Chapter 4

Hello. It's about time I got to tell some of the story. I am a central character, after all. The name's Malfoy.

Draco Malfoy.

No one knew how Montague had ended up in the Hospital Wing on the first day of

school.

"You mean you're not even curious about it?"

"Nope!" Lis said, pouring herself some pumpkin juice to go with her dinner. I convinced her to sit with me instead of at the Hufflepuff table like she did at lunch.

Felicity started humming to herself as she cut her ham. She seemed happy about something.

Too happy.

I looked at her closely, "You didn't have anything to do with this, did you, Felicity?"

Lis assumed a mock insulted expression, "Me? Me put someone in the Hospital eating his meals through a bendy straw and re-growing his toenails? You honestly think I'd actually-"

"No, Felicity, I didn't-"

But Lis ignored my protests and stormed out of the Hall. When she reached the door she suddenly burst into laughter.

She's so...odd.

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Lis' POV

Don't look at me like that! It's really too bad Montague didn't take me seriously when I told him not to report me. As soon as he tried... Alas.

I passed Willis in the Entrance Hall. His dark brown hair was falling into his grey-blue eyes, so he flicked it out of the way. Other than his hair color, he looks like a mini Draco.

"Morning, Lissy." He nodded at me. Since he was with a group of friends, I grabbed him and hugged him like the embarrassing older sister that I am.

"Morning, Willy!" I chirped.

"Felicity!" he hissed. "I have a reputation!"

Gee, he even SOUNDS like Draco.

"What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" I asked. "It's the first day! You don't have a rep yet."He pouted as I released him. "Don't ruin my childish hopes and dreams!"I laughed. That was something I said, and I got it from Gwen. He ducked into the Great Hall when I tried to ruffle his hair.

I decided to go to the library. I love libraries. The smell of books, the quiet; it's just so calm and relaxing. But then it can also be exciting; especially if you find a really awesome book. It's like going on an adventure without leaving the immediate area!Whoa. I just spewed some cheesy stuff right there. Uh… Moving on...Once I entered the library I spotted one of the Weasley twins in a corner with some Gryffindor chick. As I looked through the books in the Magical Creatures section, I vaguely wondered which twin was with that girl and where the other one soon as I found the book I was searching for, I heard the girl with the twin whisper passionately, "Fred...""Angelina..." he whispered in reply.I resisted the urge to turn around and tell them to get a then, I saw a flash of orange hair on the other side of the bookshelf. I peeked between two books to see the other twin, George. He was holding a piece of parchment while brushing his hand against all the books he could reach and muttering under his breath.I scooted around the shelf and leaned against it, facing his back. "You know, talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity."Stiffening, he stood still for a moment. Then, he surreptitiously folded the paper he was holding and put it in his robe pocket, but not before I saw that it was a cluttered-looking map of the school. "Fancy meeting you here" he said smoothly as he turned to face me. He mimicked my position, except he crossed his arms."Looking for something? Like...the other entrance to a secret passageway?" I suggested sweetly.I thought I saw his cheeks turn the slightest shade of pink. But he said, "I beg your pardon?"See, I knew he wouldn't have been able to open it from the inside last night; you needed the key. I had all copies of that. But from the outside... well, I would show him.

Beckoning him to follow me, I strode over to the restricted section, ducking under the rope. George was right behind me. I walked over to the 4th bookcase. On a shelf level to my chest, there was a life-size bust of Merlin. I turned to George, "Ok, this will blow your mind," I whispered excitedly. With him curiously watching, I stuck my wand up the stone Merlin's left nostril, and stepped back as the bookcase revolved once, stopping after a full to my right, I saw that George was standing there dumbfounded. "You're welcome" I told him as I patted his shoulder and handed him a duplicate of the key for getting out. "Just make sure you step onto the stairs at the right time, or you'll be smushed" I called softly over my shoulder as I left the library.

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Hey! My cousin's point of view just interrupted mine, didn't it? I was in the middle of my story! Father will hear of this...

Anyways, I didn't worry too much about Lis' odd behavior. I accepted a LONG time ago that I would never understand women.

Later that day, since I arrived late to dinner, I didn't get nearly enough food to last me until breakfast the next day.

It was time to visit the kitchens.

Lis told me how to get into the kitchens before my first year at Hogwarts. She never told me how she learned about it though…

Rounding the corner, I collided with an unknown object.

"Oof!"

