*TW: attempted SA*
Camille POV
"Mona--please stop shoving shots in my face. I do not have the tolerance that you do, and I would like to be productive tomorrow." I protested as Mona tried to hand me yet another plastic cup containing a generous shot of shitty vodka that was supposed to taste like Peach, but tasted more like vomit to me.
"How are you going to build up a tolerance if you live your life in fear of a hangover?" Mona shouted over the music, throwing back the shot she just offered to me. "Live in the moment, C! Fuck the future!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air and dancing in time with the beat.
"I'll live in the moment and fuck the future another time. I promise." I laughed, wishing I could be as carefree as her right now or ever. I tend to harbor an anxiety that prevents me from being as free and wild as those around me seem to be at any given time. "Preferably after the match versus Gryffindor."
"Yeah, after you kick Leo Malfoy's ass!" She shouted her encouragement drunkenly. "You're gonna catch that Snitch, and win that game, and then we are going to party the night away! Live in the moment!"
"Fuck the future!" I added jokingly playing along.
"Now you're getting it!" She wrapped her arms around me and pressed a kiss to my cheek. "It's gonna be great! I promise!"
I shook my head with a laugh, finding her vodka-fueled positivity and support as kind and sweet as I always did. Mona has always been my cheerleader. She's loud, she's proud, and she loves to show everyone that she can do the splits as a party trick when she's drunk. She's been petitioning for the creation of Quidditch Cheerleading teams for each house since we arrived here at Hogwarts, but so far, she was unsuccessful. I didn't doubt that she would one day get what she wanted though. She was quite the determined witch.
"Who you looking for, hm?" Mona wiggled her eyebrows at me, throwing an arm around my shoulder as she teetered on her pink platform heels. "Is Mr. Big-Dick-Sexy-Man in here somewhere? Are you eye fucking him across the room as we speak and I've been too drunk to notice? Oh my god...am I cock blocking–" she questioned loudly, darting her eyes around the dim Room of Requirement.
"No, he's not here." I denied with a chuckle, knowing that Mona was too intoxicated to detect my lie.
Leo, or Mr. Big-Dick-Sexy-Man as Mona just referred to him as, was in attendance at tonight's Room of Requirement party. And to be honest, I think what we were doing would be considered eye fucking now that Mona mentioned it.
He was on the other side of the room, currently. Despite the large crowd of people, I always seemed to have a clear line of sight to him. When I looked, there he was, already looking at me with that typical Malfoy smirk on his face. The little bit of alcohol in my system made me want to go over there and rip that stupidly expensive white Oxford with the sexy rolled up sleeves right off of him, but I had no other choice than to exercise self control.
Although, there have been a few times tonight that I've felt the urge not to.
Gretchen and all her groupies were also present with dates of their own, which made the fact that each groupie made a point to try and dance up on Leo all the more strange. When Raquel approached Leo earlier, I couldn't pull my eyes away. Matter of fact, I stared at them throughout their entire interaction, my stomach turning as she squealed and threw her arms around him once she spotted him in the crowd.
My stomach rolled and nausea followed without my permission at the image of them two. Him–looking handsome and fit and like the picture perfect dreamy jock with money and parents that love him. Her–looking like she was wearing a cocktail dress plucked straight from the runway that probably cost more than I cared to spend on my entire wardrobe because I didn't have a mother that bothered to share her love of fashion with me. I was left to my own devices while Raquel donned this season's latest and greatest. Her hair was done perfectly, her makeup complimented her features, and I know she had that expensive pheromone perfume on that drew men like Leo Malfoy in like a magnet.
Guys that looked like him and girls that looked like her or Gretchen or any of the other girls in the group that had me on their shit list were meant to be matched together. I'm pretty sure the universe intended for those types of people to find each other. It's what made sense. Logically, socially, and naturally.
I wouldn't blame him.
Look at her.
Any guy in this school would be thrilled to have her attention. Her only flaw was the internalized misogyny that made her ugly on the inside, but brains develop and eventually mature. She'll grow out of it. She'll grow up and have a Leo Malfoy-husband and a vault bigger than any home I'd ever be able to afford on my own with a litter of blonde children that look just like their perfect parents.
It's what made sense.
What didn't make sense was the fact that the entire time those picture perfect girls were right there in front of him, vying for his attention, the only person he continuously made eye contact with was me. All the way across the room. Through the dim party lights and the packed crowd. Our eyes locked over and over again.
It made no sense.
***
"I literally just had it when we left." Mona drunkenly whined, pouting her bottom lip out and not bothering to open her eyes.
