53 53 Follow up

"See it wasn't that bad, was it?" Lupin reckoned. "You just talked a bit."

Harry looked at him incredulously, had he not heard or seen any of it?

"I guess..." he said before leaving the classroom as well, unwilling to talk about what had happened with his uncle.

----

"How was it?" Holly asked as Harry entered the otherwise empty Gryffindor common room. The only ones present were his sister, Hermione and Ron, who expectantly looked at him.

Harry took a deep breath, trying to gather his thoughts after the overwhelming experience with Lucas.

"It was... something," Harry didn't know how to describe it. On the one hand he was at a loss for words, but on the other he was angry. Yet that anger seemed to be unable to surface. "We did a lot."

Harry then summarised what happened to the best of his abilities.

Ron was furious, "I can't believe that git had the nerve to invade your mind like that! It's not right, Harry, it's not right at all! We have to do something."

Hermione thought back to her encounter with him on the train and had to admit to herself that Lucas hadn't changed at all. He continued to lie and manipulate. She had made the right decision.

Holly's expression morphed as an alarming realisation hit her, her eyes widening into disbelieve. "You said you let him look through your memories."

"Yeah?" Harry was confused. Why would she worry?

"How much?" Holly pressed further.

"What do you mean?"

"How much did he see?" A tumultuous feeling now formed in Harry's stomach. Holly got up from her chair and strongly grabbed his shoulders. "Did you let him see our family magic?"

Harry was unsure and had to go through his lesson in his mind.

Hermione had never heard of family magic and couldn't help but ask Ron. "What is that?"

The ginger answered without thinking about it for a long time. "It's very strong secret magic."

"It's more than that," Holly butted in as she let go of Harry, after seeing that it was helpless. "Let me explain: Britain is one of the oldest magical settlements with thousands of years of history. Over time powerful wizards specialised into mostly a single branch of magic. That knowledge was then passed down and improved upon. It is also the reason why most wizards with a noble background don't really care about grades. They go through what is called the Heirship Test at 11, which determines if they are the one to inherit all that knowledge once they turn 17. Harry is one of them, as well as I. Sometimes the surname has something to do with their specialisation. For example; as Potters we have a history in potion making, Daphne Greengrass is connected to druidism. There are also those with no connection, like the now extinct Gaunts with their connection to snakes or the Longbottoms with their herbology."

"So to cut to the chase, family magic is the culmination of all the magical knowledge of a family gathered over time." Holly continued her explanation, "it is basically our lifeblood."

"So if Lucas saw Harry's memories related to family magic..." Hermione trailed off, her voice filled with concern.

"No, it's not that easy. It is protected by very powerful and ancient magic." Holly reassured her, "Of course there are exceptions, like when you willingly give permission to someone and share that knowledge, then that protective magic will be nullified. But Harry didn't do that, right?"

Harry was hurt that his sister even suggested it, "no, of course not. I am not stupid. I only showed him what Ms. Ravenwood had taught us."

"That's good." Holly said with a smile, the the tension in her body disappearing.

"That leaves just one question," Ron said with a strange expression, "how do we pay him back?"

Sadly, no one present was stupid enough to agree with Ron, not after what Harry told them Lucas was capable of. Yet a plan started to form in his mind.

----

Lucas had walked into the first abandoned classroom he found to sift through all the knowledge he had gotten from Harry. Uncountable hours of potion making and a multitude of recipes. A plethora of rituals, spells and charms. As well as miscellaneous knowledge was mixed in there. Why he was able to access it, when he wasn't 17 didn't concern him. After all, you never look a gifted horse in the mouth.

But what interested him was the other Heirship Test, the normal one that everybody could go through at 15, which was established to either find lost children, or reestablish extinct families.

That was all nice and good, but not the main reason why he did it. He just needed to know what had happened on that fateful night more than a decade ago and what went on with Holly. It was vital for his future.

He dove deep into Harry's past to a time inaccessible to most people. Only naturals in the mind arts were skilled enough to make sense of that mess. Even then most of what he saw was nebulous.

He had appeared in a wooden crib next to another baby, a girl with a tuft of auburn hair. It was Holly, he realized. He watched as the infants lay there, peaceful and innocent, unaware of the man approaching.

####

An explosion sounded as the door was turned into debris.

Two silhouettes, one distinctly male and the other female, stood immovable in his way.

Spells followed as both squirmed and screamed in agony, the reward for defiantly standing in his way.

The man pointed his wand into the crib.

A flash of green.

Miss.

Countered by a flash of purple.

Pain.

Followed by silence.

####

Lucas returned to the present, not any wiser.

'What are you?', he thought back on Holly's eyes flashing the same purple it had a year ago. It did not make any sense.

How did she change the directory of the killing curse?

Even after going through the rest of Harry's memories he did not find any answer to his questions. However, this colour change seemed to happen more often the older she got.

It did not feel good not knowing what was going on.

Lucas closed his eyes, a storm of thoughts swirling in his mind. He couldn't shake off the feeling of unease that lingered after delving into Harry's memories. The encounter with Holly's peculiar magic only added to his growing list of unanswered questions.

