Chapter 25.
"I saw you leave the party."
"And thought it would be a great idea to follow me?"
Malfoy looked up the stars and grimaced, "Last time I left you to walk the Castle halls at night, you were basically attacked."
"Wow, you must be drunk," Magnolia scoffed, "Admitting that that was practically your fault."
"I'm trying to apologise here, Potter."
"Well you're doing a great job."
Magnolia sighed. Seeing him had made her so angry again and knowing that he had left Pansy at the party to follow her had made it worse. Her earlier thoughts resurfaced in her mind now that Malfoy was so close to her. Magnolia bit her lip to distract her from the thoughts of Malfoy's warmth beside her.
"Not all of us can be as good as your boyfriend." Malfoy snarled.
"I don't have a boyfriend."
Magnolia felt Malfoy shift beside her, turning so that he was looking at her with a scowl. Once again, he looked angry and Magnolia wondered what she had done to infuriate him this time.
"You forget that I was there that day." Malfoy snarled, "After Defence when you resisted the curse, when Weasley called you 'his girl'. I know about your little date to Hogsmeade and your after dinner meet ups. Even Henrik cottoned on to you two. Plus, I have Pansy talking my ear off about you."
"Malfoy, George is not my boyfriend." Magnolia snapped, "We just hang out sometimes. And I don't want to talk about George."
"Ok," Malfoy shrugged, "Care to tell me about these nightmares you've been having that keep the girls up all night? Four tired girls are not fun."
Magnolia grimaced, she didn't want to talk to Malfoy about her nightmares; she didn't even want to think about her nightmares. She hadn't spoken to anyone about the dreams that plagued her, but the girls were often woken by her thrashing and screaming.
"Pansy has told me that she has had to put magical barriers around your bed to keep you from throwing yourself off it."
"I really don't want to talk about it." Magnolia retorted, standing up slowly.
She had to put space between her and Malfoy, her earlier thoughts still in her mind and the unease from seeing Moody in the hallway made her need space.
"You know, alcohol usually makes people more chatty not less." Malfoy mumbled, "I guess it just makes you flirtier."
Magnolia scoffed and walked away from Malfoy, pulling herself onto one of the ledges with a wobble. The cool air was definitely helping, but she still felt woozy from the drinks. Placing her hands either side of her legs, Magnolia closed her eyes and let her head fall forward as she was hit with a dizzy wave. She could hear Malfoy moving, and moments later she opened her eyes as his hands rested on thighs.
She looked up at him in shock, she had moved to get away from him and hadn't expected him to follow her. She definitely hadn't been expecting the sudden heat that shot through her body when he placed his hands on her thighs.
"Why won't you talk to me?" Malfoy asked through gritted teeth.
"Why have you been angry at me?"
Malfoy's eyes narrowed; his fingers tightened on Magnolia's thighs for a moment as she questioned him.
"I haven't been angry at you."
"Could've fooled me." Magnolia grumbled, looking down.
Malfoy sighed, "Can I tell you something that you won't tell anyone else?"
Magnolia glanced up at Malfoy through her eyelashes. He was standing so close to her, his legs pressed against her knees, and he was already looking down at her. The air around them thickened as Magnolia nodded.
"I was angry at myself." Malfoy whispered, "I was frustrated with you, so I didn't go to the Room of Requirement that day; I thought you'd give up, find Weasley and prove me right. Then I see with you with Diggory outside the Common Room. When you told us that he had to protect you from a situation you wouldn't have been if it weren't for me, my blood boiled."
Magnolia blinked, her foggy mind trying to keep up with this new, honest version of Malfoy.
"I felt myself becoming angry every time I saw you, because all I could think of were those blasted red marks on your neck. Helping you learn Occlumency was supposed to protect you from Moody, and when I abandoned you with that, I somehow managed to put you in danger twice."
Magnolia cringed when he mentioned Moody. Clearing her mind hadn't worked so well for her tonight against him.
"What? What was that?"
Magnolia felt Malfoy tense, his eyes narrowed as he inspected her.
"Potter, has something else happened?"
Magnolia frowned as she looked back to Malfoy, "I saw Moody this evening, after I spoke to Harry. It dredged up some memories that I haven't thought of for years."
Magnolia's eyes widened as Malfoy rested his forehead on hers with a frustrated sigh. She didn't know what to say to him, she had barely had a conversation with Moody, but she still felt uncomfortable by the encounter. And yet, her eyes fluttered shut when she felt Malfoy's cool breath on her skin.
