Disclaimer: I do not own the world of Harry Potter. If I did, I'd be like freaking rich.
A/n: Disenchanted is just a working title. May later change.
Prompt: That Is Enough (#5)
"Hey, you know they're all the same,
You know you're doing better on your own,
So don't buy in.
Live right now, just be yourself.
It doesn't matter if its good enough for someone else."
-The Middle by Jimmy Eat World
September 1991
Tracey Davis shut the stall, for a moment standing with her hands against the stall door as if to make sure it was properly shut before sitting on the closed toilet lid. Panting for breath, she dropped her satchel next to her and propped her elbows on her knees before placing her head in her hands.
She'd been in school for a little over three weeks and thus far, it hadn't been a pleasant experience. Though she had known what she'd be getting into by choosing Slytherin House, somehow she had hoped that she was simply being pessimistic. Unfortunately, she was right in thinking that even in Hogwarts and in Slytherin, she'd be an outcast.
Not having any friends was frankly something that Tracey was actually used to. Considering that she had to attend a muggle, Catholic school and had a fiery temper that made outbursts of accidental magic somewhat frequent, she'd often been treated like a freak or as though she were a demon by other children in school.
Though, at least in Catholic school, the other kids were too afraid of her to approach her. In Hogwarts, there was no such advantage being as her House mates could also do magic. The moment that they all found out that she had an older sister in Ravenclaw and that it was no secret that her father was a wizard while their mother was a muggle... well her year mates hadn't taken it kindly.
Tracey wasn't exactly intimidated by the antics of her House mates and would have in fact retaliated already, were it not for her Head of House. Something told her he was not a man to cross, and he'd made it very clear to them in the first week of school that he would not tolerate any kind of misbehavior on the part of his students.
Tracey may have been headstrong and stubborn at times, but she was by no means stupid. And while her peers might be content to disobey, Tracey was not risking being expelled from Hogwarts, no matter how miserable she was at school.
She supposed what she really should do was inform her Head of House of the bullying she was being subjected to, but somehow she didn't think there was much he'd be able to really do about it and that it would probably only make the bullying worse. Besides... Professor Snape wasn't the kind of man that inspired that sort of trust and Tracey had heard rumours from older students what detentions with Snape could be like. She wanted to believe it wasn't true... the bit about the caning, but she'd gone to a catholic school and had received strikes from a ruler across the palms of her hands a couple of times. It had stung and those were women and nuns! She hated to think of what Professor Snape was capable of.
Luck was not on Tracey's side, though. Just then, the door of the lavatory opened. Tracey quickly pulled up her feet as she tried to breathe soundlessly as she strained to hear the footsteps.
"Where do you think the filthy half-blood got to?" Pansy asked in a petulant sort of tone.
"She couldn't have gotten far," Daphne stated in a bored tone.
"Millie, go check the stalls," Pansy commanded. Tracey listened to the sound of lumbering footsteps and jumped, as the sound of a door being banged open. Tracey felt her heart pick up it's pace, knowing that at this rate, it was only going to be a matter of time. "I think people like Tracey and her sister should still be called mudbloods. I mean it is one thing for both of your parents to be magical and not from prestigious bloodlines, but it is another if only one of your parents is magical."
Not sure at what point, Tracey's hands had tightened into fists and it was no longer fear that she was ruled by. Instead, she felt her skin getting far too hot as her teeth were gritted together.
"How are they even related? Tracey's sister seems far too pretty for them to be related," Daphne stated, in a tone that was icy cold and tinged with a bit of envy.
However, before anything more could be exchanged, the door of her stall banged open. Looking up, Tracey's grey-green eyes met Millicent Bulstrodes, plain brown set. Before Tracey knew what she was doing or a triumphant smirk fully covered Millicent's face, Tracey reacted. Leaping out of her seat and throwing herself at Millicent, she got the larger girl around the middle and the both went tumbling down.
Tracey being the lighter and quicker of the two, and having the advantage of being both charged by her anger and not being caught by surprise, was the first to gather her bearings. Sitting on top of Millicent and using her body weight, she pinned the bigger girl down by settling on her chest. In her hands, she gathered Millicent's thick, dark-brown hair into her fists and with a growl from deep in her throat proceeded to attempt to slam Millicent's head into the ground. She only got in one good slam before she felt Pansy and Daphne grabbing her arms and hauling her away.
Acting on instinct, Tracey elbowed Daphne hard in the ribs, causing the girl to let her go with a pained oomph.
