"Please remember everyone, beware of the Inquisitor Squad," said Marcus. It was the end of another night of DA sessions with everyone ready to return to their dorms. "Especially, Gryffindors.. . The Inquisitor Squad's detention record is mostly made up of your house — if you encounter one, please steer clear, and if you do get a session with Umbridge, please remember to report it to one of the representatives."
The humiliation during the Minister's visit at the hands of Dumbledore wasn't met with silence but with an Education Decree wave in which a decree constituted the creation of the Inquisitor Squad, responsible for maintaining discipline and order in Hogwarts. Justified by the spike of detention rate in the school, which in truth was because of Umbridge handing out detentions like hotcakes to anyone she could find. She had created the problem and now had brought in a solution to counter it — but in reality, all it was a ruse to increase Umbridge's authority in Hogwarts.
"To the Slytherins, please keep us informed if you hear anything the Inquisitor Squad might be planning," Marcus said, stressing on the topic. "And to Eddie, please avoid picking fights with the Inquisitor Squad. It's the one-way ticket to getting banned from Quidditch, and I'm not sure you'd be excited about that."
"I never pick fights!" came the reply, dissatisfied and defiant. "They are the ones who are being bloody cretins."
"That's not my problem. Whatever you do, don't end up in detention," Marcus said and thought if there was something else left to address. "That's it from my side. If there's nothing else, we can close this session and end for the night."
"I actually have something to say." Eyes turned to Quinn, who stood in the inner part of the Room of Requirements, away from the door. "I would like a few people to stay behind. I have something to converse with them." Quinn glimpsed around the confused DA crowd all looking at. "Marietta Edgecombe, Luca Caruso, Irfan Mushtaq, and Graham Romsey, please stay behind while everyone else leaves. I would appreciate the privacy," he smiled towards everyone. "That would be all. I wish everyone else a good night."
Suddenly, all eyes moved to the four people asked to stay behind. The same question sprouted in everyone's minds — What did Quinn want with the four?
Ivy Potter, the elected leader of DA, stepped forward and posed the question in everyone's mind. "What is this about?" she asked.
Quinn turned to the girl who had stepped out from the crowd. "I just have something to say to these four."
"Is this personal or about DA?"
"It is."
"Then I'd like to be kept in the loop. I'd be staying behind."
Quinn noticed the way she had worded her sentence. "That's fine with me. You can stay behind," he said.
"What about the other representatives? Do they need to be here?"
"Their presence isn't needed. You can communicate the happenings to them later." Quinn subtly glanced at Daphne, the Slytherin representative, and blinked his eyes — I'll tell you later, they said. He didn't miss the smile in her eyes, something that one could only notice after spending much time with Daphne Greengrass.
Marietta Edgecombe, sixth-year Ravenclaw, one of the four asked to stay behind, raised her voice. She had a pinched expression and arms folded across her chest. "Can we do whatever this is sometime later? It's getting late, and I have assignments to get through. How about we take this up the next time we assemble? It'd be more convenient for everyone. I'm sure everyone feels this way," she turned around to look at the other three, seeking support.
"A little time spent talking won't hurt your assignments, Edgecombe. And I'm sure someone as smart as you have her assignments ready to submit before time," said Quinn, smiling politely, not genuinely.
Marietta watched Quinn furtively as he picked a lint of his robes. He wasn't interested in whatever she had to say. She glanced at the other three, but they turned their eyes from hers.
Cowards! she thought.
Soon after, the DA population left, leaving only six people in the vast and now exceedingly empty Room of Requirements. The atmosphere in the room was ambiguous — Marietta Edgecombe was tapping her foot against the floor, her jaw clenched; Luca Caruso, Irfan Mushtaq, and Graham Romsey were tingling their fingers and toes; Ivy has a pensive expression, repeatedly glancing towards Quinn, it wasn't long she had seen him sitting together with Daphne.
