FHB: Chapter 32

“Get out of here,” Lucius whispered harshly.

Tanya simply stared at him blankly and when she made no move, he threw her his wand. Instinctively, she caught it and snapped out of her frozen state.

“Go!” Lucius urged, “now!”

Doing as she was told her, she ran. As she did, a spell shot from behind Lucius towards her. Not knowing what to do, Lucius watched as Tanya dodged, made a quick turn, and shouted, “Incarcerous!”

If Tanya had her wand, the spell would have hit the death eater square in the chest and burst into tentacle like ropes that would wrap around her assailant. Unfortunately, Lucius’ wand was more loyal than he was and the spell backfired. There was a bright spark that escaped the tip of his wand before a series of ropes slithered up her arm and bound tightly around her. Within seconds, she was on the ground, immobile.

The death eater laughed when he saw what had happened, and used his wand to drag Tanya closer to him. When she was at his feet, he snatched Lucius’ wand from her hand and threw it at him.

“Did you just hand it to her?” he asked.

Lucius was not sure if he was being sarcastic or serious, and decided not to answer him. Lucius did not want to make things worse for himself and silence was the only option.

“Come along. We’re going home,” he said.

The death eater took the lead with Tanya dragging on the ground behind him, and Lucius quietly followed. They did not need to walk for long as the other death eaters had gathered nearby with the other captives, all bound up with terrified eyes.

Lucius did not know what to do at that moment. He knew which side he was playing for, but he felt slightly sorry for the ones on the losing end. When he realized what he was feeling, it scared him. So he quickly thought about his father and reminded himself why he was there.

“Think of home Malfoy, and take one of them with you,” the death eater said.

“Home?” Lucius asked.

“Yes, home. The big, black house you grew up in. Or do you need your mummy to come get you?”

The other death eaters chuckled and Lucius snapped, “I know where home is. Show some respect to the host.”

He did not wait for a reply and reached for the body closest to him. It was not Tanya, and he was glad it wasn’t. In a quick swirling motion, he felt himself being pulled away from the forest as his bedroom materialized. Seconds after his arrival, he knew he was at the wrong location. Quickly reacting before the stranger could see where they were, Lucius apparated the two of them into the dungeon underneath his home.

“Got lost?” the death eater asked when Lucius appeared coughing, as his stomach had not gotten used to that mode of transportation yet.

Lucius rolled his eyes in response and turned his attention to a few death eaters who were lining up the captives  against a wall.

“The Dark Lord will be here soon,” another death eater announced.

“Good. Have you killed someone before, Malfoy?” the same obnoxious death eater asked.

Silence was Lucius’ best friend that day, as he chose not to entertain the death eater.

“Scared, Malfoy? You have to kill to be in. Today is a great day to do it, since we have spares,” he added.

Not wanting to deal with him any longer, Lucius decided to turn away. And when he did, he found the Dark Lord standing behind them.

“My lord,” Lucius quickly greeted, and the rest followed suit.

“What do we have here?” the Dark Lord asked.

“Ministry workers. We found them sneaking in the forest,” a female death eater replied.

“They look so young,” the Dark Lord stated as he gently placed a hand on Lucius’ shoulder. “And how was the meeting?”

“It went well, my lord. They have agreed to work with us,” she answered.

“That’s good,” the Dark Lord said, moving to stand directly behind Lucius as he placed both hands on Lucius’ shoulders.

The Dark Lord said nothing as he began ushering Lucius down the line of young aurors in training. There were ten of them in total with two looking slightly older than the rest. When they had reached the end of the line, the Dark Lord asked, “Which one do you want?”

Lucius swallowed hard as his heart continued to race madly. What was already an uncomfortable situation became unbearably uncomfortable.

“How about that one?” the death eater Lucius grew to hate suggested. “The girl that disarmed our little friend.”

“Is that true?” the Dark Lord asked in a curious tone. He then pulled out his wand and sent a spell that disintegrated the rope around Tanya’s mouth.

Lucius hesitated to answer and Tanya did not say a word either. The Dark Lord was determined to find out, so he ushered Lucius towards her and waved for the rest to take position. It was as though an execution by firing spells was about to take place.

“Answer me, girl. Did you disarm my favourite death eater?” the Dark Lord asked.

