Thin Skin

"Look who's sitting all by herself, crying in a corner," squealed Pansy Parkinson. She and Millicent Bulstrode stood in the doorway to the compartment in which Marietta had been sitting alone.

"It's the Sneak," crowed Millicent Bulstrode. Both girls had a look in their eyes which made Marietta think of hyenas who have stumbled upon an unprotected baby gazelle.

"Well that's no surprise, is it? After all, she has such a bad case of acne, doesn't she? Who would want to be friends with her?" Pansy asked her friend. Marietta could see that they thought her an easy target.

Marietta whipped her wand out from under her robes and pointed it in Pansy's face. "Yes, I'm all alone, so no one will hear your screams, will they, Pansykins?"

Pansy's eyes narrowed, "You wouldn't dare."

"Don't bet on it. I have learned an awful lot about jinxes since I came down with my present condition. Wanna be my guinea pig?" Pansy's face went white at this suggestion. "Though I think an acne jinx might actually make you more attractive." Marietta mused, "I've always wondered if the reason you hung out with Millie is because she is the only girl at Hogwarts uglier than you. Maybe you think she makes you look pretty by comparison? What do you think, Millie?"

"You'd better watch it, Edgecombe," Millicent growled.

"And if I don't, what do you plan to do about it? Everyone knows you two can't do anything but the Jelly-Legs and Trip Jinxes, and do you really think either of those will help you if I turn you both into slugs?" Marietta asked, her anger giving her much more courage than she would have expected in such a situation.

"You had better leave us alone or else," Pansy threatened, though Marietta noticed she had an edge of fear in her voice.

"Or else what? Or else you'll run to Malfoy? Haven't you heard, Princess Pansy, Draco and his goon's attempted to jump Potter coming out of the toilets, but they were interrupted. If you would like to join him as a slug, I'll be happy to oblige. You know, he might even be more willing to date you, then." Everyone in Hogwarts knew that Pansy was constantly throwing herself at Draco Malfoy and, while he had no compunctions about using her, he said nasty things about her to anyone who would listen.

"You're lying," Millicent growled, "Draco Malfoy knows more about magic than all you Muggle-lovers combined."

"Just because you keep saying it doesn't make it true, you know," Hermione Granger said from the passageway, her wand pointing at Millicent's head. "Don't make me do something I'll regret."

"Granger!" Pansy squeaked in surprise, "Since when do you care what happens to the Sneak?"

"Listen, Pugface," Hermione said angrily to Pansy, "I don't care if you are a prefect, if you are not out of my sight in 5 seconds, I will place a curse on you which will make you regret you ever met me."

"Too late for that one," Millicent grumbled as she edged past Hermione in the passageway.

"Why don't you run off and look for Cho?" Pansy teased Marietta as she followed Millicent, "You're really good at doing that, aren't you? You're like her little puppy dog, always following her wherever she goes."

"Four, five," Hermione said as she raised her wand. Pansy and Millicent both ran down the passageway and into another compartment. Hermione looked at Marietta and smiled.

"You know, I had it under control," Marietta said, gracelessly, "I didn't need any help with them."

"I know. I'm sorry if I butted in. I guess I just thought that-"

"Thought what?" Marietta interrupted, "That I am such a loser that I couldn't handle the two dumbest girls in your year?"

"No," Hermione whispered, looking very unsure of herself, "I just thought it might be fun if we worked together."

"Why would I want to work with you?" Marietta asked as she stormed away down the passageway, "All you ever bring me is grief."

Marietta turned and saw that Hermione was looking down at her shoes, as if she were trying not to cry. Marietta felt her heart soften. She stopped walking away. "You ruined my face and my life and I understand that it wasn't your intention, but can't you just leave me alone?"

Hermione did not answer. Marietta didn't know what else to say. She had never expected to stand alone with Hermione and feel guilty, feel that perhaps she had treated her badly. "Listen," she said, "we are going to be in London soon. I better go get my stuff together."

"And look for Cho," Hermione said as she lifted her gaze from the floor and looked into Marietta's eyes..

