Title: There's a Place For Me
Rating: M for Magnificent!
Summary: When a Slytherin meets a Hufflepuff, things aren't going to come out exactly as planned. Cunning and sinister, Draco Malfoy would do anything for power, which includes serving under the Dark Lord. Jovial and shy, Russell Sonier never asked for this…
Warnings: Good, old, reliable slash! ("Now children, when a boy fancies a boy…")
Genre: Romance, Action/Adventure, Humor
Disclaimer: Oops, forgot this the last time! J. K. Rowling sits up there with the high and mighty, including Robert Frost and Garth Nix, among others. I, however, am merely a lowly peasant.
Author's Notes: Alas, a second chapter. That is all.
"I tear my heart open
I sew myself shut
And my weakness is
That I care too much
And our scars remind us
That the past is real
I tear my heart open
Just to feel" --Scars by Papa Roach
Chapter Two: "Oh reality, how I loathe you so."
There was an incessant buzzing noise and Russell couldn't make out where it was coming from. His head was stuffed into the soft, feathery pillow and he was tangled in the comfortable, cotton blankets. Early morning sunlight was softly resting on him. He didn't want to get up. But that nerve-wrecking noise!
"What the hell is that sound, Sonier!" shouted Ernie Macmillan, a fellow Hufflepuff dorm-mate.
Russell shrugged into his bed and instantly got a whack with a pillow.
"Turn it off!"
Groaning, he pushed himself up with his hands and got into a groggy sitting position. He shuffled around for his wand before flicking it, the sound immediately stopping.
"Thank Donaghan Tremlett(1)!" Ernie raised his arms above his head in relief, dropping the pillow previously used as a weapon. He trotted back to his bed and fell upon it.
"Well, we have to wake up anyway," Justin Flinch-Fletchey(2) reasoned. Justin had, apparently, also been awakened by the magical alarm(3), because his thick black hair wasn't parted as usual, it was tangled all over the top of his head, giving him the appearance of a rabid kneazle.
"Next time, Sonier, keep it down," Ernie said, deciding Justin was right as he slipped out of his pajama shirt to put on school clothes. Ernie glanced to his right and once again brought up the pillow, tossing it with Quidditch skills at Benjamin Fenwick(4). "Wake up!"
Ben rolled over and mumbled something incoherent, while swatting away the offending pillow. Ernie went on a ramble about something while the other two Hufflepuff boys continued getting dressed.
Russell clutched onto the strap of his bag as he shuffled into the Great Hall, walking at his normal slow pace. A fair amount of students were already there, eating, chattering, and looking over their schedules for that day. Sighing in his usual crestfallen manner, he sat down on the far, and empty, end of the Hufflepuff's designated table.
He paid no attention to when the owls flew by. He never got any mail anyway. As soon as he finished eating a bowl of cereal, he slipped his schedule from a pocket of his bag.
He had Defense Against the Dark Arts first, with the Slytherins. Being in a class with the Slytherins was the worst. They hated him. Not that anyone from even his own house was particularly fond of him, but they didn't hex him whenever a professor wasn't looking either.
He stuffed the sheet back into his bag, not bothering to fold it up properly. Tossing his bag over his slouching shoulder, he made his way to the classroom that would bring just another day in the horrible life of Russell Sonier(5). Joy, oh beautiful joy.
"Okay class! Today we'll be pairing off to start a project on…" the professor paused for effect. "Veritaserum!"
Draco could laugh at the irony.
The professor was some woman that was a Hogwarts alumni, apparently. Professor Harris(6) was her name. She had messy brown hair and she was always giggling and smiling. It annoyed Draco to no end. Where did Dumbledore find these people?
"Today we won't really be doing that much except studying up on the potion, but next week we're going to be learning a bit about our partners that maybe we didn't know before. It also gives me a chance to push along that inter-house unity!" Professor Harris's face beamed and Draco thought the room might burst into flames from the heat of her shiny, white teeth. Egh, he might've puked.
And inter-house unity? Did that mean he would have to be paired with a dumb, ugly, and utterly worthless Hufflepuff? The only house to have absolutely no good characteristics? The house that was put there for the rejects that couldn't go anywhere else? Oh, if only his father knew about this…his father would stop it. He'd complain to Dumbledore and then the old idiot would have to let Draco work with a Slytherin. He wasn't letting any Hufflepuff know anything about him.
