FHB: Chapter 26

“Father!” Lucius called.

Abraxas Malfoy stopped in his tracks, almost unwillingly. He rested his hand on the doorknob before turning to Lucius.

“Is something wrong?” Lucius asked uncertainly.

His father shook his head and was ready to leave.

“I know something is,” Lucius quickly said.

His father let go of the knob, and said, “No, you don’t.” Before Lucius could prove his point, his father apparated without another word.

Knowing there was nothing he could do to find the answers he wanted, he sighed and exited the basement. He was so sure of leaving the dingy shop empty handed when he saw a familiar face at the counter.

The boy rang the rusted bell on the wooden surface, but no one came out to greet him. Disappointed, the boy turned towards the door and caught the reflection of Lucius in an old copper cauldron. Immediately, he stopped in his tracks.

Lucius caught the boy’s surprised expression and walked up to him.

“What are you doing here, Severus?” Lucius asked. “Who gave you permission to visit Hogsmead?

“Professor Slughorn. I was looking to buy a new cauldron, but…” Severus trailed off.

“What happened to your old one?”

“It…”

A boy with talent in potions could not have blown up his own cauldron.

“It?” Lucius asked.

Severus shrugged. Lucius knew he was too embarrassed to admit he was still being bullied. Maybe if Severus joined the Dark Lord, he would find a reason to stand up for himself.

Walking up to the counter, Lucius gave the bell three rings. When not a soul showed interest in selling a cauldron, Lucius took out a few galleons from his cloak and placed it on the counter.

“Take that one,” Lucius said and pointed at a new silver cauldron seated by the window.

“But…” Severus only managed a word.

“Thank you would suffice,” Lucius simply replied.

Severus nodded his head and muttered the softest ‘thank you’ Lucius had ever heard. He then hurried towards the cauldron, but before he could reach for it he stopped and picked up something from the floor.

“What is it?” Lucius asked.

“I don’t know,” Severus answered, as he handed the piece of paper to Lucius.

While Severus struggled to find the right position to carry the cauldron, Lucius examined the piece of paper. The only thing written was, “Dr. Maddock. Highly recommended” and it was signed off with D.B.

Something about it felt familiar and when he thought it through, he recalled the last time he fell ill. His mother called the family doctor who signed off a few exotic herbs with ‘D.B’. At the memory of it, Lucius wondered if the piece of paper belonged to his father. Something was definitely wrong and Lucius was beginning to worry. Yet at that very moment, he kept his cool and headed back to Hogwarts with Severus stumbling beside him.

That night, Lucius could not fall asleep. He wrote a brief letter to his mother asking if everything was fine back home before he rested his head, but that only made things worse. His worry would not die down and when the sun came up the next day he decided to act on his own. He did not have a plan but he hoped the day would work to his favour.

When afternoon came, day was on his side as Lucius stumbled upon a prefect reprimanding a group of students. It was not hard to guess what had happened as the students were split into a group of three boys against one. Picking up speed, Lucius closed in on the debate on ‘who started it’ before saying, “I know who the bullies are.”

Little did he know, he was wrong with his assessment. The three boys were Avery, Mulciber and Severus, and the one they were against was a Gryffindor boy; a boy he had not seen before. He was probably someone no one noticed, making him an easy target.

“You do?” The Hufflepuff prefect asked.

Lucius was not sure if he should sell out his own to save this new face, so he played it safe and said, “Better they confess to lighten the sentence.”

“He did it!” the Gryffindor boy said, and pointed at Severus.

It was unbelievable as Severus was commonly the target of bullies, not the other way around.

“He jinxed Severus’ cauldron!” Avery responded in accusation.

“We just wanted justice,” Mulciber added, in the most threatening tone.

 When the Gryffindor boy hesitated to defend himself, Lucius knew it was true.

“What’s your name?” Lucius asked him.

“Peter.”

“Peter what?”

“Peter Pettigrew.”

“Detention Mr Pettigrew. And if you jinx another cauldron, you’re paying for it,” Lucius said.

The Hufflepuff prefect looked at Lucius uncertainly and Lucius doused his suspicion of biasness with, “Ask Professor Slughorn about the cauldron. As for the fight, we can just let it go.”

Reluctantly, the Hufflepuff prefect nodded his head and took Pettigrew with him. When the two were out of earshot, Avery and Mulciber began high fiving and praising Lucius. Severus on the other hand, thanked Lucius and turned on his heels.

“You owe me, Severus,” Lucius simply said.

It was then that Lucius had an idea. Maybe he could use Severus once more, and do the Dark Lord’s bidding at the same time. After all, Severus was indebted to him, and Tanya was no longer around to question his motives.

To Be Continued…

(Leave a comment below or vote on whether Lucius should use Severus again or let him go!)

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FHB: Chapter 14

“He’s my father’s friend,” Lucius replied.

“Oh, he is? Does he work in the ministry?” Tanya asked.

“Yes. My father asked me to return him some money.”

“Can’t your father do it himself?”

“He’s busy.”

“I see. Well, I thought you should know that the professors think some students are buying papers. Apparently, the deal is always struck here.”

“Really? I didn’t know.”

“Of course not. You’re not the type to be buying papers.”

Lucius chuckled and said, “You know me so well.”

Tanya replied with a smile and Lucius nodded before hurrying down the stairs. When he was back on his chair surrounded by his housemates, he found the uneasiness had not left him.

Entering the great hall the next morning, Lucius took quick glances at the professors and found them acting suspicious. He briefly wondered if his perception was altered by his cautiousness, and found it to be true when Professor Dumbledore left the hall just before the arrival of the owls.

Lucius caught himself heaving a sigh, as the professors did not act out of the ordinary when the parcels began falling. His attention was so focused on them that when a parcel fell onto his lap, he jumped out of his seat.

Students turned their heads almost immediately, but when Lucius glared back they quickly looked away. Not thinking twice on how suspicious his next action may seem, Lucius slid the parcel under his cloak and left the great hall.

There was some time before his first class, so Lucius hurried back to the common room and unwrapped the parcel on his feathered bed. Beneath the string and brown paper, Lucius found three thick parchments, each binded with string. The cover page had the official ministry chop and right below it was the name of the subject.

