At lunch that day, Marietta actually felt self- conscious walking into the Great Hall, her face restored to its beauty, devoid of a single blemish. She felt the attention of everyone turn to her as she took a place at the Ravenclaw table. "Marietta, what happened to you? You look beautiful," gasped Cho Chang, Marietta's best friend. "It's only temporary," explained Marietta, "we're working on a permanent cure. But I'll gladly take this for now." Cho assumed Marietta meant Madame Pomfrey, but did not ask. She knew Marietta hated to be bothered by questions about her condition, and did not wish to intrude. Marietta bolted down her lunch, saying little, wanting to finish eating quickly and spend as much time in the library as she could. She was back in the library again that night when her homework was done. She went straight to the books on advanced curses - no point looking at the simpler ones. It was a strange feeling, rejecting punishments as too lenient, when the intended recipient was herself. She searched until she was ordered out of the library, disappointed. There was no shortage of curses available. But the ones that weren't illegal did not in her mind seem anywhere near as unpleasant as the one she had undergone. Marietta was tired, desperately in need of sleep, and she decided to go to bed. As she started to fall asleep, she was thinking of the cruciatis curse. She was sure that if Hermione were permitted to say "Crucio" and watch Marietta writhe in unspeakable agony, that Hermione would be placated. Marietta knew that prolonged exposure to the curse could cause irreversible damage, but perhaps if Hermione used it on her for five minutes every morning for a month, this would be sufficient. But she could not suggest to Hermione that she use a curse that could put her straight into Azkaban if word got out. Marietta knew the law of the wizarding world very well, exceptionally so for someone of her age. Just because someone consented to an unforgivable curse did not mean that the curse could be used against them, unless it was being done for educational purposes by an instructor at Hogwarts or approved by the Ministry of Magic. Marietta's love of wizarding law arose from the knowledge of what had been done to her mother. Marietta's mother raised her alone. Marietta was the product of a brief liaison. Her mother, Genevieve Edgecombe, was French, living in London, when she fell head over heels in love with a singularly handsome man, and he seduced her effortlessly on their first date. This was very unusual behavior for Genevieve, who had always been chaste and was even prudish at times. But to Marietta's father, (a Welshman named Brynn - Genevieve knew only that much about him) she made no resistance whatever. She had no idea that it was Brynn's hobby to seduce women with various spells and potions. Normally Brynn confined himself to Muggles, but he was so taken with Genevieve's looks that he decided to enchant her. Genevieve was nothing special to him. But once Genevieve was under his power, his deft use of the engorgement charm had its usual effect, and Genevieve felt a level of rapture that she didn't think was possible. She was desolated when Brynn was gone the next morning, and after a while, she pieced together what had happened. She never got over him. She had had lovers from time to time, but no one she could really care for. It didn't help that she and Marietta would frankly discuss her boyfriends' good and bad points in the boyfriends' presence, sometimes not even bothering do to so in French, which was Marietta's first language. Later on when Genevieve starting working at the Ministry for Magic, she tried to trace her lover, but without success. After Marietta was born, Genevieve adapted to the life of a single mother. When she thought Marietta was old enough, she told her about what "Brynn" (assuming that was even his real name) had done, and Marietta (always having missed having a father), felt betrayed and outraged. When she returned to Hogwarts she researched wizarding law, and learned that what her father had done was a serious breach of the Article against Unscrupulous Practices. She'd also attempted to identify her father through Hogwarts records, but found nothing. Reading the law had been fascinating for Marietta, who continued to study it on her own from that point on. Marietta woke the next morning still thinking about the Cruciatis curse. It was a shame that it was one of the unforgivable curses, but it occurred to her that perhaps there was some other, lesser curse that inflicted pain and yet was not illegal. As she mused over this thought, she reached to scratch her forehead, and felt fresh boils her face. She looked anxiously at the alarm clock by her bed, and saw that she had more than enough time to make it to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. She thought it would be best to leave right away before