Of course, Dumbledore's hint weighed heavily on my mind after Christmas, but I was so weighed down with homework that I didn't even consider the egg until after term started again, but then I became distracted with the fact that Hagrid had seemingly barricaded himself in his hut and an article had appeared in the Daily Prophet about him being a half giant, written by none other than Rita Skeeter. When I read the paper at breakfast, I once more threw a fit. "THAT SNEAKY LITTLE TART!" McGonagall scolded me from across the hall, giving me a stern look but now, people were looking up with interest and, seeing the newspaper in my hands, quickly searched to read what had riled me up again.
I was not happy. How dare she write such ridiculous nonsense about Hagrid? It was uncalled for, he's never done anything to her and now he was refusing to teach, refused to even come out of his own house! A new professor had to cover his classes, some Grubbly-Plank or other. I don't know. What was worse, however, was the fact that some people took genuine pleasure in Hagrid's misery, and one of those particularly smug little pricks was Malfoy. I overheard him many times whispering to Harry, saying downright nasty things about Hagrid and every time I caught him, I took extreme pleasure in deducting points from him and if he tried to complain, I just shoved my prefects' badge in his face.
That at least made Harry and I feel better about it all, though Malfoy didn't give up easily. In fact, he even started following me around. "Don't worry Black, I'm sure you'll be next. I wonder what your article will be titled? 'Like Father Like Daughter – Unstable Girl Roams Free' or what about 'Mayhem or Murder – How Far Until She Tips Over the Edge?' I rather like that one."
"Is that the best you can do, Malfoy?" I drawled at him as I continued on my walk, having intended to send my letters in peace but unfortunately, had happened across Malfoy and his gorilla goons. "No wonder you're barely scraping passing grades at school with a brain like that. It makes me feel truly blessed that I am as intelligent as I am." I sighed dramatically, shooting a glare over my shoulder. "Don't you idiots have something better to do than to stalk me?"
"How dare you talk to me like that? If my father…"
"Oh, your father is it? I'm surprised, I would have thought you'd have gone crying to your mother." Now going a rather pretty shade of pink, Malfoy began to spit back insults at me as I headed towards the stairs that led up to the owlery, ignoring him as I did so but he was really going for it. Then, he made the fatal mistake of mentioning my mother. Bad move. He'd barely got the insult out, saying that my mother must have been half mental to have a child with a murderer when I'd stopped walking and turned.
Malfoy, having not noticed that I'd stopped, continued walking forwards so that when I pulled back my fist and punched, he walked straight into my fist. There was a satisfying crack and a splatter of blood which erupted from his nose, his head ripping back with so much force that he was flipped onto his back with a cry of pain. I towered over him, glowering down with an icy coldness, but then Crabbe and Goyle surged forwards. They grabbed my arms and tried to pin them down but I struggled, demanding that they get off me before I smacked my head forwards to hit one of them – Goyle I think – then used the arm he freed in order to punch Crabbe too. There was a mad scramble as punches flew in every direction, but I was quick enough to break free so the two idiots actually hit each other at one point, though Malfoy had managed to catch my ankle with his foot and pulled my leg from out underneath me.
"Get her! Get her!" His shrill voice penetrated the otherwise perfectly still air. Several kicks landed against my stomach and ribs as I quickly grabbed for my wand, one foot slamming against my face until I managed to pull my wand free from where it had caught on my sleeve and with a powerful burst of orange light, both Crabbe and Goyle went flying backwards. They soared across the courtyard as I coughed and wheezed, feeling blood pouring down my face as a dull ring droned in my ear and I struggled to concentrate on anything, it was all shifting too far out of focus.
Even my wand wavered, and as the three indistinct shapes wavered, all I could do was just throw random spells at them, forcing them to retreat. My sides and ribs ached with pain, meaning that even just breathing hurt and I had to curse myself inwardly. Why did I get myself into these situations? I should have just ignored them, let them follow me up to the top of the tower then thrown them off. It would have been clean, easy and simple. No one would ever know. Next time. I'll get them next time.
