"Where are you going, Scorp?" Sue asked me as I walked past her with my letter in my hand. Not bothering to answer, I simply waved the letter to show her. She frowned. "But isn't it almost curfew?"
"It's not curfew yet," I reminded her. "Don't worry; I'll be back before then!" I called to her as I made my way to the Owlery.
Screech instantly fluttered down from his post onto my shoulder. He hooted before nibbling my ear. "Hey, Screech—ouch!" My greeting was cut short as he bit rather hard. I sighed as I tied my letter to his leg. "Take this to Malfoy Manor for me, will you? To Mother?" Screech hooted importantly in response; puffing out his chest as if to show the other owls just how special he was. I watched him fly off, wondering if even our House-elves had Malfoy characteristics. It was a rather absurd assumption, but if Screech displayed Malfoy qualities...
I was too deep in thought and barely noticed as the door creaked open. Even in the dim moonlight, the flaming red hair was obvious as she walked in. "Weasley," I acknowledged her presence, realizing with a jolt that time had passed rather quickly since I left the dungeon. It must be just past curfew now. "You, breaking school rules? I'm impressed," I mused, waiting for her reaction. When she stared back at me with a dumbfounded expression, I stated smugly, "It's past curfew."
Her eyes widened slightly as if she had just noticed that she was out so late. She didn't seem exactly happy for the fact that I knew something she didn't. "Bugger off, Malfoy," she muttered, clearly trying to hide her surprise; she did close the door in case someone overheard.
Of course I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction and leave. "So poor that you have to use school owls? Please," I noted as she tied her letter to a school owl's leg.
"They're not too bad," she snapped irritably, "Plus, unless yours can fly any faster, I really don't see anything wrong with them." She sent the owl off as she spoke. I scowled at her. How dare she say such a thing? I was becoming more and more fond of Screech, and here she was, comparing him to a school owl?
"Insulting my owl now—" I began, but immediately broke off mid-sentence when I heard the doorknob turn again. Weasley stared at me and opened her mouth to speak. Not daring to give us away now, I grabbed onto her arm and dragged her into the corner. I didn't care if it was Weasley there with me; I wasn't going to have her get me into trouble, even if it meant sparing her from a detention. I covered her mouth with my hand to stop her from screaming.
Filch's head came into view, followed by his latest cat Miss Norris. "I swear I heard something in here, my sweet," he cooed to her softly. "Students out of bed, hmm?" It was only a little past curfew. It wasn't like anyone was going to sleep at eight in the evening!
I could feel Weasley shaking as she pressed against me. Whether it was from fear or anger or something else, I wasn't sure. I Disillusioned us so Filch would not be able to see anything, and the spell worked especially well in the dark. After spending years stuck up in Malfoy Manor and doing nothing but memorizing spell books, my hard work finally paid off. If it wasn't because I was hiding from an almost certain detention, I knew Father would have been proud of me.
"Well, must've been my imagination. Let's go, Miss Norris," Filch decided reluctantly as he left, closing the door behind him again.
Weasley stumbled away from me as soon as the door shut behind Filch. I hadn't even realized I was holding her so tightly until then. "T-That was close," she gasped out, looking anywhere but at me. For once, she didn't sound so hostile. "T-Thanks." Weasley actually thanked me.
"At least you didn't get me into trouble," I pointed out dryly. Sure, I had saved her from a detention, but I was hiding myself, too.
Then she did the least that I expected: she burst out laughing. Hysterically? Perhaps. "I'm going now...before I break even more school rules," she said, still smiling, as she turned to the door.
"As long as I'm not around you when you do," I muttered. Just as she was about to turn the handle, I decided that she was going to somehow pay me back. "Weasley?"
"What?" She asked, sounding rather annoyed that I was talking to her.
Smirking my Malfoy smirk, I said, "You owe me."
"Thanks for the reminder," she replied sarcastically before she hurried out of the Owlery. I followed her more slowly, taking my time as I returned to the Slytherin dungeons.
"Thank Merlin!" Sue breathed in relief, flinging her arms around me as soon as I entered the common room. "What took you so long?"
Christine came over, her eyes glittering. "Yes, why did it take you so long?"
"I was beginning to think that Filch had managed to catch you," Sue admitted, pulling me toward an armchair. I sat down, glad to rest after the intense encounter with Filch.
"Filch, catch me?" I repeated, smirking at her. "Who do you think I am?"
"You're Scorpius Malfoy," she answered automatically, "the smartest Slytherin in our year."
Well, I had meant for the question to be rhetorical. "It was nothing," I told her calmly. "I had a little run-in with Weasley, that's all."
"Which Weasley?" Vincent Goyle (named after Vincent Crabbe) asked, joining in on our conversation.
Christine shot him a glance. "The redhead one, who else?" I snorted at her ridiculous answer. All Weasleys had red hair.
"The girl," I said, scowling. "Rose Weasley." I spat her name out.
"She got you into trouble! It must've been her plan all along," decided Christine, her eyes glowering. "Even I can figure something like that out!"
But judging from the look of shock on Weasley's face when I had told her it was past curfew, I had a feeling she genuinely did not know it was past curfew when she had gone to the Owlery. For some reason, I found myself defending her. "She lost track of time," I mumbled. "She didn't seem to realize she was breaking rules until I pointed the fact out to her."
"Why'd you bother telling her, then?" Sue demanded furiously. "You should've not said anything!"
I wasn't in the mood for their questions, so I stood up. "I'm going to bed," I announced.
"This early? Are you sure you're feeling all right?" Christine fretted, instantly coming after me. Sometimes being the popular one had its disadvantages.
"I'm tired. Why else would I go to bed?" Without waiting for her answer, I headed up to where my four-poster bed sat waiting for me...
And strangely, I fell asleep thinking of a certain Weasley's bushy red hair.
Oh, hmm.. it seems that this is tremendously more popular than I'm In Love With a Malfoy. I suggest that you read Malfoy (if you haven't done so) first if you don't fancy becoming confused in later chapters (for example, the origins of A Guide to the Most Complex Girls. I won't really explain it in detail in this particular fanfic, but it was often referred to in Malfoy). Press that lovely review button? :)