Patrolling
Draco and I ignored each other on Monday. I sat at my usual spot, beside him at the Slytherin Tables, but we did not utter a single word to each other. The good nights we had exchanged were silent good-byes. Seamus was right and wrong. Draco was not going to coddle me for very long, but it was I who made us choose our sides. We were firmly planted on different sides of the line, no longer walking the dangerous edge.
Of course, I felt like shit for doing it. I was now lonely again. Oh sure, I had the Gryffindors. But honestly, with how well they had warmed up to me, I had a better chance of getting more affection from Headmaster Snape than I did from Neville Longbottom. Who, by the way, had apologized about yanking me off the stupid couch and almost making me half bald. The apology was weak and obviously forced, but I took it anyway because I knew I would need more acquaintances as the time neared for the lines to be thrown in our faces.
February started off quiet. I attended lessons and wrote stupid essays. At nights, I would be brought up to the boys dormitory and I would listen to the soft snores of my roommates as I lay awake and tried not to think of our impending doom. I really did not want to look at it like that. Since I knew that as long as Harry, Hermione and Ron completed the mission that they were sent out to do, we stood a fighting chance to get this shit over and done with.
By the middle of February, on Valentine's Day actually, my world to turned to utter crap when I saw the Headmaster himself descend from the teacher's tables and swoop down to stand behind Draco and I.
"Every one of you from the Inquisitorial Squad and Miss Sownbinder will follow me to my office." his drawl grated on my skull so early in the morning. Coincidently, we all had a free period and were not needed for any course that morning. I internally groaned and knew that this was a bad thing.
A healthy number of us left the table and followed Snape to his office. To avoid the incessant hissing and jeering, I followed the group out of the Great Hall. As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Snape ordered me to the front of the pack over his shoulder. I grimaced at the idea of being told what the fuck to do, but kept my mouth shut as I wormed my way through to fall in step with Draco. We did not acknowledge each other's presence as per our usual. That just made me feel even sicker.
I watched the gargoyle rotate around and as the narrow stairs appeared, we all took a step and waited for the door to appear. Professor Snape held the door open for us to file into the room and then slammed it shut. I felt like he just slammed shut my only passage out of here and I felt my hands grow cold. I concentrated on my breathing so I did not start to panic. This room did not hold happy memories for me.
"Now, I have called you all in here because I am going to implement some new patrolling schedules." he said briskly as he marched to his chair behind the desk.
"I'm not a Prefect, why do I have to do patrols?" I piped up. I could hear some sniggering behind my back, but chose to ignore it. Beady black eyes landed on my face and I saw a smirk appear on his lips. I resisted the urge to swallow dryly in fear. That is all I felt looking into the pools of obsidian.
"Because I am instructing you to do so, Miss Sownbinder." he sounded almost pleased at my interruption, like he had hoped to make a spectacle of me. I narrowed my eyes, but I kept my mouth shut this time. I learn from mistakes just like the rest of the world, but I do not always put those lessons to practical use.
"How do these new patrolling schedules work, Headmaster?" Draco drawled beside me in practiced boredom. I had to fight hard not look at him and glare. Stupid blonde.
"Mister Malfoy, it will be this group of students and yourself who will be doing Prefect patrols from now on. It seems we have a kind of resistance forming in the school and it must be taken care of. Not only will you be in charge of patrolling the school at night, but you will have special privileges to punish students as you see fit." Snape he sat slowly and let the ambiguous meaning hang in the air. I was choking on the tension.
"How we see fit, sir?" Pansy inquired. I did swallow nervously at that. I really did not want to find out what that could mean. But it seems that I did not have Lady Luck on my side this morning.
"If there is a student out of line, you are being given permission to issue punishment to the offender in any way you deem necessary. I would like Mister Malfoy and Miss Parkinson to please devise a schedule during this free period and have it finished before your first lesson. The patrols will start tonight and starting right now, you have permission to hand out punishments." he drawled before he waved his hand in the direction of the door, "You are dismissed."
