Becoming Corruption

“Father?” I asked in complete shock, coming to a startled halt. Dumbledore swerved around me and said,

“Miss Malfoy, your father is here to discuss your sorting hat predicament.”

“It is a complete disgrace to have my daughter sorted into Gryffindor,” my father snarled, spitting the last word with such contempt I winced. “It is degrading to have a Malfoy placed within the same ranks as those mudbl-“

“Mr. Malfoy, I request that you refrain from using such foul language in my school,” Dumbledore demanded, catching me by surprise. Dumbledore definitely didn’t strike me as the outspoken type. For a moment, I was worried my father would lash out at the headmaster. My father narrowed his eyes, but didn’t advance towards Dumbledore.

“I’m demanding that you place Rowan into Slytherin this instance! I will not allow my daughter to mingle with those blood traitors!”

“Mr. Malfoy, while I understand your concern,” Dumbledore said, catching my eye as he spoke, “I cannot go against what the sorting hat has decided. Miss Malfoy has been placed into Gryffindor, and it will remain that way until the end of her seventh year.”

My father was furious; his eyes burned into Dumbledore, and he snarled,

“Don’t think you’ve heard the end of this.”

Spinning on his heel, he ordered,

“Rowan, come.”

I, of course, held my place as I gave Dumbledore a small smile. Somehow, I was sure he’d seen the little spark of happiness I’d gotten tonight with Hermione and Fred. Dumbledore just gave me a subtle smile back as my father’s hand clamped down onto my arm, pulling me backwards down the stairs.

“Until I can put you back into Slytherin,” my father began, pausing a little ways down the hall. “You are to keep to yourself. Do you hear me, Rowan?" he added when I didn't answer right away.

“What’s wrong with making a few friends for once in my life?” I asked quietly, turning my gaze onto him. He narrowed his eyes as he growled,

“You don’t want to go making friends with those mudblood traitors. If you want friends, then introduce yourself to a few Slytherins. They’re the students you can trust.”

I turned my face away from him, and he cupped my chin in his hands, turning my gaze back to him.

“Is it really so hard for you to do as you’re told, Rowan?”

“I have a mind of my own,” I said quietly, setting my jaw as I glared up at him. “I prefer to make my own decisions, not be trained to listen to orders.”

Letting out a frustrated sigh, my father released my chin and said,

“Do not let me hear about you befriending any of those worthless blood traitors in Gryffindor, Rowan," he threatened as he turned on his heel and stalked off. "If I have to come back to this bloody school because of you one more time…”

“Lovely to see you too, father,” I muttered under my breath, turning to sulk back to the common room. I nearly collided with Draco, who seemed to have materialized right behind me. Letting out a squeak of surprise, I skittered back and clutched my chest.

“Bloody hell, Draco! Don’t do that!”

“Father came to see you?” he asked, a quiet anger lying beneath his words. Locking eyes with my brother, I said sarcastically,

“No, he came for the scenery.”

“Why did he come to visit you?” he asked angrily, stepping towards me. “He’s never come to see me, not once.”

“What’s the matter with you?” I asked cautiously, putting a bit of distance between us. “It’s not like we went out to dinner or discussed our feelings, you know.”

As Draco stepped into the light, I gasped and asked,

“What happened? You look horrible!” I wasn't one for being sensitive.

Immediately Draco backed up into the shadows, but I’d already seen how gaunt his face had become. His pale skin was a sickly white, and the dark circles under his eyes sunk his gaze back into his skull. He was staring at me with guarded sadness, his eyes challenging me to say something else.

I, of course, took the challenge.

“What’s wrong with you? You haven’t been at meals, you missed class today-”

Draco turned away from me, beginning to stalk back towards his common room. I began to take a few steps after him, but my instinct told me not to push it this time. So I stayed put, watching with worried confusion as he left me behind.

"You know you're not alone," I offered quietly. "If something's wrong, you can tell me. I'm your sister, whether you like it or not. I'll help, if you need me."

I’d been expecting a sharp reply, but instead Draco glanced back over his shoulder, his eyes filled with a pain I’d never seen before.

“I’d never ask you to help me with this, Rowan.”

And just like that, he disappeared into the shadows, leaving me to stare after him.

