The Nightblood Wand

               Clarke approached the statue of the one-eyed witch on the third floor and with a last glance behind her, pulled her wand out of her pocket.

“Dissendium!”

               The block of rock moved forward to reveal a narrow passageway. Clarke quickly entered before the statue slid back in place.

               Hogesmeade was only allowed to Hogwarts students on weekends, when outings were organized. A lot had tried to sneak out by the secret passages which linked the castle and the village, and some of them dealt with the consequences. Raven had once dragged Clarke and Octavia to the three broomsticks a Tuesday night, and when they came back, none other than Thelonious Jaha was awaiting them. The three of them got detention for the next six weeks.

               But right now, Clarke was determined. She had always known her father’s death was everything but accidental. But everyone seemed to believe the officers blindly. Even her mother. Jake Griffin had died three years ago. Clarke was thirteen and she had been devastated. She had always been extremely close to her dad, so when some men knocked on their door to announce the tragedy, the blonde remained in her room all summer, not knowing what to do from her small age. Abby didn’t know what to do because every time she would try and talk to her daughter, Clarke would reject her saying that she didn’t want to know what really happened.

               Abby Griffin was a famous doctor in the muggle world. She didn’t believe anything about magic until she met Jake, a confirmed wizard and member of the ministry of magic. She was ambitious, brilliant and pragmatic. She didn’t know who would have wanted to hurt her husband thus she just decided to believe it when they said he had succumbed to a wrong disapparation.

               Clarke huffed at the memory of her mother trying to convince her, and picked up the pace. She had been walking for ten minutes now, when she spotted the trap door. The blonde pushed it and entered quietly Honeydukes cellar. She made her way out of the shop on tiptoe, careful not to be seen, and rapidly reached the back of the three broomsticks. Clarke waited here a few minutes in the cold before a strong arm was brutally pressed on her upper chest, backing her in a wall.

“Are you alone?”

“Yes, yes” she answered quickly.

               The man stared at her eyes trying to see any form of lie and backed off, letting Clarke regain a normal breathing.

“Did you bring your wand?” he asked crossing his arms against his chest as he straightened a few meters from the blonde.

“What did you think I would come here without any form of protection?”

“No.” He paused analyzing her. “I can tell you what happened to your father if you do something for me.”

“What?”

“I need to learn as much information as possible on a Hogwarts student. You’ll bond, enter in the personal privacy and give me a report in 5 months.”

“What do you know about my father?”

“We both know your father’s death wasn’t an accident. And I can’t tell you everything now otherwise you won’t do what I need you to do. Besides I’m your only option, I bet you’re dying to know the truth.”

               Clarke froze. He was the only person that agreed to tell her the truth, to tell her why her father had died. She needed to know. She would never be at peace with herself if she refused something like this.

“Who is the student?”

“Alexandria Woods.”

***

               The first quidditch trainings were beginning this week and Lexa had to run trials to find new chaser and beater. She asked her team to wake up early and join her in the tent to discuss what qualities they needed in their future recruits.

“Adam, you come with me on the pitch, the others in the stands!” Lexa ordered picking up her broom.

“Yes Heda” everyone said.

               Everyone but Carl Emerson. The blond-haired boy huffed loudly before picking up his broom like the others.

“A problem Emerson?”

“No Heda” he answered sarcastically with a smile.

               Lexa waited here a few seconds, her intense deep gaze nearly making everyone in the room shiver, and took off quickly followed by Adam Bost, the keeper of the Slytherin team.

‘Heda’ was the title her team decided to gave her when she first became captain. It apparently meant ‘commander’ in an old grounder language. She had to admit it, she liked it. She was the only quidditch captain with a nickname and a powerful one. A lot of people in the school used to call her that, even though they had nothing to do with quidditch.

The two confirmed players entered the pitch and were faced with six students. They seemed to be third or fourth year, except for one. Lexa rolled her eyes when she saw mister Cage Wallace stand in front of her. Cage Wallace, the rich daddy’s boy, was a sixth year known by the whole school. Or rather, feared by the whole school. Lexa didn’t fear him though, she despised him. His arms were crossed against his puffed chest and his usual devilish smile perfectly in place. The brunette took a deep breath and regained her composure before speaking.

“Good morning everyone, I’m Lexa Woods the captain of Slytherin but my team calls me Heda. Today we’re going to do some tests to see which one of you will be a part of it. First, what are your postulations?”

“Beater, Heda!” Lexa nodded, glad that the student took the initiative to use her title. After that, everybody gave their wishes with the same mark of respect.

“Chaser.”

               Except Cage, of course. Lexa couldn’t say anything because he wasn’t in the team yet, and she knew Cage would play with it.

