AN: Thank you to my loyal readers, I hope you enjoy this next chapter.
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Chapter Fifty Two: Unselfish Slytherin.
Hogwarts was no longer home. No soul dead or alive wished to be there. The corridors were dark and gloomy. The ghosts kept to themselves. Even the staff looked as if the Dark Lord himself was sat on their back. A building once filled with teenage gossip and laughter now echoed with hollow footsteps. Pansy shivered from a chill that smothered the atmosphere, cloaking it as a grim reminder of the war raging outside the walls.
While she and Blaise had been at Hogwarts prior to their defection, she had not realised how dreary the castle had become under the Death Eater conversion. Blaise stared ahead beside her with an unwavering gaze, his regimented walking falling in step with the strides of the other students around them. They had slipped into Slytherin's ranks was ease, no one daring to question their sudden reappearance of Hogwarts. Malfoy's betrayal had obviously been whispered about, as people glanced at his two best friends with unvoiced questions, but no one seemed to know they had joined the Order.
As she discreetly glanced around, she noticed the strain on the faces of her fellow classmates. Many of the younger students looked timid and afraid, so unlike how she and her friends used to swagger about the castle at their age. Then, there were the older students who looked far too old for their age, stress lines were etched into their faces and shoulders were hunched against parental pressures. It was a pressure she and Blaise knew well. Since Lord Voldemort's return, parents were eager to prove themselves by offering up their children as the next generation of Death Eaters to follow in their footsteps. In the current climate, increasing numbers of the younger generation were becoming disillusioned to the beliefs shoved down their throats since they were born, as many witnessed horrific abuse and death of their fellow witches and wizards. But, with increasing victories for the Dark Side, it seemed an inevitable and unwanted fate for many.
"Blaise?" Pansy barely breathed his name, "We need to do something."
"What do you suggest?" Blaise whispered back in an irate tone. His dark gaze observed the watchful presence of one of the Carrow siblings, who was scanning the ranks of students for anyone they could cast their twisted curses on for so much as breathing in the wrong direction. Pansy was worrying about things they couldn't change and risking their sanity to express it to him. They were already part of a plan, she needn't worry about anything else, but he'd be damned if she didn't think of something else to voice her concern over.
"We need to-"
"Ssh." He hissed, mindful of Amycus Carrow mere metres away. Both Slytherins immediately lapsed into silence, wiping their expressions free of all expression, in a bid to be overlooked. The seconds ticked by slowly, as they passed Amycus, but they finally reached the Entrance Hall in unremarkable circumstances.
The events that followed were astounding and would be immortalised in memoirs and history textbooks for many years to come. How Harry Potter had stepped out of the Gryffindor ranks and called out Professor Snape on his disgrace to Professor Dumbledore's memory. For the first time since Snape and the Carrows had taken over Hogwarts, someone dared to breathe the late Headmaster's name. A collective intake of breath was the only sound as staff and students alike stared in disbelief and awe. Professor McGonagall fought Professor Snape, defeating the old Potions' professor and driving him from the castle with an almost gleeful expression. The Great Hall was shocked into silence, watching two of Hogwarts' most talented staff duel, and a relieved cheer broke the hideous silence that had reigned since the previous June. The Order had taken back Hogwarts from Snape and the Carrows. Then Voldemort's mental intrusion shattered the celebrations. Girls screamed in terror and boys stumbled to their knees at the foreign sensation.
"Give me Harry Potter and you will be rewarded…" The Dark Lord's voice faded and disappeared, leaving only horror and a feeling of deep violation.
Pansy could see the unease and fear in the students' eyes; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin students alike. The war had come to their doorstep and a hideous resolution offered. No one could bring themselves to consider the options, yet everyone wondered in the darkest point of their mind whether the sacrifice would be worth it. The Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters would be arriving any minute to kill anyone who stood in the path of the Dark Lord's wishes. He would come and kill Harry and kill anyone he saw fit to dispose of. Looking to her own House, she saw panic in their gazes. Not many of the Slytherins would fight for the Dark Side willingly, but they couldn't fight their family or their friends. A solution lit up her eyes and she stepped forward.
"What are you standing there for? Grab him!" She yelled, pointing at Potter with determination.
The Order members swarmed protectively around Harry, glaring at her with revulsion. Pansy turned her gaze to McGonagall, begging her with her eyes to understand her twisted reasoning. The older witch stared back, first with disgust which transformed into comprehension.
"Students out of bed! Students out of bed!" Mr Filch called, jerkily running into the Great Hall, "Students in the corridor!"
"They are supposed to be out of bed, you blithering idiot!" Professor McGonagall snapped back.
"Oh…sorry, Ma'am." He apologised awkwardly, holding Mrs Norris closer.
"As it happens, Mr Filch, your arrival is most opportune." McGonagall strode over to Mr Filch, gesturing to the gathered Slytherin students in passing, "If you would, I would like you please, to lead Miss Parkinson and the rest of Slytherin House from the Hall."
"And where exactly would I be leading them to, Ma'am?" He asked.
"The Dungeons would do." She replied snidely. Professor McGonagall may have understood Pansy's intentions, but her distrust of Slytherin House had been ingrained in her since her own years at Hogwarts. But Pansy took it as a blessing. They would not be made prisoner in the Dungeons, she would stun Mr Filch at the earliest opportunity, and lead her House to escape and seek refuge. She would ensure all of those who wished to leave for their own sanity's sake were given the proper opportunity to escape, then she would fight alongside those who knew they could fight anyone, even their own relatives, if it meant peace once more.
As Slytherin House filed out of the Great Hall, cheers of seeing the unpopular house public disgraced echoed in their ears, Pansy swore to herself to reclaim Slytherins great name once more, without the building blocks of prejudice and discrimination.