Somehow I had made it to the floor, though I don't remember lying down. I guess I must have fallen, and underneath my fingers I could feel my wand as well as the three letters I had written, all of them now spattered with blood. Whether mine or someone else's, it was anyone's guess. However, through the confusing blur I heard a light flutter before a familiar shape landed beside me and something sharp nipped at my fingers. "Orion." I knew it was him without even needing to see properly, I could just sense it. "Dad…take this to him. Please." Managing to shift the letters slightly, the one for my dad lay on top.
Orion chirped worriedly, nipping at my fingers again but seemed to understand the urgency of getting this letter out of here. If someone found me and them, then decided to read them, it wouldn't take much of a brain to figure out I wasn't talking to my step-dad. Then there would be questions, and right now, I don't feel like answering stupid questions from people who couldn't mind their own business. Feeling the letter slip out from under my hand, Orion clutched it in his beak before taking off with it, so I sighed with relief.
Next thing I knew, it was dark out, and I was still on the floor. It was brief, that moment of consciousness, and I managed to roll onto my back in time to see the stars above me, the bright specks of white blotted out by the silhouette of an owl before my eyes closed once again. I couldn't tell how long I'd been there, however when I then woke up with a better sense of my surroundings, it was daylight and I was in the hospital wing. Blinking slowly, I looked around. My vision was clear and I didn't feel any pain, so I presumed that I must have been fixed up by Madam Pomfrey.
A light buzz made me flinch, hearing it loudly in one ear but when I turned my head towards it, I saw a bluebottle beetle perched on the bedside table on top of my folded clothes so I swatted at it lazily to make it go away. It flew off but not very far, but I didn't pay it any attention. As if sensing that I was stirring, Madam Pomfrey came sweeping inside. "Miss Black, do not move from that bed!"
"Wasn't planning on it." I murmured softly, pushing myself up so that I could just sit up a bit. "How did I get here? What happened?" Already checking my vitals and searching for any signs of further injury or possible side effects, Madam Pomfrey gave me a worried look.
"You were found, dear, at the base of the owlery. Gave a couple of first years quite the fright, ran into the castle screaming that someone had died. Of course everyone came running and found you…well…you were in quite a state and you'd lost a great deal of blood. Dumbledore arrived quickly and had you brought to me immediately. He was quite concerned for you, as were your friends." She started talking rapidly, as if hoping that by filling any possible silence between us that she would avoid having to think about what could have happened if no one had found me. "Of course I couldn't let them in to see you, not whilst you were the way you were. You needed quite a bit of work to fix your injuries and a blood regeneration potion to replace that which you lost."
"But I'm okay, right?"
"You very nearly weren't! You were hypothermic, child, and near enough completely unresponsive! When I find out who left you in such a way, I will be sure to…" She stopped herself then, clearing her throat before softening once more. "The headmaster and your head of house will want to speak to you. I'd rather you rested in peace, but they insisted to inform them the moment you were awake and fully cognitive, so I suppose there's no avoiding it. You make sure to stay in that bed, Miss Black, do not even think from rising an inch from it." Then Madam Pomfrey dashed off, leaving me to sit there and just wallow for a moment.
I remembered clearly what happened that lead to such injuries, I mean, I wasn't going to forget the feeling of Malfoy's nose breaking under my fist, but now I was in a predicament. Should I tell the truth? Would Malfoy insist that I'd thrown the first punch? It wouldn't matter if I told Dumbledore and McGonagall what Malfoy had been saying about my parents, violence was strictly forbidden in Hogwarts. We'd all be facing expulsion for this. Could they do that? Would they do it? I mean, even if I was a champion, there would be nothing stopping them from just expelling me after the third task.
It'll all depend on what Malfoy's said. If he's said nothing, then I won't either. As much as I hate to see him get away completely off the hook, it would do no one any good if we started pointing fingers and naming names. I doubt he'd be too keen to announce the fact I'd been the one to beat both him and his thug like friends. It wouldn't look good for him. Still, I was going to have to come up with a pretty convincing lie about all this, and worse still, I'd have to try and fool Dumbledore. I doubt I'll succeed, but I don't think he'd push the boundary too far.
