"Hey Ginny. You're a sight for sore eyes," Sam commented as Ginny approached us outside the great hall. I was looking at the article but glanced up in time to catch Ginny shooting the paper a look of disgust.
"What's the matter?"
"I take it you haven't read the article?" Ginny responded, turning to Sam. This was a true statement, though I had been quoting portions to her as we left the table.
"I didn't realize your brother was such a snob," I commented, hitting the nail on the head. Ginny shook her head again in disgust while I handed the article to Sam.
"Look on here," I pointed to a particularly obnoxious quote from Percy Weasley cited in the paper. "And to think that I knew him back in first year as a prefect," I added turning to Ginny.
"Mum and Dad haven't talked to him since he walked out this summer. It's a sore subject."
"I didn't realize he walked out," I sympathized. Ginny waved my worry aside as Sam looked up from the paper with a sneer.
"This is an excellent new phase in the minister's plan to get a grip of the "falling standards" at Hogwarts if I do say so myself... Sounds like an utter kiss ass if you ask me," Sam summarized as she closed the paper.
"No one asked Sam," I warned but Ginny chuckled dryly to Sam's commentary.
"You should hear what Fred and George have been saying. To put it nicely they believe his down hill started the moment he got that Prefect badge but Bill thinks otherwise. I don't know though."
"Hmm," Sam mused, in a no-good tone. "Sounds like another prefect we know." I felt her gaze and scoffed before taking the paper back.
"Come on, we'll be late for Herbology. I'll see you later at Charms, Ginny."
She waved as we left and the moment we turned the corner, I backhanded Sam with the newspaper.
"What was that for?" she protested as she moved out of my reach.
"Seriously?" I quipped back. "Do you think I've told anyone but you about Draco? No! Let's keep it that way. Please."
Sam sighed, clearly in disagreement but nodded along anyway.
"If that's what you want to do..."
Ella waved to us as we arrived and we joined her before the conversation once again returned to the article.
"I expected her to be in Herbology so I'm relieved she's absent at least for the moment," Ella said in a hushed voice as Professor Sprout called the class to order.
"We'll be lucky if we catch sight of her at all outside dark arts," Sam countered as she took a pair of mittens from a basket being passed down. I took the basket next and retrieved my own pair.
"Fair point. Think of the number of classes each teacher hosts. She could be at any class level," Ella reasoned as she took the basket from me.
"Well let's hope your words ring true. Last thing I need is to see her more than I already do," I concluded in a dismal tone that caught Ella's attention.
"Still in a mood, Ava? What's been going on?"
"Nothing," I mused, opening my textbook.
"It doesn't have to do with that chat with Malfoy last class, does it? You could tell me, you know," Ella added kindly. Sam looked once my way before taking out her own book out while I tensed a smile and shook my head Ella's way.
"No. He was just being obnoxious. Same old routine. I've just been having bad period cramps is all."
Taking that as her hint, Ella looked away and proceeded to pass the basket on while I returned to my book.
As class let out, I found Draco standing further down the hall with his eyes glued to his copy of the Daily Prophet.
That jackass.
Sam stopped by my side and looked to him and then back to me slowly.
"He's taunting you."
"I know."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'll think of something," I said turning back to her as Ella walked out to join us.
"Where are you off to now?" Ella asked in a cheerful voice.
"Charms and Potions. You're going to History of Magic, right?" Sam asked, stepping away from me. "Let's walk together."
"I'll see you guys," I said to the pair before turning back toward Draco who was still obliviously reading the paper. Was he faking?
Probably. Half my class already walked past him. At this point he's just waiting for me to come to him.
So instead of doing that, I put my nose to the air and purposefully walked right past him.
"Not even a hello? That's rather rude," I heard him say as he caught up with me in stride.
"Hello," I shot back in a haughty tone without a glance his way.
"Still hung up over breakfast?"
"Take a guess."
"I see. Well I'd offer you my paper but I hear you already got ahold of Nott's."
"Yes," I verified with a snarky smile in his direction.
"Happy with what you read?" He asked with the sound of a smile in his voice.
"No not particularly," I countered. "All those quotes from your father really put a damper on the article's flow." We had reached the stairwell for the dungeons but as I went to open it, Draco put a hand to the door, keeping it shut. I turned to face him feeling venomous.
"WHAT?"
"Why do you have to be like this?" he asked, staring me down. "You're making everything so- difficult."
"I'm the difficult one?" I repeated sarcastically, pointing to myself. "I'm not the one who snubbed me in front of all your friends!"
"Yes you bloody well did the other night when Spencer was gone. But I see," He went on, those grey eyes leering down at me, breaking down a wall I didn't realize I had up. "There always has to be a motive with you, doesn't there? Can't just have a conversation for the fun of it."
"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were that oblivious," I snapped back. "I always have a motive. I thought you already knew that," I said, stepping up toward him. He dropped his hand on the door but didn't step away. "You act like you know me all the damn time but in the end of the day you still have it in your twisted head that I don't mind you bullying all my friends. I mean, come on," I scoffed, "You think I'd want to walk with you to potions if Snape didn't care where I sat?"
Something in Draco's expression shifted, but I kept going. It was all coming out whether I liked it or not.
