ICARUS ↝ H. GRANGER

[10]

"Well, well, well," Rigel crooned, slowly approaching the Gryffindor table of the Great Hall where Granger sat alone, working on some essay with three of her textbooks spilled open before her. "Look who we have here."

Rigel couldn't help the smirk that rose on his face as Granger looked up at him with an annoyed expression, rolling her eyes and turning back to her homework without a word, much as he expected from her. While she couldn't avoid him in Potions class, she hadn't spoken a word to him since the Quidditch match against Gryffindor, and he'd hardly seen her since, though he figured if he wanted to see her badly enough, she would most likely be in the library.

Rigel shrugged at her choice to ignore him, unfazed by her lack of greeting. "Have it your way then, Granger," he said, taking the open seat across from her at the Gryffindor table, where he nonchalantly began to pour himself a goblet of pumpkin juice and watched her with an amused grin.

Granger attempted to continue her essay for Herbology, as Rigel had figured out while attempting to read the first few lines, even though the parchment sat upside down from where he sat, but he just kept watching her with the same cocky grin, helping himself to a roll and a slice of ham from the platters covering the banquet table. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Granger sighed, looking up at him with a poisonous glare.

"Don't you have anything better to do than bother me?" she asked, irritated, and the boy shrugged in response, shaking his head.

"Finished my Ancient Runes homework early." he shot back nonchalantly, and she sighed, gritting her teeth in response.

"It didn't work, you know," she finally said, causing his eyebrows to furrow in confusion.

"Come again?"

"The song," Granger scoffed in disbelief, her anger beginning to grow. "Malfoy was so threatened by Ron that you needed the entirety of Slytherin House to make some song about him, to stifle his confidence, but it didn't work." she pointed out matter-of-factly. "You still lost."

"Okay," he said nonchalantly as she continued to go off on him, "I guess you could say I deserved that. But I didn't sing until the very end, so I don't think you can be this mad at me." he pointed out.

"I don't know why you think you care about what I think of you, Lestrange." Granger said, turning back to her homework.

Rigel scoffed in response. "I don't care," he said, taking another sip of his pumpkin juice, and he caught sight of a small coin sitting next to her books, a bronze Knut that was so tiny, he might not have noticed save for the slight red tinge to it, as if it had been heated to an extreme temperature, causing the metal to give off the faintest glow.

"Right," Granger said, her own eyes briefly falling down to look at the coin before she began packing her books up. "Well, I should be going," she said, placing her items back into her bag, along with the glowing coin. "See you in Potions, I guess." she said before walking out of the Great Hall and leaving Rigel alone at the Gryffindor table.

Rigel watched intently as she left the room, a few students from other tables all beginning to leave the Great Hall as well, each of them heading off in the direction Granger had gone, rather than down the various corridors branching off from the castle's grand foyer, which Rigel found suspicious. Looking around to make sure no one was watching him, he picked up his bag, slowly following out the last group of students and climbing the stairs after them from a distance.

Much to Rigel's surprise and suspicion, each group that left the Great Hall after Granger was heading up the same set of stairs, climbing until they reached the seventh floor, rounding a corner and heading down a hallway leading to the left corridor. Nobody paid him any attention as he slunk down the hall after them, keeping a watchful eye around the corners so as not to be noticed following them. Up ahead, the small group of Hufflepuff third years were chatting excitedly, though from their distance Rigel could only make out a few words about lessons and new spells.

Of course, one might think they were simply chatting about the classes they'd been sitting in earlier that day, and any new spells Professor Flitwick might have been teaching in Charms, though Rigel knew better as groups of students continued to pass him at a quicker pace, following after the group of Hufflepuffs down the same corridor, where he could only guess Granger had gone off to as well. Surely not all of these students from different years and houses could be going to the same classroom, so wherever it was they were heading, he was eager to find out.

Rigel watched from around the corner, eyebrows furrowed in confusion as a small crowd of students had gathered in the middle of a corridor, pacing back and forth in front of a large expanse of stone wall, devoid of any hanging portraits on its surface. To his surprise, an ornate iron doorway began to appear in front of them, and one of the Hufflepuffs quickly pulled it open before the crowd disappeared inside. Once they were inside, the doorway vanished from its spot on the wall, leaving Rigel alone in the corridor once more.

Whatever Granger and her friends were up to, Rigel knew the answers rested beyond the secret door, to whatever room lay inside. He knew that, if he wanted to, he could follow after them to get the answers he craved, simply barge in to confront them all and let them know they'd been found out, about whatever it was they were doing.

Although, as a member of Slytherin House, he knew snakes were best lying in wait, being patient to get the information they needed. They'd never even see him coming.

Granger and her friends were up to something, and Rigel was going to figure out what it was.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

long time no see!

it feels so, so good to finally be writing rigel's story again. i've missed my boy so much. thank you all for sticking around, and i'm so glad to finally be continuing ICARUS!