Intruder Alert || Zeke

The panic was beginning to become more wide-spread in her mind, the faster that the pounding footsteps pounded against the stone floors of the dungeon. Darcy tried to press her back up as close to the wall as she could, frightened by the very thought of someone seeing her. It was only then that she looked up because of the sound of someone’s panting echoing through the hallway. She found herself practically shaking at the prospect of who would turn the corner. Then she looked up, her eyes saw Zeke Maxwell, her year...Slytherin. He was the boy who had made her days here a living hell. He was always teasing her about one thing or another. She was pretty sure he had even stollen her sketch book on occasion and proceeded to show everyone around him the ‘awful pictures’ that she had been drawing. Yes, that was Zeke Maxwell. The very guy who she felt had been personally torturing her since they had first met. She wasn’t even sure that he knew her name, let alone noticed her when he wasn’t trying to make her cry. She knew that he would probably run right by her and not pay her a second thought, which was what she was banking on.

And then, seemingly out of the blue, he stopped directly in front of her and ordered her to follow him, saying that Flich was coming. She felt like her heart stopped for a moment, was Zeke warning her? Immediately her mouth fell open, she was sure in a look of surprise, but she remained glued to the spot even as he ran past her and darting around the corner. Darcy knew that she had two choices. She could try and outrun Flich and try and make it back to the Hufflepuff common room - this choice was highly unlikely due to the fact that the stairs in which she needed to ascend happened to be in the direction from which Filch was coming. She could attempt to explain the situation to Filch - which seemed ridiculous. Even if she was taken to McGonegall, the Gryffindor Head of House would still offer her detention. Or, her last choice: She could follow Zeke. Knowing that she only had a few seconds to decide, Darcy felt her feet take off in the direction that Zeke had just ran. She wasn’t sure what had made her do it, but she knew that it was her only feasible option.

Barreling around the corner and almost running into the wall on the other side, Darcy realized that she had no idea where she was going. She didn’t even recognize this corridor. She saw that Zeke was holding the door open for her, ‘Get in!’ He demanded, his voice harsh and uncommonly rude. She felt the old feelings of anxiety flare up at his tone; the same feelings that she got every time that he used to make fun of her. Darcy felt stunned for a moment, but she obeyed, narrowly sliding into the room and pressing her back against the far hallway wall so that she was out of the way of the swinging door and out of his way in general. It was only after he slammed the door that she felt her body waiver and then slowly inched down the wall until her butt met the floor.

Fear was still gripping her insides from the close call they had just had. Darcy Collins had never gotten into a lick of trouble her six years at Hogwarts and she wasn’t about to start now. She pulled her legs toward her chest, holding herself there in the fetal position, unsure of what to say to the guy who had probably both endangered her perfect record and still managed to keep it clean. She put her head on her knees for a moment as she tried to gather her thoughts, but found that it did her no good, ”Y-You didn’t have to do that,” She muttered, her voice softer than it had ever been. She couldn’t believe that she was practically thanking this Slytherin Snake for what he had done. She wanted to get up and storm out of the room, but she knew that she wouldn’t do it...she was too worked up. Slowly, Darcy lifted her eyes and began to survey the room that they were in. It was dark and quiet, the walls painted a green color...all the furniture black leather with green throws and-

Darcy realized where he must have taken her and felt the panic begin anew. She pushed her back against the wall, scrambling to her feet as she looked around the room. Then her eyes settled on Zeke, fear gripping every organ in her body. Why did he bring her to the Slytherin Common Room? Was he going to torture her? Make fun of her some more? Dars could only imagine what he had in store, ”I-I-” Her voice broke the silence as she inched toward the door. Then she heard the sound of Flich’s footsteps right outside and she started moving the other direction: back into the common room. There was no way that she was going out there when Filch was still around. He would have her head, ”I can’t go out there,” She breathed, knowing that she was now stuck with Zeke for an indeterminate amount of time.

Darcy wasn’t sure how to react to the expression that was on his face. It almost looked like a smile to her, but she knew that it couldn’t be the case. There was no way that Zeke Maxwell was smiling at her...especially since they were in the middle of his domain. She wondered what kind of awful things he had in store for her now that he had tricked her into the very place that scared her the most in all of Hogwarts. He said something about him not being an arse and she immediately felt her head snap up. He had a lot of nerve saying things like that after what he had done to her over the years, that much was for certain. He admitted that the whole thing was his fault and she couldn’t help the need to tell him that he was right. She had been just fine before he had startled her in the corridor and started drawing attention to where she was. If she had had it her way, she would have still been roaming around the castle.

