"I love your dress, Mione!" I said. Hermione, Ginny and I were all getting ready for Slughorn's Christmas party in our dorm. Ginny lent me a dress and Hermione transfigured me a pair of heels.
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"Thank you, You don't think it's too much?" she asked. We both shook our heads. "Who are you going with anyway?" Ginny asked. "It's a surprise." she said. I groaned. "You've been saying that all day. Just tell us!" I said. "Fine... Cormac McLaggen" she said. Ginny and I both whipped around to face her. "Really?!" Ginny exclaimed. My jaw dropped. "I thought you didn't like him," I said. "I thought it would annoy Ron the most." she said. "Probably," Ginny said. "Can someone zip me up?" I asked. Hermione walked over and started to zip up my dress. Then she stopped when she got halfway. "What's wrong?" I asked. Ginny walked over and Hermione's eyes were glassy. "Oh" Ginny said quietly. "What?" I asked. Then Hermione ran her fingers over the scar on my shoulder. The word whore was carved into my skin. I quickly pulled away and turned around. "I'm sorry, Camilla. I didn't mean to-" Ginny started. I just stared at them. I felt frozen. "Don't tell Harry" I said quietly. Their faces softened. "Camilla, it's ok. He won't care." Ginny said. "I know. I just don't want him to see it until he has to." I said. They both nodded and Hermione finished zipping my dress. "Thank you," I said. "We should get going. I'm sure Mione doesn't want to miss a single second of McLaggen time" Ginny said. I laughed and Hermione rolled her eyes. "This is going to be awful." she said. "Potentially" I said as we started to leave. "No... definitely." Ginny said. I smiled and we made our way there.
When we got to Slughorn's classroom, it had been completely transformed. It was bigger and there was music and decorations. "Wow" I said. Then Harry walked over. "You look beautiful," he said. I smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "You clean up nice yourself" I said. He chuckled. "I got you something." he said as he held out a small box. "Oh Harry, you didn't have to-" I started. "I wanted to. Open it." he said. I smiled and opened the box to find a locket.
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"Harry, it's beautiful." I said. He smiled. "I'm glad you like it." he replied. "I love it. Help me put it on?" I asked. He nodded and I turned around and moved my hair. He closed it and I touched the locket. I couldn't help but smile. "It's perfect." I said.
"Should we get drinks?" he asked. I nodded and took his arm. We made our way over to the drinks as Harry said hi to all the people. They all ignored me but frankly, I didn't mind. Ever since my mind was wrecked, it's been hard to do small talk with people. Harry got us punch and we stayed there most of the night. We made jokes and talked and laughed. I was having such a wonderful time. Then Slughorn came over. "Harry, my boy. I'm so glad you came" he said. "Hello sir," Harry replied. "Who is this lovely girl on your arm?" he asked. "This is Camilla," Harry said. Then his face dropped. "Camilla Riddle," he said. My heart sank. "Yes sir" I said quietly. "Sir, she's not-" Harry started. "I knew your father," he said. I looked at him quickly. 'What?" I said. "I was his teacher. When Tom was a student here, I was his teacher." he said. "I'm sorry" I said. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "It's alright dear. How is your mother?" he asked. My heart stopped. "You knew my mother?" I asked. "Yes, she was the only student here who was genuine friends with Tom," he said. "My father told me my mother died during childbirth." I said. His face fell. "You may want to speak to Dumbledore. He knows the truth." he said. I nodded and quickly turned around to leave. "Camilla, wait!" Harry said. I kept walking until he grabbed me. "I need to talk to Dumbledore. He knows something about my mother." I said. "Dumbledore isn't here. Snape just told me he's on business in London." he said. I sighed. "Oh" I said. "I'm sorry, Camilla. But you can talk to him when he gets back." he said. I nodded.
"Get your hands off me you filthy squib!" We all heard the commotion and I saw Filch hauling Draco in by his collar. "I just discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor. He claims to have been invited to your party." Filch said. "Okay, okay, I was gatecrashing," Draco said. I stepped closer and looked at him. Our eyes locked and I could tell he was afraid. Then Snape walked over. "I'll escort him out," he said. "Certainly, Professor," Draco said. Then they left.
For some reason, I still felt drawn to Draco. I loved Harry, there was no doubt in my mind about that but I think I also still cared for Draco. It was bloody reckless and stupid but when Harry turned around, I slipped into the crowd and followed Draco and Snape outside. They went into the hallway and they were arguing. "I swore to protect you. I made the Unbreakable Vow!" Snape said. "I'm not the one you need to protect." Draco said. "What are you talking about?" Snape asked. "He gave me a month. To fix the cabinet. I've been trying but it's not working." he said. "And?" Snape said. "The month is up. He's going after Camilla. He thinks it will motivate me." Draco said. My heart stopped and my hands started to shake. Snape sighed. "Focus on fixing the cabinet. I'll take care of Camilla." he said. "How? What are you going to do to keep her safe?" he asked. "Whatever I have to do." Snape replied. Draco just nodded and walked off.
"Well, well, isn't this just perfect?" Those words were all I heard before everything went dark.
