Chapter 9
LUCIUS MALFOY
None of them had expected the things to escalate to such a level when they had planned their revenge on that wretched mud-blood. But things had spiralled out of control quickly, and even Lucius had been taken aback when Lestrange had gone so far as to use the Cruciatus curse on the boy within the school Halls.
The smile of triumph on his face as that mudblood had writhed in pain on the floor had been rather satisfying even for him, and they would have gotten away with it if not for those bastards.
But in the end, their little ploy had been discovered, and that wretched Transfiguration professor had caught them red-handed, giving them little room to talk their way out of it.
He had quickly reached for his father, much like Lestrange, for they all knew the seriousness of the situation, and though displeased at their actions, his father had acted fast to take the matter away from that old fool of a Headmaster and into the hands of the Governors.
But even then, the scandal was simply too big to sweep under the rug, and while their families held a majority amongst the governors, they would need to do something.
And they did.
Rudolphus stood there in his room, packing his stuff as he prepared to leave the school without finishing his seventh year, leaving Rebastan alone. In the end, he had chosen to shoulder all the blame for the attack and was being punished gravely for it.
They had snapped his wand, even though that mattered little to him, for he could always get a new one from the Black market, as for his expulsion, the Lestrange boy did not seem much bothered by it as well.
"You shouldn't have used that curse on him," and there were other ways to make that mudblood pay, but using the Cruciatus while in the school had been a mistake, and he was not the only one who thought as such.
"It's fine. It felt good to see that bastard screaming and writhing on the floor," Rudolphus taunted as he closed off his trunk, and turned towards him and Rudolphus.
"He will remember this the next time he thinks himself an equal to us pure bloods," and the satisfaction had indeed been soothing, but it was not the school or the retribution that concerned him.
"The Dark Lord is not happy with us as well," and the smile on Lestrange's face finally shifted as Rebastan rose in his defence/
"What? Why?"
"I received a message from him yesterday. He is angry with us and has asked us to meet with him next weekend," and it was their greatest fear that the dark Lord would disagree with them, and then remove them from his inner circle, robbing them of their influence and power.
"You should explain to him then," Lestrange spoke quickly.
"Tell him that we were only doing his work and teaching that mud-blood a lesson," and he would, but the Dark Lord had told them not to attract the headmaster's attention, but he doubted that Albus Dumbledore would ignore their activities any longer.
"I will, but in the end, none can change his mind." Well, that was a lie, for a few people did hold some sway on the Dark Lord, yet he hoped that they would not need them, for he did not wish to talk to Narcissa's eldest sister.
"What will you do now?" Rebastan asked his brother.
"What about your grades, your NEWTS?" he asked, and Rudolphus scoffed as he slapped his brother's arm.
"NEWTS, grades," he laughed, "we are part of the revolution, Rebastan. In the new world, things like grades and NEWTS will not matter for people like you and me," and of course, that would not be the case.
"Now, without the walls and wards of these schools to bind me, I will spend every waking hour in the service of the Dark Lord. I will serve him as no one else has, and rid our land of these accursed mud-blood and half-bloods," and with that, he finished his packing.
"You shouldn't have been punished like this," the younger Lestrange boy added.
"You just taught that bastard a well-deserved lesson," and Rudolphus laughed.
"One that I hope he will remember," he laughed.
"Though I wouldn't mind repeating it for him and that bitch sister of his," and if it was not for her and her friend group, they would have gotten away with it. The only trouble was that they had been caught red-handed attacking him, and that left them no room to lie or bribe their way out of this punishment.
"Yeah, if it was not for her and McGonagall, we would have been fine," and he had spent the last entire night thinking about that very thing.
"It does not make sense," he whispered as they both turned towards him.
"What?"
"McGonagall's presence," he clarified.
"It was long past the time for the Professor's rounds to end. Even the Headboy should have been at his dorm, yet somehow McGonagall, that bastard's sister, and all those Gryffindor all came to that room," it could not be a coincidence.
"What do you mean?" and the Lestranges were dumber than one would think.
"I put wards on that room, making it so that no one would be able to hear anything, yet still all of them came to that room as if knowing of their plans," and finally, Rudolphus understood his meaning.
"But we did not tell anyone our plans?"
"Yet somehow, they knew of our plan to attack him and called for McGonagall and the Headboy to come to that bastard's rescue," and given their tight-knit circle, it had to be someone from their House.
"You are saying there is a traitor in our House," and he nodded at Rebastan's words.
"Who?"
"I don't know," he shook his head.
"But I intend to find out," and it was Rebastan who spoke up.
"And when you do, I am going to make that bastard suffer for betraying us. I will make an example out of him," and he had similar intentions.
"Of course..."
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NARCISSA BLACK
The whole class had been quite a spectacle, and after some initial hesitation, Narcissa had found her mask slipping, her fears fading, and her heart buzzing as she found herself entrenched within the club, as Alder Evans himself led her through the drills and spells.
