A/N: This chapter took me all day to write, so I really hope you guys enjoy it:)
When I arrived at detention with Harry, Umbridge was waiting patiently for us at her desk, humming along to what sounded like a children's tune. Harry's face was already set into his frustrated but controlled face. I, on the other hand was simply curious as to what detention would be like with Umbridge.
"Ah!" She howled as we walked into her office. "Good evening children, I'm going to have you do some lines for me today." She greeted, pulling the chairs out for us. Harry and I exchanged glances as if this punishment was childish. As we sat down I noticed we didn't have any ink for our quills.
"We haven't got any ink." Harry said, holding up his quill.
"You won't be needing any ink Mr. Potter." She snapped. "Now, I'd like you both to write 'I must not tell lies." The look on Harry and I's faces were much the same as we stared back at Umbridge.
"How many times?" I asked.
"I'd say, as many times as it takes to sink in." She smiled. Harry and I both started writing with our inkless quills, that seemed to have some sort of red ink already inside of them as we began to write. I wrote in my usual, strung together, messy cursive. Harry inhaled sharply as he began to finish another line. I looked over at him crookedly until I began to feel a carving sensation on the back of my left hand. I winced as my hand grew red, and eventually wrote out, in my same script "I must not tell lies."
"Something a matter?" Umbridge asked us with a bright smile clear on her face. Harry and I exchanged glances once again.
"No, nothing. " We said together.
"That's what I thought," Umbridge muttered. "Because deep down you know you should be punished." She jeered at us.
"Excuse me Professor," I coughed. Umbridge turned her attention towards me. "May I ask what it is that you believe I lied about?"
"About that passageway leading to Gryffindor common room!" She snapped at me.
"I never said that." I told her calmly.
"I believe you did Ms. Byrne." She smiled, I could have elaborated further, told her that technically it was the twins who'd said that, but I knew that would just bring them into Umbridge's office, to deal with the pain that Harry and I were going through.
"We can't give Umbridge the satisfaction." I said to Harry as we made our way towards the Great Hall.
"Agreed, tell nobody." He nodded. I nodded back, making our pact official. We sat down at the Gryffindor table, me next to Fred and George, while Harry sat across the table, next to Hermione.
"How was detention?" Hermione asked. Harry and I exchanged nervous glances as he told her about the lines that we had to write. She seemed uninterested, however frustrated with the fact that Umbridge was so brainwashed by Fudge.
"Hermione, where did this book come from?" Ron asked, picking up the familiar copy of Masters of Death that I'd lent her earlier that week.
"Oh! A Hufflepuff girl named Aife let me borrow it last week, she said it would be really helpful with my ancient runes report." Hermione said.
"This doesn't look like any old book you'd find in the library," Ron said creasing his eyebrows.
"I suppose not, it did seem to have some sort of darkness to it." Hermione agreed. "Anyways, she's supposed to be meeting me here any minute to pick it up." I shot up quickly, as she reminded me of my Hufflepuff duties. I got up from the table, yelling an excuse at everyone as I yanked George from his seat.
"I need you to change me into Aife!" I declared as we turned about the corner. George said nothing, merely grinned and said a silly incantation. I smiled at him, walked into the Great Hall, and went to retrieve my book. When I got up to the Gryffindor table Hermione smiled in greeting.
"Aife! Here's your book. Thank you so much for letting me borrow it, it was a huge help." She smiled.
"You're welcome, it was no problem really." I replied, accepting the book from her open hands. I stood there awkwardly for a couple of seconds, not sure what to say.
"Would you like to join us?" Harry attempting to make things less awkward.
"Well I-" I began.
"Aife, right?" George asked, coming back from where he'd changed me. "Join us." He said with a devious smile.
"I suppose I could.." I mumbled taking a seat where the Flynn version of myself had been.
"There's something very familiar about you Aife, do you play Quidditch?" Harry asked me. I shook my head. "Huh." He said as he stared off in thought. Ron was eating away at his dinner.
"Where did Flynn say she was going?" Hermione asked George, I looked down at my lap.
"Something about taking care of her Jarvey." George said quickly.
"I feel so bad for her, she's partners with Malfoy." Ron said in disgust.
"Left her in the middle of the lake the other day, on one of the islands." Fred piped up. I sent a sharp elbow into the middle of his side, wondering how he'd explain the fact that I had no wand on me to summon a broom.
"What?" Harry snapped.
"Well couldn't she just summon herself a broom?" Hermione asked the question I'd thought the twins would have a trouble explaining.
"She has this bad habit of not carrying her wand on her at all times." George snickered, flashing me a look.
"She should probably work on that." Ron said, stuffing a chicken wing into his mouth.
"So how'd she get back?" Harry asked as Ginny arrived, taking a seat next to him, he smiled at her in welcome.
"Swam." Fred answered. Hermione's mouth dropped, Ron spit out some of his chicken, Harry just looked shocked, all of these reactions seemed a little extreme to me.
"She could have been killed!" Harry exclaimed.
"Does she have any idea what creatures are in that lake? Grinylow's are little, but probably some of the most dangerous water demons you'll come across." Hermione spat.
