Chapter 7

It was evening when Mosukuwa finally woke from the stunning spell. Dumbledore and Snape were summoned up by Pomphrey towards the end of dinner, and by the time they arrived, the girl was sitting up in bed, hands cupped in her lap. The plate set out before was now empty, with the only evidence being some red smeared at the corner of her top lip, though that could have easily been confused with lipstick.

Poppy sat in a chair on her bedside, placing a damp cloth in her hands, whispering softly to the seventh year. Mosukuwa gripped the fabric between her fingers before raising it up and began to wipe at her face. She looked up when the door slammed shut behind the two professors.

If they hadn't known the situation, one would assume she had been the victim of an attack and not the other way around. Her skin was pale, the eye makeup that she was currently attempting to clean up was smudged, blending with the dark rings under her eyes. She'd been crying, a few black lines down her cheeks.

Poppy stood as they came up and gave Mosukuwa's hand a warm pat before disposing of the empty plate. Albus took the now vacant chair while Severus continued standing, arms crossed, hands invisible beneath the sides of his robes.

"Are you expelling me?" Mosukuwa asked before Albus could speak, her voice quiet, rough, and scratchy. Painful.

Severus glanced over at Albus, waiting for his answer as well, though he already knew what it would be deep down.

Albus sighed. "No."

Severus's jaw tightened, his teeth grinding together in aggravation to keep from shouting at the old fool. So typical, what had he expected?

"We'll discuss a punishment later," Albus resumed, seeing Mosukuwa's shocked expression. "But for now, why don't you tell me what caused all this. According to Madam Pomphrey, you somehow magically drained yourself."

Mosukuwa stayed quiet, visibly hesitating. Her mouth opened, then shut again, looking down at her lap.

"Any day now would be nice," Severus hissed, causing Albus to look over at him scoldingly and Mosukuwa to cringe a bit.

"I-I'm not completely sure, Headmaster," Mosukuwa sputtered out. "I remember...pain. A lot of pain. Then nothing. When I woke next, I was being carried by the redhead, then..."

She trailed off, then whispered. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean-" She shook her head, looking up at the two men again, concern swimming clearly in her eyes. "Is Ha-Potter okay? And his friends?"

"They are fine," Albus reassured the girl. "Mr. Weasley was attempting to swallow a chicken wing whole from the looks of it as we were leaving the dining hall." He chuckled. "I guess I will have to ask them for the rest of the story."

Albus sounded reluctant towards the end at the idea of even speaking with Potter, and Severus didn't see what the man's endgame was here. He'd been avoiding Potter like he had a case of Dragon Pox, but no matter how many times the Potions master inquired about it, he was waved off as usual.

"Potter seemed very concerned for you," Severus said. "You're close?"

Suka blinked up at him, not knowing how to respond to that. With all the sneaking around, she assumed that Potter didn't want their associations to be known by others, especially not their chamber adventure.

She didn't know what Harry had told them. The last thing they needed was for Suka to say something that would be contradicting. Though, would that matter now? The boy would no doubt be steering clear of her now. She wouldn't blame him if he did. She'd attacked him and his friends, and she'd proven to be a threat to them.

But with seeing the expectant looks of the two professors, Suka knew that she couldn't get away with not answering.

"We're not," she finally said slowly. "We met a few weeks ago. He was having a panic attack of sorts in one of the classrooms, and I helped him out. Hide used to deal with my panic attacks when I was younger, so I just did what he always had."

She sighed and wiped at her face with the now semi-dry cloth. "I'm assuming it was Potter that found me?"

Severus made a scoffing sound. "That seems to be the story they are going with."

The other two ignored him as Poppy returned, handing Suka a glass of water, which she gladly accepted. "I want you to stay overnight, and probably the rest of tomorrow, to make sure everything is in order," the caretaker said to the trio.

Suka nodded. She didn't want to be around anyone anyways, much less her housemates.

"The other professors will be informed, and I'm sure one of your classmates would be happy to bring any work you may miss," Albus said.

The Headmaster rose to his feet, stating that they'll continue their conversation tomorrow. He left, and Severus was about to follow when he was stopped by a hand gripping onto the sleeves of his robes. The professor stiffened, head whipping around to glare at hand holding him, traveling up the arm to the girl attached to it. However, this didn't seem to affect the girl beyond her flinching slightly, leaning back a bit, but her hand remained where it was. If anything, her grip tightened.

