Chapter 2 ~ The Howler
Muriel lowered her glass of juice slowly as her family owl, Gypsy, glided toward her, and tried to decide whether or not to run. She'd sent an owl to her father two weeks ago about the blue jeans she liked, and had yet to receive any response. She knew that meant he'd never gotten the owl. Her mother must have read the letter instead. Mother often took that long formulating her best insults.
In the end, Muriel sat and waited for the red envelope that the bird dropped onto the table in front of her. With a shaking hand, she picked it up as Kyle looked down the table. "Mur's got a howler!" he exclaimed. Naturally everyone turned to look.
She turned the letter over and broke the seal with her eyes screwed shut. Most howlers screeched or thundered through the Great Hall, but Mrs. Deesia's amplified words pounded the eardrums like great gusts of cold fury.
"It is unbeLIEVable to me that you would write your father to ask for MUGGLE clothing. Do you think NOTHING of the family name that you wish to prance around dressed like a mud blood? Obviously your mind has been poisoned by the FILTH that you have chosen for friends. Unless you wish me to send you to Durmstrang where my uncle can look after you, you will stop cavorting with dirt like this Evans girl at ONCE."
The letter burst into angry blue flames, and Muriel tried desperately to blink away her tears before anyone saw. But Lucius Malfoy had been watching her closely the whole time, and as the last echo of Mrs. Deesia faded, his voice could be heard ringing in the silent hall.
"Serves you right for talking to a mud blood like Evans!" he exclaimed, with a haughty smirk towards the Gryffindors. An instant later, James Potter was on his feet, wand in hand.
"Sod off, Malfoy!" The Ravenclaws sitting at the table between the Head Boy and Gryffindor's Finest cringed and scattered as Malfoy stood as well.
Muriel cast a panicky look at Severus, who shrugged. What did he care if Malfoy hexed Potter into next Tuesday? But Muriel cared. As if the howler alone wasn't bad enough! With a swipe of her arm she cleared the table in front of her and jumped up on it. Her dorm mates squealed as the food landed in their laps, but that was the only sound in the hall. She ran half the length of the table to reach them.
"Enough!" she said forcefully. Neither boy turned to look at her, and she saw James raise his wand. She stunned him quickly and turned to Malfoy, who looked shocked.
"Stand down, Lucius, or you're next." A shudder ran through the room. Her voice was as cold and hard as her mother's had been. Even the professors, all of whom were on their feet, waited silently.
There was a collective intake of breath as Lucius Malfoy lowered his wand. It wasn't that he didn't think he was more than a match for the upstart 4th year, only that his eye had caught the glint from his Head Boy badge, and he knew his father would be most displeased if he managed to lose it so soon in the year. He forced himself to smile. He could look very charming when he wanted to.
"Sorry, Deesia," he said mildly. "Forgot myself for a moment. I wouldn't really have hexed him." In spite of his smile and tone, his eyes were cold.
Muriel ignored him. As far as she was concerned nothing that came out of his mouth had any value at all. She was still remarkably angry about what he'd done to her bird, Rena, last year.
"Listen everyone," she said into the quiet hall. "My mother and I are two different people. I - er - I'm going to ignore what she said, and I hope all of you will too." She stole a glance at the Slytherin table. Almost every mouth was hanging open. Severus was looking fixedly at the table with a hand over his eyes. This was the end of her shaky truce with the Slytherins, she knew. Malfoy had an unmatched look of fury on his face as he gave her one last glance and turned to sit down smartly, his back to her. She jumped down from the table and ran from the hall, and out onto the grounds as fast as she could go.
She found a clump of bushes near the beautiful beech tree by the lake and hid herself in their shadow, where she couldn't be seen from the castle. It was here that Severus found her, nearly an hour later, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. She wasn't crying anymore, only waiting. She had known he would find her eventually.
"Here," he said quietly, holding out an apple as he sat down beside her, and put an arm around her shoulders.
"Thanks," she whispered. She hadn't managed to eat much before the mail arrived. She finished the apple gratefully. "What class are you missing?"
"Dark Arts with the Hufflepuffs. Tantry will probably give me detention next time he sees me, but it's not like I'll miss anything I don't already know." Severus smiled weakly. Muriel only nodded. Severus could probably have taught that class. "Dumbledore gave you the day off classes. I heard him telling your Head of House."
At this, Muriel looked up, a wry expression on her face. "Clever of him to announce it before I actually skipped them to make it look like he's in control," she said coldly. She was so glad Severus had come. He was the only person here who knew how to get her back on track again. Or maybe it wasn't what he said that did it. Maybe it was just that he had taken the time to find her that helped.
