Part 12 - The Girl's Got Guts
"Come on, Bel! You said you'd come!" Cale begs, his expression somewhere between cross, bratty pouting and a full on temper tantrum as he pleads at the petite girl across from him.
Sighing heavily as she finishes balancing the last of her Arithmancy equations, Izzy Cooper brings her deep amber eyes up from her parchment and fixes her tall friend with a very stern glare. "I know," She states, her voice sharp but not quite hostile (though Cale has no idea how she always manages to do that), "And I already told you that I'm sorry, but I can't go. I'm tutoring Charlie again. Pestering me isn't going to change that."
"You've been tutoring Charlie every night this week!" Cale bellows, earning a disembodied SHHHH! from the librarian. Calming himself down, the boy leans in closer and quietly hisses, "And you just met with him at lunchtime! And spent all of dinner working on stuff for him! You're spending all your time with that pillock!"
Looking unaffected but growing extremely annoyed, Izzy begins packing her books as she scolds, "Don't call names, and that's because he needs a lot of help. I spent just as much time working with you when I first started tutoring you, so stop moaning."
Standing in a huff, the girl balls her small fists at her slim hips as she scolds, "I was assigned to keep him from flunking off the quidditch team and to make sure he passes his NEWTs, and that is exactly what I intend to do. If you have a problem with it, then tough luck."
She was planning on storming off just to prove a point, but suddenly feels guilty over the way her friend is sadly hanging his head. With a frustrated groan, she whispers kindly, "I'll try to make it to poker night if I can, but no promises, alright?"
"Ok," Cale concedes half-heartedly, still cranky but actually managing a smirk, "I guess as long as you don't blow me off for our date this weekend, I'm cool with that."
Her cheeks staining slightly pink, Izzy agrees, "Of course I wouldn't. Well, um, I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye."
"Bye, Bel," The blonde Slytherin murmurs, tightening the tie on his short ponytail as he watches her leave. He's still not happy with the situation. Not one bit. It's bad enough having to share his girl with Myron all the time, but now Weasley, too? That's just wrong.
He wants Izzy all to himself and isn't about to let some rocks-for-brains Gryffindor jock stand in his way...
xxXxx
"This is excellent," Izzy beams as she looks up from checking Charlie's latest homework assignment. The redhead blushes hotly, cracking a small smile and rather pleased that he was the one who put the proud, beautiful expression on Izzy Cooper's face.
"Thanks," He replies, fidgeting with his quill and trying to ignore the hot, tightening sensation he gets low in his gut whenever the pretty brunette looks at him like that. "I got my dad to send me a dictating quill from his office," The boy explains, "Just like you said, and that's really helped. And that read-a-loud spell you taught me, that's great, too. It's a lot easier to remember what I'm reading if I don't have to concentrate on making sure I'm getting the words right."
"I thought so," Izzy states, grinning brightly, "From what I've read on dyslexics, it's fairly common to have difficulty linking printed words to their meanings. Your poor comprehension and retention come from too much energy being spent on decoding words. We'll have to work on that later, but for now, just make sure to follow along in your books while the spell reads out loud. And don't just use your eyes. It will help to actually physically keep up with your fingers, or perhaps a scrap of parchment."
With a dutiful nod, Charlie states, "Sure. I can do that." Delighted, the girl across from him neatly rolls up his Charms homework as she announces, "Good. And I talked to Professors Archer, McGonogall, and Snape today. All agreed to let you take the written parts of tomorrow's tests orally. I haven't spoken with Binns yet, but I'm sure I can catch him at breakfast in the morning, and I see no reason why he won't do the same."
Grinning, Charlie only has the brainpower to reply, "Wicked. Thanks."
"Now then," Izzy goes on, pulling forward and thick, dusty textbook, "We just have to work on getting you to remember the dates you'll need to know for the History of Magic test."
Frowning, Charlie claims, "I'm no good with numbers." Brightly, the girl across from him announces, "I've thought of that. You like quidditch, right?"
Snorting, the redhead answers, "I'm the captain of the team. Of course I like it. Like isn't really the right word."
"No need to get catty," Izzy scolds lightly, already flipping through the textbook, "Just tell me who your favorite players are."
"Past or present?" The boy inquires, smirking when Izzy arches an eyebrow. "Both," She prompts challengingly, "Along with reasons why, famous acts they committed and the years they did so, and what numbers they wore."
"Alright," Charlie answers, more than happy to meet her challenge, "My favorite from the past would have to be Gwendolyn Morgan. She wore number 25 and was the captain of the Holyhead Harpies when they beat the Heidelberg Harriers out for a playoff spot in 1953. At the end of the seven-day-long match that is widely recognized as one of the best in history, the captain of the Harriers asked her to marry him. She concussed him with her broom."
Izzy giggles into her hand. Charlie decides that he very much likes to make her giggle before continuing, "My present favorite is Galvin Gudgeon-"
"That Canons seeker who fell off his broom chasing a butterfly?" Izzy cuts him off, laughing almost too hard to speak, harder when Charlie gives a sincere nod. Fighting the smirk on his own face, the boy continues, "Yes, he fell off his broom chasing a butterfly during the Tornados match over the summer. Gudgeon wears double-zeros, and the Canons manager has had to constantly level pleas for fans to not curse him during matches. While playing the Appleby Arrows, he let the snitch bounce off his nose twice, and is the only seeker in the history of the game to simultaneously knock out three players from his own team."
