Obliviate {Book 1--EDITING}

9. Rory's worst fear ^

Malfoy ended up spending a week in the hospital, before he swaggered into the dungeon the following Thursday during potions, acting like he'd survived a battle.

"How is it, Draco?" simpered Pansy Parkinson. "Does it hurt much?"

I rolled my eyes. Everybody and their mother knew that Malfoy was going to exaggerate, the stupid prick. "Yeah..." Malfoy sighed dramatically to her, even doing a weird limp on the way to his seat.

"Settle down, settle down," said Professor Snape idly.

"Oh yeah, I turn up late because I've been here a week, I get detention. He gets himself injured, gets off fine." I muttered angrily, kicking the table.

Snape hated me, to put it simple. I wasn't sure if it was because he assumed (or knew) I was related to Harry, who he loathed, or something else entirely. Either way, he was my least favourite teacher.

We were making a new potion today, a Shrinking Solution. It was going okay so far. I was becoming quite good at potions, even if it was like Chemistry, which I despised.

When Snape asked us to set up our cauldrons, for some bizarre reason Malfoy decided to set his up next to me and Gennie. Gennie sent Malfoy a look of uttermost loathing, which was reasonable considering there was plenty of room in the classroom.

Sir," Malfoy called, "sir, I'll need help cutting up these daisy roots, because of my arm -"

"Miss Lupin, cut up Malfoy's roots for him," said Snape without looking up.

Gennie went bright red with anger as she gripped her knife so tightly her knuckles turned white. "There's nothing wrong with your arm!"

Malfoy smirked across the table. "Lupin, you heard Professor Snape; cut up these roots."

Gennie held the knife up, and for one moment I thought she might stab him. But instead, she aggressively grabbed the roots and chopped them so poorly they looked like misshapen logs.

"Professor," drawled Malfoy, "Lupin's mutilating my roots, sir."

Snape approached the table, stared down his hooked nose at the roots, and then gave Gennie an unpleasant smile.

"Change roots with Malfoy, Miss Lupin"

"Sir!" Gennie exclaimed. "That's so not fair!"

Gennie had spent a good fifteen minutes shredding the roots into perfect pieces, even measuring them with a ruler.

"Now," said Snape in his most dangerous voice.

Gennie shoved her own beautifully cut roots across the table at Malfoy. He grinned as he put them into the cauldron, but jumped as Gennie stabbed the knife into the table a few feet away from him.

"And, sir, I'll need this shrivelfig skinned," said Malfoy.

"Miss Oswin, you can skin Malfoy's shrivelfig," said Snape, giving me a look of loathing.

I took Malfoy's shrivelfig as Gennie began trying to repair the damage to the roots she now had to use. Skinning the stupid thing as fast as possible without injury to get him to stop staring at me, I then flung it back at him, laughing as it almost hit his nose.

"I'm afraid your friend won't be a teacher much longer," mocked Malfoy. "Father's not very happy about my injury -"

"Keep talking, Malfoy, and I'll give you a real injury," I snarled.

"-he's complained to the school governors. Father's got a lot of influence, you know. And a lasting injury like this-"

"So that's why you're putting it on," Gennie growled, accidentally beheading a dead caterpillar because her hand was shaking in anger, "To try to get Hagrid fired."