everyone else started to wake up - perhaps she could get to the meeting place unseen. She hurriedly dressed and soon was in the bathroom, reading some notes she'd made the night before. She sat on a windowsill. It was somewhat cold and damp in the bathroom, but at least Moaning Myrtle didn't seem to be around. Marietta had no interest in talking to anyone but Hermione. Hermione showed up, punctual as always. But Marietta was so engrossed in her reading and her own thoughts that she wasn't aware of Hermione until she was standing next to her. She quickly got up (she could no more sit in Hermione's presence that she could in a professor's) and said good morning. "Did you sleep well?" asked Hermione. "Yes, Hermione." Marietta slipped automatically into the monosyllabic answer format dictated by Hermione the day before. No sense irritating the only witch on earth who could cleanse her of her disfigurement. Without letting Marietta wait another moment, Hermione again expertly performed the Purgatio charm, instantly purifying Marietta once more. "Thank you again, Hermione." Marietta didn't have to say anything more; the tone of her voice conveying the depth of her gratitude. "I assume you haven't hit upon the answer to the question of the proper punishment? You've hardly had the time," observed Hermione. "No, Hermione." "I won't ask you what you researched last night. Remember, it is only you who can choose the punishment. You must not consult me. Only tell me when you have settled on what you're going to do. Even then I will not express an opinion. We won't know if it's the right punishment until later in the process. However, I can give you some help in another way. I brought something for you." Hermione produced the glass cube and explained what it was for. "You are a genius!" cried Marietta with unaffected admiration. "This is absolutely brilliant. It will save enormous amounts of time!" Hermione blushed with pleasure. She was quite proud of her achievement, but to receive such praise from a witch of Marietta's caliber was very gratifying. Marietta was profuse in her thanks, and then they said their goodbyes and headed back to their respective common rooms. * * * The last few warm days of autumn were gone. Now winter would soon be upon Hogwarts, and in the mornings Marietta could see her breath as she made her daily trip to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Marietta was diligently pursuing her research, and each morning Marietta would always bring the cube, in case Hermione wanted it back. Frequently Hermione did require it, which slowed Marietta's own research considerably. But Marietta was not upset by this. She knew she was getting closer to an answer. One morning in mid-October Marietta got showered and dressed, and after a nice breakfast (it was once more a pleasure to go to the Great Hall), she was off to potions. Marietta was a superlative potion maker, and Snape regularly had given her top marks when he was teaching the class. Now that Professor Slughorn was in charge, she hoped that she'd continue to do well. She took her seat, which unfortunately was next to Malfoy. To her disgust, he'd taken to leering at her again, now that the curse had been lifted. In her view, Malfoy was not even a member of the same phylum as she. She found his pureblood nonsense sickening. She ignored him as usual and got out her books. Malfoy could sense her distaste. "Mudblood," he muttered under her breath, just loud enough for Marietta to hear. She turned to him and smiled down at him sweetly. "Your father can't help you, now that he's in Azkaban," Marietta replied. "His money won't save you either. Be careful - I would enjoy hurting you." She turned away as Malfoy flushed with shame and rage. Despite the curse she was under, Marietta loved the wizarding world. The difference in strength between men and women was meaningless. She didn't have to take any nonsense from a non-entity like Malfoy. She knew that in any duel she would blast him without much effort. Even better, Malfoy knew it too. This amused her greatly. Slughorn arrived with the last of the students and took up his position at the head of the class. "Today, class you'll be working on particularly difficult potion. I'm sure none of you will be able to manage it the first time. This potion is one of the most valuable the wizarding world possesses. As you know, there are many wizards whose wand work leaves much to be desired, and this potion is just the ticket in such cases. It is almost invariably helpful to the wizard who lacks skills at charms, transfiguration and so on. It is the Amplificio potion. Can anyone tell me what it does?" Hermione's hand shot straight into the air. "Yes, Hermione?" Professor Slughorn was by now used to Hermione's quick mind. "The Amplificio potion multiplies the power of any spell a wizard chooses to cast, if taken by the wizard in advance of performing magic," said