Laughing, Izzy states, "That's wonderful that you remembered all that, but he doesn't sound very good. Why on earth is he your favorite?"
"Because," Charlie counters, grinning proudly, "My little brother Ronnie really likes the Canons. I took him to that game when Gudgeon fell off his broom, and he's loved him every since... though I don't think he realizes that Gudgeon is actually one of the players. Ron sees him more as some sort of clown or mascot."
Snickering, Izzy counters, "That's so sweet. How old is he?" His chest swelling with pride, the boy answers, "He's nine. He was kind of down this summer because he knew Fred and George would be leaving for Hogwarts, so I tried to spend some extra time with him."
"Aw," The petite brunette coos, "How nice of you to do that for your brother." Blushing all the way up to his hairline, Charlie can only manage a shrug.
"Well," The girl continues, "We shouldn't get distracted. The quidditch exercise did have a point."
"Which would be?" The stocky redhead teases, flashing a cheeky grin just because he likes the way Izzy narrows her big, gorgeous brown eyes and purses her full, pouty pink lips at him. "Which would be," She states in her best no-nonsense voice, "That you don't have a problem with numbers. You have a problem with making dates relatable and therefore interesting enough to be memorable. When the subject is quidditch, you remember dates and events, as well as player numbers, because you care about quidditch. Now, me, I could care less about the sport, so it probably wouldn't matter how hard I tried, I'd still never remember all that... well, except for Gudgeon, because he is funny."
Izzy pauses to smirk and Charlie suddenly finds himself completely enamored with her, her kindness, and intelligence, and dry wit. "What we have to do," The girl goes on, not noticing how the young man across from her blushes and stares, "Is make History of Magic relatable to you, as well as easier to remember."
"Ok," Charlie agrees, hardly aware of the words coming out of his mouth. He shouldn't think Izzy is this adorable. He can't ever have her and he's only torturing himself by doing so.
"Excellent," His tutor goes on, smiling at him before instructing, "Close your eyes." The boy makes a strange face, prompting Izzy to soothe, "Trust me. I think this will work." With a shrug, Charlie complies.
"Alright," He hears, the voice soft and sweet, sultry without meaning to be, giving him goosebumps all up and down his thick freckled arms, "I want you to picture Hogsmeade. Picture yourself walking down the main street of Hogsmeade. There's snow on the ground. You pass the Three Broomsticks, and Honeyduke's, and Zonko's. When you reach Gladrags, you turn right down the dirt road. Can you see it?"
"Yes," Charlie responds, finding that it isn't at all hard to picture what Izzy is saying. He's finding that it's a lot harder to keep himself from blushing too furiously just from the sound of her voice as the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight up.
"Good," The girl answers, a smile in her tone, "You keep walking until you reach the Hog's Head and you enter. Inside you see goblins and quidditch players-"
Unable to help himself, Charlie suddenly bursts out laughing. His guffaws are met with an indignant, still slightly giggly, "Pay attention, Charlie. Now, you see goblins and quidditch players, and they're all talking and yelling and just being very loud. The quidditch players are eating big red juicy apples. There are six of them, and they're very excited. They're forming a team, drawing arrows on their jerseys as they make plays on a chalkboard in the corner. Who are they and what are they doing?"
"The Appleby Arrows," Charlie answers flatly, almost surprised that he managed to put together the right answer, "They're getting ready to sign up for the International Quidditch League."
"Very good," Izzy states, continuing, "Now, the goblins aren't so happy. They're upset over the way they've been treated by the English Ministry. One with long, braided hair growing out of his ears shouts, 'It's completely unfair that we're forced to work in that bank for so little pay! We have rights! We should demand higher pay!"
Despite the fact that Charlie snickers at the deep, gruff voice she uses, the girl continues, "Another goblin, one with a huge wart on the huge wart on his nose, says, 'Not just higher pay! We should demand to be put in charge of the bank! After all, we're much better at it than any human ever could be! It's an insult that every human is higher ranking than us when we do all the hard work!' The crowd agrees heatedly, and pretty soon they're all chanting for a fight. What's going on?"
After a brief moment of thought, Charlie answers, "The Goblin Rebellion." Sound absolutely proud, Izzy says, "Yes. Now, look back at the chalkboard. The quidditch players have written numbers there, the numbers one, six, one, and two. Can you see them?"
"Yes," The boy answers, "The Goblin Rebellion and the forming of the Appleby Arrows both took place in 1612. Wow. That's not so hard."
"See," He hears, opening his eyes to a gorgeous smile that literally takes his breath away. "I knew you could do it," Izzy beams, so glad she's been able to help the stocky boy seated across the table from her, "What reasons did the goblins have for rebelling?"
"They, uh..." Charlie gapes, rather disturbed by the way his heart is pounding. It's not fair that she can do this to him with just a proud look, it's not fair that just the memory of her making him laugh with the funny descriptions and voices is enough to have him sure he'll never forget the reasons the goblins rebelled in 1612, "They were being treated unfairly by the Ministry, being forced by law to work in the bank under human supervision. They wanted higher pay and to be in charge of the bank."
"And what was the year again?" Izzy presses, a huge smile on her face.
It's not fair that he can't have her.
"Sixteen-twelve," Charlie breathes, amazed he remembered but by far too distracted to dwell on it. He's fascinated by and drawn to the petite brunette he once hated, who once hated him.
