Chapter Twenty-Two: Explanations
October was flying by, Lina was so busy with quidditch practice which took up between two and three of her evenings, lessons, homework and then having time to just relax with her friends. Before she knew it, it was the eve of Halloween.
"The first trip to Hogsmeade is on Saturday," Lucy told her three friends as she came in late for breakfast.
"Finally I need some new ink," Danny said.
"Maybe if you stopped knocking yours over every five minutes you wouldn't need a new bottle only two months after term started" Lucy started sitting down opposite Danny.
"It's not like I do it on purpose."
"You couldn't tell."
"And they're off" Lina mumbled to Cedric "this has got to be a record, they've only been awake an hour."
"Believable it's only taken them half-hour before" Cedric replied, "have you finished eating?"
"Yeah why?" as she answered she took a bite of toast.
"I doubt they'll notice if we leave" the two looked at their friends who were still arguing.
Lina pocketed a slice of toast "let's go."
"What have you got now?" Cedric asked.
Lina thought for a moment before remembering "charms."
"I'll walk you.'
"Alright" Lina knew Cedric wouldn't take no for an answer so to save an argument she agreed.
The pair walked together in silence, their shoulders touching, it was only when they got to Lina's class that Cedric brought up a subject he had been thinking about since he woke up. "Are you going to be alright tomorrow?"
Lina blinked "I'm surprised you remembered."
"It's important to you, of course, I remembered."
"Thank you Cedric, but I'll be fine" she gave him a smile and hug before entering her class.
***
It was a lie, Halloween day came and Lina did not feel alright. Nine years today, nine years that had passed in the blink of an eye. Lina laid in her bed awake, one hand holding her necklace that was resting above her heart the other absentmindedly stroking Demeter.
The world around Lina was moving, the girls in her dorm were getting ready for the day, house-elves were adding the final touches to today's breakfast and teachers making sure they had everything for the lessons they had planned but yet Lina felt still, she never wanted to leave the comfort of her bed.
"Hey" Lina looked to the doorway where Lucy was standing already in her robes.
"Hi" Lina replied sitting herself up "I'm fine before you ask."
"Didn't say you weren't" Lucy came over and sat down on her friend's bed "I just thought instead of meeting downstairs like usual I could wait for you up here, Merlin knows I can't be asked to argue with Danny at the moment."
"Alright" Lina smiled at her friend grateful she cared before getting changed. Half an hour later they walked into the great hall arms linked.
"Hello boys" Lucy grinned as the girls sat opposite them.
The rest of the day Lina kept to herself, she wrote notes down, didn't speak unless spoken to or unless it was to the twins and didn't willingly answer any questions. This meant for Lina the day had passed quickly enough and that it was time for the feast.
"So where are you going this year?" Danny asked Lina as the four excited the common room.
"The library again" Lina replied, "I have the longest essay ever to write for Professor Snape."
"I'll walk you" Cedric quickly offered casting a fleeting between Lucy and Danny.
"Thanks" the four separated from the disgruntled pair, they weren't exactly thrilled about being alone, and headed in the direction of the library.
"Those two have been driving me insane all day" Cedric groaned when him and Lina were at a safe distance away.
"How bad have they been?"
"Awful! They've been arguing non-stop all day, I'm scared when I get back to the great hall they've had killed each other."
"What is it about them that makes them argue all the time?"
"I gave up wondering after five months of dealing with it alone" the pair laughed but it was short-lived when they were suddenly interrupted.
"Oi blood traitor!" Lina with an eye roll turned around wasn't surprised to see Marcus Flint storming up to them with fury in her eyes "you'd think I'd just forget about what you did last year?"
"Well you did for the rest of the year" Lina shrugged, she wasn't scared of Flint he was just a rather small nuisance that wouldn't go away.
"Where you going Black? Isn't the great hall the other way?"
"Back off Flint" Cedric snapped stepping forward slightly to cover Lina.
"No, no Diggory this is between me and the blood traitor" Marcus had this sort of unhinged look as he focused his gaze on Lina.
"It's alright Cedric" Lina placed a comforting hand on his bicep, he immediately relaxed and stepped back "I can't help it if Marcus here is a little bit obsessed with me."
Flint's nostrils flared as his licked his lips "last year you weren't at the Halloween feast and it's clear you aren't going this year either-"
"Stop" Lina whispered.
"So I wondered why-"
"Stop," Lina said a bit louder.
"And it all comes back to your murderer of a father. Today's the day he got sent to Azkaban."
"Stop it!" Lina screamed the triumphant look on Flint's face was wiped off when he was sent flying back several feet and crashed to the floor knocked unconscious.
Lina looked at what just happened horrified, her breathing sped up and her hands began to shake. What had she done?
"Mr Diggory, Miss Lina, what is going on here?" Lina turned around to Professor McGonagall she was shaking worse now, she was unable to speak, a tear escaped her eye, she was a monster. Professor McGonagall looked from Flint on the floor to Cedric who was now next to him making sure he was still alive, to a very distraught girl in front of her. She knew exactly what had happened. "Mr Diggory would you please take Mr Flint to the hospital wing, tell Madam Pomfrey that Mr Flint got into a fight and was knocked unconscious" Cedric nodded and with some difficulty took Marcus to the hospital. Lina couldn't look at Cedric as he passed her. "Miss Lina follow me."
Lina had her eyes trained to the floor as she followed Professor McGonagall to her office, the Professor gestured for Lina to sit, when she did McGonagall told Lina to wait there and left the room.
