A/N:Hello again everyone it's been a very long while. First off, I apologize for the long wait for this chapter; no excuse there, just been procrastinating like crazy lately...sorry lol. Thank you all for the support despite my slowing updates,you've all been amazing; 239 favorites, 351 follows and 128 reviews, almost to another milestone.
As usual,I apologize for any grammatical errors that got pass me.
Please Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter or anything dealing with its franchise; Only the OCs.
Chapter 19
First Strike? - Part One
Days had pass since the Halloween feast and the discovery of the ominous words written in blood. While the rest of the school's population had vaguely forgotten the incident and had returned to their daily schedules; two students were using the time meant for their History class to put in some additional hours in their usual training room.
"Glatisant." Su Li's soft voice stated as she deflected another spell towards one of the many moving targets that were zooming around the room, as she dodged a small pellet of water that was aiming towards her midsection.
The deflected spell landed on the edge of its target as William replied, "Diplomacy with Parseltongue; if that doesn't work, eliminate it with class five spells. Wendigo." He finished as he launched three consecutive 'stinging jinxes' at Su Li, while sending five more pellet sized balls of water at her and focused on making the targets move more erratically.
"Kill it with fire." She replied as she deflected the spells and moved to avoid the pellets once more, barely wasting any movement. One of the deflected spells missed as the other two landed closer to the center. "Gwyllgi."
"It's territorial, keep away from its haunts; conventional level four and higher spells would work. Wolpertinger." He stated as he continued his rapid spell fire.
"Kill it with fire." She replied.
William raised an eyebrow, "It's a small rabbit with wings."
"And it has fangs." Su Li answered unperturbed, "Kill it with fire. Banshee."
"Keep away from any Irish competitors." William quipped before he answered seriously, "not much defense except prepared sound wards against the screech; if confronted, silencing spells and leaving the area immediately. Aswang."
"Kill it with fire." Su Li replied as landed three more solid hits, but took a pellet to her upper left arm, causing her to slightly whimper.
William stopped casting. "So the first thing you'd do if we were separated is to shoot first at something that may or may not be me?"
"We'd be in a hostile location surrounded by magical creatures, plants, wards, curses and other competitors; of course I would." Su Li answered matter of factly, "Though I'd also be asking the person/thing that may or may not be you, the shape and location of my birth mark." She finished blushing slightly.
William chuckled loudly, but focused once more as he was forced to sidestep a lacklustre spell casted by his embarrass girlfriend. "Siren" she stated, getting them started once more.
"Occlumency; conventional spells should work if forced into a confrontation. Cockatrice."
"Kill it with fire." William shook his head at her answer as she continued, "Nundu."
"Run like hell. Dragon."
"Kill it with fire."
William stopped once more and looked at the lithe girl strangely, "Okay, I could give you the rest, and maybe, just maybe…the cockatrice. But how would using fire against a magical creature with a high resistance to magic, and breathes fire, solve anything."
"If fire doesn't solve your problem the first time, you simply didn't use enough of it. Everything burns eventually." Su Li replied in sagely voice.
They stared at each other, William with a deadpan stare; Su Li with an innocent look.
They both broke into laughter.
William found himself focusing on Sukie as she continued laughing; something that was possibly the second sweetest sound she could make. During the few moments of peace he had between his training, planning, power building, teaching and school work, he had thought hard on his situation with Sukie.
She was his strength; His weakness. A potential haven and a threat; a source of sound counsel for his path forward and a distraction from his goals.
William wasn't sure when it had happened due to his thoughts, but he had found himself standing before Su Li with his hand gently cupping her cheek as his thumb slowly brushed against her soft skin; she didn't question him as he just looked down at her from his close proximity, his other hand resting at the small of her back. Her dark eyes continued to look into his hazel ones with an expression he couldn't place, but was vaguely familiar with. As she reached up and did the same with her own hand, William purred openly.
She was steadfast, powerful, intelligent, and perceptive; someone he actually wanted by his side and was the second person he had no qualms with completely dropping his mental barriers around, not that it had stopped his little sadomasochistic wallflower from reading him clearly in the past.
Did he love her? Hardly…not that he would know how that really felt to give a definitive answer. However, if the question was would he kill for her? like he had done for Nymeria, for Hermione...
"Have I ever told you that I'm glad you walked into my compartment on our first day?" William asked as his thumb idly swept a strand of hair aside as he idly brushed it against her cheek.
"No, but you're welcome to go ahead; does wonders for a girl's ego." Sukie replied with a small smile slowly forming on her lips.
"Cheeky lil' bugger." Came his reply, as he brought his hand beneath her chin, tilting her head slightly as he kissed her, eliciting a delicate whimper; his favorite sound.
Moments passed between the two before William broke the kiss, getting a groan of disappointment from Sukie, causing her to look up at him as she spoke, "Do you think that we're ready?"
"You'll have to be a bit clearer on which 'ready' you're talking about." He replied as he pressed her closer to his form, as the hand which was resting at the small of her back, moved to give her arse a squeeze.
"Prat." She replied as she slapped his chest, though made no move to change their position, "I meant about the target, the plan and the Circuit."
"Not entirely…though I'm not worried about things going as we've planned; Sashet already provided her part to it and is waiting on my command for the next, I've already 'asked' Lockhart to change the date that the dueling club opens to the last night of the term, and I've sent a letter to Bones. All that remains is Daphne's information, getting Flitwick to be there, and to motivate 'him' to actually get up there and duel me."
"And after? You'll be dealing with the Wizengamot then."
William sighed as looked up at the targets, that he still had moving around absentmindedly, and move his right hand through his hair.
"They won't be able to deny my right once the duel goes to plan; it's whether or not I'll be able to get everything I want that worries me. I'll be able to play on their desires to some extent, but with the 'Light' no longer being an option because of Dumbledore and his bloody bird, I'll be pressed for allies."
"From what you said, your reaction wasn't too bad." She said softly as she rested her forehead on his chest.
"It wasn't a 'good' reaction either. Because of that, Dumbledore's been looking into my past now, and I'll have to ask Daphne for a favor if I want the odds to be on my side with the purebloods."
Su Li looked up at William sharply when he said that, "That's dangerous." She replied referring to both situations, though her thoughts were mostly on Daphne.
"I know, but it was bound to happen. Better now, when I know what to expect, than being blindsided."
"What about Gringotts and the Heir?"
"Nothing yet from them either. But I'm not surprised it's taking so long; what with me owling Nymeria my blood to get the results, and Blacktooth being busy with the preparations of the second branch and construction of the Hold overall." William answered as an alarm from a conjured clock rung out, causing the pair to look towards it.
"Looks like the last class for the day will be finishing soon." He stated as his wand shot into his hand from its holster and he waved it above them, causing the targets to vanish in thin air.
Su Li reluctantly pulled away from her tiger as he moved to collect the robes they had discarded before their training session. They hadn't discussed the Circuit as she'd hoped; wanting to know what he thought were their chances of actually getting into the adult division.
As she stared down at her eight inch cedar wood, Su Li couldn't help but wonder…was it enough? She was excelling yes; compared to the dueling prowess of her peers, bar her tiger, she was the best. But was the skills she was learning under Flitwich good enough to get to the stage her sister was on, let alone beat her in a duel?...
