Despite Pansy telling herself she would not describe Daphne about her astonishing vacation with the dark lord was, she felt as if she were to explode if she didn't 'It was awful, I was basically being tortured for 3 weeks...' Pansy groaned as she sat next to her on the couch of the Slytherin common room
"What did you guys eat there? I mean...this is-" she paused and leaned into pansy's ear causing a faint shiver down her spine "-This is Voldemort we're talking about. I'm sure he won't have the finest chief in England serving"
Pansy sighed heavily, rubbing her temples. "Oh my god, just rethinking the venom we had consumed for the last month makes my taste buds relive that hell. The food was uncooked and the drinks tasted like rat piss. And at some point, I was so sure that the 'cooked chicken' he had served us was half-alive-Merlin, I could even feel the feathers sticking between my teeth"
Daphne groaned imagining the taste of her description. And as Pansy went on with the living hell she had experienced, Daphne simply swallowed her thoughts like a capsule. A capsule that would take her life away if she had neglected it. So she went on with swallowing that capsule until that was all she could consume.
"The mattresses were like solid hard, and every time I tried to get an hour of rest (at most), I'd hear some banging above my head, or someone cackling" She shivered, reliving the moment.
Their conversation had gone on for hours or so, well, that had been until they were interrupted by the presence of Este Cherith, who had herself lounging on the black leather couch right beside them. She had her legs rested on the arm of the seat, her silk, costly, nude-colored night-gown slid up to her knees as she had her hands holding each other, relaxed on her stomach. Her strong perfume lingered in the common room and both girls could not help but breathe in her fragrances. Although their noses were filled with the aroma of citrus and cinnamon, their tastebuds were nerved with the taste of battery acid.
Despite their mutual grumbling, the green-eyed girl insisted on maintaining her smirk with a strong and zealous arc to her brow. Her eyes were hooded with a strange emotion Pansy could not really capture. The room felt tight as the tension had been feeding itself with suspense, suffocating Pansy and Daphne until their lungs shriveled up like raisins. The walls thickened tenfold, while Este had herself lounged like a king, at ease and free.
A foreign feeling coursed through her stomach and chest as Este had captured Pansy's eye. She felt nauseous, and with that nausea, she felt the need to rip out all the organs to untie the sickening knot
"You look ill, Parkinson" Este remarked with mockery, coquettishly fluttering her eyes (much like the flutter Pansy had in her stomach)
"Don't get me wrong, green does suit you very well. But I'd suggest not painting your skin green" She winked, as Pansy stared with wider eyes. She had been stunned, and empty with words- a rare miracle in her case
"Let's go, we don't need to associate ourselves with her" Daphne whispered, as Este sent her a deathly starer, swiftly averting from the coy gaze that was gifted to Pansy. Pansy had nodded, still out of words as Este had taken them away from her.
...
"Can you believe the nerve of her? I mean honestly! All of a sudden she thinks she rules the entire school with her rich blonde hair and expensive perfume and her perfect clique of perfect pretty girls" Daphne had exclaimed, which came as a shock to Pansy as she had never seen her so furious and judgmental about a person.
"I can't believe my sister would stoop to as low as Este Cherith to practically worship. She'll do anything Cherith asks her today. She follows her around like a lost dog. Which I will admit is strange seeing as Astoria always was the one tugging the dog leash." She sighed in frustration, plotting herself onto the nude silk sheets. And Pansy hated the fact that those sheets reminded her of the nightgown that hugged Este so well
"She's a she-devil, that's what she is"
---
Warm freckles were felt forming on the boy's worn-out skin. His eyes were squinted shut. The creases on his eyelids looked like a very messy path that leads nowhere. The surface beneath his back did not feel friendly, but familiar. His eyes draped open like velvet curtains, only to be feverishly struck by the eager sun rays.
Draco's back snapped forward as a black coat fell off him, onto his knees. His eyes were barely open, yet open enough to find himself in front of the black lake. Unlike last time, he remembers exactly how he found himself here. He remembers seeing her and being pulled underwater with her...Hiding from someone-yet his mind could not go as far as remembering who.
