Chapter Thirteen: Radio Killed The Wicked Star-Wait! That's Not Right!
By Natali K. A.
"Lily?"
"Who the bloody hell are you?" she asked, whirling around. The woman sat serenely on the edge of her bed, brushing her wonderful long, black hair as she studied Lily. "Get out of my room. I've forbidden servants from being here. Tell Victor that."
But the woman only smiled sadly and shook her head. "I'm not a servant. Or at least, not that kind. And I definitely won't defile myself by speaking to that vermin."
Lily didn't disagree on the vermin part.
She'd been at Victor's place for just over twenty-four hours now. She had until tonight to figure out some way to escape or kill herself before he would come to "sow his seed in his garden" or whatever he'd said. She shuddered just at the very thought of having to lie naked beneath him.
"Whoever you are, get out."
Again, the strange woman shook her head. "It would be to your own peril if I did."
"Would you at least tell me who you are then, since you've taken the liberty of sitting in the room I happen to be in?"
The dark-haired woman raised an eyebrow. "Amusing how you purposely avoided saying it was your room."
"It's not my room," Lily said vehemently. "It will never be my room. Ever. No matter what happens or how long I'm in this hell hole."
The woman nodded, rising and gliding-yes, gliding, which was odd in itself-to Lily. She stretched out a hand and said, "Aphrodite, guardian nymph at your service."
"The goddess?" Lily asked stupidly.
Aphrodite rolled her eyes and sniffed. "Long story, for another day. I'll make sure to tell it to you. But for now you'll just have to accept that I'm a powerful being and know a bit more than you do. I'm here to help."
"Tad late for a guardian angel," Lily muttered.
"Nymph. Guardian nymph. Angels are actually quite hideous creatures, as imposing as they might be. Any more than two wings is just plain freaky. No, but you've got the right idea. I was assigned by someone from above to protect Mr. James Potter. That name ring a bell?"
Cold shot through Lily. "Yes, it does actually. Shouldn't you be with him? You'll probably have better luck saving him than you will me."
"Which would be a spectacular and all around perfect idea if not for the fact that apparently you are the only thing that he really wants or needs to be happy." Aphrodite shrugged carelessly. "It happens."
"So then why are you here? Can you get me out?" she asked hopefully.
Aphrodite looked very sympathetic and close to tears for a moment. "No, sweetheart, I can't. I'm not allowed to physically interfere with something so important as this," she explained. "It's against the Code of Nymphs."
"Then what's the point of you lot?!"
"Relax," Aphrodite said soothingly. "I'm here to consult you."
"Oh, you think I'm a nutter and need a shrink. That it?"
"No. I'm here to talk about love and whom you love and why."
Lily wanted to kick her. As if that thought didn't keep running through her mind. No, now she needed someone to point it out to her.
"Forgive me if I'm rude, but I'd rather eat poisonous snakes. Haven't got any on you by any chance, have you?"
Aphrodite sighed sorrowfully. "You're purposely making this difficult."
"So sorry. See, a bit preoccupied with the fact that my life is being taken over against my will because my idiot of a father was so selfish that he traded in a daughter for magic-magic he didn't even get!" Her breathing had increased in speed and her chest was rising and falling rapidly. She was so angry.
"Do you love James?"
Lily narrowed her eyes. "A bit obvious, that, don't you think?"
"Not at all. Only you know what you're thinking or feeling, dear."
"But I'm here, aren't I? Would you like me to spell it out for you?"
Aphrodite humphed. Lily sure did have some spark to her, no matter that she would have gladly killed herself at that very moment had she been able to. "What was your original plan to get out of here, just in case whatever love you feel for James-don't interrupt, we'll discuss that later-had a sort of glitch?"
Lily's shoulders slumped, the energy going out of her. "I'm a Careo-Virga. I'd simply think it and his tie would choke him or something like that. We hadn't exactly planned it out because we were so unsure and left in the dark. We didn't know much at all, except that Victor's a squib. Hasn't stopped him, though."
"Noticed. But it's very difficult to take the powers from a Careo-Virga."
"He did it apparently."
"Did he? You don't understand. It's nearly impossible. It's a gift that you're given, that no one has the right to take away. Like your mind."
Lily wanted to throttle her. There were a lot of questions racing through her head, but she decided her time would be better spent figuring out a way back to James than asking silly questions as to what exactly Aphrodite was.
"Again, he's apparently done it. I can't even turn on a candle much less kill someone here. Or kill myself."
Aphrodite nodded. "Lily, it's nearly impossible to rob a Careo-Virga of their powers."
"Well, he's done it," Lily said tersely. "You should go ask him how he did it."
Aphrodite chuckled, sitting down on the bedspread and lying back. "Are you relaxed, my dear?"
"Not at all actually. I'm glad, however, that you are."
"Have you any confidence?"
"No."
"Do you have a plan?"
Lily smiled for a moment. "I plan to chop off his privates at the first chance I get. Otherwise, no-I'm doomed to rot here until I die, alone and forgotten."
"Never forgotten. A person is never forgotten."
"Then I'll be the first."
Aphrodite sat up on her elbows and studied Lily thoroughly. "I must go, there's someone coming. But a word of advice: Before you decide to end your life, try finding a way to prolong it."
Lily could have thrown something at her then. "Would you be a little more specific?"
Aphrodite's lips drew up in a small, secretive smile. "Have faith." Without another word, she was gone and Lily wondered if she'd had a hallucination.
Except that there was something left on the bed that she was very sure had not been there before. Lily went over and picked up the large white box and peeked inside, wary of its contents. But she had no reason to fear being blown up or anything so dramatic.
After all, it was only the radio she'd helped James fix on her very first week at that white house, in his beaten up old car.
And she suddenly felt such an onslaught of affection for him-how totally naïve he was about all things muggle and how he'd only had to turn on the damn thing.
She grinned as she remembered the mini nervous breakdown he'd experienced when they'd gone bowling in the middle of possibly hundreds of muggles.
Knock, knock.
"I have that book you requested, Lily," Marshall said from the other side.
Lily walked with clear intent to the door and threw it open. "Forget it," she said, shoving the book on poisons away from her. "I want you to rouse Victor out of his bed and have him meet me in the Dining Hall. I have a few things I would like to talk to him about."
Marshall nodded, tucking the book under his arm and heading off to the right, ready to comply.
Smirking, Lily shut the door and very carefully, very gently, watched the corner of the duvet on the bed twitch, just so.
"Well, I'll be damned," she muttered, laughing.
*~*
A/N: Who wants to kill me? *Watches grimly as every single reader raises their hand*
Great! But I knew that! So… Um… Sorry? Went to Disney and Universal Studios last week, and this week… I just don't want to get into the whole thing at the moment but feel that I should at least post something or I risk being shot to death in my sleep by some nutty reader (no offense to some nutty reader out there).
So… Remember I love you all!! I suspect there'll be two or three chapters more, but I always say that, so don't take my word for it.
Mucho amor a los Cubanos!
NKA
-->