There had been so many times I'd thought 'if someone is now reading my thoughts, I'm so screwed' but I think that, sitting in a room with 20 other 15-16 year old hormonal teenagers everyone is thinking the same.
Sometimes, when you look around in class, you can notice certain people with certain looks on their faces and you can be a 100% sure they themselves are thinking about another certain someone at another certain place in other certain circumstances doing every imaginable thing that includes everything that doesn't have to do with said class. A lot of times I have wondered what uncle Draco must've been through with his legilimens. Sometimes it was so undeniably clear what they were thinking about that just the thought of being able to see their thoughts would be with a rating of 18+ and with the fear of getting pregnant.
But right at the moment, all I hoped was that the brunette in the back would be able to read my thoughts and notice how ridiculous she looked chewing on her lip, staring at the back of Potters head who was leaning back at his chair so they were merely a few centimetres apart.
Could he not feel her breath in his neck? Or did the concept of mermaids with cannibal tendencies interest him that much that he didn't even notice it?
Actually it was kind of interesting. The mermaids, it seemed, when tasting one others blood they get the flavour and hunger that'll make them lurk for more. And that eventually, when there's nothing else to feed one, they'll feed on each other. Starting with the weakest.
Although the last part seemed pretty unmoving to me. I mean, if they'd leave 10 human beings at a lonely island, and come back 10 months later, at least half of them would be wearing the remaining bones of the dead. That must be the only thing watching horror movies with Scorpius in the mornings taught me.
But the way professor Leeson told it made it all seem so inhuman, so shocking, that he felt the need to add: 'and this is not fiction' at the end.
No, cause if it were fiction, one of them would either fall in love with one of the 'soon be dead' ones or there'd be other dark forces that provided their movements and gave good excuses to justify their deeds.
So that was probably the reason why I leaned over to my right and whispered in Scorpius' ear: "if all of us would be left on an island, who'd be eaten first?'
Scorpius, cool and unfazed as ever replied still with his gaze locked on the blackboard "why do you presume men would be eaten? It's not like we're mermaids, or, wait a second..." He frowned and it downed to me that while one row behind him on his right side, one was thinking about very inappropriate that included scenes of sexual nature while he was thinking about other inappropriate things that included scenes of violence and that none of all could be questioned. Cause if there's something reading books with my mother taught me it was that reality exceeded imagination.
"Wasn't there this book Weasley was reading about some guy who ate someone's heart just for a game?"
One of Roses books? She had read a lot of books, also a lot of muggle books. Muggles seem to have more fantasy even though with their limited sight than most wizards.
"I didn't know you liked Roses books, but yes there was one book where-"
"Miss Lestrange, care to enlighten us with your story that seems much more interesting than our subject that you must bother mister Malfoy with it."In front of the class stood professor Irvan, a man with blue eyes and the same haircut for about the whole 5 years I have known him. With a deep passion for defence against the dark arts and a passion of telling every soul who wanted (or was obliged) whatever he thought was pure wisdom and world changing.
And because some unknown reasons, he seemed not to be particularly fond of me.
"Well professor, it was about the concept of cannibalism at certain circumstances-"
"And what, if I may ask, may those peculiar circumstances be that you find so important that I clearly, don't know of since you're not even listening to what I'm saying." Mr. Irven was a very smart man, something I couldn't deny, but adding the idea of him acting like he knew everything while the we knew nothing made him look not so wise to me, or even worth listening to. His tone, to begin with, had always that same egg to it as if he was telling life changing stories, which sometimes probably was, and he seemed not to get tired of telling those same stories over and over again each year, without wondering if maybe there were other stories with other meanings that haven't yet been set on paper.
"Just the idea of human who have the same tendencies of-"
"Humans? Really have you even bothered to listen to a single word I have said miss Lestrange?"
One of the main reasons why I never bothered to listen to him was probably 'cause he never did listen to his students. Not even letting them finish their sentences
"To be honest professor, the idea of humans eating other humans-" Yet again the same interruption.
"Now if you would like to discuss that matter, you may do that after class with however cares to listen but not interrupt me lesson with your nonsense." He had tightened his lips and was looking disapprovingly where I had just opened my mouth to retort he yelled "enough!"
My fist started clenched and I could feel irritation flout threw me like it always did talking to that man. Scorpius grabbed my hand under the table and by his squeeze I knew what he meant 'don't say anything, it's not worth it.'
Slowly I took a deep breath and tried to not feel hatred in me while looking up at the dark haired professor.
When he saw that I wasn't going to say anything anymore, he smiled, even though his eyes remained cold "Not so hard isn't it, to stop speaking all the time and starting to listen. Maybe you'll finally learn something" With a smile he turned to take a chalk and write something on the blackboard.