He stood up and offered a hand. If she was off on Dumbledore again, then she was fine. She took it and stood, but didn't let him go as they walked back to the castle.
Muriel wasn't looking forward to facing the rest of her house. She charmed her bed curtains to glow on the inside, a nifty trick her Aunt Rosa had shown her on her last visit, and pulled them tightly closed. There was a good bit that she needed to read for the first History of Magic essay anyway.
Half an hour before dinner, Marisa came in looking for her. She had skipped lunch entirely and had every intention of skipping dinner as well. Marisa was not impressed by this decision.
"Oh, come on Mur, have some courage! None of the Slytherins would dare make a scene after what happened this morning!"
"Forget it, Marisa, courage is for Gryffindors. Tomorrow I'll do whatever you want, but today I'm not leaving this room for love or money. Have the house elves bring something up, if you're that worried." Muriel's voice, muffled as it was by the bed curtains, sounded determined, and Marisa harrumphed.
"Alright, I'll send them up. How do I get into the kitchens?"
"I've never been to the kitchens. Ask Severus."
At this remark, Marisa threw Mur's curtains aside forcefully. "Are you insane? You think I'm going to walk over to that table today? Malfoy is in an awful snit!"
"Well, if you don't have enough COURAGE for that, why not ask Black?" Muriel said slyly, closing her book with a snap. She grinned as her friend's face turned red. "I hear he's nicked food from the kitchens loads of times. I'm sure he'd take you down there."
"Not if he knew it was for you, he wouldn't!" Marisa exclaimed, trying to cover her own embarrassment. The last thing in the world she wanted to do was approach Sirius Black. Of course, this WOULD be a good excuse to talk to him.
Muriel wasn't so sure that Black would be averse to helping her out. He'd done it before. But she wasn't supposed to know who had helped her, so she just grinned. "Go on, ask him, I'm starving here!" She knew Marisa had been crushing on Black for ages, and was looking forward to hearing all about it when her friend got back.
But when Muriel's curtains were thrown back half an hour later she was greeted, instead, by Lily Evans. "Hey, Mur," Lily said quietly.
Muriel suppressed a groan. Lily was the last person she wanted to see today. She looked back down at her book as Marisa joined them, carrying a huge tray of all kinds of things that were not part of a proper meal. Mur couldn't help but smile as she set the tray down in the middle of her bed, and crawled up to sit cross-legged in front of her. Lily followed suit.
Muriel knew what she had to say, so she swallowed her pride and said it. "Hi Lily. I'm really sorry about that howler."
"It's alright, Mur, you more than made up for it when you embarrassed Malfoy. There's a party in our common room tonight in your honor." She laughed, and Muriel smiled.
Lily was encouraged, so she let a sly grin cross her face. "I'd invite you, but I think the boys would declare mutiny and throw me overboard."
"Potter wouldn't let them," Muriel said at once. Marisa stifled a chuckle as Lily scowled.
"Yes, well, I don't need any help from him." Mur and Marisa exchanged a knowing glance, but kept their silence as Lily continued. "Anyway, the reason I came up was to let you know that my mum would be glad to pick you up a pair of jeans, if you'll just tell me what size you wear."
Muriel smiled. That was really nice of her, but she'd already come up with a better plan. "That's alright, Lily. I've decided that I'll just do my own shopping from now on." She looked at her friends conspiratorially, and they leaned toward her. "Next Hogsmeade weekend, I'll just go to London and get the jeans myself." She whispered, grinning.
"The Knight Bus?" Marisa asked, grimacing. She had ridden it once with her mother. They'd both gotten sick and sworn never to set foot near it again.
"Certainly not!" Mur exclaimed distastefully. 'As if a Deesia would ever be caught dead on that thing!' she thought. "I'll just apparate from the alley behind the Hogs Head. No one will ever know I'm gone."
"Aren't you afraid you'll splinch yourself?" Lily asked after an uncomfortable silence. She'd been reading up on apparation, and was not at all looking forward to taking her test at the end of next year.
Muriel laughed. "I've been doing it for years. Don't tell, all right? If anyone asks, I'll say your mother got them for me." Lily looked rather uncomfortable at this. Why not just let her mother get them, then? But then she noticed the look of defiance in Muriel's eyes. It was very close to the look that her friend Sirius got when he was about to cause mayhem for no reason. And she knew better than to argue with that look.
"I won't tell," Lily said quietly.