Her brown eyes were tired but held a look of determination and pleading. It made Severus want to rip his arm from her grip because, along with those emotions, Severus saw understanding. As if she knew her deep-rooted reasons behind the hostility he presented, his coldness, and for some reason, understood.

"I really am sorry," she said, almost too quiet for him to hear. "I said in the beginning that I wouldn't cause any issues, but here we are...I didn't mean for any of this. I really tried to stop myself. Just...could you please tell Potter that? His friends too."

Fingers trembled as they let go of his robes, and Mosukuwa leaned back completely, resting back against the pillows. That seemed to be everything she wanted to say, though why she wanted Severus to relay her apologies to the Gryffindor brats was bafflingly unknown to the potions master. His dislike for the boy and his crowd was well known among anyone who'd been in Hogwarts since the boy's first year.

Why not Albus? Or even Poppy? Perhaps Albus's avoidance of Potter wasn't as discreet as Albus played to be. Severus shook his head, bringing himself out of his thoughts. He said goodbye to Poppy as he took his leave, feeling the ghoul's eyes following him as he went.

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"Are you positive that you're alright?" Terence asked for what seemed like the tenth time that afternoon. Suka would have found it amusing if it weren't a bit annoying.

"I'm fine," she stressed. "I just pushed myself too hard, and it affected my body. Madam Pomphrey said I should be out my dinner."

Suka looked down at her lap with the copied-down notes and instructions for the new potions essay. She hadn't missed much, as expected, with only missing a day, and Terence had arrived to visit her during one of his free periods. He had Draco Malfoy in tow, who was sitting in the chair on her right side, looking a bit uncomfortable.

Madam Pomphrey had moved her to the main hospital ward when she was up to it late that morning; it was early afternoon now.

Suka's lips quirked upwards as she read over the potions instructions. Clearly, this was Professor Snape's way of letting off steam; by inconveniencing his students. They had just turned in the last essay a couple days ago. Typically, the Slytherins weren't caught in the crossfire of the man's temper, all due to his favoritism of the snake house, but she was his target at the moment.

According to Terence, her essay required a few more inches than the rest, but she didn't let it bother her. It was better than being expelled. She had gotten away with only having to attend 3 days of detentions; she would be informed about what teacher would be supervising her when she returned to classes. And the Headmaster had left the decision of telling Hide about the incident up to her. Madam Pomphrey had said that the old man had a thing for second chances.

"How did you manage to even get to that point?" Terence asked on her left side. He reached up to her face, his thumb skimming the rings under her eyes. They weren't as bad as they had been, primarily due to the effects of the dreamless sleep potion, which she was highly grateful for. But, knowing her, with her head riddled with guilt, she'd be subjected to nightmares.

Suka blinked over at Terence, stopping herself from flinching away from the sudden contact. Instead, she smoothly reached up to grip his hand, lowering it. She shrugged. "This is a magic castle. I probably just got into something I shouldn't have."

That was an understatement.

Terence nodded, not prying for more, thankfully. The seventh-year male, sensing the tension coming off the girl before him in waves, started to tell her a story of how he and some of the other Slytherins had run into issues with the castles as well when they were first years.

He spoke enthusiastically, his hands moving rapidly as he spoke, smiling as his rambling seemed to work to keep Suka's mind off whatever was plaguing it. Instead, her entire focus was on him, smiling and laughing at his antics.

Draco was still seated silently, watching the two interact curiously when Madam Pomphrey came out, stating that their visitation would need to end soon as she wanted Suka to rest more before she was released. It was when she left back to her office that Draco finally spoke.

"Was Potter the one that found you?" The blonde inquired quietly.

Suka and Terence looked over at him, and Suka's heart raced. Had the blonde been a witness to the attack? Had Harry told people? No...if that were the case, Terence would know and would undoubtfully have said something about it. Or not even bother to visit her in the first place.

"Potter ran off with Weasel and Granger before Transfiguration. He mentioned your name," Draco continued, gray eyes narrowing.

"What would the Golden Boy care about Suka for?" Terence asked, his eyebrows furrowing, his gaze switching back and forth between Suka and Draco.

"We spoke a bit when he came to the common room the other day," Suka answered, trying to sound casual and dismissive. "He seemed nice enough. As for him being the one who found me, I'm not sure. Snape was the one that brought me in."

