~Parseltongue~

Spells

Emphasis

'Thoughts'

(Another language)

~Flashback~

The songs for this chapter are:

Sabrina Carpenter - The Middle of Starting Over

"Fearless" - Olivia Holt

AN: in celebration of the Holidays this will be a double upload!

The Rise of Mercy

September 24,1989

New Friends

Lilith calmly collected her books from the ground and tucked them in her shoulder bag. Today was a good day. She had come to the park after an exhausting morning putting her aunt and cousin in their places, and now she was enjoying reading her new books on magic. But now it was time to head back.

She once again surveyed the park and was happy with its facilities and general size. All in all it was much better than the one in Surrey. Not that it surprised her overly much. This part of Crawley was a much more affluent neighbourhood than Privet Drive.

It had been a year ago today that her life had taken a turn for the better. She thought back to when Dudley had gotten home Petunia had decided to break the news to him gently. He hadn't taken the news well, and it had taken him months to learn the new rules.

"Hey, Beaver. Are you reading again?" A nasty voice cut through Lilith's reverie. She glanced up to see two young girls sneering at someone out of her sight. "It's no wonder you've got no friends! You always got your head stuck in some dumb book—no one likes a buck-toothed know-it-all!"

Lilith narrowed her eyes; gods, she truly despised bullies.

She followed the voice around a big oak tree, away from the prying eyes of parents in the park. As a hideout, it was both smart and idiotic. Sure, they couldn't be seen, which—until Lilith came—had been a point in the bullies' favour. But now… Really, anything could happen to that rude little girl and no one would be the wiser.

"What's the matter?" the bully taunted, entirely unaware of the incoming danger. "Got nothing to say? Are you mute all of a sudden?" she laughed; a nasally and high-strung noise. "That makes you an even bigger freak than you already are!"

Lilith fought to keep her anger under control. Through trial and error she had learned her magic was more often than not controlled by her emotions. If she lost control of her emotions, she would lose control of her magic, and that was unacceptable.

She hated bullies, but one thing she hated more was that damnable word. And hearing someone use it was not something she could ignore.

With their backs to her the two girls didn't even notice Lilith's approach. The one still speaking was blonde with some garish pink shirt on that looked like it had been washed in a bucket of glitter. The other looked just as ridiculous. Lilith truly was looking forward to making them cry.

The girl they were taunting sat against a tree, book clutched in her hands as she stared determinedly at the pages—though the effort was ruined by her trembling lip. Lilith almost even admired the pride the girl clearly had to act as though nothing was happening.

She was smaller than the other girls in every aspect, other than her hair. Her hair was so thick and curly, all Lilith could think was that it looked like someone had dumped a rat's nest on her head, and then tried to tie it back with an elastic. Her skin was fair, which made the angry red of her cheeks stand out that much more clearly.

'Must she look so pathetic?' Lilith thought harshly before making up her mind.

She stopped a few feet from the bullies and crossed her arms as she glared darkly at the blonde ringleader. She snarled, "Hey, why don't you pick on someone your own size, you airheaded bint?"

The bullies spun around, startled by Lilith's tone.

"Who are you?" the blonde demanded. She stood straighter, attempting to hold her ground even if she clearly didn't like the new odds.

"I'm the girl who's going to kick your arse if you don't leave my new friend here alone," Lilith spat.

"You can't talk to me like that!" She stomped her foot. "My mum is the head of the Homeowner's Association."

"And I'm Lilith, the head of the 'I Hate Bullies Club'. I kick the arse of any bully I see, and I see one ugly blonde one looking at me right now, so beat it before I beat you."

The rude girl's face reddened before she let out a piercing scream of "Mummy!" and ran off. Her minion followed, hot on her heels.

A murmured "thank you" brought Lilith's attention back to the bullies' victim. Lilith turned to see the bushy haired girl staring at her and gnawing on her lower lip.

"You're welcome. I'm Lilith Potter. What's your name?"

"I'm Hermione Granger." The girl straightened. "I just turned ten two weeks ago. How old are you?"

"I'm nine. My birthday is in July."

"Really?" The girl, Hermione, frowned. "You're taller than me! Are your parents tall?"

Lilith pressed her lips into a thin line. "I wouldn't know because they were murdered when I was a baby," Lilith said coldly—not appreciating the reminder.

And hadn't that been a shock. When she'd ordered Petunia to tell her everything she knew about her parents, the snivelling bint assumed Lilith had known she was lying and revealed all, including everything she knew about the wizarding world.

