"Mavi, what's happened? What's wrong?" Oshun watched as said girl walked into the Gryffindor common room with tears pouring down her cheeks.
But Mavi was laughing as the tears fell over her waterline. It was a laugh of disbelief and misery.
"Gosh, why do I have to get Nott for my future spouse?" She sniffled and slipped onto the couch next to her friend. "I don't understand. Why couldn't I have gotten someone who knows respect and kindness?"
Oshun's brows frowned as pushed herself from the backrest of the couch and she enveloped her arms around her friend. "What did he do? Talk to me," she murmured, holding the girl.
"I was talking to Cedric in the corridor where Snape's class is because I was asking him for some advice for tutoring since he tutors a lot of other students." Mavi sounded stuffy as she buried her face in her mate's shoulder. Her chest stuttered against Oshun's. "And after Cedric and I departed, Nott, Malfoy, Zabini, and Parkinson crossed paths with me."
Oshun nodded and easily kept up with her friend's quick words.
Mavi's arms wrapped around her friend's middle to hug her tightly. "I was minding my business—per usual—and I already woke up in sort of a sad mood this morning, so I was not really looking to cross paths with those lot of Slytherins," she rambled on, her tears dampening Oshun's shirt. "But even when I tried walking off, Nott kept throwing nasty comments at me."
Oshun kept nodding, insisting for her to go on.
Mavi pulled from the hug and sniffled. She wiped her tears with her fingers really quickly as she inhaled and exhaled trembling breaths.
Oshun placed a comforting hand on the girl's knee and rubbed it tenderly.
"I kept ignoring it, as always," Mavi went on, her voice steadying. "But he just kept going. Even Parkinson and Zabini joined it. Malfoy too. I don't understand why they feel such a need to get a reaction from people with Muggle blood."
Oshun's jaw ticked, furious with the Slytherins. But she was still a bit wary and uncomfortable around those Slytherins herself. They were bullies in her eyes.
"But the stuff they were saying was so much more cruel this time." Mavi rubbed the tip of her nose with the palm of her hand. She then swiped her fingers under her eyes to wipe tears. "They were saying stuff about my mum since she's a Muggle. They were saying awful, awful things about her"—her voice faltered—"and then they said awful things about my father. They said my father will get what's coming for him since he did something atrocious like marry a Muggle. And have a child with a Muggle."
"Bloody hell," Oshun cursed under her breath, brows deeply frowned.
"And that just did it for me." Mavi laughed again, still wiping her puffy eyes. Her cheeks were visibly red. "Sometimes I wonder if us Halfbloods are being sensitive when people like them make comments about our Muggle blood—because we're not full Muggle like some other people."
"No, no, no." Oshun automatically shook her head, her lips pressed into a firm line. "You can't possibly think that just because us Halfbloods are only half Muggle, we don't have a right to be hurt over those vile comments. We have every right to be hurt as well. I swear to Merlin, Purebloods like them know no respect."
"I suppose." Mavi sniffled and tucked a curl behind her ear.
"Just remember whatever they say isn't true, okay?" Oshun said softly, patting her friend's knee.
"What's going on?" Forest came from the boys' dormitory, Joaquin following behind her. "Mavi, gorgeous, why are you crying? What happened?"
"Nott, Zabini, Parkinson, Malfoy," Mavi muttered as Forest kissed her head softly.
Joaquin's jaw visibly clenched agitatedly and he strode out of the common room.
Just like her brother, Forest was off too with fury scrawled across her delicate features.
"That's not good." Mavi shook her head, watching as their friends stormed off in anger.
"No, it is not." Oshun shook her head as well.
_____
"Did you see that black eye Parkinson has?" Tavius hissed to Oshun. "Forest did some work on her after the shit she said to Mavi. Man, I am lucky I got Forest as my future wife. She'll protect me."
"She even broke Nott's nose." Oshun was smiling. It wasn't something to be smiling about, but she couldn't help it. "Joaquin did a number on Malfoy and Zabini too. Can you believe that?"
"Those two." Tavius shook his head with a chuckle under his breath. "They got a little bruised up too, but the Slytherins got it worse."
