FHB: Chapter 6

It was barely a second of hesitation before Lucius broke into a sprint.

The first year was a clumsy one as he nearly skidded into a wall as he made a turn. He was also rather short for his age and Lucius was slowly gaining on him. When the boy made another turn, Lucius heard him run into his friend.

“Where have you been?” the girl demanded.

Lucius stopped in his tracks to eavesdrop on their conversation.

“Let’s get to class,” the boy simply replied, trying to hide the urgency in his voice.

“Come on, then. We’re already late. If Professor Binns doesn’t give us detention, a prefect will.”

Just as Lucius heard them walking, he turned down the hallway and asked, “Why aren’t you two in class?”

The boy and the girl spun around, and the boy quickly dropped his head, as though it would hide his face.

“We’re heading there right now,” the girl quickly answered.

Lucius looked at her closely. She had dark red hair and bright green eyes. She was also a brave one; seemingly not afraid of whatever Lucius might throw at her. That would explain the red house crest on her robes.

Lucius then turned his attention to the boy. “Stop cowering boy, I’m not going to eat you.”

The boy looked up and the first thing Lucius saw was the Slytherin house crest. The sight of two opposing houses coming together amazed him briefly.

“Do you two have the same class?” Lucius casually asked.

“Yes. My friend was lost, so I came looking for him,” the girl answered.

Lost? Of course he was, Lucius thought to himself.

“Well then, you can head on to class little missy.” When the two turned, Lucius added, “Except for you, boy. I want to have a chat with you.”

“He didn’t do anything wrong,” the girl immediately said.

“He didn’t. But you would if you don’t get to class now.”

The boy looked at the girl pleadingly, but she had no other choice. She gave him a squeeze on the shoulder before she walked off.

When the girl was finally out of sight, Lucius walked up to the boy and guided him to a corner. The boy kept his head down the whole time, and his cowardice was starting to bother Lucius.

“What’s your name?” Lucius demanded.

The boy’s whisper was inaudible to Lucius’ ears, and it made him slightly annoyed.

“Look up and tell me your name!” Lucius gave the boy a rough shove.

The boy’s black hair fell over his eyes as he attempted to look at Lucius. And when his eyes finally made contact, the boy was tongue-tied.

“You don’t deserve to be in Slytherin if you act this way,” Lucius stated.

“I’m… I’m sorry,” the boy apologized.

“I didn’t ask for an apology, I asked for your name.” Lucius was already struggling not to lose his temper.

This boy was a weakling, and Lucius found it extremely unacceptable. It was fine if he wished to be a coward, but no Slytherin should act like one.

“My name is… Severus,” the boy answered.

“Why did you run, Severus?” Lucius asked in a gentler tone.

“I… I don’t know,” Severus answered.

“Wrong,” Lucius replied.

“I… I really don’t know, sir,” Severus said.

Did he just call me sir? Lucius asked himself silently. Lucius was about to laugh when a brilliant idea came to mind.

“I’m not a sir. But I can make you one,” Lucius said.

“What… what do you mean?”

“Just follow me, and I’ll teach you everything I know. Soon, you don’t have to hide behind the shadows of that little Gryffindor girl anymore.”

“I’m not hiding. She… she’s my friend,” Severus replied.

Lucius was surprised at his sudden boldness, but he chose to ignore it.

“It seems to me she’s protecting you. A Slytherin does not need protection; a Slytherin gives protection. Now, go back to the common room,” Lucius ordered.

“But I have class.”

“I don’t need you losing points for our house. Just go back to the common room,” Lucius snapped.

When Severus obeyed, Lucius knew he had a new clueless follower who would do whatever he told him to. That poor boy surely needed to learn the ropes of being a Slytherin, and Lucius was going to teach him for his own benefit.

The day went by rather smoothly after that, and Lucius did not see Severus or Tanya until dinnertime. In the middle of people chomping down the glorious food, Tanya waved Lucius over. They met at the back of the hall where, instead of handing Lucius the potion’s instructions, Tanya confronted him.

“You lied to me,” Tanya said. From her facial expression, Lucius knew she was angry.

“Lied to you about what?”

“There’s no such thing as a mudblood’s curse. AND this potion cannot cure it,” Tanya replied calmly, as she pulled out a parchment from under her robes.

