Dear reader, I never told you this story. I should have, but it hurts.
Remember waaay back when I first woke up on Christmas Eve? Well, after I spoke with the nurse, she came back to find me sitting on the edge of the bed.
I felt weird and tingly all over. Weak, too. She removed the stopper from a potion bottle, which I took a swig from. It tasted like a mixture of bitterness and popcorn. I finished it, then burped a cloud of multicoloured fumes.
“Miss Malfoid, we need to discuss your life moving forward.”
She gripped my hands and knelt to meet my eyes.
Oh no. This was bad.
People only get down to eye level when what they’re about to say is going to suck! Like, suck REALLY BAD.
“Twenty-three Noxocia bites are lethal. You suffered twenty-two. You came within a hair’s breadth of death,” she said.
I gasped.
“Furthermore, Noxocia is used in certain potions, specifically enhancer-type potions, because of its metamorphic properties. As such, you need to be very wary of drinking such potions,” she continued.
“So… for… like, how long?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
“How long? Well, dear, for the rest of your life.”
“What?” I gasped.
The confession hit me like a hammer blow. One incident had cost me so much.
I sat there, staring blankly at her as she continued talking. After she left, I stared at my finger.
I wondered how much more I would lose.
I’d cut off a huge part of myself. I refused to let myself enjoy the things I loved because of my name. Though, to be honest, my pride had something to do with it, too.
Heck! I was in love with a boy, and all I did was push him away when all I wanted was to hold his hand.
I sniffed and wiped away my tears.
Yeah, maybe it was time I stopped being such a freaking idiot! Maybe, this time, I could actually do something for myself.
So, there you have it, dear reader. Now you know my shame and why I think I’m ready.
Well, maybe ready?
Like, I’ll give him hints. Yeah, I’ll figure it out, right?
For the few days after Christmas, we continued to chat and hang out. Apparently, missing months of classes meant I had a lot of catching up to do, so I actually started spending time in the library studying.
On December 30, I waited for Harry in the dining hall, but he never showed up. I began wandering around the castle, looking for him, when the wall shifted.
Bricks parted, revealing a door.
“The Room of Requirement?” I asked.
I opened the door to find a room filled with stacked crates, dusty chests, and covered mannequins. Piles of knick-knacks rose to the ceiling, forming walls of junk that I had to pick my way through.
“You can’t trust her, Harry,” a gruff voice said.
I froze.
“It’s not like that,” Harry replied.
I felt as though someone had slapped me.
I crept closer and poked my head around the corner. Beyond it was a small living room with couches arranged around a fireplace. Harry knelt in front of the flames, his back to me.
The fire took the shape of a man with a bushy beard and wild eyes.
I blinked.
I’d seen that face before.
Wait, wasn’t that the criminal? Yeah, the guy who escaped Azkaban years ago. Why was Harry talking to that guy?
Sirius Black, right?
Of all people. HIM!!!
“Look, Harry, you cannot release the Hollow King,” Black said.
I covered my mouth.
The criminal knew about the Hollow King, and Harry had told him.
“I have to save her!” Harry said.
“She’s a Malfoid! She will betray you. You have no idea what these people are like, Harry. They serve—”
Black stopped.
“You don’t know her. She saved my life when she didn’t have to.”
“And I’m grateful, but one good deed does not undo—”
“She confided in me. Unlike you and the Order.”
“Harry, we’re trying to protect you.”
“You’re keeping secrets from me whilst pretending you’re doing it for my own good.”
“Harry…”
They continued talking, but I couldn’t bear to listen any longer.
It hurt too much.
Harry had told them about me. They knew everything.
I’d been such an idiot.
I hurried back to my room and found the Harry doll lying on my bed.
“Traitor!” I growled.
I whipped out my wand and blasted the doll into the air. It spun before landing on the bed.
“TRAITOR!” I howled.
I hurled the toy across the room.
