*warning: violence near the end of the chapter
with Eliza you should expect it*
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"So, who wants to read next?" Regulus asks and his grandfather, Arcturus Black raises his hand, as Regulus passes him the book. Everyone was curious about the aftermath of the fight between Eliza and Draco. They still couldn't believe how they are so close now, when they were at each other's heads in the beginning.
"Chapter four summary. It's Halloween and Eliza can't even wait a full term before causing some trouble." Arcturus reads, slightly grimacing at the word 'halloween', considering he practiced the Old Rites, so he preferred Samhain. Everyone is curious about what Eliza does and so they are leaning forward in their seats, waiting for Arcturus to start reading the chapter.
"The next day Eliza finds herself in the great hall and smugly sits down in the seat that used to be Malfoy's, the blonde and his court having been booted down the table as Eliza claims her place as 'leader of the year group'."
"There's a specific way to be seated at the Slytherin table?" Marlene pipes up, as everyone turns to look at the seating arrangements currently at the Slytherin Table. They can see Regulus Black and his friends in the middle, indicating he's the correct "leader". Many of the Slytherin's shift nervously as many of their in-house politics will be revealed. There are many things Slytherin's don't like but having weaknesses is by far the biggest thing they hate.
"Of course first year Slytherin Politics were basically a warm up in comparison to what actually went on inside the house. Each year had its own 'small court' composed of a leader and the 'best of the best' or a court so to speak, the spot Eliza had just usurped yesterday. From there, there was an underclassmen court and the upperclassmen court. The third year court had an obligation to rule over second and first years usually under direction of the upper year court, the seventh year 'king' or 'queen' who looked after the rest of Slytherin house. It was complicated, yes but Eliza couldn't imagine how bored she would be in one of the other houses without it."
"That's actually a good idea to keep the peace and make sure the house is organized." James says reluctantly.
"Eliza started loading her plate with strawberries and looked up as someone cleared their throat next to her.
"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" a boy with mousy brown hair and startling blue eyes asked beside her. Eliza glanced at him and his friend before shrugging her shoulders elegantly, popping a strawberry in her mouth. Taking the reply for what it was, the two boys slid into the empty seats next to her."
"Only Eliza can shrug elegantly, along with Mother. It's practically impossible for anyone else to do so." Draco said, as both women smirked slightly, making some look at them in awe, and others in envy.
""I'm Theodore Nott Heir to the House of Nott"
"And I'm Blaise Zabini, Heir to the House of Zabini, it's a pleasure to meet you" the other boy introduced himself with a charming smile on his face. Eliza raised her eyebrows in response, waiting calmly for the two to make the first move.
"I'll cut to the chase because you seem like someone who doesn't care about beating around the bush," Nott said to her, continuing when Eliza nodded her head in agreement. She enjoyed power plays but not at 8am in the morning when all she wanted was to finish her breakfast."
"Mood." Marlene said, agreeing with the girl.
"After Eliza became Queen, everyone in Slytherin knew not to bother her before she had her coffee." Blaise said, grimacing slightly at the memory of Eliza hexing him to have pink hair for the day. Although, he did look good with pink hair.
""We want to ally ourselves with you, it's obvious who has the power here and it's not Malfoy-
"My father will hear about this" Zabini mocked in an almost uncanny imitation of the boy. Eliza felt her lips twitch slightly before she turned back to observing the Nott boy."
"Is the phrase "my father will hear about this" a pureblood thing, or is it just a Malfoy thing?" Lily asked, genuinely curious.
"A Malfoy thing." Every pureblood deadpanned.
""Why should I let you into my court?" Eliza questioned reaching out for another strawberry.
"Why shouldn't you?" Nott instantly responded with a grin.
"That's not the most encouraging response" Eliza commented drily. She wouldn't bother with most people, dull and irritating sheep, but these two seemed different. Eliza's instinct was screaming at her to keep these two around and so far her instinct had never led her wrong. It was rare Eliza found herself acting on a whim but in this case"
"I've come to terms to always trust Eliza's instincts. She's almost correct as much as Theo and that's saying something considering his gift." Draco said as he sighed. Alexander perked up at the mention of Theo having a "gift", wondering if he also has the gift of being able to sense something.
