Episode Eighteen
Part One
Gwen took her seat at the Gryffindor table for lunch. Since the letter she'd been in a sour mood. She'd lost enough sleep over the last few days to make up for all the dreaming she'd done in the past leaving heavy rings of unrest under eyes. She was worried about her mother, about Harry and mostly that Graves was disappointed in her.
Malfoy took special notice and as he slinked past her he made mention of her appearance.
"Why are you so sad today?" Malfoy babbled like a baby as he cruelly yanked Gwen's long ponytail.
"Leave me alone Malfoy." She said without turning to look at him.
"Did the death eaters order your mummy's death?" He asked in that same irritating baby voice.
Gwen shot him a sharp glance. "What do you want?"
"Simply to warn you. You should get your mourning clothes ready."
She stared him down, but he didn't back away. Malfoy only smiled down on her.
"Oh, just so I can tell my father, would you prefer an open or closed casket?"
That was the last straw. She stood up and slapped him as hard as she could. McGonagall rushed down from the head table to break them up. All she needed was for Malfoy to grab his wand and reek havoc in the Great Hall. Snape was at her heels and grabbed Malfoy by his arm, dragging him from the hall. McGonagall lead Gwen in the opposite direction.
Regardless of what he'd said to spark her anger, it was now apparent to all of the faculty who had attacked Minerva's goddaughter.
Part Two
When next Malfoy caught Gwen's eye in the hallway he whispered threateningly. "You'll pay for that. You will."
She smirked at him. "What do you want with me anyway?"
"You'll find out soon enough." He turned heel and walked away.
Graves had seen the exchange and ran over to her concerned.
"What curse would you like me to put on him?"
"None. I have it under control. As a matter of fact, I don't think I'm going to try and curse him anymore either. I think it would be best if I just let him be."
"He'll have you in the hospital wing again before you can shake a wand at him. He's not safe."
"No, he's not, but I don't think he can hurt me just now."
"Confidence can't protect you from curses Gwen. Wise up. He's going to try and hurt you and whether it's to get to me or Potter doesn't matter. I won't let him hurt you."
"Corwin." She said softly. He stopped. He knew that she only called him Corwin when it was truly important. Although how he knew this he wasn't certain. She continued. "There's a time to retreat and there's a time to battle. If we retreat now, we'll be alive to fight him another day."
He gave her a hard look, and while he agreed he didn't want to be weak. Running away seemed like exactly the kind of thing any Slytherin would be against. He sighed. Maybe he wasn't really a Slytherin after all. "Fine." He said quietly.
She watched him warily as he walked away. She knew he loved her. But would he keep his promise?