That smile made me only angrier, and I was yet again reminded of another teacher. While professor Irvan always spoke to you with polite words, he never understood people who deviated from his views, but the more infuriating reason was that he never tried. So that's why he talked like he was spreading mighty words. But most of the students listened to those words. And agreed with it.
Hagrid addressed to students in a much more different way, and he had his own ways of conversation, like he always listened when someone spoke and admits when he didn't know something. Students weren't agreeing to everything he said, or even listened.
Still, on one side there was Hagrid with his kind of smile that was so genuine that he reminded me of a giant teddy bear. When you'd see him in the middle of the night and you'd think ' I'm too young to be eaten!' or 'there are far more tasty hufflepuffs just a few floors down!' he would just come and ask if you had seen his new pet Timothy.
This actually happened.
2 years ago.
Timothy had been a fire breathing turtle (the physical appearance of the turtle had been so irrelevant that I hadn't even dared to ask of what it an intersection was).
I will never forget the screams of the other girls in the room. One in particular had been so brave to tell him that she was just a virgin so that he'd be merciful and first rape the rest of us.
It was notable that that girl was the same girl who was breathing in Potters neck, while he himself still didn't seem to notice. He was busy looking directly at me, like most of the others in the room.
The man smiled a smile that shouldn't be named 'smile'. It didn't gratify it. His was more lifting the corners of his mouth so it'd cover the glare he was sending.
After a few seconds he turned around with a satisfied 'humpf' and continued with his lesson.
I was still feeling unnerved. First Potter then the other Potter now this man who looked like an otter...
So just when he took a deep breath to tell us his breath taking conclusion, I quickly said in one breath
"Did you know that people don't have a nice flavour? That the only reason sharks bite men is because they think it looks like a seal."
It didn't even surprise me I that I was sent out of class after that with 15 points taken from Gryffindor. It actually didn't even bother me, as I caught Scorpius twirling his wand with a reassuring smirk I knew that he'd take care of the rest.
I always knew that guy was my favourite cousin.
Oke maybe also the only cousin I had...
But that's just a detail.
How do I get myself in these situations I had asked myself a lot of times before.
Like when Scorpius and I were stuck in the chamber of secrets (long story), or the day when Richard got in to a fight with a centaur and asked me to be the judge (a story I'm still trying to forget), that one time when Rose ate hot chilli in the kitchens and in her search for water had knocked out 3 house elves who tried to help her (the reason why Rose is still too ashamed to visit the kitchens) and of course that faithful day when I blew up a cauldron at potions. Not that that had never happened before, it was just that it wasn't really my cauldron. It had been Potters; the potion had been amortentia what professor Slughorn afterwards told me, took him ages to brew.
But Potter (quite odd) hadn't been mad, not even sad no not all. He had been too busy serenading me and writing love declarations in the air with his wand like (and I quote directly) 'Your eyes, like the moon that shines in the darkest times and with your smile you have bewitched me.'
I wasn't complaining either; the whole scenario just screamed blackmail, which my loyal cousin still reminds him of whenever he feels like having a good laugh.
But all those situations had let me to the same situation I'm currently in:
Professor Gray's office.
A room full of books, flacons in a corner, a large desk with next to it a cage with a large brown owl who was looking intently at me with big yellow eye and a professor who was quickly hiding a bunch of papers in a shelf.
Professor Gray was a woman who looked like she was in her mid 50s. She had neatly combed brown hair, blue eyes with a stern look behind her glasses and always with a straight back. She was a principal who demanded order and discipline and had probably a huge weakness for writing erotic fiction.
You see, it hadn't been the first time that I caught her hiding her papers as quickly as possible the minute I came in. And her consideration of always asking me how my uncle Draco was doing had made my suspicion grow, but the day we when Scorpius and I were send to her office after the chamber of secrets accident, and her constant blushing whenever we tried to describe the basilisk as 'huge' 'bony' 'long' 'stiff' and 'looked like bratwurst' confirmed my suspicion.
After having not the most pleasant encounter with Slughorn in the hall who insisted on visiting him if I was free and using 'send to professor Grays office' with the shock of seeing that the password hadn't changed ( it was flubberworm) I was sitting in the chair opposite a blushing professor Gray.
The day had been going on so fantastic and I was in such a good mood after having that lovely talk with professor Irven that it took my everything not to ask professor Gray why we never get bratwursts at breakfast and if she didn't think the students would like a good taste of a good bratwurst.
With a cough professor Gray pushed her glasses up her nose and folded her hands on her desk.
"Miss Lestrange, may I ask you why you have been yet again sent to my office?"
Yet again? Wasn't she glad to see me? A little distraction from her sexy heroin and his/her luscious adventures?
