Even though a reluctant friendship had been borne through the incident with the trolls, Hermione was glad.

Except for the cold shoulder Harry gave Ila whenever the Slytherin girl came around.

While Ila and Hermione had already become fast friends, their commitment strengthened after their battle with the troll.

So it broke her heart each time her friend looked at hers, then sighed in defeat, walking away.

So...

" Has she spoiled your potion? " Harry looked up startled at Hermione.

" Sorry? " He asked, pushing his spectacles up in confusion.

" Ila. Has she spoiled your potion? " Hermione reiterated. Even Ron looked up at the question.

Harry's jaw ticked, " No. Drop it Hermione, I don't want to talk about this." He said sternly.

" Why? What exactly is the problem here?" Hermione pushed, when Ron stood up.

" Hermione, he said drop it. You don't know who Ila's father is. It's a miracle they even -" But he faltered, his eyes looking over Hermione's shoulder to see the subject of their contempt.

" Ila? " Hermione whispered, snapping her head back.

Ila looked up, breathing deep. She sighed then walked away silently.

But while Ron and Harry sat back down, Hermione ran outside the library following Ila.

" Ila? Ila stop! " Hermione yelled. But she was lost in the crowd. Defeated, Hermione walked back, determined to have her friends talk once more.

She just needed one class.

⏟

In the bright sun, the clouds gathered over Ila's mind, who held her hands to her mouth. It saved her the public tears. To a passerby, it would seem she was simply resting.

But to Draco, it was a friend who was hurting. A family who was hurting.

" Hey cousin, " He smirked, " Did you finally realise Potter and the Weasel aren't worth your time? "

But the fact that she didn't admonish him, or even slap his arm in anger led him to believe there was something larger at play.

" Hey? " He shuffled closer to her, " You do know that we're family? If you want me to .. Handle them? " He asked, though his voice was questioning the sincerity of the thought.

" - shut up Draco. They're my friends -"

" - who wouldn't accept your word for it? " He answered harshly, " I heard your conversation, how Potter's anger spiraled when you told him of your father. You don't deserve such friends -" He fiddled with his wand, tapping it on his thigh.

" - you followed me! " Ila said sharply, her brain finally catching up to her environment, " You are an arse! Why did you follow me! It was a private conversation-"

" - doesn't mean I am wrong! Potter and Weasley are -"

" - atleast they don't disrespect someone for their blood. " Ila answered coldly, " Tell me Draco Lucius Malfoy, " She stressed on his name, " Would you still call me family if I told you I was half blood? Would you accept your friend's father as a criminal? "

Draco stared ahead, as if faced with more than what he could handle. " That's different-" It was wasn't it? She was family ?

' Elixr looses it's powers when a fly sits on it Draco, because it's not made for it. Muggles are like the fly, they don't belong on the Elixr of magic'. His father would tell him.

" - don't you dare. " Ila stood up. " Look, whatever happens between me and Harry is our fight, our conversation. You peeping in and using what you heard from a private conversation to make yourself look better is stupid. " She sighed,
"Draco , I know we are family, but that also means you have to accept my friends like I accept yours, despite how inept they are." She thought, cringing at his company of Crabbe and Goyle. Idiots they were.

She knew why Draco had them with him, stroking his ego. Idiotic to be very honest.

" But Ila... " He sighed, " All I mean to say is -" He stopped short, seeing Daphne approach the pair.

" I need to tell you something, " She said, fidgeting with her hands softly..

" Draco. Leave us please. " Ila mumbled. The boy stared between the two before running off.

As he walked, he wondered, was she truly right about Potter and Weasley? Was his life truly a lie?

⏟

" What's wrong? Did someone from Gryffidor say something-"

" - I know.. Or I think I know.. Who your father is... Or well, to be fair. Is not. " Daphne gasped out, her hands white from being clenched.

Ila looked up, stunned. Well, she knew McGonagall had asked her to call Sirius Black her father. But it was never something she had any say in. McGonagall had decreed it, or rather, as she still says, Dumbledore had.

" Well, sit down. What is it? " Ila asked. Her heart hammered in her chest as she wiped her suddenly sweaty arms against the uniform skirt.

" Well, I saw a pensive memory... " Daphne began.

" Please. You must understand. I cannot take care of a child. I cannot. Please Marcus, I need your help. You are the only family I relatively trust as of now with this. Just keep her as yours if you want, maybe as twins. No one has to know -"

" Sirius, regardless of your pleadings, the Dark Lord keeps a close eye on us all. I am endangering my own daughter, would you rather I endanger yours too? " He asked, stressing on his point, his wife held their child in her hands. Daphne pulled her mother's hair, unaware of the chaos in the room.

" She's not my -" Sirius grit his teeth, holding back his words, " Please. Marcus. I need someone to keep her and her mother safe. Please. " But Marcus simply shook her head as he closed the vast doors of the Greengrass Mansion in his face.

'TEN YEARS LATER'

" Looking at it won't bring her back to life. Or even tell you where she is my love. "
   Marcus said to his wife, who hastily 
wiped her tears.

" No.. But it reminds me everyday of how I
as a mother  couldn't care for a young lass. She would be so scared in the world, half blooded., " The lady shook her head, "She wouldn't know of her magic, Sirius got involved in the Potter's mess.
I wonder who's looking after her
now." She mumbled, sighing.

Through the door, Daphne saw her
mother. She had seen her mother revisit the memory so many times she could
recite each person's pleading and
desperate words by heart.

His care for the babe, while her father's
for her. Both fathers fighting to care
for their children.

Or, in Ila's case, by someone who
vehement refused to accept her as his own.

" Marie , " Her  father said, holding her mum's face in his hands, " Fate decides   much for us. So must it have for the child. If she were to survive, she would have. You shouldn't burden yourself with it. If 
you still feel that pain you can blame me for it. I turned him away. But darling, " He
sighed, " It's not your fault. "

Ila sat quietly, eyes unmoving from the ant making it's way on the leaf, crawling slowly.

" So? " Daphne urged, " Do you now see why? Your father is definitively not Sirius Black, rather the only one alive during thay time was Regulus but -"

" - but he's dead. " Ila cut her off, her hands raised shakily to shift the ant off her leg, " My father is dead. " Ila finished, staring dead ahead at the grass.

" That's not what it means Ila. It could be a friend, for all you know, Sirius and his brother weren't even close -"

" - then let him be that way. Let him stay dead in my mind. It will not allow any hope to foster. " Ila stood up, dusting her skirt. She looked at Daphne, then gave her a pained smile, " Thank you, I am sure that was hard to say. I admire your honesty. " Ila finished, her breath was coming in short pants, while she breathed deep.

" Ila wait -" But she had walked away, tugging her bag onto her shoulder.

" Ila! " Daphne yelled after the girl, who wouldn't listen.

Ila's brain ran in a frenzy. One moment, she hoped he was simply just a criminal, the next, she learnt he was dead.

Her eyes glazed over, but she walked straight ahead, when she felt a drop of water on her hands. Furiously, she wiped away her tears, shuffling her hair to create a curtain while she walked straight towards the library.

Somewhere no one would trouble her. Where she could breathe. Think.

There was no way her father would break his promise to her mother. None.

She would find her father, even if it was the last thing she would do. .

⏟

So peeps.. 👀

Who is Ila's dad 👀👀👀.

I realised just how hard it is to make a magazine.. There are so many designs, fonts and layouts to explore.

I will go crazy 😭

But tell me how it was.

Much love ♥