Becoming Corruption

The first half of the day actually went a little better. Though I had another class with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, I kept my distance from the Trio, and they left me alone. A few times, I had caught Hermione sneaking glances. Every time our eyes locked, I gave her a nod. It wasn't much, but if I could at least prove to someone that I wasn't a complete arse, maybe my things would stay in my suitcase tonight. I'd run back to the common room after Potions just to try and gather my things; I was already noticing a few missing items.

It was lunchtime when my bad luck decided to resurface. I’d been sitting off to one side of the table, alone on all sides, when a sleek black owl with white markings swooped low over the Gryffindor table and dropped a letter beside my plate. The letter was completely blank, but when I flipped it over, the envelope was sealed shut with the Malfoy crest. Sighing inwardly, I reluctantly peeled the letter open and began to read:

Your brother has informed us of your latest transgressions. I clearly recall telling you that I didn’t want any misgivings this school year. I do not want to hear of any more encounters with any of the Weasleys, let alone Potter or the mudblood. As for your house placement, I shall send an owl to Dumbledore and have you switched immediately.

If I am to hear of one more incident Rowan, I will come down to the school, and you shall not be returning.

The letter wasn't signed; as if there was anyone else that could instill that much dread into me with only written words. My heart fell to my stomach, and suddenly I wasn’t hungry any more. Ripping up the letter as much as I could, I stood from the table and made my way towards Transfiguration, the one class I shared with Draco.

Sure enough, as I stalked from the great hall, Draco fell into step beside me. We both stayed completely silent as we made our way to class. Draco yanked the door open, and motioned for me to head in before him. Storming past my brother, I threw my things down onto the nearest desk and spun to face him.

His arms were crossed over his chest and he stared at me as impassive as humanly possible. Fuming, I took a step towards him, thought better of it, then began to pace back and forth.

“You’re my brother!” I exclaimed, throwing my hands up. “You’re supposed to help me, you’re supposed to have my back! And all you do is treat me like shit and sell me out!”

“Father told me to inform him-“

“I know bloody well what father wants from you!” I snarled as the lunch hour came to an end and students began to spill out into the hall; I dropped my voice as a few eyes shot our way. “I just figured you’d take my side for once.”

Snorting in contempt, Draco shoved past me and took a seat near the front of the classroom while I plopped down where I’d dropped my stuff, staring moodily up at the front.

“You’re quite cute when you’re fuming,” a familiar voice said as the seat beside me was pulled out. Surprised, I glanced up at the voice and came face-to-face with the boy from last night.

“Oh, er…” I muttered, scooting over to make room for him. He held his hand up, saying,

“You’re fine, I have enough room.”

“Oh, uh, okay,” I said uncertainly, turning back to the front.

“I’m Fred. Fred Weasley.”

So I was right! He was a Weasley. Oh, just great. After what my father said in the letter…

“You’re Rowan, right?”

Giving Fred a sideways glance, I nodded once and returned my gaze back to the front of the room.

“That’s an odd name,” Fred continued, like we were in conversation. “Pretty, just not one you hear every day. I’m quite fond of it, actually.”

“That’s great,” I said curtly, not looking at him.

“Well I’m not going to bite you, you know,” Fred said, leaning towards me. I instinctively leaned a bit farther away.

“It’s not very polite to ignore someone who’s trying to make conversation.”

“And it’s not very polite to try to keep a conversation going when it’s obvious the other person doesn’t want to talk,” I said with exasperation, turning to frown at him.

“May I just say, you have gorgeous eyes Rowan.”

“Thanks Fred, that’s great. But I really need-“

“How do you like being in Gryffindor?” Fred asked, propping his elbow on the desk and leaning his chin in his hand, smiling at me.

“It’s not the best. Now if you don’t mind-“

“I’ve heard the other Gryffindors aren’t being that hospitable, and that’s a real shame,” he said, actually sounding sincere. Letting out a reluctant sigh, I turned to Fred and asked,

“Is there something I can help you with?”

Fred just shrugged and said,

“Not really, I just love making conversation with beautiful girls.”

Slightly taken aback by his blunt answer, I blinked and turned back to the front. Thankfully, Fred was silent the rest of the class, but just as the chimes rang to release us, a note was slipped beneath my hand. When I turned to say something to Fred, I was surprised to se he wasn’t there.

Taking the note, I unfolded it quickly and read,

Not everyone here hates you, Rowan. Keep an open mind.

Puzzled well beyond comprehension, I slowly gathered my things. Almost as if in a daze, I folded the note and tucked it safely into my pocket, heading off for the last two classes of the day.

ღ

By the time dinner was over with and I was headed back to the common room, I was ready to collapse into sleep. The only thing still bothering me were the cuts on my hand, which I was sure were infected. The minor cuts were already healing, but these ones still throbbed painfully anytime I moved my hand.

So when I climbed the stairs and entered the empty dorm, only to see my items tossed about again, I nearly lost it. Gathering every single shred of self-control I had, I forced myself to gather up my things without snapping and stabbing my wand through someone’s eye.

Lucky they’re not here, I growled to myself, wincing as I grabbed one of my shoes. The shard in my hand was pushed in farther, and now my hands had begun to ache again. I’d love to show them a jinx or six.

Once I’d gathered all my clothing and items and put them back in the suitcase, I went to wash off my hands. Gently, I cleaned my wound, taking great care not to put too much pressure on my hands. As I took care of my left hand, I noticed the edge of a shard was sticking out. Pulling out the shard of ceramic immediately alleviated most of the pain in my hand, and I let out a sigh.

My right hand was still a vicious reddish purple color. Gently, I poked my finger at the swollen cut, trying to dislodge the ceramic. This chunk wasn’t as far out as the one in my other hand had been, and a jolt of pain shot up my arm. Too tired to deal with the pain, I shut the water off.

As I came back out to the room, I was more than shocked to see Hermione perched on my bed, holding something in her hands. I hadn’t seen her in the dorm before, but then again, I hadn’t really looked around. Slowly, I walked towards her and sunk down onto my bed, keeping a foot or so of distance between us.

She extended her hand towards me; in her palm was the ceramic rose that Draco had made me. It was put back together so perfectly I couldn’t tell it had ever been broken. Though I hadn’t found all the pieces of the rose (I had a feeling a good portion of them were still lodged in me), Hermione had patched in the holes with unbelievable accuracy.

My breath caught in my throat as I gingerly took the rose from Hermione and turned it over to look at all of it.

“It looked like it was really important to you,” she said, folding her hands in her lap as she looked up at me. Tears pricked my eyes, and I nodded gratefully, swallowing hard to keep my emotions in check.

“It is. My brother made it for me…”

“I don’t think you deserve to be treated the way everyone is treating you,” she said softly, her voice sincere. I kept completely silent, not sure what was going on. “Just because you’re Draco’s sister doesn’t make you a bad person. And- and I’m sorry everyone has been so rude to you. Myself included.”

Silently, Hermione got up from my bed and headed to her own bunk.

“Thank you, Hermione,” I said gratefully. “For everything.”

Smiling to me, she nodded as she got underneath her covers. I tucked my rose back into its sock and hid it underneath my bed, pulling up a loose floorboard and tucking it inside. Rolling onto my back, I slid under my covers and closed my eyes, feeling better than I had in a few days.