The Carnival ⌁ Draco Malfoy [1/4] ✔

30

 The Death Eaters were not only the talk of the school, but perhaps throughout the entire Wizarding community. They were terrorizing places, villages, homes, but it only happened very rarely. They clearly did not want to be caught.

It was a fairly quiet day, most the students were watching Gryffindor's Quidditch practice - which had, by the sound of it, been quite terrible; everyone was singing 'Weasley is our King' when they burst into the Great Hall for dinner that evening, giving Emma a right start when she was eating her meal in silence.

Ron walked in looking horrified with Ginny by his side, who was look quite disturbed, while they marched over to the Gryffindor table. The sound of laughter tore Emma's gaze from the Gryffindors, and she looked over at the oak doors to find Theodore Nott laughing with Draco, singing 'Weasley is our King' at the top of their lungs and throwing pointed glances over at the Gryffindors. The teachers at the front of the Great Hall stared down at the opposite end with scowls, McGonagall looked as though she was about to march down to Theodore and Draco and yell at them.

"Quiet, you two, you're disturbing everyone," breathed Emma when Draco positioned himself beside her, Theodore on his other side.

"You should have been there, Freckles," Draco laughed, Theodore joining in with him. Theodore reached for some of the chicken in front of him but it was slipping through his fingers from how much he was shaking with laughter. "Gryffindor don't stand a chance, now. They're awful."

"I don't doubt that," Emma said truthfully, looking over at all the glum Gryffindors. They all looked as though they were mourning a tragic death. "And they're losing a lot of House points, too. And fast."

"Yeah, it's great," Draco said smugly, nudging Theodore. He, Draco, suddenly turned to Emma with a death stare, but she didn't appear to be the reason he was death staring. "Hey - why is Weaselbee number three staring at you?"

Emma quickly looked up at the Gryffindors and spotted Fred ignoring all the commotion around him and staring at her with a desirous look. She caught his eye and he quickly looked away.

"No idea," she responded, turning back to her meal.

Draco was dispirited for the rest of dinner and desert - no more laughter, and no more chatter. Theodore had grown sick of Draco's silence and turned to Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle.

"You OK?" Emma asked him on the way back toward the dungeons.

"Never better," he replied, walking quickly toward the Slytherin common room.

Emma shrugged, allowing him to rush off and watched him jump in between Crabbe and Goyle. She turned around at the sound of her name being called to find Daphne rushing down with her sparkly jumper looking good as new.

"It's done!" she squealed. "My mother paid two hundred Galleons to get it repaired best she could. She wouldn't take knitting or threading, she wanted it perfect. Well, I wanted it perfect."

"Looks good. In fact it looks even better than I last saw it."

"I know right. Just don't ever wear it again," Daphne said with a stern look, though Emma could tell she was joking, but not quite joking. Emma jerked her thumb toward Daphne, signifying that she understood. 

The next day at breakfast a bunch of owls swooped into the Great Hall carrying either the daily prophet or a couple strange looking magazines. Emma hadn't received one, but Daphne had. She caught sight of the words 'HARRY POTTER SPEAKS OUT AT LAST: THE TRUTH ABOUT HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED AND THE NIGHT I SAW HIM RETURN.'

Emma quickly scooted closer to Daphne and read right beside her, ignoring the letter addressed from her parents who had in fact been the ones to send 'The Quibbler.'

"Seeking more attention, as usual," said Draco who read from Daphne's other side. "Just can't get enough, can he?"

"Leave him alone, Draco," Emma frowned.

"Hey, Sabrina," Daphne greeted politely yet cautiously, as the gloomy Sabrina had drifted into the bench in front of her.

Sabrina didn't look like the bright, happy, enthusiastic, smiley Sabrina that Emma had once saw on her first night here at Hogwarts. Her cheek bones were much more visible and her skin much more pale, and it looked as though she hadn't eaten for days - on the contrary she looked rather ill. She forced quite the unconvincing smile, avoiding both her friends' eyes, and picked carefully at the food in front of her.

"How have you been?" Emma asked quietly, staring worriedly.

"Well, thanks," mumbled Sabrina, picking at toast and scooping small proportions in her mouth at a slow pace.

"I haven't seen you around much," Emma went on conversationally, she felt Daphne stiffen beside her, as though to tell her to stop talking, but she did the opposite, "you're barely in class and I never actually see you during meal times - not till now at least. It was like you've disappeared or something."

There was silence - the sound of toast being chewed on tentatively by Draco, Daphne slightly wide-eyed and frozen between mid-sentence and eating, and Sabrina quietly eating her food without an indication that she was going to respond. It felt like a blow had been punched right in the middle of Emma's abdomen, a fist twisting itself inside her, and it wasn't the worry she had had for Sabrina or her disappearance. Sabrina had been shutting herself out and avoiding everyone or as much human contact as possible, and it was the curiosity that got the better of Emma, not so much the worry.

"I've been sick lately, been stuck in the hospital wing," Sabrina muttered, still not looking up at anyone. It was obvious, had she had it her way and not her hunger's, that she'd forced herself to come down to breakfast.

"That's not very convincing."

"Emma," Daphne whispered, horrified.

"What?" she whispered back. "It's weird, I want to know."

"Quit being nosey and just let her eat in peace."

Sabrina finally looked up and threw Daphne a grateful look, and turned back toward her food. Emma, not realizing that she had been leaning forward, fell back down normally with a light huff expressing her annoyance and lack of knowledge.

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A/N: Next updates on Tuesday :)