Theo was glad to be going back to Hogwarts.
Nott manor was increasingly lonely these days, he thought it was because now he simply just wasn't used to the solitude. It seemed that when he was at Hogwarts he was never alone (something he was beyond thankful for) and it made him wonder how he had survive so long in his isolated ancestral home before.
Of course his grandfather was there, the only blood family Theo had left now, but it simply wasn't the same. So when he finally sees Eliza sitting alone in their compartment on the train he practically lights up with joy.
Eliza seemed just as happy to see them as they all piled into the compartment and Theo took the chance to study her as Draco rattled on about his summer.
She seemed a bit taller, not by much though and she was a lot thinner than she had been at the start of the summer. Theo made a note to pile more food onto her plate when they got to Hogwarts - she would never eat enough if it was left up to herself.
She seemed happier as well, more sure of herself as she spoke and Theo felt himself relax more and more as her magic filled the room. He was sure she never noticed when it happened, most wizard's kept their magic tightly locked in their core and even then most aren't powerful enough to be sensed but Eliza was different. She had used her magic as an intimidation tactic many times before (arsenic green eyes, a twisted smile, 'bow'-) but whenever she was happy it seemed to drift away from her twirling about them.
It felt almost like a bonfire.
Theo loved it.
The easy atmosphere was broken however when dementors boarded the Hogwarts Express
*
"If I die I'm haunting you" Theo said dubiously looking down the slimy pipe that would apparently lead to the chamber of secrets. It wasn't that he didn't trust Eliza, he trusted her with his life. Eliza would do anything to protect him. But Eliza also loved causing chaos that always made Theo feel like he was going to have a heart attack.
Such as meeting a giant basilisk.
A giant basilisk that for some reason Eliza considered as docile as a dormouse.
Theo thinks that has to be the biggest shock he's going to receive. He can't imagine Eliza revealing anything else as shocking as a 60 foot basilisk she called Jormy.
He was wrong.
Theo hadn't meant to shout at Eliza but he had tried everything else. He had tired being patient and understanding, tried to take things slow and steady but for someone so ridiculously smart Eliza truly was oblivious.
The hardest thing Theo will ever do in his life is proving to Eliza Potter that they care. And that they always will, even if she went around resurrecting dark lords.
Because Eliza Potter had been an eleven year old reckoning that he knew he would live his entire life following.
Even if she didn't know it yet.
*
Hermione didn't know what to think about Eliza Potter.
She had read all about her of course, almost every recent history book mentioned the famed Girl-Who-Lived. Hermione had once thought she had a good picture of what Eliza Potter would be like. Charming and happy, perhaps conceited or maybe more bashful, chivalrous definitely. Everyone spoke about her like they would a Gryffindor.
And then she had been sorted into Slytherin.
She was cold and aloof, she held herself like she was better than them. Better than everyone and she even beat Hermione's standing in class almost effortlessly. Hermione worked hard to get her grades, she tried to help whenever she could. Eliza Potter seemed arrogant, so sure in her skill set that she appeared untouchable.
Hermione had scoffed at the idea.
But then everyone heard the rumours about Cormac Mclaggen and Hermione saw Eliza in a new light. She moved in a predatory sort of manner, lazily observing those around her and Hermione knew it wasn't arrogance but rather a deep unshakable belief. That Eliza Potter knew she was invincible.
Hermione tried her best to forget about the girl but it didn't last long. Because in second year the chamber of secrets had opened and no one was a bigger suspect than Eliza Potter, the quintessential Slytherin who had the rest of her house eating out of her hand.
Of course the girl had never blatantly seemed to care for blood status, in fact ever since Potter had integrated into the house Hermione barely heard the slur at all. But that didn't change her suspicions.
So she and Ron brewed the polyjuice potion and sneaked into the Slytherin Common room.
And Hermione had been confronted by a monster.
She still remembered how it felt, to be paralysed and at the feet of Potter. Just a girl her age who seemed so much more. She had moved with a predatory grace and when those arsenic green eyes landed on Hermione her brain had screamed at her to run. To run as fast as she could because she had never experienced anything like Eliza Potter outside her storybooks.
