Chapter 50: Suspicious Behavior
Malfoy didn't reappear in classes until late on Thursday morning, when the Slytherins and us Gryffindors were halfway through double Potions. He swaggered into the dungeon, his right arm covered in bandages and bound up in a sling, acting as though he were the heroic survivor of some dreadful battle.
"How is it, Draco?" asked Pansy passionately. "Does it hurt much?"
"Yeah," said Malfoy, putting on a brave sort of grimace. But I saw him wink at Crabbe and Goyle when Pansy had looked away.
"Settle down, settle down." said Professor Snape idly.
Harry and I scowled at each other; Snape wouldn't have said 'settle down' if we would've walked in late, he'd have given them detention. But Malfoy had always been able to get away with anything in Snape's classes because Snape was head of Slytherin House, and generally favored his own students above all others.
We were making a new potion today, a Shrinking Solution. Malfoy set up his cauldron right next to Harry and mine, so that we were preparing our ingredients on the same table.
"Sir," Malfoy called, "I'll need help cutting up these daisy roots, because of my arm."
"Weasley, cut up Malfoy's roots for him." said Snape without looking up.
I looked at Snape, and then at Malfoy.
"There's nothing wrong with your arm." I hissed at Malfoy.
Malfoy smirked across the table.
"Weasley, you heard Professor Snape. Cut up these roots." he said.
I seized his knife, pulled Malfoy's roots toward me, and began to chop them roughly, so that they were all different sizes, as I was thinking it would satisfy me more to chop off those slick back lairs on his head.
"Professor." whined Malfoy, "Weasley's mutilating my roots, sir."
Snape approached our table, stared down his hooked nose at the roots, then gave me an unpleasant smile from beneath his long, greasy black hair.
"Change roots with Malfoy, Weasley."
"What?! But sir!"I exclaimed.
"Now," said Snape in a dangerous growl.
I had spent the fifteen minutes carefully shredding my roots into exactly equal pieces. All that work just to pass them on to that worthless git! I shoved my beautifully cut roots across the table at Malfoy, then took up the knife again, trying to figure out just how good my aim was. Not to kill him or anything. Just to scare the wits out of him.
"And, sir, I'll need this shrivelfig skinned," said Malfoy, his voice full of arrogant and malicious laughter.
"Potter, you can skin Malfoy's shrivelfig," said Snape, giving Harry a hated look.
Harry took Malfoy's shrivelfig as I began trying to repair the damage to the roots I now had to use. Harry skinned the shrivelfig as fast as he could and flung it back across the table at Malfoy without speaking. Malfoy was smirking more broadly than ever.
"Seen your pal Hagrid lately?" he asked us quietly.
"None of your business." I said, without looking up.
"I'm afraid he won't be a teacher much longer." antagonized Malfoy in a tone of mock sorrow. "Father's not very happy about my injury."
"Keep talking, Malfoy, and I'll give you a real injury," I snarled.
"He's complained to the school governors. And to the Ministry of Magic. Father's got a lot of influence, you know. And a lasting injury like this" he gave a huge, fake sigh, "who knows if my arm'll ever be the same again?"
"So that's why you're putting it on," said Harry, shaking in anger."To try to get Hagrid fired?!"
"Well," said Malfoy, lowering his voice to a whisper, "partly, Potter. But there are other benefits too. Weasley, slice my caterpillars for me."
The torture of Potions went on, with Neville botching up his potion midway. Hermione was anxious to help, but Snape warned her not to, as he has planned on testing it on poor Trevor. When Snape's back was turned, Neville pleaded frantically with Hermione to help him. And of course, she gave in.
"Hey, Harry," said Seamus, leaning over to borrow Harry's brass scales, "have you heard? Daily Prophet this morning - they reckon Sirius Black's been sighted."
"Where?" said Harry and I quickly. On the other side of the table, Malfoy looked up, listening closely.
"Not too far from here,l." said Seamus, who looked excited that he had something to tell. "It was a Muggle who saw him. 'Course, she didn't really understand. The Muggles think he's just an ordinary criminal, don't they? So she phoned the telephone hot line. By the time the Ministry of Magic got there, he was gone."
