Penitence Part Four
May. 25th, 2009 04:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dysonrulesWhoopsie, nearly forgot to post this today. *headdesk*
“He’s never going to buy it.”
“Of course he will. You only have to make him think it was his idea,” Pious explained.
“You’ve finally gone mental,” Bleys lamented. “Your Potter obsession has driven you around the bend.”
“I do not have a Potter obsession,” Pious growled. “I merely want him crushed, expelled, and out of my hair forever.”
“How will you get him expelled?”
“Trust me, Bleys. This act of Potter’s cannot go on. He will snap soon enough. I’m just giving him a little nudge. Obviously he’s getting used to me, so we need to up the ante. I’ve already laid the groundwork for the destruction of his reputation, now it’s up to you to finish him off.”
Bleys looked at him with confusion in his chocolate coloured eyes. “I still don’t see how destroying his reputation will get Potter expelled. He’s already known as a troublemaker.”
“That’s because you are not taking James Potter into account,” Pious purred. Bleys smiled slowly and Pious nodded as he accepted the unspoken accolade. Yes, I am truly brilliant at times, he thought.
~~- oOo -~~
Al and Hell’s plan suffered a massive setback on the day everything was supposed to come to fruition. Hell met him in the Great Hall at breakfast and his expression instantly chilled Al’s blood. Hell looked about to burst into tears and his breath actually hitched when he took the seat next to Al.
“What is it?” Al asked in concern. He reached out a hand to place it gingerly on Hell’s shoulder, causing his friend to start in surprise. Hell knew better than anyone Al’s aversion to human contact, especially after the Pious situation.
“You’re going to hate me, Al,” Hell whispered hoarsely. “You will renounce me as your friend and find someone to take my place.”
Hell dragged a shaky hand through his brown locks and Al tightened his grip.
“Tell me.”
“The potion,” Hell choked. “The potion is gone.”
“What do you mean gone?” Al shouted. A dozen shocked faces turned their way and most of the room hushed. Al stared them all down until, one by one, they shifted their gazes and returned to their own conversations. The sole exception, of course, was Pious Malfoy, who quirked a brow at him and smirked maddeningly. Al gave him an extra potent glare that had no effect, as usual. He leaned close to Hell and lowered his voice. “What do you mean gone?”
Hell looked as though he would happily climb under the table and crawl his way to safety, but Al still had not removed his hand. It dug into Hell’s shoulder rather more forcibly than Al intended.
“The potion was ready. I took it from our hiding place and was bringing it to you. I had it in my hand and was just leaving the common room when Archie Creevey barged in like a bloody Seeker chasing a Snitch. The little idiot ploughed me over!”
Al groaned and removed his hand from Hell so that he could use it to bury his face in his hands. He could picture the scene well enough. Creevey was a first year with more energy than a Firebolt NXE. He never walked anywhere, instead hurtling along at a breakneck pace banging against anything that got in his path.
“What the fuck was Creevey doing in the Hufflepuff common room? He’s a bloody Gryffindor, isn’t he?”
“I didn’t stop to ask, but his sister is Hufflepuff, so I imagine he was visiting her. The little git was apologetic, of course.”
“Fat lot of good that does!” Al burst out. A month. A bloody month of waiting for the fucking potion to brew and now it was gone in a single crackling instant.
Hell nodded sadly. “It shattered all over the damn floor. Not enough left to Polyjuice a rat.”
“This is shit, Hell. Complete bollocking shit! A month I’ve been putting up with that blond bastard’s hands all over me and for what?”
“I’m sorry,” Hell said miserably.
“Damn it. It’s not your fault,” Al muttered, even though it sort of was. Al could have throttled Hell for not taking better precautions. Why had he carried it in his hand? Why not put the vial into his robes like a normal person? “I need to be alone for a minute. I have to think,” Al said and got to his feet. He knew Hell would be hurt by his departure, but right now he was too angry to care. He left the Great Hall and went straight to the Slytherin common room where he slumped on the couch before the fire and put his head into his hands. Now what was he supposed to do?
Pious Malfoy had won again and he did not even know it.