"I know you did. I saw you put it in your sleeve." I sighed heavily, slightly out of breath from having to drag Mona across the castle and up the stairs of Slytherin Tower. She was now sprawled out on her bed, still wearing her party clothes and makeup, but not looking like she was going to get up anytime soon. I knew she would need her wand to get off her makeup and put her hair up in her silk bonnet before going to sleep, so waiting to see if her wand was turned into Lost and Found tomorrow morning wasn't an option. Even drunk, Mona was serious about her nighttime routine. "I'll go look for it. It has to be in the halls somewhere."
"You are an angel that I do not deserve." Mona cooed with genuine emotion and tipsy tears beginning to gear up. She was an emotional drunk. She had a lot of love to give. She couldn't help it. That was just Mona.
"Just promise me you won't get up and wander while I'm gone, alright?" I snapped my fingers in front of her face so she would open her eyes, and I could get a solid acknowledgement from her.
"Yes, ma'am." She saluted me dramatically. "No wandering. Got it. My ass is staying right here."
"Good."
"I'll just be waiting here like a wife waiting for her husband to return from war..." Mona dramatically put a hand to her forehead and another to her chest.
"Jesus–" I sighed with a shake of my head.
"When, oh when, will we be reunited!" She performed her lines as if she were fulfilling a role in a soap opera.
"Be right back!" I sing-songed, swinging the door open.
"I am counting down the minutes until your return–" she continued to declare dramatically before I cut her off with the shutting of the door.
It was impossible not to love her. No matter how stupid she acted from time to time.
I retraced our steps, and the further I got, the more hope I lost that I was going to be able to find her wand in these moonlit corridors. That is if someone hasn't already found it and turned it into lost and found.
Party-goers trickled down the halls as they turned in for the night. Some of them were loud and giggly, some of them were essentially sleep walking their way back to their dorm. It was just past 1 am at this point, so I expected that everything was dying down rather quickly. Maybe someone had seen Mona's wand on the ground and just turned it in on their way out.
I was just about to give up my search and start thinking about how I was going to console a drunk and wandless Mona back in our dorm when something caught my eye just a few feet in front of me. On the floor at the entrance of the corridor closest to the Room of Requirement.
She literally must have dropped her wand immediately after making a point of putting it in her sleeve.
I shook my head, chuckling to myself.
Mona.
I plucked her wand off the ground and twirled it between my fingers as I confirmed that it was–in fact–Mona's. It was.
Thank god. I just saved myself an extra hour of being awake and a possible headache from having to hear more dramatically performed dialogues directly in my ear.
I was just about to turn on my heel to head back in the direction I had just come from when two arms wrapped around me from behind, pinning my arms to my body and making me gasp in surprise. My heart jumped and instantly started to pound with adrenaline.
Leo was the first person that popped into my mind.
But then I remembered that Leo and I's arrangement was a private one. Not a bear hug in the hall type of arrangement. That's not something we did, and certainly not something he would do if I wasn't expecting it at least somewhat.
Then a familiar scent hit my nose, and my stomach sunk to the floor. My guard flew up and I instantly began to try and get out of the strong hold that pinned me to the body at my back.
"Cami..." Malcolm's drunk voice dragged out each syllable of my name, his lips right by my ear. The scent of that nasty peach vodka reached my nose, and I immediately felt like I wanted to puke. Preferably all over him. "I was hoping I'd run into you tonight. Where you going?"
"To bed, Malcolm. Let me go." I wriggled around in his grip, trying to separate my body from his. Him even being this close to me made me feel like I wanted to crawl out of my own skin. The fact that I'd ever allowed him to be this close to me in the first place was hard for me to wrap my head around.
"I wanna talk to you." He ignored my demand, hugging me tighter and rocking us both side to side as he laid his head on my shoulder. "I miss you, Cami. I really do..."
"You me saw at practice a few hours ago–" I bit out, knowing that's not what he meant but not really wanting to entertain his delusions any further.
"You know that's not what I meant, sweetheart..." He groaned a pathetic sounding whine, his head drooping back as if he was pleading with me to just cooperate with his manhandling. "Why you gotta be so stubborn, huh? I just wanna hug my girl–"
"I am not your girl." I spat. "Let me go. I'm not kidding–"
"I'm not kidding either, Cami." Malcolm's voice was light and almost eerie in its calmness. In one swoop, he spun me around, grabbed my hips, and pinned me back to the nearest wall of the corridor we were standing in so forcefully it knocked my breath from my lungs. "Come on. Talk to me. I've missed you, baby. It's tearing me up knowing you were in some other prick's bed when you should only be in mine..."
