Feral Den

Chapter 3

Inside Amenuensis Quills the three bustled through the doors, Hermione and Ron dragging Hailee to the back corner.
Hailee wretched her arms free of their grabby hands, holding back a sneeze as dust tickled her nose.

She had always hated this shop. It was a little run down corner stand where the owner seemed to only enjoy old folk company.

Turning from the wall, Hailee scowled at the two.
"What's the big deal?" She hissed, keeping her voice remarkably low as Mr. and Mrs. Granger entered the shop after the three. The Weasley siblings smartly kept their mother outside.
"You called me a dog." Ron breathed, pouting deeply at her.
"Picking a fight unwarranted is much like a German shepherd."
"A what?"
"It's a type of dog, Ron." Hermione dismissed him, turning to Hailee. "What did you get on your test?"
Hailee blanked, forcibly trying not to think of the damn parchment that had said Himalia Riddle instead of Hailee Potter.

Her name was Hailee Potter.

"Hailee tell me you looked at the test."
She blinked again at the bushy haired girl. Hermione sighed rather loudly. So much so the skeletal looking owner had to shush her.
Hailee nearly cackled when Hermione glared at her.
"You need to go back and look at your test. Well come with you, come on." Hermione went to grab Hailee's hand, but she quickly dodged.
"I have no need nor want to ever see that test again."

And that wasn't a lie. Being cut by that glistening knife, being told her bloodline (her only real family —dead or alive—) was wrong, and seeing the name Riddle where Potter should've been was something Hailee didn't particularly care to see.

Hermione scowled, "Do you even know why they do those tests?" (Hailee tried to answer) "It's so we as people can know who our mates are."
Hailee blanked at that.

Mates?
The fuck were those?

It must've appeared on her face that she had no recollection what a bloody mate was, because Hermione breathed excessively in annoyance.

"Hasn't anyone explained this to you?" She snapped.
Hailee narrowed her eyes at the tone. "No, Hermione. No one had ever mentioned mates, whatever that is, to me. Maybe I would've known if people cared to explain it to me. Because unlike some of us who read every bloody thing they can get their hands on, or have grown up in this wizarding society —I haven't! Shocker, too, seeing I'm the girl-who-lived and yada yada." (Ron went to protest) "But maybe I would've if the two people who does know and who I try desperately to stay in contact had lifted up a damn quill than maybe I would've and maybe that test would've meant something to me. Don't lecture me when it's not my fault I've been left out of the loop, again."
Hermione pursed her lips. "We have responded to you Hailee, you can't keep shoving that in our faces. And you aren't the only one allowed to have lives —Ron and I—"
Hailee cut her off, "And that's the other thing. You two were together this entire summer. I was at the Dursleys —which you two know perfectly well is worse than Snapes damn double classes. But have you told me where you were? No. You say you've responded to my owls—" ("Because we have!" Hermione argued) "—but you didn't care enough to get me, or in the very least tell me! I have no idea what's going on! I had no idea you were even in England until you owled me two days before my trial! Sirius has even gone MIA, leaving me to stew in what happened only two months ago!" She growled, effectively getting a hate-filled glare from the old croon behind the counter.

Hermione pursed her lips, her eyes shooting to Ron. Hailee scowled at that.

"Don't look at him when you want to argue about this with me, Hermione."
"Hails we didn't mean—"

Ding. Dong.

The three looked over to see the twins walk in, looking amazedly happy to see Hailee's glare, Hermiones snarl and Ron's gloomy grumble.