26| SOMEWHAT OF AN APOLOGY
"Mr. Nott, if you could bother to open your book, I'm sure all of us would be grateful," said Professor Snape, wearing a grim look that perfectly matched the cold, tenebrous atmosphere of the Potions classroom. His unamused obsidian eyes were drilling holes into Theodore, who had messed up his potion because Draco had challenged him to brew it without looking into his book.
Gritting his teeth as he heard Draco sniggering under his breath, Theodore cleared his workstation and opened his book with much more force than necessary, flicking through the pages till he found the right one. He was lagging, on the same level as Goyle and Crabbe now. Beside him, he could glimpse Gemini listlessly leaning against the table, having finished brewing her potion.
"The textbook finally started to look appealing?" taunted Draco, who himself wasn't done with his potion.
"If I recollect correctly, Mr. Malfoy," started Snape in a deadly, disapproving tone, "I did not permit you to speak in class. I am certain Mr. Nott has enough wit to read the recipe correctly from his book without your unsolicited assistance."
Draco scowled at him.
"Your expressions of resentment mean nothing to me. Now make yourself useful and complete your work in silence."
There were only fifteen minutes or so left for the bell to ring and Snape had mentioned he would be making an important announcement at the end of the lesson, which was majorly the only reason why more than half the class was done with their antidotes so early today. Snape had dedicated the entire lesson to practising antidotes, since, as he had declared:
"Save for a handful of students, the only potential this class has is to be a historical failure. Never has a batch of Slytherins been so disappointing in Potions — Miss Davis, pay attention to your cauldron!"
There was a look of deep torment etched onto his features as his unpleasant gaze swept over them, landing on Crabbe, whose cauldron had reduced to ashes, and Goyle, whose antidote was emitting a very foul smell. He clucked and flicked his wand, making Goyle's cauldron disappear. Draco and Theodore, who were now the only ones left, sped up a little.
"Since Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Nott have, at long last, finished brewing their antidote," called Snape after about ten minutes, "I request your undivided attention."
Everyone responded to his call more sincerely than they ever had. An enthusiastic buzz travelled around the classroom.
Snape proceeded with an unaffected look, "As a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament, champions and students alike are invited to the Yule Ball — an event which offers an opportunity for us to socialise with our foreign guests." The very prospect of talking to people seemed to appal him.
Pansy and her circle of girls started giggling and whispering erratically. Snape shot them a vicious glare which shut them up.
"All those in and above fourth year are allowed to attend the Ball and are requested to bring partners. The partners you invite may be younger — though I strongly oppose the idea," he added, looking like he was trying to almost force each word out of his mouth. "Students are required to adhere to the dress code, that is dress robes. The ball will start at eight o'clock on Christmas Day, finishing at midnight in the Great Hall. Pre-eminent behaviour is expected of you all. If any of you shall embarrass the Slytherin house in any way, I will personally ensure that you are seen to sincerely."
His murderous tone towards the end of the speech was indication enough for them to not say a word until he had glided out with his robes flying behind him dramatically.
Gemini mentally groaned.
This was the last thing she needed in her life at the moment. She never had a taste for large events like balls. It wasn't the decoration or cuisine that bothered her, no. It was the crowds. People all around her, closing in, brushing past.... she couldn't take it. Her already meagre enthusiasm regarding the Yule Ball was further diminished when she proceeded to lunch in the Great Hall and while treating herself generously to the succulent meal (she thought the sprouts looked particularly interesting today), was interrupted by an older boy, clad in those blood-red robes of Durmstrang which looked striking beside her dull, black ones.
Gemini's features relaxed into a blasé look. She knew exactly what was coming next...
"Hello, gorgeous."
...that wasn't the voice she expected.
Her ear twitched as the words were whispered next to it, followed by a pair of warm lips pressed against her cheek. She looked to her other side and came face to face with a pair of intense, poetic eyes. Her gaze went up to study the gentle, dark curls falling over handsome, sophisticated skin and then travelled down to those defined cheekbones...
"I think you just scared him away," she told him in a whisper.
Blaise pulled back with a grin. "I would like to think so," he said, glancing up to find the Durmstrang student marching away with a stiffness in his shoulders that only envy could stir up.
"Got some gibes in store for me?"
He slid in beside her as his eyes dedicatedly watched her turn away from him and slice her knife through the portion of roast beef sitting appetisingly on her golden plate. "Quite the contrary. I'm here to.... make amends."
The fork and knife poised in her hands came to a stop. "Right!" she started with a tone so mocking, he could've sworn there was acid on her tongue. "I suppose your ringleader thinks himself too superior to come to me himself and apologise for his superfluous behaviour these past weeks for an issue that was, so to speak, trivial?"
"He's not my ringleader," he said annoyedly, knowing fully well who she was talking about. "I don't know how many times I have to tell you this, but I am not the type of person to join his 'gang'."
Gemini snapped her fingers. "Ah, yes, I remember now what you told me last year.... you could never be a part of Draco's gang because you're what? The loner type? No, no, it was the loser type, I think —"
"The leader type." he cut her off as his brow twitched.
"No hesitation," she remarked. "Well, I'll tell you this: I don't think any more of you than I think of Draco. So your efforts to come up to me to make amends are bound to be unavailing. Don't waste your precious breath, I'm sure one of Pansy's gang members could use it."