"Come on Sownbinber, you first." Draco sneered at me. I did roll my eyes at that and pushed through the annoying children. I yanked open the door and felt a person step closely to me. I glanced back and saw Draco following close by me. I smirked.
"Afraid I'll run?" I asked with feigned innocence.
"Definitely." he shot back and I felt a fist curl around the back of my robes.
I did not try to free myself from his clutch. Instead, I walked calmly down the stairs and we waited for the other Slytherins to gather around us. I felt like a toddler who was being reprimanded by her mother for running around the store and causing mayhem. In a way, I sometimes did. But I did not have to be held onto like I was going to sprint to the nearest exit and flee from the school. It was degrading and I knew that he was doing it on purpose.
"We will head to the Common Room so we may discuss the schedule and the new rules." Draco tugged on my robes and I felt my feet begin to move. I was feeling nauseous now and really wanted to go hide in the Gryffindor Tower.
The move to the Common Room was quiet. No one spoke. I think they all had the same thought that this was a special assignment and they needed to use discretion. I almost thought of being that one kid who yelled all those embarrassing things out in the store to see what kind of reaction she would get from the other shoppers. But the glare that was sent my way quelled any thoughts of doing that in the corridors as we descended to the dungeons. I wisely kept my trap shut for the second time that morning.
We all filed into the Slytherin Common Room and sat around in a circle. I was forced to sit between Draco and Pansy. A few of the other Slytherins were sending murderous looks my way. I could not have wanted to be somewhere different than I did now. I felt like I was going to be ambushed for the sake of being target practice. After we all settled down, Draco cleared his throat for order and it became silent.
"So, the meaning of that was that we now have permission to curse students in the hallways and corridors as we see fit. So, if you happen upon someone breaking a school rule, instead of docking house points, you can make your point of the school rule with any magic that befits the offence." he began in his stupid drawl.
"That is not even right. Not only is it not right, there has to be limits on what you are instructing us to do." I said. My mouth can only stay closed for so long before it has to open and get me into trouble. I fought the sensation to shrink away from Draco's intense look.
"It is right. Because it is the new rule. And there are no limits. We are to use magic on students breaking the rules as we see fit." his tone was as hard as his stare. I defiantly stared at him.
"There has to be. Otherwise, someone might go on a power trip and do something illegal." I retorted. A few of the Slytherins sniggered at my obvious discomfort. I will not be hexing any students. Draco scoffed arrogantly.
"Now, Parkinson and I will work on the schedule. It will be rotating pairs and a rotating schedule. But for tonight, since Miss Sownbinder can't keep her blood traitor mouth shut, she will take the first night with Blaise. They work nicely together." he sneered. A smirk graced his lips as the color drained from my face. I did not even have to look at the Italian to see that he was smiling gleefully at the prospects of having me alone.
"Now Blaise, you must play nice with her. She cannot return to class in the morning looking like she got trampled by hippogryphs." Pansy simpered. I felt my gut twist at the implication of me being his own personal chew toy.
"Aw, Pans, you took out all the fun." he replied sarcastically. I was too cold inside to come up with a clever response or a proper glare.
My. Life. Fucking. Sucks.
"Ready for our first time together?" Zabini whispered into my ear at our designated meet up. I shivered involuntarily and shot him a heated glare.
"I'm not in the mood for your stupid games, Zabini." I snarled, "Let's get this done with so we can go to sleep."
"Oh, you do want to sleep with me, do you? I thought you would never ask." he said as he twirled some of my hair around his finger. Another shiver went down my spine and I walked ahead of him.
"I'll leave you there if this horrid game continues." I said shortly.
"All work and no play." he murmured just loud enough for me to hear. I felt a little accomplished.
The walk was silent save for our shoes on the stone floor. I was on one side of the corridor and he was on the other. I wanted to keep my distance so he could not surprise me with any curses and he kept to his side to presumably prevent the same thing.
