Secret's Out

[Sergei Zhefarovich]

Sergei Zhefarovich felt himself riddled with anger, despite showing little to no emotion over the past several years. One would think that he was a robot with his actions and lack of feelings, but truth be told, he just did not want to care about anything. He was doing well in Transfiguration which was giving him the edge he needed to become an Animagus. No one really knew about that since he did not feel up to telling people unless he succeeded. If he did not succeed, then no one would know that he failed. But, some interesting things happened over the break. While Sergei was at home, he met with his relative, Hades Styx. He gave him some information about a friend, before he went off to find out some interesting things about him. As soon as the notes and pictures were taken, Sergei could not believe his eyes. His good friend was not who he led everyone on to believe. As a Slytherin, he was mortified. And to top things off, during the arrival here, he saw Preston Paine with a prefect badge. Why would his uncle, a prejudice man, choose a mudblood for something so great? This was an outrage.

Putting the file into his bag, Sergei looked at the time, knowing that right now would be excellent to go burst out the news. Preston would be eating or something, and now he remembered what that was in that box. Apparently, something called a 'cell phone'. Whatever it was, Sergei was not interested in what muggle would want something like that for. Sergei walked from the Slytherin dorms to the Great Hall. Luckily, it was not that far of a walk. He needed to get something to eat too. Sergei found his eyes looking over the Slytherin table, and he found the prefect he was looking for. He walked over toward him, before he was standing somewhat behind him. Now that Sergei was older, his height was getting pretty intimidating. He could definitely pass for a seventh year. "Care to explain how you, of all other worthy bloods, managed to wiggle out a prefect's badge?" His tone was ice cold, colder than he had ever used before, due to his anger. He reached into his bag, pulled out the file and dropped it on the table. It slammed with a loud thud. It would reveal what he had been hiding for the past several years. Others might not care, but Sergei did. He could never be friends with a mudblood.​

 

[Isabelle Beaumont]

Isabelle walked into the Great Hall, and gazed around. Soon she found the Slytherin table, and strode over to it, attempting to act confident. She quickly found a spot away from others, and sat down. From what she heard on the train, the majority of Slytherins hate Muggleborns. That's just perfect. Wonderful. I wonder how many bullies I'll have by the end of this week, thought Isabelle ironically.

Dropping her bag on the seat next to her, she pulled a plate towards her and began eating - Thank God they have marmite here. Isabelle smiled, and bit into her toast. A ball of fear lodged its self in the pit of her stomach. What would happen if she would find no friends, because she was a Muggleborn? She wasn't much to look at- dark, long hair, a as near white face as you could get, weak, and small - Yep, Isabelle remarked grimly to herself, I'm dead.

Suddenly, she heard a slam echoing down the table. Isabelle started, looking several students up to see a terrifying - 7th year?, wondered Isabelle absent-mindedly - standing next to a 6th Year, glaring down at him. He looked menacing. A shiver of pure pain rippled down Isabelle's spine. What was happening?

 

[Preston Paine]

Preston typically never made it to the Great Hall in time for breakfast, but now that he had been named prefect, he felt like he had to. The badge that was pinned onto his robes came as a great surprise to the Slytherin, who wasn't known for having the best grades or being the most active. Obviously, Professor Styx had been looking at other qualities when he'd made his decision. Preston had convinced himself that he'd been chosen because, no matter what, he tried. He wondered if that was enough though. Ever since he'd returned to the school, Preston had noticed a slight change in how certain people were interacting with him, most notably in his friend, Sergei. Unlike in previous years when they would exchange pleasantries upon their return to school, Preston had found the boy and several others noticeably absent. It was odd, but Preston had shrugged it off to himself as jealousy. He knew that if he were in their position, he'd be jealous too. Being prefect was a huge honor, one that came not only with great responsibility but also with a sort of celebrity status around the school.