""Why not? Welcome to the court" Eliza said and felt herself smiling as the other two boys visibly slumped in relief.
"Long May we reign" Zabini tacked on smirking and Eliza laughed before eating her last strawberry.
Long may they reign indeed."
"Oh how that phrase worked out." The five Slytherins from the future said, with massive grins on their face.
"It surprised Eliza how quickly the month of October passed but she supposed between keeping a careful eye on Malfoy and his potential grab for power and trying to read practically every book in the library on top of her actual school work she had been keeping busy."
"How long did it take you to read the entire school library?" Lily asked, wondering how long it took for her, considering her thirst for knowledge.
"Including or not including the Restricted Section?" Eliza retorted.
"Including." Lily said, hesitating slightly as if she was afraid to hear the answer.
"I finished reading the entire Library by the end of my second year, before I started reading every book in the Malfoy Library." Eliza said, making everyone, even the Ravenclaws, look at her in shock.
"I swear, every time Eliza stayed at Malfoy Manor, she was always reading, to the point Mother had to ban her once because she had missed a meal." Draco said as Eliza pouted, remembering the time Narcissa had banned her for a week to make sure she was eating and to have a bit of "fun".
"It was valuable reading time!" Eliza exclaimed, as if being banned from a library for a week was the end of the world. Though to her, it might as well be.
"It wasn't just her unquenchable thirst for knowledge that had been keeping her busy, she thought, looking to her side at Nott and Zabini, she now had obligations to her court. They weren't much of a court Eliza pondered as Professor Flitwick took the register. Right now it was just the three of them but Eliza knew even now they were already a dangerous team. Not only did Nott and Zabini hold a lot of political sway as heirs to influential houses, the more she had gotten to know them the more she realised how lucky she had been that they allied themselves with her. Even if she did detest relying on such a notion as luck."
"Add Daphne and Draco, and the five of them developed a very infamous reputation, considering they had been trained by the Dark Lord as well." Susan said, slightly jealous at the knowledge her girlfriend had received from the Dark Lord. Every single follower of the Dark Lord looked at her in shock, including Tom himself, because they all knew the Dark Lord didn't train anyone who he thought wasn't worth his time. And he is very hard to impress, so having all five of them receive training from him is a very big shock.
"Nott was a serious boy, quiet but definitely not unassuming and as he and Eliza spoke about their plans she had come to realize he had the mind of a brilliant tactician. Eliza herself had yet to beat him in a game of chess. She had found out he lived with his grandfather and was evidently not happy there but Eliza didn't pry. If Nott felt like he wanted to open up he would come to her in his own time. The boy was confident but no one could deny that he was reserved, almost intimidatingly so. He was much like herself in that regard."
"Why were you living with your grandfather? And what about your father and I? And what was so bad about him?" Isabella Nott asked her son.
"You'll see what happens to you and f-father in the book. As for living with Grandfather, it was just a little lonely, considering it was just him and I, but it wasn't bad." Theo said back to his mother with slightly glassy eyes. He had been avoiding talking to her because he was scared of what she would think of him. Alexander relaxed his tense shoulders, as he heard Theo's response, thinking the worst.
"Zabini on the other hand, though still cut-throat when it came to politics, worked from a whole different perspective. Zabini knew how people worked. He was open and charismatic and at least some of the friendliness he projected wasn't a lie but he had a way with words that made people slip their biggest secrets. It was quite amazing to watch really. He wasn't as reserved as Nott and took great pleasure in pushing Eliza to her limits whether it be with casual physical contact or the never ending stream of ridiculous puns he couldn't help making."
Blaise scoffed, "My puns are amazing!"
"No, they aren't." said four other voices.
"Nice to see the way you think about us. We love you to Eliza." Theo said to his first ever friend.
"She didn't mind his presence though, his or Notts. In fact she might even say they were on their way to becoming friends."
"Brothers now." Eliza said as she smiled at Draco, Theo, and Blaise.
""Now don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing" Flitwick squeaked from the front of the class jolting Eliza out of her musings. She shared a droll look with Zabini as the professor continued instructing the class on a charm that Eliza had been able to perform since she was six. Judging by the bored look on Nott's face (or was he asleep?) and Zabini's doodles (something that looked awfully like Malfoy being drowned by the giant squid) they shared the sentiment."
