The Downfall of Malfoy
By: CNJ
PG-13
1: Hint of Spring
Harry:
"...The paper will be due on April 20," Our History of Magic Professor Binns announced. "And let's keep it to around twenty pages, please," she finished before dismissing class on a mild Wednesday in mid-March. I had to smile at Binns' use of reverse psychology on us.
"Reverse psychology, it always works," my friend Hermione Granger told me as we walked out of class together.
"I was thinking the same thing," I nodded. It was our last class of the day, so we headed up to the Gryffindor dorms to drop off our books. Neville and Ginny were there, playing wizard chess. Neville has his last class at one on Wednesdays while Ginny was on a break and had one more class at three.
"I was outside a while ago and it's beginning to feel like spring already," Neville grinned up at us.
"It'll be here soon," Hermione added.
"Not to mention graduation in two months," I put in. Just then, Ginny's knight knocked out Neville's king with a clatter and Neville mock-groaned, then they both laughed and clasped hands. Neville and Ginny have been an item since late November when we the Gryffindors defeated the evil wizard Voldemort on a cold, windy night.
As I went upstairs and dropped my books on the nightstand by my bed, I smiled softly, yet felt a small pang of sadness as I realized that I'd be here for just two more months. I looked around, taking in the cluttered, comfortable sight. Sunlight poured in, peering over the pile of mostly red and gold robes, sweatshirts as well as other colors and clothes scattered around. Books, papers, parchments, wands, quills, cauldrons, and brooms added to the piles.
My winter home for the last seven years, I thought, running my hand through my thick black hair. So much has changed; so much has happened here. We all grew up here, went through puberty here, battled evil together. I remembered that cold, windy night we'd defeated Voldemort.
The Gryffindors had been on a house retreat and he'd been lurking in the woods. All of us, along with the Order of the Phoenix, an association of adult witches and wizards battling evil, and the Young Order, which had many students from different houses, had banded together and chanted spells and driven the evil spirit out of him and he'd dissolved into ashes.
That was cause for celebration for the entire wizard community here in London, since Voldemort had terrorized the wizard/ witch world for years and had slain my parents when I was just a baby. I ran a hand over my forehead that had once been marked by a rather ugly lightening-shaped scar that had been caused by Voldemort's wand when he killed my parents.
That scar had stayed there until Voldemort was defeated. I'm glad to say that the scar is gone. The only thing on my forehead now is occasional worry lines. I'm getting them more often now with waiting for college acceptance notices and planning for graduation and adulthood.
I changed out of my uniform into something casual and settled down to start on my homework. Once I got to the topic for the paper that was due in April, I decided to do the history of the women's movement in the magical and muggle world. The two movements in both worlds ran almost parallel, except that witches won the vote in 1886...over thirty years before muggle women in England did. I'd head to the library tonight to get the necessary books.
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"Yiiiiiii!" I heard the happy yelp late Saturday afternoon once my friends and I got back from Hogsmeade. Hermione had just gotten an owl telling her that she'd been accepted at Oxford U. Wow! All of us whooped and hugged her congratulations. I figured she'd make it; she's almost at the top of all of us seventh-years.
Any day, more college notices
would start pouring in. I just hoped I'd passed muster with Andrews
and Wallace Arts College or Marlin U. My grades were quite good fortunately,
especially the past two years and along with Hermione, this year, I'd made
the honors list. The college notices would be another reminder that
our years at Hogwarts were drawing to a close.
The next chapter is when things get ugly with Malfoy.