Chapter 38
Smack. Reece groaned, pressing his face into his pillow tiredly as Blaise and Theo both lobbed their own pillows at him.
"Aha." Blaise said happily. "Got him right in the back of the head with that one." The two lively boys summoned their pillows with a charm and threw them at Reece once again. That cycle was repeated at least four times until Reece finally decided that enough was enough. He rolled over drowsily, picking up one of the pillows and chucking it across the room.
"Right I'm fucking awake now – stop throwing your bloody pillows." Reece hissed at the two, taking a deep breath when he realised his throat was incredibly scratchy and dry.
"Someone's in an arsey mood." Adrian Pucey hollered from the open doorway. The sixth year was leaning against the frame cockily with his hands in the pockets of his winter jacket, grinning when he noticed Reece giving him a glare that suggested that he be quiet.
"Of course I'm in an arsey mood." Reece spat. "I've got two dickheads throwing pillows at my head when I'm trying to sleep." He ranted, throwing off his duvet forcefully and picking up the nearest clean t-shirt. He put the plain white t-shirt on quickly as the cold in the Slytherin dungeons was a force to be reckoned with. "You don't come in here often Pucey, do you need something or what?" Reece asked, grabbing a pair of black jeans and his jacket before flipping the bird at the sniggering duo of Blaise and Theo.
"I don't need anything." Adrian chuckled as he stepped aside and let Reece past so that the latter could go to the bathroom. "Just wanted to tell ya I've got the next stash. Bulstrode and Goyle already know I've got a couple of you-know-whats; just wanted to let you know."
"Right." Reece said in a slightly uninterested tone before going to get dressed for the day. It was when he began splashing water on his face that Reece realised what had happened the previous night. "Bloody hell." He muttered, fixing his hair quickly.
He'd shagged Danielle in a classroom.
Reece looked at his hair in the mirror, noticing that it looked absolutely terrible.
And then he'd gone and danced with Granger only minutes after, during that time receiving a rant from Ginny Weasley about how he was disgusting. The redhead had even informed Reece that she saw him pulling Danielle.
He began messing with his hair again, eventually giving up and doing what he'd always said he wouldn't do. Reece flattened it, pushing it down so that it fell near his eyes. This day was definitely going to be a long one, Reece sighed, shrugging on his jacket and replacing his nightwear with his jeans before heading through the common room with a word. When he reached the hall he went and sat down with Daphne and Tracey – both were talking quietly over a light breakfast.
"Happy boxing day Lestrange." Tracey smirked, playing with Reece's hair as he sat down beside her and looked across at Daphne with pleading eyes. He hated people touching his hair. Well…everyone apart from Granger; and maybe Danielle if she was distracting him with other things. "You're looking a little rough." She teased as she passed him the jug of pumpkin juice.
"Your boyfriend," He directed at Daphne. "And Theo decided to wake me up." Reece groaned in annoyance, filling the goblet full with the juice and taking a few slices of toast from the small rack that was lined with all sorts of different breads. He dropped them on his plate before reaching for the butter and picking up his knife. "I could've done with another ten hours of sleep after last night."
"I was actually going to ask you about that." Daphne said, a slight hint of concern lacing her tone. "You know how fast gossip spreads in this school." She said as Reece began eating his first slice of buttered toast. "So we've all heard about you dancing with Granger – a muggleborn." The emphasis on her final word was clear and Reece rolled his eyes at her.
"She looked beautiful." He argued calmly. "Even Pansy couldn't find anything bad to say." And then suddenly Reece's eyes were drifting back over to the rival table, even though she wasn't there. Ginny was there though, sitting with a girl in her year and giving Reece a knowing look as his mind focused back on Daphne.
"What was it you said to me in detention?" The blonde asked rhetorically. "You don't care about the mudblood, I believe that was what you said."
"Jesus christ Daphne, it's not like I've proposed marriage to her or anything. We danced. Nothing more, nothing less." Reece stated irritably, his eyes darting to the door, seeing Granger walk in alongside Fay Dunbar. It was as if he could sense her entering the room. That was kind of weird. He wasn't the only guy that was watching her though; it seemed that after her appearance with Viktor Krum the entire male population of Hogwarts had suddenly realised that Hermione Granger was indeed a girl. An incredibly pretty one at that.
