T H E S L U G C L U B
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Mal's POV
Today's the dinner Professor Slughorn invited a few select students to, luckily, I was among the select students. I'm flipping through my drawers and closet, trying to find exactly how I'm going to dress tonight.
"Have you chosen what you're going to wear?" I asked Mione.
"I just told you Ron told me Harry's basically been stalking Malfoy with the Map and that is what you ask me?" Mione exclaimed and I sighed, flipping through my drawer.
I ignored her comment once again. "I think I'm just going to wear some jeans and a blouse with a thick black cardigan. How about you?"
"Mal—" She reprimanded me.
I huffed and turned to her. "Listen Mione. I don't want to talk about it. Draco and I just started getting along again, I can't talk about it, or else I'll have to choose between strangling Harry for being a stalker or Draco for being so mysterious and a jerk. I simply can't choose. So I won't." I said as I hastily took the clothes I wanted to wear out of my drawer and threw them onto the bed. "What I do want to do is preoccupy myself with other things, like what you are going to wear. So, Mione, what are you going to wear?"
"Just some jeans and a zip-up sweater." She replied curtly.
"Great. Let me just change and I'll go with you to your room." I sighed and started to change into my clothes. Mione sat on my bed and rubbed her hands on her jeans.
"I just can't believe how Malfoy cursed Katie Bell." She muttered.
"Draco didn't...!" I sighed and lowered my voice as I slipped on my blouse, "he didn't curse anyone. We don't know that for sure, now I know Harry's the 'Chosen One' or whatever, but that doesn't mean he's suddenly one that can read minds or anything. So he could just be wrong."
"Or right." Mione pointed out.
"Mione—" I warned her.
She raised her hands up in defeat. "Fine fine, shutting up now. Ready?"
"Yeah." I slid on my shoes and we headed over to her dorms for her to change. I waited a couple minutes and Harry, Mione, and I finally went off to the dinner.
There, we saw various others and I didn't fail to see how Cormac kept staring at Mione, I shoved her and motioned to him discreetly, making her glare at me and turn to stare at her dinner plate. We ate like this, making small talk as we finished our dinner and dessert finally came. Ice cream, yay.
"So, what do your parents do in the muggle world Ms. Granger?" Mione and I exchanged confused glances and he pointed to me.
"Well, our parents are dentists, sir." They looked at me with a perplexed look on their faces and I quickly clarified, "they take care of people's teeth."
"Fascinating, and is it considered a dangerous profession?" Professor turned to Mione and asked.
"No." She answered simply and everyone just stared at her. She turned to me for help and I shrugged. Why are they still staring at her? "Although..." Although? There's not much to dentistry sis, you fix a cavity, clean their teeth, that's it. "One boy, Robbie Fenwick, did bite my father once. He needed ten stitches." Mione and I laughed softly as we recalled that night our father had come home and claimed he was bleeding out. And then they wonder why I'm dramatic.
Everyone at the table had stopped eating and turned to stare at us. Thankfully, Ginny arrived just then and they all redirected to her.
"Sorry, I'm not usually late." Ginny promised. Wait, what happened? She's been crying. I nudged Mione and she nodded, telling me she'd seen it too.
"Look at her eyes." Mione whispered to Harry, "Her and Dean have been fighting again." Harry nodded but continued to stare at Ginny.
"That's alright, we still have dessert." Professor chuckled and motioned for her to sit down. Once Ginny approached the table Harry suddenly stood up and everyone turned to look at him.
What are you doing?!
"Sit down." I muttered and he did so at the same time as Ginny did.
Why don't you just admit you have a thing for her?
Mione and I both grinned at Harry as he sat down and he scowled.
"What?!" He growled at us.
"Nothing." We both said and smiled mischievously.
I glanced around the table and watched as Cormac stared intently at Mione and sucked ice cream off his finger slowly. Ewe. Mione would never. Her eyes widened and she turned to look at her ice cream, making me stifle my laughter. That was awkward.
When we finally got out of Slughorn's dinner, Harry had decided to stay behind to get information out of him and Draco was waiting for me outside, which we only realized by bumping into him.
