::Disclaimer:: The characters and setting (etc.) in this fic do not belong to me (except for Lucy and Margie). Do not sue me. Please and thank you.
::AN:: Sorry for the long(ish) delay! I've been real busy, lately! But things are starting to calm down now, and my schedule is becoming a little more regular, so YAY! I don't really think this chapter is one of the best, but I suppose it's all right. I hope you all like it!
To my fantabulous reviewers –
randomblinx: As much as I'm concerned about your health and everything, the pee-bit was a little TMI, you know. Anyways, thanks for reviewing, I guess. Hope you like the chapter, and maybe now you can stop bugging me about updating, yes?
msj: Yes, poor Lucy. But if you think about it, she kind of brings it on herself. If you believe in the whole karma thing, that is. (Which is actually a tiny, insignificant, hint to my next chap, lol.) Thanks for reviewing and I hope you like this chapter.
pixie: Well, a friend of msj is a friend of mine! (lol) I'm honored that you think I'm such a talented writer. That's so nice! I'll be glad to check out your story for you, too! I'm sure it's good. I mean, it must be, if you wrote it. I mean, you obviously have such awesome taste in fics… (lol) Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you like this chapter.
devilz child: As of chapter eleven… no, Margie is not in the hospital wing. You won't find out what's up with her for awhile, but you may be able to figure it out on your own very quickly. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you like this chapter!
xkuroxshinobix: I know, so sad for Lucy! But everyone has their bad days, right? (lol) Thanks for reviewing, I hope you like this chapter!
sweetiepiepirate: Yes, Justin. Oh, don't worry. I can assure you that Lucy was just as freaked out as you were (most likely, anyway). Anyway, I hope you (and all your friends – lol) like this chapter, too. Thanks for reviewing!
gloomy: Well, as long as you smiled! That's my goal! (lol) Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, too. Sorry it took so long!
Thicketgirl: One of the many (ish) to say "Justin…Ew." Well, you should be ashamed of yourself! I mean, after all… I could have put her with worse people than Justin. Like, say, Crabbe or Goyle. (Although, gah, I'm… Oh, the horror.) Hah, I'm just playing. Thanks for reviewing! I hope you like this chapter!
digladior0124: Reminds you of someone you know? Who? (lol) Anyways, thanks for reviewing, especially since you said you don't usually review on these things. That was nice. I hope you like this chapter, too.
passionatetoasters: It's hard not to slip my own lingo into the fic, you understand. I'll try to clear it up now! And I'm sorry about the slow pace, too! It's hard to find a good pace. It's either too slow and boring or too fast and unrealistic. (lol) Thanks for being honest, though! As much as those "pink bunnies-in-a-fluffly-rainbow" reviews make me feel all warm inside, they don't offer much (if any) criticism, which I know I need sometimes. If you notice anything else OOC or whatever, please let me know so I can fix these things! (lol) Anyway, thanks for reviewing, and I hope you like this chapter!
pippagethetook: You're not up to here yet, but I wanted to let you know that I saw your reviews and they were really nice, so thank you and I hope you keep on reading!
stars-n-moons91: Yay for pippagethetook recommending this to you! (lol) I'm glad you like it, even though it appears that you might not be up to this chapter, either. Anyway, thanks for reviewing and I hope you like this chapter, too!
Chapter Twelve
After a few minutes of counting how many times the portrait of the old man snored per second, I heard the portrait hole open. I stood up quickly from my spot on the floor, and met eyes with Margie.
"Margie?!" I cried frantically. "You couldn't have come out of the common room before now, could you? You just had to wait until the last possible minute, didn't you?"
She blinked at me, then grabbed me by my shoulders and shoved me through the portrait hole so hard that I almost lost my balance and fell down the stairs that led to the common room. (Am I the only one who thinks it's a little weird that we Hufflepuffs are forced to live in a cellar? What is up with that?)
"Margie!" I hissed once she had shoved me onto one of the couches.
"Lucy." She said calmly. "What in Merlin's name is going on? Where have you been?!"
I explained to her as quickly as possible about my not finding her at dinner and… all that followed.
"Justin Finch-Fletchley?" She giggled when I finished telling her how the portrait outside snored awfully loud for a skinny old man.
"Yes. Justin Finch-Fletchley." I told her. "Listen, I don't want to talk about it again. Can we just go to bed now?"
"Sure." She chortled on the way to the girls' dorms. "So, how was it? Snogging Finch-Fletchley, I mean. Was it any good?"
"Goodnight, Marge." I sneered as I plopped onto my bed and drew the curtains around me. I didn't want to wake any of the other girls.
