Masters of Mischief

XII. Ali and the Life Eaters

Chapter 12

    I despise Severus Snape with all my heart.  Oh, sorry, I meant Professor Severus Snape.  The guy is an absolute lunatic, and he was driving me mad.  All I wanted was to go into the Common Room, relax, and plan for how the hell I am going to get myself into Gryffindor.  Being in Slytherin has become the most unbearable lifestyle -- my dormmates hate me, and the one guy who was semi-decent tried to seduce me.

    So in the spirit of my Slytherin life, of course it didn't surprise me that I found Draco Malfoy sitting in the Common Room.  My ears detected sound waves of Pansy's laughter traveling from the dorm, probably trying to get the hell away from her.  I had two choices -- sit myself back in the Great Hall and avoid people at both costs, or suck it up and stay in the Common Room.  Given that my heart filled with Snape-hatred was too exhausted to go way back to the Great Hall, I found a seat in the Common Room farthest away from Draco.

    "Ali, we need to talk eventually," his voice cooed from the other side of the room.  I took a quick surveillance of the room -- of course, we were alone.

    Maybe if you ignore it, it will go away, I told myself as I emptied the contents of my bag onto the table, and began to scratch my quill against a scrap piece of parchment.  When in doubt, art it out.

    I heard his disappointed British sigh, and I focused harder on scratching the ink against the paper.  I just needed to make something as beautiful as how Luna made this dark world out to be.  I needed to do something important, something productive, to keep me busy, and keep my energy focused on getting --

    "Ali," he spoke, interrupting my thoughts, as he took the seat next to me.  "I'm sorry if I behaved a bit too boldly the other night.  Truth be told, I thought your sad excuse for a prank was coming from a completely different place in your heart, and I apologize for just jumping to conclusions."

    I still kept my eyes focused on the paper.  "Okay."

    "No, it's not okay, Ali, and I truly am sorry.  You're honestly the decentest person in here, and I'd rather have you on my side," he said softly, as if he didn't want something kind being overheard.

    I giggled.  "Okay, well, doesn't that tell you something, then?  I am different than everyone else in here, and don't get along with the lot.  Don't you think that maybe it's because I don't belong?"

    He nodded, taking into consideration my perspective.  "Perhaps, Ali, but you also never opened yourself up to the idea of being a Slytherin.  Might I ask why?"

    "Dad was a Gryffindor, and his new husband was a Ravenclaw, so I was raised liking both.  Something about Gryffindor just stood out to me, it spoke to me, you know?  I've researched my heart out on the house, and yet, I'm a Slytherin.  Years of dreaming and hard work just to land me into the house I hate the most.  I mean, can't you see why I'm so hesitant?" I sighed, finally letting it all out to someone. "Look, it's not about making either of my Dads proud.  I had a goal and did everything in my power to get there, just to watch myself fail.  It is beyond frustrating."

    "That sounds ambitious," Draco noted.

    "Exactly.  I am extremely ambitious, and hardworking, so I dive right into my goals, putting all of my energy into it, so to fail is completely disheartening," I told him, and he nodded along like he actually understood.

    "Ali, you just nailed the definition of a Slytherin.  People think that we are evil, but we are just ambitious.  Some of are ambitious for the wrong cause, yes, but nonetheless, ambitious," he explained, and that's when it clicked.  The Sorting Hat definitely saw my Gryffindor heart and bravery, but he focused on was the freaking ambition that was locked around both.