CHAPTER THREE:

I MUST NOT DISRESPECT   

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      "Have you gone absolutely mad? Is that it?"

      Malfoy was staring at her in question as they sat in the Slytherin common room later that night. Nova had long since finished her Potions essay and was nibbling on a sugar quill she had stolen from Bulstrode's trunk. Theo was at the library with Daphne Greengrass and Zabini, trying to finish up his work. It felt odd to be away from him, like they were connected to sides of an elastic and were being pulled too tightly apart.

      Nova ignored Malfoy in favor of another bite of the sugar quill. It was just the two of them in the common room, Crabbe and Goyle having been sent away the second Malfoy demanded it. For once, Pansy wasn't around. She was still doing prefect rounds.

      "Nova," Malfoy scolded when she didn't answer, "you can't badmouth a professor like that. Especially in the defense of Potter." His upper lip curled in a sneer when he mentioned the boy's name.

      "I didn't do it in defense of Potter," Nova replied in a bored voice. "I did it because Umbridge is an idiot if she thinks Voldemort isn't back."

      Malfoy and Nova had never really discussed Voldemort. Whenever he was brought up, Malfoy usually tried his best to change the subject. She knew Lucius was a Death Eater (his multiple meetings with her father had proven it), but didn't know where Malfoy would lie should a war break out.

      "Of course he's back," Malfoy agreed, his voice softer now, "but you've got to be careful, Nova. She's reporting back to the Ministry. Remember that."

      Nova hated it when people were right. And Malfoy was the most correct he'd ever been.

      "Nova..."

      She knew that tone. It was the tone that suggested he was going to ask where they had gone wrong. Which she didn't have a clear answer for. He'd asked it several times since they'd broken up, but she'd always been able to get away before answering was necessary.

      "Please don't," she said, and her tone was the quietest and most gentle it had ever been.

      "I just want to know what I did wrong," he replied, setting down his quill so he could look her in the eye. She wanted nothing more than to avoid his gaze, but she wasn't a coward. "Because I know for a fact that I still have feelings for you, but something changed for you."

      "Nothing changed," she whispered. But that was a lie. She had changed. She had realized that she couldn't love him and that she couldn't convince herself that she did. "It was me, Malfoy. Not you. I'm just incapable of feeling that way."

      Malfoy looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think you're wrong. And I think there's something else you aren't telling me."

       Before Nova could reply, the common room door swung open. Greengrass was laughing at something Zabini had said and Theo was trailing behind them with a smile on his face. Parkinson craned her head to look around the room before she found Malfoy.

      "Draco," she cooed, rushing to his side. For a moment, he looked annoyed.

      Theo plopped down next to Nova, giving her a thankful smile when she moved her feet so she could sit. She offered him the rest of the sugar quill and he accepted it with a grin. "Cheers."

       "Before you scold me for mouthing off to Umbridge," Nova mentioned, "just know that Malfoy already covered it."

      Her brother rolled his eyes. "I was just going to comment on how ironic it is that you tell me to be careful with her and then you go and tell her she's lying through her teeth."

      When he grinned to let her know there was no sting behind the statement, she couldn't help but think, this is it. This is what it should be like forever.

      Theo should be able to sit in the common room with his friends, laughing because Nova was a bit of a hypocrite. He should be able to complain to Zabini about the Potions essay and should be able to send a wink to Nova when Greengrass mentioned how badass her exit from Defense was.

      He must have noticed the look on her face, for he leaned over and whispered so only she would hear. "Just enjoy this moment for now. Right now, we're okay."

      There were a million things to worry about. It was O.W.L. year, she had detention with both Potter and Umbridge, and her brother may or may not become a Death Eater. But he was right. Right now, she was surrounded by people she tolerated enough to call friends. Theo reached his hand over, offering it to her.

      When she intertwined their fingers and squeezed, she decided that maybe right now all those things could wait.

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      Nova was less than impressed with their Care of Magical Creatures lesson.

      While Hagrid wasn't the best teacher, at least he was slightly amusing to listen to. Professor Grubbly-Plank was as strict and no-nonsense as they came. The lesson had started with, of course, Malfoy making fun of something Potter related, to which Pansy couldn't stop laughing. Everyone in their little Slytherin circle laughed, but Nova just stared ahead, uninterested.

