Chapter five – Hogsmeade and trouble is brewing
Chapter five – Hogsmeade and trouble is brewing
Leighton enjoyed the cold. You had to living in the dungeons, otherwise you might as well quit Hogwarts. He had his expensive coat on with the cape thrown over mostly for decoration. Even between the Slytherins it was clear that Leighton Fawley was doing his best to show the pristine side of the Purebloods.
Being on Hogsmeade duty was one of the easier tasks as a prefect. You mostly had a weekend like any other, but you just couldn't make plans. If anyone got lost, something went wrong it was his job to be the first to respond until the teachers were able to come and take over. Considering nothing really dangerous was close by since his fourth year with the dementors, he considered this just an outing and a way to get around Malfoy asking him out on a date.
The blond, cheeks red and eyes finding Leigh’s, had actually signed up for duty, but didn’t look very happy about it. Leigh gave a polite nod before disappearing into a side street. He needed new quills and maybe a short stop at the smaller Gringrotts office in Hogsmeade. It was an easy stop, taking him in all half an hour and he was considering getting sweet from Honeydukes and to go for some Christmas shopping to then meet up with his friends later, when he saw a group of students walk away from the main square. In itself it wasn’t against the rules, but the amount of students was really noticeable and something Umbridge would want to know about. Not that Leigh felt like telling her, but someone else certainly would.
He was about to ignore it, when a tall figure came around the corner, head hung low, moving awkwardly through the snow. The boy stepped into the niche of a door, hiding behind a decorative Christmas tree, when a group of better dressed students appeared. They were laughing and looking around but couldn’t find the boy that was obviously Longbottom. At the appearance of blond hair Leigh elegantly turned around and stepped into the closest shop.
It turned out to be a shop filled with frills and divination equipment. The kind that reflected and spilled glitter around. Leigh barely avoided the crystal balls that were flying around the top of the shop like even more deadly bludgers. The entirety of the shop was in a magenta coloured violet. Leigh scoffed at the bad taste and turned to spy through the shop window.
The group was absolutely purely Slytherin, Leigh recognized. No one above fifth year too, which seemed aligned to Malfoy’s preference of being superior. The group kept laughing and looking around, ignoring the mixed Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw group passing them by. But Leigh didn’t. With interest, he watched the group walk towards the same destination as the others. There was something brewing, likely trouble. And where trouble was there was Potter.
Malfoy and his boisterous friends walked back towards the main street, leaving Longbttom behind. The boy didn’t move, likely expecting them to turn around again. Leigh felt a twitch of sympathy for the boy, even now, where he was at least half a head taller and wider than Malfoy he was still avoiding them. The past conflicts must’ve really done a trick on him, that he wasn’t even aware of his own changed position. If only he’d be better at magic, then he’d be a fine specimen-
Leigh stopped that direction of thoughts. First he noticed the boy wasn’t ugly anymore, then he felt bad for him and now he was comparing Neville Longbottom of all people to his own ideal of a man? Preposterous. Leaving the shop before an assistant could appear and sell him something, Leigh decided to get rid of his own stupidity by direct exposure. He stomped over the street towards the still hiding boy who’d finally decided to look around whether the air was clear.
Longbottom didn’t see Leigh coming from behind.
“They left.” Leighton stated blankly. “You can come out.”
Longbottom jerked hard, his earmuffs threatening to come loose. He turned around, eyes wide. Well, at least his teeth were still crooked, Leigh noted at the gaping mouth. See, still old Longbottom. Don’t let yourself be fooled by a bit of height and filled out shoulders!
“Where did you come from?” Longbottom chocked out and straightened himself. His hunched figure hadn't done him justice, as suddenly Leigh, who wasn’t a small man, had to look up. Longbottom, seemingly had decided that there wasn’t a bigger threat coming from the Slytherin prefect. An assumption that was true at the moment, but annoyed Leigh slightly.
“Just shopping. Anything special happening today, Longbottom?”
