Some Like It Mild
By Kukaburry
Chapter 10- Change of Heart
*Spring Break is finally here!*
Laurie began shaking with anger halfway down the hall. "Hey pretty girl, what's wrong?" A calm, gentle voice spoke from her left. Laure lifted her tear-stained face.
"Oh Fred. It's you." She wiped her eyes. "I was just... I got something in my eye," she lied, sniffing.
"Liar." He shook his head solemnly. "What happened?" He asked furtively, wrapping a comforting around her shoulder. "Was it last night? I knew we should have gone on with the plan! Damn Lily."
Laurie's eyes widened. "You mean you had nothing to do with last night?" Fred shook his head. "B-but there was a werewolf... and it chased us... and it clawed me..." She stopped, gasping. "You mean that wasn't you? It was a real wolf?"
Fred's eyes bulged. "There was a werewolf there? Where could it have come from... oh.... Professor Lupin was here yesterday. I think we found his hide-out." He squeezed her shoulders reassuringly. "I'm sorry Laurie. It's horrible you had to go through that."
Eyes stinging with a fresh wave of tears, Laurie shook her head. "Don't be. I was the one who wanted to get back at Malfoy. I was so stupid. I fell for it all over again. His charming act, but that's all it is.. an act. What is wrong with me Fred?"
Fred raised his eyebrows. "Alright, tell me what happened with Malfoy. Before the werewolf attacked you."
Laurie sniffed and began her story. Fred nodded silently at each interval. When she got to the point where Malfoy had he held on the bed, naked, Fred gaped. "You and Malfoy were naked… in a bed?" Laurie nodded meekly. Fred shook his head and sighed. "Continue."
"That's it. Nothing else happened. That's when the wolf attacked us."
"It attacked you while you were naked? When exactly did you get clothed again?" Fred grinned cheekily.
Laurie cracked a small smile. "No, when Malfoy realized who I was, the wolf howled upstairs and we got dressed. I thought it was you and George up there. I didn't want to get caught completely naked."
Fred rolled his eyes. "Of course not. And yet you tell me anyways, interesting."
"I'm sorry. I know, I'm an idiot. You're one of the only people I can talk to about this besides Lily."
Fred pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the top of her head. "I'm only pulling your leg. Would you like to tell me the rest of your story from this morning?"
"I feel like I'm at a confessional." Fred chuckled.
"Fred what are you doing?" A shrill female voice sounded from behind them. Fred jumped away from Laurie in a heartbeat.
"Red alert, it's Magan. She's the girl I asked out a couple of times last year." Fred whispered to Laurie. "Hi Magan, what's going on?"
Magan's shiny black hair resembled a cape billowing behind her like a matador ready for a bullfight. "I was waiting for you in the dining hall like you asked me to." She glared side-long at Laurie. "Now I find you going off with this tart."
Fred narrowed his eyes. "I hope you know that my friend Laurie here is going through a personal crisis."
Blush spread through Magan's cheeks. "Oh, I see. Just given her reputation, I wasn't sure," she mumbled. "I'm sorry I interrupted you." She turned dejectedly and left the way she came.
"Well that was awkward," Fred mused, turning back to Laurie who looked confused. "You look puzzled my dear."
Laurie snapped her head back to Fred. "I want to know what she meant by 'My reputation'." She tapped her thighs nervously. "It didn't sound like she meant it in a good way."
"Ignore Magan. She doesn't mean harm. She gets jealous of other beautiful girls." Fred smiled reassuringly. "You have a lovely reputation. She was just talking garbage. Nothing to worry your pretty head over." His eyes twinkled with mischief and it made Laurie feel at ease.
Laurie heard footsteps and looked back to see Draco walking down the hall towards her. "I'll see you later," she grunted, turning on her heel and running towards her dormitory. She turned her head briefly at the corner to see Fred and Draco conversing heatedly.
As soon as she entered the bedroom, she ran into a fuming Lily. "Where were you Rye?" Lily asked shrilly. "I thought Malfoy had killed you and transfigured your body, or worse- that you had eloped."
"No. I wish he had transfigured," Laurie growled, ignoring the second comment. "I'm so embarrassed Lily. I can't believe you told Fred and George to ignore my plan. You'd wish you hadn't if you knew what happened."
Lily's mixed look of horror and curiosity annoyed Laurie. "I ended up kissing Draco!"
Lily roared happily. "I knew it! I knew you would. He totally realized how amazing you are and wants to marry you now."
