Midnight Grace

Chapter Three: Miscommunication

An unpleasant sensation spread across Thane’s backside. It crept up his spine and rounded his ribs until it reached the center of his chest. By the time it settled there, it had already achieved its intended purpose and roused the sleeping Slytherin cruelly.

“AAAHHHH!!!” The boy screamed, sitting bolt-upright, his hands sweeping furiously at his chest in effort to rid himself of the ants he was sure were crawling up his chest. The sound of Draco’s laughter brought him fully into the waking world, a scowl present on his still sleepy features. He glared up at his fair-haired friend who was already dressed and ready for their first day of lessons.

“What in bloody hell is wrong with you?” Thane growled, standing up from the bed and throwing the bedcover down behind him, exposing his naked body. He stood there scratching at his head furiously as if he had fleas, leaving his usual tousled hair quite a mess. “If it wasn’t so early in the morning…” he threatened idly.

“You’d what?” asked Draco provokingly.

“I’d do something…” he paused, unable to come up with a proper threat, “well, more than you could imagine,” he said grumpily, again rubbing his chest, the residual effects of the hex still bothering him.

“Really? I can imagine a lot,” said Draco haughtily.

“Bah!” Thane grumbled, waving a hand in the air.

“I told you I needed you this morning,” said the white-haired boy, reminding Thane of their conversation last night. “And for Merlin’s sake, put some clothes on! Must you always be naked?!” he added, picking up Thane’s robes and throwing them at him.

Thane snatched the robes out of the air, tossing them down to the bed as he finished stretching. “You know, Cousin, if you’d put a bit of work into that skinny body of yours, you wouldn’t have to worry so much about mine,” he said with a wry smirk.

“Why mess with perfection?” answered Draco smugly, twirling his wand and replacing it in his robes. “Now get dressed. I need you down there before Tia gets to the common room,” he directed, turning to the mirror and replacing a hair that had dared move out of place.

“Tia?” Thane smirked. “So informal already?” he asked, throwing his robes over his shoulders.

“That’s what she prefers to be called,” said Draco matter-of-factly, narrowing his gaze at Thane through the mirror.

“By whom, might I ask?” Thane pressed.

“By me, you idiot!” answered Draco, irritated.

“Indeed,” said Thane, nodding his head, unable to suppress a smirk. “And why would that be, I wonder?”

“Perhaps because she asked me to?” he answered again; he was just about through with his friend’s unusual line of questioning.

“Uh-huh…” Thane trailed off in mock concentration as his eyes drifted to the ceiling. “And I suppose you didn’t show her any of that Prefect privilege of yours on that little tour last night, either?” he asked, looking at the boy as if he knew exactly what had transpired the night before.

“What?” Draco mumbled, momentarily caught unaware. Short lived as it was, aggravation quickly came to the fore, catching Thane’s meaning. “Oh, sod off!”

“Will you two shut up!” said a voice from behind them just as a pillow caught Thane in the back of the head.

“See? Even Zabini knows how daft you’re being,” Thane laughed as he threw the pillow back at Blaise, hitting his intended target – the boy’s face.

“Do either of you realize what time it is?” Blaise asked incredulously as he pulled the pillow from his head.

“Time for you to mind your own business,” Draco commented dryly and walked over to his own bed.

“And I would if you two sods could keep quiet!” Blaise protested, throwing himself back on his remaining pillows. “I know how hard it must be for you, Malfoy, but please, for all our sakes – be a good bloke and give it a try.”

“I’ll be sure to put that on my important list of things not to do,” said Draco flatly, clearly unimpressed with Zabini’s attempt at humor.

“You do that,” said Blaise and rolled his eyes.

Draco shot a menacing look at the boy before turning back to Thane. “You remember what I told you?” he asked, glaring expectantly at the taller boy.

“Yes, yes,” Thane yawned, waving off his impatient friend. “It’ll be fine. Now, run off to your ickle Firsties before they wet themselves.”

Blaise almost fell out of bed laughing. “The Great Draco Malfoy – Slytherin Prefect and nursemaid.”

“Watch yourself, Zabini,” said Draco, shrugging as he adjusted his robes on his shoulders. “You might just find yourself on latrine duty before the first week’s out.”

“Yes, Sir, Mister Prefect, Sir,” Blaise mocked, his blue-green eyes wide and blinking. “How ever can I make it up to you?”

Draco snorted as he turned and stalked from the room.

