The Empress of Magic

Chapter 36 : The Boggart in the Wardrobe

And just like he said, Draco didn't reappear in classes until late on Thursday morning, when the Slytherins and Gryffindors were halfway through double Potions. He swaggered into the dungeon, his right arm covered in bandages and bound up in a sling, acting, in Regulus' opinion as if he was the brave survivor of a Dark Curse cast at him.

,, How are you two related again ?" Theo whispered from beside him, visibly unimpressed with Draco.

,, I have asked this myself many times already, Theo..." He answered back.

How Draco acted in front of others and behind closed doors, when he was faced with a rather disappointed Celestia questioning him, could not have been more different.

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

"Yeah," said Draco, putting on a brave sort of grimace. But they saw him wink at Crabbe and Goyle when Pansy had looked away.

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

They were making a new potion today, a Shrinking Solution. Draco set up his cauldron right next to Harry and Ronald so that they were preparing their ingredients on the same table...

And Regulus just knew this was not going to end well...

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

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

Ronald went brick red, and Theo, Blaise, and Regulus held back a laugh.

They had to admit that this was rather well played, from Draco.

What better way was there to torment your enemy than to make him do all of your work free of charge?

Ronald seized his knife, pulled Draco's roots toward him, and began to chop them roughly so that they were all different sizes.

"Professor," drawled Draco, "Weasley's mutilating my roots, sir."

Snape approached their table, stared down his hooked nose at the roots, then gave Ronald an unpleasant smile from beneath his long, greasy black hair.

"Change roots with Malfoy, Weasley."

"But, sir --!"

Ronald had spent the last quarter of an hour carefully shredding his own roots into exactly equal pieces.

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

Ronald shoved his own beautifully cut roots across the table at Draco, then took up the knife again.

Regulus wished he could snap a picture of Ronalds' face as he gave away his roots to Draco, it was simply marvelous.

"And, sir, I'll need this shrivelfig skinned," said Draco, his voice full of malicious laughter.

"Potter, you can skin Malfoy's shrivelfig," said Snape, giving Harry the look of loathing he always reserved just for him.

Harry took Draco's shrivelfig as Ronald began trying to repair the damage to the roots he now had to use. Harry skinned the shrivelfig as fast as he could and flung it back across the table at Draco without speaking. Draco was smirking more broadly than ever.

"Seen your pal Hagrid lately?" he asked them quietly.

"None of your business," said Ronald jerkily, without looking up.

"I'm afraid he won't be a teacher much longer," said Draco in a tone of mock sorrow. "Father's not very happy about my injury --"

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