Hermione in a breathless, rushed tone. Malfoy rolled his eyes in disgust. "Ten points for Gryffindor!" said Professor Slughorn. "Now let's get to work!" By the end of class, only two of the students had passed muster. Slughorn could barely contain his pleasure. "Harry, you are prodigy! I know that I could not have done better myself. Your mother was the best in her year, but you could have taught her a thing or two! Another 20 points to Gryffindor!" Hermione was furious. "Harry, you keep using that book. But are you really learning anything?" Harry smiled at her apologetically. By this point there was really nothing he could say. Slughorn then moved to Marietta's table, examining first Malfoy's evil-smelling concoction. He sniffed, and moved on to Marietta's cauldron. "This is not bad at all. Not as good as Potter's, but it's good enough that it could be used with some effect. Very, very good. I heard about you from Professor Snape, Marietta. Keep up the good work." Marietta was very pleased, but her mind was already racing ahead to the use to which she could put the potion in modified form. After lights out, her bed's curtains drawn, she sat up for hours, working with Hermione's cube. The thought had occurred to her that if a potion could be made to amplify the effect of a spell, perhaps also one could be make to increase the effect of a non-magical activity. Wizarding law did not address itself to activities associated with Muggle behavior. For example, it didn't expressly concern itself with non- magical attacks, for wizards usually didn't strike each other - they used their wands. It occurred to her that perhaps she could create a potion that amplified the effect of a non-magical attack - then there'd be no chance of Azkaban for Hermione. She woke up at dawn after only a few hours' sleep, feeling exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. As was common for her, the sleep had helped concentrate her mind on a solution to the problem. For the rest of the day her mind was on the potion she'd be working on that night. After dinner that day Marietta found herself in the Room of Requirement. She first set herself to again brewing the Amplificio potion, and this time she was satisfied she got it absolutely right. Using this as a base, she tried various other mixtures with it, and eventually arrived at an entirely new potion. She had no doubt that once the Ministry came to learn of the concoction, it would be banned. But at the moment it was perfectly legal. She took several drops and waited a few minutes. She then picked up a ruler and smacked herself on the palm of her hand, not using all her strength. The effects were infinitely worse than anything she had expected. An unbelievable shock of pain ran up her arm, causing her to fall to her knees in agony. It felt like someone had shoved a needle through her palm all the way to her wrist. It intensified with each heartbeat for a few seconds, and then mercifully it faded. "Oh my God, what have I created?" Marietta asked herself. She felt great pride, and yet at the same time, horror, for she had not the slightest doubt that this potion would satisfy Hermione, but at great cost to herself. Yet she didn't flinch, and the next morning, at their regular meeting in the girls' toilet, she told Hermione she had come up with the punishment for herself. "Hermione, here is what I propose. I would like you to ask Harry to summon the DA once more, to meet in the Room of Requirement. I'm not asking for your comments at all. I've found something that I'm sure will work. It's a punishment that you and the entire DA will share in. It's called the 'Scarless Scourge'. "What kind of curse is that?" asked Hermione, who was quite sure she'd never heard of it. "It's actually a potion I created. She who drinks it finds her sensitivity to pain increased hundreds of times. Even a light tap is agony. I am going to drink a lot of this potion. Then each member of the DA will be permitted to whip me with a silk cord. Without the potion, a person would feel pain, but not too much, not from something that won't even leave a mark. But under the effects of the potion, the agony will be intense." Hermione ought to have been appalled. But she was a great lover of what she believed was justice, and she was quite sure Marietta deserved what was to come. She asked Harry to summon the DA that very night. The word went out to everyone, but none but Hermione and Marietta knew the purpose of the meeting. It was just after 8:00 p.m. and all the members of the DA were in attendance. Once they were all present, Hermione spoke up. "Last year when we met, it was always for Harry to teach us Defence against the Dark Arts. But that is not the purpose tonight. Marietta, step forward." Marietta had been standing behind some shelving, and when she came out, there was a collective gasp from the other students. They had never expected Marietta