I covered my mouth.
Hannah cried out.
Thankfully, her voice was not loud, or it would have been too conspicuous.
Darren Potter sat at the Slytherin table.
I saw Cassandra bring him a pudding.
I also saw Malfoy arrogantly shove a steak into his hands.
He showed a grateful expression.
Like a little hamster, he gnawed away at it with relish.
I wanted to ask him if it hurt, if it was worth it, if he wanted to run away with us, but I never went over.
Other than openly looking at him when he came in, I pretended that I only happened to catch sight of him at other times.
I began to despise my own cowardice, my own weakness.
And my selfishness and fear.
I could not do it.
In my heart, my life would always be the most important thing. Only by staying alive would I have a chance to see Dad and Mum again. I would never let myself fall before then.
That year ended just like that.
Sitting on the Hogwarts Express, Hannah and I played Wizard's Chess and read storybooks for a while.
It was quite interesting.
When we got off the train, I said goodbye to Hannah and told her to write to me often.
Once I stepped out of Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, I went over to the parents I had in this life.
They had business to take care of here today and had come to pick me up along the way.
When the House-elf carried my luggage past Harry Potter, I kept my eyes straight ahead and pretended not to see Darren Potter walking not far behind Harry Potter.
Dad turned back to speak to Mum.
"Oh, my God, I just saw Harry Potter. That person beside him was Darren