Lana met with Bill and Charlie in the Prefect's Bathroom to find the ghost of Duncan Ashe. Once she got there, Charlie had a huge smile on his face.
"Thank you for helping me look for Duncan Ashe..." she smiled at the boys.
"I think I want to find this ghost even more than you do, Lana..." Charlie started, "I can't stop thinking about what Nick said about your brother and his friends believing there's a dragon in the castle." he grinned excitedly.
Lana giggled and shook her head. "I just hope Duncan knows where to find the Marauder's Map..." she replied, "Even though I'm sort of scared to find out why he hates Jacob..." she worried.
Charlie put a comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled warmly at her.
"Let's have a look around. If this ghost doesn't like to be seen, it could take a while to find him..." Bill suggested.
After looking for a little while, they ultimately had no luck.
"There's no sign of him..." Bill began.
"Maybe we should try another room..." Charlie added.
"Maybe he's just afraid of being found..." Lana chimed in.
All of a sudden, a whisky figure appeared next to them. The three students jumped in surprise.
"I'm not afraid of anything. Least of all, you three..." the ghost told them.
"Duncan Ashe?" Lana asked.
"Who's asking?" he asked back.
"Lana Riviera." she answered.
"Like Jacob Riviera?" the ghost asked, raising his eyebrows.
"...yeah. He's my brother." Lana replied shyly.
"I should kill you." Duncan frowned angrily.
"Hold on..." Bill stepped in, defending Lana.
"If Jacob stayed at Hogwarts, I would've found a way to kill him. Instead, he disappeared like the coward he is..." Duncan frowned again.
"My brother might be a lot of things, but he's not a coward!" Lana retorted.
"I was friends with Jacob Riviera from the day I got sorted until the day I died." Duncan explained, "He's a coward. And a liar. And a thief. And a thug. He's arrogant. Impatient. Impulsive. Insecure..." Duncan listed, and Lana was fuming.
"Stop it!" she yelled.
"Leave me alone. Your brother already ruined my life. You don't get to ruin my afterlife..."
"What did Jacob do to ruin your life?" Lana asked, trying to calm down.
"You're just like him, aren't you? Always pushing..." Duncan scoffed.
"I don't understand. Please, just tell me what happened between you two..." Lana begged.
"Even I don't know the whole story. I missed a lot of it while I was dying. You'll have to work it out for yourself. You might find that your brother isn't who you think he is..." Duncan replied, "Don't feel bad, he fooled me too." he finished, before floating up in the air and zooming through Lana's body, disappearing on the other side of the bathroom.
Lana stood there in fear and disappointment. She had to find out the truth...
"I never got to ask him about the dragon..." Charlie sighed.
"I have to find out what happened between him and Jacob. Hopefully, I can make it right..." she said, "Besides, it's my only chance to get my hands on the Marauder's Map..."
*********************************************************************
Once they left the Prefect's Bathroom, Lana decided to visit Hagrid to see if he could help. When she entered the hut, she saw a few creatures sat around.
"Lana! Come join the fun!" Hagrid chuckled.
"I didn't expect to see Sickleworth..." Lana said, raising her eyebrows. She turned to her right and saw her Bowtruckle that Professor Kettleburn made her take care of.
"And Barnaby Jr?" she said, confused.
The creatures made some excited noises when they saw her, and Hagrid was beaming.
"It's a proper creature party!" he chuckled again.
Fang growled in protest, and Hagrid smiled at him. "Don' be jealous, Fang. Dogs are welcome too."
"Why are Sickleworth and Barnaby Jr here?" she asked the man.
"Rakepick and Kettleburn are off searchin' for a certain dark creature, so they asked me teh babysit these fellers." he answered, "As I'm sure yeh can guess, they didn' have ter ask twice." he chuckled.
Lana smiled at his passion for the creatures and chuckled softly.
"What can I do fer yeh, Lana?"
"Do you remember a student named Duncan Ashe?" she inquired.
"I do. He was a friend o' yer brother's. A shame what happened. He died far too young..." Hagrid sighed.
"Do you know how? I feel like he blames his death on my brother..." Lana frowned sadly.
"Not exactly, but I'll tell yeh what I know..." he reassured her.
"Thanks, Hagrid."
He told her everything he knew about Duncan Ashe and her brother, Lana occasionally stroking Barnaby Jr when he crawled on her. She was one step closer to finding the vault...
"Well, if they were looking for brooms after theirs were broken, I suppose I can see what Madam Hooch knows..." she wondered, "Thanks for your help, Hagrid." she smiled.
"Yer welcome, Lana." he smiled back.