A robe donning the Ravenclaw colors came into view, causing her to look up into the hazel eyes of her tiger and the small that was gracing his face.
"Galleon for your thoughts."
'But it doesn't matter really' Su Li thought as she took her robes while grabbing hold of her tiger's vest and brought him down forcibly for another passionate kiss. 'Ready or not I'll beat her…and I'll burn anyone that gets in my way.'
Breaking the kiss, and enjoying the subconscious purring that her tiger was making, she spoke, "Nothing that can't wait a bit longer. Now come, we have a moon to catch."
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Luna sat at her desk, being flanked by the Carrow twins as she stared whimsically at her fellow students as they continued their attempts to cast the 'levitation charm'. She always enjoyed seeing them; the haze of different colors each of them had, the magic that was coming from their wands as it tried to act as tethers on the feathers before them, and attempted to lift it; in some cases it worked, and caused the feather before the person to jerk shakily upwards.
Luna hummed a happy tune as a light purple blur drew her attention to Professor Fitwick, and she observed as he demonstrated the spell once more for the class; his haze was a playful turquoise, like a Dabberblimp, and his magic did the same as the students, but it held the feather more securely and made it rise under his command.
Turning back to her feather, she watched as the purple blur twisted around and then disappeared underneath it.
Luna took her wand from behind her right ear and casted, "Wingardium Leviosa". As she watched her magic move towards the top of the feather, she twirled her wand in odd movements; causing the magic to shift and move under the feather, tethering it from there.
With a gently flick of her wand, the feather rose easily; Luna found herself making it dance.
"Well done Ms. Lovegood, well done. Ten points to Ravenclaw" the cheerful and encouraging voice of the professor drew her attention away from the dancing feather, making her realize that the professor and a now silent class had been watching her.
"Thank you professor." She replied.
"What was that interesting wand movement you made just now?" he asked.
Luna tilted her head slightly as she looked at the professor, "The Nargles said I should try casting at the bottom instead of the top."
The professor chuckled and gave her an odd look before he turned his focus back on the class and started instructing them once more. However, she idly noticed that a few of her housemates were giving her angry looks and muttering under their breaths, though she couldn't hear, she knew them to be hurtful words regarding her.
Not that she minded any longer; given the changes that have happened these past few days.
"Do you mind sharing how you did that?" a voice on her left asked in a whisper, causing her to turn and look into the curious eyes of Flora Carrow.
The Carrows were one of those changes that had happened to life here at Hogwarts. When she had first noticed the twins at the beginning of the school year, their haze was always agitated and quivering. They had isolated themselves from the rest of their year mates and sat alone and away from everyone.
Now, ever since they had met and spoken with William, not only had their haze become calm and determined, they had taken to sitting with her whenever possible or following her towards the Great Hall.
Was this one of the truths that William had mentioned?
"Allow your magic to gather at the bottom of the feather." She answered matter of factly.
"How?" came the reply.
Luna then spent the next few minutes explaining and directing Flora's wand moments until she was finally able to get her feather in the air.
"Thank you, I'm sure it would've taken much longer to do without your help." Flora replied, her sister Hestia, who had been silently monitoring their conversation quickly followed her movements and had her feather floating as well.
"That's what friends do." Luna answered.
"We're friends?" Flora asked.
Luna nodded her head rapidly.
"Are you friends with Mr. Cunningham as well? Are you close?" Flora asked her in rapid succession.
"Flora!" Hestia hissed out in a reprimanding way.
"What? We need help Hestia, and you don't want to approach the ones in his year." Flora whispered back at her sister over Luna.
"You want to know how to be useful to William." Luna replied, not at all perturbed by the back and forth happening between her.
Hestia gave her sister a sharp glare which caused her to whither into herself slightly, and sighed as she replied, "Yes…we want to know what he wants or how we could prove ourselves useful."
Luna tilted her head up, watching her feather flow to and fro above her as she hummed and thought about what she learnt about William 'Cunningham'.
Coming out of her thoughts, Luna turned to the patiently waiting Hestia and gave her answer…
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As a gong-like sound echo throughout the class, signifying its end, Luna started packing her things into her bag and headed out towards the door with a skip as the Carrow twins followed slowly behind her, in whispered conversation, as she made her way down the corridor.
"Luna!" said girl heard her name being called, causing her to turn to see who was addressing her.
"Oh, Hello Ginny." Luna replied.
"Hi Luna." Ginny answered back as she came to a stop in front of Luna. She gave a quick glance at the twins that were on either said of the Ravenclaw before she continued, "I wanted to say sorry for how I've been acting lately."
"That's ok Ginny, I'm sorry for what I said about us kissing as we pretended to be Harry Potter in front of Harry Potter." Luna replied.
"Yeah…" said Ginny as she looked at the twins as if daring them to retort on what Luna just said before she continued, "I was hoping if we could be friends again?"
Luna tilted her head and asked in her dreamy voice, "We stopped being friends?"
Ginny laughed as she took in the perplexed look Luna was giving her, "No, I guess we didn't." she smiled at the Ravenclaw before her smile dropped as she focused once more on the twins, "Were these two bothering you Luna?"
"Oh no, these are some of my friends; Flora and Hestia Carrow." Luna answered with a small smile gracing her face, as flutterflies rose happily in her chest, from the first time she could introduce someone as her friend.
"Luna, you shouldn't be friends with these people." Ginny answered furiously as she reached out and took the ravenclaw's hand, pulling her to stand behind her as she stared angrily directly at the twins who were looking at her with narrowed eyes.
"Why Ginny?" Luna asked curiously.
"They're children of Death Eater's Luna, you shouldn't be friends with people like them, let alone associate with them." Ginny stated with her back still turned as she stared down the Slytherin pair, hand fingering her concealed wand as if expecting to be attack at any second.
"We are not our parents." Hestia answered plainly, though frustration could still be heard in her voice.
"At least she didn't say it was because we're Slytherins like the rest of her Gryffindorks, sister." Flora stated to her twin with slight amusement.
"They may have a lot of nyctophites infecting them Ginny, but that doesn't mean they're nyctophites themselves; Harry Potter has a few." Luna said to her childhood friend as she noticed her hand was being nuzzled by William; she smiled as she rubbed her four footed friend's head.
Ginny turned to face her friend, gripping her arms as she stared earnestly at the blonde, "Harry's the Boy-Who-Lived Luna, whatever…nyctophites…he has, there must be a good reason for it; maybe from one of his adventures… but these two don't. They're bad influences Luna, and they might hurt you. I won't let that happen."
"That's hardly a fair assessment Ms. Weasley; Misses Hestia and Flora haven't shown anything but hope of having an unbiased relationship with Luna here." A calm voice spoke, causing the four to turn and taking in the forms of William and Su Li as they walked calmly towards them.
"Hello William, Hello Su Li." Luna said to the pair cheerfully as she continued to scratch the hazy tiger by her side.
"Hello Luna." William replied with a smile as he came to a stop in front of the girl and laid his hand on top of her head, gently petting her; receiving a soft hum from her as she closed her eyes.
"Don't touch her!" The Gryffindor shouted as she pointed her wand at him.