She was more than aware of how little she'd need to move to feel his lips against hers, the feeling of him softly kissing her forehead after the Quidditch World Cup sat firmly in her mind.
"I'll help you more, once a week we'll meet, and I'll teach you more Occlumency."
Magnolia opened her eyes to look at Malfoy, his grey eyes holding a truth she couldn't understand as he watched her intently.
"Ok. Once a week will be easier to come up with excuses, I don't want the others knowing I'm learning Occlumency; I don't want them to see me as weak."
"You're not weak, Lia." Malfoy breathed.
"I certainly feel like it sometimes."
Magnolia suddenly realised how alone the pair were; it was the middle of the night, no one would be coming out into the Courtyard for hours. One of Malfoy's hands left her thigh, moving to hold her chin to force her to look at him.
"You are anything but weak." Malfoy urged, his eyes focused on hers, "You're one of the strongest people I know."
Magnolia knew she should be moving away from Malfoy, but she couldn't. She couldn't tear her eyes away from his. He knew more about her inner most thoughts and feelings then even her twin brother; she could tell Malfoy things that would make Harry judge her.
Magnolia knew that she had her friends in different zones; she could talk to her Gryffindor friends about certain things, she could talk to her Slytherin friends about other things.
If she had gone to Ginny or Hermione about a way to get back at Filch, they would have made sure she didn't go through with it. If her and Malfoy had gotten into an argument in front of them like they used to, they would have pulled her away and berated her, instead of letting her hex him like the Slytherin's used to.
Magnolia snapped out of her thoughts then, focusing back on Malfoy and how close they were. Pansy would be devastated if she saw this. Magnolia would be devastated if Pansy saw this. Magnolia closed her eyes, revelling in the feel of Malfoy's hands on her for one last moment before she pushed him away.
"Thanks for the pep talk, but I don't think Pans would appreciate this."
"Does it matter?"
Magnolia scowled, "Of course it matters, you two are together!"
"We're not together, we just have some fun."
"She's smitten with you!"
Malfoy scoffed and moved away from Magnolia.
"Pansy knows the situation. And she enjoys it."
Magnolia didn't reply, and the two walked back to their Common Room in a comfortable silence. They parted with a small goodbye, and Magnolia crept into her Dorm to not wake up her Dormmates. She slid onto her bed, Kaida quickly jumping onto her lap, and glanced over to Pansy's bed before laying down and drifting to sleep.
The following morning, Magnolia met Hermione outside the Great Hall with a pounding headache. She had snuck out of the Dorm and Common Room, hoping no one would see her and ask where she had been the night before.
She knew that Harry wouldn't want to be seen in the Great Hall today, so had been by the kitchens to make a breakfast picnic for her brother and had found Hermione coming out of the Great Hall with a stack of toast and the same idea.
Magnolia and Hermione walked up to the Gryffindor Tower together, Hermione telling her what had happened the night before when Harry had got back to the Common Room. Harry barrelled through the Gryffindor Portrait as Hermione and Magnolia approached and broke into a relieved smile when he saw the pair.
Harry filled both of the girls in with what had happened with Ron the night before, sending a pang of guilt through Magnolia's body as she thought back to her own evening.
"Does he still think I entered myself?" Harry asked Hermione.
"Well, no… I don't think so… not really." Hermione muttered, "Isn't it obvious? He's jealous!"
"Jealous of what? He wants to make a prat of himself in front of three schools, does he?"
Magnolia rolled her eyes at her brother and scoffed.
"Harry, come on. It's always you who gets the attention. Think of it from Ron's point of view; he has five brothers to compete with, and his best friend is famous! He's always shunted to one side when people see you, and he puts up with it and he never mentions anything. Maybe this was just one time too many."
Harry sent her a scathing look, "Talking from experience, are you?"
"Hey! I get you're frustrated and worried right now, but don't take it out on me when I haven't done thing anything wrong." Magnolia retorted, snatching the slice of toast from her brothers' hand.
"Harry, I've been thinking," Hermione interrupted, "You know we've got to tell Sirius, don't you?"
Harry began to argue, but Magnolia swiftly reminded him that he had told her he would, so the three students walked to the Owlery. Hermione suggested that Harry should use a school owl when Hedwig flew down to meet them. Magnolia stroked her as Harry wrote his letter and tried to hide a giggle when she angrily clicked at Harry and flew away from him.
