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16 - A Bad Day

"Harry! Harry!"

He turned around to see Eloise bounding toward him with a huge grin on her face. She was skipping down the hall until she noticed the strange looks directed toward her. She bit her bottom lip to suppress a smile and bowed her head to avoid the raised eyebrows. When she got closer to Harry, she looked up with a grin and began skipping toward him again, wildly waving a piece of parchment in front of her.

"Hey Eloise, what's that?" he asked grinning at Eloise's obvious excitement.

She ended her skipping with a final hop, landing right in front of Harry. She looked as if she was trying to keep from hopping on the spot.

"This," she said, "is going to be enlarged and framed and hung above my bed."

Harry laughed and took the parchment that she was waving in front of his face. He recognized it as their latest potions test. She had gotten an A. There were only two wrong out of twenty-five problems. Harry's jaw dropped slightly and turned into a grin.

Hermione and Ron looked over Harry's shoulder.

"Merlin's beard," Ron gasped.

"Eloise," Harry said through a huge smile, looking up from the test, "you—you got an A."

"I know!" she squeaked. "It's our study sessions! I finally understand this stuff! I just—I just can't believe it. Snape handed me back the test with this weird suspicious look and I saw the grade and I kept staring at it until..."

"Hey polka-dots," called a drawling voice. Eloise froze and the joy drained instantly from her face. "I heard you cheated on the last test."

"I did not!" Eloise snapped at the approaching blonde.

"Bugger off Malfoy!" Ron spat.

"I can see that those spots on your face haven't cleared up. Rather disgusting wouldn't you say?"

Eloise pursed her lips and looked down dejectedly.

"Oi, shut your face you bloody ferret," Ron growled.

"Malfoy, don't you have something better to do, or is your life really just so pathetic that all you can do to amuse yourself is prance around and bother people?" Harry said coolly.

"Pathetic, Potter? Well, I guess we have different views of the word. What I would find pathetic would be two morons getting tutored by an even bigger moron in his worst subject and then having one of them almost wet herself when she has a burst of luck."

"And what did you get you get on the test again?" Hermione asked. "A C was it? Just passing even with Snape giving you all the answers...you're right, we do have different definitions of pathetic. At least the other houses earn their grades on their own."

"At least I am passing," he said, looking pointedly at Ron. Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their leader.

"Oh Malfoy, glad your two cronies find you so amusing. Did they forget about their own grades?" Harry asked cheekily. The two immediately ceased their laughter and glared at Harry.

"Well, I must say that I have far better things to do than have you lot waste my time," sneered Malfoy. "I just wanted to tell little Midgen over here that I got a sweater covered in red polka dots for Christmas. I had to throw it away because it reminded me too much of her face and I thought I might be sick." Malfoy looked satisfied as Eloise's face grew red and tears began to drip from her eyes. "Well, good day," he said with a wicked grin and marched away with Crabbe and Goyle.

"I—I have to go," Eloise stammered before running off, burying her face in her hands.

"Eloise, wait!" called the trio, but she was already gone.