"See you later, Sickleworth." Lana waved to the Niffler, who chirped happily, "You too, Barnaby Jr!" the Bowtruckle crawled onto Lana's shoulder and nuzzled her cheek, "I need to see big Barnaby now!" she told it, before waving goodbye to Hagrid and leaving the hut.
*********************************************************************
Seeing as she had Flying Class a couple of hours later, Lana wanted to find Barnaby and fill him in on the information she found out with the time she had to spare.
Barnaby was sat by the Black Lake by himself, under the tree they usually all congregate under. He was reading his magical creatures book, as usual, and Lana chuckled at the sight.
The minute he saw her, a huge smile took over his features, and butterflies danced in Lana's stomach at the sight. He dropped his book and ran up to her, scooping her up in his strong arms and hugging her tightly.
"Hey, Barny." Lana giggled.
"Hi..." he mumbled, nuzzling his face into her hair.
He set her down on the ground and took her hand, dragging her over to his spot under the tree.
He sat down, back up against the tree with his legs stretched out in front of him. Lana sat in between his legs and snuggled back into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on her shoulder, cuddling her.
"I've missed this..." she mumbled. He kissed her neck softly and nodded. "Me too..." he replied, So, what's up?" he asked, lifting his head up.
She looked at him and began filling him in on everything.
"Basically, I found the ghost of Duncan Ashe-"
"That's great!" he exclaimed excitedly. She looked at him and chuckled, kissing him sweetly.
"But then he threatened to kill me, and-" Lana started again.
"What?! Not if I kill him first..." Barnaby growled.
"Barny, you can't kill him. He's already dead..." Lana told him, chuckling softly.
"Oh...I knew that." he pouted, pulling her closer and snuggling into her, "What else happened?" he asked.
"Well, I've just seen Hagrid and he told me that there was something to do with broken brooms? So, when I have Flying Class later, I'll ask Hooch about it and see if she knows anything..." Lana explained.
"Good thinking." he smiled at her when she turned to look at him. She placed a hand on his cheek and kissed him softly.
"So, you're sure you're ok, hun?" she asked him as they broke apart, still worried about him.
He leant into her touch and shook his head. "No." he said, voice just above a whisper.
"You can talk to me, Barny..."
"I know..." he replied, looking into her eyes. Lana noticed that he had bags under his eyes - he obviously hadn't been sleeping properly.
"It's just...whenever I get called stupid, or people say stuff like that to me, I just instantly think about my parents, and I don't like it." he began, "It reminds me of my dad, and how he always used to put me down whenever I showed the slightest bit of emotion. He always called me names, and one time he said that he was gonna buy me some brains for my birthday..." he muttered.
Lana looked at him sympathetically and her heart broke for him. She kissed his cheek and leant her head on his chest, allowing him to continue.
"Also my mum...she always used to do it too. They never told me they loved me, or supported me, or appreciated anything I did. I think it was because I'm stupid, and I wasn't like them...they never wanted me, Lana. I could see it in their eyes whenever they looked at me." he frowned in shame.
"Well, what did I tell you when we met in The Three Broomsticks after our duel?" Lana asked him.
"Uh..." he thought hard, but he couldn't remember.
"I said that your parents don't define you. Barnaby Lee, you are the kindest, sweetest, bravest, strongest, funniest person I know!" Lana exclaimed, sitting up and facing him, "Your parents were wrong to treat you that way, and nobody should've gone through what you have!" she told him, trying to lift his spirits.
"It keeps me up at night..." he muttered, "I can't sleep some nights 'cause I get flashbacks from my childhood, like whenever someone tells me how much of an idiot I am, it just sparks a memory that won't leave me alone for ages. I know they're in Azkaban, but what if they come back?" he asked, and his whole face turned pale at the sudden thought of seeing his parents again.
"Barny, listen. Like you said, they're in Azkaban, and they can't hurt you anymore. You have all of us here who love you so much! I know life's hard with your grandma at home too, but that's only for the summer, right?" she asked, trying to make him feel better.
"And Christmas..." he mumbled sadly, and Lana could see the tears glistening in his eyes.
"Ok, and Christmas...but you need to forget what they said to you, and realise how great you are, Barny. There are so many students here who look up to you, and admire you! I hear a load of people talking about you and how good you are at duelling, and how they wish they were as strong as you! You are worth so much, with or without your brains." she smiled.
He crawled forward and leant his head on her lap and wrapped his arms around her waist. He cried his heart out, sobbing into her stomach, and Lana gently stroked his hair, calming him down and reassuring him that everything was going to be ok.
She knew how sensitive he was, and she knew how troubled his past was. She knew how insecure he was because of his parents constantly putting him down. She hated his parents already, and she was pretty sure he did too.
Barnaby sat up after a while, and his eyes were swollen and red from sobbing. His cheeks were glistening from where the tears ran down his face. He looked and felt awful, yet he still smiled at her. That's one thing they shared in common - they were able to smile through the pain they were feeling.