Tanya could not have made things worse for Lucius at that moment, as she began to plead; not for her life but for Lucius’ change of ways.

“Please Lucius. Don’t do this, don’t be one of them. You’re not a killer, you’re not evil.”

At the sound of her words, Lucius’ heart stopped. He had the urge to ask her to shut up, but he was too terrified to say anything.

“Is she your friend, Lucius?” the Dark Lord asked, with more curiosity than he had before.

Lucius knew he had to answer him, because if he didn’t, something would go terribly wrong.

To Be Continued…

(Leave a comment or vote on whether Lucius should acknowledge Tanya or deny their relationship!)

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FHB: Chapter 31

As Lucius contemplated his decision, he heard it again. Polkus seemed so focused on the meeting that he did not even notice when Lucius slowly slipped away. Watching human and dementor strike a deal was no doubt educational, but Lucius did not like the idea of being watched.

Pulling out his wand, Lucius crept away and kept his eyes and ears open. If he listened closely, he could hear the sound more clearly. It was very subtle but audibly present in the still forest. Following the sound, Lucius used the little moonlight to guide his path. He was careful not to make any sound himself, but with one wrong footing, a twig snapped.

Lucius immediately stopped in his tracks and silence greeted him instantly. The subtle sound of what seemed like walking was gone. He must have alerted whoever it was he was following, and now he and the stranger were on the lookout for one another.

Not daring to take another step, Lucius looked around hoping to see an outline of a being. It was then that he realized he had gone too far, and Polkus was no longer in sight. Now worried that he might have made the wrong decision, Lucius stretched his wand hand forward as he was prepared to use it. Unfortunately, someone beat him to it. Before he could even utter a spell, a dim light whizzed in his direction and hit his wand out of his hand. Lucius watched as his wand flew from his grip and landed in a bush far from him.

Panicking, Lucius ignored the fact that his footsteps were waking the forest and dashed towards the bush. He could barely see where he was going and with another wrong footing, he found himself landing face flat on the ground. When Lucius attempted to recover from the fall, he turned on his back only to find a wand in his face.

“Lumos,” the owner of the wand said and light shone on his face, temporarily blinding him.

Lucius could not see who the stranger was but the stranger could see him clearly. If only his wildly thumping heart did not drown the voice of that stranger, he would have been able to guess who it was.

“Lucius?” the owner of the wand asked.

Not knowing if he should answer, Lucius propped himself on his arm and began shuffling backwards. The bush was within reach and when his hand found his wand, he did not hesitate to use it.

“Impedimenta!” Lucius shouted and watched, as the stranger flew backwards and landed with a thud.

Scrambling to his feet, it was now his turn to see who his enemy was and when he did, he immediately sent her wand flying in the opposite direction. She growled angrily at him as she got to her feet, but she did not make a move to retrieve her wand.

“What are you doing here?” Tanya demanded.

“What are YOU doing here?” Lucius asked in return.

“You should get out of here if you don’t want any trouble,” Tanya warned. It sounded less of a threat and more of genuine concern.

“You should get out of here too,” Lucius said.

“I’m serious.”

(“No, you’re Tanya.” Sorry, I had to)

“So am I.”

“We have aurors all over. We heard about this meeting and…” Tanya trailed off, suddenly aware that she should not be sharing too much.

“You’re lying. There is no way the ministry would send a rookie like you out on a dangerous mission,” Lucius replied.

Tanya looked slightly offended, but she wiped that expression off her face when Lucius continued, “You’re probably here on a rumour, and I doubt there are aurors all over.”

“We have called for backup,” Tanya quickly said.

“No you have not.”

And just as Lucius said so, a spell shot right past them and hit a tree directly behind Tanya. The bark of the tree snapped and both Lucius and Tanya scrambled out of the way as it came crashing down.

“I told you,” Tanya said unconvincingly.

Lucius would have laughed at her lie, but flashes of light and yells of spells distracted him. The forest was no longer dark and still, as the birds fluttered from their nests and out of harms way.

“Where’s my wand?” Tanya quickly asked.

Before Lucius could vaguely point at where her wand had flew to, a painful scream echoed throughout the forest

“Gavin?” Tanya asked softly as fear swept across her face.

