Becoming Corruption

“It’s about time you showed up,” Fred said as I hurried down the last step of the staircase, pulling my long blonde hair back into a ponytail.

“Sorry,” I breathed, falling into step between him and George. “The girls decided to hide my uniform last night.”

“Are you hungry?” George asked.

“Not really. I feel like I’m gonna throw up.”

“That’s what we like to hear,” they said in unison, each grabbing one of my shoulders and giving them a squeeze.

“Where’s Hermione?” I asked as we hurried past the great hall. The twins shrugged in unison, saying together,

“Dunno, do we?”

“That’s awesome,” I laughed, grinning up the pair of them. Exchanging identical smiles, Fred said,

“What’s even more awesome,”

“Is being able to finish each others sentences,”

“Even when we say ridiculous things,”

“Like snorglepluff!” They finished in unison, making me burst into laughter.

“That’s definitely rehearsed,” I giggled as we began to climb the Quidditch pitch, heading towards the Gryffindor locker rooms. As we entered, Harry let out a relieved breath and said,

“It’s about time you three showed up. The game starts in two minutes.”

“Does it George?” Fred asked, wide eyed, turning to his brother.

“Well, if Harry says so, I guess it does!”

Harry rolled his eyes as I giggled. Giving each of my shoulders another squeeze, Fred said,

“Keep your head in the game,”

“You’re a brilliant chaser,”

“So as long as you focus on the here and now,

“You’ll smear Hufflepuff into the ground!”

The three of us laughed as I wove through the others to snag a broom out of a spare locker. I stood beside Ginny and took a deep breath.

“You’ll be fine,” she assured, smiling. “You played wonderfully at practice last night, and you’ll do great today.”

“It’s a little scary,” Angelina admitted, leaning around Ginny to give me another reassuring smile. “But the three of us can take ‘em.”

I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Harry took the head of our group, and as the doors open, he mounted his broom and took off into the pitch. Fred and George went next, throwing mini firecrackers into the air as they soared out.

Angelina, Ginny, and I flew out right behind, with Ron bringing up the rear. The crowd cheered wildly as we flew around the pitch; a guy dressed in Gryffindor colors was announcing the names of everyone on the team. I managed to pick out Hermione waving wildly, and I waved back.

“And welcome Gryffindor’s new Chasers,” an announcer cried as we flew past the teachers section.

“Number sixteen, Ginny Weasley!” Ginny drew a huge roar of applause as she pumped her fist in the air; I cheered as well.

“Number seventeen, Angelina Johnson!” Just as big of a cheer erupted for Angelina, with me cheering as well.

“And number eighteen, Rowan Malfoy!”

I’m pretty sure Hermione and a few other Gryffindors were the only ones cheering as I continued to fly. But then Ginny, Angelina, Fred, George, and hell, even Ron, let out whooping cheers of approval. Well, better than nothing.

We all took our place in the center of the Quidditch pitch, and with a blow of her whistle, Madame Hooch threw the Quaffle into the air.

One of the Chasers for Hufflepuff, a rather chubby boy with beady eyes, rushed forward and tried to intercept the Quaffle. I shot towards him; immediately he stopped, not wanting to collide. Grabbing the Quaffle, I rocketed towards the sky with the chubby boy on my tail.

“Malfoy has the Quaffle, but Drathers is right behind her… She throws to Weasley- Weasley catches! She’s off towards the posts… a pass to Johnson, Johnson passes to Malfoy, and Malfoy- MALFOY SCORES! TEN POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR!”

This time, Gryffindor cheered. For me. Balancing on my broom, I held my hands up as Ginny and Angelina swooped past me, slapping high fives. As Madame Hooch threw the ball back up into the game, Drathers snatched the Quaffle and sped off towards Ron.

“Drathers has the ball… Malfoy and Weasley are right behind him… OOH! A close call for Malfoy, that bludger was headed right for her, but Weasley One took care of it… Drathers throws the quaffle, it’s close but… WEASLEY CAUGHT IT! NO POINTS TO HUFFLEPUFF!”

Cheers erupted as Ron threw the Quaffle to Ginny, and Angelina and I flanked her on either side as we sped towards Hufflepuff’s goal post. From beside me, I heard,

“Rose! Duck!”

Immediately, I dropped a few feet; Drathers, who had been speeding towards me to bash into me, spiraled off away from me. I gave Fred a thankful smile as I resumed my position beside Ginny.

“Routine number three,” Ginny hissed to Angelina and I; we both nodded and shot forward. Angelina pulled up right in front of one of the lower hoops, and as Ginny threw the Quaffle towards her, the Hufflepuff keeper raced towards Angelina.

Instead, I shot up between the two of them, snatched the Quaffle, and chucked it through the unguarded hoop.