      "Everyone here?" Professor Grubbly-Plank barked out. Her voice was shrill and sharp, two of Nova's least favorite things. "Let's crack on then. Who can tell me what these things are called?"

      Granger raised her hand, as expected. Malfoy held two fingers in front of his face to impersonate her, jumping up and down in excitement. Nova glared at him, not at all impressed. Parkinson, on the other hand, was ecstatic, her shriek of laughter surprising even the twigs-like creatures the professor had been gesturing to. When Parkinson noticed them moving, she squealed.

      "Oooooh," Patil and Brown cooed, their eyes wide as they stared at the tiny creatures. Malfoy rolled his eyes at their enthusiasm.

      "Kindly keep your voices down, girls," Grubbly-Plank snapped, tossing food down so the creatures would eat them. "So, anyone know the name of these creatures? Miss Granger?" she asked when she realized the girl's hand had shot up again.

      "Bowtruckles. They're tree-guardians, usually live in wand-trees."

      "Five points to Gryffindor. Yes, these are bowtruckles and, as Miss Granger rightly says, they generally live in trees whose wood is of wand quality. Anybody know what they eat?"

      "Wood lice," Granger and Nova said at the same time. Everyone turned to stare at the Slytherin girl, who had her arms crossed over her chest. Malfoy gave her a look. "Fairy eggs, if they can find them," Nova continued in a bored tone. Granger looked surprised that she knew the answer.

      "Right! Five points to Slytherin, and another five to Gryffindor. Whenever you need leaves or wood from a tree in which a bowtruckle lodges, it is wise to have a gift of wood lice ready to distract or placate it. They may not look dangerous, but if angered they will gouge out human eyes with their fingers, which, as you can see, are very sharp and not at all desirable near the eyeballs."

      Nova followed Theo's lead as he began doing what Grubbly-Plank had instructed. She handled the bowtruckles with care, gently lifting it in her fingers and setting it in front of her so she could sketch the assignment. As she had drawn the top of the twig-like creature, Malfoy's hand clamped down on her shoulder.

      "Merlin, Malfoy, watch your grip," Nova scolded, giving the blonde a glare. Discreetly, she reached her hand up to rub at the skin, catching Weasley's glance as she did so. He looked slightly apologetic, but then seemed to realize that she wasn't worth it, and his face hardened once more. "What do you want?" she directed back to Malfoy.

      "Just wondering what your opinion on the giant oaf is," Malfoy replied with a smug grin. Nova rolled her eyes. She didn't care much for Hagrid, but she also didn't care much for anyone. "Hopefully he'll be sacked and we won't have to worry about him."

      "Whatever you say, Malfoy," Nova commented disinterestedly. Parkinson scoffed at the Nott twin, while Theo looked disappointed. Nova assumed it was because he was still speculating that Nova had feelings for Malfoy.

      When the Care of Magical Creatures lesson ended, Nova shooed her Slytherin group away, in favor of asking Grubbly-Plank about the creatures that apparently only few could see. She slowly packed up her stuff and moved to stand when suddenly Harry Potter blocked her path, looking less than comfortable. Nova raised a brow.

      "What do you need, Potter?"

      "Nothing from you, Nott. In fact-"

      "Harry," Granger interrupted with a hiss. She was standing behind Potter with Weasley in tow, who was glaring angrily at the ground. "You promised."

      Potter sighed. "Hermione seems to think that I should thank you for standing up to Umbridge in our Defense class. Even though I told her you were doing it for purely selfish reasons, it was still appreciated. So, thanks."

      To the surprise of the trio, Nova Nott let a smile slip across her face. It wasn't a sweet smile and could be considered more of a smirk than anything else, but they were so used to her stony look that another expression was a surprise. The brunette simply swung her back over her good shoulder. "Well, you aren't wrong. I didn't stick up for you. But the thanks is good to hear."

      "Why didn't you use the potion?" Weasley suddenly asked, just as Nova was about to walk away from the three. Granger and Potter turned to their redheaded companion in confusion as Nova faced him. "Hermione was nice enough to get it for you and you think you're too good for it?"

