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Chapter 2: Corridor confrontations

#2: When you have the urge to stop and talk rather than hex and walk away, you know the path is imperio-ing you

"Walked into a wall, Loony?" I sighed at the snarky voice that greeted me outside the library. This was one of the main reasons I preferred to stay in the library until curfew. But Ginny had insisted that she needed my company by the birch tree today. Apparently, 'I wasn't getting any sunlight and would be mistaken for Draco Malfoy's sister if I didn't change that soon'.

Turning around, I came face to face with the bunch of Slytherins I knew were in Harry's year. Why they bullied me specifically, I never knew. There were plenty of students in their own year to pick on. And I'd heard that Slytherins loved to taunt first years. So it was with a confused expression that I faced the group of five that had called out to me.

To say that they were a group would be wrong. You could say that they were just a collection of students that just wore the same badge on their cloaks and had the same color tie. It would be apparent to the onlooker that there was no uniformity in them. No equality. Draco Malfoy, who stood to the front, was obviously the leader. He even had two henchmen by his side. If they were trying to be intimidating, they were failing miserably. They looked more like over-stuffed toys rather than brutes and I had to fight a smile at that. Theodore Nott, who stood right at the back was looking away, as if he wasn't interested in what was going on in front of him, which was what he usually did. And the last but certainly not the least of my problems, was Blaise Zabini. The git stood right at the middle of the group, staring at me with his intense green eyes that never quite lost their ability to unsettle me. Not in a nice way, though. There wasn't a nice bone in his body.

You might think that I'm being horribly rude but, you would be the same too, if you were constantly pranked, taunted and bullied almost everyday for two whole years. And him! Don't even get me started on his comments and remarks. After that night in my third year, he had taken to confronting me in the middle of corridors at random times. It wouldn't have been bad, really, if only he could keep his mouth shut. Try as I might, I couldn't think of a reason for him to be rude to me. As far as my memory goes, I had been nothing but perfectly well mannered that day. I had actually been happy that Ginny had come to study with me. Why would he do this to me, when he seemed satisfied to ignore the rest of the students? The question seems clichéd and stupid, but, Why me?

Knowing I wasn't going to get an answer by looking at his impassive face, I tried to concentrate on Malfoy who stood nearest me, his infamous smirk in place. I was almost bored with him now. The guy seriously needed to get a move on and find someone else to go bother. Casting a silent protego on myself, I waited for the first onslaught of spells, because I knew that was what would come.

Realizing that I had a shield charm up, Malfoy stopped short and turned away with a smart aleck remark. I was left alone in the corridor. Or that was what I thought before a low, smooth voice broke through my train of thoughts.

"You never fight back, do you?" I jumped at the sound of his voice. There was that ever present tone in his voice that indicated that he was hiding something. As if I was hearing a riddle, as if there was a hidden layer of meaning to his words. Shaking aside my stupid observations, I turned to him and said, "I have no time to respond to the silly remarks of a bunch of baboons"

"Is that what you think of us? Of me? You really believe we are that harmless, do you? We can't have you thinking like that now…Hmm" He began walking towards me, and I was hit with a sense of nostalgia. Why did he always feel the need to corner me? It was always the same when we were alone. He'd corner me, make some cryptic observation, move and walk away before anyone else could notice.

Ginny and Hermione had been the only ones I'd told this to and they found something horribly funny about it all. And they kept insisting that I should not take the teasing seriously and that it was just a ruse. For what? They never answer, turning as obscure as the git before me.

Hitting the wall behind me, I looked him straight in the eye, noticing the slight flecks of grey that made them seem a bit more expressionless that they already were.

"You intrigue me Lovegood. It normally isn't very difficult for me to know what someone is thinking, or is thinking of doing. You on the other hand, you never do quite what I expect you to"

"You're no Legilimens and I'm not your puppet." I replied and bit my tongue. I had been so sure I could handle this without childish retorts. His eyes lit up with amusement and I was shocked for a moment. I had never seen anything but disgust in them over the years and I had gotten used to the insults and hexes his 'friends' threw my way, but this was new.

"Even so, you defy my guesses" He commented and try as I might I couldn't stop my heart's sprinting. Something had changed. He never stopped to talk to me before. It was just stop, hex, insult and walk away. Why was he suddenly talking to me? The question arose in my mind and I knew for sure that I wouldn't like the answer.

"I never knew you took so much time to examine my actions, Zabini. Careful, or you might sound like you're stalking me or something"

"And what if it happened that I was?" he asked, and a smirk broke out on his face. It was weird, seeing him smirk. I had never seen him being so forward before and frankly, it scared me.

"Whatever it is that you're trying to pull over me, stop it. It's not working"

"Oh, I think it is" He moved forward until I was literally caged between the wall and him. I chided myself for letting this happen. I mean, how many times will I have to meet him to learn not to move towards the wall?

Lifting my chin with a hand, his eyes stared into mine intently for a minute before widening. He stood back abruptly. His entire manner changed and the cold wall expression was back. Without a parting shot that was his usual, he went away and it might have been a trick of the light but I thought I sensed nervousness in his stride.

If only I could have learned of his thoughts that day instead of a few years later, I would have done the sane thing and ran away to the opposite side of the world.

A/n: review!