Professor Longbottom finds me in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom on my hands and knees. My side aches as I breathe and my nose and mouth are still bleeding. I was determined to get to my feet by myself but he doesn't allow me. I wince and grit my teeth. I don't know which is more wounded. Me or my pride.
"You should see Madam Pomfrey," he says as he guides me through the room. The conversation ends there and we wander the quiet, deserted, torch-lit corridor in silence. His aloofness is odd but strangely comforting. I don't want to talk. I don't want sympathy.
I'm left with Madam Pomfrey. She cleans me up quickly. My nose isn't broken, but three of my right ribs are and I dislocated two of my fingers. I'm given a small goblet of foul, yellow potion that instantly makes me drowsy. I think it's supposed to help me fall asleep so she can mend my broken bones through a series of spells. I wake up on and off as I hear and feel them cracking and realigning but I'm too tired to do anything but grunt out in pain.
I spend the night in the hospital wing falling in and out of sleep. The potion I drank makes it hard for me to know what is real and what is not. Many unfocused visions flash before me. Fred. Rose. Thestrals. The girl who hit me. The man who told her to.
I don't know where dreams end and reality begins until I see Dom at the foot of my bed. She's blurry and bright. I make the mistake of rubbing my eyes and I shrink as a dull throb diffuses through my right cheek.
I groan and squint against the cloudy light.
"Finally," Dom huffs. She puts her copy of Witch Weekly down. "I thought you were going to be out for the rest of the day. How are you? Do you feel as bad as you look?"
"I dunno," I say testily. "How bad do I look?"
Dom scrunches her nose and tilts her head. "Pretty bloody bad. Your hair's a wreck, your lips are three times their normal size and your cheek is swollen and purple-looking. I'm pretty sure you've got a black eye."
I touch my cheek gingerly and wince. "Well that explains why I can hardly see," I say. "Cheers."
"Sorry." She frowns. "I just wanted you to know...You should also know that practically everyone in the bloody school knows about what happened. People got a real laugh out of it until they saw the state of Nott's nose. That wanker messed it up pretty badly."
I sit up on the bed and flinch as a sharp pain shoots through my side. I don't know if my ribs have healed yet. It doesn't feel like they have. When I pull my cover off I realize that I'm still in the shorts and small top that used to be my school uniform. My body is exposed. Dom gasps and covers her mouth.
"Merlin! That's awful," she says. I don't know what exactly is awful until I get a good look at myself. The skin that covers my right lower ribs is a dark blue. I don't touch it. "I still can't believe he made you fight McLaggen."
"I can't believe they're making us fight period," I reply bitterly. "What good is any of this going to do anyone?"
"McGonagall addressed the issue last night before the feast. Apparently the Ministry thinks we ought to know how to protect ourselves."
"From what?!" I say too quickly. Too loudly. My side throbs and I lean against it to sooth it.
She shrugs. "I don't know but I'm sure Alb has some grim theory he'd love to share. Personally, I think they're making a big deal out of nothing. Everyone who has gotten the disease has deserved it."
"Cheers, Dom."
She rolls her eyes. "Except for you and Alice's mum...And Malfoy, I guess, even though he's an arse. But you know what I meant."
She doesn't know about Aunt Gin. No one knows about Aunt Gin except for me. Aunt Gin didn't deserve it. Lorcan Scamander didn't deserve it.
"I still think they could be out doing something more useful than teaching us how to beat the crap out of each other," I say.
"I don't think it should be mandatory. I mean, there are people who don't need it."
"Yeah, and there are people who don't want it. So I guess it's a good thing I'm quitting school."
Dom picks up her magazine and changes the subject. She won't say it, but I know she doesn't want me to leave. I know because I wouldn't want her to leave. I wouldn't say it either.
Ϟ
I'm dismissed from the infirmary shortly after and we leave to find Professor Slughorn. He changes my skimpy clothing back to my normal robes and I'm given my timetable, which is almost identical to Dom's.
