Anything that rings a bell belongs to JK Rowling
Chapter Twenty Five: To Become Bane
"It's in two days Ky! Two days, 48 hours, 2880 minutes…well not exactly, it starts at 8pm and its 9 now so, oh gosh Ky it's less than two days!"
Ky washed her hands off the Sleekeazy's Hair potion and looked at Mi through the cracked mirror. She was pitching the same argument that she had been making for days, the only thing that she got from it though is that her friend can multiply by 60 easily.
"Mi it's just not my thing. I don't know how to dance, and I loathe dressing up. You know I bet I could come up with a more long-lasting version of this Sleekeazy potion." She sniffed at her hands, "I can smell Moly…I bet if I swapped it with a diluted Alihotsy-"
"You don't have to dance, and you don't have to dress up. Well don't wear jeans, but I have a dress that is simple, and you can alter it and you'll look amazing in it. You'll be the only fourth year not there. Just take up Ron-"
"For the last time, I am not going with Ron."
Ky gave her a look that meant this was not up for discussion. She can't blame her, after what Harry said, or more like what Harry didn't say to Ginny, going with Ron means having to be in the presence of Harry and that goes against all her wishes presently.
Plus, she knew Mi wanted Ron to ask her ever since this blasted Ball came up, but of course he was clueless. She was seconds away from grabbing him by the scruff of his shirt and pushing his face into the facts he was just not seeing…then she remembered that she should be the last person giving any sort of romantic advice.
Ky wiped her hands and turned around, giving Mi a sceptical look. She got off the stool they had conjured for this experimental session. Mi wanted to have a 'run through' of her hairstyle for the Ball and didn't want the other girls judging her if the hairstyle was a flop. That's how they ended up in the second-floor girls' bathroom which belonged to Moaning Myrtle, who thankfully seemed to be haunting elsewhere.
Mi sighed, "Fine, I know that whole 'you'll be the only one not there' argument is quite null and void…the truth is...I'm scared…everybody is going to gossip and whisper when I walk in with Viktor, and I've never been on a date before and what if everything goes wrong! I mean look at me…I'm not a model! Do you know he dated one back home, Dilyana Popova, she's probably twice my height, half my weight and-"
"-a brain capacity one millionth your size. Let's not forget your personality which is equivalent to hers to the power of eleventy billion."
"You haven't met her to know that… she could be lovely."
"Neither have you, she could be one of those big models for fat feeder fetishes, or a ramp model who is practically a walking hanger. But I do know you. Look Mi, for somebody so incredibly intelligent you can be a total airhead when it comes to your own worth. This school may look at you and see Hermione Granger, brainiac with a tendency of shouting, 'free the elves, join SPEW' in random corridors. But this school also thinks that Anna what's-her-face is pregnant with Christopher-whatever-his-name's baby and they've both eloped to America. Whilst I'm pretty sure they don't even know each other considering she's a fourth year Puff and he was a seventh year Claw and their families both relocated to places nowhere near the States. They'll gossip about anything! I know you; you're caring to the point of crazy, smart to the point of brilliance and loyal to the point…to the point that almost moved me to tears. Almost."
She smiled, knowing that Ky was talking about what happened in the corridor the other day. "And Sleekeazy potion or not, you look beautiful. And I'm not just saying that because I'm your friend. I am skilled in the art of woman rating, schooled by the two grand masters themselves."
She touched her hair quietly and looked contemplatively at the mirror, "I must say, we did well on this charm."
Ky rolled her eyes; of course, she would ignore all the compliments, they made their way out of the bathroom, "Well, it's expected…it was performed by us. So, are you satisfied? Can we get out of here, this bathroom gives me the creeps and I have to head for my detention. And apparently see Zio Fil about alteration charms."
Her friend turned around with a blinding smile on her face, gave out a very un-Mi like squeal and engulfed her in a hug, "Oh Ky, that's great! I'm sure I can ask Viktor tomorrow to see if one of his friends are available."
"Woah, impediment the freak up. I am only coming so I can be there if your date goes south, and you need me to disfigure Krum's already less than perfect nose. There will be no dates, no dancing and definitely no dancing with Durmstrang dates."
"Still…thanks Ky…this really means so much to me."
"Yes, I know, I am the best. No arguments there."
They walked to the end of the corridor, and Mi stopped. Ky stared at her friend, trying to work out what that flustered look meant.
And then she saw them.
Cedric stepped out of a portrait holding Chang's hand like a dog on a leash. Chang blushed at them as he muttered the password to close the entrance to wherever they had come from.
He turned and their eyes met for a second, he quickly moved along though, tugging the blushing bitch with him. Fine…Ky had a slight case of sour grapes, she was only human.
