Chapter thirteen: Spinning
A/N: Wowwww y'all get a long chapter! Don't really know how that happened (Yes I do, I was writing for my other stories which are really long just before writing this chapter so length of it kinda rubbed off on this a little.) But that's ok, pls enjoy this chaotic chapter.
[Y/N]'S POV:
The entire school was decked out in gear which showed their support for one of the four champions. Everyone anticipating the last and final challenge of the TriWizard Tournament.
I was restless almost the entire morning, not being able to wait for when the challenge finally took place. I wasn't the only one either, almost everyone not caring all too much about what was going on in their morning classes and instead making bets with their peers over who they thought was going to win. Malfoy, sitting behind me in Moody's class, was certain that Crum would win, where I personally disagreed, I think it's going to be Cedric. Of course, I am slightly biased but with him being in first place I definitely think he has the best overall chances.
After the period had ended, and some talk about their being a midday hype party in the Hufflepuff common room starting next period went around, professor Moody had called out my last name and requested I were to stay after class to speak with him. 'Well this is gonna be fucking horrible.' I thought, dreading the idea. Especially since I knew Snape had spoken with Moody by this point as well. He's probably furious with me. Once all the other students had left he tilted his head in the direction of a closed off room, beckoning for me to follow, so I silently did. Entering his private office he leaned against a messy table and gestured for me to take a seat on a chair just across from him.
"Am I in trouble?" I asked, nervousness consuming me as his glass eye seemed to be examining me.
"No, no." He shook his head and I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. "It's just, Professor Snape, your father, had a little conversation with me." 'I knew that's what this was about! He is mad at me. Damn it!'
"Well, I'm sure he said what needed to be said in that case."
"Yes, which is what prompted me to want to have a little one on one conversation with you. You do realize if you have any concerns you can address them directly to me, yes [l/n]?"
"Yes professor." I quickly answered, feeling a little unsettled with where exactly this was going. He then twisted his body to rummage through the objects littering his disorganized desk before finding a glass bottle and taking a large swig of its contents.
"Well, go on. Address your concerns." He said between sips. I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear nervously as I forced myself to speak up.
"For starters, the drinking. It's not that I care if you do drink but you really should dial it down around students. It's..." I trailed off, thinking of the right phrasing. "A little suspicious honestly. Like you're drinking to hide something, I don't know how to explain it." He then put the glass down as I finished up my sentence. "Then, with the unforgivable's, I get that they are an aspect of this subject but it's getting to the point where it seems that's the only part of the subject that you actually understand and I morally don't agree with your teaching style. On top of that the way you treat students violates the rules teachers are upheld to and you quite clearly only care about Harry Potter, like training him is your only purpose for being here." I let my gaze drift around the room as I waited for a response, feeling too anxious to look at him. I tensed as he analyzed me and my wary form.
"You're very perceptive." was all Moody said before grabbing a bottle off another nearby table and handing it to me. "Please, drink, get comfortable while we talk through this dilemma." I swished around the liquid in the bottle, a little hesitant to drink it. "Oh don't be like that, it's not alcohol. What kind of professor do you think I am? Giving students such a drink!" He tisked at me, so out of pressure I took a large gulp, hoping that would satisfy him enough to not become hostile. Once I swallowed he decided to continue to speak. "You see, I am quite talented when it comes to the unforgivables and I've never been particularly fond of school so you can understand why I focus more on that aspect in my class." I nodded my head as a feeling of nausea had started to build up in my throat. "Also, I have violated a few rules because I really don't care about them and teach my class the only way I see fit. Which will never live up to a Hufflepuff's morals." As my nausea worsened a dizziness washed over me and I had to force myself past the feeling to continue my conversation with the man.
"So, why did you even take up this job then?" I quired, bringing a hand up to rub against my throbbing forehead. I had no idea where this sickening feeling had even come from but it was hitting me like a damn truck.
