TRAINING WHEELS
FRENCH PROMISES

18th February 1997 (continued)

To put it as simply as possible, Amora was stunned. Pansy and Kathy seemed to both wait anxiously for her reaction to the article she had just read, but Amora's face didn't shift for a solid twenty seconds later. Kathy chewed down on her bottom lip before extending her hand in front of Amora's face and snapping her fingers. Finally, Amora blinked.

"Are you okay, Amora?" Kathy asked gently.

The brunette swallowed harshly and brushed the hand that Pansy had on her arm off of her. Pansy didn't look offended but merely concerned, just like her girlfriend.

"I have to go and talk to my mother." Amora stood up from the table, wincing at some of the attention she received from people whispering about the controversial writing. "Do you mind if I take this?"

She gestured to Kathy and Pansy's copy of The Quibbler, but before either girl could even reply, Amora had snatched it up and was heading for the exit of the Great Hall. Amora was vaguely aware of some stares and a few whispers, mainly from the Slytherin table, but it all felt like she was under water or something, and they were all above the surface.

Amora chewed down on her bottom lip, making it into the Entrance Hall when somebody grabbed onto her wrist. She jumped, finding herself glaring into the familiar brown eyes of Leon. She jerked her arm away roughly.

"Piss off, Leon!" Amora snapped furiously, her stress getting the better of her.

Leon's eyes widened. "Look," he replied defensively, "I just came to apologise for what I said last night. I was high off my fucking rockets, and I'm actually sober this morning -"

"I don't care." Amora tried to brush past him, but he followed.

"Well I do," Leon said, "I woke up this morning and felt like shit remembering what I said. I didn't mean to harass you like that -"

"Leon!" Amora cried, pausing in her step - it used to be easier to get mad at him when he was the same height, but he was probably just as tall as Draco now, so she felt a little less intimidating, much to her dismay. "I am being so fucking serious right now, I don't care what you said last night, in fact, it's the least of my concerns right now. I have to go -"

"What happened?" Leon frowned worriedly.

"I'm sure you'll find out soon enough, Leon."

She turned as quickly as she could to get to the Muggle Studies classroom and, thankfully, this time Leon left her alone. Her footsteps echoed across the floor, her small breaths filling her ears as she raced up the flights of stairs, finally reaching the door she knew her mother would be behind.

Pushing it open, Amora found her mother sitting behind her desk, skimming through a pile of what looked like mail. Her eyes flickered up at the sound of the creaking door, a bright smile taking over her features when she saw her daughter standing there, the grin widening when she caught sight of the newspaper clutched firmly in Amora's left hand.

"Oh, you've read it! You've read it!" Professor Buckley exclaimed, diving around the desk. "What did you think? Tell me everything!"

"Mum..." Amora muttered in slight horror. "Mum, why did you publish this?"

Immediately, the smile wiped off of her mother's face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Mum, this- this isn't going to persuade anyone," Amora cried, "This is going to put a target right on your back! You do realise what you have just done? You have published an article about erasing Pureblood families amidst a war over blood purity! And during a period where people are going missing every week -"

"Darling, it might sound extreme to people who don't properly understand what I'm talking about, but if you read between the lines, I am merely suggesting that diversity will aid our cause!" Professor Buckley said eagerly, a convincing smile crossing her features once again. "It's not as though I am suggesting we rid the world of Purebloods, but it will help people to understand - to understand that -"

"Mum, it sure sounds like you don't want any Purebloods about at all!" Amora snapped, "And - And not only have you put a target on your own back, but you have also managed to put one on mine, and possibly dad's -"

"I would never put you in danger!" Professor Buckley gasped, "But you always tell me how proud you are of being a blood traitor! You said it to me just yesterday -"

"You have put me in danger, mum," Amora cried, "I've barely hung about the Great Hall long enough to hear what people are saying, but I'm getting more looks than ever, and I'm sure some people aren't going to like me very much after this. And the thing at the end - the thing about -"

Professor Buckley frowned worriedly as she watched Amora dive to grab the paper, reading it.

