Author's Note: Hello my lovely readers! It's round 2 in the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition and the theme is Jurasic Park. My position, Chaser one has the challenge of writing a story about a 'light' character protecting themselves. I also had to use some bonus prompts, of which I chose: (word) Ancient, (colour) Turquoise, and (colour) Light Grey. I hope you enjoy!
Go Wasps go!
Word Count without A/N: 2,347
Word Count with A/N: 2,497
She had said it would be fun. She'd said it would be an adventure. Arthur, on the other hand, hadn't been so sure. But she had convinced him that everything would be fine, they would talk and laugh, and you always remember most fondly those spontaneous and risky moments. He was excited by the end of her prodding, excited for a new experience.
If only she'd taken his concern seriously.
Arthur Weasley, fellow Gryffindor, had a wild curiosity, but a gentleness that seemed to counterbalance her side of daring adventure. There was something about him that caught her eye from the start. Having been dating him for a few months, she was restless, wanted something fresh, new, exciting, and this, she had thought, would be perfect.
She should have listened.
Sure, they'd been having a wonderful time, but that had ended rather quickly when they had spotted Apollyon Pringle, the Hogwarts caretaker, marching towards them.
"Molly, hide," Arthur whispered frantically.
"What?"
"Go, now," he ordered. "Only one of us needs to be caught."
"I'm not going to leave you," Molly insisted, glancing over her shoulder at the nearing threat.
They should be running! They should be trying to escape!
"He's seen someone down here. You need to hide." Arthur scanned the area around them. "Behind that tree!" He gestured to the thick trunk that stood a few strides away.
She looked at him, feeling helpless but not wanting to abandon him to face this alone. The walk had been her idea after all!
"Please. Molly, stay here. It won't do any good if you're needlessly caught too," he told her.
His eyes, gentle and caring, pleaded with her.
"Okay," Molly agreed reluctantly, moving into her hiding place.
She nodded, and he sent her a half smile.
"Meet me in the common room!" Arthur said as he dashed away.
He ran but didn't get far.
Molly knew the moment he was caught. She heard him tumble to the ground and the sounds of scrambling feet painted the picture of a cornered Arthur vividly in her mind. It was like a noose tightening around her heart as she thought about what was about to happen.
She told herself he would be fine. It wasn't as though Pringle could do anything more serious than the 'appropriate' corporal punishment. But she couldn't quell the feeling of guilt that was filling her very soul.
Molly heard the first thwack of the nasty man's cane, and her hands came up to cover her mouth in an attempt to prevent herself from screaming.
"Someone hates you a whole lot, Weasley! A little note told me where you'd be!" Pringle screeched, followed by another smack and a cry from Arthur.
"Were you with someone? Planning? Scheming?" the man continued. "You kids are always the same!" And he hit Arthur again.
Molly squeezed her eyes shut, but that didn't stop the sound of the beating from reaching her ears.
She should have never allowed this to happen. It was her fault! She'd convinced him this was a good idea. She was the one who thought this would be fun, a moment to remember forever. He didn't want to do it. He hadn't thought it was worth the risk. She wouldn't listen.
Molly took a deep breath, feeling hot tears stream down her cheeks. It was of no use dwelling on what should, or should not, have happened.
She needed to focus on what she could do now. What could she do to get him out of this mess? Every thud of another blow, every cry from Arthur, was like a dagger. But she knew that nothing good could come of stepping in. Oh, how she wished to hex the man! And the restraint was becoming less with every crack of that horrible cane.
Pringle's words repeated over and over in her head. A little note told me. Someone had tipped him off. Someone had told Pringle where they were, and the thought made her blood boil.
Out of the corner of her eye, Molly saw her, and everything made sense; Bellatrix Black. She was using this as a distraction to get past Pringle. Sneaking across the grass toward the forest, the dark girl stopped for a moment to watch the beating. Molly swore she saw her smile before heading on her way once more.
