eternally mine | pansy parkinson✔

n i n e

Herbology was something Dessa thrived in. Her shelves back home consisted of herbology books and trinkets from various places. This meant she never shut up about it.

"I never thought to check out a herbology book from here," she said, excitement in her voice. Her face was buried in the pages and her hair spilled over her shoulders. Nina looked at her from the couch, a soft smile on her face.

"I love it when she gets like this," she whispered.

Adeline zoned out. The crackling fire echoing in her mind with voices of various people. Her hands laid on her lap with fistfuls of fabric from her skirt.

The day had been quick. The quickest day yet, and all Adeline found herself thinking about was lying to her friends. She'd barely paid any attention in her classes, and surely she'd feel the consequences of that when she tried to work on homework.

"Ad?" A hand shook her gently, snapping her back to reality. She looked at Nina quickly, the other girls eyes fearful.

"Sorry, zoned out." She unclenched her fists and released the skirt fabric from her grasp. The sun had set beyond the castle walls and encased the place in a blanket of darkness, the only light being the soft light from the moon.

Adeline took a deep breath, looking for a clock. Thursday. 7:30. Her hands met the soft, cushiony couch and she pushed herself up. "Are you okay?" Isaac had chimed in now, his eyes away from his homework.

"I'm fine. I'm just going to go to the library for a while," she lied. "I need a book to help with a homework assignment." She swallowed harshly and pulled her bag onto her shoulder, looking away from Nina.

"Okay.." Nina mumbled.

Dessa dropped her book onto the small table and looked up. Adeline tensed and walked toward the door.

"I'll go with you." Dessa was already standing, the book sliding into her own bag.

"No!" Adeline's voice was panicked, her face turning red. "Um, no." The three stared at her awkwardly, Dessa eyes scanning her body language. "I'm okay."

Dessa glanced at Nina before slowly sitting back down in her chair. Adeline took a sharp breath in and turned toward the door, pulling it open and disappearing into the corridor. She let her back hit the wall, trying to calm herself down. Her heart pounded so hard it might burst out of her chest. Her hand gripped her shirt as she took labored breaths.

She slowed her breathing down and took a step forward, keeping quiet as she walked toward her destination. Her mind went blank in the the minimal light from the few candles. Luckily for her, lights went out at 10.

She kept her head down, ignoring the paintings taunting her and yelling for her. She'd learned to ignore them—they swore she was a Weasley and yelled obnoxiously. She didn't know what time it was, it felt like the dead of night to her body. The silence encased her and the warm, orange light reflected on her skin.

She walked quicker this time, anxious that if Dessa wanted to follow her out she'd catch her going to meet Pansy Parkinson.

The wooden door was cracked open slightly, light pouring out of the small crack. Adeline placed her palm on the door and pushed it open, instantly catching Pansy's eye.

"You're late," she said. Her arms were crossed and she sat on a desk. She wore a black fitted, long sleeve dress, her layers of jewelry illuminated in the dim light. Adeline stared at her, her fingers gripping the hems of her own skirt. Pansy's eyes slowly dragged up Adeline and bore into her skin.

"Sorry," Adeline mumbled. She closed the door behind her and walked toward Pansy, sitting in a chair beside her. A potions book already laid out on the surface and a small cauldron was set up beside it. Pansy hopped off the table and made her way to the cauldron, standing behind it.

"I saw that Granger girl make your potion last week," she said. Her hands rested on the edge as she looked Adeline in the eyes. "If you don't try to be better, you won't get better." Adeline sucked in a harsh breath and avoided her eyes. Pansy huffed, taking steps toward her. She slammed her hands on the table, making Adeline jump, and leaned down to be at eye level with her. One hand rested on the back of the chair Adeline sat in, the other on the table.

"If this is going to work, Howard, you're going to have to look at me," she said. "If you can't do that, then there seems to be another issue."

Adeline stared at her, her face heating up. "Good," Pansy smirked. She stood straight up and turned back to the cauldron. "I stole some things from the storage earlier, it's in my bag on the floor."

Adeline stood up and lifted the girl's bag up, laying it on the table. "What are gonna try to have me make?" Adeline looked over at Pansy, holding a small jar in her hand.

"Sleeping Draught," she said. "It's simple enough. I figured start easy and go from there." Her voice was softer now, a strict focus on the cauldron. She fidgeted with the heat below it, not caring to look back at Adeline. "Alright, bring the stuff over."

They stood across from each other, Pansy holding the supplies in her hands. She looked down at her hands and took a deep breath. "If you blow this up or something, there's no hope."

She held her hand out to Adeline, looking at her with an emotionless expression. They stood there for a minute in silence with Adeline staring in Pansy's eyes.

"Howard," she snapped. "Take the damn ingredient."

Adeline reached out hastily to take the jar, her hand brushing against Pansy's briefly. Her stomach dropped and her heart sped up as she pulled her hand away. Pansy held her stern face, no reaction at all, as Adeline glanced down at the jar.

"What is this?"

"Flobberworm mucus," Pansy mumbled.

She opened the jar and grimaced, looking down at the cauldron. "Do I just like.. dump it all in?" Her voice was calmer now, her mind had blocked out everything for once.

"Yes." Pansy stared at her with a straight face, waiting for her to dump it in. Adeline stared at it for a moment more, slowly turning her wrist over. Nerves had taken over now. Now was the one time she cared about how a potion turned out.

Pansy, impatiently, reached her hand out and grabbed Adeline's wrist. Her eyes snapped up to Pansy, widened in shock. Her hand was soft against her skin and the feeling sent a shockwave through her entire body. She shuddered as Pansy tipped her hand over, the contents finally emptying into the cauldron.

Pansy's hand let go of Adeline's wrist and dug in her bag, pulling out a few more things. "Just throw these in," she said. "I'll tell you what they are later." She placed the ingredients into Adeline's palm and crossed her arms. She dropped them in and looked back up at Pansy.

"What now?" The noise in her head had died down and she could focus for the first time in weeks.

Pansy held a wooden spoon out to her, "Stir it." She thrust the spoon into Adeline's hands and took her arm in her hands, walking toward her. "Put both hands on, it's easier that way." Pansy's hands were placed firmly on top of Adeline's, starting to stir slowly. Adeline felt a blush creep onto her cheeks and she desperately hoped Pansy wouldn't look at her and make some snide remark.

She couldn't control anything. Her heart pounded again, her breaths narrow, and her mind cluttered. The warmth from Pansy sent a wave of emotions through her, though she couldn't pinpoint why. She tried to shove it down and ignore it, but it only bubbled back up stronger. Her shoulders tensed and she held her breath, trying to hide how heavily she was breathing.

Pansy let go, unannounced, and took a step backward. "See how its a purple color?" She nodded to the potion before them, placing her hands on her hips. "Thats how you know you've done it right." Adeline nodded slowly, breaking eye contact to look anywhere but Pansy. The Slytherin began gathering her things and shoving them into her bag, shooting a look at Adeline. "Next week its transfiguration. Don't be late again." She threw the bag over her shoulder and walked to the door.

Adeline stood there, taken over by complete shock. Whether it was from the potion or Pansy, she didn't know.