"You said 'It is my dream to watch my grandchildren live in a world where it doesn't matter if they are a Half-blood,'" Amora read out loud, "You - you are acting as though my love is limited to Muggle-borns and Half-bloods only -"

"Well, you have ended things with the Malfoy boy, so I thought now you would be more open to -"

"It's as though you already have my life decided for me," Amora cried, "I knew you hated me and Draco together. I knew you were happy when I broke up with him. Is that your only dream? Is it the only way you will be happy?"

"Don't be so ridiculous," Professor Buckley scolded, "Stop making this about you. This is about our side of the war winning people over. It's about encouraging people not to be scared to speak out -"

"This is the most stupid thing you could have ever written right now," Amora cut her off, slamming it down on the table.

"I beg to differ, and so do dozens of others!" Professor Buckley argued, gesturing towards the stacks of letters behind her. "Readers of The Quibbler are in awe over the article, it is the most out-there any member of our side has been so far during this war! I am showing people that they need to stand up and stand out if they want to get anywhere -"

"Well, maybe you should have left it to someone else," Amora protested, "Maybe you shouldn't have included paragraphs about me and my childhood inside it. You've been so blinded by offending You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters so much that you've just - you've just put us in so much danger."

"You make it sound as though you are the mother, Miss Buckley."

Both Buckley women whirled around to see Professor Snape had entered the room. His beady eyes pierced into Amora's so intensely that she was forced to look away, and Professor Buckley sighed heavily.

"Amora, you should leave. Clearly Severus would like a word with me."

It was most likely Order of the Phoenix things. Professor Buckley had no idea that Amora knew Snape was a part of it.

"Miss Buckley can hear this. I think she is right, Elle," Snape said, much to Amora's surprise. "If you spent weeks and weeks planning and writing this article, did it ever dawn on you the impact it would have on your own personal life? Or what effect it would have on your daughter?"

Professor Buckley's face fell. "Severus, this - this article isn't about Amora and I as human beings. It's not meant to be taken that way. It's about people realising that there is more to life than blood purity -"

"It was very rash for you to write this," Snape cut her off. "Your daughter is right. You were indeed blinded by jumping at the chance to join in with this war and say your part. But you have most likely caused more harm than good."

Amora wasn't sure she had ever liked Snape so much. Well, like was probably an overstatement, but she appreciated his words nevertheless.

"See?" Amora added, perhaps unhelpfully.

Professor Buckley dropped her head into her hands. "But - but I have received numerous letters detailing how good my ideas are already. I - I haven't had a single threat -"

"Dumbledore believes it is best you do not read those ones," Snape admitted gravely, "But if you wish to, there is an even bigger pile on his desk than the one currently on your desk."

Amora's heart dropped, and she was pretty sure her mother's did too. Tears began to leak from Professor Buckley's eyes and she placed a hand over her gasping mouth. Doubt was seeping through all of her cracks, ones that Amora had made as soon as she entered the classroom, and Snape had been the one to finish it off - to show her just how wrong she had been.

"Oh!" Professor Buckley cried, "Oh, I didn't - I thought that -"

"Mum," Amora hesitated with a frown, inching forwards to comfort her.

However, before she could reach the woman, the door to the classroom opened again. Snape and Amora looked around, Amora's eyes widening in shock at the sight of her father standing there. He looked furious, even more so than Amora had.

"Elle, you promised me!" Amora's father yelled, "You promised you would stay out of it!"

Amora flinched backwards a little. "Father, she understands now -"

"No!" Mr Buckley protested, "She's been wanting to publish something like this for weeks! It's why the Daily Prophet wouldn't do it! Because it's too extreme, Elle. We have mail being sent to the cottage threatening all of our lives -"

Professor Buckley weeped louder and Amora moved closer, holding her arm and trying to rub soothing circles. Snape stepped forward, eyeing up Mr Buckley cautiously. She wondered if they had ever talked before. Klaus and Elle were a few years older than Snape, so they wouldn't have been in the same year at school. They would have been in their last final few when he had started Hogwarts.

"Dad -"

"Miss Buckley, perhaps you should leave this to your parents," Snape advised.

