The Power of the Quill

Author's Notes:

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The enemy of my enemy better stay the hell out of my way. J.R. Floyd.


Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and Co. I own nothing.

The Power of the Quill.


Chapter 07. Enemies part 2.

Severus Snape entered the Staff Room to see that Dumbledore, McGonagall and the rest of the staff that was in the Order, were already there. He could have gotten there earlier but didn't want to have to socialize with anyone more than necessary.


"Now that Severus has finally decided to join us, we can begin," Dumbledore said, giving Severus a dissatisfied look. Severus wondered if the Headmaster realized his fatherly looks of disapproval stopped working on him when he was fifteen.


"As all all might have guessed, I called this impromptu meeting of the Order to discuss the actions we will need to take because of this new Marriage Law."


"And just what actions are those?" Severus rudely interrupted as he took the seat next to McGonagall.


"I'm glad to see your mood has improved since yesterday Severus," Dumbledore said with a smile. Severus just stared angrily back at him without comment.


"I want to discuss the actions the Order will need to take to insure no harm comes to those Muggle-born and Halfbloods that were chosen. I feel it's only a matter of time before there is a backlash against this law from the Pureblood families. I have already assigned members of the Order to keep an eye on those chosen. Most have had little, if any, contact with their Pureblood partners. I feel we may need to keep up this protection until all these marriage contracts are fulfilled."


"Albus, don't you think you're stretching the Order a bit thin?" Flitwick asked. "We may not be able to respond to the Dark Lord's next move if we are spread out all over Britain protecting these Muggle-borns."


"I'm afraid we have little choice in the matter. The Ministry is only concerned with the completion of these contracts, not with the safety of the participants. There are only six marriages outside of Hogwarts that I feel we need to keep an eye on. That should not be too much for the Order to handle," Dumbledore said.


"And what of the marriages inside of Hogwarts? Do you see any trouble there?" Professor Spout asked.


"I'm afraid so. It's the Flint and Zabini marriages that worry me most," Dumbledore answered.


"Why those Albus? I was under the impression Flint was grateful for being selected and Zabini always seemed to be one of the more tolerable ones of that Slytherin crowd," McGonagall asked.


"It is not Marcus and Blaise that concern me, Minerva," Dumbledore said. "It's their families. Both stand to lose a lot if their sons marry Muggle-borns. The Flint family, in particular, had to forfeit a very lucrative marriage contract they had arranged for Marcus. Since they're both the only heirs in their families, I don't' believe the families will disown them. But that doesn't mean they won't take out their anger on their sons' new brides.


"We can keep a close eye on Miss Edgecombe here at Hogwarts, and make sure a member of the staff accompanies her if she needs to leave the school. I had two members of the Order meet Miss Turnnage at the Muggle airport in London today when she returned. Miss Tonks has decided to do some under-cover work for the Ministry as a new employee for Flourish and Botts. This should allow her to keep an eye on Miss Turnnage without making the Ministry too suspicious."


"Albus, I am concerned about Miss Parkinson," McGonagall said. " She came to class without any of her textbooks. She said everything she owned has gone missing and someone had broken her wand. I don't believe it 's a good idea to have her stay in Slytherin anymore."


"I must agree with you Minerva," Dumbledore said. "Severus, you should go ahead and arrange new quarters for Miss Parkinson in the east wing. I will owl Ollivander's tomorrow for a replacement wand for Miss Parkinson. I received a notice from the Ministry today informing me that the Parkinson family has legally removed themselves as Miss Parkinson's legal guardians. The Ministry has also granted their request that Miss Parkinson not be allowed to continue using the Parkinson name."


"Douglas Parkinson is such an arse!" McGonagall stated.


"And just what am I suppose to call her Headmaster?" Severus asked.


"I suppose we could call her Miss Taylor, at least until she becomes Mrs. Weasley next month," Dumbledore answered.


"I doubt Miss Parkinson would appreciate being reminded of her true parentage. I think it would be best if we continued using Parkinson until her marriage. I doubt the Ministry will object as long as we don't put anything in writing with the name Pansy Parkinson on it," Snape said.


"You're probably right, Severus," Dumbledore said.


