For the next couple of weeks nothing of interest happened.
In Defense Against the Dark Arts Moody was acting annoying as usual. Aside from telling us himself that the three unforgivable curses were illegal and highly punishable by wizarding law he decided to try the Imperius Curse on each of us. His defense was that he was preparing us, demonstrating the effects of the curse but for all we knew he was just doing this for kicks. All of us took our turn under the Imperius Curse as Moody made different students do jumps, sprints, and other pointless movements. When it came time for my turn it wasn't as simple as it had been for the others. Thanks to my father's training I did better than Moody had expected at resisting, yet not as well as I would have wanted. Still, it was better than most of the rest of the class.
As for the other classes…
In Transfigurations we were given quite a bit of homework. Professor McGonagall's reasoning was that we were nearing the fifth year O.W.L.s examinations and needed more preparation. Since I planned on becoming a Healer after graduating from Hogwarts I didn't complain seeing as I needed an "Exceeds Expectations" on that, among a few other classes. History of Magic was still boring. Charms was okay. Professor Snape had us learning antidotes in Potions. Personally I found poisons far more interesting but it was good to have a well-rounded knowledge I suppose. And as for Arithmancy, it was becoming more of a hassle but still doable. I did spend quite a bit of time helping Draco with his work. It wouldn't have been that bad if he didn't spend the whole time reassuring himself that he knew just as much as I did but was just checking his work. And of course he was lying to himself and would be failing the class if not for me.
Care of Magical creatures had gotten better. Although it was still a mystery what the Blast-Ended Shrewts ate we had ruled out snakes as a possibility and I was very happy about that. With those slithering beasts out of the way our project to care for the shrewts was actually kind of fun. Professor Hagrid looked very happy with his creatures too. He even suggested we all take time to come down to his hut to study them and take notes on their behavior. Of course this idea was not taken enthusiastically by most of the class.
"I will not" Draco stated flatly at Professor Hagrid's suggestion. Draco crossed his arms defiantly as I rolled my eyes next to him. "I see enough of these foul things during lessons, thanks."
"Yeh'll do wha' yer told," Hagrid replied with a sullen face, "or I'll be takin' a leaf outta Professor Moody's book… I hear yeh made a good ferret, Malfoy."
At that the Gryffindors roared in laughter. My guess was the other Slytherins would have laughed too but were holding it back in defiance to the Gryffindors. Draco's face flushed red with anger. I reached out and grabbed his arm before he did anything stupid. He gave me a look but leaned against me and stayed quiet for the remainder of the lesson.
"You didn't throw a fit about Malfoy being called a ferret this time" Theodore noted as we headed back to the castle at the end of class.
"No I didn't" I granted not adding anything else.
"And why not?" Draco asked sounding irritated.
"Are you really surprised Professor Hagrid would say that to you? You've spent every single class we've had with him complaining and putting him down. You also tried to get him fired last year after Buckbeak hurt you even though you were the one provoking him and were fine after about two days."
"So?" he muttered looking away. I smiled up at him and patted his head which didn't help his mood.
"I'm not saying anything, not this time. If he brings it up again… I'll have a word with him." My conclusion seemed to satisfy him. That and he probably wanted to avoid the lecture I would give on his conduct in class if he pressed the subject.
Once we reached the castle we walked into the Entrance Hall but were blocked off by the surprising amount of students gathered inside. All looked to be standing at the foot of the marble staircase, staring at a sign. I moved a little closer to the Great Hall doors momentarily ignoring the crowd. But, being the curious cat I am, I lingered a little longer as I thought of a way to get to the sign without having to push my way through.
"Ooh I wonder what's happening" Daphne said excitedly, quickly making her way next to me. Draco rolled his eyes at her.
"You're right, Greengrass. You never butt into other people's business" he remarked sarcastically coming to stand at the other side of me. I let out a laugh and Draco smirked at me. Considering the comment I was expecting Daphne to roll her eyes or whine about being picked on but instead she smiled back at Draco.
"Keep insulting me Draco and we'll see if I don't tell a certain someone a certain secret of yours" Daphne said playfully but Draco's smile faded.
"You wouldn't"
"Want to try me?" Daphne replied with a smirk. Draco frowned and I did too.
"What secret to whom?" I asked curious to see if I knew the secret too. The look on his face told me I didn't. I frowned again. "What secret?"
"The Triwizard Tournament"
"The Triwizard Tournament?" I repeated as Blaise joined our group. He nodded and pointed to the crowd behind him that had still not dispersed.
"That's what everyone's here for. There's an announcement. Apparently the other two schools competing will be arriving next week" Blaise answered with a shrug. Figures he would know since he didn't have Care of Magical Creatures and didn't have to walk here all the way from the Forbidden Forest. But that was good since now I didn't have to make my way through the crowd.
