NINE | THAT DAMNED WORD AGAIN

     IF SOMEONE WERE TO HOLD HER DOWN AS THEY SHOVED VERITASERUM DOWN HER THROAT, SELINE WINCHESTER WOULD ADMIT THAT SHE DIDN'T ACTUALLY MIND POTIONS AS A CLASS. In fact, she was honestly quite good at it. Perhaps this stemmed from her love of making 'potions' out of grass, dirt and whatever else she could find in the back garden as a kid. (The neighbours dog sure didn't appreciate when she'd try to feed it her concoctions.) She also liked that there was always a method to follow and that she'd (mostly) be prepared for the outcome.

"Oh, look Potters coming," Pansy muttered as they were waited outside the dingy classroom in the dungeons. "Is my badge straight?"

Seline snorted at the question. Had Pansy Parkinson and Harry Potter been anyone else, someone might've misinterpreted the motive behind the pug-faced girls question. "Yes, is mine?"

Pansy grinned. "Yeah, yours is fine."

Seline and Pansy watched eagerly as Harry Potter and his annoying friend, Hermione Granger rounded the corner. Grangers birds nest that she tried to pass off as hair was puffier than usual, which was saying something (seriously, the girl needed someone to hold her down and force a keratin product on her scalp). Like, Seline understood the frizzy hair struggle which is why she judged Hermione's laziness so much.

Ahead of them in the line, Draco Malfoy called out loudly, "like them, Potter?" His voice, sounding like nails on a chalk-board, immediately caught lightning-bolts attention. "And this isn't all they do—look!" Seline felt her lips curve upwards as Draco pressed his badge into his robes. She watched as it familiarly transformed into Potter Stinks.

Beside her, having caught a glimpse of the look on Potters face, Pansy was laughing her ass off. Not wanting to be the odd one (but also not wanting to give Draco the satisfaction of her laughing at his jokes), Seline joined in—with slight less enthusiasm. She ignored the way Draco's pupils flicked in her direction quickly as she pressed down on her own badge. The colour rushing to Potters face was enough to make her forget about him.

"Oh, very funny," Granger snapped, glaring at Pansy and Seline the most (what did they do?!). "Really witty."

"I know right?" Seline smirked, her eyes glinting as Hermione stared daggers into her (Seline could easily take her in a scrap). The brunette was taller then the dirty blonde—only by mere inches but still!

Draco stepped forward, sweeping some of his hair out of his face (gag her). "Want one, Granger?" He asked, holding a badge out for her. "I've got loads. But don't touch my hand, now. I've just washed it, you see, don't want a Mudblood sliming it up."

The smirk slid right off Seline's face and into a nearby rubbish bin as she felt the colour drain from her face. Granger shot her a look that said 'are you going to just let him say that?!" Her dark eyes fell to the ground and she blinked rapidly (talk about a reality check). Her good mood have evaporated into the heavens. Why was it always that word? Who fucking cared?!

The sound of Grangers high pitched voice yelling Potters name caught her attention and her head flew back up to observe the commotion. Potter had his wand drawn at Draco—this ought to end badly.

"Go on then, Potter," Draco sneered in a low voice as he drew his own wand from his robes. "Moody's not here to look after you now—do it, if you've the guts—"

It all happened in slow motion. The boys stared each other down, eyes narrowing before they both acted at the exact same time:

"Furnunculus!" Yelled Potter (Seline didn't know he knew any other spells besides Expelliarmus).

"Densaugeo!" Malfoy screamed.

Seline saw jets of light spur from both wands, colliding mid-air before ricocheting off in different directions. Potters hit Goyle in the face whilst Malfoy struck Granger. Seline's jaw dropped as she watched the scene unfold. Goyle cried out in pain, slapping his hands over his nose, covering the great ugly boils that were growing. Meanwhile, Granger simpered in panic, clutching her mouth.

Weasley, who has been doing nothing up until this point, ran over to check on her. "Hermione," he shouted pathetically.

The Slytherins all craned their necks to get a better view as Weasley pried Grangers hand from her face. Seline let out a choked laugh as she realised what they'd done; Grangers already massive front teeth seemed to be expanding at a rapid rate. Every second that passed made her look more and more like a beaver. It was comical, really. Seline would simply pass away if that were her.

"And what is all this noise about?" came a nasally voice that made Seline jump. Snape, their greasy potions master and head of house, stood staring at them all expectantly with a hand on his hip. Her fellow Slytherins shouted explanations over the top of each other at him.

"—and Potter is mental—"

"—Malfoy did nothing wrong—"

"—Granger deserved worse—"

"—Poor Goyle!—

"—all Potters fault—"

"Explain," Snape demanded, pointing a long yellowy finger at Malfoy.

"Potter attacked me, sir—" Malfoy began, playing the victim. Seline respected that.

"We attacked each other at the same time," roared Potter.

"—and he hit Goyle—look!"

Seline watched as Snape examined Goyle, his face now resembling Freddy Krueger. It sure wasn't a pleasant sight but then, was Goyles face ever pleasant to look at to begin with? "Hospital wing, Goyle," Snape said calmly.

