Flight!

Lily was dressed normally because it was supposed to be a normal day. A cloud hung over the uniform-clad Gryffindor as she trudged through the courtyard. Her bookbag bounced against her hip and she held a small stack of books against her chest, resting her chin on the edge of the books as she allowed herself to slip away from reality. Her housemates didn't bother her- they understood that there was no way they could understand how she was feeling. If her brothers, or even a cousin or two, were in school with her, she wouldn't feel as lonely as she did. But their absence reminded her of a night of terror, a night where ever truth she had ever known had become a lie.

She had James, and she had Teddy. But they weren't here. Every moment apart from them deepened the chance she may never see them again. She lived in constant anxiety between letters, always afraid there would be a time where the letters stopped. She could have just dropped out, yes, but at what cost. Everything her Aunt Hermione had done, her godmother, her parents, would have been in waste. Abandoning her perfect record before she could even complete her OWLs and make the women she had lost so proud... No. Lily was the responsible one now. She was the woman of the house- she was making sure her brother was staying well taken care of and she had to prepare herself so she could hold her own.

She entered the castle and passed the Great Hall. She began up the stairs when she heard a clatter behind her. She glanced back and saw nothing. She stopped- now that was peculiar. She had expected to see someone at least. She blinked and then turned back around, taking another step up. She heard a squeak and she turned again, seeing a flurry of robes. Something caught in Lily's throat. She turned and began heading up the stairs, trying not to run.

The step next to her exploded.

Fear gripped Lily and she took off running, not bothering to see who was following. She held the books in one hand as she flew up the stairs, before whipping around and taking off down the first floor corridor.

Bellatrix grinned maniacally has she aimed another curse at the fleeing back of Lily Potter. The little 4th year wouldn't stand a second against her, and the little bitch must know it. Bella had been hoping she would encounter one of those Potter-loving punks in the hallway today. She had been bored, and was hankering to teach one of the little muggle-lovers a good lesson.

Bella had followed her prey for awhile before loosing her first curse. Despite the school's current regime, Bella could not count on her uncle to keep his peace. The old fool was always attempting to stop her fun, even against those who were opposed to the Dark Lord. It was okay, though. She would have a couple years worth of reports against Draco before she able to join the ranks of Harry Potter.

To get her prey further from the Great Hall a bit faster, Bella had caused a ruckus by banishing a few of empty plates lying on the tables, so that they hit the wall behind Lily, clattering loudly. The girl reacted as she had hoped, and quickened her pace to get away.

"Run, little Potter girl, run!" she cried out as she loosed a tripping jinx at the red-head's feet, "Don't get caught by the big..bad..Boogeyman!"

((I actually don't think the PKs have been formed yet. I won't do that until Lily moves into the RoR.))

Lily could hear a voice, and, though she didn't want to, she glanced behind her. Her godmother had always told her to always look. When she was seven, she began fearing the dark, sure there were monsters looming within its disguise. Luna had advised her: "Turn on the light. You're afraid of the dark, so turn on the light. You fear turning it on and seeing a monster, but turn it on and you'll see your foolishness." Luna had taught Lily to face her monsters.

She turned and found the figure; Lily paled. Bellatrix Lestrange- of course. The girl struck fear into most who attended Hogwarts- she was a known bully, after all. Lilly swallowed and continued running, when her ankles flew together. She fell forward, dropping all of her books. She scrabbled for her wand and wriggled around, quickly sitting up and pointing her wand at her ankles, releasing herself from the spell. She looked up at Bellatrix and, in a fit of panic, pointed her wand straight at her face. Shrilly, she declared "Confringo!" and released a stream of fire towards the Slytherin.

She whipped around, grabbing at her books and pushing herself up, continuing on her mad dasg.

Bellatrix snapped her head to the side as the flames passed hotly by her face. Bella ran her hands quickly through her hair and felt a few tips that had been singed. The Potter girl was dead.

"You better hope I don't catch you!" Bella screamed, the tendons in her neck standing out from the force of her shout, "If I do, you're dead!"

Bella scrambled after Lily, pushing a couple of second years out of the way as she brandished her wand wildly at Lily's back. The stream of students was becoming a bit thicker, and it was difficult for Bella to get a clear shot....but when had Bella ever cared about casualties.