Lucius flipped through the pages quickly and was convinced he was holding the real deal. Hiding the papers at the bottom of his trunk, Lucius hurried back to class and lied about handling a sick student.

As the day carried on, Lucius found himself counting down the hours. He was both fearful and excited at the same time, and that concoction of emotions sent him straight to his feet when the last class of the day ended. But as he strode out of class, he found himself stopping in his tracks. Down the hallway were three older prefects, and they were storming towards them.

In his mind, Lucius weighed out the option of running or waiting, and when he chose both he walked towards the perfects and asked, “What’s the matter?”

“Do you know who Gilbert Puffett is?” the Gryffindor prefect asked.

It was hard not to know Gilbert Puffett. He was the Hufflepuff boy that bragged about his mother’s self-soaping dishcloth all the time.

Nodding his head, Lucius led the prefects to the group of Hufflepuffs he just had class with and pointed at the unsuspecting boy.

“Gilbert Puffett, you’re called to the disciplinary office,” the Hufflepuff prefect said with a croak, clearly embarrassed at whatever offence Gilbert had made.

“Why? What did I do?”

“You know what you did, unless you want us to tell your friends?”

Lucius saw Gilbert hesitating, but eventually he nodded his head. Just as the prefects were about to escort Gilbert, one of them turned to Lucius and said, “We need an extra hand. Could you head to the prefect’s lounge right away?”

Lucius was tempted to ask what for, but instead he said, “Sure.”

The prefect’s lounge was just beside the teachers’ office. As Lucius entered the cosy room, he saw a group of prefects his age. An older prefect was briefing them, and when they saw him they gestured him over.

“Split up in twos or threes and take a list. Leave the N.E.W.T students to us,” the older prefect ended.

“What’s going on?” Lucius asked.

“There was a spot check and O.W.L and N.E.W.T exam papers were found in students’ possessions. Weren’t you assigned to do the checking?” a Ravenclaw prefect asked.

Lucius shook his head as his throat dried up. He wished he was among those assigned for the spot check and couldn’t help but wonder if his name was on the list.

Just as he decided to find out, a group of prefects returned and among them was Tanya. Tanya waved him over and gestured to leave the room. Without hesitation, Lucius hurried after her.

Once outside and out of earshot, Lucius asked, “You knew about the spot check?”

“I told you at The Three Broomsticks didn’t I?”

“Well, not exactly,” Lucius replied, struggling to hide the internal turmoil.

“Why are you so nervous?” Tanya asked.

“Were you assigned to do a spot check?” Lucius asked in reply.

“I was given the Slytherin common room.”

“Did you find anything?”

“We found quite a fair bit. I found yours too,” Tanya answered so casually that Lucius felt his heart falling out of his chest.

Immediately, his head began ringing with his mother’s disappointed voice and his father’s angry shouts. A wave of nausea also swept over him but before it did any damage, Tanya said, “I burnt them.”

“You… what?”

“I burnt them. Or did you want me to hand them in?”

What she did was very unlike her. Lucius could not believe how a law-abiding witch would break the rules for him. But just as he was about to thank her, Tanya added, “So, are you going to turn yourself in?”

“What?” Lucius asked in disbelief.

“What you did was wrong. You should turn yourself in.”

“I’m grateful you helped me, but you can’t tell me what to do. Friends don’t tell each other what to do,” Lucius quickly replied.

“I’m telling you as a friend, you have to make up for it.”

“Hey, what you think is wrong might not be wrong to me.”

“Your choice, Lucius,” Tanya simply replied.

“Is that a threat?”

“I burnt your papers, what can I threaten you with?” Tanya asked before turning on her heels and heading back to the prefect’s lounge.

Lucius knew the easiest decision was to return to the group and pretend nothing happened, but something inside him urged him to do the right thing. Lucius hated his conscience but in order to shut it up, he had to make a firm choice.

To Be Continued…

(Leave a comment below or vote on whether Lucius should say something or leave it as it is!)

FHB: Chapter 13

“Friends?” Lucius paused and with slight hesitation before he continued, “sure.”

“Great! Well as a friend, I’m encouraging you to do your prefect duties,” Tanya replied with a small smile.

“Right,” Lucius simply said as he awkwardly waved Tanya goodbye.

Of course, Lucius didn’t return to his duties but straight to the common room instead. Friend or not, nobody told him what to do. As he lay in his bed that night, he found himself wondering what being friends really meant. By the time his eyes shut, he still did not have the right answers.

The following morning came as fast as the end of Quidditch season. Slytherin took the Quidditch cup with Hufflepuff not too far behind. The Slytherins found no reason to rub salt into the Hufflepuffs’ wounds, so they jeered at the Gryffindors instead. Slytherin and Gryffindor were always rivals, and many being friends with each other made no difference.

Lucius who went along with the celebration still did not understand the meaning of friends. He was too proud to ask and he decided that it was best if he continued pretending not to have any. When those around him asked about Tanya, he simply said he was being nice to her for the sake of her intelligence. After all, O.W.Ls was nearing and Lucius was not the best at every subject.

As the months flew by, Lucius found himself studying more than he usually did. Tanya had encouraged him to work hard instead of cheat his way through, and he had no idea why he thought it was a good idea to do as she suggested. Clearly, after days of pouring over boring Divination Lucius realized it was a bad idea.

Jumping from the armchair near the warm fireplace, he headed to the older group of Slytherins gossiping at a corner.

“Interesting conversation,” Lucius merely said.

“Er, yes. Would you like to join us?” a male student replied.

“No.”

“Then how can we help you?” a female student asked.

“Slytherin was second to Ravenclaw last year in the Owls outstanding grade. I want to know who helped,” Lucius answered.

“Helped? Well, we studied,” another male student said.

“Everyone in this group did not study. The ones that actually did are asleep now,” Lucius replied.

“We didn’t use a memory spell if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“I’m not wondering. You’re telling me,” Lucius went straight to the point.

There was a moment of hesitation, but it didn’t last long.

“We bought the papers before hand,” the same student replied in a lower voice.

There were only a few people in the common room that night and Lucius wondered why he was whispering.

“From who?”

“You don’t know him, but I can introduce him to you. You have a trip to Hogmeads coming up, right? I can sneak out to join you,” the student suggested.

“Sound good,” Lucius simply replied. He patted the boy on the shoulder before heading up to his room.