"Malfoy got Hermione," Weasley said. "Look!" He forced her hands away again so that Snape could see.

"Oh, my god!" Pansy giggled, "I wish I had a muggle camera right now."

Snape gave Granger a cold, uncaring look. "I see no difference." And with that, the girl sprinted away, crying; her loud sobs echoed. Meanwhile, Weasley and Potter were both shouting at Snape which Seline found counterproductive.

"Let's see," Snape practically purred. "Fifty points from Gryffindor and a detention for Potter and Weasley. Now get inside, or it'll be a weeks worth of detentions."

At that, everyone clambered inside the dingy classroom. Pansy wore a massive grin, still reeling from Grangers teeth and look, Selines not going to lie, it was bloody hilarious but she couldn't make the laugh reach her lips. Malfoy's word still rang out in her brain:

MUDBLOOD. MUDBLOOD. MUDBLOOD. MUDBLOOD. MUDBLOOD. MUDBLOOD. MUDBLOOD.

She'd let her guard down in the last few weeks, mistaking her peers acceptance of her as character development. Naively, she'd thought they'd grown out of needing to resort to using that word. Of course, prejudice that ran as deep as theirs wouldn't just mysteriously disappear because of one muggle-born. They definitely didn't view her as their equal and they probably never would.

Seline wondered if she'd ever get the bitter taste out of her mouth.

"Are you alright, Seline?" Pansy whispered, leaning over after noticing she'd not spoken all less. Normally the pair didn't shut up during their shared classes.

"How come you don't call me a mudblood anymore?"

Pansy looked taken aback by her question. "I. . . well. . ."

"Like, do you even see me as your equal," Seline pressed.

"Of course I do," Pansy choked out, having no clue where this has all come from—weren't they giggling over Granger before?

"But you think Granger is scum?"

"—so do you. . . !"

"Not in the same way, though," Seline said over her. "I can hate Granger without using that horrible word to discriminate against something she can't control—something I can't control."

Pansy just stared at her for a moment, mouth hanging slack. She didn't know what to say. She'd never been questioned too much on the beliefs she'd been fed since birth—why would she? But, Seline had become her friend and she wasn't any of the things her parents had told her muggles were. For starters Seline had never tried to steal away her magic like her parents har warned her nor did she stink (in fact, she witnessed the girl apply almost a whole bottle of perfume every morning). She wasn't any dumber than her or less talented at magic (hello, Longbottom had more magical blood and could barely cast a summoning spell) then the purebloods. It was all rather confusing, Pansy thinks.

Pansy stayed quiet for about twenty minutes, contemplating Seline's words closely.

"Antidotes!" Snape stood at the front of the room glaring down his long nose at every single student. Seline often pondered why he'd become a teacher when he seemed to hate children so very much—were wizards that limited in career choices? Pleasantries were definitely not in his greasy DNA. "You should have all prepared your recipes now. I want you to brew them carefully and then we will be selecting someone on whom to test one. . ." he trailed off, locking eyes with Potter.

Seline decided she'd smile again if she got to see Potter convulsing on the floor due to incorrectly brewing an antidote. Sadly, the universe did not want her to feel joy. A knock at the door made Seline jump slightly and she, along with the rest of their class, turning to see Colin Creevey nervously edging inside the classroom. If he was gonna interrupt, Seline thought he should do it with more confidence.

Snape glared at the timid child. "Yes?" His eyes narrowed as the third-year shuffled towards his desk, withdrawing a note from his robes.

"Please, sir, I'm supposed to take Harry Potter upstairs," he mumbled, not meeting the potion master's intimidating stare. Next to her, Pansy let out an audible groan, why did this entire school revolve around that boy?

"Potter has another hour of potions to complete," he said coldly, "he will come upstairs when class is finished."

The boys face turned bright pink, Seline stopped listening. She somehow knew Potter would get out of being poisoned and that dampened her already soggy mood. "—take your bag and get out of my sight!" Seline couldn't resist shining her Potter Stinks badge at him as he passed (even in her darkest hours seeing Potter down always lifted her up).

Knowing Snape, Potters poisoning was getting scheduled. She imagined the professor would write it on his calendar in bright red marker. It was slightly concerning how much hatred this grown man held for a fourteen-year-old boy. It made Seline question where Dumbledore found his staff. If the Defence Against The Dark Arts teachers weren't trying to murder students, Snape was (or they were big fat frauds or werewolves).

Like, she remembered last year Neville Longbottoms boggart—a manifestation of his greatest fears—was literally Snape. Surely if a students biggest fear was a staff member, they should perform some sort of investigation? The muggles would not let that shit slide.

Sighing, Seline tuned back into the lesson and onto the potion they'd been instructed to start making. The brunette riffled through her book back, finding the crumpled up antidote recipe right at the bottom. Her hand writing was barely legible—being written on a non-flat surface. She remembered the evening she copied it out, back when she was still on speaking terms with Astoria and Nicolette.

Huffing angrily, Seline pushed the memory out of her mind.

