#ritf

Your first month at Hogwarts was amazing. You found out that you were an amazing flier and that you had an affinity for potions. Madame Hooch loved you and Snape had begrudgingly accepted you as one of his best students. Most of the students had figured out by then that you were Harry Potter’s cousin and they either hated you or loved you.

 Most of the Slytherin’s hated you and you thought it was just because of your cousin. But it turned out to be because you were a Muggleborn. One day, you were passing by a group of Slytherin students in the hall when Marcus Flint shoved you into the wall.

 “Get out of the way, stupid mudblood,” he said. You had just rolled your eyes, but those words stopped most of the people around you.

 “What did you just call her?” Cedric said.

 “I called her what she is. A mudblood.”

 It looked like Cedric was fighting himself on whether or not to do anything, but it didn’t stop the twins. They hexed him at the same time and Flint went flying against the wall.

 “Guys, stop!” You said, getting in between them.

 “He called you a mudblood,” George seethed.

 “He deserved what he got,” Fred said.

 “I don’t know what that means and I don’t particularly care. It’s not worth getting in trouble for.” You put your hands on their chests and held them back.

 “Weasley!” Everyone turned to see McGonagall rushing down the corridor, Snape close on her heels.

 “What happened here?” She asked.

 “Flint called [y/n] a mudblood, professor,” Cedric said.

 “And why is Mr. Flint currently on the floor?” Snape said.

 “Those Weasley twins hexed me!” Flint groaned, trying to get up from the floor.

 “Detention, both of you. And twenty points from Gryffindor,” McGonagall said. She turned to you and Cedric. “Ten points to Hufflepuff for the two of you not starting anything and ten points from Slytherin for the use of a slur. Mr. Flint, go to the hospital wing. The rest of you get to class.”

 Everyone started walking again and you looked at Cedric.

 “Slur?”

 “Mudblood is a nasty way of saying Muggleborn. It means dirty blood,” Cedric explained. “It’s mostly used by witches and wizards that believe in blood purity and that anyone other than a pureblood is not deserving of having magic.”

 “That’s awful,” you said, voice hushed. “How can some people think like that?”

 “It’s deeply rooted in our society and it’s disgusting. Don’t let it get to you, [y/n].”

 “I-I’ll try.”

 Cedric gave you a smile and patted your shoulder, walking to his next class. You didn’t have any classes for the rest of the day, so you made your way down to the Great Hall to study. You sat down next to Ginny and she frowned at your upset demeanor.

 “[Y/n]? What’s wrong?”

 “Flint called me a mudblood and the twins got in detention for hexing him.”

 “He called you what?” Ginny was shaking from anger and you put your hand on her arm to calm her down.

 “I’ll be fine. It’s just a word. We don’t need you getting in trouble either. Let’s just study and try to forget about it, okay?”

 “If you say so.”

 The two of you didn’t talk about it for the rest of the night and when it was time for bed, you found a small pile of chocolate and a note from your Housemates. The other two girls in your dorm weren’t there yet and you let out a watery laugh as you read the note.

 [Y/n], don’t let that bigot get to you. You are more than your blood and you’re better than him already. We are lucky to have you be a part of Hufflepuff House and don’t let anyone tell you different.

 It was signed by everyone and you smiled, putting it on your bedside table. You had already changed into your pajamas so you curled into bed with a book you had brought from home and fell asleep while reading.

 ---

 Soon, it was Halloween. The castle looked beautiful all decorated and you were excited to spend the holiday at Hogwarts. Since it was a Saturday, there were no classes and you spent the day flying outside. You had gotten permission from Madame Hooch to practice flying in order to get on the Quidditch team next year, and Cedric was helping you. He was Captain of the team and he had seen you start learning how to fly and thought that you would make a great addition to the team.

 The two of you had spoken beforehand to try and determine what position you would play and after reading about the game, you had chosen to be a Chaser. So the two of you practiced throwing the ball back and forth and throwing it through the goalposts. You did that through lunch and only stopped once it was dinner time.

 “I’m not saying that you’re definitely going to get on the team next year, but if you keep up with your practicing over the summer, you should do well in tryouts,” Cedric said.

 “You really think so?” You said, eyes lighting up.

 “I do.” Cedric ruffled your hair and you laughed as you tried to get away.

 The two of you went into the Great Hall for dinner and you said bye to Cedric as you walked over to the Gryffindor table.

