That Saturday, Victoria had waited until everyone had left the Slytherin common room before disillusioning herself in order to leave. For she didn't want anyone to see her leave for Hagrid's Hut where she was meeting Harry, Hermione, and Andrew in order to spirit Norbert away.
By the time they had arrived under Harry's Invisibility Cloak, Hagrid had Norbert packed and ready in a large crate. Apparently, he felt that the dragon was in need of a teddy bear. Even if they wouldn't need it, especially as Victoria thought she had heard Norbert biting the bear's head off.
Victoria could hear the four of them breathing and panting as they lugged the crate under the cloak. Midnight ticking nearer as they managed to take the route one would often take should they be on their way to the Astronomy Tower for class.
"Nearly there!" Harry panted as they reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower.
Then a sudden movement ahead of them made them almost drop the crate. Forgetting that they were already invisible, they shrank into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared.
It was Professor McGonagall. Wearing a hairnet and a tartan bathrobe over her nightgown. Dragging Draco Malfoy by the ear.
"Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you-"
"You don't understand, Professor. Harry Potter's coming - he's got a dragon!"
"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on - I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"
The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiest thing in the world after that. Not until they'd stepped out into the cold night air did they throw off the cloak, glad to be able to breathe properly again. Hermione did a sort of jig.
"Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!"
"Don't," Harry advised her.
As Harry, Andrew, and Hermione chuckled about Draco getting an detention, Victoria felt something was strange back there. Surely Lavinia would risk detention with Draco, for she had been baiting her about the thing with Hagrid and his dragon. That she would have been there as well.
Thinking back to when Draco tipped off Filch about people being in the Trophy Room at night, Lavinia could probably do something similar. If she had read Charlie Weasley's note.
To her horror, she was beginning to be proven right after Charlie, and his friends had taken Norbert with them. As they descended the spiral staircase, Filch's face loomed suddenly out of the darkness when they reached the landing.
"Well, well, well," he whispered, grinning as if Christmas had come, "we are in trouble."
The blood drained in her face, and she could feel her pulse vibrate through every part of her body. Besides her, Hermione, Harry, and Andrew were pale as she was. Except that Andrew's glare was in contrast to the other two's panic.
"Received a tip-off that people were going to be on the Astronomy Tower," Filch said as he led them through the corridor. "Some codswallop about a dragon. Dragon or not, I'm eager to see what is waiting for the four of you for gallivanting this time of night."
Lavinia, Victoria mouthed. It had to her that tipped off Filch. Her revenge for that incident outside the library. Except that Filch didn't seem to believe it. Professor McGonagall didn't seem to believe it when Draco had told her. There was a chance that Severus wouldn't believe it either.
Knowing Lavinia, she was probably banking on expulsion. And Victoria could imagine her rage when she sees that the worst Victoria would get would be an detention.
Filch had deposited Hermione, Andrew, and Harry into Professor McGonagall's study on the first floor. He was about to take her to the dungeons when they were intercepted by Severus and Professor McGonagall at the Entrance Hall. With them, a shaken Eridani and Neville.
Victoria had blanched at the sight of them. Surely, they weren't trying to follow them to the Astronomy Tower? Or did Eridani clue Neville on Quirrell, and they tried tailing him tonight.
"I found the four of them in the Astronomy Tower," Filch divulges before looking at Severus. "I was about to send her to your office."
"I will take it from here, Filch," Severus said silkily. His furious obsidian eyes not leaving Victoria. Victoria swallowed. Whatever punishment awaited her, she was going to get the same as Eridani and Draco. "Now, Miss Mulciber and Miss Lestrange, you follow me."
Victoria watched as a livid McGonagall nudged Neville towards her study before she and Eridani followed Severus to the dungeons. Who wasn't bothering to see if they were catching up with him.
"Lavinia tipped off Filch," Victoria said. "That someone was going to be up in the Astronomy Tower. She must have."
"Draco told Neville he was going to catch Harry tonight," Eridani said sheepishly. "It was Neville's idea to try to warn you, and I decided to come along, you know."
Victoria swallowed as she felt a flash of guilt. Neville and Eridani had both decided to risk detention to try to warn them about Draco. If anyone could have gotten in trouble for this, it should have been limited it her, Harry, Andrew, and Hermione. Nobody else needn't to have gotten in trouble along with them.
Severus was at the door of his office when they arrived there. He opens the door to his office. "In," he prompts, not concealing the disappointment, fear, and anger in his voice. Looking up at Severus, she saw nothing but disappointment and fear. She knew better than this. Knew better than to leave the dormitory at night, especially with everything going on with Quirrell.
