Hand Me Downs.

“You know if you guys actually tried in charms you would both be guaranteed Outstandings’,” Fred sniggered.

“But then we’d have to actually try.” I rolled my eyes, dragging my charms homework back from him and continuing to make notes, this week it was the protean charm, very handy.

And something I had experience with lately, working with Hermione to produce the galleons for the DA meeting.

“Well I know you two have your...” I lowered my voice slightly, “Shop plan with Harry’s money,” The common room was loud as the hour grew late, student gathering for a chat whilst the more serious worked in the library (Hermione for example) and so Fred and myself were squashed on a small armchair, my parchment resting on a heavy old book on my lap.

“But...what if it doesn’t quite work out, or something happens with the money,”

“We’re not going to waste it,” he said defensively, “That would pretty much be an insult to Harry.”

I nodded, starting on my conclusion ‘The use of protean charms in modern culture and how they can especially be displayed in exchanging information’ the title was pretty much the answer and so it hadn’t taken me long to write the nine inches.

“I’m not saying that,” I urged, “Just...I think you two shouldn’t just throw away all your time, you should leave with at least a couple of N.E.W.T.s, you don’t wanna get stuck.”

He snorted, shuffling so his bony side dug into mine and I winced, “You sound just like mum.”

“You ever think maybe she’s right?” I asked, trying and failing to life one eyebrow accusingly, smirking slightly, he opened his mouth and I cut him off, “I’m not nagging, you know I believe you guys will be fine. Your shop will be great and before you know it you’ll be rolling in galleons...”

“That’s the plan.” He interjected.

“Will you buy me a pony?”

“We’ll buy you a fucking unicorn.” I laughed loudly, hurriedly scrawling my last sentence and rolling the parchment up, tying it up with a piece of ribbon, “Where is dearest George anyway?” Fred winked at me.

“Miss him already do you?” I held his eye contact, trying not to blush or look away as he continued to stare, starting to go cross-eyed. “More my than my little heart can manage,” I said sarcastically, somehow sure he would have heard my heartbeat increased.

He shrugged, “They’re at a practise remember; he’s helping Angelina get some decent beaters, you manage to persuade Ryan to go for it? He isn’t bad.”

I shrugged, “I tried, you know he loves Quidditch, but he won’t want to make a fool out of himself in front of everyone.”

“Where’s the fun in that? And plus, he's friends with you, isn’t that embarrassing enough?”

“Touché Mr Weasley.”
________________________________________

The next couple of weeks passed slowly, homework was piling up, all in ‘preparation’ for next year apparently. N.E.W.T.S were far more trouble than I had expected and I definitely wasn’t alone in thinking so.

“What are you doing again?” Katie asked me, head in a history of magic book, her attempt to take an ‘easy’ N.E.W.T had backfired on her quickly, “You don’t need any help,” she scoffed, “Lately you’ve been McGonagall’s pet!”

I stuck out my tongue, ruffling Dale’s short hair as I struggled to make my way around everyone, all in various states of disarray, surrounded in homework.

“You’re just jealous,” I mused, smiling widely at her and saying goodbye, the others muttering it, none apart from Ryan looking up from their work.

“Have fun,” he sang, I pulled a face at him, taking a step closer.

“Make sure you don’t copy that word for that,” I scolded, attempting to pull my alchemy work away from him.

“I’m not!” he defended, quickly changing a few words. “I won’t.” He sighed, pouting and widening his eyes until I looked away and left the common room, the chill of the hallway hitting me instantly, and causing me to regret not putting on a thicker jumper.

“Where are you going?” A cold voice rang out, making me jump slightly as I turned, hand finding my wand quickly, I sighed as I saw who it was, “I have a meeting with McGonagall Malfoy.”

“Likely story,” he scoffed, coming closer, the torches glinting off his platinum hair “Or are you failing so badly she has gotten desperate?”

“Well, if I ever get as bad as you, I’ll be begging her for that tutoring,” I bit, remembering things Harry had told me, “Now if you don’t mind I’m...”

“I do mind actually, I am a prefect, and therefore it is my duty to make sure no-one is causing trouble,” I pulled a face, looking up at him as he stopped only a couple of metres away.

“I’m going to see McGonagall. Plus, it’s way before the deadline and it’s none of your business Malfoy. Go skulk around somewhere else.”

“I do not skulk,” he said lowly, narrowing his eyes at me.

“Of course you don’t,” I said, tilting my head at him slightly, “You keep telling yourself that whilst I go learn,” I nodded, pursing my lips before popping them, “Toodles.”

“You do not speak to me like that.” He spat, following my footsteps, his far louder than mine with the echo bouncing from the high ceilings, “I will not be disrespected by a mud blood.”

“My mother was a witch genius.”

“Not a good one though, especially after what happened to her.” I froze, feeling my jaw lock. Another hint about Bellatrix, another dig too far. His footsteps stopped, wavering behind me, he knew. I moved and my wand was firmly in my hand, my fingers curled around it, nails cutting into palms as I turned around.

He looked nervous, “What did you say?” I half whispered, I wasn’t upset, I was too angry to be upset.

He said nothing, clearly biting on the inside of his cheeks, his hand on his pocket where his wand resided, “I’m not kidding Malfoy, what the fuck did you just say?” I stepped forward as I spoke, my heart pounding against my chest, the beat thumping through my skull. He took a satisfying step back, Malfoy when it came down to it was a cowards, all words.

But hell, after what he said about Molly, about my mother.