 “Hi guys!” You said. You sat down next to the twins and they grinned at you.

 “We saw you practicing earlier,” Fred said around a mouthful of food.

 “You planning on joining the team next year?” George asked.

 “I’m definitely going to try out. I love flying and the sport seems fun,” you said.

 “Well then we’ll meet on the field.”

 “Fred and I are the Gryffindor Beaters.”

 “We won’t go easy on you.”

 “Then I won’t go easy either.” You gave the brothers a wink and Ginny laughed.

 The rest of dinner went by without a hitch and after, when you were going back to your dorm, you ran into Harry, Hermione, and Ron. There was water all over the floor and when you looked at the wall, your eyes widened.

 “Enemies of the heir, beware,” Draco said. “You’ll be next, mudbloods.”

 He glared at you and Hermione and you glared at him. There was a chill settling in your chest and you only heard Dumbledore telling everyone to get back to their dorms. Shivering slightly, you followed your House to your common room.

 ---

 Mrs. Norris being petrified and the Chamber were the only things everyone was talking about the next couple days. The only thing that stopped that talk was the fact that Gryffindor and Slytherin would be playing against each other in the first match of the Quidditch season.

 You were cheering for Gryffindor, and standing with the younger two Weasley’s and Hermione. You were in awe at the game and how fast paced it was. It was one hell of a game, your eyes darting everywhere, trying to take everything in. You could feel your throat starting to get scratchy from yelling and shouting, but you didn’t care.

 When Wood’s broom got smashed by a bludger, you flinched. It looked like it would be super painful to be hit by one of those. Then it started chasing Harry.

 “That’s not supposed to happen, is it?” You said.

 “No. That’s a rouge bludger and it’s been tampered with!” Hagrid said. Ron went to stop it, but Hermione told him not to.

 The bludger followed Harry for a minute, crashing into everything until Harry managed to lose it for a little bit. Draco said something to him, but you couldn’t hear what it was. That was when the bludger came back and Harry had noticed the snitch. The bludger was still chasing after Harry and it hit him in the arm. You gasped but he managed to catch the snitch. Lee Jordan announced that Gryffindor won and you ran down to the field with Ron and Hermione.

 The bludger still wasn’t stopping and was still going after Harry. He barely managed to dodge it before Hermione blasted it to pieces.

 “Harry, how’s your arm?” You said, kneeling next to him.

 “I think it’s broken.”

 “Not to worry, Harry,” Lockhart said. “I will fix that arm of yours straight away.”

 “I think we should wait for Madame Pomfrey to fix him up,” you said.

 “Nonsense. I’m here and I can do it. This won’t hurt a bit.” Lockhart rolled up Harry’s sleeve and cast a spell. A blueish light came from Harry’s arm and when it faded, you could tell that something was wrong. When Lockhart held up Harry’s arm, there were very clearly no bones left.

 “Oh god,” you said, squeezing your eyes shut.

 “Yes, well, that can happen sometimes. But it’s very clear that the bones are no longer broken.”

 “Broken? There’s no bones left!” Hagrid said.

 “He’s right.”

 Harry’s arm was flopping around and you shook your head in disgust.

 “Come on, Harry. Let’s get you to the hospital wing,” you said. You helped him up and walked him to Madame Pomfrey.

 “You should have come to me straight away!” She said once you got there. “I can mend bones in a second but to regrow them entirely? That’s going to be a process.”

 “But you can do it, right?” You asked.

 “Yes. But it’s going to be painful. You’re in for a rough night, Potter.” Pomfrey poured something into a glass and handed it to Harry to drink. He drank it and immediately spat it out.

 “What did you expect? Pumpkin juice?” She was exasperated and rolled her eyes before pouring more. You had wanted to stay, but she said that Harry needed his rest. So after saying goodbye to Harry, you walked out with everyone.

 ---

 The next day, it was announced at breakfast that a student had been petrified. You were scared for a couple reasons. It was highly plausible that what happened to Collin would happen to you and if it did, or your parents heard of what happened at school, they would never let you come back. You didn’t want either of those things to happen so after you steeled yourself, you went to talk to Professor McGonagall.

 “Professor, can I speak with you?” You asked her.

 “Of course, Miss Dursley. What can I help you with?” She put down her quill and you sat down in front of her desk.

 “You saw how my parents were, right?” You said, twisting your hands.

 “I did.”

 “Can you promise me that if what happened to Collin happens to me, you won’t tell my parents?”