It didn't occur to me then that I should've asked Margie just what the heck she was leaving the dormitory in the middle of the night for. Well, whatever. What could she possibly be doing? It's not like she has this great big secret life that has absolutely nothing to do with me. Does she?
No, of course not. We're talking about Marge here.
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"Marge. If I have to tell you again, I'll just leave you here and you'll miss all your classes." I sat on the edge of Margie's bed as she pulled the covers up over her head.
"I feel sick." She said. "My head… so heavy."
I rolled my eyes. "Oh, don't even, Marge! Believe me, I've tried everything you can think of to get out of class in my short years of schooling so far and I know you're… EW!" I jumped off of her bed just as she pulled the blanket off of her head and rolled over to vomit over the entire floor.
"Margie, that's disgusting!" I shrieked at the top of my lungs.
Twenty minutes later, I was saying goodbye to Margie in the hospital wing. "You get better, okay?" I told her. "You can't just not go to class because you've contracted a sudden barfing problem." I ignored Madam Pomfrey as she glared at me. Hugging Marge one last time and promising to take extra notes in Transfiguration for her, I ran out of the hospital wing before Madam Pomfrey decided to give me another lecture on how I shouldn't be touching Margie, as her flu might be contagious.
Oh, don't even, old lady. I'm a Malfoy. I don't get sick.
"Margie has the flu." I said to Ginny as I sat down next to her for a few seconds at the Gryffindor table.
"Oh…" She looked sad for a moment. "Is she in the hospital wing?"
"Uh-huh." I nodded, glancing briefly at Colin, Hermione, Ron, Harry Potter, and another boy that I hadn't met before. "I don't know when she'll be out, but it's not bad or anything. I mean, she'll get better."
"Sure." Ginny nodded solemnly. She brightened then. "Hey, we have our first Defense class today! Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. Right after lunch."
I nodded. "Yeah… Sounds fun."
"It should be." Colin nodded. "Everyone who's had the class so far said that it's great."
"It sure is." The boy I didn't know laughed. "Even better than the fake Mad-Eye."
Have I mentioned that I never really know what these people are talking about? Well, I don't.
"Okay." I nodded. "Well, I should probably go to the Hufflepuff table, so –"
"No, no! Sit with us!" Ginny urged.
I looked over towards the Hufflepuff table. When my eyes met briefly with Justin's for about a millisecond, I turned to Ginny. "Uh, sure. Thanks."
"What was that whole thing with your brother yesterday?" Hermione asked me.
He wanted to read the letter my dad sent me.
"Nothing." I told her, then smiled. "So, did you have fun in the library?"
Hermione nodded enthusiastically while Ginny and the others groaned. "There seems to have been a new shipment of books over the summer holidays." Hermione informed me. "You should go look at a few of them. Or maybe all of them."
"Sounds fascinating." I smirked. "Maybe I'll do that sometime." Maybe. In the far future. Like, in my next lifetime.
I heard Ron mumbling something to Harry Potter and the boy I didn't know, so I turned back to Ginny and Colin. After finding that I really had nothing to say to them, I eyed the sausage links in front of me.
They actually looked really good… considering I hadn't had a proper meal in a few days.
I could hear Colin saying something to Ginny about how he was going to go see Marge during lunch, but I stopped paying attention after a few moments. I was wondering about the sausage.
Do you think I should eat it? Or maybe I should just settle with some toast, yes?
I got one of those shivery feelings suddenly, and I looked behind me for a second. Why do I feel like someone's watching me? I shook my head and looked back at the sausages. To eat or not to eat?
"Well, it's almost time for classes to begin." Hermione was saying. "We can't be late, you guys."
I looked up at her, but didn't say anything as she gathered her things and exchanged a few whispers with Ron. "Be good, Gin." Ron told Ginny before he stood up.
I smiled softly as Ginny mumbled something under her breath. It may be annoying to Ginny, but sometimes I sort of wish my brother were a little concerned for my welfare, like Ron seems to be for her. Sibling rivalry doesn't seem to exist in their family as much as it does in mine.
"Yeah, I should get to class, too." I said to Ginny and Colin. "I have Divination with the Ravenclaws first. It always takes me forever to find my way to Trelawney's class."
"Why don't you just have someone show you where it is?" Colin shrugged.
I shook my head. "I'm perfectly capable of –"
"Hey Harry!" Ginny called Harry Potter back to the table just before he exited the Great Hall with Hermione and Ron. He returned with a slightly bored expression on his face. "Could you show Lucy where the Divination room is?" She asked him. "She'll get lost again if she goes off by herself."