She had tried to push that incident out of her mind too.
But the slytherin girl was becoming harder and harder to avoid considering she was in every single one of Hermione's classes. Even the ones that by all rights she shouldn't be able to attend at the same time.
It made Hermione worry but she believed in the headmaster. Only responsible students would be given access to a time turner, and Eliza Potter for all she appeared charming was not someone to be trusted.
Her worries came to fruition however on the day of the first Care of Magical Creatures class. With a wink Eliza Potter reached into her robe and flashed Hermione a look at her shiny golden time turner lying about her neck.
Hermione felt herself stumble in shock.
She thought of Cormac, coming into the common room, face wet with streaming tears, trembling and twitching and felt herself pale further. One of the most dangerous students in Hogwarts could now manipulate time itself. She dreaded to think about what would happen next.
She resolved to stay far far away from Eliza Potter in the future. She treasured her life far more than she treasured a mystery.
*
Blaise had no idea how Eliza was attending all of her classes and at this point he was too afraid to ask.
Not only was Eliza attending all of her classes she seemed to easily keep up with the work load, excel even, and still have time for all other engagements and leisure time (assuming Eliza ever actually took a moment to rest)
It was confusing to say the very least and Blaise was absolutely certain he'd be better off not knowing.
But eventually they slowly became accustomed to Eliza's brand new schedule and more interesting things became the topic of conversation. Like Sirius Black.
Blaise regretted opening his mouth in the first place.
Eliza was eerily still as she contemplated the news about Sirius Black and Blaise felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Seeing Eliza still is worse than anything. Of course Eliza is always in control, perfectly managed but there's always something there, static beneath her skin, glinting eyes and small smiles or the drumming of fingers. This stillness was unnerving and Blaise shifted uncomfortably just looking at it.
"If I ever see him" Eliza says slowly "I think I'll kill him"
The words settled heavy over them. Blaise has never been scared of Eliza, she's his friend, his family. But looking in her eyes as she declared her murderous intent he feared for whoever decided to make themselves an enemy of Eliza Potter. For he was sure they would not survive it.
*
Oh Blaise don't you think you've outlived your usefulness
The words of his boggart echoed about his head, even all these hours later.
Oh Blaise don't you think you've outlived your usefulness
The crooning words of his mother, her warm palm on his cheek as she invites him for tea. It makes him shake with fear, his legs bouncing underneath him as he tries to sink further into the couch staring at the flame as if his fear could be devoured like kindling.
No child should be afraid of their own parent.
And yet here he was.
"What are you doing awake?"
Blaise jumps at the sound, heart pounding viciously before he realised it was just Eliza. Just Eliza standing in front of him in her pyjama pants and a quidditch jersey he was sure used to be Draco's. Her voice is soft as if she didn't want to startle him and even in the dim light he can see how tired she was.
"Don't worry about it" Blaise says instead of burdening her with yet another truth "I simply couldn't sleep knowing I wasn't going to be dreaming of you" he finishes with a wink. It would usually make Eliza laugh, or at least smile which Blaise always took as a win but instead her brows furrowed further and she came to sit next to him on the sofa.
"Is this about your mother?" she asks because Blaise really is just that transparent isn't he?
"I'm scared" Blaise says finally because it's easy to admit these things to Eliza, easy to confess in the dim light between those hours of morning and night.
"That's okay"
That's okay.
Not 'it will get better' not 'everything will be fine' not 'you'll get through this' but 'that's okay'
It's okay to be scared, he's allowed to be scared and Blaise never knew he needed someone to say that to him so badly.
Blaise physically slumps, something loosening in his chest as he leans onto Eliza. She doesn't say anything else but she doesn't leave either. She just sits with him until his panic fades, until he feels his eyes start to droop.
He blearily blinks when he feels something poke against the tip of his nose.
"Did you just boop my nose?" Blaise asks groggily and looks up at Eliza from where his head is resting in her lap.
