WARNING: This chapter contains bloody character death.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the Lyrics that I quote in each chapter.
Chapter Fourteen
Russian Roulette
"Take a breath,
Take it deep,
Calm yourself,
He says to me,
If you play,
You play for keeps,
Take the gun,
And count to three,
I'm sweating now,
Moving slow,
No time to think,
My turn to go,
And you can see my heart beating,
Oh, you can see it through my chest,
Said I'm terrified,
But I'm not leaving,
I know that I must pass this test,
So just pull the trigger…"
Russian Roulette by Rihanna
Friday October 11th, 1996
Hogsmeade Outside of a small Pub- Just after noon
A thick blanket of dark clouds covered the sky above as if it was about to start raining, while Ginny ambled slowly towards the back entrance of a rather manky looking pub which sat hidden in the far back of Hogsmeade. Glancing over her shoulder once more to make sure no one saw her, she grabbed the freezing brass door handle, and made her way inside.
Other than the grubby looking middle-aged woman who stood behind the bar tending to an older man whom held a glass of what looked like Firewhisky, it was quite vacant inside. The room smelled of alcohol mixed with sweat and a distinctive scent she could not quite place. Turing to her right, in the far left corner she saw the boy currently looking at her with rather annoyed expression and a Butterbeer in front of him that was halfway empty.
Walking leisurely towards him, she thought about how she would rather be in the Three Broomsticks with Dean, or even dealing with Ron and his obnoxious behaviors. Honestly, there were so many people she would rather be with right now but instead she had to meet up with him and still didn't even know his name. Pulling out the chair that was right in front of him with a huff, she then sat down and scooted the chair in as she looked out the window beside her.
"Now let me guess, you don't have the Liquid Luck, yet again, for our third meeting because it's difficult to get without drawing attention." He drawled casually with a scoff just before reaching for his Butterbeer and taking a rather generous swig. Tearing her eyes away from the murky unwashed glass window, Ginny looked towards him with a nervous gulp, and a deep inhale of the stench that filled the room.
"You know how Hermione is, she isn't known as one of the brightest witches in Hogwarts for nothing. Getting past the protective charms I'll admit was quite tricky, but doable nonetheless. What I'm having trouble with now is, well she used a spell that has made all of her potions look identical, which I haven't been able to get past. I'm trying; honestly, I just need a bit more time." Ginny explained with a shaky sigh, as she then looked back towards the dirty windowpanes wanting nothing more than the all to be over and done with. Tugging at her long sleeved jacket with her fingers in a nervous fit, she then looked back towards him who was now shaking his head.
"See, I think that you are just trying to delay my plans as long as you can, testing how much I'll let you get away with before I get upset. So allow me to properly motivate you to work, a little faster and harder." He whispered quietly to her with a callous smile and a shrug followed by him reaching for what she assumed was his wand inside his jacket pocket. Looking in one hand, she saw his wand, but then looking into his other, she saw a small coin the he flipped between fingers before standing up to his feet.
"N-no, that's not what I'm…Where are you- What are you doing?" she asked softly through her teeth, but all he gave her was a right grin and a wiggle of his eyebrows, which made her stomach lurch forward, nervous just thinking about that look. Watching him stride with a sickening confidence, over towards the bar where the woman stood, while Ginny couldn't shake the feeling something awful was about to happen.
"Excuse me ma'am, do you remember what I told you to do? Good, now could you and this kind fellow stand right over here for me?" he inquired evenly whilst motioning them to stand just in front of the bar, but what confused Ginny was that they both did what he asked without batting an eye. Once they stood, right where he had previously pointed to, that scent she couldn't place hit her in a wave. Ginny gasped the moment she realized what she smelt while jumping to her feet. Taking a few steps towards him, she went up behind him and grabbed his shoulder to spin him towards her.
"Whatever you're thinking of doing, don't. I know what that smell is, it's dark magic. I will get you the potion, I swear! Just, stop it, and make them forget you used the Imperious curse upon them. I promise you, I will get it…" she hastily spoke still holding onto him, as he shrugged away from her grip and sneered downwards at her.
