Ultimate Writer Challenge by CrimsonWonder
Write a story about a character with less than 100 fics in the archive
Enjoy!
They called her a sneak. They called her a snitch. They gave her dirty looks in the hallway when she passed them by. In their eyes the boils on her face, which she knew would never truly fade, had been earned. After she told Umbridge about the little group that Potter and his friends made up almost the whole school hated her. She recalled the year before, when Harry had been chosen to participate in the Triwizard Tournament. Had he forgotten what it was like to have the whole school hate him?
Her decision to tell Umbridge about the meetings was a long time in the making. Over the summer, when Harry's stories about Voldemort returning started popping up and Dumbledore defended him, her mother told her that her classmate was crazy. That he didn't know what he was saying. As a representative for the Ministry she was obligated to voice the Ministers opinions of Ministry matters. But Marietta often wondered what her mother really thought about Potter.
Over the summer, only weeks before she was due to go back to school, she dared to speak against what the papers said. Marietta, in a moment of courage, pointed out that none of them had been there that fateful night at the Ministry. Who were they to say what Potter did or didn't see. Her fathers hand went flying at her face before she could even look up from her peas, leaving a mark on her cheek as red as her hair.
She knew from then on that she would be a fool to mention anything about Potter to her family again.
When she got back to school she did everything she could to make her dear friend feel better. Some months into the school year she found herself standing in a cross roads. Cho wanted to join Potter in his foolish little group that aimed to rebel against Umbridge. The idea was stupid and she knew it. But why didn't Cho? She was a Ravenclaw, the few people in school known for being rational. Going against the Ministry was not a smart decision.
Yet she found herself writing her name down on that blasted piece of paper. If she didn't her friend would take her for a coward. Better to be a coward than be an enemy of the government, she though. But after hearing Potter's speech she found a small part of herself wanting to believe the hopeful words he preached. That was her first mistake; believing in Harry Potter.
For the following months she spent more time worrying about what her family would think should they find out than actually learning anything from the meetings. Should they find out she would be in a whole world of trouble. But if she turned them in, ratted them out, she might be able to make the excuse that she joined with the intention of betraying them all along. Maybe then her parents would be proud of her.
In the end she found herself cursing her wicked parents for the influence they had over her. She cursed the kids at school for being so cruel to her for making an impossible decision. And mostly she cursed Harry Potter for making her think that things could change.
