Serpens Star

14

I ended up not getting a lot of sleep that night, too worried about the diary.

That fact was clear in the morning, earning me strange looks from my friends.

“Hey, Fen, you alright?” Milo asked, looking worried about me.

I looked away. I couldn’t look him in the eye, knowing that his sister was in danger and I wasn’t smart enough to have prevented it.

This only caused him to worry more. “Fen? What’s wrong? You can tell me,” he tried to reassure me, but all it did was make me feel worse.

I did my best to cover up my guilt. “Ah, I’m fine - just stressed about schoolwork as usual,” I lied skillfully, making myself seem embarrassed about ‘admitting’ it.

Milo made a face that clearly showed how he didn’t believe me.

I wasn’t going to break, though, not when so many others were suffering because of a diary that I couldn’t manage to keep a hand on.

“You look ready to cry,” Ron said hesitantly.

“Malfoys don’t cry,” I informed him curtly as I stood up, grabbing my bag as I did so. I quickly left behind the great hall, not looking back. I did try to keep an eye out for Amy, but I quickly dashed that thought when I realized that I was going to be late to class. I held back a heavy sigh as I dragged my butt down to the dungeons where Double Potions was about to begin.

Harry was my partner, as usual, and he seemed intent on ruining the potion.

“Harry,” I said as calmly as I could as I watched him try to grind down porcupine quills, “Those need to go into the potion whole.”

“They do?” Harry asked in surprise as he looked at the board where the directions were clearly written.

I dragged my hands down my face, wondering what I had done to deserve Harry as my partner. I then asked, “Harry, what is the third line in the directions?”

The boy squinted as he looked through thick glasses.

I frowned before asking, “When was the last time you had your glasses checked?”

The boy flushed deeply, looking away from the potion that he was trying to do properly.

“You need new glasses,” I said as I gently took over making the potion again.

Harry looked annoyed, but he didn’t argue. He merely glared down at the potion I was delicately making.

I held in a heavy sigh before saying, “You want to do good in Quidditch, don’t you? You’ll need better glasses if you’re going to actually win the Cup this year.”

Harry immediately pondered my words before seeing the upside to actually getting new glasses. “Fine,” he said, “But only if you tell our friends why you’re so nervous.”

I knew that I would rather die than admitting my failure as a friend, so I stayed silent.

Harry gave me a concerned look. “It can't be that bad.”

I nodded tensely before adding in the eye of a newt into the potion.

Harry rested his hand on my shoulder. “We won’t laugh at you if you do cry-”

“You were crying?”

I felt my stomach sink as I looked over my shoulder to see my brother frowning at me. “No, I-”

“You know what Father would say,” Draco said with a wrinkled nose, like he was smelling something truly disgusting.

“Sod off, Malfoy,” Harry hissed at my twin.

“What’s going on here?” Snape asked as he stepped between the three of us.

“Professor,” Draco said almost immediately, “Potter is being rude to me! I’m just trying to make sure my brother is alright.”

Snape frowned as he looked down at me, and I stubbornly refused to meet his gaze. “Detention, Potter. See me after class, Mr. Malfoy.”

I nodded once, knowing that I was doomed. I ignored everything else as I made sure the potion would finish without blowing up the classroom. As the class ended, I packed up my bag before heading up to Snape's desk.

“You look like you haven’t slept soundly in a while,” the Potions Master noted aloud.

“Please don’t tell Mother,” I begged, “I don’t want her to get worried.”

“I should tell her, especially if you’re actually going to cry,” Snape said as he eyed me carefully.

“I will not!” I huffed loudly, “Malfoy’s don’t cry.”

Snape frowned deeply before saying gently, “It’s alright to cry-”

“I’m not crying,” I pointed out defiantly.

“If you need to talk-”

“I don’t,” I said firmly before the bell signaling the beginning of lunch rang. “I must get going.” Before Snape could stop me, I rushed out of the classroom and up toward the rest of the school. I briefly considered going to get something to eat, but I didn’t want to be interrogated by my friends. I passed by the great hall and decided that I’d go to try and see Val again. It also wouldn’t hurt to check in with Madam Pomfrey while I was there.

Of course, Madam Pomfrey was bustling around the hospital wing with her usual worried expression. Once she saw me, she gave a sigh of exasperation. “You didn't get yourself hurt, did you?”

“No,” I said, “I was just checking in on Val.”

“She's still not awake yet,” the older woman said gently.

“Can't I just sit with her?” I asked, hoping that I looked pitiful enough to finally win her over.

For once today, luck was on my side, and she allowed me to stay for a while.

I sat down in a chair near Val and started talking. “People are dumb,” I started, pausing when I heard Madam Pomfrey choke out a laugh from behind me, “But the people who put you here are Grade-A idiots. Draco probably never warned them, but if the people I cherish are hurt, I will track the bullies down one by one. After I’m finished with them, they’ll be scared to even breathe in the same building as me.”

Madam Pomfrey murmured out something that sounded suspiciously like, “Just don’t put them in the hospital wing.”

I ignored her, focused only on my injured friend. There was a peaceful silence for about five minutes, before I realized there were spiders climbing out the window. Normally, I wouldn’t be afraid, but this was a hoard of more than twenty spiders, and I was already jumpy, so it was no surprise to anyone that I shrieked loudly.

Madam Pomfrey, summoned by my screams, rushed into the part of the room where I was, thinking something bad had happened. She was met with me standing on top of my chair, as far from the window as I could be. She looked to where I was avoiding and sighed a long-suffering sigh. “Spiders? Really Mr. Malfoy?” She asked, clearly unimpressed.

“There were so many of them!” I reasoned, feeling offended that my fears weren’t being taken seriously.

She glanced over again, only to frown upon realizing there was, in fact, a small platoon of spiders marching out of the castle. “How did that many get in here?” She mused aloud, “And who opened that window? It's snowing outside, for goodness sake!” She quickly waved her wand, throwing the spiders outside before closing the window tight, locking it just in case.

It was only then that I got off my chair and sat back down like a reasonable person.

Madam Pomfrey glanced at the clock on the wall before saying, “You should head to class now.”

I pleaded to not be kicked out, but she ignored me. I huffed indignantly as I made my way to the library, not wanting to go to class with the other idiots in my class. I needed to come up with a good plan to get revenge for Val.

Ophiuchus surely knew about the people who beat up Val, and for the right amount of money, he'd definitely sell out the other Slytherins.