Then I sat on the edge of my bed, gripping my wand. My gaze drifted towards my Firebolt in the corner.
To hell with Harry!
I could do this without him.
I held out my hand, and the broom flew towards me.
“Goodbye, Harry. I don’t need you anymore.” I glared at the doll.
I dressed warmly before shooting into the sky.
What if I’m seen?
I end this today!
The Forbidden Forest rushed past beneath me. I spotted centaurs galloping across the snow and was almost certain I glimpsed a giant spider down there, too.
I kept checking the map until I spotted ancient ruins poking up between the trees.
I slowed and descended.
The ruins looked like some kind of bell tower that had sunk into the earth. My bag tugged at me.
I pulled out the Phantom Sceptre, and it began to shake. It tugged my hand towards a place where a doorway had been swallowed by the earth and buried beneath boulders.
“Locomotor!” I held out my wand.
The ground shook, and a boulder lifted a few inches. I moved my wand, and it drifted to the side. Rocks tumbled down to fill the entrance.
I sighed and got to work removing the rest.
I’d just cleared the doorway when I heard shouts.
I turned to see Harry approaching on his broom.
He landed nearby, and I pointed my wand at him.
“Go away!” I snapped.
“Wh… what are you doing? We said we’d do this together, tomorrow.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“I don’t need your freaking help. Traitor!” I growled.
“Traitor!”
“I saw you talking to that criminal. Sirius Black.”
“Oh… I was trying to help you.”
“Help? By telling people I’m a Death Eater?”
“I never told—”
He stopped when a green bolt shot past him and struck a tree.
“I never want to see your face again! Just leave me alone.” My jaw trembled.
He looked away, then back at me. His resolve hardened.
“No!” He puffed out his chest.
I fired another bolt.
He flinched.
“I only told him about the ring, not the Death Eater stuff. They don’t even know about your dad. As far as anyone knows, they kidnapped you and forced the ring on you.” He held out his hands.
“But why? WHY TELL THEM?” I screamed.
He gulped.
Silence lingered, broken only by the whistling wind.
“I needed their help. I was scared Voldem— the Dark Lord would hurt you, so I figured I should talk to someone I trust who could help,” he said.
“How can a criminal help?” I hissed.
“Sirius is a good man. He was framed, and he saved my life. That whole Azkaban thing was a setup.”
“I don’t…” I eyed him suspiciously.
He looked genuine.
I mean… what if he was telling the truth?
I chewed my lower lip and watched him.
“I’m still mad at you.” I stowed my wand.
He visibly relaxed.
We entered the sunken building and found a stone passage leading underground. Braziers shaped like heads lined the walls, green fire flickering in their mouths.
We descended until we reached a door depicting images of Vikings.
The sceptre tugged hard.
I released it, and it flew into a slot in the door. Glowing lines spread across the surface.
There came a thud.
The door opened, and the sceptre clattered to the ground.
I tucked it into my bag as we entered a chamber paved with large black-and-white tiles.
To our right stood statues of Vikings holding shields against their chests, with white pillars between them. To our left stood statues of roaring Vikings, swords raised and ready to strike, with black pillars between them.
I started to enter the chamber, but Harry pulled me back.
“There might be traps.” He shook his head.
“Traps?” I asked.
“Yes.” He nodded.
“Yeah, I don’t see anything that looks like a trap.” I nodded.
I walked into the chamber and looked around.
“Revelio!” I waved my wand.
An aura surrounded me, and mechanisms beneath my feet began to glow.
A series of clicks echoed through the room.
“Oh no!” I gasped.
Harry tackled me to the side.
A pillar fell from the ceiling and slammed into the tile where I’d been standing.
I heard more clicking.
We looked at each other.
Then we rolled in opposite directions just as another pillar slammed into the spot where we’d been.
“White ones! Safe!” he yelled.
He stood on a white tile.
I stepped onto a white tile and a black one. I jumped onto the white just as a pillar slammed down onto the black.