Speak of the devil. He came sweeping in with McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey having to trot behind him in order to keep up, a stern expression on his face as he came straight over to me and sat himself down in a chair beside my bed. "Miss Black, how do you feel?"
"Good, professor. I'm fine."
"I see, that is a relief." He said to me with his usual gentle and kindly tone, however I could hear the severity behind it. "Now, would you care to tell me how you came to be in such a state, Miss Black?"
"Well uh…you see…I um…I don't really remember." I decided finally, making McGonagall frown and sharply tell me to think carefully. I could tell she was all in a huff over this, most likely wanting to find out who'd hurt one of her own students to throttle them herself. "I don't remember, professor. I just…maybe I slipped." Both Madam Pomfrey and McGonagall scoffed at this, pointedly saying that I could not have received such injuries by merely falling over but I had nothing else to say, though Dumbledore seemed to be watching me carefully.
"I've already told you, headmaster, three boys came earlier this afternoon with various injuries of their own. Scratches, bruises, broken nose, it's clear there was a scuffle of some kind and Miss Black is simply refusing to speak the truth." Madam Pomfrey insisted, though it didn't sound like she was trying to throw me in the deep end, merely trying to see that I received justice. "If only I had known, I would have sent those boys straight to you! You should have heard them, moaning and sniffling like boys half their age with scraped knees."
"Thank you, Poppy." Dumbledore smoothly cut her off before she could go on a further rampage. "Miss Black, am I to understand that you refuse to identify those involved in this incident?" His eyes focused on my, and although they still twinkled there was a sharpness to them that made me shiver involuntarily. I couldn't answer, my throat had swelled shut so I simply looked away. "Very well. Since no one will come forward, I'm afraid there is very little we can do. However, I hope for your sake, that no further incidents of a violent nature will occur. Hogwarts will not tolerate such behaviour from any of its students, remember that."
"Yes professor." I timidly nodded my head, thinking just how scary Dumbledore could be but then he softened, giving my shoulder a light squeeze and wished for me to get better so that I could be in excellent health for the second task. He then left in order to talk to Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall where I heard my name crop up several times before eventually, Dumbledore and McGonagall left, leaving me with Madam Pomfrey for the rest of the evening.
She wanted to keep me in for another day for observation but I managed to persuade her to let me go back to my own room and my own bed, wanting to just forget the last few days and how unpleasant it had all been. When I finally returned to the common room, I was rushed by friends and curious spectators demanding to know what had happened so I told them honestly about how Malfoy had gone and picked a fight, talked mud about my mother and so I punched him. "Excellent!" Ron was very pleased to hear about that, wanting to know the specific details of what it felt like, whether he cried and such.
"Well, no he didn't cry I don't think, but he was bleeding everywhere then Crabbe and Goyle jumped me. Two against one and all, they got in a few good punches, but then I blasted them with a spell and they ran for it. It's my fault really, I should have been more careful…" But Fred and George were livid, I'd never seen them so angry. They were all for going straight down to the dungeons to hunt down Malfoy and his goons in order to give them a taste of their own medicine with several others fired up to accompany them, even Neville, bless him, but I eventually shouted the boys down and with a lot of help from several other calm headed girls such as Hermione, Ginny, Angelina and Katie, we talked them out of it.
We pointed out the fact that if they retaliate, it would escalate to a full blown war and then I'd get in trouble for starting it all by throwing the first punch, and I'd likely be expelled. It settled everyone for the time being, agreeing not to do anything but Ron and Harry were now fervently whispering and I caught some snippets of them discussing exactly how they'd like to punish Malfoy for what happened. It was touching to know they all cared, but I was tired and just wanted to go to bed so I left everyone to their own devices, heading up to my own room then barricaded myself off from the rest of the world until I felt even a vague inclination of returning.
