Chapter 37
“So, what did you get? You look happy.”
I squeezed Fred’s hand excitedly,
“Exceeds Expectations!”
I had just left Charms, and I was quite pleased with my grade, considering I was new to all of the spells.
Fred hugged me,
“Well done! That’s fantastic!”
We danced around the corridor excitedly, hand in hand.
Fred chuckled into my hair,
“Maybe we should stop dancing. Professor Snape just glared at me.”
I giggled,
“I’m afraid there is no better place for dancing than the corridor. We must continue until we part ways.”
Fred’s face fell, and he sighed,
“I wish you were in Gryffindor. We’d be able to spend so much more time together.”
I gulped, hoping that I wouldn’t cry,
“I wish I was in Gryffindor too. Maybe, somehow, things would be different.”
Fred cupped my face in his hands,
“You know, there was meant to be a Valentine ball this year, but I believe Professor Umbridge has banned it.”
I sighed,
“She bans everything.”
He smiled sadly,
“I want you to know that if it had been on, I would have asked you.”
My stomach fluttered,
“I would have accepted your invitation.”
He grinned,
“I would have danced with you for the whole evening.”
“I wouldn’t have spent my time with anyone else.”
He stroked my hair,
“At the very end of the night, I would have kissed you.”
Then, before I could say anything else, he did exactly that. He kissed me. It was so soft, so slow, and so perfect. I couldn’t have wished for a better kiss.
I pulled away, sighing,
“I’ll say goodbye before Umbridge sees us.”
He smiled,
“Goodnight, Ava Potter.”
I waved,
“Goodnight, Fred Weasley.”
I drifted down the corridor happily, thinking of Fred. When I got to the common room, I ignored Draco’s watchful eye, and went straight to the dormitory.
I began to open the door, then stopped. I could hear crying from inside. I wondered who it was, and whether or not I was meant to go in.
I decided to pretend I hadn’t heard crying so I wouldn’t make things awkward. I pushed the door open and walked in.
Sitting on one of the beds was a girl with long blonde hair. It shielded her face from me for just a second, before she looked up.
It was Eleanor.
Her face was wet with tears, and her eyes looked swollen. She still looked pretty, somehow.
Our eyes met, and she looked back down, embarrassed,
“I suppose you’re probably going to go straight to bed and ignore my crying. Which is fine, considering the way I’ve treated you.”
I shook my head, and sat down on the edge of her bed,
“What’s the matter?”
She wiped her cheeks with her sleeve,
“It’s my Charms grade.”
I frowned,
“What do you mean?”
“I got an A.”
“A? An A is Acceptable though! An A is good!”
Her head snapped up,
“It’s not enough! I’m not good enough. My mother wants me to be this amazing witch who can cast powerful spells, but I can’t do it. I’m not good enough for what she wants me to do.”
I gulped,
“What does she want you to do? Does she want you to be an Auror? Because I’m sure you could just work a tiny bit harder and then you’d be there.”
Eleanor put her head in her hands,
“She wants me to be a…”
I smiled,
“You can tell me, it’s fine.”
She shook her head,
“Ava, she wants me to be a Death Eater.”
My heart stopped for a moment, and I was lost for words.
A Death Eater.
Was that really what Eleanor’s mum wanted her to be? A follower of Lord Voldemort?
She sobbed,
“And I’m not good enough to please her. My method of casting spells is sloppy, and I can’t always remember the name of the spells.”
I still didn’t say anything; I just patted her shoulder affectionately.
Eleanor pushed her hair out of her eyes and sighed,
“Then there’s the thing I can never tell her.”
I gulped, finally finding my voice,
“What’s that?”
“I don’t want to be a Death Eater.”
I reached out and put my arms around her, whispering quietly,
“Then go against your mother’s wishes.”
* * *
After comforting Eleanor, I walked out of the Slytherin Common Room and down the corridor, wanting some time alone.
Were students in Slytherin, children, really thinking about becoming Death Eaters? Surely they wouldn’t want to follow the man who killed my parents. The man who tried to kill an innocent baby.
I spotted a prefect, and ducked into the shadows. Luckily, she didn’t see me, and walked straight past.
As soon as she was gone, I quickly ran up a set of steps. I was making my way to the library.
I ducked out of the way of prefects along the way; desperately hoping they wouldn’t see me.
I also watched out for Filch or Mrs. Norris.
I was nearly at the library, when I noticed a store cupboard door was slightly ajar. I gasped quietly when I realised I could hear voices from inside. I crept closer to the door, still saying in the shadows.
“As far as I’m aware, Severus, she is ready.”
Someone was talking to Professor Snape.
“She isn’t ready yet. She doesn’t have nearly enough knowledge on spells or potions. Draco is lying to you.”
“It’s not just Draco who told me these facts, I have my sources.”
“I hope you realise that Draco is only a student He knows nothing about the girl.”
“You sound like you are trying to protect her.”
“I’m merely trying to tell you that Ava is not as powerful as her brother. Her magic wasn’t nurtured from the beginning. She is catching up fast, but does that mean that she is as powerful as Harry?”
I flinched at the sound of my name. Why were they talking about me?
“Severus, you make so many mistakes.”
“She will never be as powerful as any of the witches or wizards her age, or younger than her. If she’s have been discovered earlier, things would have been different. Ava Potter is not a powerful witch.”
My heart stopped. Professor Snape was saying I wasn’t powerful. He was saying I would never be as powerful as Harry.
“So, in your opinion, Ava isn’t as strong as her brother?”
“No. And she will forever be in his shadow.”
The door creaked open a little bit more, so I began to run. I ran all the way to the Slytherin common room without stopping.
I didn’t want to hear what else Professor Snape had to say. I understood perfectly.