Lucius tried to make a grab for it, but she was quicker than him. Tanya immediately placed her arms behind her, and the parchment was out of his sight.

As Lucius was scrambling for a new lie, he saw Severus walking nearby. Could Severus be useful now? Lucius was not too sure, but he was getting desperate.

To Be Continued…

(Leave a comment below or vote on whether Lucius should put Severus to good use or handle this situation by himself!)

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FHB: Chapter 4

“Hey, why don’t we ditch the crowd and I’ll show you around?” Lucius suggested.

“I can’t do that!” Tanya answered with an expression of shock.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot you’re a mudblood,” Lucius replied, hoping it would change her mind.

“If a mudblood means doing the right thing, then I would rather be a mudblood,” Tanya stated, before she turned on her heels and went back to her duty.

Lucius was left standing with an eyebrow raised. He concluded that she was a goody two-shoes despite being almost completely ignorant. Lucius convinced himself that that little failed attempt was not entirely a failure as he had learned Tanya’s weakness. This made him rather sure that the next time he acted, it would not be a failure.

As he slumped onto the sofa in the Slytherin common room that night, he heard a couple of fellow 5th year Slytherins murmuring about a surprise potions test. Lucius had not heard of it, so he eavesdropped a little.

The test was supposedly happening within the next few classes and those 5th years were terrified. According to their source, which Lucius doubted was at all reliable, the test would determine if they were required to take extra classes. Well, that made Lucius shrug and turn his attention else where.

Lucius was rather good at potions and Professor Slughorn always complimented him. He had never failed a test, but that was because Slughorn often whispered tips in Lucius’ ear when other students weren’t around. That was a perk of being in the Slug Club and a teacher’s pet. The test would be a piece of cake, as long as he continued being Slughorn’s favourite.

The next morning, classes commenced. Slytherin and Ravenclaw had potions as their first class together, and Lucius was determined to hear a tip before the class ended. As he and his so called friends waited outside the classroom, Tanya came up to them with a wide smile.

“Good day!” Tanya greeted.

She was carrying a few thick books in her hand that were completely unrelated to their first subject.

“Ready for class? I’m so excited!” Tanya added.

“I’m always ready,” Lucius replied as he casually slid his hands into his pockets.

None of the other Slytherins said a word as they gave Tanya expressionless stares.

“Your friends are not very friendly are they?” Tanya leaned in and whispered.

“Where are YOUR friends?” Lucius asked in reply.

Lucius had noticed Tanya alone during breakfast and she was also alone now. Had she not made any friends yesterday?

“Friends? I’ll make friends today,” Tanya answered with a smile.

Tanya started looking around her, as though looking for someone to befriend, when she pointed at a Gryffindor girl standing alone.

“I could be her friend,” Tanya told herself out loud.

“Are you sure?” Lucius asked, as an ingenious idea came to mind.

“Yup, why not?” Tanya innocently asked.

“Are you sure you want to pass your mudblood curse to her?”

“Mudblood curse?” Tanya sounded confused.

“Yea. Whoever you talk to is at risk of getting it. It’s dangerous you know,” Lucius said seriously. This immediately caught the attention of his fellow Slytherins around him.

“But I’m talking to you!” Tanya gasped.

“Well…” Lucius had not thought of a reply for that. Thankfully, Tanya added, “You are such a good friend!”

“Er, yea, I am,” Lucius said with a shrug.

“And I don’t even know your name!” Tanya said in such an alarming tone that heads turned to their direction.

“It’s Lucius,” Lucius simply replied as he took a few steps away from her.

It did not help that all eyes were now on them and no matter how many steps he took backwards, she took the same number of steps forward.

“You are such a good friend Lucius! You said you knew a cure for mudbloods, would you help me?”

“Sure, after class,” Lucius quickly answered.

Professor Slughorn had just arrived and Lucius quickly hurried into class leaving Tanya behind.

Class went pretty well despite Tanya smiling at him every time he looked at her direction. Just as he had expected, Slughorn did spill the beans on the surprise test while everyone was gathering ingredients for the day’s potion. The test was unsurprisingly a polyjuice potion, which would only be taught in his 6th year. Professor Slughorn loved ‘challenging’ his students, or at least that was what he said.

