She was hurting, but she didn't run away from it. She embraced the pain. Because when it is deep, that is what has to be done. You have to feel your way out of the darkness when you can't see the light.
- Jm Storm
I was up very early, but I wasn't tired. I had a goal and one that had to be executed as soon as possible.
I had just finished writing my letter to Mrs Pucey and my next goal was to reach out to two people I never thought I'd want to reach out to.
I was going to talk to two Weasleys.
Sure, I had quite a few tricks up my sleeve to execute myself, but I could not do anything that would endanger my immaculate track record. My parents would be furious if I did.
But public humiliation was something that had to be included in my revenge plans and even though I didn't know the twins at all, they were masters at causing havoc and that was exactly what I needed.
So I went back to my dorm to send the letter and grab my bag. My owl Monty was already waiting on the window sill, so I tied the letter around his little claw and gave him a couple treats. I then opened the window and patted his grey feathers before he flew off into the morning sun.
I grabbed my bag and headed out to the Gryffindor tower before breakfast so I could ask the twins about it. I made sure to pack some coins to pay them for their service.
Conversing with Gryffindors other than Benjamin was not something I regularly, or ever really, did, so I got some odd looks when I waited at the bottom of the Gryffindor Tower.
I didn't honestly care though, I had a mission.
So when I spotted the two, I blocked their path and motioned for their friends to move along. They were two years older than me, but looked at me as if I had just grown another head.
"Can we help you?" one of the twins asked carefully. I had no clue which one was which, but that didn't matter.
"Yes, actually, I have a favor to ask." The two looked at each other with a confused look in their eyes.
"And why would we help you? Your family has never exactly been nice to us", the other one said.
"That's true, unfortunately. I cannot excuse their behaviour, but I am the one asking for a favor, not my family and I can't recall ever treating you badly."
The two exchanged another look and then shrugged.
"Follow me", I said and turned around. I walked a while until I found an empty classroom. I opened the door and let them in.
"I need you to pull one of your pranks on Adrian Pucey", I said immediately as I closed the door.
"Pucey? From the Slytherin quidditch team?" One of them asked.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"It doesn't matter why. I just want it to be public, humiliating and not traceable to me. Can you do that?" I said. It was quiet for a while and they clearly did not know how to respond.
"And why would we do that? Pucey's never been explicitly mean to us", one of them said. They had a point, but I had hoped they'd just agree for the fun of it.
"That's true", I sighed. "But he has crossed me and I want him to pay for that. No better way to get some revenge on a Slytherin than to hurt their pride. Besides, he's part of the quidditch team that caused your lifelong ban on quidditch. I'm sure you'd like to have a little fun because of that."
They were still exchanging looks, not convinced. These boys were notorious for their pranks, why didn't they take the offer?
"You don't have to do it for free", I said, taking out the coins I had brought. I was planning to pay them after their services, but I could just as well use it as my last bribe.
"Two galleons for the effort, two to not tell a soul that I requested it and one for the risk of getting detention", I said, taking a hand of one of the two and shoving the coins in it. "So have we got a deal?"
It took another couple seconds, but eventually, one of them nodded.
"Sure, it might take a couple of days, but we've got a deal", he grinned.
"Good", I said. I grabbed my bag and left the classroom. That was one more task to scratch off my list.
"Lea, where have you been?" Tracey asked as I met up with them at breakfast.
"Just had some business to take care of", I said. I quickly glanced at Draco and threw him a knowing smirk. "Tracey, I need your help as well."
"Oh?" Tracey said, clearly intrigued by my shift in mood. It had been a while since I had been so driven about something.
"I heard Graham was the one who suggested the bet. I want him to regret ever even thinking about it. Care to help me out?" I shrugged. An evil grin spread onto Tracey's face. I knew I could count on her before I even asked.
"You don't have to ask me twice", she smiled, eyeing the seventh-years on the other end of the Slytherin table.
"Glad to have you back", Daphne said quietly and squeezed my hand. I briefly smiled at her. It felt good to be back.
And that feeling only increased over the next couple of days. Tracey's plan was downright evil and I loved it. It reminded me just how cunning she was and why she was in Slytherin. She was pretty careless about who she slept with in general, but she used it to her advantage this time. She had gathered all Slytherin girls to bet on how good Graham's skills in bed were. She then proceeded to seduce the bloke, which was no rocket science and slept with him. The following day she declared in a full common room how much money she had earned after realising that his performance was nothing to write home about.
