Alex resolved to totally ignore Malfoy. She could manage to not hex him, so long as she didn't have to speak to him. It worked for about five minutes before Flitwick said he'd be collecting their homework.
"Knew I'd forgotten something." She heard Draco hiss. She turned to him.
"It was your week, and there are two of you. Don't tell me you'd both forgotten."
"I've been in detention with Snape every day this week." He glared back.
"I thought he was Severus." She said and he rolled his eyes. "You both forgot to do the assigned three feet?" Zabini had the decency to look embarrassed. She huffed and pulled out the essay she'd written. Malfoy looked puzzled.
"Why would you do it if it's not your week?"
"Last week's lesson was interesting." She shrugged. "And easy. I couldn't help myself." Well, she wasn't about to tell him she wrote backups every week, and have him decide to not write anymore of their homework. She waited for the insult to come, but he didn't. She scrawled their names on the top and let Ernie collect them.
"Thanks." Malfoy said. She rolled her eyes.
"I haven't forgotten how much of a prejudiced bigot you are. So just shut up and leave me alone." She said and turned to look away.
After charms, Alex headed to the potions lab. She noticed Malfoy right behind her and walked faster. She didn't acknowledge his presence, and just continued making her way down to the dungeons.
"Professor, I think something's wrong. My shadow's a lot paler than it used to be." Snape looked up with a raised brow and saw Malfoy walk in after her.
"He's supposed to be here, he has detention."
"Great, and right after an hour of having to sit beside him in charms."
"Miss Weasley. I appreciate that you may have your differences but this is a classroom. No insults. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." She quietened. "Mr Malfoy. Please take a seat and resume your lines. Miss Weasley, I'd like you to answer these hypotheticals."
"Are you ever going to teach me how to create my own spells?"
"Is it part of the Hogwarts syllabus?" She glanced at the test he'd given her.
"Is this?" She countered.
"It's part of Japan's."
"Oh. How'd you get a hold of it?"
"I thought it might be sensible for you to have a grasp of what students in your age group are learning, so I wrote to the headmistress." Alex could see Malfoy was invested in their conversation. She didn't care.
"Do you know her?"
"She happens to be the potions master, too."
"Right. So, you hang out in similar circles?"
"Something like that, yes. I'd start the test if I were you. You've already lost five minutes." She set to work immediately.
"This curse seems particularly creepy." She remarked, ten minutes later. "Why isn't it an unforgivable in Britain too?"
"Some spells don't translate well across languages."
"Oh, and Japan do their spells in Japanese. We do it in latin." She stopped. "I'm going to have to learn my spells in Japanese! Well, maybe."
"Yes, you will."
"A simple protego can't shield one from this sort of spell, right?" Alex asked.
"Which spell is it?"
"Oh, death by a thousand cuts."
"No, a protego won't do." She thought for a moment.
"It takes time." She said. "The cuts draw upon the body one by one. So you could bypass it if you prepare a potion to heal each cut as it appears. That would take about ten minutes. The curse itself takes an hour to complete."
"And if you're in battle? What if you don't have time to brew a potion? What is a solution that will protect you from your enemy immediately?" She hushed again, thinking.
"An armour spell. Turn your skin into metal and it could protect you from the cuts as long as you keep it up for the hour."
"Yes. Both answers are acceptable."
"It only asked for one solution!" She said, sounding a little peeved.
"So it did." Alex was looking very frustrated, but just huffed and turned back to her test.
"Finished." She said, finally. She held out her test to him.
"Try reading through the first chapter." He said handing her an old looking book. She opened it to find it was written in Japanese. There was no title on the cover, though it was written on th first page inside.
"Protection and safety? No, preservation. Protection and preservation of one's light magic." She read aloud, her eyes lighting up. "In Japanese."
"Why are you so obsessed with Japan?" Draco spoke up, curiosity getting the better of him. Alex ignored him.
"I believe Mr Malfoy asked you a question." Snape said.
"And I believe you said not to say anything to him if I haven't gotten anything nice to say."
"You don't believe yourself capable of answering a direct question without insulting him?"
"Not at all. Especially since Hermione won't let me hex him. Well that, and I really can't afford detention."
"I need to fetch some red ink from my office. I appear to have run out." Snape said. "I'll be back." Alex rolled her eyes.
"Look, I, uh, I didn't mean what I said about Granger."
"Which bit? Calling her the m-word? Or telling her and all other muggleborns that they'd be petrified next?"
"Both?"
"I really did believe that you could possibly not be such an arse, but clearly I was wrong. Telling someone an awful fate awaits them because of their genetics is despicable."
"You wouldn't get it." He said. "I'm Draco Malfoy. My father would have my head if he thought I'd been sympathising with muggleborns."
"I'm not saying you have to be the best of friends with Hermione or any other muggleborn. But you don't have to be so nasty."
"It's not that simple." He shook his head. Alex just shrugged.
"Whatever." She turned back to her book.
