A Subtle Obsession
By: Twisted Mister
Chapter 3: Deep Wounds
Carwyn woke up early the following morning, he sat up in his four poster rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He pulled his curtains to the side and looked around the dorm room. His dorm mates Severus, Mulciber, and Amycus were still asleep. 'At least none of my stuff is missing or destroyed I got lucky this year.' It was like a yearly ritual, usually on the first night back Carwyn would have his things stolen or bed curtains set on fire.
He crept quietly out of bed and took a quick shower, and got dressed in his school robes. Silently he went up the spiral steps into the common room. The common room was tinged green as always, because it was submerged under the lake, its windows peering out into its murky depths.
Carwyn looked around at all the fancy mahogany furniture and embroidered snakes along the walls. He never stayed in here unless everyone went to bed, Quidditch or was off on Christmas holiday. Unless he wanted to get bullied.
He decided that he would go to the library first thing so he could do a bit of reading before he went to breakfast. Until he noticed a familiar figure curled up in an armchair by the fire.
It was Bellatrix sleeping. Her bushy black hair spilling over the sides of the chair, her chest rising and falling gently.
Carwyn noticed she looked quite peaceful as she slept, with no evil smirk or wicked grin stretched across her face he realized she actually looked kind of cute. 'Here I am thinking she looks nice, I guarantee if she woke up right now she would be calling me filthy mudblood' He walked towards the far end of the room and exited through the portrait hole.
Bellatrix didn't sleep well that night, she kept glaring back and forth between Quigley and Lily Evans, after she waved at him last night during the feast. Getting more and more worked up, she stormed down to her dormitories without a word to anyone and pulled her bed curtains shut nearly ripping them. She kept tossing and turning that night and fell into an uneasy sleep.
She had vivid dreams about bullying Quigley, showing her superiority by beating him in every subject. Then somehow these dreams turned into him pressing her against a wall while they passionately kissed each other? Bellatrix woke up covered in sweat, she sat up and shook her head 'Why am I dreaming about Quigley again? I've had loads of dreams about him recently, but they were never like this...'
She got out of bed quietly, heading up stairs to the common room. She sat down in an armchair by the flickering fire and drifted off to sleep, confused about her dreams.
Bellatrix woke up when she heard the portrait hole close. She stretched out and yawned. 'Uggh the first day of term, I'm sure it is going to be wonderful' she walked sleepily down to her dorms and got dressed in her school robes.
Heading out of the common room and making her way to the great hall for breakfast. She was one of the first students there, sitting down she began to eat bacon and eggs. When she saw that Quigley was walking down the side of the table, towards his usual spot.
As he passed, she said. "Morning mudblood." in a silky voice.
He just stared at her unfazed for a moment and walked to the end of the table and began eating his breakfast. 'He must really think he's something, nothing that a hex won't fix' She thought smirking.
She sat there for the next few minutes as students began to come in the great hall gradually. Narcissa and her friends came in together laughing as she sat down beside her sister.
"Morning Cissy." she greeted. "Morning Bella. First day back, we'll be getting our schedules soon. I bet this year will be really busy, I've got OWLS." Narcissa said pouring herself tea.
"Yeah, I start my NEWT classes this year I bet they will be a lot harder not to mention homework." Bella said mournfully.
"Cissy look..." whispered Bellatrix. Both of them turned their heads to see Andromeda and Ted walking together towards the Hufflepuff table, the pair looking quite happy.
Bellatrix narrowed her eyes "I hope it was worth it, she must love that mudblood more than her own family."
Narcissa looked pained and stood up suddenly "I have to go." she said in a small voice.
"No sissy wait!" Bellatrix said as her sister walked quickly out of the hall.
Bellatrix looked down the table at Quigley with pure hatred. 'Its mudbloods like you that tear our family apart, you'll get what's coming to you' she thought as the post owls poured in.
She sat brooding until Professor McGonagall came around to the Slytherin table to hand out schedules. "Ah miss Black." The professor said tersely. Bellatrix didn't like McGonagall much, as she was the head of Griffindor and she saw Bellatrix as a bully.
"It seems you have all the required marks for the classes you wish to take." She gave her a schedule.
The first class she had today was Arithmancy, double Charms, then a study period. She packed up her stuff and headed to her first class.
Carwyn drained his goblet of pumpkin juice, while reading Transfiguration of Base Metals.
He looked up as Professor McGonagall spoke. "Hello Mr. Quigley, I trust you had a good summer." Quigley nodded his head. "Yes Ma'am it was as good as any."
Professor McGonagall was Carwyn's favorite professor. Partly because she taught his favorite subject and mostly because she stuck up for him. Even though she is head of Griffindor. Sometimes she lets Carwyn stay after class and practice advanced transfiguration spells under her supervision.
