Dec 2nd
From the corner of my eye I see Gregory Goyle getting ready to hit a bludger my way, but I'm too quick for him. I quickly duck and speed up to fly right below Demelza. She would know I'm there without looking, we've practiced this trick before. And just as I predicted, she dropped the quaffle exactly when I am in level with her.
Without wasting a moment, I speed up and off towards the Slytherin goal post. Nothing wavers my concentration, nothing can. My peripheral vision is excellent and there is no way the Slytherin beaters can stop my flight. I see the Slytherin keeper take his position, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his face. My lips break into a feral smile.
There is only 20 ft separating me from scoringl. 20 ft and a very panicked goalkeeper. I look him straight in the eye, lift the quaffle and pretend to aim for the left, but shoot right.
"And Ginny Weasley scores again!" Luna's dreamy voice floats over the roar of the Gryffindor crowd. I'm laughing now. That is my 5th goal of the match. Damn, am I in good form or what?
I fly back to my original position, highfiving Katie and Demelza on the way. The game plan is to start playing defensive once we've acquired enough points and wait for Harry to catch the snitch. Not very original, but he insisted on it, so we practiced that way. I peek at the scoreboard. Slytherin 60 points, Gryffindor 90.
"C'mon Harry, catch the damn snitch." I mutter under my breath.
"Looks like Draco Malfoy has caught sight of the snitch, and is already speeding towards. Harry Potter is not far off behind. Will Malfoy's Firebolt Pro give him tactical advantage over Potter? We're about to find out." Luna's commentary has become much more efficient over the past year, not the loony drabble it used to be. Though I admit, it had been quite entertaining, if a bit distracting.
Madam Hooch's whistle blows throughout the whole stadium.
"HARRY POTTER CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!"
I scream and cheer so loud I know my throat will ache later, but I don't care. We've won the match! We face Ravenclaw in the finals! The cup might as well have our name on it! Right after I land I'm engulfed into a hug so tight I almost suffocate.
"You were amazing today, Ginny! Fred and George would've been so proud!" Ron practically crushes my ribs with his bear hug. "Oh Merlin Ron, if you don't let me go I wont live to play another match!" I say, laughing and returning his hug.
Next comes Katie and Demelza. We squeal like the girls we are and hug each other, jumping up and down. "Way to go girlie, you were a wildcat up there!" says Demelza.
"Couldn't have done it without you guys and you know it." I say, and it's true. Without her and Katie, I wouldn't have gotten the excellent passes today.
We form a circle and start to jump, screaming our heads off. I actually see Ron's spit flying around and hitting Jimmy Peaks on the cheek. My brother is so gross, but I don't care, because he was brilliant at keeping! Madam Hooch and Professor McGonagall's warnings about banning us from the next match finally makes us break apart.
"Back to the changing rooms everyone! Don't forget though, party at Gryffindor Tower later!" I hear Harry scream from somewhere behind me.
I feel a tap on my shoulder and thinking it's Harry, I turn enthusiastically to hug him when I come to an abrupt stop midway. My breath stills, and I have to force my mouth not to fall open. It's not green eyes and black hair I'm looking at. I'm so close to him, I can smell the mix of sweat and expensive cologne. Immediately, I take two steps back.
Clearing his throat, he says, "That was quite a performance, Weasley."
I'm pretty sure he could hear the thundering of my heart, it was beating that fast. Oh, that silky smooth voice, with the slight drawl. How I used to fantasize about that voice. But wait, why was he talking to me? I look behind him to see his team mates grouped up and looking at us. Blaise Zabini actually has the gall to wink at me. Is this a plan to humiliate the star player of the match or something?
I look back at him, noticing the icy grayness of his eyes, and feel the familiar tingling in my stomach. How I hate that feeling. Even after a year, it's still the same damn reaction. There is a reason I haven't even looked at his direction since my 6th year started. I had looked more than enough in my 5th year. I had done more than just looking. Fat load of good it had done to me. Thinking about that pathetic year never fails to mortify me, and even now I fought not to blush.
"Thanks." I say with a shrug, and jog back to the changing room. It takes every ounce of will-power and self-respect I have in me to not run back and ask him what made him talk to me. It took all that and even more to not spear my fingers through his platinum blonde hair. It took everything I have in me to not grab his jersey and smash my lips to his.
I feel relief to see that Katie and Demelza are already in the shower when I enter the girl's changing room. At the messed up state I am in right now, they would know something happened and start asking questions. Demelza is one of my closest friends, she knosw that I used to be obsessed with him. Hell, probably the whole school knows. Problem is, they also know I am over him, which I'm not. Not even close. But hell will freeze over before I let them get that.
As I get out of the dirty jersey and shorts and step under the hot shower, I cant help but bang my fist against the tilled wall.
"Damn you, Draco Malfoy. Fucking damn you." I whisper.
Dec 3rd [ 7.45 am ]
Someone is insistently shaking my shoulder, saying my name and trying to wake me up. That just makes me cuddle with my blanket and rub my face against the pillow.