On the day of the Hogsmead trip, Lucius headed out with the usual boys. A lot of the students decided not to go, as they preferred staying indoors to study, but Lucius went mainly to find a way to make him breeze through a few of the subjects he was struggling with.

Surprisingly, as Lucius and his posse settled down in the Three Broomsticks, he saw Tanya entering with her friends. Tanya was behind in her studies, so she must have caught up being that she was out. As he watched her, the Slytherin boy that promised an introduction came walking in.

Lucius did not wait for him to walk over as he headed to him instead.

“Let’s make this quick,” Lucius said.

“Of course,” he replied and went straight to the stairs.

Lucius took one look at his fellow housemates and gestured for them to remain seated. Once he and the other student were on the first floor, the student pointed to a man in a suit at the table near the window.

“He knows you’re coming,” the student said.

“Good,” Lucius replied and thanked the student with a nod.

Lucius swaggered to the table and took a seat. The man acknowledged him with a fake smile and said, “So, how can I help you?”

“I need papers…owl,” Lucius said.

“One paper does not come cheap.”

“Money is not a problem, and I only need a few.”

“Oh? If you’re so clever, why don’t you just study?”

“I don’t need you to tell me what to do.”

The man chuckled and said, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m just trying to do business here.”

“So how much for a paper and when can you deliver?”

“20 galleons, 13 sickles, 13 knuts. And I’ll deliver tomorrow if you pay today,” he replied with a sly smile.

“Fine. If you cheat me, you will pay for it.”

“Oh, I’m not the cheater here.”

Lucius narrowed his eyes before paying the man and informing him on the papers he needed. When the deal was done, he did not stick around and headed straight for the stairs. That was when he bumped into Tanya.

“Hey,” Tanya greeted.

“Hello,” Lucius replied as he edged towards the steps.

She looked at him and then at the man in the suit. Casually, she asked, “Who is that man? What were you paying him for?”

Lucius’ head screamed at him to cook up a lie, but he had a strange urge to tell the truth, as though lying was just going to make things worst. It now came down to what he was going to say to the only friend he had.

To Be Continued…

(Leave a comment below or vote on whether Lucius should lie or tell the truth!)

FHB: Chapter 12

Lucius did not want to do it, but the grip he was losing on the banner forced him into action.

“Tanya!” Lucius shouted, hoping his words could cut through the deafening crowd. And to his surprise, it did.

Tanya swerved her broom towards his direction and hesitated for a few seconds before coming to his aid.

“What on earth are you doing here?!”

“Wild bludger. I need your help,” Lucius replied as he struggled to hold on.

“Why should I help you? You’re not my friend,” Tanya said, turning her broom away.

Lucius was in shock at her response but he still managed a few words. “Please, I could die!”

“Why don’t you call your friends for help?”

It wasn’t the right moment to make a point but it was the perfect moment. Lucius was starting to think of descending by himself when the question caught him off guard. No matter who he was or how influential he became, Lucius did not have friends. It was the way he did things that put him above his housemates but made him alone.

As he shook his head in reply, Lucius felt his sweaty palms slipping from the banner. When he realized what was happening, he was already sliding down with his hands barely gripping onto the cloth.

“I can’t die like this!” Lucius thought out loud.

Just as those words escaped his lips, Tanya swooped down and reached for the back of his cloak. She was not strong enough to pull him up and her broom began tilting to his side.

“Grab the broom!” Tanya yelled.

Lucius flailed his hands and managed to grip onto the broom with one hand, but that did not stop them from the fall. As Tanya struggled to pull him up and control her broom, Lucius’ attempt to climb up made it worse.

“Stop! Just hold on!” Tanya said.

For once in his schooling life, he listened to another student and halted his attempts. Tanya tilted her body to the other side and slowly descended towards the black lake. When Lucius’ legs touched the waters, the drag pulled them both in.

 As the two of them pushed their heads out of the water, Tanya said, “Great! We’ll lose the game now.”

“You can still get back in,” Lucius replied.

“And what? Leave you here for the giant squid?”

“He’s quite docile,” Lucius said.

“I’m not that kind of a person,” Tanya simply replied and reached for her broom that was hovering above the water.

As she climbed on, she said, “Come on, I’ll get you back on solid ground.”

Lucius did not need to think twice about following her orders and he pulled himself up. He did however, hesitate on holding her waist but when they took flight there was no hesitation left.

When they finally landed in a school courtyard, Lucius awkwardly thanked Tanya for saving his life. Tanya merely responded with a nod before disappearing into the sky. She had a game to get back to, and when Lucius heard that the match dragged on for another hour, he didn’t feel so bad about the handicap he caused Ravenclaw briefly.

Strangely, when he found himself feeling sorry, he did not stop himself. He used to shut out thoughts that would alter his judgement, but he could not bring himself to do so that day. The thought of almost dying or being at risk to death made him think about his life. Maybe Lucius really needed friends after all? Maybe they were more of a help than a liability?

As the match ended and the news of Slytherin’s victory reached Lucius’ ears, he decided not to gloat over it. And during dinner that night, Lucius kept to his own promise.

The Slytherins were having a celebration, while the Ravenclaws tried not to look too upset. There were still a few more games to go so neither Gryffindor nor Hufflepuff felt the sting of the win. It was a pretty ordinary night in the great hall, except for the occasional cheers.

When dinner was over, everyone headed back to their common rooms in a not so orderly manner. Lucius neglected his prefect duties again and decided to have a talk with Tanya.

“Tanya, wait up,” Lucius called out when he saw Tanya monitoring the Ravenclaws.

“I’m on duty, you should be too,” Tanya pointed out.

“Just one second.”

“You don’t owe me alright, I don’t keep tabs when I help someone,” Tanya replied.

“No, that’s not what I wanted to say,” Lucius quickly said.

“Then?”

“I just wanted to say thank you, again. And you’re right, I don’t have friends.”

“You’re welcome. Maybe you should start making some.”

Lucius gave an awkward chuckle. “It doesn’t work that way for me.”

“Right, because you’re a pureblood and all that.”

“No. It’s just not the way I was brought up. My father always said that friends would do me more harm than good.”

“No offense to your bloodline, but your father is wrong.”

“Maybe…” Lucius trailed off as he recalled his father’s story about the Dark Lord while he was in Hogwarts.

