Chapter Nine
Tripping
To most Hogwarts students, the first few weeks of term pass in a blur of small explosions, flashes, bangs and the exasperated tellings off of teachers. Alaw, Neville and Hermione were no exception - although the latter received far fewer rows than her friends. It was to be expected when one unleashed a bunch of hyperactive teens on a school brimming with magic. But for Alaw, September wasn't as fun or exciting as it should have been, because she was always on the look-out for an attack.
The article in the Daily Prophet seemed to be the signal many had been waiting for, the green light for them to start harassing Alaw wherever she went. She could barely walk down a corridor without someone aiming a trip jinx at her back, or else quoting the article at her in the Great Hall and outside lessons.
Some people, like Fred and George, had been outraged by the smear campaign and went out of their way to defend Alaw when they saw people gloating about it. Charity Burbage had been particularly upset and had vowed to Alaw that she would hound the Prophet until it publically apologised for its behaviour and sacked Rita Skeeta.
Others were simply delighted at Alaw's humiliation. Theodore Nott in particular took every opportunity he could to shove, pinch and prod Alaw when they passed in the corridors. He'd also taken a leaf out of Pansy's book and started trying to sabotage Alaw's work in every Potions class. Snape, of course, never reprimanded him because he was still furious with Alaw about her attack on his star pupil.
The detention with Snape had been horrible. He had set Alaw to disembowelling an entire barrel of horned toads by hand and without gloves. It had taken three whole days to rid her fingernails of the frog guts which was the time it took Hermione to find and master the scouring charm. It hadn't helped Alaw's temper when she'd returned from her detention, very late and completely exhausted, to find that her door had been plastered with copies of the damn Daily Prophet, some with permanent sticking charms.
Hermione kept urging Alaw to report the numerous incidents of harassment and bullying, some of which were quite nasty, but Alaw was adamant, she would not go running to a teacher. Not unless things got serious, anyway. She'd been through this in secondary school, reporting the bullies simply didn't work, in fact, it often made things worse. The best thing to do was to ignore them and show they wouldn't get any fun out of her.
It would be a few weeks into the new term before things improved for Alaw. She had taken to hanging back in class so she was the last one out, or else, dashing off before anyone else even left their seats. So she took her time packing her bag after Defence Against the Dark Arts one Wednesday morning, waiting for the rest of the class to file out. Hermione usually waited with her but the Gryffindors had had to dash off for Transfiguration.
Most people were hopping on every other step as they shuffled off, for they had been practising jelly-legs jinxes that day. Three lessons on, and Alaw still hadn't mastered the shield charm so she was suffering worse than most. Theodore's gang loitered by the door, obviously hoping to ambush Alaw, but Professor Lupin waved them off.
"Off you go, and don't forget to practise that charm safely, I'm not giving you permission to jinx whomever you like," he said briskly, waving them all out of the classroom with sullen looks on their faces.
Alaw distinctly saw Crab and Goyle cracking their knuckles threateningly at her before they galumphed off after their leader. Alaw was now alone in the room with Lupin who was collecting up all the cushions he'd spread on the floor before they started practising, as accidents were a common occurrence in this sort of lesson.
"Would you give me a hand with these, Alaw?" he asked pleasantly and Alaw let out an inaudible sigh of relief.
"Of course," she said, bending down and picking up a fluffy pink pillow which just a few minutes previously had saved her from cracking her skull on the floor.
She didn't begrudge doing the work by hand, Charity often warned them not to resort to magic for every little thing, or else they'd become lazy. Indeed, during her detention with Snape, the Potions Master seemed to have expected Alaw to throw a tantrum when he told her not to touch her wand, but Alaw hadn't expected to be able to anyway. Once all the cushions were neatly stacked away in the store cupboard, Alaw lingered, wondering if she could stall any longer.
"Um, sir? Is there anything else you need?" she asked hopefully.
"No, no, I think that's everything. I won't keep you any longer." said Lupin, closing the clasp on his briefcase.
Then he glanced up and frowned at the disappointed expression on her face.
"Is something bothering you?" he asked and Alaw shook her head.
"No, I'm fine," she said, unconvincingly. Lupin's eyes flicked towards the door and he sighed, putting his case back on the desk which he leant against.
