Disclaimer: I still don't own anything.
The Confrontation
Draco sighed as he made his way down to the dungeons from his Hogwarts dorm. School had been in session for a while now, but winter break had just ended, signaling the beginning of a fresh wave of torture for the seventh year students. And not the good kind, either.
But that wasn't the only thing on his mind. Classes were one thing, but there were other things that Draco felt the need to concern himself with. Within a matter of minutes he would walk into Snape's class. It would be the first time since receiving his Dark Mark that the two would meet. Draco wasn't looking forward to this, as he knew that Snape's reaction would be just as he predicted - not happy in the slightest.
Oh well, Draco figured as he descended the stairs that led to Snape's dungeon, I can't hide from him forever. With that, he strode into the cold classroom, head held high, ready to insult the first Gryffindor that crossed his path. He purposefully walked close to Snape's desk and uttered a greeting, as if only to keep up pretenses. It would be suspicious if the prized Slytherin failed to comment to the one who kept him as a pet.
Snape returned the greeting, scrutinizing Draco's face as he inquired as to the events of his vacation. Draco had figured this would happen, and had a pre-planned lie laid out since before school had resumed. He maintained a straight, emotionless face as he responded, and was pleased to see that Snape did not inquiry further.
Draco took his seat in the back of the classroom, noting that Potter and his no-good friends had somehow managed to return from break alive and well. Draco swore under his breath, hoping that they would somehow spontaneously combust sometime during the class. Now that would be something to see.
However, his dreams were unrealized as the next hour passed without major incident. Draco was somewhat disappointed, but kept himself busy with brewing his potion, which required the sum of his attention.
As was to be expected, when there is someone such as Neville Longbottom in the class, fairly normal proceedings were interrupted with only moments left in class. The great oaf added the improper amount of powdered unicorn horn into his cauldron, causing a loud cracking noise as the room was filled with putrid black smoke. In all the confusion, someone, probably St. Potter or one of the like, backed into Draco, making for even more chaos as Draco and the idiot fell to the ground, taking Draco's perfectly brewed potion with them.
Snape took control of the situation immediately, which Draco would have noticed sooner, had the substance that had spilled from his cauldron not made its way onto his left arm and proceeded to acidly burn through his robes onto his pale skin. The smoke was banished with a wave of a wand, and the atmosphere of the room returned to normal. Draco heaved himself off the floor, deliberately kicking the person who had crashed into him in the process. One look at his arm told him that the situation was not good.
Snape hurried over to him, wand out, and seized Draco's arm with his long, thin fingers. He quickly shoved the sleeve of Draco's robes up past his elbow, pausing only momentarily to observe the marking that marred the otherwise perfect skin. With a wave of his wand, the potion that had burned Draco's skin was gone, and the skin healed as if nothing had happened. The sleeve came back down and Snape turned briskly on his heel and strode back to his position in the front of the room, but not before hissing something in the student's ear.
"Malfoy, see me after class."
Draco's heart sank. It was never a good sign when Snape began referring to him on a last-name basis. His stomach clenched in apprehension as his right hand moved subconsciously to grasp his left forearm. There was no way for him to get out of this one.
The bell rang, and the remainder of the class filed out of the room after filling a vial with their potion and leaving it on Snape's desk. Only Draco remained, reluctant to comply with his senior's orders. Instead of moving to the front of the room immediately, he lingered in the back, pulling something out of the pocket of his robes. He lit up a joint of marijuana with a flick of his wand and brought it to his mouth, taking a long drag. He blew the smoke out through his nose as he sauntered to the front of the room, where Snape was waiting for him.
Wow, this is kinda short, but I decided that it would be too long if I covered the entire confrontation, so I determined that I would leave that to Celia for the three day weekend we have starting tomorrow. Please R&R!
