Chapter 9 - Precarious confrontations
Days were starting to blur together in an endless cycle of sleep, classes and schoolwork. Free periods Bella often used to catch up on the endless amount of assignments she was dealt— she knew the work, she knew the curriculum, which was almost a curse. Because she knew it, Bella often found herself procrastinating in her classes and leaving things till last minute, which was not working so well— when quill hit the paper, it was coming out as jargon; Bella often had to angrily flip open her textbook to refresh her memory of things she had learned well over twenty five years ago.
The whispers, thankfully, had started to die down over the weeks of her stay. Students of other houses had no doubt heard rumours of her confrontation with Moody, but must have assumed Pansy as the unreliable source that she was. It annoyed her, having people stare at her as she walked around Hogwarts, but the arrival of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students for the TriWizard tournament had thankfully cast her away from the spotlight.
If only they knew it were true, what she had done in that classroom, what she was capable of, they wouldn't dare return her glare with hushed whispers and unthreatened candid glances.
You're out of the spotlight now, Bella would constantly repeat to herself. Stay that way.
Moody's next class with the imperius curse had been largely uneventful. Bella sat and put her head down in his classes, ignoring his gleeful growls of excitement as he spoke of curses that no ex-Auror should ever be excited about. When he cast the imperius curse on her, she let him, allowing the sense of right and belonging to encompass her. She danced around the room, spinning to and fro, giggling gleefully as her robes spun around her in earnest. As she spun, she caught fleeting glimpses of Pansy, who went from leaning forward in her seat, eyes wide in trepidation, to a look of disappointment.
Something was off with Moody— either he truly had gone mad, or he was hiding something. Bella couldn't quite put her finger on it. In the past, she had been on the receiving end of his rage-filled glare, always led by his wand. This time, when he stared at her, when he stared at other students, it wasn't rage— it was cunning, it was glee. The ex-Auror was having fun torturing and scaring students. He had gone completely insane, though Bella couldn't quite get rid of the hunch that she had seen that look before.
Bella angrily rolled up her parchment in a huff, dropping her quill and massaging her right wrist. That was at least fifty inches of writing over the last two days.
Everytime Bella thought she had a free spot of time, one where she could drop by the library and research how the Dark Lord could have possibly resurrected himself, Hermione would ask for a study session. Daphne or Tracey would stop her and chat with her. Even Harry hadn't bothered showing up for their potions study sessions, brushing her off with some excuse after their classes— everything was starting to get on Bella's nerves.
"Bella, Bella, Bella!"
"What?" Bella yelled angrily, glancing up and glaring at Tracey.
Tracey threw her hands up in a dramatic surrender. "Please, I have a family!"
Daphne laughed along with Tracey. Bella couldn't help but join in. They were getting used to her angry outbursts, which were thankfully happening less often.
"Sorry," Bella said, looking down bashfully.
"It's okay," Tracey said. "You were in deep there again."
Daphne clicked her tongue which made Bella look up again. Daphne was looking at the clock nestled over the fire in the common room. "It's nearly eight, Bella. If you want to meet the Muggle-born tonight I suggest you do it soon."
"Is Harry coming along this time?" Tracey asked.
"No," Bella said dejectedly.
"Then why is it you help that mud— Muggle-born?" Daphne asked, her face scrunched up like she had bit a sour lemon.
It was Bella that asked Daphne to stop referring to Hermione as a Mudblood, which surprised her, as Bella was the first to reference her as such. Daphne, who had no affiliation with the Dark Lord whatsoever, was still a pureblood within an ancient and noble family. They were raised to think the same as Bella had been— the influence of Slytherin even rubbed off on Tracey, a half-blood of no influential family. She never referenced Muggle-born's as dirty blood as such, but her face spoke volumes.
It was only so that Bella would stop referencing her as one. If they all kept referring to Hermione as a Mudblood, it was only a matter of time before she blurted it out in front of her, which would be a disaster.
It was safer this way.
"I don't know."
"Can we come, at least?" Tracey asked.
"No— you'll spook her," Bella said.
"And you care why?" Daphne asked.
