The Darkest Hearts || REGULUS BLACK

Chapter Two

Diana prodded her lifeless moly flower and sighed when its black stem wilted. The white petals shriveled and fell to the wooden worktable in less than a minute, and Diana groaned, beginning to pack away her supplies and copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. There was no use trying to save the plant now, so she sat and braced herself for Professor Sprout to come around and dole out her usual zero for Diana.

She glanced to her left, where Henrietta pruned her moly meticulously, her flower very much alive. To her right, Jackie watered her own moly, and Diana could've sworn the flower bloomed even more. She scowled.

"Kill another innocent plant, D?" said Gemma across from her, a healthy flower standing upright on the worktable she shared with Diana.

Diana drummed her fingers on the table. "I don't understand! I did everything right!"

"Did you till your dragon dung properly?"

"Yes. Just like the book said."

"And did you add the two drops of flobberworm mucus to the water like you were supposed to?"

Diana stared. "The what?"

Gemma grinned. "No wonder Sprout hates you. You're a plant murderer."

"It's not like I do it on purpose," she said. She stripped off her dragonhide gloves and threw them on the table dejectedly. "I just don't have a green thumb like the rest of you."

Gemma shook her head. "Oh, D. Whatever will we do with you?"

Jackie turned to them when she was done. "Did either of you happen to notice that Karen Hartley still hasn't turned up yet?" she asked in a low voice. She swept a surreptitious glance around the sixth year Gryffindors they shared greenhouse four with. Diana copied her and realized that she was right; the Gryffindor girl in their year was nowhere to be seen.

"She probably didn't come back this year," said Gemma knowingly. "A lot of Muggle-borns are scared. I know my mum and dad were on the fence about me returning to Hogwarts with everything that's going on."

"You almost didn't come back?" Diana repeated.

Gemma nodded. Her face was serious. "They were worried about my safety. I don't blame them though; things are getting bad out there. I kept up with the Daily Prophet this summer. You-Know-Who has more and more followers every day. And with what happened to Mary MacDonald last year..."

The three girls shared a dark look. Mary MacDonald was another Gryffindor but in the year above them. She'd been cursed badly the term before, and though no one said it aloud, the whole student body believed that it was because she was Muggle-born.

"What are we whispering about?" asked Henrietta, finally looking up from her flower.

"Karen Hartley not returning to Hogwarts this year," Diana said.

Henrietta nodded slowly. "I s'pect not. She seemed rather scared before we went on holiday. I remember her telling me that her parents had found out about You-Know-Who and everything, and they were beside themselves. I'm not surprised they kept her home."

"More pruning and less whispering, ladies!" called Professor Sprout from the front of the greenhouse. "We have five minutes left! Make sure your molies are in good shape!"

"Yes, Professor," the girls muttered, falling silent.

Diana stared at her poor plant, her stomach churning as it always did whenever You-Know-Who was mentioned. There was a war going on, she knew; a campaign to rid the Wizarding world of Muggle-borns, with some even calling for half-bloods like her to be eradicated too. To leave the Wizarding world "cleansed" and back in the hands of pure-bloods. Even the thought of it sickened her. And it was only getting worse. She had to admit that perhaps Karen Hartley's parents may have the right idea. There was no telling when the war would end, and—perhaps the most terrifying thought of all—which side would be victorious.