"Put the wand down Weasley." Hestia spoke in a demanding tone, as both she and her sister pressed their wands at her back.
"How were your classes today?" William asked Luna, completely ignoring the weaselette and her wand which was inches away from him, and the interesting development that was happening with the twins.
"They were very good." She answered him with a smile, "Professor McGonagall made us transfigure buttons to beetles today, Professor Flitwich taught us the 'Levitation charm', and Professor Snape had a very large infestation of whackspurts; so Potions was good as well."
"That's good to hear your day went so well, Luna." William answered with small smile of his own, as he filed away the fact that Dumbledore was still digging around Luna.
"So you're friends with him as well, Luna." The weaselette spoke with disdain clear in her voice as she was forced to put her wand away due to the ones being pressed against her back.
"Is there a problem?" William finally acknowledged the young Gryffindor after skimping through her surface thoughts and notice her displeasure was mainly towards him and his House as a whole.
"You knocked my brothers down the stairs!" The weaselette replied as she stared defiantly up at him.
"And why do you think I would've done that?" William asked, allowing a show innocent curiosity to be present on his face.
"Don't you dare play daft with me!" She demanded, "We both know you shoved them because of the prank they pulled on you; the whole school knows it!"
"I can assure you, Ms. Weasley… if there was any indication that I did such a thing to your brothers, Headmaster Dumbledore would have made sure I saw the error of my ways. If anything, I'm grateful for the prank they did on me; they showed me that I was developing a slight arrogance in my abilities in my time here. Next time you see them, please, give them my utmost gratitude for the gift they besotted on me." William finished with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
William watched as the weaselette didn't seem sure of how she was to retort to what he had said, and the scent of wariness and confusion coming from her proved his thoughts to be true. He wasn't sure why he was giving the girl tidbits of information so the twins would have a stronger hint to the fact that it was indeed him that had attacked and stolen from them; it served no purpose to any of his plans.
Too long down in the snake pit, he supposed…
"I don't know what you did to Luna, or what you plan to do, but I'm watching you." Came her reply before she glanced at the sad looking Luna, and then turned sharply as she left the group, bumping her shoulder harshly into Flora's.
"That was a waste of time." William heard Sukie replied as she took her place on his left, taking hold of his arm.
"The monotony of school I suppose, everyday can't be exciting." He replied.
"I don't like seeing my friends fight…" Luna spoke up in the saddest tone he'd heard from her since he found her in the abandoned broom cupboard.
"Friends will casually fight when they have conflicting opinions, Luna. Ms. Weasley wants to protect you from those that wish to harm you because you're special, just as I have, but she thinks I'm someone you need protection from. She'll see that we're all on the same page and want the same thing, after all, look how many friends you've made that like you for you." William finished as he swept his unoccupied hand towards the twins, Sukie, his phantasm which stood possessively by her side and himself; earning a whimsical smile from the blonde enigma.
Turning to the silent pair of twins, William spoke once more. "How's your shoulder Flora?"
"I-it's fine…Thank you for asking, Sir." Flora replied with a demure deposition, her eyes not looking at him, a posture which was being mirrored by her older sister.
The action caused William to physically narrow his eyes.
While the twins had accepted his protection and had made subtle moves, at least for eleven year olds, in trying to find out what they could do to prove they were worthy of his help in the future, there was an undercurrent of reluctance; due to him being 'muggleborn' from what he had gathered from their thoughts.
But now…the sudden act to his defense, the change from 'Mr. Cunningham' to 'Sir', their postures; it was all pointing towards a sudden subservience, something that made William more curious than wary about the cause.
"That's good." He replied calmly, his thoughts on finding out the reason behind their change being pushed aside until the next time they were vulnerable. Addressing the four girls around him, he continued, "We should be going, with classes over for the day; they'll be servicing dinner shortly."
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The walk through the corridors of the castle was done mostly in silence. Luna, ahead of the group, skipped along the path in time with a cheerful song that she hummed mostly to herself, but carried to William's ear. Su Li walked closely beside him, looking on straight ahead as they moved, allowing William to be left alone to his thoughts.
Walking a step or two away from the pair and directly behind William were the twins, muttering softly between themselves; their words and discussion the reason William was deeply contemplating his next course of action. Deciding to put the matter aside until the twins played their little game, William spoke aloud to the skipping blonde.
"Luna, I've been meaning to ask, how's your stay in the Raven's Nest lately?"
William watched Luna turned fully to face him, but continued on skipping backwards, "It's been well, much better than before we were friends. Since Su Li talked with Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecombe, the Nargles haven't taken my things again and my roommates only say hurtful things about me behind my back now; it's been nice not having to search every morning for my knickers and socks. It gets quite drafty in the castle most days."
William gave a slight nod with a small smile adorning his face as he remembered Sukie's description of the little 'talk' she had with the pair, "That's good; would you like me to talk with those roommates of yours? I've been told I can be very persuasive when trying to make friends out of people who don't particularly like me." He replied, earning a small giggle from Sukie.
"Oh no it's fine, I don't mind what they say anymore; I've found my friends." Luna replied, and William watched as her eyes roamed dreamily over them.
"Su Li's been telling me that you don't stay in your dorm most nights, and don't return until the early mornings, sometimes waiting outside the entrance to the Common Room. Are you 'sleep walking' again?" William asked staring intently at the young blonde. While he noted she had no qualms when it came to speaking frankly or the truth, he wanted to make sure she always gave him an honest answer.
"I've been talking with the Grey Lady."
"The Grey Lady allows you to talk to her?" Sukie asked from his side, amazement colored her usual jasmine scent.
"Who's the Grey Lady?" William asked the two Ravenclaws.
"She's Ravenclaw's House Ghost, but she's very reclusive; hardly anyone sees her, let alone has a conversation with her." Sukie answered.
"I met her on the first day I was locked out of the tower. She'd keep me company most nights when it would happen. She's lonely and sad about something, so I decided I'd keep her company now." Luna spoke, still skipping backwards at a steady pace.
William nodded at the reply. He didn't personally have much experience with the ghost that called Hogwarts their home. Outside of Peeves and the four House Ghosts, many tended to keep away from the living. However, now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen much of the Bloody Baron, the Slytherin House Ghost, since he was introduced at the first year's orientation into the 'Snake Pit'.
William went on to speak, when they all heard a strong hoot of an owl. Said owl came into view as it banked around the corner, and upon seeing its target, circled around William's head.
Catching sight of the Gringotts crest shining from the middle of the waiting owl's chest, William presented his arm for the bird, and prepared to take the oncoming weight.
The owl landed on his arm gracefully, however its talons threaten to pierce deep into his skin, despite the layer of clothes that was covering it; not that it registered into William's mind as he stared at the thick envelope tied to the owl's leg reading, 'To Lord Dagworth'.
"Is that it?" Sukie asked as she also took in the sight of the envelope.
Not wanting the twins or Luna to be aware of his heritage, and despite his desire to wanting an answer to who this 'Heir of Slytherin' really was, William closed it off with Occlumency and tucked the letter inside his robes; whipping his wand out of its holsters and placing all the protection and defensive wards he knew on the pocket.
