"Hush little darling, it will be alright. Auntie Marlene will keep you safe alright?" A blonde woman said as she cradled the small baby in her arms, trying her best to drown the screaming outside the room. The woman's heart was beating erratically that even her ears was deafened from all the noise made by the outside and by her chest. Still slung to her side was a satchel, inside was an object that could kill her and anyone else she was close in contact with. She wasn't given a choice anymore, she needed to get to safety with the little babe in her arms.
"I promised your mummy that I keep you safe," she choked as she watched the little baby's curious eyes stare back at her. Such innocence in the middle of something so chaotic, she needed to protect this small bundle the best she could.
She walked towards the window, peaked beside the blinds to see if the coast was clear, to her luck the whole street was filled with dark cloaked men in masks. She wasn't safe, disapperating wasn't an option or she would risk the baby in her arms.
Her frantic searching for escapes were fruitless, her panicked face scared the little bundle that she started to cry. "Shh, darling don't cry," the blonde woman hushed.
"Auntie Marly promises that it's going to be okay, please don't cry my little faery," she begged the baby. Then she heard footsteps coming up the stairs.
"Crap!" She gasped as she now tried to look around for a place to hide. Until she saw a small cabinet door in the closet, it was small but it was enough for the baby to fit in.
"Now Faery, listen to Auntie Marly okay? We have to be quiet," she says trying to not choke on her tears as she hold the baby to face her. Tears started forming in her eyes because this may as well be the last time that she would get to hold the baby in her arms. The last time she could comfort her, the last time she could see her.
Hugging the baby to her chest, now tears streamed down her face, kissing the baby's head multiple times as well as whispering sweet nonsense into the baby's ears that she would never understand yet. "Auntie loves you darling, I know that your mummy and daddy love you too," she finally whispered as she placed the child in the cabinet, not closing it completely for her to breath.
She took out her wand, anticipating an attack any moment, at least she had her little bundle hidden away. She promised her best friend to keep her daughter safe while she and her husband were in hiding. The door broke open revealing a man she thought she knew, she gasped at who this man was and it infuriated her to see him.
"Where is it?" The man asked harshly.
"Where is what?" She snapped her wand pointing at the man, ready to curse him.
"You know what I mean Mckinnon!"
"I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Tell me where it is right now and I'll spare you," the man's voice came out to be malicious and full of malice.
"I can't trust a rat's word," she sneered.
"Very well." The next words that came out from the man's mouth were horrifying to the ears as a large green light flashed in the room.
"Avada kedarva!"
A scream.
Everyone heard it, it was a loud scream enough to wake the whole common room and the whole castle. A scream filled with fear and pain, and by the time they found the source of the scream, she was on the floor trying to hold herself together.
Finley had many dreams, all of them she remembered very vividly. Like the time she saw the dementors, the time in the third floor in first year, and of course the yellow eyes of the basilisk in the mirror before she was petrified. But none of them could compare at how terrified and broken she was after this particular nightmare, and oddly enough she instantly forgot what it was about and merely remember the horrors within it. Finley felt herself being pulled into a pair of arms, the warmth was enough to thaw her cold skin. Her erratic breathing from waking up screaming calmed a bit, but it wasn't enough to get her back to sleep. She didn't see who this person was, she didn't care who or what he was.
Finley felt safe, felt at home and comfortable, she felt absolutely calm in the arms of a possible stranger, but she doubts that it was a stranger. A hand brushed her hair soothing her, a pair of lips on the crown of her head calming her further. She couldn't hear anything else but a beating heart.
She felt new footsteps coming in her room, she was too drained to witness who they were. They were taking a rather large toll on her mind, too large that she feels herself slipping from everything she tried to desperately grab on to. Her eyes trained on to the grey shirt where her head had leaned on, his scent of mint and something sweet relaxed her thoroughly.
Blocking out the sounds, she felt herself drift back to sleep, and this time it felt like she was letting herself slip. Before she completely feel asleep she felt another kiss on her head, a hand on her waist holding her closer.
