A/N: Here again is a chapter produced quickly. I should warn that I'm not entirely sure how this chapter sounds, again I am facing a problem where I'm concerned about the message conveyed, if I did it, if I hid enough, revealed enough but not too much.... Anyway, enjoy. Maybe the faster I post this story I can get started on my own original fic.
Disclaimer: Not mine, and I hope this does not come back to bite me in the... well, later.
*****
Chapter Eight
I awoke to the touch of a hand in my hair, knuckles gently tracing a line from my forehead to my ear, and opened my eyes to find them staring back at me. At first I was confused, my still half-asleep mind unable to comprehend what I was seeing. Then I blinked and caught a glint of light on a shiny metal frame. I at once sat up into his arms, my father had come.
"Daddy!" I cried happily with a sleep-coarsened voice, hugging him tightly, almost beginning to cry again.
Someone sat down on the bed behind me, wrapping their arms around me and Dad and breathed my name in the midst of tears, "Lillie!" It was my mother.
My parents had come, through a blizzard bearing down relentlessly on the castle even now, at last they had come. I wanted to pinch myself to see if I was dreaming, not at all embarrassed by the fact that they were there and that I'd wanted them from the first day. I held tightly to my father, then grasped my mother's fingers and then finally gently pushed them away to have a good look at them. They were the same Harry and Hermione Potter who had left me on the Hogwarts Express at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters just some four months earlier.
My mother had become slightly plump after three children, but she was only thirty-four and looked it. She often wore her long, brown bushy hair in a neat chignon, no glasses yet on her bright brown eyes-though they were wrinkling slightly at the corners-and a smile whenever she saw one of us, unless of course we did something bad. Then she could be the disciplinarian of the house, as was noted in a Daily Prophet article recently, and at work her no-nonsense dark blue robes spoke volumes. At the moment though, she was the softest pillow in the world and I scooted down on the bed again just to drop my head on her lap and wrap my arms around her waist.
My father was often called, by the press, and Witch Weekly in particular, handsome, selfless and honourable, repeatedly winning their "Sexiest Wizard Alive" poll, much to my mother's amusement. But then they also lamented the fact that the Man-Who-Triumphed had married at twenty-three after having two children (me and Milo) with my Mum who, as far as they knew, he'd only started dating shortly after the war ended. Uncle Ron disputed this, and was often angered at claims that she'd "trapped" my father by getting pregnant, for "any good witch worth her potions would know one for birth-control". Considering that she'd been dating Uncle Ron before the war ended this surprised me, but what surprised me more were the things they said about my mother. Though Milo and I were considered clearly Harry Potter's children, for our eyes, Mackenzie was most whispered about and in particular for her dark red hair. With more good nature than I thought anyone could possess though, Dad ignored them, presenting himself as the most fun person in the world. (Almost too much fun, to the extent that Mackenzie often walked all over him.) His lightening bolt scar, messy black hair and round-rimmed glasses which made him instantly recognisable almost anywhere, and now along with his regulation black Auror robes, to us were just parts of Dad. And I was never happier to see those trademark features than today, after all that had happened since the winter break began. I stared up at him from the bed and asked, "When did you two get here?"
"Around the same time that your Aunt Tonks, Aunt Ginny, Uncle Ron, Uncle Neville and Headmistress did," he replied with a grin.
I sat up so sharply I nearly bumped my head into Mum's jaw. But sure enough they were all there. Uncle Ron and Aunt Ginny were at the foot of my bed, with her tightly squeezing her reluctant son in a bear hug while he did all he could to half-heartedly throw her off. Uncle Neville was engaged in a deep conversation with Camilla on the chair both speaking in low voices but looking up now that Dad had spoken. (And never before did they appear as truly sharp contrasts to each other.) Professor McGonagall was herself engaged in conversation, though unbroken, with Madam Pomfrey, most certainly on the events of the night before. And on a bed not too far away, Aunt Tonks, with navy blue hair streaked electric, sat with Connor discussing a book in his hands. She was supporting him with an arm around his back, looking slightly weary-though she was smiling-and a bit heavier than I remembered, but all I cared for was that Connor was sitting up awake, and alive.
