Backstory : Nightingale in a golden cage.
Date : March 1998
Characters : Pansy Parkinson & Ginny Weasley.
Location : Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Status : Private.
Summary : It's detention time and the Slytherins are handing out the punishment.
Complete : Complete.
Detention. It wasn’t anything new to Ginny; she’d been in detention more times than she could count since the start of school. If one could call what Hogwarts was now school. It seemed more like a war zone to Ginny. She scoffed softly to herself. But yet she was safe here, or so they’d all thought. She sometimes wondered if Harry had heard what was happening here, if he realized he wasn’t as right as he thought he’d be. She hoped not though. Even though the resentment at being left behind still lingered heavily on her, she didn’t want him to have to worry, especially not with everything she was sure he was dealing with. She could and would survive this; she had to.
Ginny paced the room, waiting for whatever they decided to use as punishment today. She wouldn’t allow herself to think back on what the school used to be like. It was too hard to remember those days. Even the hints of something brewing under the surface, the constant wondering when it would all boil over seemed like heaven to what was occurring now. She fixed the image of lazy summer days at the Burrow in her mind, afternoons stretching into long evenings, playing Quidditch with Harry, Ron and Hermione, her Mum’s cooking and the smell of grass and fresh air, and prepared herself for what would come. It was always easier to pretend to be somewhere else.
The door opened and several other DA members were shoved inside the classroom, followed by a small group of Slytherins and accompanied by Amycus Carrow. Pansy was the last one to enter the room, shutting the door behind her. She and some of her fellow house mates had been called from the common room to supervise one of the detention classes, again. Looking around the room, Pansy recognised several of the students in detention, some having once belonged to Potter's entourage.
Carrow barked something to the Slytherins about punishment and several of them moved forward, each of them singling out a student. Pansy didn't move. She knew what would happen, as it had many times before and she had often passed classes where the piercing screams could be easily heard through the thick walls and doors. The thought made her shudder inwardly, but she tried not to show it. When Carrow shoved her in the shoulder, Pansy stumbled two steps forward.
"Parkinson, you take Weasley." He jerked his head into the direction of the red-haired girl.
Pansy stared at him for a long moment before slowly turning her head around to face Ginny Weasley.
Her eyes lifted as others were pushed through the door, catching eyes with some of her fellow students. As the small group Slytherins followed, she simply rolled her eyes a little. House rivalry had really seemed to take on a new twisted dimension. As Pansy was pushed forward and finally turned her head to face her, Ginny squared her shoulders. She kept her eyes on Pansy’s, not pleading but hard, daring almost. Her hands balled in fists at her side, anticipation the searing pain that was certain to come soon. She refused to let fear flicker in her face though, her features hard and set.
“Pansy,” she spoke evenly, as though she was simply passing the other girl in the hall.
When Ginny's eyes locked on hers, Pansy's gaze automatically hardened, shielding the emotions behind it. With trembling fingers, she pulled out her wand and pointed it at her, gripping it so tightly her knuckles went white. She would not let anyone notice the trembling. In the mean while, screams were already filling the room, coming from the other students who writhed on the stone floor in pain. Glancing at them, Pansy wondered how long it would take before one of them would pass out.
"Parkinson, get on with it." Carrow bit out. "Put that little blood traitor under the Crucratius now."
Pansy's eyes snapped back to Ginny's face, her teeth gnashing together. Unlike her other house mates, she had been able to avoid physically torturing fellow students until now. She had no need for physical violence, even less for using an Unforgivable. Studying the others, it looked so simple, but inside, she knew it wasn't. Honestly, she didn't want to be doing this. Her mind hadn't been on the war at all the last few weeks, studying for her N.E.W.T.s had been enough to keep her distracted from the horrors that went on inside the castle.
When nothing happened during the several minutes since Carrow had given her the other, the rest of the Slytherins began to turn their heads to look at her, confusion evident in their eyes. Pansy gritted her teeth harder. 'You don't want to do this. You have better things to do.' Her mind protested. 'You were revising. You need to pass those tests.' With one glance aside, Pansy noticed one or two of her house mates starting to sneer at her, clearly in disapproval. Her eyes back on Ginny and narrowing, Pansy snarled.
