There's Something About Potter

Chapter 12

Neither Pansy nor Aria spoke for a long time after that, both girls working in relative silence as they cast charms on their mops and began working as fast as they could cleaning the floors of the classroom.

It wasn't long before they finished, and as they moved on to wiping down the chairs, Aria began to feel another surge of irritation when she felt Pansy's eyes lingering on her back. She sighed and turned around, rolling her eyes at the way Pansy was staring at her as though she had just admitted to secretly being a Death Eater.

"What the hell are you staring at, Parkinson?" She snapped.

"Oh nothing." Pansy scowled and hastily tore her gaze away, moving to the opposite corner of the classroom.

"I was just thinking about how, apparently, Gryffindor's favorite heroine isn't as virtuous as everyone makes her out to be. I wonder how your fan club will react when they find out Harriah Potter is actually a Slytherin after all. Think of all those children and their broken hearts." She let out a dramatic sigh and shook her head.

"You say that like I actually give a shit about what other people will say about me." Aria retorted snidely as she glanced up and pointed her wand at the ceiling, silently casting a charm to get rid of all the residual dust and spiderwebs. "Get some new material, Parkinson."

Pansy looked as though she wanted to say something else but, thankfully, she seemed to think better of it and snapped her mouth shut instead.

Once they finished cleaning the first room, they moved onto the next classroom down the hall and began cleaning the floors again.

They kept up with this silent cleaning routine for awhile, with Aria also taking charge of cleaning most of the dust and grime along the walls and windows and Pansy focusing on charming the floors with wax and then later wiping down the tables and chairs.

Another hour or so into their chores, Pansy broke Aria out of her thoughts when she spoke again in a loud, mocking voice.

"So I've always wondered. How exactly does it feel to be so goddamn perfect all the time, Potter? I mean, mortals must drop down to their knees and worship the ground you walk on. Do you ever let it get to your head?"

Aria's eyes narrowed and she clenched her jaw but still, Pansy went on as though she didn't notice.

"Your name is written in every single history book now, after all. You're practically a top-tier celebrity. So how does it feel? Having reporters from the Daily Prophet track you down, requesting exclusive interviews all the time. I read in some tabloid somewhere that you even received marriage proposals from at least four politically-powerful pureblood heirs from America. Is that all true, Potter?"

The smile on Pansy's face was sarcastic as she met Aria's blazing green eyes from across the room. "I don't know what it is about you. Somehow, you even got my two best friends to like you – Merlin only knows why. But I suppose everyone loves perfect, Princess Potter—"

"I get it okay?!"

Aria finally exploded as she slammed the window she had been cleaning shut and whirled around to glare at her. "You hate me – very much so. Trust me, I've known exactly how much you despise me since the start of the year! It's not something you have to keep rubbing in my face!" She snapped.

Pansy blinked and pretended to give her an affronted look.

"Now who could ever hate you—"

"I said stop it!"

Pansy's scowl darkened and her lips twisted into a sneer but Aria went on.

"Believe me, I hate being paired with you tonight as much as you do. So for both our damn sakes, I suggest we finish our chores for the night so that we can get out of each other's hair as soon as possible." Aria massaged her temples and let out a heavy sigh before she looked up and arched a questioning eyebrow at the other girl.