Ky resumed walking but Mi stopped her, "Godric, Ky I completely forgot. I'm such a horrid friend. You don't have to come to the Ball. I'll be fine on my own. Oh, heavens I'm so-"
"Shush Mi. You're not horrible, just neurotic, but that's fine, it's part of your charm. Don't worry about that, I'm fine."
They made their way down the corridor. Well, Cedric must have really liked her; it took him all but a few days to transfer his affection to a better model. This confirmed that she was right not to sacrifice her friendship for a romantic relationship.
Even if said friendship was one huge farce.
At least Harry was trying to make amends; he sought Ky out straight after the whole ordeal with redhead and explained that he did trust her and that he was just trying to placate Ginny.
Ky told him it was OK.
Of course, it wasn't. But she wasn't going to fall to pieces over a boy.
Not again.
Ky began hanging out with the Twins, and she caught Harry looking at her gloomily a few times, but she appreciated that he didn't hound her, and gave her space. Their relationship had regressed to one of polite greetings in the morning.
Cedric on the other hand didn't even have the decency to let her know that he asked Chang to the Ball, just as a courtesy considering they were friends before they were…whatever they were. She had to find that out from Mi.
"Well I better go down for detention. Sev adds an hour to every minute I'm late. He's trying to teach me punctuality. Not enough hours in the day to implement the skill using his logic though. See you later."
Mi nodded sadly at her and ascended the stairs as Ky turned and walked down to the dungeons.
-x-x-x-
"I can't believe you're making me do this. Again."
"Well, you and Mr Malfoy made a bigger mess than what the room originally looked like, you two will have this room sorted out or I'll make you stay the holidays."
"I am staying over the holidays Sensei. Ugh this isn't fair. Do you not remember the Lamian Leave sap I gave you the other day?"
His black eyes softened moderately, "I do. And do you remember what I told you. No more potion making until you've served all your detentions. You get more than those red-haired devil twins; I don't know why you have to be such a Gryffindor about things."
"He called Mi a mudblood and he tried hitting her with a tripping jinx at the top of the seventh-floor staircase!"
"That does not give you the right to disfigure Blishwick's face with a jinx that not even Madam Pomfrey knew how to undo. We had to send him to St Mungo's! Do you know how much paperwork and arse kissing I had to do to make sure the Blishwicks' didn't push for your expulsion! You should have reported the incident to a teacher, when things like that happen, come to me. Don't act like an oaf."
"Yes, because you're always so keen on disciplining your precious Slytherins. Don't think I have forgotten about that whole Mi's teeth fiasco!"
"It really didn't look different to me." He didn't even look up when he said it, scribbling on some parchment. The events of the past few days seemed to have grouped up and pushed Ky over the edge.
"Of course, it didn't because you're always taking those insipid psychopaths' side! You know Harry was telling the truth, Malfoy really did call her a mudblood! In front of everybody! If Ron didn't hold me back, I would have done more than just disfigure his face! The whole lot of them need to learn that their no better than flies that sit on the dung that comes out a mad cow's behind! And you! You're the worse-"
"Fifty points from Gryffindor and five more detentions Miss Thornton. Please don't confuse my leniency at our witty banter for an invitation to insult my students. Would you speak about the Ravenclaws like that to Flitwick. Would you! You have no respect, and your attitude is not only deplorable, but it disappoints me! Go, serve your detention, and do not forget who I am."
Ky looked at his steely black eyes for a moment, then turned around and ran out of the room. She felt the wetness on her shirt before she felt it on her face.
He was right. She wasn't some special case. She was a student that he spent a lot of time with because she kept getting detentions. He didn't choose to spend time with her. All this time she was being a fool, hoping that she could melt his cold heart and wishing that he would be something she always wanted. A paternal figure of some sort. No matter how dysfunctional their relationship was, she always hoped he was voluntarily in it.
Even if he whinged about it, she thought it was because he just was insecure to come out and say, 'I did this because I wanted to, not because your grandfather writes my pay-check.'
Sev took all those pompous asses' sides, not hers…Cedric and Cho…Harry took Ginny's side. It can't be them…it must be her.
She was like poison; she was literally Bane.
She screwed up things with Cedric for a friendship with Harry that wasn't even real. And Sev…Snape…she missed Linus and she missed Lenzo.
She wiped her eyes roughly as she heard footsteps approach and didn't bother even looking up when she was doused in a dark shadow, knowing the scent to belong to only one person.
A/N: Oh man, she's not having a good time of it. But, it was bound to happen - Ky has been toeing the line for a while with Snape, and I couldn't have her ignore the way he treats Hermione, or the other Gryffindors - what do you think of the fight ? Is she being completely unreasonable?