Pariah: The Other Malfoy

Chapter 7: The Diary

Eventually, our Hogwarts letters came and I got to leave the house for the first time that summer. I had to be measured for robes at Madam Malkin's, and I had to get more brand new books and other materials, lest my parents lose the facade of still being loving parents to me.

I was told to stick beside my father, not talk to anyone and keep my head down. I was only there to get my stuff and leave, nothing more. But I just relished the fresh air and atmosphere of Diagon Alley.

"Where is Draco?" my father hissed at me as we exited Madam Malkin's, causing me to flinch backwards.

"He went to Flourish and Blotts when he was finished," I said quietly.

I followed him silently to Flourish and Blotts, where we saw Draco talking to my friends. Or arguing is more accurate.

Hermione locked eyes with me behind my father and I offered her an apologetic glance as Draco moved out of the way, allowing my father to take control of the conversation. I stood silently as he mocked the Weasleys and Hermione's parents, my head down in shame. Mr Weasley came over, causing my father's anger to flare due to him being behind the raids we had been facing.

I kept my mouth shut as I saw him slip a diary into Ron's sisters cauldron. I could say something later, but right now I had to just keep my head down. My father would have only given that diary away for malicious reasons, and if I pointed it out in front of my friends, I would certainly regret it.

My father pushed me ahead of him as we left, not giving me any opportunity to speak to my friends, his hand gripping my shoulder painfully tightly. Draco followed behind, after hissing something to Harry.

"What was that book you put in her cauldron?" I asked quietly, once we were out of view.

He didn't say anything, his hand tightening on my shoulder as we walked towards my mother.

"Narcissa, we are going home," he said in a strained voice, "You and Draco can finish shopping for his supplies."

I swallowed thickly as I allowed him to take me home, giving my mother a look of fear that was ignored entirely as she turned to my brother, ushering him towards Quality Quidditch Supplies, likely intending to buy him a new broom.

My father turned to me the moment we got home, his face uncomfortably close to mine. I gulped in fear, stepping back instinctively, but he moved with me.

"If I hear you have uttered a word about that book to anyone, there will be consequences," he hissed, "It has absolutely nothing to do with you."

I nodded silently, my face pale.

"Get out of my sight," he snarled, releasing my shoulder and shoving me backwards, "I don't want to hear another word tonight."

I was thankful we were leaving for Hogwarts a few days later. I was warned once again before I left that I was not to say a word about what I had seen, or else I would face serious consequences.

I found an empty compartment on the train to wait for my friends, sighing in relief that I was away from my father for at least a few months. It was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, and I felt like I could finally smile again.

That was short lived when Hermione burst in, looking frantic. I shrunk into the corner of the compartment to avoid her flailing hands, my eyes widening in worry.

"Have you seen Ron or Harry?" She asked quickly, "The train is about to leave!"

I shook my head, glancing out the window. The sight of Mr and Mrs Weasley looking around anxiously confirmed our worst fears - Ron and Harry were missing and about to miss the train.

At that moment the Hogwarts Express started moving and Hermione started pacing. This was really annoying considering there was absolutely no room in the compartment for pacing so I quickly lost patience.

"They'll be outside, Mr and Mrs Weasley will find them and there will be a perfectly valid explanation to why they went missing! Sit down!" I said sharply, and she sighed but obliged.

We arrived at Hogwarts and sat down to see the first years getting sorted but there was still no sign of Harry or Ron.

I was looking through one of the windows and I saw them looking in. Snape suddenly appeared behind them and they disappeared. I told Hermione and she was worried they would get expelled. I shared that fear but didn't let on. Snape wasn't just going to let it go, he would make the lives of both of them as miserable as possible.

After the feast, everyone had heard what happened. Ron and Harry had flown a car to Hogwarts and it had landed in the Whomping Willow, an old tree that would smash anything that came near enough.

Everyone was waiting in the common room to see if Harry and Ron would arrive and they did, not to anyone's surprise. As I had suspected, they wouldn't just expel Harry Potter. It was a ridiculous suggestion.

After a few hours of waiting up, they arrived and everyone was asking them questions about their adventure. Me and Hermione went straight up to bed instead though. We couldn't be bothered hearing it. We didn't understand why they didn't just take the train in the first place, we were under the impression it was attention seeking. They had ended last year with a bang so probably felt they had to continue it into this year.

We had our first ever DADA lesson that year with Lockhart in the afternoon, after our first ever Herbology lesson where we dealt with mandrakes. That fact made my mood plummet in the morning when I was given my timetable. I was scowling the whole way to class that afternoon which annoyed Hermione, the last person I'd think would become Lockhart's fangirl.

Lockhart was somewhat famous in the wizarding world, and was the replacement for Quirrell. To me, he seemed like a stuck up boaster and I had never liked him. To most other people, however, his tales of rescuing the wizarding world were the best things they had ever heard.

"Welcome!" he said and then he introduced himself but I really wasn't listening. I didn't care about his background, I only cared whether or not he could teach us anything useful. We hadn't learnt anything with Quirrell last year and I desperately hoped Lockhart had some resemblance to a competent teacher.

"Let's start with a quiz!" he said, handing out papers, "You should all have read my books!"

Me and Ron glanced at each other with a grin. Neither of us had even looked at the books. In my defence, I didn't have access to the books while I was at home. He was so absorbed in himself he didn't even notice our faces as he gave me my paper.

I looked at the questions:

What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favourite colour?

What is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement?

The list went on and on and all the girls (apart from me) were already scribbling down answers. I scoffed at them, wondering why anyone was taking it seriously. It had nothing to do with DADA and I completely refused to even place my quill on the bit of paper. It didn't give me much hope for the rest of the year in the class.

Eventually, we finished the quiz and Lockhart seemed disappointed.

"The only one who got full marks was Hermione Granger!" he said, "You really need to read my books! I'm especially disappointed in you, Miss Malfoy. You didn't answer a single question!"

"Sorry, professor," I resisted rolling my eyes, "I didn't have a chance to read the books over summer."

"Well, you better catch up tonight then," he gave me a sharp look, before moving on to tell us the correct answers to the questions.