Father of Mine, Part VII
Special Thanks to: Ginger Cat the Gunslinger, Draco Malfoy n Harry Potter, MaKe 7 yUrZ, Yanagi-sen, annakas, Kate Lynn, Mrs. Kalitica Malfoy, Kijo, Archaic Raven, draca weasley, Kivessa, and Cathy Gurl!
ATTENTION: For all y'all Snape-lovers (especially Ginger Cat, ^_~) out there, you might love a totally awesome fic by Archaic Raven. It's called The Heathen and it's wonderful! Anybody who knows me well knows that I don't do recommendations for other stories, but it just goes to show that sometimes I need to eat my own words. Hehe. So in your free time, go read it. You won't regret it, I promise.
A/N: New E-mail for those of you who care: potionsmaster66@cox.net and some McGonagall-bashing. Heeeee...fun...
Kick Out, Kick Back
Draco scowled down at his paperclip chain he was supposed to be Transfiguring into a necklace. Try as he might, it only got a green glow around it, wiggled, and stayed the same. Professor McGonagall was coming around to offer her assistance to those in need. He didn't want any help, though, he was thoroughly convinced that he could do it...just like all his other Transfiguration projects that were half finished, maimed, or completely opposite the desired result. The Ravenclaws weren't having that much trouble; they never really did. Draco shot them a venomous look as his paperclip chain wriggled across the desk top, avoiding his wand's tip.
McGonagall stood imperiously over his desk with a dubious look on his lack of progress. "Mr. Malfoy..." she started disdainfully, "Exactly what have you been doing today? Surely not your class work?" Draco tightened his grip on his wand and narrowed his eyes menacingly. "Even Mssr. Crabbe and Goyle have managed to make some type of change in their chain, but all yours is capable of doing is acting like a charmed snake," she snapped, "Make sure you are picturing quite clearly what you want it to change to and say the spell like you mean it." With that, she turned on her heel back to the snickering Ravenclaws. By now, his already sour temper was flaring and he thought how easy it would be to cast the Cruciatus on her; after all, she wouldn't expect it coming. Her back was turned-No! Don't think like that!
He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. All he could see was his wand pointed towards his writhing teacher, pain distorting her features as she wailed in agony. He growled audibly and a Ravenclaw seated at the next desk glanced at him warily. "Oh, what are you staring at?" he barked at her. She raised an eyebrow at him and turned back to her own work as McGonagall came over in a huff. "Five points from Slytherin, Mr. Malfoy and don't let outbursts like that happen again, please," she said, staring at him like he was a dirty tissue. He glared hatefully at her, teeth bared, air hissing in and out of his clenched teeth. McGonagall pursed her lips and turned again.
"Funny...I've never seen a horse with two asses before," he muttered, still glowering at her, arms folded. McGonagall whipped around, hat almost coming off her precise bun. "25 points off and a detention!" she shouted, face pale. The Ravenclaw who had stared at him earlier looked like she was struggling not to laugh; her eyes were sparkling and she had her jaw clamped shut. Draco sat back in his seat casually, arms crossed, ice chips boring into his teacher's eyes. "Oh dear," he deadpanned, "Whatever shall I do, I have a god-awful detention."
"I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy, mark my words-"
"As if I care!"
"You should! This is your only chance to get an education!"
"Big deal," he jeered at her, rolling his eyes. McGonagall closed his book, picked up his chain, and forced him to stand. "Get out," she growled at him. "And if I refuse?" Draco asked arrogantly, raising his chin. "You shall pay a visit to the Headmaster! Get OUT!!" she yelled, pointing a trembling finger at the door. "FINE!" he shouted back in her face, yanking his book bag up to him. The Ravenclaw at the next desk watched him shrewdly out of the corner of her eye as he stormed out, robes flying. Professor McGonagall sank into her chair in front of the room, hand to her forehead as the astonished class stared at her.
Draco flung back the door to Snape's office angrily and flounced in, making himself at home. No fire in the grate and no fairness in the world, either, he thought bitterly to himself, kicking the wall. The jars rattled ominously in the aftershock and Draco plunked himself into his favourite armchair, scowling. His book bag dropped to the floor with a *thunk* and everything spilled out of the top. He groaned and bent down to pick up his papers and books. Underneath it all, he found a tiny silver ring embedded in the soft plush carpet. Odd...I wonder who it belongs to...He sat back on in the armchair, contemplating whose it might be and he lost track of the time.