Lucius knew it was not going to be an easy test, and it would take more than just showing up. He needed to get his hands on the instructions, not just any instruction but the one Slughorn wrote down himself. That was the only one that wouldn’t mess up, and he intended on memorizing it before an ugly cauldron is placed into his arms (Slughorn never allowed personal cauldrons during tests).

Now the tough question was, how was he going to get it? He was definitely not going to do the dirty work himself. Just then, Tanya walked past him and said, “Look! I’ve got porcupine quills!”

Lucius immediately knew it was either her or a scared first year.

To Be Continued…

(Leave a comment or vote on whether Lucius should get Tanya to do it, or find someone else more trustworthy!)

FHB: Chapter 3

Lucius casually slid from the center of the seat to the side before saying, “Have a seat.”

The rest of the Slytherin prefects immediately fell silent as Tanya happily sat down.

“Thank you. You are so very kind,” she said with a smile.

Nobody said anything after that, as the other prefects were surprised and confused by Lucius’ sudden kindness.  Lucius did not break the silence either as he casually pulled out a small black book from under his jacket. Those who followed him knew what the book was for, and they never asked. He usually carried it around and wrote small notes and reminders. Yes, he could have been mistaken for a Ravenclaw.

Tanya sat quietly like the rest, watching the train roll into the outskirts. The lush greenery was a striking resemblance to the initials, ‘L.M’, that was written at the bottom of the book cover. The silence was soon broken by the odd question Tanya brought up.

“Did you write that in ink? Is it Mont Blanc?”

“Who?” Lucius asked in replied.

Tanya laughed before saying, “Not ‘who’ silly, ‘what’.”

Lucius merely looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

“Have you not heard of Mont Blanc? It is only one of the most famous brand for fountain pens.”

Not wanting to look dumb,  Lucius turned to one of the Slytherins across him and the male prefect immediately asked, “What are fountain pens?”

Tanya laughed even harder. “Pens are like quills! You just don’t have to dip it in ink.”

“Which wizard made it?” another prefect asked.

Everyone was now keen to hear of this item that none of them knew about, including Lucius.

“Not a wizard, a muggle!” Tanya replied with the widest smile.

That word immediately sent all of them scoffing.

“What are you, a muggle lover?”

“What’s wrong with muggles? I’m actually muggle born. I mean, my dad is a squib and my mum is a muggle. That makes me a muggle born, right?” Tanya said and turned her last question to Lucius.

Their side of the prefects cabin immediately rose with unsettling words. Lucius did not answer Tanya’s question and wrote three words on an empty page of his notebook.

Tanya, who was already confused at the reaction of the other prefects, saw what Lucius wrote and did not hold back another question.

“What is mudblood?”

Lucius looked up from the fresh black ink that read, ‘She’s a mudblood’, and said, “You.”

“What does it mean?” Tanya asked seriously. She was no longer smiling.

“Dirty blood,” a few prefects answered simultaneously.

Tanya looked from one prefect to the other, extremely confused and worried at the same time. Lucius knew she still did not get what it meant, and he found himself feeling sorry for her.

“Don’t worry, it can be cured,” Lucius said.

Everyone turned to him, and he saw the disgusted looks on the prefects faces slowly turning to grins.

“It can?” Tanya asked eagerly.

“Yes, you just need to do what I tell you to.”

Tanya nodded thoughtfully.

“What house are you in, Tanya?” Lucius casually asked, as though the mudblood issue was settled.

“Ravenclaw,” Tanya replied, and her smile was back.

“When did you get sorted?”

“A month ago, during your school break.”

“And you studied where, previously?”

“Home schooled. My grandfather taught me all he knew.” Tanya seemed rather proud of her grandfather as she said so.

“I see. Well, he hasn’t taught you enough.”

Tanya was taken aback, as though she was the one insulted, but that reaction soon faded into a laugh. She must have convinced herself Lucius was joking.

Lucius said nothing after that, and the other prefects decided to start their own conversations. They were definitely talking about Tanya, yet she seemed to be able to block out their sarcastic and crude comments about her and her family.

After Tanya had enough of gazing at the scenery, she pulled out a text book and started reading. Lucius was also caught doing his own thing, which was scribbling a to-do list in his book followed by mentally listing down the things he could make Tanya do for him.

Her ignorance was going to make a good game, even though he knew the game wouldn’t last long. Her soon to be new found friends would educate her enough, so he better make use of this situation as soon as possible. Unfortunately, he had no good ideas just yet.

