Chapter Twelve: Class Assignment
Draco walked into Defense Against the Dark Arts – his mother's class; that
felt awkward to say – not having seen Hermione since the fight. Except in Potions,
when she had sat far away from him and Weasley and Potter kept getting in the
way.
He sighed. She still wasn't there, though Weasley was. Potter wasn't, hough.
Now that was a thought. Granger with Potter. He was deep in his thoughts when
Hermione walked in. With Potter. He should have seen it before...
Narcissa walked into her sixth year Defense Against the Dark Arts class
wearing velvety robes of deep crimson, her blond hair tied back in a bun with wisps
coming out of it. The click-clack of her shoes had once again resounded through the
classroom, silencing the students.
They had obviously not forgotten her no-nonsense attitude from the last class. She
fought back a smile as she thought of the look on Pansy Parkinson's face when she
had taken points for her interruption. And to think that girl thought she would marry
Draco some day. 'Over my dead body,' thought Narcissa.
They reviewed the unforgivable curses, and other illegal spells, for the better
part of forty-five minutes, before there was a knock on the door.
"Come in," called Narcissa from the front of the room.
The door creaked open, and Severus Snape walked in.
"Yes, Severus, is there something I can help you with?" she asked.
"Actually, it is most urgent that I speak to you, Narcissa," he said, silkily.
She looked at him, obviously annoyed that anyone would interrupt her class
for a meager little chitchat. "Surely I could see you after class, Severus, as you can
see --"
"It is most urgent," he stressed, interrupting her. His eyes had something
different about them; a different gleam, you might say, and his voice had a sense of
urgency. It likely had to be about the Order.
She looked at the class. "I'll be right back. Please get started on your
assignment, it's on the board." She paused. "And if anything happens, House points
will be deducted with a fury, I promise you."
Narcissa walked out the door, Snape close behind her.
No sooner had Narcissa walked out of the class, than chaos broke out.
"Millicent," called Pansy Parkinson in a shrill voice across the room, "what's it
like sitting next to a redhead blood traitor?"
She shot Pansy a dirty look. "Almost as bad as sitting next to the 'Potty.'"
The Slytherins all broke out in laughter.
"Hey Ron," asked Harry, "what's it like sitting next to a pug-faced girl who
obviously spent too much money on the WRONG type of cosmetic surgery?"
"Well, Harry, I've tried to explain to her that what she needed was something
done to her face, but she insists that her boobs absolutely needed to be a size-D."
Now it was the Gryffindor's turn to laugh.
"And by the way," Ron continued, "What's it like sitting next to the Slytherin
WHORE? Are you getting any? Because if she throws herself that way at Malfoy,
then clearly anyone can get some of that..."
But Ron had carried it too far. In an instant, Pansy had pulled out her wand,
but not before Pavarti had seen her and yelled, "Expelliarmus" So Pansy lunged
at her. Dean tried to pull Pansy off, but Millicent sent him dancing across the room,
with a "Tarantallegra" At seeing this, Lavender disarmed Millicent, who was more
than equipped to use her fists against her. Before long, the entire class was in on it,
wands flying across the room, desks being turned over, jets of light and sparkles
flying everywhere...
And then the door opened, it's creaking silencing the fighting, as all the
students froze in their positions. Professors Malfoy and Snape walked in, the former
with a look of displeasure, the latter with a look of amusement.
"Well, it seems this class is certainly under control," said Snape. He paused,
surveying Narcissa. "I think House point deductions and detentions for Potter,
Weasl--"
"This is my class, Severus, and I shall deal out punishments as I see fit," she
interrupted, her voice firm and with a tone of finality. "Who started this?"
No one said a thing; not one hand was raised. There was an air of
apprehension in the air made no better by the presence of Professor Snape, or the
click-clack of Professor Malfoy's heels on the floor, as she waited, her patience
thinning with every moment.
"Alright, no one wants to claim responsibility? Fine. One-hundred points will
be taken from each Gryffindor and Slytherin, and..." she paused, and took out her
wand. Some students cowered, thinking she was going to hex them, but she waved
it, and writing appeared on the board, replacing the previous assignment. "I believe
the assignment on vampires can be postponed until after we deal with more pressing
matters. I thought that by sitting you like this you would learn a valuable lesson.
Apparently, your prides are much greater than I had thought, and your heads far
more inflated. In light of this... revelation, you may call it, your class will have a
special assignment." She looked around the room. "Since you can't handle dealing
with one another only in class, you will now have to spend time together outside of
it. Yes, that's right Miss Bullstrode," she said, eyeing the look of disgust on
Millicent's face. "You will spend time with your assigned class partner, and get to
know them. You will get to know them better than you know yourselves. And if you
have a problem with this, I will fail you. Yes, Mr. Weasley," she continued as Ron
went to voice and objection, "it is perfectly in my power to do so." Narcissa looked
around at the menacing and appalled faces in the room. Professor Snape, however,
seemed to be in quite a jovial mood. She carried on, "you are to interview the
person, eat lunch with the person at least twice a week, and believe me, Miss
Parkinson," she said as Pansy went to mouth something to Millicent across the room,
"I will know whether or not you have. This assignment will last as long as I see fit,
that is, until you all learn to get along. At the end, you will write a report, length to
be determined at a future date, about what you have learned, both about that
person, and applicable to life beyond school. My intent, as I stated previously, is to
get you ready for what awaits you once you leave the doors of this castle at the end
of your seventh year, to get you ready for the real world, where you will have to
learn to work together if you are to succeed. I know you will not disappoint me..."
Author's Note
Hope you enjoyed the three new chapters (I enjoyed writing them – especially the
last one, laughs evilly)... I'll be updating again tomorrow (hopefully cough site
overload, cough, cough)... The class assignment, project, whatever you want to
call it, starts next chapter, and of course, Quidditch season approaches!!! Yay!!!
Thanks to all my beloved reviewers (and to everyone who hasn't, please R&R, it
makes my day, really; it puts a smile on my face, and trust me, what I need more
than anything right now is a bit of happiness...) Thanks for your time:)
E. C. Miltoni