i walk into the great hall late that evening for dinner, and i seriously regret not having been there earlier. as i enter the hall with daphne, i see draco, crabbe, and goyle, standing beside the gryffindor table... which can only mean trouble.
"your dad's in the paper, weasley!" draco shouts, gaining the attention of other students in the hall. daphne and i stay in the doorway, not wanting to enter any further, "listen to this!" draco sneers as he pulls out the daily prophet, reading aloud an article on mr. weasley, ".... the ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, of the misuse of muggle artifacts office" draco looks up, staring at ron, "imagine them not getting his name right, weasley. it's almost as though he's a complete nonentity, isn't it?" draco laughs, getting crabbe and goyle to join in. i can see the entire hall is listening now, everyone having gone silent.
"should we..?" i whisper to daphne
"give him a moment" she says back, leaning against the stone pillar beside me
"and there's a picture, weasley!" draco says as he finishes reading another section, "a picture of your parents outside their house - if you can call it a house! your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn't she?"
"okay that's enough" i say to daphne, beginning to storm towards draco as ron turns red, shaking as though he's about to explode
"you know your mother, malfoy?" harry says, standing at odds with draco, "that expression she's got, like she's got dung under her nose? has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?"
draco's face goes pink, "don't you dare insult my mother, potter" he says, just as i arrive next to him
"draco stop it" i say. he looks to me, his face getting even more red, "hi harry, ron" i give a weak smile, grabbing at draco's robes, "now lets go" i give a slight tug on his sleeve, just as a loud BANG rings throughout the hall. i see harry reach into his robe for his wand.
"oh no you don't laddie!" professor moody limps into the the hall, his wand pointed straight at me, or rather, straight at where draco had been standing. i whip my head around to see that he's gone, now transformed into a white ferret, shivering on the stone floor beneath me. i gasp, covering my mouth and stepping away from him in shock.
"did he get you?" moody growls, looking at harry
"no, he missed"
"leave it!" moody shouts at crabbe, who was going to grab malfoy off the ground. but they ignore him, grabbing the ferret and running off, probably towards the dungeons.
"i don't think so" mad-eye shouts again, waving his wand violently towards the boys. everyone watches in shock as malfoy... still as a ferret, is thrown up into the air, being spun violently around by moody.
"professor stop!" i cry out, but he's slammed malfoy back onto the ground, "i don't like people who attack when their opponent's back turned" growls moody as ferret draco squeals in pain. i cringe, not being able to look.
"professor moody!" mcgonagall's voice rings throughout the hall
"hello, professor mcgonagall" moody says rather calmly, still holding draco high in the air.
"what- what are you doing?" professor mcgonagall says, confused as her eyes look up to the ferret bouncing in the air
"teaching" mood replies
"teach- moody is that a student?" mcgonagall shrieks in horror, dropping the books she was carrying and running closer, pulling out her wand as moody confirms her suspicions. with a loud, snapping noise, malfoy reappears, lying helplessly on the floor. he gets to his feet, wincing in pain.
"are you alright?" i run straight to him, lifting his arm across my shoulders to help him stand.
"fine" he grumbles, but i can see him limping slightly as i support his weight.
"we give detentions, moody! or speak to the offenders head of house!" professor mcgonagall scolds moody, waving frantically around the room.
"i'll do that, then" moody says, staring at draco and i. i look at draco in worry, seeing his eyes tearing up, probably from a mixture of pain and humiliation, as the whole great hall is still staring.
"my father will-" draco starts weakly, but it dissolves into a fit of coughs
"oh yeah?" moody limps toward us, " well, i know your father of old, boy... you tell him moody's keeping a close eye on his son... you tell him that for me" he says oddly, finely reaching us, "now, your head of house'll be snape, will it?"
with draco still coughing violently, i respond, "yes, it is"
"and you are?" moody says, turning his wobbly fake eye towards me
"um" i say awkwardly, my eyes scanning the room, met by hundreds of gazes from my fellow classmates, "y/l/n, y/n y/ln" i say quietly
"interesting" moody says slowly, "very" he seems to notice all eyes still on us, as he clears his throat loudly, taking draco by the arm and pulling him off me, "i've been looking forward to a chat with old snape... come on, you" he storms out of the great hall, dragging draco along with him.
everyone stares in shock for a moment, before mcgonagall tells everyone to get back dinner.
"y/n?" i turn to see daphne behind me, nodding towards the slytherin table. i look back at harry and ron, who are staring back at me in disgust. i hang my head, following daphne to our table and eating silently for the remainder of dinner.
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when we finish eating, i slip away from my friends in the hall, taking a separate corridor towards the infirmary. i walk in, noticing madam pomfrey tending to a student in the back corner... not draco. i look around again, finally seeing a curtain pulled around one of the beds, must be him. i check to make sure madam pomfrey isn't looking before i walk further inside, going towards the curtain and peaking my head in.
"hey" i say quietly as i pull the curtain closed behind me, smiling at draco. he's sat on the hospital bed, still a little bruised and cut up from moody's display at dinner. i sit in the chair next to his bed as he groans, trying to sit up, "stay down malfoy" i put my hand on his shoulder, gently pressing him back to a laid down position, "you're in enough pain as it is"
"thanks" he says, lying down but still turning his head towards me, smiling, "thanks for coming"
"don't mention it" i smile back, but quickly turn more stern, "now i don't want to lecture you..." draco groans, rolling his eyes and looking back up at the ceiling, "draco c'mon" i whine, "what you said about ron's mum was out of line! i'm friends with them draco, it reflects poorly on me how you treat them-"
"then don't be friends with them" he shrugs
"or i could not be friends with you" i say back quickly. he turns his head back towards me and raises an eyebrow, calling my bluff. i instantly turn red, "shove off, malfoy" i roll my eyes, almost pushing him but then remembering he's injured, "the point is, even if i wasn't friends with either of you, insulting his family is going too far"
"they insulted mine!" he says
"i didn't say that what harry said was alright! you both took it too far. besides, you went looking for the argument, and you know it" i cross my arms, keeping a serious look on my face. draco looks at me, nervously, twirling the ring i gave him around his finger.
"well what do you want me to do?" he says eventually, "apologize?" he finishes sarcastically
"yes, actually" i say, "that would be perfect"
"not in a million years, y/l/n" he scoffs, turning away from me onto his side
"draco please" i say, talking to his back now, he doesn't answer, so i sigh and get up, "well at least i can say i tried" i begin to open the curtain when i hear him shuffling around behind me
"wait" he sighs, and i turn over my shoulder to look at him, now sitting up slightly "if i agree to apologize to weasley will you... stay with me? just for a little?"
i look back out into the rest of the infirmary, seeing madam pomfrey has disappeared into her office, and the other patient looks asleep. i look back to draco, surprised by his request, "uh.. sure. yeah, i can stay for a bit i guess"
so i sit with draco for the rest of the night, and i do make him craft an apology to ron. i tell him the second he's out of here he must come with me to their table at breakfast, and say it himself. he begrudgingly agrees, and then begs we move on to another subject. we both complain about our magical creatures project, neither of us looking forward to more time with the skrewts. eventually, madam pomfrey catches me in there, and sends me back down to the dormitories, screaming that it's far past visiting hours, and curfew. i run back downstairs, coming to find everyone asleep when i arrive. i change into pajamas and slip into bed, reeling after an eventful first day back.
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bruh the stuff draco says to ron in the book i literally- who let this man be the worst. it's ok we'll change him xoxo
vote/comment/share ! part 28 will be out later today :) hope everyone's enjoying! comment any requests blah blah blah okay bye