“You know what, let’s prove your father wrong. Do you want to be friends?”

Lucius was not sure if he heard her right, as he last recalled Tanya hating him. Was she really offering her friendship? There was an internal tug-of-war, and Lucius could not believe it was such a difficult question to answer.

To Be Continued…

(Leave a comment below or vote on whether Lucius should say yes or no to Tanya’s offer!)

Chapter 28

“You’re not worth it,” Joanna simply said.

Immediately, seeing that there would not be a duel, the crowd slowly dispersed.

“Typical Hufflepuffs, weaklings as usual,” Matilda shouted, hoping to attract only Joanna’s attention, but ended up stopping all the Hufflepuffs in their tracks.

Clearly noticing her mistake, Matilda quickly hurried off, with her posse following after her like lost puppies.

Just as Matilda disappeared around a corner, an announcement boomed overhead and Professor Dumbledore’s voice sent everyone silent.

“Attention all final year students, please proceed to the great hall immediately.”

“But we have class,” Annoria said in reply.

“No astronomy, I’m fine with that,” Joanna said, as they began following the small crowd towards the great hall.

Once they had arrived, the great hall had been rearranged. The tables and benches were stacked up against the wall, leaving a huge empty space in the center. At the teacher’s table was Professor Dippet, Professor Dumbledore, Professor Merrythought, and three people whom Joanna suspected to be the aurors.

“What is going on?” Annoria asked.

Asking the same question to herself, Joanna hoped it had nothing to do with Tom and his horcuxes. And when she spotted him at the corner of the teacher’s table, she sighed a small relief.

“Recruitment drive,” someone answered Annoria’s question from behind them.

“It’s not that easy though,” another student added.

“They didn’t do this last year,” Annoria said.

“Shortage in staff,” Joanna replied, and the students around her chuckled softly.

Some of the prefects began to ask students to move forward, as everyone was crowding at the back of the hall, and none dared to break off from the group.

“We are not going to hurt you,” the female auror said.

Cautious laughter followed with the crowd slowly shuffling forward.

“My name is Nyla and we have been told by Professor Merrythought that you are one of Hogwarts’ finest badge in defense against the dark arts. So, a few of us has decided to fish out the talented ones to join our force,” the female auror explained.

“You’re not going to try and kill us are you?” a Gryffindor student asked. He was bold enough to speak up, but clearly not so brave after all.

“Of course not. We’re going to run this recruitment test just like how we do it in the ministry. It is legal and safe, trust me,” Nyla answered confidently.

Nyla was a slim, tall and pretty, middle aged woman, and her two fellow colleagues were men, one of them taller than Professor Dumbledore, and the other slightly shorter than Nyla. All three of them had battle wounds, but Nyla did the best job at hiding hers.

Just as Joanna had finally studied them all, she noticed that the three of them had positioned themselves at the front of the hall. They were pulling their wands out so slowly that Joanna was certain she was the only one that saw. Instinctively, she pulled hers out slowly as well.

“What we’re going to do today,” Nyla paused when she spotted Joanna with her wand, and then she continued, “is to test your speed, accuracy and creativity in a combat duel, especially when you’re caught off guard.”

Immediately after she had spoken, her two colleagues started firing spells at the students. Screams and yells echoed throughout the great hall as students were running towards the exit.

Joanna, with her wand at hand, blocked off as many spells she could while she yelled for the ones around her to take out their wands.

“What. Are. They. Doing?!” Annoria yelled in between the piercing screams.

“Fishing out the talented ones,” Joanna shouted in reply.

A few other students started emerging from the crowd of hysterical students with their wands, defending the flying sparks of all colors that was heading towards them.

“I. Can’t. Keep. This. Up. I’m. Not. Good!” Annoria said, now losing breath as the aurors did not sop.

Having her attention diverted to Annoria for just a second, Joanna did not see a spell that was intentionally meant for her. The moment it hit her on the chest, she flew all the way to the back of the hall, and landed onto one of the stacked tables.

Pain rose from her joints as she tried to stand up. Being slightly above the crowd, she saw Nyla aim another spell at her.

“Why is she picking one me?!” Joanna said to herself.

Quickly dogging the red spark, Joanna fired a spell back at her. It was no longer a game of defense.

Joanna watched as Nyla blocked off her spells as they started heading towards each other. She was sure they would finally come face to face when one of Nyla’s colleagues decided to come to Nyla’s aid.

This is unfair! Joanna thought.

Joanna looked around to see if anyone would come to her aid, and when she saw Annoria on her knees, having given up, Joanna knew she was done for.

The next spell that hit Joanna sent her wand out of her hand as she landed on her back. As she laid on the ground, not wanting to move, she heard the spells stop and the screams slowly died down.

“Fished out the talented ones already?!” Matilda shouted from under her tears.

Joanna couldn’t help but laugh.

“I believe we have,” Nyla said. A loud click came from the doors of the great hall, and Matilda stormed past the once locked doors.

“She wasn’t very good, Nyla,” Professor Merrythought said as the crowd watched Matilda leave.

“You can all return to your dormitories now, class is cancelled for today,” Professor Dippet announced, and some of the angry and upset students decided to let go of their grudges immediately.

Finally sitting up, Joanna scanned the hall for her wand. When she saw it lying 10 feet away, it was being picked up by no one other than Nyla.

“I believe this is yours,” Nyla said, as she walked towards her.

“Thank you,” Joanna replied as she took her wand.

“You gave a real good fight.”

“Thanks.”

“Ever thought of becoming an auror?” Nyla asked.

Was that an offer? It must have been. Joanna had never thought of becoming an auror, considering her family’s background, but just the thought of finally being able to break her family’s curse was hope she never had before. Should she take up Nyla on the offer?

To be continued…

(Leave a comment below or vote on whether Joanna should become an auror!)

Chapter 14:

Joanna had decided to lie about the book, telling him she would look for it but saying she had not found it the following day. The weeks that followed after were filled with practices that she no longer had time to help Tom, and he didn’t seem to mind.

She was slightly afraid that he might have already started planning on making the horcrux, but she constantly told herself not to worry as she had noticed how Professor Dumbledore had been watching him more closely since she had joined the Quidditch team.

