A/N: This would have been out a bit earlier if I didn't have to look after my sisters pets for a few days.
Also, thank you to everyone who sent me well-wishes regarding me having COVID (see chapter summary of last chapter if you're confused), I'm a lot better now that I'm over it completely!
It was a beautiful sunny day, so the teenage residents at Black Manor were doing something outside; actually getting Theo and Blaise properly introduced to Buckbeak the Hippogriff.
Sure, they knew of Buckbeak and Buckbeak knew them to see them, but it had just never occurred to them to actually spend some relaxing time with the Hippogriff.
"That's it, just bow to him like we showed you. That way, he'll know that you respect him." Dorea said, encouraging her two friends.
Amelia, Harry and Barnaby were sitting on a blanket a few feet away, calling encouragement out every once in a while.
"Sirius says that the French Ministry for Magic and our Ministry of Magic have reached an agreement already, '' Harry said, slightly quieter, "it only took them just over 2 days."
"That's a good start," Barnaby said, after he swallowed his toast.
"It'll probably be the school in Spain next, or the Belgian and Dutch ones to the north, that will be in talks next." Amelia said.
"The International Diplomats department at the Ministry will be very busy," Harry replied in agreement.
Amelia thought it was very good that magic schools in different countries were uniting with each other, defying the rising darkness. She just hoped that it would be enough in the end; for when the war officially started. She did start wondering at that moment just what it took to be a diplomat - it was now something she found intriguing.
After a quick lunch, most of the afternoon had them outside again - this time on their brooms. They played a mock game, and it was here that an idea was sparked.
"Hey, Dorea," Amelia called out to her godsister, "do you know how Fred and George have left school now?"
"Erm, yes?" Dorea responded after she passed the quaffle to Barnaby.
"Do you know what that means?" Amelia prodded, smiling.
Dorea got what she was meaning. "That means there's two free spaces on the team - both for Beater's."
Amelia grinned. "When we go back for sixth year, do you think me and you should try-out for the two vacated Beater positions?"
Dorea considered. "I do like being a Reserve Chaser, but I do feel like I should be a full-time player, and being one of the Beater's would let me do that."
"Yeah, I like being the Reserve Seeker too, and I did get a few games when Umbridge banned Harry, but I want to do more, you know? Though we will need to work on our strength to be Beater's, I think we could do it." Amelia said.
Barnaby had just scored up the field. Dorea had the same wolfish grin that she had. "Sounds like a plan."
They were rather surprised when Sirius returned home an hour earlier than he usually did at 3pm. They descended downwards on their brooms to meet him. "Why are you home early?" Harry asked.
Sirius looked thoughtful, but cheery nonetheless. "The Minister has assigned me a task. I need to think about it, as it's important, but I'm close to taking it on."
At dinner, Regulus joined them, and just as they were serving up the carbonara did Ophelia Nott return home from work. The woman quickly changed out of her Healer uniform and hung the strap of her bag on the back of the chair she sat on.
"How was work today then for you, Sirius?" Ophelia asked.
"Good. Me and my allies are progressing nicely on some legislation we're hoping to put to the Wizengamot floor. Andromeda and Ted are almost done writing the legal parts." was her godfather's response.
"What was the task you were on about earlier?" Dorea prompted.
Sirius chuckled. "Never miss a thing, do you, dear?" he said fondly. "It is related to the task that the Ministry is setting out; to get more magical governments around the world to ally with us to defy Voldemort. Minister Bones proposed that I should take a few days to go to the USA and meet with representatives from both the USA and Canada there."
That was surprising. Regulus and Blaise both let out impressed low whistles. "She trusts you a lot, clearly." Dorea replied.
"And are you going to accept?" Theo asked.
"At the moment it's 50:50. I do feel that this will be an opportunity to test myself and improve my diplomacy, but at the same time I feel like I'm needed more here. Also, what if negotiations turn sour, and we lose a huge ally in them both?" Sirius weighed up his options.
Amelia could see his thinking in that. It was a huge task.
"Minister Bones also permitted me to take you three." Sirius gestured to Amelia, Dorea and Harry. "Though it would be wonderful if we could all go, but Minister Bones does not know about Black Manor, and it would look odd if we turned up with you three." He then gestured to Theo, Blaise and Barnaby, who looked understanding.