Al sat up abruptly when the door opened. It was unwise to display weakness in the Slytherin common room. He pulled out his wand and turned to throw an acid glare at the newcomer, half-expecting it to be his nemesis. Instead it was Nemesis Part II.
“Come to gloat, Zabini?” he asked.
“Gloat about what, Potter?” Bleys replied as he walked forward and sprawled on the sofa next to Al. The dark boy grinned at him and Al looked around carefully for Malfoy. The two were seldom seen apart.
“Where is your evil overlord?” he asked.
Bleys snorted. “We’re having a row. Frankly, I’m tired of the way he treats you, Al.”
Al laughed. “Right. More likely you’re jealous of the way he’s constantly got his bloody hands on my arse.”
“Maybe I am, but not in the way you’re thinking,” Bleys said and his chocolate-coloured eyes slowly moved over Al, seeming to touch every part of him—and strip away clothing on the journey. Al sucked in a breath. Bleys could not possibly…
“I’m… not into boys,” Al said lamely.
“I know. It’s a pity, really,” Bleys said. He reached out and cupped Al’s cheek with a hand that was surprisingly warm. Bleys sighed and got to his feet. “Oh well, I suppose I’ll get back to the… what did you call him? Evil overlord?” Bleys chuckled. “He’s been such an obnoxious cretin lately I would almost switch over to the Potter Fan Club. Too bad you’re not interested.”
Bleys was nearly to the door when Al called, “Bleys, wait!”
The caramel-skinned boy returned and leaned on the back of the sofa with a lazy smile. “Change your mind, Al?”
Albus blushed and shook his head. “Not about that, but… well, I may have an idea to run by you. Let’s go into the dorm where we can cast a Silencing Charm.”
“I like the way you think, Potter,” Bleys said seductively. Al was definitely not interested in boys, but he had to admit that one could do worse than Bleys Zabini. He was naturally charismatic. No wonder Malfoy liked him…
Bleys followed him to their room, where they perched on Al’s bed. He cast a quick Silencing Charm. Bleys sat uncomfortably close, but Al did not want to alienate a potential ally by moving away. Besides, he would have to get used to Bleys if his plan were to succeed.
“Okay, here is my idea. You want to get even with Pious for acting like a git and… taking you for granted, right?” It was a shot in the dark, but it seemed to be accurate, for Bleys nodded.
“Very perceptive, Al.”
“Well, it doesn’t take a genius to see that he treats you like property. You know, even though you’re always with Pious, I thought you liked girls.”
Bleys shrugged. “I’ve strayed. I always seem to go back to Pious, though. He’s rather… magnetic.”
Al repressed a snort. He was supposed to sympathize with Bleys, not denigrate his choice of boon companion, no matter how misguided. “Okay. Well, I know you’re not doing all that well in Potions.”
Bleys sat up abruptly and his dark eyes turned suddenly cold. Al held up a hand.
“I’m offering to help you. I can tutor you without anyone knowing—you know how good I am with Potions,” Al said.
Bleys growled. “You’re a fucking Potions genius, as Professor Parkinson loves to point out on a daily basis.”
“With an uncle like mine, it sort of comes naturally.”
“What do you want in return, Potter?” Bleys’s tone was mistrustful.
“I want you to pretend to be my boyfriend.”
Bleys burst out laughing. Al let him collapse on the bed until the merriment ran its course. It took a surprisingly long time. Bleys finally sat up and rubbed the tears from his eyes. “That’s rich, Albus. I already offered to do more than pretend.”
“I know, but as I told you I’m not into boys. I just want Pious to think I am. You see, it will be win-win for both of us. Pious will be eaten up with jealousy, I will have the satisfaction of seeing him clench his little fists in helpless rage, and you will be able to command him to keep his hands away from me. You will have him back eventually, with hopefully a changed attitude. As a bonus you also get to pass Potions.”
“You guarantee that I will pass?” Bleys asked. Al nodded.
“And how far will we go with this pretence?”
