Chapter 4: Ten Questions

Snow now covers the ground. Frost is on every branch of every tree, even the whomping willow, and all of Hogwarts' grounds are white. Christmas really is the best time of the year. Everything is beautiful, and students and teachers alike are kinder to one another. Nearly everyone – except for Filch, of course – seems to be in a good mood.

I love my classes. The first years are actually, for the most part, well behaved, and I enjoy talking to my sixth and seventh year students. I find the Golden Trio particularly interesting. They don't like to discuss the things they've seen and done during the war, but when they do, I actually learn a lot from them. Sometimes I wonder if they should be teaching me, instead of the other way around.

It was a week before Christmas break, and I was giving my Slytherin/Gryffindor seventh years a few minutes to socialize while I wrote the directions for the day on the board. Harry and Ginny Weasley sat in the front row, talking to Ron and Hermione, who were sitting directly behind them. Everyone at Hogwarts knew that red-headed Ginny Weasley was dating the boy-who-lived, and many girls were jealous. Two examples were Alexis Anderson and Tasha Sanders, two seventh-year Slytherins who were sixth years during the war. This particular morning, they decided to confront Harry and tried to get him to talk about the war. They were really starting to annoy him.

"What was Voldemort like, Harry?" asked Alexis flirtatiously. "Weren't you scared?"

"How did you survive when Voldemort killed you in the forest, Harry?" Tasha asked when Harry didn't answer Alexis's questions. "I heard Narcissa Malfoy told Voldemort you were dead."

"Please. I don't want to talk about it." Harry whispered.

"Oh, Harry, are you still scared of Voldemort?" Alexis mocked. "Is that why you won't answer our questions?"

"He said he doesn't want to talk about it, so shut up!" Ginny snapped.

"Make us, Weasley." Tasha snarled.

I turned around just to see Alexis and Tasha fly across the room into a shelf of potions, causing several bottles to break.

"Ms. Weasley!" I snapped. "That was extremely inappropriate! Ten points from Gryffindor and detention with me on Saturday!"

"But Professor, they were harassing Harry! And next Saturday is Hogsmeade weekend! I still need to buy gifts for my family." Ginny protested. I knew she would be upset, because she probably had been looking forward to spending time with Harry in Hogsmeade.

"I know they were. That's why I'm taking twenty points from Slytherin and scheduling a detention for Ms. Anderson and Ms. Sanders for the same day. However, your behavior was a completely improper way to deal with the situation. At eighteen years old, you should know better than that, Ms. Weasley." I said. "Now, everyone turn to page 183 and follow the instructions I've written out for you on the board.

Sighing, I began walking around the room, giving help to students who needed it. Honestly! I thought. Sometimes my seventh years were more immature than my first years. I suppose it was being in love that did it.

Two weeks later, most of the students had gone home for the holidays. I had been using the pensieve frequently, but painful memories still came to me. Soon, they began to give me dreadful headaches. One particular evening, my headache was so bad, I skipped dinner. It went away eventually, after I put yet another memory into the pensieve, but by that time, dinner was over. As soon as the headache was gone, I opened my office door and began to reorganize my classroom, something I always did after a particularly painful memory. When I had gotten to the blackboard, I suddenly heard someone coming down the stairs. Quickly, I went to investigate. Once at the stairs, I found Jason, coming down to visit me.

Jason smiled when he saw me, but that smile quickly disappeared. "Is everything alright, Lucianna? Why weren't you at dinner?"

I hesitated. "I... uh… didn't feel like coming to dinner."

Jason stared at me. "You are a mysterious woman, Lucianna, you know that?"

"How so?" I asked.

Jason didn't answer me. Instead, he asked, "Why didn't you feel like coming dinner. You aren't going back into your life of solitude, are you?"

"No!" I defended. "I told you! I just didn't feel like coming. That's all."

"Why not?" Jason asked innocently with a twinkle in his eye.

I glared at him. "None of your business."

"You see!"

