Status: Chapter 14 is here!

Slytherin

Unforgivable

DISCLAIMER: Sadly, I do not own any of the characters of Harry Potter. I do, in fact, own Paige and the other characters that you don't recognize. I made up most of this cuz this is, as you all know, a fanfiction and I can do whatever I please because I control it! Muwahahaha! Boy this is a long disclaimer…

“You know, you really do belong in Slytherin,” a familiar voice said from behind.

I was sitting on mine and Neville’s rock down by the lake, knees pulled into my chest and tears silently spilling down my face. My face whipped around at the Harry’s words, not caring if he saw my puffy red eyes or wet face. At this point, I didn’t care about anything.

It was snowing slightly, and the little delicate flakes would become caught in my eyelashes, but my tears would quickly melt them away. The ground was covered in the sparkling white powder, and the lake was already frozen.

“I’ve been,” I began to say, but was interrupted by a hiccup. I tried again. “I’ve been hearing that a lot lately.”

“Now,” he started, sitting on the edge of the rock, staring out at the lake. Then again, he could have been staring off into space for all I knew. “I don’t mean that just because of the way you’ve been acting.”

I turned slightly towards him and raised an eyebrow. “Oh really?”

He grimaced at the sarcasm. “What I do mean, is that the Sorting Hat is never wrong.” He looked at me in the eye. “I thought that I belonged in Slytherin.”

“Yeah, but that’s because of the whole ‘how you’re like You-Know-Who’ thing,” I argued, wiping a tear out of my eye. “With me, it’s completely different. I belong in Hufflepuff. I’m so worthless.”

“Well first of all that was mean,” Harry responded, pursing his lips. “Second of all, not all Hufflepuffs are worthless. Just look at, er, Cedric. Third of all, you’re not worthless.”

“I am worthless,” I said, putting my face in my hands. “I’ve done nothing but cause trouble all year.”

“Yes, true,” Harry agreed, subconsciously running a finger over his scar. “But you also made Neville’s year the best yet. Even if the year isn’t even over, it was worth it to him.”

“Until now of course.” Harry was doing a terrible job of making me feel better.

“Again, true,” Harry concurred once more. “But it was good while it lasted. He had someone to look up to, someone who was being a true friend to him. Someone to help him when he was in need. No one’s ever done that for him before. It’s no wonder he fell in love with you.”

“In love?” I questioned, turning my head slightly to the side. “With me?”

“Yes you,” he chuckled nervously. “All he would do was talk about you. You’re smile, your laugh, the dimples when you smile.”

He was teasing me, and I smirked a little bit. Oh, Neville.

“But what do I do now?” I said standing up, wiping the remnants of my tears away. “Now that I’ve ruined everything?”

With Neville gone, it was like a little piece of my heart had a gaping hole in it. A gape that was there before, but was then filled in by Neville.

“My only advice is this,” he began, standing up, and slowly making his way back to the castle. Hermione and Ron were waiting at the top. Hermione glaring and Ron staring at the sky. “Ask yourself if you want to be a Slytherin. Acting like a jerk, hurting the people you love. Or if you want to act like…”

“A Gryffindor?” I chuckled, raising my eyebrows slightly. He nodded and smiled.

“Oh, and while I’m here,” he said, holding a finger up and pulling something out of his cloak. It was the golden egg he had won in the first task. “Would you have any idea what I’m supposed to do with this?”

I took it in my hands gently and shifted the weight between my hands. I went to open it, but he stopped me.

“Trust me, you don’t want to do that,” he warned, grimacing slightly.

“I dunno,” I began, shrugging my shoulders. “It’s an egg. Maybe you have to sit on it and something will come out?”

The idea sounded positively silly, but it appeared as if Harry was considering it.

“I heard along the grapevine that Cedric has figured it out,” I informed him. “Maybe you should ask him.”

“Yeah, right,” he muttered, taking the egg back and making his way back towards the castle.

I sighed. What was I going to do?

*********

I looked at myself in the mirror, and tilted my head. I was wearing a beautiful, long, green dress. Not Slytherin green, but lighter. One side of the dress was pinned up at the thigh with a silver broche so that it showed quite a lot of leg. The back was open, only being covered with black straps that laced across like a corset.

My hair just hung down with loose curls. Nothing too spectacular. My make-up was simple; just the usual eye-liner, mascara, and brown and green eye shadow to make my eyes pop.

