In The Shadows [Book Two]

Chapter Fifteen:

Chapter Fifteen:

"Why are you hanging around me?  Go be with your friends." 

"You are my friend."

My eyes glanced over to the brave boy in front of me, the same boy who stood before Bellatrix and still told Harry not to give her the prophecy despite knowing what she'd do to him.  This was the boy who stood by his friends no matter what and I felt a weird feeling in my chest at knowing that I was one of those friends.

"That's stupid Neville, I'm a bad influence." 

"I know, and I don't care.  You made the right choices when it came down to it, so bad influence or not, you're a good person."

I scrunched up my nose, glaring slightly down at the book in front of me.  I'd been in the Gryffindor common room for over an hour, mostly alone until Longbottom had shown up, sat next to me and.. well and nothing; he sat next to me and didn't say a word until I spoke to him. 

"That's stupid."

It was all I could think to say with him invading my space as he was, looking over my shoulder as I took notes on wand movements and root words to use for my concealment charm.  My head was pounding from pouring over the same words over and over again.  There was nothing else I could test the charm on besides myself because anything else would be too easy to hide whereas the Dark Mark seemed to have another spell concealed in it so that it couldn't be hidden. 

It seemed like an odd thing to do to a highly illegal mark but who was I to question the Dark Lord?

As it stood, my own mark was all I could test on and so currently it was full of pain and the skin around it was bright red and swollen from charms gone wrong; but it wasn't easy to tell considering with Neville here I had to keep my sleeves pulled down.

"Yeah well people say I'm stupid all the time, so it doesn't make a difference to me either way," Neville said, a small smile moving across his face as our eyes met.

I wondered if he'd act the same once Harry got around to telling him what he'd found out about me.  By the time I was done with this charm, if I could just get it to work as it's meant to, there would be no proof but even the rumor of it was enough to scare most people away. 

"Have you talked to Harry lately?" My eyes moved to him for a split second before looking back to the book and pretending to read it.  I didn't want him to know how important his answer was to me.  If he'd spoken to Harry and still hung around me then perhaps he was only here to find out if what Harry's been saying is true.  If he hasn't then.. well then he was actually being nice to me for no other reason than to be nice.  It wasn't something many people had done to me before.

"No, why?"

"Just.. we got in a disagreement and it was pretty bad.." 

"What was it about?"

I bit my lip, debating whether or not to even talk about this but I needed someone to talk to, someone empathetic, someone who wasn't Draco. 

"He said something untrue about a friend of mine and I got upset and said things I didn't mean and it was just awful, I think he hates me now." 

Not that I cared if he did, but the more upset I seemed, the more likely Neville would give me good advice on how to deal with this. 

"I doubt it, you're his sister-"

"I don't want to be his sister anymore.. usually I stay with the Malfoy's, I've been doing it since first year but this year I went with Harry back to our Uncle and Aunt's home, they're physically and mentally abusive and cruel.. Harry ran off with Dumbledore to go to the Weasley's near the beginning of the break and he just.. he left me there.  I'm not upset that he hates me, I'm upset that he'll spill all the secrets I told him to everyone else just to be vindictive." 

I hadn't even meant to spill all that out, I just got so angry that Longbottom called me his sister when that was the last thing I wanted to be thought of as.  I would not be hiding in the Boy-Who-Lived's shadow anymore, I wouldn't just be 'Harry Potter's younger sister', I was my own woman, I would make a name for myself. 

"You know what, thank's Neville for listening but I really have to study now." 

I'd finish this charm and then I'd go back to making a name for myself; I wasn't just some girl, I was the youngest Death Eater in history and I was only that because I was amazing; I was better than most and I would keep living up to my hand-made legacy by helping Draco fix the cabinet, helping him kill that old bat Dumbledore and then I would take part in what would probably be the second wizarding war in history. 

I would no longer be known as Amaryllis Potter, from now on I'd drop Potter and take on the Malfoy name, I'd talk to Narcissa or even Bellatrix about going to my Aunt and Uncle's and getting the proper muggle paperwork to adopt me if I had to. 

I wasn't sure if it was needed or not but I'd prefer them to not have any sort of legal right over me.

Amaryllis Malfoy had a nice ring to it.

Neville sat next to me for nearly an hour longer, every once in a while he'd attempt to make small talk and I'd give half-answers; not really trying to keep the conversation going. I couldn't concentrate with him so close to me and the fact that he wanted to actually talk to me made my concentration break even more often but despite that I put up with him.

I'm not really sure why. I enjoyed the company despite the annoyance it caused me I supposed; that was the only logical explanation. At one point during my first couple of years at Hogwarts I had actually had friends in Gryffindor.. Ginny and Collin at least, but as the years went on I realized I'd lost all of them.

All I had left was Draco, and he was so busy we hadn't been able to speak since the train fiasco with Harry Potter and it was unlikely we'd be able to really talk again any time soon.

So I was lonely.

Why else put up with a blood traitor like Neville Longbottom?

Sighing, I closed the book and rolled up the notes I'd taken. I was nearly completely sure I'd finally gotten the charm right but I couldn't check it around Longbottom so I'd have to wait until I could be alone again.

"Are you finished?"

I nodded, leaning back and resting my head against the back of the couch. My arm ached, my head pounded and my eyes felt as if they had bags of sand hanging off of them (not to mention someone had poured sand into my eyes) I was so tired and sore. "Yes, finally."

"Isn't it a bit early to have homework? Classes don't start until Monday."

"I never said it was homework."

"So what was it for?"

"I have an interest in inventing new spells, it takes a lot of work and studying and practice to make a new one; sometimes months.. I've been working on this one all day and night since we got to Hogwarts and I think I've gotten it but I can't test it until tomorrow.. if I have, this will be the shortest time spent inventing a spell in history, I'll be in the record books."

Just another something I was hoping to accomplish.

"That's amazing, Amy!  Congratulations. Tomorrow, after you test it, let me know if you've gotten it. We can uh.. maybe we can go celebrate or something."

Blinking, I looked at him to figure out why he'd suddenly become so nervous-sounding before scratching my nose awkwardly. Was he trying to ask me on a date or something? Or was I being paranoid?

"Uh, sure. I'm going to go to bed, good night."

"G'night, Amy."

[[A/N: Hey so here's the next chapter.. I hope it meets your standards guys, let me know what you think with some comments! Have a good morning! *(its 1:30am here so sorry if this chapter is kind of funny sounding, I attempted to make it make sense!)*]]