"Yes." William replied to the question after a minute of continuous silent spell casting and sending the owl away. "That still doesn't explain why you seem to wait at the entrance most nights, Luna." He finished as if the owl and the letter were nothing more than a triviality, though he was aware his actions would say otherwise to the twins.
"Oh, the Nargles still like to confound the knocker so it doesn't understand my answers." She answered as he started walking once more, causing her to resume walking backwards.
William subtly brushed the back of his hand against Sukie's.
"Why don't you tell me the next time you plan to visit 'The Grey Lady', Luna? I could let you in when you're done; I'm up at that time anyway to study or run with William." Su Li spoke up.
"That would be good; thank you Su Li. Maybe you could even join me in meeting her."
"I think you should ask the Lady first Luna, you wouldn't want to infringe on the hospitality that she's offering you." William replied.
William watched as Luna thought about his words, her bright eyes slanting upwards as they flickered briefly, before she gave him a smile and a nod; turning around to face the direction they were all heading, never missing a step in her skip.
With the comfortable silence in conversation among his group, William's thoughts drifted back towards the letter in his pocket, and he mentally fought back a surge of childish giddiness that threatened to overcome him. He was only a few minutes away from knowing if there really was a fourth person in this world that was tied to him by blood.
His mentally fortitude held strong against the surge, however as he walked, William couldn't stop himself from subconsciously reach up to rub his hand against the area of his robe that kept the letter.
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When group of five finally made it to the Grand Staircase, with its numerous muttering portraits and metronomic moving stairs, they noted that it was a buzz with several students of different years and houses as they all made their way down towards the Great Hall; their movements interrupted every now and then by the seemingly unpredictable movements of the stairs, forcing them to either wait or take the detour in front of them.
As William moved towards one flight of stairs, it surprised him by going upwards instead of down.
Since he had walked these stairs, not once had Hogwarts impede his determined stride towards whichever destination he had. The disconcerting feeling and the sudden change caused William to pause.
As a small group of sixth years came upon him and his group, he moved slightly to the left to allow them passage, watching their progress.
"What's wrong?" William heard Sukie ask, glancing over to her he noted that she had palmed her wand and her scent was filled with confusion and wariness; feeding off his paranoia.
Shaking his head, William watched as the group of sixth years continued their way up the stairs he had paused at without any problems, and noted that a familiar trio of Slytherins was coming down upon them.
"Hey William, didn't see you in class." Tracey spoke up as she came forward from her usual position on Daphne's left.
"I decided my time would be better used doing anything else than listen to Professor Binns reiterating the next chapter of our history book today." William answered as she came to a stop one step in front of him.
"Well you certainly missed his break in tradition today." Zabini spoke up as he leant against the railing of the staircase, leaving room for the other students to pass.
"What do you mean?"
"Apparently Granger had the idea to harp the Professor about the Chamber earlier today. One of the Hufflepuffs decided to try their luck as well."
"Well?"
"He went on a spiel about the Founders," William turned his attention to Daphne, who stood a step above both Tracey and the leaning Zabini, as she continued, "He then went on about Slytherin's belief of magic only being taught to those of magical blood, and his creation of the Chamber somewhere in the castle."
"That doesn't sound like anything we didn't know already." Su said to Daphne, causing her cold blue eyes to focus on the lithe girl.
"He may have mentioned that the Chamber's said to hold a monster that could only be control by Slytherin and his future heirs; or at least as the legend goes."
"Well that narrows it down a bit." William subconsciously muttered beneath his breath; however he was heard by Tracey.
"What do you mea- Hey! Watch where you're going!" she shouted at a third year Gryffindor who had brushed her aside as he made his way up the stairs.
"Then stop standing in the bloody way." He answered back as he continued walking.
"Merlin-forsaken Gryffindors," Tracey muttered angrily before she turned back on William, "What did you mean by that."
"I had a theory that whoever this Heir was, had been using some spell to petrify the cat; now it sounds like it was a magical creature instead."
"Best leave well enough alone Cunningham. If they really are after muggleborns, you'll definitely be on that list; you're the biggest stain on Slytherin House's history in at least two centuries." Zabini spoke.
"My Blaise, I didn't know you thought so highly of me."
"Oh you know what he meant," Tracey replied, thumping his shoulder as she continued, "you and Granger have being a 'doxie in the curtains' for all the pureblood dogma about magic being stronger and better when it comes from those born into it. Add the fact that you're the first Slytherin muggleborn, and you've painted a pretty big target on yourself."
"Oh joy.' William replied sarcastically.
"As much as I enjoy this and the present company" Daphne spoke up plainly, her voice and expression saying quite the opposite to her words as her eyes roamed over Su Li, Luna and the Carrows, "I would like to eat."
William made to reply his agreement, when they all heard a voice shout from a top the stairs. Looking up, he took in the form of Lisa, one of Sukie's roommates, heading towards her urgently as the other three made their way down the stairs at a more subdued pace. Behind them, just making their way on to the banister above the Ravens, William noted that Mi' was in some kind of deep discussion with Potter, Longbottom and Weasley.
"Su! Where were you!? You missed Defense." Lisa continued shouted as she reached the middle of the staircase, "We thought something happened to you!"
"William?" he heard Luna speak questioningly from his right.
Turning his head slightly he replied, "Yes Luna?"
"How well can you catch?" she asked as she looked straight ahead of them.
William didn't even have time to process what Luna said, for no sooner had the words left her lips did a loud and ominous grinding sound issue from the stairs.
It lurched upwards suddenly, knocking all the occupants down onto it; Hermione and the rest of her Gryffindor friends included, except Harry, who was able to keep some balance, and prevent Hermione from landing harshly onto the stairs like their two friends behind them.
There was a second of utter silence amongst them all; a second where they all had an iota of what was about to happen. In that second William and Harry acted as stairs disappeared.
No thoughts, words or plans were in William's mind; just the panicked screams and his own loudly pounding beat of his heart as it muffled everything else.
'Depulsio' he heard himself casting somewhere in his mind as his wand pointed upwards towards the upper banister, even as his eyes took in the fact that he was reaching forward and down…pass the screaming and panic stricken form of a falling Tracey…to grab a handful of Daphne's robes.
Before his arm was able to register the new weight, he instinctively shot his wand towards a falling figure and casted aloud with a growl, "Carpe Retractum."
A goldish-brown rope-like structure shot out fast from his wand, and constricted around the figure's leg, however with the suddenness of its stop, and the now gravity fed dead weight of Daphne hanging by his straining hand, her frantic clawing dull to his sense of touch as was her muted screaming, William found that he was slowly slipping towards the edge of the banister, as his shoes couldn't get a solid hold of the stone floor beneath them.
Just as he too would fall over to the ground below, two muffled voices sounded behind him, and he found his shoes no longer sliding.
Glancing around, and seeing no other perceived danger, William took a calming breath to settle his pounding heart and adrenaline fueled body, only for his senses to be assaulted by the screams, calls and shouts of all the students around him and the still panicking Daphne as she continued to claw at his straining arm; her constant wiggling not only threaten his ability to hold her up, but his concentration on the slowly retracting construct attached to his wand.
"Daphne!" He snarled with his teeth bare, William noted she became still the instant she took in his face, "stay still!"
