A heart beneath the mark

6. Part

After surviving Potions class next to the dark-haired, who had been looking at me the whole time with his dark, deep eyes, I went to my next subject: Muggle Studies. In this, I placed myself relatively far ahead, since I was very engaged in Professor Kaessner's lessons. Shortly before class began, Hermione Granger sat down next to me, probably for the same reason I had chosen this course: good grades without much studying. To my surprise, we talked well and for a long time, even after class. But we separated shortly after, and I went to the Great Hall to eat something.

When I entered the hall, my eyes immediately fell on the Slytherin table. I saw Theodore Nott poking at his food, Pansy Parkinson, who was chatting with other Slytherin girls, and finally, my little sister Gwen at the front, who was eating pudding again. I knew her fondness for it because, when I was home during the holidays, I made her a small bowl of pudding every morning, which she always ate with a sweet smile.
I wanted to run to her first, but I decided against it because I didn't want to repeat what happened this morning. Instead, I went to the Ravenclaw table next to Cho and exchanged stories with her about the classes I had survived so far. After a while, I looked up briefly and saw Mattheo Riddle enter the Great Hall. He sat down next to Theodore Nott, took something to eat, and began to shovel individual spoonfuls into his mouth. I quickly looked away, not wanting to attract his attention. I searched for Gwen one last time and, looking at her worriedly, decided to leave to avoid any unwanted conflict.

I strolled through the corridors and headed to the library, where I spent the rest of my lunch break, probably reading "The Story of Hogwarts" for the tenth time. I'm just incredibly fascinated by how such a world came to be. As a Muggle-born, I could never have imagined this, and suddenly, I learned that a magical world existed. Never in my life would I have dreamed of calling myself a witch or feeling so safe in the environment of a hundred other clever witches and wizards. But here I am, in what feels like the largest castle in the world, with the coolest subjects.

After my lunch break, I went to the last two hours of the day, which were Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Snape. To be honest, I didn't really like this subject, except for the third year with Professor Lupin. He was the first professor who allowed me to excel, but since he left, that has faded. I entered the room and immediately smelled the strong scent of smoke and men's cologne. I looked to the left corner and knew why: all the "famous" Slytherin boys sat together, talking, including Mattheo Riddle.

God, can this day get any worse? I thought to myself as I looked for an empty seat at the front of the classroom. Shortly after, Professor Snape came in and immediately began with his not-so-exciting lesson.
I don't know how, but I managed to survive two hours with Snape without receiving "too many reports" as he called them. On the one hand, I was relieved, but on the other, I felt frustrated wasting my time in a class where I couldn't even share my knowledge properly.

Straight after class, I headed to the Ravenclaw common room to meet Cho, who hadn't arrived yet. I looked at the clock and quickly decided to change my clothes. I grabbed comfortable pants and an ochre T-shirt, went to the bathroom, and changed.
When I returned to the common room, Cho had just come in, and we sat down on the couch in front of the unlit fireplace. We didn't talk much and focused on the homework we had so far. That's what I liked about our friendship — we enjoyed each other's company but didn't always need to talk. The pure silence and knowing that the person who is very important to you is sitting next to you was enough.

After a while, we finished our work and made our way to the Great Hall for dinner. Since I hadn't eaten anything at lunch, I was very hungry and couldn't wait to get something to eat. On the way to the Great Hall, I noticed several strange glances resting on me. At first, I thought it was a coincidence, but when Cho and I entered the hall, three-quarters of the eyes were on me. I didn't understand what was going on and hurried with Cho to our table and sat down.

"Why is everyone staring at you like that?" Cho asked, to which I just shrugged. As if out of nowhere, Hermione came to our table and sat down next to me. I noticed her expression turning serious, which let me know she wasn't going to tell me anything good. I took a glass of pumpkin juice and sipped it. "There's a rumor going around that you're sleeping with the teachers and that's why you get good grades," Hermione said bluntly.
When I realized what she had just said, I choked on my pumpkin juice and looked at her in shock. "Who would spread such nonsense?" I asked, turning around to see who had it in for me. Suddenly, I looked into two dark brown eyes belonging to none other than Mattheo Riddle, and I immediately realized he had something to do with it. I knew I had his attention, and I also knew that no one tells Mattheo Riddle to fuck off and gets away with it.
I didn't notice how he slowly began to smile, sending a cold shiver down my spine.

Damn, Hannah, what have you gotten yourself into?