There was another scream and Tanya immediately cupped her mouth. Shortly after, Lucius heard his name being hollered.

“Malfoy! Who do you have there?” the voice called out. It was one of his own, even though he did not recognize the voice.

Lucius froze at that very moment. The hand that was holding his wand began to sweat as he stared at Tanya, who was also frozen in place.

“Malfoy! You hearing me, boy?”

Lucius swallowed dryly as he raised his wand at Tanya. He was not sure on what to do. Should he cast a spell on her or tell her to run? Tanya watched Lucius with her eyes wide open, but not a word escaped her lips. Lucius only had two options at that moment; bring her in or let her go.

To Be Continued…

(Leave a comment below or vote on whether Lucius should bring Tanya in or let her go!)

FHB: Chapter 25

Lucius sat on his bed for a very long time, contemplating if he should do as what the letter had asked of him. He knew what the right choice was, but did he want it? Somehow, free will was no longer a privilege in his life and he found himself deciding to go with the letter.

The following weekend, students were allowed to leave school grounds for a visit to Hogsmead. Lucius would normally stay back and lurk the hallways, but this time he went along. His only goal was to meet the Dark Lord and then return to school immediately after that. So, when everyone decided to grab a mug of butterbeer Lucius excused himself and headed to Potage Cauldron Shop instead.

Potage Cauldron Shop was a shop away from the busy street with a door that made no sound when opened. As Lucius stepped into the crowded cauldron stacked shop, he took hesitant steps and debated silently on whether to make his presence known. But just when he was about to say a ‘hello’, he heard a shuffling of feet.

Unlike most people who would voice their uneasiness, Lucius remained quiet and stood in place. He listened intently and when the shuffling stopped, he slowly turned to look behind him. It was then that he saw someone he least expected to see.

“Father?” Lucius asked in surprise.

His father simply nodded his head and gestured for Lucius to follow after him. Holding back the questions in his head, Lucius did as he was told and hurried after his father.

The two of them headed to the back of the shop and climbed down a flight of narrow, wooden steps. They creaked dangerously and Lucius held on to the pipes on the basement wall as he made the descent. When his feet finally touched the floor of the dark room, his father whispered a spell and the lantern at the corner lit up.

“Father, what is going on?” Lucius asked.

“I was sent here to pass you a message,” his father replied in a voice that carried unwillingness and dread.

“Was it you who wrote me the letter?”

“He wrote the letter, I sent it.”

Lucius had a feeling his father knew about the letters Lucius was receiving from the Dark Lord, and he quickly said, “I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid he would find out.”

“I know.”

“He might think I’m-”

“Weak,” his father interrupted. “I know.  He’s testing us, Lucius. Testing our loyalty. You did what you had to do.”

Lucius nodded his head. He was glad his father understood.

“Things will get harder now. He wants you to be marked,” his father added.

“The dark mark? But I’m still in school.”

“Not so soon. He needs you to do one thing for him, one thing very important.”

There was something about the way his father spoke that day that did not seem right. It was not just the words but the way he said them. Lucius did not know his father well, but he knew when someone was distracted. Wanting to relieve the worry that was apparent on his father’s face, Lucius asked, “What does he want me to do?”

That question was met with hesitation, that lingered for a while, freezing time as the pin drop silence began to ring in their ears. Lucius wanted to break it but he dared not. Fear knocked on his back door and he was suddenly scared to hear what was required of him.

“He…” his father paused briefly, “He wants you to recruit students.”

Lucius let the words sink in before asking, “Aren’t we too young?”

His father looked Lucius in the eye, as though to point out that Lucius was too young but still doing the Dark Lord’s bidding.

“Why?” Lucius could not help but ask.

“The younger, the better. It would also be the perfect timing when you finish school.”

Lucius merely stared at his father in response. The Dark Lord was depriving him of a schooling life and now he wanted to do the same to others. Lucius did not care about the others, but he found it hard to believe that children now had to choose sides. With Tanya starting her training as an auror and the Dark Lord recruiting children, he knew both sides were preparing for a war.

“I’m sorry, Lucius,” his father said.

Lucius gave his father a nod and immediately after, his father turned on his heels ready to leave.

