Pragma // s.b.

28

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The sound of our feet pounding against the stone floor filled the corridor. Concerned faces of students whirred past, but I didn't given them a second glance. My heart thundered against my ribcage. I had no idea where we were going, but that didn't stop me from taring down the hall, a few inches behind Maggie. A stitch was forming under my ribcage, but I ignored it. We were nearing the section of the castle closest to the Slytherin common room and I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

    We rounded a corner and my eyes fell upon a large group of students, mostly Hufflepuffs and Slytherins, gathered in a large clump. "Move!", Liv shoved a burly Slytherin boy out of our way. I don't think I could have done anything to prepare myself for what I saw next. Lewis lay crumpled on the ground, almost unrecognizable. Hovering above him was Severus Snape, Charles Avery, and one more Slytherin who looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on where I had seen him before.

Amber was down on the ground beside Lewis, her body shielding his. Above her, stood Tanner. His usual goofy grin far gone, a snarl in its usual place. "What the hell is going on here?", I pushed my way to the center of the circle, all eyes on me now. "We were just having a little fun, that's all", Avery smirked, tucking his short black wand back into his pocket. This wasn't the first time we had rescued Lewis from the Slytherins, but as I heard the slight whimpers coming from the bloodied mass on the ground, I knew they had taken it too far this time.

I scanned the area. I knew the rest of the Hufflepuffs were waiting for me to say something, to tell them what to do. I always knew what to do in these situations, always had the right ways to stop it, but this time, my mind was blank. I closed my eyes for a split second and forced myself to get it together. This was not about me right now, Lewis needed help and I needed to be the level and clear headed in order to help him.

My eyes snapped open and I knelt down next to Amber. "Did you see what happened?", I said with gently, but with a commanding tone. Snape, Avery, and the other boy turned towards the other Slytherin bystanders and began to continue their conversation as if nothing had happened. They laughed and chatted casually, as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on at all. Anger burned inside me, but I couldn't let it take control of me right now, Lewis needed help. Amber nodded, tears glistening in her wide eyes.

"They were teasing him and then they started jinxing him", he voice shook, "And...some of the jinxes mixed and he...", she looked down at him. "Okay", I cut her off, she didn't need to say anything else, in fact I don't think she could have even if she tried. The sight of Lewis' face made was truly sickening. Tentacles sprouted out from all over, and his lips were swollen to the size of grapefruits. Blood trickled from a deep slash across his cheek, and thick black lines were forming around his eyes.

I swiftly got back to my feet and wheeled around so I was facing two of Tanner's friends who were glowering at the nearby Slytherins. "Keegan, John", I walked over, pulling at their robes to get their attention, "Carry Lewis to the hospital wing". They nodded and moved quickly, John reaching gingerly under Lewis' limp arms and Keegan grabbing cautiously under his legs. "Amber, go with them and tell Madame Juliana what happened, okay?". She looked white as a ghost, but nodded and followed them down the hall.

I rubbed my temples. Everyone around was silent, except of course, the three boys who had mercilessly attacked Lewis. "Did you see the look on his fat face?", the third Slytherin smirked. Tanner made a move towards him, but I caught the back of his robes. He turned to me, his eyes blazing. "Briony, let me at them", he said through gritted teeth. There was nothing I wanted more than to let Tanner punch them all until they felt just a fraction of the pain and embarrassment that they had caused Lewis, hell I wanted to do it myself. However, the little bit of rationality left in me knew that that wasn't the best choice.

"No", I whispered, "That would make you just as bad as them". I loosed my grip, the fist full of robes falling slightly out of my hand. I felt his back muscles tense against my hand, then slowly relaxed. "Come on, let's go", I gestured to the rest of the Hufflepuffs gathered around, "Let's wait in the hospital wing until Lewis wakes up". Slowly, the group began to leave, all visibly shaken. Maggie and Olivia clung to each other as they moved down the hall and out of sight.

Tanner reached out and took my hand, "Thank you, Briony". I nodded slightly. I felt weak now. The rush of adrenaline that had pumped through my veins as I rushed to Lewis' aid was gone, and I quite honestly just wanted to collapse. We were about to follow the almost gone group of Hufflepuffs, when the voice of Severus Snape rang out down the hall.

"Carter thinks she's the little hero doesn't she?", he snorted, the Slytherins around him laughing loudly. I clenched my fist, my nails digging into the skin of my palm, creating half moon indents. "Ignore him, Bri. Come on, they'll be waiting for you", Tanner said. I narrowed my eyes, but bit my lip stubbornly. I would not give them the satisfaction of knowing they were getting to me. I made another move to walk away, but the familiar looking boy stepped closer to me.

His hair was short and slicked back, his eyes a dark brown. They looked as if they held a million secrets. "Tell my brother I say hi", he said, reaching forward and tucking a stray piece of hair that had fallen out of my braid out of my face. Tanner was a few steps ahead of me, but had also stopped and was watching tensely. "What the hell are you talking about?", I scoffed, shaking my head so the hair fell back where it was before.

The boy looked at me and his hollow cheeks formed a smile. "Oh, of course, I forgot", he let out smoothy. Why did he look so familiar to me? I knew I had seen that smirk before. "Forgot what?", I snapped. He began to slowly retreat backwards toward the group of waiting Slytherins and, with a glint in his eyes, let out, "That even you realized how much of a disappointment Sirius is".