"Woah, a free trip to North America?" Harry sounded bewildered.
"It sounds wonderful, truly. Though I have no idea about my own negotiating skills.`` Amelia commented.
"When would we be going?" Dorea asked.
"Next week on Tuesday. Good thing about it is that we wouldn't have to travel like muggles and go to the airport, we could just Apparate there, which cuts down on travelling time massively." Sirius explained more, and suddenly a wolfish smile appeared on his face. "We could also put those etiquette lessons to good use."
All of the teenagers of the house groaned. Ever since Sirius's investiture as Lord Black, he had been giving Amelia, Dorea and Harry aforementioned self-called 'etiquette lessons', which were basically teaching them how to interact with people of nobility and power. Though they were quite easy, as a lot of it so far had been about how to carry yourself and how to greet people and hold conversations, apparently there were some protocol issues involved too, and according to Blaise, Theo and Barnaby (who were raised on these sorts of things, being from pure-blood families, so they were exempt from these lessons), they were quite hard to all remember.
"It has also been decided that the meetings will take place at Ilvermorny, and they've arranged for us - if we do go - to stay on the school grounds for simplicity and convenience." Sirius added.
Now that sounded cool. Amelia did always wonder what other magical schools looked like, and this could be a chance to find that out. Ilvermorny had to be enormous - after all, the USA population was larger than Britain's, which meant a greater amount of witches and wizards to accommodate.
"If all goes well, we will literally be home in 3 days, rather than being there a week or more. Though it would leave us with not much time to explore, I'm sure the Ilvermorny hosts will be hospitable and arrange some sort of sightseeing.`` Sirius continued.
Amelia decided. "I would like to go."
She caught eyes with Theo across the table - he looked supportive, though she knew he'd be missing her whilst she was away, even if it was only for a few days.
"Me too." Dorea said.
"Me as well." Was Harry's response.
Sirius smiled. "I'll inform Minister Bones when I go into work tomorrow."
After dinner, Amelia took the initiative to start at least a little bit of packing, even though it was Thursday and they weren't leaving until Tuesday morning. She had a thought - she would have to pack nice clothes if they were going to be meeting with representatives. So she started digging through her wardrobe to find half-decent clothes to take.
"You'll have a brilliant time over there, I know you will." She heard Theo's voice from behind her.
She turned around to face him, and he was indeed standing in her doorway.
"I don't know how brilliant it will be, considering we're meeting representatives and talking about politics and negotiating. Plus, I don't know if we'll have much time to actually explore the USA properly." She said,
He grinned. "I suppose so, but it'll be enjoyable nonetheless."
Amelia looked at her boyfriend forlornly as she neatly folded a sweatshirt. "I wish you were coming with us. In fact, I wish everyone in this house could go."
He moved further into her room, and wrapped his arms around her. "So do I, baby, so do I. But Sirius is right; it would look weird if he turned up with extra guests, and we've got to keep Black Manor a secret. Plus, it's only a few days you will be gone, so it's not that bad in retrospect."
She loved how understanding he was sometimes. "I'll miss you lots when I'm over there."
He hummed. "Plenty of time to go back and visit together in the future."
Her heart fluttered and she couldn't help but blush. He was so cute. She turned her head slightly and caught his lips with hers.
They were interrupted by Blaise, who was shouting for Theo from his bedroom down the hall. "Coming!" her boyfriend shouted back whilst rolling his eyes, which caused Amelia to giggle. Theo's face lit up again when he saw her laughing. "He's probably lost something. Or dropped something."
They kissed again, a lot briefer this time, and then Theo exited her bedroom.
Harry was pretty darn excited about the prospect of going to the USA for a few days. Though he had no idea how much use he would be in the actual diplomatic meetings, the prospect of interacting with new people and the fact that he could help in getting the British Ministry for Magic a powerful ally was something that gave him a feeling of determination and importance.
For this reason he had been scouring his wardrobe for the last half an hour, hunting for good clothes to take. He had found his dress robes that he had worn for the Yule Ball in fourth year (he still cringed at the memories), and though he personally didn't like wearing them, he folded them neatly to pack anyway.
Just as he was pondering what sort of leisure/casual clothes to take, he heard a knock at his bedroom door. "Come in, it's open!" he called out, moving to stand from his previous position of leaning down to get a shirt out of his chest of drawers.
