Disclaimer- I haven't yet figured out how to change myself into JK Rowling, as I do have a lack of potions ingredients available to me. Until I get the chance to raid the contents of Hogwart's potions room, I'm not her.. And she owns Hogwarts and Harry Potter.
A/N- I rewrote this three
times. Let's hope the final copy is better than the first two.. :P
Completely Mental
In schools of Muggle origin, news of a midnight excursion travels fast. In a wizarding school such as Hogwarts, the same rule applies.
So, of course the tale of Enmity and the six legged Gryffindor that had come from the Forbidden Forest late last night was on the tip of everyone's tongues. For reasons she couldn't understand, Enmity had not been punished. Less suprisingly, neither had Harry, Ron, or Hermione. They had, however, all been sworn to secrecy.
Enmity didn't think this was fair. After all, those infuriating Gryffindors had each other to share the tale with. At this argument, Dumbledore had only dismissed them from his office.
~
Lunch the next day was amusing, to say the least. Draco Malfoy had slapped her proudly on the back more than once, and with help of his two goons, Crabbe and Goyle, done impression after impression of the trio's antics coming up to the castle the night before.
Most luckily, Filch's screech upon discovery of students out of bed last night had awoken nearly every student within Hogwarts' boundaries. Malfoy had been one of the first, except for Enmity of course, to see the shenanigans of their three Gryffindor classmates. He seemed to be enjoying every moment of their afterwards embarrassment as much as its sight had delighted him.
Malfoy, however, was the only one actually talking to her. In fact, her fellow students seemed to be avoiding her. It wasn't until later that evening when she was finally approached by someone who didn't have the reputation of a death eater.
Enmity had been sprawled out on the lush green grass of the school grounds. Passing a strand of grass through her fingers, she'd been unaware of the sinking sun and Forbidden Forest in such a close proximity. Such things could be left for Alex's scrutinizing eyes to pick up on.
"Honestly Enmity, what will you be doing next?" he chided, crouching down beside her.
Enmity ignored him.
"And with three Gryffindors, nonetheless.." He continued on, talking more to himself than her.
She turned her head and looked up into the black eyes, which were distracted by the darkness of the sudden sunset. "Why do you care, anyway?"
Alex threw back his head and fell back onto the grass, heaving an exaggerated sigh. "Why does it matter if I do or not? It's them I'm worried about." Upon his mouth forming the word 'them' his arm lifted, his hand waving towards the brilliant piece of architecture before them.
"The wall's of Hogwarts?"
Alex lifted an eyebrow at her. "You're completely mental you know."
Enmity opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off. "And if it wasn't proved so long before; it definitely was by wandering into the Forbidden Forest!"
Enmity let her head fall onto the grass, closing his eyes as he continued to rave about her 'disgracing act.'
~
He didn't like that boy.
He'd decided it from the very moment he saw him. Whether it was because he clouded his vision of the girl, or because he seemed much too close to her, it didn't matter.
With each sigh, glance, and playful shrug from the pair he was watching, his grip tightened on the branch of the tree he stood by.
The trodden on plants under his feet quivered with fright.
It wasn't often one of the elves ventured so close to the boundaries of the forest. It was even less often that they took so little care of their surroundings. Yet, it was much of an extent less often that an elf's emotions be so flared.
Destiny had dealt him a cruel hand.
~
'It's perfectly normal to be curious about them,' she reassured herself as she took the book from Madame Pince. It took another tug, to loosen the librarian's grip on it; as if the woman didn't quite trust the student she was bestowing the book upon.
Leaving the library, she took the walk down the halls as an opportunity to inspect the large text more closely.
On its leathered front sat the words An Elf's Burden. It certainly sounded more interesting than the other volumes she'd found in the library on the same subject. Who, in their right mind, would want to read Elves: A to Z on Their Lifestyle or A Large and Boring Definition of Elves? Truth be told, she had found Hermione reading the latter. But in Enmity's, and any other Slytherin's, mind, she didn't quite count as being in her right mind,
Her head tucked, she ran straight into the other Slytherin watching her.
"You're reading now?"
Enmity shoved her way past him. She wasn't in the mood to argue with Alex. Actually, there wasn't such a mood.
"I read before that big awful forest consumed my soul, Alex."
He frowned at her. "I'm serious, Enmity. There's something weird about you." He stood back as if to examine her. "More so than normal, I mean."
Enmity scrunched up her nose and threw him a less than flattering look.
"Besides, you still haven't told what happened in there, or why you tied up.."
"I DIDN'T TIE THEM UP!"
Alex threw up his hands as if surrendering. "Okay, then who- or what- did?"
Enmity rolled her eyes and continued to walk with her back to him. "I'm not allowed to say."
With a speed always lacking in getting to class on time, Alex arrived in front of her. "Who am I going to tell?"
"The entire school. Who, according to you all think that I dragged those idiotic Gryffindorks into the forest and tortured them.."
"And although there wouldn't be a thing wrong with doing that.."
Enmity nearly choked on a laugh. Alex continued, carefully fixing a lose curl on top his head while he spoke, "It's not necessarily a good reputation to have. Especially with three quarters of the school already being anti-Slytherin and pro-Gryffindor."
"I suppose not. But I've been sworn to secrecy by Dumbledore, and I don't feel like getting expelled this semester."
"How about next?"
Enmity sighed.
They continued walking, leaving the controversial (for them anyway) topic behind and picking up one less so.
After several minutes of teasingly bickering about last week's Quidditch match (which Slytherin had proudly won,) Alex plucked the large, and nearly forgotten, book from her loose grasp.
Enmity fought back for it, returning it to her own arms; but not before Alex read its title.
"Why are you reading up on elves?"
A/N- Part one of your job
has successfully been completed. Now, on to part two: REVIEW!!!