Year: 5, January 8 1997 (between chapter 102 and 103)
Canonicity: not canon to anything, just a chaotic lil crossover
Point-of-view: first person, Lainey Fitzroy
Notes: (spoiler) This is a crossover between The Mudblood and my original series, The Affinities. It's not necessary to read my original series first, there won't really be any major spoilers (unless you'd like to start the Affinities series knowing absolutely nothing about it). In the Affinities world, this scene would probably take place between chapter 25 and 26 of Blood (book 1).
(I added the Periculand map up top in case my descriptions are insufficient. It was drawn by www.instagram.com/loneyartz )
*If you have read the Affinities, please avoid putting spoilers in the comments :)
Like every other night of my life, I couldn't sleep, the backs of my eyelids etched with images of my twin's death, Voldemort's noseless face, and the constant frustration in Malfoy's eyes. I told myself his frustration was solely because we'd yet to complete our task, not because of anything involving me...or Fred.
Still, I wondered what he'd wanted to tell me while we'd holed up in Astoria's bed during my birthday party. I wondered if we would ever accomplish our task—and what would happen to us whether we did or didn't.
With these endless ponderings buzzing through my mind, I quietly climbed down from my top bunk and slipped out of our dormitory. Pacing through the common room might have helped alleviate some of my stress, but half the older Slytherins had zonked out there amongst the remnants of my birthday party, and I didn't want to be held responsible if Blaise Zabini, lying precariously on the arm of one couch, happened to fall off and crack his skull open. Instead I settled for the place that sometimes gave me vague answers: the Divination Tower.
Trelawney's loud snores greeted me when I entered the classroom, echoing from beyond the door to her personal chambers. Within each exhale, I heard mumblings of, "And a new day will dawn... The blueberry muffins will taste good... Lainey Fitzroy will break into my tower..."
I froze at the last one, waiting for her to burst from her room to witness her sleep-induced prediction come true. After she mumbled something about being swallowed by a hole of alcohol, I deduced she must still be sleeping and proceeded toward the table I typically sat at with Ginny and Luna.
The tea leaf encyclopedia lay open, and someone had left behind their horoscope chart, but I doubted either of those methods would provide any useful information. I needed a solid vision, something to guide me through my personal feelings and drama or my professional career as a Death Eater.
As I sat on my usual stool, the crystal ball pulsed with a faint white glow, sensing my presence. Tentatively I lifted my hand, unsure of how to coax a desired image from it, but I didn't even touch its glassy surface before a sudden commotion blared from the stairwell. Jolting back, I scanned the room for any place better to hide than under the table—
"I'm fiiine," a familiar voice said, sounding a little slurred. A moment later, Ryan Harper's brown head popped into view, his back to me as he clumsily climbed the stairs backward. "Unless you want to kiss me to make it better, Mel. Then I'm positively dying."
Stumbling on a step, he pitched forward, and Melody had to catch him to prevent herself from tumbling down the stairs. As soon as he started to thank her, she shoved him toward Anderson, and the two boys flopped out of my vision as the three girls continued into the tower.
