Changing minds

Returning home, Lauren and Sev did so separately trying to Track each other. They didn't lose each other from the seventh floor to the dungeons, they already covered the entire castle in a single night.

Lauren wrote to her parents as soon as she got home, that day she dispensed with taking a shower to send the letter at that very moment and have the answer as soon as possible.

At breakfast they chatted with Lily and told her what a wonderful night they had had. Lily was very happy for both of them, and even more when they told her what they had seen in the mirror and that they had a way to check if it was going to come true, that all the people close to them would survive the war and be happy raising families.

Lauren and Sev continued to talk on and off in class, when they didn't need to focus too much. Sev dedicated lunch to Deborah, starting to teach her to Project, they got it instantly across the Great Hall table, looking into each other's eyes. He took the opportunity to ask her if she allowed him to show Lauren her desire in the Mirror and she gave him permission.

He also told her part of the night they had spent together, including that they had Bonded and managed to Track each other throughout the entire castle that very morning. Deborah hallucinated, he explained to her about the power of the Bond and suggested that they also try the Tracking for the two of them during the afternoon.

She in turn told him of her progress with Paul the previous afternoon. Since he already occluded perfectly, she had given him the summary of Moon Magic to read, they had started with Legilimency and he was also doing well with it. (Reliable and intuitive at the same time, like Lauren,) Sev thought.

That afternoon he Tracked Deborah and he was able to, he didn't know if it was that far away, since the classes they attended weren't that far apart, but no problem. He told Lauren about it, bonded.

"There are already two of us to protect you," she told him.

"Yes, now that it is no longer necessary."

"Don't claim victory, they could still come back."

"The old man told me at lunch that Monday's ones are still in St. Mungo's, I don't think they dare."

After school he went with his escort to the Quidditch field to take his second broomstick flying class, which lasted a full hour, alone with the teacher, because he had to learn something new, to accelerate and slow down while moving, which he was not bad at. Deborah also told him that she had also managed to Track him down.

At dinner Sev chatted with Lily for another while and dedicated the rest to Ariel. Returning home he waited for Audrey to meet her the next day for her second Occlumency class. Afterwards he stayed in his corner doing homework with Deborah, Valerie and Andrew like the previous Sunday, and from a quarter to nine he watched over Lauren's brother in the Library with the Map. He went out with his mate soon after.

He put away the Map and went to wait for them at the same place where he did the previous Saturday to invite them to the party. When they entered the house he saw fear in their eyes. (It is better that they fear me than that they challenge me. Fear is easier to overcome, just reach out.)

"Hi guys. I missed you at the party the other night," Sev greeted them.

(No one answers me, the little one will do what the older one does, better a direct question. At least they have stopped.) "Are you coming from the Library?"

"Yes," replied the little one.

(The little one is already less afraid of me than Lauren's brother. The truth is that he must have been very scared, the lynching was a gruesome spectacle. It is better that I only talk to him and explain it to him, he will have heard of the war too if he wanted to be a Death Eater.) "Arthur, do you want to chat with me for a while?"

"How do you know my name?" retorted Lauren's brother.

(Totally distrustful. Boof…) "Because I asked your friend Dawn."

"Yes, she already told me about you."

"And what did she tell you?" Sev asked.

(He doesn't answer me. Better in private.) "Would you like to sit with me for a while at the table?"

"What interest do you have in me?" Arthur asked.

(Very reticent, let's see if I can get something.) "I just want to get to know you better, you've run out of friends in your year and I'm worried that you're alone, being alone is not good. Talk to me for a while, it will do you good."

"Alright."

(Good…)

"See you tomorrow," Arthur said to his friend. The younger went to the bedrooms.

Sev and Arthur went to the table, but not to his corner, but to the opposite, since Deborah, Valerie and Andrew were in his.

"Do you prefer to sit facing the Lake or the other side?" asked Sev.

"Looking at the Lake."

They sat facing each other, Sev conjuring the Muffliato. "I've cast a spell so they won't hear us. What we talk about will stay between us."

"That seems fine to me."

"Yesterday I saw you hiding when we beat up the sixth-grade Ravenclaw. You shouldn't have stayed and watched."

(He doesn't answer me, he doesn't dare talk to me about it, how difficult this is. Well, then I'll talk,) Sev thought."I guess you already know why we did it. You know it, don't you?"

The boy remained silent and without showing any expression.

