It's you and me, right? Bad Influence

Chapter 9

When we came into the classroom, Bins sat on his chair, reading a book that laid on his desk. In the back of the classroom sat Megan and Neville and I glanced at each other and with one look we knew what we needed to do. We sat down next to her and she dropped her pen. Her book was filled with stars and scribbles on the sides.

"Hi", Neville said and looked past me who sat in the middle of us three.

"Hi", she answered in a weak voice.

I smiled at her, and her crooked smile looked crooked in a different way.

"Can we please be friends again?" she asked.

"We miss you, but you must start telling us what's going on. Please Megan", I pleaded.

Bins started talking but as usual no one really listened. It got quiet though, so Megan mimicked:

"After class."

We walked together towards the big bridge with Megan a bit ahead of us. She stopped in the middle and looked out over the hills that surrounded Hogwarts. We stood on each side of her, and I took her hand.

"Tell us. We won't get mad or anything. We just want to understand and help you in any way we can."

"It's over now, I'm ending it, just so you know."

"Does this have to do anything with Sirius Black?" Neville asked.

"Sirius– are you mad? Of course not." Megan shook her head and couldn't resist smiling a bit. "This is much worse. I've been in love with someone who sees me as dust, and all I ever wanted was for him to– it just took over me, and everything went too far."

"What? Who?" I asked.

"I can't say..."

"Come on!" I let go of her hand. "You said that you would tell us. We can't be friends if you talk in riddles, and we have to figure everything out all by ourselves."

At that moment some students came closer, Megan looked over her shoulder, and when she saw who it was she fully turned around and leaned her back against the railing.

"Hi", she said with a shaky voice when the Slytherin students walked by.

"Hi", Vincent Crabbe answered with a smile and waved at her.

"Shut up Crabbe", hissed Malfoy and grabbed his waving hand.

When they had walked away Neville and I looked at each other, and then at Megan who had tears in her eyes.

"Crabbe?" we asked.

"No."

She slapped her hands against her thighs and looked towards the Slytherin students that were small as dots, far away from us on the bridge at that point.

"M-Malfoy?"

Neville looked confused and scratched his cheek.

"During our second year, mom became good friends with Narcissa, his mother... So we met each other from time to time. We'd never been close, barely talked at family dinners or anything. But this year, just when we began– The first day I think, he started talking to me. He actually smiled at me and asked questions and for someone like me– someone who had a crush on him since this summer, it was a big thing."

"Are you guys..."

"No Neville, we are nothing. I thought that he cared but, turns out he didn't. He never did."

"Is it because of Malfoy that you have been missing classes and sneaking around at night?"

I couldn't help it, but I sounded judgmental, maybe because I was. Neville gave me a look and I bit my tongue.