The Mudblood

Chapter 44 : Year 3

About a week went by, in which we did not have class, but we did have mountains of homework. When I wasn't struggling to comprehend Arithmancy, I spent my time reading Quidditch Through the Ages, which I'd nearly finished. Of course I wouldn't tell Cedric Diggory that I'd enjoyed his gift so much, but...

On the last day of the break, I'd finished all of my homework except for Arithmancy, which Harper and I were completely perplexed by. We sat at one of the tables in the Slytherin common room, trying desperately to figure out this magical math.

"What is the car-nu-dum of a nob-en...stulnin?" Harper questioned, failing pitifully when trying to pronounce the complex Arithmancy terms.

"Er—I think the carnudum is five..." I replied, glancing down at my notes. "It's the same for the nobenstulnin and the nobengulnin...but different for the nobenfarnin..."

"What the bloody shite does any of that mean?" Harper groaned, nearly pulling his hair out of his head. "God—where's Melody? MELODY!"

Melody Flemming was not in the room, but Harper continued to yell her name until I threw my quill at him.

"Bloody hell, Fitzroy—you almost stabbed me in the eye—"

"Oh get over it—we need to figure this out. And you know that Melody's not going to help us. Why don't we go find Professor Vector and see if she'll explain it to us?" I suggested.

"Now that's just dumb," Harper scoffed. "Let's ask Malfoy—he's right over there, and you know he's a genius."

I gritted my teeth, but didn't object. "Well—ask him then."

"I'm not going to ask him," Harper hissed. "It's a bloody miracle that he doesn't want to slit my throat—besides, he loves you—"

I snorted loudly, earning the attention of a group of fifth years. "That's a joke—but since I don't really care what he thinks of me—Hey—Malfoy! Want to teach us Arithmancy?"

Draco Malfoy, who was seated on one of the leather couches with Pansy Parkinson, slowly looked over at me with narrowed eyes. "Are you expecting me to say yes to that, Mudblood?"

"We're a little busy over here!" Pansy snapped, clinging helplessly to Malfoy's arm.

I rolled my eyes dramatically. "Oh stop playing footsie with Parkinson and come help us—"

"We are not—"

"Ooh, yes, Draco, can we play footsie? Or can we go snog in the closet?" Pansy cooed, stroking his arm.

I nearly choked with that request. "You snog Parkinson? Wow—that's low, Malfoy, even for you."

While I thought this comment would enrage him, a scheming smirk spread across his lips instead. "Does that make you jealous, Fitzroy?"

I blinked, unable to come up with a viable response to that. "I—er—well—"

"C'mon, Pansy, let's go snog in the closet," Malfoy drawled as he stood and Pansy jumped giddily to her feet.

"Finally!" she squealed as Malfoy's eyebrows jumped at me. 

I gritted my teeth, standing violently from my chair as the couple strolled down the hall to the dormitories.

"Wait—Lainey—what are you doing?" Harper asked frantically. "We still haven't figured out this Arithmashite—"

"I'll be back—I just need to go...for a walk," I grumbled, staring hatefully in the direction that Malfoy and Pansy had disappeared to.