The week moved by at a snail's speed, something Penny would normally be happy about considering May was the only thing standing between her and her exams, which she felt very unprepared for. Her only solace was found in the fact Ginny and all the other fifth years looked much more miserable than she with their approaching OWLs, something Penny was glad to not have to worry about. Even Harry felt bad enough to let Ginny have a couple of practices off to study, something Ron had much to say about.
With their final game approaching and their only hope for winning the House Cup being a victory by a 300 point margin or more, things were tense, but Harry, in that way of his, persisted and somehow managed to keep team morale up.
Because of the approaching match and Penny's recent discussion with Harry about visiting their parent's grave, Penny found herself in the trophy room during one of her breaks. Before her sat a shiny plaque with the names of previous Gryffindor Team players, at the center of which she read James Potter.
She grazed the name with her fingers thinking of that beautiful man as she went over every last detail she'd noticed about him when they'd met on that bridge.
"Gryffindor won the cup every year he was on the team," Lupin said gently from beside her.
He must have been intent on not disturbing her because she hadn't noticed him come in.
"That year," he nodded toward the plaque, "was the only year he was nervous the streak might break."
"Why?" Penny asked, remembering how adorable a nervous James looked.
"His best chaser was mysteriously thrown out of commission just before the match. James was beside himself. I've never seen him so desperate to find a replacement. I think he would have sold his soul to win that match if it came down to that," he smiled at the recollection of the memory.
"Sounds like someone else I know," Penny grinned, thinking of how crazed quidditch made Harry. "So what'd he do?"
"He didn't do anything. We had a French exchange student in Gryffindor that year. She insisted he put her in and she won the game for him. If James hadn't been dating Lily at the time, I think he might have proposed to her."
"Imagine if it went that way and I'd never been born," Penny said, turning away from that name she loved to find those brown eyes looking crossly back at her.
"Why would I want to imagine something so awful?," he said, tugging her into his chest so he looked down at her and force her to feel the full effect of his displeasure before giving her a hard squeeze..
The bones in her back cracked, making him chuckle into her hair. He lingered, breathing in the smell of her as Penny listened to that pounding heart of his.
"You're leaving again, aren't you?"
"Yes. But I won't be returning to the werewolves. I'll be staying in London so if you need anything—" he said, whatever else coming after, Penny didn't catch because the heart in her chest sank at the word 'London'.
She remembered that apartment, the ease with which Lupin informed her it belonged to Tonks; the way he no longer even entertained her own hopes of marrying him one day. And Penny wondered, no she dreaded to think, maybe Lupin and Tonks were seeing each other, and 'staying in London' was synonymous with 'staying with Tonks'.
The thought was awful for a multitude of reasons that Penny didn't want to think about, the biggest being that gaping hole Sirius's absence left. So she pulled away, avoiding his gaze when he surveyed her with those brown eyes that didn't miss anything.
"June is only a month away," Penny said, finding it difficult to get the words out.
"We'll do something," Lupin said, "For both of them."
Penny was staring at that plaque again, hating the fact that was all they were anymore, Sirius, James and Cedric too—just names. Penny nodded, not trusting herself to speak as she wrestled with the emotions in her chest.
"I know it feels like a lot, Penny, but we'll get through it. Together."
"Do you promise?" she said, tearing her eyes away from that name.
"Cross my heart and hope to die," he affirmed.
"I didn't know wizards knew that saying," Penny said with a small smile, feeling only mildly placated
"We don't. But I'm not just any wizard am I?" he said with that dashing smile of his, making her smile in earnest now.
"You most certainly are not," she agreed.
"There's that smile I love," he said, pointer finger reaching out and tapping the dimple on her cheek affectionately. "It'll be unbearable to live without it now that I've been spoiled enough to wake up to it every morning for the last two weeks. I don't know how I shall survive."
"You could try not going," Penny said, unleashing her best puppy-dog eyes on him.
"If I did that you'd be much too distracted to study, and we can't have that, can we?" Warm eyes flashed mischievously, making the prospect of study feel even more unappealing than it already had.
"You wouldn't hear me complaining about that."
"Yes, well you have always lacked a certain kind of self-restraint," he mused, stepping forward to wrap his arms around her again. "But I mustn't let your bad habits run off on me, no matter how sorely I'd like to let them."
"Fine," Penny grumbled. "But do something for me, will you?"
"Anything," he said, craning his neck to the side so his brown eyes locked on the green ones.
"Be at the station. So-so I have something to look forward to in June."
The pretty features looking back at her became sad, Lupin's hand reaching out to cup her cheek. "Of course I'll come and I'll bring your favorite snacks too, just to be sure you don't you don't go hungry at your Aunt and Uncle's."
The fact that she and Harry often went hungry during the summer was a common occurrence should have bothered Penny, but she found herself smiling at Lupin's remark. The stupidity of her life prior to Hogwarts was a welcome reminder that while things hadn't gone how she'd hoped, her life in the wizarding world was still a much more beautiful thing than the one she'd grown up into.
The bell rang, Penny and Lupin knowing they had to let go now, but they still hung on, even as the noise in the corridors began to heighten, filling their ears with the sounds of gossip and laughter.
"I know it feels like the least important thing right now, but please try to study for your exams," Lupin said, giving her cheek a soft kiss before he let her go.
"No worries there, I wouldn't be caught dead letting Harry get a better score than me."
