Dearest Readers,
I hope that little bit back then will tie you over until the next time sexual innuendos will come about once more!
I don't own any of the characters except the OCs!
Love,
Scarlett
The Right of Wrong Doings
Chapter 7
The witch was fuming, to say the least. How does one deal with such an intolerable man? The door was no match for her today. All the emotion she had in her could have blasted the door open, let alone demand it to do so.
In the Slytherin Common room, Draco was on a couch fast asleep. A book was in his one hand while a careless few strands escaped his well-sculpted blond head, so that they dangled in front of his eyes.
Upon seeing him, Marley only felt worse. Usually she could overcome those emotions to be happy while she was around him, but now on top of everything else she just couldn't.
So to ease her mind and temperament, she crept up the stairs to the girls wing, took a shower and changed into some lovely flannel pajama bottoms and a tang top (with of course a bra).
Draco's position had not changed when she returned. Not really sure what to do, Marley stood their awkwardly watching him. Finally after, but a few minutes of deliberation, the witch carefully sat down on the couch next to him and slowly leaned on him while curling her legs up next to her. After she was settled, the witch nuzzled her head into his shoulder, but kept her eyes closed.
With a bit of jolt – Draco woke up and looked over at his companion, who by his judgment was already asleep. He eyed her, not sure what to make of the situation, but then pulled his arm out from beneath her head and instead wrapped it around her shoulders so she could be more comfortable.
Really this did beat having to awkwardly explain everything like she was supposed to, Marley admitted. But that gnawing feeling in her gut directed her otherwise. No longer was that feeling distinguishable by anything other than "it", because the individual pains were blended together too well. All the guilt, sadness, anger and loathing didn't leave her stomach again until she was asleep once more.
A room just down the hallway offered the false truth that safety and comfort was there, but that didn't slow the rushing up rickety stairs to obtain that warm comfort. It was still a small room with but a single window, a single closet, a single bed and a single toy. In the closet with the door closed seemed to be only eligible place to hide.
The bang of the sturdy door downstairs dashed the hope that Merlin had already struck down that wretched man.
"What is that? I leave you alone for a few hours and already you defy my will!" roared the deep voice of a man, just below the floor boards.
The response to his question, was either to quiet to be heard or non-existent.
"Damn you woman!" Crack!
No amount of wincing could make that horrid sound or awful impact go away.
This time sobs were heard in response, "Please! Think about -"
There was a growl, of what can be assumed a belittling remark.
Stomps, 1,2,3,4 – count was lost, but the stairs squealed as a hefty person stomped up them. Down the hallway they came, closer and closer. They slowed though and became quiet, but still heard as they shuffled ever nearer.
From beneath the door crack, the sounds synced up with the movement of two very large, muddy boots drawing ever nearer - until they stopped, just outside the thin closet door.
The door was flung open and there stood a tall man of a stature assumed to be about 6 and a half feet leering down at the little figure which had scrunched up into the deepest corner, in attempts to not be discovered.
His face was gnarled, but manly. Red neck and cheeks were tell-tale signs of a drunken bastard, while a sneer of his crooked face and nose allowed made it clear that he was more than just a drunk – he was a mean drunken bastard.
"You." Was all he said, but the words terrifying and sent cold chills through the shadowed corner-child.
When Severus awoke, he was at his desk. Really it hadn't felt like he had drifted off, but a piece of paper with dried drool was attached to his face was a sign that - yes he had. With a groan he sat himself up and stretched, he felt more exhausted than he had before he fell asleep, but that wasn't a surprise though. It had been a very long while that any sort of slumber had left him refreshed. Usually sleep was something he avoided and came only when his body demanded it of him.
On his desk, was a large stack of books that he had brought back with him from the library after Ms. Anderson's little episode. They had all shared one commonality – the moon. The potion's master was not certain when the Dark Lord would be calling for him once more, but one thing he wouldn't do was be caught off guard.
He had skimmed through two already – not finding anything of what he wanted, but hints of what Rembrandt was suggesting were apparent.
Already, Severus had spoken with Albus, who himself was only mildly aware that power could be drawn from the moon. It is certain that he didn't know where to find the answers, but he reaffirmed what Severus suspected the Headmaster would suggest.
