The 101 of Working With Your Enemy

Chapter 10

Winter had arrived, and with it came chilly days and freezing nights. The enchanted fireplace in the Slytherin common room was doing its best to keep the students warm and cosy, but the dungeon felt especially cold and abandoned this season. The Slytherins huddled together each night, sitting on the many couches, and secretly drank fire whiskey to keep warm.

Even Pansy, who stated that fuzzy socks and chunky sweaters were a disgrace to the word fashion, had borrowed some of my green socks, and wore them every night. She paired them with a silken pyjama that she had charmed to heat her, and a thin scarf around her neck. Every night she complained about the temperature, and every night I told her that she could borrow a knitted blanket from me, which she refused. She claimed that it was too scratchy, and would irritate her delicate skin.

Personally, I slept tight buried underneath no less than three blankets, clad in a wool sweater and pyjama trousers. Of course, also the fuzzy socks couldn't be forgotten. I had started knitting them two weeks ago, and Draco had teased me for having the hobby of a grandma. At least, my toes weren't falling off because of the cold. His loss, if you asked me.

Nevertheless, when Hermione asked me to accompany her to Hogsmeade today, I accepted with a smile. I loved spending time with her, and with the DADA project occupying most of my free time lately, I had neglected her. That would change now.

But first, Draco and I were due to present our research on wandless magic. The last couple of weeks we had spent every free second reading books from the Restricted Section and creating spreadsheets. After we had finally agreed on having researched enough, we had organised the information and created a scroll which summarised everything.

I should've known that presenting it would be even tougher than researching it. With not only Draco criticising everything I did, but also Professor Snape, I was due for a therapy session as I finally emerged from the DADA classroom.

I ignored Draco calling my name, and fastened my steps to get as far away from the classroom as fast as I could. As soon as I reached the Slytherin dungeons, I practically screamed the password, and ran past my housemates who shot me confused looks. When I reached my dorm, I slipped in, and slammed the door shut with more force than necessary.

"Whoa, what did the poor door do to you?" asked Pansy who was sitting on her bed, reading a fashion magazine I had brought her from England. Lately, she had been studying muggle fashion, and incorporated it into her designs.

I let myself fall onto my bed and closed my eyes. "I can't do this project anymore, Pans. He's driving me insane. If I hear him complain about my handwriting one more time, I will kill him."

"Don't worry, I'll help you cover it up!" She sounded way too happy by the prospect. Still, a small smile crept its way back onto my face, and I sighed.

"Thanks, Parkinson. I–"

A knock at the door made us both sit up. "Come in," Pansy shouted. At the same second, I wanted to scream the exact opposite.

The door opened and revealed white-blonde hair and piercing grey eyes. With a whip of my wand, I slammed the door shut in his face. "Forget it," I yelled through the closed door. "If you have something to say, it better be an apology."

"Apology? For what?" came a muffled voice through the wooden door.

"Don't act innocent, Draco. Whenever I said something during our presentation, you basically refuted it. You acted as if we didn't work together at all on this." I paced the room now, agitated by his words.

"I did not. I just proved that–"

"Apologise, Malfoy. Or leave."

"I just wanted to ask what time you want to work on the project today. We have to start practising–"