look everyone, a new chapter! let's read it! also, i changed some things after posting this for the first time, so if its confusing, im very sorry. i'll put notice in the next Chappie too! NOW, on with the Chapter!
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Ch 2- Partnered with Potter.
or:
While Jumping To Conclusions May Be Fun, It Will Get your God-Son Grounded
o-o-o
Draco skidded into Divination fifteen minutes late, red faced and out of breath. He had sprinted all the way to the tower from the library, four floors below and on the other side of the castle.
"Proffesor- pant pant- sorry- pant-late- lost track of time- pant pant…"
He doubled over, wheezing.
Alright, that's it! Time to shape up, mister!
Trelawny made no sign that she had heard his apology, or even his entrance. She continued speaking over his words. "...be studying topics befitting of your fourth year status..."
Riiight. I'll just sit down then, shall I? Crazy old bat...
He glanced briefly around the classroom, saw who else was in the class, and nearly had a hissy fit right there and then.
You have got to be kidding me. We're stuck having class with the bloody Gryffindorks!?
Draco would normally have made some sort of complaint, but he deemed it unwise, under the circumstances.
The circumstances being that he still couldn't really breath.
Dammit, this sucks! Stupid Dumbles, I'll bet my wand that this was his stupid idea. stupid inter-house co-operation plot.
Stupid...Bloody...goddamn...
He made his stumbling, grumbling way over to an empty armchair next to Crabbe and Goyle, who, despite having left the library a good five minutes after him, had somehow managed to arrive on time.
Note to self: Make Vince and Greg tell me how they did that. Even if it means torturing them.
Draco started pulling out his wand and books and whatnot. He tossed his text-book carelessly onto the coffee table and slouched down in his seat, absently fingering his wand.
Trelawny was still speaking, saying something about a term project; absently, Draco noted that he should probably be paying attention to the loopy lady, but he had other things on his mind.
Like that notebook.
I wonder whose it is? From the amount of dust on it, it'd been there at least a few months, probably longer. But there's no name in it- at least, I don't think so.
He glanced at his bag, itching to pull it out and check.
Come on, Draco, forget it. Don't turn this into another of your obsessions. Remember how that other one turned out?
()
micro- flashback
"Dobby, what's a Croosh-yo?"
end micro- flashback
()
Of course, he had been very young then. He was smarter now.
()
Micro-flashback II
"Dobby, what's a Croosh-yo?"
Dobby the House Elf blinked his enourmous green eyes at his five year old master. "Dobby is sorry, what did the young master say?"
"A Croosh-yo. Like, croo, an' she, an' O, all smushed together," little Draco repeated patiently.
End micro- flashback II
()
Oh, come on! It wasn't the same situation at all. this was a book, for Merlin's sake, not a curse. Of course, he hadn't know it was a curse at the time...
He'd heard his father say the word once, but he'd been eavesdropping at the time, and obviously couldn't stop his father to ask for a vocabulary lesson. He'd tried to find out later, of course, but no one he'd asked had given him a straight answer. He'd asked all his peers (who knew nothing), and half the house-elves at Malfoy Manor,(who went into hysterics), before he finally struck gold. Not the gold he was looking for, but gold all the same. His godfather's reaction was priceless, in hindsight.
()
()
FlashBack._____________________________-_-_-_-_-_-_________________________
"Hey uncle Sevvie! I got's a question!"
Severus Snape had winced a little at the nickname and bad grammar, but had answered willingly enough.
"What is it Draco?"
"What's a Croosh-yo?"
Uncle Sev patted him absently on the head, his mind on the potion he hoped to brew quite soon. "It's Crucio, dear one, from the Latin Crucio, Cruciare. From the present passive participle and fourth principle part, Cruciatus, we get the name 'Cruciatus Curse' Technically, it should be pronounced Kroo-kee-oh, with a hard 'c', but-"
He cut off abruptly, and stared at Draco.
"Where did you hear that, small one? Your parents shouldn't be telling you about things like that for at least a few years. What was Lucius thinking?"
"Oh, Daddy didn't tell me about Croosh-yo's-"
"Then your mother did? Honestly, I thought Narcissa had more sense than that! Knowledge and protection are all very well, but there's plenty of time for illegal curses later on."