"How do you mean yet again, professor? Last time was months ago!"
She merely blinked.
Fine.
"Just a little encounter with professor Irven, nothing special miss"
She sighed and muttered something that sounded a lot like "again that man"
Indeed! Yes 'yet again that man'! I knew she'd get me! That's why I love her, even with her erotic tendencies!
"Really professor, I was merely trying to defend my opinion, but no! Immediately he was-"
"Miss Lestrange, professor Irven is a teacher you are his student. You are supposed to listen to him." She said with a calm voice
"Yes but he doesn't even listen to what his students have to say-"
"I'm sure he knows what his talking about. Professor Irven is a well educated man who his trying to teach you things he knows to make you more successful in your future careers.
"Pfft well educated. Reading a few books doesn't make you Dumbledore-"
"Enough Miss Lestrange" Without raising her voice she continued "I understand you may or not may agree with professor Irven but he still is your teacher-"
"But professor-"
"And you are here to learn, then why won't you at least try to make something of his lessons?"
Her blue eyes looked intently at me and for a moment I could see why they had chosen her to be headmaster after professor McGonagall. You could see in her eyes that she had seen many things and really wanted to teach you more about real life.
"We're here to help you become good wizards and witches at the end of your 7th year so you can help our world as best as you can." She sat up right and held her head high "So why won't you prove to me what you can do. I won't accept any less than seeing you as an employee at the ministry, or a healer, or maybe even a teacher. You've got so much potential miss Lestrange"
Maybe that was the reason I had said I had to see professor Gray. She had a way with words.
"I mean, look at mister Malfoy, he has become a healer even after what they accused him from, didn't he?"
"Yes, that's true professor" I was already wondering when he'd be named "You should tell him that! Tell him you look up to him!" yes of course! Cause he was really the most splendid 15 year old teenager! " And maybe ask for his advice!"And of course I'll tell him how much you'd like to eat bratwurst with him!
" So now you may leave, I hope you have learned to behave yourself from now one. Next time I want to see you with some good news."
"Yes professor." That had been easier than I thought. I stood up and went to leave but not without yelling "Have a nice day professor" just when she was picking up one of her papers. Her owl peeped while she hesitantly said "ow, yes, good day miss Lestrange!"
The woman seemed occupied. It'd be for the best if I left her with her searing imagination
After leaving Professor Grays office and finding out that I still had 20 minutes before classes were dismissed and lunch would start, I decided to visit Lorcan in the hospital wing.
One would wonder how the boy had got himself in such a pitying position with his leg bandaged all alone in the hospital wing, but then one would also wonder how the boy managed to taunt a screwett that much that it tried to bite half his leg of.
Much to my surprise I saw that I wasn't the only one who had decided to visit the poor sod, when I came in madame Pomphrey was muttering something about 'irresponsible teenagers' and even though Lorcan was the only patient, the room seemed full with people.
I could make out Lysander's dirty blond hair who was playing with Fifi in a chair next to the bed where Lorcan was laying, looking much more better than a few hours ago when he was screaming that his leg must be amputated. On other chairs said Richard who was eating a box of smekkies that were, by the discourse Rose was giving him, clearly meant for Lorcan. But he didn't seem to notice, or care. He did however notice me standing a bit further and with his mouth full of smekkies he yelled
"Bettie!"
Several pairs of eyes turned to me, including a pair of green ones I hadn't noticed before in the room.
"So, is there a specific reason why you're all here or simply because you guys all followed my lead and were thrown out?"
It was Devon who answered with his usual uncaring manner
"It had been your bright cousin who succeeded in letting the pixies escape from the cage on Irvens desk, and after a wonderful spectacle of pixies pulling the extensions out of girls' hair he had dismissed class to catch them all."
Raising my eyebrows I looked over at Scorpius who sitting in one of the chairs
"Not bad" I said approvingly
He winked as response.
"And now I'm stuck with these baboons for the rest of the afternoon." Loran sighed
Rose and Devon both spoke at the same time
"How do you mean whole afternoon, does your leg still hurt that much?"
"Baboons? Sais the guy who thought peeing on a fire breathing screwett was a good idea."
"Eeew Lorcan, did you pee on that screwett?"
Lorcan spoke in outrage "What? Of course not! I was just- It was a branch that- the tree I was in-"
"Don't even try Lor, your dignity has increased to the size of nothing "Devon crossed his legs on Lorcans bed.
"No! It was just that when I was in that tree" Lorcan gestured wildly with his hands "There was a branch that got stuck in my belt and-"
"You're wearing a uniform smartass, we all weir the same clothes and the chance that a branch would get stuck in such an unfortunate-"
"Not the point! So I tried to pull it out-"
They continued to debate while I searched for a place to sit. All chairs seemed occupied but Richard waved and pointed to the space next to him on one of the beds.
