"Elle! Ellie, wake up!" Mindry threw a pillow at her sleeping friend.
"Mmphm," was all Adrielle articulated as she rolled over, clutching her blanket close to her skinny frame.
Mindry took a step back and put her hands on her hips.
"Adrielle Saorise Thompson Mackenzie, you get your lazy butt up from that bed right now!" She shouted, her voice firm. Mindry had gone through many mornings like this with her friend. While Mindry was an early riser, Adrielle was the type to stay up all night and sleep through the morning.
"Yes, mom." Adrielle grumbled and got up, rubbing her head. She hated it when Mindry used her full name. She let the blanket fall from her shoulders as she stood.
"Elle," Mindry started, her voice full of disapproval.
"What?"
"You are so lucky I am the only one still here, waiting for you." She said.
"Ugh, why?" Adrielle asked, still trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes.
"Because you are wearing a Slytherin robe and I can't think of how you could possibly explain this one."
That woke her up. Adrielle jumped up, hurriedly yanking the article of clothing off of her, and shoving it under her bed with a sheepish expression on her face.
"I… I have no idea what you're talking about." She faltered as she spoke; her lie was as transparent as saran wrap.
Mindry just crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow expectantly. She tapped her foot as well, waiting for an answer.
"Oh, alright, I'll tell you first period." Adrielle gave in, looking around for her clothes. "Right now, I just need to get ready for breakfast."
"Sweetie?" Mindry interrupted, her mouth quirked in a smile.
"What," Elle asked as she pulled on her clothes and Gryffindor robe, trying in vain to flatten the crows nest that was her hair.
"Breakfast is over, and first period starts in seven minutes." She tried, and failed to hold in laughter as Adrielle's jaw dropped, and she let go of her hair, letting it poof out, giving her a comical appearance.
Adrielle cursed and wound her hair into a side braid, curly tendrils sticking out and framing her face as the two girls raced out of the dormitory.
Mindry stopped in her tracks, fixing Adrielle with an expression that was a mix of resentment and grudging respect.
"What is it?" Elle asked self-consciously.
"How is it you always manage to wake up late and unprepared, yet you still look so damn glamorous?" Mindry demanded, "while I have to wake up a solid hour before breakfast and spend at least fifteen minutes on my hair simply to look presentable?" She pouted.
"Ah," Adrielle grinned and patted Mindry's cheek. "Years of practice darling," she flounced past her friend. "And I suppose I was just born with it."
Adrielle giggled and ran past her friend just as Mindry started chasing her. The two girls had many things in common, one of which was that they were both born runners, and had no problem racing each other all the way through the castle to the dungeons. Their first class that day was Potions, something that, unlike most Gryffindors, Adrielle actually did not mind. She loved making potions; it was one of things in magic that was exact, certain, and not often left up to variables.
Also, unlike most Gryffindors, she was very good at it, and she rarely got in trouble with Snape. She even had a good deal of respect for him, something her and Harry always disagreed on. That, in turn, was something that she could always use to her advantage whenever she got Mindry and Harry in the same room together. They often bonded over their hate for the Potions master, while Adrielle watched with satisfaction. She considered herself a fantastic matchmaker.
That morning, she was in a pretty good mood, and her and Mindry burst into Potions, laughing breathlessly, exhilarated from their early morning race through the castle.
"Mackenzie, Astanella. You are extremely lucky that you still have 47 seconds to reach your seats before I deem you late and take ten points from Gryffindor." The perpetually straight-faced Professor Snape said, eyeing the two teenagers.
"Yes, Professor Snape, sir," they said in unison, giggling as they sat down. Harry waved from a few seats away; Adrielle waved back and Mindry simply blushed and looked away.
"Good Lord, Mindry, just wave!" Adrielle whispered hotly, rolling her eyes at her friend's shyness.
"You know what—" Mindry stopped mid-sentence, feeling something in her pocket. "Oops! I forgot, I brought this for you!"
She pulled something wrapped in a napkin out of her pocket, filling the immediate area with a warm, aromatic cinnamon smell.
"Is that what I think it is?" Adrielle asked, her eyes widening in anticipated delight.
Mindry unwrapped the napkin to reveal a rather large cinnamon bun, still warm from breakfast, and passed it to her friend.
"Careful, Elle, you're drooling."
"Oh, thank you! You are such a doll! Whatever you want, it's yours!" Elle whispered emphatically, biting into the bun with an elated grin on her face.
Before Mindry could answer her, a paper flew towards the two and hit Elle in the head.
"Ow!" She exclaimed, turning to see who threw it. She heard a snigger and knew at once. Malfoy.
"Oi, Mackenzie!" He leaned across the aisle. "You got something on your… well, all over your face!" He and his friends burst into laughter as Adrielle wiped furiously at her cheeks with the napkin. She loved cinnamon buns more than almost anything, but there was a reason she never ate them during class. She licked the last of the frosting from her lips and glared at the group of Slytherins with as much dignity as she could muster, only provoking more laughs.
She turned her back to the two and bit into her bun again, chewing furiously, remembering to wipe her mouth this time.
"That no good imbecile… raised by a pack of wolves, he was." She muttered while chewing.
Mindry, who had been chuckling to herself the whole time, smiled evilly as she spoke to Elle again.
"You know, I was just going to ask you to do my makeup every morning for the rest of the month, but now, I really want to know what happened last night, and why you woke up with a Slytherin robe on." She said, happy to finally get answers from her best friend.
Adrielle choked on the cinnamon bun, glaring at Mindry, who patted her back as Adrielle slowly regained her breath.
"Alright, alright, I'll tell you. God, are you trying to kill me?"
Mindry just smiled, waiting for Elle to tell her story.
Throwing a look in Malfoy's direction, Elle launched into her account of last night's events.
"He…he actually touched your cheek?" Mindry asked, appalled, aghast, and jaw open. "Like, stroked your cheek?"
"Shh!" Elle hit Mindry in the head. "Could you be any louder?"
"Sorry," Mindry apologized mulishly. "It's just a little hard to take in." She eyed Malfoy appraisingly. "Maybe…"
"No," Elle said fiercely, putting her hand over Mindry's mouth before she could say another word.
"Don't even think it. Draco Malfoy is the same person he's been these last five years, and he will not change. Ever." She said before taking her hand off of Mindry's face.
Just then, Adrielle felt a tap on her shoulder. There was Draco, blonde hair not slicked back for once and almost invisible bags under his eyes, looking almost… less than perfect, as if he, too, had lost sleep the night before. It made him look much more human than god, and Adrielle could feel her stomach twisting into a knot, like she was nervous, but she didn't know why. This, however, went away the moment he opened his mouth.
"Talking about me, Mackenzie?" Malfoy asked, a knowing sneer on his face, shattering the impression he had on Adrielle. The knot in her stomach dissipated, and she was just angry.
"You wish, Malfoy." She retorted, a little childishly, annoyed she couldn't come up with a better insult.
"Oh, but I really do," he said as he stalked off, leaving everyone, including his cronies, more than a little confused.
"What the fuck was that all about?" Mindry asked, her shocked and astounded expression still in place.
"I've absolutely no bloody idea." Elle said, her own eyes never leaving Draco's retreating figure.
"Come on," she mumbled. "Let's get to our next class."
Mindry nodded dumbly and the two teenagers took off.