𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐄 - 𝐝.𝐦.

𝟎𝟎𝟗 - 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠

—

—

"I'll never forget the time Ferret Boy here got a scratch from a Hippogriff, and his ego got so wounded, he faked a broken bone. And he didn't even manage to get Hagrid fired," Pansy snorts as I sit down beside her at the table.

I widen my eyes in curiosity, unable to help the amused smile that spreads over my face as I look across the table to Draco Malfoy himself. His elbows are propped on the table, forehead resting in his palms with his eyes closed as he very clearly looks as though he's trying to calm down. His hair is ruffled like he's been tugging at it too much.

"You seem to have a lot of stupid stories," I remark as I pile my plate with dinner, my stomach rumbling embarrassingly loud. Luckily, the Great Hall is always loud enough to cover the noise. "Why do they all have to do with animals, though? And who's Hagrid?"

"Shut up," Draco snaps, dropping his hands and rolling his eyes as he grabs his fork and jabs it into a piece of meat, though he doesn't bring it up to his mouth to eat it. "You're al bloody arseholes, you know that?"

"And yet you love us," Pansy sings with her signature shrieking laugh as she pours herself some nettle juice. My eyes flash back to Draco, seeing him roll his eyes. I don't miss the way the corner of his lips flicks up just slightly, almost fondly.

"Hagrid was the old Care of Magical Creatures professor," Blaise says from next to Draco, his hand over his mouth as he chews on a great load of food. "Big guy. H—"

"An oaf," Draco corrects with a small scoff. "Y'know, Father was talking to the Minister earlier. They're really cracking down on standardizing the curriculum and standards of this school, the Ministry. So, you know, wherever Hagrid is," he says with a small and dry smirk, as if he knows exactly where this Hagrid figure is, "if he ever comes back, I doubt they'll let the idiot back in."

"Huh," Blaise says with a thoughtful look on his face, frowning slightly as he glances up and over his shoulder at where all the professors sit before shrugging and looking back down to his food. "Grubbly-Plank is nice, anyway."

I look up as well, my eyes landing on the High Inquisitor, Professor Umbridge. The Ministry really is having its way with Hogwarts then—good.

I'm silent for a moment, scraping my fork absentmindedly around my plate as I look around at the faces at our table. "It sounds like to me," I say lowly, looking down at my food while I feel Blaise, Pansy, Draco, and a few other faces look at me, "you're still upset about that...was it a Hippogriff incident, Panz?"

"I was fourteen," Draco scowls.

"And you act like you still are."

"Oi," Graham's voice catches my attention. I turn my head to look further down the table where the seventh-year sits, flashing him the sweetest smile I can. He opens his mouth to speak, but then he gets seemingly distracted and gives me a half smile back. I can't deny, he's handsome. His hair is all dark and thick, his eyebrows are angled and his black eyes so hooded. He's tall, probably around 6'0, and rather well built.