Opia / D.M 18+

T A C E N D A

{Things better left unsaid; matters to be passed on in silence}

✧✦✧

The bruise paste had completely banished every single mark left by Pucey. And although it was still difficult to swallow, I threw the pain and the memory of the incident behind my mental walls. Draco almost never left my side after it happened, I knew he nearly ground himself to the floor because he didn't pull Pucey off me himself. I had to remind him that there was nothing he could have done, I had to tell him he would have only made matters worse. The incident with Pucey felt so sudden, it happened, and then it was as if it didn't. No one spoke about it, no one mentioned a single thing about it. I didn't mind it though, it would have only made everything harder to push back, the memories, the feeling.

Luis sat close to me during Defence Against the Dark Arts the following Monday morning. While Draco was sitting in front of me, with Blaise by his side, I could tell he was on edge. I watched as we waited for Snape to arrive, Draco had his elbows leaning on the table, twisting his rings twice clockwise, one by one, before performing the reverse. He was tense, I could feel it as I watched in silence.

When Snape arrived, he seemed to be more bitter than usual. His Onyx eyes were dark and brutal, he looked almost ready to torture anyone who dared speak back to him. I sat in silence as the lesson progressed, not once taking in an ounce of information he was sending our way. There was a tug on my elbow, breaking my concentration from Draco's back and causing my gaze to turn to Luis, "We're duelling today, we need to stand up," He insisted.

It was then, that I noticed I was nearly the last one to stand. Snape's bitter face twisted as I finally stood, he flicked his wand and all the desks and chairs went and neatly stacked themselves at the edges of the classroom, "Non-verbal spells, very useful if you ever find the need to duel," Snape began, cutting through the students to split us in half. He paused as he reached the back of the room, squinting his eyes as they darted around the class, "Greenwood, Granger, you're up first." He demanded, pointing towards the front of the class.

I rolled my eyes as I followed his gesture, standing in front of everyone, "You will take it in turns to cast non-lethal spells, if you speak the incantation, ten points will be taken from your house." He finished, and I felt everyone's eyes on Granger and me. I turned to face her, her hair seemed to be poking out of the bun on top of her head—it could have been neat, but it was rather messy. She raised her wand and took her position in a rather compromising stance. If I really wanted to, I could hit her back leg with a stinging jinx, and she would topple over. She seemed stiff, and almost eager to impress.

I narrowed my eyes at her as I focused on the commandment of the spell I was going to use. I decided I would jinx her back leg, after all, it was an easy enough spell, and I knew I could do it non-verbally. I pointed my wand out towards her, an emotionless expression appearing on my face as I stared at her. With a single flick of my wand, she gasped and just as expected–she fell over and began cradling her leg. I straightened my posture as I looked down on her, she grimaced and turned to face me, preparing herself to cast a spell my way. I watched as she tried to focus, and as soon as her wrist flicked, I was able to dodge the spell that she sent. I didn't hesitate to flick my own wrist and watch as her wand flew from her hand and landed in mine.

I gave her a bitter smile before throwing her wand back and making my way to where Luis, Blaise and Draco were watching, "Ten points to Slytherin," Snape spoke without an ounce of enthusiasm. I let out a breath as I leaned back on one of the desks that got pushed to the side of the room. Non-verbal spells took a certain amount of concentration, for those who were new to the technique, it could take them over an hour to recover from the mental strain it put them in while learning. I began practising at home over the summer, the smaller spells, but they were still good for practice.