"And you said you were bad with numbers," She teases, blushing under his heated gaze as she goes back to flipping through the History of Magic textbook, "All you need is a story and a picture behind your facts. If you can see and experience them, they become real, much more real than just dry pieces of trivia you're trying to drill into your brain. You'll remember them just as well as you remember watching Galvin Gudgeon fall off his broom with your little brother. Understand?"
At a blank nod from Charlie, Izzy continues, "Great. Now let's get to work making stories for the rest of the dates you need to remember..."
xxXxx
Izzy wouldn't let him walk her back to Gryffindor Tower, so, on his own journey back, Charlie has plenty of time to let himself get lost in thoughts of the beautiful brunette.
She said she had somewhere to be, and he'd teased her about wandering after curfew, about how, as a prefect, he should give her a detention for even thinking of doing such a thing.
The little witch teased him right back, her full lips twisting into a smirk that made his heart actually flutter in a rather unmanly fashion as she smugly announced that he wouldn't dare, that he didn't have the guts.
Well.
Stunned by her... audacity, Charlie hadn't been able to respond in time for her to hear. She was already gone around the next corner when he'd finally blurted the wittiest comeback he could think of:
"Wanna bet?"
"Stupid..." He grumbles to himself, blushing and slightly glad she didn't hear him. It's bad enough that he's developing a huge crush on an absolutely unattainable girl; he doesn't need to go and make himself look like any more of an idiot in her presence.
Sighing deeply, he tries not to think of Izzy herself as he goes over all the dates she taught him. It's almost impossible though. Most of the reason he remembers all the facts is because of the way Izzy told them, not like she was teaching but like she was making up funny stories to entertain a bored friend.
He really likes the idea of being her friend. Even if he'll never have her like he wants, it's something.
"Sixteen-twelve, the Goblin Rebellion starts in the Hog's Head..." The stocky seeker recites, still amazed that he can remember, "Sixteen-seventy-four, the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy goes into effect making it every nation's Ministry's responsibility to keep magic secret from muggles in their country... seventeen-oh-nine, the Warlock's Convention outlaws commercial dragon breeding..."
Suddenly, Charlie turns a corner and nearly gets mowed down by a pair of redheaded blurs. "Oof!" He grunts, steadying himself as he grabs blindly at the giggling boys. Seeker's instincts give him an upper hand, and he very soon finds himself holding Fred and George Weasley off the ground by the scruffs of their necks.
"Oy," He scolds, trying to be stern but secretly rather amused by the way they swing back and forth as they attempt to squirm their way free, "What did I tell you two?"
"Um..." One of his little brothers--he's never sure which is which--hums thoughtfully, "You told us not to let you catch us breaking curfew again-"
"-or else you'd have to give us detentions," The other twin finishes. Both boys stare up at him with huge blues eyes and young, impish grins as he pleads, "But you wouldn't really do that to us, would you, Char?"
"Not our favoritest brother."
"Our idol."
"Our hero."
"The amazing specimen of manliness we both aspire to be."
"Hey," Charlie chuckles, trying not to be flattered because he knows that they don't really mean it, that they're just out to save their own hides, "Quit it. I'm serious. I'm a prefect, and you two are out past curfew. I let you off the first time and I shouldn't have. I'm going to have to give you detentions."
"But that's not fair!" The twin he's got in his right hand pouts, "We didn't mean to be out!"
"Ya!" The other contributes, "That's why we were running! Filch had us for a detention and he held us late!"
"Then he wouldn't give us a pass!" The first twin announces sulkily, "He just laughed and told us to hurry! He was trying to get us caught!"
"Well," Charlie supplies, "He's a mean old man. That doesn't make you two any less guilty... hey, what's that you got there?"
Noticing a scrap of parchment one of the twins--he thinks probably George--is trying to hide behind his back. "Nothing," The boy lies effortlessly, proving once again to not be fast enough to escape his older brother.
Lightning quick, Charlie drops probably-George and snaps the scroll out of his hand before the first year even hits the ground. Scowling and rubbing his backside, probably-George cries, "Hey! That's ours!"
"Can it, shrimp," Charlie laughs, holding the boy back with a foot on his small freckled forehead when he lunges forward. Effortlessly restraining both of the twins, Charlie is free to inspect the parchment in his hands, discovering that it's blank.
He wrinkles his nose, confused as to why the boys are so defensive over a piece of blank parchment. It's then that he sees words suddenly scrawl across it.
Mr. Padfoot humbly begs for mercy on behalf of the budding pranksters.
Mr. Prongs adds his support, prostrating himself at the feet of the compassionate prefect, praying that his fellow seeker will be kind and forgiving.
Mr. Moony would like to note just how pathetic Mr.s Padfoot and Prongs are, and also urges his fellow prefect not to fall victim to their blatant attempts at flattery.
Mr. Padfoot believes Mr. Moony should see to the stick up his tight prefect arse.
Mr. Wormtail emphatically concurs.
"Uh..." Charlie gapes, rather unsure of what the hell he's looking at, "Ok... that's... interesting..." His attention shifts abruptly back to the two troublemakers in his custody when probably-Fred starts whining about being choked by the collar his older brother is still holding him off the ground by. Setting the boy back on his feet, he gives the odd parchment to probably-George and announces "I'll take ten points a piece, though that's really not fair to the rest of Gryffindor. You're just lucky Izzy and Percy earn us so damn many. Don't let me catch you again or I'll just owl mum."
