Second Floor Corridor
The second floor corridor of Hogwarts is a little less
decorative than the first floor, but nevertheless it serves it's
function as a hallway well. There are
doors leading here and there, leading to classrooms and the
such.
Yuck. There's almost nothing worse than a round of Arithmancy homework in the afternoon. Especially when it
isn't even yours! Even Cho, a Ravenclaw,
would rather deal with most anything else (except Divinations) than deal with
the magic world's answer to math. But this isn't about herself right now, this
is about a 'friend', so she grinned and bared it. At least it was about stuff
she already knew, for the most part. "I hope that helped," she says
to Draco as the two of them step out of the Library.
She has a leather folder of notes from the previous year of that class in her
arms, which she was using to help with.
Clutched by his arms are rolls of parchment, varying in
color, mostly in order to make them slightly more distinguishable from the
regular stuff, each one filled with formulas and more. Before him, in a hand,
he holds a single sheet up, stormy eyes lazily trailing over the words of the
assignment, mentally checking off what has been done. "Yeah.
It helped." He replies, sounding a bit... distracted for a few moments,
his voice a bored drawl, and then he glances slightly down at Cho, being a few inches taller, and... just...
sneers. "Who would've thought that you knew Arithmancy?"
Well, Draco could have said 'thank you', but it's not
his style.
Ron comes down the seventh floor magic stairs slowly, but
steadily. Hands in his pants pockets. It restricts his
long legs to take just one step at a time, but he does it, slumping along each
one while he yawns lazily. It's been a long.. well.. month. He's on a usual
wander to find his remaining best friend, or get something to eat, whichever
comes first. n.n; He glances up when he hears a familiar voice and an infamous one
with that condescening tone. His feet halt at
the bottom of the stairs and he nods to the girl, "'ello,
Cho." Giving Draco only a glance. Not as if the guy acknowledges
Ron's existance much, unless to annoy
him. No use starting the fink off. But he can't be impolite to Cho, who is helping in the Hermione search afterall.
Not one for gratitude much, is he? Cho
seems to be used to the sneer, so she makes no visible reaction. "Well, it
was either Arithmancy or Ancient Runes... my mother
unfortunately insisted on Arithmancy." Those two
were the classes she had narrowed her remaining slot of Electives down to, and
the final choice had come from her parents. Ah, if only she could have gotten
out of it, but it wasn't like she'd allow herself to do badly in the class.
"It does have some interesting concepts though." This is when she
stops the conversation to turn a friendly smile on the much taller than her
Gryffindor, "Hello, Ron. How're you doing?" She really does sound concerned,
his friend is still missing and while she did try to help... she hasn't seemed
to be able to help very much. Plus there have been minor distractions...
His evening had been... fairly decent up until now. The
moment the Gryffindor walks down the steps is when his mood immediately plummets.
There's no point even bothering to reply to Cho, as her
attention moves to Ron. Draco's eyes eventually move
in that direction, too, sneer transforming into a superior smirk, his head
tilting back with arrogance. "Good evening, /Weasley/."
The blonde Slytherin drawls out in a vicious tone of
voice, much different from the one he used when speaking to Cho.
"What a surprise." He thought Weasley'd of
locked himself up in his dorm and cried about Granger and his stupidity all
day. Draco crumples up the parchment in his hand,
then moves his arms a little to adjust the scroll's position and make them sit
more comfortably.
Ron smiles honestly at Cho,
shrugging lightly and nodding weakly, "I'm doing alright." Liar. Though he doesn't cry, he does worry. And he does feel
guilty. But he doesn't think locking himself in a tower is going to help
Hermione at all, Draco. So he's trying hard to do
something, thanks. He sniffs briefly before gracing Draco
with another glance, "Malfoy." That's it.
That's all you deserve.
Cho offers another sympathetic
smile, but she says nothing. It's almost as if she knows it's not entirely
truthful. She knows something about stretching the truth when it comes to
things of that nature. She's been doing it most of this year... At least Ron
still has hope. But then... She looks towards Draco, not sneering really, but it's
close enough to a 'lay off' look that it /might/ be considered harsh. For her. "Draco..." is
all she says to him.
Quite a funny little exchange.
