Chapter 8
"I say, Phil, I reckon I can cure your dog allergy f'rever" said Lilith.
"Y'reckon?" Philamon was interested.
"Yup; only I need exactly twenty-three drops of your blood in this crucible" said Lilith
"Is that this blood magic people talk about in hushed voices?" asked Philamon.
"Not erzacly" said Lilith "It's kinda blood magic but not the heavy sort people talk about in hushed voices. This is less blood magic than curing werewolves potion; only I need YOUR blood for you to drink back to make the cure, see, 'cos if it's mine it won't work on YOUR allergy, only cure you of not being Lilith Snape and you aren't anyway."
"All right" said Philamon who was nothing loath to give anything a try.
Lilith carefully counted out twenty three drops of blood as he cut his thumb, grimacing; and absently waved a hand to cast episkayo to heal the little cut.
Then she chanted,
"Canis, finis woof woof woof
canis finis raise the roof
canis, finis bow-wow wow
right now!"
She repeated the chant another twenty two times, counting on a rosary with twenty three beads she had already prepared. It was a good idea to keep track; muggles often did have good ideas.
"Now you drink it" she said.
Philamon pulled a face and drank down his own blood.
"Wasn't that Latin a bit…. Well, not strictly accurate?" said Sextus.
"Naturally" said Lilith, scornfully "How would an anti-dog chant work if it weren't dog Latin?"
Sextus laughed.
"You have an answer to everything half pint" he said lazily.
Lilith beamed at him.
"I don't feel any different" said Philamon.
"Well say hello to the blast ended pekes tomorrow and see how it goes then" said Lilith. "It jolly well ought to work; it's arithmantically perfect."
She was hanging about waiting for Sextus to finish his homework so they could collect up the bubbles of hydrogen and store quietly in the broom shed for added safety until the middle of the night when the youngest marauders would go to work on changing it into helium ready to release at breakfast time.
The gas was collected; and several dozen invisible balloons of spell-enclosed hydrogen were dragged quietly out of the castle.
"Have we got time to change it before bedtime?" asked Nathan "I don't want Trimmer getting in on the act."
"Leave Trimmer to me" said Lilith.
Nathan was a little startled to see a large green snake wriggling into his dormitory that he recognised as Lilith; who reared up and sank her fangs into Trimmer.
"Crumbs Lilith, you haven't killed him have you?" he asked in some consternation.
Lilith wriggled back into her human form.
"Cor, do talk sense, you big Malfoy baboon!" she said "I just tailored my venom to be a combination sleep potion and a confusing and befuddlement draught; like anyone will notice the difference. He'll think being bitten was all a bad dream, even if he HAD been keeping awake. Well are you coming or not?"
The dozen would-be marauders reconvened in the broom sheds and proceeded to chant, some perhaps with greater skill and effect than others, but those who knew what they were doing soon had changes taking place. They used the tune of the 'Irish Washerwoman' Lilith having been inspired by Isaac Asimov's use of it for his comic song 'Paradimethylaminobenzaldehyde'. Those unable to deal with the chemical words she borrowed from Ross's chemistry books just la'd the tune or whistled as backup; which all helped.
It was the intent almost as much as any arithmantic calculation anyway with what was essentially a moderately straightforward transfiguration.
The bubbles of gas were quietly tied magically over all the tables in the great hall; including the staff table as, Lilith said, it would be unfair to leave the staff out of the fun and not let them sound like Donald Duck too.
Nathan grinned and refrained from pointing out that the staff might not actually want to sound like Donald Duck; but it seemed a shame to point this out.
Besides, Lilith was her mother's daughter and would be bound to argue.
They neatly avoided Argus Filch because Lilith picked up Mrs Norris and stroked her ruthlessly and lovingly and reduced her to drooling, purring pleasure; and slid back to various houses, Jayashree wishing she was not the only one in Hufflepuff and hastily resuming tiger form as she got back to bed in the hopes of not being out of tiger form too long.
"You are silly" said Mohini "You will get into trouble associating with such wild ones!"
"It's fun" said Jayashree "I LIKE being in trouble!"
When everyone was assembled at breakfast and conversation was in full swing, the bubbles were released by the surreptitious wand work of the younger ones.
And the conversation suddenly got faintly hysterical.
The staff too looked somewhat disconcerted.
Dumbledore twitched his wand, spoke again to Sirius, and looked quite taken aback.
