A Tale of Two Houses

[Willow Knotwood]

Part 20

Krysta walked slowly through the Common Room, keeping her head down. The Junior Death Eaters were sprawled across the sofas by the fireplace, laughing raucously amongst themselves. She seethed with hate for them right now. The comment Remus had made about Sev heightened her hate and when a particularly shrill peel of laughter from Narcissa cut through the room, Krysta’s fury peaked. She felt it rise to a tumultuous crescendo and for a split second it spilled over and she lost control.

Narcissa’s laughter was replaced with a scream as the glass of firewhisky she was drinking shattered, spilling the rich liqueur and shards of glass all over her robes. To begin with her friends just stared at her and then they all broke in laughter. Narcissa just stared at the mess on her clothes for a second and then she looked up, her furious eyes searching the room. They fell on Krysta almost immediately and she leapt to her feet, whipping her wand out and pointing it at the 3rd year girl.
“You did that.” She hissed.
Krysta slowly turned to face her, her eyes somehow darker than their usual electric blue. She squared her shoulders and glowered at Narcissa.
“What do you mean, Cissy? I don’t even have a wand.” She said calmly, almost mockingly. She held up her hands to demonstrate that they were empty and Narcissa shook with anger. By now the others has risen to their feet also, staring at Krysta with a mixture of interest and distaste.
“I don’t care if you have your freakin’ wand, it was you!” Narcissa insisted; her voice distorted with anger. By now the other club members had drawn their wand and were pointing them at Krysta. She studied each of them with mild interest for a few seconds.
“I repeat: I don’t have my wand.” She said, in a low, warning tone. Narcissa sneered and her friends chuckled.
“Are we supposed to be bothered by that? This is the Slytherin Common Room, not the namby-pamby Hufflepuff’s. The fact you can’t defend yourself is your problem, not ours.” Narcissa laughed and her friends joined her. Krysta smiled.
“You misunderstand me, dear Cissy. I don’t have my wand. And that doesn’t bode very well for you. I seriously recommend that you all lower your wands.” Krysta growled.
They all burst out in taunting laughter. Lucius, who had remained silent throughout the standoff was silent, watching Krysta cautiously. Bellatrix kept throwing him fleeting looks and frowning.

Narcissa was still laughing at this ridiculous child who dared to threaten them.
“Kid, you are in for the cursing of your life.” She announced with a gleam in her eye. She waved her wand in the air and went to send her curse at Krysta.
“No!”
Narcissa suddenly found her wand being knocked out of her hand and looked around angrily to find that it had been her own sister that had disarmed her.
“Bella, what the…”
“The brat’s not worth it, Cissy.” Bellatrix grumbled. Behind them Lucius breathed a sigh of relief.
“Not worth it? Who cares? It would have been fun!” she yelled angrily at her older sister.
“Yeah, Bella. It would have been a whole lot of fun. Please let her curse me!” agreed Krysta with disappointment that was only partly fake. She would have loved to seen their faces. Right now she wanted to blast them all to pieces and partly hoped that Narcissa would have given her the excuse.
“I’m going to blast your head off!” screeched Narcissa suddenly, reaching for her wand.
“Go on and try it! Come on! Give it your best shot!” Krysta shouted back, daring Narcissa to attack.
“Enough” screamed Bellatrix, snatching Narcissa’s wand out of reach before she could grab it.
“You! You pathetic little wretch, you disgusting little brat. Do you have any idea what you’re dealing with here?” Bellatrix hissed at Krysta. Krysta’s smile turned into a sneer.
“Do you?” she replied threateningly. Bella’s lip curled, revealing her teeth. She stepped forward and walked slowly over to Krysta. She leant down and spoke in a low, hissing voice so that only Krysta could hear.

“Let’s get one thing straight here, child. I don’t care who are, or where you come from, or who your great, great Grand Mummy was. You’re finished, don’t you understand? It’s all over for you, for your Mother. He’s got your number. He knows everything. And he will finish you.” Bella.
Krysta held Bella’s eye the whole time, her expression blank. When Bella fell silent Krysta smiled gently. She raised her face so that her lips were merely an inch from Bella’s ear. She whispered softly.
“You keep telling yourself that sweetheart.”
With that Krysta smiled and took step backwards and her smile broadened.
“Oh and you should keep a tighter reign on your sister. You might not always be around to stand in the way.” She suggested in a bright, helpful tone with the slightest trace of a threat. She began to walk away towards the dormitory. When she was almost there, Bella called out to her.
“Hedwig.”
Krysta stopped and looked back at her.
“Your little friend has really impressed The Dark Lord. He has a lot of potential. I’d hate for something to happen to him before he can be initiated. It would be such a tragedy.” She called out. Krysta narrowed her eyes, but looked un-phased. Instead she nodded her head and returned the threat.
“Yes Bellatrix. It really would.” She replied warningly.
With that she disappeared up the stairs.

Krysta dropped onto her bed in her empty dorm room and gasped for air. Her head was spinning. She honestly felt like this day couldn’t get any worse.
She lay down on the bed and pulled her knees up to her chin, curling up into a tight ball. For the first time since she was a small child she burst into tears.

*

Remus slumped into the Common Room feeling completely deflated. His new relationship with Krysta seemed to go from one disaster to another and they’d only been going out for 4 hours.
Sirius, Charlie, Diane and Peter were sitting on the sofas laughing and talking. Remus scowled. He knew Sirius hadn’t actually done anything wrong, but he couldn’t help feeling bitter towards him right now. Part of him felt like the argument had somehow been Sirius’s fault and the sight of him canoodling with Charlie just added to his feelings. Why should Sirius have it all so easy? He went from girl to girl without a care. He’d dump one and be dating another days later, sometimes even later the same day. Remus used to find it amusing, but right now he couldn’t help feeling that it was unfair. Remus had finally found someone he felt he could be with without constantly worrying about keeping secrets, someone who intrigued and excited him, who was fun to be with. And it already seemed to be doomed.
It was bad enough that she was in Slytherin, but he could deal with that. It was the fact that their friends hated each other and the animosity she felt for the other Marauders. He just couldn’t see how it would work.

He headed straight for the dorms, hoping no one would notice him.
“Remus! Hey, mate, where have you been?” called Sirius, sounding pleased to see his friends. Remus cursed silently and quickened his pace. He ran up the stairs and into the dorm, hoping to the higher powers that Sirius wouldn’t follow. He was annoyingly disappointed.
“Oi, what’s up? We missed you in History earlier. Not that you missed much.” Sirius announced and dropped onto his own bed. Remus managed a weak, half-hearted smile and didn’t respond. Sirius watched him with a worried frown for a few seconds.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. Remus shrugged, not sure how to answer. He didn’t want to talk about Krys. He wasn’t even sure he wanted Sirius to know about her. There were two reasons. One: that the whole Slytherin-Gryffindor feud would definitely be an issue with Sirius and two: he just wanted to keep it to himself right now. It was almost like it was his own special little thing and the idea of having a secret romance was actually kind of exciting…if she ever spoke to him again of course.

“I’m fine. I’m just tired from last night.” Remus lied.
“Fair enough. That reminds me, why did Hedwig scream and go tearing out of the Hall this morning? I saw you go after her.” He asked. Remus was glad that Sirius had believed the lie, but somehow the conversation had still come back ‘round to Krysta again.
“Oh, yeah. I wounded her last night and that idiot Snape hit her on it. She screamed in pain. I just went out to see if she was alright.” Remus explained in a voice that he hoped sounded casual. Sirius just rolled his eyes.
“Snivellus is such a moron.” Sirius commented nastily.
“I don’t think he meant to.” said Remus, then realised he was defending Snape. “He followed us and had a right go. None of his greasy business.” Remus added, just as nastily as Sirius and Sirius nodded eagerly.
“I don’t know why Krys hangs around with him. She is so above him.” Sirius added, then realised he was being nice about Krysta. He quickly backtracked. “If she’s stupid enough to hang around with idiots like him, it’s her own fault.” He added.
Remus looked at Sirius warily.
“I didn’t think you liked her.” Remus commented, a slight glimmer of hope in his heart. Maybe if Sirius and Krysta could learn to be friends their relationship would be easier. Unfortunately Sirius snorted dismissively.
“I don’t! Like I said: it’s her own fault. Besides, she’s a Slytherin.” Sirius said, firmly. Remus’s heart drooped.
“Yeah.” He said, staring out of the window. “She is.”

[Willow Knotwood]

Part 21

Alice looked up from her homework to watch her friend as she worked her art. Abi was painting an enormous picture of horses grazing in a field.
“That’s really good!” she whispered. Abi looked at her and grinned.
“I know.” She said and Alice giggled.
Alice was a second year Hufflepuff with long golden curly hair that swung around her shoulders in locks and sparkling hazel eyes.
Abi was one of her best friends. She too had blonde hair, but Abi preferred to wear hers in a long plait that hung down one side of her head, hiding half of her face. She was the creative one.
Alice on the other and was the clever one, and many often said she should have been in Ravenclaw. Abi often told her it was her heart of gold that placed her in Hufflepuff, but Alice wasn’t convinced. She wasn’t very sure of herself at times and confidence was a big issue with her, sometimes resulting in bouts of clumsiness. It was this that Alice believed put her in Hufflepuff.
Their other friend Maryjane was the wild one. She was a practical joker and a Quidditch obsessive. It always made Alice and Abi laugh as outwardly; Maryjane was a very quiet and polite person, which only made her more deadly. The teachers never suspected her and so she often got away with Murder.

Right now Maryjane had gone off with her new boyfriend James Potter, leaving her other two friends in the study hall. Alice, although often asked out by boys had never actually gone out with one and didn’t see why James should take precedence over homework. Abi on the other hand felt the opposite and declared that the moment someone asked her out she’d be off and as far away from homework as she could get. Abi had been out with a few boys over the last two years, but had grown bored of them very quickly. Alice fancied it was her unquenchable thirst for inspiration. Abi needed to be stimulated and challenged, and she had yet to find a boy that matched up. In other words: she was fussy.

Right now she was settling for painting.
“What are their names?” asked Alice, watching the horses develop on Abi’s canvas.
“Twitchet and Puddle” replied Abi without looking up. Alice laughed.
“Good names.” She commented. Alice watched Abi paint for a bit before speaking.
“So what do you think of James?” she asked, thoughtfully.
“Think of him? I don’t really think of him much.” Abi replied dryly, not looking up from the painting.
“You know what I mean.” Said Alice impatiently.
“Well he’s in Gryffindor.”
“Yes”
“And he’s on the Quidditch team.”
“Yes.”
“He’s a Marauder.” Abi continued with a slight grimace.
“YES!” yelled Alice. Abi was deliberately being annoying.
“I like him.” Said Abi, looking up from the painting for the first time.
“Yeah… I think I like him too.” Commented Alice, nodding her head.
“At first I thought he was a bit arrogant, but he’s quite sweet really.”
“He’s nice to Mary and that’s what matters.” Abi said conclusively and Alice nodded.
Abi looked very thoughtful for a moment.
“Do you think he’d put a good word in for me with Sirius Black?” she asked in amusing hopefulness. Both girls looked at each other for a moment then burst out laughing. After they stopped Abi looked serious for a moment.
“What? You think I’m joking?”


Lily wandered through the study hall looking for Severus. Behind her two blonde girls were laughing loudly and she frowned. In her opinion the study hall was for study, not for socialising.
She spotted Severus hunched over his books a few tables over and hurried over to him.
“Where’ve you been?” she asked crossly. “I thought you were going to meet me after lunch.” She added, folding her arms and glaring at him. Severus barely looked up from his books and simply shrugged.
“Well I finished my essay anyway. How are you getting on?” she asked, ignoring his ignorance. He shrugged again and she scowled. Then her face became soft and she reached out to touch his hand.
“What’s wrong?” she asked gently. He looked up and Lily was shocked to see his eyes were red. He wasn’t crying but his eyes looked exceedingly puffy. He opened his mouth to speak then closed it again, merely shaking his head.
“It’s Krys.” He finally replied and Lily looked surprised.
“Krys? Why? Where is she?” she asked, looking around for her other friend. Severus shook his head again. And lowered his face over his books once more. Lily squeezed hand.
“Severus.” She said, using his full name for the first time in years. “Spill it.”

Lily listened to Sev’s description of the afternoon’s events thoughtfully, exclaiming out loud when she heard of Krysta’s injury.
“But how did she injure herself?” she asked.
“I’ve no idea, I haven’t had the chance to ask her. Judging by the look on her face when she left, I’m not sure I’m her favourite person right now.” He said glumly. Lily looked sympathetic.
“You thought he was hurting her. You were just trying to defend her.” She said reassuringly, but Sev just shrugged again.
“She looked furious. But now I think about it, it IS Lupin. He’s not exactly a formidable character. Why I thought he was hurting her, I don’t know.”
“You reacted on instinct, Sev. You were just looking out for your friend.” Lily added, giving him a kind smile and squeezing his hand again.
His hand tingled and he looked at where her skin touched his. He shivered, hoping she would leave her hand there forever.