They walked to the door together, pausing in the hallway, both heading in opposite directions.
"I love you, Penny," he said, a group of girls giggling loudly and looking between the pair of them as they passed. But Penny didn't care, she held onto those beautiful brown eyes and replied,
"I love you too, Remus."
✳✳✳✳✳✳
It was hard to focus on anything after her goodbye to Lupin. It'd left Penny feeling more despondent than she had in a long time. She always hated parting ways, but doing so with Lupin had always been particularly difficult after the events of third-year and the abrupt announcement of his resignation.
She'd gone hunting for him that day because he'd been too ashamed to show his face, afraid she would think differently of him knowing what he was. But what the foolish man didn't realize was that Penny had known all year. She'd figured it out thanks to witnessing Snape brewing the wolfsbane potion for him, and it didn't matter in the least. She fell in love with Lupin, fully aware he was a werewolf, though she hadn't found the right time to tell him she'd discovered his secret until it was too late.
Penny recalled that day vividly as she stared out the window in charms. The sight of Lupin's tears when she'd confessed this truth to him and then promptly told him off for believing her devotion to him so shallow, was a moment she was certain had to be burned into the back of her retina.
Not even bothering to wipe his tears, he just kept repeating what an extraordinary girl he thought she was, and how undeserving he was of such devotion. This bothered Penny, but she had not yet learned how to tell him exactly how important he was to her.
But despite her pleas and assurances there was no better professor at Hogwarts, and even the admission she didn't want to come back to a Hogwarts without him, he told her he had to go, that the decision was final.
The bitterness in Penny's heart made her angry at how unfair things were, but she did not succumb to any of those emotions until she stood on the bottom stair leading to the castle as Lupin climbed into the carriage and paused to look back at her and said, "I know it's a little unconventional, Penny, but would it be alright if I wrote to you?" he'd asked, looking nervous for the first time in their much too short friendship.
"You had better," Penny blurted out before she could stop herself. She wanted to stomp on her own foot and remind herself to say something pretty or poetic, that this moment mattered, but she'd received the most brilliant smile in response to her impulsive mouth that all the gears in her brain stopped working and she just stood there watching him shut the door.
Their eyes glued on the other, the carriage finally began to move, bringing with it her tears. Big, angry tears rolling down her cheeks as she watched Lupin leave Hogwarts, and her, until she could see him no more, could not bear looking at the empty space he'd occupied minutes prior no more.
The days after had been awful. A sadness unlike any she'd ever known in those days came over her, and it took everything in Harry's arsenal of tricks to pull her out of her apathy.
In the years and goodbyes since, Penny concluded it wasn't natural saying goodbye to Lupin. Her soul despised it more than anything else.
Sighing, Penny glanced at the opposite side of the room where Harry Ron and Hermione were huddled looking unusually engrossed in their conversation. Especially Hermione, who was typically attentive during class time.
While them conversing in hushed whispers was a normal state to find the trio, there seemed to be something different about this conversation, as though they were planning something, which couldn't mean anything good. Not that it mattered since Penny had decided it was better not to ask, not to even think about it at this point given the risk of the Dark Lord infiltrating her mind. Whatever this mission of Harry's was, she was better left out of it. He could confess it all to her when he completed it and they were free of this nightmare.
When charms ended, Penny found herself in an empty classroom for a third time that week. But instead of Sebastian or Snape joining her, it was Adrian who smiled at her when he entered.
He was so unlike the other two, crossing the room and throwing his arms around Penny and crushing her with that affectionate familiarity she still hadn't gotten accustomed to.
"You're strangling me, Adrian," Penny choked.
"You didn't say goodbye before you left. I had to hear it from your brother when you never showed up for our walk around the lake," he complained when he pulled away, those brilliant bronzed features of his looking very unhappy with her.
"I'm sorry, I really am. It wasn't my intent to bail on you."
"I never thought it was. But I was worried. Harry wouldn't give any details about where you went. I thought the Ministry. . ." he trailed off, as though worried he might upset her if he went on.
"C'mon, I'll explain," Penny said apologetically, nodding toward the table across the room.
They settled on top and Penny told Adrian about her trip to Nurmengard, meeting Grindelwald, how he gave her his power, something that made Adrian's dark brows crease, but he remained quiet, listening attentively. Then, taking a steadying breath, she told Adrian what she had told to no one else, what Grindelwald had said to her about Dream and Death, and the bargain he was hoping to strike for himself.
"I haven't told anyone else this bit. If I did I'm sure they'd think I'd gone insane," Penny admitted to the ceiling. "But I'm not insane, am I, Adrian?"
"Why would that make you insane?" Adrian replied, sounding genuinely confused.
"So you believe in them—that Dream and Death are real?"
"Sorry, Penny. Sometimes it's difficult for me to remember things are so different outside of Valaki. But I told you, my family has been guarding that portal for centuries. We were there when Death walked the Earth and Dream made the portal, and when he closed it. So to me, these are all matters I've spent my entire life thinking about.I forget to the rest of the world, such things have become nothing more than fairytales."
His dark brown eyes seemed dimmer somehow when he looked back at Penny, like he felt her own misgivings about herself were his fault. "You're not insane, in fact I'd say you're more in touch with reality than most," he offered.
Penny gave him a small smile, Adrian always had a way about him that cheered her up and made her feel less like a freak.
