I ignored the post as it arrived, watching her. An owl soared in, dropping a howler in front of her. I blinked, wondering why she was still sitting there, not bothering to open it. It trembled and before I knew what I was doing, my hand was around her wrist and I was dragging her out of the Great Hall. She looked at me indignantly as she jerked free of my grasp.
"What do you…" she said as the thing trembled in her hand. It burst into life before her, the sound of what I assume was her mother's voice shrilly echoing over the foyer. She looked at it in horror, her eyes transfixed. The words were of no consequence to me. It was far more amusing for me to watch her reaction, the way the heat warmed her cheeks into an intense crimson. Lily tried to hide her face behind her hands, and still, her tiny hands trembled at her mother's words. There was something intriguing the way her face and hair clashed.
I didn't mean to look at her that way, to witness what was probably her worst experience ever, with such a smug look on my face, but it was funny to me, the way she looked so sweet and innocent but had this trouble-making side to her that seemed to have gotten her into some serious trouble. Her eyes were wide, innocence dripping in those sapphire pools. She groaned, seriously, and turned away from me. I laughed, and I knew immediately that it was probably not the best reaction.
"We all get them eventually," I tried to reassure her, reminding her that her brothers and cousins had more than their fair share. I wondered how she could not know what a howler was or what it did, but I assumed that up until she joined us, until she started Hogwarts, she probably wasn't bad enough to warrant one, nor had been around her parents when they sent them.
Lily slumped down on a nearby bench, embarrassed that everyone had heard. She voiced it, her shaking with emotion. I immediately felt worse for her, tempted to put my arm around her shoulders and to assure her that it would be ok. Instead, I sat down next to her. She was just as mortified that I had stood witness to her verbal lashing from her mother. She had her face in her hands
"It's all right," I said reassuringly. "We're housemates. Had you been in any other house, I'd have laughed at you right along with the rest of them." She looked at me in horror from between her fingers.
"They're laughing at me?" Lily cried as she jerked her hand away from her face. I wanted to laugh, her face was a mix between horror and morose.
"Nah, I was only messing with you," I teased lightly. "We Slytherins have to stick together."
She looked up at me again with those infuriating wide eyes and I wondered what she was thinking. We continued to talk for a moment, my reassuring her that her mother would get over it and that she, Lily, should act more like herself. I knew Lily was a smart girl, so going along with something just because someone told her to, even my Darla, was foolish. She hung on my every word, not an uncommon trait that girls did, but for some reason, at least to me, it seemed to be more impressive that Lily would hang on to my words. I grinned at her, breaking the moment that we stared at each other, and stood.
"Now get up, straighten your spine, and walk back to your breakfast as if nothing even happened," I commanded almost playfully. "Part of being an excellent Slytherin is looking as if nothing affects you."
"And does it?" Lily asked as she rose to her feet. Her voice trembled slightly, and her eyes seemed darker. I looked at her, curiously.
"Naturally," I replied grinning. I lowered my voice to a whisper so that only she could hear me, my mouth not far from her ear. "We can't let them know it though, now can we?"
"No, I guess not," Lily said. I raised an eye brow at her, hoping to make her a little more assertive with just my uncanny ability to make people tremble in my presence, and she added a little more forcefully. "Of course not."
I followed Lily back into the Great Hall, the words lingering on my tongue. I had constraint, terrific resolve; otherwise I would have said the words that had bubbled forth unexpectedly out of nowhere- That's my girl. I pondered that as I watched Lily rejoin her minions, no one making notice o the change in atmosphere or the events that had transpired. I mulled those three words over in my head. Why, oh why would that have pushed to the forefront of my mind? Lily was a Potter, and while she was a Slytherin, as well, she wasn't mine to cheer for.
It confused me.
On that Friday night, the best night of the week, and I was holed up in the common room with Elena, Damon, and Celeste. I was watching Celeste and Damon battle in a match to the Wizarding Chess death. Celeste was winning at the moment, but I knew Damon had a few sly moves coming up. He always did this, got his opponent in state of false comfort before he crushed them mercilessly. It was why I loved and loathed play with him. He was worth the challenge, but the wins against him were few and far between. I watched them, but I wasn't really paying attention to my group.
I was listening to Lily and her minions. She sounded distressed, unable to remember where her detention was supposed to be. She and Shale were going back and forth as to where they were supposed to go for it; apparently Shale and Kate had gotten detention as well, though I couldn't recall whether I ever knew why. I'm sure that I had heard, but for whatever reason, it sieved out of my mind and the only things I recalled were Lily's infractions.
"Mr. Filch," I heard myself say. Everyone around us kind of froze and looked at me. I hadn't intended on saying anything, or to let on that I was listening in on their personal conversation. Internally, I was kicking myself.
