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( chapter six. )

❝ the ravenclaw posse ❞

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"You will come to the quidditch match tomorrow, right?"

"Maybe."

"Lulu!" Theseus growled, and I lifted my head from the book I was trying to read. And my gaze was already there on my boyfriend, who proudly wore the Hufflepuff yellow Quidditch uniform, the only thing that ruined the overall picture was the slight grimace. His hands were locked around my free hand, which was not used to hold the book and no matter how hard I tried to pay attention to the words on the page, the caressing fingers kept distracting me.

"You love doing this too much!" I looked over my shoulder to really see his face. We were sitting on one of the couches in the Hufflepuff common room, one of our usual spots. Theseus hugged me from behind while I was trying to get ready for a runology class.

"What?"

'Caressing my body,' I wanted to say.

"Distracting me!" I said, at last, frowning with pretended rage. Theseus leaned down and kissed me gently, almost tickling my side with his hand. I had to giggle, but that didn't stop him from dropping more kisses on my lips either.

"I have - kiss - no idea - kiss - what - kiss, kiss - you're talking about."

"Oh, no, please stop it!" it burst out of me with a series of laughter. Next to the last kiss, Theseus turned me around, gripping my waist, so he was almost lying on me. And there I was, between his legs. "I hate you!"

"You don't hate me."

"Of course I do," I nodded, reaching for higher, slowly touching my nose against his. "I really, really hate you."

"Mhm," his eyes twinkled, so clearly visible that I was almost dizzy and pulled his face closer. "Tell me more!"

"No!"

I laid my head on his chest and I was just... listening. I heard his heartbeat. His breaths. As I touched the bare skin on his neck, his breathing became more proliferating, as did his heart. My touch drove him crazy, which made me smile against his shoulder.

I, on the other hand, was reassured by every single sound that flowed from his body toward me. Its warmth surrounded me like a warm blanket that you can wrap yourself in in the winter and feel perfectly safe. The beating of his heart was the happiest song in my ear.

I was at home in his arms. And safe.

"I would not miss it."

"What?"

"Quidditch," I raised my head so I could look into his eyes. "I wouldn't miss it.  Not for the world."

_______

"Are you sure you don't want to hang out with the guys tonight? You have just won, this must be celebrated together!"

"I'll celebrate with them tomorrow!" Theseus waved as he sank to his bed in the Hufflepuff boys' sleeping area. It was as if it hadn't been a big deal to defeat Slytherin and stop their winning streak. My brother was bubbling. Yeah ... It was a big deal. Which they had to celebrate. Appropriately. "Come here!"

I knew why he wanted me to go there. And honestly, I wanted to go there too. Throughout the week, I could only think for a moment that I was finally going to bed with Theseus.

"Callum can come back!" I protested. Callum was one of his roommates. Six of the Sixth Year boys lived in the sleeping area, and I might not have even met the other ones because they never spent the night in their own room on the weekends.

"Unless I sent him to sleep somewhere else tonight."

"You didn't."

No, Theseus was too kind for that. He didn't want to cause anyone any inconvenience just because he wanted to spend stolen moments with his girlfriend.

"But I did," he ... grinned, as my Slytherin family used to, in exchange for expecting praise from Papa for a cunning remark.

"You're lucky I'm already in my pyjamas!" I rolled my eyes. Yes, maybe I was expecting to somehow find a way to spend the night together. So I didn't crawl in my usual nightgown into the Hufflepuff dormitory, but a much more ... showy one.

I watched embarrassingly so that no one in the basement hallway would come in front of me and see me in such depressing clothing.

It's not like three-quarters of Hogwarts wasn't perfectly aware of what I looked like under my clothes.

As Theseus's eyes twinkled, I could see that he was also thinking about how lucky he was. Like he's perfectly determined to keep me up for the night by any means. Almost throughout the whole Quidditch match, he thought about what it might be like to sleep next to me in the warm, sweet bed. How it would be like to wake up next to me. How my hair is after waking up. He wanted to see... All. Without protection. With sleepy eyes, tousled hair, and a face pressed from a pillow.

