Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but my OC's are mine.
Chapter Six
A silence settled over the group sitting in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express, gauging each other's expressions. Ira's pink lips curled back into a smirk as she watched one of her opponents cards explode over their hand resting on the floor.
"Aha!" she hollered, drumming her hands on the floor and looking at her group of friends that deflated in defeat. She had been practicing in her free time at home, and was happy to finally have defeated her friends for the third time in a row since boarding.
"And she wins again," Sally pouted.
Ira mocked the pout with a quirk. "I'm sorry. I can't help that I'm amazing." She flicked a strand of curly hair behind her shoulder and looked to her right at Theo, who was anything but amused. "Aw, don't scowl. You're the ones that wanted to play."
"But I've always been the Exploding Snap champion," Sally added while laying her cards down. "That's not fair."
"Fairness only goes so far, Sally," Ira said lightly, stacking the cards together and shuffling them. "How about another round?"
Ever since word came back that her mother's health improved, Ira's been in a much more chipper mood since Christmas. Surprisingly, after Sigrid visited her mother on Christmas night, the Healers saw Pierrette surpass the odds they laid out for her. You'd think that Sigrid would then allow his children to visit their mother, but he still kept them at home and forbade them to see her. It infuriated Ira to no end, causing her to lash out when Sigrid returned home.
Her lashing out resulted in a stern grounding, which rarely happened. So, in her free time, she played Exploding Snap by herself and played around with whatever she had gotten that morning for Christmas. She had gotten lots of gifts all from different people. Lily got her a quill set that came with a never ending jar of ink; Sally sent her an array of different perfumes that her mother picked up in Paris – apparently they lasted until the time you showered it off – which Ira tested herself; Theo had given her a copy of Advanced Potion–Making along with a pack of Cauldron Cakes – her personal favorite; and she'd also gotten a suspicious gift from Draco Malfoy. He'd sent her a bracelet that he was "forced" to give her for Christmas, by his mother's request.
Ira realized her question was met with a round of groans.
Lily laughed. "As much as I'd love to face you for another game, I'm famished." She stood up and looked around for the trolley lady.
Ira shuffled the cards and put them away in her bag before rising. She threw her bag over her shoulder and walked to the hall, wondering if Hermione was around. She knew the girl went home for holiday, but she hadn't seen her at all when boarding.
Ira searched each compartment. She didn't want to disturb anyone, but she opened the doors anyway to peek inside. Only, she made the wrong decision and opened up the wrong door to the wrong compartment with all the wrong people.
Draco was sitting towards the window with Pansy beside him. Across from them were Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise Zabini. Blaise was another pureblood in Slytherin that was much too quiet to be seen with the likes of Draco. He seemed to be a lone wolf who kept his mouth shut and didn't cause any trouble. He did, however, offer chuckles or scoffs in Draco's favor whenever he was around. He held the same prejudice any pureblood had for muggleborns or half-bloods, which is probably why he was easily close to Draco.
Her blond foe didn't acknowledge her, but she saw him stiffen when Pansy started speaking.
"Here to cry again, Soares?" Pansy asked, crossing her arms and sticking her nose in the air.
"I was just looking for someone," Ira responded with a roll of her eyes. "Clearly, none of you fit the description, so I'll be on my way."
Before Pansy could say something, Ira shut the door and walked to the next compartment. Thankfully, the bushy-haired girl was sitting there with her nose in a book, all alone.
"Ira!" Hermione hugged her tightly when she saw her. "How was your holiday?"
Ira took a seat across from her and stared out the window. "It was alright. My mother is getting better, though."
"That's wonderful, Ira! I'm so happy for you."
"There's also something else that I have to tell you, but I'm going to wait until we're with Harry and Ron to discuss it," Ira said. "But for now, I can tell you that Draco was a foul guest at my family's party."
Hermione glared. "Oh?"
"He used the Knockback Jinx on me – twice."
"Ouch," Hermione winced. "How is he allowed to use magic outside of school?"
"Lucius has connections, so Malfoy can do whatever he wants without fault."
"That's absurd," Hermione scoffed.
Ira was about to agree when the doors opened. Draco stood there with his two goons framing him. He was looking at Hermione.
"I don't appreciate my name coming out of a muggleborns mouth," Draco snarled.
"If anything Malfoy, your name was coming out of my mouth," Ira corrected.
He looked at Ira and chuckled. "You really have become the lowest of lows, hanging around with scum like this." He waved is hand at Hermione.
