I woke up lazily the next morning as I looked at the clock. It was currently 9 AM and the other girls were just beginning to wake up. I slowly sit up, and rest on the edge of the bed, eventually beginning to stare off into space. Arden rolls out of her bed. "I love saturdays." She says sleepily as she stretches her arms and yawns loudly, pulling me out of my trance.
I slowly stand and trudge into the bathroom. I look at the horror in the mirror in front of me. My usually vibrant green eyes look rather dull, and the bags under my eyes do not go unnoticed. I yank a brush through my tangled hair before pulling it into a loose bun. I turn to the girls, "Is it socially acceptable to wear my pajamas to breakfast?" I ask.
"You might get weird looks, but that never stops us." Arden says and gestures to Capri and Daphne. I grin. Thank goodness. I walk down to breakfast with the girls, sporting plaid pajama pants and a sweatshirt two times too big for me, with a pair of slippers. Arden was right, you certainly do get weird looks when you look like a heroin addict.
I'm sitting at breakfast, staring blankly at the table when Blaise Zaibini turns to us from a few seats away. "Ladies, are you going to watch Quidditch tryouts today?" He asks. I furrow my brows. "What's that?" I ask. Blaise's jaw drops open. "You're kidding right? You don't know what Quidditch is?" He asks me, looking utterly shocked. "Of course she doesn't." Draco Malfoy sneers from beside him. I choose to ignore this remark. "You're forgetting I only just figured out about this all." I say, gesturing around me.
Blaise shrugs his shoulders. "Fair enough." He says. Then a wicked grin appears on his face. "I guess you'll have to come see for yourself then if you want to know what Quidditch is." He says. "When are tryouts?" Daphne asks.
"3:00 sharp. You girls better bring Ashwood." He says. "Hell yeah we will!" Arden exclaims loudly. A few people turn to look at her. Daphne giggles. "She gets a little excited about Quidditch." Capri says. I turn towards Arden. "Why don't you play then?" I ask. "I used to. Till my anger issues were deemed unfit on a team full of idiots." She rolls her eyes. I can't help but laugh.
"One of those idiots being me?" Blaise smirks. "You and Malfoy both." She glares at them. I raise my brows. Whatever Quidditch is, I had no idea Malfoy played. "You're still just upset you weren't ever seeker." He says.
"I was only upset until you began embarassing yourself every game." She retorts. "At least I didn't hit a kid with my bat!" He says. "It was a one time thing!" She says defensively. "Was it though?" Capri says slyly. Arden scowls at her.
Sure enough, by 3 in the afternoon I am standing in the stands of an arena called the Quidditch Pitch. The sun is still high in the sky, and I am grateful when large clouds begin rolling in to cover it. Blaise had explained a little more to us before breakfast was over this morning. It turns out Blaise would actually be captain this year. Apparently tryouts had been a week long thing, going straight from after school till dinner. I had no clue Malfoy was even attending tryouts this week. Today was the final day, and there would be a full on scrimmag against Hufflepuff then the team would be announced later.
Right at 3, the scrimmage begins. Arden, Capri, and Daphne have to keep on explaining the game and how it works but slowly it all begins to make sense. I hardly know anyone else on the team besides Blaise and Malfoy. I can't help but notice how good Malfoy is. "He's trying out for seeker." Daphne tells me. "He was seeker all the way up until 6th year, but since Blaise is captain he has an automatic in. Besides, nobody dared to go against him in trying out so he basically already has the spot." Capri explains. Of course nobody dared to challenge him for the roll of seeker, otherwise he would proabably scare them out of it.
I watch as he weaves in and out of the players, smoothly missing each bludger fired towards him. He races against the Hufflepuff seeker looking for the snitch. At given times he nearly has it in his grasp then looses it when another budger flys towards him. Finally, in the 3rd quarter of the scrimage, he catches it. All the students watching from the Slytherin house go wild. I stand and begin cheering along with everyone around us. I tell myself I am not applauding Malfoy, instead my own house. I can't help but notice however, from many yards away, a large smile is visible on Draco Malfoy's face and I realize that's proabably the first time I've ever seen him look remotely happy.
Before we head back to the castle, I notice a guy on the Slytherin team staring directly at me from the field. My eyes meet his and I realize I have no idea who he is. He flashes a dazzling smile as he runs a hand through his sandy blonde hair. I scrunch my brows in confusion, but forget all about him seconds later when we begin talking about our plans later tonight.
* * * * *
In order to celebrate a number of things including the small victory Slytherin had in the scrimmage and mostly everyone's return to Hogwarts, I was sitting in a room full of a bunch of drunk teenagers. I was currently seated on the plush green couch. I wasn't sure where Capri and Arden were, but I figured they were most likely getting drunk just like every other student in here. Daphne has left briefly to get us both drinks.
I look around and notice most everyone was either a 5th year or up. A few seconds later, Daphne returns and hands me a cup. I thank her before taking a drink. I squint my eyes as I feel the burn of alchohol in my throat, stronger than anything else I've ever had. "Woah." I mutter. Daphne giggles. "It's firewhiskey." She says. "The name seems to fit." I remark as I continue drinking some more.