"I was definitely asleep."
"EXCUSE ME?! THE GIANT SQUID?"
"I was definitely drawing Draco being drowned by the giant squid." All three voices called out at the same time. Daphne and Eliza watch amused as Draco and Blaise start arguing.
"OK! We get it. Draco has better hair, and Blaise has better skin. Now shut up so we can continue reading." Eliza said, stopping the boys from their argument.
"The Gryffindor's immediately began furiously casting when Flitwick gave them the go ahead to cast. It was amusing to watch them bumble around the casting for a while but Eliza quickly grew bored of spectating the lengths of their stupidity. Especially when she heard that Granger girl begin another tedious rant."
"I used to love watching Granger get angry whenever I performed better than her."
"Eliza picked up her wand and looked disinterestedly down at her feather. A feather was meant to pose a challenge to her? It was laughable really.
"Wingardium Leviosa" she said with a casual flick of her wand smiling as the magic rushed through her. She was sure the feeling of casting would never get old. She levitated the feather into the air in front of her making it dance around in circles. She smirked softly as she levitated the feather towards the sleeping Nott and tickled it under his nose. The boy jumped with a start, almost falling out of his chair and Zabini burst into laughter before Eliza flicked her wand again and had Zabini's own feather hit him in the face."
"I did that to Sirius and Remus in my first year as well." James said, remembering the memory.
"The two boys turned to look at her with an equal look of betrayal that made Eliza laugh softly.
"Why?" Nott asked tiredly and groaned when Eliza simply shrugged her shoulders smiling.
"Oh Excellent miss Potter! 10 points to Slytherin"
Eliza accepted the points with a humble smile as she floated the feathers back to her desk."
"At least she is humble." A Ravenclaw said, which made Daphne, Draco, Blaise and Theo burst out laughing knowing that Eliza was far from humble at times.
"And when Malfoy's feather burst into flames from his rage-fuelled casting, Eliza didn't laugh at his failure. Instead she politely offered to help with his lacklustre spell work. Eliza couldn't quite name the shade of red he had turned but at the very least it was satisfying to watch."
"It was quite an attractive look Draco." Eliza teased, as the boy turned the exact same shade of red.
"Later that day they all began making their way to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast. She knew that some part of her ought to be sad. After all 11 years ago today her parents had died, died saving her life but Eliza felt detached. She heard stories about James and Lily Potter and still felt like they were just strangers. Eliza had spent most of her life wishing she had a family but with every missed opportunity she came to acknowledge she would only ever have herself. James and Lily Potter did nothing to change that harsh truth."
"Not to sound like a bitch, but I didn't really care. It was just the way I was." Eliza said.
"Eliza took a seat at her spot on the table, flanked by Nott and Zabini observing the tacky decorations. Live bats fluttered around the hall and floating pumpkins were suspended from the ceiling amidst the usual floating candles. She was decidedly unimpressed."
All the purebloods who practiced the Olde Rites agreed with her.
""I didn't think wizards celebrated Halloween" Eliza said, scrunching her nose as the ghosts swooped in to join the festivities.
"You don't know," Zabini blinked incredulously, staring at her.
"Muggle orphanage remember" Eliza said back, returning to filling up her plate. And hadn't they taken that news well, that Eliza had been shoved into a muggle orphanage and clawed her way through every day just to keep on going. Zabini stared at her for a few moments before turning around to Nott gesturing manically towards Eliza."
Theo groaned and complained, "And this was the start of every older Slytherin being completely done with Eliza Potter's bullshit and questions." Eliza looked offended but didn't say anything knowing full well the types of questions she asked.
""Explain it to her" he hissed and Eliza let a small amused smile slip onto her face as Nott groaned as if Zabini had just requested him to hold up the sky itself."
"It really felt like he did. I almost regret explaining it to you because it just unleashed many questions I couldn't answer."
""Most wizards don't, in fact Halloween is a new tradition that-
Whatever Nott was going to explain was cut off when Quirrell came sprinting into the hall.