The fact that Pansy was not acting was not lost on Ginny. Blocking the sounds around her, she always found it harder to listen to others being hurt than being hurt herself, she kept her gaze locked on Pansy. Carrow’s words reached her but she didn’t let her gaze turn away from Pansy. This was…odd. She was certain out of anyone in this school it would Pansy who would delight in this sort of thing. But yet she seemed unable to act. It didn’t make sense. The idea that it would be Pansy Parkinson of all people to choke, to have some moral objection to it all seemed so foreign to Ginny.
It wasn’t long before others turned to stare at the pair. Ginny could feel the gazes but she didn’t bother looking at them. She suddenly was lost, wondering what it felt like on the other side. This was the first time she’d encountered someone unwilling to perform so to say. She swallowed hard. She knew she wouldn’t have been able to do it, even if someone gave her a wand right now and the chance to strike at anyone she chose in the room. She knew she couldn’t. She could feel the gaze of disapproval heavy in the air, they weren’t living up to their roles they had been thrust into and it wouldn’t tolerated.
As Pansy looked back to her Ginny smirked somewhat. Something shifted in her, something odd creeping onto her face. Almost like permission. “Come on Parkinson, I’m just a stupid little bloodtraitor, I deserve it, remember?” her voice was quiet, keeping the words from reaching too far past them, but not soft. She dug her nails into her palms, fists still balled with anticipation. This was her role and Pansy had hers and that’s the way it had to be.
At Ginny's words, Pansy's eyes narrowed to mere slits. Her mind snapped back into focus and suddenly the hatred was back. The hate for bloodtraitors, the hate for Gryffindors, but most of all, that deep furious hate for Ginny Weasley. How dare she taunt her like that? Act so arrogant like she was the one in charge. Potter's little whore. Pansy would show her who was in charge. "Crucio!" She yelled, watching the bright red light emit from the tip of her wand, before hitting the Weasley girl.
She was furious now and wanted nothing more than to show that dirty little traitor her place. On the floor, on her knees, in the dirt; kicking, screaming. It didn't matter as long as she suffered. Lifting the curse for a mere second, Pansy barely gave her enough to take a deep breath before Cruciating her again. Pansy saw red. Her mind had been shut down completely, the only thing that mattered was that spell and the weasel suffering from it.
Everything went silent around her, the other screams dissolved into nothingness, together with the laughing of Carrow and the remarks coming from her fellow Slytherins. She repeated it over and over, lifting the spell before casting it again, her eyes fixed on Ginny's body, watching her own act of torture with a stare that was as cold as her overall behaviour.
It wasn't until someone shook her shoulder that she broke off the curse again, blinking before turning around. It was Carrow. "That's enough." He smirked, looking past Pansy at the girl on the floor. Pansy didn't even bother to look back now that her mind had slipped back into reality and was out the door in less than two seconds, feeling ill.
The thing about pissing off the person who held all the cards was that you knew you had the control. If it takes your words to make them move than you won. Or at least that’s the thought she desperately clung to as her body thrashed against the blinding pain. The piercing scream that radiated from her lungs sounded as unfamiliar as always. This wasn’t her. The defence mechanisms she’d learned and put in place months earlier kicking in; cling to the thoughts that make it somehow feel worthwhile, lose yourself to memories of anything but this.
The small moments between the sparks doing nothing but allowing a second to catch her breath for the next onslaught. It was getting harder and harder to do so. She could feel her defences slipping, falling as the constant pain ambushed her slight form. She curled her fingers into the floor, trying to grasp onto something, anything as sparks flew in front of her eyes again.
In a moment of reprieve she opened her mouth, a snide remark wanting to find it’s way free but at the new attack she managed nothing but a twisted gurgle. The idea that Pansy might actually kill her passed briefly, she’d been a victim of the cruciatus more times than she had ever wanted but Pansy seemed to really mean it in a way she’d never seen before. The absence of searing pain was the only thing that alerted Ginny to the “punishment” being over. She didn’t have the ability to focus well enough to see Carrow tell Pansy to stop. Her breath ragged she laid, body still convulsing, as Pansy rushed out of the door.
She stood to her feet shakily as soon as she could. Her hands burned, the skin raw and ripped in places from clawing at the ground. Ginny stood as straight as she could and walked over to where Carrow stood. “Am I dismissed?” she asked, fighting to keep her tone neutral. Being snappy now would get her nowhere. At his nod she turned on her heel and half walked half limped of the room. Already her mind was collecting the night’s events, placing them away in a dark corner that was getting fuller and fuller by the day. She could and would survive this, she just had to forget.
