Venom & Virtue

chapter 8

We rose from the table, our breakfast plates disappearing as we did so.

It was early Monday morning, time for the collectively most dreaded class of the week: History of Magic.

In a way, it seemed ironic that it was scheduled in this period out of all of them, the day everyone hated anyway because the whole week was stretched ahead of us.

The only saving grace was that all four of us attended it together; Violetta because her father insisted wizarding history was essential to her education, Terence because they enjoyed it, Adrian because he'd failed it the previous year, and me because I had to.

It was painful mainly due to the fact that it was incredibly boring.

Countless hours of our time focused upon old wizards and witches who had either no relevance to the modern day, or had caused the issues of it.

I had resentment for the latter group, it seemed older generations were always messing things up and then dying before the issues fully manifested themselves.

It was unfair more than anything, if a generation caused an issue then I thought that they should be made to deal with it.

I glanced at Terence ahead of me, the most excited of us all, they were practically running to the classroom.

Mainly, I was envious, their natural enthusiasm for the topic seemed to make it bearable, even beyond that, fun.

As we climbed the moving staircase, I spotted Draco and his friends passing on the ground floor below.

He was walking in step with Tom, the pair chatting sullenly to one another, whilst Theo was stationed ahead next to Blaise, preoccupied with talking the poor boy's ear off like an excited puppy.

I couldn't help but notice that Pansy was nowhere in sight.

Usually, she hung out with them in the common room, rarely sitting with the group at mealtimes.

For the most part, she seemed to stick with another girl in their year, avoiding much opportunity for extended social interaction.

When I'd first noticed her lack of attachment to the boys, it had made me curious about the level of affection between her and Draco.

There certainly seemed to be an established dynamic between the two, as she frequently sat on his lap, running her hand through his hair or whispering into his ear.

But in return, he seemed his usual cold self towards her, indifferent, but not unwelcoming; it was odd in a way that I couldn't quite put my finger upon.

After our unpleasant interaction on Saturday, I'd avoided him extra carefully. Although, I knew my peaceful bliss couldn't last forever, that at some point he'd schedule another tutoring session.

And I wouldn't be able to deny it either, no matter how much I wanted to, because I truly did need his help.

So, until the dreaded moment came, I made sure to never look at him during mealtimes, or even when passing through the common room.

I'd decided that my own insouciance and avoidance would save me a lot of hassle.

The four of us soon arrived at the classroom, filing in with the rest of the students.

Terence and Violetta headed to their shared desk, whilst I joined Adrian at ours.

In the first lesson I had wanted to sit with her, but Adrian insisted we be together, and then Professor Binns informed us that there would be no option to change the seating plan, locking our positions in place.