Darcy wasn’t sure why he was being so kind to her, it was completely out of character for him. She knew the way that he interacted with people like her, and this certainly wasn’t it, ”I don’t want to stay here until morning-” She breathed her eyes almost springing with tears. But she told herself to calm down. She forced the though from her mind by adjusting the necklace that was around her neck. She slowly moved the chain around once, fastened and then unfastened it. Then she repeated the action. It was her OCD acting up again. Unaware of what she was doing, she just continued. She looked up at the pause in his speech, trying to figure out what he was thinking, but found herself face-to-face with what only seemed to be a look of confusion, ”Can’t I just leave. I promise Filch won’t see you. I probably deserve a detention anyways. After all I-” She wasn’t sure that she wanted to explain why she had really been out and about in the corridors at this late hour. A loud cackling laughter echoed across the room and Darcy felt the blood in her body run cold. She could not go anywhere near whoever was in there...it would be a death sentence.

”I-” Darcy wanted to object to his plan; it seemed like such a ridiculous idea to have her sneak up to his room like she was some sort of prize that Zeke had gathered at the end of the night. She was not that type of girl. She sat there for a long moment, looking at him holding the jacket out for her. She could always just morph. That was always a solid way to go when she didn’t want people to recognize her. But there was a flaw with that plan as well: Darcy knew that there were Slytherins just a few feet around the corner and the very sight of them was likely to make her freak and morph back before she even got close to the dorm room that Zeke was talking about. No, morphing was definitely out of the question. She still sat on the floor, her knees to her chest as close as possible, waiting for him to tell her that it was time to kick her out. Honestly she would have rather been kicked out than have to play these silly Slytherin games. She was just about to say something about how he had no reason to deserve her trust when he touched on the topic himself, ”Bellatrix?” The very name of the girl that she was afraid of more than anyone else in the world seemed to rock her to her very core. For a moment she felt like she couldn’t breathe again. What was it with these Slytherins and getting under her skin? She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something off with this situation, but with the gentle smile that Zeke was now offering her, she felt like he was the only one that she could remotely trust within a four meter radius. After all, it seemed like her two choices were pretending to be Zeke’s girl for the night or getting herself slaughtered by the snakes that were giggling by the fireplace, ”Why are you doing this?” She muttered, grabbed his hand and hoisting herself to her feet.

It was then that she grabbed his jacket and pulled it over her shoulder, flipping the collar up and then looking at him over it, ”You lead?” That was the thing about Darcy, everything was a question, as if she wasn’t quite sure of herself or what to say. She was a delicate girl. For a second she found herself overwhelmed with the scent of the jacket; it smelled strangely like musty leather but it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Gently, she shrugged her arms through the arm holes and then wrapped it tighter around herself, examining the slightly ripped sleeve of the green jacket, ”Just because you feel bad for me, doesn’t mean you have to protect me from the others.” She muttered and looked slightly in the direction of the main part of the common room, ”You’ve made it completely clear how you feel about me and everyone like me,” It was only at that moment that Darcy realized that he had been calling her by her name, not by mudblood or Huffleslut, or any of his usual antics. She wasn’t sure what to make of it and gently chewed on the bottom of her lip, afraid to say anything more and anger him.

Darcy wasn’t sure if she could offer a different alternative to what Zeke was suggesting. He was right, as soon as they opened that door, all hell was going to break loose and Filch would be dragging them both by their hair to the Headmaster’s office. That was a far cry from what Darcy wanted. She bit down on her lip, looking up at him. He was smiling at her, but it wasn’t his normal malicious smile. For a moment she thought she saw a twinge of apology, but she shook it off. ‘Slytherins are never sorry for what they did,’ She reminded herself. Her eyes lingered on the exit to the room, knowing that if she made a break for it, she could probably open it and be free...but freedom came at a price. Finally,resolved, she just shook her head. She would have to stay, no matter how much she wanted to get out of here.