 “I can’t promise that, Miss Dursley.”

 “But if they figure out what has happened here, I’ll never be allowed back. You said yourself that I need to learn how to use my magic or something bad will happen to me,” you said. “I looked it up. What would happen. I don’t want to turn into an Obscurus, Professor.”

 McGonagall sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

 “Alright, Miss Dursley. I won’t tell your parents anything if something happens to you. But only because you’re right.”

 “Thank you, Professor. I really appreciate it.”

 “In return, I expect you to practice your transfiguration more. It needs work,” she said.

 “Of course, Professor. Thank you!” You gave her a smile and walked out of her office. A huge weight was lifted from your chest and you went about your day with a smile on your face.

 ---

 A few weeks later, there was an announcement of a dueling club being formed. You were excited to learn some defensive spells but when you found out who was leading it, you frowned.

 “Lockhart? Really?” You said to the twins. “He’s such a sham.”

 “Might be.” Fred shrugged.

 “But he is the DA teacher. He has to know something.” George put his elbow on your shoulder, Fred following suit.

 “I hope so.”

 Soon, Lockhart was knocked back by Snape’s disarming spell and you had to hold back a laugh. When Lockhart said that he let Snape do that on purpose, you accidentally let out a snort.

 When Harry and Draco were called up to duel you were a little nervous to see what would happen. Both of them hated the other so much that something was bound to go wrong. So when Draco cast a spell that wasn’t expelliarmus, you weren’t surprised. It was only when Draco conjured a snake and Harry talked to it did you start to get worried.

 Everyone backed up when the snake landed after Lockhart tried to get rid of it, and that’s when Harry started talking to it. Him doing that brought you back to Dudley’s birthday a couple years ago where he spoke to the snake at the zoo and set it free before trapping Dudley in its enclosure.

 As Harry spoke to the snake, you saw it turn to Justin. It went to strike but then backed off. That’s when Snape got his head about him and got rid of the serpent.

 “What’re you playing at?” Justin said.

 That was when the club ended for the day. Everyone dispersed and you caught up to Justin after telling the twins bye.

 “Are you alright?” You asked him.

 “I think so? I mean, I thought that we were on good terms, but I guess not.”

 “I don’t think that he meant anything by it.”

 “Did you know that he was a Parselmouth?” Justin said. He stopped walking and turned to you.

 “Parselmouth?”

 “That he can talk to snakes.”

 “I think so? I saw him doing something with a snake from the zoo a couple years ago. I guess he was talking to it. But it can’t be that big of a deal, right?”

 Justin was about to answer when Nearly Headless Nick showed up.

 “Miss Dursley, Mr. Flitch-Fletchley! How are you?” Nick said.

 The both of you looked at Nick and everything went black.

 ---

 When you woke up, you sat straight up.

 “Giant snake!” You said.

 “Miss Dursley?” Madame Pomfrey said.

 “There was a giant snake, where is it?”

 “It’s been taken care of, Miss Dursley,” Dumbledore said. “The Basilisk is dead and the situation is over.”

 “Basilisk?”

 “That’s the giant snake you saw. Now come on. I’m sure there are some people who would love to see you.”

 You got up on shaky legs and was immediately engulfed in a hug. You knew it was Hermione because of her hair and you let out a laugh.

 “Thank goodness you’re alright! Harry was worried sick,” Hermione said after she let you go.

 “You got petrified too?”

 “I did. I had figured out that it was a Basilisk and saw it through my mirror. Let’s go get some dinner.”

 You walked out of the hospital wing with Hermione and once you got to the Great Hall, you immediately ran over to Harry and gave him a hug.

 “[Y/n]!”

 Hermione was the next to hug Harry and you waved to the twins before making your way to the Hufflepuff table. You sat next to Cedric and he was happy to see you back. After Dumbledore made the speech saying that finals were cancelled and you were happy about that seeing as you missed half the year.

 The last week of school passed very quickly and soon you found yourself on the train back home. Harry had explained everything to you then and you were glad that everyone was okay in the end. You were also glad that you had asked McGonagall to not say anything to your parents. Even if you had to come up with an excuse for missing Christmas.

 It was a nice train ride home and when it stopped at the platform, you didn’t want to get off. With a sigh, you grabbed your trunk and your things before walking with Harry. You said goodbye to everyone, giving hugs to the twins, and left to where your parents would be waiting to pick you and Harry up.