BORN TO DIE ╱ DRACO MALFOY
꒷꒦ · ˚.‧ . written by ella . . . © -lostgardens
039 ━━━━ ❛ a weasley-mallard prank ❜

Olivia had not expected to be approached by the Weasley twins. Especially not when they asked her to join them in a prank. Not only was it because she was sure their younger brother did not like her, but because she had never spoken to them before. But there she was, sitting in the library, just approached by the Weasley twins, who had asked her that very question.

"So you want me to help you?" she asked, giving the two boys who stood in front of her a raised brow look. She had a book in front of her, open to the page she had been reading when they walked up to her, and the library table was littered with her schoolwork and other books she'd already scanned through.

"Yes," one of the twins said.

Olivia could never tell them apart, not that she ever tried, but she was sure it was one of the two that said it. Sighing, she closed her book, giving them her full attention. She rubbed her eyes, then looked at them boredly. Curiosity bellowed in her mind, but she wasn't going to let them know that, not until she knew what they were asking of her.

"We've heard of your reputation for getting into trouble, so we thought you'd like in on the fun," the other added, grinning brightly.

Still, she couldn't tell them apart.

They both had Weasley-red hair; they had the same voice, face, and antics. How was she ever supposed to tell them apart? How was anyone? How did they even do that? It was bloody impossible. So deciding not to make a fool out of herself, she wouldn't address them by their first names—just Weasley, like she did their siblings, with the exception of Girl-Weasley, aka Ginny.

"And who would this prank be on?" she asked, raising her brows.

The twins glanced at one another, talking with their eyes, then looked at her again. They both pulled out the two seats in front of her on the opposite side of the table and sat down. They took a moment to look around, maybe making sure that no one was listening besides the girl in front of them. "The Slytherins, specifically your friends," they admitted, leaning in closer.

Her expression remained blank. Why her friends (two of which weren't two she considered friends)? Curiouser. She narrowed her eyes at the boys, thinking about the proposition for a moment, then looked down at her closed book. "What's in it for me?"

"You want something?" the twins asked in unison, sounding surprised. That she was actually thinking about it, or that she wanted something in return? She wasn't sure. Probably both.

"Well, yes, I am not going to prank my housemates and friends for fun," she replied, meeting their furrowed brow gazes. "Actually, it might be for fun a little bit, but not fully," she corrected, clasping her hands together in front of her.

It took them a second of thought and more talking with their eyes to come up with an answer, but when they finally came up with one, the twin on the left began, "Uh, glory of knowing you've pulled a prank—"

"—with the best pranksters ever," the other finished.

Olivia fell silent, looking at them with a flat expression as she pondered the idea. It would be fun—despite people thinking she was a buzzkiller, she quite enjoyed having fun and playing pranks, but not if the fun or pranks were against her. "Good enough," she finally replied, shrugging. Then she leaned in closer and lowered her voice. "What will this prank entail exactly?"

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

Sitting in the common room, Olivia had her face in a book, just as usual. Her friends were nowhere in sight, but she was sure that would change soon. Today was the day—the prank had been planned, set into motion, and was going to be executed once the Slytherins piled into the room.

It was just a matter of time before they returned from... The door of the common room swung open, cutting off Olivia's menacing thoughts, and in walked her friends, speaking with Malfoy and Daphne—perfect. They walked over to the couches and chairs, where Olivia kept her face in her book, not looking up as they sat down.

They continued on with whatever nonsense they were talking about, and Olivia stayed quiet. But after a moment of them going back and forth, Theodore said, "What's that?"

And that's when Olivia looked up. The boy was pointing to a box that was on the table, and his eyes flickered from it to Olivia, who was giving him a blank look.

She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, looked at the box, then focused back on her book. "I think the Weasley twins brought it or something." She paused, continuing to read some words on the pages of her book. "They made end-of-year treats for each house, I suppose," she explained, still not looking up from her book and acting like it meant nothing to her.

"Oh," Theodore muttered, looking at the box suspiciously.

"Or maybe their mum made them," Olivia continued, closing her book with her finger as a bookmark. She met Theodore's suspicious gaze, then looked around at all of the group, focusing on her brother for a second. "I've had some of her treats before, and they were pretty good."

