It was evening, and dinner had ended an hour previously, leaving Reyna enough time to make her way to the potions storeroom. She may not like the subject, and detested even looking at the ingredients half the time, but failing at anything was not an option. Even if it was potions. So the blonde needed to restock on her own ingredients kit before the next lesson, otherwise she risked getting marked down for not being prepared.

It almost seemed worth it when she entered the storeroom to the awful stench of the many ingredients stored there for students' use. Her nose immediately scrunched at the stale and horrid smell, her look deteriorating into one of utter disgust. Ugh. Reyna could not understand how anyone could enjoy such things as much as the current potions master and their previous one did. She understood they were dead useful, of course, and she supposed as long as she wasn't the one that needed to handle the ingredients it was all well and good.

Unfortunately, she would have to handle them in order to restock her kit, which was extremely unappealing to the Slytherin. What she should have done, she thought, as she reached out for the large glass jar labelled 'Pickled Slugs', was make some Hufflepuff do it for her. That would've been appropriate, since they were slugs. Might do them good to see where such useless creatures ended up. But it was too late to do that now, since the teen was already there.

She set her own open glass jar on the shelf, taking the one that was filled in both hands and preparing to open it. Reyna really did not want to do this. The witch turned her face away so she wouldn't have to look as she opened the jar in her hands, and the stench in the room got that much worse. The blonde couldn't keep herself from gagging. "Ugh, this is so disgusting!" She commented to the empty room, refusing to look into the jar as she tried to not breathe in through her nose.

At least, she had thought the room was empty. It certainly had been when she had entered, but the clearing of a throat had her spinning around so fast to face whoever had snuck in after her that the jar flew out of her hands and, with a crash of breaking glass, smashed into the wall. The ingredients it had held seeped over the floor and the disgusting juices the slugs had been kept in splattered every which direction, some getting on her skirt and shirt.

Reyna looked somewhere between horrified and angry as her gaze fell onto the intruder who had caused the mess. Because of course, it wasn't her fault at all. "You!! Look what you have done!!"

It was a bit early for Gage to be on the prowl, but that usually didn’t deter the boy. He could do as he wanted, where he wanted, when he wanted, even if it was before the cloak of darkness served as his aid. A cruel, calculating grin crossed his face as the tall, muscular male stalked through the dungeons, combat boots pounding a bit on the stone cooridor and muscles flexing beneath his plain black tee. The boy never wore his full uniform under his robes, instead closing said robes enough to generally get away with no more than a five point deduction at the worst each day.

No, Gage did not ever wear ties, nor did he believe in shirts with buttons. He liked his cotton tees and cargo pants with his combat boots that were well-worn yet still nearly indestructible. The professors could kiss his ass if they had a problem with that. The uniform thing was something he really missed about home. Never had to deal with that shit back in the states. Of course, they couldn’t even come close to handling him back when he was a little eleven year old, so he would have been doomed by now.

The devilish male shook his head, two-tone ponytail brushing his upper back as he stalked through the dungeons, looking and listening for any noises that would speak of some other person who might need… assistance. He smirked when he heard a feminine voice complaining about some ingredient, as it would seem, since the sound came from the storage area. He grinned wider and lounged against the door frame, watching the pretty blonde with hunger in his dark eyes.

Gage cleared his throat then, as he watched the girl spin and seem to panic, the jar of what appeared to be slugs cracking on the wall and splattering over her shirt and skirt, even as a glob of the pickling liquid and a few of the slimy creatures landed on one of his boots. The boy looked down at the boot, then looked at her with raised brows, running his fingers through his rather thick facial hair. He stepped on a particularly large slug, enjoying the sick squishing sound it made as it exploded beneath his boot, then reached a hand toward the front of her blouse to pull her close to him.

”I have done nothing, Princess,” he said in his deep, intimidating tone. His eyes shone with hunger and rage as he pulled her harder by the shirt, lifting her so he was sure she’d be on the very tips of her toes. ”You have gotten that disgusting slime all over my boot thanks to your butterfingers. And now, you are going to clean it up.”

He grinned coldly at her as he let go, only to slam his large hand on the top of her head and shove her down onto her knees on the floor. Gage crouched down, knotting his fingers in her hair and pushing her down even further so that she had to lean forward on the slug-strewn floor. Her face was just above his boot as he smiled at her with a cruel glimmer to his eyes. ”Lick it.” He demanded, holding her face close enough for her tongue to lap at the slugs and slime on his precious boot. He had no intention of letting go of her hair until she complied, and he was sure she wouldn’t be able to move at all without causing extreme pain to her scalp. He was sure such a princess wouldn’t risk ripping out her hair.

Finally the day was drawing to an end.  It was another day that brought him that much closer to the end of the school year.  Something he was very much looking forward to at this point and time as he was ready to put as much distance between himself and this place as possible.

Running his hand over his head he side as he trudged down the the steps and into the hall way leading to the dungeons.  Muttering to himself about too much to do he stopped in the middle of the hallway as he heard glass breaking.

Raising a brow he drew his wand from his back pocket and pushed up his sleeves.  Creeping closer he realized the noise was coming to the potions store room.  Shaking his head he was about to continue on until he heard Faulkner's voice followed by Hughes and he couldn't help but hold back a shudder.  

Pushing the images from his mind he pushed forward knowing he couldn't leave the witch in his grasp, no matter how much of a damn annoying princess she was.

Slamming his foot down on the ground as he entered the room behind them he tried to put on the face of an enraged lover and hopefully he would be able to pull it off.  "I don't know what you think you are doing Hughes but get your hands off of my bloody witch before you pull back a stub."  No matter what he would not leave her to endure things that would break her. As much how much they may have fought he valued her too much for that.

Reyna found herself facing Gage Hughes, a rather largely built boy in the same year as her with a horrid reputation, as rumor stated. The blonde flinched and shuddered in disgust as he stepped on one of the slugs now on the floor, but otherwise did not lose her haughty disposition. That is, until he reached over to grab her blouse and pulled her towards his overbearing self. The teen immediately grabbed at his hand, trying to pull it away from herself as she threw a glare at him.

How dare he take such liberties! "Let go, you filthy brute!!" he blonde demanded with a look of absolute repulsion on her normally pretty face, even as a bit of fear started to well up inside her from the threatening and intimidating tone and look in his eyes. Instead of letting her go, however, he tugged harder on her shirt. The action had her pulled upward, her toes barely touching the ground, and she clawed at the arm clutching her shirt.

Her eyes widened in fear a bit but Reyna did her best to continue glaring in her own rage. "You are responsible for this mess. You and your skulking. Clean it up yourself." She replied cooly, relieved when he did as she demanded and let her go. The teen was just about to turn from the awful boy to collect her things and leave him to the mess he was so obviously the cause of when he struck the back of her head with a forceful blow.

