Meeting Lacerta


A Harry Potter Fanfiction
*Originally posted at 'elsewhere' under lexi.atel; this is me.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to Jk Rowling, I do not make any profit in writing this story what so ever, I am just having some fun.

Originally written for The Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition(season three)

Round 7;

Team: The BallyCastle Bats

Position: Beater 2

Main Prompt - Potions Class; Polyjuice

-Additional Prompts

3. (poem) 'Winter' by Jan Allison
4. (colour) olive
5. (picture) *fire place*

Story Title: Meeting Lacerta

Summary: Young Scorpius finds a girl in his room late one night. No ratings necessary. Family.

*

The wind howled, whistling through the tops of the trees. The cold, bitter breeze cut right through little Scorpius' heavy winter robes. Sharp pieces of ice, that had once clung onto the scrawny limbs of the trees, shattered around the boy, sliding along the sheet of the solid white layer of ice.

Scorpius' hold on his mother's gloved hand got tighter. He pushed himself closer to her as they neared the Manor, walking along the what would have been a paved path if it hadn't been covered with ice. No matter where he looked, Scorpius saw only white and it was nearly blinding. But he wasn't scared, because his mother would know the way back. He was just cold. Very cold. And he couldn't wait until they were back inside.

Finally inside, the ten year old removed his outdoor clothes and his mother directed him to sit down in front of the fireplace to warm up. He stared at the dancing orange and red flames, relieved to feel heat at last. He shivered a bit, a reaction of his body returning back to its regular temperature.

A few minutes later, a house elf came in with a serving tray, setting it onto a table. "Thank you, Snuffy," Mother said politely and excused Snuffy before calling Scorpius over to sit down for tea.

"When will Father come up?" Scorpius asked in his tiny voice.

His mother frowned and took her time in responding. Scorpius knew the answer probably wouldn't be "Soon." He twirled a biscuit in his hands, looking at it.

"He's really busy, sweetie," Mother said apologetically.

Scorpius lifted his shoulders up, pretending to be fine with the answer. Pouting about it wasn't going to make things better. "I know," he said softly and took a small nibble off his treat.

"And when he's through, he'll play with you!"

Scorpius could tell that she was just trying to make him feel better by forcing herself to be cheery. He gave a simple nod in response. He knew that too. But it had been a long time since his father had played with him. Mother had said that it had been five weeks since Father had started his potion brewing, and he was too busy to play with him. Scorpius had been told over and over that he just had to wait his turn. He was tired of waiting though.

* / *

A tap on the window made Scorpius bolt up from his sleep. His heart thudded wildly against his chest as he looked around the window, seeking for whatever the cause of the noise had been, but he saw nothing. After several minutes of silence, he took a deep breath and lay back down, turning his back on the window.

"Wake up," a child's voice whispered as soon as Scorpius shut his eyes again. The boy sat back up in his bed, giving his large room another look over. Something jumped up right at his bedside making Scorpius screech. He scrambled away, rolling off the bed.

A blonde haired girl about his own age giggled and climbed onto the bed to crawl toward him, stopping at the edge. She was dressed in a frilly olive green dress with white polka dots. "You're silly!" She said. "You certainly can't be afraid of me?!"

Scorpius scoffed."No!" He untangled himself from his blanket that had wrapped around him. "I'm not afraid of girl!" He said, standing up. "How did you get in here anyway?"

The girl rolled over onto her back, all the while keeping her eyes on him. "I was here already. Before you even," she answered.

"Before me?!" He demanded. "This is my house! And my room!"

"My name is Lacerta, but I already know your name, Scorpius," she introduced herself with a smile, ignoring his outburst.

"How?" He asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I know lots about you. And about Draco."

"Who are you...?"

"I told you already." Lacerta rolled her eyes. She then spun off the bed and hurried to the door. "Come on! I want to show you something!" She set her hand on the doorknob, pausing with opening it to look at Scorpius, who had made no move to follow. "Well?"

"I'm not supposed to wander out of my room at night," he informed her quietly.

"Why not?" She then gasped. "Do you think there are ghosts that haunt this floor?!"

"Ghosts?!" Scorpius whispered in a terror.

She laughed. "I was only playing, there are no ghosts here!"

The boy let out a small sigh in relief. "Good."

"Do you want your father to play with you?"

Scorpius nodded eagerly. "Yes! He promised to teach me some Quidditch moves, but he has no time anymore..."

