Chapter Twenty-Seven:
Defeat

"Get out of the way, you stupid dog!" snapped Pansy, and she lashed out with a foot that Harry easily dodged. With a yell of frustration, Pansy pointed her wand at Harry, and before he could properly react, a jet of light slammed into his side, sending him soaring across the ground.

When Harry landed with a heavy thud that sent a shockwave of pain throughout his entire body, he could barely breathe for a few moments, stars sparkling to life in his vision. Surprisingly, the thought that was going through his mind at that moment was that he was pretty sure that a first-year student shouldn't know that kind of spell yet.

"Phantom!" Regina screamed, trying to scramble to her feet so that she could reach him. But Tracey and Daphne were already surrounding her, their wands at the ready to fire if she moved, so she fell back to the ground and start to shake, her eyes snapping between Pansy and Harry with desperation and fear.

"Dumb dog," Pansy snarled as Harry tried to stand and shake off the attack before she shot another yellow jet of light at him that had made him yelp in surprise, waiting for impact. To his surprise, at first it didn't hurt at all, but when he tried to move forward, he found himself back on the ground instantly, whining and twitching in pain. Something was wrong - this was anything worse than he had received at the clan, and he endured a lot when he had learned to fight. Every time he tried to get up and move, something shot through him like a low dose of electricity; it reminded him of the time he was still at the Dursleys and had stuck his finger in a light socket because his relatives had never told him to do otherwise.

"And you," Pansy went on as she turned to Regina, who was glaring at her despite her pain. "Did you just try and punch me? Like a bloody Muggle brute? You should have just stayed with them if you're going to act like them. But for now..." Her eyes glinted with malice. Regina flinched, and Harry gave a snarl even as he twitched again. "I'm going to teach you how to respect your betters. And I guess that I'll just have to speak your language."

Holding up her chin, Regina didn't struggle when Pansy gestured to her friends, who reached down and grabbed her by the arms, to haul her to her feet. And when Pansy pulled a fist back punched her in the stomach, she didn't cry out in pain, only jerked in the grasp of Tracey and Daphne. But it only proved in making Pansy angrier, who punched her hard in the shoulder, badly enough that Regina gave had to grit her teeth.

"Nothing, huh?" Pansy drew her wand up and hissed a spell under her breath. This time, Regina cried out in pain as three shallow cut appeared under her left eye from one side of her cheek to the other, just deep enough that blood welled to the surface and rolled down to her chin, dripping onto the snowy ground. Clearly satisfied that she was finally getting a reaction, she did it again, and another trio of cuts appeared on the side of her throat, then Pansy suddenly slammed a fist into the left side of her face, and Regina sobbed as her eye and cheek quickly turned dark red.

Harry howled.

Pansy made another gesture with her bloodied fist, and both Tracey and Daphne let go of Regina, who dropped to the ground, clutching the left side of her face with one of her hand. With a wicked smile, Pansy bent over Regina, taking a moment to wipe her bloody knuckles against the front of Regina's robes. "Hope that teaches you a lesson, Mudblood. And you better not say a word, or I'll do worse next time. Understand?"

Shaking, Regina nodded, not daring to meet Pansy's eye. She looked so defeated.

A roar echoed out across the castle grounds. "MISS PARKINSON!"

At the voice, Pansy whirled around, her wand suddenly gone and an innocent smile on her face. "Professor Snape," she said calmly as he marched towards them, his robe fluttering behind him like wings on a dark, angry bird. "Thank goodness you're here." She pointed to Harry, who was trying to be still as possible so as not to get another shock. "That wild dog attacked Winters. I managed to stop it, but look what it did -"

"Miss Parkinson," snapped Snape, silencing her since he clearly did not believe her. "I will see you and your friends in my office in the next fifteen minutes, and you'll stay there till I return, or you will all be scrubbing toilets for a week. Move!" he barked when she didn't move right away. She jumped and rushed passed him, the other two Slytherin girls quickly following her. Then Snape was moving towards Regina, whose was hiccuping as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Miss Winters -"

"Help Phantom!" Regina begged, pointing to Harry, who whined. "I don't know what Pansy did, but he's been twitching in pain. Please?"