"Ginny, wake up already!" I recognize the voice. It's Hermione. Why am I not surprised?
"Gimmeh a break He'mione. I was sloshed last night." I mumble in my sleepy state.
"I would, but Dumbledore has called a prefect's meeting in his office and you obviously don't want to miss that." she says in that haughty voice of her's. If it had been someone else, the tone would've pissed me off. But I love Hermione too much to let her bossiness bother me. It kinda reminds me of my mum, to be honest. Ron would have a fit if he ever knew that.
Suddenly, I feel the blanket being ripped off me. I bolt up from the bed with a curse.
"Alright alright woman, don't get your panties in a twist. I'm up." I say with a groan.
Last night's party had been one hell of a celebration. Somehow, Seamus managed to smuggle a carton of Firewhiskey from Hogsmeade and almost everyone got trashed. The exceptions being Hermione, Harry and Ron ofcourse. The latter two were bullied into calling it an early night by Hermione. Good thing Ron hadn't been there or else he would've gone berserk. In my frustration over Draco, I gave Dean a hickey and almost sucked his lips raw. Not that he minded, but still.
I look over at the occupants of the other three beds. Demelza, Romilda Vane and Orla Quirke had all gone wild yesterday night, but I envy how peacefully they could sleep the hangover out while I have one cranky Head Girl after my sanity.
"Lucky bitches." I mutter as I make my way towards the washroom.
"I heard that." Hermione's shout makes me chuckle, and I close the door to freshen up.
After I'm done putting my uniform on and brushing my hair, I come out to find Hermione perched on my bed with a glass bottle in her hand. Inside was a sickly green liquid.
"What's that?" I ask suspiciously.
"A hangover potion." replies Hermione.
I snort and say, "Looks filthy and disgusting."
She just rolls her eyes and thrusts the bottle into my hand. "Drink up, we're already late."
Knowing Hermione, we'll probably be 10 minutes earlier than the others, but I don't say that to her. I pinch my nose and take a gulp. Yep, the potion tastes filthy and disgusting as well. But instantly, the pounding in my head disappears.
Grinning at her, I give her a kiss on the forehead. "Do you know I love you, Hermione?"
"So you tell me, Ginny. So you tell me." she says, rolling her eyes but smiling slightly.
Arm in arm, we walk out of the dorm into the common room, where we see Neville fiddling over a piece of parchment. "Hey Neville, what's up?" I ask.
"Oh hey Ginny." he says. "Nothing nothing. It's just this potions homework I cant seem to figure out."
"Oh, Neville. I told you to study with me." Hermione says with an exasperated sigh. "Why don't you go to the library and try to do as much as you can? I'll come right over after I'm done with the prefect's meeting and help you out."
"Thanks Hermione. You're the best!" Neville says with a grin.
"No problem." Even though her voice remains steady, I see the colour rise in her cheeks. I cant blame her. Neville is easy on the eyes, but when he smiles, he becomes downright adorable. Too cute to resist.
We walk out of the portrait hole together and Neville says, "I forgot to congratulate you, Ginny. You were really good at yesterday's match, not that you don't know that already."
"Yes Ginny, you were unstoppable! I even heard McGonagall praise you, and you know she rarely praises Harry!" says Hermione.
I beam at both of them. They were good for my ego. I know I gave a fantastic performance yesterday, but it felt great to hear it from others.
"Thanks guys. Means a lot to me to hear you say that. " I reply back.
Neville heads off to the library after a while and I and Hermione keep walking. "So Ginny, I heard you got down and dirty with Dean last night."
I moan and cover my face with my hands. "Word sure travels fast." I mutter.
She laughs. "Seriously though, do you plan to get back with him or something?" she asks.
"Oh Merlin, no! No way! I mean, he is a good fling I guess. But that's what he is. Fling material. I'm not dumb enough to get into an actual relationship with him again." I say, shaking my head.
"Oh and, Draco Malfoy is relationship material?" asks Hermione tightly.
I stiffen up, but I keep walking. Fucking hell, what is happening recently? I actually accomplished to not think about Malfoy and pretend like he doesn't exist for 3 months, but suddenly I find myself in situations where I need to address him. Fate is probably pms-ing or something.
"I never said that." I say curtly.
"You sure thought as much." Hermione retorts back.
That does it. I burst.
"I admit I should've heeded your warnings when you told me that pursuing him was pointless, that I was making a fool out of myself. I was a fucking idiot for not listening to you, alright? I admit that. I don't see the point of rubbing it in now. I have no feelings for him anymore."
Hermione just smiles, slips her arm back into mine and we start walking. "Glad to know you're not harboring feelings for him anymore. I'm curious though, what made you give up? You were relentless in your pursuit for him."
I sigh. I really don't want to talk about it anymore. It still hurts to think about last year, what a stupid little girl I had been. It took the guy I love telling me that I'm not good enough for him to make me realize that…I really am not good enough. I've never even talked about it with Demelza. Everyone just assumed I got bored with the whole chasing and decided to stop. But I owe Hermione an explanation. She has always been there for me and if anyone deserves to know my private thoughts, it's her.
