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over the next few days, her time was spent mostly with blaise zabini. they hadn't made their relationship official, but almost everyone knew they were a thing. draco had given up on getting marcella to talk to him, and resulted in letting his anger out on random first years that dared try to talk to him.
umbridge had managed to gain more power over hogwarts as the educational degrees on the wall doubled in numbers. her hold on this school was the reason that marcella found herself walking through the cold air, towards hog's head. she was nervous that harry would turn her away, especially considering they hadn't spoken since the incident with draco. she wouldn't be surprised if no one wanted her there.
getting away from blaise was the hardest part of her day. she had lied to him and said she needed to pick up christmas gifts and that she didn't want him peeking around. he had ultimately agreed to let her shop on her own if she agreed to meet him afterwards for a butterbeer. marcella, who hadn't ever had one, excitedly nodded in agreement.
taking a deep breath, marcella pulled the door open and immediately eyes turned towards her. she bit the inside of her cheek, and kept her chin up, not wanting to show how anxious she was. her eyes found harry's and he sent her a smile, one that said he was glad she had showed up.
"sorry to crash the party, am i late?" a few chuckled at her words, but most of them glared at her. for she was a malfoy and a slytherin, and none of them trusted that she wouldn't leak their plans.
"what the bloody hell is she doing here?" once again, ron weasley had hit a nerve, making her feel unwanted. she met his eyes, calm and collected, but deep down she was hurting. he gave her a look full of pure disdain and marcella tried to ignore it, walking fully into the room. everyone still watched her closely, and she was honestly used to the hateful glares she got from people by now.
"she's a slytherin! we can't trust a snake." a boy yelled out and harry snapped his head towards him, a warning look in his eyes.
"i invited her. i trust her and she is one of the few who has been a victim of voldemort's recent wrongdoings." he left it at that, and marcella sent him a grateful smile. hesitantly, the girl took a seat near the back and she fiddled with her fingers, nervously. she could feel eyes boring into her, and she knew it was ron weasley. his hatred for her could be felt from across the room. marcella glanced up, meeting his eyes once more and ron flinched as he saw a flicker of hurt pass through the girl's eyes. but just as quickly as it came, it was gone. he almost thought he imagined it.
"so... uhm, hi. you all know why we're here. we need a teacher, a proper teacher, one who's had real experience defending themselves against the dark arts." marcella chewed mindlessly on her cheek, feeling the need to check over her shoulder every few seconds. she wasn't sure if she was more afraid of the dark lord finding them or draco.
