CHAPTER FOUR: LETTERS & OWLS & MOONS, OH MY


"Cessy."

"I can't believe this-did you know they're trying to cover up the disappearance of those four wizards as them taking a spontaneous holiday? The hell kind of rubbish is that!"

"Cecily."

"I swear on Salazar, if they're going to keep covering these things up who's to say the students won't start going missing?! It's ridiculous!"

"Cecily. Stop."

"What? Oh, sorry. I just-,"

"Yeah, I know." Draco rolled his eyes at me and took the Daily Prophet out of my hands. His message was clear; I would have to stop reading it.

At least in public forums.

The Great Hall was exactly the kind of place where both he and I didn't want my loud mouth running too loudly; especially with slimy pink toads lurking about at the teacher's table. My left hand, which I had charmed so that my classmates couldn't see my hideous scars, itched at the thought of her.

My fellow Slytherin's were all looking at me nervously. They all knew how frantic I could get when things like this happened and were not being addressed properly-which was almost always nowadays. Had I not been who I was, I probably would've been giving me the same looks that they were giving me now. Puginson looked especially annoyed with me today although it was probably for a different reason than me shouting less than taboo things out to the world. I smirked at her.

Tracey-who I was now positive fancied my brother but was too shy to say anything about it-had clearly wanted to sit next to Draco this morning at breakfast and Parkinson had slid into the seat next to him before Tracey could.

Seeing this, and being the kind little sister I was, I had politely asked Parkinson to move her pug like nose far away from my brother so that he wasn't disturbed by her canine like features. With the seat having been opened I gestured toward Tracey and she had shyly but delightedly taken it. Also to her delight my brother had given her a small smile. He'd told me that on their patrols together Tracey was not such bad company which I'm sure would've made the girl swoon at his heels.

Draco, who was across from me and not seeming bothered by his new bench mate had not defended Puginson against my remark-he never did, I didn't know why she would look for him to do so-and when she had grown upset with him he simply shrugged.

She was now seated four seats away from him and glaring devilishly at me. I smiled at her.

Oh well.

Theodore, loyal as always, was sat right next to me and looking at me with his kind eyes as my brother read through the paper that I was now glaring at viciously.

"Things will work out how the need to," He said, trying to be assuring though he and I both knew he was just trying to appease me about the whole debacle.

By the look he was giving me he knew as well as I did that with how things were going in our world nothing was going to work out how it needed to.

The chaos was just beginning.

"Are you going to talk to Snape today, Cessy?" Draco asked me from across the table.

His eyes hardened at the mention of Snape and I knew it was because of our endless argument; he still wanted me to tell him about Umbridge's nasty quills. It had only a few days since it happened and every night since then I had gone to detention with Potter and the exact same detention was given to us. We used those wretched quills and our hands would slice open over and over again until the hour was up.

I wasn't sure what Potter's hand looked like but if it looked like anything like mine did-almost a raw violet color where the letters were scribed with a constant throbbing-then I was sure he was in just as much as pain as I was. I wondered vaguely if he had told his friends.

Potter and I hadn't spoken much since our first night with Umbridge but I didn't have to be a mind reader to see that his hatred for her burned as harshly as mine did.

We were both owed justice when it came to her.

I narrowed my eyes at my brother, hoping mine were just as solid as his.

"Yes, I am," I said, though my glare told him what he didn't want to hear.

Yes, I was going to speak with Snape today but it wasn't going to be about the quills, nor my detentions with Potter, or anything involving Umbridge's medieval methods of punishment.

I was just going to ask him about the essay that he had given us due this coming Monday on the properties of Moonstone. I was also planning on asking him about what he thought about all of the Daily Prophet nonsense. Surely someone as smart as Severus Snape could see past the Ministry's lies and deceitfulness.

Draco didn't need to know that last part though; I could picture all too clearly his furious expression if he knew I was going to the dungeons to gossip with Snape about our more than corrupt society.

"Ask him how long the essay he wants us to write is supposed to be," Theodore said.

He had clearly seen the rising tension between my brother and me and with him being a good friend to the both of us I could tell he was trying to ease it.

"I will," I said to him, giving him a cheeky smile and ignoring my brothers disapproving face.

Whether he was disapproving of me ignoring his advice about reporting Umbridge or disapproving of me smiling at Theodore like I did, I didn't know.

"Before you do that will you bring this to the Owlery?" Draco reached into the pocket of his perfectly tailored black suit and handed me a rather thick letter.

It was addressed simply to "Mother". I raised an eyebrow at him but he ignored my questioning stare and impatiently waved the letter in front of my face so I would take it.

I didn't ask him right then why he would be sending a letter to our mother so early in the school year-usually we both waited until at least Halloween-but I did give him a hard stare to show him that I wanted to know why eventually. I took it in my hands; it was pretty heavy.

It seemed he'd been writing it for a while; maybe it was the letter he had started in the summer?

But then why wouldn't he have given it to mother before we left for school? Seems a bit silly.

"Of course I will," I said to him finally and he seemed to relax his intense demeanor.

No one else at the table seemed to notice his anxiety creeping through while he gave me the letter. But being his twin and knowing all his of tells-which went with him knowing mine, regrettably-I knew that he had taken a deep sigh of relief when I had taken it.

It must be a very important letter…

I thought grudgingly. Whatever it was that he had to say to mother clearly wouldn't be said to me any time soon; by the way he was glaring at me while I eyed the letter I could tell he didn't want me to open it. I was slightly offended.

What could he possibly tell our mother that he couldn't tell me? I was his twin sister! Undoubtedly the most loyal person to him in all of the world and he had the need to keep so many things from me all of a sudden? It seemed he was just piling on the secrets as the school year went on.

"Want me to come with you?" Theodore asked.

I smiled at him and looked at Draco, who didn't look bothered by the idea.