"Troll" he wailed as he ran down the aisle "troll in the dungeons- thought you ought to know" he gasped before promptly fainting."
"WHAT?!" Every parent, present and future, yelled, questioning the safety of Hogwarts.
"The calm lasted approximately five seconds before the hall burst into panic, the uproar didn't calm until Dumbledore raised his voice.
"Prefects, lead your houses back to the dormitories immediately" he ordered as everyone scrambled to meet his demands."
"The Slytherin and Hufflepuff dormitories are in the dungeons! You're sending every single one of them to their deaths!" Melania Black yelled, furious with Dumbledore.
""Sit down" Eliza ordered as her year mates went to hurriedly follow his orders. They all looked at her with equal expressions of confusion, even Nott and Zabini who she had thought would be smarter than the rest of the rabble."
"At least Eliza is smart." A lot of people said, concerned for their future children.
""We are not going to our dormitories which are in the dungeons when there is a troll loose" Eliza explained, tightly scanning the hall for a sign of any competency. The others seemed to settle down then even Malfoy taking her orders to heart. At least when it counted they listened to her."
"Eliza, everyone listens to you." Blaise deadpanned.
"It was at that point Lucian Bole lumbered up to her. Not exactly the sign of competency she was looking for but still someone with higher status than her nonetheless.
"What do you think you're playing at Potter? The headmaster said to go to our dormitories"
"Our dormitories that are in the dungeons?" Eliza asked slowly and watched as the horror dawned on Bole's face. He soon scurried off to report his new found epiphany to the Slytherin King of this year, Rowle. Not long after that the entire Slytherin table had sat back down in place, unmoving against the chaos.
"What are you doing?" Snape hissed furiously at them as he broke away from the other Professor's."
"EVEN THE TEACHER'S DON'T REALIZE?!?"
""Our commons are in the dungeons Sir" Rowle spoke for all of them. Snape didn't seem to know what to do with the information and stood there uselessly for a few moments before nodding.
"Stay here, keep the younger students the furthest away from the door while the teachers are gone" he ordered, turned to glare at Eliza as if somehow she was the cause of all this trouble, and strode out of the hall cloak flaring behind him."
"He thinks I'm the cause of most problems. He's not wrong."
""So Halloween?" Eliza asked, turning back to Nott who let out a small laugh as he explained.
"As I was saying Halloween is a newer concept, Wizards never used to celebrate the muggle holiday instead we celebrated Samhain.""
"What's Samhain?" Many muggleborns including Lily asked, never hearing of it before.
"The book Theo will explain." Eliza said, happy that in this timeline, the Wizarding world might be better a lot earlier than in her timeline.
""You follow the wheel of the year?" Eliza asked curiously. Nott blinks in surprise before nodding in acknowledgment.
"Not officially. Samhain was always celebrated as well as Yule by all families with the lesser days like Beltane and Imbolc usually being celebrated by darker inclined families, traditionalists" seeing Eliza nodding along Nott continued "the rituals gave us a deeper connection to our magic, it was restorative to us and gave thanks to Lady Magic which ensured our power.""
"How come we don't celebrate it then, if it makes our power stronger?" Lily asked, making many Light purebloods shift nervously.
"It was banned because it was considered Dark. Three guesses who proposed it and the first two don't count." Eliza explained as she glared at Dumbledore.
""But then?" Eliza asked because that was evidently not the case now, especially if she couldn't even find information on it.
"But then muggleborns grew uncomfortable with our rituals, most of them firmly Christian and biased against blood magic and it began causing tensions. Rituals were quieter events then before, some even banned but things were still okay" Nott paused here looking vaguely uncomfortable "but then the Dark Lord began rising and the war became blanketed as 'light vs. dark' It was easier to demonize the dark as the Dark Lord slowly became insane""
"I really have to thank you for giving me my sanity back, Eliza." Tom said to her, thankful that he was finally going to focus on his real plans now.
""You can't say that Nott" Malfoy said harshly, surprisingly joining the conversation.
"We all know it's true Malfoy, the wizard by the end of the war was not the one from my grandfather's stories" Nott replied harshly."
"Telling stories about me Alexander?" Tom couldn't help but tease his first friend as Alexander flushed slightly.
