September to October 1994, 4th year

"So, curses," Lynea said.

"What about them?" Draco asked.

Lynea raised an eyebrow. "Everyone thinks the three Unforgivables are the worst out there, but we all know that's not true."

The Mutilatio Curse was a prime example of this, but Lynea wasn't allowed to talk about that. Or all the curses Naenia had once said had been used on Perseus before his murderer had killed him and dropped him on the Lémures' doorstep. He had been tortured by a number of dark spells – not the Cruciatus Curse, but nothing less severe – and eventually been freed from his misery by the Killing Curse.

"They are simple and dark enough," Blaise said. "The Ministry doesn't want to believe there are worse things out there." The corner of his mouth quirked up. "Like enchantresses ensnaring all your senses with mere suggestions and whispers of the Dark Arts."

"Or blood maledictions that kill you slowly and painfully over generations," Daphne added.

"Or curses that tear you limb from limb, while keeping you alive to make sure you experience every second of your body being torn apart," Lynea murmured.

Tracey and Daphne blanched at that.

"We get it," Millicent said. "There are worse things out there."

"And less traceable ones," Lynea said. "The Ministry is always on the lookout for the three Unforgivables – they know what signs to look for, what traces they leave. They would have a harder time with any other curse, as long as it doesn't leave obvious marks." Like torn limbs and flayed skin.

"Runes," Theodore said. "They are highly complicated, but you can get any desired effect – even one like the Imperius or Cruciatus. And the Ministry will only notice if you leave the runes, and even then they need someone capable of actually understanding them."

"If they are lucky enough to encounter a caster that uses the standard set of Ancient Runes and not ones that were passed down only within their family," Lynea said.

Blaise smirked. "I believe the Notts and Lémures are the ones with the most knowledge about forgotten runes on this side of the ocean."

Lynea smiled sweetly back. "And the Zabinis are among those on the other side."

"None of you would use that knowledge to harm others, though," Tracey said, "right?"

Blaise cocked his head. "That depends on your definition on 'harming'."

"The Lémures only care about the dead," Lynea said. "They have to, because Necromancers are quite adept at curses and everyone knows that. I believe my great-grandmother's family on the continent was infamous for their usage of them on living subjects – they wanted to test the boundaries of life or something."

"Great-grandmother?" Blaise asked curiously. "I am assuming of your Lémure heritage?"

Lynea nodded. "Lore Lay Totengräber."

All blood instantly drained from Blaise's face, so that he appeared sickly pale even with his naturally dark skin.

"They are still infamous," he said in a strangled voice. "Everyone is glad that they have decided to lie low in recent years, but our parents still tell us stories …" He visibly shuddered. "There is a reason everyone fears Necromancers."

"The Lémures never did such things," Lynea said. "But the wizarding community of the British Isles is scared enough even without knowing about the Totengräbers' work. Because most have this irrational fear of Death."

"Even with death taken out of the equation," Draco said. "Knowing that you can easily use any curse on us is frightening enough. And I know worshipping Death means you are against murder, but most people don't believe that. They think you could do anything without the slightest qualm anytime you wanted and no one could stop you, because you can't die – and that is freaking scary."

"Being able to do something and actually doing it are two different things, though," Lynea said.

"Obviously," Draco drawled. "You could terrorize the world, if you wanted, but Necromancers don't care about that, do they? Otherwise, they would have long taken over."

"The way the Dark Lord wants to?" Harry asked, coming to a halt behind the sofa Lynea and Theodore were sitting on. "He is immortal, isn't he? That's why he didn't die that night. That's why he was able to come back and possess Quirrel."

"No," Lynea said. "Not truly. But Naenia believes he wants to be, that he has been looking for a way all his life."

"And she would know," Harry said and shook his head. "Anyway, I would like to continue our training."

Lynea tilted her head and just looked at him for a while, ignoring the way the others were watching them curiously. "Yes, let's do that. Inner turmoil raises the difficulty quite a bit – if you can manage to work with that, it will do wonders for your progress."

o

Neither Neville, nor Hermione were really paying attention, even though this study group was for them – the rest was all Slytherins, who could just as well study with their fellow housemates, and Luna. Luna didn't actually need any tutoring, but she liked studying with them. And although their topics were a bit too advanced for a third year, Lynea was certain Luna would catch up soon enough.

Lynea eventually just gave up. "Alright. What's going on?"

Neville blinked at her and then looked around, as if he was unsure she was really talking to him. "What do you mean?"

"You're distracted, you and Hermione both," Lynea said. "If you have other things to do, just say so."

Neville shook his head and said nothing.

"Neville?" Harry asked in a concerned tone. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

Neville gave him a conflicted look.

"It's because of Professor Moody's lesson, isn't it?" Daphne said softly and Neville startled a bit at being addressed by her. Daphne never really talked to him when it didn't concern schoolwork. "Because of you parents."

Neville winced. "Why do you know about that?"

Daphne smiled gently. "It's not exactly a secret, even though the matter was being kept quiet."

Lynea caught Harry's and Hermione's questioning looks and put a finger to her lips. She knew, now, what was going on, but it was a very personal matter. She would not tell them now, not here, not in front of Neville.

