Hell Hath No Fury

Chapter 3: Another Mysterious Stranger

A week had passed by. Not once did I have a chance to speak to Meredith. I knew, that of all the adults I could talk to, Meredith would be the one to let the cat out of the bag. I overheard my father once say that she has a big mouth. But then again, he was angry with her at the time. I found her a trifle feather-headed at times, but she was a very shrewd observer.

So far classes were interesting. Professor Bones was a very good teacher who knew a lot about the muggle world. Geoff was already suffering in Divination, and I fainted two more times in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Em accidentally lit her robes on fire during Charms, and Chris somehow gave Professor Snape a bloody nose and warts during Potions. It was our typical first week at school.

I hadn't heard from my uncle again, and was ready to forget about him. But, unfortunately, I was now very curious about whatever happened fourteen years ago. First Destiny mentioned it, then my uncle, then Professor Lupin got nervous about my questions. And Geoff became suspicious, so I filled him in on part of it. I couldn't tell him everything, since I had sworn not to tell anyone about Uncle Ted, but he promised he'd help me research the ordeal. He thought I wondered about my mother's accident, but that was only a small part of it.

I had decided to skip breakfast that morning and go directly to Meredith's Charms classroom. When I arrived, she was filling a large pool in the center of the room with water. However, she was not alone. I hung back by the doorway and eavesdropped. I'm only human.

"I don't see why we should keep it from them anymore, Jeanette," Meredith was saying. "None of them are infants anymore. If she really is back, and a threat, they ought to know so they can take steps to protect themselves. You know perfectly well that Hogwarts is not impenetrable. Especially now that Albus is no longer here."

Jeanette sighed. "You know I agree with you, Mere. I want to tell Lily, Geoffrey, and Destiny the truth as well, but we've sworn not to. Harry, Lisa, Ron, Hermione, Draco, and Ginny made us promise never to tell them."

"But Lily's trying very hard to find out!" Meredith exclaimed. It sounded to me as if she had banged her hand on the table. "And if Destiny had even half of Lily's curiosity, she'd figure it out in a second! The girl's got more power than anyone I've ever met. She's going to need special training soon."

"Forget it, Meredith," Jeanette said snappishly. "We promised. I, for one, intend to keep my promise. Look, our presence, in addition to all of the other Professors, ought to be enough to deter her. Even if she is planning revenge, she hasn't nearly the power she had before now that her Realm's gone. We can keep her away from here. They're perfectly safe."

"Have you spoken to Severus?" Meredith countered.

There was a long pause. "No, why would I? You know as well as I do that he hates me."

"But he might have some information on Lucretia--"

"Shh!" Jeanette nearly shouted. "Are you insane? Don't say that name!"

I couldn't stand it any longer. I cleared my throat and stepped into the room. I suppose under different circumstances, the looks on their faces would have been amusing. Jeanette had turned absolutely white, but while Meredith had paled, she was also smiling slightly.

"How much of that did you hear?" Jeanette asked.

"Enough," I replied coolly.

"Well, forget it," Jeanette said once she regained her composure. "And don't ask any questions."

She walked from the room. Meredith looked at me, waiting for me to speak.

"I only have one question," I finally said. "Who's Lucretia?"

Meredith shook her head and turned away. "Oh, Lily, I wish I could tell you. I really do. But I can't. Jeanette's right about that. I have to keep this a secret. You don't know who you're dealing with."

I snorted. "Of course I don't. You won't tell me. So, her name's Lucretia?"

Meredith turned around again. I had never seen her so furious and intimidating.

"Forget that name, Lily. I mean it! Never say that again."

I was actually scared. Slowly I backed out of the room and ran. I bumped directly into Elana Flint.

"Watch it, Potter," she snapped. "In a rush to meet your boyfriend?"

"What?" I said, bewildered.

"Weasley, your boyfriend," she replied as if I was the stupidest person in the world.

I burst into laughter. "Geoff is not my boyfriend. See you later, Flint."

