She was beautifully
out of place.
Sometimes I believe
she intended to be.
Like the moon during the day.
STAGE 3 -- CRYSTALLIZE
To give definite or concrete form to.
To develop a clear picture of not only your love's strengths but also their faults. Rather than an ethereal figure, your beloved becomes a whole, real person in your mind
Gryffindor lost to Slytherin. Those four words were all that was needed to drastically change the students' spirit after the atrocious Quidditch match finally came to an end. The atmosphere around the Hogwarts grounds could not have been any more somber. It was quite the odd sight to see many of the students who usually carried themselves with an uninterested behavior and cold expressions chanting and singing out loud as they paraded through the corridors, while the usually cheerful and loud ones walked with slouched shoulders and lowered heads.
But the main concern for three Gryffindors and one Slytherin was the losing team's captain. James had always been a sore loser, and in his eyes, there was nothing worst for a Gryffindor than to lose against Slytherin. It was the sin of all sins. His temper had been thrown out the window during the game but once the Slytherin's seeker caught the snitch he was in the nastiest foul mood any Hogwarts student or teacher had ever seen him in.
Alexis had gotten lost in the multitude of students as the Marauders and her tried to make their way to James. She gave up on trying to find her friends, which was seemingly impossible as her small stature didn't allow her to look past almost anyone around her, and chose to make her way back to the castle instead, hoping she'd be able to meet them there. A small altercation seemed to get everyone's attention as a growing group of students gathered in a circle, but once again, her height didn't allow her to see past her fellow schoolmates. She had a bad feeling about this, seeing as the only people who were known for causing this kind of commotion were the Marauders. She could hear the spells bouncing as she tried to push her way in. She was finally able to spot Remus and Sirius in the middle of it all, but neither of them were moving as they observed from the side like everyone else. It was clear then that James, who wasn't in her sight, was the one dueling but before she even had time to question the situation any further the people in front of her scurried to the sides, she was too slow to react, and could do nothing but watch as Snape's bloodied body fell on her feet. Alexis swallowed hard as she took a good look at Severus' appearance, not knowing of any spell that could cause such harm.
An infuriated James towered over Snape's whimpering body, completely ignoring Alexis' presence. "How does it feel to have your own fucked up spell used against you, Snivellus?"
Alexis stood frozen in place as James stomped away with the Marauders following closely behind. Her gaze lingered on Remus, hoping the prefect would restore some order and punish his friend, but the lycanthrope continued walking without even muttering a word. She lowered her gaze to Snape's deeply wounded body. The curse James used had been Snape's invention, that much she understood, but why anyone, let alone a teenager, would invent such a malicious spell was beyond her. As always, she found herself trying to remember her brother's words from back when he educated her on the topic of Dark Arts, trying to think of a counter curse that could help the barely conscious boy. Snape was losing blood fast and taking him to the Hospital Wing would only worsen his wounds. He needed to be healed first before being moved anywhere.
She crouched down, hesitantly pointing her wand at the wound. "Vulnera Sanentur." She repeated the incantation thrice, watching as the blood returned to Snape's body and his wounds began to heal.
"How did you do that?" A Hufflepuff boy asked taken aback.
Alexis sighed before looking at some random students with a stern expression. "Take him to the Hospital Wing. Don't tell Madam Pomfrey what happened, just tell him you found him out on the grounds like this."
"Covering up for your boyfriend, huh Riddle?" A Slytherin boy in her year snickered.
She looked at him with the coldest expression she could muster, and whispered threateningly, "That's an order."
She absentmindedly ran towards the Gryffindor Tower, only hesitating once she got there. She knew the password to get past the Fat Lady, but wondered if her presence was welcomed there.
≣
James stomped on every step as he made his way down from his dormitory. Unfortunately, there was nothing and no one that could lift his spirits during times like that, he just needed some time to let the adrenaline and anger wear off. But his brief encounter with Severus had only riled him up more, and to finally send his irritation through the roof, he couldn't find his favorite jumper. It was an extremely silly thing to get mad at but that didn't stop him from throwing a tantrum fit for a five year old.
His friends' laughter echoed across the common room, making him grow even more irritated at the lack of importance people were giving such a serious matter. James' logic was that no one could be happy the remainder of the day because Gryffindor had lost to Slytherin of all houses. He huffed as he walked past the three boys and Alexis, who were the only ones there besides a couple of first years while the rest of their housemates enjoyed the sunny day outside.
His eyes landed on Alexis, who sat comfortably next to Remus. On any other day the mere sight of the girl would have been enough to brighten his spirits, but on this peculiar occasion his mood only worsened when he saw her wearing the jumper he had turned the room upside down looking for.
"Are you kidding me?' He asked annoyed as he jolted upright, receiving puzzled looks from his friends. "I've been looking all day for that bloody jumper!" He pointed an accusatory finger at Alexis. "You could've at least asked for it! Why do you have to be so inconsiderate all the time?! Always grabbing my shit without my permission," everyone looked taken aback by his outburst, but Alexis was hands down the most dumbfounded one. "Well, it isn't cute and I don't like it! I'm sure you got your own clothes, why don't you wear those?! Instead of stealing all of my shit." He sat back on the couch, fiddling with a ring as an expression of utter annoyance decorated his features.
