The rest of the term was much more enjoyable for Cornelia as she split her time between Draco and Theodore, no longer feeling like she had no choice other than to trail behind Draco, Crabbe and Goyle in her spare time. Theodore was right, it seemed that Draco felt her absence sorely and often made sly remarks when she went to potter over to Theodore.
"Off to whisper with Nott are you?" He called out as she turned from him to look for Theodore one lunchtime. Although she had sensed his prickliness as she and Theodore spent gradually more time together, she had just ignored it hoping that he would get over it once he realised it didn't mean she was abandoning him completely. His mocking tone irritated her this time though and she turned slowly back, looking him over disdainfully.
"Yes. It's much better than grunting all lunch with you lot." She cast her eyes meaningfully over Crabbe and Goyle who just stared stupidly back at her, clearly not understanding the dig. Draco on the other hand just clenched his jaw and watched her darkly as she stomped off to where Theodore was sat already at the table.
Theodore's quiet demeaner had a pacifying effect on Cornelia whenever she was around him, and she quickly found her irritation at Draco's comments fizzle out. He would captivate her attention with people watching and observations he had made, it seemed he had an eye for understanding people's relationships to each other and could pick them apart with disturbing accuracy. Cornelia on the other hand was equally observant when it came to understanding what the people themselves were like and they entertained themselves by creating a database of sorts on the students around them.
She realised that they shared an interest in the actions of others and taking a hand in the creation of consequences for these actions. Whilst Cornelia took her time carefully watching and creating a hole proof plan to bring about more extreme consequences, Theodore was much rasher and dealt out smaller consequences more often, hence the regular pranking.
She found out that all of the pranks she had witnessed before their friendship were mild punishments for some unpleasant behaviour Theodore had seen the 'victim' of his pranks commit sometime before the lesson.
That was why when some 5 minutes after she had sat down beside him and Draco shot from his seat yelling as a jug of pumpkin juice had mysteriously fallen on its side and spilt its contents in his lap, she had to fight not to laugh. Eyes glittering she shook her head minutely whispering "Not Draco please Theodore. I can handle him."
She watched as one of the older students removed the juice on Draco's cloak and he, Crabbe and Goyle stormed out of the Grand Hall, stopping on their way to swap some insults no doubt with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.
"He's going to apologise later anyway." Theodore said.
"How do you know?"
He shrugged. "He's mad at himself, not you."
"Why would he be mad at himself?"
"Oh I don't know…" He trailed off and Cornelia frowned at him. "Anyway, I've been wondering if it's time to do something about Justin Finch-Fletchley. I don't like the way he thinks he can say those things about you whenever he sees you and gets away with it, and my pranks don't seem to be getting through."
Easily distracted, Cornelia's frown transformed into a grin. Justin had an annoying habit of stage whispering comments about Azkaban and her mother whenever she was within earshot, backed up by Susan Bones who often referred to some information her aunt, Amelia Bones, had apparently passed on. Whilst it might have effected Cornelia seriously enough to have considered what she might have done about it a month earlier, it seemed the majority of the student body had gotten over her connection with her parents seeing as she hadn't displayed any insane tendencies since the Remembrall incident on her first day, and therefore she felt she could cope with a couple of pathetic Hufflepuffs a little better. However, working with Theodore on a plan brought a whole new level of fun to the situation, and she was excited to combine their efforts.
They hatched a plan relatively quickly, but it took some preparation. Theodore wanted the plan to clearly hold the message that it came from Cornelia whilst leaving no evidence that it had anything to do with her, or him of course. This included learning the complex method behind a heating rune, which they were going to carve beneath Justin's chair that he always sat in during their History of Magic classes together. Theodore was going to do the majority of the wandwork in his typically undetectable fashion, taking on the rest of Justin's friendship group that snickered every time he poked at Cornelia.
Finally the day came when Cornelia had perfected the heating rune she was going to use and had managed to sneak into the empty classroom during lunch earlier that day to carve it beneath Justin's chair. Her and Theodore made sure not to sit together during that class, Cornelia instead placing herself alone and within earshot of the group.