"Your friends dislike me just as much as mine do you. So of course, I'm annoyed. It's not like you care what your friends say about me when I'm not around. So why should I be any different?"
I refused to drop eye contact with those grey eyes of his as we stared each other down. But the mood in the conversation had drastically shifted. Like the air was electric and one move would make me feel static.
The moment broke just as quickly as it had arrived when a student opened the door from coming up the stairs. I grabbed the open door the moment the kid passed and even tried to swing it shut violently as I descended but I heard the wood hit his palm as he braced to stop it and follow after me.
My heart started to beat out of my chest as I heard his steps following behind so I quickened my step to the classroom, opening the door just as fast.
We entered Potions fuming with even Hermione, Ron and Harry looking up as we walked by. Nott took one look at the pair of us with a raised brow before dropping his usual cocky grin and sliding out of the way. The table went silent as I sat down and Draco dropped his bag.
Funny enough, we still choose to sit together, though it was obvious that a conversation was never going to happen between us.
The others slowly started to converse again, with Nott leading the conversation for most of it. Draco would respond with short answers before becoming further cynical as time went on.
"The general standard of this homework was abysmal," Snape started, drawing me away from my thoughts. A line of graded papers was being passed back on their own as Snape walked slowly around the room with his hands clasped behind his back.
"Most of you would have failed had this been your examination. I expect to see a great deal more effort for this week's essay on the various varieties of venom antidotes, or I shall have to start handing out detentions to those dunces who get D's."
A cold sweat ran down my neck at the mere possibility I could have gotten a D even though I thought last week's assignment was relatively easy. Was it too easy? Was that my mistake?
My mind was answered almost immediately as my paper arrived in front of me with a red E circled around the front. I released a sigh of relief but quickly turned sour at the sight of the red O on Draco's paper. He was looking smug, a sure sign that he had already seen my paper and was more than happy at the difference in grades.
Bastard.
I found Sam at lunch, laughing at something Theo said as he passed by with an apple. She only needed one look at me to know something happened.
"Don't bother," I said, joining them at the table. "It's what you warned me about is all." Sam looked at me levelly before nodding. My brother on the other hand had news for me.
"Got a letter from Mamen recently?"
"No."
"Well neither have I but we should expect one soon I'd imagine. Damion just got engaged." I spit the water back in my glass before rounding on my brother.
"Merlin that's nasty," He commented, glancing at my glass in disgust while I shook his arm for more information.
"I don't know much," he continued. "Damion just sent word in a short letter. He proposed at Katie's folks estate and naturally she said yes because, why wouldn't she?" he continued in a comical voice that had Sam shaking her head in disbelif. I on the other hand was in shock.
Damion engaged? I mean yes, he was old enough but he was still only in his early twenties. And he'd only been dating Katie for what? A year? Maybe two now?
"So you don't think Mamen knows?" I asked finally after a momentarily silence of catching up. He shrugged but assumed that there was no other reason for the engagement to have gone as smoothly as it did.
I turned to Sam and saw her smiling at me. As if I had just released a breath I didn't know I had been holding, the shock melted away to a feeling of deep joy that only family could feel for one another. Damion had done what he wanted after all. And my mother just had to deal with it.
I broke into a grin that became infectious as Theo started off on what possible chaos could ensue once Katie is introduced to the family.
"The poor thing's going to be on my mother's bad side for a while, I'll tell you that much," I said to Sam on our way to our next class.
"You don't think she'll be mean, though right? I mean, what exactly has Katie done?" Sam asked as we turned for the stairs.
"Nothing really. But if my mother doesn't like you, then it's final. And she can be mean. But whatever. Katie's made her bed. Let's just see if she decides to lie in it or ditch my brother at the altar."
"Merlin that's morbid."
I couldn't agree more but then again, that was the reality.
It wasn't until I saw Draco in passing that my original feelings from this morning came back. We had just come back from Transfiguration (where Umbridge was also not present) and were entering the common room when Draco, alongside Blaise were on their way out with their Quidditch brooms in hand. Draco didn't even look my way but rather focused on Sam with a gaze cut from stone.
"Careful Spencer. Late again and Montague might have reason to kick you from the team."
"Keep blabbing and you'll be just as late," Sam shot back before walking past the boys with me at her heels.
"Did you stun him or something?" Sam exclaimed as I followed her into our dorm. Diana was sitting on her bed, talking to Ebony on the end. When we walked in, they looked up but we paid them no mind.
"I haven't seen him this foul since last year." I sat on my bed and tossed my bag onto the floor. Oliver was nowhere to be seen. A sure sign he was out exploring.
"I may have snapped," I confirmed as Sam started digging in her drawers for her workout gear. She paused to turn and stare those hooded eyes at me, waiting for more. But given that we had an audience listening in, I kept the information to a bare minimum.
"I set things straight and he wasn't happy about it. The end."
"But the pair of you still sat at potions?" I nodded.
"Though I doubt that'll be the case in the future. When I say, I set him straight, I mean it. I kinda snapped a bit."
Sam turned around after putting on a new shirt. She looked impressed.
"Who knew you'd build a backbone over this. I'm proud of you."
I gave her a grateful look before she waved and departed for her training, leaving me alone with the listening ears two beds down.
Hello there,
See you monday!
-WG-