ღ

I was still dwelling on the problems with my brother as I walked into the common room. The pain he was feeling worried me deeply, and I couldn’t shake what he had said before he left. Something was wrong with him, and I was going to find out what.

The common room was empty, and I was overly grateful as I dropped down onto the couch. Between the weird meeting with Draco, and the wonderful 'talk' with my father, I was starting to feel the exhaustion of the day. My eyes shut, and I took a deep breath. It was nice to be alone and unbothered.

I opened my eyes and lay back on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. My moment of peacefulness was interrupted by the sound of someone coming down the stairs; not wanting to be an easy target, I scrambled to sit up, looking over at the staircase just as Ginny jumped down the last step.

“Oh, there you are Rose,” she said, smiling as she saw me. “Hermione and Fred were down here waiting, but I think they turned in for the night.” There were a bundle of papers in Ginny’s hand, colored a vivid red and gold.

“What are those for?” I asked her, getting to my feet and stretching. She handed me a flyer, saying,

“Harry is holding tryouts for the Quidditch team this weekend.”

As I read over the paper in my hand, I grinned. This was the perfect way to show to Harry how great of an asset I could be to Gryffindor. Though I’m not conceited, I know for a fact I can kick some pretty serious arse when I play Quidditch. Though Beauxbatons never had their own team, I played pick-up games with Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise, and Flint when they stayed at our house.

“Is the audition open to anyone?” I asked Ginny; she grinned at me.

“You play?”

“Yeah, and I like to think I’m pretty damn good at it too.”

Laughing, Ginny shrugged and said,

“It’s an open tryout, so come by and show Harry what you’ve got!”

ღ

It was early Saturday morning as I got out of bed and began to pull on a set of Ginny’s old Quidditch robes that she’d lent to me. Hermione was just getting up as well, and we finished dressing together.

“How long have you been playing Quidditch?”

“I’ve never played on a team,” I told her as we headed down the hallway. “But I’ve been playing with Draco since before we started school.”

“What position do you want?” she asked, leading the way down the stairs.

“Chaser. I’m not strong enough to be an effective beater, and I’m lousy at being keeper. I'm fast enough for seeker, I’m not about to go for that with Harry as team captain.”

“You'll do wonderful. Good luck,” Hermione said, pulling me into a hug before we left the common room. “I’ll be cheering for you.”

Hermione left me to go up to the stands as we reached the Quidditch pitch. Up until now, I hadn’t been the least bit nervous; on my own, I was doing all I could to keep from turning and running back to the common room.

“If you’re going out for beater,” a familiar voice said from behind, “then I hate to tell you this, but you’re going to fail miserably, so it’s best if you pack it in and forget all about it.”

Grinning, I whirled around and shot back,

“Lucky for you, I’m not trying to steal your spot on the team, or else you’d be replaced instantly.”

Fred grinned at me, giving me a one-armed hug.

“Chaser, then?” he asked me as we headed towards the rest of the field. George fell in on my other side, struggling to pull his glove on.

“What makes you think I couldn’t be a keeper?” I asked him, frowning up at his smirk.

“Oh please, Rose,” he laughed, ruffling my hair. "Everything about you just screams chaser.”

“Chaser!” I screamed, making George jump in surprise; the sudden movement helped him fully pull his glove on. Fred just laughed as we reached the group of other hopefuls. Wishing each other good luck, we separated into our own groups. Ginny was standing to one side of the chaser group, so I stood beside her. She smiled at me. Once everyone was gathered around and the group grew silent, Harry said,

“Alright, well, welcome to Gryffindor tryouts. We’ve got a bit more people than I was expecting. Beaters, since there’s only two of you, you guys will go first. Then-“

“Blimey Harry, you’ve seen us play before,” George piped up from the front of the crowd. “If no one else is gonna try out, do we really need to?”

“Might as well,” Fred sighed, climbing onto his broom. “I’ve been waiting for a good excuse to hit something.”

I’ve got to admit I was surprised by how great Fred and George were. A few times I’m pretty sure George aimed the bludger for me, but Fred intercepted it every time, and the second they landed, Harry gave them a thumbs up.

When Harry called for the Seekers, no one stepped up. After announcing he’d be continuing to be the team’s seeker, he went to move on, only to be stopped.

“Hold on, mate,” Fred called, leaning on his broom to grin at Harry. “We had to try out even though there were no other beaters. So how about you show us if you’re still worthy of being our seeker?”