The sonorous spell reached everyone though it still sounded like Donald Duck.
"Would the perpetrator or perpetrators of this ingenious piece of mischief be good enough to tell me how long this effect is going to last?" asked Dumbledore.
The two groups of marauders stood.
"It's helium gas sir; we made it. I say, don't we all sound COOL!" said Lilith quacking happily "And it should dissipate of its own accord in a very few minutes. It's quite safe, muggles use it all the time for diving, so you need not worry!"
"How kind of you Miss Snape!" said Dumbledore. He twitched his wand again and summoned a breeze to carry the gas away; and resumed in a normal voice "I hope you found it entertaining?"
"Oh yes, immensely sir!" said Lilith.
"Well I DO trust you find equally entertaining an eight inch essay each on how you made helium gas – in every detail – that you may write in the detention room this evening for MY entertainment" the headmaster smiled.
Lilith beamed at him.
"May we use our research books to refer to sir?" she said.
"Oh please do; I'd hate you to leave any details out" said Dumbledore.
"Nice jape, warts and weevils" Chad said "Hearing the head sounding like a house elf on butterbeer was superb!"
They all grinned.
"THAT said Nathan "Is our first proof of our readiness to maraud; the second is serious marauder business and we'd like a meet to tell you all about it."
"All right" said Chad "We'll convene a full meeting in the detention room at midnight….no you kids ought not to be out of your beds two nights running; you'd better get your essays done in double quick time and we'll meet you there for the last twenty minutes of your deten, all right?"
Nathan nodded.
It was nice that the big ones did not pooh-pooh straight away the idea that they had serious business.
"Wretched cubs" said Assim Khan to his niece and adopted daughter. "Art thou so lost to shame as to make a tiger's voice sound like a mewling kitten?"
Jayashree giggled. U-may grinned.
"I want to be a marauder!" Jayashree said.
"Assuredly thou wilt be with such goings on!" said Assim. "Dost know what it is to be a marauder?"
"Yes, o most exalted relative" said Jayashree "It is to be ready to fight evil and to hone one's skills by mischief; to be part of a brotherhood that is larger than any one but that any one may be greater than the brotherhood at need."
"You've been told well enough then" he said "U-may, thou knows already from Bella dost not?"
U-may nodded.
"Yes, o most exalted parent" she said.
Assim half changed to swipe both with a rough tiger tongue.
"Then I wish you well" he said and strode away.
"Tigers are awfully formal aren't they?" said Lilith.
"Partly it's being Indian" said U-may "But tigers are formal. It goes with having lots of teeth and long claws; not being formal in a rakshasa society can lead to messy bloodshed."
"I guess that makes sense" said Lilith.
The detention room was a scene of distinct industry as the youthful miscreants worked hard to finish their imposition in time for a meeting; though some of the youngest wondered how this was to take place with Professor Black supervising their detention.
Sirius looked up.
"Are you lot done yet?" he said.
"Almost sir" said Jayashree, scribbling like mad.
Sirius waited for her to put her pen down; and Lilith and U-may exchanged looks as they felt the blood pulse.
The back of the chimney opened.
"GOSH!" said Nathan.
The upper two layers of marauders, including the head girl, entered the room; and Remus Lupin and Assim Khan. Remus was carrying the portrait of James Potter.
"You had something serious for us" said Sirius as Jayashree purred suddenly to realise that her uncle was a marauder too!
"Lilith better tell it; it's her baby but we've kind of contributed a bit" said Nathan.
Lilith explained her researches and how the use of twenty-three arithmantically could target specific genetic groups with a high degree of accuracy.
All the oldest marauders were skilled arithmancers even if some of the Belle Marauders looked upon it as more of a necessary chore than the pleasure those like Lydia did.
"Lydia? Mortimer?" Mei turned to those she considered their top arithmancers.
"She's quite right" said Lydia as Mortimer nodded soberly "This is horribly dangerous. We do have one distinct advantage however."
"What's that?" asked Sirius.
