Chapter 3:
"Rey!" I hear from the entrance of Gringotts Bank in Diagon Alley. It was mid August and Hermione and I had scheduled to come together and we would meet each other here. Of course she had to schedule it when she would have the absolute opportune moment to meet Gilderoy Lockhart. A famous author that I just had a hard time believing. I would finally get to meet her parents though. I had came up with a list of questions for them wanting to know all that I could of muggles. I run up to her and hug her.
"Its so great to see you Hermione!" I say when I pull out of the hug. Her and I talk as a couple approaches us. Hermione introduces them as her parents and I smile up at them as I shake their hands. "It's so very nice to meet you." I say. They shake hands with my father and mother and my father starts to ask all the questions I had and I listen to their responses with interest as we walk down the alley to the shops. We all end up in Flourish and Blots where it is overcrowded.
"Hunny get your books and meet me back here." My mother says. I roll my eyes. She just had to see Gilderoy Lockhart too. Every girl and women, along with the occasional man, was absolutely in love with him. Except I didn't, I could see the phony he really was. God he was more arrogant then Draco. I stop my browsing for standard book of spells year two when I think of Draco. I sign. I had came to the acceptance over summer that he was never going to be the same accepting Draco that I knew when we were children. His father must have really tortured him. I wasn't naive. I knew that his father must have tortured him to make him believe that I was trash and mostly likely the reason I was the cause of the pain.
And I really started to believe I was the cause. If I had never went to the tree that day I would never had met him and he would never had gotten in trouble. He would have never been tortured. Would he still be an arrogant git, most likely, but he would never have been tortured.
I think about what Cedric had told me this summer. He knew that I blamed myself, He told me that Mr. Malfoy was a bad man, and that he would have found other reasons to torture Draco. Cedric had visited often though the summer. He taught me how to duel and new spells that I had not learned in defense against the dark arts. He showed me the most effective way to disarm another person, to defend myself a stronger spell to shield myself from another spell. He also helped me learn new transfiguration spells and some new charms. Some of them were hard since they were a bit advanced but I did eventually get them. He also talked to me about standing up for myself. That I needed to be more assertive, but to be smart about it, not angry. He really was the big brother I never had.
The clapping of the female population in the book store brought me out of my thoughts as I grab my book that I needed. And continued on with my list of books needed. Lockhart noticed Harry in the crowd and made him take photos with him. I roll my eyes as I bring the books, which ended up being a lot of Lockharts books back to my mother. She took them to pay for them, and get them signed by Lockhart.
"I bet you liked that didn't you Potter." I hear from behind me. I look back and see that Draco had cut off Harry at the door. Draco had grew over the summer. His face was more thin then before and his nose a bit more pointed. He had grew a fair amount taller too along with his voice changed. He had hit puberty over the summer, I suppose that was less embarrassing then reaching it in the middle of the school year. I walk up to the group next to Ron.
"Leave him alone." Ginny says glaring a Draco. Draco laughs.
"Look Potter you have yourself a little girlfriend." Draco says making fun of Ginny.
"At least he would be able to get one. No one would want to be with a pathetic git like you Malfoy. Except maybe a troll." I say to him for the first time ever using his last name and not his first. If I was going to be his enemy then so be it. He turns his attention to me.
"Are you implying that you want to date me Nethers, never mind, a troll is an upgrade compared to you." he says. I launch at him but two pairs of arms grab each one of mine. Fred and George was holding me back from hitting him. However the head of a cane comes down on Draco's shoulder.
"Now now Draco play nice." His father says from behind him. Draco moves out of the way so his father could stand in front of us. He pulls Harry forward and moves his bangs aside to show his scar.
"Well if it isn't Harry Potter. Tell me how was a mare toddler able to defeat the dark lord?" He asks.
"Voldemort killed my parents." I flinch a little with the name. Even Mr. Malfoy let go of Harry like he was a piece of hot coal.
"You're either very brave, or very foolish for using the Dark Lords name." Mr. Malfoy says.
"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself." Hermione says with a glare. Mr. Maloy turns his attention to Hermione.
"Ah, you must be Ms. Granger." He looks to his son for vitrifaction which Draco gives a short nod. Yes Draco has told me all about you. And how your parents are muggle." He tsks. "How sad." He says. He moves onto the Weasly's next. "Let me guess, red hair, vacant expressions, tacky second hand books." He says and takes a book out of Ginny's cauldron. "You must be Weasley's" He says distastefully. I had enough.
"A better Wizarding family then the Malfoy's have ever been." I comment. The mans icy eyes land on me. He held his composure but his icy eyes were filled with anger. I didn't hid behind anyone though I am not the small child I was three years ago.