“Don’t underestimate him, mate,” said Thane, unable to suppress a chuckle as he issued warning to Blaise.

“Without his precious father around?” Blaise commented snidely. “I doubt it.”

“Believe what you will,” said Thane, brushing off Zabini’s comment and quickly losing interest in the conversation at hand. Thane had known Draco his entire life and despite all of the boy’s spoiled brattiness, there was a formidable enemy lying beneath that misleading exterior. Few people knew of the troubles Draco had suffered at the hand of his father as well as the Dark Lord, and Zabini would certainly prove no obstacle in the great scheme of things.

“He forgot Tweedle Dumb and Dumber,” said Blaise, jerking his head toward the two slumbering oafs on the opposite side of the room.

“Would you bother?” asked Thane. He ignored Zabini’s final remarks as he gathered his things for the baths. He was going to have to get this term’s password from Draco for the Prefect’s bathroom. He simply hated bathing with the commoners.

Across the dungeon, on the other side of Slytherin House, an entirely different drama was unfolding in the girls’ dormitories.

Jo woke, staring up at the green canopy above her and groaned to herself, wondering , oh why Hogwarts insisted on getting up at the crack of dawn? Why couldn’t they sleep till a reasonable hour – say noon maybe? What could they possibly hope to gain by making everyone crawl out of bed with the sun – and in the winter before the sun had even made itself known?

She heard the sounds of Liz and Marianna stirring and decided she’d better get up, after all, it was the start of a wonderful new year in the backwater world of European wizards, best not to be late.

Heaving herself into a sitting position, she jerked the curtains opened and glanced at her half dressed roommates. “Did anyone wake Tia up?”

“No, and I’m not,” Marianna sneered. “For all I know she’ll bite my head off!”

“You can,” Liz grinned, tugging her school robe on over her Hogwarts uniform.

“Joy,” Jo muttered. She lay in bed, blinking and trying to gather her thoughts. She’d had strange dreams all night, one of them involving Thane Purefoy catching some unknown jungle fever and having to be nursed back to health. He’d been a right pain in the ass the entire time, and she’d spent most of the dream arguing with him and slapping cold rags on his forehead.

She threw the blankets off and sat up, her head resting in her hands for a moment. There was nothing for it, it was the first day of school and ignoring it wouldn’t make it go away. The best thing to do was to meet it with grim determination and suffer through until classes ended and she could go hide somewhere in the peace and quiet for a while. She wondered vaguely if her third floor room would still be empty.

Last year she’d found one of the many abandoned rooms in the castle, this one an old, dusty classroom on the third floor, and had created almost a sanctuary in it. She’d spent a lot of time reading books by the light of bluebell flames, nestled in the darkest corner, under an old table, and she was hoping to do it again this year. It was the only thing that made her time at Hogwarts bearable.

Climbing out of bed she stretched and glanced at the Spanish girl who was examining herself in the full-length mirror that hung inside her wardrobe door. The girl smiled, patted her hair and turned to the side, eyes tracing the contour of her curves. Obviously satisfied with the results, Marianna shut the doors and started out of the room. “And don’t forget Malfoy said he’d dock points if Tia’s late!” She smirked before disappearing.

Jo grumbled to herself and approached Tia’s bed, trying to decide whether the best approach would be to just yank the curtains opened and shake her or if she should go for something more subtle. Finally she decided tactful was always the best approach to start with.

Gripping the folds of emerald material she gave the curtains a shake and called loudly, “Tia?”

Silence greeted her from within the bed, and Liz shut her own wardrobe noisily. “I’ll be in the common room if you need me,” the dark haired girl quipped before ducking out of the room too.

“Gee, thanks,” Jo muttered under her breath. Shaking the curtains again she called, “Tia?” But she still received no answer.

She wasn’t particularly worried about making it to breakfast on time herself, but she did want time to get both her school bag packed and a few other things together before she had to start classes, so she moved to being more direct.

Jerking the curtains open, she paused at seeing the Canadian girl still fast asleep. Shaking her head she reached down and shook the girl’s shoulder. “Hey! It’s morning! Wake up!”

“Mmhhmmffmm,” was Tia’s reply as she half-heartedly raised her hand, batting at the air.

“Come on, that won’t do you any good. You might as well get up and be miserable with the rest of us,” said Jo, yawning, and shaking her again.

“Go away,” Tia muttered, rolling away and yanking the covers over her head.

