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SIX; A NEW TEACHER
WHEN STELLA PLOPPED down in the seat next to Ron in Defense, her brother jumped five feet in the air.
"El!" He exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing sitting here?"
She frowned. "I wanted to sit next to my brother. Is that such a crime, Ronald?" She rolled her eyes at Ron's dumbfounded expression.
His eyes trailed to Draco, who was sulking in his seat as Blaise continued to chatter next to him. "So, it's true then? You've actually ended things with Malfoy?"
"It's just a break, Ron," she sighed. "Nothing more than that. We came to a mutual agreement. I realized that I barely know anything about my family anymore. So how are you?"
Ron opened his mouth to response until Umbridge raised her voice to silence the class. "Wands away," she instructed, and Stella frowned before shoving her wand into her bag. "As we finished chapter one last lesson, I would like you all to turn to page nineteen today and commence chapter two, 'Common Defensive Theories and Their Derivation.' There will be no need to talk."
Stella narrowed her eyes but opened her book, beginning to read the most boring chapter ever. Ron nudged his sister's side and motioned to Hermione, her hand raised high in the air.
Instead of answering her in front of the whole class, Umbridge walked over and leaned down.
"What is it this time, Miss Granger?"
"I've already read chapter two," Hermione replied.
"Well then, proceed to chapter three."
"I've read that too. I've read the whole book."
Stella smirked as Umbridge tried to think of a response. "Well, then, you should be able to tell me what Slinkhard says about counterjinxes in chapter fifteen."
"He says that counterjinxes are improperly named," Hermione answered quickly. "He says 'counterjinx' is just a name people give their jinxes when they want to make them sound more acceptable."
Stella smiled proudly, and she could tell Umbridge was impressed her Hermione's knowledge.
"But I disagree," Hermione continued.
"You disagree?" Umbridge clarified, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, I do. Mr. Slinkhard doesn't like jinxes, does he? But I think they can be very useful when they're used defensively."
"Oh, you do, do you?" Umbridge spoke in a louder tone. "Well, I'm afraid it is Mr. Slinkhard's opinion, and not yours, that matters within this classroom, Miss Granger."
"But-"
"That is enough," Umbridge interrupted. She walked back up to the front of the class. "Miss Granger, I am going to take five points from Gryffindor House."
All of the Gryffindors began muttering in disagreement. "What for?" Harry spoke up in an angry tone.
"Don't you get involved!" Hermione whispered.
"For disrupting my class with pointless interruptions," Umbridge replied. "I am here to teach you using a Ministry approved method that does not include inviting students to give their opinions on matters about which they understand very little. Your previous teachers in this subject may have allowed you more license, but as none of them — with the possible exception of Professor Quirrell, who did at least appear to have restricted himself to age-appropriate subjects — would have passed a Ministry inspection-"
"Yeah, Quirrell was a great teacher," Harry fired back. "There was just that minor drawback of him having Lord Voldemort sticking out of the back of his head."
Stella's eyes widened. Silence encompassed the classroom before Umbridge spoke again.
"I think another week's detentions would do you some good, Mr. Potter."
Stella buried her head in her hands and groaned in exasperation.
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"Stella!" Blaise caught the Slytherin girl before she escaped from class. Stella had not spoken to him since her temporary separation from Draco. Many Slytherins were still very confused on the origin of Stella and Draco's breakup, Blaise especially. "Can we talk?"
Her eyes darted to where Draco was walking, just a few feet ahead of them. Crabbe and Goyle flanked his sides and Pansy was eagerly speaking to all three of them. Stella guessed a small part of her friend was elated that she temporarily ended things with Draco.
"Is it about him?"
Blaise shrugged. "I was just wondering if you've finally reached your breaking point, that's all."
She narrowed her eyes. Another mystery that loomed in the Slytherin house was the decision Stella would make when the Dark Lord returned — would she choose her family, or would she choose Draco?