I sighed, he had stopped and I was close to him, my wand pressing into his neck as I controlled my breathing, forcing myself to calm down,”If you weren’t such a pathetic little coward I promise you you would be crying right now.” I said, pulling my wand lowly down, and turning, listening to his slight exhalation of breath that turned to a grunt as my fist met his thin face.

I took a deep slow breath, closing my eyes and grinning slightly at the whimper and the scampering of his feet against the stone as he ran away.

“Filthy little cockroach,” I murmured, sucking in my cheek as I slowly continued on my way to McGonagall’s office, I could pretend I was calm, and to a degree I was, but my heart was still racing erratically, my pulse still jumping in the side of my neck.

He kept bringing her up, kept showing me he knew what had happened.

But why now, Malfoy had always been a scumbag, why was he now winding me up, now going at it.
It made me nervous...but Bellatrix Lestrange was heavily guarded in Azkaban.

But now Voldemort had returned...that Harry had seen him...

I hovered outside the door as I thought, my fist raised to knock but shakily slightly in mid air. “Miss Pelanci, are you ever intending on entering?” A cold voice rang, making me jump slightly.

“Yeah sorry,” I murmured, opening the heavy door and offering her a small smile and another apology.

“What exactly were you so deep in thought enough about to spend ten minutes staring blankly at the door?” I didn’t bother wondering how she knew I was there, but shrugged slightly, not sure exactly how open I could be with her, after all she was still a teacher, but...a member of the order of the phoenix and...

“Malfoy keeps mentioning my mother and what happened to her.” Her face fell into deep creases instantly,

“Like he is aware of what his aunt did?” I nodded and she sighed, “Well we must assume his family found it fit to tell him for some strange reason.” I almost scoffed, strange, strange as in his father was another of Voldemort’s pets.

“You know what Harry saw...”

“I do, and unfortunately we have no more proof than his word which the ministry, so entwined with the Malfoy’s is trying desperately to make redundant.” She paused, “Bellatrix Lestrange is heavily guarded in Azkaban Miss Pelanci, the likelihood she should...”

“Sirius escaped,” I said quickly, “He escaped, and what if she does, now that Voldemort is back.” She didn’t flinch at his name, and I felt a burst of confidence in that.

“Such matters are no longer safe to be discussed in Hogwarts, however...I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and alert him to your worries, and you can be assured all shall be done Amelia.” I nodded, her comforting tone lowering my heart rate slightly.

McGonagall nodded slowly pulling herself from behind her desk, “Now, shall we begin?”
________________________________________________

I left her office far more calm than I had entered it.

I was getting close, this was our sixth session and I had changed, not for long, not able to hold it but I had done it.

Changed my shape.

My arms had shrivelled at the same time as I had shrunk, my lips protruding turning hard. All done within a split second, I looked around, everything was so sharp, every minute detail clear.

My eyes were like telescopes, I could see every slight bump on the smile on her face. Then I blinked and the concentration was lost.
From girl to hawk to girl.

And I was ecstatic.

“What took you so long?” I shrugged, fighting back a yawn as I sat between the twins, the fire making the room deliciously warm but only aiding how stiff and exhausted I felt.

“Yeah you were there for like three hours.” I was shocked, it had gone so quickly, but the clock on the wall read close to eleven pm.

“What do you even do?” I sucked in my lips, ignoring Fred’s question but my silence was more of an answer and they both turned, leaning in front of me, George lowering his voice to a whisper, “Is it about the order?” I nodded mutely and they mimicked the movement, moving back either side of me knowing full well there was no safe place to talk anymore.

“Where is everyone anyway?” I asked, fighting back yet another large yawn.

“Katie and that went upstairs cause it got too loud, I think they’re in the guys bit.” I had made a point since everything happen to avoid going into the guys room, I still caught glimpses of the looks George would send Dale when he close to me.

In a weird way I liked it, it made it clear that he still had those feelings..whatever they were.

Not that anything had been said since our talk in the hallway nearly three weeks ago, nothing.

Zilch, nadah.

We just hadn’t brought it up again, it bothered me...because everything was still there, the butterflies, wanting his attention all the time, making excuses to be alone with him, I don’t know what I was hoping,suddenly for all the shit to disappear and for him to proclaim he loved me?

Unlikely.

I think whatever we nearly had was dead, on his side at least.
He was acting the same with me as he always was, minus glaring at Dale, but that may simply be pride thing.

I was far too worn out to be thinking deeply,
“I’m gunna head to bed, on your way up can you pop in and tell them that’s where I am, just in case they worry.”

“In case they think you got kidnapped by some Slytherins?” I forced a chuckle but sadly that seemed to be becoming much closer to a possibility than I would ever want.

Between that, Umbridge, the DA and the order.
I was paranoid pretty much 24/7.

And it was with a resounding grumble that I realised I had Umbridge first thing in the morning.
___________________________

“No needs for wands children,” she needn’t have bothered, no one had gotten their wands out of their bags in weeks, instead we all reached for the heavy text, several people slamming it on the desk.

“Chapter twenty four this week, read as much as you can and we shall continue in your lesson on Friday...Miss Pelanci that means you.”

I bit my lip hard, Aaron kicking my leg lightly as a sign to not retort, since the Quidditch match she had been all over me, I actually think she was trying to get a reaction just so she could punish me.
Sadistic bitch.

“Miss Pelanci...” her sugary tone was gone and I quickly flipped to the page, glaring down at if as it I was reading, wishing the torturous two hours to pass as quickly as possible as I glanced over yet another defensive spell that I would only ever practise hidden away in the room of requirement.

Hogwarts was beginning to see like a waste of time.