A Second Chance (Harry Potter)

Chapter 27

Umbridge let out a high pitched squeak, her beady eyes widened, as Valerie took a menacing step closer, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"Well, well, well," purred Valerie. "Someone's using dark magic to punish their students," she said, her lips forcing into a twisted grin.

"And you'd know all about that, wouldn't you, Your Majesty," Harry spat rudely, "About using dark magic to punish people?" he interrupted.

Valerie turned to him dramatically. "Wonder what that's supposed to mean, Potter," she said softly.

"Oh, don't act like you don't know," Harry said sarcastically. "We both know you used dark magic to punish Parkinson on the Hogwarts Express," he blurted accusingly. "Don't even try to deny it."

Valerie's eyes glittered maliciously. "So Potter thinks he knows all about magic now," she sighed boredly, looking back at Umbridge.

"Don't try changing the subject," Harry ordered. "Admit it."

Valerie chuckled slightly, turning to face Harry completely. "And then what?" she retorted. "Going to tell dear old Dumbledore that your Queen used dark magic?"

Harry stared blatantly, his mouth open.

"And then what? You and I both know that I can finish Dumbledore with a single wave of my hand. I am Lord Voldemort's daughter," she said, the edges of her lips turning up.

At the mention of his name, Umbridge gave a terrified squeak, which Valerie ignored.

"And you're a monster," Harry said maliciously. "You're no different from him."

Although she didn't show it, Harry's words got to her. She bore no visible change in expression, and knew that if she fell prey to Harry's trap, she'd only prove him correct.

Instead, she fixed her attention on Umbridge, twirling the blood quill between her fingers.

 "Potter shall be excused from detention with you," she stated. "And, as your punishment," she looked around the office. "You shall do lines for me," she gave a fake smile, handing Umbridge the blood quill. 

"Write, 'I must learn to respect my queen and follow her rules,' as many times as it takes for the message to 'sink in'," she smirked.

"Oh, and one more thing," she remembered, lifting her hand up. "Accio blood quills."

All at once, all the blood quills around the room flew to Valerie's hands, from the drawers, and cupboards as well. With a wave of her palm, they turned to dust, falling to the floor.

"Let that be a lesson to you," she said softly. "I shall be back in an hour to see your lines." She sighed. "By the way, Potter is excused from detention with you."

With that, she walked out the room, waving her arm in Harry's direction, causing him to follow her out the door.

On reaching an abandoned corridor, she folded her arms and turned to face him.

"Potter, you clearly don't know how to treat your queen," she sassed. "I wonder why your parents never taught you to respect your superiors," she mocked. "Oh wait, how rude of me to forget... They're dead."

"Aren't you forgetting that your father murdered them?" he snapped, taking a dangerous step towards her, looking her dead in the eye.

Valerie inwardly cringed. She hadn't forgotten. She just wanted to get back at Harry for saying hateful things about her. And now she didn't know what to say.

Her lips parted in shock, and she found Harry's piercing gaze overwhelming her senses.

Valerie closed her mouth, licking her lips and taking a deep breath, her eyes fluttering shut for a second, trying to brace herself. Harry's tall frame towered over her, and he was too close to her for her liking. Her brand burned, wanting to let loose and become The Regina, and it took everything in her not to give into that urge.

Harry didn't seem to realize he was affecting her; every step he took towards her intensified the burning the mark on her back. His eyes were instead focused on her face, and he stood frozen, all of a sudden noticing on how utterly flawless she was.

Of course he knew she was beautiful from the moment he first saw her, but that moment just intensified her surreal beauty. He took note of how her pretty face was sculpted into perfection, how her high cheekbones accentuated her sharp jawline, how her light pink lips contrasted against her pale skin, and how her eyes blazed with impassioned emotion.

She was gorgeous.

Remembering that they were in the middle of an argument, Harry took another step closer to her, not noticing her intake of breath, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Well?" he pressed, waiting for an answer, his voice dropped to a much lower tone.

Valerie didn't know what to say. Her fists were clenched, and she was holding tight onto her scepter, and she found it grueling to give him an answer or comeback.

He was only a few inches apart from her, and she was unable to move or pull back, as she caught a whiff of his misty cologne and the overpowering scent of treacle tart.

Finally, she opened her mouth.

"I-" she breathed. "I'm sorry," she muttered whisperingly, barely audible, apologizing sincerely for the first time in her life.

Harry let out a soft gasp, expecting anything but an apology from her. If it weren't for the fact that they were the only two people in the corridor, he wouldn't had believed it came from her.

He looked into her eyes for any trace of a joke.

Nothing.

Her eyes were wide, and scared, even though they were threatening and cold when you looked at them from afar. And as he stared into her dark eyes, he realized something–

Just like him, she would be forced to choose between her kingdom and her family in the inevitable war to come.

Just like him, she had no choice.

Just like him, she was forced into this life.

Just like him, she was lost.

A/N: Hey everyone, long time since I've updated.

I had writer's block with this story, and lost my planning notebook a while back.

But I finally found it, and I'm going to try and make this a worthwhile read for you. Please do comment, and vote, and please, please share it.

Your comments are the only thing that keeps me going.

Love, Riven.