"I don't know," Bella replied. Nothing could be said here without revealing too much, or causing an awkward situation. The last time Bella had reasoned it was to get closer to Harry, which made Tracey squee, much to Bella's embarrassment. She hastily withdrew the statement as soon as she had said it.
Daphne closed her textbook, rolling up her parchment and rubbing her wrist. "Well, you better hurry if you want to make it back before Snape prowls along the halls."
Tracey's eyes suddenly turned unfocused and dreamy. "Can you believe Victor Krum is here?"
"God, Tracey, you have no chance," Daphne said, giggling.
"I so would!" Tracey said defiantly. "If that idiot Karkaroff left his side, I might!"
Karkaroff was an interesting development. Bella did a double take as he entered the Great Hall, wrapped in an absurd amount of furs out of place for even a Scotland winter, leading the pack of Durmstrang students.
Bella's fists balled as he walked down the centre aisle of the hall towards the staff table, the filthy traitor. Another unfaithful servant who claimed he had been forced under imperius to commit gross acts of violence and follow the Dark Lord's bidding. Only when he had reached the Headmaster and turned around did Bella unball her fists, taking a deep, calming breath. He was on the right side now; she was on the other side now.
Sometimes it was just… hard to differentiate the two. The Dark Lord, even after his betrayal, still had a hold of her.
Atleast Dumbledore hadn't asked for a meeting. It had kept Bella up most nights, thinking about what she'd say to the Headmaster regarding her impromptu casting of the unforgivables within the Defence classroom, but he hadn't so much as looked at her.
"Who do you think will be chosen tomorrow?" Tracey asked.
"Who knows," Daphne replied airily. "Hopefully Malfoy didn't get Daddy dearest to somehow drop his name in."
"Hogwarts: A Tragedy," Tracey said, sweeping her right arm in front of her, which emitted giggles from the three.
There was an uninterrupted silence, so Bella used it as an opportunity to stand and gather her things. "I'll see you tomorrow. Don't stay up worrying about me," Bella teased.
Tracey yawned, stretching her arms above her head. "We never do, Bella."
Someone clicked their tongue when she was almost at the entrance. "Where are you going?" someone asked from behind her. Bella sighed, stopping in her tracks. The door was so close. She had almost made it.
"Nowhere," Bella said, then turned around. She had tried to avoid the group of fourth years in the middle of the common room, instead walking along the wall, but they had noticed her.
Pansy brought her left hand in front of her face, observing her nails interestedly, though Bella knew she'd analyse her every word. "Off to the library?" Pansy asked.
She was sitting on a couch with Nott and Millicent. The scene almost looked comical; Millicent's large form indented the middle cushion of the couch in such a way that Nott and Pansy had risen to meet her height.
"Yes."
"Off to see the Mudblood?" Pansy hissed. She turned her gaze to Bella, her face affronted. "Sullying the house again, Bella?"
Bella hid her shock. So her secret rendezvous with Hermione was not so secret after all. "My actions only show support for the house, Pansy," Bella said calmly. "You of all people should know that."
Pansy did a double take, then stared at Millicent expectantly— most likely wondering why Millicent hadn't shielded her from the verbal onslaught. Millicent opened her mouth, as if to speak, then shrugged miserably. Pansy huffed, turning back to Bella. "You killed a spider. So what."
"I thought it was… um… really cool, Bella," Nott said nervously.
Bella shifted uncomfortably under Nott's stare. His pasty, pale white skin was shimmering with sweat. "You believe her then, Nott?" Bella asked, scrunching her face up.
"Well… regardless if it was done or not, the truth is always in the middle," Nott said, smiling crookedly. "And call me Theodore, or Theo, if you like."
Pansy looked at Theodore like he had grown a second head. "Really, Nott?" Pansy said scornfully. She turned to Bella and looked her up and down. "Does Draco know?"
"Not until you tell him," Bella said with a fake smile. "Maybe Millicent can be your witness again." Pansy narrowed her eyes. Bella turned to Millicent, who cowered under her gaze. "Because you were there, weren't you?"
Millicent's bottom lip quivered. Pansy had really done a number on her. "I wasn't," Millicent mumbled softly.