"Oh Padfoot!" said Lydia "The enemy are always blood snobs and racists right? And when are THEY likely to give credence to muggle science? How many wizards have even HEARD of chromosomes? Let alone have a vague idea how they work? Lilith sits there picturing a double helix – a wonderfully magical shape, incidentally – when she's sodding about with other people's innards and that's what makes it work. That's why most wizards – and obviously I include witches – can't do higher magic, because though it's fine to use incantations at low level if you want to do anything complex you have to know how; and if you want really complex you have to know why too. Same as muggle science. Any idiot can tune a television or surf the web – mind you there are muggle technosquibs that can't even do that – but it takes a real er, geek to write the programs that make parts of the web work and even more knowledge to build the damn things in the first place. Magically speaking we're all top grade geeks."
"Good" said Sirius "You're right."
"Zabini" said Lilith "He's clever enough to TRY other methods even whilst despising them. I don't know why he's racist; I wish we could turn him. I think he's probably all right really."
"Well maybe the Belle marauders can try being nice to him instead of jinxing him into a ball on principle" said Mei.
"Why us?" said Bella, who was also purring gently at Assim.
"Closest to him in age" said Mei.
"I'll tackle him" squeaked Mimi "If I can make him acknowledge that I am as clever as him and a person that's half way. He IS bright Lilith; you're quite right. And he's no quitter either."
"Well do we qualify as marauders?" said Lilith.
"You do" said Sirius "But you're younger than we like to bring in fully…"
"With Jade in Durmstrang don't you think more to blood pulse would be handy?" said Lilith "we will be obedient about not getting involved in anything we can't handle; but we CAN help by dissipating the killing curse and so on."
"WHAT are you talking us into, half-pint?" said Sextus.
"Blood magic" said Lilith "We share blood at a ritually auspicious time and then we all get to contact each other and bleed for each other and so on. Haven't you READ 'Blood Magic, Love Magic'?"
"Yes of course I have" said Scarpin "Is that what this is about? I suppose the definition of brotherhood should have told me….. does this mean we all have to spend time as tigers?"
"No" said Assim "But you can find a tiger form easily if you want one."
"Or indeed any animagus form that one of us uses" said Sirius "Dog; from me and David Fraser; cat, from Willow; snake from Lilith, U-may and Krait; and sundry others from the likes of the Prowling Marauders and the New Marauders. Lilith, stick stripes on your snake and you lot can be the Striped Marauders; Nathan, your lot are the Pepperingye Marauders."
There was laughter over that name being given for Charis Rawlins' participation.
"What, not the Bedknob Marauders?" laughed Nathan.
"Open to misinterpretation" said Sirius. "we'll work out a good date to blood you in; anyone object to that? If so, you'll be a sort of associate member but not a full Marauder."
"If it's worked for Harry Potter and so on it's good by me" said Wanda.
"We kind of half guessed, some of us" said Gennar "Even if hearing it said out loud is a shock."
"If my cousins are up for it I certainly am" said Jingjie "No Ming?"
"Ming and sundry friends – Gorbrin, Meliandra, Erica, Jaska and Jardak are associate Marauders" said Sirius "not full marauders but volunteers to bleed for us if need be."
Jingjie nodded.
"I'm glad" he said.
"Oh if my BROTHER has no difficulties about it definitely nor have I" said Gennar. Tobala, Jardak's sister, nodded firmly too.
"Well, your detention time is up" said Sirius "We'll show you the marauding room another time; it's under fidelius charm and we need to show you how to get in. The book of wickedness lives there. Try not to break in on Stripes Khan in his room too often; his fluffy white tummy is a private thing. Meantime there are various passages here; we'd like to see what you've found yourselves to date, and then we'll blood you. Now hoppit; and finish your homework."
Stripes cuffed Sirius across the back of the head for comments about his fluffy white tummy.
His brother had NO decorum concerning tigers; but then dogs had no decorum!
A few weeks into the term the blood group – who had already spread out one cruciatus curse placed on Jade – received an excited blood pulse from her and the cryptic communication,
"I say, I've just watched the world's craziest blue movie!"
Jade went on to explain that the Care of Magical Beasts teacher at Durmstrang was brilliant and innovative and had used omnioculars to record animal behaviour, including never previously described mating rituals of Graphorns. Lilith, who was interested in everything wanted to know more; and when Jade spoke of using this for Wizarding Wireless Vision so were Gorbrin and Nathan, it being Lucius' pet baby at the moment. As Graphorns were not stripy or full of purr, Bella and her group were somewhat less interested.
Lydia too was delighted that her researches about egophonic magic as used by Voldemort to be alerted to the use of his name were going to prove useful for Jade; for Jade mentioned that in passing too. Most people who had stayed with the conversation were, however, more interested in the application of Omniocular technology.