The door opened, and Harry noted it was his godfather. Sirius smiled at him. "Harry, I know it's late, but can you come downstairs?"
Harry wondered what was up. "Erm, okay." he looked around at his clock on the wall, which was quietly ticking away. "But it's ten o'clock at night?"
Sirius smiled. "I know, I know, but this shouldn't take long."
They descended down the stairs of Black Manor, and Harry wondered if anyone was asleep yet. As they came off the staircase opposite the front door, they took a left down the corridor towards where the kitchen was. But Sirius surprisingly directed him into the living room.
Where, it turned out, was where Dumbledore was standing.
"Ah, good evening, Harry." The Headmaster greeted, as if it was six o'clock in the evening, not two hours before midnight.
"Hi," he said back to be polite, as Sirius shut the door behind him, "What's this about?"
Harry had a sudden thought - what if Dumbledore was here to tell him that he couldn't take Arithmancy at NEWT? After all, he'd gotten an Acceptable in the OWL, but Professor Vector only accepted students on to NEWT that got an E or above…
He'd made peace with the fact that he might have to redo the OWL.
But… wouldn't Dumbledore come at a more acceptable time of day if he was here for that?
"I need you to accompany me, Harry," Dumbledore said, "to try and locate an old friend and colleague of mine."
Harry wondered if this was a wind-up. "...Right now?"
"Preferably, yes." the old man continued, "he's elusive in the daytime. Plus, your presence might help persuade him."
"Er - okay."
He heard Sirius quietly chuckle from behind him. "Nobody scary, I promise you."
That only helped a little bit. "We can talk more on the way." Dumbledore said, and then moved forward. "Have you done a Side-Along Apparition before, Harry?"
"Yes," he replied, with dread, "a few times now."
They moved outside, to the front garden, where they normally Apparated from. He looked back at Sirius, who gave him a look of encouragement. "Should be back before midnight, shouldn't you?"
"Yes. if all goes well, this shouldn't even take forty-five minutes." the Headmaster replied, before turning back to Harry. "Hold on to my left arm, please, Harry, then we can start the Apparition."
He got pulled into the familiar sensation of feeling like he was being packed through a tight rubber tube, and when he opened his eyes again they had landed in a very quiet village square. He wasn't sure if it was muggle or magical. There was a church clocktower, as well as a war memorial and rows of buildings - a few of them shops, whilst most looked like houses.
Dumbledore smiled knowingly at his reaction to the Side-Along Apparition. Then he started speaking. "Tell me, Harry, your scar… has it been hurting at all?"
Harry instinctively rubbed the lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. "Not since I started learning Occlumency properly, sir. Voldemort's been raging a few times, and I've felt that, but I've not got the dreams or the visions anymore."
Dumbledore looked satisfied. "Miss Susan Bones was quite the tutor, was she not?"
"Far better and more patient than Snape, anyway." He blurted out without thinking, but Dumbeldore just smiled.
They turned a corner, and walked past a telephone box and a bus shelter. They also walked passed a newsagents that was closed for the night - job vacancies, local business advertisements, missing pets, and death notices were displayed on posters or newspaper cutouts all around the windows next to the front door. He glanced at them to try and see if maybe they would tell him the location of where he was right now.
"Left here, Harry." the Headmaster gestured suddenly, and led him down an alleyway that took them into another street lined with houses.
After some more walking, Dumbledor spoke again. "We have arrived at our desti-" he cut off suddenly, and Harry automatically grasped his wand in his pocket. "Oh dear. Oh dear…"
Harry followed his gaze, and his heart sank when he saw the front door of the house hanging off its hinges.
"Follow me. Wand out." the Headmaster instructed, before he opened the front gate and walked swiftly but silently up the front garden path. Harry followed closely.
Dumblefore cracked the front door open slowly, wand in hand. "Lumos."
They could now see, as the spell lit up the hallway. Dumbledore walked slowly into what was quickly deduced as the living room, and the devastation only got worse. A piano was strewn across the floor, some keys missing. A grandfather clock had been broken, a pendulum lying loose next to it. Feathers from cushions were all over the floor, and Harry jumped when he released that a dark red, gooey substance was splattered all over the wall.
