Little Bird

Chapter Twenty-Six

Eve

            Within the week after Dumbledore vanished and Harry and the others were caught in the Room of Requirement, a lot changed at Hogwarts.

            Flint had been right—Umbridge did take over in Dumbledore's place as head of the school, and just a few days after she took her role, she had already set up a new list of rules. This included a curfew of 6 o'clock, something that all the Slytherins were still complaining about even a week later. Umbridge had also banned all after school activities, which meant the rest of the Quidditch season was cancelled. The entire Slytherin team, Draco included, had thrown a fit in the common room once they'd found out, and there was a lot of pacing and cursing; I don't think I've ever heard the words, "This is bloody ridiculous" or "My parents will be hearing about this" used so often. There was also a new rule for no physical contact between students, but no one paid attention to it unless Umbridge was nearby.

            So if I was being honest, things at Hogwarts weren't going so great.

            And to make matters worse, Draco had been called home yesterday by his father and he still wasn't back when I went to the Great Hall the next morning before classes. He'd gotten the letter yesterday before dinner, and he hadn't exactly told me what it said; he just told me that he needed to go home quick, that something was up with his parents. I hadn't asked why because he'd seemed really out of it, but now I was pretty worried about him. I'd assumed he'd be back by the next morning, but as I headed to Potions alone, I knew he definitely wasn't back at Hogwarts yet.

            When I got to the Potions classroom, Zabini and Goyle weren't there yet. I sat in my usual seat and waited for Snape to finally arrive, trying not to worry too much about why Draco was still at home. I just hoped everything was okay.

            Snape got to the classroom just as the final bell rang, and he was five minutes into the lesson when Zabini and Goyle finally showed up. As usual, Snape said nothing as they both sat at my table; he never cared if Slytherins showed up late to class. I didn't glance their way as they got their things out and Snape continued his lesson. This would be the first Potions class I'd been to without Draco there, and I was just hoping that Zabini wouldn't try to talk to me for the first time in about a month.

            But Snape's lesson dragged on and Zabini didn't make any attempt to talk to me, and I let out a quiet breath of relief when the bell finally rang. I was grateful Zabini didn't try anything, because with the way I had been feeling lately—stressed, worried, and mostly annoyed—I knew that I would have probably blown up at him. I gathered up my things and got out of there quickly, feeling immensely relieved that it was over and nothing had happened.

            Of course, I forgot that I would be seeing Zabini again during Care of Magical Creatures.

            Despite my best efforts to stay away from him, Hagrid paired the two of us together when he was assigning partners to feed the Flobberworms. I reluctantly headed over to Zabini while he got a bag of lettuce out of the bin, silently cursing my bad luck. I would've rather worked with anyone else here—even Pansy, and that was saying something. Zabini smirked over at me when I finally reached him, but I pretended I hadn't seen it. The two of us headed over to the area where Hagrid kept the Flobberworms, finding an empty space where a few worms weren't being fed by anyone. As we started to toss the lettuce to them, I hoped Zabini would be smart enough to just pretend I wasn't there—unfortunately, he did exactly the opposite.

            "Haven't seen Malfoy around today," he said casually, reaching into the bag to pull out more lettuce. I still didn't look at him as he asked, "Any idea where he is?"