That was it. Something snapped inside, and rage painted her vision red. Bellatrix had something to do with this.
Molly didn't know much about the girl. Bella was a year below her, but she was very proud of her heritage and openly prejudiced against those with differing blood status or even those with differing views in that respect. Molly herself was quite open in her belief of equality and knew Arthur was the same. She hadn't thought too seriously about the consequences of such beliefs and had heard the rumors of what certain people fancied to do, but even now, she stood by her convictions.
Bellatrix was one of those Slytherins known for doing horrible things to other students and, somehow, had always gotten away with it.
Not tonight. Molly would not let that treacherous girl get away with hurting her and her friends. She never thought of herself as a particularly violent or vengeful person, but when it came to the people she cared about, that was where she drew the line.
It wasn't as though she was of any help to Arthur now, and Pringle was so occupied that Molly knew he wouldn't notice her if she left her hiding place. Bella's actions might have been well hidden from the eyes of the professors, but Molly could not stand there and give her a free pass.
Her heart thudded wildly in her chest as her feet beat a path towards the younger girl, wand gripped tightly in her fist. She squinted through the darkness, keeping her eyes trained on the witch who had ruined her night and hurt Arthur.
Bellatrix glanced behind her, let out a small laugh, and ran into the forest.
Molly paused for a moment at the odd behaviour. The girl knew she had been discovered, knew she was being followed, and laughed. A shiver ran up Molly's spine. Something didn't feel right. Standing at the treeline, staring into shadows of the forest, she chewed her bottom lip nervously, considering her options. Did she really want to follow Bellatrix in there? It was the most terrifying place at Hogwarts. There was a reason it was forbidden.
But she hurt Arthur.
She hurt Arthur.
Molly was not going to let her get away with it.
With another deep breath to settle her thoughts and her nerves, she marched after Bellatrix.
Little did she know, this was exactly what Bella wanted.
Under the dark cover of the thick leaves overhead, Molly was met with a wand and a grin.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
Molly was suddenly lifted off her feet, her wand dropping to the ground as she was jerked upwards and left to hang in the air, feet flailing in a vain attempt to break free from the spell.
"Molly, Molly, Molly," Bellatrix taunted, her voice smooth and calm.
No. This wasn't what Molly thought would happen. Fear spread through her blood like a poison.
"Wait 'till the others hear. They've wanted to get to you and Weasley for quite some time." She giggled. "They'll be so jealous."
This was not the time to freeze. Molly came here to defend Arthur, but now, she would have to defend herself.
"What do you want?" she asked, willing her voice to be steady.
"Well, I wanted a little time to practice some... real magic, and a short note was all it took to give me passage," she sneered. "I saw you leave the castle. Was on my way out myself, and you just made it far too easy. Much less sneaking involved when the caretaker is already busy." She tapped her wand on her cheek as though considering her next statement. "I'm going to share a little secret. Light magic is so… weak. I'm learning to become so much stronger. Daddy's teaching me the dark stuff, the real magic. The powerful magic."
Molly felt the bile rising in her stomach. The girl was bragging about learning to inflict pain, to kill.
"You see, something's coming." Bellatrix paused. "Someone, in fact. I must be ready. So I come out here at night," she gestured to the darkness around them. "But tonight," she smiled, "tonight you came after me, and oh, what a delight it is to have a subject to practice on." Bella chuckled. "And to top it all off, I get to show a blood traitor her place!"
Molly glared, hoping to show that she wasn't afraid of the threat, even if she was truly terrified.
Bella laughed at her terrible show of unaffectedness. "Oh, how I wish I could use an Unforgivable. It would be such a wonderful time to try it out."
This girl was insane!
"One day." She seemed disappointed. "I'll just have to settle for other spells, equally terrifying. I'm from the most ancient house of Black. We have quite the collection of books about the Dark Arts and a history of using them. And I've learned so much from my dear daddy. There are many other ways I can cause you pain."
With a flick of her wand, Molly was sent flying, falling with a thud against a tree.