The twins share knowing smirks, probably-Fred chiming, "We promise." Probably-George adds, "We won't let you catch us."
Shaking his head, Charlie shoves the pair of them in front of himself, ordering, "Alright, back to the Tower then."
Huffing grumpily, the twins fall perfectly into step, whispering back and forth as they get marched to bed. Charlie is only half listening, but, after a few minutes, finally catches, "...would've thought Cooper'd be the one to give us trouble, not Charlie..." "...why would she give us trouble? She was wandering the dungeons in the middle of the night, too..."
"Wait," Charlie states, making both twins turn to look at him like they've been caught with their hands in a cookie jar. Fixing them with a strict stare, he asks, "What was that about Izzy being in the dungeons?"
When the twins share one of those looks of theirs, he snaps, "The truth, or I'll change my mind about that incredibly light punishment I let you two off with."
Both boys pout at him as probably-Fred grudgingly reports, "We just ran into her there, is all. She's really nice."
"Ya," Probably-George contributes, proudly puffing out his little chest, "And she said we were cute. Don't go getting her in trouble."
"I wouldn't..." Charlie states, unable to keep himself from smirking over the knowledge that Izzy was right: he doesn't have the guts to give her detention, "I was just curious... can I trust you two to get back to the Tower on your own?"
"Sure," The boys state together, probably-Fred narrowing his eyes as he accuses, "But you said you wouldn't get her into trouble."
"I'm not," Charlie responds trying not to blush or look guilty because, really, showing weakness in front of the twins is just not a good idea, "I'm just... uh..."
He's too late. They catch on in an instant, their faces erupting into Christmas-came-early grins. Oh Merlin. He is never going to hear the end of this...
"Sure, Char," Probably-George teases, elbowing probably-Fred, "Whatever you say." Giggling a little too hysterically, probably-Fred remarks, "We'll just be going now. Have fun with your late-night stalking."
"I'm not stalking her!" Charlie shouts at their retreating forms, growing red in the face as they disappear still laughing. Pouting to himself, the redhead turns around and heads for the dungeons, softly insisting, "I'm not!"
xxXxx
"Come on, Roman. In or out?" Izzy Cooper yawns lazily as she hides four eights and an ace of hearts against her chest.
The Slytherin glares across the table at her, blue eyes narrowed and brown hair disheveled. Cooper's already taken him for nearly everything he's got. The other members of their poker game, fellow Slytherins Cale Eyret, Lorenzo Tao, and Aleksei Mikhailov, are snickering at him as they laze back in cozy leather armchairs and watch the show. But he's sure he can beat her this time. He's got a full house. And Izzy's probably bluffing again... like she was in the last hand... Merlin, he looked like such an idiot when she turned over that pair of fives...
"In," The young man states, throwing more galleons into the rather large pot, "Call."
Completely unworried, because she knows Nero has a full house, because she can count cards (another slightly shady skill Jordy imparted upon her), Izzy lays down her four of a kind. "Sorry," She coos, smiling weakly as she moves her winnings into the large pile of cash already in front of her, "I guess I win."
Nero's mouth hits the floor when he sees that Izzy has beaten him yet again. The other guys are laughing uproariously and he can hardly see straight he's so mad. But... he also can't get over how fucking hot she's making him. No girl has ever beaten him before. No girl has ever made him look like such a fool, made him the source of such ridicule. No girl has ever turned him down.
He's never wanted a girl like he wants Izzy Cooper.
He used to date Geneva Beckett, a fellow pure-blooded Slytherin. She was beautiful and soft and willing, a right bitch when she wanted to be but rather passive around him. She wanted her hooks in him for marriage.
He dumped her last year, and now here's Izzy Cooper, a mudblood Gryffindor, smiling that tired smile across the table at him as she rakes away his money, seeming to both tease and apologize at the same time with those big brown eyes, and he can't not want her...
And he's sure the firewhiskey he's been consuming all night has absolutely nothing to do with it...
"Good game, boys," The little Gryffindor yawns, pushing the mountain of coins into her small satchel, "But I think I'm calling it a night."
"Aw, are you sure?" Aleksei Mikhailov, a burly, dark-haired Russian who transferred in fifth year, grumbles in a thick, good-natured accent, "I haf so much more fun at poker night ven Roman is not vinning... he is bragging for many days after."
"Exactly," Lorenzo Tao supplies with a wide, charming grin and flirtatious wink. He's short and skinny, half-Italian, half-Chinese, with almond hazel eyes and chaotically spiked black hair. "Stay a few more. Please?" The boy begs loudly, his large personality more than making up for his demure stature as he bounces in his seat, "We can't get enough of watching head boob... I mean head boy get his arse kicked."
"You did say you'd teach us that new game," Cale supplies, smiling happily beside his girl. It doesn't matter that she kicked his arse, too. He's proud of her, and really likes that she gets along with his housemates. He knows not many in Hogwarts bother to cross house lines, especially the green, serpent-infested ones. "Texas Hold 'Em?" The tall blonde says, brushing back a few stray hairs that have fallen out of his short ponytail.
"Next week, boys," Izzy says, yawning and getting to her feet. She's so tired. She probably should've just walked back to the Tower with Charlie, but she would've felt guilty if she missed poker night. "I promise," The girl adds, smiling brightly even though the way Nero is looking at her is a little disturbing, "I really do have to get to bed."
