Desertion - In an Act of Befuddlement
Title: Desertion - In an Act of Befuddlement
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Zacharias Smith, Dumbledore’s Army, and Daphne Greengrass
Prompt: Yellow/like a game of pick-up sticks
Word Count: 1498
Rating: PG
Summary: Death Eaters were welcomed at Hogwarts, and Lord Voldemort ruled without sympathy. It wasn’t a time to be innocent, anymore. In the face of the darkest year, Zacharias Smith struggles between doing what is right, and what is easy.
Chapter Summary: Everything in his world was spiralling in a mass of uncertainty and confusion.
Author’s Notes: The fourth part of the Desertion series.
Ernie was still limping three days later. “It’s worth it,” he said through a swollen cheek as Hannah tried to get him to apply the rest of the ointment. “Filch still can’t get that off the walls, we made sure of that. Have you seen their faces, everyone in the halls? I think we did it. I think people are ready to act, ready to stop listening to that drivel the Carrows preach.”
Even with a scarred face and mangled leg, Ernie Macmillan held his head higher than ever. But as he recounted what had happened that night, Zacharias couldn’t stop shuffling uncomfortably in his seat.
The graffiti raid against Headmaster Snape and the Carrows had cost their friends. Michael and Ernie tried to get the attention away from Parvati, but none of them walked away without blood and bruises. The Crucio curse was only a start, and after the three refused to snitch on the D.A., the Carrow reduced to almost animalistic behaviours, whipping the defenceless students without compassion.
Yet, the determined Hufflepuff remained confident that the end result was more beneficial than the consequences. Dumbledore’s Army received new recruits over the couple of weeks that followed the incident. The more the news spread, the more people became enthused.
Ginny brought Jack Sloper and Victoria Frobisher with her to one of the meetings, and Ritchie followed by coaxing Geoffrey Hooper to join. After seeing what happened to Michael, Randolph Burrow signed his name, and Orla Quirke followed as another member of Ravenclaw. The Hufflepuffs announced Sally-Anne Perks, Eloise Midgen, and Kevin Whitby to be up to par and trustworthy.
But no Slytherins. There were never any members from the House known to be most encouraging of Dark Arts and Death Eater activities. It wasn’t worth the risk to even try enlisting.
More and more young faces eager to draw their wands and learn new jinxes and defences against the Dark Arts. With new members under his wing, Neville was stepping up to explain the real dangers the group faced. It wasn’t like duelling club; only people who understood that the D.A. was there to keep the hope alive needed to sign their name to the parchment.
In the words of the likes of Longbottom and Weasley, keeping the hope alive was increasingly translating into being unruly to the professors Carrow. “What could is it for us to sit there and be quiet?” asked Neville one night, his face hard. Did anyone else notice the slash across his face? When had he run into the Death Eaters?
“Harry wouldn’t, and we shouldn’t, either. They’re out there, trying to stop You-Know-Who. They’re risking their lives for all of us. The least we can do is make their job easier from this end.”
While the students cheered in approval before separating into twos for practise, Zacharias’ sight swept to the scratched faces of Neville, Ernie, Michael, and Parvati. His fingers twisted around the handle of his wand, and he thought about the letter in the bottom of his rucksack, again.
It followed similarly for a while, back like the old days when the D.A. was meant to be nothing more than extra lessons in Defence - nothing more. In that time, Zacharias learned Anthony Goldstein was wicked fast with his charms, and Ginny Weasley would never hold back against him in a duel.
He also learned how centralised the leadership of Dumbledore’s Army was becoming. No one questioned Neville’s position, nor Ginny’s and Luna’s. Maybe they thought he was so stupid he wouldn’t notice the favours shifting among certain students.
It wasn’t unexpected for Ernie to have seniority, based on his actions and loud mouth, but seeing Hannah become gradually more attracted to serving special opts and Susan requesting more opportunities to participate, Zacharias could feel their passion for the cause rising.
Instead of rallying alongside their newfound, revolutionary fervour, he ordered himself new quills to catch up with his homework. While Ernie, Hannah, and Susan discussed the next night raid in the common room, he struggled to remember the date of Ug the Unreliable’s imprisonment for his History of Magic essay amidst the shelves of the library.