She had a feeling Professor Dumbledore knew they were up to something, and maybe his recommendation was to get her away from Tom as soon as possible. If so, his plan worked brilliantly.

Soon, February came and the final match was scheduled to be taken place on the second week of the month. The house cup was so important to the Hufflepuffs that training doubled up. And as time flew swiftly as a snitch, Joanna soon found herself trying to swallow down some food on the morning of the match.

“Eat up!” James said to everyone on the team.

They gobbled down as much as they could and then headed to their tent near the quidditch field.

After getting ready and listening to James’ pep talk, they were ready to take off. As they strode to the center of the field, Joanna spotted Abraxas Malfoy, looking rather grim. She knew their false friendship will not spare them from losing.

A handshake followed by a whistle and into the sky they went. Joanna hovered above the other players, trying to stay out of their way as she searched for the snitch. Below her, she could hear the commentator booming over the microphone, and it was a very tight match.

Slytherin was in the lead with 20 points and Hufflepuff was about to score another goal. That was when a loud thud echoed throughout the stadium as one of the bludgers, sent by a Slytherin beater, had knocked one of their chasers off her broom. The crowd gasped and James called for a timeout.

“How is she?” Annoria asked, looking over at their teammate who was sprawled on the ground.

“She’s fine. She’ll be up soon,” James said quickly. “Anyway, we don’t have time to waste. Joanna, you need to get the snitch before Slytherin widens the gap between our points.”

Joanna nodded. And they were off into the sky again.

She circled the field over and over again, trying to find the snitch. Malfoy was also occupied, watching her instead. But his focus was diverted when a sparkle caught his eye. Immediately, he shot towards it. Joanna who was right behind him, followed after, trying to catch up.

Joanna kept her eyes on the snitch when she noticed how close Malfoy was from it. His right hand was already outstretched, reaching for it.

It was now or never, Joanna thought. Slowly bending forward and shifting her weight, she stood up and stayed low. Her broom picked up speed as it gained on Malfoy. Malfoy who had caught sight of her through the corner of her eye, took a quick glance and panicked.

She had gained on him and was now overtaking, with a hand reaching for the snitch. Just then, she saw Malfoy make a sharp left swerve downwards, and before she knew it, a bludger hit her straight in her thigh, sending her off her broom.

Joanna must have been pretty high up as she had managed to see Malfoy catch the snitch before everything dived into darkness.

She didnt know how long it was but it seemed like days later when she woke up in the hospital wing, recalling how Hufflepuff lost.

The hospital wing was dark, and it took her a moment to adjust when she saw a figure standing by the foot of her bed.

“Er… who’s there?” Joanna asked, squinting her eyes.

“It’s me,” Annoria said.

“Oh. What are you doing?”

“I was just waiting for you to wake up.” Annoria walked towards the side of her bed when Joanna noticed what she was holding in her hands.

“Where did you get that?” Joanna immediately asked.

“Where did YOU get it?” Annoria asked in reply, still holding on to Tom’s diary tightly.

“I was holding on to it for him,” Joanna quickly answered. “Can I have it back now?”

“Have you read it?” Annoria asked, in a voice unlike her usual.

“No, why?”

“Because I have, and we need to turn this in.”

“What? The book is protected, you can’t read its contents!” Joanna was surprised, as she remembered seeing it blank.

“I found it fully written.” Annoria flipped the book open and words were scribbled across the pages.

Joanna recalled the night she tried to read the book, and immediately felt a sinking feeling that her spell might have actually worked. She was just too tired to notice.

“Give it to me, I’ll give it in.” Joanna tried to reach for the book but Annoria pulled it out of her reach.

“No you won’t, you’ll give it back to Tom.”

“I’ll give it to Dumbledore!”

“I don’t think you would. I know you like him.”

“I do not like him,” Joanna retorted.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll be handing it in tonight. Just thought I should let you know, in case the Professors ask you about it,” Annoria said and hurried towards the exit.

Joanna had the urge to go after her and get the diary back. By the way Annoria acted, she knew it contained really bad things, and what if Tom had mentioned her as well? But if she didn’t go after her, maybe Tom can be saved after all. If he was caught, he wouldn’t play around with the dark arts anymore.

To be continued…

(Leave a comment below or vote on whether Joanna should go after Annoria or let her turn the book in!)

Chapter 12:

Joanna pulled out her wand, trying to recall what her cousin had taught her. It seemed pretty simple when he did it, then again, he started deciphering the art of deception since 5.

“Alright, pervilous… no, pervilius… shit.” Joanna groaned and slumped into her bed. Her brain was too tired to recall her lesson with her cousin.

Sliding the diary under her pillow, she decided to try again after some sleep.

Joanna woke up, what felt like minutes later, with Annoria nudging her hand as she hovered over her.

“Wake up!” Annoria repeated.

“What? Why?” Joanna muttered.

“I need your help,” Annoria said in a hurry.

“What help? Wait, you’re back so early?” Joanna forced herself to sit up.

“Yea. James called for more practices. He says it’s best when the other team isn’t around.”

“Oh. Well, have fun.” Joanna wanted to drop back into her soft pillows when Annoria stopped her by grabbing onto her shoulders.

“Wait. You have to listen to me.”

Joanna groaned and Annoria continued, “Right. So our seeker, Cathy, you know her right? Well, she broke her legs a few days ago and she’s unfit to train, let alone play for our final match.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“Well, James spoke to Professor Dumbledore and he said you attended a Quidditch school for 3 years.”

“So?” Joanna was too tired to see where this was going.

“We need you in our team.”

“What? No. I may have attended Quidditch Academy for 3 years, but I have also not played for 3 years.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Can’t you find someone else?”

“Professor Dumbledore said you would make a good edition to the team. And James trusts him.”

“He has not even seen me play!” Joanna was wide awake now, as though she had just downed a bottle of wide-eyed potion.

“It doesn’t matter. Please Joanna, we need a new seeker!”

“Did Dumbledore also tell you I was expelled from that Quidditch school?”

“He must have thought that was not important. Look, just come down to the field and show us what you do not have. And if you really suck like you think you do, we’ll find someone else.”

“I can just say NO right now.”

“Yes, but what would Professor Slughorn say when we tell him you were sneaking around in his office.”

Joanna shook her head in disbelief. “Fine.”

Annoria squealed in excitement as she dragged Joanna down to the Quidditch field.