Apparently, her separation from Draco allowed others to think she made her choice.
"Whatever's occurring with Draco and I right now is temporary, Blaise. I need to spend some time with my family and with myself. Draco knows that. Just make sure he's eating well for me, okay?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Temporary? You temporarily broke up with him?"
"Yeah."
"Stella, do you know how much you mean to him?" Blaise scoffed. Although Stella was blindingly intelligent, she could become quite daft in these cases. "You're like his lifeline. Malfoy's whole life revolves around you — he centered his schedule around you, eats his meals with you, and discusses all of his deepest thoughts with you."
"Yeah, and maybe that's a little dangerous, Blaise. Shouldn't Draco learn to lean on himself for a while?" She questioned.
He shook his head in disagreement. "He can't trust himself, Stella, and you and I both understand why. He needs someone to hold him down and help him realize what his true potential is."
She frowned. "Blaise, please stop making me feel guilty for all of this. I miss him more than anything."
"Then be with him!" He laughed, throwing his hands up in the air. "I know I'm usually the one enjoying when you and Malfoy fight, but the guy's acting like some emotional travesty. Stella, you realize that you can't just pause Malfoy in order to hang out with your family, right? You have to learn to balance the two if Malfoy's going to be in your life for a long time."
She sighed. "I know, Blaise. I guess, in some way, I'm punishing him for what he's said about my family. I realize they've always disliked him, but no one has ever explicitly said that he would never be a part of us. When George revealed his true feelings, it awoke me to the fact that Draco's never met my parents or participated in a civil conversation with one of my siblings. How awful is that? My family is so important to me, yet my partner is completely closed off to them."
"You can't blame him for all of that, Stella," Blaise reasoned. "Do you know what Lucius would do if Malfoy was casually going over to the Burrow for dinner? Do you know what Lucius would call him?"
She turned her head. "Don't remind me, please."
Draco never liked speaking about the abuse he received from his father. He learned to be very careful in what he said in front of Lucius, especially pertaining to Stella's family situation. In the Manor, they never referred to her as Stella Abberdon-Weasley, only Stella Abberdon, so that her name wouldn't be tainted by blood traitors. He had heard his father speaking lowly of the Weasley family at the dinner table before, and his mother never understood why Alia had chosen them as Stella's guardians.
Draco never mentioned that Stella was close friends with Gryffindors because he knew if You-Know-Who returned, she would be used as a pawn in his game in order to provoke a reaction from Harry.
The boy took many precautions when it came to Stella, and Blaise knew of this. Stella, however, was oblivious to the fact that Draco protected her in more ways than one.
"Just talk to him when you guys make your prefect rounds tonight. I know you need your family, Stella, but Malfoy needs you more than anyone else."
Blaise left her standing in the middle of the hall, feeling like the weight of the world was left upon her shoulders.
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Stella found Draco sitting on a lounge chair in the common room, waiting for her arrival. He was gazing into the fire, looking rather content with himself.
"Hey," she whispered softly as a greeting.
His facial expression visibly softened at the sight of her. "Hi," he murmured. "You don't have to come with me tonight if you don't want to. I can make prefect rounds by myself."
She chuckled. "And have you dock points from Gryffindor for no reason at all? I don't think so."
He smiled. "You know me so well."
There was a brief pause, and Stella could see Draco was shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
"Blaise came up to me today," she shared with him. He blinked at her. "Told me about what I've been putting you through. I'm sorry, Draco. He said something that really resonated with me — I have to learn the balance between you and my family if you're going to be in my life for a long time."
"Do you want me to be?" He questioned, clearing his throat. "I mean, do you want me to be in your life for a long time?"
"Of course," she replied, easing his worries. "You and I are in this forever."
"I wouldn't have it any other way," he whispered, taking her hand in his. He interlaced their fingers together. "Does this mean you're ending our break?"
