Burning Down | Harry Potter

69.

"He did terrible things to it!" The screeching was back.

"So you know where it is..... well....?" Cordelia thought she was getting somewhere but the next words had her deflated.

"That was the problem, he thought he was the only one who knew..... his way around. That only he could discover the secrets...." and with that she flew away quickly.

"She did it on purpose then" Cordelia rolled her eyes as she hugged herself tighter.

Harry had given Cordelia too many sweets as a gift, saying he wanted to give her something else but it would have to wait. Something about it being with Sirius, who forgot to bring it when he had come over to see the match.

Cordelia kissed Harry sweetly before she went to sleep that night with a very familiar black sweater on.

Her sixteenth was one unforgettable birthday.

-

Cordelia was glad that her arm was now free of the itchy sling. She entered the common room the next day to see Harry talking to Granger rather loudly. But what was more captivating was how he was bellowing about him and Cordelia going to Slughorn's dinner together.

"There you are" He pointed out and ran over to Cordelia and took her hand in his as they walked out of the common room again.

"I wanted to—" Cordelia was cut of her Harry swinging his arm around her shoulder as he led them towards the hall for dinner.

"They wanted to give me love potion. In hopes that I ask them out for Slughorn's dinner......" Harry trailed off, he was slightly comforted by the expression of slight jealousy on Cordelia's face.

"Of course..... another perks of being the chosen one" Cordelia scoffed.

"But you're the Chosen One for me" he kissed her cheek quickly before walking off towards Weasley.

Cordelia shook her head before she sat down with her Protective Charms spell book in her hand. She had nicked it from her home back in Lurgashall. It of course, belonged to her grandfather.

As she waited for the food to appear on the table, something else surprised her.

Hermione Granger sat down in front of her with an awkward smile on her face. They sat in silence as Cordelia continued to read through her book which was kept on her lap. Away from any prying eyes.

"Can I sit here?" The muggleborn questioned as she served herself some dinner.

"You already are" Cordelia didn't look up from her book as she spoke.

"Well..... uh.... what are you reading?"

Cordelia didn't answer as she helped herself to some steak.

"I wanted to apologise for how I have been behaving ever since you arrived and I know it's wrong and I'm really embarrassed—"

Cordelia didn't know what the girl in front of her was up to, but she could feel Draco glaring at her from the Slytherin table. It was only making matters worse for her.

What would Cissy say!

Here, Cordelia was trying to come up with something that would help her connect with her cousin and godmother, and here was Hermione Granger, a muggleborn trying to befriend her.

There was a short pause after Hermione's apology, Cordelia looked deep in thought before she looked up at the girl.

"Great, I accept those words. But that does not make us friends, we can never be friends. Specially right now..... and when I know that the very reason you're sitting here is only because Weasle chose to snog Brown and not you...... I'm not a stop along the way" Cordelia scoffed before shifting away with her plate.