Zeke started moving the collar on the jacket so that more of her face was hidden and Darcy felt her pulse beginning to race. She didn’t want to do this. There were a thousand and one things that she would rather be doing at this moment than trying to sneak past the worse of the Slytherins in their own common room. He reached up and and ruffled her hair and she furrowed her brow. Her hands immediately went to her head and started smoothing it back down again, making sure to get all the stray pieces. Zeke might have had a good reason for doing it, but she hated when things were out of place. Slowly she reached up and pushed the final piece behind her ears and he dropped his hands to her shoulders and began explaining what he was doing. She shook her head at his explanation, ”Slytherins don’t feel bad.” She answered quietly and stared up at him, still trying to get a read as to what was really going on. Was he going to walk her in there and expose her to the rest of the room? She couldn’t be sure, but she knew that she had no other choice. He informed her that he wasn’t the guy that he used to be and she felt the need to take a step back, but she remained where she was, trying to keep her head held as high as possible, ”I guess we’ll have to see about that.” She said pulling the jacket tighter around her thin frame and then shrugging.

Doing as told, Darcy put her face of Zeke’s chest. She could feel his heartbeat through his shirt. He was basically pulling her along, she could see nothing and go no where without him. Darcy felt him hesitate for a moment, but she shoved him with her free hand, trying to keep him moving like he had been previously. After about a minute, she slowed down slightly at another sound of cackling laughter, but Zeke was focused on getting them where they needed to go. He didn’t slow down until they had reached his room, ”You’re hardly the best lead,” She said softly as she moved into the room that was before her that was apparently his. Immediately her attention was drawn to the floor...and the ceiling, and the walls...she was looking for an escape. Being in the dungeon, there were no windows for her to stare out of and keep her attention off the mess that was Zeke Maxwell’s room. There was also no window to serve as her escape from this purgatory she had seemingly locked herself into. Slowly she began surveying the room... She felt a pang of anxiety at all the clothes that were scattered around...the quidditch supplies that seemed to be lying idly, even the books that were strewn all across the room, “Oh merlin...”

Turning around, she stared at him with wide eyes, ”I can’t stay here,” She breathed, knowing that he wouldn’t understand. No one at Hogwarts seemed to understand her ailment. Everything had to be cleaned or else she would literally destroy herself from the inside out. It would eat away at her until she couldn’t take it anymore. The only relief she got was when she morphed and - she looked at Zeke, still not trusting him - there was no way that she was going to do it in front of this Slytherin. She bit down on her lip and bent down, picking up one of the books that was near her feet. Slowly she dusted off the cover and then sat it upright on Zeke’s trunk. She repeated the action again with another book that was nearby, putting it flush next to the other, in a completely straight line.

Darcy knew that she was being irrational about her feelings about the mess, but she also knew that it was impossible for her stop. She wanted to pick up every single piece of clothing that was strewn about the room, but figured that she should stay with the books in order to keep herself closer to the level of sanity that she was trying to maintain. She was just about the pick up the third book and put it near the others when Zeke’s words rang out in her head. ‘Did he just say something about OCD?’ She asked herself. She raised her head so that her eyes met his, completely curious about this boy that she had once thought was the devil in disguise. She cocked her head slightly to the side, ”I do-” She muttered and then looked at him more closely, trying to figure out what he was playing at, ”Yeah, it’s more obsessive compulsions than just cleaning,” Her voice was soft and tame, classic Darcy. But he had momentarily been able to disarm her with his knowledge of her disorder, ”I can’t stand messes. And I wash my hands constantly and germs-” She shuttered at the very thought of germs. She saw that he had a slight look of confusion on her face and for a moment she wasn't sure what to say, ”It’s a muggle disorder,” She emphasized as she looked back down and picked up another book. How was it that he was reading about muggle disorders? Who was this guy and what had he done with Zeke Maxwell? ”Do you read a lot, then?” She asked, placing the book in perfect succession. The more that she looked around, the more that she realized that the books were everywhere. Zeke must have been an avid reader as of late. She managed to stop herself from picking up another one by reaching up and tugging on her necklace.