Yet he had no one to ask, no one to speak to, no one to reach out to.

He sat alone in the on the floor of the abandoned classroom fighting against the growing sense of frustration threatening to overwhelm him.

"What are you, Holly?" he muttered to himself, his voice barely audible in the silence of the room. The question echoed off the stone walls, unanswered and haunting.

He couldn't shake the image of those piercing purple eyes, flashing with power and defiance. It defied everything he knew about magic, everything he had been taught. And yet, there it was, a reality he couldn't ignore.

With a frustrated sigh, Lucas ran a hand through his hair, trying to clear his thoughts. He needed someone to open up to. It wasn't doing him any good to be alone for so long.

But no one came to mind.

----

Lucas walked out of the room along the corridor, hearing the same insults he had been hearing almost since the start of the year. His destination was unknown even to him. All he knew was that he wanted to get outside.

It was saturday, and the grounds were relatively quiet for a weekend. Lucas found himself wandering aimlessly, not a thought going through his mind, as he made his way across the courtyard. The cool breeze brushed against his face, carrying with it the faint scent of the nearby Forbidden Forest.

But he wouldn't go in there today. Eventually, as Lucas continued to walk, he found himself drawn towards the edge of the black lake. The rippling water reflected the cloudy sky above, mirroring his own turbulent emotions.

He sat down under a beautiful and old sweet chestnut tree, its branches stretching out like protective arms above him. Lucas leaned against the trunk, closing his eyes and allowing the serene sight to take effect on him. The gentle sway of its branches and the soft rustle of leaves lulling him to sleep.

----

The distinct sound of someone walking on the gravel beach coupled with the sweetness of love woke him up. He slowly opened his eyes to a nervous Susan.

She approached cautiously, her expression a mixture of concern and uncertainty. She hesitated for a moment before speaking, unsure of how Lucas would react.

"Um, hi Lucas," she began, her voice soft. "I... I saw you sitting here, and I just wanted to check if you're okay."

Lucas blinked, momentarily surprised by Susan's presence. He hadn't expected anyone to approach him. Despite his initial surprise, he offered her a small, tired smile.

"Hey, Susan," he replied quietly, his voice carrying the weight of exhaustion. "Yeah, I'm okay, I guess. Just a little tired."

Susan nodded, her eyes avoiding his face out of shyness, a welcomed change from the usual disgust and fear. "Are you sure? You seemed... I don't know, lost."

Lucas shrugged, not entirely sure how to articulate the tumult of emotions swirling within him. "Just... a lot on my mind, you know? Stuff from class, personal things."

Susan hesitated, chewing on her lower lip for a moment before speaking again. "Could I... could I sit down 'next to you'."

Nervousness and anxiety overwhelmed Lucas' senses, but there was also determination. It took a lot of guts for her to even say the first part.

Lucas shifted slightly, making room for Susan beside him. She sat down cautiously with butterflies in her stomach, yet maintained a respectable distance between them. For a moment, neither of them spoke, the silence stretching between them like an unspoken barrier.

"How does it feel?" Susan eventually asked, her tone encouraging.

Lucas looked up from the lake towards her.

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to." she followed hastily, her eyes moving all over the place, except meeting his.

Lucas had never been one to open up, to share his burdens with others. But there was something about Susan's sincerity that made him want to give it a shot.

"No, I do want to." he sighed, he had to be honest in order to connect to people, "It's... strange, I guess. You do know what I can do, right?"

"Yeah, my aunt explained it to me." Susan replied, her voice soft. "But you wouldn't use it to hurt people would you?"

*Flashback to the murders*

"Depends what you consider as hurt." he replied and before she could ask what he meant by that he followed, "I do know for example how you feel towards me. Now would you consider feigning ignorance towards that as hurting someone?"

Susan's eyes widened in shock, her gaze snapping to Lucas's face with a mixture of surprise and confusion. "What... what do you mean?" she stammered.

Lucas leaned back against the tree, his expression unreadable as he regarded Susan with an intensity that made her squirm uncomfortably under his gaze. "I mean that I can clearly sense your emotions," he explained calmly. "I can feel the crush you have on me."

Susan's mind raced with a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions, her heart pounding in her chest as she struggled to keep calm. "You can... sense that?" she repeated incredulously, her voice tinged with disbelief.

Lucas nodded, his gaze unwavering. "Yes," he replied simply, his tone matter-of-fact. "And right now, you're feeling a mixture of shock, confusion, and... expectation."

Susan blushed furiously at Lucas's blunt assessment, her cheeks flaming red with embarrassment. "I... I didn't realize it was that obvious," she admitted sheepishly, her voice barely audible.

Lucas's lips twitched into a faint smile at Susan's response, a glimmer of amusement dancing in his eyes. "Don't worry, you're not the only one I can read," he reassured her, his tone gentle. "People tend to wear their emotions on their sleeves, whether they realize it or not."

"But... that means?" she asked dragging out the last word into a question, her voice filled with hope.