“You. Smith.”
With a swift raise of his head, Zacharias came face to face with Daphne Greengrass, who, with a toss of her hair, leaned forward on the chair beside him. “What do you want?” he asked, with a hint of bitterness lining his words.
“You’re quite rude, aren’t you?” Her nose scrunched, but she didn’t lose any sense of conduct around the boy. Neither had forgotten just a few weeks earlier they’d been prepared to hex each other clear to Madam Pomfrey’s. “Listen,…Zacharias, right? I think we should talk.”
She leaned closer to him, lowering her voice after a quick glance to the others in the library. Zacharias could feel the bottom of his stomach drop, and wondered if she was just trying to gather more attention to them. “Oh Really? Why would we ever need to talk?”
“I hope you’re not so brusque to everyone who tries to speak with you.”
“Just in case you haven’t noticed, I’m busy.” He turned his head back to his homework, and tried his best to ignore the sound of his thudding heartbeat as Daphne leaned even closer. He could hear her breath against his ear, and it tickled the hairs on the back of his neck. “Maybe you didn’t get it. Toss off.”
Daphne tossed her hair back, again, but sighed as if she was suddenly bored. Or possibly unimpressed with his lack of tact. “You know, I think I’ve been pretty civil with you. Did your mother raise you in a pub, or something?”
“What do you want?”
“I want to talk with you, about what’s been going on.” She pressed her lips together, eyes darting over to the tables away from them. “Things are getting a little too restless around here, and there’s a lot of hush-hush passing around. I know you’ve got some idea about what’s going on.”
He blinked a few times, and lifted his head again to study her face. Nothing faltered, no indication about what she was going on about. The quill in his palm was feeling slick, and the blood was pounding in his ears like a war drum. Did the Carrows send her? Did they know? No. Keep calm. It was no worse than Sally-Anne’s pressuring that night in the common room. “Not used to rumours when it’s not you starting them, eh, Greengrass?”
“Oh, honestly,” she whined, eyes rolling. “I didn’t realise you people really are that thick. Must I explain it?”
You people? Really? “No, thanks, I think I’ll just leave.” Better to not stick around to see if she was actually under orders from the monstrous professors. With a huff, Zacharias gathered his parchment and slammed his books shut. Daphne didn’t sit still in her seat, pushing his stack of books back to the table.
“Are you barmy?” he hissed, feeling the urge to push her away rising with every moment she was in his line of vision. “Why don’t you just ask your twat friends? Why bother with me?”
The insufferable girl didn’t lift her hands from the books, instead turning up her nose with airs. “Is there some kind of uprising? Against the Carrows?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She didn’t believe him, and remained as commanding of him as ever. “I’m not trying to pull one over you. I just don’t like not knowing what’s going on.”
Zacharias shrugged. “Get used to disappointment.”
Lips pursing for an instant, she then opened her mouth to give offense to his remark when a pug-faced girl stepped around the bookshelf. Her face lightened as she spotted Daphne at the table, chest to chest against Smith. “There you are!” Pansy Parkinson exclaimed, strutting up to her friend. “Come with me. Professor Carrow wants me to walk the halls, and it gets dreadfully boring.”
Smoothing her robes, Daphne stepped away from the scene. “Well, it’s been fun, Zacharias,” she said, haughtily, with another toss of her hair before locking arms with her friend. With an innocent face, so unlike the concentrated and cold exterior she’d put on in front of the boy, she declared, “Sorry, I must have lost track of time. Just chatting with Smith for a while.”
Pansy turned on her heel, looking Zacharias up and down, and acknowledged him for the first time since she walked into the library. Crumpling her nose, she sneered, “I guess he’s cute.” The two girls left the library, locked arm-in-arm, nattering with giggles and teases.
After staring stupidly at the girls for a full minute, Zacharias rushed to throw his books into his rucksack and hasten in the opposite direction as fast as his long legs could carry him. “What was that about?” his mind raced. Was it a Slytherin-thing he couldn’t think to understand, or was Daphne Greengrass trying to chat him up?