Jo stood looking at her uncertainly. “All right then, but if Malfoy docks you points for being late don’t blame me.” Shrugging to herself she headed to her own wardrobe and jerked a robe out, shimmying out of her nightgown and into her school clothes in a matter of minutes. She found a hairbrush and ran it through her long blonde hair, pulling the golden mass into a sort of glob and jamming a quill through it to hold it in place.

She turned back towards the still sleeping girl and sighed heavily, feeling guilt sweep over her. Everyone else had taken off already, and someone had to wake her up. After all, Tia seemed a decent sort, and she supposed since there was no one else to do it the duty fell to her.

She strode across the room and, reaching out, gripped the thick blankets firmly, giving them a tug and freeing them from the bed before tossing them to the floor in a heap. “Get up woman!” Jo shouted.

Tia lifted one thin arm, waving it around in search of her blankets, and discovered they were gone. “It can’t be morning already,” the redhead muttered.

“Well it is! Now up and at ‘em! Whole new day and all that garbage! Chop, chop!” She clapped her hands to punctuate her words.

“Ooooh,” Tia moaned. “It’s too early!”

“I know it is, but this damn place thrives on too early, come on before I have to bodily drag you out of bed!” the blonde added, hands now on her hips.

“Oh, fine!” Tia muttered something under her breath that Jo couldn’t catch and then rolled over, squinting. “One question. Why am I getting up again?”

“So that Malfoy won’t dock points from you,” said Jo, raising her eyebrows. “Besides, I know you’re dying to be in his company again.”

“Says who?” Tia retorted, running a hand through her hair before finally sitting up.

“It’s obvious,” Jo shrugged, heading to the trunk at the foot of her bed and digging out her school bag. “Besides, he’s surely dying for yours. You know, he hasn’t taken an interest in any girl in this school as long as I’ve been here, and according to Liz he didn’t before that, either.” She paused running through a mental list of her classes and what books she’d need.

“Really?” Tia drawled, yawning and stretching.

“Yes, really. Now up, up!” Jo waved her hand, motioning the girl to stand. “You have to have time to look presentable.”

“I see you put a lot of effort out,” the redhead answered dryly, running her fingers through her hair.

“I’m not trying to impress the Prefect,” Jo pointed out, cramming books into the school bag along with ink, parchments and several new quills in interesting shades of blue.

“No, just his friend,” Tia grinned, climbing to her feet and rubbing her eyes.

“Not really,” Jo answered, closing the bag up and slinging it over her shoulder. “All it takes to impress him is to pull your top off and jump up and down, so I’ve heard.”

Tia wandered over to her wardrobe and opened it, gazing at the contents with glazed eyes. “Do you really dislike him that much?”

“Ah, I don’t like or dislike him. I don’t know him,” said the blonde, shrugging her shoulders. “I’ll go to the common room and see if I can distract your escorting prefect for you while you get ready,” she offered.

“Do you really think that’s necessary?” the Canadian girl asked, glancing at Jo, school robes in her hands.

“Someone better do it, don’t want him to know you’re not a gracious riser yet, after all,” she said and winked at her new roommate. “Not ‘til you’ve got him wrapped around your finger, that is.”

“You sound like my mother,” Tia commented, turning back to her clothing choices.

“I sound like Tizz,” Jo laughed. “She was the queen of feminine advice. Anyway, I’ll see you in a bit.” Straightening her robes she started toward the common room, pausing at the door. “You know, it would probably do Malfoy some good being brought down to the level of the rest of the world.” And with that and a grin she disappeared.

Tia grabbed up her clothes and personal effects and dashed to bathroom, never pausing long enough to even notice her surroundings or the other girls who were forced to jump out of the way in the interest of not being run over. As she hit the showers, Tia peeled off her bathrobe and nightgown, and dumping her toiletries onto a small shelf in the shower stall, she began muttering to herself. “Way to go, Tia. Nothing like showing everyone what an ass you are the first day,” she scolded herself as the hot water began pouring over her body.

The truth was she wasn’t in the least bit worried about anyone but the white-haired prefect she’d had the pleasure of spending the last evening with. Her mind was a whirl with random ideas of what he thought about her and what he was saying to his roommates. And then a horrifying thought entered her mind – what if he wasn’t saying anything at all? Somehow this whole attending-school-with-boys thing didn’t seem quite as exciting as it had on the train to Hogwarts. It wasn’t that Tia hadn’t had admirers before, but she’d never been far enough from her mother’s reach to actually date one of them. The one time she had snuck out to meet a boy her mother had nearly had a stroke when she’d caught them. And that certainly wasn’t a memory Tia wanted to recall at this particular moment.

