Surprisingly Pure- mypseudonym
Chapter 11- Pranks & Problems
The morning shined bright and full of promise for Brenna's first day of payback. She had filled Draco in the night before, and he was fully prepared to help. That morning a large group of Slytherin 7th years lingered outside the Great Hall, with Draco now giving a full description of Potter and Weasley's faces as the spells took effect. When the two had no choice but to walk past the group to enter the Great Hall, Brenna silently placed charms on each of them. Draco distracted the group for a few minutes longer so as not to draw attention before they moved into the Great Hall.
Already the charms had taken effect. Ron was not able to speak at a volume lower than a bellow while Harry was speaking of himself only in the third person. The hall rang with laughter, mostly at Ron, who wasn't aware of the volume at which he was speaking. Brenna and Draco laughed along just like all the other students. That afternoon in Transfiguration, the two kept finding that their wands were slipping out of their hands. McGonagall was furious with them, thinking they were being insubordinate.
In the mean time, Brenna noticed that she really did have a little pack of admirers. They followed her around at a respectful distance, which explained why she hadn't really noticed before. Brenna presumed they didn't want to deal with her brother should they do anything rash. That evening at dinner, a Gryffindor first year nervously walked over to the Slytherin table carrying a box of chocolates.
"These are for you." the girl said, handing Brenna the box.
"Who are they from?" Draco ordered, sneering at the little girl.
"Now now, Draco. There's no need to be mean to a first year. I'd really like to know who sent me this nice box of chocolates. If you whisper it in my ear, Draco won't be able to hear you." she said sweetly, leaning back.
"Harry Potter, but he said for me not to tell you it was him." the girl whispered. Brenna smiled.
"Thank you. I won't tell him I found out from you," she said kindly. "You'd better go back to your own House now. Thank you for bringing these over here."
As soon as the little one was gone, Brenna ripped the top off the box and cut a chocolate open. She recognized the odor of a Weasley brothers love potion. She chose a chocolate and made a big show of putting one in her mouth. She was careful not to bite down, and spit the whole chocolate out at the first opportunity.
About ten minutes later Brenna rose from the table and, being careful not to look anywhere but the Gryffindor table, sashayed her way across the hall. She tried to put on her most lustful expression. She strode up behind Harry and slowly ran her hand across his chest. The look of pure glee on Ron's face told her she'd guessed correctly about who she was supposed to be attracted to.
"Oh Harry Potter." she said, breathily, moving her head down until it was beside his head. "Was that the best you could come up with? Honestly, did you think I wouldn't check out the chocolates before I ate them or did you think I wouldn't recognize the scent of a Weasley love potion? Pathetic." she whispered roughly into his ear. She dropped the box of chocolates on the table in front of him and strutted away toward the chorus of raucous laughter from the Slytherin table.
For two weeks the battle raged between Brenna, Ron and Harry. Almost every day she was able to pull a prank on one or both of them. Not one time were they able to return a prank. It was getting worrisome though as the boys grew slowly more and more desperate to prank her. Brenna was relishing in her glory. Without the responsibility of whatever Harry's latest scheme was, she was able to have the best marks in her class and prank the boys without ever being caught.
One afternoon, Brenna was walking back to the Slytherin common room after classes. She had to go down a long flight of stone stairs into the dungeons. Little did she know that Harry and Ron had installed a trip wire right before the top of the stairs. She would trip over it and fall on the floor just before the stairwell. Draco, Crabbe, Goyle and a host of other Slytherins were a few yards behind her.
Just as planned, Brenna tripped over the wire. She tried to catch herself before hitting the ground and inadvertently ended up propelling so far forward that she rolled head over feet down the stairs, screaming as she fell. She landed in a heap at the bottom of the stairs.
"Pretty Brenna! Are you okay? Goyle will help you!" Gregory Goyle bellowed. He moved to run down the stairs. Unfortunately, the trip wire had not broken when Brenna fell, so Goyle tripped in the same spot. He was much taller than Harry and Ron's intended victim, so he too ended up falling down the stairs, landing on top of Brenna at the bottom. She screamed again. Goyle had broken the wire so the other students ran at top speed, Draco calling directions.
"Pansy, go get Professor Snape now! Tell him there is an emergency." Draco ordered. Pansy headed straight off to the Potions classroom. "Crabbe, Zabini, pull Goyle off my sister." The two boys immediately went to work helping Goyle get up without crushing Brenna further. Draco knelt at his sister's side.
"Brenna, are you okay?" he asked.
"No." she cried in agony. "I think my leg is broken." There were footsteps as Pansy came running back up the corridor with the professor right behind her. He knelt on the floor beside Brenna.
"Drink this." he said, putting a vial to her mouth. Brenna obediently drank and felt the pain lessen a little.