"I've never heard of Death following a lineage though," he went on. "What does Death want with your family, did Grindelwald say?"
It was the one piece of information Penny had kept to herself—the hallows and the fact Harry was in possession of one.
"No. He said my family was very private, and there aren't any left for me to ask," Penny lied.
She trusted Adrian, but this was a family matter and therefore she did not feel right about speaking about it to him, least of all before telling Harry.
"Mmm," Adrian agreed with a frown, "All the great Seer families cling tightly to their secrets. Mine are no exception. But your father didn't say anything when you saw him on the bridge?"
"Not that I can recall," Penny said, thinking back. "It seems like the kind of thing that'd take priority."
"Well, no use wasting our energy on the question marks, I suppose," he sighed. "But I'm curious about your other mark, may I look?"
"It's not visible anymore," Penny said, offering him her left hand after she pulled the sleeve back.
"No, it wouldn't be. Come with me to the Paths," he said, interlocking his fingers with hers.
The world stilled around Penny, and a second later, she stood looking over that great expanse, her breath catching as it always did when she beheld it.
Adrian turned her arm gently over, and there emblazoned on her left forearm was that same, bizarre tattoo. The lines around his mouth creased as his finger gently traced it, tickling Penny.
"Sorry," he said almost absentmindedly, when she couldn't take it anymore and flinched away. "Penny. . .this symbol implies a lot more than protection," he said, hesitating when their eyes met. "That's Dream's sigil. I've seen it numerous times during my studies. And from my understanding, he only gives it to his servants."
"Servants? Then why would I have it? I can't even say I've met the guy." Penny said, feeling rather taken aback by this information. She was thoroughly tapped out on being a servant and did not want to add yet another master to that aggravating list.
"You would have needed to strike a bargain with him and he accepted your service in return. But if he didn't want you to remember it until he had need of you, that wouldn't be difficult for him."
"But when would we have struck this deal and why? I knew nothing about any of this until you told me after escaping the inbetween." Penny said, turning away from Adrian to kick at the sand beneath her feet.
"Your guess is as good as mine about why, but as for the when,—it would explain why you didn't wake up," Adrian muttered to himself, only clarifying when Penny rounded on him. "When you were in the inbetween, I cut us a door out. A door that should have led straight back to consciousness. But you didn't wake up and I couldn't figure out why. But if Dream pulled you into the Dreaming then you wouldn't have woken up until he released, which would mean you were't in a coma."
"Are you saying that entire time I was just sleeping?"
"No, you were dreaming, Penny. It all makes sense," he said, eyes glittering in triumph almost.
"Well you'll excuse me if I don't share your enthusiasm for this revelation. I can't say I'm particularly fond of being anyone's servant, much less of something that has the ability to put me to sleep for months on end," Penny said darkly.
"Oh, Penny. Of course I'm not—I shouldn't have expressed it that way, it was terribly insensitive of me," Adrian said, cheeks flushing. "But whatever happened, at least we are one step to figuring out what it was."
"You have a point there," Penny sighed, rubbing her temples. She didn't like the way these answers only spawned more unknowns and made her feel even more wayward. The thought of having met this being called Dream and cut a deal with him she couldn't remember, it left Penny feeling anything but relieved. "Can we go? I think I'm maxed out on speculating for one night."
His reply was to reach for her hand, returning them to the classroom. It was dim now, the sun having fallen behind the horizon. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust, Penny's mind a jumbled mess of thoughts.
She glanced sideways at Adrian to thank him and found those dark eyes focused intently on her, staring at her with a newfound intensity that put even his normal amount to shame. If looks could burn, Penny was sure she'd be a puddle of ash by now.
"I didn't mean to come off as ungrateful," she said. He cared so much about her, about this absurd predicament of hers. It made Penny feel very undeserving of a friend such as him, especially when she was so bad at reciprocating the kind of care he showed her. He'd done so much for her; rescued her; taught her; and was estranged from his family for her, and it made her feel like she should do more to let him know how much she appreciated it. "It's been a hard couple of weeks, but being able to talk about these things with you, it helps," she said, to her hands.
"Thanks for saying that, Penny. I know I'm a bit strange and maybe annoying. But you're important to me and have been for a long time. So please don't worry about it. Take all the time you need," Adrian replied, taking that hand she was avoiding his gaze with and squeezed. "I'm here to provide anything you need, no expectations," he smiled when she finally looked up.
They parted ways in the corridor, Penny giving Adrian's hand a tight squeeze in return because she'd used up all her ability to express her emotions for one day.
Adrian was a strange boy, but there was something so therapeutic about having him around and being able to trust she could confide these things in him. The fact he knew so much brought her a sense of control. Talking to him always made her feel like things would eventually work out and they had it within their power to make it so. It was for that confidence in her skills, she cherished him.
When she made it to the Entrance hall, she found her brother strolling nonchalantly toward the doors that led to the ground.
"Harry?" Penny called out, jogging the length between them. "Where are you going?"
He turned, Penny finding his mouth upturned in a cocky grin.
"Can't chat, Pen, I have something very important to do. Don't wait up," he said dismissively, patting her on the shoulder and continued on his way, leaving Penny staring dumbstruck after him.
Whatever the hell was going on, it was better to ask, she reminded herself. But judging by his odd behavior, she did suspect he'd taken some of his luck potion which made her even less inclined to want to know what he was up to. Her burgeoning headache was bad enough as it was. So she opted to get dinner and make it an early night.
