Could be worse, it could be raining

Returning to Hogwarts on Monday morning, Harry found the Great Hall bustling with activity. The students were all in their usual places, well nearly all of them. There seemed to be some disarray in the Gryffindor second years.

That's strange..Dad is sitting with Wormtail, but normally he sits beside Sirius. Sirius is sitting on the other side of Remus and...Mum? Harry was puzzled by this. He sat down beside Minerva and leaned over, "So, what'd I miss?" He asked, trying to sound casual.

"A row between some of my second years. The ones you watched for me. It seems Mr. Black and Mr. Potter are no longer on speaking terms. My Fifth Year Prefect had to separate them before it turned from shouting to curses." She replied, looking at the table, "As ever, their friend Mr. Lupin acted as a peacemaker, or attempted to anyway...the strangest part was the other party involved..."

"Who was that?" Harry asked, though judging by the fact that his mother was sitting beside Sirius he had a hunch. A hunch that was confirmed by Minerva.

"Miss Evans. From what I've been told, Mr. Black comforted her which rankled Mr. Potter. At breakfast yesterday the two were studying with Mr. Snape of Slytherin, Mr. Potter was alerted by someone," She explained, stopping when Harry spoke up.

"Ten galleons say its Pettigrew."

She nodded, "I prefer to not gamble, so I will just say now that you are right. Mr. Potter came down and they had a shouting match until the Prefect separated them. They are each facing detention with me for the next week."

"I'll take one of those off your hands. You've got enough on your plate." Harry offered her. Minerva took a moment to think about it. The truth was, she simply did not have enough hours in the day to get everything she wanted done. There was barely enough time for the things she needed to get done. Losing one of those detentions would free up some time for her to do other things.

"Thank you," She said to Harry, "I will let you know once I've looked over my schedule which day would be best."

Harry chuckled and rolled his eyes, "Minerva, we both know you have your schedule memorized." A wry grin came to his face, "There's no way you couldn't tell me what night you want free."

"Perhaps not," Minerva replied, "But it's a question of prioritizing them. I have two days in mind, one is preparation for the O.W.L's, the other for the N.E.W.T's." Harry chuckled softly, "You may think I'm premature, Professor Fawkes, but when you are teaching Defense next year you will need to prepare for these examinations as early as possible." Minerva said evenly as she spread jam onto her toast.

At the Gryffindor table, things were tense, to put it mildly. James didn't say anything to anyone, only looking up from his mostly untouched plate to glare at Sirius. Sirius did his best to ignore James and concentrated on talking to Lily, "Double Potions with Slytherin today..." He said trying to break the ice.

She nodded, "Yes, Sev and I have already practiced the next potion according to the lesson plan. It's the frostbite curative draught." She smiled, "It's a fascinating potion. Did you know that you have to grind the salamander teeth diagonally in order to get the maximum amount of powder?"

Sirius chuckled, "I did not know that." Lily Evans, Sirius was learning, was brilliant. Admittedly, he'd always known it on some level since meeting her. But hearing her talk about potions seemed to bring it home. "What is so fascinating about potions for you?" He asked her. Judging by the gleam in her eye, he had just asked the million galleon question.

"It's...everything about them...for example, there's a diagnostic charm to tell if someone has been given a love potion. But the only way to get it out of their system is with a purging potion. Episkey can heal most wounds, but it takes a potion to regrow missing bones." She said breathlessly, "Potions are like their own sort of magic. You don't need a wand, or magical talent to be a good brewer. You just need patience and discipline."

Sirius laughed at that, "I suppose that's why it's so hard for me. I have neither of those." Lily laughed with him. Sirius could feel the anger wafting off James as he and the girl James fancied laughed together.

James had a plan. Sirius had a reputation for flirting with every witch from seventh year down. All I need to do is get the right witch to go along with it...

But who? McKinnon? She's out, she hates Sirius. What about Marconi in Slytherin? Wait, no she's dating that third year 'Puff... Hmm, now that's an idea...I know he fancies that fifth year Slytherin...Tate...

Now that idea had merit. Alexandra Tate was beautiful, talented, and most of all, she was on the record for disliking most of the old Houses. Maybe she would be willing to help pull a prank on the newest Lord Black... James smirked and suddenly found that he had an appetite after all.