"I'm here."
"You hit like a fucking girl!" Flint yelled at the beater who still struggled to hit a bludger sent by himself.
Finley didn't like that comment from their captain that in retaliation she used her beater's bat to fly the bludger to Flint who barely manoeuvred away in time. "Hey!"
"Hit like a girl?" Finley feigned shock as a smirk played on her lips, she knows Flint admires her beater skills. He never stopped praising her that he was starting to act like Oliver Wood minus the disregard of basic flying safety.
"Hit him on the head next time!" She heard a voice say from behind, there she sees Cassius who gave her a grin. She liked Cassius Warrington even more than Marcus Flint, the captain is great and all but he was a bully most of the time.
She chuckled at his suggestion. "Surely it's your head he's aiming for once he hears you say that."
"Well—"
"LESS FLIRTING! MORE HITTING THE UGLY BALLS EVANS! GET BACK TO WORK!"
She was an inch closer to smacking Flint with her broom, just an inch an its depleting faster every time he yells at the team who were doing fine and were sweating bullets. Hopefully next year since he wasn't around anymore, Montague would be even more laid back than their old captain will ever be.
She sat herself on the grass panting, thighs hurting from all the flying, her beater's arm was aching, she was sweating bullets. Her neck was stiff, and it wasn't helping that they didn't have water ready for their consumption. She could transfigure something, but she was dumb to leave her wand in her room. Not entirely her fault, Flint was already wrecking chaos if she wasn't in the pitch in time.
She felt eyes on her, odd that it was, looking up she saw a large black dog, odd indeed as she felt familiar with it. She beckoned for it to come near her, holding out her hand motioning it nearer. "Come on boy," she calls.
To her luck, the dog approached her, she felt much more familiar with the dog than anything else in the world. She placed her hand on the dog's head petting it, she liked the dog and she also wondered whose dog he was.
"What's a dog doing here?" She looked behind her, dog now curled up beside her. She found Draco with two water bottles in hand looking down on the girl and the dog curiously.
"I don't know, he must be a stray," she says reaching for a water bottle from him, he gave her one and sat down beside her eyes still not leaving the dog.
"A bit ugly now is he? I couldn't imagine having a mutt like this at home—"
He fell back in surprise when the dog started growling at him, causing Finley to burst out laughing at Draco's surprised look. "You should say sorry before I let him go and and eat you," she laughed. Draco's pale face turned red in embarrassment, 'Stupid dog and his stupid growling, my father will—'
"My father will hear about this." He stopped his thoughts and this time they were trained on Finley who gave him an unamused look. "You know, you can't always hide behind your dad Draco," she says.
Draco knew that, of course he did. But what was he to do if half the whole school thinks he was a joke and the only strong suit he has on was behind his all powerful father. His eyes met Finley's, wishing he didn't look at them because now he felt like he was frozen in time staring at her emerald eyes.
"Draco?" They always seem to sparkle every time he looks at them, It was a wonder how anyone couldn't possible get lost in them.
"Draco?" Every time he does get himself lost in her emerald eyes, he felt like drowning and he was okay with it.
"DRACO!" Finley was now holding both Draco's shoulder shaking him violently, was he in his thoughts for too long? How long was he in his thoughts now? Did he look like a creep? Hopefully not.
"Yes?" He manages to say, now flustered at how near Finley was when she was shaking him. Finley's lips were in a thin line, she looked bothered at the moment and she didn't know what to do and it bothers him now too.
"We're going back in the castle, practice over," she says, her hands leaving his shoulders and standing up. He doesn't want to leave yet, he doesn't really.
"Come on, I'll ask Cedric to get us some hot chocolate," Finley suggests, grabbing Draco's hand and pulling him up. Now realising that the dog was no where to be seen now, did he already leave? He didn't get to apologise, maybe next time he would bring some dog treats for there were any in Hogsmaede.