"Mr. Malfoy, go to my office and Floo your home. Tell your parents they are needed at Hogwarts." Snape said. Draco ran off. Professor Snape was one of few people he would leave Brenna with without question. "Mr. Goyle, are you able to walk?"
"Yes, sir." he said, standing to prove it.
"Good, you will follow Miss Malfoy and I to the Hospital Wing. Miss Bulstrode, you will go to the Headmaster's office and tell him he is needed in the Hospital Wing. Miss Greengrass, you will go to my classroom and tell the second years their lesson has been cancelled," Snape said. He conjured a stretcher and carefully loaded Brenna onto it. Brenna screamed again as he moved her leg. As soon as she was safely on it, Snape levitated the stretcher and hurried up the stairs, yelling.
"Potter! Weasley! Show yourselves." he barked. The two boys appeared from under Harry's invisibility cloak. "You will follow us to the Hospital Wing, and bring whatever your instrument of torture was." The two boys nodded wide-eyed. They had intended to embarrass Brenna Malfoy, but they had potentially seriously injured her.
They were an odd parade walking down to the Hospital Wing. Snape floated Brenna to a bed and gently lowered the stretcher.
"Poppy. You've got a new patient." he said loudly. The Mediwitch bustled out of her office. "She fell down the dungeon stairs, then Mr. Goyle here fell as well and landed on her. I'm fairly certain she has a broken leg, but she may have other injuries. Mr. Goyle also needs to be assessed. Her parents are on their way." Severus said.
"Has Albus been notified?" Poppy asked, waving her wand over the now unconscious Brenna.
"I dispatched a Slytherin to do it." he said. "What can I do?"
"She does have a broken leg, and a couple of broken ribs as well. The bone-mending potion is on the shelf. We'll also need the one for a concussion and a dose of the strongest pain potion we've got." Poppy said, finishing her scan. The potions master grabbed a handful of potions and hurried back over to the bed. He slowly began administering them while Poppy herded Goyle to a bed so she could examine him. He was given a mild pain reliever and sent on his way. In the mean time, Albus arrived, accompanied by Minerva. Severus filled them in on Brenna's condition and what he knew of the accident. She told him there was a crowd of 7th year Slytherins outside the wing. She would speak to them to get an account of the accident. Albus looked at Brenna, then the two professors present. He asked Severus to alert him if there were any changes and headed back to his office.
Draco came into the wing followed by Lucius and Narcissa.
"Severus, what happened?" Lucius asked as Narcissa ran over to her daughter.
"She fell down the stairs, then Goyle fell on top of her. She broke her leg, a couple of ribs, and has a concussion. We've treated everything now; there's nothing left to do but wait while her body heals itself." Snape explained.
"Do you know why she fell?" Narcissa asked.
"I have my suspicions, but nothing is confirmed yet. Minerva and I will share information with you as we get it." Severus said. "I've got to speak with a few students about what happened. Minerva and I are trying to get all the accounts straight. I will be back as soon as I know something." He walked out of the wing, pushing Harry and Ron ahead of him.
McGonagall had finished speaking to the students in the corridor. They all reported that Brenna and Greg had both just mysteriously fallen. They all came down the same steps and no one encountered anything to make them misstep. She noticed Severus taking Potter and the youngest Weasley boy from the wing and followed them to a nearby empty classroom.
The boys sat down, facing the fearsome Potions Master and the Transfiguartion professor.
"Alright, you two. What happened?" Snape growled.
"It was an accident, honest. We just meant for her to trip, not to fall down the stairs." Ron squealed.
"How did you mean for her to trip?" McGonagall asked.
"She's been pranking us for weeks and we hadn't been able to prank her back. We just tried to do this one thing, but it ended up terribly." Harry said.
"What did you use, Potter?" Snape said dangerously. Harry dug in his pocket and pulled out a spool of barely visible thread and handed it to the professor. Snape unrolled a little of it, and pulled. It was very strong. "Tripwire." he mumbled. The boys nodded.
"Minerva, I'll leave these two to you. I've got to go check Miss Malfoy's ankles for damage. I don't know if Poppy would have scanned all the way to her feet." Severus said. He left the room returning to the hospital wing. The Malfoys were gathered around the bed, watching Brenna. Severus stood at the foot of the bed and started carefully removing Brenna's shoes.
"What are you doing?" Narcissa asked.
"I've got to check her feet for damage." Severus said, carefully rolling down her socks. Sure enough there was a large red line across her left ankle. Snape got a cream to heal it before checking to make sure that her feet and ankles were not broken.
"What is that? What happened?" Lucius asked.
