Fanfiction: Desertion - Our Duty
Title: Desertion - Our Duty
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Zacharias Smith, Amycus Carrow, Ernie Macmillan, and Daphne Greengrass
Prompt: Who?/what’s his/her name?
Word Count: 1452
Rating: PG13
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 their darkest year, Zacharias Smith struggles between doing what is right, and what is easy.
Chapter Summary: It was their duty to stand up for them. Zacharias learned that it could be more trouble than it’s worth.
Author’s Notes: The first part of the Desertion series, a collection of fics centering on Zacharias’ choice in Deathly Hallows. Also the first in the Bohemian Rhapsody set.
Amycus Carrow’s lopsided mouth screwed into a serious frown, flicking his wand up and down as he paced in front of the room. “You’ve been taught how to try and defend yourselves from the Dark Arts. And what for? Pitting wizards against wizards? No, they’ve been trying to protect you from the greater threat.”
The classroom was deathly quiet, with only the sound of quills scratching paper challenging the Dark Arts professor. Apart from a few passing glances between concerned students, no one lifted their heads much. Amycus Carrow established order in his classes as quickly and strictly as possible. Anyone right in his head wouldn’t dare speak unless it was for praise.
“The Muggles, they try to make weapons,” Carrow cautioned, “weapons that can strike down a wizard. That’s why all wizards need to learn to protect themselves, in case one of you is unlucky enough to come face to face with them. Animals, the lot of ‘em.”
A girl in the front row eagerly raised her hand. “Professor, what sort of weapons do the Muggles have?”
“The worst sort. Them Muggles are too dim to try and imitate our magic, so they’ve gone and attacked us in our homes. The filthy beasts are romping around with Muggle-sympathisers, breeding little Mudbloods, and tarnishing our world’s purity. The only way we can preserve our ways of life is to stomp the pests, and re-establish our rule.”
From the corners of his eyes, Zacharias could see certain students start to pale in the face; half-bloods, and terribly out of place in the new Hogwarts, where the administration declared them only half-human. He pitied them, especially during times like these, where every pair of eyes must have been on them.
But as Amycus continued to rant about how all of those of impure ancestry should be wiped off, no one spoke up for the half-bloods, who quietly cowered in their seats.
“It’s no better in our class,” Ernie announced, after the small group gathered together in the safety of the Hufflepuff common room that night. While the underage students were busy scrambling with their schoolwork, Ernie was trying to keep all of them safe; he was definitely the most vocal about everything happening.
Smith already counted fourteen times the seventh year made no attempt at hiding his Head Boy badge.
“I figure this is scaring Hannah and Susan to bits. It’s been hard enough not worrying us sick over Justin, but the Carrows are all but outright ordering the deaths of anyone who can’t at least trace their pureblood ancestry back three generations. They have the Slytherins terrorising anyone who isn’t pure enough.”
Zacharias shifted himself more comfortably into the seat, gripping the book under his fingers. “They already chased the Muggle-borns from the school,” he stated, like it was news to anyone who didn’t have their heads in the dirt in the previous months. “I reckon they’re not going to stop until they only have their select left, don’t you think?”
Eyes widening with eagerness, Ernie leaned forward with a pressing expression on his face. “That’s what I thought. I think we have a duty, to see to it they don’t completely wipe out the school.”
“A duty as what?” Zacharias asked. “Pure-bloods?”
Ernie’s head tilted to the side, looking where Hannah and Susan chatted loudly with Sally-Anne. “As friends, Zacharias. Can you imagine what it would be like, the world You-Know-Who wants to create? It’d be awful, all of it.” His hand brushed the badge on his robes, like a quick reminder of his honour and pride.
The days grew longer, and each was worse than the last. By the end of the week, Ernie returned to the common room with bruises over his eyes, with only Hannah explaining his defence of Justin after Alecto Carrow declared all Muggle-borns to be mentally malformed at birth.
.