Al shrugged. “We’ll play it by ear, but I don’t expect it to last more than a week. Maybe two, depending on how enraged the berk gets.” By then, Al should have concocted a new plan. Now… he would just have to do some preliminary damage control, such as breaking the news to his brother…
“You’ve got a deal, Potter,” Bleys said and stuck out his hand. Al gingerly took it. Bleys immediately pulled him into a close embrace and tucked his face into Al’s neck. Al stiffened and Bleys laughed. “This is never going to work if you don’t relax, Albus. Pious won’t buy it for one moment unless you act like you’re absolutely sincere.”
Al got to his feet quickly and moved away, dispelling the Silencing Charm as he went. “Don’t worry, when we’re around Pious, I will be utterly convincing. When we’re alone… I’d rather you not touch me. It’s nothing personal.”
Bleys chuckled. “I know, Al. You should be used to it by now, though.”
Al’s lips twisted in distaste. He was already getting “used to it” with Pious Malfoy. Now he would have to become accustomed to it with Bleys Zabini. For a moment the sheer stupidity of the plan washed over him, but then the door banged open to reveal an obviously angry Pious.
“What are you doing in here with Potter, Bleys?”
Bleys slid to his feet and gravitated to Al’s side. Al blinked in surprise. He had not expected their plan to be put into action so soon, but Bleys draped an arm around Al’s shoulders.
“Albus and I were just having a little chat, weren’t we, Al?” Bleys purred and then pressed his lips against the edge of Al’s jaw. Al steeled himself and put his arm around Zabini’s waist to draw him closer. It felt strange and wrong, but Al grinned sardonically at Pious.
“Apparently all your little touches turned me gay, Malfoy,” Al said with a laugh. “Too bad it’s your boyfriend I want and not you, eh?”
Pious sneered, but the look on his face was priceless. The horrific plan suddenly seemed like the most brilliant idea in the world. Al grinned wickedly and planted his lips against Zabini’s temple. “I’ll see you later, kitten,” he said suggestively.
A Slytherin girl nearly knocked Malfoy over as she burst into the room.
“Pious, could you—?” She broke off suddenly as her jaw gaped open at the sight of Al kissing Bleys. “Oh! Oh my!” she said and Al nearly groaned with a sinking sense of horror. Fuck, it was Emily Champlain, an overly excitable girl who was one of the biggest gossips in school.
“Yes?” Malfoy asked coldly.
“Never mind,” she said quickly and backed out of the room. Al knew the story would be all over Hogwarts before he could exit the Slytherin common room. Damn it, he would have to find James and do some swift damage control. He tried to extricate himself from Zabini.
“Do you mind giving Albus and I a bit of privacy, Scorpius?” Bleys asked sweetly without releasing Al. Malfoy’s glare could have pulverized granite. He spun on a heel and left, slamming the door hard as he went. Al pushed away from Zabini with a shaky laugh.
“Merlin, that was almost worth it,” he said.
“One more thing, Potter,” Bleys said in a tone that made Al pause on his way to the door. “You cannot let anyone know about our little deception. No one at all.”
“What?”
Zabini nodded firmly. “I refuse to be thought of as an accomplice in your war against Pious. I might be hacked off at him at the moment, but I refuse to make him a laughingstock among your little friends and relatives.”
Al stared at the dark-skinned boy in stunned annoyance. It was too late to call off the plot—the news was likely already spreading like wildfire.
“You fucking bastard!”
“My parents were properly wed long before my birth, Potter. I am merely Slytherin, like you.”
“What if I say no to this deal?”
Bleys shrugged. “Then I go out and tell Pious you were merely having him on and you go back to being his tactile target.”
Tactile target. Bloody purebloods and their flowery language. Albus knew what he meant, though. He quickly decided it would be worth a week of innuendo in order to escape Malfoy’s grasping hands. He lifted his wand toward Bleys in a semi-threatening manner.
“You’ll keep him away from me?”
Bleys nodded. “I want that Potions grade.”
“All right, then. The deal stands, but only until I call it off.”
“Do I have your word? As a Potter?”
Al wanted to grind his teeth. “You have my word as a Potter.”