It was about 10 in the morning and the entire Hufflepuff Quidditch team were already assembled in the field.

“Hi, I’m James,” James, the year 7, Hufflepuff Team Captain, greeted.

“Hi.” Joanna shook his outstretched hand.

“I assume you dont have a broom, so Cathy has offered her Silver Arrow for you to use,” James said as another player handed her the broom.

“You might want to change into the Quidditch robes as well.” James pointed to a locker room and Annoria ushered her there.

She was given a set of yellow and black robes, which she quickly put on and headed back to where the entire team was.

“Even though Professor Dumbledore has recommended you, we still need to see what you can do. If you don’t mind just fetching the snitch for us?”

“Er, ok?”

“It’s already released,” James casually replied.

Joanna sighed, mounted her broom, and kicked off into the sky.

The cool morning breeze swept through her hair, reminding her of how much she missed flying. Three years ago, when she was expelled, she thought all her dreams of flying were crushed. Never again would anyone take her on the team, and she lived with that thought. But today, the rush of the wind resurrected her dead dreams.

She was nearly 50 feet in the air when she saw the snitch, sparkling under the morning sun. But before she could attempt at chasing after it, a bludger flew right above her, narrowly missing her head.

“What the?!”

“Annoria said you have not played for 3 years, just wanna see how you fair with bludgers in the air!” James shouted from below, as though he had heard her question.

Before she could shout back at him, another bludger came flying right at her. Joanna barely escaped it as it brushed against her robes.

No longer hesitating, she took a sharp swerve to her right and headed for the glistening golden snitch. Picking up speed as she leaned lower, Joanna kept her eyes out for the mad bludgers that constantly came flying at her.

5 feet away from the snitch, Joanna had the craziest idea. Three years ago, she taught herself a new skill, and she might as well give it a go.

Slowly lifting herself up right on her broom, she moved her right leg forward and her left leg further back. On the count of three, she stood up and bent low.

It was what she called surfing. Or at least a term she stole from what she saw on muggle TV, where muggles did the same thing but on a board in the ocean waves.

The broom sped up closing the distance between her and the snitch. As her hand was almost closing its grip on the snitch, a buldger came knocking the end of her broom, forcing her off her feet and onto her stomach as the broom went spinning sideways.

Joanna struggled to sit up right as she steadied the broom. Slowly heading down towards the group of cheering Hufflepuffs, Joanna released her grip on the snitch, which she had caught in time. It shook its wings violently before it tucked it into its sides.

“That was some stun,” James said in amazement.

“Yea,” Joanna shrugged. It was some stun alright. The same stun that got her expelled.

“Welcome aboard then!” James patted her on the shoulder as Annoria ran up to hug her.

“Wait,” Joanna quickly interrupted the excited team, who went silent waiting for her to complete her sentence.

She didn’t know if it was a good idea to be playing Quidditch. She wasn’t sure if it was a good time either. She had promised to help Tom, but the idea of playing was so hard to turn down.

To Be Continued…

(Leave a comment below or vote on whether Joanna should join the Quidditch Team and play for the finals or not!)

Chapter 6:

Joanna sat in the second floor girl’s bathroom. Tom had asked her to meet him there the day before, because apparently, no one visits this bathroom anymore. And Joanna was oblivious to the fact why.

As she sat alone, an occasional wave of sudden chills ran through her body. Joanna had a feeling something was not right, and when she heard a soft moan coming from one of the cubicles, she stood up with confirmation.

“Who’s there?” Joanna asked loudly, suppressing the urge to run.

But instead of a reply, the moaning grew louder and Joanna slowly backed towards the exit. She was about to turn and make a dash out, when she bumped into someone. Immediately, she spun around, only to find Tom standing behind her.

“Are you scared?” Tom chuckled.

“There’s something in this toilet,” Joanna quickly answered.

“Get out of here Myrtle,” Tom said as he walked pass her.

A ghostly figure of a girl came swooping out of a toilet cubicle. Her hair was tied up in two ponytails and she screamed in such a high pitch that Joanna instinctively covered her ears.

“I told you to get out you filthy mudblood!” Tom raised his voice.

The ghost stopped and choked on her cries. “Fine!” she said as she wailed into a cubicle and splashed into a toilet bowl.

“Who was that?” Joanna asked as she peered into the cubicle where the ghost disappeared into.

“Some dead mudblood,” Tom shrugged as he sat down and placed the thick book he carried around on his lap.

“Right,” Joanna said as she joined him.

They spent their entire evening break in the girl’s bathroom, with the surprising absence of the moaning ghost.

Joanna told stories of how a few of her uncles were trying to make a Horcrux and each of them had different results, all bad of course. But strangely, as their conversation left the room of dark arts, Joanna started to fear him less.

A week into secret toilet hideouts and Joanna had gotten Tom to talk about his childhood. It was her way of trying to get him to stay away from the Horcrux topic as long as possible, hoping he would forget about the idea all together.

But when Tom spoke of his younger days, he seemed to be loathing it.

“Bloody orphanage muggles thought I was sick! Got me muggle doctors and all,” Tom scoffed.

“Then who told you about magic?” Joanna asked.

“Dumbledore. He came for me one afternoon.”

“But, Dumbledore…” Joanna had noticed the way Dumbledore looked at Tom, and it wasn’t the same way most of the other Professors did.

“He doesn’t like me I assume. He’s always watching me, trying to catch me or something,” Tom finished her sentence for her.

“You’re not afraid of him are you?”

Tom didn’t answer, instead he changed the topic with a question directed to her, “Why were you expelled?”

“I set the headmaster’s office on fire.”

“Why?”

“He’s a muggleborn, who made us read books ONLY by muggles.” Joanna rolled her eyes at the memory.

“He said muggles were the best in arts. But he doesn’t know what he is talking about. Shakespeare and DaVinci weren’t muggles and they were famous! Yet he chose not to teach about them,” Joanna continued. “So one day, I decided to set his office on fire.”

“Was he in it?”

“No.”

“How unfortunate,” Tom sighed and Joanna chuckled.

“I know, but I would be in prison if he was. I’m somewhat thankful he didn’t die,” Joanna said.

“I would break you out if you were.” Tom smiled.

“You didn’t know me then, how could you break me out?”