Draco seemed to bristly at the Slytherin girl speaking anything remotely decent about the Gryffindor. "He's an attention-seeking prat, is what he is," he sneered.

Terence sighed. "Draco..."

"What? It's true."

"Well, you two do have history. Maybe you only see one side because you don't like him," Suka said with a huff. "Look, I'm not about to be an asshole to someone I have no issues with. That's not how I deal with people."

That might be ultimately out the window now, Suka thought.

She watched as a red tint formed on Draco's face as if no one had ever dared to argue back with him before, especially another Slytherin. From what Suka had seen, Draco seemed to have put himself upon a pedestal of the sort of "prince" of Slytherin's house. Very few spoke against him, even among the upper years. All because of his father.

But all Suka saw sitting beside her was a spoiled brat who was so used to getting his way and didn't know how to handle anything other than that. A smirk threatened to form on her lips, but Draco already looked like he wanted to throw a punch. She wondered if the boy could actually be pushed that far.

But Draco took a deep breath, seeking to calm himself down, before speaking again deliberately as if he were talking to a young child who wasn't able to comprehend things easily.

"Look, I get it. But you're new here, so you don't understand the way things work and the risks of not being careful of who you associate with. So, take my advice, and stay away from Potter and his lot. For your own good."

Suka saw Terence move to defend her, and she immediately placed a hand against his chest, glaring heatedly at the 5th year, who simply met her gaze head-on with his own icy glare.

Who the fuck did he think he was? Trying to tell her what to do!

"I really hope this isn't an attempt to intimidate me into complying with a 15-year-old's orders because you look like a fool," she snapped. Draco's eyes widened, blinking at this girl that had the audacity...

"I will associate with whomever I please. You may have the majority of these children under your thumb-only God knows why they'd be so scared of you-but trust me, you are no leader. Yet, ironically, you call anyone attention seeking when you're the pompous little brat who flaunts daddy's money and social standings because you have nothing to show and hold up yourself."

The blonde lept to his feet, the chair flying back onto the floor. His fists were balled into fists at his sides. Terence was on his feet as well, while Suka sat with her arms crossed and staring the blonde down.

"Let's just calm down, okay," Terence began, cutting himself off when Draco's glaring turned to him, a look of betrayal flashing across his aristocratic features for a split second before going blank.

Suka watched silently with interest as Draco growled. "She'll learn eventually. Don't say I didn't warn you," he spat at Suka through clenched teeth. He stormed out of the hospital wing without glancing back, leaving the two seventh years in a tense silence once the door slammed shut with a heavy thud.

Suka felt smug above the irritation. She didn't think the Malfoy heir would be much of an issue to her. He was indeed the embodiment of "all bark and no bite." Unless he got someone else to do his dirty work, he didn't seem like the type to get his hands dirty.

She looked up at Terence, who was still standing and staring at the closed infirmary door. He ran a large hand over his face with a groan, looking much like a tired dad having to deal with their teen child.

"I'm sorry about him," he grumbled. "I'll have to talk to him. I don't know if you can tell, but he's not used to people in his own house being outright against him."

"Noooooo, really?" Suka rolled her eyes with a smirk. "He needs to be knocked down a few pegs. Fucking daddy's boy."

Terence snickered. "If I recall, you referred to yourself as a "daddy's girl" the other day."

Suka winced. "Well, clearly, it's a spectrum, one that Malfoy and I are on total opposite ends of. I pray that I never end up like that."

"You won't. You actually seem to have a good head on your shoulders."

"And not raised with a silver spoon in my mouth since I popped out."

The two fell into peels of laughter and fell back into comfortable conversation until Madam Pomphrey came back in to shoo Terence off, threatening to keep Suka overnight again if she didn't rest more.

Suka didn't argue, as she was a bit tired and wanted to get an hour or two before she was released. Finally, Terence stood to leave, and as Suka lay down beneath the covers, a warm hand fell onto her shoulder.

"Please don't take this the wrong way; I'm not trying to order you around, but be careful if you're going to associate yourself with Potter and his lot. I don't want to see you get hurt."

Terence stared down at her intently, and this unusual seriousness coming from the male kept Suka from snapping at him.

"What do you mean?" Though her tone was still a bit defensive, she didn't want to chase off Terence as well by being mean.

