𝐀 𝐏𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐋𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍 ↬ 𝔡.𝔪𝔞𝔩𝔣𝔬𝔶

01 | d e m e n t o r s

{I} t was straight dab in the middle of third year, and let me tell you, it was not looking like it was going to be a good one.

Remus was recruited as a DADA professor, and I was so, so proud of him. It was going to be so fun with him, I could ask him for advice, we could eat breakfast together occasionally, and Harry could spend more time getting to know him.

Who knows? Maybe in the future, Harry could move in with us and ditch the Dursley's.

However, now Remus was going to learn in detail what I had been up to so far.

And let me tell you: sneaking into a secret corridor guarded by a three headed dog and going against the most powerful dark wizard in my first year; jumping into a secret chamber through an abandoned girls bathroom and talking to the teenage version of said dark wizard, and not to mention trying to talk to an 80 foot snake, is really not something I'd like to share.

Currently, I was with Harry, back behind our favorite column. It had been a hectic few weeks, and we both needed time to de-stress and talk.  

"There's a dog following me." I whispered, my eyebrows scrunching in concern, "A big black one."

Harry's eyes widened, and he looked around nervously as if expecting the dog to show up. "You, too?"

"Crap. Didn't you say it was an omen of death or something?"

"Yeah, we're screwed," Harry whined, "And on top of everything, Sirius Black is out of prison, too."

"Sirius Black?" I said, scrunching up my face. "Where did you hear that?"

Harry's face turned dark, "I overheard that it's his fault Voldemort killed Mum and Dad."

I said quietly, "Remus won't talk about him. I think he and Sirius and Dad were close."

I raked a hand through my hair in annoyance, "What a year. Remus comes to school. A murderer escaped prison and is trying to kill us. Those damned Dementors are everywhere, and Draco is acting like a prick!"

Harry scowled, "Is Malfoy bothering you?"

"No." I answered immediately, a little too quickly, "I mean, kind of... You know what, I don't know!" I threw my hands out. "He's avoiding me to hang out with Lily. Out of all the people he could have avoided me for. He chose Lily."

"The one you had a fight or something with?" Harry recalled from second year.

"Please, you can't even call it a fight," I snorted, "It was more like she was sprouting some insanely stupid crap to make everyone question her IQ and mental stability, and I was there at the right place and time to tell her off."

Harry laughed, "How are your classes? Do you need help with Lily?"

"I'm perfect," I shrugged arrogantly, "As always." Quidditch was really taking away a lot of my socializing time, so the only time I got to see my friends was in the Great Hall or when we were doing homework. "Don't you have a game tomorrow, Harry? Win the game and then help me with this mess. Starting with Lily." She didn't deserve that name.

"Okay, see you at the game?"

"Always," I smirked, "Kick some ass, Harry."

--

I sat with Ron and Hermione as we cheered Harry on. The wind was raging, and rain pelted my face. I pitied the players out in this weather.

"GO HARRY!" I cheered, and even from the distance, I could tell he was smiling.

Harry tailed the Hufflepuff Seeker, following the snitch to unfathomable heights. The rain clouds were heavy and blocked out the sky, and my stomach shifted with uneasiness. After a few minutes, every lightning strike putting me more on edge, a shadow hurtled down from the clouds.

"HARRY!" Hermione and I screamed, standing up. His body was limp and lifeless, and we couldn't do anything except watch him getting closer and closer the ground.

Dumbledore's powerful voice echoed throughout the Quidditch pitch, "Arresto Momentum!"

I nearly cried with relief, my knees buckling below me. "Accio broom!" I incanted, and flew down to the pitch, throwing it to the side as my feet touched the grass. My legs were far too shaky to run straight.

As I neared my brother's unconscious body, I looked up, blocking the rain with my forearm. Dark swirls of movement caught my eye. The feeling of helplessness rushed back inside my stomach, filling my entire being.

"Dementors." I whispered, grabbing my wand. My mind was cloudy with shock. What spell? What spell warded away dementors?

--

"Potter!" Draco shouted, rushing into the hospital ward, "Are you alright?"

"Sod off. I'm fine." The shock was wearing off, and the mere thought of losing someone else made my heart hurt.

"Lexi," Draco sighed, "We have got to stop meeting in the hospital ward."

"Leave me be."

"That's all you have to say? I heard that a Potter was in the hospital ward, and I-I-"

"You what, Draco?" I snapped.

"I was worried, goddammit!" he blurted angrily, "Stop making me worry!"

"Go worry about Lily!"

Draco looked taken aback, "Potter—are you jealous?"

"No." I snapped, "You can't just avoid me with no context whatsoever, and then magically show up whenever you feel like it."

"It's not what you think with Lily. I swear."

"What do I think, Draco?" I said, my voice like ice, "Care to enlighten me?"

"I'm sorry if I made you think I was avoiding you." Draco mumbled, "I just- I just needed some time to think."

"About what? Is something wrong? Is someone bothering you?" I asked, them paused. What if I'm being annoying, and it drives him off again?

"I just..." I trailed off, "I thought you trusted me. I thought our friendship meant more than that."

Draco rushed forward, "It does. Of course it does, Potter."

"Then why? It's been half the semester. You ignore me when I talk to you, you don't eat with us anymore," my voice cracked as I continued, "Was it because of me? Did I do something wrong?"

"Potter, you absolute imbecile," Draco said, making my stomach tighten, "Of course you didn't do anything wrong. How could you?"

It was like I could breathe again. All this time I had start to begin doubting myself, blaming myself, trying to figure out what I had done to drive him off. "Then what is it? Tell me."

"It's- it's complicated." he said,

"Try me, Draco."

I could see that he still had hesitation in his eyes.

"Draco." I said meaningfully. "No more secrets."

"She's obsessed." he relented, "I don't understand it either, but she's obsessed to a point where it's scary. And she has these pictures."

A shiver ran throughout my body when I heard that word. "Pictures of what?"

Draco looked up with apologetic eyes as he whispered, "Pictures of you."