Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters, places, and ideas belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers, not me.
by Auror5
A showery, cool Saturday in early March found Lily lost deeply in a fantasy of Professor Konrad. So involved in her daydream, she failed to notice where her feet were taking her. A burst of harsh laughter filtered into her fantasy, and startled her. She looked around and realised that she was in unfamiliar territory. Lily had blindly walked into a part of Hogwarts she did not know existed. The corridor was dim and dank. The floor was made of uneven stone. Lily observed moss growing on the brick walls, and the sound of dripping water somewhere ahead. She heard another burst of harsh laughter, followed by the sound of male voices. Lily proceeded in the direction from which the voices were coming. They seemed to be ahead of her, and very near. She kept walking, softly, and discovered a worn, heavy, oak door opened to a sliver. She peeked in and gasped. Dolohov, the Head Boy, was pointing his wand at a tiny, orange striped kitten. The kitten was biting its tongue to shreds and hopping on one foot. Inexpressible pain could be seen in the kitten's eyes. Tears began to fill Lily's own eyes.
"Come, make it do a somersault, Dolohov," said a dark-haired teen, of about fifteen years of age, kneeling near the kitten.
The kitten, with blood flowing from its mouth, turned a somersault.
The boys laughed. Lily recognised the blonde teen from King's Cross. Another boy, stocky and plain-faced, was leaning against one of the walls. He appeared as though he were bored.
"Make it go faster, Antonin," said the blonde teen.
"Ah, he can do better than that, Lucius," drawled the stocky, plain-faced boy leaning against the wall. "Say, why don't you make it bite its tail off and then eat it, eh?"
Horror struck, Lily screamed, "NO," and foolishly ran into the room.
Before she could reach the kitten, she was grabbed cruelly by the hair and yanked backwards into someone.
"No, you don't, you filthy little Mudblood," snarled the person holding onto her hair. He continued to pull on her hair tightly, forcing her head back. Lily winced with pain.
"Well, well, well, who do we have here?" said Dolohov in a soft, threatening voice. "What's your name, witch?"
Lily remained silent. The boy holding onto her hair gave a sudden hard yank. Eyes tightly closed, Lily hissed with pain.
"I would answer him, if I were you, Mudblood," the boy holding her threatened.
"Lucius, you don't say. A Mudblood, eh?" Dolohov softly said, gazing at Lily intently while walking stealthily toward her.
"Mudblood, I, as Hogwarts Head Boy, command you to answer my question. Now, tell me, what is your name?"
"Lily. Lily Evans," she whispered in pain.
"Ah, so it is. Miss Lily Mudblood Evans seems to have a problem with me playing with this kitten, Gents. Hmmm."
"Perhaps she would prefer that you play with her," drawled the teen leaning against the wall.
They chuckled menacingly at this suggestion.
"Now, now, that will not do, Lestrange," smirked Dolohov with a wicked gleam in his eyes.
'The nosy little Mudblood deserves it, Antonin."
"Yes, she does, Lucius, but," trailed off Dolohov.
"Why not make her eat the animal alive, eh?" proposed a new voice.
"Ah, welcome, Travers! Please do come in."
The boy came into view. He was tall and thin with a narrow, weasel-like face. His eyes were of a chillingly cold, faded blue.
"Why don't we put it to a vote, Antonin?" suggested Travers.
"Excellent idea! Lucius, what shall we do with this nosy little Mudblood? You know, to keep her from meddling in our affairs?"
"Let's see how loudly we can make her scream. No one will hear her in this part of the corridor. It has already been proven."
"Yes, it has. Macnair?"
The boy kneeling by the kitten grinned wickedly and said, "I propose that we force her to disrobe herself."
"Now, now, Walden, we aren't interested in little Mudbloods without a stitch on. Balfour?"
"Hmmm, I still suggest that we play with her, Antonin. You know, how we have been playing so fondly with the animal, eh?" drawled Lestrange.
They laughed malevolently at this idea.
"Randall?"
"I stick with my original proposal," replied Travers.
"Hmmm, all such wonderful ideas. How do I decide? Hmmm." Frowning in thought, Dolohov began to pace around the small room.
"Oy! I have made my decision. Let's see how loudly this little Mudblood can scream. Lucius, you have the honours." He then mockingly bowed.
Lestrange, Travers, and Macnair clapped.
Lucius immediately complied by yanking so hard on the handful of hair he had a grip on that Lily could actually feel strands being ripped from her scalp. A hiss escaped her and tears began to stream from her tightly closed eyes. She refused to scream for their satisfaction.
The kitten lay helpless on the litter-strewn floor, and was bleeding, shaking, and breathing rapidly. Its eyes were partially open and staring vacantly.
"You are going to scream, you little Mudblood. I'll see to that," Lucius sneered in her ear.
He then yanked her head so far backwards by the hair that she heard a popping sound in her neck. She began to choke. More strands of hair were ripped loose from her scalp. Lily bit her tongue in an effort to prevent herself from crying out. Blood, salty and bitter, filled her mouth.
"Oh? So we're going to play tough, are we?" Lucius whispered ominously in her ear.