“This whole thing is rather odd, though. I mean, like I said: how did she get injured? And what was Remus doing with her anyway? I didn’t think he even knew her, let alone care enough to go and help her.” Lily removed her hand from Sev’s and frowned, deep in thought. Sev looked mournfully at the spot where her hand had been on his.
“No idea. She’s been odd recently.” Sev said dismissively. Lily frowned at him.
“How’d you mean?” she asked.
“Well…she always on my case about The Club…”
“Well to be honest I agree with her, Sev!” Lily interrupted.
“Oh, Lily, not you too.” Sev moaned. Lily looked sternly at him.
“Sev, everyone knows Malfoy and Bellatrix are trouble. Some people even think they in League with…you know…Him” said Lily, whispering the last word as though afraid someone might hear her. Sev looked up sharply at her.
“Who told you that?” he asked, sounding angry. She looked at his change in manner in surprise.
“Sev…everyone thinks it. They’re not nice people, Sev, I don’t know why you like hanging around with them.” She said, calmly. Sev shook his head, still annoyed.
“You wouldn’t understand.” He said in a low voice.
“No, I don’t!” she exclaimed, her voice full of concern. “Sev…you’ve changed you know.” She said gently. He looked at her with a hooded expression, but she continued delicately. “Since you’ve been a member of that club you’ve been different. You’ve been…” she trailed off, not really wanting to finish, but he looked at her sternly.
“What?” he demanded. “Go on, say it.”
“Mean.” She finally replied. He looked at her with a mixture of hurt and anger.
“I haven’t been mean to you! I’d never be mean to you!” he protested. Lily smiled sadly.
“No, no I know you haven’t. But to others…you’ve been snapping at first years, making horrible comments about anyone who isn’t in Slytherin…”
“Only people who deserved it!” Sev interrupted and Lily looked at him in exasperation.
“It’s like you look down on people.” She added, uncertainly. He shrugged and stared at his unfinished essay. For a few moments he didn’t say anything and she sat looking at the table uncomfortably.
“You know what, Lily: you’re right. I have been looking down on people: because they’re nothing. They’re scum. I am better than them. I’m smarter, I’m more talented…and one thing being in The Club has taught me is that if you want what you deserve you have to take it for yourself.”
He spoke boldly, his voice full of a pride and resolve she hadn’t heard before. She looked at him and her face expressed the concern and fear she felt.
“Sev…you sound…you like one of Them.” She said, cautiously, not wanting to cause another outburst. To her horror, he just smiled.
“Lily…” He took her hand and she gulped slightly. “I AM one of Them.”



Remus had been sitting up with James, Sirius, Peter and Lily’s friends. Lily herself had come in and given them all a weak smile before heading straight upstairs to the dormitory. It was fairly late and after a hurried discussion, Diane and Charlie (much to Sirius’s displeasure) had followed Lily upstairs to see what was up with her.
James had spent much of the evening talking about Maryjane, which although Sirius and Peer listened eagerly, Remus wasn’t really in the mood for.
All he could think about was Krys and the argument they’d had. He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to say sorry. He wanted to tell her he didn’t care which house she was in or who her friends were. And he wanted her to tell him the same thing.
But would she? Could she look past his Marauder friends and the Gryffindor banner? He hoped so. She didn’t strike him as unreasonable…mostly. She was incredibly hot-headed and quick to fight. But she couldn’t hate Gryffindor that much, could she? She was friends with Lily Evans after all.
He got thinking about Lily for a moment, wondering if there was anyway of using Lily to get to Krysta, to make her listen to him. But why would Lily listen to him? Yet again his status as a Marauder worked against him.

What felt like forever later, the rest of his friends decided they’d yawned long enough and declared it was time for bed.
“You coming moon-boy?” asked Sirius stifling another yawn. Remus grinned at the strange new nickname but shook his head. James laughed too and ruffled his already messy hair.
“Moon-boy” James repeated with a chuckle. Sirius grinned sleepily.
“Nah, I’m gonna stay up a bit. I think my body clock’s off.” Remus lied and his friends waved lazily at him as they left for the dorm.
Remus shifted himself into a more comfortable position, now he had the sofa to himself. He stared into the fire, seeing a thousand pictures in its flames. He found fire hypnotic and never boring. It was ever changing and never the same. He gazed at it in a trance-like state for several minutes before glancing around the empty Common Room enjoying the quiet solitude.
What’s wrong with that tapestry? he thought to himself. It was moving. It was quivering as though something was struggling behind it. Suddenly a large figure tumbled out from behind the tapestry onto the stone floor and Remus cried out in surprise fumbling frantically for his wand. He stopped however when he realised who the figure was. He stared at her in astonishment, back to the tapestry, then at her again. He couldn’t speak. Krysta smiled awkwardly at him.
“It’s about time.” She grumbled, pushing herself to her feet and dusting herself down.
“I thought those idiots would never leave.”

[Willow Knotwood]

Part 22

“How the hell did you…where did you come from?” he demanded, not bothering to keep his voice down. She looked startled slightly, but looked and pointed at the tapestry through which she’d just tumbled.
“Through there. Secret passage.” She explained simply. Remus looked horrified and quickly got to his feet. He went right over to the tapestry and started studying it, looking behind it at the wall for the hidden way. He looked back around at her flabbergasted.
“Where?!” he asked, unable to locate it.
“Here.” she replied, walking over o hi and gently tapping the wall with her first and fourth finger. Remus nearly jumped back in surprise as a door appeared in the brickwork.
“But how did you…what did you…What?!” he stammered, gently turning the handle and pushing the door open. He peered into the gloom beyond and shivered.
“How long has this been here?” he asked. He couldn’t believe there was a secret passage into the Common Room. This was outrageous.
“It’s always been there. Salazar Slytherin put them in. He told the others they were escape routes, but I think he just wanted full-run of the castle…or means to spy on his fellow Founders.” She mumbled with a frown.
“You mean there are others? Into the other Common Rooms?” he asked in disbelief.
“Yep. Though I haven’t found the Hufflepuff one yet.” She confirmed sounding slightly annoyed with herself. Remus just stared at her shaking his head. This girl never ceased to amaze him.
“I can’t believe…this is so out of order. It’s not right. You can’t just go letting yourself into other people’s Common Rooms.” He exclaimed, staring at her in horror. She looked confused,
“Why?” she asked.
“Because that’s the point of The Common Rooms! They’re meant to be sanctuaries! Somewhere that’s just for us! They have passwords for a reason, Krys!”
Krysta stared at him for a few seconds. She chewed her bottom lip.
“I wanted to see you.” She said in a trembling, quiet voice.
“Then wait until tomorrow. What can be so important that you have to break into Gryffindor tower?” he asked, waving his arms in frustration. He honestly felt he was the only person with a grip on reality sometimes.
Krysta’s face screwed up and she spluttered a little. To start with he thought she was in pain or was going to be sick. But when the first sob left her throat the anger instantly melted away. He found himself running across the room and wrapping her small body up in his arms, hugging her tightly to him. For a while he just let her cry.

Remus led her to one of the sofas and made her sit down. He sat beside her and she leant against him. He placed an arm comfortingly around her shoulders and she rested her head against his chest. Her tears had now stopped and she merely sniffed occasionally. They just sat there for a while and he could feel her relaxing and soon her breathing was even and slow. He rubbed her shoulder with his fingers and with his free hand he took hers and squeezed it reassuringly.
“What brought that on?” he asked softly. She sniffed again and he felt her shrug.
“I had a bad day.” She answered and he smiled to himself. She couldn’t see his face right now anyway.
“You strike me as the kind of person who has a lot of bad days.” He commented, teasing her slightly. She chuckled and he hugged her closer.
“You don’t strike me as the kind of person who cries a lot though.” He added, sounding concerned.
“I’m not. I haven’t cried since…” she trailed off and frowned. He looked down at the top of her head.
“Since…?” he prompted.
“Since my Dad died.” She concluded quietly. He kissed her head and held her more tightly.
“I’m sorry we argued earlier. I shouldn’t have said that about Snape.” Remus finally said. He sincerely felt bad about it. Krysta sniffed again.
“Yeah, but it’s true isn’t it? He is hanging around with Death Eaters. And I don’t know what to do about it. Even if I could talk him around I’m not sure they’d give him up without a fight.” She said, sounding deeply troubled. Remus frowned down at her black hair.
“What do you mean? He’s just a 13 year old, what do they care?” he asked.
“Hmmm.” Krysta mumbled. Remus pushed Krysta upright and looked at her seriously.
“Krys, is there something you’re not telling me?” he asked, looking her right in the eye. She held his gaze for a few moments and then closed them in defeat.
“Yes…quite a lot.” She admitted. He looked at her, his eyes full of concern and curiosity. She took a deep breath, and began to tell him everything.

*

Sev yelped in surprise as the three of them apparated into the grounds of a large house. Lucius let go of his shoulder and Sev tumbled to the ground. He’d never apparated before and even though it was only side-along, he felt decisively disorientated. He quickly gathered himself and scrambled to his feet. He looked at Lucius who gave him a reassuring nod and then at Bellatrix who smiled at him. There was something cold and calculating about that smile.
“Come one. He does not like to be kept waiting.” Lucius ordered and Sev quickly feel in step behind the older two as they began marching towards the stately building.
His stomach was doing somersaults the whole time and he was terrified he might suddenly be sick. That would not look good. Somehow he managed to hold onto his dinner as he was led through the mighty front door.

Once inside, Sev couldn’t help but stop and look around in surprise. From the outside the house had looked so grand and impressive. Now inside he was shocked to find it dark, dreary and poorly maintained.
“What’s the matter?” asked Bellatrix impatiently.
“It’s just…look at it.” Breathed Sev, trying to keep his voice low in case someone may hear hi and take offence. Bellatrix looked solemn and serious.
“What did you expect, Buckingham Palace? The Dark Lord has no need for grandeur. Such creature comforts are beneath him and distract from the important things.” She explained briskly.
“Well said, my dear.”
Sev froze as the cold, silky voice met his ears. It echoed around the room like it was detached from its speaker. His eyes darted around him searching for them, but could see no one.
“Bring Mr Snape to the Drawing Room.” The voice ordered and Bellatrix grabbed Sev’s arm and dragged him past an ancient but grand staircase and to a wooden door leading off the hall. The door opened by itself and Sev looked at Lucius uncertainly.
“Come in, boy, you have nothing to fear.” The voice order gently and Sev gulped. Now he was here he wasn’t so sure it was a good idea. He should have stayed at Hogwarts and taken Krys’s advice.
“Go on.” Encouraged Lucius with a smile. Sev returned the smile weakly and stepped forward into the Drawing Room.

The room was dark lit only by the fire that crackled in the hearth. It gave the room a warm, almost comforting glow, though Sev’s stomach was still in his feet.
“Come forward.” The voice ordered and this time the voice felt close, like the speaker was barely feet away and the echo was gone. Sev obeyed. He moved to the middle of the room, his eyes constantly darting around, searching, Suddenly his eyes locked on a figure standing by the fireplace and he gasped. The man smiled at him and Sev found himself mesmerised by him. The man stepped forward to stand in front of the boy and held out his long, pale hand. Sev stared at the man’s hand horror-stricken, frozen by his nerves.
“Will you not shake hands with Lord Voldemort, Severus?”

Severus stared into Lord Voldemort’s face, is lips slightly open in wonder. He cautiously slid his hand into Lord Voldemort’s and was surprised to find it strangely cool and smooth. They shook hands gently and Lord Voldemort released his grip, beaming triumphantly.
“It is an honour to finally meet you, Severus.” Voldemort said with a seemingly genuine smile. Severus smiled slightly then remembered his manners. He dropped to his knees and bowed his head.
“The honour is mine, my Lord.” He spoke sincerely and humbly. With his head bowed he did not see the glint of satisfaction that crossed Voldemort’s face.
“Please, my boy, stand. Come and talk with me. I have much about you from Lucius and Bella. They speak very highly of you…and I have the highest respect for their opinion.
Sev looked up at Voldemort in surprise and quickly rose to his feet. He smiled with embarrassment.
“My Lord, I fear they may have exaggerated greatly…”
“Nonsense!” Voldemort interrupted before Severus could continue his modesties. He sat in a large, high-backed armchair by the fire and motioned for Sev to sit in one opposite him. Sev obliged and clasped his hands in his lap. Voldemort watched him closely, studying his face thoughtfully. He was still smiling gently. Sev couldn’t explain it, but he was beginning to feel strangely at ease. This was not what he expected at all. He cautiously looked back at Voldemort noting his remarkably pale, smooth skin and his oddly small nose. He couldn’t explain it, but Voldemort’s nose looked as though it was gradually receding back into his face. The man’s eyes were slightly hooded and they sparkled. He could not tell what colour they really were. There was a reddish tinge to the eyelids right up against his eyes as though the blood vessels had burst. Other than that he looked like a regular man. Sev didn’t know why he was surprised. What had he expected?
Voldemort smiled with amusement.
“Is Lord Voldemort what you expected Severus?” he asked with kind taunting. Severus blushed and looked down at is hands.
“It is alright, Severus. It is natural that you should be curious of me. I am sure you must have spent hours wondering what I must look like.”
Sev nodded, still blushing. It was true. Voldemort beamed at him.
“I hope I do not disappoint.” He added and Sev looked up immediately.
“No, My Lord!” he exclaimed and Voldemort’s smile broadened.