As her form stilled, William took in her wide sapphire eyes, dilated pupils and rapid moving chest. Taking another stabilizing breath as he called on his barriers, and ignoring his protesting arm, he spoke in his usual voice, "I've got you Daphne, it's over; just keep your eyes on me."
Seeing that she was focused solely on him, and no longer on the situation, he very slowly corrected his slightly bent posture; testing how secure his feet were every now and then. When he was once more standing straight, he brought her towards him and onto the landing.
"T-Thank y-you" he heard her manage to say, however he ignored her as he quickly took in his surroundings.
In front of him, was the empty gap that once housed the staircase, the thick construct of his spell disappearing down the edge as it continued to slowly retract upwards at his will.
On his left was Sukie bent over the edge, holding the same spell he was, as she was being aided by Luna, and one of the twins in keeping her balance as she slowly pulled up another survivor.
On the right was the other twin, patiently waiting with her wand out.
Above…William let out an audible sigh of relief as he took in the kneeling on all fours form of his sister as she looked down worriedly. However, he was confused by the prone figure of Longbottom that was further back on the banister.
How had he survived?
"Liam! Are you alright?" William was brought back to the present as he heard Hermione calling from the other banister, her honey brown eyes filled with worry.
"Yes," he answered back with his voice slightly raised as he continued, "Are you? I didn't have time to tone down my spell."
"I'm fine, and no your spell didn't hit me; it hit Neville." William took a sharp intake at that, "H-Harry pushed me back as the stairs were disappearing."
William shut down sharply on his mind; there was no time for that now. There were still many things that he needed to do.
Looking down, he approached the edge to help the person that his spell hand been drawing in. As he did so, he took in the form of Padma Patil. His eyes travelled down the stocking-covered leg that was being held by the construct, to her futile attempts at trying to keep her skirt from exposing her dark green knickers in her current upside down position.
As he reached down and pulled her up correctly onto the banister, he looked at as she sat shakily down with her back against the railing, her dusky toned face colored red, half certain it wasn't all due to the blood that had rushed to her head, "How're you doing?" he asked.
"Is it bad of me to say that I wish you'd just let me fall?" she asked as she brought her feet up to her chest, her voiced became muffled as she spoke with her head resting against them, "Half the bloody school must've seen me."
Not entirely sure how he could respond to that, William patted her shoulder reassuringly as he heard a struggle behind him. Turning, he noted that the trio of Ravens had managed to pull up the other survivor; Harry Potter.
"Thanks." He stated, William watched his bespectacled eyes took them all before he looked up to the worried form of Hermione and continued, "Stay there Hermione! I'm going to Ron!"
He got up and started sprinted down the other stairs that had now moved down to the third floor, either subconsciously unaware of Hermione's call of protest against his action or completely ignoring it; Shaking his head, William stood up once more and spoke aloud.
"Hermione, both you and Padma will lift Su over to your side; both of you will go inform Madame Pomfrey of what happened here, while Padma stays and watches over Longbottom.
Luna, I want you to run back and get Professor Flitwich, he should still be in his office; tell him what happened as well, tell him I sent you to get him to check out this spot for any tampering. The Carrows will go with you." He finished as he made to move towards Daphne, but found that his shoes wouldn't budge.
As he looked down at them, he heard one of the twins speak, "You were falling, Sir, so we casted a spell at them." Turning towards her, he took note of her hairstyle and the scent of her happiest.
"Thank you Flora." He replied as he gave a nod in her direction, even as he pulled out his wand and undid her jinx. With that done, William moved to the silent and still figure of Daphne, holding her firmly by her upper arm as he led her down the stairs.
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'Homenum Revelio' William casted, receiving no response from the charm.
It wasn't long till William had found an empty room to pull Daphne into, as he turned to face the entrance and begun casting. It was more difficult to find one than he had first assumed, given the fact that many of Hogwarts population was running around like deranged chickens, either in search for help or the excitement of the event that transpired, while the rest crowded the first floor and the stairs above the prone forms of the ones that had fallen.
As William finished safeguarding the room, he turned to take it in. The brightly lit room, that he now realized was a bathroom, held its many stalls on the left, in two parallel lines, and on the right was a large circular column that held a ring of sinks around it at waist height. It had the smell of the cleaning charm used by the House elves, but there was a slight reptilian scent that reminded William of Sashet. Standing in the midst of it all was the silent form of Daphne, as she stared absent mindedly back at him.
The fact that she had made absolutely no protest to his manhandling her all the way here, let alone she was still like this, spoke volumes of the Slytherin's current mental fortitude.
"You can stop holding it in Daphne." William said as he slowly approached, he saw her eyes focus on the door behind him, and he answered the unasked question, "It's secured with all the privacy spells I'm aware of; nothing will get in, and nothing said can be heard."
William watched as the blank face of the 'Ice Queen' slowly contorted into anguish as she dropped her occlumency barriers. The once stoic shards of cold blue were now pools of oceanic sapphire, as tears silently streamed down her face; her body soon followed as she ungracefully collapsed down to the floor with her back slumped against the door of a stall.
With an internal sigh, William approached her, and allowed himself to do the same next to her; close enough that he could touch her without much effort, but enough distance to allow the girl some illusion of solitude. William brought his hand up in front of his face.
It held as steadfast as a surgeon's.
Occlumency was a powerful tool and asset. It allowed one to protect their mind against intrusion, as long as they were as skilled and inventive as the aggressor, and allowed the person to rein in and control their emotions; Happiest, Hatred, Sadness, Anger, Envy, even pain if one was skilled enough in the art, all of them could be held in check.
But that was it, no one, however skilled or practiced they were, could completely shut down what they felt. And like all things, there was a personal limit to how much one could keep in before they caused possibly irreversible damage to one's self. At that point, the release could be either cathartic or the worst agony they would face. With that in mind, William allowed all his barriers to drop.
His hand shook erratically.
William felt fear; not in what had transpired or what could have happened to Mi' had he missed or even the fact that he was seconds from being one of them. No…he had faced danger.
From confronting and taking take of criminals and degenerates that were either obstacles to his plans or posed a threat to those that followed him; to taking on a troll without foreknowledge; to confronting a weakened Voldemort.
He had felt worried, wary, stressed, but never fear; for he always had some modicum of, if not outright, control over whatever situation he was in whether it was by the actions he could take or knowledge of the danger itself. There was always a plan; some preconceived procedure to manipulate things back into his hands to decide when and how he wanted to deal with it.
He had none of that this time.
Besides his bout of paranoia when a constant had suddenly turned into a variable and the small hint from Luna when she saw…whatever she had seen, he was blindsided by this attack. His wand hadn't issued a single growl at any danger nor a shock of alert to an immediate threat, but what irked him the most was that for the life of him, William couldn't figure out who it was meant for.
It couldn't be Dumbledore. The old man was currently talking with his old matron; digging into his past, and had no indication of plotting something like this nor had word reached him about what had occurred yet.
Was it this so called Heir? He still didn't know who the heir would consider an enemy or what they were truly capable of, but given the fact he was more than likely living up to Slytherin's legacy, it would be more than likely muggleborns that he would go after; making the attack useless.
The only muggleborns anywhere near the stairs were himself and Mi'. Why attack when there would be more casualties that were of your status than your intended targets; even if he gave the heir leeway, and considered most of them 'bloodtraitors', the attack itself was sloppy, ill-timed and practically non-lethal.