I'm in the middle of a conversation with Daphne when suddenly Blaise sits down next to me and throws his arm around me ever so casually. I turn to him with an unimpressed look. "Hi Blaise." I mutter. Before today I had only ever exchanged a few words with him. He was typically around Malfoy or Pansy Parkinson so I kept my distance. He seemed like a nice guy so I was confused when I saw who he hung out with. Daphne giggles at the sight before her before she throws me an apologetic look and takes her leave.
"Ashwood! How are you doing on this fine evening?" He smirks. I raise my brow quizzically, "I'm well, how about you?" I ask politely. "You know, I'm doing just great!" He exclaims and it is obvious the alcohol has already gotten to him. In fact I am just barely beginning to feel its effects as he dives into conversation.
"So what did you think of Quidditch?" He asks. I smile. "It certainly beats any muggle sport." I smile. "Hell yeah it does!" He says enthusiastically. "So is there any reason you came over here?" I ask, wanting him to get to the point. He frowns before looking around the room. He leans in close. "I came to warn you." He says, trying to appear serious before he bursts into a fit of laughter. I can smell the alcohol on his breath.
"Warn me about what?" I question. He runs a hand over his face. "Well, you didn't hear this from me but-" He points towards a guy standing across the room. I immediately recognize him as the guy from the Quidditch Pitch. The one with the sandy blonde hair that was smiling at me earlier. "See that guy?" He asks. I nod. "What about him?" I ask. "Stay away from him." He says sharply.
I look at him, feeling utterly confused. "Why?" I ask. "He's baaaaaaaaad." Blaise groans as he leans his head back. "Who even is he?" I ask.
I look back towards the guy and as if on cue he turns right towards us and makes dead eye contact with me. A wide, devilish smirk appears on his face. "That is Cole Remington." Blaise says. "He looks like a dick." I say. Blaise chuckles before once again looking at me in all seriousness. "Stay away from him Emma. I mean it. He's worse than Malfoy. The amount of shit he has pulled on girls is unbelievable. At least Draco doesn't bother with the women anymore." He says. "Not to mention he is Malfoy's ultimate rival." I nod slowly. How interesting. "Like worse than the 'rivalry' between Malfoy and I?" I joke. It had only been the first week of school, yet everyone already knew who I was because they knew how much Malfoy and I disliked each other.
"Oh, much worse. Their families even hate each other. It all happened after the war." He says.
"Why are you telling me this?" I ask, still feeling confused. "Let's just say someone doesn't want to see him get what he wants." He says. I raise my brow. "You mean Malfoy doesn't want him to get what he wants?" I smirk. He hesitates. "What? No!" He says, which is the dead giveaway. "Damn, You suck at lying." I laugh.
I immediately stand. "I'll be right back." I mumble. He grabs my wrist frantically. "Wait where are you going?" He asks quickly. "To go find your good friend." I say. "No don't! He'll destroy me!" He says. I smirk. "I'll make sure that doesn't happen." I say.
I scan the room for his platinum blonde hair, and within seconds, I find him. He's downing a whole entire bottle of alcohol with Vincent Crabbe and Theodore Nott at his side. I roll my eyes. "Malfoy." I shout. His eyes flick up towards me and he sets the bottle down before casually leaning back against the table. As if on cue, Theodore and Crabbe take their leave. "Ashwood." He greets. I walk up to the table he currently leans against, and sit on the edge of it as well.
"So, who's this Remington guy?" I question. A look of disgust appears on his face. "I'm going to kill Blaise." He says before trying to walk away. I quickly grab his muscular arm and spin him around so he's only a few inches away from me. "It's not Blaise's fault. I just connected the dots. It wasn't that hard." I say. He rolls his eyes. "So, care to explain?" I smirk.
He groans. "First of all, don't flatter yourself, I don't want you to think I'm trying to protect you, I just don't want him to get what he wants." He says. That's the second time I've heard that. "How nice of you, but what exactly does he want?" I ask, even though I'm sure I already know the answer. "You, obviously." He says.
"Why though?" I question. "That's exactly what I said." He smirks. "Funny." I say and roll my eyes. If only eye rolling counted as cardio. "How do you even know any of this Malfoy?" I ask. "I overheard him in the locker room after the scrimmage today." He says.
I grin deviously when a sudden idea pops into my head. "Hmm, I like a man who isn't shy about what he wants." I smirk, trying to get a reaction out of Malfoy. Successfully, he looks at me with a look of horror. "Ashwood, shut the hell up before I curse your ass." He says. "Look at you being all protective." I say and playfully bat my eyelashes at him. "Don't even say that shit." He says. Before I can even say anything else, Cole himself appears right next to Malfoy. He clears his throat and subtly leans against the wall to the right of Malfoy.