"Apparently Parkinson was sobbing when Forest was having at it," Giovanni said over Oshun's shoulder. "She was begging for Forest to stop, she was."
Oshun couldn't help but laugh, finding such delight in this. "Hey, let's go to dinner." She rose from the couch she was sitting on in her common room. "Are Forest and Joaquin in the Great Hall?"
"They should be. All they needed to do was clean blood off their knuckles and Forest had to take care of a bloody nose," Giovanni said as the three of them headed out of the common room.
"I think... I think that maybe we should start talking like calm and well-mannered people instead of starting fist fights," Oshun suggested, walking between both handsome boys.
"I'm not even going to lie to you, love," Giovanni said as he swung an arm over her shoulders. "Getting my hands dirty in these fist-fights is exciting."
"Yeah, but you guys could get seriously hurt." Oshun tipped her head back to meet the boy's sage eyes. "One of these days, someone will bring a fucking weapon in these fist fights, and then it's over."
"How's about..." Tavius' tone was low as he rubbed his jaw. "We shall only start fist fights when it is necessary?"
"So basically whenever anyone talks shit about Mavi and I having so-called filthy blood running through our veins." Oshun arched a dark eyebrow, a tug on the corner of her lips.
"Yes," Tavius and Giovanni said in unison.
Her brown eyes darted between both boys as a laugh elicited from her lips. "You guys are something else." She let her head rest against Giovanni's frame.
Oshun parted from the twins and went to her own table. "Hi," she greeted as she slid into her usual seat next to Forest.
"Look." Joaquin subtly lifted his chin between the ladies, directing to the Slytherin table. "Forest broke Nott's nose."
Oshun grinned jauntily. "So I've heard," she mused, playfully nudging a smirking Forest. She poured herself a goblet of water. "I miss Mum's cooking. I miss eating pho and kare-kare and sisig and dimsum."
"We'll be going home for the holidays soon," Forest said gently, helping herself to some pot roast. "I miss Mum's cooking too." She had a small cut on her lip that gushed with a bit of blood.
"Actually, Dad is the one who cooks in our household," Joaquin clarified with a small laugh. "Mum cooks sometimes, but Dad usually cooks." He shoved a spoonful of rice into his mouth.
As Oshun and her mates ate dinner, her eyes caught sight of a redhead and a controlling girl strolling into the room, hand in hand.
Oshun wanted to smile at Fred, but she knew he wouldn't smile back. She just frowned at the thought of Fred being stuck with such a controlling girl.
Oshun wanted Fred. She would treat him better than Hermione was.
Truth be told, Oshun and Fred hadn't spoken since the night they walked around the castle. They constantly made eye contact, but his expression remained stone. She tried not to take it to heart.
Oshun sighed grimly and went back to her dinner.
_____
"What the—" Oshun's eyebrows furrowed at some banging on the other side of her common room door.
She was alone in the common room since she liked reading by the fire. It was past midnight and there was banging against the common room door.
She padded to the door and it opened for her.
"Malfoy?" she uttered, hugging herself at the cool breeze that hit her skin.
"Oh, brilliant. It's you. Let's go." Draco's voice was demanding as he nodded his head down the moving stairs.
He was wearing pajama pants and a grey Slytherin sweatshirt with his hair all tousled. He had a bruised jaw and a cut across his nose, from Joaquin.
Her eyebrows shot up, a scoff escaping her mouth.
A muscle in his cheek twitched. "Are you slow? I said, let's go," he drawled irritably.
She stood there in her shorts and a big T-shirt, not understanding what the fuck was going on.
"Takahashi, come with me." He was talking to her the way one would talk to a child. "I need to speak with you."
"Why?" she questioned warily.
"Just come, for fuck's sake," he hissed with an edge in his voice.
She shook her head, taking a step back.
"I wasn't asking." His low voice matched the way his eyes darkened with impatience.
She blinked at him.
"Hello? Are you dense? Come on, you filthy blood witch." He was whispering harshly at her with a tight jaw.
Oshun's stomach muscles were tensing as she tucked a curl behind her ear, loose from its bun. "Why?" she asked again.
He was getting more frustrated by the minute. "I said I need to talk to you."
