Harry showed up just as the pudding appeared in the Great Hall, dried blood covering much of his face.
"Why is it he's always covered in blood?" Ginny murmured from her side.
But when Harry sat down, he refused to tell them why he was bloodied this time. Though, later in the feast, Remington caught sight of Draco miming the shattering of a nose as the Slytherins around him laughed and clapped. She had a bit of a hunch as to what may have happened, and that thought intensified when she glanced at Harry to see him glaring at Draco's display.
"I could talk to him." She whispered to Harry under her breath.
"You know- ?" Harry began to ask in surprise, just as quietly.
"I can guess." She remarked, jerking her chin in Draco's direction.
Harry made a slightly irritated face at that, glancing towards the Slytherin table. Then he said, "So you haven't deserted us?" Good-natured, but dubious.
"Why on earth would you think that?" She inquired sweetly before turning back to her plate.
A couple moments later, Harry spoke up again, once again keeping his voice inconspicuously quiet. Just a casual, nonchalant exchange of words between two Gryffindors sitting across the table from each other.
"I know it's not really my place to say-" Harry began a bit uncomfortably, "Well, I thought I should warn you that Malfoy seemed pretty friendly with Parkinson on the train..."
Remington was reminded sharply of Nat's claims that Draco merely wanted sex, and of even earlier remarks from Fay. She knew that a part of it could always be that Harry simply despised Draco, but she felt a small twinge of doubt for a second.
But was she really any better? So he was cozy with Pansy. She'd not only humored Seamus, but kissed both him and Isaac. Who was she to call Draco out on it? Once again, she reminded herself that they weren't a couple.
"I appreciate the thought, Harry," She said, "But I can hold my own." She flashed a fleeting half-smile.
"I hope so." Harry responded softly before shifting his attention to the food in front of him.
The rest of dinner passed generally uneventfully. The news of Snape finally reaching his desired position of D.A.D.A. professor came as a minor shock to everyone, but it was accepted before everyone was dismissed to head to bed.
As people began to get to their feet to leave, Remington managed to stretch on her toes, looking over the heads of some of the students. Her gaze finally settled on Draco, whose eye she just managed to catch.
She hung back as most of the students filtered out, keeping an eye on Draco as he headed towards the doors. Only when she was about to lose sight of him did she move from the Gryffindor table. When she stepped into the Entrance Hall, she found him waiting at the top of the steps to the dungeons. The corridor was mostly deserted, the majority of students having moved on to their common rooms. His eyes seemed to take her in for a moment before he jerked his head for her to follow.
He led her to a disused classroom just off the main hall. She kept in mind what she wanted to talk to him about, though she was itching to ask him about his summer and tell all about her own. She knew he wouldn't be interested in her trivial pursuits over the break, but he'd listen. He always did.
As soon as the door shut, she set into him.
"You have about as much humanity as a guillotine." She remarked. "You think I don't know what happened to Harry?"
"It wasn't really my intention to keep it from you." He commented.
"You are a jackass." She muttered.
"Thank you Remington." He said sarcastically, bitterly, "I'm gratified."
"Well why on earth-"
"He was eavesdropping from the luggage rack." Draco hissed.
Her expression grew a bit confused. Why would Harry feel the need to eavesdrop on Draco? "You still didn't need to-"
"He would've happily done the same to me, Rem. Don't argue." He rolled his eyes irritably.
She couldn't deny his point. "Why was he eavesdropping?" Certainly Draco would have some sort of explanation.
"Do you think I know? It's Potter we're talking about." Draco muttered.
She shook her head at him. He glared back lightly. He knew she suspected something. Of course, her suspicions couldn't be nearly as bad as the real thing. Not even a day into the school year, and his track record already sucked.
She leaned against a desk, her eyes resting on him in light annoyance, but then she decided that it wasn't worth starting a row with him over the issue. Finally, a faint smile began to form on her lips, "Guess what I got on my Potions O.W.L."
"I'm sure you're going to tell me anyway."
"'Outstanding'." She said, obviously quite pleased with herself. "So all of that work paid off. And you?"
"'Outstanding' in Charms, and 'Exceeds Expectations' in Astronomy." He replied indifferently.
She smiled at him, "Oh, come on. That's not bad. I mean, I can continue Potions, you can continue Charms, though I know you're not about to continue Astronomy."
He shrugged, "I suppose. Though, it'd be nice to have an excuse to not take a class or two." He flashed a slightly joking expression.
"Well, of course I'd love to get out of taking Potions, particularly if Snape was still- Oh, hell." She said, remembering that she'd been skimping on doses of her sleep draught the last few days because she was running low. Actually, she'd been running low all summer. The supply that Snape had given her at the end of term before summer seemed to have been a bit short. She pushed away from the desk.
"What now?" He asked.
"I needed to see Snape." She said, adding a bit gracelessly, "You know." She scrunched her nose a bit. "And I've a feeling I'm going to have my ass chewed for not getting this taken care of with a bit more time before curfew. They're really cracking down on that rule this year, I guess."
"Are they?" He prompted quietly.
"Dumbledore said that- You-" She began, "You'd know, wouldn't you? You're a prefect-" But he was shaking his head. Her brow creased, "Why not?"
"It's not worth the trouble." He muttered.
"But," She trailed off, really not understanding why he'd give up his extra powers.
"You'd better visit Snape." He said, tipping his head towards the door.
"Right." She said after a slight pause. She looked at him for a moment, expecting something, but then left the room without another word.
It was a short walk to the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor's office. She knocked lightly on the door, glad to not have anyone wandering the corridors to give her strange looks. She slipped inside as soon as Snape responded.
She walked towards his desk, where he was sitting back in his chair, an elbow on the armrest and his chin propped in his hand. She pressed her lips together in a weak half-smile, "I'm sure you know why I'm here." She slipped her hands into the front pockets of her jeans. Actually, she had the vibe that he was there, still awake, because he knew she'd be coming to visit.
"And I'm sure you know what I'm going to tell you." He countered, arching his eyebrows.
She winced slightly. "I didn't remember until now." She muttered.
"Take care to stay within curfew from here on, Remington." He gave a pointed look, then continued, "I hope you understand that this draught was only meant to be a temporary solution." He commented, shifting and steepling his hands in front of him. "To hold you over until your mind surpassed the nightmares."
"But what if I have the dreams again?" She demanded.
"This summer, I believe you ran out of the draught, did you not?" He inquired.
"That was on purpose!" She said suddenly, "Wasn't it? You meant for me to run out."
"Did you happen to have the nightmare at all?" He ignored her outburst.
"I didn't have those dreams." She muttered, then added under her breath. "But I had others." She wasn't about to tell him about that particular set of dreams, though.
"You're going to make an attempt to cease taking the draught." He said. "I'd like to speak to you after a few weeks, though." He commented. "That is, if you don't have the dream before then."
"Aye, aye, Captain." She mumbled, saluting contemptuously and turning to saunter out of the room.