       Nova felt the smirk fall off her face in less than a second. How dare he? He didn't know her. He didn't have the right to say things like that. And he didn't have the right to hit the target right on the mark, the words hitting her like a bludger.

       "We Slytherins learn from a young age to accept that pain is inevitable and that dealing with it is necessary. Sorry the Gryffindors haven't gotten the memo, Weasley." She angrily flipped her hair over her shoulder and sent a glare so withering that it could kill the entire Hogwarts grounds. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to be anywhere else but here. I'll see you in detention, Potter."

       Deciding that Grubbly-Plank could wait, Nova stalked away from the group of friends. Hermione turned to Ron and slapped him in the arm. "Way to go, Ron. Very brilliant."

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      Nova arrived at Umbridge's office five minutes before five o'clock. She gently knocked on the door and heard the sugary sweet voice of Umbridge telling her to come inside.

      Walking into Umbridge's office was like stepping into a world where no other color but pink existed. Nova was sure she'd never seen so much of the color in her fifteen years of life. Her parents probably hadn't even ever seen that much pink. The Slytherin took a seat in one of the two chairs she had set up at a table.

      "Good evening, Ms. Nott. We'll await Mr. Potter's arrival before beginning."

      Nova wasn't sure what they were beginning, but she hoped Potter would hurry up so they could get it over with.

      When Potter finally did show up, he stumbled into the room with a less than pleased look upon his face. "Professor Umbridge? Er - before we start, I-I wanted to ask you a favor."

      "Oh yes?" Umbridge answered with her beady eyes narrowed. Nova wished Potter would keep his mouth shut. The detention would be better if he just followed instructions and shut the hole in the center of his face that he couldn't stand not opening.

      "Well I'm on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. And I was supposed to be at the tryouts for the new Keeper at five o'clock on Friday and I w-was wondering whether I could skip detention that night and do... do it another night instead."

     Nova wondered who had performed a Confundus charm on him before he came to detention. Because that was obviously the only reason he thought asking that was okay.

      "Oh no," Umbridge said with a wide smile. "Oh no, no, no. This is your punishment for spreading evil, nasty, attention-seeking stories, Mr. Potter, and punishments certainly cannot be adjusted to suit the guilty one's convenience. No, you will come here at five o'clock tomorrow, and the next day, and on Friday too, and you will do your detentions as planned. I think it rather a good thing that you are missing something you really want to do. It out to reinforce the lesson I am trying to teach you."

       Though Nova certainly wasn't pleading Potter's case, she did stare at Umbridge in surprise. Surely the woman couldn't just disregard the warnings of Voldemort?

      When Harry said nothing, Umbridge smiled again. "There. We're getting better at controlling our temper already, aren't we? Now, you both are going to be doing some lines for me. No, not with your quill." Nova dropped the hand she was using to reach into her bag. "You're going to be using a rather special quill of mine. Here you are."

      Umbridge handed the two of them long and thin quills. As Nova inspected it, she found that the nib of the quill was sharp and pointed, more so than the usual quill. "I want you to write 'I must not tell lies,'" she told Harry with another one of her sugary smiles. "And for you, Ms. Nott, please write 'I must not disrespect.'"

      Nova pulled out a piece of parchment and laid it flat on the table. "How many times, Professor?" she asked.

      "Oh, as long as it takes for the message to sink in."

      "You haven't given us any ink," Potter observed, looking between he and Nova.

      "You won't need ink," Umbidge replied with tiny laugh. Nova wondered if she laughed often.

       Potter looked towards Nova, who shrugged her shoulders and immediately started writing. The second the quill hit the paper and she had drawn her first 'I,' her hand erupted in pain. She bit her lips to keep the gasp of shock inside, but Potter was having more trouble than her. He let out a noise that signaled he was in as much pain as she. Looking down at the parchment, Nova realized with a shuddering thought that the "ink" the quills provided was her blood. The words were carving into the back of her hand, healing over with each line of the sentence, but left red and raw.

       The two students were eyeing each other as they wrote, Harry because he wanted to see if Nova was alright, and Nova because she wanted to make sure what was happening was real and now just a figment of her imagination.

      Umbridge continued to look back and forth between the two of them, waiting for a sign to tell her that they were ready to give up. Potter seemed to have caught onto the idea that he didn't want to give her the satisfaction and prevented any pained sounds from leaving his mouth.

