Apples and Snakes

Love Me

Meetings were already snowballing. We were learning more and more, slowly gaining skills and power. I was already proud of my little army. But with the good came the bad.

Attacks from the Jr. Death Eaters were frequent. No teacher except for Umbridge even bothered to try and give detentions, since practically everywhere were little duels, springing out just because the others were on the wrong side. Did I feel bad? Maybe, but rebellion was no small matter. It was going to break out anyway, and I'd rather be the instigator and do it right, then watch it happen the hands of some idiot like Harry, or someone with an endgame like Dumbledore.

What I'd promised myself was that I'd make sure that as few people were hurt, none having any significance over the other. We're all human, aren't we? Don't all lives equal the same? I wouldn't do anything I wasn't willing to do myself.

Lately, I'd taken to attacking any birds conjured by the Prometheus curse.

"Prometheus!" A sixth-year Ravenclaw called, and a first-year Ravenclaw, Slytherin, fifth-year Gryffindor, and a second-year Hufflepuff were all attacked with a hailstorm of stupid raptor-birds.

I unleashed the little devil within, as I had come to calling my state where I release shadows, and they vanquished the birds. The sixth-year looked at me, annoyed, and then pinned the Gryffindor against a wall.

"Don't betray your own," she snarled, pointing her wand right under his chin.

I drew my wand. "Get away from him, Morganstern!" I commanded.

"Ah, Alice Potter, come to bail out this little boy?" She snarled.

"I have," I said evenly. "Expelliarmus." Her wand came soaring to me. The boy broke free.

"Don't you care about blood relations?" Morganstern demanded.

"Flipendo!" The sixth-year went flying backwards.

"Thanks," one of the Gryffindors said. "My friend, she's hurt really bad-"

"All of you are going to the hospital wing," I interrupted. I looked over to the Ravenclaw. "What did you do to tick Morganstern off?" I asked. "She's not that devoted to the cause, usually."

"Oh, well," the Gryffindor smirked. "All of them are like that right now because my brother's aligned with the Death Eaters."

"Wait, you're Lux Emrys?" I asked.

"Guilty as charged," he said.

"Explains a lot," I said. "We're happy to have you on our side, by the way."

"No need to say that," Lux said, now serious. "Ky thinks he's doing us some service, but we aren't ashamed of our parentage, aren't afraid to fight. Aren't afraid to die."

"Nobody's dying if I can help it," I said, as I helped the Slytherin along.

"It's a war, Alice, and someone will die soon," Lux said solemnly.

"I know," I replied. "Trust me, I know." The thought that kept me awake at night sometimes. It's not like these constant schoolyard are bad enough. I keep waiting for a death to be traced to my name in blood. I know that soon, I will be at least partially to blame because of one lost soul.

"Don't get me wrong, what you're doing is incredible, and I don't know how you do it, but I know that you're the type who will beat themselves up about every death in this war, every casualty on our side. Trust me, you're not the main one to blame," Lux continued, oblivious to my thoughts.

I nodded, as I helped them into their hospital wings. Madam Pomfrey wrote me a note explaining that I was helping a group of hurt students, awarded five points to Slytherin, and I rushed into Umbridge's class.