"Do you know that a war is about to start?" Sev asked him.

"Yes, I do."

(Well, we've got something.) "And that there are two sides?"

"I'm not stupid, in a war there are always two sides," the boy retorted.

(Ugh… how touchy, he is not making it easy for me, he goes from fear to rebellion. Indeed his parents have a serious problem with him.) "I'm sorry if I offended you, I don't think you're stupid at all. I am going to explain something else about the war that you may not know. Nobody is entirely good or bad, in a war everyone is evil. Do you understand?"

"Yeah."

(Well, he is listening to me carefully, he is interested in what I say.) "But in this one there is a side that attacks and another that defends itself. Do you know which side is attacking?" Sev asked.

"Yes, the Dark Lord's."

"And you know they kill people, don't you? Muggle-born warlocks."

"Yeah."

"What do you think about it?"

(He doesn't answer me, he doesn't have an answer to that, he was willing to do it.) "I imagine that yesterday you were scared, you must have had the impression that we were attacking a defenseless boy, but in reality we were defending ourselves," Sev continued. "On Saturday they were about to kill me, they thought I was alone and they were waiting for me in a place where they thought I was going to pass, five against one. You've seen me move with an escort, haven't you?"

"Yeah."

"And that I haven't been to the Library since we kicked the malefics out of the house."

"You are a traitor," Arthur said.

(Booaaah… he's lost his fear now, good…) Sev didn't get upset at all, he continued to speak kindly. "Oh... that may seem like it. You are partly right, but only one who betrays himself is a traitor. I had wrong ideas and didn't realize it until I got older and more mature in understanding things. What I tell you, no one is good or bad, we must each do what we believe is right. Is it okay to kill witches just because their parents are Muggles?"

"No."

(Good!) "We are beginning to understand each other. Well, that's what the Dark Lord wants, no more and no less, right?"

"Yeah."

"I see that you're not stupid, you start to realize things in second year, I didn't realize it until fifth year," Sev went on. "You do very well, in time to rectify. The boy we beat up yesterday was trying to join the Dark Lord and it was dangerous for everyone for him to stay at school, he was threatening the lives of others. Do you understand?"

"Yeah."

"Do you still think I'm a traitor?"

"No."

(Take that! In my pocket!) Sev thought. "Glad to hear it. Do you want to ask me something?"

"Why did you change sides?"

(Okay, interest in me, he gets back the admiration he had for me.) "I've already told you, because I realized that I was wrong. When I started school, four of the other five boys in my year were on the Dark Lord's side, I imagine you knew them all."

"Yes, they sat with you in the Great Hall and they were also my sister's classmates," said the boy.

"Of course, we all knew each other at home. I'm not a pureblood, my mother is, my father is Muggle, I'm a half-blood."

"Yeah, I already knew."

"My pure-blood companions accepted me among themselves because I am a good wizard, and also the older ones, they paid me a lot of attention when I was your age, that made me feel important," Sev explained. "We Slytherins are ambitious, do you understand?"

"Of course I understand."

"I let myself be fooled by their ideas, which are not mine, and until I got older I did not realize that they were wrong ideas. As soon as I found out, I changed sides."

"Sure…"

(How wonderful, I have put him on my side.) "What do you think of those ideas now?" Sev asked.

"I don't know what to think."

(Well… he's already hesitating.) Sev smiled tenderly at him. (Time to bring up the hot topic, Lauren made it so easy for me.) "Do you have any hobbies apart from magic?"

"Yes, I like to read a lot," Arthur replied.

"How interesting. And do you read Muggle authors?"

"Yeah."

"And do you like them?" Sev asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, there you have it, Muggles are worth a lot too. We are all human beings, being a witch or Muggle is the least of it. Do you begin to have clearer ideas?"

"Yeah."

(Okay, enough for today, now to make friends with him, let him tell me about his readings,) Sev thought. "What are you reading right now?"

"'Treasure Island'."

"What an interesting title. what's it about?"

"About pirates," the boy replied.

(Of course, bad guys, like him. I'm going to have to ask Lauren to watch his reading too, I'm not going to encourage him to tell me about that book.) "Do you have much left to finish it?"

"No, I'm going to finish it tonight."

"And have you already taken another from the Library?" Sev asked.

"Yeah."

"What is its title?"

"'20000 Leagues Under the Seas'," Arthur answered.

"Wow… about travels. That is much more interesting. Don't you think?"