"Maybe the Death Eater's came and carted him off," Harry suggested, trying not to imagine how badly injured a man would have to be to leave that sort of stain behind.
"I don't think so," said Dumbledore, quite normally, peering at a stuffed armchair.
"You mean he's still here somewhere?" Harry found that hard to believe.
Without saying anything, Dumbledore shoved his wand into the seat of the armchair he was staring at, and it promptly exclaimed an "Ouch!"
Harry was flabbergasted and discombobulated all at once. The armchair was now morphing back into a rather large, squat and balding old man who was squinting at the Headmaster rather aggrievedly.
"No need to come into a man's house at this hour and poke and prod like that." the stranger said, "What gave me away?"
"Dear Horace," Dumbledore said, looking amused, "if the Death Eater's really had come knocking, the Dark Mark would have been projected over the house."
"The Dark Mark," the squat man muttered, looking annoyed he'd forgotten that, "Knew there was something."
"Shall we clean up?" Dumbledore said.
"Please," said the other man.
Harry could only watch as the two men waved their wands silently in a sweeping motion, and just like that, the room righted itself. The grandfather clock repaired itself, furniture was uprighted and back in its original places, feathers flew back into cushions, and keys reattached themselves to the piano. The walls also wiped themselves clean.
The squat man placed a bottle on the sideboard, and it was when he turned back around that he seemed to realise Harry's existence. "Oho!"
"This," Dumbledore said, "is Harry Potter. Harry, this is an old friend and colleague of mine, Horace Slughorn."
Slughorn had a shrewd expression. "So this is how you thought you'd persuade me, is it? Well, the answer is no, Albus."
"I suppose we can have a drink, at least?" Dumbledore asked, "for old times sake?"
Slughorn hesitated, and looked like he was greatly resisting temptation. "All right then, one drink."
Dumbledore gestured for Harry to sit down in a particular chair, and Harry guessed it was so that he was always in Slughorn's view. Once the two men got a drink, they talked about how they had been keeping, as well as Slughorn's 'well-earned' retirement. Harry's eyebrows raised considerably when he learned that this Slughorn never stayed anywhere more than a week to avoid the Death Eater's, and that the house they were currently in actually belonged to a muggle family that were away in the Canary Islands.
Dumbledore looked up all of a sudden.
"Are you leaving?" Slughorn asked, looking rather hopeful.
"I was wondering whether I might use your bathroom." Dumbledore stated.
"Ah," Slughorn replied, clearly disappointed. "Second on the left down the hall."
The Headmaster left, and Harry felt a bit awkward now that he was left alone with Horace Slughorn. The man stood up and took his bottle of drink back to the sideboard, and then stood like he was quite unsure what to do with himself. He shot a furtive look at Harry. "Don't think I don't know why he's brought you," he said abruptly.
He could only look at Slughorn. The man was taking him in properly this time. "You look very like your father."
"Yeah, I've been told," Harry replied, trying to be polite.
"Except for your eyes. You've got-"
"-My mothers eyes, yeah." he had heard that so often he found it a bit weary.
"Yes, well. You shouldn't have favourites as a teacher, of course, but she was one of mine. Your mother," Slughorn continued, "Lily Evans. One of the brightest i ever taught. Vivacious, you know. Charming girl. I used to tell her she ought to have been in my house. Very cheeky answers I used to get back, too."
"What was your house?"
"I was Head of Slytherin," Slughorn replied. "Oh, now," a finger was wagged at him, and Harry guessed it was because the man mistook his genuine surprise for something bad, "don't go holding that against me! You'll be Gryffindor, i Suppose? Yes, it usually goes in families. Not always, though. Your godfather is Sirius Black, isn't he? Did he ever tell you his family had all been in my house, but he himself ended up in Gryffindor! Shame - he was a talented boy. I got his brother Regulus when he came along, but I'd have liked the set. A shame that Regulus died those years ago."
The man sounded like an enthusiastic collector of pure-bloods. Harry almost felt bad that the man thought Regulus was dead - when said Regulus was currently chilling at home at Black Manor right now. But Regulus's survival was kept the utmost secret, as was Black Manor, so he couldn't say anything.
Slughorn continued being lost in memories. "Your mother was Muggle-born, of course. Couldn't believe it when I found out. Thought she must've been pure-blood, she was so good."