“Wait, are you leaving?” Lucius quickly asked.

“Yes. Is there anything else you need to ask?”

“No. I just thought…” Lucius trailed off. He thought it would be nice to spend some time with his father, but it looked like his father was not interested. “Never mind,” Lucius ended his sentence.

It was strange, but as his father ascended the steps out of the basement a bad feeling sunk in Lucius’ stomach. His father looked even more distracted than he was before and Lucius could not help but wonder if his father was holding information from him.

At that very moment, Lucius stood frozen with the urge to chase after his father. He wanted to know everything but he was not sure if everything would put him at rest. Just as his father was about to reach the door, Lucius forced himself to make a quick decision.

To Be Continued…

(Leave a comment below or vote on whether Lucius should stay quiet or find out!)

FHB: Chapter 24

As Lucius swaggered down the hallways, heading towards the direction of his first class, his mind formed a trail of thoughts that shifted away from Tanya to something as minute as Severus’ tutoring request early that morning. His mind was so used to transitioning that it was slowly moving to nothingness when he entered the courtyard. But it was there that he saw Tanya.

Tanya was chatting with a few girls and Lucius immediately stopped in his tracks. He contemplated walking up to her, but was tempted to slip past her at the same time. Lucius would admit he wanted to find out why Tanya was leaving, but he was afraid that he was the cause of it. How would he feel if that was the truth?

Fortunately for him, his lingering caught the attention of Tanya’s friends and they did not hesitate to point him out. When Tanya saw him, she excused herself from the group and walked towards him. Lucius was surprise at her reaction, but he played it cool.

“I heard you’re leaving,” Lucius said.

“Yes, I am,” Tanya replied.

Lucius nodded his head. The question he wanted to ask was at the tip of his tongue but he held on to it.

“I’m moving to home schooling,” Tanya added.

“I see. Why the change?” Lucius finally let out the ‘why’.

“It will be easier for me to do my training.”

“What training?”

“Auror training. After the internship, they told me they wanted to train me.”

“But aren’t you too young? You haven’t graduated yet.”

“No one is too young to fight for a cause,” Tanya said.

There was a short moment of silence before Tanya added, “Besides, with home school I graduate faster.”

“Ah. So you’re going to be an auror,” Lucius said what meant to be a thought.

Tanya simply nodded and silence fell between the two of them once again. When it lingered too long, Tanya broke it with a smile.

“Well, all the best Mr Malfoy. I hope we never see each other again.”

Tanya gave him an awkward pat on the shoulder before walking off, leaving Lucius wondering what she meant.

There was no hate in her voice yet her words were like a punch in the stomach. Something about the whole goodbye did not seem right either. Tanya acted as though nothing happened between them but her last words did not sound too kind. Was it a jab at what he did or was it something else? Was Tanya planning on telling the ministry about him and his family, or was she just saying that to scare him?

It was an uneasy ending to an odd friendship, but Lucius knew that overthinking only wasted time. So, he decided to pack the conversation at the back of his mind and leave it there to collect dust. After all, he and Tanya were no more.

The rest of the day continued on in a slow pace. It was not just the classes, but the weeks before were slow in letters too. It was either the Dark Lord wanted to give him a break or something big was coming his way. Lucius could only wait and hope the next letter he finds would not be it.

When the weekend finally arrived, Lucius was told that Tanya would be boarding the train on Saturday evening. The prefects were urging those who knew her to see her off, but Lucius declined. She made it clear that she did not want to see him again, and Lucius silently agreed to that. So, while some went to the station to say their goodbyes, Lucius was in the common room being Severus’ worst tutor.

“No, you cannot mix snake fangs and billywig stings in a single bowl,” Lucius said.

“But if you add the standard ingredients in between, you can,” Severus replied.

Lucius narrowed his eyes at him.

“Look, it says here,” Severus said, as he showed Lucius a book he borrowed from the library.

Lucius took the book but he did not bother to read it. He wondered why Severus needed his help when clearly the boy knew much more than he did.

“It seems so,” Lucius said.

Severus nodded with a wide smile, as though it was the first time someone agreed with him.

“You’re doing a great job. Now excuse me, I want to get some rest,” Lucius said.

“Thank you for your help, Lucius,” Severus said.

