Each step Penny took was slower than the last as she made her way to the Training Ground, her reluctance to reach it ever increasing. Stepping out, Penny blinked a couple times to adjust to the warm sunlight, shielding her eyes to scan the sky for tell-tale figures. Spotting a distinct flair of red hair darting around, she gritted her teeth before making her way across the lawn to the Training pitch. A white shape lay dozing on a large rock amongst the bushes, basking in the June sun.
"Hello Juno" Penny mumbled affectionately, pausing to run a long finger along Juno's patterned scales.
"Mistress" Juno hissed sleepily back, nudging Penny's hand with her head. "How did your meeting go? Do you require me to follow?" She asked.
"No, enjoy the sun, I will speak to you later." Penny promised giving her pet another head scratch before making her way into the Training Ground, her steps lighter than before. Once inside she could see an older boy she didn't know throwing a Quaffle to Ginny who twirled impressively in the air to catch it. Across the lawn Penny could see a few Ravenclaw boys sat, one of the dark-haired ones cheering loudly when Ginny swerved to dodge a loose Bludger that was whizzing round the air between them. Smiling widely Ginny threw the Quaffle back the older boy, who grabbed it out the air lazily. Penny felt mildly nauseous as she watched them, walking further into the Training Ground until she stood beneath the pair. Noticing her she felt the red head glare from above her.
"We need to talk." Penny called up at the red head who stared haughtily down at her, tilting her broom gracefully.
"By all means, grab a broom and join us" Ginny called down "Oh wait, I forget the Daughter of Darkness is scared of heights." Ginny mocked meanly as Penny scowled tsking in impatience, Ginny ducking to dodge the Bludger whizzing by her head.
"Don't think I can't take you out from down here." Penny threatened before taking a deep breath. "I didn't come here to fight with you Ginny." She said wearily as the red head considered her.
"Ginny! Watch out!" The dark haired Ravenclaw shouted too late as the Bludger made contact, a nasty crack echoing round the Training Grounds. Ginny let out a cry of pain then of fear as she lost grip of her broom. "Jeremy grab her!" The dark boy shouted at the older boy on the other broom as Ginny plummet towards the ground. As he adjusted his grip to dive Penny had already drawn her wand.
"Arresto Momentum!" She shouted, twisting her wand beneath the falling girl, whose speed dropped so drastically the older boy shot underneath her as he tried to catch her. Moving to stand underneath her with her arms outstretched, Penny caught the smaller girl awkwardly, lowering her to the ground as gently as possible. The dark-haired boy ran across the lawn, diving to Ginny's side.
"Ginny! Merlin's beard, are you ok?" He asked, putting his hand on her arm making her yelp.
"She'd be better if you didn't shove her broken arm around you idiot." Penny snapped as Ginny glared at her.
"Its broken? I should get you to the Hospital Wing!" He said going to lift Ginny up. A flick from Penny's wand made him hiss in pain, withdrawing his hand rapidly.
"If you would stop getting in the way I would have fixed it by now." Penny scolded him, who looked nervously from her wand to Ginny's face.
"It's fine Michael, go back to your friends" Ginny said through gritted teeth. "Go on, go." She insisted as he hesitated. With a nervous glance at Penny he stood and walked away, looking over his shoulder a couple times. Penny sneered slightly at his back before turning her attention back to Ginny, who watched her with a haughty expression. After a couple seconds of examination Penny gently moved the arm into the correct position, with some choice words coming from the red head, before twisting her wand above the bone and mending it instantly. Testing the limb, Ginny gingerly sat up, still watching Penny haughtily. Penny looked back at her with a matching expression before she broke the silence.
"You were lucky." She said casually as Ginny raised an eyebrow. "It was a clean break rather than a shatter." She elaborated. Ginny made slight snorting noise before rolling her eyes.
"You didn't come here to discuss the finer details of Healing Persephone." Ginny said, drawing out Penny's full name to maximum annoyance.
"Why are you always so ready to fight?" Penny asked irritably. Ginny let out a sharp laugh at the hypocrisy.
"Says you! Queen of Diplomacy and Reasonable response!" She shot back in disbelief. Despite herself Penny grinned widely, a little guiltily.
"Yer ok, I will give you that." She admitted, with a chuckle. Her smile faded slightly as she looked away from Ginny's brown eyes, staring into the distance. "I messed up." She confessed as Ginny gave her a sarcastic look. "Yer, yer, understatement I know."
"We are not getting back together, just so you know." Ginny said hurriedly, a hand pushed in front of her to emphasis her point. Penny rolled her eyes with a huff.
"I am certain your new boyfriend will be delighted to hear it." She said sardonically as Ginny looked startled. "Oh come on, I don't have to be a Legilimens to see that dynamic." Ginny peered at her closely as Penny looked back at her.
"You aren't going to tell him that we….that we were…?" Ginny hesitated before Penny shook her head impatiently. And…you are ok with that?" Ginny asked warily. Penny paused before she answered.
