Poisoning the Sister

The next morning, I watched the Hufflepuff table carefully for any signs of change. I'd struggled to think of a way to warn Lucy from consuming the food without tipping her off on the plan, which she'd definitely disapprove of, and had settled for slipping her a nausea potion early that morning. I didn't see her at the breakfast table, which was good. The rest of the Hufflepuffs were cheerily consuming their eggs and beans. Apart from a few louder than usual laughs, things were not noticeably different.

I felt the pressure of my Housemates' stares and swallowed, clinging to my blank expression. I stood, shouldering my bag, and made to leave. Before I could get fully out of the hall, however, a rowdy Hufflepuff crashed into me, sending my books - and body - tumbling across the floor. My only solace was that, with the Hufflepuff table being so loud, few had noticed my embarrassing fall. I ignored my stinging knees and began shoving my books back into my bag, keeping my head down.

The Hufflepuff cursed, saying, "Oh, sorry, mate-"

He paused, looking at the emerald snake embroidered on my robes, and his expression shuttered. "You're Lucy's sister!" he shouted, drawing the attention of his friends.

"No, really," I muttered, climbing to my feet. I was sure my shirt was completely askew and that I had bits of egg in my hair, but all I wanted was to escape the situation. Unfortunately, my journal had slid two paces in front of me - right next to the Hufflepuff's feet.

The Hufflepuff knelt, picking up the journal, and shook it in my direction. "I bet you're the reason why she's sick today!"

"What's that?" his mate, an equally tall, broad-shouldered bloke, asked. "What did the Slytherin do?"

"Poor Lucy's been vomiting all morning - her roommate said this girl," - here he shot me a venomous look - "paid her a visit last night. Gave her some rotten chocolates."

Well, he was right. I had technically poisoned my sister - but only to avoid having her be poisoned by my, well, other potions. It was a complicated situation.

The Hufflepuff looked at the journal and, to my horror, began flipping through its contents, continuing in the same, painfully loud voice, "Is this where you write down your poisons? You'd go after your own sister - who else will you go after?"

Again, he wasn't wrong, and that made it all the worse. For once, I was at a loss for words. "Give - give it back," I tried, my voice wavering somewhat. I held out my hand, and the boy snorted.

"No," he said, snapping my journal shut. "No, I don't think so. I'm tired of you Slytherins bullying us without consequence. Am I right?"

Around him, the small crowd of Hufflepuffs cheered loudly enough to draw the attention of the rest of the Houses. Behind me, I could feel my Housemates' curious looks boring into my back. I knew they weren't going to help me; Merlin, I'd pretty much instructed them not to last night. I was on my own.

If only he had any of my other books - I'd gladly walk away from any of them to escape this situation...but not that book. My journal held the key to my company. I really needed to figure out a way to Transfigure it into something less obvious. If only I were actually competent with a wand.

If only, if only.

I seemed to be doing a lot of wishing lately.

"Give it back," I said again, my voice steely.

"You heard him the first time," his friend said, stepping forward. I was not short, but I still had to crane my head up to look him in the eye. I swallowed. Sure, I had known conflicts would come with the potion, but I had never imagined that I would be the first victim.

Funny how these things worked.

So be it. I looked at the ring of Hufflepuffs, who had managed to encircle me, and sneered.

"Filthy cowards," I said, just loud enough for the Hufflepuffs - and only the Hufflepuffs - to hear.

The sixth year let out a roar and, flinging my journal somewhere behind him, charged. I dropped instantly, narrowly missing his flailing arms, and barreled into his knees. He went crashing to the ground, and I allowed myself a brief moment's satisfaction before a new pair of hands yanked me by my braid. My neck snapped back as I fell to the ground, my hands sliding in spilled ketchup as I struggled for purchase. The collar of my robes flew up, the thick fabric covering my mouth. My breath rasped in my throat as I bit down instinctively, tasting blood.

"OI!" I saw a flash of white as someone cast a hex - not at me, to my great surprise, but at the Hufflepuff pulling my hair. Unfortunately, the Hufflepuff did not let go of her hold, and the force of the hex sent me flying along with her. I crashed into a wooden bench and hissed, blinking blearily as I pushed away from my attacker.

Standing two paces before me, I spotted a flash of red and gold as someone whirled his wand above his head, casting a net around the agitated Hufflepuffs. When he turned, I rubbed at my eyes, sure that the fall had affected my sight - after all, why would Dark and Hostile of all people risk his neck to help me?

