Entry Hall
Hogwarts is certainly a magnificent building; why, even the
common muggle could tell that at the first glance (were it not bewitched to
repel them). The entry hall is not
exactly the heart of the main building, but close to it, as it may seem. It is indeed very large, and elegant.
The entry hall definitely has the touch of a medieval
castle; the walls are constructed from stone, torches attached to the wall,
doing their task of providing sufficient light.
The walls are decorated with many portraits; of course, these aren't
just paintings, for the characters portrayed in them seem to be moving
about. Along with that, the crest of
Hogwarts is daintily draped across a wall, as well as four flags briefly
presenting the four houses of Hogwarts.
The ceiling seems to be endless, reaching up to the heavens above. The floor is also made of stone, various
slabs of rock layered onto the ground, smoothed and polished out. The hall looks generally well kept, and for a
good reason, seeing it's usually a student's first glimpse inside of Hogwarts.
Two solid oak double doors seem to open up to another hall,
one with even more prestige than this one.
Another door seems to lead to an empty chamber, so it seems. The last doorway will take students and
teachers alike to the grounds. A few
sets of staircases (hidden ones included) lead upstairs to the second level,
where more whimsical rooms and such may be found. On each side of these steps are two
passageways which take students to various other rooms in the castle.
He continues with the thumping down the stairs, sounding
more like an elephant, or one of his cronies, rather than a scrawny boy that
only happens to be five foot four and three quarter inches. Urg.
Brain is goo. A good three or four hours of Arithmancy can probably do that to anyone,
though, and cause them to go tromping down the stairs without much care, even
if they are normally rather quiet. Draco's free arm lifts, his fingers brushing
away some of the those white-blonde bangs obscuring
his vision, but what he sees makes him wish he didn't. Euuuwww! It's a dirty
Gryffindor student! ...Wait. It's a dirty Gryffindor student that he zapped the
other day. :D His mouth kicks right into action, sneer working it's way across his lips. So, if Angelina didn't notice him
then, she probably will, now. "Seems as though you've
been a little 'board', lately." Oh god, he's making puns.
"Might explain why you look so 'stiff'." Snicker.
Those were *really* bad, Drano
Malformed, really really bad, and Angelina's expression show's it. >.< The
older student fingers the wand in her pocket and adopts an air of casual
indifference. Oh look, a Slytherin. She keeps walking toward the Great Hall. "Oh haha, Draco. Has it taken you this long to come up
with that one? I've heard worse taunting from the Weasley's Pocket Sheep."
If she weren't feeling so awful about what she just learned happened to
Lavender, she'd be all for paying you back right now with a real nice hex. But
she just wouldn't be able to enjoy it the same way.
You know, seeing as the fact that
Cho happens to come down the stairs not too far behind the young Mr. Malfoy,
one might think she was following him. Point of fact, she isn't. She's honestly
not meaning to follow anyone. She had just stepped out of a classroom on the
previous floor's corridor and moved towards the general direction of the
stairs, far too preoccupied with something to even realize that she happened to
be right behind her self-appointed new best friend! What she's so occupied with
is a roll of parchment that she's holding in front of her, staring at as she
walks very slowly down the stairs. Her mind can not stay long on whatever topic
she is reading over, because while it was possible to mistaken the trudging
sound for young Mr. Malfoy, it's impossible to mistake that bored drawl. She
lowers the scroll and raises her eyebrows. My, wasn't that an intelligent
insult... She has to go with Angelina on this one. She hangs back, finishing
the steps down to the bottom, deciding not to interupt right away.
Pocket Sheep? Oh yeah! Those things that were stealing Professor Dumbledore's socks.
But... Gawk. o_o HEY! You're not supposed to retaliate and render him
speechless like that! You're supposed to get irritated and mad so he can just
proceed to be more aggravating! If only he knew a little more about the
Gryffindor chaser, besides the fact that she doesn't like the word 'mudblood'.
Then, the Slytherin might of been able to say something else, but no! He won't
let this get the best of him, though. Draco will have the last word! He tucks
that near chin-length lock of blonde back behind his ear, sneer becoming a
malicious smirk, his eyes alight with vicious cruelty. "It doesn't
surprise me in the slightest that you can't seem to find anyone else besides a
stupid little sheep to have a more intelligent conversation with,
mudblood-lover."