“Enough of me!” Voldemort suddenly announced, clapping his hands together and making Sev jump slightly. “Let us talk about you. Tell me about yourself, Severus.” Voldemort ordered in a friendly manner. Sev smiled, but felt awkward. He didn’t know where to start.
“Tell me about your parents.” Voldemort suggested. Sev’s heart dropped. He had hoped that subject would not be brought up.
“My Mother’s name is Eileen Prince, My Lord. She was in Slytherin at Hogwarts, like me.” Sev began, hoping he could avoid the obvious. He was wrong.
“Good. And your father?” Voldemort asked and Sev’s face fell. Voldemort watched him closely.
“My father…left us years ago, My Lord. I do not know much about him.” Sev explained, not telling the complete truth. Voldemort frowned for the first time since Sev had met him and he gulped. He had heard that Lord Voldemort could read minds. Voldemort leaned forward slightly and fixed Severus with a serious but kind expression.
“Severus, you must know that you can tell Lord Voldemort anything. It is no matter to him who your Father was. It is your loyalty and love that matters to him.” He said gently. Sev noticed for the first time that Voldemort only to himself in the third person. It was slightly unnerving. He smiled shyly.
“My father was a Muggle, my Lord.” He explained, hanging his head in shame. “It is not something I am proud of.”
Voldemort studied Sev for a few seconds then smiled kindly.
“It is not your fault that your Father is a Muggle, Severus. In fact I feel strongly for you. You know first hand the nature of these filthy creatures. What kind of filth would leave his child?” Voldemort hissed and Sev looked up in surprise. It was exactly how he felt about his Father.
“Yes, my Lord.” He agreed enthusiastically. Voldemort smiled darkly.

“Tell me about your friends.” Voldemort suddenly changed the subject and Sev looked surprised, but pleased.
“Well, my lord…there are the members of the club obviously.” He said, holding his hands palm upright. Voldemort nodded and smiled.
“Of course. I fine bunch they are too. Tell me about…Miss Evans is it?” he asked. Voldemort’s voice sounded calm and neutral and he looked at Sev with honest interest but Sev was immediately on alert. What did he know about Lily? What had Lucius told him?
“Yes, my Lord. Lily Evans. I met her before I started Hogwarts. For years she was my only friend. She’s in Gryffindor, though” He said with a slight frown. Voldemort nodded, encouraging him to continue, seemingly not bothered by the Gryffindor problem.
“How did you meet?” he asked and Sev gulped involuntarily.
“I saw her around my neighbourhood. I knew she was a witch…I saw her doing magic in the playground with her sister so I introduced myself.” He explained honestly. Voldemort looked thoughtful.
“Hmmm, yes. You have to be so careful these days. Muggles are everywhere, especially in London. She has a sister you say? And which house is she in?”
Sev froze. How was he going to get out of this one? And yet something told him that Voldemort already knew the answers to his questions and was merely testing Sev’s honesty. He decided that in this case being honest was the best possible course of action.
“My Lord, Petunia isn’t in Hogwarts. She is a Muggle.”
He spoke so quickly he wasn’t sure that Voldemort had heard him. He certainly didn’t seem to have reacted. He just stared at Sev for a few seconds.
“I see.” He said simply.

After a few more seconds of torturous waiting, Voldemort finally spoke again.
“Tell me about this other friend of yours. Krysta Hedwig? I know her Mother, did you know?” Sev’s heart almost stopped with relief. Voldemort was going to let Lily’s blood-status drop. He couldn’t believe it.
“No, my Lord, I did not know. Krys never mentioned it.” A bemused expression flashed across Voldemort’s face and was almost instantly gone.
“No. I suppose she wouldn’t. Tell me, are you and Krysta good friends?” asked Voldemort casually.
“Yes, my Lord. Besides Lily she is my best friend.” He replied and Voldemort smiled broadly.
“Excellent.” He responded, more to himself than to Sev. Sev twiddled his fingers slightly, not sure what else to say about Krys. He certainly didn’t want to mention the fact that Krys kept telling him to leave “the Club”. He didn’t have to, however.
“I very much wanted Krysta to join our little club, you know.” Voldemort told Severus, sounding sincerely disappointed. “Lucius tells me she has been quite awkward, though. Can you think why?” he asked. Severus thought for a short while before shaking his head.
“No, my Lord. I tried talking to her, but she won’t listen.” He said apologetically.
“No matter, Severus. Her Mother is as stubborn.” He said with a grin. “And besides, there is more than one way to crack a nut.” He added with a wink and Sev was startled, wondering what he meant.

Finally after several moments deep in thought, Voldemort looked at Sev with a hearty grin.
“Severus, my boy, I am so very glad you came here today. You know my resolve; my goals; the wonderful plans I have for our world. I would be proud to have you at my side in this fight.” He said, rising to his feet. Sev quickly stood up too and nodded politely.
“I would be honoured to serve you my Lord.” He replied sincerely. Voldemort clamped a hand on the boy’s shoulder and began to lead him from the room to the hall where Lucius and Bellatrix were waiting for them.
Both Bellatrix and Lucius bowed respectfully in the presence of their Master and Voldemort smiled at them both.
“Thank you, my dear friends, for bring Mr Snape to meet me. It has been a most enjoyable evening. I hope you shall come back and visit me again soon, Severus.” He announced and Sev nodded eagerly.
“Of course, my Lord.”
“Excellent.”


When the three youths had left the building Voldemort returned to the drawing room and sank into his armchair. He smiled to himself. Mr Snape was going to be a very useful asset indeed.

[Willow Knotwood]

Part 23

The Marauders climbed jovially into their seats at breakfast. Sirius and Charlie were all over each other and Peter was listening to James talk about Maryjane. Remus, however, sat in silence, pushing his breakfast around his plate wistfully. He was not the only one. Lily too was making modern art of her grapefruit and staring at it sadly with a gentle frown. For a while this went unnoticed, so interested in each other their friends were, It was Sirius that called them out.
“What’s up with you two? You look like someone’s died!” he exclaimed with a slight laugh. He didn’t get the reaction he’d expected. Remus looked up horror stricken and white as a sheet and Lily took one look at him and burst into tears before running from the table.
“What did I say?” asked Sirius, sincerely baffled. Remus watched the redheaded girl disappear from the Hall and shook his head.
“Don’t worry about it, mate. Don’t think it’s your fault.” He said airily, staring at the spot when Lily had vanished with a frown on his face.
“She’s been acting odd since last night.” Commented Charlie and Diane looked up from her Cornflakes and nodded sadly.
“She wouldn’t tell us what was wrong, though.” She added. James looked towards the Hall entrance with concern on his face,
“Do you think she’s alright?” he asked quietly. “Should someone go after her?” he added as an after thought. Remus shook his head.
“No. Just let her be.”


“Euch, just look at them. What does he see in her anyway, she’s not even that pretty.” Mumbled Abi, spearing her bacon with her fork violently.
“What? Who?” asked Maryjane. She was staring at James with a slight smile on her lips.
Abi looked at her and shook her head.
“Love-struck. Completely love-struck, it’s disgusting.” She muttered in mock pity. Maryjane scowled at her.
“Shut up.” She said with a grin as he cheeks turned pink. Alice giggled and shovelled some cereal into her mouth.
“I was talking about my Sirius.” Abi continued. “What does he see in that girl? I really don’t get it.”
“Charlie’s ok.” Maryjane said casually before swallowing some bacon. Abi looked at her friend incredulously, and Maryjane recoiled from the look.
“What?!” she asked, defensively.
“You’re supposed to be on my side.” Abi told her crossly. Maryjane looked completely lost.
“On your side in what?” she asked, reaching for her pumpkin juice.
“The fight for Sirius!” Abi exclaimed loudly and dramatically, causing a few Hufflepuffs to look curiously in their direction.
“Sirius?” asked Maryjane, sounding confused. “But he’s going out with Charlie!” she said and even Alice shook her head and rolled her eyes.
“What planet are you on, Mary? That Potter’s stopping your brain from working. Sirius is going to break up with Charlie.” Abi announced firmly. Maryjane looked surprised.
“He is?” she asked looking over at the Gryffindor table where Sirius and Charlie looked far from planning to break up.
“Yes, he is.” Abi confirmed resolutely. Maryjane still looked confused.
“Why?” she asked.
“Because he’s going to go out with me instead.” Abi replied and Maryjane grinned.
“Ah…I see.” She said, finally cottoning on to what this was all about.

“And how do you plan to pull that off?” asked Maryjane as they walked to class. Abi looked at her like it was the stupidest question ever asked.
“Oh he’s way better off with me!” she exclaimed.
“Explain.” Prompted Maryjane with a grin.
“Well I’m smart, I’m pretty, I’m funny, I’m creative…”
“…Modest…” interrupted Alice and received a nasty look for her trouble. Maryjane chuckled.
“Yes, that’s all true, my dear, but how do you plan to a: split him and Charlie up and b: get him to notice you?” asked Mary, grinning at Alice over Abi’s head. Abi frowned.
“Both objectives can be dealt with in one way. If I get him to notice me, he will leave her anyway.” She announced.
“You seem very confident.” Alice commented with a raised eyebrow.
“Exactly! Boys are drawn to that.” Abi told them wisely.
“I thought it was girls that were drawn to confidence.” Alice whispered to Maryjane. Abi pretended not to hear her.
“Someone like Sirius likes that. He needs someone feisty and inventive. Someone who will keep him on his toes.” Abi explained, beginning to sound like a criminal mastermind.
“And you’re the girl for the job?” asked Alice. Abi grinned.
“Naturally.”

The three girls traipsed into Defence class laughing and not really paying attention to where they were going.
“Oomph, oh I’m sorry!” cried Alice in alarm as she crashed into someone. She looked at the ground in dismay as books went scattering everywhere.
“Oh no, I’m so sorry.” She wailed, dropping to the floor to start picking things up. A deep voice chuckled and she looked up in surprise. The boy she’d bumped into was smiling at her warmly. He dropped to his knee next to her and began helping to pick everything up. Alice was bright red in the face. She recognised the boy as a Ravenclaw student she shared a few classes with. He was quite tall and had very dark brown hair and brown eyes. Eyes that made her blush.
“I really am sorry.” She said again.
“You said that.” He said with a gentle chuckle and she laughed a little hysterically. Her face reddened even further. She was making a fool of herself! He must think her such a clutz.
“I’m just such a ditz at times!” She exclaimed in frustration.
“Don’t worry about it, please. No harm done.” He said kindly. She looked up at him and saw that he was still smiling at her. She swallowed hard. His eyes were so pretty.
She gathered up the last of his books and got to her feet, shaking her head at herself. What was wrong with her?
He joined her, still smiling and they swapped books so that they each had their own.
“I’m Frank by the way.” He said. She found herself smiling nervously at him.
“Alice.” She said. He smiled and nodded.
“Yeah, I know.” He said, his smile broadening. She looked at him in surprise as he turned and went to his seat, re-joining his friends. She stared after him her mouth slightly open in surprise.
Abi sidled up behind Alice and whispered into her ear.
“Well…it looks like someone’s made an impression.”



Later than night Remus went to the 7th floor corridor as arranged and stood outside the Room of Requirement staring at it nervously. Even though it was a blank wall, he was wary of what lay hidden behind it. Taking a deep breath he walked back and forth three times thinking:
“I need to get into Krysta’s training room.” as he marched. He almost didn’t expect it to work, but to his surprise a door appeared in the wall and he cautiously stepped forward and pushed it open.
As he entered he was met with a loud bang and a flash of light. Something on a table against a wall smashed into a thousand pieces and Krysta stood facing it, her face screwed up in concentration.
“What was that?!” he cried out and Krys turned to face him. Her initial shock turned to relief and happiness when she saw him. She grinned.
“That was ‘obliviate’” she informed him.
“Blimey. Is it meant to do that?” he asked, sounding nervous. She grinned even more and nodded.
“Yes…only I’m having trouble localising my attack. I can do it with my wand, but if I try without my wand…” she began and demonstrated the problem: she waved her hand in the air as though it were a wand and Remus cried out in surprise when the entire table blew up, taking a chunk of the wall with it.
“Ah.” Commented Remus. “Yes, I see the problem.”

Krys dropped onto a large cushion and sighed in frustration. Remus walked over to her and sat on an equally large cushion next to her. He just looked at her for a few seconds.
She chewed her knuckle for a little while staring at her knees.
“I just don’t seem to be able to get in under control.” She moaned softly.
“That was pretty scary” agreed Remus. She snorted.
“You should have seen what happened with my first wand. We never did find all the splinters.” She said with a grimace. Remus smiled gently.
“We really are a couple of freaks, aren’t we?” he said, taking her hand. She looked at him and smiled.

Remus stayed and watched Krys practise for hours. Having him there seemed to lift her mood and she revelled in showing off her skills. He couldn’t believe all the spells she knew; all the jinxes and defensive spells, many he’d never even seen or heard of. Her Mother had trained her well.
It made him sad, however, to know that in a few days when they left for Easter, they would not be able to spend time together. Krysta’s Mother was taking her back to Romania for training and he would not be able to see her. As it was, Krys trained 3 nights a week already. If he was honest with himself he was beginning to wonder how much time they would be able to spend together, especially since they had agreed to keep their relationship a secret. That would limit their time even further since they couldn’t be seen together in public. What once seemed like a fun and romantic venture was soon turning into heartache, before it even got started.
He watched her as she let a trio of Hinkypunks out of a chest and began shining light on them from her wand. He watched as they froze and began swaying in a stupor. It made him chuckle.
However when she tried to do it without her wand they both cried out in pain as the light she created was so bright it nearly blinded them.
When the light had faded and their eyes had readjusted, she threw him a sheepish grin and he shook his head at her in amusement. She went back to her work and he watched her, studying her techniques, trying to learn the spells she practised. But his heart was heavy. And when at last he walked they left the room and went their separate ways it was with a touch of sadness that he kissed her goodnight.