His eyes, now fully open, capture the glistening frenetic eyes of her. His nose had twitched, and his face felt rashy like he'd stuck his head in a bush of poison ivy.
His long legs stood up and he carried himself towards her. A smile crept on his face. Again, not friendly, but familiar.
"You saved my life,"
He spoke, kneeling on the evergreen grass. His head was tilted to look down on her, and his blonde hair was messy and ruffled like the grass beneath him. Her cheeks, once a warm ivory shade had turned into a bright pink. He had chuckled deeply seeing the vivid effects he had on her.
"What was after us?" He asked, with a curious linger
"A very pretty girl" She muttered quietly "I don't know who..."
"Well, describe her"
...
I took a moment to think "She had the brightest green eyes I had ever seen" I tried to think of her features more, and although her face had been so clear in my head, I found it so difficult to pinpoint an exact feature, and describe them. I failed, finding myself immediately restarting at Draco's memorized features when I did try.
"Many girls in our school have green eyes. For all I know you could be describing Potter" He spat, emphasizing the last word 'Potter'. I squinted my eyes and tilted my head to the left slightly. I hadn't heard of such a thing called 'Potter'. I wondered if it was a human dish or some mechanical object they used
His face alternated between façades. "Nevermind, it isn't impor-"
"I want to know. Tell me"
I could tell Draco was hesitant to speak, but once he opened his mouth, I felt like I had heard his voice more now than I ever have before. He spoke bitterly, the words were sour and he felt the need to spit them out. Although I shouldn't complain, I practically demanded he tells me.
'Harry Potter, the boy who lived' He spat over and over again, it was annoyingly repetitive. His face had snarled and wrinkled like a paper ball as he spoke about the boy. I felt as Draco had tried to summarize his input as little as possible, knowing I have very little about the human world. Although, even with his simpler version of an explanation, I still had many questions; What was 'Scar Face' 'Mudblood', 'Weaslbee'?
I was intimidated again, to say the least. I had been so used to his soft gaze on me. He looked and spoke like an entirely different person now. One much more alarming and eerie. One I hoped to never face again.
"Well, she doesn't have a scar on her forehead and wears glasses" I felt too my tone had been as sour as his like his bitter words had gone down my throat and terribly influenced my speech. I took in an intake of air and sank into the water so the top half of my neck showed. I felt the more water I was engulfed by, the less embarrassment would take over my nerves. He smirked at this, contrasting completely with how I felt; Small, belittled, trivialized, shall I go on?
"I should be getting to school. I still have to unpack" He smiled, leaning forward a bit so his voice was a whisper. It was almost concerning how he went from an almost evil smirk to his
"I'll be back soon, I promise"
'Thank you'
I wasn't sure if it was him or me who said it- but it didn't matter. It didn't change anything besides the impermanent twinkling of fulfillment.
..
"Mate! Where have you been?" Xeno exclaimed with overdramatic gestures "Don't tell me you were out snogging someone your first-"
"Fuck off Lovegood!" Draco puckered as he strutted into the Slytherin common room. He had turned a few heads towards his way, and not because of his audacious, bold behavior (something apparent to every individual at Hogwarts) but because of his appearance; completely opposite to himself with messy-askew hair in every direction, and wrinkled clothes.
"He certainly looks like he's gone for a quick 'kiss'" Blaise had snickered to Xeno, throwing the implication that something much more than a simple kiss had occurred. Draco had ignored this, scoffing knowing that it was for more than just a kiss, or a shag, but dare he say better. He smiled at this, the thought of her being so reliving to him. Much to his dismay, his thoughts were interrupted by a force, as he bumped into someone. Este Cherith.
