Witch Me?(Witch or Shadowhunter?Book 2)

Dueling and a Smirk-Off

The weeks go by in a blur as I quickly catch up to the other second years and fight the urge to get ahead. A week earlier, Professor McGonagall had come around with a list of students who'd be staying for Christmas vacation, but I'd declined politely. Ms. Know-it-all, Mr. Eats-a-lot, and Mr. Thunderhead had all signed up to stay, though. Today there's going to be a dueling club and, of course, I've decided to go. It's only six thirty, leaving me with an hour and a half before the club. I'm absorbed in studding the writing in the wall from ages ago when I hear someone slip out of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. I turn around quickly to find three figures hurrying away but I can't make out who it is. Instead of worrying about who it was, I slip into the bathroom to find out what they were doing. Obviously I'd prefer to continue studying the words, but two boys leaving a girls bathroom is just too suspicious. The door closes silently behind me but I still hear Moaning Myrtle say, "back already, are you?" I take a step forward, placing a hand on Tinea's hilt, and reply, "Myrtle? Can you tell me who was just in here?" She floats out of one of the cubicles and stares at me, "who are you?" I give a slight shrug, "just someone looking for answers. Do you know anything about the attacks on Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey?" She blinks at me, obviously surprised, "perhaps. Why do you care?" I groan, "come on, just answer one of my question. Please?" Now Myrtle glares at me, "and why should I?" Narrowing my eyes, I pull my sleeve up enough to reveal some of my Marks. "Maybe so that I don't go to the Clave about this. You do know who the Clave are, don't you little ghost?" I reply. When she doesn't reply I add, "have any other ghosts told you about us? Surely they'd know about the Accords?" She shakes her head slowly, still looking at the silvery Marks on my right arm. With a sigh I yank my sleeve back down and wander around the bathroom, sure I'll find something.

As it turns out, I find something sooner than I'd thought I would. An empty cubicle with a locked door. "Alohomora," I whisper, pointing my wand at the lock. It clicks and I push the door open. A cauldron sits on the toilet and I hear sizzling from inside the bowl. Stepping closer I examine the potion brewing. Not one we're supposed to make, that's for sure. And yet, it seems familiar. From a book I've read, an old one. THAT'S IT! "Who's making the Polyjuice Potion, Myrtle? Is it those three who I saw leave?" I question out loud. If she replies, I don't notice. My hands reach into my bag and move towards the cauldron, now holding a piece of parchment I didn't even notice I'd grabbed. With a scowl plastered across my face I read over the directions carefully, placing that the potion is due to be done in a week. But, the thing that set of my senses before I even realized it, it's a shade too blue. I work quickly, testing different things in small flasks of the potion to find what's wrong. My watch ticks away, drawing ever closer to eight, when the dueling club is due to start. Finally, when I try dashing some ingredient into a flask and stirring clockwise seven times, the miniature potion becomes the correct color. With quick and careful hands I add the correct amount of the ingredient, the name of which I don't understand, and stir the potion. One, two, three, four, five, six, and seven! I pack my stuff back into my bag and leave the stall, relocking the door. After glancing around, I slip out of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and head to the Great Hall.

I arrive at seven forty five, although I'm far from the first one there. My eyes flicker immediately to Draco, my current target. I walk towards him, a smirk playing its way onto my lips when I see him take an almost unnoticed step towards me. "Hey Draco!" I call sweetly when I'm closer, the smirk now weaving its way through my features. He turns and is about to smile when he sees my smirk, changing course to a scowl. "What are you smirking about, Nightcross?" I allow myself to look hurt at his reproaching voice, dropping the smirk. The scowl on Draco's face lightens slightly before Ms. Pug face cuts in, "you think you can smirk better than my Drakey-poo, do you? Show her a real smirk, Drake." My eyes brighten immediately, "you mean a challenge? I love challenges!" Draco doesn't require any persuasion and I step back, leaving just two feet between us. He goes straight for his all while I take it slow, using a kiddy smirk instead. He presses his so-called advantage and I fake a flinch, knowing it'd make it so much easier when I let out my specialty smirk. The one I use when I'm about to blow up, usually whenever someone mentions K. I've used it so many times that I'm actually fighting myself to wait to let it show up. Soon everyone's gathered in a circle around Draco and I, cheering on one of us. I slip from one level of a smirk to the next, increasing rapidly towards my specialty. I know it must be getting close to eight and decide I've played with him long enough, calling on my long-awaited smirk. Draco and Ms. Pug face actually stumble back and I know without question that I've won. As I turn to find Ms. Know-it-all at my shoulder, Mr. Bright teeth enters the Great Hall, followed by Professor Snape.

After Mr. Bright teeth gets knocked backwards by Professor Snape in their demonstration they start to pair us together. Snape reaches me first and puts me with Ms. Pug face. Once they're done, we're instructed to face each other. I turn to Pansy and smile at her sweetly. We bow to each other slightly and then Mr. Bright teeth starts counting down, "three.....two.....one!" At one my opponent snarls, "expelliarmus!" I deftly dodge the spell, sidestepping right as the light flashes where I just was. "Rictusempra!" She screeches in a second attempt to get me. I gracefully flip my body around the silver spell, giving Pansy a smug smile. "Is that the best you can do?" I tease, laughing silently. "Why you little....." Ms. Pug face snarls, rushing at me, forgetting about her wand. I jump up lightly and twist over her head, letting myself land on her back. She tumbles down with a cry and scrambles away, panting. "Pansy, it's supposed to be a magic duel, not a fist fight," I say calmly. "I'm going to get you, you stupid, annoying, little mudblood!" She replies snarkily, lunging at me again. I spin my body around and grab the collar of her robes, yanking her back around. "So you want a fist fight? I'll give you a fist fight," I whisper in her ear, knocking her legs out from under her. She rolls over, reaching for my foot, and I let out a snarl, bouncing backwards into a crouch. Her eyes widen and she attempts to get her wand pointed towards me. With a sigh I raise my own and hiss, "expelliarmus." I raise my left hand to catch her wand and it clanks against mine. "Silly mundane, you can't beat me," I tell her simply, straightening up. Ms. Pug face glances around us and lifts her head, trying to look proud and failing. I look around and notice everyone else split between watching me and Ms. Pug face and watching Ms. Know-it-all and another Slytherin. I duck my head and toss Ms. Pug face her wand, muttering a, "catch." When everyone continues to stare at me a snarl at them and storm form the Great Hall, my Shadowhunter training making even that silent.