Nodding, Snape moved over to the wolf, who looked at him with bright green eyes filled with agony and helplessness. "It will be difficult to stop the spell when I don't know what it is," he said to both Regina and Harry as he knelt down. "Give me a moment." He lifted Harry's head carefully, making sure to look directly in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Potter," he whispered so only Harry could hear. "Legilimens."

Harry gave another jerk as the scene from minutes before materialized before his inner eye, yanked to the surface forcefully as if on a hook. And while he could not hear what spell Pansy had used, he could see her lips move, could see the blast of yellow light that had sprung from her wand before it slammed into him.

Then it was gone, and Snape was mumbling under his breath and waving his wand, and to Harry's great relief the pain stopped a few moments later. Even though he was shaky, Harry stumbled to his feet and made his way to Regina, whining and pressing himself against her legs.

"I'm sorry, Phantom," whispered Regina, and she closed her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

"Miss Winters, what in the world happened here?" asked Snape as he returned to her side. He held a hand out to her, and Regina removed her uninjured hand from her face to take it as he helped her up. She held her right hand closely to her chest, wincing as she moved it. "One of the students saw what was happening and ran for me. From their description, I don't believe for a second that the dog - Phantom, you called him - attacked you. So what happened?"

Regina didn't say anything, looking pathetic and small as she looked to the ground, trembling. With a sigh, Snape knelt in front of her, bending one knee. "Miss Winters - you can tell me what happened. I promise that I will not let anything happen to you. All that you must do is tell me the truth."

Still, she said nothing, and Snape sighed. "You are injured, clearly. I will take you to the infirmary for Madam Pomfrey to look over."

"And Phantom?" asked Regina quietly, glancing down at the transformed Harry. "Can... can he come too?"

"I will allow it," Snape agreed after a moment of thought. "If you tell me what happened to you. What did Miss Parkinson do to you?"

"... Nothing happened," Regina lied softly. "It was all an accident."

With Snape leading the way and Harry staying as close to Regina as possible, the trio made their way back into the castle. Before they even passed the doors, people were already whispering and staring - though they were ignoring Snape and Regina; instead staring at the large wolf that seemed to be roaming freely throughout the school. Harry ignored them instead focusing on each step he had to take, which was getting easier as the effects of the spell wore off, but the remaining pain was still bad. But he had to remind himself that Regina was in worse pain, the wrist cradled against her chest swollen and red to match the left side of her face, the blood there starting to dry.

When they reached the infirmary, the first thing that Madam Pomfrey did was ask why in the world a giant dog was in her infirmary. Then she spotted Regina and rushed her to a bed, stripping off her outwear as carefully as possible before ordered her to lay still. The healer objected when Harry climbed up to join her, resting at the foot of the bed, but Snape whispered something to her and she went silent, instead going to work on Regina's apparently broken wrist. Regina cried out when Pomfrey set the bone, but otherwise, she didn't speak until after she was given a small serving of pain reliever after the wrist was wrapped.

"Professor, is Phantom going to be alright?" Regina asked as Pomfrey healed the multiple shallow cuts on her face, glancing down at the large dog at the end of her bed, curled up and pretending to be sleeping. "He was in such pain earlier."

"I believe that some rest and he should be just fine," said Snape. as Pomfrey excused herself and promised to be back in a few minutes "What we really need to be concerned about the fact that I know you have lied to me about Miss Parkinson's involvement in your injuries; if anything, you have admitted that she attacked the dog with a spell that she certainly did not learn here, as that spell is a high-level attack spell, higher than she should know. So what I would like, Miss Winters, is the truth. If you are worried about Miss Parkinson and her friends retaliating, I promise that I will not let them harm you."

"I..." Regina faltered, and Harry wished he could tell her to just say the truth. But at the same time, he understood. If he had stayed with Dursleys, had never been dropped off in the woods and had continued to be beaten and abused until he could finally attend Hogwarts; would he have the strength to tell anyone? Probably not. It would have stayed inside him and festered, just like it was for her.

"Miss Winters... I speak from years of experience of watching over the children of Slytherin," Snape said gently, placing a light hand on her uninjured arm. "I understand what you're thinking; that if you don't say anything, things will be fine. Eventually, your bullies will leave you alone. But it won't get better, Miss Winters. By you not speaking up, things will only get worse, because they continue to get away with it, with the belief you with never tell anyone what they've done. And in the end, it will get worse not only for you but for anyone else in the future they decided to antagonize."