would show her face at a DA meeting. All but a few of them shared Hermione's sense of betrayal, and they wondered what was to happen next. Hermione continued. "Marietta has something to say to us all. Please give her a chance to speak, without interruption". Everyone looked at Harry, who nodded. Marietta began to speak. "You all know what I did near the end of term last year. You also know the punishment I received. What you don't know is that like the rest of you, I believe that I deserved that punishment. What I did was wrong. I betrayed the trust of every one of you. I know that now. I only wish I had known then what I know now. But incredibly, Hermione has offered me a chance at forgiveness, if the rest of you will agree. Every morning for the last few weeks, Hermione has been able temporarily to lift the curse from me. But each night the blemishes return, and Hermione has to redo a cleansing charm. But there is a way for me to be permanently cured. The cure requires that I receive a punishment sufficiently severe to take the place of the curse I am now under." She explained the Scarless Scourge to them. Neville and Ron were appalled, as were most of the boys. But many a girl's eye gleamed with anticipation. "Some of you will no doubt take great pleasure when it comes to your turn to strike. But if you really want to punish me, don't pick up the silken lash. Don't take your turn. If any of the DA fails to lash me, then the punishment might not work, and it is possible that as a result, I will spend the rest of my life looking disfigured. I therefore beg each and everyone of you to swing as hard as you can and pay no attention to the effect you are having on me. Some of you will find what you are being asked to do repugnant. But please, I beg you, hit my like the others, unless you want me to be an ugly hag. By sparing me pain now, you will be condemning me, perhaps forever. My punishment will not take more than a half hour or so, after which I will be on the road to a cure. I plead with you not to take my hope away by feeling sorry for me." "Line up everyone," said Hermione. It was interesting to note some students coming forward to be the first to strike, and other clearly hanging back. Luna, to Hermione's surprise, was actually crying and was at the very end of the line. Hermione moved some students around. She wanted the more reluctant ones closer to the front. She was afraid that after watching what was sure to be unspeakable agony, they would flinch, and the whole exercise would be useless. Among those she moved closer to the front were Ron, Harry, Neville and Cho. Luna wouldn't be budged, shaking her head violently when Hermione tried to move her, so Hermione moved a number of students behind her so that Luna wound up somewhere in the middle. Luna's sobs continued unabated as the process of getting everyone in order continued. Once the students were in a line, Hermione led Marietta to one end of the room. The next stage of the punishment was something Hermione had not bothered to tell Marietta about. It was her own little addition to the Ritual. Another wave of wand, and Marietta felt a strange rustling under her robes. Yet another wave of Hermione's wand, and Marietta's robes vanished. Instead of her normal modest underwear, Marietta was wearing a strapless bra and a thong. Hermione's intention was obvious - that short of leaving Marietta completely naked, that every possible inch of her body be exposed to the lash. The white bra and thong could not be called sheer, but nonetheless gave a suggestion of Marietta's luscious strawberry-colored nipples, already stiffening with the cold in the room. Marietta felt herself blushing for shame at her exposure, but struggled not to show it, standing proudly before assembled students. She had every right to be proud. She had a truly gorgeous figure. She stood 5'10" tall, her brilliant red hair flowing past her shoulders. She was easily 140 lbs, but whatever little fat there was on her body was in all the right places. Her breasts were a full 38D, and stood out magnificently on her sixteen-year-old frame. Her torso narrowed considerably at the waist, her wide hips flaring out magnificently. Her legs were long and slim, yet muscular. Her pubic hair was the same fiery red as her head, for even if the colour had not been clearly visible beneath the skimpy thong, Marietta did not trim herself and so a lot of hair escaped from beneath the flimsy covering. Marietta made no attempt to cover herself. She was determined not to show her shame. She turned slowly away from the students, and with a final wave of her wand, Hermione bound Marietta's hands to a ring fixed high on the wall, the redhead's back now facing the assembly, the twin orbs of her behind almost impossibly superb. Another wave of her wand, and Marietta's feet were bound to iron rings in the floor two feet apart. Without further ado, Hermione removed