"All right, everyone, it's time to wrap it up," Lily Evans' voice tore through the room, and was met with some cheers and a lot of groans, as Narcissa herself found her smile stiffening as Alder smiled.
"Up for one last try," he asked, and she nodded as she aimed her wand at him once more. She focused her mind on the wand in his hand and tried to channel her magic with only her sheer conscience.
She had never thought herself capable of chantless, point magic, but after seeing others her age throwing around spells without any chant or wand movement, it had become apparent to her that there was more to magic than she had initially thought.
Her pride as a Black did not allow her to fall behind, so she had dedicated the entire two hours to mastering one spell to such an extent that she could use it without any chant or wand movement.
And finally, it happened, and she felt the world shift as magic rushed out of her wand.
SHOOP!
And in a beautiful arc, Alder's wand slipped out of his hand and flew into the air as elation and joy filled her heart.
"Yes! YES!" she jumped up in joy as she made to catch that wand, but just as she was about to reach for it, she saw it move as it suddenly flew in the air and rushed back into the blonde boy's hand.
SHWIP!
He caught it in his hand as she found surprise, suppressing her joy as she realised that she had just witnessed what was considered by many to be impossible, or a prerogative of only the most talented wizards and witches in history.
"Wandless magic," she gasped, as suddenly the hall around her broke into applause.
"That was quite something," the blonde praised him as others around them cheered her on.
"How did you do that?" she found herself asking, as the blonde boy chuckled.
"We will leave that for our next session," he said as he led her to the door.
"That should give you some incentive to join us," and that was quite something, and she had not given much thought to coming here again.
"Here you are, Pandora," she turned around and saw a brunette standing there, looking at her.
"Who?" she asked, and the girl raised a brow.
"Have you forgotten me already?" she asked, teasingly, and suddenly it clicked that this was her sister.
"Man, you truly are a magician, Alder. You made her forget her dearest friend in but a few hours," Andromeda teased the blonde who still had a rather knowing glint in his eyes.
"Wizard. Not a magician," he clarified, as her sister grabbed her by the arm.
"We have to go now. We will see you again," and she dragged her away, as the Head boy called in from behind.
"Goodbye, Andr..." and suddenly he stopped as her head snapped back, and saw Alder slap the head boy on the back of his head.
"GUGH! I mean goodbye and hope to see you again, Carina," and with that, her sister pulled her out of the Halls, as the two of them rushed to the abandoned washrooms on the second floor just as before, as she felt her skin turn and her height lessen while her hair turned blonde once more.
After a few seconds, as she gazed in the mirror again, she found herself staring at her own face once more, and the brunette was once again replaced by Andromeda.
"How long?" she asked, as she resized her clothes to their original size.
"A few years," she answered, as both of them stood against the joints and began to talk.
"Why?" she asked, and Andromeda raised a brow.
"You are still asking me that after you couldn't help but stay attached to that blonde for two hours," and she rolled her eyes.
"He is a good teacher," she replied hesitantly, and he was.
She had never seen this side of Alder Evans, for the boy was brought up as an up-jumped, petulant, proud, and evil mastermind in their House. He was more of a taboo, and few had the courage to take his name.
She had known that it was just their perception, but seeing him protect her that night, and now having spent two hours with him, she could say with certainty that the boy was none of those things.
He was kind, jovial, and had a great sense of humor. He had the patience of a saint, and more than that, he was far more powerful than they had been led to believe.
Chantless magic. Point magic. Even wandless magic.
These things went far beyond Hogwarts' curriculum, and he had mastered it all, which put him far beyond any student at school. It also made sense why, despite outnumbering him six to one, Lucius and the rest had all sustained heavy injuries, and four of them had to be taken to St. Mungo's.
He may have lost in the end, but still, Lucius and the rest had sustained heavy injuries even though they would not admit it.
"The Headboy," she asked, and saw her sister stiffen.
"He seemed to know you," and she had not forgotten how he had almost taken her name, and how Alder's eyes had continuously had that knowing glint in them as if he could see through her guise.
Many times, it felt as if he knew exactly who he was.
"He knows Carina," Andy lied, and it was a lie, yet she did not call her out on it, for some reason, she did not want to.
"And not Andromeda?" she asked, but her sister did not say anything.
"We need to go," Andy said as she made to leave.
"If someone asks, then you should tell them that you were with me and we were taking a stroll in the gardens," and that was good, but suddenly she asked one last thing.
"That day," she whispered.
"When Lucius and the rest attacked Alder," and with how Tonks and McGonagall had shown up, it was obvious that someone had leaked the information.
Initially, she had thought it to be the work of that half blood junior of hers, but now she knew more.
"That was you, wasn't it?" she asked, and Andy did not answer.
"Come, it's almost time for dinner..."
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