Riddle Me This

Chapter 8

Catherine's POV

The next morning was interesting. Snape did not seem happy as we sat in Potions, Malfoy kept asking me why I was so pale and what my nightmare was about, because Pansy can't keep her bloody mouth shut.

"Was it about that thing in the forest?" He asked. I stiffened and shook, trying to muffle a sob. "Hey, what did it do to you?" I turned to Malfoy with angry eyes.

"It bloody well scared me to death!" I snapped, catching the attention of most of the class. "Thanks for leaving Harry and I to die you bloody coward!"

"You could've followed me." He snapped back. I growled.

"Well incase you didn't notice, I was leaning on you for support! Once the support was gone, I went down and couldn't get back up!"

"I went and got Hagrid." Malfoy shot back.

"While I thank you for that, I'm sure Fang would've been enough help. Slytherin's may not be known for Bravery like Gryffindors, but you didn't have to be a bloody coward." A sob slipped out of my lips as I buried my face in my hands. "I was so scared. All I see when I close my eyes is that scene over and over again. Being bloody ABANDONED and laying there in so much pain." Malfoy didn't have a response to that.

"Nice going Malfoy." Daphne said as she leaned over and rubbed my back.

"15 points from Slytherin." Snape said when he came in. "I expect better from my students." He looked to me and watched as I tried to stop crying.

"Sorry Professor." That seemed to quell whatever worries he had, and so he started class. Afterwards, Hermione approached me.

"Cat, are you alright?" She asked. I shook my head, shivering slightly. Now would be the perfect time to tell Hermione who my father really was, but I was so shaken and scared, I just couldn't.

"No." I answered truthfully. "My back was stinging so badly. I nearly fainted Hermione, it was that bad. And when I found out what that thing was... WHO that thing was." Hermione froze.

"You know?" I gave a bitter laugh.

"It's hard to miss a conversation between a centaur and Harry talking about it." I said. Hermione bit her lip. "I'll.... I think I'll be fine... Do you want to study for exams together?" I asked, changing the topic as quickly as I could. Hermione smiled softly and nodded.

"We haven't spent that much time together recently. I've missed your company." I smiled as well.

"I know the feeling." And so we headed to the library after lunch.

As soon as exams were finished, my back began to burn. I went to Snape, and showed him my scar.

"Oh dear." He said as he looked at the mark. "I'm going to have to tell Morgana about this." Snape took a deep breath. "And where's your guide?"

"I'm sorry Papa, but it hurts so much, I couldn't wait for Daphne, and Hermione had already gone off with Ron and Harry." I said, flinching as I felt the tip of Snape's wand trace the scar, feeling it sooth slightly, but not much.

"I'll call for someone to get you." I nodded and sat down, waiting for whoever Snape was going to get. Shifting and flinching as the burn in my back just wouldn't go away. Eventually the door opened to reveal Malfoy.

"Riddle." He said, getting a glare from Snape and I.

"Thank you for agreeing, Malfoy." I said as I stood and walked towards the door. "Thank you for speaking with me, Professor." Snape nodded as I went with Malfoy out of the room.

"Why are you always around Snape?" Malfoy asked. I shrugged.

"Let's say that he's close friends with my grandparents and they asked him to keep an eye on me." I said simply. Malfoy shrugged and we headed to the common room. Daphne saw and hurried over to me.

"I told you to wait for me." She said with a frown. "Why'd you run off?" I shrugged.

"My... back." I said. She gave a slow nod.

"I see." She said, the three of us walking over to the other first years. "How was your exam?"

"Charms is better." I said with a smile, then frowned. "Though I'm sure I failed Defense Against the Dark Arts, since I've missed so much."

"You better not have." Malfoy said firmly. "I did not sit up with you all week to help you study, just for you to fail. I did not take bloody notes all year that were nearly word for word, just for you to fail." I frowned.

"Well it's not like I could've helped it." I frowned, then flinched. "Damn."

"You really need to get Madam Pomfrey to put some cooling salve on that." Daphne said. I glared at her.

"On what?" Pansy asked, looking at me.

"None of your business." I replied, and then headed to bed. I woke up screaming in the middle of the night. Not from a nightmare, but pain. My back felt like it was on fire, it was mind numbing, but wouldn't put me back to sleep. I had almost the entire dorm outside of the room, the girls looked absolutely mortified at the sound coming from my lips, and soon enough, Madam Pomfrey was in the room with Snape. Finally, after what felt like hours, the pain began to fade, before another spike of it, bringing me to go unconscious.

When I woke up, I was in the hospital wing. Dumbledore was sitting beside my bed, watching me. I blinked a few times.

"Professor? What happened?" I asked as I sat up, no pain in my back.

"It seems, that Professor Quirrell was possessed by your father." I froze, beginning to shake. "No need to worry, Harry and his friends have taken care of him." I released a deep sigh, leaning back in my bed, before springing up.

"Are they alright?" Dumbledore nodded.

"They are. And they are waiting in the hallway. As are Miss. Greengrass and Mr. Malfoy." I blinked a few times at that.

"Malfoy is out there."

"That he is. But I want to ask you a few questions before I let them in. Do you know why your scar burned in Professor Quirrell's class?"

"Well I do now. He was possessed by my father. My back has been reacting to him all year I guess... but I never realized it." Dumbledore nodded.

"That is true. And now that he is gone, you're scar should no longer become irritated, and will return to it's normal state." I smiled.

"I'm glad. Um... if there's nothing more Professor, may I see my friends now?" Dumbledore nodded, standing up off the bed and walking towards the doors as they then opened. Hermione and Daphne ran at me, the other three close behind.

"Cat!" Hermione and Daphne said, both of them hugging me.

"I was so worried when I heard you were in here. Daphne told me what happened." Hermione said.

"You gave us quite the scare in the dorm, please let us know what's going on next time." Daphne added. I smiled and nodded.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know what was going to happen."

"I've never seen a nightmare send someone to the hospital wing before." Ron said. I bit my lip lightly. Daphne and Hermione said nothing. Well, Hermione whispered an 'I'm sorry that we accused Snape, we were wrong'. After a bit more conversing with Daphne, Hermione, Ron and Harry, they let, leaving only Malfoy. I turned to him and smiled.

"Thank you for coming to see me." I said. He just huffed.

"Well, I thought I'd tell you that you didn't fail Charms, or Defense Against the Dark Arts." He said, looking away. I beamed, pulling him into me for a big hug.

"That's brilliant! I couldn't have done it without you Draco!"

"What the bloody hell, let go of me." He said, trying to pull away. I laughed as I let him go, seeing the small blush on his face. "Sorry, by the way. For... leaving you in the... forest." I smiled softly.

"I forgive you Draco."

"Whatever, Smith." I smiled wide and pulled Draco into another hug.