In His Shadow (A Harry Potter Fan Fiction)

Chapter 43- Manipulating Me

Chapter 43

As soon as I sat down in the Great Hall, an owl flew towards me and dropped a brown package onto the table in front of me.

I frowned, and ripped open the brown packaging. Inside was an edition of The Quibbler. On the front cover was a picture of my brother, along with the headline ‘HARRY POTTER SPEAKS OUT AT LAST: THE TRUTH ABOUT HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED AND THE NIGHT I SAW HIM RETURN’.

I opened it up and skimmed over the article. In it, Harry described exactly what had happened the night he’d seen Voldemort return. I’d heard him tell me before, so I didn’t need to read all about it again.

Just as I went to put it down, something in the article caught my eye. My name. I picked it back up and read it cautiously.

On her trip to Hogsmeade with Fred Weasley, Ava Potter seemed to be attacked by a fellow Slytherin student.

Draco Malfoy pulled Ava up from the table she’d been sitting at and pointed a wand at her face. He threatened that he would use a spell to hurt Ava, before he then dragged her out of The Three Broomsticks. No one is quite sure what happened to Ava after she left, but as no news has been broadcasted, we can remain calm and say that she is still safe.

I looked up from the magazine, and Draco was staring at me expectantly. He grinned,

“So I managed to get mentioned in The Quibbler. What an achievement.”

I rolled my eyes and put the magazine down. He continued,

“I’m not happy that I’m mentioned on the same page that as Harry. He has a much bigger spread than I do, when I surely deserve something more. After all, Potter’s blood isn’t quite as pure as mine.”

I stood up,

“Shut up.”

Draco didn’t say another word as I walked away from him. I really wasn’t in the mood for more of his snarky comments.

I noticed Harry had lots of owls flying towards him. They were probably posting fan mail from people who had already read The Quibbler.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone get up from the Gryffindor table. It was probably someone going to congratulate Harry on his successful interview.

The Astronomy Tower was deserted, to my relief.

I walked towards the metal rail and leant against it. The metal felt cold against my skin, but I didn’t mind. I needed distractions.

“Spending some time away from Malfoy?”

I gasped and spun around. Fred was walking towards me, a worried expression on his face. He raised an eyebrow,

“Or are you preparing yourself for your detention with Umbridge tonight?”

I shook my head,

“I just needed to think, that’s all.”

Fred took a step closer to me, and tucked a stray piece of my hair behind my ear,

“I reckon you’ve had enough time to think, Ava. What I really need you to do is talk.”

I sighed, and tried to look anywhere but Fred’s face. It didn’t work though. He caught my chin with his hand and moved my head towards him. I looked into his eyes, and my knees buckled. He caught me in his arms and held me close to him. I gulped,

“I don’t know what to do.”

He stroked my hair and whispered,

“You can tell me what he said.”