The 101 of Working With Your Enemy

Chapter 2

"Let's just play a different game. Pretty please?" I practically begged my best friend. But once she had set her mind on something, there was no turning back.

"Come on, Callie. It's not that bad. We'll have lots of fun, I promise," Scarlet said, rolling her eyes. A smile was on her lips and I knew she was only teasing me. Still, I would rather play any other game.

"I'll even start. And I won't pick you, I promise." She sat down on the floor next to me and leaned back against the couch. Nathan was sitting opposite of us, along with a couple other Slytherins in our grade.

The lights were dimmed and laughter filled the room. Students were standing next to the fireplace, drinking and chatting about their vacations. Some were sitting on the dark couches, others were spread around the common room in smaller groups. It smelled like fire whiskey, sandalwood and rain. It smelled like home.

I felt welcomed and safe after spending my summer with Scarlet's and Nathan's family, even though they treated me like their own blood. Their parents had a cottage in Canterbury, and it felt like a second home after spending the fifth summer in a row with them.

"Alright, Nathan, truth or dare?" Scarlet's words pulled me out of my thoughts. Nathan groaned and seemed to think about it for a second. Then he picked dare. He always picked dare.

Scarlet's grin widened, and I was just glad that I wasn't on the receiving end of her task. Nathan knew better than to pick dare when Scarlet was the one to choose.

"Nathan, I dare you to go over to Nott and sing a song for him," Scarlet giggled, and I couldn't keep the smile from spreading over my face. I would've never done that, but Nathan was at least two glasses of fire whiskey deep and had never heard of the word shame before.

He got up, swaying a little as he made his way over to where Theo was sitting next to Blaise, Pansy and Draco. They didn't notice him until he was standing right next to them and cleared his throat. Then he began singing a song that we listened to whenever we were in the car with their parents.

"I hopped off the plane at LAX

With a dream and my cardigan

Welcome to the land of fame excess

Am I gonna fit in?"

I couldn't keep it together anymore and laughter burst out of me. Scarlet was now lying on the floor next to me, holding her belly, and I could swear I saw tears in her eyes from how hard she was laughing. The other students around us were also laughing.

The only one looking utterly disturbed was Draco. My hazel eyes met his grey ones, and he furrowed his eyebrows at me. Rolling my eyes, I looked away from him and my gaze landed on Theo, who was smirking at Nathan, who was still blasting the song and following the lyrics' instructions as he put his hands up, nodded his head and made weird movements with his hips that made Theo crack into laughter. Blaise looked amused as well, and even Pansy seemed to enjoy the performance.

When he stopped singing, a couple of people started to applaud, and Nathan bowed. He almost fell over, but Theo grabbed his arm and steadied him. "Easy there. Don't want our pop star to end up in the infirmary, am I right?"

Nathan made it safely back towards our group and let himself fall onto the ground opposite me, a huge smirk on his face.

"Mind if we join you?" asked someone next to me, and I looked up to see Blaise standing over me. He looked relaxed and not as tense as Draco, who was standing behind him, next to Parkinson and Nott.

"Not at all. Sit," grinned Scarlet and scooted closer to me to make space for the others. Theo ended up sitting next to Nathan, while Draco and Pansy settled down next to their friend, and I found myself with Zabini by my side. I never really minded his presence, so I relaxed quickly and smiled at him in greeting.