..
Peverell stood motionless for a moment, then turned to Lily.
"...Thank you for showing her to me, Miss Evans."
At the sound of his hoarse voice, unmistakably moved, Lily flushed and averted her gaze.
"...Well, not at all. You know you're the one who taught me the spell in the first place."
Peverell blinked. "...As I recall, it was to Mr. Snape, and I only mentioned the existence and use of the Patronus in passing. Never did I expect to see such results less than two weeks later."
Lily flinched for a moment; perhaps Peverell was a wizard who was prickly about sharing his lesson without his permission. But there was nothing but surprise and delight in the gaze that looked down at her, and she beamed at the man, relieved.
"He's my best friend, so you've taught me indirectly, sort of; and you've let me know the existence of the spell! That's most important thing for a teacher. It's on me to research and study the rest."
Peverell was silent for a moment, an inscrutable expression on his face. It was as if he were reflecting on his own past.
"...Sometimes in the wizarding world, the most important things don't make it into the textbooks. It was always frustrating for me."
Lily's eyes widened. It was a problem she'd come to deeply aware of as the year progressed in Hogwarts. For a moment she was about to ask, "Are you a muggleborn yourself?" but then she realised it would be rude and shut her mouth. With a surname so wizardly, she daren't question his parentage. Besides, he was a Deputy Head of Slytherin!
Peverell seemed to notice Lily's confusion and smiled softly.
"If you have questions, Miss Evans, ask away. I've just seen the most beautiful deer in Britain; and in return I'm willing to answer almost any question you have, if it's reasonable."
...Answering questions in exchange for something, that's definitely Slytherin of this professor, Lily thought to herself and quickly racked her brain.
Since the Slytherin professor had mentioned the word 'in return', it was wise to choose her questions carefully. This was not an opportunity to waste with useless pedigree chatter, whether he be a muggleborn or pureblood.
The girl opened her mouth very slowly.
"Professor, do you... do you know anything about desecration... or abuse, of magic? Taboos about not messing with magical contracts or oaths, and not swearing in the name of Magic on frivolities... stuff like that? What does that mean specifically, and does it have anything to do with the Dark Arts?"
"...I wonder where you heard that, Miss Evans."
The professor's voice hardened for a moment. Lily pursed her lips.
"Is it true? I understand that it could be a grave breach of etiquette in the wizarding community; but is desecration of magic and its consequences an actual possibility?"
The professor stared down at her for a long moment, then nodded. "Yes."
Lily felt her spine turn to lead for a moment. She hadn't doubted Sev's word, but to hear it confirmed by the professor's own words caused a different level of fear.
"Then... if there's such vital information, why aren't they teaching it in school?! I, along with every muggleborn, would not know anything about it!"
Peverell's calm expression didn't change.
"You should not think that's because there's some grand conspiracy. Basically, Hogwarts isn't really a training ground for newcomers to the wizarding world. While muggleborns were allowed to attend because Salazar Slytherin lost his fight when the Founders of Hogwarts clashed on this, the other three Founders weren't exactly friendly to muggleborns or actively favoured them either, not even Helga Hufflepuff, who proposed to 'teach the lot and treat them just the same'. No wizard thinks there should be a special education for muggleborns just because the culture is different and they're behind the starting line of knowledge. To simply put, you're on your own."
Lily flushed with momentary indignation, then slumped back. She'd already realized that muggleborns were just an afterthought to pretty much every decision in the wizarding society. It was not worth her anger.
The professor sighed softly.
"If it's any consolation, you don't have to worry about the taboo at Hogwarts' age. Magic is benevolent toward children; there's no records of teenagers with immature magical cores whose magic's been taken away for their silly mouths. Magic just ignores their foolish oaths on their magic."
"...What about adults who have stable magical cores...?"
The professor looked straight down at the student, his gaze frightfully sober.
"An adult wizard who desecrates Magic does not die a pretty death, Miss Evans. Remember that. Pureblood or muggleborn, it's the same. Magic is not a natural right of wizards, nor a possession."
Lily swallowed hard. Peverell continued, on a lecturing mode.
"I'm not saying that wizards can't, or shouldn't, deceive or abuse others. Wizards are humans, and they'd do all the wicked deeds that humans do, and be punished by human means. The Dark Art, too. It is dangerous and malicious by its nature, and dabbling in it at your age is like muggle teenagers dabbling in cocaine; that's why it's not allowed in schools, and any students caught practicing any kind of Dark magic in the school are disciplined very severely. But using Dark magic is a human wrongdoing, not an abuse of Magic itself."