"Reckon building a long term recorder on the same principle might just be a NEWT level Metalwork project!" opined Gorbrin.
Gorbin meanwhile was wondering how to get hold of Vanadium; and asked Sirius if it was obtainable for muggle chemistry through muggle sources.
Sirius scratched his head.
"Damned if I know; ask Ross Tuthill to see what he can find out."
It was absurdly simple in the end; Connie Hardbroom had to sign as supposed chemistry teacher and Dumbledore had to countersign; and for experimental magic Dumbledore was more than happy, and Connie ready to endorse anything a favourite of hers like Gorbrin wanted to try.
Meanwhile he worked on the filigree brooch with the shield charm that was his other piece; played quidditch and licked the hurley team into shape for the visit over half term to St Jodoc's.
And before they knew where they were, half term was upon them!
The Hurley team sorely missed Seagsron Snape; but Lilith played and so did Mortimer Bane, who had come since Seagh had left for Prince Peak. Gorbrin was almost loath to include a child as young as Lilith; but the girl was uncomplaining about the odd injury and was as game as they came! And needing a team of fifteen Gorbrin had to take anyone who would play! As not all hockey players were prepared to play – at least not a serious game – this was easier said than done.
The team consisted of Gorbrin himself, Meliandra, Mad, Chad, Leo, Mei, Lydia, Mortimer, Jardak, Ming, Ross Tuthill, Jack Clements, a surprising volunteer in Jack Murray, Gennar Malfoy, Lilith Snape and Albert MacMillan as reserve, being more a cricketer than anything else but willing to help out Gorbrin. Stoyan Krumm played second reserve being fair at all games without being the great quidditch player his brother was.
St Jodoc's were nervous about a new game; and both sides started warily before they got into the fast-paced exciting game!
Hogwarts beat the host team by a comfortable margin of six goals, eleven to five; and revenge was promised by the boys of the Cornish school!
They ate a slap up tea of scones with a choice of apricot or strawberry jam and Cornish clotted cream.
Mimi decided to make a blunt yet potioneering approach to Zabini; and brewed Amortentia.
The fact that it was a NEWT level potion and she was a fourth year did not trouble the elf in the slightest; she may not have been Severus Snape's daughter by blood but she was his daughter by inclination.
She used elf magic ruthlessly to poison Zabini with; and the boy's eyes turned on her with awakening desire and adoration, though he shook his head slightly as though to clear it of something unwelcome.
Mimi offered him a chocolate cauldron as he approached her after tea.
Predictably he chose the cherry flavour.
It contained the antidote, Liberamore Major.
The antidote took effect on Zabini as he was telling Mimi what delicate bones she had and how bright her eyes were; and he stared in outrage.
"I don't want you in love with me; especially not as a result of a potion's false tampering with your head" said Mimi "But it seemed like a good way to get your attention and to ask you, once the antidote took place, if that meant that you could actually find anything positive in a non-human as the so-called love potions are supposed to emphasise the good points."
"You haven't got any, freak" said Zabini.
Mimi grinned.
"I am at least prettier than Hyacinth Greengrasse and way, oh so far and away cleverer. The latter of which I do value more; all us Snapes do."
"You're only adopted."
"So? My adopted dad loves me as he loves all his kids, adopted and actual. Lilith's the oldest one that's actually his of course; but you'd never see any difference in the way he treats any of us because he's a great man. Like Lucius loves all his kids. Regardless of race. Because when the stereotypes are patently not true, it's a stupid man that insists on them."
"You're not like other elves; what has Snape done to make you different?"
Mimi laughed.
"Reared me as free with a loving family, Zabini; given me love, and time, and a sense of self worth. Been interested in me as a person not as a possession or an asset. I wonder if you can say the same about your upbringing? I reckon you must have spent a lot of time being shunted about as your mum got new husbands."
"Leave my mum out of this!"
"Oh? You brought my dad into it so I though you'd declared open season on parents" said Mimi lightly "I wonder if you hate elves and goblins because you've been palmed off onto servants? Don't do that" as Zabini swung a palm to slap her and found it impacting painfully on suddenly solid air "I can counter any attack you make, physical or magical and I can see in your eyes when you're about to cast wordless wandless magic too" she added putting up a shield to his stinging hex. "You're really very good Zabini, especially as you've learned on your own. I am impressed by you; and though I don't like you, or what you are, for I despise racism, I am at least a big enough person to acknowledge YOUR good points. Are you too petty to acknowledge mine?"
