Fifth year, wrong place, wrong time: Mary was hit by the spell and found herself calm and in trance, and she did not question the movements she was told to make, not until he released her and she found herself controlled by fear.Â
And when Mary tried to make sure this wouldnât happen again, not to her or another person like her, by telling her superiors, she was faced with the reality that the system catered to people like Mulciber and not people like her. Because there was a lack of evidence. Because it would be a pity to suspend someone who was almost done with school. Because Mary was not bearing any scars or wounds, not on the outside at least.Â
And so Mary had decided that if the schoolboard and her teachers could not stop these things from happening again, she would. She fought with gritted teeth through her nightmares, wept against Lilyâs flaming hair and passed all her OWLs after months and months of hard work. She sculpted herself into someone she wanted to be, into someone who would stand up to these things herself rather than rely on people who wouldnât do anything anyway.Â
Mulciber was right: she had learned a few things. And so when he cast that curse, and she was thrown in that state of calmness and trance again, she did not lose herself in it. Not this time. She fought back, in stead.Â
This time it was clear he did not want to have her do a few movements, this time it was clear that his intentions were malicious and cruel, that he wished to kill two people with one stone by forcing Mary to attack Daisy. And Mary did raise her wand, and did think she should for a moment, because how could it be wrong if this felt so good, but then she asked herself why and she started fighting against it, started realising what was happening, started seeing who she was aiming at and she s n a p p e d out of it.
She whipped her wand towards him, acting on her instincts as some of her muscles seemed to be trembling and her breathing was quickening because this felt far too familiar, and what if she hadnât been able to do that? Mary saw herself lash at him with her wand, heard herself scream âDiffindo!,â and watched her charm cut into him. She felt herself get satisfied when he bled and she was not sure if she was fully there any more, because she could feel tears on her cheeks but didnât realise she was crying, because this wasnât her, this wasnât her, she didnât hurt people and feel satisfaction, but he deserved it, he deserved it.
