Chapter 46.
Magnolia was stood in the corridor not far from Slytherin Common Room, way after curfew, in front of Dolores Umbridge. She knew that this wasn't going to go well, Umbridge wasn't her biggest fan at all, and she seemed a stickler for the rules.
"Well, Miss Potter? What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Time got away from me." Magnolia replied, keeping a straight face.
"I would expect, as a Prefect-"
"Yes, I know." Magnolia interrupted bitterly, "As a Prefect I should be better at keeping time, better at following the rules, better at enforcing them… simply better. But it's ok though, right? Because there is no risk of anything happening at school."
Magnolia saw Umbridge's eyes narrow at her when she threw Umbridge's own words back in her face. She wasn't in the mood for this, she just wanted to get back to her Dorm and slip under her covers.
"You may have gotten away with acting this way with your previous professors, but I assure you it will not stand with me." Umbridge adjusted herself, standing taller, "I will not use your affliction as an excuse for poor behaviour."
"My affliction?" Magnolia scoffed.
"Your scratches, Miss Potter." Umbridge smirked, "I have heard that your brush with Lycanism has affected your moods, but I guarantee you, I will not stand for any monster inside my classroom."
Magnolia had dropped her bag and whipped her wand out of her pocket before she even realised it. She held her wand high, her glare set on Umbridge who at least had the decency to look scared for a moment.
"I can show you what a monster looks like." Magnolia's voice was scarily calm, even though she was shaking with fury, "It has nothing to do with scars from a Werewolf, and everything to do with why the Dark Lord wants me."
"Detention, Miss Potter!" Umbridge's shrill voice rang out around the hall, "Tomorrow night, in my office."
"Fine."
Magnolia span and stormed away from the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, her wand gripped in her hand so tight that her knuckles were white. Magnolia growled the Slytherin password as stormed through the Common Room, completely forgetting how late it was until she was in her bed.
The following morning, Magnolia was sat with Pansy and Tracey at breakfast nursing her tea. Daphne, Blaise, and Theo were sat a little further down the table with Draco, Magnolia hated that the break of their relationship had broken their friendship group as well. Draco and Theo especially seemed to be tense around each other, she had seen them having whispered arguments a lot since that night.
Magnolia was seething as she read Pansy's Daily Prophet; Umbridge had been made High Inquisitor of Hogwarts and the article was making Dumbledore out to be a senile old man who shouldn't be responsible for the school. Magnolia groaned as dropped her head to the table.
"You ok there, Maggie?" Pansy laughed.
"High Inquisitor. High Inquisitor." Magnolia groaned, "She's already unbearable enough! I swear, she will find every excuse to give me more detentions now."
"More detentions?" Pansy questioned, confused.
"I was late back to the Dorm last night, and she caught me. I have detention this evening with her."
"What!?"
The question seemed to echo around Magnolia. She looked behind her to see Harry stood there, holding a copy of the Daily Prophet himself, shock and concern covering his face. The other side of her, Draco's hard expression was hiding something else as well; Magnolia had gotten to know him well enough to know when he was hiding his feelings.
Magnolia felt Harry grip her arm and pull her up and away from the table, dragging her out of the Great Hall. She had only just managed to grab her bag in his determination to drag his sister behind him. At least he was pulling her towards their first class, Magnolia thought.
"You have to get out of that detention."
"I don't think that's going to happen." Magnolia smirked.
"Maggie. This isn't a joke; you have to get yourself out of that detention." Harry was practically begging.
Students were beginning to arrive for Potions now, so Harry pulled Magnolia towards the side of the hall, his voice dropping.
"You need to do whatever you can to get out of it. I mean it, Mags, plead with her, suck up to her, I don't know… just get out of it."
Magnolia frowned, "Harry, I've had detention before, it's no big deal. I'll probably just be writing lines or something."
"Will you two be joining us, or does the entire class need to wait for you to finish your conversation?" Snape drawled from the Potions room door.