Draco went all starry-eyed. "Illegal Curses! Wow!"
Sevvie looked at him sternly. "No, not wow. Very bad actually."
Draco was crushed. "Bad? Why is it bad, Uncle Sevvie? If Papa's done it-"
Severus chocked. "Lucius performed the Cruciatus Curse in front of you?"
Draco scuffed a foot on the ground and stared at his shoes in fascination. "Well… not exactly…"
Severus' face cycled through a number of emotions as he thought that statement through and came to what seemed, at the time, to be the logical conclusion. Confusion was there, if only briefly, and shocked disbelief, and finally raging, murderous anger.
if there was one thing Severus Snape could not stand, it was someone hurting a child.
"Right. That's all I need to hear. Come with me, darling, I'm going to take you to see Madam Pomfrey here at Hogwarts, and then your parents and I are going to have a very serious talk."
From the look on his face, 'talk' meant 'painfully and gruesomely massacre, and then pickle the leftovers into potions ingredients.
Needless to say, poor Draco was terrified.
Oh no, I didn't think he'd be this angry at me for eavesdropping on Papa!
"I'm sorry, Uncle Sev, I didn't mean to make you angry! Please don't be mad!" Draco cried tearfully, only half faking it. An angry Severus Snape was enough to make anyone cry.
His god-father looked scandalized, and deeply sad. "Oh no, no Draco, I'm not angry at you! Don't fret, little one. It's your parents who should be worried."
Draco was confused. Why were his Mama and Papa in trouble for something he did? It made no sense to him. But because even at five years old Draco was a Slytherin through and through, he decided, what the hey. I'll let my parents take the rap, and I'll just sit back and watch the fireworks. Could be fun!
Sevvie had dropped him off with Madam Pomfrey, and after holding a whispered conversation with her in the corner, had stalked out of the Hospital wing, presumably to go and have that 'talk' he'd told Draco about.
End FlashBack_____________________
()
Draco, of course, didn't get to witness the blow-up now infamous in the Malfoy household, but he'd heard the story enough times to imagine it.
()
FlashBackII__________________________________
"LUCIUS MALFOY!! YOU WILL DRAG YOUR FILTHY-ROTTEN, CHILD ABUSING CARCASS OVER HERE RIGHT NOW, YOU NO-GOOD PEICE OF FILTH!!"
Lucius came running in, looking panicked. "Severus! What's wrong!? Is Draco alright?!"
"Oh, so now you care about your son's well being? I think it's a little late, don't you?" Severus snapped acidly, glaring at the man he had once called friend.
Lucius gave him a blank stare. "I'm sorry? What are we talking about?"
"YOU! You torture your son with an illegal curse and you have the gall to pretend you know nothing!! You utter bastard!"
Narcissa came running in at that moment. "Lucius? Is everything all right? I heard raised voices and I thought- oh, hello Severus! What brings you here?"
Severus turned his death glare on her. "Oh, let me think. Maybe your husband's use of the Cruciatus Curse on your son has something to do with it!"
Narcissa went white as a sheet. "What?" she asked faintly, "Lucius…" Her eyes narrowed, her normally pleasant face morphing into a mask of rage. "Is this true, Malfoy?" she said, her voice low and dangerous.
Lucius was stricken, utterly appalled . "I never! I love him, I love both of you! How could you even think that!"
His wife drew herself up to her full height, and screamed, "HOW COULD I?! How could YOU! You- have you no soul!? He's five, Lucius, FIVE! He's not one of your Death Eater pals, so used to the Cruciatis Curse they hardly even feel it any more! how dare you! If you ever threaten my son ever again, I won't just leave you, I'll- I'll kill you!"
Lucius gaped at his enraged wife.
I am so confused, he thought.
"Narcissa! Darling. I swear to you, on my soul, on my life and on my magic, that I have never, I repeat, NEVER, threatened our son. And I never will. You know that!"
Narcissa looked at her husband in shock. That was a serious oath he'd just taken. No wizard in the world would dare break an oath sworn on their life and magic. No one knew what would happen if they did; it simply wasn't done. It wasn't possible for a wizard to break such an oath, as far as Narcissa knew.
