Lemon Drop?
Chapter 2
I Would Advise You Not To
~liquid-time

Thank you bananas in pyjamas for beta-ing this chapter.
A special thanks to YouGottaSingAlong and OutCold for last minute help with a beta mix-up.

Dumbledore was looking at me over his pair of half-moon glasses. He sighed and gestured to a bowl of yellow candies perched on his desk.

"Lemon Drop?" he asked.

"What?"

"They're a type of muggle candy. I've become quite fond of them."

Doing nothing to hide my disgust, I sneered. "No thank you."

It wasn't just the muggle sweets that made me cringe. His whole office screamed unprofessional and mad. There were always rumors about how Dumbledore was off his rocker, but this confirmed it. Various instruments and artifacts were strewn on the walls, emitting whizzes and the occasional puff of smoke. It looked like a child's room, certainly not befitting of a headmaster as great as he supposedly was.

"Pansy, I've heard some rather disturbing news," as he said this I rolled my eyes and sunk lower into the plush armchair. I could tell that this was not going to be a fun conversation and wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. There was a mini-party going on in the Slytherin common room celebrating our Quidditch match win. He continued, "a source has told me that you're considering joining the Death Eaters."

I shot him a look of revolt, trying to hide my surprise at his knowledge. I was about to protest when he held up his hand.

"I have no doubt that they're incorrect," he told me, but I would have bet my life that Dumbledore trusted and believed whoever had snitched to him. "None the less, it's an accusation that needs to be addressed."

"Really sir, does it?" I spat at him, "because unless you have someone who's actually in The Dark Lord's ranks, I don't understand how you're reliably getting this information," which was the truth. I had no idea how he knew this, and it frightened me a bit. My temper was rising, "and I really don't understand why this needs to be addressed if you're 'so sure' that I'm not going to join, which I wouldn't," which was a lie, "so Dumbledore, sir, who's been telling you this?"

I hadn't realized I'd been shouting, but I was angry. Even more than I was angry I was curious because no one aside from the Death Eaters was supposed to know anything about my induction. I mentally ran through the people in Slytherin whose parents had connections to The Dark Lord but as the faces of my friends swam through my mind, I found myself unable to convict any of them. None seemed the least likely to fink to Dumbledore.

But he just gazed solemnly down and removed his glasses, using a white handkerchief that had been on the desk to wipe them clean. He placed them back on his face and looked at me again before saying, "a very unreliable source, obviously," but I didn't believe that he meant that.

I glanced off to the side, considering whether to press the matter or not. I decided against it, because if I showed too much interest in whom the culprit had been it would look suspicious. Not meeting Dumbledore's eyes I asked, "if that's all, may I go now sir?"

"Of course."

I turned to leave, but before I could take a step, he spoke again.

"Just bear this in mind on the off chance that…" he trailed of before picking back up again, "the life of a Death Eater is neither as glamorous nor rewarding as I'm sure it has been made out to be. It's dangerous and simply wrong. What you're signing up for by joining them is a lifetime of terror that cannot be reversed."

I continued to the door without turning around, and still staring ahead I spoke, "be assured headmaster, that if I were to join the Death Eaters, the decision would not be taken lightly, and I would have made sure to take in to account the risks," I smiled even though I knew he couldn't see my face, "and I would completely stand by my choice," I paused before adding, "theoretically speaking of course," and slammed the door behind me.

On the other side, Dumbledore had placed his face in his hands and shut his eyes. The message Pansy had left him with was loud and clear.

AUTHORS NOTE: Sorry this took awhile, there was some delays with both me and my beta. If you're ever curious about in-progress stories, I keep status reports on them on my profile. The next chapter should come soon enough, it's already been sent off to my beta.

The End
(of the chapter)