[15]
'Official Invitation'
The Hogwarts courtyard was especially busy on the sunny Saturday morning. Buzzing with excitement that the rain had finally gone. There were barely any students left in the castle, Slytherins included. Finn and Persephone were one of the few.
"I want to join," Finn said firmly. His voice bouncing off the walls of the Room of Requirements.
Persephone looked back at him. "What?"
"I want to join," Finn said, a little weaker this time. "If you'll have me."
Persephone tilted her head.
"I know," Finn said. "I just suddenly have a change of heart. I promise I will be brave and I won't drag you all behind."
"How come?"
"I don't want him to win," Finn replied slowly, his eyes not moving from the dummy. "Expelliarmus."
Persephone's mind was sharp. "Did you hear something?"
"London Carrow, mentioned something about the mark hurting his father again," Finn said after a moment of silence.
Why would London tell Finn that Amycus Carrow's mark was hurting? Persephone knew Finn couldn't just find out completely out of the blue. But the information was important, and Persephone had to make use of whatever connection Finn had to the Carrow family. Yes, Persephone loved Finn and would do very much to keep him safe, but Finn wasn't a kid anymore. Whether she liked it or not, Finn was going to become a part of the war. It's better to prepare him for it. "You want to join Macabre?"
"Yes," Finn nodded.
"We'll have to intensify your training," Persephone said finally. "Beat Pansy and we will welcome you with open arms. "
"Pansy Parkinson?" Finn stopped firing at the dummy, looking at her.
"Remember, there's a reason why Pansy Parkinson is still in our group. Trust me, she's not like Maleficent Bulstrode, Crabbe and Goyle. She may seem like a useless gossip vase, but she's much more than that."
Finn nodded and sat down on the floor. His face betraying the emotions he tried to hide. Persephone ruffled his hair. Finn pouted, tilting his head to the other side.
"Did you spy on Liana?"
Finn let out a chuckle. "I can't hide anything, can I?"
"Not from me," Persephone said with a small laugh.
Finn took a breath in and opened his mouth to start.
"If you don't want to tell me," she said. "Then don't. I'll forget about it."
Finn looked up at her in surprise. "You will?"
"On one condition," she continued. "Work hard, won't you?"
Finn nodded, a smile stretching over his features.
Grabbing her cloak, a door appeared in the room. Persephone left the room with Finn behind her. She had already turned the corner when she heard a loud voice from behind. She stopped in her tracks to wait for Finn only to find him no longer behind her. Frowning, she walked back in the direction in which she came from but hesitated before turning the corner.
"Oi!" She recognized the boy's voice. "Mute boy!"
Hearing the shuffling, Persephone could almost see Finn's nervous look.
"Wha-what do you want?" Finn's shaky voice asked. "Go away."
"No more friends to defend you? Friendless, alone, like how you should be."
Persephone muttered a charm under her breath to camouflage herself and took a few steps forward. From the reflection of the glass, she could see everything.
"You know nothing," Finn's voice became stronger.
Slap. The first sound came. Finn looked up at the boy from the floor, in shock. Then anger. Finn was fuming.
Punch. Finn's actions seemed to surprise even himself. Finn went for another punch. The other boy stepped back with a wince from the force of the punch.
Finn seemed to have finally realised what he had done. For a second, he froze. Persephone could tell just from the glass how nervous the boy was. Then he ran. He ran so fast that Persephone barely had the time to hide before the boy came tumbling down her path. Leaning to the wall, she watched as the boy disappeared down the other end before she let herself reappear.
Turning around the corner, she watched as the bully collected himself. Her footsteps were as silent as a snake.
Furious, the bully stood up straight to chase after Finn again, but as he looked up, he came face to face with Persephone.
"Per-persephone," Marcus Flint stuttered, utterly surprised at the girl's sudden appearance.
Persephone gave a small curtsy, a smile on her face. The smile was slight, almost twisted. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I-I'm just leaving now," Marcus said, scurrying past the girl.
"Wait," Persephone said, stopping the boy. Her smile grew wider, "Why are you leaving?"
"I-I'm sorry," he said quietly. He bowed his head down. Persephone was significantly shorter than Marcus, yet the power in her eyes held him down, like iron chains wrapped around a tamed dragon.
Persephone stepped away. "You will receive your second warning. I hope you saw the first one. I made sure it was well packaged."