      What felt like hours later, Umbridge uttered a small "come here," and both students stood silently and walked to her desk. "Hands," she ordered, and both of their hands lifted in front of her face. Nova's was the first she grabbed in her chubby fingers, the coolness of her rings calming the sting just slightly. Then, Umbridge dropped the Slytherin's hand and inspected Potter's.

      "Tut, tut, I don't seem to have made much of an impression, yet. Well, we'll just have to try again tomorrow evening, won't we? You both may go."

      Nova was stoic as she grabbed her bag in her other hand, making sure to not hit the raw skin. The two students left the classroom, Nova's mouth glued shut as they walked the corridor.

      "Are you alright?" Potter asked after a moment of silence. He had thought the stoic expression meant that she was about to burst into tears, but Nova was simply angry.

      "Just wondering who in their bloody right minds let her be a professor," Nova replied, and her voice was strained from the pain. Without asking how Harry himself was doing, she made a sharp right at a corridor that would lead her back to the Slytherin common room.

      As soon as she was gone and Harry was sure Umbridge couldn't see or hear, he broke into a run. His destination was the Gryffindor dorm, where maybe he could actually sleep and get Umbridge's detention out of his mind.

      Theo was the only one still awake when Nova returned to the common room. He was sitting in front of a dying fire, head in his hands. He looked like he was dozing off, and she'd scold him for waiting up for him later. When she sat next to him, the shifting of weight woke him up.

      "Nova?" he asked sleepily, sitting up. "How'd detention go?"

      "Fine," she replied, sliding her hand so that Theo couldn't see the punishment Umbridge had seen fit. "We just wrote lines."

      "That's not bad," Theo said, giving her a comforting smile. "I thought she was going to have you do something like testing Cruciatus on each other." He stood from the couch, stretching his long limbs and yawning as he started walking to the dorms. "You coming?"

     "In a minute. You go ahead, Theo."

      Theo pressed a kiss to the top of her head and trekked to the boys' dorms, his footsteps shuffling in the silence of the room. Once Nova was sure he was gone, she inspected her hand closely, eyes scanning the words that were faint underneath the layer of healed skin.

         I must not disrespect.

      It was only four words, but somehow, they held the weight of the world. If Nova had been more ignorant and innocent, she might have burst into tears at the sight of her hand. But she knew better. This was just a small evil that she had to deal with in the world.

      Still, that little innocent part of her allowed her eyes to water for just a second before she blinked them back and stared at the fire. In this world, there was no room for tears and scared little girls.

      No. Only cool and calculating women made it in this world. So that's what she would continue to be.

      I must not disrespect.

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      Detentions with Umbridge carried on as normal. Normal for Nova was now scribbling lines on the parchment and feeling the dull ache of the lines etching into her skin. Each time she wrote a letter, it felt like the sharp end of the quill was writing directly onto her hand.

      Thursday's detention went the same way as Wednesday and Tuesday's, only this time, the skin on Nova's hand didn't heal over. She bit her lip and tried to keep from screaming at Umbridge as the words I must not disrespect oozed blood that fell onto the desk.  She could see that Potter's wasn't healing as well, and though the thought that she had someone that shared this with her, her blood boiled when she thought of another night with Umbridge.

      "Ah," Umbridge sighed out when she asked for their hands hours later. "Good. that ought to serve as a reminder to you both, oughtn't it? You may leave for tonight."

      "Do we still have to come back tomorrow?" Potter asked as the two of them picked up their bags.

      "Oh yes. Yes, I think we can etch the message a little deeper with another evening's work."

      Wednesday when they had left, Potter had been silent. Nova had slipped off to the Slytherin common room, where Theo was waiting up once more, and that had been that. Tonight, however, things were different.

      "Have you told anyone?" Potter asked, gesturing to her hand. It was still bleeding, and the occasional drop would fall to the floor. Nova would come back the next morning and use a cleaning spell, but tonight she was too exhausted.

       "No," Nova replied, shaking her head and staring ahead of her. "You? I imagine Granger and Weasley know all about it."

      "They know nothing, actually," Potter replied. Nova didn't let her surprise show. "I didn't want to worry them."