Oh, so apparently he trusts Theodore not to open the letter but not me? Ridiculous!

"Yeah that'll be fun-," I said. "Maybe we can catch Jojo and her white feathered friend."

"She'd hate us if we did." He laughed.

"Exactly, that makes it all the more fun."

My brother scoffed at us and shook his head. Blaise beside him as well as Crabbe and Goyle and even Tracey were all looking at us like we were crazy.

"What?" I asked, slightly annoyed with each of them.

"Cat people." Was all my brother said with a harsh roll of his eyes.

His tone suggested that "cat people" as he called us, were simply nutters. And he was right, but he should've known that by now.

I chuckled and Theodore simply shrugged off his words.


At the Owlery the wind had picked up quite a bit, much to my usually flat hairs' dismay. For early September it was unseasonably cold already although the sun on the walk up here was warm on my light olive green jacket that I wore. Theodore was sporting a grey hooded jumper that looked worn from age; he looked like a young boy in it.

"Bit cold, innit?" He said, rubbing his hands together as we walked up the steps to the stone building which was surrounded by loose feathers of all colors and sizes.

Even from out here I could hear the soft cooing of the owls and some other loud squawks from them too. In the back of my mind I wondered if I might recognize Heracles' proud coo the way I recognized Jojo's meows or hisses from a mile away.

Probably not; Heracles was more my brother's animal than mine and I didn't quite pay attention to him all that often to know exactly what he sounded like surrounded by other owls.

The letter that my brother had given me was safely in my hands.

"Very." I answered Theodore.

"Wait, Cessy do you see those…?" Theodore grabbed the back of my jacket before I could take another step and pointed to the rather large foot prints that could only be a felines walking up and down the steps to the Owlery.

It had been raining for the past couple of days and it was no surprise that the earth was still wet from it and so the cat prints were damp as well. They must've been fresh too because they were still dark on the stone. As Theodore pointed to them I knew what he was thinking; maybe Jojo was here meeting with her friend.

"It could be anyone's cat, Theodore, don't go assuming things," I said.

He shrugged.

"Those are awfully big cat prints to assume it's just anyone's cat." He gave me a look with his wide blue eyes and I chuckled, nodding.

Jojo was known for her massive size and the paw prints we were looking at did look about the size of hers.

"I guess we'll find out," I said as we opened the door to the Owlery and stepped inside.

In the building the wind subsided but the cold remained; it seemed there was no heating system for the owls which made me kind of sad; what if they got cold?

The smell in the Owlery was awful. It was a mixture between unwashed feathers, bird droppings, and old hay; not the most flattering of scents. I looked around the place to see all the different owls whom were all looking back at us with big curious eyes. Some tilted their heads in wonder, some looked nervously at us and some looked unbothered by our presence. The Owlery itself was a very tall and cylindrical building and I could see all of the owls lined up all the way to the top. Heracles wasn't hard to spot; he was sitting at the top of the tower with his large black eyes staring at me.

It seemed he had recognized me-most likely by the way my white blonde hair was much easier to spot compared to Theodore's-and with a large swoop of his wings he lunged down toward Theodore and I. He softly hooed at me and I smiled at him, giving him one of the treats that my brother had told me to bring for him before we left the Great Hall.

"Hey there boy, you're looking well fed." I pet his soft feathers and he sat contently with his eyes closed as he let me stroke him.

He was a good owl; a dutiful owl and Draco loved him. I remember seeing the wide wonderous eyes my brother had when my mother and father had come home with our animals and how excited Draco was to finally have his own owl. Jojo had been a joy to have from the start and mother had told me proir to her buying Jojo that she would get her for me but Heracles had been a complete surprise to my brother. I'd never forget how happy he was that day. I sighed and looked over at Theodore. I couldn't help the smirk that spread across my face as I looked at him.

Theodore, whom had always been a bit nervous around Heracles-for he was a very proud animal and liked to bite those who offended him-had taken a step back when the owl had landed in front of us and was eyeing him with cautious eyes.

"I can't believe after all this time you're still afraid of him," I said and rolled my eyes, giving the bird another treat.

"I'm not afraid, he's just very large. What is it with you and your brother and owning unusually large animals?" He asked; his voice wavering ever so slightly. He tried to hide it by puffing up his chest in defiance. I let out a light laugh.

Before I could tell him that it was just in our blood-father loved peacocks and they were very large too-I heard a loud and obnoxious meow from above us.

I could recognize it anywhere.

"Jojo! You are here! Hi pretty girl!" I smiled at my cat as she saw me and rushed down to get to me.

Heracles tensed under my fingers and I rolled my eyes. The two animals hated each other; I had found my beloved cat with Heracles' feathers in her mouth countless times and each time I found her she seemed more and more smug about it. I had apologized to Draco many times seeing as Jojo was the one that always started the fights between them. I think honestly she was just taking after me; she liked to annoy Heracles just as I liked to annoy my brother.

But with a letter needing delivering I wasn't about to let these two get into a rumble; there was business to attend to. Jojo was descending quickly, excited to see me, and I quickly told Heracles where he was going.

"Take this to mother, please. It's from Draco." At my brother's name his dark eyes lit up. He loved him dearly and was a very loyal pet to him. "And I'll give you extra treats if you don't poop on Jojo on the way out too," I said and pet him again.

He gave me a look like he was debating whether or not it was worth it but finally took the letter in his mouth and flew to the top of the tower again. He paused at the window where he would exit into the sky and looked at Jojo, whom had made her way down to me. She looked up at him and hissed and-I swear it on Salazar- he looked as though he sighed in annoyance. He flew out the window and out of sight after.

"That was intense." Theodore noted and I laughed.

"Yes, it was, hey you-!" I exclaimed as I scooped my large cat into my arms. "Did you come up here to meet with your little friend, darling?" I asked.

