Straight Down The Line [OPEN]

[bella]

The corridors were unusually quiet at this time of the day. Maybe it was the fact that most students has decided to have a late dinner or maybe the Professors had been particularly vicious with the amount of homework given out. Either way, the corridors were almost deserted, with only one or two students wandering about here and there. Which came as something of a relief to Bellatrix Black. She could be found on the fourth floor of the castle, walking around into a manner that definitely suggested that she didn't want to be seen.

Bellatrix reached a set of double doors and paused for several seconds. Glancing back down the corridor she had just came from, she opened the door and slipped inside. The sound of her footsteps seemed extraordinarily louder than usual in the deserted Hospital Wing. It seemed that whenever Bellatrix tried to be quieter or more subtle, she just ended up being louder and more obvious than normal. Her Dark Lord got so frustrated with her at times, clumsiness was not a trait he wanted present in any of his followers. However, he tended to be more lenient with Bellatrix than with the other Death Eaters, and his dislike of her clumsiness was not often voiced.

But all the same, it was rather typical. She had been waiting for this moment for quite a while now, waiting until Madam Pomfrey had left the Hospital Wing. And it had been quite a long wait, the woman seemed to live in the place, sleeping, eating and doing all her paperwork in there. Bellatrix had been getting rather impatient waiting. But now she was in. With a deliberate attempt to be quiet she made her way to the far end, towards Madam Pomfrey's office.

Not looking where she was going, she accidentally walked into the end of one of the hospital beds. "Damn it," she exclaimed, trying to ignore the pain now residing in her left leg. Glancing around, making sure there was nobody to hear her, she continued on her way. Dodging several more hospital beds, so as not to make anymore noise, she reached Madam Pomfrey's office. She tried the door, only to find that it was locked. She quickly pulled out her wand and unlocked the door, pulled it open and quickly slipped inside the office. Once inside, she glanced around at the office. Unsurprisingly it was rather neat. Bellatrix wouldn't have expected anything else from the strict Matron.

Spotting the Potion store room, she quickly made her way over to it. Scanning the vast selection of Potions, she quickly spotted the kind she wanted, right at the back. Grabbing several bottles of that particular potion, she stuffed them in her robes, and quickly rearranged the potions that were left on the shelf, in an attempt to make it look like she hadn't taken anything from the storeroom. Turning around she slipped out of the office. She didn't want to linger around for too long, after all, she had no idea when Madam Pomfrey would return.

Closing the door of the office behind her, she walked into the main part of the Hospital Wing. She immediately froze when she saw someone standing several feet away from the office door. So much for not being seen.

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tagging tag. counted at 554 words. muse lego house - ed sheeran lyrics from secret by maroon five! credit r a w r it's e m m a ! of caution. notes open!

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[notalice]

Leander headed for the Hospital Wing on the first floor. She kept her head down to avoid making eye contact with anyone along the way. She held her Care of Magical Creatures book close to her chest, her arms locked tight across it. She wouldn’t have lost the list tucked into it even if she hadn’t held it in such a tight grip but she still felt safer keeping it close. If she had a bag with her she would have made extra sure it was safe by tucking the book in there, but as usual for Leander, she’d forgone a bag.

The first floor corridor was mostly empty with just a few students passing by to get to wherever it was they needed to be. It was strange, she though, how everyone had a purpose here, but no one really thought about any one’s but their own. That is, she didn’t wonder to herself what any other students were doing at that very time she was walking towards the Hospital Wing. Her room mates could be in the dorm, or outside, or in detention… She didn’t know. ”Funny how life works…” she muttered to herself.

Leander was so lost in her own thoughts that she nearly walked straight past the Hospital Wing. She back tracked slightly and stared up at the set of double doors. Which one squeaked again? She so hated it when it squeaked as she opened it. Everyone in there would turn and stare at her for disturbing their peace. If there was one thing she hated, it was too much attention.

She sighed and pushed one side open just enough that she could slip though. She pushed it slowly closed behind her, waiting on the final clink as the catch fell into place. It echoed louder than it should have and Leander winced at the sound. She glanced around and let out a sigh of relief. She was alone… though hopefully not too alone. She hoped Madam Pomfrey was in her office rather than out somewhere. She knew how the strict she could be about students taking things without her knowing. Besides, she needed to get the things on her list and get back outside with them before it get dark. Her CMC professor was relying on her.
The walk to the office at the back of the room was a long one and Leander was aware of every tap her tattered shoes made on the cold floor.