--
I apologize for any Americanisms and grammatical errors. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Zacharias Smith, Dumbledore’s Army, and Daphne Greengrass
Prompt: Yellow/like a game of pick-up sticks
Word Count: 1498
Rating: PG
Summary: Death Eaters were welcomed at Hogwarts, and Lord Voldemort ruled without sympathy. It wasn’t a time to be innocent, anymore. In the face of the darkest year, Zacharias Smith struggles between doing what is right, and what is easy.
Chapter Summary: Everything in his world was spiralling in a mass of uncertainty and confusion.
Author’s Notes: The fourth part of the Desertion series.
Ernie was still limping three days later. “It’s worth it,” he said through a swollen cheek as Hannah tried to get him to apply the rest of the ointment. “Filch still can’t get that off the walls, we made sure of that. Have you seen their faces, everyone in the halls? I think we did it. I think people are ready to act, ready to stop listening to that drivel the Carrows preach.”
Even with a scarred face and mangled leg, Ernie Macmillan held his head higher than ever. But as he recounted what had happened that night, Zacharias couldn’t stop shuffling uncomfortably in his seat.
The graffiti raid against Headmaster Snape and the Carrows had cost their friends. Michael and Ernie tried to get the attention away from Parvati, but none of them walked away without blood and bruises. The Crucio curse was only a start, and after the three refused to snitch on the D.A., the Carrow reduced to almost animalistic behaviours, whipping the defenceless students without compassion.
Yet, the determined Hufflepuff remained confident that the end result was more beneficial than the consequences. Dumbledore’s Army received new recruits over the couple of weeks that followed the incident. The more the news spread, the more people became enthused.
Ginny brought Jack Sloper and Victoria Frobisher with her to one of the meetings, and Ritchie followed by coaxing Geoffrey Hooper to join. After seeing what happened to Michael, Randolph Burrow signed his name, and Orla Quirke followed as another member of Ravenclaw. The Hufflepuffs announced Sally-Anne Perks, Eloise Midgen, and Kevin Whitby to be up to par and trustworthy.
But no Slytherins. There were never any members from the House known to be most encouraging of Dark Arts and Death Eater activities. It wasn’t worth the risk to even try enlisting.
More and more young faces eager to draw their wands and learn new jinxes and defences against the Dark Arts. With new members under his wing, Neville was stepping up to explain the real dangers the group faced. It wasn’t like duelling club; only people who understood that the D.A. was there to keep the hope alive needed to sign their name to the parchment.
In the words of the likes of Longbottom and Weasley, keeping the hope alive was increasingly translating into being unruly to the professors Carrow. “What could is it for us to sit there and be quiet?” asked Neville one night, his face hard. Did anyone else notice the slash across his face? When had he run into the Death Eaters?
“Harry wouldn’t, and we shouldn’t, either. They’re out there, trying to stop You-Know-Who. They’re risking their lives for all of us. The least we can do is make their job easier from this end.”
While the students cheered in approval before separating into twos for practise, Zacharias’ sight swept to the scratched faces of Neville, Ernie, Michael, and Parvati. His fingers twisted around the handle of his wand, and he thought about the letter in the bottom of his rucksack, again.
It followed similarly for a while, back like the old days when the D.A. was meant to be nothing more than extra lessons in Defence - nothing more. In that time, Zacharias learned Anthony Goldstein was wicked fast with his charms, and Ginny Weasley would never hold back against him in a duel.
He also learned how centralised the leadership of Dumbledore’s Army was becoming. No one questioned Neville’s position, nor Ginny’s and Luna’s. Maybe they thought he was so stupid he wouldn’t notice the favours shifting among certain students.
It wasn’t unexpected for Ernie to have seniority, based on his actions and loud mouth, but seeing Hannah become gradually more attracted to serving special opts and Susan requesting more opportunities to participate, Zacharias could feel their passion for the cause rising.
Instead of rallying alongside their newfound, revolutionary fervour, he ordered himself new quills to catch up with his homework. While Ernie, Hannah, and Susan discussed the next night raid in the common room, he struggled to remember the date of Ug the Unreliable’s imprisonment for his History of Magic essay amidst the shelves of the library.
