2

It didn't take long for the pair to reach Diagon Alley, via the Leaky Cauldron. The various shops still left Ava in wonderment, despite the fact the she was pureblood and had been raised a witch since birth. Apparently, Kat had caught the look on her face as she immediately jabbed her in the ribs with an elbow.

"Ow…. Bitch," Ava muttered, shooting her a mock-evil glare. Kat immediately laugh, and pulled her skirt down a little.

"Come on, love… You look like a first year," she replied, sticking her tongue out. Kat lead the way, taking off towards Flourish and Blotts. With a quick role of her eyes, Ava followed behind her as they entered the shop. They hardly were the only ones with the idea, as there was a line nearly out the door. Ava let out a heavy sigh, being the impatient type, but Kat seemed to bask in it. She was incredibly attractive, by conventional standards, and all male eyes seemed to be focused on her. Ava didn't mind at all, as she was perfectly content at playing the quiet friend. Being the center of attention had never been her thing. Kat stopped suddenly and Ava, who had been looking at the books, almost ran right into her.

"What the bloody hell?" Ava said loudly, causing a few heads to turn. Kat didn't move, but Ava found her way around her and stared up. Kat was a few inches taller than she, which only enhanced her extraordinary appearance. A smirk played across Kat's lips, which left Ava with a slightly confused expression. The look remained for only a second, as Ava followed her gaze across the shop. Once again, Ava rolled her eyes at her friend and let out a sigh. Screwing her face up into a grotesque look, she glanced back up at Kat.

"Honestly… I don't know what you see in the awful git. He's…. He's horrible," she said flatly, knowing full well that Kat wasn't paying attention. They had discussed this many times before, always ending with the same result. "Do you want me to go get him for you?"

"No," Kat replied, dreamily. "I prefer to watch from far away." Snapping out of the trance, Kat looked down at Ava and sighed. "You are so lucky… I bet he walks around the common room without a shirt on all the time. If he doesn't, he should. You can just tell he's got an amazing body…" Ava almost chocked on her own spit as she listened. Glancing back across the store quickly, she stared at Kat in amazement.

"Malfoy? Come on, Kat… You could do so much better than him. Honestly… He's arrogant, rude, selfish, ignorant, disgusting… Do you want me to go on? I can…" Kat shot her a perplexed look, as though they couldn't possibly be talking about the same person. Ava jumped in front of her in an attempt to block her view which, to her amazement, worked. Kat stared down at her once again and raised an eyebrow.

"You obviously don't get it," she said simply, almost like there was something wrong with Ava.

"Are you kidding me? Of course I don't get it! It's Malfoy! For all things magical, open your eyes! Once again, may I reiterate?... Arrogant, rude, selfish, ignorant, disgusting…. He's horrible and you're crazy if 

you want anything to do with him." Ava stood silent and realized that Kat was no longer looking at her, but was looking over her shoulder instead. Closing her eyes, Ava waited for the sound of his voice.

"Thanks for the compliments, Coombs. I have to say, I never knew you were so fond of me," came a familiar drawl behind her. After spinning around, Ava glared at him without even trying to hide her disgust. His infamous smirk was plastered on his face, and piercing grey eyes were burning into her. Most of the Hogwarts student body, and much of the faculty, would have been intimidated, but Ava was hardly the type to bow down to him.

"Sorry Malfoy… If I had known you were behind me, I would have said how I really felt. I was merely trying to let Kat down gently, but if you're ever interested I'd be glad to share it with you," Ava smiled sweetly, giving her best attempt at an innocent look. "You shouldn't sneak up on people though. Might hear something you shouldn't," she continued, smiling again when she was finished.

"As charming as you are, Coombs, I'm not here for you. I couldn't help but notice, as well as everyone else in the store, the entrance of the breathtakingly beautiful, Miss Katherine Sanders. My dear, may I?" Malfoy stepped around Ava as though she wasn't even there and extended his hand, offering it up to Kat as Ava glared at her from behind him. Not noticing at all, Kat placed her hand in his and the pair took off.

It took a moment for the reality to sink in as Ava stood, now alone, in the middle of the bookstore. Glancing around quickly, she sighed once again and headed out the store. Eyeing the line as she went, she decided on coming back later and took off towards the apothecary instead. Once she was inside, Ava pulled out the parchment from her bag and scanned the list. The familiar scent of the ingredients mixing together invaded her nose, causing her to scrunch it slightly as she scanned her list. All of the names were familiar, but a few left a perplexed look on her face. There were only a couple of them, but she knew for a fact that they could only be found down Knockturn Alley. Shrugging slightly, she lowered the parchment and began grazing the jars and bins scattered around. Lost in her own thought, she was almost knocked off her feet for the second time that day.

Catching her balance, her eyes slowly traveled up the black cloth in front of her as another familiar voice came from overhead. "Watch yourself," it hissed, venomously. Ava took a step back and let her eyes wander even further up. Then man turned around, and Ava's breath instantly caught in her throat.

"Sorry Professor Snape. I was kind of lost in thought for a second," she glanced back and forth between his eyes and the floor. The last thing she wanted to do was upset him before the school year began. Much to her surprise Snape's expression immediately softened, as much as he was capable of, and he was almost smiling. Understandably so, Ava was even more intimidated by this expression than an angry one.

"Miss Coombs. What a pleasant surprise," he said quietly, staring intently at her. "It appears you received my owl. I'm glad to see you're preparing yourself for the year a head, as I can assure you it will prove to be a challenging one." The look on his face softened even more and Ava was able to hold his gaze now. She was sure her confusion was written across her face, and wasn't surprised when he 

commented on it. "Miss Coombs, I will not tolerate an uncomfortable relationship. We will be spending a significant amount of time together this year, and I do not plan on it being awkward," he continued, without waiting for a response. His voice was gentle, yet he made his point. Ava nodded and flashed him a quick smile in an attempt to respond, as she wasn't quite sure what to say. Snape nodded in return, and brushed against her as he walked past. Before she could move though, he had turned around and was standing so close he was almost touching her. By the sound of his voice, he had bent down and was inches away from her ear. "I anticipate we're going to end up exceptionally close this year, Miss Coombs. Please do not disappoint me."

By the time Ava had turned around, Snape had vanished without a trace. It seemed to be a pattern that day, as she stood in the store with a perplexed look on her face. Sighing heavily again, she continued on with her shopping, as her mind furiously tried to unravel his statement.