Long puffed sleeves covered her arms loosely, the dark navy velvet cloth touching her skin softly. It was the only dark dress she had that looked casual enough for Slughorn's dinner - The other dresses were either too light and floral for a dinner, or too fancy for a casual dinner.
She really needed to stop letting Mother buy all of her dresses.
"I think you should wear your hair down."
She met Orpington's eyes in the mirror, "Really?"
"It's a casual dinner," explained the girl. "There is no need for an elaborate hairstyle."
Madeline assessed her reflection once more. The dress was already a bit fancy, with star constellations spread all over it. An additional fancy hairdo would not do. "I guess you're right."
With one last thanks to the other girl, Madeline sauntered gracefully to the common room.
The room looked quite vacant for a saturday night, with only a few groups of upper class boys occupying the warmest part of the room by the fireplace. Regulus Black sat on the sofa next to the entrance door, looking smart with his shirt tucked inside of a black vest. The moment she stepped into a certain radius, his eyes automatically found hers and he quickly stood, offering his arm.
She didn't take it.
The boy, apparently failing to understand the subtle rejection, approached her anyway. Shocker.
"You look lovely," he complimented - was it a compliment? His delivery would make one think he was making a comment on the weather.
She sighed. Might as well walk with him to the dinner. "Thank you. Shall we?" The faster they arrived at the dinner, the faster she could find a better company.
But curiously, the boy failed to move. His eyes stayed on her, an inscrutable expression on his face as he took in her appearance.
It took her a moment to realize that he was staring at the stars. "Er - Are you looking for your star? It's right here, heart of the lion." She pointed at the constellation where the northern sky gathered, particularly right below her left breast.
She didn't even know it was possible, but his face looked even more closed off. "I see."
"Shall we?" She repeated with more force, her patience straining.
The boy threw his face at the door's direction and offered his arm again. "It's only appropriate."
"Of course it is," she grumbled, taking his arm.
They walked to the other side of the dungeon together, silence being the only thing that was accompanying them. Madeline, at this point, had thought of numerous possible reasons for the boy to stop treating her as a friend so abruptly. The first and most likely possibility was that he was ordered by his parents to set a certain distance to the girl whose father was openly declaring war on the dark lord. She honestly wouldn't place the blame (entirely) on the boy if that was truly the case. The second possibility, which was her first thought, was that he was possessed, or worse, imperioused by some nefarious forces. Admittedly, that particular direction of thoughts was probably a product of her recent studies. The third possibility was that he was distancing himself from reality - or in other words, he's heavily occluding.
The last but not least possibility: he just hated her after she failed to return his sweater.
Now, while it might sound unlikely for a Black to take on the loss of a single piece of clothing so badly, she noted upon further inspection that he already sounded so restrained in his letters after the wedding. And what if he just said to keep the sweater to be polite and silently seethed about it?
"Ah! Our newest members finally arrived! Come, come, have a seat."
She took in the room. The dining table was way bigger than the one from her memory, dim candles lighting the numerous photographs around the room. Professor Slughorn sat proudly next to Damocles Belby and an empty seat, looking almost bursting from joy.
Then she realized in horror that the professor was patting the empty seat at his right.
Merlin help her.
"Madeline, have you met Amelia?" The professor asked in his jovial tone, "Her brothers, Julius and Edgar Bones, work right under your father at the DMLE."
She smiled at the older girl as she took her seat, "How do you do?"
The dinner was horrible.
It was even more awkward than Hermione Granger's previous experience. Professor Slughorn continuously tried to talk with her, bringing up the controversial subject that was her father, not even aware of the stilted reaction from all the other slytherins. Kingsley, with all due respect to his future self, was a git for laughing silently at her misery.
Because her misery was definitely visible. Lily didn't even try to hide her pity.
She made many attempts to direct the conversation to the other students - fucking Barnabas Turring, with his ICW delegate uncle was there, but no, Slughorn kept on bringing her into the conversation.
She blamed this fully on her father.
When the dinner was finally, finally over, the torture, it turned out, did not end with it. Slughorn merrily pulled out several bottles of gin - ordering all in attendance to scramble and get to know each other more. "All below sixteen is, of course, advised to avoid the gin," the man winked. "But do not worry! I also have grape juice right there."
Madeline took the first chance she got to escape the professor.
"Lily," she called her friend, quickly heading to the kiddie corner.
