When Harry and I stepped into the common room we were greeted with people celebrating. 'What the fuck are they throwing a party for' I thought as I walked past the crowd, heading directly to the drinks table. I poured myself a cup of fire whiskey and downed in a matter of seconds. Everyone in the Gryffindor common room was asking Harry how he had managed to get through Dumbledore's age line and his response was the same to every question. "I didn't. I don't know how it happened". I felt awfully terrible for him, he didn't want this, he didn't ask for this, but it seemed like normal and Harry Potter didn't even belong in the same sentence together. After half an hour, Harry had managed to retreat into his dorm, but agreed to meet me after everyone else was gone.
I was sitting with my friends, drinking and talking about what had happened, they all seemed excited to have a Gryffindor champion but all I could think about was Harry's wellbeing. I was sipping on my fourth glass of fire whiskey, staring blankly into the fireplace when I felt a poke on my arm. "What?" I snapped, but my eyes softened when I saw Fred. "Don't you think you've had too much?" he said pointing to the almost empty glass I has holding. "Believe me, it takes much more than this to get me drunk" I said.
"What's wrong? Why were you with Harry?" he asked putting his empty glass on the floor. "I'm fine, I just feel bad for Harry. He doesn't deserve this, I'll explain everything to you once I talk to him" I sighed.
"Alright then, nice burn with Nate by the way. It was brilliant" he said getting up and walking the stairs to the boys' dormitories.
Nate. That was another issue. God, I hated him so much but I just couldn't stay away from him. One look, that's all it took for me to fall into his arms like a pathetic damsel in distress. Those blue ocean eyes knew how to make me cry like no other. I hadn't loved him for a very long time, I had learned that the hard way. We could never work. We were both way too fucked up in our own way, but maybe that's what pulled us into this mess in the first place. But those damn blue eyes were intoxicating. I also wondered how my siblings would react if they ever found out about our rendez-vous. They would choose him over me any day of the week.
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Harry, who sat next to me on the couch and stared deep into the fireplace. "Why did you do that?" He asked looking into my eyes. "Do what?" I answered. "Volunteer to take my place, you didn't have to do that" he sighed.
"Well, I kind of had to you know. This is going to sound mental, but you and I Harry, we are family" I smiled. "F-family? But I don't have any family" he said. "We're not related by blood if that's what you think, but we are god-siblings".
"Maddie if this is a joke I swear to Merlin–".
"My mum's maiden name is Black, and no she is not Sirius' sister, they're actually first cousins. I didn't even know he was your godfather too until this summer but I'm here now" I said taking his hand lovingly into mine.
"Do you mean that?" he whispered "Of course I do Harry, you are my brother and I will never leave you alright, that's a promise", he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tightly. I hugged him back and he started to cry quietly. "I'm sorry, I usually don't cry in front of others but it's all too much" he mumbled.
"Let it out Harry, I learned until recently that it's not good to bottle things up" I joked trying to lighten up the mood. I was never good handling crying people, I could sometimes come as 'insensitive'.
"I'm scared Maddie, I really am. I don't wanna be a champion, I don't want to be Harry Potter, I just want to be normal" his voice cracked.
"Why be ordinary when you can be extraordinary? That's something that my dad used to tell me. I know that it's absolute shit and that it's not fair, believe me when I tell you that I would rather be the one competing instead of you, but you heard what they said. So this is what we're going to do okay, we will figure this out and we will take it one day at the time Harry and I will help you get through the Tournament, I'll come up with the plans and I'll be here with you every step of the way, deal?".
"Deal, but do you really mean in when you said you'll never leave? Everyone ends up leaving me eventually, my parents, Sirius, now Ron" his voice cracked.
"I mean it, there's no getting rid of me now. You're stuck with me forever and ever" I said truthfully, "and Ron, really? What happened?".
"He thinks that I put my name in on purpose, he's being a git" he sighed.
"Give him time, he'll eventually come to his senses. Maybe you should go to bed now Harry, it's late. We can spend some time together tomorrow if you want, bonding and what not" I smiled as he gave me one final hug and headed towards his dorm.