"Hey, I'm Cole." He says casually to me. I smirk. "So I've heard." I say. Malfoy cuts in, "What the fuck do you want Remington." he says. Malfoy, being more taller and muscular, uses it to his advantage and obviously tries to make himself more intimidating. I can't help but smirk. "Damn Malfoy, just trying to be nice to the new girl." He says. Dick. "I have a name you know." I glare at him. "I know who you are Emma, otherwise I wouldn't be having this conversation with you." He says. This guy has said two sentences to me and so far everything about him screams world class asshole.
"Well, what brings you over here then, Cole." I say narrowing my eyes. "I was wondering if I could grab you a drink, maybe exchange life stories?" He asks. I look between both guys, trying to determine what I should do. Malfoy looks at me with wide eyes, and he makes the decision for me in doing this. I smile as I turn towards Cole. "Of course. I like Butterbeer, I'll be waiting here." I say. "Be right back." He winks before turning away.
Malfoy watches him walk away before turning back to me. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" He exclaims. "Nothing, why?" I frown. "You're a god damn idiot. He's just looking for a quick fuck." He says. "Look, I know how clouded your judgement is, what if he's the nicest guy in the world?" I smirk. I seriously doubt that he is, but I'm just looking to seriously piss Malfoy off. So far, it's working.
"You just met him! I've known him my whole life, and I'm telling you, you do not want to mess with him." I say. "And what if I do?" I tease. "Then when you get your pathetic self hurt, that's on you." He says before walking away, leaving me admittedly surprised.
Suddenly Cole is back, and handing me a Butterbeer. "I got your drink." Cole smirks. I smile. "Thank you." I say. "Anything for you." He says. I hold my hands up. "Woah there, you barely know me yet." I laugh. "Tell me about yourself then." He says. I nod.
"Ok well, Obviously I'm from America." I say. "And might I just say, that accent is hot." He says deviously. Oh my god stop talking. However, I force myself to laugh flirtatiously, determined to put up an act. "Thank you." I say, smirking. "Do continue." He says. "Well, I'm from California, and up until a few weeks ago I had no idea any of this even existed." I say honestly. "Well thank god you're here now, things were getting boring." He says, placing a hand on my thigh.
When his hand touches my skin, I feel as if I might throw up, but I still smile wide. "I'm flattered, really. Now lets hear about you." I say. "I was born in Surrey England, I love quidditch, and I'm really into you if you couldn't tell." He smirks. I widen my eyes, but try to play it off. "Quidditch huh?" I ask. He nods proudly. "I'm the beater. Of course I would rather be seeker, but that bloody ferret took that position." He says. I laugh, "You mean Malfoy?" I ask. He nods. "He's a bloody oaf." He says. "What's up with you two anyways?" I ask.
I feel eyes on me from across the room and I turn to meet the burning gaze of Malfoy. He looks at the two of us with utter hatred, before he turns away and predictably downs some more Firewhiskey. "Let's just say we were best friends, until Malfoy decided to make some pretty stupid decisions." He says. I turn back to Cole and frown. "Thats unfortunate." I say, curious as to what he could even be talking about. He nods, before he abruptly moves his hand further up my thigh.
I try to keep calm. "What's more unfortunate is that I can't tell if you're into me or not." He says before suddenly leaning in trying to kiss me. I dodge his kiss and can smell the burning smell of firewhiskey radiating off his lips. "Woah ok, look, you're drunk, and I - I just met you." I say. "So? Do you want me or not?" He asks. His arm snakes around my waist and he pulls me close. I realize I don't know what to do, I've never been in a situation like this. I feel my heart beat accelerate. "Like I said, I just met you." I say calmly. "That's more than enough time to figure out whether or not you're into me. Come on, we can go back to my dorm. None of the guys will be in there. We can make it quick." He whispers into my ear.
"You mean you actually think I'm about to let you fuck me?" I ask. He smirks. "Well usually that's how it works, but if you're playing hard to get you don't have to anymore." He says and suddenly his hand is on my butt. "Damn you really are clueless." I say and shove him forcefully off me. I try to turn away but he grabs my wrist and pulls me into him, a dangerous look now on his face. I try to move but he's too strong for me. "You're making a mistake." He says darkly.
"No, you know what? I'm not. I don't want to fuck you, and you're shit personality makes it very hard to be even remotely into you. My answer is no, now let me go or I will cause a scene." I say. His face transforms into a look of disgust. "Fine, but you're going to regret your decision. I can promise you that." He says. " I don't think I will." I say before I storm off.
I frantically look for one of the girls and begin to walk around before yet another large hand grabs my wrist. I gasp, still not over how Cole treated me. I hit someone's strong chest and I look up to see It's Malfoy. I slightly relax into his hold, glad to see a familiar face, even if I do hate him.
"Was I wrong about him?" He asks. "Let me go." I say pathetically. "I tried to warn you Ashwood." He says. I look up at him. "I know! And like you said, that's on me, now let me go." I say. "I watched the way he was treating you, you should've -" I interrupt him, "Don't tell me what I should or shouldn't do. I learned my lesson." I sneer before yanking my wrist out of his hold and walking away.