"I know," Bella said roughly. Millicent smiled at her awkwardly.
Pansy stood, pulling Millicent up with her. "Well, if youre so happy with the Mudblood, go." She pointed at the door, smirking. "But watch your back."
"Will Potter be there?" Theodore asked, as they watched Pansy walk towards the female dorms, her hand tugging Millicent's sleeve along like a leash.
"I doubt it," Bella said, unable to help the slight frustration in her tone.
"You seem disappointed."
"He's my potions partner," Bella said, looking at him confusedly. "I just need his help with our assignment. He never bothers showing up."
"I can help you with your work, if you like."
Bella didn't know how to respond to that, instead remaining silent.
"She's going to tell Malfoy, you know," Theodore said, interrupting the silence. "Is whatever you're doing worth the trouble?"
"She can tell Malfoy whatever she likes. If he has a problem, he can speak to me."
"So you don't care about Malfoy, huh?" Theodore asked.
"Why should I?"
Theodore looked like he wanted to respond, but Bella turned and left through the door before he had the chance.
Bella found Hermione at their usual spot on the second floor of the Library. What made Bella stop in her tracks, nearly stumbling over her own feet, was seeing Harry looking up at her as she made her way up the last steps of the spiral staircase.
"Hi," Harry said, announcing her arrival. Bella dropped her books on the table with a loud thud, sitting across from the pair. Hermione looked up, a displeased look on her face.
"Oh; hi Bella," Hermione said distractedly.
"What's with you?" Bella asked, raising her nose at Hermione.
"Spew!" Hermione said angrily. "Spew is 'what's up with me!'"
Bella raised an eyebrow, glancing over at Harry. He stared back at her awkwardly and shrugged.
"Spew?" Bella questioned.
"Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare," Hermione hissed, glancing angrily at Harry over her shoulder. "Something others obviously don't mind going against."
"S.P.E.W for short," Harry added, rubbing at the back of his neck awkwardly under Hermione's obvious scrutiny.
"What—"
"Does your family have elves?" Hermione said, cutting Bella off.
"No…" Bella said carefully, "I was adopted by muggles."
Harry suddenly perked up, his eyes searching Bella's. "Really?"
"Yes—"
"Do you support the unjust and inhumane treatment of house elves?" Hermione asked, opening a crude wooden box and holding out a blue badge with yellow flowers, the word 'S.P.E.W' scrawled on the front.
"House elves?"
"Yes— house elf slavery. They're overworked, they're not paid and they're brainwashed into thinking their only self of fulfilment in life is to slave away for wizardkind."
"That's what they're born to do," Bella replied, nonplussed by her rant, "they serve no other purpose in their lives." Bella was about to continue, but Harry's eyes were nearly wider than his spectacles; he was shaking his head at her rapidly.
Hermione's grip on the badge loosened enough for it to fall between her fingertips, clattering on the table in front of the trio. A range of emotions passed Hermione's now red face, shock, bewilderment, then finally settled on anger. "No other purpose!" Hermione yelled.
"Hermione…" Harry reached a hand out and put it on Hermione's shoulder. Hermione angrily shrugged it off and started gathering her things, stuffing the badge back into the box and slamming it shut. "Get off me, Harry!"
"Wait, Hermione!" Harry said, when Hermione was stomping away towards the spiral staircase.
Hermione spun around, her eyes watery and a lone tear running down her left cheek. She sniffled disgustingly before she spoke. "You and Ron can get help elsewhere for your assignments!"
"Thanks for your support," Harry said bitterly when Hermione had left.
"Excuse me?" Bella replied haughtily.
"You could have at least shown some discretion."
"You could have at least shown up for a single study session, Harry! I've done all the potions work myself, you lazy sod!"
Harry looked at her awkwardly. "Yeah; sorry about that."
"She's bonkers anyway. Spew?" Bella said, scrunching up her face in distaste.
"Her heart is in the right place."
"She's delusional. House elves only serve a single purpose in their worthless life."
Harry's face hardened. "Don't talk about my friends like that."