When the train finally stopped at Hogwart’s station, prefects scrambled to carry out their duties. Tanya excused herself too, but Lucius stayed. He waited till his usual followers nervously entered the prefects cabin to carry his stuff for him.

Everything from then till dinner at the great hall went smoothly. Lucius briefly forgot about Tanya as he enjoyed his return to school. It was only after dinner did he bump into Tanya. She was attempting to gather the students as her fellow 5th year prefect headed the group.

Lucius had his fellow prefects do all the work since they offered and when Tanya saw, she found it odd.

“Don’t all prefects have to-“

“I don’t,” Lucius cut her short.

“I do, and I have no idea where we are going,” Tanya replied with a chuckle.

That was when an idea came to him. Maybe he could offer Tanya a tour, they did not have an early curfew after all. But was it too much of an effort, considering he had no proper plans for the tour?

To Be Continued…

(Leave a comment below or vote on whether to give Tanya a tour or chill in the Slytherin common room!)

FHB: Chapter 2

As he gave his mother a peck on the cheek and his father an awkward handshake, Lucius couldn’t have felt more relieved that he was going to board the train soon. The days before his departure was filled with frequent breath catching and heart pumping moments as Lucius tried to avoid his father at all cost. He knew that if his father caught him alone, he would have to tell him his decision… and it was one decision that his father would have hated enough not to speak to him again.

Lucius never wanted to be a disappointment to either of his parents, but he knew that some of the choices he had to make would inevitably disappoint one of them. This thought had created uneasiness in his chest and when the Hogwart’s Express blew its last call, Lucius quickly said his goodbyes and hurried off.

Once he had entered the narrow walkway of the train, Lucius headed straight to the prefects cabin. He did not have to walk far while pulling his luggage as a group of Slytherins immediately came to his side when they saw him. One took his luggage from him and another pulled on a smug looking face as he shouted for students to make way.

Lucius merely smirked at all the attention he was getting. It was no stranger to him and he found the familiarity rather comforting. Everything seemed to be falling into place and the uneasiness in his chest soon disappeared.

Upon reaching the prefects cabin, the Slytherins said courteous goodbyes and gave offers of assistance. Lucius merely waved them off and left them standing outside the sliding door as he entered.

You would think that only younger Slytherins would take on house elf duty around Lucius, but that was not true. The Malfoys were so well known in the ministry that most pure-blood families, who were dying for some status, would make their children suck up to Lucius.

From the first day he boarded that train… till his last, Lucius would never have to lift a finger. That day was no exception as older Slytherin prefects came to greet and congratulate him. Being that Lucius never really said much, as he found himself thinking more that he should, he just gave the warm welcome a smile.

“We have saved a place for you, Lucius,” a tall blond girl said.

“No one would bother you there,” another female prefect added.

Lucius nodded as they led him to the back of the cabin, where it was quieter and far away from the other houses’ prefects’ eyes. They seem to envy his status, and yet Lucius found it funny how some of them would actually try to talk to him when he was alone. Sure, they stayed away when he was surrounded with his house mates, but they were never far when he was alone.

When Lucius finally settled down, the other Slytherin prefects weren’t sure if they should join him.

“Not tired standing, are you?” Lucius merely asked.

A few of them gave nervous chuckles before they took a seat across from him. None sat next to him and when the train started moving, those who were still contemplating decided to sit somewhere else.

It was an awkward few minutes for the other prefects as the train started to exit the station. But Lucius was pretty fine with the silence as he began his own internal conversation. Those usually revolved around how he could get favours from professors and his studying schedule for the year, after all, he had O.W.Ls that year.

Just as he was finally mentally laying down his plans for the year, he heard someone walk up to his section of the cabin.

“Excuse me, is this seat taken?” a tanned skinned girl asked politely.

Her brown eyes went from one Slytherin prefect to another before it finally stopped at Lucius.

“It’s taken,” a Slytherin prefect immediately answered.

“But no one is sitting here, or are they invisible?” the girl joked.

There was no laughter as everyone in that section merely looked at her, some with narrowed glares.

After a few minutes of silence, which the girl did not seem to mind, Lucius asked, “What’s your name?”

“I’m Tanya, Tanya Lovegood,” Tanya answered with a smile.

