Ivy Potter, Year Four | Raised By The Malfoys

Chapter Forty Five: Snuffles

          During breakfast, I ate with the trio and told Harry that Buckbeak/Witherwings was back with the herd in the Forbidden Forest. Salem came to us with a letter from Sirius. As we suspected, Sirius must have flown on Buckbeak to get here and he was going to be waiting for us at Hogsmeade. After the four of us ate, I stuffed my lunch bag full of food, two bottles for water and juice, and a thermos for hot chocolate. Hermione carried my backpack with some first aid equipment and Ron was carrying a spare thick blanket. We used the cover that the four of us were going on a picnic.

          It was still chilly, despite being March, so Ron and I walked while sharing the blanket together while Harry carried the food and drinks with Hermione leading the way. In Hogsmeade, Padfoot was sitting outside of the Three Broomsticks Inn, waiting for us. As we approached him, he led us out of the village and to a mountain cave. Old Daily Prophet papers were all over the place and Padfoot shifted back to Sirius.

          "Sirius!" I exclaimed and hugged my godfather.

          He laughed and hugged me tightly, "Lily! Look at you!"

          "Sirius," Harry greeted and hugged him next.

          "Harry. You look like your father," Sirius said warmly and hugged him.

          He was happy with the food and drinks and I tended to some minor cuts on his face. He looked rather ruggedly handsome now that he was cleaned up and in proper clothes. His sense of fashion was very slick and semi formal. I showed him my tattoo, fangs, and tongue. There was some concern about my ability with ancient magic since my mother could do something similar with flowers in particular. We told Sirius everything we could since last summer. He told us to keep our friends close and to stay within Hogwarts for our safety.

          "By the way, you need to call me Snuffles. Not Sirius and not Padfoot. Don't forget, if you're talking about me among yourselves, call me Snuffles, ok?" Sirius said, a little embarrassed.

          "Snuffles! Aw!" I giggled, causing Sirius to rub his knuckles playfully on the top of my head.

          "Sirius, if Ivy had a Marauder's name, what would it be?" Harry asked over my fawning and also playfully punching him.

          "Forks, Fangs, or even Vines." he thought out loud and held us both by our necks under his armpits.

          "What about Dotty?" I asked, calming down and struggling out of his hold.

          "Dotty?" he asked and let Harry up but kept his arm over his shoulders.

          "Nake, snake. Cobra, cobra. Aitronsnepres," I said and Lilyth emerged from my shoulder.

          "Good Lord!" Sirius exclaimed and Hermione squeaked.

          Lilyth slithered in the air and examined Sirius. He shifted into Padfoot and they spoke in animal language to each other. I could tell Lilyth liked my godfather and Sirius returned to his human form. For a while, I started to show him the snakes I could expel from my body through electricity. I also had a bond with the four elements and my strength was in song. After some time, I returned Lilyth as a tattoo and Sirius suggested I use her, despite my promise to Professor Dumbledore.

          "People die in these tournaments. You made it this far relying on your ancient magic. Singing a dragon to sleep and surviving a fatal attack is no small feat. Taming a Hippocampus would have made Newt Scamander himself proud as it was something that only merpeople have been recorded to do. No amount of modern, ordinary magic could accomplish that. Use your strength as your last defense. It has saved your life more than once. Protect each other," Sirius said grimly to me.

          "I made sure to help out Harry as indirectly as possible," I confessed.

          Everyone looked at me. I explained how Cedric told me about the egg and he told Harry in an attempt to reconcile. As a team, they saved my life. I confessed having Dobby and Myrtle help Harry in the Second Task. Harry hugged me tightly because we couldn't actively help each other during the tasks so I reached out to have others help him. The last advice we got from Sirius was to be careful around Professor Snape and to reach out to Percy as to why Mr. Crouch is indisposed. Ron and I feel that Percy is starting to become a lot like Mr. Crouch, however Hermione and Harry disagree.

          We left the blanket with Sirius but he asked for Hermione and I to stay back for a while longer. He showed us the most recent Daily Prophet article. In it, it calls Hermione a muggle-born that is playing with Viktor and Harry's feelings. Then, it implies that I may be part Veela as I not only have a close relationship with a young man, but that I have also charmed a Hufflepuff boy. Hermione and I talked about it on our walk back to the castle. This incident happened with all of the champions and loved ones when we returned to the shore from the Second Task. Hermione was going to investigate how Rita was getting this information. I was going to confront Draco because these articles have included things that only he has said before.