Questions and Answers

little_bird

Story Summary:
What happens when the past collides with the present and threatens to cast the Potters' and Weasleys' lives into disarray...

Chapter 43 - Truth Or Dare

Posted:
11/03/2010
Hits:
1,704


Hermione dropped to the sofa, and kicked her shoes off. She glanced around the sitting room, and rubbed a hand over her face. 'It's too quiet...' she mused.

'Yeah,' Ron agreed.

'So this is how Mum felt when I finally left,' Ginny added with a sigh.

Harry ran his hand through his hair. 'You know, when I bought the house before James was born, I wasn't thinking about how big it was going to seem when they all went to school.'

Ginny yawned widely, turning her face into Harry's shoulder. 'Lily woke me up at five,' she explained.

Ron frowned a little. 'I wonder what Ollivander meant with the wands...'

'Maybe it just means a Weasley isn't going to go through a good portion of his life in a strop over something,' suggested Hermione. 'Your family is quite temperamental.'

'And you're not?' snorted Harry.

'And you've been part of it for how long now?' Ginny chuckled. 'Since you were what? Twelve? Thirteen?'

'Yeah, Hermione. You and Ron aren't exactly each other's polar opposites,' Harry added.

'So says Mr. Serenity,' huffed Hermione, a smile playing over her lips.

'Right,' interjected Ron. 'And we've all been on the bad side of Gin's temper.'

'You know,' Harry began thoughtfully, 'there is Percy... He's got a nice tight rein on his temper...'

'No he hasn't,' chimed Ginny and Ron at the same time.

'He's just learned to hide it well,' Ginny said. 'It's why he acts like there's a fireplace poker up his bum.'

'Hugo always was on the placid side,' murmured Hermione. 'Even when he was a baby. Used to worry me a little when he started teething and didn't really get fussed about it.'

'You know who he reminds me of?' Ron asked.

'Who?' Hermione gave Ron a quizzical glance.

'Your dad.'

Hermione's mouth tipped up in a slight smile. 'Yeah...' Her face grew pensive. 'I do hope he's managed to sit facing forward on the train...'

'Ugh. Right...' Ron shuddered dramatically. Hugo had thrown up rather violently on Ron on the Underground one day, when they'd only been able to get seats facing backward.

Hermione glanced at Harry. 'About Lily...'

'What about Lily?' Harry asked, suddenly feeling exhausted.

'Her wand,' Ginny finished. 'What he said about it being good for defensive magics...'

Ron chewed his lip. 'You don't think...?' He shook his head. 'Nah...'

'Think what?' Harry leaned forward. 'That something's going to come up?' he asked tensely. 'Because why else would a centaur donate a hair from his tail?' He traced the weave of Hermione and Ron's sofa. 'Do you remember our first year? When we met the centaurs in the Forest and they kept talking about Mars being bright and how the innocents were the first to die?'

'Yeah.' Ron closed his eyes.

'They were predicting the war...' Hermione said.

'Yeah, we know that now,' Ron huffed.

Hermione shook her head. 'No, I should have known then. In ancient Roman mythology, Mars was the god of war. I can't believe I didn't think of that at the time...' She burrowed a little closer to Ron. 'I'm not sure what to make of it, and I'm not sure the wand elements aren't merely a balancing act.' She shrugged a little. 'I don't know much about wand lore. Well, as much as the average person. Some of it's a little too much like Divination for my taste.'

'It's going to be so odd tomorrow morning,' Ginny murmured. 'Nobody to get up, washed, and dressed for school. No homework to check...'

'God, we haven't had a truly leisurely morning in fifteen years...' Harry said quietly. He suddenly sat up straight with a gasp. 'James!'

'What about James?' Ginny asked in narrow-eyed suspicion.

'I'll tell you later...' Harry mumbled, self-consciously rubbing the back of his neck. 'Something I forgot to do in all the fuss over everything else...'

Ginny sighed and rubbed her temples tiredly. 'Please tell me he didn't do anything stupid...'

Harry shifted uncomfortably. 'No, he didn't do anything. I just meant to corner him before he went back to school and have a nice chat with him.'

'What kind of chat?' Ron asked interestedly.

'The kind of chat one needs to have when your son begins to notice girls.' Harry made a face. 'Did you see the one that talked to him at Flourish and Blotts?'

Ron's expression clouded momentarily. 'Wait, do you mean the small one? With all the dark hair?'

'Yeah.' Harry grinned a little. 'Maya.'