Without warning, he let go of her hair, grabbed her before she fell, and then roughly shoved her to the ground. Lily landed painfully, stifling a scream, and narrowly missed falling onto the kitten that appeared half conscious.
Lucius loomed over Lily, and stared down at her murderously. He pulled out his wand, pointed it at her, and said,
"Crucio!"
Lily's entire body, from head to toe, was suddenly assaulted with an overwhelmingly intense burning sensation and a feeling as though someone were stabbing her unmercifully with small, very sharp knives. The pain was incredible, and Lily, feeling lost and terrified, began to scream helplessly in agony.
The pain suddenly stopped. They stood around her clapping and cheering.
"Excellent, Lucius," said Travers.
"Hear, hear!" exclaimed Lestrange.
Lily was curled up on the ground trembling uncontrollably.
Dolohov knelt next to Lily, and gently stroked her hair. He softly said, "Lily, pretty little Mudblood, it is time for you to make a decision. Shall we play with you or the animal?"
"I think the Mudblood wants her mummy," Macnair snickered, coldly.
"We're waiting, Mudblood."
She would not respond.
"Lucius?"
Her body was once again tortured with a searing, unimaginable pain. She shrieked as high as her lungs would allow, but the excruciating pain would not end. Lily screamed until she felt something give way in her throat. Dimly she heard a voice say, "Stop, Malfoy! You're going to kill her!" Lily passed out.
When she came to, a very short time later, she hazily saw a face leaning over her. Lily tried to focus on it. She blinked and saw Dolohov looming over her. Breathing shallowly, she moaned. He stroked her hair again.
"Lily, love," he whispered. "You must decide: you or the animal? Come, we are waiting for your answer."
Ashamed and hating herself, in a low hoarse voice, she replied, "The, the, ki-kit-ten."
"Come again, Mudblood?"
"The kit-kitten"
"Ah, very good. Wise choice, indeed. Macnair, the animal is yours."
Macnair, without warning, crushed the kitten's skull with a heavy booted foot.
Lily screamed hoarsely with hands covering both ears, and eyes shut tight. She continued to scream with little of her voice that remained. A hand cruelly covered her mouth and she was roughly lifted high off the floor. She opened her eyes and found Dolohov holding her by one hand against the wall. He appeared deranged.
"Listen carefully, Mudblood. First, you are going to close that hole of yours. NOW."
Lily stopped screaming and began to helplessly whimper in the back of her throat.
"Now then, I don't want any more noise from you unless I ask for it. Understand?"
Lily nodded her head. He gently placed her back on the ground. She stood, for a moment swaying unsteadily, sobbing with her hands pressed to her mouth.
"Lily, pretty Mudblood, before we let you go, you are going to have to make a promise. You shall promise that you will not blab about any of this. Understand? This is our secret: Malfoy's, Traver's, Lestrange's, Macnair's, yours, and my secret. You see, Lily, if you tell anyone, we will have to hunt you down, and, well, let's say that you will likely end up like that kitten you so bravely tried to save. The Dark Lord will help us. You don't want to end up like that poor, little kitten. Do you, love?"
Lily shook her head.
"Now promise that you will keep this as our little secret. Promise, Lily."
"I, I, pr-promise."
"Good, you can go now. Run along. Shoo."
They all laughed as she ran from the room.
Panting, with tears streaming down her face, Lily blindly ran through the corridors. Soon, she found herself in familiar territory and slowed slightly. She spotted a girls' toilet, barged in, stumbled into a stall, shut the door, fell on her knees, and vomited. Shaking, she sat back with knees pulled to her chest and her arms around them. She cried miserably while rocking back and forth. After awhile, her sobs subsiding, she heard a voice calling.
"Who's there? Who is in my toilet?"
Lily became quieter so that she could not be heard. Suddenly, a ghost, in the form of a plump girl wearing glasses, glided into her stall. Lily jumped.
"Who, who are you?"
"I'm Myrtle. This is my toilet. Why are you crying? You aren't dead. Although, you do look quite awful," Myrtle said, smugly.
"Nothing, nothing really. I shall go now." Lily rose and proceeded to exit the stall.
"Wait! Aren't you going to flush?"
"Oh. Yes." Lily flushed the toilet.
She went to a sink and splashed cold water on her face with shaking hands.
"Well?" Myrtle said.
"Well, what?" replied Lily puzzled.
"Aren't you going to ask how I died?"
"Erm, no."
Translucent tears welled up in the ghost girl's eyes.
"Fine! Go on ahead and vomit in my toilet! Oh, she doesn't mind. She's dead! No one cares that I'm dead! No one asks why. Vomit in dead Myrtle's toilet because she, she, ca-can't, sm-smell," wailed Myrtle, disappearing down into one of the sink's drains.
Astonished, Lily hesitated briefly and then prepared to leave. She opened the door cautiously and peered around to make sure Dolohov and his gang of Slytherins were not nearby. Concluding that the coast was clear, she briskly walked through the corridors. Finally, she reached the very familiar portrait of the Fat Lady, and said, "Philosopher's Stone."
She ran upstairs, into the first year girls' room, and curled up on her bed. Snowball leapt onto the bed and snuggled against her.
