Some Like it Mild

By Kukaburry

Chapter 3 – Killer Looks, no really

Laurie woke with a start, much too early in her opinion and most surprisingly, fully clothed. An arm snaked around her waist. "Good morning," a groggy voiced greeted her. "I hope you slept well, our beds are somewhat small."

Laurie propped herself up. "I slept fine," she murmured, barely awake. "I am craving some breakfast though." She lied, trying to find a way to leave. "I can meet you down there."

Justin frowned slightly. "Alright, if you want." He watched Laurie fix her hair and clothes with interest. He grabbed her by the arm quickly. "Hey, I just want to apologize for falling asleep in the middle of everything last night." He blushed deeply.

'That explains a lot.' Laurie inwardly sighed in relief. "No problem. I guess we'll have to have a rematch some time." Grinning, Justin nodded. "Alright, well I'll see you later. I had fun." That was her signature last remark, as far as she could tell.

The four flights of stair cases to the bottom floor seemed to take forever. She rounded the last corner and bumped into someone. "Pardon me, I didn't notice you…. Oh, hello again. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were stalking me." Her blue eyes flashed with humor.

Draco brushed his arm off, "Don't be so full of yourself Carter. You're not interesting enough to have a stalker." He sniffed he sleeve, " Uck, I'm going to have Ravenclaw stench on me all day."

"How sweet of you to remember what house I'm in. You really are following me, aren't you? That's too bad because I don't date boys who are stuck-up snobs." She smiled superiorly at Malfoy.

"Good because I don't date girls who have slept with every guy in the school." Draco countered quickly.

Laurie opened her mouth in surprise and laughed. "Clever Malfoy, I didn't realize you had it in you. You sound jealous that I had a much better night than you did. The poor bloke didn't stand a chance with me. I tired him out quickly."

"I'll bet someone your size could tire anyone out quickly," the dig stung Laurie a tiny bit. Draco grinned cockily, feeling as though he had one-upped her.

A devilish idea crossed Laurie's mind. She took two sultry steps forward and trailed her finger down his chest, rose her face towards his then stared him straight in the eye. "I wonder how you would fare?" She breathed, her lips almost touching his. She could feel his pulse quicken beneath her hand. "But you'll never find out." She pushed him away roughly.

Laurie brushed past him and made her way to her common room to freshen up. She now felt wide awake and giddy. 'I wish I could replay that moment every day. I actually said exactly the right thing and he totally held onto my every word. Oh he deserves every rotten comment he receives, the filthy jerk.'

Lily was awake and reading in the common room when Laurie arrived. "My you're happy for having such an early walk of shame."

"I'm not doing a walk of shame since I did nothing shameful, sadly. But that's not why I'm happy." She grinned manically and jumped around squealing.

Lily took a step back, laughing. "I'm guessing something amazing happened. I've only seen you do that twice since I've known you."

Every vivid detail of the encounter with Malfoy came gushing from Laurie's mouth. Lily stood in awe of her. "I can't believe it. My own Laurie is destroying the reputation of Draco Malfoy singlehandedly. The only thing greater would be to date him and then crush his shriveled heart into a thousand tiny pieces."

Laurie rolled her eyes and groaned, "No, not you too. You sound like Fred and George. I said before, it's not going to happen."

Lily shrugged. "Well that's a problem because he happens to be the most sought-after male in the school , even more than Potter. Didn't you say your final step was to date the most wanted guy at school, then dump him?" Laurie smacked her head. "Come on Rye, this is the ultimate chance to kill Malfoy's ego!"

Laurie continue to shake her head vehemently 'NO'. "No, I won't stoop to that level. Malfoy is lower than dirt in my book and not worth that sort of effort. It's easier to just piss him off every day."

"You could go about it that way, but Malfoy is simple. If you piss him off, he'll find a way to piss you off more. It's just the way things go. If you make him think you're on his side, it'll be easier to sink him."

With a huff, Laurie growled her final say. "I refuse to listen to anymore of this nonsense. Things have been going as I've planned so I'm sticking to what I've got."