Muriel lowered her glass of juice slowly as her family owl, Gypsy, glided toward her, and tried to decide whether or not to run. She'd sent an owl to her father two weeks ago about the blue jeans she liked, and had yet to receive any response. She knew that meant he'd never gotten the owl. Her mother must have read the letter instead. Mother often took that long formulating her best insults.
In the end, Muriel sat and waited for the red envelope that the bird dropped onto the table in front of her. With a shaking hand, she picked it up as Kyle looked down the table. "Mur's got a howler!" he exclaimed. Naturally everyone turned to look.
She turned the letter over and broke the seal with her eyes screwed shut. Most howlers screeched or thundered through the Great Hall, but Mrs. Deesia's amplified words pounded the eardrums like great gusts of cold fury.
"It is unbeLIEVable to me that you would write your father to ask for MUGGLE clothing. Do you think NOTHING of the family name that you wish to prance around dressed like a mud blood? Obviously your mind has been poisoned by the FILTH that you have chosen for friends. Unless you wish me to send you to Durmstrang where my uncle can look after you, you will stop cavorting with dirt like this Evans girl at ONCE."
The letter burst into angry blue flames, and Muriel tried desperately to blink away her tears before anyone saw. But Lucius Malfoy had been watching her closely the whole time, and as the last echo of Mrs. Deesia faded, his voice could be heard ringing in the silent hall.
"Serves you right for talking to a mud blood like Evans!" he exclaimed, with a haughty smirk towards the Gryffindors. An instant later, James Potter was on his feet, wand in hand.
"Sod off, Malfoy!" The Ravenclaws sitting at the table between the Head Boy and Gryffindor's Finest cringed and scattered as Malfoy stood as well.
Muriel cast a panicky look at Severus, who shrugged. What did he care if Malfoy hexed Potter into next Tuesday? But Muriel cared. As if the howler alone wasn't bad enough! With a swipe of her arm she cleared the table in front of her and jumped up on it. Her dorm mates squealed as the food landed in their laps, but that was the only sound in the hall. She ran half the length of the table to reach them.
"Enough!" she said forcefully. Neither boy turned to look at her, and she saw James raise his wand. She stunned him quickly and turned to Malfoy, who looked shocked.
"Stand down, Lucius, or you're next." A shudder ran through the room. Her voice was as cold and hard as her mother's had been. Even the professors, all of whom were on their feet, waited silently.
There was a collective intake of breath as Lucius Malfoy lowered his wand. It wasn't that he didn't think he was more than a match for the upstart 4th year, only that his eye had caught the glint from his Head Boy badge, and he knew his father would be most displeased if he managed to lose it so soon in the year. He forced himself to smile. He could look very charming when he wanted to.
"Sorry, Deesia," he said mildly. "Forgot myself for a moment. I wouldn't really have hexed him." In spite of his smile and tone, his eyes were cold.
Muriel ignored him. As far as she was concerned nothing that came out of his mouth had any value at all. She was still remarkably angry about what he'd done to her bird, Rena, last year.
"Listen everyone," she said into the quiet hall. "My mother and I are two different people. I - er - I'm going to ignore what she said, and I hope all of you will too." She stole a glance at the Slytherin table. Almost every mouth was hanging open. Severus was looking fixedly at the table with a hand over his eyes. This was the end of her shaky truce with the Slytherins, she knew. Malfoy had an unmatched look of fury on his face as he gave her one last glance and turned to sit down smartly, his back to her. She jumped down from the table and ran from the hall, and out onto the grounds as fast as she could go.
She found a clump of bushes near the beautiful beech tree by the lake and hid herself in their shadow, where she couldn't be seen from the castle. It was here that Severus found her, nearly an hour later, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees. She wasn't crying anymore, only waiting. She had known he would find her eventually.
"Here," he said quietly, holding out an apple as he sat down beside her, and put an arm around her shoulders.
"Thanks," she whispered. She hadn't managed to eat much before the mail arrived. She finished the apple gratefully. "What class are you missing?"
"Dark Arts with the Hufflepuffs. Tantry will probably give me detention next time he sees me, but it's not like I'll miss anything I don't already know." Severus smiled weakly. Muriel only nodded. Severus could probably have taught that class. "Dumbledore gave you the day off classes. I heard him telling your Head of House."
At this, Muriel looked up, a wry expression on her face. "Clever of him to announce it before I actually skipped them to make it look like he's in control," she said coldly. She was so glad Severus had come. He was the only person here who knew how to get her back on track again. Or maybe it wasn't what he said that did it. Maybe it was just that he had taken the time to find her that helped.