Characters : Pansy Parkinson & Ginny Weasley.
Location : Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Status : Private.
Summary : It's detention time and the Slytherins are handing out the punishment.
Complete : Complete.
Detention. It wasn’t anything new to Ginny; she’d been in detention more times than she could count since the start of school. If one could call what Hogwarts was now school. It seemed more like a war zone to Ginny. She scoffed softly to herself. But yet she was safe here, or so they’d all thought. She sometimes wondered if Harry had heard what was happening here, if he realized he wasn’t as right as he thought he’d be. She hoped not though. Even though the resentment at being left behind still lingered heavily on her, she didn’t want him to have to worry, especially not with everything she was sure he was dealing with. She could and would survive this; she had to.
Ginny paced the room, waiting for whatever they decided to use as punishment today. She wouldn’t allow herself to think back on what the school used to be like. It was too hard to remember those days. Even the hints of something brewing under the surface, the constant wondering when it would all boil over seemed like heaven to what was occurring now. She fixed the image of lazy summer days at the Burrow in her mind, afternoons stretching into long evenings, playing Quidditch with Harry, Ron and Hermione, her Mum’s cooking and the smell of grass and fresh air, and prepared herself for what would come. It was always easier to pretend to be somewhere else.
The door opened and several other DA members were shoved inside the classroom, followed by a small group of Slytherins and accompanied by Amycus Carrow. Pansy was the last one to enter the room, shutting the door behind her. She and some of her fellow house mates had been called from the common room to supervise one of the detention classes, again. Looking around the room, Pansy recognised several of the students in detention, some having once belonged to Potter's entourage.
Carrow barked something to the Slytherins about punishment and several of them moved forward, each of them singling out a student. Pansy didn't move. She knew what would happen, as it had many times before and she had often passed classes where the piercing screams could be easily heard through the thick walls and doors. The thought made her shudder inwardly, but she tried not to show it. When Carrow shoved her in the shoulder, Pansy stumbled two steps forward.
"Parkinson, you take Weasley." He jerked his head into the direction of the red-haired girl.
Pansy stared at him for a long moment before slowly turning her head around to face Ginny Weasley.
Her eyes lifted as others were pushed through the door, catching eyes with some of her fellow students. As the small group Slytherins followed, she simply rolled her eyes a little. House rivalry had really seemed to take on a new twisted dimension. As Pansy was pushed forward and finally turned her head to face her, Ginny squared her shoulders. She kept her eyes on Pansy’s, not pleading but hard, daring almost. Her hands balled in fists at her side, anticipation the searing pain that was certain to come soon. She refused to let fear flicker in her face though, her features hard and set.
“Pansy,” she spoke evenly, as though she was simply passing the other girl in the hall.
When Ginny's eyes locked on hers, Pansy's gaze automatically hardened, shielding the emotions behind it. With trembling fingers, she pulled out her wand and pointed it at her, gripping it so tightly her knuckles went white. She would not let anyone notice the trembling. In the mean while, screams were already filling the room, coming from the other students who writhed on the stone floor in pain. Glancing at them, Pansy wondered how long it would take before one of them would pass out.
"Parkinson, get on with it." Carrow bit out. "Put that little blood traitor under the Crucratius now."
Pansy's eyes snapped back to Ginny's face, her teeth gnashing together. Unlike her other house mates, she had been able to avoid physically torturing fellow students until now. She had no need for physical violence, even less for using an Unforgivable. Studying the others, it looked so simple, but inside, she knew it wasn't. Honestly, she didn't want to be doing this. Her mind hadn't been on the war at all the last few weeks, studying for her N.E.W.T.s had been enough to keep her distracted from the horrors that went on inside the castle.
When nothing happened during the several minutes since Carrow had given her the other, the rest of the Slytherins began to turn their heads to look at her, confusion evident in their eyes. Pansy gritted her teeth harder. 'You don't want to do this. You have better things to do.' Her mind protested. 'You were revising. You need to pass those tests.' With one glance aside, Pansy noticed one or two of her house mates starting to sneer at her, clearly in disapproval. Her eyes back on Ginny and narrowing, Pansy snarled.
