"soaring part 2" by gingerbred
May. 29th, 2023 11:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
christmasspiritchapter 02 action
Characters: Harry Potter / Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley, Pansy Parkinson, the Bloody Baron
12 September, 1998. Harry and Ron return from an evening spent finding some comfort flying around the pitch to blow off steam. Others in the castle aren't nearly as lucky.
Originally Published: 2023-05-29 on LJ / DW
Words: 2.4 k
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Characters: Harry Potter (8G, Captain, Seeker), Draco Malfoy (8S, Prefect, Captain, Seeker), Ron Weasley (8G, Prefect, Keeper), Pansy Parkinson (8S, Prefect), the Bloody Baron (Slytherin's House Ghost)
Mentioned: Minerva McGonagall (Headmistress), Severus Snape (Head of Slytherin and Deputy Headmaster), Hermione Granger (8G, Head Girl), Ella Wilkins (7S, Prefect with an interest in Healing Charms)
Previously:
The previouslies are very robust. If you've recently read the Christmas Spirit stories, skip them, if not, no worries, I've got you covered. You can find links to the individual stories / chapters in the "christmas spirit index" (LJ / DW / AO3).
Summer 1998. Ron isn't coping well with the death of his brother Fred. Ron also hadn't appreciated that Harry and Hermione were defending Snape and Malfoy - Slytherins being pretty much synonymous with Death Eaters in Ron's eyes these days, certainly those two at any rate - trying to keep them from Azkaban. As far as Harry's concerned, it's a bit of a toss up whether breaking up with Hermione had made things better or worse. He's been doing his level best to cheer Ron up as part of his efforts to be a better friend. S 1
01 September 1998. Harry, Hermione, Ron and Draco return to school for their first day of the new term. Draco is almost as inclined as Ron to wallow in his misery - to be fair, the last couple of years have been complete shite for him - but Hermione and Harry now have plenty of experience dealing with wretched wizards, and stubbornly refuse to let him. Hermione and McGonagall also have a couple of surprises in store for them, including the elimination of the House tables and forced mingling of the students, which seats Draco with Potter and Granger to his never ending delight. Typically, he's not the only one displeased, but at least they get a good laugh out of it. H(E)FDoS
We find out Ron has joined Lavender for at least some of his meals. L(E)FDoS and CS
Saturday, 12 September 1998
Hogwarts corridorsThere are a lot of changes to the school, Hermione and Professor McGonagall have been busy, but at the same time it's a source of familiarity that helps soothe the nerves, undoubtably more so for Harry who didn't keep picturing a dead brother whenever he went to meals. Ron misses a lot of them during the first month of classes until he finally acclimates. Or, knowing Ron, more likely takes them elsewhere - off with some girl, Harry gathers, not that he'd ask, because they are all definitely not moving on. The new seating arrangements make it a lot harder to do a nose count to see who might be missing too.
They're about two weeks into the term, a week before Hermione's birthday (her nineteenth, or twentieth depending on how and what you count), it's late at night and he's returning with Ron from the Quidditch pitch, the two huddled under Harry's Invisibility Cloak just like in days of old. It's nice, companionable. That had been somewhat successful, late night flying with his friend and teammate, and it's become a regular-ish thing. When they were flying, Harry finally felt like himself, and guesses - well, hopes - the same might be true for the ginger. At the least it helps with his mood. Action has a way of doing that for you.
There's noise in the corridor ahead of them, and it definitely isn't Filch and Mrs Norris. There's a brief moment of hesitation - they aren't exactly trying to get into trouble or they'd have skipped the Cloak altogether, wouldn't they? - but what would anyone do to two thirds of the golden trio anyroad, expel them? They hadn't exactly been keen to go back for an eighth year anyway. It takes one enquiring glance and one nod for them to agree to approach the noises, and they can always change their minds then.
Yeah, the sight changes their minds about a lot of things, alright.
"Ennervate him. I want him awake to see this," a masked wizard dressed entirely in black says to three others similarly attired who are supporting a semi-conscious and badly beaten Malfoy between them. They are almost definitely students from the size and build of them, and the speaker was clearly English from the accent... So almost definitely Hogwarts students then... Not that Harry recognises the voice. After years spent battling Death Eaters, Harry feels there are instantly discomfiting overtones to their garb. It'll hardly be a coincidence.
Two more hold a struggling Pansy Parkinson between them, clearly Silencioed, because she appears to be screaming for all she's worth, probably in response to a obviously unwanted hand squeezing her breast, but there's nary a sound.
Four identically masked others stand dotted around the corridor watching the first wizard and Parkinson, bringing the head count tidily up to ten; it's hard to count noses when none are visible. Not a one seems to feel the need to keep lookout for the Prefects who'd be patrolling... Oh, but then they wouldn't need to, would they? Parkinson and Malfoy were the Prefects on duty, and as eighth years, they had the last shift for the night. No one else would be coming.