His thoughts were loud, so much so that I could hear him through the hustle and bustle of cheering on the Quidditch pitch.

"You're just generally lucky, aren't you?" Theseus whispered as I lay down carefully beside him, turning to face him, resting my face on my hand.

"Enlighten me!"

"First of all ... You have me."

"I knew you were going to say that!" I rolled my eyes in playful rage.

"Indeed?"

"Hm. I just didn't want to interrupt you, because it's actually true."

I could almost feel his heart starting to swell.

"And ... you're the lucky charm anyway. That's why we won the Quidditch match."

"Ah, not because of me, but I accept the compliment," I laughed and pressed a soft, playful kiss to the tip of his nose. "Thanks, honeybucket."

"Oh no!"

"Oh, yes!"

"Oh, Lulu, we've agreed not to call me that!"

"No, Thes! You actually said not to call you that when there are others nearby. And if you hadn't noticed, my only little honeybucket, we're alone."

"Leave it!"

"Your ears are starting to blush!"

"As if!"

"But yes!"

"Not even!"

"They do indeed!" I reached forward and touched one of his ears. "And they're burning up too! Do you want me to kiss them, and see if it gets better?"

"I think you've done enough for my ears!" Theseus laughed to himself and grabbed my poking arm, pulling it all the way to him. I jolted up in surprise, but he quickly silenced me with a kiss. His lips were warm, the sweet smell of honey tea still flowing from his breath.

"I'm going to sleep here," I declared, placing my head on his chest. Right above his heart.

"I won't protest."

I knew he wouldn't. That was our first night together. And I also knew exactly that we both wanted more. As our bodies were completely intertwined ... I could only imagine what it would be like ... if I were completely his and he was mine.

But nothing happened that night.

But later on ... He loved it when I fell asleep on him. He always justified this with his liking of knowing me as close to himself as possible. And I agreed with a smile because I knew exactly what he meant. Sometimes I fell asleep on him during a conversation while he enthusiastically explained something. Sometimes he didn't have the heart to get up, just to pull me into his room, his own bed. He just lifted me on his lap and carried me in his arms to his fluffy-soft bed. At night, unconsciously, he kissed my forehead half-asleep as he hugged me to himself. He didn't even know about it until I told him.

We fell asleep for about three hours when the light in the room woke me up after a little nesting.

"Light ..."

"What, darling?" Theseus replied grimly, half asleep.

"The lamp!" I squeezed out of myself, clearer than before. "Turn off the light!"

"Should I turn off the light?"

I nodded into his t-shirt.

"You're on top, turn it off!" Thes growled, his head slumping back on his pillow.

"I'm sleeping!"

And I knew exactly that he was terribly tired, too. After all, that day he won an almost legendary Quidditch match for Hufflepuff.

Not even two minutes passed when I stroked his foot with mine to see if he could find himself finally.

"Lamp!"

"You turn off the light!" But his wand was on the cupboard, right next to the bed.

"You!"

"You're laying on me!"

"I can't move!"

"You can, just as much that you can turn off the light!" His eyes were still tightly closed, as he said.

I grumbled as I sat up on his stomach, forcing myself to open my eyes. Maybe the movement will surprise him a bit, or at least... One part of his body.

"Are you really not going to turn off the light? Not even when you see me snoozing?"

Leaning on his elbow, Theseus struggled higher up, and the light, Merlin's beard, really hurt his eyes.

"You're laying on top of me, Lulu!"

"You could have moved me!"

"You could have turned off the lights!" Theseus argued wearily, still rubbing his eyes. "If it bothers you so much."

"Where's your wand?"

"On the cabinet. Yours?"

"On the ground."

"Even better! Then you could have simply bent down to turn off the lights with your wand!"

"Theseus!"

"You're so terribly... quarrelsome, aren't you?!" With a quick gesture I could barely catch, he clutched my hips and lifted me off himself, as if to concentrate.

