(Please bear in mind that I hadn't read OotP when I wrote this, so in my world, the boys can go into the girls rooms…)
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: TATTOO
Friday, 12th February 1999
Draco, Blaise and the other Slytherins sat in the common room, waiting for their newest housemate to come down so they could have their monthly house meeting that was always held on the first Friday of every month.
"Are you sure she knows about the meeting?" Claire McNair asked.
Blaise and Draco, the two people who knew her best, exchanged glances and sighed.
"Probably not," Blaise said. "I'll go get her."
Draco stood up as well. "We'll go get her."
Blaise nodded and she and Draco wandered back towards the girls rooms. Blaise knocked loudly on the door.
"Yeah?" came the small voice behind the door.
"Hey, it's Blaise," she called out. "Can Malfoy and I come in?"
"Yeah sure," Buffy called back.
Blaise and Draco entered the room, both of them looking around in interest. They'd never seen a single room before, and they were surprised by how clean Buffy kept her living space. Draco wandered over to the training area that Buffy was currently in.
She was in a tank top and sweat pants, halfway through a training session. Her hair was swept up into a loose bun, completely off her back.
"What's up?" Buffy asked, stretching out her muscles.
"There's a uh…a meeting," Draco said, unable to keep his eyes off the blonde girl as she stretched. Blaise rolled her eyes, trying not to snort with laughter at the obvious attraction Draco felt towards Buffy. "In the Common Room."
"Oh. Cool," Buffy replied. "Right now?"
Draco nodded. Buffy sighed and turned away. Draco squinted as he saw something black in the middle of her shoulders. He moved forward, hoping it wasn't some kind of insect. He touched her shoulders, and Buffy gasped at the touch, turning quickly.
"Is that a tattoo?" Draco asked.
Buffy reached up to her shoulders, annoyed at herself for not keeping the tattoo covered. She nodded.
"Yeah."
Blaise moved towards them and studied the tattoo. She raised her eyebrows, wondering if her new friend could possibly be any more mysterious.
"Does it mean anything?" Blaise asked.
"It looks familiar," Draco added.
Buffy sighed and walked towards her bed, pulling a long-sleeved shirt and a jacket over her tank-top. She ducked behind the curtain of her four-poster bed and changed into a pair of jeans before emerging to answer the question.
"It does mean something, but…I'd really rather not say what," she explained.
Draco narrowed his eyes. He didn't like being out of the loop on things. He knew he'd seen the design before, but he just couldn't remember where he would have seen it. He wondered if it was some sort of a muggle symbol for something. Then again, if it was a muggle symbol, he wouldn't have recognised it.
He made a mental note to try and remember where he'd seen the icon.
"So…are we going?" Buffy asked.
Blaise and Draco nodded, walking back towards the Common Room for a meeting that had no real relevance to anything. It was just a monthly update of any changes that were made within the school. Mostly it was just a reminder for students that they were being monitored at all times.
Snape had kept his eyes on Buffy for most of the time that he had been reprimanding students for their behaviour. Buffy hadn't flinched and had met his gaze every single time. She wasn't about to be called a coward by a Professor. He was no different from Snyder.
When the meeting had ended, the Seventh Years gathered around the fire, discussing their plans for the rest of the week, talking about their assignments and other more exciting things like Quidditch practise and the next Slytherin match which wasn't for another month.
"So, explain this whole House Cup thing to me," Buffy said, looking at the other Seventh Years.
"The houses all compete for a Cup," Pansy said sarcastically. "It's really not that complex."
Buffy rolled her eyes, and promised to herself that if she ever saw Cordelia again, she would apologise for thinking that Cordelia had been the biggest bitch on the planet. She'd been proven wrong.
"Well, whilst Pansy was being bitchy about it," Blaise said with a smirk, "she's not entirely wrong. The four houses compete for points, and at the end of the year, the house with the most points wins the cup. It's this huge deal mostly. Unfortunately, Slytherin hasn't won in years."
"Who usually wins it?" Buffy asked curiously.
The Seventh Years all groaned simultaneously. "Gryffindor," Draco, Blaise, Claire and Keeta all complained in unison.
"All because of Saint Potter and his friends," Draco complained. "Dumbledore favours them above everyone else."
"It's bloody annoying," Blaise agreed.
"So, what d'you gotta do to get points?" Buffy asked.
"Answer questions right, win Quidditch, be generally helpful," came the mixed answers of the group.
"It's kinda funny watching Snape take points of the Gryff's during Potions though," Claire added with a giggle.
The other Slytherins all laughed and nodded.
"Careful what you say in front of the muggle-lover," Pansy said snidely, pointing to Buffy. "She might take offence and start…killing people randomly."
Buffy froze. Those were the exact words that Ethan had said to her after the DADA lesson on Monday. She forced herself to laugh as the others began laughing as well, thinking it was a joke. Buffy kept her eyes on Pansy, trying to read the other girl.
Buffy could tell that Pansy was going to try destroying Buffy's reputation, not by using untrue rumours, but by using any piece of truth that she could pick up from the Professors. Ethan's diatribe the other day had given Pansy the perfect ammunition, and Buffy could only hope that Pansy didn't piece together the entire Buffy-puzzle.
Blaise and Draco didn't seem to notice Pansy's choice of words, and Buffy was thankful for it. She knew that her two friends would begin asking her more questions, especially after what they'd heard Ethan saying. It would only be a matter of time before the truth actually came out, and Buffy was not looking forward to that day.
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Sneak preview of chapter eighteen:
The two teens unconsciously licked their lips simultaneously, hesitantly moving closer to each other. Draco wasn't entirely sure what he was doing, but he knew what he wanted with a desperate ache. Buffy closed her eyes as…
I'm a tease and I know…*clap clap* Thanks for your reviews and emails!!
Toodles.