Having never been treated in such a brutal way, the entire action had caught her completely off guard and the Slytherin witch could only cry out in pain from the blow, too confused by this sudden attack to so much as attempt to protect herself or fight back, even as he shoved her onto the ground. The blonde ended up on her hands and knees in the disgusting slime from the spilt ingredients, and a sharp pain was added to her already pounding head as she felt him grab her hair roughly and force her face toward the boot that was covered with slime and slugs and demand she lick it.

By this time, Reyna's eyes were full of tears from both the pain and humiliation of being forced into such a despicable and demeaning position. The girl was no real fighter, and only ever fought with her at times vicious tongue, and through the pain, confusions and utter humiliation she was feeling the blonde knew no amount of tongue lashing would get her out of this situation. But still, she had pride for days and would not be heeding his command to lick the slime from his boot. It was vile and wretched, like he was, and she would not be doing it. Even if she was terrified.

"I will not!! Let me go!!" She demanded again in an almost chocked back sob, refusing to do as he demanded, and trying desperately not to vomit all over his boot as her face was so close to the slugs and slime on it. Reyna closed her eyes tightly from the sight, and jumped and almost screamed from the loud stomp to the ground that met her ears in the next second, body shuddering in terror as she winced from the pain in her head.

At the same time, the teen recognized a new voice. A very familiar new voice, and she could've kissed the other male for his timely interruption. It didn't matter that it was who it was, or maybe it did, seeing as her humiliation only doubled as the boy would be seeing her in such a state. It didn't even matter that he had called her his witch, even though normally she would have given him a good earful for such a statement. What mattered was that he would get her out of this horrid situation. Never had she been so grateful for his existence. Ok, so maybe she had never been grateful for his existence. But oh Merlin was she ever grateful for the boy who was Leyton Lestrange now.

Ah, how Gage loved the struggle! He could practically taste the blonde girl’s tears as he held her down and ripped at her hair. It was so funny how she thought she could fight him, especially as she was stuck on her hands and knees, unable to even look up at him as her sobbed out retorts reached his ears. Gage laughed harshly with a cold satisfaction to his tone. This was just too much fun.

”Oh, you will, princess. You can’t fight me off. Just look at you… down on your hands and knees like the slut that you are. Maybe you’ll get to lick something better once you finish with the shoe. Get that slug flavor off your soft little tongue…” His tone was cruel and mocking even as he heard the heavy steps of another person joining their little party. Gage turned his head with a sneer, still holding her in place by her hair.

The cruel laughter from before rang clearly again as he stared into the eyes of one Leyton Lestrange. ”Couldn’t get enough of me, could you Ley?” he teased, twisting his grip in the witch’s hair, sure it would only serve to anger the boy further. ”Your little witch got herself in a little situation here, you see, and she hasn’t done what is necessary to get herself out of it just yet.”

Gage’s lips curled up in an evil smile as he looked the boy up and down, his grip loosening slightly in the girl’s blonde mane. ”Unless of course, you want to do it for her? Be your little slut’s gallant hero and take her place at my feet? I’m not so sure she’s worth licking slugs and slime, but that’s up to you I guess.” He shrugged his shoulders, waiting to see what the older male would decide. Gage didn’t much care which of the two ended up licking his boot clean, as long as one of them did and the other was there to witness the humiliation.

He also was seriously considering the option of giving them a better option for their tongue, whichever decided to eat the slugs. Oh, yes. One of these snakes would be on their knees before him for better reasons than just cleaning his boot. His grin was never fading as he twisted his grip in the girl’s hair again, growing impatient. A decision had best be made soon, lest he pull the hair right out of her head.

Narrowing his eyes at the younger boy he kept a tight grip on his wand. There was a time and a place for being cruel and as annoying as Reyna was she did not deserve this. Trying to keep his temper in check he moved a step closer. He did not want to see Reyna any more hurt than she actually was and with some luck they would both walk out without a scratch. His luck was never that good though.

"More than enough actually thanks, not that it matters now." Raising a brow he shook his head, "The only person who belongs on his knees is you Gage and before the end of the year you will learn your place." Waving his wand he made the mess disappear and the slime left just a slight wet mark where it had landed.

"Now as I said, you will unhand MY witch or I will sever your hand off so it never touches another witch or wizard again. Make your choice wisely because I'm growing impatient and I've been just itching to show people just exactly what I'm made of."

The rumors of his cruelty growing had wrapped its way around the castle over the past few years but in the last month it had reached new levels. He was sick of being looked down at and underestimated. Leyton was not a weak man and would not be treated as such.

There wasn't much about the exchange of words between the two male Slytherins that Reyna really comprehended, though she clearly heard every word. She wasn't sure how it was possible for her to hear anything over the sound of her racing heartbeat. It was thumping so loudly she was sure the other two occupants could hear it, and it was beating so fast the blonde was sure it was about to beat right out of her chest. She almost preferred that to what the boy who had such a fierce grip on her hair was trying to make her do.

Of course, the teen had already made her mind up about it. Under no circumstances would she be licking anything off of anything, and that was final. She was not some animal, and even through her humiliation, the teen still had her pride. Though Reyna was unsure just how long that would keep her going in this predicament she was currently in. Even she knew she wasn't much of a fighter in any sense of the word. Why would she be? For all the riches her family had and all the things those riches had bought her, a way to defend herself in such a way was not one of them.

Of course, she learned a bit of such things at Hogwarts, but the fact was that the blonde had been raised to believe she was s far above the rest that no one deserved to so much as breathe the same air as her. To so much as touch her was just...unfathomable. And so there was no way for Reyna to be prepared for the brutal and despicable treatment she was now suffering, and being the pampered princess she was, it was just too terrible for words. Then, to add insult to injury, the boy had his nerve to call her something so disgraceful as a slut! How dare he! Did she look like Parkinson? Certainly not! She had never so much as kissed any of the lowly males that went to school there!

Reyna opened her mouth to spit back a venomous comment in retaliation and out of habit, but instead a chocked out scream of sorts came out. The hand that was tangled in her hair and practically pulling her lovely blonde locks by the roots twisted in a horribly painful way, and her head automatically moved to try and lessen the pain, which only made it worse. Tears sprang to her blue eyes and she wanted to reach up to claw at the hand but the position she was forced into wouldn't allow for that. "I am not some slut you filthy ogre! Unhand me you disgusting, disgraceful, pathetic excuse for a man!"

The blonde bit out angrily through the pain in her head and the humiliation at being held in such a disgraceful position, though she noted the vanishing of the mess the boy was trying to make her lick up and couldn't have been more thankful to the wizard who was Leyton Lestrange. The other boy's words were like music to her ears for the simple fact that they told her he wasn't just going to leave her there to this cruelty and she darkly hoped he ended up severing Hughe's hand off simply for having the nerve to so much as lay a finger on her. She supposed she could do that on her own once she was free to move again, but her clothes were ddirty enough without adding his filthy blood to the mess.