Amora looked between her crying mother and her furious father. She recalled how angry he had been when Amora had snuck away to London with Draco over the summer, how he had lifted a hand to smack her across the face. She shook her head.

"I'm not leaving my mum."

"Darling, go," Professor Buckley shook her head. "I should talk to your father privately."

"Will Professor Snape be staying?" Amora asked hopefully, glancing over at the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher who she never thought she would trust.

Something flickered through his eyes. Almost like he understood.

"No," Her father snapped, "He is not involved -"

"On the contrary, Mr Buckley, you are on the school property of which I work at," Snape cut in, "If Elle would like me to stay, then I would be fine with that."

Professor Buckley nodded weakly. "Yes. Yes. Just go back to breakfast, Amora. We will sort this out. I am so, so sorry, my darling."

Amora couldn't force any words out. She'd be lying if she said it was okay, and she didn't want her voice to break in front of Professor Snape. Amora merely squeezed her mother's hand and began to head for the door. As soon as it shut behind her, she couldn't hear a thing. Snape most likely had cast a Muffliato spell.

Amora stumbled towards the wall by the door, placing her hand on her forehead. Snape had said there were aggressive letters up in Dumbledore's office waiting for Elle, and her father had said there were more at home. Threatening not only Elle, but him and Amora too. This edition had only been published for about six hours, too.

Was her mother going to be in lots of trouble now? Summer was only months away now, and she couldn't stay at Hogwarts under the protection of Dumbledore then. How could her mother have been so careless? Was she really so devoted to her morals and opinions that she had risked the safety of herself for this article? And then unknowingly her daughter and husband too?

Amora moved away from the Muggle Studies classroom and began to head towards Dumbledore's office. She may not like him very much, but he was most likely the only one that could offer her any reassurance or advice right now. Maybe it wasn't her place - maybe her mother should be the one doing this - but it felt like everything was falling apart and she was frantic.

She paused outside of the gargoyle statue, realising that she didn't know the password to enter. Amora chewed down on her bottom lip, glancing around. Her eyes landed on Harry who was talking to Ron, and without hesitation, she called his name.

Both boys seemed alarmed, their eyes widening as Amora jogged over to them. Ron clenched his jaw a little, looking rather defensive.

"Do you know the password to Dumbledore's office?" Amora asked the brunet boy. "I really, really need to talk to him right now."

"Why should Harry -"

The back of Harry's hand whacked Ron's chest to shut him up. Either Harry could see how troubled she looked and felt sorry for her, or maybe now that he had moved onto Ginny he wasn't so blinded by anger anymore.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked.

Amora chewed her bottom lip. "I'm guessing you're not subscribed to The Quibbler."

"It's not my first choice of paper, no."

"It's a long story, you may hear about it by the end of the day, you may not. But I don't really have time for it. Please could you just tell me the password?" Amora pleaded with him.

Harry hesitated. "I can come with you. I don't know if I should go telling the password to just anyone."

Amora wanted to blurt that she wasn't just anyone, that Dumbledore had involved her in things even Harry didn't know, but she kept her mouth shut and forced a small nod. Ron scoffed, causing her to look over at him.

"I'm not even with Malfoy anymore, if it means so much to you, Ron," Amora ended up snapping. "Besides, it's a bit hypocritical for you to still be mad at me when you're going off and kissing Lavender Brown in front of Hermione."

Harry closed his eyes as if that would allow him to escape the situation.

"What has Hermione got to do with any of this?" Ron said defensively, but all three of them knew exactly what Amora was referencing. "And don't act like Lavender and I are anything like you and Malfoy."

"At least we kept our PDA to a minimum, Won-Won," Amora sneered.

Ron's face immediately grew red and Harry had to choke back a chuckle, pushing Ron back slightly and steering Amora away.

"Okay, I think I'll be taking Amora to Dumbledore now," Harry said awkwardly.

Amora ignored the bitter remarks that Ron made beneath his breath, hurrying with Harry over to the Gargoyle again. She waited for him to mutter the password quietly and the statue shifted to reveal the stairs leading upwards.

"Thank you," she said.

"I hope everything's alright?"

Amora paused on the step and turned back to face him. "I hope so too, Harry."