"Alright, Bel," Cale concedes, getting to his feet and handing Izzy a few books she left lying on the floor, "I'll walk you back."
"Don't be silly," She answers, trying not to flinch and shrink away as she takes her books from her friend. Despite best efforts, she's still a little wary around him after the incident in the hospital wing. She doesn't like that he was touching her without permission, that he didn't see anything wrong with violating her trust like that. "I'm fine on my own," The petite brunettes soothes, throwing a handful of wild curls over one slim shoulder, "The Weasley twins showed me a shortcut when I ran into them earlier. They're such cute little things."
Cale pouts--she's never called him cute--but nonetheless agrees, "If you're sure. Goodnight then."
"Goodnight," She calls, waving to the other three Slytherins as she hurries out of Nero's richly-decorated head boy suite. The common room is deserted, and Izzy is glad. Some of the other Slytherins are not as... accepting as Cale, Nero, Lorenzo, and Aleksei. She can count her good friend Margo Amos in the non-psycho Slytherin category as well, but doesn't know of any others. In a house of at least fifty, those odds aren't so great for a petite muggleborn Gryffindor who happens to wander into their midst.
She walks through the deserted hallways, her rhythmic footsteps echoing off the cold, worn stones as she follows the familiar twists and turns. Soon, she comes to the hallways just outside of one of Snape's lesser-used supply cupboards and, just as Fred and George told her, on the bottom of the opposite wall rests a brick with a deep triangle-shaped chipped missing from it. She kicks the stone three times in quick succession, and the whole wall silently opens up to reveal a carpeted, dimly-lit passageway.
The girl smiles, because it even boasts a small plate of wrapped chocolates and a little note with a childish scribble of Free Samples, F & G. Rather touched that the twins apparently came back to light the torches, as well as leave her chocolate, she takes one of the small candies and hums softly to herself as she walks into the secret hallway that will take her straight back to Gryffindor Tower.
Just after finishing her treat, the brunette gets a horrible chill all down her spine, suddenly feeling like she's not alone. Gathering all the courage in her small body, she lets her hand casually fall onto the wand just barely poking out of her bag and then turns around.
"Oh," She breathes, shoulders visibly relaxing--though not quite all the way--when she gets a look at the person standing just a few paces in front of her. "It's just you," She states, unconsciously backing away as she admonishes, "What are you doing here?"
xxXxx
When Charlie watches Izzy walk out of the Slytherin common room, her full satchel jingling with the sounds of money, he has to admit that he's rather impressed. It's a well-known fact that the head boy, Nero Roman, holds exclusive weekly poker games in his suite. It's also a well-known fact that he always wipes the floor with whoever he sees fit to invite.
Izzy's taken the stuck-up git of a head boy for a ride, and he loves her for it.
He's so caught up in his silent admiration of the girl that he forgets to actually follow her, and is surprised when he sees Nero Roman silently exiting the common room just a few moments behind Izzy. Frowning as he takes in the tall brunette's stumbling and angry muttering, Charlie starts thinking that maybe Roman really is as sore a loser as everyone says he is. Keeping his distance, the redhead decides to follow, just to be on the safe side.
So Izzy walks unaware and confident through the maze of dungeon corridors while Nero stalks her and Charlie keeps an eye on both. When she stops to open a passageway, Charlie can't help the grin that comes across his face. Fred and George really must like her if they let her in on some of the secrets they've been amassing about Hogwarts castle.
The grin is gone, however, when Nero slips in behind her, when the wall closes itself before Charlie can sprint in himself. Frantically, he mimics the three swift kicks he saw Izzy make against the wall, but it takes him a few moments to find the right stone. When he sees that it has a marking on it, he feels rather stupid, but rushes into the dim passage all the same. The plate of samples and one empty candy wrapper makes his stomach lurch. There's no way Izzy would know what a bad idea it is to take anything edible from the twins. He runs just a little bit faster.
"What are you doing here?" Her small voice demands, sounding just the slightest bit fearful as the girl backs away from Nero. Charlie hides himself in the shadows, close enough so that he can interfere if necessary but far enough away to remain unnoticed. He knows that it is a little creepy that he followed her and waited in the dungeons, and doesn't want to scare the girl.
"Wanna play some more cards with you," Nero slurs silkily, advancing on the petite Gryffindor, "Thought you might reconsider those private lessons." He still sounds vaguely upset and annoyed, but his voice is filled with something else, something equally powerful. Lust, Charlie decides, tightening his fists and forcing himself to remain hidden for the time being.
"Some other time, Nero," Izzy placates, taking another step backwards as her fingers twitch around the handle of her wand, "I really have to get back to the Tower. Why don't you and the other guys catch up with me at breakfast tomorrow. Maybe we can set a date for me to teach all of you-"
"NO!" Nero shouts, stomping his foot and looking like the spoiled toddler he still is at heart, "Not them! Just me! ARG! I'm trying to seduce you here!! What is wrong with you?"
Instantly, Charlie can see the change in Izzy's expression, her features shifting from fearful to annoyed as the girl hotly insists, "There is nothing wrong with me, Nero Roman! Just because I don't swoon at your feet like the mindless slags you usually subject to this sort of half-arsed seduction doesn't mean you have license to make me feel abnormal!!"
"You tell him, Izzy!" Charlie mentally cheers, unable to keep himself from smirking at the absolutely floored look on Nero's face. "You do not get to make me feel bad about myself for this!" She berates, actually waggling a scolding finger up at him, "I already told you once that I am not interested in you that way, and I don't appreciate you not respecting my decision!"
