by your side. [ d. malfoy ]

➵ | twelve, another howler

CHAPTER TWELVE.

another howler.

THE FIRST DAY back at hogwarts wasn't easy for thana. she glared at her brother. "let it go, you're better than him anyway," blaise said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "he's still my brother." her voice was barely above a whisper as she watched the boy who lived laugh with his friends, sending her glares.

"she's just a pathetic, heartless slytherin." one of them said. "you know what?" thana said as she clenched her jaw, "you're right. where are the others?" blaise shrugged and smiled at her, trying to say 'it's gonna be okay'. thana send him a weak smile back and stood up to find theodore and draco.

"looking for someone?" the two stared at the bloody baron. "yes, draco malfoy? theodore nott?" the bloody baron shook his head and thana shivered. they walked away and decided to check out the common room.

"there you are!" thana said, sitting down next to theo. "i'm done. whatever stupid plans you have to embarrass my brother and his friends, i'm in." the two other boys stared at her in surprise while blaise just smiled proudly.

"that mudblood called me a 'pathetic, heartless slytherin'" thana said, trying to hide how much the words had hurt her. "that filthy mudblood!" draco sneered. "i have a plan, it's a win win situation."

"you are going to buy your way into the quidditch team?" draco nodded proudly as he sent his owl away. "and i'll knock that arse right off his broom." thana just sighed, knowing this wouldn't turn out as the blonde boy in front of her wanted. "you do you." thana shrugged and turned to blaise and theodore, who gave her a 'we tried' look.

"let's just go," draco said when nobody told him how amazing his plan was. they got to the greenhouse short after that and looked at professor sprout with a bored expression. while hermione was being the 'know it all', as the four liked to call her, thana gagged loudly. "sorry, choked on your bullshit." she mumbled less loud than before.

the four tried their best to hold back their laughter as they saw neville fall onto the ground. thana couldn't help but laugh when a mandrake bit draco and the blonde boy angrily put the plant away, mumbling that his father would hear about it.

"well done thana, 10 points to slytherin." the girl smiled thankfully and professor sprout nodded.

she wasn't the only professor who had noticed thana changing. she had been mean to her fellow students and they started to be worried. thana herself, however, didn't care.

later that day, during lunch, harry states at the second howler he had seen in the last few weeks. he was very relieved when the letter started yelling at ron instead of him.

"look everyone! ron got himself a howler!" made the four kids look up. draco stopped talking to pansy, who had been ranting to him about her pet turtle for way to long in his opinion and was happy to have an excuse to stop pretending to listen. the kids laughed as the letter went off at ron. "they came here with a car?" thana asked, genuinely suprised.

"he is our new teacher?" draco asked with his voice filled with disgust. "let me introduce you to your new defense against the dark arts teacher," lockhart said. "thank god it's not him." thana mumbled. all the girls loved him but lockhart's ego was even bigger than draco's. "me." the boys sighed and the girls started blushing and smiling. "gilderoy lockhart, order of merlin, third class, honorary member of the dark force defense league, and five time winner of witch weekly's most-charming-smile award— but i don't talk about that. i didn't get rid of the bandon banshee by smiling at him."

he laughed but it sounded like someone had put a hot pepper up his arse and forced him to laugh, but he was actually just showing his award winning smile off. the boys, and thana, rolled their eyes or exchanged confused looks while the girls stared and swooned. "now— be warned! it's my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizardkind. you may find yourself facing your worst fears in this room. know only that no harm can befall you whilst i'm here," he tapped a cage and dramatically continued, "i must ask you not to scream, it might," he ripped off the red piece of fabric that was over the cage, "proboke them!"

thana couldn't help but laugh as she stared at the pixies. "cornish pixies?" seamus asked, "freshley caught cornish pixies!" thana laughed even harder now and most boys had joined her. "laugh all you want, but pixies can be devilish tricky little blighters. let's see what you make of them." after that, he opened the cage and the pixies immediately started attacking the students. "let's go!" draco said while grabbing thana's elbow, she hadn't seen her friends run away, and dragged her along with them. "my father will—" draco started with a scoff, "hear about this?" thana asked, mocking him.

later that day, draco had his first quidditch training and insisted that his friends would sit and watch. so there they were, eating some candy watching as the gryffindor team marched up to the slytherin's. "where do you think going flint?" wood asked. "quidditch practice." wood shook his head, "i booked the pitch for gryffindor today." flint didn't seem to care, he scoffed and handed wood the note. "'i, professor severus snape, do hereby give the slytherin team permission to practice today. owing to the need to train their new seeker.'," he read out loud, "you've got a new seeker? who?"

draco dramatically stepped forward, "malfoy?" harry gasped. "that's right," he smiled proudly, "and that's not all that's new this year." he basically shoved his new broom in their faces. "those are the nimbus two thousand and ones! how did you get those?" ron asked. "a gift from draco's father." marcus smirked and his eyes met with thana's, who had stood up and stood besides her friends. "you see weasley, unlike some, my father can afford the best."

"at least no one on the gryffindor team had to buy their way in. they got it on pure talent." hermione snapped. "what do you know about talent or pure? huh little mudblood." thana said, stepping forward and staring at hermione with a poker face. "no one asked for your opinion, you filthy little mudblood!" draco joined his friend. "you're gonna pay for that! eat slugs!" ron said, pointing his wand at the two slytherin's in front of him. who laughed loudly when ron's spell backfired at himself because of his broken wand. "maybe it's time for a new wand!" thana said to the now puking slugs boy. she threw a sickle at him but he didn't notice. harry and hermione picked him up and while they walked off, harry bumped into draco with his shoulder.