Prophecy of Slytherclaw

THREE

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Days went by and on each day, Lauren always talked to her. They shared most classes therefore they were always in each other's presence.

The girl never fails to say hi to her every time they cross each other's path; in the great hall, in their classes, anywhere really. Lauren always talked to her. And as far as she can tell, the girl only ever talks to her. Surely, there were times when she speaks to another student or teacher, but as far as idle conversations go, the girl only ever stops for an extended period of time, goes out of her way, just to talk to her.

Camila felt so awkward at first, shy even. But by the fifth time the girl said hi to her and had some sort of a compliment about her cursive handwriting or her fluffy cat Gaius, or something about the weather or something about a book or the food, just about anything the girl notices, she started getting used to it.

It wasn't that bad. It was actually good. It felt nice to be acknowledged by someone who isn't a figure of authority in her life or a domesticated animal.

Although she thought by this time around, word about her and her mother has finally gotten to Lauren. That it has shed some light into who Camila Cabello is. That by now, the new student would have started keeping her distance from her. She truly believes that there is not a single soul who hasn't heard of her mother's crimes. Her name is almost synonymous to the Dark Lord himself and Grindelwald.

But then, only the opposite happened.

Out of force of habit, Camila had always preferred to be on her own when she does a lot of things. She opted to do school projects alone even if it was intended for a group. Especially when people had nothing nice to say to her, or anything that pertains to her mother and the sinister crimes she committed. But ever since Lauren came along, she somehow started to look forward to seeing her and her small talk.

Like today.

It's a fine Sunday morning, and Camila is on her way to the lake with her books and her wand. She had been dabbling in ancient dark spells, trying to understand how their components work and its potential to be reversed into an entirely different spell. It has been a struggle and her father was never supportive of it since this was exactly what provoked her mother to turn to the dark side.

But her logic is simple. How can anyone expect to successfully defend themselves against dark magic without a deeper understanding of it? How can anyone expect to vanquish evil without knowing how exactly they operate?

As far as Camila is concerned, as long as her intentions are pure, that her goal is always for the best interest of both magical beings and muggle folks, she can never be swayed to practice the dark arts the way her mother did. For her, the lines are clear and she would never cross it.

She is not going to be the stereotype Slytherin house has been labelled with . . .

Now, she sat by the tree near the lake, flipping the pages of one of the books that her mother illegally acquired a long time ago. Nobody else knows she saved and kept plenty of her mother's possessions. For a fifth year student, she did a great job hiding it all.

There was never a single person who could tell the difference in all of these contrabands because Camila cast a strong enough spell on it, as well as in every other stuff of her mother's that she has. Ever since being able to read and practice magic, she was able to disguise it all as ministry approved educational materials. Not even her father knows, who is a bit of an expert in telling whether a specific item is a contraband shrouded in magic.

For years, Camila has gotten away with her forbidden books.

Until, of course, Lauren happened . . .

"Hallo!"

The girl's smile was just as bright as the sunshine, Camila just can't not return it.

She smiles back at her.

"Hi,"

"May I sit here with you? The weather is so nice today and I like watching the birds fly over the lake,"

"Sure,"

She moves her stuff aside so Lauren can sit on the protruding oversized tree root in front of her.

"Uhm, Camila? Shouldn't you be reading something more appropriate than Epigraphs of Herpo? That journal has been banned a very long time ago, long before Lord Voldemort's time if I'm not mistaken. Actually, many believed those texts had been destroyed,"

Oh, she is not mistaken alright.

It's just that her mother had ways in acquiring things she's not supposed to.

Being able to identify it so easily, being able to read the actual title of the said reading material, Camila was baffled once more. She was confident that she did a decent job hiding the contraband. None of the teachers found out about it. But then, this pipsqueak of a Ravenclaw figures it out.

With her mouth gaping open, Camila couldn't find anything else to say. She stared, utterly perplexed. She kind of hates it when she's being caught off guard, unable to come up with a retort.

"It's a good spell, the one you're using to keep the disguise. But with Professor Hansen's expertise, she might just see through it. Faster than I did, most likely. That is a potentially serious ground for expulsion, you know. You're lucky she doesn't look at you so closely,"

"Why do you?"

"Huh?"

"Why do you look at me so closely? You wouldn't figure this one out if you weren't paying attention to me,"

Lauren tilts her head to the side, looks at her curiously. The shine on her green eyes never waned.

She studies Camila's face that was still twisted in confusion. Like there is a lot she would like to say but trying to weigh it out first.

Just as when she is about to give up waiting for a reply, Lauren answers her question.

"I am fascinated by you," the girl then looks away, sheepishly, "Mostly because of your mother's reputation. But please don't take it so badly, I just don't want to sugarcoat it either,"

She should have known the mention of her mother would come up sometime soon in one of their interactions. But she didn't expect Lauren to speak about the matter in a more polite way than most people would.

Had it been anyone else, there should be a sneer in their tone or a snide remark somewhere in there. Hate has always been a predominant undertone when her mother is mentioned in any conversation.

"It's just that I can see that you're different and similar at the same time. You seem like the goal-oriented type of person, and it has been public knowledge that your mother was like that too. What sets you apart though is that you seem to strive to use your knowledge and skills for the benefit of others rather than to take advantage of people to achieve a personal gain. I have seen you being so kind, even if people say horrible things about you,"

She didn't expect that. She has heard people compare her to her mother but all they see are the things that made them so alike. Never the differences in their actions or behavior.

"Besides, you're also beautiful and so smart. And even if people around here weren't so nice to you, you still treat them with respect. Any other human being would have snapped at the things they have been calling you, but you don't. You're still nice. That amazes me. I also like your confidence and the way you don't seem to focus on the negativity that surrounds you . . . So, uhm yeah . . . I hope you don't take all I have just said badly. I just really like to know you better,"

She had never received this much kind words from someone who is basically a stranger. She doesn't know how to handle it.

With a pink blush on her face, Camila gathers all of her stuff.

"I'm sorry, I have to go . . ."

She leaves Lauren there by the lake still looking at her as she took off. Walking back to the castle faster than she had ever done and without a backward glance . . .

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🙂