The Mudblood

Chapter 100 : Year 5

The art for this chapter was made by https://www.quotev.com/sophiesophiewinters (:

Contrary to what we'd both said, Malfoy and I did not see each other on the train "home" from Hogwarts the next day. He spent the ride with Pansy and Blaise, and given that I was too ashamed to confront Blaise after last night's Slug Club party, I decided to search for someone else that I, unfortunately, had to embarrassedly confront: Ryan Harper.

Even though I'd been under the influence of the Bottle of Bliss, I remembered every second of the party, every painful second that I had danced and laughed and tried to convince Harper to kiss me. Why I'd been so set on kissing Harper was still beyond me; I mean, we were just friends—and I loved him but only as a friend—and if Melody found out I wouldn't have a heart to love anyone because she would probably tear it out of my ribcage with her bare hands—and...and we were just friends. I could not have romantic feelings for Harper, not when I was still hopelessly in love with Fred and fatally attracted to Malfoy...

When I did find Harper, he was seated in the Slytherin car at a table with the Slytherin Six. As soon as he saw me enter, his wide, blue eyes darted fearfully in Melody's direction. I halted, petrified with the prospect that Melody might know what had happened at the party, but she didn't take her eyes off of her book or try to threaten me with her knife, so I cautiously proceeded toward them.

"Ooh, Lainey," Astoria greeted with a white-toothed grin. A hairbrush was magically brushing her hair as she painted her fingernails a blinding shade of pink. "Since I can't spend the holiday with Evy, I've decided I'm going to dedicate all of my time to figuring out how to fix your hair. I'm so selfless, aren't I?"

"So selfless," I muttered, barely looking at her as I kept my vision focused on Harper, who was pretending to skim the words of Melody's oversized book. "Hey, uh, Harper? Could we talk for a minute?"

"Nope—nope," he stammered hastily as his eyes flickered between the book and me. "I'm busy reading—Melody's book—with Melody."

Anderson was wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at me, obviously referring to the events of last night. Resisting the urge to kick him, I sent him a venomous scowl.

"Who gave you your Secret Gift last night, Lainey?" Ashley asked eagerly as she twirled a little green badge between her fingers. "Urquhart gave me an Assistant Captain's badge, can you believe it?"

"Yes, because I was there," I replied as I crossed my arms impatiently. "Harper, can we talk?"

"Busy—"

"Now," I growled as I yanked him up by his upper arm. He began to convulse and fidget as though I'd electrocuted him. "We're going to go talk now."

"Uh—Melody?" Harper prompted, urging her to support his desire not to accompany me.

"If you think I'm going to be jealous, I'm clearly not," was Melody's reply as her eyes remained on her book. With the beginnings of a triumphant smirk on my lips, I dragged Harper out of the Slytherin car. Eyes followed us as we left, and I imagined some were whispering about how the two of us had been acting the night before. The Carrow twins were glowering at me with a degree of malice that I didn't think possible for their normally apathetic demeanors. 

"Stop—pulling—me," Harper grunted once we were in the corridor of compartments. A few passing Hufflepuffs were staring at us as he wrenched his arm from my grasp and then glared at me with narrowed eyes. "And I don't want to be alone with you—"

"I know," I sighed, giving the Hufflepuffs a taut smile as we moved on. Most of the compartments were occupied, but, luckily, there was one that only one young Ravenclaw boy was seated in. I was going to ask him if we could join him for just a moment, but as soon as I opened the door he scurried out in sheer panic. Guiltily, I stepped aside and motioned for Harper to enter the now empty compartment. "Get in, please."