It's Hard to be Perky when You're a Malfoy

Heroes, goodbyes and the Yule Ball again

Lione spent a few days in the Hospital wing in our first year and the whole time she was complaining, arguing, trying to leave and when all else failed, sulking. Joseph, on the other hand, was lapping it up. He seemed perfectly happy where he was and, in fact, rather excited to be the centre of so much attention. We really shouldn't have been surprised that the story got out. After all in a school with hundreds of people plus paintings that could talk at least one of them must have heard us talk about it - maybe even overheard the conversation Gregory and I had in the corridor that night. The story spread like wildfire and grew every time someone new got hold of it. Soon people were asking me how we managed to take down thirty men and a dog. But Joseph - as the injured party and the only one not able to tell his side since his visitors were strictly regulated - was transformed into some kind of hero. Encouraged by a hysterical rant by Mrs Bower aimed at Professor McGonagall as to how this school could let something like that happen to her little boy. How he was left alone to defend himself against 'villains'. Generally making it sound like Joseph had been the lone hero while we were no where to be seen. Since I felt guilty for not noticing him get hit, Lione felt guilty for being the one he saved from stunning before he got hit and Gregory felt guilty for missing the bad guy before he (the bad guy) got Joseph; we were perfectly happy for our Starsy to take all the credit. We had to practically beat Adrasteia Vini, Hogwarts' own ace (and only) reporter, off with a stick to keep her away from him. She kept trying to get into the hospital wing any way possible from faking injuries to costumes, genuine, very bad, costumes. I think by the end of it Madam Pomfrey disliked Adrasteia more than Lione. I told this to Lee and she suddenly went straight faced and determined to do something terrible to the nurse in order to win back her title.

Aside from the visit from an awed and nearly worshipful Melanie and Jack for which he was incredibly smug Joseph didn't let it go to his head. He was nearly ashamed.

"I can't believe I fainted," he told us on one visit.

"You didn't faint," Gregory pointed out. "You knocked yourself out."

"Hence the head wound," I added.

"I know," he said. "But I've read about it and other people have been hit and been standing afterwards."

"They weren't thirteen," Lee pointed out.

"Yeah," he admitted, "but-"

"No buts," I said. "You're brave, you're strong and you're heroic, get used to it. Hogwarts wants a hero right now and you're it."

Hogwarts did indeed seem intent on setting Joseph on the 'hero' mantle. After all, it didn't have a champion to cheer on anymore. That's right; 'Arry lost. Well not really lost, more didn't win. After all he didn't quite come last. Jack plummeted out of the competition, or so I was told, leaving me with a task to perform.

I tapped Phillip on the shoulder and as he turned and saw me I imagined his face lit up.

"Congratulations," I said.

"Thank you." He suddenly looked serious. "I heard about what happened. Are you all right?"

I smiled. "I'm fine."

"It's my fault," he said.

I frowned. "Why?"

"You should never have been in Hogsmeade."

"We're always in Hogsmeade - it was bound to happen. We're all fine! Joseph is getting the glory of the school. I'm just sad we missed your victory."

I was making much lighter of the situation than I really felt but I was trying to make him feel better. Why on earth was he feeling guilty? If anyone it should be me. I was the one who put my friends in danger after all - just by being there. Lione and I should have left when I first suggested it instead of hanging around and walking straight into their trap.

"All for a stupid squirrel."

"Anya loved the squirrel."

She really did. She called him Scrat and he was always running around our dorm room doing tricks.

"It was a brilliant idea."

He blushed. "I was glad to help."

I smiled and felt a bit gooey and... well... where was I? Oh yes, talking with Starsy in the hospital wing. Gregory was pacing up and down.

"They had to be minions!" he was declaring "Scary Creepy guy's minions! Scary Creepy guy isn't allowed minions. People that insane should not have minions."

"Are sane people allowed minions?" Lione asked.

"Ooh!" I said. "Am I?"

Lione rolled her eyes. "Look what you've done now. Lucy's going to try take over the world. Do you want to have to explain that to her brother?" She turned to me. "Oh I bumped into him this morning. He asked if you were okay and I said yes but I don't think he believed me. Maybe you should go say hello, we've been shut away in here for ages after all."

I nodded.

"Lucy's allowed to take over the world."

I looked at Gregory, astonished and brightened. "I am? Cool."

"What?" Lione and Joseph chorused.

"Air Jet's sane," Gregory explained.