Laurie twitched her eye angrily and Lily coughed uncomfortably. "I'm just kidding of course! You and Draco would never get married. You're too good for him."
"I can't even explain how I acted last night. He seemed so normal and acted like a normal person. He saved me from the werewolf for Merlin's sake." She pushed her fringe back angrily.
"Were-werewolf? What are you talking about?" Lily stuttered nervously. "You don't mean a real werewolf?"
Lily shrank at Laurie's glare. "Yes Lily, a real werewolf. Professor Lupin to be exact, but that is beside the point. Draco saved me… he protected me. Why would he do that? After all he and his friends have done to us over the years."
"I'm just so confused Lily. This morning I acted just like him and shoved him away. I told him exactly how I felt about the way he treated me. It felt so good at first, but now I feel guilty. He looked so crushed, it didn't seem natural on his face."
Both sat in silence for a couple of minutes. "Do you think he likes you?" Lily asked weakly.
Laurie smashed her fist against the table. "I don't know if he likes me! I don't care if he likes me! Why would he torture me the way he does if he liked me? It's idiotic."
Shrugging, Lily pondered out loud. "Maybe he saw you as more of a challenge and didn't know how to act around you? Most girls came straight to him, legs wide open, unlike you."
"Exactly, he would have been turned off by that. He told me specifically in third year that he found intelligent girls disgusting and boring." Laurie rubbed her hands through her hair. "He said he found independent girls lonely and annoying. He basically described everything about me and said it wasn't worthy of his attention."
"So I ask you, why would he be the least bit interested in me now?" She pounded her fist again. "I tried so hard to become one of those girls he goes crazy for. I practiced it on so many guys and they loved it. It was perfect, but as soon as I tried it on Malfoy, I felt idiotic. I didn't want him to see me as an airhead. I wanted him to find my intellect attractive. I went right back to square one."
"I understand. If a guy can't accept you for exactly the person you are, then he isn't worth your time." Lily paused and suddenly beamed. "You know, Draco saw the real you. You have always been snarky and funny, just not in public. You just gained confidence in yourself and showed it to the world. I think that's why so many guys were into you. They didn't care about the way you looked, they enjoyed the way you spoke your mind."
Laurie studied Lily for a moment. "Do you really think so? I hope you're not just saying that to make me feel better."
"Of course not you twit! You were a new person this year and it was amazing to watch. I was so proud watching you tell off Malfoy for being an ass. Didn't you notice him watching you? I certainly did."
Sighing loudly, Laurie banged her head on the table. "What am I supposed to do now? I have to face him some time. I can avoid him this weekend, but I'll see him in Potions on Monday." Laurie's eyes widened with fear. "What about Blaise? I'll bet Malfoy will tell him everything and now he'll hate me forever."
Lily looked away, turning bright red. "Oh, I'm not sure that's entirely true."
"What do you mean?"
Lily bit her lip nervously. "Erm, well last night, Blaise and I talked about you two. Blaise mentioned that Malfoy never stopped talking about you and I mentioned that you never stopped talking about Malfoy. Then we talked about how you were probably secretly crushing on each other. Then we talked about how you two might make out. Then he and I stopped talking and kind of ended up making out."
"Wait. You made out with Blaise? My Blaise? The Blaise whom I've been hanging out with this week?" Laurie began accusingly. "The Blaise who began to bore me with his incompetence?" The Blaise who didn't know how to make a toad fall asleep? You made out with that Blaise?" Lily stared at Laurie slack-jawed. "Thank you! I had no idea you were even interested in him. You should have told me."
Lily breathed a heady sigh of relief. "I thought you were going to kiss my ass and hang me from my bedpost by my trousers. Let's get you out of your grump, Rye. I'll take you shopping at Gladrags and the ice cream parlor." She nudged Laurie suggestively. "We can see if Mr. Zabini and Mr. Malfoy want to go. Would you like that?"
Laurie clenched her jaw. "No. No, I don't want to see him. I meant what I said. He is an ass and he needs to come to me and prove that he's changed. I can't believe anything that comes out of his mouth." She clenched her fist. "I want to see him change with my own eyes."
I hope you all have been having a great Spring! It's already 90+ here. My basketball team won the NCAA tourney about 30 minutes ago, so I'm beyond ecstatic right now. Duke you make me proud! Don't tell my school mates though, Duke is supposed to be one of my university's rivals. ;)
Don't worry, if you make a mistake, Hermione will let you know before you've even made it. ~Kukaburry