Better Be Slytherin
XI
Carpe Diem, Baby

He did not know why – it might have been a strange thought to imagine a year or so ago – but he and Malfoy were getting more and more along. Theodore still had not been talking much to anyone else, but he and Malfoy had shared a few evenings in the common room together – studying quietly, or discussing the break-out from Azkaban. He actually found Malfoy not as dim-witted and ignorant as he usually did. He was all right when they were alone. He was surprised with how quickly Malfoy accepted him as a friend; perhaps he was only grateful for a break from Crabbe and Goyle sometimes.

The dungeons were not as freezing cold anymore; you could actually see green spots in between the icy snow outside the castle – the horrid winter was beginning to ease up. April came along and schoolwork took up most of Theodore's time, as usual. One Saturday, Malfoy suggested they go down to Hogsmeade to look at new Quidditch gloves (for Malfoy, naturally). He agreed, how bad could that be?

Half-an hour or so after they had left the castle, Malfoy had remembered that he had promised to meet Pansy, and that he was already late. Theodore had no choice, and had to come along, although very reluctantly.

"She's just going to have to cope, or else it's her problem," muttered Malfoy as they entered the Three Broomsticks. Theodore could not help but to feel slightly insecure – he did not want to spend time with Pansy, she was a mean and obnoxious girl, she would silently judge him and probably patronise him as well. He hastily followed behind Malfoy's back, through the crowded, cheerful and warm pub and just wanted to turn around and go back to the castle. He was not looking forward to being a third wheel on this date. He sighed inwardly. They reached the far end of the place where Pansy had grabbed a table. She shone up and rose up to hug Malfoy, and as they kissed, her eyes travelled to the side where Theodore awkwardly stood.

Pansy hastily broke the kiss, surprised. "What's he doing here?" Theodore hated how she spoke of him as if he was a four year-old, or as if he was not there. He wondered if she meant to be mean or if she just spoke that way, boldly and before thinking, without the intention of harm. Malfoy calmly opened his mouth.

"Well, something came up. We were buying Quidditch gloves. See?" he brought up his new gloves and showed them to her, to distract her, Theodore got the feeling, as he led her to sit down again by a hand on her back. Theodore joined them hastily. He was afraid Pansy would say things like what she had just said, treating him like he was not worth talking to – or if he would say something wrong, that she would tell her little girlfriends that he was not only a loner but a stuttering loner with a pea-brain. Or something like that. He studied her suspiciously.

He could not help but to glance at the curve at her chest, but he hastily looked away and felt his cheeks go warm. It was not as if he was attracted to Pansy, he was just incredibly curious of the opposite sex. Especially breasts. Think of something else, he urged himself, embarrassed. He felt like a sick old man.

He listened to their conversation; mainly Malfoy was the one who talked. He simply nodded in response and listened.

Eventually, when he felt secure, he threw in a few words in their gaps, and soon he was talking too.

As he started to spend more time with Malfoy, he automatically started spending a bit more time with Pansy as well, seeing as she was his girlfriend. And he did furthermore realise that she was not as bad as he had thought. She was all right, and he began to feel more secure in front of her. He realised that perhaps there was more to her than loudly making snide comments to other students and high-pitched giggling behind people's backs.

He reckoned the reason he and Malfoy were getting along well was because they were the only two in their year whose fathers were Death Eaters. Well, not counting Crabbe and Goyle, and for some reason you never did count Crabbe and Goyle.

Perhaps Malfoy found him a little more sensible. Theodore was very prejudiced, he realised, and people must have thought things about him that were not true, since he thought things about them. He was haughty like Zabini, he admitted, but he did never promote and boast neither about his father being a Death Eater nor of his own future plans. He regarded himself clever, independent, and ambitious – a true Slytherin. He was a nice person, but he could understand why some of his house-mates found him a little intimidating or uneasy because he rarely spoke and read so much, and perhaps did not laugh the most. But he really was not a frightening person.