Magnolia shot her head of House an apologetic smile and walked past him into the classroom. She didn't understand why Harry was being so insistent and so worried about her. It was just detention. She hadn't been lying when she told Harry she'd had detention before, not often, but sometimes she just couldn't hold her tongue and the consequence for her snippiness was detention. Magnolia smiled as Professor Snape dropped her essay in front of her.
"I have awarded you the grades you would have received if you presented this work in your OWL. This should give you a realistic idea of what to expect in the examination."
Written on front of Magnolia's essay was a large E. Magnolia was happy with her mark, she knew she wanted to get better but for her first OWL grade, she wasn't too disappointed. Especially as she hadn't worked on the essay like she usually would. Her mind had continually drifted when she was trying to complete her work.
Magnolia managed to get through most of her classes that day without an inspection from the new High Inquisitor, but her head dropped when she saw the familiar pink clothed witch walk into Divination at the end of her day. Theo, who was sat with Magnolia, nudged her and gave her a reprimanding look.
Magnolia smiled back sweetly, with a small shrug of her shoulders. She knew what he was thinking, and she heard Daphne laugh at her faux angelic response. She tried to ignore the woman sat in the corner, scribbling on her clipboard, and focus on the dream journals.
Daphne had to bring her attention back to their work when Umbridge began questioning Professor Trelawney, though. Magnolia couldn't help but feel sorry the woman. She didn't believe much about this class, and Professor Trelawney was rather ditsy but anyone against Umbridge Magnolia felt bad for. The toad like woman was evil. Magnolia thought she had seen pure evil when she had looked in Tom Riddle's eyes, but she would rather go against him then Umbridge any day.
Magnolia dragged her feet all the way to Defence Against the Dark Arts, having to be practically dragged by Daphne and Tracey into the classroom. She wanted Defence to be a fun class, interesting and worthwhile, but there was nothing about this class that enticed her to walk through the door. Magnolia would rather History of Magic over Defence at the moment. She sat next to Tracey again, and pulled her book out after being told they would need to read Chapter 2 this lesson. If this was how this class would go, Magnolia thought she might as well not turn up.
Hermione's hand shot into the air almost immediately, Magnolia watched the conversation through her eyelashes, trying to do her best to at least look like she was reading. She had promised her friends to not do anything that would give Umbridge a reason to give her more detention. Theo had been strangely persistent, and Magnolia had thought she had seen him glance at Malfoy nervously too.
"What for?" Harry angrily asked, as Umbridge took 5 points from Gryffindor after Hermione had kept asking questions.
Magnolia put her head in her hands, Harry had been so worried about her not talking back but he was doing the same thing.
"For disrupting my class with pointless interruptions, I am here to teach you using Ministry approved methods that does not include inviting students to give their own opinions on matters which they understand very little."
"Is that not the point of school?" Magnolia asked, "For students to give their opinions and you to teach them the correct thing if they're really that wrong?"
"Maggie…" Theo groaned from the table next to her, shooting another worried look from Magnolia to Malfoy.
"I would invite any student who has questions regarding the course material to come to me after class, for extra discussion if they are unsure of what the chapters are saying, so as to not disrupt their fellow students learning." Umbridge smiled at Magnolia, "We can discuss that more in your detention this evening if you would like, Miss Potter."
Magnolia held her tongue, she knew now would not be the time to talk back to the horrible woman. Umbridge smirked victoriously and turned back to the class; Magnolia's stomach rolled at her effort to not say anything.
"Your previous teachers in this subject may have allowed you more licence, but as none of them- with the possible exception of Professor Quirrell, who did at least appear to have restricted himself to age-appropriate subjects- would have passed a Ministry inspection-"
"Yeah, Quirrell was a great teacher. There was just that minor drawback of him having Lord Voldemort sticking out the back of his head." Harry interrupted loudly.
Magnolia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Harry was apparently unable to control himself around Umbridge, even though he was telling her to do exactly that this morning. The entire class was in a state of shocked silence at Harry's blasé comment, and Umbridge turned slowly to look at him with the sickly-sweet grin on her face.
"I think joining your sister in detention this evening would do you some good, Mr Potter."