William couldn't bring himself to claim this as the Heir's first true attack; if they were truly related…if they shared even a drop of the same blood and were cut from the same cloth, then just like him, this heir would accept nothing but subtly and close perfection when it came to executing a plan.
William brought his now slightly shaking hand up to his head and ran it through his hair.
This was not the Heir's work, and the last thing he needed was yet another unknown working in the shadows; Hogwarts was running out of room.
"T-Trace…B-Blaise…are they…" William heard a quiet and shaking voice ask. It took him a second to realize that it was Daphne speaking to him, the lack of control and self-assured confidence in her voice made it sound completely foreign to him.
Turning, he looked at the blonde Slytherin, her head still pressed against her knees. William answered the question she left unsaid, "No, they aren't dead. They only fell four stories, so at most, all of them would have suffered broken bones and concussions depending on how they landed; nothing that can't be fixed with an overnight stay in the Hospital Wing."
William watched as Daphne's shoulder relaxed as she brought her head out of her lap and rested back against the door. "That's…that's good." She finished with a sigh.
"How are you holding up?" he asked as he mimicked her posture.
"How did you do it." She stated more than ask him, avoiding his question William noted, before she turned her slightly glistening eyes to look directly at him.
"Do what exactly?"
"When was falling I-I…you were so controlled" she stressed the last word before she continued, "It wasn't occlumency, and Merlin knows I tried it, so how did you do it."
William chuckled internally. Was that how she saw him? Was that the image that he had projected while he had practically shut down mentally? Funny how that works…well, who was he not to press an advantage?
"When we're placed into a high stress situation like what happened, a psychological reaction occurs as a response to a threat to our survival; the muggles call it 'Flight or Fight'; we all act on an instinctual level to either escape or eliminate the threat."
"So…you're saying that I'll always act like a flobberworm every time I'm threatened; a pathetic damsel in distress?"
William didn't need her scent to tell how his usually collected friend was feeling, with her barriers down; he could see the worried yet angry expression adorning her face, as she gripped her legs tightly in her clenched hands.
"What happened doesn't reflect who you truly are Daphne, just a 'knee-jerk' reaction. I'm positive you would've handled yourself and the threat if you were given the chance to collect yourself."
"Do you believe that?" she asked, her soft sapphire staring into his piercing hazel.
'No.' "Yes, I do." William answered.
Daphne gave a slight nod as she rested back once more against the door and sighed, "It's just…when I saw that look in your eyes; the fierceness, it was like I was being stared down by a predator. It both scared and calmed me…I want that."
William continued to watch Daphne as she spoke freely; she was surprisingly very chatty. If this was the Daphne that was hidden away by her regular persona, it would explain how she managed to coped with having Tracey as her best friend. He would have to act while she was still on an emotional high and it was still possible for him to utilize it.
"It wasn't my first time." He answered simply.
"No," she replied with a gently laugh, "I suppose staring up a mountain troll would put a simple fall into perspective."
"You could say that." Came his reply, 'No, the Troll didn't compare to what happened today'.
Daphne reached inched slightly over, both their shoulders now touching.
"Will you help me so it doesn't happen again?"
"No." he answered plainly.
"No!?" Daphne replied in surprise. He could understand why she was; their entire friendship revolved around business like transactions of give and take, everything had a price, and there was nothing but gains from helping the other. To outright dismiss a proposition was a novel experience between the pair.
"No…" William repeated with a pause as he looked into Daphne's confused face, he continued to speak in a quiet whisper, "You don't need any help. Do you remember what I told you, about what kind of Lady I saw you as?"
"You said I was the kind that would accomplish my goals, no matter what name I possessed." Daphne answered him in a whisper of her own; subconsciously mimicking him in both tone and posture.
William raised a hand and brushed it against her cheek, watching as she shivered at his touch; her scent filled with confusion but anticipation, "I know that because you're strong Daphne…you don't need mine or anyone else's help to overcome this small misstep. You'll do great things in the future, and who knows…one day it'll be you who saves me when I falter."
"Yeah?..." she asked breathily, drifting closer to William.
William stared into her sapphire eyes before he gave her an answer.
He kissed her.
It was a strange feeling to William. When he kissed someone, he was used to feeling the burning passion swelling against his lips; the surging lust from outside and within that threatened to overtake all sense of self and measured control. The feeling of his 'other side' demanding that he did not concede a single inch to the fiery will and dominating touch of the dragon before him. But this was no Sukie.
Opening his eyes, William observed the closed eyed form of Daphne as he continued to kiss her.
The Daphne that he saw on a daily basis, and was friends with, was not the girl that was currently before him; The Daphne he knew always carried confidence and assuredness in her very presence, guarded and control in every interaction they had.
This one was vulnerable. She was unsure of what to do with her lips as they kissed. She shivered in excitement and nervousness as he moved his hand to grip a handful of her hair to pull her close, and gave in readily when he used his tongue to demand entrance. There was no challenge; no force or desire to lead; nothing to change his clear view and purpose.
But none of that mattered. He would soon be asking a major favor from her that would help ensure his plan's success. That was the only thing that mattered in this moment, His House; its success would be much more assured with an enamored Daphne than an ambitious one.
Their kiss however was interrupted by a quiet giggle inches above their heads.
Quickly breaking apart and looking up, they looked up at the ghostly form of a girl, their age or maybe a year older, in Hogwart's robes; her hair was set in pigtails and her translucent face carried a pair of thick, equally ghostly glasses, and it was spectacled with pimples. Her entire head and upper torso were sticking through the door of the stall.
"Don't stop on my account" she said in a coy voice, "unless of course…I get a turn." She finished with another giggle.
William brought his barriers back up sharply and spoke in his usual manner, subtly sheathing his wand that he had subconsciously drawn "I'm sorry, but you are…?"
"She's Myrtle; you brought us to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom of all places in the castle?" Daphne spoke, her voice once more cultured and measured.
"The halls and corridors were filled with students; with the state you were in, I didn't take the time to choose were you could best collect yourself, and I had checked if the bathroom was occupied." It seems the 'human-presence-revealing spell' took only the living into account, something else wizards had overlooked apparently.
Mrytle's sultry expression changed sharply at that, "Of course you wouldn't notice me!...No one ever notices miserable, moody, moany, whiny Mrytle." Her yell turned into a loud sob as her head returned back inside the stall, and a splash was heard.
"Is she always in here?" William asked Daphne as he continued to stare at the stall's door, his mind working a mile a minute.
"Maybe" She replied tersely, something William picked up.
"We should head down to the Common room. They should've been moved to the Hospital Wing by now, and the rest of the students should be calmed down a bit by now." William spoke as he moved towards the lavatory's entrance, wand once more in hand.
"You go." Daphne answered, remaining in the same spot she stood as she continue, "I'm going to go check on Tracey and Blaise."
"Suit yourself." William replied back simply as he finished taking down his wards and leaving through the door.
He didn't call out Daphne on the fact that with the collapsed staircase, there weren't any easily accessible route for her to take up to the Wing. If she needed time to regain her composure after what he had done…it was the least he could provide for his friend; it didn't affect him or his House either way.
