During summer break you found out your sister Ivy has been bullied for years in Hogwarts. The crossing line was when a boy dated her because of the bet. You heard enough. Now after years of homeschooling you’re going to confront those mothefuckers and give them a lesson on what happens when someone hurts your family.
💬 916.7k
@szturkaThe Hogwarts Express was exactly as insufferable as Pansy Parkinson remembered it.
Which was to say—not at all, because she'd claimed the best compartment within the first five minutes, charmed the seats to be more comfortable, and cast a silencing spell on the door before anyone could interrupt her designated gossip time.
Pansy Parkinson
examining her nails with practiced disinterest So, summer recap. Aurelia, darling, I simply must know—did the Italian villa live up to the Instagram-worthy fantasy of it, or did you spend the whole time fending off your mother's matchmaking attempts?
Aurelia Rosier
thin smile My mother's matchmaking is always a given. The villa was adequate. The company was not.
Isadora Rockwood
leaning forward, eyes wide Oh, was it dreadful? Tell me everything. Was he old and balding with a horrible mustache?
Aurelia Rosier
Worse. He was young, handsome, and had the conversational depth of a puddle.
Astoria Greengrass
quietly That does sound dreadful.
Daphne Greengrass
not looking up from her book At least he was handsome. Last summer, my mother introduced me to a man whose primary hobby was taxidermy.
Isadora Rockwood
gasping, delighted No!
Daphne Greengrass
He had a stuffed badger named Bartholomew. I was expected to be impressed.
The compartment door slid open with barely a knock, and Aidan Holloway slipped inside with the ease of someone who knew he was welcome. Theodore Nott and Mattheo Riddle followed, the latter immediately slinging himself onto the seat next to Pansy and throwing an arm over the backrest like he owned the place.
Mattheo Riddle
grinning Ladies. Missed me?
Pansy Parkinson
flatly Like a hole in the head.
Mattheo Riddle
pressing a hand to his chest You wound me, Parkinson. And here I thought we had something special.
Aidan Holloway
settling across from her We were just discussing summers. Mine involved my mother's newest boyfriend—a man who thought "fine art" meant velvet paintings of wolves howling at moons.
Isadora Rockwood
snorting You're joking.
Aidan Holloway
I wish I was. He tried to teach me how to play the didgeridoo.
Theodore Nott
smirking Please tell me you learned something.
Aidan Holloway
I learned that running is always an option.
Laughter rippled through the compartment. It was easy. Familiar. The kind of rhythm seventeen years of shared history had built, where nobody needed to explain themselves and the jokes hit before the setup finished.
The door slid open again.
Blaise Zabini stepped in first, calm as ever, and Draco Malfoy followed with the kind of tension in his shoulders that suggested he was carrying information he couldn't wait to deposit.
Mattheo Riddle
raising a brow You two look like you've seen a ghost. Or a first-year wearing last year's fashion.
Blaise Zabini
shutting the door behind him, voice low Something like that.
Draco didn't sit down. He stood near the door, arms crossed, gaze sweeping the compartment with the expression of someone who'd just found a splotch on his family crest.
Draco Malfoy
deliberately There's a new girl in Slytherin.
Pansy Parkinson
unimpressed There's always a new girl. Is she a transfer? Seventh year? That's odd. Nobody transfers in seventh year.
Draco Malfoy
She's not a transfer. She's been homeschooled. Took her NEWTs early, apparently. Her parents finally decided she should attend a school for her final year.
Aurelia Rosier
slowly That's unusual. What family?
The question hung in the air for a beat longer than it should have. Draco's jaw tightened.
Draco Malfoy
That's the interesting part. Her surname is the same as the girl in the year below us. Ivy. So—
Pansy Parkinson
blinking Wait. Ivy's sister? The quiet one? That girl actually has a sister?
Theodore Nott
leaning forward The one who never talks in lessons but still manages to top the class in everything? That Ivy?
Draco Malfoy
The very same. And apparently, her sister is just as quiet. But the family name carries weight. No one can figure out why she's suddenly decided to show up now.
Aidan Holloway
voice flat She didn't decide anything.
Every head in the compartment turned toward him.
Aidan Holloway
Her sister—Ivy—had a rough year last year. She's an easy target. Never fights back. Doesn't say a word. Maybe her sister's tired of watching that happen.
Silence. The kind that settles thick and uncomfortable, the way it always does when someone says the quiet part out loud.
Mattheo Riddle
slowly, something unreadable in his dark eyes So, what you're saying is, the heiress of an old pure-blood family has decided to spend her final year at Hogwarts to... play bodyguard.
Aidan Holloway
shrugging That's my guess. I could be wrong.
Draco Malfoy
You're not. Trust me, she didn't enroll just for the academics.
Pansy drummed her fingers against her knee. Slowly. Considering.
Pansy Parkinson
Well. This just got interesting.