The office door opened as she neared it and she looked up startled. ”Madam Pomf- Oh!” Leander found herself looking up into the face of Bellatrix Black. ”I’m s-sorry. I was looking… Madam Pomfrey. I’m sorry!” She stumbled over her words. But who could blame her? The seventh year girl was a rather intimidating sight to be faced with.

[bella]

Bellatrix remained frozen as she looked at the girl in front of her. She was definitely a Gryffindor, and appeared to be younger than Bellatrix herself. Perhaps it was the fact that she was holding a textbook tightly to be chest, as young children often did with stuffed animals, but regardless, Bellatrix would have guessed she was no older than fourth year. Not much of a threat in any case.

The fact that Bellatrix had not yet responded gave some indication of the situation. She really needed this to work out well. Under normal circumstances, she would have made some sarcastic remark and walked out of the Hospital Wing without another word. But this time it was different. The Dark Lord would be furious if she didn’t complete the task he had given her. In hindsight, she probably had brought it on herself; she had offered to obtain the potions he had asked for. It would have been a lot easier to let another Death Eater get them, perhaps someone who was graduated and could quite easily just walk into a shop and buy them. But as seemed to be a recurring theme these days, the Dark Lord had requested some Potions, and Bellatrix had jumped at the chance to be the one to serve him.

A rather arrogant smirk came onto the seventh year’s face as she watched the younger girl stumble over her words. It was quite evident the young Gryffindor was afraid of her. It was a common reaction from the younger students of Hogwarts, one that made Bella’s ego swell considerably. Not that they could be blamed for their reactions of course. It was only last year that Bellatrix had landed a third year Hufflepuff in the Hospital Wing for two weeks because he dared look at her in the wrong way. She narrowed her eyes at the girl in front of her. She would have been in the same year as the person she rendered unconscious in the dungeons due to exposure of the Cruciatus Curse. Perhaps she was even aware that Bellatrix was the perpetrator. No wonder she looked terrified of Bellatrix. “Evidently.” She said coldly, “I was hardly expecting you to be looking for Dumbledore.”

With a menacing look of her face, she stepped closer to the girl, until she was standing right in front of her. She pulled her wand out of her robes, and whilst Bellatrix didn’t point it at the girl in front of her, she held it loosely in her right hand. After all, it was so much easier to threaten someone if she was holding her wand. “If you even mention to one single person you saw me here, I’ll personally make sure you never make it to your next birthday," she threatened. "Have I made myself quite clear?

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Leander Spicer tag. counted at 471 words. muse norgaard - the vaccines lyrics from secret by maroon five! credit r a w r it's e m m a ! of caution. notes I'm so sorry it's taken me this long to reply!

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[notalice]

“If you even mention to one single person you saw me here, I’ll personally make sure you never make it to your next birthday," she threatened. "Have I made myself quite clear?”

Leander’s eyes shot to the wand in the older girls hand and she took an automatic step away from her, then her eyes went back to her face again. She didn’t know which one to watch; wand or face. Even though her wand wasn’t aimed directly at her she’d heard some of the rumors about Bellatrix and just what she was capable of. It would be just her luck to get on the wrong side of this Slytherin now.

Of all of the hundreds, possibly thousands of words Leander knew, not a single one of them wanted to help her out now. She couldn’t think of anything to say – it was like she had lost the ability to form sentences.

She nodded slowly and took another step back. Her mind was screaming at her and she wanted nothing more than to just disappear and be somewhere else – somewhere where she wasn’t the sole focus of one of Hogwarts’ most powerful witches…

”Yes.” Her voice was scarcely more than a whisper and she nodded her understanding. ”But…” She shut her mouth fast. There were no buts with Bellatrix, she knew that. She just hoped that the older girl hadn’t noticed her slip and let it pass. She just wanted to get her stuff and get out of there!

[bella]

“Wait.” Bella demanded, her voice cold and harsh. It had not escaped her notice that the younger girl was slowly backing away from her, a few more steps and it would be quite easy for her to turn around and run out of the Hospital Wing. Which was exactly what Bellatrix didn’t want. She was more than aware that the Gryffindor in front of her could quite easily run off to a teacher the minute she got out of here. It wouldn’t be the first time a younger student had used a teacher to protect themselves against Bellatrix.

It was no secret that the teachers of Hogwarts did not like Bellatrix Black. Her name came up far too often whenever there was trouble around. But she was clever, and despite the fact they knew she was often the cause, they had no way to prove it, and therefore no way to punish her.