"Interesting. Eliza would have to question that more later. Instead she cleared her throat and gestured for Nott to continue.
"After the dark lords defeat light propaganda was everywhere" he said studiously not looking in her direction or at the lightning bolt scar on her face "it didn't help that most of the Dark Lords' supporters were from dark families. We suffered a large blow in the last war and suddenly there was no one to fight for our traditions, muggleborns and half-bloods began lobbying for the ban of 'dark-magic' and our 'rituals' and soon we were forced to worship Our Lady Magic in secret, like criminals" Nott finished bitterly, the boy more passionate than Eliza had ever seen him.
"That's why there's such animosity between muggleborns and purebloods, not mudbloods because they have 'dirty blood' but because they sully out traditions" Zabini chimed in looking uncharacteristically serious."
"That's the real reason behind blood purity?" Several muggleborn students asked, shocked when all the Dark-Aligned purebloods nodded.
"There are some purebloods who actually believe in blood purity, but most purebloods don't like muggleborns because of the reason explained." Dorea Potter explained.
""And that's why I could find no information on it? Because it's illegal?"
The Slytherin's nodded sullenly, even the upper years had been listening in and were now staring at her with undisguised curiosity."
"Of course they were curious, I was the girl-who-lived asking about Dark Magic, I'm pretty sure they would've gawked at me if they were any less dignified."
""Does anyone know how to do the Samhain rituals?" Eliza asked the group at large and watched as they shifted uncomfortably. Finally Marcus Flint nodded his head in admittance.
"If I find a safe place to practice them, without being caught, would you be willing to teach me?"
Eliza was honestly amused at the surprised looks she had garnered, they should know she was not a blood-traitor by now."
"I never was one."
""Alright Potter" Flint agreed even if he did sound thoroughly confused by the whole interaction.
Eliza nodded to herself as everyone began talking amongst themselves, they had given her a lot to think about."
Many muggleborns nodded as well, it had definitely given them something to think about. Dumbledore sat in his chair, thinking how bad the situation was getting.
"The troll was the only thing anyone would talk about as they entered November. The Granger girl had almost been killed by it, would have been if it weren't for Weasley showing up and somehow knocking the troll unconscious. If that was indeed the real story."
"What?" Many people muttered, seemingly in shock at what they had just read.
"Eliza found her thoughts consumed by what Nott had revealed on Samhain. She was incredibly interested in the rituals themselves of course. She had a feeling she was one of the rare few who felt such a connection to their own magic after weeks of watching her bumbling classmates and it would be worthwhile if she could actually take part in a ritual to connect her to Lady Magic. Yes it was all very interesting but what had been on her mind these past few days had actually been the other things Nott had told her, intentionally or not."
"Only incredibly powerful people who have complete control of their magic, could feel a connection to their magic. As far as I am aware only you and I are capable of it." Tom said to her, the Ravenclaw in him coming out.
"First, she didn't agree with the banning of rituals. She didn't believe in the regulation of dark magic at all really but she knew she had much more to learn on that front. Secondly, almost everyone in Slytherin was aligned with the dark which she already knew. This was fine however as it aligned to her goals of ruining Dumbledore quite nicely. But most importantly was what she had learned about the Dark Lord. He was not the raving terrorist lunatic she had immediately dismissed him as, at least not at first, but rather an actual leader, with actual goals. At least judging by Nott's reverential tone and the disdain he had held when he explained how the public viewed the war."
"I don't know whether to be offended or not." He whispered to her as Abraxas and Alexander watched, having a small smile on their faces.
"The dark lord was important to her court, to her followers. And her court was important to her, they were her basis of power, the people she would eventually have to trust. She cared for her court and in turn cared about what they did."
"Awww, we love you too Eliza." As the four of them tackled her in a hug, not even caring about etiquette now. Lily and James watched happily, thankful that their daughter had people to rely on.
"She would have to discreetly research more about the Dark Lord whilst not alerting Dumbledore's attention whom she had to balance her golden girl act for. It was bad enough that-"
"I fooled him for six years. I think I deserve a reward."