"So sane people are allowed to try to take over the world?" Lione attempted. "But would a sane person want to even try-"

"Look you're not getting me," interrupted Gregory, waving his arms in the air. "Scary Creepy guy-"

"Maybe we should shorten that to just SCG, it wouldn't take so long to say," Joseph suggested.

Just as Lione and I opened our mouths to chip in our agreement, Gregory waved an angry finger at Joseph. "Don't mess me about."

"Don't threaten the injured hero," Joseph replied.

Gregory slowly lowered his finger. "Scary-," he sighed. "SCG is, based on all the evidence we know, a stark raving nutter." We nodded. "He's trying to copy Voldemort but I dunno, trying to go right where Voldemort went wrong. Which is why he got fixated on killing Lione who he thought was Laura before she grew up and took him down just like her dad (that's Laura's dad) did to Voldemort. He hasn't even got a reason; he just wants to take over the world. He doesn't have a game plan; he just wants to copy Voldemort. Ergo, loony. Why on earth would people follow him?"

"Because they're loonies too?" I suggested. "Why would anyone follow the bad guy?"

"He's very pre-emptive, isn't he?" said Joseph. "Last year taking out muggle-borns and going after Laura."

"But he must know I'm not Laura now," Lione pointed out. "If he had a spy here all that time. I mean I- we're pretty famous around here. If they were probably watching Lucy they must have spotted us. I think it's stopped being about the Potter thing and more about the revenge thing."

"What revenge thing?" Gregory asked.

"And what about the snake mark on your shoulder thing?" Joseph asked. We looked at him. "I got the feeling they were connected. What's that whole thing about?" He looked round at us. "Oh dear Merlin you know, don't you? Both of you already knew about it. Why am I always the last one to know about these things?"

"I live with her," I explained, hanging my head.

"I saw it when the vampires attacked two years ago," mumbled Gregory, doing likewise. "It's a birthmark," he added, offering that up as an excuse.

"It's not a birthmark," Lione and Joseph chorused.

"It doesn't look like one for a start," Joseph continued. "It looks more like a tattoo and one that interested those minion guys quite a lot."

"It's the mark of evil," said Lione, plainly.

We stared at her in silence for a moment until,

"No it isn't," said Joseph. "That's too dramatic to be true."

"You're evil?" I breathed.

Lione laughed. "I'm not evil. At least I don't think I am. You see Dumbledore explained everything to me. I'm how the gravity ring - remember that - got destroyed. Because it's evil and I'm good." We sniggered. "Well I was! When I was about two... And that's when I got into contact with it. It got destroyed and I got this mark. And I think SCG's a bit mad about that."

"Well wouldn't you be?" said Joseph. "You broke his favourite toy."

"You said he hasn't got a game plan," I said. "But he's got spies. If he's got spies and wants more spies then he must have a game plan. Spies equal a game plan."

"Why?"

"Because if you've got spies it means you're thinking ahead."

"So he's a loony with a game plan," said Gregory.

"Wait," said Lione. "I thought it was him not having a game plan that made him a loony-"

Gregory collapsed onto the bed next to Joseph's. "I give up. I don't understand any of this."

"I wonder who the spy is," mused Joseph.

We fell silent as we tried to think.

"He must have known we were going down there," said Gregory.

"Not particularly. He just needed to know that we went down to Hogsmeade a lot on our own and they could just wait for us to make a trip. They could have used Batty to keep an eye on us."

"He tried to warn us," I sighed.

Gregory jumped to his feet. "I've got it!"

"No!" shouted Lione obviously sensing what was coming.

"Robin Little!"

Lione put her head in her hands. "No..."

"It must be him the little sneak. I'm on to his game. He pretends to be friendly with us just so he could watch us."

"You're the lunatic!" Lione cried. "And the obsessed one."

"It must be him."

"Trust me, it mustn't. Besides, Robin and I have barely spoken since the Yule ball."

"That's not true," I put in. "I saw you two talking yesterday."

Lee shot me a dirty look. "Thanks a bundle. Okay so that would have been true had I said it the day before yesterday."

"Spy," Gregory muttered.

"Shut up."

"Joseph's asleep."

"What?" Lione and Gregory turned and stared.

"More importantly," said Lione carefully. "How?"

"He can sleep through anything."

At which point Madam Pomfrey came out of her office and threw us all out so Joseph could get some sleep. We tried arguing that he was doing pretty well with us in there but she was determined to give her number one patient top care.

---

Lione was wandering around the garden by the Great Hall, looking up at the sky. It was the Yule ball - there was music and talk coming from the building. She didn't seem to notice Colubra come out of the hall and stop at the top of the stairs. He walked down the stairs towards her.