Most people had already eaten, leaving the Great Hall sparse, but Penny spotted that familiar head of sleek blond hair so she slid in beside him.
"Where's your fan club?" she said, filling her plate with an obscene amount of potatoes.
"Drinking in the prefect's bathroom," he said, sounding uncharacteristically bitter.
"What's the matter, pretty boy, they didn't invite you?" she said, smirking sideways at him.
"Seeing as there would be no revelries if I didn't provide the booze, hardly," he said dryly.
"You hate charity, so what are you doing here while they enjoy the fruits of your hard efforts?'
"I'm benevolent when I want to be."
Penny snorted in disbelief, which earned her a jab to the shin. She didn't respond, waiting for him to elaborate as she shoveled food into her mouth.
"You know, if you used your eyes half as well as you do that mouth," —he smirked, making her scowl— "you would see that I'm a bit preoccupied with this."
She followed his gaze to the pile of books, upon which sat a strange cylindrical device that had several brightly colored stones set in its center, beside which were at least three cups of coffee, a cup of tea and a pile of half eaten pastries.
"What is all this?" Penny said through a mouthful of food, picking up the nearest book and scanning the page he had it flipped open to. "It's not homework."
"No shit," he snapped. He had the decency to look somewhat remorseful when Penny glowered at him. "I've used up all my patience for the year, sp stick around at your own risk," he shrugged.
"Why are you reading books on homemaking? Dreaming of the day you can be a stay-at-home-dad?" she quipped, nearly choking on her potato as she broke into a fit of laughter.
"Shut up, Potter before I decide to stop being nice to you."
"Your mum doesn't work does she? Surely she taught you some of this stuff?'
"You think my mum has ever lifted a finger a day in her life?" Draco scoffed, looking offended at the suggestion. "This is house-elf stuff," he went on, the snobbish tone of disgust dripping from his every word.
"Then why the hell are you reading all these? Plan on teaching your house-elf some new skills? Don't like the way he irons your underwear?"
Penny was pushing Draco's already thin patience, but she honestly could not waste this opportunity to harass him like he always did her.
"Need I remind you how that prat brother of yours lost us our house-elf?" The look of utter loathing that shadowed his pale features was an impressive one, and the same one he saved just for Harry. What had his mother told Penny once, that murder and passion were often indistinguishable?
"Technically it was your dad who free'd Dobby. Harry just sacrificed his sock to make it happen," Penny pointed out, picking up the cylindrical item.
"Who the hell is Dobby?"
Penny shot Draco a -you-can't-be-serious look, but the expression on his own pretty face told her not to bother.
"You know what, never mind, forget I asked."
"My father is in Azkaban, Potter. Is it really so hard for you to imagine that it would fall on me to fill the role in his absence," Draco said, quietly, those grey eyes of his losing all of the annoyance they carried a second ago.
"Surely your mother doesn't expect—"
"My mother is alone there with them. She has enough to deal with without me adding more to her pile. This is me getting it done, so unless you have anything useful to offer, shut up."
Penny frowned, feeling saddened by her friend's words, by those dark circles that were indicative of how this burden was plaguing him. Sure, Draco was a Death Eater's son and Harry would never let him forget it, but to Penny he was so much more. They were both caught up in this world they wanted to do with, everyone around them making assumptions about them when in reality he, like Penny was just another kid trying to figure this shit out. A kid with a family he loved and wanted to do more for. These were things Penny couldn't ignore.
"You're trying to repair this for her?" Penny said, voice much softer now thinking about Narcissa and the kindness she'd shown to Penny.
"Something like that," Draco replied, voice guarded and eyes avoiding Penny's gaze.
"Well if your basic repair charms aren't working, it suggests to me that the damage is likely in the center of one of these gems where the magic was imbued. In which case, I suggest trying the harmonia nectere passus charm. It's an old one and tedious to perform correctly, but it was invented by a wand maker who was looking for a way to repair wands since normal spells only reform the wood and not the core. It might do the trick. I can't help you with the incantation though, because I've never looked up the method."
Silence followed Penny's suggestion, so she set down the bizarre object glanced at her friend, fearful she might have offended him in some way, but was startled to find those grey eyes wide, fixed on her face as though he could not believe his eyes.
"Are you okay—" Penny started but Draco jumped to his feet, grabbed both of her cheeks in his hands and leaned forward, engulfing her in a jubilant, impassioned kiss on her lips.
"Penny Potter," he said breathlessly when he pulled away just far enough to find those green eyes, "you are the most brilliant creature to ever walk this planet, and I swear to Merlin if Snape fucks this up, I'll marry you and make you the happiest damn woman in the world."
"D-Draco. What—" Penny tried, brows creased in confusion and cheeks flushed. But Draco had already let her go, sent his stuff flying back into his bag and was running off with that item clutched in his right hand.
The few people left in the hall were all openly gaping at Penny. When she caught their stares, they quickly turned away and began whispering frantically to their friends. She couldn't blame them. It was the strangest thing Penny had ever seen Malfoy do, and she'd been friends with him for six years. Maybe he was starting to crack up.
After their little, very public confrontation in Slughorn's office, it would no doubt spread like wildfire that they were dating; a thought that made Penny groan. She did not like the prospect of having to explain that one to her brother.
