FIC "A Pair of Dull Scissors in the Yellow Light" Millicent Bulstrode/Susan Bones
Title: A Pair of Dull Scissors in the Yellow Light
Author: lily_pearl
Original Couple/Prompt: 35. Samson & Delilah
Harry Potter Pairing: Millicent Bulstrode/Susan Bones
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Anything you recognise does not belong to me.
Summary: Millicent had never thought of herself of the sort of girl who looked at the world though rose-tinted glasses. She's learnt that hard way that that isn't true.
Notes: This a Harry Potter flavoured take on the story of Samson and Delilah, originally written for hp_couplesremix . Rather than writing a literal re-telling, I took the themes of war, seduction and betrayal and applied them to my chosen pairing. The title is taken from Regina Spektor's Samson. (I re-started this five times so it's ended up shorter than planned.)
Millicent knows now that she should not have allowed her judgement to become so clouded. She should have recognised the situation for what it was. At the time, it had all seemed perfectly normal. She had run into Susan outside Madame Saskia's Bazaar one Sunday morning, they exchanged pleasantries and then gone their separate ways. She had run into Susan a few times after that. And when Susan had suggested that they go for coffee the fifth or sixth time that they had run into each other it had seemed natural. Now, Millicent wonders how long Susan had followed her to find out her routines. How much time and effort had gone into planning those 'chance encounters'?
They had started meeting for coffee regularly after that. Millicent had found herself looking forward to seeing Susan. It was nice having a friend who wasn't self-obsessed, arrogant, manipulative or weirdly paranoid for a change. Susan was all sunshine and daisies on the surface with a delightfully vicious sense of humour she revealed only to her friends. She was clever in a way that didn't leave Millicent feeling stupid. Susan was also pretty in a quiet, unassuming way. She had long dark hair habitually pulled back into a plait which snaked its way down her back. Her eyes were a deep blue which contrasted beautifully with the brown of her hair. Her smile was genuine but there was something in her eyes that Millicent couldn't quite fathom and it fascinated her. Perhaps more than it should have.
Looking back she should have noticed that it had always been Susan who pushed their relationship further. It had been Susan who had invited her out to dinner, Susan who had taken her hand to cross a busy street and Susan who had initiated their first kiss. Millicent hadn't been completely passive - far from it. While she hadn't had the courage to make the first move at any stage, she had been more than willing to make the moves that followed. It is a bitter pill to swallow, knowing that she had played right into Susan's hands. She had made it easy.
While Millicent had never discussed her father's approaching trial with Susan, she had certainly taken comfort in Susan's presence. It made the betrayal that much harder to bear. The day of the trial had come and Millicent had watched the proceedings unfold with a growing sense of unease. She had expected it to be an unpleasant experience and known that it would not end well but it was the precise nature of the evidence that had set her on edge. It had hit her so hard she was almost breathless. There were things that the prosecution could not have had access to any other way. It had to have been Susan.
Millicent barely remembers the rest of the trial. She had watched them pass sentence and somehow she had made it back home but she can't quite remember making the journey. She runs through the entire span of her relationship with Susan in her head and it is heart-wrenchingly obvious that she has been played. Susan had seduced her for the sole purpose of obtaining the information necessary to have her father convicted. She had loved Susan with the whole of her heart and Susan had used her. Every step had been planned.
Millicent walks slowly into her bedroom, taking in the messy sheets and remembering how happy she had been that morning. She had woken early to the sun streaming in through a gap in the thin curtains and slowly lifted herself on one elbow to look down at the sleeping woman beside her. Susan's long dark hair was spread out over the pillow, the ends of it glinting in the morning sun. Millicent had once again felt lucky to be the one who was allowed to see this side of Susan. She had leaned down and placed a solitary kiss on Susan's temple, before reluctantly getting out of bed.
She sits down at her dressing table and studies her reflection in the mirror. She takes in the square jaw, dark eyebrows and hard features that could at best be described as handsome but will never be pretty. Her hair is long but it will never be as long as Susan's. It is brown but it will never be as glossy as Susan's. She pulls her hair back and wraps it twice around her fist. With her free hand, she opens her dresser drawer and takes out a pair of scissors. Millicent knows how this story ends, and she'll be damned if she's going to let Susan do it.
