From a Cradle to a Grave

Chapter 15

Happy Halloween!! :)

Hope's Pov

I head down towards the dungeons, and take in a deep breath when I come to a stop in front of the door to the Slytherin Common Room.

"Basilisk," I say the password. The door swings open.

The blast of noise that hits my ears is deafening. I'm met with the sight of the entire Slytherin House, all of whom are screaming, applauding, and whistling.

"You should've told us you'd entered!" Daphne shrieks, shaking me by the shoulders.

"Better you than princess Diggory, looking all high and mighty on his throne-"

"How did you do it without getting a beard? Didn't your idiot brothers end up in the hospital wing for that this morning?"

"Move it!" I snap. "All of you!"

I squeeze my through the crowd, and collapse onto the couch in front of the fireplace. I look around, and see that crates of food and drinks have been brought up from the kitchens. At whose request, I don't know, nor do I care.

I reach forward and grab a bottle of firewhisky. I've had it once before, when Fred and George urged me to try it last year. Our mum exploded after finding out, but the damage had already been done. I couldn't think straight for the next four hours that followed.

Right now, though, that's exactly what I need.

I throw my head back and let the burning liquid flow down into my throat. The loud voices around me turn into nothing but a faint hum. I throw the bottle aside once I finish it, causing it to shatter into a million pieces. People around me jump back in alarm, but soon join back in on the cheering.

'Yes, the first task... The first task is designed to test your daring,' I can hear Crouch talking. 'So we are not going to be telling you what it is. Courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a wizard. Very important.'

"Very important," I mumble, accepting another bottle of firewhisky that is shoved into my hands by some random fifth-year.

"I'm courageous, aren't I?" I slur at the crowd.

I'm met with another deafening roar, and I throw my hands up in the air to bring about more cheering.

"Hope, what are you doing?"

Someone yanks the bottle out of my hand, and I whirl around to try and punch whoever this 'someone' is.

"Malfoy," I snarl. "Give it back!"

I lunge for the bottle, but Draco simply dodges. The alcohol pounding in my ears causes me to lose balance, and I end up toppling onto the floor.

"Move over, Parkinson," I spit. Without waiting for her to respond, I pry her arms off of Draco's shoulder, and sit down next to him. Breathless and hot, I tie my red hair up into a bun, and turn to him.

"Why aren't you cheering for me?" I whine. "Everyone else is."

"Because I don't believe that you put your name in that Goblet," Draco says.

"Gimme!" I complain, making another lunge for the firewhisky bottle.

Draco isn't so lucky in pulling away this time, and I manage to wrestle back the bottle by throwing myself on top of him.

"Weasley, get off of me," Draco says in an irritated tone.

"Why?" I smirk. "You don't mind it when Parkinson does it."

"Trust me, I won't mind if you do it, either, so long as you're in a right state of mind." Draco scowls, trying to push me off of him. "You're drunk, Hope. Drop the firewhisky and go to bed."

"Make me," I dare him. I grab a fistful of his silvery blonde hair and wrench it upwards, forcing him to look at me.

At this, everyone else lets out a series of 'ooh's, and giggle their drunk arses off.

"Shut up, Weasley, you're not the center of the bloody universe, you know," Pansy snarls, finally having stood back up from her fall. She tries to pull me off of Draco, and in return, my werewolf reflexes react so fast that I can't stop what happens before it does.

Pansy lets out a horrible shriek, causing the laughter of the crowd to cease immediately. Draco and I both burst up from my seat to see that Pansy is clutching at her face. Three long claw marks are visible on the side of her cheek.

Oh, god.

"Pansy!" Daphne says, rushing forward and shaking Pansy's shoulders violently.

"Blaise, come help- We need to get her to the infirmary," she says in a desperate voice. Together, she and Blaise help Pansy to her feet, and drag her out the door of the Slytherin Common Room.

Once they leave, all eyes turn to me. I stumble backwards, shielding my eyes with my hands in the fear that they might have turned into golden wolf pupils.

"D-Draco," I stutter, staring at my blood covered hands in horror of what I have done.

Draco immediately stands up, and leads me towards the girls' dormitories. My foot hits the bottom of the winding staircase, and I race upwards, wanting nothing more than to just disappear.

I slam the door to my dormitory shut. With Daphne and Pansy in the infirmary, and Millicent Bulstrode downstairs somewhere, I'm all alone here.

"Vis Sera Portus," I say, chanting the spell that I learned from Professor Mikaelson a few weeks ago. At the same time, I make a fist with my right hand. The door locks itself in place.

I stumble over to the bathroom. My head is pounding, but I don't think that's due to the firewhisky.

I look into the mirror, and see that my eyes are glowing gold. A horrible pain is felt inside of my mouth- I open up my lips to reveal two sets of fangs growing out from my lower jaw.

I let out a shout of fury, and clap a hand over my mouth in alarm when that 'shout' comes out as an animalistic roar.

It's my emotions that are causing this, I'm sure of it. The panicked feelings that are beating inside my heart right now are what's making me lose control over my wolf side.

I press down the urge to release my wolf, and instead choke on my own tears as they cascade down my cheeks. 

What am I? I'm not an ordinary werewolf, I'm not an ordinary witch- hell, I'm not even an ordinary Weasley. The one Slytherin in a family filled with Gryffindors. I'm an outcast even in my own home.

I crawl up into a little ball and begin to cry. The strong wall that I've built up whenever I'm around the Slytherins breaks apart completely, and I'm left as nothing but a vulnerable fourteen year old girl. A girl who needs help, but from whom, I don't know.