"Yeah" Eliza says with a grin "I did"
Blaise laughs softly and he falls asleep happily, feeling safer with Eliza than he ever had at home.
And that's more than okay.
*
Remus could admit to himself that Eliza Potter was one of the biggest reasons he had agreed to come and work at Hogwarts. He loved teaching and finally being able to have wolfsbane for his transformations was wonderful but he couldn't lie and say the thought of seeing little Eliza again was what convinced him.
Except she wasn't anything like he expected.
The other teachers raved about her, charming, charismatic, intelligent and modest. All the best pieces of Lily and James. But she was also aloof, she had a close set of friends and she was friendly when she needed to be but no one had any doubts that she was naturally rather detached.
The other teachers put it down to her being far more intelligent than children her own age.
Remus had other misgivings.
Mostly due to the fact of the steely gaze he had been levelled with when he attempted to reach out to her
You had thirteen years to reach out to me sir and you didn't
He couldn't blame her really. It was true that as his world fell apart around him he had trusted Dumbledore to do right by her instead of checking himself. And by the time he had pulled himself together it had been too late.
Werewolves lost more and more rights by the day and he had quickly given up on the pipe dream of being in Eliza's life. Even more so now he had seen her obvious disdain for him. But that hadn't stopped him from reaching out again.
She was a strange girl, he had concluded from their many conversations. She was fiercely intelligent, sharp and quick like Lily but quietly mischievous like James and nowhere was that more evident than when she was speaking to Severus.
But she was also ambitious, determined and ruthless. Remus could see that clear as day and the more she tentatively opened up to him the more he could see just who Eliza Potter was. She was caring and loyal and fearless, sometimes prideful and violent. She didn't care that he was a werewolf didn't seem to care about blood purity despite the house she was in and was clearly very politically minded.
Remus just had to look at her to know that she was going to take the world by storm.
He could only hope that when the year ended she would still want him in her life.
*
Eliza was always getting into trouble and Daphne always worried about her.
There was first year when she had gone to face the dark lord alone. She had been 11 and tiny and when Daphne had woken up in the morning her bed had been empty and all anyone knew was rumour after rumour. Eliza Potter was dead, Eliza Potter was expelled, Eliza Potter had once again fought the dark lord and won.
Then there was second year, and Daphne had seen Eliza stride into danger with her wand in her hand and cloak over her shoulders. She had walked out of the slytherin common room to save a girl she didn't even like and meet a boy who moved in murder and death threats and none of them knew if she would come back alive. They had all waited with bated breath and every tick of the hand on the clock felt like it was counting down to the inevitable.
But nothing compared to the worry she felt when Eliza collapsed limp in the quiditch stands, cold, clammy and shaking as dementors swarmed the pitch.
Because every other time Eliza had walked into danger she had chosen too. She strode into danger with violence in her step and weapon in hand.
She had always had a fighting chance and Eliza always made that chance count.
Which is why having to see professor Snape bridal carry her into the hospital wing caused her fear more than anything else. Eliza had always been so strong, so invincible that it was hard to see her like this. Shaking and whimpering in her sleep, soft pleas falling from her lips as she tossed and turned and thrashed.
So when Eliza finally wakes up, groggy and confusedly eating chocolate Daphne feels so relieved she could cry.
They don't ask what Eliza remembered because of the dementors and some part of Daphne is too scared of what she might hear. Instead they return to the common room and bundle up in blankets with hot chocolate and soft smiles.
Eliza was always protecting them, this time they would protect her.
Things settled after that a bit and Daphne was more than glad to see Eliza had returned back to her usual self. For a while there was no Sirius Black or dementors, just pleasant happy normality. It was something they all desperately needed.
"Do you think Jormy would like a chew toy" Eliza asks suddenly one day in the common rooms, Draco lets out a long suffering groan from the sofa and Daphne pats his head consolingly. She doesn't understand Eliza's love of the basilisk. She was a slytherin but she had limits. But the dammed snake made Eliza happy and after the dementor incident it was something she sorely needed.
"Eliza, remind me what species Jormy is again?" Theo says flatly, jamming his quill behind his ear as he looked up.