"It was a prank. They'd meant for her to fall, but not down the stairs. Apparently she tried to land on her feet, thus giving her the propulsion to reach the stairs. It was a trip wire," he said, holding up the roll of thread Potter had given him. He unrolled a little for them to see. "There's no way anyone could have seen this a few inches from the floor."
"If she fell on a tripwire, then how did Goyle trip?" Draco asked.
"Simple- Brenna's weight wasn't enough to break the trip wire. This stuff is strong. Mr. Goyle broke it with his fall, allowing the rest of you to run down undeterred. If you'd rushed it at the same time, a lot more than one person could have fallen." Snape explained.
"Who would prank my daughter? I want the perpetrator expelled!" Lucius demanded.
"She's been engaged in a prank war with some students for the last several weeks. She had been able to prank them, but no one had succeeded in pranking her back. It was not meant to be harmful in any way. I truly believe they just meant to embarrass her. She will make a full recovery, so I don't feel that expulsion is quite necessary. The Headmistress will make sure that they are severely punished, but Brenna is not entirely without responsibility in this matter."
"This prank war will have to end, Severus, before someone else gets hurt." Narcissa said.
"I quite agree. I will personally assemble all the involved parties as soon as Brenna is awake to discuss terms of peace." Severus said.
Brenna awoke an hour later feeling very sore. Madam Pomfrey examined her thoroughly while she told Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape what had happened. Minerva in turn told her everything that had happened in the wake of her accident. They then left her with her family for a moment, pulling the curtains tightly shut.
"How are you feeling, love?" Narcissa asked.
"I'm a bit sore, but otherwise I'm fine, Mother. You can stop worrying now." Brena replied.
"You gave us quite a fright, little girl. Try not to let it happen again." Lucius said.
"Yes, Father. I will not make it a habit to fall down a flight of stairs and have a very large student fall on top of me." Brenna replied, laughing a little. She started to laugh, but it hurt her bruised muscles too much, so she stopped after emitting a quiet squeaking noise.
"Your father and I brought you something. Since tomorrow is your birthday, we decided to give you a present now." Narcissa said. Lucius reached into his robe and brought out a small square box that could only mean one thing- jewelry.
"We wanted to make sure you would always feel like a part of this family." Lucius said, opening the box. "Happy birthday, Brenna." Brenna gasped at the contents of the box. Lying there was a miniature Malfoy family crest on a silver pendant.
"Oh thank you, Father. Thank you, Mother." Brenna gasped. Lucius carefully removed the necklace and fastened it around her neck. The Malfoy's then said their goodbyes and headed home for dinner. Draco sat at her bedside dutifully. Brenna finally started to take the time to look at herself. She pushed up the sleeves on her rather large Hospital Wing pajamas. Angry red and purple buises marked her arms. Angry red and purple bruises marked her stomach. The largest and angriest red and purple bruises though were on her legs.
"I'm completely covered in bruises," she said quietly.
"Yeah. They haven't treated those yet. Bruises come after broken bones and concussions. I'm sure Madam Pomfrey has something for those though." Draco remarked.
"Miss Malfoy, it's time to end your little war." Professor Snape said, standing in between the curtains.
"I quite agree." she replied.
"Mr. Malfoy, you may go," the professor said.
"Respectfully, professor, no." Draco said. " I was involved in this as well." Professor Snape nodded and held the curtain up for Harry and Ron to slink past. They sat in the chairs on the other side of Brenna's bed from Draco.
"We're really sorry. We didn't mean for it to be near this bad." Harry said.
"I should hope you hadn't intended to kill me." Brenna said snarkily.
"Alright you four, what started all this nonsense?"
"Well sir, Draco couldn't get along with them, so I fell into what was already a bad situation. In Diagon Alley this summer, after Madam Malkin had prodded us repeatedly, Draco and I ran into Potter and Weasley while we were waiting for Mother. We exchanged some unpleasant words. Then, on the first day of classes, Potter, Weasley, and I were alone for a while in the Defense room. Words and threats were exchanged. I told them that if they attacked Draco, or me there would repercussions. Anyway, that afternoon was the attack on Draco, who had no idea what had transpired that morning. From then on well, you've seen it." Brenna explained.
"Anything to add?" he asked, looking at Harry and Ron. It was a fair retelling of the whole debacle, so the boys shook their heads.
"Alright, obviously there is longstanding bad blood here. Your activities though have managed to injure not just yourselves, but other students as well. This constant one-upping of each other will cease immediately. I can't tell you that you can't argue, but you will no longer fight using magic or any physical means. Furthermore, after Miss Malfoy is released, you will all be serving a detention together. Expect manual labor."
The four students nodded that they understood the terms.
"Now, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Malfoy, it is currently dinner time in the Great Hall. You will proceed there without incident. Miss Malfoy, your dinner will be delivered shortly." the professor said, turning tail and stepping out. He began to help Madam Pomfrey push back the curtains that surrounded Brenna's bed. Harry, Ron, and Draco walked out of the wing. Professor Snape followed them.
