brewing hatred (d.m)

Detention and Distractions

Ariana spent the rest of the day trying to push the thought of detention with Draco out of her mind, but it seemed impossible. No matter where she went, his irritating smirk, his arrogant drawl, and his infuriating presence seemed to follow her like a shadow.

After dinner, she found herself standing outside the dungeon, dreading the next few hours. Detention with Draco Malfoy was bad enough, but the fact that Snape seemed determined to make them "get along" made it even worse.

The heavy dungeon door creaked open, and Draco appeared, his expression as smug as ever. "I hope you're not planning on wasting Snape's time tonight, Green."

Ariana rolled her eyes. "The only thing wasting my time here is you, Malfoy."

Draco's smirk deepened. "Charming as always."

They stepped into the dungeon classroom, where Snape stood near his desk, arms folded and a stern look on his face. The dim candlelight flickered against the stone walls, casting eerie shadows around the room.

"I trust you both remember why you're here," Snape said, his voice low and foreboding. "I will be leaving you alone to complete your task, but make no mistake—if I return and find you've spent the evening bickering rather than working, you will not like the consequences."

Ariana bit back a groan. Of course Snape would leave them alone again. He was probably hoping that some miracle would occur and they'd walk out of detention as best friends.

"Understood, Professor," Draco said smoothly, glancing at Ariana as if daring her to mess this up.

Snape gave them both one final glare before sweeping out of the room, his robes billowing behind him. The heavy door clicked shut, and the room fell into an uncomfortable silence.

Ariana walked over to the desk where their task for the evening had been laid out: a pile of cauldrons, all of which needed to be cleaned without magic. Brilliant. As if scrubbing cauldrons for the next hour with Draco wasn't bad enough.

She grabbed a rag and dipped it into the bucket of soapy water that Snape had left for them. "Let's just get this over with."

Draco leaned against the desk, watching her with that insufferable smirk still in place. "You're awfully quiet, Green. Cat got your tongue?"

Ariana shot him a glare, scrubbing the cauldron harder than necessary. "Or maybe I'm just trying to avoid starting another argument. Ever think of that?"

Draco chuckled softly, clearly enjoying this more than he should. "If you can't handle a little conversation, how are you going to survive being around me for the rest of the year?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm handling it just fine, thanks. It's you that's the problem."

Draco finally pushed himself off the desk and grabbed a rag, moving to the other side of the room to start cleaning his own cauldron. "You know, you really need to work on that temper of yours. It's not a good look."

Ariana clenched her teeth, focusing on the task at hand instead of Draco's infuriating voice. The sound of water sloshing around the cauldron filled the silence, but it didn't take long before Draco started up again.

"You act like I'm the worst thing that's ever happened to you," he said, his voice casual but laced with amusement. "You've barely been at Hogwarts a month, and you already seem obsessed with me."

Ariana let out a sharp laugh. "Obsessed with you? Please. I couldn't care less about what you do."

Draco turned to face her, raising an eyebrow. "Oh really? Because it seems like every time I say something, you're ready to snap."