‘Sleep?’ Darcy felt the panic beginning to set in again. She hadn’t expected to actually have to sleep in the snake hole. She was rather hoping that she would be able to sneak out before the morning came. He started saying how she wasn’t dressed to sleep, ”I’ll be fine, I normally just-” Biting down on her lip, she didn’t say anything as he put the clothes on the bed. She was unsure of what to do with them and it appeared as if he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Her eyes flitted to his jeans for a moment and she felt her cheeks raise pink. He pulled off his shirt and her palms went sweaty, her mouth falling open slightly. She wasn’t sure that she had ever had a man undress in front of her, except for maybe Brady - but he was like her older brother. This was completely different, ”I’m sorry...I didn’t realize-” Immediately she turned around, shielding her eyes behind her hands and standing in the middle of the room.

It was an awkward situation to say the least, being stuck in the room with Zeke, wanting to change her clothes but finding herself too completely and utterly embarrassed. However, she managed to pull off her shirt and throw on the one that he had offered her at record speed and do the same with her jeans, ”Are you...erm, finished?” She breathed, turning around slightly, but leaving her hand on her face so that she couldn’t completely see. She assumed that he was finished and shook her head. She bent down and picked up her clothes, folding them neatly and then putting them on top of the trunk, next to the books that she had previously been infatuated with.

She slowly crossed the room and sat down on his bed, pulling her legs under her and perching like a cat, watching the room with her quiet eyes, ”I left my bag somewhere out there. So I’m wandless-” She came to the realization and then shook her head, ”Guess I really am a muggle tonight,” She breathed and blew some of her hair out of her eyes. She looked over at Zeke, wondering what his reaction would be. There seemed like there was something different about him tonight. Something that she had not realized about him before...was Zeke....going soft for muggles?

SAMANTHA CLAIRE DiLINCO

Darcy looked up sharply at him, wondering just how much he knew about her ailment. He had hit the nail on the head: her necklace was one of her ailments, as well as keeping her living area as clean as possible. There were plenty of other things that bothered her and she knew that the only relief that she ever got came from her morphing into her animagus form. She bit down on her lip slightly as she studied him, her fingers still circling around her necklace, “Yes. The necklace falls under that heading-” She breathed, conscious that she was still trying to fix it. She dropped her fingers to her side and continued to stare at him. He was something else, Zeke Maxwell...something that she had perhaps not noticed before. She smiled when he informed her that he read all the time; he was apparently as much of a reading hound as she was, “So do I,” She said, pushing a piece of her hair behind her ear and then starting to smooth the rest of it down. It was still a little ruffled from when Zeke had tried to make it look like they had been involved in something scandalous. It was only then that she realized what he was implying with his statement. Was there something not so perfect about being a pureblood in this world? She cocked her head slightly to the side as she tried to reason with herself about the situation. What was it about Zeke’s like that made it so hard? “I draw-” She said, trying to find a commonality between them, she thought for a moment that if she showed Zeke just how similar the pair of them were that he could see that muggleborns were just the same as purebloods, “My parents had a hard time understanding my disorder...It was a lot of them poking and prodding, trying to figure out what makes me tick,” She shook her head at the thought, “They never really got it though. So I ended up with my nose inside my sketch pad, trying to keep to myself,” She wasn’t sure why she was actively admitting everything to him, but she felt for a second like they were making headway. Perhaps he wasn’t the guy who had made her life a living hell anymore.

“No-” Darcy breathed as he said that she could look. There was nothing more embarrassing than a guy offering to let her look at him changing. She had no interest in seeing Zeke or any other guy naked. It wasn’t in her. She was too timid about all of that stuff, “Don’t worry about it,” She smiled quietly as she looked down at the clothes that seemed to be dwarfing her. It was funny in a way, she looked even tinnier that she normally did, “I understand, I know someone that plays Quidditch. Their jerseys are always too big.” She shrugged her shoulder, the neck of Zeke’s shirt falling askew on her own shoulder.