"I'm sure you've at least heard some things, but Potter has a habit of throwing himself into dangerous situations, and Granger and Weasley tend to get dragged down with him. Especially last year, and this year..." Terence trailed off, then shook his head. "It could all be for attention, could not, who knows other than Potter. But, just be careful, alright?"

Terence showed a high level of concern for her, and Suka's demeanor softened, and she smiled. "I will don't worry. But trust me, I don't think Potter will want anything to do with me from here on out, anyways."

Terence nodded. "The rivalry."

"Not exactly," she said, waving him off. "Don't worry about it. I'll see you at dinner."

She reached up, giving the hand that rested on her shoulder a firm, reassuring squeeze. Terence looked like he wanted to ask more but decided against it and nodded.

"I'll save you a seat."

Suka let out a sigh when he was finally gone, leaning heavily against her pillow. She shut her eyes tiredly.

She had been aware of the potential..." danger" that came with being around Potter. She just believed that she would be fine, that she would inevitably avoid it all if they were successful in keeping their interactions relatively private.

None of that mattered now. She'd find out tonight whether Potter had said anything, though based on her interactions with two of her housemates, he hadn't. Besides, the boy's reputation wasn't exactly the best, so would anyone take his word seriously?

Suka sat up abruptly, breaking out of her inner planning to keep her distance, then fell back into her laying position in realization and frustration.

Potter still had that book he was translating for her...

Dread slowly soaked in. What if Potter told Dumbledore? The Headmaster, who'd specifically warned her against the entire topic of 'Dark Arts,' would certainly not stand for it. She'd been taking them from the restricted section, too, a place she had no permission to be.

She wished she could confidently say that Potter wouldn't snitch on her, but she couldn't. It wasn't like she actually knew much about him, having only known him for a little while, and the majority of those interactions were filled with suspicion on Harry's part.

Suka bit at the nail of her thumb, staring up at the ceiling. Harry had no reason not to say something, especially when she attacked them. That itself would give him the green light.

Would she be expelled? What would happen if she was? Surely the highest disciplinary action would not just result in her being kicked out of the school and being sent back home, right? She thought back over the first conversation she had with the Headmaster. He must have told her about it when giving her information about the school, but she couldn't recall right then for the life of her.

Suka turned over onto her side in defeat, curling into a ball. She wondered what Hide would have to say about all this; if he saw her right then, knew what she did.

If he found out. He certainly wasn't hearing it from her. The could be it for them, stepping over that thin line, the breaking point. He would finally see her as the monster others knew her kind to be.

She couldn't-wouldn't risk that.

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The number of the Golden trio's detentions had accumulated by the following day was ultimately not worth what they went through and what little information they found in the library.

Harry had his week's worth of detentions with the Toad for the incident in front of the Transfiguration classroom, but he and his friends also had two nights' detentions for skipping classes.

Thankfully, none of Hermione and Ron's were with Umbridge. Instead, they were with McGonagall, and the old woman took mercy on Harry and let him off because he already had to deal with Umbridge for another week.

It made Harry extremely pissed despite being let off because he knew McGonagall knew about the blood quills yet was doing nothing about the explicit torture Umbridge inflicted on her students. She simply lectured him on holding his tongue in the Toad's presence and sent him on his way.

His friends, or more specifically Ron, weren't that bothered with the two nights detentions. Well, until Ron got more detentions added on top of that by Snape. They had been caught after curfew. The trio weren't the tiny first years that could all fit under Harry's invisibility cloak with ease anymore.

Only Harry and Hermione could fit under it successfully, and that was only because of Hermione's shorter and smaller stature and Harry's own slightly underweight form. There had been an attempt to fit Ron under, but he had the Weasley's genetic tallness to his disadvantage this time. And in a panic, Harry shoved Ron away from them and secured the cloak over him and Hermione just as Snape came creeping around the dark corner of the corridor.

So Ron wasn't a happy camper at the moment. Of course, none of them were, but Ron was extra annoyed. Not only had he been attacked in return for carrying this girl, but he'd also gotten detentions because of it.

They hadn't even found anything they'd been looking for, having spent the rest of the day there, skipping classes for it. The morning after, Ron had told him bluntly not to involve him in anything to do with the Slytherin girl, as he was over it. He didn't want that 'thing' anywhere near him. Harry had to hold his tongue as they walked to breakfast, appalled that his friend would straight up call Mosukuwa a "thing." Hermione walked with them, the silence between them so thick, you could pierce it.