"I assume the aftermath of the article hasn't quite blown itself out yet, then?" he prompted.
"No, it hasn't," Alaw sighed sourly. "And now everyone seems to think it's ok to have a go, cause, you know, if the precious Prophet says I'm a scheming proletarian then obviously it must be true."
Lupin did not smile, his expression was sympathetic.
"It is a vile thing to be publically villainized. I know that Dumbledore is furious about the matter. He's had that edition of the Prophet withdrawn from circulation, apparently they were thinking of reprinting it."
"Great," Alaw groaned.
She picked at a loose thread on her backback, reflecting bitterly that there was little Dumbledore or the staff could do if public opinion was so strongly against her.
"I hate those Purebloods!" she cried suddenly, and fiercely. "It's not fair! Why can they get away with this? If this happened in the Muggle-World, everyone would throw a fit. Racism isn't okay in my world!"
"There are those who fight against it here, too," said Lupin, gently. "But the voices of the old families shout louder."
"Because they're loaded," Alaw reflected, now twisting the handle of her bag like she was trying to give it a Chinese burn.
"Unfortunately, there is more than a grain of truth in that, but things are changing for the better, I assure you. It may not seem like it, but that article was not as well received as some have led you to believe."
Alaw knew he was referring to Theodore and his cronies.
"I just wish I could fight back, you know, but I can't even do a simple Shield Charm!" she complained. "It's an easy spell but I just can't get it right! Am I just stupid, or is Theodore right and my magic is weaker because of my parents?"
"Blood is not strength," Lupin said sharply and for the first time, he looked angry.
He put a hand on Alaw's shoulder and gave her a very direct look. Despite the scar, his features had a softness one associated with kindness and a gentle nature.
"Listen to me, never ever let anyone convince you that they are better than you. We are all human, muggles and wizards alike. Whichever blood run in our veins makes not the slightest difference to our abilities, or the kind of lives we choose to lead. If you allow yourself to be ashamed of your blood, then the naysayers have won already. All you can do is strive to prove them wrong, do you understand?"
Alaw nodded shakily. In that moment, more than ever, she wished her parents were here. Her mother would tell her to listen to what Lupin said and study hard, whilst her father would hug her tightly and assure her that she was loved, and to ignore the bullies.
"I wish I could fight back," Alaw repeated in a small voice.
Lupin seemed to consider her for a moment, and then said,
"Alaw, how would you like extra tutoring sessions with me?"
Alaw raised her head in surprise.
"Really?!" she asked eagerly.
"Certainly, I am already offering them to a couple of students I believe need a leg up. We could work on that Shield Charm."
"Y-yes! Thank-you, if you've got the time that would be great!"
"Good, well, I'll let you know when I have time and you can drop in then."
The prospect of extra Defence lessons sustained Alaw for the rest of the week. Though the weather outside the castle developed a little bite as October approached, Alaw's spirits lifted so that she could walk past the Slytherins with her head held high, rather than drooped ashamedly forward.
The pranks by no means stopped, but Alaw did become quite adept at sensing when a trip jinx was coming, and jumping at just the right moment. Once or twice, a teacher would catch them at it and Theodore and his gang would have a few points taken away from Slytherin. This didn't bother Alaw, the thought of the prize money at the end of the year didn't entice her nearly as much as it did Ron, who gloated every time Slytherin lost points. He'd stopped bothering Alaw in the wake of the article, perhaps feeling ashamed of himself, but they didn't spend any more time than was required in each other's company. Until the last week of September, of course.
Alaw had received a letter at breakfast on Tuesday from Professor Lupin, telling her he was free that morning and inviting her to a tutoring session in his classroom. So, after saying goodbye to Hermione and promising to catch up with her at dinner, Alaw climbed up to the Defence Against the Dark Arts room. When she entered, she found the other people she'd be sharing the session with were Neville and Ron. Neville smiled but Ron looked shifty.
"What are you doing here?" he asked bluntly.
"I'm being tutored too," Alaw replied coolly.
Before Ron could do more than huff irritably, Lupin arrived, levitating the pile of cushions before him and smiling when he saw they were all there.
"Good afternoon," he said pleasantly, allowing the pillows to drop to the floor and scatter haphazardly. "Shall we crack on, then?"