He offered a blue smekky the second I sat down next to him with a grin that lit up his whole face, something about his unsubtle way made me suspicious and being the wary person I am, I asked
"Earwax or did you just spit on it?" He waggled his eyebrows
"I don't have the time nor the appetite to deal with you fools, my food is waiting for me." Rose stood upright and after asking me if I wanted to come (See you in a minute was the answer) she left.
Devon and Lorcan were still bickering; Lysander was saying something to Scorpius and Potter while Richard and I ate the smekkies. Out of the 4 I had tried out, three had tasted like slime, the other like onion.
"Is it hoax or just coincidence or something that all of the smekkies taste like something from a trash can?" Adjusting his glasses he examined a purple smekky.
"Coincidence you say, or maybe it's just karma" I whispered the last part and he looked up wide eyed
"Karma you say?"
"Eating the food of a miserable victim while he has to suffer." I looked intently at his light blue eyes. "The world has a way of getting back at you without us expecting it."
"Like some kind of justice doing superhero you say? Walking around yelling 'peace man'"the urge to roll my eyes was tempting. Of course that'd be the way he'd understand it. So I tried a new way
"Like some bad ass Harry Potter punishing all the voldemorts for kicking puppies and looking up girls skirts."
"Of course, because that's how things go in real life" Out of thousands I could've still recognize that presumptuous tone.
"Excuse me?"
Potter sat with his arms crossed, looking bored ahead of him
"The simplicity of your idea is fascinating really, so simple even you can understand it."
"Some may say it is the art of making difficult things simple to understand, you know. Not everything has to be so," I tapped my finger against my lip in mock-gesture, as if it was very hard to find the right words, "complicated."
He nodded, his eyebrows in a frown as if he was completely agreeing with that last remark. "What an observation!" He clapped slowly. "Such wisdom, such good choice of words, such awful mocking... Tell me Richard, isn't this day just full of wonderful surprises?"
Richard jolted from his chair, making clear that he hadn't been paying attention. He nodded enthusiastically, sticky candy fell of his chin, classy "I'm totally behind you mate, surprises just keep coming." He waved some candy in front of Al's nose, "Want some?"
The traitor.
Potter smirked before his gaze shifted to me, "I'll take one if you take one."
"Yeah no thanks, I'm fine."
He smirked at Richard, "I knew she wouldn't dare to." Richard shrugged, "she didn't want it before."
Irritation flared up; of course I dared to eat Richard's poisoned candy. I didn't want to widen Potters smirk even more by agreeing to eat the death-candy, something told me he knew I wouldn't let it go away and he was enjoying it. Enjoying knowing what I was going to do.
"I'll take one, but I get to pick, deal?" I suggested
Al nodded, Rich rolled his eyes and handed me the bag.
I took 2 brown-ish green looking candies, and thought that they would most likely taste like rotten apple (what I had a few minutes ago. The candy tasted like apples who had been plucked during the extinction of the dinosaurs) or the peel of a pear (what Richard had, the lucky arse).
I slowly lifted it to my mouth, out of the corner of my eye I saw Potter comfortably taking one smekky after another. The thought that he probably expected me to accept the challenge and that I was just proving his expectations and acting like he assumed me to made me lower the candy yet again, then take the largest black candy at the bottom of the box in Richards hand.
Mastering the largest smirk I could I chewed on it.
It tasted like praline.
"mmm"
Something I had abjured since the age of 5 after choking on one.
"Delicious"
He must've noticed me getting red in the face.
Nodding slowly "You know what they say" he noted "once you go black you never go back."
Then took another black one himself and ate it with appetite while I couldn't stomach to swallow it.
He collected all the dark candy "Here, have another one. It's great isn't it?" He swallowed another one and offered me the other.
He obviously saw through the overly eager nod and I was yet again reminded of how easy he always got what he wanted, something what bothered me to no end.
"Always the munificent one, aren't you." I took the other one
An answer dripping with made tenderness "I'm glad you of all people finally got to see that" was the last thing I heard before the candy got stuck in my throat and I ran coughing to the nearest bin where thankfully both of the candy came out.
I didn't bother to look at the others when I looked up and glared to Potter with as much hostility as I could master to which the answer was the typical sneer
"Uh Beth, you alright?"
Ignoring the glass of water he held out to me, I walked past to Lorcans bed
"Fantastic" The only thought left in my mind was to get out of the room and not having to see those disdainful green eyes again.
"I'm off to Rose so keep up Lorcan, see you soon."
And so after I left the hospital wing I couldn't help but feel the well known annoyance, frustration and failing which made me wonder if this was the way how it had to be. As it had always been and if so, why?