"Yes, it is by my favorite author."

"Who is this author?" Sev asked.

"Jules Verne."

"Does he have any more travel books?"

"Yes, almost all of his are about travels," the younger one replied.

"Oh, you like to travel with your imagination."

"Yes a lot."

(I'm going to get the idea out of his head by proposing other aspirations in life, he can afford it,) Sev thought. "When you leave Hogwarts you will be able to travel a lot, go to all those places that appear in the books."

The boy laughed. (Good…)

"No, not everywhere."

"Why not?

"Because they go to the Moon," Arthur answered.

"Wow… how cool. Since Muggles have gone to the Moon, I don't see why we witches can't do it."

"You're right."

"Where else are they going that we can't go?" Sev asked.

"To the center of the Earth."

"It is true that you cannot go there, but on the surface there are many places where you can. Don't they go places you can go?"

"Yes, they go around the world in eighty days," said the boy.

"Cool! And you would not like to do it?"

"I have never thought about it."

"Well, think about it between now and when you graduate, your family has money and you can afford it," Sev suggested. "You look for a girlfriend and go around the world with her."

"It's true…"

(Very excited, this one is no longer a Death Eater. Can't wait to tell Lauren.) "But for that you have to become friends with the girls of your year. If you are always alone, you will have to travel alone, and that is very boring."

"Sure…"

(In my pocket, he is already thinking about the girl he likes.) "In the book that they go around the world, do they go with their girlfriends?" Sev asked.

"Not at first, they find her on the trip."

"Well, that's another possibility. Does the traveler go on a trip alone?"

"No, with his servant," Arthur replied.

"A travel companion, so as not to be alone. You have to make friends, like us now." He smiled at him, the boy did too. (In all probability, in the future we will travel together. He does not say anything, he is dreaming…) "Would you like to travel with me sometime?"

The boy was slow to respond and did so shyly. "Yeah…"

(Wow, he's got his admiration for me back. I eat him, my little brother-in-law, like a little brother.) Sev smiled more widely at him. "I promise you that one day we will. In the meantime, come chat with me whenever you want. You know where I usually am, across the table. Do you feel like chatting a while longer or are you in a hurry to finish your book?"

"I'd like to chat."

"Then keep telling me about your readings," Sev proposed.

They chatted for a long time. Sev made a mental note of the books that Arthur recommended to him, they also talked a little about his first-year friend and encouraged him to be together the three of them. He also told him that when the exams were over they would have a party with the Raves and that they were both invited.

Finally, he encouraged him to call him Sev or Severus and not Prince like everyone else, telling him that his best friends called him that. (We are going to be family, the family is not called by the last name.)

They finished almost at ten o'clock, when people were already beginning to return for the curfew. Sev accompanied him to the stairs of the bedrooms so that he wouldn't feel helpless among the movement and the others would also see him with him.

He returned to Deborah and the others, Paul having joined them.

"Wow… Prince," Valerie told him, admired. "How you sweeten them, you're irresistible."

He laughed. (Valerie is already giving me compliments. Since Monday, which Deborah told her about, she hasn't stopped. Luckily Andrew never takes notice, he keeps letting her sit in front of me and continues with his homework, he just smiles. I think it too turns him on that Valerie likes me, it's like a challenge, to keep her and not leave him for me.)

"This one has cost me a lot," Sev said. "He was already thinking of becoming a Death Eater, since his second year, he has called me a traitor."

"Whoa… Oh, it seems strange to me," Valerie said. "Isn't that Parkinson's brother, your yearmate?"

(Disguise about Lauren. Deborah will help me.) "He is."

"Anthony told us the other day that she can conjure Patronus."

(Wow… Anthony told everyone, he was excited.) "Yes, that's right, we did it on Tuesday in Defense class," Sev said.

"Then she's not malefic, that's why she hasn't left."

"Obviously."

"Great. The House, clean. The entire school," Valeire said emphatically, raising her clenched fist.

(How satisfied she is with the lynchings.) The five of them laughed. (I'd like to stay and chat with Paul for a while, but he's sitting on the other side of Deborah, so we don't see each other, and I woke up at five in the morning. I'm going to bed now, I'll get on with my homework if I wake up early, plus, tomorrow I have two hours of Time-Turning with Audrey.)

"Guys, I'm going to bed, I'm exhausted."

Everyone said goodbye to him, who collected his belongings and went to sleep.