The crowd was on their feet cheering wildly as I pumped my fist into the air.

ღ

“You were absolutely brilliant, Rose!” Hermione gushed, pulling me into another hug as she shouted over the music in the common room. Laughing, I hugged her back and said,

“Thanks! Have you seen the twins?”

“They’re setting off fireworks on the grounds,” Hermione told me, rolling her eyes. Laughing, I gave her shoulder a squeeze and said,

“I’m off to find them, have fun for me, okay?”

“Don’t get yourself landed in detention,” she warned, trying to give me her sternest look. I rolled my eyes at her and said,

“Yes, mum!”

We grinned at one another before Hermione wound her way over to Harry, and I began to snake around the groups of people blocking my path. More than once, a Gryffindor patted me on the back and said,

“Good game, Malfoy!” Taken aback by the compliments, I just nodded, mumbled thanks, and hurried off before anyone could insult me. The hall was quite refreshing after being packed in with everyone. I took a few deep breaths of fresh air as I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my jeans and trudged down the corridor. The windows in the castle were open tonight, and the chilled breeze felt good on my arms.

As I stepped onto the staircase leading towards the great hall, it suddenly detached itself from one platform and began to swing around to another.

“Oh for the love of…” I muttered; I still didn’t know my way around the castle all that well. “What the hell is the point of moving staircases?”

As I scurried off the stairs, not wanting to get more turned around, I took a left down the hall in search of another set of stairs when I heard an all too familiar voice. Tilting my head to the side to hear better, I began to creep off towards the sound. I paused at the end of the hall, and leaned out just a bit to get a glimpse to see if I was right.

Draco was angrily pacing back and forth (not uncommon for my brother) and whispering in frustration to himself (also not uncommon). What did worry me was how thin he looked. He wasn’t ever big (our father would NEVER allow that) but he had been well-built, and very muscular. Now he just looked lean and too malnourished. His usually sleek blonde hair was dull and unstyled, very unlike him, and his clothes were disheveled.

He paused in front of the blank wall with his back to me, his hands grasping his dull hair, his head hanging down, whispering,

“Why can’t I get in? Why can’t I get in?? Why can’t I get IN??”

“Because there isn’t a door there,” I offered, stepping out from behind the wall and beginning to advance towards him.

I must have scared him pretty bad; Draco whirled around so fast he lost his balance and fell back into the wall. His ice-blue eyes were wide with shock, sunken into his skull. Dark shadows hung beneath his eyes, and his face was paler than before. As soon as he registered who had spoken, his face went from shock and worry to angry and furious in a split second.

“What the hell are you doing, Rowan?!”

“Maybe I should be asking you,” I said with a frown, crossing my arms over my chest. “You look like you’ve just killed someone.” Draco’s face paled just a bit, and I asked, “Oh god, please tell me you didn’t kill someone-“

“Of course I didn’t kill someone, you bloody moron!” he snapped, dropping his hands from his hair in frustration. “You’re so unbelievably thickheaded sometimes, you know that?”

“Of course I know that,” I told him with a shrug. “You tell me that almost every time we talk, you realize that, don’t you?”

“Get out of here, Rowan. I’m tired of you cropping up all the time!”

“Like I do it on purpose,” I scoffed. “I’m not leaving until you tell me what you’re up to.”

“Mum and father should have gotten rid of you the moment they had you,” he snarled. “You’re nothing but a useless pain in the ass that doesn’t know how to keep her unwanted self out of other people’s business!”

Though I was a little stung about his first sentence, I brushed off his words. I’d grown up with Draco; I was used to being insulted with every other word.

“Excuse me, you little prick,” I snapped, taking a step towards him. “When my brother begins talking to walls and looking like a mindless cadaver, I sort of consider it my business. I know you’re up to something. You’ve missed classes the past month, you’re never at meals-”

“It’s my own bloody business,” he growled, stepping towards me so he towered over my smaller form. “It’s no wonder the whole of Gryffindor doesn’t want you around. Granger isn’t your friend,” he said, giving a bitter laugh. “She’s just using you to get information about me. I overheard her, Potter, and Weaslebee the other day talking about it. Don’t think you’re wanted anywhere, Rowan. Who would want you?”

I swallowed hard to force down the lump in my throat, and that was a mistake. He saw he was beginning to get to me, and he kept going.

“Mum doesn’t want you, father certainly doesn’t want you, that filthy mudblood doesn’t want you, and I’ve never wanted you. You're a mistake, Rowan. A bloody awful one at that-"

Forcing down the bitterness welling up inside, I drew a deep breath and snarled,

“Her name is Hermione. I don’t ever want to hear you calling her that name again.” Draco narrowed his eyes as I continued. “And as for whether I’m wanted or not, I could care less. Is this really how you treat the people that care about you? All I want to do is help your pathetic arse with whatever the hell it is you've gotten yourself into. I’m your sister, Draco. That should count for something. Oh,” I added, already backing up as my lip began to tremble. "By the way, I was always mum's favorite. So shove off."

