To say that there are two kinds of women in the world is highly inaccurate. The females of the species come in infinite variations, and that is true no matter what the ages of the females in question. Just because the two twelve-year-old girls together at this moment were opposites did not mean there were only two kinds of girls.
One of them was a feminine girly-girl. Her hair was always just so, and she had a turned up nose some would call little and cute. Her robes were always the finest her family's ample money could buy. Pansy Parkinson had been raised to be the essence of gentility.
As yin to her yang, Millicent Bulstrode was much more forceful. Instead of softness, her features were bold, some would even say hard. It's not that she wasn't taught the same mannerly ways that Pansy knew. She usually preferred a more direct approach in her dealings, and that led these two seemingly opposite girls to their current situation.
"Will you hurry up, Millie?" Pansy complained. "I don't want to miss the Dueling Club practice. I can't wait for Draco to show Potter a thing or two."
Millicent had her back flat against the wall and was looking cautiously around the corner. She made a motion with her hand as if to quiet Pansy.
"Did you bring it?" she asked, meaning a canvas bag they were going to use for Mrs. Norris.
"Yes," Parkinson answered with a none-too-patient tone. She had already shown it to Millicent when they met in the hallway.
"Here she comes," the dark-haired girl said excitedly. "When she rounds the corner, grab her!"
"Why me? I brought the bag, and you're the one standing closer her," Pansy said logically. "You do it, Millie!"
"Fine," she complained as she took the bag from her housemate. "I wouldn't want you getting your pretty robes dirty."
Within a matter of seconds, Mrs. Norris, the Caretaker's cat, walked to the corner where the girls were hiding. Luckily for them, her human companion was nowhere in sight. Millicent lunged to capture the cat and would have had her, but the little feline had a sense about student mischief.
The cat went into full attack mode, hissing and clawing at Bulstrode while Parkinson tried to get her off her friend. The original plan of capturing the cat was completely forgotten in the excitement of the moment. Mrs. Norris climbed up Millicent's shoulder and ran away almost as quickly as she had come.
Millicent growled in frustration as Pansy bent near her on the floor. "Next time you want to capture Mrs. Norris, why don't you use a stunning spell instead of your bare hands?"
The look the dark-haired girl shot her would have reduced many people to dust, but Parkinson was made of stronger stuff.
She continued to advise Millicent. "Now let's go to the Dueling Club before anyone comes looking for us."
Bulstrode stood up and started smoothing her robes. She had little cat hairs all over her, and even if she wasn't as prim as Pansy, she didn't want to let everyone know that she'd been trying to capture the caretaker's cat.
"Did I get everything?" Millie asked.
Parkinson didn't even look at her as she hurriedly replied, "Of course. Now let's go!"
When the two girls arrived, several from both their house and Gryffindor were already there, but not enough so that they would be considered late. Pansy, ever the actress, acted as all was normal while Millicent brooded for a moment on her next plan to take the cat out of student misery. She would get another opportunity later.
