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“This is the last time,” Pansy hissed to Daphne, tossing her short black hair over her shoulder, as Luna Lovegood ran from the Great Hall in tears, the girl’s dirty blonde hair flying after her. “I’m not letting him do this to anyone else.”
Pansy didn’t even particularly like Lovegood, but what Draco was doing wasn’t right. This was at least the seventh girl’s virginity he had taken. If he kept this up, there wouldn’t be a virgin left in the school. And who knew how much power he was collecting from the ritual. Too much, to have fooled not only Lovegood but Weasley and Granger as well. Why wouldn’t Granger or Weasley have warned their friend?
Perhaps it was because they were embarrassed. It’s not like she had warned Daphne, Tracey, or Millie. She was just as bad as Granger and Weasley in that regard. Well, no more. Pansy wasn’t letting another poor girl fall for Draco Malfoy’s bag of tricks.
He was good, she would give him that. Only someone who knew Draco as well as she did would even see the glint in his eye as he practiced his sad face for the rest of the school. The fact that he had Blaise and Theo in on it made her blood boil. Theo wrapped a commiserating arm around Draco’s shoulders as he led them both back to the Slytherin table. The boys were smart enough not to sit near Pansy or Daphne. She had rained plenty of hexes down on Draco since he had taken her own virginity two years ago. But this was the last straw. She was done watching this sick scene play out over and over again. Already, she could feel his magic thrumming under her skin, pulsing, getting stronger—he was a monster and it was up to her to stop him.
“What’s the plan?” Daphne asked, a look of disgust on her face as Blaise clapped his shoulder, and Vince and Greg chortled indiscreetly. Nobody else seemed to understand what exactly was going on, judging by the way the rest of the hall went about eating their breakfast. It was infuriating the way he flaunted it, thinking he was going to get away with it. Perhaps the professors were too busy to see what was happening under their own noses, but Pansy wasn’t. She wasn’t afraid of Draco nor his father. She was going to put him in his place.
Permanently, if she had to.
“I’m not sure yet. I will have to do some research.” Pansy sneered at that last word. She was a good enough student, but research wasn’t really her fortè.
“I’ll help,” Daphne said, she twirled a bit of her long blonde hair between her fingers. “I bet Tracey and Millie would, too.” Daphne may act like she was dumb, with her hair twirling and vacant looks, but out of the Slytherin girls in their year, she was far better with the library than anyone else. She was the person to go to if one needed help finding some obscure piece of information hidden among the pages of a book.
“Let’s keep it to just us for now,” Pansy said. The last thing she needed was for this to get back to Draco. Daphne, she could trust with her life; Pansy had been friends with her almost as long as she’d known Draco. Tracey, she hadn’t met until they started at Hogwarts, and Millie was infinitely loyal to Draco, even though he broke her heart last year. Millie was the closest Draco ever came to having an actual relationship. He spent a solid four months working on getting under Millie’s robes, but the moment she gave it up, he dropped her just as fast as he did everyone else. She was the last Slytherin he seduced.
After listening to Millie cry herself to sleep for weeks, Pansy cornered Draco alone and threatened a cutting hex at his bollocks if he even looked at another Slytherin. Now, she realized she should have made it any girl in the school.
“Let’s go,” Pansy said, pushing back from the table. Suddenly, she no longer had an appetite. Daphne scrambled after her, and they made their way to the library. Not what she planned to do on a Saturday, but at least she had the time to begin her research. Pansy wasn’t sure she would find what she needed in the library, but it was always a good place to start. If she didn’t find what she was looking for, she would write home. Her mother hated to see witches taken advantage of, as long as Pansy didn’t mention exactly who she planned to curse, her mother would send her anything she wanted.
“What about this one?” Daphne slid another opened book across the table, pointing to a spell.
Pansy read it over and shook her head. “Not permanent enough.”
“Permanent? Really, Pansy, does he deserve permanent?”
Daphne cringed when Pansy turned her hard glare toward her. “He deserves death, but death would invite investigation and possibly time in Azkaban. So yes, permanent.” She took a deep breath, trying to calm the anger that was rushing through her.
“Even if we did something to him permanently, we could still go to Azkaban,” Daphne argued.
