Okay, so I decided I would try my hand at a Harry Potter fanfic. It's my first, and possibly one of two involving Draco Malfoy, but I won't make any promises. I hope you guys enjoy my ramblings, and please please please please review!
DISCLAIMER! I do not own any of these characters besides Ember Greyson!
. . .
Hogwarts.
A beautiful, wonderful, miraculous place in some respects. Like the randomly appearing food, the magical lessons, the talking portraits.
But it wasn't as amazing in other respects. Namely, Draco Malfoy, and Slytherin house on the whole. There was something...off about that boy. I'd always known that. Oh, sure, he was arrogant and disrespectful and quite possibly a demonic spawn of Satan, just like the other Slytherins. But there was just something about him that was just a little darker, a little more intimidating than the others. Very few people that I'd seen were like that, and none of them promised anything other than becoming a Death Eater.
"Ember?"
"Harry?"
"Are you all right?" Harry Potter asked, green eyes not so much showing concern as curiosity.
"I'm thinking." I said.
"Obviously. May I inquire as to what about?" he asked in a jokingly pompous voice.
"Oh, just the usual, I'd suppose," came the lazy drawl of Draco Malfoy, standing behind us as we waited to enter the Potions classroom. "Nothing."
Tired of all of his insults and snide remarks, I calmly turned to look at him. "Hello, Malfoy." I said brightly. "Eat any good first years today?"
He smirked at me. "Yes, Greyson. And they were delicious. You'd better watch your mouth, or-"
"Or what?" I interrupted. "You'll send an owl to Daddy and get us all expelled? Come on, Draco. We're not in second year. Calling someone empty-brained and threatening to tell your father on people is, quite honestly, very repetitive and highly childish. Really, get some new material. Now, if you don't mind, I have a Potions class that I simply must be getting to." With that, I very simply, and without ceremony, turned around and walked through the recently opened doorway.
"Blimey," muttered Ron Weasley as he entered next to me. "What possessed you to do that?"
"I was annoyed." I said simply.
"You weren't actually angry?" asked Hermione Granger, taking the seat next to mine.
"Nope. Mildly irritated is more like what I'd say." I told her.
She just smiled and shook her head as Professor Snape began class.
For this being our fifth year, I was surprised at how little I'd stood up to Malfoy in the past. I'd barely squeak out an apology for whatever it was he was tormenting me about before I ran. But, over the summer, I came to realize that I really didn't care what he thought of me, or anyone, for that matter. He was always going to spread rumors about me, no matter what I did. I was a Gryffindor. He felt he had the right. But he didn't, and I knew that. If he was going to spread rumors, I'd rather feel as though I instigated them instead of not deserving them at all.
From the corner of my eye, I watched as Malfoy drew out his wand from his sleeve. What's he doing? I wondered. We don't need wands for this lesson.
That's when I noticed the small tongue of flame that had just magically happened to jump from below Ron's cauldron onto the hem of his robes. Before he could even notice the smoldering clothes, though, I pulled out my own wand and quietly muttered an incantation. The flame was extinguished, and I returned to my potion as though nothing had happened. My facade slipped a little, though, when I noticed Malfoy's utterly bewildered expression. I snorted, and I barely had time to compose myself before Snape swept by and made some cynical remark that I didn't bother listening to.
But Malfoy had noticed me laughing, and he knew who'd ruined his trick. He scowled and trained his wand on me instead. I suddenly felt a burning sensation on my hand and I quickly stifled a yelp. I bent over my now blistered hand and whispered the counter-curse. The blisters receded, though it was still red and raw. I jabbed my wand in Malfoy's direction and murmured the spell to cause his cauldron to spring a new leak every two minutes (which I'd learned from Fred and George, Ron's twin brothers).
It took two minutes for the spell to kick in, but when it did, his face was absolutely priceless. He looked as though someone had just put holes in his cauldron while he was making a Wart-Inducing Potion. Oh, wait, someone just did.
"Mister Malfoy," Snape growled as students scrambled to stand on chairs and escape the leaking potion. "Care to explain to me why you seem to have a defective cauldron?"
My eyes widened as I realized Malfoy could possibly tell the Potions Master what I'd done, and, therefore, would have my wand checked for the last spell I'd used. I hurriedly did a nearly imperceptible charm that merely made glitter shoot out the end of my wand. The evidence of this was quickly washed away by the Wart potion now spreading all over the dungeon floor.
But this was all highly unnecessary. Malfoy simply looked at Professor Snape and said, "I suppose it's because of the shop I bought it from. I mean, what can you expect from Potage's Cauldron Shop?"
Wow. Saved my arse and still managed to insult someone all in one go. I mentally applauded him for the accomplishment.
Class was dismissed ten minutes later, and everyone tried to get to the door without touching the floor, which Snape had so conveniently forgotten to clear. I laughed to myself, for it was a little like playing the Muggle game, The Floor Is Lava, except the floor was a liquid that could give you gigantic warts within thirty seconds depending on the potency.