"Lets see Mr. Quigley it looks like you have the required marks for all of the classes at NEWT level and may say that I was most certainly impressed with your Outstanding in transfiguration." She gave him his schedule with a small smile.
"Thanks Professor you helped me out a lot." He looked down his schedule and noticed first he had Ancient Runes, double Charms, then a study period. He rushed of the Ancient runes immediately with excitement.
Carwyn enjoyed ancient runes thoroughly, they started learning about ancient Nordic runes that day. By next week he was required to read two whole textbooks, the work was already piling on.
He went to lunch and ate rather quickly, he wanted to get to Charms early. After the bell rang he made his way to the charms corridor for class.
They were having charms with the Ravenclaw's, he took a seat near the front of the class and waited for Professor Flitwick to start.
Suddenly it felt as if someone slapped him hard on the back of his neck. He turned around to see Bellatrix in the back of the class smiling nastily, her wand pointed at him under the desk. 'The bimbo hit me with a stinging hex.' He shot her the bird and turned around cursing.
Professor Flitwick entered the room telling the class to settle down. He began talking about how the NEWT course work would be a lot more rigorous and intensive. Saying they will have to practice and study hard to get a pass in the subject.
"In all NEWT courses you will assigned a partner from now on. You will be expected to complete assignments, practice and study with your partner. I'll let you pick your own, everyone get into pairs."
Carwyn's heart sank at the mention of partners in all of his NEWT classes, he was usually the only one left and had to be put into a group with someone he didn't know.
Predictably he was the only person without a partner a few minutes later. He saw Bellatrix gloating at him across the classroom with her partner Alecto Carrow.
"Sorry I'm late professor. I lost track of time cleaning up after Herbology." Regulus Black said to Professor Flitwick apologetically after rushing in several minutes late.
"As it is the first day of term I will forgive you Mr. Black. We were actually in the process of selecting partners for the year and it seems Mr. Quigley needs one. Do you mind Mr. Black?"
"No sir." Regulus said plainly as he walked over to Carwyn's table and took a seat.
Carwyn shifted in his chair nervously. Regulus was not as bad as the others, he had never called him a mudblood or bullied him. But all the same he didn't stop his friends from picking on him.
Professor Flitwick explained to the class that they would start preforming non verbal spells, he suggested that the groups practice some simple spells together.
There was silence between them for awhile. "Do you want to try the levitating charm together Regulus?" he said a bit awkwardly. "Sure I'll go first." Regulus pointed his wand at a quill and tried to make it float.
For the rest of the class Regulus and Carwyn in turn tried to make there quills float off the desk. Both of them succeeded somewhat, making the quill rise a foot or so.
Many students were purple faced as they tried to preform various non verbal spells. "I never knew non verbal magic would be so hard." said Quigley wiping sweat off his brow.
Regulus was red faced as he willed his quill to rise higher only for it to fall back down onto the desk. "You said it, we will need a lot more practice until we are good at it." Regulus said with a sigh as the bell rung.
"See you later Regulus." Carwyn said packing his things.
'I think I'll head to the Library as I have a free study period, I've got loads of homework to do.'
Bellatrix followed Quigley down the corridors to the library, that's where he usually stayed after classes. He sat at a little table in a reclusive part of the library and begun doing homework. Bellatrix sat at a table where she could sneak glances at him while she did her homework.
But no matter how hard she tried she couldn't focus, her attention always kept shifting to Quigley. His face looked so calm and concentrated as he read, noticing that he had quite handsome features as she stared at him lost in thought.
Feeling like someone was watching him he looked up to see Bellatrix staring at him. Her gaze shot down to her Arithmancy homework immediately as she felt her face heat up.
Carwyn decided to leave the library and head to dinner early, he didn't like the feeling of Bellatrix watching him.
As he entered the great hall he spotted Andromeda with Ted sitting at the Hufflepuff table. Carwyn felt bad for Andromeda, her relationship with Ted had made her an outsider. From her family and the rest of the Slytherin's. Andromeda was even allowed to stay in the Hufflepuff dorms, because her fellow students treated her horribly. Carwyn asked multiple times to be switched but he was always refused. He guessed Ted must have fought tooth and nail to get Andromeda swapped.
She had always been nice to him, she was the only Black sister that showed him sympathy. Sometimes after he got hexed or beaten up she would heal his wounds. Carwyn missed talking to her during late nights in the common room.
Quigley passed Regulus who was sitting down at the Slytherin table talking to Severus. He gave him a short nod which he returned. Quigley sat down at his regular spot and read while eating his supper.