Remus, Sirius and Peter gave each other mortified and bewildered glances while Alexis kept a stoic expression with the best of her abilities, although Remus, who was sitting right next to her, could see her eyes had gotten slightly glossy. She took the jumper off in a heartbeat, grateful she had chosen to wear an undershirt for the day, folded the piece of clothing neatly, stood up and threw it right at his face without muttering a word. She then proceeded to walk out of the tower and slam the portrait door shut on her way out. Peter tried to go after her, but Remus held him back. The three of them turned to look at James with complete disbelief.
James shrugged unfazed. "What? It's my favorite jumper."
≣
If James and Alexis had a defining flaw, both as individuals and as a couple, it had to be their immaturity. Alexis wished she could say she was always the bigger person whenever James acted like a complete arse, but the girl had been slamming every door she had walked through and was currently in the process of rummaging through all of her belongings, singling out the clothes that belonged to him to send them back to their owner.
Her side of the dormitory was a complete mess that she wasn't acknowledging as she folded the pieces of clothing neatly and charmed them so they would levitate all the way to James' dorm. She huffed indignantly as she watched the clothes make their way and then focused her attention on fixing the mess she had created. She pulled out her wand, planning to rearrange everything with a flick of her hand when her gaze landed on her open and disheveled trunk. Her heart sunk and her breathing became heavy at the sight of a torn piece at the bottom of the brown trunk. She hesitantly opened the hidden compartment under the torn fabric only to let out a cry when she saw it was empty.
Salazar Slytherin's locket had been stolen.
≣
James loved his friends, especially during moments when he felt under the weather and overall moody, and they proved just what an amazing lot of friends they were. They had departed from the Tower earlier on looking for mischief. And mischief they found. They played pranks on the celebrating Slytherins for the first time in what felt like forever, and watching their good mood falter certainly improved theirs. But when they made their way back to their dormitory to get the map before they went down for dinner James' good mood wavered, only this time he felt guilt instead of irritation. A neatly folded pile of clothes laid on his bed. All stuff he hadn't seen in a while and was positive Alexis had burrowed.
It only took a breath of fresh air for the boy to regret his words, feeling extremely guilty and pathetic for lashing out on her over something so insignificant. This time he didn't even need to listen to the boys' sermons because he already knew what to do. He walked out without saying a word and headed to the Slytherin dungeons, a place he really didn't want to be at but figured would be the safest bet on where to find the girl.
Once he reached the dungeons he sighed with relief when he saw her making her way out of the green and silver common room, but his heart stopped when he saw her distressed expression as tears ran rapidly down her face like he'd never seen before. Her eyes landed on him but his presence did nothing to soothe her as her chest continued to rise and fall with rapid breaths. She was having a panic attack.
She ran frantically and gripped onto James' robes as he tried comfort her. "The locket, it's -- it's gone. It's gone! Dumbledore -- a horcrux -- it's gone! Dumbledore -- the locket!" She held on to his arms as she cried harder, struggling to catch her breath. James groaned in despair, feeling impotent as he had no idea what she was talking about or how he could help her. So he did what every Hogwarts student does if they ever find themselves in trouble, and headed to Dumbledore's office.
He continued soothing her on their way but she kept repeating the same words over and over, making him grow more anxious. They were near the gargoyle when James was able to spot Professor McGonagall leaving the Headmaster's office. He called for her and received a skeptical look from Minerva as she approached them. "What is it, Potter?"
James was about to answer but Alexis beat him to it, holding on tightly to the Professor's arms. "Dumbledore-- the horcrux -- it's been stolen!" McGonagall didn't exactly understand the situation, but when Alexis Riddle shows up crying about horcruxes you know it's a serious matter that has to be taken to the Headmaster immediately. She guided both students up to his office and walked in without bothering to announce herself.
"Albus, Ms. Riddle needs to have a word with you." McGonagall jerked her head in Alexis' direction, nerves taking over her facial features.
"What is it, Alexis?" Dumbledore asked cautiously, inspecting the girl over his half-moon spectacles.
"Salazar Slytherin's locket is gone! Someone stole it from me!" She was able to form her first coherent sentence, but her body was still trembling and her voice was still shaky.
"You possessed such relic?" Dumbledore frowned, for once, he was completely oblivious to what was happening.
"It wasn't just a relic, sir! It was one of Lord Voldemort's horcruxes!" Dumbledore and McGonagall's expressions turned grim in the blink of an eye while poor James looked just as clueless as before.
"Minerva, send the students back to their dormitories immediately. Except for Ms. Riddle's dorm mates, relocate them, I want that room to remain clear and I don't want anyone to touch a thing. Tell all the teachers and prefects, except for Mr. Lupin, to patrol and look for any strange behavior coming from any student." Dumbledore paced around the room as he shouted instructions. "And last but not least, tell Filch to immediately lock the castle. No one enters and no one leaves." Minerva nodded and conjured her patronus, instructing it to deliver a message for Filch as she ran out the door.
