Antonio remained silent for a couple of moments in response to Lily's question, contemplating how to frame his answer.
"There are two possible reasons that I believe could have led to you being specifically targeted," he said at last.
"Firstly," he continued, "someone may have targeted you because of the praise I heaped upon you at the Black family gathering."
"After my trial, I, not very surprisingly, became one of the more prominent faces standing in opposition to the Dark Lord. You may have been targeted out of hatred for me. Since I praised you, you could have become their target of hatred and revenge."
Lily was about to argue that it did not make sense. That she would not be attacked just because he had praised her but the words caught in her throat as realisation struck her. She had been targeted because of Antonio's praise. And Antonio repeated exactly what she had been thinking.
"Remember, it had led to you being targeted and ambushed before at Hogwarts," Antonio said quietly. "It could just be an amplification of those attacks."
Lily nodded, still in a daze. To kill someone because someone they hated had praised her? She could not fathom it. But it seemed entirely possible.
"And the second reason?" she asked.
"The second reason," Antonio sighed, "is also related to this. You complained against a few people on my suggestion. This time, unexpectedly, Hogwarts took action and they actually were punished. Suspended from Hogwarts."
"It could be anyone trying to take revenge on you," Antonio said.
Lily felt a chill spread down her spine, not out of fear, but from the realization that someone might have actually tried to kill her just because she had sought justice for herself.
Was that really humane? It was hard for her to believe that such things could happen, yet the evidence was right before her.
"How sure are you about this?" she questioned.
"Quite sure," Antonio replied. "I just need some evidence and I will soon be trying to gather it."
"I have a plan in my mind," he added. "Let us see where it takes me."
Lily nodded and did not say anything more about it. Though curious about Antonio's plan, she understood that it was not her place to meddle in it, even if it was related to her. If Antonio found anything, she was sure she would learn of it.
"Miss Evans," Antonio sighed softly. "I am sorry. Just because of a random comment I made, you had to go through all this."
Lily shook her head. "While technically it all started because of that random comment you made, I cannot really blame you. It was not you who did anything wrong. It was those Death Eaters who did. Not you."
Antonio nodded with a faint smile.
"How low are the death eaters willing to fall?" Lily remarked. "Keeping the attack on me on the side, do they realise that they attacked a place full of children? Do they not think about how much of a cowardly act they committed?"
"And they call themselves greater and powerful wizards," she almost scoffed in disdain.
Antonio shook his head.
"This is Wizarding world," he commented. "No one would take this as a cowardly attack. I am sure somewhere those death eaters would be having a celebration of their grand success."
"It had been like this from the start," he continued. "This had been their modus operandi."
"They would suddenly appear at some place out of nowhere and kill a few people and then flee from the place. Using this method of attacking the weak or attacking from behind they were able to build all their reputation."
"And this act will also add to their reputation," he added.
Lily had nothing to add to this. She remained silent. She could not think like this. It was a cowardly and disgusting act according to her.
Thereafter, they made some small talk. Antonio, keeping her recovery in mind, steered away from the topic of the attack and the death eaters. Lily, the ever enthusiastic student she was, even used this time to ask about a couple of spells she had been trying to master, and Antonio was all too happy to help her with them.
Meanwhile, Pandora continued to remain seated on the other side of the bed, occasionally offering her remarks.
"Bye, Miss Evans. Miss Quiver," Antonio said as he stood up from his stool. He had been there for around forty five minutes. "Hopefully, we will meet again soon."
"Bye, Lord Olario," both the ladies greeted him in unison, and Antonio departed after another polite nod.
.
.
.
Antonio, after leaving the infirmary, walked through the familiar stone corridors of Hogwarts. He hardly encountered any students on his way to Professor Minerva McGonagall's office. The quiet atmosphere reminded him how different Hogwarts felt when it was not filled with hundreds of students. Peaceful. Almost hauntingly so.
He soon arrived before the office of Professor McGonagall. The door was slightly ajar, and through the crack he could see Minerva seated behind her desk. Her desk was filled with quite a number of books and parchments and she was leaning towards her desk with a quill in her hand, scratching steadily across parchment.
He knocked lightly on the gate drawing Minerva's attention as she raised her hand.
"Come in, Lord Olario," she said, setting aside her quill. "Have a seat."
Her tone was, as always, firm but polite. Antonio entered with a smile on his face and took the offered seat across from her desk.
Neither of them speak for a few moments and an awkward silence developed between the two. Or it was Antonio who was getting awkward while Minerva seemed to be enjoying the situation, though it was hard to tell from her stern expression.
"You wanted to speak with me, Professor?" he asked, breaking the silence.
"Yes," Minerva replied, "There are few things I wanted to discuss with you."
"What things, Professor?" Antonio questioned.
"I believe you are not in a hurry," Minerva remarked, ignoring the question.
"Not really," Antonio replied with a confused expression.
"Great," Minerva said, getting up from her chair. "Follow me."
Antonio looked at her with a questioning glance but Minerva was already on her way. He shrugged inwardly and followed after her.
The duo continued walking in silence and in a couple of minutes, they had arrived outside the Hogwarts wards.
Antonio was about to question what they were doing when Minerva pulled out a handkerchief from the pocket of her overcoat.
"A portkey," she said, extending her hands.
The confusion on Antonio's face only grew.
"Relax, Lord Olario," she said with almost an amused expression. "I did not think that with all your power, you would act so cowardly."
Antonio wanted to retort that he was just being cautious and not cowardly. And he did not even know where they were going. But he did not say anything.
He raised his hand and touched the other end of the handkerchief.
"Forest," Minerva muttered and the duo vanished from their spot with a twist of space.
#
#
#
[Add the book to your collection. Send it some power stones. Leave a rating and a review.]
[Access advanced chapter on P@treon. Replace @ with a. One additional advanced chapter each week on P@treon. ]
[email protected]/imaginarywriter