Too Much?

9

Christmas has finally entered Hogwarts; the twelve giant Christmas tree at the Great Hall stand elegantly around them, beautiful garlands of holly and tinsel had been twisted around the banisters of the stairs, everlasting Christmas candles float above the ceiling, while great bunches of mistletoe had been hung at intervals along the corridors. Millicent and her squad try their best to bump into Draco whenever he passed by in these corridors, but except for a cold stare or a good snub that makes them feel as if they don't exist, they did not get anything good from him. Pansy, together with Crabbe and Goyle keeps a good look behind his back, and Pansy enjoys teasing Millicent by making faces whenever Draco is not looking.

But they are just a small group compared to the vast throng of girls who expects to converge with Harry Potter. They blocked the corridors and Pansy spent three full minutes just to squeeze past them. When she entered Flitwick's classroom for Charms, almost all of the seats are occupied, and she have to elbow Crabbe in order to squeeze in the empty seat beside him.

"Watch it," said a voice beside him, and she recognized it to be Anthony Goldstein's, a Ravenclaw prefect. Pansy also recognized him to be the same Ravenclaw who bumped into Riley and was helped by the latter to pick his books up. She gave him a sarcastic smile before slamming her books hard on the table. Crabbe gave a flinch, but Anthony merely blinked and listened to Professor Flitwick like nothing happened.

Today's lesson is the nonverbal Relashio Charm. After letting the students practice the incantation verbally, he then asked them to do the spell in nonverbal. However, most of them had a hard time doing it; Crabbe even sent Goyle's quill shower into pieces. Professor Flitwick nearly tumbled while standing above the tower of book, so with a sigh, he announced, "You go in pairs-er-with your seatmate and try to release whatever he's holding, without reciting the incantation. Now, work up!"

Pansy shifted in her seat expectantly to Crabbe but was surprised to see he had his back on her. Furiously, she stood up and saw that he'd paired up with Goyle, and Draco with Blaise. She turned around and looked at Anthony who's facing her with his arms crossed. His expression looked neutral.

"Don't worry, I don't like you either," he said before Pansy could even utter a word to complain. "Now, sit down before Professor Flitwick sees you."

Pansy slumped down on her seat, facing him. "I don't see the point why we still have to go in pairs."

"Yeah, maybe it's easier to release something you're holding, you just have to point your wand to yourself, eh? Very fascinating," he replied, flatly, still keeping the same neutral expression. Pansy was dumbfounded and infuriated at the same time. When Anthony saw her reaction, he immediately broke into a smile.

"I'm joking. Anyway, we can start now so we can finish sooner." Anthony took his book and aimed his wand. When Pansy did nothing but to stare at him scathingly, he whispered, "You will be needing your wand, Parkinson."

Pansy, not wanting to spend another minute with him, bustled to grab her book and pointed her wand without warning at Anthony, who immediately dropped his book. He smiled impressively as he stared at the book on the floor. "Not bad, Parkinson. You'll make a fair Ravenclaw. Accio book!"

"I'm not interested in any way to be part of your know-it-all House," Pansy replied haughtily, although she was really surprised that she was able to do it.

"I don't expect you to be." Anthony waved his wand to Pansy who felt as though invisible hands clutched her book so tightly, before pulling it hard away from her. It dropped on the floor with a loud thud, and Pansy did not waste another minute to summon it back.

"You must be a remarkable student," said Anthony before pointing at her prefect badge. "The first time I received that, I thought they're mistaken. Personally, I think I don't look like someone who'd be a prefect."