Even at Our Worst

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September 1st, 1997

I'm on a high when Draco and I slip out of our compartment on the Express and head toward the prefect's meeting. Daphne promises to save me a pastie for when we get back.

"You doll!" I smile, patting her on the head before following Draco out.

In the corridor, I'm transported back into reality. I pin my Head Girl badge onto the front of my robes and look tentatively over at Draco as he stares ahead. As he usually is whenever he's trying to ignore something, his hands are firmly in his pockets, his back straight, and his expression nonplussed as we walk side by side.

"It's going to be fine," I say quietly, "Nothing to worry about." I hope I'm not lying.

He holds the door to the prefect's cabin open for me and I duck under his arm, he's gotten much taller than me; I wonder if he'll ever stop growing. I give him a worried glance over my shoulder as I pass him. He pouts his lip and shakes his head: I'm fine.

We aren't the first to arrive in the cabin, it seems. A stock woman in dark robes with red hair pulled back tight stands beside a burly man with a devilish grin. I recognize them from around the Manor: The Carrows.

The door clicks shut behind me and I feel Draco at my back, his chest hovering behind my shoulder, rising and falling in even, controlled breaths.

"What are you two doing here?" Draco spits. Despite falling in Voldemort's ranks, it does not impact his tone.

The sister, Alecto, sneers, "You'll be reporting to us, now."

I raise my brow, my eyes moving between the pair of siblings. Over the summer, Draco introduced me briefly to all the faces coming and going for the Manor. From what I remembered, the brother and sister were unusually cruel, not quite as twisted as Bellatrix, but well on their way.

"Severus is Headmaster," Draco says cooly. He moves slightly closer to me but doesn't allow his hand to drift to my back, although I can feel his hand twitch against my robes before returning to his pocket.

"And we're his Deputies," the brother, Amycus, explains. "All disciplinary action will now be going through us."

"Why?" I say quickly, narrowing my eyes. Draco takes a sharp breath.

Amycus' eyes turn on me; I'm not sure he had noticed me much before I spoke. His lips turn into an unkind grin. "We'll be making sure everyone is punished," his tongue flicks over his teeth and I tense, "Properly."

I chance a look over my shoulder at Draco, whose jaw is clenched tight. He glares between the siblings, taking a step forward to come to my side.

"Properly?" Draco raises a brow. Alecto smirks, but doesn't grace us with an elaboration.

"It's our world now, Malfoy," Amycus steps into us, turning his arm over to expose the Mark writhing against his skin. I fight the urge to turn my head away. "This is your ticket. No reason to hide it any longer."

Before I can act, his wand is drawn and slashing in the air, ripping clean through the sleeve of Draco's robes. To his credit, Draco hardly flinches, just a tick in his jaw as the end of the sleeve pools around his left wrist.

Alecto smiles. "Wear it proudly," she tutts, using her wand to vanish the excess. "He'll know if you aren't."

Draco lifts his chin as the door behind us swings open, a group of prefects obediently filing in, none the wiser.

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October 2nd, 1997

"That'll be 10 house points from Ravenclaw," I swallow nervously, "And, well, I'll have to report this to the Carrows."