(Working Title) Slytherpuff

Chapter 1

Rose strolled down the corridor, head high and unsmiling. Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy were on either side of her. As they walked, they talked about plans for the holidays and their stupid problems. "I can't believe my idiot sister gave the house elf a scarf!" Pansy whined (she whined a lot at the time), and Draco followed up with "My mother and father are making me spend Christmas with Aunt Bellatrix."

"Now, Draco," cut in Rose, "You know that your Aunt Bellatrix is an important and trused servant of the Dark Lord, and you would do well to show some respect." The words left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"That's true, but still-" he was cut off by a shrill scream from what seemed like a floor or two above. Several other students looked up, and Rose's stomach dropped to the floor, in contrast to her heart, which lept high into her throat, even as she forced herself to snicker and sneer and with her classmates. She knew that scream.

They had Olivia.

She took a deep breath to calm herself, managing to pass it off as a content sigh as they kept walking. She had to think of a lie. She had to save Olivia. She turned toward the rest of the group. "I'll meet you in  DA, alright?"

"What's going on?" Pansy asked. "Nothing. Just promised Slughorn I'd meet him in his office. Needs to talk to me about some test or another. I'll only be a minute." And with that, she took off down the corridor, heart pounding wildly in her chest, trying hard not to break into a run.

She wanted nothing more than to go straight to Olivia, especially when another scream pierced the air, making her feel like her heart was being pulled from her chest and threatening to make her cry, but no. She couldn't be that sloppy. She couldn't break her composure, and she couldn't take any chances. A third scream sounded from above.

She reached Slughorn's office just as class was meant to start. Luckily, there were no potions lessons that time of day.

She knocked on his door and he greeted her with a worried smile, for the panic was now clear on her face.

"I need a note and an alibi. Help me out?" "Of course, dear. What did you tell your friends?" She had done this before with most of the sympathetic teachers. They all knew. She related the story about the test, he scribbled something down, then handed her the paper. "Anyone asks, you were here the entire time." "Thanks, professor. Really." And, since the hallways were empty, she allowed herself to run this time.

She got to the unused classroom just as another scream sounded from within. She pulled out her wand, afraid of what she would find inside, and opened the door wearing her best "I would be interested in this if it wasn't so far beneath me" face.

She looked at the crumpled form on the floor. A girl, with short, dark hair, a heart-shaped face, broken glasses laying beside her, and Hufflepuff robes. Upon further inspection- looking as disgusted as she could manage while surveying such a sight-  she saw the girl's wand laying a short way away, and, though the cruciatus curse leaves no marks, she was covered in bruises. She had put up a hell of a fight, it seemed, because her attacker, a seventh year named Vincent Crabbe, was also showing some visible injuries. He was sporting several cuts and bruises, as well as a respectable black eye. This was ecspecially impressive, since the girl on the floor was half his width at her widest, and didn't look all that intimidating, even when healthy.

She gave him a slight smirk as she approached and asked, casually as she could, "Can I help?" He nodded, in that stupid, baffoonish way of is, and Olivia lifted her head at the sound of Rose's voice. She smiled, raising her wand not at Olivia, but at Crabbe. "Stupefy," she said, then, "Obliviate," to wipe the encounter from his mind. But she wasn't cruel. She left everything else.

She sat Olivia up against a wall, whispered some meaningless words of comfort, and went off to find Madam Pomfrey to help her.

She tried the Hospital wing first. She found that she was in luck, because Madam Pomfrey was not only there, she had no patients. That was a rarity then. "Madam, it's Olivia. She's hurt." Rose couldn't have hidden her fear if she tried. Madam Pomfrey was aware of and sympathetic to her cause. "Where is she?" "Fifth floor. Unused classroom. Sixth door on the righthand side. Hurry." Madam Pomfrey rushed out the door, leaving Rose there to sit and worry.