“That’s true. I guess it would be horrid to have your life sucked out by Dementors everyday.”

“Horrid indeed. My aunt’s in prison,” Joanna conveniently stated.

“Wicked family you have, and yet you don’t practice dark magic?”

“My mother has lost a lot. I don’t want to be another lost to her. I am after all, the only child.”

“That’s one reason I don’t have to worry about.”

Joanna went silent at the thought of how her parents would react if she had died. Even right now, her mother was constantly grieving as one after another, her brothers and sisters were suffering, disappearing and dying because of dark magic. And though it was in their family heritage to practice it, her mother never promoted it. The lost was unbearable and the only good thing that ever came out of dark magic was death.

Tom must have noticed her drift away as he asked, “You still here?”

“Sorry, I was thinking,” Joanna replied.

“About?”

“About the Christmas ball.” An excuse she made.

“Are you going?” Tom asked.

“I don’t know. No one has asked me yet,”

“It’s a little too early to be asked don’t you think? It’s a full month away.”

“Yes, but I don’t really have a lot of friends.” Joanna realized it was a fact the moment she said so.

Since she started in Hogwarts, the only Hufflepuff she knew by name was Annoria. The rest were just “hey”s and “hello”s. And for those who weren’t in Hufflepuff, she knew no one but Tom and Malfoy, who had suddenly became awfully nice to her.

“I”m a friend,” Tom said, and he sounded like he meant it.

“That’s nice to know.” Joanna smiled, as she deciphered his tone.

“Do you…” Tom’s voice trailed off in uncertainty.

“Do I what?”

“Do you… want to go to the Christmas Ball with me?”

Joanna was caught by surprise. She wanted to go but should she?

To be continued…

(Leave a comment below on vote on whether Joanna should accept Tom’s request and go with him to the Christmas ball!)

Chapter 4:

Joanna pointed her wand at Tom, “Expelliarmus!”

It caught Tom by surprise as his wand flew out of his hand. Disarmed, Joanna walked towards him as Tom backed up, reaching for his wand.

“Let me see it and I won’t hurt you,” Joanna calmly said as Tom picked his wand up.

“Funny, I was about to say the same thing.” Tom smirked.

“Oh? Let’s see you try.” Joanna wasn’t sure what she had asked for, but her adrenaline was rushing and it was the excitement she didn’t have for quite some time now.

“I would, but I don’t think you’re a match at all. It’ll be rather mean to pick on a weaker student, wouldn’t it?”

Joanna chuckled. “You sound like Malfoy right there.”

“The only difference is that I’m not Malfoy. And you don’t know what I’m capable of.”

“And YOU don’t know what I’m capable of,” Joanna replied. She felt as though she was talking to herself, who was typically the only one who actually stood up to her.

“Well then, let’s see. Ladies first,” Tom said with a bow.

Joanna thought briefly about waking up the Professors, but she immediately brushed the thought aside. She wasn’t going to give up the chance to prove this boy wrong.

“Incarcerous!” A bright yellow light escaped Joanna’s wand and the moment it hit Tom, ropes twisted around his body.

“Incendio!” Tom quickly said and the ropes were set on fire just before they could tighten around him. Within seconds, they disintegrated, with its ashes collecting on the ground in a circle around him.

“My turn. Impedimenta!” Tom waved his wand at her.

Joanna saw the green spark flying and quickly muttered, “Protego.”

Tom didn’t wait as he threw another spell. “Stupefy!”

“Protego.” Joanna defended again. He gave her no chance for an offense.

“Petrifucus Totalus!”

“Protego!”

“Expulso!”

Joanna dodge the last spell as it hit a nearby door, shattering it into a million pieces and sending splinters everywhere.

“Did you just try to blow me up?!” Joanna yelled.

Just before she could throw a spell at him, she heard footsteps. And when their eyes met in the brief moment of panic, he waved for her to follow him.

They ran down a hallway and entered the first door they saw. It was a small, cramped up store room.

“Great,” Joanna muttered under her breath. She was about to say something else when Tom placed his hand over her mouth.

His perfect timing saved them from being caught as the sound of footsteps were accompanied by shadows, passed by the store room.

But after the shadows were gone and the sound of footsteps died off, Joanna blurted out, “You tried to blow me up!”

“Yes, I was pretty aware of that.”

“You’re crazy!” Joanna kicked his sheen and Tom yelped.

“I could have died!” Joanna continued.

“You look very much alive to me.” Tom shrugged as he exited the store room.

“What were you thinking?” Joanna followed after him, lowering her voice.

“I was thinking of blowing you up,” Tom answered bluntly and started walking.

Joanna, unsatisfied with his answers, followed after him. And when she gave his arm a sudden tug, the book fell onto the floor. Fortunately, she reached for it before he did.

“Bloody hell,” Tom muttered.

“Goodnight,” Joanna said as she quickly walked in the opposite direction.

“Wait, we can read it together,” Tom called out to her softly.

“I’ll read it alone,” Joanna said and tried her very best to disapparate correctly this time.

It must have somehow worked as she landed on her back in the Hufflepuff common room. She quickly got up and checked if she had any missing limbs, and to her surprise, she was still intact.

The common room was quiet and empty. Everyone was pretty much asleep and Joanna saw no harm in reading the book right there and then. With that, she settled down on a couch by the fire place and started reading.

She had finished the book pretty quickly and had a full hour of sleep before she had to clean up and head to the great hall for breakfast.

That morning, Joanna tucked the book under her cloak and followed Annoria to the great hall. Annoria, who kept hassling for a reason why Joanna wasn’t in bed last night, kept a suspicious expression throughout breakfast. But that didn’t bother Joanna much.

Breakfast ended with Tom no where in sight. Joanna was half glad she didn’t see him, but he was only missing at breakfast because during Charms, he turned up and sat right next to her.

“Where’s the book?” Tom whispered.

“It’s with me,” Joanna replied, eyes still fixed on the Professor in front.

“Give it.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why do you want to make a Horcrux?” Joanna boldly asked.

“It’s none of your business.”

“It’s very dangerous. People die trying you know.”

“I don’t really care. Now please give it,” Tom said, sounding a bit annoyed.

“My uncle died trying,” Joanna said as she leaned forward, looking attentive to the lecture.

