Cast yourself (you are the spell)

Chapter 15

"Maybe it was an inside job!" someone yells from the back of the crowd. Hope examines her cuticles, bored.

"Yeah, maybe there's a mole, and that's how they got help?" another person agrees, and everyone starts nodding like fools.

"Help from who?" she drawls, sitting up straighter.

"What if it's that Saltzman girl!"

"The mudblood, figures."

"Her sister's a bloody Gryffindor, it couldn't be more obvious!"

Hope holds a hand up, and everyone dissolves into silence again. She doesn't know what to say, though. What did she think she was going to do, defend a muggleborn? The pureblood suddenly feels her insides like liquid, and she's too afraid to speak for fear of her voice coming out like water.

She desperately tries to form words against her lips and then-

The most girly scream Hope's ever heard comes up from the stairs and travels down to the students. They all look towards the dorms at once. Josette Saltzman herself comes flying out of the upstairs hallway, waving her hand in front of her face and soaked to the bone. She sways dangerously like she's either about to faint or vomit.

Hope, too, becomes dizzy as the putrid stench of dungbomb floats down the staircase and directly into her nostrils. Ethan doubles over in front of her.

Realizing that she is, in fact, a witch, Hope pulls out her wand and waves it in Josette's direction, the smell immediately dissipating.

As she takes in what's happened, Josette's face hardens, her gaze steels, and for maybe the first conscious time, Hope could see why the muggleborn was in Slytherin. It seemed as though she wanted vindication just as much as any of the other students in her house.

-

Hope's first two classes of the morning are cancelled due to dungbombs repeatedly setting off in the classrooms as well, giving her the ever-lasting memory of Professor Slughorn actually, honest-to-Merlin, running; and the never-ending imprint of Professor McGonagall transforming into a cat-and leaping away-in her brain.

She skips Charms in favor of taking a shower-because she could spell away the smell all she wanted but she could never truly remove the memory-which causes her to miss Herbology due to the line of girls for the bathroom.

She walks into DADA with her third set of robes for the day, her thoughts completely consumed on revenge. Last night, all of the Slytherins in the common room had thrown out ideas for pranks, but nothing substantial or particularly witty had caught her eye.

She twirls her wand contemplatively in her hand as she continues to think about it, turning around when yelling reaches her ears.

Hope's eyes latch onto Josette Saltzman coming through the door, arguing heatedly with her sister.

"You couldn't have warned me!" the girl hisses, and her sister plays stupid.

"About what?" Elizabeth asks, looking anywhere but Josette. The brunette huffs and storms away, finding her chair and sitting down next to Hope.

"Aww, family troubles?" Hope taunts, placing her usual smirk onto her face.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Josette narrows her eyes, and Hope feels all her energy deplete. Perhaps she should stop bringing up family so often in their conversations. Actually, she should not mention last night ever again.

"No. I don't care at all, actually," she says, a heavy weight in her chest and bitter acid in her mouth, and no one utters a single word more.

Professor Snape comes into the room a moment after the bell rings-all hard lines and billowing robes-and takes his regular spot at the front of the room.