"Now," Quinn spoke with his hands behind his back, "the reason I have asked you four here is to address an issue that has become prominent due to recent events involving the Educational Decrees, the Inquisitor Squad, and the overall Dolores Umbridge situation with her gaining more power in Hogwarts."
Quinn noted the slight shuffle in the four people as they shifted their weight at his words.
"One of the important principles or to say rules of DA is that," he made a short pause, "we don't exist; we are as real as the points given to Gryffindor by Snape," there was no response from anyone — it had been repeated so many times that everyone was way past being sick of it. "The reason why this rule was introduced is to ensure everyone's safety and freedom from Umbridge's pesky little thumb. Our efforts have been going splendidly well, with not a peep of DA to be heard from the mouth of an outsider.
Keeping our anonymity has been of utmost importance, especially know when Umbridge is trying to find something — anything — wrong in Hogwarts so that she could usurp control.. . I'm sure none of us desires that. Which is the reason it's high time that we strengthen our efforts to keep operating."
Ivy frowned in confusion. They already had this discussion among the DA representatives, deployed new measures, and made sure to freshen the gravity of the situation in everyone's mind.
"Why are you saying this right now?" she asked, glancing at the four. A thought flashed in her mind. She turned to face the four, her eyes squinted as her tone became confrontational. "Did these four do something.. . did they spoke about DA to someone outside?"
"No! I didn't say anything!" said Graham Romsey, stepping forward in a hurry.
"Neither did I," said Luca Caruso; he was a bit calmer, though his pace gave his nervousness away.
Irfan Mushtaq shook his head and shrugged. "Me neither."
All Marietta did was narrow her at Quinn.
"I am well aware that none of you have said anything about DA to anyone," said Quinn.
Ivy was stumped. If that wasn't the case, why did he ask these people to stay behind? She tilted her head in confusion. "Then why are we here?" she asked with furrowed brows.
"Caruso, Romsey, Mushtaq, and Edgecombe," said Quinn, "all have parents who work in the Ministry." His words set a tension in the mentioned four. "Normally, that won't be the problem," he turned to Ivy, "your father works in the Ministry as well, but unlike you," he pointed at the four, "their parents work in a position below Umbridge's — positions over which Umbridge have a lot of power, where she can exert a significant amount of pressure."
A deafening silence fell over the room; the matter was out in the open, and silence that presided over spoke volumes. The four with parents were at some point had become aware of the risk they were putting their parents in by joining a group like DA.
"I fear that because of that reason, you might come under pressure to secure your parent's job at the Ministry by maybe.. . selling out DA to Umbridge," said Quinn. He raised his hand to stop the incoming rebuttals. "I'm not saying that you'll be doing so. There's no sense in accusing of something that hasn't happened yet. But that doesn't rule out the event happening. So, right now, I would like to present to all of you a proposition."
"Quinn, wait," said Ivy, "maybe we should talk about this first —"
"What proposition?" said Marietta Edgecombe, cutting off Ivy.
"I will allow all four of you to exit DA right here, right now," said Quinn immediately.
"Quinn!" Ivy exclaimed. This was spiralling out of control. Decisions like this were to be made with the agreement of the group.
Quinn continued to stare at the four. "There's a condition," he said. He couldn't just let them go without keeping leverage on his side for insurance. "Your names will remain on the original signing document. It will be proof of your involvement in DA, effectively tying you up with DA. You will not be allowed to mention anything about DA. If you decide to give us away, we will drag you down with us. Plus, you won't like what is to happen if you decide to betray the group."
Ivy withheld a gasp at Quinn's words. The knowledge about the original signing document being a jinxed parchment was a secret only known to her and Hermione — it was the last fail-safe to identify the traitor, the sneak.
"So, how about it? The conditions of the deal are clear. Any takers?"
"I will take it," said Marietta Edgecombe, straightforwardly. She never wanted to take part in DA. Because of Cho, her best friend's constant instance and nagging, she decided to join DA and participate in this farce. Her dissatisfaction only grew with every session, where she was forced to leave the safety of her dorm and risk getting caught.