I was still sat on the couch, smoking a cigarette and unable to sleep. I was so out of it that I didn't even hear footsteps descending from the boys' dormitories. Fred sat next to me and lighted a joint with his wand before taking a drag and passing it to me. We sat in comfortable silence smoking, my head placed against his shoulder and his arm draped around my waist.
"You okay Maddie?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine" i sighed.
*****
"Does it ever happen to you that you hate someone so much that you feel your blood boil inside you every time you look at them?" she asked the redhead.
"No, not really".
"I have and it's not a nice feeling. Especially when it's someone you used to love with every beat of your heart".
"So it's Nathan then, you love him"
"Loved, past tense. I used to, I really did you know, and even though I hate him with every single cell of my being, and even though I know he never loved me and never will, I just can't help it. He's like my own personal brand of cocaine. Is as if he owns me. I'm the toy that he's broken so many times but magically repairs itself, waiting to be broken again and again and again. And that my redheaded friend, that's really fucked up"
"It really is fucked up Frenchie. You deserve better Madeleine, you really do. Maybe you just need to find the right person to fall in love with, even though is falling in love overrated"
"I promised myself to never fall in love again, even if that leaves me to be alone for the rest of my existence. I don't really see the point now you know. Devoting yourself and giving everything that you have to give to someone who will eventually shatter you to pieces. What's the point really?"
"The thrill of it all I suppose. Having your heart on the line, the power that the person that you love holds over you. Maybe it's like living in a permanent state of adrenaline. Pathetic. If I wanted to do something thrilling I would throw myself off the astronomy tower and do arresto momentum before I hit the ground".
"Well then, heaven help the fools who fall in love"
"Heaven help the fools who fall in love".
*****
The next morning I woke up with my head resting on the crook of Fred's neck and his head placed on top of mine. I didn't remeber falling asleep but it was the second time that I got a good night rest because of him.
"How high did we get last night?" he said in his deep raspy morning voice which made my knees weak.
"Don't know, I can't really remember" I laughed. We both got up from the couch and headed to our dorms to get ready for the day.
Since it was Sunday, there wasn't much to do besides hanging out and homework. Lizzie, Alicia and I walked into the great hall for breakfast and as we headed to the table I felt as if I was being observed by multiple pairs of eyes. When I sat down, I turned my head and noticed that most of the Beauxbatons girls as well as ravenclaws, slytherins and hufflepuffs were looking in my direction.
"Why are people looking at us?" I asked my group of friends. "Not us, they're looking at you?" George smirked.
"Oh good God what did I do now?" I sighed. "Well there's this rumor going on that you stormed where the champions were and offered to take Harry's place" Lee said disbelievingly. "Don't forget the part where she sent all of the teachers to hell and to eat her shit" Fred chuckled.
"WHAT?! I did no such thing!" i yelled, "well at least the last part" i mumbled.
"Wait so you did offer to take Harry's place?" Lizzie asked. "Why would you do that?" Alicia also asked me. The twins, Lee, Lizzie and Alicia were looking at me with wide eyes waiting for an answer.
"Harry and I share the same god father, so I saw appropriate to try and protect him. But they didn't let me do it so there was no point really".
"So you're meaning to tell me that you and Harry Potter are god siblings? That can't be true!" Lee said.
"I'll explain, just promise not to go ballistic on me. My mum used to be really close with her cousin before he got locked up and when I was born she asked him to be my godfather. He was Harry's dad best friend so they also made him his godfather, and then everything went to shit and he was sent to Azkaban–".
"Hold the fuck up-" Fred interrupted me, "so you're telling us that you're related to Sirius Black and that he's your godfather!" he grinned.
"Not so loud," i whispered "and yes, I was getting there". "Wicked" the twins said in unison.
"That was a really nice thing to do Maddie" Lizzie smiled. "Yeah Mads, that was a noble thing to do. It's obvious that Harry didn't put his name in" said Alicia.