Magnolia was stood outside Umbridge's office waiting for Harry after dinner that evening with her arms crossed. He was dangerously close to being late. A few more minutes passed, and Magnolia huffed as she pushed herself away from the wall and knocked on Umbridge's office door. She walked in when called and was shocked by the amount of pink in the room. Everywhere she looked was covered in pink, and the walls had plates with cats meowing on them. Magnolia could've thrown up.
"No Harry yet?" Umbridge asked her, stirring her cup of tea.
"Not yet, ma'am." Magnolia replied politely, "I'm sure he won't be long."
Magnolia felt sick at being so polite to the woman, but she had promised her friends when she left for detention that she would be polite at the very least. Umbridge beckoned for Magnolia to sit down at a desk with a sheet of parchment and a quill on it.
"You'll just be writing lines for me this evening, Miss Potter." Umbridge grinned down at her, "Just write 'I will be respectful, not threatening'."
"There's no ink… ma'am."
"You won't need any."
Magnolia frowned, picking up the quill and starting to write the line over and over on the parchment, surprised when she could see the words on the parchment. It was as if she had dipped the quill in ink, although she didn't have any. She fidgeted, the scratchy noise of the quill on the parchment was making her hand itch. As she wrote more lines, her hand was getting itchier and itchier, to the point where it was becoming painful.
Magnolia pulled her hand from the under the desk and blanched, her eyes wide. 'I will be respectful, not threatening' was etched into her back of her hand, blood dripping down her skin. Her breath caught as she looked at the quill and back at her hand, then to Umbridge who was already watching her. Her head was tilted slightly to the side, with a triumphant gaze in her eyes.
"Is everything alright, Miss Potter?"
"Perfectly fine, ma'am." Magnolia replied through gritted teeth.
She started writing again, stretching her hand, and folding it into a fist again to try and quell the pain, when Harry knocked and walked in. He seemed to already know what was happening and sat on the desk next to Magnolia, picking up the quill. Harry sent Magnolia an apologetic look, nodding towards her hand with a question in his eyes. Magnolia pursed her lips and shook her head, telling Harry to not bring it up.
An hour later, Magnolia's hand was red raw and had dried and fresh blood on it. She raised her other hand, gaining Umbridge's attention.
"I have my Prefect rounds soon, ma'am." Magnolia saw Harry's eyes widen in shock as she called Umbridge ma'am, "I would hate for Malfoy to have to do it on his own because of my behaviour."
Umbridge held her hand out, asking for Magnolia's. She looked closely at Magnolia's painful hand before nodding.
"I suppose you seem to have learnt your lesson, have you not?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Not to get caught and to suck up to horrible people like her, Magnolia thought. She made sure to have a small smile on her lips, looking every bit the angelic Prefect who knew now how to behave for her professor.
"You may leave, then, Miss Potter."
Magnolia rushed out of the room, straight to a bathroom to clean her hand before patrol. She didn't want anyone to see the state of her hand, it made her feel weak. How could she let a woman like that do this to her? How could she let a woman like that make her do it to herself? Magnolia hissed as the water and soap stung her cuts, but quickly dried it and pulled her sleeves down over her hands as she rushed through the Castle to meet Malfoy for patrol.
"I thought you had detention."
"I did, it finished."
Draco just nodded, "Usual plan then, usual floors of each of us."
Magnolia nodded her own reply, taking a deep breath. All she wanted right now was for Draco to wrap his arms around her like he used to. At least if they patrolled separate areas, he wouldn't see how much of a mess she was right now. She had faced Voldemort for Merlin sake! How could that woman get to her like this?
Draco had turned to walk away, but Magnolia saw his shoulders sag before he quickly turned around again, facing her.
"Are you ok?"
Magnolia nodded, not trusting her own voice right now. He sounded like he cared but of course, she knew he didn't. He made it exceptionally clear that he did not care. Magnolia sighed, not daring to look into his eyes. She hated this, she'd always been able to tell him anything and everything, even before they were friends. Now, it seemed like there was a great expanse between them and she didn't know how to navigate that.
"What's that?"