Lily was looking amazing in a black patterned dress, already holding a cup of grape juice and standing by the corner table. She smiled cheerily, "Hiya Mad. Gotta say, if Slughorn didn't repeatedly mention your father, I would have thought the man was your father with how proud he is when talking with you."
She couldn't help but shiver. This dinner definitely put the prospect of being adopted by Horace Slughorn in a possibility that must be avoided at all cost.
Lily chuckled as she drank. "What do you think of this dinner?"
Madeline gave her a deadpan. "I was being held hostage and none of you did anything."
She snorted. "Don't be dramatic. Besides, I think you handled it well, with sharing the spotlight and all that polite stuff."
A sigh escaped her. It was only fortunate that the etiquette training prepared her for this kind of situation. Without it, she would be a bumbling mess. But still. "I can handle it, but please save me if a similar situation happens again."
"If," Lily snorted again. "You're funny."
The older girl then glanced at the darker part of the room. It was where Slughorn was currently standing, with almost all the Slytherins gathered surrounding him. Almost all, because one of them was here with her. "So," Lily gave Madeline an inquiring look, "You're here with Black?"
"Not like that," she replied flatly. "He's a friend. I think."
She didn't even know anymore.
Just then, another girl stood behind Lily and cleared her throat, eyebrows arched in her direction. Madeline paused and blinked at the tall brunette girl's silent gaze at her. They've been introduced at the dinner, right? "Would you care to join us?"
Marlene Mckinnon kept her silence.
"Er, Marlene?" Lily questioned the girl with her eyes, an almost scolding expression was clear by the look of her frown. Marlene ignored her.
"A Crouch in Slytherin," the girl started, her tongue rolled the word slowly, as if tasting the reality of it. "How does that work, exactly?"
Madeline smiled. "Well, we in Slytherin all have fangs, and most just wait for an opportunity before striking."
Translation : she was not harmless and they were all a bunch of opportunistic cowards.
"Are you waiting for one?" The question was spoken swiftly, accusation lurking just behind its meaning. The girl was wary.
It appeared that the translation was lost on her.
Her smile grew wider. "I don't sit and wait to strike. I hunt."
Instead of reassured, the girl looked alarmed at her reply. Lily didn't bother to hide her confusion. "Er, guys?"
"Madeline!"
She smiled politely to the source. It was professor Slughorn, making a gesture for her to come over. She nodded at her current company for the last time, "it has been nice talking with you two."
Her new company was less blatant in their warriness of her, which was not surprising. Slughorn kept the conversation going as each person gave away the size of their ego in each word they uttered, bragging about their family members in high places. It was to be expected. They were all older Slytherins, and unfortunately, all male.
Their condescending attitude was on an entirely whole new level after Slughorn left them to chat with another group. First they brought up her prospect for a 'match' - as if her availability for marriage was the most interesting thing about her. It did amuse her when she threw them all off with a stereotypical girly answer, 'oh, i am still waiting for a chance of true love - my parents, of course, will support me until the time comes when they feel it is appropriate to set a marriage for me. In that scenario, my fate rest solely upon you gentlemen.
She smiled brightly when she said it, making some of them blush as she stabbed them in her mind.
After they got over her sweet act, they started to ask about her family's expectation of her because surely, she wasn't going to be the one who filled into her father's shoes when her parents had a male heir.
The nerves.
In that subject, she really couldn't hold her tongue; "Ah, yes, my parents truly do not expect me to follow their steps. They only hope for me to achieve the best that I can be. It's what any loving parents would have wanted, really. I mean, can you imagine living under the pressure of being your parents' puppets for their ambition? How unloved it must feel..."
The stiff smiles were glorious to see.
"So Crouch, I heard you are taking muggle studies," fifth year Travers started again, disgust underlining his words.
Onto subject number three then.
"You heard correctly," she replied, mocking shyness. "though i didn't know how matters as trivial as the classes i take would interest people so much. The citizens of Hogwarts need more hobbies, I suppose."
"Speaking of hobbies, did any of you watch the final of the Quidditch world cup?" Regulus asked.
Thank merlin.
A couple of them stood straighter before one of them finally spoke. "Oh, many of us certainly did. We had the left wing top box, thanks to a family friend. It certainly had a nice view of the game, we could -"
Madeline kept herself slightly behind Regulus as she sighed slowly in relief. She tuned out all the quidditch talk, feeling a need to calm herself down after all the tension she gathered during the poorly managed intimidation attempt. In truth, it only made her furious.