As if on cue, Justin began his predictable and altogether worn out comments about her mother as soon as Professor Binns got into his stride reading from a book in a monotonous voice.
"It's an awful day to be surrounded by dementors!" He whispered loudly, and the day was indeed dreary, a constant sheet of grey drizzle pattering against the window panes. "Although I expect you wouldn't notice the weather, even if there are holes in the roof of Azkaban!"
Cornelia smirked, for the first time she enjoyed the sound of Justin's pompous voice and she turned in her seat to look in his eyes. He seemed a little taken aback, she usually resolutely ignored him, and the smirk was quite disconcerting. As he thought this, his bottom suddenly felt warm and he looked down, mortified by the thought that he had accidentally wet himself. This line of thought only lasted for a couple of seconds before the heat became altogether too hot and suddenly with a whoosh and crackle, and a scream from Justin, his chair burst into scorching flames. He shot up, as did his friends surrounding him only to all fall back to the ground, and in Justin's case, back into the flames. Their shoelaces had all been tied together in a long line of knotted string.
Cornelia jolted to her feet along with the rest of the class as Justin's bloodcurdling screams filled the classroom and, with the sensation of running face first into a brick wall, she realised she had gone too far. She rushed forward unthinkingly, ripping off her cloak and diving onto Justin, attempting to smother the flames. She sensed rather than saw, being too intent on putting right her wrong, more students following her lead.
It only took a few moments to put out the flames and she remained knelt on the floor beside a whimpering Justin, breathing heavily as she got to see close up the damage she had done. His clothes had burnt away in patches on his lower half, and she could the skin was blistered and red through the holes.
His eyes opened and fell on her and he started screaming again. "GET AWAY FROM ME! GET HER AWAY FROM ME!"
Cornelia sprang to her feet and scarpered backwards into someone's arms. "Watch your mouth! She's the one who put the flames out!" Yelled Draco's voice just beside her ear.
"SHE DID THIS TO ME! YOU'RE EVIL! EVIL JUST LIKE YOUR MOTHER!" Justin screeched hysterically and Cornelia cowered back further into Draco, her body shaking from the adrenaline coursing through her. Susan was sobbing loudly beside Justin.
"You miserable-!" Draco drew his wand and Cornelia quickly grabbed his arm.
"Don't Draco!"
"Will somebody please take Mr Finch-Fletchley to the hospital wing? Can you stand sir?" Professor Binns was hovering uselessly above them all, his voice unrecognisable having finally been broken out of its monotonous shell. Justin looked at him wildly. "I assure you we will get to the bottom of who did this. It will be taken extremely seriously." He added and Cornelia felt sick. She didn't dare to look at Theodore.
The class disbanded immediately, Draco only leaving when threatened with losing 50 house points, and Professor Binns demanded Cornelia to follow him to the headmaster's office.
He led her to an ugly squatting stone gargoyle on the third floor. "Wait here." He said sternly before drifting up through the gargoyle and leaving Cornelia shivering in the hallway.
Was it true after all? Was she really as crazy as her mother? She hadn't considered the reality behind setting fire to Justin's chair, and she had wanted to hurt him, just not that much. She bit her lip anxiously, filled with the urge to run from the corridor before Professor Dumbledore could reach her. Only the knowledge that she had nowhere to run to that she wouldn't be found kept her rooted to the spot.
After what felt like forever the gargoyle suddenly jumped into life and began turning with a low grating sound revealing a winding stone staircase leading up; Upon the staircase stood the remarkably intimidating figure of Professor Dumbledore.
He wore long robes of deep blue velvet and scattered silver stars, and his face look grave behind his long white beard and half-moon spectacles. "Good afternoon Cornelia, please follow me." Cornelia moved automatically after him up the staircase and into a beautifully cosy round room filled with comfortable and elegant furniture, glittering trinkets and the walls lined with portraits.
She stood gaping around at the room, momentarily forgetting the seriousness of her predicament, before Dumbledore made a polite noise from his chair behind his desk and gestured at another chair in front of it. She slid into it obediently, not daring to make direct eye contact with the Headmaster.
