Mischief Managed || Draco Malfoy

3. The New Fourth Year

Hermione waits for Lydia as she hurriedly grabs her books, shoving them into her satchel. "Lydia, here." She laughs, helping. "Is someone a little nervous?"

"A little!?" Lydia shrieks. "I've just gotten used to having fourth year classes and now we have to have classes with the slytherins? They absolutely hate that I got 100 house points for being moved up a year - can I just die now?" She whines.

Hermione giggles, pulling her friend to the door; she likes that they now share a dorm, though it was a little weird at first. It makes it easier to talk to her since the boys are still bickering like 3 year olds. "You'll be fine! Hagrid is the best teacher and he's excited to have you."

Lydia sighs slowly and smiles small, letting her friend pull her along. The rumours have died down now but at first she was the talk of the school - gave Harry a few days break. But now the first trial is looming in just 2 days, the attention is back on him. And she doesn't mind that. He's more used to it than her, though no one deserves gossip about them being spewed like a wildfire.

Lydia blushes as a few Slytherins whisper upon her arrival, but a sharp stare from Draco silences them. Lydia smiles small at him but he just rolls his eyes - he hasn't spoken to her since the day Mcgonagall decided she was changing Lydia to fourth year. Bitter maybe? Jealous? Who knows.

"Righ." Hagrid says in a gruff voice, not leaving any more room for Lydia to be stared at or whispered about.

Lydia steps back slyly as he teaches, moving to the back of the class to lean on the fencing. She tries to focus but she notices Draco doing what she did, eventually sliding back to lean a few feet away from her. "Hey." She says gently.

"Hello." Draco simply says, watching Hagrid.

Lydia rolls her eyes and looks at her muddy boots. "Okay." She huffs.

"How did you do it?" He asks after a moment.

Lydia looks at him as she frowns, confused. "Do what?"

"Did your family pay Dumbledore?"

Lydia snorts, covering her mouth as she laughs hard. "Pay him!?" She whisper yells. "Draco, I can't even afford the boots I'm wearing. My brother had to lose out on a new coat for these." She snaps. "No, I didn't. I earned my place here, I work hard."

Draco frowns. "Poor and a mud blood?"

"Really? You're just complimenting me with that word now." She rolls her eyes, crossing her arms as she looks back at Hagrid. She isn't good with animals/creatures, but she'll do what she needs to to get the grade.

Draco smirks. "You're so easy to annoy." He muses.

Lydia rolls her eyes again, sucking on her teeth. "Quiet, I'm trying to listen."

"Did I get under your skin? Oh yes." He whispers, mimicking her from a few weeks ago.

Lydia sucks her lips in to hide her smirk, glancing at Draco as he grins waiting for her retaliation. "Maybe."

"I so do. Let's agree this - we both annoy each other. A lot." He says, facing the same way as her. If anyone looked over, it would look like they're both doing everything to avoid each other, but deep down? Both want to converse. To poke and prod one another for answers.

"Fine, yes." She mutters, pushing off the fence to join in with the practical Hagrid set them on.

After class, Lydia waves small as Hermione rushes after Harry to practice for the trial in a few days. She decides to let most people leave before she begins to walk back up to the castle, deciding to go for a walk instead of grabbing lunch. She digs her hands into her robe pockets and heads to the lake, her eyes roaming over the large Durmstrang ship docked there.