"Locomotor Mortis!" she cried, binding the legs of a third year boy and brought him crashing to the floor.

"Petrificus Totalus! Locomotor Wibbly!" Two more students fell, one as rigid as a board and the other with legs that would no longer support him.

Bella ignored the three uninvolved students and pointed her wand at a nearby window, casting the reductor curse. The class shattered, spilling onto the hallway floor. The students squeezed themselves against the wall to avoid any more of Bella's spells, leaving a decent path to Lily.

"Oppugno!" Bella screamed, pointing her wand at Lily's retreating back and sending the shards of glass hurtling towards her.

((I'll have Aleks and Draco step in after giving everyone else a chance to post.))

(...everyone? XD)

Lily knew she had better put something between herself and Bellatrix if she wanted to survive. The redhead had only been in class for a few days and she was already being hunted down like a rabbit among foxes.

She would have just run, hurried off to the Room of Requirement- the Potter children had a tradition. The week before they went to Hogwarts for their first, Harry took them to Diagon. At lunch, he gave them every secret of Hogwarts he thought would be useful. James and Albus had to find some of the secrets, as there were too many to reasonably remember, but Lily had the memorization skills of a master. She had found each secret within her first week.

This was her intended escape, but when she heard Bella shrieking out more spells and young students crying out, her steps faltered. Damn her conscience! Finally, she suddenly stopped and turned, yelling, "Leave them alone!"

Then she spotted the glass.

She gasped and dropped to her knees, arching her back and pressing her face into her legs. The glass rained on her, cutting at her shoulders. The shower of glass seemed to be over and she bent her neck upwards, before flinging out her arm, pointing her arm at Bellatrix. "Rictumsempra!" Lily found it was always hard to hex someone when you were busy being tickled violently.

(I'm thinking she'll attempt to continue classes and then go to Moor Manor for Christmas Break. Maybe when vacation is over, everyone comes back to school and the Ministry/DEs ask Draco to make an example of lily and send the IS after her. She'll escape to the RoR then)

Aleks paused as he heard a voice cry out down the hallway, demanding to 'leave them alone.' Frowning slightly, Aleks moved towards the voice and scampered back when small shards of glass scattered across the floor in front of him. His mouth dropped as he saw a young girl kneeling in the middle of it all, pointing her wand at a witch who was rolling across the ground, laughing hysterically...leaving small trails of blood across the floor where the glass was cutting her.

Aleks walked up to stand beside Lily, his own wand pointed at Bellatrix, whom he did not yet know. He muttered the counter-hex and lowered his wand. He turned his back on Bellatrix and bent towards Lily, offering her his hand to help her to his feet.

"You okay?" he asked, "Vot has happened here?"

His eyes were not on Bellatrix, who was slowly rising to her feet, her wand pointed at his back.

Lily's hex hit the mark, and some of her frustration rolled from her back. She glanced up at the innocent bystanders, shouting, "GET OUT OF HERE!" Frustration and even some anger rose up within her, for they had lingered, gaping at the situation. She had just risked getting captured by a deranged Slytherin for their sake and they were hanging around to mess that all up- idiots. They stumbled and took off, leaving Lily surrounded by broken glass and the cackling Lestrange girl. Now, she could make her escape...

"You okay?"

Damn.

"Vot has happened here?"

Lily slowly raised her head, her neck straightening up as her head tipped back, moving slowly as she could so as not to displace any glass in a way that would cut her any worse than already. She slowly reached out a hand, gingerly grabbing it, when movement caught her eye.

She flung her other arm out. "Expelliarmus!" And with that, she sprung up to her feet, ignoring the cuts the glass had caused her. She grabbed the boy's hand, turned, and sprinted off.

Aleks fought to regain his feet as he stumbled after Lily's sudden dash, her hand firmly grasping his own. He glanced behind him to see the Slytherin girl's wand being caught by the Headmaster, who was watching their retreat.

"It is being alright now," Aleks shouted, turning his head to look at Lily, "Zeh Headmaster haff stopped zeh girl. You are being safe."