As he sat eating some oatmeal, his back to the other tables, Preston grumbled to himself about the early hour. He felt the presence of someone behind him and turned around as the person began to speak. It was Sergei, and Preston found himself beginning to smile, the hey on his lips. Sergei had grown over the summer and was now a good several inches taller than Preston. He had also grown, but he was nowhere near the impressive height that his friend could claim. As Sergei spoke, Preston's eyebrows furrowed. He would have thought that Sergei was joking, if not for the tone of voice that he was using. "Oh, well..." Preston began in a joking manner, the rest of his sentence freezing on his lips as a beige folder thudded in front of him. Preston had spent part of the summer looking at beige folders just like that. His father used them in his office. Turning to the table, Preston's fingers moved towards the file, his fingers trembling as if they had already caught on to what might be inside before Preston's brain had. The boy's naivete prevented him from even having the slightest inkling of what might come once he opened that folder. He had heard Sergei's words clearly, but the mention of 'worthy blood' had passed through his brain with only the slightest of thoughts. Opening the folder, Preston's face paled considerably and he remained staring at the photo that was on top. It was a picture of Preston texting on his cell phone. It had been taken while he'd been on vacation.

Preston slapped the file shut, his heart thudding so loudly that it drowned out all of the rest of the sounds in the Great Hall. That Sergei had him followed was crazy to him, but not as crazy as what he knew must be in the rest of the file. His hand was splayed out across the top of the file as if that small act would prevent anyone else from seeing. Turning slightly so that his entire back wasn't to Sergei, Preston spoke quietly. "You had someone follow me?" he asked, his eyes widening slightly. That it was that important to Sergei surprised Preston. "It's not what you think, Sergei" he stated, though he knew that it was exactly what Sergei thought. Sergei had made his opinions on muggleborns and muggles quite clear to Preston, and somehow he had found out that Preston was the thing he'd hated most. Preston hoped that maybe things wouldn't be so bad. Perhaps all Sergei wanted was some honesty. Perhaps all of their years as friends would make Sergei think twice about his opinion of muggleborns.

 

[Sergei Zhefarovich]

Sergei was definitely not joking, and his upper lip almost curled into a snarl. It was rare to see Sergei ever looking like this, and it was apparent that he was definitely not like this. Everything that they had talked about, all the hate he experienced and felt toward the muggle-borns, it was all directed at him now. The lie was enough. He could not believe his luck. Preston would be in serious trouble if he was around his family. Muggle-borns and muggles were immediately murdered for being around the family, let alone entering them. Preston was in serious danger if his family found out. But, did Professor Styx know? Or did he just not want to let others know that he was rather prejudice too? That had to be it. Sergei sighed and he wondered what he could do about this. He felt like his blood was boiling. He was also working on becoming an Animagus, and this was just a blast to his gut. He hated this situation. What can be done? Sergei smirked a bit when Preston asked if he had someone follow him. "I was suspicious since that cell phone Christmas gift last semester. I had my best cousin follow you and gather some dirt on your family. And, what he found out too." Sergei knew a lot about Preston’s life now, and he did not know where he could have not seen it. Sergei did not like anything about this mess, and he was determined as ever to keep himself free of dirty blood, but, was he ready to leave his friendship of several years broken?

Preston mentioned on how it was not what he thought. Oh? Sergei felt some sort of amusement when Preston said that. The look of sourness melted into a menacing smirk as he wondered what Preston really wondered what he thought. Surely, he knew the truth. "Oh? How is this not what I think? You lied to everyone, Preston Paine. You lied to me! You are nothing but a filthy muggle-born! A mudblood!" Sergei had raised his voice, which was about to make a few others notice, especially those at his table. If others did not care, it would not bother Sergei any. It mattered to him. Things like this mattered and for a good cause. Sergei narrowed his darkening eyes, hoping for an outburst. Then, it would be an excuse to get physical. He would love to show Preston what a true pure-blood like him could do. He could punch his lights out. he would love to show Preston exactly what a real punishment was. And, he was not afraid of that little prefect badge of his either.​

