I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize or any of the borrowed names or ideas that belong to Harry Potter. I only own the idea and even that was prompted by something I saw on Tumblr. I just like writing. So enjoy!
This is a third edit of it, thanks to Oriondruid for pointing out a few hiccups in the flow of the story and SiriusAura92 for asking me to embellish on descriptions and character development, it is much appreciated! :D
"But mate, you're a Slytherin, you can't fight in a big battle like that," Blaise casually said as he tossed a stolen Quaffle up in the air. There had been talk of a big battle brewing inside the castle. Harry Potter was supposedly going to come back and defeat the Dark Lord. Not that I personally wanted to call him the Dark Lord- that was out of habit. I'd heard that in reference to him all of my life. Somehow I just couldn't force myself to call him You-Know-Who or even Lord Voldemort.
And why should I call him anything in the first place? I didn't know him in a way to call him the Dark Lord. I didn't know him in a way to call him Tom Riddle. I didn't know him in a way to call him Lord Voldemort. I didn't regard him as a Lord, so why would I call him as such? But to call him You-Know-Who was to be afraid and timid of the even sounds of his name. I wasn't so much afraid, just more preserved in my regards to him.
"And why not?" I rebutted, jumping off my bed to intercept the Quaffle. I was a fair keeper, and I never let Blaise forget that. He assumed because he was a chaser he was the only one who could handle a Quaffle. But truth be told he wouldn't even have possession of that thing if I weren't there to help him out. The accusation that two honorable Slytherins, by the teachers' standpoint anyhow, would steal a Quaffle was preposterous and clearance from such accusations could only come from me reassuring Professor Snape that Quidditch stayed on the Quidditch field and that I wouldn't possibly endanger my status on the Quidditch team like that. And maybe they knew we had it, but they weren't about to search dormitories to find the ball.
"Are you daft? Your family would disown you. Your mum would insist you apparate home. She wouldn't want her whittle Emanuel getting a boo-boo. And well your dad, he'd probably kill you on the spot if he saw you charge out there," Blaise replied, prodding at the subject of my parents. It was true that my mum wouldn't want me getting hurt, but my dad… the thought of that made my skin crawl.
"And who says I'd be on the opposing side of the Dark Lord?" I asked in a huff. I tried to sound big and bad with my usage of the name like that, maybe to win myself back over to that side. I gave up long ago trying to convince it to myself, but I had to make sure the title could still roll off my tongue easily enough for everyone else's sake.
"Manny, Manny, Manny," Blaise started, shaking his head. "You and I are almost similar. I wouldn't want to fight in this battle because fighting is below me and I don't care either way for You-Know-Who. You don't care for him either, but the difference there is that you don't support his beliefs and you are against him."
With that Blaise stole the Quaffle back and jumped to his bed. I was frozen in my place. Was it that obvious? Did it show that I didn't support You-Know-Who? I put up such a front. I'd bad-mouthed Harry Potter for years. I picked on muggle-borns and called them terrible things. I'd even used an unforgivable curse once. I did these things to hide that I didn't like the dark arts and I wanted to do some good in this world.
Some would argue that it bordered insanity. To try that hard to hide what side I was on, that had to mean I was insane. But to most it showed arrogance. My father was known for his arrogance and for me to inherit that was normal, if not expected.
For a while I tried so hard to convince myself. Mud-blood was one of my first words and I could make it roll off my tongue with such spite that I gave myself chills sometimes. I surrounded myself by like-minded people in order to stamp out the rebellion to the other side, or that's what I convinced myself in my early years of Hogwarts. Draco was one to help with that. We practiced curses on first-years like it was the new norm. I spent a summer learning the unforgivables with him. He wasn't the most skilled caster, but he had enough intention behind them to outshine me before I even thought about it. That was how I avoided using one for so long. I put worship in him doing them and he never questioned why I wouldn't cast one. As long as he was around I didn't have to prove myself.
The problem behind that logic was that he wasn't always around. In our third year he spent a time in the hospital wing and I had to fend for myself. I was expected to keep up the reputation we had built for ourselves. He might have been whiney at times, but we were two that people didn't mess with. So I had hoped even with him not by my side no one would mess with us.