Angelina narrow's her eyes at the detestable little
Slytherin. Somebody is in the mood for trouble isn't he? Hrm, maybe hexing the
younger student now wouldn't be such a bad idea after all...would you like your
hair to be turned a brilliant rosy pink with purple ends, Draco? Or perhaps you
would prefer to go about talking in a hideously fake french accent, as Lee gave
her the idea yesterday? "I'll bet it doesn't. The sheep would find you lacking."
She makes a face at the mudblood comment, but manages to restrain herself just
barely.
From her position off to the side,
Cho too joins in the brief look at the mudblood comment. Just
glaring at the back of his head, that's all. If it wasn't for the fact
that he probably already checked out her family history, she's almost tempted
to go up to him and tell him that she's a 'mudblood' just to see what he would
have to say about that! Of course, it would be a lie, but that isn't why she
would say it. She rolls up the parchment and sighs lightly, staying where she
is. She wants to see how this progresses.
Go ahead. Tell him you're a
mudblood. Draco, himself, hasn't done any sorts of background checks on Cho,
but because of his father, Mr. Death Eater... to put it lightly, when it comes
to wizarding families, he knows who comes from one and who doesn't. Angelina's
remark doesn't even phase him in the slightest. What
will it take to derail the young Slytherin bastard train? Since he doesn't have
eyes in the back of his head and tends to be concentrating all nastiness on the
Gryffindor chaser, Cho goes completely unnoticed. Draco isn't the type who gets
that 'crawling skin' feeling when he's being watched without his knowledge,
either, so. "Indeed, lacking. Lacking in stupidity, that
is. Well. I suppose that means you're a perfect match for them! Perhaps I
shouldn't insult you for not being able to find someone to have a more
intelligent conversation. Please forgive my misjudgement." And then his
tone of voice turns nasty and mocking, "I'll be changing that to 'you,
yourself, are totally incapable of having an intelligent conversation'."
Angelina merely...rolls her eyes again. Why is she even
bothering? Really? It's not like she cares what Draco
of all people think of her. She's got better things to do than trade insults
with the Slytherin 'Seeker' *cough cough*. "Oh go stuff it, Malfoy. I
don't feel like listening to you yap your ruddy head
off right now." Turning slightly, she catches sight of...Cho Chang? How
long has the Ravenclaw been standing there? Sorry Cho, but your new friend is
just annoying the heck out of this particular Gryffindor right now. "It's
not my fault that your daddy couldn't buy you any talent OR brains to go along
with those brooms. Shove off." Or she might just make good on her payback.
Annoying the heck out of Angelina?
Well, imagine how annoyed Cho must be to actually be /showing/ it. She's often
too polite to even show annoyance, but to be showing it to this extent... she
must really be annoyed. She starts to move down the steps somemore, until she's
right behind the small Slytherin Seeker, then she does the second most violent
thing she's ever done to him. She smacks him in the back of the head. But,
despite the smack, what she says is to Angelina, "Draco is actually quite
good on a broom." She actually has respect for his 'ability' on the
Quidditch field? Wow... But she says nothing about the brains comment? Heh.
OH HELL!! @_@; The
hand connects clean with the back of his head. Being KINDA unprovoked,
unexpected and about ten other things, it is safe to say that it completely
catches Draco off-guard. The boy just... jumps in fright, his balance
immediately running for cover. One foot slips off the edge of the stone stair
and that's it... the blonde Slytherin goes tumbling down rather comically, arms
wildly flailing as he tries to stop himself unsuccessfully. One moment, he was
standing about halfway down the staircase and the next..
well... he has a whole new perspective of the floor.
And it really hurts. @_@;
Angelina's eyes widen as Cho...smacks Draco? Okay that was
worth putting up with his snide comments to see! She opens her mouth to
respond, except there the boy goes, and the Gryffindor Chaser can't help but wince.
Owww, that had to hurt. In spite of the nasty commentary that had been running
between the two, she is *almost* sympathetic. Well, she doesn't hex you while your down at least n.n. "...."
