Neville and the Succubus

The warmth of the summer sun caused her light skin to tingle as she walked down Diagon Alley. With her fiery red hair and emerald green eyes, she had drawn a few looks from many of the other wizards and a few witches. Well, her shapely figure helped as well. Had it been any other day she would have feed well. She could feel the lust and desire that emanated from several wizards. Lilith could also read the surface thoughts of those around her although reading thoughts was difficult due to the number of people who were present.

Unfortunately she had other orders. Her target was nearby. She could sense him, though only barely. Following the flow of magic was difficult with so many wizards and witches around. It was even harder for her as she had only been given the target's broken wand.

A second hand wand, it was hard to distinguish the magic used by the former owner and the last owner, especially since they were both related. Fortunately she, and most of her kind, had a keen sense of magic and had been able to use the wand to find her target.

"He's weak, but surprisingly resilient," they had told her. "He comes from a long line of pure-bloods, but he has chosen to side against us, thus he must be eliminated."

Given the information that they had provided, Lilith figured that the target would easily succumb to her. She'd have her fun with him and move on once the contract was fulfilled.

Slowly, she made her way towards Ollivander's, the only wand shop in all of London and Diagon Alley. Wand less wizards always headed to the nearest wand shop. Hopefully she could find the boy before he acquired a new wand, thus changing the way magic flowed within him and making her ability to track him harder.

Finding the shop she felt the magical energies around the shop as they swirled in an endless eddy. Few wizards or witches could detect the flow of magical energy like Lilith and her kind could.

Even with her ability to sense the flow of magic, Lilith knew that she couldn't track her target any further. The magical energies had blended together as they circled the wand shop.

Feeling a sudden surge of magical energy, she decided to wait. Feeling several more, she knew that someone was testing wands, looking for the one wand that would enhance and match the user's magical essence.

Half an hour later Lilith smiled as she spied a round faced boy emerged from the shop, his new wand in hand. Most wizards his age would have been smiling, even beaming as they held their new wand (though most wizards his age didn't need to replace their old wands). Rather then smile, her target seemed to cower as an old, fairly stern and formidable witch trailed behind him.

"I can't believe you broke your father's wand!" she snapped at the boy. "Your father never broke his wand. He kept that wand from the time he was eleven until he passed it on to you. You were lucky that you broke it after you had finished your O.W.L. exams, else you'd have failed them all."

A third figure soon emerged from the shop. An older wizard, he appeared to be slightly younger then the old witch. Though less formidable then the witch, he appeared to be much more relaxed and easy going then the witch.

"Take it easy on the boy," he said as he placed a hand on the witch's shoulder. "You can't expect him to have faced several Death Eaters and come out unscathed. He lasted longer then everyone but the Potter boy, even some of the Aurors who were present faired worse then Neville."

Lilith followed the trio as they made their way down Diagon Alley. The old witch, apparently her target's grandmother, seemed to relax a bit, no longer voicing her sharp criticism of the boy.

Focusing, Lilith tried to read the boy's thoughts. Unable to read the surface thoughts of her target, she was able to get the impression that the boy was grateful that his great uncle was present.

Undeterred, she was able to find a memory that the boy apparently had. A gentle tune hummed then soft singing. She could feel the tune soothing her, comforting her, as she listened.

Shaking her head, she tried to focus on the voice and the lyrics rather then the boy's feelings associated with the memory. Hearing the voices and the tune clearly, Lilith smiled. She knew what to do to lure the boy to her.

Appropriating, Lilith emerged from the shadows and found an empty table outside of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Ordering something with chocolate in it, she reached into her bag and pulled out a reed flute.

Smiling innocently, she began to play the tune she had heard in the boy's memory. A few passersby stopped, some to view the stunningly beautiful woman, others to listen to the hauntingly beautiful tune, many for both. By the time that her target and his companions had come close enough to hear her performance, a small crowd had formed around the outdoor patio of the Ice Cream Parlor.

Even with her eyes closed, she knew that her target had stopped to listen. She could sense the swirling emotions inside of him as he listened. Repeating the chorus, she smiled as she felt his presence inching closer and closer to her.

Suddenly he was gone. Something, some emotion, had driven him away. Nearly missing the next note, she covered her mistake as Florean arrived with her ice cream. In a matter of seconds the small crowd dispersed, leaving her alone to contemplate her target.

* * * * *

Lilith hated failure, but what she hated even more was misreading her intended prey. She'd never failed to lure her target into meeting her as she had with the boy. After a week of observing her target, Lilith had finally decided on another plan.

Having learned that the boy and his family were vacationing in Blackpool, Lilith watched the boy, waiting for a chance to meet the boy when he was alone. Watching him, she knew that he slipped out of the cottage to go hiking and or walking on his own (if one did not include the toad that he always had with him).

Seeing that the boy had chosen to walk along the beach, Lilith decided to take a swim. Appropriating a good distance ahead of her target, she changed out of the sundress she was wearing and into a very revealing two piece swimsuit. Setting the reed flute by her discarded clothing, she sensed her target drawing nearer. Diving off the end of the pier, she felt the cold splash of water greeting her, sending a pleasant tingling sensation through her body. A moment later the sensation passed as she became accustomed to the cool water around her.