"You need to find all you can about drawing power from the moon. Find the holes in the idea, create holes– whatever must be done to make him stick to the original plan." The old man looked sternly at Severus from across his desk, "If he really does intend on being victorious by Christmas, we don't have enough time to think of another counter plan…"
Looking over at the clock, which read 2:36 (presumably A.M.), Severus determined that he had a couple hours more to read before getting ready for the day…
Thankfully for Marley and Draco, the sound some girl shrieking in the girls dormitory had woken them up, before anyone could see them – or worse hex them.
"Great talk then?" Draco stretched as he stood up, looking over at Marley.
She smiled and nodded – resenting that that was the only thing she could do – before going upstairs to change into her uniform and putting on make up. On her way to breakfast, without Bernard who had seemed to have taken off again to do whatever it is he does, Marley was flagged down by Katie.
"Ugh, these detentions with Snape are really getting in the way of you and me time! I've been dying to talk to you about the party." The curly haired witch was not quite awake yet, but didn't stop Katie from talking, "Okay, so I was thinking that today is Thursday. Tonight you're going to have to come over to my room and help me pick what outfit to wear!" Plenty of times before Marley had been to the Gryffindor commons. She had lots of friends within the house and was only mildly disapproved of in the beginning, but now that it was seventh year and usually she was only going up to Katie's room to do one thing or another, no one objected.
They turned the corner to the hallway of the Great Hall, "I was thinking about that blue dress I have…but I'm afraid it's too childish. What are you wearing?" Katie looked at Marley for advice.
The witch tried to mouth the words "Jeans." But Katie was too impatient to deal with her friend's impediment.
"Never mind," She digressed, "I wish that we had another week to prepare – a weekend where we could go shopping too." The country drawl had fixated on her whining towards the end, "Oh you know what? You should do my hair in big curls like for the Yule ball a few years back…"
Marley's attention was diverted from Katie, not like her friend noticed, as the Evil Bastard of the Dungeon turned the corner opposing them, walking right towards the Great Hall. The first thing the witch noticed was, "Wow – he looks like shit."
Of course he heard this thought, even though it wasn't meant for him to hear, and met her eyes with a glare, before turning into the Great Hall with a great swish.
"…I don't want to like give all my great aspects away at our first real meeting though. The decisions to make!" Katie looked back at Marley, "You are so lucky I can handle all the pressure."
"What are you going on about now?" Damien was clearly not a morning person. He was already seated and waiting for Katie, but when he spotted Marley he cocked an eyebrow and gave a teasing smile, "Oh – decided to join us did you?"
Katie's hair bobbed toward Marley, "What are you doing? You have to go sit with Draco!"
The mute witch gave a little smile, but was a little hurt. Katie didn't take back what she said and waited for her friend to react. Marley turned on her heel and walked over to where Draco was sitting.
This morning, he seemed extra exuberant, "Good Morning." Polite Malfoy manners kicking in.
She nodded and returned his grin.
"Draco!" Pansy scolded, "You're interrupting my story!"
Malfoy rolled his eyes and continued.
"Yeah mate, whatever where you thinking?" Theodore Nott said teasingly, mocking Pansy.
This week he hadn't been sitting with Draco, but instead down the row closer to some of his other friends. Every now and again he'd switch spots, just so he didn't lose contact with a whole group of friends. He was social like that.
Theo was a tall, lean, but muscular Slytherin. Jet black hair was either styled or neglected enough to stick up straight above his head. It gave him that sort of I'm-cool-because-my-hair-looks-good-even-though-I-just-woke-up-maybe-I-tried-but-probably-not appearance. That and his cocky carefree white smile made him very approachable.
"And who are you?" His voice asked, taking a casual bite of toast.
Draco stepped in, "This is Marley – the one who lost her voice…"
Theodore reacted radically, dropping his hands on the table causing the dishes around him to clatter, hunching his back and making a really bummed face, "That BLOWS!"
The witch silently laughed at him, for the first time feeling better about her whole situation. She quickly looked around to see the people around them getting over the sudden reaction. Even at the teachers table McGonagall was shooting them a disapproving look, Dumbledore had a little twinkle in his eye and really she didn't give a damn about what Professor Snape thought.
Apparently, Nott didn't care what other people thought and kept eye contact with her. He straightened up again and went back to his breakfast, "To make it up to you, why don't you come to the party Draco and I are throwing? It's tomorrow night."
