As I had predicted, Sirius and James were inseparable again by the time
they got on the train. However, they weren't angry with me, much to my
annoyance. In fact, they and the other Marauders sat down in the same
compartment as Emmeline, Molly, and me. I exchanged exasperated looks with
my friends, but Emmeline was too refined to tell them to leave, Molly
looked almost pleased to have them with us, and I wasn't going to pick a
fight. Instead, I stewed silently, listening to the four discuss their
plans for the year.
Oddly, they didn't seem to mind if we listened, and in fact, acted as though we were part of their group at some points. Out of nowhere, James handed Molly a chocolate frog. She got oddly giggly when she accepted it, and only a glare from me silenced her. I watched the other Marauders warily, and noticed that Sirius was hiding a grin, Peter was studying the scene with obvious glee, and Remus was trying not to meet my eyes.
"Don't eat it!" I cried out suddenly. Molly gave me a scornful look, and bit into the chocolate. Nothing happened, and I turned scarlet. "Sorry," I muttered. "Just a hunch and misreading of faces."
"Don't spend too many sleepless nights over it," James assured me. "Your fears were not unfounded."
"What do you-" Molly began, but was interrupted by a loud croak. She looked around wildly, searching for the source of the noise, then tried to speak again. "Where- CROAK." This time, the croak was unmistakably coming from her. She looked aghast and buried her face in her hands. Emmeline patted her while looking disdainfully at the boys. I, however, wasn't about to let this drop so quickly.
"How dare you!" I snapped. "We don't object to you... you... invading our compartment, and this is our reward? You have no right to do anything to us, and I'll... I'll-" I struggled for words. "-I'll tell Professor McGonagall that you hexed Molly in school, and you'll lose loads of points from Gryffindor!"
"Magda, don't-" Sirius began.
"We're sorry, but-" Remus cut in, but James interrupted.
"But it was an honest mistake," James drawled, looking surprised. "I didn't realize that the frog was charmed. Anyway, term hasn't even started yet, and we're not in school. I don't understand what you have against Gryffindor, anyway. It is your house, after all."
"You think I wanted it to be?" I snapped, my temper rising. "I wanted to be put in Slytherin, but that stupid hat stuck me in Gryffindor for no reason!"
I instantly saw that that was the wrong thing to say to James. His face went dark, and I remembered what Severus had said about Potter hating the Dark Arts. "Fine," he said with gritted teeth, inscrutable. "Go join Rosier or Wilkes or even Snivellus. It's not like you'll be missed or anything. D'you really believe that nobody's noticed your tendency to be antisocial? Your only friends are the gamekeeper and your neighbor's cat! Maybe in Slytherin, you'll even make the Quidditch team- I hear they'll accept anyone who can tell what color the Snitch is!" he snapped, then froze, realizing that he had gone too far.
I glared at James, trying to quell the insecurities that had suddenly risen to the top. They were making it hard for me to speak. I glanced at Emmeline and Molly, who both looked miserable, but didn't dare to turn a Marauder against them. Sirius looked very tense, but didn't say anything, only giving me a helpless look. Remus still wouldn't look at me, but I saw a faint blush appear on his lowered face. I didn't give them the benefit of the doubt- in my furious state of mind, they had betrayed me.
"Okay," I choked out. "I'll think I will leave!" And I marched out, oblivious to the regretful looks on everyone's faces. Emmeline called out my name, but I ignored her and left with my head high.
The next compartment was occupied by only a few older kids in the far corner, talking in low voices, so I hunched in the other corner, and tried to gather my thoughts. James had said some pretty hurtful things that only a hatred for Slytherin could conjure. The dislike for the Dark Arts was good, I supposed, but still, not all Slytherins were evil. Why had the Hat sent me into the wrong house, anyway? It had said that the choice was up to me, and then suddenly changed its mind. Was that allowed?
"Excuse me," the boy standing over me was smiling in a very false way that made me uneasy. "Is there some reason why you're in here? This compartment is unofficially for Slytherin prefects and their friends. Which House are you in, and why are you in here?"
I shrugged, though I was remembering James's words. Go join some Slytherin or something... Well, it looked like I was going to take his advice, like it or not. "Hi! I'm Magda Mardec!" I said brightly. "I'm in Gryffindor, and I had to get out of that compartment. James Potter was driving me insane because I wanted to be in Slytherin, but the Hat put me in Gryffindor! Are you a prefect?"