Lucius waved him off and disappeared up the stairs to his bedroom. He was in a dull mood the whole day and he simply wanted it to end. Sadly, rest was the least of his worries.

As Lucius’ eyes gazed at the steps, the platform before his bedroom door greeted him with a white envelope. Shutting his eyes, Lucius wished the letter away. But when he opened his eyes, it was still there.

Picking up the envelope, Lucius took in a deep, tired breath before tearing it open. Inside, he found a letter that read, “Hogsmead, next week. Potage Cauldron Shop. Let’s meet.”

The letter was not signed with ‘your friend’ but the handwriting resembled the Dark Lord’s. Was it meant for him or was this letter actually meant for someone else? Lucius was not sure if he should go, but if the letter was really for him he better be at Potage Cauldron Shop next week. After all, the Dark Lord might not appreciate being stood up.

To Be Continued…

(Leave a comment below or vote on whether Lucius should follow the letter’s instructions or not!)

Chapter 30

Joanna headed to Knockturn Alley after gossiping about everyone from school with Annoria. Being that she was an Auror in one of the darkest parts of the Wizarding World, Joanna never took her hand off her wand. As she walked down the old shops, mostly unable to tell if they were still operational, Joanna recalled the trip she took with Tom to the tavern in Hogsmead. Oh yes, the same trepidation was lingering within her.

Finally reaching Borgin and Burkes, Joanna took a peep through the old musty window. She saw a wide array of magical objects which she was sure all could be used for dark magic. Silently, she wondered why there was no law against magical objects that enhanced dark magic.

“Can I help you?” a man, who was standing by the door, asked in a suspicious tone.

“I’m… looking for someone,” Joanna hesitated.

“Why?” The man, whom Joanna recognized as Caractacus Burke, kept the same suspicious tone.

“You’re Caractacus right?” Joanna had to confirm her doubts, as the man was missing a finger, which was not the description they had on him at the Auror department.

“Who’s asking?”

“You’re on our watch list,” Joanna simply replied as she walked past him and into his shop.

“I didn’t do anything, you can’t prove anything,” Caractacus immediately defended himself as he followed after her.

“Relax, I’m not here on a job.”

“Then why are you here?” His suspicious tone returned.

“I’m looking for an old friend from school, they say he works here.”

“Who? Tom Riddle? He’s the only one that works for me,” Caractacus quickly replied, hoping to shift the conversation away from himself.

“Yes. Is he here?”

“I’ll… I’ll go get him,” he said, before hurrying off and disappearing among the shelves and big objects.

And then, as though the placement of the objects were so perfect to bounce off sound, Joanna heard a conversation.

“Who is she?! What did you do?!” Caractacus demanded.

“Relax old man, she’s a friend from school.”

“She better not be snooping around. They need a warrant for that.”

“She won’t give you any problems.”

Joanna could still hear the authoritative tone in his voice. Though it may seem like Tom was working for Caractacus, but Caractacus was wrapped around Tom’s fingers.

“I’m taking a break,” Tom said, before she heard his footsteps. And though they were loud and clear she couldn’t make out the direction he was coming from.

“Funny how sound works in here huh,” Tom finally said from behind her, making her jump as her hand tightened on her wand.

“Yes. It is.” Joanna turned to face him. Tom had not really changed as he still looked the same, just older and more manly.

“Let’s talk outside. Mr. Burke likes to eavesdrop,” Tom said loudly before he led her to the exit.

Once outside, Joanna found herself letting go of her wand. Somehow, she knew he wouldn’t hurt her.

“The arrangement of the objects… your job?” Joanna asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yes. We like listening to our customers’ thoughts,” Tom answered with a smile. “So, how have you been?”

“Pretty good, you?”

“I’m fine.”

“I thought you wanted to work in Hogwarts?”

“I was turned down.”

“Ouch. But I heard you had a lot of offers from the Ministry.”

“I turned THEM down.”

As Tom answered, she noticed how he never took his eyes off her.

“As an auror, aren’t you trained to be on guard every time?” Tom suddenly asked.

“Yes.”

“You should keep your hand on your wand. I must tell you, it is more dangerous out here than in there.”

“I…” Joanna didn’t know how to answer. She didn’t intend on letting her guard down at all.