And to be fair, the poor kid wasn't messing with me… or anyone. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But once I had him in my grasp I couldn't let him go. That showed weakness, and Emanuel Blishwick was not weak. And when my housemates egged on the usages of curses I used the first that came to my mind. The poor kid withered in pain under the red blast of light that came out of my wand. I hadn't meant it with such vindication that Draco would have and I was certain the kid withered as such due to his small size. But I had done it. I had emitted crucio and the dead carried through. My housemates clapped me on the shoulders in affirmation that I could do it and quickly got me out of the scene before anyone showed up. It was something my father beamed about; I had successfully proven myself in the dark arts at that point.
My life before Hogwarts was filled with knowledge about the dark arts. My dad was a well-known Death Eater and my house had seen many death eaters in it. I didn't go to a muggle primary school before Hogwarts. Instead my mum taught me how to be superior to muggles. I learned magic theory from the age of five. I could name curses by the age of eight. I was a pure blood for god sakes. A Blishwick. That was a respectable name in the wizarding world. And if things were to go right I would be marrying a pure blood called Tracey Davis sometime in the near future. We fancied each other and her parents were good friends with mine. It would carry on the pureblood gene and above all that was what mattered to everyone.
So where did I go wrong? I was sorted into Slytherin like my entire family. The sorting hat didn't even contemplate it. I was cunning and shrewd. Those were two great qualities of a Slytherin. But somewhere early on I decided I couldn't be a dark wizard. Maybe it was seeing Draco constantly putting the dark arts in such high regards in a tone that made any sane person recoil or maybe it was his constant calling Harry Potter and his friends' bad things. It just wasn't necessary.
Around my fourth year, after hearing Harry Potter announce the Dark Lord was back while holding Cedric Diggory's dead body, I knew then I didn't want to be a death eater. I didn't want to kill innocent people who had done me no harm. I couldn't follow a man who wanted to destroy great people in this world. I still had nightmares about the poor kid I used an unforgivable on. That wasn't the doing of a dark wizard. And that's why I had to fight in this battle.
"Manny chill. I'm your best mate; of course I know you aren't a dark wizard. You put on a good act though; I don't even think Draco sees through you. Even though he is a bit daft. That's beside the point though. The point is, you cannot fight if there is indeed a battle that will happen here," Blaise continued and flashed a smile at me. I wasn't sure what the smile meant. Was he reassuring me that everything would be fine? Was he trying to use his obvious charm to get me to move on? Blaise had more charm than anyone I had ever met. His smile alone could affect someone like they were being Imperiused. Even if there was no weight behind the charm, Blaise made it seem like he genuinely cared.
I shrugged and lay down on my bed. It was a Saturday and I was stressing about something that probably wasn't even going to happen. The lake water lapped against the windows calmly and resonated longer than usual. It was simply due to the fact that Blaise and I were the only ones in the dormitory at the time and I found it calming. The green silk hangings of the other boys' beds remained untouched and unmoving in the lone space. I let my mind wander to other things. Later today I would find Tracey and we would go find a broom cupboard to snog in or walk around the castle. It would be a fine day and I wouldn't be asked to pick a side. Light or dark, at the moment it didn't matter.
Soon I would graduate from this place. I knew I would score high on all of my N.E.W.T.s. I always made good marks. I wasn't completely sure what I would do once I was out of here. Perhaps pursue a Quidditch career. A few teams had started scouting me, and even though I didn't have an offer yet, it was bound to come soon. And if it didn't I could probably work for the ministry without much hassle. My parents probably wouldn't like it, but I could work in the courts or something. I was good at arguing a point.
"Manny, Blaise, you won't believe what's happening!" a voice yelled out. I opened my eyes to see Tracey standing at the entrance to our chamber.
"Blimey Tracey, I'm not decent," Blaise joked and moved the quaffle to his knickers. I rolled my eyes at him and snorted. As if Tracey cared what he was dressed in. She'd given word that she only looked at me and I was far from worried she'd be swayed by Blaise's physique.
Anything she saw on him was equal to what she saw on me, at least by the standard of our physical condition and stature. We both stood at 186 cm and had a darker complexion. The only thing that separated us more was our compassions. Blaise had none, and I made up for the both of us. That was probably the only thing keeping Tracey as mine, even if I didn't want to admit it.
"You all right, Tracey?" I asked. She seemed a bit excited, but she was a bit of a dramatic girl anyway. To jump up immediately was hardly necessary. For all we knew, she could be clamoring about a new rule put in place by Headmaster Snape. She was one to be excited about them, even when they were something as simple as students must wear a badge displaying blood-status on their robes at all times.
