Recap:
"Your behaviour is unacceptable Amelie! You now have detention tonight after dinner."
"Who with?"
"Well seeing as I have some more urgent business to attend to, you will be having detention with Professor Umbridge."
"What!" I asked shocked. "No!!"
"Do you have a problem with that?" He glared at me.
"No..." I mumbled, looking at my feet.
"Good." And with that he flounced off down the corridor, his cloak flapping dramatically behind him.
Great. My hand had just healed over, and now my 'father' has sent me for more torture with Umbridge. Could this day get any better?!!!
CHAPTER 20
The answer is yes. And it did. Turns out quidditch tryouts are after school today. At the same time as my detention.
"Harry...." I whined, nudging him with my shoulder as we walked towards the great hall.
"What?"
"You know the quidditch tryouts..."
"Yes..." He responded, getting kind of impatient.
"Well...SnapesgivenmedetentionsoIcan'tcome..."
"What?!!"
"I said-"
"I know what you said! But why!!"
"Fred and George." Those three simple words and Harry knew what I meant.
"Those idiots!! You're great at quidditch! There is no way you wouldn't get on the team!! And now you don't get to try out?!!"
"I know! But isn't there a way that I could try out before dinner? Because after dinner I have to go to Umbridge's office-"
"Did you just say Umbridge's office? I thought you said you had detention with Snape." I could sense that Harry was starting to worry.
"Yeah, well he can't make it. So I have detention with Umbridge instead." He gave me a worried glance. "I'll be fine Harry." I gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. He sighed with frustration.
"Fine! We'll do your tryouts before dinner."
"Oh my god!! Thank you Harry!!" I squealed and crushed him into a hug.
"But promise me you'll go to Madame Pomfrey after your detention. We don't want you ending up in hospital again."
"Of course Harry!" I lied, crossing my fingers behind my back.
"Listen, I'll see you later." I said, running to catch up with Neville. I jumped and wrapped my arms round the back of his neck.
"Wha-Oh, it's you." Neville said, as I dropped back down onto the floor.
"What's wrong? You don't seem very happy to see me!" I teased, grabbing his hand with mine.
"You know that's not true." He replied, grinning. I leant up to kiss him, but was knocked out the way by none other than Snape.
"Oh come on!!" I shouted after him.
"Why don't we just go to breakfast?" Neville said, pulling me towards the great hall.
"Not without this!" I said and this time, pulled him down into a kiss.
"So are you trying out for the quidditch team?" Neville asked as we sat down for breakfast."I think so, but there's no way I'll make it." Ron and Hermionie looked at me in disbelief.
"Oh come on! We all know you're awesome at quidditch! You are one of the best Chasers I've ever seen!" Ron all but shouted.
"Well...I don't know about that..." I smirked at Ron.
"When you have stopped your boasting Miss Leveridge, perhaps you and your friends would like to get to your classes." Umbridge stood glaring at us, in all her pink glory.
I looked around to see that the rest of the hall had been emptied.
"Oh...Sorry." I muttered, as Neville dragged me out of the hall and to our Charms class. After what seemed like days, it was finally time for my quidditch trial. I walked out to the quidditch pitch hand in hand with Neville.
"Don't you need to wear a practice uniform?" Neville asked, gesturing to my school clothes.
"Oh yeah! I nearly forgot." With a flick of my wand I was dressed in the red and gold Griffindor practice uniform.
"Wish me luck!!" And with that I hopped onto my broom and joined Harry and Ginny in the air.
"Ok, so Amelie, today we're gonna play a practice game to see whether you are any good at being a chaser."
Finally, we finished the game, and needless to say, my team won.
"You did great!" Neville gushed, slinging his arm over my shoulders.
"Really?" I was pretty suprised when everyone started complimenting me on my quidditch skills.
Neville nodded. "You might want to take a shower before dinner though." He told me, faking disgust.
"Hey!" I shoved him, then broke into a sprint up to the dorm. After a long and relaxing shower, I got changed into my school robes, with 30 minutes left until my detention.
"Oh crap!" I shouted and dashed down to the great hall. I practically inhaled my dinner, before rushing up to Umbridge's office - AKA torture chamber. After bracing myself for the irritating woman I was about to encounter, I knocked lightly on the door.
"Come in!" God! She was annoying me already. I slowly entered the room.
"Ah, Miss Leveridge. Please, take a seat." She gestured to a small desk with a bright red quill and some parchment covering it. I carefully sat in the uncomfortable wooded chair behind it.
"Today you will be writing some lines for me. Understood?" I nodded, avoiding her gaze.
"You will write 'I shall not act in a lewd manner." Lewd? What the heck is lewd?!
