Staying Alive // D.M *On Hold*

0.9 - A Change of Course

Mia was genuinely surprised by how everything had changed after the selection of champions. Every Hogwarts student, and some of the guests who cared enough, seemed to think Harry was an imposter. They claimed Cedric Diggory to be 'the True Champion' while many wore badges that wrote 'Potter Stinks' on them. Mia tried not to feel attacked, the Potter on the badge wasn't her after all. She came to deal with the increased glares every hour of the day. People thought she had helped her brother get in just because they didn't think Harry was smart enough to fool the Goblet of Fire. He wasn't but that only made Mia believe his ending in the tournament was a cruel trap. She couldn't shake the odd feeling in her. 

Hufflepuffs were overly excited about Cedric bringing attention to their house for the first time in a few decades. Mia was happy for Cedric because he seemed to be so happy and wore his bright smile everywhere he went but she couldn't understand all the students turning on Harry that fast. Even Ron didn't seem to believe Harry, Hermione had told her they had been fighting before and now they were ignoring each other. Mia had tried to spend as much time as she could around Harry but them being in different houses with different electives didn't help much. She could almost feel Harry's loneliness but he gave her a long talk about how he was okay and she didn't need to come out of her way just to hang with him more. It didn't ease her mind but helped to lift some weight from her shoulders. 

Susan believed Harry but her Hufflepuff friend Hannah was one of the ones who showed her badge to Harry's face every time she saw him. Mia used to think Hannah to be a sweet girl but it was clear you could never be so sure with people. She was also sure Draco had been the one behind the idea of the badges. Of course, she felt like she needed to sue him but she decided against it. She was content with acting like he wasn't even there when he tried to initiate a conversation. She had also felt herself falling slightly away from Susan due to her always worrying over her brothers' first task which they still didn't know about. So she promised to take Susan on a girls' date to Hogsmeade this weekend to rebound. 

"Euphemia, why won't you talk to me?" She came to a sudden halt on that. She had thought her days were a bit dull without Draco's smirks and constant teasing about her being the 'tolerable' Potter. She almost wished to make things like they used to be with him. She faced him with a poker face. He was alone, making her wonder where his buddies were. She glanced at the corridor to see they were alone like every time they bothered to have a complete conversation.

"I am talking to you." she said simply, her eyes glazing by his badge that read 'Potter Stinks!'. His eyes followed hers to his chest where the badge rested. He noticed the tapping of her fingers against the book she held. "I have Charms in fifteen, so-" 

"Is the problem the badge?" He cut her off, taking a step towards her. She watched him come closer before shaking her head.

"Of course, it is not." she shrugged. "I know you hate my brother for the spotlight he is stealing from you, from everyone else." from me, she wanted to add but stopped herself. No matter how much she tried Mia would never be Harry and it was okay. Draco just couldn't accept it with his upbringing that urged him to be at the top of everything. "I just realized that he is my twin, we were born to the same parents, suffered the same fate, and hang around similar people but you still seem to find a way to bother him alone, never including me. I'm sick of the treatment my brother faces." 

"Euphe-" she cut him off, raising her hand.

"Did you know Ron yelled at me, in front of the whole Gryffindor?" she said, making him blink and shake his head. "He said Harry was an imposter and I was a 'fucking' traitor! I asked him why he thought like that. The answer was clear, he said. 'Just because you get princess treatment from Malfoy doesn't mean anything.' he said. A traitor, that's what I'm to my friends." the last word burned on her tongue. She watched his mask shake and shatter as his own realization hit. "I'm so fucking tired of being the bridge between Harry and you!"