But of course a moment of peace was too much to ask.
"Muggle studies..." Macnair, suddenly at her side, enunciated with a curious tone, his voice low as if to assure their talk stayed between the both of them, "is it truly as fascinating as you said?"
Madeline blinked. The rumors quoted her verba tim, she realized. Not even The Prophet had that kind of integrity. Kudos to the general population of Slytherin for sticking to the whole truth, she supposed. "It's dull and tedious, like any other classes," she carefully replied. Considering her audience, she added, "but there is this bit of muggle history that said some muggle once killed hundreds thousands of other muggles, just by pushing a button."
"It must have been some button," he remarked with unveiled interest. "Have we been overestimating them? How weak they must be if a button could off them that easily."
"The button was just a device to activate their weapon. An atomic bomb, they called it."
"A muggle bomb?"
She smirked, "Think of an exploding spell, then multiply the sheer destruction of the spell just enough to level cities."
His toxic green eyes glinted. "That is indeed truly fascinating."
"Isn't it?" She gazed somberly at the bottom of her cup. "Wizards and witches, of course, have their weapon constantly in their arm, ready to be used with the barest flick. Muggles.. they struggle just to build a weapon. But destruction and death flirt with them all the same."
There was a moment of still wonder in Macnair's eyes. She briefly questioned what part of her words that fascinated him so much. It took her a moment to realize that his hand casually tucked a stray curl to the back of her ear. "Have I complimented you on your look tonight, crouch?
She stared at the corner of her eyes where the curl was previously seen.
There was no way, no way it could be this easy.
The idea came to her when she began to think about how she could benefit from Slughorn's dinner. Inspired by Slughorn's own neutrality, she decided to try to appease herself also to the Slytherins guests, despite her apparent leaning to the other side. She thought that plan was set to fail after Slughorn continuously brought Father up.
She didn't think she would get another chance.
It could also be a trap, a thought warned her. She smiled with a tad of shyness. But he wouldn't be the only one laying a trap. "Just Madeline, please."
.
He had that pretty dream again.
Remus cheerfully strolled to the great hall with his friends in tow, his steps light and head clear. It was another goodnight sleep, filled with a dream of pretty glowing lights, sometimes colorful birds. He always felt energetic afterward.
They were the last ones to arrive at the Gryffindor table. Remus took his seat next to Lily, who didn't do as much as glancing at their direction. That was new. With how boisterous Sirius's voice was, they always attracted some attention.
"So they're not together," the red headed muttered under her breath, eyes locked in a direction. "That's a relief."
Remus looked around. "Who?"
Marlene, of course, immediately found where her friend's eyes were staring and replied with a rolling of eyes, "Her last remaining slytherin friend. For now."
That earned her a scowl from the red head. "Can you please drop the attitude? You've met her. Why do you still act like that?"
"Because she's a slytherin. You saw how she's conversing with the other snakes."
"Who are we talking about?" Sirius piped in, always ready for a gossip. Remus rolled his eyes as he took some eggs for his plate.
"Madeline crouch," Marlene dismissively replied. "We met her last night with your dear brother."
His hand paused.
"With?" Sirius questioned, interest piqued.
"As friends," Lily quickly added.
Sirius snorted. "Of course Reg hasn't made a move."
"A move?" Lily probed.
"Isn't it obvious?" Sirius rolled his eyes, as if he couldn't believe he had to spell it out. "She got him wrapped in her dainty little fingers."
Both girls exchanged a look of confusion.
"I don't know," Marlene mused, meeting Sirius's curious gaze. "He pretty much ignored her last night."
"They came together last night to Slughorn's dinner," explained Lily. "But Black didn't even look at her direction. In fact, he was rather cold." And by the look of it, he ignored her too this morning, right there at the slyterin table.
Sirius frowned in disbelief. "Who, Reg? He acts like a blushing maiden around her!"
"Have you actually seen your brother lately, Sirius?" Retorted Marlene.
Remus was silently taking a bite from his meal, occasionally glancing at the Slytherin table. Madeline Crouch was, as usual, sitting between her year and the year below, right beside her brother. Sirius's slytherin brother sat near, but they didn't interact. He suddenly felt very aware of the chocolate that was weighing his right pocket.