"Also, I have already informed Miss Parkinson that she will be spending the night in the infirmary once again. Tomorrow, I will have the house-elves prepare a room in the east wing for her," Snape said.


"Albus, do you see any trouble coming with Mr. Potter or Miss Granger's marriages?" Flitwick asked.


"I'm afraid I can't really predict the response Narcissa will have to this marriage. Unlike her two high-tempered sisters, she has always been a very calculating woman. I don't know if that is a good or bad thing at the moment," Dumbledore said. "As for Miss Granger, I believe we can trust she'll be safe in Severus' hands."


"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Headmaster. Lately, I have found myself looking though my undetectable poisons texts. Don't be surprised if the little Gryffindor pain-in-the-arse suddenly develops an incurable case of Elvin Red Flu," Snape said with an evil grin on his face.


"Severus Snape, Hermione Granger is one of the finest student to ever grace Hogwarts' halls," McGonagall said angrily. "I will expect you to treat her with the respect and kindness that a true treasure like her deserves."


"To quote your little bushy-haired prodigy, you can expect bats to fly out your arse for all I care," Snape said with a smirk. McGonagall quickly reached over and smacked him up side the head with her open hand.


"Severus, I should transform you into a house-elf," she said heatedly. "Maybe after a couple of weeks in the school kitchen you would learn some humility." Severus rubbed the back of his head as he glared at the old witch. He had felt the sting of her hand many times before, ever since he was ten. He wondered if she would ever start treating him as an adult.


"If you two are quite done, I have another matter to discuss," Dumbledore said sounding a little impatient. "Our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor will be arriving tomorrow. He would have arrived at the start of the week, but an illness delayed him."


Severus wondered whom the Headmaster had chosen this time. This year he didn't even attempt to apply for the position. He figured if the five previous D.A.D.A Professors didn't convince Dumbledore that he was the best man for the job, than nothing would. Now the Headmaster had apparently chosen a sickly old wizard to do a job he probably wasn't qualified for. He just hoped he wouldn't be wasting his time making medical potions to keep the old buzzard alive. Far too much of his spare time was already used up making Lupin's Wolfsbane potion. A disturbing thought crossed Severus' mind as he thought of Lupin. He realized that Monday had been the start of this month's full moon.


"Headmaster, this illness our new Professor suffers from, it wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the full moon?" Severus asked with a suspicious look on his face.


"Well as a matter of fact, it does," Dumbledore answered with a straight face.


Without another word, Severus simply got up out of his chair and left the room.

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Hermione entered the Great Hall for dinner by herself. Harry and Ron were still in the Gryffindor Common Room discussing new strategies for the upcoming Quidditch season. There was nothing that could drive her from a room faster than a discussion about a bunch of fools on brooms chasing after some flying balls.


She took the seat next to Ginny who was sorting though a plate of blueberry muffins, apparently hunting for the one with the most berries in it. "Why aren't you with Harry and Ron discussing the Quidditch team? Don't you plan on playing this year?" Hermione asked.


"Oh, I'm playing this year alright. I just don't want to be around when they decide who is going to be the new team captain," Ginny answered.


"Why not?"


"Because they'll try to make me chose between the two of them, and that's just a no-win situation." Ginny sa

"What about you? Why can't you be the new team captain?" Hermione asked.


"Me? You're joking right?"


"No, I'm serious Ginny. There's no reason it has to be only Ron or Harry. Neither of them has any more experience at captaining a team than you do. Besides, it would probably be best if neither were Captain. The one that doesn't get chosen will probably resent the other. Remember how Harry felt about Ron getting that prefect's badge. This could be ten times worse."


"I'll think about it," Ginny said with a reflective look on her face.


Hermione scanned the room as she began to make her plate. The staff table was almost deserted. 'Dumbledore must be having some kind of a meeting' she thought to herself. When she looked over at the Slytherin table, she observed that Parkinson was at the far end sitting alone. There was at least ten feet between her and the next Slytherin. The scene reminded Hermione of her first couple of months here at Hogwarts. She had been a pariah herself until that Halloween night when Ron and Harry rescued her from the mountain- troll. Soon, Pansy would have one thing in her favor. In less than a month she would have Ron to protect her from her enemies, and that was a lot more than she deserved.