I continued down the hall. Elana's voice reached my ears.

"She'll be back, Potter! And you're the one she's coming after when she does!"

I can't explain it, but those words gave me chills. I tried to ignore it and continued to the Great Hall. It was still early enough for me to catch breakfast.

I squeezed in next to Em and sat across from Geoff and Chris.

"Morning," I said.

"Where were you?" Geoff asked.

"I was talking to Meredith. I'll tell you about it later."

Geoff nodded. That was the great thing about our relationship, we could read each other's minds. He knew I'd tell him in private.

"Lily," Willy called from a little ways down the table, "when does Quidditch practice start?"

"Mumph, frug," I replied with my mouth full. I swallowed. "Sorry, in about a month, I'd say. We should get in all the practice we can, we have to break in our new Chaser."

It was not too hard to tell Willy and Arthur apart because Willy was the twin who wore glasses. Other than that they were identical, so they could have easily played a joke by switching the glasses, but they would never do that. The twins were obsessed with rules.

Now, breakfast would have been uneventful if it wasn't for Tiny. Tiny managed to make even the most mundane activities, such as breakfast, interesting. She had just entered the Great Hall, her arms filled with books, when Crabbe (junior) stuck out his foot and she fell. Books and papers went flying everywhere. Destiny immediately jumped to her feet, her face bright red, wand in hand. Geoff and I jumped up as well and ran to the other end of the table.

Now, who knows what would have happened if my brother hadn't taken it into his head to play the hero. What can I say? Sometimes my brother was an idiot. He bent down and picked up one of her books, handed it to her, and then stood in front of Crabbe.

"Apologize, Crabbe," Jamie demanded. He was shaking a bit though, and was obviously nervous. But he wanted to impress Tiny. Of course, had he asked, I would have told him that he was doing it all wrong.

"What do you think you are doing?" Tiny demanded, her face still flushed with anger. She was one of those types who only looks prettier when she's angry.

"Defending you," Jamie replied, now somewhat confused.

"I don't need you to defend me, you twit!" she said loudly. Then without stopping she turned Crabbe into a frog. The Hall erupted in chaos.

The frog formerly known as Crabbe hopped out into the Entrance Hall, Professor Weasley descended on Tiny and hauled her away, Jamie looked as if someone had struck him, and Tiny's books were being trampled. I sighed and bent down to pick them up; Geoff followed my lead.

"Another normal breakfast, eh, Geoff?" I said. He laughed.

"I doubt anyone but us would call that normal. I wonder how many points Tiny cost us this time."

Gryffindor had never lost so many points before Tiny joined us. She had a knack for attracting detention, most likely because she never thought before she cursed.

I shrugged. "Who cares? I'll win them back in Quidditch. Hey, look at these books."

All of Tiny's books belonged in the Restricted Section of the Library, all were very evil Dark Arts books.

Geoff shrugged. "It's Tiny. I stopped questioning what she does a long time ago."

"She's your cousin, Geoff! Aren't you concerned for her?"

"I'm more concerned for Jamie."

He spoke too soon. Amidst the chaos, Jamie, David, McKenzie, and Lenny had snuck over to the Slytherin table and stuck Erupting Eclairs in their food. As soon as they stuck a fork into it, it exploded. Jamie had a fondness for things that explode.

I sighed and walked away. It was Geoff's turn; I had scolded them for the turtle incident.

Em quickly caught up to me. "Lil, are you alright? You've been acting strangely."

"I'm fine," I yawned. "Just tired. I was up late last night finishing my five foot parchment for Professor Binns."

Em suddenly stopped short and turned red.

"Em? What's wrong?"

A fellow Gryffindor named Kenneth Jordan approached. He had a dazzling smile and bright eyes. Em had a very large crush on him. I could see the attraction, but unfortunately he was an insufferable git. He had his moments of niceness, but he was also a Quidditch fanatic, more so than me. Kenny was one of the Chasers on the Gryffindor team.