from her robes a bottle of Marietta's potion, and used a large dropper to suck up three tablespoons of the contents.. Marietta opened her beautiful mouth and moved her head back. She was determined to show none of the fear that was racing through her beautiful frame. She alone knew what was in store for her, and the dread she felt was indescribable. Hermione lifted the dropper above Marietta's face, letting the viscous white potion fall drop by drop into Marietta's waiting tongue. One large drop missed, and rolled slowly down Marietta's cheek onto her neck, where it stayed. Hermione was not unaware of the effect this little scene had on some of the boys, nor of the great amusement of some of the girls. But she acted as if she had no idea of this, which only increased the audience's enjoyment. Marietta's dread increased when Hermione offered her a second helping, which Marietta knew better than to refuse, and which she unhesitatingly consumed. Harry and Ron looked at each other in amazement. Faced with the sight of an incredibly beautiful girl, the last thought on their minds was to strike her or to cause her pain. The thought was disgusting to each of them. But not to Hermione. She took her rightful place at the head of the line, a pink cord in her hand. She stepped forward several paces, and without hesitation, she reared back and swung the silken lash as hard as she could across Marietta's buttocks. Marietta's own gasp of pain was smothered in the collective gasp of the audience, and went unnoticed. Harry was next. He had been through much in his short life. The only thing more difficult he'd ever had to do was battling Voldemort. He hated to raise his hand against this beautiful girl, but Marietta had been explicit. She had begged them all to swing away without regard to the consequences, and all his courage was required to make him do so. The cord formed a fast- moving arc through the air, and made contact on Marietta's lower back. She jerked so hard it hurt her hands, which were above her head with very little freedom of movement, attached to the ring. But this time she made not a sound. Marietta had mixed feelings at this point. She felt the most intense pain of her life. Perhaps she would make it through this ordeal without losing her mind. But if she felt that way, did this mean she was not being punished enough? She needn't have worried, for now it was Ron's turn. Hermione could tell Ron just wanted to get it over with. He strode forward, and forced himself to imagine that his target was not Marietta, but some strange combination of Malfoy and Peter Pettigrew. Ron of course was much stronger than Hermione. He was also several inches taller than Harry, and quite muscular. He strength was that of a man, not a boy. But he was not very co-coordinated, and instead of striking her upper back, the whip arced over Marietta's shoulder, the very tip of the cord snapping on her right nipple. The thin cloth of the bra provided no protection as far as Marietta could tell. Pain erupted in her breast, which felt like it was going to explode off her body. She saw only whiteness, and then Marietta was aware of a strange high-pitched sound in the air around her, an odd wailing that went on and on and on. She was puzzled by it at first - did Hogwarts have a fire alarm? She was saved! The school would have to evacuate! Then she realized with horror that the terrible sound was that of her own voice - Marietta was emitting an inhuman, even unearthly howl of pure pain. Instead of ebbing, the pain increased with each heartbeat, and it was only just beginning to subside when it was Cho's turn. Cho was Marietta's best friend, and was one of only two people in the DA (or at Hogwarts, for that matter) to comfort her after the curse first appeared. Yet now Cho was shocked to find she was not really reluctant to be swinging a whip at her best friend. For the last few years, she had felt like a Plain Jane next to Marietta. Cho herself was beautiful. When away from Marietta, she never lacked for male attention. But Marietta was taller than most girls, and positively towered over Cho, who was a good eight inches shorter. For Cho, it was like being always in the company of a supermodel who was also one of the brightest students at Hogwarts, attracting the attention of boys and professors alike. This obviously had grated on Cho somewhat, but Cho, to her credit, had been unaware of it until now. Even so, Cho would never have acted on her feelings. After all, Marietta had always been a good friend, and Cho knew her dormant resentment of her was completely unjustified. The result was that Cho felt deep shame at taking pleasure in what she was about to do, and consoled herself with the thought that Marietta herself had begged everyone to do their worst. Cho, like everyone else, had noticed the effect Ron's turn had had on Marietta, and she decided to try something similar. She took