"But-" Nero argues, only to be cut off once more as Izzy rages louder and steps closer. The girl is right in his face as she yells, "I would like to think that if you were even halfway serious about this instead of just instantly smitten by the first female brain you've bothered with in nearly seven years, you would at least have the courtesy to not hit on me while you are under the influence of more booze than I could keep track of and an unprecedented slap of defeat to your monstrous ego!"
"Hey!" The head boy cries, frowning petulantly because he thinks the petite Gryffindor just insulted him but can't be sure. She used too many big damn words... and was spinning... and since when were there two of her?
"And another thing!" Izzy continues, amber eyes flashing bright in the torch light, "I don't like you following and ambushing me! If you want to talk, you are welcome to request a meeting, not hide about in the shadows until I'm all alone and then pounce! It's creepy and not at all polite!"
Charlie suddenly feels quite guilty and thoroughly chastised by the scolding that wasn't actually meant for him.
"You're not even going to give me a chance, are you?" Nero mumbles, already sulking. With a deep sigh, Izzy curtly answers, "Even if I was interested in dating anyone, I don't believe you really want me. Like I said before, you don't talk to nearly enough smart girls. You're a smart boy and that's what you need, but just because I can beat you at cards and hold an intelligent conversation doesn't mean I'm right for you."
The smirk that crosses the handsome Slytherin's features gives Charlie a sick feeling in his stomach. "But how will I ever know," Nero demands, as smooth as he can be while still stumbling and slurring his words. He takes a step closer to Izzy, trapping her between his broad chest and the wooden support beam behind her back as he finishes, "If we don't try?"
"Nero," Izzy warns, all her fire and confidence waning now that the young man has entered her comfort zone, now that she realizes she's trapped and he's much bigger than she is. "Nero, no," The girl demands, her voice shaking as her breathing comes in desperate heaves and pants.
"Just one kiss," The taller brunette pleads, leaning in close enough for Izzy to smell the sickly stink of firewhiskey on his breath, "Come on. Quit being such a tease."
"Tease," Uncle Richie hisses, large hands already ripping the frilly pink church dress off of Isabel's frail little body.
"Saw you watching me," The blonde man snarls, pinning the whimpering girl down onto her bed, "All through the service, right there in front of God! You were tempting me with those big eyes, just begging for it!"
She wants to tell him no, that she didn't do any such thing, but there isn't any space for the words to come out between desperate, choking sobs as the girl struggles to get free.
"Should've pulled down your pretty little panties right there!" Uncle Richie shouts, punctuating the statement by tearing the white cotton underwear off her trembling body. He slaps her butt, hard, making her scream and cry as a bruise already starts to bloom on the pale flesh. He forces her face into the bedspread to muffle her whimpers of anguish and pain. The child is breathing in mouthfuls of cotton and her head spins as she starves for oxygen.
"Gonna teach you a lesson," He growls, keeping her pinned as the sound of a zipper rasping through the silence of the cold room makes little Izzy sick and scared, "Girls who tease always get what's coming to them..."
Her eyes are glazed, Charlie notices, wide and frozen as Nero leans in closer and closer. Only a moment before the stocky redhead is going to jump out and save Izzy, play the hero, she suddenly shrieks, "I AM NOT A TEASE!!"
None of the three teens present expected Izzy haul off and punch Nero right in the jaw, but that's exactly what she does. Her fist connects with Nero's face and the large Slytherin grunts loudly, stumbles backwards, and trips over an uneven spot in the carpet before he falls. His back hits the floor with a sickening thump and, from the way he's clutching his jaw and groaning in pain, Charlie thinks that either the head boy is the biggest wimp at Hogwarts or Izzy learned how to punch harder since she hit him all those years ago.
He hopes for a little of both.
"Oooooowwww!" Nero moans, wide-eyed and staring at Izzy like she just sprouted a few extra heads, "You- you punched me!"
"Yes, I did," The girl responds, her voice shaking slightly as she slowly lowers her fist. The look on her face is one of utter shock tinged slightly with guilt, however, she still scolds, "No means no, Nero. Hopefully, you understand that now."
And then Nero is angry again, shoving himself off the floor to his full, towering height and raging, "You stupid little Gryffindor bitch! Do you have any idea who I am?"
"Nero Roman, head boy," Izzy responds flatly, almost mockingly, hands on her slim hips as she gazes unflinchingly back into his dark face, "And you're not the first head of Hogwarts I've ever punched, so don't think you're special or that you can scare me on that account. You have behaved like a child and a pig tonight, and now I think you need to get straight back to your room, sober up, and think about what you've done. In the morning, if you'd like to apologize, you may talk to me at breakfast. Otherwise, I don't think I'd like to be your friend anymore."
Nero's anger melts and he suddenly looks and feels like he's three-years-old, being reprimanded for tracking mud on his mother's expensive rug. He looks and feels very small, and it doesn't take long for Izzy's icy stare to have him gaping silently as he searches for words to apologize right then and there.
The petite brunette before him taps her foot impatiently, dark curls bouncing as she waves him away with a dismissive flick of a wrist and patronizing command of, "Go on! Shoo!" In a daze, Nero turns and walks back down the corridor. He passes the shadow where the stocky redhead is hidden without so much as a backwards glance. "The girl's got guts..." Charlie muses, extremely impressed and muffling silent laughter in his hand.