She gives him a harsh look, he looks back at her and
doles out an even more severe one. Had it been Goyle
or Crabbe, they would've probably wet their pants at
the mere sight of it. And then... then... good lord, it softens, meaning that
he's been cowed.. somehow. Draco forces his smirk down into more neutral face, but
won't for far enough to smile as though in pain, even if it's something that Cho'd probably appreciate more. "Sorry." He kinda... snarls out, but then that's it, because he looks
down at the rolls of parchment in his arms.
Ron blinks between the two of you..
okay, that was odd o.o
Scratching his hair a bit he coughs back a laugh, but can't help a tight smirk.
"Well, have a nice night.." Continuing on
his way to the Great Hall he leaves with a wave to Cho
and a knowing glance at Draco. Boy be
whipped! He chuckles as he disappears down the next flight of stairs.
The look stays on Draco until
he seems to wilt, then it dissolves into a small smile and she turns back to
Ron, waving as he walks off. She wasn't really trying to cow Draco, more she was trying to get him not to intentionally
hurt Ron, who's already going through a hard enough time at the moment. Once
he's gone she looks back at the blond Slytherin. She
doesn't even mention the fact that she had to sort of defend the Gryffindor
from the insincereity of her young friend. All she
says is, "If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. I still have
all my notes from last year." She only grabbed /one/ of her folders...
Hey, he's already seen how extensive her notes can be, based on the fact that
he happens to /have/ her notes on the location spells she was trying to find
for Ron and Harry.
As if he, of all people, happens to be whipped! Had he of
been, he would've probably greeted Ron pleasantly. This certainly did not
happen. The ice blue eyes follow Weasley until
reaching their limits at the corners... then the blonde's sneer reappears,
secretive and more malicious than ever... o O He
doesn't seem too concerned with that mudblood,
Granger, missing. It's his own fault, anyways. Stupid git didn't take my advice... Of course, this means that Draco falls silent, mostly due to his thoughts and lack of
anything better to say in reply. He, once again, shifts the scrolls of
parchment in his arms.
The older Ravenclaw watches him
for a little while as he does the shifting. The silence drags out for a few
moments longer. Dark hazel eyes glance towards the staircases, as if she
ponders offering to walk him back to his common room, or ask him to walk her to
hers. It's supposed to be the guy who asks these kinds of things, but this is
just a friendship, so she can ask to. Instead though, Cho's
eyes return to him, studying his expression. If only he wasn't so impossible to
read! Almost involuntarily she asks, "What are you thinking about?"
Sometimes she really wishes that mind-reading was an easily acquired skill. It
would certainly help in this friendship.
Having the ability to read minds would earn you more than
you bargain for. With that, Draco turns that
secretive, malicious sneer towards the Ravenclaw.
"It is merely something of little importance." To
him, because he couldn't care less. The only reason why he even bothered
to reveal a bit of information was to send Potter and Weasley
to their doom a bit earlier than planned. Now, they're playing detectives,
probably, trying to figure out some big mystery, when Draco
has already told them where to look to get their answers. Now, if only they'd
act upon it and go get themselves killed, rather than
take him for a liar.
As if she hasn't already gotten more than she bargained
for out of this 'relationship'. Cho tilts her head
lightly as he sneers at her, almost giving him one of those 'that hardly is
going to frighten me' looks. It's not that she's brave, in all honesty, she's
just getting used to that look of his. Far more used to it than her friends
would likely approve. "If that's the case, then there's no reason to think
on it further." She has a feeling that she should pester him about what he
was thinking over, but she really doesn't want to put out the effort tonight.
"Feel up to something to eat? I don't know about you, but I could really
settle for some protein." She reaches over with a free hand and pokes
lightly towards his stomach. "A little extra meat on your bones won't hurt
either." She's treating him just like she would one of her Ravenclaw friends, just... he's happens to be a male. And a Slytherin. Who she's seen with his shirt off. C_c
And with his pants down. c_C Ahem. "Last thing I need is to be as big,
width-wise, as Crabbe and Goyle."
Draco gives an indignant snort, being poked in the
tummy and unable to defend himself with arms full of parchment, his sneer
eventually becoming what is more... natural looking. "So.
Will we be sitting at different tables or do you have a preference?" He's
referring to the Slytherin and Ravenclaw
tables, not to mention how it may solidify rumors, not that Draco
cares. The boy has already begun to turn, fully intending on heading to the
Great Hall, now, expecting her to follow after him. After all, it was Cho's suggestion. Why wouldn't she?