“You. Smith.”
With a swift raise of his head, Zacharias came face to face with Daphne Greengrass, who, with a toss of her hair, leaned forward on the chair beside him. “What do you want?” he asked, with a hint of bitterness lining his words.
“You’re quite rude, aren’t you?” Her nose scrunched, but she didn’t lose any sense of conduct around the boy. Neither had forgotten just a few weeks earlier they’d been prepared to hex each other clear to Madam Pomfrey’s. “Listen,…Zacharias, right? I think we should talk.”
She leaned closer to him, lowering her voice after a quick glance to the others in the library. Zacharias could feel the bottom of his stomach drop, and wondered if she was just trying to gather more attention to them. “Oh Really? Why would we ever need to talk?”
“I hope you’re not so brusque to everyone who tries to speak with you.”
“Just in case you haven’t noticed, I’m busy.” He turned his head back to his homework, and tried his best to ignore the sound of his thudding heartbeat as Daphne leaned even closer. He could hear her breath against his ear, and it tickled the hairs on the back of his neck. “Maybe you didn’t get it. Toss off.”
Daphne tossed her hair back, again, but sighed as if she was suddenly bored. Or possibly unimpressed with his lack of tact. “You know, I think I’ve been pretty civil with you. Did your mother raise you in a pub, or something?”
“What do you want?”
“I want to talk with you, about what’s been going on.” She pressed her lips together, eyes darting over to the tables away from them. “Things are getting a little too restless around here, and there’s a lot of hush-hush passing around. I know you’ve got some idea about what’s going on.”
He blinked a few times, and lifted his head again to study her face. Nothing faltered, no indication about what she was going on about. The quill in his palm was feeling slick, and the blood was pounding in his ears like a war drum. Did the Carrows send her? Did they know? No. Keep calm. It was no worse than Sally-Anne’s pressuring that night in the common room. “Not used to rumours when it’s not you starting them, eh, Greengrass?”
“Oh, honestly,” she whined, eyes rolling. “I didn’t realise you people really are that thick. Must I explain it?”
You people? Really? “No, thanks, I think I’ll just leave.” Better to not stick around to see if she was actually under orders from the monstrous professors. With a huff, Zacharias gathered his parchment and slammed his books shut. Daphne didn’t sit still in her seat, pushing his stack of books back to the table.
“Are you barmy?” he hissed, feeling the urge to push her away rising with every moment she was in his line of vision. “Why don’t you just ask your twat friends? Why bother with me?”
The insufferable girl didn’t lift her hands from the books, instead turning up her nose with airs. “Is there some kind of uprising? Against the Carrows?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
She didn’t believe him, and remained as commanding of him as ever. “I’m not trying to pull one over you. I just don’t like not knowing what’s going on.”
Zacharias shrugged. “Get used to disappointment.”
Lips pursing for an instant, she then opened her mouth to give offense to his remark when a pug-faced girl stepped around the bookshelf. Her face lightened as she spotted Daphne at the table, chest to chest against Smith. “There you are!” Pansy Parkinson exclaimed, strutting up to her friend. “Come with me. Professor Carrow wants me to walk the halls, and it gets dreadfully boring.”
Smoothing her robes, Daphne stepped away from the scene. “Well, it’s been fun, Zacharias,” she said, haughtily, with another toss of her hair before locking arms with her friend. With an innocent face, so unlike the concentrated and cold exterior she’d put on in front of the boy, she declared, “Sorry, I must have lost track of time. Just chatting with Smith for a while.”
Pansy turned on her heel, looking Zacharias up and down, and acknowledged him for the first time since she walked into the library. Crumpling her nose, she sneered, “I guess he’s cute.” The two girls left the library, locked arm-in-arm, nattering with giggles and teases.
After staring stupidly at the girls for a full minute, Zacharias rushed to throw his books into his rucksack and hasten in the opposite direction as fast as his long legs could carry him. “What was that about?” his mind raced. Was it a Slytherin-thing he couldn’t think to understand, or was Daphne Greengrass trying to chat him up?
--
I apologize for any Americanisms and grammatical errors. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.