Fandom Pure of Blood [Closed]

[teathyme]

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Draco was feeling restless as he sat silently in his seat. He found he was becoming more anxious these days. The loss of weight and sleep over the past few weeks were proof of that. His grades had started to slip a bit after he had missed a few assigments and he had even resigned from the Slytherin Quidditch Team for the year. Not to mention he was no longer fulfilling his Prefect duties, something Pansy had been pestering him about lately.

Potions was always one of his best classes, and while he definitely preferred Professor Snape over Slughorn, who the instructor was didn't actually have much to do with why he wanted class to end as soon as possible.

No, it was something far greater than anything he had ever had to deal with in his life. The Dark Lord had entrusted him with a very important mission: kill Headmaster Dumbledore. He still remembered how honored he had felt. The Dark Lord had trusted him- chosen him to kill his arch-nemesis, one of the most powerful wizards alive.Draco hadn't questioned the potential difficulty at the time, having assured his mother that he was more than up to the task and that in succeeding in his mission, he would be able to put the Malfoy family back in the Dark Lord's graces.

Perhaps in doing so, Draco also hoped that the Dark Lord would help free his father from imprisonment in Azkaban. But there was a long road ahead to get there, and Draco was finding that his mission was starting to prove a futile one. He had attempted twice to kill the Headmaster and he had failed twice. He still couldn't manage to get the damned vanishing cabinet fixed. He was starting to grow desperate.Soon he would run out of time. He dreaded that fact. He knew how the Dark Lord felt about failure, how the man punished others for it. Draco was afraid. For himself and his family. But there was still time left. He only wished he didn’t have to spend so much of it in his classes.

“Can anyone describe Golpalott’s Third Law?,” Horace Slughorn’s eyes hadn’t even been able to begin to wander as one of his student’s hands shot straight up.

“Sir,” Hermione spoke, waiting to receive a nod of approval before answering the question, “Golpalott’s Third Law states that the antidote for a blended poison will be equal to more than the sum of the antidotes for each of the separate components.” She had given the right answer, of course.

“Excellent as always, Ms. Granger,” Slughorn smiled before directing his attention to the rest of the class, “today we will be putting Golpalott’s Third Law into practical use. You will each be assigned a blended poison to brew an antidote for. Granted, I do believe that this will be quite the strenuous task indeed, therefore you will all be assigned a partner to work with on this assignment.”

He began making his way down the line of students, appearing to pair some up at random. “Ms. Janssen and…,” he paused, twisting around to look in the opposite direction, “Mr. Malfoy. You two will be another pair.” He gestured for Astrid to share a cauldron with Draco, wanting to space out the students as much as he could.

“Tsk,” Draco silently clicked his tongue, wanting to glare at the professor for making his whole day worse. Astrid was a Hufflepuff, a mudblood, and a friend of Potter’s. Practically everything he disliked rolled into one. She had even talked back to him on several occasions. He couldn’t stand her, but he wasn’t in a position to change his situation. “Mind your space, Janssen,” he practically spat out with a scowl, making it plainly obvious that he didn’t want to be close to her in any way.

How did a girl like her manage to advance to N.E.W.T. level potions anyway?

 

[christy]

Astrid sat in Potions class, quite amused with their new teacher. It was quite a change from their past teacher, Severus Snape, who was cold and dismissive almost all the time. Slughorn seemed to be very different in that aspect, and she wasn't one to usually look at the academic part of their teaching. She liked to look at other things like behaviour and quirks, and so far, Slughorn was quite the opposite of Snape. Not that he was very encouraging, but he was enlightening, to say the least, and seemed to have a smile most of the time. When Astrid first laid eyes on him, she didn't think he was to be their Potions professor. Eitherway, they hadn't gotten rid of Snape completely. He was now teaching the subject he always wanted to -- Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Naturally, Astrid wasn't paying much attention to what was going on. It was a surprise to her itself that she had managed to advance to NEWT level potions. She had managed to get an Outstanding in her OWLs, and with Snape that wouldn't fly, but apparently with Slughorn, that was okay. So, she figured why not? She still had no clue what she wanted to pursue after school. Maybe she could be an Auror. She already had Transfiguration down but that was only because she had a huge advantage, being a Metamorphmagus. Her brother wasn't as lucky.

Speaking of which, he wasn't around. He hadn't been as lucky to score an Outstanding in potions so at the moment, he was probably wandering around since it was a free period for him. Lucky him.