"Well now we know so let's get to dinner" Draco mumbled and separated from us. I smiled at his obvious attempt to avoid answering my earlier question. Still, I followed him as did the rest of them.
"Is that all it said?" Theodore asked Blaise as they made their way to their seats.
"The students competing from the other two schools are supposed to be getting here at 6 on the 30th." Blaise clarified. "We're to leave half an hour early from our last lesson on Friday and go greet them in the front of the castle. And we have to drop off our things in our rooms" he answered with a yawn.
"Oh that sounds fun!" Daphne exclaimed, a lot more enthusiastic than Blaise was about the news. "Which schools are they again?"
"Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and Durmstrang Institute" Theo answered, shaking his head and smiling at her. "Yeah, I'm interested to see the difference between our schools, especially Durmstrang."
"They're the ones that teach Dark Arts right?" Daphne asked. Theo nodded as he grabbed some of the chicken on the table. "Draco you were going to go there weren't you. And you Katerina; weren't you going to go too? Why didn't..."
She drifted off as she realized where the conversation would lead. I smiled a small smile at her and grabbed a piece of Yorkshire pudding without a word. She didn't say anything either, which was very uncharacteristic of her. But people always avoided the subject of my brother either because they knew it upset me or because talking about the dead made them uncomfortable. Everyone still thought he was dead after all. And even though he wasn't, it still hurt me to think of how the chances of me seeing him were growing smaller and smaller as time passed. The rest of dinner was spent in meaningless small talk
After dinner I decided to spend some time with Hermione rather than go straight to the dungeon. I knew no one would bring up the subject of my brother again but I still chose not to go. It was annoying seeing everyone turn to me occasionally with the same pitiful expression on their face. So instead of dealing with that I headed to the library for a little while.
"S.P.E.W." Hermione stated happily showing me a blue badge with the same letters written on it.
"Okay… What's all this for?" I asked taking the badge from her. She seemed rather excited about them so I assumed she had a good reason.
"It stands for the Society for the Promoting of Elfish Welfare." Guess I was wrong…
"Again, what's all this for?"
"It's an organization I began" she answered in a tired tone, as if I was only one of the many people to ask this of her. "Two sickles and you can join; it's to raise funds. Elves are under paid and overworked. We have to help them!"
"Wait, do you mean house elves?" I asked looking back up from the badge. "But they like working"
"Oh no, not you too!" Hermione exclaimed loud enough to earn us a not-so-friendly look from the librarian.
"What?" I asked Hermione once we were away from the glares of Madam Pince; I didn't understanding Hermione's tone. "And what do you mean by me 'too'?"
"You're just like Ron" Hermione sighed shaking her head slightly.
"How am I in any way like Ron?" I laughed at her remark. He and I must have been polar opposites, except for the age I suppose. She still looked upset but she let out a small laugh.
"Well he said the same thing about house elves. But how can anyone like being enslaved?" she muttered with a slight catch in her throat.
"It gives them something to do" I shrugged. Hermione was a passionate person and was overreacting if you asked me but sometimes one just had to humor people. She was a Muggle so I doubted she understood what house elves were like. Also, because they were usually reserved for the higher classes, she had probably never seen one until recently. Considering the small size of her home I doubted she even had use for a house elf; they liked to be kept busy.
"So you won't join?" asked Hermione with a little pout. I smiled at her and shook my head.
"I'll be more than happy to help with the funding but I don't think you understand that house elves don't mind. It's actually when they don't have something to do that they become anxious. But knowing you, you've already made up your mind so good luck."
As I walked back to the dungeon I thought about Hermione's "cause". I didn't agree with her aims but in truth I doubted she would get far with it. People usually didn't listen to those our age; unless they had connections. That and there have been far too many years of custom to change any time soon. House elves liked working and, I wouldn't tell her but, I had one, actually two, house elves. I just liked Bonny the best so I usually only thought of her. But it was still cute to see her trying to change things.
Once inside the Slytherin common room I saw my usual group sitting around the fireplace. As I got closer I slowed my pace. They were talking but it was in hushed voices. And from their body language it was clear they were really trying to keep others from hearing. I stopped a little away, standing by one of the chess tables nearby. Since I didn't know if this was a conversation they would be willing to share with me I chose to listen from afar.
"This is stupid" Pansy whined, crossing her arms. "I am not doing this."
"Yes, you are" Draco told her with a look. "We all are."
"What, so we're not going to talk about that just because she's a baby? That's her problem not mine" Pansy went on. Theodore rubbed his forehead and gave her a look, meaning Pansy had been complaining for a while. No surprise there.