I opened my mouth in protest, but no sound seemed to come out. I wanted to point out that it wasn't a guarantee that I would find the way on my own, but that didn't mean I would get lost. And also that I didn't want Harry Potter showing me to my class.
Harry Potter shrugged at her, but didn't say anything. "Good." Ginny said, standing up. "Come on, Colin. We have Care of Magical Creatures to get to."
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I've come to the conclusion that the best way to interact with Harry Potter is to not even act. For instance, if he is showing you to your class, you say nothing. Absolutely nothing. You also make sure to stay at least two feet away from him. Whether it be two feet behind him, two feet to either side, or two feet ahead. (Although, if he's showing to you to your class because you don't know where it is, then being in front of him whatsoever might not be such a bright idea. Unless you want to look like a complete fool and have him go, "Um, no, it's this way." Trust me.)
After awhile, I suppose the quietness of it all just got to me and I exploded. Er, sort of. "So how did you become friends with Ron and Hermione?" I asked him.
He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. "It's a long story." Was all he said.
"Oh." I nodded. "Well, how do you know Margie?"
"I don't." He informed me in quite the expressionless way. "She's Ginny's friend. I never even knew her before this year."
I nodded. Right. Because the wonderful, famous Boy Who Lived And So Is Thus Better Than Everyone Else Who Is Really Just As Much Alive As He Is is beneath even paying attention to his best friend's sister's friends. What a jerk.
"Who was that guy at breakfast today?" I asked.
"Neville Longbottom." He told me.
"Oh." I nodded. I know that last name. Not something to mention in civilized company, though. (Although… Harry Potter? Civilized? I think not.) Moving on, then.
"Have you taken Divination?" I asked him, even though he had one of those fidgety looks about him (you know, the ones where people kind of look around as though they're searching for an escape? Yeah, he had that.) that sort of (only sort of) made me want to shut my mouth and keep quiet for the rest of the walk. But, really. Am I intimidated by The Boy Who Needed To Comb His Hair? No. Not entirely, anyway.
He did a short nod. "Yes." He said.
All right, then. I've attempted a conversation with the Almighty Quiet One as best as I possibly can. It's your turn, good fellow! There you go! Have at it! Ask me anything! Anything at all!
I dragged my feet on the floor noisily. How far was the damned classroom anyway? I really should be paying attention, so that I might one day be able to venture the halls of this school alone. Without getting lost, I mean.
I figured I could ask a normal question, then. "Hey, I was wondering." I said. "You wouldn't happen to have any classes with my brother today, would you?"
He stopped in front of a set of stairs. "It's up these stairs." He told me. "Bye."
What? What is he talking about?
Oh, my class. Right.
"Okay, then." I said after he'd already rounded the corner. "Just… don't answer my question. Oh, and walk off in the rudest way possible. Much appreciated, oh Quiet One of Boringness." I rolled my eyes and headed up the stairs. "Good riddance."
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I've suddenly discovered that I can't read tea leafs. And that I pretty much suck at anything transfiguration-related. At least, this is all true when Margie is not around, as she's usually the one to nudge me and say, "Wake up, Lucy. Trelawney's headed this way." or "Lucy, no. That's not what McGonagall said to write down. Do you want to fail?" Without her, I about had a heart attack when Trelawney called on me, and ended up looking like an idiot when McGonagall asked me to demonstrate the spell we were learning in front of the class. (What was the spell, you ask? I don't know. I have a short attention span, you see…)
"Margie!" I whined at her as I walked into the hospital wing during lunch. "What are you still doing in here? Can't you get better in a quicker way? Like, say, magic?"
Margie shrugged at me from her bed as I sat down in one of the chairs next to her. "Have you brought the Transfiguration notes?" She asked me.
I nodded. "Sure. But you may want to cross-reference them or whatever with McGonagall. Merlin knows I have no idea what she was talking about in class."
"You ended up looking like an idiot for some reason, I'm assuming." She said, grabbing the parchment from my hand. I nodded and she rolled her eyes. "You better get out of here, though. Pomfrey just gave Colin this long lecture on how contagious I supposedly am. If you're here when she gets back…"
"I'm a Malfoy." I assured her, standing up and grabbing my bag all the same. "I don't get sick." I tapped the foot of her bed. "All the same… Pomfrey already gave me a good yelling at once today… How long do you think it'll be until you're allowed to leave this place?"
She shook her head. "I've asked Madam Pomfrey, but she just kept telling me that my health was more important than –"
"Blah, blah, blah." I interrupted. "If you have to deary, just sneak out." I told her as I exited. Heading out I bumped into someone. "Terribly sorry." I mumbled, grabbing my bag off of the floor. I blinked for a moment. "Oh, hi Madam Pomfrey. Ahem. Um, bye Madam Pomfrey. Nice weather we're having, isn't it? Lovely… clouds." I raced around her quickly and practically ran around the corner.