"Just come quick," she insisted and darted out of the chamber as quick as she came. I looked over at Blaise who shrugged and put on some clothes. I had already put my robe on today, as I had been down to breakfast earlier, so I got up and left before Blaise. Him and I weren't doing anything productive anyway, so getting up wasn't too much of an inconvenience even if I didn't see the point in it yet.
It seemed as if the entire Slytherin house was standing in the common room. Normally the green glow of the room was calming. I'd spent many days staring out the windows at the lake, letting the green glow envelop me. But today it gave a grim look over the entire room. The dungeon looked like a dungeon today. The dark feel to the room was betraying to my emotions today. Maybe that was because I no longer felt welcome here, or maybe I was just opening my eyes for the first time to my surroundings.
Though students covered every sofa and empty space that I was used to. Some looked scared; others looked bored. There were even students sitting on the cupboards. Everyone seemed to be looking at Zoe Accrington who was the girl prefect of our house. Roy Murton, the boy prefect, was consoling a scared first year. Zoe was a civil girl who had good parents. I wasn't sure if her parents were death eaters or not, but they did believe in the purity of wizard blood at least. I respected her as my parents expected me to.
"Quiet please, quiet!" Zoe yelled, making the overly loud confused voices simmer down to a muffled buzz. "Thank you. Now I don't want to frighten or anger any of you, but there is a rumor going around that Harry Potter is somewhere in the castle. As a precaution, Headmaster Snape has asked all of the houses to report to the Great Hall for questioning. I know none of us are hiding Potter under your bed so there is nothing to fear. Please follow me to the Great Hall."
Harry Potter was in the castle? This couldn't be happening. This shouldn't be happening. The buzz of voices got louder again and drowned out most of my thoughts. A hand gripped my arm making me jump. I looked to my right to see Tracey holding onto me and smiled weakly at her. She had no idea if I had to choose I would turn on my family. She believed I would follow them. She wasn't fond of me being a death eater, but once we had talked about it and she believed it was normal for me to become one and would love me all the same. I'm sure now she thought that my nervousness was just because I was worried about Harry Potter being in the castle, and what that would mean for myself. It's supposed to be a trait all Slytherins have, right, which we only care about ourselves?
Our relationship was a pretty open one, and we had been dating since fifth year, but there were still things I hadn't shared with her. I knew she wasn't going to become a death eater, but it was expected for me to become one. I knew she wanted to write for the Daily Prophet. She wrote fairly well, or at least as well as I had seen various things from the Daily Prophet, and I encouraged her to go for that. She could probably do anything she wanted really. She was the one always pushing me to study so her marks were even higher than mine. She was bloody brilliant. What kind of guy would I be if I controlled what I wanted her to do with her life? That felt more like what my father would do and I really didn't want to think about that.
And above blood-status she was a knockout. She'd filled out nicely over the years, and I had been privy to her hourglass figure enough to know that under her robes she could prove herself attractive. Her blue eyes would bat every time she wanted me around her finger and her bronze hair shimmered in even the dullest of lights. It would have been foolish of me to overlook her beauty and just see her blood-status.
I remained silent the entire way to the Great Hall. It was only up one flight of stairs and down a hallway, but it seemed longer. Blaise kept glancing at him from the corner of his eyes. And although it was hard to read his emotions most of the time, I could tell he was nervous for me. We had just been joking around earlier and hadn't actually thought this would happen.
We were the first house to arrive to the Great Hall and Headmaster Snape smiled grimly at us. I had known him since about my birth, or there near it. Him and my parents had gone to Hogwarts together and had been friendly to him as they were near the same year. They spoke highly of him and disregarded his cold nature as being a levelheaded thinker. And I had grown to respect the man as well. Even if his faith was questionable, he was someone to keep on good terms with. He made appearances at my birthday parties in my early childhood and I was exceedingly well, if not outstanding, at potions. I enjoyed his subject almost the most out of all of them. My favorite was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but not many people knew that.
I tore away from the headmaster's grim smile. I was almost afraid he'd notice my change in alliance and single me out. It was foolish, I was but one in a sea of green, but the thought kept me from looking the man in the eyes.