Theodore hummed, looking between Olivia, the box, and the others around him. "Well, I am never one to pass up sweets," he admitted, leaning forward to open the box. It was full of cupcakes of vanilla cake, decorated nicely with a white buttercream frosting, some green sprinkles, and green cupcake liners.

The boy grabbed a cupcake, looking at it with anticipation, then peeled back the liner as everyone watched closely. They were no doubt suspicious of the twins' 'end-of-year treats,' and Olivia didn't blame them; she would've been too if she didn't know exactly what the cupcakes would do.

Theodore took a hefty bite as everyone continued to watch him, probably waiting for something to happen. Nothing did, though, and he said, "This is really good," with a mouth full of cake and frosting.

Olivia fought back a grimace at the reminder of the boy's lack of manners as the others glanced around at each other, watching Theodore closely to double-check that nothing was happening to him. And still, nothing did, so they leaned forward and grabbed their own cupcakes, all but Lucas, whose eyes were narrowed slightly at his sister.

Her flat, nonchalant expression did not falter as the group continued in on their cupcakes. Olivia watched them intently, the menacing thoughts roaming her mind. Nothing was happening, and nothing would... well, not until about thirty minutes after they ate the cupcakes—they needed time to digest.

And so they did. Thirty minutes had gone by of the cupcakes digesting in each of their guts, Olivia pretending like nothing was happening or going to happen while reading her book, and Lucas suspiciously watching, still not having grabbed a treat of his own.

Once the effects started to take place, it was clear. The Slytherins became sort of in a trance, looking around the common room like it was some kind of magical place, which, in some ways, it was. They had small smiles on their faces and a glazed happiness in their eyes. Lucas eyed them curiously, while Olivia studied them with a blank expression, seeming not to notice their odd behavior.

But that was far from the truth. She, in fact, knew their odd behavior very well. She was in their heads, seeing what they were seeing, like she was experiencing it firsthand.

The group was looking around the normal room, but in their eyes, the common room was in funky colors—bright neon pinks, greens, and blues—and there were big and weird-looking creatures, nothing like any of them had seen before, slowly pacing the room. There were swirls and bubbles of color floating around, as if they could see the scent lingering in the air.

And when one of them would look past the creatures walking around, they saw the other students, ones not effected by the cupcakes. Those students' faces were morphed into odd shapes, like ones from famous Picasso paintings. They did not look like themselves, but the group didn't seem to mind; lost in a daze, they found all of the odd-looking creatures, color bubbles and swirls, and the changed-faced students entertaining.

"What is going on with them?" Lucas asked, furrowing his brows. It took him a second to peel his eyes from his friends and look at his sister. He saw nothing lingering on her face, no emotion whatsoever, and that made him even more apprehensive. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," she said, meeting his gaze. "And I do not know what's going on with them," she lied, looking back down at her book with a careless shrug of her shoulders.

Lucas continued to study her with a searching look, breathing in and out as he tried to understand what was happening. "Tell me, Livvy," he began, catching her attention once more. She looked up at him while he sat up straighter in his seat. "How did the Weasley twins get their end-of-year treats in here in the first place?"

She hadn't thought of an answer for that one. She didn't let her surprise at his question show on her face, and she shrugged, glancing at the box that was seven cupcakes less than it had been when set on the table. "I don't know. Someone must've gotten it from them," she admitted.

"Then how did you know that they were the ones who made them?" he continued.

"There's a big 'W' on that box if you haven't noticed," she told him, gesturing to the box. "There aren't many people in this school whose last name starts with W, and it doesn't take a genius to realize that."

He seemed to think about this for a moment, looking at the box with suspicion, like he had with her. After a moment, he cast a glance her way again, resting his interlocked fingers on his ankle as he laid it over the knee of his other leg. "And when did you have Molly Weasley's treats?" he asked, leaning forward in his seat.

"I don't remember exactly when. Father must've brought some home when she made them for the ministry workers," she answered. "Honestly, Lucas, do you really believe I would do something to them? Especially if that meant helping the Weasley twins?" She closed her book with an audible snap, giving him another bored, you-should-know-better look.

