The Mudblood

Chapter 8 : Year 1

Melody didn't leave the hospital wing until a few days before the holiday break, the same day that Justin Finch-Fletchy was petrified, actually. Everyone was crowding around the hospital wing, trying to get a good look at Justin, when Melody came stumbling out.

"Oh—there you are," she greeted in a daze when she bumped into me. "Are we going to finish dueling, or what?"

My eyes narrowed at her. "I'm not dueling you again. You tried to use Dark Magic on me. But...I'm glad to see that you're okay—"

"Melody!" Ashley and Astoria exclaimed as they ran up to her. She just rolled her eyes.

"Looks like that Hufflepuff Mudblood finally got petrified," Melody observed, glancing over at the crowd that was eagerly trying to press into the infirmary.

"Finally?" I questioned, my hard eyes boring into her. "What do you mean by that?"

Melody shrugged. "It's only a matter of time before all of the Mudbloods are attacked. You could be next. Might wanna watch out."

I eyed her carefully, trying to look past her mocking smirk. "Are you sure that you were just released from the hospital wing?"

She snorted sardonically. "I know what you're thinking, Mudblood. Don't get too full of yourself; you might actually start to think that you're smart."

Ashley and Astoria seemed thoroughly confused as Melody strolled away.

"You are smart, though," was all Ashley could think to say.

Until the holiday break, Fred and George made it their responsibility to follow either Harry or me around the castle. When they followed Harry, they would chorus, "Make way for the Heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through." When they followed me, Fred would boldly announce, "Watch out, everyone, Muggle-born under high security coming through."  

Apparently they were my bodyguards.  

"At this rate, Fred, the Heir of Slytherin is going to know where I am all the time," I told him one day.

"Ah, yes, and that's why we're here to protect you," he replied proudly. Of course I rolled my eyes, but they continued to follow me around anyway.

When Astoria, Ashley and Melody left for the winter break, it was the best moment of my life. Unlike ever before, I had an entire bedroom to myself. At home, I shared with my twin brother, Lyle, so this was a whole new experience. With my newfound freedom, I decided to sneak Ginny into the Slytherin dungeons, and we hung out alone in my room.

"Have you ever seen Fred and George apart?" I asked with a laugh as we ate candy on the floor. The door to my room was open, but no one was really around to hear us, as most of the Slytherins had gone home for the holidays.

"I know they use the bathroom separately," Ginny giggled, "but other than that, I think they're always together."

"That is so crazy," I marveled as I popped one of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans into my mouth. "If I was with my twin that much, I think my head would explode."

"Tell me more about your family," Ginny said as she chewed on one of the beans. Her face shriveled up as she struggled to swallow. "Ew—puke flavored."

My head flew back as I giggled uncontrollably. "Okay—okay, so Lyle is my twin, and he's my best friend. We always mess with each other, and we will often times pull pranks on my other two brothers, Evan and Garren—kinda like Fred and George do, actually. Evan's pretty goofy, but he's literally afraid of everything. Like—when the owl came to deliver my Hogwarts acceptance letter, Evan screamed and hid inside of one of the kitchen cabinets—"