 

[Valentina Baros]

Valetina Baros was in the midst of finishing off her breakfast when the whole situation between two of her fellow fifth years broke out. At first, the brunette was much too involved in devouring her waffles to really care what the fight was about, but then it persisted on. In fact it got even loud enough to the point where she could hear it all the way from the Hufflepuff table. "A bunch of Slytherins.....how typical." The fifth year rolled her swamp green eyes and tried to focus on her food once more. But she couldn't resist from listening in as much as she could. Something about a Prefects badge and someone with unworthy blood. Valentina finally lifted her face to take a closer look at the students yelling at one another. Both of them were in her year, and she knew both of them too. Preston, not so much. But he never really bothered her, so it wasn't like she had anything against him. Sergei on the other hand, she knew on a personal level. Finally she knew what was going on. Sergei was pissed off because Preston hadn't shared that he was a muggle born or something along those lines. Valentina glanced at Sergei once more and rolled her eyes. What a freaking baby. Grabbing a spare piece of parchment, the brunette decided to come to Preston's aid.

Valentina strode proudly over to the Slytherin table, not caring an ounce that she might be getting looks from some of the members sitting there since she was a Hufflepuff, but it wasn't like she cared. If they had anything to say about it, she'd dump a nice big bowl of fruit on their heads just to show them exactly how much she cared about what they had to say. Once she was close enough, Valentina wadded up the piece of parchment and tossed it in Sergei's direction, hoping that it would nail him right in the back of the head. "You leave that poor boy alone, Zhefarovich!" Valentina had never been real big on people bullying for blood, plus Sergei had a tendency to get on her nerves to begin with, so why not agitate him more by taking sides with the person he was yelling at. Valentina and Sergei had never really spoken, so for all she knew, he could get upset with her jumping into the middle of this.
​

 

[Preston Paine]

Preston listened to Sergei, his hands shaking on the table. That the guy had gone to such lengths to uncover what he perceived to be a great betrayal was definitely not something he had considered happening. Preston knew, when the words had come out of his mouth, that he was just asking for trouble. As Sergei's voice grew louder, carrying to the far ends of the Great Hall, Preston wondered if the guy was going to hit him. Standing up slowly, Preston felt a little better. He was still looking up at his fellow Slytherin, but he had evened the score a little bit. "I didn't lie" Preston mumbled, wishing that this was happening anywhere but in the Great Hall with what felt like the entire school watching. On second thought, it was probably a good thing that it was in public, otherwise it would probably escalate to wands more quickly.

"You never asked me, and what was I supposed to say anyway? Admit it? Before or after I listened to you talking about what you wanted to do to mudbloods?!" he spat out the last word, the word he'd heard spoken time and again in his common room. It had never been used to describe him though, and Preston couldn't deny that it stung. Hearing someone else join in, Preston turned his head to the girl. He recognized her from classes, and it only took a moment for her name to come to him. Valentina. He knew next to nothing about her though. She had never spoken to him before, had never bothered to get to know him over the course of their five years in the school. Eyes narrowing, Preston's voice shook with growing anger and embarrassment as he turned his attention back to Sergei, acting as if he hadn't even been interrupted. "Are you done?" he asked, knowing that he was probably goading the guy and escalating the situation by asking that question.

 

[Marcus King]

Marc, looking over the argument with an expressionless look on his face, continued to eat his cereal without disturbing the scene. He thought it wasn't wise to get involved in a stupid racial dispute. Yes, he was mixed blood himself but he could be considered a Half blood by the way his family tree was laid out so he was okay. How could he stand up for a Prefect? Punch the guy in the face? No. Marc stayed quiet, ate his cereal and, without a word, continued to listen to the dispute.