[Willow Knotwood]

Part 24

The days leading up to the Easter break dragged on for most of the students at Hogwarts. For a select few they passed by all too quickly. But whether they liked it or not the last day of term arrived and it was time to go home.
For some this was exciting and inviting, for others it was boring, tedious and in some cases: terrifying.
James and the Marauders boarded the Hogwarts Express with a skip in their stride. They had three weeks of fun and relaxation ahead. Much to their delight everyone had been invited to The Potters for the holidays and they busied themselves discussing all the exciting and wonderful things they would do. To his joy, his Mother had said that Maryjane could come and stay too and bring some friends. He was so excited about the prospect of have all his friends and his girlfriend with him all holiday that the grin didn’t leave his face once throughout the journey back to London.

Others were equally happy about this arrangement. Amongst them were Maryjane and Abi. Maryjane was excited, but equally nervous. She’d never met James’s Mum and although everyone assured her that the lady was lovely, she still found it quite daunting.
Abi on the other hand had been walking around like the ‘cat who got the cream’ for days. Charlie was not going to the Potters as her parents had insisted that she return home. In Abi’s eyes, this made Sirius fair game.
Amongst the other guests were Alice, of course and James’s cousins Henry and Codi, who went to school in America. They all found this fascinating as the American Wizarding schools were completely independent from the European schools and they were all dying to hear what it was like.

Remus joined in the smiles and laughter on the train, but it took a lot of energy. A large chunk of his heart was elsewhere…far, far away on its way to Romania.
Krys on the other hand was quite focused. She’d resolved that the best way to make the time go faster was to throw herself into her training. She was looking forward to seeing her Mother and brother again. She missed them. And as much as she was going to miss him, she knew Remus would be back in England waiting for her when she got back.

Lily was going back home to London and was looking forward to seeing her parents and Petunia. Her sister had stopped writing to her recently and she was worried about her. Part of her was really going to miss being able to do magic, but the prospect of seeing her family again was more than enough to make up for it. Besides, she knew she’s probably bump into Severus whilst she was home, as they lived so close.

Severus was glum as ever. He hated being home. His Mother was constantly depressed and the house always a mess. In truth he knew he would spend most of his holiday cleaning up the house and looking after his Mother.
His only solace was that Lily had promised to meet up with him, and so he at least would not be alone all holiday. He hoped maybe they could talk a bit more. Things hadn’t been the same since he’d snapped at her the previous week and she had been avoiding him a bit. He wanted to explain, to make see that he still cared for her as he ever had; that this did not affect their relationship. And it didn’t! Did it? No, Lord Voldemort hadn’t told him to stop seeing Lily, he hadn’t said a word. So it must be ok, right?
Lucius had also suggested that Severus would be seeing some of him during the holidays and that meetings would continue through the school break. This too excited him. Would he see Lord Voldemort again? Would he get his Dark Mark?
He thought about this all the way back to London, wondering what the holidays would bring.


Several hours later the Hogwarts Express pulled into Kings Cross. James, Sirius, Peter and Remus waved goodbye to their friends and hurried over to where Mr and Mrs Potter were waiting for them. James was instantly swept up in a huge hug by Mrs Potter, who kissed his cheeks with happiness.
“Darling you’ve grown again! Oh it’s so wonderful to see you. How are you boys, have you had a good term?” she asked with huge smile. The other three boys smiled back, each receiving hearty smacks on the back from Mr Potter.
“Yes, thanks Mrs Potter. James has been in all sorts of trouble, but I took care of it.” Sirius told them with a massive grin. Mrs Potter laughed gaily and Mr Potter roared with laughter, making Sirius grin even harder.
“I’m sure you did, lad, I’m sure you did.” Said Mr Potter with a sly wink. The other boys laughed as Mr Potter ruffled Sirius’s hair so that it looked very much like James’s.

William Potter looked very like James except he was slightly stouter and had a bushy moustache. He was so like James in temperament that Remus often wondered how his wife coped when they were both home. He was wonderful fun to be around, however and was always the first to make someone laugh.
Edie Potter was quite tall for a lady and wore her long brown hair up, held tight on her head with pins. Today she wore a lovely dark red skirt and jacket with a tilting hat to match. The ensemble suited her very nicely, complimenting her pretty face. Remus always thought she had the kindest face of anyone he had ever known. For Sirius she was the loving Mother he never had and she had a very special place in his heart.

“Come on then, boys, let’s get you all home and have some supper. Bill, dear you can talk in the car.” She told her husband with a bemused smile. He had been quizzing James about the Quidditch season and both Potter men looked up with a grin.
“Right you are, Mother.” Mr Potter replied, his old fashioned pet name for her making the boys giggle. He offered her his arm and she took it with a smile as the boys fell in behind them
.


James’s cousins came to stay from America two days later and their arrival was a very happy one indeed. As their carriage pulled up James rushed out of the house at top speed, full of excitement. The others watched from the front stoop as a pretty blonde girl climbed down from the carriage and greeted James with a hug and a grin.
“Wow, is that James’s cousin?” asked Sirius, sounding impressed. Remus rolled his eyes.
“You have a girlfriend, Sirius.” He reminded his friend, tiresomely.
“Doesn’t stop me looking.” Sirius hissed back. James’s cousin flicked her hair over her shoulder and they noticed that one streak of hair was bright pink.
“Look at her hair.” Whispered Peter. They’d never seen a hairstyle like that before.
“I like it, it’s different.” Sirius announced.
“Isn’t there a boy too? Where’s his other cousin?” as Peter, sounding confused. No one got to answer. There was a loud, distant yelling sound that was getting continually louder and the sound of rushing wind met their ears.
“Look out below!” a voice shouted and out of nowhere a figure on a broom crashed headlong into James sending him flying to the ground. They both ended up tangled together in a heap on the front lawn, laughing their heads off. Finally the newcomer got to his feet and offered James his hand. James, still laughing took the boys hand and pulled himself up.
“You gotta be faster than that, cous.” The boy told James, also still laughing. “Hey who are these guys?” he suddenly asked, spotting the others standing by the door.
“Henry, these are my friends, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Guys, this is my cousin Henry.” He said proudly. Henry laughed and stepped forward to shake all their hands. Sirius quickly stepped forward first, a huge grin on his face. He instantly liked this guy. He could see why James had been so excited.
Henry was taller than any of them, but from what they understood he was a year older than them. He had sandy crown hair that was far too long for him and a freckly nose. His skin was nicely tanned and his eyes were sparkling with mischief.
“Nice to meetcha.” He told them shaking each of their hands enthusiastically. “You must be the famous Marauders I’ve heard so much about.” He said with a wink. Sirius laughed.
“Infamous more like!” he exclaimed, which sent Henry into another peel of laughter.

The girl had been standing by the carriage this whole time, watching the spectacle like it was something she saw every day and was used to. She sighed deeply and began pulling a large case up towards the house.
“Here, let me get that.” Said Remus, seeing her struggling. He ignored the smirk Sirius sent his way and took the case from the girl who smiled gently at him.
“Thanks. It’s nice to see there are some gentlemen left in England.” She said with a disparaging look over her shoulder at James. James shrugged and grinned.
Remus carried her case inside to the hallway and she followed him.




Part 25

Krysta was having the dream again. She was surrounded by fire. Bodies lay everywhere on the ground, some of them screaming and writhing in pain. She looked about her in every direction.
“Do it, do it now!” she ordered to the boy who stood over her. He looked…it was James Potter, but he was older and his eyes…his eyes didn’t look right…though strangely familiar.
“I can’t!” he yelled through the crashing of masonry as it tumbled and fell to the ground. It was all coming down around them.
“You have to! If you don’t…if you don’t they’ll all die!” she shouted back. She barely recognised her own voice. It was deeper, urgent and full of resolve.
“I can’t, Krys…” He looked at her pleadingly. The hands that held the knife were shaking and tears were pouring down his face.
“Please?” she begged as a deafening roar surrounded them. They both cowered and the boy fell to his knees. They both looked around them in fear and then back to each other. She reached out and touched his trembling hands.
“This is your destiny. You know it deep inside. You have to kill me. Every moment, everything either of us has ever done has been leading to this.”
“I can’t.” he repeated beseechingly.
Their eyes locked, blue and green searched each other and each saw pain, fear and regret for what they knew had to happen.

“NO!” she screamed and everything: the fire, the deafening roars and dying bodies all slipped away in a split second.
She was dripping with cold sweat and her breathing was deep and laboured. Slowly her surroundings came into view and recognition set in. She was in her room. It was dark. And she was 13 years old. She closed her eyes and too a deep breath, gripping the sheets in her small pale fingers so tightly her knuckles turned white.
She gasped when there was a gentle knock at the door. It opened a crack and a face peered around it.
“Krys?” asked a deep, male voice. She let out a sigh of relief as her brother Simon came into the room. He crossed the stone floor to her bed in the darkness and perched himself on the end of her bed.
“You ok?” he asked gently. She smiled at him in the darkness and felt her breathing slow down. He always had such a calming effect on her.
“Yeah…just a dream.” She said quietly. She heard him snort gently.
“I’ve grown up with you, Mum and Grams. There’s no such thing as just a dream with you.” He said softly and kindly. She chuckled and reached out for his hand. He squeezed her fingers reassuringly.
“Have you had it before?” he asked.
“Yeah.” She said, admittedly.
“How bad is it?” he asked, almost dreading her answer. She sighed.

Her eyes were beginning to become accustomed to the darkness and her brother’s features were beginning to become clearer. He was the spitting image of their Father: tall, blonde and handsome in that old fashioned manner. He had the kind of smile that melted you and you felt like everything was always going to be alright.
Simon was Krysta’s rock. Growing up in her family had always been hard. It often felt to her as though they were cursed rather than gifted. Death always seemed to be a part of their lives and danger was something they all just became used to. Kyla had always been open and honest with her family about everything, as had her own Mother: Kitania. Through the generations, the women of their bloodline had learnt that honesty was the best way to prolong the lives of the people they loved. Their own lifelines remained, sadly: short. Krysta grew up knowing this: knowing she was different, knowing that her life never going to be normal. It was easy to lose touch with reality. Simon was the one thing that kept her feet on the ground; that made her feel like a regular girl.

“It’s pretty intense.” She admitted. “Fire, destruction, death: the usual.” She said, forcing a casual tone. Simon smiled sadly. He watched his sister for a few moments and then stood up.
“Come on. You need some sleep. You know you’ll be up at the crack of dawn.” He instructed and Krys sighed grumpily.
“Yes, boss.” She grumbled, lying down and pulling her blanket up around her chin.
“Sleep tight, kid.” He whispered as he turned to leave.
“’night, Si.” she whispered back and he smiled to the darkness as he left her room.



“Ouch!” Krys shouted angrily as her Mother’s spell hit her in the backside. She glared at Kyla with pursed lips and muttered to herself.
“You’re not paying attention.” Kyla barked, also crossly.
They were duelling. Or at least that was the idea.
“You’re not giving me a chance!” Krys moaned in frustration.
“That’s the point! You have to be faster, you have to be ready and you have to expect the unexpected.” She lectured, sending three successive curses at her daughter who deflected two of them but let the third one past, hitting her on the shoulder. She cried out again and shot her Mother a vicious look.
“No point shooting daggers at me, Krysta, do you think your enemies will wait for you to be ready before they curse you? They will show no mercy or lenience and so neither shall I. I have to get you ready.” she explained firmly, sending two more hexes at Krysta as she spoke. Krysta deflected both of them: one of them directed straight back to her Mother. Kyla dodged out of its way just in time, but a grin spread across her face.
“That’s better, you nearly got me.” She said, a hint of pride creeping into her voice. Krys grinned in triumph and quickly sidestepped another hex.
“Good. Never let down your guard. Your enemy may use any diversionary tactic to put you off-guard. This could be taunting, telling you a long-winded story, over explaining themselves or even complimenting you.” Kyla explained. “Do not be distracted by anything they may say. Be ready for attack at any time.”
Krys deflected two more hexes and sent her own third hex after them. One hit her Mother’s forearm and Kyla cried out and then looked at her daughter with delight.
“Excellent.” She beamed.


“I’m having real problems with wand-less casting.” Krys told her Mother tentatively. They had stopped training for lunch and were sitting on a rolling hill covered in lush green grass and poppies. They were eating mangoes with their fingers and letting the juice get everywhere. Kyla licked juice off her fingers and wiped some off Krysta’s chin before looking down at her daughter thoughtfully.
“Yes, I thought you might be.” She said, quietly. Krys looked at her in surprise.
“I thought you’d be angry!” she said in shock. Kyla smiled and shook her head.
“No, dear, I was the same at your age.” She explained kindly and Krysta’s mouth dropped open in surprise.
“Really?” she asked in disbelief. Kyla nodded.
“But you’re always on at me to try and control it!” Krys cried out, almost accusingly. Kyla smiled guiltily at her her.
“I know…it’s just that it was such a shock to me when I finally got it under control. It all happened over night and then I got thrown head-long into a fight. It was quite disorientating and I suppose…I just wanted you to be prepared.” She looked at the ground and Krysta’s face softened as she watched her Mother. “I just wanted it to be easier for you.” She added and Krys reached out and touched Kyla’s hand. Kyla looked up and smiled, giving Krys’s hand a squeeze.
“The truth is…” she trailed off and an awkward, uncomfortable expression filled her face. “I never gained control over my power until I was called.” She explained hesitantly. Krysta’s face fell and she swallowed a lump in her throat.

