Behind The Mask
Chapter 12: Normalcy
When Teddy went downstairs to breakfast the next morning, he didn't know what to expect. After Svetlana had (quite literally) blown up in his face the night before, he had finished patrolling, not really sure what had set her off. Then again, she had never needed a reason to burn things before. He had wanted to talk to Francesca, to warn her that Svetlana was still just as explosive as before, but when he caught the tail end of their conversation- if it could be called that- and realized he was far too late.
"Fuck off, Quinn. Don't go sticking that sun-burnt nose of yours where it doesn't belong." Svetlana sounded awfully composed for someone who was glaring so violently.
"Calm down, Dessi. I'm only trying to help." CRACK! Svetlana slapped Francesca hard across the face, and Teddy could almost feel his own neck snapping in empathy.
"Perhaps I have not been clear enough these last five years." Vettie said coldly. "I do not need your 'help'."
Dessi ignored the side glances and the dirty looks that were sent her way, keeping her head held high and her back straight. She marched down the corridors to her first lesson, Charms. Charms was her worst subject, and the prospect of having to sit through an hour of it did nothing to quell her bitter mood. Quinn had aggravated her one too many times. Even Xandra knew to leave her alone when she was in that mood, but obviously Quinn's half-blood brain was even stupider than that of a mudblood. And it was all that filthy wolf's fault for setting her off the night before.
"Dirty, filthy, otvratnyy, gadkiy volk. Ubit' volka. Pochemu on pozvolil v etom proklyatom shkole? Dolzhny byt' izgnany v Antarktidu ili chto-to." Dessi muttered to herself, not even noticing the change in language. It often happened after the summer, when she had just spent weeks with her mother and half-siblings. She continued to mutter in dark tones, until Professor Pippell entered the room. Xandra followed second later, and slid into the empty seat besides Dessi.
"Are you good now, Lava?" Xandra whispered, ignoring Pippell as she started the lesson. Dessi envied Xandra's ease with Charms. It was only thanks to her that she managed to scrap a pass in the damn subject.
"Tak khorosho, kak ya nikogda ne budet" Dessi answered.
"English, if you please" Xandra sighed in mock-exasperation, but before Dessi could reply in the desired language, the professor interrupted.
"Miss Malfoy, can you give me the definition of the Substantive Charm?" Dessi stared at her incomprehensively. "Miss Malfoy?" Dessi stood up abruptly, knocking her chair over, and stalked out of the room.
"Let me talk to her, Professor." She heard Xandra say, before the scurry of Xandra's footsteps entered the corridor behind her. "Dessi, you can't just storm out of the room when you don't know the answer to a subject you dislike."
"Just watch me." Dessi said petulantly, folding her arms, but Xandra just looked at her unimpressed.
"Really, Dessi? You're going to sulk like a child? Don't you think that's beneath you? And there's no need to take it out on me. You know I'm perfectly willing to help you with Charms, if you help me with Transfiguration." Dessi held up her petulance for approximately 2 more seconds. They were silent as they wandered the corridors slowly, an unspoken consensus not to return to Charms.
After a while, Dessi broke the silence, gazing thoughtfully at her friend. "It's hard to believe you're the same girl who stutteringly asked me if she could sit next to me." Xandra laughed.
"I think the height might be a bit of a giveaway. But, still," She said, in mock seriousness. "That's what a good pair of shoes can do to a girl." And Dessi couldn't help but laugh with her. Xandra had turned into that girl- the one who never wore shoes less than four inches, yet never seemed to have a problem walking. Dessi envied her impeccable balance.
Professor Honey, the new Transfiguration Professor, arrived with his twin Kalysta. Kalysta disappeared straight into the woods but their teacher was unconcerned.
"She's a Ravenclaw" was all he said, as if it explained everything. In a way it did. Honey was the kind of teacher with set work and expected it to be done. If you couldn't get it done on time, then he expected you to tell him beforehand with a reasonable explanation. In class, he was precise with his teaching and to Teddy he seemed to be someone who would be able to help you pick up a spell when no one else could.
Professor Renard had been nicknamed Batty Cat, even though they had only had a weeks' worth of lessons with her. In fact, the name first sprang into existence after her first 6th year class. When Teddy had heard it for the first time, he had been confused. But after a lesson with her, it was completely understandable. Cat Renard was even more removed from Earth than Professor Flint. Her eyes consistently had an unfocused look about them, her handwriting was slow and loopy- as if she wasn't sure why anyone would bother to write faster- and she would sometimes interrupt herself in the middle of an explanation, debating something with herself. Nevertheless, she eventually managed to get her point across and was entertaining.
Since Prefect Duty, Teddy hadn't had any contact with Svetlana, although he did see her arguing with Francesca, arguing with Professors, arguing with Joe, arguing with Ally Corner, Brooke Stacy and Ivy Laine, arguing with Georgina Jinks, arguing with Alexandra's younger sister and even arguing with Aaron Swift (Alexandra's boyfriend). To be honest, he preferred it that way; although he knew Francesca wanted him to talk to her (only Merlin knew what had put that idea in her head). He seemed to have a knack of saying just the wrong things to Vettie, no matter which approach he tried. But he was determined to be friendly this time. Vettie would not deter him.
"So how was your summer?" He had arrived on time tonight, but she still refused to blabber away like one of his idiotic friends. "Where you with your uncle here in England, or you just your mother over in wher-"
"Russia."
"What?"
"Russia. My mother lives in Russia. And no, I don't wish to talk about my summer." An awkward silence, perhaps, but just how she liked it. The quieter he was, the less chance he had of stumbling onto forbidden territory; the less chance she had of losing her temper, and scorching something, or someone.
"Fine. I know you when to the Quidditch, because I was there. Before that, I spent time with my godfather, and his family. Little Lily-"
"Or your summer, for that matter."
"How about Christmas? Got any plans for that?" She fixed him with her best glare, but he seemed unaffected. "Why do you change your appearance so much anyway? I don't mean that you regularly change your appearance, just that-"
"I know what you mean."
"Right. Well, Francesca, Lee and Harry are coming home with me over Christmas. Staying with Harry. My godfather, that is, not Harry Quinn. But they'll be with their families on Christmas Day, of course. Andromeda says she has Black family stuff to do. She-"
"I do not care about your Christmas plans." Dessi said, with barely constrained annoyance. "It is too early for that. And for your information, Andy has not go Black stuff to attend to. She has her sisterly duties towards my aunt to fulfil. Now shut up, for Merlin's sake before I hex you."
She was silent the rest of the way round, and he seemed to be preoccupied by his thoughts, which was a welcome change. Her assertive nature half pressed her to ask him what he was thinking, but she knew better than to give him an opening. Once the floodgates were unbolted, there would be no closing them.
Teddy thought the duty had gone well. Sure, Vettie had snapped at him (several times), but if he could sustain a silence long enough, he should be able to get her demanding, forceful personality to show itself. It wasn't so much that he wanted to talk to her, as he wanted to keep his sanity. There was only so much of sentence interrupting he could take. He had a feeling the next time one of them blew up, it would be him.
A/N: And there's the end for now.