The morning light peaks through my wall of deep blue curtains hanging around my beds canopy. My hands travel to my throat, i pause, feeling Marcus' fingers digging into my neck stealing my breath away. It was tender and hurt to touch, throbbed under my fingertips. Tears prick my eyes and I'm thankful that there was no Quidditch practice today, we won the game yesterday and the caption gave us the morning off. I don't think I could face anyone right now with a straight face, not after yesterday. I sat up and stretched, there were bruises on my right arm and wrist. I went to the mirror and saw them. They were red and deep purple, stretching over my neck and under my ears. Marking me, claiming me in a violet way. I ran my fingers over them tracing the purple finger tips and blackened shapes of Marcus' hands. I closed my eyes and just let the afternoon sunlight warm my skin. I still felt cold.
The other girls were long gone, like always. I reached for my wand stashed safely between the pages of my Hogwarts a History book. My wand was midnight black and thirteen inches long. Beautiful, i polished it and felt it's wooden handle, perfect and balanced in my hands. I waved my wand over my arm and cast a glamor to hide the purple black blotches. I moved my wand next to my neck and cast the glamor again. Rising to my feet I stretched and dressed for the day. Saturday mornings were slow and free. I slipped my wand in my sock and walked to the common room intending to eat and spend my day in the library.
"Did you hear about those idiot red heads?" Someone whispered
"No, what do you mean?" someone else asked
"There were two red heads sitting outside the door all night trying to answer the riddles. The Eagle was actually laughing at them. They couldn't get anything right all night. They just left a few hours ago." They laughed and walked away out the door.
I followed closely behind them listening as we headed to the great hall.
The twins stayed all night. They tried to answer the impossible riddles to get to me. Sweet. I wonder why? Holding my hands behind my back I stayed out of the way keeping my head down. I was jerked to the side when someone grabbed my upper arm and dragged me to the side slamming me into the wall. They had pulled me into a corridor off to the side.
It was Marcus. His eyes burned and my heart dropped, I couldn't breath. He was calmly gripping my upper arm covered by my pale long sleeve shirt, it hurt. "I didn't bruise you? Good. I don't need anyone thinking i'm a savage like those traitors. How could you let those filthy Blood Traitors harm me. You laughed with them and you let them come between us. You let them take you" Marcus gripped my upper arms pinning me down against the wall.
"Marcus let me go. You don't have the right to touch me anymore." I pulled away and tried to free myself from his grip. My Quidditch given strength granting me some leverage against his heavier form. I lunged at him throwing him off balance and then stepping back away. He didn't let go but I was no longer held against the wall.
"Why can't i touch you? Are you letting them? You whore! You've been cheating on me haven't you, filthy blood traitor whore!" he screamed at me rushing at me
I stepped back again, afraid.
"You stupid bitch. Are you trying to break up with me for them? You think you can let me go? No. Not in a million years. I was just giving you a little lesson yesterday. Nothing to harsh. As a Ravenclaw you know how to handle a lesson, right?" He tried to push me to the wall and suddenly I was ripped from his arms and placed behind two larger bodies.
"Flint. Didn't we talk to you yesterday about how to treat a lady." Fred told him in a sickly sweet voice, threatening.
"Yes flint. I'm sure my brother Fred here made sure you were well acquainted with our twin fists of fury." George echoed pumping his arms back and forth.
"Shut up you filth. I was speaking to my girlfriend. This is none of your business, so scram before I have to teach you a lesson as well." Marcus reached for his wand and held it in front of him pointed at Fred's chest
I pulled my wand out quickly and pushed past my human wall to hold it against Marcus' throat. "You don't get to threaten them Marcus. Not after they treated me better than you ever did."
"Babe. What do you think you're doing? Sticking up for filth." He sneered, "You really have become their whore."
"You don't get to talk to her that way Flint! She's not a whore. She's a wonderful woman. You never deserved her!" Fred shouted trying to move in front of me.
I looked at Flint with pity. "You know as well as I do that I never held your belief. Now leave before I show you what the skills of a Ravenclaw can do." I looked him in the eyes and pressed my wand deeper into his throat.
"I'll deal with you later Hunn." Marcus pulled away but didn't lower his wand as he backed away
"No, you won't deal with anything. We are over and I never want to speak to you again." I held my wand steady and backed up until I felt Fred and George behind me again.
"Don't worry Hunn I'll see you soon." He walked away leaving me alone with the twin terrors
"Damn Hunn we were supposed to save you not the other way around!"