Draco had no interactions with Este at all. They weren't acquaintances, or friendly towards one another. This would be strange to Draco considering she checks everything off the perfect friend list. She had been snarky, power-hungry, ambitious, wealthy (not to mention pureblood, something his prisoner father would enjoy 'oh-so-much') Although Draco could feel that there was this invisible barrier that protected him from crossing any line in front of 'mutual' He respected his space with her, not wishing to become involved with her antics. He had heard Pansy complain about her, how she thought she had been better than everyone else and practically dominated the school grounds. In those moments, realizing the irony, he smiled a little to himself.
On his way up the stairs, he muttered, "my bad", as if it were a hidden instinct. Something that had surprised him. He usually spat something uncivil, like 'Watch where you're going' or 'Learn to use your legs'. Nonetheless, he completely forgot about the event that had just happened a minute ago as he finally reached his shared dorm room with Blaise. As usual, Blaise's side looked like it had been a war zone, and Draco's, the antithesis.
A normal human who had just been pulled into a body of water would've taken a shower, or changed their clothes at least. No, Not Draco. Draco's first thought had been to calm himself and maintain the flood of adrenalin that pumped through his blood. Usually, that would've been through a detrimental inhalation of smoke or an alcoholic drink. And although what he was about to do now was healthier for him (physically speaking) He could not help the waves of guilt he felt after reading such intimate notes from someone who clearly intended on keeping them personal. Although, he couldn't care less right now, feeling the aching need to reread a specific poem that he favored the most, describing the feeling of being belittled and small. The poem had clearly been speaking in a romantic sense, much like an unrequited love story- and as much as Draco would hate to admit this, he will find himself emotional and teary after reading novels similar to this trope
He went to remove his pillow where he specifically remembered placing the clandestine notebook. Yet he only found himself to be overflooded with panic.
A dented mattress shaped like a book remained, without the book.
...
Meanwhile, in the common room on a large couch sat Daphne, Pansy, Blaise, and Xeno, cracking jokes at one another and trading them like candy.
"I bet it was Snape, they're awfully close with each other, don't you think, Parkinson?"
"Xeno, you truly disgust me. Why would you paint that horrifying image in my head? Snape and Dra- Oh god, I can't even say it without at least wanting to vomit just a little" Pansy fake gagged wanting to throw away the idea of the two together.
"It's funny!" Xeno had defended, looking at Blaise who would usually back him up in a situation like this, when his jokes would be too disturbing (yet, in a way humorous to his near ones) except this time, Blaise had his hand nearly fisted over his mouth, shaking his head with a chuckle
"I'm sure if Betty were here she'd find it funny" He sulked, sinking his body down the couch as his long feet had hit the coffee table
"Not at all, mate. In fact, I think she'd steer away from you as far as possible if she hadn't done so already" Blaise casually said, ready to swallow a muffin he found in his pocket before it had been grabbed by Xeno as he put the entire thing in his mouth at once, the group of first-year staring at him with horror
"You see, that is what pricks like you get when they insult my-!" He spoke with a mouth full of food, disgusting Pansy, Daphne, and Blaise as they groaned, begging him to keep his mouth shut
As the group went on with their childish antics, Pansy felt something burn the side of her neck as she laughed at one particular joke Daphne had secretly muttered to her. She turned to see Este staring at her. The same mistaken feeling had grown in her stomach. It must be poisonous, she felt ill with every stare like her body was failing her. Nonetheless, she shook the feeling off and went back to putting her attention on Daphne. Where it belonged
AN:Oh god, I am just so sorry I haven't posted in a while. I know its summer break and I promised to write more, but I had the worst case of writers block (especially after exams, I wanted to stay away from writing as far as possible) and I'm not even kidding when i say the first half of this chapter took like a week to write. But, luckily my writers block is somewhat cleared and I wrote the rest in a couple of hours.
Anyways, if I do make any mistakes, please comment it so I can fix them (ofc you dont have to) and thank you to the people who do. Also, thank you all so much for 10k! It literally feels like a couple days ago I had just been starting this fic. (side note, I'm changing Daphnes faceclaim from saorsia ronnan to phoebe bridges)
enjoy, stay safe :)