The few times Lavender had tried to open her mouth while they were waiting she'd been threatened by Geoffrey Hooper of all people. Ugh. So much for house loyalties. She watched as the three before her went in and came back out. The worried look on Parvati's face caught her attention, and she frowned, waiting for her name to be called.
"Wish me luck," she muttered under her breath and forced a weak smile to Neville, Seamus and Ginny as she swished her ponytail side to side and held her head up.
The beady eyes of the Carrow twins bore down on her, their expressions menacing. Lavender forced herself not to swallow and kept her chin high. "Can I help-"
"We will be asking the questions, girl." Ms Fat Crow snapped. Lavender forced herself to use the nicknames of them in her head to try and make them seem a little less terrifying. It was 50/50 working.
"What do you know of Dumbledore's Army?" Mr Fat Crow asked almost lazily as if he already knew the answer.
"What everyone else knows about it," Lavender said, shaking her head cluelessly she blinked a few times to try and sell it.
"And what exactly is that?" Fat Female Crow snapped asked.
"That someone put up some words about it, probably to try and hide really bad graffiti and thought this would stop them from getting caught. I mean, what do you mean?" The dumb act clearly wasn't playing well with the Carrows.
"Ms Brown," Mr Fat started clenching his teeth. "Do you or anyone you know have knowledge of Dumbledore's Army?"
"I guess I did know Dumbledore, so the answer to that is yes, but no one that is alive right now, may he rest in peace." She frowned. "But that is so a few years ago." She added quickly as her heart started to beat a little faster. It seemed that answer was okay for now.
"Why do you think you are suspected of knowing anything of Dumbledore's Army?" Fat Female Crow spat out as if waiting for Lavender to say something wrong.
"Because I'm a Gryffindor?" Which was flawed logic, and she knew it.
"This isn't a joking matter." They spat out at the same time.
This time Lavender did swallow as the twins shared a look between them. Amycus tilted his head towards Lavender while Alecto rolled her eyes. Whatever conversation happened between them in silence did not make Lavender feel safe.
"What do you suppose the meaning of the latest act of vandalism means?" Alecto spat as she moved to the edge of her chair.
"How am I supposed to know? I'm just trying to get an education and enjoy my last year at Hogwarts! And like I said, it was probably a way to distract or something." Lavender shrugged.
"That's it!" Alecto snapped.
"What's it?" Lavender asked. "Did you figure it out?" She leaned forward curiously, which was not the right thing to do.
"She's mocking us."
"She's not smart enough to mock anyone."
Alecto pulled out a dark black quill, and Lavender felt herself try and become one with her chair. Almost willing herself to disappear in it.
"You are going to write, ten times, "will not joke or support rebellion at Hogwarts."" Alecto mimicked writing in the air with a sickly smile as she did.
Lavender's hands clenched the side of where she was sitting, an unconscious move. It'd be okay, right? She tried to tell herself watching as Amycus waved his wand and her right arm snapped away painfully from where she'd been holding it in place. Alecto grabbed her wrist and forced the quill into her hand.
The first time writing wasn't so bad, or at least that is what Lavender told herself as she bit her lip to try and keep her tears back.
I will not her body tensed with the pain as she tried to breath through it. joke or support rebellion at Hogwarts.' That was two.
The rest of them took more and more time as the pain mounted the blood drying around the edges of the wounds as she wrote each time. Lavender had hoped she'd just become numb to it, but her eyes were raw from trying to keep in tears and her voice throat raw from holding her breath. As she finished the last one, Alecto slammed her palm on top of Lavender's hand and snatched the quill away.
"Go!" Amycus bellowed. "We'll be keeping an eye on you."
Lavender didn't need to be told twice. She jumped from the chair and pulled down her sweater to hide her hand.
"Stop," Alecto instructed. Lavender froze as she turned slowly around. "How do you suggest we move forward with identifying who Dumbledore's Army really is?"
"I don't know," Lavender answered the tears finally falling down her face, she reached up quickly with her left hand to whip the tears.
"Go!" Amycus snapped again.
Lavender whipped her tears away and quickly made her way out. "Something in my eyes," she told the others waiting before disappearing. She found Parvati waiting for her not too far away.