𝕬 𝕯𝖆𝖗𝖐 𝕷𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖎𝖘 𝕭𝖔𝖗𝖓 | 𝑇𝑜𝑚 𝑅𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒 |

Chapter 18- Flesh & Blood

Rodger was apparently more good on his word then Frankie imagined he would be. He had managed to turn a vengeful duel, into a school regulated, first-year club. It was usually watched over by teachers, like Dumbledore and Merrythought and they were taught the fundamentals of wizard dueling. Occasionally the prefects took over for them and helped their houses to practice the techniques. There was still to be a grand tournament style dueling competition on June 1st, but now there was one hundred house points up for grabs and a larger pool of who might win. Most of the first years that had signed up were completely unaware of the ulterior motives of their fellow classmates. The Gryffindors and Slytherins spent most of their free time over the next five months practicing and never dared to miss a club meeting. Although, Rodger was collectively coaching the Gryffindors, he also kept his promise to train Frankie on a more unconventional scale. On several different occasions, he shot various spells and hexes at her in the corridors, expecting her to be able to counter him on a snap. However, when Alice inevitably found out, she put a stop to him. While Rodger insisted it was good for her timing and she'd asked for his help, Alice argued fervently that he was doing more harm than good. His methods had yet to yield satisfactory results, but Frankie might've suspected it was more her fault then Rodger's.

                                            ─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Relax, Frankie—You've been doing excellent so far. It was a lucky shot..."

Sara and Frankie were busy relaxing in the dorms after practice, while the rest had gone off to supper. Frankie was still recovering from extreme embarrassment and, surprisingly, it was not from fumbling a Rodger sneak attack. Quin had knocked her clean off her feet with the Knockback jinx during the most recent dueling club meeting. She quickly scurried back up, but the damage was already done. The Slytherin couldn't help but throw muffled, superior snickers in her direction. Not to mention, Tom had also been nearby to witness her failure. His gaze had been fixed on her, as a successfully Jelly-Legs jinxed Peter lolled helplessly on the ground. He'd seen the whole thing. It had been utterly mortifying.

"That's easy for you to say. You're not being forced to make a fool of yourself." Frankie groaned, sitting down next to her. Sara had gotten out of dueling by simply not signing up for the club. "I don't see why the other girls let you opt out of this mess."

"I don't have a stake in this ordeal." Sara reasoned, with an all-knowing wink. Frankie sighed. "It's not like they've been tormenting me for months."

"Precisely. This is supposed to be my fight—so why is our entire year now caught up in this stupid vendetta against the Slytherin?" Frankie argued, with a frustrated pout. It had been her argument every single day and, at this point, was just a futile statement. No matter what she said, no one would listen to her.

"This isn't just about those girl's petty pranks against you anymore. It's about pride and justice!" Belle shouted, popping up from out of nowhere. Frankie jumped off the bed in surprise and tumbled to the floor, while Sara remained undisturbed by their sudden appearance. The rest of the girls had finally joined them from supper and were now sifting in for the usual homework and chatting. Belle was right in some respect. This had turned into something much bigger than her and Tom. Sure, their friendship had been the kindling that started it, but it wasn't really about them anymore. "They think they're so superior to everybody else just because they're purebloods! You keep up with Tom in practically every single examination and you both hail from the muggle world. But they've labeled you to be a lesser witch just because you're muggleborn and a Gryffindor—all the while he is highly praised—doesn't that infuriate you?"

"They don't even know I'm muggleborn. Heck, I don't even know if I'm muggleborn. I highly doubt that's why they're particularly vicious towards me." Frankie said. She still seemed admittedly on the Slytherin's side, but she would at least confess the truth in the safety of her own mind. It was clear that the Slytherin girls saw her as a lesser being compared to Tom. Not worthy of him. It was an infuriating and demeaning fact that made her very angry, but she wouldn't dare tell that to Belle. "Why is being pureblood so important to the Slytherins anyway?"