The Mudblood

Chapter 62 : Year 4

After another night of restless sleep, the newly formed girls' Quidditch team marched up to the Great Hall to eat breakfast, though more importantly to recruit the seventh member of our team. The six of us looked mildly ridiculous in our makeshift Quidditch uniforms, though I felt even more absurd just for being seen with these five incompetent girls. Pansy was clonking along in a pair bulky boots she'd borrowed from Millicent Bulstrode; Daphne was sporting a sparkly green sweater and a skirt instead of the "dull" yet more appropriate outfit I'd tried to make her wear; Astoria had globbed on shimmering pink makeup and refused to put her precious curls into a functioning ponytail; Melody was wearing all black, even though Ashley and I had specified that we would be wearing green to spite the boys; and then Ashley and I were the only two who wore actual Quidditch uniforms, though mine read "Muggle-born" and "Female" on either arm (as Fred had designed), and the back of Ashley's read a vulgar term which had been a misprint of "Pucey," therefore Adrian had given it to her instead of wearing it himself. Ashley did not even seem to notice the crude term she wore on her back.

"Our seventh player is going to be Maggie Montgomery, isn't it?" Daphne questioned as we ascended the staircase to the first floor. "God, I hate Maggie Montgomery. Even though she acts like she hates Adrian, I have a feeling she wants to get in his pants."

"Yeah, and you want to get in Blaise's pants, which is wrong because you're dating Adrian," Astoria sneered with a tone of disgust.  

"Oh, like you can talk," I snapped at her. "You cheat on my brother all the time."

"For your information, I haven't cheated on Muggle Evan since the death of your Muggle father," Astoria replied with an aura of dignity. "It's been a struggle, I must say, but I am a strong woman."

Melody snorted sardonically, though she refused to look up from the small book that her eyes were glued to.

"I can't believe you're letting your little sister date a Muggle," Pansy scoffed to Daphne. "Gross!"

"I agree, but this Muggle is hot, Pansy," Daphne insisted. "If she hadn't gotten to him first, I would have taken him. Maybe I'll go for that younger one, the Mudblood's twin."

"Maybe I'll slit your throat," Melody droned, her venomous eyes rising slowly, "with my Target Knife."

"Can you all please stop talking about my brothers?" I groaned as we stepped into the Great Hall. The Slytherin Quidditch boys were not at the Slytherin table, but I did see our seventh teammate seated among her friends on the other side of the Hall. "C'mon, let's go get our Seeker."

"I thought I was Seeker," Pansy moaned. "Draco's Seeker, and I must be as close to him as possible—"

"Why are we walking to the Gryffindor table?" Ashley demanded, grabbing my sleeve. "I'm not playing with a Gryffindor—they are our rivals!"

I ignored her as I continued to lead the girls down the aisle. Students turned their heads to gawk at us as we strutted by, some of them laughing at Pansy in her clunking boots, others whistling at Daphne in her provocative attire.

When we finally approached our destination, Ron Weasley was the first one to look up at us, food dribbling out of his gaping mouth as his eyes went wide.

"What the bloody hell—"

Hermione quickly whipped her head around to see what had Ron so frazzled. "Lainey," she greeted, though her face fell as her eyes moved across the group of girls around me. "Oh—er—hello."