chapter two
DEFENSE WITH SNAPE
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ELLE TRIED TO GRACEFULLY strut down the stairs, but her lack of sleep made it quite difficult for her. She wore a soft smile, light freckles splattered on her milky skin. Rohan Jain grinned wolfishly as he saw Cho accompany her, followed by Luna. The brunette's hair toppled down till her waist, lustrous and long, and Rohan's cheeks tinted pink just at the sight of her.
Rohan had fancied Cho since their first year at Hogwarts, and Elle knew that they would make a good pair.
He eyed her up and down as she rolled her eyes and strode past him quickly. Elle chuckled lightly and nudged him, "It's never gonna happen."
Rohan shook his head slowly in denial and turned to Luna, "Good Morning Luna."
"Hello, Rohan! The morning is beautiful, is it not?." Luna dreamily mused, staring at Rohan's startled face.
Rohan grinned as he slung a dragon leather satchel on his shoulder. The Jains were one of the most powerful purebloods of India and could afford the best of the best. However, they never believed in blood purity — India's values were rather accepting to people of all statuses.
"You have a man bag," Elle stated with an amused look on her face.
"It's not a man bag! It's a satchel." Rohan defended himself while Elle chuckled.
"It looks like one to me."
"It's not a man bag."
"Can I borrow your purse, Ro? Mine's all worn out."
"It's a satchel!"
"Purse."
"Satchel."
"Purse."
"Satchel."
"We're late to DADA." Elle stated, "But we do have it with the Gryffindors. Ah, I love the Gryffindors."
Rohan went white — his boggart was Severus Snape after all; he and Neville spent hours bonding over that fact. After the Indian regained his composure, his hands not shaking anymore, he cleared his throat with a smile, "You're only saying that because Harry is there."
"He's practically my brother." Elle deadpanned before looking at her muggle watch, and back at Rohan.
The two locked eyes for a solid two seconds before realizing that they were thirty minutes late for DADA.
"Shit," Elle sprinted through the empty corridors of Hogwarts, Rohan following her, not even taking a moment to admire the cold cobblestone walls or the intricately designed tapestries. After about five minutes of intense running, which served as a great exercise for the two, Elle turned back at Rohan while running, who was still trailing behind her.
"We're almost he-"
Elle however, did not complete her sentence as she ran straight into another figure, dropping to the ground, books falling out of her bag.
The blonde looked up and tucked a strand of her golden hair behind her ear as she gathered her books. The girl she had knocked over was the spitting image of Jade, sultry hazel eyes that twinkled softly, raven hair that cascaded till her waist. And those soft lips, she knew those lips well.
Elle looked as if she saw a ghost, a ghost that she terribly wanted to drag back into reality and be with. "Jade?" She spoke her name softly, barely a whisper tumbling from her mouth. The witch's eyes grew fond, but her facial features seemed stuck, like she couldn't move, couldn't breathe.
"Do not speak to me until spoken to." The girl's voice was firm, the fondness in her eyes melting away and blazing with fire. The brunette stood up, posture as refined as the Queen of England, towering over Elle, making her feel small.
"I didn't mean to come off as rude..." Elle's smile grew wider, eyes crinkling, "I'm sorry and I hope you have a great day. I didn't quite catch your name?"
"Pansy. Pansy Parkinson." Her eyes grew proud, the only emotion that she seemed to possess.
"Oh... I must've gotten confused then." Elle's smile dropped, "Always a pleasure meeting someone new, though." The mysterious woman cracked a small smile out of politeness, feeling horror-stricken at how similar this woman looked to Arielle, her Arielle.
Elle's smile could not get any wider.
"So she smiles huh?" Elle teased, and the girl's porcelain cheeks turned a shade of red.
"Maybe she does." The girl replied with rosy cheeks, her hostile attitude melting as soon as she saw the wide smile that adorned Elle's sickeningly gorgeous face.
"I'm Elle. Elle Lovegood."
Her name is Elle. Not Arielle. Breathe, Pansy. It's not her.
The girl — Pansy — headed inside another classroom, her walk was graceful yet confident, not faltered by the fall one bit.
"Who was that?" Rohan asked, leaning on Elle's shoulder with his elbow. "Someone." She replied, her eyes twinkling brighter than the stars that put her to sleep.
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ARIELLE CONTAINED HER LAUGHTER as snape attempted to reprimand the pair, sick and tired of their antics. "Do explain why you're late, Miss. Lovegood, Mr. Jain." Snape tutted as Rohan shamefully hung his head down, Elle looking distracted and playing with her hair.
"I would tell you that I had to wash my hair, but I don't think that's a concept that you're familiar with." Elle feigned innocence as the class snickered at her comments.
Snape looked like he was going to explode.
"Detention for three weeks." The raven-haired wizard bellowed, and Elle's lips twisted.
"Sir, it has come to my attention that your birthday is approaching. Would you like some shampoo, or maybe a bar of soap? As my father likes to say, clean body, clean mind. Besides, you could really use it." Her eyes sparkled with mischief as Snape scowled at her.
"Make that detention for two months Lovegood." He spat out, touching his greasy hair self consciously.
"Yes yes, can I sit down now?" She fiddled with the ends of her wand, Snape sighing. "Go have a seat, Miss Lovegood. Mr. Jain, you too."
Elle smiled a charming mask and took a seat in between Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. "Snape's a right foul git, his ego is even larger than the size of his nose," Harry commented as Elle burst into peals of soft laughter.
"Good one Potter, I'll use that later." She winked snidely as Hermione smiled at her close acquaintance with shining eyes.
"Elle, we've been close for six years now. Just call me Harry." He smirked playfully, the way a brother would challenge a sister, and Elle laughed once more.
"Lovegood, Potter stop chatting amongst yourself and get your notebooks out." Snape dryly spoke, still combing through his oily hair, which Rohan thought reminded him of schoolgirls that he grew up with.
Elle smiled mockingly at her professor and took out her notebook, starting to carefully read her notes from the previous class.
"I'll stick with Potter for now, but thank you for the offer, Harry." Hermione grinned at their conversation.
"Honestly Harold, let her call you Potter," Hermione commented softly as Harry nudged her playfully.
"My name isn't Harold."
Elle shook her head as the two began a conversation, lost in their own world. She did, however, notice a fuming Ron Weasley at the next table, staring intensely at the pair.
The blonde's eyes lit up as Snape introduced their new topic, having studied it previously. She absolutely adored Defence against the Dark Arts, and it opened up a whole new world for her to explore.
Mind you, she hated that slimy git of a retired potions teacher, and new DADA teacher, but she loved both the subjects deeply. Perhaps that was why Snape hated her — she criticized him yet excelled in his own subjects, passing with flying colors. Snape even did think that her excellence reminded him of himself, but shook away the thought whenever she commented on his oily hair.
Nothing else worthy of note happened in DADA.
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