He stared at her for a long moment, trying to find even the smallest hint of admission in her gaze or expression, but there was none. With a sigh, he leaned back in his seat, setting both of his shoe-covered feet on the ground. "I suppose," he muttered.

After that, Lucas's questions settled, and the two just watched the group curiously.

Theodore lifted his hand, looking at it as if it were something so out of this world. "This is so curious. I've never seen anything like it before," he said, sounding like he had a few too many drinks of Firewhiskey.

"You mean your hand?" Blaise asked, giving the boy a questioning look. "It's just a hand, but your face—your face is even weirder-looking than usual, and that's saying something," he joked, lifting a finger to poke the boy in the cheek.

Theodore swatted his hand away as Olivia stiffled a laugh—she didn't realize they were all seeing different things. She looked over at the others. Pansy looked a mixture of freaked out and intrigued, while Daphne looked scared, like something was after her, as she glanced around the common room. And Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had expressions on their faces that Olivia couldn't quite place. It was all so hilarious.

Well, it was hilarious until the door of the common room swung open, and in walked a bored-looking Snape. Though Olivia supposed he always looked like that, and she quickly sat up straight as the professor glanced around the room, searching everyone's faces, then his eyes focused on her in narrow suspicion. Olivia looked down at her book as he began to make his way over to them. Lucas watched him intently, glancing every so often at his sister.

When Snape came to a stop at the couches, he looked between Olivia, Lucas, and the others, his face twisting in slight confusion. "What is going on here?" he asked, his voice drawing out in his usual monotone.

"What?" Olivia furrowed her brows in fake confusion, looking up at the man. "Oh, you mean them." She gestured to the group, her eyes falling on them for a second before focusing on Snape once more. "The Weasley twins brought some cupcakes for the house, and they all ate some and started acting weird. I have no idea what's going on with them, though," she explained, ignoring the knowing yet bewildered look she was receiving from her brother.

"You have no idea what's going on?" Snape repeated her words, sounding as if he didn't believe her for one second. He probably didn't.

"No clue," she lied.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

"I can't believe you're putting all of the blame on us!" one of the twins said, looking at Olivia with annoyance.

"Yeah, you helped!" the other added, matching his brother's look.

"Why would I help you make my own friends all loopy and mind-boggled?" She countered, putting up an innocent stance and placing her hands over her heart.

They were in Dumbledore's office, standing in front of the headmaster's desk as he and Snape gave them curious looks. Her dear ol' professor hadn't believed her when she said she had nothing to do with what happened to her group. Was she truly believed to be that diabolical? She had everything to do with it, but still, why did no one believe her?

He had taken her to the headmaster's office after picking up the Weasley twins from the Gryffindor common room. When the boys found out that she blamed it all on them and started playing innocent, they weren't too happy about it. But despite their accusation, they, or anyone else for that matter, had no proof that she did indeed help. They might believe it, but they couldn't prove it.

"She has a point there," Dumbledore chimed in, looking at the twins and then Olivia. "You remain to hold that you had absolutely nothing to do with this matter, Miss Mallard?" he asked, peering at her through his half-moon spectacles. "Nothing at all?"

"Yes, professor," she nodded. "I assumed the cupcakes that the twins had brought to the common room were a peace offering between our houses. I had no idea what they were going to do to my dear friends," she explained, keeping a hand over her heart. "Lucas and I hadn't eaten any because, well, I can only speak for myself; I wasn't in the mood for one. I'm not really a sweets and treats kind of girl."

"Rubbish!" the twin on the left retorted, only quieting when Dumbledore raised his hand.

The headmaster's gaze lingered on her for a moment before looking over at his shoulder at the other professor, who looked bored yet suspicious. "And there's no proof that she helped, Severus?"

"No," Snape confirmed.

Dumbledore looked at her, giving her a knowing look while she countered it with an innocent one. "Very well, Miss Mallard. You are free to go," he told her, causing the twins to scoff.

"Thank you, professor," she replied, giving him a small smile.