"Ms. Nethers the views or opinions from a child such as yourself does not concern us adults." He says.
"It did when I was friends with your son and he would be playing muggle games." I stated with a glare. The fire in his eyes grew and I swear he was about to pull his wand on me. I did not break eye contact. I knew that this was a huge insult to a Malfoy, reminding him that his son had done something muggle. From the corner of my eyes I could see Draco glaring at me.
"Hello Lucius." Mr. Weasley says coming up to stand in front of the group. My father walks up next to Mr. Weasley.
"Arthur. Jeremy." Mr. Malfoy says coldly to the two men.
"I trust there is no trouble here. I wouldn't want to have to report you to the ministry for hexing and eleven year old girl for outwitting you now will I?" My father asks keeping his composure professional but his voice showed a bit of amusement.
"Draco, I feel our superior intelligence lowering just being in these insignificants presence." He says. He places Ginny book back into her Cauldron. "See you at work." He says to my father and Mr. Weasley and turns and leaves. Draco comes up in front of Harry.
"See you at school." He says and glances at me with a glare before turning and leaving. The rest of the summer went by in a flash and the return dinner held by my father went great. Cedric, Tina, Hermione and Henry all showed up along with the Weasley's and Harry. We all had a lot of fun and everyone stayed the night. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stayed to help drive everyone to the station in the morning.
"Can you believe that they actually drove a car to school?" I hear people whisper at breakfast the day after we had arrived back at Hogwarts.
"I heard they parked the car on the train and just let the train drive them here." another said.
"I heard that Harry took on the whomping willow and won!"
"These rumors are a bit ridiculous." Hermione says a tad annoyed after breakfast as her and I walked to Herbology. She was not happy with Harry or Ron right now and was giving them slightly a cold shoulder. She would get over it soon enough though. I just couldn't figure out what had possessed them to take the flying car.
"Look its true that trash attracts filth." I hear Malfoy say from behind us. I continue to walk like I had not heard them. I was not going to play his game. He continued to try and gain mine and Hermionie's attention, or maybe just mine, until Professor Sprout quieted the class.
"Okay, All who are trying for Chaser over here!" I hear Cedric yell, he was named Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team this year. "Beaters over there!" He pointed, " And Keepers over there! Back up Seeker try outs behind me." He says in an authoritative tone. I walk over the the group of people who were trying out for chaser. There was a group of twelve of us. I was the youngest trying out for Chaser. I take a deep breather nervous.
First Chaser tryouts. Cedric separated us into groups of three I was with a seventh year and fourth year trying out. One group would defend and try to take the quaffle from the other group. The group trying out would have to try and make a goal then the teams would switch. My team was on defense first we were group one viruses group three.
I was able to intercept several passes between the group and so was the fourth year I was pared with. Then it was our turn to attempt to make goals. We were exceptionally well, the fourth year dropped the Quaffle twice, both time I caught it before it hit the ground or the defense took it. After our tryouts and groups two and four go Cedric cuts six of the twelve. Both people I was pared with were cut.
"Now the six of you did exceptionally and all of you will have a place on the team, but I still need to determine who will be Chasers and who will be back up." He paired us off into teams again and we went through the trials of offense and defense. In the end he said he would post the results later in the week.
"Hey whats the commotion keep moving!" I hear Percy Weasley says trying to, as a 'perfect' prefect, keep the students in line. Cedric, Henry, and I were near the front of the group. On the wall in front of us was a message written in red, undoubtedly blood and Mrs. Norris hanging by her tail.
"The Chamber of Secrets have been open. Enemies of the Heir, beware. You will be next Mudbloods." I hear Draco say from across the hall. I glare at him. How could he use a word like that. The teachers clear us out.
"Cedric, what is the chamber of secrets?" I ask him. He shrugs.
"I am not sure but we better be careful." He says. I look back at the group and notice Draco looking at me. I didn't get a chance to see what the look was on his face because Cedric places his hand on my back to keep me moving in the right direction. I turn around and follow.
"Welcome Welcome to the Second Quidditch match of the season! Slytherin verses Hufflepuff!" We hear Lee Jordan announce. The first game was last Saturday with Ravenclaw Verses Gryffindor, and Gryffindor barely won.
"Now I don't want you guys to be intimidated by Slytherin, they tend to think we are an easy team to beat, but not this year. They will do anything in their power to win, even cheat, so be careful." Cedric says. I am sitting in my yellow robes at the front of the group. I had made chaser for the team. Some people say that it was only because I was Cedric's friend, I knew it was because I had talent. Professor Sprout had the final say on who was on the team anyways not Cedric. We walk out onto the field.
