Ch. 25: Consequences

Reaching the entrance to the common room, Ciel hesitated. If he went in like that, dishevelled and with blood on his face, he would immediately have to explain what had happened to the other students. If he healed his injuries, he would have no proof of being attacked, while Malfoy would be found unconscious in the corridor.

He had to assume that Crabbe and Goyle went to get Snape and would bring the professor to the place where they fought. If they had enough brains, they would say it was Ciel's fault, although he hoped they would rather give Snape the true story. It would be convenient, but in either case, Snape would want to talk with him.

With a sigh, he sat down against the wall opposite to the entrance. How bothersome, he thought, wondering how long it would take Snape to go looking. The head of House had a private entrance to the common room, so it was fairly probable that he would not find Ciel by accident. Then again, if he was out to take care of Malfoy, then maybe he would use the regular entrance.

He wrapped his arms around his legs and rested his forehead against his knees, waiting, wondering what he would say. Thankfully, he didn't need to wait long. Soon, rushed footsteps echoed in the silence and Ciel recognised them immediately, even if they were mixed with two sets of other footsteps.

'Phantomhive,' Snape called out angrily. Ciel looked up at him, not bothering to brush away the hair that covered his right eye almost entirely. Snape recoiled, probably at the sight of blood on his face. Ciel got up slowly, wincing as the movement pulled on his bruised abdomen. He would have some nasty bruises there, but probably so would Malfoy.

'Professor,' he replied once he was fully up, deciding that the wince that escaped him before he could control it was in fact good. Snape has always been on Malfoy's side, however, in this case it was Slytherin against Slytherin and Ciel was curious to see the outcome.

'Care to tell me what happened tonight?' Snape asked coldly. Ciel winced again at his tone and straightened up, lifting his chin.

'Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle attacked me, professor,' he said in an equally cold tone, looking his teacher in the eye. He saw the two goons lurking behind the professor uncertainly, but he didn't pay them any attention.

'Surprisingly, it's the same I've heard already,' Snape sneered and Ciel fought a triumphal smile. So Crabbe and Goyle forgot to lie. 'But where is Malfoy?' he asked and Ciel's eyes widened in surprise. Then he winced, realising that he would have to lead Snape back and face the explosion that was bound to happen.

'Probably where I left him,' he replied without enthusiasm and made a couple of uncertain steps, nodding when Snape asked him if he could walk. 'Although I'd rather not be the first person he sees,' he added. He didn't want Snape to know that he was perfectly capable of protecting himself and he certainly didn't want to be on the receiving end of Malfoy's curse, should the blond be up.

'I am sure that Mr Malfoy will be reasonable,' Snape replied in a clipped tone.

'Mr Malfoy has been anything but reasonable for a while now,' Ciel shot back bitterly, leading his professor to the place where Malfoy was groaning slightly, obviously about to regain consciousness.

'The Strongest Will Always Conquer?' Snape read out, looking at Ciel with a mix of distaste and amusement. A winning smirk twitched Ciel's lips before he remembered himself and schooled his expression into polite blankness. 'Are you confident enough to rub in your victory like that, Mr Phantomhive?' Snape asked smoothly, for the moment not making a move to help Malfoy.

'Considering that they were three against one and they surprised me?' Ciel asked back. Snape went up to Malfoy and checked him over.

'Professor,' Malfoy exclaimed moments after. Ciel couldn't see him, because Snape was between them, but he wasn't interested in seeing Malfoy either. 'Phantomhive attacked me professor and-'

'Mr Crabbe and Mr Goyle told me a different story,' Snape said smoothly, not letting Malfoy finish his sentence. 'Can you get up Mr Malfoy? I will gladly hear all your stories,' he added and helped Malfoy up. The blond glared at Ciel, before turning around to find his wand and stiffening up, probably noticing the paraphrased maxim of the Malfoy family, written on the wall.

'I'm going to kill you, Phantomhive,' he hissed, turning back to Ciel, who smirked, wanting to show him just how unimpressed he was by that threat.

'Should you really be saying that now, Malfoy?' he asked. With the corner of his eye he noticed movement and turned his head slightly to see Nezumi. He hoped that his brother would stay hidden. Snape sighed at Malfoy's words.

'As fellow Slytherins, you should strive to cooperate and help each other, rather than fight over petty reasons,' he said in a very formal tone. 'As the representatives and heirs of old and respected pure-blood families, you should give example to the younger students as to how a self-respecting wizard should behave.' Ciel wondered if Snape really believed in those words that were once said by the headmaster Dumbledore when Ciel and Malfoy got into a fight in the first year.

'He attacked me first,' Malfoy exclaimed indignantly. 'He vanished my trousers in the Great Hall, publicly humiliating me, his "fellow Slytherin" and the heir to the most important pure-blood family,' he added. Ciel had a different opinion on which family was the most important, but this was not the time to mention it, because Snape turned to him.

'Is that true, Mr Phantomhive?' he asked coldly, black eyes boring into Ciel. He looked back at the professor.

'No, professor,' he said firmly. The black eyes glared at him for what seemed to be an eternity, but finally turned to Malfoy, asking if he had a proof for his words.

'He did it because I insulted his friend,' Malfoy replied promptly. Trust him to remember that day well, Ciel thought with some resignation, and turned to Malfoy with a condescending glare, ignoring Snape for the moment. It was easier to lie to the professor if he didn't have to look him in the eye and Malfoy just gave him a perfect excuse to do so.