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William's walk back to the snake pit was done at his usual determined pace, though he was hyperaware of any sounds or movements around him, his wand hand ready for a quick draw. The halls were clear of any students, especially the Grand staircase. From his brief glance inside the Great Hall, most were currently there eating their dinner in hushed excited whispers; though Slytherin House was surprisingly absent in its entirety.
"Pura simper" William spoke, as he stood before a blank wall; its bricks slithering away to reveal the snake pit, and the unnaturally loud commotion that it had contained.
In the dim green lighting of the common room, William could see that the entire House was present en masse, taking up the surrounding coaches, chairs and walls as they all stared at the group in the middle of the room; Malfoy with his ilk.
It was a rare occasion to see them in the open like this nowadays. 'Lord' Malfoy had taken a liking to his new quarters with his fiancée, and could only be seen either during meals or class.
As William moved himself from the portal of the entrance and into the dim shadows to remain innocuous, he noted that his movements had caught the eyes of few of the more observant Slytherins; Hestia being one of them.
"-ose mudbloods? Let today be warning as to what happens to Blood-traitors." William heard the tail end of whatever Malfoy was preaching animatedly about; muttering voices could be heard around the common room, many sounded in agreement.
"Who knew the Lord of an Ancient and Noble House would be so servant to someone he hasn't even met before" a voice spoke challengingly, causing everyone to turn towards it, as she stepped into the clearing where Malfoy stood with his group.
William sighed with exasperation. While he understood her motives, couldn't she have chosen anyone besides Malfoy to try their plan on? Now he would have to carefully maneuver his next actions if he hoped to keep his long term objective intact.
"What did you dare say to me, bastard!" Malfoy shouted at the approaching girl, nostrils flaring slightly.
"I said, while as a fellow Slytherin I could understand wanting to be associated with the Heir to the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Slytherin, I find it surprising that you, Lord Malfoy, would stoop so as to become their herald in an attempt to earn favor; standing there shouting to all and asunder like a Knockturn harlot." Hestia replied in a calm voice as her sister laughed beside her, along with the older Slytherins and those that were out of view.
"How dare you speak to a Lord like that!" Malfoy shouted in a rage as he drew his wand along with his two lackeys. William noted that while they didn't do the same, Millicent drew closer to Pansy, and Nott stepped a pace away from Malfoy. "Think because you and your sister started giving yourselves to that mudblood pretender, you can do as you like; bow before me now, and maybe I'll go easy on you when I re-teach the lesson you two forgot."
" 'Inclinant ad Fortia'; we made that mistake once Lord Malfoy, we know where the real power in this House is now." She replied in a confident tone with her sister smiling slightly beside her.
"Confractus!" Malfoy shouted, having reached his limit. Hestia watched as the purple spell zoomed through the short passed between her and the irate Lord, and as it reached mire inches from her, the confident posture she once held faltered with uncertainty.
However as the spell was about to reach its intended target, it crashed against a sturdy translucent barrier; Hestia visibly sagged with relief.
"As you've just pointed out, Lord Malfoy," William spoke as he step out of the shadows, and walked through the slightly parted way created for him to stand in front and between the twins, "these two are under my protection, and they've grown on me…like a fungus; I don't take it kindly seeing them attacked."
"You dare raise your wand against me, Mudblood!" Malfoy shouted as he continued, "I am a Lord! I'll make you regret attacking me!"
"Your constant reminder of your status is becoming very exhausting to hear, Lord Malfoy." William replied calmly, however his mind was elsewhere as he subtly ran his eyes over Malfoy and his group; his wand had been vibrating a warning since he stood before them.
However, he couldn't see anything that could be a threat. Malfoy along with his two bodyguards stood there before him with their wands pointed at him; scents betrayed their mixture of anger, wariness, fear, and nervousness they truly felt with him now opposing them.
Millicent Bulstrode stood resolute slightly in front of Pansy; however her posture told him everything about the girl's reluctance to confront him. The pale faced Heiress Parkinson looked a nervous wreck as her eyes zoomed between him, her fiancé and the leather bound book that was clutched tightly in between her arms and chest. Nott had quietly slinked back into the crowd when he had made his way back.
The rest of his House stood sentinel over the confrontation, as was the norm when blatant plays like this were made in the pit.
He could see nothing that would cause his magic to be wary; however he kept a vigilant as Malfoy snapped once more and casted once more at him.
"Sanguinem Ulcus" a dark red bolt issued from the blonde lord's wand.
'Protego minima' William silently casted and watched as the curse splashed against his shield and cause it to break apart.
"Don't just stand there! Attack him!" Malfoy issued to the two beside him as he turned to face the silently watching Goyle, but jumped in fright when said boy was blasted away by a white bolt. He turned to his other side and noted that Crabbe had shared a similar fate.
"One shouldn't turn away from an opponent, my lord; it could be very hazardous to one's health." William offered in a conversational tone.
William watched as Malfoy started to falter as he realized he was alone, and as his eyes flickered around the watching crowd, he noted the sneer that came on his face that announced his intent.
"Confractus, Confractus, Confractus…." Malfoy shouted loudly again and again as he casted the curse.
William responded with a shielding charm, each one breaking under the assault, he gave ground slightly every third curse; his face showing a flicker of worry.
William noted out that the Carrow twins scents where becoming more and more nervous under each curse he failed to withstand.
"De-Defodio…" Malfoy casted once more breathily and visibly exhausted. William's shield didn't make it in time to fully stop the curse, and fell backwards as he tried to avoid it; failing due to the presence of the twins and earning a long jagged cut along his cheek, which was bleeding profusely.
'Mittent Vocem Acidis Imitantur Vi', William casted silently as he prepared his final move.
"Finally learnt the place where you belong mudblood; at the feet of your betters." Malfoy spoke with a second wind in voice as he watched William on the ground with the twins. As he raised his wand arm to cast again, a voice spoke.
"What is going on here…" a monotone voice dragged out, causing the entire common room to turn and face Professor Snape standing at the closed entrance to the room. A path was cleared immediately for him as he strode slowly towards the centre; robes bellowing slightly as he did so.
"Professor," Malfoy spoke with a smug look on his face as he continued, "These bastards dared to defy their Lord, and I was correcting them, when this mudblood dared to fight me; he lost of course."
"Is that so…" Snape drooled out as he looked down his hooked nose at the still downed trio, before his eyes scanned the room of students, and landing on the proud looking Malfoy.
"Return to my office, Draco, we will discuss your…teaching methods…there." He spoke to the preening Malfoy, who then strutted his way out of the common room with his remaining group. Snape watched him as he left before his eyes roamed over the room once more as he continued, "The rest of you return to your dorms, the elves have been informed to provide your supper there."
"But professor," The Head Girl, Victoria Rosier, spoke with a coy smile as the eyes of the older students around her held calculative gazes, "You told me to gather everyone here so you could address us about what happened."
Snape held her coy gaze with an indifferent look, "Did I…stutter."
There was a second in which the students paused with indecision, before there was a flurry of controlled movement as they moved towards the two corridors on opposite ends of the common room.