I took a deep breath, and turned away from my reflection, thinking of my mom. Both of my parents had been sad when I told them that I would not be coming home for Christmas, but my mom was happy to make a dress for me for the Yule Ball. It came by owl only a few days ago, but was met with slight dread. It meant that I had a dress and shoes and was all ready to go…without a date. Draco refused to take me still, and I hadn’t talked to Neville since that fight.

I tried to apologize to him during Herbology, but he simply ignored me, like I was a fly on his shoulder.

“Draco and I decided to match,” Pansy gloated from behind.

I didn’t turn around to look at her, even though I knew the words were directed towards me. The moron thought that, when Draco asked her, he had never asked me. The thought made me smile slightly, despite the depressing feelings that were stored up inside me, like a monster locked away in a cave.

“His bow tie matches my dress,” she continued. She was wearing a very short black dress. Which meant Draco’s tie was black. What a moron.

I walked out past them, ignoring the smirks that were being sent my way. I didn’t try to be better than them, even though I clearly was. I just wanted to get away from the eyes that wouldn’t stop staring.

Unaccompanied, I made my way down the stairs that were just before the Great Hall. I kept my eyes on the ground, hoping to avoid people’s gazes. She wasn’t in the mood for that kind of attention. Not just yet.

The Great Hall looked amazing. Icicles dangled from the ceiling, floating in the air where the candles usually were. Ice sculptures were framing the entire room. It was even snowing slightly from the ceiling, almost like an ice palace. It was breathtaking.

Perhaps going to this dance wasn’t such a good idea. Maybe I just should’ve stayed at home. This thought was reinforced in my mind, when I looked across and saw Neville with Ginny Weasley. I smiled, happy to see that he still managed to find a date, but still guilty about all that had happened. He looked adorable in his little bow tie; nevertheless, he didn’t look all that happy. I looked away from the sight, and instead ran face to face into Draco. This day was just getting better and better.

“Hey babe,” he greeted with a smirk. “You look gorgeous.”

“I’m mad at you,” I stated, and began to walk away, but you know men don’t like that. He proceeded to grab my arm.

“Hey, don’t be mad at me,” he began quietly, grey eyes serious, but soft. “You were the one that wanted me to prove myself to you. You have no one to blame but yourself.”

I cursed in my head, because I knew he was right. I must’ve looked upset or something, because he tapped the bottom of my chin with his index finger, saying, “Cheer up. I’ll save you a dance.”

It made me feel a little better about myself, and in the next moment, he was swept away by his slutty date. Pansy made sure to glare at me as she tugged on Draco’s arm.

I shook my head, grinning at her jealousy, and noticed that everyone was gathering around the dance floor. The champions were about to make their grand entrance. The doors opened, and the room erupted in applause as Krum, Fleur, Cedric, and Harry made their way in, Harry looking extremely nervous and self-conscious. It made me laugh. He really was a good guy.

There was a whooshing sound, and before I could react, there was an invisibility cloak around me, a hand over my mouth, and assumedly a wand at my throat. The Freak was back.

********

Neville sighed, resting his depressed little head on his hand. Ginny grasped his free hand and gave it a tight squeeze.

“Are you still sad about Paige?” she asked innocently. His only response was another sigh. “You know, I’m sure she’s here. Just ask her to dance and talk it through.”

“We tried talking it through already,” he growled, standing up and sticking his hands in his pockets. If there was a rock on the ground, he surely would have kicked it. “I’ve tried talking it through with her a hundred times. She doesn’t want me. She wants Malfoy.”

There was a silence between the two as Neville moped and Ginny felt guilty. Classical music began playing, and they watched as the champions began their waltz. Even though he didn’t want to, Neville began searching the room for Paige. Oddly enough, he couldn’t find her. He could’ve sworn he saw her not five minutes ago.

“Are you going to let that ruin your friendship?” Ginny asked suddenly, surprising Neville.

“It would hurt too much,” he replied after a brief pause. “Not after I’ve loved her for so long.”

“Draco, you’re the man!” someone said from behind. Neville didn’t even bother turning around. He didn’t want to get Malfoy’s attention. It would just lead to further humiliation.

“You’ve just got to know what women want,” Draco replied. Neville was about to tune the Slytherin clan out when he heard a certain somebody’s name. “And Paige doesn’t even have a clue.”