Hermione's eyes widened. "Oh, I'm so sorry…" She flushed in embarrassment.

"It's fine." Lilith clenched her jaw. "It happened a long time ago, and I don't even remember it."

"That's good." Hermione said, making Lilith raise an eyebrow.

'Good? What a strange thing to say,' Lilith thought as the girl continued talking, on a roll now.

"Do you want to come to my house before Sarah gets back with her mum?" Presumably the whiny blonde brat. "My parents aren't a part of the H.O.A because our house was there long before it was founded," she continued prattling. "It belonged to my granddad, who then gave it to my mum when he and grandma bought a smaller house."

"Sure," Lilith said to keep from rolling her eyes. "That's what friends do, right?"

Hermione's eyes widened. "We're friends?" she asked breathlessly. "Really?"

Empathy swept through Lilith's system. This girl had been her before Hope, before magic. Before she'd freed herself.

She smiled brilliantly at Hermione. "Of course we are. Didn't you hear me tell that bint that we were friends? Don't make a liar out of me, Granger," Lilith added playfully.

Hermione's eyes shone with unshed tears. "Never," she swore.

As the girls walked they began to talk, each wanting to get to know their new friend. They discussed their favourite books, school subjects, treats, and more.

~Scene~

"This is my house." Hermione led Lilith excitedly by her hand, practically yanking her through the door.

The two walked into the living room to see Hermione's parents sitting down and having tea. "Mum, Dad, this is my new friend Lilith! I just met her at the park. Do you know she's going to be transferring to Crawley Primary. Maybe we'll even be in the same class!" She practically vibrated in excitement as Lilith stood calmly—while silently making note that she would have to teach her new friend control.

Her parents seemed shocked, which Lilith thought was a bit rude. Hermione's mother seemed to recover first. "Hello, I'm Emma, and this is my husband Daniel. We own 'Grangers Dental Repair' on first avenue."

"A pleasure." It was not, but Lilith wasn't about to explain her dislike of meeting new people to them. "I'm Lilith Potter. "

They beamed at her. "That's a lovely name, Lilith. Where do you live? Have you just moved to Crawley?" Daniel asked.

"No. I live in Surrey with my aunt and cousin." For now.

They blinked at her in shock. "Goodness, what is that? A forty-five minute ride on the underground?"

"Longer by car." Daniel's eyebrows creased in misplaced worry. "Why are you coming to school so far away? And have you come here today by yourself?"

Lilith was baffled by their concern. She couldn't understand why they'd care since she was of no relation to them. "My aunt picked the school," she said slowly. "My old one suggested I move up a grade and my cousin requested that I go to a different school than him. He didn't want to be seen as dumber than me as he barely qualified for his current year."

While it was true Dudley had wanted her away from him and Petunia picked the school, the distance was ultimately Lilith's choice.

Partly because there really could not be enough distance between her and her 'family'. And partly because if she needed something done she could easily skip school and blame it on the distance.

"As for the commute, I took a Hackney, and yes alone," she said, her voice taking on a steely note.

The adult Grangers shared a look as Hermoine watched on from the side, practically wringing her hands. "We're just worried, dear. You could be hurt, or worse."

Lilith rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine, besides I'm sure if I was snatched by a creep, my aunt would throw a party. She doesn't like me much."

Hermione looked shocked, while her parents frowned. They shared a worried glance before Emma gave her a hesitant smile. "I'm sure she loves you very much. She's your family. Family always loves you."

Lilith screwed up her face completely, but before she could refute their ridiculousness, Hermione was already dragging her upstairs.

~Scene~

It wasn't long before the subject of school came up again.

"How'd you get your school to let you move up a year?" Hermione asked, jealousy clear in her voice. "I've been the top of my year since I began primary, and they've never offered, or even suggested I move up a year."

Lilith looked at her new friend and quietly admitted—if only to herself—that she might just be more intelligent than Hermione.

She smiled soothingly at her new friend. "It's not just your grades that makes the school offer, it's your behaviour as well. How do you act in school?" Lilith asked, tilting her head.

Hermione huffed. "I behave perfectly well in school, thank you very much. As I've mentioned, I'm at the top of my year, I've never been absent, I've had no lower than an A–"

Lilith listened incredulously as her new friend went on a ten minute rant about her perfect behaviour, and then proceeded to deride other students for their misbehaviour, lack of academic prowess, and general inferiority. As soon as she took a breath, Lilith held up her hand for silence, Hermione seemed mildly offended, but stood quiet.