Sometimes, he regretted making this impression, because he would really want to try talking to girls and kissing them and everything that all the other boys did. Yet, he would never be anything that he was not, he would never change who he was for anyone. It did not matter that he was awkward around girls – although, admittedly, he hated being like that, because it was not his real self, and he felt silly, he was confident otherwise. He did not know where it had come from. He had never had that problem before, finding it difficult to talk to girls, being all stiff and sweaty when he did, but he supposed that was before he developed another kind of interest for them. Before, he supposed, he had not cared about them.

The following few weeks passed by in a happy blur for Pansy. She enjoyed spending all possible time with Malfoy, having late-night prefect duties with him, joking about and writing mean things about other students on the blackboard in classrooms – they were invincible, they were the best. Everything was different this year, she reckoned. She and Malfoy were not only friends but now a couple; she was a Prefect and a member of the Inquisitorial Squad. She had loads of fun with her girlfriends. Life was brilliant. Their High Inquisitor was definitely making some changes around the castle, for instance she sacked professor Trelawney, the wacky Divination teacher (Malfoy had found it funny).

Life was, indeed, brilliant.

Easter Holidays came along quickly, and before they knew it, it was time to go home. Malfoy spent a great deal of it with Pansy, just being silly. She did that to him, having angry stare games challenging each other – naturally he won every time, she could never keep a straight face for long – she tried both tickling him and hitting him for him to start laughing or look away; rowing afterwards; "I won!" "Are you joking?!". It was always the same. He grew to enjoy it very much. There were bad moments, as well, though, naturally. They were both so incredibly stubborn and would never admit to being wrong, which had them arguing, discussing and sitting in silence refusing to be the first one to say sorry. Pansy would say that he was the most self-righteous person she'd ever known, and he would say "Yeah, except you!"

April came along and they returned to Hogwarts. Pamphlets and brochures regarding different sorts of Wizarding professions lay spread over the tables in the Slytherin common room, along with an additional message on the board – "Career's advice– all fifth-years are required to attend a short meeting with their Head of House during the first week of the summer term to discuss their future careers. Times of individual appointments are listed below."

St Mungo's healer... at least an Exceeds Expectations at N.E.W.T-level in Potions, Herbology, Charms, Transfiguration and Defence against the Dark Arts were necessary. High standards, indeed. Never, thought Draco and snorted to himself as he tossed the brochure down. Helping people was not a primary objective in his life, he regarded.

They were all in the common room. Goyle was having his usual after-dinner cupcakes, groggily looking at a brochure about training safety-trolls (seemed like a fitting job for Greg, indeed, thought Draco; not very demanding of intellect), while Pansy were entertaining them as usual.

Manufacturing Quidditch Equipment – one of the brochures read. Pfft, a Quidditch warehouse? Draco passed it along to Vincent.

Expert at handling those sticky situations your friends keep putting themselves into? The Magical Accident Reverse Squad may be the place for you! For the out of control cooking fire, for that exploded cauldron – we need your knowledge and your wand!

Cheesy, Draco thought, and tossed that one away too.

He briefly eyed the next twenty or so brochures...

The Department of Magical Maintenance... sounded sort of like The Magical Accident Reverse Squad, cleaning up after ignorant people. Never! The Floo network – maintaining, managing, and basically connecting and disconnecting fireplace to the net – easy enough, probably.

Working with the WWN, or with the Muggle-repelling charms squad. Brochures about manufacturing cauldrons, Omnioculars, radios, telescopes, scales... The next one contained designing and producing cloaks and robes, both dress robes, every day robes and Hogwarts school robes. He threw it at Pansy, who would probably have more use for it than Draco did.

Sigh... Technicians needed for The Knight Bus, Hogwarts express, ships and vessels. Harbour workers, shipmen... Apothecaries...He threw those brochures away.

"Shop, pub & inn owner" – read another. He would have none of that.

"The Daily Prophet – writing or distributing – investigating or pressing paper, it's your choice..." Oh, neither the first nor the second please!

Draco then tossed away an orange brochure about Muggle-contact into the fireplace and watched it burn to ash.

"Have you lot seen Snape yet?" Pansy said to the group of him, Theodore, Zabini, Vincent and Gregory.

"What for?" grunted Vincent.

"For careers advice, you troll," said Pansy impatiently, rolling her eyes. "You were off this morning, weren't you, Blaise, what did you talk about?"