"What?" Lily asked hesitantly. I turned and looked at her, her eyes curiously meeting mine.
"Mr. Filch usually doles out the detentions," I said in what I hoped came off as bored and indifferent. I checked my watch meaningfully. "You three might want to get a move on it and try not to lose anymore house points. It'd be nice to not just hand the House Cup to Gryffindor."
The three looked at each other and jumped up, leaving the common room swiftly. I turned my attention back to the game before me but Damon's eyes were suspiciously curious as they looked at me. I raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing. Instead, we went on to watch Damon wipe the wizarding chess board with Celeste, win after win.
Our little group hung out in the common room, people keeping their distance from us. From the outside, I was certain it was because even as third years we were so intimidating that no one wanted anything to do with us. I ignored the purring motor boat that was curled up in my lap. A few people edged away as soon as they saw my cat, Ash. She didn't mean to be so temperamental.
I glanced up and looked as Lily entered quickly with Kate, dirty, and I smirked. She was in and out in a moment, so close to curfew. I felt worry bubble up irrationally as the time ticked closer, knowing that if she got in trouble one more time, she ran the very real risk that her mom would bring her home. The idea that she might leave worried me more than it should have. Lily worried me more than she should have.
I very nearly sighed aloud in relief as she and Kate slipped back into the common room just in the nick of time, passing the prefects as they headed out. She was shivering, her hair damp, and she sat down with a few other first years. I tried to ignore them as they talked, but her voice was one that seemed to have my ears seeking it out, even as quiet as it was.
"Yeah, I'm in," Lily said. The first years were going to try to get a pickup game of Quidditch while the rest of us were away at Hogsmead.
"You any good?" Zane asked. For a moment, I tensed, not liking his challenging tone. I glanced over at Lily to find her smirking at him.
"I guess we'll see tomorrow, now won't we," Lily said. I grinned to myself at her spunky response, turning away from the group when she glanced in my direction. "We're going to play five on five?"
"Yeah, no seekers and only two chasers," Shale explained.
"Sounds decent," Lily said.
"You goin' to be able to play, even with your detention?" Kate asked. I had wondered the same thing, knowing that Lily had two detentions to satisfy.
"Yeah, no problem," Lily said. "I have detention tomorrow night, removing the horns from stupid roses."
"You mean removing the thorns, right?" Zane asked. I looked over at them again, just slightly. Lily grinned and shook her head.
"No, I mean horns. These stupid roses have HORNS," Lily said holding up her arms. "And the darn thing bit me too." Her arms were crisscrossed with thin, blood pricked scratches. A set of what must have been teeth marks were on her arm, the blood cleaned away from her shower.
"That'll teach you to act up in class," Darla sneered. I felt my fist clench for a moment and it surprised me. Darla was supposed to be my future wife, and the idea that I was angry at her for talking to Lily that way confused me. Lily laughed, shattering my anger in a moment.
"You were the one who got me to throw the tuber root," Lily said. The table burst out in loud laughter. I nearly chuckled along with them, but was also annoyed at Darla for making my Lily do it. I froze in perplexing confusion. Lily wasn't my Lily. Lily wasn't my anything.
"That was pretty funny," Darla admitted as she rubbed her eyes. "The way that last one bounced."
I was thankful for the break from the first years when Professor Perkins sent them to bed. I didn't like the way I was feeling towards Lily. She wasn't supposed to have any effect on me, not that I would ever admit it. Even Darla didn't make me feel that way. It was much more than amusement, though I couldn't exactly say what it was. I didn't know. I watched as Lily got up and headed to bed with her fellow dorm mates, and I was glad to be done with all the confusion for another night. Ash and I headed to bed, the cat curling up under my neck and purring crazily as I fell asleep.
Breakfast that next morning was nearly contagious. Well, the excitement, actually. I was excited about getting to go down to Hogsmead for the first time, though I knew my time would be cut short there because we had Quidditch practice later. Still, Damon and I were planning on hitting Honeydukes and Zonko's, grabbing butter beer at The Three Broomsticks, and maybe try to visit the Shrieking Shack.
Damon and I practically ran down the lane towards Hogsmead, planning on squeezing as much out of our first visit as we could. We completely left the girls in our dust, not caring because they could afford to take their merry time walking to town and back. We, on the other hand, had to be back in time for practice. Damon and I were both Chasers, and damn good ones at that. I think we probably could have spent all day in Honeydukes, the rows of sweets so tempting. We didn't linger long; instead we made it to each of our places that we intended before we had to return for practice.