I couldn't help myself, I gushed hoarsely, "Connor, you're okay, you're awake!"
Both looked across to me and in my peripheral vision I noticed that my father's eyes had narrowed into something that was vaguely reminiscent of displeasure. Oblivious to this, and slightly pink in the face, Connor replied, "I'm not okay, but I am awake. It's good to see that you are though."
I couldn't help myself, I blushed crimson, and then annoyingly, Mum and Aunt Ginny went, "Aww!" Aunt
Ginny even released Rigel to clasp her hands under her chin and say, "Oh that is so cute. I hope
you're on your toes there, Harry, she's thirteen now, that's trouble."
I looked at my father, horrified, but it was to discover that he was laughing too, though it was noticeably awkward.
Then he said through a clenched teeth smile, "You know Connor... I killed Voldemort with my bare hands."
My mother immediately smacked his arm, "No you didn't!"
Rubbing his arm, he rephrased, "With my wand."
Foolishly, I decided to interject, "It's not what you think, we're just friends. If you're looking for something you should look at him and Camilla."
I turned to look at the two of them with a bright grin, feeling rather chuffed that I'd "exposed" them, so then was thoroughly embarrassed when Camilla said, "We're not dating."
A little too eagerly, Rigel said, "Really?"
I went even redder than before, and looked over to see Connor shaking his head as well, "We're not... like that. We're just friends, like you and Rigel." But then he added, with more than a little mischief, "Unless of course you two have a different kind of friendship?"
Dad immediately swung round to glare at Rigel while the others burst out laughing. Unnecessarily, I struggled to reply, "No, no we don't, just friends, really!"
After last night it was a wonderful bit of mirth. Remembering the Dementors still sent prickling shivers up my spine, and the thought that my father had faced this repeatedly all through his Third Year did not help. I didn't even want to think about what Connor must have been experienced. It was too bad then, that it was to be abruptly ended when the OGB suddenly marched into the Infirmary and said, "You wanted to see me, Professor McGonagall?"
At once Dad, Uncle Ron and Uncle Neville stood up stiffly and turned to face him in a united front that would have once undoubtedly struck terror in the heart of even the steeliest Death Eater. To the OGB though, it was mildly amusing, for he smiled, the faintest upturn of the corners of his mouth, and said, "I see that the Wizengamot has already assembled itself."
From the bed behind them Aunt Tonks spoke, and her voice wiped not only the smile from his face but finally extinguished all evidence of the light-hearted morning we'd so far been having. "I should have the Wizengamot on you after last night! I never really liked you, I didn't even really know you, but I knew that you and my husband have a history. How could you hate someone so much that you would try to get their child killed?"
Connor tried to stop her, shaking her arm, pleading, "Mum...." but she ignored him, continuing, "Don't you care? Don't you realise what could have happened to Connor and Magnolia and that boy? What would have happened to Remus when he woke up and I had to tell him that his only child was gone? After all he'd gone through.... No one deserves that, no one, not even you, and yet you almost let it happen!"
She had started crying halfway through her rant and now that she was finished completely broke down while Connor tried to comfort her, hugging her and rubbing her back. I looked away back to the OGB and was just in time to hear him say something that stunned us all. Very gently, most uncharacteristic of him, he said, "I would have never allowed anything to happen to Connor... y-your son. I was under the impression, as was everyone else, that there were Ministry Aurors out on the grounds and therefore they would not be harmed. I have since learned that they weren't, and given the weather, in retrospect, that this was probably not the best of ideas. Young Mr Lupin got hurt though, because at the time my primary focus was protecting Miss Potter here. I could have and should have attempted to assist them both, but at the time it was I against no less than twelve Dementors. You can understand the diff-"
My father cut him off angrily, "Excuses, that's all you're making! They shouldn't have been out there, they did nothing to you! Your grudge is against my father, Uncle Lupin and me, not our children!"
Unlike last night though, the OGB was not prepared to take this tongue lashing.