The strawberry-blonde girl doubled over in pain and backed away from Tracey, as Tracey proceeded to turn her full attention to Pansy as Millicent was still rolling on the floor holding her head. Tracey hand quickly shot out and latched on tightly to the top of Pansy's left ear, catching some hairs in the process. She proceeded to twist and pull until Pansy was bent to the side and screeching in pain with tears gathering in her eyes.
Pansy's shrieks of pain were clearly loud enough to draw attention as the door into the lavatory opened once more and hurried footsteps entered. "What is going on here?" Professor Quirrel asked in his nervous voice, looking pale and very confused.
However, Tracey didn't hear. Her fight or flight instincts still in control as she continued to maintain a vice grip on Pansy, despite the fact that Pansy had dug her nails into Tracey and was trying to gauge at her in her attempt to disengage her hand.
"Miss D-Davis, let go at o-once," Professor Quirrel commanded in a stutter as he helped Millicent to her feet. However, Tracey ignored the command, unaware of who was speaking to her and unwilling to relinquish her hold on Pansy, her number one tormentor; the ring-leader of the group.
It was only until Professor Quirrel approached her that Tracey let go. Unaware of who was approaching her and thinking it was an attack from either Daphne or Millicent, Tracey spun around and reeled her right leg for a vicious kick. It was until it connected that her eyes caught up with the fact at who she had just kicked.
Her eyes widened in horror as she watched Professor Quirrel's hands dart to the area between his legs before falling onto his knees. "Oh my god!" Tracey exclaimed as Professor Quirrel dry heaved on his hands and knees. "I'm sooooo sorry," she stated, her Irish lilt thick as she watched Professor Quirrel attempt to breath as he remained on all fours with his head bent.
"P-P-Prof-f-fessor S-S-SNAPE. N-NOW!"
XX
Tracey felt herself trembling as she felt Professor Snape's gaze at last come to rest on her. After Professor Quirrel had recovered, he'd walked them all down to Professor Snape's office and explained to him what he had walked in on. At which point Professor Snape told him to leave before Pansy, Daphne and Millicent were asked for their versions of the events, the latter twos coinciding with Pansy's.
"We were just going to the lavatory and talking when Davis suddenly came out of one of the stalls and started attacking Millie. Daphne and I attempted to pull Davis off her, but it was like she was a rabid dog! She started attacking us, just as she did with Professor Quirrel when he came in," Pansy had stated with tears in her eyes.
"I think she's mentally unstable," Daphne had added after corroborating Pansy's lies.
"It's just like Pansy and Daph say. Complete nutter she is," Millie had merely grunted, shooting a furtive glare at Tracey.
"Miss Davis, what have you got to say to yourself?" Professor Snape had asked in a low, cold tone. Tracey didn't say anything in response to this, unsure what to say. For a moment, she contemplated not saying anything, knowing it would be worse for her if she tried to defend herself. After all, it was her word against three other girls, who was Snape really going to believe?
But then it struck her, that she really had no other choice. She was likely already facing expulsion, so what was the point of keeping it all to herself?
"They deserved it," she stated in a quiet tone that she wasn't sure anyone had heard as her hands clenched into fists and tears stung her eyes.
"What? Look at me when you address me," Professor Snape snapped.
Reluctantly, Tracey looked up and though her heart was in her throat, she looked Snape straight in the eye, even if it was through a fringe of straight hair.
"I said, they deserved it," Tracey spat, anger making her tone louder and stronger and her lilt more noticeable. "They've been picking on me for weeks! At first it was just name-calling; then my stuff going missing like my books, or shoes or robes; then they started ruining my assignments. The other day after Herbology, when we were walking back to the castle they started pulling at my skirt, pulling it up. Everyone saw my underwear and started laughing at it like it was just a harmless joke, even some of the Hufflepuffs saw it too! And then... all my knickers went missing!
"I couldn't take it anymore and they deserve what they got," Tracey finished, panting heavily as she finished.
"I see," Professor Snape said in a dangerously low voice as his eyes slowly moved from Tracey to look at the three girls standing to her left as they each swallowed the sudden lump in their throat.
"I gather that you do not understand what it means to be a Slytherin yet," he started as he rounding on the three other girls. "You do not pick on your fellow house-mates," he nearly snarled at them before snapping his gaze to Tracey, "And no matter your differences, you do not enter physical altercations with them, no matter the provocation."
Tracey started to protest, just as the other three girls did, but they were all immediately silenced by one look form their Head of House.
"No matter your personal differences, you have all been chosen for Slytherin and while it is a prestigious House, more so than the others, you are at a considerable disadvantage. Slytherin is vastly disliked and in case you have not noticed, our House is outnumbered, which is why Slytherin must always present a united front.