The boy grinned, showing perfect white teeth. "Yes, I am. My name's Lucius Malfoy. I've met James Potter- he's a real git. That's Goyle, and that's Nott." He pointed carelessly at the other two Slytherins in the corner. Goyle was short but very large; he had muscles so big that I guessed that he had been lifting weights since he was three. Nott was small and shrewd, with beady eyes that lingered on me for a moment too long. Lucius Malfoy himself had long blond hair and blue eyes that saw straight through me. He was actually quite good-looking, and appeared to be charming as well. "How much do you hate your House?"
I blinked. "Enough," I said cautiously, trying to tread on safe ground. "What do you have in mind?" In my emotional state, nothing seemed to be to small to exact revenge on my classmates. Lucius told me, and I felt myself grinning. "I'll do it," I said firmly, and spent the rest of the ride to Hogwarts with the Slytherins, discussing our plans...
===============================
When the four of us left the train at Hogwarts, I caught Potter's eye and winked. He looked horrified, and pointed me out to Sirius. He looked appalled, seeing me talking with a Slytherin prefect and his friends like we had been best mates since we were little. Smugly, I glanced at Emmeline, who just shook her head sadly at me. I knew that she was probably psychoanalyzing me, and I suddenly didn't feel any regrets about what I was about to do.
Lucius walked briskly over to Professor Dreldi, the head of Slytherin house, and with a serious look on his face, said, "I just witnessed Magda Mardec, here, being attacked by two other students. They thought that it was entertaining to charm her to act like a frog, and also did so to another student, Molly Darkle. Luckily, I was able to stop them before they got Magda completely, but Molly..." He shook his head regretfully. "When I attempted to reverse the damage done to Molly, her 'friend' Emmeline Vance did some quick work with a Memory Charm, and Molly's forgotten the incident." That had been my suggestion- to also pin Emmeline.
"Which students did this?" Professor Dreldi demanded, looking furious. "How is Miss Mardec still affected?"
I let out a feeble croak, and Lucius said quickly, "who else but that pair of troublemakers, James Potter and Sirius Black?" He hid his triumphant smile, but it didn't matter. Dreldi was already storming over to the Gryffindor table, where Remus was worriedly watching the whole scene. He turned to say something to Sirius, whose head snapped up, and gaped at me with a look of hurt betrayal. I ignored them. Dreldi began speaking in low tones to James and Sirius. Lucius hurried forward, and said something else. A moment later, Lucius hurried over to me, with Molly in tow, looking very self-satisfied.
I croaked questioningly at Lucius. "Dreldi says that I should take you and Darkle to the hospital wing," he told me with a look of triumph on his face. "Potter and Black have a week's detention and thirty points from Gryffindor, and Vance lost ten points from Gryffindor," he laughed. Molly didn't look at me; she just kept her head down. I croaked once at her mockingly, and then we were at the hospital wing.
==========================================
Molly didn't speak to me later that night, as we both returned to the Common Room. I reflected back to that whole afternoon. Emmeline had hurried in to tell Molly the password to Gryffindor, carefully keeping her back to me. She left moments later, commenting loudly about staying longer if not for unwanted presences in the hospital. I rolled my eyes at her retreating back, but I was still croaking and couldn't make a scathing remark.
Later, when the Marauders showed up, they had no qualms about speaking to me, unfortunately. Peter lurked behind James, laughing stupidly at every jab he sent my way. There were a lot of them, of course. Something about how I deserved to go to Slytherin because of my deceit and lack of morals. He continued until Sirius quietly told him to drop it. Sirius, who seemed more crestfallen than any of the others. He and Remus both didn't meet my eyes the whole time. It seemed that most people were doing that nowadays.
The Marauders lingered until Severus showed up, and then only left when Madam Pomfrey sent them out for hexing him. Severus told me that Lucius had made me an "honorary Slytherin" and I was welcome to join the Slytherins whenever. I was apparently very liked in his circles nowadays. I tried to be happy about that, but the fear of what would happen when I returned to Gryffindor Tower was a pit at the bottom of my stomach.
