Squib Who Scrubbed | ON HOLD

Chapter Twenty-Six

IMPORTANT AUTHOR NOTE AT END, PLEASE READ FOR YOUR CONVIENENCE

Tania blinked blankly at Sophie as she finished the story she obviously found entertaining, as Sophie wiped actual tears from her eyes. Letting out a weak laugh and smile, Tania thanked her lucky stars when Sophie decided to go to her apartment and get ready for her shift.

While the idea of Tom riding a dragon as he escaped a hoard of giants who had eaten his family might seem hilarious if told right, the effect was lost when Sophie couldn't stop laughing.

Sitting at one of the side tables, Tania felt comfortably hidden in the shadows, unnoticed and free to watch others. Yet, no matter how much she felt hidden and comfortable was stripped away the moment the Malfoys walked into Leaky Cauldron.

Tania had never moved so fast. Slipping under the table like a waterfall, she crouched and swiveled to where she was out of view from both of them.

Heart pounding, Tania checked her watch. It was 2:30, when the Malfoys had the most freetime. And they had come searching for her.

Trying to not let panic overcome her, Tania took deep breaths. Thinking of places to hide, places out of sight from the Malfoys, Tania knew she had to get out of there as fast as possible. She pushed her emotions away as an idea came to her.

The kitchen.

Scanning her eyes over the room, she watched as the Malfoys casually sat at a table across the room and studied the room and it's scarce occupants. Biting her lip, Tania knew that all her skills in sneaking would have to go into this moment.

Plotting her path across the room, she slowly extended her legs and arms, hoping they didn't pop or crack. Resting her weight on her fingers and toes, she crept her way around the edge of the room, moving slowly and using the darkness to her best advantage.

Reaching the bartop, the door to the Leaky Cauldron opened and Tania used the distraction to swiftly stand up and slip into the kitchen.

The door closed behind her and she let out a sigh, her heart rattling inside of her. She wanted nothing more than to sink to the floor and sob, but that would gather attention from Fitch and Joshua, who were already glancing at her weirdly when she entered the kitchen.

"Hi," She managed to weakly say, which got a raised eyebrow from Joshua.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, pausing from stirring the soup he was working on.

"Yeah," Tania said,letting out a breath, her heart still pounding. The Malfoys were so close to finding her.

"That's a terrible lie," Joshua scoffed, and Fitch nodded his head in agreement. "What's really going on?"

"Well," Tania stalled, not sure what she wanted to tell him, "I'm avoiding certain people right now, and they walked into the doorway of the Leaky Cauldron looking for me, so I came in here."

"That is a really vague answer," Fitch commented, "But since we all have someone from the past haunting us, we aren't going to go fishing."

"However," Joshua added, "Your shift starts in ten minutes, so if they aren't gone by then, you'll be a bit distracted, and the people might find you out. Therefore, we must come up with a way to get rid of them, but not the rest of or customers. Any ideas, Fitch?"

"How well do you like these people, Ani?" Fitch asked, "Because it helps my answer on how well we should treat them."

Anger burned through her at the thought of the Malfoys, and what they stood for, what they had done. "I hate them," She said in a low voice, "They could die and I wouldn't care."