Advantage (PG, The Hufflepuffs)
Title: Advantage
Date/Challenge: 23 - I leave before being left at 30_hath
Character/Pairing: Rose Zeller's POV
Rating: PG
Word Count: 354
Author's Note: Part of the Hufflepuff Prank continuation
“Susan!”
Rose jumped to her feet as she realized who was coming toward them. It was hard to miss him, really. Michael was shouting for all the world to hear him, mindlessly racing toward the greenhouse door without care for who he was alerting.
“Stop him,” Rose hissed to Kevin. “I’ll tell Susan.”
Kevin stopped her before she could race away. “Too late.”
Sure enough, the other Hufflepuffs were already rushing out, ready for a fight.
“Keep it down, Corner. You’ll wake up the castle.” Susan came to a stop right in front of the tall boy, her chin raised in the typical gesture of defiance she wore so often these days. Rose always felt sorry for her when she saw it.
“What was that stunt you tried to pull, Bones? You could have gotten us kicked out of school. Is that what you wanted? Terry nearly had to be sedated before he’d stop shaking. Do you know what expulsion means to a Ravenclaw?”
Susan’s answer was soft, her eyes hard in the moonlight. Even when Rose leaned forward, she only caught a few words before Kevin pulled her back, whispering, “Let them deal with this themselves. This isn’t about us.”
“Sure it is,” Rose persisted. “If we don’t get everything switched-“
But Kevin persisted in pulling her back so that she couldn’t hear anything but a low murmur. Michael’s expression stayed stormy while Susan’s chin finally dropped so that she was staring at Michael’s chest.
“Don’t give in,” Rose heard herself whisper. “Don’t let him break you.” It was a mantra she repeated over and over in the tense moments that seemed to stretch forward into eternity.
Susan slapped Michael’s face and broke the spell. “If you mean what I think you mean…” but she stopped in the middle of the sentence and began running to the castle.
“She backed down,” Rose said, her voice broken as she watched her idol rush away.
“No,” Kevin whispered, hugging his arms around her so that she couldn’t follow. “She left before he could. She still has the advantage. Whatever good that will do her now.”
Date/Challenge: 23 - I leave before being left at 30_hath
Character/Pairing: Rose Zeller's POV
Rating: PG
Word Count: 354
Author's Note: Part of the Hufflepuff Prank continuation
“Susan!”
Rose jumped to her feet as she realized who was coming toward them. It was hard to miss him, really. Michael was shouting for all the world to hear him, mindlessly racing toward the greenhouse door without care for who he was alerting.
“Stop him,” Rose hissed to Kevin. “I’ll tell Susan.”
Kevin stopped her before she could race away. “Too late.”
Sure enough, the other Hufflepuffs were already rushing out, ready for a fight.
“Keep it down, Corner. You’ll wake up the castle.” Susan came to a stop right in front of the tall boy, her chin raised in the typical gesture of defiance she wore so often these days. Rose always felt sorry for her when she saw it.
“What was that stunt you tried to pull, Bones? You could have gotten us kicked out of school. Is that what you wanted? Terry nearly had to be sedated before he’d stop shaking. Do you know what expulsion means to a Ravenclaw?”
Susan’s answer was soft, her eyes hard in the moonlight. Even when Rose leaned forward, she only caught a few words before Kevin pulled her back, whispering, “Let them deal with this themselves. This isn’t about us.”
“Sure it is,” Rose persisted. “If we don’t get everything switched-“
But Kevin persisted in pulling her back so that she couldn’t hear anything but a low murmur. Michael’s expression stayed stormy while Susan’s chin finally dropped so that she was staring at Michael’s chest.
“Don’t give in,” Rose heard herself whisper. “Don’t let him break you.” It was a mantra she repeated over and over in the tense moments that seemed to stretch forward into eternity.
Susan slapped Michael’s face and broke the spell. “If you mean what I think you mean…” but she stopped in the middle of the sentence and began running to the castle.
“She backed down,” Rose said, her voice broken as she watched her idol rush away.
“No,” Kevin whispered, hugging his arms around her so that she couldn’t follow. “She left before he could. She still has the advantage. Whatever good that will do her now.”