The Allure of Darkness

Sacrifice

Muggle Studies Classroom [November 14th]

"I hate her, I hate her, I hate her!"

Lily Potter sighed quietly as she set down the quizzes she had just begun to grade, turning her full attention to her son as he stormed into her classroom. She winced as he slammed the heavy wooden door shut with so much force that it almost rattled at the hinges.

He dragged a chair over to her table, throwing himself into the seat and propping his legs onto her desk angrily, ignoring her disapproving stare.

"Who is it this time, Alexander?" She questioned, praying he hadn't impulsively cursed some poor first year in the corridors again.

"The new defense professor, that horrid Umbridge cow," Alexander fumed, "She's a bitter old woman!"

Lily tried hard to fight the grimace that appeared on her face. She'd suspected her son would not have been a fan of the new defense professor this year. Though she doubted the woman had any fans to begin with.

But despite her intense dislike of Dolores, the woman was still technically a professor. She frowned at her son, "Please don't speak about your professors that way, sweetheart."

"Who let her be a professor?" Alexander complained, "She clearly hates children!"

"I wouldn't say she hates children, dear," Lily hedged carefully, "She just simply doesn't know the joy of having her own children."

"She has those cats," He pointed out. "She treats them just fine. Frankly, her obsession with her cats is a little disturbing."

"Yes, that is a bit odd," She admitted. "I suppose–"

"The only good thing she's done so far is put Riddle and his crew in their place," Alexander cut her off. "She's the only professor who sees past his goody-two shoes mask."

Lily felt her grip tighten on the papers in her hands, "What do you mean, dear?"

Alexander smiled gleefully as he retold the highlight of his week, "Well, last class Longbottom threw an absolute fit because he claimed the old bat wasn't teaching us anything relevant to defense. She made an offhanded comment about his parents, and Longbottom almost ended up hexing her on the spot. Riddle stood up to defend him and Umbridge threw them both into detention."

"What did she say," Lily asked in a low voice, "About Frank and Alice?"

Alexander bit his lip, "She said Neville couldn't know anything about defense against the dark arts because his own parents didn't know anything about it, since they couldn't defend themselves from an attack from one dark witch."

Lily gasped, "She said that?"

"More or less," Alexander shrugged.

"Poor Neville," Lily wrung her hands in her lap. "He's already suffered so much. He doesn't deserve to be spoken to like that."

Alexander frowned, "Poor Neville? I think the residue of the dark magic from the attack on his parents might've affected him as a baby, because now he's part of Riddle's gang. He's as dark as they come, mum. It's been five years, and I still can't believe that he chose Riddle over me. He chose Slytherin over his parents' Gryffindor legacy. Sometimes I think it's better his parents aren't here to see how awful he's turned out today."

"Alexander Albus Potter!" Lily shouted, uncaring if she could be heard outside her classroom. "How dare you say such a thing!"

"It's true!" He insisted. "I don't think Longbottom even cares about our side anymore. For Merlin's sake, he's dating the daughter of his parents' murderer. How do you explain that?"