𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙨 (𝖽𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗈 𝗆𝖺𝗅𝖿𝗈𝗒 𝗑 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋)

chapter twenty-eight

I looked out of the window in my room, sighing. I wished I could leave this house and go somewhere else, I thought to myself. Last summer was so fun with the Malfoys. I wonder how Draco and Star are doing? They haven't written me at all.

I was drawn from my thoughts as a large owl flew towards the window. Hedwig, Harry's owl, began fluttering around and trying to get out of her cage. As I opened the window, Harry stirred, sitting up quickly and looking around. When he saw me, he groaned and went back to sleep. Even sleep-deprived he wouldn't speak to me.

As I let the owl in, I grabbed some food and water for him. He chirped happily, eating. I checked my watch, sighing when it said two in the morning. What was this owl doing out this late?

I began softly stroking his head, and he stuck out his foot, hopping slightly. I noticed a letter tied around it and unwrapped it so that I could take the parchment.

Hedwig squawked at the new owl again. I stood up to give her some extra food, and she shut up quickly.

Turning back to my desk in front of the window, I sat down and opened the letter. The familiar handwriting caught my eye immediately.

Dear Y/n,

How is your holiday going? I hope you're well. This summer has been very busy for both me and my sister, but we're getting through it. I'm sorry neither of us have written you recently, we've been busy and haven't had any time to sit down and write.

I hope you get this soon. Achilles, my owl, is very reliable, so I have no doubt that this will get to you safely. The only thing I ever disliked about the Slytherin dorms was that there were no windows because Achilles was never able to fly into my dorm.

Speaking of school, I hope this next year goes well. What N.E.W.T. classes are you going to take? I'm going to take Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts.

I'll see you on the train to Hogwarts next month! I miss you.

- Draco Malfoy

The last line caught me off-guard. He missed me? I smiled, folding the letter and pulling out a piece of parchment to write back.

~~~

I grabbed my copy of the Daily Prophet, the Wizarding newspaper, and opened it. The first article screamed "Lucius Malfoy: Thrown in Azkaban" in huge, bold letters. A moving picture of Lucius struggling against two other wizards, Aurors, was under the title.

I began to read the article, but there was a knock at the door.

"Who the bloody hell could be knocking at this hour?" Uncle Vernon said, standing up to open the door. It was eleven at night.

Professor Dumbledore walked in.

"Dumbledore!" Harry said, bounding down the stairs.

"Ah, Harry, Y/n. Are you ready?"

"No?" I said curiously, unaware that I was supposed to be. Harry ran back upstairs to pack his trunk, and I followed. Within ten minutes, we were both packed and back downstairs.

Dumbledore turned to Aunt Petunia and thanked her. He then looked at me and my brother and grabbed our arms. "This may feel strange," he warned.

Next thing I knew, my surroundings were spinning violently and I was in the air, shaking and being squeezed into what felt like a tight tube. My stomach flipped around and I closed my eyes.

My feet hit the ground and I fell to the ground, holding my stomach with one hand and covering my mouth with the other.

"I apologise. Apparation is a learned skill, and it can be very sickening the first few times. You two will learn how to Apparate properly this year."

When my sickness went away, I looked around at my new surroundings. We were in a quaint neighbourhood with small houses and cut lawns. All of the houses looked the same except for the one directly in front of us, which sported cracked windows and an overgrown front yard.

Dumbledore began walking towards that house, and we followed. He opened the door to examine the mess inside. The pillows were ripped and strewn across the floor, there was blood dripping from the ceiling, and the lamps and chandelier were shattered.

An old-looking chair with blue and white stripes stood upright in the middle of the room.

"Ah, Horace, you do make a very good chair," Dumbledore said.

The chair began moving, shifting into a large man with blue and white striped pajamas.

"Welcome, Dumbledore. Let's fix this place up," said the man.

They both took out their wands, cast a spell, and watched as the magic literally happened. The previously-trashed room because a nice, elegant parlor.

"Mind if I use the loo, Horace?" Dumbledore asked.

"Not all."

Dumbledore walked away and left us with Horace.

"I know what Dumbledore has sent you here to do," he said.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"My name is Horace Slughorn, an old friend of Dumbledore's. I know he sent you two here to bribe me into teaching at Hogwarts once again. Well, just know it won't work."

"What are you talking about? We know of no plan," Harry said, just as confused as me.

Dumbledore walked back down the stairs.

"Ah, Horace, I see you've discovered my plan. Well, we'll be taking our leave then."

We slowly walked out of the house and were about to leave when Slughorn ran out, saying, "Fine! I'll do it!"

"Thank you," Dumbledore said. "We'll see you on September first at Hogwarts." He grabbed me and Harry and we Apparated once more, arriving at the Weasleys' house, the Burrow.

Harry was immediately overjoyed, but I didn't feel the same. Ron and Hermione still refused to speak with me, and I had no clue as to where I stood with the other Weasleys. I followed Harry inside, anxiety bubbling.

"Harry?" Ginny shouted, bounding down the stairs. "Look, Hedwig's here."

"Did someone say Harry?" Hermione asked, poking her head over the stair railing.

"Hi," he said. Ginny ran straight into his arms, hugging him.

"They're here!" Mrs Weasley said, walking from the kitchen to greet us. She hugged Harry and then turned to me as the others ran down to say hi to my brother.

"I know you're going through something rough with your brother," she said quietly, "and none of us know what's going to come from it. All I want you to know is that you are always welcome here at the Burrow. Everybody makes mistakes, and we all make sacrifices, and that deserves forgiveness."

I smiled, hugging Mrs Weasley tightly. "Thank you," I said, my eyes tearing up as I spoke. "That means so much."