"Hello, Lily, Emily," he said with a nod of his head.

"Hullo, Kenny," I replied. Em was completely tongue-tied and flushed. As Kenny walked away she managed to wave half-heartedly. I laughed.

"Em, what was that?"

"I know, I know, that was pathetic. I can't help it. I get so nervous every time he walks by." Em buried her face in her hands. "Let's just go."

We had History of Magic first. I sat down, passed forward my essay, and promptly fell asleep.

"Miss Porter? Miss Porter!"

Someone poked me; I think it was Chris. I practically jumped out of my seat.

"Ahh!" I screamed. When I resumed my seat I was blushing and I heard people tittering. I looked up at Professor Binns who was looking disapproving.

"Er, yes, Professor?" I asked timidly.

"You were snoring," he said, frowning.

I turned an even brighter red. "Sorry, it won't happen again."

Professor Binns continued to drone on, annoyed that I had interrupted. I was wide awake now, and completely humiliated. Geoff leaned over slightly and tapped my shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, Lil," he whispered. "I think that Samantha cast an echoing spell on you. Don't think of it."

That made me angry. "That prissy little--"

Geoff quickly turned his laugh into a cough. I quickly tried to remember my dream; it had been so realistic, but it was gone. Ooh, I'd get Samantha later. She'd pay.

After History of Magic, we all traipsed to Charms where the large swimming pool still was. Meredith was sitting behind her desk, resplendent in yellow robes, her hat set on a jaunty angle. She looked up and smiled brightly as she saw us enter.

"Welcome! Today we're going to practice charms that one can use in the water. They can be used for diving, to save oneself from drowning, or just to swim."

"How many witches or wizards do you suppose take their wands into the water with them?" Chris muttered to Geoff.

Meredith didn't hear him. "Do I have a volunteer?" No one stepped forward. "No one? Alright, Lily, why don't you assist me."

I reluctantly moved forward and Meredith pushed me up towards the tank.

"Silly me," she said as she waved her wand. That was all the warning I had. The next moment I found myself in a green two-piece bathing suit. The others all started laughing and I turned red. What was it, Humiliate Lily Day?

Meredith watched them all coolly. "Think that's funny, do you?" She waved her wand again.

Now it was my turn to laugh. Emily was trying to hide behind Geoff, who was attired in orange swim trunks which clashed horribly with his hair, and Chris looked absolutely ridiculous in yellow trunks and a bathing cap. Samantha was wearing some frilly pink number, and Kenny was wearing a Speedo.

Meredith had even changed herself so she was wearing a very sparkly purple bikini. I had to blink a few times to take it all in. Then she pushed me in the pool.

"Er, Professor?" I asked. "Is it alright to get my wand wet?"

"Oh, certainly," Meredith said with a wave of her hand. "You could set fire to it if you wanted, well, actually, I suppose you couldn't since it is made of wood...anyway, I just want you to practice the floatation charm. It's much like the levitation spell. Repeat after me: Aquaum Leviosa."

"Aquaum Leviosa," I repeated dutifully. I started to float on the top of the water and there was a smattering of applause, mostly from my friends. Meredith helped me out and summoned me a towel.

"Wonderful, Lily," she commended. "We'll do it in pairs, so no one gets hurt. I'll split you up..."

We did that for the rest of the class and then we went for lunch. Lunch was uneventful, although Tiny was conspicuously absent. I was chatting with Chris when I heard David talking to the other Marauders about his new wand.

"Twelve and a quarter inches, maple, with dragon heartstring. Isn't it a beaut?" he asked, displaying it for everyone to see.

Timothy Grant, known to the world as Moth, a fifth year, scoffed. "That's nothing. Mine's a solid thirteen inches, and it's oak. Nothing's sturdier than oak."

Jamie made a face. "Oak gets a funny smell after a couple of years. Mine is birch and it has unicorn tail hair in it. It's fourteen inches."

