Lullaby

Chapter Twelve

"I am not looking forward to class today," I sigh as I take a sip of my water. Ron and Harry were probably scheming over in the corner next to Hermione and I as we discussed the day.

"How come? I, for one, am very excited," she grins from ear to ear as she thinks of the new professor.

"I don't think he'll be able to teach us squat," I massage my temple with one hand before I finish my breakfast.

"I bet you'll love him after this lesson," she replies cheekily, finishing her milk and gathering her notebooks. "I'm so excited for class!"

I giggle slightly and chuckle at her enthusiasm as I collect my things and follow her to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

I sit down next to her and organize my supplies when Mae enters the room out of break and slumps into the desk next to mine. 

"I thought I was going to be late!" she takes a second to catch her breath and pulling her ginger hair into a messy bun. "I accidentally fell asleep in Miyuki's dorm last night trying to help her study. Professor Flitwich hasn't exactly been going easy on her."

"I can help her study, too," I offer her a sympathetic smile, noticing the dark circles underneath her eyes.

"Really? Thanks," she sighs before looking in front of the room since Gilderoy had entered. He was currently giving a speech about killing banshees with a smile and proudly boasting about his painting hung above the wall.

I tune in and out of his lecture, scrolling through my textbook when I finally hear something worth while. I perk up when I hear him mention our deepest fears that we hold in the back of our minds.

Gilderoy smirks at the crowd before pulling up a blanket over a medium sized cage holding back more than a dozen of polish pixies.

I slump back in my seat out of disappointment.

"Aren't they commonly found in the Forbidden Forest?" Mae asks as she turns to me. 

I nod, "There's nothing special about them." I look at the front out of boredom, feeling something small and light hit my head. I look behind me to see Malfoy had enchanted a paper dove. I smile a little as I turn back to the "teacher" and silently place it inside my robe pocket.

Gilderoy proceeds to release all of the pixies which creates chaos inside the classroom. He tries to cast a spell to stun them but it backfires and almost hits him, making him flee the classroom. I scoff slightly before flipping through my simple spell book and casting a quick spell to make the pixies freeze mid-air.

The whole classroom quits down from their pandemonium a moment ago, the silence being broken by a timid Neville.

"Can someone bring me down?" 

We all look up to see his robe being hung on a sharp edge of the chandelier.

~*~

"I told you he's a fraud," I say to Hermione while we ponder over our textbooks in the courtyard during our free period.

"He...was just a bit confused. Polish pixies can be quite frightening," Hermione defends him quickly. "I'm sure he'll make it up to us next class."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," I shrug and let the subject go, flipping the page.

"What are they doing?" she nudges my arm and motions to the quidditch team players. We give each other a worried look before pulling up Ron to his feet since he had been napping.

Looking a bit small compared to the older quidditch players, I scanned the argument from behind Hermione and Ron, not wanting to get into the battle.

"This is our new seeker," the Slytherin team captain states proudly as Draco makes his way into the front. "Mr. Malfoy even got us all the new Nimbus 2001."

"At least our team has gotten here by pure talent, not by being bought," Hermione steps in firmly, making immediate eye contact with the Slytherin team. Ron gulps, holding onto my arm for support, being the scaredy-cat he was.

"No one asked for your opinion, you filthy mudblood!" Draco sneers.

My eyes widen, making me speak without thinking. "Like you're one to talk. You just hide behind Crabbe and Goyle because you're actually scared; at least Hermione and stand up for herself and her friends."

He grits his teeth, all light quickly diminishing in his eyes. "At least I'm not a scared little girl who is all talk and no action. Admit it: you're not smart or talented, you're a cheater. Just like how you got into Hogwarts."

A lump forms in my throat, my head growing heavier by the second. Ron growls lowly and takes out his wand, shouting, "eat slugs!" towards him.

Forgetting his broken wand, the spell backfires. Ron collapses onto the ground, puking up a slimy brown slug.

As if snapping out of a trance, Hermione, Harry, and I quickly help him to Hagrid's hut. He sits down on a giant chair while he holds a huge wooden bucket.

"Unfortunately, there's no cure for this curse except for just puking it out. Better out than in," Hagrid says as he sits down near Hermione and I.

"What happened to your wand?" I furrow my eyebrows when I look at Ron.

"W-whomping," his sentence is cut short as he pukes up another slug.

"The Whomping Willow," Harry answers.

"But what were you kids going around hexing other kids?" Hagrid asks before I could say anything else.

"He called me a mudblood," Hermione says quietly, tears stinging his eyes.

"No-" Hagrid's eyes grow wide. "Don't listen to them, Hermione. You're the brightest witch of your age."

"Wait, he did say something else..." Harry looks at me. "What did he mean that you're a cheater?"

"It doesn't matter," Hermione snaps quickly. "If it comes from a Malfoy it's not worth repeating."

I take a deep breath and rub Hermione's back comfortingly, the pain in my head growing worse.

"Are you alright, Evelyn?" Hagrid turns his attention to me.

"Hm?" I turn to him.

"You don't look so good. Harry, take her to the Hospital Wing."

"It's fine-"

"It's not," Hermione bites her lip and looks at me worriedly, temporarily forgetting my condition. 

Harry stands up silently and helps me stand up with me stumbling. I silently curse myself for being a burden as he brings me into the school.

"Is everything alright?" he asks me.

I try my best not to hold onto him for support but I would just end up slipping, the pounding in my head was becoming unbearable. 

"I..." I gasp slightly when I see a pool of water, a figure hanging in the reflection. I look up to see Mrs. Norris, Mr. Filch's cat,  hanging upside down with an absolutely petrified face.