"He – He talked to me," Neville said, "after – Professor Moody made me a cup of tea and we talked." He smiled weakly. "He even gave me a book about water-plants. Professor Sprout apparently told him how good I was at Herbology."

Luna patted him on the shoulder and took one of the pink flowers out of her hair to give it to Neville, who took it with a soft 'Thank you' and then started twirling it between his fingers.

Lynea decided to leave it be and looked at Hermione. "And you?"

Hermione flushed. "Oh, this really going to sound insignificant now. You don't need to worry, it's just a project I'm working on."

"Spew?" Harry asked.

"It's not spew," Hermione said indignantly. "It's S-P-E-W – the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare."

"The house-elves, again," Lynea said flatly. "Have you actually talked to them by now, or did you just do research in the library and based off all this 'S.P.E.W.' stands for off of dry book material?"

Hermione's cheeks darkened even further. "I didn't find the time to talk to them, yet, but Harry promised he would show me the kitchens and then I will do that. But there was enough for me to do research in." She raised her chin defiantly. "And despite what you may think, my research gave me a lot of valuable information to work through – house-elves have been enslaved for centuries and no efforts to change their legal status have ever even been attempted. That's another thing I will have to research, by the way – strategies and successful examples on how to improve the working conditions of oppressed groups and how one goes about fundamentally changing the law."

"Bloody hell," Blaise muttered under his breath.

Lynea just blinked at Hermione. The girl sure was passionate about the whole subject.

"I already made badges," the Ravenclaw continued, digging in her bag to retrieve a small pouch. "It's two Sickles to join and receive a badge. There aren't any members, yet, though, because all my housemates are too busy gushing over Moody and the Triwizard Tournament and frantically doing research on previous tournaments and everything." She stopped to take a breath and then looked at each of them with large eyes. "So. Are you going to help me out?"

Blaise actually stared at her. Lynea wasn't sure she had ever seen Blaise look so openly incredulous. Daphne politely averted her eyes, Neville stammered some excuses and Luna appeared to not be paying attention (which might or might not actually be true, Lynea never knew).

"Er, sure," Harry said and actually fished two silver Sickles out of his schoolbag.

Hermione thanked him quietly and then looked at Lynea.

"Oh, no," Lynea said. "I am not going to touch that subject with a ten-foot pole, thank you very much. My family does not have any house-elves and that is the end of that."

"But you have servants," Harry pointed out.

"Yes, Inferi, undead creatures – those people have all died, Harry, and then were animated by my grand-aunt. She is the one who gave them the ability to think for themselves, to appear as if they are almost alive, but they are not. They are not slaves, either," Lynea said with a glance to Hermione. "Naenia provides them with a functioning body and mind, with a roof over their head, and in return they lend her their services and company. But the relationship between a Necromancer and their creations is a rather weird one, anyway." She shook her head. "House-elves are complicated and I do not want to be involved with that."

Hermione opened her mouth. "But –"

"Please, Hermione, don't pull me into this."

Hermione sighed. "Fine. But I will let you know that I am not happy with your kind of behaviour."

"I figured as much," Lynea said. "Now, do we get back to studying or is this a lost cause?"

"I would like to study," Neville said quietly. "It helps me take my mind off of things."

Hermione's stern gaze instantly softened. "I'm so sorry, Neville. I didn't mean to make this all about me."

"You know we will always be there for you, right?" Harry said.

"It's fine," Neville said. "Let's just go back to studying. Please?"

o

The fight between Harry and Draco lasted throughout the rest of September, was temporarily put on hold for Mabon where the two even laughed together as the students took a walk to pick apples and thank mother nature for the harvest, and then it resumed the very next day. Draco was trying to make amends, but Harry didn't give him any chance until October had already begun.

Lynea and Harry were just on their way from breakfast to the library for their weekly study group, when Draco caught up to them in the hallway.

"Look," he said and gulped when Harry immediately narrowed his eyes. "You know I didn't mean any of what I said. It's just a bad habit –"

"That you never bothered to get rid of," Harry interrupted.

"– but I'm working on it." Draco glanced at Lynea and back at Harry again, his eyes almost pleading. It was an unusual look on his face. "It's just really difficult, because of all the things my father is saying every time I'm home. I am not my father and I know that he is in the wrong – I have witnessed that with my own eyes. But change isn't easy. You need to understand that, Harry."

Harry shook his head. "You have had three years, Draco. That's more than enough time." He stepped around Draco to continue on his way and then spotted a lonely Ravenclaw up ahead of them. "Hey, Mione!"

Hermione turned around in surprise and then greeted Harry with a smile and Lynea raised her eyebrows at Draco before joining them. Draco seemed reluctant at first, looking at their slowly retreating backs with a conflicted expression painted across his face, but he eventually pulled himself together and hurried after them.

"My father –"

"And if we make sure word doesn't get back to your father?" Harry said suddenly.

Draco opened his mouth and then snapped it shut again.