Eeek! The very same person who
caused him to fall is the same girl who bounds down the remainder of the stairs
and immediately has the look of annoyance completely wiped off her face. Cho
did /not/ mean to hit him that hard! This isn't the first time she's caused him
to fall down either, sad to say... of course, it is the first time his fall was
prompted by physical interaction of that nature. She searches for words as she
kneels down to look at him, biting on her lip. Finally what she says is,
"I... didn't mean to do that. Are you all right?"
Geez. It's like a cartoon. The boy
peels his face from the flagstone floor and... immediately
brings a hand to his nose to make sure it's in one piece before he snarls and
hexes the attacker. Argh! It's broken! His nose! Nooo! ...Kidding, but for a
moment, he honestly thinks it is, mostly due to the pain it happens to be
causing him. Then Cho speaks, the blue eyes move to the corners, looking past
the messy locks of dusty gray, from the floor, and white-blonde. "YOU
DIDN'T MEAN TO DO THAT?!" Draco snarls, "WHAT? WAS IT AN
ACCIDENT?!" >_< Obviously, he's forgotten all about Angelina at this
point in time.
And a good thing too, because
Angelina is in the midst of a very hard battle. Laugh or feel sorry for him,
laugh or feel sorry. It's written ALL over her face. On the one hand, that just
*had* to hurt very badly, and she's a sympathetic person, for all her tomboy
bravado. On the other...the slimey bug-nosed little prat had it coming,
especially with that mudblood comment. Oooh, this is a tough decision. Finally
the girl just gives Cho a sympathetic look, and turns to go into the Great
Hall. She *has* to eat, she's beginning to feel extremely dizzy.
It's almost as if she withers
slightly under the tone of his voice, ducking her head down. But Cho somehow
manages to hold her ground. "I'm SORRY!" she yells back, though not
quite as loud as his voice, and the tone is more desperate than angry. "I
just meant to hit you! I didn't think you'd fall down the stairs! I had no idea
you were so unbalanced!" Though she should have, based on how many times
he's fallen on his ass (or head) around her. Maybe she's just a walking jinx.
Angelina's sympathtic look went unnoticed, as did her exit. Getting screamed at
by her injured friend is kinda priority in her mind. "Are you all
right?" she asks again, after all her return yells are done, even if she
has a feeling his aren't finished yet.
"You..." And the young
man just seethes, delicately still pressing his fingers against his nose,
specifically the bridge, mainly to make sure that it hasn't given way to
punishment, again. Madam Pomfrey would probably have a canary if Draco Malfoy
paid a visit to her room with another broken nose in two months. "Unbalanced?! I had no idea you were even there! You
snuck up behind me and smacked me across the back of the head! No! I'm not all
right. Does it look like I am?" Actually, despite the dust and the fact
that he gently prods his nose, the boy seems to be just fine.
"I did not sneak! You just
didn't know I was there!" There's a difference! It's not like she
intentionally walked silently! She's just not a heavy walker! She's got such a
light agile little body! "And you need a good smack every so often!"
Cho starts to move closer, building up what little courage she has as she
reaches out to try and grab his head, in an attempt to pull it closer so she
can look at it. The bridge of his nose looks all right, but his fingers are in
the way most of the time. "How am I supposed to look at you when you're
yelling at me! Now let me help, please."
Her reaching for his head causes the young man to
immediately swat her hands away as quickly as possible before she can actually
touch him, retreating, in a sense, protectively shielding his nose with his
fingers and behaving in a rather childish manner. "Bugger off!" Draco
snaps, the level of his voice dropping more and more to a more 'talking' tone.
>.< "And I do not! You just have some really violent tendancies.
Quit trying to help me! I'm better off without your help!" Swatswatswat!
"I only have violent
tendancies around you!" Cho says, almost harshly, but still sounding a
little desperate. Though perhaps hurt, after that last bit. He doesn't need her
help? He's better off without her? Are all her efforts this past month and a
half almost completely... useless? Is she just making everything worse for him?
As her hands retreat from their attempts, it almost appears that she might
follow not long after and run away from this place. But that illusion is
shattered when her eyes suddenly set themselves and she moves forward again, a
little bit more determined. "It takes more than that to get rid of me,
Draco. Just let me have a look, please? I'm not going to hurt you further, I
promise." She holds her hands out, not towards him, but in the universal
gesture of the absense of harmful intentions.