"One of my best friends is Muggle-born," Harry said, "and she's the best in our year."
"You mustn't think I'm prejudiced!" Slughorn rambled suddenly, "No, no, no! Haven't I just said that your mother was one of my all time favourite students?" he bounced up and down a little, smiling in a self-satisfying way, and pointed at the many magical photographs lining the top of the fireplace. "All ex-students, all signed. You'll notice Barnabus Cuffe, Political Editor at the Daily Prophet, he's always interested in hearing my take on the news. And Ambrosius Flume, of Honeydukes - a hamper every birthday, and all because my recommendation and reference was able to get him his first job! And at the back - you'll see her if you just crane your neck - that's Gwenog Jones, captain of the Holyhead Harpies. People are always astonished to hear I'm on first-name basis with the Harpies, and free tickets whenever I want them!"
"So… why do you not want to come back and teach, then? Surely coming back would mean getting to know more people, who will eventually get nice careers..`` Harry tried to sound normal.
Slughorn was resisting again. "Well, taking up a teaching post at Hogwarts right now would be tantamount to declaring my public allegiance to the Order of the Phoenix! I wouldn't fancy being another figure in the mortality rate either"
"You don't have to join the Order to teach at Hogwarts," Harry reasoned, "Most of the teachers aren't in it and they haven't been killed. And also, isn't Dumbledore the one wizard that Voldemort has ever feared?"
Slughorn flinched at Harry's use of Voldemort's name, as a lot of people were prone to do. "Well, yes, it is true that He Who Must Not Be Named has never sought a fight with Dumbledore," the man muttered, "and I suppose one could argue that as I have not joined the Death Eater's, He Who Must Not Be Named can hardly count me as a friend… in which case, I might well be safer a little closer to Albus…"
Dumbledore reentered the room, and Harry wondered if he had actually been standing out in the hall the whole time.
Slughorn looked like he had forgotten he was even in the house. "Oh, there you are, Albus. You've been a very long time. Upset stomach?"
"No, I was merely reading the Muggle magazines. I do love knitting patterns." Dumbledore said. "Well, Harry, we must be going. I think I know a lost cause when I see one."
"Lost…?" Slughorn looked agitated.
Harry stood up and got ready to leave as Albus fastened his travelling cloak. "Well, I'm sorry you don't want the job, Horace. Hogwarts would have been glad to see you back again." the Headmaster gave a farewell salute.
"Yes… well.."
"Goodbye, then."
"Bye." said Harry.
They had only just reached the front door when there was a shout.
"All right, all right. I'll do it!"
They turned to see Slughorn standing breathless in the hallway.
"You will come out of retirement?"
"I must be mad, but yes."
"Wonderful." Dumbledore beamed. "Then we shall see you on the first of September."
As they set off down the garden path, Slughorn called out again. "I'll want a pay rise, Dumbledore!"
The Headmaster only chuckled. They walked back to the village square. "Well done, Harry."
"I didn't do anything?" He was surprised.
"Oh yes, you did. You showed Horace exactly how much he stands to gain by returning to Hogwarts. Did you like him?"
"Erm.."
Harry in truth had no idea what to think of Horace Slughorn. He supposed he was pleasant in his own way, but also vain, and maybe it was his upbringing that caused him to be surprised that a muggleborn could be good at magic.
He had rather a lot to tell everyone when he got back.
Pansy quite liked having the house to herself on the days where both of her parents were working. It was very serene, and it gave her a total peace of mind to do anything and be relaxed.
That was what she found herself currently doing; relaxing. Her bedroom had a balcony, and on this particularly warm day she found herself sitting outside on it, lounging and reading a book by one of her favourite wizarding authors. Occasionally, she paused reading to just stare out at the surrounding landscape and appreciate the quietness it also provided.
Next to her on a round table was a glass of pumpkin juice, which she was occasionally taking sips from too. After she took a drink from it and placed it gently back down on the table, did she catch sight of something.
Down below and across the grass, in the surrounding woodland, there was a figure standing at the forestline.
She almost jumped in her seat. It took all of her might to not let out a noise. The figure was clad in dark clothing, and though they were standing still, looked very menacing indeed. Pansy's heart started racing. What if it's Millicent's uncle? What if he's come back to kill me?
