Disclaimer: I do not own HP in any way, shape, or form. I am not making any profit off of this work. I do not own the original HP characters but I do however own my original characters.
Rated: M for sexual content, language, adult themes, and violence
Chapter Eight
"Crescendo"
The news of Bella's parentage seemed to have spread throughout all of Slytherin but, to Bella's relief, neither her parents' names had been leaked out. Her father she didn't care so much about but her mother's name was sure to start an even bigger buzz of talk.
On the second weekend of term as Bella and Ivy stood next to the lake on the grounds, someone who Bella was not happy to see, walked up to them. It was Lilith Cook a Slytherin.
"Grundy," she sounded somewhat out of breath. "I just saw them and I must tell you that I am disgusted."
"What are you talking about?" said Bella.
"I'm talking about those papers the other Slytherins put up." Cook paused. "You did know about them, right?"
"Where are they!" demanded Bella.
Ivy looked worried.
"In the girls' bathrooms."
"All of the girls' bathrooms!" exclaimed Ivy.
"Malfoy's going to pay for this." Bella clinched her fists.
Ivy sighed. "Bella, think through this. The papers are in the girls' bathrooms how the bloody hell is he supposed to put them up in there?"
Bella looked at Ivy.
"Besides—you," she pointed to Cook. "Go away."
Cook huffed but left without a word.
"Anyway," said Ivy lowering her voice. "Malfoy may not like you but his dad was in league with You-Know-Who. He knows who your mum is and so I don't think he'd do this. Just because he's enjoying this doesn't mean he's behind it, Bella."
"But he—"
"Bella, he's the son of a Death Eater he's not going to go around slandering a daughter of a Death Eater, his dad would kill him, trust me."
Bella was about to ask how Ivy knew that for sure when Ivy said,
"Now, let's go see what cock-and-bull stories they've got about you on the walls this time."
"This is…OUTRAGEOUS!" yelled Ivy ripping down papers from the bathroom walls. One of the papers on the wall next to her read:
Bella Grundy is a whore. She sells herself to pay for school.
Ivy ripped down the paper. "This is outright slander!" She ripped down another paper. "I want to know who did this so I can kill 'em!"
"I know who did it. I know this hand writing." Said Bella coolly.
"Then who the hell is it!" demanded Ivy her fists full of crumpled up papers.
"Parkinson." Bella felt oddly unemotional towards this situation. She should have been even angrier then Ivy about having her name dragged through the mud but she wasn't. As a matter of fact she didn't really feel anything.
"I'm gonna kill her! And she wasn't even smart enough to put Stick Charms on these things!" said Ivy waving around her fists full of paper.
At that moment the bathroom door opened and a bushy haired girl with rather large front teeth walked in. "Oh," she looked around at them. "I see you noticed those." She pointed to the papers. "I, personally, don't believe that loud of rubbish."
"Oh, that's rich coming from you, Granger." Said Bella not at all happy to see Granger.
Granger ignored Bella's words and kept talking. "I've been taking these things down from all the girls' bathrooms. It's mindless slander is what and Hogwarts doesn't need it." Said Granger with a stuffy kind of nod.
Ivy, who was still clinching the papers in her fist, smiled at Granger. "Thanks for the help!" she seemed oddly cheery now.
Without a word Bella moved towards the door.
"Oh, wait for me!" said Ivy moving after her with a short smile at Granger.
Once they were out of the bathroom Bella turned to Ivy. "Would you please stop hitting on Granger."
"I'm not hitting on her!" said Ivy, who was still holding the papers. "What do I look like gay?
"Yeah," said Bella starting to walk again.
"Am I really that obvious?" asked Ivy walking beside Bella.
"Yes," they turned a corner.
"And you don't hate me for it?"
"Why would I hate you for being who you are?" asked Bella turning another corner.
"I don't know…but most people do." Said Ivy sadly.
"Well, I'm not one of them." Said Bella. A long silence fell.
"You know," said Ivy trying to think of something to say. "It's really a shame you missed flying lessons."
"Really? How so?" asked Bella.
"Well, it was loads of fun but best of all Malfoy got his own."
"From who?" now Bella was somewhat interested.
"Harry Potter—oh, yeah sorry, forgot you didn't like him." Ivy looked apologetically at Bella.
"That's the under statement of the year." Bella and Ivy rounded another corner but this time Bella spotted something that made her stop.
"What?" asked Ivy puzzled.
"Look." Said Bella pointing up ahead.
"Wow…" whispered Ivy.
Up ahead was Malfoy and Parkinson but Malfoy seemed very mad at Parkinson. He looked close to exploding at her.
"I'm warning you," he said. "Don't put up anymore of those bloody papers!"
"But Draco," whined Parkinson. "I thought they'd make you happy."
"Well, you were wrong!" spat Malfoy.
"Fine!" said Parkinson stalking off in the other direction.
Bella wasn't exactly sure what to make of all this. Why would Malfoy care about some ruddy papers about her? It didn't make sense. "Quick move!" whispered Bella as she noticed Malfoy heading their way.
"Wha—?" Ivy didn't seem at all happy about Bella pulling her back around the corner and up the corridor. "What's gotten into you?"
"I don't want him to see me." Said Bella in a low voice.
"Why?"
"Oh, just shut up and move."
The rest of the month pasted with not much change except the rumors about Bella had died down quite a bit. Before Bella knew it, it was time for the Halloween Feast. Bella sat at the Slytherin table too used to the cold stares from her house members to let it bother her. Ivy wasn't eating but was consuming herself in a copy of Titus Andronicus. Why Ivy read it was beyond Bella, Ivy knew the whole play by heart and Ovid's Metamorphoses so Bella didn't see much point in reread it.
Bella wasn't really all that hungry and so left the Great Hall early, as she walked down a corridor she passed Richard Cook a seventh year Slytherin. She wondered briefly why he too was not at the feast but didn't harp on it. She was a few corridors away from the common room when she spotted Professor Quirrell the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher running up the stairs in front of her that lead to the Great Hall. Where's he going? thought Bella as she turned and took the stairs that led down.
Bella was fixing her robs as she entered the Slytherin common room. She flopped down in a chair and looked around the empty common room. It seemed colder then normal Bella noted as she heard the common room door slide open then close.
Bella slowly opened her eyes. She was lying in the Hospital Wing starring at the ceiling. Her vision was blurry and her body ached all over. What…happened? How did…I get here? Bella tried to sit up but red-hot pain shot through her making her cry out and lay still again. She heard hurried footsteps approach her.
"You mustn't move, dear." said Madam Pomfrey the nurse.
"I guessed that." Said Bella through teeth gritted from pain. "How'd I get here this time?" She gasped as an overwhelming wave of pain over took her then left just as suddenly.
Madam Pomfrey looked reluctant to say why Bella was there. "I think…I suppose the truth is the only way to go. You were found in an old classroom completely out cold and…"
"And what?" asked Bella trying not to wince from the pain.
"You were raped."
Bella just starred at Madam Pomfrey. "I was what?"
"Raped, but we don't know who by. They did a good job covering their tracks, whoever did this. They used a Memory Charm on you and erased…all other things that would point to them." Madam Pomfrey seemed to be having a hard time telling all this to Bella. But Bella didn't take much notice because she was in shock.
I've been raped… That was all that filled her mind was those words over and over.
