Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I create.
Chapter 35: Caught Together
"Is it okay to leave that little guy alone in there?" Bella asked as they left the laboratory.
"It has just hatched, and even if it doesn't look like it, it hasn't finished forming yet. So it's best if it stays in there for now." James didn't go into more details, like the unusually quick development of the chimera. It had woken up at least a week too early, and he still wasn't sure why or if it would lead to complications down the line.
"Anyway, just make sure not to mention its existence to anyone." He couldn't believe he was trusting this girl to keep a secret in his behalf… but here we were.
"Of course! I wouldn't want little Kyu to be taken away," she responded with confidence.
James detected something in her tone that he did not expect to find… there was a hint of joy while she spoke of the construct. For just a moment, he almost entertained the idea that this version of Bellatrix might not end up following the same path as the one he once knew.
But then he realized he was being too naive.
When it came to someone like Peter Pettigrew, he was willing to give the boy a chance because, even after all his bad choices, he remembered how Peter showed some remorse in the end… he had probably regretted his path much earlier than that but didn't have the courage to act on it.
Bellatrix Lestrange was a different beast… she never showed an ounce of shame about her actions or compassion for another living being. She was the closest thing to pure evil that someone could be, only losing slightly to the likes of Voldemort.
'Was the Bellatrix I knew, the result of her upbringing or was she always meant to become an evil witch?.' James wondered.
"What is it?" Bella noticed him staring at her too much.
"Did you call it Kyu? That's not its name. It's Primum," James said.
Bella shrugged. "I think it fits him. He's always saying that," she smiled.
'Odd…' James had no other word to describe her reactions.
They were now approaching the stairs leading to the fifth floor, and he was about to suggest taking different paths since it would be bad if someone saw them walking around together.
"Bloody hell…" Bella's expression changed to one of anger and concern.
James followed her sight and understood why. There was a group of Slytherin seniors standing at the bottom of the stairs… looking directly at them.
'I guess it's too late to take different paths.' James could only come up with one excuse for the two of them to be together on the sixth floor.
"We just came out of Professor Slughorn's office, okay?" Bella said to him in a soft tone before getting ahead of him and approaching the boys.
'That's what I was going to suggest…' James thought.
He recognized two individuals from the group, Lucius Malfoy and Rabastan Lestrange, the younger and less talented brother of Rodolphus.
The others, he had no idea. Perhaps he could recall hearing some of their names if he heard them, but their faces told him nothing.
Since Lucius and Rabastan were in sixth year, it was safe to assume that the rest were too.
"Look who it is, little Bella and… a Gryffindor?" One of the boys chuckled.
"Yeah, how suspicious," another one added.
They seemed to find the situation amusing. However, neither Rabastan nor Lucius seemed to agree with that sentiment.
"Get out of my way," Bella huffed.
"What were you doing with that Gryffindor up there?" Rabastan narrowed his eyes while looking at James.
"That's the Potter heir, I believe," Lucius commented.
"That's none of your business… now let us pass," Bella said.
"None of my business?" Rabastan's frown deepened. "You are engaged to my elder brother. You will soon be part of my house… the things that you do will reflect on us, and if you're fooling around with some Gryffindor boy… the consequences—"
"Let me stop you before you come to some stupid conclusion. Potter and I were called to Professor Slughorn's office to talk about some potion we made in class. That's all. Now let—"
"Wait, did you say Potter?" One of the other Slytherin boys reacted after hearing the name.
"Isn't he one of that group of pranksters?"
"You mean the one who screwed up our hair?"
"Is that so? Was that you, Potter?" Rabastan raised an eyebrow. "Well… as the Sixth Year Prefect, I cannot allow such acts."
"What are you getting at?" Bella was getting concerned.
"You know, Rab? There are no students nearby," one of the boys said.
Rabastan turned to him for a moment. "Then keep it that way…"
The other three Slytherin boys took off to make sure no one came this way, while Rabastan and Lucius stood there, blocking the staircase.
"I'm surprised you're not trying to run away, Potter…" Lucius said. "Is this the Gryffindor bravery or perhaps the Gryffindor stupidity?"
"Rabastan… you can't attack other students for no reason. Come on, let's just go and leave the stupid Gryffindor be," Bella tried to defuse the situation.
But Rabastan was not in the mood to hear her right now. He pointed his wand at her. "You can stay out of this, Bella. I'm sure my brother will want to have a word with you later on." His eyes then moved to look at James.
"And you, Potter… you're going to learn that actions… have consequences, and to keep your stupid pranks off my house."
James observed the two boys. Rabastan was now pointing his wand at him, while Lucius merely held his in hand, just in case he had to help.
"Do you have nothing to say?" Lucius asked. "Is the fear keeping you in check?"
"I am not a person who is fond of violence," James told them. "But if you think for a second that I will be afraid of two boys with no combat experience whatsoever… then, I will have to disappoint you."
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