"Reece stop looking at her." Daphne sighed to cover her laugh. He didn't stop though; Reece kept his eyes on her even when Blaise said hello, sitting down beside his girlfriend and asking what was going on. Granger wasn't paying him any attention, Reece noted disdainfully as he continued to watch her converse with Ginny.
"Oi mate," Blaise said suddenly, picking up a random slice of toast that was on the tray and throwing it at Reece. In return Reece gave his best guy friend a glare that could kill as he picked up the toast and threw it back hard at Blaise. Being a beater on the Quidditch team certainly gave Reece strength and the power showed when the noise of the toast hitting Blaise's forehead echoed through the hall. "Guess I deserved that." Blaise muttered to Daphne while wiping the crumbs off of his forehead. "Seriously mate," He said to a now attentive Reece. "This infatuation with that flaming know-it-all has to stop."
"What does that mean?" Tracey asked.
"It's not an infatuation." Reece snapped heatedly, ignoring Tracey's question and focusing his aggression on Blaise and perhaps even Daphne who had brought the topic up in the first place. "I told you the other day, Zabini, I'm not giving up a good view – and I'm definitely not gonna stop looking at her just because you lot don't like it."
"Oh, and what do you think will happen when the Weasley twins spot you looking at her like you are now?" Daphne pressed on, taking the heat off of Blaise. "They might be jokers but you know what they're like when they're protecting Granger and their little sister – the two of them are incredibly protective, and I bet they won't hesitate to come after you if they spot you staring at Granger with anything other than hatred in your eyes."
"Will both of you just shut up?" Reece hissed as he rose from the bench and picked up his last piece of toast. "I'm sorry for snapping but today just isn't a good day to have this talk." With that he began walking quickly, finishing off his toast as he exited through the large doors and bumping into a moody Ron Weasley who was walking with both Potter and Longbottom. The two collided, their shoulders knocking them back from one another making them both look up. Reece was most certainly not in the mood, especially after Ronald had brought Hermione to tears the previous night for reasons still unknown to the Slytherin. Upon hearing a growl of annoyance from the Gryffindor Reece blocked his path and used both hands to give Ron a vicious shove. "Manners, Weasley – where are yours?" He asked coolly, giving Ron another push backwards so that the confrontation stayed out in the Entrance Hall.
"Just leave it Lestrange." Harry said calmly, stepping in-between the two to attempt to diffuse the situation. Neville, not having much to do in the situation, discreetly snuck off into the hall to inform Hermione of the conflict outside.
"Actually, I don't think I am going to leave it, Potter." Reece spat, drawing his wand and pushing Harry aside with his free hand. "So Weasley, you have a choice. You can either tell me what you've been doing to upset Granger so much. Or you can draw your wand, come outside, and duel me." He said as he began twirling his wand between his fingertips. "Cards are in your hands Weasel."
"Ron-" Harry started in warning. It was clear Harry wasn't an idiot, and remembered the article about Reece winning an international duelling tournament. Ronald however, seemed to have forgotten. He'd either forgotten or really didn't want to have a conversation with Reece about Hermione.
"Right then," Ron said gruffly, ignoring Harry's warning and making up his own mind. "Outside it is." Reece smirked, chuckling to himself and shoving Ron once more as he made his way outside into the courtyard with his wand by his side. He stood in the middle of the cobble, one hand in the pocket of his jeans and the other still by his side. Snow was still crunching underfoot but Reece didn't care and neither did Weasley as he made his way outside with Potter, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan.
"Aw this is cute." Reece teased as they stopped a suitable duelling distance away from the Slytherin. "You brought backup, how nice." As soon as he finished, Ron quickly whipped out his wand and fired a vicious hex at Reece. Reece quickly threw up a shield with a circular wave of his arm – a miffed expression appearing on his face. It would have been Weasley to cheat. Ron quickly fired another hex but once again Reece blocked it, much to the redhead's irritation. A crowd was quickly forming around them as Reece began pacing, making Ron move so that they were circling each other. Many students were watching on, muttering amongst themselves as Ron threw multiple disarming charms at Reece in fast succession. And then Reece began to fight back, muttering "Everte Statum." Under his breath. Weasley, by far not on Reece's level of duelling was unable to avoid the spell, and was coincidentally sent flying backwards into the crowd of Gryffindors and other students behind him.