Her and Pansy worked harmoniously, not daring to acknowledge the earlier conversation. By the end of the lesson it'd been forgotten and they were back to joking and gossiping over the looks Wayne Hopkins kept sending Seline's way. Though, do not be mistaken, the words hadn't left the front of Pansy's mind.

     THE COMMON ROOM WAS ABLAZE THAT NEXT MORNING. Seline's new friend group (that felt bizarre to call them that) all gathered in the corner, pouring over a newspaper—the late issue of The Prophet, to be exact. The corners of the paper were growing wrinkled from being passed around so much. Laughter bounced against the cement walls of the dungeons as Pansy asked Draco to read her favourite bits again and again.

"'Tears filled those startling green eyes as our conversation turns to the parents he can barely remember—'" Draco read, snorting at the words coming out of his mouth.

Seline eyes held tears in the corners from laughing so hard at the absurd things Rita Skeeter had written. Anyone with a brain could tell that Potter had not said or approved of these things to be said but oh, was it hilarious to imagine he did.

Pansy sat on the arm of the chair Draco was on, resting her legs across his lap and leaning her head in towards his. It was no secret that the girl liked him—she didn't even try to hide it. And while Draco didn't seem to give her back the same energy, he never bothered to reject her either. Seline thought it was quite cruel of him to lead her on like that, to give her false hope that they would become something. Pansy had whispered on late nights giggling in her bed that her and Draco had kissed a few times—his hand had even gone under her shirt before. The thought made Seline angry. He shouldn't do those things with her if he didn't mean it.

"Read the bit where he cries again," Pansy cooed, brushing some of his hair out of his face. Seline watched as he moved his head away from her hair, annoyance filling her.

Draco complied, however. "'—yes, sometimes at night I still cry about them, I'm not ashamed to admit it.' God, he's pathetic," the blonde boy scoffed, looking over the paper at Seline for her reaction. She sat directly across from him and Pansy, sharing the foot stool with Millicent. He wasn't sure why he was always looked for her reaction—maybe he just liked the way he face would screw up while she was thinking of some additional comment to make.

As if on cue, "I can't believe Potter let this be published, I'd be having words with Skeeter if I were him." She flipped her long locks over her shoulder for emphasis.

"He might cry if he tried," Daphne snorted, shoving Pansy's head out of the way to get a clearer view of the paper. This just made her fall deeper into Draco's lap which made him yelp.

"Do you think he's really dating that Granger?" Millicent asked, flicking dirt off her shoe.

Seline snorted. "Well my sister hasn't killed herself so, I think we're safe from that power couple for now," she said sardonically. Denika's crush on Potter was almost as obvious as Pansy's crush on Draco—except, for some reason, Potter seemed to like her back.

"I'm still gonna give them shit for it," Zabini muttered, taking the paper from Draco's hand to read over it once more. "Was Weasley too busy for an interview? They've had to settle for that freak, Creevey."

"I hear Weasley hates Potter as much as we do now—I saw him holding one of our badges the other day," Nott told him, looking over Blaise's shoulder.

Draco rolled his eyes at the thought. "They're both as pathetic as each other."

"Wonder if he'll show his face at breakfast," Pansy mused, looking from Draco to the clock and back down at Draco's shirt collar. Seline could practically see the thought process as she went to straighten it out for him.

Draco tried to wave her off but she kept going around his hands. "Pansy, please—" He tried to keep his tone low, as to not embarrass her. But everyone looked over at them. The boys all shared looks and the girls all looked away as Pansy awkwardly climbed off Draco.

For some reason Seline felt herself fighting off a smirk as Pansy made a beeline for their dorms. Daphne gave her a look as she quickly followed her friend. Millicent elbowed her as she stood up to followed and Seline groaned internally.

Pansy sat on her bed with her knees against her chest as she stared blankly into space. She blinked rapidly. "I don't get him," she said in a small voice, not looking at her friends.

"He's an idiot, Pansy," Daphne told her as she took a seat beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "One day he'll see how dumb he's been taking you for granted." The Greengrass girl looked over at Seline and Millicent for backup.

Millicent began nodding rapidly as she took a seat on the other side of Pansy, patting her friends leg. "Totally, you're the best thing that'll ever happen to him."

Seline stayed near the doorway, unsure of what to do or say. Pansy was being a little dramatic, in her opinion. It's not like he'd pushed her to the ground and called her ugly—he'd just tried to enforce physical boundaries with the girl. Besides, she wasn't even his girlfriend. There was no point crying over a boy who she wasn't even dating.

"Right, Seline?" Daphne asked, tone a little passive aggressive. The brunette hadn't actually heard the rest of the pep talk they'd been giving Pansy but she nodded like she had and plopped down beside Daphne. She reached for Pansy's hand and gave it a light squeeze.

🌸 KARLA RAMBLES 🌸

bet y'all forgot what an update on this book even looked like whoops. i've had the first part written for months but it was a matter of adding the second scene that my laziness wouldn't allow. i'll try not to let the next part not take as long to come out—i'd like to be finished with goblet of fire soon.

this chapter is for my pookie bear pauldanoIvr <33 (who you guys should definitely go follow & read their fic rn !!)

i gave up editing so enjoy the typos

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