Denying Draco

15 - Round Two

Once again, Poppy and Draco were face to face in front of the rest of their class, wands at the ready as they awaited Snape's instructions. Draco's eyes were fixed on Poppy, straight-faced and deep in thought. Poppy's eyes stayed focused on her teacher, not wanting to give a single glance at Draco whilst she was still feeling vexed at him.

'Yes, those who progress in using magic without shouting incantations gain an element of surprise in their spell-castings,' Snape was saying, to the class. 'Not all wizards can do this, of course; it is a question of concentration and mind power which some...lack.' He immediately turned to Poppy and she shifted uncomfortably. 'Once again, we will practice the same as yesterday and this time, Miss. Dumbledore, it shall be non-verbal.'

'Yes, Professor,' Poppy mumbled, feeling anxious now that it seemed Snape was to have Draco cast her up by her ankles again.

'This time Miss. Dumbledore will perform the jinx first,' Snape stated, and both Poppy and Draco's eyes widened. 'Mr. Malfoy, you may use the counter-jinx to protect yourself. I don't want to hear a single incantation from either of you.'

Poppy nodded, turning to Draco for the first time. He looked at her with a stoic face, slowly raising his wand at the ready. 

Poppy stepped back and took her time, remembering the harsh words he had spoken to her the night before and she felt her heart beginning to race as she so desperately wanted to succeed at the spell and pay him back for it.

Thinking the incantation over and over in her head, Poppy used her full concentration, exactly the way her father and Remus Lupin had taught her about non-verbal spells way before she'd attended Hogwarts. She had quite a hand at non-verbal spells, but she wondered if her nerves, all of the eyes on her and the fact it was Draco would affect it. Nevertheless, she repeated the word loudly and firmly in her mind, and she raised her wand with an upward flick. Levicorpus! A bright green light shone from her wand and she watched as Draco jerked his own wand upwards to deflect her, but his eyes suddenly widened and he cried out as his wand hit the floor and his full body was dragged up into the air upside down.

Poppy gasped but quickly refocused, dangling him around with her wand as the full class laughed and Draco yelled curse words down at her.

Not wanting to embarrass him too much, even though she knew she should, she refocused her mind to the counter-jinx and thought out the incantation. Liberacorpus! With a flick of her wand, Draco fell to a crumpled heap on the floor and the whole class applauded.

'Quiet!' Snape ordered, and the class fell silent. 'Malfoy, on your feet.'

Draco stood up and scowled over at her as he picked up his wand from the floor.

'Nicely done, Dumbledore,' Snape murmured.

'Thank you, Professor,' Poppy replied.

'Malfoy, focus,' Snape demanded. 'Now, perform the same jinx and Miss. Dumbledore will silently deflect it.'

'You ready for this, Dumbledore?' Draco asked. His bitter tone had now returned.

'Of course,' Poppy replied, repeating the counter-jinx incantation in her mind to prepare herself.

'I don't think you are,' Draco sneered, raising his wand, but he waved it in a slight W-shaped motion, which was not the movement he should have done, confusing Poppy as she frowned and a blue light came from his wand, coming towards her suddenly and abruptly, knocking her back onto her behind.

'What the hell was that?' she cried, ignoring the throbbing in her coccyx as she quickly scrambled to her feet whilst the Slytherins in the room all roared with laughter and cheered Draco on. 'Flipendo? Really, Draco? What on earth did you do that for?'