*✧･ﾟ:* DEAD TO ME *:･ﾟ✧*
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IT SEEMED SURREAL to once again be sitting in the Great Hall, watching the strangely large amount of first years being sorted into their respective houses as though there had not just been a war that almost obliterated all that they knew as normal.
Even as Indiana sat silently at the Slytherin table, surrounded by bubbling second years and exhausted fifth years, all around her was the usual excitement and chit-chatting of the Start-Of-Term feast. Despite all of the odd normalcy, Indiana could not stop looking over at the burn marks along the floor by her feet.
"Where's Parkinson at?" Indiana muttered to her left, noticing the vacant seat beside Draco Malfoy. When Pansy Parkinson had been present, the shrill laughter and rude comments were only the bane of Indiana's existence, but the lack of them seemed to be more noticeable than their presence.
"She didn't come back," Nancy Woods, a bubbly yet somehow sensual girl who chewed too much bubblegum and shared a dorm with Indiana, was sitting beside her to answer the question. Nancy was half-blood, and the pair of them had a rocky start to their relationship considering Indiana was raised with the beliefs of a Blood Supremacist; but Indiana loved Nancy too much for bloodist views to get in the way, so she succumbed to being educated (as she should have). In previous years, Nancy had worn various shades of pink and purple glitter over her eyelids, but today they were bare. Nancy had had a rough summer.
The Hall was lit by thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables where the rest of the students were sitting. Said tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up there, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, the teachers behind them.
"So many first years," Blaise Zabini, Indiana's resident best friend, remarked, eyebrows twitching up when he spotted the group of first years. Indiana was too busy looking up at the Sorting Hat; raggedy as ever, it's mouth twitched and opened to sing.
"That's the same song as it was our first year!" Nancy whispered when the hat sang its final note. The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again. With that, the many first years were sorting, staring off with a "Spearman, Nick!", who was sorted into Gryffindor house. As the young boy bounced over to the table of scarlet and gold, Indiana's eyes drifted to the Gryffindor table, curious to see who had returned.
She easily spotted the last two remaining Weasleys at Hogwarts, Ron and Ginny, both of which were on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Ginny Weasley, a fiery girl with a long mane of flaming red hair, was in the year below her. Ron Weasley, who was tall with freckles and a long nose, was in her year and played Keeper. Next to Ron (and holding his hand? What?), was Hermione Granger, a deep-skinned, Muggleborn girl with bushy hair that was the top of their class.
Across from them was — Indiana couldn't help but purse her lips in annoyance — Harry Potter. Hogwarts' resident Golden Boy, along with being the Boy-Who-Lived, The Chosen One, and a war hero. Yeah, you heard right — all four names belonged to him. See where she's coming from?
"The very best of evenings to you!" Professor McGonagall, who had taken over the role of Headmistresses after Professor Dumbledore had passed away, stood up at the front of the hall looking uncharacteristically happy. "To our new students, welcome, to our old students, welcome back! Another year full of magical education awaits you..."
The dishes in front of them were piled with food once Professor McGonagall completed her speech. The only word of said speech Indiana had actually paid attention to was about Quidditch trials; they were to take place during the second week of term. Which was relatively soon, so Indiana had to find a specific date. Beside her, Nancy was piling food onto her plate.
"Congrats on Captain, Ana!" Nancy's cheeks were rounded from her mad grinning, her shoulder raising with excitement as she let out a tiny squeal.
"What did you have in mind?" Blaise implored her from across the table, one arm resting horizontally on the table beside his torso, the other lazily rubbing his thumb on the line of his jaw.
"Well, for starters," Indiana began glanced over at Draco Malfoy, who was seated beside Blaise, steel-gray eyes darting about the stained-glass windows of the hall. Before he caught her eye, he seemed to be overwhelmed by the appearance of the hall and kept looking up at where the Headmistress sat as though he were unable to believe she were there. When he locked eyes with Indiana, he raised his right eyebrow expectantly. "I don't want Draco playing Seeker."
The three of them and any other Slytherins in the general vicinity seemed to gasp collectively. Blaise's eyes widened just barely, but he only snorted.
