Disclaimer: Anything that rings a bell belongs to J.K Rowling

A/N: Hello! I know it has been super long since I last updated this story - sorry - but I'm back at writing, I hate leaving things unfinished! I plan on posting weekly updates - hope you enjoy reading this!

Chapter 26: The Snake Dance continues.

Aiza ducked out of the Hospital Wing, avoiding the matrons eyes as best she could. Sirius was right in his assumption that she'd ask twice about what caused her injury, and if you didn't answer, she wouldn't ask a third time, but it didn't stop her sympathetic glances.

The thought crossed her mind that perhaps the school nurse assumed a boy had done this to her, and that's why she wanted to keep it quiet, and this made her feel sicker if possible - the whole school knew that she was dating Remus, and she couldn't bear the idea that anybody would think her loving boyfriend would ever hurt her.

Her body filled with warmth when she thought of him, wanting so badly to be with him right now. For him to hold her, and kiss her forehead, and tell her everything will be okay. Remus was helping his mother, but he promised he would be back by today. He had only left for three days, but it felt painfully longer.

"Aiza."

Her head snapped up, excitement shooting up her spine at a voice, but the feeling disappeared as quickly as it came when she recognised who it was.

"I told you -"

Garrick didn't let her get another word in, he grabbed her roughly by the arm and pushed her forcefully into the nearby broom cupboard.

Whilst far from kind, he had never physically hurt her before, and Aiza was caught unaware, and failed to defend herself as she was frozen in shock. Her lips trembled and she tried to stop it, knowing how weak it made her look. She had fought more in this one afternoon than her whole life altogether and she was utterly exhausted.

"Sorry." He let go of her once they were in the cupboard, stepping back from her, and raising his hands, his piercing blue eyes emotive in a way she found both foreign and unsettling, "I didn't mean to hurt you, I…just wanted to talk, and in private would be better. How's your stomach?"

She had stepped all the way back against the opposing wall, and Garrick had allowed it. When his eyes roamed down her body to her stomach, it wasn't its usual leer, that commonly felt as if he penetrated through her clothes and could latch onto her most sensual and secret parts.

Aiza folded her arms in front of her stomach, still feeling quite unsafe and unsettled after the duel, and Garrick's behaviour was not helping.

"Look, I don't have much time." That was a first, Garrick had always had endless time for her, prolonging the moments she was forced to be in his presence to aching degrees, "That duel has made things a lot worse than it was this morning, which I didn't think very probable." He sighed, "But, how is your stomach?"

This confused her, and she didn't know why she was choosing to stay in this cupboard with Garrick, rather than seeking out Remus who had hopefully returned. She didn't care if she had to tell him everything, she just wanted him to hold her and make her feel safe and Godric, she was so tired.

"Aiza." Garrick closed the distance between them as her brain seemed to reverberate in her head, and she realised it was her whole body that was unsteady, her joints turning to jelly, "Sit, you're in shock I think."

She let him lower her down onto an upturned bucket, grabbing one for himself, "Or is it your stomach? It was one of Bella's own curses, so I don't know what it does, and she did it nonverbally, so, I just, I don't know how hurt you are. I'm sorry that I could do little to help, I was trying to prevent things from escalating, but the Blacks rarely allow that from happening."

"I'm fine. She gave me some paste, Vitamix, and she said to rest." She finally spoke, her confusion at his line of questioning making her feel more faint and she leaned her head against the wall for support. "She…invented a curse."

"She's got a good few. It's a bit of a hobby of hers. I suggested needlepoint, but, she's never listened to me."

"Garrick, what do you want!" Aiza spat it out, his attempt at a joke finally the last straw. She didn't want to be here, and she was so tired of having to do things she didn't want to do.

"I just want you to be safe." He answered quickly, and leaned forward, balancing his elbows on his knees, "I fucked up. A lot. I know. I…don't know why I'm like this." Aiza's back seemed to be attempting to fuse with the wall behind her as tears sprung into his eyes, "I…I was only supposed to dance with you at that Ball. I was so surprised you showed up, your family rarely do, and, I swear, I only intended to dance with you."

