Chapter 2: The Sorrows of Ignorance
"Lydia," a voice rung out.
Lydia's eyes fluttered open. "Lydia, it's time to wake up. It's 7:00. Breakfast starts in half an hour." Rachel smiled as Lydia groaned. "Come on, sleepyhead, you can do it." Rachel laughed.
Lydia sat up, rubbing her eyes. She stumbled out of bed, grabbed the clothes she had laid out the night before, and headed for the bathroom.
She pulled on a dark blue top and slightly ripped jeans. She wore her Ravenclaw robe overtop and a pair of black ballet slippers. Running a brush through her hair, she looked at herself in the mirror. She left her hair down and quickly applied makeup with her wand.
Ten minutes later, she and Rachel were walking through the door to the Great Hall, taking their seats at the Ravenclaw table. Rachel was talking animatedly to a boy next to her, Stephen Abbott. Lydia looked around as she ate her breakfast. It was amazing to her how much things could be so different with her being in a completely different time but how little had actually changed in terms of Hogwarts.
Her first class was Defense Against the Dark Arts. She took a seat around the middle of the classroom, next to Rachel. A few rows behind her, a boy with light brown hair and amber eyes was looking at her. Remus turned to his friends James and Sirius and whispered, "Do either of you know who the new girl is?"
Sirius leaned forward. "The sexy bird with the long brown hair?"
"Yeah," Remus replied.
"No, I don't, actually," Sirius responded. "I wouldn't mind getting to know her though."
"Me either," said James, "She's fit."
Remus punched his arm. "You've got a girlfriend, mate."
James smirked. "I get it now. Remus likes the new girl."
"I'm not you, James," said Remus. "I don't immediately fall all over the first pretty girl to walk through the door."
Sirius let out a bark of laughter as James shot daggers at the two of them.
Just then, Professor Hawkins entered the room. He was a rather tall man with black hair and brown eyes. "Settle down, everyone, settle down."
He stopped at the front of the room. "Now, last class period we talked about Inferi. This class period and the next will be spent talking to you all about the Unforgivable Curses. Can anyone tell me the names of the three Unforgivable Curses?"
At the mention of this topic, Lydia tensed up. "Are you okay?" Rachel asked her, concerned. She wasn't the only one who noticed Lydia's behaviour.
"I'm fine," Lydia responded.
Professor Hawkins called on Mary, seated at the front of the classroom with her hand raised. "Ms. Brown, please give us one curse."
"The Cruciatus Curse."
"Correct, Ms. Brown. The Cruciatus Curse is used as a torture device. Its pain is said to be nearly unbearable. Another curse please."
He pointed to a boy to his right. "Mr. Johnson."
"The Imperius Curse."
"And what does the Imperius Curse do… Mr. Williams?"
A weedy boy with long, curly, black hair replied, "The Imperius Curse is used to fully take control of another person. The victim is entirely at the discretion of the caster, who can force the victim to do anything: rob a bank, murder someone, whatever. The victim can however, fight off the curse."
"Excellent description, Mr. Williams. We still have one last curse." He turned around. "Mr. Abbott."
"The Killing Curse," Stephen answered immediately.
"Oddly, a very merciful curse. No pain, no torture. It kills instantaneously. The victim never knows what hit them."
Professor Hawkins continued on with his lecture but Lydia wasn't really listening. She was one of the first out of the classroom after the bell rung. She had made it as far as the staircase when a voice spoke out from behind her. "Hey, wait a minute," it called, "Wait up."
Lydia turned around and found herself face-to-face with her former Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. She noted how much better he looked in this time, a Remus Lupin virtually unscarred. A Remus Lupin who hasn't had to deal with the death, betrayal, and incarceration of his best friends. A Remus Lupin who was ignorant of Voldemort's plan. He looked at her, concern in his eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Of course," Lydia replied, carefully pulling her backpack over her left shoulder.
"Are you sure? You seemed to be a little shaken up down there."
"I'm fine," Lydia said a little coldly. She spun on her heel and headed back up toward the Ravenclaw dormitories.
Remus watched as Lydia walked away.
Lydia collapsed onto her bed, staring at the ceiling. A thousand thoughts and memories raced through her head. She thought about her parents, her little brother, her sister and her husband, all of whom died during the war. Because of Voldemort. She left her best friend to fight for her life. She had no idea of how the battle ended, whether Padma was alive or not. So many had died…
It was as if the world had suddenly switched into slow motion. Padma watched as two spells went rushing after Lydia, colliding right in front of her. Padma screamed. There was a bang and a flash as Lydia was thrown back into the air. In the middle of her fall, Lydia disappeared, gone in the blink of an eye. Padma stared at the spot where Lydia had been.
Padma fought with renewed motivation and revenge in mind. Bringing down the Death Eaters that made Lydia disappear, she continued to duel, when the magically magnified voice of Voldemort sounded out.
"You have fought valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery.
"Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste.
"Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured.
"I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."
Padma watched as the Death Eaters retreated and everyone began to move the bodies of the dead into the Great Hall. The tables were moved aside and the bodies placed in the center. As Padma helped bring the bodies inside, she kept on the lookout for Lydia's body. At long last, all of the dead were inside, but Lydia wasn't among them. The Death Eaters hadn't even left her a body to bury. There was nothing left of her best friend. Padma broke down and cried, Parvati holding her.
Lydia sat up abruptly and mentally shook herself, trying to rid her mind of all thought. She grabbed her bag and her book and headed back downstairs for her Care of the Magical Creatures class.