Abandoning her plate of food, Penny's only consultation was that she'd at least done something that was perceived as helpful for her suffering friend. So, despite the nightmare that would follow, Penny couldn't regret taking this burden from him. After everything he'd done for her, she owed him this.
✳✳✳✳✳✳
Come Saturday morning, Harry's strange behavior had subsided and he gave zero explanations to Penny, but didn't hesitate to run off with Ron and Hermione to study in the library. Having known them this long, Penny knew that meant: have a discussion without you.
So she did her homework alone in the common room along with the fifth years who were the only other people not outside enjoying the lovely weather. They looked even more miserable than Penny, who took pity on Ginny and spent some time helping her with some charms practice.
By the time 3 o'clock came around, Penny was happy to find she'd finished all her homework. Knowing Snape, he would not only keep her late, but ensure she left with little energy left to put toward study.
Sebastian was waiting for Penny in the Entrance. She gave the broom clutched in his right hand an arch of her brow.
"Thought we could try something other than smoking," he shrugged, leading her down the stone steps.
"Is that what you call using me to help you practice before next week's match? I'll have you know, Gryffindor being the team you're playing against gives me some conflict of interest here."
"If you're worried about your brother questioning your loyalty, just tell him you were hoping to knock me off my broom. No one could argue you aren't the type that would be okay with stooping to sabotage," he smirked.
"Better watch your tongue or I might make good on that one."
"You can try," he said, sounding much too cocky for Penny's liking.
She was going to argue with him, but then her eyes caught sight of those beautiful biceps of his, free in the singlet he was wearing and glittering in the sun. It was a cheap tactic on his part, but effective because any witty remark she would have shot at him died in her throat.
When they arrived at the pitch, he went in search of a broom and Penny to the changing rooms to find something other than a skirt to wear.
"Seeing as I witnessed you nearly assaulting McLaggen with one, I assume you know how to use one of these," he said, tossing Penny a beater's bat.
"Are you sure you know what you're signing up for?"
Those deep set eyes found her, a smile spreading the length of his lips when he found that sinister look glinting in her eyes. "If I didn't want my ass handed to me, Penny, you would have been the last person I brought out here."
"Flattery will get you nowhere, but I'm more than happy to oblige you, Sebastian. Just don't ask me to ease up when you realize you've bitten off more than you can chew."
Swinging her leg over her broom, Penny shot into the air, relishing the jolt of excitement that went raging through her veins as the world dropped out beneath her and the wind enveloped her.
Penny had always loved flying, but there was something even more exhilarating about it with her new found awareness. She was more attuned to the subtle changes of wind, the distance between her and everything else, and her body seemed to relish all the sensations that brushed past her.
"You just gonna sit there all day and admire the view, or are we gonna play?" chided Sebastian.
Returning her attention to the handsome boy and his lopsided grin, Penny sent the bludger pummeling at him. He took that as her response and zoomed off toward the other side of the pitch.
They spent the next hour and a half running through some drills, Penny admiring the methodical way he worked. She'd only ever seen Harry coach, and that was mostly chaotic.
Most of their time was spent flying back and forth across the field, Sebastian dodging bludgers that Penny sent flying at him. For the most part he was able to avoid them, only losing the quaffle on a couple of occasions. But Penny managed to unseat him a few times. Thankfully he was adept at catching himself so she didn't feel too bad about it.
The impacts looked painful though and Penny did not envy him, but Sebastian didn't so much as complain until their feet were on the ground again. He dropped his broom with a groan before tugging his singlet over his head, exposing that chest and abdomen of his that were rippled with more muscles than should be legal for one his age.
Penny choked on her water, turning away quickly, when he flashed a grin at her.
"Like what you see, do you?"
Deciding it was pointless to deny it, Penny shrugged, "What can I say, I have a weakness for pretty things."
Turning back to him, her eyes fell on the giant bruise taking shape along his side.
"Your handiwork."
"Did I break anything?" Penny said, brows furrowed in worry as she stepped forward and reached for the bruise, stopping just shy.
"Nah. There's no way I could have kept flying if you had."
Penny remembered the couple of times she'd broken her ribs, the more memorable one being when she'd faced off against Viktor Krum and been knocked off her broom. It hadn't been one of her best judgment moments, but she'd be lying if she said the memory of the look on his face didn't still give her a great sense of satisfaction.
Her eyes were still fixed on that purple spot, fingers less than an inch from it as though undecided what they intended to do.
"I won't bite, not unless you want me to," he said.
Penny suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and let her fingers bridge that distance between them and touched that smooth skin of his. He was trying to provoke her, so she didn't feel the slightest bit bad for taking the opportunity to torment him in return.
The muscles beneath her finger tightened as she grazed the outline of the bruise, making her smirk up at him.
"Is it tender, Slytherin boy?"
"No, just ticklish."
The information was enough to make her toss all her restraint, her fingers trailing over to the beautiful v-shaped muscle that traveled diagonally from Sebastian's hip to his pelvic region. She stopped just shy of the top of his shorts; the way his breath hitched, returning her attention to his face.
"Don't stop on my account," was his reply to her quirked brow.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
"Of course I would. Would you like me to show you why?" he asked, taking a step forward into her bubble, his hand waiting for her response.
"I suppose it's only fair."
