Mclaggen interrupted then, sauntering over to us. Greengrass didn't bother to hide her grimace this time. "Another? Really?" She said, irritation in her tone. I simply glared at him as he approached. No, I did not want to talk to him right now. "Zabini, hey" he nodded to me in greeting, standing before us. He smirked at Greengrass. "Greengrass, hey…" he said. Greengrass's tone was flat and her gaze was unimpressed. "Mclaggen" she said. Glaring at him, I was growing rather tired of all the people who thought they could just waltz over to me and act like I even remotely tolerate them. As a house elf ran by, Mclaggen grabbed a glass of wine off the tray, almost causing the little creature to fall over. "Hey, you haven't happened to see Granger, have you?" he asked, taking a sip.
"Keep a leash on your date, if you must" Greengrass glanced away, uninterested. "Slippery, that one" he snickered, taking a large gulp of wine. Deciding I'd had enough, I swiftly grabbed the glass out of Greengrass's hand and walked off muttering "drinks" as I left. "Didn't know you were a thing" I heard Mclaggen say to Greengrass as I left and I couldn't help but laugh gently to myself.
I refilled the glasses with water however I was in no hurry to go back to them, and so I milled around the refreshment table, hoping he would go disturb someone else soon. Quite suddenly, Malfoy appeared in the room, squirming against Filch's grip. He looked extremely aggravated, being held by the scruff of his collar as he spat "Take your hands off me, you filthy squib!"
Filch, obviously quite satisfied, held him up proudly to Slughorn. "Professor Slughorn, sir… I just discovered this boy, lurking in an upstairs corridor" he said, a wicked glint in his beady little eyes. To be honest, I wasn't that interested. It wasn't the first time a Slytherin, (or Malfoy) had been caught somewhere they weren't supposed to be, and it wouldn't be the last. Breathing heavily, Malfoy was beginning to look desperate, all eyes on him. "He claims to have been invited to your party" Filch said.
"Okay, okay, I was gatecrashing!" Malfoy said desperately, again struggling to squirm out of Filch's grip. "I'll… escort him out" Snape said, sweeping forward. The desperation in Malfoy lessened, and he roughly pulled away from Filch. "Certainly... Professor" he said, a snarl in his tone. I couldn't help but watch them leave. It was obvious something suspicious was going on, though I decided to leave it for now.
There was silence for a few moments however Slughorn quickly jumped out, waving his arms around a bit with a nervous chuckle "Aheh… Carry on, carry on…!" The music quickly began again, and chatter slowly began to rise. I glanced back over to Greengrass, and was pleased to see her alone. I made my way back to her, and passed her the drink as she nodded a silent 'thank you'. "Nice escape" she told me with a teasing tone. "Why thank you" I replied, just as teasingly.
She brushed some hair from her face. "So, Mclaggen is where you draw the line?" she asked. "Not at Loony… But a brawny Gryffindor?" I cocked my eyebrow. "Draw the line? Mm, I suppose. There's only so much I can tolerate" I told her. She nodded lightly, staying quiet for a while before speaking once more. "I feel quite the same way…" she said. I smirked gently, teasing tone. "So, there's something we can agree about~"
She cracked a smile. It was faint and quick, but a smile nonetheless. She said nothing for a little while longer, before she turned her head towards me. "…Up for a walk, Zabini?" she asked. "Mm, I suppose" I told her, interested at this idea. Passing out glasses to a passing house elf, Greengrass explained. "I'd rather not be forced to be face-to-face with anyone else like Lovegood or Mclaggen" she said. "And I'm sure there's more mistletoe about, don't worry" she added playfully.
With a satisfied smirk, she began to make her way out of the crowded room and I followed. As she made it to the door, she opened it for me. She mocked my earlier polite and pleasant tone with a smirk. "After you" she said, and I laughed gently as I stepped through. We walked through the corridors at an easy pace, making our way to the nearest courtyard, and finally exited to the grounds. The sky was dark, a grey cloud hovering over the moon. It didn't bother me, however, as I quite prefer the dark, and my eyes quickly adjusted.
In the relaxed silence we reached the Clock Tower Courtyard, which was covered in a light layer of snow. We took a few steps in before she turned her head slightly to speak to me. "Navy blue… My favourite colour" she said. "Besides from black" she added, as I thought back to what we had discussed at the café only a few weeks before. I nodded gently, storing it into memory though I wasn't sure why. Perhaps I would need to know one day…
Greengrass looked down at the snow, carrying on after a few moments. "…I'm half French, too. My family considered sending me to Beauxbatons" she said. I listened to her quietly. Though I wasn't sure why she was telling me these things, I listened to her words carefully, nonetheless. She crossed her arms then, and I noticed her shiver gently. "I was almost sorted into Ravenclaw, yet I insisted Slytherin was for me" she said, glancing to me.
"My favourite season is Winter." I smiled gently as I had noticed she seemed to be enjoying the snow. "Are you cold?" I asked her gently, once again noticing her shiver. She nodded, turning and looking straight ahead, gently rubbing her arms. She gave a little laugh. "I'm always cold!" she said. I cocked an eyebrow at her. "Do you want my jacket?" I offered.
"…That's very kind… Thank you…" she said, smiling gently. I slipped my jacket off and helped place it on her shoulders. We walked a little further before she looked up at me, a twinkle in her eyes. "Suddenly I feel ten years old again…" she said. "Just without the denim jacket" she added playfully. I laughed gently, mentally flashing back to the second time I had ever met Miss Greengrass.
