𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝; 𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡.𝐩

𝓨𝓮𝓪𝓻 3, 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 6: 𝓣𝓪𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓣𝓮𝓪 𝓛𝓮𝓪𝓿𝓮𝓼

~ chapter six: talons and tea leaves ~

When Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I entered the Great Hall for breakfast the next day, the first thing we saw was Draco Malfoy, who seemed to be entertaining a large group of Slytherins with a very funny story. As we passed, Malfoy did a ridiculous impression of a swooning it and there was a roar of laughter.

"This. Git," I got out through grit teeth.

"Remember, Y/N, ignore him," said Hermione as she reached for my shoulder to squeeze it. "Just ignore him, it's not worth it. . . ."

"Hey, Potter, Black!" shrieked Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin girl with a face like a pug. "Potter, Black! The dementors are coming!" She then did a ridiculous attempt at what a ghost would sound like. What a four-year-old would assume a ghost would sound like, anyway.

Harry and I dropped into seats at the Gryffindor table, Harry next to George Weasley and me next to Harry.

"New third-year course schedules," said George, passing them over. "What's up with you both?"

"Malfoy," said Ron grimly, sitting down on George's other side and glaring over at the Slytherin table.

George looked up in time to see Malfoy pretending to faint with terror again.

"That little git," he said calmly. "He wasn't so cocky last night when the dementors were down at our end of the train. Came running into our important, didn't he, Fred?"

"Nearly wet himself," agreed Fred, glancing back at Malfoy.

"I wasn't too happy myself," said George. "They're horrible things, those dementors. . . . "

"Sort of freeze your insides, don't they?" said Fred.

"You didn't pass out, though, right?" said Harry in a low voice.

"Forget it, Harry," said George bracingly. "Dad had to go out to Azkaban one time, remember? And he said it was the worst place he'd ever been, he came back all weak and shaking. . . . They suck the happiness out of a place, dementors. Most of the prisoners go mad in there."

"Anyway, we'll see how happy Malfoy looks after our first Quidditch match," said Fred. "Gryffindor versus Slytherin, first game of the season, remember?"

I actually cheered up at this. The last time Harry and I had faced Malfoy in a Quidditch match, Malfoy had definitely come off worse. "Sausages?" I asked him.

"Why not?" Harry shrugged, looking slightly more cheerful.

Hermione was examining her new schedule.

"Ooh, good, we're starting some new subjects today," she said happily.

"Hermione," said Ron, frowning as he looked over her shoulder, "they've messed up your schedule. Look—they've got you down for about ten subjects a day. There isn't enough time."

"I'll manage. I've fixed it all with Professor McGonagall."

"But look," said Ron, laughing, "see this morning? Nine o' clock, Divination. And underneath, nine o' clock, Muggle Studies. And"—Ron leaned closer to the schedule, disbelieving—"look—underneath that, Arithmancy, none o' clock. I mean, I know you're good, Hermione, but no one's that good. How're you supposed to be in three classes at once?"