"Where did you get so strong a love potion?"
"It's Amortentia; I brewed it of course. I don't trust potions I haven't brewed myself or that have been brewed by someone I know is good. Gorbrin says you're good; so I guess I'd trust a potion of yours – if it wasn't brewed in knowledge an enemy of yours would take it. The antidote is Liberamore Major; I brewed that too. You can look them both up in 'Advanced Potion Making' by Libatious Borage. There's one in the library."
"That's the NEWT book!" said Zabini, scandalised.
"When you grow up beside the world's greatest potioneer you DO tend to pick up a little more than most people said Mimi "Besides, I have the touch; and that you have to have born in. Lionel Dell ended up a pretty good potioneer but only by hard work; it doesn't come naturally to him. Dad put in a lot of time with him – because he asked for the help. Don't you find it a bit lonely when you could discuss all the things you love learning – you DO love learning, don't you? – with the likes of Ming and Gorbrin who are the ones in your class who are your intellectual equals? Pearl Brocklehurst comes close, oh but she don't like racists either; and the Corbin twins are blood snobs about a much married mother. Hadrian Malfoy isn't that interested in anyone that doesn't have too many teeth or scales or fur so he's out as a confidante; Erasmus Bobbin is a contumelious excrescence upon the existence of Slytherin and Wilfrid Crabbe is a moron with delusions of mere imbecility and what's more he's a selfish little git with a middle name of nasty. Poor Zabini; I reckon your prejudices have made you lonely and unhappy. Or is that lonelier and unhappier? No, don't try that; you'll get expelled if you try and I do bounce it anyway" as she saw the thought of the killing curse formulate in his furious mind.
Zabini fought with himself.
"Try what?" he said.
"Crumbs, you don't have to be a world class legilimens to see you concentrating on an unforgivable curse like THAT" said Mimi. "A kid like Lilith would have picked THAT up just from your body language!"
"Get the hell out of here" said Zabini in a low voice "I loathe you and I despise you and everything about the idea of animals getting an education to set themselves up to be as good as us!"
"Ah; I see" said Mimi "It bugs you that some elves and goblins are better than a lot of humans. Well let me remind you that only those who passed highly are being let to come here; so we DON'T get accused of taking the places of other humans. And I say, why should dunces like Crabbe and Greengrasse have places and take them from bright kids whatever their race? YOU get impatient with them in class I bet like I get impatient with the pointless pedantry of Argus Clearwater and the refusal of Amos Leroy to even TRY in classes he doesn't think relevant to his over-rated talent. I'm lucky, most of my year are relatively bright even the Huffers; and one of the only Huffers in your year worth a damn is Albert MacMillan 'cos he may be half-way to being a squib but he has passion for the things he does excel in. George and Mardo are okay actually but I'm afraid cousin Daniel is a Huffer's Huffer and those wretched girls are three parts giggle and one part gormless."
"You have a nasty tongue, Snape" said Zabini, trying to pretend to himself that he did not appreciate some of Mimi's summations.
"It took you this long to notice? Crumbs, Zabini, did your brains run out of your nose with the last bat bogey hex someone dropped on you?"
"Just making the observation" said Zabini "Reckon there aren't many people can catch me with hexes THIS year; I've been practising."
"So long as you don't run across Lilith" said Mimi "She could take on any sixth former. Good job Lydia's here still to sit on her; precocious kids are all very well but they do need sitting on sometimes. She means well but it doesn't always follow that she does things the right way. What would you expect from a kid that young? We have to balance encouragement, kindness, love and a damn good spanking from time to time; I expect your big brother tried to be kindly but sat on you when you got as bumptious as younger siblings always do."
"My older brother? I have almost nothing to do with Blaise,"
"No? Of course he's the same sort of age as my mum – my first adopted mum, not my real mum; 'cos dad has his wives all at once like Lucius does, rather than taking new ones consecutively. But my mums are all alive which is nice."
"You shut up!" shouted Zabini "My mum has NOT murdered her husbands!"