It was much better than their normal Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons. Alaw felt much more relaxed without the Slytherins jeering at her and after an hour's hard work, she managed, finally, to produce a very weak Shield Charm. Neville seemed happier than he normally did too, and it was he who successfully broke Alaw's shield with a well-aimed Impediment jinx. He was mortified when it caused Alaw to lose her footing and fall flat on her back, but she got up almost at once and congratulated him on a good spell.
Ron didn't do nearly as well as the other two and was scowling darkly by the time Lupin let them go. He didn't say a word the whole way down to the Great Hall, not even joining in when Neville and Alaw began discussing Quidditch, the sport Alaw knew full well Ron was obsessed with. When they approached the Gryffindor table, today smelling deliciously of curry, Ron marched away and plonked himself down between Dean and Seamus, whilst Neville and Alaw joined Hermione.
"He's a grumpy git, isn't he?" Alaw said conversationally, jerking her head towards Ron as she scooped a spoonful of rice onto her plate and opened a taurine of steaming tikka masala.
As the week progressed, wet clouds continued to circle the turrets of the castle and umbrellas began to be carried by the smarter students.
"Protego," Alaw muttered quietly to herself as she ambled slowly across the vegetable patch. The damp earth beneath her trainers squelched on every step and the occasional fat rain-drop fell on her head.
A couple of tutoring sessions on, Alaw thought she was doing quite well with her shield charm, but she still had trouble producing it under pressure. Lupin said it was just a lack of confidence, so Alaw practised everywhere she could. She'd been shouted at the previous day by the caretaker, Argus Filch, for casting charms in the corridor between classes. Flich was a middle-aged man with a ruddy face and quivering jowls who seemed at constant war with the student body for whom he harboured an irrational grudge. He had a personal vendetta against the Weasley Twins, whose dearest ambition it was to give the caretaker's faithful cat, Mrs Norris, a good kick.
"Protego!" Alaw tried again, not really watching where she was going as her feet carried her automatically around the path at the foot of the Astronomy Tower. A small field of magic engulfed the tip of her wand.
"There you are, Jones," said Theodore's Nott's drawling voice behind Alaw.
The shield sputtered and died as Alaw whipped around. Theodore it seemed, along with a dozen or so of his friends, had been waiting in the shadow of the tower and they were all smirking at Alaw. Alaw ran, which seemed the only sensible thing to do, pelting towards the archway which would take her to the Transfiguration Courtyard but she barely made it five feet before a jinx hooked her around the ankles and sent her crashing down. She landed painfully in a puddle and her robes and face were spattered with mud. The Slytherins guffawed and took the opportunity to circle her as she picked herself up.
"What's your hurry? We haven't got class for ages!" Theodore said, watching maliciously as Alaw wiped her face on her sleeve.
He had more people with him than usual, Alaw noted with dread, and many of them were from older years and therefore bound to know curses she certainly didn't. It looked like Theodore had planned this ambush very carefully.
"Look," Alaw began wearily, keeping her wand at the ready whilst praying a teacher would turn up soon. "Can't we just drop this, already? We're a bit old for these games."
"Games?" asked Theodore sweetly, "You think this is a game? I'm afraid this is a deadly serious business, Jones. Didn't you learn anything from the Daily Prophet? No one cares what happened to a filthy little mudblood like yourself."
Alaw gripped her wand more tightly and glared at Theodore.
"Don't you dare call me that!" she shouted. "That's a disgusting thing to call someone!"
Alaw remembered the distasteful look on Charity Burbage's face when she had urged the Muggle-borns, way back in August, to report to a teacher at once if they heard anyone using the word 'mudblood'. She'd compared it to a number of highly offensive terms in muggle culture that she'd been almost too embarrassed to say allowed. It was Thedore's use of this word in Potions that had triggered Alaw's violent attack on him because she understood the implication perfectly. Dirty blood. Common Blood. Inferior Birth.
"Well, it's a good thing I'm using it to describe something unpleasant, then, isn't it?" said Theodore casually.
The tip of Alaw's wand was pointed directly into his face and she was feeling a mounting desire to curse him with one of the dodgier spells the Twins had shown her.
"I don't think we can blame her for not knowing how things are, Theodore," said Marcus Flint in a voice of mock pity. "She's was dragged up by Muggles, remember, she doesn't know any better."