"Regardless of my mistake, which I do acknowledge and apologise for, there are rules in this school. Mr Lupin over there could have gotten himself killed when he left Wednesday, on a full moon, to meet his father. It is fortunate that the attacker was scared off or we would not be here this morning arguing!"
When the others said nothing, he said, "Mrs Lupin, Mrs Potter, I again apologise for my actions as regards your children. I gave them detention for misbehaviour and miscalculated the risk by sending them out into a storm, believing, wrongly, that we had Ministry support. It will not happen again."
"You're right about that," said Uncle Ron.
My father smiled, "That's what we're here to talk to you about." Then he turned to Professor McGonagall and said, "Isn't that right, Headmistress?"
She herself was smiling, which unnerved me greatly, and said, "Right. To my office, Professor."
The OGB waited until she was with him, and then when they were flanked by my father, and uncles, before they all moved off together out of the Infirmary. I waited until they'd vanished through the doors to turn to my mother and ask, "Are they going to send him to Azkaban?"
Aunt Tonks shook her head. "No. The Ministry's Aurors should have been on patrol, none of them were there last night."
"So he's just going to get away with this?" I asked.
Aunt Ginny took the opportunity to sit on my bed, and replied, "Not exactly. He is going to be punished, but considering the circumstances it's going to be a slap on the wrist."
"What's going to happen to him then?" asked Connor from his mother's side.
"A stern reprimand, in addition to some new duties, for the Ministry" replied his mother, and then a second later, added, "Ah!" Her hand went to her stomach and Mum, Aunt Ginny and Madam Pomfrey moved as one, turning sharply in her direction with anxious looks on their faces. Rigel and Camilla actually left their seats and Connor quickly sat up and away from her, noticeably using his hand to steady himself, and asked, "Are you okay?"
There was a tense moment where she said nothing, and then she replied, with a weak smile, "I'm fine, your little brother just doesn't want to wait to Christmas."
"Little brother? Aunt Tonks...?" I asked, confused.
She turned to me with a wide smile, "I forgot you were asleep." Then she moved, or rather accidentally knocked the book from her lap and smoothed her robe over her stomach. My jaw dropped. She was pregnant, very heavily pregnant, and from the looks of things quite likely to give birth before New Year's Day. I looked across to Aunt Ginny and then back at Mum and asked, "Is that why she was coming back early?"
My mother nodded, "Yes, your Aunt forgot to mention it before we went away."
I looked back at her and she had the grace to blush. I asked, "Does Uncle Lupin know?"
She blushed even more and shook her head, "That's why I forgot to mention it. I didn't-couldn't tell him and I would've been caught if I didn't go. See, me and Wolvie, we weren't even supposed to have Connor. He thought he was too poor, too old, and too dangerous, the Ministry agreed with him on the dangerous bit and er... we kind of...."
"... had him anyway?" I asked.
She nodded, fighting another blush, "But after that Wolvie put his foot down, said that we couldn't risk another and I agreed. It was really hard the first few months, with him wanting to be around all the time, and even when he was transformed. Eventually I had to send Connor to my parents every full moon before the Ministry got involved, for no matter what Wolvie'd done for them they wouldn't think twice about taking away his son."
I had to ask, "Couldn't you send him to the Burrow, or our house?"
She couldn't fight the embarrassment this time, "It was an idea, and we did send him once or twice to the Burrow, just ask Rigel. But we had to stop when Wolvie decided that he had to go see Connor anyway. The more children in the house the more dangerous it was to have him over, and since Wolvie insisted that he had no idea why he kept going to Connor, we decided it was safer to send him to my parents all the time. We didn't think we could try it with more than one child, and Connor took the place of five when he was younger."
"So what happened here?" asked Rigel, a strange, somewhat unreadable expression on his face.
"Well," she began, massaging her neck a moment, "I don't know. I know it isn't safe, but when I found out about the baby I decided we were going to have it. I mean, Connor always wanted to have a little brother and if we could keep Connor safe, we can find a way to keep this one safe too."
"But how come you haven't told Cousin Remus yet?" asked Rigel.