There was also a part of her that wanted to make some biting remark about how Lestrange was twice the man Hughes was on any given day, and if anyone should be licking anything Hughes should be licking the dirt from Leyton's shoes, but wisely clamped down on that. There was no need to reveal any secrets, even if Lestrange was playing the part of her...something. Reyna was rather surprised Leyton was helping her at all, and secretly, somewhere deep down, was pleased by the fact that he seemed so unwilling to leave her in the clutches of the younger boy. But now was not the time to think on such things. Never, was actually more like it. There was no hope in whatever possibility her mind might trick her into believing anyways.

"The mess is gone Hughes, now you will remove your filthy hand from my hair! You aren't worthy enough to so much as breathe the same air as me!" Merlin, she just wanted to be as far away from the pig of a boy as possible. Or behind Lestrange, at the very least.

Gage couldn’t hold back the cruel laughter that escaped his chest as the two snakes seemed to slither within his grasp. Oh, they were so easy to rile up, and he had so much fun doing so. Leyton was an easy target, and he was sure the boy would only give in to him as easily as he had given in to most everything he’d done the night before if he kept pushing him. There were very few people who could actually stand up to Gage Hughes, and even fewer who would do so after having experienced any sort of time alone with him…

He grinned easily even as the mess faded away with the older boy’s spell, rolling his eyes at Leyton’s threat and focusing again on the blonde who was still on her precious knees. Oh, he loved the way she squirmed! She fought his words with her own, and it only made him laugh even harsher, twisting his hand harder in her hair so that he could feel it tugging at her scalp, threatening to pull away from the skin where it belonged. If the girl wasn’t careful she’d be bald before he let her go back to her daft little boyfriend. That would be hilarious.

”Sorry, Toots, but I’m no ogre. I’m just the monsters that haunt your darkest dreams all rolled into one terror of a guy.” He pulled her up by her hair then, letting his other hand dart out to her throat, fingers wrapping around the back of her neck while his thumb traced her jaw. Gage forced her head back a bit with the hand that was still tangled in her pretty blonde locks, then leaned in and forced a hard, deep kiss on her, thrusting his tongue into her mouth and biting her bottom lip hard before he pulled away and tore the hand from her hair.

His other hand tightened on her throat for a moment before he used it to whip her toward the older boy, not caring if she landed safely or not. It seemed his fun was already over, and that was just sad, really. Now he needed to figure out what he would do next, and he didn’t much need the two idiot Slytherins to bother him while he did so. Unless…

”You know, Ley… you were so good last night. Maybe your little girl there deserves a bit of the Hughes treatment. Get a little powder, some Jim and Jack… Loosen her up a bit. Hell, you can have her first. You can even pick which hole I get.”

Leyton watched the other two with a very real fear of what could possibly happen to the girl in front of him. He just kept repeating to himself that he would get her out of this mess, even if it meant throwing himself in the line of fire so to speak.  He was still a bit sore from the night before, only remembering the bad parts of it and it had been late before he finally had dragged himself back to bed.  Partly because of the shape he was in and partly because he was ashamed to run into Draco and have to explain his state of disarray.  Reyna he knew would never survive such abuse and with the last breath in his body he would protect her from such.

Moving a bit closer he kept his wand raised as he narrowed his eyes at the boy, "You will take your hands off of her now Gage or I will sever them off and shove them so far up your arse it will take a medi-witch to remove them again. You've been warned once and I do not like repeating myself."  He meant every word that left his lips.  Leyton was sick of everyone in the castle underestimating him like he was some weakling.  

Growling lowly as Gage manhandled her up he raised his wand even more trying to find the right place to hex him without hurting her but he froze when the boys hands wrapped around her throat. It took everything he had inside of him not to lunge at him and just as he was about to move Gage practically threw Reyna at him.  Catching her as he fell backwards he somehow managed to keep them both on their feet and kissing her cheek gently he shoved her behind him as quickly as he could.

"Go Reyna, now. DO NOT stop until you are safely back to the dorms." Pushing her towards the door again he kept his wand on the level.  "I think its time to show you the proper place for that tongue Gage and it isn't in your mouth," he growled out, his eyes flashing dangerously.

Reyna just wanted out of this horrible situation. That cruel and harsh laughter filled her with a sense of foreboding she had never experienced before, and a very real chill of fear ran up her spine as a scream of agony sounded in the small and confined room when the hand in her hair twisted in a way that was beyond painful to the blonde. A fresh wave of angry and pained tears fell from her blue eyes and streamed down her cheeks, and her humiliation grew to a new level.

Never in her life had she been treated with such force and brutality, and the Slytherin witch found herself absolutely terrified for the first time in her young life. Growing up pampered and more than well taken care of, the teen had no concept of mistreatment. Any and all battles she ever participated in were of verbal matches of cunning wit and sharp tongues, neither of which would serve to help her here. When it came to physical confrontations, she had not the slightest inkling of how to handle it. Why would she? It was not proper for a young woman such as herself to be involved in such things.

One might consider the blonde naive for it, but she had been raised in a world of purebloods, where the males would never dare to lay a finger on her. The entire notion was just criminal. They might tease, and taunt, and make biting remarks and even attempt to insult. But never would they harm a single strand of hair on her head. Not even Lestrange, the boy who was currently so adamant that the younger of the three let her go before he did something untoward to Hughes. Though Lestrange had threatened her with bodily harm a plenty time before, he had never been so terrible as to actually cross that line and do the damage he threatened her with.

So it was no wonder that the girl would never consider such a situation, or being treated in such a way, when the world she grew up in taught her such things would never happen to her. There was never any need to be prepared for even the chance of such a scene. Soft, pristine, and utterly feminine, Reyna was not made for things such as she was currently experiencing, and she felt weak and betrayed, along with angry and humiliated. But even the weak had the natural fight or flight instincts, and since flight wasn't currently an option as she was pulled back up to her feet with a strangled scream of pain...

The blonde's eyes were squeezed shut tight against her tears and in her pain, but her hands immediately came up to claw at the arms of the boy as the hand that wasn't in her hair wrapped around her throat. Her panic at the action was apparent as she immediately began to struggle with whatever little bit of strength she had, and Reyna even so far as to aim a decently hard kick between his legs. She heard that hurt males, and could only hope it connected to return some of the pain he was forcing on her as her eyes shot open wide when his foul mouth covered hers and his filthy tongue was thrust roughly into her mouth.

Nothing but terror and utter disgust flowed through her and shown in her wide blue eyes, and Reyna did the only thing she could think of. She bit down as hard as she could on that revolting flesh that was practically raping her mouth, only to find her airway trapped briefly before she was tossed away carelessly and effortlessly like some rag doll and into the sure hands of Leyton Lestrange.