She coughed and struggled for breath, the air knocked from her lungs, as she pushed herself up to her hands and knees. Pressing one hand to her head, she felt the bump already starting to form on her aching skull.
Where was her wand? Narrowing her eyes she felt her way along the ground only to be tossed back against the tree once again.
"I wonder what poor Arthur is thinking now," Bellatrix taunted. "Must be furious. It was your idea, wasn't it? Can't see that boy doing anything of the sort."
It was Molly's fault that they were outside. She had pressed the idea, convinced Arthur it would be great.
"Reducto!"
Molly dove to the right, covering her head with her arms as the towering tree was destroyed, the rough bark being reduced to a light grey mist showering down around them.
"You're the one who allowed me such an… opportunity," Bella continued. "I wanted to thank you for such a wonderful idea. It's turned out splendid. Well, for me at least."
It had been great. Molly realized that they had fun, they had a good time, and that was her doing. In that moment, she saw what really happened. It was her fault they had a nice time, it was her fault they had run and danced under the stars. It was Bellatrix who had turned it for the worst. It was Bellatrix who fed off Molly's guilt, off Arthur's pain.
Hearing Bella's footsteps coming closer, she knew she needed to do something now.
Don't panic. Breathe. Focus. Focus on the wand, she told herself. Closing her eyes and steadying her speeding heart with a deep breath, she reached out a hand, thinking only of her wand in her palm, of feeling the smooth wood against her skin.
"Accio, wand!"
Molly's eyes went wide with surprise when she felt the wood soar into her grasp. She hadn't expected that to work, but was beyond glad it did.
With a newly found strength, she rose to her feet, aiming her wand at the evil girl.
"Not my fault, yours." A fire burned within her as she stared down Bellatrix Black, the fear replaced with determination. "Know your place, bitch," and she fired the first spell that came to her mind, "Caeruleum Pellis!"
The look of confusion that followed was quickly replaced by rage as Bellatrix realized that her skin had been turned turquoise. The girl shrieked in anger.
"How dare you! I am a member of the noble family of Black! You've made yourself a very dangerous enemy!" the girl screamed.
Molly ran.
Stumbling over the uneven ground, she lunged from side to side, pulling herself behind a tree as spell after spell lighted the shadows.
There was a moment of quiet where Molly could hear the sound of crunching leaves beneath feet and heavy breathing. She'd angered the beast, and there was only one way she was going to make it out of the forest without any further injury. And she would take great pleasure in it.
The footfalls came closer, and Molly tried to sense how far away she might be. She needed her a little closer, unsuspecting.
Another step.
A little bit closer.
One more.
And Molly burst from behind the tree, "Stupefy!"
The blue girl fell with a stiff thunk. No gasp of surprise or cry of pain as she hit the ground, only the sound of an unconscious body dropping to the floor. Oh, she deserved so much worse!
Molly knelt down beside her turquoise form, face down in the dirt. "That was for Arthur," she whispered before turning to leave the wretched forest behind.
It was four in the morning by the time she made it back to the Gryffindor Common Room.
Arthur was sitting on the sofa, nursing a bloody lip, which he had apparently bitten, and cradling one arm.
"Are you alright?" Molly asked, coming to sit beside him.
"I'm fine," he replied, brushing off the severe beating he had just been dealt.
"No, you're not-
"Did the Fat Lady give you any trouble?"
"Little telling off, nothing I couldn't handle," she said pulling out her wand for a couple healing spells. "Now sit still. This should at least prevent too much bruising."
"You were right, you know," Arthur told her. "I did have a fun night."
Molly gestured to his obviously painful extremities.
Arthur just smiled.
"Really. I did," he insisted. "And I definitely won't forget it," he added with a laugh.
That was something they could agree on.
It would be a story they could tell for ages.
Thank you so much to my wonderful betas/teammates: AshesGleamandGlow, tonberrys, Lun27, and DaughteroftheOneTrueKing!