She sighed, "I know he's going to be mad, but I just couldn't tell him. He's always so worried about Connor, and about me, and the life I could've had with someone else, he'd think that we were just damning another life by aligning it with his. And I didn't need that at the time. I am worried about that, I do wonder about what happens to Connor when we're not around, but I like to think that we can actually have a normal family. I know it's selfish of me; Connor and me, we can take care of ourselves and for the first few years of his life this baby's going to be defenceless... but I just want his father to give him a chance."
No one said a word when she finished speaking, we didn't know what to say, and a few of us felt that this conversation had crossed the line on things we needed to know. Rigel, though, looked as if he had plenty to, Aunt Tonks being Connor's mother and an adult or not, but just couldn't bring himself to form the words. So I turned to my mother and asked, "Are you all here to stay as well then?"
"Unfortunately, no. We couldn't stay away after last night but we have to go back very soon. I know you don't want to hear that but we have no choice. There is a good reason, believe me, or else you'd have been home a long time ago," she replied, with a sad smile.
I looked back to Aunt Tonks, "Can I come home with you then? I can help with the baby."
Aunt Tonks looked at me surprised, and then smiled, "You could, if you like spending time in St Mungo's because from the looks of things I'll be in and out of there for weeks."
It was then that I asked, "How is Uncle Lupin, by the way?"
A little sparkle appeared in her eyes and she replied happily, "Oh he's fine. They should be sending him home Monday, and from what I've gathered in such a state that he'll be at my mercy for weeks. It's like when we first married all over again." Curiously she had wistful look in her eyes, I feared to find out what "at her mercy" meant.
At this Connor spoke up, "But Mum... you can't...."
She looked down at her swollen belly, patted it gently and said, "Oh don't worry about that, Little Wolvie, I've got some time still. And with him out of it, it might make telling him a whole lot easier."
"But you can't take care of him, not like that. And when the full moon comes around you're not supposed to be home," he insisted.
"True, and that's why I have acquired the services of your Aunt Luna... and maybe Magnolia, unless you're willing to cut short your wonderful break with friends to help us?" she asked.
Unbelievably for a moment Connor looked torn, and then he replied, "I've actually got something to do here... you know...."
She did not question him, she simply nodded, noticeably sadly, and then my mother spoke up, "I don't think Magnolia should leave the school actually."
"What?" I asked, surprised, turning to her.
She looked a bit uncomfortable, and then said awkwardly, "There's someone after you; I know it's not your fault, but in the interest of everyone, I think you should remain here. After last night there's no way the Ministry of Magic's going to let the Aurors off the compound, or away from you, but this person is apparently going to stop at nothing to get to you. If he can send Dementors into a school full of children, what's going to stop him against a pregnant woman and an injured man?"
I looked at her open-mouthed, shocked, but Aunt Tonks said quickly then, "Well then it's settled, I go to the Weasley house with your Aunt Luna and Aisling and Carl, and Connor can stay here with Lillie." And she completed her statement with a little wink.
I at once fell heavily back into the bed and pulled the pillow over my head, groaning loudly. I wanted to die, this was completely embarrassing and they didn't even seem to care about it, they didn't even want to forget about it, or let me. Clearly she and Uncle Lupin deserved each other; they were both very mischievous people.
Suddenly the door to the Infirmary burst open behind us. I flew upright at once to see that it was my father and he looked anxious. He called to my mother, "We have to go, something's happened!"
I started up again, "Wait... what?"
Dad looked at me sadly, "We're so sorry, Lillie baby, but we have to go, now. Snape's coming after with Neville."
"But you just came here..." I protested. Mum gave me a sad half-smile, then bumped a kiss onto my forehead and immediately left with Aunt Ginny. Dad watched them go and then turned back in to mouth "I love you"; I mouthed it back and sat back on the bed feeling a mixture of disappointment and anger. They'd just arrived and they were going already. I suddenly wished that they never came back; the war was over, they'd done their duty, they didn't need to go after every last one of the late Dark Lord's followers, leave that to the Ministry. Then I realised what I'd thought and desperately tried to un-wish it.
