| Puffskein
Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Canada
Posts: 2,438
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Chapter 6
The Threat
It was Monday again. I had to skip breakfast just to finish reading the chapter on vampire transformation... leaving my stomach growling painfully for the first two blocks of classes. It wasn’t until Potions right before lunch I truly felt it.
“Alright, before we get started I’d like to adjust your partnerships; some of you could be doing better under better influences.” Professor Slughorn looked at Weasley as he said this, whose ears turned red sheepishly. Everyone else grumbled. “Now, now!” he continued over the voices. “This will only be difficult if you all wish it to be. Ms. Abbot will partner with Mr. Smith...”
And so our shifting began. I liked the thought of this change because I was stuck with some annoying Ravenclaw girl, but I would’ve picked her over who I ended up with.
“Ms. Black, Mr. Malfoy.”
I refused to budge. So did Draco.
“Get a move on, you two. Quit dilly-dallying.”
There was an uneasy murmur among the small class.
“Professor, I don’t mind switching with Rosa!” Pansy announced cheerfully, raising her hand.
Of course she wouldn’t, she was stuck with goody-goody Granger.
“A kind gesture that is, Ms. Parkinson, but I’m afraid there will be no switching unless I say so,” Slughorn responded.
He didn’t sound the least bit apologetic. Well, if he did, I chose to ignore it.
“I would hate to have to deduct points from my own house...”
“Not like it’s your house,” I muttered beneath my breath. He wasn’t the head of Slytherin.
“Pardon me, Ms. Black?”
I looked up from my hands to the professor. Forcing my sweetest smile, I responded, “I was just saying I agree. Mr. Malfoy should get a move on.” I dropped my smile and rolled my eyes as soon as Slughorn turned away to look at Draco in the back of the other side of the room.
“Yes, be a gentleman and move to the empty seat next to Ms. Black,” Slughorn agreed.
“If that isn’t too difficult for you to do,” I added, turning in my seat to Draco. My eyes narrowed angrily on him. His face was set along with his glare back at me.
“Ladies first,” he responded with appointed, cool voice.
“Should I define ‘gentleman’ for you, Draco? I know you have difficulty with the ‘gentle’ part and will never be considered a real ‘man’, but it’s not exactly the same word put together.” I topped it off with a mockery of his smirk.
Draco got up in a huff, gathered his things, and made his way to the seat a few feet from me. Rather overdramatically, he placed his bookbag next to the table and lightly placed his book between us, even going so far as to adjust it daintily so it was a perfect rectangle.
“Thank you, Mr. Malfoy.”
“Not a problem, Professor,” he responded, looking at me out of the corner of his eyes as he did so.
It was eerie how much his voice reflected his actions just moments ago. I resisted the urge to take his prissily-positioned book and smack his fat head with it. Maybe he would be knocked out for days!
“Ms. Black?”
I blinked and looked at Slughorn. “Yes?”
“Are you daydreaming?”
“No, sir.”
He nodded to himself and continued with his lesson on the complexities of brewing Veritaserum and why you shouldn’t abuse its nature. I wasn’t really paying attention to the lesson; my thoughts about what would be for lunch were overpowering my mind.
“What’re you thinking about?” Draco whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear.
“None of your damn business,” I snapped back.
“Temper, temper...”
I clenched my fist to the point I broke my quill. I saw Draco smirk out of the corner of my eye.
“Shut up. If you want this to work, that’s all you can do.”
“Make what work? Our future?”
My head snapped to him and he looked back at me innocently. I was gripping the broken end of my quill. Well, it was the sharp end...
I swore I heard a growl. I turned around in my seat and saw Pansy glaring back at me, her quill trembling in her hand. She mouthed something to me. I understood it clearly, ‘stay away’, but I just smile back brightly. I didn’t much care for her, maybe getting her as angry as Draco... they’ll bond! And maybe he’ll see they can bond over hating me, and then Draco will forget about me, and then they get together and live all ‘happily ever after’.
“Is that the time already?” Slughorn announced suddenly, causing me to pay attention again. “Well then, that’s all for today. There will be a quiz tomorrow on what I’ve talked about today, so I hope you all paid attention. Eat well.”
I practically jumped out of my seat and scrambled to get my things together. I got my things thrown into my sack in 10 seconds flat and began to sprint out of the room.
“Slow down, Ms. Black. We don’t want any excessive messes in the hallway,” Slughorn called after me.
“Yes, professor!” I didn’t slow down as I opened the door and hurried down the hall, my feet guiding the way to the Great Hall. I even let out an audible moan when I smelled some fresh beef casserole.
“Hey!”
I didn’t slow, even when I heard running footsteps behind me.
“You, Rosie!”
“Rosa!” I snapped, spinning around to glare at whoever dared to call me by a childhood nickname I’ve always hated.
“Yeah, whatever.”
Pansy Parkinson was getting in between me and my food. This better be important.
“Yes?” I asked, forcibly sounding polite.
“What’s up with you and Draco?” she demanded.
I bit my lip to hold back my laughter, but a smile still slipped through. Pansy glared coldly in response to this.
“Nothing,” I responded.
“Don’t lie to me,” she snarled. “I’ve seen and heard how he talks to you, looks at you, talks about you...”
“So he’s got issues. That doesn’t mean I care what he d...”
“Right,” she said curtly, cutting me off. She made it clear she didn’t believe me. “Just stay away from him.”
I resisted the urge to hit her and hope that would knock some sense into her head and changed my tone entirely. “Believe me, dear, given I had a choice I would go so far as to leave the country to stay away from your precious Draco. In fact, go and take him for me.”
Pansy looked momentarily taken aback, but then went back to glaring coldly and suspiciously. “I’ll figure out your game if it kills me, Rosie.”
I honestly hope it does kill her. If it doesn’t I will if she insists calling me that.
“See you around.” She smirked and pushed past me, making her way to the Great Hall’s doors. I just rolled my eyes and followed distantly in her wake.
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Last edited by MalfoyzBeloved; 05-15-2010 at 09:09 PM.
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