Battered, black and blue
Draco
Sitting at the grand table and eating my oatmeal, Harry starts talking about his Auror stories. "So, I stormed this death eater house and there was a child. Only one child. She looked scared. But for some reason, she has really strong magic. Uncoordinated, but strong. Anyways, we subdued her and then brought her into the infirmary. Apparently, those bastards brainwashed the little girl. When she came to, she was so sweet and nice." He smiled.
"Are you telling the story of how you adopted Millie again? Because I've heard that story millions of times." Hermoine pointed out. He frowned.
"But she's such a miracle. Seriously, she was born on the same day as Albus. So Albus considers her a twin. I'm so happy since tomorrow is her first day. She decided to come out of her shell and attend Hogwarts!" I smiled. "Imagine having another Slytherin in your household." He grimaced.
"I can barely manage one Slytherin thank you very much." He went back to nibbling on his bacon as I chuckled. Shaking my head. Sometimes Potter hasn't changed a bit. I looked down to see Laurelie conversing with Albus and Scorpius. James was sitting closely next to her, draping his arm around her shoulders. He giggled as laurelie told a funny joke. Albus gave her an unamused stare as Scorpius laughed along with with with James. I'm glad she has new friends. She is such a bright kid.
--
"Today, we are starting the healing unit in this class. We're going to focus primarily on healing potions. We will start brewing potions that I can test myself. So, some ground rules. One, use the same ingredients listed on the instructions. Two, clean the cauldrons and bottles after you're done. Three, clean up after yourselves. Four, do not sabatoge the caludrons. I will take house points out of your house and you will get a detention. Now, are we clear?" Everyone responded with variations of agreement.
"Alright. Now, let's start." I went over to the whiteboard. "Today, we're going to brew a cough potion. This potion is simple, it soothes the throat and reduces coughing. This is pretty convenient because a student here has a small cold. So, after I manually test the potion using magical paper, the student can choose which potion to take. If you manage to soothe their throat, then I will add 30 points to your respective houses." Everyone gasped. 30 points is a big deal.
"Now, your ingredients are sorted for each table in the pantry. Do not take more than you need. You can take some creative liberties as long as the result is the same as everyone else's. Now, any questions?" The students shook their heads as they walked to the pantry and set up their brewing objects. Laurie was setting up her cauldron. She checked it and frowned. Gritting her teeth. She sat up and said in a loud tone. "If any of you think you can sabotage my potion, you're stupid and dense. If you try this again I will track you down. She grumbled as she took her supplies and cleaned them with warm water and soap. She dried it off and put it back on her table. A black-haired Ravenclaw girl started the fire as Laurelie chopped up the ingredients.
She took care to remove the roots to have a clean stem. Then she sliced it to bits. She put the ingredients in a mortar and pestle and ground them into a think white powder. She passed it off to a Hufflepuff boy and he sprinkled the powder in the boiling water.
I noticed that they developed some sort of system. Laurelie chopped the ingredients. The Hufflepuff boy put them in the cauldron, the Ravenclaw girl adjusted the fire and the Gryffindor boy checked the instructions for any flaws in their process. It looked like a well-oiled machine. Each student contributes to the potion. Compared to everyone else, the process is easy to follow and methodical. It amazed me how four strangers can get along so smoothly.
A girl raised her hand. I went over to her table as I saw the liquid being blue instead of yellow. "You forgot the beetroot." The boy promptly chopped up the beetroot and sprinkled the bits in the boiling water. The water changed to yellow. Everyone sighed. thankful that they didn't make a huge mistake.
"Thank you, Professor Malfoy." I grinned. it felt good being the nice guy for once. Helping instead of harming. I'm proud of my students and all they can achieve.
After the brewing process, the coughing student inspected the potions. "I want to drink this one." She pointed at Luarelie's table. They grinned as the student drank the potion. Her voice was soothed and she can speak clearly. Her coughing completely stopped and she was as good as new. She smiles. "Thank you so much." Laurie's eyes brightened. "No problem, hey. Maybe I should be a magical doctor." She realized her true passion and went to scrawl in her notebook. With that smile and bright eyes, I find myself wanting to see that more.