After dinner he had to use the bathroom badly so he took a shortcut down a desolate corridor, that's when he felt his legs snap together as he fell forward onto the hard stone floor.
He heard the all too familiar cackle of laughter of Bellatrix behind him. He rolled onto his back glaring at her, she was alone which was odd because she usually had her gang of Slytherin's following her.
"Fancy seeing you around here mudblood." She said leering. "Funny seeing you alone, where are all of your cronies? Did they finally realize that you are mad?" Carwyn said mockingly
"I wanted to have a little bit of fun with you today by myself actually." walking toward him slowly.
That's when he drew his wand suddenly and said. "Petrificus To-" "Expelliarmus!" Bellatrix was faster as his wand flew out of his hand and onto the floor behind her.
"No-no there won't be any of that" She said in a falsely sweet voice wagging her finger at him.
She walked over to where he lay and put her foot on his chest holding him down. "You aren't going anywhere, I've got you right where I want you." She lowered and straddled herself across his torso and grabbed his collar looking straight into his eyes. "I've been waiting all summer to do this Mudblood."
She slashed her wand at his face and said. "Diffindo." Quigley gasped with pain as a deep cut opened up on his cheek, he felt warm blood begin to run down his face. "We are just getting started." She said with a mad gleam in her eye.
With sick delight Bellatrix sat on top of him slicing into his arms, face, and torso over and over again. Blood was flying everywhere as he groaned in agony. "Noo stop! It hurts please" He yelled as she kept cutting him maniacally. After a couple more minutes he fell unconscious from blood loss.
After what seemed like a long time she got up and said madly. "Look at all of that dirty blood!" she picked up his wand and threw it at him, it bounced off his unconscious form and landed into the growing pool of blood.
"That's for Andromeda you filth, your kind tore my family apart." She said, angry tears in her eyes as she walked away.
Bellatrix looked down to to see that she was covered in blood, she stared at her blood stained hands perplexed. For a second it was like see was looking through someone else's eyes, her vision blurred and then focused.
She looked back at Quigley's body, immediately a wave of terror and disgust crashed over her. She was absolutely horrified as she realized that she was the one who had done it.
Stumbling in the opposite direction, she fell on her hands and knees and retched on the floor shaking terribly. Getting to her feet once more she ran down the hall as fast as her legs would take her, not even noticing that tears were running down her face.
"That's funny Padfoot I remember last year Marlene McKinnon hexed you right in the bollocks after you tried to make a move on her." James said laughing loudly.
"No Prongs I'm not kidding she told me she really-"
James, Sirius and Remus were making there way back to Griffindor tower after Quidditch tryouts.
"Sirius, James look." Remus held out his arm to stop them, his face paler than usual as he looked down the hall.
A long way down the corridor they saw someone lying in what looked like…. blood? "Wha-what is that?" James said confused. But Remus didn't answer, he ran down the hall to towards figure with James and Sirius close behind.
As they approached nearer they took in the full extent of the scene. "M-merlin's beard there is blood everywhere, I think someone murdered him." Sirius said in shock looking at the mangled body.
"Wha-what happened here Remus? Is he still alive?"James said nervously.
Remus walked up to the side of the bloody figure and casted a diagnostic charm. "He's still alive but just barely….lets get him to the hospital wing quick!" Remus paled casting a hover charm on the unconscious person.
"Hey he is a Slytherin look at his robes!" James exclaimed. "I know who that is! It's Carwyn Quigley that muggleborn Slytherin, he is in our year!" Sirius said with recognition.
"Another Slytherin probably did this to him, Regulus used to tell me that people give him a hard time because he's a muggleborn." said Sirius as they all ran towards the hospital wing hovering Quigley's body in front of them.
"Yeah Lily told me they bully him all the time. She caught them last year." James added.
"Hopefully we get there in time." Remus said out of breath running up the marble staircase.
They finally reached the hospital wing a few minutes later. Shouting as the nurse came into view. "Madam Pompfrey please help he's been attacked! he doesn't have much blood left."
The Nurse looked shocked as she instructed them to place him on a bed, as she began administering potions and healing spells immediately.
After a few minutes of waiting anxiously Madam Pompfrey said. "He will be alright boys, you did the right thing bringing him here. I'm afraid if you would have been later he would have died. I'll need you all to come back here tomorrow before breakfast to make a statement to the headmaster. Its late, you boys head off to your dormitories please."
They were all feeling down after what they had witnessed that night, they didn't speak until they reached the empty Griffindor common room.
"I bet it was the Slytherin's, imagine your own house hating you so much they try to kill you." James said angrily as he sat down on a couch.