We were infront of the gargoyle now, which hid the staircase leading to Dumbledore's office. Hermione says the password and then looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to answer her question. As we step on the staircase and it starts to ascend, I look at her and shrug. "A year's worth of rejection, I guess."
As I expected, me and Hermione were the first ones to arrive. Professor Dumbledore was not there yet, so we decided to take a seat and wait.
"When is the meeting supposed to start, exactly?" I ask her.
"Around 8.30."
"Hermione!" I cry. "You woke me up more than half an hour earlier? That is just cruel."
"Oh shush, stop acting like diva. Being early never hurt anyone." she says with a shrug.
"And you said we were getting late!" I cross my arms grumpily. "Really Hermione, 20 minutes is not even considered…fashionably early! What are we supposed to do now anyway?"
"I don't know, talk? You're pretty good at that, you know." teases Hermione.
Now I roll my eyes. "Okay. We will talk. Tell me, when are you going to screw Ron's brains out and put him out of his misery?" Hah, take that. Let's see how you handle it, now that the tables have turned.
"Ssshh! Ginny! You cant possibly ask me that in here!" she says.
I just stare at her. "Why not? Dumbledore is probably sleeping at the moment and wont come out until all the prefects are here."
She looks pointedly at the walls.
"What, the walls have ears now? I never knew dating Ron would make you lose brain cells." I cant help but tease her. "Speaking of Ron, why isn't he here with us right now? Why am I the only one who was bullied into getting out of bed early?"
"I'm here."
Both us turn in our seats to see Ron enter the office. His hair looks messy, his tie is undone and his shirt isn't tucked in. It is obvious he barely got to brush his teeth properly and had to put on his uniform in haste. It makes me wonder what Dumbledore was thinking when he made him a prefect. The only reason Ron even takes his duties seriously is because of Hermione.
Speaking of Hermione, she looks horrified at his appearance and immediately starts to fuss over him.
"Okaaay, where is everybody? I thought the meeting started at 8 o clock and I'm late." says Ron.
Just then, Colin Creevey barges into the office. He looks at us three with a confused expression on his face and then says, "Is the meeting over? I'm just 15 minutes late!"
I take in the haggard expressions on the faces of the two male Gryffindor prefects, then the embarrassed one on Hermione's face, and burst out laughing.
"Hermione, you are unbelievable." I finally manage to choke out. Colin slumps into the chair beside me, finally understanding that he was, in fact, 15 minutes early.
"Look, if I hadn't told you guys the wrong time and hadn't dragged you out of the bed, Ron would've been 10 minutes late, Colin would've been 15 minutes late! And you, Ginny. You probably wouldn't even get up from bed in time to button your shirt!" Hermione cries.
She starts to comb Ron's hair with her fingers. "Think about it, all the prefect meetings we've been to and conducted, none of them took place in Dumbledore's office at his request. He must have something important to say to us." She starts doing Ron's tie now. "And I didn't want to ruin Gryffindor's reputation the first time because of you three's tardiness."
"Aww, Hermione, you love us so much." I tease. Colin laughs and Ron just shakes his head and smiles.
"There, you look presentable now, Ron. Just tuck in your shirt and you'll be done." she says.
"Why, wont you do it for me?" Ron asks with a saucy grin. Hermione blushes bright red, which makes Ron laugh and kiss her.
I make a gagging noise and say, "Now children, no frolicking in the Headmaster's office."
That just makes Hermione blush harder. Colin taps my thigh and I turn to look at him. He leans in and pretends to whisper, but says it loud enough to make it audible to Hermione. "You know I couldn't help but notice, she could've just used her wand to tidy him up. But she didn't."
"Teen witch hormones, ya know. Makes you want to cop a feel whenever you can." I reply back conspiratorially.
"Hey, you two, cut it out. We're still here.." Ron tries to sound strict but the big, goofy grin on his face gives him away.
I envy the love that Ron and Hermione have for each other. They both have flaws, but together they are just…perfect. It makes me wonder, will I ever share this much emotion with someone? Or will my life end up being an endless chain of flings? The one time I loved, it tore me apart. I wish I had never fallen for Draco Malfoy. Deep down, I know I still love him. His words were brutal when he told me to stop making his life a living hell, that he could never even like me, let alone love me.
In the past 3 months, I've managed to school my heart and body to not react to his presence. To act nonchalant every time someone mentions his name. I've done a pretty good job so far. The fact that Draco decided to praise my quidditch performance doesn't change anything. I cant let it. It was probably a little post-match dare Blaise Zabini forced upon him. Though for a dare, it really sucked. Then again, evil Slytherins that they are, they probably thought they'd torment me a little. Suckers still think I'm pining for him.
I love Draco Malfoy. I'm insanely attracted to him. But I've got no hopes of getting him. Honestly, I don't think I even want to anymore. Thanks to the growth spurt just before the start of this year, guys easily fancy me now. The only reason it still hurts is because Draco is the only guy I ever loved and the only guy I never got.
"A sickle for your thoughts."