Finally, Madam Pomfrey permitted us to leave the hospital wing. As I stepped out of the bed I had been stuck in all afternoon, I noticed a scrap of paper fall to the ground. It was a note that had been dropped onto my bed. It read:
Magda,
Meet me in the Room of Requirement (where I took you when Remus was trapped in the forest) tomorrow morning at 6:30. I need to talk to you!
It was signed:
Sirius
Oddly, they didn't seem to mind if we listened, and in fact, acted as though we were part of their group at some points. Out of nowhere, James handed Molly a chocolate frog. She got oddly giggly when she accepted it, and only a glare from me silenced her. I watched the other Marauders warily, and noticed that Sirius was hiding a grin, Peter was studying the scene with obvious glee, and Remus was trying not to meet my eyes.
"Don't eat it!" I cried out suddenly. Molly gave me a scornful look, and bit into the chocolate. Nothing happened, and I turned scarlet. "Sorry," I muttered. "Just a hunch and misreading of faces."
"Don't spend too many sleepless nights over it," James assured me. "Your fears were not unfounded."
"What do you-" Molly began, but was interrupted by a loud croak. She looked around wildly, searching for the source of the noise, then tried to speak again. "Where- CROAK." This time, the croak was unmistakably coming from her. She looked aghast and buried her face in her hands. Emmeline patted her while looking disdainfully at the boys. I, however, wasn't about to let this drop so quickly.
"How dare you!" I snapped. "We don't object to you... you... invading our compartment, and this is our reward? You have no right to do anything to us, and I'll... I'll-" I struggled for words. "-I'll tell Professor McGonagall that you hexed Molly in school, and you'll lose loads of points from Gryffindor!"
"Magda, don't-" Sirius began.
"We're sorry, but-" Remus cut in, but James interrupted.
"But it was an honest mistake," James drawled, looking surprised. "I didn't realize that the frog was charmed. Anyway, term hasn't even started yet, and we're not in school. I don't understand what you have against Gryffindor, anyway. It is your house, after all."
"You think I wanted it to be?" I snapped, my temper rising. "I wanted to be put in Slytherin, but that stupid hat stuck me in Gryffindor for no reason!"
I instantly saw that that was the wrong thing to say to James. His face went dark, and I remembered what Severus had said about Potter hating the Dark Arts. "Fine," he said with gritted teeth, inscrutable. "Go join Rosier or Wilkes or even Snivellus. It's not like you'll be missed or anything. D'you really believe that nobody's noticed your tendency to be antisocial? Your only friends are the gamekeeper and your neighbor's cat! Maybe in Slytherin, you'll even make the Quidditch team- I hear they'll accept anyone who can tell what color the Snitch is!" he snapped, then froze, realizing that he had gone too far.
I glared at James, trying to quell the insecurities that had suddenly risen to the top. They were making it hard for me to speak. I glanced at Emmeline and Molly, who both looked miserable, but didn't dare to turn a Marauder against them. Sirius looked very tense, but didn't say anything, only giving me a helpless look. Remus still wouldn't look at me, but I saw a faint blush appear on his lowered face. I didn't give them the benefit of the doubt- in my furious state of mind, they had betrayed me.
"Okay," I choked out. "I'll think I will leave!" And I marched out, oblivious to the regretful looks on everyone's faces. Emmeline called out my name, but I ignored her and left with my head high.
The next compartment was occupied by only a few older kids in the far corner, talking in low voices, so I hunched in the other corner, and tried to gather my thoughts. James had said some pretty hurtful things that only a hatred for Slytherin could conjure. The dislike for the Dark Arts was good, I supposed, but still, not all Slytherins were evil. Why had the Hat sent me into the wrong house, anyway? It had said that the choice was up to me, and then suddenly changed its mind. Was that allowed?
"Excuse me," the boy standing over me was smiling in a very false way that made me uneasy. "Is there some reason why you're in here? This compartment is unofficially for Slytherin prefects and their friends. Which House are you in, and why are you in here?"
I shrugged, though I was remembering James's words. Go join some Slytherin or something... Well, it looked like I was going to take his advice, like it or not. "Hi! I'm Magda Mardec!" I said brightly. "I'm in Gryffindor, and I had to get out of that compartment. James Potter was driving me insane because I wanted to be in Slytherin, but the Hat put me in Gryffindor! Are you a prefect?"