That was hardly intentional on either sides.
And boxers cover more than enough. Probably not in his
opinion though, eh? Cho gives a soft chuckle
at the remark on the big lugs and she says, "Oh, it would take more than a
little meat to make you /that/ big. Besides, if you /did/ get fat under my
care, everyone will accuse me of rigging the Ravenclaw/Slytherin
game by making you too plump to play." She's teasing, honest. She's
certainly not the type to do something like that. She immediately follows
beside him, staying in careful stride. She won't flank him like a bodyguard,
but she won't force him to walk behind her either. "Would you mind sitting
at the Ravenclaw table very much?" She asks,
curious. She could /survive/ sitting at the Slytherin
table, but it begs to question if he would be so gracious.
She'd be a pretty funny bodyguard, smaller than Draco, who isn't exactly that big for his age, either.
Indeed, the boy will probably grow to be taller than he is, currently, but for
now, his height isn't much of an issue. Makes him perfect for
the position of Seeker. He scowls in irritation, mostly of the thought
of a rigged game and his maintained form just... going to waste in such a
manner. It doesn't last long, his expression, that is, because at the question,
he sorta... looks at her, kinda
in shock. A Slytherin?
Sitting at a table other than their own? Such things
are unheard of! That would mean he might have to be in the presence of mudbloods! They may get their ickle
germs on his food. "..." No. No. No. No. Nonononononono. "I
don't know...?" Aw, shit.
Does he honestly believe there's not a single mudblood in Slytherin? There must
be a few that have the charateristics that make up the
rest of the house, without the pureblood that Slytherin
would have preferred. Even Voldemort was half-Muggle! Of course, any halfbreeds
that are in the house probably try to keep it very low profile. Mudbloods likely are very rare in that house, if there are
any, so it's probably not far from true. As he gives her that look of shock, Cho's eyebrows raise a fraction. His answer makes a small
smile appear on her lips and she nods. "I promise they won't bite."
Though pecking! That's another story all together. "If you get too
uncomfortable, we can move." She's not going to torture him, but she would
like to see him attempt to fit into her world a little bit. And maybe if her
friends see them just being /friends/ and not being starry-eyed
Ah, but Voldemort was a direct
descendant of Salazar Slytherin, so he was an
exception. Salazar hated half-bloods and mudbloods.
Why would he allow them to violate his own house? Everyone in Slytherin is a pureblood, though their financial status'
and such vary from person to person. "I'm uncomfortable, already." Draco mutters under his breath. He had meant to say no,
that he wanted to sit at the Slytherin table, as
always, but what came out of his mouth made it an open ended sort of thing. A pending yes or no. Draco's
kicking himself mentally, for it, now... He continues to walk down the hall,
heading for the Great Hall...
Damn Slytherins. Bunch of biggots! Heh. At Draco's 'confession' of
discomfort, Cho can't help but smile more. At least
he's honest. He just said he was uncomfortable. He never said he was /too/
uncomfortable. She's almost tempted to add something about protecting him, but
she knows how much he hates any reference that he might require her help, or
that of anyone else. So together, the walk into the Great
Hall, and she nods towards the Ravenclaw table.
"You can pick where exactly. There /are/ a quite a few places on the table
where there's at least five chairs on each side completely void of anyone.
Unfortunately the nearest one is halfway down the table. Most everyone at the
table is sitting closest to the doors.
Isn't that just his luck, having to choose a seat in the
middle as far away as possible from the other Ravenclaws?
The one who accompanies him certainly isn't any help. Some of the Slytherins glance over towards the entrance, some of the
girls lift their hands in order to beckon the young seeker over, but one glance
at Cho causes them to think better of it... They
wave, instead, then the whispers begin. It spreads
like wildfire around the Great Hall and probably won't be long before everyone
starts to talk about the pair. He adjusts the rolls of parchment in his hands,
again, then moves from the entrance, to the Ravenclaw
table, to a place where people will be sure to be a bit of a distance away from
him. Of course, Draco also plunks himself down to sit
in a dignified manner on the end that isn't nearby the Gryffindors,
too. ~.~ He will live through this. Sitting at the Ravenclaw table won't kill him. More whispers from the Slytherins... their comments gaining a bit of a sharp edge.
Nope. They're not happy.