After her shower, Tia shot back to her room, half dressed, pulling on her socks as she scuttled the last few steps to her bed. She grabbed her wand from the pile of things she was carrying and cast a drying charm on her hair and then quickly threw it back into a loose ponytail, tucking away any errant strands of hair and doing her best to make it look like she meant for it to look that way. She fumbled through her trunk, looking for her makeup, when Liz, who had just returned to the room to retrieve a forgotten book, called out from behind her. “Here, use this.” The dark-haired girl tossed her a small trinket box.

“What’s this?” asked Tia, turning over the expensive-looking box in her hand and opening it, to find it filled with white cream.

“It’s Ready-in-a-Box,” Liz proclaimed, looking at the girl as if she should have known exactly what it was.

“Oh, I’ve heard of these before,” said Tia, poking her finger at the cream and gathering a small dab on the tip of her forefinger.

“Be careful,” Liz warned. “If you use too much you’ll be wearing it for weeks.”

Tia dabbed a bit on her cheek and watched as her makeup appeared with a flash. “Oh!” she exclaimed, looking back at Liz who was digging for books in her trunk. “This is a bit dark for school don’t you think?” she asked, her eyebrows raised suspiciously.

“It takes two minutes to set. It automatically matches skin, hair and eyes,” Liz explained, pulling the book in question from her trunk. “It will tone down in a minute.”

“And why should I trust you with this?” asked Tia while she eyed the other Slytherin suspiciously.

“Because I’d give my fortune to anyone who shuts Poochy up,” Liz smirked. “If I have to suffer through another year of listening to how dreamy Draco Malfoy is and how she’s going to one day bear his children, I think I’ll throw up.”

Tia laughed and turned back to the mirror in her wardrobe, noticing the makeup already settling into muted tones. “And you don’t expect I’ll do the same?” Tia asked.

“Not particularly,” Liz said, looking the new girl up and down with an appraising eye. “You look like you could have just about anyone, I should think. Malfoy got lucky as far as I’m concerned,” she added, shrugging her shoulders and heading towards the doorway.

She paused on the threshold, throwing one more look back to the red haired girl. “Good luck with Prince Malfoy,” Liz snickered, opening the door. “I’ll see you in class later.”

Tia’s stomach did several somersaults as she finished pulling on the rest of her uniform and quickly gathered her books and her bag. A smile crept up on her lips and she couldn’t seem to find a way to make it go away. No spell or potion in the world was strong enough to alter the way she felt right now. She sighed heavily before walking out the door, trying to steady her nerves. This wasn’t how she had planned on starting off her school year, by falling for the first boy she saw. But, then again, it wasn’t every day a girl met someone like Draco Malfoy.


The common room was bustling with morning activity and Jo paused just inside the entrance from the girl’s dormitories to look around, her eyes combing the crowd for a white-haired boy, but not finding him.

Taking a few steps into the room, she glanced around once more, and had just decided to go back and tell Tia he’d already gone without her when a familiar voice sounded close to her.

“Well, you weren’t the lovely lady that I was expecting to appear,” said Thane, pushing away from the opposite wall and walking toward Jo.

Jo blinked up at him, "Ahhh. Malfoy have you escorting the new girl, does he?"

“Escorting? No. Delivering his messages, yes,” he said as he let his eyes roam over her. “He has First Years to tend to.”

"That must be exciting," she smirked. "Tia’s almost ready and should be out any second."

“Indeed,” he said distractedly, moving closer and staring into her crystal eyes. “And what about you? Have you a proper escort to breakfast this morning?” he asked, his dark blue eyes dancing.

"Nooooo..." Jo answered slowly. "But I've always managed to find the Great Hall before.”

“I don’t doubt your navigational skills,” Thane smiled. “Then perhaps it’s me that requires the escort of such a knowledgeable lady.”

She blinked at the boy, wondering if she hadn't been far off with the brain fever after all. "Well, if you're really worried about getting lost......." Now what was he up to?

Thane laughed, expecting one of Jo’s wild comments in return. “So, it seems you’ve given up your theory on me going mad over holiday?” he asked, looking down at her as if she didn’t have a stitch of clothing on.