Susan praised his act of courage openly, encouraging any Hufflepuff to take a stand for their Muggle-born and half-blood friends. After all, their founder was the one who agreed to teach any student, no matter their heritage. Why should they allow He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to change that?
In heart, Zacharias Smith stood with his fellow housemates. Their House took pride in being the most diverse, and even as a pure-blood, Smith didn’t look on the half-bloods and Muggle-borns as inferior. Susan could send him to the floor with the speed of her wand, and he never once had been able to beat Justin at a game of wizard’s chess.
In mind, he understood when he watched Rose Zeller being harassed by one of the Slytherins. “Must make you feel high and mighty,” he snapped, stepping up to the scene. “Aren’t you people supposed to be subtle?” The Slytherin girl stopped arguing with Rose long enough to give him a glare cold enough to freeze water.
“Should have remembered you always travelled in packs,” she hissed through her teeth. Taking a long moment to look at him, the heated fog in her eyes cleared over in realisation. “You’re Smith, that Quidditch commentator.”
“Can’t see how that’s relevant.”
Keeping her hand on Rose’s arm, the other girl continued in her authoritative attitude. “Your friend was conspiring in the girl’s bathroom,” she announced, face twisting in a sneer. “I’m bringing her to Professor Carrow.”
Slightly confused, Zacharias for the first time glanced over at Rose. The small girl’s knees were shaking; everything from her appearance indicated her pleads for help. Zacharias only knew her as a fan of the Quidditch team the previous year, and while she was terribly annoying, she did call him the best Chaser on the squad. “Conspiring what?”
“I wasn’t doing anything!” protested Rose, twisting her arm out of the girl’s clutch. “Heidi and I were just complaining about our classes, and Greengrass started accusing us of plotting against the professors.” She was on the verge of tears now, and Zacharias didn’t blame her. If she were escorted to the Carrows, she would certainly face a punishment equalled to Ernie’s.
Worse, probably, with her being a half-blood. The Carrows at least held something back on those they considered worthy.
“Why’d you only go after her, Greengrass?” he asked, though an increasing uneasiness festered in his chest.
Rose answered first, slowly stepping away from the two. “Heidi ran away.”
When Greengrass made a try to grab Rose again, Zacharias pushed her away. “It’s only gossip. Not like you and Parkinson never do that. Weren’t you the one who tried to convince everyone Professor Flitwick was actually a gnome? What’d he do, give you a Troll? Have to be pretty terrible to fail Charms.”
With complete shock at his swift action and words, she declared, “You’re not even a prefect. What do you care?”
As the two continued their confrontation, Rose Zeller took the opportunity to break away and dart down the hall. Zacharias couldn’t decide if that was his intention or not; after all, that left him to clean up her mess. Still, it wasn’t a time to look like he didn’t know what he was doing. Not with a student who could report him to the Professors Carrow.
Greengrass seemed more than prepared to do just that. “You’d best keep your nose to yourself, or you’ll be sorry.”
“Aren’t you Death Eaters supposed to be against inter-wizard fighting?” he asked, smugly. In a move as fast as a breath, he found himself looking down the end of her wand. His throat suddenly felt dry, but his hand impulsively withdrew his own wand. When the professors came to clear the fight, they wouldn’t be able to put any blame on him. It was self-defence, he reasoned, and a perfectly good excuse to blast the girl into a wall.
As they faced each other, wands at the ready for a duel, Greengrass was the first to break the strong silence. “You’d better shut your mouth, Zachary Smith,” she warned. “I don’t duel boys unless I’m sure I can hex their bits off.”
He knew getting into a duel was the last thing he should have been doing. Was this how it felt to do the right thing? It was supposed to feel certain, but he couldn’t shake off the fear that it was going to get him in horrific trouble. Still, if this was going to happen, she was going to get his name right.
“My name’s Zacharias, and why should I bother?”
Her hand gripped tighter around the wand, and the fury she was experiencing was so evident that it caused her lip to quiver. He’d struck some sort of nerve. With brows narrowing, she said something he didn’t expect. “Don’t you dare call me a Death Eater.”
