School Ties
Fuck my life, Juliet thought to herself as she sat in a wooden chair and curled her toes tightly.
She hadn't known how it came to this. Why on earth is she always here?
"Shame," began Snape, taking sharp turns and glaring the students down. "On all of you."
The atmosphere in Dumbledore's office was suffocating. The group of Slytherins, along with Cedric Diggory, sat in a tense silence, most of them nursing hangovers, their faces pale and drawn. Dumbledore sat quietly behind his desk, while Snape paced in front of them, his face a mask of fury and disappointment. His dark robes billowed with every sharp turn he made, his eyes sweeping over the group like a predator hunting its prey.
"A Slytherin student lies in St. Mungo's as we speak," Snape hissed, his voice low and menacing. "A severe concussion. The Healers say he may not wake up for days. And when he does, he might be in a coma. All because of reckless, irresponsible behavior."
Juliet shifted uncomfortably beside Pansy, her head still pounding from the previous night's party. She felt the weight of the situation pressing down on her chest, her stomach twisting with guilt. The memory of the party was hazy — flashes of dancing, Cedric trying to take care of her, and Draco's cutting words — but none of it involved the accident. She had no idea who was to blame, but the atmosphere in the room told her it didn't matter. Someone had to take the fall.
With Juliet's reputation, it wasn't hard for all the Slytherins to put the blame on her. She'd doubted Snape would accept any other student taking responsibility for that night except her. It was obvious, from the way he'd make direct eye contact toward her, the way he'd always seemed to stop in his tracks right in front of her chair — he was waiting for her to step up.
Cedric stood off to the side, his jaw clenched in uncertainty. He wasn't part of Slytherin, and yet here he was, dragged into the aftermath of a mess he hadn't intended to be part of. He wasn't hungover like the rest, but the tension still weighed on him. The fact that no one seemed to be stepping forward to take responsibility for the incident bothered him. This wasn't the kind of thing he had expected to see at Hogwarts — certainly not at a party.
Draco, standing stiffly beside Blaise, was livid. His jaw clenched, his pale face cold and angry. He couldn't believe he was dragged into this mess. He hadn't even wanted to go to the party, let alone be implicated in the consequences. The fact that Snape was standing here, demanding answers, was infuriating.
Snape's gaze fell on each of them, sharp and unyielding. "I want to know who organized that party. Who is responsible for this absolute disaster?" His voice was deadly quiet now, but it was clear that no one was going to escape this unscathed. "Who will step up?"
Nobody moved. The silence stretched on, thick and oppressive. Pansy looked down at her shoes, biting her lip nervously. She'd never been in trouble before, not for partying, not for drinking, not for anything, and certainly not for an accident. Blaise glanced sideways at Draco, his expression unreadable. Theodore Nott sat with his arms crossed, his face impassive.
Cedric shifted uncomfortably, wanting to speak but knowing this wasn't his battle. He had no idea who hosted the party, but it was clear everyone in the room did. Still, he couldn't understand why no one was stepping up to take responsibility. This was serious — a student could be in a coma — and yet the silence persisted.
Juliet felt the knot in her stomach tighten. She knew the party had been her idea, but she couldn't admit that — not here, not with Snape looking ready to flay someone alive. Her mind raced, trying to piece together an excuse, a way out. Was there any? The person responsible was exactly who everybody thought it was.
When no one spoke, Snape's fury only grew. His lips curled in disgust. "Very well. If no one is willing to take responsibility, I will personally investigate. I will interrogate every single one of you until the truth is revealed. And believe me, when I find out who is to blame, the consequences will be as severe as expulsion."
His words hung in the air like a death sentence. The room was thick with fear, but no one broke. Snape's eyes lingered on Draco for a moment, narrowing in suspicion, before finally dismissing them with a wave of his hand. "You may go. For now."
The group left the office in strained silence, making their way back toward the Slytherin common room. Once they were a safe distance from Dumbledore's office, Blaise was the first to speak.
"Well, that was fun," he muttered dryly, rubbing the back of his neck.
Pansy sighed heavily, her face still pale. "We're all in deep trouble if Snape finds out who hosted that party."
"We can't let him," Theodore said firmly, his tone calm but resolute. "No one says a word. We stick to the story — none of us know anything."
Juliet nodded quickly, desperate to avoid the blame. "Exactly. It was just a party... no one intended for that to happen."
Draco, still seething, shot a sharp look at her. "Just a party? You mean the one where you got so drunk you barely knew what was going on?"
Juliet's eyes flashed, but she held her tongue. She didn't need Draco turning on her now.
"We need to stick together," Pansy interjected, her voice laced with urgency. "Snape will tear us apart if he thinks one of us is guilty. We all say we don't know anything. We were just at the party like everyone else."
"Agreed," Blaise added. "No one admits to hosting it. It could've been anyone. We just have to act like we don't know a thing."
As they all murmured in agreement, Cedric shifted uncomfortably beside them. Unlike the others, he wasn't so quick to agree to the cover-up. He wasn't even a Slytherin, but he'd been there, a part of the whole thing. He frowned as Blaise spoke, unable to shake the feeling that this wasn't the right way to handle things.
"You're all just going to lie?" Cedric asked, his voice quiet but firm. His gaze swept over them, his disappointment evident. "A student is in the hospital, and none of you want to step up and admit what happened?"
The group paused, exchanging uneasy glances. Draco shot Cedric a cold glare. "What are you on about, Diggory? You think this is your place to play hero again? Because if you do, then you're even more naive than I thought."
Cedric held his ground, unshaken by Draco's words. "It's not about being a hero, Malfoy. It's about doing the right thing."
"The right thing?" Draco sneered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Like confessing and getting expelled? Or worse? What a Hufflepuff thing to say."
Pansy cut in, trying to calm things down. "Cedric, it's not like that. We just need to keep quiet for now, okay? It was an accident. No one wanted this to happen."
Cedric still looked conflicted but didn't press further. He walked in silence with the rest of them, his unease palpable as the group quietly agreed to maintain their silence. But Cedric's reluctance was enough to make the others nervous. He wasn't just going to let this go so easily.