"I can fix that, but you have to help me, okay?"

"Alright..." Scorpius slowly agreed and joined her side.

"You have to be very quiet," she whispered seriously after opening the door. "Come on!" She gestured him to follow her.

"What about the elves?" Scorpius suddenly asked, freezing up in fear of getting caught out of bed. He'd surely get into a lot of trouble if Mother found out that he was not where he was supposed to be!

"Stop worrying," Lacerta said gently. "The elves are clear on the other side of the Manor." She then began leading the way, tiptoeing three floors down, and stopping at the lowest floor.

Scorpius gasped. "We can't go in there!" He squeaked. "That's my father's Potions lab! He'll skin me a new one if I go in there!"

Lacerta rolled her eyes. "What are you; a ninny?!" She demanded, slipping into the room. "Come on, you'll thank me later."

Scorpius puckered out his lips and folded his arms. He sent the girl's back a glare, momentarily insulted by what she had said to him.

"Do you want to learn those Quiddich moves or not?" She asked impatiently after noticing that he had remained on the outside of his father's Potion lab.

Scorpius didn't need anymore encouragement. He stepped into the room, closing the door quietly behind him. "What do we do?"

Lacerta pointed to a long table. Things were scattered around it, and, in the middle, sat a bubbling potion. The girl walked to it and peered into the brew. She sniffed it and wrinkled her nose. "What's it smell like?"

Scorpius, who had followed closely behind her, leaned forward and took a quick whiff. He shrugged. "I don't know... Sort of... like lettuce?"

Lacerta nodded. "I was thinking that too." She turned around to the shelf behind them, her eyes settling instantly on a specific location. Her lips spread out into a grin. She took a wand out from the front of her dress. "Don't tell," she said in with mischievous whisper.

"You're not sup-"

She rolled her eyes. "Are you a goody two shoes too?!" Wordlessly, she summoned two very dusty jars from the top shelf. "Your Father's been working hard on something, let's give him a bit of help," she said, placing one jar on the table, and struggling with opening the other.

"I don't know how though..." Scorpius admitted quietly.

Lacerta grunted, growing frustrated with the lid that wouldn't come off. "But I know how," she reassured him. She set the unopened jar on the table. "See if you can open it! It's too tight for me!" She pouted. Scorpius took the jar and popped the lid off quite easily. He smirked at her, making her roll her eyes. "Okay, Mr. Strongman, measure out a cup of that liquid and pour it into the potion," she ordered, pointing to a liquid measuring cup that was already on the table, ready to be used.

Scorpius wrinkled his nose at the colour of the liquid as he tipped the jar, measuring out a cup of it. "What is it?" He asked, pinching his nose from the sour, gross smell.

"Rancid Lizards Juice," Lacerta answered. "It's hardly used in potions anymore." She shrugged. "I'm not sure why though, since it's a great ingredient! It makes the effects of potions last longer! Pour it in," the girl reminded him.

"It smells horrid!" He shrieked, once he had done as she said.

"Don't most rancid things?" She replied cheekily. "You might as well open the other jar."

Scorpius tilted his head warily, eyeing it. "It's not going to smell bad like the last one, is it?" He asked weakly.

"No. I promise."

Scorpius opened the jar and peered into it. "Hair?" He questioned, eyeing the near white, blonde hair.

"Yes! It's the most important ingredient!"

With her instructions, Scorpius took an empty vial from a case that sat on the table, filling it up with the potion. He then removed a piece of hair from the jar and dropped it into the potion. It instantly turned a dark shade of green, matching Lacerta's dress. White solid looking pieces of cubes formed, bouncing along as the potion burbled. "Now what?" He asked.

"Now you drink it," Lacerta said, her green eyes shining with excitement.

"Dr-Drink?" Scorpius suddenly gulped. The potion doesn't look very tasty...

"Isn't that what you do with most potions, Scorpius?" The girl asked, taking a ladle, and stirring the brew. "Don't you want to help your father succeed so he can play with you?"

Scorpius nodded and took a huge breath before he drank the potion in two gulps. He shuddered. "It's... cold..." he informed her, slightly startled by the icy temperature.

Lacerta nodded simply. "I figured it would be."

Scorpius stomach started twisting and turning after that, and he felt like he was going to be sick. He bent over to throw up, but nothing came out. When his stomach settled back to normal, he noticed that his hair had grown longer. He stood back up, grabbing at a handful of it in confusion.