               The trials began and one thing reassured the brunette. Cage Wallace wasn’t really good at quidditch. And he seemed to be really pissed about it, especially when a third year took the ball from him pretty easily.

               Lexa discussed her preferences with Adam before calling the players back down on the grass, waiting for them to stand in a line before her.

“First of all, thank you everyone. It’s good to see people standing for their house. Now, you know I can’t take all of you, so I’m going to tell you which ones of you will join the team.” She waited a few seconds, scanning apprehension in the eyes watching her. “Dean Palmer will be our new beater and Lauren Gills, our new chaser. I’ll see you two for Thursday training, for the rest of you, maybe a next time. Thank you.”

               Cage Wallace stormed out the pitch, furious. He passed by the rest of the team, not even talking to his friend. Emerson turned his gaze towards Lexa and rushed towards her, the team following behind him.

“You have no right to refuse someone because you don’t like him. That’s not what a good leader would do. He…”

“Stop! I’m your captain here.” Lexa took her most powerful stance and looked at him right in the eyes. “You don’t get to talk to me like that. Cage Wallace wasn’t good enough. I decide who joins and who leaves the team. And YOU are not an essential element, so watch yourself Emerson.”

               Carl tried to maintain his gaze strong but quickly quit before Lexa’s assurance. He stormed out of the pitch like Cage had done a few moments ago. Everybody stood there in silence, waiting for their captain to speak.

“Thank you everyone, you may leave.” She didn’t wait the end of her sentence to start walking in front of the group at a quite fast pace, heading for the locker room.

Lexa had a great self control and knew how to keep her calm before provocation, but Carl Emerson kept on disrespecting her and she could totally set someone straight when she wanted to. And the rest of her team knew that. Actually, that was why a big part of the school respected her. The fact that she could kick someone’s ass easily but still tried to stay calm in most situations.

Yet, she couldn’t deny that he was a good beater, even though he didn’t always give a fuck about the rules. Lexa didn’t want to search for another beater, just because she couldn’t stand Emerson, when he was a good enough player.

The brunette changed in her usual robes and headed to the library. Revising the history of magic would hopefully help her calm her nerves. Lexa put her stuff I her locker and wandered through multiple stairs. She went through the rows of the library, looking for an empty table, when she spotted blond locks. Lexa stopped in her way and observed Clarke a little. The blonde had wild strands falling in front of her face, which was contorted in a deep frown. Lexa watched as she threw her pen on the table and before she knew it, her legs led her towards Clarke.

“Need some help?”

               Wide blue eyes rose instantly and Lexa had to hold on to the chair next to Clarke when her knees buckled faintly. Perfect timing. What the fuck was wrong with her. The brunette tried not to stare but she seemed to be glued to them. Clarke’s tense shoulders relaxed when she recognized Lexa.

“Oh hi!” the blonde replied with a smile. “Actually, if you have nothing important to do, I would like that.”

“No problem” said Lexa sitting next to her.

“What are you working on?”

               Clarke looked at Lexa with a shy smile and waited for the brunette to guess.

“Of course, potions.”

               She nodded and melted in the giggle Lexa let out. Putting her glasses on, the brunette bent over Clarke’s notes a little, their arms brushing. The two of them sat there and worked for nearly two hours. Lexa realized that she loved being near the blonde. She had a strange feeling in her belly but she loved it. Lexa Woods was not a girl who made friends easily. She liked having her space some times, and the only people she would spend time with were Anya, Lincoln and Luna. But right now, she felt like it was a need to spend time with Clarke. They worked like that for maybe two hours.

“I should go to lunch; my friends are probably waiting for me” said Clarke.

Clarke paused and analyzed the brunette’s face which remained stoic like always. She noticed Lexa had this tendency to block every muscles of her face, not letting any emotion slip out.

“Do you – do you want to join us?”

“Uh, my friends should be waiting for me too…”

“Then, we can all eat together, what do you think?”

“Alright, I’ll ask them.”

               They packed their stuff and made their way to the great hall together. Lexa spotted Anya and Lincoln, and joined them dragging Clarke along.

“Hey guys. Where is Luna?”

“She had something to do before her class this afternoon. She ate earlier.” Anya said and glanced at Clarke.

               The tall blonde waited a few seconds, lips pursed, and raised her eyebrows at Lexa since she still had not introduced her friend.

“Oh, sorry. This is Clarke Griffin, my partner in potions. Clarke, this is Lincoln Drake and Anya…”

“Rods. I know.” Clarke said interrupting Lexa. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. You’re on the Gryffindor quidditch team right?” asked Lincoln.

“Yep. You too, for hufflepuff?”