***
"Lily! Lily, where have you been?"
Lily realised that she had fallen asleep. She opened her eyes and saw Fiona, Ivy, Daisy, and Samantha gazing down at her with concerned expressions on their faces.
"Lily, you missed dinner! Are you all right?" Fiona said worriedly while sitting on Lily's bed.
"She looks dreadfully pale," observed Samantha.
"Perhaps you ought to see Madam Pomfrey, Lily," suggested Daisy.
"No, no, I'm all right," replied Lily weakly, while sitting up.
"Are you sure? Your voice is hoarse!" Fiona, still worried, peered closely at her. "You don't look well, not at all."
"Why, Lily! There is blood in your hair!" exclaimed Ivy.
"Ohhh, Lily," the girls moaned in unison, worried and crowding close.
"Lily, what happened? How did you get blood in your hair? There seems to be an awful lot!" said Fiona anxiously. "Perhaps you ought to see Madam Pomfrey. We'll go with you."
"No, no, really, I'm all right." Lily touched her very sore scalp and winced. "It'll wash off."
"But, Lily, how did it happen? Where were you? You were to meet us at the library. Remember? We waited forever and you didn't show up! Please tell us, is everything all right?" Ivy pressed.
Samantha gasped. "Oh dear, a patch of her hair is missing!"
Fiona, Samantha, Ivy, and Daisy leaned closer for a better look.
"Lily, we're your friends. Please do tell us what happened. How did your hair come out? Why is your hair bloody?" Fiona was on the verge of tears. "Did someone hurt you?"
"No, no, it's okay, really! I wasn't watching where I was going and I fell down one of the stairs. My hair got stuck on a sharp object sticking out between one of the banister's supports as I fell. And some of my hair was yanked out. I must have been knocked out when I hit the floor. I don't remember coming here. Really."
Fiona narrowed her eyes, and said doubtfully, "Are you sure, Lily?"
"Yes. I'm fine really. Just a bit tired. That's all."
"If you're hungry, we can sneak into the kitchens and get some food for you," offered Samantha.
"Erm, okay. Thanks."
"All right, we'll be back. Come with me." Samantha beckoned Daisy and Ivy.
When they left the room, Fiona peered closely at Lily with an expression of deep concern. "Lily? Are you sure you're fine? I'm your best friend. You would tell me the truth, would you?"
"Yes, Fiona. Everything is fine," Lily replied, feeling terrible lying to her best friend.
Fiona suddenly hugged her, and murmured, "You're my best friend, Lily."
Lily, trying not to burst into tears and feeling miserable for being false to Fiona, returned her embrace.
Fiona then pulled away and asked if she would like to play chess.
"Erm, okay. Why don't I shower first? I feel icky."
"All right."
Lily took a rather lengthy shower, and winced as she worked the shampoo into her hair. Her scalp felt swollen. She ached all over as though someone used her for a punching bag, and her throat felt raw. Lily tried to block out the memory of the kitten.
About thirty minutes later, she returned to the room. Samantha, Ivy, and Daisy brought back pumpkin juice, meat pies, and her favourite treacle tarts. She ate ravenously.
"Really, you look much better now, Lily," remarked Samantha.
"Let's play chess!" shouted Fiona.
They played for a few hours, but Lily's heart was not in it. She kept trying to block the kitten from her mind, but the images insisted on intruding. As a result, she lost often and spectacularly. Towards the end, she gave up and silently watched the others play.
Later that night, she woke everyone in the room screaming and thrashing in the midst of a terrible nightmare of a kitten crying like a baby, eyes pleading for her help. In the dream, she told the kitten, "I'm sorry," over and over, and in the end there was frightening green light and cold laughter.
"Lily! Lily! Wake up!" Fiona said in a hushed voice while shaking her roughly.
Jolted awake, Lily quickly sat up, gasping and shaking, with tears streaming down her face. She covered her face with her hands, and quietly murmured, "I'm fine. Really, I'm fine."
Fiona, Samantha, Daisy, and Ivy looked at one another worried and scared in the glow of Samantha's wand. Finally, Fiona sat on Lily's bed and pulled her close. The other three girls sat down while watching Lily with pity.
"Lily?" Fiona said, quietly. "Would you like for me to sleep with you?"
Lily nodded her head.
***
On Sunday, Lily did not see Dolohov, Malfoy, Travers, Lestrange, or Macnair at all. During meals in the Great Hall, she made an extreme and successful effort to avoid looking in the direction of Slytherin's table.
***
At breakfast, on Monday, an owl landed in front of her with a letter in its beak. She removed it, and exclaimed, "It must be from Mum and Dad!"
She unfolded it and read,
Dear Lily, Hogwarts pretty little Mudblood,
Remember your promise.
Lily, with heart sinking, quickly refolded the letter and placed it into her pocket. She had lost her appetite.
"What did your mum and dad say?" Fiona said with mouth full of bacon.
"Er, nothing really. What d'you think Professor Sandolini is going to show us today?"
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Note: I'm not evil! I love cats; I have one of my own. I needed something to identify with, so I used the kitten.