Aiza furrowed her brows, ball? What was he talking about?

Oh…he was talking about that Ball.

"Shafiq…how's about a dance?"

Aiza did not want to dance. She wanted to get out of here as fast as possible.

"Have you seen Black?" Garrick Mulciber towered over her, which was impressive considering she was quite tall for a girl, and she was in heels. They had been friendly in her first year, and she knew that part of her popularity right of the bat was that she had older friends, even if he was just in the year above. He had taken her under his wing, but they quickly grew apart because Aiza preferred her lionesses, and didn't want to distance herself from her dormmates like Lily had to because they couldn't stand her Slytherin friend.

"Which one?" He smirked, glancing at a table where a group of girls sat. Her eyes fell on blonde locks and her nostrils flared, "Ah, you must mean Sirius Black. Girl's usually get that look on their face after a while with him."

She didn't have time for this, "I'm sorry, I have to - "

"Dance with me." Mulciber didn't give her much choice, and pulled her onto the floor, and she couldn't fight him off without causing a scene and the last thing she wanted was to get into another argument with her father. She let Mulciber twirl her about, actively glancing around the room.

Aurora Malfoy had done a terrible job planning the annual Malfoy Yuletide Ball, filling the large ballroom with so many floating candles it completely destroyed the natural ambiance of the place. She also seemed to inform the musicians that they were performing for a funeral procession. But, this was to be expected, she never was much for planning events, and Aiza knew her mother and friend's will already have brunch planned tomorrow to compare their critique of the night.

"He is upstairs with Selina Selwyn." Aiza raised her brows at Mulciber's comment, just realising that whilst she had been surveying the room he thought she had been looking for Sirius. Which, she should actually be doing. "What? Jealous?" He cocked his head teasingly at her.

"Of Selwyn? The eternal bridesmaid?" It was mean, but true. Selina Selwyn was the type of girl that was second best at everything. Never quite the prettiest, never quite the smartest, never quite the most popular, but always so very close. Aiza couldn't think of anybody she was less jealous of.

Mulciber laughed, and he pulled her closer to him, claiming her attention with the action, "Fair point. I suppose jealousy is a bit of a foreign concept for you." His hands tickled her exposed back as he twirled her around and her skin stood on edge. He kept her close when he finished the dance move, "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

Aiza couldn't see his face, he had whispered this into her ear and stayed there, his head, against her own. It was far too improper, and no matter how very much she needed those kinds of words right now, she should find Sirius and leave.

She knew that the only way her father would let her leave early is if she were in the care of one of his closest friends, and she knew that Sirius was heading straight to the Potter's after this, and she was always welcome at James' house. The Potters' and Sirius were only set to leave for their muggle road trip tomorrow, and Aiza knew Aunt Dorea was very likely to offer she join them, and she wouldn't mind doing just that, even if it annoyed the boys.

Mulciber's fingers tickled at her lower back and she jumped at the touch. The song had ended, and she took her opportunity turning to head towards the stairs. She'd just hang around there until Black was done playing with his toy, from what she heard, he grew bored fairly quickly.

"Not so fast - "

"Mulciber - "

He pulled her to him, pretending that it was the end of a dance move and she stifled a gasp into his hard shoulder which she had made contact with, "I know about Malfoy."

He whispered it into her ear, and Aiza couldn't understand how the very same voice that lathered her with adoration a few seconds ago suddenly made the fear centre in her body stand to attention.

His hand was at her back again, pulling her up against him, and she glanced about the room, but nobody paid them any attention, too busy with their own games. She caught the figure of her father, busy in conversation with Alphard Black, and she wondered why she even looked there, his arms would be the last place she looked to for comfort.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head. You play nice with me, and I'll play nice with you. Let's get some fresh air, away from prying ears and probing eyes. I'm sure you won't want us to be overheard, and I won't want us to be watched." His blue eyes shone threateningly as he stepped away from her, a smirk slipping onto his face, "Well, not for our first time, at least."

"Aiza?"