"See what?" I asked, annoyed.

Jason sighed. "That is exactly why you are mysterious. You don't want anyone to know anything about you, even something as simple as why you didn't come to dinner."

I stared at him. "And why do you even want to know?" I asked softly.

Jason sighed again. "I just want to know what you are thinking, what you are going through. I only want to be your friend, Lucianna, and as your friend, I need to be there whenever you need help."

"Who says I need help?"

Jason closed his eyes and groaned. "You are impossible."

"What do you want from me?"

Jason hesitated. "Look, I'll make a deal with you. I want to ask you ten questions, just ten, and then I'll leave you alone, and you can come to me to talk only when you want to. You can answer the questions any way you want to, but I want you to promise me you'll be completely honest. In addition, I promise to answer any questions that I ask myself. Do we have a deal?"

I sighed. I knew that if I didn't agree to his plan, Jason would never stop coming after me, and I didn't want that. "Follow me." I said shortly and led him into my office.

Once we were seated and the door was closed, I said, "Ask away."

Jason thought for a moment. "Do you have any nicknames?" he asked. "Remember, honesty is the key."

Why was he asking me this, of all things? Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all. "My brother called me Raven, when we were little, because of my hair."

Jason smiled. "This does not count as one of my questions alright?" He paused. I nodded hesitantly, and then Jason continued. "What do you think of the name 'Luci'?"

"Luci?" I asked, pondering that thought. "I think it sounds…prefect."

Jason smiled. "Good. I like it too. It fits you. As for me, my brothers called me Jay, or Jay Jay – I despised Jay Jay, by the way – but my favorite was Blue Jay."

"Blue Jay?"

"It's because of my eyes." Jason explained.

I nodded. "Go on."

"Tell me about your family. I want a detailed description of each member."

I sighed. "I have a twin brother named… well, I always called him Prince. We used to be so close, but…"

"But…what?" Jason asked softly.

Suddenly, I burst into tears. I just couldn't help myself.

Immediately, Jason's face softened, and I knew he regretted his question. "Shh…" he soothed. "Please, don't cry, Luci. I... I'm sorry."

I quickly dried my tears. "No, I'm sorry." I said. "I don't know what came over me. I just get so emotional sometimes when I talk about what happened between my brother and me."

"Alright. I won't make you say anything more about him." Jason assured me. "What about your parents? What are they like?"

"I'm a half-blood." I explained. "My mother was a witch, and my father a muggle. They fought often, and never really cared for my brother and me. They ended up getting a divorce when we were twelve."

"I'm sorry." Jason whispered.

"Don't be. My dad was a jerk anyway. He hated any and all things magic. He didn't really like much of anything, though." I managed a weak laugh.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about my family. My mother died when I was four, and was a Gryffindor, like my younger brother and I. My father and older brother were Slytherins, and it seemed as if there was nothing my younger brother, Jacob, and I could do to please him. My older brother, Jonathan, was the same way. Jacob and I have always felt like failures."

Jason paused for a moment, trying to think of the next question. "When is your birthday, month, day, and year?"

"Jay!" I exclaimed with a laugh. "That's not something you ask a lady! But, for your information, it's January 9th, 1960."

Jason's eyes grew wide. "No way!" He exclaimed. "Mine's March 13th, 1971! I honestly thought you were closer to my age!"

I shrugged. "Everyone does. What, do you think I'm too old for you?" As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I instantly regretted them, and blushed. Luckily, my office was beginning to grow dim, so I don't think Jason noticed.

"No!" Jay exclaimed. "I mean… age doesn't matter… for a friend, I mean. Minerva and Dumbledore were friends, and there was, what about a fifty-three-year age difference, there, wasn't there…" By the way Jason was rambling on, I could tell he was feeling just as awkward as I was.

Quickly, I asked for the next question. "What are the tops things you like and dislike about yourself?"