"Are you nervous?" Cedric asks me.
"A little bit but I am also really excited too." I say looking up to him with a smile. He smiles down at me. We mount our brooms, Mine being a Nimbus 2000, Madam Hooch throws the Quaffle in the air and we take off. My teammate get to the Quaffle first and we all race down to the end of the pitch passing it between each other. One of the big burly Slytherin's tried and slam me into one of the towers but I avoided it. We were able to get the first goal of the game the shot not made by me.
After about thirty minutes of play, The score being One hundred-ninty Hufflepuff to fifty Slytherin, and us being a beater and a chaser down, Lee Jordan announces that Draco and Cedric haves spotted the snitch. I had yet to scored a point though leaving that all to the fifth year chaser that was left. We scored again bringing it to two hundred to fifty. The Slytherin's raced down to our end of the field and tried to score but was not able to get it past our keeper. The fifth year Hufflepuff takes the Quaffle and her I and race to the other end of the field. She threw the Quaffle to me just as one of the Slytherin chasers took a beaters bat from their beater and hit my teammate with a bludger. I catch the quaffle and head for the three rings. I fake out the keeper and I get my first points of the game. Just as I hear the ding signaling that I had scored Lee Jordan announces.
"Draco Malfoy has caught the snitch! But with Reyneen Nethers goal that went in just before he caught it Hufflepuff wins two-hundred-ten to two hundred!" Lee Jordan announces. I get to the ground only to be tackled by a hug by Cedric.
"That was amazing Rey!" He says very happy. I had a huge smile on my face too. , Henry, our other beater, flew down as well and hugged me.
"Great job kid!" He says. The other Hufflepuff's were failing out onto the field. I get hoisted up on the shoulders of Cedric and Henry. Everyone was cheering for me. I had never felt this accomplished and happy at the same time. The guys carried me to the girls changing room before setting me down.
"Definitely going to be a celebration tonight." Henry says as him and Cedric walks away. I smile and walk into the changing room. After I was showered and changed I leave the locker room to find Cedric waiting for me.
"Did I really take that long?" I asked and he laughs.
"No I just got here." We walk back to the castle together only to get stopped by Draco and his gang. I noticed a girl with greasy black hair and a pug nose lingering around them.
"I bet you feel real good about yourself don't you Nethers. You know the only goal in the game just happened to be the winning goal. Kind of pathetic it took you that long to score." Draco sneers. Cedric goes to open his mouth to reply back but I look at him and shake my head no. I turn to face Draco again. He hadn't ruined my day and he was not going to.
"You are also forgetting that I avoided your cheating teammates, was able to carry the Quaffle for my teammates, and passed the quaffle to them flawlessly without any interception by your cheating team, along with had several interceptions of my own due to your teammates lack of calculation and stupidity. So yes I do feel real good about myself, because as a second year who is only turning twelve in about a week, I out maneuvered, out witted, and out played your teams, as they call it, best players along with outwitting you. Now if you will kindly step aside Cedric and I have a celebration party to attend." I say. I walk past them with my head held high. Then everything happened in what seemed like slow motion. I hear Draco whip out his want to attack. I spin around, not having time to pull out my own wand I hold up my hands in front of me as a defense as the spell flies at me. It ricochet off and invisible force field in front of my hands and hits Crab square in the chest. He begins growing pimples all over his body that start to puss and pop.
"Malfoy your coming with me." Cedric says. Cedric was the fifth year Hufflepuff prefect, he didn't have the options to give detention but he did have the option to take them to a head of house to deal with delinquent students. Cedric had me come with him and we took him to see Professor Sprout who, after Draco was proven guilty by Professor Sprout testing what the last spell was used on his wand, received a weeks detention for using magic in the corridor.
"I will get you for this." Draco says to me lowly when we leave the room.
"Just like a Malfoy, always blaming others for your stupid mistakes." I say and walk away.
For my birthday that year the charm on my bracelet, that I wore always except in the showers. Added a broomstick charm. Undoubtedly for Quidditch. I loved it. Cedric also got me the complete collection of my favorite book series. My father and mother bought me a broom care kit that was very very expensive. And then another mystery present. This time though it was another bracelet. But it had the head of two snakes on each end of the bracelet. The eyes of the snake, like last year, matched my eye color, well one o the snakes head did. The other head had ice blue eyes.
'Like Draco's' I thought. But it could not have been from him. He hated me. It was a beautiful bracelet though. I put it on my wrist that had my charm bracelet on it and the snake bracelet adjusted to my wrist size.