"Not too far from here ..." I repeated, looking at Harry. He was getting dangerously close and I was starting to get that sinking feeling once again
I turned around and saw Malfoy watching closely. "What, Malfoy? Need something else skinned?" I said. "Like your head, perhaps?'
But Malfoy ignored me. His eyes were fixed on Harry. He leaned across the table.
"Thinking of trying to catch Black single-handed, Potter?"
"Yeah, that's right." said Harry offhandedly.
Malfoy's thin mouth was curving in a mean smile.
"Of course, if it was me," he said quietly, "I'd have done something before now. I wouldn't be staying in school like a good boy, I'd be out there looking for him."
"What are you going on about, Malfoy?" I said roughly.
"Don't you know, Potter?" asked Malfoy, his pale eyes narrowed.
"Know what?"
Malfoy let out a low, sneering laugh.
"Maybe you'd rather not risk your neck," he said. "Want to leave it to the Dementors, do you? But if it was me, I'd want revenge. I'd hunt him down myself."
"What are you talking about?" said Harry angrily, but at that moment Snape called, "You should have finished adding your ingredients by now; this potion needs to stew before it can be drunk, so clear away while it simmers and then we'll test Longbottom's..."
Neville broke out into a sweat as he stirred his potion feverishly. Hermione was muttering instructions to him out of the corner of her mouth, so that Snape wouldn't see. Harry and I packed away our unused ingredients and went to wash our hands.
"What did Malfoy mean?" Harry muttered to me. "Why would I want revenge on Black? He hasn't done anything to me - yet."
"He's making it up." I said savagely. "He's trying to make you do something stupid. Just ignore the little tosser."
The end of the lesson in sight, Snape strode over to Neville, who was cowering by his cauldron.
"Everyone gather 'round." said Snape, seeming excited at the prospect of killing a child's beloved pet. "If he has managed to produce a Shrinking Solution, it will shrink to a tadpole. If, as I don't doubt, he has done it wrong, his toad is likely to be poisoned."
Us Gryffindors watched fearfully. The Slytherins looked just as excited as Snape did. Snape picked up Trevor the toad in his left hand and dipped a small spoon into Neville's potion, which was now green. He trickled a few drops down Trevor's throat.
There was a moment of hushed silence, in which Trevor gulped; then there was a small pop, and Trevor had turned into a tadpole, wiggling in Snape's palm.
Us Gryffindors burst into laughter applause. Snape, looking sour, pulled a small bottle from the pocket of his robe, poured a few drops on top of Trevor, and he reappeared suddenly, fully grown.
"Five points from Gryffindor." said Snape, which wiped the smiles from our faces. "I told you not to help him, Miss Granger. Class dismissed."
Hermione, Harry, and I climbed the steps to the entrance hall. I was seething about what Snape had done, that fucking git.
"Five points from Gryffindor because the potion was all right! Why didn't you lie, Hermione? You should've said Neville did it all by himself!"
But Hermione didn't answer. She had just been beside me.
"Where is she?" I said, looking around.
Harry turned too, looking just as bewildered as I was.
"She was right behind us." I said, frowning.
Malfoy passed us, walking between Crabbe and Goyle. He smirked at Harry and then disappeared.
"There she is." said Harry.
Hermione was panting slightly, hurrying up the stairs. One hand clutched her bag, the other seemed to be tucking something down the front of her robes.
"How did you do that?" I asked, pointing from behind me to where she was standing.
"What?" said Hermione, joining us.
"One minute you were right behind us, the next moment, you were back at the bottom of the stairs again."
"What?" Hermione looked slightly confused. "Oh! I had to go back for something. Oh no..."
A seam had split on Hermione's bag. More books than she needed for the day came toppling out.
"Why are you carrying all these around with you?" I asked her.
"You know how many subjects I'm taking." said Hermione breathlessly. "Couldn't hold these for me, could you?"
I was turning over the books she had handed me, looking at the covers. "But, you haven't got any of these subjects today. It's only Defense Against the Dark Arts this afternoon."
"Oh yes." said Hermione packing all the books back into her bag. "I hope there's something good for lunch, I'm starving."
And without another word, she marched off toward the Great Hall.
"Do you get the feeling Hermione's not telling us something?" I asked Harry, who simply shrugged as if it was nothing.
I rolled my eyes. He may have been oblivious of Hermione's antics, but I wasn't.