she isn't what she says

Chapter 7: You-know who is back

It was nine o'clock at night in the Slytherin girls' dorms. Since supper had long since ended, the girls were getting ready for bed. Pansy and Millicent had dressed in matching blue knee-length night gowns with thick magenta straps that wound loosely around their shoulders. Daphne Greengrass wore a simple grey tunic over short khaki coloured shorts.

Valencia ran her fingers over her high cheek bones and around her diamond shaped face. She didn't think of herself as very attractive; average was how she described herself. Her pale blue flannelette, ankle-length nighty made her look chunky, she believed. The long, puffy sleeves on it didn't do her any favours either. Finding that her mind was beginning to wander, she fluffed out her hair and spun around to face the room full of Slytherin girls. It was time to put her plan into action.

"So," she pronounced, hoping that her voice was loud enough for them to hear. It was. They all turned to look at her, some of their faces more eager to listen than others. "I heard that 'you-know-who' has come back." There was silence, until Millicent retorted, "Yeah, so what?"
Some girls snickered, while some just looked at Valencia like she was something that had just escaped from a freak show! This was not going well. Valencia cleared her throat and started again. "Do you think that Professor Dumbledore is going to close the school down? I heard that 'you-know-who' is building a dark army. Some people are already joining and..."

"And what? You want us to join the Dark Lord? Like hell!" Millicent cut her off. The girls nodded, except Daphne, who just observed the scene playing out before her, as if she were watching a movie. "No," Valencia went on. "I was just merely stating the fact that he is forming an army. I heard it in the Daily Prophet." She quickly added, not wanting to raise suspicion. "We all know your a Death Eater, the whole school knows." Millicent said coldly. 

"I'm not a Death Eater!" Valencia shouted, pulling up both her sleeves to show only her Azkaban tattoo and some scars also from her previous life in Azkaban. 

The Slytherin girls quietly chatted amongst themselves, obviously baffled by what this mysterious new girl in the ugly night gown was saying. Pansy looked over at her, a strange expression on her face, seemingly trying to figure out this new edition to their dorm room. While they were all chatting amongst themselves, Valencia figured that they were done with talking to her, and so went over to sit on the end of her bed with her legs crossed, and revise for tomorrow's lesson. Daphne continued to observe her from the other end of the room, clearly mesmerised by her. Valencia didn't mind; she was used to people looking at her. In regards to the plan of recruiting, tonight was not as successful as she had hoped.

                                                                                      *    *    *

The next two weeks seemed to fly past so quickly and pre-exams were fast approaching. Draco had continued to make advances, unknown to an oblivious and clueless Valencia, who was too concentrated on preparing to become a Death Eater. 

Suddenly, the door to the dorm slammed with a loud BANG! Valencia spun around to see Daphne standing at the door, looking directly at her. She paced quickly over to Valencia's bed and stood at the foot of it. Then, a low whisper escaped her dry lips "The Dark Army. How can I join?"

"H-how did you know I was recruiting?" stuttered Valencia, clearly shocked and confused by Daphne's unexpected question. "Puh-lease, Pansy has been telling us everything she knows about you so far! How your parents are Rodolpho and Bellatrix Lestrange and are both good with magic, to how you were sentenced to Azkaban when you were ten. I eventually pieced it all together when you mentioned that the Dark Lord was forming a Dark Army." Replied Daphne matter-of-factly.

Valencia looked at her with an expression of utter amazement; she didn't think that her attempt to persuade the Slytherins was that obvious. Then it hit her. What if the other girls already knew and told Dumbledore, or worse; what if Harry Potter knew? The thought was almost too horrible to imagine, so she decided to let Daphne join her father's Dark Army; she had no one else, after all. "Fine, we can see Professor Snape tomorrow during lunch," she confirmed. "Just see what he says, I'm sure that he'll comply with my request." She added. The smile that met Daphne's eyes was enough to tell her that she had done the right thing by letting Daphne join.

The girls looked at each other excitedly and then back at their Professor. Snape tried to stifle a small smile, but it was no good. It didn't quite meet his eyes, but the girls knew what he meant. He continued, "Now, you both have my class next. Not a word of this to anybody. Understand?" Both girls nodded, giggled and ran out the door. Snape just shook his head and went back to his desk. 

The girls walked hastily down the halls, to the place where they were to part ways. On the way, they noticed that Draco was leaning up against the wall, talking to someone. He ran his fingers through his hair and was putting on a dashing smile. As the girls got closer, they realised that he seemed to be flirting with someone. It was only until they were right behind him that they could clearly see who it was with, Pansy! Pansy giggled at his boasting and was playing with her hair like a love-sick fool! Love made Valencia feel sick.

Not long after, the whole school was talking about You know who returning and creating an army. Now Valencia had to be very careful.