She nuzzled her face under my chin and her whole body vibrated with her loud purring. Theodore scratched behind her ears and we both started to leave the building. We had just exited the door when someone ran right into me-earning a deathly hiss from my cat who had gotten squished between me and whoever bumped into me.

"Oh, sorry I-," He started to say.

I glared at the voice I heard and then looked up into the very green eyes of Potty the Golden Boy.

Ugh, I can't escape him.

"Actually, no, I'm not sorry," He said and glared at me.

I rolled my eyes and pushed past him.

"Move, Potty," I said.

"Don't tell me you let that thing you call a cat into the Owlery, Malfoy," He said, disdain in his voice as he looked at Jojo.

She wasn't as tense in my arms as she was when she was squished; instead she was looking at Potter with curiosity. I clenched my jaw with her reaction to him; just like on the train she didn't seem bothered by him at all in fact, she seemed a bit intrigued.

Damn cat!

"I do, actually. She likes to chase the owls," I said and flicked my hair over my shoulder and turned to leave with Theodore on my trail.

"If she attacks my owl in any way you'll be sure to hear from me very quickly."

From behind me I could hear there was a threat in his tone but I couldn't be bothered by him. In truth it was the first time I had really spoken to Potter since the first night with Umbridge and her dreaded quills and I really didn't have anything to say to him. I almost surprised myself. Maybe I was growing soft? Or maybe I was realizing he just wasn't worth the time? Who knew.

"Piss off, Potter," Theodore said, his tone not holding as much dislike as my brother's would have as he spoke to the Boy Wonder.

Potter ignored Theodore but I could tell by his agitated and slightly surprised intake of breath that he wasn't done speaking to me.

"Are those white feathers in your cats fur, Malfoy?" Potter addressed me again and I paused on the stairs and turned around with furrowed brows and a pinched expression.

I hadn't seen any feather on Jojo's fur when she'd come to see me so I flipped her over in my arms to inspect her. Sure enough there were several snowy white feather stuck in the fur on her belly. She looked mischievously at me as I picked them from her fur with an annoyed sigh. She was still purring.

"Seems so, what's it to you, Potty?" I asked him.

His narrowed expression had softened a bit as he looked at my cat and he looked as though he was going to say something but instead he shook his head.

"Nothing. Never mind." He gave me a nod and then headed into the Owlery without another word.

"He's such a nutter," Theodore said, shaking his head. "The Daily Prophet has got one thing right about him and that's that he's a sure fire crazy person. Completely bonkers."

I didn't say anything in response to him because truthfully I didn't believe Potter was crazy at all. Well-he was a nutter-just not about what he'd seen last year and what he was saying about the Dark Lord. Everyone in the Wizarding World thinking him a liar was probably getting to his head and if I was being truthful I felt kind of bad.

When he'd bumped into me I could tell he was exhausted with the dark circles under his eyes and with all the hatred from his fellow students-some of whom I'd heard were even from his own so called proud and loyal house-I could only guess that he was looking for some alone time. I had noticed he wasn't carrying any letter into the Owlery so he was probably just looking for a place to spend time by himself without everyone hating him. I knew if I was in his position I would've done the same thing.

Hell, am I making excuses for Potter?! The bloody hell is wrong with me!

I felt a scowl making its way to my face as I thought about this; it seemed as of the last week I had been cutting Potter a very large break. I knew on the train I had made myself the promise that I wouldn't be as nasty to him as I usually was but making up excuses for him? That seemed a bit much. Almost like I didn't hate him. Which was impossible; he was my nemesis, the very bane of my existence; his presence in my life was a complete horror.

I mean, he usually is just as nasty to me as I am to him. This year he hasn't been so bad.

Jojo was looking up at me with her big green eyes and was giving me a look that I couldn't interpret. She almost looked disappointed. I frowned at her.

She wasn't upset that I had left Potter, was she?

No, it couldn't be that. She didn't like him she simply didn't hate him. There was a difference.

I'd have to brainwash that out of her one of these days.


"Is she as bad as the rest of the students have been saying she is?"

I groaned and sat back in my chair as I looked at my Potions professor. After leaving Theodore with my brother and his friends I had gone to Snape's office. He had been sitting at his desk with an annoyed expression on his face as he went through the homework of some Third Year Hufflepuffs. It was a pity he had to spend his weekends grading papers. His mood had noticeably lightened when I walked into the office exclaiming that I had some things I wanted to speak to him about.

"She's worse! I can't express enough how horrid she is. Honestly Professor, her methods of-," I cut myself off, coughing to cover up my abrupt pause in speaking.

Snape looked sincerely interested in what I was saying-he always valued my word over anyone else's-and he looked curiously at me as I stopped mid-sentence.

I couldn't believe myself; I had almost just told him about my detention with her. I almost just let slip that her methods of punishment-as I so foolishly was about to say-were completely barbaric and needed to be brought to a teacher's attention. I simply couldn't believe it.

All this talk and argument with Draco about not telling Snape about my injured hand and my bloody mouth almost lets the secret out just like that?! Ugh! Am I really that moronic?

"Methods of...-?" He prompted, waiting for me to finish my sentence.

His tone suggested he knew I was about to lie and didn't approve of it but there really was no turning back. He knew me well enough to know that if I was going to keep something from him it must've been for a good reason. Of course, if he knew that the secret I was keeping was affecting my well-being and safety he would probably curse me for lying. Years of being our mentor had given him a strong protective instinct when it came to my brother and me. But oh well.

If he wanted to know the truth he'd have to use Legilimens on me. And knowing him I knew he would never do such a thing without my permission.

"Teaching," I said.

He gave me a look that clearly said "you could've done better than that". But since I had already said it I had to stick to it.

Besides, her teaching methods were horrid too so technically it wasn't even a lie.

"Oh?" He waited for me to elaborate.

"She's wretched, truly! She's making us simply read about spells instead of practice them. She hasn't let us use magic at all! How am I supposed to excel at my wand work when I can't even use my bloody wand?" I complained.