As soon as I began writing, the familiar tingling sensation covered my hand, until the sharp piercing pain began etching those words into my skin. Blood flowed freely from the gashes, soaking the paper.
"That's enough. You may go now." I nodded curtly, and tried not to cry as I left the room. I knew that I should go and see the nurse, like Harry had suggested, but I couldn't face the embarassment. I couldn't let Umbridge know that she'd won. So instead I crept down to the dungeons, and entered Snape's quarters.
My blood dripped a crimson trail behind me, as I tried to find the healing potion he kept in his cupboard. After hurriedly pouring the green liquid onto the wounds, I wrapped my hand in a piece of cloth that I'd ripped from one of the garish slytherin wall decorations.
"What are you doing child?!" The cold harsh voice of Snape filled the room, making me shriek with shock.
"Uh...N,Nothing Sir." I said, trying to discretely put the vile of healing potion back on the shelf.
"Hmmm." He glared at me suspiciously. "I'm not sure I believe you."
"I was trying to...find you sir. To tell you that I'd been to my detention..." It was suprising how easy lying came to me.
"You're lying." Oh God, how'd he know?!
"No I'm not."
"I don't tolerate lying Miss Leveridge. Now get out of my sight before I give you another detention." There goes our thawed relationship.
"Yes Sir." I mumbled as I hurried out of the room, but I was stopped by a firm hand on my arm.
"You're bleeding." I looked up to see him looking at me with...concern?
"Errr...yes sir. I must have cut myself playing quidditch..." He just stared at me, and grabbed my hand - a little too hard, I winced in pain.
He slowly unwound the bandages to see the scarring of the words etched onto my hand.
"Who did this to you." I turned away from his gaze. He wouldn't believe me if I told him.
"Amelie!" He said sternly.
"Umbridge." I mumbled before running out of the room. Great. If Snape went to Umbridge, then she would hate me even more than she does now, that is if he doesn't think I'm lying. I wasn't looking where I was going, and soon enough I ran into someone in an empty hallway.
"Oh...sorry.." I mumbled, and looked up at the person, who was glaring down at me.
"Shut it mudblood." Oh great. Malfoy. He shoved me up against the wall and held his wand to my throat.
"Hey Malfoy. How was your Christmas?" He just snarled at me.
"That good huh? Mine was great, thanks for asking-"
"I said. Shut. Up." He sneered at me.
"Say, Malfoy. Why do you keep trying to kill me? Cos I've been thinking about it for a while now. And every reason I've come up with seems to be ridiculous..."
"Father's orders."
Why would Draco's father want me dead? What had I ever done to him?
"Yeah, but why?"
"He says you're a threat. He says you're too powerful. It seems pretty stupid to me. Because you can't even seem to defend yourself without someone elses help." I shrugged.
"But you have no one to help you this time, Leveridge." He snarled. Well, he had me there. I turned my face to the side, preparing myself for the inevitable curse, only to see a fist making impact with Malfoy's face.
"What?!!" I looked up to see Neville cradling a swolen hand, standing over a bloodied Malfoy.
"Neville!!" I shouted, throwing my arms round his waist.
"Amelie! Thank God you're ok!" He hugged me back.
"What are you doing here?"
"I came looking for you! No one has seen you since you left Umbridge's detention."
"Oh, sorry. I went to see Snape, and then I got caught up with this pratt." I said, gesturing to the whimpeing Malfoy on the floor beside me.
"That's ok Amelie...Hey! What happened to your hand?!" I looked down at my now scarred hand.
"Oh, Umbridge has this quill that uses your blood as ink, which she made me use in the detention."
"What??!! Amelie, you need to tell Dumbledore!"
"I know, I know... but I don't want to give her more reason to hate me." He stared at me disaprovingly.
"If it's any consolation, I did tell Snape..." He sighed with exhasperation.
"Fine. What are we gonna do about him?" he said, pointing at Draco.
"I say we leave him here. Someone will find him...eventually."I said with an evil glint in my eye.
"Amelie Leveridge. You are one cruel girl." I smirked.
"I know. That's why you love me." I grinned up at him. He just smiled.
"Come on, lets get you to your dorm. You look shattered."
"Gee thanks. Always the flatterer."
When we got back to the common room, there were a bunch of my friends sitting around waiting for me.
"Amelie! Where were you?!" "What have you been doing?!" "What happened to your hand?" I sighed and whispered in Nevilles ear.
"Sure, I'll deal with them. You just get some sleep." I gave him a kiss on the cheek before trudging up to my room, and collpasing in my bed. Falling into a dream-filled sleep.