“Haven’t seen you around before,” a Slytherin prefect pointed out.

“I’m new. Just transferred.” The cheery tone in her voice never died down.

“She’s related to that psycho second year… Lovegood,” one of the Slytherin prefects said to the other.

“Who?” that prefect responded with a question.

“That boy people call Xeno. Not right in the head I tell you, talks to himself all the time,” the prefect replied, not at all concerned of offending Tanya.

“He’s my second cousin. I’ve only met him once. He’s a nice boy,” Tanya said to Lucius.

Just then, an odd thought crossed his mind. Lucius noticed that all the other seats were already occupied, and this girl desperately needed a seat even though she had a weird way of showing it.

Lucius wondered if he should just let her join them, or would it be more fun to just let her stand there.

To Be Continued…

(Leave a comment below or vote on whether Lucius should make the offer!)

Family, Honour & Blood : A Fan Fiction

Carrying on with my previous trend, this is another Harry Potter Fan Fiction with a vote as you go concept. After a few months break at the end of Joanna Chen, I believe it is about time I start another.

This story is set in 1969; Lucius Malfoy’s 5th year in Hogwarts. It will be a journey of questions and soul searching as Lucius makes life altering decisions. This is my imagination of how Lucius Malfoy became the man we all read about in the books, and it is written as close to the facts found on harrypotter.wikia.com

Do note that the characters portrayed are to my perception.

A short chapter will be published every fortnight, on Thursdays. And you’ll get to participate with the polls after every post 🙂

So If you find this fan fiction novel interesting, please share and subscribe!

Note: This is a fan fiction. Nothing more, nothing less.

(You can find all the chapters to the Family, Honour & Blood fan fiction here.)

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 25:

Joanna hesitated for a moment, as she looked at Annoria who was shaking her head and tugging at her hand to leave. But instead of heading out the front door, Joanna walked towards the back. Annoria quickly tried to stop her but Malfoy butted in before Annoria could say anything.

“What are you doing?” Malfoy said, as he hurried up to them.

“I’m giving your girlfriend the duel she wants,” Joanna replied.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Malfoy replied and said nothing else as he opened the back door for both Joanna and Annoria to exit.

The back alley was rather abandoned at that hour of the day. The sun was at its highest and it wasn’t the best time to be strolling down the streets.

“So, will here do?” Matilda asked, sounding very much like Rose at that moment.

“Where ever would do,” Joanna replied casually as she headed up to Matilda and gave a bow. Not even bothering to see if Matilda did the same, Joanna turned and placed herself 20 feet away across Matilda.

As Joanna went into her dueling stance, Matilda quickly asked, “Wait! Who’s your second?”

“I don’t need one,” Joanna repled, immediately waving her wand and throwing a spell at Matilda, who barely managed to block it.

“Hey! I wasn’t ready!” Matilda shouted.

“The duel started a while ago. Unless you don’t know the rules, you shouldn’t challenged anyone.” Joanna threw another spell, making Matilda stumble backwards. Her housemates immediately caught her before she fell over.

“I didn’t challenge you!” Matilda threw a spell in return, and Joanna blocked it off with a wave.

“Then you shouldn’t point wands when you don’t intend on using them,” Joanna replied as she sent 3 more spells. Sparks of red, blue and green flew towards Matilda and as she screamed, she ran behind her housemates, shoving them forward as she did.

Three of her housemates took the spells as they were caught off guard. One flew backwards, knocking over a few Slytherins like a bowling ball. Another had his legs tied together, and as much as he tried to balance himself, he joined the pile of his friends on the ground. The other girl screamed as boils started appearing on her hands and face.

When Matilda saw it all, she immediately demanded, “Where you trying to kill me?!”

“That is the common intention of a duel. No other rules were set, right?” Joanna replied as she walked towards Matilda.

“Joanna! What are you doing?” Annoria asked, with desperation in her voice. Then turning to Malfoy, which Annoria rarely did, she said, “Stop her!”

“Me? You gotta be kidding. Clearly, home school paid off,” Malfoy replied as he remained where he stood, by the back door of the Three Broomsticks.

“Joanna! Don’t!” Annoria shouted, as Joanna was closing in on Matilda.

Matilda’s housemates were already backing away, leaving Matilda to fend for herself.

“Guys! Help me!” Matilda commanded as she dared not to take her eyes off Joanna.

