Chapter Text

[Chapter Thirteen]

It had been a long summer - but she had finally returned to Durmstrang for her fourth year. Viktor was the only one of her friends who’d arrived. She threw her arms around him in a bone-crushing hug.

“God, I’ve missed you guys!”

“Missed you too princess!” said Viktor with a grin as he returned the hug.

Lexa rolled her eyes, whilst the nickname had originally driven her up the wall, she’d grown to like it. Not that she was about to admit that to anyone, certainly not her group of male friends, she could enjoy it secretly. It was said with fondness, affection even.

“How was Quidditch camp?” she asked.

Viktor’s grin could have lit up the room as he burst into a rant about how awesome his summer had been, using enough hand gestures he may as well have been a performer. 

“So you might make it onto the youth team then?” asked Lexa.

Viktor nodded.

“It’s early doors, but next summer I really could be playing for the Bulgarian Youth team!” he said excitedly.

“That’s brilliant!” said Feliks.

Lexa and Viktor spun around to look at their friend, neither of them having seen him arrive.

“Feliks!” yelled Lexa as she bounded over to hug the slightly older boy.

 Feliks returned the hug eagerly before stepping in to give Viktor some congratulatory boy hug. ‘Boys were weird.’ Lexa thought to herself, but it was hardly news.

“So did you have a good summer, Feliks?” asked Viktor.

“We visited Venice, it was great, busy though.” Said Feliks.

The conversation continued, centred around their summer holidays before Josef and Luka arrived, the former looking significantly more subdued.

“What’s up mate?” asked Viktor taking in Josef’s slightly distant disposition.

The boy in question just shrugged. 

“Not a good holiday?” asked Feliks with a slight tilt of his head.

“Just don’t want to talk about it, alright?” replied Josef, his voice had a bite to it that made Feliks flinch, Lexa’s eyebrows skyrocketed. What the hell was up with him. Josef just let out a deep huff before he stalked off in the direction of their rooms.

“What the hell?” asked Feliks looking to Luca for an explanation.

“No idea.” Said, Luca. “He was just like that the entire walk up here.”

Lexa looked after the boys retreating back with genuine confusion - but also a sense of impending dread, she didn’t want her friendship group to fall apart. 

“Anyway, did you hear about Mikal Vor?” 

“From the graduating class?” asked Lexa, she was trying to picture the boy, but struggling she didn’t have any particularly strong memories of him other than knowing him to be a bit of a brute the others didn’t like.

“That’s just it though - he didn’t graduate.”

“What do you mean? He’s back?” she asked. She didn’t know that repeating a year was an option - she hadn’t known anyone else to have done so.

“No he’s been shadowed.”

“I’m sorry what?” asked Lexa a blanket look of confusion flickering across her face.

The boys looked at her blankly before recognition flickered across Viktors face.

“Shit, it’s so easy to forget you're not a legacy, your rankings so high.” 

The boys nodded as realisation dawned across their faces. “Shadowed is when Durmstrang does not consider you good enough to graduate, to represent the school.”

“His NEWTS were that bad?” asked Lexa.

“I don’t know, it's a board decision. Having good NEWTs is not the only requirement to pass.”

Lexa nodded solemnly, she’d thought the only thing she needed to graduate was good grades but this new information somewhat changed the game. To be held accountable to an invisible, unknown list of expectations was somewhat harsh. But so far her professors had said they were happy with her performance within the school, so she’d just have to do her best and keep going. 

It was in the approach to Christmas that she learned the most exciting spell yet. The challenge had been set at the start of the year, to be completed by your seventh - a fully fledged patronus charm. 

And by god had the boys struggled, forming mist had been relatively easy but actually forming the patronus had been significantly harder. Lexa’s effort had been minimal; her focus was more towards her parsel magic classes - which had annoyed the boys greatly, having believed she’d want to master such a powerful charm as quickly as possible. But her professor had told her to take a break, focus on another class - and so the young Black found herself in the presence of her friends as they attempted the charm.

“I’m going to be so annoyed if you get this first,” said Viktor.

“What, because I’m a girl? Or because I’m just better than you?” teased Lexa.

“Better my arse, you want to get our brooms out next?” retorted the boy.

“Because that’s the only thing you're ever going to beat me at,” replied Lexa.

“Enough you two, if I didn’t know better I’d say you were brother and sister,” snapped Professor Stanislav who was spectating the group's practice. 

“But Sir, she is my little sister at that,” said Viktor as he swung his arm round the girl's shoulder.

Lexa rounded him on him quickly, shoving his arm off of her and punching his shoulder lightly.

