It was a late night in November when Draco and Pansy came into the common room from their prefect duties to find their friends gathered around the fire, chatting. Pansy flopped down tiredly beside Patricia as Draco loosened his tie and sat on the back of the couch where Crabbe and Goyle were pretending not to stare at Julia and Phoebe, two girls they had the hots for.
"That was exhausting," Pansy muttered absently as Draco stretched the stiffness out of his shoulders. "I'm glad you're my partner," she said, leaning her head back on the couch to look up at him, "otherwise it would be unbearable."
Draco didn't respond. Patrolling the castle halls with Pansy was the exhausting part, and he was positive that almost any other girl would have made it less a chore. Still, he would rather have her affection, overbearing as it sometimes was, than not, so he kept his mouth shut.
"Ready for the match this weekend?" Goyle asked him.
"Absolutely," Draco muttered, rubbing his neck. "Quidditch is just what I need after the week I've had…"
Between classes, prefect duties, and his contributions to Umbridge's new inquisitorial squad, he was finding himself stretched a bit thin. Not that he wasn't enjoying himself… His authority as a prefect was sublime and hunting down Umbridge's offenders was equally entertaining. It was merely the fact he was left with almost no free time that was beginning to take its toll. Quidditch practice and matches had become the one place for him to let off steam.
"Ravenclaw won't know what hit 'em," Crabbe chipped in, a bag of crisps in one hand. Draco plucked one from the back and munched, peckish from the evening patrol.
"Back from your charity work?" Pansy tittered, and all eyes immediately turned to where Locke Hayden had just walked through the portrait and into the common room.
Hayden had thick, dark hair with warm, brown eyes and tawny skin. With her voluptuous curves and height and that fierce personality, she was the opposite of Grey in every way, yet the two had formed a strong friendship. Which also meant that Pansy had taken to harassing the girl every chance she got for her friendships outside of their house.
Hayden stiffened uncomfortably with so many eyes on her but her face was hard as stone. She wasn't intimidated in the slightest by Pansy. In fact, she rolled her eyes and started across the common room toward the dormitories.
"And how is Lady Gravefoot?" Pansy asked. It was her nickname for Grey. When they were younger, her pale complexion and slight frame made her seem sickly and it had quickly become one of Pansy's favorite taunts. She doesn't look sickly anymore, he thought. But that didn't stop Pansy from using it. "Still breathing?"
"Don't be so jealous, Pansy. It's not becoming."
"Jealous?" she shrieked. "Of that stick-limbed ghost? You're mental." Her lip curled in disgust. "But that was obvious when a Slytherin started consorting with blood traitors."
"What are you going to do about it?" Hayden challenged. In a mocking voice, she added, "Five points from Slytherin?" When Pansy only sneered, she said, "That's what I thought."
"You'll soon discover that it was a mistake to make an enemy of your own house," Pansy hissed.
Hayden huffed as she spun back toward the dormitories. "Amaris was right," she muttered under her breath, but Draco heard her.
"About what?" he snapped before he realized he had spoken. Surprised eyes turned toward him, but he had to know. What had Grey said? Was it about him? Or just Slytherins in general? Grey was so meek… He couldn't imagine her gossiping like Pansy. He turned to Hayden. "Right about what?"
Hayden just glared at him before walking away. Draco watched her go, jaw clenched in frustration, and wished he could force her to talk.
Determined to get the truth out of her, he spent the entire next day watching her, waiting for an opportunity to corner her alone. It never came. By dinner time, he was brooding, and found himself glaring at the girl's back as she chatted with Amaris across the room.
Suddenly the girls got up. Draco sat up straighter. His eyes followed them as they left the Great Hall, wondering where they were going during dinner.
Draco made his excuses and slipped from his seat, following them out of the Hall. He slowed his pace and followed them down the corridors toward the stairs. He frowned. Where the bloody hell are they going? Draco did his best to keep his distance, picking his steps as quietly as possible as they skipped down the stairs, but he lost them when a rotating staircase diverted him. He thought he saw them heading toward the dungeons, but by the time he got down there, they were nowhere in sight.