Monday
Free period
Potions
Defense
Tuesday
Herbology
Free period
Charms
Wednesday
Potions
Ancient Runes
Defense against the Dark Arts
Defense
Thursday
Muggle Studies
Free period
Astronomy
Friday
Transfiguration
Potions
Free period
Defense
Dom and I enter the Slytherin common room and I continue to stare at my timetable in disbelief.
"Three days a week?" I squawk and instantly regret it. Sudden movements make my side ache. "We have that stupid Defense class three days a week? What the hell is the Ministry thinking?"
Someone bumps into me from behind and I look up with a glare to see that the someone is Vaughn. He looks at me with cold eyes as he continues through the room. "Excuse you," I snap. But he says nothing.
I look at Dom. "What's he doing in here?"
"I didn't tell you?" She sighs. "You missed everything while you were in the hospital wing. His quarters are down here." She nods towards the wall to our left and I look back to see a door that wasn't there last year. "Teddy's staying in Gryffindor. I reckon they're being put with their old houses."
"Poor Teddy," I say, still looking at the door. "He'll have Molly to deal with."
"It's a shame he wasn't in Slytherin. He could be down here with you," she says.
My face feels like it's on fire when I look at Dom. "Shut up."
She smirks. "He's not with Victoire anymore. Maybe now's your chance."
"I'm about to punch every freckle off of your face," I say.
She's already laughing but my words make her laugh harder. "You can finally be Roxanne Lupin."
I want to melt into the rug from embarrassment. Teddy is- was the first and only bloke I ever had a crush on, and even though I outgrew it ages ago, no one, especially not Dom, will let me live it down.
"I'm really about to knock the Veela out of you," I tell her.
I hear a snort and look to see Charles Nott reclining on an arm chair. I know why he's laughing. Because I got my arse handed to me by McLaggen. My threats are empty.
"I don't know why you're laughing," Dom says. "Roxy may have lost, but you ended up on the floor from tripping over your own gigantic feet."
She mimics his lunge, flailing her arms dramatically, then stops suddenly. "Wanker."
Quickly, she grabs my hand and leads me out of the common room and into the dormitories. Our four posters are side by side and I see that my trunk sits empty at the foot of my bed. Dom must have put my things away for me.
On top of my crisply made bed sits an assortment of outfits- one of which I recognize. It's the short black top with the green swoop and black shorts made out of the same material.
"They're our Defense uniforms," Dom explains. I look up to see her pulling her school robes away. "Go on. Get changed."
"Madam Pomfrey said I should take it easy, remember?" I say, fingering the other articles of clothing. There are a pair of grey sweatpants and a matching grey shirt with a small Slytherin embroiderment on the left side and a pair of black jeans, a black shirt, and thin black jacket.
I'm not sure if we're allowed to pick which ones we want to wear. It doesn't matter anyway, since I don't change at all before leaving. Of course Dom does, and she chooses the small top and tight, short, black shorts. Everyone looks at her.
We meet Rose on the way, who looks more than uncomfortable in her uniform. She too chose the top and shorts, however hers has a yellow swoop instead of green. No doubt to show that she's in Hufflepuff.
"Stop acting so frigid," Dom says. She pries Rose's arms away from her bare midriff. "You look hot."
This doesn't seem to reassure Rose at all and she loosely folds her arms over herself again while asking me how I'm feeling.
When we reach the Defense classroom on the third floor, I'm surprised to see Victoire and Alice. Usually classes are exclusive by year, but from the looks of things, they've bunched sixth and seventh years together.
The room is open, empty and spacious with only a wide blue mat in the middle of the floor.
Dom leads Rose and I over to Alice, who stands with Albus and Scorpius.
"They let you out of the hospital wing already?" Albus asks.
"No, Albus. She's dead. That's actually Roxy's ghost," Dom says. Alice snorts but quickly covers it up as a cough. "Of course they let her out, you idiot. She only got a few broken ribs."