“But don’t worry, I’ll protect you. No one here crosses me,” Tom said with full of pride. And then he smiled, that same smile that captivated the hearts of many.

“I get off work at around seven. We can have dinner if you want to catch up?” Tom added.

Joanna started to read him again, just like how she would back in Hogwarts.

“Dinner sounds fine,” Joanna replied, after a few seconds of internal debates.

“Great. I’ll meet you at the Three Broomsticks,” Tom replied and disappeared back into the shop without even saying goodbye.

Placing her hand back on her wand, Joanna left Knockturn Alley, did some shopping, and settled down at the Three Broomsticks right at the stroke of seven. Moments later, Tom walked in and sat down at her table.

There was a long moment of silence as the waitress came, went and returned. Joanna buried her face in the menu long enough for the waitress to make an annoying throat clearing sound. After they made their orders, Joanna started staring out the window, trying to avoid Tom’s gaze. He had never taken his eyes off her the moment he saw her.

“Could you stop staring at me?” Joanna could not take it any longer.

“Why did you come and see me?” Tom asked in reply.

“I… I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

“Curious as always,” Tom said.

“No. I was concerned.”

“Right. But why? We haven’t spoken since we left school, its almost a year and a half now.”

“Is it wrong to check up on an old friend?” Joanna was getting defensive.

“I don’t know. We weren’t really friends after you came back to Hogwarts.”

“Well, that’s not really my fault, is it?” Joanna couldn’t believe they were getting into an argument.

“You were saying it was my fault?”

“You weren’t there when I needed you the most, you ditched me remember? After your emotional speech about wanting me to be in your life and all that, you still ditched me,” Joanna replied, trying not to get angry.

“I made a speech? I don’t recall it,” Tom said, with no expression on his face.

“Wow Tom, just wow. I don’t know why I agreed to have dinner with you. You’re just the same arrogant boy I use to know.”

“I’m always the same, Joanna. I’ve never changed. Is that all you remember me for, arrogant?”

“I don’t need to remember, you’re proving it now.” Immediately, Joanna stood up.

“You’re leaving?” Tom asked, not at all surprised.

“Yes. I am.” Joanna decided to give up trying. Tom may have grown to be more handsome, but he was still the same inside.

As she walked past him, he reached out for her wrist and stopped her.

“I’m sorry. Old habits die hard,” Tom quickly said. “Please, sit back down.” The tone in his voice had changed.

“No. I got to go.” Joanna often wondered if Tom had a split personality, and if he did, she did not want to deal with either personalities anymore.

“Don’t go. I need to tell you something.” Tom refused to let go of her wrist no matter how hard she tried to tug it free.

Joanna thought for a while. Should she listen to him and give him a chance? Or should she just leave him, as dinner WAS his chance.

To Be Continued…

(Leave a comment below or vote on whether Joanna should stay or go!)

Chapter 29

Once she had said yes to Nyla, the second half of the year sped up so fast. Time really flies, even in the magical world. The exams came and went, and Joanna was certain she did well enough to confirm her a spot in  the ministry once she graduated. Though Joanna and Tom had made up, they were merely on ‘hello’ terms, and slowly but surely, they grew apart. Joanna could not see how she could support Tom as an auror-to-be, and Tom did not want to associate himself with anyone that had to do with the ministry; but they did not see each other as enemies, rather the friend that was once close.

Finally, the year came to an end and as Slytherin, once again, took the house cup, the mixture of groans and cheers made Joanna wish the year could have ended later. Hogwarts was like the home she never had, and even though she had to go through the ups and downs, she made friends whom she loved dearly, that would have included Tom if she wasn’t so unsure about how she felt about him.

Once the ‘Goodbye and good luck’ speech was given by Professor Dippet to the graduating class, the night ended with hugs and wishes among the seniors. Some of the juniors stayed back in the great hall to say their goodbyes, as the following day, everyone would be boarding the Hogwarts express and most of them wouldn’t see each other for a while. Joanna was sure to thank the teachers first, and when she came face to face with Professor Dumbledore, her prediction of what he would say came through.

“I’m glad you’re taking up the Auror job. It’s a very good career,” Professor Dumbledore said with a smile.

