The Fearsome Name of Riddle

Cruel Courtyard

Long Summer days breed irritable minds, and irritable minds needed entertainment. Unfortunately for the younger students, Tom Riddle's gang of followers and thugs found a lot of fun in picking fights they knew they could win. Pomona Sprout was all too aware of their pack-like mentality, so much so that she often hid in the greenhouses pretending to help out with the plants just to keep herself out of the way. If she was honest with herself, she quite enjoyed the extra hours in herbology, it was quiet and the plants were always a surprise, never quite behaving in the same way. She was on her way to greenhouse two when her plan of staying invisible was interrupted.

The cold blue eyes of Slytherin's favourite rich arsehole smirked at her from her seat on the stone wall of the courtyard. Her long platinum blonde hair was pulled back into a perfect ponytail. It was eerily straight, not like Pomona's which was a mousey brown and so curly it was permanently frizzy. She was sure she could notice the straightening potion Poppy had told her about. Everything about the pureblood heirs was pretend according to Poppy and Pomona tended to trust her. 

"Pomona," Victoria called out to her after their eyes met. 

It was her name that surprised the fourth year Hufflepuff the most. She had expected a 'hey' or an 'Oi you' but she hadn't known that Victoria Malfoy had bothered to learn her name. And her first name at that, some of them even called each other by their last names. 

"Don't look so frightened," the Slytherin girl said softly, leaning forward in her perch as she beckoned Pomona over. "I'm not going to hurt you." 

The boys around her snickered, covering their faces with their hands. Pomona could feel her heart beating faster and she struggled to keep her chest from rising and falling at a noticeable rate. Her feet shuffled as she debated turning on heels and running before Victoria could pull out her wand. The courtyard was wide and the Slytherins were on the other side of it. She had a good chance. 

"This is just cruel." The tall boy with black curly hair laughed quietly as he stood behind Victoria. Obsidian Lestrange stood as her cheerleader as usual. 

"Don't run," Victoria said as she hopped off of the wall, watching Pomona take careful steps back. She drew her wand and Pomona went to sprint but without a word, Pomona was wrapped in a rope and dragged dangerously close to Victoria. "I just want some help, you want to be helpful, right? I thought Hufflepuffs were supposed to be helpful." 

Pomona whimpered as tears welled in her eyes. She couldn't move. The rope twisted around her like a python, squeezing painfully with every twist of Victoria's wand. She was just prey to them. Something to laugh at while she cried. 

Suddenly, Obsidian was at Victoria's side, wand out and blocking an explosive spell fired at her head. 

"That is enough of that." A sharp Scottish accent turned their heads, Minerva Mcgonagall stood strong with her wand drawn across the courtyard. 

"And where did you come from?" Victoria tilted her head as she turned her attention to the Head Girl, leaving the Hufflepuff to scramble to a safer distance. "You always seem to just appear out of nowhere." 

"Well, I like to make a point of keeping my classmates safe." Minerva clutched her wand in her fingers as she kept an eye on the other Slytherin's around Victoria. They were all good students. They would know curses she'd never heard of but she'd started this, she would defend herself and Pomona for as long as she needed to. "And you better believe that I will always be there to stop you." 

"Always?" Victoria almost laughed, a half sort of scoff that let on just how arrogant she was. "You've not got long left here, are you going to come and watch us after you leave, Minnie? Not very ethical." 

"She doesn't need to." 

Two girls in Ravenclaw uniforms came to join Minerva on either side of her. One had a single blonde braid and shorter curls around her face, Poppy Pomfrey, and the other had shorter, dark brown hair and dark eyes, Zelda Raywood, Victoria recognised her from their charms class. Powerful enough but with the rest of the knights behind her, Victoria wasn't worried. 

"Should we duel, Minnie?" Victoria asked, twirling her wand through her fingers as she stepped past Obsidian. "Should we settle this with a little bit of class or are we going to blow up the courtyard?" 

"If you'll play by the rules," Minerva agreed, stepping out into the open. 

Obsidian and the two Ravenclaw girls stepped away from them, giving them the space that they needed. Both women held their wands stretched out in front of them, neither bowing as the rest watched for the first cast. 

Victoria fired first, "Confringo." A slash of fire exploded from the tip of her wand. Minerva cast a shield just in time to knock it to the side of her. Victoria wasn't planning on holding back. 

Bursts of red light flashed out of Minerva's wand. Each blast deflected with less precision than the last until the last one left a red mark on the side of Victoria's face. She had hoped to scare Victoria off. Stand up in the face of a bully and call her bluff. But Victoria saw red. She started to fire out hexes and curses, knocking Minerva back a few steps as she tried to defend herself. 

"Victoria." A warning shout came from the wall but she wasn't listening. 

Minerva darted to the side and shot fire towards her opponent. She took her eyes off Victoria for a second to make sure she wouldn't hit anyone else with her next shot but that wasn't something Victoria cared about. She lunged forward, pointing her wand with a purpose. 

"Crucio!" She shouted and a crackle of red lightning shot across the courtyard and struck deep into Minerva's muscle. 

The Head Girl seethed in pain as she collapsed onto the ground. Her body writhed for only a few moments as Victoria let go of her curse almost instantly, too shocked at what she had cast. Her hands were shaking and the panic was setting in. An unforgivable curse in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by witnesses. She would go to prison. Was this even something she could talk her way out of? But if her fate was certain and she would spend years losing her mind with the dementors, then she should at least go with no regrets. Victoria lifted her wand from where it had dropped, her hand shaking as she pointed it back at Minerva McGonagall.