"A basilisk" Eliza says slowly and Daphne has to muffle a snort.
"And do you think a basilisk is going to like the same things a crup does?"
"I just don't want him getting bored!" she protested earnestly and Daphne laughs again when Theo face palms the table.
Whilst that was the first time Eliza had pondered the basilisks living situation to both Daphne's amusement and chagrined it was far from the last.
"What will Jormy do when we all leave Hogwarts?" Eliza asked horrified over breakfast one day. Daphne honestly couldn't tell if she was being serious or not.
"Oh for Merlin's sake Eliza" Blaise said next to her, sounding close to tears.
"Draco!" Eliza exclaimed turning to face the boy and Daphne blinked in surprise over how pretty Eliza was when she smiled before she shook her head, blushing softly
"You have a big manor right? Do you think your parents would let Jormy stay there when we all leave?" she asks earnestly and yes - she was definitely doing this to tease Draco now.
"Are you truly asking me if Malfoy manor is a kennel for basilisks?"
"It could be" Eliza mutters a grin cracking through her straight face
"Yeah Draco" Daphne finds herself chiming in "It could be"
*
Narcissa prided herself on being a good judge of character, she could pick people apart with a glance but Eliza Potter seemed to exist in contradictions.
Of course she knew a lot about the girl from Draco who simply adored her. Narcissa knew Eliza was loyal and caring, intelligent and charming, mischievous and ruthless. She knew that she had been raised in an orphanage, knew that she was secretive but trust worthy to a fault.
None of that prepared her for meeting the girl.
She was small, even for her age but she moved with grace, she had a presence that made her seem taller than she was. She looked more like a Black than a Potter. She was charming for sure but judging by the look on Draco's face she didn't usually indulge in pandering.
She was a mystery
Over the next few days Narcissa watched the girl closely. She didn't seem to like her husband but she honestly couldn't fault the girl for that. Lucius had definitely suffered for his stunt with the chamber that was for sure. She was polite and intelligent but it wasn't until she was Eliza interacting with her son as they played quidditch did Narcissa see the arm's length she held her and Lucius at.
Because with Draco Eliza seemed to brighten, there was no pretence to be seen. She wasn't as open as other children were but she smiled more, lacked the tension she so obviously held whenever she was in the same room as her friends' parents.
It was now blatantly obvious to Narcissa that the child simply just didn't trust adults.
And oh how that made her heart break.
She decided to speak to Severus about the girl and he confirmed her suspicions. That Eliza had been abandoned in an orphanage, that she had not been cared for nor loved for most of her life. And that even though Severus didn't know much he sometimes feared that her childhood may have resembled his own.
Narcissa's decision had been immediate.
She would give this girl a family or die trying.
She immediately began involving Eliza in more conversations, purposely seeking out the girl so they could spend time together and slowly but surely Eliza seemed to open up to her. She was simply delightful, her son couldn't have found a better friend.
When she helps Eliza get ready for the yule ball she almost cries. Eliza marvels at her reflection as if she had never seen herself before and when she thanks Narcissa she has to resist throwing her arms around her.
Narcissa had always wanted a daughter and Eliza Potter somehow felt like that and more. She could only hope that Eliza had found a family in Narcissa too.
*
Severus sighed as he strode into the ballroom. He tended to avoid these types of events but he knew Cissa would absolutely have his head if he didn't at least show face at their Yule Ball. Besides everyone knew Lucius kept his best liquor for special occasions and after the year Severus had had? He intended to get absolutely hammered.
Picking a spot in the corner of the room so he could avoid his former students and also avoid dull twittering nobles, Severus took a drink and resigned himself to a quit night of lurking like the dungeon bat he is.
He expects the night will be very much the same as all the years previous, long, dull and full of regret. But he knew he would regret it more if he denied Cissa's invitations.
The Black madness ran through them all.
