Wolfsbane

May I Introduce, Your New Classmate

            

The approval of my name change came home with Mr. Malfoy two days after it was submitted. I assumed that my mother, being the social bird she was, had already notified all her friends in the Ministry of my failure as a Booth heir, and that was why it came so quickly.

Upon my arrival at Hogwarts for my second year, professor McGonagall grabbed me the moment she saw me. She expressed that Dumbledore had interest in stating the change of my name to clarify things for the students and teachers that knew me. I nodded, though I dreaded the thought of it being a grand occasion, as I knew Dumbledore would make it. The man was kind, but a bit of a loon. Once the first years were sorted into their houses, Dumbledore stepped forward to make his opening announcements.

"I have one last affair to settle before our term begins. One of our second years students, has made a change to her name, and I would like all of you to know this, so that you may address her accordingly." He opened his hand and gestured for me to leave my seat and join him near his podium. I stood and hesitantly made my way towards him.

"As many of you know, Miss Phoenix Booth was sorted into Slytherin last year, and she has been a credit to her house thus far. I would now ask that each of you address her as Miss Phoenix Wolfsbane. Please, do not ask her for her reasons, as this is a private matter, but respect that this is her name now. Excellent, now, let the feast, begin." The tables exploded with plates of food and desserts, and I carefully made my way back towards my seat. Several Gryffindor boys, older boys, most likely in their fifth or sixth year, came up to me before I could fully retreat.

"Wolfsbane! I think it's a little long, would you mind if we called you Bane?"

"Yeah, I think it's just as fitting!"

"If you decided on that, you must be excellent at potions. You may only be a second year, but do you think you could help with my potions homework?" I felt lost as the bombardment of questions left my head spinning. I had assumed that all Gryffindors hated all Slytherins, and I didn't know how to respond to the onslaught of intrigue. Elias, and Slytherin's female prefect Hailey, came to my rescue.

"Down boys! You'll frighten the poor thing. Let her eat her supper before you decided to go questing for a potions tutor. Besides, you should be looking for someone, in your level of potions. Now go, back to your seats." I let out a sigh of relief, and thanked the two of them. Elias shuffled me back towards the table, and took the now vacant seat beside mine. Bella, Narcissa, Lucius, and Severus all moved seats as well, asking if the students surrounding me would mind shuffling down so they could sit with me. My housemates didn't seem to mind, and I was surrounded by my dearest friends.

"I'm glad you decided to go through with it. I think it is rather fitting for you Phoenix." I smiled at Narcissa, and Lucius decided he needed to speak up.

"Perhaps now, that nuisance of yours will leave you alone. You've severed ties with Gryffindor completely now." All of my friends made a point to look at Lucius as if he had grown a second head. I felt panic settle into my bones, knowing that someone was going to ask who he was talking about, and I wasn't ready to admit that I had once held affection for a rather thick Gryffindor. Elias seemed to know exactly who, and he had turned his head from the group to scan the Gryffindor table. Once his eyes stopped roaming, I followed his line of sight, only to meet the stormy grey eyes of Sirius Black. I felt anger rise in my stomach, and I turned away as his eyes changed from searching, to hopeful.

"Yes, I do believe he should get the idea now." The others seemed to drop the subject, and I became hyper aware that I was surrounded by Slytherin morals. Slytherin's don't pry, secrets are important. Bella waved her hand at the entire thing, and chose then to speak up.

"Yes, yes, you had a little stalker, as Lucius was fond of telling us last year. Anyway, Wolfsbane suits you wonderfully. Powerful, and completely your own. However, I did catch what those Gryffindors were saying. Bane does sound cool, as a shortened version. We should give you a nick name for your given name as well." The other four of my friends all nodded their heads enthusiastically. Elias made a motion before anyone else could.

"I think Nix, sounds quite right. Phoenix, Nix. It fits, doesn't it? Nix Bane. Now that, sounds bloody brilliant!" There was a chorus of laughter and applause at Elias's suggestion. I found myself feeling lighter than I had in months. Smiling was becoming easier, even after the heartbreak of my disownment. I thought, that I could be accustomed to seeking comfort in these people, even a person as crass and aggressive as Bella.

"Nix Bane I shall be then, since you all seem to like it so much. Now, shall we eat, or simply talk about my new christening?" That seemed to push everyone out of their excitement, and we sat and had a rather merry conversation about bowtruckles and werewolves over roast chicken and potatoes. After supper concluded and Elias herded the first years into their dorms, we sat down in the common room for some more conversation. Elias expressed the want for each of us to have a nick name now, and so we sat, pondering and laughing over the ideas we had for each other.

"Well, Bella and I are covered, so why not just shorten everyone else's names? Lucius will be-Luc, and Narcissa will be Cissa, Severus, Sev or Rus, and Elias, you shall be dubbed-" I paused a moment, unable to find something suitable, and as I opened my mouth to finish, thinking that Lia would be hilarious, Elias jumped in to save himself from that conclusion.

"I think that's quite enough, before you go hurting my feelings Nix. Perhaps, instead of nicknames, we should give ourselves a group name, much like those young Marauders. What do you all think?" Narcissa and Severus nodded immediately, while Lucius and Bella seemed perturbed by the suggestion.

"Oh, come on you two! Live a little. If we have the Marauders in Gryffindor, trouble makers in the house of courage, we should be the opposite. Justice within the head of the snake, that sort of thing." Elias seemed to think on this extensively.

"The Crusaders? The Paladins? The Knights? Any of those sound alright to you?"

"The Crusaders! I think that sounds brilliant! Warriors of God, defenders of justice. I think that sounds marvelous Elias!"

"I suppose I could agree. Crusaders held a noble profession at one point. However, I strongly discourage we go on any crusades ourselves, besides of course, to rub those smug Marauders faces in the dirt." After further discussion from Lucius and Bella, a consensus was made to call ourselves The Crusaders. Elias had heard the Marauder's calling each other by strange names, one of them, being Padfoot. I knew who the owner of the name was immediately, and so I agreed that we should create our own secret names.

"Alright, well, we need to figure out the method of which they chose those names."

"A patronus. Padfoot, and I think I've also heard the name Prongs from one of them. Padfoot, must be some sort of dog, while Prongs, is very obviously a deer or another antlered animal. Perhaps they've succeeded in casting a patronus charm. It's advanced magic, however, not impossible at your level currently. I have seen stranger things from younger students. We'll need a place we can practice this charm, a place where I would be able to teach you the charm." Work on finding a place, and we'll be able to better establish ourselves."