Chapter 21 – Defying the Rivalry
Olivia was snapped out of her thoughts as she heard Snape announce that they were going to be split up into pairs and brewing a personality potion. Olivia immediately looked to Harry and Ron to see if they were going to work together or not, but then Snape ruined all their plans.
"I will be picking your partners so that you will not slack off." Snape cruelly declared.
The class collectively groaned at this knowing that Snape would pair everyone up with their enemy.
"Potter and Malfoy, Weasley and Crabbe, Granger and Goyle, Stanton and Vasaturo,…" Snape went on like that a sinister grin barely showing its self upon his face.
Olivia wished Harry and Ron good luck and headed over to the newest Slytherin to meet her fate, she just hoped that this girl was nothing like Malfoy. Olivia sat down silently next to her and waited for Snape to finish his instructions.
Olivia and Constanza silently worked, trying to avoid talking to each other. In fact almost pair was silent only talking when they needed something. Olivia was in her own little world chopping the root of amber fruit in precise slices as she hummed the latest song that was stuck in her head.
"Could you pass the crocodile skin?" Constanza asked Olivia
Olivia didn't hear Constanza over her humming and Constanza took this as Olivia ignoring her.
"Well you could have been a little nicer I know Gryffindor and Slytherin are rivals but I didn't think they sunk this low." Constanza observed as she reached around Olivia to get the Crocodile skin she needed.
"What are you doing? I could have passed the skin to you." Olivia stated as she saw Constanza reach around her.
"I did…and you ignored me." Constanza retaliated
"Oh sorry…I guess I was a little to caught up in my humming." Olivia apologized. "I wasn't intentionally trying to ignore you…I don't know you well enough to hate you yet." Olivia joked
"Well then I guess I'll have to give you a reason to hate me." Constanza replied
"Why just because you're a Slytherin?"
"Yea…we can't have a Gryffindor and a Slytherin being anything but enemies now can we."
"I assume that you've been given the inevitable talk that Slytherins and Gryffindors hate each other and can't get along?" Olivia ventured.
"Yep and by none other then Malfoy himself."
"Oh…that sucks."
"Yea…hay if you don't mind me asking what exactly were you humming?" Constanza inquired
"Oh…I was humming 'I put a spell on you'." Olivia replied a little embarrassed
"How's it go?"
"Um…I put a spell on you and now your mine, I put a spell on you…" That's all I can really remember."
"I love that song!" Constanza exclaimed.
"You know it?"
"Yea why wouldn't I?"
"Well…. I dunno I just didn't think you'd know it that's all." Olivia replied defeated.
The rest of the class Olivia and Constanza got along pretty well talking about other songs that they both enjoyed. They were so involved in their discussion that they didn't notice Snape walk up to them.
"Excuse me but this is a potions class not a music class." Snape snapped
"Sorry professor we were only passing the time until everyone else had finished." Olivia sweetly replied. Harry who was in front of her turned to look at her like she was nuts to talk to Snape like that.
"Well for that Ms. Stanton you and Ms. Vasaturo will try your potions…now!"
"Yes Professor." Olivia replied while spooning out tow equal portions of the potion. "Well bottoms up!"
Olivia and Constanza both quickly downed their potions and waited for them to take effect. After a few minutes Olivia leaned over to Constanza and whispered something in her ear. Seconds later both girls broke into a fit of laughter.
"Ladies…I demand to know what's going on." Snape practically yelled. And what everyone expected didn't come when the girls responded.
"This is a A, B conversation so C your way out of it." Olivia and Constanza replied before breaking into another fit of laughter.
The rest of the class Olivia and Constanza sat there making all sorts of jokes that only the two of them heard or found funny. Snape was more then slightly miffed that their potion had actually worked and even more so that he couldn't take points because he made them take the potion. Soon enough the class was over and the potion wore off on the Slytherin and Gryffindor. They each went their separate ways with a 'Goodbye' and 'See you in Defense' nearly shocking every student and teacher present.
* * *
By the time Olivia and Constanza got to the Defense Against the Dark Arts room they were much more sedate and slightly afraid to look at each other. They had both gotten many lectures from their various house members. 'She's a Slytherin…She's evil' and 'She's in Gryffindor what are you a mudblood?'. The girls had gotten along well for being in enemy houses but they barely acknowledged each other as they sat as far away from each other as possible.