((Okay, so he is supposed to be speaking with a Russian accent. The grammar is also supposed to be messed up. I'm using personal experience from tutoring Spanish-speaking adults on the most common grammatical mistakes for foreigners to make. If you need help getting the voice into your mindframe...here is a lesson from Ivan!


And if you tell me not to bother typing out the speech phonetically, I shall murder you in your sleep with a pointy stick and hang you up to dry right beside Destrey Ashcroft. It helps me get into character.))

((I would never do that xD ))

Lily glanced back, her eyes rolling towards the back of her head to get some sort of confirmation that the boy's words were indeed true- which it turned out they were. Not that that changed anything. Lily was more afraid of Bellatrix, but she had less reason to expect any good out of Malfoy. The Headmaster was a lifelong foe of her family, and descended from a line of Death Eaters. And Lily thought him a little less predictable.

"Good for them," Lily said. "They can have a tea party. Don't stop running." And she skidded around a corner, intent on continuing her mad dash until at least two floors separated them.

Meanwhile, Jude Fernsby was shadowing the Headmaster, having slowly become a shadow of the older man, constantly asking what the Headmaster intended to do about the impurity problem of the school. He was following Malfoy when the Headmaster confronted Bellatrix. Jude immediately came to her rescue. "Sir, she was just trying to stop the traitor, Potter."

"Be that as it may," Draco said in reply to Jude while twirling Bellatrix's wand in his fingers, "Lily Potter's current status does not give Miss Lestrange leeway to demolish the castle. You are, of course, aware that the Dark Lord has commanded the capture of Miss Potter alive and un-maimed. I do believe that shooting shards of broken glass at the subject would be defined as maiming."

Draco turned and held Bella's wand out to her, though maintaining his grip as she went to grip it.

"You count yourself lucky that little stunt didn't severely damage the Potter brat," Draco snarled in an undertone to Bella as he released her wand, "The Dark Lord would surely hold me responsible for your irresponsible actions! You do realize the position our family is in right now."

Bellatrix ripped her wand from Draco's grasp, glaring darkly at him.

"Your family," Bellatrix spat back at Draco as she holstered her wand, "My family was the most loyal of the Dark Lord's servants. They gave up their freedom and their lives fighting for his cause. They weren't the traitorous rats the Malfoy family proved to be. Just you wait until I have graduated and can join His ranks...I will sit at his right hand just as my mother did!"

"You're not there yet," Draco hissed, grasping Bella by the shoulder, squeezing hard, "and you'll be six feet under his feet should you ignore his orders. You should be thanking me for saving your life."

"She was gone before you even got here!" Bella screamed, struggling to release herself from his hand.

Draco released her suddenly, and the sudden loss of resistance sent her tumbling to the floor.

"You certainly do take after your mother," Draco said smoothly, straightening himself and smoothing out his robes, "too much so. Some day, your brash attitude and quick temper will guide you to the same sticky end she met."

Bella sat rooted to where she had fallen, glaring daggers into the now retreating back.

"By the way," Draco said, pausing momentarily without looking behind him, "The Potter girl's disarming spell missed."

Bella's eyebrows shot up at the implied implications of this information, before they furrowed again as fury washed over her body.

"I'll kill him...." she raged in a whisper, "someday...you'll be dead!"

((This whole conversation was, of course, within earshot of Mr. Fernsby.))

Jude didn't think much of the Headmaster, but he did think that it was important to get the head Malfoy on his side now. The Malfoy family had always been involved in the Dark Lord's affairs, and as Draco was now in a position to get rid of those who dirtied the hallways Jude had to frequent on a daily basis, the Slytherin boy was intent on getting what he wanted through the cowardly Headmaster.

Jude knew Bella, naturally, and she was one of the few Slytherins he thought were actually worthy of the House. He did not like, therefore, the condescending tone that Malfoy had put on for her. Jude stood back, watching the exchange- bound by his own obligations to support Draco, but more inclined to support the Lestrange girl.

Draco left, and Jude turned, watching the Headmaster walk away. He crossed his arms, rocking on his heels once and saying, "That man will have to learn how to get things done or he'll have a mutiny on his hands." He turned around, looking down at Bellatrix. "You may want to stand up, now. Class will be getting out and it's bad PR." He held out a hand. "Need assistance?"