She tried to start a conversation but quickly gave up when both boys only responded with short sentences. Ron had made his stance clear, but Harry didn't know about Hermione's. She didn't say anything about it, but that could be because Ron was with them.

Harry kept an eye on the Slytherin table throughout breakfast, but Mosukuwa made no appearance that morning. Was she still in the hospital wing? Scanning the table absentmindedly, Harry wondered if her housemates knew what she was.

He humored himself briefly at the thought of approaching the table and asking about it. As if they'd just give out information like that even if they knew. They wouldn't, not willingly, at least. His mind flashed back to their second year when the trio had brewed the Polyjuice potion to find out if Malfoy was the heir of Slytherin.

Harry cracked a smile. If he weren't so trash at potions and more patient, he would have considered another stunt like that. And if they weren't in hot water with the school as well.

Harry wanted to figure her out, still wanting-needing the help she had offered. Typically, someone who showed any aggression towards those he loved was immediately put on his shit list. But this wasn't the normal situation. He had been trying to think more logically with his head rather than his sporadic emotions and instincts.

During the attack, Suka's behavior had shifted from the well-put-together girl into that of a preditor reacting on animalistic instincts. She'd had Harry pinned with no escape. And she'd held herself back, even started crying, guilty and regretful. That face alone made him reluctant to cut her off, even though his self-preservation (he did have some-no matter what Snape had to say!) wanted to go against it. Something told him the whole thing had been an accident.

At first, Harry had thought that maybe she had just lost her sense of sanity for a bit because of the pain she'd gone through. Then he'd seen her eyes and whatever had been going on with her backside. Harry shuddered, remembering Suka's screams as if she'd been under the cruciatous curse. He had first-hand experience when it came to that Unforgivable.

It wouldn't be surprising if there were different variants of the spell. He hoped that Hermione would go back down the chamber with him to help figure out precisely what the security measure had been, but he didn't dare ask. Maybe he could get her down with the offers of the first edition books there; she wouldn't pass up that opportunity, surely.

Harry kept an eye out for Mosukuwa throughout the day, and in History of Magic, he spent it translating more pages of the Necromancy book to keep his mind off things and his increasing worry. Binns droned on monotonously at the front of the room, the class of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws were mostly all asleep already, and it wasn't even passed the first hour yet.

Harry leaned onto his open palm, frowning. Would she even still want the translations. After their little adventure, she probably wouldn't want him bothering her. The thought kind of hurt, but it was simply added to the growing pile of what he'd experienced this past year already. He should be used to it, numb at this point, but it only made a bubble of anger form in his chest.

Harry shut the book in frustration with the parchment still in between the aged pages. He should not be feeling like this about someone he barely knew. Yet, that's how he always was, right? He grew attached to people quickly, though the tendency had died down as the years went by. First-year Harry had been so lonely, so desperate for a friend and for someone who didn't think of him as a freak. That's why he'd latched onto Ron and then Hermione so quickly.

That was also why it had hurt so much when Ron, and even his own house, turned his back on him the year before. Maybe it had only prepared him for the year to come. Now he had the whole wizarding Britain against him.

He shook his head, reaching into his bag for a spare parchment. History of Magic was a tragic two hours long, and he didn't want to fall asleep in class and risk having another Voldemort nightmare, which was becoming an almost nightly occurrence. So he started to make a list of things he knew about Mosukuwa Sukaretto,

Red irises; whites turn to black saliva with healing properties inhuman strength whatever the fuck is up with her back

Harry himself thought that a vampire was the most possible answer. The only parts that didn't fall under the usual descriptors were the saliva bit and maybe the black characteristics of the eyes. A mutation? His mind flashed back to when Mosukuwa had him pinned the wall by his neck. His fingers reached up and brushed against his throat where the scratches used to be before Snape healed them. Surprisingly there hadn't been any bruises left behind besides the spot on his back that had been slammed harshly into the wall. Nothing a bruising balm couldn't help.

But it gave Harry another wave of confidence that Suka had been holding herself back, that she hadn't wanted to hurt him or his friends.

He sighed quietly, wondering if trying to figure this out was worth all the extra stress.