What this meant was that Kyla’s powers had only come into control when her Mother had been killed and she’d taken her place in The Coven. That meant that Krys’s own powers would probably also remain erratic until Kyla died and that was something Krys didn’t even want to contemplate. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence Krys drew herself up straight and stuck her chin out.
“Well then I’m just going to have to put up with it, then. I can fight well enough with my wand.” She said confidently and resolutely. Kyla looked down at her daughter and smiled softly, although her heart was almost breaking. She knew that the truth was so much harder. She knew that there were battles to come and not as far away as Krysta would have liked to pretend. The truth was Kyle didn’t know how long she had before someone had a lucky day, before she had one bad day. The women in her family rarely lived past 30. It was just the way it was.
But they had a sacred duty and right now hers was to prepare her daughter for the fight ahead of them. For it was coming. Oh yes it was coming. She could feel it in her bones. And deep down Krysta could feel it too.
Both women stared out across the Romanian countryside, their black hair flying elegantly in the wind. For several minutes neither of them spoke a word.

[Willow Knotwood]

Part 26

Severus lay on his bed staring at the cobweb-strewn ceiling. Another smash from the kitchen below didn’t even make him flinch. He closed his eyes and signed. That was something else for him to clean up, then.
When he returned home the house had been a pigsty. His Mother had allowed the house to become completely run-down and dilapidated. She clearly hadn’t touched a duster in months and the kitchen had new species evolving in it. She had taken to what could only described be as a “liquid diet” and as a result her body had become as run-down and desolate as the house. There was barely a scrap of food left in the house and what was left was inedible.
Severus, unable to use his wand out of school had taken three days to clean the house from top to bottom and refill the fridge and cupboards with food. He was exhausted. And now as he listened to his Mother trashing the kitchen again he felt numb.

He jumped as there was a loud knock on the front door. He heard another crash from the kitchen and leapt to his feet.
“I’ll get it!” he yelled as he rushed from his room and down the stairs. He didn’t want his Mother answering the door in her state. He got to the door and was relieved to hear that she hadn’t even bothered to answer it herself. He opened the door and did a double take when he saw the visitor. It was a man dressed in a blue shirt and dark shorts with a red satchel flung over his shoulder. He was looking at an envelope in his hands uncertainly. He looked up as Sev answered the door and smiled uncertainly.
“Er…is this the Snape residence?” he asked hopefully. Sev nodded, without speaking. The man was clearly a muggle.
“Oh thank goodness.” Exclaimed the man. “I’ve been searching for your house, but the letter just said Snape residence, Spinners End. There’s no house number and er…” He trailed off peering curiously into the hallway. Sev pulled the door to, obscuring the man’s prying eyes. The man smiled guiltily.
“I’ve never delivered to this house before. Never even noticed it to be honest.” He added with a forced smile. Sev did not smile he just looked at the letter in the postman’s hand.
“Is that for me?” he asked coldly, sounding bored. The man seemed slightly taken aback, but smiled anyway.
“Er…oh yeah. Sorry. Here…” he began. Sev took the letter from his outstretched hand shut the door, leaving the bewildered muggle alone on the doorstep.


As he walked back into the hall his Mother was coming in from the kitchen. He looked at the state of her and sneered.
“Who was that?” she asked, sounding angry.
“Just the post, Mum. Don’t worry about it.” He said, making to up the stairs.
“Post don’t come the door, boy. Tell me who it was!” she barked, her voice slurring slightly. He scowled, not wanting to explain.
“It is the post. It’s for me, anyway. Forget about it.” He insisted and began climbing the stairs. His Mother obviously didn't care too much as he heard her wandering off into the lounge mumbling to herself.
“What’s wrong with a bloody owl, that’s what I‘d like to know.”

He ignored her and continued upstairs to his room where he threw himself onto his bed, his long hair falling down around his face. Lily kept telling him to cut it but Lucius said it looked better long. He turned the envelope over in his fingers and instantly recognised Lily’s writing. He smiled and his heart leapt a little. She hadn’t forgotten him after all. He’d been waiting for almost a week to hear from her.
He carefully opened the strange envelope that seemed to be sealed with some kind of glue rather than wax. He used a knife to slit it open, rather than ripping it.

My dearest Severus,

He stopped and re read the first line again, making him smile and a warm fuzzy feeling.

I’m sorry It’s taken so long to get a letter to you. I’d forgotten how long Muggle post can take. I hope your Mum wasn’t too shocked by the postman!
I really miss being at Hogwarts and being able to do magic, and I miss you of course.
It’s been lovely seeing my parents again, I’ve missed them whilst I’ve been away and I think they’ve missed me to. They keep wanting to go out to zoos or the cinema and things like that. They keep asking about school and magic; they seem really fascinated by it all. Not like Petunia. She’s been behaving very odd since I got home and she always says she has things to do when I want to spend time with her. I’ve hardly seen much of her at all to be honest. Do you think she’s still sore at being stuck in a Muggle school? I try not to talk about school too much around her because it seems to annoy her and she’s goes all quiet.

Have you heard from Krys at all? I haven’t had a letter yet, but I suppose running a Dragon Colony must keep her pretty busy. It would be great if we could visit her out there sometime, I’d love to see dragons!

Anyway, Mum says you can come for tea next Tuesday if you want. She says she’d like to see you again. I think she’s just glad that I made friends. She was worried that I wouldn’t because I was raised by Muggles. But I told her that it doesn’t really matter being a Muggle-born. I haven’t told her about You-Know-Who. It would scare her too much.

Write back and tell me if you can come to tea. It’d be great to see you!

Loads of love,
Lily


Severus gazed at the last line of her letter and smiled from ear-to-ear, his heart doing a somersault.
He quickly ran to his desk and pulled out a sheet of parchment and began writing his reply.


Dear Lily,

I really miss you too. I’m so bored at home; it’s horrible here. I wish we were back at school. I don’t think Mum even knows I’m here half the time.
I haven’t heard from Krys, but like you said she’s probably busy. I’m sure she’ll write to us both when she gets the chance.
I haven’t heard from Lucius either. I’m surprised; I was hoping there’d be a meeting soon. He said they were still having club meetings throughout the holiday, but I’ve not had an owl yet.

I’d love to come for tea! I love your Mother she was always so nice to me. Maybe we can meet early in the park like we used to...for old times sake.
Sorry to hear about Petunia, but she’s probably just jealous because she’s not special like you. I’d forget about her, it’s not worth being upset about.

What say I meet you in the park at 2 o’clock on Tuesday? I can’t wait!

All my love,
Sev.

He sealed the letter and went to the window.
“Herod!” he shouted loudly and a few seconds later an ugly large black owl appeared at the window looking decidedly annoyed at being woken up during the day.
“Take this to Lily.” He instructed as he tied the letter to Herod’s leg. Herod hooted miserably and flew off into the sky.

[Willow Knotwood]

Part 27

Easter at the Potter’s was turning out to be a lot of fun. Their days were spent lounging around in the vast grounds, swimming in the nearby stream, playing Quidditch and eating copious amounts of ice cream in Fortescue’s.
Henry and Codi turned out to be fantastic company. Henry was a real hell raiser and spent most of his time brewing up schemes and pranks with The Marauders, the aim of their plans of course being the girls. They had learnt to check their beds very thoroughly before getting into them in case dung bombs or some other delight had been left for them. They had also taken to checking their drinks for signs of potion-tampering, their clothes for itching powder and they never sat down without first checking that their chair was firm, stable and not showing signs of bewitchment.

Codi was a real sweetheart and almost instantly fell in with Alice, Abi and Mary Jane, the four becoming very good friends. It was suddenly very sad that the pair would be returning to the States in a few days.
Remus had struck up a close friendship with Codi from day one. He found her honesty and sweetness refreshing and he often spent hours sitting with the girls just chatting and laughing whilst the other boys threw the Quaffle about on their brooms.

Mrs Potter seemed to sincerely enjoy having all the kids around and spent most of her time making lemonade, cookies, pumpkin pasties and anything else she could think of to lavish on them. In fact the girls were all quite worried about how much weight they might be putting on over the holiday, but they all kept so active that none of them seemed to gain a pound.

Abi was doing her absolute utmost to get close to Sirius and as time went on she actually seemed to be getting somewhere. Abi was a feisty little thing with a wicked sense of humour, which Sirius found quite refreshing. And the others were quite amused when he found her retaliating pranks amusing rather than annoying. The two seemed to have taken it upon themselves to shower each other with prank after prank, like it was a competition to see who could out-do the other. On more than one occasion they were caught smiling wickedly at each other across the dinner table, something Mary and Alice had definitely noticed. It was towards the end of the second week that they decided to confront her about it.

“So, Miss Abi…how goes operation Sirius-will-be-mine?” asked Mary with a cheeky grin. They were all sitting on Abi’s bed in the girls’ bedroom. Codi was drifting off to sleep in her own bed so they decided to pounce on Abi whilst they had the privacy. Alice chuckled as she laid herself on her stomach, supporting her chin in both hands. Abi gave them an evil smile.
“The beast seems to be taming, doesn’t he?” she asked in a victorious tone.
“I’d say you’d definitely got his attention.” Agreed Mary with a bemused smile.
“It’s like I said, I’m much better matched to him than that Gryffindor bimbo.” Abi announced in a derogatory tone.
“Charley’s not a bimbo, she’s just blonde.” Corrected Alice.
“It doesn’t matter, she’s totally wrong for him.” Abi insisted. Alice shook her head.
“Abi, that may well be but you’ve got to convince Sirius of that. I admit it does seem that he’s quite taken with you, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to forget all about Charley.” She tried to reason with her. Abi suddenly adopted a smug expression.
“He didn’t seem to be thinking about her much earlier tonight.” She said cryptically. The other girls opened their mouths in horror.
“What happened?!”
“What did he do?”
“Did he kiss you?”
“Oh my god!”
The cacophony of voices woke Codi and she stared at them all with bleary eyes.
“Who kissed you?” she asked sounding intrigued.
“Sirius kissed Abi.” May said excitedly and Codi jumped from her bed and bounced onto Abi’s.
“Spill it.” She ordered, her eyes dancing with excitement. Abi laughed at them all.
“We were out in the grounds collecting raspberries for Mrs Potter and we were laughing and trying to put berries down each other’s tops and he got me! I squealed and he tried to squash it beneath my shirt and I dunno…next thing I know he kissed me.”
The girls listened in complete silence, staring at their friend completely enthralled.
“Wow.” Codi finally murmured, breaking the silence.
“Is he going to break up with Charley for you, then?” asked Alice hopefully. Abi shrugged and looked down.
“I don’t know. I made it quite clear that kissing was something I was all up for when he suddenly just stopped and smiled at me. Then he just walked back to the house. He hasn’t spoken to me since.” She said sounding frustrated.
“Oh Abi.” said Mary softly.
“I bet he feels bad.” Alice suggested.
“Maybe he’s going to break up Charley before he kisses you again. You know so he can be yours properly.” Suggested Mary, hoping it was the truth.

“Enough about me, what about you?” Abi asked Codi changing the subject. Codi looked suddenly confused.
“What do you mean?” she asked nervously.
“Oh come on, don’t be coy. We see the way you and Remus look at each other.” Abi teased her.
“Oh yes, you two would be such an adorable couple.” Agreed Alice, gushing slightly.
“I agree, Remus is a really nice guy. Do you think you two will…you know…” prompted Mary bouncing on the bed slightly. Codi blushed and looked down, pushing her pink and blonde locks away from her face. A huge smile spread across her face and she shrugged.
“I don’t know…I really like him. But nothing’s happened. Sometimes I think it’s going to when he suddenly goes all quiet or distracted and changes the subject or suddenly decides he has to be somewhere else.”
“Boys.” Said Abi wisely. “Bless him, I bet he’s nervous. He obviously likes you.” She assured Codi and Codi blushed even redder.
“Maybe it’s because you’re going back to the States. Maybe he’s afraid of getting too attached to you.” Suggested Alice softly. Codi shrugged.
“Maybe.” She said, a hint of sadness slipping into her tone. “I’ll be back in the Summer though and it’s only a couple of months away.” She said, her voice lifting.
“You just have to make it clear that you like him!” advised Abi. “Then he won’t be afraid of you rejecting him.” She insisted. Codi looked thoughtful.
“Sometimes he just…it’s like I think he’s going to kiss me and then he gets this look in his eyes like he’s terrified or…I dunno he looks guilty.” She said in exasperation.
“Awww.” Gushed Alice. “He’s such a gentleman.” She sighed.

[Willow Knotwood]

Part 28

Lily’s holiday had been a strange one. Her parents had fawned all over her when she had arrived home and her Mother must have hugged her one every 20 minutes for a full day afterwards. They were both very interested in Hogwarts and Lily spent many happy hours just sitting with them telling the all about her magical life. She told them about the spells she could to, to which they ooh’d and ahh’d excitedly. She told them about her friends and they listened attentively insisting that they all be invited for tea one day. She told them about the teachers and all the different subjects she learned about, all the wonderful creatures she’d seen and of course, she talked about the food.

Petunia was noticeably absent on these occasions. She instead found something vitally important that had to be done in her room, or insisted that she went to a friend’s house to study. She was even absent from meals on occasion, having stayed at a friend’s house for tea, or just simply not turning up at all.
Every attempt Lily made to try and spend time with her sister failed miserably and Lily was starting to feel that Petunia was actually deliberately avoiding her. As she’d said in her letter to Sev, she wondered whether Tuney was still bitter about not being accepted into Hogwarts. The only other explanation was too horrible to think about, so Lily pushed it to the back of her mind and continued trying to catch Petunia before she went out in the morning and often stayed up late waiting for her to come home at night. But alas, Petunia remained elusive.