"Eliza felt her word tilt dangerously as she stumbled on the staircase and quickly grabbed onto the bannister. If it weren't for her quick reflexes she would have tumbled right off the staircase. Trying to calm her heart she took a few deep breaths before walking again. She hadn't even made it more than two steps before she stumbled again, this time jumping backwards to avoid crashing into Professor Quirrell.
"I'd watch your step Miss Potter, wouldn't want you to fall would we?" he said politely smiling. Eliza studied him for a few moments before plastering an embarrassed smile on her face."
The more attentive adults in the room noticed that he hadn't stuttered, and narrowed their eyes in suspicion.
""Of course professor, I'm terribly clumsy"
The two stood in silence for a beat longer before Eliza finally went to move.
"Well I must be going professor, I do have a quidditch match to get to" she spoke easily. Quirrell stood there for a few moments longer before moving aside.
"Of course Miss Potter, I wouldn't want to keep you"
Eliza moved past him walking steadily down the corridor playing the interaction over again in her mind.
He hadn't stuttered once during their conversation.
And she was sure she hadn't imagined that red tint in his eyes.
How curious."
"Turns out I didn't imagine it."
Tom looked suspicious and turned towards Eliza to ask but she just sighed and said, "You'll see."
"She was curious indeed, that Potter girl. Interesting. Prophesied to be his enemy, the Lights' golden girl and yet sorted into Slytherin."
"PROFESSOR QUIRRELL IS VOLDEMORT?" James yelled out in shock, concerned for his daughter.
"Charming and intelligent was the general consensus of the staff but Lord Voldemort saw something else in the girl's eyes. Something just a bit off, a bit different that set her apart from her peers. Yes she was interesting and not at all what he had expected. But being interesting would not save her life. He was the Dark Lord Voldemort, he had conquered even death itself and he would not be stopped by some girl. No he would regain his body, return to his former glory and then, one way or another, the girl would die.
He would make sure of it."
Silence followed the words Arcturus Black had spoken before Eliza herself broke the silence, "Well that didn't really work out, did it." Everybody who cared about her looked at her exasperated, "Did you just joke about your death at the hands of the Dark Lord?" Sirius asked, even though he couldn't understand the insanity in the girls' mind. And he was a Black so that was saying something. Tom was quiet and feeling guilty, when the hand holding onto his suddenly gave a squeeze and he looked up to meet her eyes. "It's ok, it all works out in the end." Tom just sighed and gave her a small smile.
"If Zabini or Nott had noticed her curious tick of continuously holding onto the bannisters these days they didn't mention it. They had probably put it down to her paranoia and left it at that. Eliza might be paranoid, she might have magnified the entire interaction but she found it was usually better to assume the worst of people and be pleasantly surprised later on than vice versa."
"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Moody yelled, scaring the wits out of everyone again.
"She and Nott were currently sitting in the Slytherin Commons. On the outside it appeared that they were both studiously involved in a game of chess but in actuality she knew they were both intently eavesdropping on the students around them, particularly the loud rowdy quidditch team.
"Rook to B5" Eliza intoned, pretending to be studying the board as she listened in.
"Well I heard that the Weasley twins snuck into the third floor corridor and they found a Cerberus, scared them to death it did""
"A CERBERUS?" Molly Weasley shrieked, making many people wince at her shrill tone.
""A Cerberus? Come off it, Dumbledore's not got a reason to keep such a beast here""
"Dumbledore's done a lot of things he didn't have a reason for, I've found." Eliza said, glancing at the Headmaster, who was trying not to run like a coward.
"Eliza turned her attention back to the board, Nott's last move had just placed her in a checkmate. Sighing she toppled her king and they reset the board again. A Cerberus? Why would Dumbledore be keeping a beast here indeed? Especially on the forbidden third floor corridor, it was like he was guarding it-
Or guarding something else?
Didn't Hagrid say he had picked something up from Gringotts for Hogwarts on the day the very same vault had been broken into? No safer place in the world than Hogwarts, that's what everyone said so what if-"
"Oh Hagrid." Many of the teachers sighed at the half-giant, as said giant blushed.
"Her musings were interrupted when the common room door slid open and Zabini stumbled in. it wasn't odd for the other boy to keep strange hours as Eliza knew he spent a lot of time building connections with other houses but-
His gait was off. And as he drew closer Eliza could see the beginnings of a darkening bruise around his eye and dried blood beneath his nose."
