The first week of term brought fresh challenges. On the first day back, Professor Bones announced a practical potions test on the following Friday. Most of the class, bar Lily, groaned at this news, and the amount of revision they would have to do on the potion they had been studying. The strangest event, however, came on Tuesday when they met their new history of magic teacher. They lined up quietly outside her classroom, and she opened the door.
"Hello class." The pupils stared. Her voice was strange and gravelly, but at the same time strained and high-pitched. Her voice, however, was nothing to her appearance. Her eyes were a bright purple and her hair was almost white, but she did not seem old. "Come in." She continued. They filed in and sat in their normal seats. Lily's desk was next to Jayla's and two seats behind Hugo.
"She's strange." Jayla whispered to Lily, who nodded.
"Quiet please, Miss Berryfield." Jayla looked around, confused. The teacher had her back to them as she wrote on the board, and how did she know Jayla's name? Most of the class were shuffling uncomfortably in their seats. Hugo, Lily could see, was already doodling in his book, and Milly, Olivia and Iona were whispering to each other in the back of the room.
"Quiet in the back, you three." The teacher said, wearily. "And please, do not ruin your notebook, male ginger-nut in the second row." Hugo dropped his pen, and Lily looked at Jayla with outrage. The comic look of fury that Hugo looked around with made everyone snicker into their desks. The teacher turned around to look at the class, and Lily could make out what was written on the board.
'Basic Wizarding History,' was the title, and underneath it: 'The Evil of Giants.'
"Miss." Hugo put up his hand, and the teacher's eyes flicked towards him.
"My name is Professor Golds." She said, in a strict but unpleasant voice. "Speak, ginger-nut."
"My name is Hugo Weasley." Hugo said, and the class gasped a little at his disrespectful tone. "And I wanted to ask something about the title of your subsection."
"Firstly, Mr. Weasley, I know your name, as I looked through the register. Wizarding lineage tells me you must be a Weasley with hair like that. I chose to call you male ginger-nut." Lily stared at Jayla, then at the professor, unable to believe her own ears. "What is your question?" She asked.
"Well, Professor, you're a teacher, and you aren't allowed to pass judgement on beings of a near-human intelligence, such as a giant, meaning your title including the word 'evil' as a direct description of such a being, that is opinionated, is against the rules in the legislation of education made by the ministry." Lily had never been more proud of her cousin as the teacher stared directly at Hugo with astonishment.
"You made that up on the spot, Mr. Weasley." Lily knew that Hugo had not, but the Professor didn't. Auntie Hermione had made sure both Hugo and Lily knew the legislation for teaching, due to their bad experience with a teacher called Umbrick, or something, in their fifth year.
"Actually Professor, he didn't." Lily put up her hand, coming to Hugo's aid. The teacher's head snapped in Lily's direction.
"What is it, female ginger-nut?" Golds said, indifferently.
"Well, my father and my aunt, who is Hugo's mother, taught me the legislation of the ministry for education. That is in subsection 6 clause B." The silent class were distinctly impressed at these figures, the teacher could tell and she wasn't happy about it.
"Oh, don't tell me, female ginger-nut. You're a Potter. And this Aunt you refer to, Hermione Granger, perhaps?" Hugo and Lily were both angered by the mocking tone that she used. Her eyes flashed with a new hatred.
"Yes, my mother. Hermione Granger-Weasley." Hugo said, proudly, standing his ground. "Your mother, Mr. Weasley-" At that moment, Charles put up his hand.
"What is it boy?" The teacher turned to him.
"Forgive me, Professor. You can't give an opinion on Granger-Weasley." Charles said, timidly.
"And why is that?" The teacher spat.
"Well, Granger-Weasley is in a position of political power. Personal opinions or political ones are not permitted to be imposed upon students. And," Charles gulped at the look on her face, but soldiered on, "And what you're about to say has the potential to be both."
"Enough!" The teacher seemed to be losing her nerve now. "Granger-Weasley is a know-it-all. You would only expect her child and niece to know this ridiculous legislation. It hardly matters.
"Professor." Jayla now put up her own hand. "These rules are the difference between freedom and Azkaban."
"Oh, and your family would know all about the horrors of Azkaban." There was absolute silence in the class.
"What did you say?" George said, as Jayla went even paler than was usual.
"Nothing that you'd understand, weirdo boy." The teacher said, smugly.
"Why do I need to understand it to know it was out of order?" George asked, standing up. Lily spoke up too.
"I think it was uncalled for."
"Me too." Hugo said, and stood up. Oli stood up.
"Me as well."
"Uncalled for." Deryn repeated, as she stood up. Charles stood. Irfon. Aled. Milly. Iona. Olivia, and finally Jayla.
"You can't insult my family. The fact that you even know about my ancestry suggests that your background needs further investigation by our headmistress." Jayla's voice shook as the whole class, every Gryffindor first year, stood in solidarity.