"Noo!" >o< The boy
practically howls, using his legs and feet to shuffle himself away from the
girl across the floor, further messing up his robes, but not like Draco happens
to care. Whatever it takes to get away from the helpful Ravenclaw... even if it
means that he has to look totally ridiculous... not that there's any witnesses
to this or anything. This time, he cups both hands over his nose protectively,
glaring over and past his fingers. "I just told you to quit trying to help
me! After you deaf?" Or just
stupid? Hrmph.
"I'm not deaf! Though I might be if you keep yelling at me like that!"
Oh, there's definately hurt in her voice now. Cho straights up until she's
standing, but instead of walking away and leaving him there, she just stands,
for once looking down at him to where he's crawled away from her, "I'm
trying to be your friend, as if you'd ever let me! Maybe if you'd stop running
away and /let/ me help you it wouldn't be so bad for you!" Or maybe she is
just making things worse and she should just leave him alone. Would that make
things better, wouldn't it? That's the reason she lowers her voice and asks
almost softly, "Do you really want me to leave?"
Draco's hands remain firmly in place over the nose, fingers
at the bridge, thumbs digging in beneath his pointed chin. "Look. When I
say to back off, it means to back off! It means 'stop poking at me, I'm fine'! Yeah, great, Cho. You wanna be my friend. I'm touched."
But the words come out laced with acid, not to mention muffled, "But I
don't need your help every single time when I stumble and fall. Do. Not. Mother. Me. It's insulting." He sets his back against
the wall for support, then uses his feet to push
himself up to stand, hair still dusty, as with his robes.
If that remark had come without as much acid, maybe it
wouldn't hurt as much as it does. But this is Draco,
did she really expect he would be all nice and accepting of her help? Nope... But she had hoped. Hoped that just maybe, after what
happened between them that one day when he got assualted by pinecones, that he
would show some more of that friendly side again. For a moment, it looks as if
she might just run off and cry. That moment does not last long, as her dark
hazel eyes suddenly seem to gain some anger, borne entirely from frustation and
hurt. Cho stalks towards him and... "Fine. Don't
want me to mother you, hmm? Even when it's my fault that
you're hurt?" Remember when she said earlier that she isn't
violent, he just happens to provoke violence from her? Well, this is apparently
another case of such violence, because she grabs her robes and aims a kick
right at his shins. She really isn't mothering him now, is she?
First, it's a slap. Then, it's a smack across the back of
the head. Now, it's... well... WHACK! HOLY SHEEEEEIT, THAT
HURTS! Just when he had actually gotten to his feet and started to pitch
himself away from the wall, Draco receives a nasty boot to the shin, which
causes his newfound balance to be lost, sending him teetering backwards. He
slams right back into the what he had intentions of
moving away from, all the air in his lungs immediately being expelled with an
audiable 'whoosh'. Must. Not. Destroy. "What in
the world is your damn ruddy problem?!" He gets out, after greedily taking
in a few deep breaths of oxygen. "Are you completely nutters?!"
"Yes!" Cho tells right back, reaching out to grab
onto his shoulders and push him back into the wall, unless he manages to slip
away or knock her hands back. Either way, she's going to yell, "There's
absolutely no logical reason I should want to be your friend, much less /like
you/!" That's not all true. There are some reason
they can be friends, and sometimes he is rather likeable. But at times like
this, what she said has truth to it. It is true right now, even if not always.
Though that makes people wonder why is she even bothering to be his friend, hmm? "I'm doing everything I can to hate you right now;
it would probably make both our lives much easier, but the only thing I can
think of--" She cuts off, shaking her head, but at least the anger has
died down, she won't be kicking him again. "Since this /is/ my fault, will
you please allow me to remedy it? I'll stop babying you, but I hurt you, I'm
sorry, and I should be the one to fix it. If you want, you can even hit me
back. I certainly deserve it."
Ow. Double ow. Triple ow. First because of the dull ache
that is left in his shin, second because of being pushed back into the wall by
his shoulder, third because of what she happens to say. For a few moments, the
look on his face can probably be compared to a deer caught in headlights. The
boy seems to pale, going more white than how he happens to be naturally, blue
eyes widening for a moment, and then... the look of hurt just... vanishes,
wiped away, getting replaced with a smirk. "I told you before to quit
trying to help me. You can also keep your apology to yourself. Obviously,
you're doing everything you can to hate me; kicking me in the shins, slapping
me, cuffing me across the back of the head. Perhaps you could've decided that
you want to hate me much earlier and saved us both the trouble." A nasty chuckle. "I, certainly, could have done without
such emotional baggage." And with that, Draco immediately moves to pull
away, intent on leaving, on just walking away... mostly due to the fact that
that's just the way he is, parting with a, "You think you've hurt me,
now... you have no idea... and this isn't something you can just magically
fix."