"I don't care about your petty squabbles. I'm not asking you to like each other, but you will tolerate each other and if you can't do that, then ignore each other. However, I expect you to stick up for one another in case the need ever arises. There is strength in numbers and I will not have my House become prey to the like of Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs or Ravenclaws and I will not tolerate bullying between members of my House. Is that understood?"
All four girls nodded, and cast their faces down in shame.
"I will be watching you three very closely and if I so much as suspect that you are giving Miss Davis any trouble again, I will expel you. You may pass that on to the rest of your House-mates as well. There will be no other warnings on the matter," Professor Snape stated. "You will also be serving a months worth of detention and if I hear any complaints it will be an expulsion.
"As for you Miss Davis, while I can appreciate your position, let this be the last time you stoop to a physical altercation. It's barbaric and beneath you. I will expel you next time, understood?" Tracey nodded her head simply, her eyes wide and unable to believe that she was not being expelled. "You too will be serving a month's worth of detention and I will be writing home to all of your parents. You are all dismissed."
Tracey held her breath as she walked out and followed the other girl's towards Slytherin. She felt tense as she walked along behind them, however, they all maintained their silence and while they each shot her dirty looks, they said and did nothing more. Tracey sighed in relief as she headed to her dorm and sprawled on her bed, almost afraid to believe that perhaps it was now over.
XX
Tracey felt a hand clamp around her arm just as she was about to enter the Great Hall for Dinner. She felt her heart jump into her throat until she looked up and found herself staring at a familiar face.
Standing at a lofty five feet and ten inches, with waist-length, perfectly straight brown hair was her sister, Morgana. Tracey stared up with a grimace at her beautiful, older sister.
Though they were only three years apart in age, Morgana being three years older, the Davis girls had never been particularly close. While there was a time when Tracey was very small that she allowed Morgana to tote her around like a doll and dress her up and do with her as she pleased, Tracey had grown out of that when she was six and that's when the fighting started as they both had strong wills and tempers (Tracey's temper being worse).
Of course, it was never particularly even-matched, being as Morgana was older and taller. And considering the fact that Morgana was mother's favorite and daddy's princess, it was only Tracey who ever got into trouble.
Tracey resented Morgana slightly, especially as Morgana with her good-looks and good-grades had everyone fooled. However, Tracey knew Morgana had a mean and fierce streak that made it's appearance every now and then. Usually in Tracey's general direction.
"What's this I hear you got into a fight?" Morgana snapped, crossing her arms over her chest, which at fourteen, was rather well-developed. Morgana had been an early bloomer.
Tracey crossed her arms over her own, flat chest. "It's none of your business."
"Mum and dad are going to kill you!" Morgana exclaimed, her emerald green eyes flashing for a moment.
"I'm sure you would like that," Tracey muttered under her breath. It wasn't really that she thought that Morgana hated her, but Tracey knew that for some reason her existence rubbed Morgana the wrong way. At least, it seemed that was the case ever since Morgana started going to Hogwarts. Tracey supposed that she didn't help matters. She took particular pleasure annoying the crap out of her older sister.
"What?" Morgana asked sharply, her eyes once more flashing, this time promising pain.
"I was defending myself. Dad will understand that, he's always said we shouldn't let people pick on us, that we need to stand up for ourselves," Tracey stated loudly, not really wanting to be on the end of Morgana's anger. Though she usually enjoyed antagonizing her sister, she knew that she shouldn't push it. Especially not at Hogwarts where Morgana was allowed to use magic.
"Who's picking on you?" Morgana suddenly asked, straightening her spine and looking very affronted. Tracey eyed her sister warily. Morgana, even if Tracey annoyed the hell out of her, still loved her little sister and felt fiercely protective of her.
"Dont worry about it Morg," Tracey stated. Morgana looked like she wasn't about to give this up so Tracey went on, "Professor Snape took care of it."
"Was it those three little twats in your year?" Tracey couldn't help the grin that suddenly spread across her face. It was only at times like these, when Morgana let her facade of perfection slip that Tracey felt proud of being her sister. "Don't answer that, I know it's them. I'll straighten those little shits out, just in case they didn't get Snape's message."
Tracey shook her head at her sister. "Sometimes I wonder that you're not in Slytherin."
"The hat did offer me Slytherin, but I declined. I didn't think I could deal with the stigma," Morgana replied before ruffling Tracey's hair. "I guess that means you're the one made of better stuff, huh Doll?"
Tracey's eyes widened in surprise, for the moment not being too stunned to care that Morgana had mussed her hair, as she watched her older sister flounce off without another word.
TBC...
