The List (Draco Malfoy)

Chapter 5

Chapter Five - Succorbentis?

Well, everything was back to normal. The Gryffindors ignored her. The Hufflepuffs gave her a wide berth. The Ravenclaws were making assumptions that turned into rumours. The Slytherins were being Slytherins.

Hermione was warming up to her again, like usual, and trying to convince the others to come around, but it was slow work. They had seen hell freeze over. Lainey and Malfoy were communicating, secretly, and sharing a joke. Ron looked as if he had been stabbed by Lainey, and probably thought he had been. Lainey had tried to explain that Malfoy had just cheered her up, but that had set off a whole new argument. Why was Lainey going to Malfoy before Ron? And truly, Lainey didn't have an answer.

Sure, she could have been snide about it and remark on the constant ignoring, or snapping, or jinxing that was occurring since they had returned to Hogwarts...but it was just a cover. If Lainey had wanted Ron to cheer her up she would have asked him to a suggested a game of quidditch. Lainey just didn't see Ron as the one to go to first anymore. She saw herself alone, as she had the entire summer...and Malfoy had simply been the first one to come along and say anything remotely funny. It hadn't been personal against Ron, it had been random. If Zabini, or Parvati, or even Luna had spoken to her like that, she would have laughed too...maybe.

Lainey glanced up, rolling her eyes and muttered to herself. "Speak of the devil..."

Malfoy had just entered the library. And was making a beeline towards Lainey. Fantastic. It wasn't as if Lainey had strategized this at all, nothing of the sort. So what if it was a Hogsmade weekend, the first of the year, and she had expected everyone to go? So what she had literally dragged a table across the library to the darkest, cramped corner she could possibly find just so that no one would approach her, even if they could find her? That she was doing her potions homework, so that even if they did find her, they wouldn't be enticed to stay? So what if she had specifically told Madam Prince if anyone asked for her, to tell them that she had never crossed the library threshold? Not strategized. She wasn't irritated at all.

Lainey turned back to her book, pretending she couldn't see that Malfoy steadily approaching, and that the function of Daisyroot Drought was somewhere on her page. How the hell was she supposed to know what Daisyroot Drought was? Or how it was related with strong sleeping solutions? And as Hermione was still on-again-off-again fine with Lainey, she was forced to struggle through her forte of potions alone. Just brilliant, actually.

Malfoy sat opposite her, chin rested on her hands as she observed Lainey with amusement. "The answer is not in any potions book; it's common knowledge. Even you cannot be that bad, Potter."

"...Well, as everyone knows, Potions is my forte." Lainey replied slowly, glancing around to see, to her complete surprise, that they were completely alone in the library.

"Obviously." When he didn't exaggerate that frustrating answer, Lainey felt herself almost growling.

"What the hell do you want, Malfoy?" Seriously, she was trying to work here! She couldn't very well fight Malfoy, so this situation was infuriating the hell out of Lainey. If only she could say one spell...one, dammit. But after pushing it the other day, she didn't dare risk it. No more risks.

Something was amusing Malfoy, for he cocked his head to the side, his eyebrows raised in his signature move. "I'm getting my answer; your bed, or mine?"

And there it was; it turns out they weren't having, remarkably, a civil conversation; Malfoy was just trying to be a prat. Again. "Only funny once, Malfoy..."