Severus scanned the packed ballroom idly as he sipped his drink (only champagne for now, he was sure it would change later) and almost choked on it when he saw Eliza fucking Potter swan into the room with her court by her side. Eliza 'you were a death eater sir' Potter, Eliza 'I have a pet basilisk' Potter, Eliza 'fucking nightmare' Potter here to make the most painful night he had to suffer through all year even worse.
He couldn't believe he had forgotten she would be here. Potter has seemingly graduated from being a menace to just Hogwarts to being a full time menace to society.
Severus doesn't spy on her, he really doesn't.
But she's almost impossible to miss.
First she sidles up to the Parkinson's and then to the bloody minister himself (the great doddering fool) He watches as she makes the rounds around the room, charming and scandalising purebloods in equal measure. Severus wishes he had taken his chances with Cissa's rage when he hears her passionate speech on werewolves.
Fucking Lupin.
Severus slowly makes his way around the edge of the ballroom. He knows if he stays in one place Potter would spot him, like a shark spotting a poor sodding seal bleeding in the water.
Its three hours into the ball that Cissa finds him
"Ah Severus I'm so glad to see you could make it" she says as if he had any actual choice in the matter and she hadn't threatened to crush his windpipe with her stiletto shoe if he missed it.
"Do you regret your decision to house Potter over the Yule holiday yet?" Severus asks looking over to where the girl is verbally ripping purebloods apart for fun.
"I've actually grown quite fond of the girl" Cissa confesses and Severus is just about to ask how many glasses of wine she's had before she explains
"She truly is a Black through and through"
Severus groans because he can't even deny that reasoning. Cissa and Potter are the two people he never wanted to see get along with each other. It couldn't mean anything good for him.
They both watch as Eliza effortlessly slots herself into another conversation with ministry workers, lords and ladies, and has them all eating out of the palm of her had.
He pretends he doesn't see the small wistful smile on Cissa's face. He also pretends the same feelings aren't mirrored on his own.
Briefly he wonders if Eliza Potter also knows how far she's come from that scrappy raged girl he met in the orphanage those years ago.
His musing are halted however when he hears his name shouted across the room.
"Look Theo! It's Professor Snape. Let's go say hi!"
That is definitely Potter's voice calling after him and that is definitely Narcissa's laughter he hears as he hurries away from the potter brat.
He's too sober to deal with this.
He needs to find Lucius, and more importantly find Lucius' liquor and drink himself into oblivion.
He doesn't remember making it back to Hogwarts, although he vaguely recalls flooing into an office that certainly wasn't his own.
"Fucking Potters" he vaguely remembers mumbling to whichever unlucky sod he had accidentally floo'ed too
"They'll haunt me till I fucking die"
He remembers warm laughter but between one blink and the next he passes out.
The next day he wakes up with a headache so bad that even a hangover potion won't cure it.
But at least Eliza won't have dragged him in to her never ending trail of chaos.
*
Draco watches Eliza unwrap his gift warily, or more accurately he watches her read his note.
To my Sister, Eliza
He had written that note with a shaking sweaty hand and a pounding heart and now he could only watch quietly as she read it.
Eliza was a sister too him. She was protective and loyal, wickedly smart with a sharp tongue and quick witted humour. Without Eliza Draco doesn't think he'd be the person he is today.
She felt like family and these past weeks had only confirmed it. It was the simple things, playing quidditch, exploring the manor, dinners with his parents. It was like having a sister he had never known and something about the idea of Eliza never knowing how he felt made his heart sink.
He needed her to know.
Needed her to know how damn important she really was.
He could only hope she felt the same.
Her eyes don't leave the note, her fingers trace over the letters in an absent minded gesture and suddenly she's launching herself at him. He instantly brings his arms up around her and buries his face in her wild Potter hair as she rests her head on his shoulder. They don't say anything else. They don't need too.
Family didn't need to be explained
*
When Sirius Black transforms in front of Draco's eyes his first immediate thought is that he's going to witness a murder.
Vaguely he recognises that he should feel bad, and then he feels bad for not feeling bad but looking at Eliza Draco instead finds himself filled with grim determination.
