I Solemnly Swear: Book 1

Pretty Pink Princes

For the next two weeks, I buried myself within school work, small pranks, and anything that would give me a distraction from thinking about the fact that I was being watched. Watched in the one place that I thought was safe from the horrors of my past life, the only time I couldn't shut my mind off was when I was trying to sleep and I had only been getting about three hours of sleep each night. It didn't help that I didn't have a single soul to talk to about any of this, nobody could know how affiliated I was with the death eaters before escaping; they wouldn't talk to me ever again if I told them so I just dealt with the stress and paranoia on my own. I would be nothing but a monster in all of my friends' eyes even though I had tried fleeing and hiding with all that I had.

I dragged myself out of bed, having lain there staring at the ceiling for far too much time. I stumbled into the bathroom, my headache from lack of sleep making me stumble slightly into the sink. I looked at myself in the mirror and realized I was slowly starting to look like the mess I had been when I had first left that ruddy horror house. My blue eyes had faded to an almost grey color, the dark bags that they carried beneath them not helping in the slightest. My dark blonde hair looked ratty and my face seemed to be set in a permanent grimace.

After finishing up getting ready for the day and not looking much better than when I had first gotten out of bed, I walked down the stairs towards the common room. Nobody was around except for a few seventh years that had fallen asleep over their books and were snoring softly as I rushed quietly past, being careful not to wake them.

I took my time, walking leisurely down the corridors, making my way down to breakfast earlier than most other students do. Having not paid attention because of the beautiful portraits that I focused on as I walked, I felt myself thrown to the ground harshly.

'The ground and I might as well make ourselves best friends with the amount of time I spend slumped on my arse,' I thought bitterly.

I looked up to see Rosier, Mulciber, and Rookwood looking down at me with disgusted sneers, I could see the evil excitement within their eyes though and that was what frightened me.

"Looks as if the filth found its way to the ground, didn't it?" Rosier commented snidely, the others laughed at me.

I scrambled for my wand and held it out in front of me as I tried to get up, only to be pushed back down again.

I glared from my point on the ground, still pointing my wand towards the group, "What do you want?"

Mulciber laughed, but it was nowhere near genuine, "We want the scum to know their place, you shouldn't be messing with us Slytherins. We will cause pain to those who come for us."

He seemed to be rather proud of the statement he made, it probably took him hours to think that one up. I guffawed, "Are you talking about Snivellus? Wow, I wouldn't have expected him to send a bunch of goons who only share about two brain cells collectively, I'm rather unimpressed."

The smirks disappeared from their faces and they raised their wands towards my face, I scrambled backward and stood up with my back against the wall.

Trying to take them by surprise I shouted out the first spell that came to mind, "Déversement de Peinture rose!" I had read it in a book and couldn't even remember what the outcome of the spell was.

I watched in startled amusement as the boys became absolutely covered in pink paint, completely drenched from head to toe looking as if they had just been turned into bubblegum. They jumped and yelled, frantically wiping at their eyes, only causing some of the paint to go into their mouths, increasing the loudness of their shrieking.

Rosier had regained enough sight to begin to raise his wand so I said another spell from that book, hoping for an equally comical outcome.

"Bombe à paillettes!" Glitter burst from my wand, making the boys look like shiny pink blobs.

I let out a surprised laugh and ran down the hallway as their vision was yet again impaired by the glitter encasing them. I turned the corner to see James and Sirius leisurely walking down the hallway, they looked up in surprise at my hurried running.

"Hey Cas, why do you look like you just ran a mara-" Sirius was cut off as I dragged him and James over to show them the pretty pink princes.

They were all still huddled in a group trying to get the glittery goop off but it just kept reappearing as they wiped it off causing them to let out indignant huffs. Sirius and James immediately began laughing, Sirius' laugh came out in loud barking huffs as he tried to muffle his laughter.

"That's bloody hysterical, where'd you come up with that one?" Sirius looked at me inquiringly.

I shook my head, "This book in the library, I didn't even know what the spells were going to do."

"What in heaven's name? What happened here?" I heard a familiar stern voice say from down the corridor.

James looked at me with wide eyes, "Run."

We all ran like bats out of hell down corridor after corridor, not wanting to suffer McGonagall's wrath. We finally stumbled into the Great Hall, completely out of breath and panting heavily as we sat down at the table. I began to slowly put food on my plate, hoping we weren't seen.

However, only five minutes into eating I heard a distinct "Uhem" from behind me, James, and Sirius' bench. I froze, not wanting to get yet another detention from McGonagall.

"Do you happen to know about the... commotion from down in the transfiguration corridor?" She looked between the three of us.

"How would they know when they've been sitting with us for the past hour?" Marlene said this with wide innocent eyes, discreetly giving us a wink when McGonagall diverted her gaze from her. Lily raised an eyebrow as Remus turned to McGonagall as well.

"They've come down from the common room to breakfast with us," he gave her a confused expression, "we don't know what you're talking about."

She looked at all of us with unbelieving eyes, "Fine. Seems as if you wouldn't possibly know what I'm talking about." She surveyed us again before walking away with a huff distinctly sounding like "Ruddy marauders."

I watched as three sullen boys stained the color of cotton candy with their hair and uniforms glittering rather obnoxiously. I was unable to contain my laugh as I looked at them and sent them a rather rude gesture while keeping a pleasant smile on my face. They glared at me and stalked to their table amongst snickering, Sirius snorted beside me.

"That'll teach them to try and mess with you again, you're quite the vicious one." Sirius winked at me.

I laughed, "If you call vicious turning boys into cotton candy then I guess so." James laughed beside me.

"Their faces, their faces!"

I shook my head and turned to Marlene and Remus, "Thank you Marls and Rem, you really saved us there."

Marlene was laughing at the sight of the Slytherins, knowing that I had done it. Remus just gave me a pleasant smile before wolfing down some more of his breakfast, for someone so skinny that boy should sure eat.

The rest day passed quickly and I was walking up to the common room when I saw someone walk by, seeming as if they were unwell or inebriated by their slow stumbling gait. Curiously, I followed discerning that it was Professor Paterson by his long scarf trailing beside him. He stumbled down corridor after corridor before abruptly disappearing from my line of sight, I ran down the hallway and looked in both directions cautiously. I saw the glint of pale blonde hair hiding within the shadows of the dark corridor and an unsettling voice as the Professor stood in the hallway, clearly stopped by the person down it. Paterson stood stock still, seeming incapable of moving and as if he were some remote-controlled robot. The ominous and unsettling feeling I felt would haunt me for nights to come as the person with the dark black hood and pale blonde hair whispered with an unnerving tone of shaky pride.

"Imperio."