It was a warning. Something about the way he said it— Bella swallowed roughly and looked down at the table, feeling a tingle run down her spine and settle in her tummy. "Sorry… she's my friend too."
"I have a house elf friend too. He's quite defiant. It's where she got the idea, I suppose."
Another crazy thing about Harry Potter that Bella added to her list.
"So… there's some rumours floating around…" Harry said, breaking the silence. Bella raised her head slightly, staring at him through her eyelashes, already knowing what he'd say. "That you took up Moody's offer on casting the unforgivable curses."
"Do you believe it?"
"I don't know what to believe anymore."
Bella tried to calm her beating heart before responding. "And if I did?"
"S'pose there's a lot I don't know about you, Bella."
Bella ran her hands along her brown hair that had fallen over her shoulders, collecting it in her hands and draping it down her back and away from her face. Harry's eyes followed her movements. "Well I'm here, Harry. Ask away."
"You were raised by muggles?" Harry asked, the malice in his voice now gone.
"I wasn't raised by them in particular. After my parents disowned me, I spent most of my life barely hanging on… it was tough," Bella said carefully. Harry gestured for her to continue. "I was fortunate enough to find another wizarding family who were willing enough to take me, but eventually, they got sick of me. There was an unfortunate… accident, then the muggles ended up finding me." It was dangerously close to the truth— it was the truth. At least it would be easy to remember.
"Do they know?" Harry asked, gesturing between them.
"They don't know I'm a witch," Bella replied.
"Why come to school so late?"
"I never received anything until the Hogwarts letter arrived. The muggles told me they adopted me and I received a letter." Bella raised her head, inquisitive herself, reasoning out loud. "I suppose my name never showed up on the Hogwarts roll until my name was written within the official Scottish registry."
The conversation had become lighter after that, Harry instead asking her meaningless questions regarding likes and dislikes and explaining more about his muggle past. He even asked her what her favourite food was, after they had spoken for what felt like hours, long after the last of the other student's had left.
"Cheeseburger," she blurted out unashamedly.
Harry's face suddenly dropped. "What?" Bella asked, worriedly. She was finally getting somewhere with him.
"Nothing…" Harry said, looking down. "It's just… the muggles I live with eat Mcdonalds all the time… I've never been allowed to taste it once. A french fry here and there that drops along the floor when they force me to clean up their mess and do the dishes."
"That's horrible," Bella replied. And it was— being denied a cheeseburger?
Harry shrugged. "We can't all be lucky with the muggle lottery."
"Maybe you could come visit?" Bella probed, in what she hoped was a joking enough manner.
Harry's eyes suddenly became unfocused. "Yeah; maybe. Maybe you could come threaten them with the unforgivables."
Bella's eyes widened. Harry's eyes had become focused again, the edges of his lips curling into a smirk, then his mouth opened, throwing his head back and laughing merrily. Bella joined in with him.
"Tempus," said Harry, waving his wand. It was just after ten— it was now past curfew. Harry didn't seem fazed by the time. He raised his hands to the table, lifting a bag onto it that had been sitting next to him on the floor. He pulled out a blank piece of parchment. "Funny— Madam Pince must not know we're here, otherwise she would have surely kicked us out by now." He pointed his wand at the parchment and whispered something under his breath.
"What is that?"
Harry ignored her, bringing his head down and looking at the parchment closely. He seemed to be following something along the edges of the paper.
"Will you… Will you be alright to get back?" he said, his eyes not leaving the paper.
"You're not going to escort me?" Bella replied jokingly. Harry nodded his head, apparently not listening to her. "What is that, Harry?" Bella said frustratedly.
Harry's eyes looked up at her from behind the blank parchment. He paused, long enough for Bella to start grabbing her things, then he laid the paper down flat in the middle of the table. Bella pulled her things out of the way to make room.
"It's a charmed parchment. It shows everyone in the castle by their true names and their current location."
"It does?" Bella asked, a bead of sweat forming along the back of her neck and dripping down uncomfortably. Her eyes scanned the parchment for the library. There were three names encased in boxes: Madam Pince, on the other side of the library near her desk, Harry Potter, and next to him… Bella White. Bella breathed a sigh of relief, letting her eyes run over the rest of the parchment. Large clusters of names were huddled around the dormitories making it impossible to read individually. "How does it work?"