He had concluded that Longbottom had the same goal as all the other groups, meaning an interhouse meeting where only Slytherin wasn’t present. Annoying, but sadly understandable. The snakes did isolate themselves quite a bit.
“-No. No. Nothing special. Just- also shopping.”
A lot of stuttering and averted eyes. Well- Leigh hadn’t expected it to be that easy.
“Wanna shop together then?” He teased, trying to read the younger boys expression. Longbottoms checks spiked red, which might’ve been because of the cold, but Leigh doubted it, and he seemed to tense.
“You want to go around Hogsmeade- with me?”
“Sure, why not?”
Absolutely impossible, actually. He couldn't be seen like that at all!
“With me?”
Longbottom seemed somehow to be stuck on that.
“Yes. I wouldn’t mind spending some time with you. Here in Hogsmeade. Today. You and me.”
“I-” Leigh would almost categorize the others expression as bashful. Longbottom was now studying Leigh’s face back, his eyes running over Leigh’s feature. The Gryffindor bit the inside of lip, torn.
“I can’t. I promised a friend I would hang out today. But- I really- If you would want to- Next time?”
Was- Was Longbottom thinking that Leigh was asking him on a date?! The smile, the expression and stuttering- Oh, Merlin. That wasn’t the plan. Leigh was about to open his mouth when Longbottom seemed to remember that he was being late.
“I’ll ask you properly. Maybe. If- If you were serious.” Longbottom smiled, which shouldn’t be as disarming as it was, and stepped around Leigh. With a wave he ran down the street, almost slipping on ice and then turned a corner.
“Shit.” Leigh groaned into the empty street, his voice muffled by the heaps of snow. “Circe, how?!”
And right at that moment he decided to avoid Neville Longbottom from now on. Nothing good would come from that association.
Hogwarts had always been a place where a personal secret, that no one should know travelled the fastest. So it didn’t surprise Leigh much when just after the Hogsmeade weekend rumours spread about a secret fight club, where Gryffindors were clubbing each other with beater bets, that evolved to a secret wizarding organization, that then to a defence league for special people and in the end Oretia was informing him that Umbridge had said something about a secret army. Ridiculous, but it explained why there was a new Decree at the notice board.
Leighton had to push his way through the masses of first and second years who were eagerly stretching their necks to get a better look at the new paper hanging between study group announcements and quidditch schedules.
— by order of —
The High Inquisitor of Hogwarts
All Student Organizations, Societies, Teams, Groups, and Clubs are henceforth disbanded. An Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students. Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge). No Student Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club may exist without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor.
Any student found to have formed, or to belong to, an Organization, Society, Team, Group, or Club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled. The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-four.
Signed: high inquisitor
“Oh Merlins beard.” Leigh couldn’t stop from spilling out his mouth. Whatever Potter had in mind it had kicked lose something bigger. The nerve of that woman to think she could keep the entire school under er foot.
“Does that include Quidditch?” Malfoy popped up from the crowd next to Leigh.
“I hope not.” Arthur grabbed Leigh by the shoulder, not to be carried off by some overexcited underclassman. “Please tell me someone already ran to get a permission. Umbridge can’t say no to us, can she? She was in Slytherin herself-”
“I don’t think she did it to get rid of Quidditch.” Leigh calmed his friend down. No, she had an entirely different target in mind. And it wasn’t hard to guess who.
The rest of the day Leigh pondered whether this was something he could use or whether this only made it all harder. Potter and he hadn't revisited Leigh's offer nor in any way acknowledged that he was thinking about it. Potter, so thought Leigh, looked terribly bothered by something all the time and it wasn’t a stretch to assume he would continue to do so with Umbrdige closing in on his little club.
Leigh was entirely in his own mind, pondering as he walked past knights on his way up to the library when he heard a hick-up sound. Something was rustling in the window alcove. It was pretty secluded place, with a view of the lake. Usually in the evening he’d catch couples making out there, but in the daytime it was a bit too far for a simple stroll. That could only mean whoever sat there was purposefully avoiding people and wanted to be left alone.