Draco's voice was hard and cold, fury seeping through it. Magnolia looked up at him in shock, what had she done to make him that angry whilst she was just stood there? His eyes weren't looking at hers though, he was looking down… at her hand. Magnolia quickly pulled her sleeve back over it, but Draco grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand up between them.
He tugged at the sleeve, pulling it further down her arm so he could read the cuts on her hand. Magnolia could feel him shaking. She wasn't sure that she had ever seen such fury emanating from someone before. Her head span, why was he angry? Because she was hurt, or because she had been foolish enough to put herself in that position?
Magnolia could see his chest rising and falling rapidly, his jaw tensed, his eyes holding in a storm. He moved his hand slightly, his thumb gently rubbing against her wound. She gasped, from the jolt of pain or the tenderness of his touch she wasn't sure. His eyes snapped to hers at the sound though, and everything else melted away.
She could see him again, the Draco he used to be with her. The sweet, kind, thoughtful and romantic Draco who just wanted to protect her and care for her. The air around them felt thick, charged. Her heart pounded in her chest; Magnolia was sure he could feel her pulse speeding up in her wrist. He took a small step closer to her. She couldn't take her eyes off of him.
Draco closed his own eyes and bowed his head, sighing. When he opened them again, looking directly back at Magnolia, and moving his thumb to stop his gentle stroking, the spell was broken. His eyes were hard again. The distance between them was back. Magnolia's head spun.
"I told you." Draco reprimanded her, "I told you not to get on her bad side. You need to fix this; you can't have any more detentions with her. Whatever you do, make sure Professor Umbridge is on your side."
He didn't stick around after that. Draco dropped her hand and walked away to patrol his own floors. Magnolia moved to do her own, all the time thinking over what had happened. For a moment, it had seemed like he was back… like her Draco was back. But then he'd snapped right back into the person who had taken over during the summer.
Magnolia was glad when she could get back to her friends, she had been overthinking what had happened with Draco before their patrol and needed to take her mind off it. She sat with her friends by the fireplace, listening to their conversation and trying to take part. By the time she went to bed, Magnolia's cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing so much.
Everyone had seen her hand, and Blaise had decided in that moment to disappear. He had returned not long after that, carrying a box and beckoning their group to follow him into the boys Dorm. The entire group had grinned when he revealed the contents of the box, a lot of Firewhiskey. They hadn't drunk it all, but they were all definitely tipsy enough, so Blaise had hidden the rest under his bed for the next time they needed it.
Magnolia woke the next morning with a headache, and having looked around her Dorm, she could tell the other girls had too. They all took some Pepper Up Potion before heading to breakfast, but Magnolia still only managed to drink her tea and nibble at her toast.
"How are you eating that much?" Tracey groaned at Blaise.
"Have to get your energy back after a night like that." Blaise shrugged.
Magnolia couldn't look at him without feeling sick; his plate was piled high and he was shovelling his food in a very unpureblood way. Magnolia smirked, catching everyone's attention.
"What's funny? What have we missed?"
"It's just… Blaise really reminds me of Ron Weasley when he eats like that."
Magnolia stood from the table as she heard Blaise half choke on his food and bang on the table. She was almost at the doors of the Great Hall when she heard Blaise yell from behind her that he was nothing like Ron. Daphne was crying with laughter as they walked to their first class of the day.
Over the following weeks, things got slightly better for Magnolia. She made an effort with Umbridge, her friends were happy, and Draco was slowly reintegrating with the entire group, meaning they didn't have to keep separated all the time. Magnolia and Draco had come to a silent agreement not just to talk to each other, but somehow it was rarely awkward.
Only a few times had Magnolia felt uncomfortable. Those times, she had approached them in the middle of a heated discussion that ended sharply as she approached. No one would say what they were talking about, each time they just made something up that Magnolia knew wasn't the truth.
Magnolia didn't pry, she was hiding things from them too. Harry had told her that Hermione wanted him to teach them Defence Against the Dark Arts, seeing as they weren't getting taught properly by Umbridge. Magnolia wasn't sure of the idea, but she couldn't decide if it was because she didn't think Harry could do it, or because she didn't want to deal with how smug he would be if he did. She did think, though, that she needed to do some practical Defence studying. They were still just reading through the chapters of their book in class.