"Yes, I suppose you're right," Theodore conceded, "Let me explain how things are in the real world, Jones. On the one hand, you have wizards, I mean, real wizards. We run the Ministry, the Banks, the Schools and the Hospitals. And then we have people like you, who do very important jobs too. We need the lower classes to keep everything ticking over."
"Yeah!" sniggered Flint, "Where would we be without scrubbers and whores?"
The crowd of boys erupted with cruel laughter and Alaw felt a blush creep up her cheeks.
"Shut up!" she hissed at Flint but he put his hands on hip hips and thrust out his chest.
"Want some company, good sir?" he said in a high-pitched voice, winking and posturing whilst his friends doubled up with laughter.
Goyle made kissing faces.
"Oh, yes, sir, I'm very good. Just ignore the smell!" he imitated.
"Flippendo!" Alaw shouted furiously.
A bolt of blue light clipped Flint on the shoulder but he was a bulky lad and didn't go sprawling as he ought to have.
"Oh, she's getting feisty, boys!" Theodore crowed. "We have no choice but to defend ourselves."
He raised his wand and cried, "Tarantallegra!"
He cast the jinx too fast for Alaw to defend herself and the next second, her feet were flailing wildly. The Slytherins could hardly breathe they were laughing so hard.
"Please!" Alaw whimpered. "Stop!"
"And miss the show?" Theodore gasped. "I don't think so. I'm only teaching you a lesson, Jones. This is one of the many ways your kind can earn their keep! Entertaining the higher classes."
Alaw threw herself to the ground so she could get a steady shot at her legs.
"Finite Incentatem!" she said desperately and she stopped twitching.
"Now, Jones, you're ruining all the fun," said Theodore scolding. "Dentorgio!"
"Protego!" Alaw yelled, scrambling to her feet as she deflected the hex. The group started to shoot off curses with frightening rapidity and Alaw backed into the wall of the Astronomy Tower. The spells beat relentlessly against hr flickering shield until it finally shattered.
"Ouch!" Alaw shrieked as a stinging hex caught her in the face and left an angry whelt there.
"Expeliarmus!" someone cried and Alaw's wand flew out of her hand.
She made a dive for it but Crabbe kicked it away.
"You just won't learn will you, Jones?" Theodore asked, like she was naughty child. "We've told you the way of things in the Wizarding World, and yet you still think you're better than you are."
BANG!
"Ouch!"
"All you need to do is accept that your blood is just as filthy as the puddle you're lying in,"
BANG!
"Aw!"
"Ask to transfer to a house reserved specially for scum like yourself,"
BANG!
"Stop it, please!"
"And we'll leave you alone. I'm sure you'll make a very fine Prostitute one day."
BANG!
Alaw sobbed and curled up into a ball, her hands over her head to protect her face and they bombarded her with stinging hexes, tickling jinxes and a spell which causes painful boils to erupt up her left arm, and the left side of her face. This went on for a minute or two until Catrin was whimpering and shuddering in fain and fear. 'What if they kill me?' she thought to herself, 'What if they actually do it?'
Apparently some of the Slytherins were starting to think the same thing because after someone, Crabbe, Alaw thought, hit her with a badly cast Incendio charm which burnt a few holes in her robes, a few lowered their wands. They looked a little worried.
"Uh, Theodore?" Draco, who had so far been silent, asked uncertainly, "Maybe we've taught her a lesson now."
"I doubt it," said Theodore viciously. "You know how thick her kind can be, why are you all stopping?"
Under orders from their leader, the boys redoubled their spells and jeers, although Draco looked like his heart wasn't really in it so much anymore. Then, a furious bellow ripped the air.
"Get away from 'er, you little monsters!"
Alaw parted her fingers and saw Slytherins scatter as something huge and hairy ran towards them from the courtyard archway. The man was giant and he had a bushy beard and hair which made him quite wild and frightening as he brandished his bowling ball sized fist at the fleeing gang.
"Cowards!" the giant roared. "Twelve on one? You wai' till I get my 'ands on ya!"
When the flying heels of Theodore and his cronies disappeared around the side of the tower, the giant turned to Alaw, still curled on the ground.