It was true; each Defense Against the Dark Arts class she had made us read chapter after chapter and not once since the first day had anyone said anything to her about us practicing the spells.

My poor wand-all thirteen beautiful inches of it with its ebony wood and its strong dragon heartstring core that barely got to be useful to me in that silly class with her silly rule-was starting to grow warm in my hand whenever it needed some stretching and I was concerned it might start casting spells all on its own.

But despite my wand growing impatient with my lack of magic in Defense, and despite none of the other students bringing up being able to use their wands in that class either, I still caught the angry and frustrated way my classmates looked at her while they were supposed to be reading.

"So because she's not letting you use your magic you're feeling oppressed and have the need to whine like a small child?" He asked.

I glared at him.

"No, I did not come here to complain about Umbridge-,"

"Professor."

Ugh. You want me to play nice? Fine, I will. But not willingly!

"No-," I said a bit harshly. He had a small smirk on his face; most likely at my annoyance that he never once let me address a teacher without adding "Professor". "I did not come here to complain about Professor Umbridge…I came here because I wanted to know where you stood with all the nonsense the Daily Prophet has been printing."

I huffed a sigh at his arrogant looking face and he looked at me with a guarded expression, his smirk no longer present. His dark eyes gave nothing away of his thoughts, as they usually didn't.

"Why do you ask?" He asked me.

I crossed my arms over my chest and rolled my eyes. He of all people knew why I would be asking such questions.

"Because, Professor, I don't have many allies where my opinions are concerned on the subject," I said and tried my hardest to hide the irritation in my voice at my notion.

No one in my house would readily admit that they believed Potter was telling the truth-even if some knew for a fact he wasn't lying-unless they wanted a flogging from Umbridge or public humiliation from the Ministry itself. No one in Slytherin was brave enough-or rather stupid enough-to voice their opinions on whether Potter was telling the truth besides myself. No one else was looking for a social suicide like me. Something my brother was trying his hardest to prevent.

"Miss Malfoy I'm afraid there are some things that I would rather not discuss with students; the opinions on such trivial things such as the gossip that spreads through the Daily Prophet are of no concern to me. Nor should they be to you." Professor Snape's voice was clear and precise as it always was and I let his words run through my mind. Snape liked to have double meanings behind a lot of the things he said in order to hide something important; usually it was his "devil may care" attitude that he hid with his riddles.

I could only assume that by his tone of "gossip" when referencing the Daily Prophet that he believed Potter was telling the truth. Dumbledore knew the truth and after all, Snape was a trusted advisor to Dumbledore and he wouldn't go against the Headmaster's word.

I knew how much Snape trusted Dumbledore; there's no way he'd believe anything else if Dumbledore was saying that the Dark Lord had returned.

"Very well then Professor-," I sighed and scratched my wrist. "If there's nothing else to discuss I supposed I'll be going."

I got up from my seat and gathered my things before he spoke again.

"Have you been doing that a lot, Miss Malfoy?" He asked.

I paused as I began pushing in my chair and looked at my professor with a raised eyebrow. What could he possibly be talking about now?

"Sir?"

"Scratching your birth mark." He clarified and looked to my left wrist where my crescent moon birth mark-an exact match to my brothers-lay imprinted on my skin.

The color seemed to have darken from the last time I'd looked at it-much to my confusion and surprise-and I furrowed my brow before looking back at Snape.

"Uh-," I paused, not knowing if I should answer him truthfully. What if it was a bad sign? What if it meant my brother and I were in danger? I quickly decided I shouldn't keep this to myself should it be at all life threatening. Surely Draco would blame me if we ended up dead and all I'd had to do to prevent it from happening was to tell our Potions professor.

"Truthfully, yes."

I watched Snape's eyes narrow ever so slightly before he beckoned for me to meet him in front of his desk. As I stepped up the wooden platform and eyed him warily he reached for my wrist in his rough hands and I bit my lip as he examined it; worried he might say something terrible about it.

A large part of me feared he would see something horrible about my birth mark and tell me I needed to be admitted to St. Mungo's Hospital wing immediately. Another part of me was terrified that he might somehow see through my disillusionment charm and see the raggedly cut letters on the top of my hand and demand to know what happened.

As he gripped it I had to bit my tongue from hissing in pain. He didn't seem to see through my charm though-which I was very grateful for-and instead continued to look upon my strange birth mark.

I hadn't really noticed that I'd been itching it all that often but as I thought about it I realized it had become more and more of an itch since the summer holiday. I knew that when Draco and I dueled in practice both of our birth marks would sting horribly and I remember the research I had done over the summer but I hadn't really thought about it much.

It didn't seem at all life threatening so I didn't think it was important to look into. Draco had not been that bothered by it either and if he wasn't concerned then I certainly wasn't going to be. It simply wasn't important enough to stress over.

But perhaps I was wrong? Snape's guarded expression did nothing to answer my burning question.

"Is something wrong, Professor?" I asked, cursing myself for letting my voice sound slight and girly.

He would take this as a sign of me being frightened and in truth I never wanted to show fear in general much less so in front of Snape. He'd always taught me that fear was a weapon to those who wanted to hurt you and I tried my best to abide by his logic by making people believe I was fearless.

I could hardly be called fearless if I was afraid of a moon shaped birth mark.

"Not hardly," He answered; his tone bored. He kept flipping my wrist in his hands-much to my dismay seeing as my hand was still extremely tender and if I gave any indication that I was injured I'd blow my cover-and ran his thumb of my birth mark softly.

He raised it to his eye level and glanced to me briefly before he shook his head slightly.

"Nothing to worry about," He said.

I took my wrist back shortly after he let it go and I pulled the sleeve of my shirt over it. I suddenly felt very cautious about the peculiar little mark and I didn't want anyone seeing it which was an odd notion; I had never once felt the need to hide it but his sudden concern over it made me feel as though it was a secret that needed to be hidden. Which was ridiculous considering he'd just said I needn't worry about it.