Astrid was brouht back to reality when she heard her name being called. At first, she had no idea why someone was calling her, and she sat up straight in her seat, a little confused. She was looking around, trying to catch a familiar eye, when glanced at Harry. He nodded behind her and she turned to see Draco. While listening to Slughorn list off partners, she finally pieced things together. Whatever the assignment was, they were to work in pairs, and she was -- unfortunately -- paired with Draco Malfoy. Hermione sent her a look of worry while Harry's intense gaze simply told her that he wanted her to try and find out as much as she could.

That was expected. Ever since the four of them had seen Draco going into Borgin and Burkes with his mother and some others that she had recognised to be Death Eaters, Harry had been convinced that Draco had now become a Death Eater himself. Astrid, like Ron and Hermione, didn't buy it. He was just sixteen. They were terrible people, those Death Eaters, but they wouldn't make Draco one, would they? He was far too young. She'd be even more surprised if he willingly went. They may fight often but, while bitter, he didn't seem the Death Eater type.

"Right, go sit with your pairs and begin!" Slughorn said and Astrid rose from her seat, albeit reluctantly. She knew there was no way Draco would get up to sit with her, and she couldn't ask for a change. There were only around fourteen people or so in the class. So, she just sucked it up, accepted her fate, and moved to sit beside him, making sure to keep her distance even before Draco opened his mouth to speak.

She wrinkled her nose in annoyance but didn't show it. She had the habit of having the sharpest words with a pleasant expression. It irritated the hell out of some people, and that was her intention.

"Don't worry," she said simply as she opened up her Potions text book. "I had no intention of getting any closer anyway," she said, her tone just as bright and bubbly as it usually was, matching the bright shade of purple she had chosen for her hair that day. It was likely to change if her mood did though.

"Let's just finish this off so we can put both our worries to rest," she continued, finding the lesson that Slughorn had -- thankfully -- written on the board. She didn't want to have to ask Draco and let it be known that she hadn't been paying attention. He might just test her patience.

 

[teathyme]

Draco hadn't even looked up when Astid sat beside him, the sound of her setting her book on the table and moving the seat beside him was enough for him to know that she was there. He still wasn't happy with the idea of working with her of all people. Sure, he didn't like anyone in Potter's little friendship circle, but Astrid was almost on the same level as Potter. The only thing that made him dislike Astrid more than he disliked Granger was that sharp and nasty tongue of hers. His status meant absolutely nothing to her. She even seemed to think she could stand on the same level as him. It was appalling.

He held back a groan as she went on to speak with that light and cheery voice of her's. That was another thing he couldn't stand about her. It almost felt as if she were purposely trying to get under his skin- something she already seemed to do often without even trying too much. He hated it, but he refused to bother wasting anymore time with her if he could help it. He had much bigger things to worry about.

He continued skimming through his own textbook, though still couldn't quite bring himself to actually focus on the words he was reading. There was so much riding on him and at the moment his grades were the least of his concerns. But at the same time, he also felt compelled to not be outdone by the Hufflepuff female; one of the only Hufflepuff's who had managed to make it into this class though he still believed her being here with him was a mistake.

"Our worries?," Draco questioned with a scoff, finally standing up from his seat to take a look at the vial that had been set on their desk. The liquid within it was blood red and Draco accurately surmised it to be a mixture of Baneberry Poison and the Angel's Trumpet Draught. "The only thing I'm worried about, Janssen, is catching some of your filth," he spoke sharply as he began flipping through his notes, sparing a glance at his friend Theodore Nott who seemed to find his situation amusing.

"Something funny, Nott?," he quizzed with a condescending glower before watching as the other male turned away. "I didn't think so." While Draco had yet to notice it himself, he was much more uptight these days. Much more distant from all of his friends.

 

[christy]

Astrid watched as Draco picked up the vial with blood red liquid. She, unlike him, was unable to guess what it was immediately. She figured he and Hermione might be the only ones to guess it that fast, but that didn't really faze her. She knew for a fact that Draco was only second to Hermione in academics. It was a fact that went unnoticed by most others, but Astrid was quite observant. It was why she was always spacing out. She usually had her attention shifting every five minutes or so. It wasn't very convenient but it also couldn't be helped. Just one of the things that came with ADHD. It wasn't a term well recognised in the wizarding world though.

Before she could speak to ask to see the vial, Draco was speaking again, expressing what his real worry was, and it just caused her to roll her eyes. "Oh really?" She lifted an eyebrow. "Is that your only worry? Well then I wonder what I'm doing so far away when I could get closer," she said in a slightly mocking tone. Filth, it seemed. Astrid had grown up hearing the term -- along with Mudblood -- a lot, usually from the Slytherin's, though not all of them.

