Apples and Snakes

Fear is Only in Our Minds

AN: Finally saw The Princess Bride. It may show a bit too much in this chapter. Oh well.

"I don't believe that you entered your name into the Goblet of Fire," said the Hufflepuff boy the next morning. He'd slipped over, and joined the Slytherin table, despite the obvious social rules against him. In fact, some Slytherins were glaring at him already.

"That's nice, guy-who-keeps-showing-up," I snapped. "Now let me eat my breakfast in peace."

"It's Wesley Diggory, and I thought you might need someone to help you with the first task." He recited very quickly.

"Well, I don't anything about what's to come, so I don't think you could help me, unless you're some psychic," I said somewhat jokingly. "Besides, shouldn't you be helping your brother?"

"One, no," Wesley answered. "Two, Cedric can handle himself. He's seventeen, and he knew the risks before he entered."

"Well, I don't need your sympathy, now buzz off!" I snarled.

"As you wish." Wesley said, before turning to go back to the Hufflepuff table. He gave me one last look with those strangely golden eyes, before he sat down, and rejoined his crowd of adoring friends. I felt a pang of envy, that I never was all that chummy with anybody, not even my fellow Slytherins. Don't get me wrong, we're tight, us Slytherins, but you can be lonely even in a crowded room- that's the kind of loneliness that I've had my whole life.

"Hey, Alice, take a look at what we made!" Draco cried, with Crabbe coming up behind him, carrying a box of something. I then observed Goyle going making rounds down the Hufflepuff table. A red glow came from the box.

"What's in it?" I asked, peering into the box. Badges that read, Support Cedric Diggory! The Real Hogwarts Champion! glowed red, and were piled to the hundreds in the box.

"That's not all it does," Draco said, smirking somewhat. He held his badge, and it turned a toxic green, and read in a darker shade, Potter Stinks! Anger rose up within me. As much as I resented Harry for playing the hero, and not complaining, or anything, I knew that I was in the same boat as he was- both of us were entered without our consent.

"How much profit have you made, Draco?" I asked, my voice eerily high.

"None, I've been giving these out!" He extended a hand with a button in it. "Want one, Ali?"

"Don't call me that!" I cried, and I knocked the button out of his hand, where it bounced off of the floor, and skittered to a stop. "Don't you idiots get it? Insult Harry, and you insult me! This isn't his fault, he wanted out just as much as I did! I don't want this! Are you saying that we're greedy attention-seekers? Because we're not! So help me if any of you tries to sell me one of those!"

"Merlin, Alice, calm down!" Draco shouted right back, not so calm himself. He became self-conscious of the teachers, particularly Mom, Dad, Snape, and Dumbledore, all staring at me. "What about all those times you mocked your brother, and told me that you hated him so much?" He asked in a low voice.

"Merlin, Draco, did you think I really meant that?" I demanded. "Do you think I truly hate my brother?" The look on his face suggested 'yes'.

"News flash," I said angrily. "I don't. I resent him, yes, I'll admit to that. But I never have, and hopefully never will, hate my twin. He is my twin, Draco. The one who I came into this world with. I don't think I could ever hate him." With that, I turned around, forgetting breakfast altogether.

The first day was hell. In Moody's class, he wanted to perform the Imperius Curse on everybody in the class! Hermia was the only sensible one out of all the idiots in the classroom. Moody said first class that the Unforgivable Curses if used on a human being would lead to a life sentence in Azkaban. A classroom full of students? Inconceivable.

I watched in horror, as Neville Longbottom completed gymnastics, as Lavender Brown hopped around pretending to be a squirrel. It was a modern horror story that scared me to death.

"Miss Potter, come up here." Moody ordered, pointing his wand at me. I groaned. "I don't care, Miss Potter, you need to understand what it feels like." I didn't say a word as I stepped up to the front of the classroom. If I had to play the fool, I would do so with dignity.

I glared at that wand pointed at me. Go ahead, do it, I silently dared him. Especially with a look like mine. I can give a pretty good evil eye- one of the first things they teach you in Slytherin.

"Imperio." A state of blankness washed over me. It felt unnatural, and scared me. Get into the fetal position, and scream, a little voice, seductive and charismatic, said.

I'm going to let them control me like this? They already control me, make me do things I don't want to do without some spell. I preferred that painful state of anger to the unnatural blank space. My face turned to a snarl. Fear is only in our minds and it's taking over all the time.

"Get out of my head!" I screamed, my hands flying to my head, as Moody tried to press it farther. My legs moved, against my will. I tried pushing back, as I screamed, "GET OUT!" We reached an impasse, and then he shut down my legs, and toppled to the floor. I was still trying to get to my feet, despite not wanting to.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" I screamed, pulling into the fetal position, so tightly locked that I doubted that Moody could get me out of it again. Then I heard screaming, and I'm not sure who was doing it, me or the class. I felt like a wild animal, chaotic, impossible to control, angry, and just plain wild.

I felt something, Moody's wooden leg, try to kick me, after a minute. I scooted away, but I did stop screaming. I was absolutely shaking, vibrating on the cold floor from the possession, betrayal of my limbs.

"Look at it, Potter fought it, although she can use some work." Moody said. I finally got to my feet, and saw some people flash their Potter Stinks badges at me, and plenty were smirking. Even my own brother was trying not to smile.

"Again. Imperio." I felt the blankness, but I remembered my anger. Scratch your stomach.

NO! My thoughts screamed back. I clenched my hands into fists, and placed them behind my back, as I let my thoughts grow wilder and wilder, and harder and harder to control.

"Look at that! Potter here bested the curse! Not an easy feat, mind you." Moody said.

Wesley gave me a thumb's up, and a relieved smile, as I made my way back to my seat. "You did great," he whispered.

"Shut up, Diggory." I snarled in reply. All I was doing was snarling in those days, it seemed.

"As you wish." He whispered, with a respectful nod.

"Potter!" Harry was up. He then beat it, too, after breaking his kneecaps on a desk. I hated Moody for that lesson. I'll admit that I wasn't too fond of being made the fool. But I also thought it not right. The Unforgivable Curses are unforgivable. I wasn't going to pretend otherwise.

"Are you alright?" Wesley Diggory asked, rushing up to me.

"Why do you keep popping up?" I asked.

"I just want to help, and if I'm right, you're having those dreams, too." He said, a plea in his voice.

I whipped around at him, and pointed my wand a centimeter away from his Adam's apple. "How do you know about that?" I hissed. I never even told any of my other dorm mates about it.

"I'm having them, too, though I can't figure out why." He answered, absolutely calm, not the slightest bit panicked at the idea of the girl known for her hexes pointing her wand at a quite vulnerable part of his body.

"If you find out..." I hesitated. "Tell me."

Wesley smiled sadly. "As you wish."