Pariah: The Other Malfoy

Chapter 13: Blood or House?

As Christmas neared, my friends were becoming more and more suspicious. They frequently slunk off without me, not saying a word in explanation as to what they were doing.

I was getting sick of it. Tobias had distracted me from their weird behaviour until now, but it was just turning into me being ditched and feeling completely isolated. When they were there, it distracted me from what happened, but then they just disappeared.

So I followed them. They were heading to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, which struck me as incredibly weird. Why were the boys especially going in there?

I waited a few moments before following them in, my eyebrows raising the moment I saw their setup. A cauldron was in the middle of the bathroom, and all three of them were gathered around it, looking extremely concentrated.

"Extra studying for Snape?" I spoke, my voice level.

"Oh! Lyra, it's just you," Hermione seemed relieved, while the two boys jumped a mile.

"Is this what you've been doing the past few weeks?" I questioned, peering into the cauldron which they seemed to be hiding from me.

"Oh, yeah, just extra practice," Ron nodded, looking suspicious.

"Are you gonna be straight with me? Because I'm sick of you hiding things, I thought we trusted one another!" I cried out.

"We just... we don't want to hurt you," Harry said quietly.

"What are you doing that would hurt me?" I questioned, frowning.

They shared a look before Hermione sighed.

"We're making Polyjuice Potion because we're trying to sneak into the Slytherin common room and find out if your brother is the heir of Slytherin," she said, looking embarrassed.

"That's hardly going to hurt me," I shook my head, "Though I doubt it's true, it's a fair assumption that I think you should investigate. But you know that wouldn't offend me, you know what I think of my family."

"Lyra, we-"

"No," I gave a small laugh, "No, what hurts me is that you don't trust me not to warn him. Do you believe I'm part of his ploy, or just that I'm scared I'll get the blame from my father if you're caught? You know what, I don't care. Do whatever you want, but if you don't trust me after everything?"

I scoffed, turning on my heel and marching out. There was silence behind me, but I didn't care to even look at their reactions, instead heading straight for the library.

When you are a Gryffindor Malfoy, trust is too much to ask for.

I avoided my friends for a considerable length of time, too proud to admit that their suspicions were perhaps warranted. With everything my father had done to me, it was probably fair to assume that I'd face the repercussions if they were caught, so perhaps I would grass them up to save my own skin. But I knew personally that I never would.

I was thankful that Draco and I were told we would be staying at Hogwarts for Christmas. My father was busy with the Ministry raids, probably constantly making sure our vault was well enough hidden that they wouldn't notice it.

I took the opportunity to slip Hermione a note to tell her of that fact. It would be the easiest time to try and get in, depending on who they planned on turning into. I assumed Crabbe and Goyle, but then that was just me.

They sought me out after finding the note, I was out in the courtyard with Zeus.

"Lyra," I turned to them, a small smile on my face, "Thank you. And we're really sorry for how we treated you."