Lost - draco malfoy

fourteen

- Cherry Wine by Hozier -

A few quiet and undisrupted weeks had quickly passed. We had all waited in anticipation and watched the second task of the Tri-wizard tournament. Things, for me, were starting to become brighter. My bruises had finally fully recovered, I was spending more time with Blue and much to my surprised delight, I had actually managed to avoid the cruel spotlight of Draco Malfoy's attention. Of course, no one was exempt from his harsh words. Every now and then, a snide remark would slip from his mouth. But it was nothing I couldn't handle.

"Krum isn't really much of a talker... I guess you could say" Hermione giggled with her nose buried in her Potions book. We sat down in our usual spot in Potions class, we had arrived early. "So... spill. Is he a good kisser then?" I questioned her with a grin, slouched down in my chair with my legs rested up lazily on the desk.

Some slytherins then walked in, along with a few other students trailing behind. I could feel Hermione relax in her chair, relieved that she had successfully avoided my question.

I caught the cowardly eyes of Pansy Parkinson who had separated from the slytherins. She proudly marched over and stood over us. "Look, Granger. You're famous" she remarked, with a smirk spread across her face.

She gleefully placed a copy of 'Witch Weekly' on our desk. I wasn't stupid. I knew that it would be a slanderous article, there had been so many false rumours circulating about Harry and his friends. Skeeter had a seriously blatant issue with him. Before Hermione could read it, I snatched the copy off the desk and tossed it behind my shoulder, smirking back at Pansy.

"Go crawl back into your cage, Pansy"

She scoffed and opened her mouth to craft somewhat of an attempted insult, before Professor Snape walked in. She quickly scurried back to her desk to avoid his wrath. As any sane witch or wizard would.

"Bella, I need to know what that article said" Hermione leaned over to me and whispered. "It's only going to be false rumours. It'll just make you upset" "I don't care. I have to know what people are saying about me"

"Ladies?"

We quickly looked up and met the cold eyes of Snape who was standing over us. The whole class was looking in our direction, waiting for his next move. A firm strike on the back of the neck? Detention?

He glared behind us and noticed the magazine on the ground. We all sat in silence as he moved over to it, picking it off the ground.

"Is Hermione Granger toying with Harry Potter and Viktor Krum's emotions?" He read aloud from the magazine.

So he chose public embarrassment.

Roars of laughter incited from the group of slytherins. I moved my stern glance from Snape to the unfortunate presence in the room that was Malfoy. I could feel my face turn hot as I scowled at him. The bloody cheek of them. Especially him.

Snape threw the magazine back on our desk. However, none of us dared to even shoot a passing glance at it in fear of him reading further

After class, the three of us scrambled out of the room and clumsily gathered into a nearly empty corridor. Hermione held the magazine in her hands, she had snatched it from the desk as soon as we had left. "Snape read correctly... Is Hermione Granger toying with Harry Potter and Viktor Krum's feelings" she blurted in shock. Isadora and I looked at each other in confusion as Hermione's eyes continued to graze the words of Rita Skeeter.

"Wait, do you have a thing for Harry now?" Isadora wondered.

"No! Of course not. This is all bollocks" Hermione snapped. "And look. Pansy Parkinson, she's quoted! She's suggesting that I'm making bloody illegal love potions" she sighed in disgust.