---
Narrarator
Laurelie was sitting next to James. Across from her, Scorpius and Albus sat. She was eating her ham sandwich as Scopus and James argued over Quidditch.
"Gryffindor is better than Slytherin," James said, with a smug expression. "No way, Slytherin makes the risk plays. They're not afraid to get hurt." Scorpius retorted. "Gryffindor is brave too!" James noted. Laurelie rolled her eyes. Sighing.
"It doesn't matter to me. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. The reason why I even go to the matches is that those games are always so close. It's exciting. Now shut up about Quidditch already. Talk about something else." Albus thought to himself. And then he started talking.
"Hey, the yule ball is coming up. James, are you taking Laurelie?" He nodded. She looked at him and quirked her head. "You know, I will be wearing green." She muttered.
"Ill wear it too." James said causally, biting an apple. The group looked at him, surprised. "But you're a Gryffindor." James shrugged.
"I mean- my Laurelie is going to wear green and I want to match. Is anything so wrong with that?" Albus shook his head. Commenting on his dedication to his girlfriend. "James, I have never seen you so in love with a girl before. You're like- Dad's level when it comes to loving a girl." Laureli looked confused.
"What do you mean?" She asked for more context, now completely interested in Jame's family background.
"Well, Dad always gave Mom roses when he came back from work. He'd give her massages and caressed her cheek when she's distressed. Not to mention they slowdance in the living room. It's like they've been married for a long time. Despite them being middle aged." James nodded in response. Eating his apple he spoke with food in his mouth. " I want to one up dad someday." Albus scoffed. Not believing his goal. "No, James I don't think that's possible." James leaned into Laurelie's shoulder. looking at Albus he spoke again. "No, I will." He simply took another bite out of his apple. Laurelie was even more confused. How could James possibly love her even more?
---
It was 3am and a knock sounded from the door to Laurelie's dorm. She was already awake so she trudged to the door. The knocking became louder until she opened the door. There was James. She shapeshifted faster and fully opened the door. He lunged and tackled her in a hug. He kicked the door closed as he inched her forward on her bed. They sat in the bed in silence. He threaded his hands through her hair.
"Stop hiding. I know what you are. I've known from day one. Let me see your original form." Laurelie sighed, morphing to her original form. He leaned back and took in her complexion.
Her jawline was more defined. Her eyes were tired and blue. She was slightly taller than before. Her hair was brown with white highlights. It was messy and curly, but still the same length as her persona. He smiled. "I've always wanted to see you like this up close, Libra." Her eyes widened.
"How-"
"I did some research when I found out about your abilities. DNA test and all. I was confused as to the reason why you didn't reveal yourself to your family." She shook her head.
"I don't want to be abandoned again." he sighed, running his hand through his disheveled hair. He started promising too much.
"I won't tell anyone. It will be our little secret. Our silent time. Can I call you Libra?" She nodded. Realizing that there is now one person she can fully be with, that accepts her for what she is.
"I have a complete personality switch, you know that right?" He nodded. She sat up and looked through her chest. She then took out a old book. It was a grim fairlytale book. She sat down and laid against the banister of the bed. James laid next to her.
"I'll read you a story to make you fall asleep. We'll read cinderella. Is that fine?" He nodded, getting comfortable as he leaned his head against her shoulder.
"Once upon a time, there was a maid, and a widow with two children." She went on. Jame's slowly fell asleep. His head lolled as he was fast asleep. Laurelie finished the story and put the book on her nightstand. She carefully shifted down, and cradled Jame's body against her small frame. Despite him being older and taller than her, she had this need to protect him. From whatever haunted his dreams. She fell alseep along with James.
---
The sunrays shone through the window as James opened his eyes. Laurelie was sleeping softly against him. She laid her head on his chest and had her arm around his torso. He smiled. Kissing her forehead he spoke softly. "Libra. Honey, wake up." She opened her eyes and sat up. "Hm." She walked over and looked through her closet. Pulling out a boy's outfit with a red cloak.
How did you get that?" She shrugged. "I knew this day would come. Now lets go."
