I walked through Hogwarts thinking about the evening ahead. The dinner party with Professor Slughorn, or 'The Slug Club', as it's more affectionately called, was tonight at six o'clock sharp. I was sick to my stomach, and the thought of food made me feel worse. At these meetings Slughorn was notorious for asking about people's home lives.
How did I explain mine? My mother was muggle and I lived with her in the muggle world. However, when my father's family found out that my father, a pure-blood, had 'spoiled the good family name by cavorting with a muggle' a few years ago, they killed her, outcast him and quite effectively made me an orphan. Luckily for me I was already in Hogwarts when this happened, so Professor Dumbledore said that I could live there all year round – even during the summer – until somewhere was sorted out for me to live.
To top it all off, my father's family is quite good friends with the Malfoy's, so naturally all of Slytherin house knew of my past. And they never let me forget it.
Especially Draco Malfoy.
"Oi, you, bastard half-blood!" he yelled at me. In all the time I'd know him (since the very first day) he'd never called me by my name. It wasn't even that hard to say: Diana Mauve. The sad thing was I'd started answering him.
"Yeah?" I called. "What?"
He smirked to his friends and sauntered over to me. "Just wanted to tell you that I will also be attending Slughorn's dinner tonight, and I'm going to make it my personal mission to tell everyone there about your filthy past."
"Why don't you do that," I mumbled, uncaring, and walked off.
He seemed confused. "Didn't you hear me, freak? I said I'm going to make it my mission to -"
"I heard you, Malfoy," I snapped. "I just don't care what you do. I never have," I said simply as I continued walking away from him.
I threw myself on my bed in my room. Regardless of my father's past, I was put into Gryffindor as a testament to his courage. Hermione, who was studying as always, looked up at me.
"You okay, Diana?" she asked tentatively, concern creeping into her voice. Even though we shared a room, we weren't that close. Although, it was nice to know she cared. When I didn't answer, she asked: "Is it about Slughorn's thing tonight?"
I nodded into my pillow.
"Well," she said. "There's no need to be upset. It's a privilege to be invited to one of these things. Apparently." When I didn't laugh at her joke, she continued in a more sombre tone. "If you want, I can tell Slughorn you're ill, and can't come tonight."
I thought about her offer. As tempting as it was, I couldn't give Malfoy the satisfaction of knowing he'd beaten me into submission. That was never going to happen.
"No, that's okay Hermione," I said, sitting up. "It's more than Slughorn, even though I really don't want to go." I sighed and stared at the floor. A pair of slippered feet came into view. I looked up and saw Hermione standing over me, hair tamer than usual.
"Wanna talk about it?" she asked, sitting next to me.
I hesitated a minute, thinking what to say. I didn't want to tell her my families past – no one needed to know that information – but I had to get this off my chest. Eventually I opted for: "Malfoy's been giving me grief again. Apparently he's made it his 'personal mission' to make my life a living hell."
She sighed in annoyance and put a comforting arm around my shoulders. "We all know Malfoy's an asshole, Diana. Just ignore him tonight and stick with me and Harry. We'll keep you safe."
I smiled slightly at her. "Thanks Hermione," I said, meaning it deeply. I glanced at my watch. 4:40. "So, do you think we should start getting ready now?" I asked.
She nodded. "I believe we should," she said. "C'mon, I need your advice on what to wear."
Oh god, no. Fashion tips with Hermione Granger. I never have been a girly girl, but this was pure torture. I'd already decided what I was going to put on, so I had none of that to worry about. After the sixth dress, I said: "Didn't it occur to you to plan what you were going to wear before this evening, so you didn't have to fly about like a headless chicken an hour and a half before the dinner?"
She grinned sheepishly. "I was busy studying…"
I rolled my eyes at her predictability. "Then put on the second one you tried on and let's get a move on. If getting dressed takes you this long, I hate to imagine how long hair and make-up will take you!"
Giggling, she went to retrieve the second dress. It was a light pink summer dress, simple in its design but looked absolutely fabulous on her. She matched this with a rose pearl necklace. Her hair was put into a slight up-do, but left mostly down, and she applied only minimal make-up.
I, on the other hand was a vision in blue. My dress was sky-blue in colour with a bow on the front. It too was a summer dress and came to above my knees, accentuating my long legs. It set of my startling ice blue eyes that contrasted greatly with my jet black hair. I left my hair down and straightened it so it came to my waist. I paired the dress with a small bracelet that had belonged to my mother and sliver-blue pumps. I also applied little make-up, just a bit of mascara and a new coat of foundation under my eyes to hide the dark purple bags that were a result of the sleepless night's I'd been having as of late. But I digress.
Sufficiently made up, we headed down the stairs to meet Harry Potter, also attending, in the common room. There were a few wolf whistles from some of the other lads as we walked past. Ron was staring at Hermione over Harry's shoulder, drooling a little. I still can't believe they haven't got together yet.
Harry looked very smart in his dress robes, his hair combed back and glasses newly polished.
"Hey 'Mione," he said, ignoring me as usual. I didn't talk to many people, and may people didn't talk to me. My closest friend here was Luna Lovegood, and even then we weren't that close.
"Hey Harry, Ron," she said in reply. "I said Diana could stay with us for the evening, is that okay?" she said in a tone that dared him to say no.
"Fine by me," he said nonchalantly, still not acknowledging me properly.
"Well, then," Hermione said. "We'll see you later Ron. C'mon you two," she said as she glided out of the common room. Harry immediately followed and I trundled along behind. Even thought Hermione was trying to be nice, I couldn't stay with the arrogant Boy Who Lived all evening. As soon as we got to Slughorn's office, I ditched them for a very appealing corner of the room. Unfortunately it was already taken.
"Watch it, would you?" Malfoy snapped when I backtracked onto his foot. 'Accidently'.
I went to find another corner. He followed me. "So what, you're not even going to apologise? I thought your parents would have taught you better than that," he sneered.
"My parents taught me not to lie, and I'd be lying if I said I was sorry because I'm not. At all," I said as I sped off. Luckily before Malfoy could pursue me further, Slughorn came in and announced that dinner was ready. Oh goody.