Leigh should’ve respected that and moved on, but another wet snort and small sob turned him around. Curse his bloody heart, but as a prefect and human being he should at least check that the person wasn’t hurt. Who knew if there was bullying going on again and someone had decided to try a breaking spell on someone’s arm.
He leaned around the curtain to be greeted by s tall figure in a black and red uniform, hunched over the windowsil. The leather bookbag, old almost ancient, was thrown over the seat while the owner was staring outside. It was Neville Longbottom to Leigh’s horror. He’d barely made it two weeks before his resolution was tested again. Maybe he’d have left and ignored the podgy red-faced boy, if Longbottom hadn’t chosen that moment to turn around.
He looked awful, his throat and face reddish and the eyes and checks somewhat raw. He had cried, so much was obvious. At the sight of the Slytherin in front of him Longbttom balled his fists around his sleeves using them to roughly clean his face. It didn’t do much good.
“Here, take mine.” Leigh pulled out a handkerchieves with his initials embroidered in one corner and the Fawley crest in the other. He offered the fabric to Longbottom and as the boy only blinked and didn’t answer Leigh sighed and cleaned the others face himself. Only slightly less rough he dried the eyes and cheeks. For the nose, he decided with disgust, they weren’t close enough.
“You’re not gonna make fun of me?” Longbottom’s lip quivered, but he didn’t seem as prone to a fit as before.
“Should I?”
Lonbottom took a deep breath, then finally accepted the handkerchief. He cleaned his nose and then folded it.
“You caught me crying in a deserted corridor. The others would see that as an invitation.”
“The others? Meaning Slytherins?”
A small nod was the answer. Leigh groaned.
“What did they do now?” The exasperation vibrated through his tone. Longbottom seemed to find that somehow funny, as he attempted a small smile.
“Nothing- Malfoy was just saying things again.”
“Things? That boy’s got a mouth on him. If he had anything to actually back him up but his daddy’s money and his gorilla friends- Come on. What is this time? I can’t take points from another prefect, but I could put him on duty on like- Quidditch training nights. His grades might suffer if he’s too exhausted.”
Leigh couldn’t actually do that, but he had an inkling that if he asked Malfoy to take the night shift with him, the boy would go.
“Nothing- Just- He was talking shit about St. Mungo’s and the special wards there.”
Special wards? Then Leigh understood. Longbottom had never said so, but the purebloods at school knew what had happened to Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom and it made sense they would be in the special wards in St. Mungo’s. And it also made sense why Longbottom was so upset. He rarely fought back, but from what Leigh could tell he’d been chocked out earlier.
Leigh almost cringed. Longbottom wouldn’t be sitting so casually and open next to Leighton if he’d known who the other was related to. One Bellatrix Lestrange, or Black, who Leigh knew as a fact he also bore a resemblance to. What bad luck.
“Was he making fun of the people there?” Leigh gently confirmed. Neville’s hard exhale was all the answer needed.
“That’s awful.” Leigh said. “Bad taste too. It’s not like the people want to be there. They already have a hard time, no need to poke where it’s already hurting.”
They sat for a few seconds in silence. It was about to get uncomfortable when Longbottom shifted.
“You’re probably the nicest Slytherin in the whole school.”
“Am I now?” Leighton flashed a smile. “Well, from your perspective the competition is probably not very hard. But I promise, not everyone is like Malfoy. He’s just well off and loud. Most people in Slytherin aren’t much different from Revenclaw’s just with a bit more disregard for rules. Can’t be listening to every stupid sod if you got ambitions to fulfil.”
“Even then. You’re still a lot nicer than any of them. Even in Gryffindor. None of the others even checked in with me, although they saw what happened.”
“Maybe they didn’t understand the significance? They’re Griffindors after all. They’re not supposed to be smart. Sometimes your friends need a little push to understand.”
