Chapter 11 – Cabal

Part II

"Where is your superiority now, Ivanov?" asked Millicent, furious.

Katia's vision darkened and she started seeing stars. She never ever suspected this to happen. If she did, her martial arts training would give her an advantage against Bulstrode's obvious strength. Now she could do nothing but protect her bloodied nose. The curse hummed along with the blood in her ears and it added to Katia's weakness.

"I- we can talk of-"

Millicent grabbed her hair and kicked Katia in her unprotected stomach.

"Now you want to talk, huh?" She took a fistful of Katia's hair and next aimed to punch her bloodied face.

"Listen, stop it!" Ordered Katia, hoping that harsh tone would work on distracting the girl.

"Let her go right now Miss Bulstrode," said a cold voice right behind Millicent and it made her freeze.

She let go of Katia who leaned against the nearby wall, still holding her face.

"She-" tried to reason Millicent, bewildered, but Snape stopped her lifting his hand.

"I don't want to listen to your silly excuses, Miss Bulstrode. You will go to your dormitory right now, and will have a detention with me tomorrow at 7 pm".

Katia could swear that a few heads ducked inside just before Millicent went in.

"Miss Ivanov, are you able to walk on your own?" Asked Snape, seeing that she was leaning against the wall, panting heavily.

"Yes sir, why wouldn't I?" She asked wearily and with a little hint of sarcasm.

"You will go with me to the hospital wing," he replied as if he did not get what she said.

Their way seemed shorter somehow, but Katia did not pay attention to shortcuts she was lead through. She was concentrated on walking. Neither did she notice Argus Filch, who was stalking behind an armor, alarmed with her loud steps.

"When I said to not provoke fights, Miss Ivanov," said Snape after a good fifteen minutes of walking "I never forbid you to fight back."

Katia would have snorted if not her bloodied, sore nose. It was probably broken into tiny pieces. Of course she would fight back, if she hadn't been taken by such surprise. She didn't voice her thoughts however and finally they passed through the familiar double doors.

"Oh dear," said Poppy Pomfrey sleepily. "Let me see your face, child."

Madam Pomfrey made some complicated movements with her wand, but to Katia it was all the same. She should be grateful for this even. The curse retreated, leaving her in a numb state of "whatever".

When the school nurse applied salves and potions on her face, she just slumped on the bed boneless and slept there until the next day.

"You're so stupid sometimes, Bulstrode," said Blaise, irritated.

"What do you want from me?" Exploded Millicent, "You have a wish to look like Ivanov?"

Pansy stood between Zabini and Bulstrode. She put on her sweetest smile and turned a pleading gaze towards Millicent.

"Don't get him wrong, but you were supposed to turn her face into a tomato during Valentines day, not before. You wasted a chance to make her completely humiliated. You are playing against us by doing things on your own."

"You think that you're so smart, both of you, huh?" Asked Millicent.

She was angry because she did her job and they called her stupid. And she had detention with Snape. Dear Merlin, she was angry with them.

"If you listened to us, everything would be fine and you wouldn't have to deal with Snape tomorrow. It's your fault," said Blaise.

"I know perfectly well what I have tomorrow, and it's your fault," she poked him in the chest "Your and hers!"

"My, my," said Blaise, mimicking Draco perfectly, "are you with us or not Millicent?"

What other option did she have? Taking a deep breath, she mumbled, "I'm with you."

Katia was excused from classes after the eventful night. She spent most of the day in the library, looking at text but not reading it. She couldn't figure out the reason behind the late attack on her person and didn't know how to proceed further.

Avoiding her whole house wasn't an option out of this.

She visited Mr. Filch later that afternoon. He almost immediately asked about the night before, confessing that he had seen her walking with Professor Snape.

Katia was puzzled.

"All I can say is that, I really have no idea."

She related the facts precisely. After reviewing the events they both couldn't tell why Bulstrode attacked her.

"I just can't understand this aggression," said Filch. "The girl is kind of slow, but she never used physical violence until now. Are you sure that you didn't do anything to upset her?"

"I can honestly say that I did not."

Katia left earlier than usual, not wanting to repeat yesterday's situation.

Millicent was really scared by the time she reached Snape's office. His uninviting voice sent shivers of fear through her spine. And it was a solid spine.

Her professor was in one of this horrible moods, she could tell. He was sitting by the desk, fingers on his temples.

"Sir?" She asked with a small voice.

"Miss Bulstrode, you will not have a detention with me. Go to Mr. Filch and if I hear that you disobeyed him, you'll have detention till the end of term. Is that clear enough for you?"