"One step ahead of you there," Malfoy cut in, "She's already agreed to come AND she's bringing her blonde Gryffindor friend." Draco waggled his eyebrows in some sort of secret message to Theo.
Theo smiled brightly, but it seemed not what Marley expected, like he was a little disappointed, "Great! It'll be fun." He looked back at the witch, "We'll have a good time."
She smiled politely, but the situation was off somehow.
"…and there's always Quidditch to account for…" Pansy said to another girl next to her, but Draco heard the magic word and instantly he was in.
"There IS always Quidditch to account for!" The conversation started about the upcoming season and how Slytherin was certain to crush the Gryffindors this year.
Friday night came faster than expected. Maybe the exhaustion of sleeping funny recently or simply the haze of activity blended the days together. But after classes that day, Katie dragged Marley off to her room to get ready together.
"Now I think this dress would totally show off my boobs." Katie held up a tight ruffled turquoise dress that went down to her mid thigh.
"The non-existent ones?" Marley thought, even in her head it sounded playful.
Katie quickly slipped it on and did a little cat walk in the room. Most of the girls were already out of the room, Gryffindors weren't really invited to the party, Katie being an exception, "Marley, I really wish you'd put on a dress, this isn't some country hick hoe-down."
The only response she gave was a sigh and a roll of her blue eyes. All Marley could think was, "How the hell would you know, you've never been to one of these damn things. Where as I've been there plenty of times." But she stifled her thoughts and sat Katie down in front of her where she charmed the short strands of her hair to curl. It was a very, very simple charm and after lots of practice the night before, Marley could easily do it now.
Katie continuously talked during the rest of the getting ready process. About her dress, about Theodore, about how she disapproved of Marley's dress, questioning which eye shadow to use, Theodore, insisting that Marley straighten her hair, Theo, Theo, Theo...the usual.
By the time they were both done it looked like they were going to two different parties. Katie had on a light blue club dress with ruffles and silver heels and had done her hair especially for the night. Where as Marley had on her tight dark jeans, a tight over-the-shoulder, black, long-sleeved shirt with rips in the sleeves and comfortable black heels. In comparison she was very low key.
As aforementioned, Marley was no stranger to these parties. She had been to many when she was having this fling with a Ravenclaw boy. They were always held in the back end of Hogsmeade. The best ones were held in an abandoned bar. It looked like any other shop – on top. But if you walked through the women's loo, it took you to a set of stairs that lead to a magically sound-proofed room. The downstairs didn't look much better than the top. The run down squeaky floor boards, wall paper that was stained and ripped and broken furnishings. The two qualities this room had that made it so great was the stage for bands or DJs and a bar.
With some creativity and a touch of magic, stereos were transfigured, strobe lights flashing, a full stock of liquor and snacks. Other than that all that was needed was people.
Tonight there was a full house. Clearly all the Slytherins were in attendance. Lee Jordan was specially invited to be the DJ and a blow-up doll was charmed to be the bartender.
When the duo walked down the stairs, Marley instantly saw Draco sitting at the bar sipping a drink from a green plastic cup. When he realized that she was there, he looked her over with a grin.
"Hey." He greeted over top the rap music. Rap wasn't really Marley's style, but she listened to just about anything and could adjust.
She gave a little wave.
Draco gave a quick look at Katie, "Do you guys want a drink." Gesturing to the blow-up doll.
In Marley's experience, guys who were nervous felt better when she drank. Even though she didn't think he was feeling that way, she wanted to ease his mind, but shook her head despite herself and nodded towards the dance floor where there was already a huge crowd of dancers.
Katie smiled at her friend before walking towards the crowd herself, where she had already spotted Theo.
Her date wasn't even paying attention to Katie and grabbed Marley's hand and guided her to the center of the grinding. The rhythm of the bass set the pace of the crowd. It started with Wheezy, before transitioning to the Black Eyed Peas, then Kesha, Bouncing Souls, 3OH!3 and so on. It was clear that Draco was enjoying himself by his facial expression and the way his hands caressed her sides. As the night progressed, so did the mood. The songs became more sexual than before and the space between Draco and Marley shrunk.
Before long, Malfoy was right up behind her with his hands on her hips pushing against her. It was only the natural presumptuous reaction and Marley couldn't blame him for wanting more, but the romantic mood he was trying to give her was only souring her own. Mind racing she reflected further back to the summer and her stomach turned.