"I'm sorry to meet you for the first time under such circumstances Cornelia." His voice was kind and he didn't sound angry, more sad. She didn't know what to say so just bowed her head and looked at her hands that twisted nervously around each other. "May I ask what happened in your History of Magic class with Justin Finch-Fletchley?"
"Um, Justin's chair set on fire and he – he fell into it."
"Simply fell?" Dumbledore asked curiously and Cornelia's eyes danced up to meet his piercing blue ones. Although his voice was kind his eyes were hard and serious and her heart thumped uncomfortably against her ribs.
"It looked like someone had tied his shoelaces together with his friends, Sir." She said quickly, her voice shaking.
"How do you think his chair came to be suddenly engulfed in flames?" Dumbledore asked keeping that frighteningly soft tone.
"I don't know, Sir." She whispered to her knees.
"Hmmm." She chanced another glance up and Dumbledore was still watching her over the top of his steepled fingers. "Professor Binns has informed me that Justin is under the impression that you were the one who set his chair on fire." The statement hung in the air and Cornelia continued to glare resolutely at her knees. "Why would he be under that impression?"
The silence stretched between them as Cornelia's mind whirred. She knew she would have to answer. "He thinks I'm crazy." She eventually said, her voice cracking with emotion and she was mortified to find her eyes filling with tears. She clutched her hands together, her nails digging painfully into the skin.
"Why does he think that?"
"Because-" Much to her horror, Cornelia's tears burst their bank and streamed down her face. "Because my mother is crazy."
There was a moment of quiet before Dumbledore shifted and a box of tissues came into Cornelia's line of sight. "Please help yourself." He said kindly and she did, furiously wiping at her traitorous eyes. It had been the first time she had verbally acknowledged to another person the insults that had followed her around Hogwarts since her first evening there, and the weight that had been building inside her with every whisper she had encountered had suddenly become unbearable.
Dumbledore waited patiently until Cornelia's tears had subsided somewhat before speaking again. "It can be an enormous burden to carry our parent's legacy." She looked up at him, shocked by his warm words and even more surprised by the sad smile on his lined face. "Especially when we do not identify with that legacy."
After a moment Cornelia nodded, the tears threatening to fall again. "Yes." Her voice was so small.
"Do you believe you are crazy Cornelia?" He asked and Cornelia shook her head vigorously.
"No. I don't." Her voice found a little more power in the statement.
"Nor do I." And for the first time Cornelia returned his smile with a shaky small one of her own. "Now as for Mr. Finch-Fletchley, it is unclear who is responsible for the incident. Would you have any ideas who it may be?"
She shook her head after a moment's hesitation. No matter the rapport Dumbledore may have built, she couldn't be sure if he would expel her if he found out the truth.
"I see." She could feel his piercing eyes on hers again and she was certain he could see right through her lie. "Well, whoever it was I am sure they can now see how incredibly important it is not to inflict pain upon another student. Whether intentional or not." His voice took on an authoritative overlay and Cornelia was now certain that he knew she was responsible for setting fire to Justin and yet for some reason, perhaps sympathy, he was allowing her to walk away unpunished.
"Yes, Sir." She murmured.
"No doubt Mr Finch-Fletchley will be upset after the events of today, so please do not hesitate to let me or any of the professors know if he behaves unreasonably towards you." She nodded biting back her thoughts that she certainly would not be running to a professor if Justin bothered her again. Besides, she suspected that he would be altogether too terrified of her to try anything again.
Cornelia left Professor Dumbledore's office on legs of jelly, making her way shakily down to the common room. She felt a bizarre combination of extreme relief and the previous shame towards her actions and vowed never to plan anything so extreme with Theodore again.
She passed a few people on her journey and it seemed that some were literally changing their path to give her a wide berth, their eyes wide and staring before looking away quickly when she glanced over at them. Her relieved bubble burst as she realised that most of the school probably thought she had set fire to Justin by now (which she had), and she would go back to being insane Cornelia Lestrange which she wasn't altogether certain that she was undeserving of.