But still Lily had something to look forward to. This afternoon she was meeting Sev in Diagon Alley and she was bursting with excitement. She’d missed her magical friends awfully and couldn’t wait to see him again. Her Mother was taking her to London in the car and Lily couldn’t wait. She happily swung her money bag round and round by it’s string as she skipped down the stairs where her Mother was waiting looking almost as excited as Lily did.
“You ready, sweetheart? Got your money?” she asked and Lily nodded with a big grin on her face. “I don’t understand those coins at all.” Her Mother commented bemusedly. “How many of the little brown ones are there in a silver one?” she asked, looking confused? Lily giggled.
“There are 29 knuts in a sickle.” Lily informed her.
“Right.” Said her Mother, still looking confused.

The drive into Town took hours, or so it seemed to Lily. But they eventually arrived in the bustling city and found somewhere to park. Lily practically dragged her Mother down the high street to the Leaky Cauldron and boldly stepped back into the Magical world she’d come to love so very much.
The pub was fairly quiet, but there was Tom wiping glasses behind the bar just as he always was. Lily beamed.
“Come on, let’s go outside.” Lily insisted, grabbing her Mum’s sleeve and pulling her towards the back door. One in the courtyard Lily took out her wand and tapped the bricks in that specific pattern and watched with glee as the wall opened up to reveal the bustling street on the other side. A tall man in a pointy hat and maroon robes came past them nodding his head at them with a courteous smile as he disappeared into the pub.
“Yay, I’m back.” Squealed Lily with glee.


Severus had been loitering by the door to Fortesque’s for about 20 minutes. He knew he was early, but he just couldn’t sit around waiting in the house any longer. He couldn’t wait to see Lily again. He was beginning to think Fortesque was going to kick him off the property for making the place look untidy when he caught sight of a mane of beautiful red hair and he stood up straight smiling with happiness. Lily saw him and waved madly at him. His smile broke into a grin as she ran towards him and gave him a hug. He immediately felt the hotness in his cheeks as he hugged her back.
“Sev! It’s so good to see you!” she squealed. He grinned.
“Good to see you too Lils. Hello Mrs Evans, it’s nice to see you again.” He said politely. Mrs Evans had always been so kind to him. She beamed at him.
“It’s wonderful to see you Severus, did you have a good term? Lily hasn’t stopped talking about it.” She smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder. Lily’s mouth dropped open in horror.
“Mum! You’re the ones that keep asking me about it! You like to listen just as much as I like to talk.” Lily insisted, scalding her Mother. Mrs Evans chuckled.
“Guilty as charged, dear. Now let’s get some ice cream shall we?” she suggested. Lily clapped her hands together.
“Ooh, yes, ice cream!” agreed Lily jubilantly.
Mrs Evans led the two youths inside and soon they were all enjoying a delicious sundae.

They spent the afternoon exploring Diagon Alley, Severus playing tour-guide as he knew the place so much better than the Evans women did. He thought about showing them Knockturn Alley but decided against it. It was not the place for a Muggle to be and he liked Mrs Evans too much to put her in any danger.
They were on their way back to the Leaky Cauldron to leave Diagon Alley and head back to the Evans’ house when Sev had the shock of his life. Coming the other way down the street from the pub was a group of teenagers that were all too familiar. The one in front was tall, handsome and had long platinum blonde hair. He swallowed hard when Lucius Malfoy made eye contact and he stopped breathing when his gaze fell over Mrs Evans and Lily. Lucius’s face fell and a mildly disgusted expression appeared on it. As the two parties approached each other Lucius held up his hand for the others to stop.
“Severus. How nice to see you.” He said in his smooth tones. He looked at Mrs Evans.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend, Severus?” he asked in his best ‘speaking to adults’ voice. He ignored Lily entirely. Severus looked from Mrs Evans to Lucius.
“Er…” he stammered. “Lucius this is Mrs Evans; Lily’s Mother. Mrs Evans this is Lucius Malfoy. He’s my house’s prefect at Hogwarts.” Severus explained introducing them. Where Lucius’s face remained smooth and calm, Mrs Evans’s face broke into an impressed smile.
“A prefect? Well you must be a very good student Lucius. It’s very nice to meet you.” She said pleasantly, extending her hand. Lucius stared at it for a moment as though it were a disease-ridden rodent then his face broke into a polite smile. He shook her hand lightly, barely touching her fingers.
“Pleased to meet you too, Mrs Evans. Your daughter, I understand, is also a very promising young witch. Who’d have thought it, coming from a family with no magic at all.” He said in a delicate voice. Mrs Evans missed the underlying derogatory tone and beamed. Many of Lucius’s gang exchanged a smirk.
“Oh yes, we’re so proud of her.” she gushed looking at Lily fondly. Lily smiled back weakly but gave Lucius a stony look. He ignored her.
“And no one else in the family shows any sign of magical ability?” asked Lucius. Sev and Lily exchanged a slight scowl. Lucius was playing with Mrs Evans.
“No, no none. Not to my knowledge.” She replied, shaking her head and shrugging.
“Fascinating. You have to wonder how she got her powers.” Lucius continued giving Lily a fond smile. She glared back at him. “Well I’m sure she’ll prove herself worthy of them.” He added. This time the sarcasm was slightly more evident and Mrs Evans seemed slightly taken aback.
“I’m sure she will.” She replied politely, though her voice showed slight restrain. “Anyway Mr Malfoy we have to get going. It was nice to meet you.” She told him placing a hand on Lily’s shoulder and squeezing it gently. Lucius paused before nodding politely.
“Of course Mrs Evans. Don’t let us keep you.” Lily distinctly heard a slight snigger from someone in Lucius’s crowd. Mrs Evans gave him a weak smile and turned to leave.
“See you soon, Severus. I shall owl you about our next meeting later tonight.” Lucius called back to them. Sev turned to his senior and nodded. Something told him he was in for a talking to later on.
“Come along you two, I want to beat the traffic.” Mrs Evans instructed, practically pushing Lily down the street. Sev tagged along quickly, his cheeks reddening with embarrassment.

Once out of the pub and back on the Muggle streets of London Mrs Evans finally broke the uncomfortable silence that had arisen between the three of them.
“That Lucius boy is quite strange.” She commented. What she meant to say was “rude and unpleasant”, but she was aware that Severus and Lucius were obviously friends and didn’t want to upset him. Sev just grunted in reply. Lily tutted and glared at Sev.
“He’s an arrogant pig.” Corrected Lily and Mrs Evans looked at her daughter in surprise.
“Lily!” she scalded, though she couldn’t help agreeing.
“Well he is! He thinks that because he’s pureblood he’s better than the rest of us.” She said angrily.
“Pureblood?” her Mother asked.
“You know, his family has been magical for centuries. People like him think that Muggle-borns like me aren’t worthy of our magic. They think we shouldn’t be allowed to study magic at all.” She explained and her Mother looked horrified.
“That’s horrible. Plus it doesn’t make any sense. The magical line has to start somewhere.” She replied and Lily nodded enthusiastically.
“Exactly!” she agreed. “In my opinion it makes Muggle-borns better than purebloods because we’re first in a line. We didn’t just inherit it.” Lily ranted away. Her Mother smiled with bemusement.
“Well as long as not all the wizarding community think like Mr Malfoy you’ll be fine. Now let’s change the subject. Who wants cakes for tea?” she asked. Both Lily and Sev cheered with glee.

[Willow Knotwood]

Part 29

Abi had been unbearable since the kiss with Sirius. For the first couple of days she’d walked around like the cat who’d got the cream and her smugness was starting to become rather annoying. But after 2 days and Sirius was showing no further interest she began to become, paranoid, agitated and quite highly strung. Both Alice and Maryjane were beginning to get bored of her constantly asking “Why won’t he talk to me?”, “Do you think I did something wrong?” and “Should I just go and talk to him?”. By the time the end of the holidays had arrived she had changed her tune to: “Well it’s his loss!”, “I don’t care anyway!” and “That Charlie’s welcome to him!”
Alice and Maryjane had taken it all with smiles and nods and pats on her back, but they couldn’t help feeling that Abi had brought it on herself.

Codi on the other hand had become closer and closer to Remus to the point that one night she was so certain that he was going to kiss her that she even closed her eyes in anticipation. So when she opened them again seconds later to find him run away across the lawn she was not only surprised but quite upset too.


The boys’ take on things were of course quite conflicting to the girls, as should be expected in these matters.
“Have you kissed her yet?” one of them would demand of Remus at least three times a day, to which his reply would always be a curt “no”. He’d come close, though. He had literally been inches away from kissing her when an image of Krysta had flashed into his mind and he just couldn’t go through with it. He couldn’t tell the others that of course. They had agreed to tell no one. But he really liked Codi. She was just the nicest, funniest, prettiest girl he’d ever met. He could talk to her, he could laugh with her. She seemed to understand him…the human side of him at least.
The problem was he really liked Krysta too. She knew so much about him and they’d been through a lot together in a short space of time. She was exciting, mysterious and she understood his secret.
But they both had bad points too. Krysta was always so busy and distracted and Codi was going back to America. He was completely torn. It didn’t help either that his friends were constantly at him to get together with Codi. One night he’d come close to telling them about Krys, but had chickened out at the last minute.

Remus at least thought Sirius would give him a break, since he was having a similar dilemma, but no such luck. He was as bad as the others and loving every second. Unlike Remus, though, Sirius had actually kissed “the other girl”. Over the holiday he had enjoyed Abi’s shameless flirtations and without Charlie around he didn’t see any harm in flirting back. He’d never have told the others this, but the night he’d kissed Abi he’d felt terrible. The kiss had been nice and he really liked her. But for the first time in his life he felt guilty about cheating.
Needless to say he had avoided her at every opportunity ever since, which made him feel even more guilty. As the days passed he could see Abi’s mood change from happiness to confusion to anger. And the problem was he quite liked her…well he really liked her. But then he liked Charlie too.
James of course had been suitably flippant about the whole thing, telling him he should simply dump both of them and go out with someone else. This hadn’t exactly been helpful advice, especially when the adviser was constantly snogging his own girlfriend.

But whether they wanted it to or not, the holidays came to an abrupt end sooner than anyone could have anticipated and before they knew it, they were boarding the Hogwarts Express on their way back to school…and whatever lay waiting for them there.
















Part 30

The first few days back at school were awkward for many, especially Sirius and Remus. Sirius had been overly enthusiastic upon being reunited with Charlie. His obvious guilt at the kiss with Abi had materialised in his excessive attentiveness and affection. His friends had been wildly amused by his uncharacteristic behaviour, while Charlie had mistaken it for a testament to how much he’d missed her over the holidays.
Abi on the other hand was being anything but submissive. Refusing to accept defeat she had developed a remarkable gift of showing up whenever Sirius and Charlie were alone together. In fact the only place she seemed incapable of ruining their privacy was the Gryffindor Common Room. To begin with Charlie had taken her over-friendly and jubilant interruptions as amusing but by the end of the first week after Abi had deliberately Gate-crashed a private walk through the Grounds had she finally had enough.
“Who the hell is she anyway?” she demanded accusingly. She and Sirius were just walking through the portrait door having finally shaken Abi’s company after having her follow them around the Lake for almost an hour. She stood still by the fireplace her arms folded angrily across her chest. Sirius looked helpless and just shrugged.
“She’s just a friend. She was staying at James’s over the holidays. I don’t even know her that well.” He insisted, hoping he sounded convincing.
“Well why does she keep following you around?” Charlie continued, raising her voice. Sirius shrugged again.
“I don’t know!” he insisted. This was horrible. To be honest he was extremely confused. He liked Abi. He really did. But her behaviour was really starting to annoy him. If she approached him when he was alone it wouldn’t be so bad. But she always chose moments when Charlie was there. He honestly didn’t know what to do. Ever since the kiss he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head but seeing Charlie again had confirmed that he definitely still liked his girlfriend enough to stay with her. He wanted both of them! He had even contemplated trying to see Abi in secret and have the best of both worlds, but it was becoming increasingly apparent that neither girl wanted to share.
Charlie sighed deeply and scowled.
“Well if you don’t tell her to back off, I will!” she retorted threateningly and stormed away to the girl’s dorms.

Sirius released and deep breath and his shoulders drooped. He rubbed his forehead and groaned, not noticing the pair of eyes watching him over the back of one of the sofas.
“You’re going to have to talk to Abi sooner or later.”
Sirius looked up in surprise to see Remus watching him with a serious look on his face. Sirius just glared at him.
“And say what? ‘I really like you, Abi, but my girlfriend’s getting annoyed. Please stop following me around.’?” He asked sarcastically. Remus shrugged.
“Well yeah, basically.” He replied. He sighed. “You have to tell her something. If you don’t, she’s just going to keep trying to get between you and Charlie. And I don’t think Charlie was kidding when she mentioned telling her to back off. And you know that won’t end well.” He said sensibly. Sirius groaned and dropped onto a sofa opposite Remus. He shook his head in agreement.
“No. It won’t. They’re both too…feisty.” He said, choosing his adjective carefully.
“Quite. And Charlie will definitely find out about you and Abi and then you’ll probably lose both of them. There’s no escaping it, mate: you’re going to have to choose. Either you tell Abi to back off and leave you alone making it clear there’s no chance with you, or you break up with Charlie.” Remus told him. He knew he was being hypocritical, but he didn’t want to think about his own problems right now.
Sirius sighed again, grumpily. He knew his friend was right, but he didn’t have to like it. The question was: who did he choose?