"Our Friday training sessions," Lynea said, working it out as the words left her mouth. "We don't need them this year with Moody teaching, but we can make use of that time. That abandoned classroom is private enough and we can add some spells on top of it, so no one will know what we're doing and with whom. I will practice the Old Magics with Harry and you, Draco, will teach Hermione all that she has missed these past three years."

"And Neville and Luna, too," Harry added quickly.

Draco started at them incredulously. "You can't be serious."

Hermione looked between them. "What is going on?"

"Draco and Harry had an argument several weeks ago that still hasn't been resolved." Lynea laughed lightly at Hermione's bewildered face. "Slytherins keep their conflicts quiet and behind closed doors, you must know. Let people think we never disagree or let a disagreement escalate into a fight, but we're only humans, too."

"And it has something to do with me being a muggleborn?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," Harry said at the same time as Lynea shook her head.

"Not originally," Lynea said. "The whole thing started because Draco was being a prick –" And here she ignored Draco's indignant cry of protest. "– but, yes, that issue got involved at some point."

"Well," Hermione said, squaring her shoulders and turning to look directly at Draco, who eyed her warily. "I expect a thorough explanation and probably an apology, depending on what you said, and then we can work out a proper plan for what Lynea and Harry suggested."

"So you would be fine with Draco teaching you spells?" Harry asked.

Draco looked around to make sure no one was around and then cast some privacy charms for good measure.

"Yes," Hermione said. "In fact, I would like to learn from all of you – those that are willing, at least. I know you have been teaching yourself some impressive spellwork these past years and I want in on that."

"We can ask around," Lynea said and in response to Draco's panicked look added, "discreetly, of course."

Harry nodded. "We'll keep you updated, okay, Mione?"

Hermione smiled and then went ahead to the library, while the Slytherins stayed behind for a few more minutes. Their housemates could wait for now.

"Are we good, now?" Draco asked quietly.

Harry considered him with a sharp glare. "Not yet. But I am willing to forgive you, depending on how these training sessions work out."

Draco nodded, eyes wide. "That's fair, I suppose."

As Harry led the way to the library, Draco stepped closer to Lynea, lowering his voice, "Did you have to do that?"

"It will be good training," Lynea replied. "And I was getting tired of you two behaving like children. Besides, Harry has wanted me to be more open-minded about the whole blood issue, so I'm going to drag you down with me."

"Your family won't disown you for associating with muggleborn," Draco muttered.

Lynea shrugged. "I also needed another place to train Harry without turning it into an entirely private thing with no observants. His progress is moving along well and there are certain things I don't want to display in the common room."

Harry was definitely listening in, but Lynea had already told him these things.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "And you won't mind us watching? Or some outsiders?"

"Oh, don't worry," Lynea said with a smirk. "I have already been working with Theodore and Blaise on setting up a Rune Circle for added privacy. We may have to run a few more calculations, though, because Luna can be a bit too perceptive sometimes and I haven't factored that in until now."

As it stood, Harry was already learning some easy spells – like levitating objects and conjuring light. They were currently working on passing floating objects between them while keeping the movement fluid even when one person let go of the magic and the other took over. Harry was still struggling immensely with the finer parts of sensing magic and he barely ever managed to even notice traces of it, never mind recognizing their origins.

But for someone who had only ever practiced 'the lazy ways', he was otherwise learning exceptionally fast. Considering that Harry was also doing very well in Moody's Defence lessons, during which he put each of them under the Imperius Curse and had them try (and mostly fail) to resist, this was actually not all that surprising. But still. According to grand-aunt Naenia, it became increasingly difficult to reconnect with your inner magic the longer you used only a wand and incantations – and being able to feel and shape your inner magic was the very foundation of the Old Magics.

The Rune Circle turned out be quite the success – Luna was very impressed with it and studied it, whenever they took a break from training. She never tried to circumvent it – Luna wasn't that kind of person – but she studied it carefully and made remarks and Lynea and Theodore were both happy to explain things or listen to her seemingly nonsensical insights (which were really very profound, once you figured out what she was actually saying).

It had taken some time to convince Theodore to join the endeavour, because he was so afraid his father might still somehow hear about it despite all the precautions they were taking. Blaise on the other hand had agreed immediately. Daphne had decided to sit this one out and none of the other Slytherins from their year were overly interested in training some 'outsiders', Harry's friends or not. They occasionally joined to train on their own, but more often than not they just left the little group be. There was more than enough homework to do and even with their normal study group, it was barely manageable. Lynea still thought the time for the more practical training was worth the hassle.

All of them, even those that did not participate regularly, had agreed to sign a magical contract Hermione had come up with that ensured they wouldn't reveal anything about these meetings to other people and the additional enchantments they had put upon the room together, combined with their efforts in sneaking Hermione, Neville and Luna into the dungeons unnoticed, added to the security measures.

There was a difference, though, between revealing the contents and participants of their training sessions and displaying the knowledge they gained through them. Which was only a problem in Harry's case and why Lynea took the time to warn him about it. You should never let the enemy know what you were really capable of, after all.

In response, Harry had smiled and quipped, "You just don't want to get into trouble."

And Lynea had let the corner of her mouth quirk upwards and said, "That as well."