snowflake

four

September 10th, 1993

Elissia walked into the Great Hall, purposely avoiding everyone's eyes. Nobody seemed to be staring at her which surprised her at first but then she figured Daphne or another one of her friends told them not to(which she appreciate). She sat down at the Slytherin Table, away from her friends and began eating her breakfast. Once she finished with her second waffle, she heard someone clear their throat beside her. She didn't have to look up to know who it was, the disgustingly overwhelming scent of citrus and fresh mint told her all she needed to know.

"Go away, Malfoy." She mumbled, not having the energy to make a snarky remark. Malfoy shifted uneasily and looked around the room to ensure nobody was looking their way.

"Uhm, can I sit here?" He asked almost inaudibly, a part of him hoped she hadn't heard what he said. As much as he didn't enjoy seeing her all gloomy, he also didn't want anyone to see him associating with her without any insults being thrown back and forth.

She looked at him and raised a brow, staying silent. He ran a hand through his hair, "Look, it's a simple yes or no. Can I sit here or not?" He asked again, starting to grow impatient and more paranoid that somebody would see their interaction. She sighed and slid down the bench for him to sit next to her.

"I really don't want to talk to you right now, so if you could just piss off and let me eat my waffles, that'd be great."

Malfoy raised his eyebrows and gave her a proper look. She looked mostly the same except for her hair being slightly messier than usual, it was clear she hadn't bothered to do any makeup besides a little bit of blush and mascara. Not to mention, her eyes looked darker and exhausted, a little puffy. He wondered if she cried more when she left the field, and that was the reason for her puffy and slightly red eyes.

"I only came here to tell you that what I said yesterday wasn't right and it's not my place to bring your family life into our disagreements." He muttered, playing with his rings. Elissia's eyes snapped towards him, they were wide and filled with shock. He swallowed thickly and sat in silence, nervously awaiting her response.

She took a deep breath and fiddled with her bracelet, chewing on her bottom lip. She wasn't quite sure what to say to this new piece of information. A Malfoy apologising wasn't exactly part of everyday life, now was it? Even if he didn't directly come out and say, "I'm sorry, it was meant to be an apology; she knew that. For a second, she wanted to accept it and just move on from everything that happened yesterday. Then again, if he really was sorry, perhaps he wouldn't have done it in the first place. 'But he's taking ownership of his wrongdoings.' A small voice at the back of her said, she was very much aware of that though.

A few minutes passed and Elissia still wasn't answering, this made Malfoy extremely nervous. Not because he wanted to hear her speak, her voice made him want to pitch himself off the Astronomy Tower. It made him nervous because he didn't know if she was contemplating whether to forgive him or if she was considering hexing him off the bench.

Honestly? Both ideas scared him more than anything. This was yet another thing he would never admit out loud. He, Draco Malfoy, was incredibly scared of Elissia Reyes at times. Of course, he knew she most likely wouldn't do anything to seriously harm him. Yet, at the same time, he also knew that one of these days; he was going to push her to her breaking point and would regret it. But, could you blame him? She could be scary when she wanted to be.

"I have to go." Elissia said suddenly, standing up and leaving the table before he could stop her. He watched her exit the Great Hall with a fallen expression, it quickly changed to an angry one however.

Here he was, giving it his all to apologise in hopes that she would look past his mistake and forgive him. And she had the audacity to walk away from him without so much as a yes or no? There's no way she expected him to let that slide with no problem.

---

"Everyone get the necessary ingredients from the cupboard... and begin with the making of your Wiggenweld Potion." Professor Snape drawled in his usual low but intimidating voice. This was their third Potion's class of the year, for Elissia it was only her second, since she didn't get to go to any of her afternoon classes yesterday. It was apparent to her in those first few minutes that Professor Snape didn't care one bit that it was early in the morning, or that it was the start of the year and already they were brewing a new potion.

She walked to the cupboard and retrieved her ingredients. After going back to her desk, she started working on the potion along with everyone else. She would be working with a partner but decided against it since someone else would've been left out, seeing as how Malfoy chose not to make an appearance in class today.

"Sorry I'm late, I had something to do." His voice bouncing off the dungeon walls, she sighed without her movements faltering. Couldn't she catch just one break? Clearly not since he was already going to sit next to her, and inevitably, becoming her partner for the assignment.

"Mr. Malfoy.. I trust it won't happen again. Work on the potion with Ms. Reyes, page 147." Snape instructed sternly, Malfoy nodded and looked expectantly at Elissia. She didn't spare him a second glance and continued working with her potion.

"I do believe we're supposed to share the ingredients." He said pointedly, Elissia acted as if she could not hear what he said but, he knew that she did and that bothered him greatly. "Give it up Reyes, I know you can hear me." He rolled his tongue in his cheek, slowly getting more and more frustrated by her behaviour.

She exhaled sharply through her nose, "Do you not know the meaning of: "I don't want to talk to you"? I'm fairly certain that's what I told you earlier." She said through gritted teeth, sprinkling some mint into her cauldron.

"And I'm fairly certain you haven't given me an answer regarding my apology from earlier." He answered, mocking her own words.

Elissia was fuming at this point. He couldn't seriously be daft enough to believe that after bringing her personal life into a petty argument, she was going to forgive him that easily. If he actually was under that impression, that could very well be the reason for him not being sorted into Ravenclaw.

Malfoy noticed her nostrils beginning to flare as a result of her increasing anger, which was starting to bubble up in her veins by the minute (similar to their potion). He though it'd be wise to drop the subject for now, he wasn't too keen on the idea of her cursing him into a state of oblivion in front of all the Gryffindors. He pushed his work over to the side and silently resumed his potion, not even glancing at the blonde girl beside him once.

---

"The idea that nearly half of you were unsuccessful in your concoction of this potion is more than disappointing. As third years, I hold you to much higher expectations. To relieve everyone of your ignorance, I expect a 15 foot essay on this potion, due Friday." Everyone groaned at Snape's words but he dismissed them before they could complain any further. Elissia removed everything from her desk and packed her bag, surely he knew that they were supposed to be cleaning up, rather than leaving things behind.

"See you around, Reyes." Was the last thing she heard from him before he left the classroom.

She raised her eyebrows, 'Not if I can help it.' She thought bitterly, she'd much rather see the Giant Squid than have to see his face again. She knew she didn't have a choice though since they still have Transfigurations, History of Magic and Defence Against the Dark Arts together.

As she was leaving, the piece of parchment Malfoy left caught her eye. She bit the insides of her cheek and thought for a moment, it could've been important to him. She wouldn't want to intrude on his privacy, no matter how awful of a person he was. Maybe he left it deliberately for her though, this could've been the case and she wouldn't even know. Biting her lip, she looked around and once she was certain nobody else was there, she walked towards his desk.

The note was folded neatly and, after carefully unfolding it, seemed to have just one short sentence written on it. It was written as though he was in a rush, or didn't want someone to see him writing it. If this was the case then he succeeded, she never saw him writing on anything during class. Taking a deep breath, she read the sentence to herself.

'Slytherin common room - 1:00 a.m.'