Twelve
She felt so stupid, to be honest.
How had she not figured it out almost immediately? She suspected that it had been the surprise that had hit her when she became stuck between reality and the unseen, but still. She, herself, had stood within the Room of Requirement the previous year while attempting to learn a useful spell or two rather than the dribble Dolores Umbridge was shoving down her throat.
The Room of Requirement had been Draco's destination. That much was obvious now. But, as she flipped another page in Hogwarts: A History and took another suspicious glance toward the Slytherin Prince seated across the courtyard, she pondered the reason why he would have need of the Room. It certainly was not to learn the Patronus Charm.
Not only that, but how in the world was he keeping up with his schoolwork?
He looked so beaten down and pale that she would not be surprised to hear whispers about him not sleeping at night. It clearly was starting to look like he was a ghost, after all. Was he spending all of his time within the Room? Why? What in the world could he need that the Room was providing for him, and—?
The Gryffindor girl ducked her head down slightly as Blaise Zabini cast a sly glance in her direction from the Malfoy's side. Had he seen her looking? The dark skinned boy was just as bad as Malfoy himself, and with the added bonus of attempting to charm the skirt off of every girl that he so much as laid eyes upon. Her mouth twisted into a scowl at the thought, as she quickly cast a glance upward.
Oh lord, it was just her luck!
Quickly snapping her book shut, Higurashi Kagome swept her robe behind her when she stood suddenly. Her scowl settled full force upon the Slytherin approaching her, and she nearly growled at the realization that he had also drawn that git's attention to her person. So, when he neared, she snapped, "Whatever it is you want, Zabini, you can keep it to yourself and march yourself back to wherever it is you came from!"
The Slytherin boy ignored the remark with a slight shrug of his shoulder, as he said, "Such lovely weather we're having, isn't it, love?"
"Don't call me that!"
"Oh, don't be that way," Blaise's eyes seemed to sparkle. "After all, you're the one with the wandering eyes. Thinking about coming to sit with Draco and myself, perhaps? You'd be such a brave little Gryffindor to do so, as I'm certain you know that those in Slytherin tend to bite."
"Oh, as if!" Kagome snarled.
Blaise turned his head slightly, noticing that the Slytherin Prince had narrowed his eyes in his direction for disobeying his wish to leave the Higurashi girl to herself. His smirk spread a bit on his handsome face, as he decided to lean into the Gryffindor fifth year. He was a little surprised she allowed him so close with her temper, as he whispered into her ear. "You may deny it, Ka-go-me, but I am quite certain that Draco would be quite pleased if you decided to sit with him after the encounter the two of you had last year in the third floor corridor."
Her face reddened with embarrassment at the memory, before she pushed the Slytherin boy away from her. "Don't touch me," she hissed. It figured that that git would tell his entire Slytherin posse about when she—No!
"Such fire," Blaise chuckled. "If you weren't already spoken for, I may have pursued you with a bit more vigor. For a Gryffindor, you're not half-bad, after all."
Had he just implied—?!
Huffing, Kagome did not even bother to gift the Slytherin with a reply. She straightened her back, making sure to cast a quick glare in the direction of the other snake, before spinning on her heel to stomp away from the courtyard.