"What?" He asked emphatically, paper skin paling. "Are you joking me? Without me, you'll —"
"I never said I was kickin' you off the team, nitwit!" Indiana fired. A barely visible pink tint dusted his pale cheeks. "I just think you'd be a much better Chaser. I wanted you to try out."
"Oh yeah?" Draco challenged. Despite his demeanor showing he was still taken aback, she could see the curious glint in his gray eyes; he knew she was right. "And who'll play Seeker, then? You?"
"Oh, Merlin, no!" Indiana scoffed as though the mere idea were ridiculous. "Me, a Seeker? No, no, I was born to play Beater... but... I was doin' some thinking... "
"And?" Blaise pressed further, passing the marmalade to Theodore Nott, a boy in their year who although was previously weedy and stringy, had grown into his skin a bit more.
"Theo," Indiana turned to him. Theo's jumpiness from previous years had only increased with the aftermath of the war; at the sound of his name, he flinched and whipped his head in her direction. "You interested in playing Seeker?"
"What?" Draco and Theo said in unison, the former looking appalled and the latter looking beyond himself.
"Me? Seeker?" Theo let out a bit of nervous laughter. "I — I dunno. Draco's a fine Seeker, I don't understand why —"
"Because," Indiana said loudly. "Draco, I'm not saying you're a bad Seeker. You're a brilliant Seeker. But you're built for Chaser. And you're even more brilliant at that position. I just think it'll better the team."
"I don't need you to tell me I'm brilliant, Indiana, I know that already," Draco said haughtily, twisting his rang back and forth on his pale middle finger. Draco and Indiana had always been acquaintances, and during her first years at Hogwarts she had been drawn to his flamboyant dramatics. It was only in recent years that she found him to be a bit too petty for her liking. He was alright, though.
"Theo, you tried out last year, didn't you?" Indiana asked him gently. Theo flushed.
"Well, yeah..." Theo said quietly. "Warrington didn't like my playing, though, he said I was —"
"Screw Warrington," Indiana said sharply. Blaise lowly whistled and raised a hand as though he agreed. "He was a dick. He didn't want me on the team cause I was a girl, and then only let me on because Jack Jones is my father."
"Prat," Nancy remarked bitterly. "Some Captain."
"Theo, I saw your flying during tryouts. You're a natural!" Indiana told him earnestly, leaning forward. He seemed to flush under the compliment, pursing his lips a bit. "And I really think you should try out. I'd love to have you on the team. Honestly."
Theo didn't respond for a moment, glancing over fleetingly at Draco; the blonde blinked, before sighing and leaning back into his chair.
"Fine," Draco threw his arms up, a tuft of his white-blonde hair falling out of place. "I'll try for Chaser, you twat."
"Thank you, ferret," Indiana smirked. Draco, although holding an annoyed expression, curled his lips up in response. He'd never admit that he knew she was right. "And what of you, Theo? Will you try for Seeker?"
"I think you should," Blaise annunciated, swallowing his pumpkin juice. Theo valued Blaise's opinion highly; if there was a parent-child duo, it would be them. "Better you than some scrawny second year."
"Oh, alright," Theo murmured, shaking his dusty brown hair in front of his eyes. "I'll give it a go."
"Brilliant!" Indiana beamed, teeth flashing.
"Aw, the Quidditch team will be filled with you guys!" Nancy cooed, tilting her head to the side causing her hair to bounce slightly. "Slytherins take on Quidditch! Adorable!"
"Yeah, yeah," Indiana playfully grimaced when Nancy brought a hand up to ruffle her hair; she swerved away jokingly. "Hey, Captains get access to the Prefects Bathroom, right?"
"Yes," Draco answered in a drawl, before glancing up at her with a cocked eyebrow, corner of his lips twitching upwards into a smirk. "Why? Fancy having fun up in there?"
"Perhaps," Indiana replied in an equally as suggestive tone. "A change in scenery is always nice, isn't it?"
"Bet the Prefects Bathroom's a better sight than a ruddy broom closet," Blaise remarked, to which Indiana swiftly hit him upside the head with her palm. Draco pursed his lips together, the tips of his cheeks slightly pink.
"Rude!" She said shrilly. "It happened one time!"