"Expelliarmus!" Ron yelled fiercely as Dean pulled him to his feet. Once again, Reece blocked the spell, sending it up into the air and into the cloudy grey sky.
"Serpensortia." Reece mumbled, allowing a snake to shoot out of his wand and onto the floor. "Serpensortia." He muttered again with an arrogant smirk as another snake appeared. Ron was staring at them both, his lip quivering as he held up his wand in defence. "Wait until you are commanded, then strike him, non-lethally as he can't die." Reece whispered to the snakes, speaking in parseltongue for the first time in ages.
"Go on Lestrange!" Malfoy jeered, egging Reece on from the side. During the crowd gathering Draco had appeared with Crabbe and Goyle, and he looked incredibly happy to see Reece fighting with Weasley.
"No!" Reece's head snapped to the hall entrance, noticing Hermione running outside with Ginny. She pushed her way through the circle of students and began making her way towards Ron when one of the two snakes twisted the top of its body, hissing at her warningly. Hermione stopped in her tracks, looking at the snake fearfully and then looking to Reece. The gleam in her eyes was a furious one: one of anger and perhaps even betrayal. Reece stared at her for a moment – he couldn't let her stop him, not when he had come this far. Remorsefully, Reece waved his wand in her direction, using a soft spell to send her backwards into the crowd. Hermione looked enraged as Reece focused back on Weasley and his two snakes.
"Coil yourselves around his legs." Reece commanded. "Go!" The two summoned snakes advanced on Ron quickly, reaching him within seconds and wrapping themselves around the bottom of Ron's trousers. Hermione dashed towards Ron, and so did Harry and Ginny as Hermione tried to pry the snakes off of Ron's legs.
"Get them off him!" Hermione's head snapped round, shouting across at Reece who was watching on with an unreadable expression. Ron continued to whimper, watching the snakes helplessly as they tightened – cutting off the circulation in his legs.
"Just what in the world is going on out here?" The crowd of students silenced upon hearing Professor Flitwick's voice. The Charms professor began pushing through the huddled groups of students, making his way out into the middle of the courtyard and immediately spying Ron. "Goodness me." Flitwick said as he took out his wand and began muttering counter spells. Many students took this time as an opportunity to leave and Draco approached Reece, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him away. Just as they thought they were in the clear and on their way inside they were stopped by Professor Snape. The man looked far from impressed.
"I'm sure you have homework to be working on." Snape said to Draco, grabbing Reece's collar and dragging him up to Dumbledore's study. It was rare that Snape would ever scold one of his own students, so physically dragging a boy was a new one for everyone to see. "Professor." The potions master said curtly, giving Reece a small push forward and releasing his collar. "Mister Lestrange here was found escaping the scene of a duel against Mister Weasley. I'm sure Minerva will be looking for him so, here, he, is…"
"Thank you Severus." Dumbledore said as he looked down at Reece with his weakly twinkling eyes. "I'm sure she'll appear with Mr Weasley any moment now." It was as if Dumbledore could sense it, because as soon as he said this Minerva McGonagall barged through the door with Ron, Harry, and Hermione in tow. "A boxing day duel?" He asked both Ron and Reece before the transfiguration professor had time to speak. "May I ask who won-"
"Professor Dumbledore." McGonagall cut in tensely.
"Please Minerva," Dumbledore said with a calming hand gesture. "I was simply wondering." Ron's face was a mix of many emotions: anger, sadness, embarrassment – to name a few. Reece's however, was just a picture of boredom. In honesty he just wanted to get the punishment and leave but of course Albus Dumbledore was never one to have a simple conversation. "Mr Lestrange, I'm guessing?" McGonagall was about to cut in once again – probably to scold Albus for guessing and showing favouritism – but Dumbledore continued before she could do so. "I never really got the chance to congratulate you on your win this time last year. Even with that broken ankle-"
"Please don't remind me sir." Reece said with a small curt laugh.
