Ophelia by The Lumineers

When I was younger, I should've known better.

- - - - - - - -

"Trunk?" My Uncle Moony reminds me. "Check." I nod. "Owl." He continues listing. "Check."

"Bag?" 

"Check." I sigh.

"Jumper?" 

"Check." I groan.

"Wand?" 

"Che-" I start before realising I do not in fact have my wand. "Shit." I huff, dropping all my stuff and racing up the staircase to my bedroom.

"Language!" My Uncle reminds me from down the stairs as I riffle through messy drawers and cupboards and cluttered floors until I found the wooden stick and shove it in my sock.

"Found it." I call down as I stomp back down the stairs. "The second you get back for Christmas that room of yours is getting cleaned." He warns. I raise my hands in surrender as I bundle up all my stuff.

We drive to Kings Cross and run the wall, both of us laughing as he pushes my trolley for me. I told him I would do it but he insisted he had to run through the wall just like when he was my age.

"Now don't you be getting yourself in too much trouble, it was bad enough last year hearing you went on a death hunt for the philosophers stone and barely made it out alive." He warns teasingly.

"It wasn't as bad as they say. If I hadn't been there the others would've been dead." I say plainly.

"That's my girl.. But don't let it happen again." He points his finger deadly seriously.

"Bye Uncle Moony." I smile softly, "Bye Bronnie." He gives my head one last kiss and ruffles my hair with a grin.

I walk onto the train and search for the other Slytherin's. I see Corbin first, closing in on him with a tight hug.

"What happened Goldy? You said you'd right me?" He challenges. "My wrist got tired." I frown. He scoffs and shoves me playfully, telling me to sit down with all his 4th year friends. Draco joins us soon after and sits beside me. Corbin's friends all end up loving me and laughing at all my jokes.

When we arrive at Hogwarts rumours spread quickly about Harry Potter and Ron Weasley missing the train and driving a flying car into the womping willow, a rumour which I do not waste a second doubting.

I unpack all my trunks on the first night to avoid having to do it later, upon finally finishing I make my way down to the great hall with the group I sat with on the train for dinner, all of us sitting through the painfully long sorting ceremony and finally getting to eat.

I dig into the feast and sigh in relief when I'm finally finished and the thought occurs to me that I'm finally back here for the year.

"Oi! Bronwyn, Draco. Let's head to bed, we've got a big day tomorrow." Corbin tells us, the three of us heading up to the common room, knowing we need to rest up before the first day of classes.

It feels good to be back in this bedroom as weird as it sounds. Sure it's excruciating as hell to lay here submerged to the sound of Pansy Parkinson's annoying screeching voice as she argues with Daphne Greengrass who is very clearly winning the argument. I also have the perfect sound of Millicent Bulstrode snoring echoing through the whole room. Then there's Tracey Davis who is trying to train her own to do tricks and smacking it whenever it fails. Despite the literal torture I'm put through in this shit show of a room, it somehow makes me happy that I'm back in these itchy cold green sheets.

☾♥

The following morning I'm standing between Draco and Goyle in herbology, watching with dis-amusement as Professor Sprout introduces the class and herself. 

"Morning, everyone." She says, unsatisfied with the silent response she taps on her plant pot and repeats herself. "Good morning, everyone." This gets her a few echoed voices saying 'Good morning, Professor Sprout' 

"Welcome to Greenhouse Three, second years. Now, gather around, everyone. Today, we're going to repot Mandrakes. Who here can tell me the properties of the Mandrake root?" She asks.

I know the answer but I'd never answer a question in a class like this, knowing its completely useless and easy. Of course, Hermione Granger seems to disagree as her hand shoots to the sky as usual. "Yes, Miss Granger." Our teacher proceeds. "Mandrake, or Mandragora, is used to return those who have been petrified to their original state. It's also quite dangerous. The Mandrake's cry is fatal to anyone who hears it." 

I groan quietly and glare to Draco who rolls his eyes.

"Excellent, ten points to Gryffindor! Now, as our Mandrakes are still only seedlings, their cries won't kill you yet, but they could knock you out for several hours, which is why I've given each of you a pair of earmuffs for auditory protection, so if you could please put them on right away. Quickly, flaps tight down." 

I sigh in defeat, realising I'll actually have to participate in this class unless I want to face the consequences I know of. With the ear muffs on I try to zone out but Sprout's voice is too loud.

"Now, watch me closely. You grasp your Mandrake firmly, you pull it sharply up out of the pot." She instructs. The wailing creature bawls like a baby, making everyone squeal with shock and disgust. Even I give a little grimace, having read about this but never anticipated how bad it is in person. "Got it? And now you dunk it down into the other pot and pour a little sprinkling of soil to keep him warm." 

Before anyone can even start, a sharp bang can be heard from across the table. Neville Longbottom is collapsed on the floor.

"Longbottom's been neglecting his earmuffs." Sprout growls, "No, ma'am, he's just fainted." Seamus informs us. Draco and I share a mocking laugh. "Yes, well... just leave him there. Right, on we go. Plenty of pots to go around. Grasp your Mandrake and pull it up." 

I grasp the mandrake as instructed and do exactly what she tells us at record speed, scolding Draco when he taunts the thing so much it bites him. I snort out a laugh at the expression on his face. He glares at me angrily as he shakes off his bitten finger with rage.

☾♥

"Let me introduce you to your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher: me, Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defence League, and five-time winner... of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award. But I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at him." Lockhart grins, standing before our class smugly laughing at his own joke. The girls in the room seem to all be infatuated by him. Which is not to be blamed, considering this man is gorgeous.