A few of the Ravenclaws,
particularly a couple members of the Quidditch team,
show their shock at the presense of a Slytherin (the Slytherin Seeker
no less!) approaching their table by outwardly gaping at the pair. They of
course had dismissed the rumors as just that, rumors! Surely their prized
Seeker wouldn't stoop /that/ low! Sure, they'd been hanging out a lot lately,
but... ... There's almost a universal hiss at the
table as the the blonde young man actually sits down,
the entirety of the Ravenclaws seeming to take a
breath at the same instant. A moment later it dissolves into soft whispers,
girls leaning over to talk to each other, people glancing over curiously,
wondering what is going on. And, of course, the occassional
Ravenclaw remains completely oblivious, wrapped up in
a book, or some thought of the second. Though it begs to question how different
the reaction would have been if she'd sat at his table... Cho
ignores them for the most part, walking beside him until he seats himself, then pulling out a chair to sit beside him, laying her
leather folder on the floor against her chair. "I think the food is the
same over here, Draco." It's kind of her way of
saying that this table isn't all that different from his own.
He hadn't expected it to be any different, in all
honesty, it's just sitting here. Sitting here is different to him. The Ravenclaws give about as much of a welcome as the Slytherins would have, but the members of his own house
might of been a bit more disapproving to even hostile
about it. He sets his scrolls neatly down at the side, then
drops his elbows onto the table, cupping his chin with both hands, followed by
flashing a look of disgust over at Cho. "I never
said I thought it would be any different." Draco
retorts. Some of the Slytherins' faces mirror his
own, though their expressions are for a different reason. Whispers of 'she must
be blackmailing him or something' float up from their table.
An elbow of her own rests on the table, a hand coming up
to support her sheek as she looks over at him. The
look on her face isn't apparently bothered by the digusted
look, more like she's trying to figure something out. Cho
finally lets out a soft chuckle and gives her head enough of a shake as she can
allow, with it resting there. A couple of the seventh year Ravenclaws
look as if they might wish to do something to keep their
table from being befouled by a nasty Slytherin, but
they don't actually get around to doing anymore besides observe. The
Seeker that does belong at this table opens her mouth to say something, but
cuts off as some of the whispers coming from the Slytherin
table reach her ears. /Blackmail him!?/ Instead of yelling out anything though,
she glances over at the only person who might understand the way those crazy Slytherin's minds might work and says, "Is that what
they really think I'm doing?" She keeps her voice lowered, so it doesn't
carry to them. They probably wanted her to hear them anyway. Most of the Ravenclaws seemed torn between whispering 'We should mind our own business, we can ask Cho about it later' and 'If he's actually sitting here,
there /has/ to be something going on with them! How often do Slytherins sit at our table? Much less
/that/ Slytherin.' And a few 'he really looks
like he'd rather not be sitting here though...' 'Oh, he always looks like
that.'
Yes. He looks absolutely repulsed with everything in the
world all the time. That's not exactly true. He has other faces to make,
besides that of complete disgust, like a nasty sneer, a variety of smirks...
and stuff. Anyways... Draco
gives a little chuckle. "Before you go asking questions on what the Slytherins seem to think about you, have you heard what the
Ravenclaws think about me?" And just to put some
more emphasis on that, the young, blonde Slytherin
seeker smiles in a sarcastically charming way at his company. Some of the Slytherins, of course, start firing dirty looks at the Ravenclaws, mostly for their comments on Draco's appearance and the fact that they'd dare to insult
him.
There's a pause, Cho's actually
caught with her mouth half open for a moment. She looks towards the main groups
at the table that are doing the whispering, which of course cuts off
immediately. Not because of the sneers from the house of snakes, but because
from their own house-mate's look. Finally she looks back at Draco
and says with a shrug, "Who cares. They can think whatever they want. We
really know what's going on. If they want to draw their own dramatic
conclusions, let them." And as for his table... Well, as long as they
don't get overly violent, she'll hold with that belief. "How
about this, next time, I'll sit with you and your table. If they still
want to make something of it..." She shrugs. Again, as long as they don't
try to kill her, she'll survive...
The Slytherins aren't the type
of people who attempt to kill others. ...Wait, that's a lie. Lookit the Death
Eaters. All former Slytherins.