"Professor Dumbledore." Professor McGonagall said furiously. "These students have just been duelling on school grounds, unsupervised, when we have visitors. Surely you must take action?"
"And I will, Professor." Albus replied reassuringly. "But not with detentions – nor deductions in house points." McGonagall suddenly appeared extremely taken back and even Snape who had been silently observing seemed to be the tiniest bit shocked. "I simply ask the two of you not to duel again – and if you do, don't get caught." He winked at Reece.
"Professor-"
"Taking house points from Slytherin and putting Mister Lestrange in detention will not change his behaviour, Professor." Dumbledore said to McGonagall. "I believe that is what we have been doing since his first year, but have had no such luck so far." Minerva pursed her lips in silent agreement and even Severus nodded his head slightly. "Now I do believe that today is Boxing Day – a holiday that we should all celebrate. You all may go, apart from our man of the hour – Mister Lestrange if you wouldn't mind staying for a private chat." Snape swept out of the room quickly, followed just as rapidly by Professor McGonagall and the three Gryffindors. "I think perhaps, a deal between you and I should suffice to, shall we say? Dial down your behaviour."
"A deal?" Reece said questionably.
"Yes." Dumbledore replied, his eyes twinkling with the mischief that Reece remembered seeing during first and second year. "You are a brilliant student, Mister Lestrange. Second in your year if I'm not mistaken, following closely behind Miss Granger and her extraordinary marks."
"What are you getting at sir?"
"Well you have the marks Mister Lestrange – but your behaviour is what's stopping you from getting that shiny prefect badge next year. If we come to an agreement now, as headmaster I can guarantee that the position will be yours."
"How do you know that I wanted prefect?" Reece asked with a smirk, feeling a slight pushing at the front of his mind that relaxed as soon as it appeared.
"Lucky guess." Albus said knowingly. "Do we have a deal Mister Lestrange? You control your violent urges and in return earn yourself the title of prefect at the beginning of the next school year."
"I can't promise Professor, but I'll try my best."
"That's all I ask." Dumbledore smiled.
"I love Hogsmeade." Draco sarcastically drawled as he, Reece, Crabbe and Goyle stepped around muddy puddles that were appearing in the snow. The January weather had been cold and wet so far: the weather was so bad in fact that it was even putting a damper on the snow in Hogsmeade. "Right lads, I say we go to Spintwitches – there might be no Quidditch this year but there is next year and it doesn't hurt to have a look around." Reece couldn't be fooled by Draco's words. The boy was a Malfoy; he never simply had a look around. The Malfoys all had an obsession with spending, simply because they had the money to throw away on costly things that they didn't need. Reece was positive that they let their obsession hit a new high when a member of the Weasley family was around, and they probably did it out of spite and arrogance.
"Pucey mentioned they were getting some new gloves in." Reece said, smirking as they made their way towards the shop. He always enjoyed baiting Malfoy. It was a guilty pleasure of Reece's; making Draco spend endless amounts of Galleons, Knuts and Sickles on things that weren't necessary. As the four entered the store Crabbe and Goyle shot off towards the brooms, leaving Reece and Draco to examine the new equipment that had appeared since their last visit.
"These do seem to be excellent quality." Malfoy muttered approvingly as he picked up the most expensive looking pair of gloves on the shelf. "Thirty five galleons just for the gloves." He hummed. "I think that's more than Arthur Weasley gets paid for a month's work." Reece snorted at the joke before picking up another pair of the same gloves and examining them.
"These look a bit better than my current ones." Reece said thoughtfully, trying one on his left hand and flexing his fingers to test the movement. "Yo Malfoy these are bloody decent, I think I'm going to get a pair."
"I think I'll purchase a pair as well." Malfoy said pompously as Crabbe and Goyle appeared from a different part of the shop. "I can't wait for Quidditch next year Lestrange." He said as he swaggered through the shop to pay. "It'll be our year – I can feel it. We'll win the cup for sure, and make sure Potter doesn't get any glory while we're at it."