She then watched him reaching upwards to straighten his coat, and then tilting his head to his right just before he turned back towards the two standing beside the bar, blatantly ignoring her panicked expression. Watching his hand reach forward, dropping the coin into the mucky woman's hand, who then took the coin and placed it upon her thumb as if she were about to flip it.
"You see, Ginny, before you got here, I knew you wouldn't have the little potion, so I set up this fun little motivator game that my dad, as a death eater loves to play, and it's actually rather entertaining if I do say so myself. It is a version of sorts that is similar to a muggle game called, Russian Roulette. With some tiny changes, it's recently become my most useful way of obtain what I want, and right now, that is for you to stop dilly-dallying." He snarled ruthlessly through his teeth, causing Ginny to take a step backwards, as an uneasy feeling consumed her while he looked at her with a small smirk. Looking at the woman and then the man, she felt the bile burning in her throat, wanting to attempt to explain once more that she was going to get the potion for him, but couldn't find the words in time as he then continued talking.
"Let me clarify, you see that coin there? Well, what you do is you have someone flip the coin him or herself for a more theatrical effect. Once they flip it, while it's in the air, you have them call heads, or tails. If they're right, they live, if they're wrong, well they have to use their own wand to, off themselves." The boy elucidated as Ginny tried to sallow the rising fear inside her, while the woman then tossed the coin into the air without blinking.
Subsequently the women mumbled tails, as the coin flipped in the air a few times and then landed onto the palm of her hand, which she then turned over, onto the top of her other hand. Once she had moved her hand, Ginny choked out a mix of a gasp and a cry of trepidation from seeing the affronted coin lying headsup for everyone to see.
"That's a bit of a shame, now isn't it? Don't forget to mean it luv…" the boy rubbed his chin, taking his coin back before looking towards Ginny who was stuck in a state of horror mixed with disbelief. Shaking her head violently, Ginny turned her gaze away from the woman whom was retrieving her wand inside her apron, and then turned to look towards the vile death eater Slytherin in front of her.
Trying to get her wand out of her coat pocket, Ginny scrambled, determined to put an end to this no matter what. Accidently dropping her wand at her feet, she was about to grab it but the boy stopped her by grabbing her by her wrist with one hand, while tangling the other inside her hair causing her hat to fall off.
"Now now, this is the best part, you don't want to miss it…," he hissed against the hair covering her ear forcing her to shiver in outright repulsion while the woman before them lifted her wand towards her own chest. In choppy panted breaths, Ginny watched the woman biting the words out as her hands shook ferociously, while a single tear rolled down her expressionless face.
"Avada Kedavra…" the second the words left the woman's lips a pulsating emerald light exploded while Ginny screamed piercingly, at hearing the thud of the body hitting the ground. She then thrashed in the boys arms elbowing him to get loose before diving for her wand that sat upon the floor not but two feet away.
With her wand, now in hand she rolled to her side throwing a silent spell of stupefy, hitting the boy square in the chest, which threw him backwards into the bar. Bottles shattered noisily behind her, while she climbed to her feet, using a table to stand, making her way over to the man who stood still.
"You have to get out of here, now!" she spat, reaching down to grab his wrist, as he stood motionless and stationary as if he were a statue in front of her. Yanking upon his arm, when there was yet again no change, she looked towards the bar. The sound of glass crunching beneath shoes pulled her attention back towards the boy, who stood up using a stool, and looked at her with an overzealous ire, wand in hand.
Taking a few steps backwards away from the man, Ginny slowly tried to make her way to the door, but stopped when she ran into a table. Keeping her wand at the ready, breathless, she suddenly wanted nothing more than for scum like him to wind up dead, or worse. Watching the anger in his eye flashing, she saw him lift his wand towards her, and without saying a word her wand flew from her and across the room. She then saw him quickly turned his wand towards the man, pointing it towards his throat, before mumbling.
"Diffindo." Following the bright white light that shot from the tip of his wand, Ginny turned to watch the sight before her play out in horror. The man threw his hand upwards towards his throat at the newly sliced flesh of his jugular, in attempts to stop the blood spurting out, around, and through his fingers while he gasped, gargling the crimson that started gushing down his front.
"Stop it! You can't just kill him! You've made your bloody point okay! I'll bring you the stupid Liquid Luck tomorrow at the Quidditch match before I play, just save him…," she screeched at the same time as she rushed towards the man when he fell to his knees choking upon the tangy scarlet blood flowing from his body.