His tone when he'd said I had nothing to worry about did worry me though. I knew him well enough to know that his less than expressive tone was one that he used to maintain control over his emotions. For all I knew, he could've been panicking on the inside about my marking.

But instead he was the face of calm. He was too calm, too collected; a sign that made me know he wasn't as innocent as his voice led some people to believe. That could've meant only one thing: He knew something I didn't.

I hated when he had more information on something he knew I'd want to know all about.

It was completely unfair.

But I knew there wasn't going to be any way to get him to let me know what he was thinking quite yet. He usually came to me with anything he believed I should know and it seemed he wasn't going to share anything with me now as his stoic face said nothing else.

"Then I won't worry about it," I said and nodded my head to him once.

"Anything else you'd like to discuss?" He asked; he'd looked down at the papers in front of him and continued to grade them. I took this as his sign that even if I did want to discuss anything further that he wouldn't give me the answers I wanted.

"No, nothing." I shook my head, my thick blonde hair falling in my face in the process. I hastily brushed it aside and kept my expression perfectly neutral as he regarded me with an almost sympathetic look.

"Very well, I will see you in class on Monday with that report then," He said in his nasally voice and I nodded, rolling my eyes at him. If he honestly thought I wasn't going to hand in my work he was sorely mistaken; I may be shit at Potions but I always did my homework.

"Oh, of course Professor," I muttered and headed out of the office without another glance at him.

I shut the heavy door softly and sighed to myself, pondering the new information I have just received-or lack thereof. It wasn't like I had learnt anything valuable in fact, I hadn't learnt anything at all; just that my birth mark itched sometimes and apparently it wasn't normal. I had a rather large urge to look at my birth mark again just to assess how different it was from the last time I'd looked at it. Last I'd seen, it was a light pink-barely even noticeable on my pale skin-but I knew it was too public a space to do so for someone inevitably would come asking questions if the saw me staring at it.

Besides; I'd want to see if Draco's had changed as well and if it had then maybe I would do some more digging to find out what it did or didn't mean. Hell, maybe I would Owl mother early as Draco had done, and inquire about the situation. She always did tend to clam up when I asked about our shared birth mark-maybe she would know something about this.

I walked back toward the common room as it wasn't so long of a walk with Snape's office already being in the dungeons. There were a few young Slytherin's roaming the halls with books glued to their noses; some Ravenclaw's following them daintily as Slytherin's and Ravenclaw's tended to make good friends. The dungeons were cold, and they smelt like murky water no doubt from being unbearably close to the Black Lake. I was surprised the Slytherin common room didn't smell like that foul scent more often considering it was under the Black Lake instead of just near it.

I suppose the professors must've charmed it to have a more pleasant scent of mint and fire as it usually always did. Lost in my thoughts of pointless banter I almost didn't hear my name get called.

"Oi! Malfoy!"

I stiffened when I recognized the tone. It almost made me not want to turn around but I did so grudgingly with a less than pleased look on my face; I could tell the scowl that spread across my face held extra disdain for the fellow approaching Slytherin.

I looked into the dark eyes of Graham Montague and snarled at his pleasant expression as he took notice that I was alone. I could understand it; it was extremely rare that I wasn't surrounded by my brother and his friends or Theodore either. He had caught me alone and that was not good; I could tell just by seeing the dark glint in his eye.

"To what do I owe the displeasure, Montague?" I asked crossing my arms over my chest defiantly as he continued to stride toward me with the utmost arrogance. I rolled my eyes at him.

If there was one person in Hogwarts that believed he was the man to be feared by all it was Montague; and if there was one person in Hogwarts I wasn't afraid of it was Montague, even if he did plan to drug me to get me to like him.

I was repulsed by his sick mind, not scared of him; there's certainly a difference.

His bright shiny smile and evil mischievous eyes did not change this opinion but it did make me more cautious.

"Just wondering if you're excited about our lesson in a couple of days. I know I'm looking forward to it. I'm sure you'll do amazing things on the field."

He walked up to me and got entirely too close for my liking; I could smell his breath from where he stood. Surprisingly minty.

I took a step back with an angry glare shot at him. He was unbothered by this.

I hadn't forgotten our lesson was on the upcoming Monday but I had put off thinking about it for my mind was far too rattled with Umbridge and her horrendous detentions. I hadn't even tried to think about what Theodore had said about my practice with Montague being "taken care of" by both him and my brother.

Usually I took more care in unraveling my brother's schemes but it seemed my busy mind hadn't been up to it this past week; I could hardly blame it, nor could my throbbing left hand.

"Ah yes, I'm looking forward to it. I love the game," I said, trying to seem disinterested in him and more interested in the game of quidditch itself.

In the past he seemed to relax noticeably on his need for my undying love if I talked about quidditch and I could only hope this was the case in the current moment.

"Good, we need enthusiastic players. We can't afford to lose to that tosspot Potter again this year. I won't tolerate a loss to him again." His lip curled unattractively as he mentioned Potter and I couldn't help but recall just how many times the young Potter had bested Montague, and the whole of Slytherin team, on the quidditch pitch.

It had to be dozens of times by now especially considering Potter was put on the team his first year; a feat that nearly never happened.

"He most certainly won't win with my addition to the team," I said earnestly.

Even if I had given a slight respite to Potter during our time with Umbridge I had every intention of knocking the Golden Boy off of his fancy Firebolt when we matched this season. That is if I even got the spot on the team.

Montague had a devilishly handsome and evil smile spread across his face as he imagined what I could only picture as me shoving Potter to his sure death as he fell hundreds of feet from the air; much like he had in Third Year when the dementors had swarmed the beloved castle. I'm sure Montague thought it a pity that Potter had survived that fall and would like nothing more than for me to ensure that debt to death was repaid in full with me on the team. I almost wanted to laugh at how maniacal that was but with the idea coming from Montague I felt an involuntary shutter run through my body instead.

