☆ CHAPTER EIGHT ☆
☆ SLYTHERIN ☆
"how slytherin, eunbyeol thinks. draco malfoy seems like his house personified, out of trait rather than name."
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Her first prefect round is with Draco Malfoy. It's during the second week of school, on a Monday night. He's grown since the dinner party, she notices. He's taller than her now. The top of her head reaches his eyes. With the dim lights and the sneer plastered on his face, he looks almost intimidating. Almost. "How was your summer?" Eunbyeol asks quietly after they shoo two fourth years out of a broom closet. She mutters a spell to replace the closet's stench of sweat and flowery lotion with a cleaner scent. It's reminiscent of clean linen, and Eunbyeol smiles.
Her question seems to shock him. He mutters, "Fine." It's a blunt, almost annoyed reply, and Eunbyeol studies the tiles at her feet. "I'm sorry," Draco adds hesitantly, "I think my parents upset your's."
Eunbyeol glances at him, surprised. "It's alright," she says quietly. "They always seem to be upset." She tries to laugh, but it comes out sounding a bit sad.
One corner of Draco's lip lifts slightly. His eyes don't match his mouth. "Mine, too." He glances into a random broom closet. "Have you had a DADA lesson yet?"
"Yes," Eunbyeol fights a grimace off of her face. The lesson had been awfully tense, with Harry's nails biting so deep into his palm that the skin went white. Eunbyeol had found herself repeatedly wishing for anybody besides Umbridge to be teaching the class. "It was certainly an interesting take on the subject. Have you had your lessons yet?"
"Yeah," Draco hums. "Umbridge seems like she could be a useful contact."
"Useful?"
He nods. "Umbridge's high up in the Ministry. If you get her to like you, you'll have a job secured the moment you're out of Hogwarts."
"I suppose," Eunbyeol frowns. "Not that it'd really matter for you, Malfoy." At his questioning look, she explains, "Your father's set with a cushy Ministry job as well. You don't really have to act like you like Umbridge."
"Maybe not, but better safe than sorry," Draco replies. "The more powerful people are on your side, the better off you are."
How Slytherin, Eunbyeol thinks. Draco Malfoy seems like his house personified, purely out of trait rather than name. While Malfoys have always been in Slytherin, it always had seemed to be out of bloodline, not temperament or personality. She frowns, thinking of second year and basilisks and the whispers about Slytherin's heir. The Heir of Slytherin. Even if it hadn't been him, it seemed to be a fitting title for Draco, with his aristocratic features and his silver hair and cunning silver eyes. He must've seen her frown. "What?" he asks, "You don't like her?"
"Her teaching methods are unique." Eunbyeol says cautiously. "I personally liked the practical side of the DADA curriculum, I thought it was a good way to learn."
"Ravenclaw at heart," Draco remarks. "You had your class with the Gryffindors, didn't you?" Eunbyeol nods, and he snorts. "Did Umbridge put Potter and his friends in their place?"
She doesn't know how to respond to this spiteful, sneering Draco. "She gave him detention."
"Good," he snorts derisively. "Right prat, Potter is. Always running around with Weasley and Granger, screaming about imminent danger. You'd think he was Trelawney with the shit he spews."
"Sounded like you believed him over the summer," Eunbyeol says quietly. Draco barely catches the words, but sighs.
"Well, I mean," Draco stammers, "I do think he's right," he finally admits lowly. He looks almost scared, eyes flicking back and forth, making sure any paintings and statues near them were asleep. "But the way he goes on and on about it is exhausting. We're all aware bad shit's gonna happen, there's no need to remind us every day. Sometimes I don't want to be told that I'm going to be attacked and killed by an evil wizard and his cult, you know?"
He has a point, Eunbyeol grudgingly admits, remembering Harry glowering at Umbridge and yelling about Cedric. She certainly didn't need that reminder. It was a weak excuse for a complaint, but she figures Draco has always had a flair for the dramatic. Thinking a subject change was in order, she starts, "So," Eunbyeol blushes as the sound comes out warbled, and she clears her throat. She studiously ignores the growing smirk on Draco's face. "Have you finished your Charms paper yet?"
"Yeah." The smirk drops. "Wait, shit," he hisses. "I didn't do my Potions homework yet."
Eunbyeol shakes her head. "Is it due tomorrow?" He nods. "I hope you can finish it in time."
Draco waves a hand dismissively. "It's my last class of the day. I'm a Slytherin, anyway. Snape wouldn't give a fuck."
A delicate brow is raised as Eunbyeol turns to look at Draco. "House privilege, huh?"