'You must be out of your mind if you think that I would endanger myself in any way to protect another person,' he said in a cold tone that allowed no argument. The blond glared at him murderously.

'Rumour has it that you did, protecting that mud-Muggle born from the curse in the summer,' he challenged with a smug smirk.

'Rumour has it that you enjoyed shovelling dung for H-professor Hagrid,' Ciel shot back without hesitation. 'Should I understand that you will be stepping down as the heir of the family to enjoy your new-found hobby?' he asked mockingly.

'How dare you, you filthy-' Malfoy started and took a breath as he tried to come up with insults that would be enough to voice his fury. At least that was what Ciel thought as he looked at his fellow Slytherin emotionlessly.

'That will be enough, from both of you,' Snape said imperiously. 'Mr Malfoy, if you had reasons to believe that Mr Phantomhive was to blame for your accident in October, you should have come to me immediately. Right now, checking the wand is impossible, because so many spells have been cast since,' he added coldly and raised his hand when Malfoy was opening his mouth to say something. 'As things are now, I am obliged to punish you for attacking a fellow student in the corridor. I am sure you understand the circumstances. I cannot allow Slytherins to attack each other.'

'But-'

'You will come to my office for detention on Saturday after lunch, Mr Malfoy,' Snape didn't let Malfoy speak. The blond looked outraged, much to Ciel's delight, but didn't say anything. When the teacher turned to him, with a stern glare, Ciel carefully hid the smug smile from his face. 'As for you, Mr Phantomhive,' he trailed off and shook his head. 'I suggest you restrain yourself from further provoking arguments within the House of Slytherin.'

'Of course, professor, I apologise,' Ciel said with a perfectly humble tone, adding just a pinch of annoyance for the good measure. He didn't want to give Snape even the smallest excuse to give him a detention as well and he could see that the teacher was itching to do it. With a glare, Snape added that if he ever heard about any conflict between them, there would be detentions till they graduate for both, before turning to Crabbe and Goyle and giving them detentions on Sunday. After that, he disappeared in the dark corridor. Malfoy glared at Ciel, who smiled smugly, not bothering to hide his triumph anymore.

'Father used to tell me,' he said when Snape's footsteps faded into silence. 'That I should never act until I am sure to succeed. I thought that I can share this piece of advice with you, Malfoy, since you are supposed to be my equal on so many levels,' he added with a sweet smile.

'Don't get too full of yourself, Phantomhive,' Malfoy growled. 'You will regret that one day,' he promised, making no effort to hide the threat in his words.

'Why? Are you planning to burn my house down as well?' Ciel asked coldly. Malfoy's eyes narrowed, but the blond didn't say anything anymore. He marched past Ciel, taking care to push him ruthlessly as he passed. Ciel stumbled, but never hit the ground, because somebody caught him on time.

'It was very stupid to bring that up,' Nezumi said calmly, helping Ciel to stand up properly. Twelve years ago, when the Rutherford family house was burned, the culprit was found to be one of Malfoy's employees. The whole matter has been kept rather quiet and no ties to Lucius Malfoy have been discovered. The case was closed eventually, with the culprit being convicted for life for a double murder and destruction of property, but father never believed in the official story.

'If Malfoy's reaction is anything to judge by, then father is right,' Ciel commented, accepting the tissue that Nezumi gave him to wipe the blood from his face.

'Snape told you to not provoke Malfoy anymore,' Nezumi scolded him, seemingly ignoring his words. 'For once you should listen to him, because he is right. Just keep your distance from that idiot until we graduate and then you never have to see him again.'

'Can we talk about something else?' he asked, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes as the pain and fatigue finally caught up with him. 'I need to clean myself up before I go back to the dormitory. I cannot have other students see me like that,' he added, rubbing his belly delicately. He heard Nezumi take out his wand and mutter a couple of spells in quick succession. A tingling feeling on his face told Ciel that the blood was magically wiped away and his nose was fixed. Then the tingling feeling eased the pain in his abdomen.

'Thanks,' he muttered as the strength restoration spell kicked away the fatigue. He looked at his brother and smirked, putting his clothes back in order.

'I have to admit that I did enjoy your little argument with Malfoy,' Nezumi said in a light tone as they made their way towards the common room. 'Although you will not hear me say that ever again,' he amended. 'Your ego is overly inflated as it is. You don't need to be praised by anybody.'

'You wound me, brother,' Ciel replied with a smirk. 'Here I was, thinking that I would amuse you with my recollection of the delightful encounter with Malfoy earlier tonight, but if you won't praise me then I won't waste my breath,' he added.

'I suggest you wait till you have the adoring audience of the ladies,' Nezumi advised.

'Such violence is not for the gentle ears of the ladies,' Ciel countered, making Nezumi laugh and ask if they were discussing the same ladies. 'How disrespectful of you, Nezumi,' Ciel scolded with a smirk.

Their conversation stopped as they entered the Slytherin common room. Silence fell in the room and all eyes were on Ciel for a moment. Then somebody pointed out that Ciel didn't look like Malfoy had beaten the hell out of him before being disturbed by Snape who literally saved Ciel's life.

'I see you can't even manage a bit of gossip properly, Malfoy,' Ciel said smugly, making a couple of people laugh.