"For one reason and one reason alone..." He took a suspicious pause, leaning off of the table and analyzing me once more. I groaned and squeezed my eyes shut as my vision slowly became blurred and my body felt weak. "To bring Harry Potter to the dark lord." 'Dark lord... I heard about him before...' I tried to place who exactly that was as my mind worked hard to function. My [e/c] orbs trailing around the room and finally landing on the drink the professor had given me it all clicked. The dark lord was Voldamort, so evil most refused to speak his name and was after Harry. And I was getting suspicious of the professor, meaning he had to shut me up quickly before I interfered... 'He drugged me.' I finally realized, letting my grip on the bottle loosen and it shattered once it made contact with the floor. I stumbled out of the seat and had to use the nearby desk to hold my weight up, body feeling weak. Staring at Moody and the number of glasses behind him I now know what their contents were.
"Polyjuice Potion..." I muttered and he nodded, pulling his wand out.
"Indeed." He smirked. "Luckily, my requirements given from the dark lord were only to bring Harry Potter to him alive, but he said nothing about keeping noisy Hufflepuff girls alive. Besides, you're turning Severus soft anyway." He brought his arm back, pointing his wand at my weak form, no doubt about to cast the killing curse. Quickly I pulled out my own wand, casting Depulso swiftly despite my intoxicated state. He flew back, crashing into the mess of objects which was scattered behind him and I took the opportunity to run.
I stumbled all over the place as I sprinted down halls, vision too blurred to make out where it was I was going. Eventually, after determining that I was far enough away from Moody, or whoever he really was, I let my legs collapse and I fell to the cold stone ground below, alone in the hallway. I wanted to call out for help, but found that I was too frail to even speak. It was like the entire world was sinning in painfully fast circles, making me sick. I suffered through the feeling until eventually, I lost consciousness.
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I became aware of my breathing, keeping my eyes shut as I began to wake. Except, I didn't exactly want to. Not because I still felt sick but instead I felt amazingly comfortable. Body warm and laying on a soft mattress, a comforting pillow below my head and blankets wrapped around me. The feeling of light fingers brushing through my hair soothingly made my form melt into their touch. I shifted a little, wrapping my arms around a pillow and holding it tight. The strokes in my hair had abruptly stopped as I did and didn't start up again for a long moment after I was settled.
It wasn't until the pillow in my arms started to move when I began to question the situation I was in. 'Last I remember, pillows don't move on their own.' I forced my eyes to flutter open and my mind immediately started to work, determining where I was and how I had gotten there.
The lighting was dim and almost ominous. Everything around me was either green or silver. The walls elegantly stacked gray bricks and had a tapestry hanging over it just across from my line of sight. 'Where in the world am I?' I silently questioned, using my arm to push my body up into a seated position. And that's when my heart practically skipped a million beats, for my eyes had locked with none other than Draco Malfoy's, who was apparently the 'pillow' I was holding onto. My mouth fell agape as I realized I was in his room... In bed with him, and I have zero memory of getting here.
Malfoy looked absolutely mortified over the fact I had woken up all of a sudden. His icy eyes were wide and he swallowed as my eyebrows knitted together.
"I can explain!" He quickly shouted as he sat up in his bed next to me.
"Can you?!"
"I- uh. Listen, you were passed out drunk in a corridor and I didn't want you to get into trouble so I brought you here. Besides I have my own room so it's not like anybody will be suspicious." He blurted out quickly. Looking around the room I noticed that there were indeed no other bed's around.
"How the hell did you score a single?" I didn't even know that single dorms existed until now. Malfoy only smirked and shrugged his shoulders.
"Because I'm simply the best." His cocky comment made me roll my eyes, but I did crack a smile at his arrogance. I don't know why, but I found it rather attractive for some reason.
"Ah, let's just agree to disagree on that one." I joked, making Malfoy's face twisted into one of great offense.
"Excuse me, Huffle, but I don't think you have much room to talk. I'm bloody brilliant. What is there to even hate?"
"I could list a few things." The smirk on my face grew as he eyed me.
"Go on then." The blonde boy then nodded his head as he demanded, "List them." My eyes widened as I realized that I'd actually have to list some things... The truth is I had nothing I actually hated about him, so this ought to be interesting.
Huffing in protest I spoke up. "Well, I hate it when you look at me like you are right now." Then he nodded his head again, asking me to list more. 'Dear Merlin please help.' "Fine. I hate you and your dumb voice and stupid muscles and your horribly attractive face. Happy now?"
"Are you sure about that? Hates a rather strong word for a Hufflepuff."