“Your family… are into the dark arts?” There was a hint of interest in Tom’s voice.

“My mother’s side of the family, but most of them are dead anyways,” Joanna casually answered, as though it was no big deal.

“Well then, if you could be so kind to hand me the book, I would greatly appreciate it.”

Joanna hesitated. Her aunts and uncles were mostly dead or about to die. The dark arts messed them up pretty good and Joanna wasn’t sure if she should give Tom the book. He could die. And it wasn’t magic a 16 year old should be playing around with.

To be continued…

(Leave a comment below or vote on whether Joanna should give the book to Tom, or attempt to destroy it!)

Chapter 2:

The sorting hat was whispering to itself as Joanna tried to make out his words. Finally it spoke, “Hufflepuff it shall be then!”

Professor Dippet cheerily removed the hat from her head and patted her on the back. “A fine house, Hufflepuff. Now run along, i believe you have a class to attend.”

Joanna nodded and followed Tom as they made their way to class.

“Congratulations,” Tom said.

“What for? Do great witches come from Hufflepuff?” Joanna asked.

“Not really,” Tom chuckled. “Unfortunately for you, you cant change houses.”

“Fortunately for me, i wont be staying long,” Joanna corrected him.

“Planning to get expelled again are you?” Tom narrowed his eyebrows as he waited for a reply, but all Joanna gave was a chuckle.

They finally made it to class. Quietly they walked in, trying not to disturb Professor Dumbledore as he was explaining about human transfiguration with his back towards them.

But one could only get past him if invisible as Professor Dumbledore turned and greeted the late comers, “Ah, i thought you two were lost!”

“Ms. Chen was to get sorted after Potions sir, i accompanied her,” Tom spoke first.

“That’s right, i almost forgot about that,” Professor Dumbledore said as he looked at Joanna’s cloak. “I see the sorting hat has placed you in Hufflepuff, very wise of it.”

Joanna caught Tom raising his eyebrows as Professor Dumbledore continued, “You’ll make good friends in Hufflepuff.”

“I hope so,” Joanna replied uncertainly.

“Now please take your seats, there’s an empty one next to Ms. Belle over here.” Professor Dumbledore pointed to an empty seat and Joanna took it.

Ms. Belle introduced herself as Annoria Belle. She had light brown hair that almost seemed yellow and coincidentally a student from Hufflepuff as well.

“We can share,” Annoria said sweetly as she pushed her copy of “Guide to Advance Transfiguration” towards Joanna, and she smiled in reply.

The class carried on for another half an hour before Professor Dumbledore ended it early for his emergency meeting. The students cheered at the news and waited for him to leave before they slowly did.

Joanna thought she could escape the crowd and follow Annoria to the common room, but she was wrong.

“So you transferred from an Art’s school eh?” a boy called to her.

When she turned, the blond boy spoke again, ” I presume you don’t learn spells then, must be hard coming to Hogwarts.” The boy laughed, and a couple of his friends chuckled. Tom, who was watching them gave no expression.

“Let’s go, there’s no point talking to Malfoy,” Annoria whispered in her ear.

“It wouldn’t be called a school if it didn’t teach spells. Are you plainly naive or just dumb?” Joanna retorted.

“Prove it then,” the Malfoy boy said in a challenging manner.

The students who were still in the class decided to remain as they stood in groups, whispering and watching.

“What’s your name?” Joanna asked.

“Abraxas Malfoy, why? Does it ring a bell?” Abraxas asked sarcastically.

Joanna laughed. “Mr. Malfoy, not only do you have a ridiculous name, but i believe your arrogance is nothing more than your incapability of doing magic.”

“Avis,” Abraxas said with a swift of his wand, and a flock of birds appeared out of thin air and flew around the classroom.

“That’s a spell for babies.” Joanna folded her arms as she whispered, “Finite incantatum.” And the birds disappeared.

Abraxas seemed rather insulted as he walked towards her, gripping his wand tighter, “Let’s see if you can counter this! Petrifi-“

“Incendio,” Joanna cut him off midway as she set his robes on fire.

There were a mixture of gasps and chuckles from the remaining students, but the screams of help from Abraxas drowned them all.

Tom walked forward and waved his wand. Immediately the fire died down. But Abraxas Malfoy was still on the ground squirming, and Tom had to pull him up.

“Walk it off,” Tom whispered sternly as he let go of Abraxas.

“Disperse. We all don’t need detention,” Tom addressed the class, and to Joanna’s surprise, they obeyed.

“Let’s go,” Annoria said as she tugged her hand, and Joanna followed after her.

Classes had ended for the day, but the day was not over yet. Joanna was told to head down to the great hall for dinner by one of her house prefects, just an hour after she settled in.

And since Annoria had already left, she was pretty much on her own. But finding the great hall wasn’t too hard as she followed a crowd of students who were heading in the same direction.

Joanna was about to enter the great hall when she saw Tom standing by the doors.

“That was quite a spell you pulled,” Tom said as he eyed a student who seem to be hiding something under his cloak.

“How’s Malfoy doing? Still traumatized?” Joanna chuckled.

“He’s fine.” Tom nodded towards the Slytherin table where Abraxas Malfoy was already scoffing down a chicken drumstick.

“I saw you sitting next to him in class. Are you two friends?” Joanna was curious.

“Unfortunately.”

Joanna smirked and gave him a nod before walking towards the Hufflepuff table. Her stomach was already growling and she didn’t want to starve it any longer.

At the table, Joanna slipped next to Annoria, the only person she knew from Hufflepuff.

Dinner carried on with a buffet of food which were highly pleasant to the taste, that by the end of it, Joanna couldn’t look at anything edible.

So she turned her attention to the students around her and tried to befriend the other Hufflepuffs, but they were never really her type of people to begin with. They were such a cheery and optimistic bunch that she decided to walk back to the common room alone after.

The hallways were full of students and prefects were ushering each to their houses. Joanna who disappeared from Annoria’s sight on purpose, were the last few. She was walking down a hallway when she saw Tom disappearing at a corner.

Should i follow him? Joanna silently asked herself. She was used to sneaking around at night in her past schools, and she was pretty good at not getting caught. But this new school was a bit too new for her, and she might just get lost.

To be continued…

(Leave a comment below or vote on whether Joanna should follow Tom or head back to her common room!)