The Mudblood

Chapter 97 : Year 5

His expression of shock mollified into one of intrigue. "Why? Are you jealous?"

"No—no," I insisted as I let go of him and took a hasty step backward. "I just—you're—you're too good for her. She's nefarious, evil, cynical, mean—"

"Oh, and you're much different now, are you?" he countered, raising his eyebrows challengingly.

"What?" I blurted, the word nearly catching in my throat as my wand slowly lowered to my side.

"You don't see it, Lainey? You've turned into Melody. Goth look, rude comments, constant scowl—the similarities are...scary, if we're being honest." His face held a grimace as he said his next statement. "It doesn't look good on you, Lay. I miss the old you."

Stinging heat blurred my vision as I slipped my wand away. "She's not coming back."

My brain felt like a numb blob as I stalked into the Great Hall. Candles lit the room as students ate dinner and spoke jovially amongst themselves. I was feeling the complete opposite of cheery as I slumped down on the bench between Malfoy and a seventh year girl. When Harper came in and sat down with Anderson and Ashley on the other side of the sixth years, I wanted to be nowhere near him.

"Have you done the Defense homework yet?" Theodore Nott asked me without a formal greeting.

"The homework that was due today?" I questioned with an eyebrow raise.

"Yeah."

"Yes, and I handed it in," I informed him blandly.

"Damn, I was hoping I could copy yours... I'll just go beat up Boot until he gives me the answers," Nott concluded before standing up from the table and strolling over to the Ravenclaws. Maybe if I still had a soul I would have gone to help poor Terry, but I had my own issues.

"Since when do you think you can sit here?" Malfoy huffed, breaking away from a conversation he'd been having with Parkinson and Zabini.

"I've been sitting next to you for weeks, Malfoy," I droned as I picked up an apple from the fruit platter. "You can stop pretending that my existence disgusts you. No one else seems to have a problem with me. Zabini and I are friends now, aren't we?"

Blaise eyed me coldly from across the table. "I think you and I have different definitions of the word friends."

My eyes rolled, and I was about to bite into my apple when a lone owl came swooping into the Great Hall. I recognized him immediately and was not surprised when he landed on the table in front of me. What did surprise me was the large package tied to his leg, one punctured with what looked like breathing holes for a very small animal.

"Let me see that," Malfoy demanded as he reached over and yanked the package off of Dev's leg. The owl squawked and tried to bite him, but he flinched away at the right moment. I was mildly disappointed.

"Go ahead," I mumbled before sinking my teeth into the apple. I watched indifferently as he tore through the outer package to reveal a small, green fluff ball.

"What is this?" he scoffed, staring down at it with a scrunched nose. He threw it at me when it sprung to life and began to spin in his palm, and I swiftly dropped my apple and caught the little creature. When it stopped twirling, I realized it had a face, one that was staring up at me and smiling.

"Oh," I said as the realization hit me. "It's a pygmy puff."

Daphne Greengrass gasped from where she sat next to Zabini. "A pygmy puff! They are so adorable! I didn't know they made them in green!"