"Gryffindor's team is just better, though. Well, maybe that's a lie. Since we lost Katie, and now Ron-"
"That should have left the team better off. Without the Weasel-"
"Oh, shush." Rem said, rolling her eyes. "You can deny it all you like, but I know how it is."
"Obviously not." The feminine voice threw her off for a second, but she cast a sidelong look at one of the two girls walking with them. They were, of course, not really girls at all. The wonder of Polyjuice Potion.
"Maybe you should just stick to not talking." Remington suggested.
Draco smirked slightly and the supposed girl who had spoken, none other than Crabbe, just shot her a dirty look.
"I'm only saying-"
Draco's step faltered for a second before he resumed his stride, a bitter look on his face. Rem's eyes flicked up to look down the hall, where, sure enough, Harry Potter was walking towards them.
Harry seemed to be the only one who could bring such changes to Draco's mood (with the exception of herself, at times)- changes for the worse, always.
"Where're you going?" Harry demanded, perfectly exhibiting Gryffindor's most common flaw: the failure to think before speaking.
"Yeah, I'm really going to tell you, because it's your business, Potter." Draco retorted sharply. Remington almost wished she had something to say, but knew there wasn't anything that wouldn't force the situation downhill that much faster. Instead, she kept her eyes locked on Harry's face. "You'd better hurry up, they'll be waiting for 'the Chosen Captain' - 'the Boy Who Scored' - whatever they call you these days."
Crabbe's girl-self gave a slight giggle as they passed Harry, which only set Remington off that much more. "Shut up!" She snapped venomously under her breath.
Nobody said anything as they made their way the last floor or two to the seventh.
"You can't talk to Harry like that-" She remarked severely as they walked into the Room of Hidden Things, having left Crabbe and Goyle in the hall. "You know-"
"He needs to stay the hell out of my business." Draco snapped, turning back around to look at her. They hadn't gotten two yards from the door, which dissolved silently behind her.
"You need to think about what you're risking, here! Just because you feel like you've got something to prove to him- you can't give him the evidence he needs. By then, the ruse will be up." She could feel his attention slipping. He opened his mouth to argue, but her hand flashed up to motion for his silence. "You know I'm right. Don't go picking fights with Harry. Don't go making little comments that will only make up his mind further. Keep a level head. A low profile."
"How incompetent do you think I am?" He demanded.
"You're not incompetent." She snapped. "You're impulsive and too proud for your own good."
"Sounds a lot like you, actually." He returned, obviously not happy that he was being chastised like a little kid.
"At least I can admit it." She arched an eyebrow, "Now, since you insisted on staying up here rather than going to the Quidditch match-"
"I told you you didn't have to stay. Crabbe and Goyle-"
"Are irrelevant. There isn't a single decision I've made that has anything to do with them." She finished.
He shook his head in mild irritation and started towards the clearing.
The Gryffindor-Hufflepuff match would be starting any minute, if it hadn't already. Harry had every right to be suspicious over them not going down to watch the match, when it wasn't likely that there were even half a dozen other students still in the castle.
She nearly always felt watched. It was a strange sensation, but she could never place it. It was something she didn't understand. The feeling was everywhere it was so rare that it went away, that she never noticed the moment it left.
Of course she'd had the suspicion that it was Harry, but that was just that. Her being suspicious. She knew it was completely ridiculous. Harry couldn't follow her - or them, rather - her and Draco, that is, all the time. Nor did she really expect that he was that dedicated to figuring out what the deal was. After all, it'd been a couple weeks since the Quidditch match.
The normal sounds filled the Room of Requirement, the broken record player, the mysterious noises yet unknown, and the dull scratch of a quill. At the sound of a loud clatter and an equally piercing scream, Draco immediately froze, and Remington looked up at him from the homework she'd been working on. "What on earth-"
"Someone frightened off Goyle." He said slowly, quietly. Her eyes met his, giving away what she'd already guessed. If someone was out to scare the young girl standing outside of the room, they'd have to know that it was actually Gregory Goyle. And the only other person they knew was aware of that situation, was of course, "Potter." Draco breathed resentfully.
"I could go investigate." She offered, shutting the Potions book a little too eagerly, wanting an excuse not to work on it any longer.
He looked at her for a moment, contemplating. "Wait just a bit, then go look."
"Alright." She said, getting to her feet and heading away from the clearing and towards the door. She leaned against the trunk near the entrance for a moment, attempting to count out the seconds so she wouldn't leave too soon, but ended up abandoning the effort and pulling open the door.
When she stepped into the hallway, she caught a glimpse of something, though after a slight flutter, it was suddenly out of sight. Crossing her arms, she shot a couple sidelong looks down the corridor. "Harry, it's not as if I don't know you're here."
Just as abruptly as he'd disappeared, Harry was back in sight, giving her a look. "How would you know it's me?"
"Who would spook off some poor little girl unless they knew that said little girl wasn't actually a little girl?" She would have added a, "At least not on the outside," to the end of that if it had been Crabbe, but refrained from insulting Draco's more tolerable lackey. "Harry, really. Neither of us are that dull."
"Neither meaning you and I, or you and him?" Harry prompted, jaw set.
"Alright then, none of us are that dull." She reiterated. "But that's beside the point. Why don't you just go back to your common room-"
"Our common room." He corrected sharply, "You're a Gryffindor, too. In case you've forgotten."
"Of course I haven't forgotten!" She responded indignantly. "I sleep in the Gryffindor dorms, despite the fact nobody cares to see if I even come back at night! I sit at the Gryffindor table for every meal, despite the fact there isn't a single person there who will even speak to me! I'm very well aware of what House I'm in, thank you! I'm also quite aware of which one I really belong to!" Slightly surprised by her own outburst, but masking her own embarrassment, she glared at the dark-haired boy standing a few feet away.
Harry didn't seem half as put-out by her slight tantrum as she herself was. "So you think you belong in Slytherin?" He prompted.
"I most certainly belong to one. If I don't belong there myself." She said, though her voice was still a little quiet with mild mortification.
"Is that why you brought him into Gryffindor Tower?"
Oh, no. "You heard us?" She asked in disbelief.
"I saw you." He corrected, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"How did you-" She started, then it dawned on her. She managed to look affronted. "You were watching through the door!" She accused, "With the invisibility cloak, to be sure." He had the decency to turn a couple shades pinker, though kept a straight face. "And let me guess, that mental little map of yours had something to do with it, too."
"I've been keeping an eye on Malfoy-"
"And you're going to end up getting someone hurt because of it." She interrupted him. "Trust me, you're not doing anyone any favors. Quite the opposite, actually."
"Don't protect him, Remington." Harry said, "Whatever he's up to- whoever he's after- It's nothing good."
"I don't care about what you think he's doing, Harry!" She said, her eyes resting on him for a moment, not in a glare, but a pointed look. "And I'll protect him as much as I need to." She added a bit quieter before she turned back and walked back into the Room of Hidden Things, slamming the door behind her, watching to be sure it dissipated without admitting any unwanted soul.