Eye's glinting, that strong arm of his pushed Penny's gently aside and reached beneath her t-shirt and grabbed her waist in his hand. His hard squeeze practically made Penny's eyes roll into the back of her head, her breath escaping her lips when he pulled her ever-so-slightly forward as though he wanted to kiss, but he stopped just shy.
The smug triumph was practically dripping from Sebastian when she focused on his face again, finding his head cocked to the side, watching her attentively as his thumb traced its way across her abdomen then back to her side before it made a grueling descent south.
"See?" he whispered, Penny's eyes closed now. "Try and tell me you don't find yourself wishing I'd keep going," he said, pushing the band of her shorts out of the way so he could press his thumb hard against her hip bone.
She wanted to say no and grab his hand to ensure he did precisely that, but that horrid voice brought reality crashing back down on her.
Late for your lessons with Snape because you're seducing a student from his own house, how deliciously unscrupulous of you, Penny.
And the spell was broken. All the glorious feelings Sebastian's voice and fingers had imparted vanished because Grindelwald so thoughtfully reminded her that she would never enjoy the luxury of being alone ever again, and how very screwed she was if she was indeed late for her lesson with Snape.
"Shit!"she gasped, taking an abrupt step away from him as she looked down at her watch "I am late," she groaned.
While Sebastian looked disappointed at the abrupt change in mood, he made no protest when Penny turned to him and said,"Sorry, I have to go or Snape will kill me. Like properly kill me. I'll make it up to you later or something," she rambled, absentmindedly kissing him on the cheek before sprinting from the pitch, leaving him watching her, looking thoroughly bemused.
A sweating, panting mess, Penny burst into Snape's classroom to find him sitting at his desk looking just as irritated as she expected to find him.
"You're late, Potter. Explain to me why that is."
"I ran—sorry—quidditch practice," she huffed, collapsing into the seat in front of him gasping for breath and clutching a stitch in her side.
"You do not play for the house team," he said, sounding unconvinced as his dark eyes narrowed on her face.
"I didn't say I did. My friends do."
"What friends?"
"I've sat next to Malfoy in your class for the last five years, you can't possibly hope to succeed at making me out to be both a liar and a loser."
"Malfoy handed in his resignation to the team months ago. So I'll ask again, what friends?"
It would probably be unwise to start her first occlumency lesson with him with a lie but she was tempted regardless, being annoyed by the man's tone.
"I was helping Sebastian practice for next week's game."
It was better if he wasn't tempted to pry. Penny hadn't even had the time to work out what she thought about the boy and did not much fancy Snape's unwelcome opinions on the matter.
"As in Sebastian Urquhart, the Slytherin team captain?" Snape clarified, tone lowering dangerously.
"That's the one."
"And why would he solicit your help when he has his entire team at his disposal?"
"Because I'm better than all those chumps, obviously," Penny said matter-of-factly as she reached across the desk for his glass of water and downed it in a single gulp.
"Yes, so good you didn't make the team even with a brother as captain," he drawled.
"Oh please, they've been begging me to join the team since Wood left," Penny said dismissively, passing the cup back to him. "Do you have more?"
He gave her a look of the deepest annoyance, but flicked his wand lazily over her cup anyways.
"What part of, change your plans, did you not understand?"
"I did change my plans! Well sort of. But Sebastian distracted me there at the end and—" She stopped dead, splashing water on herself as the image of his muscled torso and arms crossed her mind, reminding her she was sitting before a man who was much too good at legilimency to be so blasé about thinking such things in his presence
Share them, I guarantee you'll get a reaction.
"Distracted," Snape repeated softly, Penny realizing too late she'd been much too careless. "And what exactly was he doing that made you lose track of time, hmm?" Snape's voice was controlled, too controlled to be natural.
"This and that," Penny said, trying her best to act casual as she very conspicuously avoided eye contact in a last ditch attempt to stave off the yelling match that was sure to come. "But honestly, you can't be that mad, it was your team I was helping. If you win the cup, you can thank me."
It was the wrong argument to make. Her shameless self-confidence always had the unfortunate effect of hitting that 'James' nerve,' making the veins in his neck throb ominously.
"Tell me, Potter, are you aware that whenever you're trying to hide something you have the bad habit of fidgeting with your hands."
"N-no, I just like to fidget!" Penny said lamely, her hands flying apart before she could stop herself. As if she needed any help to look even more guilty than she already did in his eyes.
"So you're not hiding something?"
"O-of course not."
"Then you will have nothing to worry about when I attempt to breach your mind. Unless of course you're lying. I'll warn you that if that is found to be the case, you that you will sorely regret the decision."
Penny swallowed hard, the dread pooling just beneath the surface of her skin. He was terrifying and knew it. The cruel grin rippling across his thin lips told her he would very much enjoy making a fool of her before punishing her.
Jumping to attention, her brain scrambling for a thought, any thought to replace the memory of her and Sebastian, Penny watched helplessly as Snape raised his own wand, and much too quickly muttered legilimens.
While she did her best to envision setting up a blockade to keep him out while clearing her mind, like the day before, her mind melted before him, thrusting Penny back into those thoughts she was desperate to hide from him.
Mustering all the mental fortitude she could, Penny managed to keep thoughts of the afternoon from the forefront of her mind, but to her horror a different thought took its place. The memory of her shower the other day.
