Memoirs of a Serpent's Son

Memoirs of a Serpent’s Son

--Age 14—part 4

The Yule Ball

The Yule Ball finally came around, along with the Christmas holidays. Almost no one left this year. Big surprise there. Generally they were only students too young to go that didn’t stay. I almost wish I’d gone with them.

Much like I had anticipated, it was NOT the most “magical night of my life”.

Pansy wouldn’t come near me for the whole day –not that I’m really complaining. She said something about my not being allowed to see her until she was fully ready. I don’t understand that much, it sounds like the kind of thing that women say before a wedding or something. For my own sanity, I shrugged and stayed away. I don’t really care much to spend time with her anyway. I was glad she didn’t try to get me involved in her grooming and primping, anyway. I’d heard stories of other boys being abducted by their dates to get prepared “properly”.

I spent the lounging in the Slytherin common room, reading. Exhilarating, isn’t it?

Honestly there isn’t much for me to say about my preparation for the ball.

I got up an hour or so before the ball and went to the boys rooms to shower and change. Thankfully the shower was empty when I got there because I…er…got another one of those urges while I was in there. I need to get something to treat that… really I do. I was just thinking about how heartbroken Potter must be, having to show up at the ball with no date, dressed in his fancy robes only to be the only one alone.

And then it hit me. Well not just then, it started when I imagined what Potter might look like in his dress robes. It honestly frustrates me that just about ANYTHING with him in the picture can cause the damn REACTION in me. I think I’m sick. Yes. That must be it. I think I should consult someone… perhaps I should just go to the library and look for a book that might give me some kind of answer.

Crabbe and Goyle don’t usually follow me to the library. I think they’re frightened of the books or something. Perhaps the thought of so much knowledge and written work makes them cringe….

What am I saying? They don’t THINK.

Anyway, I got into my dress robes and fixed my hair (not that it ever needs fixing, mine is just perfect like that) and went out to meet Pansy. I half expected her to tell me it still wasn’t time for me to see her, but thankfully she joined me a few moments later. She looked alright I suppose.

She was wearing an iridescent green dress-like thing. It suited her well and her hair was drawn back into an elegant and inexplicable coif. She looked a right lot better than she usually did, but I cannot see how this could have taken all day.

I mean Potter can look this good in just a few moments.

……… what?

I smiled curtly to her and held out my arm so that I’d at least look a proper gentleman, taking her to the ball. Father had taught me the proper ways to address and walk with a woman years ago. He’d taught me the wonder of a genuine-looking fake smile. It still works well to this day. It even fools him sometimes.

We went into the Entrance hall and waited for the doors to the Great Hall to open. Lines of people came up to us to complement our dress. All sorts of girls were whispering to Pansy things that made her stick her nose up in snobby pride. I get the impression they were jealous of her for being with me because every time this happened, she’d tighten her grasp on my arm as though I might escape and be swept away by another one of her vulture friends.

Thinking back on it now, I should have likely taken that as a sign of things to come, but I was too busy scanning the crowd.

Potter was nowhere to be seen for what felt like ages until –finally –he sauntered grudgingly down the stairs to meet one of the Patil girls. The idea that he actually managed to get a date didn’t really hit me then… more it was how he looked in his dress robes that got me.

He looked… older… somehow. More mature and more refined. He reminded me of those men I’d seen with my Father at the Ministry when I was younger. The men that were so successful they needed no introduction and inspired awe to everyone surrounding them. I was mildly disconcerted by this idea and fought hard to suppress another one of those damn urges.

One thing did relax me, mind you. His hair was still a bloody mess.

He filtered through the crowd to meet McGonagall for the ‘Champions’ Entrance’ or something equally as pointlessly symbolic. The rest of us went into the Hall and stood around the edges of the entrance way to wait for the Champions.

As they walked in, I noticed something else that was unexpected. That stupid mudblood was Krum’s date! I can’t believe he picked her –of all people –to take to the ball with him. That and she was somehow… clean looking. I don’t know, but her teeth were fixed (sadly, I had rather hoped that that spell would last) and her hair was slicked back and tied in a knot.

I grimaced. I don’t appreciate being unprepared for things like that. It was bad enough that Potter had to look so damn good in his dress robes, I didn’t need to ever be under the impression that Granger might in fact be human.

I’m shuddering just at the thought of that.

I turned my attention back to Potter to watch him –hopefully –make a fool of himself dancing with the Parvati girl.

But he didn’t really make a fool of himself. He didn’t do too poorly in his dancing and, actually, managed to pull off the whole thing with a little bit of grace and dignity.

Bugger.

We sat and we ate and blahblahblah. The world goes on.

After the feast the actual dancing began. I took Pansy out onto the floor to dance. She’d press up close to me and move in what I assume was meant to be a seductive manner but I’d just pull away every time. I don’t dance like that with any one and certainly not in public. I’m a Malfoy, not a Weasley.

