Malfoy - A Draco Malfoy Story

Chapter 2

FIFTH YEAR

I slowly placed my quil down on the desk, the parchment crackling slightly as I lifted my head up enough to take a glance to my right.

The continuous swaying of the massive pendulum at the front of the Great Hall was giving me a headache, though Alisha, my best friend, didn't seem to have one, or if she did she wasn't going to let it sway her chances of an Outstanding in her O.W.L.s mock.
I watched her across the room for a moment, scribbling in a continuous stretch, barely stopping a fraction of a second to redip her nib in the ink.

I, on the other hand, was much more distracted. Monday's were always and would always be the worst day of the week to have a test.

The room, I had noticed during the last 2 hours, smelt of wood and metal; the sort of metallic taste that is left on the tip of your tongue if you press a penny to your lips. Not only that, but it was sticky and warm, and in the air hung a gross inky smell: but the caps of hundreds of ink pots had been left off for hours, leaving them to cook in a sweltering room, so I wasn't surprised.
The frustrating heat of the room only served to heighten the intense swelling of the metal aroma that seemed to latch on to my skin.
I wanted nothing more than a cold shower.

Over the course of the exam the ink fumes had made their way into the air, and were now suspended there like a thick fog, to the point you could almost see the trilling blackness staining the area above our heads.

I looked down at the smudged mess that was my test paper, and thought about the point in time that we get our results back and how much I'd hate myself for not trying to finish the paper up until the very last minute. These were just practice tests, but I knew that they were supposed to highlight my progress, and showing I wasn't making any wasn't exactly going to do me any favours.

I let out a quiet sigh, letting my head loll back momentarily.

Not only would I come out of this much worse than when I came in, but Alisha would have her O, while I'd have something much less exciting.

I picked up my quill once again, feeling my headache begin to branch down into the bridge of my nose.

As the rumbling of the pendulum filled my mind once more and the soft scratching of quills on parchment became a distraction once again, I dipped the tip of my pen delicately into the black ink and put the feather to paper, rattling my brain for any scraps of information I could muster in those stressful last 10 minutes, reminding myself that these were just practice tests.

~~~~~~~~

"Time is up students, if you would please put your quills down and the caps on your ink pots!" Professor McGonagall held her wand to her chin, broadcasting her voice across the hall.

I looked up sharply as my paper was pulled out from under my nose and added to the floating pile of test papers making its way down my isle of seats.

"Hey!" Alisha came over to my desk as I got up slowly. "How d'ya think you did?" She asked, beaming at me, clearly full of energy.

"Shit." I mumbled through gritted teeth.

"You always say that."

"I always mean it." I stated as lightly as I could muster.

Alisha rolled her eyes, following close behind as I exited the hall.