Lily smiled weakly. "Alright, I'll be rooting for you either way. It's just confusing because you used to be madly in lo---"

Laurie clapped a hand over Lily's mouth violently and looked around wildly. "Bloddy hell, shut it! Don't ever bring that up again!" A full flush rose to her cheeks. "I like to pretend that part of my past never happened, thank you very much." She shook her head and laughed. "Sorry Lil, I got carried away. It's just a sore spot for me."

Grinning, Lily shrugged it off. "It's okay. It will be a secret I carry to my grave. Shall we head to breakfast and compare our new schedules?"

"You read my mind." Laurie changed quickly into her uniform and dashed with Lily down to the Great Hall.

Upon entering through the doors, they ran into Justin who smiled warmly at the sight of Laurie. "Hey there Rye. Want to eat breakfast with me?" He sounded eager, like a new boyfriend would.

This relationship was going to end, and quickly. Laurie smiled politely with a hint of coldness, "I'm sorry, I'm sitting with my friends. Maybe some other time?"

Justin's smile faltered. "Um, sure. I guess that's fine. I'll see you around Rye." He slumped off dejectedly.

Lily raised her eyebrows. "Nice one. You're the queen of ice already. I'm sure that'll attract every guy here."

Laurie felt a bit guilty, so she yelled after him, "How about I see you at lunch?" Justin smiled gratefully and accepted.

Malfoy watched this exchange with interest. Carter didn't seem interested in this Justin bloke, so why was she shagging him on the first night?

Laurie sighed and whispered to Lily, "I never told the guy I wanted anything long-term or serious. How did he get this impression of me?"

Lily chuckled and replied, "Probably because you guys didn't do too much talking last night." She wiggled here eyebrows.

"Oh shut up you. I hate when you're right." She nudged Lily's arm playfully. "Oh look, they're handing out schedules. We have perfect timing." Both girls snatched their papers eagerly, comparing what classes they were taking this semester.

Lily gawked at Laurie's schedule. "Are you taking seven NEWT classes this year?"

Laurie nodded guiltily. "I couldn't help it. I know I'll look like a dork, but I happen to like all of these classes. Even potions." She whispered so that Professor Snape couldn't hear. "Hopefully I'll get the other five NEWTS in next year so I can pass the exams at the end. I'm excited we have one of professor Lupin's friends for DDA. Hopefully they'll be nearly half as good as Lupin himself."

The girls were happy they had three of the same classes together. Laurie's schedule pushed some of her classes back later in the week than Lily's. Susan finally emerged and luckily had the same schedule as Lily. "I envy you two. I'll miss seeing you every class."

Laurie's schedule was ripped from her hands roughly. "Malfoy, give me my damn schedule. I'll break your leg, I promise."

Malfoy merely laughed, then studied the chart. "You're scheduled for all tweleve NEWT classes?" Malfoy barked, clearly amused. "Oh that's rich. I refuse to believe you passed even half of your OWLs."

Susan glared menacingly at Draco, "For your information Rye passed ev…. Ouch!" Laurie stomped on her foot.

"There's no need to lie to him Susan," she looked heavily at Draco. "You're right, I barely got passing grades on all of my exams, but my parents talked the school into letting me take the classes anyway, out of pity."

Laurie hung her head glumly and Draco smiled cockily. "I knew it."

Laurie raised her voice an octave or two. "Well, the interesting thing was, Draco, that when my parents were talking to the Headmaster, he mentioned how your parents had to bribe the ministry with money in order for you to even stay in school. That's a bit embarrassing." Laurie looked around and saw nearly the entire hall sniggering.

Malfoy fumed and shouted, "That's a lie you tart! I passed every one of my exams fair and square and got placed in all of the NEWT classes."

Laurie continued very loudly, "If that's the story you want to stick with dear Draco, I understand. I promise I won't tell a soul." She mimed locking her lips.

Malfoy slammed the schedule back into Laurie's hands and stomped back to the Slytherin table. As he sat down, he shot her a menacing glare as if to say 'You'll pay'. Laurie merely smiled back placidly. 'Bring it on.'

There we have another chapter. I'm having so much fun writing this, I hope it shows. And yes, Draco's goat is definitely cooked. I wonder what sauce goes best with flambé? :D

~Always tip your waiter. You never know what might end up in your food next time! ~Kukaburry