The blonde felt him stumble backwards but thankfully he somehow managed to keep them both upright and it no longer mattered to her that she was supposed to act a certain way or be a certain form of proper. The Slytherin witch had just been forced to kneel on the filthy ground in slug slime and nearly had her beloved locks ripped right out of her skull. Add that to the fact that she had just been violated so horribly and it wasn't surprising that she immediately turned into the safety of the boy, crying her despair against his firm and strong body as she felt him place an gentle kiss to her cheek.

The action completely confused her, as did the shove she received as he forced her behind him, placing himself between her and that monster who had taken so many liberties he had no right to she wanted nothing more but to see him pay ten times over for it and even then some. But Leyton had other ideas and his angry and sharp tone sent a shudder through her. She had known him for years, and she had never seen or heard him this angry before. The idea of telling him he had no right to tell her what to do and that she didn't take orders sounded almost absurd, all things considered, and she hesitated.

She really didn't want to leave him there on his own, but at the same time, she wanted to be as far away from Hughes as possible. Lestrange didn't give her much choice in the matter, however, as he pushed her further toward the door. Reyna had every intention at that point to follow his command for the first time ever, but Hughes opened that foul mouth if his and the teen saw red. Never, in all her life, had she been so insulted!! If there was one thing she prided herself on it was that she wasn't some slag pretending to be else. She was pure, in every sense of the word, and she turned back around with utter loathing for the younger boy.

"How dare you!! You aren't fit to so much as look at me!!" Her wand was in her shaking hand and raised before she could even consciously think of her action as curses spewed from her lips. "Confringo!" She called, hoping to have the boy bursting into flame as she followed up with the slug-vomiting hex that would have him vomiting slugs, even we her own eyes widened in shock at her own actions. Served him right though for trying to make her eat them, and for his implications made.

Gage was so irritated with both his companions he didn’t know whether he would rather bash their heads together or simply fuck them both at once somehow. Actually, getting them unconscious and then fucking them would be a fantastic idea if he was being honest, but then the idiot blonde decided to bite his damn tongue and he was all the happier that he’d thrown her a bit harder than he’d originally intended.

He wasn’t sure what all Leyton was threatening him with at this point, but he didn’t much care either. He was ready to be done with them both, and all he wanted to do was wrap his hands around their throats and squeeze as hard as he could… The idea of them both suffocating in his grasp was so tantalizing that Gage could feel himself growing painfully erect at the very thought.

As he approached the pair, Gage collected the blood from his wounded tongue and spat at them both, sure he’d hit at least one of them with the wad of bloody saliva. His balls didn’t even hurt anymore now that he was hard again- he’d had so many experiences being kicked there that he’d sort of built up a mental shield against it. Seemed his pain receptors were a bit warped in general, though. Sure, it had hurt a decent amount, but it wasn’t that much of a game changer for the younger man. He’d been able to perform just after such a hit before, and he had made the slut scream.

”Aren’t you going to do as you’re told, Toots? Be the good little pureblooded whore you were raised to be? Ley wants to have some one-on-one time with his new favorite man, didn’t you hear? He likes being used. Isn’t that right, Ley?” His gaze was cruel and dark. Her comment was easy for him to respond to, even as he dodged the flames that singed his arm hair. ”I’ll look at you all I want, Toots. Besides, my one-eyed snake is easily it to stare into your… musky cavern.”

His smile was haunting as he put up a shield, blocking her slug hex and going so far as to laugh at the girl. ”Try again, Toots. You weren’t made for fighting. Don’t you know your proper place? You should be parading around in pretty dressing, only so men like me and Ley here can peel them off of you. There are other proper places as well. On your back, on your knees… Hell, even standing against the wall…” He chuckled as he strode right up to the couple, staring into Leyton’s eyes. ”What are you going to do then, Ley? I’m right here. Come at me.”

In all of the years that he had known Reyna and been around her he should have known that she would never listen to the simple order he had given. All she had to do was leave the room like a good little girl so that he could take care of the monster once and for all before he did to someone else what he did to him.

Narrowly missing the spells that Reyna shot off from behind him he scowled down at her over his shoulder giving her a look that said that she should have known better. Though he did have to applaud her for her effort as he really thought she did not have such gumption inside of her.

"Just bloody once I wish you would listen to me Reyna," he muttered as he turned back to face a very angry Gage. Shifting quickly he made sure to put enough space between himself and Reyna that Gage would not be able to get around him to grab at her, which meant he took a good amount of bloody saliva right to the middle of the chest.

"Well thats disgusting," he retorted with a dark scowl keep his wand on the level at the boy, trying to keep a tight grip on his emotions as the boy hinted at the day before. Leyton would never be so stupid to allow himself to get in another situation like that. The cuts on his back would not heal for anything he did to them and they still stung every time he moved, and it was only going to hurt more.

As Gage strode right up to him Leyton took a step backwards shoving Reyna out of the room and slamming the door behind her as soon as she was out muttering a locking spell as he did. She did not need to witness what came next. "This." He said as he launched himself at the boy swinging his fists as he did. His goal was to tackle the boy to the ground and he was hoping the element of semi surprise would work in his favor.

Gage had to laugh as the older boy shoved his little girlfriend out of the room. So, Ley wanted some revenge, did he? Oh, he could see that look in the boy’s eyes. He wanted a taste of blood, and the younger snake wasn’t even all that opposed to giving it to him. Odd as it might seem, Gage got a sort of high from the endorphins and adrenaline released naturally during a fight, especially when he was the one getting his ass kicked.

Of course, he generally came back at the end to knock the other guy out, but that was beside the point. Right now it was the start of the physical violence, and Gage craved that metallic taste that meant he was bleeding. As if in answer to his desires, the other boy leapt at him just then, fists flying for his face. He’d assumed the punches were coming, but he didn’t count on the tackle, which had the boy falling backwards to the stone floor, head smacking off the solid ground.

Oh, fuck! His head felt like it had just been hit with a jackhammer a few good times, and Gage let out a loud hiss and grunt, not even feeling the punches that hit hard on his left eye and the right side of his mouth. His jaw might have cracked a bit as the hit was so hard, but all he could feel right now was the radiating pain from the very back of his skull. He’d never felt pain this bad. His vision was blurred and he could barely figure out how to speak, let along get the boy off of him.

Gage had never been afraid in his life, until now. This moment was the most frightening he’d ever experienced, as his vision went black around the edges and he spat sideways, a tooth flying out with a mouthful of blood. ”Fuck, Ley, maybe I was wrong yesterday. Maybe I will pay…” he said weakly with a sadistic grin. By now it was pretty clear he’d at least cracked his skull with the fall, especially as he could feel the warm liquid soaking into his hair. The black parts wouldn’t show it, but he was sure by now the crimson substance was coloring the bleached half of his hair. Surely the older Slytherin would notice how badly he was bleeding from his head. Of course, the boy could easily just leave him there. Let him die. It would probably be a very slow and painful death, too.