*

Severus’s new term wasn’t exactly going well either. After a wonderful holiday where he spent a lot of time with Lily and her family and actually felt like people cared about and liked him for a change, he had been hurled back into reality with a hard bump. Lucius had come to find him on the very first day back, demanding why he hadn’t shown up to the last Club meeting. He had managed to lie his way out of a real dressing down by claiming his Mother had been ill.
But now he was running out of excuses. He had skipped yet another meeting to study with Lily and he knew he would have to face the consequences. He had spent the past 12 hours sneaking around the school working very hard at being wherever Lucius or Bellatrix were not. He avoided the Common Room at all times and only went into the Great Hall when he knew they had already left. But he knew he was going to run out of luck sooner or later. And it looked like it was going to be sooner.
He had slipped out of the Great Hall after wolfing down his dinner in record time and was currently walking quietly along the perimeter of the Forbidden Forest. It was already quite shadowy and he was sure his dark figure would be camouflaged nicely against the trees. H was wrong.
“SNAPE!”
He froze. Uh oh. He turned around and swallowed hard when he saw not one, but both Lucius and Bellatrix marching towards him. Bellatrix, the one who had shouted his name, looked furious. Lucius merely looked like a disappointed parent.
“H-Hi.” He stammered weakly.
“Don’t give us ‘Hi’ you little wretch. Where the hell have you been?” demanded Bellatrix in her growling, hissing voice. Lucius gave her a withered look and turned to smile sadly at Severus.
“My dear boy, we have missed you in our meetings.” He said in that smooth, silky voice that made Severus shiver. It was like nails on a Blackboard.
“Y-yes. I’m sorry. I had to study.” He explained, not really lying…that much. Bellatrix made a loud, snorting sound and looked like she was about to tear his head off when Lucius turned to her and gave her a look that Severus couldn’t see. She scowled and pursed her lips, but remained silent.
“Surely you could spare one night of study to come and socialise, Severus. It’s not the same without you there. The Dark Lord was quite upset when he heard you hadn’t been to the last meeting.” Lucius said calmly. Severus’s mouth opened and his eyes widened in horror.
“Y-you-you told….I mean…The Dark Lord knows?” he asked, the terror evident in his voice. Lucius chuckled, but not unkindly.
“Of course he knows, my boy!” he said with a delighted smile, as though this was obvious. “The Dark Lord is quite fond of you, you know. He was hoping to see you over the holidays. He was very disappointed when you didn’t come to the meeting.” He explained, feigning a look of sadness or regret. “Of course when I explained about your Mother he completely understood.” He added with a kind smile, though Severus had the impression that Lucius suspected the lie. “He was quite concerned. He did say that if she was still unwell then he would gladly go and see her. To see if he could be of any help, of course.” He said. He voice was kind but Severus felt the threat.
“No!” he cried, loudly. “I mean…she’s much better now. She’s fine. I shall be at the next meeting. I promise.” He said quickly. Almost pleadingly. Lucius looked at him for a moment, a hint of triumph in his sickly smile.
“That’s wonderful news, Severus. He shall be very pleased.” Lucius said with a confident nod. Severus relaxed.

“Well we can’t stand around out here all night!” he suddenly announced. Bellatrix was looking decidedly bored at this point. She gave Severus a sort of half-smile that made him feel nauseous. He swallowed and nodded.
“We’ll see you soon.” Lucius told him and turned to leave. Bellatrix walked ahead of him, clearly eager to get on with something more interesting. Severus released a deep breath and sagged against a tree. He was beginning to wonder what he’d got himself into.

[Willow Knotwood]

Part 31

Krysta had come back to Hogwarts with a renewed bounce in her step. She'd had an amazing break with her Mother and brother. It had been hard work but she felt really good. She felt stronger and more confident. She was also excited at the prospect of seeing Remus again of course. She'd tried to sneak into the Common Room to see him on the first night, but he hadn't been there and she never seemed to be able to catch him alone.
But alone or not she would definitely be seeing him now. James had asked her for another training session with Sirius and Peter. Remus always came along to watch and give encouragement so at least she'd get to talk to him.

She practically skipped to the Room of Requirement and when she slipped inside she grinned to see James and Sirius were already there. They were both sitting in the middle of the room on the floor with their legs crossed. They each had their eyes closed and seemed to be trying to concentrate on something so hard that their faces were screwed up tight. They looked hilarious. She giggled. She couldn't help it. Sirius's eyes snapped open immediately and he glared at her.
"How am I supposed to achieve enlightenment if you laugh at me?" he asked curtly. She just laughed. The idea of Sirius Black achieving enlightenment seemed rather farfetched but she was too good a mood to start arguing.

"You both look like you're constipated." she told them frustratedly as she sat down beside them and crossed her own legs. "You need to relax. Don't try top concentrate. I know it's hard, but you sort have to do the opposite. Lose all your focus, empty your head of consious thought." she said calmly as she closed her eyes and began some rythmic breathing.
"Might be easy for you to empty you head." grumbled Sirius. A tiny smile flickered across her lips. For some reason his chiding only seemed amuse her, rather than infuriate her like usual.

"Every time I try to empty my mind I think of food." came a voice from a few feet away. Krys opened her eyes to look at Peter who was sitting against a wall looking miserable. He was pathetic. And yet she felt a pang of sympathy. Peter tried so hard, but he was just so hopeless.
"That's because you find food comforting. Your mind is trying to find a happy place. That's yours. Don't fight it. Just see where your mind takes you." she suggested. She didn't think Peter would be able to achieve deep meditation, but there was much to be said for letting your mind wander. It could reveal a lot about yourself.

"Where's Remus?" she asked, suddenly wondering why he wasn't there yet. James and Sirius exchanged a 'look'.
"Oh he can't make it tonight. He said he had other plans." James explained in a forced casual tone. Krys's good mood shattered.
"Other plans?" she asked. Her voice wasn't angry or disappointed or even upset. But she felt her voice break slightly. It felt like her stomach was imploding on itself. What could be so important to drag him away from training? Or seeing her for that matter.
Now she thought about it...had he been avoiding her? He hadn't made any effort to see her since the term began. Surely he wasn't that busy.

"Yeah think he had a letter to write." Sirius said, winking at James. James snickered. She looked from one boy to the other.
"What's the joke?" she asked suspiciously. They both snickered again and shrugged.
"What's it to you?" asked Sirius. Krys pursed her lips together. She wanted to shout at him that it was everything to her. But they'd agreed to keep their relationship a secret and she wasn't going to betray him like that.
But she couldn't help feeling that whatever it was they were laughing about was something very bad.
"Well you're the ones making little comments. If you don't want me to ask, then keep your comments to yourselves." she said snappily. James rolled his eyes.
"Jeez, Krysta, it's no big deal. Remus just met a girl, that's all. He got a letter from her earlier and I think he's just replying it."

As his words sank in, her sinking stomach became a swirling vortex. Her heart seemed to strain against her ribcage, choking itself. Her mouth went instantly dry and a cold, prickly feeling spread out across her flesh. She didn't know what the expression on her face had been but both boys were looking at her questioningly.
"A girl?" she asked. Her voice sounded harsh, like a small terrier dog. "When? Where? How?" she demanded, sounding mildly hysterical. They were both looking at her like she had pustules all over her face that were about to burst all over them.
"On holiday. My cousins from America came to stay and he kinda hit it off with Codi. They were practically inseperable. Shame really cos she's gone back to America..." James was talking quite cheerfully but he trailed off when he saw the expression that was beginning to appear on Krysta's face.
"Er, Krys? You alright?" he asked uncertainly. She was staring into space and if it was possible she seemed to be even whiter than usual. She also looked like she was going to be sick.

"Fine." she replied, as though speaking was causing her great pain. "Why wouldn't I be?" she asked with a slight shiver. "So that's nice then. He deserves a nice girl. Someone nice. Someone...acceptable. Pretty too. Must be pretty. She's a Potter, of course she's pretty. American too. Good. Confident. Not a freak or anything. Nice and normal and nice and...pretty." she rambled, her voice cold and resigned and ever so slightly insane.

She clapped her hands together and smiled at the boys, though the expression didn't reach her eyes.
"Well that was a good training session. Well done. You're coming along really well. See you next time, then." she said in a paper thin cheery tone, talking extremely quickly. Sirius just stared at her, his eyes wide. James got to his feet when she did and followed her to the door.
"But we haven't done anything." he protested.
"Nonesense, meditation...coming along very well." she stammered, reaching for the door handle. He reached out and grabbed her wrist.
"Krysta you haven't taught us anything today what's..." he trailed off and his face relaxed into a suddenly sad and sympathetic look. Her eyes were red and her lower lip trembled as she fought away the tears. James was not a fool.
"I'm sorry." he offered. He didn't know what else to say. He'd had no idea she had a crush on Remus. She managed a half smile and vanished through the door.

James released a deep breathed and turned back to Sirius and Peter.
"Told you! She's a bloody nutter!" Sirius cried. James just glared at him.

[Willow Knotwood]

Part 32

Severus watched Krys draw doodles of knives and pools of blood and the occasional drawing of something that looked like a dog with an arrow through it's chest. He chewed his quill absently, watching the deep look of concentration on her brooding face.
"Something vexes thee?" he finally asked when she began stabbing the dog with her quill until the nib became all blunt and split.
"Nope." she replied shortly. He watched her for a few more seconds, with one eyebrow slightly raised.
"Right." he finally concluded. A flash of platinum blonde hair caught his eyes and he yelped, diving under the desk as quickly as he could. Krysta looked up casually to see a Ravenclaw girl flick her blonde locks over her shoulder casually and she rolled her eyes.
"It isn't him." she muttered to her cowering friend. Cautiously, Severus poked his nose over the edge of the table to make sure she was right before sliding unceremoniously back into his seat. Krys was shaking her head, without looking at him.
"Why don't you just tell him to get lost?" she asked and he stared at her both horrified and as though she were absolutely insane.
"You don't tell Lucius Malfoy to get lost." Severus replied, his face aghast with the horror of the idea.
"I do." retorted Krysta, not really seeing the big deal. Severus raised his eyebrow again.
"Yes but you're insane." he argued and she managed a small snicker. “Besides, it’s not really Lucius that scares me.” He added in a low voice. Krys snorted.
“Bellatrix is just a big bully. Besides it’s really funny when she hexes Sirius Black.” She commented with a giggle. Severus managed a small smile at this. He had to admit that was rather amusing. But he hadn’t been referring to Bellatrix.
‘Hmmm.” Was all he managed to reply and Krys looked at him suspiciously.

They were interrupted at that moment by three smiling Gryffindor girls and Severus took the opportunity to change the subject, pretending not to notice the look Krys was giving him.
“Lils!” he exclaimed as the red-head took a seat beside him. Charlie and Diane took seats too but didn’t look quite as enthusiastic as Lily did. They continued to humour their friend when it came to her Slytherin companions, but it was starting the wear a little thin.
“Morning Severus.” Diane said with a small smile. Severus looked at her in surprise but managed a sort of confused, lopsided smile in return. Neither Diane or Charlie said hello to Krysta. They couldn’t stand her dark moods and ominous temper and right now she practically had a sign over her head saying: “Approach at your Peril.” She ignored them anyway, but gave Lily a grin before retrieving a new quill and continued drawing pictures of tortured dogs. Charlie shivered. The girl was a freak.
“Lily says you went to her house during the holidays Severus.” Diane began, desperate to get some conversation going. Sev’s face instantly lit up.
“Oh yes! I had a lovely time. Lily’s family are so nice. Well except her sister.” He said, sticking his tongue out at Lily. Lily returned the gesture.
“Oh yes, the one who hates magic.” Charlie joined in, her eyes sparkling with interest. Sev nodded with a grin.
“She doesn’t hate magic.” Protested Lily, defensively. “She’s just not used to it. She needs time to adjust.”
“You’re parents didn’t need time to adjust.” Disagreed Charlie.
“Exactly.” Sev agreed and she winked at him. Lily pouted and crossed her arms across her chest looking upset. Diane frowned at them and touched Lily’s arm.
“Ignore them, Lil. I’m sure Petunia will come around soon.” She said reassuringly.

“Well my holiday was so boring. I got dragged away by my parents again. It’s so unfair. I was supposed to be at James Potter’s, but oh no I have to go away with Mum and Dad so that little usurper can steal my boyfriend.” Charlie suddenly began ranting. Sev looked at her astonished, while Lily and Diane exchanged a weary look. They’d obviously heard this story a dozen times already.
“Who stole your boyfriend? Was it Potter?” he asked before he could stop himself. Next to him Krysta snickered but didn’t look up from her doodling. Charlie glared at him, but continued her story anyway.
“Funny.” She said dryly. “No, it was that little…little…freak from Hufflepuff.” She continued, her voice harsh and angry.
“Which one?” asked Severus and Krys snickered again. Even Charlie managed a grin this time.
“She hangs around with James’s girlfriend. You know, Maryjane? She’s her friend. Abi something or other.” She explained, obviously enjoying having someone new to tell her story to, even it was a couple of Slytherins.
“Oh, is James still going out with her, then?” asked Lily, sounding as though her casual tone was forced.
“Yeah he really likes her. They have a lot in common. She’s good for him.” Krysta replied in a quiet, casual voice. Everyone stared at her. She looked at them all nervously. “Er…or so I heard from…someone…” she stammered, burying her nose back in her notebook.

