Liquid Luck [Sirius Black]/editing

chapter 64

I drop down in the seat beside my little brother in the library. "Benja!" Madam Pince emerges from a bookshelf a shushes me rather rudely. I giggle and I lean into him to whisper, "How does she always just appear out of nowhere?"

"I couldn't tell you." He laughs. "So what brings you to this neck of the woods? Alone, no less!" He bumps his shoulder against mine.

"Spend the day with me." I suggest hopefully. "It's really pretty out and I was thinking we could have lunch and shop around Hogsmeade. And, big selling point, I can even get you to try out a few of Zonko's newest products free of charge."

He smiles at me regretfully. "I want to, Chiara, I really do but I'm already going with Finn and Logan."

"Oh. Well...that's perfectly fine. I suppose we can just do something together another time." I force a smile before bidding him goodbye and leaving.

How is it possible for every friend I have to be either busy or missing? I make my way over to the Great Hall, surely I'll find at least one friendly face there. But as I glance around the room, I am proven incorrect as I find not a one. I don't let it faze me as I plaster on my usual smile and exit back out the hall.

I gasp in surprise as I find myself pushed into an empty corridor. I stumble on my feet and while my back is turned to the culprit, I dust myself off with a laugh, "Okay, Sirius! You got me! If this is payback for what I did to you earlier then –" I stop talking upon finally turning around and am surprised to find not Sirius standing there, but three Slytherin boys. Each standing before me wearing the most intimidating smirks.

I feel so small. I've always been short but all of a sudden it's like I'm hyper aware of my lack in height. I recognize the boy closest to me as Lucius Malfoy, a boy with long bleach-blonde hair who is also two years older than I am. The two others are foreign to me.

I swallow the forming lump in my throat and muster up a smile once again. "Hello!" I say cheerfully. "Is there something you want from me or can I go? I, erm, I just saw my friends walk by...so I should be getting back –" I turn to leave but a hand grabs my wrist roughly and jerks me backwards making me fall onto the cold floor.

My eyes widen in shock as I pick myself back up and draw out my wand from my back pocket. I hold it up defensively, though shaking wildly knowing I'm outnumbered.

"You're friends with that mudblood Evans." The boy to the left sneers.

A wave of anger rushes through my body and I impulsively jump to Lily's defence. "Don't call her that."

"I'll call her what I like." He says with an amused smirk that makes me feel sick.

"You're a prat and I'm leaving." I state, trying to walk past them once more but am grabbed once again by the other boy on the right. I whip my head in his direction and glare at him harshly.

"You can go. Just after we give you a little message." Lucius tells me, all three boys taking slow steps closer to me.

I huff out a laugh. "What am I? An owl?"

They don't seem to think this is funny at all and I find the boy still holding onto my wrist is moving dangerously closer to me. I cower backwards until my back hits the wall and the boy has me completely cornered. My breathing picks up but I refuse to let my fear show. The boy leans in close to whisper, "You filthy blood traitor."

I grimace at him. "Your breath stinks." The moment I get those words out, I knee him in the privates hard. The dark haired boy's hands drop from my sides and he doubles over clutching his nethers in pain.