"Hufflepuff's don't just sit around eating cookies and reading about herbology all day, Malfoy. We experience real emotions too, like hatred. I know, crazy right? Who would have guessed?" I sarcastically went on, making him chuckle to himself a little.
"But, you think I have an attractive face?" His tone veered on being condescending and he arched a single eyebrow in suspicion. His body leaned in closer to my own, causing me to swallow but not back away. Quickly I came up with a replay.
"Horribly attractive... Key word being horrible." He hummed to himself, leaning in to where we were so close I could feel his breath on my lips. I panicked, leaning away and letting my back hit the mattress, just to put even more distance between us. He took the hint rather well and got off of the bed, leaving a dent in the mattress from where his weight just was. The spinning sensation I had experienced earlier had come back to me, creating a slight headache. I sighed as I brought my hand to my head, the events of what I had gone through before waking up coming back to me.
"You good, Huffle? Hangover getting to you?" Malfoy set a glass of water down on his bedside table for me as he spoke. His comment had made me enter a state of confusion. 'Why does he think I was drunk? I was literally drugged and it was the morning... Or at least it was when I had that encounter with Moody. Wait! Moody's still out there! Nobody knows what happened if Draco really didn't tell anybody he had found me.'
"Draco..." I said seriously, looking up at him from the bed as he moved around the room, taking off the black overcoat he had on. He glanced at me over his shoulder for a second, a way of letting me know he was listening without saying a word. "I didn't go to the Huffelpuff hype party. I wasn't drunk. I was with Moody, he–He's a uhh..." I let my voice trail off as I tried to remember what the evil kings minions were called or whatever. "... A uhh death... Death eater? I think that's it. I don't know but he works for the evil guy everyone's so scared of and he's after Harry. I sorta figured it out so he tried to drug me then kill me." Malfoy immediately dropped everything he was doing, turning around to face me with an expression which held too many emotions to make out. I sat up on the bed once more, moving to let my feet dangle off the end. "Yeah... I should probably tell Snape, shouldn't I?" When he nodded his head I sighed heavily, knowing that I somehow managed to get myself caught up in all sorts of shit I needed no part of. "Alright, I guess I'll get do that then. Could you maybe come with me? I don't want to risk running into Moody alone. If I can even call him that."
"Course." He didn't hesitate to say, guiding me out of his room and into the chilling Slytherin common room which was littered with students. I kept my head down as they all stared. 'Well, this is unfortunately embarrassing.'
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We had found Snape in no time, he was already speaking with Mcgonagall, Dumbledore, and... 'Is that Cedric's dad?' I wondered, my view of his face being blocked by my three professors so I couldn't really tell. 'That's good if it is. It means Cedric probably won!' As I neared and Snape shifted to the side slightly I got a perfect view of his saddened face. Heavy streams of tears falling down his cheeks. I immediately became concerned, but knew I had something more important to address.
"Snape!" I called out to get his attention. When he turned over his shoulder he gave me a look which mixed with pity and concern. He waved his hand to shoo me away, but I knew I needed to tell him this very instant. "Snape, Moody isn't really Moody! He's a death eater and tried to kill me. He's after Harry!" That seemed to get all of their attention, for they all snapped their heads in my direction, eyes wide and mouths falling open in shock. Dumbledore was the first of the four to speak up.
"He's with Harry now." He said to his colleagues in concern and they all exchanged nervous glances.
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Diggory." Mcgonagall began, patting him on the shoulder and locking eyes with an awfully silent Draco. "But we don't want another dead boy on our hands. Let us handle this momentarily. You can stay here with Mr. Malfoy until we return."
"What?! Professor!" The blonde snapped, but all three of them were already in a hurry, on their way to Moody's classroom where he had Harry, and I followed behind them nervously. 'Why did she say something about a dead boy? Is someone dead? Somebody must have died.' I sweated at the thought, keeping up with the adults.
Making it to Moody's office area of his classroom, Dumbledore broke the door open and casted expelliarmus on Moody, who had Harry cornered at this point. Dumbledore then quickly made way for Moody, restraining him and calling for Severus who proceeded to pour a potion down his throat.
"That's it, take it." Dumbledore whispered as we all watched him gargle it in his throat, not wanting to swallow. "Do you know who I am?" the old man inquired aggressively.
"Albus Dombledore."
"Are you Alastor Moody? Are you?!"