"You know very well we can't speak of him in front of her. He was her brother after all" he sighed running a hand though his hair. Were they… talking about Nikolai?
"For once could you at least pretend you're not a bitch" Blaise smiled at her. I had to smile too. She rolled her eyes at him and leaned back against the couch.
"So, he's dead, big deal" Pansy stated sarcastically. "People die all the time. My brother died too." I blinked realizing I never knew that about her. Then again, I didn't really care for Pansy or her life.
"You've never had a brother" Daphne rolled her eyes. Oh. Well she would know.
"If I did have one, and he had died, I would be over it by now. It's his own fault anyway. Stupid bloodtraitor deserved to die. To think—"
"Shut it" Draco growled shutting her up. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he did whenever he got too frustrated. "I don't care what you think and I don't care what you would've done. You will not speak of him, or anything relating to him, while she's around. Got it"
"But—"
"But nothing" Draco snapped making Pansy shrink back. "You have plenty of other things to complain about but you will not speak of him." I smiled and I could tell Daphne was trying to hide smile. While we knew Pansy annoyed Draco it wasn't often that he put her in her place.
"Fine" Pansy said in an irritated but small voice. She hated when he spoke back to her since Draco usually enjoyed her talking down about people. But she refused to understand that I was special.
Pansy stood up and started walking to the stairs of our dormitory. She paused when she saw me. The others turned and saw me too. All had surprised and worried expressions, wondering if I had overheard. It was nice of them to worry, especially since I was still a little upset about wedding but in truth it would do no good for them to know I had been listening. So I pretended otherwise.
"Hey, I'm back" I greeted with a genuine looking smile. I paused as if only now noticing their expressions and tried to make mine look confused. "What is it?"
"None of your business. We already have one annoying and intrusive brat in the group we don't need another" Blaise remarked readjusting himself in his seat.
"Hey!" Daphne complained hitting him lightly in the arm.
"You do realize he never said a name" I laughed and sat next to Draco. The rest of them laughed too happy I dropped the subject. Pansy left rather quickly.
The rest of the time was spent with mindless conversation, mostly by Daphne. Theo nodded politely at her but kept staring into a book. Blaise made "uh huh" sounds but continued looking around the room, occasionally stopping at something he found interesting. Draco took advantage of their otherwise engrossed states and leaned into me to talk.
"Did you hear what we were talking about?" he whispered knowing me well enough to know I was probably spying. I gave him small smile then turned to look into the fireplace. He sighed. "Look we—"
"Do you usually talk about him when I'm not around?" I asked, having thought of how they had mentioned it a decent amount of times. Draco sighed again.
"Not often but it has come up" he said quietly looking away so it wasn't obvious we were talking. "They still don't know, don't worry. They just thought it best not to bring up his 'death'."
"Thank you" I mumbled with a small smile. His posture shifted as he looked back to me.
"You know I won't tell"
"I meant for not lying to me" I clarified and turned to him to smile again. "Thank you"
"Don't think too much into it. I just knew you'd find out if I was lying anyway" Draco mumble making me laugh. He really hated being the good guy. I hugged his arm as the others turned to us. Daphne smiled at me then turned back to the boys to continue her one-sided conversation. By their irritated and astonished faces I was sure the two had no idea Daphne had still been talking.
After a little more time of Daphne rambling, as the rest of us mostly ignored her, we finally headed up to our rooms. Daphne and I said goodbye to the boys and started up the stairs.
"So what was the secret?" I asked once we were far enough away that Draco wouldn't hear us.
"Whatever do you mean?" she asked batting her eyelashes innocently. I rolled my eyes at her.
"You know very well what I mean. Draco's secret that apparently I don't know about."
"Oh that" Daphne smiled and shrugged. "How should I know?"
"Try again" I smiled back. She sighed and climbed the stairs a little more slowly so we didn't get there too soon as I assumed Pansy was still there.
"Why don't you ask him? Like he doesn't tell you everything already." I gave her a look and she sighed again. "Well… actually he paid me off, okay. I can't tell you. Well not just you but anyone."
"How much?" I asked a little curious to see what this secret was worth to him.
"Enough that I'm willing to keep it from you. So please don't make me tell or he'll make me give it back" she asked pouting and making a face that resembled a puppy asking for a treat.
"Fine" I sighed as she clapped happily to herself. "I'll just make him tell me himself later or something."
"Thank you" Daphne cooed and started climbing a little faster up the stairs. "I'll buy you lunch next time we're at Hogsmeade"
"Yeah yeah" I smiled and followed after her. If Draco was willing to pay Daphne enough that she would stop herself from gossiping then he really didn't wasn't people to find out. So I guess I could let him have this… for now. I would make him tell me eventually, just not in the near future.