Salazar's Angel

VII

Dahlia is more than a little thrown by how the sleeping arrangements happen here, with four girls to one room. Not quite like the college dorm she had prepared for all those years. Her bed is at the end of the crescent shaped arc, nearest the door. Pansy, Millicent, and Tracey occupy the other three beds. 

"Well, ladies, it's been fun moving in and all...but I'm off to Nott's room!" Tracey called as she practically pranced out the door.

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Malfoy is already in such a lovely mood I'm sure he'll be pleased to have a guest in his room."

"Who's Nott?" Dahlia asks, opening the door to her armory just to make sure all her clothes arrived as discussed.

"Theodore Nott...he rooms with Blaise Zabini, Miles Bletchley, and Malfoy," Millicent pipes up from where she lies on her bed, watching Pansy unpack.

Pansy flops back on her bed after unloading her most recent armful of clothes. "Hey, how come you don't have any bags to unpack?" She pants.

Dahlia shrugs. "Dumbledore and I struck a deal." Oops. Dahlia considers that she probably should not have been so forthcoming with that information.

Pansy bolts upright and quirks up an eyebrow. "Yeah? What kind of deal?" She wiggles her eyebrows.

Millicent chucks a pillow at the back of her head. "Oh that is absolutely foul!"

They all three laugh as Pansy chucks the pillow back before continuing on with her unpacking. 

"So, who had this bed last year?" Dahlia asks as she gathers up her pajamas.

"Astoria Greengrass. She and her sister transferred out to finish at Beuaxbatons," Millicent answers.

"Yeah, because of Malfoy. Rumor has it he looked at her the way he was looking at you tonight..." Pansy gives Dahlia a suspicious glance.

Millicent chucks another pillow at Pansy's head. "Will you leave the girl alone! Be nice!"

"Oh don't you even worry Pansy...if it's between me and Malfoy I would bet on myself." And with that Dahlia takes her pajamas and heads out to the common room.

After asking another Slytherin girl which door led to the girls bathroom, Dahlia found it and put on what she had grabbed for pajamas which happened to be a matching forest green with black trim shorts and button up long sleeve top set. Dahlia silently wonders who helped Dumbledore stock her closet because the thought of him hand picking her items with only slight knowledge of her made her just a touch uncomfortable. While she is grateful for these clothes, she misses her old closetful.

"Aren't you going to be cold?" A Slytherin girl asks her as she comes from the toilet stalls wearing pajama pants and a sweatshirt.

Dahlia automatically glances down at her arm, covered thankfully by the top, where she feels a constant source of heat radiating. "Not likely."

One pleasant surprise about the dormitory living were the beds. Dahlia's, at least, was like something she had never slept in before. The cushy mattress that engulfed her and the fluffy forest green comforter quickly lulled her into a deep sleep from the second she climbed up and in.

Unfortunately, not deep enough that the feeling of someone trying to suffocate her did not immediately rouse her. Dahlia woke with a gasp to the feeling of a hand over her mouth. She bolted up right and came nose to nose with Malfoy, barely stifling a scream.

"Calm down. Keep your bloody mouth shut and follow me,, we need to talk" He spit out, then tore his hand off her mouth and stalked silently out of the room.

Dahlia was left sitting straight up in bed, chest heaving as she tried to calm her racing heart. Pulse thudding in her neck, she slipped out of bed and padded after him barefoot. 

"Gee, this should be fun. I bet he wants to compliment me on my pajamas," Dahlia thought to herself as she made her way out of the bedroom, hustling to keep up with the flash of white hair bobbing quickly away from her in the dark.