Chapter 6: Cerebus's Twin

  When Fred and George told Lucas that their brother, Ron, became friends with Harry, Lucas didn't anticipate how hard Ron would make his quest.

  He could cope with the insults and name-calling. Sure, it hurt, but he always laughed it off and made a joke out of it. To make matters worse, Ron had successfully convinced Harry to hate him. But as Hecate said, if he decides he hates you, go out of your way to follow him. The fact that Lucas always had a retort available probably didn't help either.

  Then a notice was pinned up in the Slytherin Common Room stating that Slytherins and Gryffindors would have Flying Lessons together, which would start on Thursday. Most of the Slytherins groaned, but Lucas kept his expression neutral.

  "What do you think?" Blaise asked him.

  "Dunno," Lucas replied truthfully. True, he was excited to learn to fly, and the lesson would allow him to keep an eye on Harry, but he really wasn't in the mood for their insults. And name-calling.

  Blaise raised an eyebrow. 

  "I don't have an opinion," Lucas clarified. "I honestly don't care."

  Blaise snorted. "That's rich, considering you're the one that gets yelled at the most."

  "Since when do I care?" Lucas asked him. "They're terrible at insults. And their glares? It's like a puppy eating a marshmallow."

  Lucas and Blaise both burst into laughter.

  "I don't know how you do it," Blaise said.

  "Do what?" Lucas asked innocently, knowing the answer.

  "Make people laugh without trying."

  Lucas grinned. "It's inherited."

  Blaise rolled his eyes and changed the subject. "I can't wait for the lesson," he told him. "Just you wait. When it comes to our second year, I'll be the best Chaser the Slytherin Quidditch team has ever seen."

  Lucas chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. I don't think you'd meet the criteria. Have you seen the team members?" He shook his head. "And, for the record, you talk about flying and Quidditch way too much."

  Blaise scoffed, which Lucas gladly ignored. Contrary to what Blaise believed, he did talk about Quidditch a lot. Lucas would often be forced to endure long talks of the different types of broomsticks and teams. More often than not, Lucas would zone out, than be brought out of his thoughts by Blaise scolding him for not listening.

  Blaise wasn't the only one. In fact, most of the Slytherins talked about flying. Possibly more than blood purity. Scratch that, they talked about flying all the time. Especially the Quidditch Captain, Marcus Flint. He would tell anyone who would listen about the Quidditch techniques and whether Slytherin would win the Inter-House Quidditch Cup again this year. Everyone in the school that came from wizarding families would talk about Quidditch. Even some of the insults directed to muggle-borns had Quidditch in them. 

  As he was eating breakfast in the Great Hall, he managed to hear Hermione's lecture about flying tips that she had gotten from a library book, Quidditch Through the Ages. Lucas almost felt sorry for the Gryffindors. Almost. But then, Blaise was talking his ear off with Quidditch, so he couldn't talk. Luckily Blaise's monologue was interrupted by the morning post.

  Lucas got post every day, much to his horror. The Malfoy family's owl, which was an eagle owl, brought packages of sweets every single day, which he would open, then stuff everything back in. He would usually give the packages to Fred and George to hex. Of course, he would also help and sometimes he would give it to them already hexed.

  As he slunk away from the Slytherin table to go for a walk on the school grounds before classes, he overheard a conversation occurring on the Gryffindor table.

  "It's an Remembrall!" he heard Neville exclaim excitedly. "Gran knows I forget things- this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red- oh..." Lucas watched as his face fell, because the Remembrall had just glowed scarlet, "you've forgotten something..."

  Lucas walked over as Neville screwed his face up in concentration, trying to remember what it was exactly that he had forgotten. 

  "Maybe your Potions book," Lucas suggested. It was true- Neville's bag was slightly open, and from what Lucas could see, his Potions book was missing.

  Ron lept to his feet, seemingly determined to throw an insult at him. "Go stuff yourself, Malfoy," he spat.