"Really?" says Scorpius. He looks at me with intrigue. "That's all the damage she did? Well, obviously she messed your face up a bit, but it looked a lot worse with the way she was throwing you around."
"I thought you did well," Alice says. "You held your own. Especially against someone so much bigger than you. If it had been me out there against her, I would have cowered."
"So would have Scorpius," Dom laughs.
He rolls his silver eyes. "Probably so, actually, since I refuse to hit a girl."
"Why? You act enough like one who's constantly PMSing."
There's a collective laugh from everyone except Rose that is interrupted by a sudden bang. I jump and wheel around too quickly. My ribs throb and I clutch them protectively as I peek through the crowd.
"Separate yourselves! Now!" I hear Vaughn boom before I actually see him. "Females to my left, males to my right. Form two lines and shut your mouths."
Albus and Scorpius do not hesitate to walk to the other side of the mat. With the bodies thinning, I can see him. He walks, no, he marches through the center of the classroom gripping his wand, his cold eyes focused forward. I'm surprised to see that his tan, muscled arms are exposed instead of covered by this thick black jacket.
He stops at the end of the mat, looks to his right, then to his left and turns on his heel to face the line of female students. He steps towards us and stands in front of a Ravenclaw girl in my year.
"What's your name?" he asks. I start to realize his default tone is that of a yell.
"Elizabeth Goldstein," she says.
He moves to the next. She's a seventh year Hufflepuff.
"And you?"
"Ruby Rickett," she says.
He moves again.
"Giuliana Hooper," the Gryffindor girl says without being asked.
He steps to the next. Apparently his no speaking until spoken to rule doesn't apply to everyone. He continues down the line. Each name bringing him closer to where I stand, between Dom and Rose.
"Alice Longbottom," Alice says.
Vaughn moves in front of Dom, who says, "Dominique Weasley," with pride.
He stands before me. I'm ready to play the silent game, but unfortunately he speaks to me first.
"Why aren't you in your uniform, Weasley?" he snaps.
I ball my hands into fists. I know this is about to hurt. "Madam Pomfrey said I don't have to participate," I shout. It's a bit of a stretch. She didn't say that verbatim. Just that I should take it easy.
"Is anything broken?" I don't reply. "I said, is anything broken, Weasley?" he asks venomously.
"Only my eardrums from your loud mouth," I say.
"Then I don't give a damn what Pomfrey said." He's in my face now, his teeth gritted. He's all I can see and all I can smell. He suffocates me with his minty breath and cologne. "Unless you're confined to a sickbed, you will come to class prepared and you will participate. Do you understand, Weasley?"
I say nothing as I fold my arms and stare back at him. After a few seconds I see him clench his jaw. I don't see what happens next. I only feel it. His thumb and middle finger squeeze the pressure point between my neck and shoulder. My arms drop instantly. Vaughn doesn't hesitate to wrap his free hand around my left upper arm and pull me from where I stand. He lets go of me once we're a few paces away from the line of female students and immediately withdraws his wand from his pocket. He turns it on me and with any easy, silent wave, my school uniform begins to shrink and transfigure much like the night before. Within seconds I'm in the same short, black, sleeveless top with a green swoop and black shorts.
"Seventy-five points from Slytherin for your insubordination," he says.
I laugh dryly. "Does it look like I give a toss about house points? I care about Slytherin winning the Cup about as much as I care about anything you've come here to teach."
I can tell that I'm grating his nerves with the way he looks at me. He smiles smugly. "Maybe you care about your free time? Hmmm? You can spend it in detention."
I part my lips to retort but he turns his back on me and stomps away before I can. I look at Dom and she grins at me from where she stands.
"Your name?" Vaughn says coldly. I look at his backside. I can only see the top of Rose's ginger head over his shoulder as his broad build blocks the rest of her from view.
"R-R-ose," she says shakily.
"R-R-ose," he repeats flatly. "Do you have a last a name?"
I see her head moving. She's nodding. "Y-yes. Rose W-Weasley, sir. Erm. Professor."