Joanna merely returned the smile and nodded. She wasn’t so certain if it would be a good career, considering all the battle scars one would collect over time.

Finally thanking all the teachers, who ended saying the same thing about her job offer at the ministry and how she did rather well without failing a single subject, she naturally headed up to Tom.

Since she knew she wouldn’t be seeing him again she thought that an appropriate goodbye should be said.

“So, I heard you’re the top of the class again,” Joanna said, diverting Tom’s attention away from a junior who kept smiling at him without saying a word.

“Yes, I did. You did pretty good yourself,” Tom immediately replied, turning his back against the junior who narrowed her eyes at Joanna before storming off.

“You have an admirer.” Joanna chuckled.

“Annoying,” Tom said as he rolled his eyes.

“Well, what are you planning to do?” Joanna asked, out of curiosity.

“I thought of coming back, to teach.”

“Teach?” That surprised Joanna.

“Yea. Defense against the dark arts,” Tom said.

“Defense against the dark arts?”

Wasn’t Tom for the dark arts? Not against the dark arts? Joanna thought to herself.

“You look shock. Why?”

“I just thought… I mean… it’s not really you to-“

“It’s an interesting subject,” Tom said with a smile. A smile that hid his ulterior motives, but Joanna didn’t bother to pry.

“Well, all the best!”

“You too,” Tom said.

“I’ll see you around,” Joanna added, before she headed towards Annoria, who had been calling her over for the last one minute.

…..

One year into her training at the Ministry of Magic, Joanna was finally promoted as an official Auror. She was assigned to a team and her first so called mission was to track down a wizard who was putting spells on muggles to do his biding. Once that mission was over, another one came, followed by many many more. It’s strange how some wizards loved abusing their magical abilities, even on harmless animals. Most of them were rather disturbed and Joanna was sure she have not met the worst of the worst just yet.

With all the work, Joanna realized that she had not spoken to her friends for months. This auror job is taking up a lot of my time, Joanna thought, as she sat down one night just to reply the letter Annoria had sent her three months ago.

Hoping to catch her breath, the following day, Joanna requested a one month leave, which was supposedly the unclaimed holidays she lost over hunting down crazy wizards. Once it was confirmed, she wrote another letter to Annoria, hoping to meet up.

Annoria must have been extremely free or jobless as her owl returned quickly. Two days after that, they met at the Three Broomsticks and recollected the days where Joanna took Matilda up on a duel.

“I thought you were going to kill her!’ Annoria said, laughing at the memory.

“I thought so too. Wow, I miss those days.” Joanna indeed missed those carefree days.

“Your job is pretty demanding huh?”

“Who knew animal cruelty would fall under our jurisdiction,” Joanna replied.

“Seriously?’

“If the animal was used for dark magic that is. So, what are you doing now?”

“I’m working in Gringotts.”

“Is it not busy? Aren’t Goblins rather demanding?”

“No, not really. I handle most of the paperwork, but it’s not something magic can’t do by itself.”

“That’s good.”

“You know what I heard? Tom was offered jobs in the Ministry of Magic. Is it true?” Annoria continued, clearly wanting to do some gossiping.

“I don’t know. I’m rarely in the office. Who did you hear it from?” Joanna was now curious on how Tom was doing.

“Friends of friends in the ministry. But they said he turned them down, for whatever reason. He disappointed a lot of people.”

“Tom never liked the ministry, it would be against his secret oath or something to work in it.”

“But that’s just a waste of talent. I heard he’s working at Borgin and Burkes now. YOU should pay him a visit.” Annoria failed to hide her smile.

“You should come along with me,” Joanna casually replied.

“I don’t like Knockturn Alley. It’s creepy. But you should go, I mean, you haven’t seen him in a while, and he could have only gotten more handsome than he was before,” Annoria teased.

Joanna laughed as Annoria winked her eye at her. Should she pay Tom a visit? Or should she just scrape the idea all together?

To Be Continued…

(Leave a comment below or vote on whether Joanna should pay a visit or ignore the suggestion!)

Chapter 27

Joanna made her way to the tower that night. She wasn’t sure why she was going to see Tom, but she just felt like she had to. When she finally reached the landing in front of the door, she hesitated for a moment. Would it seem weak if she gave in to him? Joanna asked herself. She didn’t like being weak. But as her heart did the pondering, her brain moved her hand towards the door and pushed it open.

