1 Epiphany || Harry Potter

4- THE BOGGART IN THE WARDROBE

𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑠: 4488

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 4: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑜𝑔𝑔𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑊𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑒

Malfoy didn't reappear in classes until late on Thursday morning when the Slytherins and Gryffindors were halfway through double potions. He swaggered into the dungeon, his right arm covered in bandages and bound up in a sling, acting, in Cassie's opinion, as though he were a heroic survivor of some dreadful battle.

"How is it, Draco?" simpered Pansy Parkinson. "Does it hurt much?"

"Yeah," said Malfoy, putting on a brave sort of grimace. But Cassie saw him wink at Crabbe and Goyle when Pansy had looked away.

"Settle down, settle down," said Professor Snape idly.

Harry and Cassie scowled at each other; Snape wouldn't have said 'settle down' if they'd walked in late, he'd given them detention. But Malfoy had always been able to get away with anything in Snape's classes; Snape was head of Slytherin House and generally favored his own students above others.

They were making a new potion today, a shrinking solution. Malfoy set up his cauldron right next to Harry and Cassie so that they were preparing their ingredients on the same table.

"Sir," Malfoy called, "sir, I'll need help cutting up these daisy roots because of my arm-"

"Blonde Weasley, cut up Malfoy's roots for him," said Snape without looking up.

"Actually, it's Black now," said Cassie, "and I think my dear cousin can cut up his own roots, Snivellus."

Snape looked up so fast, Cassie was convinced his head was going to fall off his neck any minute.

"Cut up his roots, or I will give you a detention," he said in a dark voice.

"Fine," mumbled Cassie as she seized her knife.

"Did he just call me blonde Weasley?" Cassie mumbled.

She pulled Malfoys roots over and began to chop them roughly so that they were all different sizes.

"Professor," drawled Malfoy, "Cassiopia's mutilating my roots, sir."

Snape approached their table, stared down his hooked nose at the roots, then gave Cassie an unpleasant smile from under his long, greasy black hair.

"Change roots with Malfoy, Black."

"But, sir--!"

Cassie had spent the last quarter of an hour carefully shredding her own roots into exactly equal pieces.

"Now," said Snape in his most dangerous voice.

Cassie shoved her own beautifully cut roots across the table at Malfoy, then took up the knife again.

"And, sir, I'll need this shrivelfig skinned," said Malfoy, his voice full of malicious laughter.

"Potter, you can skin Malfoy's shrivelfig," said Snape, giving Harry the look of loathing he always reserved just for him.

Harry took Malfoy's shrivelfig as Cassie began trying to repair the damage to the roots she now had to use. Harry skinned the shrivelfig as fast as he could and flung it back across the table at Malfoy without speaking. Malfoy was smirking more broadly than ever.

"Seen your pal Hagrid lately?" he asked them quietly.

"None of your business," said Cassie jerkily, without looking up.