"Beautiful tonight," Lione commented, gazing at the stars.

"Yes," said Colubra, without looking up. "Beautiful."

She turned slightly and saw him watching her. "Cliché," she said, rolling her eyes but smiling. She looked up again. "No moon so the stars are all out."

Colubra finally glanced upwards. "The stars are all always out. Sometimes we're just too blind to see them."

Lione turned, looking puzzled.

"Where's Little?" he asked, coldly.

"Robin? He's getting us drinks. I just needed a breath of fresh air."

"If I were him I wouldn't let you out of my sight. Someone could come and snatch you away."

Lione opened her mouth to snap a reply but she seemed at a loss for words.

Colubra walked past her to look across the grounds. They were now out of sight of the hall, behind a bush. "The thing about stars," he said. "Is that most people take them for granted. Assume they are what they are." He turned. "But you wouldn't do that, would you, Lione. Assume what things are?"

"Hmm?"

"My sister?"

"Oh! Oh I wouldn't, I mean I didn't. She's... I just... didn't."

"You wouldn't." They were very close now. "You're not that sort of person."

"You are," she said, quietly.

There were long pauses now between everything they said where they'd just stare at each other.

"I'm here," he said, in almost a whisper.

"I know."

They leaned in.

"Li!" That was Robin's voice.

They stopped, a few centimetres away from each other. Lione bit her lip and stepped out from behind the bush. I heard her talking to Robin but only saw Colubra, looking angry. After a while he stepped out. Lione was gone but Robin was still standing halfway down the stairs watching expectantly.

"I'd watch that one if I were you, Little," Colubra warned.

"What business is that of yours, Malfoy?" Robin retorted.

Colubra gained a smile with no humour in it. "Now now, you don't want her hearing you speak like that. Remember who her friends are."

And the lights went out.

I saw Lione's face but not like before. Her hair was loose in the 'I can't be bothered to do anything with it today' look she often wore, she didn't have any makeup on and she was only wearing one stud earring. This present Lione nudged me.

"Up you get sleepy head."

I sat up in bed. "Where's you other earring?" I asked.

"I'm gonna clean it before I put it in," she explained. "I had to wrestle it away from Scrat again. What is his obsession with this earring? I suppose it's better than being woken at two in the morning though like Cat used to do." I hadn't moved. "Well come on, get up or you'll miss the train back."

She got off my bed and went back over to her own, throwing a few more things into her cases before slamming the lid.

"You nearly kissed my brother," I finally came out with.

Lione spun around, a look of horror on her face. "You what?"

"You," I repeated, "nearly kissed my brother. You were this close." I showed her with my fingers how close they were. "Then Robin interrupted you."

Lione rushed forward, looking upset. "You saw that."

I nodded. "Just now. In my head."

She leaned away from me. "What? You mean you had a dream."

"Sort of," I tried to explain. "Except it was of something that actually happened. It did actually happen, didn't it?" I tried to force a 'please don't let me think I'm crazy just to save face' look into my expression. It apparently worked.

"Yes," she affirmed reluctantly.

"It's been happening all year," I went on. "Some dreams, some daydreams, some images or scenes coming at me unexpected. I think I had one in the tunnel the other night. Gregory fell and then he fell again and by the time I was back in proper time the whole thing was over."

"Back in proper time?" Lee checked

"I don't think I'm time travelling or anything," I corrected. "I'm just seeing stuff. Like I saw Harry Potter and Gregory's dad and our uncle - trust me I won't be telling Asher about that any time soon. And I saw my dad and my uncle Ron arguing over my brother and I- Oh merlin. I think I saw my parents' final moments."

Lione put her hands on mine. "Oh Lucy."

"And I saw you and Gregory fighting about vampires."

"Did we talk about family as well? And having bullets under our belts?"

"Yes."

"That one happened as well."

"See! I don't know what's going on!"

"Have you seen into the future?"

"No! Just the past. Albeit occasionally the three seconds ago past. Kettle, I'm confused."

"Do they... hurt or anything?"

"No. At first they scared me but now I think I got used to them."

"Mmm," Lione looked thoughtful.

"So," I continued. "Are you in love with my brother?"

Lione turned, looking stunned. "Am I what?!"

"Are you in love with my brother?"

She saw that I was serious. "No," she answered. "Lucy, I like your brother. He's cute, might even say dashing." She smiled to herself. "And very charming." She looked back at me seriously as if she had never had that secret smile. "But in love? No. I mean I'm only fourteen; I don't think I've ever been in love."