I snap out of my musings and am surprised to find the office full. As deep in thought as I was, I hadn't even noticed the arrival and chatter of the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff prefects. A cursory glance over the office showed that the Slytherin prefects are there as well. I prevent my eyes from lingering over the platinum blonde head and turn back to Colin.
He is staring at me at intently, his lips curled into a slight smile. The sunlight streaming from the window on the opposite side of the office makes his sandy blonde hair shine and light blue eyes sparkle. Colin is considered the best looking guy of my year, and now I understand why. He isn't classically handsome. He is not even hot, to be honest. But all together, there is something about his features that make him very, very appealing. He doesn't make my stomach tingle like Draco can. No other guy can. But he is attractive enough, for sure.
"What are you thinking about?" he asks, openly curious.
I blink. It takes a nanosecond for me to come to a decision. I slowly curve the left side of my lips to form a half smile. It is a practiced move of mine, one I'm not ashamed to use on guys. It makes my lips look provocative and my cheekbones more prominent. I've had enough guys wallowing after me later on to know that, in one word, it makes me look sexy. The only guy it has never worked on is Draco, but I'm not going to think about that.
Leaning closer, I bump my knee against his and whisper to him, making sure my lips brush the shell of his ear. "I was just thinking that you have the most…beautiful eyes. A girl cant help but drown in them."
I pull back in time to see him gulp. Yeah, I have him right where I want him. I wink and look forward, only to gasp. Professor Dumbledore is staring right back at me. My head snaps to my left, where Ron and Hermione are seated. The intensity of their glare is enough to tell me the whole story. Everyone stopped talking when Dumbledore entered, and the silence probably amplified my whispered words.
Holding back a wince, I smile faintly at the Headmaster and say, "Good morning, Professor."
Professor Dumbledore gives me an amused smile. I'm so embarrassed, but I still hold my ground and pretend like the Headmaster didn't just hear me flirt.
"Good morning, everyone. I hope you've all had a good night's sleep?" he asks us all, and we murmur a polite "Yes sir."
He clears his throat and continues. "I'm sure you have been wondering why I personally wanted to address all the prefects." He looks at Hermione's tense posture and gives her a warm smile, as if to reassure her.
"Now, it has come to my notice that House Unity has been going down the hill at Hogwarts and no one wants to do anything about it. It is shameful and very degrading." He glances at us all and continues. "Not only is the age-old rivalry of Gryffindor and Slytherin at its worst, but I hear Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw have started their own tradition of belittling each other."
He gives a stern look to the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff prefects and I see them bristle under his stare. It's been like that for a while now. If Slytherins have to choose, they prefer the company of Ravenclaws, and us Gryffindors prefer to hang with Hufflepuffs. Even now we were seated that way, the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff prefects on the right and the other two houses on the left. As it is upto the Head Girl and Head Boy to decide which prefects patrol which area, Hermione and Anthony Goldstein either pair up Gryffindors with Hufflepuffs and Slytherins with Ravenclaws, or just prefects of the same house.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out why Slytherins and Gryffindors don't mesh, but I have no idea what caused the rift between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, or the gap between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. All in all, Dumbledore is right. House Unity is messed up. He is also right about another thing. We don't really care.
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is considered the best school in the wizarding world. I cant have something are frivolous as House rivalry tarnish our reputation. So I've decided to take matters in my own hands." With a swish of his wand, he makes stacks of parchment fly up from the top of his desk and distribute themselves among us.
Since I'm the first one to get the paper, I'm also the first one to react.
"Professor! We'll all end up killing each other!"
"I do hope you refrain from doing so, Miss Weasley. It would be futile, really. You'll be seeing a lot of each other from now on. Not only have I paired up Slytherins with Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs with Ravenclaws for the patrols and overseeing of detentions, you will also be attending your classes this way. Effective immediately." says Dumbledore with a wise smile.
My heart is pounding. I've been paired up to patrol with Draco on Saturday and Tuesday nights. Fucking hell, this is not happening. Fuck fuck fuck. Beside me, Ron moans and mutters, "This is a nightmare."
"Miss Granger, Miss Abbott, Mr. Goldstein and Mr. Malfoy, I'm leaving it upto you to pin the new class schedules to your respective notice boards and explain the reason for the change to your fellow house mates." says Dumbledore.
"How long will we have to stick to this routine?" I hear Draco's question from behind me and will myself not to look at him. I bet he doesn't even care that we have to patrol together. Why should he? I'm just another silly girl who was madly in love with him. Sucks for him, I'm a Gryffindor as well.
Fuck-ing-hell.
Dumbledore gets up from his chair, or should I say throne, and his smile widens at Draco's question. "As long as I deem fit, Mr. Malfoy." he replies, with a twinkle in his eye. I think I'm starting to really not like the old man.
"Now off you all go. Chop chop." he says, and we all hurry to get out of the Headmaster's office. I'm boiling inside and I know Hermione is going to be the one to take the brunt of my wrath. I don't why, I feel like blaming her. I know it's silly and childish, but I cant help it.