"Excellent, you're free to go," said Quinn and turned to the other three. "What about you guys? Do you want to take my offer up?"
The three pondered on their decisions silently for a few minutes, and only some contemplation did they decide that they would stay with DA.
"I'm staying," said Irfan Mushtaq, as chill as a sloth resting on a tress. "My mum's not a big fan of Umbridge. Plus, she's always complaining about how bad her job is, so she won't mind if she gets canned and my dad makes good money, so no problems there."
Quinn chuckled. "Your mum sounds like a fun person." He turned to Marietta. "Well, Edgecombe, it seems our time together as fellow DA members have to come to an end."
Marietta scoffed with her chin held high. "Good, getting out of this farce is the best thing that could have happened to me." She noticed the expressions of slight disgust and anger others were giving her, "Don't look at me like that. What do you think is going to happen? That learning all this will make you top duelers, oh please, don't kid yourself; this is just all of you playing around, pretending that you're doing something great. Defense Against The Dark Arts is just a subject that, it's not if you don't learn it, your life will end. You know what, she might be not pleasant, but Umbridge makes some good points. There's a reason why we have Aurors; they will protect us. We don't need to learn all these spells and charms." She looked at Ivy, "Just because her brother says that You-Know-Who's back doesn't mean that he's really back, and I have always thought that Dumbledore was a whacky in the head — no wonder he believed Potter's words so quickly. So, I suggest you all drop the asinine fantasy of defeating the You-Know-Who and come back to reality; he's not back and will never be back. I bet you this: In some days, we will get the news that the Aurors have arrested the escaped prisoners, they will be shipped back to Azkaban where they belong, and everything will go back to normal."
Quinn, Ivy, along with the other three, watched in struck silence as she rambled on like a locomotive train, piping out word after word as the train did smoke. Even her unusually high-pitched voice sounded like a blaring train whistle going non-stop.
When Marietta finally became silent, Quinn stepped forward and raised his hand for a handshake with her. "It was a short time, but I thank you for supporting DA, even as unwilling as it was."
Marietta clasped Quinn's hand and said, "I thought more of you, Quinn. I thought you would be more realistic and not engage in this sort of farce. But to my surprise, you were here, and not only that, but you also brought in your friends, and more than that, you also brought a whole group of Slytherin into this."
Quinn stared at Marietta, who seemed to exercise the gift of speech to the limit with a thin-lipped smile. "It seems I haven't stood up to your expectations for me."
Marietta let go of Quinn's hand. "I hope you'd continue to keep DA a secret. While I don't like this, I do care about Cho. It would be sad if she got into trouble. Especially with how good things are going with Cedric. Sometimes I can't understand how did she bag someone like him. Boys can be so superficial, just looking for looks."
Just when they thought that there might be one good bone in Marietta's body, she took it in her hand and cracked it over, making it as crooked as every other.
"Thank you, Marietta," said Quinn and gestured towards the door.
Marietta puffed up her chest and walked towards the door with her chin held high. But she had taken a few steps when she felt a jolt hitting her back, sending prickling creeping through her body like a hundred-legged centipede crawling on her skin. She could feel her body, her muscles turn stiff like stone, and before she could even look down, Marietta felt her neck rigid, leaving her looking at a spot a few feet away from her.
She tried to speak something, but her voice had seemed to betray her as not a peep came out of her throat. She pushed harder, tried to yell, screech, and shout, but the result was the same silence, setting a tinge of panic in her, but she couldn't even show it with her entire body that seemed to have gone comatose.
But then she heard. "I'm sorry, Marietta, but we aren't over with." She listened to the sound of footsteps moving near her until the figure dressed in Ravenclaw robes stood in front of her, and because she couldn't move her neck or her eyes, she could only stare at the legs and boots. But she knew who it was.
"As much as I trust you, DA simply can't risk its existence get out," she heard the voice of Quinn speak slow and flat. "We're going to add just a little something to you to ensure that you will have help if and when someday you decide to make the mistake of betraying the people you love so much."