Just as Hermione started to for for her own multi-berried muffin, the sound of someone choking filled the Great Hall. Hermione instantly looked back at the Slytherin table. Sure enough, Pansy was bent over her plate, trying to retch her guts out. Suddenly, a large clump of some kind of dark gray matter fell out of her mouth onto her plate with a loud splat. Pansy held both of her hands to her throat as she gulped air into her starved lungs.


"A little too much Mud for the Mudblood I guess," Hermione heard one of the Slytherins say. The rest of the Slytherins continued to laugh hysterically. As soon as she caught her breath, Pansy picked up her dinner plate and threw it at the wall. The plate smashed into several pieces and fell to the floor. Pansy then got up out of her seat and started to storm out of the Great Hall. She suddenly came to a stop as she neared Hermione.


Hermione quickly spun around, not trusting to keep her back to the Slytherin.


"I bet you just thinis iis is so funny, don't you Granger?" Pansy shouted with a furious look on her face.


"You didn't see me laughing, did you Parkinson?" Hermione spat back at her. "Don't take out your anger on me because your disgusting House is starting to treat you like you have always treated me."


"You think you're so damn perfect, don't you?" Pansy said with fire in her eyes. "You think just because Dumbledore and McGonagall kiss your arse that you're something special. You may fool those stupid Gryffindors but I know the truth. You're nothing but a filthy Mud...nothing but a filthy mmm....just a filthy mmm........


"Is Mudblood the word you're groping for, Parkinson? Funny, I don't think it will have the same sting coming from you now," Hermione said, with a rather confident smile on her face. She wasn't about to let Pansy take her crappy day out on her.


"I am a Mudblood Parkinson. A Mudblood with two real parents who love and care for me, and will always be there for me. I'm not some piece of dirty street trash that's only on this earth because some pervert's condom broke sixteen years ago."


"YOU BITCH!!" Pansy screamed. There was a quick flash of movement, and then Hermione felt a sharp sting on her left cheek. Pansy had struck her across the face with her open hand. When she reached up to feel her sore cheek, she felt something wet on the side of her face. When Hermione looked at her hand, it had a little blood on it. Pansy always wore this gaudy gold bracelet with little metal pink bunnies on it. The bracelet must have cut her face.


"YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT, PARKINSON!" Hermione shouted. She reached into her robes to get her wand. Hermione thought it was about time to test her new shrinking hex. Suddenly, Pansy lunged forward in an attack. Hermione had forgotten that she no longer had a wand. A physical assault was Pansy's only option.


Pansy immediately grabbed two handfuls of Hermione's hair. She quickly pinned her back against the table. Hermione grabbed two handfuls of blond locks herself, in an attempt to force Pansy off her. The sides of her scalp screamed in pain as both girls thrashed about on top of the table. Hermione was amazed at how strong Pansy was for her small size. Even though Hermione had a two-inch and ten pound weight advantage, she could not remove Pansy from on top of her. Suddenly Pansy let go of the left side of her head and reached over and picked up a large serving fork from a nearby tray. She then raised it over her head.


Before Hermione could let go of Pansy's hair and protect herself, there was a flash of red hair and both she and Pansy were knocked to the floor. Hermione soon realize that Ginny had leaped across the table at Pansy as soon as she saw her pick up the fork. Ginny now had Pansy's left arm pinned to the ground with her knee firmly pressed into her armpit. Hermione quickly grabbed hold of Pansy's right arm with both hands and forced it to the ground. Pansy continued to thrash around under the girls like a trapped wild animal. Hermione placed her knee on Pansy's right elbow so she could have her right hand free. She then brought her right arm up next to her head and closed her hand into a tight fist. She quickly lined herself up to throw a perfect straight right into Pansy's face. This was something she had dreamt of doing for nearly six years. "You're about to get your old nose back, bitch," Hermione yelled.


Just as she was about to fire her punch into Pansy's pretty new nose, Hermione felt a hand grab hold of her right elbow. "What in the name of Merlin do you think you are doing Miss Granger?" a very angry voice roared from behind her. Hermione turned to see the livid face of Professor McGonagall staring down at her.