Her bushy brown hair is right infront of me, so I lean down and hiss, "That was one meeting I honestly wish I had missed, Hermione." I see her shake her head, then she turns and whispers back, "I know what's bothering you. We'll talk about that, ok?"
Great. I'm that easy to read.
9. 30 am
"You have to ask Ron to change shifts with me." I plead. "Please, Hermione! You know he wont listen to me alone."
"Miss Weasley! This is the last time I'm going to warn you. Make noise again, and I'm afraid I have to ban you from the library for a week." Madam Pince's glare would've singed anyone else, but I couldn't care less.
As she walks away, I whisper, "What is it with the female population of Hogwarts? They are all so fucking uptight."
"Well, you're part of the said female population, Ginny." Neville quips from under tons of parchment.
"Bleh, with the exception of me, ofcourse. Like that even needs to be stated." I reply back, swishing my ponytail from one shoulder to another. Hermione just rolls her eyes and goes back to correcting Neville's potions essay for him.
"I'm serious, Hermione. You have to help me. There is no way I can perform prefect duties with Dra-Malfoy, you know that." I say, hoping Hermione didnt notice my slip.
She sighs and looks up. "Look, Ginny, you honestly think it'd be a good idea to pair Ron up with Malfoy? They really would end up killing each other."
"She does have a point." adds Neville.
I bury my fingers in my hair and groan. Things are so not looking my way.
"Hey, you don't like the Malfoy git anymore, do you?" asks Neville all of a sudden.
My heart skips a beat. "Ofcourse I don't." I reply back, all confused. Where did that come from?
"Well, I don't see the problem then. Why would it bother you to patrol with him? He is just another Slytherin, though definitely the most evil."
It takes a few seconds for me to answer that.
Firstly, I still have a crush on him. Maybe it is more than a crush, maybe not. Since the year started, I haven't allowed myself to ponder on these thoughts and I'm not about to start. I loved him once, and it had been a disaster. I don't think I'll be able to look him in the eye without feeling humiliated. Yes, that makes me weak and foolish and I bet dear old Godric is rolling in his grave because someone as pathetic as me has been sorted into his house. I'm not really proud of myself either. If I'm sure of one thing though, it is that being close to him and having to interact with him will make the love I've tried so hard to forget resurface. But I don't want to say all these to Neville, or Hermione for the matter. So how do I reply?
Fortunately, Hermione comes to the rescue.
"Isnt it obvious? She is embarrassed. And knowing Malfoy, he will probably make fun of her till his last breath. Why will she willingly endure that?" Shaking her head with a disgusted expression on her face, Hermione grabs the patrol schedule from my hand and scrutinizes it.
"Hmm, let's see. I've been paired up with Astoria Greengrass, and as much as I'd like to help you out, I really don't want to be called a mudblood over the course of the two hour patrol, which Malfoy is bound to do. Astoria is too scared of my intelligence to say anything."
I snort at that and am about to make a witty remark, but Hermione makes a face, so I let her continue.
"We've already established that asking Ron to change his shift is out of the question, even though I'd like nothing more than to scratch Pansy Parkinson's eyes out because that slag is going to patrol with him."
"Ooo, possessive, are we?" I tease, and Neville chuckles.
"Yes, I am." says Hermione with a shrug. "Anyway, so your only option is to ask Colin to change shifts with you. He has been paired up with Lucas Flint, so if he agrees to change, your problem will be solved."
"Who is Lucas Flint?" Neville asks.
"Oh, he is in my year." I say. "You remember his elder brother, I'm sure. Marcus Flint? Big, scary type? Used to be the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team?"
Neville shudders when he finally recalls who I'm talking about. "Yeah, I remember alright. He was a major bully. But then again, I've yet to meet a Slytherin who isn't a bully."
"True that, but we've had years of practice to deal with it." says Hermione with a shrug.
"Still doesn't give them the right to be such assholes." mutters Neville.
"Oh my, Nevie boy, watch the language." I reprimand him mockingly, and grin.
"Coming from you, Ginbean, that really is very funny." I know he is mocking me back because he is grinning as well, so I just shrug and say, "I have no regrets."
"Oh goodness, it's quarter to 10. We better hurry or else we'll miss our first period. Neville, you really need to work on this potions essay. It might get you an A, but you need an E atleast."
"I'm pretty sure he isn't looking to "Exceed Expectations", Hermione. We both know an "Acceptable" by Snape is equivalent to an O." I say, as we walk out of the library.
"He wouldn't give me an E even if I deserved it." Neville says, a hint of frustration in his voice. "Snape hates me."
"Snape hates us all." Hermione and I say at the same time, then we look at each other and grin.
"Yes, well, we'll be in McGonagall's hate list too if we are late to her class. See you at lunch, Ginny?" asks Hermione.
I nod, wave and head towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. It's been my favourite subject since my 4th year, when I discovered that I'm pretty good with hexes and jinxes. It's been almost everyone's favourite subject since Professor Baskerville took over as Defense teacher earlier this year. His motto is simple: You learn a spell, you use it. I don't even remember the last time we had a theoretical class. Harry practically worships the Professor, which doesn't surprise me at all.