The boy grinned, showing perfect white teeth. "Yes, I am. My name's Lucius Malfoy. I've met James Potter- he's a real git. That's Goyle, and that's Nott." He pointed carelessly at the other two Slytherins in the corner. Goyle was short but very large; he had muscles so big that I guessed that he had been lifting weights since he was three. Nott was small and shrewd, with beady eyes that lingered on me for a moment too long. Lucius Malfoy himself had long blond hair and blue eyes that saw straight through me. He was actually quite good-looking, and appeared to be charming as well. "How much do you hate your House?"
I blinked. "Enough," I said cautiously, trying to tread on safe ground. "What do you have in mind?" In my emotional state, nothing seemed to be to small to exact revenge on my classmates. Lucius told me, and I felt myself grinning. "I'll do it," I said firmly, and spent the rest of the ride to Hogwarts with the Slytherins, discussing our plans...
===============================
When the four of us left the train at Hogwarts, I caught Potter's eye and winked. He looked horrified, and pointed me out to Sirius. He looked appalled, seeing me talking with a Slytherin prefect and his friends like we had been best mates since we were little. Smugly, I glanced at Emmeline, who just shook her head sadly at me. I knew that she was probably psychoanalyzing me, and I suddenly didn't feel any regrets about what I was about to do.
Lucius walked briskly over to Professor Dreldi, the head of Slytherin house, and with a serious look on his face, said, "I just witnessed Magda Mardec, here, being attacked by two other students. They thought that it was entertaining to charm her to act like a frog, and also did so to another student, Molly Darkle. Luckily, I was able to stop them before they got Magda completely, but Molly..." He shook his head regretfully. "When I attempted to reverse the damage done to Molly, her 'friend' Emmeline Vance did some quick work with a Memory Charm, and Molly's forgotten the incident." That had been my suggestion- to also pin Emmeline.
"Which students did this?" Professor Dreldi demanded, looking furious. "How is Miss Mardec still affected?"
I let out a feeble croak, and Lucius said quickly, "who else but that pair of troublemakers, James Potter and Sirius Black?" He hid his triumphant smile, but it didn't matter. Dreldi was already storming over to the Gryffindor table, where Remus was worriedly watching the whole scene. He turned to say something to Sirius, whose head snapped up, and gaped at me with a look of hurt betrayal. I ignored them. Dreldi began speaking in low tones to James and Sirius. Lucius hurried forward, and said something else. A moment later, Lucius hurried over to me, with Molly in tow, looking very self-satisfied.
I croaked questioningly at Lucius. "Dreldi says that I should take you and Darkle to the hospital wing," he told me with a look of triumph on his face. "Potter and Black have a week's detention and thirty points from Gryffindor, and Vance lost ten points from Gryffindor," he laughed. Molly didn't look at me; she just kept her head down. I croaked once at her mockingly, and then we were at the hospital wing.
==========================================
Molly didn't speak to me later that night, as we both returned to the Common Room. I reflected back to that whole afternoon. Emmeline had hurried in to tell Molly the password to Gryffindor, carefully keeping her back to me. She left moments later, commenting loudly about staying longer if not for unwanted presences in the hospital. I rolled my eyes at her retreating back, but I was still croaking and couldn't make a scathing remark.
Later, when the Marauders showed up, they had no qualms about speaking to me, unfortunately. Peter lurked behind James, laughing stupidly at every jab he sent my way. There were a lot of them, of course. Something about how I deserved to go to Slytherin because of my deceit and lack of morals. He continued until Sirius quietly told him to drop it. Sirius, who seemed more crestfallen than any of the others. He and Remus both didn't meet my eyes the whole time. It seemed that most people were doing that nowadays.
The Marauders lingered until Severus showed up, and then only left when Madam Pomfrey sent them out for hexing him. Severus told me that Lucius had made me an "honorary Slytherin" and I was welcome to join the Slytherins whenever. I was apparently very liked in his circles nowadays. I tried to be happy about that, but the fear of what would happen when I returned to Gryffindor Tower was a pit at the bottom of my stomach.
Finally, Madam Pomfrey permitted us to leave the hospital wing. As I stepped out of the bed I had been stuck in all afternoon, I noticed a scrap of paper fall to the ground. It was a note that had been dropped onto my bed. It read:
Magda,
Meet me in the Room of Requirement (where I took you when Remus was trapped in the forest) tomorrow morning at 6:30. I need to talk to you!
It was signed:
Sirius
