Consuming Shadows

Chapter 25

His tapped his fingers against his knee repetitively, eyeing the woman across from him shrewdly.

"So, Hadrian," Skeeter smiled at him as she seated herself. "let's start with how you're doing."

Hadrian glanced down when she crossed her legs, refraining from twitching away as her leg brushed against his. He did not see why she had insisted on them being so closely seated together for this ridiculous interview. If her goal was to intimidate him she had a long way to go. It took far more than a simple touch to unnerve him.

He had managed to avoid the ghastly woman for almost two days before she had pinned him after his last class. It had not been pleasant, stepping out of the Transfiguration classroom to see her grinning at him from the other side of the hall.

He had promised her an interview though, so he had allowed himself to be dragged along to this empty room, ready to proceed with the upcoming torture. He was sure Skeeter was still smarting from how he had dismissed her the other day, and was positively salivating at this chance to get him back.

"Very well, thank you. I am practically back to normal."

"Practically?" She pounced on the opening.

Hadrian gave a little shrug. "There are some lingering issues, as to be expected from such an injury. The healer assured me that there is nothing to worry about."

She wiggled back in her chair, the tip of her quill tapping obnoxiously on the pad.

He had allowed her to take notes this time, so long as the quill was not enchanted.

"Such excellent news." She said, voice filled with an almost painful amount of relief. Whatever problems he had with Skeeter, he had to admit that she was quite impressive in many ways. Like possessing the ability to sound so sincere, yet so sarcastic at the same time. It was a hard trait to master.

"And on the topic of your injury, I must say, when news of your coma reached the public, it caused quite the stir. Do you have anything to say on the matter, about why you suffered such an immense reaction to something that was healed within hours of the accident?"

Hadrian blinked, "My skull was cracked open." He said slowly, bordering on insulting. "My body went into shock. Forgive me, mademoiselle, but I believe it was a perfectly reasonable reaction."

"Of course," she simpered, reaching over to pat at his knee after Hadrian casually slid his hand out of her reach. "it was very traumatic, but let's come back to that a little more later. Tell me more about the match itself. Everyone is so eager to hear your version of events."

Why? It's not like they have not already heard everything about it anyway. He forced a charming smile for her regardless.

"What would you like to know, mademoiselle?" He asked politely.

Skeeter's mouth opened immediately. "How did you feel, when you first discovered which beast you would be fighting?"

Hadrian's finger twitched in agitation. "I will admit I felt quite nervous over going against such an incredible creature." He stressed the word lightly. "It was daunting."

Skeeter's head tilted to the side, causing a few of her elaborate, blinding blond curls to fall from their place. She absently replaced them. "And the task? How did you feel during the match itself? Surely you would have been terrified." He quill tapped damningly on the paper.

Hadrian rearranged himself in his own seat, finding his back beginning to twinge. "I did not exactly have time to feel anything, mademoiselle. Everything happened so fast, I had no time to feel fear or concern. All I could do was react and plan as best I could."