"Flynn's a fair swimmer." George said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Hello! I'm Ginny!" Ginny cut in, waving at me.
"Aife." I smiled, waving back. "I should probably get going." I said to everyone giving Fred and George the 'Headquarters in 10' look. They all smiled and waved goodbye as I made my way out of the Great Hall.
"Toby!" A voice yelled after me, I turned at the strange sound of my real name only to be greeted by Draco Malfoy. I cursed under my breath, I needed to make my Hufflepuff outfit look less like the real me.
"Funny seeing you in the daylight." I taunted turning towards him.
"Even better looking than you thought, right?" He said, giving me a cocky grin.
"or worse." I teased, his grin didn't disappear, he'd been expecting a comment like that.
"I think we should seriously consider this." He told me matter-of-factly, leaning up against a wall. His hands were hanging loosely in his pockets, like they always were.
"Consider what, exactly?" I asked, staring at him crookedly.
"Us, this." He told me, waving his hand between the two of us.
"Us?" I as incredulously. "This? There is no us, or this for that matter."
"Listen, I enjoy a chase just as much as the next guy, but you didn't make me chase from the beginning, therefore I find that you have no right to pull this 'I have no interest in you' act." He smiled at me.
"I have every right, not to mention the only thing you know about me is the inside of my mouth." I snapped.
"Yes, and if the rest of you is as lovely as that is, then I'd say that we have nothing to worry about." He defended. Draco's an arrogant prick, but I have to give him credit, he's clever.
"What makes you think I feel the same way about you?" I wondered aloud.
"You wouldn't have responded the way you did, nor would you have accepted my second advances if you thought otherwise." He smiled.
"It's quite clear that the rest of you isn't as lovely as the inside of your mouth." I told him.
"You don't know anything about me." He snapped, his mood changing quickly.
"My point exactly."
"So then let's change that." He sneered under gritted teeth.
"Why go after someone who's unwilling? I really don't understand the appeal when you could easily get Pansy Parkinson to drop her trousers for you with a simple look." I smiled at him, the upper hand coming quickly towards me.
"Being too willing is unattractive."
"I'm not wasting my time with you anymore Draco." I said as I noticed Fred and George coming out of the Great Hall. "I don't want you to have to prove yourself to me, that's just pathetic. If I ever become interested in you, it will come in my own time." I told him as I walked away, coming into step with the twins.
"Associating with the Dark Side now?" Fred asked jokingly.
"You have no idea." I said as we walked consistently towards Headquarters.
As soon as we got to Headquarters I immediately filled them in on my young Death Eater theory, and told them that I wanted to spy on him, see if I was right. We immediately set off towards the skinny passageway that led towards different parts of the Slytherin common room. When we came towards our usual three-way fork I went for the left tunnel, Fred took middle, and George took right, we agreed to meet back at headquarters by 10 at the latest.
At first the common room view that I had was empty, everybody was still at dinner. But I knew that soon enough people would be arriving, full from the feast. The majority of the Slytherin house all crowded into the common room at the same time, some hovered around, while others went straight to bed. I found Blaise chatting suspiciously around the fireplace with Goyle. I reached into my pocket and pulled out an Extendable Ear that George had slipped into my pocket. I tossed it out of the corner rip in the picture, landing impressively at their feet.
"She's setting up an Inquisitorial Squad, Malfoy wants us to join," Blaise was saying.
"What does that mean?" Goyle asked.
"It means we get to do whatever we want, I think Malfoy's hoping to take Potter down." Blaise told him.
"What are you two muttering about?" Malfoy's voice rang into the Extendable Ear.
"I was just telling Goyle about your Inquisitorial Squad plans." Blaise muttered, straightening up.
"Where were you?" Goyle asked Malfoy.
"Remember that girl I told you about?" Malfoy whispered, my ears quickly straightened up, I'd just been talking to Malfoy, there was no doubt in my mind he was talking about me. Blaise and Goyle both nodded for him to go on. "she's hiding something. I mean, who walks around the castle at night, naked and wet?" He asked with a heavy sigh.
"A slut." Blaise smirked, winking at Goyle who burst out laughing. I clenched my fists in anger.
"She's not a slut." Draco snapped at them. They both immediately stopped chuckling.
"M-maybe she went for a late night skinny dip." Blaise suggested. At first Draco looked like he was going to immediately deny that, then his face went white and he stormed out of the Slyterin common room. What could Draco have thought of, as if I'd go skinny dipping. But as I began to consider it, Draco wasn't a stupid kid, he could have connected the dots. But it's not that simple to change appearances, it couldn't have been that easy to figure out. I wasn't going to take the chance, so I ran out of the passageway as quickly as I could.
When I got into the corridor I didn't see Draco, so I went with the first possibly place I thought he might go, Gryffindor common room. I made my way as quickly as possible, the castle had become completely dark at this point, so I ran into a couple of things on my way. Just as I was about to near the portrait I ran into something, again. I heard it let out a swift inhale as I made impact.
"Please tell me your name isn't Draco Malfoy." I muttered. "One time, happens. Two times, that's ironic. But three times? There's gotta b-"
"I know your secret."