"Miss Potter, a word, if I may?"
Magnolia looked up at Umbridge in surprise as she packed her things away at the end of class. She couldn't have done anything wrong; she had been polite and courteous, she had studied hard and gotten good marks on all her homework assignments, she had barely said a word in class since her detention.
"Uh, sure." Magnolia replied, glancing back round to Tracey, "I'll meet you at dinner."
Tracey nodded, and hugged Magnolia, whispering in her ear to keep calm. Over Tracey's shoulder, Magnolia could see Pansy, Daphne, Theo, Draco, and Blaise stood in the doorway. Draco was leaning into Theo's ear, saying something. Both of them were tense. As Tracey joined them and they all left, Draco and Theo seeming to linger for a moment more then everyone else, Magnolia suddenly felt very alone.
"Tea?"
Magnolia nodded politely, picking her bag up and following Umbridge into her office and sitting opposite her at her desk. Umbridge slowly made them the tea, in an old-fashioned tea set with a cup and saucer. Magnolia felt like she had gone back in time and was sat with a Lord or Lady, not her toad-like professor.
"How have you been?" Umbridge asked, handing Magnolia her tea.
"Excuse me?"
"You've been very quiet in class recently, almost subdued." Umbridge began, a concerned smile gracing her lips although Magnolia knew it wasn't real, "It seems almost like you're afraid to speak around your brother if it isn't something he'd believe in himself."
Magnolia sipped her tea, "That isn't it at all, I'm not afraid to call out my brother or go against him."
"Oh? I've seen how he speaks to you outside of class as well. He can seem rather domineering over you."
"That's just Harry." Magnolia shrugged, sipping at her tea more, hoping to get this meeting over with as soon as possible, "He thinks because I'm in Slytherin that I'm less then him, it hasn't helped that his friends reinforce it. I used to be a lot more submissive, more scared of everything, but since attending Hogwarts and learning who I truly am… well, I don't feel like that anymore."
"How do you feel?" Umbridge probed.
"Empowered. Strong." The words tumbled from Magnolia's lips before she could think of them, "I feel better then my muggle aunt and uncle, I feel like I can fight back and I don't have to be just Harry Potter's twin sister."
Umbridge nodded, Magnolia thought Umbridge must have thought the gesture looked sympathetic, but she could see straight through her. She didn't understand why she was saying all these things to Umbridge though, out of everyone Umbridge should be the last person she would talk to about this.
"That must be very difficult. Having to live next to someone as famous as your brother, especially when he is famous for something that you lived through too. It must be upsetting."
"Not upsetting, angering." Magnolia replied instantly, "Everyone looks at Harry like he's the golden boy. I've gotten better grades and less detentions ever since we came to Hogwarts, but it's still Harry who is seen and not me. No matter how hard I work, how hard I try, I will never live up to the dizzying heights of goodness my brother has set for us without even trying."
"You don't want to be good?"
"I don't want to have to be all the time. It's like I can't disagree with anything. I can't have a bad day without seeming like a terrible person because of him. Some muggles are bad, they just are. Our aunt and uncle for example, they are bad muggles, and if I argue or get angry at them, it's not because they're muggles, it's because they're bad people who do bad things. But I'm in Slytherin, so no one ever see's that side, they just see a Slytherin hating muggles."
"He worries about you being a Slytherin…"
"He worries about more than that, they all do." Magnolia looked down at her almost empty teacup, "Sometimes I do too. Sometimes, I worry that I'll turn into the person they can all see inside me. That dark witch from Slytherin."
"What else do you worry about?"
"I worry…" Magnolia fought this time against the words that were cascading out of her, "I worry that I'll always be the forgotten twin, and that the one person who has always seen me for me, ever since we first met, has left me for good. And I don't know why he has, I just know it feels like a part of me has gone with him, that without him to tell my darkest fears to… I'll turn into them."