But then- why would Severus lie?
She looked to him, to see him looking just as floored as she felt.
Severus gaped at Lucius. If his friend was telling the truth, which he clearly was, then that meant Draco had lied to him.
"If you're telling the truth, then why did Draco just tell me otherwise?"
The other's eyes widened. "Draco told you I threatened him?"
Later, at Hogwarts:
Lucius knelt before his son, and gently put a hand on his shoulder. "Little Dragon? Why did you tell Uncle Sevvie that I-" he couldn't finish the question. "You know I'd never hurt you, don't you?" he choked.
Little Draco looked up at his father innocently. " Of course I know that, Papa. What's that got to do with it? why is everyone so upset, all I did was eavesdrop a little. What's the big deal?"
Every single adult in the room face-palmed, and he was pretty sure Lucius had passed out. He later denied everything, of course.
Draco had been grounded for a month after that, and his Mama and Papa had been a bit stiff towards Severus for longer. But eventually he was forgiven for jumping to what was an understandable conclusion, under the circumstances.
Draco never did figured out what a Croosh-yo was, though.
End FlashBackII____________________________________________
()
()
" Potter, Malfoy."
At the sound of his name, Draco snapped back to the present.
"What?"
He wasn't the only one taken off guard by her pronouncement. Draco's voice was echoed by Potter, although he sounded more appalled than confused.
I wonder why Potter is unhappy? i guess he just fears and hates the sound of my name that much. Draco smirked triumphantly. As he should.
Trelawney looked startled by his question. "What's that, my dear?"
"You said my name."
she blinked her huge, misty eyes at him. "Did I? Yes, I suppose I did. Well? What are you waiting for? Go sit next to Harry, dear."
"What! Why?" His smirk dropped off his face instantly. Sit next to Potter? What the bloody hell for!
"Why?" Yet another confused blink. "Because the omens have revealed to me that you two will be partners for our upcoming project, of course! Why ever else?"
"Why ever- Professor, please-"
"No, Mr Malfoy." For once, the professor actually looked firm. "I have Foreseen your partnership. One cannot argue with the spirits, it is unwise. Now, move! Go on, shoo!"
Draco fumed, but made no reply. It wasn't worth losing House points over.
He angrily snatched up his books and stalked over to Potter's table as Trelawny continued reading off names.
Slumping sulkily into the seat nearest his new partner, he muttered, "Stupid bitch, making me work with damn Potter. If my father knew about this…"
Potter directed a death glare at him and sneered, "Running to Daddy again, Malfoy? Can't deal with little old me?"
Well what do you know? The ickle Gryffindor is growling. How cute. Amature.
Draco's irritation faded slightly as the thrill of a confrontation took over. Verbal sparring, even with such an incompetent opponent as Potter, was one of the joys of his existence. The rush of emotions and adrenaline he got from exchanging insults with a true master was like a drug to him. He couldn't get enough of it. Severus Snape was the same way, one of the reasons the two got along so well. They could dance around each other's words for hours on end, using every weapon in their verbal arsenal to cripple the other. So far, Severus had always defeated him soundly. The man simply had no end to the biting insults he issued, and wasn't afraid to fight dirty. Watching that man at work, crushing student's hopes and belittling their dreams- it was simply magical.
Draco smirked nastily at the small, dark-haired boy foolish enough to challenge him. Unwilling to hold back, even for the sake of finesse, he pulled out the 'big guns' straight away.
"Bit cranky, aren't you? You look awful...even more than usual. What's wrong, didn't sleep well? Missing your parents already, are you? Oh wait. I forgot. You don't have parents, do you?"
Potter looked lost, but Granger leaned over and hissed, "Bit hypocritical, aren't you, Malfoy? Don't you write to your father, what, four times a day, five, to complain about how unhappy you are? How does he feel to know he's raised a whiny little brat of a son, I wonder. He's probably regretting not drowning you as an infant right about now."
Draco saw Potter sending his friend a relieved glance, and receiving a tight smile in return, but he ignored it, and the jibe about his father, in favor of getting the MudBlood out of his face.