I'm just 5 minutes late when I open the door to the classroom, but that doesn't bother me since Professor Baskerville always takes atleast 10 minutes to start the lesson. What does bother me is that along with the Gryffindors, the class is full of Slytherins instead of Hufflepuffs. For a second, I'm completely baffled. Then it hits me. I was so occupied with Malfoy and the patrolling schedule that I completely forgot about the change in class routines as well. With an inward groan, I walk inside.
The dueling room was long, with no furniture except benches along the length of the two walls. I walk over to where the Gryffindors are standing, and drop my bag beside Demelza's.
"It's one cracked up policy Dumbledore has adopted, eh." says Demelza when she notices me.
I nod my head and say, "No shit. Something tells me Madam Pomfrey is going to be very busy this week."
Colin chuckles at that and when I look at him, we make eye contact. I wasn't flattering him when I complimented his eyes back in Dumbledore's office. The blue orbs were pretty dreamy. I smile at him and he smiles back.
I think I've found my date for the next Hogsmeade trip.
"Dumbledore has finally lost it." Colin says. "I mean, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs can still get along, but he is insane to expect civility between Gryffindors and Slytherins!"
"I always thought Dumbledore to be a bit…mad." says Demelza with a shrug.
"He isn't mad, obviously. But he sure is taking it all a bit too far this time. I mean, c'mon! Since when did House Unity even matter?" I say exasperatedly.
"I, for one, am glad with the whole arrangement." Romilda says, flipping her hair over her shoulders and joining our conversation.
I raise my eyebrows at her. "Really? Do tell why."
"Well, you cant deny it. Slytherin's got the fittest guys." She stares at the Slytherins on the other side of the room and sighs. "This whole House Unity crap will give me an opportunity to flirt!"
Colin makes a gagging noise while Demelza says, "I could kick you out of our dorm for saying that."
"What, it's true! Look at them!" whines Romilda, waving her hands towards the Slytherin group. "Every freaking one of them looks like a Greek god!"
I roll my eyes and take a look, only to feel my mouth drop. She is right. Every fucking one of them looks good. Ofcourse, some of them look better than the others, but they are all pretty fine. When did that happen? And howcome I'm noticing it right now?
Oh, right. It's because I've only had eyes for one Slytherin for the past year. I had been so smitten I didn't even notice that all the guys in my year had hit puberty, lost all the baby fat from their faces and gained muscle. In this moment, I think I actually hate Draco Malfoy.
"Well, even if they do look good, it'll be awfully hard to strike up a conversation with them." Colin tells Romilda, and Demelza nods in agreement. "They are gits to the core, these Slytherins."
"Something tells me it isn't conversation Romilda is after." I say with a wink in her direction. Romilda blushes, and it makes all of us laugh.
"Good morning, students." Professor Baskerville's booming voice stops our chatter. "Glad to see you lot haven't gone at each other's throats…yet." He walks down the spiraled staircase at the end of the room with a grace and poise uncommon in 70 year olds. "Now, we've learned how to defend and deflect spells in the past class. If any of you still cant produce a proper shield, well, it's really sad because you'll be needing it today if you don't want to end up in the hospital wing." He says cheerfully.
"Oh crap, I've yet to master Protego." Romilda moans beside me.
"Today," Professor Baskerville continues, "we will practice the stunning spell. I'm sure most of you are familiar with it, but as a teacher I have to demonstrate before we can start practicing. Any volunteer?" He waits a few seconds. "No one? How about you, Mr. Bole? Aah, yes, you would do nicely. Please step forward." He asks pleasantly.
Adrian Bole mutters something darkly to his Slytherin companions and joins Professor Baskerville in the middle of the room. He doesn't look pleased, and I don't blame him. It's one thing to stun a partner during practice, but totally another to be stunned by the teacher infront of the whole class.
"Now, the incantation is stu-pe-fy, as you all know. It momentarily stuns your opponent, which is very effective during a duel. An average person would stay immobilized for approximately 90 seconds, enough time for the caster to flee from the scene or to cause further damage to the victim. The bigger your opponent, the lesser time he or she will stay stunned."
Without warning, Professor Baskerville shouts "stupefy!" and a jet of red light sparks from his wand and hits Bole right in the middle of his chest. While Bole is rooted to the ground, eyes wide and motionless, Professor Baskerville sighs and says to the class, "I was hoping he would conjure a shield and block the spell. Guess I overestimated his reflexes."
Some of the Gryffindors laugh and Colin actually shouts, "You should've chosen one of us lions if you wanted to be impressed, Professor!"
I chuckle and clap Colin on the back without looking at him. From the other side, I hear the Slytherins growl and see them throw dirty looks at Colin. Baskerville just smiles and turns back to Bole.
"Mr. Bole being rather tall, it will take less than a minute for the effects of the stun to wear off. Before that happens, let us learn the counter spell."
He raises his wand again and shouts, "Enervate!"
