The Witch and Her Vampire

Ten

"—I'm Carina Black," I interrupted, saving him from his embarrassment.

"The daughter of mass murderer Sirius Black?" She studied me.

I scowled a little. "No. I'm the daughter of a potato—" She frowned at me. "—of course I'm the daughter of Sirius Black!"

"It's alright." Hermione shook her head. "I'm sorry I said it like that—I didn't get to finish. I was going to say the whole case looked suspicious and that he seemed perfectly alright to me when I saw him in the papers, not insane at all."

I liked this girl. "Good. Thanks, by the way. And, I'm sorry I got a little defensive." I grinned sheepishly. "It just happens. I did it to Ron, too, if it makes you feel any better."

"Yeah!" piped up Ron. "Looked like she was gonna rip my head off, she did!"

I rolled my eyes at him and turned back to Hermione, hopeful. "D'you want to stay here with us?"

"Well, I promised Neville I'd help find his toad..." began Hermione, before trailing off. "Would it be alright if I brought him too?"

Ron was frantically shaking his head at me over her shoulder, but I ignored him. "Yeah, it'd be great! We've got loads of candy to share, anyway, and maybe his toad will turn up sometime."

Hermione smiled widely at me, and left.
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Less than a few minutes later she returned, a shy boy I guessed was Neville behind her. She plopped herself down next to Ron, who groaned, while Neville sat the other side of her.

Before any of us could speak, the compartment door slid open and three boys stood there—two were huge, and the smallest one had slicked back blonde hair.

"I heard Harry Potter and Carina Black were in this compartment," announced the boy snottily, before catching sight of Harry and I. "This is Crabbe, and Goyle." He gestured to his friends. "And I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." Ron sniggered, and I couldn't resist a snicker myself because of the way he introduced himself. He whirled on Ron. "Think my names funny, do you? Red hair, freckles, and a hand me down robe? You must be a Weasley." He studied our other two companions before turning back to us. "A Mudblood, a blood traitor, and a squib? You'll soon find that some families are better than others, Potter, Black. I can help you there."

"I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks," said Harry cooly. Malfoy's cheeks tinted pink and he put his hand down.

"Now," I added coldly. "Leave." He had insulted my new friends and I didn't like it one bit.

"I don't think we'd like to, cousin," sneered Malfoy. "You've got more than enough sweets for everyone, don't they, boys?" His two cohorts grunted in agreement and one even reached out his hand, but I shoved it away.

"Get out," I repeated. "Now."

Malfoy laughed. "Or what?"

"I warned you."

I suddenly surged forward and shoved him back into Crabbe and Goyle, who quickly caught him and knocked me off me feet. This caused Harry to slam into them both and send them stumbling backward as I got to my feet, furious, and lunged for the closest boy, Crabbe, only for Harry to grab me round the waist and pull me back as the other boy let out a yelp and shook his finger—Scabbers was attached to the end, and flung back into the compartment as they bolted away.

I stopped struggling and sank into my seat.

"You shouldn't be fighting," scolded Hermione. "You could get expelled!"

"He called you a Mudblood!" I replied hotly. That was what had gotten to me most—it was the worst insult ever.

"What does that mean?" She looked a little frustrated. "I've heard it a couple times on here before..." Neville quietly told her, and she looked a bit crushed. "Oh."

"Yeah." I scowled in the direction the boys had gone. "But they're stupid."

"Yeah, don't worry about them," agreed Ron, seeming to forget his dislike of her for a moment. "They're just a bunch of prats, anyway."

"At least I stopped Carina before she could've got hold of them," added Harry. "Last time she did that she latched onto our cousin Jake and nearly bit his ear off."

"His ear?" gasped Hermione. "You really nearly—"

"—uh huh," I said a but too cheerily, because that was the day I met Rose. "But he did call me stupid."

Soon, everyone began their own discussions—even Neville joined in—while I gazed out the window, thinking. I hadn't forgotten about what had happened, not completely, but I've actually had a good time since I got on the train....maybe it is possible to enjoy it here? I sighed, because as different as this was I still felt an ache for my lost friend....my Rose. But I would see her again—Alice said so, and she was almost never wrong.

With that in mind, I grinned and threw myself into a conversation about Quidditch.