It had been pretty quiet in the castle until we reached the fifth floor. I heard a rustling in an abandoned classroom and went to investigate. Being my partner, Zabini had to come with me. I rolled my eyes, but said nothing because I really did not want to engage in conversation with him. I twisted the door knob as quietly as I could, but it still made a small noise of protest. Abandoning my plan of surprise, I threw open the door to find a pair of seventh year Ravenclaws in different degrees of undress.
I heard Zabini close the door loudly as the two love birds quickly reinstated discarded clothing. I felt a charm envelope us and looked at Zabini. A wicked smile was playing across his lips and I wanted nothing more than him to not be here. I was going to get a horrible taste of what Draco was talking about.
"Well, if it isn't some 'Claws, getting busy in a classroom. I thought that was sacrilege for you?" the Italian sneered at them. I watched him cross the classroom to be nearer to them. I hung back in case anything serious was to go down.
"We were just leavin', mate." the male replied tersely. The girl was eyeing me like I had stolen her outfit, but I stayed quiet.
"Oh no, I don't think you were." Zabini said darkly, "You see, there is a new rule. Miss Sownbinder and I have special permission now to issue punishments. We have been discouraged from using detentions as a punishment." he let his meaning hang in the air. I could not see his face, but I could hear the horrible smile that was twisting his features into the Devil's face. The female student took a step behind her boyfriend and I felt my heart drop.
"Zabini, take away house points and let's go." I said as I took a step forward. I heard him let out a sigh of impatience and almost regretted speaking out of turn. Almost.
"Sownbinder, let me demonstrate what we have been ordered to do." he drawled, keeping his impatience with me out of his tone, "That way, the next time you will not be confused about your position." the two Ravenclaws looked nervous. Being made an example of is never anyone's favorite idea. I took another step and saw him go for his wand.
My mind was racing. I could see the panic now on their faces. I saw the male go for his wand and made a snap decision. I was hoping that this would not blow up in my face until later, because all I wanted right now was for them to leave relatively unscathed. If I left things up to Zabini, they would be crawling out of here bleeding and broken.
"Expelliarmus!" I cried as I brought my hand up. The Ravenclaw's wand flew out his hand and I caught it easily. I snatched my wand from my robes and aimed my tip to his chest, "Depluso!" I hissed. It was like a wrecking ball hit his chest and he was sent flying backwards into dusty furniture. By now, the surprise at being attacked fled from the other Ravenclaw and she had her wand drawn and pointed at my head.
"Petrificus-"
"Protego!" I snapped and concentrated on holding up the charm.
"Totalis!" her curse bounced off my shield uselessly.
"Furnuculus!" I shouted and aimed at her face. Ugly pimples rose in angry ranges along her petite features. I felt horrible and almost sick. It was her bad luck that she chose the biggest word jumble curse there was.
"What the fuck?!" Zabini rounded on my person. I resisted flinching at his outburst. I was not going to feel bad for saving these two teens a horrible ending to their night.
"I did what I was instructed to do. He was about to attack you. I disarmed him and took the prospects of a physical beating on your person out of the equation." I replied in an unbroken monotone, "Then when the girl trained her wand on my person, I deflected the curse and brought my own brand of justice out on her face."
"You disarmed him wandlessly." he hissed. I finally let my frustration out in the form of a glare, "I will say it again, what the fuck?"
"It is pathetic that you aren't proficient in wandless magic. It is detrimental to wizard fighting. What is the point of knowing how to defend yourself if someone can sneak up behind you and knock you out without you arming yourself? Poor wand skills." I drawled. His eyes narrowed, "Quit your fucking crying about your stupid face!" I snapped at the girl who had started weeping at the feel of painful acne. I heard the other Ravenclaw cough as he struggled to get up from the wrecked desks and chairs.