"Flinch-Fletchey, Bulstrode; Dobbs, Parkinson; Malfoy, Fenwick; Sonier, Nott…"(7)
So, he was partnered with Ben Fenwick. He supposed it wasn't as bad as being with that damn Macmillan or the retarded case that was Russell Sonier. Ben Fenwick he could live with. After all, the kid couldn't even talk. Supposedly he had been on the receiving end of a botched potion and it had ruptured his vocal chords. He could make noises, but no audible words.
Sucks to be him.
He was partnered with Theodore Nott? Oh, crikey… why didn't he just get….well, come to think of it, he wouldn't want to be paired with any of the Slytherins.
As everyone shuffled around to get seated next to their respected partners, Russell lay his head on his book and closed his eyes, trying to fight back the growing weight in his stomach. He could feel Theodore sit down, but neither of them acknowledged each other.
"Now, on pages 357 to 362, you'll find information on Veritaserum, from its history to its effects. Please get started reading with your partners. And discuss!" Professor Harris sat down at her desk, smiling, not even knowing the dreadful fate she had laid down on Russell.
He lifted his head and glanced at Theodore as he opened up his DADA book. The Slytherin didn't even speak to him, he was staring down at his own book. A slight, very slight, relief washed through Russell. Theodore was obviously uninterested and maybe he could get past this project without any physical harm.
"Discuss, boys!" Professor Harris tapped Draco's desk with her wand as she quickly made a walk-through of the room.
"How am I supposed to discuss with someone who can't even talk?" Draco said, not caring if Ben had heard him or not. "So, what do you think about this?" He vaguely pointed to any spot on the page and looked at Ben. The boy scratched at a few freckles adorning his neck and he shrugged, sniffing. "Really, how very interesting," the sarcasm dripped off of Draco's tongue like a dead opossum(8) as he flipped through the pages.
"Is there a reason you aren't reading the text, Mr. Malfoy?" Professor Harris asked, stopping once more at their desk.
"I think I need a change in partner, this guy can't seem to get his words straight," Draco said. A few Slytherins snickered but the professor didn't look amused.
"Sonier, switch partners with Mr. Fenwick," she said before going back to her desk.
Wait--partners with that kid from the closet?
Well, even if there would be a lack of intelligent conversation, at least he could talk.
"So, we meet again, you ugly bastard, you," Draco smirked as Russell situated himself in the seat next to him. Russell's pursed lips shifted in an awkward motion as he began to flip through the book to find the pages on Veritaserum.
"Could you…" he began, but cut himself off abruptly.
"Could I what? Continue, oh ruthless one," Draco said, slightly amused at Russell's feeble attempts.
"…try to…be a little nicer…I mean, we are partners…" Russell's fingers toyed with an aged corner of the book.
The blonde Slytherin next to him burst out into insane laughter. After being shushed by the professor, he let out another small laugh before shaking his head.
"How about you try being a little smarter, richer, and better looking? Then we've got a deal."
Russell's crimson red face stared hard back at the DADA book. He slouched even more in his seat than he had before.
'Partnered on a long-term project with Draco Malfoy? Oh reality, how I loathe you so.'
Author's Notes: Bwahahaha...Okay, yeah.
Schnebz: Yes! Another story! And more reviews from one of my favvie reviewers! I hope you like my new story!
Just in case you missed it...
(1)Donaghan Tremlett is the bass player for the Weird Sisters.
(2)You should know who he is, but did I spell Flinch-Fletchey right?
(3)I made this up. But wouldn't a magical alarm be totally awesome? By the way, footnotes are sweet.
(4)The last name Fenwick is from Benjy Fenwick who used to work for the Order of the Phoenix but died and only bits of him were found.
(5)He's very emo isn't he?
(6)Of course, for those who have read "When It Rains", how could I not put Kiora into this, even if she does play a small role?
(7)Did you honestly think I'd pair them together? Oh, look, I accidentally did! Teehee, silly me.
(8)I don't know why the crap I made this analogy, but isn't it cool?