Bleys smiled, seeming satisfied. “Until you call it off, Albus.”
PART FIVE
“He’s never going to buy it.”
“Of course he will. You only have to make him think it was his idea,” Pious explained.
“You’ve finally gone mental,” Bleys lamented. “Your Potter obsession has driven you around the bend.”
“I do not have a Potter obsession,” Pious growled. “I merely want him crushed, expelled, and out of my hair forever.”
“How will you get him expelled?”
“Trust me, Bleys. This act of Potter’s cannot go on. He will snap soon enough. I’m just giving him a little nudge. Obviously he’s getting used to me, so we need to up the ante. I’ve already laid the groundwork for the destruction of his reputation, now it’s up to you to finish him off.”
Bleys looked at him with confusion in his chocolate coloured eyes. “I still don’t see how destroying his reputation will get Potter expelled. He’s already known as a troublemaker.”
“That’s because you are not taking James Potter into account,” Pious purred. Bleys smiled slowly and Pious nodded as he accepted the unspoken accolade. Yes, I am truly brilliant at times, he thought.
~~- oOo -~~
Al and Hell’s plan suffered a massive setback on the day everything was supposed to come to fruition. Hell met him in the Great Hall at breakfast and his expression instantly chilled Al’s blood. Hell looked about to burst into tears and his breath actually hitched when he took the seat next to Al.
“What is it?” Al asked in concern. He reached out a hand to place it gingerly on Hell’s shoulder, causing his friend to start in surprise. Hell knew better than anyone Al’s aversion to human contact, especially after the Pious situation.
“You’re going to hate me, Al,” Hell whispered hoarsely. “You will renounce me as your friend and find someone to take my place.”
Hell dragged a shaky hand through his brown locks and Al tightened his grip.
“Tell me.”
“The potion,” Hell choked. “The potion is gone.”
“What do you mean gone?” Al shouted. A dozen shocked faces turned their way and most of the room hushed. Al stared them all down until, one by one, they shifted their gazes and returned to their own conversations. The sole exception, of course, was Pious Malfoy, who quirked a brow at him and smirked maddeningly. Al gave him an extra potent glare that had no effect, as usual. He leaned close to Hell and lowered his voice. “What do you mean gone?”
Hell looked as though he would happily climb under the table and crawl his way to safety, but Al still had not removed his hand. It dug into Hell’s shoulder rather more forcibly than Al intended.
“The potion was ready. I took it from our hiding place and was bringing it to you. I had it in my hand and was just leaving the common room when Archie Creevey barged in like a bloody Seeker chasing a Snitch. The little idiot ploughed me over!”
Al groaned and removed his hand from Hell so that he could use it to bury his face in his hands. He could picture the scene well enough. Creevey was a first year with more energy than a Firebolt NXE. He never walked anywhere, instead hurtling along at a breakneck pace banging against anything that got in his path.
“What the fuck was Creevey doing in the Hufflepuff common room? He’s a bloody Gryffindor, isn’t he?”
“I didn’t stop to ask, but his sister is Hufflepuff, so I imagine he was visiting her. The little git was apologetic, of course.”
“Fat lot of good that does!” Al burst out. A month. A bloody month of waiting for the fucking potion to brew and now it was gone in a single crackling instant.
Hell nodded sadly. “It shattered all over the damn floor. Not enough left to Polyjuice a rat.”
“This is shit, Hell. Complete bollocking shit! A month I’ve been putting up with that blond bastard’s hands all over me and for what?”
“I’m sorry,” Hell said miserably.
“Damn it. It’s not your fault,” Al muttered, even though it sort of was. Al could have throttled Hell for not taking better precautions. Why had he carried it in his hand? Why not put the vial into his robes like a normal person? “I need to be alone for a minute. I have to think,” Al said and got to his feet. He knew Hell would be hurt by his departure, but right now he was too angry to care. He left the Great Hall and went straight to the Slytherin common room where he slumped on the couch before the fire and put his head into his hands. Now what was he supposed to do?
Pious Malfoy had won again and he did not even know it.