Marcus nodded. "Yes-yes, I did receive it."
Persephone tilted her head and brought her hand up to caress the side of his face. Leaning in, she whispered into his ear, "Just remember, there won't be a third warning."
Marcus nodded.
Persephone looked down, then back up, straight into his eyes. "I believe in you, Marcus. I think you can be great. I genuinely believe that," she said in a collected tone. "But you keep disappointing me."
With that, Persephone left. Walking down the corridor she came from, she waved her wand softly. A thin sheet of paper flew to her hand. With another wave, the thin piece of paper folded itself into a paper plane. With a smirk on her face, she quickened her pace. Reaching, she opened the last window of the corridor. Resting the plane on her hand, she softly blew it through. She watched with a smile on her face as she guided the plane with her wand, out the window, through the Slytherin common room, and into a specific dorm room.
"Boom," she whispered.
Boom!
--
"Ready for the holidays?" Blaise asked, his body leaning lousily onto the door.
Persephone smirked as she put her last belongings into the suitcase. "Not quite."
"Did you really have to blow up Marcus' dorm?"
Persephone merely gave him a look. "Did you really just ask that?"
Blaise nodded his head, 'fair enough'. "Hadrian will come next year, right?" Blaise asked.
She nodded. A small smile appeared on the side of her face. From her pocket, she took out two strawberry lollipops. "Want one?" Blaise nodded, catching the candy after Persephone's careless throw.
For a second, Persephone was a child at the toy store, her eyes sparkling with immature desires. As its sweet tastes reached her mouth, she was content. It was important for her, it kept her sane.
"Where's Malfoy?" She asked.
"The blonde git," Blaise thought out loud. "Probably in his dorm, flattening his 'perfect' hair."
She shook her head playfully. "Tell him to come. There's something I need to tell him before the train."
Blaise nodded and left.
A few minutes later, Blaise came back with Draco behind him.
"Why did you blow off Marcus' dorm?" Draco asked with an incredulous expression as he walked in.
"It was a necessary warning," Persephone replied simply. She didn't seem to be annoyed, only amused.
"What if there were people inside?"
Persephone couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Draco, darling, please. Do you really think I would've blown up a room without knowing anything at first?"
Draco shook his head. "You could have warned him with something else."
"I could've," Persephone agreed, her smile deepened. "But I didn't want to."
Draco sighed, sitting down next to her.
"Anyway, I asked you to come with a task in mind."
Draco raised his eyebrows. Persephone waved for him to lean closer.
"Yes?" Draco asked.
"There's something you need to do," Persephone said.
"Just get to it," Draco said irritatedly, "no need to be courteous."
Persephone shrugged, "Watch your parents. Their marks might begin to burn."
Before Draco could respond, she waved her wand, opening the door again, exposing Daphne, Scarlett and Theo who had been trying to listen in.
"He's coming back," Daphne said awkwardly after walking in. "Isn't he?"
"We're prepared," Scarlett dismissed.
"Yes," Persephone told Daphne. "If my prediction is right, Pettigrew should be with him at this very moment."
A small clam followed. Theo couldn't help but ask, "Why did you let him go?"
Persephone looked down to the floor. "Everyone has a role to play in this battle." Whether it is as the villain or the hero, a coward or a soldier, everyone had a role. How can they kill Voldemort for once and for all if he's dead? She needed someone to bring him back first.
The sound of fluttering caught the attention of the group as they all turned around to see a black robin.
A spell shot from Persephone's wand, green and deadly.
"I didn't know there were black robins here," Draco said, his voice tight. "Why did you kill it?"
"It didn't belong here," Persephone said calmly, looking into his stormy grey eyes. "I'm just letting him home... Home in death."
"Home in death," Blaise said as if trying out the words with his tongue.
Shrinking her suitcase, Persephone pocketed her belongings and left her room. Draco was left with an astounding look.
"It was never alive," Blaise rolled his eyes.
Draco, still perplexed by Persephone's actions, turned to look at him. "What?"
"She made the bird," Blaise said. "It was never alive. She transfigured it from the black mug from the Room of Requirements."
"Well, why couldn't she just tell me?"
"Idiot, why do you think so?"
A/N
Sorry for the super long-taking update! Comment, vote, and check out my other stories if you will! Thank youuuu!
Grace <3