Bole staggers back with a curse that makes Professor Baskerville raise his eyebrows and the Slytherins snicker. With a sullen expression, he trudges back to his group.
"Alright then, now that Mr. Bole's ordeal is over, it's time to partner up and start practicing. Each of you will use the stunning spell on your partner while he or she will block it using a shield. If your partner is successful in conjuring a proper shield, he or she will stun you and now you'll be the one blocking. Practice will go on till each of you has successfully blocked the stunning spell seven times. Shouldn't be that hard."
With that, the Professor walks back up the staircase and stands on the marble podium at the far end of the room, which provides excellent view of the ongoing practice.
I look for Demelza since she is my partner in every class, and see her already in position farther along the room. Most students practice near the stairs to catch Professor Baskerville's attention and impress him, but we are not that silly. I start walking towards her, wand already in hand, when someone tugs at my shirt sleeve. I turn to see its Colin.
"So, I was hoping you'd be my partner for a change this class." he says with a boyish smile.
I blink. Wow, he caught on pretty quick. I could practically feel Demelza glaring at my back, and as if reading my mind, Colin tilts his head a looks at her direction.
"That is, if Demelza is okay without you, ofcourse." he stammers slightly.
I turn my head. Demelza's hands are on her hips and when she catches my eyes, she mouths, "Traitor." I wink and turn back to Colin.
"She'll survive." I say with a smile. This is going to be fun.
"Oh, I forgot to mention." shouts Professor Baskerville. We all look up at the podium. "From now on, Gryffindors and Slytherins will practice together…as partners."
For three seconds, no one utters a word. Then chaos.
"You've got to be kidding us." shouts Bole.
"I'm following Dumbledore's orders, and so will you all." Baskerville'says in a tone that welcomes no arguments.
"No way am I practicing with slimy Slytherins." I say, not bothering to keep my voice down.
"You think we want to? We're the ones who have to associate with filth and blood-traitors." sneers Bole, his attention on me now. I feel Colin take a protective step beside me. Bole looks him up and down with a disgusted expression. "Not to mention mudbloods."
Colin's face turns red.
"Now, Mr. Bole, I wont tolerate language like that in my class." Baskerville says sternly, his wand drawn incase a duel starts.
"It's alright Professor." I say, a mocking smile on my face. "I wont expect anything else from someone whose parents are in Azkaban."
Crossing my arms, I take a step forward and lean towards Bole. "Tell me something, do you cry like a baby when Daddy fails to send Christmas presents, because the dementors are busy sucking his soul out?" I say, my expression cruel. No one gets away with insulting a Gryffindor like that.
"You filthy bitch!" A jet of green shoots from his wand, but since I anticipated the move, I conjure a shield right in time to deflect his spell.
"Mr. Bole! 20 points from Slytherin! This kind of behavior is unacceptable." cries Professor Baskerville, now coming down from the podium.
"He couldn't help it, Professor." drawls Lucas Flint, one of his arms holding Bole back from taking a lunge at me. "It would piss anyone off to be badmouthed by the Gryffindor whore."
Ok that stung.
"Oh shut up, you bloody oaf." Demelza says scornfully, coming to my defense. "You're just jealous because you want a piece of her, but you're never gonna get any."
Now it's Flint's face which turns red.
"Please, like the Slytherin boys would ever lower themselves by touching the likes of you skanks." sneers Astoria Greengrass, one hand on her hip and another wrapped possessively around Flint's free arm.
"Watch whom you're calling skank, Greengrass. If I remember correctly, it was you running down the castle ground in your knickers after Filch caught you frolicking in the broomshed. Gave him quite a show, eh." I sneer back. Around me, all the Gryffindors laugh.
"You fucking cunt!" screams Greengrass. She draws out her wand and is about to curse me into oblivion, when Professor Baskerville shouts "Expelliarmus!"
Both of our wands fly high in the air and lands with a clatter on the other side of the room.
"I cannot conduct my class with you all behaving like a bunch of 3 year old buffoons." shouts Baskerville. "I hope you get your act together, because in the next class, all of you will serve a week's detention if a single person says something offensive."
He pauses and gives everyone a fierce look. "Is that understood?"
Grudgingly, we all say that we do.
"Good. There is no point in continuing this house rivalry nonsense anyway. You will be attending all classes together. If you fail to be civil in those classes, then you'll be attending detentions together." Professor Baskerville looks amused as he says this. "Fight or not, Gryffindors and Slytherins are stuck…together. So might as well get used to each other's company."
"That is easier said than done." mutters Ritchie Coote, a Gryffindor and one of the beaters of our Quidditch team. I'm in total agreement with his statement.
"There is only 10 minutes of class remaining and I see no point in trying to practice the stunning spell anymore." says Baskerville. "Please be off to your next class, which is Transfiguration?" He looks at me for confirmation and I nod. "I'll send a note to Professor McGonagall, so if any one of you starts another fight in the corridors, the consequence will be harsh." He warns us all.