Al sat up abruptly when the door opened. It was unwise to display weakness in the Slytherin common room. He pulled out his wand and turned to throw an acid glare at the newcomer, half-expecting it to be his nemesis. Instead it was Nemesis Part II.
“Come to gloat, Zabini?” he asked.
“Gloat about what, Potter?” Bleys replied as he walked forward and sprawled on the sofa next to Al. The dark boy grinned at him and Al looked around carefully for Malfoy. The two were seldom seen apart.
“Where is your evil overlord?” he asked.
Bleys snorted. “We’re having a row. Frankly, I’m tired of the way he treats you, Al.”
Al laughed. “Right. More likely you’re jealous of the way he’s constantly got his bloody hands on my arse.”
“Maybe I am, but not in the way you’re thinking,” Bleys said and his chocolate-coloured eyes slowly moved over Al, seeming to touch every part of him—and strip away clothing on the journey. Al sucked in a breath. Bleys could not possibly…
“I’m… not into boys,” Al said lamely.
“I know. It’s a pity, really,” Bleys said. He reached out and cupped Al’s cheek with a hand that was surprisingly warm. Bleys sighed and got to his feet. “Oh well, I suppose I’ll get back to the… what did you call him? Evil overlord?” Bleys chuckled. “He’s been such an obnoxious cretin lately I would almost switch over to the Potter Fan Club. Too bad you’re not interested.”
Bleys was nearly to the door when Al called, “Bleys, wait!”
The caramel-skinned boy returned and leaned on the back of the sofa with a lazy smile. “Change your mind, Al?”
Albus blushed and shook his head. “Not about that, but… well, I may have an idea to run by you. Let’s go into the dorm where we can cast a Silencing Charm.”
“I like the way you think, Potter,” Bleys said seductively. Al was definitely not interested in boys, but he had to admit that one could do worse than Bleys Zabini. He was naturally charismatic. No wonder Malfoy liked him…
Bleys followed him to their room, where they perched on Al’s bed. He cast a quick Silencing Charm. Bleys sat uncomfortably close, but Al did not want to alienate a potential ally by moving away. Besides, he would have to get used to Bleys if his plan were to succeed.
“Okay, here is my idea. You want to get even with Pious for acting like a git and… taking you for granted, right?” It was a shot in the dark, but it seemed to be accurate, for Bleys nodded.
“Very perceptive, Al.”
“Well, it doesn’t take a genius to see that he treats you like property. You know, even though you’re always with Pious, I thought you liked girls.”
Bleys shrugged. “I’ve strayed. I always seem to go back to Pious, though. He’s rather… magnetic.”
Al repressed a snort. He was supposed to sympathize with Bleys, not denigrate his choice of boon companion, no matter how misguided. “Okay. Well, I know you’re not doing all that well in Potions.”
Bleys sat up abruptly and his dark eyes turned suddenly cold. Al held up a hand.
“I’m offering to help you. I can tutor you without anyone knowing—you know how good I am with Potions,” Al said.
Bleys growled. “You’re a fucking Potions genius, as Professor Parkinson loves to point out on a daily basis.”
“With an uncle like mine, it sort of comes naturally.”
“What do you want in return, Potter?” Bleys’s tone was mistrustful.
“I want you to pretend to be my boyfriend.”
Bleys burst out laughing. Al let him collapse on the bed until the merriment ran its course. It took a surprisingly long time. Bleys finally sat up and rubbed the tears from his eyes. “That’s rich, Albus. I already offered to do more than pretend.”
“I know, but as I told you I’m not into boys. I just want Pious to think I am. You see, it will be win-win for both of us. Pious will be eaten up with jealousy, I will have the satisfaction of seeing him clench his little fists in helpless rage, and you will be able to command him to keep his hands away from me. You will have him back eventually, with hopefully a changed attitude. As a bonus you also get to pass Potions.”
“You guarantee that I will pass?” Bleys asked. Al nodded.
“And how far will we go with this pretence?”