"I thought I might find you here."
Draco jumped a mile when Snape's amused voice broke the silence. "You would think I would be used to you sneaking up on me by now, wouldn't you?" he replied, turning to face his mentor. Snape raised an eyebrow at him as he placed his grading book down on his desk.
"Maybe yes, maybe no. So tell me what you did to get Professor McGonagall to have conniptions this time."
"She insulted me first; I merely returned the favour..."
"I see. But your behaviour reflects upon me as your Head of House and I'm afraid that I won't be able to help you out of this one, Draco."
"I wouldn't expect you to, actually, I dug myself into this hole."
Snape cracked a sardonic grin at Draco's rebuke. "Is that the truth?" Draco snorted, "No, it's just what every teacher wants to hear." Snape rolled his eyes. "The perfect Slytherin," he said, "McGonagall decided that you needed a tutor on top of everything else, so your first detention is to be with a Ravenclaw. She originally wanted you with that Granger beaver, but I talked her out of it. It was the best I could manage." Draco stared at his teacher for a moment.
"Let it never be said that you can't get anything from your teachers," he said.
"And why is that?"
"It pays to be good friends with your Head of House; I don't have to face that Mudbl-" Snape's cold glare cut him off. "Gryffindor scum," he substituted quickly. He forgot that Snape didn't like that word uttered in his presence. Snape nodded his approval of the traded words, then said, "It's at 4:30 in the Library today. Make an attempt at being civil, at least." Draco scowled at the ring in his hand; he'd almost forgotten it. "Yes sir," he said flatly.
***
Around 4:45, Draco sauntered into the Library, trademark smirk in place. Snape wants civil? I can be 'civil'... He went to the back of the room to where the work tables were and spotted an annoyed looking girl glancing at her watch with a small pile of books next to her. His smirk broadened. "I take it you're to be my tutor?" he said lazily, sliding into a chair across from her. She looked up at him and he realized it was the one he snapped at earlier in class. "I take it you're that bad in Transfigurations?" she replied coolly, not blinking an eye. He noticed she had large, expressive eyes. They were odd, though, he couldn't figure out the colour. They weren't brown, but they weren't straight blue, green, or grey, either.
"So who're you? I don't think I've ever gotten your name," Draco said, still smirking. "And what would you do with my name once you have it?" she asked coyly. Draco lost his smirk rather quickly. "I don't know, I didn't really think about it," he replied, leaning on an elbow. "Then why bother knowing it?" she countered, staring into his silver eyes with her deep ones. Draco decided that they were the colour of the sea and left it at that. "Because it is only proper that you introduce yourself," he said, remembering to be civil, "I'm Dra--" She cut him off with a shake of her head. "I know who you are," she said softly, "My brother Erik is in your House." Draco paused, reflecting. "What's he look like?" he asked, intrigued.
"Well, he's taller than me, but about average height, I suppose. His hair is dark brown, like mine. Dark blue eyes, pale skin, and we're told that we have the same nose," the Ravenclaw smiled, fingering her nose absently. Average height, dark brown hair, deep blue eyes, and pale skin...name of Erik. Hmmm... "What year is he in?" Draco, questioned, thinking. "Sixth year, same as us," came the reply. "Thought so, he's one of my room mates. He's really quiet, though. Does he ever speak?" he said. She laughed, the sound light, happy, and genuine. This was a first for Draco; he never made anybody but Professor Snape laugh like that before. Her eyes sparkled as she answered good naturedly, "He does, though barely. He needs to really get to know you and then some. I think he has a hard time opening up to people and hides behind books because of it. He thinks that he and I should switch Houses for that reason. I guess that's true, too, because I think Slytherin would be more fun for me. All anybody in Ravenclaw wants to do is study more about the Euclidean Theories of Dragon Locomotion and such nonsense. And speaking of studying, isn't that what we're here for?"
Draco groaned. The Ravenclaw smiled apologetically, "First things first. I noticed in class that you get really tense when you concentrate so hard. Why don't you try to relax and focus on it instead of trying to change it through sheer willpower?" She took a matchbook out of her pocket and told him to Transfigure a match into a needle. "That's baby stuff! Anybody can do that!" he objected. "Prove it, then, if it's so easy," she challenged. After a struggle, Draco managed to change it. She pursed her lips, thinking. "Ok, try it again and don't look like you're constipated, please."