Regina didn't answer, and after a minute, Snape sighed and stood. "So be it, Miss Winters. But you'll have to excuse me, now, as I have students waiting for me in my office. An office which is always open to you," he added. "Madam Pomfrey will look over you." He nodded to the healer and turned to walk away.

When Snape was gone, Regina took a gasping breath, her entire body trembling. Harry lifted his head, whining with concern. But there was nothing he could do as Regina pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face in her hands, hiding the now bright pink lines of healing flesh and sobbing. "I - I can't," she whispered, low enough that only Harry could hear her. "I just can't."

"It's alright, Miss Winters," Pomfrey said soothingly when she finally returned after Regina had been sobbing for a few minutes. "Here, drink this." The elderly nurse took one of her hands and placed a vial of light purple mixture in it. "It will make you feel better."

Hesitantly, Regina took the vial and downed it quickly. Almost immediately, she seemed drowsy, not resisting when Pomfrey whispered soothing words and made her lie down, and a minute later was fast asleep, looking calm and relaxed despite the tear tracks down her cheeks.

"And you," went on Pomfrey, glancing down at Harry, whose ears were down in distress. "You've been here long enough. Go on, get."

With a snuff, Harry leaped down from the bed and trotted outside of the infirmary, unsure of what to do next. But that question was answered when he found Snape standing just outside the door, who glanced down at him as he appeared.

In a clipped tone, Snape ordered, "Follow me," and marched down the hallway, leaving Harry to trot alongside him or be left behind.

They went down the hall, and then another hall, with the trip ending as they walked into an empty classroom. Once he had closed the door, Snape glanced back at the wolf, who was now a human leaning against the desk, wincing as a hand went to his chest. "Ow, that hurt," said Harry with a grimace.

"Apparently, your wolf form is more resilient that your human one," Snape put in. "How are you feeling? Any other pain?" When Harry shook his head to the question, he went on. "Good. I will request that you drink these, though," he said as he pulled two vials from his robes and setting them in front of Harry. "One is to reduce pain and the other to treat any damage your muscles may have gained during the time you were cursed."

Nodding heavily, just too tired to argue, Harry downed both, grimacing at the foul taste of both.

"Now I can ask you what happened out there - why were you with Miss Winters again in your Animagus form, and why was she attacked? And don't bother lying to me like Miss Winters has," he added when Harry looked reluctant to answer. "Please, the truth."

"She found me outside of Hagrid's while I was visiting him," explained Harry, and then he skipped over the details Regina had confessed to him - or rather, Phantom - and moved on to the details when Pansy had found them and then attacked Regina both verbally and physically. He explained how he had tried to protect her, but then he had been brought down by an unknown spell, and finally to when the professor arrived, leaving the professor sighing afterward, running a hand over his face in exhaustion.

"I'm guessing there are more incidents like this that I am unaware of," remarked Snape afterward, deep in thought. "I knew that the Parkinsons were very strong advocates of purity, but this is above and beyond what I expected Miss Parkinson to do. And clearly, her parents have been teaching some... non-regulation spells."

"You mean the one she used on me?"

"Precisely, Mr. Potter," confirmed Snape. "Most students don't even learn about that spell until their third-year in Defense Against the Dark Arts. It's not a dark spell, technically, but then again that depends on the context it's used in." He sighed. "I really wished Miss Winters had come to me earlier about this, before all this happened, and that she had told me the truth when I asked her."

"She probably thought no one would believe her," murmured Harry, his mind once again flashing back to his life at the Dursleys. "Or that it will get worse if she tells the truth."

"I can imagine," replied Snape. "Now, if you could, Mr. Potter, I believe you've missed the beginning of your first class of the day, haven't you?"

Harry nodded. "Charms, with Professor Flitwick."

"Ah." Drawing his wand, Snape produced a piece of parchment, ink, and a quill from somewhere, and leaning over one of the small desk intended for a student, he scribbled out a short note. "This is for Professor Flitwick," he explained as he handed over the note to Harry. "It will explain that I kept you detained and he should come to me for any more questions as to why for you late. Now, you'll have to excuse me - I have three bully students to deal with." He said this last part with a growl before sweeping towards the door. He paused just before leaving and gave a half-glance back at Harry. "Ten points to Hufflepuff, Mr. Potter, for attempting to protect a Slytherin student." And then he was gone, leaving Harry behind, staring after him in surprise.