"I've got some special runs for us to go through on Monday so be sure to show me everything you've got," He said, his eyes roaming from the top of my head to the bottom of my toes.

He had given my body enough attention over the past couple of years to know exactly what he was looking at and yet it still made me cringe each time he imagined what was under my clothes. He couldn't have been thinking about doing very nice things about what was underneath due to his disgusting grin he gave me. His eyes darkened as his imagination ran rampant with what was most likely nude images of me and him together; doing unspeakable things to each other while having me under the poison of a love potion. I shuttered again.

"Right, I will." I hoped my words didn't let any more disturbing images run through his head.

"Right, well-," His eyes suddenly flashed behind me and a hard glare replaced his previous look of lust. "Practice starts at six o'clock. Don't be late."

And then suddenly he turned around and started walking away without even letting me tell him I wouldn't be late. I narrowed my eyes at his retreating figure and skeptically looked behind me.

Ah. Big brother.

Draco had clearly seen Montague and I alone had decided that his brotherly duty of the day was to relieve me of my torture. His angry grey eyes were hard on Montague's back as he walked confidently toward me. I gave him a smile of thanks as he reached me and he put his arm behind my back to lead me away from where Montague had just turned the corner.

"Dear brother, how sweet of you to rescue me in my time of need," I smiled at him and pinched his cheek.

He did not seem at all humorous, however.

"I don't want you around him, Cessy," He said, his voice hard and low.

I felt my smile fade from my face and I rolled my eyes at him.

We walked in silence back toward the common room and when we entered I saw my brother's usual posse all crowded around the fire; some with book open, others just talking. Theodore looked happy that I had arrived and I sat over by him, ignoring my brother's hard stare.

He'd been giving me that look a lot when it came to Theodore and I fully intended to ignore it until necessary.

"Have a good chat with Snape?" Theodore asked.

I sighed and thought about my confusing meeting with my mentor. It hadn't been a very insightful visit with him but had left me with more questions than I'd hoped. He had left me anxiously wondering about what could possibly be going on with my birth mark. However, at least I had found out he was on my side where the Ministry was concerned. I had the urge to scratch my birth mark at the thought of it but kept my hands still. I eyed Draco as he sat down next to Blaise. I could tell he was listening. I answered Theodore honestly with an exaggerated sigh.

"I wouldn't call it good, but sure."

My brother's brows furrowed as he listened to my reply and I gave him a look that could only be taken as a sign of "we need to talk". There was no way I wasn't going to tell him about the concerning look Snape had given me when he'd seen that I'd scratched my birth mark; plus I wanted to ask if his had been acting the same as mine.

"Did you ask how long he wants that essay?" Theodore asked.

"Shit! I forgot, I'm sorry!" I rolled my eyes at my silliness and he chuckled, shrugging.

"No big deal. I'll just ask him myself."

Before I could reply to him I heard a massive meow call to me from down the hall towards the dormitories and I chuckled; Jojo was making an entrance.

On cue my large fluffy black cat came strolling around the corner and when her green eyes landed on me she sprinted, hopping onto my lap. Her heavy body laid down instantly and I pet her smooth fur, cooing at her.

"Silly cat," Theodore said, petting her as well.

She purred very loudly.

"Any trouble sending that letter, little sister?" Draco asked, narrowing his eyes at Jojo.

He most likely assumed she had been with me to deliver the letter and therefore to torment poor Heracles. He was right, though she hadn't exactly been with me, but I wasn't going to tell him that.

So I shook my head at him.

"No, no problem at all."

Jojo was looking at my brother and I could only imagine her smug face looking at him as she remembered her close encounter with the bird she loved to torture.

She was such a brat.

"You're going to get me in trouble," I whispered to her.

She looked at me and purred even more.

What an evil little creature.

"Isn't it your last detention with Umbridge tonight, Cecily?" Blaise asked from where he was next to my brother.

I sighed and nodded, covering my left hand seemingly nonchalantly. I still had the disillusionment charm on it but my paranoia was getting the best of me; what if they could all see it? Jojo seemed a bit upset that I had stopped petting her.

Draco noticed my action and a dark look crossed his features.

"Last one for this week, yes. Last one for the year? Most likely not," I muttered and Theodore gave me a hard look.

"Just try to keep your comments to yourself when you're around her; it might help your cause." He was looking at me earnestly, urging me to listen to his advice.

I usually did listen to Theodore but everyone in this bloody school knew how my mouth liked to run itself before I even understood what I was saying. It was a blessing and a curse.

"I've been trying."

"You haven't been trying hard enough," Draco said and I snarled at him; he did the same to me.

Oh I can feel the sibling love!

I looked over at the large grandfather clock that stood off to the back of the common room and saw that it was just about dinner time and most of the students would be heading down to eat. I was sure I'd hear more about how if I'd just keep my mouth shut then maybe I wouldn't have detention with the ugly toad. Oh how I was so looking forward to more lectures from these people. I internally groaned at the thought.


Potter and I were already seated at our usual desks when Umbridge came up to her office.

"Good evening, children. Did you have a nice day studying?"

Her voice got more annoying the more I spent time with her and the high pitched vocals did nothing to soothe the already nauseous feeling I had in the pit of my stomach as I thought of the pain that was to come to my poor hand. I kept my fake smile small and polite as I looked at her.

"Oh yes, Professor. I'm sure Potter and I both had a very productive day."

"That's so wonderful to hear. Now-," She started and walked around her desk and sat down. "Since this is a last detention we have together I'm going to do something a little different."

"Different?" Potter questioned, the same confusion in his voice that I was thinking.

