The Half-Blood Black

Chapter Twenty✨

"Cedric!" I say running up to him in the hall. "Hey, hi. I'm running super late for Potions class but I wanted to talk to you real quick."

Cedric turns and faces me, a worried look on his face. The two friends with him stop and face me as well. "What is it, luv? Are you okay?"

"Of course, silly. But I was just wondering ... well ... do you have a date to the Yule Ball?"

His face breaks into a sad smile and he grabs my hand lightly. "Lyra, luv, I'm sorry if I made you think that we were more than friends ... but I just--"

Oh, one of these conversations. 

"-- I'm sorry, uhh, real quick: so I actually don't like you ... like that. I was hoping it would be totally platonic, just two friends getting together for a fun night. Two friends in which one of them only has one real friend ..."

"I just ... listen, I would love to. If I had known you wanted to go I would have asked you first but I just assumed with everything going on you wouldn't want to."

I blink and rub my hands together, pulling on my fingers as my embarrassment comes crashing down on me. "Well," I let out an awkward laugh. "I would be lying if I didn't confess to being embarrassed." 

"Don't be," Cedric says. "I completely understand. It was inconsiderate of me to assume you wouldn't want to go, what teenager doesn't?" He sighs. "And my ego, bloody hell I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight. I am so sorry about that." 

I squeeze his arm briefly and turn on my heal. "I have to go, I'll see you later?"

"Yes, of course. Outside the great hall once you've eaten. " He grabs my hand quickly and kisses it like he does, walking in the opposite direction of me.

His friends shoot me looks of disgust but when he turns toward them they smile and clap his back.

"Cedric!" A familiar voice says running by me and bumping into me. My Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts book falls to the floor along with my pens and two notebooks.

I roll my eyes as Harry skids to a stop and turns to me. "Lyra." He says coming back and handing me my scattered pens and a notebook. "So sorry."

"Don't mention it, this has happened almost every time I leave a class." I say brushing a black curl out of my eyes. "But they do it on purpose and leave me to clean it up."

Cedric walks over to us and hands me my Potions book smiling. "Harry Potter, what can I help you with?"

"Oh well, I umm..." He says nervously. I crane my neck to the side because, nosey of course, and act like I'm not listening as I try to cram my books back into my bag. "Are you by any chance taking Cho Chang to the Yule Ball?"

Cedric shoots me a weak smile before nodding back at Harry. "Sure am, mate. Why? Did I intrude on something?"

"No no, not at all." Harry replies. "Thanks."

Cedric claps a hand on Harry's shoulder and nods. "Thanks for checking."

Harry nods and Cedric turns once again to join his friends. Harry scratches the back of his neck and turns to me, grimacing. "How awful was that?"

I roll my eyes and punch Harry on the shoulder, grateful for an in with him. "If that was me? I would be relieved I didn't have to bring Cho. Her and her sister are bitches." I say. "But I don't have a date so who am I to talk?"

"I guess that makes two of us."

We awkwardly stand there, not sure what to say next. I'm searching for the right words to say that could lead us to a new start but he beats me to it. 

"You know," he starts. "Maybe we could fix both of our problems and go --"

"Harry." I say, resting my hand on his forearm. "Not in a million years."

-

"Well well well, I never thought I would see this. Daughter of crazed murderer and the son of his victims. My father will never believe this." Draco says scuffing as Harry leads me into my first fourth year Potions classroom.

Our classmates turn around in shock at the sight of us together and Harry leads me to the front of the class. Harry points to an empty seat next to Hermione who gives me a warming smile while he sits in front of me next to Ron.

I turn around to see Draco and a boy from Ravenclaw sitting behind Hermione and I. He smirks at me and I roll my eyes. I shift uncomfortably in my seat, feeling his eyes on the back of my neck. I flip the hair out of my face, the one black curl that is always in my face staying behind, and let out a sigh.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asks me, turning to me and closing her Potions book. "If he is bothering you I can make him move. Trust me, nobody knows more of Draco Malfoy's scorn than a muggle born witch."

"I'm fine." I say while clearing my throat. "It just never gets easier, hearing them patronize a man they don't know for a crime he didn't commit." 

Snape comes into the classroom looking bored. I have him to thank for my advancement into this grade. His eyes landing on me, he gives me a discreet nod. "Today, we will be learning about love potions..."

-

"That wasn't so bad, now was it? I quite like us being friends." Harry says coming up behind me, holding my bag open as I attempt to shove my book into it. "Snape isn't the best teacher but trust me they get better. I'm glad you tested out of the younger years classes."

"Severus is actually my favorite." I say, remembering everything he taught me back at Grimmauld Place. "Maybe having classes together ... we can start over?" He nods and I shake my head, knowing Sirius would be punching the air right now. "Why don't you like Sev -- Professor Snape? He's extremely knowledgable in the Dark Arts as well."

"Well, I would assume a Death Eater would know a lot about the Dark Arts, wouldn't you?"

The room tips on its axis as his words hit me like a brick wall. I feel my book bag start to slide off my arms as my breathing immediately quickens. Every alarm is going off in my head and I can't feel the floor beneath me. I grab onto the wall and turn to find that Snape is already gone. 

"Did you ... did you say a Death Eater?" I gasp. 

"Bloody -- are you alright?" Harry's arm comes around my waist, I bat him away as I stumble into the hallway, looking around the halls for greasy black hair and a hooked nose. 

He wouldn't do this. He wouldn't do this to me. Snape ... he can't be a ... a ...

I stumble and my footing slips. I hear Harry say something about getting Madame Pomfrey while I feel his hand grab my arm. The last thing I see before I black out is exceptionally blonde hair and scrunched eyebrows. 

The whole Order is on Voldemort's death sentence, with Snape as the executioner.