Lenny Dakota, the fourth Marauder, nodded in agreement. "Birch is nice, but no good for charms. Mine's elm and it has phoenix feather in it, just like the Great Harry Potter."

I snorted at that. My dad's wand was famous, and witches and wizards considered it a great source of pride if their wand had phoenix feather in it. Mine was dragon heartstring, and I was quite proud of it.

"But how long is it?" Moth insisted, a wicked smile on his face. Lenny muttered something under his breath. "Eh? Sorry, can't hear you?"

"Eleven and a half," Lenny muttered viciously, turning a bit red. Moth started laughing and Lenny flushed. "Hey, size doesn't matter! It's how you use it!"

That was too much for Geoff, who was red himself from suppressed laughter.

"Don't any of you know about Dr. Freud?" he asked the boys. They all shook their heads, looking confused. "He was a muggle psychiatrist in the late 1800's to early 1900's. He believed that when men bragged about the size of inanimate objects, they were compensating for something else."

He raised his eyebrows suggestively and I started giggling. It hit all the boys at exactly the same time and they turned the most amazing shade of red.

"I'm not compensating for anything," Moth blurted out.

"Me either," Jamie protested, looking horrified at the very idea.

"No way," David and Lenny chorused. Then they all got up from the table and made excuses to leave. I turned to Geoff, still giggling.

"That was brilliant, Geoff. Shut them up proper."

Geoff grinned at me. "I had to do it, I'd hate for David and Jim to get swelled heads."

Chris watched the hasty retreat of the Marauders and Moth. "Wand envy, eh? Didn't you pull that same Freud stuff on us when Kenny and I got into it back in third year?"

Geoff shrugged. "Probably. It's too funny to miss."

After that bit of entertainment, the Pack was split up while I went to Muggle Studies, Em went to Divination with Geoff, and Chris headed for Study of Ancient Runes. None of the others took Muggle Studies because they had extensive contact with Muggles. Em's dad was muggle, as were both Chris' parents, and Geoff's grandparents on his Mum's side. I probably didn't need to take it either, but I liked it. So I went to Professor Bone's class. I wasn't the first to arrive so I took any available seat.

Professor Bones was a witch about my Dad's age with curly auburn hair, red enough to be a Weasley. She was quite pretty with a nice smile. She had a kind disposition, but could be very stern if she needed to. Today she was smiling brightly.

"Welcome, class. Today I'd like to discuss muggle literature." She held up a book. The title, The Prince, was emblazoned across the front. "Have any of you ever heard of this book?"

We all shook our heads. Professor Bones smiled again. "That's alright. It's called The Prince and was written by a man named Niccolo Machiavelli. He believed that it was better to be feared than loved. Absolute power was essential. What are your thoughts?"

A Ravenclaw seventh year by the name of Christina Meyers responded. "While power is indeed an asset, it is not essential. And it is far better to be loved than feared. Love leaves behind it's own power."

"I disagree," I heard myself saying. "Love's power is fleeting. The power behind fear lasts longer."

All the other students were staring at me as if I had said something blasphemous, but Professor Bones regarded me thoughtfully.

"Why do you say that, Lily? True love leaves behind it's own mark, a deeper and more powerful magic than any normal wizard can create."

"Look at Voldemort," I said. The class gasped and I rolled my eyes. He was dead for crying out loud. "He wanted absolute power, and he had it. He wasn't loved. He was feared. And love confuses things."

"Ah, but wasn't it because of your grandmother's sacrifice your father was able to defeat You-Know-Who?"

Her too? Honestly. "Until Voldemort developed a way to get around that protection. Love isn't strong enough. And loving someone places them in danger," I retorted. "It places them at risk. Love can easily turn to hate. But if people fear you, they will obey you."

"On the contrary," Christina replied pompously, annoyed that I dared to shoot her opinion full of holes. "When people fear you, it only increases the number of people willing to betray you."

"But fear coupled with absolute power makes a person unstoppable," I pointed out. "Voldemort had both. Sure there were people willing to betray him, but he would retaliate. They weren't safe, and they knew it."