"I don't think I said she did" said Mimi "Awfully touchy about that, aren't you old boy? Reckon if anyone's suggested it that's a reason to feel so touchy. For all I know your mother may have deliberately picked rich old men with terminal illnesses or used a diviner to tell her which ones aren't likely to survive; or she might be just very unlucky and grieves deeply enough for each that she can hardly drag herself into marriage again for missing the previous. Unless she just hates being alone. In which case she should get a diviner to find out whether the new one is going to live a long time. Not nice for you; I recall hearing you can see thestrals."
"How did you know there's a new one?" he fixed on that and ignored the comment about thestrals.
"Guesswork old boy; and using that old arithmantic truism of following a trend" said Mimi. "I wonder how long your mum would dislike goblins if Kordach was a widower with HIS piles of loot and a horoscope that gave him less than a year to live?"
"BITCH!" screeched Zabini, going for his wand.
Mimi absently shielded against the entrail expelling curse and blocked the cruciatus curse, drawing lightly on the blood group to do so. She folded her little arms and let Zabini pour curse after curse into her; until he was almost sobbing with frustration.
"Done?" said Mimi as he stood with sweat pouring off him.
"You – I cannot touch you!"
"No" said Mimi.
"All right, come on; get it over, whatever you're going to do to me!" said Zabini bitterly.
"Actually" said Mimi "I was going to suggest a hot bath with soothing smellies and a gramophone; the prefects' bathroom password this term is 'Pogrebin'. And take the rest of the chocolates; I swear on my honour the only ones doctored are the top two cherry, and that's with the antidote. You shouldn't take any ill effect from the other one. Why should I jinx you? I don't need to, nor is it desirable. I don't hate you or even really dislike you. I'm rather sorry for you."
"The unkindest cut of all" sneered Zabini, snatching the chocolates. "Well you do always tell total truth; you and the rest. I've often wondered if it's part of an unbreakable vow tied to your powers."
"No; it's not. It's just because we believe in honour and that sort of thing – old boy" said Mimi.
Zabini snorted.
He did head for the prefect bathroom however as she had suggested.
Mimi sighed.
Lilith was right; he was one mixed up little boy.
Inside his head was a mass of memories of adoring the beautiful mother who rarely had time for him; all his memories seemed to be of watching her get ready to go to parties and balls, admiring her but not allowed to touch her pretty gowns because he was bound to have grubby fingers; he recalled hearing her say when he was small that it was a shame the babe's stupid father hadn't given her a daughter because Darryl was pretty enough and it wasn't fair not to have one of each.
And he had been palmed off onto servants; and he had also, at the edge of his infant memory, seen his father die.
Mimi had told no less than the truth when she had said she was sorry for him; and conscience smote that the Belle Marauders had not done anything about it before.
But he was a year older and he HAD started it; and if he had been in their class they might have bothered to dig more into why he was a racist, what caused it.
Or maybe they would still just have jinxed him into a ball and otherwise ignored him.
He had been egged on by older ones – Jackman and Parkinson – when he was young; looking for approval perhaps? Seeking a substitute for his mother's attention? The girls he seemed to spend more time with were plain. Could he deep down mistrust pretty women? Did he deep down suspect that his mother HAD killed his father?
Too many questions that could not be answered without serious legilimensy; and that he would notice.
Well, it was a start; getting the boy to think.
Mimi sighed.
There was not a lot else she could do.
Meanwhile the first and second were starting metalwork in place of divination.
Lilith was delighted; she loved learning of any kind and this was something she knew nothing about at all. Professor Jorbal was a most excellent teacher who also answered questions fully, even if he was a little disconcerted to be asked by a child so you how the coefficient of magical expansion was affected by chanting.
Jorbal answered slightly evasively that this was a matter that was still under experimentation and that they would study it further as they progressed up the school.
Lilith beamed at him and determined to experiment as soon as she might!
Jorbal was pleased with his class; Miss Snape had an instinctive feel of how to handle any magic; Dunbar Finch was definitely talented; and Kazrael gan Tokar and Sextus Scarpin showed a level of understanding well above the norm. and most of the others were working hard and some showed considerable promise. Michelle Makepeace too showed some good talent; and Lilith was glad for the rather difficult girl that there was at least one class in which she might shine. Maybe it would make her less pugnacious about everything else.
After all it could only make her happier; and Lilith wanted all her class to be happy. She was happy; her group was about to be one of the youngest ever to joint he Marauders officially after all!