'Surely it can wait until Christmas,' Hermione said. 'I mean there aren't that many places at school where...' She trailed off. 'Right. Maybe it can't wait until Christmas...'

Harry chewed his lip for a moment. 'I have to go up next month and start working with the seventh years,' he mused. 'I could end it a bit early and have him meet me...'

Ron sighed dramatically. 'I'm so glad I won't have to do that for a while...'

Ginny snorted and poked Ron in the knee with her toes. 'Give it a bit. He'll start stashing lingerie mags under his mattress soon enough.'

Ron glanced at Ginny. 'Do you think Mum and Dad sit at home and laugh at us now that our kids are putting us through what we did to them?'

Hermione laughed. 'What do you mean "now"? They've been laughing at us since we had kids.'

*****

Lily bounced a little on the seat next to Hugo. 'Do you think we'll both go into Gryffindor?' she asked.

'Maybe.' Hugo's lips barely opened. His eyes were tightly shut against the rugged scenery rushing past the window. The train flew around a curve and a small moan hummed through his lips.

Rose suddenly stood on a seat and yanked her schoolbag down from the overhead rack. 'Mum thought you might need this.' She flipped her bag open and pulled a vial out from a small inside pocket. 'Here.' She handed him the vial, filled with clear golden liquid.

Hugo blindly patted until he encountered Rose's outstretched hand, and pried the vial from her fingers. He pulled the cork from the mouth and lifted the vial to his lips and managed to drink the contents. Slowly, he opened his eyes and glanced around the compartment. 'Thanks,' he mumbled to Rose.

'Better?' she asked.

'Yeah,' he sighed. He turned to Lily. 'We could end up in different Houses than them,' he told her indicating Al and Rose. 'Siblings don't always end up in the same House.'

'Why is that?' Scorpius asked curiously.

'Dunno. Mum's told me about a pair of identical twins in her year that were Sorted into different houses.' Hugo shrugged and grunted when Lily's elbow glanced off his ribcage. He threw her a slightly annoyed glance, but didn't say anything.

'Here, Lily,' Scorpius nudged her. 'Why don't you take the window for a bit?' He stood up to let her scoot down the seat and dropped between her frenetic anticipation and Hugo, who flashed a grateful smile.

'Dad said it was the choices you make,' Al said offhandedly.

Hugo frowned. 'What happens if who you are now isn't who you are later...?'

'Lily, are you hungry yet?' James peered around the open door of the compartment, a small carrier bag dangling form his fingers. He looked inside the bag. 'Mum made an egg salad sandwich for you,' he said enticingly.

'I'm too excited to be hungry!' Lily exclaimed.

Al peeked into the bag. 'Ew. Mum even packed those barmy cheese and onion crisps you like so much.'

'That sounds disgusting,' Scorpius muttered.

'They're brilliant,' Lily told him loftily.

'You'd better eat, Lily,' Scorpius said. 'Dinner's a long way off.'

'Oh, all right. Fine.' She took the bag James held out to her and pulled out the crisps. She ripped them open and held the packet out to Scorpius. 'Want to try them?'

Scorpius looked dubiously inside. 'Cheese and onion...?'

'Yep.' Lily grinned, her face alit with glee.

'All right...' Scorpius reached inside and pulled out a crisp, holding it gingerly between his thumb and forefinger. He sniffed it cautiously, before biting into the crisp. 'Interesting...'

'You don't have to say that,' Al chortled, watching Scorpius' face. 'You can be honest with her. Nobody else in the family likes them.'

'You don't know what you're missing,' Lily told Al blissfully, cramming two into her mouth.

'Yes. I do...' Al reached into the carrier bag and pulled out an apple. 'Make sure you eat this, too. Mum will have a fit if you're not eating properly.' He polished it on his sleeve. 'And believe me, she'll find out if all you're eating is cake and biscuits.'

Lily paused in the act of unwrapping her sandwich. 'Why? Did you try it?'

'No, but I did,' James told her. 'Barely escaped a Howler. Mum made me go to the dentist when I came home for Christmas hols my first year.'

'That's just as bad,' Lily said with a grimace.

'What did Ollivander tell you when you got your wand?' Scorpius asked Lily.

'It was kind of weird,' she said, taking a bite of her sandwich. She swallowed and gestured to her trunk. 'It's rowan,' Lily told him. 'With a hair from the tail of a centaur. Aunt Hermione seemed to know him, too.' She accepted a bottle of butterbeer from Al and took a long sip.

'Rowan...?' Scorpius asked, askance. 'That's not a normal wand tree.'