"Madam Pomfrey?" Brenna asked as they left. The older witch turned and smiled at her kindly.
"Yes, dear. Do you need something?" she asked.
"Actually- I do have to use the restroom, but I wanted to ask you about my bruises. They really hurt. Is there anything that can be done for them?"
"I'm afraid I can't treat your bruises until tomorrow, dearie. The bruise healing paste has a rather nasty reaction with the concussion potion, so we have to wait 24 hours before I can do anything for your bruises. The restroom is over there. Do you think you can make it alone, or would you like help?"
"If you could help me get out of bed I think I might be able to manage the rest of it." she said, pushing herself to more of a seated position. Madam Pomfrey helped her turn her legs gingerly, and the girl carefully put her feet on the floor.
Making her way to the bathroom across the wing was difficult, but Brenna was determined that she would not require help in the bathroom. The one-size-fits-all pajamas were much too large for her. Brenna had to keep one hand around the waist of the pants to keep them from falling down around her ankles. Her muscles ached with every move, and there were bursts of pain when a bruise came in contact with the rough cotton of the pajamas. It took a while, but she did manage to make it to the bathroom and back to bed alone.
Dinner was waiting when she returned to bed. Madam Pomfrey rolled a tray table over her bed and placed a plate of roast chicken with vegetables. She also got boiled apple slices with cinnamon, pumpkin juice, and a slice of chocolate torte. It was a lot of food, but Brenna ate a little of everything. It must have been enough to appease the nurse because she didn't fuss at Brenna to eat more when she came to take the tray.
A couple of hours after dinner Draco was back, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.
"We come bearing gifts!" Draco called cheerily as they neared her bed.
"Hi, Vincent. Greg, are you okay?" she asked. Goyle held out a bouquet of flowers.
"For you, pretty Brenna. Goyle is sorry he fell on you." Goyle said. Brenna smiled at him before taking the flowers, trying not to gasp when the bruises on her back and stomach pulled.
"Thank you Goyle. It wasn't your fault that you fell." Brenna said simply. Draco filled the vase on her bedside table with water and held it out to receive the flowers. Draco then opened the bag he had set on the foot of her bed.
"I thought you might want some of your own pajamas since you'll be stuck in here all night and all day tomorrow. No offense, sis, but the ones you're wearing could fit Crabbe here. You look ridiculous." He pulled out Brenna's black silk pajama suit. Brenna clapped her hands and grinned. Those would feel so much better.
"Okay, I'm going to go change. You guys wait here." she said, managing to carefully swing her legs off the bed. With clean pajamas in one hand and the other hand holding up her pants, Brenna hobbled off to the bathroom to change. It was a little easier to deal with the pain from the pajamas knowing it was her last trip in them.
Getting undressed and dressed again was a bit painful, but it was worth it to have the comfortably fitting, lightweight silk pajamas on. She could barely feel anything when her bruises met with the silk, and it was much easier to move.
The boys were still waiting when she came out, having settled into the chairs around her bed. On Draco's lap was Dolce.
"Oh Dolce." she said, making her way back across the room. Draco turned and smiled at her.
"Well you look better now, move better too." he said. "We figured since tomorrow is your birthday, you might want to spend some time with your birthday present." Draco said.
"Tomorrow Brenna's birthday?" Crabbe asked.
"Yes, Crabbe. Tomorrow is my birthday." Brenna said, climbing back into her bed and pulling the covers back over her legs. Draco put the kitten on her lap.
"Tomorrow is Hogsmeade day." Crabbe said.
"I'm afraid I won't be able to go. I have to stay here until after dinner tomorrow." Brenna said.
"That is sad." Goyle said.
"Oh, I'll be okay. Don't be sad." Brenna said, petting Dolce while trying to steer the kitten away from her most painful bruises.
"Well we've got to get back before curfew. Is there anything you want for tomorrow? I can stop by in the morning." Draco said, scooping Dolce back up.
"There's a book beside my bed. It would be great if you could bring me that and my Arithmancy textbook, some parchment, quill and ink. That should get me through the day." she said.
"Okay. I can believe you're going to do homework on your birthday." Draco said, shaking his head.
"Think about it Draco, what else can I do in here besides read and do my homework?"
"Alright boys, visiting hours are over. Miss Malfoy needs her rest. You can come back in the morning." Madam Pomfrey said, herding them out of the wing.
"Night, Bren." Draco said.
"Night, Draco." she responded. Madam Pomfrey gave her another dose of pain potion and a Dreamless Sleep Potion before turning out the infirmary lights. Brenna closed her eyes and relaxed.