He hadn't talked with her again after that meeting in the library. He also hadn't found her visiting the hospital wing, but somehow, her chocolate always found its way to his hands. Remus once asked the Madam how she could have what seemed to be an endless supply of chocolate from Madeline Crouch and the answer was very confusing - The girl just knew whenever the chocolate had run out.
It only added to the mystery of Madeline Crouch.
James cleared his throat awkwardly, "um, why do you care if they're together or not?"
At that, Lily looked uncomfortably reluctant to answer. Her eyes briefly strayed to Sirius. "Well. It's just.. Black is.. not the right kind of boy for Maddy."
Remus's eyebrows shot up. Uh oh.
"And what do you mean by that?" Sirius demanded, eyes narrowed and tone challenging.
But of course, rather than cowering, Lily's previous reluctance instead disappeared into thin air in the face of Sirius' challenging tone. She lifted her nose up in the air, "Why do you avoid him so much if you don't know what I'm talking about?"
Sirius flushed. "I'm not avoiding him."
A pair of green eyes was rolled. "Right, and Mowee isn't a cat."
"That thing is a monster, so I'm not arguing with you there."
Lily spluttered and immediately rose to the beast's defense. Its owner, Mary, willfully ignored the subject that was her beastly pet as they argued.
Remus sighed as he resumed his meal. Sirius and his undecided opinion on his brother, honestly. Remus just hoped it didn't come back and bite him in the ass after he gave his brother the benefit of doubt. His thoughts returned to the pleasant wonder that was his dream. It looked so vivid - almost like it was real. The dream was just a simple beauty created by his mind, but he felt both exhiratation and fondness for it. Why, he wondered.
He rubbed his old scar at the back of his neck.
"You're good, Moony?'
He smirked faintly at Pete's concerned look. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good."
.
The first week of November marked the opening of the inter-house quidditch cup. Red and green dominate the pitch, students wearing their scarfs and hats while also screaming and waving their color flag. Madeline hugged her arms to shield herself from the harsh wind as she watched the game proceeding. With James Potter as their chaser, assisted by Dorcas Meadowes and Garett Brown, Gryffidor was leading by quite a large margin, as always.
With time and repeated exposure, Madeline was finally able to enjoy quidditch again without dying from nerves. Last year she even watched the Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaws game. But to be honest, she didn't see the point in watching quidditch matches again if she didn't have friends to support..
Her eyes found a small figure high in the sky, a bright number 7 displayed on his back. Even without seeing his face, she could imagine his intense gaze as he searched for the snitch before the gryffindors could attain more than 150 margin in points.
"Mulciber, you oaf, chase the damn quaffle!"
She turned and smiled amused at Rabastan Lestrange's shout from beside her. Without a second thought, her mouth called for the boy's name.
Lestrange arched his eyebrow in response, eyes briefly met hers before returning to the game. "You're talking with me a lot more than you are with regulus at this point, and you still call me by my last name?"
"Rabastan," she conceded. "Do you happen to know why Regulus is occluding so hard every day?"
Honestly, it embarrassed her that it took her this long to realize. She had read everything about occlumency in her books - but of course, she lacked the experience of being around those who practice it. For other Slytherins it must be plainly obvious that he was using occlumency to an insane degree.
"Because he's an idiot," Rabastan replied simply.
She could believe that, but unfortunately, being an idiot could explain everything and simultaneously didn't explain anything. More prying was needed. "Is he having a problem?"
"He sure is."
Wasn't he going to elaborate? "Can you tell me more about it?"
"It's about someone who he regards very highly," the boy answered cryptically.
It didn't take her long to figure it out.
"His brother," she sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose. "Of course." Would they ever solve their problems?
She felt Rabastan's eyes on her, his expression inscrutable. "Is something wrong?"
The boy shook his head with a tight smile, "Wow."
He must be awed by her quick deduction skill.
.
Due to a big baby that was her brother, Madeline had a three feet parchment filled with a list of the sweets that he wanted, carried around in her white robe's pocket when she visited Hogsmeade.
"Where should we go first? Honeydukes? Tomes and scrolls?"
She shook her head at Orpington's suggestions. She knew that once she entered Tomes and Scrolls, she would not get out of it for a long time. And Honeydukes as a first stop was a bad case of stomachache waiting to happen. "How about three broomsticks?"
