in the dark | d malfoy

chapter thirty-three

"come on, kat! you're gonna be late!"

"urgh. leave me alone." i rolled over in bed, and a pillow smacked me right in the head, making me groan. "alfie! leave me alone!"

"it's not alfie, it's hannah!"

i peered upwards to see the blonde girl looking at me in amusement. i sat up, rubbing my eyes. "ugh. hi, hannah. sorry, i though you were-,"

"it's alright. but seriously, you've gotta get going. al and jan are already at breakfast, but class starts in ten minutes. where were you last night?" she peered at me curiously as i threw my covers back and headed over to my chest, where my clothes were folded carefully. "what do you mean?" i asked, trying to make my voice sound casual, and hannah put her hand on her hip, raising her eyebrows at me.

"yeah, right. i was doing an essay in the common room last night and i saw you leaving. you're not very sneaky, you know."

i groaned. "don't tell jan and alfie. they'll be up my ass wanting to know who i was with." i pulled my shirt over my head, and grabbed my sweater, putting it on quickly. hannah eyed me, and a small grin spread on her face as i pulled my skirt and stockings on. "you were with a boy, weren't you?" she asked, and i froze. a laugh tumbled out of her throat.

"don't worry. i won't tell anyone. was it ron weasley?" she asked, and i choked on air, beginning to laugh. "what? no! what makes you think i'd be hanging out after hours with ron?"

hannah's cheeks turned pink. "oh. i dunno. hurry, we have to go." she grabbed her bag, and i finished tying my shoes quickly, pulling my hair up into a ponytail.

we hurried out of the common room and upstairs to astronomy, and i yawned as we walked. "now i'm hungry too," i complained, and hannah laughed. "you should've woken up on time then," she chided, and i inclined my head in agreement.

my heart began to beat rather rapidly as we approached the door, knowing that draco was in this class, but i ignored it. i entered the classroom behind hannah and we took our seats next to alfie and jan.

i could immediately feel his eyes on me, and a blush tainted my cheeks as i thought of the night before. it was obvious that draco had experienced lots of sexual encounters, and i hadn't. when my friends weren't looking, i braved a glance behind me and met his eyes, not surprised to see him staring at me.

he grinned, and winked at me quickly, making me hold back a smile as i turned back to the table. "what's the plan for today?" i asked casually, trying to think of how to get out of it, and hopefully see draco again. alfie and jan exchanged a glance, and jan leaned forward to whisper, "we have a d.a meeting, remember?"

"oh." i mentally slapped myself. duh. how could i have forgotten? "right," i said, and jan looked at alfie and back at me, a confused expression on her face.

"are you alright, kat?" alfie asked carefully, and i bobbed my head. "just didn't sleep well," i said truthfully. "i only slept for a few hours."

my friend seemed to take the excuse, because they worked silently on their classwork after that, and i let out a breath of relief. the class couldn't have been longer, and by the time we were heading to lunch, i was feeling dizzy with hunger.

there was a buzzing from the gryffindor table as i walked in, and i peered over curiously. hermione caught my eye and waved feverishly, so i said a quick goodbye to my friend and hurried over to take a seat with my other friends for lunch. "you'll never believe what's happened," hermione breathed, and i inclined my head curiously. "what? umbridge has finally been fired?" i asked, and everyone chuckled.

harry rolled his eyes. "i wish."

"no," hermione pushed again. "remember that interview harry did for the quibbler? it's been published! look." she pushed a copy of the magazine into my hand, and i grinned broadly at the cover.

HARRY POTTER SPEAKS OUT AT LAST:
THE TRUTH ABOUT HE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED AND THE NIGHT I SAW HIM RETURN

"it's good, isn't it?" a familiar voice drifted over, and luna lovegood squeezed herself between fred and ron, smiling dreamily at us. "it came out yesterday, i asked dad to send you a free copy. i expect all these are letters from readers." as she spoke, she pointed out the many letters being dropped from owls all over the table, and i stared at them in curiosity.

"that's what i thought!" hermione said eagerly. "harry, do you mind if we..."

"help yourself," harry said, a bemused note in his voice, and i grinned, grabbing an envelope to rip open, and scanning my eyes over the words.

"she believes you!" i said, a smile painting my face, at the same time that ron said, "this ones from a bloke who thinks you're off your rocker. ah well."

"this woman recommends you try a good course of shock spells at st. mungo's," hermione was saying as i ripped open a second envelope, frowning at the mean words written upon it.

"this guy thinks it's a hoax, too," i sighed. "guess you can't win everyone over." i glanced up at harry, who was scanning another one with a light in his eyes.

"this one looks okay, though. hey! she says she believes me!" harry looked enthusiastic as everyone around the table began to share their results from their letters.

"what is going on here?" my body froze as i heard umbridge's voice drift over. she was looking angry per usual, eyes scanning the mess of owls and letters scattered across the table. "why have you got all these letters, mr. potter?"

"is that a crime now?" fred asked, making me wince. "getting mail?"

when umbridge was looking away, i snuck away from the table, but i wasn't quick enough. "miss king. why aren't you sitting at your table with your fellow hufflepuffs?" she asked, a tone of surprise with her voice. "i, uh. i was just curious," i confessed, and she narrowed her eyes at me. "all right then. move along." i hurried back to my table, feeling a twinge of guilt for abandoning the others.

my eyes moved across the room of their own accord, seeing draco gazing right at me, anger painted on his face. i supposed i'd find out why sooner or later.

and i was right.