the whip from Ron's trembling hand, and stepped boldly forward. Hermione watched Cho closely, worried that Cho might fail to strike hard. But she had nothing to worry about. Cho brought her arm all the way back, and then swung with every ounce of strength in her petite body. She was standing to the left of Marietta, and the whip curled under Marietta's right arm and curved around the front of her body, ending at the left breast. The unexpected result of Cho's lash was that the strapless bra was torn from the poor girl, and gently floated to the floor. Her full, round breasts were now free of restraint, but Marietta after all was a teenager and in perfect physical condition, so it seemed almost that the law of gravity didn't apply to her breasts, which stood out from her chest, firm and proud. After recovering from her shock Hermione was delighted with this unexpected development and immediately acted on a sudden inspiration. She quickly conjured a floor to ceiling mirror in front of Marietta, so that everyone could see her body, now naked but for a wisp of a thong. While the assembled students were focused on Marietta's almost nude body, her thoughts were elsewhere, of course. In fact, she was now almost out of her mind with pain. She was unaware that she was now almost completely naked. She was not making any conscious effort to escape - indeed she was not aware of anything but agony, and did not even know that she was tugging against the restraints with every ounce of strength her powerful body could muster. It was over a minute before the waves of agony faded, and when Marietta returned once more to awareness, she saw her own reflection in the mirror before her. She felt only indifference at the sight; she was no longer capable of even feeling surprise. She turned to her Hermione. "Is it over?" she gasped. "Marietta, I'm sorry, that's only four, and there's twenty-eight of us in the DA. You've got a long, long way to go, " said Hermione. Struggling not to smile, she added, "Please try to be brave." A wail of despair from Marietta. She simply did not know how she could withstand even one more stroke of the lash. "Oh please stop them Hermione make them stop oh God please I can't take any more pain oh have mercy on me I am so sorry so sorry oh please please I beg you Hermione oh please I'll be your slave for life I don't care if I'll be ugly forever just make them stop I'll swear an unbreakable oath to obey you for life you'll own me please I give up on being cured . . ." Marietta's body shook as she pleaded helplessly and she began to raise her voice in her desperation. Hermione thought she had never seen anything more pathetic that an almost naked human being begging for mercy. Even she was starting to feel sorry for Marietta. Hermione knew what she had to do. Out came her wand again, which she pointed at Marietta's throat, while pronouncing "Silencio". Marietta's pleas now came out in a whisper, audible only to Marietta and Hermione. It wouldn't do to have everyone else hear - it might make it too hard for them to strike. Next in line was Neville. He was very grateful for the fact Wizards wore robes. Muggle clothing never could have concealed the raging erection caused by the sight of Marietta's incredible body. He took the whip from Cho and approached Marietta's almost naked form, trying (but failing) not to stare at the reflection of the flawless heavy breasts swaying in the mirror before him. His stroke fell on the back of the girl's thighs, and Marietta's cycle of pain was renewed. The pain in her legs was so horrible that Marietta danced in place, trying to hop from one foot to the other, her legs involuntarily pumping up and down at their restraints. She snapped her head from side to side in time to her movements, her flowing red hair whipping back and forth. But so sensitive was she from the potion's effects that the touch of her hair moving back and forth on her shoulders and breasts was itself acutely painful, and for her own sake she forced her head to remain still as she readied herself for the next blow. The next thing she was aware of was being revived - Hermione whispered in her ear that she'd fainted from the pain. But there was to be no respite, and no sooner had Marietta come to her senses then the punishment continued. Marietta's universe had shrunk to a very small size indeed. She was aware only of the whip and its effects - nothing else. She didn't see her own reflection in the mirror, nor hear her own whispered screams, nor the comments of her fellow students. She thought only in terms of pain - the most recent blow's searing agony, the deep throbbing of the areas less recently struck. It had been merciful for her to descend into complete blackness, if only for a moment. She hoped it would happen again. The beating went on forever. Several more times Marietta got her wish and found herself being revived after fainting again. Sometimes