"I'm still processing the fact that your family history is more interesting than all of ours combined" Lee chucked.
"Oh yeah, it's amazing being related to nutters like the Malfoys and the Lestranges" I said sarcastically, "but Sirius is the nicest from all of them, he's a softie. But that's a story for next time" I smiled.
"Back the fuck up again, what do you mean by the Malfoys and the Lestranges?" George asked.
"Oh, that" i muttered, "well um, my mum has three sisters. Bellatrix, Andromeda and Narcissa. Bellatrix is locked in Azkaban with her husband Rodolphus. Narcissa married Lucius and became a trophy wife and Andromeda is the only one that we have a relationship with".
"So you're telling me that Daddy issues Malfoy is your first cousin" Fred scoffed.
"Yeah to sum it up, but I met him for the first time in platform 9 3/4 and I don't really know him so whatever," I shrugged, "and daddy issues, really" i chuckled.
We kept chatting and eating until we were all done. As we were walking to exit the great hall I stopped on my tracks and tugged Fred's arm. "Who started the rumor?" I asked him.
"George and Lee heard it from some ravenclaws who heard it from the beauxbatons" he said. I felt how my body began filling with anger and stormed to where Fleur Delacour and her posse were sitting accompanied by my brother and Nathan. Alicia, Lizzie, the twins and Lee followed me already sensing trouble.
"Ah if it isn't la pute, what do you want Madeleine?" Fleur's best friend Charlotte smirked.
"Aw, still pissed that I fucked your boyfriend" I cooed, "I just came to have a little chat with Fleur".
"Maddie just leave alright, don't make a scene" Timothee muttered. "Let her talk man, this is gonna be good" Nathan grinned.
"I will do as I please Timothee. This is between me and little miss perfect" I said sternly. "You spread a lie like that again Delacour, and I will fucking destroy you. You know damn well that I can and I will" I said calmly.
"You think you're really scary don't you Madeleine?" She scoffed in her thick French accent.
"I don't think you need a reminder of last years events. How long was until you could sleep by yourself? Nine months or was it ten?" I chuckled, "you know what I'm capable of, so if I were you, I would watch my mouth more carefully. Have a nice day" I smiled to the part veela who had turned visibly pale by my words.
We walked out of the great hall and went to sit by the Black Lake, enjoying the little sun that was shinning over Hogwarts. "Okay since it looks like no one will mention it, what did you do to the poor girl Mads?" Fred chuckled. "Yeah, she looked as if she would burst into tears" Lizzie said.
"Fine, do you remember when I told you all that I didn't have the cleanest reputation back in Beauxbatons?", i asked and they nodded. "Well, Fleur and her friends played a part in that. They spreaded a shit ton of rumors about me, so I may have taken some revenge" I shrugged and continued playing with a grass blade.
"Go on" George insisted. "Well we had this big fight when she started saying that I was pregnant and that since I was such a whore I didn't know who the father was" I chuckled, "which was obviously a big fucking lie, so then I beat her up" I muttered.
"Damn, you're feisty" Fred smirked. "Oh that was not all, that was only the physical part. I may or may have not planted a fake memory in her brain that caused her to have nightmares for like ten months".
"That's impossible! You can't plant fake memories, no one can do that!" Lee said loudly. "Well you can't, unless you're me and you really need to stop underestimating me Lee" I winked. "Care to elaborate?" Fred asked.
"Veelas have a different type of magic from wizards, they don't need a wand to perform it. The veela charm when turned on can hypnotize men or women, it makes them simply irresistable to non veelas and can be fatal. Just imagine it like a love potion's effect, is not love. It's infatuation and that's when the looks and all come in place, we are said to be direct descendants from Aphrodite. When the charm is turned on the veela can trap the victim and they will become so obsessed that they won't be able to leave, but it becomes even worst when there's sex involved. That's why among the veela community it's seen as despicable to use the charm. My grandmother gave us history lessons when we were younger and forbade us to use the charm on anyone. Veelas also have really powerful healing magic and when angry their face can turn into a harpy which is what happened at the World Cup, that's why you never and I mean never, piss a pure veela off. Another type of magic that only a select few have is mind alteration and control. My great grandmother possessed this gift, and she passed it on to me. It's not like a generational thing though, cause Mamie and dad didn't have it and neither do Tim and Clo". I explained calmly.