Before Dad's head vanished on the other side of the doorway though, Camilla rose as well and followed them out, presumably to tell her father "Goodbye". That left me alone with Rigel, Aunt Tonks and Connor, and Rigel began almost as soon as the door was shut again, "How could you not tell Cousin Remus about the baby? He's got a pretty good reason to be worried, he's a werewolf. He's always known that he could hurt you or Connor, or anyone else; not telling him about this was just selfish. What if you'd gotten hurt before, how was he supposed to feel if something had happened to the baby then?"
"Rigel!" I said, alarmed.
Connor himself looked on the verge on saying something, but Aunt Tonks put a hand over his mouth and shook her head at me so that I'd say no more. Then she said in a slightly trembling voice, "You don't understand, you won't unless something like this happened to you. I love your cousin very much, but when we first were together every day felt like I was fighting against him to be with him. He wanted people to like him, he still does, but he's always too afraid to allow us to. Connor, I have to admit... was an accident, and so's this one, but I'm not going to be sorry for them. He deserves a family, people who love him unconditionally, and if these things have to be forced on him then so be it."
Rigel refused to accept it, "But that's not fair."
"No, it isn't," she admitted. "But that's our life."
At that Rigel stood and abruptly left the Infirmary. I looked at him go and then turned back to Aunt Tonks. I could see where she was coming from but then I also understood why he was so upset. It was dangerous, very dangerous, she herself had mentioned that Uncle Lupin had been drawn to Connor when he was younger, what would make this child different? And all those times she'd gone to work knowing that she was pregnant. She could've gotten seriously hurt and lost the baby anyway.
I asked then, "How did you hide it? That you were having a baby?"
She took up her wand and cast a spell over her stomach, knocking over an empty vial on the night table in the process, but her stomach immediately went flat. I gasped, and she ended the spell and said, "A useful little thing I learned from a Death Eater during the war, she was so dedicated to the `cause' that she ignored the obvious danger. Anyway, I just pretended that I had a head cold for a while, and then that I was working to hard so that he wouldn't realise I was tired.... Oh goodness, I'm an awful person aren't I?"
At last the full gravity of her actions seemed to hit her and she finally released Connor to put her hands to her forehead and drag her hair from her face. The expression of wide-eyed horror on her face revealed that she was thinking about it, replaying her actions over and over in her head. Connor quickly protested then, "You're not; you'd just do anything to make Dad happy."
Something about the way he said it made me look up at him, to discover that he was staring directly back at me. He didn't know I'd overheard him and the OGB in the dungeons, but something about the way he looked at me then made me feel that he had. As if, somehow, while he was on his way out he'd seen me under the Invisibility Cloak. I stared right back at him though, until he turned to his mother again and said, "So, what do you think about `Zoe'?"
She looked at him puzzled, for she'd still been deep in her thoughts when he spoke, he lifted the book and she said, "Oh, er... that's a girl's name."
"So, you could have a girl, and `Zoe' means `life', I like it," he replied. "And since you're allowing me to choose the name, and in light of last night's events...."
She tousled his hair and smiled, "No, get a boy's name, I'm sure it's a boy, and something meaning `wolf', like... `Conan'."
"But my name is Connor, that sounds a lot like Connor," he protested. "And Connor means...."
Looking at them talk my mind wandered back to the night before in the snow, to the shape-shifting Patronus that had acted like a wand, to the transformation he'd made and the way he'd behaved, so selflessly to protect me even though it looked more dangerous for him, and I thought maybe it was just possible that he too would do anything to protect his father. No matter what I'd heard him saying to the OGB, which was strange enough and difficult to ignore, I had to wonder.
Of course that still left the question then, what exactly was going on between him and the OGB?
*****
Hours later, long after I'd been released from the Infirmary, and fought my way to my dormitory through curious schoolmates, ghosts, portraits, and Kimberly-who wanted to know every detail of Connor's `heroic rescue', and then show me the press' take (not much of it good)-I lay in bed on my stomach, clutching my pillow and staring blankly up at the ceiling. The blizzard was still blustering out the window; I could hear the winds howl as they careened round the spires, bridges and towers of the castle. Somewhere out there the Ministry's Aurors, some of whom were now under investigation for dereliction of duty had the unlucky job of patrolling the grounds for signs of trouble; I wondered if my parents were going through something like this wherever they were. But then, as it was now inescapable, I was also wondering about what was really going in the castle around me.
