Chapter 11 – We don't choose our blood
Taken by surprise, Hermione lost her wand and was now in the air, her head upside down, in a very bad position. She tried to cast an "Accio Wand" in her head but nothing happened: without her wand, she couldn't do anything.
The arrogant black-haired boy rose her upper in the corridor and with a smirk, he said:
"Now, you don't laugh anymore, do you?"
Hermione was desperate but wasn't panicking, she didn't lose her temper. She didn't have a wand and she was at his mercy. Alright. Now, what could she do apart from prevent her skirt to fell upon her head? Nothing unless using her hands. She calmed down, took a deep breath and said quietly:
"Can you put me down? It is not funny anymore!"
She looked at her fingernails as if she didn't care. The boy became angrier.
"Who do you think you are, stinky mudblood?"
"Speak for yourself!" She said coldly.
"I am… not a Mudblood, viperine tongue!" The boy was shocked, in the middle of a nervous breakdown. "I am a Pure Blood, not like you!"
"And so, what?"
"I am going to shut up your mouth, you, filthy rat!"
"I can't wait for it!"
The boy became mad, but he didn't know what else to say. He suddenly broke his spell and Hermione fell harshly on the floor. She was hurt on her left side and couldn't help herself moaning. It made her blush. She couldn't stand showing the boy any sign of weakness. She raised her head and saw her wand two meters away.
"You are so pathetic! Your efforts are vain! I don't even know why I try to teach you a lesson!" The boy said with a mocking voice.
"Thank you for your teaching, sincerely, now, if you could excuse me…" She got up carefully. She walked towards her wand.
"Expulso!" The boy shouted to her wand, that jumped 3 meters away from her. "Did you really think that I would let you have your wand? I am not as stupid as those wizards that only have dragon dungs instead of a brain!"
"No, not really!" Hermione mumbled.
"Now, you are going to apologize, and when I say "apologize", I mean, I want you on your knees, head down!" He said with a compelling and mocking voice. He raised his wand to her with a threatening look.
If she had been closer to him, she would have punched him on the face but unfortunately, she was too far. Who was that arrogant boy? Why was he so mad at her? Of course, he was a Slytherin. But at her time, not a single boy, from any house, would have done such things, above all to her, a seventh-grade student, and a head girl. Of course, there were Malefoy and his little friends, but she knew how to handle them after studying with them for six years. That guy, he was another story.
He had something in his eyes… very close to madness. She was angry against him, against herself and her stupidity but she was a bit scared of his eyes.
She couldn't find any solution and she started to kneel when she heard a compelling voice in the corridor.
"Expelliarmus!" Sirius said with anger. In less than 4 steps, he was in front of Hermione and protected her with his body. But his spell missed his target because the arrogant boy could block it immediately and raised his wand against Sirius.
"But who's here?" He said with a mocking voice. "The FAMOUS Sirius Black! Of course! The saviour of all lost Muggle souls! This courageous and brave servile knight!"
"Shup up, Regulus!" Sirius answered firmly. "Leave her alone!"
"Ohhh!" Regulus laughed. "LORD Sirius wishes I leave her alone! And what for? LORD Sirius has a new crush! Is she your new girlfriend?"
"You say nonsense! Now, go away! You have nothing to do here!"
"And he dares giving me orders!"
Regulus walked a few steps as if he was thinking. Then, he suddenly cried out:
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Sirius could block his spell without any word.
"And do you really think you are going to beat me in Defense against the Dark Arts?" Sirius asked with a smile. "Didn't you understand? Or you don't really know me…"
Sirius didn't say any further word, but Hermione understood at once the spell he casted on Regulus: a silence spell. Regulus tried to say a spell but he couldn't speak. He was more than angry.
"Brother, you never understand!" Sirius said with a disappointing tone.
And with a wand move, Regulus swung over the wall. He fell heavily on the floor and coughed. He wanted to say something but was still mute. However, his eyes could speak for him: he was mad at Sirius and Hermione understood Regulus will never stop. Plus, his eyes were full of contained jealousy. She could see that even if he was arrogant and talented in magic, Regulus wasn't that extraordinary. He looked like Sirius but seemed to be a deceiving copy of his eldest. He couldn't accept Sirius's betrayal to his family, as well as his success: in magic, with girls, even with the teachers who, even if he played tricks all the time, liked him. She understood why Regulus hated his brother that much.
She continued to look at him, speechless, as she was looking at a painting, but Sirius helped her gathering her belongings and walked away to the Common Room. The argument was over, there wasn't anything else to see.
"I…" Hermione started to say. "Hum…"
"Just thank me, I'll be fine." Sirius said, simply.
She wanted to answer harshly but when she looked at him, she couldn't say a word: Sirius seemed depressed, with his serious face and sad eyes. She felt that the topic was sensitive. Regulus! She met Sirius's brother, the boy that turned to the Dark Arts and who hated him. And Sirius was affected. She knew his story: how he rejected his family and his blood. But in fact, Sirius rejected his parents, with their old-fashioned ideas and their humiliations. Despite everything, his brother was still his young brother. She understood his pain and didn't say anything except a "Thank you" in a low voice.
They didn't speak and arrived in the Common Room. More than by habit than pleasure, Hermione head towards the empty table she used to sit when she studied with Ron and Harry. She put her books on the table and without thinking, opened the first one next to her. She didn't know if Sirius left but after some minutes, when she raised her head, she saw that he disappeared. She had a twinge of regret but stopped her thoughts at once. Sirius had his own issues and she didn't want to worry about him, to have any interest on him, nor she didn't want to think about him. She had to erase him from her mind.
She continued her reading and didn't see the time pass.