Hot water rolled across her peach-colored nipple as that shower head pulsed between her legs. The image of that head of black hair between her bare legs came crashing over in an incoherent mess of arousal, as she tried, to no avail, to banish the memory of how imagining his tongue sliding along that bundle of nerves there brought her to her climax with a loud moan that made those in the showers next to hers giggle.
Penny went crashing onto the hard floor, panting hard as she blinked back tears. She'd fallen from her chair and could no longer see him to ascertain whether she'd managed to push him out or he'd ended the spell. Whatever the answer, it didn't matter much. All she wanted was to melt into a pool of her humiliation. Die where she lay and never look the man in the eye again, but his voice refused to let her go so peacefully.
"Get up, Potter." Strained, hoarse, thick, that voice told her he was not immune. Her mutinous brain even wondered for a second if he liked what he saw.
Why don't you ask him?
Scowling at Grindelwald's suggestion knowing it would be suicidal, she scrambled to her feet and tried to pretend not to notice her face felt like it was on fire.
The silence spanned painfully between them. Snape let it, well aware the awkwardness of it did all the work for him by allowing her shame and mortification to fester
Penny didn't dare look back at the gaze she could feel boring a hole into the side of her head, squirming beneath it instead, half wondering if this was it, the end, the day Snape finally did away with her.
"Is there even a shred of self-control in that cesspool you call a mind!" he hissed when he could restrain himself no longer.
It was a rich accusation coming from the man who went looking in the first place. Maybe if he'd bothered to explain how to shield her mind from him she'd have been a little more successful. But that hadn't been his goal. No, he'd been hoping to find something to taunt her with because he was annoyed with her and wanted to punish her for it. So why was it her fault that he ended up with more than he bargained for? She was by no means the first student to fantasize about a professor.
"Obviously. I refrained from imagining you in a half dozen much more risqué scenarios, didn't I!" Penny burst out indignantly.
"And what exactly did those entail," he spluttered, face a brilliant shade of puce and eyes bulging as his fingers clung to the edge of his desk as though to steady himself.
In case you missed that, he's asking you for a demonstration.
"Shut up!" Penny snapped. She could not defend herself against Snape and Grindelwald at the same time.
"What did you say?" Snape said, voice low and dangerous.
"I was talking to Grindelwald, not you. He's hellbent on being a deviant, like you, asking me about my fantasies. Want to see if they lined up with what you've imagined, do you?"
The words slipped from her tongue with too much ease, Penny looking up into those black eyes, every part of her guilty of wanting him to say yes.
"You—you" he practically shouted, getting to his feet, finger wagging at her much in the way Uncle Vernon's did just before he dragged her down the hall and locked her in that cupboard under the stairs. "You are incorrigible!"
"Maybe you just haven't tried hard enough to make me obey?" Penny shot out, immediately regretting succumbing to her baser instincts when Grindelwald chimed in.
You're learning to play. Good.
"Perhaps you're right, Potter," Snape said, becoming unnaturally still as he considered her with that gleam of his that told her she would not like whatever came next and to flee before he revealed what it was.
She'd jump to her feet out of instinct, but he was around the table and had her by the neck of the robes before she could so much as turn around.
"Where do you think you're going? Our lesson is just beginning," Snape said, dragging her to the nearest table.
"Get off me," Penny demanded, trying to claw at his arm, but he pushed her flat back onto the nearest table before she even made contact. "W-what're you doing," she stammered, when he pulled out his wand and conjured a square pink item that fit in his hand.
"Returning to tactics that produce results. You want to act like heathen, then I'll treat you like one. Now open up so we can start by washing out that filthy mouth of yours," he snarled, leaning forward, his claw-like fingers reaching for her face.
"Is that soap?" Penny said, dumbfounded as she attempted to squirm away. "I'm not a five year old with a cussing problem!"
"Maybe not. But perhaps if we shove it far enough in, it'll reach that degenerate brain of yours!"
May I just say, you have proven yourself to have a far more interesting life than I ever gave you credit for, Penny.
An all out brawl ensued, Penny attempting to protect her face with her arms while her legs tried to get in a good shot at him; all the while Snape worked to subdue her, that bar of soap getting much too close to her mouth for her liking.
"I swear to Merlin if you come anywhere near me with that thing, I'll bite you," Penny huffed. She was quickly losing this battle and Snape knew it.
"Try it and see what happens," he warned, that cold fury of his nearly drowning her.
Her arms were pushed out of the way and he was reaching for her face when a loud explosion from outside the classroom sent his head shooting so fast to the door, he had to have cricked his neck. His brows furrowed as he waited, another loud crack.
And then he was moving. Dropping the bar of soap onto the table beside her, Penny forgotten and wand at the ready; he was across the room in three strides, leaving a bewildered Penny panting where she was.
More bangs had her jumping to her feet and following after her professor despite feeling it was probably in her best interest to run back to the Gryffindor common room before he returned.
The raucous had subsided by the time Penny reached the corridor, but Snape's angry voice could still be heard so she followed it to a boys bathroom.
She stopped dead just inside the door, paralyzed by the scene before her. Sink basins were in shards on the floor, water spraying out of faucets, flooding the floor. She looked down at the pool around her feet. It was tinged with blood.
Her eyes followed its trail, finding Snape kneeling over the source. A pale, blond-haired boy, who's white button up was drenched in blood. Draco laid shaking beneath Snape, who was muttering as he slid his wand up and then down along the long gash on his chest.