With that, I spun around and took off down the hallway I’d just come from, not looking back at my brother. I threw myself onto the stairs; they had moved again, and this staircase was right above the platform that led out to the grounds. Not wanting any more detours, I climbed up onto the railing and jumped down onto the platform below; landing easily, and then taking off down the hallway.

I burst through the front door just as the tears began to fall down my face. Draco’s words hurt, mainly because I was almost sure they were true. Maybe not about Hermione, but the rest... I dropped down onto the cold stone steps, propping my elbows on my knees and resting my chin in my hands. My tears trickled down my arms, pooling onto my jeans.

“You smell like honey,” a voice said from beside me, scaring me out of my wits. I jumped and let out a squeak of surprise, falling down onto the step below me, clutching my chest in an attempt to keep my heart from bursting through my ribcage.

Fred was seated one step back from where I had been sitting, a cheeky grin on his face.

“Did I startle you?”

“Not at all,” I gasped, taking a deep breath to steady myself. “That’s just how I say hello.”

“Oh, well in that case, hello to you too,” he said, scooting down a few steps to sit next to me. I tucked a lock of blonde hair back behind my ear and stared at him warily.

“Is that going to become a habit of yours?” I asked him, righting myself on the step as my heart rate slowed.

“No,” he said with a shrug. “It already is my habit. Now, what’s wrong?”

Oh, yeah. Draco.

I hastily wiped my tears away and then pulled my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around my legs and then resting my chin on top of my knees.

“Nothing.”

“I feel I’ve mentioned that you’re a bad liar,” Fred told me, scooting to the step below and turning around so he could look up at my face. “Those look like Draco-induced tears.”

I gave a watery laugh and asked,

“How can you tell?”

“I’ve seen them a lot.”

Letting out a shaky sigh, I said,

“He’s just being a prick. Same-ole same-ole.”

“Well, when that prick hurts my best friend, something’s got to be done” he said matter-of-factly, getting to his feet and holding out his hands. Taking them, he pulled me to my feet; though I was one step above him, he was still taller than me.

“I’m you’re best friend?” I asked him as we headed back into the castle.

“Naturally,” he told me, slinging an arm around me. My stomach squirmed with uneasiness. I wasn’t a touchy-feely kind of person. I mean, it’s not like hugs were handed out left and right at my house. Thinking about it, I could recall the last hug I’d gotten from anyone related to me… Snapping back to the present, I joked,

“If I’m your best friend, you must not meet a lot of people.”

“It’s cute, really,” he said, giving my arm a squeeze, “how you put yourself down and think that no one wants anything to do with you.”

I rolled my eyes, trying to fight the fierce blush that spread across my face. We walked to the Gryffindor common room, chatting idly until we stepped through the portrait hole.

“Where’s George?” I asked, pausing beside the couch. It was late, and the other students had gone up to bed.

“Outrunning Filch,” he laughed, a dazzling sparkle coming to his eye. “Figure he’ll be back in an hour or so. As for you,” he said, pulling me into a hug. He smelled like vanilla and smoke from recently lit fireworks; it was comforting. “Go to sleep. In the morning, you’ll find your troubles taken care of.”

Though his words confused me, I pulled away from Fred and smiled up at him.

“You’re a pretty good best friend. G’night, Fred.”

“Night, Rose.”

We both smiled at each other, then headed up the opposite staircases, disappearing into our dorms.

ღ

“I’m honestly a little worried about the quiz in Herbology,” Hermione told me as we headed down the hall on our way to breakfast. “I’ve studied, of course, but she could always put something extra in the quiz-”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” I told her, rolling my eyes at her panic. “Or at least you’ll be better than me.”

As we entered the great hall, bickering over who would fail the quiz worse, there was a horrified shriek off towards the Slytherin table. As I glanced over to see what the commotion was about, my jaw dropped open. Draco was rushing from the table, one hand over his nose, the other clutching his tongue. Blood spurted from his nose as he raced towards the exit.

“Cwabbe! Goyuh! Hep meh!”

I burst out into laughter as I saw Draco’s tongue was ten times its normal size. Crabbe and Goyle raced after my brother holding a box of half-eaten sweets.

“Those look like the nosebleed nougats Fred and George came up with a few years back,” Hermione said in surprise, grinning at she leaned out the doorway to watch Draco run for the hospital wing.

Turning to the Gryffindor table, I just caught sight of Fred and George slapping high-fives; Fred turned towards me, a grin on his face.

I grinned back.