"So you're basically telling us that you can control minds!" George said in disbelief. "And alterate them, but it also works with dreams and all so I can basically get into your head and modify or create or plant whatever I want, even if you're asleep. I can also share my memories with others which is pretty cool" I smiled.
"You're so fucking powerful that's amazing!" Lizzie giggled. "I don't normally use it, I only used it on Fleur to get her to stop talking shit and it worked" I chuckled.
"What was it?" Lee asked intrigued.
"It was a really mean thing to do but it was the only way I could get her to lay off of me so please don't judge. It was her watching herself drown over and over again. I was a different person back then than who I am now, but I won't deny that I still kind of enjoy making people who hate me hate me even more" I said.
"Jesus Christ Maddie, no wonder why the poor girl is so traumatized!" Alicia said. "I can't really decide if that was a bitch move or a badass move" Lizzie laughed.
"Can you get into her head again and tell her to date me?" Lee said and we all laughed, but I wasn't sure if he was joking or not. One could never be too sure when it came to Lee and girls.
"You were a mean, mean girl Mads,-" Fred joked, "MEAN? Evil more like it, no reason why your brother's friend calls you evil spawn" George laughed.
"I'm only mean to those who are mean to me, I live by an eye for an eye philosophy type of shit" I laughed.
"Okay I can't be the only one curious about this but can you show us your brain voodoo shit please" Lizzie begged.
"Fine then, have any of you been to the south of France?" I asked and they shooked their heads no. "Okay, I need all of you to look into my eyes and keep the eye contact". They all complied and their gazed was fixated in my jade green orbs which became darker. I closed my eyes and thought of one of my favorite memories.
*****
'It was summer of 1992, the day was sunny and a 15 year old Madeleine was laying on a towel letting the Mediterranean sun sink onto her skin. She was vissibly tanned and was keeping herself busy by reading one of her favorite novels. She looked up from the book to see Philippe, Timothee, Clotilde and Nathan running and playing with a muggle ball. Cressida was sitting under an umbrella next to her daughter sipping on a glass of ice cold rosé . Madeleine resumed her reading when suddenly she was picked up and thrown over her father's shoulder. "Let me down please dad" she laughed trying to break free. "Where are we even going anyways?" Timothee asked who was walking along Nate and Clotilde. "C'est une surprise but we have to walk a tad" Philippe said. "Well if we have to walk by all means keep carrying me because I am not going to walk". "Don't be a party pooper Mads, it'll be fun" Clotilde said excitedly. After a while of walking and joking around, they had reached their destination. "Who's ready to jump?" Philippe said excitedely. "YOU'RE JOKING RIGHT! ARE YOU MAD?" Madeleine yelled looking over the edge of the cliff. "Tim and Nate, you two go first and then Clo" Philippe said. They jumped off the cliff and landed in the turqouise sea waiting for the remaining two. "You're insane dad, I'm not doing it! That has to be at least more than 20 feet!" Maddie scowled. "Come on étoile, it will be fun!" he said taking her hand and walking closer to the edge of the cliff. "What if I die? What will you do if I die? I know I'm reckless and all but this is way too extreme, even for me dad!" . "I will never let you get hurt, I promised you that when I held you for the first time" Philippe said . "Okay okay I'll do it but you owe me and ice cream once we get back" she smiled. "Deal" he said. They both jumped off the cliff laughing loudly and landed in the freezing water. '
*****
I closed my eyes again and snapped my five friends out of their trance. "Wow" they said astonished. "Pretty cool right?" I smiled as they nodded excitedly.
"So you planted one of your memories in our brains?" George asked.
"Yup, I can remove it too if you want".
"No no, it was amazing to see that!" Alicia said laying down and pacling her head on my lap.