"Yes, yes, I've heard it all before, Malfoy. Does it really bother you that much that I'd rather be friends with Hermione Granger – yes, a muggleborn – than a bigoted pureblooded prat? As far as I've seen, Hermione is even better at magic then you are, and she wasn't raised in a magical background like you or I. And she's such a strong girl to have to put up with the bullying that you and your friends so willingly abuse her with," Ira scowled. "So, yes, if hanging around with Hermione makes me the 'lowest of lows' as you so put it, then I'm glad to be here and not up there with your disgusting ideals."
Draco gaped. He wasn't expecting her to bite back like she did.
"And, thanks for the Christmas present, by the way," Ira said with a fake smile. "I sure do love jewelry. Too bad I threw it out before I had the chance to wear it."
"My mother told me to send that!" Draco bit out. "You aren't worth the galleons it cost." His face was beat red as Crabbe and Goyle heard this piece of information.
"Aw, Malfoy, is that a blush?" Ira giggled, while Hermione followed.
Draco stomped his foot. "I don't blush!"
"Tell that to your cheeks."
Draco, frustrated, left the compartment in a huff with his friends in tow.
"I've never seen Malfoy so easily riled up by someone," Hermione mused.
"It's part of my charm."
Hermione laughed at that, and the two remained in a peaceful silence until the ride to Hogsmeade Station came to a stop.
After dinner at Hogwarts, which Ira realized she missed over break, she met up with Hermione, Ron, and Harry in the library before curfew. Harry told Hermione and she about what he was up to over holiday. He found the Mirror of Erised, and it showed him what he desired most. But Dumbledore found him sneaking off at night to find it and told Harry it was being put in a better place because it could make people go mad. Harry told them that after he visited to mirror, he started having nightmares. So, perhaps it was true it could drive someone to madness.
Then, Ira gave them a short account of what happened over her holiday – minus the visions and such. The three of them smiled when she told them her mother was getting better, but was met with odd looks when she told them about the tombstone. Neither one of them knew what to say to that, or what to make of it.
For the next few days, Ira was hitting the books as usual. Exams would be coming up and she didn't want anything to stop her from passing.
Ira was jotting down notes in the library with Lily and Sally when she saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione walking towards them.
Sally had to stop herself from grimacing and Lily remained quiet.
"Ira, we have something we need to…talk about," Harry said quietly.
Ira could tell it was urgent. She nodded her head and collected her things, bidding her friends a quick goodbye and following her Gryffindor friends down an aisle to a table where Hermione slammed a giant book down.
"You know what we told you about Nicholas Flamel, right?" Harry asked Ira.
"Yeah, what about him?"
Hermione opened up the book and pointed at a section while reading it out loud. "Nicolas Flamel," she whispered, "is the only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone!"
Ira, Harry, and Ron looked somewhat confused. "The what?"
"Oh, honestly, don't you three read? Look – read that, there."
The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Sorcerer's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal.
There have been many reports of the Sorcerer's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight).
Hermione continued when they were finished reading. "See? The dog must be guarding Flamel's Sorcerer's Stone! I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it, that's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!"
"A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying!" Harry realized in wonder. "No wonder Snape's after it! Anyone would want it."
"And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in that Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry," Ron added. "He's not exactly recent if he's six hundred and sixty-five, is he?"
All of them shrugged, and as soon as Hermione shut the tome, the three of them dispersed.
Ira considered going back to Lily and Sally, but as tiredness rested on her shoulders, she found herself yawning and rejecting that idea. She left the library with her bag slung over her shoulder.
That's when she felt someone's presence nearby.
She looked back to see an empty corridor. Then, she yelped when she came face-to-face with Draco.
"What do you want?" Ira groaned.
"I didn't appreciate what you said on the train, Soares."
"Oh, boo hoo," Ira mocked. "Are you really that upset about it?"
Draco scoffed. "I'm not upset. I'm angry."
Ira could tell by the way he clutched his wand at his side, his knuckles turning white.
She crossed her arms. "Can we reschedule this for another day? I'm quite tired."
"I don't think we can." Before Ira had a chance to grab her wand and put up a counter-spell, Draco had already said, "Petrificus Totalus."
Ira felt her limbs tense up and lock into place. She tried to hop in order to stay upright but her bag weighed her down and caused her to fall over.
"I've been meaning to try that out on someone," Draco said while kneeling over her. "It was either that or the Leg-Locker Curse, but I already tried that out on crybaby Longbottom."
Ira was unable to speak. She couldn't even move her eyes.
"I think my new favorite read is Curses and Counter-Curses. I need to thank your brother for sending that to me over holiday," Draco smirked.
