"It's no use, Phillips. We're stuck in here until morning," Draco sighed as he angrily gave the door one last punch. Neither one of them had their wands since they had been confiscated by Headmistress Umbridge for inspections.
"We can't just give up. We'll be in so much trouble," Sapphire said defeatedly as she placed her back against the wall next to the door and slid down to the floor.
Draco rolled his eyes as he made his way to sit against the wall across from Sapphire, "We'll get a detention or two. So what?" he said like it was no big deal.
Immediately, Sapphire glared at him, "Maybe you haven't had detention with Umbridge, but I have," she said bitterly as she pulled her sleeve up to reveal a fresh looking scar across her forearm. Draco's eyes focused on her arm as he scooted a bit closer to get a better look.
"What is that?" he asked, the tone of his voice growing softer. Sapphire looked down at her arm before looking back up at Draco, "This is what happens when you have detention with Umbridge. You use an enchanted quill that carves whatever you write with it into your skin," she explained.
Draco quickly looked back up at Sapphire, "She did that to you?" he whispered, concern filled his voice. "Yes," she replied just as quietly, "and she'll do it again, and to you too if we don't find a way out of here."
Draco closed his eyes in thought before opening them again to find Sapphire staring at him. "I'm sorry, Phillips, but I just don't see us getting out of here until morning," he confessed. Sapphire slowly nodded in acceptance as she laid her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. This time it was Draco who stared at her. He watched her intently as he noticed a single tear escape and fall onto her cheek.
"Sapphire," Draco whispered, but she refused to look at him. Slowly, Draco scooted over to sit next to her. "It won't be bad, ok?" he whispered as his shoulder touched hers, "We'll just tell her the truth. We were here looking for a potion Snape requested and the door shut," he explained, hoping to comfort her in some sort of way.
Sapphire wiped the tear off her face as she opened her eyes to look at him, "Yeah, and do you think she'll believe that?" she asked, her voice cracking with emotion before giving a bitter laugh. "She'll accuse us of being in here fooling around or something," Draco's face flushed slightly as Sapphire spoke, "and she'll cruelly punish us for something we didn't do," she finished as she broke out into a sob.
Hearing Sapphire's cry instantly caused Draco to feel a rush of anger, "I dare her to try and punish us like that," Draco said with a sneer, "She wouldn't dare touch us or else I'll tell my father," he finished confidently. Sapphire looked up at him and gave him a tiny head shake, "She won't care. Draco, I've seen her slap a student. She physically hit a student! You think she's afraid of your father?" she gave another bitter laugh before pulling her knees to her chest to rest her forehead against them.
Draco couldn't believe what he was hearing. Their interim Headmistress physically hit and punished students. For some unknown reason, though, he couldn't bear to watch the girl next to him cry any longer. Hesitantly, he lifted his arm and placed it around Sapphire's shoulders. Without thinking, Sapphire immediately leaned into his embrace, welcoming any form of comfort, and taking Draco by complete surprise. He tensed awkwardly for a moment before letting his body relax and welcoming the warmth of Sapphire's body heat.
The two sat in silence for a few moments before Draco spoke, "Well, there's no use sitting around here moping until we're found in the morning," he said causing Sapphire to pull out of his embrace and lean back against the wall once again. "What are you talking about?" she asked suspiciously causing Draco to let out a small laugh. "After having years of classes together, I don't really know anything about you. We have all night so why don't we get to know one another?" he offered kindly.
Sapphire's eyebrows narrowed in confusion. "You..want to get to know me?" she asked in disbelief. Draco smirked, "Yeah, just don't tell anyone, Phillips," he joked causing Sapphire to laugh softly. "I'd like to get to know you too, Draco," she whispered sincerely with a kind smile.
The two discussed basic interests at first as they slowly began to open up to one another. "Your favorite Quidditch team is Bulgaria?" Draco asked in disgust causing Sapphire to smile. "Victor Krum makes it very easy to like the Bulgarians," she confessed with a small giggle causing Draco to roll his eyes.
"Krum is a dirty cheat," he replied with a sneer. Sapphire raised her eyebrows, "Well, Malfoy, I've seen you play pretty dirty on the Quidditch field before," she said with a smirk of her own. The corner of Draco's lips turned up slightly, "There's a difference in playing dirty and cheating, Phillips," he explained as he slowly inched closer to her.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night," she teased as she gave his shoulder a gentle nudge with hers. "Your turn," Sapphire said, waiting on Draco to confess something to her. He thought in silence for a few seconds, "I don't like the color green," he admitted causing Sapphire to break out into a fit of laughter.
"What?" he asked with a slight grin. Sapphire continued to laugh, "The King of Slytherin doesn't like the color green? That's blasphemy!" she exclaimed as her laughter slowly died down. "What, you're telling me you like yellow enough to be surrounded by it all the time?" he asked, referring to Sapphire's Hufflepuff color.
She smiled, "It's not my favorite color, but I don't mind it too much. It reminds me of a beautiful sunflower," she admitted. "So you like sunflowers?" Draco asked curiously. Sapphire nodded, "Of course. Roses, daisies, lilies, they're all overrated. The beauty of sunflowers is simple, and severely underappreciated, kind of like my house," she explained before catching herself, "but anyway, your turn again..."