"Yeah, yeah." I turned away from them and walked to the castle entrance intending to walk.
"Really though we wanted to talk to you about yesterday!" George told me walking next to me slowly.
"Yeah we wanted to say sorry about laughing yesterday. We just thought it was fitting for you and couldn't hold back our laugh of- of…"
"Of shock." George finished
We walked outside as they talked, explaining, or lying i wasn't sure yet.
"Yeah shock. I mean you're an amazing girl! You're a beater for one!"
"Yeah a beater! I've never a girl beater! And a good one at that!" George yelled
"Bloody hell woman you're a skilled Quidditch player and you're tough as nails!"
I paused on the path and let the sun beat down on me warming my hurting tender skin.
"So, what do you want?" I whispered
"Want?"
"Yes. What do you want?"
"We want to be your friend."
"Friends?"
"Don't you have any?" they said together laughing
"No I don't." I told them honestly
"What about your team?"
"No, they only have me on the team as a beater because I'm fast and strong enough to swing the bat. That being said they don't bother me and I can trust them not to bully me."
"That's the worst."
"Why do they treat you so foul?"
"Well it doesn't help my name is Hunn and everyone thinks I don't belong my house. They think that I don't deserve to be in Ravenclaw."
"That's bull." Fred muttered
"Yeah its life Fred. I can't change what others think." The wind blew cool and fresh. I breathed deep and it helped me think clearly.
"Don't worry about them you have us now." They smiled brightly and slung their arms over my shoulders together on each side.
Arms slung over me they practically carried me back into the great hall for lunch. They didn't release me and took me straight to the Gryffindor table. Sitting down they placed me snuggly between them they began to eat with no explanation.
"Fred, George. Who's the Raven?" Another red headed boy asked trough a mouthful of food
Everyone turned to look at me and stared. I looked down and Fred placed food in front of me. "Eat." He said firmly
"This is Hunn. Hunn this is Ron our little brother, Percy our older brother, and the little red haired girl is our younger sister Ginny. Over there is Lee Jordan, then there's Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger they're also family too." George said through a mouthful of eggs and a hand full of sweet bread.
"Hunn?"
"Don't laugh Ronald! She's Ravenclaw's best beater and she just showed Marcus Flint who's boss. So you better believe she can show you a thing or two." Fred said a matter a factly.
Ron looked a little scared and looked away. "Don't be to scared Ron she's a sweetheart really. She's going to be our new partner in crime. Lee is too busy studying and Hunn is too smart as it is so she's going to help us pull all of our pranks for the rest of the year." George told them all.
"George did you even bother to ask her if she wanted to help you pull your pranks?" The girl Hermione asked
"Yeah what if she wanted to have some girl time with us instead of hanging around with you two dunderheads all the time." Ginny said told
"Would you like that Hunn? You can hang out with us if you want. Next weekend is Hogsmeade weekend so we can go shopping and get some sweets. Hermione needs more sugar quills and I could use some chocolate frogs." Ginny asked
I looked at her searching for malicious intent but found none. "Sure I would love to. I haven't been before." I told her honestly
"You've never been to Hogsmeade before?" Lee asked
"No I haven't really had any friends and I never wanted to go by myself." I looked down and away from their judging eyes picking at the food in front of me eating small bites.
Harry Potter looked at me eyes narrowed "How old are you?"
"I'm fifteen and a fifth year. Sixteen over the summer and sixth year after exams in two months."
"So are we!" George and Fred said "We thought you were so much younger seeing as you're so small and short."
"I'm five foot four that's normal!" I countered buttering my toast and biting it agrasivly.
"Wow, five years and never been to Hogsmeade. Don't worry Hunn! We'll all show you a good time!"
"That settles it! we're going to Hogsmeade and we'll show Hunn everything!" George yells and clapped me on the back
"Yeah we can all go together and show you a good time." Fred agreed
I looked at them amazed. They didn't think I was weird. They honestly wanted to spend time with me. That was a first. I cant wait to spend a weekend away from my books.
I looked at her really looked at her and for once I could really see her. My heart skipped. She was a sweet girl, but smart and dangerous too. I looked at George, he has his hand on her back, looking comfortable. Her long dark hair fell past her waist and hung in loose curls. I wanted to touch it. I wanted to get to know her. I knew George felt the same, this strange girl we rescued was something different, something new in our lives and she was going to stay there in one form or another. We'll be her first friends.