“Do you want to join Clarke and her friends for lunch?”

“Yes, that could be cool” replied Lincoln instantly, earning an eye roll from Anya.

               The head girl wasn’t one to have a lot of friends either, but she followed them anyway. The four of them reached a big group at the Gryffindor table.

“Guys, this is Lexa Woods, my potion partner…”

“Yeah, completely Clarkey’s style” said Raven.

               Clarke stopped a few seconds, throwing a murderous glare at her friend. Her cheeks reddened and watching Lexa from the corner of her eye, she noticed the same shade on her face. She continued, as if nothing happened.

“And this is Anya Rods and Lincoln Drake. They are going to eat with us.” The blonde pointed her hand at Bellamy. “This is Bellamy, Raven, Jasper, Monty, Nathan and Octavia.”

               Clarke finished pointing everyone when she noticed a strange look in Octavia’s eyes. They all sat together and, watching Lincoln, she saw the exact same look. Clarke smiled widely when she understood, but didn’t say anything.

“So, Lexa,” Raven paused noticing Clarke’s glare, but decided that she didn’t care, “is Clarke a disaster in potions?”

“No actually, we did pretty well until now.”

“Oh you must be a great professor.” Raven winked at Clarke. “But wait until you finish covered in toad’s mucus.”

“Ew” said Lexa.

“Come on, Ray, it was three years ago” Clarke replied.

“And I still can smell it all over me.”

               Clarke laughed at the memory. Raven was her potions partner during third year and since Raven wasn’t the best at it either, they had had several… accidents.

The blonde saw a small smile on Lexa’s lips. It might be the greatest show of emotions coming from Lexa in public. But she loved it anyway. She raised her head back up and spotted Raven’s smirk. Clarke reached under the table and kicked the latina’s shin.

“Ouch.”

“Stop that already” Clarke whispered barely moving her lips.

“I didn’t do anything” replied Raven the same way, adding a smile.

“Focus on someone else.”

“Like who?”

               Clarke tilted her head towards Octavia and Lincoln, talking to each other with heart eyes and Bellamy watching them carefully. Raven smiled again in understanding and turned back to Clarke.

“Fuck, since when Cupid overran Hogwarts?”

               The blonde rolled her eyes once again before looking at Lexa.

“Sorry if my friends are a little… too much.”

“No, no, don’t worry” Lexa said smiling.

               The meal continued in a mainly good mood. They all seemed to get along fine, and even though Lexa didn’t like to socialize, she felt good right now. Raven had finally let Clarke alone and had now targeted Anya. Clarke couldn’t tell if Anya was going to kill her or laugh with her, but for now she just ignored her, waiting for the brunette to just stop. The only problem, was that Raven wasn’t near finished.

***

“Ray, you should head back to Ravenclaw tower or you’ll get in trouble” said Octavia, raising her hand in front of her mouth before she let out a big yawn.

“Oh great. One of my best friends is kicking me out.”

               Clarke and Octavia both giggled at Raven’s fake-hurt face.

“If you get caught walking in the castle past curfew, you’ll blame us again.”

“No, I won’t.” Raven placed a hand on her heart. “I am not that type of girl.”

“Sure” added Clarke with a smirk.

“Okay, okay. Now you? You didn’t even say a word since we got here and you’re making fun of me?” Clarke rolled her eyes, smiling. “Fine. Well, since the two people I trust the most are ganging up on me, I shall go.”

               Raven stood up, put her bag over her shoulder and started walking towards the door, her head held high, not taking a glance behind her.

“See you tomorrow, hard head.”

“Maybe.” And she left.

“Well, I’m exhausted, are you going to bed?” asked Octavia.

“Yes, just give me a minute” replied Clarke from the couch.

“Okay.” Octavia said with a frown. “Is everything alright?”

“Yes O, good night.”

               Octavia seemed reluctant but she walked away eventually.

“Good night!”

               The blonde waited for her friend to disappear in the stairs before bending over with a huff, placing her elbows on her knees and her hands through her hair.

What am I gonna do…

               She thought about her little encounter at Hogsmeade and how she was craving to know the truth about her father. But she couldn’t do that to Lexa. Plus something about that girl was making her eager to get closer to her. That was like some chemical attraction she couldn’t fight against. Lexa Woods had not done anything to her and what if the people that wanted information about her needed them to hurt the brunette.

               Clarke closed her eyes, letting all the feelings she kept inside overwhelm her, as memories flew in her mind. Memories of her dad. A single tear escaped her eyes and she reopened them. She just didn’t have a clue of what to do to stop thinking about it, so she wiped her cheek and headed to bed. The blonde will certainly interact with Lexa a lot this year. She will just decide when she’s ready.