𝖒𝖚𝖉𝖇𝖑𝖔𝖔𝖉 ~ 𝕋𝕠𝕞 ℝ𝕚𝕕𝕕𝕝𝕖

TWENTY-TWO || CONFRONTATION

Weeks had passed.

I'd finally put every horrible memory behind me. They were all in the past now. I had a friendship to fix.

Penny was committed to ignoring me. Her dedication was simply astounding.

She didn't say a word to me in the entirety of Charms, and when Divination came rolling around, she quietly asked Professor Morganberry to switch partners.

Changing my tactics, I went to Hogsmeade all alone one weekend, and bought her twenty galleons worth of sweets from Honeydukes.

She forgave me almost immediately after that.

Potions was so much easier when Riddle pretended to like me. He gave me tidbits to do, like crushing Sopophorous beans, which you were really supposed to cut, but I didn't mind.

As long as we were pretending, I was fine.

Riddle's little gang had started paying more attention to me, though.

On the day before Halloween, I was walking to Ancient Runes with Penny, Enola Wenlock, Abigail Bones, and a Gryffindor girl I didn't really know.

Malfoy strode up to our group with Avery, Rosier, Lestrange, Nott, Yaxley, and Mulciber trailing behind him menacingly.

"Get out of the way," He said icily, although we were walking to the right of the corridor.

"It seems, Malfoy, that you and your idiotic friends are blind. Don't make me take any points from Slytherin. Consider moving your fat arses a little to the left, if you're mentally capable of it, of course-"

Blondie whipped out his wand before I could finish my sentence.

"You're asking for it, Granger."

He was right. I was tremendously bored. I needed to annoy someone, even if that person was Malfoy. Especially if they were Malfoy.

The girl from Gryffindor pushed Penny aside, ignoring her overly-dramatic audible gasp. "You dare push me, Penny Abott, aside? You should be ashamed of yourself!" She stated.

I mentally decided to ask the Gryffindor redhead's name sometime.

"Leave, Malfoy," She said.

"Oh, look. The blood-traitor Weaselbee has finally decided to live up to her name. No. What are you gonna do about it?"

Lestrange and Nott snickered.

Penny gave them a deadly glare, but they completely ignored her. They ignored her. I hated being ignored. It was a certain grievance of mine ever since I first met Riddle.

Stupid Riddle.

Carrot Top suddenly stormed forward and pressed her dark-colored wand into Malfoy's neck.

I smirked.

Malfoy's mischievous expression suddenly faltered, and he signaled something to one of the Knights with a cock of his head.

With a blink of an eye, Rosier was suddenly behind Penny, and Avery behind me. I felt something painfully press into my neck. Slightly turning my head, I saw Penny wincing.

Rosier was clutching her straight blond hair with a fist, and poking his wand into her neck which he'd pulled back.

Wenlock and Bones quickly glanced at each other and hurriedly scurried off.

Somehow, I even hated them more than Malfoy at the moment. "Cowards!" I yelled as they were clambering to get away. "Shut up," Avery hissed into my ear.

Rolling my eyes, I stopped struggling and shut my mouth.

Weasley looked conflicted. Her wand had left a red mark on Malfoy's neck, contrasting with his frighteningly pale skin, but it was only hovering inches away from it now.

She looked back at us for a moment, as if she were asking for advice.

I gave a half-shrug, curious about what was gonna happen.

At the moment her head was turned, Malfoy snatched her wand and wrapped his arm around her neck. "No!" I blurted.