Landing upon his front as blood pooled around him, Ginny rolled him over onto his back, with blood upon her hands she sat, watching the life literally leave him slowly, then all at once. Hot tears bubbled in her eyes, while she shook her head intently, feeling a hasty wave of nausea hit her like a ton of bricks. Grabbing a chair to her right she huffed, needing to get out of here, and needing to get out now.
Briefly looking towards him, she watched him flip the coin once more, then flipping it once before looking at it. With a sly smirk, he chuckled, and Ginny ignored him, reaching upwards to wipe away stains of tears upon her cheeks.
"Looks like you live this time, Luv… Maybe next time I ask you to do something you will do it the first time I ask and not the third time Ginny. So let this be a lesson for you, and don't, forget it… Not likely, but nonetheless." He spoke quietly as he walked towards past the dead bodies, and over towards her, where he reached inside his pocket, for what Ginny saw was a small slip of paper. Holding it out to her, she just started, blinking in disgust, as he dropped it in her hand. "Here, something you've been asking for… Not that it matters really…," he said to her with a smarmy expression, and a grin, and then left out the back door without a word.
With one last look, she snatched her hat off the floor along with her wand that lie by the bar and as fast as her feet could move she then made her way out the back into a heavy down pour of rain, where she leaned against the back of the building. Pulling at the slip of paper, she read the two words upon the paper ignoring the smudges of fresh blood from her hands, trying to get rid of the fresh flashes of death currently replaying in her mind.
Theo Nott
"There's a weight in my heart,
Could you be my alchemist,
Heavy metals in the dark,
Could you make some sense of it,
There's a weight in my soul,
Aching for a golden kiss,
With a love I can't control,
With a love I can't resist,
I need a quick fix,
I don't want to feel this,
Come into my arms and make everything alright,
Chase you into the unknown,
You're my dark,
You're the spark…"
Spark by Digital Daggers
Friday October 11th, 1996
On a path leading towards the Three Broomsticks- Two in the afternoon
With a shaky exhale, Hermione watched the white swirls dance before her of the warm hitting the cold biting autumn breeze, while she walked alone along the path. The past week or so had been rather difficult, schoolwork was being piled on in order correctly prepare everyone for their O.W.L's, which made mending things with Harry after their disagreement harder but she still managed. Then there was Malfoy, who had been avoiding everyone and everything like it was on fire, literally, even during potions class where he hadn't even looked in her direction.
'The next time I see him, I have to corner him. I have to make him give me an answer, otherwise the git will continue to pretend that I don't exist…' she thought to herself as she walked over towards The Three Broomsticks where several fifth years entered. Just as she reached up to fix her hat, to keep her hair dry from the soft drizzling rain, she stopped as the door swung opened for her, but what she met with was a distraught Ginny who just pushed past her without a single word. She was about to say something to her when she saw Dean walk past her in Ginny's direction, and decided it was best to ask about it later.
Once inside she relaxed at the sudden warmth, looking around, she spotted Ron and Harry at a back table with Butterbeers sitting in front of them upon the tabletop, talking loudly, and laughing. With a grin, Hermione took a few steps in the direction of the bar where she was about to order a Butterbeer for herself but stopped when she saw a current blonde Slytherin problem rush inside the door just ten feet from her.
'I have got to talk to him, I cannot keep putting this off…' she huffed at the thought glancing back towards her two friends, then back towards Malfoy who had a small package in hand, and was walking away from her towards the Loo. With a sneer, she rolled her eyes, suddenly not wanting a Butterbeer as she decided she would stop him on his way out, and turned to see none other than Lavender Brown hanging all over Ronald. Scoffing loudly she began to chew upon her lip, feeling rather unwelcome as she turned to see Malfoy attempt to make a quick exit behind her.
With one last look at her friends, she spun on her feet pushing outside back into the cold rain, after him, who was presently turning around the corner of the pub. Picking up her pace, she saw him pausing to have a quick look at his pocket watch, with an unsteady puff of air. Taking one more step forward, Hermione misplaced her foot almost slipping upon mud with a squeak, causing him to turn to look at her with sneer.
