A/N: This series of one-shots were written for the Golden Snitch Jurassic Fever Challenge, on behalf of House Mizu (Mahoutokoro). Challenge prompts will be included at the top of each story.

Tyrannosaurus Rex: Write about a Death Eater (or 'dark' character) who is in need of affection.
Egg Prompt: (quote) "She's such a troglodyte."
Points: 15

"She's such a troglodyte."

Alecto Carrow sneered at the two Gryffindors across the potions table, who were giggling softly and avoiding eye contact with her. She didn't know what a troglodyte was, but she knew that stupid Enid Prescott was a Mudblood. As if any stupid Muggle term could be worse than that.

She turned to her brother. "I'll bottle the potion for Slughorn. You can clean up this filthy"—she looked meaningfully across the table—"table." He nodded absently, his eyes raking over the beautiful Mirabella Zabini across the aisle.

Alecto decanted the potion and sneered at her table partners as she ambled past them on her way to Slughorn's desk. He glanced at her as she dropped off the potion, but his gaze slid right past her to focus on the table of his favorite students, who were putting away their materials: Severus Snape, Damocles Belby, Lily Evans, and Mary McDonald. He didn't give any indication of her presence as Alecto dropped the potion on his desk.

She heaved her bag more firmly onto her broad shoulder and plodded out of the classroom and toward the dungeons, having decided to skip lunch today. She dropped her bag next to one of the group study desks—sitting alone, again—and pulled out her Charms homework.

Fourth year was shaping up to be the absolute worst. She didn't fit in with the girls in her dorm—girls like Mirabella who were all long lines and classic beauty and shiny hair and dainty ankles crossed like a proper lady. Boys, including her brother, were falling over Mirabella and Narcissa Black and Belina Burke. In the dorm room they giggled over Hogsmeade invitations and traded beauty tips and admired each other's expensive silk robes.

No one had ever asked Alecto to Hogsmeade.

Alecto knew she wasn't particularly pretty. She hoped she'd grow over the summer, slimming down and shooting up as her roommates had, but puberty had other plans. While her brother grew tall and lanky, she grew wide: broad shoulders and big hips. She stayed short and squat, more like a goblin than the other willowy witches of her House.

She conjured a small doll and set it across the table, against the stone wall of the common room.

Even her twin brother, with whom she'd been joined at the him since birth, had abandoned her for other friends. Avery, Travers—he was even running around with the half-blood Snape!

Sometimes, desperate to belong, she was able to tag along with them, hexing Hufflepuffs in the hallways and making sure Mudbloods knew their place—but it was always as an extension of Amycus. He'd recently become more huffy about her desire to spend time with him, muttering that she needed more witch friends so she'd stay out of his hair.

She stood, shook her head, and walked a few steps away from the table.

"Accio doll!"

The doll didn't move.

"Accio doll!"

Nothing.

Alecto huffed. She couldn't even get this right—not that it was any different from any of her other classes. She knew she wasn't terribly smart, but she was a pure-blood. She couldn't let others, like that stupid Mudblood Lily Evans who had done this charm perfectly the first time she tried it, think they were better than her.

It was bad enough she was at the bottom of her class in Potions and Transfiguration. At least she was holding her own in Defense, though the instructor, like the rest of her professors, didn't seem to even notice her. She was resolved to do better in Charms, even if Flitwick was a stupid half-breed. She couldn't let the Mudbloods show her up.

"Accio doll!"

Still nothing.

"Argh! Diffindo! Diffindo! Diffindo!"

Alecto's perfect severing charms chopped of the doll's appendages neatly: its arms and head tumbled to the table, and the remainder of the body slumped against the wall. Alecto narrowed her eyes at the pile of body parts, wondering if summoning them would be easier in pieces.

Then she heard a slow clap from behind her.

She turned and saw the sixth year Prefect and Prince of Slytherin, Lucius Malfoy, all long blond hair and icy blue eyes and expensive robes, looking at her. She looked around. Gifford Goyle was standing slightly behind Lucius; Gifford was the size of a troll with the face of one to match, and was well-known to do the dirty work that, as a Prefect, Lucius could not. Other than the three of them, the common room was empty.

"That was impressive wand work," he drawled. "Not many fourth years use the severing charm for dismemberment. Most are focused on shortening their skirts."

Once Alecto realized she was expected to respond, she bumbled out, "The doll pissed me off."

He cocked his head and studied her as if he'd never seen her before. "You have good aim. Your slices were very accurate for such a small target. Do you think you could hit a moving target with similar success?"

"Maybe." Had Lucius Malfoy just complimented her? Had he ever spoken to her before? She wasn't even sure he'd spoken to her brother.

"I'd be interested to see if you could. I know someone who might be interested in a witch with your particular talents." Lucius looked long at her. "He's very interested in pure-bloods from good families who can develop skills that Hogwarts professors might frown upon."

He walked over and picked up the severed head of the doll, rolling it around between his thumb and forefinger. "Think about it. If you're interested, you could join some of the students from your year who are planning on visiting Malfoy Manor this summer. For… academic development." He squished the doll head, then flicked it across the room into the fireplace and left the room, Gifford trailing behind him.

Alecto stood alone in the common room. 'My particular talents,' she thought. A cruel smile rose to her cheeks, and she conjured another doll for the table. She'd never considered that chopping a doll into bits might be a talent, but if Lucius wanted to see more of it she would give it to him.

And if the new doll, charmed to slowly walk the length of the table and back, resembled that stupid Enid Prescott, well, Alecto considered just considered it extra motivation.