The Taming of The Viper

Chapter 7: Undecided

Once the last of the students had left the Potions room, Professor Snape approached Amicia and Draco with two wooden buckets sloshing with soapy water that spilled over when he set them onto the table.

Snape tossed a ratty sponge in each one and wiped his hands uncomfortably on the front of his robes, "If you want to be on time for your next period, I suggest you work quickly. Mr.Potter's cauldron will require extra attention..."

They all glanced at the burnt, bubbling, mess Harry and Ron had left behind.

"I'll be in my office should you need me, but I'd prefer it if you didn't," Snape said coldly as he turned for the door.

"Yes, sir," Draco and Amicia spoke in unison, matching each other's sullen tone.

The smell was overwhelmingly peppery. It started to sting Amicia's eyes as she scrubbed the charred inside of a copper cauldron until she could see her own reflection in it. I've looked better, she thought when she saw her disheveled appearance. She stood upright for a moment to give her aching back a break and stretched her limbs. Her hair had started to come out of it's braid and with a soapy hand she brushed away the strands that stuck to her forehead. The front lower half of her shirt was soaked through and unpleasantly cold as it clung to her skin. Her fingers looked like raisins, stained black and pruney, and she was already exhausted when they'd hardly even made a dent in their workload.

Draco was of no help.

He sat on top of a table, on the opposite side of the room from Amicia, tie slung over his shoulder, sighing dramatically. He'd been doing so every few minutes, right when Amicia was just starting to forget he was there.

"Will you quit that?" she asked him with a scathing stare.

"It's your fault we're in here, you know," Draco said accusingly, "I shouldn't even have to be doing this." He picked up the wet sponge he'd barely touched off the table and his lip curled back in disgust.

"You say that as if you're actually doing something." Amicia rinsed the cauldron she'd scrubbed clean and moved onto the next one. They were all stacked around her, forming unstable towers, while Draco was still not finished with his first one.

"There's no bloody way I'm doing this, it's humiliating!" Water splashed everywhere when he hurled the soaked sponge he was holding back into the bucket.

A drop hit Amicia's cheek and she flinched. She wiped it off with the back of her hand and glowered at Draco. "Exactly what did I do to piss you off? Have poor reflexes? Trust me, I know. Flint wouldn't shut up about it when I tried out for the team."

Still he didn't answer, keeping his eyes downcast as he simmered with anger.

Amicia's voice softened, "I thought we were getting along for a moment there, what happened?"

When Draco lifted his head to look at her, Amicia noticed that his fine boned face was darkened with an unbecoming fury.

"You happened," he snarled. "You undermined me in front of everyone when you stopped me from hexing Weasley. Did you even think about how that would make me look?"

Weak. It made him look weak.

There was a rare tinge of color staining his cheeks. It was a nice change actually, Amicia found herself thinking. It made him look alive.

"Undermined?" She scoffed. He is unbelievable. Bubbles flew up around her when she carelessly dropped her sponge into the cauldron. "I'm sorry, but exactly what kind of authority do you possess?"

Draco opened his mouth to rebuttal but she didn't give him the chance to.

Amicia laughed dryly, "You must be insane, clinically insane, hexing a student in front of a professor. Snape is lenient with you, sure, but not even he would let you get away with that. I swear, it's as if you want to lose the house cup to the Gryffindors again."