Not Alone After All

Chapter LI

*warning* : mentions of blood (a very bad nose bleed,  mostly)

"You two, drink this," Madam Pomfrey told the twins, handing each one a cup. By the looks on their faces, it probably didn't smell the best. "I'll ask one of you to stay with them for a while, until their siblings arrive at least," she told the two girls.

Laura shook her head playfully, thinking maybe with everything that was going on, everything would go back to normal between her and the two people she loved the most in the world (no offence, harry).

"Firat detention with Snape, now this? Thanks so much for this birthday present, so thoughtful," she told the two sarcastically, reaching for a chair to pull next to the bed closest to her -- she still wasn't sure who was who.

"This has nothing to do with you," the one furthest away from hair snapped, pulling his robes tighter around his body. Laura was obviously taken aback. And apparently, so were Hermioneand George, that gave him a look he purposefully ignored.

"I know that. That was a joke," she responded, her voice much softer than his had previously been. For the first time in her life she had had to specify that something she said was a joke. Usually, she simply didn't bother, but with the twins she normally didn't need to, for they'd understand her right away. It appeared someone didn't understand anymore, or was simply too cross to try.

"I'll stay," Hermione told Laura, placing a hand on her arm. "You go and head to the Great Hall, tell Harry I might be late." Laura hesitated, wanting to stay for she was genuinely worried and wanted to see them get better. She nodded, leaving the three in the infirmary.

♧♧♧

Her mood had already been destroyed by a certain ginger boy, but when Laura got to the Great Hall and saw the fourth year Slytherins looking at her she knew it was about to get worse.

She sat down next to Rachel Nox, a girl in her year with whom she shared a dormitory. They never spoke much, but Rachel was the only ones she hadn't heard make comments about students families or their blood-status.

"Hey, Laurie," the girl smiled sweetly at her. It had gotten to a point where Laura didn't know if her sweetness was genuine or not, but she seemed to be dating an older Hufflepuff guy, so she couldn't be that bad, right?

"Hi, Rachel," she smiled back, grabbing the apple juice and pouring some into her cup.

"Hello, Potter," Laura heard Pansy's annoying voice speak up. She immediately took a deep breath to calm herself for what was about to come.

"What do you want, Parkinson?" she said, a sweet, poisonous smile on her face as she wished she had never been sorted into Slytherin. Any other house would have been better, didn't have to be Gryffindor where her friends were. She wondered sometimes how well she would do in Ravenclaw, for she certainly didn't lack the brains. But then again, neither did Draco, and they both somehow ended up in Slytherin.

"I heard you're having a little fight with the Weasels," she taunted. "How sad is it that not even the stinking blood traitors want you around."

Something inside Laura snapped.

"Do you not have anything else in your inventory? Is that the extent of you insult vocabulary, Parkinson?" Laura snapped at the girl, who seemed surprise she finally got a rise out of the ginger. Laura, however, did not let her the time to respond. "Is that all? Blood-traitor friends, mudblood mother, filthy half-breeds? What's next, my dashing personality? I hear there's loads to talk about that, it's apparently rotten. But then again, at least I have one. I, at least, don't run around repeating what I have heard others say just because I think it'll make me someone out of me," she ended.

There was a silence between the group ant the few people sitting around them, until Pansy smirked.

"Way to show us how savagely like an animal you really are, Potter. Your disgusting mother must have been the same. When she was alive, of course. What a shame she was murdered," Pansy told her with the sweetest of tones, which only made her blood boil.

She hadn't realised what she was doing until she heard McGonnagall's voice yelling at her and Pansy to stop. She looked down at her hands that were covered in blood, and then looked up at Pansy's face. Her eyes was already darkening and her lip was cut, bit the look of anger on her face made Laura extremely happy.

"This is unacceptable!" McGonnagall yelled at them. By now, the Great Hall's attention was completely turned on them. There were whispers flying around, but mostly people were quiet trying to listen to what the Professor was about to say. Laura felt something wet on her lip, reaching up to her nose, only to find out it was bleeding. Quite severely. Her jaw also ached, and when she looked down at her knuckles, they were also bleeding. "Miss Parkinson, outside! Professor Flitwick can fix that up for you. Miss Potter, infirmary, now! And Fifty points from Slytherin! Each! Do not let that repeat itself!"

Although she didn't particularly enjoy the infirmary, she did have to admit she was starting to feel faint from all the blood she was losing. Her nose wouldn't stop bleeding, and the cloth she had been given to hold up to her face was already soaked.

Harry was soon by her side, recieving nasty looks form every Slytherin around them. He held onto her arm and helped her walk to the Great Hall doors while her head was being tilted back and she held the cloth to her nose.

"That was amazing, Pansy totally deserved it," Harry told her, excitement clear in his voice. "But don't ever do that again."