Neville’s head whipped around he began listening intently, eyes narrowing. It was a group of Slytherin boys, all of their dates missing.

“I just have to swoop in and save the day now, like all the other times. It’s already happened twice to her, and you know what they say.”

“What?” Goyle asked foolishly. Even his voice sounded stupid.

“Third time’s the charm, you thick head,” Draco growled, glaring at the bigger guy. Neville never understood how Crabbe and Goyle could stand following his orders.

“Where’d he take her?” a boy asked.

“To one of the carriages out front,” Draco replied smugly, recovering from insulting people.

Neville had his wand out in a matter of seconds. He charged right up to Draco and pointed it at his throat.

“What have you done with Paige?” Neville demanded in the fiercest tone he could manage.

Ginny called out his name to stop him, but he ignored her, fury too great to extinguish.

Draco’s eyes widened in fear and he held his arms up in surrender. “Whoa, easy there Longbottom! Don’t get your wand in a knot!”

He gained his confidence back once all of his buddies had their wands pointed at his attacker.

“I didn’t do anything with her,” Draco began complacently, sneering. “She just happens to be missing, and, well, I’m going to be the one to save her.”

“But you planned this?” Neville asked, forcing the wand further into Draco’s throat and enjoying his look of pain. “All along? The guy under the cloak, have you been paying him?”

“I don’t have to tell you a single thing. And I suggest that you put the wand away, or else I’ll set my dogs on you.”

Draco eyed all of his friends, each one with their wands pointed at Neville. Neville got the hint, and slowly put away his wand, still fuming. He was surprised to see that none of his ‘friends’ were offended by being called dogs.

“I will tell Paige,” he warned in a threatening voice. Draco simply laughed at that, straightening out his collar.

“Like she’ll believe you.” Neville gave him a questioning look. “She chose me, remember? Not you. She’ll just think that you’re still trying to win her over, but she’ll always choose me over a pathetic loser like you.”

Neville swallowed harshly and bit his lip sheepishly. He knew that Draco was right. He watched helplessly as Draco took off with his friends, laughing at Neville all the while.

“Neville?” Ginny asked cautiously after the performance had ended. “Neville?”

He looked at her confidently. “We have to find Paige.”

Grabbing his jacket off the back of the chair, Neville ran out of the Great Hall, not caring if Ginny followed or not.

******

The night was cold, being winter and all, I was being dragged outside, hand over my mouth and cloak covering my entire body. Nobody could tell that I was being kidnapped. Nobody could tell that I needed help. Nobody could save me.

The Freak flung open a carriage door, the ones the foreign students had used to get to the castle, and roughly pushed me inside, closing the door behind him.

I stayed on the floor and crawled up into a ball in the corner, doing nothing to hide my ever growing fear. He was still underneath the cloak, and all I could hear was his breathing.

For a few agonizing minutes, he just sat and stared at me. I didn’t care. There was nothing I could do.

“Hello Paige,” he wheezed out, panting after the large effort. “It’s been awhile, eh?”

I didn’t utter a word. Just continued to stare at him, helplessly, even after my tears began to blur my vision. It was just one of those moments where, when you’ve lost all hope, that you didn’t care. Didn’t want to yell sarcastic remarks. Didn’t want to fight back. I was already feeling shitty about myself, and now this went and happened. I secretly wished he would just take me away from here, so I wouldn’t have to worry about the stresses of my life. Even if I created those stresses myself.

“Ah, baby,” he whispered, and I felt a finger wipe away one of the tears. “Don’t be sad. I know a way to make it feel all better.”

I felt two invisible legs climb on top of me, and the finger that had removed the tear was traced down my face, down my neck, and so on. I expected him to pull one of the straps off, or just rip my dress off or something. But he just sat there. My eyes narrowed slightly, revealing some emotion.

“Why aren’t you fighting back, love?” he asked. He sounded a tad worried.

“Just do what you want with me,” I finally said, exhaling and closing my eyes.

The Freak’s weight lifted off my body, and my eyes snapped open as I watched him, well, attempted to watch him, begin to…rock the carriage. This annoyed me. All I wanted to do was sit there and feel sorry for myself as something terrible happened to me, and he was making it very difficult.