A hand entered her sight, and it was holding a wand. She watched with her breathing turning heavier by the second as the wand touched her throat, and she could feel the cold touch of would against her skin and the tip pushing against her larynx.
The cold wand turned warm as a stream entered her body through her neck. It felt like she had gulped down a warm drink quickly, lining her insides with a warm and fuzzy feeling, but she wasn't feeling comfortable; this was sending deeply unsettling shivers down her entire body.
"If you ever decide to betray DA in any form. Speak about it, write about it, walk here to reveal the location, point out members to reveal their involvement or any other way you can think of — remember what I told you about, Intent is an integral part of magic — your eyes will stop seeing the light, your voice will betray you, your skin will steal away your touch, and you'll again turn into stone.
Beware, Mariette; you won't want to turn deaf, mute, and blind because the curse will make that state stay there for a while before you get you to return to normal. If you get misguided again and try to go on the wrong path again, the curse will return to play with you, and this time it will stay for longer. The more times you try, the more you'll be able to enjoy and appreciate life and experience it with your sense of taste and smell."
Marietta wanted to scream, struggle, free herself of her stone-like state, and hit Quinn with everything she had, but she was helpless as a fish out of her water. Hearing Quinn's word settled a deep sense of pitting despair; it clenched like a hand gripping down on her beating heart.
As this was happening, Ivy watched and heard what had happened. In experiencing so, she was reminded who Quinn West was. She recalled the man who had entombed her into a wall because she impersonated his friend. Ivy was reminded of the man who had bound her and Hermione in his office and threatened to ruin her and her brother's life. This was the same person who had implicated her and Hermione deeper by tricking them into coming along with them back in time.
It reminded her that it might have been because she had become friends with Quinn that he decided not to do something like what he had done to Marietta, or exactly like what he had done to Marietta when she found his secret Cursed Vault.
After that, Quinn sent away a heaving and scared silly Marietta and nervous other three, but not before instilling a good sense of motivation in the minds of Caruso, Romsey, Mushtaq to keep quiet about what had happened her to themselves, leaving only Ivy and him in the room.
"Hey, sorry about that," said Quinn. "I didn't mean to ignore you back there, but I had to do it now with only them and you present. It would have not gotten the approval if we had put it to a vote. I had to move quickly and decisively for this to be effective."
"Will she really suffer all that?"
"Hmm, partially," said Quinn, making Ivy look at him with confusion. "She would feel what I said a couple of times. But I'm not capable enough to freeze her entire body and take three out of five senses time after time for eternity. After a few times, the curse will start to wane and eventually fade away. I can, of course, cast it again. But I'm sure the fear would keep her away from violating the rules."
Ivy once again stared at him, and her heart told her to say it, speak, tell him outright. She had observed him with 'her' today, but both didn't seem much different from what they usually were, which meant it wasn't still late, and she could get in.
Ivy stared at Quinn, but the more she stared at him, the more her thoughts went to the events of Valentine's day. She broke eye contact and hurriedly spoke. "Yes, I know. I mean, I understand why you did it. I myself would've shot you down if you had put it to vote."
Quinn chuckled with a refreshing smile. "I know. I wouldn't want it any other way."
She once again looked at her, and her heart told her to say it, speak, tell him outright. She had observed him with 'her' today, but both didn't seem much different from what they usually were, which meant it wasn't still late, and she could get in.
Yes, she should do it. She was going to do it. Now, right now.
Ivy opened her mouth. "It's okay. I don't blame you. We should go back; it's getting late. Everyone must be wondering what are we doing."
She couldn't say it.
.
-*-*-*-*-*-
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Quinn West - MC - Sin-Quinn was still at its base, still him.
Ivy Potter - Conflicted - The word of heart stopped by the fear of mind.
Marietta Edgecombe - Cursed - Pretended nothing happened when she went back and went to sleep without saying a word.
FictionOnlyReader - Author - I tried something new. I don't know if it will show up, but if it does. what do you think?