Why was he giving Longbottom relationship advice? Even if it was only for friends, it seemed frankly way over their whatever they had.
„Do you think all Gryffindors are stupid?” Longbottom frowned. “Hermione is best in our entire year. And others are plenty smart-”
“Hold you Hippogriffs. Maybe I misused the word. I meant emotional intelligence. Noticing when people are upset, realize when a topic might trigger a word and not having a full blow argument, but instead calmly talk about it.”
“Malfoy’s also none of the things above.” Longbottom grumbled. His face had calmed down and the tear tracks were disappearing. It occurred to Leigh that Longbottom might’ve cried out of frustration, not because he was upset. Or maybe he was upset but because he was alone and no one seemingly cared.
“True. He’s ambitious, but severely lacking in the other departments. But that might just be because he was raised to not care about people. He’s plenty attentive around his father or when he likes someone. Not protecting him, just- I guess showing you that we’re all just humans and he can pretend all he wants. In the end he’s just another teenager.”
“With all the stuff going on, I forget that sometimes. Umbridge, Harry and you-know-who. I think our school years aren’t supposed to be about the chamber of secrets or runway prisoners.”
Leigh nodded. This was getting personal. And as nice as Longbottom’s voice was, it wasn’t interesting enough to stay. Maybe at the very least Longbottom would report to Potter that Leighton Fawley is an especially “nice” Slytherin and could be trusted.
“I really don’t think anything that’s happening is normal. But we still have to get through it.” He pretended to check the time on his wristwatch. “I’m sorry Longbottom, but I have to go now. I still got a potions essay and if I don’t do it now I won’t have the time. Nice chatting with you.”
Leighton patted Neville’s arm in a friendly manner and stood up. He could feel Longbottom’s eyes on his back until he made it around the corner. He wondered whether anything he’d been doing would pay off at some point. Gryffindors were by far the most exhausting people to talk to.
The week went on, Leighton’s attention began to shift. Sitting next to Oretia and Eva, both trying their darnest to finish their ancient runes essay’s. They seemed easy enough, but Professor Babbling had said that there was a secret meaning behind it all and the student who found out which would get extra credit. Both girls were determined to be the one who got it. And being in Slythering they were also against working together, seeing themselves as rivals.
Leighton on the other hand was calmly connecting lines on his astronomy homework. Astronomy wasn’t really necessary for him, as it didn’t help much with any ministry work but he enjoyed knowing what magic aligned best with what constellation. He had always loved the old rituals that could only be performed under certain conditions, so he’d stayed on it. While working on it he heard a strange snapping sound. His feather snapped, splaishing black ink on the map.
“Hippogriff dung!” He cursed only for the librarian, Ms. Pince, to give him the stink-eye. He nodded in a apology and cleaned the mess with the flick of his wand. He looked around himself, certain he had been photographed. Or some had at least taken a picture of his general vicinity.
“Did you hear that?” He asked the girls.
“Hear what?” Oretia looked up, eyes shadowed. Her mascara was smudged from all the rubbing she had done. In general she looked dishevelled and exhausted, but still pretty. An enigma.
“Someone took a picture.”
“I didn’t hear that.” Eva stated. “But maybe it’s Creevy. Perhaps Potters in the library and the boy didn’t get a snap of that yet.”
“Does he still do that?” Leigh wondered, still looking around, slightly paranoid. He was certain he’d been the subject of the picture, but now he wasn’t even sure it had happened.
“I think so. I heard he appealed for a photo group. You know, with Umbridge disbanding everything. He should be still taking pictures.”
Leigh nodded, like it made all sense and set back down to finish what he’d started. And he did well too. Later that day, almost at one o’clock in the morning he came down the spiral stares with his classmates, a mixed group of students of all houses as astronomy wasn’t terribly popular, and felt very content. He’d done it all right, gotten an O and was now on his way to his comfortable bed when he felt a tug on his left sleeve.
