-That Was My Last Quill-
-One Shot-
-Author's Note-
This is a challenge response to the 'Broken Quill Challenge' from Bren at .
Edit: This fic has been lengthened and the errors have been fixed. Slightly brit-picked, although it barely needed it. Thanks to my Brit-Picker AzkabanGuard at .
-Disclaimer-
I don't own anything. Except my cat. But that really has nothing to do with this. Does it?
The Hogwart's Library
Susan Bones sat in the Hogwarts library feverishly working on an N.E.W.T. Arithmancy essay that was due tomorrow. The girl thought it was utterly ridiculous that Professor Vector wanted a forty-inch essay on why the number 'seven' is the most important number in magical arithmetic.
The girl got up to find a book called "Magical Numbers and Their Properties." that Madame Pince had recommended to her.She spotted it and pulled it off the top shelf of the Arithmancy section and opened to the chapter on 'Seven and It's Multiples'. Susan Beamed this had all the information she would need to finish. But the quill she was using was worn out and it was slowly writing duller and worse that when she had started. The poor girl had thirty-seven inches when it broke.
Susan stared at the broken eagle feather, and she really wanted to cry but refrained from doing so, because she was in a public place. The girl dug through her bag in search of another quill. After a five-minute search she had found nothing, she would have to ask someone else for a quill. Susan got up and started looking around the library for someone else. Since it was a Sunday mostly everyone was in their common finishing Professor Snape's potions essay on the properties of moon dew but she had finished that days ago.
Susan walked up to Madame Pince's desk, right as the librarian was shoving something into her top drawer and locking it tight.
"Madame Pince?" Susan asked politely.
"Yes, dear?" Pince looked at her sweetly and smiled.
"Would you happen to have a spare quill that you could lend me?"
"No, I just gave my last one to a first year doing an essay for his transfiguration class. Sorry"
Susan nodded sadly and looked around. She realized something. So there was only one other person was in the library that she could ask for a quill.
Draco Malfoy.
She walked over to where the blonde haired boy was sitting. He was bent over a book and piece of parchment that had names on it. Susan squinted noticed three words – Mickvah, Sherman, and Hobgoblin --. She shuddered and then tapped him on the shoulder.
"Malfoy?" The girl asked hopefully, and Draco turned around and looked at her.
"What Bones?" He replied closing his book and putting it on the parchment to cover up the names of his favourite hobgoblins.
"I was wondering if you might have a quill I can borrow…" Susan gave a weak smile and Draco smirked at her. He hasn't liked her since she stole his large box of toffees in their first year. Hopefully he would be a nice person for once in his life and give her a quill.
"Why yes I do, but you have to do something for me first." He rubbed his hands together in the way that all evil people do when they get a good idea.
"What do I have to do?"
"I want you to go to the reference section and bring me the book that is titled "How Hobgoblins Live." And you cannot tell anyone about this, do you understand?"
Susan nodded and walked to the reference section and searched for the book. It took her ten minutes before she finally found it. She beamed at the book that would get her the quill to finish her very un-fair Arithmancy essay.
"Here is your book Malfoy…" She handed it to the blonde. "Can I have the quill now?"
"No, you have to do one other thing…" He smiled evilly as she glared at him. "Go and get me a box of toffees, I know for a fact Madame Pince has a box in her desk for Professor Flitwick. She has a thing for him you know…"
Susan shuddered for a second time that day, but agreed to the challenge nonetheless. She looked around the library and saw that Madame Pince was shelving books on the properties of dung beetles in the back of the room, so she ventured over to the librarians desk like a spy would while looking for a secret document. She reached for the drawer and pulled. It was locked.
Susan cursed under her breath and looked for a key, because she had left her wand in her dormitory, and noticed one hanging from a hook near the door. The desperate girl crept over to the door and grabbed the key from its place and rushed back to the librarian's desk and unlocked the top drawer. She grabbed the toffees and ripped the "To My Dear Fillius" tag off and took them to Draco.
"Here are your damn toffees!" The exasperated girl said as she handed the chocolate treats over to the smirking blonde. "Can I have the quill now?"
"I suppose you can…" Draco said handing her a raven feather quill from his bag. "Here."
"Thank you." She replied and went back to her essay as Draco went back to his Hobgoblin obsessed research.
About forty-five minutes later Susan had finished her essay and had it neatly rolled up and put into her satchel. She gleefully walked out of the library and back to her dorm.
The Next Day
After breakfast Susan had Arithmancy, and she walked in confident because she had gotten her paper done. She sat down in her usual seat in the fourth row and took out her essay. Her smile quickly faded as she saw that once she touched her paper, it disintegrated.
"Please pass your essays to the front of the class." Professor Vector said standing next to her desk.
Blasted Malfoy! Susan thought angrily as she passed the essays of her classmates forward. He gave me a blasted jinxed quill.
"Susan, where is your essay dear?" The professor asked her politely.
"I…er…don't have it Professor." Susan couldn't very well tell her that she had used a cursed quill, which was the oldest excuse in the book.
"Okay, fine then, you'll receive a zero on this essay." The disappointed look on Professor Vector's face was enough to make Susan cry.
I bet it's all because I stole his toffees in first year. She thought sadly packing up her stuff after class. Which was confirmed when she put her hand in her pocket and found a note.
Hope you've learned a lesson.
That will teach you to steal my damn candy woman!
-Draco Malfoy
The End