Even the Great Hall seemed different to me. The enchanted ceiling was uneasy and stormy looking, as if it would rain any second. The walls seemed bare and cold, but perhaps that was due to it being near dusk. It was unnerving, and it wasn't the same place I'd eaten meals, received parcels, and chatted with housemates.
Slowly but surely all of the other houses piled in and I, like many other students, searched for Harry Potter in the crowd. Everyone was eyeing the Gryffindors, as it would be their house he would be hiding in, if he were really here. Why wouldn't he though? It was his house, and Gryffindors were loyal and proud people. Sometimes I wished I were a Gryffindor. Sure I didn't have the stupid bravery trait, but Gryffindor was the highest house as far as honor came. Maybe not in my home, but in the eyes of the wizarding world it was. And good people came from the house. Maybe it showed that I wasn't meant to be good, but I often wished I could talk to the Sorting Hat and find out why I wasn't in Gryffindor. If I truly weren't bad Gryffindor would have proven it. Even if my parents had disowned me it wouldn't be such a struggle now to decide the right thing.
And I knew it was the right thing. There was no other way. Killing innocent people was not right. Blood status did not matter that much. The unforgivable curses were unforgivable for a reason.
"Now all of you know why I have called you here," Headmaster Snape started. "It seems as if Harry Potter is in the castle. If he is here, I expect him to show himself and not be the coward his father was!"
Everyone remained silent. No one would dare speak out against the headmaster, especially not at a time like this. Even the Gryffindors knew better and they were constantly losing points and getting beaten because of speaking out.
"My father was not a coward!" A voice yelled out starling everyone in the hall. Harry Potter stepped out of the crowd and stared at the headmaster with cold eyes. His hand was gripped around his wand and he looked as if he would fire a spell at any moment. I, like many people, had dropped mouths and were startled beyond measure. We hadn't really expected Harry Potter to cry out like that. Sure I had heard all about his rash outburst from fifth year and was even there to witness some of them, but this one felt completely stupid. That was probably just my preservation kicking in where a Gryffindor seemed to lack though. I knew when to hold my tongue.
I wasn't the first to question Harry Potter's intelligence. We had all heard where he came from: a muggle family who would beat him for speaking out. Where he learned to do so was a baffle to me. And to speak out about a father he never knew, that seemed beyond stupid. Sure, it wasn't his fault he didn't know his father, but why cry out a claim that he wasn't a coward if he hadn't truly known him?
What happened next was a complete blur to me. Someone attacked someone else, professor McGonagall stepped in front of Harry Potter and fired a spell somewhere and everyone was scattering. I stood frozen for a moment before Tracey grabbed me and moved me out of the way. I heard something about all Slytherins needing to go back to their dormitory and found myself being dragged down the corridor.
"No," I exclaimed and shook Tracey's grip. She looked at me with wide eyes.
"Manny, what are you doing? We have to go back to the common room," she pleaded and grabbed my arm again. I shook her off and shook my head.
"Tracey I can't. I must fight," a voice that sounded unlike my own said. A tear escaped her eyes. I brushed it away and encased her in a hug. She smelled of cinnamon and I honestly didn't want to let go of her.
"I understand," she said in a shaky tone and pulled away slightly. I was already cold from her absence. "I knew you would need to. Please be careful. I love you."
"I love you too," I replied and pulled her back to me for a kiss. It was a demanding kiss, as I didn't know if I would ever kiss her again. She pulled away slowly and looked at me with tears in her eyes.
"I know you aren't bad," she whispered and ran off down the corridor. So that's why she was so upset? She knew I wouldn't return from this because of the side I chose to be on. My brain froze for a moment and was interrupted by a loud crash was somewhere behind me. I snapped out of whatever trance I had been in and darted back into the Great Hall.
"Emanuel Blishwick, what are you doing here? I thought I instructed all Slytherins to return to their dormitory," professor McGonagall yelled at me as I entered.
"Professor," I started, choosing my words carefully. "With all due respect, I want to fight. I am of age and I don't think I should sit back and watch our world be taken over by dark wizards."
She smiled at me and nodded. "In that case, I ask you to be aware of your decision."
I didn't have anything to say to that. I knew exactly what she was telling me and I didn't know if I could reply to that. Instead I nodded at her and ripped off my Slytherin robe. I tore off the green and silver tie and was left standing in a standard Hogwarts vest and slacks. I knew people would still know me as a Slytherin but I was much more than that and I wanted to prove I had honor. It wasn't that Slytherin was a completely bad house, but at this moment donning that claim would only get curses fired at me by the group I wanted to help.