She jumped at his touch, almost toppling off the bucket as he brought her to the present.

"I was saying, I never meant to threaten you that night."

"Are you trying to re-write history!" She snapped, unsure where she got the energy from. Recalling how he had pulled her into the garden and informed her that he knew every one of her dirty deeds, and in an annoying snake dance of words, he heavily implied that if she didn't do what he wanted he would happily air them. He had blackmailed her into sleeping with him that night, and every night after that. He made her feel cheap, unworthy and sub-human, and she won't let him pretend other wise.

"No. No." He ran a hand through his hair, his scant tears dried on his face, "I know, I made a mistake. I…" He looked to the floor, "Really liked how scared you were that night. And how much control I had. And, I didn't know that about myself. And I wanted you for so long, from afar. Feeling like I couldn't ever have you. And suddenly I had this opportunity to not just have you but have you in a way I…I don't know what's wrong with me."

Aiza glanced at him, his eyes downcast and his voice weak. And against her will she felt pity for him.

There were times, when she tried to make herself believe that she wasn't being blackmailed into sleeping with Garrick, for her own sanity. Convince herself that she found him attractive, even that she wanted to be with him. And in theory, it shouldn't have been difficult. But it was a testament to how awful his personality was that despite being attractive, rich, and an apparently gifted quidditch player, he was never popular.

But Aiza tried to focus on those other traits, concentrate at how beautiful his lips were and thick his eyelashes, so when he summoned her, she'd show up, and play the devoted girlfriend. She'd try and introduce some kind of romance into the mix, soft kisses, tenderness, whispered affection… but no matter how hard she tried in those early days, he'd always take black control, dominating her both in mind and body.

And she had often wondered what was wrong with him, if he was crazy, and if somehow his crazy would be contagious, and he'd break her in the same ways he was broken.

"But I'm not here to talk about us." He sniffed, his face hardening, turning to her, "Aiza, I know I made it seem like if we ended, I'd tell all your secrets."

"You said - "

"I know, I know I said that. But I never for one second meant it. I would never tell a soul, living or dead, what you did."

Aiza was shocked at the statement. She couldn't believe it, even if his voice rang with sincerity. For over a year Garrick had lauded this threat over her head, and now, suddenly, he was giving his control away.

"Malfoy and I are friends. Good friends." Aiza's brows rose, she didn't know that, he had kept that a secret. "I convinced him not to tell on you, the very night of the Ball, to keep it all a secret. I told him that I loved you, even back then. I told him I could keep a very close eye on you. That we were lovers."

He stood, and Aiza didn't like the height difference this introduced, but she still felt too weak to stand. He began pacing, "Malfoy and I met last night. A few of us sneak out to Hogsmeade every month, meet some…friends. Ex-Slytherins." Aiza wasn't surprised at this, she knew for a fact that Remus and the boys also snuck out to Hogsmeade often, it was barely a big deal. "I hadn't told Malfoy that we 'broke up.' But it came up in conversation, Rabastan and his big fucking mouth. Anyway. He is freaking out a bit, and he is threatening to tell."

"What?" Aiza rose to her feet, finally processing what Garrick said, "Why in Godric's name would he do that! He would get in more trouble than I would surely!"

Garrick stilled, his eyes wide and sharp and clear with comprehension, "Aiza. He means to tell the Dark Lord."

"Voldemort? Why would he care?" She felt dizzy again, what was Garrick saying.

His ice blue eyes sat unfamiliar in his face, sympathy dripping from them, "My love." Aiza's heart seemed to stop in her chest at his words, he had never called her anything like that, and she didn't like it one bit, "You do not know how much trouble you are in."

His voice made her skin chill, it was not threatening. Instead, he sounded fearful himself.

He slowly raised his hands and placed it on her elbows, stepping towards her, talking softly and steadily, "Malfoy won't make a move without consulting his father. And his father won't make a move without consulting mine. My father is the Dark Lord's oldest friend. So I can still run some level of interference. I've told Malfoy that we had an argument, a lover's spat, but that we're okay. Rabastan has old intel. But…with the duel today. I mean it helped things that we were up there together at the start, but, the fact that you took a side -"

"They were torturing Jude!"