  Lucas rolled his eyes. "Oh, yes, I'm so terrified," he said sarcastically. "Please take mercy on me-what did I ever do to you?" Lucas stalked off before anyone could reply, well aware of Fred and George's surprised looks, as well as Hermione's shocked expression.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

At exactly three-thirty that afternoon, Lucas, Blaise, and the other first-year Slytherins walked quickly down the stone, front steps into the grounds as they made their way to their first flying lesson. Lucas was excited for the lesson, even if he tried to not let it show. The day was a clear, breezy day and the grass underneath their feet rippled as they marched down the sloping hills to a smooth lawn opposite to the Forbidden Forest, whose trees were swinging darkly in the distance.

  The Gryffindors had yet to arrive, and there were about 20 broomsticks lying on the grass in neat rows. During the nights where Lucas would meet up with Fred and George, he had heard a lot about the school brooms, none of it good. Some would start to vibrate if you flew to high, or they would always fly slightly to the left.

  Soon after the Gryffindors had arrived, their professor, Madam Hooch had also arrived. She had short, gray hair and yellow eyes not unlike a hawk.

  "Well, what are you all waiting for?" she snapped. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

  Lucas bit his lip as he glanced at his broom. It looked like something you would find in a museum and some of the twigs on the end looked far too short. 

  "Stick out your right hand over your broom," Madam Hooch instructed them from the front. "And say, 'Up!'"

  Lucas's broom jumped up at once, but it was one of the few that did. Hermione's had simply rolled over, and Neville's hadn't moved at all. Maybe brooms could sense when you were afraid, Lucas thought. It couldn't be more plainer that Neville wanted to keep both feet on the ground, which was probably for the best. He managed to have an extraordinary amount of accidents with both feet on the ground. Theodore Nott's broom came up extremely fast and whacked him in the face, and Lucas hid a grin.

  Then Madam Hooch taught them how to mount their brooms without falling off- she walked up and down the rows, correcting their grips. Ron and Harry were extremely happy when Madam Hooch corrected Lucas's grip- they obviously thought that he'd been doing it for years.

  "Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," she told them. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet and then come straight back down by leaning forwards slightly. On my whistle- three- two-"

  She was cut by Neville, who was too afraid of being left on the ground- he had pushed off hard before the whistle had even touched Madam Hooch's lips.

  "Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising like a cork shooting out of a bottle. He rose 12 feet- 20 feet. Lucas watched as his pale white face look down at the ground in fear, and as he gasped and slipped of the broom.

  There was a thud and a nasty crack as laid face down on the lawn in tangled heap, and Lucas winced in sympathy. Neville's broomstick was still rising higher, drifting lazily towards the Forbidden Forest.

  Madam Hooch was hunched over Neville, her face almost as pale as his.

  "Broken wrist," she muttered. "Come on, boy- it's alright, up you get."

  She turned to rest of them. "None of you is to move while I take this boy to the Hospital Wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch'. Come on, dear."

  Neville, whose face was streaked with tears, clutched his wrist and tottered after Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him.

  As soon as she was out of earshot, Blaise burst into laughter.

  "Did you see his face, the great lump?" Blaise asked.

  The other Slytherins joined in, while Lucas became annoyed. Why did he have to get sorted into the house of big bullies?

  "Shut up, Zabini," Parvati Patil snapped.

  "Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" Pansy asked. "Never thought you'd like fat little cry babies, Parvati."

  Lucas snapped. He would've taken on all of the Slytherins, if not for Hermione, who held him back.

  "Let me at them," he hissed.

  "No!" she hissed back. "You'll just get all of us in trouble."

  Eventually Lucas relented, and for some miracle nobody noticed their exchange.

  "Look!" Blaise exclaimed, running forward and picking up something off the ground. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."

  The Remembrall shone in the sun as Blaise held it up.

  "Give that here, Zabini," Harry said to Blaise. The was a period of silence as everyone stopped to watch.

