Metathesiophobia | H. Potter [3]

3 | half-breed

"As suspected..." Abigail announced as the letter from her father was dropped in front of her by an owl. "I'm surprised he didn't send a howler."

"He can't be too mad, can he?" Hermione asked, "I mean after all, you were just defending him."

"I may have been defending him but I lost my temper," she countered. "Despite the fact that I'm not, people think I'm a werewolf because my father is. And losing my temper like that doesn't look good."

Harry was watching her curiously now and his eyes fell to her hands that held the letter. She dropped her hands to her lap and pulled her sleeve down further. She opened the letter.

Dear Abigail,

You can't go losing your temper like that, now more than ever. While I'm sure your teacher did something that made you act out, you really must keep it in as best as you can. Tell Harry that Snuffles suggests the same thing. That he's only making himself look crazy.

Anyway, how have you been? Any headaches or anything of that nature? Write back soon but take your time. No need to rush.

With Love,

Your 'Half-Breed' Father

P.S. I'm proud of you

Abigail looked up at Harry after she finished reading the letter, "Snuffles thinks you should do a better job at keeping your anger in check. That you're basically reserving yourself a seat at Mungo's."

"He did not say that," Harry replied.

"Not in so many words, no," she shrugged with a grin on her face, "But the message was clear. You're pretty much buying yourself a one way ticket."

"Oh yeah, and what about you?" he countered, "Will you be joining me?"

"The jury is still out on that one," she stated. "However, I'm not the one telling lies. I just have a 'half-breed' father." Harry rolled his eyes at this and Abigail spoke up again, "You know, for a teacher, she really is quite dumb."

The students that surrounded her looked up at the teachers table to make sure she hadn't heard, "Oh, relax. It's my head on the line, not yours." She shook her head, "Anyway, werewolves aren't even half-breeds. If I was a werewolf, I would be considered one but alas, I am not. My dad was turned after he was born. As far as people know, lycanthropy isn't even hereditary."

"Wait, you're not a werewolf too?" a Gryffindor from further down inquired.

"I don't know," Abigail shrugged, "Guess you'll find out next full moon won't you." She then howled jokingly and those who could hear her laughed at the look of terror on the first-years face.

"Keep it down," Hermione suggested but the amusement was clear on her face, "You can't afford another week of detention."

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you," Harry spoke up, "Angelina is the new captain and she's holding tryouts for a new Keeper. She wanted the entire team there but..."

"We have detention."

"She's angry about it but she's letting it go as long as we keep it together and don't get in anymore trouble."

"Then it looks like we have our work cut out for us," Abigail concluded. "Any prospective Keeper's?"

"There have been a few sign ups but she hasn't seen any of them play so who knows."

"Let's hope they find someone good. I honestly forgot that Oliver was gone."

The remainder of the day went well, at least up until her next detention with Umbridge.

"Let's take a look shall we?" Umbridge requested and Abigail raised her hand obediently. She was now two weeks into her detentions and the scarring was pretty much permanent. The words 'I will not disrespect my teacher's' carved into the back of her hand still bled, not healing as they used to. "Another week should solidify the statement. You're done for tonight."

Abigail made her way back to the common room and went to sit where she usually did but saw Ron sleeping there, "Hey, Weasley." She pushed him gently and he startled awake. "What are you doing up?"

"I was working on homework," he explained.

"Haven't you had time to work on it earlier in the day?"

"I've been...busy," he responded simply before he seemed to notice something. He grabbed her hand quickly, "Bloody hell. I thought she was having you write lines?"

Abigail yanked her hand away, "She is."

"That usually involves a quill and paper. Not your hand. You have to tell McGonagall," Ron pointed out, "She can't-"

"No," Abigail shook her head, "I'm not telling her."

"Then Dumbledore, he'd do something about it."

"Yes but that would only be giving her what she wants though, wouldn't it? It would let her know that she got to me and I refuse to give her the satisfaction."

"Then at least tell your dad," he tried, raising her hand up where you could see the scarring of 'I will not disrespect my teacher's' scrawled across it, "This is bad, Abby. She's torturing you."

"It's fine," she pointed out, pulling her hand away from him, "I'm fine." She pulled the sleeve of her robe down, "And you can't tell anyone. Not Hermione. Not Harry. Although, I'm sure he already knows. You can't tell anyone."

"Fine," he sighed. "But if it gets to the point that I have to, I will."

"No," she shook her head, "You won't."

"This year is going to be awful," Hermione groaned the following moment and Abigail couldn't help but laugh.

"You're just now noticing that?" Abigail inquired. "Between the barely learning in Defense Against the Dark Arts and the tripling in the amount of homework from last year, you're just now coming to this conclusion?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at Abigail, "Right, sorry. Being nice starting...now."

"We have to get to class," Hermione pointed out, "If we don't go now, we'll be late and Umbridge will be livid."

"Alright," Abigail hopped off the bed, "Off we go."

The two made their way to the common room where Ron and Harry were waiting for them. Hermione was shaking her head in dissatisfaction at the two of them as she took the lead and opened the portrait, Ron right behind her, "You two should have left without us. Especially you, Harry," Hermione added, "You can't afford to get in trouble again."

Harry looked down at Abigail in confusion, "Is she alright?"

"She's stressed, I think," Abigail answered. "She's not handling the Umbridge situation very well."

"Speaking of Umbridge, I've been meaning to ask you," he began and she saw that he was glancing down at her hand which was hidden behind her sleeve.

"Hurry up, you two," Hermione cried out and it was now that Abigail was grateful for her friend's hysterics, "We only have a few minutes before class starts."

Abigail nodded quickly and caught up with Hermione and Ron, leaving Harry and his questions behind.

They entered the room quickly and Abigail took a seat next to Hermione. While she was perfectly aware that Harry was watching and the conversation couldn't be avoided forever, she certainly wasn't going to engage in it now. Just one more week, she reminded herself, Just one more week and all will be well.