Many Slytherins looked put-out but they knew that it was a common occurrence for Slytherin's to be bullied if they were walking alone.
""Who did this?" Eliza demanded standing up instantly. Conversation halted around them but she paid it no mind."
"I love how protective she is of her friends." Marlene and Alice said.
""Who did this?" she repeated again feeling fury brim inside of her, her wand hand twitching dangerously as Zabini remained stubbornly silent. Under her glare though he seemed to wilt."
"Her glare scares me more than the Dark Lord himself." Blaise deadpanned as many people looked at him in shock, including the Dark Lord.
""I got jumped by some stupid Gryffindor, just leave it" he muttered testily. Evidently his pride had also been injured."
"Oh most definitely, but I've found that ever since I befriended Eliza, I don't have much pride left."
""Give me the name"
Zabini looked at her uncomprehending for a moment but soon began looking worried as he saw the look on her face.
"It was Cormac Mcglaggen" he remarked bitterly before slumping down in the armchair she had just been occupying."
"Oohhh, is she about to beat a bitch up?" Marlene and Evan Rosier chimed up together, both waiting for the drama to start.
"Eliza nodded her head in thanks, feeling herself settle into a cold distant fury. It had been a while since she had felt like this, not since Malfoy had challenged her a month ago now. It was almost refreshing to feel that ice cold fury lap at her veins."
"Definitely was, if that hadn't happened, I'm pretty sure I would've ended up torturing a student."
""Somebody get him some healing balm, I don't care who" she ordered and Terrance Higgs scuttled off to presumably go and get some.
"Anyone know where this Cormac will be?"
"He cornered me on the second floor" Zabini said grimacing as the movement twinged his injuries.
"You could probably catch him before he made it back to Gryffindor Tower" Nott commented absently as if he were remarking on the weather and not Eliza's plans to murder a man."
"I've found that with Eliza, murder would be a common occurrence, so I got used to it sooner rather than later." James and Lily looked as if they didn't know whether to scold her for planning to murder a student or congratulate her fro steeping up for her friend.
"Eliza nodded in response before storming out of the commons. She knew a few short cuts thanks to her exploration of the castle. She could cut Cormac off before he made it to Gryffindor tower and teach him a lesson about what happens when you mess with what was hers."
"Why are all orphans so damn possessive? I swear sharing a dorm with the Dark Lord for seven years made me realize touching an orphan's things is not a good idea." Abraxas grumbled, thinking of all the times Tom had hexed him for even looking at his things the wrong way.
"He wasn't the most intelligent Eliza observed from where she was hiding in an empty classroom waiting for him to walk past. He lumbered loudly down the corridor completely alone a stupid smug smile on his face and Eliza swore she could still see blood on his knuckles. That did nothing to ease her ever growing fury."
"I would have gladly murdered him had we not been in Hogwarts."
"Just as he was about to walk past Eliza uttered a quiet 'petrificus totalus' wincing as he fell to the floor with a loud thud. Eliza dragged his prone body into the empty classroom fishing his wand out of his pocket before tying him up with a quick 'incarcerous' and lifting the petrification spell. She wanted him to be aware of what she was about to do."
Many of the more bloodthirsty and mentally unstable kids ( Sirius, Marlene, Evan, Rabastan, Bellatrix ) all leaned forward in anticipation.
"The second the spell was lifted he began to struggle against the ropes spitting curses at her loudly.
"Now, now Cormac, I just have a few questions for you" she said complacently.
"What do you want, you crazy bitch?" He shouted again, thrashing wildly. Eliza softly pressed her foot down on his throat and watched as he stilled instantly."
"Don't call my daughter a bitch, you arsehole!" Lily yelled, her infamous temper rising again.
""There's no need for that, I just wanted to know if you thought it was funny to beat up a Slytherin first year" she asked deceptively calmly.
"Wh-what are you on about? Did the little brat go running then?" he snarled viciously but quietened down when Eliza increased the pressure on his throat."
