SLITHER IN! → S. MALFOY

ACT II, SCENE I: QUESTION ME

C H A P T E R  E L E V E N 

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"WHAT," MALFOY'S VOICE WAS as collected as ever, "the fuck are you doing here, Granger?"

Instead of replying, Rose's eyes darted to the surroundings of the wizard before her, noticing that the hand his wand was poised in was trembling slightly. There was almost nothing to see; a wooden one-legged table, on which lay what looked like a piece of old paper, a monumental wardrobe, and a cracked mirror were behind Scorpius.

      Feeling the tears sting her eyes, Rose gulped, hauling herself to her feet forcibly.

"I can ask you the same question."

The wand in Malfoy's hand was still raised.

      "You barge into this room, crying and dry-heaving, Rosie. My... interest is rather justified."

Wiping the tear stains on her cheeks quickly, she let her gaze travel anywhere but Malfoy's eyes.

       "Put your damn wand down," she hissed lowly, staring at the dusted floors. "It's not like I'm going to kill you, or anything."

Malfoy cocked his head to the side.

      "How would I know?"

"Unlike you and your friends," Rose spat suddenly, "I don't jump around Crucio-ing people and death-threatening them!"

       Scorpius' uninterested gaze alighted in a millisecond.

     "Crucio..-ing?" He asked cautiously, and with relief, Rose watched as his hand lowered itself to his side. "Can you explain yourself clearly, preferably before I'll have to resort to not-as-polite methods of questioning?"

     "Seth Reznor," Rose's voice dropped a few levels - she didn't know why. Maybe admitting her weakness to someone like Malfoy wasn't a very good idea, "Your pet, used one of the lovely Unforgivable curses. Is this even legal?"

There was an indecipherable glint in Malfoy's poison-green eyes.

"Reznor used Crucio on you?"

       Feeling her cheeks flush, Rose looked away from his gorgeously chiselled face. There was something in his voice - something novel. Rage mixed with mystery.

       There was a second of silence, in which Malfoy's collected heartbeat echoed the silence of the Room of Requirement.

      "Answer me, Granger."

     "What do you want to know?" Rose's eyes met with Scorpius'. "The fact that because of you, I barged into this room, dry-heaving and crying? I never thought you were the one to use direct violence," she continued sharply, venom injected into her voice to hide her fear, "Yet I'm forgetting that you have been making my life hell ever since I met you."

Ignoring her outburst, Malfoy seemed to be avoiding her eyes.

        "I didn't order Reznor to use Crucio." He divulged suddenly.

     Rose threw her hands up in the air. "Oh, really? Thanks Merlin for that, Scorpius Malfoy! So, how did your talk go, huh? Threaten her with death, Seth, but don't resort to the Unforgivables!?" Her voice cracked at the last sentence, and her knees felt weak, as if those few lines have taken everything out of her.

        "Can you shut the fuck up for a second? I'm beginning to understand Seth. You're making me want to Crucio you, too." There was a sadistic edge to his voice, and Rose found herself enthralled by the layering of Malfoy's character.

Raising up her trembling chin, she found his emerald eyes with her own.

       "Then do it," She spat. "Only, don't be afraid, like your father once was. He told you, didn't he? I guess cowardice runs in the family."

Malfoy stalked towards her. To Rose's horror, his wand was still in his hand, and his mouth was twitched up in a sadistic grin.

(She found herself excited.)

         He was close enough to sense her fear, and he did.

        Nonetheless, instead of torturing her, (Malfoy had to admit, that thought passed his mind rather often,) he passed her on his way to the room's exit.

Before Rose could blink, the doors of the Room of Requirement were shut, and Malfoy was gone.

        Seth Reznor stalked into The History of Magic with a face-consuming bruise marring his cheekbone.

He was limping, too - Rose noticed that as he shot her a one-eyed glare (the other one wouldn't open) on his way to his desk.

        Albus giggled under his breath.

"Looks like someone had a rough night," He commented, and Rose found herself grinning.

She wasn't only grinning because of the visible discomfort Seth Reznor was experiencing.

As the doors of the Room of Requirement shut closed, she walked up to the table and grabbed the old piece of paper.

          Now, sitting in her bag, it read only a few lines.

Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot & Prongs are proud to present, it said, The Marauder's Map.