The boy shuddered and choked out a laugh, coughing and spitting more dark blood beside him on the floor. ”Go on then, Ley. Get your revenge before you miss your chance. You can’t properly exact revenge on the dead.”

Every thing that had been beat into him over the years, every last of mistreatment he had been dealt, all of the frustration came barreling to the surface as Leyton launched himself forward at the boy.  He had not been this angry, ever and he had been through some pretty fucked up situations.  Years of bottling everything up had caused the volcano to errupt and now there was no stopping him.  Knuckles pounded the soft flesh of the boy not caring about the damage it was doing.

That was until he heard the sick crunch of flesh against stone that he stopped punching the younger boy.  "You should pay you sick fuck for everything you did to me." Falling backwards he scrambled away from the boy and was pulling back his foot to kick him in the stomach, that was until he saw the crimson starting to seep out onto the cold stone ground.

Eyes growing wide he froze for a moment, his insides turning to ice and feeling the distinct urge to be sick. "No..no.. what have I done.. I've become him.." He muttered to himself, face pale and hands shaking he turned and bolted from the room, the door slamming against the wall as he tore off down the empty corridor.  Leyton knew he had to get far away from the scene of the crime.  It wouldn't matter if the boy was still alive if a professor found him.  They would send him straight to Azkaban where he was certain he would spend the rest of his life.

Pushing into the common room he nearly fell in the door thankful to see only a few people around.  Straightening himself back up he gave them a glare daring them to speak to him and as soon as he entered the hall he took off running to his bedroom.  With another slam of the door he crawled into bed throwing up muffling spells just barely in time to muffle the sobs that escaped over his lips.

His lips were going numb as Gage listened to the older boy’s panic. Heh. So he’d fucked Ley up even more with this last hoorah. At least he wasn’t dying without doing something evil in the process. In truth, the boy couldn’t argue that he probably deserved death by this point. He’d done enough things to be deemed the devil himself, so it was only fitting he make his way to hell.

He heard the door slam open in the distance, though it kind of sounded like he was in some sort of tunnel. He wasn’t even sure if he had legs at this point, so it wasn’t surprising that he couldn’t feel them. Gage tried to laugh, but all that came out was a gurgle of sorts as he struggled to breathe while blood oozed up from his throat. Wasn’t that a sign of death?

Tilting his head sideways, the boy coughed more deep red blood over the floor. His vision was fading slowly. It was hard for him to focus on any single thought. It felt oddly cold, and his head felt very heavy, even though it was resting on the floor. It was hard to keep his eyes open, so the boy let them slide shut. Why should he try to keep them open anyway? It wasn’t like he didn’t’ know what was going to happen…

Before much time had passed, the boy’s breath had slowed to a final long sigh, his heart beating a couple feeble times before coming to an eerily silent halt. In that moment, the world was suddenly able to breathe a bit easier. The monster known as Gage Hughes was no more.

Skyler was traipsing back through the dungeons, on her way from the kitchens, green granny apple in her hand and a grin on her lips. The teen had gone to pay the dear little house elf that was such good friends with Harry a visit. As well as to give him some goodies she knew he would enjoy. She really did like Dobby. He was odd, yes. Eccentric really. And that was probably the main reason she was so taken with the funny little creature.

Ever since her Gryffindor boyfriend had shown her the kitchens of Hogwarts after that fateful truth or dare party her and Ginny had somehow thought would be a good idea, Sky made sure to make time to go there atleast once a week, even if just for a few minutes. Of course, rarely was it only for a few minutes, as the brunette enjoyed taking her books and things and doing her studying or catching up on the schoolwork she left sitting for way too long. The teen had found she got more work done there than anywhere else, considering there was a lot less to distract her in the kitchens.

Dobby was actually really helpful, as he often times provided her with various fruits and things to practice her charms and transfiguration spells that she hadn't quite mastered in class on, and sometimes he even read through her essays, which was always rather amusing to the Slytherin witch, since she had no clue as to whether he really understand what they were about or not. But he was supportive either way, and praised her work so enthusiastically the teen couldn't help but grin in a pleased way, regardless of whether or not she agreed.

In truth, one of the main reasons Skyler was so determined to maintain her routine of visiting the elf was that he was like happy pill. The creature was so enthusiastic all the time about everything, and radiated positive energy so much that it was contagious. He was a funny little thing, and the brunette enjoyed his odd company, though she had always liked house elves. They were incredible creatures, and their magical capabilities always astounded her.

On this occasion she had brought the elf some knitting yarn, in various different shades of colors, much to the utter delight and gratefulness of Dobby, who promised her pairs of socks in her favorite colors. In the end, the small witch had ended up spending a good hour or so down in the kitchens, visiting with the elf and finishing up a few essays that were due the following day before regretfully taking her leave so that she might catch up with Draco for a bit before hitting the shower. Harry was running a Quidditch practice, so she wasn't worried about seeking him out that evening.

Hence the reason the petite brunette was strutting through the dungeon corridors leisurely, book bag slung over her shoulder, wand tucked behind her right ear as per usual while she tossed the green apple into the air, only to catch it when gravity pulled it back down. Sky was in an oddly happy mood, all things considered, and given her time spent around the crazy elf she counted as a friend, so she should have known something was about to throw her for a loop.

The Slytherin had just entered the corridor where the potions storeroom was located, when the door to the room suddenly flew open, slamming against the wall with a loud bang, the sound making her jump slightly as her purple eyes widened at both the action and the person who had apparently caused it. "Leyski?" The teen questioned, though it was muttered more to herself than anything, so she doubted there was any way the older snake would have heard her as he bolted down the corridor in the opposite direction, not even having looked in her direction at all.

Her hand went up automatically to snatch the apple she had tossed into air, one dark brow arching at the boy's retreating back as he disappeared around the corner. "Well that was strange.." She cocked her head, a curious expression overtaking her features as she looked this way and that, finding the corridor completely deserted save for herself now, before her gaze settled on the door of the storeroom which snapped back shut with an audible click. She didn't know Leyton very well, but what she did know was that she had never seen the older boy act in such a way. He had taken off like his life depended on it, and Sky couldn't help but wonder why.

The brunette approached the door slowly, unsure if she wanted to get very close in case someone else came bolting out and smacked her with the door, because somehow that didn't sound very appealing. Her keen sense of hearing picked up a struggled, ragged sort of breathing though, and her nose picked up the scent of blood, though it wasn't particularly strong. More surprising than either of those was the fact that another familiar scent caught her sense of smell, and Sky was doubly intrigued. What the hell was Leyton doing with Hughes?

She didn't want to jump to conclusions, but neither did she particularly want to face the boy she knew had to be in the room. Especially not in such a confined space. But in the end, curiosity won out, and the teen figured peeking her head in couldn't hurt matters. Sky had no clue just how much she would end up cursing her own curiosity as she grabbed the handle of the door and turned it, pushing it open enough to get a good look. There was nothing that could have prepared her for what waited inside.