      Nova hated to admit it, but she understood. She hadn't shown Theo for the same exact reason.

      Without a word to Harry, she made the same sharp right she had for the past two nights. Harry had long since gotten used to her disappearing act. He had learned a lot about Nova Nott in their three nights with Umbridge.

      She was fantastic at hiding her pain. While Harry had assumed the incident in Care of Magical Creatures had just been her trying to show off, he discovered that she was right when she said she dealt with pain as if it didn't affect her. She didn't talk much, which he had already known before, but had been reinforced on their walks back to their common rooms.

      And lastly, she wasn't as invincible as she wanted people to think.

      It had just been a second, when he had asked if she had told anyone. He had seen her lower lip quiver, had seen the look of regret and sadness that had passed across her face. It reminded him that Slytherin or not, Konstantinova Nott was human.

      "Ron?" he asked when he spotted his best friend behind the statue of Lachlan the Lanky. He had a broomstick clutched in his fingers. "What are you doing?"

      "Er - nothing. What are you doing?"

      Harry frowned. "Come on, you can tell me. What are you hiding here for?"

      Ron let out a groan. "I'm hiding from Fred and George, if you must know. They just went past with a bunch of first years. I bet they're testing stuff on them again. I mean, they can't do it in the common room now, can they? Not with Hermione there." The words left his mouth in a rush, like if he didn't get them out fast enough they'd disappear forever.

      "But what have you got your broom for? You haven't been flying, have you?"

      "I... well... well, okay, I'll tell you, but don't laugh, alright? I-I thought I'd try out for Gryffindor Keeper now that I've got a decent broom. There. Go on. Laugh."

      Harry gave him an odd look. "I'm not laughing. It's a brilliant idea! It's be really cool if you got on the team! I've never seen you play Keeper, are you good?"

      "I'm not bad. Charlie, Fred, and George always made me play Keep for them when they were training during the holidays."

      "So you've been practicing tonight?"

      "Every night since Tuesday. Just on my own, though, I've been trying to bewitch a few Quaffles to fly at me, but it hasn't been easy and I don't know how much use it'll be. Fred and George are going to laugh themselves stupid when I turn up for the tryouts. They haven't stopped taking the mickey out of me since I got made a prefect."

      "I wish I was going to be there," Harry replied bitterly. The two began walking back towards the common room.

      "Yeah, so do - Harry, what's that on the back of your hand?"

      Harry had realized his mistake the second he lowered his hand from scratching his nose. "It's just a cut. It's nothing, it's-"

      Ron grabbed Harry's arm and got a good look at the words etched onto the back of Harry's hand. When he released Harry's arm back to him, Ron looked like he might be sick.

      "I thought you said she was giving you lines?"

      Harry hesitated. He had just finished telling Nova that he did't want to tell his friends because he didn't want them to worry. But this was Ron, the same one who had taken him in when Harry felt like he had no one. The boy who had shared his family and home with him on more than once occasion.

      So he told him everything.

      "The old hag! She's sick! Go to McGonagall, say something!"

      "No," Harry replied immediately. "I'm not giving her the satisfaction of knowing she's got to me."

      "Got to you?" Ron asked incredulously. "You can't let her get away with this!"

      "I don't know how much power McGonagall's got over her."

      "Dumbledore, then, tell Dumbledore!"

      "No," Harry replied, thinking of not only himself, but Nova. She wouldn't want Dumbledore to know. She wouldn't tell Dumbledore.

      "Why not?"

      "He's got enough on his mind," Harry replied flatly. "Look, it's fine, Ron. Nova and I can handle it."

      A sour expression crossed Ron's face. At first Harry thought it was because of Harry's adamance in not telling Dumbledore, but his idea quickly changed when Ron spoke. "Nott's got this on her hand as well?"

      Wordlessly, Harry nodded. Then stopped. "Well, she's got different lines. I must not disrespect, I think.

      Ron said nothing as they continued to walk to the Fat Lady. When they got to the portrait, Ron uttered the password before walking in and stalking up to the boys' dormitory without another word on the subject.

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any dialogue in these last three chapters come from OOTP and don't belong to me; just thought I'd throw that out there again. ron is so protective of nova I love it. and amanda. amanda loves it.