Zabini shrugged. "Snape looked over my marks. Laid out a few suggestions, but I already know, I told him I want to work with economy, so he gave me a brochure about Gringott's. That was about it."

Pansy was frowning. "Like a common goblin," she mumbled.

"What's that?" Zabini said hastily, looking up and piercing his dark eyes on Pansy.

Pansy gave a half-shrug and smiled a brilliant smile. "Nothing."

"Actually," Zabini said sharply, who hadn't escaped hearing Pansy's comment, "it takes a lot of qualifications. It's loads about travelling and adventure and it pays great. Not that I've got to explain anything to you - I suppose you'll be pushing the trolley at the Hogwarts express in a few years."

Pansy snorted loudly and indignantly and glared at Zabini, while Draco and the others sniggered heartily.

"D'you want to take a look at this one, Pansy?" asked Theodore Nott casually as he finished one of the brochures – from the ministry.

"Nah, you're all right," Pansy said, and then she lit up, excited: "I already know what I want to do!"

Draco couldn't help but to give a little smile. "What's that then?"

"Well, I reckon since I always know everything that's going on at Hogwarts, gossip-wise, I mean – I reckon I'd be perfect at having my own gossip column in the Prophet or in Witch Weekly, wouldn't I?"

Blaise sniggered.

"Not really aiming high, are you," mumbled Draco.

"Oh, right, 'cos you'll be Minister of Magic, eh?" Pansy retorted hastily.

"Actually," Draco said with a smirk, "I might. Let's have a look at that Ministry one, Nott!"


The next day in Potions consisted of brewing Strength Potions. At the end of the lesson Potter walked ahead to leave his bottle of the potion on Snape's desk, and when he turned to make his way back to the Gryffindor side of the classroom, it rolled down onto the floor and with a crash the fragile glass vial broke and the potion inside splattered all over the stone floor.

Draco gave out a delighted, loud laugh. Potter always managed to fill his school-days with hilarity.

Next lesson was History of Magic, but unluckily for Draco who enjoyed the subject, that was when his career's advice appointment with Snape had been planned. He took his time strolling down the dungeons to Snape's office while everyone else moved in the opposite directions to get to their next lesson. He wondered briefly what they would speak about; Draco couldn't possibly have a clue what he would do after Hogwarts, could he? And he didn't really need to do anything either, not for financial reasons anyway – he would be set. He supposed he was to follow in his father's footsteps with the Dark Lord, and that was not something he opposed.

"Good afternoon, sir!"

Draco stepped inside Snape's small office in the dungeons and closed the door behind him. Snape's lip curled.

"Please, sit."

Draco briefly wondered why Snape never could be the least merry, not eve to him, his favourite student and God-son. But he hastily sat down nonetheless.

"Well, then, Draco," his Head of House began, and then he went on monotonely: "we're here to talk about your future plans for work as well as to decide what subjects you should go on taking next and seventh year."

"Right."

"Have you thought about what you'd like to do when you leave Hogwarts?" Snape asked, in a tone as if Draco was a bit dumb. Draco gave a small smile, a curl of his lip.

"You know what I want to do."

He almost hadn't dared to say it, but he reckoned it would be all right. Snape looked away (Draco had hoped he would've smiled or at least showed his appreciation in some other way. He didn't.)

"Don't be silly, Draco," was what he said. Draco frowned. "You can't possibly leave Hogwarts without a decent education, thinking the Dark Lord will want you. You've got to find some goals for the future, I would suggest."

Draco rolled his eyes.

Snape went on, in a chilly tone: "I recommend that you go on with Potions –after all you've got a slight talent..." Draco knew Snape was being optimistic – he wasn't particularly gifted in Potions, he did averagely. This was definitely a discouraging thought.

"As if he'll care," Draco muttered. Snape trailed off and looked up at him. Draco was unable to read his face.

"Do you think he wants some uneducated brats hanging after him? Don't be silly."

Had Snape just called him a brat? Draco felt his blood running faster in his veins, his face growing hot. He sulked all the way through the rest of their appointment, while Snape kept giving him tips about further education, jobs within the Ministry and telling him all about which subjects to go on taking and what marks to go for.

Bastard.