"Yes. I just want to talk. I'd like to ask a few questions, actually," She said, smiling with her bright white teeth. She took a dainty sip of her pink tea.

I tried my best not to have too much of a skeptical look on my face as I looked at her. She was clearly up to something. This had a sinister motive written all over it and my skin crawled with all the different ideas that flew through my mind at what she could possibly do with simply talking to us. I looked over at Potter and saw that he was staring at her stonily, his jaw hard and his knuckles white from clenching his fists.

"Come, sit over here. I'll pour you both a nice cup of tea to warm you both up," She said and gestured toward the front of her desk.

She reached for her shiny silver kettle with a pink bow on the lid and poured some of the steaming hot water into two tea cups which held her tea leaves. She let them sink for a bit while Potter and I moved our chairs in front of her desk.

Or rather, just Potter moved our chairs for when I tried to grab mine he simply glared at me and took both. I didn't even want to bother asking why he did that; it wasn't worth the headache that was sure to come from the answer. Once we were both seated she poured some milk into both of our cups and three full teaspoons of sugar in each cup as well. She handed them to us and I took mine with a shaky hand.

I hoped she didn't notice.

She waited patiently for us both to sip the tea; her eyebrows quirked up when we didn't right away. I looked at Potter slightly before bringing the cup to my lips, sipping it daintily like she had before. Potter's sip was more of a slurp if we were being honest but I wasn't going to comment.

I'm surprised Umbridge didn't chastise him for his poor manners.

"It's delicious, Professor, thank you," I said through gritted teeth.

Her tea was horrid, as a matter of fact. It was too sweet and way too dense; it seemed what I had thought was milk was actually cream she had put in it. There was an herbal taste to it like flowers had taken a bath in it. There was also another taste I couldn't quite place but I was positive it was what was making it taste so bad.

"Thank you deary, my own special brew." She smiled deeply at me but behind her seemingly innocent expression I could see excitement in her eyes; she was delighted that we had just drank her tea.

That couldn't possibly mean anything good for Potter and I.

"You wanted to ask us some questions, Professor?" Potter asked, getting to the point.

My pulse was racing suddenly; I could hear my heart thumping loudly in my ears and felt the blood pumping extremely fast through my body. If Umbridge was happy that we had drank her tea it must've meant that she'd slipped something into it. She must've put some sort of potion into it while Potter and I weren't paying attention.

But she couldn't have, I was watching her the whole time!

But I hadn't seen where she'd gotten her tea leaves from; they had already been ready to be brewed before Potter and I even got here. I had seen them in their tea cups before she had even come into the office.

She must've poisoned them before we got here.

At this revelation I nearly felt my heart drop in horror.

She can't do this! She's a teacher!

But no matter how much my mind was protesting that she couldn't it still didn't diminish the fact that she did. She couldn't poison students, no but she did anyway and somewhere in the back of my mind behind that fact that I was panicking was a voice saying that this was why I was so against the Ministry. They did everything and anything they could to get what they wanted no matter the casualties.

Now it was only a matter of time to figure out what poison she had given us.

Surely nothing that would kill; she wasn't smart no, but she wasn't exactly stupid enough to kill us either.

I looked at Potter with an expression of pure fear, something I'd never been known to show-especially to him-and to my slight relief I saw that he looked as though he understood why I was so frightened. I saw that suddenly his mind looked like it was catching up to where mine already was.

"Yes, Potter. Only routine questions, really. Nothing too tenuous." She giggled after speaking and I felt my hands begin to shake.

I tried my best to hide it.

I didn't know what exactly she had given us but it felt like it was giving me a highly severe anxiety attack.

"Ask away, Professor," Potter said, his voice catching only slightly.

Umbridge noticed but didn't do anything about it besides give him a hard look.

"Do you enjoy having Albus Dumbledore as your Headmaster here at Hogwarts?" She asked this question with a deeper voice than usual; her clear disliking for Dumbledore in her tone.

"Yes," He said without hesitation. I felt my eyes widen at him from where I sat next to him,

Is he daft?! It's like he wants to get in trouble!

Her nostrils flared with anger at his response and she looked at me to answer.

I knew what she wanted me to say; I knew she wanted me to tell her that no, I didn't like him as Headmaster and that he was the worst thing that had ever happened to this school and that he needed immediate replacement; preferably her as Headmistress. It's what Draco would've said; it's what he would've known she wanted to hear; it's exactly what I knew she wanted to hear.

But I couldn't say it.

My tongue was tingling with the lie on my lips but I simply. Couldn't. Do. It.

Why can't I-? Salazar's spit! This toad used Veritaserum on us!

There was no possible way I could lie on Veritaserum and she was going to drag the truth out of me to get me to spill all of my real opinions on the Ministry and the Dark Lord and possibly get me expelled.

She truly was a monster.

I took a bit longer with my response; measuring out the best way not to lie but not exactly tell her the truth.

"He's an interesting Headmaster, Professor. I wouldn't say I like some of his tactics when it comes to some students," I said, my throat burning at my own words.

That was too close to a lie but not close enough because I had still been able to say it out loud. I must somewhat believe it then; it was a very Slytherin type answer, I'm sure my brother would've been proud.

She narrowed her eyes at me but took my answer without question which my racing pulse was thankful for. I looked at Potter again and his eyes, so very green, understood what was going on. He knew what poison she had given to us too which was good; if he and I could play off of each other's words then maybe we could get out of this alive.

"And what, may I ask, are your thoughts on how Hogwarts has progressed through your years of attending?" She asked, waiting for either of us to reply.

Potter spoke first.

"It's been great, Professor. Hogwarts, and its teachers, have always taught insightful and useful things for when we graduate and enter the Wizarding World."

I couldn't help the laugh I wanted to let slip past my lips. Potter's answer was vague but not so vague that Umbridge wouldn't believe he was telling the truth.