"Why?" She could hear Ryan say.
"It's for Katie!" Marley mentally defended. It was too late and she knew it.
No longer could she take it and pushed herself away from Draco and towards the bar, "I'm sorry!" she wanted to say, but her lips could only form the words. One would think she was apologizing to Draco, but in fact it was to Ryan.
It only took the space from the floor to the bar for her to realize how ridiculous she was being. Ryan wasn't here, he wouldn't and won't be. The witch regrouped and forced her tears back. There was a beer on the bar and she chugged half of it. Letting the alcohol settle within her.
"Hey!" Draco said catching up to her, a little concerned. Clearly she wasn't able to hide her distress, "Are you okay?"
She forced a smile and shook the plastic cup in her hand.
"You were thirsty?" he confirmed. Grinning warily he ordered another drink for the both of them. Thankfully whatever it was had vodka in it and was gloriously stronger, "Yeah, I worked up a thirst too."
Instead of knocking back the beverage she moved the ice around with the little stirrer that came with it.
"Looks like your friend is getting along with Theo, eh?" Draco observed from his seat at Katie and Theo flirting at the other end of the bar.
Marley gave a silent giggled, watching the two as well. That's when her eye caught something. They were in the corner of the room, the Weasley twins.
It was odd that they were here since they were on the Gryffindor team, let alone in Gryffindor in general and they were at a Slytherin Quidditch party. For clarification, Marley pointed to the corner while looking at Draco.
"Oh." His words were flat, "Yeah. Well, we've started to automatically invite the twins for their services."
The witch stared at Fred – or maybe George – as he showed a fifth year a bag of weed.
"Some find that it helps them party-" Malfoy continued, "But I don't see how you can party when heroine is pounding through your blood." Marley followed his shifted gaze towards a back room, near where the twins were. She could see about a half-dozen students slumped on the floor, eyes glazed over.
As she sat there sipping on her drink she thought about what the attraction to such a drug was. It was like they were dead, but breathing.
"Not to say I've never tried pot or anything, but it stops there." Draco finished, "To be out of control and defenseless like that…is more than stupid – it's dangerous."
"Yes." George Weasley – maybe – said. He had seen the couple watching and strolled over to refill his cup, but mostly to stick it to Draco, "You never know when the Death Eaters are going to swoop down and kill you." He chuckled. The comment was towards Marley, but the next wasn't, "Or do you?"
It was clear that there was a lot of animosity between Draco and George, not like Marley hadn't already known that.
Malfoy stiffened, but didn't respond.
"Besides, it's worth the feeling it gives. It's nothing you've ever experienced." George directed the conversation to the witch once more.
"Come on," Draco stood up and placed his hand on Marley's shoulder, "Let's go some where less – dirty."
It is a proper time to explain that Marley is for the light in this war. She herself wasn't a mud blood, but her mother was. Therefore, she was taught from a young age that the value of someone should be judged by their actions and not their color, sexuality or ancestry.
Never would she allow someone to tell her any different, but in such a controversial time…the witch needed to pick her battles.
Together they walked just outside the stairs where there was the whole upstairs was quiet. Draco pulled out a pack of cigarettes and offered on to his date, who took one, before getting one himself. With a muttered incendio, he lit both of their cigs.
Deeply he inhaled his Marlboro, "Bitch." He muttered. Not to her of course, but he was infuriated with the whole situation.
Marley looked through her own smoke to him.
The blonde wizard warily returned her gaze, as if trying to decide something, "People just-" he carefully thought about what he wanted to say, "There are people, like the Weasley's, who think they know everything. So they say things that, out of sheer frustration, piss me off." Another puff of nicotine, "they live through a one way mirror and then speak like jackasses; it's infuriating that I can't and won't correct them."
Marley dragged on her own cigarette and listened carefully. She assumed Draco was talking about his family and the rumors (while Marley felt they were all very true) going around that he was affiliated with the Dark Lord.
As far as she was concerned, being a Death Eater was more than just being a bigoted racist, it was being scum of the earth and should be treated as such.
Draco was young still and Marley sincerely hoped he hadn't taken the mark yet. Because as Marley watched her date's expression and eyes, she could tell he was not scum of the earth.
