PRECEDENT : Draco Malfoy II

56

If it weren't for Anthony, Michael and Terry, I might have been gravely injured that evening. After the news, I bolted for the lake. The boys followed. Terry paced by the water. Michael sat far away from me, so still and quiet that I forgot he was there twice. Anthony sat beside me, an arm over my shoulder for twenty minutes and then left. He came back later with a blanket, and he left again.

If the three of them didn't convince me to go inside, I might have slept next to the Great Lake, on the grounds where Death Eaters were roaming recently, where they might still be lurking. I think Michael would have stayed out with me. Anthony was insistent. Terry was passive.

People start fleeing the school by the next morning. I am staying for Dumbledore's funeral. I tell myself it's because Draco's been instrumental in his murder. Draco has been trying to kill him all year. None of his friends were directly involved, except, allegedly, Crabbe and Goyle who were too stupid to see his plot. Bewitching Katie Bell. Poisoning Ron Weasley. He let the Death Eaters in. Snape killed Dumbledore, so the rumour goes. I believe it. I can't imagine anyone would spare Draco's reputation by lying about a murder he committed.

I tell myself I'm staying because it feels right to be there as some sort of penance. I should have known.

The boy I love has joined a hate group dedicated to eradicating my bloodline. This whole time, I believed him. I thought it was all for me, like he said. I let him fuck me on a bathroom floor. I keep showering. I debate dunking myself in the Great Lake. Instead, I just stand outside it. All exams have been cancelled, so staring into the Great Lake's waters is all I do really.

The reality is, I'm not staying for penance. I can't leave. I can't apparate from Hogsmeade to Brighton. The train isn't coming, and my parents wouldn't be able to get to Hogsmeade to pick me up.

At dinner in the Great Hall, I sit with a few of the remaining Ravenclaws. I'm the only girl left in our house. Padma's bed was empty when I woke up the morning after Draco's betrayal. Mandy was gone in the afternoon. Morag and Lisa have both fled as well. Stephen Cornfoot is gone, but all of the other boys are still here. Even Cleve Lace. He hasn't been pried away from Sally-Anne Perks in days.

"She's been sleeping in Steve's bed," Anthony says, gesturing at their table next to me. "I hear her tossing and turning a lot."

She saw Dumbledore's murder. Cleve's back was turned until he hit the ground, apparently. Other than Harry Potter and Draco, she's the only student that we think witnessed the moment.

Michael winces when he looks at me. He didn't yell at me after I cursed him. All he said was my name. Still, he covered his mouth like he had, like it was the word mudblood that left his mouth. At meals since Dumbledore's death, Michael cowers. I don't get the feeling he's afraid of me though. I mean, I can cast a Patronus Charm and only he knows, but he's seen me practice. He put me in the middle of the pack and not at the back since I can't defend myself.

I think he knew I was trying to help him, and he was angry all the same. I think he's afraid of his own anger, not mine.

"Sally-Anne could come up with me if it's bothering you," I say to Anthony. "Cleve couldn't though."

There's a charm to prevent boys from entering the girls' dormitories. It's antiquated, but when Mandy asked Flitwick about it in charms last year, he said that the longer magic sits the more unstable it becomes, so they can't remove it safely. Expired potions are like that too.

"Might be nice," Anthony says. "I mean, she's not seventeen. She might have to stay with him through the summer if she needs a calming draught or something made. Her parents can't, obviously."