Speaking of whom, Weasel was sitting for the whole of the dance out on the side, with Potter next to him and looking bored out of his mind. Potter’s eyes were set on something and I’m pretty damn sure I know what it was they were set on. It’s not what I would have liked him to be staring at but at least it caused him to have a strangely amusing pout for hours on end.

His eyes were angry and dark and he acted as though this was the worst night of his life. I smirked and tried to ignore him. I was going to enjoy myself at the ball and brag about it later, just to make him even more miserable.

It was the perfect plan.

I continued to dance to the Weird Sisters’ songs for a while with Pansy. Other girls would rub up against me every so often and she’d give them death glares and pull me to a different area of the floor. I’m not a child. She does not own me.

I got sick of dancing. I left the floor and –much to my dismay –she followed me.

Potter was gone. He’d left the Great Hall with the Weasel and was nowhere to be seen. I cast my eyes around the room briefly before heading outside to the little gardens they had set up for the ball. Pansy followed me there too.

When I got out there, I realized why it was she was so intent on following me. There were couples hidden in every other bush, making strange noises and ultimately snogging each other senseless.

I scowled and tried to get through the winding paths before I found myself stuck at a dead end with no Potter and only Pansy waiting behind me. I turned around and stared at her for a moment or two, trying to decide what would be best to say in a situation like this when she went ahead and DID IT.

She KISSED ME.

She leaned in, wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her lips to mine without saying a word of warning or even asking me if that’s what I wanted! I tensed and shuddered in the feel of it. I did not appreciate the whole ordeal, and frankly, her forward actions make me wonder about the kind of girl she is.

I pushed her off and glared at her. She looked frightened, even in the low light of the fairy decorations.

“Draco… I’m sorry,” she whispered to me. It looked as though she was afraid I might hex her. I won’t lie. I was considering it.

I told her that neither of us would ever mention what had just happened and that only then could we continue hanging out together. She nodded and I left her there.

I went back to the common room and forgot about trying to find Potter.

I couldn’t go after him after that. Not after what Parkinson did. What had gotten into her? Thinking she could go ahead and lead any of our interactions?! If I had wanted to kiss her I would have. Fact is I don’t.

I never want to kiss her again.

I never want to think about that again.

I feel… I don’t know.

I hate not having any means of expressing myself.

There’s a bad taste in my mouth.

That wasn’t how I wanted my first kiss. Not at all. Not even with whom.

Not that I’ve planned who I want to kiss… no…

Ah I need to go shower and get that smell off of me.
*****

I’ve not been myself lately. I haven’t been taunting people quite as much as I should be and my friends are beginning to notice. So, to make up for it today, I took it out on Potter.

We had a new teacher today in Care of Magical Creatures. About damn time too. Professor Grubbly-Plank, I believe. She’s alright I suppose, not that I was paying much attention.

She brought a unicorn to class. First thing she says is that they don’t like boys so only the girls get to get close and actually take part in the class. Good teaching skills there, make it so only half the class can actually do something while the rest of us sit around and look pretty.

Well, most of the rest of ‘us’ don’t naturally look pretty, so I guess that was just me.

Anyway, it gave me a chance to talk to Potter. He got all worried, see, when his beloved oaf of a friend didn’t show up to class. But lucky Scarhead, always has me to hand him the information he’s looking for. He doesn’t appreciate my presence nearly as much as he should. He’d never find ANYTHING out if it weren’t for me.

I told him that the oaf is probably too scared to show his face after the article Rita Skeeter published about him. He’s half-giant! Giants are violent, mindless and dangerous and he’s TEACHING us! No wonder he presented Hippogriffs to us on the first day and then brought the monstrous Skrewt-things along for us to raise. Sadistic bastard.

Potter didn’t take too well to all of that but I’m glad. If I’m to be miserable inside then the least I can do is share my pain. He’ll just have to deal with being as miserable as I am.

It’s only fair.

*******

The Second Task

Potter had another brush with death today. But how is that a surprise anymore?

Everyone filed out towards the lake and into some specially placed temporary stands so that we could watch the Champions face impending doom once more. I got myself a seat with the usual gang of Slytherins and made sure that I had a good view of the water. There as nothing there, mind you. I don’t really know what they are going to be doing but it better be good.

Potter came out to the edge of the lake with the rest of the Champions and waited for the signal. Then he shoved something into his mouth and jumped into the lake.

And that was it. They all just jumped into the lake and disappeared!

Dumbledore explained the ordeal of this task while the Champions were under there, apparently searching for whomever it was that was taken from them. An hour, he said they would have, and no more.

In the meantime, we sat and watched the calm rippling waters at the surface of the lake, unable to know what was going on underneath. I sat back and huffed a bit. This task wasn’t particularly exciting to watch, given that we couldn’t actually SEE anything.

We talked and chatted for a while, waiting for one of the Champions to show their face at the surface. Finally, one of them did, but it wasn’t a good sign.

