Jayden reluctantly descended to the dungeons after swallowing down what she could of her peach cobbler. While she had the fortune of not having to tell Mum or Daddy about detention- they really didn't know anything about her magic school.

It was only the second night of detention and she already felt like she'd rather have her head dunked in a cauldron again rather than spend another night scrubbing Professor Snape's cauldrons with Bensabiel Prince.

"Ew, I can't believe that you're stuck with him," Mafalda Prewett said when Jayden had explained the predicament the night before. "He's such an idiot. And clearly has some anger issues."

"Yeah," Allana Durron had agreed. "You should tell Dumbledore- or maybe Umbridge."

"I will," Jayden said. "But I'm not holding my breath for her to overturn one of Snape's detentions."

So Jayden was there again the second night. She refused to even look at Ben. He'd been a prick since their first year, and she refused to give up a good grudge. She set her bag on a desk and waited as Snape entered from his office.

"Scrub the floors- some first year happened to buy a cheap cauldron and it exploded," Snape ordered. "I want the floors spotless."

"Yes sir," Jayden said reluctantly. The two got on their hands and knees and began scrubbing. It was no real task to Jayden- being the eldest girl of five, she had to know housekeeping. Mum insisted that Neil, her older brother, did the outside work only, and she would only do the work inside.

The half-hour passed in silence. Then a little pink toad by the name of Umbridge appeared in the front doorway.

"Excuse me, little children," she said in her honeyed voice. "Severus! I need to have a chat with you. In my office."

"Delores, I have a detention to oversee-"

"It is urgent business!"

Snape appeared to be groaning internally. He glanced at Jayden and Ben.

"Continue your detention- you'd better be here when I come back."

With that, the bat followed the toad and the dungeon was silent again.

And now the twit will leave me to do this all myself, Jayden said to herself as she continued to scrub the floor. But the minutes ticked by, and Ben kept scrubbing the floor with her.

Finally, he looked at her.

"I thought you would've gone sneaky Slytherin and have left me to do it all," he said.

Jayden shrugged, not letting him get to her with offensive that was. "If you want to know the truth, I'm a little scared of Snape."

"Really?" Ben asked. "I thought all Slytherins loved him, and the feeling was mutual."

"Slytherin status is moot when you're a muggle-born," Jayden answered quietly. Her inner armor felt like it was cracking and breaking and she couldn't keep up her facade for long.

"Oh," was all Ben said.

"Why didn't you get all brave and ditch me?" she asked after a few minutes.

"That's not brave, that's stupid," he scoffed. "Besides, I don't like Snape much either."

"Hmm," Jayden murmured. "Well, he doesn't like Gryffindors much, especially little princes like you."

This time Ben shrugged.

"Harry Potter isn't all of us," he said simply.

"Well, you are many repulsive things, but not insane," Jayden admitted.

"He's not insane! He's telling the truth!" Ben argued.

"Believe what you want," Jayden said with a shrug. "But You-Know-Who is dead. He died fourteen years ago- that's what everyone says. How can anyone come back from the dead?"

"Well, how do you explain Cedric Diggory?" Ben shot back.

"I don't know," Jayden admitted. The two were quiet for a moment. "I don't know who killed him, but I doubt it was a dead man, and I think Dumbledore should've been fired then and there."

"I'm not disagreeing with that," Ben admitted. Jayden blinked, surprised. She thought everyone worshipped the ground that the headmaster walked on.

"Oh yes," Ben continued, clearly reading her shocked expression. "Dumbledore's always been a bit mad- but then again, some of the best wizards are- but he's too mad to be running a school in times like these when madmen are running about killing children."

"Amen to that," Jayden muttered. "I don't like Umbridge any more than the next person, but we need to have her in Hogwarts- it's really has gone to the dogs, with every teacher praising Harry Potter and ignoring the rest of us!"

"Well there's something to agree on," Ben said as they continued to scrub the floor.

Jayden found herself looking at Ben differently- maybe he wasn't as bad as she thought. She still abhorred his old-money attitude and his strong belief in Potter, but maybe the grudge wasn't worth it.

No, you hate him, remember? she reminded herself. She hurried to finish the scrubbing and let out a sigh of relief when she was finished, scrambling out of the classroom in a mad dash.

I must've been getting poisonous fumes off the cleaning potion he made us use, Jayden rationalized. Why else would I spill my guts to Ben Prince?

She shuddered at the terrifying thought.