The moment she pushed the door open, the strong smell of blood assaulted her senses, making her wrinkle her nose in distaste. Her gaze fell onto the large form of Gage Hughes, sprawled across the stone floor in a puddle of blood. Skyler's eyes widened in shock and horror, and for the moment she was completely frozen, unable to comprehend what she was seeing, much less what she should be doing. Her ears could hear the fact that he was still breathing, though every sense she had told her it wouldn't be for much longer, and just as she came to that conclusion, the boy on the floor seemed to give one final breath before all sound except for her own racing heart came to a halt.

Skyler covered her mouth with a hand, spinning back out of the room and pulling the door closed, leaning her back against it heavily as she squeezed her eyes shut, small hand gripping the handle so tightly her knuckles turned white. Oh god. For once in her life she wished she hadn't been so damn fuckin curious. There was dead boy on the ground behind the door she was ready to collapse against, and she had literally just watched said boy take his last breath. The tens had never wanted to be rid of a memory as badly as she wanted to be rid of that one.

Her mind was racing just as fast as her heart, and her very first instinct was to get as far away from there as possible. She was ready to bolt, dash away from the scene of the crime and hope to Merlin no one ever knew she had been there, but before she could follow instincts her mind seemed to kick back into gear, piecing together what she saw inside the room with what had happened in the moments that had led up to her entering it in the first place. "Merlin, Leyski. What did you do?" Sky whispered to herself, looking around to find the corridor was still vacant save for herself.

The Slytherin forced herself to take deep, calming breaths, trying to clear her mind, pushing her shock and horror aside and getting control of her nerves long enough to think up what she should do. Instinct told her to run. Common sense told her to find the nearest adult and let them deal with it. But the smartest part of her knew neither of those was the safest route. There was no way for her to know what had happened in that storeroom between the boys, and she wasn't sure she wanted to either. What she did know was that yes, a boy was dead, but he was a boy who deserved it in the most painful ways imaginable. Gage Hughes hadn't even been a boy. He had been a monster. A monster she knew plenty of people would be satisfied he was no longer there to terrorize the castle.

So whatever Leyton had done, if he had in fact done it, was no more than what a lot of people had wanted to, including herself. If she ran now, even to fetch a teacher, there was no telling whether or not anything would lead back to Leyton. With that thought, Skyler's instincts to protect her friends kicked in, allowing her to think even further outside her shock and panic. But what was she going to do? For once, the brunette was completely clueless, without a plan, without even the hopes of making a plan. Covering up a death was not in her job description!

Her panic was starting to take hold as the seconds ticked by, and she knew any moment someone could come by to stock their potions kit or something or other. She knew she needed to act quickly, but she didn't know what to do. Who could she even go to with this? Draco!! He was her strength when she didn't have none, and her voice of reason when she couldn't think. Gone were the days where Skyler would try to handle everything on her own. The teen needed to learn how to lean on the blonde when she couldn't handle things, and this, she couldn't handle. Not on her own. And for once, the brunette was prepared to admit that fact rather than ignore it.

Decision made, Sky barely had the forethought to lock and ward the storeroom door before she took off as fast as her legs would carry her. The wards she out up wouldn't keep anyone out for long, but they would hopefully by her the time she needed to find Draco and drag him back there. She raced through the corridors toward the Slytherin lair, hoping she would find the blonde there, and just as she rounded the corner to the corridor that led to the entrance, she found him exiting it. "Alpha!!" The Slytherin witch cried out, her tone a mixture of relief, panic, and urgency as she skidded to a halt before him, panting through her parted lips, and grabbing his hand to start tugging him back down the way she had just come.

"You have..to come..have to..help..I couldn't..didn't know.." The teen got out amidst her pants in breathy whispers, pulling him forcefully as her panic-stricken eyes looked at him as if he could solve all the problems she had no idea how to. He had to help her. They had to help Leyton. He had to know what to do. He just had to. Draco always did.

Draco had been lounging in the common room for what felt like hours, reading and re-reading his Defense essay to make sure it was up to standard, as he’d been lectured by his godfather about his last one falling short. Damn old man didn’t seem to understand how much pressure the Slytherin Prince was under at the moment, what with all the crazy things going on in his life and his attempts to keep things in the snake pit running smoothly. No, let’s add in exceedingly difficult homework standards as well. That seems completely reasonable.

He’d rolled his eyes when the people around him started gasping and cackling, apparently teasing someone who’d just walked in. That was, until he looked up and noticed who it was. The retreating form of his cousin heading toward his room had Draco standing up, his essay tossed onto the table where he knew no one would mess with it unless they had a death wish. What the hell was going on now?

It seemed pretty obvious that Leyton didn’t want to be bothered at the moment, so the blonde instead glared at the people who were foolish enough to keep up the chatter about the older male as he made his way out of the common room and into the corridor. His tie was back with his supplies, but he still had on his white oxford which was mostly unbuttoned, hair disheveled and one of his shoes untied. He was rather messy for a Malfoy, but he wasn’t too concerned about that. The boy flicked his wand at the untied shoe, forcing the laces to tie as he grit his teeth, noticing his panicked fail snake running to him.

”Fail snake. What the hell is going on? I just saw Leyton storm through the common room like all hell had broken loose and now you look like you’ve seen a damn ghost! And I don’t mean the Bloody Baron, either…” he easily kept up with her as she led him to the potions storage room, dread growing in the pit of his stomach, especially as he caught scent of the blood in the air. Oh, yes, the wolf senses were still very strong, especially when blood was involved.

He quirked a brow at her, looking around to make sure they were alone, then putting up a sort of repelling spell at the end of the hall. Now people would get the feeling they shouldn’t go down that way, and hopefully it would deter most while he figured out what they were dealing with and what they were going to do. ”Oh, Salazar’s scrotum, what the hell did he do now…” Draco muttered, removing his fiancée’s wards and opening the door.

His eyes went wide and dark as he looked at the scene before him. Hughes, the devil incarnate, lie on the floor in his own blood, eyes unseeing as he stared blankly at the ceiling. [color:2c03=99FF66]”Fuck.” He had no idea what they were going to do now. There was a bloody dead body in the storage room, he was sure Leyton was at least involved, if not to blame, and now he and his fail snake were just as much to blame if they didn’t tell someone! ”Oh fucking hell, Ley, what the fuck did you do?” His voice was a tortured mutter as he turned and kicked the doorframe, not even feeling the pain in his foot while he ran both hands roughly through his hair.

”Okay. Hughes deserved it, even if I hope it was some kind of accident. Merlin, don’t let Ley be a bloody murderer. Sweet Salazar… Okay, fail snake. We’ve gotta do some… damage control.” He took a deep gulp of air and stepped closer to the body, looking it over and noticing the tell-tale signs of a fight. That would not work at all. ”We’re gonna get rid of the signs of the fight. Gotta make it look like he was alone. He slipped. Cracked his head on the floor. Nobody heard him yell. It was all just an accident. Just what he deserved coming for him… That sounds doable, right?”

