I was tired of it.
Tired of the other houses' judgmental, assuming glares.
Tired of having to pretend to be the good little pureblood Slytherin I was.
Tired of sucking up to the Death Eaters and pretending to be in love with the Dark Arts out of fear.
Tired of Slytherin being seen as the evil house.
This was it. I am going to do it.
Just as breakfast was about to end, I jumped to my feet and clambered onto the table.
"I have something to say," I declared loudly, my heart thumping rapidly in my chest. "To my fellow Slytherins, I am tired of pretending. I am tired of being the "evil" house."
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the Carrow Twins get to their feet, looks of outrage and disgust evident on their face. Although my fear increased, I carried on with my speech, speaking faster this time.
"It is time that we Slytherins prove that we are one with the Hogwarts houses! We are not selfish cowards but brave wizards and witches willing to sacrifice our lives for each other! Let's not be afraid anymore and help fight this war! We are Sly-" I screamed in pain as I was hit with a spell.
No, a curse. The Cruciatus Curse. Shrieking in agony, I forced my eyes open to see my attacker. Pansy Parkinson, one of my "friends", stood there with a furious glare, her wand pointed at me.
Gathering all the remaining strength in me, I screamed through my pain, "We are Slytherins who stand on the side of good!"
By this time, the Carrows had reached my side and their murderous glares foretold my death. I smirked at them, proud that my message had been delivered.
"Students of Hogwarts. Let this traitorous student be an example of what happens when you defy the Dark Lord." Amycus Carrow snarled at them, while Alecto Carrow dragged me to the front of the Great Hall.
Tossing me to the floor as though I was nothing more than a mere doll, Alecto spat in my face, "Scum like you deserve to die, regardless of how pure your blood is, traitor."
I said nothing and just stared at her in defiance.
Disliking my obvious challenge of her authority, she pulled her wand out and spat a curse that I had never heard of before.
Screaming. That's all I remembered. Screaming in agony and thrashing about on the floor.
While I was being tortured, I had missed the quiet exchange between some of my fellow Slytherins. What I did not miss was them jumping to their feet, throwing forth hexes and curses at those who were on the side of the Dark Lord.
They fought like a snake, elegantly yet deadly. Someone lifted me bridal style and began to run to the exit of the Great Hall while the others covered our escape.
There was nowhere to go. Where could we run to? The Carrows could easily find us in this castle.
"Slytherins! Oi! Here, to your left!" A voice hissed at our group.
Desperate for help, our group turned to the left. "Through the tapestry, hurry!" The voice said.
Without any hesitation, we ran straight through the tapestry, leaving behind the yells of the incoming Carrows.
Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan and Parvati Patil stood in front of us, wands raised.
Someone in front of our group spoke up, "Thanks for helping us, we would have been dead if it wasn't for you."
"Can we trust you? How do I know whatever happened out there wasn't an act?" Neville questioned us.
"Look, can we do this interrogation later? Alexandra's bleeding out to death here!" another voice snapped.
At this point, the blood loss and pain overwhelmed me, and I passed out.
Swimming in and out of unconsciousness, I heard bits and pieces of conversation around me.
"They seem pretty trustworthy to me."
"What if they're spies? What if they attack us? We have first, second and third years here!"
"Her temperature seems to be going down, she should be awake in a few more days I think."
"You think? You need to be sure!"
"I don't know for sure! I'm not a certified healer!"
"Oh Lexa, could you be anymore foolish? One might think you're a Gryffindor from the stunt you pulled back in the Great Hall."
"Jas, let her be. It's not like she can hear you anyways."
Slowly, my eyes blinked open.
"I can hear you guys you know." I said hoarsely.
Jasmine Nilone threw herself at me, trapping me in her vice-like grip.
Instantly, I let out a groan of pain, my torso throbbing. Jasmine jumped back in horror.
"Shit! I'm sorry! I was just really excited that you're awake!" She apologized profusely.
I shook my head at her. "It's fine, I'm fine. I just need a glass of water," I reassured her.
Nodding furiously, she went off in search of a glass of water.
Turning my gaze onto the other Slytherin present, I asked, "Where are the others? I remember having an entire group around me."
Killian smirked, "Nah, there was only about five of us. There were more Slytherins willing to come to your rescue but Astoria Greengrass held them back as reinforcements as well as protection for the future."
I nodded just as Jasmine came back with a glass of water. Briefly thanking her, I gulped the water down, relieving my throats of its parchedness.
"I'll fetch Longbottom, he'll want to speak to you," Killian said.
"What? Why?" I asked.
"He thinks you're our leader and considering what you did, you might as well be," he said before leaving.
Jasmine sat down onto the bed next to me. "I'm sorry about before."
"I told you, it's okay. I just want to know, who else came along?" I set down my glass on a table next to my bed.
"Well, me, Killian, Mariella, Devon and Vince." She listed, counting off on her hand.
"I'm surprised Nat didn't come," I said.
"She was going to, but Astoria suggested that she remained behind as an acting leader now that you're gone," Jasmine replied.
"Lockwood, I see you're awake." A voice greeted me.
"Longbottom," I responded curtly.
He stood awkwardly at the foot of my bed.
"What you did out there, that was brave." He commented.
"Well, I was sick of pretending to love the Dark Arts. And besides, not all Slytherins are Death Eaters. Even the ones that do, many of them join because of their family." I shrugged.
Longbottom's eyes widened in revelation. "I never thought- I just- I assumed-" He stuttered.
"That all Slytherins loved the Dark Arts, hate muggles and muggleborns and are all Death Eaters." I finished for him.
Ashamed, he stared at the floor.
"Well, we are not all like that. Some of us stand on your side Longbottom. Don't forget that." Killian cut in, his voice trembling in anger.
"I know, I'm sorry. But you Slytherins haven't exactly been the nicest to us." He said defensively.
"Us? Not being nice to you? You guys are the ones that haven't been nice to us!" Jasmine glared at Longbottom.
"Okay, okay. We haven't been kind to each other in the past, but that's the past now. Let bygones be bygones, alright?" I cut in, attempting to diffuse the building tension.
Longbottom sighed, "You're right, I'm sorry."
Staring at Jasmine, she gave me a look. I raised my eyebrows.
"Fine, fine. I'm sorry too," she grumbled.
"Now that that's out of the way," I said. "Longbottom."
"Lockwood?" He replied confusedly.
"Alliance?" I held my hand out.
Grasping hold of my hand, he shook it firmly.
"Alliance."
With this alliance, I will prove that Slytherins are better than those who have fallen to the seductive nature of power. That we are more than selfish, bigoted pricks.
We are Slytherins, cunning and ambitious, resourceful and determined.