Draco was at the top of the list, though in a way, she knew it wasn't entirely his doing. She had met his father only once but it was enough to let her know that anyone growing up under his parentage would turn out the same. She wondered if there was actually a nice bone in Draco's body that had the possibility of ever showing itself, now that his father wasn't around to tell him what to do. Though they frequently argued, as Draco did with any of her friends, she viewed him in a different light. It was why she was one of the few among her friends to refer to him as Draco and not Malfoy. That name was reserved for his father, whom she didn't really like all that much. Not that she was so fond of Draco.

Her gaze shifted to Theodore Nott as Draco snapped at him. Odd. Astrid had seen him tell his fellow 'lackeys' to shut up before, but there was something different about his behaviour this time. Much more cold. He seemed distant. Come to think of it, since she arrived at Hogwarts for sixth year, she had hardly seen Draco's friends around him. She vaguely wondered if that had anything to do with what she and the others saw at Borgin and Burkes.

She shoved the thought from her mind as she focused on the vial, still in Draco's hand, before figuring out what it was by referring to her notes. Then, remembering what Hermione had said, she proceeded to see what the posion was made of, so she could start working on part of the antidote. "What do you want to take up?" she asked, keeping her tone neutral. She only asked so they didn't end up doing the same thing. It'd be a waste of time.

 

[teathyme]

Draco had exhaled sharply as Astrid proceeded to question him and even dared to mock him. The nerve of her. 'Must she always talk so much?,' he thought to himself with a frown, deciding to just ignore her in order to not make a scene. He didn't need to give anyone a reason to pay more attention to him this year. It was bad enough that Professor Snape kept trying to 'help' him. Draco didn't need his help. He didn't need anyone's help. Nor did he want any help.

Why couldn't they understand that he could do this on his own? That the Dark Lord wouldn't have chosen him if he wasn't worthy or capable?

He was silently glad that Astrid had stopped talking for the moment. Somehow she always got to him. It was like she knew exactly what buttons to press and she'd just keep on smiling as she pressed them. Nothing was more infuriating. But he didn't have time to deal with her anymore, nor did he have the energy to. He was being awfully more lenient in the way he was dealing with her, and he knew it. Hopefully she wouldn't try to press the matter. He had no intention of explaining anything to her.

The silence hadn't lasted for long as she soon asked him about what part of the assignment he wanted to work on. Draco personally didn't care if they divided up the work or not as he had just planned to do it all himself, but it probably wouldn't do to just have her sitting there doing nothing. That bright purple hair of hers alone already made her stand out way too much and he didn't want to have to deal with Professor Slughorn questioning him.

But at least this time her question had been a valid one. "I'm already looking into the Baneberry poison," he spoke reluctantly, figuring that she wouldn't just peek over at the page he had been looking through to get her answer. "See what you can learn about Angel's Trumpet Draught," he told her without even looking up from his book, "I take it you can at least manage that on your own, Janssen?" If not then he'd just have to do it himself.

 

[christy]

Astrid glanced over at Draco, expecting some a few quips in return -- that was how their relationship had always been after all. It seemed now though, that Draco either didn't have anything to say -- which was odd in itself -- or wasn't in the mood -- also odd. Why would he pass up the opportunity to insult those 'below' him? Well, that was what he thought of almost everyone anyway, yet here he was, still quiet, seemingly ignoring her, as if not wanting to start a scene. Which was very unlike Draco.

It was so weird how, despite the fact that any conversation between them was an argument, she knew so much about him that she could tell when he was behaving... differently. Once again, her mind flashed back to seeing him in Nocturn Alley earlier before the term began. This had to all be tied together somehow. She understood what Harry felt like, but rather than feel suspicious, she felt... Worried? No, she'd never admit that to herself. It was just the idea of a sixteen year old becoming a deatheater that worried her. Those were the lengths the Voldemort was willing to go to. Risking children's lives in order to protect his own.

She was so deep in thought about it all that she hadn't realised she'd been looking at him the whole time. She also hadn't realised he had spoken to her till he mentioned her last name and she snapped back into reality. "Hmm?" she slowly recalled what it was he had said and then nodded. "Oh, yeah. I can," she told him, her tone low because she still had a lot of things going through her mind. She supposed the fact that she gave no witty remark in response should also allude him into thinking that something was up with her as well, but it wasn't like he would care anyway, so she continued with her business and let the thoughts from before crawl back into her mind.