Remus had done his best to act as a friendly ear to both James and Sirius. He had tried, but it wasn't working. His best friends were stubborn, silly boys who preferred pranks to actual discussion. He was also distracted. Jane had given him a letter this morning. She'd been waiting outside of Gryffindor Tower for him when he'd came out. She'd thrust the note into his hand, winked at him, and then walked away.

Now, he was looking at the letter,

Remus,

Yule Break is coming up. My parents have a box seat at Portree. P.O.P is playing the Bats on the twenty-ninth. Thing is, my parents are going to be visiting my uncle in Cardiff that day. So poor little me will have that box all to myself.

It would be a shame if I had to sit up there all alone, don't you think?

Send your parents an owl and ask them if you can come with me to the match. I promise you'll leave with your chastity intact.

Jane

Remus stared at the letter. This was...he let out a soft breath. He wasn't used to someone taking this kind of interest in him. The twenty-ninth isn't a full moon. It's safe enough... He dug into his satchel and pulled out some parchment and a quill. As he wrote, he couldn't help but look up, Jane Thornton was watching from the Hufflepuff table. She smiled at him, and winked as she had done before.

Jane wasn't sure what it was about Remus that she liked so much. He was mature for his age, hell he was mature for her age. He was brilliant, she had no problem imagining him being able to take his N.E.W.T's by the time he was in his fifth year.

Alright, so maybe she did know why she liked him. She'd done some minor research into his name when she realized that she enjoyed being around him. He was a half-blood, the son of a muggle and a wizard. His father was one of the few wizards who tried to push for changes to the legislation that dealt with cursed humans. Specifically werewolves, which makes sense. If my last name was Lupin, I'd be interested in wolves too...

Jane Lupin...That was an interesting thought. An idle one too be sure, but a thought none the less. He'd be a fourth-year student when she was ready to graduate. If they were interested in pursuing a relationship, they would have to work out how to see each other in those three years. Perhaps we could find a house in Hogsmeade...She mused as she watched him writing. Their eyes met and she winked at him, just as she had done when she'd given him the invitation.

When his face turned red, she grinned. Yeah, I like him...and three years isn't so much. Ma and Da have six years between them...that dirty old woman picked her man fresh off the Express his final year and they haven't looked back since. Admittedly Hester and Jude Thornton had known each other before getting married the day after he graduated. She had been the daughter of his fathers boss. But they were happy together and to Jane, that was worth it.

Scene Break

Bellatrix was bored. Harry had been gone for the whole weekend with Narcissa. Andromeda had been busy at St. Mungos. She still hated her aunt. That had only left Apolline to talk to, and to be fair, how much can you say to the woman who owes your husband a life debt?

She decided to take a walk on the grounds. She had started at the owlery, Harry's owl was at Hogwarts so she opened the door and let her own swoop down and land on her arm. "How about I let you out to do some hunting, would you like that Loki?" The owl barked in affirmation at her and she stroked his feathers. Taking him clear of the owlery, Bellatrix lifted her arm, watching as the owl lifted from her and began to fly towards the snowy grounds of the Manor.

She stood there a moment longer, enjoying the warmth of the direct sunlight contrasting against the chill of the day. This manor would be beautiful one day, she knew that. "Dobby!" She called out, watching as the House Elf appeared before her, "Dobby, I want you to take the notices I've made in my study for hiring a stable master and an orchard tender. Next, I want you to find us at least three more House Elves. We have a lot of work to do to make sure that the grounds are ready for planting in the spring."

Dobby nodded furiously and then vanished again. Bellatrix sighed and made her way towards the empty stables. Dobby had been busy here. The formerly damaged and moldy stables had been cleaned and repaired. She could smell the leather of the saddles and harnesses already purchased. Soon they would have horses and Bellatrix found herself imaging a carriage ride at Yule with Harry and those dark-haired children she'd seen in her dreams.

Of course, now there will be at least one or two blonde children as well. Bellatrix was annoyed by how irritated that thought made her. She was supposed to be more mature than this, but the idea of sharing her husband infuriated her. When she was still a Death Eater, she would burn off the rage she felt by practicing curses on Muggles. Not the healthiest way to deal with her anger, but it had worked. Harry though, he believed she could be a better person and damn her for a fool, she wanted to prove him right.