Vaughn snorts. I think he's going to move to the next student in line...And then suddenly, he snatches Rose by the elbow and drags her toward where I stand.
"Let go of her," I shout. My bruised ribs pulsate with pain.
He does what I say, but with a shove that nearly causes her to fall. Rose stands beside me. I only glance at her, and in those brief seconds, I see that she looks terrified. It enrages me.
"I never would have thought I would have found the two types of students I can't stand, standing side by side," Vaughn booms. His words are directed towards the entire class. I can tell by how he presents them. "Much less that they'd be related." He looks between us. "A wise ass and a kiss ass. Two examples of what you don't want to be. In this classroom, anyway."
He starts in a slow circle around us, his eyes searching the crowds. "Let them be a lesson to you all. Speak clearly when spoken to and keep your mouths shut the rest of the time...And if anyone else addresses me as Professor, there will be consequences."
My mouth pops open and Rose grabs my arm. I look up to see her shaking her head pleadingly. She knows I'm about to mouth off. I press my lips into a line and shrug away from her touch. Vaughn goes back to the line of female students, each of which who says their name quickly and loudly. I hear him laugh when he gets to Victoire. I wonder if he's overwhelmed by the amount of Weasleys he has to deal with or if he's simply laughing at how ridiculous her name is.
He then goes to the line of male students. There are no hiccups as they state their names. Everyone seems to fear him. In fact, I'm sure everyone fears him except for me, and possibly Dominique.
Vaughn moves to the center of the blue mat and beckons Rose and I with a wave of his hand.
I don't like what I think is about to happen.
"I'm sure you remember the rules, Weasley?" says Vaughn, eyeing me. "First to hit the floor."
I gape at him. "You're mental if you think I'm fighting Rose," I say snappily.
He looks from me, to Rose, and back again, as if he's thinking. "Are you sure you don't want to fight her?"
I'm wary of his question, but answer it regardless. "What? Of course I'm sure. I'm not fighting her. You can't make me. Unless you plan on using the Imperius Curse, which I hardly doubt is below you."
I expect him to start yelling but he only laughs as he pulls his wand out. Blue mist coils from the tip and forms a lion that charges across the room and through the doors.
Moments later the doors fly open. In walks McLaggen, her thick wavy hair resting on her shoulder in a braid.
"Oi! That's a nasty bruise," she says as she approaches us. "Y'know it's just going to get worse, yeah?" She looks away from me. "What can I help you with this time? Is the little one mouthing off again?"
"Yeah, but you can take care of that after you take care of this." Vaughn looks at Rose. "Arse kissing isn't going to get you anywhere. If someone wants to attack you, they're going to do it...The more timid you are the worse off you're going to be. So how about you learn to show a little backbone, Weasley."
I'm floored. He's actually going to make sweet, innocent Rose, fight her.
"They're both called Weasley?" says McLaggen as she changes her pants and shirt into something more suiting for a fight with a few flicks of her wand.
"This is bloody ridiculous," I say, stepping in front of Rose. "She didn't do anything-"
"You're the one who said you didn't want to fight her," snaps Vaughn. "Your refusal has consequences. Now shut your mouth and move out of the way."
"No!" I say. "If you want to punish someone, punish me."
"I am," he says, snatching me by my elbow. He drags me off of the mat and shoves me so the ground. I move to stand but hardly push myself from the floor when Vaughn points his wand at me and snaps, "Immobulus."
I'm frozen.
"You wanker!" The words come out of my mouth with an echo that doesn't belong to me.
"Undo that spell!" shouts Dominique.
Vaughn looks at her. Or at least I assume he does. "Would you like to join your family, Weasley?" he asks.
"There's three of them?" says Mclaggen. Her question goes unanswered.
"What I'd like is for you to reverse that spell," she snaps.
"I'd like for you to keep your mouth shut," he says.
I can't see Dominique or Vaughn because I can't move but a moment later he reappears in my line of vision and Dom isn't saying anything. He must have Langlocked her.