D.M + A.B

Dumbledore was useless. Absolutely shockingly useless for one of the most powerful wizards in the world. There was nothing he could do, he said, just to have teachers keep an eye out for both Amora and her mother. Meanwhile, Amora's father was moving to The Order's headquarters, which was somewhere in London, apparently, seeing as he was a member.

By the time she had reached her mother's classroom again, her father and Snape had left and Professor Buckley's eyes were rimmed red. Amora comforted her a little more, escorting her to her bedchambers before retreating to the Great Hall. It was dinner time then.

Amora kept her head down until she reached the Hufflepuff table, sneaking in next to Kathy. Pansy quickly leaned across to grab Amora's hand before she could reach for any food.

"What's happening?" Pansy whispered, "You were gone all day."

"My father's furious, my mother's a mess," Amora muttered, "She didn't expect this kind of... backlash."

"The only people I've seen giving her backlash are from Slytherin," Kathy said, "The only people really talking about it are the Purebloods. It will be dead gossip in a week."

"She means outside of Hogwarts too," Pansy said, before sending Amora a sympathetic wince. "But Kathy's also right about that. I wouldn't come into the common room anytime soon, Amora. It's probably not safe for a while."

"Fuck," Amora breathed, running a hand through her hair. "I should have asked to read it beforehand or something..."

"That's not your job," Pansy said, "Look... I don't want to offend you or anything, but this is your mother's mistake - not yours. You shouldn't have to suffer at school because of it."

"I just don't know what she was expecting," Amora whispered, "I suppose she's always been quite extreme with her activism. I mean, she protested blood purity during the first war. Draco's mother told me she had quite a few enemies at school over it. And now... Merlin, I don't know. I think she just wants to feel like she's done her part. I feel really sorry for her."

"She had good intentions," Kathy agreed.

"What are the others saying?"

"Well, Theo was smart enough to recognise that your mother had just put her point across somewhat poorly, but Blaise was really confused. He might have been a tad offended," Pansy said.

Amora's head dropped back into her hands. "Merlin. Is he mad?"

"No. Theo explained, but even if Blaise had a problem with what your mother said, he wouldn't take it out on you or even her, Amora," Pansy reassured her, "He's still... unlearning his prejudice."

The brunette nodded before she froze. "And, er, what about Draco?"

Pansy bit her lip and glanced at Kathy who widened her eyes at her. Amora's heart fell. She immediately began to think the worse - that maybe he was absolutely furious with her, that perhaps he believed Amora had known this would be published.

"He's really angry," Pansy admitted quietly, "As in, storm-out-of-the-Great-Hall-and-not-talk-to-anybody-all-day angry."

Amora gulped. "Really?"

"Yeah. Theo tried this morning to calm him down, but Draco wasn't having it," Pansy said.

Someone suddenly sat down opposite them, causing the three girls to break apart. All sent glares of varying amounts of venom towards Leon who offered them a sheepish smile before his eyes darted over to Amora.

"Oh. I saw what you were so pissed about this morning," Leon said, "I don't think it's that big of a deal though. Just a bit hypocritical, if I'm being honest. 'Cause she's a Pureblood and had a  Pureblood kid."

"Leon," Kathy warned him. "Not right now."

"Well, lots of people like it," Leon claimed, "Even Zacharias admitted that Professor Buckley's got balls writing about this during a war."

Amora gritted her teeth. "That's one way of putting it."

"More like she has a death wish," Zena imputed from off the side. "No offence. It just seemed really risky to me. And I'm a Muggle-born."

The Buckley girl didn't say anything but climbed from her seat. Pansy grasped her wrist, causing Amora to look back.

"Where are you going?"

"To be myself for a bit. I need to think things over a bit more."

Amora began to head back to the Hufflepuff common room and her friends didn't try to stop her. She'd never been so thankful in her life that it was the closest one to the Great Hall, for all she wanted to do was flop onto her bed and pretend that today had never happened. With everything inside her, she hoped to wake up and find that this had all just been one big dream.