--
I apologize for any Americanisms and grammatical errors. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters: Zacharias Smith, Amycus Carrow, Ernie Macmillan, and Daphne Greengrass
Prompt: Who?/what’s his/her name?
Word Count: 1452
Rating: PG13
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 their darkest year, Zacharias Smith struggles between doing what is right, and what is easy.
Chapter Summary: It was their duty to stand up for them. Zacharias learned that it could be more trouble than it’s worth.
Author’s Notes: The first part of the Desertion series, a collection of fics centering on Zacharias’ choice in Deathly Hallows. Also the first in the Bohemian Rhapsody set.
Amycus Carrow’s lopsided mouth screwed into a serious frown, flicking his wand up and down as he paced in front of the room. “You’ve been taught how to try and defend yourselves from the Dark Arts. And what for? Pitting wizards against wizards? No, they’ve been trying to protect you from the greater threat.”
The classroom was deathly quiet, with only the sound of quills scratching paper challenging the Dark Arts professor. Apart from a few passing glances between concerned students, no one lifted their heads much. Amycus Carrow established order in his classes as quickly and strictly as possible. Anyone right in his head wouldn’t dare speak unless it was for praise.
“The Muggles, they try to make weapons,” Carrow cautioned, “weapons that can strike down a wizard. That’s why all wizards need to learn to protect themselves, in case one of you is unlucky enough to come face to face with them. Animals, the lot of ‘em.”
A girl in the front row eagerly raised her hand. “Professor, what sort of weapons do the Muggles have?”
“The worst sort. Them Muggles are too dim to try and imitate our magic, so they’ve gone and attacked us in our homes. The filthy beasts are romping around with Muggle-sympathisers, breeding little Mudbloods, and tarnishing our world’s purity. The only way we can preserve our ways of life is to stomp the pests, and re-establish our rule.”
From the corners of his eyes, Zacharias could see certain students start to pale in the face; half-bloods, and terribly out of place in the new Hogwarts, where the administration declared them only half-human. He pitied them, especially during times like these, where every pair of eyes must have been on them.
But as Amycus continued to rant about how all of those of impure ancestry should be wiped off, no one spoke up for the half-bloods, who quietly cowered in their seats.
“It’s no better in our class,” Ernie announced, after the small group gathered together in the safety of the Hufflepuff common room that night. While the underage students were busy scrambling with their schoolwork, Ernie was trying to keep all of them safe; he was definitely the most vocal about everything happening.
Smith already counted fourteen times the seventh year made no attempt at hiding his Head Boy badge.
“I figure this is scaring Hannah and Susan to bits. It’s been hard enough not worrying us sick over Justin, but the Carrows are all but outright ordering the deaths of anyone who can’t at least trace their pureblood ancestry back three generations. They have the Slytherins terrorising anyone who isn’t pure enough.”
Zacharias shifted himself more comfortably into the seat, gripping the book under his fingers. “They already chased the Muggle-borns from the school,” he stated, like it was news to anyone who didn’t have their heads in the dirt in the previous months. “I reckon they’re not going to stop until they only have their select left, don’t you think?”
Eyes widening with eagerness, Ernie leaned forward with a pressing expression on his face. “That’s what I thought. I think we have a duty, to see to it they don’t completely wipe out the school.”
“A duty as what?” Zacharias asked. “Pure-bloods?”
Ernie’s head tilted to the side, looking where Hannah and Susan chatted loudly with Sally-Anne. “As friends, Zacharias. Can you imagine what it would be like, the world You-Know-Who wants to create? It’d be awful, all of it.” His hand brushed the badge on his robes, like a quick reminder of his honour and pride.
The days grew longer, and each was worse than the last. By the end of the week, Ernie returned to the common room with bruises over his eyes, with only Hannah explaining his defence of Justin after Alecto Carrow declared all Muggle-borns to be mentally malformed at birth.
.
Susan praised his act of courage openly, encouraging any Hufflepuff to take a stand for their Muggle-born and half-blood friends. After all, their founder was the one who agreed to teach any student, no matter their heritage. Why should they allow He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named to change that?