He looked up at her indignantly and saw her eyes sparkling again, just like they had been in class while he and McGonagall fought. She's laughing at me! How dare she! But he couldn't help smiling back. Her good mood was infectious. He changed the match much more easily than before and he felt his smile grow into a happy grin. He felt positively silly, smiling like a goon over a simple Transfiguration, but it felt good. It was easy this time. Draco worked hard with the Ravenclaw until she suddenly looked at her watch. "Oh! We're late for dinner! Same time next week alright with you?" Draco nodded as she scampered to put all the books back into her bag and she started to rush off. Draco grabbed her wrist and swung her around to face him. He found himself staring into her large eyes once more.
"How can I do it this easily again? What if I screw it up in class, as usual?" he asked.
"Just....I dunno...kick back and relax, like you did here. Once you did, everything got much easier."
With that, she deftly twisted her arm out of his grip and dashed towards the Great Hall. Draco watched her go, a small smile left on his face. He wasn't hungry and decided to skip dinner and do the rest of his Transfiguration homework while it was still fresh in his mind. Common room would be too distracting, so he went to Professor Snape's office again. This time there was a fire going. He plopped his bag down and got to work. Snape had come back from dinner just as he finished the last sentence with flourish and threw his pen down. Snape settled into his chair with a pile of parchment and a bottle of red ink. Draco flipped his shoes off and tucked his legs under him, getting comfortable. "What, no more homework?" his teacher asked.
"Nope."
'Well done. How was tutoring today?"
Draco felt his silly grin come back on his face as he responded, "It was great! I really got it this time! I wish she could teach class instead of McGonagall, she explains it so much easier..." Snape smiled in spite of himself. "That's nice. And who might 'she' be?" he asked his ecstatic student. "Huh?" Draco was still reminiscing in the glory of getting Transfiguration for once. "I asked you who your wondrous saviour was. Don't you know?" his teacher smirked. Draco smacked himself in the head, "I tried to get it out of her, but she sidetracked me, I took the bait and I forgot and--argh. This is so confusing. That didn't make any sense whatsoever."
"No, it didn't."
"Oh, you can be quiet just about now."
Snape arched his eyebrows. "Really. Glad to know I have permission," he quipped. "WAIT A MINUTE!" Draco shouted, jumping up from his chair. Snape grabbed for his pile of papers that had flown through the air moments before. "What is it now, another brain fart?" he snapped, exasperated. "No," said Draco, "I just remembered something she told me." Snape scowled at his student as he straightened the wayward parchment. Draco tucked his legs under himself again and leaned back in his chair. This is the happiest I've been in a long time, he realized. Snape shook his head and turned to correcting his papers. A minute later, he looked up, even more exasperated. "Well, what did she say? I can't concentrate anymore because you left it hanging like that," he said. Draco peered at him through the corner of his eye and gave him a sly sneer.
"She told me who her brother was, is all."
"Oh..."
"And she gave me a piece of advice that I intend to do fully tonight."
"What's that?"
"Kick back and relax." To emphasize his point, he shifted his position, having his legs flopped over the arm of his chair and his back leaning against the other, arms folded behind his head. His mentor merely shook his head again and went back to grading papers. Draco stared at the fire, letting his thoughts turn to what they would. And they turned right back to the Ravenclaw girl, the way she wasn't intimidated by him, her patience with him, her easy smile, her laugh, her sense of humour...and her eyes. The way her eyes sparkled mischievously whenever she thought of something, the beautiful colour they were: not blue, but not green, with just the right amount of grey thrown into the mix to make them smoky and mysterious. The way the long, luxurious black lashes shadowed them when she closed her eyes...
He sighed and closed his own eyes, steel grey and cold. Maybe it's time to talk to Erik...
A/N: I felt like bashing a Gryffindor, and McGonagall just happened to be the one. Sorry to all you fans of hers out there, no harm was meant by it. After all, Draco is a Slytherin...^__~ Alright, I think I might make something of this Ravenclaw-thingie. Didn't plan for that to happen either, but boys will be boys after all. Eh...can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em, you know?