"Here," he said sympathetically, extending a hand to help her onto her feet. "Ruddy gits, the lot of 'em. Oh, an those look nasty, too."
He took stock of Alaw's spots and bruises.
"Thank you," she said, still shaking from head to toe. "For chasing them off."
"Only wish I'd've got here sooner, might have caught one of 'em. Anyway, let's get you to the Hospital Wing. Can you walk?"
"Yes," said Alaw, after taking a few experimental steps.
As she limped alongside the giant, he kindly offered her an elbow to support herself with.
"Who were they? I couldn't get a proper look 'cause of the damn rain, did you see their faces?" he asked as they mounted the marble staircase. The people who passed them stared and Alaw imagined the news of her trip to the matron would soon spread.
"No," she lied.
The word was out of her mouth before she knew what she was saying. She frowned, but didn't correct herself.
"Come on, you must'a recognised one of 'em," the giant pressed.
"No," Alaw repeated. "They came at me from behind."
She wasn't sure why she wasn't ratting Theodore out there and then. It was her chance to have him punished, possibly even kicked out of school, but she just didn't want to talk. The giant seemed to understand because he dropped it and looked at her sadly.
"You're Alaw, aren't you?" he asked in a friendly voice. She nodded.
"Aye, I remember you from the Sorting. I'm Hagrid, I'm the Game Keeper."
"You're friends with Ron's family," Alaw ventured timidly, remembering Fred and George talking about Hagrid.
"That's right, good people, the Weasleys. You friends with Ron, then?"
"Not really," Alaw mumbled.
They had reached the Hospital Wing, a bright room, owing to the high windows above each metal framed bed.
"Poppy?" Hagrid called and a witch in a green pinafore and a cream robes emerged from the office to the right of the min door.
"Oh, dear," she sighed upon catching sight of Alaw. "Backfiring jinx, was it? Or have the fire-crabs been acting up again, Hagrid?"
"Nothing like that, Poppy," said Hagrid gravely. "Poor kid was a attacked. Never thought I'd see the like, must'a been at least ten of 'em."
Madam Pomfrey looked suitably shocked but she recovered almost at once, beckoning Alaw over to a bed.
"Sit yourself down, Miss Jones, I'll fetch a salve. Thank you for bringing her in, Hagrid."
"No problem. I'm off to see Professor Dumbledore about this," Hagrid growled.
"Oh, no!" Alaw said quickly. "You don't have to bother him with this!"
"'Course I do!" said Hagrid in surprise. "Can't let them get away with this! I'll catch up later to make sure you're okay."
He smiled at Alaw in a reassuring way and left the Hospital Wing. Alaw gazed glumly after him. She'd worked out why she hadn't told Hagrid who had attacked her, for when he had mentioned running to the headmaster, a swoop of fear had leapt in her heart. She was terrified of the retribution that would come her way if Theodore thought she'd blabbed. Even if she did come clean and tell Dumbledore everything, she felt sure Theodore would get off with nothing but slap on the wrist.
Madam Pomfrey didn't ask many questions besides which spells Alaw thought had been used on her. The salve, which smelt strongly of ginger, soothed the boils and within a few minutes they'd started to fade away. The matron made her sit a while longer as she attended to the shiny welts on her face. Alaw winced as they smarted under the gauze. Just as she was finishing up, Hermione came running into the ward.
"Alaw!" she cried in horror. "Earnie said he saw you come up here, and then someone said you'd been attacked!"
"I'm fine," Alaw tried to assure her. "Just a few scratches. It's my own fault really, I should have shielded properly."
"Alaw, don't be stupid!" Hermione snapped. "This is serious. Who did it? We have to get them arrested, this is assault!"
Alaw kept her mouth shut and once Madam Pomfrey let her go she left the Hospital Wing at a brisk jog. Hermione ran after her and at the end of the corridor, she caught hold of her friend's arm.
"Alaw," she said sternly. "Who did this to you? It was Theodore, wasn't it?
Alaw half opened her mouth to deny it, but decided she didn't want to lie to her friend. She nodded. Hermione bristled.
"Then tell someone! Come on, we're going to McGonagall, right now."
She began to lead Alaw by the hand towards the stairs but Alaw snatched her arm back.
"No! Hermione, if I tell, Theodore will make damn sure it's the last thing I tell."
