The Mudblood

Chapter 14 : Year 2

"You should have seen Percy's face when he noticed what Fred and George did to his Head Boy badge," Ginny was saying as we stepped onto the Hogwarts Express the next day, September 1st. "You picked an awful time to go to the bathroom, really."

"I wish I could have seen it," I replied, an amused smile on my face. "How much do you think he'll hate me when he finds out that I stole it from him?"

"Oh, no one could ever hate you," Ginny insisted as we strolled down the train's corridor. "You're the most likable person I've ever met. Percy will probably still blame Fred and George for it. He'll say that they 'poisoned' your mind."

I let out a laugh, and I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, someone violently grabbed my upper arm and began to drag me down the aisle of the train.

"Let's go, Mudblood."

I blinked furiously, finding myself staring right into Melody's harsh green eyes, which were only centimeters from mine as she hauled me through the train. I almost didn't recognize her, honestly. While everyone seemed to have changed a bit over the summer, Melody's transformation was quite drastic. The shade of her purple hair had dulled considerably, and her face had thinned out, as had the rest of her body, since she'd grown at least a few centimeters. I'd grown too, of course, but I hadn't changed nearly as much as Melody.

"Wait—" I insisted as I tried to free myself from her grasp, but she was relentless.

"No time for waiting, Fitzroy," she sneered.

I turned my head briefly back toward Ginny—who had disappeared—and instead I saw that Ashley and Astoria were now following us.  

"Hi Lainey!" Ashley exclaimed, bursting with excitement. "I have missed you so much! Did you get prettier this summer? I think you did—"

"Um—"

"Ew, are you kidding me?" Astoria interjected. "Look at her hair, Ashley. Just look at it!"

"All right, I'm looking," Ashley said as she squinted at me.

Before they could continue their bantering, we'd entered a new car on the train—the one in which all of the Slytherins sat. Melody threw me into one of the booths and then sat down across the table from me. Ashley took the vacant spot next to me, while Astoria slid in next to Melody.

"All right, Mudblood," Melody began, leaning over the table toward me. "This year we're going to turn you into a true Slytherin. There's gotta be a reason you were placed in our House, and I'm determined to find out what it is. We can't have you tarnishing the Slytherin name any longer. No more with those Gryffindor freaks, got it?"

My brow furrowed as I blinked at her. "You want me to just stop talking to my friends because you're afraid that I'm going to tarnish Slytherin's name?"

"Is that really so much to ask?" Melody countered. "After all that we've done for you?"

I pressed my lips together as I contemplated. "What have you done for me, exactly?"

"We didn't let you get attacked by the Heir of Slytherin down in the dungeons last year," Melody offered. "That was pretty generous, I think."

"You were the ones who brought me down into that dungeon!"

"You complain so much, Lainey, seriously," Astoria scoffed as she examined her finely painted nails.

"Can I tell you guys a story about Adrian now?" Ashley pleaded.