Red-Handed

[Margo Ellis]

This was wrong. Margo knew it was wrong, and yet the shiver in her spine was one not of fear, but excitement. After all, Harley Tsuji deserved what she was going to get. She was a thief, and a mean one at that. Odette was the loveliest, kindest girl in the school. If she thought these flyers were a good idea, then so did Margo.

Glancing twice over her shoulder the Ravenclaw rose onto tiptoes and affixed the parchment to the wall. The north tower was quite a trek from the rest of the castle, and with it being so near to Margo's common room it only seemed logical that she had volunteered to pin a few up there for Odette. Satisfied with her work, Margo turned around to leave.

 

[Aurora Night]

Rory didn't really have much of a reason to be scoping out the North Tower, truth be told. But she'd had a sudden idea about exploring a tower with one of her friends, Rose maybe, and she had a few spare moments while all the rest of her friends were busy. Dragging her fingertips lightly over the wall beside her, she turned a corner to see a girl ahead of her putting some sort of flyer on the wall. Interested, Rory ran up to look over the girl's shoulder at what it said, starting to talk to the girl while she was still approaching from behind. "Hey! What's the poster for..."

She trailed off as the WARNING came into view, followed quickly by the picture of Harley. Frowning in confusion, Rory didn't even notice that she'd shouldered the girl aside in her hurry to read the rest of the flyer. Reaching the end, she scowled and whipped around to face the girl. "What the hell is this? Who do you think you are?!" She ripped the flyer off the wall and waved it in the other girl's face ferociously. "Do you even know Harley?" Rory had never noticed this girl before, and she didn't think Harley had ever mentioned her.

 

[Margo Ellis]

Margo stumbled a little as she was shouldered out of the way, her face turning red with guilt. This was terrible! She thought she'd been alone. No - the Ravenclaw gave herself a mental shake. She didn't have anything to feel guilty for. She was simply serving justice against a bully, a liar, and a thief. But Margo had never been confronted this way before in her life, and so, rather than standing up for herself, ducked away from the flyer and stammered, "I... it's just... Harley is a bully, and... I'm sorry..." Oh, no. Odette was going to be so angry Margo got caught. She'd never trust her to do anything ever again. "I don't really know her... But I've heard about all the terrible things she's done!" She looked up and gave a righteous nod.

 

[Aurora Night]

Rory was so angry she could hardly feel her face as it scowled even more deeply than before. "Damn right, you're sorry! None of this is even true!" She looked from the girl to the flyer and ripped it in half in disgust, throwing it on the floor at the girl's feet. Pushing forwards, Rory stepped on it to get even further in the other girl's face. "Who's been telling you this crap?" In the back of her mind, though, Rory thought she probably already knew. She really didn't want to think about that though, so she focused all her energy on glaring at the girl in front of her.

 

[Margo Ellis]

Not true? It had to be true - Odette said so. Margo flinched as the flyer was torn in two, angling her body backwards to try to get out of Rory's face. "N-nobody," she lied, her vision beginning to swim through a thin film of tears. "I just knew?" She really should have planned something to say upon getting caught. But that was just it - she hadn't planned on getting caught. The towers were usually quite quiet, with only the occasional student passing through to reach the owlery. Feeling the impact of the Gryffindor's glare, she finally conceded. "Oh, all right! But please don't be angry with Odette. She only wanted to put these flyers up because Harley's a horrible bully!"

 

[Aurora Night]

Hearing the other girl's obvious lie, Rory scowled even deeper. That definitely sounded like she was covering for someone, and the little niggling feeling in her head was getting to be too much to ignore. Her mouth made an angry clicking noise as she muttered, "She said this would happen." This girl seemed like just the type to have swallowed anything she was told, and the way she was acting made it completely obvious that the flyer hadn't been her idea in the first place. But Rory had to keep pushing, regardless of how uncomfortable the other girl was. She had to know one way or the other.

She continued glaring until finally, the girl could take it no longer and told her. Odette. Well. That - that made things simpler, even if it was the very answer she'd been dreading. Rory had no more time to think about it even if she wanted to, her mouth seemed to be operating on its own now - and she was happy to just let it do so. "Odette? Not be angry with Odette? She - of course I'm angry with her, you idiot!" Hardly pausing to draw breath, she ploughed on. "And you - who have you seen Harley bullying? It's no one, isn't it? You can't even think for yourself, you'll just believe anything you're told!" At that moment, Rory happened to glance down at the torn flyer and saw her friend trying to hide herself under the frame. Eyes snapping back up, she actually growled at the other girl. "It's all lies."

 

[Margo Ellis]

Margo wondered who had told Rory about what would happen. Had somebody told her about the flyers before Margo and Odette had pinned them up? The Ravenclaw didn't know Aurora's friends well enough to guess who might have tipped her off, and presently she wasn't in any position to consider it: she couldn't have cowered any further without hitting her head on the brick wall behind her. Had the flyers really been so awful? They must have been really, really bad to warrant this sort of anger.

Her heart thumping madly, Margo whispered, "Nobody, I guess..." But why should she have doubted Odette's word? Why would Odette lie? Was Rory right? Was Margo just that gullible? A fat tear slipped over her waterline. "I'm really sorry."

 

[Aurora Night]

Rory was so far in the other girl's face that she could actually see the tear well up. She pressed her teeth together furiously, clenching her jaw in an effort to stop yelling. This was all Odette's fault. Rory was sure now that everything Harley had said was true, and that Odette was probably only pretending to be this girl's friend for ulterior motives. That thought made Rory seethe even more, did anyone else even know Odette was behind all this? If she was going to let this girl take the fall for her, Rory would shout the castle down telling everyone the truth.

She stepped back to get out of the girl's face, but couldn't quite wipe the anger from her own. "I believe you." Managing to uncurl her fists, she glanced down at the torn flyer again before scooping down to pick it up. She didn't know who she wanted to find first, Odette or Harley. She didn't even know where either of them were, she'd probably just have to go back to the Gryffindor common room and wait. And if she saw Odette on the way there, well... so much the better. With one last glare, Rory shoved the flyer pieces in Margo's chest. "Look at her. You're a terrible person." Without waiting for a response, she stalked off, still angrier than she thought she'd ever been.