"No idea, to be honest."
It had to work off the names written on some roll for the school, Bella reasoned. Bella was still relishing in the feeling of relief that rushed over her at not seeing her maiden name on the paper— or worse, her married name.
"Karkaroff in the Great Hall," Harry mumbled.
"What do you think he's up to?" Bella asked interestedly.
"Dunno, but the cup's the only thing in there." He seemed to be fighting an internal battle when he looked up at Bella, before finally speaking. "Want to find out?"
"And how do you propose we get there?" Bella replied, not hiding the incredulous tone to her voice.
Harry pulled something else out of his bag, after mumbling something again with his wand pointed at the parchment, which turned blank. It was a cloak, black and glittery, its material running along the surface of the table and covering it. "With this."
Bella stared at it doubtfully. Harry stood and grabbed it by the top, throwing it around himself and vanishing into thin air. Bella's mouth dropped open in astonishment. A sliver appeared in the thin air, Harry's arm stretching out to the table and grabbing his bag, bringing it under the cloak. He gestured for her to come underneath. "You coming?"
Bella brought her book to her chest and awkwardly shimmied under the cloak, her side nestled uncomfortably against Harry's. "Sorry, it gets a bit tight in here— imagine what it's like when there's three of us."
The walk down the many stairs was awkward, but the pair found a groove as they made their way to the Great Hall along the even ground closer to the entrance. The castle was almost pitch black, but Harry seemed to have no trouble navigating it, and Bella reasoned he must have done this many, many times before after hours.
The dim, unnatural blue white glow of the lit Goblet of Fire through the double doors of the Great Hall greeted them as they passed through the large hallway. The house tables and chairs were moved to the side of the hall, and in the centre standing by the goblet was Moody, who was leaning on his one good leg, a cane supporting his unnatural pose. Karkaroff was pacing in front of him, his greasy, long black hair swaying behind him with each turn.
Bella looked up at Harry who was gesturing for her attention. He brought a hand up, motioning with his index and middle finger to walk forward. Bella complied.
"What are you suggesting, Alastor?"
"I'm—" Moody suddenly stopped, both eyes, magical and normal, glancing in their direction, making the pair stop dead in their tracks. Bella felt Harry's body tense along her side. "—suggesting a deceiver will always be a deceiver."
Karkaroff turned to look over his shoulder, following Moody's gaze. He continued pacing upon seeing nothing. "I did my time, Alastor. I have no intentions of going back."
"If it were up to me you'd have never been released!" Moody said, enraged. "Tattling on a few names for freedom?"
"You know as well as I do they didn't care for those names, only one."
Moody's face darkened. "You should have been locked up and kissed for your crimes."
"Then it's convenient that you don't dictate the fate of my crimes, Alastor."
"I will, Igor," Moody said, grinning. "Mark my words."
Karkaroff looked put out by his statement. He turned to the goblet, no longer pacing, then his face scrunched up. "What are you doing here, stalking the cup?"
"I'm protecting it from the likes of you," Moody spat. "I wouldn't put it past you to confound the goblet."
"I have nothing to gain by adding names or confounding the goblet, Alastor. My champion's name is all but certain." Karkaroff turned to Moody. "Is yours?"
Moody's face remained impassive. Karkaroff continued. "If I find you here again I'll alert the officials— I'm sure Barty and Ludo would find it interesting."
Moody tensed, which looked odd coming from the grizzled ex-Auror. "Go ahead. I'm here under instruction from the Headmaster."
"Is that so?"
"Who are they going to believe, Igor?" Moody smirked, his scars conforming together around his lips. "Me, or you?"
Karkaroff raised his nose, sending a disgusted look at Moody as he left the hall. Moody stood still, for what felt like forever, then eventually left, his wooden leg and cane clunking along on the floor in an awkward rhythm.
Harry threw the cloak off them long after Moody's tattered coattail rounded the corner. "What do you reckon that was about?"
Bella stepped away and faced him. "Probably had something to do with Moody locking Karkaroff up."