Marietta felt her face get hot beneath the balaclava hat. Of course, she was used to hearing the taunts from the Slytherin girls since the jinx had come into affect ('Cho Chang has a little lamb her face is white with pus. If Cho Chang ever leaves her sight the lamb makes quite a fuss' had been their most inspired insult.) It was easy to ignore the Slytherins. Hermione Granger, on the other hand, was another story. She was, after all, the girl responsible for much of the unpleasantness in Marietta's life. "Yes," she said sharply, "And look for Cho." She turned on her heel and walked away, leaving Hermione gaping at her retreating figure for the second time that afternoon.

"It is true," Marietta thought to herself as she walked down the passageway, "I do seem to spend most of my time looking for Cho."

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Marietta ran to the Great Hall, hoping she would not miss Cho at dinner. She needed to talk about what Umbridge had just suggested, needed reassurance that Cho was still her friend.

When she entered the Great Hall, she saw Hermione speaking with Cho at the Ravenclaw table, but by the time Marietta walked over, Hermione had returned to the Gryffindor table and Cho was staring at Harry once more.

Marietta considered asking Cho what Hermione had wanted with her, but then she realized how nutty and paranoid she would sound, and just sat down. She put some vegetables on her plate (reasoning that the scones and tea she had been eating, while very filling, did not constitute a healthy meal and she should try to be good.)

"Listen, I need to talk to you in private, something has happened," Marietta said, trying to sound as calm as possible.

"Oh," Cho said, startled out of her daydream, "okay." Then she frowned, "But we have this thing to do tonight." She was trying to be vague, fearful that someone who might tell Umbridge might overhear her. Unfortunately, Cho was not a very good actor and, had anyone been listening to their conversation, her pointed emphasis on the word 'thing' and her exaggerated winking would have led them to suspect that either she had developed a nervous tic or Cho was hinting at some secret event which they were to take part in that night.

"I was thinking we could talk right after dinner. We have an hour or so." Marietta was much better at nonchalance in this regard, in part because she had just spent the past 90 minutes practicing her poker face and because she knew no one at the Ravenclaw table was paying attention to them. For that matter, a good number of her fellow Ravenclaws were taking part in the DA. However, she knew that Umbridge was watching her and one never knew where spies may lurk, so Marietta spoke in a low voice, "It is really important."

"Okay. Oh no," Cho looked genuinely concerned, "Hermione asked if I could meet with her after dinner. She said she had some stuff she needed to talk to me about."

"Since when do you have stuff to talk to Hermione about?" Marietta asked, "You don't even like her."

"She's not so bad, really," Cho said, noncommittally, "and she's friends with Harry, so I should really try to be nice to her."

Marietta couldn't believe her ears. "Umbridge was right," she thought, though she didn't want to believe it was true. She tried once more, "Cho, please, tell Hermione you will talk to her another time."

"But Marietta, she is Harry's best friend," Cho begged, "and I share a bedroom with you, we can always talk tonight."

"Cho, this is really important."

Something on Marietta's face must have gotten through to Cho, made her realize this was far more serious than talking about boys they liked, because Cho looked at her and said, "Alright."

Marietta felt relief, as if someone had suddenly let air into the room and she could breathe. "Thank you."

Dinner was ending and many students were leaving. Cho looked around the Great Hall and couldn't find Hermione. "She must have already left. I'll just go meet her quickly and tell her that I need to reschedule and I'll meet you in our Common Room in ten minutes, okay?''

''Ten minutes,'' Marietta agreed.

''See you soon,'' Cho said, as she got up from the table.

Marietta walked back to the Ravenclaw Common Room with Luna Lovegood, a rather strange Ravenclaw fourth year, who spent the entire walk discussing the Crumpled-Horned Snorkack, a creature which Marietta was inclined to believe did not exist, and said this to Luna.

"Well, of course, they don't like to be witnessed. But many in the non-wizarding world do not believe in Kelpies and don't believe their own eyes when they see the one at Loch Ness," Luna stated with complete assurance.