We both knew clearly what she had meant by her questions: how have things fallen apart in Hogwarts since Dumbledore's been Headmaster? The toad was most likely trying to get Dumbledore sacked under the Minister of Magic's orders. It was no secret that Cornelius Fudge disliked Dumbledore because he was the better wizard and earned more votes for the position of Minister-even if he hadn't wanted the job in the first place. Things were becoming clear now; Umbridge was here because Fudge wanted Dumbledore out.

"And Miss Malfoy, forgive me for being so blunt but I need to ask, do you truly believe that these dark wizards you speak of, Death Eaters, are really back? Because it's a ridiculous notion and untrue; but I'd like to know why you believe it." She looked at me with sinister eyes; she knew she had me trapped.

My father was a Death Eater; almost all of the wizarding world had heard rumor of it but was too frightened to point fingers at him or try and figure out if it was true or not. He had worked his way to be a trusted Ministry man and had the trust of Fudge himself; no one was going to call him outright. This was going to be a tough question to answer without burning my entire throat.

"I believe there are always dark forces that tend to believe in the older dark days and have trouble letting go of their glory days. I don't believe any of them will act-,"

My throat cut off at the blatant lie and it stung with sharp pains. I winced and tried again. "I don't believe they're strong enough to make a reappearance."

This was true; at least from what I'd heard during those terrifying meetings held at my home during the summer holiday. The Death Eaters were not at a strong number and therefore not strong enough to come back.

At least not any time soon.

My answer seemed to satisfy her for the time being and she moved onto Potter again.

"Do you truly believe, Mister Potter, that the Dark Lord has returned to power?"

I felt my breath catch in my throat. Potter looked at her for a long moment before simply nodding his head. My heart was pounding against my ribs and I knew without a doubt that this was going be terrible for me. She would ask me this question-a direct question- and I wouldn't be able to simply tell her a half truth. I'd have to tell her the truth and everything I was trying to do, everything I'd been working at-staying low, keeping under the radar, staying in school for my brother-would be ruined.

She looked at me expectantly.

"And you, Miss Malfoy? Do you believe the Dark Lord has returned to power?" She repeated her question exactly the same and I felt my throat closing.

I could barely get any air down my esophagus with how badly I wanted to lie right now but the potion I was under wouldn't allow it.

I couldn't lie.

"Of course she doesn't."

My eyes snapped to Potter so fast I felt a headache form almost immediately. I felt my tight throat start to open up and I tried to hide the fact that I gulped in the oxygen, desperate for it to fill my aching lungs. Umbridge's eyes had slid over to him too and from her expression I could tell she was upset that it was not me who had answered her.

"She's just like everyone-," He paused, his throat caught choking on his air. "She thinks I'm a nutter, Professor. No one believes me." He finished.

She looked over to me for confirmation and I nodded vigorously.

"It's true, Professor. That's what I believe."

Yes, it was what I believed; I believed wholeheartedly that Potter was a nutter and I was not going to pass up the opportunity to voice my opinion on it if it meant that I could trick Umbridge into believing she thought I was talking about not believing him about the Dark Lord.

"Well then, good," She said and looked down at our untouched tea cups. "Oh my, your tea must be cold. Let me get you some more."

She took the cups and emptied them and placed two new tea leaf balls into them, filling them with hot water. I felt my face scrunch up, confused as to why she'd want to give us more of the potion if she'd just gotten her answers to everything she asked. Potter's expression matched mine.

She let the tea leaves melt into the water for a bit before she served us the same way she had before. We took the cups from her and with another glance at him I took a very small sip.

It was still too sweet and still too dense but that third flavor that I had tasted wasn't there anymore; it was replaced by something sweeter that made it taste good. I took a larger sip and felt my pulse slowing down.

This can't be…could it? Could she really have given us the antidote as well to the potion she'd just used on us?

But it was; I could feel my body calming down already and my aching throat no longer burned and my hands had stopped shaking. She'd given us the antidote.

She was mad.

"You're both dismissed," She smiled at the both of us and without hesitation I set the tea cup down and practically sprinted out of the office.

Potter was hot on my tail and once we were both in the hallway, far away from her toadish presence, I looked over at him.

He had saved me today.

Whether he knew it or not he had helped me which resulted it me not having to face Umbridge's wrath with all of the taboo things spilling out of my mouth. She didn't know where I stood on the Ministry; she didn't know I believed him about the Dark Lord returning. And it was because he had lied for me.

I looked at him with wide eyes and even though my throat was no longer sore I felt it close with the emotions running through my right now.

Why had he done that? What was in it for him to have helped me like that? Did he know how much he had just helped me?

Those were only a couple of the hundreds of questions I had running through my head.

He was looking back at me with liquid green eyes and flushed cheeks. He ran a hand through his messy black hair and looked as though he was going to say something but before he could I nodded to him once and swiftly turned, sprinting toward the dungeons-admittedly, like a coward.

I didn't want to have to thank him.

I didn't want to have to admit to him that he'd helped me. I am a Malfoy; I don't need help. Wasn't that what I had been telling my brother all of my life? That I didn't need anyone's help? Besides, knowing Potter he'd probably use this as a type of blackmail.

I didn't want to have him hold this over me.

I couldn't let him hold this over me.

Oh, Cessy, what have you gotten yourself into now?


Author's Note: Hey there! It's been a while since I posted so I figured a nice long chapter would suffice. I see that there are some people that are following the story! A big thanks and lots of love to you! And I hope you're all enjoying it. I don't really have a set schedule to update or anything so I'm just going along with when I get spouts of energy to write. If anyone wants me to change that and to set up a schedule then let me know!

What did you think of Harry coming to Cecily's rescue against Umbridge's Veritaserum attack? Do you think it was because he knew she was terrified of Umbridge and he was just trying to help as our hero usually does? Or do you think he has an underlying reason for trying to help in the first place? Hmmm...

Anyways, hope you liked it!

~Alyssa~