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WALKING INTO the castle that you had attended for three years prior had, just a few hours ago, seemed like a daunting task. Each of the three years before your fourth, you had walked to the Great Hall by yourself. Even your first, when you were first sorted, began with you and Cho being separated. By the time you had seen her later, Marietta had already been glued to her side, introducing herself as Cho's childhood best friend. An odd proclamation seeing as Cho had been by herself when you first met her.
Every year following that one, Marietta always dragged Cho away until you could catch up to her at dinner. If you were lucky, you'd manage to snag a seat across from her, but you hadn't been all that lucky the year prior and you were one thousand percent sure that it would be the same this year. The year you'd get to sit with Cho would be the year miracles happened. As much as you longed for that year, it didn't seem to be coming any time soon.
Although you didn't think you'd get to sit with Cho, you were still over the moon at your prospects this year. You were walking amongst the Weasley twins, the hotshot beaters of the Gryffindor team, and Lee Jordan, the ever-so-loved yet slightly biased Quidditch commentator— there was no way your year was going to be spent solo. It filled you with a giddiness you forgot existed. Walking into the castle now, you felt like a new person.
"And then— oh, this is the best part— we put our robes on backward, put the hoods up, and bam! If we time it right, we'll have him crying for his "mummy" in no time," Fred declared as you, George, and Lee walked down the long corridor. Your face burned when Fred and George looked at you, snickering as you looked away, trying to hide the shame and embarrassment of being called someone's mum. You heard the slap of the high-fives the twins gave each other along with the giggling of Lee right beside you.
"Please don't do that while I'm around," you mumbled, suddenly very interested in the corridor ceiling. You could practically hear Fred and George's grins before they broke out into snickers. Your cheeks grew hotter and you decided to focus on the hem of your oversized sweater as best you could. Really, you would take any excuse to forget about the entire Malfoy nightmare on the train. At least it hadn't made the rounds in gossip... yet.
"Why not, (y/n)?"
"You don't like being called "mummy" by lil' old Malfoy?"
You grimaced at the thought and almost shuddered, all the while your ears started to burn. You could still see Malfoy's pale face going red as tears shone in his eyes. As much as you were embarrassed by it all, you almost felt bad for him. While he wasn't nice whatsoever, you had to admit you were just as afraid of the dementor as he was. If that meant he had to call you mummy to make himself feel better, so be it.
"I don't think any girl my age would appreciate being called "mummy" by any boy a year younger than her," you sputtered as the twins fell into step beside you, Lee hovering beside Fred. You could see a peek of a grin on Lee's face and you had the sinking feeling that their teasing would not let up for a good while. You bit your lip as you tried to steel yourself albeit knowing that it was most definitely futile.