The first wizard shoves his way between Parkinson's legs, she screams another of those unnerving silent screams, and Malfoy has sufficiently regained consciousness that he's struggling with the blokes holding him. One hits him with a Hex of some sort, and another winds up and punches him. He could probably afford to take lessons from Hermione, though, Harry thinks with a sort of surreal denial, as if humour could somehow make all of this stop and go away and return their school to a place of safety.
But then when had Hogwarts ever been safe?
Their hesitation allows enough time for the wizard to shove Parkinson's skirt aside and lay a hand on her now exposed thigh, and Harry wants nothing more than to vomit. He spares a glance to make sure Ron's with him, Ron to his credit doesn't hesitate, and the boys let loose a volley of Hexes, Disillusion themselves and their brooms, drop the Cloak and with a pair of blood curdling screams literally fly at the group before them.
It doesn't take much. They were basically cowards. That much they could have guessed solely from the fact that they'd attacked ten to two. Draco, now half released, gets off a Hex that finishes the job shaking off the last of his captors. He Summons his wand, Finites whatever is silencing Parkinson, and she lets loose with anything she can think of casting time and again, faster than anything any of the boys are managing for sure. She seems especially motivated, Harry shudders to think why. At a guess, Harry would even say Malfoy is proving less useful in the battle than his housemate is, casting almost entirely wandlessly and most of that silently to boot, which seems a ruddy stupid handicap to impose on yourself unnecessarily.
But they get lucky, the group soon turns to leave - they have to scrape three of their number off the floor to make a clean escape - and they race off down the down the hallway, Draco shouting "Domum Revelio" at their fleeing backs before they can make the next turn.
The ghostly shadows of eight blue eagles appear in the air, Harry intuiting that this means Ravenclaws had attacked the two Snakes. A yellow badger joins the eagles, followed finally by a red lion. Harry and Ron quietly Finite their Disillusionment Charms - no need to scare the Snakes further - but Draco just turns to glare at Harry as if he'd half expected to see him as he stands there processing.
It's definitely not good news.
"Did you take points?" Harry demands, like that matters here and now, and certainly not to the two Slytherins standing before him. They gawp at him like he's some kind of talking Flobberworm. He kind of gets that. He shouldn't bother them with it. Well he can't take them himself. He turns to Ron, their eighth year Prefect, and repeats the question, but Ron just shakes his head, his expression little more approving than the Snakes'.
"Mate." More head shaking, then a shrug, "They're perfectly capable of taking points themselves if they want to." Harry stares at him, appalled, because that's all kinds of wrong. This shouldn't be up for debate. Malfoy gives Harry a look both smug and angry saying he hadn't expected anything else, and the Moggie's an idiot if he had. Except, mixed in there somewhere, there's this hint of surprise that Harry had actually even asked for some kind of justice for them. That seems to have confused the blond. For reasons Harry can't quite understand, that makes him feel kind of good. He takes it as a victory of sorts. And Malfoy is an idiot himself. It's not like Harry hadn't spent a good portion of the summer trying to get justice for just that blond. How quickly some forget.
Harry clearly doesn't get it, Ron figures, and he doesn't like the way he looked at him, so he lays it out more plainly for his roommate, "How am I going to explain what I was doing here?" Because the kind of points they should be taking, there's no way McGonagall doesn't come asking why, and of course they shouldn't be there at all. Harry has to chew on that for a moment.
Evidently more collected than his friend, Ron then asks the Slytherins, "Are you alright?" Well, Parkinson mostly. Malfoy can fuck right off. She's busy adjusting her clothes, making sure she's properly covered up, and refuses to meet his eyes.
Yeah.
"Naff off, Weasley," Malfoy snarls. "Does she look alright?" Parkinson looks like she wants everyone to just fucking forget she's there, cheers.
"No good deed..." Ron trails off with another shrug, except this isn't the first abuse the Snakes have taken, the school is anything but safe, at least not for them, and somehow they don't feel like showing gratitude, because they should fucking be able to walk the fucking corridors like any other fucking student, ta.
They can't even do that, clearly.
The icing on the pumpkin pastie (sweet, not savoury) being that the godsdamned Headmistress had quite literally required this of them, sending them like lambs to the fucking slaughter. Unsurprisingly, they're seething.
Ignoring the Slytherins, Ron turns back to Harry and drawls, "It's up to them."
It rings cold as far as Harry's concerned, but Ron's not wrong though.