But as soon as Nero is gone around the corner, Izzy's whole body starts to tremble uncontrollably, the girl close to tears as she hugs herself and tries to keep back the panic, and fear, and self-revulsion pouring over her in crippling waves. Charlie watches, silent, as her strong front crumbles and she begins to sob, as she sinks to her knees and just keeps shaking there in the middle of the floor.
He wants nothing more than to run to her, to gather her up into his arms and make it all better, to make up for the way the cruel world keeps her from feeling safe and happy.
But he can't.
He knows he can't; it's not his place and he hasn't earned the right to do that for her. Not yet. He has to keep his distance and watch helplessly as the small, broken little girl cries so hard that her nose starts to bleed... ok, so maybe that's the twins' chocolate finally kicking in. Charlie decides to throttle the both of them later.
He just hates seeing Izzy cry; it's still the worst feeling in the world.
Still trembling with choked sobs, the girl raises a hand away from her face, her eyes going wide when she see that it's drenched in blood. Helplessly, she peers around her in search of someone, anyone. She's so confused and frightened, dripping blood onto her clean white blouse, whimpering, "Oh... what... help..."
Charlie forgets all about remaining hidden because she asked for help and he's vowed to always be there when she needs him. He owes her that much and more.
"Izzy," He calls, only startling her a little when he comes bounding out of the shadow like an overexcited puppy, "Hey. What happened?"
The girl looks up at him over her blood soaked hands as she tries desperately to stem the blood flowing from her nose. "Charlie?" She sobs, her voice gurgling from more blood dripping down the back of her throat, her eyes blurry from tears. The boy appeared like some sort of guardian angel just as she whispered for help, and, though she should find that strange, she's just very glad to not be alone. "What are you doing here?" She chokes, still trying to hold back the gush of blood from her nose.
"I ran into the twins," The stocky redhead states, kneeling down at Izzy's side, digging a handkerchief out of his book bag and offering it to her, "They told me they saw you in the dungeons, so I came down to make sure you weren't causing any trouble." He flashes a crooked smile, trying to put her at ease. It doesn't work.
"I'm bleeding," The girl hiccups, still terrified, "I-I don't know why! I didn't do anything! What's wrong with me?"
"Um," Charlie mutters, watching as Izzy carefully raises his handkerchief to the stream of red coming down her pretty face, "You didn't happen to eat one of those chocolates at the beginning of the passageway, did you?" Her wide doe eyes going impossibly wider, she nods. Chuckling dryly, Charlie states, "Fred and George really like... well, experimenting. I'm sure whatever they've given you is harmless, but why don't you let me help you back to the Tower and I promise to yank them out of their beds for an explanation... and an apology."
Sniffling, the girl nods again, carefully pulling herself back up to her feet and shying away from the steadying hand he holds out to catch her when she stumbles. In fact, she even glares slightly. Charlie isn't sure whether to laugh or cower.
The pair slowly make their way up the long hallway and before long are stepping out from behind a tapestry just a few feet from the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. "Oh, heavens!" The Fat Lady squeals tiredly as they wake her from a wine-induced slumber. Her gaze flits from Izzy's bloody face to Charlie's concerned one and she demands, "Whatever happened, dear?" Lowering her voice, she glares at Charlie and whispers conspiratorially, "Was it this brute again? Tell me, dear, and I can have the headmaster here in mere minutes!"
"No, no," The girl soothes, her voice still nasally, gurgling as she continues to bleed down the back of her throat, "He didn't do anything at all. It's potion damage... or, at least I hope it is. I'll be fine as soon as I talk to the twins."
Snorting, the Fat Lady responds, "Those boys, then. I had a feeling it had something to do with a Weasley or two. Trouble always seems to follow them..." Charlie glares, curtly stating the Valentine's day themed password: "Amore vero."
The portrait swings open and Charlie gestures for Izzy to go on in ahead of him. Sending the redhead a suspicious glance, she does just that, carefully moving inside the common room and arranging herself on a sofa by the fire. She's trying very hard not to bleed on anything, but that is nearly impossible. All of the young girl is drenched in hot red, more gushing from her nose like a geyser.
"Here," Charlie offers, holding out a towel he's plucked out of Oliver Wood's quidditch bag--he might feel bad about taking it if he hadn't already told young Ollie a hundred times not to leave his gear in the common room. "Sorry, it's sweaty," The stocky Gryffindor apologizes, blushing slightly, "But it'll do while I go get the twins. Are you alright for a few seconds?"
"Yes," Izzy grumbles nasally, tired and cranky over how her whole night has been going, "I have a bloody nose. I'm not brain damaged." Blushing even darker, Charlie responds, "Ya. Right. Sorry." The boy then takes off up the stairs, quick to get away lest he make anymore stupid comments.
He finds the twins asleep in their beds, identical crooked sprawls threatening to send both spilling onto the floor. Charlie kicks them and they end up there with a pair of perfectly matched THUMPGROANs Not bothering to give them time to collect themselves, the stocky redhead grabs his little brothers by the collars of their plain t-shirts and carries them back to the common room.
"Fix it!" Charlie orders gruffly, thrusting the boys at Izzy, who is seated on one of the squashy red sofas and still bleeding quite profusely. The twins rub small fists into their clear blue eyes, not entirely awake and just a bit confused as to what the hell is going on. Fred figures it out first, smirking lightly as he yawns, "Hey, they worked!"
