Born to Rule: The Story of the Slytherin Princess (paused)

Chapter 34

"Love is like a shadow. It may follow you, it may haunt you, but it always remains by your side, dark and mysterious."

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The news spread like wildfire through the halls of Hogwarts that Harry Potter had missed the elusive snitch during the Quidditch match, resulting in a surprising victory for Hufflepuff. The atmosphere was abuzz with chatter, and students from different houses had mixed reactions to the upset.

Draco Malfoy, always one to revel in Gryffindor's misfortune, couldn't resist sneering at the turn of events. "Can't believe it, Hufflepuff. The leftovers actually won," he remarked, his tone dripping with disdain.

Clarissa, standing by Draco's side, couldn't resist a sly retort. "Better than Gryffindors," she added with a smirk, reveling in the opportunity to take a jab at her rival house.

."Just to think," she said, her voice low and smooth, "it would've been Slytherin versus Gryffindor in that Quidditch match, if the Buckbeak incident never occurred."

Draco raised an eyebrow, his silver eyes glinting with amusement. "Oh, indeed," he replied, a smirk tugging at his lips. "But we all know how that would have turned out. Another humiliation for Slytherins, no doubt."

Clarissa chuckled, a sound like tinkling bells. "Exactly," she said, her voice dripping with satisfaction. "Thank Merlin for my conveniently timed injury. It gave us the perfect excuse to avoid that fiasco."

Draco nodded, taking a sip of his drink. "And apparently, Potter's broom broke during the match," he said, a smirk spreading across his face. "Can you imagine? The great Harry Potter, falling off his broom like a complete amateur."

Clarissa burst into laughter, her eyes crinkling with mirth. "Oh, the irony," she managed to say between giggles. "And to top it off, good old Cedric Diggory actually wanted a rematch, not knowing that Potter had simply fallen off his broom."

"Cedric Diggory, always playing the role of the goody two shoes," Blaise muttered under his breath, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Daphne, who had been admiring Cedric's form with rapt attention, turned to face Blaise, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "But you can't deny he's got the looks, and he's so agile and athletic on that broom of his," she said, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

Draco, who had been listening to their conversation with growing annoyance, scoffed at their words. "I can't believe that fool actually has you two girls swooning over him," he sneered, his tone laced with contempt. "At the Quidditch match, it was just you and Clarissa, drooling over him like a pair of starstruck first years. He's a bloody Hufflepuff, for Merlin's sake."

Clarissa, who had been observing the exchange with a detached air, raised an eyebrow at Draco's words, her gaze thoughtful. "To be fair," she remarked coolly, "he is one of the most handsome boys at Hogwarts."

Draco rolled his eyes dismissively. "Who cares about him," he sneered, brushing off Cedric as if he were an inconsequential speck in their world.

Blaise smirked, his lips curling into a sardonic smile. "Oh, I care," he drawled, his voice low and menacing. "I care that he thinks he's better than everyone else just because he's good at Quidditch and has a pretty face. It's nauseating, really."

Daphne pouted, her mind still fixed on Cedric's retreating form. "But he's just so dreamy," she murmured, lost in her own thoughts.

Draco let out a disgusted snort. "Dreamy? More like insufferable," he said, his voice dripping with contempt.