Fear spiked inside me, making me want to freeze, but I fought the urge. I didn't want to show him that he was scaring me. I refused to give him that power. He didn't scare me. I could handle this. I just needed to get away.
"I'm the one who decides whose bed I should and shouldn't be in, Malcolm. Not you." I forced out, trying to keep my voice even and my tone steady. I held his beady little gaze, refusing to back down like I had done so many times before with him. Not anymore. "And your bed is the last place I'd ever choose to be. My decision. Not yours. Now let me go, and I won't go to McGonagall about this–"
"You wouldn't do that to me, would you, Cami?" he cooed, bringing up a hand to push hair behind my ear and cradle my face. I tried to pull away from his slimy touch, but his body was pressed against mine hard into the wall. He had me pinned. "No, the Cami I remember is a good girl. She'd never do something like that. What will everyone say if you go to McGonagall and get me kicked off the team with the Gryffindor match coming up?" He furrowed his brows slightly, feigning innocence that was nothing but sinister as he cocked his head to the side. "You think nobody likes you now...just think about what they'll have to say about you then..."
He was using my insecurities against me. I knew that. He always did this to me. Always. It was his favorite card to play in his deck of manipulation.
I was fully aware of his tactics, but that didn't make the blades of his words any less sharp. It didn't make his thinly veiled threats any less ominous or foreboding.
I clenched my jaw tight, refusing to respond as my mind continued to race–thinking of a way out of this and fast.
A malicious smirk pulled at the corner of Malcolm's mouth as a response to my silence.
"That's what I thought." He taunted, nearly chuckling. "You know, I found myself missing your whole playing hard to get thing. After getting with a few of the easy slags in this school, I found myself reminiscing about all those little games you used to play with me...teasing me all the time–"
"Nothing was a game." I cut him off, anger clear in my voice. "I was just trying to convince myself that I actually wanted to be with you. And I wasn't teasing you, I was trying to convince myself that I actually fucking liked you–"
"You're a fucking liar..." he spat, cutting me off with a slur.
"Deny it all you want. Doesn't change the truth." I countered, still not backing down and still trying to free myself. "Now let...me...go, Malcolm. This is over. We are over. Get your hands off of me."
"There's those little games of yours again..." Malcolm grinned, purposely misinterpreting my actions to fit the twisted narrative he was spinning in his head. "God, I missed them. You play hard to get so well, but... I plan on getting you this time. I want you back in my bed, Cami–"
My blood ran cold as his body pressed hard against mine, and I felt the outline of his erection through his trousers. Fear nearly paralyzed me once again. My heart jumped into my throat, and my fight or flight kicked into the highest gear.
No. No. No.
I need to get away from him. Now.
Along with the fear that coursed through my veins came a new type of anger that had been brewing towards this motherfucker for a long time now.
"In your fucking dreams, you prick–" I gritted out, using all my strength to yank my hands free, plant them on his chest, and shove him back as hard as I possibly could. I followed that up by connecting my foot directly with his crotch with no hesitation, knowing that would instantly send him to the ground and allow me to get away.
Just as I predicted, he folded in half as soon as my kick landed. A strangled croak of pain flew past his lips as his face turned red...and then purple...and then he toppled over onto the floor like a sack of flour. Like the useless sack of bones and vodka that he was.
I didn't say anything. No snarky remarks. No rejoicing in my victory.
I just ran. Too scared to do anything else but get as far away as I possibly could just in case he somehow recovered from that kick and wanted revenge. But that was a hard kick, and he's thoroughly drunk, so I doubt he would be getting up anytime soon. But I wasn't willing to risk it.
He wouldn't remember a thing come morning, but he would wake up with thoroughly bruised balls, and that fact was satisfactory enough. I'd bask in my triumph later. All I could do now was run.
My heart raced and so did my thoughts as fear and panic made the world seemingly blur around me. Hot tears ran down my cheeks. My lungs burned and my chest tightened as I tried to suck in full breaths again in an effort to calm myself down.
You're safe. Everything's okay. You got away.
But I could still feel him all over me. Like a stain. Like a lingering black cloud of peach vodka, cheap cologne, and stale cigarettes that hung over me, making me feel like I was suffocating in my panic. My skin crawled, and I couldn't wait to get into the shower and scrub away each and every small trace of that piece of shit that lingered on me.