And with that, she left the office, not sticking around to hear the lecture the man was sure to give the twins. Well, perhaps not—she'd been there a few times when Potter, Granger, and the youngest Boy-Weasley got in trouble, and they had always gotten off with some kind of reward. Her mind flashed back to the house cup debacle and when she, Potter, and Weasley got the services to the school awards a few weeks prior for stopping Tom Riddle and his Basilisk.

She made her way to the spiral staircase, clambered down the steps, and watched the statue twist so that she could exit the corridor with a little pep in her step. She hadn't planned on ratting on the twins or even letting them take all of the blame, but when Snape caught on, her fight or flight kicked in, and all of the blaming words came spewing out. She reckoned the twins would never approach her for a prank again.

Oh well.

The potion that they had mixed into the cake batter would only last an hour at most, so she knew that once she got back to the common room, the group would be fine and dandy. She'd throw away the rest of the cupcakes as well, not wanting anyone else to be affected. It was just a small, silly little prank that meant no harm.

She just hoped the group would see it that way.

As she entered the common room, she saw them all sitting on the couches, looking completely drained. Perhaps she had made the potion a little too strong. She walked over to them without muttering a word.

"How did it go?" Lucas asked, raising his brows.

"Fine. I didn't get in trouble because I didn't do anything," she replied, sitting down in the chair she had been in before Snape took her to Dumbledore's office.

"Right," he nodded, not sounding convinced at all.

Her eyes landed on the still-open box, then she looked up at the sick-looking Slytherins. A bit of guilt pegged in her stomach, but she didn't mutter a single word. She just stood up, grabbed the box, and walked it over to a trash can, throwing it away. "We don't need anymore trouble because of those," she said as she walked back over to her seat.

"Yeah," Lucas muttered, watching her sit down and grab her book.

She sent him a tight-lipped smile, then opened her book to the page she had been on before everything happened. She went quiet after that, focusing all of her attention on her book, though the words weren't really sitting in her mind.

Lucas intently studied his friends for a long moment, with a question right on the tip of his tongue. "They'll be okay soon, right?" he asked, glancing over at his sister.

She looked up from her book, chewing at her lip as she tried to come up with a response. "I'm sure they will," she finally replied, giving him another small smile that looked painful on her face. Then she looked back down at her book, reading another poem. The Lover Asks Forgiveness Because of His Many Moods by William Butler Yeats was the one she was on.

If this importunate heart trouble your peace
With words lighter than air,
Or hopes that in mere hoping flicker and cease;
Crumple the rose in your hair;
And cover your lips with odorous twilight and say,
"O Hearts of wind-blown flame!
O Winds, older than changing of night and day,
That murmuring and longing came

From marble cities loud with tabors of old
In dove-grey faery lands;
From battle-banners, fold upon purple fold,
Queens wrought with glimmering hands;
That saw young Niamh hover with love-lorn face
Above the wandering tide;
And lingered in the hidden desolate place
Where the last Phoenix died,
And wrapped the flames above his holy head;
And still murmur and long:
O piteous Hearts, changing till change be dead

In a tumultuous song':
And cover the pale blossoms of your breast
With your dim heavy hair,
And trouble with a sigh for all things longing for rest
The odorous twilight there.

She always seemed to be reading a poem that fit her current feelings, or at least somewhat fit her racing thoughts and feelings. She felt bad—no, she felt guilty. She felt guilty, and she didn't know why.

The prank was meant to be fun—something for her to get a laugh out of, then share that act with her group—something to lighten the end-of-year blues that lingered in the air like a haunting scent—something that would take her mind off the impending thoughts of returning to the manor.

She hoped that once they were out of their fog, her group would get a laugh out of it.

She really did have hope.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

━━━━ ella's speaking !
the poem added into this chapter is "The Lover Asks Forgiveness Because of His Many Moods" by William Butler Yeats as stated in the text—it is not my original writing.

this chapter is the bane of my existence istg- it took me a week to write bc i kept getting stuck lmfao, but besides that, i like it !!

i hope you enjoyed! this is the second-to-last chapter of act two and that's actually wild to me.

make sure to comment and vote !!

kisses.

━━━━━━━━━━ born to die,
© -LOSTGARDENS,          oct 2023

word count: 3423. written: 10.30.23. published: 10.30.23.