Professor Bones had watched our debate with a curious expression on her face, flinching along with the rest of the class every time I said Voldemort. She shook her head as if to rid herself of a daze, and smiled at me.

"Very good, Lily, I think you have just proven your point. However, You-Know-Who is no longer in existence. How do you explain that?"

"Machiavelli never met my father," I replied promptly.

There was a hardening in her eyes. "Indeed." Then it passed. "Next book, Little Women."

I tuned out after that, having read Little Women when I was younger. It was alright, but rather boring considering none of them knew magic.

I was extremely relieved when we could go to dinner and sat down next to Em. I found that there was a seat next to me, empty. I looked around the table and noticed that Nicole, that first year, was missing.

"Any idea where Nicole is?" I asked Geoff. He shook his head.

"Probably in the library, or with Hagrid, or up in the Tower. Don't worry about her." He took a bite of his potatoes. "That reminds me, have you learned anything new?"

I nodded. "Meet me in the Entrance Hall after dinner and I'll tell you about it."

He nodded. We spent the remainder of dinner talking about Meredith and her sparkly purple bikini. I noticed that Destiny had joined us again and she was sitting in her usual place at the end of the table. She seemed hurt and sad, not normal Destiny emotions. Her range of emotions included anger, scorn, indifference, and contempt. But she was staring at her plate and I thought I saw tears on her face. Destiny, crying? She had never cried before in her life.

Geoff jostled my elbow, and I looked down to discover that my plate was clear. I nodded and stood up from the table. I was just about to leave when a cream puff came flying and hit me on the chest. I looked directly at Jamie whose mouth was hanging open. Then it happened.

I believe it was a Hufflepuff, but it didn't really matter who said it. The point was the Hall went silent, waiting for my reaction, until a single voice called out.

"Food fight!"

"Oh, shit," I muttered and dropped like a stone. Geoff followed my lead; the others weren't so fortunate. Food was flying in every direction and splattering all over everyone, the Professors included. I could hear McGonagall shouting for everyone to stop until a well timed muffin stopped her tirade. I crawled over to where Geoff had squeezed himself under the table.

"I'll kill Jamie," I growled.

"I have the honor, milady," Geoff said, grinning at me although he looked quite uncomfortable. "It's my turn."

I tried to shrug, which wasn't easy in such a confined space. "Want to make a crawl for it?"

"Sure."

We had plenty of experience with food-fights considering our brothers adored trouble. I don't think we have had a single family gathering that didn't end in a food fight.

We started crawling out to the entrance hall and made it relatively unscathed. Geoff started laughing at me.

"Use your wand, you daft twit," I said angrily. He waved it and the remains of the cream puff were wiped away. We pushed open the door and headed out onto the grounds. It was already rather dark; I hadn't noticed the ceiling in the Great Hall change.

"So, are you going to tell me what you heard? This whole 'ordeal' is starting to pique my curiosity."

"You'll be even more curious when I tell you what I heard Meredith and Jeanette talking about," I said, and proceeded to tell him all about the conversation I "overheard". I still hadn't told him about my uncle, and I wasn't sure why.

"Lucretia, huh?" Geoff said musingly. "So we need to find out who this woman is and what connection she has to our parents' accident."

I shook my head. "It isn't going to be that easy. There's something about this woman that spooks even Jeanette and Meredith. She's like, like, a female Voldemort!"

Geoff snorted. "I doubt that. Look, I'm going to go to the library and I'll look her up. Coming?"

"No, I think I'll stay out here a little longer." Geoff waved and headed back to the castle. I walked over towards the lake and was just about to sit on a rock when I heard a noise. I quickly dove into the nearby bushes and peered through the leaves. It was that boy again!