"You're so terribly rude! I asked you very kindly to turn off the lights, you didn't even care!"

"Because you lay on me!"

"You could have moved me!" I got so upset all of a sudden, I got so caught up in the silly quarrel that I stood up and looked down at him next to the bed.

"It would have been a lot more work than you could a) reach the floor for your wand or b) stand up, just like you did now, and turn off the light for yourself!"

"You invited me!"

"What has that got to do with anything?"

"I'm just a guest here, so..."

"Guest? You were about as much in this room as I was. You could bring your clothes and comb here as well! Want me to give you a drawer?"

"You're so annoying!"

"You're insensitive!"

"I'm not that!"

"Oh, no!"

"I'm leaving!"

"All right, turn off the light on your way out!"

My eyes twitched. It was so, but so insane. In fact, it was more insane than anything else. If I had my hairbrush, I would have to throw it at him.

But I didn't have it, so I bent down and hurriedly started to pick up my bag and wand, so hastily that they almost slipped out of my hands several times.

"It's so annoying! I don't even know why I wanted to spend the night here! Stupid feelings, stupid night, stupid electricity that you weren't able to turn off! I don't even know why I love you so much..."

"I can't argue with that. You're so damn annoying that ... wait ... wait ... What did you say?"

"That you're annoying!"

"No, after that!"

I turned to bite my lip as I realized what was slipping out of my mouth.

I was surprised I didn't even notice. That it came out of me so easily. And I've never told anyone before. As I recall, no. Neither do my siblings. Especially not to my parents. And I've never been with anyone long enough to get to that point to say those three words.

"Who cares at all ?! I'm leaving and I really want to be alone tomorrow, so if you could ..."

Theseus jumped out of bed so fast that him, standing in front of the door to stop my path, drove all dreams run out of his eyes. Also from mine.

"Repeat what you said!" He asked, looking up at me from under his curly, sleepy tufts like a stray puppy lingering in front of someone. "Not how annoying I am. That's very clean for me."

"Crystal clear?" I tried to stall the time, a blind man could see it.

"Yes."

I took a break. I was wondering what to say.

"I don't remember," I tried firmly with a rather weak lie. But as a Black girl, I quickly learned to lie perfectly. No one saw through my lies by the time I got to the third year. I could lie to everyone like a stream of water. Except for Theseus. Theseus always saw through me as if my soul were completely bare before him and my brain, my thoughts were defenceless.

"You do remember," Theseus smiled. Really carefully and gently. I loved this smile the most. When he forces himself not to let go of the reins, not to let himself tumble and force himself to carry on.

"No, I don't remember."

"But yes, you do!"

"Really not!" I backed away when I saw him trying to come one step closer to me. I knew if he touched me, I was done.

"Swear on my life that I didn't ..." I was trapped between him and his bed, I couldn't escape, let alone my gaze.

His eyes besieged, his gaze trying to get through the wall I had pulled up around me. It was a special ability. From the first moment we met.

"I ... You're so annoying, you know?"

"Yes, but ..." He took my hand and pulled me slowly, carefully. My head snuggled gently to his chest as if Merlin had created it there as well. Heavens, I didn't know what could be so strong in Theseus's warmth and heartbeat that ... I dare open up to him. To make me feel safe.

"But I love you," I murmured into his T-shirt, squeezing my eyes to see if I could hide from anything. I felt his breath catch for a moment. As I felt when he took a breath of relief again. That's when I looked up at him, into his eyes. "Love you so much."

And again there was a pause in his breathing that scared me to death.

His hand wandered to my face to smooth the stray, blond hair behind my ear. It was a reassuring, careful, gentle gesture. Theseus had touched me many times before, but then ... it was like I was feeling everything with new strength, new subtlety.

I first told a man I loved him. And he responded with tenderness, not violence.

And with the most amazing kiss, I have ever felt in my life.

"I love you," he exhaled, too, when his breath and mine were almost one and his lips were still rubbing against mine.

"Indeed?"