"This is ridiculous! Sit down!" Golds screamed at them. "Actually, go wherever you like. But you will pay for this, Berryfield. And you Weasley. Potter. You will pay." The teacher walked around her desk and then placed her hands on it, turning once again to face them.
"I am sending you to the library to research. You are dismissed.
This teacher knew more about Jayla than she was prepared to let on, and that was worrying. For the rest of the day, Lily, Jayla and the boys deliberated on what to do. Lily was curious, and so, it seemed, was Hugo, for at lunch he asked them all to meet in the boy's dorm. The room was vacant apart from the small group.
"What was all of that about in history?" Hugo asked, directly addressing Jayla.
"You don't have to say," Lily added, elbowing Hugo for his lack of tact.
"It's okay," Jayla sighed, "You need to know. My Mother's mother is a widely known death eater. Bellatrix Lestrange." Lily looked shocked, as did George and Hugo.
"Cripes," Oli said, "I've read about her. She's not a nice person."
"It gets worse," Jayla looked miserable, "My grandfather was not her husband. My grandfather was Voldemort." All four of her friends gasped, and Hugo looked openly horrified. The five sat in silence for a long time, before George broached the silence.
"Your mother was never a death eater." Jayla shook her head.
"Never."
"How many people know about your grandparents?"
"Not many."
"Then, we don't have a problem here. Agreed, guys? This changes nothing." Lily nodded.
"No."
"Of course not."
"It won't."
There seemed to be a renewed strength between the Gryffindor first years since there display of solidarity. At lunchtime, they all had one big conversation, and it was almost the first time since they joined Hogwarts that they had spoken altogether in English. Even Milly, the absolute queen of gossip, did not ask Jayla or any of the others what the teacher meant.
Lily went to bed, yet again, troubled and wondering. "You will pay."
And they were about to find out exactly just how much.
***
The next morning, Lily was still feeling ominous about what Professor Golds had meant. She walked down the stairs and into the common room, where James was sitting alone, reading a newspaper, highly strange behaviour for him, Lily knew.
"James?" She asked, uncertainly. He looked up, quickly.
"Lily, thank goodness, we didn't know what to do." Lily had never heard her eldest brother so worried, and that was frightening. "You're Jayla Berryfield... Aren't you?" Jayla nodded, confused. "You have to see this, both of you!" James handed them the paper in his hand and then ran away. Lily and Jayla looked at each other.
"Let's sit here." Lily said, sitting on the sofa. She unfolded the paper. On the front page was a picture of Lily with her parents and brothers, and a picture of Jayla with two people who looked like her parents. The headline was big and bold, and read,
"VOLDEMORT'S DESCENDANTS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE POTTER FAMILY." Jayla gasped and looked at Lily, who read the article out loud.
"An inside source yesterday confirmed that Voldemort had one child with Bellatrix Lestrange, writes Rita Skeeter. The girl, who took her mother's surname, has also had one child, who currently attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We can confirm that this child's name is Jayla Berryfield. Also, hot off the press, is the news that Berryfield jr has become close friends with both Lily Potter and Hugo Weasley. Lily is the child of Harry Potter, and Hugo the son of none other than Hermione Granger-Weasley. The pair are related through their less successful other parents Ronald and Ginevra Weasley, the latter of which reports on Quidditch for us. In more shocking news, an insider at St. Mungo's Hospital for magical maladies and injuries has confirmed that on this past Christmas Day, the minister was found unconscious and taken to the hospital. Tests were inconclusive, but Harry Potter's scar also hurt on that day. Now the big question - have Jayla and her mother inherited Voldemort's dark powers? We think so. And is Jayla manipulating Lily Potter and Hugo Weasley? We think so." Lily finished reading with absolute disgust in her voice.
"How does she know?" Jayla asked, her voice empty of all expression.
"That awful teacher; she told us we would pay." Lily said, quietly, turning her head to look sideways at Jayla.
"And she knew." Jayla said, in a small voice. "What do we do? Everyone's going to think I'm manipulating you! And they'll all know now. No more secret me."
"Let's talk to my dad." Lily said firmly. "Rita Skeeter gave him a lot of rubbish when he was in Hogwarts, and then the ministry were very critical of him, they accused him of being a liar for a year."
"OK. We'll rise above it." Jayla said. "Show people we aren't upset; still friends."
"The ministry will probably investigate, because what happened to Auntie Hermione was confidential, so they'll probably find the source from St. Mungo's." Lily said, reassuringly.
"What if my mum's job gets affected? What if they sack her?"
"That won't happen." Hugo said, from behind the two girls. He was standing with Oli and George, having just come down the boy's staircase. "We read the article. I'll never speak to my mother again if she lets your mum get sacked. It won't happen." Hugo touched Jayla's arm in assurance.
"Should we go to breakfast?" Jayla said, "Or should we wait until lunchtime?"
"Well, I'm-" George kicked Hugo.
"You're always hungry. Let's wait, we don't want to attract unwanted attention." George said, and Hugo nodded.