"First of all, if that is how you normally speak to others, no wonder people bully you. I will tell you right now that you are being very snobbish and completely condescending when you are speaking about other children your age." Lilith frowned at her, even if she did agree with the girl's statements. Her classmates probably were idiots, but if she wanted to succeed, she had to at least act somewhat decent.

It was something Lilith had read in a book not long ago about becoming a success. She'd pulled it from the library shelf out of boredom while waiting for her new books on magical creatures to arrive, but it had actually been an informative read. One with plenty of information she was happy to impart on her new friend.

Hermione lowered her head, swallowing thickly as she bit her lip, certain that her new friend would berate her for her opinions—just as a few teachers had done in the past.

But Lilith continued, "You'll need to learn to hide that. Adults have this stupid idea that us smart kids shouldn't think we're better than the other kids, even though we are. They probably think moving you up will isolate you further. Ridiculous adults like to place us in circles of idiots. Just pretend you're talking to a pet that can understand you. They'll see that you are playing nice with the idiots and move you up because you now fit their idea of a well-rounded little girl."

Hermione was shocked and stood gaping at her friend for a moment before she gathered her wits. "Isn't that a bit…manipulative?"

Lilith rolled her eyes. "Of course it is. But what's wrong with a little manipulation if it gets you what you want? That's the biggest difference between us, Hermione. When I want something, there's not much I won't do to get it, but you'll clearly go with the flow and lament the fact that you're stuck among idiots without actually doing anything about it." She sighed before looking Hermione straight in the eye. "What I'm trying to say is—how badly do you want to move up a grade?"

Hermione faltered for a moment before looking up, a determined air about her. "Where do I start?"

~Scene~

Lilith got back to her aunt's house a little past five. As expected, Petunia was in the kitchen preparing dinner. While Lilith found she truly enjoyed cooking—when she wasn't being abused every second—her aunt hated it, and was thus in charge of preparing every meal.

"I'm back," Lilith drawled.

Petunia flinched. "That's good, did you find the Crawley area to your liking?" she asked, almost hopefully.

"Yes. I've made a friend as well. I know Dudley was being sarcastic when he suggested Crawley as a far enough place to send me to school—don't give me that look, I know perfectly well that you were only trying to cover for his misbehaviour when you agreed—I ended up liking the place anyway. They have a very nice park." Lilith grabbed a glass of juice from the fridge. "So Dudley may have a slice of the marble cake I baked on Wednesday—after he apologises for being sarcastic, of course."

With that she went to her bedroom. It had previously been Dudley's second bedroom, but now neither her aunt nor Dudley were allowed in the room after they had cleaned it out for her.

As she entered her room, Lilith recalled the conversations that followed the day after the Change and among them the subject of money had come up.

Lilith had been furious when Petunia had admitted that they were getting a more than substantial sum to take care of Lilith every month since she'd been dropped off. She'd nearly levelled the house when she saw that the 'substantial amount' was four thousand pounds. A month. It was how the Dursleys had been able to afford all their vacations, Vernon's second car, and the toys for Dudley.

After that, she'd ordered all the money they got for her to be put in a separate account, and to give her the card for it. Neither Petunia nor Dudley were ever getting a penny of it from that day forward.

Petunia had taken a secretary job at Grunnings, and that coupled with Vernon's life insurance, was enough for Petunia and Dudley to live off.

Lilith shook her head, not wanting to think about it anymore, and grabbed the book she had been reading last night. As she flopped uncaringly onto her bed, she checked in on Hope who was sleeping peacefully in her habitat on the table nearest the window.

Lilith was halfway through her book—'An Idiots Guide To Potions'. Despite its name, it was a goldmine for basic potions making. It showed the difference between slicing, dicing, crushing, and slivering, and explained the importance of using the correct preparation methods. It showed the difference between spring water and filtered water as potions bases, and—what Lilith was most happy about—explained why different potions required different cauldrons.

It was the most informative book she had bought so far and whoever S. Prince was, they had her respect for publishing such a useful book.

Lilith still remembered her first ever trip to Diagon Alley a few months prior.

~Flashback (A Few Months Ago)~

Lilith adjusted her wig, making sure the sleek bangs covered her scar. It was apparently her most identifying feature in the wizarding world, according to Petunia. And she certainly didn't want to get recognised today, which was why, even though the blue contacts were a bother, the disguise was necessary to walk amongst other wizards undetected.