Lily listened intently, eyes wide. She wished she had a quill.
"Magic does not forgive wizards who betray her, those who insult Magic, and those who fabricate with magical oaths, magical contracts, and prophecies. It has nothing to do with evil deeds among human beings, Miss Evans, as Magic herself punishes those who abuse her."
Peverell took a deep breath. "When I was fourteen years old, a wizard used a powerful magical artefact to create a magically binding contract that did not reflect the true intent of the parties involved. I happened to be the victim of the contract, which basically enforced me to attend an event I never agreed to in the first place; if I refuse, I'd become a squib."
Lily's breath quickened. It was fascinating. This powerful wizard was a victim of the abuse of magic as a teenager?
"At first I was furious, trying to figure out how I could legally get out of a contract that wasn't my will. And I was curious ; if such a powerful artefact could actually be used to create magical contracts without the consent of the parties, why didn't my professor use that artefact to get rid of the terrible villain who was behind it all? Why not put the villain's name in the artefact, so that if he didn't participate in the event, his magic would be taken away, and the villain who broke the contract become a squib and neutralised?"
Peverell smiled faintly, seeing the girl's green eyes sparkle with interest.
"When I think of it now, no wizards but the most insane would even think to abuse that artefact that way; and that wizard who dare messed with a magical contract was doomed to death by Magic in that very moment. He was in fact insane to begin with, and his experience with Imperius and imprisonment made him even more so.
"To sum up, I followed my professor's advice and honoured the contract instead of trying to break it."
"...And... then?"
"The contract that bound me took about eight months to complete. The guy lived until that day. Not a day more."
"...H...he died?"
"Kissed by Dementors."
Lily shuddered. Death by Dementors. It was horrible to imagine, even though she'd never seen one and only knew about them by books.
"...Do you think... What if one does it without realising it? What if I never learn about it, and I grow up to be an adult, and I lose my magic because I take a stupid oath or something..."
Peverell listened gravely and nodded.
"Magic-born children are usually taught about this at an early age... and even if not, you know it instinctively when you reach adulthood and your magical core stabilises. A sense that I am approaching danger, that if I cross this line, I will incur the wrath of Magic. A wizard must listen to that feeling."
Lily nodded thoughtfully. The professor was silent for a moment, then said in a low whisper.
"...Nevertheless, some do cross that line. Even some very great, very powerful wizards. It's a wonder they survive for decades at all."
Lily's jaw dropped. Peverell smiled.
"Inscrutable and absurd is Magic. What can we do?"
"...I want to understand. I want to know... and I want to have it." Lily blurted out.
"Just because you understand it doesn't mean you own it."
"..."
"And understanding doesn't mean controlling it."
"...But, Professor!"
"Magic is not owned; it is not controlled. It is only granted. Be humble. But don't be needlessly afraid of losing it."
"... You speak in contradictions, Professor."
The professor smiled at the green eyes looking up at him with teenage irritability.
"Miss Evans. You are only fifteen, and that is an immature age for every human being, magic or muggle. If Magic were angry at every foolish word spoken by a petulant teenager, the wizardkind would have been extinct long ago. Do you know how many OWL students every year swear on their wands that they're going to burn down the Hogwarts Library with a fiendfyre while they're studying for their exams?"
"Uh...well..."
"Of course, students who made such silly oaths tend to have just a bit of bad luck in the library afterwards, but I think Magic is very generous, even going so far as to delay the retribution until after their exams."
Lily giggled. It was like she was seeing her future, studying like crazy for OWL. She suddenly felt friendly with him.
"You know, Professor, your OWLs... well, the name'd be a bit different since you're from abroad, but anyway, how many subjects did you pass in your exam? I'm aiming for ten, maybe eleven if I do well?"
"..."
Peverell blinked rapidly for a moment. Was it just her feeling? Lily thought the professor's green eyes shook like he faced a sudden force majeure.
"...Hmm. About my OWL grade..."
"Yes?"
"Well... I feel both obliged to tell you and desperately tempted to keep it from you at the same time."
"Huh?"
"...They say transcript should be hidde... Well, I mean, Miss Evans, that'd be all. It'd be a bit over the fair price for seeing your Patronus."
"...Uh, yessir. I suppose that was rude of me."
Feeling as though the professor was somehow wincing before her, a ridiculous thought, Lily walked with Peverell down the path to the school.
.