Written for the Camp Hogwarts challenge, Cabin Longbottom.
Task: Paintball- Write about an ambush (50 points)
January 1977
Lisa's done a lot of stupid things, but this time she really must've kicked the wasp nest, Dorcas thought darkly, chewing her kidney pie. Her eyes slid over to the Gryffindor table, but she didn't see her friend anywhere. Or the Marauders. This did not bode well.
It was the second day of the new term, and Dorcas hadn't seen Lisa since they got off the Hogwarts Express. About halfway through the journey Lisa had gone to the loo and returned fifteen minutes later, angry and tight-lipped. All she had divulged was one word – Snape. She had promised Dorcas to tell her later, but skipped the entirety of Charms, the only class they had together yesterday, and was not at lunch today either. Whatever she and Snape had been up to, it couldn't have been good.
The two of them had never been bosom friends, but Lisa had at least tolerated him in the past because he was Lily's friend, in much the same vain Lily was nice to Dorcas, because she was Lisa's friend. Since about the middle of their first year, Lisa and Snape had what one would describe as a 'cold' relationship, but recently something had happened between them, something that had them glaring daggers in each other at every opportunity.
First there was some sort of skirmish at the Library back in November; Dorcas was vague on the details. Then the time Lisa saw him about to attack the Marauders and hexed him. After that, the Quaffle that she caught during the last Quidditch game exploded in her face. They couldn't prove anything, but Lisa suspected Snape was at least a part of it. Then there was the confrontation in Hogsmeade, where the two girls nearly got into a duel with him and those morons he hung around with.
Dorcas knew that Lisa's fuse was shorter than Flitwick, but surely she knew more squabbles with Snape would lead to nothing good, especially now that it was practically confirmed he had taken the Mark? Would she really attack him, knowing what he was a part of? It would have obvious, immediate consequences. She had to have thought of that. Right?
"Dorcas." A sharp elbow poked her side, bringing her out of her thoughts. She turned right, in order to face Nataly Prior with a questioning look. The other girl inclined her head to the west wall, where Marlene McKinnon was standing nervously, too afraid to approach the Slytherin table but obviously trying to get Dorcas' attention. She waved, gesturing her to come closer.
"Since when are you and McKinnon so close?" Nataly quipped, but Dorcas ignored her and sighed.
"Idiot. Couldn't approach me like a normal human being..." she grumbled under her nose and got up, walking over to Marlene.
"We need to talk," the Gryffindor said as soon as Dorcas was within earshot.
"So talk."
"It's Lisa. She was tortured yesterday. It was bad."
Dorcas' blood immediately ran cold and her face paled. "What?! Is she okay? What happened? Who did it?" she exclaimed, barely keeping from shaking Marlene.
The other girl tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, clearly uncomfortable. "She's... fine. At least, she says she is."
Dorcas snorted derisively. Of course she would say that. "Did she go the Hospital Wing? What sort of torture was it? Give me details, McKinnon!"
"Cruciatus curse," Marlene said quietly. "Alice went up to the dorms after Ancient Runes yesterday and walked in on it. Lisa doesn't have any injuries, none that we could find, just some muscle pains and a sore throat from all the... from all the screaming." She swallowed thickly.
Dorcas felt her heart sink painfully. "Who did it?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly.
Marlene chewed on her bottom lip. "... Mary."
Dorcas' jaw dropped and she gaped at the other girl in disbelief. "McDonald? That short bird that can barely speak up in class? You're full of rubbish."
"She was Imperiused," Marlene said darkly. "We took her to McGonagall; she's really upset about it. Wasn't in control of her own actions..." The Gryffindor girl looked away, and Dorcas got the distinct feeling there was something she wasn't telling her.
"Was Snape involved in this?" she hissed, her hands balling into fists. Marlene's startled eyes rose to meet hers again.
"How did you–"
"Was it him?"
"We don't have any evidence, but..."
"What happened on the train?" Dorcas cut through. "What did Lisa do?"
Marlene threw a cautious look around the Great Hall, her eyes sweeping the Slytherin table wearily. Then she leaned in closer and whispered, "Lisa saw him threatening Remus. I don't know exactly what happened, but she jumped in the middle of it and ended up jinxing him. Then Lily saw the whole thing... they got into a fight over Snape. Apparently, Lily's been having some regrets about severing their relationship. It all ended with Lily walking away, for real this time. Snape, he... wasn't happy about it."
Dorcas felt her world spin. Lisa's mouth had gotten her in trouble, again. Why couldn't she think before she acted, for once in her life? Why couldn't she perceive that actions have consequences? Why did she always have to jump in the middle of things that didn't concern her?
"Will she... will she be..." Dorcas tried to say, her throat tight from emotion.
"It didn't leave any lasting after-effects," Marlene said, eyeing her sympathetically. "She'll probably be in class tomorrow."
Dorcas nodded curtly and made to leave the hall. After only two or three steps she stopped, adding almost as an afterthought, "Hey, thanks for telling me."
"No problem." Marlene gave her a faint smile. "And Dorcas? Don't do anything stupid."
Dorcas chuckled lightly, then waved at her and headed to the dungeons with quick, determined steps. Of course she wouldn't do anything stupid. She wasn't some brash Gryffindor that would storm the common room, wand blazing, and turn Snape into a flobberworm, which would only start a chain reaction of revenge. But that didn't mean she was going to just sit on her hands and let this slide.
The following Thursday, Dorcas lay in wait in one of the many niches along the winding corridor that led to the Slytherin common room. She had hurried there right after dinner, knowing Snape studied in the Library in the evenings, and would be returning soon, alone. After about an hour of waiting (Dorcas could be very patient when she needed to be), footsteps echoed through the empty corridor. Wanting to be certain, Dorcas muttered a detection spell, and sure enough, it was him. She gripped her wand tighter, and as soon as he was in view, cast a silent full-body bind charm. Snape went rigid as a board and tipped over, landing hard on his right shoulder. Dorcas stepped into the light of the torches and gazed down at him, wand pointed at his chest.
"Good evening, Snape," she said politely, though her voice was dripping with acid. "How was back home? Had a nice holiday? Got all the presents you wanted? Enjoyed torturing my best friend?"
His jaw was frozen by the spell, but his eyes glared at her coldly.
"I'm gonna level with ya, Snivelly," Dorcas said, squatting down next to him. "I don't appreciate it when greasy little cockroaches such as yourself lift their wands against people I care about. So this is how it's going to work."
She reached over and pulled up his sleeve, unsurprisingly revealing a vivid skull and snake tattoo on his forearm. Producing a small wizarding camera from her pocket, she snapped a picture of his motionless body, the flash illuminating the dim corridor.
"You are aware, I presume, that being branded as a follower of a xenophobic cult leader will get you expelled?" she continued, waving the camera. "If I so much as suspect you've had a finger in something bad that happens to Lisa, this little picture will find itself on the desk of every single teacher at this school. For Dumbledore, I think I'll have it framed. Oh, and in case you and your buddies decide to be clever and try something on me, unless I am in my dorm each and every night to undo a certain spell, this gem will land in the lap of James Potter the following morning. Do I make myself clear?"
Snape said nothing, but his eyes were burning with the intense loathing he usually reserved only for the bespectacled Gryffindor.
"Good," Dorcas said and patted his head, immediately wrinkling her nose in disgust and wiping her hand in her robes. Then she stood up and calmly walked away, leaving Snape to glare after her from the floor.