“If we did, we would be breaking the rules,” one of her friends replied.

Matilda then attempted to run, but Joanna managed to cast a leg locking spell before she could, and Matilda fell to the ground instead. She screamed in pain as she landed on her shoulder, and when she tried to prop herself up, Joanna flicked her wand and sent Matilda’s wand 10 feet away from her.

Immediately looking up at Joanna, Matilda stammered, “Ple-please. I’m, I’m sorry o.k?”

“Looks like we have a stammer,” Joanna said, and she could have sworn she heard a few of the Slytherins laugh. They probably never liked her at all.

“You know, when I was being tutored at home, I learnt a spell.” Joanna slowly squatted down beside Matilda. “This spell is not illegal yet, and most people use it in duels. It’s called, the Cruciatus curse. Have you heard of it?”

Joanna immediately felt like Rose, when she threatened to use the Cruciatus on her. But Joanna felt better than Rose, as Matilda deserved it. She was a gossipy, back-stabbing, nosy girl, who gained attention through the false rumours she spread all over school.

“Do you know what it does, Matilda?” Joanna asked as Matilda’s eyes widened.

“Joanna, don’t!” Annoria said, as she ran up to her and pulled Joanna to her feet.

“If you don’t stop your nonsense, Matilda, you will feel how it’s like being cruciated,” Joanna gave a final warning, and walked off.

As she headed past the exit of the Three Broomstick, Joanna saw Tom standing by the doorway. She didn’t know how long he had been standing there, but she decided she didn’t want to know.

After the duel, Joanna told Annoria she would be going home. She also apologized if she scared her, and justified her actions by saying she was only doing it to warn Matilda. But deep down inside, she wasn’t sorry at all, because it felt good.

That night, as Joanna was lying on her bed, an owl swooped into her room, through an open window. It landed at the foot of her bed, and with the little light that came from the moon, she noticed the seal on the letter. It was a letter from Hogwarts.

At that very moment, Joanna was afraid that the duel had reached the ears of Professor Dippet, and so she hurriedly took the letter from the owl and tore it open. But the first sentence immediately drowned her fears, as it stated that her father has informed the school that she can return to Hogwarts if she wishes to.

Why her father did not just inform her himself, she did not bother to dwell over. The question that really bothered her was whether she really wanted to go back, or remain home schooled.

To Be Continued…

(Vote or leave a comment below on whether Joanna should go back to Hogwarts or remain home schooled!)

Chapter 24:

One month passed since Joanna came home to look after her mother. She had given the letter to Annoria but there was still no news from her. Joanna had written a letter to Annoria a week after she settled down back home, but till now, she had not received a reply.

Joanna was about to check on her mother that evening when an owl came swooping into her room. Quickly, Joanna untied the envelop from the owl.

“Thank you,” Joanna said as she patted the owl. It hooted a kind reply before it took off again.

Immediately after it left, Joanna tore the envelope open and pulled out the letter.

‘Dear Joanna,

I’m so sorry for the late reply. It has been crazy here. We have extra classes everyday and every other free period I have, I’m at the Quidditch pitch training. I’ve been meaning to reply for weeks, but I never had the time. I hope you can forgive me for this.

Anyways, I saw Tom a few days after you left, and I handed him your letter. I’m not sure if I should tell you this, but I don’t want to lie to you either. So… what happened was, when I gave Tom the letter… he gave it to Malfoy and told him to get rid of it. I’m sorry Joanna. I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but he… well… you know.

If you have another letter for him, I could try and pass it to him again, if you like.

Ah, enough about that. How have you been? I hope you are doing fine. And your mother too. I wonder how your Professors are like. You’re probably smarter than all of us now.

Oh, by the way, the school has organized another trip for us to Hogsmead next weekend. If you could come over, maybe we could meet up and have a drink of butterbeer. I really miss you, and would love to see you!

Let me know alright? I’ll be spending most of the morning at the Three Broomsticks anyways. I have work to catch up on.

Well, I hope to see you then!

Lots of love, Annoria’

Getting ready to write a reply letter, Joanna stared blankly at the date of which Annoria’s letter was written, and then as though her mind suddenly clicked, Annoria’s next weekend was Joanna’s tomorrow.

“Stupid owl. How long does it take you to send a dumb letter?” Joanna muttered. She had grown rather angry these few days. It was as though her inner demons were finally surfacing and she found no way of suppressing them.