"Is there a logical explanation for this annoying habit you've recently gotten into Granger?" he asked with an eye roll whilst pocketing his watch and reaching up rub the back of his neck. She gave a small smile, which she was sure he saw, stopping to straighten herself taking a few steps closer towards him.
"If that habit has to do with following you, then yes there is, because if you remember correctly Malfoy, I gave you two options last week. One where you allow me to help you find out who attacked us on patrols, or the later, which entails me, having a lovely chat with Professor McGonagall." She grinned as shuffling in her spot while crossing her arms and chewing upon her bottom lip. Watching him closely, she could see he was rather annoyed with the ultimatum of sorts that she had given him, as he huffed shoving his hands into his pocket.
"I would prefer to be left alone entirely, but since that isn't one of your pathetic options, I guess allowing you to find out who attacked us could be rather useful. Seeing as your intelligence is halfway decent, it could possibly help move things along, more effectively." He drawled taking a step closer towards her with a sharp smirk and his brows to rise causing his forehead to crinkle slightly. With hollow laugh mixed with a scoff, she shook her head, running her tongue across her top teeth, and rolling her eyes. Looking down at his hands, suddenly confused, she noticed that he was no longer carrying the package she had seen earlier.
"Hang on, didn't you have a package when you were inside the Three Broomsticks?" she asked in wonder turning to watch him freeze at the question while his jaw tensed considerably. Taking another step towards him, she looked into his eyes, trying to ready why he was so apprehensive about the package.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He bit out through his teeth taking his hands out of his pocket and had he acted with nonchalance Hermione would have brushed aside the package without a second thought, but he hadn't. Lifting her chin upwards, she realized this most likely had something to do with why he was being somewhat out of character this year, and knew that she had to know.
"I saw it, there is no use in pretending I didn't, it's completely unnecessary. Nor is there any actual reason for you be so cross about it. I was only asking out of curiosity, Malfoy…" she growled, knowing that he would most likely act out in fit of anger, like he always did when asked about something he was attempting to be discreet about. As predicted, he looked around as if to make sure they were really alone, he then took several strides towards her forcing her back against the sidewall of the pub.
"Well don't… It's none of your business Granger, so leave it, alone…" he snarled causing hot white puffs of air to dance before him, as Hermione grit her teeth together in annoyance. Reaching upwards to give him yet another shove backwards like the last time he corner her against a wall, but was stopped when his right hand grabbed her wrist to stop her.
Shaking her hand, Hermione tried to get loose from his grasp, as his grip then tightened before he had enough and pinned it beside her. With her head spinning, his warmth enveloped her as she started to breathe harder the second his other hand pinned her other arm beside her before leaning towards her. Skin touching, panted breathes, Hermione tried to move but stopped when she looked upwards towards his eyes, which were a darker shade of steel, shinning and heated. Barely noticing the rain picking up wildly around the two of them, everything one of her senses was currently drowning in everything that was Malfoy.
"Malfoy…W-what are you doing?" she asked in somewhat hoarse voice that was nothing more than a whisper, while he shook his head. Hermione watched him parting his lips in order to breathe, while the air was suddenly thick with a tension that felt almost unbearable and frenzied. Steely eyes met her melting chocolate ones, as she then looked down towards his parted lips, while he did the same as he spoke so softly she almost didn't hear it.
"Granger… just shut it…" his words were harsh and breathy, causing her stomach to do multiple flips while she permitted her eyes close slowly, and then all at once. Malfoy's hot breath then ghosted upon her parted lips, causing her to inhale sharply and then tired of waiting, she moved her head forward so that their lips finally met.
In an ardent yet almost turbulent sway, her lips moved against his, which sped up hastily, as he moved her hands so that they were above her head where he only used his right hand to hold the both of them. Gasping as he caught her bottom lip between his teeth, he bit down seductively, at the same time as she felt the heated feelings that he stirred inside her start to thrash, evoking a small whimper that escaped between their lips.
Hermione then heard a focused growl from him as he suddenly dropped her hands completely before tearing away from the kiss and stepping backwards. Opening her eyes, to the pouring rain, she saw his look of confusion and want mixed all into one expression as she realized what just happened. Looking at him, he shook his head before running away and leaving her to her thoughts, as she reached upwards to touch her swollen lips.