I immediately ran to a group of Gryffindors who were huddled near the edge of the room. I knew them to be somewhat close to Harry Potter and I wanted to prove I was on their side. They seemed confused and froze when I approached.
"We don't have a lot of time," I started quickly. "I want to be on your side. I want to fight with you. The death eaters will not tear down this castle."
The group seemed confused still and was silent for a moment. Then one of the guys, Seamus Finnegan, spoke up. "All right, if you say you're one of us, who am I to judge. Here's the plan…"
I listened to Seamus explain what we were going to do but kept looking over my shoulder. Standing near the entrance to the hall stood Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle. They glared at me. I knew one of them would want to throw a curse at me any minute. They were waiting for me to throw a curse at them. I couldn't not do it. I had already decided they were my enemies.
The blonde stared at me with gray eyes, partly confused and partly disgusted. He had been one of my first friends. I couldn't count all of the times he came over to my manor with his mum. While they had tea we played on our brooms in the back courtyard. He had been to parties at my house. We schemed on pulling tricks on muggles that lived in the town beside mine one summer. We had grown distant recently as the years had progressed but I knew we still had the bond of pseudo-brothers. Our fathers were close friends, both serving the Dark- Voldemort. I had to not fear his name. I had to call him what he was.
But now looking directly into Draco's eyes I almost wanted to turn back. I almost wanted to rejoin him and say I was spying and here's what we needed to do. My eyes fell from his. I couldn't do it. I couldn't turn back now. Long ago I had made the choice, and I knew this was what I had to do.
We fought in the Great Hall for a while before Seamus told a boy in Ravenclaw whose name I couldn't remember and me to go to the courtyard; he heard they needed more people out there. We both nodded and ran outside to see a huge line of death eaters coming our way.
At first the voices sounded muffled and ran together. But the closer they got, the clearer the voices became.
I started to recognize some of the voices. I heard my Uncle Kenneth taunting mud-bloods. I heard my cousin Mallory cackling and crying out joyful words. I heard my older brother's best friend Marcus yelling something about today being the day.
And all of a sudden the crowd was in front of us. They all had masks to cover their identities, but they weren't strangers to me. I noticed a tall man with dark curly hair and dark green robes clutching a wand. I recognized that wand. It was the wand that had poked at me and prodded me for three years before I got my own and went to Hogwarts. It was the wand that taught me how to fire a full-body bind jinx when I was merely a first year. The dark curly hair was similar to my own.
Standing next to him was an equally tall man in a gray robe. A smaller woman held onto his arm with her wand in her other hand. Her hands shared the same complexion as mine; they were similar in appearance. The couple's wand arms were opposite, something I'd grown to admire over the years. This was something I knew marked them as soul mates; something I was taught as a child. I glanced down and recognized their shoes. The man had on gray expensive shoes, shoes that I knew were meant for just this occasion. The woman had on boots that I hadn't seen in over a year. The last time I saw them she had left with my father on "strictly business." I knew now what that business was.
I gulped as a tear ran down my face. The boy looked over at me. "Mate, you all right?" he asked in a scared voice. Maybe he thought I was just as scared as he was. Maybe he thought I knew we wouldn't make out of this alive. I couldn't find the words to tell him. My tongue wouldn't move.
I shook my head and let the tear run down my face. How could I tell this boy I didn't know that I was about to fight my mum, dad, and brother?
A/N: This is just meant to be a one-shot so it is finished at this point. Unless a big amount of people want to hear more about Manny, his story is done. This was a little tough to write, as I had to really look at how something like this would affect a kid. I'm not a Slytherin myself, so that adds to the difficulty.
I know it doesn't follow the battle of hogwarts to a T. But I just wanted to focus on Manny and his story so I fudged some of it. This is fanfiction after all.
But even with that I want to hear your criticism. This is the second one-shot I've written, but the first Harry Potter one. So be brutal. Tell me what you think, what I can improve on, etc. I don't have a beta or anyone proofreading at all so if you come across an error or something that sticks out be sure to tell me!
Favorite, review, follow me, whatever you can think of. Don't just read and move on, if you do that I have no idea if this is any good. Even if you tell me you didn't like it I would still appreciate it (as long as you tell me why that is)
Thanks!