"Good Afternoon class." Professor Fireoza greeted walking into the classroom followed closely by Professor Lupin. "Today we will be working in pairs to work on your deflecting shield."
"You may pick your own pairs as long as the spells are kept to innocent ones." Professor Lupin added looking at Malfoy while saying it.
Olivia happened to glance around the room the same time that Constanza did, when they caught each other's eye a mischievous grin grew on both their lips. Olivia made the excuse that she wanted to work with someone different when Harry asked to be her partner and began to roam the room. Constanza did the same and soon the girls stood in front of each other. The class saw this and held their breath to see what would happen.
"Do you have a partner?" Constanza timidly asked Olivia
"No…do you?" Olivia replied
"Nope…wanna be partners?"
"Sure."
The girls found a spot and began to duel trying out their shields. Malfoy and his gang were fuming that a Slytherin would willingly work with a Gryffindor mudblood. Harry was a little confused but Ron and Hermione were miffed that Olivia would work with the enemy. All this tension went un-noticed by the girls as they shot perfectly harmless spells back and forth and took turns blocking them, or trying to.
"Thank you Ms. Stanton and Ms. Vasaturo for starting the class now if everyone else would please follow suit." Professor Fireoza announced stopping the class from staring at them forever.
The next few days went by like that both girls received lectures from their various house members trying to persuade them not to be friends with each other. Each day the girls had class together they would defy their house tradition and either work together or they would walk around and talk. They didn't understand why they had to be enemies just because of a stupid tradition; in fact they rather like causing a disturbance in the traditional Hogwarts structure. Dumbledore smiled every time he saw the girls together receiving nasty looks for a Gryffindor and a Slytherin actually being friends.
"You can definitely tell that those two are the daughters of a marauder." Sirius stated on afternoon as he strolled into Remus' and his apartment.
"And why do you say that?" Remus asked amused
"They go around the school getting nasty looks for their behavior and they're smiling the whole time!"
"I still can't believe that Elizabeth was placed in Slytherin of all houses. I'm not to proud to say that my second daughter is in Slytherin." Remus voiced
"Chill Rem, you know that she belongs in Gryffindor its just that they can't know each others true identity yet."
"I know but I didn't think that they were even supposed to be friends."
"I'm as clueless as you on that on Rem."
Just then the door flew open and Sirius immediately changed back into his dog form. The door closed softly and the voice of Eve floated into the living room.
"Remus…Uncle Si?" Eve called out venturing into the apartment.
"We're in here Eve." Remus called back.
"Hi"
"Hi hun…what brings you here?" Remus questioned his daughter.
"I-I just had to get away from everyone."
"Who would everyone be?" Sirius asked
"Ron, Hermione, and even Harry are being ass hole about me and Constanza being friends."
"Young lady please watch your mouth." Remus interjected
"Sorry…it's just that I'm so fed up with this…why can't everyone just accept it?"
"What's Harry doing?" Sirius asked upset that his godson wasn't being fair to his goddaughter.
"Its not so much Harry it's just that Ron and Hermione finally roped him into believing that Constanza is as bad as every other Slytherin and is only friends with me so that she can get to Harry."
"Why are they saying that?"
"I don't know I think the Slytherin and Gryffindor rivalry is too imbedded into their minds to think any differently. It's getting to a point where Ron barely speaks to me." Eve was now close to tears. She considered Ron and Harry two of her best friends and all the sudden they were abandoning her because she made a new friend.
Remus saw his daughter was truly upset about this whole ordeal and pulled her into a reassuring and loving hug.
"It's ok Eve I'm sure that they'll get over it in time. Maybe they just need to get to know Constanza better to see what you see in her. I'm sure that they won't abandon your friendship over something as silly as this."
Eve pulled away from her father with an appreciative smile and dried her damp eyes. 'I sure hope your right' she thought to herself as she walked back to the Gryffindor common room five minutes later.
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So what's going to happen between Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Olivia? Will the other three accept Constanza the Slytherin as a friend or as an enemy along with Olivia?
I'm really sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter out but it just took me a long time to get the inspiration the write this chapter. I'm hoping to get another chapter out this weekend as well but I'm not making any promises.
Shout-out to J.London: Thanks for the song…I couldn't have come up with it without you!
And once again Reviews and comments are always appreciated.
Luv ya
~Autumn