  Blaise smiled cruelly.

  "No, I don't think so," he informed Harry. "I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to collect- how about- up a tree?"

  "Give it here!" Harry yelled, but Blaise had mounted his broomstick and taken off. Considering he talked about flying constantly, it was no surprise that Blaise could fly well. In a matter of seconds, he was hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak.

  "Come and get it, Potter!" Blaise called out.

  Lucas watched as Harry grabbed his broom, but Hermione held a hand out.

  "No!" Hermione scolded him. "Madam Hooch told us not to move- you'll get us all into trouble."

  Harry had ignored her. He mounted his broom and he rose up effortlessly. Lucas heard girls scream and gasp and Ron's whoop of glee. Lucas couldn't help but feel the same. Harry was a natural on the broomstick.

  Lucas looked at Harry and Blaise, amused as he watched Harry turn his broomstick and Blaise's stunned look.

  "Give it here," Harry told Blaise, "or I'll knock you off your broom!"

  Blaise tried to sneer, "Oh yeah?" but he looked worried.

  Harry leant forward and held the broom tightly between his hands and it shot towards Blaise like a lance. Blaise had only got out of the way in time; Harry made a sharp u-turn and held his broomstick steady. A few people next to Lucas were clapping.

  "Nobody up here to save your neck, Zabini," Harry taunted. 

  The same thought seemed to have occurred to Blaise.

  "Catch it if you can, then," Blaise shouted, and he Remembrll high in the air- it streaked upwards then fell down as gravity took hold of it.

  Harry had leant forward and pointed the broom handle down. The next second, he was gathering velocity in a steep plunge, racing the ball. He stretched out his hand and when he was a foot from the ground he caught it- just in time to pull out of the dive. He toppled gently onto the grass, the Remembrall clutched safely in his hand.

  "HARRY POTTER!" 

  Lucas flinched, hand instinctively going to his pocket as Professor McGonagall ran towards them. She was furiously glaring at Harry, who had gotten to his feet, trembling.

  "Never- in all my time at Hogwarts-"

  Professor McGonagall was almost voiceless with shock, her glasses glinting furiously. "-how dare you- might have broken your neck-"

  "It wasn't his fault Professor-"

  "Be quiet Miss Patil-"

  "But Zabini-"

  "That's enough, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now."

  As Professor McGonagall led Harry towards the castle, muttering under her breath, Lucas's heart sank. Would Harry be expelled? If so, how would Lucas be able to complete his quest? 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When Lucas saw Harry sitting at the Gryffindor table looking quite happy, to say Lucas was relieved would be an understatement. He was overjoyed. 

  Then Blaise dragged him over to propose a Wizard's duel with Harry and Ron, and he immediately soured. At least he had proposed the Trophy Room. It was very close to the third floor corridor. Hopefully they'd find it and know not to go looking for the duplicate of Cerebus.

  To make matters worse, Blaise had set them up. He told them his magnificent plan to get them in trouble, and Lucas almost punched him in the face. Almost. If not for the fact that Gemma was there.

  "Smart, eh?" he asked him as they got into their dormitory.

  "Yeah," Lucas said sarcastically. "Just like a Slytherin."

  He frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

A/N

  Another one done. I love this one!

  Anyways, to the story. I didn't quite know how to insert the Ron and Harry hates him part, so I replaced the Harry doesn't think he could hate anyone more than Dudley part with the Ron and Harry hates him part. All in all, I think I did I good job.

  I also think that based on the personality I created for Lucas, he's the type who would just laugh insults off and hide what he's truly feeling. He's also very helpful, which is why he pointed out that Neville forgot his Potions book (from what he could see).

  For the flying lesson, I'm trying not to make him great at everything, but I don't see why I should change his flying abilities. However, the bullying part I've transferred onto Blaise, since I've established that he's close to Lucas, which keeps Lucas in the midst of everything.

Thanks for reading! <3