"My girlfriend and I had an explosive relationship full of endless arguments and jealousy. I gotta admit I miss the fun I had with my best friend much more." Penny said simply, her and Ginny locking eyes for a few moments before Ginny nodded in agreement. Looking over to where Michael sat Penny waited for her to elaborate her thoughts.
"One good thing to come of your stealing of Harry." Ginny commented as she looked back at Penny. "Hermione has said for ages I should stop waiting for Harry, that I should date some other people and be more myself."
"You downgraded" She snorted before Ginny gave her a dark look. "What? It would be like me going on to date Theo!" Ginny wrinkled her nose in disgust as Penny cackled.
"Michael is way better than Theo." Ginny said defensively. "What about Harry?" Ginny asked as Penny's face flickered before clearing her face.
"What about him?" She asked emotionlessly as Ginny gave her a sceptical look.
"I've seen the way you look at him. You love him." Ginny stated, making Penny hiss.
"I wish people would stop saying that. Love is a strong word." Penny said defensively. "Yer ok, I like him. A lot." She admitted reluctantly. "But given the current circumstances, Voldemort returning and all" She went on as Ginny flinched. "It's complicated." She finished with a grumble. Ginny smirked slightly.
"So what, you are straight now?" Ginny asked.
"Are you?" Penny shot back challengingly. Ginny didn't answer her but rather looked back with blazing eyes. They stared each other out intently for a few seconds before Ginny dropped her gaze. Penny watched her for a couple more seconds before looking away and sighing. "Dumbledore wants me to come and stay at the Burrow for a while, at least until he can find somewhere safe for me to stay." Penny said as Ginny looked up with surprise. "Voldemort wants me as much as Harry it would seem. Either to join him or to be killed." Penny said pulling a face. Ginny shuddered violently. Penny winced at the strong emotions radiated off the redhead and made a questioning face at her.
"Be careful Penny, he is manipulative and twisted." Ginny warned, paling as she shut her eyes with a shuddering shake of the head. "I know what its like to have him inside my head, and I would never wish it on anybody." She finished. Penny pulled her into a protective embrace.
"I will never let him hurt you. Any of you." Penny promised into the top of the redhead's flowing hair as the smaller girl returned the embrace. Penny sensed eyes from the boys across the Training Ground on them but ignored their curious stares as she held the redhead close.
The next couple of weeks were a blur to Penny. She saw Harry around a few times, but aside from a comforting smile or a nod of acknowledgement she kept her distance from him. It pained her to do so, sensing his agony and isolation even in these brief moments, wanting nothing more than to hold him close like she had Ginny. She resisted though, heeding Dumbledore's warning of getting too close.
"When did Mistress ever listen to what Professor Dumb told one to do?" Juno asked after Penny had filled her pet in on the meeting between her and Dumbledore. Penny sat leant against the headboard of her bed, her eyes flickering through the pages of a large volume she had nicked from the Restricted Section. Juno had wrapped her long body behind the small of Penny's back and looped over her lap and legs to gaze at her.
"Since he began the only person in the world capable of shielding me from the Dark Lord." Penny replied curtly, inwardly cursing her use of the Death Eater phrase. "But between someone who I probably shouldn't trust and someone I definitely shouldn't trust, what other option do I have?" Penny asked her snake who flicked her tongue in response. "Besides my father definitely wants to kill Harry and seems pretty willing to kill me. Dumbledore has always taken an interest in keeping Harry safe."
"And I suppose because he spoke out in your defence to the fat Minister, you suddenly trust him to look after you?" Juno said sceptically.
"Of course I don't trust him." Penny countered defensively. "He is just the lesser of two evils. If I follow what he says, at least for now, I may be able to keep Harry, Ginny, Hermione and many other people safe." She finished, turning the page of the book delicately, tapping it sharply with her wand when it starting to make a demonic wailing noise.
"What of Draco? Narcissa?" Juno asked as Penny's cheek muscle clenched. She had been cornered by her tall cousin when she had returned to the castle from her conversation with Ginny. Pulling her into a small alcove off a corridor, Penny had sensed his frustration in her evasive answers to her return to the Manor.
"Please tell me you aren't going to do something stupid Persephone." Draco had drawled.
"What like let your dear father hand me over like a bag of Galleons?" She sniped back as Draco scoffed.
"I don't understand you Penny, I would expect you to be delighted. The Dark Lord has returned at last, father said he is going to put the world back to how it was, how it should be. When Pureblood took their rightful place as rulers, rather than allowing the unworthy to be considered equals." He sneered disgustedly. "You are his daughter, can you imagine the power and influence you would have if you just did what was asked of you? You could have anything you wanted." He said, shaking his head disbelieving at her lack of enthusiasm. Penny just stared at him like he was crazy.
