Disclaimer: Harry Potter and related titles belong to JK Rowling and her associates. The title, Just a Toy, is a song from Barenaked Ladies on their album Born on a Pirate Ship.

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The laughter of the three Hufflepuff girls as they made their way up the stairs in the Great Hall reverberated off the cathedral ceiling. No one would have been able to tell that Hannah's mother had died just a month ago from looking at her now. Susan and Megan had made sure that every moment of her time at school was filled with laughter. Now the two brunettes flanked their blonde friend, protecting her with their quick wits and friendly smiles.

"You can't deny it any longer, Han. I saw you staring at the back of Harry Potter's head like it was pudding!" Susan called out, nudging her friend with her shoulder. Hannah's usual pink complexion deepened to almost a crimson hue.

"Look at her!" Megan chimed in, running ahead a few steps and turning to point at her friend. "She's almost as red as a Weasley!"

"Keep it up, Harry likes his girls red," Susan whispered in Hannah's ear. Hannah smiled slightly, clutching her book to her chest like armor as Megan howled with laughter.

"I know you'd love to see me snogging the Boy Who Lived, but it's not going to happen. Boys like Harry don't snog girls like me," she replied, stopping in front of the tapestry that led to the Hufflepuff cellars. Though her words were melancholy, her voice was not.

Her friends stopped by the door and looked at her quietly for a moment. "Bollocks, you're just saying that so we don't suspect anything. It'll be all over Witch Weekly in a month," Megan said. The three of them burst into laughter again.

Megan and Susan began walking behind the tapestry, but Hannah didn't follow. "I think I'm going to go for a quick bath in the Prefects' bathroom. I'll see you two later?" she said, handing her book to Megan. The two nodded and continued on their way to the Hufflepuff common room.

The blonde girl let out a sigh. She loved her friends and what they did for her, but she needed time alone. The Prefect's bathroom was her only place of refuge these days. It was away from the curious stares of the rest of the school and the whispered comments no one thought she heard. But she heard everything.

She set off at a brisk walk with her head down. She didn't like to see the pitiful stares from her fellow students but the worst were the faux compassionate words her professors gave her. Her mother was muggleborn, and they didn't have to patronize her by saying she contributed to the cause for good. It didn't bring her mother back.

She whispered the password for the Prefect's bathroom and entered through the small opening, closing the door behind her tightly. The muffled sounds of people talking echoed off the stonewalls. Hannah crinkled her eyebrows together. Most of the school was down for dinner. She cautiously moved around the hallway and peered around the corner into the main chamber of the bathroom.

The bath was full of water covered with a thin film of soap suggesting that foamy bubbles had once filled the tub and had now all disappeared. Moaning Myrtle was sitting up in the high window, looking surprisingly sympathetic. She was looking down at the stone floor were a boy was lying, fully dressed. Even though he had his hands over his eyes, Hannah could tell he was very upset.

"I can't do it, I just don't know how," he cried. His voice was soft but strained, like he hadn't slept in several days. "And he'll kill me if I don't figure it out. He'll kill my mother!"

Hannah gasped. Her hands moved up to cover her mouth but it was too late. The boy shot up into a sitting position and looked at Hannah. His look of shock and bewilderment was quickly covered with a mask of disdain, silvery blonde hair falling across his pale cheek. Myrtle disappeared down one of the toilets with a splash. Hannah wished she could be as lucky.

Hannah Abbott was caught in the death glare of Draco Malfoy.

"Abbott," he spat as if her name was poisoned pumpkin juice. He stood slowly, pulling himself up from the floor and lazily walking over to Hannah. She stood motionless like a deer caught in the headlights. Draco stood close to Hannah, looking down at her and moving to stand behind her. His hand grasped her upper arm, holding her in place. "Don't tell anyone what you heard. Got it?" He grabbed her chin with his other hand and forced her to look at him.

She nodded. The tears were welling up behind her eyelids but she refused to cry in front of him. He stared at her for a second longer, looking her over carefully, then dropping her chin. His hand on her arm lingered before he strode from the room without looking back.

Hannah leaned against the wall, breathing hard. Draco scared her. He was intimidating and, even worse, a Slytherin. However, what she heard today, she couldn't forget. The tears now came rushing down her cheeks, though if they were because of Draco, his mother, or her own mother, she couldn't say. She brushed them away with her sleeve and tried to slow her racing heart. That was too close for her.