Cordelia Lyra Malfoy had always been different from the rest of her family. Her family were blood-supremacists who tried to teach their views to their children. Cordelia never believed with their views and would be punished for it.
She never felt a...
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The boggart incident was forgotten as time passed. It was now October and the autumn weather was at Hogwarts.
Cordelia had heard about the incident with Draco and the Hippogriff and she was still upset about it. She attempted to speak to Draco about it multiple times, but he would turn and walk away whenever she approached him.
“Draco! You can't ignore me forever!” Cordelia yelled after another failed attempt to get her brother's attention.
The girl sighed and decided to go for a walk to clear her mind. She was alone due to her friends being busy: Fred and George were in detention, Cedric was doing prefect duties, and she had no idea where Kaiana and Lee were.
She was walking near the courtyard when she saw a big, black dog near the Whomping Willow. Its fur was shaggy and it looked like it hadn't been fed in a while. She felt sympathy for it, feeling a sense of sadness fill her. She was engrossed in her own thoughts as she watched the dog, and didn't notice someone walking up behind her.
“Hey, Cordi,” Harry's voice was suddenly heard in her ear from behind, causing her to jump. “Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you.”
“You're fine, Harry,” she assured the younger boy. “Why is there a dog at Hogwarts? I have never seen a dog here, except for Hagrid's.”
“You can see it, too?” Harry asked with a mixture of surprise and relief. “I thought it was the Grim.”
“I don't think it's a Grimm. He looks like a stray,” She answered, her lips in a frown.
“How can you tell?” asked Harry, looking at the dog with curiosity.
“It's fur isn't taken care of and it looks hungry. I may sneak food out to feed it later. I'm sure it would appreciate something to eat,” she explained before changing the subject. “Do you want to take a walk with me?”
“Sure, I have nothing else to do,” he answered, shrugging his shoulders before he joined her in walking around the grounds. He patiently stopped and waited every once in a while every time she did to eat admire the plants that were changing colors due the changing seasons.
Meanwhile, Fred was walking back from detention, George leaving him to do something else. He had a number of things on his mind as he walked aimlessly. He was thinking about Cordelia and was wondering what she was up to. He hoped maybe he could find her and join whatever it was she was doing. He was also thinking about his next prank, wondering if he should play one on Draco. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he ended up walking into Cordelia, his tall body knocking over her small frame.
“Cordi, I'm so sorry! I was too wrapped up in my own thoughts that I didn't see you there,” he apologized, offering his hand to help her up.
When she stood up, their hands lingered, neither one letting go. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment until Harry awkwardly coughed, alerting the two that he was still there. They both let go of their hand hold and looked down at the ground to hide their blushing cheeks.
“Sorry again,” Fred apologized a second time, rubbing the back of his neck. “Are you sure you're alright?”
Cordelia smiled and blushed while She placed a hand on his forearm. “I'm fine, Freddie. Don't worry about it.”
Harry, feeling awkward by the whole situation, saw Neville and made an excuse to leave. The two teens looked at each other and began to laugh.
“Would you like to throw a dungbomb in Filch's office with me?” offered Fred.
“I'd love to,” she accepted, as they walked into the castle together.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Cordelia sat at the Hufflepuff table in between Kiana and Cedric on the night of Halloween. They were laughing and having a good conversation, talking about everything and nothing. Occasionally, Cordelia would glance at the Gryffindor table. She would sometimes catch Fred looking over at her, smiling at him when she did. Fred would sometimes catch her doing the same, and he would give her a smile and a wink.
After the feast, the Hufflepuffs went back to their common room to continue the Halloween fun. They were surprised when Professor Sprout came in not long after and announced that everyone needed to return to the Great Hall immediately.
In the Great Hall, the tables and benches were gone and were replaced with sleeping bags. Rumors were being spread that Sirius Black entered the castle and slashed the Gryffindor portrait.
Cordelia felt a sense of worry rushing through her. Without thinking, she left her friends and approached Fred and his fellow Gryffindors. “Hey, I heard what happened. Is everyone okay?”
“Everyone is fine,” Fred assured her with a smile. “Thanks for checking, though.”
“Well, as long as you're alright,” Cordelia smiled before suddenly feeling embarrassed by her actions. Without giving them time to respond, she turned and returned to her sleeping bag next to Kiana and the other Hufflepuffs.
“How can you not see that she clearly fancies you?” asked George after exchanging looks with Lee while the boys got into their sleeping bags.
“She just wanted to make sure everyone was alright,” claimed Fred.
“Yeah, but she asked you,” Lee pointed out. “And she never smiles at us like that.”
“She smiles at you,” Fred defended her, getting a little annoyed.
“Yeah, but not like that,” George yawned.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Thankfully, there were no signs of Sirius Black after he attacked the Fat Lady. Cordelia kept her word and started to leave food by the Whomping Willow for the stray dog. It took a few days, but the dog started to warm up to her and would come out of his hiding spot when she was around. After two weeks of feeding the dog, she learned it was a boy.
“I'm glad you're starting to trust me,” She said to the dog one day while she was petting him. You need a name, though.” The dog barked and wagged his tail.
“How about Elton?” she suggested. The dog cocked his head.
“No, you don't seem like an Elton… How about Jasper?” The dog whined and lowered his ears.
“No, Jasper is a stupid name…. How about Snuffles?" The dog let out a whine as he laid down next to her and placed his head on her lap.
“You don't like Snuffles, either? Well, that's too bad because that is what I'm calling you… You know, I wouldn't mind keeping you… I’m a stray, too. Us strays need to stick together.” the dog wagged his tail and licked her hand to show he cared.
“You're a strange dog, it's like you could understand me,” she said.
Meanwhile, Fred and Harry stood outside of the Quidditch locker rooms, and had been watching Cordelia's interaction with the dog.
“Maybe you can adopt the dog for her and give it to her as a Christmas gift. He could be like your kid,” Harry teased the older boy.
