Fate Set Right

Chapter 60

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September 1, 1997

"A word," her father said, and she nodded, rising from the Gryffindor table to follow him out. They stood just outside the doors, away from view, and he gently cupped her face in his hands, raising her head ever so slightly. "Who did this to you?"

"A Death Eater," she replied. "On the train."

"And how did you earn this?"

"Called him stupid."

He stared at her for the longest time, expressionless, a dark glint to his eye. "Good," he said with a smug little smirk. "In front of whom?"

Aurora shrugged, chewing her lip a moment as she thought about it. "It was in the corridor, but I guess mostly Gryffindors, probably some Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. I can't be sure, to be honest. I was mostly trying to avoid eye contact."

"Probably for the best. Be wary, those who saw you may start to question what's going on here. In reality, I would prefer it."

"What about—?"

"Leave them to me," he cautioned, glancing over her shoulder.

"Is one already starting trouble, Headmaster?" an irritating female voice asked, and Aurora looked over her shoulder to see the two Death Eater professors watching them with sadistic glee, caressing their wands. "Shall we assist in her punishment?"

"Lay a finger on her and I will demonstrate a spell on you that I created when I was her age. One that impressed the Dark Lord with the amount of blood shed by a single casting." He then turned to Aurora. "I will deal with the fool who hurt you, and I will ensure they suffer."

"Thank you, father," Aurora said with an affected voice, bowing her head. "May I retire, now? I'm exhausted from the journey, and I believe I should ward my bed this evening."

"You may," he said with a tilt of his head.

For good measure, she turned to the Death Eaters. "Professors."

She was a little way past when she heard the wizard ask, "Shouldn't she show you more respect? And us, for that matter. Bit insolent, she is."

"My daughter may address you however she pleases, the fact that she showed you any respect is her own choice. The same will go with my son, and if I hear from either of them that you've caused them any sort of distress, I will have you removed from this school and our Lord's favor so fast, you'd wonder if you'd ever had it in the first place. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Headmaster," they said in unison.

She bowed her head to the Fat Lady, who eyed her warily but let her in. Aurora didn't wait for anyone to show up, she simply went up to the dormitory to her bed. Sitting on the pillow was a jar of bruise salve, and she smiled before picking it up and carefully applying it to her face.

Ginny came up not long after, as did Romilda and the other girls. She was pierced by Romilda's cold stare that spoke of retribution. But Ginny waved her wand at her bed and it doubled in size.

"If you think I'm letting you sleep alone tonight, you're out of your mind," Ginny asserted. "Can't trust they won't hex you in your sleep."

"I was going to put up wards."

"Yeah, good idea, let's do that, too."

"You trust that bitch?" Romilda sneered. "A murderer's daughter?"

"Were you there?" Ginny asked. "Did you see him do it?" There was only silence. "Well then, guess we don't know what really happened."

Aurora wasn't sure it was a good idea for Ginny to so obviously side with her, but she wasn't going to argue against the added safety measure. They climbed into bed, and despite what Aurora had told her father, she wasn't tired, not really. Her mind was racing, wondering if she was playing the game right, if it was possible to appear on one side when it mattered, yet let her true allegiance show to everyone else. She only had to play this game for another two months, but it was a dangerous one, and she was terrified of losing.