"About?" She raised an eyebrow and hugged herself tighter.
"Come out and find out." His ring-clad fingers combed through his platinum hair, brushing it back. Only for a loose strand to dangle above his eye.
"Mm-mm." She shook her head.
"Bloody hell, I just need to talk to you. Come on, Takahashi. Don't be so difficult." He nearly spat the words in her face, but he also sounded surprisingly pleading.
"Are you going to hurt me?"
"I wouldn't tell you if I was."
"Are you going to knock me out and stash me away before using me for a ransom of some sort?"
His eyebrows shot up. "Well, you wouldn't really be worth much. But no."
"Will you have people—"
"You are not in a thriller novel, stupid. Stop with these asinine questions."
Her lips pursed. Of course he'd seen her reading thrillers in the library. Probably in the corner making fun of her with his friends.
Oshun peered over her shoulder at the empty common room, her stomach churning. Her head turned back and she reluctantly walked over the threshold.
She followed the tall Slytherin down the moving steps and all the way down until they were on the ground.
"Come." Draco kept walking off, down to an empty corridor.
Oshun stopped, trying to look for the signs if she was going to get murdered.
"Not a thriller novel, remember that," he called out, without sparing a glance back at her as he strolled with his hands in the pockets of his pajama pants.
She trailed behind him, still hugging herself. She was wearing her slippers and her pajamas, which allowed the cold air in the corridors to make her skin rise with goosebumps.
Finally, the blond stopped on the side of a corridor, far from the towers. He whirled around to face her, his jaw set and eyes hooded.
She made sure to leave six feet between them, staring at him blankly.
"Come closer." Draco looked so done with her.
Oshun shook her head.
"Come. Closer."
She shook her head.
His bicep leaned against the stone wall. "I'm not going to bite. Filthy blood witches aren't my type," he said in derision, his eyes rolling.
Her chest was dense in discomfort as she took just two small steps closer.
"Closer."
She shook her head.
"I don't want to have to talk louder than I need to, Takahashi." His features hardened and the flicker of the torches in the corridor made his pale eyes twinkle.
She went closer until there was only two feet between them. Her grip tightened around herself.
Draco's pale eyes trailed from her head to her toes, appraising her. "You're going to be my date to the ball," he said eventually in an even tone.
Oshun couldn't stop her expression from twisting, befuddled. But her cheeks were warm due to his generous eye trailing her from up to down. "I beg your pardon?" she said at last.
He made a sound like a groan in the back of his throat. "Blimey, you're fucking slow." He pinched the bridge of his nose, his other arm across his torso. "You. Are. Going. To. Be. My. Date. To. The Ball."
"I most certainly am not." She scoffed, her throat suddenly dry.
His jaws worked. "I wasn't asking. I was telling you, you filthy fuck," he spat nastily.
Her eyebrows lifted and her lips were pressed into a line. "You expect me to go with you when you're being so bloody rude?"
"Yes." He nodded, as if it was obvious.
She just blinked at him in disbelief.
Draco's sharp eyes intensely observed her. "I saw the way you were looking at Weasley and Granger when they walked into the Great Hall," he said after a beat of silence.
She arched a single brow, waiting for him to elaborate.
"This will work out for the both of us," he said huskily, tilting his head sideways at her. "Surely your future husband wants to take that Mudblood, so that leaves you in the dust. Astoria is going with her spouse, that piece of shit. So you and I will go together to make them jealous."
"What makes you think I want to make anyone jealous?" Oshun asked, incredulous. "Fred has a girlfriend. He can go with his girlfriend."
"But you want him," the blond pointed out stiffly. "Astoria will be jealous when she sees me attend the ball with someone else. Weasley will see you went with me and he'll get jealous since he and I are both of your options. And you and I both get who we want in the end. It's brilliant."
She shook her head with knitted eyebrows. "I don't want to go with y—"
"Okay, great. Wear something nice. If I'm going to be seen with you in front of everyone, you best dress decently," he said, almost in disgust as his eyes scanned her up and down once more. "Be ready to do whatever it takes to make Astoria jealous."
Before she could protest, he disappeared into the darkness of the corridor.