one sickle ~ f.w.

chapter 20

"y/n's dad is a death eater!" 

everyone turns to me. some look dismayed and distressed, some surprised, and the rest just look scared. well, who wouldn't be?

i had dreaded fred and george's reaction the most, this is the worst way they could've found out. they both have the same expression on their face : a look that makes me think they definitely wouldn't want to be my friend anymore after this, let alone hear my apology.

i don't know who to apologise and explain the situation to first: the twins or, well, everyone. cedric is looking at me smugly. how did he find out that i told fred and george? i still wonder how he even managed to find out my secret in the first place. it'll be so hard to convince everyone that my dad isn't a death eater, even though he is - but i don't want people knowing. 

okay. the twins are the people that mean the most to me in this room - i have to at least know they're on my side before i explain to everyone else.

"okay, about... everything. listen, i can explain-" 

"i don't think you need to." fred says. he looks really pissed off.

"you're not who we thought."

"i'm sorry." fred gives me an apologetic half-smile and sighs. "let's go, george." 

and they're gone.

***

it's been a few days. i decided that there's no point in trying to apologise to everyone else if even my best friends won't talk to me - it would just make things worse. 

of course, the whole school's talking about my secret - well, what used  to be my secret - and it's actually bothering me less than i thought it would. obviously, i still feel quite uneasy about the twins avoiding me, but i think i could be a lot worse. 

***

as i walk through the crowded hallways, i think about how much i'm dreading my next class - herbology. with cedric. i actually don't think i've had a class with him since before my secret got out, so i'm really not prepared. i've mostly been avoiding him - it's been kind of hard but i guess i've managed.

reluctantly, i stop by the greenhouse door and take a deep breath. 'it's okay. it'll be alright,' i think to myself. as confidently as possible, i walk in, books in hand, and take my place around the large table in the centre of the room, as far away from cedric as possible.

"right, is everyone here? good. today we will be learning about stinksap, which comes from the plant mimbulus mimbletonia. you can find more on this on page 46 of your textbooks, which you should all have."

we all open our books and begin reading. 

'mimbulus mimbletonia is most notable for its pulsating and squirming nature and its unique defence mechanism. when prodded, a substance called stinksap is squirted out from the boils on the surface of the plant. stinksap is a dark-green non-liquid and is described as smelling like rancid manure.'

after about 20 minutes, professor sprout tells us to finish reading and close our books so we can do the practical. "for your practical, you will be extracting stinksap from their plants. first you will be paired up and then i will hand out a plant to each pair. after that, i'll explain what to do and you can start." 

i really, really hope i'm not paired with cedric.

"alright, let's see..."

"christopher and adrian."