"I hate Transfiguration," sighed Meghan.
"Name one class you do like," I challenged, finishing my essay and chucking the five messed up attempts into the fireplace. Meghan thought for a moment.
"I know!" she exclaimed. "I like Defense Against the Dark Arts."
Ian and I nodded. "Me too," I said distractedly, starting on the rest of my homework.
"Yeah," Ian laughed, "we all know it's your favorite subject Vic."
"Why is that?" questioned Meghan, who had always been puzzled by my love of DADA when I was so much better at Charms.
I shrugged. "I dunno. I've always loved hearing Uncle Harry tell me stories about the fight against Voldemort. It's so much fun to hear about all he did. Did you know that he once led a secret rebellion group, teaching the students Defense Against the Dark Arts because the teacher wouldn't let them use magic?" My friends shook their heads, looking amazed. "Yeah," I continued. "It's my favorite story. That's probably why I love Defense so much."
After that, Meghan and I decided to start our Potions essay (Ian had already finished his). "Darn it!" Meghan cried, searching through her bag. "I left my Potions book in the dungeons!"
"That's okay," I said, reaching into my own bag. "You can borrow mine . . ." I trailed off as I realized that I didn't have my book either. I sighed and stood up. "I'll go get them," I said, striding towards the portrait hole. I knew that if we didn't get our books, someone would have taken or hidden them before our class tomorrow.
I walked down to the dungeons, passing Peeves on my way, who was setting up a barricade in front of the main staircase. I ducked down a secret passage Teddy had told me about last week, and was soon in the Potions classroom. I found mine and Meghan's books on the table we'd been sitting at earlier. I grabbed them, and hurried out of the room. The big, empty, and terribly lit classroom creeped me out a little.
I was in such a hurry to get back to the common room (hey, it was cold in the dungeons) that I didn't notice that someone was standing in the corridor until I bumped into them. I looked up to see a tall, second year Slytherin with slicked back brown hair. I realized I must be close to the Slytherin common room, though I didn't know exactly where it was.
The boy stared at me contemptuously. "Apologize!" he demanded. Normally, I would have apologized for bumping into someone, but the way he demanded it of me just caused my anger to flare. Now, this is really not a good thing. Because I'm part veela, I have an abnormally vicious temper, or so I've been told. And, well, the Weasley side . . . it doesn't help at all.
"Make me," I shot back. His face hardened, but he smiled, a truly nasty sight.
"Weasley, aren't you? How's that pig pen of a house holding up?" No one, and I mean no one, insults my family. I only barely restrained myself from attacking him, reminding myself that he was bigger and knew more magic.
"What's your family going to do now you've spent all their money on grease for that hair?" I asked. It wasn't the most creative, I know, but it's all I could think of with rage pounding in my brain. It must have been a touchy subject for him though, because it infuriated him. He jumped at me, his hand making contact with my face in a stinging blow. I aimed an elbow at his face, but he was too fast. He grabbed my arm and twirled it behind me, pinning me to the cold stone wall.
My mind was trying to work out how to get free. I couldn't see him, but suddenly the boy's weight was lifted off me and my arm was free. I whirled around to see Teddy pull the Slytherin off me and punch him hard on the nose. Teddy's hair was bright red, which I knew meant he was seething with rage. I'd only seen him this way once, and I knew how crazy he got when he was angry. He threw the boy who'd attacked me down the corridor, and looked about ready to go after him. I knew Teddy would get in trouble if he continued to fight, so I grabbed his arm and attempted to pull him up the stairs.
He struggled for a minute, but once he realized that it was just me trying to get him up the stairs, he stopped trying to go after the guy. Once we were in the Entrance Hall, I let go of Teddy's arm and gave him a huge hug. I realized that I was crying. Teddy wrapped his arms around me and comforted me, as he had done countless times before. "Thank you," I mumbled into his chest.
"Are you okay?" he asked, sounding worried. I looked up at him, not crying anymore.
"Yeah," I said.
"Um, you're bleeding." He reached down and touched my cheek, where I realized I had a small cut.
"It's nothing," I said, pulling away and wiping my cheek on my sleeve. Teddy looked disbelieving, but walked me back up to the common room. "Thanks again," I said, hugging him before heading up to my dormitory. Right now I didn't care that I still had homework to do. I just wanted to go to bed.
The next morning I realized that I had left the textbooks I had gone to get in the dungeon corridor. I sighed, deciding to go with Meghan to get them after breakfast. But when I went downstairs, I found both of them on a table by the fire. Teddy must have gone back to get them. I smiled down at the books, glad that I had Teddy looking out for me.
