Pariah: The Other Malfoy

Chapter 36: A Date?

"Lyra! Are you alright?" It was Tobias who spotted me first when my friends walked into the Great Hall.

"Hey," I accepted his hug, "I'm fine now, don't worry."

"You're really pale, are you sure?" Tobias examined my face with concern, "Hermione told us what he did."

"I was shaken, but I'll be fine once I've eaten something," I smiled at each of them, "Anyway, there's something more important to talk about. How are you getting on with that egg, Harry?"

"I can't work it out, it just screams at me," he sighed, slumping on the bench, "I have until the end of February to work it out, but I'm getting nowhere."

"You'll get there, there must be some way to open it or something?" Ron spoke, before being interrupted by a first-year student.

"Parcel for you, Mr Weasley," I raised my eyebrows, Tobias snickering next to me as Ron accepted it, shooing the boy away, "Not now, Nigel."

"Mr Weasley?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

"I told him I'd get him Harry's autograph," he explained, opening the package and taking out a strange set of robes, "Mum's sent me... a dress?"

I joined Tobias in laughter as Harry leaned forward gleefully, putting his own hand in the box.

"Does match your eyes," he produced something of lace, "There's a bonnet too!"

"Nose out, Harry," Ron snatched it from him, "Hey, Ginny. This must be for you."

"I'm not wearing that, it's ghastly!" Ginny rolled her eyes at him.

Hermione was sat, suppressing a laugh, when Ron turned to her.

"They're not for Ginny, they're for you," she laughed, "They're dress robes."

"Dress robes? For what?" Ron asked, aghast.

We found out that evening. The Yule Ball was announced, a tradition during the Triwizard Tournament. Fourth years and up were the only ones allowed to attend, due to Harry being the youngest competitor, and I realised why my parents had been so secretive at the start of term.

It would be on Christmas Day, meaning if I was to attend, I wouldn't be going home. Hermione was already talking about dresses, causing me to roll my eyes slightly. If it was anything like the parties my parents threw, the dressing up part was awful.

But the question was if anybody would ask me, or would I be a loser who went herself? No, if I wasn't asked, I wasn't going. That was the end of it.

That night was a full moon. Due to all that had happened that day, I had forgotten to take my potion. That meant I became a fully-fledged monster that night, and frustration at being locked away resulted in me waking up with fresh wounds the next morning.

I didn't sleep as usual when I was taken to the Hospital Wing, the pain being too intense to do so. That meant Snape appeared and gave me a chewing out for forgetting my potion while Madam Pomfrey worked to heal me.

By the time she was done, I was too tired to care about what Snape had said, passing out almost immediately in exhaustion. It was two days later that I woke up, informed by Madam Pomfrey that she had induced that sleep for me to give my scars time to heal the most they could.

Tobias was sitting by my bedside when I woke up. I was squinting against the bright light of the Hospital Wing when his face popped into my view, a huge grin on his face.

"You're awake!" He said happily, helping me sit up better.

"As long as that doesn't mean another lecture from Snape, I'm happy," I sighed slightly, giving him a small smile.