Vaughn stands between Rose and McLaggen. "You remember how it works, Weasley?"
Rose, without meeting his eye, nods. "Y-yes. First to hit the floor loses."
"Indeed." He steps off of the mat towards the line of male students and folds his arms.
McLaggen wastes no time in throwing a fist at Rose's face. I think she'll only have to suffer one blow as it hit her with so much force that she stumbles backwards. Stupidly, she regains her footing. Another punch hits her under the jaw, then another hits her cheek. I want to scream for her to fall but I know supporting cowardice will only make Rose's punishment worse. I don't want to watch but I can't look away. Rose swings and misses and McLaggen grabs her by her shoulders and throws her to the ground.
It's over.
McLaggen helps her up. I see blood pouring from Rose's bottom lip but no other damage seems to have been done. Once she's off the mat I think I'm going to be called forward. I want to be called forward. But I'm not. Dominique is. She still isn't speaking.
Dom, though girly, is fierce. I hope she'll be able to hold her own.
The fight starts and McLaggen swings first. Dom is smart enough to guard her face with her arms and that is what McLaggen's fist connects with. Dom takes a swing back at her and manages to get a decent hit on her cheek. While her arm is out stretched McLaggen gets a hold of it, pulls her nearer and forces it behind Dom's back. I swear I can hear bones popping. Dom drops to her knees, and just before she hits the mat completely, McLaggen kicks her side. Dom lands with a loud thud.
McLaggen pulls her up and shoves her towards the line of female students.
Vaughn approaches me with his wand in his hand. With a flick, I topple over. Being left in the awkward crouch made my thighs weak and I nearly fall once he yanks me to my feet. I stumble toward McLaggen. My legs feel like they're going to give out on me at any second. I don't have time to prepare myself- McLaggen throws a punch. Her knuckles sink into my lips. I feel them rip apart as they knock against my teeth. Blood fills my mouth and I lurch backwards. She comes after me. Her fist hits my temple. It takes everything I have to keep myself upright. I try to swing at her but I only hit air. I hear her laughing just before I feel her knee slam into my bruised ribs. My vision blurs. The room goes black. I feel myself falling to the floor.
Ϟ
I open my eyes. Two blurry, green tinged faces stare down at me. I blink. Less blurry. I blink again, and again until I can make them out. They belong to Dominique and Albus. We're in the Slytherin common room and I have no idea how I got there.
"Welcome back," says Dom as I squint up at her.
"What happened?" I ask. It occurs to me then. I had passed out...but I don't understand why.
"You fainted," Dom says. As if she can read my mind, she continues. "Pomfrey thinks it's because you were in so much pain, since McLaggen didn't really hit you that hard in the head. She re-broke your ribs, though."
"...I was in the infirmary?"
"Only long enough for her to heal you," says Albus. "Teddy carried you down here once she was finished."
I'm more alert now, and I can really see him. His lip is busted, his right cheek is cut and the area under his left eye is swollen. "What the bloody hell happened to you?"
He touches the gash on his cheek, shrugging while Dom laughs. "Travis Boot happened to him."
"What?" I say suddenly. I flinch and grit my teeth. The pain I was in before our Defense lesson is laughable compared to the pain I'm in now.
"Vaughn paired all the blokes up and let them have a go with each other," Dom explains. "You should see the infirmary. It's packed. Says it'll be our turn during our next lesson."
"Our turn?"
"Females," says Albus. "He's pairing everyone up at random until we've had enough fights to be ranked-"
"Ranked?" I cut across, my face screwed up. "What do you mean ranked?"
"You really must stop missing everything," Dom says. She sighs and re-crosses her legs. "It's a class, yeah? We can't really be graded, so we're being ranked based on performance. Apparently the ranking started yesterday. Everyone who managed to make it to the room in the amount of time we'd been given are the top ranked. There's a list on the bulletin board." She nods toward the wall across the room. Next to the new door in the common room that leads to Vaughn's quarters is the board. "Well, quite a few lists, actually. They're ranking us by year. Sixth and seventh years are ranked together, then there's a list to show the rankings of Slytherins, then others for fourth and fifth years, and second and third years, then one ranking every student."