"What was that all about?" asked Harry once we were clear of the classroom.
"That's what I was wondering." said Hermione. "Cauldron's don't just randomly spring leaks, I don't care what Percy's report on their bottoms says."
"I think he made that potion wrong, too." said Ron. "Look, it singed my robes!"
"Actually, I can shed a bit of light on that," I said casually just before telling the three about the small wizard duel Malfoy and I had performed unbeknownst to the Potions Master.
"Why, Em?" asked Hermione. "Why on Earth would you instigate a wizard duel with Malfoy?"
"Okay, one, I didn't instigate that one, and, two, I was saving Ron for becoming a human fireball." I said.
"Thanks for that, by the way." Ron said as we headed to the Great Hall for dinner.
"No problem."
"What I'm still wondering," said Harry. "is why he covered for you."
"Probably because the nasty git knew he'd get caught, too." Ron said pompously.
"That's what I was thinking." I said.
"That's a good point, but I'm still not sure." Hermione said as we sat down at the table.
"Anyway," I said. "It doesn't really matter. I don't care about Malfoy. I haven't for a while. I'm going to the library after dinner, if anyone wants to come with me."
"Sorry," said Hermione. "I still have a few more elf hats to finish."
"Quidditch practice." said Harry.
"I got kicked out of the library yesterday." said Ron apologetically. "She won't let me back in for another few days."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"The old bat caught me making 'rude gestures' to Marcus Flint. Don't know why I got in trouble. Flint's too thick to understand what half of them meant." he grumbled.
"Well, on that note, I suppose I'd better get going. Transfiguration essays don't write themselves." I said, picking up my bag and leaving the Great Hall.
My time in the library was highly uneventful, and the happenings there are hardly worth mentioning. I managed to complete two essays and get started on a third when Madame Pince told me I ought to leave or risk getting caught being out of bed after hours. I agreed and hurried on my way.
As I was about to round the corner that lead to the Gryffindor corridor, I felt myself being roughly pulled to the side and into a broom cupboard. Automatically, I whispered, "Lumos!" and lit the tip of my wand. There, in front of me, was an absolutely livid Draco Malfoy.
"Who do you think you are, Greyson?" he snapped.
"What?" I asked, bewildered. I knew Malfoy openly humiliated people, but this was a bit far for his standards. If he had any.
"No one treats me like that!" he snarled. "No one! If my father hears of this-"
"Oh, please, get a grip on yourself, Malfoy." I snorted. "You think that by locking me in a broom cupboard you're somehow going to get me to stop standing up to you? Not a chance. You know me, Malfoy. I don't back down that easily. Maybe I used to. But that's over now. Just because you're not comfortable with it in no way means I'm going to stop. Learn that." Saying this, I shoved the cupboard door open and stalked back to the hidden entrance to the Gryffindor common room. "Mimbulus Mimbletonia." I spat.
"No need to be so snippy." yawned the fat lady as she swung forward to admit me. I climbed through the portrait hole and sat heavily on the couch in the middle of the common room. Harry and Hermione were sitting on the floor playing with Crookshanks when they looked up at me.
"You were gone for a while. What took so long?" asked Harry.
"I was ambushed." I said shortly.
"By who?" asked Hermione.
"Who else? Malfoy."
Harry's eye's widened. "Did he hit you?"
"No," I said. "He just shoved me in a broom closet and told me that he's basically going to tell Lucius on me about what I did today."
Hermione's brow furrowed. "That doesn't make any sense."
"Really, Hermione? Because it seems to me that's exactly what Malfoy would do." I snapped.
"I'm just saying it's weird. I mean, he covers for you in Potions and then, all of a sudden, he's making threats? Don't you think that's a little strange?" she asked.
"Actually, I agree with Hermione on this one." said Harry.
"You can't be serious." I said. They just looked at me and shrugged. "Really? Well, fine, what do you think it is?"
"What what is?" they asked in unison.
"The reason you think Malfoy's acting so erratic."
"I honestly don't know." Hermione admitted. "But I want to try and find out. If it doesn't interfere with taking down Voldamort, that is." she added with a quick look at Harry.
"No," he said, shaking his head and looking like he was in deep thought. "This absolutely isn't our top priority, but it's definitely something I want to get to the bottom of."
I sighed. "I'm telling you, there's no bottom to get to, but do what you will. I'm going to turn in."
"Good night." they called as I headed to the girls' dormitory.
. . .
A/N: Hey, I hope you enjoyed the story. This is the only time I'll be putting an author's note at the end so as to keep the reading mostly seamless. Just wanted to remind you all to review and to say that I appreciate anyone reading this. Also, I have most of this done, so I'll try to post as Fanfiction lets me. They seem to have been having issues of late. Thanks! Peace out.