"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books, well done. Now, I thought we'd start today with... a little quiz. Nothing to worry about, just to... check how well you've read them." Lockhart starts handing out the tests, when he gets to me I linger a little before taking the paper, grinning dreamily up at him. 

"Look at these questions! They'll all about him!" I hear Ron Weasley mutter behind me. "What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favourite colour?" Harry reads.

"What is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?" Ron mocks.

Lockhart returns to the front of the classroom, "You have thirty minutes. Start... now!" 

I begin filling out the questions that all just so happen to be about him, nudging Draco and smirking when a question asks what shampoo Gilderoy Lockhart uses. Just as Lockharrt had told us, it is nit in fact a little quiz, but rather a 30 page quiz spanning 54 questions total. He collects our answer sheets in and looks over them.

"Tut, tut, hardly any of you remembered that my favourite colour is lilac. But Miss Hermione Granger knew that my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and market my own range of hair care potions. Good girl." He sends a highly inappropriate wink towards the 12 year old.

"Miss Bronwyn Lupin, may I ask what was going through your mind when you answered the question 'What is the name of Gilderoy Lockhart's Father's name?' with 'Ben Dover'?" He challenges with a pointed glare.

A few people erupt in laughter and some Slytherin's pat my back from behind.

"I hope it was worth it, you'll be serving detention with me every evening for the next week." He informs me, making others laugh even more much to my dismay.

I groan and sulk back in my seat.

Lockhart now brings all attention to a cage covered by sloth, "Now, be warned! It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind. You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here. I must ask you not to scream, it might... Provoke them!" He yells the last part, revealing a cage full of tiny blue creatures with wings. I quickly identify them as Cornish pixies.

"Cornish Pixies?" Seamus Finnigan laughs mockingly, "Freshly caught Cornish Pixies. Laugh if you will, Mr. Finnigan, but pixies can be devilishly tricky little blighters. Let's see what you make of them, now!" 

He recklessly sets free the cage, they immediately swarm around the classroom, making students flee, hide and scream. "Come on now, round them up, round them up! They're only pixies!" Lockhart announces. 

Two pixies grab Neville Longbottom by the ears andhoists him up into the sky, "Please, get me down!" They attach him to the chandelier and leave him hanging there by the hood of his robes. 

Almost everyone is gone now, except Neville, Hermione, Ron, Harry and I. Lockhart attempts a spell to make them stop and fails miserably, fear lacing his face as he backs up the staircase towards his office.

One of them decides to grab onto my hair, to which I immediately grab it by the neck and whack the foul creature against a table until I'm sure it's either dead or unconscious.

Ron gapes at me with fear, whilst Hermione struggles to swat them away.

One pixie sits atop the skeleton dragon, riding it like a cowboy as another unscrews it and it comes crashing down.

"I'll ask you four to just nip the rest of them back into their cage." Lockhart says with a shaky voice, trying to sound casual as he grabs the portrait of himself and runs into his office. 

"What do we do now?" Ron panics.

I sigh and grab my wand, pointing it up to the room of pixies, "Immobulus!" I yell. All the pixies completely seise movement and start slowly floating around in slow motion.

"Why is it always me?" Neville asks from the chandelier in defeat.

I laugh at him and start walking out of the classroom. "Where are you off to?" Ron mocks, clearly thinking I should stay and help them tidy up like we were told to.

"I did my part, you tossers can clean up this shit hole." I smirk as I step out the door and head away.

☾♥

Much to my dismay, that evening I'm back in Lockhart's classroom to pay for my clever crime of naming his Father 'Ben Dover'. The man is making me write responses to his fan mail, which I'm certain is just to gloat that he has fans.

All I know, is I will not be returning for tomorrow's detention. I've realised detentions don't really matter to me, it's a lose-lose situation, I don't change my behaviour so the teachers lose, and I have to do their shitty chores which is a loss for me. I've decided my time would be better wasted doing things that actually peak my interest, such as quidditch.

"Mhm." I nod along to some 'fun' fact Lockhart is telling me about himself. "Isn't this a good way to spend detention." He grins proudly.

"Can I be honest?" I smile gleefully up at him, he nods eagerly to hear the supposed compliment coming his way.

"I would rather Crucio myself up the ass and pick out each of my eyelashes before coming back here." I continue to smirk happily as his eyes widen at me.

"Well lucky for you, you will be back every night of the week." He says cunningly.

I growl at him and continue writing. "I've been told about your situation." He informs me proudly. "And what precisely is that situation?" I challenge. 

"Your Mother, is Morticia Monroe, your Father is Sirius Black. You were raised by your Father's friend and you go by his last name." He says smugly. 

"And why exactly is that relevant?" I grit my teeth. "Just that all the teachers been told to keep our eyes peeled for you, be on alert for any signs that you'll be following in their footsteps. We wouldn't want you joining your parents in Azkaban for the same charges."

I feel my heart drop into the pits of my gut hearing that the teachers have been warned to be on alert for me. They think I'll turn out just like them.

"Well just know, Professor, if I ever snap and decide to go down that path, you'll be my first victim." I warn, slamming the book shut and noticing the way the man in front of me genuinely flinches. I storm out of his classroom, well aware the detention finished twenty minutes ago.

A grown man flinched when I shut a book because I threatened him, teachers were actually warned about me. This'll be a long ass year.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

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A/N:

I swear I'm taking so long with these updates, sorry. I promise the second I make it to act 3 the updates will become more regular.