“How do we know all the white ones are safe?” I called.
“Look at the statues! The ones with the black pillars are on the side with the statues attacking. So, obviously…” He smirked.
I looked at the two sides.
In retrospect, it seemed obvious.
I jumped onto a white tile and sighed with relief when nothing happened.
“All right! Let’s go get this ring off!” I punched the air.
I marched forward with my hands on my hips, stepping only on white tiles as we made our way towards the door at the other end of the room.
Then the floor began to tilt.
At first, I thought it was a slope, but I quickly realised that every step we took made it worse. By then, however, it was far too late.
The floor tilted faster and faster. Soon, we had no choice but to run downhill as the gradient grew steeper and steeper.
“We need to run for it!” Harry yelled.
A pillar slammed down where he’d been standing, and my breath caught.
I spotted him a moment later. He’d avoided it.
My distraction cost me.
A pillar hurtled towards me. I jumped aside a heartbeat before the stone struck the place where I’d been.
I tripped.
I tumbled as a series of pillars slammed into the ground behind me. Half stumbling and half rolling, I desperately tried to avoid being crushed by the falling stone.
Then I felt hands grab me.
Harry pulled me to my feet and held me close as we sprinted for the exit.
Pillars struck the ground mere inches behind us.
We leapt through the doorway, and a heavy thud followed as the door slammed shut.
“That was close.” Harry sighed.
“Yeah!” I nodded.
He looked past me, and his face lit up.
“Whoa!” he gasped.
We’d emerged into an underground cavern.
Shining crystals illuminated the ceiling. A rocky path wound through the enormous cavern, stretching above a chasm so deep I couldn’t see the bottom. A waterfall cascaded down the wall, surrounded by tiny, glowing magical creatures.
One flew close, and I saw that it had a white body with flowing, membrane-like wings. It pulsed with light as it zipped back towards the waterfall.
“Well, trap boy. Do you see any traps?” I put my hands on my hips.
“Nothing that immediately stands out.” He looked around.
“Maybe we should… ah… hold hands. Like, in case something tries to push us off the path… or something.” I blushed.
GIRL! What are you doing? He betrayed you!
Well, I guessed he’d been trying to help in his stupid, Pot-head fashion.
“Yeah, we could do that.” He nodded.
“All right!” I grinned and took his hand.
We walked in silence, holding hands, and I couldn’t stop grinning.
As we continued along the path, it grew narrower until we were forced to walk side by side.
Then my stomach growled.
Harry stopped and looked at me.
Shut up, traitorous stomach! Why are you always embarrassing me? Does the whole world need to know when I’m hungry?
“You hungry?” He eyed me.
“Y… yeah?” I nodded.
“Bring snacks?”
“Nope.”
That’s right, reader. I’ve been known to be a hothead who sometimes jumps into action and TOTALLY forgot the freaking snacks sitting beside my bed!
But if you tell anyone, I swear, reader or not, I will jinx you with… ah… something!
Yeah, a really scary something!
“I grabbed a few snacks before I left.” He removed his backpack.
We sat with our legs dangling over the edge of the path while he took out some pastries wrapped in napkins.
“Got these from the feast hall?” I asked.
“Ha! Any more?” I asked again.
“Nope. Just two and a goblet for… drinking.” He waved the goblet.
“Well, we can’t conjure food, but we can multiply it.”
I placed one of the pastries on the ground.
“Geminio!” I waved my wand.
The pastry wobbled. Then another pastry sprouted from it, followed by another and another.
Soon, we had a small pile, and a few tumbled over the edge.
“We save one for later, and it’s unlimited food.” I wrapped one up and placed it in my purse.
“Nice,” he said.
We greedily devoured the pastries while the waterfall thundered and the magical creatures buzzed around us.
In that moment, it was enough.
The outside world didn’t matter. The ring, the Hollow King. None of it.
Just spending this moment with him, enjoying the view and a pile of pastries.
Yeah.
That was enough.