someday, somehow → d.malfoy [discontinued]

012

"so, would you like to share your first thoughts on everything so far?"

theodore asked artemis, his eyes wide with amusement, head tilted, puppy-like, and a charmingly crooked smile emphasising the dimple in his cheek. artemis returned his intensity with a timid smile of her own. there were seven of them still in the common room, sitting around the crackle of the fire as it warmed them. the slytherin common room was abnormally dark and cold, artemis realised almost immediately after stepping into it. (who in their right mind made "basilisk" the password?) upon hearing an explanation courtesy of pansy, artemis decided having a common room inside a lake seemed rather impressive. the whole room was drenched in a diluted viridian, and all the candles in their dark brackets had, at this time, been diminished. cupboards and low tables of dark wood decorated the cold space; as well as the various sofas and plush armchairs in deep green velvet. artemis had spent at least ten minutes observing all of the other objects crammed into the room: the yellowing skulls of various animals, the portraits of notable slytherins (draco had told her this when she'd asked) who feigned sleep, and the antique game of wizards chess on the table in a corner. eventually, the common room had cleared out to leave only the seven of them—draco, artemis, theodore, pansy, blaise, crabbe and goyle. the latter pair were squished onto one sofa, with theodore perched on its arm. pansy had curled up on an armchair whose plump arms enveloped her slight figure; her shoes placed neatly at its feet. draco had taken the other sofa for himself, and blaise appeared as if he were watching the scene from where he leaned against the wall.

"i think the castle is nice," artemis replied, after a series of moments in which she thought about her response. "but your uniforms are boring and shapeless. your food is... satisfactory." (both of draco's seemingly-brainless goons seemed appalled by her indifference to their beloved food.) "the weather so far has been cold and rainy, and i do not think i like it very much. the headmaster seems to be a child, still. very immature, but i suppose it works out if hogwarts still has a good reputation under his leadership. however, he favours the gryffindor table, when he should not." a silence followed, in which artemis allowed her gaze to linger on each of their faces. draco seemed to be attempting to cover a smile with his hand as he lounged like a spoilt cat on the sofa; theodore's smile had only widened, his eyebrows brushing his hairline; pansy was sharing a look with blaise; and the two more-meat-than-brain boys stared at the wall, dumbfounded (or zoned out, artemis could not tell).

"that about sums it up, i reckon." blaise's voice was deep and smooth—it sounded as if it came from deep within his chest. artemis was able to, for the first time, properly take him in. he was a surreal beauty—all loping grace and long lines, dark skin and deep eyes. he constantly looked as if he was in the cavernous area where his many thoughts resided (perhaps he always was), and as if he saw the world like nobody else could. artemis smiled, and she could have sworn the corners of his full lips tugged sideways, too.

the hour hand was steadily closing in on twelve,

so pansy (who had warmed up to artemis rather quickly) had insisted she drag artemis up to the fourth year girls dorm. it was a welcoming collection of four-poster beds—their curtains draping elegantly around those that had been occupied by the now-sleeping girls. certainly, it seemed a warmer sort of room that the one below. the walls had already been covered by each girl's personal accessories: polaroid pictures, posters, cutouts from magazines, a neat painting of landscapes here, there. two beds, side-by-side, remained untouched. artemis could see her own trunks and belongings at the foot of one, and what she assumed to be pansy's at the other.

"how keen are you on getting enough sleep?" pansy asked, falling backwards onto the soft mattress of her bed. "or d'you want to talk some more?"

"let us get ready for bed first, and then we can talk." the two of them collected whatever items were necessary and headed to the bathroom, which resided directly underneath the dorm room—a spiraling staircase lead directly into it, and the candles within seemed to sense their entry. the light of fire illuminated the room, whose walls were made of cold, damp stone. artemis observed several cubicles (likely toilets), a pale ceramic bath, and a row of several sinks. pansy and artemis brushed their teeth, switched out their robes for a random pairing of comfortable clothes, and then shuffled wearily back up the stairs to the dorm room. conversation came laboriously at first, but eased considerably as the two of them laid in their respective beds, whispering lowly into the dark room, the only noise besides them; the breath of their dorm mates (and one of their dorm mates' obnoxiously noisy snores). artemis decided she liked pansy—though she was, at times, overly-judgy. she stated her opinions plainly, pointed out the faults of her friends among others. artemis liked that pansy was not easily, readily content with whatever life had handed her.

"d'you think you'll miss your old school, more than you'll like hogwarts?" pansy asked.

"i don't know," was artemis' reply. she really did not know—some part of her wanted to return to the familiarity of france, and another wanted to experience what the foreign school had to show her. after a while, artemis stated, "you do not seem to have any friends in this dorm."

"they're all fake to their own friends," was what pansy replied. "i've known most from a very young age—they're exactly like their mothers, whom i don't like at all. if i'm to have a friend, i'd want to be able to be... real with them, you know?"

"yeah," artemis said. "i get it."

out of the dark came a voice—so suddenly that artemis's head jerked up in surprise. "merlin, i bloody hope i don't have to see you two too much tomorrow." it took a moment to realise that the voice came from the bed on artemis' other side; and yet another to recognise the girl as the same that had sat in the carriage with them earlier. "do you ever stop talking?"