We were hyped up on chocolate frogs and butter beer as we changed into our practice robes, eager to hit the skies on a sugar induced high. I stood beside Damon and our seeker, Nice, as we joined our team out on the pitch, watching the end part of the Slytherin first year's modified game. I couldn't help but admire the way Lily seemed so damn quick on the broom. As tiny as she was, I had to assume she had very little wind resistance. She bobbed and weaved, more skilled on the broom than a good many other first years. Her hair, unrestrained, flew behind her like a banner of auburn. She was smiling, dodging the bludgers as the game was called a girls' win.
Lily's female minion, Kate, nearly fell of her broom again for what seemed like the hundredth time, and I laughed as she finally landed, allowing Shale and another boy, whose name escaped me at the moment, try to wrangle the bludgers back in the chest. Lily glanced over at me, grinning, as she stood on the ground, a good distance away. She glanced up in time to move, avoiding Kate from crashing into her. Kate shifted, too, and crashed into the girls anyways, dragging them all to the ground.
It all happened so fast that for a moment, I wasn't sure what had happened. Someone, lots of different ones, shouted to look out. I looked up to see a bludger heading straight towards the group of girls struggling to regain their footing. In one moment, Kate had the beater bat, in the next it was in Lily's hand. The sound of the bludger hitting the bat made a sickening crack, and the bludger rushed at us. I saw it rushing towards us, but it came too quick for me to react. It crashed into Nice and me at the same time, sending us both careening to the ground. From standing to prone, my breath was knocked clear out of my lungs and a sickening crunch had me go pale.
I nearly passed out. I struggled to sit back up, struggled to catch my breath. I looked to Lily, the person who had sent the bludger our way. Her eyes were filled with horror, wide with fright. She dropped the bat immediately and started to make her way over towards us. I struggled to breath, looking over at our seeker, the poor guy out cold on the grass. I wanted to tell her that I was ok, but she already dropped her head in shame. The glares from the rest of the team and others had her defeated and before anything else could be said, Nice and I were hauled off to the hospital wing.
Nice and I were bandaged up, him coming to not much after we arrived, but Madame Pomphrey insisted that we remain under her care while we healed that evening. In and out, Slytherins came to check on us. The first years tried to visit, but I heard Celeste's voice over the dull roar of the other Slytherins talking.
"Haven't you done enough?" Celeste accused loudly. "You single handedly practically handed Gryffindor the house cup, Potter."
"I'm sorry!" Lily said genuinely. "It was coming right at us."
"Better it hit you then to take out two of our players," Celeste said bitingly. I frowned, not sharing the same belief. The idea that Lily could have been in my place, hurt, because of a bludger made me upset in a way that I still didn't understand myself. I found myself annoyed at Celeste's thoughts that it should have been Lily instead of me.
What did Celeste know? I was much stronger than Lily, as was Nice. If anyone had to be hit full on by a bludger, it was better to be us than her. The idea that it could have been Lily made me shiver in my bed. She was far too fragile to have been the one to receive the blow, and I hate Celeste there for a moment, to even suggest it. Nice and I would be healed by our next match. How long would it take a thing as small as Lily to heal? She'd probably have shattered.
"What are you thinking about?" Elena asked as she looked at me. I looked at her in surprise.
"What makes you think that I am thinking about anything?" I replied coolly, trying not to breathe too deeply. It burned, the broken ribs, and the healing and knitting of bones itched.
"You're frowning," Elena said. I forced a smile.
"I'm not thinking of anything of consequence," I assured her and she looked at me once more, but nodded. She'd not push it. Like Damon, she'd always leave me to my thoughts if I didn't feel like sharing them.
Nighttime sent everyone else to bed, and I was allowed to think freely without witnesses to the facial expressions that I apparently had when I thought. I closed my eyes, a thing I usually do, to try and nod off. I'd close my eyes and think, letting the images lull me to sleep. I heard the door open to the hospital wing but I ignored it, trying my hardest to fall asleep. I frowned at the sound of Madame Pomphrey and the whispering visitor. It was late, well enough for me, and I was trying to go to sleep.
I felt the bed shift ever so slightly by my hand, as if someone was leaning forward on it. I opened my eyes, surprised to see Lily standing there by me. She was staring at me, well my bandaged chest actually, her expression concerned and frightened. She bit her lip, her eyebrows knitted together in contemplation. She kept leaning closer and closer, and I could feel my heart being to race unexpectedly.
"You shouldn't stare," I whispered. Lily jumped, nearly knocking aside the small table. Her face turned bright red and I couldn't help but smile at her obvious discomfort.
"I was only checking to see if you were breathing," Lily said quickly. I smirked at her and nodded; though I wondered why she was so nervous if that was all she was doing. I watched her bite her lip again, and I wondered what was going through her head.
"Well, as you can see, you failed at killing Bradshaw or myself off," I teased. I tried to sit up more but the pain was still so sharp and I cringed.
"I honestly wasn't trying to," Lily said emphatically. She looked like she was going to cry and I immediately felt bad.
