The Dark Mark (The Girl Who Lived part II)

I Must Not Tell Lies

Umbridge had said that I simply needed to write, "I will not tell lies" until the point had gotten across. But nothing was "simple", at Hogwarts. Dolores Umbridge watched as the words carved themselves into my entire hand, and soon my arm. She stood over me, watching like a hawk. "Again". She instructed, tapping her wand on the desk. This process was repeated over and over again. Each time more painful than the last. The words overlapped on my hand, and eventually traveled down my arms and to my shoulders. One thousand times, I had written this and only when I reached this exact number, did Dolores Umbridge feel as though the point had gotten across.

When she dismissed me, I exited her office, with no hesitation. Time had grown late. It was almost curfew. I crept down the stairs to find Neville and Harry. Neville was had been keeping Harry back as best he could. Neville had Harry's hands secured behind his back. Harry broke free of Neville's grip. He sprinted towards me. I felt my clothes loosening, and my view on everything becoming lower. My hair felt heavier. I was changing back into myself. "Sorry Scarlet. I couldn't keep him from finding out. I tried to distract him, but the only way I could prevent him from going through the office door and exposing you, was to tell him". Neville apologized. He scurried off to his room. "Harry.... I'm sorr-" "Why did you do it? He interrupted. I knew that he'd never agree to me doing this which is why I didn't tell him. "You've been on edge ever since the end of fourth year. And so I just figured that if you went to quidditch tryouts and made the team, that it'd be a good outlet for yo-" He cut me off again. Even though he cut me off at the end of my sentance, I know that he stopped listening at the beginning.

"I didn't ask you to do that! Do you know what she uses for a punishment! She uses a black quill! Just how many times did she make you write it!" He was screaming now. I quivered. Although, he didn't seem to notice. He was in his own world now, and there was no way I'd be able to pull him back into this universe, much less this planet. He momentarily paced back and forth, ran his fingers throuugh his hair, and breathed in so deep that it seemed as though he had sucked in all of the air in this very room. "Harr-" I placed my hand on his arm. He wouldn't so much as let me utter his name. He brushed off my hand like you would a piece of trash. "I can't even look at you right now". I watched as he walked away. His footsteps echoing in the hallway.

I walked down the halls, trying to avoid the prefects who would be patrolling. Everything hurt. Not just externally, but internally as well. I crept past all of the areas that I was sure they would be patrolling. It was the only when I heard that arrogant voice of his, that I stopped in my tracks. I'd been caught. "Nice try, Mrs. Weasley". Draco stepped out of the shadows. So close, but yet so far. I didn't turn to face him, I didn't move at all. "I'm really not in the mood for this". "Mrs. Weasley, is that some attitude I hear? That attitude of yours added with the fact that you're breaking curfew, adds to a whopping fourty points from Gryffindoor". Draco smirked as he took out a pen and a notepad. "I wasn't surprised when I heard from the twins that you were purposefully bullying the first years and abusing your power". "Ooh, is that more attitude I'm hearing?" He flipped the page in the notebook. His hand holding the pen hovering above it as if he were going to write something. "Alright, what do you want?" I finally gave in. At this point, all I wanted to do was go to bed. Draco opened his mouth to speak when Ron interrupted him. He was in the process of eating his midnight snack, so the words he said were muffled.

"What do you want Malfoy? Don't you have some first-year to torment? Speaking of torment, here comes Pansy. I may have told her that you were here". Sure enough, Pansy Parkinson came skipping down the hall. She looked about the same as she did last year, the year before, and the year before that. She always had a scrunched up face and appeared as though she had a problem with everything. "I'll get you back later, Weasley". Draco said, hurrying off to seek shelter from Pansy. She approached us. "If it isn't the Weasleys. Have you seen Draco?" She said this in that condescending tone of hers that she used to everyone but Draco. Her eyes narrowed when they landed on me. "If it isn't Scarlet Weasley. Quite the rule breaker, aren't we? How many house points should I deduct?"

"I'll tell you where Draco went if you don't subtract points from Gryffindoor. Deal?" She wasn't very trustworthy and normally you couldn't make a bargain with her like this and know that she would keep up her end of the deal. But this was one of those times where there was an exception. Draco. "Deal". She shredded the piece of paper from her notepad that she had written on. "He went that way". I pointed down the corridoor. "I saw Harry stomping down the hall earlier. Did something happen?" I didn't care too much to repeat the story, but I knew that after everything was out in the open, would make me feel better. Neville, who was my normal confident, didn't know the entire story and was most likely sleeping at this point. "Yes, actually. I took his place in detention with Umbridge so he could have the opportunity to be on the quidditch team. But I suppose he's rather upset with me right now". "With Umbridge? I heard that detention with her is the worst. What's that writing on your neck?" I flinched when he brushed his fingertips along my neck to move my hair out of the way. "She made me write, "I must not tell lies" a thousand times with the black quill". Ron's eyes widened, knowing what it meant.

He'd known what Harry's detention sessions with Umbridge were like. Harry hadn't told me the truth of it all. "We need to get you to the Hospital Wing". He said this with an urgency. I could tell that he wanted to grab my hand and pull me there. Upon arrival at the hospital wing, Ron handed me a bottle of Murtlap Essence and a large roll of bandages. "This is supposed to help. Harry used it to heal his cuts". I rolled up my right hand sleeve as high as it would go to display the severity of the cuts. "Bloody 'ell, Scarlet". I soaked my hands in the solution of Murtlap Essence. It was the only part of my body that'd be seen. "Ron. Can you do me a favor?" "Anything". He answered. "Don't tell Harry about this". He agreed. I wrapped my hands in the bandages. He escorted me back to the common room. "Thanks Ron". I gave him a piece of candy that I kept in my pocket. I always kept some sort of candy or sweet food around in case I needed to get Ron to do something.

That night, all I dreamed of, was that one sentence. "I must not tell lies" drifting in blank space. It was funny in its own way how ironic it was. Even though those very words were engraved both in my mind and body, I went against them every time I spoke. In order to keep not only myself, but others safe, I must tell lies.