Wait, objects don't make sounds…

I looked down. There, sprawled out on the floor, was Lis' friend, MJ Quarters. She

looked a lot better than she had this morning.

You know, when she was unconscious.

"Watch where you're going!" I snarled. She was probably injured worse than I was, though; I only had the wind knocked out of me.

Shakily, she stood up. "I could say the same to you, bud!" she ground out, rubbing the back of her head.

We stood there looking at each other for a moment. I was struck by how tall she was for a fourth year. No wonder I had thought she was older than me; she was almost eye-level with me! And I'm tall for my age.

"Hufflepuff, huh?" I sneered. "Is this why Felicity mentioned your sorting?"

Quarters shook her head. "Nah, she thought I'd be in Gryffindor for sure," she replied casually."Really? Why?"

"Why don't you ask her?" she snapped. "And where the heck did you think I would be placed anyway?"

I raised an eyebrow and leaned against the wall, crossing my arms across my chest. "Ooh, not very friendly. And I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you're in Hufflepuff; that's where they put you when you're too stupid for Ravenclaw, too cowardly for Gryffindor, and not pureblood enough for Slytherin."

She rolled her eyes. "You really are a piece of work. So whatcha doing?" her tone had changed, she now sounded cheerful. What was wrong with her? I was giving her my best, most intimidating Malfoy glare! And I just insulted her! What in the world-?

"Uh… just patrolling the corridors" I answered. "I am a prefect after all." I straightened up.

She wouldn't know that if I was on patrol, I'd be near my common room.

"Don't prefects usually patrol near their own House's common room?

Blast.

Thankfully, before I could reply she started blabbing again. "I love all the pictures here" she said, walking over to the fruit painting that I had been heading to before she got in my way. "That pear looks good enough to eat…" she reached out to touch it.

I gasped. "AH! Don't touch tha—"

It was too late. The pear squirmed at her touch and the portrait swung open to reveal the kitchens. MJ stared, wide-eyed. "What is this?" she asked in wonder.

Again, I had no chance to reply before she squealed, "Oh look! House-elves!" and ran in.

Oh brother.

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Whaddup? It's MJ again and, oh my gosh! This place is amazing! You want some sliced pineapple? BAM! a house-elf hands it to you. You ask for some ice cream? BAM! ya got some. Flan cake? BAM! there ya go (and I don't even know what flan cake is!). Lis had told me about the kitchens, but she never told me how to get in. I was very glad that

Draco had unwittingly led me to it.

Speaking of Draco, someone looked quite pouty…

"What's your problem?" I asked him as I bit into some delicious custardy-chocolatey thing. I think it was the flan cake.

"Nothing" he snapped. "We're just not supposed to be here is all! The kitchen is forbidden to students! I'm a prefect! If I get caught in here—"

I held up a hand, halting his whining. "Wait a minute. Let me read between the lines here—"

"We need to LEAVE!"

I shook my head. "No, that's not what you're getting at!"

He sighed in exasperation as I moved to sit under a lamp so I could better see the pretty design on my plate. As I examined the intricate design of the badger (it was obviously a Hufflepuff plate), I felt a sudden tug on a piece of my hair. Jumping away from the culprit, I dropped the plate and it shattered to pieces.

"WHAT THE HECK, DUDE?" I shrieked at Draco as a house-elf hurried over to gather the chunks of plate. "Reparo!" I hastily exclaimed so that the house-elf wouldn't have so much to clean up. The kindly creature nodded its head in thanks as it scurried off with the plate. I then turned to the snotty Slytherin that had yet to answer for his unwarranted action. "WELL?" I demanded.

He was gazing at me with a slight look of contempt. "Your hair…"

"Yes, very good, Draco. This—"I pointed to my head, "—is hair! Well done!" My voice was dripping in sarcasm.

He ignored my comments. "When you stepped into the light I noticed that… it has red in it."

"Yeah, and?"

"And you also have freckles."

"Is there a point to this inventory?"

He then gestured to my feet. "And those look like hand-me-down shoes."

I threw my hands in the air. "They used to be Lis'! So sue me! What. Is. Your. Point, boy?"

"Well, it all adds up. Felicity thought you would be in Gryffindor. Reddish hair. Hand-me-down shoes and a stupid complexion. You must be a—"

Before he could tell me what I must be, the portrait swung open again. A familiar red-head walked in with a girl and another guy. The girl had slightly bushy brown hair, and the boy had raven-colored hair and glasses. All three froze once they saw Draco and me.