There was something about almost being provoked by her that made Blaise feel more attracted to her than ever. His hot gaze swept over her form. How could someone so charming be so poisonous? But he supposed that was the catch to all beautiful things; exquisite yet deadly, like —
"Aconite," he muttered.
"What?" Gemini asked before she could stop herself.
He stared into her eyes deeply. "It's what you remind me of," he told her, "aconite."
His low, musical voice perfectly resembled that of Lord Henry Wotton's as described by Oscar Wilde, which was perhaps the reason why she found herself a little entranced by him, if only for just a moment. Was this how Dorian Gray felt when he spoke with Lord Henry? It certainly felt like it. Only Blaise had not only the advantage of an attention-seizing voice but also of a typical, elite beauty which she supposed he had inherited from his famously beautiful mother.
"Flattery will get you nowhere with me," she told him as she came to her senses.
His lips curled into a challenging smirk. "Are you so sure of that?" he asked her in a soft voice as he inched closer.
"Mhmm," she confirmed, completely neglecting his proximity despite being eminently aware of it.
He hummed and let out a slow, deep breath, catching some strands of her hair between his fingers. Then with a feather-like touch, he pushed them behind her ear, his fingers skimming over her earlobe and fingering her small, crystal earring. "You know, if I were to speak facts, there is not much I have said or done to you ever since the incident. I was just disappointed that you were willing to go as far as complimenting Potter in front of everyone just because you wanted to rival Draco's opinion."
"It wasn't just to rival him, it was because Krum is not a nice person and Potter is genuinely a good flyer." she corrected him. Blaise allowed his fingers to slip from her skin as she elaborated:
"Complimenting a person and supporting them are two different things. You can admire your enemy's qualities but still hate them. A person's skills can't be questioned, because no matter what you say about them, if they're good, they're good. For example, I cannot deny that Krum is a good Quidditch player, because I've seen him.
"But what lowers my respect for him is that he was callous in his approach towards the dragon and the eggs. They're living beings, not assets that can be thrown away after their use. Potter skilfully achieved his egg and was careful in the process. So when Draco indirectly brought up a comparison between the two, the answer to who was better was obvious, and I merely stated this fact."
Blaise looked taken aback by her little, impressive speech. Most importantly, though, it was Draco and their fellow fourth-year Slytherins who needed to hear this — and they did. They were all clustered right behind the two of them, and each word she spoke was like a bullet of realisation for them. They all knew it was Draco who had initiated the problem in the first place when he purposefully acclaimed Krum in front of Gemini, and moreover, teased her about Potter. She had responded in kind.
"Alright, fine!" Draco groaned. "Enough with the lecturing, I get it now, the argument was stupid and we shouldn't have allowed it to carry on this long."
Gemini flung around in surprise and found Draco sauntering over to her lazily, Crabbe and Goyle following his lead while the girls huddled together a little distance away. They weren't nearly as convinced as Draco to let the matter go — probably because Pansy's animosity towards her was influencing their decision, but Daphne, being relatively the nicest of the lot, departed from them and sat down next to Blaise. Draco occupied the space on Gemini's other side and looked straight at her while she maintained her staggered look.
"You can wipe that look off your face." was the first thing he told her.
She stared on for a moment more before she whispered Blaise's name suspiciously and asked him, "Did he just admit he was wrong?"
Draco scowled. "This is why I didn't want to say anything,"
Gemini was jolted back to reality. "No, no! Continue, I'm enjoying this..." She expectantly placed her chin in her hand and leaned forward on the table with a bright smile.
"Firstly, I said we shouldn't have allowed the argument to continue this long," he began haughtily, "and don't make that face, you know you responded just as much."
"There's only so long one can ignore someone like you," she muttered scornfully.
"Flattered, but let's focus on the matter at hand, darling." he said nonchalantly, "I suppose you're too conceited to apologise first and I'm not about to compromise my dignity by apologising to you for something so stupid —"
"Were you dropped on your head as a baby?"
"— so we're just going to forget this ever happened."
"That's convenient," Gemini said sarcastically.
"Great! I guess we're done here!" said Draco, and he started piling mashed potatoes on his plate, leaving her to look at him incredulously.
"Never mind him," Daphne interrupted. She pushed Blaise out of her line of sight and once she had secured Gemini's attention, began speaking, "Look here, and listen carefully. Now, since you were absent during our discussion," she gestured to the girls, "I want you to know that we are planning to conduct a dance practice in the common room tomorrow evening for the Yule Ball. We figured there aren't many of us who are that good at dancing and some haven't even had a proper dance with anyone yet. So, you could attend if you wanted to."
"Daphne!" Pansy scolded, "Why are you telling her?"
"Come on, Pansy, we need all the assistance we can get." Daphne tried to reason.
"Yeah, come on, Pans." Draco joined in, "Greengrass isn't wrong — I mean, look at those two chumps." he casually pointed to Crabbe and Goyle, "You think they'll survive a minute on the floor without good practice? If they ever get a partner, that is."
Chuckles of approval met his words.
"Alright then," Pansy agreed, "you can come, Delmar, if you know how to dance."
"Don't worry, I'll have you swooning by the time we're done." Gemini winked at her, sending everyone into peals of laughter.
It had been too long since she had used her undeniably charming flirting skills on anyone, and watching the deep red colour creep up Pansy's neck was just the reaction she needed to make her day better. After all, she had tolerated weeks of her taunts and insults, and she really had to maintain the bad blood between them to keep her life interesting.