"Thanks, Lana." he said quietly, looking into her eyes.
Lana had a few tears in her own eyes from seeing him cry, and she just gently wiped the tears from his face and sighed.
"I love you so much, Barnaby Lee." she told him.
"I love you so much too, Lana Riviera." he replied.
He placed a hand on her neck and kissed her lovingly. He channelled all his love for her into the kiss, and he felt her smiling. She pulled away and sat next to him, cuddling into his side. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled his book out again and read it to her, Lana smiling at the way his eyes lit up when the book mentioned Puffskeins or Bowtruckles.
They stayed like that until Lana had to leave to go and speak to Madam Hooch. She stood up, and he did too, offering to walk her there.
They walked hand in hand to the Training Grounds. A few girls glared at Lana in jealousy as they saw their fingers laced together. They were the same group of girls from the Celestial Ball that pestered Barnaby about dancing with Lana instead of them. Lana noticed, however, and she slipped her hand out of his and put her arm around his waist, looking at the group as she did.
Barnaby was oblivious and smiled at her, kissing her forehead and wrapping his own arm around her and making the girls turn red with anger. Lana glanced over at them, looking as smug as can be, and flipped them off behind her back.
She laughed to herself and Barnaby looked at her in confusion.
"Why are you laughing?" he asked, chuckling himself.
"Don't worry." she smiled, stopping by the Training Grounds and facing him, holding his hands.
"If you say so..." he replied in amusement, pulling her into a hug.
"I'll see you later." she mumbled into his chest.
"See you later." he replied, pulling away from the hug, grabbing her waist and kissing her lips sweetly.
She gasped in surprise and pulled back quickly.
"What?" he frowned.
"People..." she muttered, "Those girls from last year are right behind you..."
He whipped around quickly and stared at the girls, whose jaws were hanging open. He looked at them for a moment more, before mumbling "I don't care", and kissing Lana again right in front of them.
They huffed in anger and stormed off aggressively. Lana pulled away from him, breathless, and saw...Andre?! He was stood there gaping at them, but he soon had a grin on his face.
"You guys are..." he said, grinning widely.
The couple nodded slowly, and Andre's grin only widened.
"Does anyone else know?" he asked.
"Everyone except Rowan...and Charlie...and Ben...and that Jae kid..." Barnaby answered, trying to remember who knew and who didn't.
"Wow...well, congratulations! I always knew you liked her, Barnaby." Andre said, "Come on, Lana. Class is starting." he smiled, pulling Lana away from Barnaby and walking into the Training Grounds. She yelped in surprise and waved goodbye to the Slytherin boy.
*************************************************************************
Andre and Lana walked into the Training Grounds, and he was asking a tonne of questions about Barnaby. She reassured him that she'd tell him everything after class, but she had to go and speak to Madam Hooch.
"Hi, Madam Hooch. I was wondering if you'd tell me what you can remember about Duncan Ashe?" Lana asked the woman.
"That depends, Miss Riviera...did you fly a broom into the Forbidden Forest last year?" she asked.
"No, Madam Hooch. That's against the rules." Lana answered confidently.
"Didn't the Headmaster catch you doing that very thing?" Hooch asked, raising an eyebrow.
"He caught me coming out of the forest, but no one caught me flying in...because I didn't fly in...because that's against the rules..."
"See me after class, Miss Riviera..." Hooch said, and dismissed Lana to join the others.
After class, Lana hurried over to Madam Hooch to see what she wanted.
"You wanted to see me, Madam Hooch?" she asked.
"Your unwillingness to fly into the Forbidden Forest due to you heartfelt respect for the rules is admirable...my sincere admiration will be the only reward you receive." Hooch stated.
"Can you tell me what you remember about Duncan Ashe?"
"Mr Ashe was an excellent flier. Absolutely fearless. Some might say too fearless. Not to mention, too ambitious..." Hooch thought, "He came to me looking for a new broom after his had been destroyed."
"Destroyed?" Lana asked, eyebrows raised.
"Charred, and shattered to smithereens. He claimed to not know how it happened..."
"Do you know what happened?"
"I can't be certain, but he and your brother were known to frequent Zonko's Joke Shop. I wouldn't be surprised if one of their ridiculously dangerous products were the cause of the damage..." she finished.
Lana thanked the woman and left the Training Grounds. She'd talk to Bilton Blimes as soon as she could.
hi guys :) thanks for reading! <3
if you liked this lil number, then don't hesitate to leave a cheeky lil vote or comment! I'd really appreciate it :)
I hope everyone's doing ok wherever you are in the world <3
thanks again, and I hope to see you in the next one!
byeee <3