Bella swatted Jude's hand away impatiently.

"I can do it myself. I'm a big girl," she snapped as she crawled to her feet, "Draco has gone too far. I had that Potter girl until he came and messed things up for me. Just wait. I'll have a very interesting report for the Dark Lord once I return to the Manor for the holidays. That worm has no real allegiance to the Dark Lord. It's all cowardice! He'd turncoat at the first opportunity. Protecting Muggles and mudbloods..... He actually stopped me from torturing a little first year mudblood who dared to besmirch the school by setting their filthy feet on these polished floors! Hopefully the Dark Lord will put a stop to their kind attending Hogwarts soon, allowing only those worthy to call themselves a 'pureblood' to learn these sacred arts!"

Bellatrix had worked herself up into a self-righteous frenzy, pacing back and forth and waving her hands wildly in the air as she ranted on. Feeding off her temper, her wand began to shoot sparks to enunciate her point, spilling out the tip at each jab.

"We need a group....students who are dedicated to our cause and who will help weed out those who are unworthy to attend this school because the dear Headmaster obviously isn't up to the task!"

((I'm assuming that the Inquisitional Squad has not yet been formed. Kinda waiting for the Educational Decrees to start coming out...mudblood round-ups...pretty much what started going on in the last book.))

Aleks continued to run at Lily's side, his sneakers sliding against the polished floor as he rounded a corner, nearly slipping. Lily's hand had tightened around his, keeping him from crashing to the floor. This girl is strong.... Aleks found himself beginning to take a closer look at her. She was pretty. He supposed there could be worse things than racing down the school halls hand-in-hand with a cute little red-head.

"Vot vas it zeh girl vas vanting from you? Vhy vould she attack you?" Aleks asked as they ran, "and vare are ve going?"

Aleks had recently transferred from Durmstrang, and while he knew of Lily Potter...he had not yet had her pointed out to him, so he had no clue what she looked like. He could be running down the corridors with the Duchess of Kensington for all he knew.

((That is a lot of v's in one sentence.))

The boy nearly lost his grip on her, and if she didn't think that letting him go meant leaving him to the mercy of those they were escaping, Lily might have let this become the natural moment for them to part ways. However, she was sure danger was afoot- she was becoming more paranoid by the day- so she could not risk it. She tightened her grip and pulled him along.

He fired a small list of questions and Lily allowed him to get it all out- now she really noticed the accent. He must've transferred from Durmstrang or something. A tad breathless, she responded, "She wants blood, what every Lestrange has wanted forever. She attacked me because, well, I guess I was just born into the role."

His last question raised a good point. Lily hadn't thought of that.

She suddenly stopped, looking at him. "I have no idea where we're going."

It took a second for Lily to become conscious of the fact that when she had froze her position, she had not released this strange boy's hand from her own grip, and now that she was aware of this minor detail, she hurriedly dropped his hand and made herself busy with peeking around the corner of the corridor. It seemed they had outrun the situation, so she turned back to report the good news.

"They-"

Tap-tap-tap.

She looked up and spotted a blotch of color against the blue sky from one of the views out the windows. She perked the sight of the familiar bird and breathed, "Tobias." She forgot about the boy and hurried forward, pushing open the window pane so Tobias could squeeze through. HE dutifully allowed her to take the paper, before settling patiently on her shoulder, chewing on a strand of her hair contently.

Lily turned, leaning against the wall as she read the paper. Her face slowly but surely clouded over with concern, anger, sadness and near-fear.

Aleks watched, a bit incredulous, as Lily's attention was caught up by one of the hugest owls he had ever seen. The monster squeezed through the opening Lily had produced for it, then perched upon her shoulder as she seemed to pour over what looked like a copy of the Daily Prophet. Aleks' face began to reflect Lily's concern as she read. Aleks had a bit of a Superman complex when it came to girls in distress, and his first instinct was always to fly to their aide....especially pretty girls like this red-headed pop-tart.

"You okay?" Aleks asked, leaning against the wall next to Lily, trying to peek at the paper.