I smiled and looked off into the middle distance. "It would be cool if you were my sister-in-law."

"Oh no," she said warningly. "Lucy, don't start planning what our children would look like."

"Too late. I wonder what colour hair they'd have..."

---

Then it was time for goodbyes.

"You should com and visit Jersey this summer," Phillip said. "I could give you a tour. Take you to the zoo, visit the forts. Just stay away from the shell gardens, biggest tourist trap on the island."

"Actually I'm going with my aunt, uncle and cousin to America," I told him.

"Not New Jersey," he checked.

I laughed. "No."

He smiled. "Good."

"So what are you going to get with your reward money?"

"Squirrel feed," he replied quite seriously.

I laughed again and he leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.

"You can send owls from America?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied, a little fazed.

"Then send me a post card. I want to know everything."

"Every little thing."

"Good."

Gregory's mum had cordoned him off into a corner out of everyone's sight and was making such a fuss of him I got the feeling she was relieving all the parenting she had resisted throughout the year.

"You're going to be nice for grandma and granddad," she was saying.

"I'm always nice!"

"And you've got to get ready for when dad and I come and pick you and Lucy up for the portkey to America."

"Mu-um!"

"You better not be this miserable when we're on the train."

"Mum you're not..." Gregory sounded horrified. "You're not sitting with us are you?"

"Of course! There's no point on me apparating back down to Kings Cross just to pick you up from there is there? Come on, it'll be fun. We can play snap and I can regale your friends with stories of how you ran naked across the lawn when you were two- of course I'm not you silly Billy, don't look so scared, you look like I've just threatened to put one of your dad's stink bombs in your sandwiches. I'll be keeping Joseph's parents out of his way. I'm sure we'll have lots of things to talk about."

"Oh mum! Don't talk about us!"

"I won't want to - I'm sure they'll accuse my son of being a bad influence on theirs."

"The potential was there all the time, Mum, we just let it out."

"Oh yeah, and some were born with it."

She ruffled his hair and Gregory whined and tried to set it as it was again.

A little party of Bowers and Laura Potter watched as the Durmstrung pupils, plus Jack's dad who was catching a lift, headed off. Joseph was holding Caitlyn who was waving her cousin off, and he didn't look too unhappy to say goodbye.

Soon it was time for us to head off in the carriages and board the Hogwarts Express back to Kings Cross. It was a fun journey back with Caitlyn in our compartment but otherwise uneventful. We got off the train and said goodbye to Joseph, Melanie and Caitlyn as they headed off into the Muggle station to catch another train home. Lione gave me a hug goodbye as Gregory's mum came over to take us back to our grandparents' house. Just as we were heading off someone grabbed my arm and turned me around.

"Lucy." It was Colubra.

"Hi," I said.

"How are you?" he asked.

"I'm fine," I reassured him. "Absolutely."

"Are you sure?" he checked.

I laughed and nodded.

"Look, Lucy," he said. "I start my job today and I don't know when I'm next going to see you so I just wanted to say that you should keep in touch this time. Write all the time. About everything! Especially..." He gave Gregory a dirty look.

"Of course," I said. "Every detail. And you'll write to me?"

He laughed. "I could hardly ask you to keep in touch without replying now could I?"

For a moment I thought he was going to hug me but then I remembered that my brother never did that. So I hugged him tight instead. He looked thoroughly embarrassed by his little sister but I was happy.

Lione was still waiting for her parents so I waved her and Colubra goodbye and headed off with my aunt and cousin. For a moment when I glanced back I thought I saw Colubra give Lione a sly smile and Lione blushed. But I'm almost certain I imagined it.

---

And that's not quite the end. I'd say the end happened a couple of weeks later, the day we went to America. It was quite early in the morning and I was finishing off a letter to my brother and Gregory still hadn't packed everything so was running around panicking. Our grandma stuck her head round the door and tsked at the sight of Gregory.

"Jasper's back," she told me. "Have you finished your letter?"

"Almost," I replied and quickly signed off before folding the letter and handing it to her. She handed me a package.

"This arrived for you just now."

It was a little box. I opened it and inside was a little squirrel charm with ruby eyes on a light gold chain and a note. It said 'I had some galleons left after the squirrel feed so I got this so you'll remember me.'

Gregory looked over my shoulder as I held it up and gazed at it adoringly.

"So," he said. "Would you get married on the beach or...?"

I put the necklace very carefully back in the box, laid it gently on the side then turned around and attacked my cousin.

THE END