"Unfortunately.

"Oh, shut up!" I leaned my head on his chest again. Maybe to hide my reddened face.

"Love you so much."

I know. I feel it – I wanted to say. But it was four o'clock in the morning, and nothing else could say more than that he loved me and helped his annoying, quarrelling girlfriend into bed. As he kisses his girlfriend's forehead and murmurs into her hair so softly that she loves that only she can hear it. Only he knows.

And there was nothing more I could do that was bigger than a simple love for him than to get up and turn off the light again, which we both forgot by the end of our silly discussion.

____________

I thought a lot about my first argument with Theseus Scamander. Which ended in telling him I love him.

We had only been together for a few months then, and we didn't get to do much more than kiss. Honestly, it was very strange... Considering how other "relationships" of mine turned out.

I haven't told too many people since then that I love them. Maybe just to my brother Cygnus and Belvina after our father died. Theseus Scamander plenty of times. But since him... Not anyone who didn't belong to my family.

Especially not to Nash Malfoy.

What pushed me out of my sudden wave of nostalgia, was Eviana Prewett stirring her coffee with such force that it was quite frightening that the mug would crack under her spoon.

I was sipping coffee too, though it tasted so awful that I almost spit it back. I've hated coffee since I was a teenager. I just drank out of coercion. But Evie forced it on me because she thought it would calm my nerves.

I don't know how she might have thought I needed reassurance.

Or that a caffeinated drink would soothe someone.

"What are you staring at so much?" I looked at Eviana as I noticed that she was staring at something behind me without blinking, her cup visibly frozen as it levitated towards her mouth, her lips already in a pinching position, ready to drink.

"I'm just trying to see when Lysandra finally kicks in!" Evie waved as if that was really it. Lysandra Yaxley was the third one in our little trio. We made friends on our first day at Hogwarts and our alliance has been unbroken ever since.

So much so that Lysandra was the bride of my brother Arcturus and lived in a house with my mother.

"Bullshit!" I frowned, not turning too discreetly and following Eviana's gaze. "Oh, her! Cassandra Vablatsky!"

"She is so weird, don't you think? Like those scary, vela-like creatures that have always been portrayed above the lakes as a ghost!" My best friend put out the young woman's radiance perfectly. "And by the way ... She'll soon be a Trelawney!"

"As if I even care..." I snorted. Cassandra Vablatsky was a young woman from Central Europe who was in the service of the Ministry for about the same amount of time as I was.

According to the gossip, all of her prophecies were given prominence downstairs in the lower levels of the Ministry's Hall of Prophecy. Because Cassandra Vablatsky... Or sorry, Trelawney... She was a real Seer. At least according to the gullible.

It was also rumoured that her book, along with Newt's latest work, would be accepted at Hogwarts as a textbook.

As if any book could have made the teaching of divination interesting or valuable.

The young, somewhat foreign, strangely charismatic woman talked to the people of the Ministry, quite close to us. Her hair was fried and curled according to the latest Muggle fashion. She didn't look like the way a man's witch imagines a cuckoo fool or a lunatic maniac.

But who was I to judge anyone? I didn't have the Third Eye.

"The point is, she's a very weird woman!" Evie snorted, sipping the last sip of her drink.

"We don't even know her, Eviana!" I objected, but I knew it was in vain. I knew that if Eviana Prewett had an opinion on someone, it would never change over time.

There was something strange about Cassandra Vablatsky that made the hair on my back stand up. I didn't even know if it was in a good or bad way. But even so, I couldn't take my eyes off her. She oozed energy that inadvertently held one's gaze on her.

It was as if she really had some veela blood in her.

In the next second, Cassandra's conversation with the two ministry workers ended and she headed for the exit. She turned her head and... Her gaze stopped. Our eyes connected for a long second and ... I felt like she could see into my soul. That she sees every single dirty thought my body has caused. Sees all my painful memories. Hears my raging thoughts along with the longing and the dirty. Hears my heart beating, the blood rushing through my veins.

