harry potter was, in saige black's humblest of opinions, the definition of the word 'dick.' if you were to take a peek into the oxford dictionary (which she had, unfortunately, been forced to read when she was seven by one particularly sour witch who looked after her), a portrait of his face would be the only thing on the entire page. she wished she could scream every foul word she had ever learned (all from that same dictionary, mind you) directly into his skull, so he could, for once, get something through his absolutely thick head.
he had been shooting her a particularly sour look since her and hermione joined harry and ron for breakfast, and saige was perfectly proud to admit that she had been sending a far nastier one back. she had, after all, inherited some of the black family charm from dear old grandmum. according to her father, she was the nastiest woman on the planet. saige only hoped that she held an inch of that sourness on the outside, as all she could feel inside of her was betrayal.
she really had hoped that harry would see that she was right. that he would apologize and give her a hug and tell her that everything was going to be okay, because that's what she needed most.
but harry never, ever seemed to figure out what anyone needed besides himself.
he shifted under her glare, although his eyes still held a carbon copy of the air of deceit in saige's. she hadn't noticed that neither of them had even dared to fill their plates before hermione and ron each gave them a quick nudge, snapping the hateful pair out of their vengeful reverie.
hermione, of course, already knew about the altercation from a night ago. she was still awake, trying to get through the never ending pile of coursework she always seemed to have, when saige had burst into the commonroom with tears streaming down her cheeks.
"he's a fucking idiot," she had spat viciously, before collapsing onto her bed, not caring about the light dusting of snow that had soaked her sheets. hermione had never heard saige be so profane before, and it certainly sparked a curiosity that, unfortunately, had not been met quite yet. saige refused to tell her anything about it.
the girls both didn't know for sure whether harry had told ron, but judging by the look on the ginger's face, he had at least dropped some details.
"are you lot going to keep up the staring contest, or are you going to bloody eat something?" seamus finnigan teased from next to harry, clearly amused by the thick tension between the pair.
"actually, i don't think i feel like breakfast today," saige said over the growling of her hollow stomach. she stood abruptly, never breaking harry's stare, and left, ignoring the protests of hermione and ron beside her.
saige found that the moment her eyes tore off harry's, they were focused directly on the floor. she walked at what felt like a marathon pace, hands in autopilot as they pushed the doors of the great hall open, and took off down the corridor.
she nearly screamed when she crashed into a slightly shorter figure.
"salazar, black, watch where you're going," draco malfoy spat out of instinct, lip curled. saige rolled her eyes.
"piss off," she growled, a dark glint in her eye, before trying to push past him and towards her common room.
"oh- blimey, i better just get this over with. i- i'm, uh, i'm sorry about what happened." draco blurted, and saige froze in her tracks.
"what did you just say?" she said hollowly, eyes snapping to his.
"when i left you outside the common room. don't make me say it again," he said, nearly cringing at the thought of having to apologize.
a wash of relief flowed through her body in thanks that he hadn't overheard the conversation with harry, but it vanished almost as quickly as it came.
"why are you apologizing to me?" she questioned, suspicion lacing her tone.
"no reason." he hissed defensively, and saige raised an eyebrow.
"well, there's obviously a reason if you're that wound up." she smirked, ready to start toying with his frustration.
"there isn't." he was beginning to shift in his spot, and saige wasn't in the mood to ignore anything at the moment.
"are you sure? because-"
"just shut up, black. i don't need to talk to you longer than i have to." he snapped, lip curling in a disgusted annoyance.
"well, you were the one who started talking in the first place, mr. high-and-mighty." saige deadpanned, rolling her eyes.
he rolled his own straight back at her, folding his arms across his chest. "merlin, i can see why you hang around annoying gits like potter."
saige let out a deep sigh. "this is the one time i will agree with you on that statement."
"oh?" malfoy's eyebrows shot up in intrigue.
"he's a right git." she said, feeling that searing betrayal rising into her throat.
"finally, someone's seen my point." he sighed out of a strange relief, arms dropping to his sides as he relaxed. saige thought he was stupid to let his guard down the moment someone started smack-talking his enemy (especially considering she was probably the person closest to him), but on the other hand, so was she.
"i know! he's so far up his own arse, he probably could name every part of his own digestive track." she quipped, watching with an odd feeling of amusement as he burst into laughter.
"ha! i mean- uh, yeah." he had to try hard to wipe the grin from his face. he was, after all, a slytherin. and no slytherin should ever smile at a gryffindor.
"i can't believe i am actually enjoying your company right now, malfoy." she blurted, unable to keep the thought contained.
"i could say the same thing, black." saige almost felt her jaw go slack at how easily he was adjusting to their sudden kinship. she was still on the fence, but he had seemed to relax like putty in her hands. her brain told her that it definitely wasn't a good idea to keep the conversation going, but her heart felt that maybe he was just terribly lonely.
malfoy was a right git about ninety-five percent of the time, but he deserved an ounce of compassion too.
"you want to meet up later to discuss how much i currently hate harry potter?" she offered, the words not bothering to sting her chest like she thought they might have. her focus was off harry for once, and even though it had shifted to something completely out of the blue (or green, she might say), she was thankful for it.
"no. i'd rather not spend my time with a gryffindor." he quipped, although the ghost of a smirk played on his lips.
"well i'd rather not spend my time with a malfoy, but here we are."
"fair enough." he shrugged, hands finding their way into his pockets.
"meet me outside the slytherin common rooms tonight after potions. i won't wear my gryffindor robes." saige told rather than asked him. she could tell that even though he was beginning to come to his stereotyped senses again, he craved attention just as much as she.
"aren't you too scared to go down to the dungeons like every other gryffindor?" he snorted, although genuinely asking. she chuckled quietly.
"nah. i kind of gravitate towards the place, if i'm being honest." she shifted uncomfortably, remembering the last time she had interacted with malfoy on one of her dissociative trips to the opposing house's dormitories.
"makes sense." he muttered, eyes suddenly trained on the floor.
"what?" as soon as she questioned him, his frame snapped up straight, cheeks flaring red.
"nothing."
"okay. peace and love, malfoy." she laughed quietly, sending a peace sign his way.
"and now i officially hate you again." he walked past her, not caring to turn back.
"it was bound to happen!" she shouted behind him, the essence of a grin ghosting across her lips.
malfoy wouldn't just be a charity case, he would be the perfect way to piss her- no, now their- enemy off.