Ira would roll her eyes if she could move them.
Draco didn't say anything for a while, just staring at her while she laid there helpless.
"Malfoy?" an angered voice came from somewhere behind them. Ira recognized it as Lily, who was standing out of Ira's view with her arms crossed and a glare in her eyes.
Draco looked unfazed. "Yes, Moon?"
"What in Merlin's name are you doing?"
"Teaching a lesson," he said with a shrug.
"I highly doubt that," Lily said. She whipped out her wand and aimed it at Draco threateningly. "If you don't turn her back, I'll go to Dumbledore."
"You don't have proof," Draco snarled.
Lily inched towards him. "Don't test me."
Draco looked conflicted, as if battling between what was right and wrong in his head. Silently, he pulled out his wand and performed the counter-curse. Instantly, Ira felt her limbs relax and she let out a cry, tears bubbling in her eyes. She moved away from Draco until she made it to Lily and Sally, who Ira realized was there with Lily the whole time.
"Don't come near her ever again, got it?" Lily said.
They didn't stick around for an answer. Lily and Sally helped Ira to her feet, rushing down the corridor to the dungeons.
"It'll be okay," Lily soothed.
"He's just a bully," Sally added.
Ira wretched herself from their arms and cried, "I hate him. I hate him so much."
"Ira…"
"No, I'm tired of being pushed around. I'm tired of feeling unsafe here at school. I hate being laughed at and talked about. I can't even walk alone in the hallways because I'll be hexed or jinxed for nothing! I deserve none of this."
Sally said, "Ira, we know—"
"No! You guys don't get it. Malfoy has done nothing but bring me down. And for what? What have I done to deserve any of this?"
"Ira, you've done nothing wrong—"
"I'm so tired of this." Ira continued to rant on and on until she felt herself grow tired. She choked back one final sob and straightened her back. She wasn't going to let Draco get to her anymore. She made that promise way back in the beginning of the school year, but now she was going to stick to it.
She didn't want to cry and appear weak anymore, too. Draco didn't deserve her tears.
For days after her run-in with Draco, Ira kept to herself. But she did make small talk with her friends whenever it was convenient.
It was the day of the match between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. Of course, Ira was forced to attend against her will. But she smacked a smile on her face for the time being. She even took a seat next to Hermione and Ron in the stands with Sally, Lily, and Theo giving Ira silent glances from beside her.
Their head of house was refereeing the match, to Ira's surprise. Snape didn't appear to even be a fan of Quidditch to begin with.
Once both teams entered the pitch and mounted their brooms, Ira heard Ron while he spoke to Hermione. "I've never seen Snape look so mean. Look – they're off. Ouch!"
Ira whipped around to see Malfoy sitting behind them, obnoxiously poking Ron in the head.
"Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there." He shared a look with Crabbe and Goyle. "Wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time? Anyone want a bet? What about you, Weasley?"
Snape awarded Hufflepuff with a penalty.
"You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team? It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasleys, who've got no money - you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains."
"I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy," Neville countered, stumbling over his words.
Don't say anything, don't say anything, Ira thought while her nails dug into her palms.
Draco laughed, "Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something."
Ira was so tuned into the conversation that she didn't realize that Harry was diving towards the ground.
"You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!"
One minute Ron was sitting next to Hermione, and the next he was tackling Draco to the ground, with Neville's help.
Harry was flying closer to Snape, causing Hermione to get to her feet in nervousness. Nobody took notice of Draco's pummeling behind them. He deserved it.
Then, Harry managed to grab the snitch from the air. The Gryffindor house cheered triumphantly. Ira just clapped her hands slowly, feeling her friend's burn holes into the side of her cheek.
"Ron! Ron! Where are you? The game's over! Harry's won! We've won! Gryffindor is in the lead!" Hermione was giddy with excitement, grasping Parvati Patil in a strong hug.
Following the game, Slytherin house trudged back to their dorm with annoyance. Ira watched while Draco cradled a bruised eye with Pansy at his side. She rolled her eyes and continued down the path towards the castle.
Then she was grabbed and someone pulled her farther into the crowd. Harry was holding her hand tightly.
"Harry?"
"That was suspicious, don't you think?" he asked, keeping a strong hold of her and weaving through the crowd of students. For some reason, Hermione and Ron were nowhere to be found.
"I don't know what you mean. You mean Snape?"
"Yes. He didn't do anything…it was weird."
Harry took Ira to the locker room with him. She waited outside until he was finished and finally emerged dressed in his normal uniform. Ira followed him to the broom shed to put his Nimbus away.