Harry tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
"Karkaroff was a Death Eater, Harry."
"What?" Harry questioned, bewildered. "How is he here, then?"
"He blurted out names of Death Eater's within the ranks to save his skin." Bella said. She calmed herself, feeling her temper rise. Harry didn't notice. "It's public knowledge."
Harry's bewildered face turned sour. "Yeah, well, I didn't know I was a wizard till I was eleven, and the muggles I've stayed with most of my life never told me either, even though they knew," he said contemptuously.
"Well I didn't know that, did I?" Bella said, unable to stop the sass from lacing her voice.
Harry smiled awkwardly at her. "Yeah, suppose you're right. It's a long story… not worth the time explaining, really."
"I can't believe you have a charmed parchment of the school and an invisibility cloak!" Bella said, bewildered.
Harry smiled. "Me either. It's helped me in the past more than you could imagine."
"With?"
"Voldemort," Harry said, with an air of nonchalance. The way she said his name, how it so easily rolled off his tongue, made the same tingle roll down her spine and settle in her tummy. "Know much about him?"
Bella swallowed roughly. "I've heard the stories. You're the saviour," Bella said, in a faux mocking voice.
Harry smiled, then his face became sullen, the shadows of the fire casting over his features. "I— I think he's back, you know."
"What?" Bella said, not hiding her surprise. But… she was supposed to…
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"I would, Harry," said Bella, staring at him. "I would."
Harry appeared to be fighting another internal battle within his own mind, his face scrunching up then settling out, now looking determined. He opened his mouth, a word just escaping his lips, when they were interrupted, making them both jump in shock.
"Well, well. Looks like I wasn't imagining things," the silky voice of Snape said, standing in the doorway of the Great Hall. "A Slytherin and a… Gryffindor fraternising after curfew. How… despicable."
"Professor…" began Bella, but upon seeing his look, chose to trail off into silence.
"Come to enter your name in the goblet, Potter?" Snape spat. "You never cease to amaze me. Constantly seeking fame." Snape stalked towards them as he spoke, now towering over them, peering over his long, slightly crooked nose. "Just like your father."
"Don't talk about my father!" Harry yelled, which made Bella jump.
Snape bowed down, his face now level with Harry's. "Shut up!"
Harry's body language was shaping up towards Snape— for what, Bella didn't know. She chose to intervene before he did something stupid. "Sorry, Professor. Harry was just showing me around the castle after our study session for our antidote." Snape's murderous gaze turned towards her as she stumbled on. "We lost track of time— I haven't yet had the time to explore the castle, and the allure of the goblet's flames in the night was too hard to resist."
Snape pulled away, standing tall, his face now an impassive mask. There was a pregnant pause before he spoke. "I expect better from one of my Slytherin's, Miss White." He glanced at Harry. "No doubt the fault of the Gryffindor. Always managing to get themselves in trouble, with blatant disregard for rules."
Bella grabbed Harry's shaking arm and pulled him towards the exit. "Not so fast. White— stay back. Potter," Snape spat as the pair turned. "One hundred points from Gryffindor for your cheek."
Harry turned and left without muttering a word, stuffing his cloak back in his bag, his head disappearing from view as he descended the staircase.
"What were you doing with Potter?" His face did not show emotion; instead choosing to stride towards the exit, the invitation to follow clear.
"Exactly what I said before, Professor," Bella said, struggling to keep up with his long strides.
"Don't lie to me." His voice lacked malice— it was odd; almost as if he was intrigued. It was something only someone would know if they had spent any time with the man at all— his normal monotonous voice Bella knew extremely well, and this was not it.
"Why would I lie, Professor?" Bella said sweetly.
The walk back to the common room after their conversation was mostly silent, only broken by the pops of frightened house elves cleaning the castle spotting them in the dimly lit distance and disapparating with an anxious click of their fingers.
Snape paused at the door of the Slytherin common room and turned to face her. "Stay away from Potter."
"He's my potions partner."
"You are playing a dangerous game."
"What do you mean, Professor?"
Snape's black eyes studied her for a long time. Bella would not wilt under his scrutiny. "May I go?" Bella asked.