She took a step closer to the girl, lowering her wand in the process. The girl’s eyes kept wandering to her wand, and Bellatrix had not missed this fact. And so she lowered her wand, hopefully it would ensure all attention was focused on her, rather than her wand. “What’s your name?” she asked quickly, trying to make her voice sound casual. It probably had the opposite effect, Bellatrix Black did not casually talk to Gryffindors. Even so, Bella was determined to find out this girl’s name. It would make it a lot easier to check up on her in the future to make sure she had not told anybody that Bella had been stealing from the Hospital Wing. She raised her eyebrows, waiting for the girl’s response.

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tagging tag. counted at 281 words. muse talking to the moon - bruno mars lyrics from secret by maroon five! credit r a w r it's e m m a ! of caution. notes Sorry it's so short!

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[notalice]

Leander froze in place at the older girls’ command. It was an automatic response and she couldn’t have resisted if she’d wanted to. Her fear felt thick and heavy, and she could almost taste it in her mouth, choking her.

Bellatrix stepped closer to her, closing the distance that she had just created between them, lowering her wand at the same time. This time, Leander fought against the natural instinct to turn and run. Bellatrix still had her wand in her hand. She wouldn’t even get three steps before some hex or curse of some sort would stop her. Leander looked up not quite able to meet the other girls’ eyes, looking instead looking just to a pendant that hung around her neck.

Her name? Leander’s eyes shot up to look directly into Bellatrix’s. What did she want her name for? A million different possibilities raced through her mind. With them, came a million more questions. What did she want? What was she going to do? Would she hurt her? Did she want to be able to find her again? Set her friends on her? Too many unanswered questions.

Bellatrix raised an eyebrow, waiting for her answer. Fear, must want her dead, she though, as her next words slipped out of her mouth. ”Alison. Alison… Smith.”

Silently she begged that Bellatrix believed her and didn’t notice the pause. Mentally, she was cursing herself. Sure, a fake name meant she might be able to stay unnoticed for a while but if Bellatrix found out she’d lied?

Cold fingers seemed to wrap around her heart. Damned if she didn’t. Damned if she did.


(OOC: Random pendant - Sorry!

[bella]

Alison Smith. The name didn’t ring a bell in Bellatrix’s head, something which immediately alerted her suspicions. She once again narrowed her eyes at the younger girl. In the past few years, Bellatrix had made it her business to know everything about everyone in the school. Mostly because she liked to be interfering, but occasionally other Slytherins might require information on another student. And Bella would give it to them, for a price of course. But Alison Smith was a name she had never heard before. Surely this Gryffindor wouldn’t lie to her?

“In that case, I’ll be keeping a close eye on you Smith.” She said slowly. Without further comment, she pushed passed the younger girl, making sure to brush her shoulder on the way past. She completely intended to walk out of the Hospital Wing there and then, but she suddenly froze, and turned around to face Leander.

The smirk grew on the young Death Eater’s face as a brilliant idea entered her head. She would be in a hell of a lot of trouble if she was caught with the potions she had just stolen. It might just be the final offence that tipped the Professors over the edge and finally decide to expel her. But they would hardly suspect an innocent fourth year Gryffindor when they discovered the potions were missing would they?

“I’m sure you wouldn’t help helping out a fellow student would you Alison?” she asked in an obviously fake cheerful voice. “How about you hold onto these until I come and get them from you?” She pulled out two potion bottles from her robes, the danger labels clearly displayed on the two small bottles.

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tagging tag. counted at 281 words. muse wild ones - flo rida lyrics from secret by maroon five! credit r a w r it's e m m a ! of caution. notes Sorry it's so short!

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[notalice]

Leander swallowed hard and tried not to balk, still fighting the urge to run away. As Bellatrix narrowed her eyes at her, Leander held her breath hardly daring to move or breathe. Did she know? Was her secret already out? Why the hell had she lied!?

For a long time the older girl kept watching her and Leander could picture the clogs spinning in her head no doubt scouring her memory for any mention of her name. Or maybe she was just deciding what to do with her next… Whatever it was, she was sure she didn’t want to know.

Bellatrix’s next were clearly spoken with deliberate slowness, as she told her that she’d be keeping a close eye on Leander. Pushing past her on the way to the door, Leander finally managed to let out the breath she’d been holding and gasping back in. Finally, she was gone. That, Leander told herself, could have been much worse.

Bellatrix wasn’t exactly known for her kind heart and friendly approach – even Leander knew that well enough. But, she was gone. Now she just had to hope that something – or someone – else caught Bellatrix’s eye so that she wasn’t as closely watched as what she’d been told she would be. What would happen if…when, Bellatrix found out she’d lied to her about her name? She still couldn’t understand what had possibly possessed her to do such a stupid thing. 7th year Slytherin somebody versus 4th year Gryffindor nobody?