They leisurely walked to the pub on the busiest street of Hogsmeade, enjoying the view and the general atmosphere. It was a magical street, much like Diagon Alley. And while it wasn't as crowded, there were still magical toys flying around and people freely using their wands.
Unfortunately, they weren't the only one to visit the three broomsticks first. The place was filled by the upper years, leaving no seat empty.
Orpington turned to her, "Should we return here later?"
They didn't get a chance to retreat.
"Madeline!" Called Macnair, grinning widely on his chair. Sitting with him at the table in the middle of the pub were a bunch of stoic slytherin boys, fourth year and some of the older ones. Her eyes did a quick scan: Rowle. Mulciber. Avery. Snape. Bletchley. Pucey.
Future death eaters.
She presented a smile, tugging a stiff Orpington with her to the poisonous table.
The boys displayed impeccable politeness, aside from their forceful insistence for both girls to join their table. Madeline sat on Callum Macnair's previous seat as the older boy took another chair, taking his offered glass of butterbeer with a thankful smile. Orpington sat quietly between her and Snape, who also gave her his seat. With grace, both girls joined the rambunctious attempt of a civilized conversation they were having. Macnair, being the one who invited them, acted perfectly as a bridge to include them in the conversation, asking about their thoughts on Hogsmeade, and the older boys started to give them their opinion and suggestions as well to best enjoy the trip.
But of course the conversation must go on, and soon the older boys were asking them about themselves.
Both Madeline and Orpington didn't divulge much, leading them to an awkward pause.
"Is there really nothing else aside from your passion in all things academia?" Asked Rowle boredly.
Madeline kept her smile sweet. "Well, we could explain to you different types of clothes and the difference between purple and magenta, but that would undoubtedly bore you more than Binn's lecture."
While Avery scrunched his nose, Macnair was not deterred so easily. "Say," he prompted, "do you have any more fascinating things you can share with us?"
They locked eyes, and by the glint of his eyes, Madeline immediately knew what he was asking; Something horrible, something grim. The more macabre the better.
She paused to think. "Hn... how about a fun fact? Long before the establishment of Gringott bank in 1474, there used to be a goblin named Orrog, who specialized in producing the best daggers for ritualistic sacrifice. His best selling product among wizards was a very special kind of dagger; daggers made from goblin bones."
Their interest piqued at this little gruesome fact, and she smiled as she explained, "It's connected with their nature, you see. Goblins are creatures of greed and trade, has been since the very beginning, and they wield their magic to enhance their craft. It was only natural for their bones to be made a craft for greedy trading purposes." She paused when some of them snickered. What a horrible humor the lot of them had. "Many of the goblins did not like Orrog, as you could probably deduce. But Orrog liked the profit he gained, so he kept his business and went about his day."
"Shocker," Avery snorted. She nodded in agreement.
"When some of his goblin friends made a huge commission for his goblin bones-dagger, Orrog was thrilled. His kind finally accepted his business. They even provided him the bodies whose bones were to be made daggers. When he saw the bodies, though, the joy was quickly replaced by rage and grief. In the still sack were his family, their limbs cut off and skinned while their head were separated from their neck, blank dead eyes filled with horror. That day, Orrog's friends made sure that Orrog joined his family."
Her audience was still captivated by her story when she let out a little shy laughter, "I added a couple of flowery words, but all the things I said were true, taken from a wizard's journal on sacrificial magic. It was written by the wizard Ekrizdis, long before he lost his sanity and locked himself in an island."
Some of them, like Snape and Avery, recognized the name, and while Snape's eyes bulged in shock, Avery's were only reflecting interest.
"Goblin daggers, huh?" Macnair mused, finally hiding his bewitched expression under a vaguely interested look.
"A couple of shops in knockturn alley still have them," she said offhandedly.
"And do you visit knockturn alley often, Crouch?"
She turned to Rowle as she answered him blandly. "Only when I need something in it."
There was a pause before the group of boys started to discuss her story with an enthusiasm that she had never seen before in them. The only one silent was Orpington, and Madeline sent a reassuring smile at her, hopeful that it would be enough to calm her as the boys around her talked about all the death and the gore.
"You are deemed the brightest witch of your age by the professors," Rowle said to her after they finished talking about her story. He directed the next words to Orpington, "Is it true?"
"She's brilliant," Orpington nodded, tone even. "All spells come naturally for her."
"I think they all exaggerate," she said, taking a sip from her butterbeer.
"All spells?"
