The next morning at breakfast and lunch that afternoon the four sat discussing all sorts of absurd things they could do to Draco, including things that couldn't possibly be done in Hogwarts: ideas involving prank phone calls in the middle of the night and treasure hunts to find his toothpaste, or Potions homework…stupid stuff like that. None of the ideas were that do-able, but they had fun talking about them anyway.
After laughing about an insane idea involving live raccoons and peanut butter, Victoria looked up at the sound of fluttering near the ceiling. Mail time. Despite the fact that she was sitting at the wrong table, her parents' owl was still able to find her. "Hello Porgy," she said to the owl while affectionately scratching his neck as she detached the letter from his leg. As soon as she was finished, he hooted once and soared back out the open window.
I didn't expect them to write to me so soon, Victoria sighed as she opened the letter.
Walter and I are going on a trip. We are not able to give more information then that. We may receive owls, but this is the last one from us you will get for a while. I hope everything is alright.
Constance
Walter and I? Not dad and I, but Walter. No "love mom," but instead just a cold signature at the bottom… Victoria was pissed. They always did this to her, but this time it was as though they didn't want someone who may read the letter to know they were talking to their daughter! At least this time she wouldn't be left alone while they were gone. She wrinkled the letter in her fist and savored the sound it made before stuffing it in her pocket and standing up.
"What's up?" asked Ron curiously. He had obviously seen her destroy her letter.
"Oh nothing. Just my parents being their usual loving selves. I have to go, though. I may sit with you tonight at dinner, if you don't mind."
There was a chorus of "not at all's" and "yeah sure's" from the other three that put a brief smile on her face before she bid them goodbye and walked stiff-backed out of the Great Hall.
When she got back to the Slytherin common room her temper was almost too much for her to handle. She sprinted to the 6th year girls' dorm and proceeded to hex everything she owned. After all her clothes were splayed across the room and hanging at random places, she began to scream and kick her bed.
I hate them!! I HATE THEM!!!! She thought savagely. She kicked at the bedpost one more time before allowing herself to fall face first into her bed, sobbing loudly. She thought she heard a noise near the door, but when she looked up, she saw nothing, and so resumed her crying.
Ten minutes later, thanking whoever would listen that no one had walked in while she had shown such weakness, she sat up and looked at her reflection, cringing as she saw the red puffiness of her eyes. "I hate them," she whispered to her reflection.
She stood and, using a spell her mother had taught her when she was eight, she gathered all her clothes together, and with a flick of her wrist, folded them and lay them gently back into her trunk.
She looked at the clock and saw that she had only another 10 minutes before Transfiguration. Not enough time to let her face cool on its own. Looking back into the mirror, she cast an ice charm on her face. The soothing coolness reduced the redness and lessened the puffiness slightly. Enough that she was sure no one would notice she'd be crying.
She then grabbed her things and headed to the Transfiguration room. When she walked in, five minutes later, she saw Draco flinch and try to hide himself against the far right wall. She wasn't in the mood. She took a seat in the back left corner. Draco watched her the whole time, and she saw, out of the corner of her eye, that he sighed and slumped in his seat when she sat down so far from him.
Others entered right after her. When she saw Harry, Ron and Hermione walk in, she ducked down, as though looking for something under her desk, until the three sat down. Near the front, thankfully. Pansy came in not long after and made to walk towards Draco…until she saw Victoria sitting off by herself. With a very wicked smile on her face, Pansy walked toward her.
Victoria thought she'd rather eat her parents' owl alive then have Pansy sit next to her when she was in this mood, but unfortunately, Porgy wasn't around, so she didn't have that option.
Pansy settled herself next to Victoria and smiled again. If she smiled like that one more time, Victoria was afraid she might not be able to restrain herself. They'd be sending Pansy to the nurse with instructions to dislodge a wand from her pug-like nose. And that wouldn't be very good, because then Victoria wouldn't be able to participate in any hands on wand lessons for the next several hours afterwards.
The class had started and Professor McGonagall was giving instructions on how to turn a Doberman Pincher into a pair of pliers when Pansy decided to talk.
"Have a good cry?" she whispered savagely.
Victoria paled. Someone had walked in. Oh cripes! Why did it have to be Pansy?
She sighed. "Oh, I couldn't help it. I accidentally looked over at lunch and saw you eating, and the sight so traumatized me that I couldn't contain my tears of repulsion," she whispered with a break in her voice, so as to make it sound like she was going to cry again. She allowed her lower lip to tremble a bit, as though fighting back tears before she set her attention back on Professor McGonagall.