Maybe it's the fact that I'd been knocked out, but what Dominique says to me makes no sense. "I don't understand," I say.
She rolls her eyes and explains herself again and by the time she's finished, I think I've wrapped my head around it.
The students as a whole are being ranked together, then separately. Sixth years with seventh years. Fifth years with fourth years. Third years with second years. Then again by house...At least that's what I think she meant.
"I need food," I grumble. "When's lunch?"
"Tomorrow at around noon," Dom says.
"What?"
"You missed lunch," says Albus.
Well no bloody wonder I'm starving. I haven't eaten since the train ride to school.
"Don't worry," Dom says, "it's almost dinner time."
"What? How long was I out for?"
"About five hours," Albus says.
"You think you can walk?" asks Dom. "If not, I can go get Teddy for you."
"I'm about to knock the Weasley out of you," I hiss. Dom laughs.
I'm a bit swimmy-headed and unsteady on my feet but I manage to carry myself out of the common room and into my dorm. I change back into my Slytherin robes, which lay on my bed, while Dom does the same and fills me in on everything I missed. Scorpius was paired up with Charles Nott. They're both in the infirmary. I ask how I got to the infirmary since it wasn't explained to me. I'm shocked when I hear her answer. A heartbeat later, surprise boils into anger. My skin feels tight with the thought of Vaughn touching it. He refused to let anyone help me to my feet when I had three broken ribs. He wanted to teach me a lesson. I wish he would have left me unconscious on the floor.
"Why didn't Albus take me?" I say.
Dom, who is continuing on with things I am not listening to, stops talking and stares at me, clearly confused. "What? Why didn't Albus take you where?"
"To the infirmary. Why didn't he take me? Or you-"
"Oi, I knew you were going to be bent out of shape over that," she says. "First of all, while you might be tiny, I can't lift you. Second of all, did you not hear me say that that wench nearly broke my arm? I went to the infirmary when he took you. So did Rose. Bastard didn't even reverse the Langlock Spell until he'd set you on one of the beds so I couldn't even give him an ear full for what happened to any of us."
Somehow, I had managed to forget all about what happened before I passed out. Being reminded of it makes my heart hammer. He had Langlocked Dom. He had used Immobulus on me. He had made Rose have a go with McLaggen.
"Maybe you can get him for us in detention," says Dom.
"Dete-" I start, but then I remember. He had assigned me detention but I can't recall exactly what I had done to deserve it. Everything is fuzzy and on top of being unconscious for the last five hours, I'm starving. "Oh, I'll get him all right," I say bitterly.
Dom and I leave for the Great Hall. "Where's Rose?" I ask, glancing over my shoulder.
"The infirmary I reckon," Dom replies.
I remember Rose fighting McLaggen. I didn't think she'd been hurt. "Is she okay?"
"Oh she's fine. She's just got a fat lip," Dom says as we climb the staircase to the main level of the castle. "She's there with Malfoy."
We both roll our eyes. I swear I'll never understand what she sees in that greasy, arrogant, elitist wanker.
The scent inside of the Great Hall makes my mouth water and my stomach growl. We find seats opposite of Albus, who sits beside Erik Kirke, a boy in our year whose face is in a worse state than Albus's.
Our presence does not interrupt their conversation about today's Defense lesson.
"Y'know, I can't believe he put me up against Marlock. He's huge," says Erik as he chews.
"It was all random, though," Albus says. It sounds almost like he's trying to defend Vaughn. "The enchanted quill wrote our names off in pairs, not him."
"Yeah, but still." Erik shrugs and winces. "You'd think he'd look at the size difference and say, 'Maybe I ought to pair him with someone a little more fair.'"
"Fair?" Dom scoffs. "Do you really think Vaughn cares about what's fair? He made Roxy fight McLaggen. Twice. And he made Rose square off with her. And me."