It was at a party, only a few weeks before I began at Hogwarts. I had seen her milling about and at some point during the night we caught each other's eyes. She had smirked and her eyes dared me to approach her… So I did, to her surprise. We spent the evening together, and eventually we escaped the party to go up to the balcony. It was there I had given her the little denim jacket I was wearing as she explained to me she was always cold.
I couldn't help but smile fondly at the memory, stored away for so many years. "Mm… So, go on" I finally said, and at her curious look I smirked gently. "You were telling me about yourself" I added. She smirked, nodding. "Oh, right, yes, back to me~" she said playfully. She began to walk slowly, thinking, and I followed. "My favourite subjects are Astronomy, Transfiguration and Ancient Runes" she said quietly, before she glanced to me, teasingly. "But, of course, you might have noticed that."
I smirked and nodded slightly as she continued. "I like to write letters, and I own hundreds of quills and ink wells… And I sigh far too much. Again, you might have noticed that~" she said. Though it was an odd realization, it hit me that I was actually interested to listen to her. I wanted to know about her, a fellow human being; from likes to dislikes and everything from quirky habits to memories and thoughts.
As we continued walking, we began to reach more open grounds. The wooden bridge was in vision, also covered by a layer of snow. She was quiet for quite a long time before she continued. "I have an owl, named Darrow whom I bought when I was 11. I enjoy dueling, though I don't get the opportunity very often" she said, sighing gently after she spoke. "My middle name is Queenie" she said.
I thought back to Greengrass's dance competition, and the name that had been called. "Daphne Queenie." At the time I thought it was her competition name. Her dancing name, perhaps. But, no… Queenie was her middle name. It seemed quite fitting, actually. As we reached the wooden bridge she fell quiet once again. We walked to half way and stopped, looking out over the icy waters of the black lake and the snow covered grounds. "I just thought you should know a few things about a girl you snogged" she explained to me and I nodded, leaning against the railing.
"Fair enough" I told her, tilting my head in her direction. She rested her hands on the railing and gripped it tightly, turning her head towards me also, her tone teasing. "Mm, and what about you? Middle name's not Muriel, is it?" she asked. I smirked, arrogance in my teasing tone. "Wouldn't you like to know~" I said. She snickered softly, the hint of a smile on her lips. "So very cocksure. No need to be shy, now. Spit it out~" she said.
I rolled my eyes, though decided I might as well tell her. "Achilles" I said. "Not that you'll ever need to know" I added. "Achilles?" she said. "Mm…" she said thoughtfully. "Mm?" I asked. She nodded lightly to me. "Greek" she informed me. She smirked teasingly then, adding "much nicer than Muriel." I laughed gently. "Not a nice name" I agreed. The night sky was filled with stars and it was quite a picturesque moment, I must admit.
She brushed some hair from her face, her voice still quiet. "Blaise Achilles. Hm…" she said, and I cocked my eyebrow at her. "Why is it you find my middle name so fascinating?" I asked her. "Wouldn't you like to know~" she smirked, teasingly. I glanced out over the icy waters for a moment… Though as my thoughts moved from Greengrass to the icy depths, my eyebrows furrowed slightly. I decided I was far too close to the lake for my comfort, and began to walk off the bridge. Greengrass followed after me without a word.
I decided to walk back to the castle, Greengrass at my side. I accidently brushed my fingers against hers, and we both flinched. I flinched because only then did I realize how icy cold her skin was, and she must have flinched as my regular 39 degree temperature would have been quite the contrast to her own. She paused for a moment, before shaking her head slightly with a smirk. "I almost forgot" she said.
I tilted my head gently in her directed as I walked, my eyebrows furrowing in question. "Almost forgot…?" I asked and she raised her eyebrows, smirking. "That you're always warm" she said and I smirked, nodding in understanding. It seemed she too was thinking about the one night out on the balcony 6 years ago. "Can't get away from it" I said. "Oh, poor thing. Must be dreadful in Summer" she said, and I smirked, though I didn't reply.
I decided not to tell her about how Summer was generally spent curling up on the floor of the Forbidden Forest under a thick tree and praying for my end to hurry up and consume me.
When we finally reached the castle I held the door open for Greengrass, and she stepped inside with a smirk. I shut the door behind us and began to make my way to the Slytherin dormitories with her, her heels clicking gently against the hard floor once again. As we made our way, Greengrass murmured softly to me. "Lets hope there's no leaks, tonight" she said, and I nodded gently.
In a dormitory that was built underneath a lake, leaks are commonplace and extremely irritating for the snakes. No one wants to listen to a constant "drip" of water into a bucket, and the irritated Slytherins become even more snappy at one another making it even more difficult than usual for me to tolerate them. As we approached the Dungeon not a single voice was heard, much to my relief.
We walked behind the stone wall that revealed the door to the dungeon and I muttered "sanguinem" (Latin for "pure blood") before it unlocked, creaking open slightly. I pushed it out, holding it open for Greengrass once again. She stepped in, uttering a "thank you" over her shoulder, before we walked through the passage, and the common room, and down towards the dormitories.
"Mm, well you proved to be quite the gentlemen this evening" she murmured quietly to me. "I told you I could be" I murmured back, though I couldn't help but smirk gently. I walked her to her dorm and we finally paused. She turned to look at me, small smirk on her still-red lips. "I had quite a lovely time~" she said. I nodded gently, agreeing softly. "So did I… Thank you for accompanying me tonight" I said. She smiled a little, and her voice softened also. "It was my pleasure…"
At her small smile I couldn't help but allow a small smile myself. "See you soon, I suppose…" I said, before I leant down and placed a gentle kiss to her cheek. Without another word I walked off, to my own dormitory, resisting the temptation to glance back to her. I almost succeeded. Almost.