Henrietta Potter || Draco Malfoy

8 - It's Killed Meh

So, it turned out some maniac called Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban, the wizarding prison, and was trying to kill me.

I learnt this before I even set foot on the Hogwarts Express to start my third year.

After I blew up my Aunt Marge one evening at the Dursley's, I ran away and ended up spending the rest of the summer in Diagon Alley. That was fun, especially when Ron and Hermione joined me.

On the journey to Hogwarts, some creep in a black cloak boarded the train and popped his head inside our compartment.

"You fainted, Potter? You actually fainted?"

I rolled my eyes as a drawling, delighted voice sounded in my ear upon arriving at the castle.

He stood in front of me, blocking my way up the stone steps. His face was gleeful and his pale eyes glinted maliciously.

"Shove off, Malfoy," I gritted through my teeth, not in the mood for a spat. I tried to push past him but his hands shot out and grabbed my wrists tightly, restraining me.

"Oh, not until I hear the delightful details of what a scaredy cat you were." He hissed in my ear.

"Is there a problem?"

Draco quickly released my wrists and I whirled around to see Professor Lupin standing there.

"Oh, no - er - Professor." Draco smirked, taking in Lupin's patched robes and dilapidated suitcase.

I glared at Draco's retreating back as he walked up the steps, disappearing into the castle.

As soon as I entered the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning, I was greeted by the sight of Draco doing a ridiculous impression of a swooning fit, making the Slytherins roar with laughter.

"Hey, Potter!" shrieked Pansy Parkinson. "Potter! The Dementors are coming, Potter! Wooooooooo!"

I glared as Draco pretended to faint again.

"That little git," George said calmly as I dropped heavily into a seat at the Gryffindor table next to him. "He wasn't so cocky last night when the Dementors were down our end of the train. Came running into our compartment, didn't he, Fred?"

"Nearly wet himself," Fred said, throwing a contemptuous glance at Draco.

I was mightily cheered by this.

That cheer didn't last long though, as I discovered that we were sharing Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures class with the Slytherins.

I joined the first class feeling rather pissed off after enduring a particularly horrible Divination lesson, where the teacher, Professor Trelawney, kept predicting my untimely death.

"Now firs' thing yeh'll want to do is open yer books-"

"And exactly how do we do that?" said the cold, drawling voice of Draco Malfoy.

As much as I hated him, he had a point. Hagrid had put a crazily dangerous book on our reading list that tried to eat us.

"Eh?" said Hagrid.

"How do we open our books?" Draco repeated. He took out his copy of The Monster Book of Monsters, which he had bound shut with a length of rope.

"Yeh've got ter stroke 'em," Hagrid said, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh how silly we've all been!" Draco sneered. "We should have stroked them! Why didn't we guess!"

"I... I thought they were funny," Hagrid said uncertainly.

"Oh, tremendously funny!" Draco spat. "Really witty, giving us books that try and rip our hands off!"

"Shut up, Malfoy," I said quietly.

"God this place is going to the dogs," Malfoy continued, ignoring me. "Wait until my father hears Dumbledore's got this oaf teaching classes."

"Listen, you stupid prat-" I spat, feeling my blood boil with anger.

"Careful, Potter, there's a Dementor behind you-"

I jumped, looking over my shoulder; instantly cursing myself for believing that idiot, as Draco and Pansy doubled over with laughter.

And then Hagrid brought out the Hippogriff. Apparently it's name was Buckbeak. And guess who was the lucky sod that got to ride it?

That's right, me.

I hated it. It was not like riding a broom. And it didn't help that Hagrid kept warning us that they were flipping dangerous creatures if they didn't like you.

"Give me a go at that thing. If Potter can do it, it must be easy. You're not dangerous at all, are you, you great big ugly brute-"

I couldn't watch as Draco stormed at Buckbeak, pushing me out of the way as he approached it.

Frightened, Buckbeak reared his talons and swiped viciously at him. Draco landed on the ground next to me, crying his eyes out. Blood was seeping through his robes as he clutched his arm.

"It's killed meh! It's killed meh!"

Pfft. What a baby, I thought gleefully.

***

Draco continued to make such a show of his arm. He even had it wrapped in a sling and told anyone who'd listen that he nearly lost it.

"I know you're faking it," I sneered at him as I passed by his desk one day during a Potions lesson.

"So what," he sneered back at me. "Like I give a shit what you think, Potter."

I glanced quickly to see if Snape was watching, and then I leant right in to Draco and hissed in his ear, "you're a despicable human being, Malfoy, and one day you'll get what's coming to you."

Anger flecked in his grey eyes. He grabbed my arm with his good hand and squeezed it tight, making my eyes water.

"And what about Sirius Black?" He hissed back vehemently. "If it was me, I'd have done something before now. I would be out looking for him."

"What are you talking about, Malfoy?" I gritted.

"Don't you know, Potter?" He breathed, his hot breath tickling my cheek. "I'd want revenge, I'd hunt them down myself."

He let go of my arm as Snape called out to the class to finish up their potions. Draco's grey eyes glinted dangerously into mine as I turned to walk away.

***

I later found out that Sirius Black was my Godfather and he had betrayed my parents resulting in their deaths.

Draco was right about one thing; I wanted revenge.

***