And then Penny turned, finding Harry standing a ways off, watching Snape with a look of petrified terror on his face, his hand shaking against the wand clutched in it.
Snape picked up Malfoy, said something to Harry and then pushed past Penny.
"What—" Penny started, but Harry cut across her.
"I didn't know it would do that. I swear, Penny. I didn't realize—it was one of the Prince's spells—it didn't say."
The little color left in Penny's face drained away as her brain connected the dots. The spell, she'd seen it—sectumsempra—scribbled into the margins of Harry's potion's book, the same spell Hermione warned him about trying.
That spell had done that much damage to Malfoy? Penny couldn't quite comprehend it. But the situation was slowly impressing upon Penny a singular fact she couldn't ignore: Such a spell had been made intending to do harm—deadly harm. Which meant the boy who'd invented it. . .
The thought was almost too much for her to consider, but she couldn't ignore it. Snape had returned, was accusing Harry of dark magic. But it was Snape's spell. Penny knew it was. And then Harry was running past her, off to get his school bag and books because Snape knew where Harry had learned that spell, from the Prince. From him.
"Go back to your common room, Potter. We're through for this evening."
Penny couldn't take a single step, not until she vocalized those thoughts that were buzzing around her head.
"That spell is evil," Penny said, quietly. "How could you create something like that?"
His eyes were on her and he was looking angry now. Angrier even than when he'd been speaking to Harry.
"That coddled, self-important brat can't wield a wand properly, nearly maiming Mr. Malfoy in his arrogance and you think I'm the one to blame?" Snape said furiously.
"It was your spell! You can't even defend it, can you? But not only did make it to hurt people, you carelessly left it lying around for any student to find. Of course you're to blame!" Penny fired back, the hands at her side shaking now.
She thought of that diary, the hatred that often laced his thoughts, and she realized, even though he'd been just a kid, 16 like her, he'd never been the same as her. He'd been something entirely different; desired things, awful things, the same sort of things that had caused Penny so much pain, things she despised. He'd reveled in the darkness; took that pain from his childhood and went chasing power so he could do things like this to people.
The truth was like acid in her mouth and she wanted to spit it back at him so he understood how it felt to watch him evade it, refuse to admit his wrongdoings.
"You haven't the faintest idea for what purpose it was created." He wouldn't admit it, carefully avoiding calling it his. "I will not allow you to make me your scapegoat because you refuse to see your brother for what he is. There is no doubt that he, like his father before him, cared little for the consequences and attacked Mr. Malfoy to amuse himself," he spat.
"We're not talking about Harry or James, we're talking about you!" Penny shouted in frustration. "You're a grown man; you can't use them to deflect all of your personal responsibility anymore!"
"Deflect!" Snape shouted right back. "I am not responsible for Potter's habit of believing the rules do not apply to him. I did not wave that wand at Malfoy," he raged, advancing on Penny.
She stumbled backward, colliding with the closed door behind her. Her breath hitched in her chest, heart thumping wildly as she realized she was genuinely afraid; afraid not of his anger, but of him.
Staring wide eyed, she suddenly wondered exactly what he was capable of. Severus Snape was Dumbledore's spy, yes. But he was only a Death Eater because he'd chosen to be so. At some point in his life, he'd followed the Dark Lord willingly. Partook in things that now plagued Penny's nightmares because he wanted to, maybe even because he enjoyed it.
What could his anger with her now compel him to do? Was it merely his cozy position and protection from a cell in Azkaban that had prompted him to suppress those instincts? If truth be told, no one but Dumbledore knew why Snape had changed sides, and both refused to discuss them with anyone despite the misgivings many in the Order had about Snape.
For the first time in Penny's life, she cowered before him, flinching violently when Snape's hand moved, as though she expected him to hit her. All that fear and confusion bursting out of her in anticipation of something.
He froze a half-step before her. "You think I'd ever lay a hand on you?" he breathed, the incredulity dripping from every syllable.
Penny's eyes snapped to his face, guilt intermingling with the rest of her jumbled thoughts. She didn't know what to say, how to answer that question. The answer was not so straight forward, but how was she supposed to make him understand that when his features told her he'd already come to his own conclusions.
"Get out," he said so quietly Penny might not have known he was speaking had she not seen his mouth move.
"I-I-it's not like I wanted—but you—"
"GET OUT!" he screamed, looking utterly unhinged now.
He saw right through whatever lame excuse she'd attempted to formulate. He saw right into the truth of her thoughts, to the way she'd questioned his character because she'd allowed her emotions to get the better of her and slip out of her weak mind.
And yet, despite accepting her own failings, she still felt it was terribly unfair of him to demand unwavering support of him when he offered so little in return, even when she asked and begged for him to be more open once in a while.
Angry tears burning at the edge of her eyes, Penny turned on shaking legs and ran from the room. He'd refused to have a single conversation in good faith with her. All she'd done was ask him a simple question, one he'd resorted to twisting her words in order to avoid. For that decision alone, she refused to feel at fault. She'd done nothing wrong.
If Snape did not have enough respect for Penny to address the legitimate concerns she'd shared with him, then she did not see why he was entitled to the benefit of doubt.
She'd always gone out on a limb for him. But not today. It was his turn to reciprocate.
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I think I enjoy writing Grindenwald's commentary a little too much 😳😳😳😳