Merlin! Don't let her have heard me! Run, Lucy, run!
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"Ginny." I grumbled, settling down next to her on the bench, ignoring the funny expression she and Colin shot my way. "Oh, no." I plopped my face down onto the table. "Don't mention how I'm at the wrong table. I'm not going to the Hufflepuff table. I've managed to avoid that weirdo all day long, and I'm not taking any more chances." I heard Ginny make that cow-ish, mouth opening sound that she makes when she's about to say something, so I quickly continued. "Plus, I almost got points taken away in Divination because –excuse me – that subject is extremely boring and I passed out. Not to mention that McGonagall has set out to make my whole life miserable."
"I'm sure." I heard someone say.
I lifted my head and met eyes with some green-eyed person. "Right. I'm so sure that she just happens to have me do all the wrong things at the absolute wrong moment." I turned to Ginny. "It's like she finds me in the worst possible places, too! Like last night, she just had to be the one to find me lost past curfew in… some hallway."
"But she didn't take points from you when she showed you to your common room." Colin pointed out.
I shrugged. "Well, no, but –" I blinked ahead of me, seeing something distinctly green again.
"Oops." I heard Colin whisper under his breath.
"Creevey, you, you!" I stuttered in a tiny fit of rage. I opened and closed my mouth repeatedly. "Margie told you about that?" I paused. "What else did she tell you?"
"Nothing." He shrugged, turning to take a mouthful of something off of his plate. "Nothing at all."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "You… liar!" I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. "I can't believe she told you all that. That's horrible. Can I have no privacy whatsoever? Why was it so important that she tell you, anyway? Honestly." I blew upwards in an attempt to remove some spare fringe from my eyes.
"What are you two talking about?" Ginny questioned, looking back and forth from both of us. "Is there something I should know?"
"No." Colin and I said at the same time.
I glared at Colin. "Aha! So you do know!"
"Okay, okay." He said reluctantly. He grinned suddenly. "So. You and Finch-Fletchley, huh?"
Ginny's eyes opened wider than any person's eyes have opened before in the history of wide eyes. My eyes on the other hand, were quite narrow. Quite, as in very, narrow.
"You." I said in a voice just above a whisper. "Are so going to get it."
"Really?" He chuckled. "What are you going to do to me?"
I shrugged and buried my face in the crook of my elbow as I layed my head on the table. "It doesn't matter, anymore." I said in a muffled voice.
"What are you two talking about?" Ginny asked again. "Tell me! Please!"
I closed my eyes, wishing to sleep away all my troubles (hey, it works. You should try it sometime. There's nothing that a good nap won't cure.). Behind my eyes, I saw a flash of green. Green? Green? How is green so familiar?
I looked up from my comfortable nap-position. Yup, just as I thought. Harry Potter. Stupid, stupid, Harry freaking Potter. Just what I need. Harry Potter eavesdropping on all my worst conversations.
Ginny was pulling on the sleeve of my robe. "Lucy." She whispered pathetically. "Tell me. Please."
I wriggled out of her grasp. "There's nothing to tell." I shrugged. "I couldn't find Margie yesterday at dinner. I sat at my house table, naturally. Then there was a tour, a lake, and me not paying attention when I probably should have been paying attention. So then I left, got lost, got caught, forgot the password, and then Margie found me. End of story."
"I don't understand." Ginny frowned.
I shook my head. "That makes two of us." I nodded. "Anyway, how have you been? Anything interesting happen lately?"
"Not really." Ginny shrugged, still frowning. "So… What do you mean, a tour? What does this have to do with Justin Finch-Fletchley?"
I grabbed an apple off of one of the plates in front of me and took the biggest bite out of it that I could. "Don't worry about it." I said after swallowing the chunk of apple without chewing it (um, ow). "Give it a few days and you'll forget all about. You'll be talking about something else entirely. Like those Patil girls getting caught in Filch's office with Zabini or something like that."
"What?" Ginny's jaw dropped. "Parvati and Padma?" She whispered. "And Blaise Zabini? Together?"
I shook my head. "No! What are you talking about? It's just an example!" I shushed her and tried to calm her down as she mumbled something under her breath. "No, Ginny, stop mumbling. People are starting to stare. It's just an example!"
Oh, this could go on forever.