She met Macnair's gaze stoically. "Only the ones we've been learning and some more."
"Fascinating," murmured the boy, again with a fervent gaze.
"You're okay, Crouch," Pucey commented at the end, lifting his glass at her as if giving her a cheer. "Despite your unfortunate interest in muggles."
And you're still vile and unpleasant to be around. She gave him a smile and a half shrug. "A girl can have a hobby."
When the girls finally left the three broomsticks, rejecting the older boys offer to accompany them for the rest of the day, both girls let out a huge relieved sigh.
"They're horrible," Orpington declared, once they were far enough from the pub.
"Yes," she agreed with her plainly.
"You want them for something," Orpington stated again, showing an impressive level of perceptiveness. Madeline only smirked at the girl as her answer, making the girl sigh. "Have you truly been to knockturn alley?"
Her smirk widened.
"You know what?" Orpington shook her head, "I don't really want to know."
She chuckled. "Wise choice."
.
Madeline giggled as she pedaled the old bike, carefully riding it on the determined lane. Muggle study turned out to be the best choice she had made that year.
"You're a natural even when learning muggle devices," Bethany commented when she arrived at the stop.
She grinned. "They're fun."
Parking the bike at the showroom's corner, Madeline began her inspection, taking notes on each part of the bike, the materials they were made of, how each part connected to one another.
"I bet amanda has them in her home," Bethany rattled on. "You know, we should have a sleepover in her house, and then she can teach you all about muggle - Oh, and maybe a make over! Muggle fashion is way better than what we have here. You can come too, Valerie."
Orpington smiled at the bubbly girl awkwardly, before turning to Madeline in suspicion. "What are you doing?"
Madeline didn't take her eyes off the bike. "I'm learning how it works so I can duplicate it properly."
Bethany perked up. "Ooh, can you really do that? I don't think professor flitwick has taught us the duplication charm yet."
"The appropriate question is: Should you really be doing that?"
Ignoring Orpington's quite reasonable but boring question, Madeline stood beside the bike and drew out her wand. With one flick, the exact replica of the bicycle appeared next to it.
"Wow," Bethany sighed dreamily, "You really can do it. Can you duplicate my plushies next?"
Madeline turned to Bethany in a spark of mischief. "Let's have a race."
.
In hindsight, having a bike race indoors was probably not a good idea.
"Oh, no you don't!" She rode past Bethany, who growled frustratedly as she took the leading position again.
"Watch out!"
Madeline laughed as she heard Bethany stopped pedaling at the corner, having to slowly turn the direction of her bike. Madeline herself was, of course, maneuvering the bike like an expert.
"I'm in my third lap," she gloated in a singsong voice.
"How can you be so good at this?!"
Madeline giggled as she slowed down her bike, facing another turn already. The showroom was a rectangle-shaped hall filled with muggle things like telephone amd rubber ducks on display boxes, surrounded by a bike lane with paintings of muggles on the walls around it. As they had a period to freely explore the showroom, Madeline felt nothing wrong in trying out some of the devices inside and had a full experience with them.
"Hopkins, slow down!"
"Too late-!"
Upon the crashing sound, Madeline realized belatedly that there might be something wrong with her idea. She stopped to find Bethany on the floor by one of the room's corners, one of her hands massaging her other arm soothingly.
"Wicked," she heard someone whisper.
There was a clicking sound of a camera following the whisper.
She hurried to her friend, ignoring Orpington who stood with arms folded, her face telling her the classic 'I told you this was a bad idea' look. "Are you alright?"
Bethany winced as she nodded, "I'm fine, but the bike - "
"The bike is fine," she assured her, before glancing at the bike. It turned out it was not fine. "I mean, it's easy to fix. It's only a replica, anyway."
By the look of the front wheel and the handle, it was probably easier to just make another replica.
The other students were suddenly there, circling them like sharks drawn to a blood.
"That was awesome!"
"I didn't know we could use that old thing for a race! It made perfect sense!"
"Can we try it next?"
"Of course!" Beamed Bethany who was already up and about, looking as healthy as ever. "Madeline will fix the other bike for you!"
Madeline looked at her friend in alarm at that, and then moved her gaze to the crowd. It was a mistake. There were hopeful looks, all around her. "Er, sure."
She couldn't possibly say no.