"Draco!" He was in his thoughts again.
"I want to beat the shit out of you two," Finley threatened her best friends who managed to get a hold of three bottles of pixie brew that almost had them in detention for more than a month. Two grinning Slytherins holding the bottles in her bed room, she was on her stomach on the bed doing her DADA essay.
"But you loved pixie brew!" Theo whined flopping down beside her dangling the bottle over to her face. "I swear to Merlin if that bottle breaks on my essay, I will shove that bottle far up your ass you would need to go to St Mungos and have it removed."
"You're no fun Finney Winney, we've all been up tight this year, plus your Hogsmaede birthday party was a fail," Theo whines.
"Only because Hogshead didn't allow students to buy whiskey," Blaise remarks as he sat down on Finley's desk chair in the corner wall.
"Remember the last time we all got drunk with this stuff?" Finley gave her friends a pointed look, it wasn't even that long since they got back from their hang over. It wasn't that long since they were seen drunk for the whole week, and to this day some snakes imitate her giggles in the most annoying fashion.
"But we drank five bottles each, this time it's only one, what harm could it be?"
She was hesitant yes, she really was because she can't afford another drunken fiasco when their head of house was being the slimy git every one was talking about. Now days she could clearly see it, she was no longer going to turn a blind eye on it.
"I heard from Rosmerta that one bottle could only get us drunk for a day if we take it now," Theo informs now opening one of the bottles.
"You just made that up." Finley narrowed her eyes at him accusingly. Now sitting up on her bed, closing her transfigurations book. "And how did you get these anyway? Hogsmaede visit isn't until the day after tomorrow," she asked taking the opened pixie brew bottle inspecting it thoroughly.
"That is for us to know—"
"You owled your mum didn't you?"
"Guilty," Blaise admitted as he took a sip from his now opened bottle of pixie brew. The beauty of the beverage was that no one knew it could get a giant drunk much less a third year student. It was the colour of butterbeer, smelled slightly better and had holo-coloured bubbles that pop once on a mug or in an opened bottle. It was sweet and addicting, and Finley loved sweets.
"Just enough for the rest of the week," Blaise offered again staring at her as she held her bottle of pixie brew. "Snape will never know."
Should she?
"Hell yes," she cheered taking a long swing from the bottle drinking it in half. Right at the moment getting drunk for two days was her subtle way of escape, she would gladly take it any day now. She also did it to spite Snape, he only said that he would transfer her if she spoke to a lion, and not for drinking. And this was her first step in spiting him.
She wasn't shit faced drunk, it was odd that she was the only one in her room sitting on her bed staring at her pass out drunken friends who finished half their bottle of pixie brew. She couldn't actually go and take them down herself or else the snakes down stairs would question why two drunk Slytherins came down from her room. Oh the rumours.
"Cassian," she motioned for her cat who looked unamused at her and her passed out friends. The feline hopped off from where he sat and made his way on her lap, purring and curling on the space in the middle of her folded legs.
"They don't know how to hold their liquor now do they?" She giggled, petting her darling pet.
She must be drunk at some point, right? Because the next thing she knew was that she was writing a letter on her desk addressed to her lion friends. She was already on her way to spite Snape, was talking to them through a letter risky? Yes if she was caught.
Hermione, Harry, and Ron
I'm sorry. I have not been a fair friend to any of you by running away when you only ask for answers, I know I was wrong to ignore you three without an explanation and here it is.
I don't want to leave, but Snape threatened me to send me away if I was caught with anyone of you and your house. Far fetched and unreasonable yes, but I didn't want to spend the rest of my schooling away from all of you because believe it or not. If I leave, you're not the only ones I'm leaving and I wouldn't want to leave the people I care about.
If you still don't think it's a reasonable reason at all, at least meet me at Hogsmaede in the Hogshead. I'll find a way to meet you, I just hope you all come.
Finley.
Worth a shot, right?