The young girl didn't notice how much time had passed from when McGonagall left to when she returned, she didn't notice anything, hell Peeves could have burst through the door and performed a rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody and she wouldn't have noticed, so when McGonagall came back into the room Lina didn't notice until the elder witch was sitting directly in front of her.
"Is he going to be alright?" Lina sniffled, her tears stopping.
The Professor unbeknown to Lina hadn't gone to check on Marcus Flint instead she had gone to Albus Dumbledore, she had informed him of the situation and what McGonagall thought had happened, together headmaster and deputy had come up with a solution. "Marcus Flint will be fine, Madam Pomfrey has dealt with much worse than a bumped head. Now" McGonagall folded her hands together "why don't you tell me exactly what happened before Mr Flint wakes up and tells anyone who will listen that you attacked him on purpose."
Lina took a deep breath to calm herself "well Cedric and I were walking to the library-"
"Not to the feast?"
"I don't like Halloween" Lina mumbled.
McGonagall's face softened her glance on Lina "no I can't imagine you would, not after what happened all those years ago."
She knew, of course, she knew. "Flint he came over to us, he kept saying things about my dad, I told him to stop but he wouldn't, then I couldn't take it anymore I yelled at him to stop and he flew back. When he landed on the floor he was unconscious" Lina looked down at her hands "am I going to be expelled?"
"Expelled!" McGonagall exclaimed, "whatever for?"
Lina shyly raised her head "I attacked another student."
"Do you know why?"
Lina confused by the questioned answered fairly innocently "because he upset me?"
"If every student attacked another because they upset them, we would have more students in the hospital wing than in actual lessons. No, do you know why you lashed out with magic?" Lina shook her head, she thought it was somewhat common for magic in younger students to be a little chaotic. "Has anyone ever told you your mother was rather good with wandless magic?"
Lina didn't know what Professor McGonagall's point was but she answered nevertheless "yes, Mr Ollivander told me when I went to get my wand and uncle Remus has mentioned it once or twice."
"She was very good, she rarely even needed her wand. It was extremely useful during the war, but she only started to learn this skill in her sixth year" Professor McGonagall suddenly chuckled to herself "she had a situation once just as you have just had."
Lina sat up in her chair slightly "really?"
"Yes, your father was pursuing her, Miss McKinnon told him in much more vulgar terms to leave her alone and ended up throwing him halfway across the courtyard. I think that just made him fall more in love with her."
"Professor McGonagall, are you saying what I just did was wandless magic?"
"Yes, miss Lina that is exactly what I'm saying. When you started last year I kept an eye on you for any signs you possessed the same natural abilities as your mother but you didn't, I was sure that they would show themselves until you were much older. When did they start to appear?"
Lina thought back to when she first noticed the happenings "it was after my uncle went back to work in the holidays, I thought I was going crazy, a part of me still thinks I am."
"I can assure you miss Lina you are not" the professor's eyes scanned the room quickly and then settled back on the girl who was now much calmer. "Have you been hearing voices?" Lina swallowed thickly and nodded, now she would surely be considered crazy. "I thought so."
"What does it mean?"
"It means you are much more powerful than I first thought, but before I can fully explain you need to understand wandless magic. Do you know why witches and wizards use wands?"
Lina shook her head "no."
"Magic can be an uncomfortable thing, we use wands to centre our power, the reasons for wandless magic is because the core magic in a person is too strong to be contained."
"And the voices?"
"Is that person's magic taking it's on a form, guiding its owner."
"So it's nothing to be afraid of?"
McGonagall gave Lina a kind smile "no. The only other wizard I know who shares such similar gifts is Professor Dumbledore."
That made Lina feel better "has there ever been someone my age who could do what I can do?"
"Never."
"Professor McGonagall, what happens now?"
"Marcus Flint will receive a week's detention with me and twenty points will be taken from Slytherin for his behaviour towards another student. You won't be expelled or punished as this was a complete accident but starting tomorrow twice weekly you will have private lessons with me on how to control your magic."
"But what do I do to control it in the meantime?"
"I won't lie miss Lina it won't be easy, you'll have to watch your emotions at all times, only until you have full control" Lina opened her mouth to ask another question but McGonagall already knowing what she was going to ask, answered "I can't tell you how long that will take, that is all down to you" Lina nodded in understanding "it's late, I suggest you go back to your common room for some much-needed rest, I'll see you back here tomorrow after dinner."
Lina thanked the Professor and left, her hands were still shaking but at least she could hold her bag without fear she'd drop it, but for the most part she had calmed down. She kept her eyes trained to the floor as she passed the great hall, from behind the closed Lina could hear the laughter meaning the feast was still on "good hopefully the common room will be empty" Lina thought.
She was surely mistaken, huddled up muttering to each other furiously was Cedric, Danny, Lucy and Tonks. The second Lina was in close proximity to the four they noticed her, "Lee!" Tonks exclaimed and launched herself at her cousin "what happened, Cedric told us the basics but what happened in McGonagall's office?"
"Are you expelled?" Lucy asked.
"This is all my fault, I should have dealt with Flint" Cedric stressed.
Lina looked to Danny for help, he put his fingers to his lips and whistled so loudly it echoed off the walls "everyone shut up and sit down!"
"Thanks, Danny" Lina smiled, she took a breath and then explained everything that had happened, the four listened in shocked silence, by the time Lina was done and had answered all there questions she was exhausted, so exhausted she had fallen asleep against Cedric. Tonks picked her cousin up and took her to bed.
For her three best friends Lina's revaluation didn't change their opinion on her, nothing ever would.