However, in addition to sleeping, she wished that it could be beside Draco. She longed for his long fingers to run through her hair and his lips to press to her forehead as he told her that her family would be alright, but Pansy said he was mad. She hadn't seen him since that morning, and she was pretty sure if he really wanted to, then Draco would have sought her out by now.

The fact that Draco was angry caused another wave of dread to wash over her, and she felt a pang in her head. She definitely had a headache coming on.

Yet she began to drift in the direction of the Room of Requirement, having a feeling that she would find Draco there. Sure enough, the doors opened for her, revealing the huge mess of rubbish. Amora stepped inside, quietly walking down the aisles until she found him working on the vanishing cabinet again.

He turned around, having heard her come to a stop, his eyes widening when he realised that it was her and not Pansy, Theo, or Blaise. He tucked his wand into the inside pocket of his blazer.

"You're not supposed to be in here," Draco said immediately, "You wanted nothing to do with this -"

"I'm not here to watch you work on the bloody cabinet," Amora scoffed back.

"Did you have any idea that your mother was going to publish that article?" Draco fired almost instantly, his eyes glittering with fury.

Amora pursed her lips. "No. I knew she was writing an article to persuade people to join our side's cause, but I had no idea it was so... intense, I suppose."

"Intense is one bloody word for it," Draco snapped suddenly.

She was taken aback by his anger, but didn't say anything as she dropped down onto the couch she used to sit on on the rare occasion that she came to watch him try and fix the cabinet. Amora pursed her lips and shut her eyes, leaning her head back on the sofa. She collected herself for a moment and then looked back at him.

"You're mad?"

"Fucking furious doesn't even cover it," Draco replied, "Does your mother not realise how much danger she has put you in?"

Amora felt a small shudder of relief flow through her. At first, she thought he was so mad due to  her mother insisting that Pureblood families should become extinct, but now she realised his anger was directed more so towards the fact that the article was hurting Amora too.

"She does now," Amora muttered, "She's received a lot of backlash."

"I'm sure," Draco scoffed, "I know exactly what they're like. Your mother most likely is not going to be let off easily for this, especially during this bloody war. She's put a target on her back, you know. She's basically begged to be the next to be taken."

Amora felt herself begin to shake. She had known all of this herself, of course, but hearing it from somebody like Draco, who truly and wholly did know what the Dark Lord's sympathisers were like, made her rattle in terror. Draco watched her swallow thickly, her eyes closing again.

He sighed heavily and dropped onto the couch beside her, reaching out to grab her trembling hands. He cupped them inside his much larger ones, lifting them to his mouth where he pressed a small kiss.

"And don't think I didn't understand that dig at the end," Draco muttered sourly, "The one about you having half-blood children or whatever."

"I already said that to her," Amora whispered.

"But that's not even the point. She told everybody about how you went to a Muggle school, about the fact that you're a, well, you know, a blood traitor," Draco said, "I'm sorry, but is your mother insane or something? Has she ever tried to murder you before?"

"Draco," Amora warned, "She's... She's just extremely passionate. Too much so. She's blinded by it sometimes. She was thinking about how she could help others, rather than how she should be looking out for herself and her family, I think. She regrets it now. A lot."

"She should," was all Draco spat back.

Amora pulled her hands out of his to place them on her lap to hold them against her face. Her head throbbed, the unwanted headache beginning to take over. She sank lower into the sofa, hoping that maybe it would swallow her whole and she wouldn't have to deal with this anymore.

"What's your family doing about this?" Draco said, "How is Dumbledore fixing this?"

"My father's going to a safe house of sorts," Amora replied, "Our home might not be safe, despite all the wards and stuff. Dumbledore's got people looking out for my mother, but he's decided we're both safe at Hogwarts. I suppose he's right. Nobody can get into the school. It's just summer I'm worried about."

Draco felt himself begin to panic internally, his eyes flickering over towards the vanishing cabinet. Once his task was complete, he'd be putting Amora's mother in more danger than ever - and now Amora too, maybe. He had to work on how he was going to get them out of the caste before that happened faster.

"Draco?"

He began to put his Occlumency shields up, it helped him not feel much of anything - stopped him from reacting the way he wanted to, or letting Amora look into his eyes and know what was wrong.