"Yeah, but Rox was mouthing off," Albus interjects. "And so were you, Dom."
"So that's fair punishment?" I say. "Getting a girl three times my size to give me a proper arse beating because I mouthed off?"
He looks down at his plate and scrapes his fork against it. "Okay, maybe that was a bit out of line, but so were you," he says looking up at me, "and I think he means well. If he didn't, Dad wouldn't have allowed him to come here."
"Have you lost your bloody mind?!" Dom shrieks. "You think he means well?"
"He's trying to help us," Albus argues.
"No, he's trying rub his sense of entitlement in everyone's face," I snap. "And Uncle Harry didn't send him. The Ministry did."
"Dad's head of the Auror's office, so I'm sure he had some say in the matter," Albus retorts. "And he has every right to rub it in our faces. He's a bloody Hit Wizard. He's earned it."
"I don't care if he's the bloody Muggle Prime Minister," I say. "I'm not letting him treat me like rubbish. If he, or the Ministry wants to help anyone, they'll stop this nonsense and look for a cure before anyone else dies!"
Like Aunt Gin.
I'm so angry, I want to scream. I can't believe Albus is defending Vaughn. I can't believe he's okay with any of this. I look up at the faculty table as Albus carries on. Vaughn sits on the very end of it unengaged, while Teddy chats with McLaggen. I look to the left. A man, more stout and muscular than Vaughn sits on the other side of Teddy holding a copy of the Prophet.
"Who the hell is that?" I blurt out without looking away from him.
"Mannix Cain," Dom says. "Teddy says he's overseeing all of them while they're here."
He looks a great deal more pompous than Vaughn. I hope I only have to see him from a distance as large as the one separating us now.
My eyes avert back to Teddy and McLaggen, then finally to Vaughn. He looks up from his plate and a heartbeat later, our eyes meet. I glare at him then turn back to my food.
Ϟ
I go straight to the third floor after dinner instead of back to the dungeons with Dom. My detention is being held in the new Defense classroom. Even though I dread having to be stuck in a room with Vaughn for the next two hours, I'm ready to tear into him for the events that took place during class.
I open the classroom doors and step inside. I'm surprised to see the lanky backside of Teddy, whose hair is as red as fire instead of its usual mousey brown.
"Teddy?" I say just as the door closes behind me. He jumps and wheels around quickly.
"Rudeanne!" he says brightly. Hearing the old familiar nickname he dubbed me with causes me to smile as he closes the space between us and forces me into a careful hug that I don't fully return. He pulls away but keeps his hands on my shoulders as he looks me over. "How are you feeling?"
"All right," I say. "How're you?"
"Well enough," he says. Though he smiles, there's a hint of sadness in his brown eyes. "I don't support misbehavior, but I'm glad you managed to get yourself detention with Vaughn. I should have expected, it really." He laughs and lets got of me. "Every time I've seen you, you've been unconscious. Not taking too well to the Defense lessons are you? But you're so feisty, I'm sure you'll get better at them."
I don't bother telling him that I plan on quitting school in a week so there's no way I could get better at them. Instead I shrug. "I think they're as useless as my wand is at this point," I say. Before any sort of awkward tension can build, I continue, "Why isn't Vaughn here?"
Teddy snorts. "Boss man's far above overseeing detention. Me and Carmen will alternate the duty."
I furrow my eyebrows. "Carmen?"
"You don't know who- oh. Right. You don't know her as Carmen. McLaggen, I mean," he explains.
"So he won't be here at all then?"
"No," he shakes his head slowly. "You look disappointed."
I am disappointed. But I won't admit it. I roll my eyes. "I'm devastated. I was really looking forward to being stuck around him for another two hours."
Teddy laughs. "Well, you'll have to make due with me."
"What exactly are we supposed to be doing anyway?" I ask as I look around the open room. The blue mat still sits on the middle of the floor and there are boxes stacked against one of the walls and an hourglass bigger than me levitating near the back wall.