He grins, hands deep in his pockets. His eyes gleam mischievously in the dim light. There's something boyishly charming in the way he looks at her. "I wouldn't be a proper Slytherin if I didn't take advantage of my resources, would I?"
She allows a small smile. "You make a very valid point, Malfoy."
They pass three paintings before Draco speaks. "Do you happens to know anything about the properties of fluxweed in Polyjuice Potion? It's the homework."
"Um," Eunbyeol frowns and bites down on the inside of her cheek in an attempt to jog her memory. Draco watches her nose scrunch up with amusement. The candlelight flickers over her face, casting shadows where her cheeks are sucked in. "The fluxweed acts as a thickening agent when it's stewed and added into the potion. It helps make it more digestable. As a live plant, it's able to camouflage with its surroundings over time, a bit like a squid. The camouflaging properties allow it help the drinker of the potion change appearance."
Draco nods. "Didn't know about the thickening thing. You're good at Potions, Moon. Honestly, you're probably Snape's best student."
Eunbyeol laughs. "I wouldn't go as far as that."
"You're probably the only student Snape's ever allowed into N.E.W.T. level potions that isn't a sixth or seventh year," he tells her. "If you're not the best, you're one of the best, at the very least."
"How'd you hear about that?" She hadn't told anybody besides Anthony and Padma, who didn't fraternize with any Slytherins.
"Parkinson found out somehow," he shrugs. "She bitched about it for a few days straight. Drove us crazy."
The snide girl came to mind with distaste. Pansy Parkinson, Eunbyeol thought, was a cattier, more cruel version of Lavender Brown. "Speaking of, how's having Pansy Parkinson as your prefect partner?"
"Oh, Merlin," Draco groans. "She's exhausting. I'd even prefer Bulstrode. Or that Blaise was chosen as the male prefect."
Eunbyeol bites back a smile. The girl always seemed to be clinging onto Draco, hands wrapped around his arm or trying to play with his hair. She recalls the behavior of the pair at the first prefect meeting, with Draco batting Pansy's hands away as if she was an annoying bug. "She seems quite taken with you."
"I wish she weren't." he grumbles. He casts a childish, petulant look at the ground.
"Well, good luck with her, Draco." He stills and she frowns, wondering if she said something offensive. "What?"
"Um," he finally coughs. He doesn't tell her that he thinks that this is the first time that she's ever said his first name. He would've remembered if someone made his name sound that nice, at least. "Nothing," he repeats. "Just thinking."
She hums. "Anyway," she begins, "I've always liked Potions. And Charms."
"Those are Healer subjects," Draco notes idly as they turn a corner. "Interested in medicine, Moon?"
Eunbyeol halts in her steps and pretends to peer into a cupboard. She presses her lips together tightly, returning her gaze to the floor. Merlin, why was everyone reminding her of the prospects of her bleak future lately? First the twins, now Draco Malfoy? He asked her so easily too, as if he didn't know what a pureblooded girl was to do with her life. Eunbyeol's future had been set in stone the moment she was born. "No," she says quietly, "I couldn't."
"Then what do you wanna do?"
She wishes she could stop the automatic response. The words claw at her tongue behind her teeth, so she spits them out. "Be a good wife and raise healthy, pureblooded children." They leave a bitter taste in her mouth.
"Oh." He had forgotten about that. He tells her his thought. "I'd forgotten about that."
Eunbyeol wishes she could do the same.
Their round ends in the Great Hall. It's an uneventful night, as expected for so early in the year. Eunbyeol's grateful for the peaceful round. "Well, good night, Moon." Draco's lip quirks up again as he looks at her. "Thanks for the tip on the Potions essay."
"It's no problem, Malfoy," she turns in the direction of the stairs before looking over her shoulder. "Goodnight."
She climbs the stairs, back straighter than an iron rod. Draco watches her disappear up and up, out of his sight. "Ickle Syltherin out after hours!" a shrill voice cackles, "Mister Filch!"
He scowls. "Peeves, I'm a prefect. Now shut up, you transparent fucker."
The poltergeist sneers and swoops down, close to his face. Draco can feel the cold radiating from Peeve's hazy figure. "Malfoy going goo-goo eyed over a Ravenclaw," he begins, a toothy grin sliding over his face. Draco wonders if there's a spell that would make it possible to punch Peeves in the face. He makes a note to look for one in the library. "What will Mommy and Daddy think?" He lets out a loud cackle and flies through a wall before Draco can say anything.
"Goo-goo eyed over a Ravenclaw.... Fuckin' ghosts." Draco scoffs and ambles down the hall to the dungeons.
He tries his best to ignore the tiny voice in his head reminding him Peeves is right.
a note from startreatment;
edit; if this seems familiar thats bc it is.. i added a chapter before this one!!
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