𝐏𝐈𝐗𝐈𝐄 𝐃𝐔𝐒𝐓 - 𝖽. 𝗆𝖺𝗅𝖿𝗈𝗒

𝐭𝐫𝐞 ⚡︎ 𝐣𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐧?

| "𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐎𝐆𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒." ms. mcgonagall greeted as she led a stumbling trail of first-years to the front of the great hall.

kingsley and the returning students were allowed to get settled in before the sorting began. now that everyone's attention was on the new students, mcgonagall continued.

"when i call out your last name, you will come up, sit on the stool and allow me to place the sorting hat upon your head. the hat will place you into one of the four houses. when it has reached a decision, you will join your respective table for the feast..."

kingsley began to tune out her speech, as she could recite in her sleep from the four times she's heard it previously.

only snapping back to reality when she heard the ratty hat induct the first slytherin of the night, she began to clap as she watched a mousy-haired boy walk over to their table.

watching a few older slytherins welcome him, she had to remember to pull the first years aside at the end of the night and give them a short tour. as a prefect, she wanted to take her job seriously, and she knew how overwhelming everything seemed when she was eleven and wide-eyed.

her eyes naturally drifted in search of luna. it wasn't as if she needed to know where she was at all times, it was just a habit by now. they'd make eye contact throughout dinner and try and make each other laugh with faces or small bits of magic.

instead of sitting at the ravenclaw table, kingsley found her blonde friend perched with the gryffindors, laughing about something harry potter had said.

her eyebrows furrowed, and a small frown played on her lips. she wasn't exactly sure why seeing luna hang out with the others bothered her, but she couldn't get rid of the sinking feeling that settled in her stomach.

turning away, kingsley focused on her food once more, silently praying that this year's feast would be cut short. she could already imagine the inviting heated beds, how her trunks would already be laid out for quick access tomorrow morning, and how she finally might get some privacy now that she's living in the prefect dorms.

the rest of the sorting went by without a hitch, and as everyone began to tuck into their meals kingsley couldn't help but overhear parkinson once again try to win malfoy's attention.

"so draco, now that you're a prefect and all you'll have to show me your new dorms. i'm sure they're much more secluded than the common room.."

kingsley failed to notice the boredom that was masked over the blond's face before she turned to him, huffing in irritation and saying, "malfoy, don't even think about letting miss brazen here into our dorms."

malfoy faced her, seemingly surprised at her outburst. playing along, he responded.

"and why not? jealous sloan? i know you don't have anyone to invite up."

"no." she snarled, "i just don't just want my living spaces scarred by her lack of dignity and layered with her pounds of makeup."

"hey!" pansy interrupted, finally realizing that the attention she held right now was not good.

"shut up, it's not like you won't do anything to hold malfoy's interest for even a second. oh wait..." kingsley trailed off in mock sympathy and turned out to finish her meal.

she really didn't know why she was in such a foul mood. maybe the stress of fifth year was finally catching up to her. or maybe the fact that malfoy was, despite trying not to act like it, paying some sliver of attention to pansy and her friends when he never had before.

after listening to dumbledore give his yearly, albeit boring, back-to-school speech, kingsley stood at the front of the line with malfoy waiting for all of the first years.

"can't we just go? they'll catch up eventually," he whined, shifting on his feet.

"malfoy this is their first year. it's our responsibility as prefects to make sure they're comfortable moving around the castle and know where everything is. unless you're not up for it?"

she countered, lifting her brow. she knew he would never back down from a challenge even if it was as simple as this. he was like her in this way.

"im up for anything sloan." 

after finally answering all the kids' questions about hogwarts, they grudgingly walked side by side to their new dorms.

it was tucked away in a tower of the castle, not nearly as nice as the ravenclaw or gryffindor towers. but as both of them had spent most of their time in dungeons underwater, they were in awe.

walking up to the portrait, kingsley didn't seem to hear malfoy calling her name until he waved a pale hand in front of her face.

"what should our password be? mcgonagall mentioned that we'd have one for the entrance to the dorms and one of each of our rooms."

"felicity." she quietly answered, missing the look on malfoy's face as the word passed from her lips.

they watched as the lady in the portrait nodded, and opened the tunnel.

the living area was decorated with green and black accents. granite countertops, green, velvet couches, paintings of famous landmarks of britain, and lamps lighted up the space.

overall, it didn't seem so bad to stay in for a year. but the true test of strength would be living with another person who she detested with a passion. without looking back, she chose the closest room to the kitchen, whispered "salve" and disappeared into the bedroom.

it wasn't much different from the rest of the dorm. the bed had a cozy look and it even had magiced a smaller bed next to it for indra. the curtains were pulled back, letting kingsley have a view of the black lake. the mirror and armoire were tucked into the corner, leaving room for huge wall-to-wall bookshelves.

after putting away her things, she stood in front of the mirror getting ready to go to sleep. not thinking of much, her hand absently trailed to the necklace that hung from her neck.

she hadnt taken it off for years, and at this point she didn't feel right if she wasn't wearing it. she looked down. the dust inside sparkled as it reflected the light in the room.

"you know kingly, we can never take this off for as long as we live."

six year old draco mentioned, walking back into the manor.

"duh silly. these mean we'll be friends forever. and whenever someone asks about them, we can tell them about our best friend." kingsley laughed, tripping over her feet, not quite grown into her limbs yet.

blinking out of the memory, she sighed as she dropped the necklace down, feeling the weight of the jar on her collarbone again.

she climbed into bed, and eventually let sleep overcome her. the thoughts of tomorrow morning looming ahead of her began to seep into her dreams. the last thing she consciously remembered was hearing a loud bang against the wall.

━ ⚡︎ 𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑
see i would say i'm going to
update sooner but i can't
promise that anymore 😭

anyway hope you all enjoyed
love and appreciate you so much
have a good night! 🫶