"Yes, sir," she said relieved. It was a blessing that she wouldn't be there with Snape and his bad mood. She went to Filch's office almost happily. But her luck wasn't long-lived.

Filch hadn't said a word besides "Follow me."

She followed him to the second floor where he handed her a rug and a bucket. Almost the entire floor was flooded with water.

"You will clean it dry. I don't care how long it will take, it must be done," said Filch dryly.

Millicent guessed that he was upset because of his cat.

"Have a nice time," he added nastily and went off somewhere almost whistling.

"Wooooooow" screeched a semi-transparent girl with big glasses. "Someone's going to loose a little fat today!"

Millicent decided to ignore a ghost, but it rankled her all night anyway.

She finished with the sunrise.

Valentine's day was their big day. They got up earlier than usual to be in their places before Ivanov.

"You got it?" Asked Blaise, quickening his pace.

Pansy who almost ran to keep up with his long strides rolled her eyes. "You asked three times, I packed it yesterday and checked just before we left."

"Millicent," he turned to Bulstrode, "if she won't be distracted, elbow her in the ribs, but not too hard."

"I'm not stupid, you don't need to repeat it every single minute!" She said irritated.

Zabini saw Weasley's red hair just before him but wanted to push through anyway. He ended up colliding with the Gryffindor.

"Watch yourself, Weasel," he pushed him roughly against the door frame.

The redhead wanted to say something, but Millicent pushed him as well.

The trio sat at the Slytherin table; Blaise next to Draco, facing the rest of the tables, Millicent right next to Katia's seat, as usual, and Pansy on Draco's left.

Blaise took the bottle from Pansy and added its content to his pumpkin juice.

"Don't turn around, Millicent," warned Pansy.

Valentines day wasn't any celebration for her. In Bulgaria and Russia it was called an American razzle-dazzle by adults and Katia, who felt more mature - shared their opinion.

The day started rather unfortunate for her, as she found a rude card in her bed:

I wouldn't know that you were a witch

Perhaps there was some kind of a switch

With a swirl and a swish and the help of the moon

Someone changed a princess into baboon

Dressed her up in potato sacks

And gave her a wand that only cracks

So she sits on it with her fat ass

Because there is no other use of it in class

She may use it in other ways

But it's too gross to even say

Now she had another reason to dislike this day. She tore the card into pieces and went for breakfast.

The Great Hall looked horrible with all of the ridiculous decorations. It was a disgrace to the beauty of the old castle and most of the students who entered for breakfast obviously shared the same view.

Ron Weasley was furious at Zabini and Bulstrode. He watched them, waiting for the opportunity to show them an ugly face and his middle finger.

When Harry came, asking what's going on, he only pointed at the teacher's table and resumed glaring at the Slytherins.

The professors were looking as though they were going to throw Lockhart through the nearest closed window any minute.

"Calling him a moron would be an insult to morons," grumbled Snape to McGonagall.

Minerva sighed "Really Severus, he's not even funny."

Almost everyone was looking at dwarfs with golden wings and harps. Almost.

"Look Harry, Zabini changed his glass with Ivanov," said Ron, but it was so fast that Harry hadn't noticed.

"So what," said Harry not turning his eyes from the teacher's table.

Katia was fed up with the atmosphere in the Great Hall and all she wanted was to use the opportunity that everyone was here and go outside. The curse was showing its nasty head and she was tired of restraining it. She needed to deal with it somehow.

She stopped watching the dwarfs and took a few gulps of her pumpkin juice.

Her eyes locked with Draco's the moment she drank from the glass. However, he quickly turned his gaze to the dwarfs.

She felt as though someone had punched her in the stomach. The curse started to boil the blood in her veins.

No, I can't have an attack in front of everyone! I must get out of here!

She stood up, feeling pain, spreading through her body.

Katia took two steps and stumbled. She felt as if someone was piercing her temples with needles. She grasped her head with her fingers and froze.

Draco's eyes widened a little as she teetered and fell on her back, eyes rolled inside her skull.

There was a bang heard from the teacher's table. It was Snape, who dropped his fork.

"What's wrong with her?" Asked Pansy, flabbergasted.

"I don't know," whispered a terrified Blaise, as they heard a terrible shriek, which echoed through the Great Hall.

Katia's body shook uncontrollably, almost like an epilepsy attack and her back arched. She was screaming at top of her lungs as she withered on the floor, looking as if someone hit her with the Cruciatus curse.

A/N: Thanks for reading :D

Thanks to my beta, Cat Paws - without you it wouldn't be posted!

manicrose- you're my 100 reviewer! :)