Beta love: Huge thanks and virtual cookies to Kefalion and LitteMissXanda for betaing, and also collectively my team (especially Kefalion, LittleMissXanda and Clairebear1982) for helping me with fleshing this story out. You guys are my saviours :)

QLFC Round 3:

Collective team prompt: Wasp(s)

Optional prompts:

4. (word) varnish

7. (word) destiny

14. (quote) "Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud." - Maya Angelou

Word count: 1501-1750

Enjoy.

Cunning Like a Slytherin, Brave Like a Wasp

Word count: 1576

Holding his breath, Theo pressed his back deeper into the cold wall behind him, his arms tightening around the body beside him.

It was damp and humid behind the tapestry on the fifth floor corridor; Theo supposed it would have been better to be anywhere else in this bloody castle, however, it was also the only place he knew where no one would find them.

Footsteps echoed through the hall, and a small whimpering sound came from the student beside the older Slytherin.

"Don't make a sound," Theo whispered. "Trust me; no one can find us if we keep quiet."

His words seemed to quieten the second year Slytherin girl, although the boy could still feel his companion trembling slightly.

Surprisingly enough, Theo could genuinely relate to the surge of fear that was probably racing through the girl beside him. They had just escaped the upcoming terror of the Carrow twins after Lyanna – the second year Slytherin – refused to sit through the torture of her housemate. She had fled the DADA classroom and, fortunately for her, bumped into Theo, who'd had a free period at the time, on her way to the dungeons.

He'd made a rash decision when he decided to help Lyanna out; presumably, he wouldn't have if it weren't for the fear in her eyes when she locked her gaze on him.

Having been directly exposed to the reign of the Death Eaters this school year, Theo's opinion on how the magical society was supposed to work was wavering greatly. His father had always to told him that eradicating filthy blood would be for the greater good – Theo had been raised to follow these views, and he had compiled for so long, even though, he had at least been wise enough to distance himself from his most outspoken housemates, such as Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson. He had always been a loner with disdain and antipathy towards other people; he had also believed that it would be his destiny to watch everything crash and burn without actually contributing if it came down to a war. Unlike his father, Theo was not aspiring to climb the alleged social ladder of the Death Eaters; he was going to be fine by himself in a shadowy corner, carrying out missions all alone, excelling in other aspects of magic, rather than Dark Arts. Now, though, the mark on his forearm burned his skin with greater intensity than ever before, making him feel like this so-called destiny of his was something he should have avoided rather than surrendering to his family's wishes.

Having to listen to the terrified screams of his peers on an almost daily basis seemed to have lifted this shade that had been shrouding his vision of the world. Beforehand, it had been as if everything he saw was covered by a thick layer of golden varnish, hiding the ugly truth from view. What had happened to him since this September had ripped off this varnish, and although it was a dangerous gamble to take, he'd decided that he would protect his younger housemates from the shadows. He wasn't humble enough to lower himself to the level of other houses, but his conscience always got the better of him when it came to the snakes.

A content feeling bubbled up in his chest whenever he saw a younger Slytherin's somewhat grateful expression, even if it was only for a minute as it was usually buried under the worry and the helplessness.

"What's your favourite animal?" came the small voice of Lyanna from under Theo's arm.

"Why'd you ask?" the boy answered absentmindedly, his senses still focused on detecting any noise coming from outside the tapestry.

"I just… I just wanted to fill the silence," the blond girl admitted, "while we wait for them to go away."

"I see," Theo nodded. He wanted to have something to distract him from the stuffy atmosphere, with the pang of fear that still lingered in his abdomen. He understood Lyanna's need of noise to fill the silence with, maybe even more so than he would have cared to admit. "Well, I think my favourite animal is the eagle. It's very observant and precise. I also think eagles look uniquely majestic while flying."

"I like eagles too, but I like wasps better, to be honest," Lyanna noted.

"Why wasps? Aren't they just like regular bees?" the older boy inquired, glancing momentarily at his companion.