“Are you a Slytherin or not?” Pansy huffed. “Obviously, the whole point of this is that he doesn’t find out who’s behind it. So if you aren’t going to offer anything helpful, you might as well leave me to it.”
Daphne sighed. “No, I’ll help. I’m just worried about how invested in all of this you are.”
“You’re damn right I’m invested!” Pansy practically shouted. She winced when she heard Madame Pince come hurrying down the aisle and feigned looking studiously at her book until the librarian went on her way. “Haven’t you felt how much more powerful he’s become?” she whispered to Daphne. “What he’s doing isn’t just anti-witch, it’s accruing power, like someone else we know who wanted all the power.”
“You-Know-Who? You think Draco is trying to become like him?” Daphne looked horrified, her bright blue eyes were open wide and full of fear.
“I’m not sure,” Pansy shrugged, “but either way, I don’t like it. It reeks of the Dark Lord.”
Daphne shuddered delicately and went back to looking through her stack of books.
By lunchtime, they had looked through most of the books Pansy thought were promising, but hadn’t found exactly what she was looking for. It’s not that she wanted Draco maimed or harmed, but whatever they did, had to be lasting. What she would really like is to take away the power he had stolen from her and the rest of the girls. If she could do that, perhaps it would be enough, although it wouldn’t solve the issue going forward.
In the end, Pansy decided to write to her mother. She framed it as an advanced essay for the Ritual Magics elective she was taking that year. She watched Draco as he approached Susan Bones. Hopefully, Bones had either already given it up, or could hold out for a few weeks.
A week before Halloween, a mini-hamper of books arrived via the Parkinson family owl. Pansy pocketed the hamper. She didn’t want to enlarge it until she was in the privacy of her dormitory. After classes, she and Daphne sequestered themselves onto Pansy’s bed, with the curtains firmly drawn and silenced.
Her mother sent a dozen old ritual spell-books; everything the Parkinson library had, actually. The Parkinsons weren’t known for their bibliographic tendencies, but she hoped there was at least one ritual that would work for Draco. If not, she would have to branch out to other family’s libraries, and she didn’t know how she would do that without telling a lot of lies to a lot of people. Lies were bad, especially a multitude because that was how one got caught in a web of their own making.
Pansy did not get caught. Ever.
They had almost looked through every book when Daphne sighed and passed the book she was reading to Pansy. “That one.” She tapped the page and Pansy began to read.
It was solid. It was actually a perfect ritual. A little too perfect… she frowned reading it over again.
“It requires a coven of seven,” Pansy said with a sigh. “We need a different one.” She shook her head and tossed the book back on the pile, rubbing her temples with her forefingers.
“Let’s just recruit the other seven girls he’s done this to,” Daphne said. “It’s the easiest solution.”
“Tracey, sure, but Millie? She’d never go for it. Granger and Weasley wouldn’t either, it doesn’t play to their sense of fairness. And if you can get Lovegood to concentrate long enough, then go for it.” Pansy felt defeated. They had looked through everything Hogwarts had, most of what the Parkinson’s had, and still hadn’t come up with anything good.
“Let me worry about Millie,” Daphne replied. “You convince Granger and Weasley. They’ll bring along Lovegood.”
Pansy snorted. “Granger won’t even talk to me. How am I supposed to convince her to join a coven and perform a ritual? Besides, you read it. It needs to be done on a high holiday, we only have a week until Samhain! There’s no way the seven of us can become a coven before then.”
“Then we’d better get to work,” Daphne said with determination. She cast a Tempus charm, showing that there was thirty minutes before curfew. Shoving the book into Pansy’s hands, she shooed her from the bed. “Granger is probably in the library still. Go find her. Show her the ritual. Convince her. She’s bloodthirsty; she’ll do it.”
Pansy rolled her eyes. Daphne, ever the optimist. She yanked the book out of Daphne’s grasp and broke the silencing spell on the bed. “Fine, but you need to convince Tracey and Millie tonight. We’ll have to start work on the coven ritual as early as tomorrow if we want this whole thing to work.”
“Done,” Daphne replied with a smile. “Perk up, Pansy. In a week, we’ll get the bastard for good.”
Pansy offered her a small smile, unconvinced. She hoped Daphne was right. Sometimes she wished she had Daphne’s level of optimism.