Immediately getting up, Joanna decided she should just pay Annoria a visit at Hogsmead. Heading towards her mother’s room, Joanna poked her head through the gap of the door and softly said, “Mother, I’m going to Hogsmead to see a friend tomorrow. I’ll ask Gwen to look after you.”

When her mother replied with a groan and a nod, Joanna went straight to bed. She had to get up early the next day, if she didn’t want to wait in a long line at the Interchange Building.

The next morning, she woke up at 8. On her way to the Interchange Building, Joanna stopped by old lady Gwen’s small house and requested a favor with a big bag of coins. When old lady Gwen grinned from ear to ear, Joanna was sure her mother would be well taken care off. After that, George sent her straight to the Interchange Building, where she had to wait in line with a group of working adults.

Joanna finally arrived in an small owl post at 10.30am, the same time of which the Hogwarts students were about to leave school. Knowing Annoria would be there soon, Joanna headed to The Three Broomsticks and waited.

About half an hour later, Joanna saw Annoria walking through the wooden doors. Standing up immediately, Annoria spotted her and waved excitedly, before rushing towards her.

“I’m so glad to see you!” Annoria said as she gave Joanna a hug.

“Me too,” Joanna replied with a weak smile.

“How have you been? Is your teacher good? How’s your mother? She’s going to be o.k right?”

Immediately being bombarded with questions, Joanna started laughing. She knew Annoria was genuinely concerned, but her animated expressions reminded her of how Annoria could always make her smile without even knowing it.

“I’m sorry, I’m just-“

“It’s o.k. Everything has been fine. My mother is, well, I don’t really know…”

“Well, she’ll be fine,” Annoria replied with a wide smile.

Just then, a bunch of Slytherins came walking into The Three Broomsticks, and with them was Tom.

As Joanna watched the group take a seat at a corner table, Abraxas Malfoy caught her eye. Immediately, he turned away and awkwardly joined in in the discussion at his table.

“You want to go somewhere else?” Annoria asked softly.

“No, I’m not moving for anyone,” Joanna replied. But even though she meant what she said, she couldn’t help but wish she was in a different place.

“Come on, let’s go,” Annoria said standing up. “I know you don’t like it here.”

Heaving a sigh, Joanna decided that she should just leave her pride behind. But as she and Annoria headed to the door, one of the Slytherin girls spotted her and called out to her.

“Joanna! Hey! How are you?” Matilda Parkinson said loudly.

“I’m fine, thank you,” Joanna replied with a false smile.

“Are you sure? Is your mother o.k? She’s not infected with a muggle disease is she?” Matilda was now mocking her, and the group of Slytherins, except for Tom and Malfoy, were snickering alongside her.

“Muggle disease? Are you stupid or something?” Joanna immediately responded, and the crowd in the pub became silent.

“I’m sorry, have you not heard of THE muggle disease?” Matilda asked as she stood up and headed towards Joanna, as her Slytherin buddies tagged along; with the exception of Tom, who was still seated at the table, staring at the same book since he entered the pub, and Malfoy, who was hesitating on what to do.

“No. But I’ve heard about stupid girls who don’t pay attention in muggle studies.”

“Have you not heard of cancer?”

Immediately, Joanna and Annoria burst out laughing.

“What are you laughing for?!” Matilda instantly demanded.

“Cancer is not a muggle disease, we can get it too,” Annoria explained calmly.

“My mother said that-“

“Your mother must be as dumb as you,”Joanna interrupted, and Matilda’s face flushed in red as she pulled out her wand.

“You want a duel?” Joanna raised an eyebrow skeptically.

“No duels in the pub! Sort your issues outside!” a lady behind the counter shouted, as she pointed to the back exit.

A few seconds later, Matilda turned away from Joanna, and did what Joanna had not expected her to do. Matilda stormed towards the back exit as she said, “You heard the lady. Outside.”

To Be Continued…

(Vote or leave a comment below on whether Joanna should follow Matilda out for a duel, or just ignore her and leave!)

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!)

His Only Way Out

BAM! His room door slammed open.

“Mother is calling you down for tea,” his older brother said, chuckling at the decorations in his room.

“Come on, you can’t possibly be competing we me Reggie,” his brother continued.