Magnolia made sure to spend the rest of the day with her brother, and they sat down by the Lake wrapped in their cloaks discussing anything but the Tournament. Harry was furious with Ron, and although Magnolia could understand why Ron would be upset, she was a bit angry at him too.
When the air began to cool too much, and the twins began to get hungry, Magnolia suggested a visit to the kitchens instead of having dinner in the Great Hall. Harry was grateful for his sister's idea, but part of it was also because Magnolia didn't want to be around the Slytherin's before she had to. How could she talk to Pansy like normal after the night before?
Magnolia liked the Kitchens, Dobby always greeted her very well and gave her creamy hot chocolate in the evening. Her and Harry stayed for hours, playing Exploding Snap and snacking thanks to the House Elves. When Harry decided it was time for him to head back to his own Dorm, Magnolia followed him out of the Kitchens hesitantly but hurried to her Common Room when Harry walked the opposite way.
She didn't breathe easily until she walked into her Common Room, having been nervous about Moody suddenly appearing in a corridor again.
"Oh, there you are!"
Magnolia cringed internally at the relieved voice of her friend. She walked towards her friends and sat on the floor by Theo's legs when Pansy continued talking. Magnolia didn't know why she had been so worried all day about seeing her friend.
Pansy was domineering the conversation as usual, gossiping and firing questions at everyone. Magnolia had mumbled an excuse that Harry had needed her today, and Pansy hadn't asked any other questions of her about her day.
Over the next few days, Magnolia spent more and more time with her brother. Most people in the school had a bad attitude with him, including his so-called friends in Gryffindor. Magnolia understood why Ron would be upset and had told him so but Ron wasn't listening to reason and had snapped at Magnolia for being naïve about how Harry got into the Tournament.
The argument with Ron wasn't the only one that Magnolia got into; she was quick to snap back at anyone who was rude to her brother in front of her. She had been very close to a detention when she sent a hex the way of a fifth year Ravenclaw. Magnolia had even snapped at Hermione when she told her and Harry to ignore the cruel words and dirty looks that were being sent their way.
When she and Harry arrived at the Potions class for their last lesson of the week, she grumbled at the smug faces of her fellow Slytherins. Magnolia looked closer at the badges they were wearing with a frown.
'Support CEDRIC DIGGORY- the REAL Hogwarts Champion!'
Magnolia groaned as Malfoy stepped forward, "Like them, Potter? And this isn't all they do, look!"
'POTTER STINKS'
Magnolia felt her blood begin to boil when the other Slytherins behind Malfoy began to chortle at her brother. Harry was going red, and Magnolia stepped in front of him protectively. Malfoy, smartly, didn't say anything to Magnolia, but instead held out one of the badges to Hermione.
"Want one, Granger? I've got loads. But don't touch my hand, now. I've just washed it, you see, don't want Mudblood sliming it up."
Magnolia scowled at him, a movement behind her alerting her to Harry reaching for his wand. In front of her, Malfoy pulled his from his robes as well. Malfoy stepped towards the twins, pushing Magnolia out of the way slightly.
"Go on then, Potter. Moody isn't here to look after you now."
Magnolia heard them both shout at the same time and screamed in pain as one of the spells rebounded onto her. Her shoulder felt like it was on fire, and the pain was quickly moving across her collar bone and neck. She dropped to the ground in pain as she heard Ron and Harry shout her and Hermione names.
She felt cool hands on her arm but screamed when her shoulder was touched and sent a shock wave of pain through her entire body. She could hear Harry talking to her, unsure whether to help her or Hermione, and Pansy trying to get her to answer her. Everyone quietened suddenly and she heard the tell-tale footsteps of her Head of House.
"And what is all this noise about?" Snape drawled.
Magnolia could feel the fire travelling down her shoulder as everyone seemed to erupt into explanations, fighting for Professor Snape to hear them first.
"Breathe, Lia."
The whisper beside her ear cut through the pain that was slowly taking over her body, and then she heard the same voice speak up to Professor Snape.
"Potter attacked me, sir."
"We attacked each other at the same time!"
"And he hit his sister, look."
There was silence for just a moment, Magnolia managed to open her eyes and look up to her Professor to see him inspecting her shoulder from his distance. She tried to move but whimpered at the pain that shot through her again. She saw Professor Snape grimace.
"Hospital Wing, Miss Potter."