Both she and Ginny quickly got to their feet, releasing Parkinson. Pansy shot to her feet, then ran at high speed from the Great Hall. "Miss Parkinson come back here," Professor McGonagall shouted, but it was already too late. Pansy had already disappeared down the corridor leading to the dungeons.


"Explain yourselves," McGonagall demanded.


"She attacked me, Professor. Parkinson was angry after her stupid housemates played a practical joke on her. They turned her food into mud, so she tried to take it out on me," Hermione said sincerely to her Head of House. She then noticed that there wasn't a single Slytherin left at their table.


"Hermione's telling the truth Professor. I had to grab Parkinson before she could stab Hermione with this fork," Ginny said then held up the serving fork.


"And you said nothing to provoke her?" McGonagall asked, with a suspicious look on her face. Both she and Ginny fell silent; Hermione didn't think it was a good idea to repeat what she had said to Parkinson. "I thought so," McGonagall said, giving the girls a disappointed look. "That will be twenty points apiece from Gryffindor, and you two will both report to Mr. Filch for detention after dinner. Make sure you leave your wands in your dorm room. You will not be neg thg them tonight," McGonagall said with a harsh tone to her voice.


"Professor, this isn't fair. She started it," Hermione said, trying to defend her actions.


"Then you should have reported her to a member of the staff, instead of provoking her further," McGonagall scolded.


"So she's just going to get away with it?" Ginny asked sounding very irritated.


"Do not concern yourself with Miss Parkinson, Miss Weasley. I will make sure Professor Snape deals with her appropriately," McGonagall said.


"That's the same thing as letting her off. Snape never does anything to punish his Slytherins," Ginny said angrily.


"Quiet, Miss Weasley. You're in enough trouble as it is. Don't make me add to your detention for disrespecting one of your Professors. Now, I suggest both of you finish your meals. I guarantee you'll both need your stth tth tonight," McGonagall said, giving them a stern look.


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Pansy continued to wander the school corridors; it had been ten minutes since she fled the Great Hall. She was still steaming about what had happen to her. That stupid smug look on Granger's face angered her every time she thought about it. "Little Miss fucking Perfect with her perfect fucking grades and her perfect fucking friends," Pansy said to herself as she made her way down the corridor.


Pansy couldn't believe how bad things had gotten in only two days. She'd lost her parents and everything she owned. No one in the school liked her anymore, and in less than a month she would be forced to marry into that family of redheaded vagabonds.


Pansy knew she wasn't put into Slytherin for nothing. She would get it back, everything that taketaken from her; she would get it all back. The only trouble was figuring out how. Pansy realized she would need help. But who? All of her old friends thought she was nothing but a filthy Mudblood now. She needed to find someone who realized that she was a true Slytherin, even though she might be a Mudblood. She could prove that she had nothing to do with the Muggle world, unlike that disgusting Gryffindor who reveled in the fahat hat her parents were filthy Muggles.


Then it hit her, she could go to the one person that had been there for her, Professor Snape. This stupid law had trapped him as well. He would understand and, once he was on her side the rest of the Slytherins were bound to follow. He could also talk to her mom. Pansy knew it was her father's idea to disown her. Her mother would never turn her back on her. Pansy headed back towards the dungeons. She hoped to speak with Professor Snape before McGonagall got tm.
m.


As she made her way about halfway down the corridor leading to the dungeon, the two torches on the corridor wall next to her went out. She stopped and looked both ways down the corridor, but didn't see anything. Suddenly, two more torches went out, then another two and another two. Now the corridor was pitch black. Pansy could barely make out the light at the end of the corridor. The sound of a door creaking open broke the silence. "Is anyone there?" she asked nervously, but no one responded. She was just about to call out again, when a hand clamped itself over her mouth. At the same time more hands grabbed her by the arms and wrists. She felt herself being lifted and carried through a doorway. She heard the sound of a door being slammed shut and locks being engaged. "Lumos," a voice shouted and the room filled with light from the tip of someone wand. "Welcome, Mudblood," a cold sinister voice said.


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Next chapter coming soon.

You read it, now revit. It. It's only fair.