Suddenly, the door burst open and the light from the castle slightly blinded me. My heart jumped slightly, because I thought I knew who exactly was going to be there. My blond, knight in shining armor.

But to my surprise, there was no bleach-blond head staring at me worriedly. Instead, it was Neville, breathing heavily. And my emotions flooded back into me at full force. A smiled threw away the pathetic frown that I had there before. I was just so…happy. It meant that Neville had been looking for me. It meant that Neville was worried about me. It meant that he still cared for me, even after all the crap I pulled with him.

“Ah shit,” the Freak shouted, and the door on the other side of the carriage began to open. “Till next time, my love!”

Finally caring about this, I blindly reached out and tried to grab something, anything, and managed to snatch his leg and force him to come tumbling to the ground, half in the carriage, half out. His face had collided with the ground, and I heard a small crunching sound, indicating that he probably had broken his nose. The blood affirmed it.

Neville climbed in the carriage and helped me pull the Freak back in, and together we ripped the cloak off of him.

“Paul?!” I exclaimed, dropping the invisible material and covering my mouth. “What the…Paul?!”

He just looked up at us, eyes going back in forth between the two, as he held his nose together. He looked more annoyed than upset or angry.

Then Neville kicked him in the leg, hard, causing Paul to cry it in even more pain.

“Tell her, Jolkins,” Neville growled at the Slytherin before him. “Tell him how Draco was paying you to attack Paige.”

It took a minute for me to register what Neville had said.

“Wha-what?” I asked, turning my gaze over to him. “Draco’s…what?”

Neville looked like he regretted what he said, and then shook his head. But now that he said that, he couldn’t just not explain himself. I grabbed his shoulders and shook him, demanding an explanation. He sighed, finally relenting.

“Did you ever notice how Draco just happened to be there every time this guy showed up?” he asked.

I thought about it. And now I did.

“Well, Draco’s been paying him so that he could look like the hero, saving you and all…”

My heart felt like it had stopped working for a second. It was as stunned as I was. My throat suddenly felt very dry.

“You’re…you’re lie…” But I couldn’t bring myself to say it. Paul wasn’t denying it, and what he had said was the truth. Draco did just happen to be there at the right time. On both occasions. And for a second time that night, tears were brought forth from her eyes.

“So was that…was that you…on Halloween? When the lamp broke?” I asked, the pieces of the puzzle all suddenly falling into place. “And the presents? Were they all really from Draco?”

Paul just shrugged as an answer, probably because he was afraid of spewing blood all over the place.

Just then, there was movement at the door of the carriage.

“Paige!” Draco exclaimed, wand at the ready. The three in the carriage turned and looked at him.

His wand lowered as realization dawned on his face.

“Oh bloody hell,” he mumbled, and immediately began retreating.

And all of a sudden, I was fuming. My breathing had increased and I felt all the blood rush to my face. I was embarrassed. I was angry. He had sent me through torture, just to make himself look good. Just so that I would come flocking to him. I was going to kill that boy. And with that thought, I recalled Defense Against the Dark Arts class with Moody.

Secretly thankful that I had stashed my wand in my dress, I yanked it out and cast the first spell that came to my head.

“Crucio!”

The green spell came out of the tip of my wand, and hit Draco square in the stomach, and he fell to the ground writhing and wriggling in pain.

The carriage was silent as everybody’s eyes were on me, terrified. I looked at my wand and I realized what I had just done. I had just used an Unforgivable Curse on someone. I had just broken the wizarding law.

I was screwed.
♠ ♠ ♠
A/N: Oh my gosh. Ohmygosh. Homigosh. It’s been forever since I last updated! *dodges knives and sporks* Yeah, yeah I know. It really has been awhile, though. And I apologize for that. I’ve had a bit of this written out for awhile now, but I didn’t have the creative juices to fix it up and make it pretty and stuff. So. Voila!

Now about that ending. :O Whoa! Holy crap! She was so angry at him that she used the cruciatus curse. Holy crap, holy crap. I hope it was exciting enough for y’alllllll. :D But what Draco did was pretty crappy. I mean, come on, paying a guy to creep on Paige just so that he can swoop in and save the day? UNFORGIVABLE!

Leave a comment folks, and a new chapter will come sooner than you think ;)

Oh, and sorry if there's grammatical errors and such. I'll edit it later. I just reallllly wanted to post it.