Haunted

11 | attentions

"Everyone, sit. In a circle," commanded a girl their age striding into the training room. Her jet-black hair bounced at her shoulders which were covered in a skin-tight version of the training clothes that all the women donned. Nobody moved, so she clapped her hands twice decisively. "Come on, then."

Hesitantly, the group of soldiers moved from their place at the wall where they normally waited for Malfoy and Zabini, and formed a circle, dropping to the floor. Hazel threw a sidelong glance at Blue and Red, whose expressions reflected a similar confusion.

"Where are Zabini and Malfoy?" Joker asked as she went to the chest in the corner of the room where they knew their wands were located. She scooped them up and walked back, setting them in the center of the circle before gesturing for Pixie and Buck to move aside to create room for her.

She sat on the floor in the space created between them, stretching out her long legs, displaying the tall black stilettos on her feet. Hazel took in her appearance with a mix of curiosity, fascination, and intimidation: her perfectly straight hair with not a strand out of place, her smooth skin that looked like it had to be airbrushed, and her bright red lipstick that communicated that she had more confidence than anyone Hazel knew. She couldn't decide if she wanted to be friends with this girl, or if they were destined to be enemies.

The girl's gaze slid across the faces of the soldiers and when her mouth puckered into a frown upon making eye contact with Hazel, she knew at once that being friends was likely out of the question. What the hell had she done in her past to make so many people dislike her so immediately? First Malfoy, then Carrow, and now this girl. "The boys are occupied, but we've decided that it would be beneficial for your training to learn healing, which is why I am gracing you with my presence." She flashed a devious grin, her teeth impossibly white. "I'm Pansy Parkinson." When nobody replied, she arched a brow. "Have you no manners? Introduce yourselves," she encouraged with a hint of annoyance in her tone.

The boys in the group suddenly tripped over themselves to make their identities known to Pansy, talking over each other. She shushed them with a sly smirk and though Hazel had the feeling that she and Pansy would not be friends, it was difficult not to admire the way that she so easily tamed a group of boys with just one red-painted finger lifted in the air. "Now, now, let's be civilized. One at a time." She directed her gaze at Joker and squinted. "You first," she cooed.

And so, they went around the circle, each of them telling her the nickname Malfoy had given them while she appraised them carefully. It almost felt like they were products in a glass display, and she was window shopping. Where Malfoy took a cruel joy in insulting them, it seemed that Pansy was delighted just to be a superior to them. Hazel was sure that she knew their real names. She could read it in her face, the way her lips curved at the corners at each nickname. Hazel would bet a hundred galleons that she was recalling details about them from before when her eyes landed on their faces, that her smirk was her pleasure at remembering what they did not. Perhaps she did hate her.

"Hazel," she said, when it was her turn, and she watched Pansy's face as closely as she could tell Pansy was watching hers. It seemed that she was searching for a hint of recognition, but when it was clear that there was none, Pansy's eyes practically sparkled with a poorly contained glee.

They finished going around the circle until everyone had introduced themselves. "Well, it should be easy enough to remember those names," she murmured, glancing back around at them. The way she was looking at them made Hazel feel like a child. No, not just a child—a toddler. Like Pansy didn't expect them to have the capacity for advanced speech. She instructed them to summon their wands, and at once, they all raised a hand and murmured the summoning charm, Pansy watching them in fascination. "You really are soldiers," she said quietly, almost to herself.