Something inside her was seemingly physically restraining her from calling out to the person. Probably for the best. Why on earth was somebody at her house? Had they broken the protective enchantments around the property?
Her last question was answered when the figure strode forward suddenly, and walked on to the garden and towards the house.
Shit, her head repeated over and over. Had they seen her? She didn't want to know the answer to that question. Scared out of her mind, she sprung into action in as quiet a frenzy as possible.
She ran back into her room, heart hammering, and searched for her wand. If that maniac broke into her house, she would have to have it on her. Then, she ran to the fireplace in her bedroom and grabbed a handful of Floo powder, not caring about how gritty it felt when it got under her nails, and flung it in rather unceremoniously, and called her father's office at the Ministry.
She didn't have to worry about the front door as such - it was always locked by whichever one of her parents left for work the latest, but she kept listening out for signs that the person was trying the door. Her breathing got a bit more rapid the longer she had to wait for her father to answer.
At last, she got a response, his face appearing in the fireplace. "Pansy, dear? What's wrong?"
She frantically tried to shush him. She had no idea if the person was even aiming to force entry into the house, but if they were currently prowling about it would do her no favours if her location was given away. "D-dad, I'm s-scared."
Cassius Warrington's facial expression changed instantly, from curiosity to deep, deep worry. "Pansy? What is happening?"
"There's someone on the p-property. I saw them when I was on the balcony, they're coming to the front door, dad. I think they might try to break in." she explained as quietly as possible, though her eyes were starting to get glassy and her breathing a bit more ragged.
"Were they in black clothing?" her dad demanded.
"Yes." she answered simply.
Her father was seemingly frozen in fear. "Pansy, listen to me, my darling. Do you remember the hiding place we showed you in case of emergencies?"
"Y-yes, b-but I don't quite remember the order of movements to reveal it." was Pansy's response, almost her whole body shaking.
"Across left to right, diagonally downwards to the left, then up, then diagonally down right. Then say 'aperta et revelare'." her father explained, and she listened ardently. She could not mess this up.
Just then, the loud sound of the front door being opened rang out. Her panic increasing, she gave a pleading look to her father. "Send help, father, please…"
"I'll do what I can, sweetheart, please, please just be okay." Cassius Parkinson pledged, and she had never seen him look so fiercely protective.
She could hear footsteps downstairs. Clamping a hand over her mouth, she quickly moved to the corner of her bedroom, where the secret hiding place was in the walls. She got her hands ready and focused her magic.
Pansy moved one of her hands to the right, then diagonally downwards left, then due north from that, and then down diagonally to the right. It was then that she uttered the Latin phrase, and the entrance opened quietly.
She all but launched herself inside and watched as the door closed automatically, and concealed itself from view to look like the wall. When she was safely inside, she let out some relief, but kept quiet still, as she didn't know if the intruder could hear her even if she was inside the walls. From here, she could see her bedroom perfectly, as though she was looking through a glass window at it. It was a darn good thing it was only one-way glass, meaning the intruder could not see in.
If she stayed quiet enough, she could hear their footsteps. She guessed they were creeping around either outside in the upstairs hallway or in one of the surrounding rooms.
Pansy kept her hand clamped over her mouth as she saw the figure slowly walk into her bedroom. Though she was safe enough inside the wall - only a Parkinson could open the door to her current hiding space, -, it was still very scary seeing an intruder so close at hand. She could only see the back of them; it was definitely a male, and they were quite tall and slim. Perhaps they were young. Just then, their hood was lowered and she caught sight of their hair. Sandy blonde. The individual remained standing for a few moments, though their head was moving as if their eyes were taking the room in. Then they walked forward, towards the opposite wall, where her chest of drawers and wardrobe was. Oh great, she couldn't help but humour, is he going to go through my bra and knicker drawer?
She then realised that she had a few pictures either dotted around the wall or on the top of the chest of drawers; they were mainly pictures of her with either family or friends. Some of them even included Millicent and Sophie, who were no longer her friends, but the memories surrounding the photos were sweet. The intruder now knew what she looked like - she was in every single photo, so it wouldn't be hard for them to deduce who she was.
Also on the wall were framed certificates from Hogwarts - her parents insisted she put every end of year school results from first through to fifth year up. She had recently added her own OWL results…. Which detailed her full name.
This can't get much worse.