"Your father is full of shit." Penny shot back, taking a step away from her cousin as his face flushed angrily. "If you don't understand what doing what is asked of me actually means, you are stupider than you look." She snarled.
"I'm the stupid one? This is about Potter isn't it?" He demanded as Penny scowled. "It is, isn't it?" He scoffed. "That and that hideous Mudblood." He sneered as Penny drew her wand, though his eyes betrayed a flicker of fear.
"Say that word again." Penny said quietly, a distinct warning in her voice.
"I told you Persephone, I warned you to be careful who you associate with." Draco said arrogantly, standing at his full height, brushing her wand away to the side dismissively. "Now the Dark Lord is back all that riff raff with be the first to go. Don't allow yourself to be branded a Blood Traitor. Or are you blasted Muggle-Lover too?" He snarled.
"I am not." Penny growled defensively.
"You of all people should know Muggles are scum, or maybe as a Muggle Lover you actually liked what that Muggle did to you!" He spat, jumping backwards as a stream of flame shot of its own accord from Penny's wand, singeing the wall beside him. Penny raised her wand threateningly at his face with a shaking hand, his grey eyes wide.
"Get. Out." Penny said in voice that trembled with rage. Realising he had gone too far, the tall boy had bolted away from her, down the corridor and out of sight. Breathing heavily, Penny ran a hand through her thick locks distractedly, before letting out a suppressed scream. Pointing her wand at the wall opposite, a flash of white light was followed ear shattering bang. As stone exploded outwards into the air, sunlight bounced off the dust cloud through the large hole that had appeared in the wall. Coughing slightly, Penny glanced down at her debris covered outfit before making a swift exit from the crime scene. The cousins did not speak again before the term ended, the two of them gave each other the silent treatment, even as each of their anger pulsed off them, each refusing to apologise.
Snape had returned the following week, looking slightly thinner than usual. He had avoided Penny's gaze during class, though she knew he felt her eyes. Lingering behind after class, he sighed in a resigned sort of way.
"Yes, Miss Black?" He said, sitting at his desk wearily. Penny approached his desk, dropping into front seat of the class.
"You went to my father, didn't you Professor." She said in more of a statement than a question, watching the black eyes that gave away nothing. "Obviously it went well or you wouldn't be here." She said in response to his silence. "You told him you are still his follower I am guessing." She speculated to yet more silence. "What could you possibly say to make him believe that if it was not true?" She went on as black eyes watched her. She watched him in silence as he looked back calmly, giving nothing away. "You know what I really want to know, sir." She pressed, as he raised a questioning eyebrow. "Did he ask about me?" She finally asked.
"Surely you know the answer to that." Snape said quietly. "What you want to hear is what I told him." He said as Penny nodded, her bluey green eyes piercing him. "Have you ever considered there are some things you are better off not knowing?" He asked.
"No." Penny replied simply. Snape's lip curled in briefly in amusement before his expression became solemn once more.
"I merely confirmed what he already knew from Lucius." He answered.
"And what exactly did Lucy have to say?" Penny sneered. "Professor?" She added as his eyes narrowed slightly.
"That you share many of the Dark Lord's talents, and much of your mother's traits." He answered shortly. "As expected, he wishes to meet you as soon as possible." Penny snorted in distain.
"You mean he wants me to join his little gang of psychos." She said quietly. She regarded her Professor carefully as he remained silent. "You joined the Death Eaters once. Now you fight against them. Supposedly." She said slowly as the black eyes watched her. "What would you do if you were me?" She asked, the eyes watching her softening very slightly as he regarded her.
"Unfortunately, I am not you Miss Black." He answered, sighing slightly as Penny waited for him to answer properly. "The Dark Lord can offer you unimaginable power and wealth, but it means committing to him fully, there is no going back, no changing your mind. Fighting alongside Professor Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix –"
"He is reforming it?" Penny interrupted surprised as Snape nodded. "I read most of the members were dead."
"You read correctly. A few still remain, I am sure Professor Dumbledore will be trying to recruit new members." Snape explained, a note of distain in his voice. "Anyway, fighting alongside the Order, it would protect the people you care about, the ones the Dark Lord seeks to eradicate anyway" Snape added giving Penny a piercing stare, as her mind dwelled on Narcissa and Draco. Scowling slightly, she cleared her mind and waited for him to continue. "But if the Order succeeds, and those who sided with the Dark Lord survive, they will be punished for their involvement, and you will certainly not have the same ability to wield power without accountability as you would with the Dark Lord." Snape paused for a moment before looking Penny right in the eyes. "Everything has a price, Miss Black. Especially the choices we make, they can cost the most." He finished, the mildest betrayal of grief flickered across his eyes, gone so quick Penny wondered if she had imagined it. Standing Snape rounded the desk and went to the door, holding it open in a clear dismissal. Penny stood, and made her way to the door, pausing on the threshold.
"Professor." She said eventually with a slight nod.
"Miss Black." He replied, returning the gesture as she left his office.