Just when she wanted to make another replica of the bike, a horrifying thought suddenly passed by her mind: What if they saw her making another bike and wanted her to make more and more bikes? No, it was best if she fixed what was already there. With one last nod, she decided to use an advanced form of a reparo charm. It took much more control and more power, but it was nothing compared to the most complicated charm in her repertoire.
In just seconds, the broken bike was perfectly fixed.
In those seconds also, an exploding sound erupted from the nearest display, inciting numerous yelp among the students.
They all stared at the smoking toaster.
"We're in so much trouble," bemoaned Orpington.
"Indeed."
Madeline winced as she recognized the voice. With his huge build, Professor Wigworthy stood menacingly at the door beside them, his black eyes penetrated the children frozen in fear.
"Those who are at fault. Step forward."
The other students quickly stepped back, leaving only Madeline and Bethany on the front.
Of course.
"Twenty points will be taken from each of your houses!" The professor bellowed, before turning his full attention on her. "Miss crouch, I assumed you did the duplicating charm on the bike?"
She could only look down in shame.
"And that is another twenty points from Slytherin and a week of detention for you! You are not supposed to use magic in this room. There are electrical appliances- electrical appliances that can, and will explode if you use magic around them! I have explained this repeatedly during each of our classes. What is the point of field neutralizing enchantment around the room if you go around casting magic inside it?"
Right. There was also that fact to take into consideration. Her cheeks flushed in shame.
The professor sighed, looking tired with them already. "I really appreciate both of you for showing your enthusiasm for my class, but all of my rules have purposes."
"We're sorry, professor," Bethany said quickly as Madeline nodded, "It won't happen again."
"See that it won't," grumbled the professor, retreating to his room with the burnt toaster in his embrace. "My poor toaster."
The students baited their breath until the professor's door finally shut. In an attempt to save her face, Madeline put on her most indifferent look as she waited for the murmuring gossip.
It didn't happen.
"Oh my god!" Bethany excitedly exclaimed in realization, "Maddy, it's your first detention!"
"First detention?" Repeated Gryffindor Armen Figg, dumbfounded. "First detention in three years? You're joking."
Bethany shook her head. "I kid you not."
"Gosh, I still remember my first detention," said one of them. "So many cauldrons to scrubb."
"Congratulations!" Shouted another. "Not so goody two shoes anymore, aren't you?"
Madeline looked around and blushed. She was used to drawing attention but somehow, it felt different this time. "Technically, I've never been," she murmured under her breath. "It's just the first time i've been caught."
"Breaking the rules often, Crouch?"
Orpington sighed at her side, before finally breaking into a small smile, "you have no idea."
She smiled guiltily at the girl.
.
"You got detention..."
She dropped her face on her hand tiredly. "Must you repeat it over and over, Barty?"
Barty was still looking as if he was struck. "You, got detention."
Great, she huffed. Her brother was broken. She had completely broken down her brother.
"You got detention."
That was it. She put her fork down and glared at the infuriating boy. "When you get yours, I'll be sure to annoy you too."
Barty exploded into laughter then. Like, a full blown laughter. She felt embarrassed for him and for herself. "You got detention! Oh, this is golden! Madeline Crouch, doing labor!"
Her yearmates all snickered at that.
She was going to kill Barty.
Parkinson, being an opportunist snake that she was, said loudly, "Speaking for our house, I am more concerned about the points she lost."
She really didn't try to stop her eyes from rolling. "Forty points are easy to regain."
"Then why don't you do it already?" The girl retorted smugly - and stupidly, as if Madeline wasn't the main contributor for Slytherin's leading position in the house cup so early into the year.
-But wait.
This challenge, the realization just dawned on her, was a chance for another power play. After all, it wouldn't do for them to start to ridicule her for her misadventure in the muggle study class.
"Oh, dear," her smile slowly graced her face. "Don't you realize? I'm already working on it."
In tandem with her words was a clapping sound of a thunder. The candles all around the great hall were all blown by a sudden harsh wind from above, inciting fear, and in an instant, another lightning struck, followed by a deafening thunder and the scared yelp of students.
And then it was one drop. Two drops.
And then it was pouring there inside the great hall.
"What the fuck!"
The thunderstorm came so suddenly that students could only run around and screamed in panic. With the pouring rain and wet hair obstructing their sight, some stumbled and crashed the others. The professors were all trying to look at the malfunctioning enchanted ceiling, but the rain was pouring so hard, they didn't quite manage to make their eyes stay open when they faced upward. The charm professor, Flitwick, was already holding his wand, casting several charms at the ceiling.
