Mudblood

The Hospital Wing

The problem with that was that Lyssa had no idea what she wanted to do when she finished Hogwarts, what thirteen-year-old did? Perhaps she was overthinking it a little bit but you couldn't never be too prepared.

She looked at the list of electives in front of her, there were five choices: Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Muggle Studies, and Study of Ancient Runes. She wanted to pick three, any more and her schedule would be overloaded. Obviously, muggle studies was out, given she was muggle-born, so that left four choices.

Care of Magical Creatures was a no-brainer, almost everybody took that class and the professor was well-liked. Study of Ancient Runes also seemed like a good option for Lyssa, it would be a good pick to help strengthen her knowledge of all types of magic. That left Divination and Arimancy, both were used to tell the future just in different ways. This was not a skill that Lyssa put much stock into, seeing the future seemed like a very wishy-washy branch of magic. Any little action can change the future so how can one predict it with any such accuracy?

Either way, Lyssa had a gap in her schedule without a third class and earning as many O.W.L.s as possible would probably be a good idea. In the end, she decided on her final class with a coin flip, heads for divination and tails for arithmancy. She watched the coin spin in the air before it landed back in her palm. She flipped it over the back of her other hand and revealed the result.

"Divination it is," Lyssa said as she checked the final box on her electives form.

𝀈𝀈𝀈

The following Saturday was the first day since Christmas break that Lyssa dared let herself be hopeful about the whole Chamber of Secrets situation. No one had been petrified since before the winter break and no more messages had appeared on the wall.

Lyssa and the other second-year Slytherins had made their way out to the quidditch pitch to cheer on Hufflepuff in their game against Gryffindor. The sun was shining and there was a pleasant breeze. One might even say it was shaping up to be a perfect day before the professors announced that the game had been cancelled and they were ordered back to their common rooms. It didn't take long for them to find out why. Professor Snape was waiting for the Slytherins when they returned.

"There has been another attack," He announced to the room, "Another double attack," he corrected. The room was silent. Lyssa felt all too many pairs of eyes turn in her direction. "All students will return to their house common rooms by six o'clock in the evening. No student is to leave the dormitories after that time. You will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No student is to use the bathroom unaccompanied by a teacher. All further quidditch training and matches are to be postponed. There will be no more evening activities," he concluded.

"Is all that really necessary for us," an upper-year boy whined, "I mean the monster's not going after people like us anyhow." Snape did not seem at all pleased to have to entertain such protests.

"Actually, it might interest many of you to know that one of the students attacked today was a half-blood. So it is highly unlikely that anyone is truly safe." Snape told the students. The energy in the room seemed to shift from annoyance to fear. "I should also add that it is likely that the school will be closed if the culprit is not caught soon. That being said if any of you have any information that might help catch whoever is behind all of this, I implore you to share it with a member of the staff." Snape dismissed the students and exited into the dungeons.

"I guess if there's no more quidditch then I'm off bodyguard duty," Mafoy grinned.

𝀈𝀈𝀈

Lyssa once would have given anything to get Malfoy to leave her alone but now she was silently grieving the loss of his presence. Not because she enjoyed his company but because she had grown accustomed to the promise of safety his presence had. Lyssa was back in the state of mind she had been in after the first attack, head on a swivel and considerably paranoid.