a student would miss, and have to swing again, and the extra time between blows gave her a chance to recover slightly before the pain peaked again. This happened when it was Luna's turn. Her unenthusiastic swing went nowhere near Marietta, and she had to swing twice more before she finally made solid contact with Marietta. Somehow Marietta reached the thirteenth student without dying. Like most redheads, Marietta's skin was very pale, and each time the lash tasted her sweet body it left its mark, nothing enough to scar, but on her porcelain white flesh the signs of the whip were clearly visible. Her back was covered in long red streaks. The backs of her thighs had a few marks, and her derri�re, formerly white like the moon, was now red as the setting sun - clearly it was a favourite target of the DA. The fourteenth stroke slapped her in the small of her back, and Marietta jerked more from habit than from pain. Somehow the pain had lessened. "Hermione," she whispered (she could not shout; the Silencio charm was of course still in effect). The calmness of Marietta's voice caused Hermione to pay attention - she had tuned out Marietta some 20 minutes earlier, but now she bent her head, placing her ear just in front of Marietta's red lips, which now began to move, brushing slightly against Hermione's ear as Marietta spoke. "The potion is wearing off. The last one didn't hurt that badly. You're going to have to give me more." Hermione held up her hand to hold off the next in line, the pompous Hufflepuff Ernie Macmillan. Ernie stood, breathing heavily with the silken lash in his hand. He did not mind the interruption. Here, at the front of the line, he was not more than ten feet from the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and the only naked one, too. He simply could not believe his luck. Ernie knew that there was not the slightest chance that he would ever sleep with Marietta. The very idea was laughable. He watched lustfully as Hermione retrieved the bottle of potion and filled a dropper. Once again Hermione approached Marietta, and again Marietta opened her mouth to receive the thick milky fluid. Most of those present guessed what had happened, that Marietta had called for more potion, and they honoured her for it. After a short pause for the potion to take effect, Hermione nodded her head at the waiting Ernie. He needed no further prompting and in a few short strides closed this distance between himself and the statuesque goddess before him. This was as close as he would ever get to touching Marietta, and in his excitement he missed Marietta's shoulder, delivering instead a terrific strike to the right side of Marietta's face, an area previously untouched. Marietta's newly heightened sensitivity from the fresh double dose of potion had come at a bad time - the pain was the worst possible - just on the edge of making her faint, but not quite. She was stunned by the force of it. Unable to move or even stand, she hung slack in her bonds. "Strike again, Ernie," said Hermione. "The stroke before yours did not count because the potion was wearing off." Ernie was happy to oblige, this time delivering a tremendous blow across Marietta's calves. Marietta was still suffering extremely from the effects of Ernie's first blow, as the pause between lashes was shorter than usual. Marietta had thought she had felt as much pain as anyone could ever feel, but now she felt the agony rising to a new pinnacle inside her. It had peaked, but not substantially diminished, when the next in line whipped her on the buttocks. Experiencing the unending pain for so long had so exhausted Marietta that she was virtually deprived of the ability to move, or even stand. A new source of pain was added, as her wrists were forced to bear much of the weight of her body, the ropes now digging in. After a half-dozen more strokes, she was no longer even jerking involuntarily from the pain. She was inert and unresponsive. This made things even worse for her - her movements had to some extent allowed her to give vent to the agony, but now even this small solace was denied her, and her mind began to unhinge. Marietta had been raised a Catholic, but even before Hogwarts she was well on her way to losing her faith. At Hogwarts religion was never mentioned. It was perfectly obvious that there must be some kind of afterlife (ghosts, for one thing) but some how the topic of God and religion simply never came up. It had been years since Marietta had even thought of the faith of her childhood, but now under the most acute stress imaginable, her mind drifted back. She thought about Jesus and the thirty-nine lashes he'd received - more than she was going to get, but on the other hand, surely her lashing was far more painful than His. No sooner had the thought entered her head than a wave of fear and guilt washed over her. Was it not presumptuous, even blasphemous, for her to think her