He could experience how terrible it felt to be the center of a bet.
The twins on the other hand were quite genius as well, although slightly childish. They had gone all out and it had been priceless. They had somehow managed to add their newest invention U-No-Poo to Adrian's pumpkin juice during supper, causing quite a few heads to turn as he ran out of the Great Hall. They had also whispered the Tarantallegra jinx during one of their Defence Against the Dark Arts classes. I hadn't been able to witness the situation, but Adrian's random dance performance had been the talk of the castle for days. It also resulted in an hour of detention with Umbridge.
Lastly, they had managed to master the most hilarious spell I had ever heard of. Apparently, a spell called the Sea Urchin Jinx existed, turning the victim into a literal Sea Urchin, blowing the person up like a balloon and creating tiny little spikes all over their body. It was the highlight of my entire Hogwarts career to see Adrian Pucey turn into one during supper, with everyone watching. It was only very briefly before Snape reversed the curse, but it had been absolutely humiliating for him.
The twins did get caught for that, earning them a couple hours of detention, but they didn't seem to mind. They just grinned at me in the hallway when no one was around and I had acquired a newfound respect for them. They were actually quite smart and clearly loyal. I could appreciate that, even though they were Weasleys.
The only people who for certain knew that I had requested the twins to prank Adrian, were the twins, Tracey, Daphne and Draco. But when Adrian received a furious letter of his mother, he put two and two together as well. I didn't take long for him to try and talk to me again.
It was on Wednesday night on my way back from the library.
"Eleanor!" he called out for me.
"I'd prefer it if you called me by my last name, thank you", I said. It was the most I had said to him since I found out about the bet. The only ones who called me by my first name were Tracey and Daphne, and Draco and Benjamin occasionally.
"Fine, Selwyn, we need to talk."
"I have absolutely nothing to say to you", I sighed, readjusting the handle of my bag on my shoulder. Adrian blocked my path. There was a mixed look in his eyes, one of both anger and sadness.
"I know you wrote to my mother", he stated. "And I wouldn't be surprised if you had a little chat with the twins as well."
"Don't be ridiculous. I do not waste my time on you anymore, Pucey", I scoffed, pushing him aside.
"Wait", he said and grabbed my wrist.
"Get your filthy hands off me, Pucey, right now!" I said threateningly and he let go immediately.
"Look, I know you're angry and I get why you did it, but then at least let me apologize", he sighed.
"The last thing I need from you is an apology, now get out of my way", I huffed. I didn't need anything from him.
"My mother won't let me back into the house until I've set things straight with you, please just let me explain", he continued.
"Looks like you've got to find yourself another place to stay then, because I will never accept your apology, Pucey. You should have thought about that before you decided to cross a Selwyn", I hissed.
"Please, Eleanor, I care about you and you know that", he said, still blocking my way. "I was stupid to place that bet, I know, but it was never fake for me. I have feelings for you, Eleanor and I know you have feelings for me too."
"All feelings I had for you disappeared the moment I learned about your little game. You disgust me, Pucey. I feel repulsed just by looking-"
And then he kissed me.
Out of nowhere, he grabbed my face and planted his lips on mine, just like that.
And I had never slapped anyone in the face as hard as I slapped Adrian in that moment.
He stared at me in shock as his hand cupped his red-tinted cheek.
"Listen to me carefully, Pucey", I growled. "If you ever as much as look at me again, I will make sure you won't be able to do so a second time. I'm warning you. You're dead to me and if you continue like this, you'll just be dead in general."
I roughly pushed him aside and walked off. I hated him.
"I have to say, Selwyn, that even scared me." I turned around the corner to see Draco Malfoy leaning against the wall, a book on Alchemy in his hand. "I had just decided to be a gentleman and help you out, but it seems like you don't need my help at all", he chuckled.
"You're right, I don't", I said, not in the mood to talk. I passed him and took a deep breath. This was a chapter in my life that I closed gladly. No Adrian Pucey in my life anymore, no worries and no sadness. It was March and I could finally continue a school year free of drama.
Or so I thought.