The Mudblood

Chapter 90 : Year 4

I'm obsessed with the fanart that https://www.quotev.com/Daryldixonlover made for this chapter! She explains it a little on her DeviantArt profile (https://titania0323.deviantart.com/art/Lainey-Fitzroy-617557881) (:

With the last words of my foreboding prophecy hanging in the air, I stared over at Astoria with wide eyes while she blinked with boredom.

"Well, that's a promising prophecy," she commented dryly. "Probably better than some people's prophecies, I assume—"

"Astoria, this sounds horrible," I insisted as I shook the orb in her face. It had dulled, no longer glowing, but the smoke within still swam ominously. "I don't want to—to turn to the darkness—I don't want to be bound to the darkness. Astoria—do you know what this means?"

"That you're going to become one of You-Know-Who's followers?" she countered before I could answer my own question. "Lainey, please. We all know that will never happen. You decide your fate—not some mumbo-jumbo orb that you took off a shelf. Not all predictions are correct—"

"This is a prophecy, Astoria. It's not just some little feeling I have or some horoscope that Trelawney tells me to find. This is real magic—"

"Oh come on. There are plenty of these prophecies that have never come true—"

"Oh yeah? Which ones? Show me, please. I'd just love to see—"

"The Dark Lord always knows!" a woman's voice shrieked, reverberating throughout the hall with intensity that made Astoria squeak. I sent her a stern look before concentrated on the words that were being said in the distant rows.

"I want to know where Sirius is!" a voice cried, and without a thought, I knew that it was Harry's.
"They're here," I whispered to Astoria as I placed my prophecy orb back on the shelf that I'd removed it from. "Harry and the others. They're not alone. Death Eaters must have found them."

"Oh no, oh no," Astoria moaned as she began to pat her curly brown hair. "I'm not pretty enough to fight Death Eaters right now, Lainey! Power comes from beauty—"

"Shh," I hissed viciously before stuffing my left hand into my pocket to grope for my wand. Astoria was right about us not being ready to fight Death Eaters, though my inability stemmed more from the fact of my broken arm rather than my lack of beauty. Why had I been so stupid to come here without anyone else to help? Why hadn't I brought the rest of the Slytherin Six? Why hadn't I brought Draco Malfoy? He was a notorious coward, yes, and he mainly looked out for himself, but he would have helped us in a situation this dire, wouldn't he?

Oh, what was I thinking? Malfoy would never choose Harry's side; he'd already admitted to being a Death-Eater-in-training. And, when I heard a familiar drawl echo through the hall, I confirmed that Draco Malfoy would have been no help to us here.

"Now give me the prophecy, Potter," Lucius Malfoy's voice commanded emphatically. My stomach flipped uncontrollably as I clenched my wand tightly between my fingers. Harry had found his prophecy. Voldemort's plan had worked. The Death Eaters were going to take the prophecy from Harry, and Voldemort would have a sure way of destroying him. And, if Harry didn't give over the prophecy, the Death Eaters would probably kill him and all of my friends.

Without a word, I scampered toward the center aisle of the prophecy hall.

"What are you doing?" Astoria demanded in a hushed tone as she scurried after me. "We shouldn't go toward the danger! Let's get back to my father's office! We can go back to Hogwarts—and—and get help!"