It didn't work.
"Why, this is very odd," the professor said calmly among the screams of children.
It was her cue. She quickly approached the teacher's table.
"Professor, may i try to help?" She asked, her voice just above the frantic crowd panicking screams. Before they could really say anything though, she already casted her own charm at the ceiling, a white glowing light exited her wand and quickly became a beacon in the dark great hall.
The nimbus clouds cleared out in a matter of seconds, replaced by a clear night sky filled with the northern stars. But that didn't mean that there wasn't any cloud - Oh, the clouds were very much there and they were very much real, some of them floating just above their head. Those clouds all looked almost transparent and were rather cold to touch. Then there were the very dense clouds, floating very low, it was practically on the ground. It made everyone look like they were walking on a cloud.
Her magic left Professor Flitwick gasping repeatedly in awe.
"Miss crouch, That is - that is a very advanced weather charm! Oh, oh, dear merlin, how magnificent! 50 points to Slytherin for showing a tremendous aptitude in weather charm and quick thinking in the middle of crisis! Oh dear Merlin- Minerva? Is this a real cloud?"
Madeline nodded in satisfaction as she returned to her seat, smirking at the silent disbelieving stares that welcomed her. "There, you even got an extra 10 points." She paused as she really took in their appearance and frowned. "Why are some of you so wet?"
Despite her drenched state, Parkinson looked ready to combust.
"Oh, i'm sorry," the girl whispered furiously, "Didn't you just create a literal storm in the great hall?"
Madeline blinked. The answer to that question was yes, she did do that thing she mentioned, but all the water produced by the spell was supposed to be turned into clouds by the counter spell.
Huh. She supposed she overpowered the first spell. Wandless magic was hard.
"First, I have no idea what you mean by that accusation," the lie slipped quickly through a perfect set of teeth and a charming smile. "Second, are you a witch or not? Just cast a simple impervious charm if you don't want to get wet by a little rain." She paused and blinked innocently, "Or perhaps you should endeavor to bring umbrellas wherever you go? You know, like the muggles do."
"Holy mother of biscuits," whispered Barty loudly to Evan in the midst of the responding silence, "that was a murder."
Parkinson went purple.
"How is the food not wet?" Rabastan interrupted before there really could be an attempt of murder. He was already looking presentable, not a single drop of water in his hair. A quick drying charm, undoubtedly.
She smiled brightly at the thoughtful boy. "Must be a miracle."
"A miracle," the boy echoed in amusement.
Evan, still looking like a drenched puppy and already resuming his meal, finally popped a question he had been wondering. "Mad, can you fix me without getting my hair fluffed up like Rab's and Reg's?"
That earned him a dirty look from both boys mentioned. "My hair is perfectly fine," said Regulus in restraints.
Evan's smile was patronizing as he patted his back. "Sure, mate."
For the first time since forever, Regulus Black scowled.
Should have figured it would be an insult at his hair that broke his facade.
Madeline,
My office has finally been cleared of any imperioused members. I must commend you for ingenuity, the Thief's downfall is exactly the enchantment we need against You-Know-who's tactic. Most of us did not even know that the enchantment could break the imperious curse. All the books refer to it only to break concealment.
How do you know it will work against the curse?
If you have been experimenting again, Madeline, you best hope I don't find you using one of the unforgivables on some unsuspecting test subject. There will be no experimental testing in any forms allowed without my supervision. You told me you will focus on your brother this school year, you will do that and only that.
With that being said, there is a concern right now about how to apply the enchantment in every other department. We most definitely do not want You-know-who to find out that we've designed a counteract measure for one of his methods of controls, and we most definitely do not want him to resort to other foul means to have people working under him, so discretion is of most importance. And while we have recovered some of the imperiused people working under You-know-who, we have not yet determined the means to identify his willing and devoted followers.
I am giving you this information not because I am expecting you to do something with the information - I am simply giving you the continuation of one of your many contributions. In fact, in this letter I am asking you to stop meddling while you are still in Hogwarts.
You are a bright girl, Madeline. At this point you must have realized how unsafe Hogwarts is for you and your brother.
On another note, your mother told me of your detentions. Let this be the last time I hear something like this.
This letter will be destroyed in an hour upon the breaking of the wax.
Stay safe,
Bartemius Crouch.