Feeling he needs to make up for the ginger somehow, Harry addresses the Slytherins, "Let's get you home then? You can take it from there. Unless... Unless you'd like to go to the Infirmary?" Parkinson doesn't look at all steady on her feet, Malfoy is little better. The blond looks at his friend, but she shakes her head, 'no'.
"No, we'll head back to the dungeons. We don't need your help," Malfoy snarls again. Harry wonders sometimes if he can do anything but. They take meals together three times a day sitting side by side, and he still hasn't seen much proof to the contrary.
Draco's just hoping Ella Wilkins will be able to set them to rights if they can just make it back home... He wobbles a few steps towards Parkinson, and Harry decides he can't stand there watching this bit of foolishness any longer.
"Accept the kindness, Malfoy," he echoes 'Mione's words to the blond from the Starting Day Feast not even two weeks hence. He figures he'll recognise them; nothing bad had come of trusting them then either. Turning to face Parkinson - perhaps a bit clumsily, but considering the circumstances... - he asks, "Do you mind if I..." gesturing even more awkwardly to her arm. Pansy seems to understand, or her nerves are too frayed to take offence anymore. Harry prefers to believe it's the former and not the latter. She extends the arm some in invitation for him to take, not quite managing to speak. She just wants to go home.
Harry hands Ron his broom and then with his now freed hand Summons, shrinks and pockets his Cloak while Malfoy makes his way to the girl's other side. One boy to either side, Pansy nestled gently, safely, in between, the three of them proceed, the whole thing darkly reminiscent of the first day of term, like some horrifying mockery, Ron trailing in the rear, a sharp eye out should the masked group decide to reappear. Fortunately they don't, and there's nothing but their four sets of footfalls to hear as they make their way to the Slytherin dorms.
All four welcome the silence, none of them really having any idea of what to say for such an occasion and largely dreading anything that might happen to occur to anyone else. But it hardly seems the time to ask if they've completed the Transfiguration assignment or how the Quidditch team is shaping up for the season... Not that they talk about those sorts of things together anyway...
It's slow going at first, but the Snakes seem to recover a touch soon enough, and shortly they've almost reached their destination.
When they get to the corridor that heads towards their dungeons, Harry is overcome by the sudden notion he needs to stop Ron from making it clear they know precisely where the entrance to Slytherin lies. That's an indignity too far for tonight. Harry's probably doing his friend an injustice with the thought, but Ron's mood is anything but predictable and hasn't been for months now.
It's Harry's rushed and all too obvious, "You can take it from here? We need to be getting back..." that has Ron opening his mouth to make some crack or another, but then he takes another look at Parkinson, and just the sight of the girl... He shuts his gob, and Harry snags his arm, half dragging him down the corridor.
"Stop being such a knob," the Bloody Baron can just hear Potter whisper to his friend as they round next corner. The Slytherin House ghost fades into view once the Estrays are gone, unfortunately a bit too late to reassure the Snakelets that he'd carefully overseen their return to the dungeons, but then he underestimates the reassurance that might provide.
He'd been fetched to the scene of the attack by the portraits, arriving only moments before the Estrays. He's been closely watching the little group ever since. Frankly it had been a great relief that he was able to report this as a false alarm, cancelling his call for help almost immediately. After everything the man had been through last year, they really do so hate to inconvenience the Head.
Written with oodles of love for
lostangelsoul3. Happy Birthday, hun! 🎂🎁 🥳🎉
(no subject)
Date: 2023-06-03 07:51 am (UTC)Immensely grateful that you've been inspired to write again
(no subject)
Date: 2023-06-03 09:58 pm (UTC)But where Ron's right, the Slytherins are Prefects and could take points themselves, there's no pressing need for him to get into trouble by doing it instead. As he sees it, if they cared to, they could. Or if they feel they can't because they're involved, they can certainly report it and have someone else do it. Presently, they're choosing not to for reasons of their own. Not necessarily good reasons, things like not wanting to attract attention or make a bad situation worse or consulting with their housemates first, but it's a decision they've made, at least for the moment.
it took them long enough — I actually timed it. (You know me. lol Of course I did.) It's the problem with describing a scene vs. seeing one, reading the description will take a good deal longer than the actions. Basically there are two things that happen, plank 1 gives the order to ennervate Draco, and then he places a hand on Pansy's thigh. That doesn't take long, and the first isn't a clear deal breaker, especially when you consider that Harry and Ron don't have the advantage of knowing this is a Drarry story. 😆 They happen upon a scene and need to determine whose side they're on, and they aren't exactly used to being on the same side as the Snakes.
Rape — until it happens, the universe around the potential victim often has a way of denying it was going to. In fact, that's often depressingly true even after it does. It's not even necessarily gaslighting so much as denial, but that can be seriously robust. (And actually that can be true for the victim as well.)
Thanks! You are a sweetheart. ❤️