Al shrugged. “We’ll play it by ear, but I don’t expect it to last more than a week. Maybe two, depending on how enraged the berk gets.” By then, Al should have concocted a new plan. Now… he would just have to do some preliminary damage control, such as breaking the news to his brother…
“You’ve got a deal, Potter,” Bleys said and stuck out his hand. Al gingerly took it. Bleys immediately pulled him into a close embrace and tucked his face into Al’s neck. Al stiffened and Bleys laughed. “This is never going to work if you don’t relax, Albus. Pious won’t buy it for one moment unless you act like you’re absolutely sincere.”
Al got to his feet quickly and moved away, dispelling the Silencing Charm as he went. “Don’t worry, when we’re around Pious, I will be utterly convincing. When we’re alone… I’d rather you not touch me. It’s nothing personal.”
Bleys chuckled. “I know, Al. You should be used to it by now, though.”
Al’s lips twisted in distaste. He was already getting “used to it” with Pious Malfoy. Now he would have to become accustomed to it with Bleys Zabini. For a moment the sheer stupidity of the plan washed over him, but then the door banged open to reveal an obviously angry Pious.
“What are you doing in here with Potter, Bleys?”
Bleys slid to his feet and gravitated to Al’s side. Al blinked in surprise. He had not expected their plan to be put into action so soon, but Bleys draped an arm around Al’s shoulders.
“Albus and I were just having a little chat, weren’t we, Al?” Bleys purred and then pressed his lips against the edge of Al’s jaw. Al steeled himself and put his arm around Zabini’s waist to draw him closer. It felt strange and wrong, but Al grinned sardonically at Pious.
“Apparently all your little touches turned me gay, Malfoy,” Al said with a laugh. “Too bad it’s your boyfriend I want and not you, eh?”
Pious sneered, but the look on his face was priceless. The horrific plan suddenly seemed like the most brilliant idea in the world. Al grinned wickedly and planted his lips against Zabini’s temple. “I’ll see you later, kitten,” he said suggestively.
A Slytherin girl nearly knocked Malfoy over as she burst into the room.
“Pious, could you—?” She broke off suddenly as her jaw gaped open at the sight of Al kissing Bleys. “Oh! Oh my!” she said and Al nearly groaned with a sinking sense of horror. Fuck, it was Emily Champlain, an overly excitable girl who was one of the biggest gossips in school.
“Yes?” Malfoy asked coldly.
“Never mind,” she said quickly and backed out of the room. Al knew the story would be all over Hogwarts before he could exit the Slytherin common room. Damn it, he would have to find James and do some swift damage control. He tried to extricate himself from Zabini.
“Do you mind giving Albus and I a bit of privacy, Scorpius?” Bleys asked sweetly without releasing Al. Malfoy’s glare could have pulverized granite. He spun on a heel and left, slamming the door hard as he went. Al pushed away from Zabini with a shaky laugh.
“Merlin, that was almost worth it,” he said.
“One more thing, Potter,” Bleys said in a tone that made Al pause on his way to the door. “You cannot let anyone know about our little deception. No one at all.”
“What?”
Zabini nodded firmly. “I refuse to be thought of as an accomplice in your war against Pious. I might be hacked off at him at the moment, but I refuse to make him a laughingstock among your little friends and relatives.”
Al stared at the dark-skinned boy in stunned annoyance. It was too late to call off the plot—the news was likely already spreading like wildfire.
“You fucking bastard!”
“My parents were properly wed long before my birth, Potter. I am merely Slytherin, like you.”
“What if I say no to this deal?”
Bleys shrugged. “Then I go out and tell Pious you were merely having him on and you go back to being his tactile target.”
Tactile target. Bloody purebloods and their flowery language. Albus knew what he meant, though. He quickly decided it would be worth a week of innuendo in order to escape Malfoy’s grasping hands. He lifted his wand toward Bleys in a semi-threatening manner.
“You’ll keep him away from me?”
Bleys nodded. “I want that Potions grade.”
“All right, then. The deal stands, but only until I call it off.”
“Do I have your word? As a Potter?”
Al wanted to grind his teeth. “You have my word as a Potter.”
Bleys smiled, seeming satisfied. “Until you call it off, Albus.”
PART FIVE