"An unforgettable memory," Draco crooned, leaning forward and lowering his eyelids in a sultry way. Indiana scoffed and leaned forward as to whack him, but he leaned back quick enough to escape the force of her palm.
"Oh, it's forgettable alright," She retorted.
The hallways after the Start-of-Term Feast were always packed to the brim with students, socializing and catching up with each other after the long Holiday. In this case, Indiana, Blaise, and Draco loitered along the sides of the main corridor, silently (well, not always silent) judging both the new and the old students.
"Check it out," Blaise purred quietly, eyes shrewdly crossing the throng of people when they landed on a pudgier boy with dusty brown hair holding on tight to a pretty blonde girl. "Longbottom and Abbott."
"Good for them," Indiana said pleasantly. "Although, I am a bit disappointed that Longbottom managed to get into a relationship before me."
"I'm always available, Ana," Draco teased, leaning down so he was at her eye level. She was seated on one of the sills of the windows, one long leg crossed over the other, curls draped over her shoulders. Indiana rolled her dark eyes and held up a palm to block out his face.
"Not again," She told him coyly. "Made that mistake once."
"Suck it up, Dray, she's over it," Blaise said teasingly. Draco shook his head, lips curled up. "Your charm doesn't work on everyone."
"That's for sure," Indiana scoffed. "Little too hands-on, for my liking. Can't control yourself, can you, Draco?"
"Obviously not," Blaise said lowly, eyes following a certain trio of scarlet and gold students. Draco seemed to be doing the same, standing upright and making a move towards them. "Can't he go a fucking day without —?"
"Hey, Potter!" Draco called out, his lips already curled up into a malevolent smirk. Harry Potter, who was walking with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, turned towards them, a glare already forming in his green eyes.
"What?" Potter barked at them without a moment's hesitation. Draco raised his eyebrows.
"Getting all riled up, are we?" Draco teased. "Slytherins' got a new Captain this year. A good one at that, so I just figured I'd give you a little warning..."
"And who's that?" Ron Weasley said sharply. "Can't be you, can it? Has Slughorn gone mad?"
"Ouch, Weasley," Indiana said coyly from behind Draco. Potter glanced over at her, his eyebrows narrowing at the mere sight of her. Dark eyes glinting, she uncrossed her legs and got to her feet, stalking over towards them. Jutting her head to Draco, she said, "You think he'd be Captain?"
"I could be, if I wanted," Draco muttered to her. She clicked her tongue but said nothing in regards to this.
"I'm Captain, Weasley," Indiana told them proudly, her chin raising in the air. "And although it wasn't my idea to give you a warning, I must inform you, I do take this quite seriously."
"And who do you think you are?" Weasley asked her. Potter watched from the redheads side, his lips curled downward in a sort of curious frown. Indiana only raised a single eyebrow, taken aback.
"You don't know?" Indiana asked, dark eyes flickering with amusement. "I've only been going to school with you for seven years, no big deal..."
"Are you going to answer the question or not?" Potter barked, the yellow-tinted light casting a shadow of his bangs across his tanned forehead. She could just barely make out the lightning scar below his hairline. Indiana and Draco exchanged a regaled glance with one another.
"Indiana Jones," She introduced herself, not bothering to extend a hand. "In case your memory's gone shot."
Potter's eyebrows furrowed more, but this time in a way of confusion rather than anger.
"What, like the guy with the whip?" Potter inquired in all seriousness. Granger swiftly whacked him on the arm, looking frantic.
"That's a Muggle thing, Harry, they just have the same name!" Granger whisper-hissed to him, loud enough for the Slytherins to hear. Potter let out an amused scoff. Indiana scowled.
"Think my names funny?" She challenged, stepping forward towards him as her dark eyes narrowed. Potter didn't back away, in fact, he tilted his head to the side a bit as though he were accepting her challenge. Blaise, knowing his friend well enough, pushed himself off of where he was leaning against the wall and advanced towards her side.
"Dee," Blaise hissed, slanted eyes flickering between her and the Gryffindor. "Careful."