I pushed past Zabini and strode straight for the boy. I grabbed the back of his robes and hauled him up. He groaned in protest. I winced slightly, feeling guilty for having to harm him. As he gained his balance, I kept a hold of his uniform. After he was standing on his own free will, I dragged him over to the girl and grabbed her sleeve and brought them to the door. I kicked it open and shoved them to the hallway.
"Get the fuck back to your dorms!" I hissed, "I don't want to see your idiotic faces until breakfast! Do I make myself clear?" after frantic nods, they sprinted off towards Ravenclaw Tower. I silently thanked Merlin for their fast escape.
"Oh, Sownbinder, you are full of surprises, aren't you?" Zabini whispered darkly into my ear. I could not resist the shiver as his sickening breathe assaulted my neck. I did fight the impulse to rub my shoulder on my ear to wipe it away. I just showed some of my hand and I could not afford to look like I was bluffing. I needed to be strong and I needed my reputation to proceed me.
"Zabini, even if we had ten years to talk over tea about each other's lives, we would not even cover half of how I am your superior." I said coldly. I started again on our patrol with my hands in my pockets to keep the shaking of my hands from view.
"I have a feeling that is a correct assessment, Miss Sownbinder." he replied as I heard him begin walking. I could hear the Italian Slytherin thinking. I really hope it was about what kind of tea we would be drinking at this meeting to discuss our secrets. I did not want to have to answer any more questions.
Although, that brought me to a funny thought. I was thinking of drinking a passion fruit tea to hide the bitter taste of poison. The mere idea of poisoning his tea had me smiling in my head. He had just threatened me with sinking his fangs into my flesh and watching the poison eat me from the inside out. It would be poetic justice if I was the one poisoning people. Sweet, poetic justice.
"What other wandless magic can you do?" he inquired with false innocence. I blinked my eyes ahead of me and cleared my throat.
"Mostly defensive spells. My father wanted to make sure that I could handle myself against nasty jinxes and hexes. I can do some jinxes without a wand, but they are fairly new and hardly have any useful affect." I shrugged my shoulders as the lie easily slipped past my lips. In this castle, only Draco and I knew that I could only do conjuration spells wandlessly. Well, conjuration and two or three defensive spells. I needed those in case I really did end up in a bind and needed to buy time to draw my wand.
"Yes, definitely more to you than we thought." he said quietly. I felt my stomach drop.
I was topic of discussion amongst them. That was not good. I was being monitored in the castle. I am sure that everyone knew I was sleeping in the Gryffindor Tower. That was not a super duper secret. I did not want it to be. But if they had been assessing my level of magic that was not a good sign. That meant that someone very important wanted to talk to me. I shuddered as I recalled the attack after Christmas.
Voldemort was being persistent in wanting to meet me.
Well, I am so stubborn, even a fucking Dark -shit eating- Lord could not summon me. I was not a dog to be called to someone's side, bounding over and licking their feet like it was my job. Unfortunately, that same stubbornness is the reason why I was patrolling the castle right now, looking for students out of bed. It was the reason why I had to use magic to punish students to save them something much more gruesome than horrible acne.
I let out a tired sigh as I continued to walk in the quiet corridors of this fucked up place.
A/N: I told you shit was going to hit the fan. And it gets more exciting from here on out. I actually have the whole story from here on out mapped out in my head. I have seen the ending in my dreams. And it is cathartic. And saddening. Henria has been with me for a decade and now her story is almost finished. (Do not take that as she dies, because I am not giving anything away.) I won't have my fiery little sprite to swear up and down the corridors or push Draco around. Maybe I will find some inspiration to write a second story where she falls in love with Draco...or something. :D
Anyway, here is the latest. And since Henria won't leave me alone (believe me, I tried. I am trying to find it in myself to update Do Not Touch Me, but I cannot.) I will probably be updating more frequently. I think my brain is excited to write an ending and I have been pretty single minded.
And thank you dracodarlingxx for your lovely review! And of course I would give you a shout out! You are amazing! :D
With that, Happy reading! Leave a review if it catches your fancy! :D
Henny, that lucky Penny!