"BRAT?! I AM ANYTHING BUT A BRAT. IF ANYONE IS A BRAT IT'S DRACO!" Blaise yelled, outraged at the audacity of Cormac calling him a brat.
""So you did go after one of my Slytherin's then?" Eliza asked once more, feeling giddiness well inside her."
"I really like torturing people." Again Lily and James didn't know whether to scold her or be proud of her.
""He deserved it, I was teaching him a lesson"
"Oh Cormac, you really should have thought through your answers some more," she said, lifting her foot from his throat as he gasped for air.
"It seems now I'll be the one teaching you a lesson"
Eliza crouched down so she was face to face with the pathetic worm almost savouring the look of fear in his eyes. He began struggling fruitlessly again now completely panicked.
"I need to teach you to keep your hands off of what is not yours""
"Possessive little shit." Blaise said, but on the inside he was happy Eliza felt the need to protect him.
"Eliza picked up one of his hands, hopefully his most dominant and placed her wand against one of the fingers.
"Circumrota" Eliza intoned softly and watched in fascination as his finger began to rotate until she heard a sickening snap and Cormac wailed out. She repeated the process on three more of his fingers and her grin grew wider each time she heard the bones crunch and his pained cries. She stopped after three fingers and released him from his bindings watching as he curled up into a ball. She lent closer towards him, her poisonous green eyes meeting his watery ones."
"People have said that my eyes look like the killing curse. I agree with them."
""Now you're going to go to Madam Pomfrey and say you broke your hand punching a wall, you won't mention me, and you will never lay a hand on my Slytherins ever again. Otherwise I will not limit myself to just your fingers, do you understand?" she explained calmly casually twirling her wand in her hand which he eyed twitching. He nodded furiously and Eliza nodded an easy going grin sliding onto her face."
Many people looked at Eliza in awe with an underlying sense of fear, as she got a shark-like grin on her face making some flinch.
""It has been a pleasure" she said and felt her smile become sharp, turning into a vicious thing. She walked out of the room leaving Cormac behind.
She hadn't even broken curfew."
"Now that is how you be a good Slytherin."
"At lunch the next day rumours were flying about Cormac. It seemed no one had bought his 'punched the wall' excuse but as long as there was no alternative answer everything was fine. The other Slytherins had been eyeing her nervously all day although Eliza was sure she had spotted some grudging respect in their eyes."
"Ahh, they were so wary of me it was actually funny."
"When Cormac finally walked into the hall that day after spending the night painfully regrowing his bones Eliza shot him a benign smile and watched in amusement as his face rapidly paled. Zabini and Nott who were sitting next to her shared a look as they witnessed the interaction."
"I thought he could blend in with the ghosts, with how pale he had gotten when Eliza smiled at him." Theo said, completely serious.
""Potter" Zabini began and Eliza looked over, curious at his hesitant tone.
"Thank you, not many would do what you did" he said seriously, warm brown eyes full of an emotion Eliza couldn't quite place.
"I always look after what's mine Zabini" she responded with a grin laughing off his gratitude."
"I do, don't I?"
"You really do." Blaise said, grateful he had decided to ally himself with her a decade ago.
""Blaise" he said smiling at her "I think we've reached the point of first names now don't you?" he joked and Eliza laughed happily even when he threw an arm around her shoulders. Nott shook his head at their antics and went back to reading his book."
"Secret Ravenclaw." His friends teased him as he rolled his eyes with a fond smile on his face.
""Why do you look so disappointed in us Theo" Eliza teased as the other boy tried to ignore them.
"Yes Theo lighten up-
Whatever Blaise was about to say was cut short when Theo whacked him over the head with his textbook.
She smiled as she watched their antics.
She would always protect what was hers, Blaise and Theo both."
"And Draco, Daphne, Astoria, Susan, and a couple of others now." Eliza said not even noticing the way both Astoria and Susan had teared up slightly. Arcturus finished reading the chapter as he closed the book before Sirius announced, "I'm hungry." Following his exclamation, many stomachs grumbled in agreement as the teachers agreed to have lunch now before they start reading again. They transfigured a big, long table, which the elves happily placed food on top for the students to grab. As everyone got their food and settled down again, many conversations struck up as people laughed and chatted with each as they ate.