Leander was just about to keep going towards the small office at the back of the room when the same voice she’d reassured herself had already left, spoke up. She turned sharply to stare. She sounded… cheery. Too cheery. Leander was a Gryffindor, a 4th year, and a muggle born. She didn’t warrant such a cheery, friendly tone. Her mind raced. Help out a fellow student? What choice did she have?

Leander nodded slowly, watching as Bellatrix pulled something from underneath her robes and handed them to her. She asked her to keep hold of them till she came for them and Leander was sure her heart stopped dead. The words ‘till I come get them from you’ echoed in her head as she automatically reached for the small bottled being handed to her.

Potions. Their warning labels glared up at her. These were stolen. This was so wrong… This was her only choice.

”I don’t have a bag…” she whispered. It was the only thing that came into her head.

[bella]

It was as much as Bellatrix could do to not laugh at the situation that had unfolded itself before her eyes. It normally took at least some degree of threat before a student agreed to do something of her. It was actually a difficult task trying to get another Slytherin her own age to do something for her, it normally involved at least a few decent hexes or insults. But even so, speaking about the rest of the Hogwarts population, it had never been this easy before.

Bella smirked in relief as the younger girl took the bottles from her hands. It literally felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Now she didn’t have the constant worry that a teacher would find her with the potions and use it as a final excuse to throw her out of Hogwarts. It was no secret that at least half of the staff couldn’t wait to see the back of her.

She smirked at the younger girl. “I’m sure that won’t be a problem.” She answered. Taking her wand, she conjured a small bag, the strap of which wound its way around Leander’s shoulder. The bag itself was a vivid green, although it was not a conscious thought that turned it that color. It seemed Bellatrix was every inch the true Slytherin.

In Bella’s mind, it was highly unlikely the younger girl would protest again. The excuse about a bag had been a feeble attempt at removing herself from the situation, but it was obvious the Gryffindor was committed from the moment she reached out for the small bottles. Whether or not she wanted to look after the bottles was an entirely different matter, but it was utterly irrelevant in Bella’s mind.

And with that she turned on her heel and began the walk out of the Hospital Wing. Her task was accomplished, there was no longer any need for her to be here, and in any case, Madam Pomfrey could return at any second. She paused at the door and half turned her body around to face Leander. “Until next time Smith. . .” And for the final time, she turned her back on the fourth year and turned left into the main corridor. As far as she was concerned, it was mission accomplished.

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tagging tag. counted at 386 words. muse talking to the moon - bruno mars lyrics from secret by maroon five! credit r a w r it's e m m a ! of caution.

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[notalice]

Nothing was getting her out of this situation it seemed. She sighed softly. How had she managed to get herself into this mess? She couldn't even remember what she was doing in the hospital wing in the first place.

Something wound its way over her shoulder at Bellatrix's words. Luckily, Leander managed to stop herself from reaching to her neck at the sudden sensation of something near her neck. She didn't even want to begin to question what would be done to her if she dropped the two small bottles she held. No doubt she'd be in this hospital for an entirely different reason if she did.

Several seconds passed before Leander began to make sense of what was happening. A bag? The solution to her problem... great. With a sigh, she slipped the two small bottles inside, her fingers lingering on the velvety, green material. What happened with conjured things? Did they dissapear after a length of time? Or did they stay as long as the conjurer wanted it to stay? They hadn't covered them in lessons yet.

Leander glanced back up as Bellatrix walked - strutted - away. Until next time... The words spun through her head. She didn't doubt that 'next time' would be a somewhat more painful experience when the older girl realized that there was no Alison Smith in the school. She just wished she knew how long she was supposed to be holding on to the stolen potions for. Surely no more than a few days? She crossed her fingers that it was no more than that. Where was she supposed to keep these anyway? In her dorm or her bag? Neither was ideal. Leaving it in her bag with her all the time wasn't safe, but leaving it in the dorm meant that she'd have to go back up there to get it when Bellatrix came searching for it. She was torn. But she'd figure that out later. For now she needed to remember what she was in the Hospital Wing for.

Her foot hit something as she went to step forward and she glanced down. Her Care of Magical Creatures book. She hadn't even notice she'd dropped it. The potions for Professor Kettleburn. Of course! That's what she'd been up here for...

The door to the office was still open as Bellatrix had left it. Mind made up, Leander slid around it and to the potions cupboard at the back. She was already carrying stolen, very dangerous potions with her. Would taking a few more without permission really make any difference? She had a feeling not. With potions safely in her bag she slipped out of the office.

She really didn't know what was going to happen from now on...

OOC: Sorry it's so terrible! =/