"Yes James, I think whoever hurt him should be expelled. That wasn't a case bullying like you and Severus, it was attempted murder." Remus replied as he scourgified the blood off his robes.
"Yeah Moony, I don't know who it was. But I'm going to make them pay, mark my words. Even a Slytherin doesn't deserve that." Sirius said staring into the fire darkly.
"Wait until Lily hears about this, she'll go mental." James commented.
Bellatrix was running down the dark corridors dazed and confused. Not really sure where she was going, her body seemed to move of its own accord as her mind raced.
'I've got to tell somebody, I have too he's is going to die he-' She heard the voices of Sirius, Potter, and James approaching, she heard them running down the corridor where she attacked Quigley and she snuck over to take a look. The three of them were at the scene, examining Quigley as she heard Lupin say. "Let's get him to the hospital wing."
She ran towards the Slytherin dungeons knowing they would take Quigley to the hospital wing safely.
Still looking disheveled and bloody she scourgified the blood off her the best she could.
Bellatrix steeled herself, the common room was probably still full and she felt close to a mental breakdown.
Many students looked at Bellatrix as she climbed through the portrait hole. She avoided their eyes as she made her way towards the dorms.
"Hey, Bella where have you been." Narcissa said as Bellatrix passed her sitting on a couch talking with friends.
"Remember you told me you would help me with my Arithmancy after dinner." Narcissa took in her sisters appearance fully once she said this.
She looked close to tears and really horrible, her hair was matted with something. "Is something wrong Bella?" She asked softly.
"No ...nothing." Bellatrix choked out as she walked past her sister and down to her dorms.
She undressed and got into the shower right away. Any blood that remained ran down her body and into the drain, leaving a coppery smell that sickening her. Turning the water up as hot as it could go couldn't wash away the feeling of filth she had.
She lay there for what felt like hours, looking at her hands still seeing them coated in blood. Sobbing and saying in her head over and over 'I'm sorry.'
Finally deciding to leave the bathrooms Bellatrix planned on going upstairs to the common room and sit by the fire. But she found her sister.
"I've been waiting for you Bella I knew you'd come up." Narcissa said quietly. "Come sit down." she patted the seat on the couch next to her.
Bellatrix walked over to the couch and sat beside her without speaking.
"So what happened Bella, what has made you so upset." Narcissa said putting her arm around her. "It's nothing Cissy, nothing.." she looked away.
"Come on you can tell me, I won't tell anyone I promise." looking at her sister with sympathy.
Before she knew it, she was crying into Narcissa's shoulder. Telling her everything that happened that night, Narcissa hugged her sister tightly as she shook and sobbed.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, I'm a monster...I did it because I was angry that Andromeda left so I took it out on him because he is a mudblood like the one she ran off with."
"You are not a monster Bella, you just made a wrong decision, you know I am really sad about Andromeda too I miss her everyday. I don't care if she likes a muggleborn really, I just want my sister back." Narcissa said wiping tears from her eyes.
"Yeah I do too Cissy, even though I see her its like she is a world away."
Bellatrix sat up and looked at her sister deeply. "Narcissa can I tell you a secret." Bellatrix asked shyly. "Yeah you can tell me anything." Narcissa said leaning forward."
"You know that guy Quigley I hurt today?" She said shaking.
"Yeah." Narcissa's eyebrow's went up.
"I'm kinda sorta interested in him." Then she added quickly. "I've been having these weird dreams involving us fighting...then we. Well he is not what I thought he was all of these years and I don't know how to talk to him, he definitely hates me now." She finished out of breath, her face turning pink.
Narcissa looked stunned for a moment her mouth hanging open, then a smile crept slowly across her face as shrieked in excitement. "You like Carwyn!?" she asked her flat out.
"No! I said I was interested." Bella said defensively putting emphasis on the last word. Narcissa rolled her eyes dramatically.
"I just need some advice, I don't know how to talk to him. I probably have no chance, the way I've treated him all these years." Bellatrix said sounding defeated.
"Well you could start being nicer and stop bullying him. Also you could ask him to study with you or something, then go from there I guess. You also need to apologize to him" Narcissa finished seriously.
"Ask to study with him? Cissy he probably doesn't want to come within a mile of me after what I've done are you kidding? and apologize." She swallowed nervously at the idea of confronting him and apologizing.
"It's what you gotta to do Bella and then maybe he will forgive you. Think over it, Its late I'm going to bed goodnight."
She gave her sister a final hug and went to her dormitories. Bellatrix headed off to bed as well, thinking of a way she could make it up to Quigley.
Hey guys I hope you enjoyed this installment, feel free to leave suggestions. In this story Regulus is in the same year as Sirius. Aside from that, See ya. Twisted Mister.