punishment could be worse than His? She should not be grateful for the sacrifice He made - was it not a great sin to even compare herself to Him? Suppose she were to die under the lash - would she not be damned, dying unconfessed after having led a sinful life? She had had boyfriends, the most recent a university student who lived nearby in the summertime that she slept with regularly while on holidays after fourth year (she'd had no lovers of course over the more recent summer), and during the last few school years there had been another to spend her time with after lights out. "Oh Jesus, sweet Jesus," she prayed, "Please save me I beg you please forgive me for my life of sin I don't care if I die but please let me live just long enough to see a priest and confess and then I don't care what happens to me, just make the pain stop and I swear that if I live I'll be good, I'll go to church, I won't have sex ever again . . ." Hermione did not pick up most of what came whispering out of Marietta's mouth, although she could tell Marietta was praying. Marietta tried praying to Mary next, as the Jesus prayer wasn't working - the blows continued to rain down on her. "Mary Mother of God please please kill me now I can't take any more of the PAIN I CAN"T take it please tell your Son to JUST LET ME DIE right now oh GOD if only I hadn't betrayed Hermione oh Hermione please forgive me Hermione, Mother of God, Hermione spare me . . ." In Marietta's deranged mind, Hermione and Christ's mother had merged into one, and now she prayed to Hermione, pleading for forgiveness, for an end to the pain, for death. In fact, the end was coming. There were only a few blows left. The Patil sisters were next. They were a pair of gorgeous Punjabi twins - skin the colour of coffee with lots of cream, jet black hair that positively shone, perfect complexions, and green eyes that contrasted beautifully with their skin colour. They were conscious of their beauty of course, and lived in a perpetual state of annoyance that the boys (with the exception of Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan, whom they'd taken as lovers and enjoyed trading on the sly, until Dean figured it out and took up with Ginny Weasely) inexplicably seemed to prefer the tall red-headed pale- faced slut of a woman now standing bound in front of them. These white girls - painting their faces, half the time with a fag in their mouths, sleeping around, drinking - it just wasn't right. During the summer the Patil sisters were practically prisoners in their parents' home. That would change once they were allowed to do magic outside school - there'd be no stopping them then - but for now, they would just have to put up with it, and here before them was a chance to get even. Such thoughts were in Parvati's mind as she was handed the lash by Ginny, who was positively smiling - no one had said she couldn't strike more than once, and she'd got several licks in before Hermione shouted "Expelliarmus!" taking the whip away. Parvati now strode towards her victim, and with great relish delivered a vicious backhand blow, the full impact of which was caught on Marietta's left ear. Then it was Padma's turn next. She was still smarting from losing Dean to Ginny. She couldn't whip her, but the white redhead in front of her would do just fine as a substitute. She did to Marietta's right ear what her sister had done to the left. Marietta's mouth slowly yawed open, the tendons in her neck iron bands as the silent scream went on and on and on. Last but not least was Lavender Brown, and a jealous Ms. Brown she was. She'd seen how Ron looked at Marietta, the bitch. Not that she'd been dating Ron when she'd seen him looking at her, but that didn't matter. As far as Lavender was concerned, Marietta was trying to steal her boyfriend. Who did Marietta think she was? Wasn't she beautiful, too? (she was, in fact, but no one would ever compare her favourably with Marietta - Lavender knew this, and it only made her angrier). Lavender stepped forward, the lash in her left hand, and in her right, her wand. With a quick wave, she undid Marietta's bonds. "Turn around!" she ordered. Hermione and the others watched in stunned silence. Marietta mutely complied with Lavender's order, turning around slowly, her head down. Lavender waited patiently. Finally Marietta looked up. Lavender had been waiting for Marietta to make eye contact. She wanted Marietta to know that it was Lavender Brown who was about to strike. She hoped Marietta could see the malice in her eyes. Lavender cracked the whip so that the full force of the snap was expended on the poor girl's mons veneris. So powerful was Marietta's shriek of agony that it was clearly audible to the many of the students, despite the effect of the Silencio charm. Then Marietta fainted once more. The punishment was over. Readers may send comments to the author by email to suprapubic_cystotomy@yahoo.ca