"Yeah." Draco shook his head. "I was just thinking. This is shit."

"Among other negative adjectives, yes it is shit," Amora agreed, folding her arms across her chest and staring glumly ahead at all of the piles of rubbish. "That feels like an understatement though. Kathy said it might blow over in a week. Maybe at Hogwarts, but I know Purebloods on the outside won't forget what she's said."

Draco wished he could give her reassuring words, but Amora was most likely spot on. He bet even Voldemort had read the article at this point, or at least been made aware of it. After all, it was the most direct someone had been against him so far during this war, Draco was pretty sure. Everybody else was scared because they had too much to lose, and yet Professor Buckley acted as if she had absolutely nothing.

Draco knew his mother would have never done that. She forced them both to blend in and lay low, hiding in the grass like proper snakes. She'd save him over this stupid war any day of the week. She made sure they did everything in order to survive. Narcissa and Elle were two very different people with two very different priorities.

He glanced over to Amora and felt bad. He found himself reaching for her, making her jump a little. Draco peppered kisses across the side of her face before he rested his forehead on her shoulder, his thumb stroking her arm.

"I want to take you away from here," Draco murmured, "Away from this school, away from Britain in general."

Amora felt him shift so he sat further at the end of the couch, and he gently pulled her head down so it rested in his lap. "Yeah?" She whispered.

"Mhm. You know where I would take you?" Draco spoke, stroking his fingers through her hair, causing her to shiver and close her eyes.

"Where?"

"France," Draco replied, "You said you've never been abroad."

"To the summer house you have there?" Amora recalled quietly.

"I would take you nearby, but I think we'd stay somewhere better," Draco said, "Somewhere where I could make separate memories with you. And I would take you on picnic dates in the sun, in fields filled with flowers, and -"

"What food would there be?"

Draco chuckled at her interruption and Amora blushed. "Sorry, I haven't eaten all day."

"Well, we would have whatever you wanted, of course. Anything - no matter how expensive," Draco promised her.

"I think I'd like those cheese and pineapple stick things," Amora smiled a bit.

Draco's nose scrunched up. "Really?"

"Yeah," Amora breathed happily, eyes still shut as he pulled out knots and tangles. "Okay, so we're in the field and you're feeding me cheese and pineapple on sticks -"

"Who said I was feeding you them?"

"You best be feeding me them, I'm busy reading my book of course," Amora replied.

"Oh, of course," Draco acted as though he had just remembered. "I forgot I was just there to pay for your food and then feed it to you."

"Nuh-huh," Amora furrowed her brows a little. "You're also there to look pretty and smell nice."

Draco smiled. It seemed they had both forgotten about the article and Amora's mother.

"Well, after I finished feeding you and you'd finished your book, I think we'd go for a long walk through the fields and find a town," Draco said, "I'd do all of the talking of course, and you'd find it astonishing sexy that I speak French -"

"Hush."

" - And I'd buy you whatever you wanted, pamper you like a real princess, and we'd have a nice meal outside, watching the sunset. And I'd give you my jacket whilst we walked home, tipsy and happy," Draco murmured, feeling his heart thump louder and harder at the idea of it all. "And we would send our friends things back home in the post to brag about having the best time ever."

"That sounds really nice," Amora breathed blissfully.

However, it felt as though mere seconds after he'd finished talking, the coldness of the room crept up on them, and all Draco could feel was the shadow the vanishing cabinet was casting on his back. Amora began to think of her mother again.

"I'll make it happen one day," Draco promised her quietly, "As soon as the war is over. Me and you in France."

"Me, you, and the cheese and pineapple sticks in France," Amora added.

"It's a plan, darling."

...

guys! two people have made playlists for this fic and they're both sooo good, you should definitely check them both out!!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0vewfSmyHR3bSATGSNboco?si=1b2d76e1e27644d5 (the playlist is called 'honorary slytherin' if that is easier) by emreader44

and https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1Y0vvQSlc3lgVoC76V9A0U?si=86f3f602621c4e11 (playlist is called 'training wheels🏹🤍🐍🌞) by amantiumauream on tumblr!

thanks so much for reading <333

word count: 5k

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