Astrid opened up her book, finding what she could about Angel's Trumpet Draught. All she knew was that the flower it was made from was poisonous, and upon seeing what the poison was made of, she had a fairly good idea of how an antidote could be made. "I'll just start working on this then," she informed, not looking his way, as she continued flipping through the book to find what she needed. Perhaps she was in over her head and overthinking things. If she started asking questions too, ROn and Hermione would be done with both her and Harry. She shouldn't be giving this more thought or she'd start imagining things.

 

[teathyme]

Draco hadn't noticed Astrid staring at him, thankfully for her. A lot of things these years had been going unnoticed by him, or at least he didn't think to comment on them. Potter suddenly becoming the top of their Potions class? Potter? It was hard to believe but Draco never once thought to question it. He had never passed up an opportunity to pick on the Boy Who Lived, but he had new priorities now. He didn't have time to waste on such 'trivial details', as he was in the plans for something much greater in the long scheme of things. And Astrid? She was another trivial detail, the most bothersome one of all.

He said nothing as she replied. It wasn't like he had asked her or anything. Frankly speaking, he clearly recalled telling her to do it. And for once, she just listened, complying since it was in both of their interests. Sort of. He didn't need her to do anything for him. He may have been slacking in Potions this year, but that didn't mean his capabilities still weren't still far superior to her's.

But Draco had noted her softer tone of voice. It confused him and he almost thought to question her on it, but just as he had told himself before, he couldn't let himself waste anymore time on her and risk making a scene. And yet he still couldn't stop wondering about it. It wasn't like her to behave so quiet and obediently. It was strange for him to see her like this, and he didn't even know why it bothered him so much. He was the one who wanted her to stay out of his way in the first place, after all.

Did something happen to her? Had she finally hooked up with Potter or Weasley? The thought disgusted him and he was quick to cast those thoughts away as he picked up the vial again, giving it a light swirl as he tried to make out whether or not he had missed something. "What's got you so tight-lipped today, Janssen?," Draco finally caved in to his curiosity though he hadn't asked in a concerned manner. He wasn't concerned. Just bored. Or so he told himself.

He scrunched his nose slightly as he continued to stare at the poison mixture before him. There was something he had missed, but what? The professor had told them that their assignment wouldn't be an easy one and that could only mean that there was more to it. Something he was overlooking. He needed to focus.

 

[christy]

Astrid continued flipping through her book till she found the page she needed and began working on the antidote, cutting up some roots that she had gotten from the ingredients laid out on the table. They were all there before the class so Astrid had known they were supposed to do some practical work, but she didn't expect they'd be paired up for it. And she certainly hadn't thought that she'd be paired with Draco Malfoy of all people. Perhaps if it had been Snape she would have thought it was to just give her a hard time. He was like that sometimes. Or maybe he wouldn't have thought she was worthy enough to work with Draco.

Whatever it was, she was stuck with it now because Slughorn didn't really know any better. Or so she assumed anyway. He clearly knew better than to pair him with Harry. That might have been a disaster.

She was about to slice up some more roots before she needed to crush them, when Draco spoke again. His question caught her off guard because she didn't think he would really notice. After all, he seemed to have enough on his mind already, but she was proved wrong, apparently. She could understand why. It was unusual of the two of them to be together and not snapping at each other. They were silently doing their work without arguing. She wouldn't be surprised if other people looked at them in awe, considering most knew about their tempestuous relationship.

But, it had caught her by surprise, so she accidentally cut her finger. It was a small one, but enough to draw some blood. She muttered a curse under her breath and reached out for a cloth that was lying on the table to stop the bleeding. She glanced over at Draco, her gaze curious. His tone hadn't been concerned, she could tell that much, but he was still curious, and that puzzled her.

"I was actually about to ask you the same," she responded in a similar tone as he had adopted. It was clear that she wasn't about to say why unless he did too, and she doubted he would. "Any more decent and I might just get a heart attack," she continued, though this time her tone was genuinely surprised, and not bitter or demeaning.

 

[teathyme]

Draco had been a bit surprised to see Astrid get to work on brewing up an antidote so soon, scoffing lightly but saying nothing. He was almost impressed. Almost. Perhaps he had underestimated her a bit, though he had no intention of telling her so. The last thing he needed was to give her a reason to think that he might actually consider her 'decent'. Because she wasn't. Not with that filthy blood and mouth of hers, anyway. She was far beneath him, just like the rest of her kind. His praise- although it was quite a stretch for him to call it that, would only be wasted on her.