"Clean," says Teddy, "sort out equipment." He shrugs. "Nothing that can't be done with a little magic."
The doors to the Defense classroom open suddenly. I turn to look at them. Vaughn stomps toward us with a brooding gaze.
"Sir?" says Teddy. I glance at him. He stands straighter than before.
"You're excused, Lupin," Vaughn says curtly.
"I thought-"
"Never mind what you thought," he cuts across. "You're being relieved. Go patrol the corridors."
Teddy stares at him, unmoving.
"That's an order," he booms. "Go. Now."
With the slightest hint of a scowl Teddy nods. "Yes, sir," he says, then moves away from us and out of the room. The doors slam shut with his exit.
"Follow me, Weasley," Vaughn says as he marches by me.
Every bit of disappointment is drained from me. Replacing it is annoyance. Why did I think being trapped in a room with him would be worth the chance to tell him off?
When I don't follow, he stops and turns on his heel, backtracking. "Did I stutter?" he snaps, yanking me by the sleeve.
"No, I just didn't listen," I say. I try to jerk out of his grasp but I can't. He's too strong. I pull harder and my shirtsleeve rips. "Let go of me or so help me I'll-"
"You'll what?" he sneers. "Faint again? Shut your mouth and do as I say, Weasley."
In one movement I jerk my right arm free, leaving half of my shirtsleeve in his hand, and grab my wand from my skirt pocket with my left hand. My bruised ribs sear with enough pain to make my head swim. I grit my teeth and turn my wand on him, just as he's turning his own on me.
"Are you really that idiotic?" he says. "You can't do magic, and even if you could, I could tear you to pieces with my eyes closed."
My hand shakes as I point my wand at him. Half with anger, half with pain. "You can't do a damn thing if you're defenseless," I say sharply.
"Wh-"
"Expelliarmus!" I shout. Pain stabs at my hand and pulsates through my arm as scarlet light sparks from my wand's tip. Vaughn's wand flies across the room and I stumble back in the slightest. I haven't done magic since my test at the Ministry. Then it was only my Patronus that harmed me but I can literally feel my powers deteriorating. My head feels light. Disconnected from my body, which sways no matter how hard I try to keep my ground.
"How dare you," he seethes, coming nearer.
"How dare you put your hands on me," I snap. I keep my wand pointed at his broad chest. It jitters along with my hand. "I told you to let go of me."
"I don't have to listen to a damn thing you say, Weasley!" he says. He comes closer still. When he speaks, his minty breath is all I can smell. "Maybe if you'd open your ears, shut your mouth and show a bit of respect, I wouldn't have to touch you."
I stare into his dark brown eyes. My heart thunders with rage. "If you think that I'm going to waste what could be my last breath on kissing your ass, you're sadly mistaken. I'd rather die shooting a spell at you than stroke your grossly large ego and add to your disgusting sense of entitlement."
He clenches his jaw. No emotion shows in his eyes. "Then you're more of an idiot than I took you for to begin with, and if you think you're going to get sympathy from me, you're the one who's sadly mistaken."
"I don't want or need sympathy from anyone, and the only thing I want from you is for you to stay the hell away from me."
"I could have you expelled," he says.
I laugh breathily. "Don't go doing me any favors."
His gaze is fierce and I hear him swallow. He's so close that I can feel his breath press against my face and I'm well aware of the damage he could inflict with his hands alone. Still, I do not back down or look away.
"You don't scare me," I say.
"I should," he says. "Your audacious behavior doesn't make you seem brave or fearless. It makes you look stupid and reckless."
"When did I say I was brave or fearless?" I say. "I fear a lot of things, you just aren't one of them. And while we're analyzing each other, you thinking that I should be intimidated by you doesn't make you fearsome. It makes you pompous."
Vaughn's jaw twitches. "You're not invincible, Weasley. Let your bruises be a physical reminder of that."
I lean even closer. "Neither are you, Vaughn. Let the memory of me disarming you be a reminder of that."