He sat down on the bed, almost next to her, and then jumped up as if she had said something to offend him in a matter of a few seconds. She was confused momentarily and then assumed that it had something to do with her own timidness. He probably thought that he would scare her if he came any closer. So she just watched him...watched as he moved to his drawer and stuffed his wand in the top of the dresser. Darcy smiled for a moment, unaware that she was so happy to hear those words come out of his mouth. There was something strange about tonight, something that she couldn’t quite put her finger on, “You really don’t have to,” She said as she shook her head. She wasn’t talking about the wand thing, she was talking about him not sitting on the bed. Realizing that she was being ambiguous, she blushed profusely, “You don’t have to stand all the way over there.” She patted the bed in front of her and then offered him a meek smile. Looking around, she found herself staring at various photographs that moved. She saw one of Zeke and Bellatrix and felt herself grow cold, “Guess I’m not the first girl that you’ve had up here?” She muttered nodding in the direction of the photograph. Bellatrix actually looked semi-happy in the picture, pulling herself closer to Zeke and then planting a kiss on his cheek...over and over again. Darcy shook her head, suddenly aware of just how much she was putting herself out there.

For a moment, Darcy found herself stunned. She felt like she couldn’t move. Had he just apologized to her? She bit down on her lip, trying to think of something to say back to him, but it seemed as if her entire world was being turned upside-down this evening, ”I’m just...always self-conscious,” She admitted as she tucked the other side of her hair behind her ear. She had always been a little concerned with the way that she looked...she had never seen herself as particularly pretty or even remotely attractive for that matter. For Darcy, it was just about getting through the day...it wasn’t about attracting people of the opposite gender, it never had been. She was glad for the change of subject that she had brought about by mentioning her love for drawing, ”Landscapes.” She said, thinking of her favorite picture in her sketch book. It was one that she had started drawing her first year...it was also one that Zeke and his friends had torn out, crumpled up, and thrown into the lake the time that they had stollen her things. She bit down on her lip, trying not to think about it any more, ”Creatures, too. Cats.” She bit down on her lip, thinking that she probably sounded like a crazy cat lady. Who in their right mind admitted that they had such a weird love for cats. She looked up at him, hoping that he wouldn't be looking at her like she was the craziest person in the entire world, ”I’m sure you’re not terrible. Everyone just needs a little practice,” She said as she instinctively reached up and pulled a hair off of Zeke’s shirt. It had been bothering her, just sitting there completely out of place, ”Sorry-” She muttered, ”Couldn’t help myself.” She realized that he thought that he was making her uncomfortable and she instantly held up her hands, ”It’s okay-” She tried to assure him, shaking her head, ”People never really ask. I guess they don’t want to know. I’m glad that someone actually cares.” A lot of people didn’t bother to get to know her. As soon as they realized that there was something wrong with her, they all but backed out of her life. She was pretty sure that Brad was the only person that had ever stuck by her.

She saw the confusion written all over Zeke’s face when she admitted that she knew about Quidditch jerseys. There was a certain stigma that went along with him and, based on the look on his face, he didn’t understand the particular relationship that she held with Bash/Bradley. The very thought made her smile slightly, especially since he seemed incredibly curious about the whole thing, ”The Bash,” She answered honestly, deciding that there was no reason for her to explain any further. Anyone who had ever observed her knew that he was the only Quidditch player that she ever talked to. They even spent some of their Summer holidays together. He was kind to her. A protector of sorts. He was the only one that she felt understood her...or at least made an effort to...sometimes she felt like he was a little to dense around the edges to really get what she was saying, but never the less, she adored having him around. Like a big brother, The Bash was always there for her.

He sat down and she smiled at him softly, trying to gauge what he was thinking. She hadn’t thought that he would try anything, but she found it humorous that he thought that was what was going through her head. She had only thought that he would set the other Slytherins off on her...and so far, that hadn’t happened. He started admitting things about Bellatrix and Darcy felt her face grow even more red. She had never thought that the pair of them had actually had something...but when she started to realize it, it made much more sense. The way that they were constantly trying to one-up one another. She furrowed her brow at the thought of cheating, ”I can’t imagine.” She had never had a boyfriend in her life...nor had anyone ever told her that they fancied her, so she couldn’t imagine it personally...that being said, she had caught her brother in law in a broom closet with one of the guests at her sister’s wedding. If that had devastated her so much, she could only imagine what Zeke had felt. She saw what he was feeling by the way that he turned away and she bit down on her lip, afraid that she had drudged something up that he hadn’t ever wanted to think about, ”Well, I think that the pair of you look really sweet in that picture.” She said and reached up to tug it down from the wall. It came off without too much of a struggle and she smiled, ”Maybe you should try talking to her about how you felt?” She suggested, not really knowing what she was saying...she didn’t - after all - have much to offer in terms of relationship advice.