Snape didn't answer. He lent down, grabbing the front of his robes with his left hand and spun them around behind him as he turned and left.
"Pureblood," Bella muttered.
The slow burning embers of the fireplace created just enough light for Bella to navigate around the common room towards the entrance to her dorms. When she had just passed the threshold, someone cleared their throat from the couches, making Bella jump in surprise. It was Malfoy, who was looking at her inquisitively.
"White, a word?"
Bella turned back to the dark hallway to hide her sigh. After some time, she turned and walked towards him. Malfoy gestured to the couch opposite him, leaning forward on his elbows which rested atop his knees. Bella sat. The confrontation from Malfoy had to happen sooner or later. Pansy had so obviously blabbed.
"Pansy told me you're quite intimate with the unforgivables."
"Did she?" Bella mumbled, feigning boredom.
"I'm inclined to believe her."
"Are you?"
"Did you cast them or not?"
"Would you like me to test them on you?"
Malfoy grinned evilly. He leaned back and relaxed on the couch. "Are you a pureblood?"
"Half-blood."
"Not much is known about you, White. You're quite the enigma." It was a statement, though his voice was questioning.
"Good. My past is my past. I have no intentions of divulging it to anyone."
"The house of Slytherin chooses for cunning… and deceiving." Malfoy said, his eyes squinted. "I don't think you're here by mistake. I think you're here for something."
"I'm here because I chose to be here, Malfoy."
"And if I'm right," Malfoy continued, ignoring her. "We could have quite the partnership, you and I."
"We… could."
Malfoy was silent for a long time, and Bella dared not break eye contact. "What's your stance on the current state of the wizarding world?"
"It could use some tweaking," Bella replied, after a pause.
The embers of the fire cracked and a spent log tumbled off its perch at the top of the fire, bathing the room in darkness. Bella heard Malfoy shift on the couch.
"Why do you hang around with Potter and his filth?"
"You never know when you can use someone. Something you could learn, judging by the sorry state of this house."
There was a sharp intake of breath. "What do you mean by that?"
"You've alienated us."
He scoffed. "So we could gallivant around with mud-blood's like you?"
"A fool's answer."
Bella heard Malfoy sigh after a long pause in the conversation. "Yeah, well… I lost my chance four years ago. I just couldn't… I couldn't bring myself to apologise to him, or hang around with those filthy Mudblood's. It would have definitely helped with… other matters."
"It's not too late."
"It is… certain events have transpired that cannot be undone."
"It's never too late."
"Someday in the future I'm going to come to you with a proposition, Bella."
So much like his father. "Is that so?"
"Maybe you could do what I couldn't… Stay on Potter's good side, get to know him and his disgusting friends."
"I'll try, Malfoy."
"Call me Draco."
"Draco."
Bella's screams echoed through the dormitory that night, the dull, lifeless green all she could see behind her eyelids; Harry's words echoing in her mind.
"He's back."
Post Author's note:
Thank you everyone for the amazing amount of support I recieved on the last chapter. It's really made my week. I've responded to all the reviews via PM, and seeing the notifications in my email with the new followers & favourites always brings a smile to my face.
A special thank you to Voldepants who has continued to support my story from the very start and review every chapter— I'm glad you still like it.
I hope the story continues to bring a smile to everyone's face and leave you on the edge of your seat, craving for more!
Because I'm feeling generous, here's a quick snippet from the next chapter. (Please let me know if this is something you want me to put in the post note's of every chapter, otherwise I'll forgo it from now on.)
A snippet from Chapter 10 of ARAT:
"It does, because I've lived it!" Bella cried, angrily. "If you don't want my help, fine! Good luck on your own! Hermione told me you're an outcast!"
Bella could feel tears lining the underside of her eyes. She would not let them fall. Her throat suddenly let out a sob; Bella could have slapped herself. This traitorous body would be the death of her. She turned to leave, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"Wait!" Harry said, grabbing her arm by the crook of her elbow roughly. Bella ripped it so hard from his grasp his nails slid painfully along her skin. She pulled out her wand, pointing it threateningly at Harry's face.
"Don't ever touch me, Potter."