She heard Pansy growl beside her and just barely suppressed a smile. That's two for Victoria: nil for Pansy.
As the class worked individually for the next hour, Victoria had an even harder time than she usually did in Transfiguration. The raven she was supposed to be turning into an alarm clock kept pecking at her and Pansy's insistent chuckles kept breaking her concentration. Transfiguration had always been one of Victoria's worst classes and sitting next to Pansy wasn't going to make it any better. If it weren't for the fact that the raven seemed just as annoyed with Pansy as she was (it began to peck at her instead of Victoria after only a few minutes) she wasn't sure she would have gotten through the class.
But it finally ended and as she walked out, Victoria thankfully retreated back into her own mind. She had divinations next, and if the rumors she'd heard earlier were true, Professor Trelawney would probably like her more if she seemed distant and completely out of it…like Professor Trelawney herself was. She had also heard that Trelawney wasn't the only Divinations teacher, but since both Professors had to have a class, those late to enroll were not given the choice of whose class they wanted to be in. Personally, Victoria would have loved to take a class with a Centaur. They were so majestic and intelligent. He was probably the only Centaur ever to teach humans, too, but she wasn't in his class because her parents had waited too dang long. She sighed and continued walking up to the tower.
She was thinking hard, which is why, when she climbed into the murky incense clouded room her eyes were glazed over, keeping her from noticing the figure in front of her…until she knocked into it.
"Oof!" was the only sound she heard before looking up and seeing Platinum blonde hair. She jumped back and tried to pretend like nothing had happened before he turned around. Too late. Draco turned toward her with a sneer that was quickly replaced by a look of horror. He jumped back just like she had.
Despite the mood she was in, Victoria couldn't help but smile and raise an eyebrow knowingly. The sneer, however, quickly came back to Draco's face, making Victoria sigh. Why was everyone getting their backbones today of all days? Couldn't she just torment people without them doing so back? No, I suppose not.
"Watch where you're going, Vicky," he spat at her.
She started batting her eyelashes. "Why do I need to look where I'm going when all I do is follow you, Duckling?" And, making good of her words, she followed a very disgruntled Draco to a table and sat down next to him, pulling her poof closer to his so as to annoy him further.
Trelawney swept in with a clink of bracelets and necklaces as she surveyed the class through very thick spectacles. One word came to Victoria's mind: moth.
"Hello again sixth years. I knew I would be seeing you, but it's so nice to see you in reality and not just in my visions. I see we have a new sixth year. I knew it would be so. Please, stand up and introduce yourself." She beckoned to Victoria, who shook her head as politely as she could. This was like transferring to a new class in grade school.
"Come now, don't be shy."
Victoria rolled her eyes as she stood to the sound of Draco's sniggers.
"I am Victoria Taliaferro." Sweet and simple.
Trelawney looked at her as though expecting more. Seeing that she wouldn't be getting any, the Professor huffed and looked at her closer. When their noses were but three inches apart, Trelawney gasped and pulled away as though frightened.
"Oh, my dear!" she cooed. "One of your parents is destined to die on their journey this week." Half the class rolled their eyes, but a couple of Gryffindor girls near the front gasped also. Victoria just looked at her impassively. They stayed like that for several minutes, Trelawney obviously hoping for more of a reaction. When she didn't get one, she huffed again and turned back to the rest of the class.
"Since we had some delays in my teaching last year, due to unforeseeable circumstances – I of course knew they were coming, but there was nothing I could do about them! – my teaching last year was cut a bit short. I would like to finish off the unit on dreams. This means you will be working in pairs. Partner with someone at your own table." Draco groaned.
Victoria turned and smiled at him. He wouldn't look at her. After a few minutes, when they were still sitting like that, Trelawney walked over to them. "Is there a problem?"
"Well, kind of, Professor," Victoria began speaking before Draco could do more than open his mouth. "You see, I'm having problems interpreting a dream of Draco's" the name burned on her tongue, but she couldn't very well call him a nickname in front of this coot. "It involved me holding a butcher knife above my head and chasing after him. I just can't figure what it means."
For the second time in two days, Draco fell out of his chair.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Thanks always to A.M. Winters for being my beta reader.
Sarah Sparrow: Thanks! I'm glad you like it.
Spaced Out Space Cadet: Well, here you go, I didn't stop writing :) I hope I continue to get new reviewers, though.
Currer Bell: Thanks for the long review. I know she's a sue, but I love her anyway ;)