Draco looked at Sky with fear and hope swimming in those dark silver orbs. He was terrified, but he had to do something. He had to keep his family safe, and he had to protect his Snakes as well. He was their leader. It was his job. ”Once it’s clear Leyton was nowhere near here, we’ll go to godfather. He’ll know how to handle the accident.” He could always let his godfather into his mind to see the truth as well. Draco trusted the man with everything. If Snape knew what tracks they were covering, it would be all the easier to keep them well hidden…

Skyler visibly winced as Draco kicked the door frame with enough force she knew it had to have hurt and ran his hand through his hair in the tell take sign of his frustration. The teen opened her mouth, but closed it again, deciding that this probably wasn't the best time to inform the blonde that the now dead boy hadn't exactly been that way when she had come across him. She wasn't even sure if she would have had the time, even without her hesitation, to really save Hughes from dying anyways. And the older boy really did have it coming. That hardly did anything to ease her guilt though, or the implications it set.

What if that hadn't been Hughes? What if it had been someone else? Someone she cared about? What bothered the brunette most about her hesitancy was that it hadn't been the fact that it was Hughes that had her pausing, but the shock of the situation. While Sky was sure anyone would've been just as equally shocked as she had been, there was a part of her that felt like she might have just watched a friend die because of her inability to quickly recover from her shock. For someone who generally thrived under pressure, the Slytherin witch was beginning to doubt her ability to do so.

But that was neither here nor there at the moment, since, according to Draco, they needed to do some damage control. The teen was desperately trying not to look at the dead boy on the stone floor any more than was entirely necessary, and instead focused on flicking her wand at her fiancée's foot to rid him whatever pain he would undoubtedly feel whenever the Slytherin male got over his own panic and shock enough to feel it. "Leyski may be a lot of things, but a murderer isn't one of them. He seemed panic when he was running from here. Not exactly the action of a cold blooded murderer."

Skyler responded shakily, trying to reassure both herself and her Alpha of that. While deep down she really did believe that Leyton wasn't a murderer, she couldn't argue with the fact that she barely knew the older snake. Not to mention that the boy lying dead on the floor seemed to say otherwise, given that there was obviously the signs of a fight. "It could just be a coincidence that Leyski was here. Maybe he just found Hughes like this and panicked, leaving before anyone came along and he could be implicated in whatever actually happened..."

The brunette trailed off quietly, her words sounding hopeful even to herself. It was a possibility though, that couldn't be denied, even if did seem a bit farfetched. But it didn't really seem too far out of the realm of possibilities. As far as Sky knew, Leyton and Hughes didn't interact at all, so she couldn't see why the seventh year would be fighting with the sixth year. Much less killing the demon that was Hughes.

As Draco worded his plan, Skyler's eyes rose to meet his, finding the same panic she herself felt swimming in his silver gaze. Regardless of what really happened, Leyton seemed to be the only connection at the moment between the dead Gage Hughes, and how he had come to be dead, and as such, the older Slytherin had to be protected. He was Draco's family. Her's too, practically. Not to mention he was a snake, and it was not only the blonde's job to protect the snakes, but her's as well. The most important thing was to cover up whatever tracks may lead to questioning the theory Draco had come up with. Atleast that would give them the time to find out what really happened, then they could cross that bridge when they came to it.

The teen took a deep breath, resigned to taking part in the cover up as she nodded to her fiancé, pulling her wand from it's place behind her ear and easing herself further into the storage room and toward the corpse she really had no desire to be near. "It's logical. And will be believable once we're done here. Though if you plan on lying to your Godfather you can leave me out of it. I'm no good at lying to him, and I really don't care to either way."

Closing her eyes for a moment and willing herself to remain calm and not throw up all over the place, Skyler forced herself to crouch next to the dead boy so as to better see what she was dealing with as far as getting rid of any bruises and signs of a fight. The brunette knew Draco was terrible with healing spells, so that only left one option, since she had no other ideas as to how to get rid of the bruises and marks covering Hughes' face. But being so close to the dead boy had her mind going in a direction she hadn't allowed it to since that fateful night in the Headmaster's office, when she had been told her parents were dead.

Since that night, Skyler had avoided the topic of her family like the plague, closing off whenever they were mentioned. Whenever someone questioned her about them, or their untimely demise. She still had no clue as to how they had died, at the time, she hadn't wanted any part in the knowledge. But now, faced with the boy lying in a puddle of his own blood, it was hard not to think about them, or wonder how they had gone to their deaths. The teen had made herself imagine they had a quick and virtually painless death, but the current situation had her mind dredging up all the darker possibilities she had been too weak to handle, and had forced away.

What if it had been some sick and twisted individual who got off on hearing their victims scream bloody murder in their pain and agony who had killed her parents? Her grandmother? What if it had been someone who enjoyed playing with their food before eating it? What if it had been someone sadistic enough to make them watch each other die in some cruel and torturous way? Or even worse, what if they had been forced to kill each other off? Or even worse still, what if they had died being tortured for information on herself, or on something else she had no way of knowing about?

The ideas circled in her mind, each one worse than the next, and her imagination began to run rampant as it imagined the scenarios her mind was coming up with. Sky choked back a sob, willing herself to stay in one piece long enough to help Draco protect his cousin. She forced back the tears, shoved her thoughts and bubbling grief and emotions aside, and focused on the task at hand. The teen did her best to close her mind off to anything else, her sole concentration on what she needed to do to make sure there was nothing to lead back to Leyton.

The brunette took in the bruises that had developed on the older boy's face, her eyes shimmery with the tears she refused to let fall as she raised a wand held in a shaking hand, murmuring spells that had the bruises fading away one by one. "You know, covering up might-be murders wasn't on the list of extra-curricular activities Hogwarts offers." Sky commented quietly, not really caring if it was a terrible time for any kind of humor. She had to do something to keep her mind from going back to that place that was much too close to the forefront of her mind than it needed to be.

With the signs of a fight taken care of, Hughes looked more or less like a boy who had finally gotten his comeuppance in one of the least likely of ways. By slipping and cracking his own skull on the stone floor. The only thing that was missing was something for him to have slipped on. Skyler pushed herself up, gazing at the many ingredients on the shelves. "What ingredients go in whatever potion you sixth years are working on in class this week?"

Hopefully one of them was atleast slippery should it spill. While she knew the dead boy wasn't one to go to class everyday, it stood to reason that he atleast attended a few a week. Otherwise he would've been kicked out long before this point. If he was found with a slippery ingredient for whatever potion the sixth years were working on on the floor around his feet along with a broken jar, it would be a likely conclusion for anyone that he would've been in the storage room for ingredients, dropped the jar, slipped, cracked his skull, and then well...died, obviously. It was better than nothing. It wasn't like everyone had a tendency to trip over their own two feet after all. And even if they were, she was sure only a select few who could manage it in such a small room as the potions store room.