The angered look is completely gone now, but it's replaced
by something else. Regret. "That isn't--" Cho chokes out at first,
but she lets him pull away from her, arms dropping down to her sides. She isn't
going to just let him walk away thinking that though. She starts after him, but
not so much to the point where she grabs him. "I didn't say I wanted to
hate you. I don't. Sometimes you make me so mad, so horrified that I could
possibly-- I should hate you. I should /want/ to. If I /did/ hate
you I wouldn't even bother hitting you... You wouldn't be able to make me so
upset if I did... The only reason I'm trying to is because it probably would be
better for you if I did. You obviously would prefer to be without the 'burden'
of my friendship..."
"If you should hate me, then why don't you? If I make
you so mad, then why haven't you? Obviously, it's not only a 'burden' to me,
but a 'burden' to you, as well, if I make you so upset. Just turn around and
walk away. Cho." And that's it. Draco doesn't
look back while he walks, he keeps facing forwards,
heading in the direction of the dungeons, probably to retreat to the common
room, the smirk still in place across his lips. "If you just walk away,
then I won't upset you, anymore. I won't make you mad. You know exactly what
will happen if keep following me."
Ouch. All those are very good reasons for her to turn around
and walk away. Then why does Cho continue to follow after him? Because he's all
she has. She can fool everyone else into thinking that she's doing this for
him, but she can't fool herself. She's doing it for herself as much as for him.
She'd had no one who could make her feel... anything real. Sometimes it was
easy to fake emotions, but it wasn't until she started this friendship that she
felt any genuine emotions towards any specific person, besides the numb grief
she'd had since last year. Possibly unlike him, she's of the firm belief that
emotions are good. "What will happen? I might get to keep you as a friend?
Maybe I'm willing to take that chance. I don't consider you a burden, Draco.
You do make me upset, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I don't hate you,
though, and I don't think I could now anyway..." She's tried.
Of course he has every right to be tired,
this whole thing is an emotional drowner for both of them. Cho doesn't
understand why he doesn't just say those few words and end it now if it's so
much trouble for him, but she's glad that he hasn't yet. Since he stopped, she
continues until she's standing just a couple steps behind him, letting out a
soft annoyed sound at his only verbal response. "Why exactly am I stupid? Because I want to be your friend?" She could say 'I'm
not stupid' again, but they've been through this, so she's going to try and
turn it around a bit so he might not be able to say it as readily again. Not
that it'll work. It's worth trying though.
"You just are, okay?!" Let's not get into this
again, please? Draco whirls around, using the heel of his shin-booted leg to
pivot and face the girl behind him with a rather critical gaze, his hands
making gestures to go along with the spoken words. "You must be stupid to
want to be friends with me, especially after all I
'put you through'. What are you expecting to get from even trying? More grief and anguish? I bet, with the way you seem to
think of me, you'd probably be a lot happier if you just left and, believe it
or not, so would I."
As he turns around to face her, the small Ravenclaw girl
holds her stance, not stepping away or looking startled. If anything she almost
looks calm now as she stares up into those blue eyes only four inches above her
own. "Grief and anguish?" Cho has to shake
her head. "You may not believe me, but you have only caused me real
anguish twice. And one time you weren't even there." The first time, was
when Harry told her what he'd said on the train. She'd been hurt for a while,
but then she realized that she had no reason to be hurt. He didn't say it to her, it wasn't as if he even had any reason to care about
Cedric... So she got over it rather quickly. The second time was when he told
her the reason he bothered to speak to her after the Yule Ball. /That/ hurt. Even if he made up for it moments later. "You've
confused me, frustrated me... angered me... but I
wouldn't say you only cause me grief. I know grief." He hasn't caused it
that often. Despite her last words, she actually smiles a bit as she adds,
"Don't assume what I think of you, Draco." Yeah, she did go off on
him not too long ago, but she was frustrated and angry.
