Once upon a Veela.

An Altercation

Dinner had long been over, yet the great hall was not empty like how it's supposed to be, at this time of the night. The false stars from the enchanted ceiling blinked down at the queer scene, the floating candles providing light to the large room.

Eleven students dressed in their respective green and red house colors stood in silence, facing each other. The two bickering blondes, antsy brunette, raven pacifier, and the redhead siblings who looked puzzled at the ongoing event; all looked lost for words when they were interrupted by a slithery voice, icy and secretive with an inaudible hiss of hostility in every syllable.

 Not to forget Blaise, the only one not giving much attention to the newcomers because his eyes refused to part from his friend. Blaise felt a tremor run up his spine as he saw the shaking pupils and clenched fists of Draco. He looked like he was barely controlling himself, and that was a matter of great concern.

The rest stared at the small party of four that had just joined them. They were not supposed to be here, yet they were, and this complicated things.

Draco couldn't help but narrow his eyes to the one in the front, who visibly seemed to be the leader. The rest he couldn't care less about, for they were all just a sorry bunch of brainless dimwits, but this guy.

He was someone new and unknown, and he gave Draco an unsettling feeling which he didn't like.

He made a mental note to steer clear of the bronze head in the future. Instinctively his hold around his mate tightened, who then lifted her head to gaze up at him but found his eyes staring at the unfamiliar stranger. Hermione tried once again, in vain, to free herself from the arms that caged her to that firm chest. It made her heart race and body heat up. These feelings were too new and bizarre for her to adapt to so quickly. The only thing she felt like doing at that moment was to run far away from them, forever avoiding them. Ignorance was bliss, but she was too unaware of the fact that she could be happier if she gave in to these feelings instead of bottling them up. While the cage of his muscular arms was akin to prison for Hermione, despite the pleasure it gave her; Ginny could only struggle to suppress her internal cooing at the protective hold and stance of Draco, who was standing in a slant angle, hiding Hermione from evil eyes. He was ready to whisk her out of harm's path, should any danger dare to come her way.

"Quite a show you're putting up," Zander drawled, walking forward before stopping at a certain distance from the group with his cronies right behind him. "A loss really that no one else is here to enjoy it, quite a lot you could make if you did that on a stage. I wonder what the title should be, hmmm, how about- 'perfection is nothing but a false imagination.' Or, 'Perfect idols who're really not all that perfect?' What do you think?"

Draco scoffed. 'Such a childish jib.'

Harry stepped in before Ron could retort.

"Who are you?" A straightforward question, but Zander was incapable of giving forthright answers. "Just an..." His lips formed a cheeky smile, an arrant glaze in the dark pools of his eyes, "admirer of the 'Golden Trio,' the war heroes. Quite a lot I have heard, and it is with immense pleasure that I introduce myself as a humble servant," a dramatic bow, " before your greatness."

But weren't you dissing us just now? Draco thought, amused by Zander's words. Harry, Hermione and Ginny also took note of the two-faced boy. Ron and Blaise continued with their observations.

Zander's companions didn't seem to like his words, their displeasure clear as a see-through glass on their faces. They thought he was going to insult and threaten them, but what was he doing?