"Courage is knowing what not to fear." -Plato

Lalia was one of the first to wake up, alongside Lily Evans that is. "Oh your up." Lily smiles at Lalia through the mirror, as she ties her hair up in a loose ponytail.

"Don't get used to it." Lalia yawns, stretching her arms above her head. "The only thing keeping my eyes open right now, is excitement."

Lily gives her a lopsided grin, "Don't worry, I'll make sure you don't sleep your days away."

Lalia picked her robes up from the top of her trunk, and gave Lily a pointed look. "Great, thanks." Her voice was laced with sarcasm, as she made her way towards the bathroom.

"You will thank me when your on time!" Lily called out as the bathroom door shut with a light thud.

Lalia pulled her uniform on, and did her crimson tie tight. She pulled up her grey socks, that sat just underneath her tan knees. In a few minutes she had her white-blonde hair braided in two Dutch braids, with two little strands pulled out and framing her face.

Without knocking Alice came into the bathroom, with her robes over her arm and towel in hand. "Your hair is amazing Lali!" Lali, was the nickname her friends had chosen for her, and she rather liked it.

"Thanks Ali." 

After the trio of girls were completely ready, they all gave each other internally groaning looks. Now, they had to wake up Marlene. Marlene had pre-warned the girls the night before that she was NOT a morning person, and whoever woke her up would get a mouthful.

"Who wants to do the honours?" Lalia muttered, as they stood at the foot of her bed, strategizing their next move.

"Alright." Lily clapped her hands together, "Ali, Lali, you grab her ankles- I'll pull back the covers."

With a nervous nod, Alice and Lalia move to their positions. "Ready when you are Lils." Lalia half encourages, half braces herself. With a shaky inhale, Lily grasped the covers and pulled them back at a hasty pace. 

A roaring, savage beast like noise erupted from Marlene's lips. She sounded like a mix between a moose, and a constipated dinosaur. Marlene rolled over, and pulled the pillow over her head. "NOOO!!" She screamed out, like she was being brutally murdered. 

The three girls internally sighed, knowing that they'd have to endure this every day for the next seven years. "Ankles! I'll get the curtains!" Lily ordered as Marlene curled into a foetus position.

As Lily pulled back the curtains, the two other girls launch themselves at Marlene's ankles. A hiss like noise escaped Marlene's lips and she shrieked back like she was a vampire being burnt from the sunlight.

The two girls yanked at her ankles, as Marlene began to thrash around. "No. I. Need. Sleep." She yelled, as the two girls attempted at pulling her out of her bed.

"No! we've got classes!" Lily groaned, as Marlene attempted to crawl under her mattress. 

With one big yank, and all three girl's pulling- Marlene fell to the floor with a thud. "Marls! get up!" Lalia sighed, as Marlene groaned.

"NO! I don't wanna!"

So with much protesting, and coxing with food Marlene eventually got up. The three girls had to practically drag her to the Great hall, and she was groaning the entire time.

Lalia sat at the Gryffindor table, Lily on her side and the other two across from them. "Oh I've missed you so much!" Marlene coos at a Pumpkin Pasty, she kisses it once, passionately- and then shoves it whole into her mouth.

Lily grimaces, watching as half the pasty falls from Marlene's lips as she struggles to contain it. Lalia chuckles, biting into a piece of buttered toast. "Pace yourself Marls." Lalia says as if she was telling Marlene to 'slow her alcohol consumption'.

Marlene attempts to speak, making pastry fling from her mouth and in Lily's general direction. "Ew, Marls!" Lily grumbled, flicking a crumb away from her with her nail.

Spencer pushed his bacon around his plate, his fork shaking slightly from anxiety. Everything was already in motion. It had been for years. And now as he sat there, listening to his friends recruiting Jayde, Calia, Severus, and Anson he felt his stomach begin to tie itself into knots.

"Spencer." Narcissa's sweetly normal voice aggravated him slightly, she was better at hiding her emotions then him. He envied that about her.

His eyes flickered up to meet hers, he was distancing himself, and everyone could surely notice it. "Did you hear what Lucius said?"

Spencer's eyes rolled, and he stabbed his bacon hard. "Whatever spouts out of Malfoy's mouth isn't worth my time."

However his comment was ignored, "He said it's scheduled Spencer." Narcissa's voice lowered, and he could tell her voice was shaky. "The date. For the-" And her sentence stopped abruptly, she couldn't finish the words.

Spencer's fork dropped on his plate, making everyone snap to him abruptly. Noah eyed him with curious eyes, he knew something was up. "Clumsy." Spencer brushed off, flaky chuckling. Everyone turned back to their conversations, and Spencer moved his head closer to Narcissa. 

"When?"

"On your birthday..." Narcissa fidgeted with her fingers.

Spencer's eyes widened, and he felt the pulse in his throat quicken. "That's seventeen days."

Narcissa bit her inner cheek, her knee bobbing up and down anxiously. "I know- it's f-for the three o-of you..." Her eyes flicker to a laughing Noah, and a antisocial Rab.

"Will you be there?" Spencer asked, hand on her bouncing knee again to tame it.

"I believe so... We're all supposed to be..."

And that's when James Potter and his clan strutted into the Great hall.

Lalia looked up from her charms book, watching as the laughing group walked in. James and Sirius were at the front, laughing together in a roaring-like way. Everyone's unwavering attention was on them, like magnets.

Peter was trailing behind the pair, looking up at them both like gods. He laughed when they did, and always tried to interject- it was sweet, but a tad sad.