Okay, so the Slytherins don't directly attempt to
kill others, they find some cunning way to do it. "Let them draw their own
dramatic conclusions?" He repeats the words as a question, but then
continues on, not bothering to give her a chance to answer. "I don't know.
Some of the conclusions, I'm sure, aren't overly dramatic. A few ring true, or
have you forgotten?" Draco goes into a sort of contemplative
mode, his expression going blank, eyes lifting to gaze up towards the enchanted
ceiling, watching the clouds drift by over the darkening sky.
Had to bring that up, didn't he? Cho's
cheeks gain a healthy shade of pink, but hopefully no one really notices. Or
she honestly hopes so at least. On the bright side, at least she doesn't turn
as red as some people would. "Yes, but that's not entirely right. I
mean... it's not like they--" She trails off, but she obviously is trying
to say they didn't really 'mean' anything. He kissed her to shut her up, and
she did it that one time to try and see if maybe there was more to it... but
that experiment didn't really work out. She lowers her eyes to the table,
staring at it for a moment. "Besides, most of it /is/ just exaggeration..."
That's right. They didn't mean anything. That's what he
tells himself, too. Every evening. Well, not every
evening, but after something strange happens between them, like another kiss,
not that they've shared many and also the amount of real kisses is equal to
zero. Draco blinks, glances back at the Ravenclaw, though by the corners of his eyes and... actually gives a bit of wan half-smile. "I don't tend
to pay attention to their rumors, so I don't really care. The truth is mixed up
in there somewhere, however."
"There always is," is the response that Cho manages, though the color in her cheeks is still
slightly visible, especially by him, as he's much closer to her than anyone
else in here at the moment. And take that how ever you wish. They equal exactly
zero, and she's hoping they stay that way, just because... well... if a real
kiss did happen, she'd be more confused about things that she already is. This
friendship has enough ruts in it, it doesn't need more. "What about what
you've heard of the Slytherin's rumors? Do you think
there's truth in those?" She looks at him now, clearly curious.
Ah, but she agreed to allow him to give her a real kiss
when he chose to do so, so don't go saying something like that. Of course, Draco's probably going to save it for some really big
moment, like sometime when Potter's around, which would infuriate the
Boy-Who-Lived, hopefully. He'd mean it, kinda. "Slytherin? Not really. They
don't tend to discuss things like that whenever I'm around. I'm sure there
are." Truth to the rumors is what he means. Slytherins
also tend to change things in order for it to suit their own wants and desires,
but it's not likely that things have been mutated much this time, mostly
because it is, yes, about another fellow housemate and a very respected one at
that. This, the blonde seeker is very sure of.
Yes, yes... she did agree. But his idea of 'meaning' is
different from hers... If he's just going to kiss her to hurt
Harry... well... Ahem. Anyway... Cho looks at him and says, "So you think there's truth
that I'm blackmailing you? How?" Maybe her brain
just doesn't work in the Slytherin way, but she just
can not see how anyone could possibly see some truth in that. It's the only one
of the Slytherin rumors that she has heard, but she
can sort of get the idea what the rest might be, just from the tone. All making
her look like she's... using Draco for something. But
she doesn't sound hurt or upset, just curious.
"I didn't say that, did I?" And if he did, he certainly
doesn't remember. Draco didn't even imply such a thing;
she came up with her own conclusions from it all. Sure, he was a bit of an
influence, but if asked about it, Draco will
immediately deny all accusations. It's in his nature. "I meant that there's
truth to the rumors, probably, as it is with your house." Hmph. She
kinda makes the Slytherins
sound bad or something.
Oh, and they're supposed to sound like a pack of fluffy
bunnies? Must be mistaken. Thought this was the
/snake/ house. Cho opens her mouth, about to correct
him, then closes it and sighs. What he said was close enough for her to draw
that conclusion, and she just wanted to know how such a thing could be interpreted
by her friendship with him. "Well, as long as you don't think I'm
blackmailing you. We both know that part isn't true." She's not going to
accept that any of this relationship could be considered blackmail. She just /asked/ him to sit at this table. She didn't force
him, or threaten him, or said 'I'll tell everyone you cry like a girl and kiss
like a wall!' or anything...
He does NOT kiss like a wall! >.< o.o; Or so he thinks. He just
might, but, hey! That's mean! c.c And... and.. Draco does NOT cry like a
girl, too! ...Stuff. "I dunno.."