The Delacour girl, Champion for Beauxbatons, came up first. She’d nearly drown after being attacked by Grindylows I think. Some sea-creature anyway and she had not accomplished the task. She was forced to forfeit and take fourth place.

I swallowed hard, thinking about the whole thing. She’d been forced out of the lake after being attacked, which meant that she had only just gotten away. What if someone was down there and stuck? Someone…

I shook my head and ran my tongue over my teeth, looking annoyed. I rolled my eyes and said something about how the task was taking forever and the people around me all nodded their head in agreement. They started to ask me things like what I would do if I were stuck down there. Or else telling me I should have been made champion in Potter’s stead. Or perhaps they meant in Diggory’s place. I don’t know I didn’t ask.

Then, after what felt like days, Diggory’s head popped to the surface of the lake along with a very confused looking Chang. I laughed a bit at his choice of person and mused over what Potter likely thought of that. I bet he wasn’t too happy.

If he was still alive, anyway. Diggory was one minute over an hour. Who knows where Potter was.

The fact that he was not coming up was rather bothersome to me…

A few minutes later, some warped creature broke through the surface and tossed a limp looking Granger out of the water with him. Krum was clearly no good at transfiguration. He’d only managed to turn himself half-way into a shark.

But the fact that his “important person” turned out to be the mudblood was almost too much for me. I just about cursed him right then and there. He cannot be that blind. The girls in Bulgaria cannot be that hideous that Granger became appealing to him!

Ahh, more shudders. I just can’t think of it.

The Champions were given towels and such, being congratulated, but Potter was still not up. He was still down there somewhere, way over the time limit, and possibly dead.

I clenched my jaw and waited. I’m not going to deny that I felt a little nervous. Only because if Potter died, I’d have no one worthwhile to bother.

Then finally, almost another hour later, a little blonde girl and Weasley popped to the top of the lake, closely followed by Potter. He looked a mess. There were marks over his face and arms from what seemed like a Grindylow attack, and he was coughing up water as though he’d tried to inhale the lake.

I sighed audibly and when people gave me quizzical looks I made some comment about how inconsiderate Potter had been, taking so long and robbing us of a day off. There were grunts of agreement as I turned back to see his shivering form get into the platform.

I was staring daggers at him. Now that I knew he was alive and relatively well, I realized something. His ‘person’ was the WEASEL??

That’s who is most important to him?! I can’t believe it! What the hell is Weasel worth?? Nothing! He rejected Potter at the beginning of the competition because he was jealous of him and yet somehow he’s still the most important person in Potter’s life?!

It was almost funny. I started to laugh but it was a cold and unforgiving laugh. It sounded like the kind of thing my Father did. It was mocking and harsh and I’m pretty sure that I disconcerted a few of the people sitting around me. Pansy tentatively chuckled along with me and then everyone nodded and laughed too. They had no idea what they were laughing at but I took the opportunity to enlighten them.

I pointed out that Weasel was Potty’s important person. I suggested that since Diggory picked Chang, and Krum picked Granger, that perhaps Weasel and Potter have a different kind of ‘friendship’ than previously assumed. Then everyone broke out into even broader laughter and agreed with me. I was almost thankful to Pansy for that…

They made jokes all the way back to the common room, even though Potter was awarded his points for being so noble and stupid. He was in first place with Diggory now but the group around me was still jeering at the possibility that he and Weasel are involved.

Then they started talking about what each of them would have chosen as their “thing” or “person”. I joked that Crabbe and Goyle would have to pick food, because that’s all they ever think about. They laughed along with me and someone asked me who I would pick. I froze inwardly and pretended to think. They laughed and joked about how I don’t need anyone and it would be my mirror or my hair products and other equally as foolish comments. The truth was that I knew exactly who would have been waiting at the bottom of the lake for me, had I been the Champion…

And just the fact that I didn’t even have to think about it makes me worry…

I can’t be sane, not if it doesn’t bother me that much anymore. I must be losing my mind to think that it’s alright for me to accept that he is that important to me.

I’m not accepting it.

Just because it’s there, doesn’t mean I have to see it.

I’ve never minded pretending before.

-------IIIII-------

A/N: Ahh I don’t know if I like this chapter as much, but the fourth year is almost done. I think it will only be one more chapter after this… perhaps two shorter ones if it’s too long otherwise. After that I move into fifth year and that’s where it gets more fun ^^ for me anyway hahaha, I hope you liked it! The thing with Pansy I feel needed to happen. I think it actually improved their relationship, and created a kind of unspoken understanding between them. If you disagree, well I’m sorry then lol. I hope you guys don’t think I’m totally mad X_X

[I can't remember properly if they were Grindylows or Hinkypunks, so I've changed it to Grindylows because I've had a brainfart (where my brain explodes momentarily lol), if I'm wrong, I'm terribly sorry X_X]

PLEASE REVIEW –I’ll love you forever! hahah