she isn't what she says

Chapter 29: The Great Hall

'There she stood. Pain consumed her insides, but on the outside, was the brightest smile she had ever worn.' - Unknown

Several months went by since Professor Dumbledore had passed away. Slowly but surely, smiles disappeared from the students' faces, only to be replaced with looks of worry and fear. The Hogwarts everybody had grown to love would never be a safe place again; with Death Eaters roaming the grounds and Snape as Headmaster, it shouldn't really come as a surprise that many parents decided against sending their children off to school next year.

Now was the holiday, so no one was at school only the Death Eaters and The Dark Lord.

Valencia walked past a group of Death Eaters that were waiting for the Dark Lord to appear. He, like everyone else, was anxious to find out what their next step would be, who their next victim would be. Silence descended over the Great Hall as a door opened and the Dark Lord entered the room. Slowly he walked over to the headmaster's seat, smiling at his followers.

"You do not understand the joy I feel by seeing all of you, my followers, gathered in this room which was once supervised by none other than Albus Dumbledore." A few Death Eaters booed, others laughed, and some clapped.

"I know you're anxiously waiting to hear what my plans will be." He paused long enough for people to start wondering if he was toying with them. "My first plan will be to take over England, starting with this school." There were some murmurs in the room; Death Eaters stared at each other, wondering why the school was so important. "I heard one time that kids are the future, well, I'm going to control that future." Cheers grew once more as they understood. "Only a handful will permanently be here, the rest will be out there, tracking down wizarding families who dare to oppose me, and finding those that want to join our side."

This time everybody was cheering. Valencia of course was happy about the plans, but she was still awaiting information about her position; she was told she would get a special job. Luckily she didn't have to wait as the Dark Lord announced the Death Eaters who would be in charge of their own groups, and she was one of them. After calling out their names, the Dark Lord asked them to come up to look upon a few of those they would be in charge of.

Proud, Valencia walked up the aisle and stared out at the crowd, enjoying the jealousy she saw in their eyes, and the admiration. The Dark Lord told his most loyal Death Eaters their assignments before allowing them to leave.

Smiling, Antonin asked "And how do you find the new school? I will imagine it's good to be free of mudbloods." This time several of the girls nodded, including Valencia. "It's been a long time since I've seen you." Valencia responded, the last time she saw him was in Azkaban. "I know it's strange, but amazing." He responded.

"How were you set free?" Valencia asked pulling away from the crowd of girls.

"I escaped, with some others who weren't set free when your mother escaped."

"ahh"

"Valencia can we go for a walk?" Valencia heard Pansy's quiet voice ask. "Of course, bye Antonin." Once they weren't too far away Pansy asked, "Does it hurt?" This disrupted Valencia's thoughts. "Does what hurt?"

"Taking the mark." Smiling at her innocent question, she grabbed her sleeve and pulled it up, revealing her Dark Mark. "Hurts as hell, but it's a small price to pay." Nodding, she looked away while Valencia covered her mark again. "Thinking of joining?" she asked. One of her goals was to get as many people to take the Mark as possible, which was one of the many reasons she was favoured by the Dark Lord.

"I don't know," she answered, which wasn't the answer Valencia wanted, but it was better than no. A few seconds later, after they had walked in complete silence, she asked Valencia a question she never expected to hear, "Can I touch it?"

Valencia was still shocked, but managed to act normal. Stopping in the middle of the staircase, she revealed her Dark Mark again. Pansy stared at it for a few seconds before lifting her hand and slowly reaching for it. The way she reached, like it was too important to just swipe her finger across, made Valencia's body respond in a way she hadn't thought was possible. Did she love Pansy? "Actually I've been thinking about taking the Mark," she said randomly, cutting Valencia off before she was going to say his goodbye.

"You shouldn't" Valencia said, surprising her. The truth was that she had thought about Pansy for a long time, and she discovered that she didn't want her to destroy herself by becoming a Death Eater. When she first made the discovery, she thought she had lost it. I want everyone to support the Dark Lord, so why would I make an exception for her?  She made another discovery that day, which was that her heart could hold something she had never experienced before. Some might say she's in love, but she knew it was more like the need to protect her. "Why?" she asked in a hurt tone.

"Not if you're thinking of joining because of me." Valencia  didn't care if others joined because they were in love with a Death Eater, but she didn't want Pansy to do it for her, she didn't feel worthy of that kind of affection. "I thought you wanted me to take the Mark," she continued.

Not wanting her to know that he feared something might happen to her, he decided to say it in a different way. "That was before all of this," Valencia said as she animatedly waved his hand in between them.  She stared at him with sad eyes until Valencia feared she would cry. Not wanting to be responsible for her tears, she changed his mind and decided to admit some of her fears. "I just don't want anything bad happening to you." Her sad expression changed into something happier, which calmed Valencia. "You don't?" she asked as a smile crept upon her lips.

Valencia returned the smile. "You better head back," she said shortly after the confusion was sorted. She thought Pansy would turn and leave without another word, but she surprised Valencia by moving in front of her and reaching for a kiss. Wrapping Valencia's arms around her waist she held her there for a long time.

Eventually they managed to part and she returned to her friend. Valencia stared at her a few seconds before she disapparated from back to the Dark Lord, just in time for him to call on her the third time.