"Harry, maybe you're looking too much into this," Ira said as they turned back to the castle.
Just as she said that, the two heard someone coming down the castle steps toward the Forbidden Forest – Snape. They looked at each other before gulping and running back to the shed. They each grabbed a broom and mounted them, taking off in-sync.
"What do you think Snape's doing?" Ira questioned while flying over the thick trees.
"We're going to find out," Harry replied, steering his broom past Ira, taking the lead.
They lost sight of Snape through the leaves and flew lower towards the ground. But then Ira perked up at the sound of voices. She batted Harry's arm and pointed to a beech tree up ahead. They landed together on a large branch, overlooking Snape and someone else. Upon closer inspection, Ira saw it was Quirrell.
Quirrell was shaking with anxiety. "D-Don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus..."
"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private," Snape said darkly. "Students aren't supposed to know about the Sorcerer's Stone, after all."
Ira glanced at Harry, who was glued to the scene. Quirrell was mumbling something that Snape rudely interrupted.
"Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?"
"B-b-but Severus, I-"
"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," Snape continued.
"I-I don't know what you-"
"You know perfectly well what I mean."
The branch wobbled and Ira clutched onto Harry's arm.
"Your little bit of hocus-pocus. I'm waiting," Snape clarified, just in time for Ira and Harry to hear.
"B-but I d-d-don't –"
"Very well. We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie."
Snape threw his cloak back over his head, walking from the clearing on noiseless feet. Ira looked at Harry, gulping all the while.
Ira walked the halls of Hogwarts alone that night. She had bid Harry a goodbye before he went and told Hermione and Ron of their findings for the day. It still amazed Ira that Snape, a loyal teacher, was up to no good. Did the other staff know about Snape's extracurricular activities? No, he would've been fired by now, Ira mused. She was so deep in thought that she didn't realize she had walked into a very heated argument in the Slytherin common room.
"I thought we were friends, Draco?" Pansy cried loudly. "Maybe even more than that…"
Draco snorted unkindly, holding a frozen pumpkin pasty to his bruised eye. "Just because our parents arranged us together doesn't mean anything to me."
"But…I really like you, Draco," Pansy said through sniffles. She tried putting her hand on his arm, but he shoved her away.
"You're such a child, Pansy."
"We're both children, Draco."
"Exactly my point," Draco sneered.
"I like you a lot, though. Maybe…maybe in time you'll come to realize that we're meant to be together."
Draco, in annoyance, toed up to her, looking Pansy straight in her brown eyes. "Keep dreaming, Pans. It won't happen."
Pansy let out a cry and ran off to her dorm at his words. Ira stayed in the shadows, watching Draco take a seat on the leather couch by the fireplace.
"That was kinda harsh, don't you think?" Blaise Zabini came around the corner, sitting across from his blond friend.
"She'll get over it," Draco shrugged. "She just can't resist me, along with all the other girls in this school."
Ira rolled her eyes.
"I can think of a few that do," Blaise joked.
Draco narrowed his eyes at the jab.
"What? All I'm saying is that Ira Soares and Hermione Granger absolutely hate your guts. And I don't blame them. You're mean," Blaise said.
"And you aren't?"
Blaise clamped his mouth shut, unable to find the words to counter Draco's response.
"Exactly, Zabini. You and I are a lot alike. I'm surprised we didn't become friends earlier." Draco smiled while adjusting his arm.
The conversation after that drifted off into a comfortable silence. Yawning, Ira took one last look at her housemates and decided it was time for some much needed rest. She tiptoed to the girls' stairs and walked to her room. Curled up on the middle of her bed was Lady. She sensed Ira's presence and meowed lovingly.
"Hey, girl," Ira greeted, rubbing her animal's belly. "Did you miss me?"
Lady purred, causing Ira to giggle and shimmy into her PJ's quickly.
Ira then drew the curtains around her bed and slipped beneath the silky blankets, drifting off to sleep effortlessly.
Writer's Note: Please excuse the shortness of this chapter! I've been super busy lately and that has an affect on how my writing goes and how late I tend to publish a new chapter. But on another note, we'll delve into Pansy and Draco's relationship later in the story when they're able to understand love and dating. For now, Pansy obviously has a schoolgirl crush on Draco, but he isn't having any of it at such a young age. Maybe things will change as the story progresses, but I think there's someone else that has Draco's eye. Maybe, maybe not. Who knows. If you stick around long enough, maybe you'll find out just what transpires in Draco's future. Please don't be afraid to leave a review or follow/favorite for the story. It keeps me doing what I love.