Remus was the furthest from the group, his head buried in a thick book. His sandy hair fell over his eyes, which his hand was constantly running through. The scars on his face was somehow more prominent, and the sunlight that filtered through the windows illuminated his face in a way that was almost angelic.

Noticing her stare, Remus blushed, but pretended not to notice her unwavering gaze.

"Morning Gorgeous." Sirius squeezed in between Lalia and Lily, making the redhead girl huff and shuffle over.

Lalia looked up from her book again, "Morning Sirius." She chuckled, a light blush sweeping her cheeks.

Remus sat on her other side, "Awh, replaced me already Lal?" Remus teased, folding the corner of his book and setting it down. Lalia gave him a playful look, "Remmy you're irreplaceable." Remus placed the back of his hand to his forehead, "I feel so honoured."

Lalia chuckled, "You should."

James slid smoothly to Lily's other side, his arm thrown over her shoulders. Lily gave him a deathly glare, shoving his arm away. "Hey Evans."

"Potter." His arm flung back up.

Lily looked between Sirius and James who both grinned down at her. Lily cleared her throat. "So, when are we going back to the tree? y'know to get my stuff and throw it out."

Sirius was the one to reply, "Oh. When we said that, we didn't mean we were actually going to."

Lily's face contorted in anger, "What."

"Yeah- well I'll replace them, but we're not getting those one's back."

Peter was conversating with Marlene and Alice about transfiguration, which Lalia tried to listen to, but she ended up tuning out of all the conversations around her. Her eyes were fixated on the Slytherin table, the tips of Spencer's hair was black and he was sitting further away from the rest of his group.

Narcissa was plastered to his side as usual, but something seemed off about the pair. Something Lalia couldn't quite place. He seemed fidgety, anxious, but above all- he seemed utterly scared.

Noah Emerson muttered something to her cousin, he said something back. Something directed to both Noah, and Rabastan. They gathered their things, and with Spencer leading the trio of boys they strutted out of the hall.

"Who's that?" Remus lowered his voice, following her gaze.

"My cousin. Spencer. I think something's wrong..."

Noah lowered his voice, leaning across the table. "Spence, what's wrong?"

Spencer's eyes shifted between him and Rab. "I need to talk to you both." Rab perked up, his eyes no longer on his book.

Without hesitation, Spencer stood up, waiting for the other boys to follow. With confused glances the pair stood up, bid farewell to Narcissa and hurried out of the hall.

"Spencer. What is it?" Spoke Rabastan gruffly, clutching his book tight to his chest.

Professor Flitwick walked past them cheerily, "Good day boys!" He greeted, to which the three Slytherin's smiled awkwardly in response.

Spencer quickened his pace, he needed to tell them and now. Noah jogged up to him, running a hand through his raven hair. "Where are we going?" This question wasn't one Spencer ignored.

"In here." He pulled the pair into Professor McGonagall's empty classroom. "Rab can you silenco and alohomora the door?"

Rabastan nodded, he took his wand from the inner depths of his robes pocket and cast the spells non-verbally. 

Spencer clunked his stuff on one of the tables, and began pacing. Noah set his things beside him, and stood off to the side, arms crossed, watching his best mate pacing like a madman. Rabastan stood beside him, eyes fixated on Spencer's horrified expression.

"The date's set." Spencer blurted, turning towards them with wide eyed now.

Noah inhaled a shaky breath, "Set? what do you mean set?"

"It's on the nineteenth. This month. That's when we're getting the-" Spencer paused, searching for the right word. "Eternal bond."

Noah's eyes widened, and Rab's face went as still as stone. "On your birthday?" Noah mutters.

"Yes."

Rabastan pipes up, running a hand through his jet black hair. "But we're in school then-" A pause, "How do we get out? we can't."

"Yeah!" Noah adds, "He'll have to wait until the holidays! that gives us time to-"

Spencer lets out a dark chuckle, leaning against the back of a desk with his legs crossed over one another. "Never say never boys."

The pair gave him a confused look, "Narcissa told me the other night-" He exhaled raggedly, "That Bella and Rod have a way to get out- undetected. They've been doing it for years- now their finally going to let us in on the little secret."

A eerie silence settled over them, they had seventeen days. That was it. Then their lives were bound to the Dark Lord for eternity. They'd live to serve him. And him only.

"Does Lucius know about- 'the way'?" Noah asked softly.

"OF COURSE HE KNOWS!" Spencer yells, kicking the leg of the table out of anger. "That little rich, twerp knows everything! how do you reckon he got out to get his mark?" Spencer had a point.

Spencer sighed, leaning back against the table and cradling his head in his hands. Letting his shaggy, white tipped hair weave through his fingers. Spencer snorted in disbelief, "It's fool proof, it's utterly fool proof..."

Noah came up beside him first, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. A ragged breath exhaled from Noah's lips, as he thought about what he could offer as words of comfort. 

Rabastan swiftly walked over to Spencer's other side, and squeezed his shoulder. Spencer looked up at the pair, his eyes glazed over. As he looked into their equally horrified faces, he saw tears prick in both their eyes.

"We'll figure something out, okay?" Rabastan whispered. He was always better with words then Noah.

"This war's not over yet."

Spencer lent on Rabastan's shoulder and muttered, "It hasn't even started yet..."

end chapter

A/N: LE GASP! Yep. So that's what Cissa told Spence :D this chapter is dedicated to (my biggest fan of this book, XD) They have an amazing 'next gen' fanfic, that you should all check out! ilysm!