The sound of her wincing from pain caused him to finally look over at her as he wondered what she could've done now. Seeing her wrap the cloth around her finger gave him his answer and he scoffed again. How did she manage to hurt herself from doing something so simple? It was beyond him. He didn't have a moment to respond as she soon turned the conversation back on him by redirecting the question he had just asked her a moment ago. The question she had never answered, much to his annoyance. Did she think he asked just to get it thrown back onto himself?

"Any more decent and that might be better for the rest of us," he spat back mockingly, the smallest bit of his usual smirk tugging at his lips while he did so. He hadn't even realized he had briefly fallen back into his old steps again. That somehow, just for this moment, she had gotten him to forget about his worries. It was clear she didn't intend to budge on the subject, and he himself had no intention of spilling his heart out to her. Or to anyone for that matter.

He had wanted to go back to his own work, but still found himself staring at her covered finger. Why was it bothering him so much? He was certain that he would've probably laughed at her for it any other day. "That thing is probably filthy, give it here," his tone was laced with slight disgust as he demanded her to show him the injury. He pulled his wand out of his robe with a slight huff as he impatiently waited for her to do as he had asked. "I doubt you'd remember such a simple healing spell and I don't need you getting your filthy blood on our assignment."

 

[christy]

And there he was back again with a quick quip. Well, sort of. For a moment, just a moment, it was as if he was back to his usual self. The one she had seen before this year had began, and all the years before that since she started her years at Hogwarts. Their banter had been quite consistent then, and now, well, it seemed like with his expression, he had reverberated back to that self. For some reason she felt a kind of relief. She had it in the back of her mind that he was different because of the whole deatheater thing but maybe she had just been overthinking things.

And the last thing she had ever expected him to do was ask for her hand.

Sure, it wasn't the way most girls expected a boy to ask for their hand -- not that she ever imagined it happening with Draco. The two despised each other. Or so she told herself anyway. Which was why it was such a shock that he asked to see her finger that she had carelessly sliced. Of course, his tone expressed disgust, but if that was the case, if he was really so disgusted, he wouldn't have even bothered to ask for her hand. Any other day she would have expected him to tell her to shove off so she didn't contaminate the work space, but offering to heal her was something else entirely.

Hesitantly, she put the cloth aside and held out her hand in his direction. She knew the healing spell of course -- she played quidditch, she got banged up so many times that it was probably her best spell. Still, she was strangely amused by this different Draco, even if his tone was the same. Now she was just confused all over again.

"Why are you helping me?" She asked, flat out, because that was just the way she was. No beating around the bush. If she wanted to know something, you could bet she would come right out and ask. "Any other day and you'd shun me or tell me go bleed somewhere else."

 

[teathyme]

Draco had never been a very patient individual, and that lack of patience was tested in this moment as he watched Astrid spend what felt like hours removing the cloth from her hand and showing it to him like he had asked her to. Did she really need to be so slow about it? He almost regretted offering but that made him wonder why he had even offered in the first place? Just as he had asked himself the question, she voiced it out loud and he couldn't help but feel a twinge of irritation in response. Must she always question everything?

The idea of her even possibly being able to read his mind sickened him, but he had reason to believe that was far beyond her capabilities by this point. His aunt, Bellatrix, had trained him to be a very skilled Occlumens. No one was going to get into his head anytime soon. "Consider it your lucky day then, Janssen," he spoke easily with a scoff, grabbing her hand by the wrist and pointing his wand at her finger as he muttered the healing charm under his breath and watched her wound close. "Can't very well send you away somewhere after we've been assigned to work together now, can I?"

His tone had been laced with bitterness as he shot another glare in an oblivious Horace Slughorn's way. Draco kept reminding himself not to do anything that would draw in any attention to himself and he was fairly certain that making a fuss in Potions class would do just that. It was bad enough that Potter and the rest of them seemed to be watching him more than usual these days, and it certainly didn't help that Snape would continue to approach him outside of class. None of them were making any of this any easier on him.

He slipped his wand back into his sleeve before finally releasing her hand from his grip, having not noticed that he could've done so a little sooner than he had. "Try not to make a mess of yourself again," Draco spoke as he returned to his work before muttering, "can't promise that I'll continue to be in a generous mood."

'Generous' probably wasn't the best word to describe him.

