Fake Truth

VIII

Loud footsteps echoed off the bare walls of the deserted seventh floor as Draco stormed back from a long, hard day in the potions classroom. His face held a scowl, he had given at least ten detentions out today and he was not in the right mindset to actually supervise them. Severus Snape: old potions master, was sitting in his painting, smirking to himself as Draco came closer. He took one look at his face and grinned to himself.

"Had a nice day, Draco?" he drawled as he brought one hand to rest above his upper lip, "How was it down there? Have they nicknamed you the 'dungeon bat' yet? But looking at your, well what should I say, angry facial expression, I think that they are going to call you much worse than just dungeon bat..."

Draco's face went sour as he looked at his watch and then back up at Severus.

"Acromantula." he hissed and Snape swung open letting Draco in before swinging back onto the wall sealing the exit off until either one of them wants to come out.

The lounge was warm when Draco stepped into his new living quarters, the fire strong and bright, giving him a different feeling to when he was in Malfoy Manor where the atmosphere was cold and still. He could hear faint music coming from down the hall where Valerie's bedroom was and curiosity took over him, he hadn't spoken to her since McGonagall came to talk to him almost three days ago and when he went for a dip in the pensieve.

"Valerie?" he knocked three times on her door waiting for an answer. Slowly he rocked back on his heels as he heard movement in the room in front of him.

"Go away, Draco, I'm busy!" she screamed from her room, but Draco did not move, instead he kept on knocking at her door, and at one point started to beg her to open her door, telling her it was very important.

"What is it?" she growled at him when she flung the door wide open, "What do you want?"

From where Draco was standing she looked a mess with her long, curly hair that was normally kept in a tidy beehive now lay flat on her head and deep bags were under her eyes.

"Um... are you okay?" he tried to be cautious when asking her this because the last girl he had asked gave him a blow to the face, apparently taking the question as an insult. He gave off an obvious shudder as he relived that horrible memory. "I mean, you obviously don't look ok?" it came out more like a question than the statement he was hoping to make, but she just laughed. Not one of those fake one that his 'friends' would make but a nice, almost welcoming laugh.

"Of course I don't," she smiled at him and motioned for him to enter her room which, unsurprisingly was full of book. There were piles of them on the floor as well as the long bookshelf that stood next to the window parallel to the door which he had just walked through. Her large mahogany desk was covered in parchment that held illegible scrawls and papers were scattered everywhere.

"um, sorry?" she looked at him sheepishly, "Yeah, I was meaning to tidy this up at... some point," she looked down at the floor for a moment before piping up, "So, what do you want, exactly?"

"Help."

"well look here," she laughed, "The Draco Malfoy wants help! Lucky me," she grinned at him but all the while his face was cold.She depleted at his expression, the same stuck up boy as he was in school. "Well, what do you want help with then?"

"Detention."

"Ah, so your cheating at the game?"

"What game?"

"Well, every time Snape gave us a detention do you really think that he wanted to sit and watch us write lines? No, but he had to, to keep us in line. So you cannot keep taking unless you give."

"So?"

"So, what?"

"Can you sit in for me at detention tonight?"

"No! Did you not understand what I just said to you?!" she looked disgusted, why would she want to sit with a bunch of kids that Draco gave a detention to?They probably didn't even do anything wrong, maybe the just breathed and he gave them a detention. His problem, she thought.

"Fine, i'll do it myself," and with that he stormed out of the room and out of the quarters, as she heard the portrait slam back in place.

She sat in her room, tidying up all the mess that Draco had spotted as he came in to it just minutes earlier. It was nearing ten o'clock before she heard Draco return, she stood outside her doorway, waiting for him to walk into his room, she had her wand ready to freeze him.

She pushed him into his room, and locked the door, carefully she extracted his wand out of his pocket and unfroze him.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he shouted at her as he realised where he was. "Why are you here?"