His tone goes from a bored, uninterested drawl to a more playful one, or as
playful as it can possibly get. Oh, and don't forget the smirk, that's just
part of the package. "I bet I could make up some pretty interesting
stories." Go on, swat him. He deserves it. Draco
chuckles afterwards.
Alright, so he doesn't kiss like a wall. But when she
kissed him it was just like that! Except slightly warmer than
an average wall. And, all right, not like a /girl/, but he has cried
twice in her presense already. And she's not sure if she's
of the opinion that tears don't suit him, like he is of her. She actually
rather thinks they help him. Show that he's got human emotions. Anyway...
swatting him seems to be out of the question, but Cho
lift her hand and aim to push his shoulder lightly. Just
enough to jar him, if he lets her. "The keywords there being 'make
up'. Besides, I think those girls come up with enough of their own stories.
They don't need more fuel."
Hmph! That was only the second
time, but what about the third? Mou! Draco chuckles again as he happens to be pushed, his chin
transfers to rest on one hand while the other just... kinda
flops onto the table. "Oh, I don't know..." He goes with that same
tone of voice, the smirk growing wider. "I think I can probably come up with
some more original ones. But. They probably don't need
anymore fuel, I have no doubt. I was only kidding, anyways." Which she certainly should have been able to tell. It's not
as though he went out of his way to sound mean or nasty.
The third time... that kiss was actually pretty good.
Especially since both sides sorta-- but it still had
no meaning! He was just trying to shut her up, /again/. Cho
begins to smile, until it touches her eyes, then she lets out a laugh. There no
doubt garners some of that unwanted attention, as Ravenclaws
look over in one of those 'she's laughing' looks. "I know. Though now
you've got me interested in what some of these 'original ideas' you might have
come up with. I had no idea you had such a creative mind, Mr. Malfoy." She's still laughing a little as she says
this, but not enough that the words carry too much. Some might reach other
parts of the hall though.
"I wasn't sorted into Slytherin
for nothing, you know." He moves his chin on his hand to have a more superior
angle, smirking with much arrogance. To be a member of the house created by
Salazar Slytherin, one has to have cunning and
ambition. To be cunning, whether for uses of good or evil, requires creativity,
in most cases. How Crabbe and Goyle
made it into the house, though, we shall never truly know. Considering how
easily he can toss out the verbal bashes and insults, however, Draco is certainly very true to being a
what has been described... "However, they are my ideas and if I
tell you them, then that means I can't use them later on."
"I could always help you improve them." Cho suggests, the smile still clearly showing on her face,
though the laughter has died down. She isn't exactly /cunning/, her intelligence is more geared towards other aspects,
much more suitable for the house that she was sorted into. She does have some
ambition, but it certainly isn't a driving force with her, nor is it the most
important thing. "But if you insist, you may keep them private, though it
wouldn't hurt to share one of them. You must have dozens you could still use,
if it came down to that." The smile is still there, but it's obvious that
she really hopes that he's playing the joke on that part. She
/really/ doesn't want more thrown on this. Though their interaction so far in
front of various students is enough...
Perhaps it's a joke, but then again, since he does happen
to be a Slytherin, there's always that possibility
that it isn't... right? He'll leave this up to Cho to
draw her own conclusions on the matter, not about to claim anything right now
onto to turn around on it later, after all. His smirk turns into a bit of a
sneer, gets directed at Cho, and then he just looks
away up towards that enchanted ceiling, again. Playful moments with Draco don't tend to last for very long. Heh.
For some reason, the return of the all-mighty sneer seems
to make her more amused and she lets out another soft laugh before she too
settles down into a more serious expression. Cho is
all too used to the shortness of these moments and the abruptness in which they
end. Of course, this is the first time they've ever had one of these moments in
the plain sight of people... "I'll take that as an indication that I will
forever remain oblivious to your potential tales. Unless of course I happen to
catch wind of them, should you decide to ever use one of them in true." She says, then, after a second, her mouth
quirking into a smile, she adds, "Of course, you could be holding your
silence because you haven't actually /thought/ of any yet..." Now she's
intentionally baiting him...
Draco makes a noise sounding
like an odd cross between a 'hmph'
and a snort. "If you want to think that, go right on
ahead, but you can be ruddy sure that I won't be telling you anything,
now." Not that he was planning on doing so in the first place, but
the words serve their purpose and enable him to hide things. "I thought we
came here to eat and not to discuss whatever devious plots that happen to be
running through my head?"