Well. That about wraps it all up and leaves him utterly
speechless. She's about as confusing to him as he happens to be to her. The
words leave the Slytherin struggling to try and think of something. Anything!
Draco's jaw drops, his mouth starts to form words that don't escape and then he
considers, trying a second time only to have the same results. Honestly, what
can he say to something like that? What can he say besides, "You make
absolutely no sense at all." And that's the
truth, too!
Speechless? She seems to have a easy time causing him to go through that. She honestly
doesn't mean to though. She doesn't try to be confusing and senseless, but...
she has been rather illogical when it came to this friendship and her attempts
to cling to the only thing that's given her feeling the last few months. Even
if sometimes the feeling isn't necessarily a good thing. Cho's smile fades a
bit, til finally she asks, eyebrows raising a bit, "Sorry. I---" She
suddenly closes her mouth, but the glance down towards his shin shows a bit of
what she was considering saying. She returns her eyes to his and continues, on
a different, and more appropriate, train of thought, "I guess I probably
confuse you as much as you confuse me."
"It certainly seems that way, doesn't it?" A pause,
then Draco folds his arms across his chest, robes making a rustling noise as he
shifts his position slightly, causing his weight to be supported mostly by his
good leg. That suddenly reminds him. "Hmph. Well. You can be as confusing
as you want.. just don't kick
me, again. Next time, I'll hex you or something." You've been warned. The
blonde Slytherin immediately gets back his sneering expression, head lifting to
look arrogant, blue eyes momentarily shining with a touch of malice.
"Understood. No more
kicking." Of course, he didn't say anything at all about slapping, so
there's always that option. Or she could resort to less physical methods of
attack and just hex him to close his big mouth next time he starts going off
like that. Madam Pomfrey would just life to have to unseal his mouth if it was
cursed shut. Cho can't help but add, "I really am sorry I did that, but
you just..." He made her so mad. She shakes her head, then
casts an eye around the Great Hall, luckily finding that they haven't gained an
audience that she can see. When her eyes return to his, she's smiling again,
"I guess I should let you go back to your common room. Though...
I would like to meet with you in a few days sometime. To..
go over your Arithmancy charts or something..." Not
the real reason she wants to meet him in a few days, but hey... "Maybe outside, if the weather's nice. Would that be
all right with you?"
Right... in a few days, eh? He
thinks about that one for a moment and then comes to a bit of an odd conclusion.
Either it's something to do with his birthday or it's Valentine's Day. Whatever
it is, though, he doesn't really want anything to do with it. This thought
causes Draco to immediately shake his head in a negative fashion. "No. I
have.. something important to
do." Yes, he's lying, but he's trying to worm his way out of it. Send him
an owl. That'll be acceptable.
There's a brief moment of frustration in those eyes, but it
fades. She's trying to do something nice for him! He has to be so... difficult!
She supposes she'll just have to hope they haven't changed the password to the
Slytherin Common Room and drag him out. Or not. Maybe
she'll just not do anything after all. That's silly though, because of course
she'll do something. She just might not be able to plan it this time. Cho does
find herself asking, almost absently, "What do you have to do? I could...
accompany you." She won't say help, he'll probably yell at her for
'mothering' him again.
Just don't walk in on Draco in the shower or something if
you're planning on dropping in the Slytherin common room completely unexpected.
x.@; "You are so incredibly nosey, has everyone
ever told you that? Asking why my father was here, asking what my 'happy
thought' was, asking what was in the letter... Now this." The boy says in a rather clipped tone. Yeah.
It's his polite way of saying 'keep your nosey nose out of my business and
personal affairs', though it really isn't very polite at all.
Don't fret, Cho has no intentions
of walking in on him in the shower. She's seen enough of him,
she doesn't need to see any more. "I wouldn't say nosey. Interested. How am I ever supposed to
understand what you're about if I don't ask questions and observe?"
Cho asks, smiling a little. She can't help but smile. Besides, isn't that the
kind of things friends do? She's not asking to annoy him or anything,
she genuinely wants to know, though, all right, the happy thought inquiry was
more out of frustration. Now, if only he was interested in her own things and
asked her questions... Maybe one day when she asks something like this, she'll
catch him off guard enough to actually get an answer...