Born to Rule: The Story of the Slytherin Princess (paused)

Chapter 3

"When is enough enough?
In envy's eyes,
enough never is,
Somebody else
always has something
we want,"

 ➳➳➳➳➳┄┄※┄┄➳➳➳➳➳

As the night stretched on, Clarissa could hear Pansy and her friends whispering and giggling into the early hours of the morning. No matter how hard she tried to block them out, sleep remained elusive.

When morning finally arrived, Clarissa roused herself from bed at the early hour of seven o'clock. She knew that classes started at nine, and she wanted to make sure she had enough time to get ready. After a quick shower, she dressed in her Hogwarts uniform and left her wavy blonde hair loose. She applied a bit of concealer to hide her dark circles and a touch of lipgloss to complete the look. Though she normally preferred a more natural appearance, she knew that being a perfect Slytherin meant looking the part.

As she waited for her roommate Daphne to finish getting ready, Clarissa admired the elegant decor of the common room. The living area was decorated in various shades of green, from emerald to forest green, and accented with black furnishings.

Daphne finally emerged from their dorm room, having taken ages to get ready. Clarissa instructed her to save her a spot in the classroom while she waited for Draco, who was notorious for taking his time to get ready. Sure enough, by 7:30, Draco was nowhere to be seen.

Clarissa knew Draco well enough to anticipate his lengthy grooming routine. He would spend ages brushing his hair, then layer on hair gel to achieve the perfect polished look - or at least that's what he thought he was doing. To Clarissa, the excessive amount of hair gel only made his hair look greasy and unappealing. She couldn't help but wonder why he felt the need to slather on so much gel.

Draco had confided to her once that his father preferred his hair to be styled in this manner. Clarissa empathized with Draco, knowing all too well the feeling of having one's appearance micromanaged by a parent. Her own mother was just as controlling, monitoring her diet, appearance, and behavior with an iron fist.

As the clock ticked closer to 8:00, Draco finally appeared, his hair slicked back and clothes perfectly pressed.

Clarissa stood with her arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently. "What took so long!?" she shouted at Draco, who had just entered the common room.

"The usual," he replied with a shrug, looking slightly sheepish.

"Is it that hair gel again?" she questioned, eyeing his slicked-back locks with distaste.

"Yep," he admitted, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Draco, come on. Everyone's waiting for us," Clarissa said, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the dining hall. She noticed a faint blush on his cheek, but brushed it off as they made their way to their seats.

As Daphne and Clarissa were in full depth of their conversation, the attention turned towards Pansy Parkinson, who had just entered the room with a dramatic flourish. "Ugh, she's so annoying," Daphne muttered under her breath. "Always trying to get attention, but just ends up making a fool of herself."

Clarissa's eyes drifted towards Draco, who had fallen silent and looked troubled. She knew what was bothering him - the recent rejection from Harry Potter. "Draco," she said softly, "don't let it get to you. Potter isn't even worthy of your friendship."

"I can't believe that Potter rejected me," he seethed, his voice laced with venom and rage. "Who does that filthy half-blood think he is?"

Clarissa couldn't help but roll her eyes at Draco's words. "Draco, why did you ever want to be his friend in the first place? He's a filthy half-blood, and our parents would be angry at us for befriending anyone who's not pureblooded."