Author: lily_pearl
Original Couple/Prompt: 35. Samson & Delilah
Harry Potter Pairing: Millicent Bulstrode/Susan Bones
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Anything you recognise does not belong to me.
Summary: Millicent had never thought of herself of the sort of girl who looked at the world though rose-tinted glasses. She's learnt that hard way that that isn't true.
Notes: This a Harry Potter flavoured take on the story of Samson and Delilah, originally written for hp_couplesremix . Rather than writing a literal re-telling, I took the themes of war, seduction and betrayal and applied them to my chosen pairing. The title is taken from Regina Spektor's Samson. (I re-started this five times so it's ended up shorter than planned.)
Millicent knows now that she should not have allowed her judgement to become so clouded. She should have recognised the situation for what it was. At the time, it had all seemed perfectly normal. She had run into Susan outside Madame Saskia's Bazaar one Sunday morning, they exchanged pleasantries and then gone their separate ways. She had run into Susan a few times after that. And when Susan had suggested that they go for coffee the fifth or sixth time that they had run into each other it had seemed natural. Now, Millicent wonders how long Susan had followed her to find out her routines. How much time and effort had gone into planning those 'chance encounters'?
They had started meeting for coffee regularly after that. Millicent had found herself looking forward to seeing Susan. It was nice having a friend who wasn't self-obsessed, arrogant, manipulative or weirdly paranoid for a change. Susan was all sunshine and daisies on the surface with a delightfully vicious sense of humour she revealed only to her friends. She was clever in a way that didn't leave Millicent feeling stupid. Susan was also pretty in a quiet, unassuming way. She had long dark hair habitually pulled back into a plait which snaked its way down her back. Her eyes were a deep blue which contrasted beautifully with the brown of her hair. Her smile was genuine but there was something in her eyes that Millicent couldn't quite fathom and it fascinated her. Perhaps more than it should have.
Looking back she should have noticed that it had always been Susan who pushed their relationship further. It had been Susan who had invited her out to dinner, Susan who had taken her hand to cross a busy street and Susan who had initiated their first kiss. Millicent hadn't been completely passive - far from it. While she hadn't had the courage to make the first move at any stage, she had been more than willing to make the moves that followed. It is a bitter pill to swallow, knowing that she had played right into Susan's hands. She had made it easy.
While Millicent had never discussed her father's approaching trial with Susan, she had certainly taken comfort in Susan's presence. It made the betrayal that much harder to bear. The day of the trial had come and Millicent had watched the proceedings unfold with a growing sense of unease. She had expected it to be an unpleasant experience and known that it would not end well but it was the precise nature of the evidence that had set her on edge. It had hit her so hard she was almost breathless. There were things that the prosecution could not have had access to any other way. It had to have been Susan.
Millicent barely remembers the rest of the trial. She had watched them pass sentence and somehow she had made it back home but she can't quite remember making the journey. She runs through the entire span of her relationship with Susan in her head and it is heart-wrenchingly obvious that she has been played. Susan had seduced her for the sole purpose of obtaining the information necessary to have her father convicted. She had loved Susan with the whole of her heart and Susan had used her. Every step had been planned.
Millicent walks slowly into her bedroom, taking in the messy sheets and remembering how happy she had been that morning. She had woken early to the sun streaming in through a gap in the thin curtains and slowly lifted herself on one elbow to look down at the sleeping woman beside her. Susan's long dark hair was spread out over the pillow, the ends of it glinting in the morning sun. Millicent had once again felt lucky to be the one who was allowed to see this side of Susan. She had leaned down and placed a solitary kiss on Susan's temple, before reluctantly getting out of bed.
She sits down at her dressing table and studies her reflection in the mirror. She takes in the square jaw, dark eyebrows and hard features that could at best be described as handsome but will never be pretty. Her hair is long but it will never be as long as Susan's. It is brown but it will never be as glossy as Susan's. She pulls her hair back and wraps it twice around her fist. With her free hand, she opens her dresser drawer and takes out a pair of scissors. Millicent knows how this story ends, and she'll be damned if she's going to let Susan do it.