“Black!” shouted Stanislav. 

Lexa looked at him somewhat sheepishly, but she couldn’t wipe the grip off her face at the acknowledgement that Viktor considered her his little sister. Even if she wasn’t that little, and only a few months younger than the boy - it wasn’t her fault that he was just so… tall.

“The patronus charm Miss Black.”

And so with a smirk and mischievous grin, the young girl swished her wand and summoned prongs.

The boy's mouth dropped open. Even Stanislav raised an eyebrow at the almost corporal stag that canted around the room in what could only be described as a strut.

“Sorry, did I forget to mention that I’ve been able to do the charm since last christmas? Hogwarts had dementors, grandfather insisted I needed to know how to repel them.”

The room filled with grumbling as Stanislav praised the girl for her determination and working ahead in her classes.

The term until Christmas flew by, until it was only a couple of weeks from the end of term. Lexa was compiling a letter to her grandfather.

Dear Grandpa,

I hope that you are doing well, and that Papa isn’t annoying you too much. School is going very well, I am still really enjoying Potions and Herbology, my parsel magic classes are slow, but they are proving to be very useful.

I saw thestrals in class the other day, I’d never really thought about it before, but it’s somewhat sad to think of how many of us could see them. I wonder if Neville has seen any of them at Hogwarts, they are so beautiful. 

Cedric says they pull the carriages when your in third year, but he didn’t seem to interested in discussing them, is it rude of me that I can’t help but wonder who he has seen die - but I can’t help but note in your discussions of Lord Diggory you have never made mention of his wife. 

I forgot to mention in my previous letter, though Papa might have told you. Viktor made it onto the youth team, he’s so excited it’s kind of endearing. Schoolwork is getting more intense. I am both looking forward to and absolutely dreading the return after christmas. According to Professor Stanislav it’s going to get much harder from here on out. 

I was wondering if you could perhaps source me a book called Legal Inheritance of Lord of rights by Adronus Prewett. I have contacted several booksellers but they have told me the book has been discontinued - I am hoping to find a way to help Neville. 

Anyways, I hope that you are all well, and tell Papa and Remus that I will send them a letter before Christmas break. 

Looking forward to seeing you soon,

Alexandra Potter-Black

She signed it with her signature, an elegant swirl of letters across the page that her grandfather did so appreciate. 

When the letter arrived at Blackmore Manor and was passed around the three men it was a grumbling Sirius Black that was cursing every decision he’d ever made.

“What is it now Sirius?” asked Arcturus barely containing the roll of his eyes at whatever had upset his heir now.

“She spent an entire letter talking about boys! Neville this, Cedric that, Viktors on the national team. What am I supposed to do now?” asked Sirius with a devastated sigh.

“Oh leave her alone Siri,” said Remus with a gentle sigh. 

He knew that his mate was going to get more and more worked up about the prevalence of men in their daughters life the older she got, but so far the girl was nothing but sensible and he honestly didn’t think his mate's overprotectiveness was yet warranted. Not that the wolf himself wouldn’t be getting in line to threaten any future Lord of House Potter.

“Three of them Remus!” exclaimed Sirius with a frustrated and exasperated expression across his pale face. 

“Three, she’s surrounded by hundreds my son, but heaven help a boy that crosses the wrath of your daughter. We have trained her well, she is a perfect combination of House Potter and Black, a perfect combination of your three cousins.”

“Excuse me?” snapped Sirius with disdain.

“Now, now, that is not what I meant and you know it.”

“Explain.”

“Narcissa’s looks, Bellatrix’s power and Andromeda’s heart.” said Arcturus, “And you cannot deny it.”

“I’d like to argue that she has my looks, James’s power and Lily’s heart, thank you very much.” retorted Sirius.

“As you wish, but she is everything we could want in an heir.”

“Except her gender.” inputted Remus.

“Excuse me?” snarled Sirius rounding on his mate with a look of horror.

“I meant, Arcturus would surely rather have wished for a grandson.”

“I cannot deny that it would make matters of house security much easier, but I am sure that Alexandra will marry well, and provide our house with a son. I am only sorry that I am not going to be around to see it.” acknowledged Arcturus.

A sudden sadness swept through the room at the mention of the future.

“How,” said Remus, “How long?” 

“St Mungos are unsure, the curse is unlikely to take hold any time imminently, but I will be lucky to see out her fifth year.”

“It’s going to devastate her.”

“Then you must be there to tell her that I would want her to be strong, to be powerful, to keep her head up high and move on.”

“That will go down like a tonne of bricks Arcturus, and you know it.” retorted Remus.

“I will talk with her when she is home.”