Tom was standing by the balcony, over looking the night sky. There were no stars that night, only a pitch black, endless sky. As Joanna entered and closed the door behind her, Tom did not turn, nor did he even flinch.

There was an awkward moment of silence before Tom spoke, “I heard you have an uncle who sells exotic snakes. Do you think you can get one for me?”

“You called me here to ask if I can get a snake for you?” Joanna couldn’t believe her ears.

Turning his head to look at her, he seemed to be deciphering her tone. And then he said, “No.”

“Then why do you wanna see me?”

“Why did you come to see me?” Tom asked in reply.

“I asked first.”

“Clearly you’re afraid of your own answer.”

“Clearly it has been a mistake,” Joanna said as she turned and headed towards the door.

“I’m sorry,” Tom immediately called out.

“Sorry won’t do you any good if you won’t tell me why you called for me.” Joanna said as she turned to face him, angry at his fondness of word play.

“No. I’m sorry.”

“What are you apologizing for?” Joanna was getting frustrated.

“I’m just sorry.” Tom turned away, and gazed back into the darkness of the sky.

It took Joanna a while to realize what he was saying, and she knew it must have taken him a lot to say those words. She was so tempted to ask for further explanation, but she knew he would never give her one and was afraid he might change his mind. So she kept quiet for a while before saying, “I’m tired. I’m going to bed.”

Joanna waited for a reply, but when he said none, she headed towards the door. Just as she was about to shut the door on her way out, she could have sworn she heard him say, “Don’t get caught.”

The following day, Joanna felt like she had accomplish something, and everything was returning to the way it use to be. But before the day could end, that theory of hers was proven wrong.

Matilda had decided that she wanted revenge for the duel, and before Joanna had returned to school, she had spread a rumor that Joanna was infected with muggle disease. Hence, everywhere she went students were avoiding her, except for most of the Ravenclaws (which Joanna was thankful they had more brains than the other houses).

Joanna felt as though she could easily accept what was going on as rumors always die down after a few weeks, but when Matilda decided to gather a bullying party in the courtyard that evening, and waited for her arrival just to start a word fight, Joanna decided she would do as she had promised Matilda at their last duel.

“So, I heard your mother was sent to a muggle hospital,” Matilda shouted from across the courtyard, turning many heads towards Joanna’s direction.

“Because no magic or science can cure this..” Annoria shouted a reply before she trailed off, unsure on what to call her mother’s condition.

“This muggle disease?” Matilda finished her sentence for her.

“Let’s just go. She’s just being stupid.” Annoria quickly said as she tugged at Joanna’s arm. But Joanna did not move. She was thinking hard on whether she should draw her wand and send her a crucio.

“Annoria, becareful! You might get infected!” Matilda added, and Joanna caught the sight of a few interns, who used to be their seniors, giving Matilda odd looks as they walked past her.

“What? It’s true!” Matilda said in reply to their response, and they laughed at her instead. Getting frustrated that she could not convince everyone that Joanna was infected with muggle disease, she strode over as she shouted, “Instead of being here and infecting everyone, why don’t you go back to your sick mother and die together!”

And as much as Joanna did not fancy her mother, she was not going to stand around while someone cursed the woman who raised her. Pulling out her wand, more students began to stop in their tracks, excited to watch what was going to happen next.

“No, don’t!” Annoria quickly said.

 “Why not?!” Joanna asked in return.

“Because there are aurors in the school today,” a voice whispered into her ear from behind her.

Together with Annoria she turned her head to see who it was, and behind them stood Malfoy. He quickly backed into the crowd which was already forming a big circle to spectate.

“Joanna, keep your wand. You don’t wanna be caught by aurors!” Annoria said.

I don’t want to be caught doing that spell you mean? Joanna silently asked in reply. It’s not illegal yet, is it?

Joanna watched as Matilda pulled out her wand, clearly confident that she might win this round, and Joanna had the urge to show everyone how much of a sore loser Matilda was. But with aurors in the school? Should she really get into this duel?

To Be Continued…

(Leave a comment below or vote on whether Joanna should duel Matilda again, or walk away!)

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