 

[christy]

Astrid watched as the cut closed up, fading till it was a scab of sorts, meaning it would heal completely in a few hours or so, till it was gone, no trace of her ever being cut at all. When she joined Hogwarts and first learned of the healing spell, she'd been rather relieved. She had a tendency to always get injured with some reckless activity or the other back home, and now knowing there was magic to speed up the healing progress, her family didn't worry as much.

Then again, they didn't know much about the rise of Voldemort and how the wizarding world was more dangerous than ever. She couldn't bear to tell them because they'd just not allow her to come back, and she couldn't have that. Hogwarts was a home away from home.

"Lucky," she echoed when he mentioned it was her lucky day. She did her best not to scoff. She may be amused but that didn't mean she was going soft. In fact she was doing her best not to be. Why would she go soft on Draco Malfoy, a boy she had spent five years only arguing with. Sure this was a change, and it came as a bit of a shock, but it wasn't enough to leave her concerned. Just... curious.

As Draco took his wand back and slipped it into his robes, she pulled her hand back as well, rubbing her finger where the cut was moments ago. She didn't notice either that he held her hand for a little longer even once it was healed. She paid it no attention because she had other questions that plagued her mind. Questions about him and his sudden change in behaviour. It didn't make sense, and now she had a feeling she'd be just as paranoid as Harry to find out what was going on.

"Generous? Right, that's the word I'd use to describe you," she nodded, unable to hold back some sarcasm, despite the situation. He still hadn't really answered her question. She didn't know why he was helping her. But his answer was enough to let her know that maybe he didn't have an answer because he didn't know the answer himself.

She looked back to her part of the work and decided to just continue with it. No point in wasting time with some small talk. Or in their case, unnecessary arguing. She did have a final word though, as she murmured a small 'thank you', not directly looking at him as she did so.

 

[teathyme]

Should it even surprise him that she somehow always had to find a way to have the last say in a conversation with him? Absolutely not. As common of an occurrence as it was, it was still one that never ceased to irk him. In all of his experience with looking down on and mocking others, it was rare for Draco to ever have someone continue to bite back. Potter had tried a few times- a pitiful sight it usually was, especially since his dumb friends usually ended up holding him back. Pathetic Potter. And yet this Janssen girl continued to behave as she pleased, speaking up against him as though she had the right to.

Another scoff had escaped him at her sarcastic remark. Did she think she was funny or something? "I wasn't aware you were capable of describing anything," he taunted easily as he shifted his focus back to the vial he had set down earlier though the slightest bit of a smile had tugged at his lips as he did. Draco didn't seem to realize how bantering with Astrid had actually helped his mood a bit. He had been fooling himself into believing that he was fine lately. The truth of it all, despite how much he tried to cover up and convince himself of otherwise, was that he was definitely not fine.

His grades were slipping, he barely had an appetite most days, and other days he found it hard to sleep. Draco was actually relieved that his mother couldn't see him right now. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she'd make a huge fuss over his current state. But it wasn't like he actually planned on retaining these bad habits. Things would be able to go back to the way- no, things were going to be much better. After he killed Headmaster Dumbledore. That was both the goal and biggest issue of Draco's at the moment.

Draco let his lack of progress frustrate him for the remainder of Potions Class. It caused him to just barely finish his half of the assignment in time as well as completely brush off any sort of comment Astrid may have tried to make about his lack of focus. For some reason she was the last one he wanted to know about what he was going through. He couldn't deny that a part of him loathed the idea of giving her a reason to look down on him, but the thought of her even worrying about him was unsettling. Not that he believed she would, though. Why would she? It's not like he's ever given her a reason to care. And it's not like he wanted her to.

By the time that Slughorn had began to dismiss their class, Draco had already gotten up from his seat. Without a word or glance to anyone, he promptly exited the room and started making his way down the corridor. 'No point in poisoning the old fool. Didn't seem to do much good last time,' he reflected, cursing a bit under his breath as the guilt of what he did to that Gryffindor girl, Katie Bell, threatened to bubble up within his conscience. He had just been about to turn the corner when his gray eyes caught sight of a shadow looming ahead of him. "Excuse me, Professor," he muttered bitterly, not needing to lift his gaze to know that that it was Snape standing before him.

Harry and the other two had made their way over to Astrid once Draco had left the room. "Well? Did you find out anything?," Harry asked rather impatiently, unable to believe that there could possibly be another reason why Draco had been acting so strange lately.

"You really think he's going to tell her anything, Harry?," Ron pointed out before adding, "bloody hell, we all hate him but he's not stupid. Even if he does look the part." He ignored the look Hermione had shot him, not seeming to care if one of Draco's friends overheard the insult.