Apples and Snakes

Dragons

"I think I know what's going on," Wesley said, approaching me in the library, where I was researching hexes for the challenge.

"With what?" I asked, snapping my notebook shut.

He stared at me for a second, golden eyes wide.

"What do you want, Wesley?" I demanded. His face softened.

"I was just noticing how pretty you look," he said. I began to blush, before I caught myself. Little Slytherins don't blush. Especially not so-called evil ones.

"Well, you said you knew something, so go ahead, if you aren't too distracted by my blinding beauty," I said, flipping my purple mane.

He shook his head, and concentrated. "I found something in the Forbidden Forest, or well, some of my friends did."

Now I was interested. "What friends do you have that lurk around in the Forbidden Forest?" I demanded, scooting back, resting my chin in my hand.

He flushed bright red. "Fairies."

I snorted. "Fairies? Really? Good one, Diggory, you almost had me there." I turned to read on more curses that might prove to be useful in the challenge.

"No, really, fairies," Wesley said nervously. "I'm a Friend of the Fairies; it's in the Goodfellow line, my mom's family." He turned around, and pulled down his collar.

"Really? I don't need male strippers," I said, but then I looked closer. On the back of his neck was a birthmark in the shape of a butterfly's wings. Or a fairy's. He pulled his collar back up, and turned around.

"I can talk to them, and they'll obey me if I give them a command, but that's where I have to be responsible." Wesley said nervously, talking fast. "I know it's really girly, and I-"

I put my hand up. "Look, I believe you. Now tell me, what did your little pixies discover?"

He really looked nervous here. "Dragons." He whispered, barely audible in my ear. He looked left, then right. "Your brother saw them, as well as Karkoff and Madame Maxime, so everyone knows. Your twin even told Cedric."

"Harry saw them?" I demanded, raising both eyebrows. "That doxy-moron." I muttered. "Why wouldn't he even tell his own sister? He had to have his Invisibility Cloak and- HAGRID WAS IN ON IT!"

"Shh, shh!" Wesley hissed, pushing his hands into a placating gesture. "Do you want them to get in trouble?"

I kicked my boots up on the table, and crossed my arms over my chest. "I forgot, I'm supposed to be the devil. Harry's an angel that can do no wrong. Silly me."

"Sorry, sorry," Wesley hissed. He then straightened up. "I'm sorry. I forgot about that, I honestly did, please don't hurt me."

I raised my eyebrows again. "What makes you think I'd hurt you?"

"That red glint?" He said.

I saw my reflection on the spine of The Book of Beauty, which had a cover and spine made entirely of mirror. In the pupils, where there would be white light of reflection, it was red. Glaringly obvious against my green eyes was the crimson light. I sighed, and rubbed my eyes. "I have got to get that checked out, one of these days."

"It's happened before?" Wesley asked.

"Yeah, in my mum's office, but it was worse there- I almost released some sort of shadow curse on her- and I didn't even know that I was doing it," I said quietly. "I sometimes wonder if she and the others were right all along... That I'm going evil..."

He took my hands. "I don't think you're going evil."

I scowled. "Just five seconds ago, you believed that I was going to attack you. Forgive me, but I'm not buying what you're selling, your sparkliness." With that, I re-shelved the book of curses, and took my own into my Sleeping Beauty bag, and stormed out of the library.