FHB: Chapter 23

Tanya pushed herself to a seated position on a table and waited. When Lucius remained silent, she said, “You can trust me.”

Lucius contemplated about telling her the truth. The idea itself was risky and to share such a secret could do more harm than good.

Finally, Lucius spoke with words as indirect as possible, “All you need to know is that my family is fighting for a cause, and I am as well.”

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”

“What makes you think I don’t want to?” Lucius asked.

“You don’t look happy about it,” Tanya answered with a shrug.

“Even if I don’t want to, I can’t.”

“You have a choice Lu-”

“I don’t have a choice. A particular someone will not let my family go if I turn on him. I cannot do that to my family,” Lucius interrupted.

Tanya’s persistence and the lack of knowledge on his situation were starting to annoy him. Why couldn’t she mind her own business?

“Then we will find a way to help your family. The ministry can protect you and keep you hidden,” Tanya said.

“We Malfoys don’t need protection nor do we hide,” Lucius snapped.

He did not want to continue with the conversation, so he strode to the door ready to leave. Just as he was about to reach for the exit, Tanya jumped off the table and grabbed his arm.

“Wait! We’re not done!”

“We are done.” Lucius yanked himself free from her grip and added, “You and I, we’re done as well.”

Lucius left it as it is and stormed out of the room. He took the biggest strides he could take hoping to get as far away from Tanya as possible. With the hallways almost completely lifeless, Lucius was tempted to burst into a jogged. Unfortunately, before he could disappear around a corner, Tanya called out to him.

“Lucius, wait! What do you mean?” Tanya yelled as she chased after him.

Not bothering to take a look behind, Lucius kept on walking. It was only when she caught up with him did he stop.

“What do you want?” Lucius asked.

“I want to know what you meant back there,” Tanya immediately answered.

“It’s straight forward, Tanya. We’re not friends anymore. I don’t understand why you even want to be friends,” Lucius said before turning on his heels and continuing down his path.

Tanya did not follow after him this time, she simply said, “Because we’re the same.”

That itself stopped Lucius again. He needed to tell her she was wrong.

“We are not the same. You’re a mu…ggle born and I’m a pure blood. I have a duty to bring honour to my family. We are not the same.”

“Yes, we are. We are the same, Lucius. We’re both lonely. We’re lonely because no one is willing to accept us for who we really are. I act like a flipping coin that never lands, and nobody gets it. But you do, you’ve been-”

Lucius did not want to hear anymore, so he decided to cut her off.

“I don’t get you, Tanya.”

“But-”

“I honestly don’t. I put up with you because I need you. You’re the kind of flipping coin I wouldn’t bother guessing head or tails. You’re expendable, and I don’t need you anymore. Why else would a Malfoy befriend a,” Lucius paused before emphasizing on his last word, “mudblood?”

It was harsh, but he said it. He did not like the thought of being similar to Tanya in any way, and he wanted to make sure she understood it. When Lucius caught the pain in Tanya’s eyes, he moved his feet and never stopped until he reached his bedroom.

The journey back to isolation was a strange one. Lucius’ mind bore no thought until he took a seat on his bed. Only then did his last words replay in the silence.

Part of what he said earlier was true. He never understood why Tanya wanted to be his friend; she was strange and overly righteous. And though he felt bad for calling her a mudblood, he knew it was better this way. She could hate him all she wanted and he wouldn’t mind. As long as they were no longer friends, Lucius was fine.

One would think that ending any form of relationship would affect Lucius emotionally. To his surprise, he had no emotional response. He was not sad, nor was he happy about it. He simply did not know how to feel, so he did not feel at all.

The next few weeks were pretty awkward for him. He tried to avoid Tanya as much as possible, but if he did bump into her he would pretend he had not seen her. Lucius wished it was easier, and his wish soon came true.

During breakfast on a typical Tuesday morning, the Slytherins around him brought Tanya’s name to the table.

“Did you here? T. Lovegood is dropping out,” a girl said.

“How do you know that?” the boy across Lucius asked.

“The prefects were discussing about nominating next year’s head girl when they said Tanya won’t be around to take up the post.”

A few Slytherins listening in on the conversation turned to Lucius hoping he would clear things up, but when he remained silent they returned to their food.

After hearing her name, Lucius did not want to stick around any longer. The conversation was not for him and he left without a word. As he made his way to Herbology, he began wondering if Tanya’s leaving had something to do with him. Lucius was curious to find out why but he was not sure if he should.

To Be Continued…

(Leave a comment or vote on whether Lucius should or should not find out why!)

Advertisement

FHB: Chapter 3

Lucius casually slid from the center of the seat to the side before saying, “Have a seat.”