Victoria and Eridani go into the dimly lit office. Where they see Draco Malfoy sitting in a chair. His eyes glancing up at them when the two of them entered.
"Oh, I never thought I see you here, Eridani," he said. "I guess that's what happens when you hang around riff-like with the likes of Weasley, Potter, and Black."
"That be enough, Draco." Severus closed the door behind him and swept towards them. Nostrils flaring as he regarded the three of them as if they had caused a great ruckus during one of their Potions classes. "This is disgraceful. Should you explain yourselves, keep it simple. It's one o'clock in the morning as we speak."
It seemed as though someone might have shoved the Golden Snitch down her throat. There would be no way Severus would accept her being out of bed and in the Astronomy Tower with Hermione, Andrew, and Harry. It would still be breaking school rules.
"Potter, Black, and Granger were going to see off a dragon in the Astronomy Tower," Draco quickly answered. "Someone had to catch them, Professor."
"Don't pretend you're doing this out of pure intentions when everyone knows you have a grudge against Harry," Eridani said before turning to Severus. "Neville and I were trying to warn them about Draco."
"A dragon." Severus snorted. "Filch mentioned earlier this evening about a tip-off he received. That person, too, must have swallowed whatever rubbish Potter and Black conjured up. Hoping to get you out of bed and into trouble. Which would have ended badly had Minerva, Filch, and I had not caught you the three of you."
It was the last part of the sentence in which he appeared to be in some type of reverie. As if he remembered something similar.
No, Andrew and Harry weren't trying to get us into trouble, she thinks. There actually was a dragon. Hagrid was going to get in trouble if he didn't let him go.
Eridani lowers her head while Draco merely kept his mouth shut.
"I cannot ignore your lapse in judgment," he said, breaking out of reverie. "Victoria, I thought you knew better than this. Same for you, Draco, with your father, who is the very chairman on the board of School Governors. All three of you will be given detention, and twenty points each will be deducted from Slytherin. Yes, Draco, in addition to the detention and twenty points deduction already handed out by Minerva."
"You can't do this!" Draco protested, standing from his chair. "My father –"
" – will be most displeased to hear that his son swallowed nonsense and went in pursuit of falsehoods given to him in the dead of night," Severus interrupted cleanly. "If you have any more protests, I'll make it fifty each."
Draco said nothing.
"Now, off to bed," he ordered. "And next time, I better not hear of you wandering the halls in the dead of night. It's foolish, not to mention dangerous. Especially in these days."
Draco was stewing when they returned to their dormitories. Eighty points were lost in one night. Well, it could have been worse. It could have been one hundred and fifty if Draco kept arguing. She didn't know how many points each Professor McGonagall docked from Harry, Andrew, Neville, and Hermione. It couldn't be worse for them, could it?
As she slept, she thought about Lavinia's anger at the thought of her still in school. It certainly wasn't the severe punishment that she had been hoping for. Victoria didn't want to think what Lavinia would have in mind next, for this attempt at revenge backfired.
The following morning, as Victoria gathered her clothes for the day, Lavinia asked coolly, "Packing your bags to take the train, are you? Pity, as I would assume you'd last longer with your guardian as Head of House."
Victoria ignored her. Not responding to Pansy, Laelia, and Rosalie's giggles as she changed out of her pajamas into her clothes. Still paying no mind as she opened her trunk to get one of her books.
She heard as she left the dormitory, "An book is all you're going to take with you after being expelled?"
"You didn't get into trouble, did you?" asked Kevin as they left the Slytherin common room for breakfast.
Victoria shrugged. "Just lost twenty points and a detention for being out of bed," she answered. "Eridani had gotten in trouble too."
"I suppose you found a way to get rid of that dragon," Millicent deduced. "I don't want to know how many points Professor McGonagall docked from Harry, Andrew, and Hermione. I heard that she can be quite ruthless. More so to her own House than the others."
"Add Neville to the list," Eridani had pitched in.
If Victoria had any questions about how many points Professor McGonagall had docked from Gryffindor, they were answered when she and her friends stepped out of the dungeons into the Entrance Hall. There was a small throng of students gathering around the tall hourglasses that recorded the House Points. All of them pointing to the one with rubies in particular.
"Great Godric, I must be counting wrong," muttered one of the sixth-year Gryffindors. "We can't possibly be two hundred points less."
