As the evening drew closer and closer to ending and students started to go inside to get out of the cold. Lydia waited for all of the other students to go in before she snuck into the forbidden forest. She wasn't quite sure why she embarked on this adventure, but the misty air surrounded by the tall trees called to her like a crying child calls to a mother. She found herself in a small clearing, with a few bright blue butterflies.
"Oh wook," Bellatrix Black cooed, "A wittle mudbwud."
"Tell me. If your parents got divorced; would they still be brother and sister?" Lydia put her hand on the hilt of her wand, "Because, to bring up that many recessive traits, you've got to be the result of incest."
"Are you insulting me? You filthy little-"
"If you say the word mudblood again I will hurt you." Lydia held her wand at Bellatrix.
"Mud." Bellatrix spat, "Blood."
"Verdimillious Duo!" A green bolt shot out of Lydia's wand and flung Bellatrix against a tree.
"You'll have the whole Slytherin house in the infirmary." Remus Lupin leaned on a tree behind Lydia, "Suppose some of them deserve it."
"I really need to stop attacking people." Lydia slid her wand back into her bag, "It's becoming a bad habit."
"I know that feeling." Remus shoved his hands in his pockets, "What are you doing out here?"
"What are you doing out here?" Lydia deflected, awkwardly.
"Let's just go with he got lost." Sirius Black walked out of the woods behind Remus, followed by Peter Petigrew and James Potter.
"Well, I'd better get going." Lydia started to walk back to the castle.
"Lydia, wait!" Sirius ran after her, "Next lesson?"
"That's funny; I thought my name was Linda." She crossed her arms.
"Would you prefer Linda?"
"Tomorrow night, 12 o'clock, in the green house." She sighed
"Isn't that a bit past your bedtime?" Sirius mocked.
"How hilarious." Lydia walked back to the castle.
At 12 o'clock, Lydia sat on a table in the green house with a Cecylahys and a Crumpton's Crumpet in separate pots. She had her black dragon skin gloves on and a black jacket with black jeans and matching black boots. She had placed her purple bag next to her on the table.
"Hello." Sirius burst in the door casually, "Did I miss something?"
"Harvest the leaves from this." She handed him the Cecylahys, "And don't you dare pull the stunt you pulled in herbology."
"You sound like McGonagall." Sirius roughly took the plant, sat at a table, and started to trim the leaves.
Lydia started to cut the leaves of the Crumpton's Crumpet, ignoring Sirius.
"Are you in my year?" Sirius attempted conversation.
"Yes." Lydia focused on her plant.
"And your muggle born?"
"I swear, if you dare to call me-" Lydia growled and gripped her scissors with white knuckles.
"I wouldn't do that." Sirius smiled at her reaction, "I'd personally love to be a muggle born."
"I'd personally love if you could stop cutting so close to the stem." Lydia pointed to his erratic chopping.
"Sorry." He took precautions not to over cut, "I notice you didn't leave out any dragon dung."
"I don't fancy being paralyzed." She gathered the leaves from the Crumpton's Crumpet and put them in a glass jar from her bag.
"Are you always this bitchy?" He blurted.
"I think that you can formulate your own answer for that question." Lydia slung her bag over her shoulder and hopped of the table. She placed the Crumpton's Crumpet on the desk.
"I didn't mean that." Sirius shook his head.
"Sure." Lydia walked towards the Greenhouse door, "put the Cecylahys as far away from any dragon dung that you can."
"Where are you going?" Sirius looked truly sad to see her go.
"I've got to finish my charms." She said truthfully.
"You and I just had charms today." He did his best puppy dog eyes.
"You know when I have charms, but not what year I am?" Lydia huffed.
"That is what you call an attempt at conversation. Which I can see didn't go over well." Sirius looked Lydia over, "Meet me at the edge of the forbidden forest tomorrow night around eleven."
"But my bed time." Lydia said in a childlike voice.
"I promise not to keep you out past one." He held out his index finger.
"Why are you pointing at me?"
"A finger promise. Isn't that what Muggles do." Unsureness rose in his voice.
"Pinky promise." Lydia laughed and held out her dainty pinky finger, "See you at eleven."
They shook pinkies. Lydia walked back to the castle, leaving Sirius cutting leaves in the green house.
"Where were you?" Kendra said shrilly as they sat at breakfast the next morning, "I was so bored."
"Lessons with Sirius." Lydia bit down on a piece of toast.
"Did you put that word in yet? You know, I've been waiting, for so long." Kendra said making Lydia roll her eyes.
"Oh Lydia," Professor Slughorn held a cup of tea as he appeared in the great hall, "I've been wanting to ask you if you wanted to come to a lunch in my room today."
"I'm sorry; Sir, but I've got plans for tonight." Lydia blushed at the offer.
"Damn, I'll have you one day, Hattaway." He walked away with a smile to the staff table.
"I'll have you one day, Hattaway." Kendra mocked, "Why does he want all the smart people to be friends with him?"
"He's secretly a type of succubus that feeds on inelegance. I wouldn't worry about it too much if I were you." Lydia bent her head in a whisper.
"Oh you're so funny." She sneered, "And I heard what you did to Bellatrix and I am offended that you didn't at least tell me that you planned to attack her."
"I did not attack her. If anything she started it." Lydia took a drink of orange juice.
"From what I heard she didn't have her wand out." Kendra's eyebrows shot up.
"She called me a mudblood." Lydia looked solemn, "There seems to be an uprising in people wanting to call me that."
"Sirius is a pure blood." Kendra drank from a glass, "Like me."
"He hinted at that."
"Oh, my god. Did he call you the thing?"
"The thing?" Lydia took another bite of toast.
"You think that I am going to call you the M word after what you've been doing to people who do?"
"No, he didn't."
"Doubt he could've, with you around." She punched Lydia lightly on the shoulder, "Don't suppose you could take out Lucinda for me?"
"I'm not a hit man for hire." Lydia glanced at the clock, "I'd better go, I've got transfiguration." She stood up and hustled out of the Great hall.