"No." The man struggled to say. Dumbledore continued his interrogation.
"Is he in this room?" When there was no response he asked yet again. "Is he in this room?!" He only glanced over at a large chest sitting just in front of Potter. "Harry, away from there!" The old man ordered and the boy with glasses came scrambling over near where I stood behind Mcgollagal.
Snape glanced at both Harry and I for a second but ended up having to do a double take upon seeing me in the room. He sighed disappointingly and pushed me further behind him to ensure I was out of harm's way. But that didn't stop me from peering over his shoulder as he cast a spell to open up the layers of the chest. We all slowly inched closer to the chest, curious as to what was inside. Once the real Moody's pathetic form was in sight Dumbledoe spoke up yet again.
"You alright Alastor?"
"I'm sorry, Albus." He responded, causing Harry, standing just to my right to become quite confused.
"That's Moody. But then who's-?" The boy and I looked in the direction of the impostor. Snape brought the drink the impostor usually had in hand up to his nose, taking a deep sniff.
"Polyjuice Potion." He announced.
I decided to get in on the conversation, saying "I told you." as if the comment was helpful at all. But my words were completely ignored as the adults continued to speak.
"Now we know who's been stealing from your stores, Severus." Snape and Potter stared at each other at Dumbledore's words. The corner of my lips turned upward at the pair's tension. 'Note to self: Definitely don't start dating Harry unless I want to give my adoptive father a heart attack.' I snickered to myself at the thought of that being what ends up killing him, out of all the things.
I tuned out whatever Dombledore was saying to Moody, for my attention was now on the moaning person behind. I tapped Harry on the shoulder to get him to turn around and pay attention as well. I watched in horror as the man's face began to twist and morph, tugging on Harry's arm to force him in between the disturbing looking man and myself. Once the transformation was complete, the man now looking totally different from Moody, Snape grabbed me by my arm and threw me towards the back of the room to keep me away from him before storming over to restrain the guy, along with the other professors.
"Barty Crouch Junior." Dombledore recognized him, but I personally had no clue who that even was. Harry seemed to be able to connect a few dots though.
The scary man then abruptly said "I'll show you mine if you show me yours." then lifted his sleeve to reveal a tattoo of a snake with a skull. My eyebrows lifted at the sight of it, trying to memorize what it looks like just in case I ever have a run in with another death eater in the future. Hopefully not though.
Dumbledore forced Harry to show the man a deep gash in his arm which he had got from who knows where, causing him to gasp in pain.
"You know what this means, don't you." Crouch started, "He's back. Lord Voldemort has returned." Harry, obviously panicked by Crouch's words, was the next to speak up.
"I'm sorry sir, I couldn't help it." But like what had happened to me mere moments ago he was ignored.
"Send an owl to Azkaban. I think they'll find they're missing a prisoner."
"I'll be welcomed back like a hero." He sneered in response but Dumbledore had more to say.
"Perhaps. But personally I've never had time for heroes." And with that him and Harry left the room. I was going to follow them out, but instead decided to wait on Snape, who had his wand pressed to Crouch's face.
"Snape." I whispered to try and get his attention.
"Go on. I must deal with him." So I did as I was told, leaving along with Mcgonagall to go back to where I had left Malfoy with Cedric's father.
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Making it back to where the two were, Mr. Diggory sobbing and Mafoy standing there awkwardly, the blonde had caught sight of me. I couldn't tell if he was pleased or unhappy to see me.
"I'm so sorry about that, Mr. Diggory. I hate having to leave you alone with a student after your son's death." Mcgonagall spoke and my heart immediately sank.
"What- what do you mean?" I asked, suddenly very worried and holding back tears. She looked over at Malfoy disapprovingly.
"You didn't tell her?"
"He's her best friend, how could I!" Malfoy defended himself, but I didn't care about any of that. My best friend was dead and that's all I could think about. Salty tears rolled down my cheeks in an instant and I let out a few soft sobs, only making Mr. Diggory cry harder.
"Malfoy," Mcgonagall spoke up, "Please take care of [y/n] while I'm with Mr. Diggory. I'll award your house five points for doing so."
"Yes, professor." He confirmed, wrapping his arm around my shoulder comfortingly and guiding me in the direction of my common room as I sobbed over the death of my very best friend.