I wanted to speak to Rigel, I had inkling that I knew why he and Connor had fallen out as children, but I hadn't seen him since he left the Infirmary that morning. I hadn't bothered to check the map though, and since I remembered it only after I'd lain down, couldn't summon the will to rise again and go looking for it.
I also wanted to see Connor, but he had remained with his mother all day and was yet to come back to Gryffindor Tower. When he returned though he was to have a hero's welcome, for in light of his actions last night Professor McGonagall had awarded him one hundred and twenty points, and our Housemates were intent on throwing him a party.
I hoped he had the stamina for it; he had still looked rather weak when I left him that morning.
Suddenly, there was a shout from below. The blast of sound that followed indicated that the guest of honour had finally arrived, and I reluctantly left my bed to have a look at him. I almost crept to the door and then only opened it a little way, just enough to peer out into the hallway to see if there was anyone around. Finding no one then I walked down to the top of the stairs and looked down into the Common Room.
They weren't able to do much in terms of decoration (though one was ill-advised to add more to the heavy scarlet and gold furnishings already available) but still they'd somehow managed to procure a large banner of a wolf tearing apart a Dementor, bottles of butterbeer and trays of sandwiches, treacle fudge and enough sweets to put Honeydukes out of business and a slew of dentists on personal yachts. Nearly Headless Nick conducted a choir of school ghosts in a haunting rendition of a song I guessed was named "Sons of Godric the Brave", for which there was apparently no clear melody. And for the guest of honour a few of the boys had turned themselves into a living throne, hoisting him unto their shoulders and parading him about the room to the others' excited cheers. Connor, for his part, still looked worryingly pale and leaned heavily onto them to stay upright, but otherwise he was smiling, a bright dimpled smile that set half of the girls' squealing in delight.
I did my best to ignore the awkward twinge in my chest, thinking instead, trying my best to feel guilty, that I seemed to be taking my parents' abandonment rather well. I was also failing terribly at ignoring the fact that I was just as... well, basically, I shared some of Rigel's views on the matter of Connor and Camilla just being friends.
Down below, Kimberly was at the head of the group and when they stopped a moment before her, she declared, "I think this show of bravery deserves a proper reward!"
The room responded as one, "Yeah!"
"But what," she began, asserting herself as the hostess, "Shall we give him?"
At once they all began to call out various suggestions, from the completely outrageous to the downright silly. Some suggested that they should charm all the images of the Gryffindor lion into a wolf for a day, some suggested that they should give Connor the title of honorary prefect for a day, with the understanding that he should let us all do as we pleased, and some still suggested that he be waited on hand on foot for the rest of the week. Obviously this didn't sit too well with the others, but no matter what they wanted to do; Kimberly rejected them all, until they began to protest. And that was what she'd been waiting for, for then she raised her hands for silence and said, "I think, no I know what his reward should be. Do you all want to know what it is?"
"Yeah!" they chorused.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yeah!" they called louder.
"Well then, the perfect prize-hey, you blokes over there, put him down here, and hold him for me. He looks like he's ready to fall over," she said.
I looked across to the others and saw them immediately drop him onto the chair and then arrest his movement by holding his arms and legs. Kimberly smiled devilishly at him and said, "Good, now, as I was saying, the perfect prize for this worthy knight is-"
They all hushed, leaning closer so that they wouldn't miss it.
"-a kiss from the lady he rescued!" she declared triumphantly.
I gasped, along with the rest of the crowd, and looked down at her mortified, and then more than a little irritated. Connor himself looked up at her shocked, but she went on smiling as the others around her descended into a mixture of protests and agreement. Some thought the idea as silly as the others, some thought that it wasn't too bad and some still thought that they could come up with better ideas. Eventually though, agreement with her idea won, and she declared joyously, "Wonderful, now who's going to fetch the fair maiden?"