They were able to sneak out of the Slytherin commons without anyone spotting James with her. She sighed. Holding his hand, they walked to the Dining hall.
"Mind telling me your nightmares?" James took a breath, calming himself. "I usually had normal nightmares. Until they morphed into my latest fear. Losing you." Laurelie stilled. confused at the notion.
"I have never cared so deeply for a person like I care for you. So my debilitating fear was losing you. Was you walking away from me." She looked at him and caressed his cheek.
"James, I would never. Whatever happens, we will get through it together." He sighed in content. Kissing her palm, they walked peacefully into the dininghall.
--
Draco
I witnessed Laurelie and James walk into the Dininghall. James had tired eyes and Laurelie was holding his hand. Probably trying to soothe him. "My boy is inextricably in love with that girl. Reminds me of you and that one girl." I looked at Potter.
"Well, she's gone so. I can't really speak about her anymore." Hermoine shook her head. "You refuse to grieve." I groaned. "She's not dead, its just too hard on me" Harry nodded. Dropping the harmful conversation as he moved on to a new one.
"I wonder if I can invite her to spend break with us." He started thinking about plans and how to convince the fosterhome to take her in. I looked at Scorpius, monitoring him. Making sure he doesn't do anything stupid.
---
The classes passed by fairly quickly. But I saw Laurelie come in with a split lip, bruised wrist and a scrape on her cheek. Fortunately, this time, her friend group was seated next to me. I was able to hear everything.
James shot up from his seat and guided the limping Laurelie to a seat next to him. "What happened?" He exclaimed. Worry was evident in his eyes. She sighed.
" I broke a Slytherin house rule. I had to defend myself against those 5 girls that used to follow you around, James." His eyes widened.
"They cornered me and tried to jump me. But I dislocated one of the girl's shoulder, rolled over another girls ankle, gave a girl a broken nose, dislocated a girls wrist and made the last girl lose a tooth. They're in the medical wing right now. They didn't say anything because I guess they were too ashamed of themselves. they realised that beating up a 15 year old girl for a guy that doesn't pay attention to them was not Gryffindor behavior. And they were embarrassed that said 15 year old girl won the fight." I sat up. Walking to Laurelie, she looked at me. Fear in her eyes.
"James, Laurelie, in my office, now." They both got up and walked to my office. I guided them there. They walked in. I closed the door, drew the blinds and casted a silencing charm.
"How bad is it? Lift up your shirt." She looked uneasy. But lifted her shirt up to reveal bruises to her stomach and ribs. I touched her ribs. She winced in pain. I can see the her ribs are completely damaged. My eyes widedened. They broke her right rib. I can see the bone displaced.
"James, carry her. We're going to the infirmary, this is bad." James carefully picked up Laurelie and cradled her bridal style.
I promptly lead to the infirmary, scolding her in the process. "You irrational girl, you should've ran. You should've gotten help." She scoffed.
"It was in the girls lockerroom. There was nowhere i can run. Its whatever." I gritted my teeth. "You shouldn't be used to fighting." She chuckled.
"You have no idea what I'm used to."
--
The nurse shook her head. "She broke her rght rib. She needs to stay in the infirmary for observation and rest. James took a breath, obviously stressed. My eyes darkened. "Tell me the names of the girls who went here." She told me the names without missing a beat. "Rachel Cardigan, Mori Callius, Michele Meade, Lucy Reed and Amanda Scholder." Jame's eyes turned furious.
"Those bitches. Amanda was my friend." He looked at Laurelie with a sad expression. "Stay here dear. I'll take care of this." He leaned into her, giving her a chaste kiss before striding away.
--
Narrarator
"Amanda!" James stalked over to her. She turned and gave him a fake smile but he wasn't having it. "Stay away from Laurelie. I'm warning you. We're not friends anymore and if you have any sense of self preservation, you and your bitches that you call friends should stay away from my girl. There will be consequences if you fall out of line. Spread this around, Laurelie is under my protection. Don't mess with her or else you're messing with me." Amanda fell silent. Feeling guilty she nodded. James shot her a hateful look and walked away.
situation handled.