The Mudblood

Chapter 85 : Year 4

The artwork for this chapter was made by https://www.quotev.com/29338974 (:

Over the next few weeks I did everything in my power to avoid and ignore Draco Malfoy. Seeing him for the first time after our detention kiss was one of the most uncomfortable encounters I'd ever experienced, so I then proceeded to remove myself from every situation involving him. I forced Goyle to switch seats with me in D.A.D.A., so I was now sitting on the opposite end of our row with Crabbe at my right and Malfoy beyond him, glaring at me during the entire period. I convinced Harper to trade spots with me in Arithmancy, meaning that I was now partners with Melody again rather than with Malfoy. Harper accepted this offer quite readily, as he was apparently trying to play "hard-to-get" with Melody. The only time I really had to endure a few moments with Malfoy as when I cleaned his bedroom, where, if I was unlucky, he would lie smugly on his bed and watch me, throwing weird facial expressions at me every time I accidentally glanced in his direction. I was beginning to regret that deal more and more, as Lupin hadn't even responded to my letter yet...

The only good that came out of my detention with Malfoy was the newfound knowledge that I had a triangular snake tattoo behind my right ear, knowledge that wasn't even good at all. I searched the library completely and could not find anything even remotely related to magical tattoos. The information I wanted was in the Restricted Section, I was sure, but I couldn't risk sneaking in there, not with all of the trouble I'd been getting into recently. Snape and Dumbledore both had good motive to expel me, but for some reason, neither of them showed any inclination to do so...

I hadn't told anyone about my strange snake tattoo yet, though. Even though I had attempted to tell Fred Weasley about every cringe-worthy detail of that dreadful detention, the prankster consistently managed to change the subject before I could bring it up. A knot of guilt was festering in my gut, and I knew it would never dissolve until I told Fred about what happened between Malfoy and I. But, then again, I wasn't sure it would ever dissolve regardless...

With all of the abnormalities in my life, everything seemed to be going as normally as it could be until a few weeks into March, when our fourth year Divination class found ourselves sitting in the Divination tower for almost the entire period without any sign of Trelawney or Umbridge.

"I bet Umbridge is killing her," Anderson suggested casually when the bell finally rang. Ginny and I stared at him with incredulous eyes as he stood from his seat. "What? Would anyone be surprised?"

"No, but that's a terrible thing to say," Ginny retorted while the three of us began to walk toward the tower's exit. Carl Vaisey was lagging behind, staggering because he had just chugged a mysterious potion.

Anderson opened his mouth to blindly agree with her, but I violently shook my head at him from where I walked on the other side of Ginny before he could get a word out.

"Uh—no, it's a great thing to say," Anderson countered with uncertainty. "Everything I say is...great..."

Ginny glanced over at me with raised eyebrows as Anderson awkwardly descended the ladder from the tower.

"I told him to have his own mind and not agree with everything you say," I muttered to her. "Apparently I was wrong to do that."

She simply laughed while climbing down the ladder. "Don't you both think it's a bit odd that Trelawney would leave her tower?" she asked once all three of us were safely on the corridor floor. "She never leaves—"

Ginny's words came to an abrupt halt when Vaisey suddenly fell off of the ladder, landing flat on his back. Frozen with shock, the three of us stared at him for a few long seconds until he finally began to move again; then we simply shrugged and moved on.