"I should've never allowed it to begin," she sighed, internally scolding herself. "All I did was hurt both you and me."
"You had every reason to be upset," he justified. "I know my word probably means nothing to you, but I promise to make an effort with your family since I'm in this for the long-run."
She smiled, laying her head on his shoulder. "That would be great, Draco. Thank you."
He rested his head on top of hers. "I'm going to be a better boyfriend, I swear it."
"Well, first," she said, standing up suddenly. "You need to be a better prefect. Let's go make our rounds."
He whined, pulling at her arm. "My love, I just got you back. We can spend a few moments together. I'm sure all of those little first years will be fine."
She rolled her eyes. He was already back to his usual self. She leaned down to press a kiss to his cheek. "Come on, Draco. You know we have duties to attend to."
He sighed but stood up, pressing a light kiss to her lips.
"You understand that every move I make in my life, I only think about you?" He spoke softly, brushing her hair behind her ear.
She nodded, smiling bashfully. "I know."
He kissed her forehead. "Good."
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The balance between Draco and her family was more daunting than Stella could ever imagine. She divided her meal times between the Gryffindor and Slytherin table, and although she would never admit it to her fellow house, she loved the playful aura that surrounded the sea of red. Fred and George always found some way to amuse her, and she gained insight into Ginny's life, something she had been brushing aside since she's been with Draco.
Blaise was right — her life felt a whole lot easier now that she spent more time with her family without neglecting Draco.
Stella finally believed the people in her life had fallen into place, and Draco even made civil conversation with Fred and George the other day. It was slow progress, but it was getting there.
The only burden surrounding her was Umbridge. She despised the woman, but she was comforted when Hermione approached her with a solution.
"Harry's going to teach us how to defend ourselves from dark magic?" Stella repeated back to the bushy-haired Gryffindor with a raised eyebrow. "And you're sure he's up for that? He already gets enough attention as is."
"He's eased into the idea," Hermione responded with a slight tremor in her voice. "But don't fret over it. Are you up for it? We're having the first meeting during the trip to Hogsmeade."
Stella's mind began swirling, wondering how she was going to step away from Draco without him questioning her intentions.
"I'll be there, don't worry."
"And Stella, I hate to have to ask you this-"
She smiled and waved her off. "I know, I know. I won't utter a word about it to Draco or any other Slytherin on sight."
Stella kept her promise, but Draco was constantly pestering her about why she could not join them on the Hogsmeade trip. She hated lying to her boyfriend, but she knew that she had to. His mind wasn't safe, especially from Lucius. She needed Draco to be kept out of the loop.
"Fred and George really want me to go to Zonko's with them," she explained to him. "Besides, I've been on plenty of Hogsmeade trips with you already! I promise you the next one, okay?"
He sighed, scratching the back of his neck. Stella could identify his frustration, but she knew he was trying to do better at understanding her family situation.
"Alright, alright. I guess I'll have to stick with Blaise. Promise me you'll be safe?"
She grinned, raising herself up to kiss him. "I promise."
Stella found it quite sketchy that Hermione chose the Hog's Head for their meeting, but she guessed it was because rarely any students visit it during trips. When she entered, almost everyone Hermione invited was already there, and Stella was surprised by the numerous amount of students surrounding the booth.
Fred clapped his hands. "Stella! Come join us! I bought you a butterbeer already."
She squeezed in between her two brothers and offered them a smile of gratitude.
"How did you manage to sneak away from Malfoy, El?" George inquired.
"Yeah, tell us!" Fred added.
She rolled her eyes. "You two are acting as if I haven't spent the last few weeks with you at breakfast."
Fred nodded at George. "She's got a point, George. She's been a loyal sister since she got back together with Malfoy."
George lifted his cup of butterbeer. "Got to give credit where credit is due, Fred."
Hermione cleared her throat, standing up as she began to speak. She stuttered in her speech slightly, but the message was clear — Umbridge was lacking in teaching Defense, and they clearly needed to educate themselves.