Harry arrived at Charms fifteen minutes late, and only that early because he ran from the classroom where he had his talk with Snape to Flitwick's classroom. He arrived panting and with a slight wince, the pain in chest pounded in protest at his urgency. The tiny professor had taken the note he produced, scanned it, and then informed him to take his normal seat in his squeaky voice before going on with class, instructing everyone how to perform the Wand-Lighting Charm.

"What happened to you, Harry?" asked Susan in a whisper when Harry took his seat next to her and Neville in the row they normally shared. "You never met us for breakfast. And why aren't you wearing your robes?"

"Huh?" Harry glanced over himself; he was still in jeans, a jumper over a t-shirt, and trainers, a very casual outfit that he had planned to change out of before classes, but clearly never got the chance. He was lucky enough that he had his wand with him, strapped to his side. "Oh. I didn't even realize." He glanced towards Flitwick to make sure he wasn't looking at them before leaning closer to Susan and Neville. "I was out running this morning and found Regina - you remember her, right?"

"That Slytherin girl from before - when you were attacked by the troll on Halloween?" Neville questioned, and Susan nodded thoughtfully in remembrance.

"Well, I ran into her as Phantom," confessed Harry, "just before Pansy and her friends showed up to verbally and physically attack her, and eventually me too." At his friend's shocked looks, Harry quickly added. "I'm alright. A little sore, but alright. She's alright too, she's in the hospital wing now - I just didn't want to leave her until I was sure she was taken care of."

"Oh, that's horrible," whispered Susan, shaking her head. "We should visit her after lunch, make sure she's alright." They had free class after lunch, which would give them time to visit her before they had to attend their last class of the day.

Harry nodded at that - he had hoped to do that too. "We'll have to think of a reason how we know she's there, though," he pointed out. "I wasn't supposed to be there."

"We could ask Draco to come along," responded Susan softly after a moment's thought. "Since they share classes, he can bring her the assignments she missed."

Grinning, Harry gave another nod. "We'll try grabbing him before lunch and ask," he agreed before the three turned their attention back to the charm they were learning.

Their morning classes came and went, though it was slower than Harry would have liked, and he hated having to sit through Defense Against the Dark Arts class; not only because something in the room was giving him yet another headache, but it was with Slytherins that he shared the class with - specifically, Pansy Parkinson and her two friends. They were sitting in the front of the classroom, blatantly ignoring Quirrell as he went on about... something, and were whispering, occasionally glancing at the empty seat next to Milli Bulstrode, where Regina usually sat.

Harry growled lowly, his fingers digging into his wood desk; his anger was only increasing his pounding headache. He could imagine what had happened - the three couldn't be punished for hurting Regina because she couldn't admit what they did to her, so all Snape could do was let them go on their way without even a slap on the wrist. And now they were here; he could hear them sneer about Regina, about how pathetic she looked when they pushed her to the ground hurt her -

"Harry." Susan had her hand on his forearm, her eyes wide. "Your hands," she whispered, looking down at his hands. He looked down too - flinching in surprise when he saw that his nails had sharpened into claws without him knowing it; digging into the desk they were sharing and leaving a pale trail against the dark wood.

Retracting his hands and tucking them underneath the desk so he could will his nails to return to normal, Harry gave Susan a thankful look. She returned the look with a raised eyebrow before going back to taking notes. Sighing, Harry crossed his arms - tucking away his hands under his armpits - and rested his chin on top of them, staring at the board. It looked blurrier than usual, the result of the drumming pain in his head, and Harry closed his eyes...

Only to have a strong pulse of pain rip through his head, bad enough that Harry swore his vision turned red. Gasping, Harry screwed his eyes shut clutched at his head, biting his lip as he held back a strangled cry of pain. It felt like someone had tried to drive a hot poker into his skull.