“There’s no competition. If you can put up your Gryffindor banners, why can’t I put up my Slytherin ones?” Reggie said as he jumped onto his bed, ready to place a huge green and silver banner on the wall.

His brother simply laughed and headed to his desk. “Don’t touch my things!” Reggie said immediately.

“Relax, I just find this scrapbook interesting.”

From the corner of his eye, Reggie watched his brother flipped the book open, and the playful smile on his face immediately disappeared.

“You can’t be serious. A scrapbook on him?!”

Reggie simply shrug as he finally got the banner to stick on the wall.

“You’re like a stalker you know that,” his brother added.

“I’m not stalking. It’s all over the newspapers. I just cut em’ out so I know where he is and what he’s doing. I even showed mother and-“

“Of course you showed mother. She’s stalking him too!” his brother interrupted. And the tone of his voice was in no joking manner.

“No she’s not. She says it’s good to know as much about him as possible, if I want to be a death eater one day.”

“Don’t tell me you’re still going about that death eater thing.” His brother shook his head.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Reggie asked.

“Because he kills people Reg. What’s wrong with you?!” His brother was angry again. He was always angry whenever they spoke of the Dark Lord.

“There’s nothing wrong with me,” Reggie spat as he yanked his scrapbook from under his brother’s hand.

“I’m just trying to help you understand Reg. Stop being so stupid!”

“I’m stupid? Well, if I’m stupid, then you’re dishonorable! Not only to our parents but to our entire family! If you keep this up, father will disown you.” Reggie was furious. How dare he call him stupid.

“I don’t care if I’m disowned! I don’t care if they burn my picture on our family tree!” His brother pointed at the embroidered family tree, on the wall across his room door. “I just don’t want to see my brother get hurt!”

“Don’t worry, I know how to take care of myself.” Reggie narrowed his eyes at his brother before he headed for his room door. He had enough. He didn’t want to argue with his brother who didn’t understand.

“Fine! But remember this, once you’re in, you cant get out. He’ll kill you if you try!” his brother shouted as Reggie stormed down the stairs.

Reggie was no longer in the mood for tea, but he wasn’t going to stay in the same room as his brother. What did his brother know anyway? He was a dishonor to their family, and a stupid Gryffindor on top of that.

Reggie was about to enter the living room when he heard another voice calling to him. It was not his brother’s, but it was familiar all together. Reggie stood on the spot, trying to figure out who it was. And when he did, he saw the house elf he always called friend, standing in front of him, in a blur.

“Master! Master! You must wake up!” the house elf shouted in fear, as the heads of the flesh-less inferi could be seen bobbing in the dark waters towards them.

“Kreacher,” he croaked, trying to sit up.

“Master Regulus! Let’s go!”

“What did I tell you Kreacher?!”

“But Kreacher can’t leave. Kreacher can’t leave master!” Kreacher had tears streaming from his big tennis ball like eyes, as he clutched onto the locket tightly.

“Kreacher, you must!”

“But master-“

“NO BUTS KREACHER!” Regulus took the house elf by the shoulders and shook him.

“Mas-mas-master,” Kreacher chocked as he sobbed.

“You have been a good friend Kreacher, but now, you have to be a good servant and leave. Do not let him find you and destroy that locket!” Regulus ordered.

“You have been a good friend too Master Regulus. And Kreacher will try,” Kreacher said with a firm nod. But before he left, he wrapped his arms around Regulus, and Regulus weakly returned it.

Moments later, there was a pop and he was alone. Alone on the island where he was sure he was going to die.

As the burning sensation in his chest started to rise to his throat, Regulus forced his weak body towards the edge of the man made island.

With his hands cupped, he hoped to have a last quench at thirst, but as he dipped his hands into the icy cold water, bony fingers grabbed onto his wrists and pulled him in.

Into the dark waters, he felt them wrap their skeletal bodies around him. The inferi weren’t strong, but they were many. As his vision plummeted into darkness, the last sensation of cold water down his throat was the sign of his impending death.

In was through the relief of pain that he remembered his brother’s words. He was right all along. And he should have listened. He was indeed stupid. How he wished he could turn back time and tell his eleven year old self to take heed of Sirius’ words. Now it’s too late. He was already in, and the only way out was through death.

(On life and stuff requested a story on Regulus Black, you can request yours too in the comments below!)