"Things do not always turn out the way we originally
intend." Cho says, in a wise fashion. And if
that wasn't one of the truest things she's said about their 'relationship'...
She certainly didn't bargain for all this when she inquired on a sleeping
potion a month back... "And besides, if you ever had any intention of
telling me what was going on inside that mind of yours," she lifts a hand
up and reaches over to poke lightly at his temple, not enough to mess up his
hair if it lands, but enough to be felt. "I'd probably faint from
shock."
"I'll keep that in mind." Draco
says, with a smirk sliding into place across his lips, where it then remains.
Maybe, one day, for his own amusement, he'll simply make up a bunch of tripe
and spout it all off as though it were running through his mind, then see what
happens. Should be quite interesting, if what she says proves to be true. He
moves the hand on the table, immediately, to make a light swat at the offending
finger that pokes him softly on the temple.
Ah, but then it wouldn't be an
/honest/ revelation of mental thought. Tsktsk. In that case, it would probably depend on whatever he
happens to spout out what the specific effect would be. Cho's
finger gets swatted before she can pull it back all the way and she continues
to smile. At least he's smirking now and not sneering. It's an improvement.
"Just be careful about timing." It would be very unfortunately if he
suddenly chose to spill his mental onslaught on her during a Quidditch game or something. (Well, unfortunate for /her/.
Easy victory for him...)
Aw. Ruin all of his fun. Perhaps he was thinking of doing
it right before a Quidditch game, or maybe not, who
knows, because Draco doesn't say a single thing on
the subject. He just merely continues to smirk, which shouldn't be considered
an improvement over the sneering, as, when they refer to this particular Slytherin, neither one is good and they kinda
even out in nastiness. He drops his hand back down onto the table, blue eyes
flickering away from the changing ceiling and back to the girl. "Maybe." Muwaha.
Perhaps the smirk isn't any better, but at least it looks
nicer on him than that sour expression that makes him look like he swallowed a
bunch of lemons. The smirk though has /other/ aspects about it that make it
more foreboding... but Cho isn't really looking into
what bad evil things he might be plotting at the moment. Maybe
tomorrow. "Yeah, yeah. So what do you want
to eat?" It was their original intention in coming down to the Great Hall,
especially around meal time, and most of the rest of the Ravenclaws
have already started to eat, even if the particular section of the table (near
the center) that the invader and the Ravenclaw Seeker
are sitting at is fairly void of people, save for them. Usually popular Cho is without any of her usual tag alongs,
likely due to her present company.
Harry enters the Great Hall, not really hungry, but
knowing he's got to have something to eat. His stomach has finally stopped
churning mercilessly since that 'discussion' with Professor Snape.
It was thankfully cut short by the appearance of the Auror.
o O Why didn't I just tell
her what I found and suspected? He so could have squealed and Snape would have been carted off for interrogation.. why couldn't he do it? The man's
life is already on the line as it is. Oh wait, he's
his father's son. That's why he couldn't rat out Snape.
"Preferably something
edible." He fires back with a bit of a snicker, just to be
obnoxious, his voice taking on that bored drawl tone, again. "You did say
that they served that kind of stuff over here, right?" Harry's entrance is
certainly not noticed by Draco. Well, not yet,
anyways, but he'll probably realize that he's here, soon, especially with that
great view of the Gryffindor table. Draco just had to
sit as far away from it as possible, plunked down next to Cho
at the Ravenclaw one, some scrolls of parchment set
down upon the flat surface at an arm's length away, his back to the Slytherins.
The person who actually belongs at that table gives an
exhausted look towards the younger Slytherin.
"Of course it's edible." What does he think this is,
a death-day party? Almost as soon as they seem to be ready to eat, the platters
around them do fill, offering many different selections. Cho
seems to be willing to settle with some rather thick sandwiches, grabbing two
off a plate that immediately refills. Perhaps it isn't /exactly/ the same as
the Slytherins usually get, but it's more or less the
same, and probably the same as they're getting this moment. She is selecting
her food and trying to ignore the emotionally draining presence of the guest at
her table.
Harry plunks himself down at the Gryffindor table near
Dean and Seamus. Their never-ending argument over Quidditch
and soccer has picked back up again and Potter just tunes it out best he can.