Two hundred points less. More than the eighty points that Slytherin lost last night. This would put Gryffindor in last place. Losing everything they gained from the previous Quidditch match.
"This has got to be a mistake," she heard Angelina Johnson, one of the Chasers of the Gryffindor House team, exclaim. "How could we have two hundred points less?"
"It has to be," Wood could be heard saying. "We just beat Hufflepuff in the last Quidditch match. I'm going to Professor McGonagall."
He's going to flip when he finds out, she thinks.
"I wonder what the Gryffindors did that would put them in last position?" asked Miles Bletchley thoughtfully as they watched Wood leave the crowd of baffled Gryffindors.
"They are not the only ones with missing points." Blaise points to the hourglass with the small emerald stones. "We have eighty points less than yesterday."
"It's not like we lost two hundred," said Marcus Flint, shrugging at the hourglass. "Eighty we can make up in time for the end of term. It's only spring. Though I can't say the same for our counterparts."
Victoria could hear the slight satisfaction in Flint's voice. For it would mean a seventh year in the running of possessing the House Cup.
"Does anyone know who contributed to the loss of eighty points?" Alphard had asked just as Draco approached them.
At that, Draco's face literally turned a rose shade of pink. "No," he spat, glowering at his older cousin. "I don't know what you're talking about. Come on, Eri, Vic. Let's get to the table before Greg decides to take all the bacon."
She was thankful for Draco's deflection. For she didn't want people to know that she was one of them. Though she wouldn't put it past Lavinia to hint at it. She was already spouting nonsense about her being expelled when all she got was detention.
Victoria happened to glance at the Gryffindor table across the hall. There Andrew, Hermione, Harry, and Neville sat at the end. Not talking and not looking at anyone. Almost as if they were afraid to speak to anyone, and she was sure their house mates could read the guilt on their faces. Neville had appeared as if he had spent the night crying in his sleep.
Anyone who suspected them of being the cause of the deduction of two hundred Gryffindor points were soon proved to be correct. For the end of the day, the story had managed to reach every corner of the castle: Harry Potter, the famous Harry Potter, the Gryffindor hero of their two Quidditch matches, had lost them all those points, him and an few other stupid first years.
(Though Victoria wouldn't count Hermione as being exactly stupid).
Feeling as if Slytherin had stolen any Gryffindor chance of winning the house cup, Hufflepuff and even Ravenclaw – the latter who had been friendly with Slytherins – had joined the Gryffindors in the day-to-day tensions between the two houses. Where older Ravenclaws and Gryffindors took to hexing the younger Slytherins ("It's not our fault if one of their own broke the rules," said Blaise one afternoon. "Why take it out on us?").
Over in Gryffindor, Victoria noticed that things weren't so well. Everyone wouldn't talk to Hermione and Neville, with the former now keeping to herself in Double Transfiguration and Double Potions. Harry and Andrew, though, had seemed to get the brunt of the wrath from those in Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. With Harry getting the most of it.
Some people even blamed Andrew. For there were whispers that he had tried to loop Harry and Hermione into whatever malicious plan he had.
"What can you do?" Victoria demanded as they left Double Transfiguration one afternoon. "It's not like you know any curses or anything."
"Some of these people don't care," Andrew sighed. "It's not like they are smart, anyway."
Harry was no doubt miserable. She'd be too, if people were yelling insults at him on the daily as he passed. Victoria grimly knew that people wouldn't be giving him this much of a hard time had he not had that scar and notoriority attached to his name.
"Just because he's famous, you have to make it harder for him," she spat to one of her year mates as Harry passed by.
"Of course, you'd like him," that Hufflepuff (Zacharias Smith, was it? She didn't care). "He's the reason your lot is going to win the House Cup for the seventh year in a row."
Seeing how miserable Harry was, she didn't know what to say that would comfort him. Even if Ron tried cheering him up, it probably didn't help.
Slytherins, on the other hand, had seemed oblivious to who was the cause of their loss in eighty points. Even if Victoria had suspicions that they figured out who, they had the tact to keep their thoughts to themselves. In comparison to how those in the other three Houses treated Harry and Andrew.
Lavinia, for her part, seemed furious that Victoria's punishment wasn't as severe as she hoped. Victoria figured that she might be planning something. A thought that she confirmed when she found a note waiting for her bed one afternoon.