I was thrilled to see half of the crowd pale at the idea, and one First Year boy said nervously, "But she's Harry Potter's daughter... I heard he killed Voldemort with his bare hands! He must know more magic than anybody, he'd kill us!"
This took care of the rest of the crowd until Kimberly glared at the little alarmist and said, "Oh please, he won't. And since it seems that none of you are going to do it, I'll get her."
I didn't wait; I turned immediately, raced back into the dorm and locked the door. Nearly five minutes later I heard her knocking, "Open up, Lillie! We all know you're in there, come on out! You can't deny your gallant knight his just reward!"
I didn't respond, I was hiding in the far corner of the room under the Invisibility Cloak. If she came in odds were pretty high that she wouldn't see me, but to increase my chances I was also beside the bedhead.
The door suddenly opened, she entered and said, "Oh no you don't, you can't hide from me!" She raised her wand and said, "I've been working on this since I saw Connor do it last week, let's see if it will work for me, Accio Magnolia!"
I let out a scream as suddenly my feet left the floor, the cloak slipped off me and I flew right across the room into her, knocking her, satisfyingly, to the floor. She threw me off quickly though, we both stood up, and then she grabbed me before I could run. She began to drag me off with her down to the stairs then, but at every turn I grasped hold of something, which resulted in a struggle as she attempted to free my hands again. At long last we got to the stairs, and as soon as we appeared at the top of them the whole Common Room started cheering and chanting, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"
A group of girls left the crowd and raced up to help Kimberly bring me the rest of the way down, while I struggled and searched about for the prefects. I spotted a few too, but they were also chanting so that I knew that if I wanted to get out of this situation I'd have to do it alone. Then Kimberly whispered in my ear just as we got to the last step, "Oh lighten up, Lillie, it's just a lark, a quick peck on the cheek and you're done. We're not asking you to snog him."
I stopped struggling at once, and looked across at her, still angry, but no longer resisting. Suspecting surrender, she smiled at me and announced to the room, "Bring our knight!"
The crowd went wild, squealing delightedly while Connor, too weak to protest, was hoisted up again and brought before me. I didn't want to and was not going to do anything, and one look at his red face told me that he felt the same. As a matter of fact he looked worryingly ill, though there was an also worrying determined look in his eyes. And any hopes of a last minute rescue evaporated when one of the boys pressed Connor's head forward by the back of his neck, trying to force him into the kiss.
It didn't exactly go as planned. Connor was stronger than he looked, try as they might his head went nowhere, and eventually he just shrugged off the boy and pushed past the others, without much protest, up the stairs to his dormitory. At once the crowd began to boo, but Connor pretended not to hear them, and the final sound we heard of him was the door to his dormitory slamming shut.
I didn't think, I just turned and ran up the stairs behind him. This earned me more than a few catcalls, but I ignored them like Connor had until I was up the stairs to the boys' dormitory and realised that I didn't know which room was his. Simple solution, I walked down to the door labelled, "Fourth Years" and knocked. There was no response. I knocked again and called, "Let me in, Connor. It's me, Magnolia, Maggie."
At first I heard nothing, and then footsteps, and at last the door opened to reveal Connor, still looking weak and pale, but greeting with a smile, "You know what they're going to think, right?"
I tried to look around him, "Is there anyone else in there with you?"
He shook his head and opened the door wider. I walked into the room and looked around, then said, "Nice."
He walked past me to his bed, the one furthest from the door, beside the window, and said, "I have to share it so it doesn't look that great."
I lifted both eyebrows; his four poster bed was in the cleanest, neatest part of the room. The bed was made; the books and clothes packed away in his trunk and on the nightstand and his shoes were laid out in a straight line beneath the window. Drawings he'd made, caricatures, landscapes and portraits, along with Quidditch posters and pages from the Úlfhéðnar comic book were neatly arranged along the walls. I imagined that there was also a hint of some refreshing fragrance over all, the finishing touch to a picture perfect boy's room. That was too much; I folded my arms, suspicious, and said, "Did you just do that?"
