Blood Bound

Chapter 25 - Hospites

Before anyone could speak, the sound of the common room door being swung open drew the attention of everyone in the room.

"Darling!" came ringing through the room in Nott's overly-cheerful tone, "Honey, I'm home!" The lanky Slytherin came sauntering into view of the small group, followed by a surly looking Parkinson who had her arms crossed over her chest.

"Good morning Theo!" Granger chimed up from her place on the barstool, smiling broadly at the boy. "Are you referring to me?" she asked in an overly-sweet tone "or are you two-timing me with Malfoy here?" she cocked her head in his direction, her smile sliding into a playful smirk.

Nott ignored the two former Gryffindors staring at his back, dumbfounded, and waltzed up to Granger, swinging an arm over her shoulders and placing an exaggerated kiss to her temple before shooting her a wink. Draco scowled at his friend, who caught his look and arched an eyebrow at him in a silent challenge.

"Actually Granger," Draco cut in before Nott could open his mouth "if he were being unfaithful to one of us, it would certainly be me, since I've known him far longer." That earned him a snort from Parkinson where she was lounging on the sofa leisurely, as though there weren't two-thirds of the golden trio glaring at her head.

Glaring may have been inaccurate, Draco realized. Potter was glancing rapidly between the two new occupants of the room, looking like he was attempting to assess the situation. Weasley however, was openly gaping at the side of Parkinson's head, a red flush crawling up his neck. Interesting he thought, saving that realization for later. Nott was draped over Granger but was openly ogling a very oblivious Potter, so Draco felt his desire to break the boy's nose subside a bit.

"What are they doing here?" Weasley finally managed to reconnect his mouth to his brain and turn to direct the question at Granger. His eyes were narrowed and staring daggers at Nott, who'd seated himself on the countertop after swiping Granger's mug of tea from her hands. Draco watched in amusement as his friend took a sip from the cup and immediately made a face, already knowing exactly how Granger liked her tea -bitter and overly sweetened with honey- if one would even still call that tea.

"We're not here for her" Nott explained "though I'm not sure your rude tone really deserved a response" he added snootily with a sniff. "We're here to collect our quidditch captain, pre-game party with various debauchery and what-not in the dungeons. Sorry" he added with a quirk of his lips "no lions allowed in the snake pit."

Draco doubted anyone but him was listening to Nott at this point. Granger was humming distractedly and pouring herself another cup of tea, Potter was shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot and staring at his shoes after noticing Nott's lecherous stare, and Parkinson was glaring mildly at Weasley who was nervously twirling his wand in his fingers.

Deciding the tense atmosphere had become more uncomfortable than it was entertaining, he summoned his wand and his quidditch gear to land in a neat pile on the couch while he drank the last of his coffee. Snagging an apple out of the fruit bowl, he nodded at Granger and ignored the other two as he made his way to the exit.

"Nott, Parkinson, let's go. It's positively stifling in here with this many Gryffindor's." He called as he slipped his shoes onto his feet. With a glance in her direction, Draco caught Granger's eye who subtly smiled and mouthed a 'good luck' before she turned her attention to her friends and he walked out of the common room, two snakes in tow.

--

"What the hell 'Mione?!" Ron exploded as soon as the door closed behind the Slytherins. "Please tell me you're not actually living with Malfoy. It's Malfoy!" He paced a full circle around the sitting area before plopping down onto the sofa with a heavy sigh. Taking a moment to collect herself, Hermione risked a glance at Kaa to make sure he was still firmly inside his enclosure.