It was a different story when she finally slumped into the common room and was met with scattered applause and cheers. Slytherin students from all years were grinning over at her and congratulating her on putting the mudblood in his place. Cornelia felt completely overwhelmed as Draco rushed over, the only one seemingly not overjoyed by the situation, his forehead creased with worry. She hadn't realised that Justin was a muggle-born, and she wasn't sure how she felt about people's interpretation of why she had done what she had done.
"Are you okay?" Draco murmured in her ear and she nodded vacantly. "Let's go for a walk." He suggested, steering her back out of the common room. Cornelia let him, feeling like she would probably prefer the fearful stares to the impressed grins of her fellow Slytherins.
She kept her eyes on the ground as they made their way out of the castle and into the bitterly cold evening. Draco made up for her lack of confidence by glaring angrily at anyone who looked in their direction, and he didn't speak until they were safely away from any eavesdroppers.
"What did Dumbledore say?" He asked.
Cornelia just shook her head and stared into the dark choppy waters that ran through the grounds, the cold wind whipping at her face.
"You're not expelled are you?" Draco spoke again quietly, touching her arm gently.
"No. I'm not in trouble at all." She croaked.
"Well that's good isn't it?"
"I suppose." A lump had formed in her throat again and she desperately tried to force it back down.
Draco went quiet for a moment, peering into her face. Eventually he sighed and pulled her into a hug which she shakily sunk into. "It was Nott's idea wasn't it?" He mumbled into her back, his voice bitter.
She shook her head again. "No." There was no need to drag Theodore into this now.
Draco laughed unpleasantly. "Yeah right. We're family remember? I know you."
Cornelia ripped herself away from him and glared at him, her sadness quickly changing into fury at Draco's pathetic jealousy in a moment like this. "Then you'll remember who my mother is then right? Or were you so pampered that you forgot about nasty, crazy Aunt Bellatrix?!"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Draco flushed at the insult and all of Cornelia's confusion, hurt and shame rushed to the surface and focused in on Draco. She wanted to hurt him, to make him feel as bad as she did.
"Everything! You wouldn't know would you? You're so spoilt by mummy and daddy that you couldn't even begin to imagine what it feels like not having everything handed to you!"
Draco backed up, Cornelia had only yelled at him a couple of times in their lives and never as venomously as this. "You think everything belongs to you don't you?" Without realising she had pulled out her wand and was waving it manically in the air as she gesticulated. "Do you think I belong to you?!" Her voice was steadily reaching a screech.
"No! What is wrong with you?"
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice echoing around the quiet grounds and alarming a flock of birds out of a nearby tree, red sparks flying from the end of her wand. "MY SO CALLED FAMILY!"
The quiet rushed back in around her words, nothing but the beating of the birds wings and the bubbling of the water. It lay suffocatingly around them, and Draco's stunned expression was illuminated by her blazing wand.
For the second time that day Cornelia felt like she had been slapped around the face with reality and the familiar whoosh of shame flooded through her. Her wand fizzled and dimmed and she took a ragged deep breath.
"Well I'll leave you alone then." Draco finally found his voice and spat out before turning on his heel and storming back up towards the castle without a backwards glance.
I love Draco in this chapter. He's such a little sweetheart to Cornelia whilst also remaining that little shit that we all love to hate. It really hurt me to upset him with Cornelia's breakdown. But anyway! We might have started to get a better idea of Cornelia's nature in this chapter (I keep on wanting to say episode. It does feel like I'm watching a drama whilst I'm writing it!), especially around her quick temper. Now who does that remind us of? Also not sure about Theodore, he handled that whole situation with Justin like a real slippery Slytherin didn't he? Haven't seen hide nor hair of him since it all went tits up! Justin really does irritate me in the films/books so it was fun seeing him being a dickhead and getting punished for it. Can't wait to do the same to Colin Creevey heh. It was also Cornelia's first interaction with Dumbledore which I really enjoyed seeing unfold. Dumbledore's another one who just writes himself.
I hope you enjoyed! Until next time.