"I was just teasing you, Potter," I said as I place my hand against my bandaged ribs. "Hell of a hit, though, if I do say so myself; I think that you broke me."
"I'm so sorry," Lily said thickly and I prayed that she wouldn't burst into tears. I can't stand it when girls cry. It makes me feel helpless because I never know what to do for them. I tried to shrug but it caused a sharp pain to shoot through my ribs again. "Has he come to yet?"
"Yeah. He'll be fine in a couple of days," I said as I patted the bed. I had no clue what I was doing, but still I encouraged her to take a seat. She hesitated before she took a seat on the edge, the furthest from me. "Just in time for the game against Gryffindor, he'll be back to his old, prick self. The thing you have to remember, Potter, we are invincible. Slytherins never let anything keep them down. Bradshaw's a seventh year. He's practically immortal."
"Yeah," Bradshaw moaned from his side of the dividing curtain. Lily blushed a deep red and I wondered silently what had her so embarrassed. Still, I grinned, seeing the youngest Potter looking quite uncomfortable there with us. I wondered if Nice was shirtless, like I was, and felt the unfamiliar stab of jealousy. The idea of her looking at him, biting her lip in distress and concern, over him, was unnerving. I never got jealous and I didn't like the fact that I cared.
"Miss Potter! I daresay you are trouble indeed, perhaps worse than your brothers combined! Coming in here and waking patients that you sent here injured in the first place," Madame Pomphrey said shrilly. Lily jumped up off the edge of the bed, her face on fire with embarrassment. "Perhaps a week of detention will finally get through to you."
"Madame Pomphrey, please," Lily begged, her hands clasped in front of her. Internally, I swore and panicked. Lily was like the freaking magnet for detention, and again I worried that her mother would come and snatch her from me, I mean Hogwarts. I shook my head quickly, clearing the thoughts. Now was not the time to think like that.
"I called her over," I protested quickly. The two looked at me in utter disbelief.
"What?" Lily and Madame Pomphrey both said in unison.
"I saw her sitting there and I asked her to please come over," I lied quickly as I struggled to sit up. The pain was unbearable, and I gasped despite myself. Lily looked at me with such concern that it nearly broke me in two. Her concern hurt more than the pain. Madame Pomphrey rushed to my side, trying to help me get comfortable.
"Heavens why?" Madame Pomphrey asked me. I hesitated for a second, racking my brains for a logical reason. Ash popped into my head, and I nearly laughed.
"I needed her to go feed my cat, Ash. I knew I'd not be able to do it, and since Potter is a housemate, she could make sure Ash got fed," I said quickly. Madame Pomphrey looked to Lily for confirmation, and I prayed that Lily was smart enough to catch on and keep up the rouse. Lily was a right brilliant actress, her face was void of any tells as she nodded in confirmation. Silently I cheered for my girl… I mean for Lily. Damn. I didn't understand why that thought cropped up again.
"Yes, ma'am," Lily lied flatly. "I just need to know where Ash's food is and where to find him."
"She's probably sleeping under my bed," I said fighting the urge to grin. Lily was smart as a whip, to get the information to actually complete what needed to be done without being caught in the lie. "Her food is in my trunk. Can't miss her, she's all white like I said and Damon can help point her out."
"I can manage, Malfoy," Lily said to me and I had to smile slightly. Madame Pomphrey looked at the two of us but I knew she figured that I had no reason to cover for Lily. Honestly, I had no reasonable reason to cover for her. I had no clue why I cared, why I covered, and yet I was lying to cover for her, none the less. I nearly snickered at Nice's soft, fake snores. I knew he'd laugh the minute Madame Pomphrey left us alone, and I couldn't blame him. I just hoped he wouldn't ask questions.
Defeated, or perhaps just not really caring, Madame Pomphrey sighed and handed Lily some tube. It was then that I noticed that Lily was covered in scrapes and gashes. I was curious to know if they were just from her plant-detention, but I knew I'd have to wait to ask. I figured, if nothing else, when Ash attacked Lily she'd look none the worse for the wear.
"Oh, and Potter," I called to her. She turned back to look at me, her eyes wide again in that infuriating way that was almost… hypnotic.
"Yes?" Lily asked expectantly. She looked nervous, yes, but almost excited to have me talk to her. That didn't bother me as much as it probably should have
"Remember Ash likes to scratch a bit, not that you'd be able to tell with what that plant has done to you," I teased. "I do appreciate you agreeing. No one else would get ten feet of the demonic cat."
"Uh, no problem," Lily said hesitantly as she smiled at me. Lily left the hospital room. Madame Pomphrey bade us good night and flipped off the light. I thought about her smile and I grinned to myself.
"You know, she's only eleven," Nice whispered in the darkness.