“So anyway…” Charlie continued, pulling the attention back to herself again. “Apparently Maryjane brought her friends with her to James’s house for Easter. And now this little brat has a crush on Sirius and won’t leave us alone!” she exclaimed.
“Are you sure it wasn’t…well…do you think maybe she may have had just a little encouragement?” Severus asked awkwardly. He knew Sirius well enough to know he wasn’t the most loyal of boyfriends. But he didn’t want to upset Lily’s friend. Charlie stared him with a hard expression.
“See why does everyone jump to that conclusion?” she asked, her tone clearly irate. Sev was about to defend his question when yet again Krys spoke up out of the blue.
“Because boys are rats. All of them. Even the nice ones. Deep down, they’re all horrible little rats and you can’t trust any of them.” She growled, stabbing her notebook again. Her current doodle seemed to depict a dog drowning in a pool of its own blood. Severus was beginning to regret lending her his red ink.

[Willow Knotwood]

Ok, that's all I have for now. But I am going to start writing some more soon!

xx
Nik

[Willow Knotwood]

The first new update for a year!!!

Part 33

Remus reluctantly went to the Shrieking Shack when the next Full Moon came. As he pushed open the door to the little room where he slept he partly hoped she’d be there: welcoming and supportive as always. But the room was dark, cold and empty. He sighed and dropped down onto the dingy mattress. He noticed with dismay that the soft pillow and oil lamp Krys had once left for him were gone. So she had been here. Been here and taken them away. His shoulders drooped. He somehow couldn’t feel annoyed about it, just sad. Could he really blame her? He hadn’t even spoken to her since term began. Even for a secret relationship that was pretty bad. He couldn’t deny he’d been avoiding her. Not because he didn’t want to see her, but because he couldn’t face her.
Although nothing had happened with Codi he still felt like he had cheated on her. And he couldn’t deny that he liked Codi a lot. Getting her letters had been nice, but he knew now that he didn’t want a relationship with her. He was attracted to her and she was really sweet, but a long distance relationship was not something he wanted. And he did care for Krys. A lot.
With a deep sigh Remus began to undress as he felt the ‘change’ approaching. He’d be alone tonight then. It worried him a little and he hoped he wouldn’t do too much damage.

The fight was furious. The two beasts tore and ripped at each other with excruciating snarls, teeth drawing blood, fur flying and walls and furniture smashing around them. The great cat was relentless performing attack after attack on the huge wolf, which responded with equal violence. It flung the cat hard against a stone wall where it fell to the ground with a thud for a split second before rebounding to launch another brutal attack. The Wolf yelped and snarled as sharp claws dug into its flank. He snapped his huge canines at her and she roared and hissed in response. The wolf leapt at her, but she dodged the attack and sent him crashing into a table and chairs. He roared in fury and frustration, the cat responding in a vicious screech, her fury escalating with each passing second. She attacked again, but the wolf was ready and his massive front paws closed around the leopard’s shoulders. His teeth sank into her neck and she howled with pain and rage.

When Remus awoke the next morning he immediately groaned. His whole body seemed to be in pain. It even hurt to open his eyes. He half hoped to find the flask of hot chocolate and tin of sandwiches that Krys used to leave him but there was nothing. He sat up and a new group of muscles protested painfully.
“What the hell did I do last night?” he groaned to himself. He began studying his body and was shocked to find all manner of cuts and bruises. One high up on his left outer-thigh was particularly bad. He frowned in confusion. It looked like he’d been in a fight, but he’d been alone. He began dressing and treating his wounds with the kit he always kept in the Shack and then got dressed, still pondering what he’d done last night to cause this much damage. He noticed the new broken banister out in the hallway and a huge hole in one of the walls and shook his head. “Bloody hell.” He murmured. Finally he gathered his things and quickly slipped into the tunnel that would lead him back to Hogwarts and a very welcome breakfast.

In an upstairs room of the now empty Shack a figure lay sprawled amongst the debris. Her clothes torn and soaked with blood she was barely breathing. Her once shiny hair was now caked with dried blood and the air that occasionally escaped her pale blue lips was shallow and laboured. Dark rings had developed under her unmoving eyes and her skin had taken on a pallid, grey tinge that made it seem almost translucent.
In the silence of the abandoned Shack life clung to Krysta’s body thinly.

*

“Oh my god this looks good.” Remus announced hungrily as he saw the scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages that Sirius was piling onto a plate for him. He took a huge swig of pumpkin juice and released a long, satisfied sigh. “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme.” He ordered and Sirius placed Remus’s plate in front of him with a huge grin.
“It was about time you showed up. We were beginning to worry.” James commented with a grin that matched Sirius’s almost perfectly.
“I wasn’t worried.” Disagreed Sirius. “I thought perhaps you’d met a nice lady-wolf or something.” He said and Remus laughed. He began filling himself with hot food and groaned appreciatively.
“Why is Remus eating like a pig?” asked Charlie, looking over to the boys with a slight smile.
“A Wolf.” Corrected Sirius and received a warning look from James. He grinned sheepishly. “He er, had a bad night. Sleep-walking you know. He wanders all over the castle, don’t you, Moony?” he continued to cover his tracks. Remus grinned weakly.
“Uh huh.” He agreed uncertainly.
“And does he bump into things a lot when he’s sleepwalking?” Charlie asked, observing the scrapes and bruises on his arms.
“Oh yes, he’s a complete clutz.” Agreed Sirius quickly. “Falls down the stairs and everything.” He added and Peter snickered.
“It’s not so bad when someone follows me to make sure I’m alright. But I was alone last night.” He added looking at James with a meaningful look. James looked slightly surprised for a moment.
“Alone? Really?” he asked thoughtfully. “No one…no one kept you company?” he asked carefully. Remus shrugged and shook his head. “But I thought…” James trailed off and glanced at the Slytherin table. “I just assumed.” He finished and began concentrating a little too hard on buttering his toast.
Remus glanced behind him and saw with mild surprise that Krys wasn’t actually there and a rather perturbed looking Snivellus was eating with some of the older Slytherins. He frowned, wondering why she hadn’t come down to breakfast. He decided that today he was going to make the effort to talk to her and tell her the truth about Codi. He didn’t want to keep avoiding her like this and he didn’t want to keep secrets anymore. In fact he decided that it was about time everyone knew. He’d had enough of the sneaking around.


“Where’s Krys?” asked Lily as she slipped into the seat next to Sev. The Gryffindors and Slytherins had potions together again this term and she always sat with Sev and Krys. Charlie and Diane were sitting with the Marauders these days and it all seemed to work out quite well.
Sev just shrugged, his nose deep in his potions text book. He was making notes in the margin again and Lily smirked at him. “Slughorn will kill you if he sees that.” She chided him. He shrugged again.
“The instructions are awful. Look at this: it says ‘cut’, but it doesn’t say with what. A knife? A scalpel? And what kind? Silver? Steel?” he said sarcastically shaking his head. Lily shrugged.
“I’ve never had much trouble with it.” She said gently. Sev snorted a bit and she glared at him. He was being snobby again. “So was Krys at breakfast? I wonder why she’s late.” She pondered aloud. Sev just made a nondescript noise without looking up from the book and Lily gave up. She turned to face Professor Slughorn who had begun to address the class and soon Krys was forgotten.



Remus waited outside the Divination tower, knowing that Krys was supposed to have a class there before lunch. Sure she’d missed potions, but surely she wouldn’t bunk off classes completely. But as the last students climbed down the ladder and disappeared off towards the Great Hall he came to realise that she had not been in this class either. With a slightly concerned frown he too went off to join his friends for lunch.

“I need to talk to you.” Remus announced when they’d all finished their food and were idly chatting away at the Gryffindor table. Peter who was actually still eating his second bowl of pudding topped and looked at him expectantly. But James and Sirius carried on laughing about some prank or other they had planned.
“Hey!” he said loudly and they stopped dead and looked at him. They weren’t used to Remus raising his voice like that.
“What?” asked James, a little affronted. Remus looked around to make sure no one was listening in and leaned forward to speak in a low voice. “It’s about Codi. Well sort of…”
“Hey, you two finally got together! About bloody time I tell y….”
“Sirius, shut up and listen!” Hissed Remus, interrupting his friend. Sirius fell silent, his mouth hanging open in surprise. “Me and Codi are not together and I have no intention of getting together with her.” He told them firmly.
“But…and don’t yell at me…by why? You like each other.” James asked calmly. Sirius nodded in agreement and Peter looked at each of them in curiosity.
“I can’t go out with Codi because…well because…because of Krysta.”
None of them responded. They just looked at him with blank faces.
“Huh?” asked Sirius looking completely confused.
“You mean because she has a crush on you? That’s silly. You can’t not go out with someone because another girl has a crush on you.” Said James matter of factly.
“No, no…” Remus moaned shaking his head. “Krys doesn’t have a crush on me.” He tried to explain.
“She does! You should have seen her face when we told her you were going out with Codi. She practically ran off crying.” Interjected Sirius with a bemused snort.
“You did what?” asked Remus, sounding calm but not feeling it. What had his friends done now?
“Well, yeah she wanted to know why you weren’t at the last training session so we told her you were writing to Codi. She didn’t seem particularly happy about it.” Admitted James, starting to get the impression there was more going on here than he’d known.
Remus closed his eyes and hung his head, shaking it slowly from side to side.
She knew. She’d known all this time. She must be furious with him. But why hadn’t she tried to confront him about it? Why hadn’t she…
His thought process was cut short as it all slipped into place. He stared down at the bruises and cuts on his arms and remembered the wound on his thigh. Now he thought about it, it did look like a bite.

He looked over at the Slytherin table. Still no sign of her. She’d been missing all day. Suddenly he pushed himself away from the table and was instantly on his feet.
“Hey, where are you…”
He ignored Sirius’s protests and marched as quickly as he could to the Slytherin table. Many of them glared at him with distaste, but he ignored them.
“Where is she?” he demanded, glaring at Severus. The boy looked up at him with an unsavoury expression.
“What’s the matter with you, Lupus, you look like hell?” sneered Snape, barely looking from his food.
“Where is she? She’s been missing all morning.” He demanded again.
“Who?!” asked Severus, getting annoyed now. Especially as Lucius was looking his way now. He didn’t really want to be seen talking to yet another Gryffindor.
“Krys! You know who I mean. Where is she?” he said, shouting a little this time. The Slytherins were taunting him now and laughing, but he was too anxious to care.
“How should I know? I’m not her keeper. I haven’t seen her all day.” He finally retorted and looked back at his food, hoping that Lupin would go away now.
Remus pursed his lips together ready to fire as nasty an insult as he could think of at Snivellus when suddenly he was grabbed firmly by the arm and dragged away.
“Please excuse my friend, he’s not feeling well.” James told the surrounding Slytherins with false politeness. He pulled Remus away from the table and turned him to look at him firmly.
“What the hell are you doing?” he demanded as Sirius appeared at their side looking flummoxed.
“I was wrong. I wasn’t alone last night.” He said quickly. James just shook his head, not understanding Remus’s point.
“What?” asked Sirius again, starting to sound like a broken record.
“Krys and I…we’ve kind of been seeing each other.” He explained awkwardly, but quickly.
“What?” Asked Sirius again, a little more loudly this time.
“Soon after the training started. We just kind of…well we liked each other and she understood me and…but that doesn’t matter! You told her I was dating Codi!”

Sirius as still giving Remus a shocked and disgusted look, but James’s expression began to fill with comprehension.
“Ohhhhh…oops.” He muttered sheepishly.
“Seriously? Oops? Is that all you can say? He’s dating a Slytherin and all you can say is oops?” cried Sirius, rounding on Remus with his arms crossed across his chest.
“Seriously, Sirius.” James replied then realised what he’d just said. Both he and Sirius burst into snickers.
“Seriously, Sirius.” Sirius repeated through snorts of laughter.
“Guys! Focus!” Remus shouted impatiently. James calmed down immediately but Sirius continued to snort away quietly.
“I like Krysta. She’s not like the other Slytherins. And she’s nice to me. Helps me and stuff.” Peter said timidly. Remus smiled at him wearily.
“Oh shut up Peter.” Sirius said rolling his eyes. Peter pouted and looked hurt.

“Ok, ok, so Krys thinks you’re dating Codi.” Surmised James.
“Yes.” Remus confirmed impatiently.
“And you think she did go to the Shrieking Shack after all? Why would she do that?” asked Sirius incredulously.
“I don’t know! Maybe to confront me or something?” Remus suggested.
“Maybe she was just trying to help.” Suggested Peter but fell quiet when Sirius gave him a withered look.
“Yeah, right.” He commented with another snort.
“Judging by the state of you, Moony, I’d say it was one hell of a confrontation.” Said James looking at Remus’s injuries.
“Well there you go then. She’s probably all battered around herself and decided to spend the day in bed. What’s the big deal?” asked Sirius, starting to sound bored. Remus shook his head.
“But no one’s seen her.” He argued.
“You’ve only asked Snivellus, though.” Sirius insisted. “Oi you!” he called to a passing 3rd year Slytherin girl. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
“What do you want Lion breath?” she asked nastily. Sirius breathed hard on her in response and grinned.
“Gross.” She muttered and continued walking.
“Wait!” called Remus. She stopped and looked at him impatiently. “Have you seen Krysta Hedwig this morning?” he asked hopefully.
“No, why? She never came back to the dorm last night. What’s it to you?” she replied and then stalked off. Remus’s face paled.
“Hey you don’t think she’s…” began James.
“Still in the Shack!” squeaked Peter.
All four boys ran from the Great as fast as their legs could carry them.