It was as if all my memories with Theseus were spinning through my brain. And I felt Cassandra see these.

Then she left.

And as the revolving door reached its next turn, Lysandra Yaxley stumbled into the Atrium.

Lysandra arrived with such fierceness that she almost tripped on her own two feet. Her ebony hair fluttered behind her, she pulled her broom behind her, and although she changed her training pants, her Quidditch jersey was still on.

The Yaxley family was also one of those pureblooded families (along with my family) who almost all end up in Slytherin. But Lys was put in the Ravenclaw by the Sorting Hat (Eviana and I were already Second Years at the time), which made her parents a little (or rather... terribly) angry. Lysandra, on the other hand, soon overcame this "tragedy."

She was a talented witch, almost Head Girl, but she loved potions and herbology the most. In her fourth year, she joined the Ravenclaw Quidditch team as a Seeker. Until then, she couldn't care less about team sports, but due to a bet with Theseus, she came to the tryouts in her fourth year. She didn't want to get in, she just meant it as a joke, but to her surprise, she became a member of the team.

In the summer before her sixth year (about the same time that a scandal broke out with us that I, Lyra Black, dare to date with half-blood), the Yaxley family and the Black family told Lysandra and Arcturus, who was two years younger than her, that... They are now considered to be engaged.

Lys was aware of her abilities and mostly wanted to use them for her cunning purposes. In the last two years at Hogwarts, she has been rebelling, trying to defile her family's name to see if the Blacks break up this "marriage contract."

From then on, her relationship with her family became a little strained. Her parents wanted her to become an Auror, but Lysandra's heart chose Quidditch. After the successful N.E.W.T. examinations, a compromise was reached: Lysandra will marry my brother and do the Auror training, in return she can continue  Quidditch.

However, they did not state that she has to join the actual Auror forces, so as soon as she completed the training, she was contracted with the Tutshill Tornado, which was the strongest team in the league.

And ... She has lived in Grimmauld Place with my mother and brother since the beginning of this year.

"Sorry, sorry, I know I'm late!" Lysandra hopped down on the last chair, blowing fiercely. Tiny drops of sweat dripped down her dark skin, which somehow made her even more beautiful.

"If you say you're late because of my brother, I'll be very angry!" I stared at my friend, her eyebrows raised as I handed her the coffee pot.

"What if I say it's because of your mother?" She winked at me perched as I grimaced.

"Even better."

"Lyra slept with Violetta again!" this suddenly broke out in Eviana. Lysandra was so shocked that she almost dropped the can out of her grasp.

"I wouldn't call it sleeping!" I stated in a muffled voice as I looked around to see if anyone was listening to our conversation in the neighbourhood.

"Lyra!" Lysandra exclaimed, slightly indignant, genuinely surprised.

"What? My brother is practically a minor and you're sleeping with him!" I tried to protect myself. And the best defence was the attack.

"Archie is not a minor! Only four years younger than you!" Lys emphasized, then leaned closer and continued in a muffled voice. "It's not like I'm sleeping with my brother's fiancée!"

"It's like you've never slept with a girl!" I rolled my eyes.

"That's not what this is about!" Lysandra raised her hand defensively.

"The word your brother is more interesting here! What if Cygnus finds out?!" Eviana took the turn to speak out, still scorched because of what happened, and even... utterly outraged.

"I doubt Cygnus did not go cahoots with someone in Gringotts!" I knew my brother and his relationship with his bride enough to know he hadn't been loyal to her all these years. "And by the way, we're not talking about our love life with Cygnus anymore!"

"That wasn't the case when you were with Theseus!" Evie interrupted. My heart stopped as she spoke. It was like a dagger in my heart. I had to bite on my face from the inside and my tongue so I wouldn't yell at my best girlfriend.

"I'm not with Theseus now, am I?" my words slammed hard and I could almost feel all the wounds in my body rupture and the blood start pouring out of them again.