Pansy tracked down Granger just as she was leaving the library. She fell into step with the other girl and walked with her toward the main staircase.
“What can I do for you, Parkinson?” Granger asked with a sigh, shifting her stack of books to her other hand.
“It’s what I can do for you,” Pansy replied. She held out her book so Granger could read the title of it.
“Power Rituals and How To Work Them?” Granger looked over at Pansy with a question in her eyes.
“Don’t you hate him for what he did to you?” Pansy asked knowingly.
Granger reddened and looked away. “Does everyone know?” she asked dully.
“Only the people who pay attention,” Pansy replied. “Which isn’t as many as you think it is.”
Granger sighed and didn’t say anything, though she did stop walking. Pansy had to admit, she looked like shit this year. She had been Draco’s last target of last school year, and it was clear, even four months later, she still wasn’t over it. “What does it involve?”
Pansy offered her a smirk. “Let’s find a place to discuss, shall we?”
Granger nodded and they searched for an empty classroom that had been left unlocked. They found one, off of a little-used corridor and Pansy ushered Granger inside. She warded the door while Granger set her books down with a thump. A flick of her wand had the ancient torches on the walls lit, and she handed Granger the book.
Granger opened it to the bookmarked page and read it through. Then she read it again. Then again a third time. “You need a coven of seven,” Granger remarked.
“It just so happens that there are seven witches at Hogwarts that Draco Malfoy has taken the virginity of. He’s performed the same ritual for each of them—”
“Stealing the power? That evil little cockroach!” Granger shouted, whirling toward Pansy. “Why didn’t I notice?”
“I’m sure that’s part of the design,” Pansy said with a tight smile. “Not many did notice, and I’m guessing nobody continues to notice while he plays his little game, collecting power quietly.”
“Not anymore,” Granger said fiercely. “This ends now.”
“Good. Convince Weasley and Lovegood. Then meet me at the Astronomy Tower at eight tomorrow night. We have some coven rituals to perform.”
“Done.” Granger held out her hand for Pansy to shake. Pansy rolled her eyes at her Muggle ways and shook hands with the other girl.
Pansy double-checked the list in her hand with the supplies she and Daphne brought to the top of the Astronomy Tower. The moon was high in the sky already, so they were just waiting on the rest of the members of their soon-to-be coven to show up. The supplies were littered around the small space at the very top of the tower. She and Daphne found during their research a complicated ward that wouldn’t allow anyone, but those keyed to it, to pass through and placed it at the bottom of the tower. The last thing they needed was to be interrupted.
“You have the daffodil root?” Pansy asked, making a checkmark next to the salt as she flipped the top of the bag over, covering it once more.
“Right here,” Daphne pointed to a small pile of roots further on. “Think they’ll consent to being part of a coven?”
Pansy shrugged. “I told Granger that we had coven rituals to perform. Knowing her, she’s spent the past twelve hours looking up everything on covens in the library.”
Daphne snorted her agreement. “Here are the seven black candles and the dried sage bundle.” Pansy nodded, crossing those items off her list as well.
“Last thing is the vervain, cornflower, and chicory,” Pansy said.
“All right here.” Daphne indicated a small pile of blue and purple flowers.
“Great, everything we need is here. We can’t get set up until the rest of the coven is present.” Pansy checked the last of her items off of the list.
Just then, Granger appeared at the top of the stairs. Weasley and Lovegood were behind her. And behind them were Tracey and Millie.
“This is a coven ritual,” Weasley said after glancing at the components that littered the ground.
“It is,” Pansy confirmed. “In order to reverse what Draco has done, we need to be a coven. Here’s what I have in mind.” She pulled out the book she’d found with the power reversal ritual and handed it to Weasley who shared it with Granger and Lovegood.
“A coven is permanent,” Millie said, her arms folded over her chest.
“It is,” Daphne replied. “And we’re the seven strongest witches in Hogwarts. We’ll be a strong coven. A feared coven.”
“And this ritual we’ll be performing on Malfoy is permanent?” Granger asked.
“Not only that, it blocks him from the power-stealing ritual he initially performed on us.” Pansy’s smile was hard and sharp. “He’ll never do to another what he did to the seven of us.”
“But it doesn’t harm him in any other ways, right?” Millie asked, chewing her fingernail.