She wanted to, but she wasn't sure if she could. Everyone knew the dangers of the Dark Arts, their use was intoxicating and addictive. She'd used many curses during her time, even as brief as it was, with the Death Eaters. Can I control myself? Hard to say, I have used an unforgivable on Harry when I was angry...

But she hadn't meant to. Harry had assured her of it. She imagined those children again. For them, she would learn to let go of her anger.

A soft crunch alerted her to someone walking up behind her. Turning she saw Apolline, wearing a red cloak. "Not a fan of the cold are you?" Bellatrix asked quietly.

"No, Madame Fawkes, my home is the south of France. I grew up near the Mediterranean. Devon is a bit colder than what I am used to." Apolline said, lowering her hood. Even having made her promise to her as yet nonexistent children, Bellatrix was still annoyed at just how beautiful the Veela was.

Bellatrix raised an eyebrow, "You live here, Apolline. You can call me Bellatrix." She chuckled softly, "There's no reason to be formal, you want to be a Consort here..." noting the look on the face of the Veela, Bellatrix smirked, "You and Andi should be quieter if you wish to discuss things..."

Apolline pursed her lips for a second, "I wish I didn't want to be with your husband. I'm a Veela, everyone expects us to be good little trophies, but I wanted to find a man of my own." The words seemed to strike something within Bellatrix. She had wanted a life of her own, she'd been forced into a marriage contract with a man she'd hated.

"I get it. More than you know. I fell in love with him after I tried to kill him." Bellatrix said, "I failed in my task and I was tortured for it. I came back to try again...he noticed I was trembling from cruciatus exposure. He healed me, even knowing that I was here to kill him...we fought, I lost...I asked him to kill me...he kissed me instead..." Bellatrix smiled softly at the memory, "I was only a few weeks after that when we met you."

"Which explains why you were ready to hex me for being within thirty feet of him." Apolline said smirking, "He is loyal to the people that matter to him." She sighed softly, "I would ask you, formally, if you will allow me the position of Consort for House Slytherin?"

Bellatrix looked away and drew in a breath, finally turning back to face her, "Alright." It was a simple one-word answer. It was all she was going to give, and luckily, it was all Apolline needed to hear, if her smile was anything to go by.

Scene Break

Voldemort looked at the Muggles, his men had captured. Or rather, what was left of them. He grinned at the sight of the broken, mangled bodies. Drawing his wand, he began to channel his magic into the corpses.

As his power worked into the flesh of the dead Muggles, he watched as they began to draw into each other. Merging into each other, leaving a pile of bluing flesh and spindly limbs. Row upon row of mouths, each other multiple sets of gnashing teeth, dimmed eyes crammed into what looked like holes set inside the hands. It was a creature of nightmare, his nightmare to control.

The abomination wouldn't last long. Perhaps as little as a few hours once it began to unleash its fury upon the world. His creature would be loosed upon Hogsmeade at the end of the month. Until then, it could be kept in stasis.

Voldemort finished the ritual and quickly put the thing into stasis. An entire blocks worth of Muggles had been broken down and put into this multi-limbed beast. And in a few weeks, just as the students were doing their Yule shopping on the final Hogsmeade weekend before break, he would invite them to gaze upon his nightmare.

He would oversee the attack himself. It was time he stopped hiding in the shadows and actually gave the people of Magical Britain a name for their terror. Voldemort. For now, few knew of him. By the end of the year, all would know.

He turned to his servants, "Travers, Yates, stop embarrassing yourselves." He snapped, hitting the two Death Eaters who he had noticed turning pale as if they had wanted to vomit with a quick Cruciatus, "If you cannot handle a bit of applied necromancy, then perhaps you would be more useful as parts to build another beast later..." He warned them.

That served the purpose. Both men, once they had stopped screaming, had immediately cowered at their Master's side. "Our time at Hogsmeade isn't just for mayhem's sake, once we are finished, we will collect the corpses and build another beast, one that will have limited control over the magic its components had possessed before death."

He raised his hands to the assembled Death Eaters, "All will bow, or they will die. None will stand against us. I will bring the world into the glorious age I envision, where the mudbloods and the Muggle-lovers are wiped away, or I will destroy the world and build a new one in its ashes." The cheering of his servants served to bring a cold smile to his lips, "My second, the one whose power will nearly match my own, will be the one who brings me the head of Harry Fawkes."