Leigh stopped. Uncertain, he looked around and down the corridor. Had imagined that? His classmates passed him by, chatting. No one stopped for him.
“Peeves?” He asked into the now empty corridor, the steps of the others disappearing to the right. “Very funny, but I have it on paper that you’re not supposed to touch students. I will have to report this. Peeves?”
Silence. Then a head appeared out of a door. A black head with reflective glasses.
“I’m not Peeves. It’s-”
“Potter.” Leigh quickly stalked down the corridor, past dimly glowing fackles. “What are you doing here. Have you had another detention, otherwise you’re out without a paper and I will have to report you-”
“But you won’t do that because you wanted to talk.” Potter beckoned him into the room.
“I did, like a month ago. After all that silence, I had to assume that you are rejecting the proposal.”
The door closed and Leighton looked around. With a quick twirl a small light ball shot out of the tip of his wand, flying up like a small niffler sized glowing insect and hovered over their heads. They were in an abandoned classroom. Most of the desks were pushed to the sides and the board was full of odd little sketches. Some of them of the suggestive kind, which he cleaned with another wand flick.
“Well, I haven’t.” Potter made clear. “I just didn’t have the time to think about it well. Lots has happened, but recently I talked about what you offered to a trustworthy friend and he said to give it a shot. And he usually doesn’t trust Slytherins, but there are some arguments in your favour. And he also said your logic with the deal is a very Slythering deal and of sound logic. So I thought I- should accept.”
Leighton blinked. Once, then twice.
“You accept?”
“Yes.”
“So, you’re speaking on my behalf when Dumbledore's people decide I’m to snaky to be on their side?”
“Yes. And you in exchange halp me with the Slytherins. -And Umbridge.”
“She wasn’t part of the deal.” Leigh frowned.
“Take it or leave it.” Potter’s eyebrows neared each other. “And I also want a picture of you. For- reason’s.”
“A picture?”
“Well, a photo.”
Leighton’s mind raced and he deduced: “You’re the one that was taking pictures of me!”
“Well, they didn’t turn out well. I even borrowed Colin’s camera.”
“Why, oh Merlin, would you do that?”
Potter grimaced like he hated everything about their conversation.
“Because that person I told you about who said you look like that bloke Regulus Black wants a closer look. I don’t know why. He just asked me to try and get it. So can I have a proper photo or not?”
“Is that part of the deal?”
Potter nodded, his glasses moving in dangerous ways.
“Alright. I try to stay on Umbridges good side, even approach her and tell you anything I find out about her or the Slytherins. In exchange for my spying you help me out with not dying in the upcoming war. Just a good word here and there. I don’t want to actually hang out with you. With your track record, this might become dangerous. Deal?”
Potter thought about it.
“And the picture?”
“And the picture as well. Deal?”
“Deal.”
Leigh struck out one arm.
“Alright. I’d like that promise on your magic please and I will follow you suit.”
“On my magic?”
Leighton sighed. Halfbloods and Muggleborn just really didn’t care about culture, did they?
“A gentlemans promise and well- the legend suggests that if you break your promise magic will fail you when you need it most. So not something taken lightly by wizards and witches.”
“That sounds permanent.”
“It’s not deadly, though.” Not like an unbreakable vow. “ And I’m gambling my life here, so I do want it to be something serious. Are you shacking Potter or am I leaving now? I don’t need an indecisive, scared partner.”
Potter, the Gryffindor that he was, grabbed Leighton's hand and gave a hard shake.
“I promise on my magic to uphold my end of the deal.”
“And I promise on my magic that will uphold my end of the deal.”
There was sort of shiver, a light one and then they let go. Maybe the magic took, maybe it didn’t but Leighton was certain Potter wouldn’t do the dishonourable thing.
“Okay.” Potter said and pulled out a black object from his bag. “Say cheese, please.”
“Why on earth would I-?”