The Buddy System. *Updating In Process*

14. Between Yesterday and You

Pansy wheezed.
"He practically choked on his own tongue!"

"And," Ginny added, holding up a finger, "we may have slipped a bit of Wart-Sall Potion into his flask when he wasn't looking."

I stared. "You what?"

Pansy dissolved into helpless giggles.
"Oh Merlin, you should have seen him! Big green boil right on the tip of his nose. Looked like someone transfigured him halfway into an oversized troll."

Ginny wiped a tear from her eye.
"He screamed so loud people thought Peeves had taken over his body."

"So now," Pansy said, flipping her hair, "we have matching detentions. Really, it's quite romantic if you think about it."

Ginny wrinkled her nose. "Except we're spending them with Filch, not each other."

They both groaned at the same time.

I shook my head, laughing. "You two are going to end up banned from the castle at this rate."

"Worth it," Pansy said proudly as she got to her feet. "Chaos keeps the blood pumping."

Ginny stood as well, looping her arm through Pansy's.
"Alright, partner in crime, let's go face the Troll King."

"Try not to cry when he yells," Pansy teased.

"You cry one time—" Ginny began, poking her in the ribs.

Their bickering echoed through the hall as they headed toward the doors, preparing themselves for Filch's inevitable wrath.

Just before stepping out, Pansy turned back and called to me:

"Have fun in Hogsmeade, Raelyn! Buy something scandalous!"

Ginny added, "And if you see Filch, run."

Then they disappeared — a hurricane of laughter, mischief, and impending detention.

And slowly, the quiet returned.

Though this time... it felt a little warmer.

When I turned back toward our little table, Draco was just dropping into his seat — or rather, collapsing into it like someone who had fought a duel with his own morning.

His hair was slightly mussed, his tie crooked as if he'd yanked it on while walking. He looked... annoyingly handsome for someone who clearly got more sleep than I did.

"Good morning!" I said brightly, trying to hold onto the last fragments of my earlier good mood.

He grunted into his plate.

"Is it?" he muttered.

I blinked. "Is it not?"

He looked up at me then — really looked — and his expression did something strange. His eyes dragged over my outfit, pausing on the denim waistcoat, then the fall of my long skirt. His gaze flicked back up quickly, but not before I caught the flicker of surprise.

And something else.

Something warm.

Annoyingly warm.

He cleared his throat. "I don't know. Everything just feels... sombre this morning."

He cast a vague hand toward the half-empty hall as if the room itself was misbehaving.

"Oh?" I said, trying not to wilt under the sense that I had somehow already disappointed him without doing anything.

He slouched further. "Well I think it is," he grumbled, as though the world personally offended him today. He paused, eyes tracking back to me with a faint crease in his brow. "What are your plans for today?"