Getting into the Alley was easy enough as she'd simply followed a family through the brick wall through the pub, but navigating the streets proved a bit more challenging. Between the thick crowds and everyone yelling for each other, getting lost was all too easy. But eventually, she made it to the bank.

Once inside, she went to the nearest open teller.

"What do you want?" the goblin growled.

Lilith raised her eyebrows in surprise at his borderline rude demand. "I wish to convert a thousand pounds of muggle money into Wizard's Money."

She'd said it as confidently as she could, but really she was in way over her head. Petunia knew nothing about this world, and from the books she'd read, the currency system made Lilith's head spin.

"Galleons, sickles, or knuts?"

Lilith fought the urge to bite her lip in worry. She sighed. "I don't exactly know the worth of those…I'm muggle-raised."

The goblin rolled his eyes. "Twenty-nine knuts to a sickle, seventeen sickles to a galleon," he repeated in a bored tone.

"Galleons then, please."

"Name?"

"Jem Hologram." Lilith distinctly heard a snort from her left and turned to see a pre-teen girl in muggle clothing looking at her in amusement. She glared at the girl, daring her to say something. The girl looked away with a grin.

"The pounds, miss?" The goblin held out his hand with a scowl.

Lilith flushed and fished them out of her bag, handing it to him. In no time at all the pounds were counted up and Lilith was leaving the bank with a space expanded pouch full of a few hundred galleons.

Her first destination was the book store where she discovered the introductory books and their wide range of topics—from 'how to hold a quill' to the inner workings of something called the Wizengamot.

But it also made her feel overwhelmed. All these books were considered 'basic knowledge', and she knew nothing of it. Gods, she hadn't even known what galleons, sickles and knuts were.

But she quickly squashed that down and began piling books into her basket. The only way to get through this was to learn it all. When she was done, she had filled five baskets completely. The shopkeeper took one look at her stacks, then peered at Lilith before shaking her head.

"Ravenclaw for sure," she muttered, counting the books and checking the prices.

"That'll be eighty-three galleons and eight sickles, dear."

Lilith handed over the coins quietly and smiled in faux shyness as the lady packed away all the books into space-expanded featherlight shopping bags, in the end, the forty-five or so tomes fit snugly into just five bags.

~Flashback end~

~Mistress, you are back from the far place!~

Lilith blinked and looked at Hope who had gotten out of her habitat and was now curled up on the bed, her two heads staring directly at Lilith.

~Don't be dramatic, my sweetling. It wasn't that far.~ Lilith rolled her eyes.

The twin voices had been something Lilith had needed to get used to. Unlike the runespoor creature she had read about, Hope's heads worked as one. Essentially, they could move independently of each other but when Hope spoke, she did so through both heads at the exact same time.

~You have been gone nearly a sennight!~

~It was seven hours, and I regret teaching you how to read English. No more Jane Austen for you.~

~Mistress, you would not be that cruel! I must find out if Lydia was recovered and if Mr. Darcy mates with Elizabeth!~

~You have issues.~ Lilith lifted Hope onto her lap. ~No one would believe that half the books on those shelves are yours.~

~It is your fault, Mistress. After I killed the fat two-legger, you brought all those books and taught me to read them.~

~You know, most snakes are content to go around and hunt for mice and other prey…~

~I am not most snakes, Mistress!~

Lilith shook her head and sighed. ~You certainly are not.~ She stroked Hope's head. ~I am sorry I left you alone all day. How about I take you with me the next time I go out?~

~How? I thought you said the non-magical two-leggers will not understand why I have a second head?~

~They won't, but I remembered that there's a specialty shop in Knockturn Alley that can make you a cuff to hide your second head from muggles. You'd just have to wear it around your body.~

~And if I wear this cuff, you will not leave me behind anymore?~

~No, I will always take you with me, if you wish.~

~Then we must get this cuff!~

Lilith smiled. ~Tomorrow,~ she said firmly before settling down to read her book while Hope hissed in contentment and prattled about everywhere she wanted to go.

As she listened to Hope, Lilith's mind wandered back to her new friend. She wasn't sure how long this friendship would last—most didn't—but she had to admit, it was nice talking to another person. She'd never been able to make friends whilst living under the Dursley's thumb, and in the year since she'd killed Vernon she hadn't had the time for such nonsense. But now that she had one, she was almost looking forward to seeing her new friend again.

Authors' Notes

We will be posting a new chapter to Rise of Mercy on the 28th of every month.

While you're waiting for an update, feel free to check out our other story We Three Witches,