"What did it taste like?" Lacerta asked eagerly.

"Um, like very nasty vegetables with a sugar icing."

Lacerta nodded. "That's probably the sugar cubes. Come along!" She skipped to the door, opening it. "Let's get you back to bed before you get into trouble."

"Sugar cubes?" Scorpius questioned as he followed her out. "We didn't put any sugar cubes in the potion."

Lacerta grinned. "No, Scorpius, we certainly did not!"

* / *

"Scorpius!" Mother called for him from his doorway. "Time to get up, dear! Breakfast will be ready in four minutes."

"Yes, Mother," he replied, sitting up and stretching.

Mother gasped. "What on Earth happened to your hair, son?! And... your eyes...your lips..." she trailed off, her mouth stuck in an open gap. She walked to him, inspecting the boy with her eyes alone. "Draco!" She shrieked. "Draco! Get in here! Hurry!"

* / *

"How much did you take?!" Father demanded, his grey eyes wide with worry. "It's important that you remember, Scorpius!"

"Only a vial!" Scorpius replied with a quivering bottom lip. "She said it would help you. I only wanted to play-"

"She?!" Mother interrupted.

"Who is 'she', Scorpius?!"

"That girl that was in my room... Lacerta..."

"Girl?"

"Room?!" Father spun on his heel, leading the tiny family up to Scorpius' bedroom.

"Right there." Scorpius pointed to Lacerta. The blond girl sat on Scorpius' desk, slightly kicking at the face of it, creating a faint thudding sound each time her heels met the wood surface.

"Did you finally notice?" She asked with a giggle. "Ooooh!" She jumped off the desk and neared him. "Your lips are purple! That's probably why they don't use Rancid Lizard Juice in potions anymore!" She smacked her forehead. "Now, I remember! I had forgot all about that!"

"You made me look like a freaky girl!" Scorpius snapped, glaring at her. "And now I'm in trouble for it!"

Mother and Father were exchanging confused looks. "Scorpius..." Father started slowly.

"She said it would help you, Father!" Scorpius insisted. "I just wanted to help you with your work. That's all!"

"There's no one there, son..."

* / *

"Why can't they see you?" Scorpius asked that night after he had gotten back from Saint Mungo's to get his body back to normal. Thankfully, he hadn't gotten into too much trouble for messing up his father's potion. Father said he would be able to fix it now that he knew what Scorpius had done to it. Besides, his parents were currently more worried about him seeing someone that they couldn't.

Lacerta only shrugged.

"Are you a ghost?"

"No, I'm not dead... Just... invisible." She lowered her head to hide her face.

"How, and where are your parents?"

"They are dead, and have been for lots of years, Scorpius. I've been a member of this Manor for nearly 200 years."

"And no one but me has been able to see you?"

"I think it's a curse, created on a backfiring spell that my stepmother had made. You see, my stepmother didn't like me, as my father paid attention more to me than her. So she wanted to fix that, by secretly killing me, but instead of dying, I just kind of... vanished from sight... and everyone thought I was dead. When my eight year old half brother finally seen me three years later, we played together..." Lacerta went quiet, a tear slid down her face. She quickly wiped it away. "They thought that he had gone mad, because he could see me, and no one else could." She then lowered her voice down to a whisper, "On his eleventh birthday, he couldn't see me anymore... It's like that with all the kids that live here... When they all turn eleven, they can't see me. Then, they forget about me. When that happens, I spend most of my days in the Potions lab, because my Mother and Father were once grand Potion makers and it was my dream to follow in their footsteps."

"You're last name is Malfoy then?"

Lacerta nodded with a sniff. "I didn't even get to go to Hogwarts..."

"I'll never forget you," Scorpius promised, "and you can come with me when I go to Hogwarts."

She smiled sadly, staring at the lit fireplace in Scorpius' room. "That's nice of you to care, Scorpius, but you'll forget me when the time comes; just like all the others have."

Scorpius chewed on the inside of his lip. "Well, then, Lacerta, let's make this the happiest few months of your life!"

* / *

A new blanket of snow had fallen on the surrounding ground, sparkling like tiny diamonds. Tiny snowflakes were falling, sprinkling down from some magical world high up above.

Two children laughed as they tried making the perfect pair of snow angels. Only one could be heard by the couple who sipped their cocoa, watching their son enjoy what little time he had left of his childhood.