"They're bigger," the girl explained. "Although, that's not quite why I like them. I like wasps because even though they are little and people disregard them a lot, their sting hurts twice as much, and they're not afraid of showing their strength to those they don't like."

"Don't wasps die if they sting someone, though?" Theo mused. "I heard if they lose their stingers, they die."

"I don't know," Lyanna shook her head. "Don't you think it's courageous of them to sting someone then? They're not afraid of possibly dying while protecting themselves, so they face their enemies head on. It sounds very Gryffindor-ish, but I kind of want to be like wasps. At least, I don't want to be afraid anymore. Fear prevents me from being sneaky and cunning like a true Slytherin."

"Fear can be a surprisingly effective motivation," the older boy rebutted. "If you never fear anything, you'll rush blindly into situations you'd otherwise have steered clear of. You become more sharp, more cautious, because your choice actually matters and your valued possessions may be at a stake. It's not a bad thing to be afraid sometimes; there's no point in fearing fear itself."

"Are you afraid now?" the girl asked quietly, in such a low voice that Theo nearly couldn't catch it.

"... I am." He nodded after a bit of hesitation. He didn't talk about his feelings all that often – well, never, actually – so he wasn't certain if showing his true colours would would be a good choice. Before he could think the better of it, though, he continued. "If the Carrows find me, I'll be in serious trouble," he didn't want to say dead; there was no point in frightening the little girl any more. "Say, do you want to hear a story? It's about one of my previous encounters with wasps."

"Sure," Lyanna said. "What happened?"

"When I was little," Theo started, "I had an uncle who would come over to our Manor from time to time. He was a little bit loony, I think. One day, he brought an enlarged wasp with him to our home, for reasons I'm still not aware of. All I know is that I had always been afraid of bugs until then, so when I glimpsed the wasp – which was no shorter than a metre – I went and locked myself up in my bedroom, refusing to come out until my uncle apparated away with the beast. I still sometimes shudder at the thought of it. Yes, even nowadays! Although, I'm not that terrified at the thought of bugs anymore. When I think back on it, I find it a little bit embarrassing, but I also find it to be a useful experience."

"I see," Lyanna nodded. As she went silent, Theo took notice of another pair of shoes clicking in the hallway, presumably heading towards the tapestry they were hiding behind.

Soon, the echoes stopped right in front of where the two Slytherins were hidden. Theo could feel another pull of fear in his stomach, his arms instinctively bringing his housemate closer. His fingers edged closer to his wand holster, gripping his yew wand in preparation for a possible confrontation.

"Who's there?" the voice, which Theo recognized to belong to Alecto Carrow, came from the other side of the tapestry.

The Slytherin could hear Lyanna choke back a whimper by gulping, and, fearing the worst, Theo pulled his wand out and casted a quick and wordless Disillusionment Charm on the two of them. He could still somewhat feel the suspicious eyes of the Muggle Studies professor on him, even through the layer of varnish, paint and linen, so he positioned his wand ahead as quietly as he could.

Not many moments passed before he could hear an unconvinced 'hmpf' and the clattering of shoes once again, this time, heading away from Theo and Lyanna.

"Do you think we should head back to the Common Room?" the blond witch asked with a small voice after a brief period of time had passed.

"Let me check if anyone's out there," Theo replied, raising his wand slightly. "Homenum Revelio," he muttered, and only slumped his otherwise stiff shoulders when visibly nothing happened. "No one's in this corridor anymore. Do you think you can manage to sneak down without the Disillusionment Charm on you?"

Lyanna nodded hastily.

"Off you go, then," Theo motioned for the girl after he removed the charm. "Be safe."

"Thank you," Lyanna mumbled, slowly backing out from behind the tapestry.

Long minutes passed after she had left, and Theo spent it contemplating. There was an unidentifiable bubbly feeling in the pit of his stomach, forcing a small smile onto his face despite the rather grave circumstances he had lived through that day.

Even though it was a high-risk low-reward act on his part, Theo knew it was what he was supposed to do. Maybe it was worth trying to be a rainbow in someone's cloud, after all.