"Ms. Riddle, take a seat please. And Mr. Potter," Dumbledore sighed, "take a seat as well."
After they did accordingly Dumbledore nodded at her, signaling her to explain herself. "Tom has been creating horcruxes. I don't know how many he's done so far, but he wants to create as many as he possibly can. He gave me Slytherin's locket and Rowena's diadem. The diadem is hidden in the Room of Requirement and the locket -- well, it's gone."
Dumbledore fiddled absentmindedly with his robes. "Do you know about any other horcrux?"
"No, sir. But after he went to Morfin's house he became oddly obsessed with a ring, wouldn't surprise me if he turned it into a horcrux as well."
"He visited Morfin before he got sent to Azkaban?" Dumbledore queried, leaning over his desk.
Alexis gulped, knowing she was revealing more than she intended, but knew better than to withhold any information now. "It was Tom who murdered our father." She whispered with her head down. "Made Morfin take the blame, even used his wand, but it was Tom all along." She felt James tense next to her but kept her gaze down.
Dumbledore sat upright, hurriedly reaching for a phial like the ones they had used during their previous meeting. "Please." Alexis took a shaky breath before pointing her wand at her temple, extracting the memory of her brother telling her all about his Little Hangleton visit.
"One last thing Ms. Riddle, do you happen to know where Tom acquired all that information about horcruxes?" Dumbledore had suspected something of that nature was happening, and even though he had some theories himself, everyone was too scared to speak about the Dark Lord or about any involvement they've had with him. Alexis was the only one who was not afraid to speak up, which happened to be the biggest advantage they had against Voldemort.
"I'm afraid I don't. He never spoke about them." Alexis frowned as she tried to remember. "He used to read a book about the Dark Arts. I borrowed it for a second when I knew he'd be too busy to notice. Full of the most macabre things, that book. That's where I learned about horcruxes. But the cover was completely black, no title or author."
"I understand. Thank you for your help, Ms. Riddle." Dumbledore smiled reassuringly.
Alexis nodded, although the two men were able to see the distress and sadness in her face. This entire situation could've been avoided if she had been honest the first time around. James wasted no time reaching for her hand and squeezing it reassuringly, unaware of the warm smile on Dumbledore's face as he observed them.
≣
"So... he literally doesn't have a soul?" Sirius asked, Alexis and the rest of the boys sat around him on the boys' dormitory floor.
"Kind of? By now I think he has less than half a soul." Alexis grimaced before taking a bite of her sandwich, which Dumbledore had been kind enough to have the house elves deliver to their room. They had spent quite some time of their evening discussing about horcruxes as Alexis filled them in on what was probably her last secret involving her brother.
"Let's just go to bed now. Today has been a long and shitty day." He dusted his hands off before helping Alexis up and pulling her to his bed. She complied wholeheartedly, contently cuddling with him and giggling as he whispered sweet nothings in her ear. Remus and Sirius turned to give Peter an apologetic smile, but for once the boy didn't look bothered as he gave them a thumbs up and cleaned his mess.
≣
Alexis and Sirius were two of the few students having an early breakfast that Sunday morning. Only three other student sat around the Great Hall, two Ravenclaws and one Slytherin. For some reason, the Slytherin girl sitting all by herself piqued Alexis' attention.
Mildred Volkov was a seventh year half British, half Russian witch who transferred to Hogwarts from Durmstrang on her fifth year. Her red hair and pale complexion, along with her powerful pureblood family, had always made the girl appear quite intimidating. Alexis couldn't put her finger on it, but something about the girl made her uneasy.
"Sirius, look at her." Alexis nudged his side, but just as he looked up so did the girl.
"She's listening to us." Sirius whispered, watching with a frown as the girl smiled down at her plate. That's where the uneasiness was coming from, she had casted a spell to eavesdrop on them.
Alexis hurriedly reached into her bag and pulled out parchment and a quill, scribbling a message down but lifting her gaze to check on the red head.
'I think she stole the locket.'
Sirius frowned and took her quill.
'How do you know?'
Alexis sighed. Just like her brother, the girl had an ease to read people and her instincts were rarely, if ever, wrong.
'My gut.'
They both stared ahead at the girl, only then realizing she was clutching her wand even though the Great Hall was empty.
'I think your gut is right."
More footsteps echoed across the room as the Hall began to fill with a few students, but Alexis and Sirius didn't take their eyes away from Mildred and neither did she from them.
"What are you two doing?" Remus lifted an eyebrow as he watched them amused, taking a seat next to Sirius, followed by James and Peter.
"We have something to tell you." Sirius whispered.
"Why are you whispering?" James whispered back.
"Because we're being spied on." Alexis said loud and clear, her eyes set on Mildred.
Everyone turned to look at the Slytherin table, where the red head gave them a sly smile before walking out.
"Fucking bitch." James muttered.
✘
A/N: it's only getting more intense from now on and for that.... I'm sorry lmao.
But there's also looooots more fluff coming so yay for that.
I hope you liked this chapter. Vote if you did, and comment what you think!