"Really?" George chirps, excitedly opening his eyes to find Izzy bleeding profusely from her nose. "Wicked," He happily mutters, trying to keep his voice down as he comments, "But there's too much gushing. I think less powdered erumpent horn next time."
"Use the tails," Izzy automatically instructs, tilting her head back slightly as her nasally voice gurgles behind the towel. The twins blink at her, startled that she offered them help, so much so that they aren't even thinking of asking for more.
The girl rolls her eyes, explaining, "I assume that if whatever you've given me had erumpent horns in it, your aim was to simply cause the capillaries in the sinuses to explode. The horns are too strong, which caused too many to do so, which caused an extreme, rather unrealistic spectacle. The tails have the same properties but aren't as concentrated, so they should do the trick in keeping the reaction believable and preventing an unnecessary amount of blood loss."
After a stunned silence, the twins echo together, "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Izzy returns, politely accepting another rag from Charlie as the one she has becomes completely soaked, "Now if you don't give me the antidote right this second, then I'm going to see to it that neither of you is allowed to concoct so much as a cup of cocoa during the remainder of your Hogwarts careers!"
Eyes going wide, the two boys nod and bolt for the staircase, one of them shouting a promise of, "We'll be right down!"
"Troublemakers," Charlie comments gruffly. Izzy laughs, waving him off as she states, "All in good fun. And I'm actually quite impressed. First years shouldn't be able to brew a potion like the one they did without causing me to bleed to death."
"What?" The stocky redhead yelps, caught somewhere between panic and fury. Again, Izzy laughs, trying to keep her amber curls from getting bloody as she says, "Erumpents are well-known for their unique defense mechanism: a highly volatile fluid they secrete and squirt from a gland on their faces. It causes whatever it contacts to explode. The horns and tails contain residual amounts of the chemicals. Most often, they're seen as ingredients in explosives and fireworks because, if ingested without a proper inhibitor and targeter, they cause ruptures of the intestinal and circulatory systems."
"Little bastards!" Charlie cries, his freckles becoming more and more stark as he continues to pale, "I can't believe they would give you something like that! Are you alright? Are you sure you're not going to explode? Do you need to go to the nurse?"
"Relax, Charlie," The petite brunette soothes, motioning for him to hand her another clean towel, "If I was going to explode, I would have already. Like I said, it's highly impressive that they did as well as they did."
The boy scowls, still upset over the very idea of the very possibility that his little brothers might've blown Izzy up. He resolves to have a very serious talk with them later, and is anticipating the appearance of thumbscrews...
"Here you go!" Fred proudly cries, he and his brother leaping over the back of the couch and sweeping into low bows as they present Izzy with a bright blue vial. Izzy takes it cautiously, inspecting the color and viscosity as she questions, "Clotting and mending agents?"
"Yes," George answers, fidgeting with a frayed end of his t-shirt, "It's a modified version of the Shrinking Solution targeted to your nose in order to close the broken blood vessels and stem the blood flow, with concentrated Murtlap to heal the damage and a blood replenisher to keep your blood volume normal."
Izzy smiles and downs the rather foul tasting liquid, breaking into a fit of coughs but gleefully noting that the bleeding stops almost instantly. "Good boys," She states fondly, "That was an impressive show, but you really shouldn't use these inventions of yours on unwilling subjects while they're still in experimental phases. It's dangerous and I really must insist that you test in a controlled setting with informed subjects when you once again become overwhelmed by your curiosity."
"Ok," The twins agree, nodding resolutely. Izzy smiles at them once more, recommending, "Talk to Snape about your modified Shrinking Solution. I don't believe anyone's ever thought to apply that particular potion as a vasoconstrictor, and, if you can develop it further, it may be a substantial medical breakthrough."
The two boys grin proudly, once more chirping, "Ok!" Charlie shakes his head at the lot of them. He really couldn't follow all that smart potion-speak, but he did get the general idea: Izzy isn't mad about being tested on so much as disappointed that the twins failed to follow proper experimental procedure. Hell, she thought they were brilliant, that they'd just made a medical breakthrough. The idea of his two troublemaking little brothers making a breakthrough in anything but ways to get out of detention spins his head.
"Off to bed then," Izzy orders, shooing the first-years away with a flick of her wrist, "You're growing boys and really shouldn't be up at this hour."
"Ya," Charlie lamely agrees, "What she said." All three of the potions geniuses giggle at him as Fred and George happily skip back up the stairs. Izzy hands him the last bloody towel, the whole front of her body still stained red even as she smiles sweetly and states, "Thanks for the help, but I think I need to wash up now. Don't forget, you're coming to see me in the library after your quidditch practice tomorrow."
"Uh huh," He responds, struck dumb, blushing and unable to move as he watches the brave, beautiful, strong girl slowly make her way up the stairs.
xxXxx
She's clean now, but exhausted, lying in her bed and staring up at the canopy. Izzy is afraid to sleep because she knows that as soon as she closes her eyes, the nightmares will come back.
They always come back.
She tries not to cry as she prays for something, anything fierce enough to keep them at bay.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
And there it is folks! The last you'll be getting for about a week or so. I'm celebrating the start of my summer vacation with a little trip with a bunch of friends. When I get back, it'll be straight to writing. In the mean time, coming home to lots of reviews would be super and definitely inspire me ;)