The bloke had the gall to wink, and I felt my mouth flop open. Oh, to be cocky, male, and young -

I scowled, staggering to my feet. I ignored him pointedly - he seemed to have the situation under control, anyway - and picked up my journal, frowning at the mustard smearing the cover. I'd have to find Lucy - assuming she wasn't still vomiting - and ask her to clean it magically. Otherwise, I had a long day of cleaning ahead. I tucked the journal carefully between my shirt and outer robes and, glancing at the chaos unfolding in the Great Hall, moved to escape as quickly as possible.

"Hey! You're welcome!" I heard the Gryffindor shout behind me.

I paused, not turning back. I ought to feel some sense of satisfaction from this scuffle. This was, after all, my plan, was it not? Have Hufflepuffs become the instigators of chaos and force Gryffindor against Hufflepuff? If even Dark and Hostile was willing to stand up for me, that meant the rest of the Gryffindors would soon follow. I ought to be glad or, at the very least, satisfied.

Instead, I only felt unease (and, of course, a massive headache; Merlin, those tables were hard). I continued forward with as much dignity as I could muster.

The things I did for science.

xxxxxxxxxxx

That evening, I made my way to the library with the full intent of finally completing my Arithmancy paper. Unfortunately, I saw Lily and Lupin sitting at the table directly facing the entrance, which gave me little room to escape. Blast - I'd forgotten that I was supposed to meet them or, more accurately, that Lily had coerced me into this session.

The Head Girl, of course, spotted me instantly and waved, motioning to the empty chair beside Lupin. I approached gingerly, scooting the chair as far from Lupin as I could, before sitting.

He sniffed, saying, "Is that eggs I smell?"

What was it with Gryffindors and their uncanny sense of smell? I'd tried taking no less than three showers, but the smell of breakfast foods still lingered in my clothes.

Lily's eyes widened. "Wait - were you the Slytherin who got pummeled by the Hufflepuffs today?"

I coughed. "Let's get to the Arithmancy. I don't want to be here all ni-"

"I heard you were knocked unconscious!" Lily breathed, scanning me for injuries.

"No," I said, my voice just a tad shrill, "No, I'm perfectly fine. Now, did you two understand the first chapt-"

"Are you alright?" Lupin asked, turning towards me.

I studiously avoided his gaze; the bloke had an uncanny knack for making me lower my guard. "I'm fine. Pummeled is an overstatement. Besides, Dark an- er, your friend stopped it before it got out of hand," I admitted.

"Dark - Sirius? But he hates you!"

"Remus," Lily hissed, and Lupin flushed, his pretty eyes going wide. "Er, sorry, I only meant -"

I waved a hand. "We came to a truce. Now, can we please get on to the Wenlock Theory?"

Lily, thankfully, opened her Arithmancy book and Lupin soon followed suit. I did wish he would stop staring, though; he looked all too thoughtful for my liking.

"How are you two approaching the proof portion of the assignment?" I asked. I flipped my book open to the section on Wenlock and pointed to one of the paragraphs. "Because here it seems to imply…"

Surprisingly, and to my great relief, we all finished the night with drafts completed. I rolled my parchment and carefully tied it with a frayed length of twine. After slipping it into my bag, I yawned, stretching my arms upward. I felt like there was a tonne of bricks sitting in my mind. I'd barely gotten any sleep last night from nerves over Euphoria #2's performance and, coupled with my head injury earlier this morning…

I needed sleep.

"Merlin, what time is it?" I asked, my throat hoarse from disuse.

Lily looked as bedraggled as I did; her red hair, which was normally neatly styled, was spilling from her bun. The Head Girl looked at the clock behind me and groaned. "It's almost midnight - we'll have to hurry to get back in time for curfew."

I paused. "But - you're Head Girl. And you-" here I pointed at Lupin, who looked even more tired than usual, "-are a prefect. Surely you won't get in trouble for staying out a little past curfew."

"We're supposed to be setting an example. How can I enforce the rules if I'm not willing to abide by them?" Lily returned.

I sniffed. I could see her point, but that didn't mean I agreed with it. I stood from the table, surveying the emptied library. "Right, then, this was productive," I admitted reluctantly.

Lupin grinned. "We should do this more often. Willa, that point you brought up about bringing in Castlerock's third theorem was brilliant."