She shifted uncomfortably, crossing her arms over her chest. "Actually no, I'm more convinced of it than ever, but crazy people never know they're crazy do they?"

“That does present quite a problem, doesn’t it?” he asked, running his left hand through his tousled hair. “Who is more foolish? The fool? Or the fool who follows him?”

“Definitely the fool who follows, " she replied, smirking. "Which is why you're following me to breakfast, right? Rather than me following you?"

“As you wish, m’lady,” he said, issuing a mock-bow. “I am humbly at your service.” His eyes met hers again as he righted himself, a twinkle dancing against a midnight canvas.

Jo snorted, "I hardly think you're at anybody's service, but your own. And maybe Malfoy's" she added as an after-thought.

“So, is that why you won’t talk to me?” asked Thane, feigning hurt as he clutched his chest. “You think I’m merely Malfoy’s lapdog?”

"Noooo," she answered slowly. "I didn’t know I wasn’t talking to you. Really, though, I was unaware we had anything to talk about."

“Nothing to talk about?” asked Thane, clearly offended. “Do you find me that uninteresting?”

“Actually, no. Right now I find you extremely interesting,” the blonde said, looking up at him with narrowed blue eyes. “I’d really like to know why you insist on pretending that you’re not up to something when it’s obvious you are,” she continued, glaring and tapping her foot.

“There is no appeasing you, is there?” Thane chuckled.

“No, not until you decide to actually tell me the truth,” Jo answered, folding her arms.

“I didn’t think I was keeping that a secret,” he grinned.

Jo rolled her eyes dramatically with an audible sigh. “We ALL know what you want, Thane Purefoy,” she said, somewhat impressed with her own wit and performance when talking to the tall boy. “What I want to know is WHY you want it from me?”

Jo’s pale blue eyes attempted to dig at him, causing him quite a bit of distraction indeed. The problem was she hadn’t the slightest clue that she could see right through him, and therefore, kept looking for things that were already plainly in view.

“You didn’t listen to word I said last night, did you?” asked Thane, grinning as he took Jo’s hand in his.

“What?!” she asked distractedly, preoccupied by the feeling of her hand in Thane’s.

“Just like a woman,” he laughed, holding her gaze with his.

“Hey!” she protested, weakly attempting to free her hand.

“Now, be quiet, woman, and walk with me to breakfast,” he said, placing her hand firmly on his arm.

“Wait, what about Tia?” she asked, still staring up at Thane in bewilderment while her mind tried to grasp how she had lost control of this conversation.

“I’m right here,” the redheaded girl in question said, startling Jo.

“When??” Jo stuttered, looking from her new roommate and back to Thane with narrowed eyes. “Did you know she was there?”

“Of course he did,” Tia laughed, moving to their side. “I’ve been standing there for the past five minutes.” She smiled at the blonde who was still scowling at Thane. “Now, give the boy a break and walk with him already.”

“Great, now I’m being ganged up on,” Jo sighed, reluctantly following Thane as he tugged her along.

“Good morning, Laelonatia,” said Thane, greeting the new Slytherin girl with a wide grin. “Draco sends his apologies that he isn’t able to be here. It seems some First Years needed extra help with their orientation. But, he says that he’ll meet us in the Great Hall.”

“So, he sent you to collect me for him?” Tia inquired, raising a discerning eyebrow.

“In a word, yes,” Thane grinned.

“And it seems you’ve collected something of your own along the way?” Tia commented, smirking.

“Quite unexpectedly, I might add,” he said, his grin growing wider. “It was quite a pleasant surprise.”

“Um… hello!” Jo interrupted, waving her free hand in front of Thane’s face. “I CAN hear you, you know! I’m right here!”

“I’m sorry, love, did you say something?” Thane asked as if he’d just been made aware of her presence. Jo merely grunted as Thane dragged her out of the common room, Tia laughing beside them as they went.

As promised, Draco was waiting at the head of Slytherin table when Thane arrived with the two girls on his arm. One being Tia, whom he had asked Thane to speak to, but didn’t quite remember telling him to touch, and the other one being the object of Thane’s own affections. However, the much widely talked about Slytherin playboy was wearing one girl on each of his arms, which incidentally, Draco felt the inexplicable need to tear off at the moment.

“Here you are, Cousin,” said Thane, brimming with smugness and pride. “Just as you requested.”