"Damn," he cursed.
Annoyed, he went back to the Slytherin common room and was debating going to bed early for the Quidditch match tomorrow when girlish laughter caused him to freeze halfway to his room. Draco slowly moved toward the girl's dorm when suddenly the door opened and Grey and Hayden stepped out, giggling.
"What the hell is this?" he barked, and both girls jumped in shock, smiles instantly vanishing. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I was lending her a book," Hayden said, stepping forward. Draco kept his eyes on Grey, noting the way she stared at the floor. He was unsure which emotion he felt stronger: shock at seeing Grey in the Slytherin common room or anger at Hayden for bringing her there.
"A book?" His gaze dropped to the offending item in her hands. He reached around Hayden and snatched it up. Before he could see the cover, Hayden yanked it out of his grasp.
"That's none of your business," she hissed, hiding it behind her back.
"You came all the way here for a book?" he sneered in disbelief.
"I wanted to show her my collection so she could pick a title she wanted to read." Hayden tried to nudge Grey toward the door. "She found one, so it's done."
Draco immediately barred their path. "You brought a Hufflepuff into our house."
"We came during dinner," she explained, "when no one else was here. I checked first!"
"Well, I'm here, aren't I?"
"Well, you weren't before." She narrowed her eyes on him. "What are you doing here?"
"That's not something you need to know, traitor."
Hayden glared at him. "Fine. Dock points, assign a detention—whatever you have to do."
"Locke—" Grey began but he cut her off.
"You can be sure of that, Hayden," he growled. "Your noisy, American mouth didn't squeal out our password, too, did it?"
"You little—"
"Please," Grey said, stepping between them. She looked at Draco. "She didn't tell me the password. I didn't hear her use it, either. But you're right. I shouldn't be here." She briefly glanced at Hayden, communicating some unspoken message he could only guess at, before saying to him, "I'm going."
Hayden tried to hand her the book but Draco once again attempted to snatch it up and so she jerked it back.
"I'll give it to you tomorrow," Hayden mumbled glumly. Grey nodded and moved toward the door. Draco followed her. Hayden stepped forward, concerned. "What are you—"
"Making sure she leaves," he hissed over his shoulder.
Outside in the hallway, Grey tried to rush off but Draco was quicker. He caught her arm and yanked her back, surprised by how easily he could move her. She was so light. As her pale face and blue eyes turned upward, the cruel comment on his tongue melted into a snarky one.
"Sneaking into the Slytherin dormitory, Grey?" he asked. "Is that why you're dreaming of snakes?"
She flushed at the implication and tried to leave but he held her firm. "Malfoy, let—"
"Draco," he corrected her. "You'll call me Draco." He took a single step closer to her. "My mother's fond of you, you know. She often asks after you in her letters."
Grey frowned. "What do you tell her?"
He didn't tell her anything, but she didn't need to know that. So, instead he asked, "What do you think?"
She searched his face before asking, "Why haven't you told her about me?"
"Told her what?" he said mockingly.
"That you hate me."
Draco grinned. "Now what fun for me would that be?" He released her arm and she immediately shuffled a few steps back. "G'night, Grey." He watched her turn to go but stopped her. "Oh, and one more thing," he said. She glanced over her shoulder. "Whatever Saint Potter and his idiot followers are doing, you had best stay out of it. Consider yourself warned."
Her jaw clenched and, without another word, she hurried back toward the stairs. Draco went back into the common room only to find Hayden standing there alone, glaring. He offered her a smirk before popping into the prefect dormitory and going to his room.
Author's Note: I added this chapter to address Pansy's nickname for Amaris, and to include another interaction before Christmas. I apologize that I'm so terrible at coming up with insults... I'll be honest, it's been maybe 15 years since I read the books, and the movies barely touch on the Slytherin bullying. Otherwise, this might feel more authentic.