As the rest of the students moved to avoid Snape's wrath, Rosier remained standing in place with a coy smile as her large collective remained seated behind her. When Snape's cool gaze landed on her, William noticed her eyes flickered slight, before she turned to look on him with a smirk, before she snapped her fingers and left towards the girl's dorm; the group with her doing the same, heading towards their respective corridors.
Seconds passed as the room quickly emptied, leaving only Snape, William, the twins and the unconscious bodies of Crabbe and Goyle.
As William proceeded to get up and calmly started to gently brush his robes, ignoring his slightly bleeding cheek, he heard the twins gasp as the image of professor Snape vanished slowly before them.
"Wha-What?" William heard one of them speak as he moved, stepping over the two unconscious bodies, towards the high back that was occupied by Rosier; conjuring two short stools before it when he reached.
"Sit." He stated calmly, but his tone belied his annoyance to the pair.
As the two cautiously made their way towards the stools and sat upon them, looking slightly up at him, he spoke, "Care to explain what possessed you two to confront Lord Malfoy so brazenly."
"He was using the incident to attack you and your allies, we couldn't let that happen, sir." Hestia answered calmly as she stared directly in his eyes; barriers fully up from what William could feel from his probe.
"And your plan to test me had nothing to do with your new found desire to protect my reputation and honour." He answered simply, watching as the once calm face became filled with surprise; her scent no longer happy, but filled with worry and fear.
"We didn't mean anything by it My Lord," Flora spoke franticly, not noticing her slip due to her fear of his reprisal, "Luna told us what you did for us, and we just wanted to see if it was true. We only wished to know if we could serve without fear."
"Why Malfoy." William said to Hestia as he skimped through Flora's less protected thoughts, already getting his answer.
"W-we saw how you were trying to rely up Lord Malfoy that Halloween night. You were planning to get him to fight you; we thought we could help with that plan and also get our answer." She replied hesitantly.
It was a very flawed and tunnel-vision plan, that lacked any forethought into his personal motivations and ambitions outside of the little he had said to the twins, but he didn't expect anything more from the rush job that they had done. William stared at the two, and watched as they flinched visibly as he raised his wand.
"Tabby." He intoned as he pointed his wand towards his cheek and healed himself, ignoring both their scent and visible relief.
As soon as the elf came to being, William spoke, "Hello my friend, I'm sorry to bother you, but Professor Snape asked that I got one of the elves to get the Slytherin's supper delivered to each dorm room; I couldn't think of anyone else to ask but you."
"Tabbys bes getting the elves right on it, Master Willy sir." The preening elf answered as before he popped away once more, causing William to turn back on the two as they awaited his response to their actions.
"The two of you acted impulsively and not only did you almost set back my plans; you caused me to be on the radar on someone I had hoped to avoid." William spoke calmly, yet Flora reacted like he had hit her and Hestia no longer held his steady gaze. "Your inexperience would be detrimental to both myself and yourselves, so from now on you will not act unless I permit it, and when I say jump, you will do so immediately; asking if it was high enough and why after."
"Y-you're not sending us away?" Flora asked hesitantly.
"Make no mistake; I do not need you either of you." William answered plainly, watching as he got his desired reaction, "However, it would be stupid of me to get rid of you because of your first mistake and your lack of knowledge and understanding of my goals."
"So…there was a reason why you were acting so weak against Malfoy." Hestia stated, finding her voice once more.
"Yeah, we've seen how powerful you are. And you could've ended it when you took down his two goons." Flora replied.
William sighed, "Malfoy's ego is a very fickle thing, it tends to blind him from the truth; I need him confident in his own abilities. However, I couldn't not defend you two when I've made it clear through prior example that you two were under my protection, therefore untouchable. So, I had to win, while not winning."
"Winning…while not winning?" Flora asked, slightly confused.
"He couldn't use too much of his power to the point that Malfoy would know he didn't stand a chance. But he couldn't look weak to the rest of the House or that his protection only counts when its against those with a low enough standing." Hestia responded to her sister as she watched William slightly wide eyed.
"There's hope for you yet." William replied, leaning back into his chair.
"So…those times when he faltered against Malfoy…was to show weakness to him…"
"And when he protected us and took down those two over there was to show the House he was holding back and keeping up appearances; he was fixing our mistake to his plan and capitalizing on it by playing with Malfoy."
"But that doesn't explain that thing with Professor Snape…what was that?" Flora asked William.
"An advantage that's lost, now that Snape knows." He replied simplistically.
"But, you're the one that sent Malfoy to Snape's office, why give it up if it was an advantage."
"There were plenty of choices that I could've made, yes. However, giving up this advantage was the best option for me in the long run." William answered them vaguely, however he should've expected Rosier to see through his deception; that was going to be a headache in of itself. "Snape would've heard about what happened anyway and would've come prying; giving him Malfoy saves me the trouble of dealing with him later."
Flora readily accepted his answer, but he could see that Hestia was seeing through his lackluster cover for his real reason.
"Now go, I've said what I needed to say to you, and I've entertained you long enough. When I need you, you will know; in the mean time, keep your heads down." William spoke with calm finality. Recognizing the dismissal for what it was, he watched as the twins got up, and after a synchronized bow, turned and headed towards the girl's dorm.
William waited patiently for a few minutes, sitting their without a thought or visible purpose. At some unspecified signal, he open his robe and pointed his wand at the warded pocket; dismantling them with practiced ease.
Taking the envelope out he looked it once over with barely contained anticipation, before he opened it at a controlled pace.
Taking out the parchment within and allowing it to unreel, he was greeted with the Slytherin coat of arms at the top, and a long line of names and connections that branched off in different places and end abruptly; the most prevalent name he noted succeeding down the line was Gaunt. However, his attention wasn't on them as he continued straight down towards the very end of the parchment.
Tom Marvolo Riddle
William stared at the name before him, with a vague sense of victory, before he gave the parchment a more detailed once over, memorizing its contains, and then promptly burning both it and the envelope with his wand; vanishing the ashes once it had finish burning. He got up from his seat and walked at his usual determined pace towards the dorm.
Upon reaching the door, he tapped his wand against it, causing it to gently open and close behind him as he entered; the soft clicking of the lock could be heard in the silent room. The only thing out of place was the finely crafted table and chair with an abundance of delicious food resting on it.
Ignoring it, and walking towards the trunk at the foot of his bed, William hissed aloud, watching as the latch of his trunk jumped open, and the lid following it shortly as he twitched a finger. Reaching in, he calmly moved the organized contents away until he found the bloodied parchment resting within; William then took the time to calmly place everything back as it was, despite the excitement that kept trying to bubble up and take over.
William opened the bloodied parchment on top of the now closed trunk and intoned, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
William didn't wait for the map to fully follow before he was ready going through it until he found the location to Hufflepuff common room and started to scan the names as they finally appeared; starting with the third years.
It was only a matter of time until this Riddle…this wayward cousin of his and Hermione's was found, and be given the option of forgetting this foolish vendetta, and fall in line with his family towards a more productive future; if not…
Then he'll be just another obstacle that gets either brushed aside or eliminated for daring to threaten his House and Family.
And there you have it.
Sorry about the abrupt end, this chapter was actually touching 18k with no end in sight, so I decided to split it here and finish the rest to what I had in mind.
Please review and let me know what you think and how I can improve if you see anything you think does.
Till next time.