He helps himself to a bit of food and only succeeds in pushing it around a bit.
He glances over at the Slytherin table and breathes a
sigh of relief as Malfoy isn't there, then he looks up
at the staff table, no sign of Snape, that's even
better. So far he hasn't bothered to look at the Ravenclaw
table.
No. He's here. Honestly, he is. You just haven't noticed
where he happens to be sitting, yet. On the flip-side, however, while Harry
hasn't noticed his presence, Draco has noted
Harry's... with a disapproving look of utter disgust. That was just the last
person he wanted to just stroll into his line of sight and take a seat. It
would have been so easy, over at the Slytherin table,
to just simply stand up and say something nasty, which would have his fellow
housemates howling in laughter, but god... sitting here... it just doesn't feel
right. The blonde seeker kinda sinks in his seat,
filling his plate with a few sandwiches and variety of fruit. Might as well.
Why's Draco suddenly slouching?
It takes a few moments, but after the first few bites of one of her sandwiches,
Cho notices the appearance that the young Slytherin has taken on. And that look of disgust... it
doesn't take very long to figure it out. Oh. Harry's here. When'd he arrive?
She's not too sure, but it explains a few things. Even if she doesn't quite
know the extent of the tension between the two, she has an idea. Though not
/all/ of the idea she probably could have... "Draco?"
She did say that he could leave if he got too uncomfortable...
Harry manages to eat a bit before he looks around the
Great Hall again. Hufflepuff table, Ravenclaw, oh look there's Malfoy,
back to the Slyther.. what? He looks back at the Ravenclaws.. and no his eyes weren’t playing
tricks on him. There's the git with Cho. You know, in a way he's not surprised to see that.
Keeping his expression neutral as Cho takes note, he
turns back around in his seat, his head staying down. Why should he feel
disappointed at that little scene anyway? Why should he care?
What's your problem, now, woman? Is Draco
not allowed to fire a dirty look across a few tables and then begin his meal in
peace, then perhaps just leave right afterwards? He had just been reaching out
to remove a sandwich from the plate when Cho says his
name, causing the Slytherin to stop, his arm still
outstretched, head turning in order to look towards her. "What?"
No, that wasn't close to the same tone she used on him
over that thing with Ron. He gives nasty looks to /her/ so it's not like she
really expects that to do the trick. As long as he isn't intentionally trying
to hurt Harry... sneering can't be too bad. Cho looks
back towards the Gryffindor table, then back to the Slytherin,
"Nothing. Sorry. Go ahead and eat..." She was honestly just going to
offer to let him sit at his own table again...
Harry has his back turned, can't see it, can't hurt me :P This little scene is shuffled to the bottom of his
deck of priorities. When Hermione's back safe and sound, then he can bother
with the situation. He forces himself to eat more of his meal before Snape shows up. That conversation from last night is far
from over, Snape's expression said as much. Seamus
throws Harry a questioning look that's quickly dismissed as concern for the
missing Hermione.
"Actually." Draco begins, deciding against it, his hand moves to
collect the rolls of parchment into his arms once more. Some of the Slytherins look up from their meals curiosity, then the train of whispers starts, again, around the table
at the far end. "I'm not hungry." The blonde seeker rises from his
seat and from there, he just... leaves. Immediately.
This is probably the second time he's done this to Cho.
He walks past the backs of the Ravenclaws, no doubt
receiving an occasional glance here and there, but doesn't even bother with
them, intent on leaving right at this instant... however, there's always time
to flash a particularly nasty look at Harry on the way out. Heh.
Cho's mouth opens in protest,
but instead all that comes out is, "All right. See you later." She
did say he only had to stay as long as he was comfortable, and obviously he
wasn't comfortable again. She's not going to get up, but as soon as the Slytherin is well away from the table a few of the 6th year
Ravenclaw girls immediately seem to migrate over to
sit around the Ravenclaw Seeker. It was almost as if Draco was emitting an anti-everyone else ward and keeping
them all away!
Harry tends to make people lose their appetite, isn't
that so predictable? He flat out ignores Malfoy. You
aren't going to get a rise out of him today. He refuses to look back at the Ravenclaw table, instead he keeps
his eyes down and concentrates on eating and hoping the food stays down. Lovely case of nerves. u.u