"Are you sure you will be okay here? I mean with the recent attacks..." Cedric says next to me in the greenhouse. I was tending to the mandrakes, two more attacks had happened before the Christmas holidays, a first year Gryffindor and Justin Finch-Fletchley, a boy in my year and house. I had decided I wanted to stay at Hogwarts for the Holidays though. Cedric was not to happy with that.
"Cedric I will be fine, I highly doubt whoever is doing this is going to be here. They would want to be here and attack when they have more then twenty people to attack." I say trying to put logic to my decision to stay. He sighs.
"But what if it is one of the people here?" He asks.
"Then I will risk it." I say. He looked very disappointed but he stopped my from tending to the Mandrakes and had me turn towards him.
"Just please be careful." He says. I nod my head. He looks at me defeated and hugs me. He like the rest of the school was leaving for the Holidays. I continue to tend to the mandrakes until I finish and head to the great hall. It was now time for dinner.
As I suspected there was not very many people here. There was Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Ron, Fred, George, and Percy had stayed from Gryffindor, three Ravenclaws, and two other Hufflepuff that were older then me. Then there were seven Slytherin's, Draco, Crab, Goyle, Pansy Parkinson, and I was unsure of the other three Slytherin's. Professor Dumbledore had us all sit at one table. I was seated next to Hermione, but across from Draco. I avoided making eye contact with him.
"I will see you tonight at dinner okay?" Hermione asks me from just outside that greenhouse I nod my head and smile as I get my earmuffs and dragon skin gloves on and head into the greenhouse that was growing the Mandrakes. Professor Sprout was in there already tending to some. We get most of the tending done before dinner.
"I will finish up here Professor Sprout." I yell so she can hear me.
"Thank you dearie." She says and walks out of the greenhouse I tend to the back wall of mandrakes. I was watering one when I see something move outside the window. I look at it confused, it was a bit blurry due to the frost and fog on the window. I walk up to it and wipe the window of the fog and see something large and black moving past I look at it confused. Then I see a distorted yellow color and everything go black.
I wasn't sure what time it was, where I was, or what was going on. I remember Hermione's voice, she would read to me the lessons of the day. Cedric's voices, he was upset, but not at me. Then Hermione's voice went away. Cedric's still came and went. But then I heard someone start reading me the lessons again. Draco's voice. But that was impossible.
"Slowly..." I hear Madam Pompfry say one day. I feel something liquid and warm running down my throat. It slowly starts to spread all over my body. I start to feel everything begin to move again at its normal rate. My muscles completely relax against the bed as I take my first deep breath in a very long time. My vision slowly start to come back to me. I blink several times while gaining focus.
"Miss. Nethers, I want you to move slowly." I hear Madam Pomfrey say. I turn my head slowly to look at her. "How are you feeling?" She asks me. I try to talk but nothing comes out. I slowly bring my hand up to my mouth signaling I was thirsty. She gave me a drink of water. "I want you to stay there and try not to move to much as your body starts to return to normal okay Miss. Nethers?" I nod my head slowly. She gets up and tends to the bed next to me. I slowly turn to look at who she is tending in the bed next to me to see Hermione laying there. She looked like she was slowly waking up as well.
"You were petrified just after I left the greenhouse." I hear from the other side of me. I slowly turn my head to see professor Sprout. "I am sorry Miss. Nethers I should have never left you there alone." I slowly reach out and place my hand on her and squeeze it gently to let her know it was okay. I didn't blame her at all.
"I am so glad to see you again." Cedric says engulfing me in a hug as I enter for the final feast. I had been awake for several days but we could not have any visitors during our recovery period. Henry hugged me next, followed by Tina.
"I heard I have missed a lot." I comment as I sit at the Hufflepuff table. Tina returns to the Ravenclaw table as Cedric and Henry tell me what had happened, or what everyone else thought happened since Christmas. By the end of the evening Hagrid had returned to the school and Cedric had made it known he felt responsible for me being petrified.
"You know I heard you right? When I was petrified I could hear everything around me. At least I think I did. Unless it was a dream. I mean I remember hearing Hermione's voice and her reading to me and telling me what I needed for classes, then I heard your voice and..." I stop did I want to tell him I heard Draco too. We were now seated in our common room talking before we headed to bed for the train home tomorrow.
"And?" He asks.
"And that's all I can remember." I reply.
"It did happen. Hermione insisted she read to you so that you wouldn't fall behind in classes. But I told her without you properly practicing it you were not going to be able to keep up. So I wrote to your father before I had my O.W.L.s. I asked him, if it was okay with you, for me to come over this summer and tutor you for the time you missed." Cedric says. I look at him shock.
"You would really give up your whole summer, just to help me?" I ask. He gives me a half smile and nods his head. I hug him knowing that it was going to be a long summer but at least I get to spend it with my best friend.