I heard a groan of pain from the other side of the corridor from where I had just ran, which only caused me to break out into a full blown sprint on instinct. I didn't look back. Just forward. I just wanted to get back to my dorm, take a shower, get into bed, and pretend this never happened. That this was all a bad dream and that this fear was only a figment of my overactive imagination that I got in trouble for as a child.
I was so caught up in my own head that I didn't even notice the person rounding the corner in the opposite direction at the same time as me until I was slamming into them at full force. I sucked in a sharp breath that was more of a shrill shriek, and just as I thought I was about to be sent flying back onto my ass, two hands caught me by my forearms, stopping my fall with no hesitation.
I didn't even look up to see the person I had just rammed into. I just wanted them to let go of my arms. I needed to get out of here and didn't want anyone else grabbing me in any way right now. Even if they were just being helpful. My head was getting lighter, and no attempts to catch my breath were working. I needed to get back to my dorm before I fainted and made a fool of myself–
"Camille?"
My heart skipped a beat at the sound of that familiar voice. A voice that all but erased my present fear and panic by simply saying my name.
The tension stiffening my entire body melted away, my lungs were suddenly able to pull in a full breath, and my tears of fear instantly turned into tears of relief.
"Leo." I breathed out a soft cry, all but letting myself melt into him–knowing he would catch me.
"Camille–" He repeated, much more serious but just as concerned as a moment ago. His arms immediately cradled me, holding me up as I curled against his chest. "What's wrong? What happened?"
"M–Mona...lost her wand and...I came to get it for h-her–" I stuttered and hiccuped, desperate to just get my words out now that I was able to inhale and exhale fully with him here. Nothing could hurt me now. Leo wouldn't let that happen. "And–and then...Malcolm--"
"Did he hurt you?" Leo forced out through his teeth, anger already simmering beneath his skin. "I swear to fucking God, if he put a hand on you–"
"I got away from h-him." I hiccupped, pulling in another lungful of air that was none of Malcolm and all of Leo. "He's on the ground around the c-corner. I just need to get–-out of here..." My voice shook, along with the rest of my body as the adrenaline shakes took over.
Leo's rage filled eyes softened, meeting mine once he finished scanning me for injuries. I had never seen this expression on Leo Malfoy's face before. It was almost like he was heartbroken.
"I've got you, okay?" he assured in a much softer tone than the tone he had only seconds ago. "You're alright. I've got you. You want me to take you back to your dorm?"
I swallowed hard, nodding.
"I'm gonna pick you up, okay? I don't want your legs to give out again. Is that alright?" he made sure to ask before suddenly swooping me up. I nodded again, and he gently picked me up bridal style, holding me so close that I was sure there was nothing that could pry me away from him.
"What about Malcolm?" I asked hesitantly. "I think he's s-still on the ground back there--."
"I'll deal with him." Leo answered, his jaw clenching as he looked ahead and began walking.
I shook my head. "I don't want you to get yourself expelled because of him. Because of me. Please–promise me you won't do anything stupid–" I pleaded weakly.
"I won't." Leo swallowed hard. "That doesn't mean that nobody will though–"
"Leo–"
"Camille, I want to kill him for even laying a hand on you." he cut me off, emotion clear in his voice and tone.
I was taken back, unsure of how to process his words and the emotion with which he said them. The implications behind them. The way that I didn't doubt that he meant it.
"I stopped him before he tried anything..." I tried to calm Leo's rage out of fear that he would do something that would get him expelled and thrown in a cell. That was the last thing I wanted.
"I don't care." Leo shook his head. "I've never seen you so scared, Camille. He did that. And I want to kill him for it. I want to make him wish he was never even fucking born."
There was a prolonged silence as we walked down the now empty corridors towards Slytherin Tower. His eyes remained forward the entire time while mine stayed fixed gazing up at his face. His words washed over me as I took in the sight of the wizard that seemingly made me feel safer than I can ever remember feeling in my life. A wizard that, a couple months ago, was just a guy that I saw as more of a rival than anything. Now, I was in his arms, listening to his heartbeat beneath my ear, unable to ignore how it seemed to be beating in time with mine.
I broke the silence as we approached the dungeons a few minutes later.
"If it makes you feel any better or...any less enraged or murderous..." I offered meekly. "I'm almost certain he's sterile after the kick to the balls I gave him."
A smirk twitched at the corner of Leo's mouth, cracking through the seriousness and sternness of his expression, which made me to smile naturally in response.
He gave me a gentle, almost loving squeeze.
"Atta girl."