The fact that Pansy was not acting was not lost on Ginny. Blocking the sounds around her, she always found it harder to listen to others being hurt than being hurt herself, she kept her gaze locked on Pansy. Carrow’s words reached her but she didn’t let her gaze turn away from Pansy. This was…odd. She was certain out of anyone in this school it would Pansy who would delight in this sort of thing. But yet she seemed unable to act. It didn’t make sense. The idea that it would be Pansy Parkinson of all people to choke, to have some moral objection to it all seemed so foreign to Ginny.
It wasn’t long before others turned to stare at the pair. Ginny could feel the gazes but she didn’t bother looking at them. She suddenly was lost, wondering what it felt like on the other side. This was the first time she’d encountered someone unwilling to perform so to say. She swallowed hard. She knew she wouldn’t have been able to do it, even if someone gave her a wand right now and the chance to strike at anyone she chose in the room. She knew she couldn’t. She could feel the gaze of disapproval heavy in the air, they weren’t living up to their roles they had been thrust into and it wouldn’t tolerated.
As Pansy looked back to her Ginny smirked somewhat. Something shifted in her, something odd creeping onto her face. Almost like permission. “Come on Parkinson, I’m just a stupid little bloodtraitor, I deserve it, remember?” her voice was quiet, keeping the words from reaching too far past them, but not soft. She dug her nails into her palms, fists still balled with anticipation. This was her role and Pansy had hers and that’s the way it had to be.
At Ginny's words, Pansy's eyes narrowed to mere slits. Her mind snapped back into focus and suddenly the hatred was back. The hate for bloodtraitors, the hate for Gryffindors, but most of all, that deep furious hate for Ginny Weasley. How dare she taunt her like that? Act so arrogant like she was the one in charge. Potter's little whore. Pansy would show her who was in charge. "Crucio!" She yelled, watching the bright red light emit from the tip of her wand, before hitting the Weasley girl.
She was furious now and wanted nothing more than to show that dirty little traitor her place. On the floor, on her knees, in the dirt; kicking, screaming. It didn't matter as long as she suffered. Lifting the curse for a mere second, Pansy barely gave her enough to take a deep breath before Cruciating her again. Pansy saw red. Her mind had been shut down completely, the only thing that mattered was that spell and the weasel suffering from it.
Everything went silent around her, the other screams dissolved into nothingness, together with the laughing of Carrow and the remarks coming from her fellow Slytherins. She repeated it over and over, lifting the spell before casting it again, her eyes fixed on Ginny's body, watching her own act of torture with a stare that was as cold as her overall behaviour.
It wasn't until someone shook her shoulder that she broke off the curse again, blinking before turning around. It was Carrow. "That's enough." He smirked, looking past Pansy at the girl on the floor. Pansy didn't even bother to look back now that her mind had slipped back into reality and was out the door in less than two seconds, feeling ill.
The thing about pissing off the person who held all the cards was that you knew you had the control. If it takes your words to make them move than you won. Or at least that’s the thought she desperately clung to as her body thrashed against the blinding pain. The piercing scream that radiated from her lungs sounded as unfamiliar as always. This wasn’t her. The defence mechanisms she’d learned and put in place months earlier kicking in; cling to the thoughts that make it somehow feel worthwhile, lose yourself to memories of anything but this.
The small moments between the sparks doing nothing but allowing a second to catch her breath for the next onslaught. It was getting harder and harder to do so. She could feel her defences slipping, falling as the constant pain ambushed her slight form. She curled her fingers into the floor, trying to grasp onto something, anything as sparks flew in front of her eyes again.
In a moment of reprieve she opened her mouth, a snide remark wanting to find it’s way free but at the new attack she managed nothing but a twisted gurgle. The idea that Pansy might actually kill her passed briefly, she’d been a victim of the cruciatus more times than she had ever wanted but Pansy seemed to really mean it in a way she’d never seen before. The absence of searing pain was the only thing that alerted Ginny to the “punishment” being over. She didn’t have the ability to focus well enough to see Carrow tell Pansy to stop. Her breath ragged she laid, body still convulsing, as Pansy rushed out of the door.
She stood to her feet shakily as soon as she could. Her hands burned, the skin raw and ripped in places from clawing at the ground. Ginny stood as straight as she could and walked over to where Carrow stood. “Am I dismissed?” she asked, fighting to keep her tone neutral. Being snappy now would get her nowhere. At his nod she turned on her heel and half walked half limped of the room. Already her mind was collecting the night’s events, placing them away in a dark corner that was getting fuller and fuller by the day. She could and would survive this, she just had to forget.