“Salazar’s sake, Millie! How many times do I have to tell you that Draco wants nothing to do with you?” Tracey spat. “He used you as much as he used the rest of us to get what he wanted. Your virginity and the power boost that came with taking it. This will just get that power back. And we’ll be part of a coven. Let’s not forget those benefits.”
Millie sighed heavily, hanging her head. “I know, it’s just…” she trailed off in a sniffle.
Granger of all people, tentatively patted her back, offering her a little comfort. “Let’s do the coven ritual, Bulstrode. Then we can take back our power from Malfoy and you’ll feel better.”
“Really?” Millie looked up at Granger with tear streaks down her face.
“Promise,” Granger said firmly. She flicked her wand and handed Millie the handkerchief she conjured.
“Here’s the ritual,” Daphne said, passing out sheets she and Pansy copied of the coven rite. “We all have a role to perform. The ingredients are all here,” she indicated what had been piled on the floor. “Let’s get started.”
Pansy held her breath as Weasley, Granger, and Lovegood read over the ritual. Lovegood was the first to begin her portion of the setup and Pansy sighed, relief flooding her veins as Weasley and Granger followed suit.
It didn’t take the seven of them long to get everything in its appropriate place. Pansy found that they actually worked quite well together, each moving with purpose. Lovegood was finished first, drawing the circle in sand and the heptagram in chalk. She sat at one of the points as she waited for the rest of them. There was something about Lovegood’s cool, calm appearance that Pansy found herself really liking.
Granger burned the sage, purifying the space, while Weasley and Tracey worked on the vervain and cornflower. Pansy placed and lit the candles while Daphne crushed the chicory. Once each witch was at a point on the heptagram, they were ready to begin. Pansy started, holding out her hands for Lovegood and Daphne to grasp. When Granger and Millie grasped hands on the other side of the heptagram, the circle of magic snapped into place, a pearly translucent dome rose above them, trapping the seven of them inside until the ritual was over. Pansy could feel the thrum of power. It wanted the seven of them to form a coven, she could almost feel it pushing them to begin.
Taking a deep breath, she began to chant.
“Maiden, cast your circle white. Weave a web of glowing light.” Here the circle around the outside of the seven of them glowed a bright white. “Stag and bear, hawk and wolf; bind us to thee. Mother, cast your circle red.” The glowing white circle turned red. “Weave the strands of glowing threads; earth and air, fire, water; bind us to thee.” Each of the elements sprung up around them as Pansy spoke them. “Old crone, cast your circle black,” the circle responded, casting them into the pitchest dark. “Weave the wisdom that we lack; sunlight, moonlight, starlight’s shimmer; bind us to thee.”
All seven of them chanted the last. “Oh, gracious goddess of love and light; protect us now with all your might. Watch over us and ours with care, so that we may avoid the dangers snare.
“Hail fair goddess protector of night; banish all evil from our sight. Send it far and away from us. So it is, so mote it be.”
Thunder clapped at the last word and a shiver of magic thread its way through each of them, connecting them forevermore. A consciousness seemed to open up and expand in Pansy’s mind as the protective circle fell.
“Woah,” Weasley said, the first to look up from the ritual space. Pansy could almost feel her awe—taste it on the back of her tongue—and she wondered if this was a temporary side effect or not.
“That was…” Granger trailed off, shaking her head as if she were lost for words.
“Intense,” Lovegood finished for her. Her body went rigid, her eyes gazing on something Pansy couldn’t see.
Then, suddenly, Pansy had a vision of Draco in the middle of a similar circle, in the woods, the coven surrounding him, and the magic was being leached from his body. Just as quickly as it appeared, the vision left and she was standing on top of the Astronomy Tower again. She blinked at the rest of the coven and, at Granger’s nod in Lovegood’s direction, realized that perhaps Luna Lovegood wasn’t as crazy as she seemed.
“This power sharing—” Granger started.
Millie interrupted her, “Is part of the coven. We’re a coven. We’ll always be a coven. None will be closer to any of us than we are. We’re sisters in blood and magic.”
“Then it’s time to prepare. There’s less than a week until Samhain,” Daphne said. “The rite for Draco needs to be performed on a high holiday. What better holiday than the one where the worlds are at their thinnest?”
The answering grins were sharp and full of dark promise.
~Fin~