in the dark | d malfoy

chapter five

draco sat as far away from me as he could for the rest of the class, and i was relieved that he didn't make any more mean remarks to me. it seemed that out of all the people i'd met so far at hogwarts, he was the only one i truly disliked.

as soon as class was over, i hurriedly packed up my stuff and left the classroom, making sure snape wouldn't come back to talk about my mother. my head was turning. maybe that's why the sorting hat almost put me in slytherin. i couldn't think about it for too long. it was hard for me to even imagine my mother being a witch at all.

i headed out the front doors and down the wet grass towards the greenhouses, spotting my friends waving at me from the lower trail. i hurried to catch up with them, and alfie questioned me on my first class. "you had to sit with malfoy?" she asked, disgusted. "ugh! how did that end up happening?"

i shook my head. "no idea. there weren't any other seats!" jan gave me a knowing look. "that's why you always sit with someone else. just choose the nicest looking person if you don't know anyone."

we reached the greenhouse and headed inside, taking a spot at the end of the table, where we set out our supplies for class. jan introduced me to a girl named hannah abbott in our year. she smiled at me.

professor sprout began the lesson by setting out thick black plants, which she introduced as bubotubers. jan groaned. "anything but these things!" she complained, but after laughing at her, we set to work squeezing the pus out of them.

"hey- harry's in this class!" i head alfie hiss quietly in my ear. i glanced over to where she was looking. a boy with round glasses and messy black hair was holding his plant by the end of it, a look of disgust on his face.

"what's so special about this kid, anyway?" i mused. jan glanced around, and lowered her voice quietly at me. "he's the only wizard to ever survive the killing curse. you-know-who targeted him as a baby, and somehow he survived it. he gets into lots of trouble, too." jan smirked a little. "it's kinda hot."

i burst out laughing, and alfie scowled. "i personally think jan's crush on harry is ridiculous. you've never even talked to him." jan stuck her tounge out at alfie. "i will one day!!" she shot back. i shook my head in amusement, continuing to work, and shooting another glance up at harry. two figures stood next to him, and i recognized them as the students hagrid had waved to through the rain the night before.

"who are they?" i asked jan. she glanced up, eyeing them once again. "the tall redhead with the freckles is a weasley. i think... ron? he's harry's best friend. the other one is hermione granger. she's the best student in our year. i think she and harry have a thing.... maybe she and ron do. i'm not exactly sure."

"huh." i realized that i was staring, and hurriedly glanced back down to finish my work seconds before the bell rang across the grounds.

we headed up the steep stone steps to transfiguration, and i was already getting tired. the information flooding my brain was hard to retain. it was day one and i already had a heap of homework from both of my teachers. we hurried into the classroom, jan trying to snag a seat in the back.

alfie and i hurriedly sat next to her, and i craned my head around as she rest of the students filed in. "run me down on professor mcgonagall," i whispered to them. alfie nodded. "she can turn into a cat!" she whispered. jan giggled. "that's not what she wants to know! okay- mcgonagall. she's strict, but if you get on her good side, she's an amazing teacher, and can be a big help with questions for other classes and dealing with teachers. unfortunately, she... doesn't like us much." jan winced as she continued. "but you still have a chance!!"

"just great," i teased. "you've already ruined my chances." both girls sniggered, and a ravenclaw in front of us turned around, shushing us loudly.

"we haven't even started yet!" jan whisper yelled, but they both shut up almost immediately.

-

lunchtime couldn't have come quick enough. i scarfed down my food, eating as much as i could.

"you eat a lot for someone your size," a voice teased, and my heart stopped as i glanced up. cedric's head was balanced on his hands, smirking at me. i rolled my eyes, wiping my mouth. "nun of yhr bznuss."

he laughed loudly, and i immediately felt the blush against my cheeks. "you're pretty funny, kid." he trailed, and i was relieved when jan changed the subject. "so, cedric! are you excited for the tournament?"

cedric smiled. "of course, but everyone above seventeen is entering. the whole school wants to participate. either way though, the tasks will be wicked to watch." he glanced over at me, and i looked away, the blush still remaining on my face.

what has gotten into me?

-

by the end of the day, i was already hungry again. i took the stairs two at a time, and alfie laughed like a maniac as she skipped down them after me. i ran smack into jan when she stopped suddenly.

"why'd you stop?" i asked, and i suddenly realized the entire hall was in silence. the crowd had gone quiet, and in the center of the hall stood harry and the defense against the dark arts teacher with the glass eye, professor moody. my eyes widened, and i stayed put behind jan, watching the scene with apprehension.

on the ground in front of them stood a white ferret. "what-," i began, and jan suddenly whispered, "it's... it's malfoy." terror filled me as i saw everyone's eyes trained on the ferret. "that's not okay! he can't- he can't do that! that has to be against the rules, doesn't it?" my worries increased as moody began to bounce malfoy the ferret up and down. "someone stop him!"

i tried to push past jan, but she shot out her arm, glaring at me. "what are you thinking, kat?" alfie was also staring at me in shock. "let professor mcgonagall handle it," she agreed, and i let out a sigh of relief as i noticed her speaking sternly to moody, who transformed the ferret back into malfoy's normal self.

i stared at him in shock, noticing the terror around his eyes. my heart was racing, and he glanced around, making direct eye contact with me. i froze. suddenly his eyes narrowed, and he sneered as moody pulled him away and our eye contact broke.

what. an. asshole.

how could i have ever felt sorry for him in the first place?

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