"I know. But, Aiza." He stepped closer, but somehow it didn't make her recoil, his face told her that he was scared to even be speaking of this and his closeness was purely based on that, "If the Dark Lord finds out about this. He would do far worse than torture. He will kill you. You do not understand, but trust me. I don't say this to frighten you. I have been taking care of things on my side from the start, I didn't think you needed to know. But things have changed. Please. You cannot be with Remus anymore."

"And I should be with you!" Aiza spat, angry at so much and terrified beyond words as Garrick's words sunk in.

He Who Must Not Be Named would kill her if he knew? Malfoy had that much control over whether she lived or died.

"No, no." He let go of her arms, "No. I won't ask that of you. Publicly, yes. But privately, I swear. I will not touch you."

"Maybe I should tell my father." Aiza whispered.

"Aiza, you endanger anybody you tell, and yourself further."

Her heart raced, "Why…why…why is Malfoy listening to you?"

"You know you lions are not the only ones who know what friendship is." She looked at him, surprised, "I mean, yes, ours centre very much around blackmail and backstabbing for the most part, but, Malfoy knows to think twice before he hurts me."

Aiza looked up at him, confused, "Hurts you?"

"Hurting you, will hurt me. Why do you think Rabastan never dared earlier. You may not believe it, but I do love you."

Aiza swallowed, not knowing what thought to latch onto. The imminent threat of Malfoy and He Who Must Not Be Named, Garrick's confusing affection, Remus…

"I've already written to Malfoy, before anyone else gets to him about today's events. I told him we were there when the duel happened, you are friends with the girl, and it was natural for you to protect your friend. We need to have breakfast together tomorrow, the earlier we are seen together the better, I am sure he'll ask someone for confirmation of our relationship. They'll think he is just asking after idle gossip, which he does do anyway so nobody will know better."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes, I'm sorry. But we need to act fast."

Aiza couldn't make herself nod. She couldn't make herself speak.

Suddenly the door flung open, and she gasped, almost falling backwards but Garrick had held her steady, "HA! You filthy little rats! Good job Mrs Norris."

Argus Filch, the caretaker, petted his cat, Mrs Norris affectionately, who clearly had been standing in front of the door letting him know the broom cupboard was occupied, "Using school property as your own personal den of debauchery, disgusting!" He muttered, barely under his breath, "Now," He glanced at their ties, "I suppose it will be McGonagall and Slughorn. Well, GET OUT!"

Aiza jumped at the shout, and Garrick's jaw tightened and she noticed he fingered his wand, but he wasn't stupid enough to attack a staff member, even if it were just the caretaker.

Filch couldn't have picked a worse time to interrupt them. And to think, all those times she had hoped that he would on their many broom cupboard filled nights of the past.

They both stepped out, neither caring the least bit about detention or docked house points but applying some tact, not having the time for arguments.

"Aiza?"

She whipped around, already knowing who that was.

Remus was stood outside the hospital wing doors, a large bouquet of blue irises in his hands. He glanced from her, to Garrick, to the broom cupboard to Filch.

And then he spun around, already half way down the corridor before she could tell her legs to start moving.

"Remus!" Aiza shouted, ignoring Filch completely and running after her boyfriend as he took off in the opposite direction.

She chased him onto the third floor, trying to tail him, just about catching him at the one eyed witch statue, "Please! Rem-US!"

Aiza had completely forgotten that she had just been in the hospital wing for an injury which she almost certainly exacerbated. She yelped in pain and clutched her stomach, lowering to the floor as he disappeared down the corridor.

Out of sight.

She had lost him.

A/N: Don't worry - I have the second part of this chapter already written and will hopefully put it up this weekend, I just thought it would be good to pause it there rather than have a super long chapter.

What did you guys think about finding out a little more about Aiza's secret and her interaction with Garrick?

Love to know your thoughts so please do leave a review - it will be much appreciated.

Kalina