Draco watched as Sky healed the bruises that were quickly darkening on the dead boy’s face, feeling a sense of dread deep in the pit of his stomach. The words his fiancée said about his cousin matched up with the way he’d entered the common room and fled to his dorm, but still… Draco was worried. Worried for the boy and his rage, for the dead one and his family, even if he did have a certain history. He was worried about his own family and the consequences of whatever had happened in this little storage room. Merlin, but most of all, he was worried about his fail snake, who seemed pale and a bit shaky.

He shook his head at the notion of lying to his godfather, knowing full well it wouldn’t work for one, and that he couldn’t do it even if it would. Snape was the one man that Draco could trust with anything- even murder. Even if Draco had been the one to kill the boy, he’d have gone to his godfather with nothing but truth on his lips and fear in his heart.

It seemed that once he had stopped talking, Draco wasn’t very willing to start back up, so he set to examining the rest of the scene while Sky finished her work on the body. He wanted to take hold of her and pull her into his arms, quell the worry he could see on her features, but he knew they needed to act fast, so he restrained himself. Instead, he looked around and noticed the rest of the status of the storage room. There was a shattered jar on the floor, slugs and slime all over the stone. Perfect.

”Hey, fail snake, I think I found your slipping substance. And it’s already broken and in place, too…” he muttered as she finished and voiced her idea. Draco had gotten down in a crouch to examine the footprints in the muck. Leyton’s and a much smaller set. Feminine. Expensive, judging by the brand printed on the sole of the shoe. Oh bloody hell…

”More than just Ley knew Hughes was here. We might have to search out another party to make sure this doesn’t all fall apart, though it looks like whoever she is ran off sooner than this happened, since she only got the slime. Most likely she’d have gotten blood if she’d been around for the fight.” He tried to think of who wore that expensive of a designer brand. It was also a wizard designer, rather than muggle. Only one girl stood out to him, especially considering Leyton’s involvement. Bloody Sunshine.

This could get rather difficult, but perhaps not. Perhaps she’d believe the boy slipped when trying to storm off. It was probably her who had dropped the jar, though. The blonde shook his head, clearing the footsteps of both Reyna and Leyton. ”Now, we just need to put some of the slime on the soles of his shoes I think. That should make it believable…”

He used his wand to transfer the sludge to the dead boy’s boots, then stood again, looking at Sky with deep concern in his stormy gaze. ”Baby, are you okay? Merlin, I never wanted you to have to do anything like this… Welcome to the family, I guess,” he added with a little shrug and a half-smile. He figured if she could joke a bit, he could too. She’d taught him to lighten up, after all. What a better time than when they were both so close to cracking?

”Is there anything else we need to fix, or do you think we can get godfather involved now?” Once they left this room, it would all be in the hands of their Head of House and the Head of the school. Draco was determined that he would take his fiancée to the Room of Requirement after this was all taken care of, too. Ask for a hot tub and a huge bed before a nice warm fire… Relaxation never sounded so good.

Skyler turned her head at the sound of Draco's voice, following his line of sight to the broken jar and slime and slugs spewed across the stone floor. Well. That would work. How had they not noticed that before? Oh right. The dead boy on the ground sort of took up most of the forefront of her mind. Who noticed things like slime and slugs when there was a dead body in front of them?

Of course, the entire scene now had her brows furrowing, especially as Draco crouched down to inspect the footprints left behind by whoever else had been there aside from them and Leyton. Her lips turned down into a frown as the implications her Alpha made rang out in the small room. A scenario was starting to form in her mind, several scenarios in fact, but none were anything she really wanted to linger on for very long. Atleast the new fact of someone else having been in the room was giving her something else to focus on other than the thoughts of her own dead parents and how they had met their untimely demise.

Previous experience and knowledge of Hughes had the brunette considering this new piece of information in several ways. Draco specifically said 'she'. Meaning whoever else had been there with Hughes had been a female. Not surprising, considering the boy in question. Sky still had no clue why anyone would let the boy in a school of any sort. It was like a feeding grounds for him, and everyone in it was a prey. Either way though, the teen was fairly certain that if a female was involved, that meant there was some kind of vile altercation between Hughes and the girl. There were really only a few reasons the older boy would be spending his time around anyone, she knew, and none of those reasons were at all pleasant to think about.

Sky shuddered at the thoughts flowing through her mind. While searching out a new suspect, or in this case, probably victim, was not what she really wanted to hear, it atleast shed some light on the entire situation. Though it was still a possibility that Leyton had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time when she had happened across the outer corridor, somehow the teen didn't think so, especially with what Draco was saying. She watched as he cleared away the footprints with a wave of his wand, following up with using his wand to transfer some of the slime onto the bottom of Hughes' shoes. "Somehow I feel like Gryffindor isn't the only house with heroes.." The Slytherin witch murmured softly with a sad tone, an equally sad look in her violet eyes as she shook her head a bit, turning her gaze back to her fiancé.

The brunette's gaze softened immediately upon seeing the concern in his own grey eyes. It was just like him, to be so concerned about her even in the midst of the situation they found themselves in. It was even more surprising how that very fact stole her breath away. The blonde never failed to amaze her with his strength, his love, his caring soul and heart. Odd maybe, that these things should come to mind with a dead body at her feet, but it was almost like the silver lining on a particularly dark cloud. It was then that Sky decided that was what Draco was. Partly, because he was so much more as well, but he was the silver lining in her life. The promise of a bright future was all she saw whenever she looked at him, and especially in times like the one there.

"I'm alright Drake. Well..as alright as anyone would be I think.." She trailed off, taking a small but deep breath and exhaling after a moment, returning his half smile with one of her own, thankful for his attempt at a joke. The teen rolled her eyes at him, shaking her head. "Anything for family right? But if your cousin thinks he's getting out of that lifetime supply of chocolate after this, he is off his rocker." She responded with slight humor, unable to help the remark at all, and finding she didn't really care to anyways. Sky might have felt bad about joking over a dead person, if that dead person was someone other than Hughes.

Looking at the boy one last time, the brunette had to think the world should rejoice in his death. It was uncannily harsh of the Slytherin to think such a thing, but she couldn't muster even the slightest regret that the older boy was now dead. He had deserved to die a thousand times over, in much more painful ways than cracking his skull on the stone floor, for all the cruel things he had done in his short life. "If it was Leyski who's responsible for this, I'll take it to my grave. He did the world a favor." Her voice was soft, but rang with conviction as hard, purple eyes took in the monster that was Gage Hughes one last time. Apparently justice was served every now and then. "I think we've covered everything. Let's go get your godfather."

Sky turned away from the dead boy and the entire scene, intent on never looking back as she pushed back out of the potions store room and headed toward her Head's office at Draco's side, confident that just like that night, whatever they faced would always be together.