They were children yes, but they were children born of war. And he had known for a long time that Eliza was simply a breed apart from the rest of them - it was why she got along so well with the dark lord after all.
Draco listens quietly, Theo's next to him and they both flank Eliza as Black spins his story. It sounds unbelievable but bit by bit things start coming together, puzzle pieces slotting into place.
It's unbelievable, until it's not.
Eliza's still coiled tightly as they make their way back up to the castle, Draco can practically sense the violence dripping from her. It was never good when Eliza got like this, too trapped in her own mind, crawling in her skin. It was like some part of her simply switched off.
Thankfully he and Theo had a lot of experience from pulling Eliza back from the brink.
Some hot-chocolate, a game of chess and some ridiculous ways to annoy Uncle Sev and Eliza would be back to her normal self.
Draco could only pray that this time everything would work out.
Eliza has finally allowed herself to hope - he doesn't think she'll return from that brink quite as easily if she's let down one more time.
*
The day after Eliza Potter receives Hufflepuff's cup a betting pool started.
"What the fuck?!" Zacharias Smith had screeched across the hall when everyone turned to see Eliza calmly sipping her drink out of a founder's heirloom.
"Where did you get that?"
"It's a family heirloom" Eliza had responded, clearly enjoying the havoc she was creating "Sirius found it in his vault"
And that should have been that.
But no-one believed her.
Some did of course, and with the first person who placed 5 galleons on it being from Sirius the betting pool had started. Some said that it was actually a courting gift, they had all seen Eliza receive packages in the past before now and really someone of her standing was probably betrothed. However soon the bets got out of hand.
15 galleons on Eliza Potter stealing Hufflepuff's cup, twenty if she stole it from Gringotts.
Blaise reported the rumours back to Eliza who grinned with each and every development.
She hoped Tom would send her the diadem in the future.
She couldn't even imagine what a stir that would create.
*
Sirius doesn't think he'll ever understand Eliza Potter.
She visits him every other day and aside from the whole feeding him to a basilisk thing (a basilisk) when they first met they get along rather well.
She's definitely more of a Black than a Potter, there's a touch of madness to her eyes that Sirius knows is in his own, had always been even before Azkaban. She's a quintessential Slytherin, someone who once, blind and idealistic, Sirius had used to hate.
She wasn't anything like James and Lily.
But over the years, particularly those years in Azkaban, Sirius feels like he has outgrown the ghosts of his old friends.
He had been a different person back then. He had been an idealist, he had trusted Dumbledore. He had fought against everything his parents stood for simply because he didn't like his parents and somehow he had let his little brother disappear from his because of that.
Sometimes, especially in that article with Skeeter, Sirius thinks he can see Regulus in Eliza. Smart and cunning, quick witted and sharp - it makes him smile. She still holds him at arm's length, Sirius doesn't blame her but the more she opens up to him the more he falls in love. She was his god-daughter, always would be.
Sirius would spend the rest of his days making up for abandoning her.
He learnt about her past, her friends, her hobbies and likes and dislikes. He quickly figured out she was quite detached from her parents - not that he could blame her and he soon started telling other stories than stories about James and Lily and it brought them closer.
She was hiding things from him, of course she was hiding things from him but in time Sirius knew that they would be okay. He wouldn't stop until they were.
When he found out Dumbledore was trying to stop him from taking guardianship of her he had threatened to go and kill the old man himself. He was snapped out of his rage when Eliza burst into laughter and they spent a good hour coming up with more and more ridiculous ways they could murder the old man.
It may not have been typical family bonding, but it undeniably worked.
And when they finally make it to court Sirius almost cries.
Because Eliza diverts from her planned speech, she speaks and speaks and looks straight at him as she talks of a home, and of family, and of finally having a place where she's loved and Sirius knows she means every word of it.
Quietly he vows that never again will she ever feel alone.
And when she runs to him, hugs him as tight as she can. Sirius actually does cry.
Because finally being reunited with his god-daughter, finally after all these years doing something right, makes him happier than his freedom ever could.
He can't wait to finally bring Eliza Potter home.
Home.
He liked the sound of that.