The individual then turned around, and she caught sight of their face.
She wasn't quite expecting them to be so handsome.
He was a pretty sight, to be sure. It still didn't really change the fact that he was intruding in her house, clearly out to find something or to hurt someone. It was a good thing that she had been out on the balcony - if she was in her bedroom or downstairs in the living room, she might never have heard him come in.
The teenage boy - well, she was assuming he was a teenager - looked all around the room, and his eyes caught hers. Well, they would have made eye contact if there wasn't a secret hiding space in the way.
He resumed his stance so that his back was facing her. She could no longer see his face, and she wondered what he was planning on doing now.
Suddenly, she felt an intrusion on her mind.
Oh no, she thought, he's going to try and use mind tricks to find me.
Pansy had never been taught Occlumency, and she didn't even know what to do against mind invaders, so right now she was completely vulnerable. What if he broke the wall and dragged her out of it once he discovered where she was? That would be devastating.
Unfortunately, she didn't have anything strong enough to resist him.
Her mind was pulled, weirdly, into another sort of state where she was still viewing this male intruder, but it was like it was from another angle. She could see his face.
"Pansy… this is your bedroom, correct?" the boy spoke, and even in this observing state she could feel her throat and mouth getting dry. His voice was oddly nice.
"Who are you? Why are you in my house?" she replied back, snapping a little, and cursed herself in case she made him angry.
"You're quite elusive, Miss… Parkinson. I cannot see where you are."
"That's for the best." was her response, though she was relieved he was unable to see that she was hiding in the wall just a few feet away from him - kudos to the charms effect where only a Parkinson could find the location of the hiding place.
"A pity. I was hoping for some conversation." the boy replied.
"You break into my family home just to have a chat? You must be desperate." she responded with a bit of wit, though she regretted it when she saw the muscles in his (rather prominent) jawline tense.
"I know your name. It is only fair that you shall know mine. I am Ares, of the Ancient and Noble House of Lestrange. The dark lord requires your family. Most importantly, their allegiance. Your father has been neutral for far too long." the boy said, moving to the window.
"You won't be getting my allegiance." She huffed defiantly. His surname is Lestrange, unless he is lying, she thought, is he related to Bellatrix?
"Oh, is that so? You're a Slytherin, are you not? Like multiple generations of your family?"
"I am, yet that does not stop me from being a person with free will that no longer bows to blind allegiance."
"You betray your blood class."
"Do you think I care about any of that!?" she snapped suddenly, the phrase Thirty seconds of courage (that her mum taught her) helping her to be bold. "Do you want to know something, stranger? I was somebody that you could say was well on their way to supporting the Death Eaters. That was until the day that they attacked my school mates, that day on Hogsmeade. Were you there?"
"I was."
"Then you know the terror caused. It's because of people like you, who align themselves with dark magic and him, that me and many others are now traumatised because of what we saw. I knew the people that died! One of them was in the same year as me - someone who I shared classes with, and two of them… two of them I saw die.. Before my very eyes." she continued, trying not to rage. The memories of what happened that day when she saw Scarlett Lympsham and Patricia Stimpson were still agonisingly fresh, raw…
"They must have deserved it."
She felt her rage bubble. It was like having to deal with Millicent and Sophie all over again. "Nobody deserved that. They did not deserve to die. So you're implying that kids as young as thirteen deserved to get chased through the streets, have lethal spells aimed at them, and to be scared to death?"
She was so angry that she could burst through the wall concealing her from his view. It didn't help that he even smirked. "You must understand, Pansy, that so long as people submit, they will have no cause to fear."
"People will never submit to you and your ilk, and if they do, it'll only be out of fear of what will happen to them if they don't."
"We'll see." was all he said.
It was then that the current mind-bond that they had was broken, for the boy's head suddenly turned in another direction - towards the door. Pansy strained to hear, and she could hear people downstairs.
She could only hope they were Aurors, and not some friends that this boy had taken along.
Pansy heard the boy utter a curse word, and just like that, he Apparated away.
It was only a handful of seconds later that some Auror's burst into the room, wands drawn.
"No!" she exclaimed - the boy Ares had fled before he even had a chance to be caught.
Pansy opened up her hiding place and made herself known to the Auror's. She knew they would have questions for her, and she would answer every last one of them. Including the mind invasion.