"Luna, that is different," Marietta pointed out, "Kelpies are magical creatures. The Ministry of Magic has actively tried to hide them from Muggles. Most of the people who appear in the Muggle press offering evidence disproving the existence of the Loch Ness Monster are actually wizards spreading misinformation."

"Exactly my point," Luna said, happily.

"What?"

"The Ministries of Magic in Sweden and Norway must think they have a very good reason to want us not to believe in the Crumpled-Horned Snorkack," Luna said as they walked through the portrait hole into their common room. The younger girl looked dreamily around and said, "I think I will go upstairs and read. Thank you for walking with me. You usually spend all your time with Cho Chang. I hope you haven't had a fight or anything."

Marietta assured Luna that everything was fine between her and her best friend and told Luna she would see her later. Then she sat in an armchair by the fire and waited for Cho.

Marietta sat in the common room and tried to study, but she was preoccupied with her fears. Marietta thought about what Luna had said, about her usually spending all her time with Cho and hoping they hadn't had a fight. Ordinarily, most people dismissed what 'Loony Luna' said because she seemed very spacey and believed in practically everything. However, Luna had joined the DA and was one of the more talented of its members and Marietta noticed that the younger girl's capacity to believe in anything meant she took greater risks than many of the more level headed students. Also, it was rumored that Luna could see the thestrals (the magical winged horses which were invisible to humans unless one had witnessed a death.) Marietta wondered what Luna really thought about her friendship with Cho, wondered what Luna could see that was not visible to most other people, wondered if Luna knew something Marietta did not.

Marietta realized she had been waiting much longer than ten minutes, longer than twenty minutes, and became restless. She started to worry when half an hour had passed and Cho had yet to arrive. "What if something happened to her? What if she had to go to the hospital wing?" Marietta kept repeating in her mind. She didn't want to consider the alternatives so she imagined the worst.

Finally, at 7:45, Marietta decided to go to the DA meeting and see if Cho was there. She kept telling herself that there were many perfectly logical explanations for why Cho would stand her up, that it was nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, she couldn't ignore the little voice in her head which was telling her that Cho had never intended to meet with her, that she had just told Marietta she would in order to pacify her, that Cho was Hermione Granger's best friend now and Marietta should just accept this reality, and after all, there was always Loony Luna with whom she could be friends. Marietta left the Common Room before Luna came down from the dormitory, else she would have wanted to walk to the DA meeting with her. On the way, Marietta kept telling herself that she was wrong, but found it harder and harder to block out her fears.

Marietta reached the fourth floor hallway in which the Room of Requirement could be found. She saw Cho, standing by the doorway and felt relieved. She knew Cho would be able to explain what had happened, why she hadn't come to their common room, and that everything would be okay. Then, as she walked closer, she saw Cho laughing with Hermione, as if they had spent the last hour chatting and were still exchanging their stories about their lives.

"So, that's how it is," Marietta said to herself and, before anyone saw her and greeted her, she turned around and ran to Umbridge's office.

She didn't stop to consider the prudence or the consequences of her actions. She arrived at the door and knocked.

''Come in," said an unnaturally high-pitched voice which Marietta recognized to be Dolores Umbridge's.

Marietta opened the door. The office was dimly lit by small candles, which cast strange shadows in the corners. If Marietta hadn't been so filled with rage and pain, she would have been more wary of her surroundings. She entered the office and the door shut behind her. Umbridge sat behind her desk.

"Oh, Marietta," Umbridge cooed, "you have returned so soon. Perhaps you have information for me."

Marietta hesitated. Was she really considering selling out all those students who were meeting right now just because she was angry with Hermione and Cho? Was her jealousy that extreme?

Umbridge, perhaps responding to the indecision on Marietta's face, stood up and motioned for Marietta to sit down in an armchair, "Or perhaps you have a question for me, dear?"

"A question?" Marietta asked.

"Yes, dear," Umbridge said, as sweetly as she could, "you have come to my office this evening after we have had a lovely tea. I think you have been thinking about our little conversation and you are worrying."

"What do you mean, ma'am?"