"Yes, you're with Nash! What would Nash say about all this? Hell knows what that kid can do, he's a freaking Malfoy!" Lysandra continued, and I was sincerely glad that none of them got caught on Theseus.

"I said the same thing!" Eviana agreed, staring at me, indicating that she wasn't the only one who thought Nash might be dangerous if he found out I cheated on him.

"Nash won't find out! I've been working overtime lately and he wants to strangle Theseus sooner than anyone else," I objected. Nash had felt threatened by Theseus for years. And not just because he was my ex-boyfriend. No, Theseus embodied everything Nash wanted to achieve. He was a perfect Auror, a young Commander, loved, valued, and respected by everyone, especially for his work. And Theseus being a war hero made Nash even more envious.

I think that the fact that Theseus was once my love, was somewhere at the bottom of Nash's hatred against the older Scamander.

"I doubt that's why he wants to strangle Theseus," Eviana muttered, probably following the same line of thought as me.

"No need for Nash to worry about Theseus," I tried to close the subject once and for all, hoping it would finally work out. I spoke firmly, almost slapping the table. I swallowed, feeling my face turn red from the sudden rage. I had to calm down quickly. So I tried to take a few soothing breaths and tried to continue slowly. "We are not together. Not for a long time. I'm with Nash longer than I ever was with Theseus."

My throat tightened due to the recognition. Theseus and I have been together for less than four years. And Nash and I...

"Lyra, don't you dare say that you wouldn't go back to Theseus right away if you had the chance!" Eviana looked at me sharply.

"He's marrying someone else, Evie!" I growled, and I had to force myself not to raise my voice. I closed my eyes for a moment. "I don't want to and won't ever compete with Leta Lestrange. On the one hand, I would never win, let's face it. On the other hand ... I don't want to be that girl. And Nash... Nash is there for me. That's it."

Even I almost believed those words. Almost.

Eviana and Lysandra looked at each other painfully.

"Would you say yes to Nash if he asked for your hand?" Lysandra tilted her head thoughtfully.

"He won't ask for my hand, Lys," I thought about it myself. After so much time together, it was almost expected in our age to be asked for marriage. Or at least to live together. But I still lived with my brother and bride like a third wheel.

Which was absolutely satisfactory for me.

I didn't want to be Nash Malfoy's wife.

Never ever.

Then I understood more about Lysandra's sentence.

"Or... Did you hear anything?" I asked back suspiciously.

"What could I have possibly heard?" Lys raised her hand, pulling back a little.

"You live in the same house as my mother. You can hear anything," I rolled my eyes. I knew Ursula Black's methods well. Her way of thinking, her speeches, her ingenious thoughts. I tapped my lips as I recalled all my mother's shit from my childhood. "My mother can have something to do with the Malfoys behind me... anything." Even so, I'm playing pretty much into the hands of the Black family by going out with a Malfoy. Out of my will, I gave them the greatest satisfaction. Sure, it even encourages my mom to organize something.

By the time I got to the end, a ready-made conspiracy theory had already emerged in my head.

It was not in vain that my parents' – arranged – marriage worked so well for years. They were both great at shuffling cards, threading, manipulating people, and especially their own children. We have all inherited from them this terrible brain in which selfishness, cunningness, and the desire for power prevailed.

Because of such traits and genes, I was also afraid of myself.

welcome welcome, wizards, witches and muggles!

I was incredibly shocked by the number of views this book has gotten in the past weeks. It's actually crazzyyy. So, hey, all of you newcomers! So glad you're here. If you don't know, I translate this book myself from Hungarian, my other tongue to English, so the text can have grammar mistakes and some incorrect spelling and words. It's so hard to translate my own thoughts, who would have guessed.

I hope you are glad to see a little Hogwarts flashback in the beginning, from the golden age of Theseus and Lyra's relationship 😂😂😍😍 because I was very happy to write that 😂😂😍😍

In the second half of the part, you can get to know the third member of the Ravenclaw posse, Lyra's future sister-in-law, Lysandra.

Comment what you thought and what you expect in the following ❤❤❤❤