Out of Character:

 

[Sergei Zhefarovich]

Sergei felt something hit him on the back of the head. It didn't make him move, but it was enough to bring his attention around to Valentina. Again, someone else who was constantly lying. What was with him and attracting all of these damn liars? Her voice rang loud and clear on to leave Preston alone, and even called him by his last name. He looked at her up and down, while taking in her rather odd appearance. What was with the shirt? It looked like something for kids. He hissed dangerously at Valentina, "Don't you say a damn thing to me, Baros. You don't want others to know what blood type you truly are, or have you decided that lying is just too much of a hassle nowadays? Do us a favor and butt your little nose out of this!" He felt like his attention was divided right now, since he had Preston on one side, and Valentina on the other. There had to be something going on, some sort of conspiracy. Preston led everyone believe that he was not a mudblood, and Valentina lied about being one when she was a pure-blood. This gave Sergei an intense headache. Right now, he did not know if he wanted to go after Preston, or to go after Valentina.

Attention briefly distracted, he looked down at Preston and he said that he did not lie. Sergei looked over the memories he had with Preston. Well, maybe it was true, but being led on was still a lie in his books. Sergei never asked, and how could anyone admit it with the way he spoke so badly about mudbloods? Sergei figured that people would have said something to him about it, but then again, he did seem intimidating. Sergei did not look away from Preston, and though he was standing up now, Sergei was still looking down at him. "You made everyone believe that you were something you were not. You had something to hide when you kid that precious little muggle device last year. So, you are nothing more than a lucky, recessive gene to become something just slightly more worthwhile than your muggle parents. Welcome to life in Slytherin as a mudblood, Preston Paine." Sergei said this a little louder so that the other Slytherins could hear. Prejudice Slytherins would now have a prefect to sneer at, and the hate should increase, which was his punishment for lying to him, so to speak.

He stood a little closer to Preston, almost in his face as he hissed, venom lacing every word but only that he could hear. "You are so lucky that you aren't away from students. Come near me, ever, and I will sure that you and your precious badge will sink to the bottom of the lake." Sergei turned from Preston, shoving Valentina out of the way and making his exit from the great hall. He said what he needed to. He caused the damage needed to the prefect. Now, he needed some time alone. If he bothered to have Preston around him, the family could find out and well, that threat he made would be a promise, but more gruesome.​

 

[Preston Paine]

Preston said nothing as Sergei turned his attention to Valentina. It was her own fault for getting involved in business that wasn’t hers. Preston hadn’t asked her for help. He didn’t need anyone to back him up. What the pureblood said to Valentina piqued his attention though, especially when Sergei mentioned something about her blood status. It was something he’d think about later on, but at the moment his brain was too preoccupied with dealing with Sergei. His roommate had always been taller than him, but over the break their height difference had swelled. While Preston could claim an inch or two more than he had been, he knew that Sergei had grown more than that. Preston tried his best to not appear intimidated by the boy’s height, but it was difficult especially when he knew that Sergei was looking down on him in more ways than one. The Slytherin’s jaw flinched as he was called a mudblood once more, his scowl growing more pronounced.

Preston was glad that the Slytherin table was behind him because he could only imagine what some of his housemates’ faces appeared upon hearing the news. The prefect could hear murmurs behind him and the tension in his neck increased. When Sergei stepped towards him, Preston balled his hands into fists but did nothing else. He was a prefect and was supposed to know better. He hoped that he would be able to keep himself under control. It wasn’t likely that someone like Professor Styx would be understanding should Preston lose control and strike Sergei. Preston’s heart beat madly in his chest as Sergei walked away, and he was tempted, oh so tempted to yell at the Slytherin’s back but instead he remained silent. His face was bright red, embarrassment, anger and frustration rolling through his body as his hands began to shake. Preston knew that he would not be able to return to the Slytherin table and behave as if nothing had happened. Striking out at the one person who had bothered to help him was stupid, but Preston wasn’t thinking clearly as he stepped closer to Valentina. “If I wanted help, I would have asked for it. Next time, mind your own business and maybe you won’t get shoved” the boy hissed before stepping around her and stomping off.