"You are afraid for your friends, afraid they will not understand, afraid they will be punished harshly. You are worried about what may happen to them if they are implicated in any wrongdoing. Marietta, your friends have fallen under the influence of a terrible group of people. If those people were to leave Hogwarts, I am sure your friends would soon come to see how you helped them. If I could just, hem hem, get rid of the criminal elements which lurk here at Hogwarts, then I could exonerate all the unfortunate students whose heads were briefly turned by their promises of glory. And I am sure you understand how much better your life will be if certain students were to be expelled. Now, if only I had some way of catching them in the act," Umbridge mused, as if struggling over a very difficult problem, "I am sure I would be able to forgive everyone involved, except, of course, the ringleaders."

Marietta stood stunned as she listened to Umbridge. It was as if she was offering her an answer to all her pain.

"I know, you want so much to do the right thing, to make your family and your school and your country proud," Umbridge said, looking into Marietta's eyes.

"Yes," Marietta thought, "I do want to make people proud and to do the right thing." Marietta did not trust herself to speak, for she was still very much afraid of Umbridge, so she just nodded her head.

"Yes," Umbridge hissed as she held Marietta's gaze locked in her own, "you want so much to do good and you love your friends so much. Don't you see how they need to be rescued? And they need you to rescue them. Marietta, you know something, don't you?" Marietta nodded her head. "Then you must tell me what it is. Just think how proud it will make your mother, she will be telling everyone at the Ministry about how wonderful her child is, how her child is the most important student at Hogwarts."

Something snapped inside Marietta. Maybe it was the fear of losing Cho, the years of anger at Hermione Granger, or the shame of feeling nothing she did was ever good enough for her mother. Marietta felt her mouth open and as the words began to come from her mouth, she felt as if her brain were separate from her body, as if she could watch herself making this decision, stepping on this path, making this choice which could not be unmade. She knew that whatever she said at this point could never be taken back "There is a room called the Room of Requirement, we heard about it from the House Elves," she began. She stopped, suddenly aware of a snickering behind her and a sudden pain across her face.

Umbridge looked irritably behind her and then smiled at Marietta, "Yes, go on, dear."

It was too late. Marietta turned around and saw, standing in the shadows, Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, and Millicent Bulstrode. Their eyes grew wide as they saw her face.

Marietta backed away from Umbridge and then caught sight of her reflection in a mirror on the wall. She saw the words SNEAK becoming visible upon her face and screamed as she pulled her robe over her face.

"Stupid girls," Umbridge screamed, grabbing Millicent and Pansy by their hair, "I allowed you to watch my interrogation as I felt you may be needed to act on the information I received and as a reward for you work keeping Miss Chang occupied this evening and look how you behave."

Marietta, hearing this, realized she had been set up by Umbridge, realized how transparent and simple her fears were and how they had been used against her.

Umbridge, attempting to regain control, grabbed Marietta by the shoulders and began to shake her, "Marietta, I need you to give me more information. Where is this Room of Requirement? Is something happening there right now?" Marietta shook her head beneath her fists, which she had pulled her robe up to her ears. "Please," Umbridge continued, "you can still help me. Don't pay any attention to them. In every war, you need foot soldiers to do your dirty work. I promise you, you are doing the right thing."

"Not if they are involved with this in any way, ma'am," Marietta mumbled through her tears as she gestured to the Slytherins, "everyone here knows that."

"Well," Umbridge's voice growing hard, "I don't agree with you. I have found that the students from Slytherin House have been the most helpful of all the students at this school." She let go of Marietta. "I don't have time to interrogate you further, but rest assured, I shall. Draco, watch her and make sure she doesn't go anywhere while I go to the kitchens to speak to the House Elves. And you two," she said, turning to Millicent and Pansy who were attempting to hide in the corner, "shall go and collect the other members of my squad. I will probably need all of you to collect the little lawbreakers," and with those words, Umbridge swept out of the office, with the two girls in tow.

"You were so stupid," snorted Draco Malfoy and, for the first time in her life, Marietta found she agreed with him 100 percent.