HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN
chapter seven
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U T T E R B E T R A Y A L
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"He definitely hates you."
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Draco doesn't reappear in classes until late on Thursday morning, when the Slytherins and Gryffindors are halfway through double Potions. He swaggers into the dungeon, his right arm covered in bandages and bound up in a sling, acting, in Lily's opinion, as though he's the heroic survivor of some dreadful battle.
"How is it, Draco?" Pansy simpers.
"Does it hurt much?"
"Yeah," Draco answers, putting on a brave sort of grimace.
But Lily sees him wink at Crabbe and Goyle when Pansy has looked away. She rolls her eyes at them and tries to focus on the lesson.
"Settle down, settle down," Professor Snape says idly.
They're making a new potion today, a Shrinking Solution. Draco sets up his cauldron right next to Harry and Ron, so that they're preparing their ingredients on the same table.
"Sir," Draco calls, "sir, I'll need help cutting up these daisy roots, because of my arm."
"Weasley, cut up Malfoy's roots for him," Professor Snape says without looking up.
Ron goes brick red.
"There's nothing wrong with your arm," he hisses at Draco.
Draco smirks across the table.
"Weasley, you heard Professor Snape, cut up these roots."
Ron seizes his knife (Lily gets concerned he'll use it for something else), pulls Draco's roots towards him, and begins to chop them roughly, so that they're all different sizes.
"Professor," Draco drawls, "Weasley's mutilating my roots, sir."
Professor Snape approaches their table, stares down his hooked nose at the roots, then gives Ron an unpleasant smile from beneath his long, greasy black hair.
"Change roots with Malfoy, Weasley."
"But, sir!"
Ron had spent the last quarter of an hour carefully shredding his own roots into exactly equal pieces.
"Now," Professor Snape says in his most dangerous voice.
Ron shoves his own beautifully cut roots across the table at Draco, then takes up the knife again.
"And, sir, I'll need this Shrivelfig skinned," Draco says, his voice full of malicious laughter.
"Potter, you can skin Malfoy's Shrivelfig," Professor Snape says, giving Harry the look of loathing he always reserves just for him.
And, apparently, Professor Lupin, too.
Harry takes Draco's Shrivelfig as Ron sets about trying to repair the damage to the roots he now has to use. Harry skins the Shrivelfig as fast as he can and flings it back across the table at Draco without speaking. Draco is smirking more broadly than ever.
"Seen your pal Hagrid lately?" he asks them quietly.
Lily looks up again, no longer focused on her potion. She sincerely hopes he didn't get Hagrid sacked, he doesn't deserve it. Maybe she should've written to Mr Malfoy after all.
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Invisible (III)
FanfictionLily's going into her third year at Hogwarts with a headache because her visions have been appearing without warning all summer long. They only show one man. A man that betrayed her parents and got them killed, and is now out to get her twin brother...