"He wouldn't actualy... kill you," said Hermione, though she didn't sound completely sure. "He's a bastard, but he's not crazy. He'd never be allowed to get away with it."
"Oh, yeah?" Alaw said dryly. "I seem to recall that murder was also illegal in America seventy-odd years ago, and in Germany at about the same time. There are always exceptions to the rule, remember? And that's us at the moment."
"Alaw, he wouldn't. Even with all the prejudice, he can't just get away with killing someone, he just can't."
"I'm not so sure," Alaw's tone was very dark indeed now. "He's rich, Hermione, rich with a powerful family. I can bet you anything the Ministry would just sweep it under the carpet because it would be too much hassle to make it stick."
Hermione said nothing, and Alaw saw that she knew in her heart that this was all true.
"But you can't let him do this to you," she said after a while in a quiet voice. "If you do, he'll think he's untouchable. You have to make a stand."
"Hagrid saw what happened." Alaw said, looking for an escape. "He went to tell Dumbledore about it, he can sort it out."
Hermione wouldn't let it lie though, she pestered Alaw all through dinner, where there was an unusual amount of pointing and staring. It seemed the story had indeed spread quickly, although the Chinese whispers had mangled the details somewhat – Neville came running up to them, ashen-faced, claiming someone had told him Alaw was dead.
However, everybody seemed to have correctly guessed who was behind the attack and Theodore's gang wasn't looking as cocky as they normally did. They all sat together at the Slytherin table but they weren't talking much. Even Theodore himself seemed subdued, he was concentrating very carefully on his food and ignoring the pestering of Pansy Parkinson.
Alaw felt no desire to return to the common room that night so she kept Hermione company in the library until it closed at eleven.
"Come on," said Hermione briskly, leading the way up the stairs. "You can stay in my room tonight, I'll make up the sofa for you. Or would you prefer the bed? You are injured…"
"No, the sofa's fine. Um, do you think that's allowed, though?" Alaw asked as they turned onto the seventh floor and headed towards the western end of the castle where Alaw knew Gryffindor Tower stood.
"Well, I've seen students bring their boyfriends and girlfriends into the Tower all the time, so I really can't see why you can't stop over."
The came to a halt in front of a life-sized portrait of a large woman in a pink silk dress.
"Password," she asked and Hermione answered,
"Fortuna Major."
The Fat Lady gave Alaw a very stern look indeed.
"I'm afraid you'll have to go back to your own Common Room, young lady. No Slytherins are allowed to set foot in the Tower."
"Oh, please!" Hermione begged. "She'll be no trouble, she needs somewhere to stay the night."
"Then she can go back to her own dormitory." the Fat Lady said prissily. "I'm sorry, but rules are rules so unless I heard differently –"
At that moment Percy Weasley, Ron's older brother, turned onto the corridor.
"What's wrong?" he asked, looking from the Fat Lady to the girls. "Forgotten the password? What are you doing here, Alaw?"
Alaw tried to look as pathetic as she could. Percy was a prefect so he probably had the authority to let her in, but Ron and the Twins often moaned about how uptight and fussy their brother could be.
"Please, Percy, I don't want to go back to the dungeons, not after… you know, can't I stay with Hermione tonight?"
Percy pursed his lips and glanced once again at the Fat Lady.
"I don't know," he said. "It is against the rules…"
He took in their pleading expressions and sighed.
"Oh, alright, but just for tonight and don't tell anyone, for Merlin's sake!"
The Fat Lady looked highly disapproving but swung forward nevertheless, to reveal a circular hole. Hermione climbed in first and Alaw followed her inside to the round Tower Common Room. It struck Alaw with a pang that she preferred the Slytherin dungeons, which were bigger and more tastefully decorated. Gryffindor Tower, though more comfortable, was pretty cramped and the tapestries on the walls were quite gaudy.
The Gryffindors sitting by the fireplace and around the tables looked up when they entered and Alaw plucked self-consciously at her green hemmed hood. No one challenged them beyond a few raised eyebrows and Neville waved from a seat by the window. The girls didn't stay up much longer, Alaw was tired and her welts were itching incessantly. When she lay down on the one armed sofa in Hermione's tiny room, Alaw tried not to scratch with little success, and realised glumly, that it was going to be a very long night.