“Funny, I don’t recall requesting a short, blonde, loud-mouthed girl,” Draco replied, smirking at Jo and taking Tia from Thane’s arm.

“Yeah, nice to see you too, Draco,” Jo said, trying unsuccessfully to break away from Thane.

From the opposite end of the Slytherin table, Pansy Parkinson watched with eagle eyes as Draco sat the redheaded piece of trash in HER seat. Well, what SHOULD be her seat anyway. Quietly seething in anger, her eyes fixed on the redhead who now seemed to hold the white-haired Slytherin’s attention. Tiny daggers stabbed at her insides, the thought of Draco Malfoy touching anyone but her simply made her ill.

The pug-faced prefect kept careful watch over Draco and the whore that was sitting next to him through the duration of the meal. Announcements were ignored and McGonagall’s speech might as well have been spoken in Swahili for all the good it did Pansy. Even her friends’ questions of concern went unnoticed as the spell that had been cast over her by her unrequited love and the mad jealousy that now consumed her. Thoughts of passing her NEWT exams or impressing the Potions Master on her first day fell by the wayside in favor of feverish thoughts of revenge and finally obtaining the only goal she had had since First Year – winning the love and affection of one Draco Malfoy.

Breakfast was merely a forerunner to the rest of Pansy’s day. She had carefully selected her course schedule to match the white-haired prefect’s and, so it seemed, had the Canadian import. Every time Pansy turned around, there she was hanging off of his arm, and more often than not there was Thane Purefoy right behind, dragging around the bewildered blonde American! Not that she cared what Purefoy did with his time, or who he bedded, but he, and now the blonde, were becoming an obstacle between her and the one who should belong to her!

The only break she got from the pair was history of magic, which neither girl took, but even then Purefoy was a problem. She tried her hardest to sit near Draco but he had Crabbe and Goyle in the seats behind him, Zabini and Chesterfield in front of him and Purefoy next to him, making him literally surrounded by a human fortress that she couldn’t get past.

By the time Herbology, the last class of the day, rolled around, Pansy’s temper had blossomed beyond anything even remotely sane. She cast venomous eyes across the greenhouse at Volusia who paired up with the ridiculous blonde American. The pair absorbed in deep conversation, their noses wrinkled at the dragon dung fertilizer they were being forced to spread on their hibiscus.

“Are you all right?” Lana asked, reaching out and touching Pansy on the shoulder.
The female prefect’s head snapped around and she glared at her friend, hissing through her clenched teeth, “I’m fine!”

“Then why are you just standing there? That stuff is running down onto your shoes!” the redhead declared, her face filled with disgust.

Pansy glanced down at her gloved hands, palms full of fertilizer and saw what Lana meant. The stuff was oozing between her fingers and running down her robe. “EWWW!” she screamed, flinging her hands wide and throwing a shower of goop through the air that splattered on everyone at the nearby worktables.

“What in the bloody hell are you doing, Parkinson?!” Chesterfield sneered, wiping the dung from his robe.

“Gross! Keep that over there!” Zabini bellowed.

“Parkinson!” Hermione granger snapped.

“Oh shut up, the lot of you,” she said, her only reply as she stood, still shaking off her gloves and ignoring Lana’s bright red face.

There was another chorus of shouts from around the pair and finally Professor Sprout came over, “What’s the meaning of all this ruckus?”

“Parkinson’s throwing manure!” Hermione complained loudly, scowling at her.

“She’s bloody mental!” Ron Weasley added.

“Miss Parkinson, we do not fling fertilizer,” Sprout scolded.

“I wasn’t flinging it!” Pansy bellowed, noticing Draco and Purefoy laughing at her from across the room.

“Miss Ferrywhether, is that true?” Sprout turned to Pansy’s redheaded partner.

“She was shaking it off her hands..” Lana answered, shrinking back from the glare Pansy gave her.

“I see, thank you.” The chubby professor turned once more to Pansy, “Miss Parkinson, if you’re having trouble handling the fertilizer….”

The Slytherin girl tuned out the rest of Sprouts words, her eyes landing on the Canadian girl and her partner, both of which were snickering and nudging one another as they burst into all out laughter with the rest of the class.

The professor quieted the room and then moved away, but Pansy’s eyes were riveted on Volusia, that girl was going to pay and pay dearly! She wasn’t sure how yet, but already a plan was beginning to form in her mind….