Hello, everyone! A later update, I know, but I did see (Loki) Thor: Ragnarok today! Hooray!
Chapter Fourteen
A few weeks later, Weasley was out of the hospital and came to Potions like nothing was wrong. Potter gave me his usual glare that I didn't have the energy to return as he passed.
"Good morning, class," Slughorn greeted pleasantly. "Good to have you back, Weasley."
"Good to be back, sir," the redhead returned with a small smile.
I turned towards Ron and scanned him up and down. He seemed to be alright. I wanted to apologize, but I couldn't. It would reveal everything if I did.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Weasley demanded heatedly, giving me a hardened glare.
I didn't answer. I looked back to Slughorn as he explained the potion we would practice, guilt making my heart clench.
"Off you go and start!" Slughorn exclaimed waving us away.
I was too distracted to hear the recipe our professor named, so I followed Blaise, grabbed the same ingredients as he did and walked back to our station. I discreetly watched my friend as he flipped to the potion's recipe and turned to the same page in my own textbook.
I didn't care what we were making, but I lazily followed the recipe anyway, my mind anywhere but that class. It drifted from one thing to the next, never lingering on one topic for more than a minute.
"Careful, Malfoy!" Blaise exclaimed, grabbing my wrist. I looked up at him and found him staring at me with fear. "You almost just cut your wrist!" my friend yelled, his grip tightening.
"Everything alright here?" Slughorn asked as he approached us, his eyebrows drawn together.
"Everything's fine," I answered calmly, releasing my knife and gently prying my wrist free of Blaise's grasp.
"Yeah," Blaise reluctantly agreed. "Just fine."
Thankfully, Slughorn nodded and walked off, though he kept throwing worry-filled glances our way.
"What were you doing, Malfoy?" Blaise whispered with concern.
"I don't know," I answered, mimicking his volume. "I wasn't paying attention."
"Well, you should, considering that we're handling knives," Blaise warned, looking at me pointedly.
As if in agreement, the sound of an explosion came from Finnigan's station, leaving him looking dazed and covered in soot as the tips of his hair caught fire.
I smirked in amusement and turned to Blaise. "At least I'm paying more attention than him."
Blaise chuckled quietly and turned his attention back to his potion.
After class, I skipped lunch and went to work on the Cabinet in the Room of Requirement. It was almost ready. The apple got through fine, but the apple wasn't technically alive. I had to use the one of the birds in the nearby double cage as a test subject.
I gently opened the cages and used an Accio charm to prevent the animal from escaping. I cupped my hand and carefully covered the creature with my other hand.
Footsteps echoed behind me in the corridor, and I instantly turned to face the direction of the sound. The tip of a black robe quickly disappeared around a corner, and I stood there for a moment, pleading that whoever that robe belonged to was just passing through.
After several moments of seeing no one, I relaxed a little and resumed my walk to the Room of Requirement. I threw cautious glances behind me to make sure no one was following, but no matter how much I checked, I never saw anyone. The only footsteps that echoed in the hall were my own.
By the time I reached the Room, I had almost forgotten about my potential follower. My mind had drifted to the Cabinet as I prepared myself for any failures. There were only four possible scenarios. One: everything works out fine. Two: the bird wouldn't go through. In which case, I would have to continue repairing the magical passage between the two Cabinets. Three: the bird would go through and not come back and get lost in oblivion. Four: The bird goes through but doesn't survive.
Anything would have been better than scenario four.
I opened the Cabinet and released the bird on it's floor. I sealed the door and spotted one of the animal's feathers clinging to the sleeve of my robe. I plucked it off of my clothes and held to the light, inspecting it as I recited the Cabinet's spell in my mind until a sound emitted from the Cabinet.
I opened the door to the Cabinet with caution. I couldn't hear the bird's tweeting, but that could mean that the bird was either dead or had gone to the other Cabinet. I hoped for the latter.
The bird had vanished. So far so good. Things might be looking up.
I closed the door again and shut my eyes, anxiously repeating the spell in my mind again. That same whooshing sound came from the Cabinet and my eyes flew open. I grasped the handle of the Cabinet door with my shaking hand and slowly pulled it down, preparing myself for what I might find inside.
The bird was dead. The small body rested face down on the floor, its white feathers crumpled.
My heart sank to the floor. I didn't understand. I did everything perfectly. The apple went through fine. What did I do wrong?
Before I could stop it, my emotions swelled to an unbearable peak, and I was grateful a was alone. My breathing quickly grew shaky and my sight blurred. I stood there for the rest of the lunch hour leaning against the Cabinet and crying, growing steadily louder until I slid to the floor and brought my knees to my chest.
Eventually, I was able to pick myself up from the floor and close the Cabinet doors, shutting that moment away. I couldn't hide in the Room forever. I had to seem normal. I would fix this.
I had to.
As I moved towards the Room's exit, I spotted myself in a cracked, full-length mirror. I looked like the mess I felt I was. My eyes were red, there were tear streaks running down my face and my hair was sticking up where I had leaned against the Cabinet.
I used my sleeves and wiped my eyes, removing the evidence of my tears, then I combed my hair back down with my fingers.
I left the Room and continued on with my day.
Just a reminder: This whole thing, so far, has been a flashback. Next week, we'll catch up to real time.