He grinned, but shook his head, "I like being neat, I got it from Dad. Mum's too clumsy to be neat; it would all end up on the floor anyway. Dad's going to have his hands full after the baby is born."
"Well then can you give me a few tips? My room's beyond repair but maybe I can salvage my part of the dormitory," I said, and tried not to notice the defiant gleam in his eyes. It was as if he were daring me to agree with Rigel about him and his Mum. He wasn't in any real danger though, after last night I could practically forgive him anything.
He'd laughed when I spoke, and then made to take a seat on his bed. His unsteady movements unnerved me and I rushed to help him, but he sat before I got to him and said, "You wanted to talk to me about something? Since you obviously didn't come up here for that kiss."
I blushed and shook my head, but then found that I couldn't remember what I wanted to talk to him about. For a moment we remained in awkward silence-I toying with the hem of my jumper, him looking expectantly up at me-and then I asked, "That thing you did, where you transformed yourself... that wasn't the first time you did that, was it?"
He smiled a little and shook his head. "No, I first did that when I was seven, for a Hallowe'en party me and Mum held for Dad. It was just us and my grandparents, he said it was the best Hallowe'en he'd had in a long time. Then when I was nine and staying with the Weasleys at the Burrow, scared the wits out of Rigel."
I gasped, and then smiled. "I knew it! I knew there was something between you two, he didn't want to tell me but-"
Connor, who had been staring at me increasingly confused all the while, suddenly caught on and said, "That's not the reason why we disagree."
I stopped mid-celebration and looked at him, "What do you mean?"
"I don't like him because he pretends to be something he's not. Rigel Malfoy? Draco and Lucius Malfoy would never have accepted him, even though he's a pureblood and their flesh and blood. His mother's a Weasley and they interact with half-bloods, Muggle-borns and half-breeds. The only reason he's allowed that name and spoiled by `Grandmother' is that she can't do the same to her son and husband anymore. She hasn't changed her views towards anything or anyone, she won't accept my mother as her niece, refuses to acknowledge me, and would prefer to suffer in exile in that manor than go out and face the people her husband and family hurt," he replied.
I could say nothing, I sat down on the bed facing him and he continued. "When I was younger I was taken to Malfoy Manor and met her. She was all smiles and sweets but the moment Rigel arrived she refused to let us play together. I was to sit in a quiet corner until it was time to leave while my cousin ran around the place like a spoiled child, throwing things at house elves and breaking stuff-which he could never do at the Burrow-but Grandmother was willing to forgive as long as he told her he loved her and ignored me. I know it sounds resentful, but the next day when I went to the Burrow he was the sweetest little Weasley you'd ever seen, being kind to his cousins and respectful of his family and mother. Rigel plays both sides to his benefit."
"I don't agree," I said. He looked at me surprised.
"Look, I know you're his best friend-"
I cut him off, "He loves his mother. The only person getting played is Grandmother. And don't try to tell me otherwise, he's my best friend."
He didn't, instead he just stared at me for a while and said, "Anything else you want to talk to me about?"
"Er... actually, no," I replied.
He shrugged and threw himself backwards unto his bed, and then immediately groaned in pain, clutching his chest. I stood up awkwardly, wondering if I should go to him, how to help him, and then he relaxed and said, "I should be more careful, they never mentioned bruised ribs in the Heroes Handbook."
I snorted and he burst out laughing.
It would only be hours later when I'd fought my way back through the crowd of my Housemates in the Common Room to my dormitory, had a heated spat with Kimberly over her little show, and then gone to bed wondering where my parents were and wishing they'd return that I realised something. And when I did I sat up sharply with my mouth open, not quite believing that it had been right in front of me and I'd allowed it to pass me by.
Connor had said that as a child he'd been taken to Malfoy Manor and met Mrs Malfoy. And also that Mrs Malfoy refused to acknowledge him and implied that this was something that continued even today. But that didn't make any sense. Since she refused to acknowledge him and his parents and would not let any of them set foot in the Manor unless by force, who had taken Connor to Malfoy Manor? And why?
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