I pondered his question for a moment before answering. "The best thing is my ambition. When I have a dream, I go after it, and never stop until I get there. Ever since I was young, I wanted to be headmistress, and now, before I know it, I will be. However, I don't like how cruel I sometimes am to other people. When my dreams aren't going exactly as planned, I tend to pull other people down with me, and that's not right."

Jason was quiet for a moment. Then he said softly, "I don't think you're cruel. I think you are a very kind person, and a fair, just, and excellent teacher."

I smiled weakly. "Thanks. What about you?"

Jason smiled back. "My physical bravery is a quality I treasure most about myself. I'm always ready to face danger, especially when protecting the people I love. My emotional bravery, however, is a different story. As I told you before, I sometimes have trouble admitting my emotions. Now, if you could become an Animagious, what would you be?"

That question was a no-brainer. "A fox. They are sly and cunning, but are always careful to stay out of sight from both predators and prey. Besides, that's what my patronus is. Expecto Patronum!"

A silvery form flew out from my wand and danced around the room, trailing its bushy tail behind it. Soon, a silvery eagle joined it in the sky, and they danced together before coming back to their creators.

"Well, I am an Animagious, and I take form of an eagle, because eagles are bold and majestic. And as you just saw, my protronus is also a bald eagle." Jason explained. "Have you ever seen somebody die?"

I hesitated. "Only in my nightmares." I whispered.

"What do you mean?" Jason asked softly.

"My brother passed away about a year and a half ago. I never actually saw him die, but the scene still haunts my dreams."

Jason was quiet for a moment. "I watch my mother die." He said quietly. "When my older brother, Jonathan was six, he once got very angry with my mother. He got a hold of her wand and used the killing curse on her, not knowing what it would do. My father was devastated, and wished he and my mother never used those words around him. He didn't think Jonathan would be able to learn them so quickly."

"How horrible." I whispered.

Jason merely shrugged. "It was an accident, but yes, Jonathan did feel horrible as the years passed." He paused, trying to change the subject. "Who were your friends in school?"

"My closest friends were other girls from Slytherin. I was pretty popular in my house. Unfortunately, I don't see any of those friends anymore." I answered.

Jason nodded. "I mostly hung out with my dorm mates. We were a close group. Who were your favorite and least favorite professors and why?"

"Slughorn was my favorite because I loved Potions, and McGonagall, ironically, was my least favorite – don't tell her I said that. She was just too strict for my liking."

"Really?" asked Jason. "McGonagall was my favorite! I thought she was a great teacher. I still do. My least favorite teacher was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in my fifth year. He was horrible. I don't think he cared at all. Most days we just had a study hall. 'It's very important to complete your homework,' he said.

"What's the point of having a DADA class then?" I asked.

Jason shrugged and moved on to the next question. "Have you ever been in love?"

"No. Well, I have had boyfriends in the past but let's just say no of them… worked out." I smiled as memories came back to me, memories of the crazy boys and men I've dated.

Maybe I was losing my mind, but I could have sworn I saw Jason smile. "Neither have I." He said, and then was silent.

I waited for a moment and then said. "Last question, Jay! Make it a good one."

Jason blinked. "Oh… sorry." He hesitated. "What is your boggart?"

I grimaced. I really didn't want to answer this question, but I made a promise to answer all of the questions honestly. "My boggart is seeing my brother in pain. I hate seeing him hurt." I said softly. "What's yours?"

Jason sighed. "Mine… mine is never finding love. You know, always being alone forever."

Suddenly, the bell on my clock rang, announcing it was now eleven o'clock. We had both lost track of time.

"Whoa!" Jason exclaimed. "I should go. See you tomorrow, Luci."

I smiled. "Bye, Jay."

Jason turned to leave but stopped in the middle of the doorway. He looked like he wanted to say something, but stopped himself. "Good night." He said finally.

I smiled again. "Good night." I said as I watched him go. As Jason climbed the dungeon, I noticed my heart was beating much too fast. Quiet down! I told it, but my heart just wouldn't listen.