"Malfoy." My sister grumbled and I nudged her. Yeah, ever since me and him have been fighting she doesn't like him anymore, that is if she ever liked him in the first place.
"Granger." He said politely and turned to me with a small smile on his face, "Kat, ready?"
"Yeah, we just finished up here." I smiled when he took off his blazer and wrapped it around my shoulders. Much better. "I'll see you later Mione."
"Yeah, just leave. It's fine. It's not like I'm your only sister and you're leaving me for--"
"Hermione, was it?" All of us turned when we heard a sudden voice interrupt Mione. It was Cormac. Mione's look of surprise and disappointment made me laugh.
"Yes." She said simply and tried not to look at him.
"Well, I'd be happy to walk you back to your dorm." He extended his arm for her to link hers through it but she simply looked at it.
"Actually..." she turned to me and walked to be right next to me, "I'm going back with my sister. We have a lot to do." She looked up at me with a pleading look on her face. Payback time little sis.
"I actually have to go with Draco to Slytherin. You can go on ahead with Cormac." I smiled at her despite her glares.
"Great, let's go." Cormac put a hand on her back and led her away, as she turned the corner she mouthed to me You'll pay for this.
Sure. I mouthed back and laughed.
"You're pure evil, you know that, right?" Draco teased.
"Yes, I fit exactly into the Slytherin stereotype."
"Right." Draco rolled his eyes and I shoved him, "I don't like that one anyway, he seems to be... ill-intentioned."
"Mione can hold her own, trust me."
"I know, I just really don't like him for some reason."
"You don't like anyone."
"Except for you." He slung an arm around my shoulders and we started walking to our common room.
"You don't like me either, only sometimes."
"Yeah, barely tolerate you."
"But I get what you mean, I don't like him for Mione either. I'll just pass by her dorm later and check in." I shrugged.
"Fine. Let's go."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Uh oh. That's never good." He teased.
"Why do you always mysteriously disappear? I mean, you could be walking somewhere for a while and suddenly you're no longer there."
"Kat, can we please not do this again?"
"I'm just asking, it's odd." I tried to explain.
"You disappeared all the time last year, I didn't say anything about it."
"You always said something about it."
"Alright, I did. But needn't you worry about me, I'm fine."
"But--"
"Kat..." he warned.
"Fine. So, what do you want to do tonight?"
"I don't know."
"Let's narrow it down to two options: jump off the Astronomy tower or set the divination room on fire. You choose." He rolled his eyes at my sarcasm.
"I choose the Astronomy tower."
"How's that gonna work? Should I push you down first or you me?"
"Or we could jump together."
"I like that idea, therefore if I chicken out after pushing you I won't feel guilty."
"Yes, that makes complete sense." He nodded at me. "So, who else was at that dinner?"
"Cormac, Neville, Ginny, Elvis, Harry, and umm... Blaise." I whispered the last word and saw his jaw tighten. "No, come on. I told you there's nothing going on."
"I know. I still don't love that he always seems to be there when I'm not."
"That wasn't my fault, Slughorn invited me."
"Right." I rolled my eyes at him and he tugged on my hand, "fine, fine. So, did he say why he chose you?"
"He said he thought I had 'untapped potential', that I was different from the other slytherins."
"Obviously you are. Potential to what?"
"For healing. So, you know how I am doing pretty well in my classes, but especially in potions and transfiguration?"
"And DADA." He pointed out.
"Yeah, I guess. Well, he thought that my success in these classes could lead to a bigger career in the future as a healer."
"That's great Kitty."
"I mean yeah, I would like to consider that. But that'll mean I need to pass my N.E.W.T.S with outstanding scores and then spend years in Healer school."
"You're smart, you'll pass those tests with great scores. And Healer school will eventually be over. Plus, you don't have to decide anything yet."
"Yeah, I have a year."
"RIght." Draco's mind shifted off into another world but I simply kept walking, hoping he wasn't thinking too negatively about anything. He always has such a pessimistic attitude. I think we could get through this year fine, I hope.
Boy was I wrong.