'So?' Lily shrugged.

'So it's just a bit strange, that's all.' Scorpius absently reached into the packet of crisps and pulled one out, munching it thoughtfully. 'Might mean nothing. Maybe Ollivander was just trying something new.' He grinned at Lily. 'I read up on wand lore over the summer. They used to use rowan in the Middle Ages. Mostly because the Muggles thought it would protect them from witchcraft and they'd pin rowan twigs to their clothes, so when a witch or wizard carried one, they blended in. But really, the only ones who used it were the ones who primarily practiced defensive spells.'

Rose's eyebrow arched. 'Really?' She glanced at Lily. 'Maybe you'll be an Auror, like Uncle Harry.'

Lily shook her head, making her bright plait dance across her back. 'No. I want to play Quidditch like Mum.' But she smiled, as if she held an electrifying secret.

'Then maybe it's to keep you from falling off your broom in matches,' Al hooted.

'I haven't fallen off my broom in ages,' Lily sniffed derisively. She turned to Scorpius, clearly dismissing her brother. 'What's yours made of?'

'Maple.' Scorpius pulled it out of his pocket and twirled it between his fingers. 'Said it was good for difficult magic. The intellectual kind.' Scorpius slid his wand back into his pocket and gave Lily a small grin.

'Does the wand help, then?' Lily asked.

Scorpius' grin grew wider. 'When I find out, you'll be the first to know.'

XxXxXxX

'Firs' years!' Hagrid's voice boomed over the train platform.

Hugo's face lit up. 'Bye, Rosie,' he said, as he hopped off the train, darting through the crowds toward Hagrid. 'See you later.'

'Don't get all broken up about it!' Rose called to Hugo's retreating back.

'Now, then, Lily Nymphadora,' James intoned seriously. 'Remember, the family pride rests on your shoulders. If you go into Hufflepuff, Al and I can never hold our heads up again.'

Lily gasped. 'Don't use my middle name, James Sirius!'

'Oh, for the love of Godric, could someone just call me Albus Severus and get it over with?' Al sighed.

'Okay.' Scorpius cleared his throat. 'Albus Severus, you need to hurry up and get on a carriage so you don't get left behind. Is that good enough?'

'Perfect.' Al smiled reassuringly at Lily. 'No worries, Lils. We'll see you in the Great Hall.' Impulsively, Al reached for Lily and hugged her tightly. 'Doesn't matter what happens in there, Lily.' He gently pushed her toward the waiting boats. 'Go on.' He took a step back and stood next to James, watching Lily dash to the boat holding Hugo and the place he'd saved for her.

Lily clambered into the boat with Hugo. 'Are you nervous?' she asked softly.

Hugo nodded. 'Yeah,' he replied, just as quietly. 'I am.'

The boat rocked wildly as Hagrid shifted. 'Don' worry. The two of yeh'll go into Gryffindor, like yer parents.'

'How can you be so sure?' Hugo asked skeptically.

'There's a hun'red ways t' be brave,' Hagrid told him. 'Doesn' always mean fightin' an' all that. Sometimes, it's bein' willin' t' try somethin' new or do somethin' unexpected.'

'How do you know so much?' Lily asked, snuggling next to Hagrid. It was quite chilly on the Black Lake.

Hagrid's laugh boomed over the water. 'When yer as old as I am, yeh pick up a thin' or two.'

The boat floated to a soft bump on the shore, and Hagrid got out and helped Lily, then Hugo to the shore. He waited for the other first years to gather around him, then led them up the wide stone stairs to the entrance to the Great Hall. He knocked on the door, and stepped aside, with a wink and a smile to Hugo and Lily. 'Firs' years, Professor Longbottom,' he announced.

Neville grinned widely at the group of frightened-looking children. Almost all of them... he thought wryly, noting Lily and Hugo's shining faces. 'If you'll follow me, he told them, ushering them into the Great Hall, between the long tables toward a tall stool, topped with a battered hat. After the hat sang a song that relegated the history of Hogwarts and exhorted them to work in harmony. Neville pulled a list from the pocket of his robes. 'Ashley, Daria.'

A tiny girl climbed up to the stool and Neville dropped the hat over her shiny blonde hair. In a moment, the Hat called out, 'Hufflepuff!'

Lily gazed around the Hall, spotting James and Al, waiting anxiously for her turn to come. She waved at them, and Al waved weakly back. In several minutes, Neville called, 'Potter, Lily.' She strode to the stool and slid onto it. Neville set the hat down on her head and she was enveloped in darkness.