"Granger, what are you, his attack dog? Kindly remove both yourself and your uncommonly large teeth from my personal space, I'm afraid your filthiness might be catching."
The MudBlood looked like she was physically restraining herself from strangling him, but sat back in her own seat.
Thank Goodness.
"Very well, my dears. you may now speak among yourselves and determine our choice of topic. anything is fine, so long as it is within the field of Divination." Apparently, Trelawny had finished her start of term speech.
Oh well, I guess play time's over.
Draco turned to his so-called-partner, and sneered at him.
"Alright, Potty, here's the deal. As much as I hate you, I have no intention of failing this class; we will work together on this as necessary, and that is is all. I'd cut you out of the picture entirely, but I suspect Trelawny would have several objections to that idea. So in the meantime, do try to restrain your natural idiocy, okay?"
The boy-who-lived glared daggers at Draco. "Shut it, Malfoy. I doubt you even know what the assignment is!"
Draco considered, digging back through his fuzzy memories of what the Professor had been saying.
Let's see… I was thinking about Father, and the Croosh-yo incident [still don't know what that is, now that I think about it], and in the background, she was saying-
"Something about magical theory. How it works, stuff like that."
Potter scowled, thwarted. "We have to pick a specific area of Divination and explain how and why it works. In detail, by the end of the year. No class time, no asking teachers, and no parroting others idea's out of books. we have to come up with our own explanation, supported by experiments."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "How the hell does she expect us to do that? Use our psychic powers, maybe? Or perhaps the magical brain faeries will come down from the heavens and drop the knowledge into out heads!"
Potter gave him a dirty look. "Shut up, Malfoy. She said we're supposed to reason it out for ourselves. Something about 'the omens portending that the Theory of Magical Divination would become necessary to our well being in the near future.'"
"Right, because that's going to be so helpful, and all," he drawled sarcastically. "We are wizards, Potter, therefore we can do magic. Divination is magic, therefore it works. End of story. "
Trelawney appeared behind him, smiling brightly. "The signs tell me that you two have chosen your topic already. Well? What is it?"
"True Seers and the precise mechanism for the Inner Eye." Draco said the first thing that came to mind.
Trlawney looked shocked. "Oh. Oh my. Are you sure you don't want something else? Tea-leaves, perhaps?"
Potter looked ready to agree, but Draco quickly shook his head.
If it makes Potty miserable, we're definitely doing it!
"No no, Professor; we're sure."
She looked very unhappy with his choice, but had no option but to accept it. "Very well, Mr Malfoy, but let me warn you: you may find it a more challenging topic than you first thought."
She glided away, or at least, attempted to, but her foot got caught on her robes, and she stumbled awkwardly.
"Ha!" Draco snorted, earning himself a glare from Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, both of whom had some weird hero worship thing going on with Trelawny.
Pfft! Priceless. She didn't seem to happy with my topic, though. probably thought we were going to expose her for the fraud she is. Ha!
"So," Potter said, "any particular reason why you just chose a topic the teacher dislikes? Or just, you know, being your normal slimy self?"
Draco gave him his best smirk. "Slimy self. Naturally."
Not to mention that if we're going to be experimenting with magic, I want the least dangerous area possible. Divination seems pretty safe, but you can never tell with Potty around. we could die of tea overdose or something.
He received only an evil glare in return for his efforts in keeping them both alive.
Ungrateful brat.
Potter seemed to be trying to restrain himself. "Whatever. It's too early in the year to be fighting with you. So, do you know anything about Seers?"
"Nope! You?"
Potter slammed his head on the desk. "Damn you, Malfoy," he muttered. "Third day of classes, and already I'm stuck with you. This is gonna be a long year…"
Draco smirked.
How delightful! I may have to work with bloody Potter, but at least I get to rile him up. And he can't even hex me.
It was going to be a fun year.
Yep, lil ol' Draco's a very evil boy! but we still love him!
I hope you liked Chappie numero dos! i feel like not much happened, but I was trying to show Draco's personality some, and also his relationships with other characters. i think it came out okay, i actually quite like it, but i'd appreciate your feed back SO-SO-SO-SO much!!!
virtual cookies for everyone!
till next time! this is snails-on-the-french-riviera signing off! ciao!!