He stood up and offered a hand. If she was off on Dumbledore again, then she was fine. She took it and stood, but didn't let him go as they walked back to the castle.
Muriel wasn't looking forward to facing the rest of her house. She charmed her bed curtains to glow on the inside, a nifty trick her Aunt Rosa had shown her on her last visit, and pulled them tightly closed. There was a good bit that she needed to read for the first History of Magic essay anyway.
Half an hour before dinner, Marisa came in looking for her. She had skipped lunch entirely and had every intention of skipping dinner as well. Marisa was not impressed by this decision.
"Oh, come on Mur, have some courage! None of the Slytherins would dare make a scene after what happened this morning!"
"Forget it, Marisa, courage is for Gryffindors. Tomorrow I'll do whatever you want, but today I'm not leaving this room for love or money. Have the house elves bring something up, if you're that worried." Muriel's voice, muffled as it was by the bed curtains, sounded determined, and Marisa harrumphed.
"Alright, I'll send them up. How do I get into the kitchens?"
"I've never been to the kitchens. Ask Severus."
At this remark, Marisa threw Mur's curtains aside forcefully. "Are you insane? You think I'm going to walk over to that table today? Malfoy is in an awful snit!"
"Well, if you don't have enough COURAGE for that, why not ask Black?" Muriel said slyly, closing her book with a snap. She grinned as her friend's face turned red. "I hear he's nicked food from the kitchens loads of times. I'm sure he'd take you down there."
"Not if he knew it was for you, he wouldn't!" Marisa exclaimed, trying to cover her own embarrassment. The last thing in the world she wanted to do was approach Sirius Black. Of course, this WOULD be a good excuse to talk to him.
Muriel wasn't so sure that Black would be averse to helping her out. He'd done it before. But she wasn't supposed to know who had helped her, so she just grinned. "Go on, ask him, I'm starving here!" She knew Marisa had been crushing on Black for ages, and was looking forward to hearing all about it when her friend got back.
But when Muriel's curtains were thrown back half an hour later she was greeted, instead, by Lily Evans. "Hey, Mur," Lily said quietly.
Muriel suppressed a groan. Lily was the last person she wanted to see today. She looked back down at her book as Marisa joined them, carrying a huge tray of all kinds of things that were not part of a proper meal. Mur couldn't help but smile as she set the tray down in the middle of her bed, and crawled up to sit cross-legged in front of her. Lily followed suit.
Muriel knew what she had to say, so she swallowed her pride and said it. "Hi Lily. I'm really sorry about that howler."
"It's alright, Mur, you more than made up for it when you embarrassed Malfoy. There's a party in our common room tonight in your honor." She laughed, and Muriel smiled.
Lily was encouraged, so she let a sly grin cross her face. "I'd invite you, but I think the boys would declare mutiny and throw me overboard."
"Potter wouldn't let them," Muriel said at once. Marisa stifled a chuckle as Lily scowled.
"Yes, well, I don't need any help from him." Mur and Marisa exchanged a knowing glance, but kept their silence as Lily continued. "Anyway, the reason I came up was to let you know that my mum would be glad to pick you up a pair of jeans, if you'll just tell me what size you wear."
Muriel smiled. That was really nice of her, but she'd already come up with a better plan. "That's alright, Lily. I've decided that I'll just do my own shopping from now on." She looked at her friends conspiratorially, and they leaned toward her. "Next Hogsmeade weekend, I'll just go to London and get the jeans myself." She whispered, grinning.
"The Knight Bus?" Marisa asked, grimacing. She had ridden it once with her mother. They'd both gotten sick and sworn never to set foot near it again.
"Certainly not!" Mur exclaimed distastefully. 'As if a Deesia would ever be caught dead on that thing!' she thought. "I'll just apparate from the alley behind the Hogs Head. No one will ever know I'm gone."
"Aren't you afraid you'll splinch yourself?" Lily asked after an uncomfortable silence. She'd been reading up on apparation, and was not at all looking forward to taking her test at the end of next year.
Muriel laughed. "I've been doing it for years. Don't tell, all right? If anyone asks, I'll say your mother got them for me." Lily looked rather uncomfortable at this. Why not just let her mother get them, then? But then she noticed the look of defiance in Muriel's eyes. It was very close to the look that her friend Sirius got when he was about to cause mayhem for no reason. And she knew better than to argue with that look.
"I won't tell," Lily said quietly.