I might not get you this year, but I will soon. Anyone who shows disrespect to the House of Mulciber will have their day. Do not forget that, half-blood scum
L.R.M
If there were a few things she had learned about pure-blood society and etiquette during her times spent with the Malfoys, it was that red ink was a sign of animosity. Screeching Howlers were bad, but one never wanted to receive a letter written in red ink. A letter like that meant that you'd have to watch your back. To try to come up with something to take care of them before the other person did.
Victoria crumbled the letter in her fist. She was going to show her. That she was just as good as she was.
When she went to Severus about it an hour later, he said, "Those that are arrogant tend to underestimate those they are trying to squash. It's like trying to awake a sleeping dragon, which would prove disastrous. The best revenge that you can give is to slowly show her that she would be wrong to underestimate you."
The best revenge that you can give is to slowly show her that she would be wrong to underestimate you. Of course, he didn't mean anything brash that would put her in detention. Victoria had to be smart about it. If Lavinia were to destroy her, she'd have to pull the rug from out from her at some point.
Lavinia aside, revision for exams had consumed Victoria's time that she never even considered giving Quirrell and his plot to steal the Philosopher's Stone a thought.
Though at least Quirrell did for a short time. When a Slytherin third-year came around with a list.
"I'm creating the betting pool for exam week," the girl said. Removing the quill from her ear. "The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher usually is removed from the post around this time for some reason. I was wondering if one of you has an idea what it might be. If it's worthy of thought, I add it to the final list."
A betting pool to see what happened to the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. An action that would be cruel had if it weren't for the fact that a man hosting her father was the teacher for this year.
Victoria took the list and scanned it. Some of the things on there were so silly and had no chance of happening, while some of the things were gruesome. Draco's "Killed by the vampire that is hunting them" was not a surprise.
Feeling spiteful, Victoria wrote down, "Will get killed by whatever is in the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side."
On Saturday, a couple weeks after Norbert's departure, notes were delivered to Victoria, Eridani, and Draco at their table during breakfast. Victoria's and Eridani's were the same:
Your detention will take place at nine o'clock tonight. Meet me in the Potions classroom
Prof. S. Snape.
"I wonder what Professor Snape will have us do," Eridani wondered as Draco threw his own next down next to his bowl of cereal. Looking at it in disgust.
"Mine says I have to meet with Filch in the entrance hall at eleven tonight," said Draco. "Do you think that one of you could trade? I'd rather have another detention with Professor Snape than see what Filch has planned."
Draco had detention the week after Norbert's departure. They had heard nothing about it, as it was Severus, he wouldn't complain. Had it been any other teacher, he'd be complaining up a storm.
"I don't think they'll allow us to do it without giving us another detention," Victoria pointed out before returning to her plate of tomatoes, eggs, bacon, and potatoes.
At nine that night, Victoria and Eridani took the relatively short journey from the Slytherin common room to the Potions classroom. Severus was already there – and so was Andrew. The latter's scowl indicating that this was the last place he wanted to be.
So, we're all here," Severus drawled. "The three of you will be cleaning out the cauldrons" – he gestures to the stack of dirty cauldrons in the corner – "in preparation for the coming examinations. The cleaning materials" – he opens a cabinet with a flick of a wand – "are all there. There will be no talking. Start."
Cleaning cauldrons without magic. This wasn't new to Victoria, as Severus had her clean her cauldrons and utensils out by hand after every Potions session back home in Spinner's End. She hadn't cleaned loads of them before, though at least she wasn't cleaning all of them by herself.
The three of them didn't speak as they did their task. Cleaning out the cauldrons while Severus had watched them as he graded papers. By the time Victoria had finished with her last cauldron, her knuckles were red, and her elbows were sore on top of the fatigue that was seeping into her body.
When they were dismissed, Victoria was happy to slump into her bed. And she had felt better when she'd got up Sunday morning.
She had yet to enter the Great Hall for breakfast when someone takes her by the hand. "Vic, come on!" Harry exclaims in her ear. "It's Hermione!"
She doesn't get the time to ask what had happened when he pulls her through corridors. Victoria was breathless by the time Harry reached the classroom.
Hermione and Ron were there. Which caused Victoria to tilt her head and furrow her brow. Hermione seemed fine, and Harry made it seem like she had gotten herself into trouble.
"I thought Hermione was in trouble," Victoria asked.
"No, that was me trying to find an excuse to bring you here," said Harry.
Victoria had finally understood. Whatever it was, Harry couldn't tell her with everyone hearing.
"You found something out about the Stone," she understood."
"Yes, Quirrell isn't trying to steal it for himself," said Harry. "He's stealing it for Vol- I'm sorry – You-Know-Who."