"Harry?" he faintly heard Susan say. "Harry, what's wrong -"

Flashes of scenes flickered through his mind, like someone was flipping through the random pages of photo-book, rummaging to see bits and pieces of his past, looking for something Harry didn't understand;

The Sorting Hat whispering to him about what House was suited for him before shouting to the entire Great Hall that he was to be placed in Hufflepuff–

Running through the forest as Vernon Dursley aimed to take another shot at him, the shot echoing through the air and ringing through his ears –

Helping Regina up when she had been pushed into the lake, being on the receiving end of a shy but bright smile –

Peeking through his cupboard door to watch his former aunt and uncle shower Dudley with presents on Christmas Day, with tears burning his eyes –

Watching Susan stumbled to the floor sobbed after she saw what was in the Mirror of Erised was a glimpse of her long dead parents and neglecting aunt –

Him running through the forest, not the Forbidden Forest but forest he grew up in, and Elysia running alongside him, singing their praises to the Moon Mother –

Pressing for Neville to go to a teacher about his abuse after seeing the patchwork of bruises that covered his body and the boy refusing that nothing was wrong –

Draco, Neville, and Susan sitting with him in a corner of the library, with one of them opening their mouths to say something about -

Gritting his teeth, Harry struggled against it for what felt like an eternity, wishing it would just go away - and then suddenly, it did, as if he had physically shoved it out of his head. With a sharp intake of breath as the pain started to fade away, for he had forgotten to breathe while he grappled with the agony in his mind, he forced out in a whisper, "I'm fine," when Susan was looking at him with wide eyes, blinking slowly so the light didn't send another wave of agony through his skull. "I'm alright now," he promised in a low tone of voice as he dropped his hands, even though he was so confused - what had triggered that bad a headache? And he had seen something in his mind, memories? He couldn't understand why that was...

"I-I would ask t-t-that you pay attention, Mr. P-P-Potter," stammered out Quirrell, "i-i-if you wouldn't mind t-t-to much?" That earned a laugh from some of the Slytherins; Draco, who was sitting next to Blaise Zabini and some boy he didn't know, frowned in concern and glanced towards Susan, maybe looking for answers.

Finally, class ended, and Draco said a few words to Zabini before heading towards the three Hufflepuffs. "What was that all about?" he asked sharply when he reached them, pointing a finger at Harry. "You looked like you in some serious pain. And by the way, bravo to Quirrell for just ignoring that," he said nastily.

"Just a headache," Harry said truthfully, "I'm alright now." Which was also true - just getting out that classroom made him feel so much better. Then he started to explain how Regina was now in the infirmary and the three Hufflepuffs plan to go see her afterward, and asking if Draco would want to go see her, too.

To that new information, Draco frowned, glancing back at the three Slytherin girls not far behind them. "I heard that Regina was in the infirmary this morning - it makes sense why Pansy is in such a good mood this morning." Then he shook his head. "Sorry, I can't go with you - practically every Slytherin in my year is against Winter's right now; the only reason they haven't started ganging up on me for her being taken in by my parents is because they think I had no say in it. I'll give you the homework assignments, though," he went on, reaching into his bag and grabbing some sheets of parchment, using a quick spell to make copies of them. "So you can use it as an excuse. Though I can bet you that Milli will be there as soon as classes are over to give her the homework, too."

After rushing through their lunch, the three Hufflepuffs made their way up to the infirmary, the assignments they were using as an excuse in Susan's hands. They knocked on the large doors, and after a short minute of waiting was greeted by Madam Pomfrey, who looked down at the students with a raised eyebrow. "None of you looked injured," she stated. "How can I help you?"

"Um, we're here to see Regina - Regina Winters? From Slytherin?" spoke up Susan, holding up the sheets of paper in her hand. "We brought her some homework -" she then patted her bag at her hip " - and some books?"

"Mm." Pomfrey scanned the three students. "Hufflepuff's through and through, I see. Normally, I wouldn't let students from another house visit, but..." She looked at Harry as she went on. "I owe you for your help the last time, Mr. Potter," she said, reminding Harry of how he helped her with Snape. She opened the door. "You have fifteen minutes."

Thanking the medi-witch, Harry and his friends entered the infirmary. It wasn't hard to spot Regina - she was the only one in the infirmary, sitting up in the last bed further into the room. She didn't move for a moment, staring at the wall near her until she heard the door to Pomfrey's private office open and close, then she glanced towards the noise and promptly jumped when she saw who was suddenly standing at the end of her bed. "H-Harry?"