The rest of the Slytherin prefects immediately fell silent as Tanya happily sat down.

“Thank you. You are so very kind,” she said with a smile.

Nobody said anything after that, as the other prefects were surprised and confused by Lucius’ sudden kindness.  Lucius did not break the silence either as he casually pulled out a small black book from under his jacket. Those who followed him knew what the book was for, and they never asked. He usually carried it around and wrote small notes and reminders. Yes, he could have been mistaken for a Ravenclaw.

Tanya sat quietly like the rest, watching the train roll into the outskirts. The lush greenery was a striking resemblance to the initials, ‘L.M’, that was written at the bottom of the book cover. The silence was soon broken by the odd question Tanya brought up.

“Did you write that in ink? Is it Mont Blanc?”

“Who?” Lucius asked in replied.

Tanya laughed before saying, “Not ‘who’ silly, ‘what’.”

Lucius merely looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

“Have you not heard of Mont Blanc? It is only one of the most famous brand for fountain pens.”

Not wanting to look dumb,  Lucius turned to one of the Slytherins across him and the male prefect immediately asked, “What are fountain pens?”

Tanya laughed even harder. “Pens are like quills! You just don’t have to dip it in ink.”

“Which wizard made it?” another prefect asked.

Everyone was now keen to hear of this item that none of them knew about, including Lucius.

“Not a wizard, a muggle!” Tanya replied with the widest smile.

That word immediately sent all of them scoffing.

“What are you, a muggle lover?”

“What’s wrong with muggles? I’m actually muggle born. I mean, my dad is a squib and my mum is a muggle. That makes me a muggle born, right?” Tanya said and turned her last question to Lucius.

Their side of the prefects cabin immediately rose with unsettling words. Lucius did not answer Tanya’s question and wrote three words on an empty page of his notebook.

Tanya, who was already confused at the reaction of the other prefects, saw what Lucius wrote and did not hold back another question.

“What is mudblood?”

Lucius looked up from the fresh black ink that read, ‘She’s a mudblood’, and said, “You.”

“What does it mean?” Tanya asked seriously. She was no longer smiling.

“Dirty blood,” a few prefects answered simultaneously.

Tanya looked from one prefect to the other, extremely confused and worried at the same time. Lucius knew she still did not get what it meant, and he found himself feeling sorry for her.

“Don’t worry, it can be cured,” Lucius said.

Everyone turned to him, and he saw the disgusted looks on the prefects faces slowly turning to grins.

“It can?” Tanya asked eagerly.

“Yes, you just need to do what I tell you to.”

Tanya nodded thoughtfully.

“What house are you in, Tanya?” Lucius casually asked, as though the mudblood issue was settled.

“Ravenclaw,” Tanya replied, and her smile was back.

“When did you get sorted?”

“A month ago, during your school break.”

“And you studied where, previously?”

“Home schooled. My grandfather taught me all he knew.” Tanya seemed rather proud of her grandfather as she said so.

“I see. Well, he hasn’t taught you enough.”

Tanya was taken aback, as though she was the one insulted, but that reaction soon faded into a laugh. She must have convinced herself Lucius was joking.

Lucius said nothing after that, and the other prefects decided to start their own conversations. They were definitely talking about Tanya, yet she seemed to be able to block out their sarcastic and crude comments about her and her family.

After Tanya had enough of gazing at the scenery, she pulled out a text book and started reading. Lucius was also caught doing his own thing, which was scribbling a to-do list in his book followed by mentally listing down the things he could make Tanya do for him.

Her ignorance was going to make a good game, even though he knew the game wouldn’t last long. Her soon to be new found friends would educate her enough, so he better make use of this situation as soon as possible. Unfortunately, he had no good ideas just yet.

When the train finally stopped at Hogwart’s station, prefects scrambled to carry out their duties. Tanya excused herself too, but Lucius stayed. He waited till his usual followers nervously entered the prefects cabin to carry his stuff for him.

Everything from then till dinner at the great hall went smoothly. Lucius briefly forgot about Tanya as he enjoyed his return to school. It was only after dinner did he bump into Tanya. She was attempting to gather the students as her fellow 5th year prefect headed the group.

Lucius had his fellow prefects do all the work since they offered and when Tanya saw, she found it odd.

“Don’t all prefects have to-“

“I don’t,” Lucius cut her short.

“I do, and I have no idea where we are going,” Tanya replied with a chuckle.

That was when an idea came to him. Maybe he could offer Tanya a tour, they did not have an early curfew after all. But was it too much of an effort, considering he had no proper plans for the tour?

To Be Continued…

(Leave a comment below or vote on whether to give Tanya a tour or chill in the Slytherin common room!)