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"Can we talk? Do you think we're allowed to speak?" I whispered to Colin. "Is he horribly mean? I heard that he turned my brother into a rodent of some sort. Do you think he'll do that to me? Because if he even tries to –"
"That wasn't Moody." Ginny hissed. "It was someone else. And he's nice. But, no, I don't think we should talk."
"Why not?" I shot back, trying to be totally defiant (not easy, let me assure you). Looking at Colin out of the corner of my eye, I saw that he was sitting up straight, facing forward.
"Because –" Ginny began.
"Because class has begun." I heard someone say from the front of the room. I turned to face what I supposed to be "Mad-Eye" Moody, my Defense teacher.
"Oh." I mumbled, slouching in my chair. "Ahem. Sorry."
Moody narrowed his one good eye at me. (One "good" eye? Wait a minute… AAHH! What the heck is that thing?! Has anyone else noticed that there's a weird swiveling thing in my teacher's head?!) "What is your name?" He asked someone – quite obviously not me.
After a few seconds, I looked around and then faced him again. "Me?" I squeaked, pointing to my chest. He nodded and I gulped. "Um. Lucy. Lucy Malfoy."
He shook his head. "No," he said. "There is no Lucy Malfoy on the list of names I was given for this class."
I peeked at Ginny and Colin out of the corner of my eye. Oh, gee, guys. Just sit there and watch. Oh, and the rest of you… I don't know you're names… Thanks!
I furrowed my brow. "Sorry?" I offered.
He continued to study me for a few more moments until he finally said, "Could you be… Lucinda Malfoy?"
I blinked at him. Um, no, dude. How many other Lucinda Malfoys have you heard of? Is it a common name? (I hope not!) I nodded, then. "Uh, yeah?"
"Yes." He responded.
I nodded, a little more confident now that I sort of knew what he was talking about. "Yeah." I repeated.
He shook his head. "Yes."
I frowned. "Um. Yes?"
He nodded slowly, turning towards his desk, and saying something to the class about previous professors and whatnot. I leaned on the table and across Colin, who sat between Ginny and me. "Gin." I hissed. "I thought you said he was cool."
"That wasn't me, that was Colin." She corrected lowly. "And he is."
I shook my head and opened my mouth to say something when suddenly I heard, "Miss Malfoy! Would you like to share that with the class?"
I looked up and blinked. "Um." I stuttered. "Ahem. Sorry."
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I flopped lazily onto my back, grateful that no one else had felt the need to miss dinner and pass the time outside by the lake.
'Big, big moon.' I thought.
Sometimes I really like being alone, you know. It gives me time to think and reflect. To worry and pass judgement all at the same time. To –
"Now Ron, that's not a very fair thing to say." I heard someone say in a scolding voice.
On second thought, maybe being alone is a complete impossibility in this place.
"It's true!" A second voice protested. Hey, oh, hey! That's Ron. "All he ever does is mope about!"
"He's in mourning." The first voice was saying a bit softer. "It's only been a few months since he lost his godfather." Oh, hey. That's Hermione!
"I know that!" Ron said in a frustrated tone. "And I know he's having a hard time! But he's not the only one who lost Sirius! And even though it's only been a few months, it's still been a few months!"
"Ron!" Hermione chided. "You can't blame Harry for acting the way he is!"
"I'm not!" Ron shouted. "Well, I am. Sort of. I don't know, Hermione. I just wish he'd talk to me about it."
"I know. But you have to let him come around on his own." She responded. "You can't force him to speak about what happened. I'm sure Harry will talk to you when he's ready to."
I started to crawl towards the opposite direction of where the voices where coming from. Can't let them know I was listening! I didn't mean to be listening, mind you. I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Plus, they were talking very loudly. Anyone could have heard.
A few moments later, as I entered the Entrance Hall, I took a deep breath. So… the Boy Who Lived turned out to be the Boy Who Won't Talk To His Friends About His Problems. That's sort of a lot to take in.
I mean, you don't think of these kinds of things when you read about famous people in the paper. After all, they're famous. What kind of pain and suffering could they have possibly endured? Right?
I shuffled slowly down the hall, planning on heading towards the Hufflepuff common room, hearing the Great Hall doors opening and closing somewhere behind me. Dinner was over, I suppose.
::AN:: Sorry for the long delay, everyone. And I'm SORRY if Moody is way OOC (I think he's OOC, anyway). When I came up with the idea of putting him in the fic, I never thought it'd be so hard to write him! Gah! Any suggestions? Anyone? Please? (lol) Anyways, thanks for sticking with me, and please review!
PS – Does anyone know what the deal with that C2 thing (or whatever) is? I don't really get it, but it sounds kind of cool. I guess. (lol)