Liz has always refused to become like her family. Even though the blood of the Black family flows in her veins. Adopted by Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange after the death of her father Regulus - in hopes of "setting her on the right path" , she st...
The three were still standing around the jar when a sharp pain went through Liz's ribs. The jar slipped through her hands and fell clattering to the floor - without a scratch it rolled through Draco's legs. While Liz slumped to her knees, groaning.
"Liz!" the two boys shouted simultaneously, each grabbing her by an arm.
"I'm all right," she gasped unconvincingly.
"How far is it?" asked Mattheo, and without waiting for her answer, he eased her hand from her ribs and pushed up her shirt.
Liz didn't have to look to know it was bad. Both boys drew in their breath sharply as they saw the black, pulsing flesh. The Djinn was here, and he was hungry.
"Go on," Mattheo wheeled at Draco, pointing to the clay jug. "You take this, I'll take Liz." And with a tug, he lifted Liz up. "Where's Veri?"
Liz whispered Luna's address, fervently hoping that her friend had taken care of the bird. Because time was up.
*
The three of them had squeezed into the fireplace and Mattheo had repeated Luna's address loud and clear. To call it uncomfortable would have been a brazen understatement, but they didn't have time to travel one by one with the floo powder.
Liz had never been to Luna's home, but the house looked exactly as she had imagined it. There was an active disorder and everything was colorful. A tall man with almost white hair made a startled sound as the group came crawling out of his low chimney.
"Who?!" he called flustered as Luna came stumbling down the stairs.
"Liz?" She tossed her blond mane back to see better. "And Mattheo. And Draco," she added with some confusion. "We were looking for you at the evacuation," she began, but was immediately interrupted by Mattheo.
"The Augurey, Veri, is she here?"
Luna glanced around her room. "Yes but," again she didn't get to finish the sentence because Mattheo was already up the stairs with Liz, still in his arms, past her.
The augurey looked more terrified than usual, scratching an already bald spot with its beak. When she spotted the intruders, she yowled and squawked furiously until she finally recognized Liz.
Carefully, Mattheo helped Liz to stand and the bird came trilling. Liz didn't have time to wrap anything around her arm, but what did a few cuts matter when it was a matter of life and death. The throbbing pain was spreading through every bone by now. It was the most sickening thing Liz had ever felt. It was as if the whole skeleton was vibrating under her skin, trying to tear her body apart. Veri visibly tried not to grip too tightly, but the thin fabric gave way immediately.
Draco followed the two together with Luna.
"What's going on?" the Ravenclaw, who also liked to wear blue in private, wanted to know. Like any other color, really. She looked concerned at the sight of Liz, but not half as shocked as others would have been.
"I'm sorry to drag you into this," Liz croaked, reaching for the clay jug, which Draco reluctantly let go of. "It's my fault that Hogwarts - " Liz faltered. Something had changed, and from the distraught look on the others' faces, they sensed it too.
A chill crept through the cracks of the house. It rolled across the floor like mist, settling over every surface. Every sound was swallowed up. No more rustling of Luna's father, no more creaking of the old wooden beams.
Liz noticed the shadows deepening around her, spreading as he finally showed his pale face. Like the full moon rising between gray clouds, the Djinn stepped out of the shadows and all color fled the room.
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Protectively, Mattheo stood in front of Liz, but with a tiny snap of his finger, the Djinn flung the boy off his feet. Immediately, the darkness closed around Liz and the Djinn like an iron fist.
"It's time," the toneless voice rang through Liz's head. Like a distant echo, formless, colorless. As if she were only reading the words, not hearing them.
"Wait!" Liz clutched the clay jug and held it up slowly. "Is this it? Is this your -?"
The smooth skull with the deer antlers tilted, just a few milimeters, but it was more reaction than the creature had ever shown.
"I can - you don't have to do this. I can free you." In front of this archaic creature, Liz didn't even try to hide her fear. He knew what people looked like when they pleaded for their lives. Even if they tried to hide it.
"What makes you so sure I won't kill you once I'm free?" His huge figure blurred at the edges with the shadows all around them, making it hard to make out his actual form.
"I have to trust that." Her hand shook and she had to concentrate on not dropping the jar.
"You expect me to break a contract."
"The contract is broken the moment I destroy the seal. Bellatrix can't fulfill her part then, because you're already free." Liz felt the cold sweat of fear make her hands slippery. Veri rocked restlessly on her arm and the razor sharp claws cut her skin until blood dripped down.
Normally Liz was very good at seeing every little change in the faces of her fellow humans. But the Djinn had no facial expressions. Just the cold, pale white of the skull.
Dryly swallowing, Liz tried frantically to hold on to the last vestige of her sanity. If she had misjudged again, if she had overestimated herself, wasn't it her own fault? She had escaped death last time only thanks to Mattheo. This time, he couldn't save her.
Liz sucked in the icy air deeply. One last, long breath before she held out the clay pitcher to Veri. "Pull the cork," she explained to her bird. Veri tilted her head and looked back and forth between the jar and Liz in turn.
And then-with a deafening shriek-Veri launched herself at the Djinn's prison.
Clanging, the clay hit the floor and shattered. A hiss, then a sigh filled the room and the blackness gave way to a foggy gray.
The Djinn raised its claw-like hands. Liz could not believe her eyes. The pitch black claws gave way to brown hands, skin like tree bark entwined with ivy vines.
"You're a brave girl, Lysandra Black. The contract is broken."
And in a fraction of a blink, he was gone. The gray was gone, leaving the colors of the Lovegood house garish and overwhelming.
Mattheo crashed into the dresser as if time had only now moved on for him, and Draco nearly tumbled over the banister in an attempt to get to safety. It was only thanks to Luna's quick reaction that he didn't. She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back to his feet - without looking at him once.
"What?! Where?!" Mattheo scrambled to his feet and all sorts of odds and ends slipped off the dresser. His gaze slid to the shards in front of them. A pile of sand was all the jar had contained.
"Liz," Mattheo began anxiously, but she already didn't catch what he said after that, as she lost consciousness.
She had survived. She had survived her mother's revenge. No matter what was to come, this was something that no one before her had managed.
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Ta-da! It's not as imposing overall as I wanted it to be, but hey. Better than nothing....