'Ah, another Potter...' the Hat seemed to sigh. 'Hmmmm. You're like your father. Difficult to place... Enough deviousness to be dangerous. But not enough for Slytherin. Friendly enough, but you're not a Hufflepuff. Bright, goodness yes, and you want to learn, but there's an overwhelming desire to poke a sleeping dragon in the eye, just because you can. Just like your mother.' The hat chuckled. 'You won't be happy anywhere but... Gryffindor!'

Lily pulled the hat off her head and laughed, running to join her brothers at the Gryffindor table. She slid into a seat next to Al.

Hugo gave Lily a smile and quietly waited for his turn. He found Rose and winked impudently at her. Rose rolled her eyes. Hugo was far too much like their father sometimes. In time, Neville's voice said, 'Weasley, Hugo.' Hugo walked up to the stool, his stride unhurried, and his face outwardly calm.

He hoisted himself to the top of the stool and blinked as the hat fell over his eyes. 'More Weasleys,' a dry voice said, with a hint of a chuckle. 'Smart like your mother and diffident like your father. But you don't want to do anything like either of them. Very much your own person, even now. Such independence deserves... Gryffindor!' Hugo pulled the Hat off his head with a sigh of relief and headed to the table to join Lily.

XxXxXxX

Lily followed Rose, Al, and Scorpius up the stairs, with Hugo at her side. 'Watch out for the trick step,' Rose said over her shoulder.

'What trick step?' Lily asked, a second before she squeaked in surprise and found herself staring at Al and Scorpius' knees.

They each reached down and grasped Lily's elbows. 'That trick step,' Scorpius told her.

'Do you think anybody saw?' Lily asked in a scandalized whisper.

'Oh, only the entire House,' James told her. 'But it's okay. Tomorrow morning, some other firstie will fall into it and it'll be old news.'

'Thanks,' Lily muttered, her ears turning pink.

They managed to find the painting of the Fat Lady that guarded Gryffindor tower without further incident and a prefect directed the first years into their dormitory. Lily found her trunk at the foot of one of the beds in the round room, and opened it, looking for a pair of pajamas. Her beloved bunny lay curled in the middle with a piece of folded parchment underneath, bearing her name written in Ginny's round, neat hand. Lily lifted Cadbury from the trunk, and set him on the foot of the bed and picked up the parchment. The edges parted with a soft whisper and Lily unfolded the parchment, curiosity overcoming any weariness she might have felt. She perched on the bed, next to her bunny and began to read.

31 August 2019

Dear Lily,

This is something of a tradition. Your dad did it for James and Al, and it's my turn to do it for you...

XxXxXxX

Daphne didn't mind being in the empty manor alone. It wasn't that much different than when Draco was home, considering their paths rarely crossed beyond meals. But left to her own devices, she quickly became bored. With Scorpius in school, and Draco still away in Nice, she found little excuse to socialize, and preferred it that way. She spent several days tending to the flowerbeds that surrounded the manor. Perri might have been an excellent cook and kept the house looking immaculate, but she wasn't very good as a gardener. Admittedly, it wasn't her fault. The garden was Daphne's domain and she stubbornly insisted on keeping it that way. But once the beds had been cleaned, weeded and coaxed back into the formal lines Draco deemed necessary, she was a something of a loose end. Reading, normally her refuge in a time of idleness, held no appeal. Reading allowed a corner of her brain to replay the scene in Draco's study over and over again. So one morning, she rummaged through her bureau and unearthed an ancient pair of jeans and found a pair of elderly plimsolls in the back of the wardrobe. She bundled her hair into a messy bun and went into the kitchen.

Perri was standing on a tall stool, busily polishing the family silver at the scrubbed table in the middle of the spotless kitchen. 'Good morning, Mistress Daphne!' she squeaked, rubbing at a stubborn spot on a fork.

Daphne laid a hand on the teapot in the middle of the table. It was warm. She poured herself a cup and perched on another stool. 'Perri, you don't have to call me mistress,' she sighed. It was a long-standing, albeit mild, disagreement between them. 'Daphne is fine. Mrs. Malfoy, if you insist. But I'm merely your employer, not your owner.'

Perri gave Daphne a long-suffering glance, then sighed and carefully laid the fork into its slot in the velvet-lined case. 'My mother said it is not being respectful to not say mistress.'

Daphne shook her head. They had the same argument nearly every morning. 'Have we a pail anywhere?'

Perri eyed Daphne. 'What is you needing a pail for?' she asked suspiciously.