I caught myself blushing somewhat and scowled. Brilliant was certainly not a word I wanted associated with me. I caught Lily looking at me again - yes, this was far too dangerous to repeat. I wasn't ready to be revealed to the public. Not yet.

"Well, I heard Professor Vector mention it in class, so I can't take credit for it," I lied. "Anyway, I need to be going before any do-gooder prefects nab me."

"I'll walk you," Lupin volunteered.

I froze. What would the Slytherins say if they saw us together? They'd assume the worst - it was late, after all. "No," I said, hugging my bag to my chest. "No, you don't have to do that."

"I want to," he said and, with a smile, added, "as a do-gooder prefect."

I glanced at Lily. If I refused Lupin's offer, which was, to the outside eye, entirely harmless, I risked arousing her suspicions even more than I already had.

"Fine."

Lupin's smile broadened - and, as always, the gesture was slow and utterly unsettling. He had a disarmingly warm smile. "Goodnight, Lily," he said, and Lily gave a wave.

The walk through the corridors was uncomfortably quiet. Lupin's face was shrouded, illuminated only by the cool light of the waxing moon and the tip of his wand. Our footfalls echoed loudly, and I, who had never once been afraid of the dark, caught myself jumping at every small noise. I was often out past curfew - the secrecy of my business sometimes required late night rendezvous - but somehow, this night was different. Even Lupin seemed tense, as he kept glancing out of the wall-length windows. Each time, I followed his gaze, half-expecting to see a swarm of Death Eaters, but all I saw was the depthless black of the lake, only half-illuminated by the waxing moon.

Lupin cleared his throat.

"Are you truly fine, Willa? It's unlike the Hufflepuffs to gang up on a student - even a Slyth - er, I mean-"

"It's alright. I know the Houses hold no love for us."

Lupin paused, and I skidded to a halt, reluctant to leave the light of his wand. "Do you really believe that?"

Was he serious? "Can you disagree?"

He was silent for a moment, his eyes shrouded in shadow, before beginning to walk again. "I suppose I can't. I'm sorry."

"For what? You weren't the one to push me to the ground, and you're hardly the source of the prejudice. Generations before us have followed the same interhouse rivalry, and so will generations after." My voice, despite myself, was outwardly bitter, which took even me by surprise. I hadn't realised how angry this made me, but why shouldn't it? The interhouse rivalry was utter rubbish; it meant my business base was slashed in half and for what? A few coloured jewels, a metal cup and the chance to whack at each other on brooms? Oh, yes, that was truly worth a couple million potential galleons in profits.

"I - no, but I've definitely participated in it," he said. "Or, at the very least, I've allowed J- some people to participate, and that feels worse."

"Mm," I said. I wasn't going to lie and say that he was without blame, but I also wasn't going to attack him further. After all, wasn't I also stirring up drama? I thought of the cauldrons of Euphoria #2 just waiting to be harvested for the second dosage. No, it was best to cut this conversation - and relationship, if one could call it that - short. It was time to scare him off once and for all.

"It's late. I appreciate the heroic chivalry, but I can take it from here," I said, crossing my arms. I forced myself to meet his gaze and felt myself fidget.

Lupin paused, saying, "Why do you always do that?"

I frowned. "Do what?"

He took a step forward, and I felt my breath catch in my throat. In the steady light of his wand, the harsh planes of his cheeks practically glowed, making him appear more ghost than man. "You push people away."

I swallowed. Here, I had to strike a delicate balance between turning him off and avoiding offending him too harshly. Lupin didn't seem the type to hold a grudge or to send his friends after me, but still, my business depended on the outcome of this conversation and countless others like it. To be a successful businesswoman, I needed to learn how to navigate potentially treacherous situations, and I was rapidly realising that, even without magic, I could hold my own in a verbal match.

That, at least, was one benefit of being sorted into Slytherin.

"What if I prefer to be alone? Is there some law that demands a witch must have at least three friends to graduate Hogwarts? Must I talk to a person for at least five minutes to consider the day well spent? There is nothing wrong with being an introvert."

Lupin frowned, his lips parting in protest -

"That's not-"

-what he'd meant, I knew, but I had to leave before he could clarify. "Good night, Lupin," I snapped.

This time, he didn't follow.

AN: thanks so much for reading. Please consider dropping a review - I love reading your comments! :)