In heart, Zacharias Smith stood with his fellow housemates. Their House took pride in being the most diverse, and even as a pure-blood, Smith didn’t look on the half-bloods and Muggle-borns as inferior. Susan could send him to the floor with the speed of her wand, and he never once had been able to beat Justin at a game of wizard’s chess.
In mind, he understood when he watched Rose Zeller being harassed by one of the Slytherins. “Must make you feel high and mighty,” he snapped, stepping up to the scene. “Aren’t you people supposed to be subtle?” The Slytherin girl stopped arguing with Rose long enough to give him a glare cold enough to freeze water.
“Should have remembered you always travelled in packs,” she hissed through her teeth. Taking a long moment to look at him, the heated fog in her eyes cleared over in realisation. “You’re Smith, that Quidditch commentator.”
“Can’t see how that’s relevant.”
Keeping her hand on Rose’s arm, the other girl continued in her authoritative attitude. “Your friend was conspiring in the girl’s bathroom,” she announced, face twisting in a sneer. “I’m bringing her to Professor Carrow.”
Slightly confused, Zacharias for the first time glanced over at Rose. The small girl’s knees were shaking; everything from her appearance indicated her pleads for help. Zacharias only knew her as a fan of the Quidditch team the previous year, and while she was terribly annoying, she did call him the best Chaser on the squad. “Conspiring what?”
“I wasn’t doing anything!” protested Rose, twisting her arm out of the girl’s clutch. “Heidi and I were just complaining about our classes, and Greengrass started accusing us of plotting against the professors.” She was on the verge of tears now, and Zacharias didn’t blame her. If she were escorted to the Carrows, she would certainly face a punishment equalled to Ernie’s.
Worse, probably, with her being a half-blood. The Carrows at least held something back on those they considered worthy.
“Why’d you only go after her, Greengrass?” he asked, though an increasing uneasiness festered in his chest.
Rose answered first, slowly stepping away from the two. “Heidi ran away.”
When Greengrass made a try to grab Rose again, Zacharias pushed her away. “It’s only gossip. Not like you and Parkinson never do that. Weren’t you the one who tried to convince everyone Professor Flitwick was actually a gnome? What’d he do, give you a Troll? Have to be pretty terrible to fail Charms.”
With complete shock at his swift action and words, she declared, “You’re not even a prefect. What do you care?”
As the two continued their confrontation, Rose Zeller took the opportunity to break away and dart down the hall. Zacharias couldn’t decide if that was his intention or not; after all, that left him to clean up her mess. Still, it wasn’t a time to look like he didn’t know what he was doing. Not with a student who could report him to the Professors Carrow.
Greengrass seemed more than prepared to do just that. “You’d best keep your nose to yourself, or you’ll be sorry.”
“Aren’t you Death Eaters supposed to be against inter-wizard fighting?” he asked, smugly. In a move as fast as a breath, he found himself looking down the end of her wand. His throat suddenly felt dry, but his hand impulsively withdrew his own wand. When the professors came to clear the fight, they wouldn’t be able to put any blame on him. It was self-defence, he reasoned, and a perfectly good excuse to blast the girl into a wall.
As they faced each other, wands at the ready for a duel, Greengrass was the first to break the strong silence. “You’d better shut your mouth, Zachary Smith,” she warned. “I don’t duel boys unless I’m sure I can hex their bits off.”
He knew getting into a duel was the last thing he should have been doing. Was this how it felt to do the right thing? It was supposed to feel certain, but he couldn’t shake off the fear that it was going to get him in horrific trouble. Still, if this was going to happen, she was going to get his name right.
“My name’s Zacharias, and why should I bother?”
Her hand gripped tighter around the wand, and the fury she was experiencing was so evident that it caused her lip to quiver. He’d struck some sort of nerve. With brows narrowing, she said something he didn’t expect. “Don’t you dare call me a Death Eater.”
--
I apologize for any Americanisms and grammatical errors. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.