'I'm going to scrub the floors and baseboards behind the furniture upstairs,' Daphne admitted.

Perri's large eyes filled with tears, and she twisted the polishing cloth between her long fingers. 'Is Perri not satisfying you, Mmmmm... Mrs. Daphne?' She sniffed, wiping her nose on the edge of a tea towel.

'Oh, Perri, no... It's just I need something to do, or else I'll run mad.'

Perri climbed off the stool and marched into the scullery. She emerged with a pail and scrub brush. She silently handed them to Daphne with a slight sniff of disapproval. 'The master won't be liking it,' she muttered.

Daphne took them from Perri with a slight snort. 'The master isn't here,' she retorted. 'And I don't care what he likes or doesn't like.' She turned to leave the kitchen. 'Thank you.'

XxXxXxX

Draco brushed the latch of the ornate wrought iron front gate with his fingers and swung open under his touch. He trudged up the walk to the door, hardly noticing the neat asters that lined the walk. He didn't suppose Daphne had come home, but she wasn't at her sister Astoria's house, nor was she with Ian. A few discreet inquiries had solved that particular mystery. He opened the front door and walked inside, carelessly dropping his bag just inside the door. A muffled thump from upstairs made him frown and he slowly climbed the stairs until he came to the bedroom where Narcissa slept when she came to visit them. The furniture had been moved to the middle of the room, and the expensive rug rolled up. Daphne was on her knees, scrubbing the floor. 'What the hell are you doing?' he exploded.

Daphne straightened up and dropped the brush into the pail with a splash. 'I'll bet you don't mind if Pansy's on her knees,' she muttered, pulling the brush out once more.

'Nothing happened,' Draco insisted.

All of a sudden, Daphne heaved the brush at him. It sailed through the air, trailing dirty water behind it and slammed into his forehead, between his eyes. 'How could you?' she screamed.

'Ow!' Draco's hand pressed into his skull, over the throbbing ache the brush had left. 'Nothing happened!' he repeated.

Daphne got to her feet. 'Oh?' she asked archly. 'Then why was her bloody hand inside your trousers? Or did she just trip and it landed there by accident?'

'I'm telling you the truth!' Draco hissed. He began to laugh harshly. Reaching into an inside pocket of his coat, he pulled out a tiny vial, filled with clear liquid. 'Know what this is?' he asked, tauntingly waving the bottle just out of Daphne's reach.

'I don't know.' Daphne crossed her arms over her chest stiffly.

'It's Veritaserum,' Draco told her, rolling it around in his palm. 'Mother gave it to me. Said I ought to let you have it, and you can decide if you want to use it.' He glanced up at his wife. 'I don't think you have the -' He was cut off abruptly by Daphne's wand slashing through the air and a red beam of light hit him in the chest. He crumpled to the floor.

'Not a Slytherin?' she purred, turning him over with the toe of her shoe. 'I'll bet you didn't know I'm better than you at nonverbal spells,' she gloated. 'Since you've never bothered to ask.' She bent and picked up the vial still clutched in Draco's fist. 'Allow me.' Daphne cracked the seal around the cork with a thumbnail and dribbled several drops into Draco's mouth. She waited several moments, then pointed her wand at him. He stirred and slowly sat up, his eyes glassy and heavy-lidded. Daphne impassively watched him. Ask him something he can't lie about and you'd know. 'When did you start shagging Pansy in school?'

'After the first Quidditch game fifth year. In the prefects' bathroom.'

'Did you want to marry her?'

'No. She was... Not...'

'Not...?' Daphne's fingers curled around the vial.

'She was good for a shag against the wall, but not good enough to raise a son I could be proud of.'

Daphne was aching to ask him more, but she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answers. She kept the conversation strained on Pansy. 'Why were you with her last month?'

'I wasn't with her. She came on to me.'

'Why didn't you stop her?' Daphne couldn't keep the harsh tone from her voice.

'I don't know,' Draco said quietly. He suddenly laughed. 'It was like I wasn't there. Like it was happening to someone else.'

'Why didn't you stop her?' demanded Daphne.

'Because all I ever feel is the most intense self-loathing, and for once I wanted to feel something else.'

Daphne's heartbeat slowed until she thought she was going to have to force it to continue beating. 'Did it work?'

Draco blinked and shook his head. His eyes cleared and narrowed slightly, looking at Daphne as if he'd never seen her before. He slowly got his feet under him and rose to his full height, brushing off his clothes. He walked to the door and stopped, just inside it. 'Nothing works,' he said softly, and left the room.