Malfoy Amongst The Chaos

Potions With The Enemy

<05>

Wanda

I walked back to the table, scowling as I pulled my hair into a high ponytail and pulled a few loose strands out by my face. Malfoy was watching me, his sharp, pale face completely unreadable.

"We need another knife." he said as I reached him.

I chewed my bottom lip, rolling up my sleeves as I avoided his piercing stare. "That's nice."

I swear he nearly growled- "So go and get one."

My eyes slid up to his, my head tilting as inexplicable rage riled in my stomach; I clenched my fists again. "I'm not your servant." I hissed.

His lips folded over one another and a muscle feathered in his jaw. "No, but you are my partner and if you want to win this- go and get a knife."

I stared at him for a long while, only turning away when my lip began to tremour with anger - fine, I'll get a knife, but I hope he knows exactly where it's going.

However, when I returned, he was already lighting a fire under the cauldron and rushing around the desk to grab two bags of ingredients, not even looking at me. He emptied one out, counted the required number of valerian roots at lightning speed and shoved the rest back in, already dashing back around to begin cutting them up; I refuse to believe the blonde is actually more focused on work than insulting me.

"Sopophorus beans." he said, dropping the bag onto the desk in front of me and looking up expectantly, his hands shaking - as though not cutting the roots was killing him. I took the bag, watching his hands questioningly. "Don't add them until-"

"-five minutes after the roots - yes, I know." I snapped, interrupting him. His left eyebrow flickered upwards and his mouth twitched in what I could only assume was approval; I shook my head as he started cutting.

All this for 12 hours of "good luck".

I sighed and bent closer to the table to begin cutting the beans - it was a much harder task than I thought it ought to be and the blade kept slipping over the surface of the bean, clanging repeatedly on the table. To make matters worse, the knife in my hand appeared not to be made of steel like the scales and instead seemed like it was pure silver which did nothing to the brawling energy throbbing at my fingertips. It made the task impossibly hard.

I could feel Malfoy's eyes on me again and I crushed the bean with the flat edge of the dagger in a rage. To my surprise, a humongous amount of juice squirted out and I snapped my head up to avoid being covered in the pale purple liquid, a tiny gasp leaving my lips.

I heard Malfoy snort and slowly shook my head with my eyes closed.

I didn't look at him and reached for another bean, crushing it the same as the other one. By the time I had a pile of sopping, purple bean skin and a puddle of juice Malfoy said, "They can go in."

I glanced at him as I tipped the chopping board, parting the blueish steam rising from the cauldron's bubbling depths. He was looking unrecognisably anxious, sweat beading on the pale skin of his upper lip and forehead, his jaw locked into place as he stared at the potion, hand gripping the stirring ladle tightly. 

His hair was slightly dishevelled and had been swept roughly off his forehead with the same shaking hands now rifling through his copy of Advanced Potion-Making. "D'you want to stir it?" He muttered, so fast I almost didn't hear it, his eyes on the pages.