"Hey, Regina," greeted Harry gently, stepping forward. "How are you doing?"

Regina looked down at her hands, her unbound hand now curled in the blankets so tightly that the knuckles were bright white. "How did you know I was here?" she managed to say, her voice a little shaky.

Harry and Susan looked to each other - they hadn't exactly come up with how heard that she in was the infirmary since they had originally just planned to bring Draco along as an excuse and a reason.

"We heard some Slytherins talking during Defense class how you were here, and we had a free class after lunch, so Harry said we should come and make sure you were alright," lied Neville suddenly and smoothly, earning surprised looks from his two friends that made them glad Regina was still looking away from them. "Are you - alright, that is?"

Nodding, Regina unconsciously lifted a hand to her cheek, reminding Harry of the bright red cuts that had been there earlier that morning, reduced to faint lines. "Better." She lifted her head, plastering a bright but false smile on her face. "I should have been more careful going down the stairs," she said, and only because Harry knew the truth did he know that she was lying as lifted her other hand, the wrist bound in bright white bandages. "But Madam Pomfrey says I should be fine by tomorrow." Her hand gave a little tremble, so she dropped it.

Silence fell between the three for a long pause before Susan gave a little, "Oh! We brought you this mornings homework," she said, handing out the papers for Regina to take with her good hand. "Draco gave it to us."

"Draco Malfoy?" Regina blinked. "Oh." She set the papers in her lap and tucked a curl of her dark hair behind her ear, though it didn't stay there long. "He's your friend, isn't he? I see him hanging out with you three a lot." She hesitated. "Is he... nice?"

Neville shrugged before he answered. "Sometimes; though he can be kind of... stuck up sometimes," he admitted, earning a snort from Susan.

"Oh please - he can be so rude sometimes - I mean, I like him as a friend and all, but there are some moments I want to smack him in the face," Susan ranted, earning a startled look from Regina, glancing to Harry, who shrugged with a grin. "I swear, I don't think we would have even been friends at all if it hadn't been for that stupid duel." She blinked, and then added, "Actually, I don't think the four of us would have been friends if it wasn't for that duel," she pointed out to Harry and Neville. "It's when I first started hanging out with both of you."

"Duel? What duel?" asked Regina, confused.

Sharing grins as they remembered that night, the Hufflepuffs dragged chairs over to the bed and took turns telling Regina the story of how they had first started hanging out, from their first flying lesson with Gryffindor that had started their feud with Labelle, how she had provoked Harry into flying - despite the fact they were breaking the rules - and later into a duel, with Draco somehow being Harry's second. How Susan had volunteered to come along so they would have an excuse if they got caught, and how they had been about to start when everything went to hell, with the four of them racing through the halls as they tried to hide from Flinch and his cat, coming across Peeves, and then eventually stumbling into the room where Fluffy, the three-headed dog, had been kept, which Regina had been briefly told about before.

As the stories started from there and then went into other tales from childhood that they were reminded of, Regina was laughing, her cheeks a faint pink as she finally relaxed enough to enjoy herself in the Hufflepuffs company; which reminded Harry that this was the first time she had hung out with his friends.

Eventually, Madam Pomfrey appeared, clearing her throat to gain the student's attention. "Time is up, and you shouldn't linger, I'm sure you have another class to get to." She waved her wand, barely giving the three Hufflepuffs enough time to clamber out of their seats before she set them flying back to their original places. "Now say your goodbyes and move along."

"See you later, Regina, hope to see you soon," chirped Susan, and Neville nodded in agreement.

As Harry said his own goodbyes, he saw the sadness in Regina's eyes, upset at their departure. "Maybe you'll join us for breakfast tomorrow? If your out of here by tomorrow, that is," he suggested, and after a moment of hesitation, Regina nodded.

"I'd like that."

I never thought I'd say it after seen their dumb ad so many times, but thank god for Grammarly for fixing all my mistakes even if it is making my computer lag like crazy. I'm just happy to post a new chapter! Yay! Even though I haven't been able to get any writing done in the last month. Yay...

Remember, next chapter should be at the beginning of August!