As she swam, she kept track of how far her target was from her. With every passing second he came closer and closer to her. She could hear him talking to his toad as he slowly walked down the pier.

"Oh, hello," Lilith said as she spotted the top of his head as he approached the end of the pier.

Startled, the boy nearly lost hold of his pet toad. Lilith wasn't sure what happened, she just knew that one second the boy had the toad in hand, then the next it was in the air and her target had leapt to catch the toad (or so she assumed). The toad landed on the end of the pier. It's master, in an attempt to avoid landing on it, leaped off the end of the pier.

Lilith could feel the boy's shock and surprise. Then she felt a wave of fear passing through the boy; he couldn't swim. Watching as the boy hit the water head first, she felt another wave of fear passing through her as the boy panicked.

Though she knew that she was saving his life, Lilith also knew that letting her target die like this would have been such a waste of her time and energy.

Taking a deep breath, she swam over to the panicked boy and hit him with a stunning spell. Wrapping her arms around the boy, she slowly swam to the surface with him.

Using her innate magical abilities, Lilith floated them both up to the pier. Landing gently on the pier, she sighed and shook her head.

How could such a clumsy fool have angered those damned Deatheaters so much that they'd summon a succubus to eliminate him? Was it his natural clumsiness that had helped him avoid their well aimed spells or was he the fool that undid their fool-proof plans?

Feeling that someone was watching her, Lilith put aside her thoughts about the boy and scanned the pier. Seeing no one, she scanned the area again. Spotting the toad, she was startled to see it glaring at her, a hint of intelligence behind its eyes.

What do you want with my familiar?

Startled, she eyed the toad. Had it really sent her a telepathic message?

I know you can read surface thoughts, it sent her. I may be a toad, but I know a succubus when I see one.

Though the toad lacked significant magical power, it appeared to be very intelligent. Sighing, Lilith couldn't help but wonder what the wizarding world was doing to produce such annoying familiars.

Glaring at the toad, Lilith was contemplating what to use on it; a fireball or a lightning bolt.

Leaping onto her target's chest, the toad continued to glare at her. Beneath it, the boy finally stirred, coughing up water and rolling onto his stomach. Settling himself in a kneeling position, he continued to cough up water.

"I'm glad to see that you're alright," Lilith said as the boy stopped coughing. "You had me worried there."

"Thanks," he replied as he shifted into a sitting position and wiped the water out of his eyes.

Seeing his face go flush, she knew that he had caught sight of her curvy body and the revealing outfit that she wore. Yet it wasn't lust or desire that passed through the boy's mind, but embarrassment for her. Puzzled, Lilith slowly reached for her sundress.

Most boys his age would have been sneaking glances at her beautiful body and its well proportioned assets. They might feel embarrassed at being caught staring, but they had never been embarrassed for her.

Seeing him use a drying spell on himself, she did the same before slipping on her sundress. "Sorry if I startled you," she said, breaking the silence.

"Oh, I should have been paying more attention," he replied softly. Seeing that she was appropriately dressed, he turned to face her and smiled; his eyes on the toad in his hands.

Scanning their thoughts, Lilith was grateful that the two didn't seem to be exchanging thoughts. Sensing a feeling of nervousness emanating from the boy, she realized that he was the silent/shy type.

"I'm Lilith," she said, breaking the silence again, "Lilith Summers."

"Neville," he replied, "Neville Longbottom."

Talking to the boy was like pulling teeth, Lilith thought as they talked. It was hard for her to get past his nervousness as it blocked his surface thoughts and kept him from saying very much about himself.

"So you're a student at Hogwarts?"

"Eh?"

"Well, you look like you're still in school, so I assume you're at Hogwarts."

"Oh," he replied as if the obvious conclusion just occurred to him. "Yeah, I'm in my sixth year at Hogwarts. I'm still waiting on the O.W.L. results before I decide what classes to take next year."

Nodding, Lilith tried to absorb all that he said as well as all he thought. It'd been so long since her last visit to the mortal world that she'd forgotten about the significance of the final three years at Hogwarts.

"So what classes do you think you'll take?" she asked despite already knowing the answer.

"Herbology of course, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Transfiguration, and maybe Divination," Neville replied with a shrug. "I was thinking about being a Healer...."

Eying Neville, Lilith tried to follow his clouded thoughts. It was as though the boy was able to put up a mental barrier, but why?

"Healing is a noble profession," she added, hoping to prod him into telling her more.

"But after the incident...."

Lilith saw a memory surface. A woman, her face hallowed out, grinning wickedly at him. A fanatical glow twinkled in her eyes as she approached him.

" Crucio!" the woman hissed as she raised her wand.

Feeling the jolt of pain from Neville's vivid memory, Lilith broke her mental link with the boy.

"I see," she whispered. "You were there, weren't you...."

"Yeah," she barely heard him whisper. "After seeing her... I think I'll try to be an Auror."