𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐌𝐘 - 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫

twelve | back to school

-TWELVE-

"Have a wonderful time, my love." Smiled Remus as he hugged his daughter at the train station.

"I promise, I will, Papa." Smiled Khalida, hugging him tightly. "I'll write whenever I can." 

"I look forward to every letter you write, Lida." He chuckled, "Now run along, or you'll be late." 

She noted that hastily and immediately ran off, waving at her father as he grinned at her from the station platform. The train began chugging and whistling out of the station, and she waved till they rounded the bend and her father's tall figure disappeared out of sight. 

She sat at the window, Lilith on her lap, watching the passing scenery, which was blurred thanks to the speed of the train. Cramped streets whizzed past and became small country lanes, which merged into scattered cottages, and eventually to blank, lush green meadows, where confused cows stood grazing. 

"Is this compartment occupied?" Asked a familiar voice. Looking up, Khalida smiled as she saw the pleasant face of Draco Malfoy, one of her friends. 

"Fancy seeing you here," She peered behind him and added, "Unaccompanied, too." 

Draco sat in front of her, sighing contentedly, "I had to take a break from those fake idiots." 

"'Fake'?" She chuckled, "Judging by how much you hang out with them, I'd say otherwise."

"They're only friends with me because Father asked them to be." Draco scoffed, "I guess he didn't want me mixing with...you know...the wrong sort." 

"You mean half-bloods? Muggleborns?" Khalida raised an eyebrow. "I'm a half-blood, didn't you know?" 

"No! I mean--I--I meant--well--" Draco stuttered and stumbled over his words, feeling uncomfortable under Khalida's steely bronze gaze. 

"Prejudice is something which people need not have, Dray. Just because your father's a prejudiced man, doesn't mean you have to be one, too." She frowned, her fingers stroking Lilith's soft fur slowly. 

He sighed and stood up, sitting next to her with his feet up on the seat. "I'm sorry." He said. She chuckled and ruffled his hair gently. 

"Don't worry about it right now. It'll be alright. You'll learn. I know you will." She grinned. "There's no need to be sorry for something you have no control over. It'll work only if you break away from anything wrong or morally incorrect which your father teaches you. Listen to it, but don't absorb it." 

Draco chuckled at his brown-haired friend and leaned his head back, a smile on his face. He then looked at her, "You're not prejudiced at all about anything, clearly." 

"I'm set in my values. Certain atmospheres in your household may trigger some rocky and unstable values, but should you ever need help, morally, I'm there." She grinned. 

A knock on the compartment door made both girl and boy look up, and she saw her friend Pansy smirking at the close proximity the pair were in. Draco stood up and opened the door, saying, "Right, I'd promised only five minutes. I know. Let's go." 

Pany peered at Khalida knowingly, and the brunette made a disgusted face at him, shaking her head, 'no'. 

She never had feelings for boys, so far. When girls were fawning over that one boy in the confections stall at the market, Khalida's eyes were trained on a young blonde-haired girl at the florist's stall, who'd always have a violet in her braided hair. Khalida always found the language of flowers an interesting one. Orchids represented femininity, red roses represented love, violets represented modesty and...something others called 'abnormality'. 

Her father explained that it was completely normal, and she wondered why it was abnormal for others. Violets, along with modesty, were a symbol of a community the Americans called 'LGBTQ community'. 

"Not to ponder about that," she spoke aloud. Looking at Lilith she asked, "If I was an LGBT you'd accept me, right?" 

The kneazle simply meowed and purred, going back to sleep as if she agreed. 

--Time Skip--

Harry, Ron, and Khalida were sitting together in the library, with Lilith sleeping at her mistress' side. Khalida was writing something out, probably another small slip of prose or poetry, when the trio was startled by a loud thump from Hermione. Lilith yowled and leapt onto the table, hissing fiercely, but before anything dire could happen, Khalida had pulled the kneazle into her lap and was gently stroking her fur. 

"I had you looking in the wrong section! How could I be so stupid? I checked this out a few weeks ago for a bit of light reading." Hermione scoffed, making Khalida shift over as she sat next to her. 

"This is light?" Ron asked with a confused face. 

Hermione glared at him, and stopped at a page, where Khalida read, "'Nicholas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone.'" She curled her bottom lip in an impressed fashion and said, "Neat." 

"The what?" The two boys asked, baffled. 

"Honestly," Hermione scoffed, "Don't you two read? 'The Philosopher's Stone is a legendary substance with astonishing powers. It will turn any metal into pure gold and produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal.'"

"Immortal?" Ron asked.

"Means you never die." Khalida explained, misunderstanding his tone a little. 

"I know what it means!" He scoffed. 

"'The only stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicholas Flamel, the noted alchemist, who last year celebrated his 665th birthday!' That's what Fluffy's guarding on the 3rd floor. That's what's under the trapdoor...the Philosopher's Stone!" Hermione exclaimed. 

"Isn't that exciting! I'd love to almost get my bloody head ripped off by a three-legged dog for some glorified paperweight!" Khalida humourlessly said. 

"Shut up, you." Hermione sniggered. "What're you writing anyways?"

"Just a little something," Khalida shrugged. "It's not that good, though."

"'Shouldst hell engulf thou in its flames, thy shalt burneth with a smile. Shouldst heaven giveth thou its wings of gold, thy shalt soar liketh Icarus once didst. But f'r anon, thou shall liveth thine life as thou wisheth, and nev'r alloweth a m'rtal sayeth who is't thou shalt did lie with.'" Hermione read out in a soft whisper, "This is absolutely amazing. Shakespearean?" 

"Tying something new." Chuckled Khalida. "It means, 'Should hell engulf you in its flames, you shall burn with a smile. Should heaven give you its wings of gold, you shall soar like Icarus once did. But for now, you will live your life as you wish, and never let a mortal say who you shall lay with.' Kind of like a mix of Sappho and Shakespeare, in its roots, I'd say." 

"Sappho, the Greek poet?" 

"Yes. I quite enjoy her works. Read all of them, cover-to-cover." Smiled Khalida. She suddenly realised the true meaning of her poem and snatched it away from Hermione, placing the paper in her special notebook and snapping it shut. 

Looking at her oddly for a moment, Hermione shook off a strange feeling which came over her with a smile and continued her reading. 

---
...wow. Khalida's baby-gayness is emerging!

WE STAN! 

Dedicated to: -veggie- tysm for commenting, bestayyyy!

ALSO THANKS TO: 
0pheliaStar
petrichor_and_roses
royal_raine
Ruby_DreamRomanoff!!

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