"So we learned a couple of things from today's events," Fred said, "One, you never cross Frenchie unless you want to have night terrors, two veelas are really fucking powerful, and three Maddie is even more powerful than normal part veelas" he smirked.
"Don't forget that she looks hot in a bikini" Lee nudged Fred. "Gee, thanks Lee" I laughed.
We were still outside, chatting and joking around but I grew sadder and quieter. Relieveing that memory was as painful as it could be, it reminded me of simpler times. It reminded me that even though my dad had promised me that he would never let me ger hurt, it was his death what made me experience the most pain I had ever felt. Lizzie was observing me from afar and she could tell that there was something wrong. She was pushy when she wanted to be, but always knew the correct time and place to do things.
"It's getting cold so maybe we should head back" Lizzie said and we nodded. We went back to Gryffindor Tower and I went upstairs to my dorm while the rest stayed in the common room. Luckily Angelina and Meredith weren't there so I had the dorm to myself for a little bit. I sat on my bed and took out a cigarette out of my case. I was about to light it up when the door was opened by Lizzie and Alicia.
"You know that those are supposed to kill you right?" the brunette pointed to the cigarette between my teeth. "I guess that I'm just doing the universe a favour and speeding up the process" I smirked.
"That's not funny Mads, you shouldn't joke about that" Alicia said softly taking a seat next to me. Lizzie did the same and soon I was sitting in the middle, knowing what was coming next.
"So" said Lizzie. "We noticed that you seemed a bit down after showing us that memory" Alicia said bluntly.
"Ali!" Lizzie said, "we were supposed to do it gently" she whispered to the other brunette. "You know I'm right here and I can hear you" i whispered mocking Lizzies antics.
"Okay just like ripping off a bandaid then, I know what you're thinking" I chuckled. "We understand if it's too personal but it doesn't look like you're okay Mads" Alicia said resting her head on my shoulder. "You can talk to us Maddie, that's what friends are for" Lizzie smiled.
"This is the first time ever that I've really had girl friends, or friends in general. I used to have Amelie but then we moved here and we sort of went our own ways, and back in France I was labeled with being a whore so only guys who wanted to fuck would be around me" I sighed.
"My dad died this summer, that's why we moved here" I said taking a pull from the cigarette. "I'm sorry Mads, I really am" Alicia said hugging me. "Thank you for telling us Maddie, you're really brave you know" Lizzie said.
"I'm not brave, like at all. If I'm being honest I feel more like a Slytherin, I was meant to be there but I begged the hat to put me with Tim and Clo". "Are you mental, you're one of the bravest persons I know! Offering to take Harry's place, standing up to those who have hurt you, that takes a lot of courage" Lizzie said. "Don't underestimate yourself Mads" Ali added.
"I'm not brave alright, I really am a coward! I saw my dad getting tortured and killed and I didn't even do anything to stop it!" I yelled as tears were already streaming down my face.
"Madeleine it was not your fault alright, you feel like it is because you're grieving and that is normal" Lizzie said softly.
"You need to heal Maddie and it will take time but we'll be here every step of the way, that's a promise" Alicia reasured holding my hand while Lizzie lovingly stroked my hair.
"Let's make a promise, the three of us" Lizzie said, "that we will have each other's back, always and forever".
"And that we will always protect each other in everything" Ali added.
"And that we will stick together throught thick and thin" I smiled.
"Always and forever" , the three of us said together linking our pinkies together and laughing. This was a new beginning, for the first time in a very long time, I felt happiness. Genuine happiness. Even though I knew that we had a long journey ahead of us, we would go through it together and that's all that mattered, and that's how our sisterhood began.
AN: Hi everyone, school has been beating my ass lately but I really wanted to post today. I wanted to start getting more into Harry and Maddie's relationship as well as Lizzie, Alicia and Maddie's friendship since they will be really important as the story progresses. Btw thank you for reading this fanfic, it really means the world to me and would love if you could vote and comment too. Love you all and remember to treat people with kindness