Victetta and Georgia stood on either side of my one-seater couch. I sat filing my nails. Of course, after last night, Georgia had come back, and Victetta? Well, she never questioned anything.
No one in the Slytherin common room spoke, yet the entire house had gathered to witness this. I crossed my legs and blew the dust from my nails. Then I inspected my cuticles.
Nearby, a girl sobbed.
“Ascendio.”
I flicked my wand.
The nail file shot apart into petals, and I brushed them off my dress. I rested my arms on the chair, straightened, and looked down my nose at Hannah Stephan.
The girl knelt nearby, sobbing. The prefect from the previous night held a wand against her cheek.
“So… I have a boyfriend, ha?” I regarded Hannah.
“N… n… no.” She shook her head.
“I ran away from school, hah?” I asked.
“No, no! I didn’t mean—”
“I had a mental… breakdown… hah?” I leaned forward.
“I’m sorry! Please. I’m so sorry!” She sobbed and shook her head.
Victetta cracked her knuckles.
I crossed my legs the other way, leaned back, and looked down my nose at her. I didn’t need to say anything. The sound of her sobbing filled the hall.
Everyone stared at the floor. Only my friends and the prefects dared raise their heads.
“You know, there’s a spell. A curse my mother told me about.” I withdrew my wand and pressed its tip against my finger.
“N… no…” She sobbed.
“You see, there was once a little girl, not unlike yourself. One who loved making up stories. One day, she made up a story about a cruel… vicious… witch.”
I narrowed my eyes at her.
She flinched.
“The witch cursed her. At first, nothing changed.” I shrugged.
“Then the girl realised she couldn’t tell the truth. Oh, she tried. But every word she said came out as a lie. For the rest of her life, all she could do was lie. And do you know what happened to her?” I asked.
She shook her head.
I snapped my fingers, and they dragged her to her feet. I stood and leaned in to whisper in her ear.
“She died alone, in a gutter. I know the spell. Would you like me to cast it on you?”
I spoke softly into her ear while pressing my wand against her stomach.
“NOOOO!” she howled.
Most of the girls flinched.
I straightened.
“Victetta, whoever’s on cleanup duty this month has a replacement.” I announced.
“Yes, Princess.” Victetta nodded.
“Oh, you think I’m done with you?” I flashed the girl a vicious grin, and her face fell.
“You’re going to speak to everyone in school. E-v-e-r-y single person. You are going to tell them that you’re a liar and take back everything you said about me,” I said.
She went still.
I snapped my fingers and waved. The prefects carried her away.
“Georgia, is it time for my appointment?” I asked.
“Yes.” Georgia nodded.
“I’d best be going, then.”
I turned and walked away with a sway in my hips.
Georgia followed me to Dumbledore’s office, her hands held behind her back. We hadn’t really spoken about last night. Yet when I woke up at lunchtime, she came over and talked to me as if nothing had happened.
“So, that curse?” she asked.
“Yeah?” I replied.
“The one where you can only tell lies?”
“Ah-hah.” I regarded her.
“It’s made up, right?”
“YEP!” I nodded.
She snorted and covered her smile with her hand. I chuckled, and for just a moment, we were simply two kids walking down a hallway. Two besties who…
I paused when I saw McGonagall standing in front of the headmaster’s door.
McGonagall clasped her hands in front of her and looked down at us over the brim of her glasses.
“I’ll wait… out here.” Georgia stopped in her tracks.
“Get something to eat,” I said.
My traitorous stomach growled. I’d skipped dinner, too, all to deliver corporal punishment. Worse, she’d totally noticed.
“I’ll save you something.” She patted my shoulder and left.
McGonagall didn’t speak as she led me into the headmaster’s office. She didn’t need to. The multistorey room felt intimidating enough.
Wait, is that a private library on the upper floor?
A phoenix ruffled its fiery feathers and pecked beneath its wing.
Wait, he has a phoenix? Ah… well, I mean, they’ve been seen around school and glimpsed in the sky. I’d never imagined the fiery bird belonged to him.
Harry and the Pot-heads were chatting nearby. They stopped when they saw me.
I cast about for the headmaster, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Miss Malfoid, take a seat.” McGonagall indicated a couch in the living room off to the side.
I sat. Harry and his friends took the seats opposite us, while McGonagall sat beside me.
The headmaster emerged from the library with a book in his hand. He didn’t take his eyes off it as he descended the spiral staircase. The pages flipped by themselves, and a floating quill inscribed words onto them.
He sat in a high-backed armchair, and the book floated off to the side. It continued jotting down notes.
Wait, were we being recorded? Or were these just his thoughts?
“Miss Malfoid, enlighten me, if you would. What happened yesterday?” Dumbledore eyed me.
“Last night!” McGonagall snapped.
“I left my dormitory a little after midnight. I took my broom and flew, against school rules, to investigate the scene of the… incident.” I paused to glance at Harry.
“I tracked the Voisych to the Forbidden Forest, where I lost it. Then I saw Hogsmeade, so naturally, I put two and two together and discovered the creature,” I said.
Harry and his friends stared at me, mouths agape.
I kept my chin raised.
“How did you know where it was?” McGonagall asked.
“There’s only one abandoned house in that town, so logically…” I lied.
Obviously, Plum would be at the place where we’d first met.
“Ah, please, continue.” Dumbledore waved a hand.
“I entered the premises and attempted to slay the Voisych. I took a beating, but I bested it using Silencio,” I explained.
“You killed it using silence. Hmm. I shall have to add that one to the books.” Dumbledore nodded.
McGonagall inhaled and looked as though she were about to reprimand me.
“I am cognisant of every rule I have broken. I am willing to sign any paperwork to that effect. Additionally, I am willing and ready to endure any punishment you deem necessary.” I regarded the headmaster.
He eyed me while stroking his beard. He opened his mouth, then seemed to consider his words for several seconds.
“In light of your actions, shall we call it bravery—and consider your subsequent actions to revive Mister Potter? We have decided to drop the matter. Don’t do this again.” Dumbledore gave me a smile and a nod.
“Agreed. Such matters are best handled by adults, and you’d do well to remember that in future, Malfoid,” McGonagall said.
“I completely agree. Such matters should be handled by an adult.”
I narrowed my eyes at Harry for a moment.
We talked for another minute, and then I left the office.
My heart hammered.
No punishment! NO FREAKING PUNISHMENT! How lucky am I?
Harry and his crew emerged, chuckling and looking rather pleased with themselves.
“So, like… I wanted to say thank you. For, you know… saving my life.” Harry held out a hand.
I reached for it, then realised…
My heart hammered.
I couldn’t touch him.
It was too much, too soon. Not when I knew how I felt.
His face fell as I pulled my hand away.
I folded my arms and looked at him and his friends.
“Humph!”
I stuck up my nose and walked away.