Indiana side-eyed Blaise for a moment before taking a small step back. She couldn't go picking fights this year, she knew that well enough. With her newfound responsibilities, she could afford to lose her spot as Captain (her father would kill her!), along with — well — other issues. But god forbid someone harm Harry Potter again. Not after he saved the Wizarding World for the eight-thousandth time or whatever...
"Watch out, Potter," Indiana spoke lowly, shoulders back, chin up, her eyes raking over his face as though she were searching for a weak spot. She took note of his careless presentation; shirt slightly untucked, scarlet and gold tie loose around his exposed neck, untidy hair sticking up every which way. If he wasn't so annoying, she would have gone as far to call him attractive. "I might hit a Bludger your way."
"Looking forward to it," Potter glared right back, green eyes glinting under the poor light of the hallway. She, however, had her shirt tucked delicately into her black skirt that swished about her thighs, her green and silver tie fastened neatly around the base of her neck. The top of her white shirt was unbuttoned only twice to expose her collarbones, but not enough for it to look too provocative. She noticed that that despite the obvious hatred between them, Potter was still a male and couldn't help but look downwards.
"Come on," Granger muttered, tugging onto Potter's shoulder. With a sickeningly sweet smile, Indiana waved her fingers at him tauntingly as his friends pulled him away. Draco let out a low chuckle when the three Gryffindors were out of sight, muttering something about them being the same as always.
"Dee, you gotta keep your cool," Blaise told her that night before they headed up to their dorms. Both Draco and Theodore had gone upstairs to bed, and Nancy was waiting for her in their dorm, but Blaise and Indiana had a sort of nighttime ritual of staying up a bit late together. "You're totally badass. But I don't want you getting in trouble."
"I know," Indiana said quietly, fiddling with the material of the carpet, the heat from the blazing fire casting a thin layer of warmth onto her skin. "Can't help it."
"I know that," Blaise said, posture relaxed. The common room was barren of all other students, and although the deep green couches were available for them to sit on, the floor in front of the fire seemed to be more appealing. "I know Potter's frustrating, but... you can't let any of the teachers catch you picking a fight with him. Especially after... after last year.... "
The war had been hard on everyone. It was war, wasn't that what it was supposed to be like? Blaise had been by her side for the whole battle, in fact, they had managed to take out a duo of Death Eaters side by side (which was quite difficult considering they fought the side they had been on for so long). Blaise and Nancy were also the only ones who knew the details of her mothers passing, therefore the only ones she could really turn to if she were upset about it. Which, by the way, was quite often.
"I can't stand him," Indiana's voice was calm, yet unbelievably violent. Blaise shifted his eyes up to her at this, and whether he was surprised or amused was unclear. "They were lookin' for him. And they killed her instead."
The silence after the words fell from her lips hung over them for a moment's time, the crackling of the fire filling the empty space. Head tilted down, she could see the ends of her dark curls, her eyes following the length of each lock for a moment. She got them from her mother.
"I'm sorry," Blaise finally spoke. "I know it's been.... hard for you."
She scoffed. "Yeah. Father's been fuckin' crazy."
"I can imagine," Blaise nodded deeply, glancing down at the glittering watch on his wrist, the hands clicking silently. "We ought to get to bed."
"Mkay," Indiana got to her feet with no complaints, feeling tired enough that perhaps if she closed her eyes, she could fall asleep standing upright. "See you in the morning."
"Goodnight, Dee," Blaise told her lightly. "Hope you dream of Quidditch victories."
"More like dreaming of bashing Potter's face in," Indiana retorted, to which Blaise snorted. "Goodnight."
SHE SPEAKS!
yayyyy harry and indiana's first interaction!!! we'll touch base on indiana's hatred for harry and the trauma everyone has from the war. also, this ff will be frequently switching povs!!! so it'll switch between indiana and harry's pov rather often
also, another and less relevant thing; although i have harry's faceclaim as daniel radcliffe (because gahdDAYUM) i do picture this harry with much darker skin. take that as you will; you can picture him as daniel if you'd like, but the harry i'll be describing is just a tad different!
i also have hermione's faceclaim as emma watson, as well, but i've always seen hermione as a poc so i'm writing her with that in mind. but you can imagine the characters however way you want!!
thanks for reading ily
-s <3