"OK." Lily said, "good idea."
"I'm hungry too, but I think I can wait." Jayla said.
"You won't have to." A voice came from the portrait hole. Lily turned, and there was her brother, Albus, and Rosie. Both had a stack of buttered toast in their hands.
"We brought food, because everyone's seen that article." Rosie said, and she turned to Jayla.
"Us Weasleys know that you couldn't manipulate Lily and Hugo; Lily's far too smart, and you're only a child. My mum's working on getting the article removed and apologised for. She has a long history of hate with Rita Skeeter." Jayla smiled weakly at Rosie's words.
"Please say thank you from me and my parents."
"Nearly everyone at Hogwarts thinks the article's way out of order, don't worry." Al said, as he passed around toast. Lily took a couple of pieces gratefully. "It'll all blow over, whatever it is."
In the first lesson of the day, DADA, every single person told Jayla that they supported her. Professor Lawrence gave her thirty points for a correct answer. Deryn and Irfon both said that she was brave. Milly gave her a hug and said that she shouldn't let the words get to her. Iona and Olivia called Rita Skeeter a 'miserable old cow', and even the quiet Aled, who she had never spoken to, congratulated her for rising above it, as did Charles.
The rest of the day moved similarly. Even Malfoy did not say anything, because he also had a death eater background.
"The thing is, we're the young ones, and we can't remember Voldemort, so my mum might be getting it worse." Jayla said at lunchtime.
"I'm sure she'll be fine." Lily said, but Jayla continued to look worried.
"She's a little bit... Fragile." Jayla looked uncertain as she spoke. Lily nodded.
After lunch, Lily and Jayla went into the courtyard. They were just discussing what else they could do when Harmony, Hugo's owl scrabble, and a third owl flew into view. All three dropped letters in Lily's hands, and Harmony stopped to let Lily stroke her, before both flying up to the visible owlery window. Lily looked down at the two letters. One had an official Ministry of Magic stamp on it, and was addressed to Lily and Hugo. One was written in Lily's father's handwriting, and again had her name alongside Hugo's. The last was addressed to Jayla, and seemed thicker than the other two. Lily and Jayla dashed up to the common room, where the boys were doing their homework.
"Hugo! We have two letters, and Jayla has one. Let's open them." Hugo came over to join Lily, sitting on the floor in front of an empty fireplace. Lily opened the first, from the ministry, and read, Hugo looking over her shoulder.
'Dear Miss Potter and Mr. Weasley.' The letter read, 'We formally apologise for the actions of one Rita Skeeter, and her disclosure of confidential information. Miss Skeeter has since had evidence presented against her by our own minister, and is awaiting trial. The ministry will be issuing a public notice in The Daily Prophet, and we wished to inform you of this latest development. Hope you're having a lovely day,
Maisie Cattermole, Head of the Department for Magical Communications.' Underneath this there was a note in Auntie Hermione's neat handwriting.
'Lily, Hugo,' Auntie Hermione had put, 'I got Rita Skeeter! We made a deal, years ago, and that article broke it. She is an unregistered animagus - a bit of veritaserum later, and we had a confession! The ministry weren't happy with me for withholding information, but I got around it! See the prophet tomorrow - it'll give you details. Lot's of love from me and your dad / Uncle Ron.' Underneath this, there was Auntie Hermione's official stamp.
'Kind Regards, Hermione Granger-Weasley, Minister for Magic of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.'
"Well, it's all come out in the wash then, hasn't it?" Lily said, turning to Jayla, "What have you got?"
"One from Mum - Just saying not to worry and stuff, and one from the ministry, saying they apologise, and then this one from the minister!" Jayla pushed the paper towards them, and they read it.
'Dear Jayla,' The letter said, 'My name is Hermione, and I'm Hugo's mother. I believe what was written about you in the Daily Prophet was outrageous. Do not worry about your mother's job, or her coworker's attitudes. I am stamping out discrimination and imposing heavy penalties on anyone caught being prejudiced. As a parent, it pains me that anyone would be evil enough to pick on an eleven year old with a mother who has been through more than her fair share of hardship in life. It is not for the wizarding population to judge you, Jayla. Pick yourself up, and be proud that you overcame your genetics. Hugo and Lily tell me that you are kind, and in no way anything like your grandparents. Rita Skeeter is notorious for rudeness, and she is facing a life sentence in Azkaban at trial stage. Stay strong, Hermione Granger-Weasley, a minister but also a mother.'
"That's so nice of her!" Oli said, and George nodded, as did Jayla.
"Say a million thank-you's from me, Hugo." Jayla said, and Hugo nodded. The bell suddenly rang through the castle, and Lily forgot about the letter from her father. She shoved it into her bag, and ran down the stairs to charms, making it just in time.
Five out of eight! I think I can reach the target, my friends! Please v o t e v o t e v o t e.
Thanks for reading,
Molly x