"You want to pass your Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. too though, I bet?" Michael Corner interrupted. Stella rolled her eyes at the idiotic question.
"Of course I do," Hermione retorted. "But I want more than that, I want to be properly trained in Defense because-" She took a deep breath. "Because Lord Voldemort's back."
Stella's back tensed at the name, and she could tell others had the same reaction she did. She could see Hermione wasn't all that comfortable with throwing the name around either.
"Well, that's the plan anyway," said Hermione. "If you want to join us, we need to decide how we're going to-"
"Where's the proof You-Know-Who's back?" A Hufflepuff interrupted with a rather aggressive tone.
"Well, Dumbledore believes it-" Hermione defended.
"You mean, Dumbledore believes him," the boy shot back. Stella narrowed her eyes, and she could see Fred and George were doing the same.
"Who are you?" Ron asked in a rude manner. Stella didn't blame her brother for his cold voice.
"Zacharias Smith," the Hufflepuff replied. "And I think we've got the right to know exactly what makes him say You-Know-Who's back."
"Look," Hermione said, trying to get everything back on track. "That's really not what this meeting was supposed to be about-"
"It's okay, Hermione," Harry said. He stared at everyone seated before him, particularly focusing on Zacharias. "What makes me say You-Know-Who's back? I saw him. But Dumbledore told the whole school what happened last year, and if you didn't believe him, you don't believe me, and I'm not wasting an afternoon trying to convince anyone."
Zacharias responded in an even more ignorant manner. "All Dumbledore told us last year was that Cedric Diggory got killed by You-Know-Who and that you brought Diggory's body back to Hogwarts. He didn't give us details, he didn't tell us exactly how Diggory got murdered, I think we'd all like to know-"
Stella couldn't believe a fellow Hufflepuff would speak of Cedric's death so casually.
"If you've come to hear exactly what it looks like when Voldemort murders someone I can't help you," Harry said. "I don't want to talk about Cedric Diggory, all right? So if that's what you're here for, you might as well clear out."
No one rose from their seats. Hermione continued where she left off. "So, like I was saying, if you want to learn some defense, then we need to work out how we're going to do it, how often we're going to meet, and where we're going to-"
"Is it true," another girl interrupted. Stella wished that they would all just listen to Hermione so that they could get this over and done with. "That you can produce a Patronus?"
"Yeah," Harry responded defensively.
"A corporeal Patronus?"
Stella tuned out of the conversation while Fred leaned over to whisper to her. "You worried Malfoy's going to catch you sitting here?" He asked, questioning his sister's anxious state.
She sighed, shoulders slumping. "Just a little."
Fred said nothing more, but Stella guessed he wanted to inquire about the nature of the side she was choosing. Everyone assumed Draco would automatically become a bad seed, but the time was approaching when Stella would have to face the path she was going to take. Would she end up like her birth mother, or would she prevail against all odds?
After everyone offered their opinions about Harry and spoke about when they should meet, they all signed their names on a piece of parchment and agreed not to utter a word about their organization to Umbridge.
Stella bid her goodbyes to her siblings and found her Slytherin friends inside Honeydukes. Draco, who was facing a shelf of assorted sweets, failed to notice her. She wrapped her arms around his middle, surprising him.
"Merlin, my love. Don't scare me like that," he muttered, twisting around so that he could kiss her.
"What are you buying?" She asked, eyeing what he was holding.
"Just some sweets for you," he chorused. "How was Zonko's with Fred and George? I went in to look for you, but I couldn't find you in there."
Stella felt guilt rising in her stomach. She smiled, brushing it off.
"It was fun. They were dragging me all over the shop, that's probably why you couldn't find me."
He hummed and nodded, trusting her words. She grimaced at the falsehood.
How many more lies would she have to speak to him?
i know people love those slow burn fics, but i really like writing a fic where the couple's already together