Lily did not want to be vulnerable, and she didn't want to be transparent. She felt her world slowly falling around her, disintegrating into little bits of chaos that burned before her. She had no one to help her. Just last year, both of her brothers were at the school and were able to watch out for her. This year, James was off fighting wars and Albus was... well, Albus was gone. Lily was on her own, and she had never had the need for protection more than she needed it now.

But this strange boy was not who would protect her. She had to be more careful. It was obvious that she was not safe in the school, and she had to treat everyone as either an enemy, or someone willing to sell her to her enemies. She could not make dangerous assumptions and give people the benefit of doubt.

With a snap, she tucked the paper under her arm, looking up at the boy with as straight an expression as possible. "No. Nothing is wrong. I'm fine. I'm going... to go to my dorm."

Aleks did not miss the fact that Lily seemed reluctant to allow him to see the paper. His chauvinistic attitude prompted him to shove that little detail to the back of his mind. She was a girl. Girls needed protection from men. He was a man. It all made perfect sense in his own mind.

"Would you like me to accompany you?" Aleks asked, showing concern, "Two pairs of eyes are better than one when walking down the twisting hallways of Hogwarts, after all."

((Sorry, my Aleks muse is struggling a bit.))

Lily's paranoia had been stirred, and now she felt it full blast. After that... night... Lily remembered the bustle as everyone tried to determine their next move. Somehow, she had been forgotten- of course, Teddy had stayed near her, but he also had a lot to do that night. She had remained on a small sofa in the house all the Order members who remained had congregated in, a blanket thrown over her shoulders, her teeth chattering to prevent tears from following. She had heard one of her brother's friends, the redhead Beater, mutter something to the others when she had left to find out more information- "Trust no one."

This attitude she now adopted. The boy seemed harmless and seemed a bit clueless too, but Lily could not trust him for that alone. He could easily be tricking her. Her once compassionate, feeling nature must be quashed, for the concern in his eyes would have one it over once, but she could not let that happen. She shook her head, saying, "No. I'm fine." She took a few steps backwards, her eyes resting hard on his, unwilling to turn her back on him this close.

((It's okay. I like the 'he was a man' bit. I giggled.))

((I even forgot his accent. XD ))

Aleks laughed, despite himself.

"I do not be frightening you, do I?" he chortled, "I always haff prided myself in how vell-liked people are being vith me....but....I vill not be forcing my company onto you."

Aleks smiled at her, and leaned against the stone wall with his arms crossed over his chest. Regardless of what she said, he planned on tailing her back to the dormitory, if only to make certain that she would not be attacked. The Slytherin girl had seemed quite unhinged.

His laughter, though it seemed to be basically good-natured, did nothing to assure Lily that he was someone she could trust. If anything, she thought it was an attempt at a ploy to keep his true nature concealed, or that he was, matter of factly, making fun of her for her own caution on proceeding. She felt her eyes narrow on him, harden - a strange expression for the girl who had inherited her father's penchant for trouble, and her mother's claim towards fun.

He spoke and she was now sure he wasn't someone she could trust. In all this time, he had done nothing to introduce himself, and he was now assuring her that he was well-liked, without offering any real evidence of it. Besides, he had a strange accent, and one commonly associated with Durmstrang students, who were known to be dark arts pupils - perhaps Malfoy was bringing them in as a task force.

He would not force his company on her, huh? She straightened up and said, "Good." The work hung in the air for a second and then she pointed behind him, nodding her head in that direction. "Then leave." Let him put his back to her.

((Aw, crap....and here I would have had him introduce himself if I had remembered he hadn't. XD Poor kid is gonna feel stupid.))

Aleks stared at her for a few seconds, a bit stunned. In his mind, he had come to her rescue, only to be dismissively shunned by her. It just wasn't proper manners!

"Dit I do somezing to anger you?" he asked abruptly, though he half-turned from her since he had said he'd leave her be, "If zat is being zah case, zen I do apologize. I haff only been vanting to help."

With that, Alex turned from her and began to slowly walk away....part of him expecting her to call after him.

((I figure they can always meet up later....I'm sure there will plenty of times that Lily will need *ahem* rescuing. Hm....she could always meet Marguerite on the way to her dorm or something. Don't believe I have any other students besides Bellatrix.))