"MJ?" my cousin asked confusedly. I hadn't had much of a chance to hang out with him yet. I'd have to put that on my to-do list. But right now, he was awaiting an explanation...

"Uh…" I knew he hated Malfoy. And even if I didn't know that, I think the way he was glaring at him would have clued me in. So I did the most logical thing I could think of: I ran over to Ron, leaped into his arms Scooby-Doo and Shaggy style (we did that a lot when we were kids), and cried, "Thank heaven you've come! That freak was tugging on my hair!"

"He WHAT?" Ron (gently) set me down and reached for his wand. I stopped him.

"Wait!" I didn't really want him to get hurt fighting Draco. "Let's just leave. No need to get in trouble."

"She's right, Ron" the brown-haired girl piped up. Glasses-boy looked a bit disappointed.

"You leave my cousin alone, Malfoy, you hear?" Ron bellowed as I held him back. The girl ran up to help me, grabbing his other arm. "Come on, Ron!"

While we were occupied with him, apparently glasses-guy pulled out his wand. Next thing we knew, Draco was up against the wall. Ron took our shock as an opportunity to pull free and grab him by the front of his collar.

"Let me go, you oaf!" Draco struggled against Ron's hold.

"WHAT ARE YOUR INTENTIONS TOWARD MY COUSIN?"

"RON!" I yelled. "Leave Draco alone! I was bothering him, ok? I was bored!"

At this, Ron let go of Draco and shoved him away. "You know him?" he asked incredulously. "What have I told you about him?"

"You talk about me?" Draco said, rubbing his collar bone where Ron had shoved him. He sneered sarcastically. "I'm touched, Weasley."

"Shut it, you! What did I tell you MJ?" my cousin persisted.

I sighed tiredly. "Do I really have to recite it now?"

"Yes" said Ron stubbornly.

"Ok" I started narrating in a sing-song voice, "He's a foul git."

Ron held up one finger.

"He has no business even existing."

Ron put up a second finger.

"He's a muggle-hating pureblood."

Another finger.

"You sure talk about me a lot, Weasel."

I ignored him and went on. "And he's a nasty bit of slime."

Fourth finger. "Very good." Ron said. "But you didn't stay away from him like I told you

to. Why?"

"Because he's, uh…" I muttered unintelligibly.

"He's what?"

"He's…" I coughed "Lis' cousin…"

"He's what?"

Draco looked puzzled, "What does Felicity being my cousin have to do with this?"

Ron frowned. "Felicity? You mean, your best friend, Felicity?" his frown started to diminish. "Is she here?"

"Why does Weasley suddenly look so happy? And how does he know her?"

"No reason!" my cousin quickly replied.

"He met her at my house. He has a crush on her" I replied shrugging.

Ron gasped, scandalized. "YOU PINKY-SWORE! You can't DO that! There's a RULE!"

Oops. "Well apparently, I'm breaking a lot of rules today, aren't I?" I was fed up with his attitude. As I stormed out, I heard Draco say, "STAY AWAY FROM MY COUSIN, YOU BLOOD-TRAITOR!"

Normally, I love a good fight as much as the next guy. But, it was late, I was tired, and the stupid Potions teacher had assigned a 2-foot-long essay about Pepperup Potion. I just hoped they wouldn't hurt each other too bad—

—since I wasn't going to be there to eat popcorn and watch.

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Hey, there. It's Fred Weasley, your friendly Hogwarts prankster. Ron, Harry and Hermione came back to the common room late. They looked exhausted. Looking closer, I observed that Hermione's hair was a bit frizzier than it was when she left, Harry was limping slightly, and Ron was sporting a black eye. I wonder what happened to them…

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George here; the better-looking prankster.

"Oi! What happened to you lot?" I called to my brother and his friends.

Hermione just stormed up to the girls' dormitories. Ron and Harry simply waved me off. "Rather not talk about it" Ron mumbled. He then followed Harry up to their room.

What could have happened to them?

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Ciao. It's Lis. And yes, 'ciao' means 'hello' and 'goodbye'.

I may have just taught you something.

You're welcome.

"There you are!" I frowned at Draco from my position slouched on a couch as he entered the Slytherin common room. His hair was in disarray and he was sporting a bump on his head and a bruise on his jaw. Not only that, but he was clutching his wrist to his chest and massaging it.

"What happened to you?"

"Nothing!" he snapped. With that, he stormed up the stairs to the boys' dorm.

Hmm… highly suspect...

End Chapter 4