Ceasefire (A Harry Potter Fan-fiction)

First

The pranks and random hexing started during our fourth year.

It was such a pity that it even began, since we've done nothing but completely ignore each other after that first day in the boat. Life was quiet back then. Now, it's been our life mission to annoy the crap out of one another.

It's a good thing that the practical jokes don't put us in real danger- just a few cracks in the bones and some swollen body parts. Nothing life-threatening, just pure humiliation.

There isn't as much house rivalry now as there was before the War. I know I wasn't even around to witness it, but my parents and godparents have recounted their stories countless times that I feel like I could tell the story myself as if it's my own. Also, I've been reading. That's no surprise. I am Hermione Jean Weasley's daughter after all.

It's all just friendly competition. Sometimes. Slytherins are condescending gits, as always. Especially that prick, Malfoy.

I'm eating breakfast with my cousins at the Gryffindor table. There's Lily, James, and Albus. Albus is a Slytherin. Their table reeks pure evil. I guess he's the only decent one from that house.

"Tell me again how you got sorted into the snake pit?"

"You've asked me that a million times since I got sorted," Albus sighed.

"Rose is just housist. Don't mind her," Lily said.

"Housist?" I asked. I picked up my goblet with pumpkin juice in it and took a sip.

"You know. Racist. Sexist. Housist. You get my point."

I rolled my eyes at the red-head, drink still in my hand.

"I am not! I believe in the social, political, economic, and magical equality of witches and wizards no matter what house they come from." I may have said this a little too loud.

"That's hard to believe!" someone shouted from the Slytherin table.

"And why is that?" I snapped, putting down the goblet a little too hard on the table which caused some of the juice to spill. I turned to face Scorpius Malfoy who was wearing a lopsided grin. Jerk.

"Well, for one, you've been stereotyping Slytherins as evil, worthless gits from the moment you've stepped on the school."

"I did not! And whether or not I do what you just said I've been doing, which I'm not, I'm pretty sure it's true anyway."

"See?"

"See what?"

"You agreed!"

"To what, exactly?" I asked innocently, not backing down from the argument. I will never. Not a chance.

And he won't either.

The students are used to our daily banters like this. We could actually avoid all the hassle, but Malfoy just couldn't keep his nose out of other people's conversations.

He stood up from their table and made his way to ours. He sat on the seat next to me and said, "That you Gryffindors are better than everyone else."

"Has it ever crossed your mind that that may be a fact?"

"Nope. Never."

"Oh, please." I rolled my eyes.

"Wanna bet on it, then? Say, the next quidditch match?" he challenged.

"Uh, no thanks. I'm pretty sure I'll win. Save yourself from the humiliation, Malfoy," I refused.

"If you're so sure, then what's there to lose?"

I eyed him in annoyance. "Fine! Whatever!"

"The winner gets to boss around the loser for a month," he proposed.

"A month?!"

"Why? I'll lose anyway. At least, that's what you believe." He smirked. I wanna erase that from his face so bad. Maybe I should punch him in the face? But I thought of something better.

"Fine, fine. I know you just want to spend a whole month with me. Malfoy, you could just have told me you wanted to be friends. That would save us from all this hassle. But then again, I wouldn't agree to be friends with you even if you begged on bended knees. Or maybe," I paused for a second, "Maybe you've got a secret crush on me! Oh my god, Malfoy. Do you fancy me?" I said all too dramatically- hand gestures and all.

That made his smirk fall off his face. He looked insulted. Good.

Much to my dismay, he regained composure almost immediately. His annoying smirk crawled back onto his face. At least I tried.

"Dream on, Rosie. Everyone knows you've been crushing on me since day one," he said for everyone to hear. The git winked before standing up and walking back to the Slytherin table.

I don't know which burned more: my head at his inflated ego or my cheeks in embarrassment. I most certainly do not have a crush on him!

I hit the table hard and stood up, fuming. Malfoy turned around to face me. "Do that one more time and I'll personally pull off your eyeballs from their sockets," I threatened before smiling at him and sitting back down. He smiled back. Prick!

I wrapped my hands around my goblet and tried to choke the thing to death.

"I can see steam coming out of your ears, Rose," James teased. I snapped my head towards my bimbo of a cousin and shot him a glare.

He crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his upper body backwards. "Woah, chill." He chuckled.

I raised the goblet to my mouth and took a sip from my pumpkin juice. It tasted a little different, but I was too angry to even to mind.

I scanned the Slytherin table with the goblet still covering my mouth and saw Malfoy looking at me with an evil glint in his eyes. That was when I felt something familiar in my mouth. It was like those times when the wind's blowing too hard and my hair gets into my mouth. That kind of feel. And then I realized that I've been drinking something else! I immediately spit the liquid from my mouth.

A tingly sensation electrocuted my entire body. I felt my skin go numb as the hairs on my arms and legs stood up. A metallic taste filled my mouth as I bit the inside. What the bloody hell is happening? I turned my head towards Malfoy's direction and saw him haughtily laughing. Shit! He switched my drink!

I exited the Great Hall, running for the love of my dignity as fur rose out of my skin from head to toe.