Up close I could see that he wasn't much older than I was, with ice blue eyes and defined cheekbones. He was wearing all brown that night, another tunic and trousers. He looked like he had been pulled from a Robin Hood story. He had an intense look of concentration on his features and the majestic hawk from the other night came soaring down to land on his arm. I held my breath, afraid to make a sound. The boy whispered something to the hawk and it took flight, wings outstretched, soaring and keening it's hunting cry. Then the boy disappeared.

I gasped. Where had he gone? I hadn't so much as blinked. And if I had heard it once, I had heard it a thousand times: You can't Apparate on the Hogwarts grounds!

A hand descended on my shoulder and a low voice said, "It's not nice to spy on people, you know."

I lost my head and started shrieking. The boy placed a hand over my mouth to muffle my cries and looked at me scornfully.

"Honestly! Don't you have any sense? Or are you just one of those annoying mindless females?"

I removed his hand from my mouth. "You're a one to talk! It's not nice to scare people like that, you know."

He grinned appreciatively. "Oh, good, I was worried for a moment there. Now, if you don't mind, go away."

He started to walk away, but I caught his arm.

"Just a minute!" I cried. "Who the hell are you? What are you doing here? You don't go to Hogwarts, do you?"

He turned; the moon illuminated his classic features. He really belonged in the moonlight, it suited him.

"My name is Gene, none of your damned business, and no." He started to walk away again.

I laughed. "Gene? That certainly doesn't suit you. So if you don't go to Hogwarts, what are you doing here?"

I gasped again (I was really doing a lot of that) when he turned again and bore down on me, a look of intense anger crossing that handsome face. His hand reached out and grabbed the front of my robes, pulling me close, so that I could see directly into his eyes. They were like chips of ice, completely devoid of warmth.

"My name is fine. Don't question me, girl. Leave me alone. If you know what's good for you, you'll forget you even saw me. If you don't, I'll kill you."

My heart was racing as he released me and shoved me down against the rock. I scraped my hip, but I didn't cry out. He disappeared and I started breathing heavily. Wow.

Of course, I'm not stupid. He looked completely capable of killing me. However, just because he could, didn't mean he would. I would come back. Every night if need be, until I found out more about him.

I tried to stand up, but my leg was bleeding rather heavily where I had scraped it on the rock. Gene, huh? That was a false name if I had ever heard one.

A hand descended upon my shoulder and I shrieked again.

"You are an extremely jumpy child," my uncle said calmly.

As soon as I found my voice, I used it. "Don't do that! Damn, is everyone either trying to scare me stupid or humiliate me? What is wrong with people!"

"Look, I came to see if you've found anything," Uncle Ted said irritably. "I don't have time for the insignificant problems of a teenage girl."

"Oh good," I replied. "Me neither. Her name's Lucretia, right?"

Uncle Ted went white. "Shh! Foolish girl! Don't say that name out loud!"

I was sick and tired of being treated like an infant. I wanted answers.

"Look, Uncle Ted, what the hell do you want from me?"

"I want you to destroy her," he said simply.

I was stunned; but only for a moment. "How am I supposed to do that when I don't know the first thing about her?"

"Weren't you able to find out anything about the ordeal fourteen years ago?" he countered.

"No," I said flatly. "Tell me."

My uncle hesitated. "I can't. I wasn't there."

"Then who can?" I asked.

But he didn't answer me. "Do you remember the prophecy I gave you?"

"You mean all that nonsense about a girl, and the hag, the Chosen One, and the Scholar? Yes, I remember."

Uncle Ted was annoyed. "Yes, don't forget it. I'm going now."

"Wait!" I called. He stopped, but didn't turn. "How am I going to find out about her?"

His reply was low, and I almost didn't hear it. "Find someone who won't lie to you."

I sat down heavily on the rock, vaguely aware of the blood dripping down my leg. Who could I ask? My parents wouldn't tell me, Jeanette and Meredith were sworn to secrecy...

Wait, what had Meredith said? Something about Professor Snape knowing. That was it. I'd just have to ask Professor Snape. He certainly wouldn't lie to me.

The hard part would be getting him to talk to me in the first place.