We walk out of the dueling room, the Slytherins leaving first. Borrowing Demelza's wand, I accio mine from where it had landed and slip it into the pocket of my robe, keeping my hand curled around it. If the glares Greengrass, Flint and Bole sent in my direction are any indication, the walk to Transfiguration will be very, very interesting. I smirk at that thought, flip my hair to the other shoulder and walk out of the classroom with the Gryffindors.
The corridors of Hogwarts are wide enough to let two groups walk side by side. As the distance from Professor Baskerville and his classroom grows bigger, so does the tension between us Gryffindors and Slytherins.
"So, Weasley, I hear you sleep with Draco Malfoy's picture under your pillow?" sneers Lucas Flint, and the Slytherins laugh cruelly.
We are all just 10ft away from McGonagall's classroom. Clever son of a bitch, he knew if it wasn't for that fact, his balls would be on fire now. And dammit, how can I possibly respond to an insult like that. Not that I actually sleep with that git's picture under my pillow, mind you. But there is no way I can defend myself. As I said before, the whole school knows how I used to be infatuated with Draco Malfoy.
Colin stood to my right and Jimmy to my left. Behind me, I felt Demelza squeeze my hand. She knew it hurt everytime someone insulted me regarding Malfoy. The Gryffindors stood behind me protectively, and it boosted my confidence.
With a saccharine smile, I tapped my forefinger on my lips and pretended to think. "Now there is a possibility of that, isn't it?" I said pleasantly.
Flint looked confused at my lack of reaction, and I smirked. "Know what has a higher possibility? You have my picture under your pillow. With the type of floozies you date, Merlin knows you need to fantasize about someone else while you're doing her."
Not the most original comeback, but my loyal Gryffindors cackled at it anyway. Flint fumed and took a step towards me. I pulled my wand out instantly and pointed it at his throat, and my peripheral vision showed Colin and Jimmy did the same. Before anything could happen though, a thunderous bang diverted our attention and we all snapped out heads to the left.
The door to the Transfiguration classroom was wide open and on the floor laid a familiar red-headed figure. Namely, my brother.
"Ron!" I shouted in horror, running towards him.
If he heard me, he didn't give any indication. Instead, he pointed his wand at someone inside the classroom, not bothering to get up from the floor, and shouted, "Impedimenta!"
Another bang was heard.
"WEASLEY! MALFOY! HOW DARE YOU TWO!"
In the 6 years I've been a student at Hogwarts, I've never seen McGonagall so angry. She seethed with rage as she stomped out of her classroom, Draco following closely behind. This time, I couldn't help but stare at him. The first two buttons of his shirt were torn, his tie tangled behind his neck, the sleek platinum blonde hair sticking up at places. A nasty bruise was forming on his jaw.
"YOU TWO HAVE TAKEN IT TOO FAR THIS TIME." McGonagall roared.
We all just stood in the corridor, stunned.
"BADMOUTHING, MANHANDLING, AND CURSING EACH OTHER! ALL INFRONT OF A TEACHER!"
The 7th years stood at the mouth of the door, just as stunned with the situation as us 6th years. Hermione was near tears, and Harry's eyes were so wide it looked like his eyeballs would pop out any second. Behind him, Neville gulped. I could see the heads of Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott and Gregory Goyle, all wearing the same unbelievable expression.
"DETENTION! EVERY NIGHT FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS!"
"But, Professor! We have Qudditch prac-"
"I DON'T CARE, POTTER!"
"How is it my fault? Weasley started it!"
"NOT A WORD, MALFOY! OR YOU'LL SERVE DETENTION FOR THE WHOLE MONTH!"
Ron scrambled to his feet and Draco threw a filthy glare at him. Professor McGonagall was panting now, her face so red she looked sick. That is when she turned sideways and noticed us. For a second, it looked like she was spacing out. Then she came back to her senses, back to being the cool and collected Transfiguration teacher we all knew.
"7th years, off to your next class." she croaked, her voice hoarse from the shouting. "6th years, wait in the classroom while I escort Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Weasley to the Headmaster's office."
Turning back to glare at Ron and Draco, she said curtly, "Follow me."
Giving Hermione and apologetic look, Ron walked behind McGonagall. As he passed me, I touched his elbow and muttered softly, "Are you alright?"
He just shrugged and said, "It was worth it."
I watched him walk away, a slight limp to his gait. Suddenly, Draco's back came into my line of vision. He walked swiftly, surely, his spine straight. Without stopping, he turned his head and locked my eyes locked with his. I blinked, not sure if I was hallucinating. He was still looking at me. Three more steps and he broke our eye contact, turning his head forward.
The breath I had been holding whooshed out. I could scarcely believe it. Draco Malfoy had intentionally looked at me.
"What just…happened?" Ritchie Coote said absently, voicing what we all were thinking.
I wish I had an idea. All I knew was, I would need a lot of patience and restraint to survive the next couple of days.
From DamnDraco: I've just started writing this fic and I'm already in love with it! The new characters, Draco's mysterious behavior, Ginny's mixed feelings, I'm having so much fun writing this! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU LIKE IT! If you've got any confusion, dont hesitate to ask.