Leave me alone.

Alex huffed still angry with Maddison for putting him through this. “All I did was brush some hair off of Michelle’s face.” He muttered, “and suggested she kiss me a couple times.” he left off the part where Cuffe had slapped him around and punched him. “And, last time I talked to Maddison at the quidditch pitch I caught her arm so she’d stop running away.” he scratched his arm nervously as he spoke, “They wouldn’t give me a chance to talk to them.”

"See, that's not okay," Teddy said calmly. "Firstly, no one owes you their time or conversation. I understand that it's frustrating, but they don't owe you 'a chance.'"

This worried Teddy. Young men were becoming more and more hostile towards young women, and he was worried that these bad behaviors could turn dangerous.

"Secondly, you do not touch people without consent," he said. "Unless it's a matter of an urgent emergency, such as stopping someone from getting hurt. It sounds like when you suggested you kiss the other student, she said not, and you persisted. Under no circumstances should you push or pressure another person into physical contact they do not want."

There was the slightest bit of warning in his voice. "Do you have any questions?"

As the teacher's lecture droned on, Alex's mood soured further. Maddie's actions would not go unpunished, he thought to himself. “No, Sir,” He responded to the teacher's reprimand with a tart tone, masking his frustration. “I understand Sir.” The sensation was familiar, reminiscent of being called in by his father for driving away yet another tutor or staff member from their manor. As a child, Alex had resorted to such antics in a bid for attention from his busy parents. His most recent escapade involved releasing a snake during a French lesson, leading to the teacher's hasty departure.

Teddy wasn't convinced but he could only do so much before he was overstepping.

"Alexander," he said. "I mean it. What you are doing ventures into the realm of sexual harassment. That's a crime. And moreover, it's not good, and it's unkind and unfair to the people it's happening to. And I am very serious about zero tolerance. If this behavior continues, this will be escalated. That means a meeting with the Headmaster and your guardians."

He paused. "I'll have information on your detentions once I speak to your Head of House. Unless you have further questions, you may go."

As Professor Lupin mentioned his parents, Alexander fixed his gaze upon the older man and narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Oh, go ahead and write them," he challenged Lupin, a hint of cynicism creeping into his voice. "I bet they won't bother showing up anyway."

Without waiting for a response, Alexander spun on his heel and stormed off down the corridor, his footsteps echoing loudly with each angry stomp. The frustration and bitterness that simmered beneath his surface were palpable, causing those around him to instinctively give him a wide berth.

The plan was to keep her head down.

It often manifest literally.

Lily wanted, needed, to do well this year. Honestly, she just wanted to survive until graduation, but she knew life stretched beyond that. She was tired of watching Teddy, James, and Albus regard her with anxiety. For so long she’d been the stable one no one had to worry about. Well, besides Teddy. If it wasn’t for her mother’s mania, she’d probably have no privacy from the anxiety of her brothers.

But what could she say? Oh no, it’s no big deal, I’m just a werewolf. But it’s okay. I cope with an irresponsible number of pain potions?

Yeah, that would go over well.

She was planning on going down to the dungeons to do some brewing. She was set for Wolfsbane, but she’d found information in a book about how to stretch the potency of boomslang skin and was curious to try it out. On nights like tonight, where the pain was just below the surface, the wolf itching for its chance to come out early, it was good to have something to focus on.

Unfortunately, her focus on getting to the dungeons meant she was less focused on where she was placing her feet.

She rounded a corner and collided with another person.

“Oh, ouch. Um, sorry.”

Her voice was confused, a bit mellow considering the situation. As she detangled herself she realized she’d bumped into Alexander Greengrass, another advanced Potions student. She often saw him after hours and he was one of the few people she could make casual Potions talk with who could keep up.

“Hi Alexander,” she said, surprise creeping into her voice. “I… Are you okay?”

He looked angry, wound up. There was something in his eye that she knew was more than just frustration from running into someone. Lily was solitary and tried to not be too curious about her peers, but found the questions stumbled out naturally.

Alexander turned the corner, lost in his thoughts, when he suddenly collided with someone. Irritated, he was about to shout at the person responsible when they called him by name. It was Lilly Potter. Alexander paused, surprised to see her.

"What?" he snapped, his words sharp with annoyance. "Yeah, I'm fine," he added quickly. It was clear that something was bothering him, and he didn't want to burden her with his problems.

"Just left a meeting with Professor Lupin," he muttered, his tone filled with frustration. He was tempted to vent to Lilly, to share his thoughts and feelings with her, but he didn't want to burden her with his problems.

As they stood there in awkward silence, Alexander wondered why he was so guarded around Lilly. She was one of the few people who he could trust, who had always been there for him. Maybe it was time to open up and let her in.

Lily wasn’t exactly plugged into the inner workings of the castle. She used to sit with some of her cousins at meals, but these days she just tried to keep her nose down and out of the spotlight. She had a handful of friendly acquaintances she could post up next to in classes, her armor against unwelcome advances, and that suited her just fine.

So this, all of this… very much outside the scope of her talent, and even further outside her interest.

Until, of course, he mentioned Teddy.

Everyone knew that he was her adopted brother, it was a side effect of a famous name and a life on blast by the papers, but few realized just how close she was to Teddy. He’d been the one to step in for her and her brothers when Ginny could not show up as their mother, and as the others had graduated, Teddy had made sure to fill the gap they left too. They kept their boundaries up at school but at the end of the day Teddy was someone she’d protect beyond anyone else.

Not that he’d ever let her.

She wasn’t sure what had happened with Teddy, but Alexander was obvious upset. “Professors,” she said, flicking her eyes skyward in a small show of camaraderie. “Um, I was going to work on a potion… Not sure if you’d like to let off some steam, but you could join me.”

Alexander couldn't suppress a brief smile as he caught Lily's eye-roll, his emotions still running high. "What potion were you planning on brewing?" he inquired, his tone still carrying a tinge of intensity.

Being well-versed in the art of potions himself, Alex was intrigued by the prospect of collaborating with Lily, especially given her impressive skills in the field. And the fact that she was the daughter of Ginny Potter, a member of his favorite Quidditch team, only added to his eagerness to work with her.

"I believe I can spare some time for brewing," he continued, his voice laced with enthusiasm. "Shall we work on a potion together?"

"Eye color change potion," she answered simply. "I read in a book that rolling the boomslang skin, pressing it, and then slicing longways actually strengthens the potency, so I thought to do something simple to test it out," she explained. It wasn't as if she worried about the cost of ingredients, but she wanted to leave a mark on the Potions discipline, so she was always interested in new methodology.

The shift in him was strong, a harsh turnaround that even she was surprised by. But she wasn't going to challenge that.

"Yeah, that sounds good," she said with her soft, low voice. She offered the smallest of smiles before turning and leading the way, pulling her cardigan around her more snugly.