“I don’t really think-“ Harry began, only to be cut off by the doubtful murmurings of the other Gryffindors. Shooting Fred a disgruntled look (to which Fred gave a cheeky grin) Harry went to the trunk full of the game balls, grabbed the snitch, and threw it into the air.

Two minutes later, Harry landed back in front of Fred, pointedly putting the snitch back into its case. Fred shrugged his shoulders, saying to George,

“His form could use a little work, but I guess he’ll do.”

“Alright, Keepers, you’re next," Harry called dryly, shooting the twins a look.

It was only Cormac and Ron up to bat now. Cormac gave a way too dazzling grin to Harry as he turned to head to his post. I saw him flash Hermione a smile; she rolled her eyes, and I barely kept from laughing.

Though I would never admit it, I was more than surprised to see Ron beat Cormac. And I also would never admit that I’d seen Hermione distinctively whispering something under her breath while staring intently at Cormac.

And finally, it was the chasers turn.

“Alright, I’m splitting you all into three groups. I’ll pick one person from each group. Ginny, Elise, Travis, you three will be the first group. Daniel, Michael, and Angelina, you’re the second group. Katie, Grace, and, er, Malfoy,” Harry said, not meeting my gaze. “You’ll be the last group. Let’s get this started!”

Watching Ginny play immediately made me thank the heavens that I wasn’t in her group. The other two didn’t even stand a chance; she swept past them and scored more goals than the other two combined. No one was shocked when Harry announced Ginny had made it through.

The next group was a bit tougher to call; Daniel and Michael were both able to throw the quaffle harder and farther, but Angelina was faster and smaller, and she managed to outscore them with a goal to spare.

She and Ginny slapped high fives as I realized it was now my turn; swallowing nervously, I glanced around. Ginny gave me a reassuring nod, while Fred and George grinned. Mounting my broom, I kicked off shakily, but managed to steady myself pretty quickly. Harry tossed the ball up, and the tryouts really began.

Katie had been on the team the past few years; she was fast and knew her way around the pitch. Grace was a year younger than me, and she was a little clumsy on her broom. It was really only between Katie and I, but that was challenge enough. Katie had already scored three goals, and I had barely touched the quaffle.

As I glanced down at the group of Gryffindor’s watching us, a warm feeling spread through me as I locked eyes with Fred.

You’ve got this, he mouthed, giving me a wink. As I pulled up to gain some altitude, Katie was just about to zoom past me. Taking a breath, I shot forward, snapping out my hand. I caught the quaffle just right; it popped out from between her side and her arm. The ball shot through the air behind her. I rushed forward and grabbed it, tucking it close to my chest to keep it safe from Katie. I easily swerved past Grace as I chucked the quaffle through the goal hoop.

Twice more I managed to steal the quaffle from Katie and score a goal. We were tied now, three to three. Once more, Harry tossed the quaffle in the air, but this time I didn’t hesitate. I shot forward so fast that I had snagged the quaffle before Katie or Grace had even gotten close. Katie was right behind me, threatening to overtake me. If she passed me, she could intercept it when I threw it at the hoop.

Though I tried to speed ahead, Katie was too fast. She overtook me and placed herself between me and the goal post just as I was getting ready to throw the quaffle.

I’ve got this. I want to be on the team. I can do this. All or nothing, Malfoy, I told myself, taking a deep breath. Turning my broom to head straight at Katie, I dropped down so my broom was lower than her. Right before we collided, I got up onto the handle of my broom, balanced for a moment, then leapt up off my broom. I soared over Katie as the crowd below burst into applause. Still holding the quaffle, I landed easily on the other side of Katie on my broom and threw the quaffle through the goal hoop.

I was engulfed in a giant hug from Fred, George, Ginny, and Hermione (who had run wildly down the stands and onto the field) the moment I landed. The kids around me were buzzing with excitement; though it was a move I used all the time against Draco, apparently it wasn’t so common at Hogwarts.

As I managed to push past my friends, I emerged in front of Harry. With a heavy sigh, he handed me over the last jersey, number 18. Without another word, Harry turned away from me as he made his way to the locker rooms.

I had done it. I'd beaten the odds and fought my way onto the team.

I wondered what my father would think of that.