Chapter 6: Babycakes
"Oh, Merlin, I'm in way over my head with this all," I told Alyson on our way to Defense Against the Dark Arts, desperately wanting the memory of the liver incident with Draco to quickly go away.
Alyson looked at me thoughtfully. "What d'you mean?" she asked.
I inhaled deeply. Then after a rushed decision, I tried explaining how much I liked Draco and all my encounters with him without embarrassing myself.
After I was done, Alyson just continued on staring at me.
I shrugged and blushed. "I know. It's really a bit stupid..."
Alyson shook her head vigorously. "No, it's fine! I was like that once," she said simply.
I turned the other way and rolled my eyes. Her? Acting like me?? Fat chance. I could never imagine that.
"You want me to help you?" she asked me right out of the blue.
"Sorry?"
"You know! Help you get his attention and stuff?"
I shrugged. "I don't know...I mean, Hermione, Ron and Harry...I don't know how they'd respond to that."
"Oh, don't worry about them! I guess they're not used to me yet. I mean, I'm not trying to steal you from them or anything. I just wanna help!" Alyson told me brightly.
A tiny smile wormed its way through my lips as we kept on walking in silence for a little while.
"Can I ask you a question?" I said.
"Shoot."
"D'you really think it was stupid of me to say that I wasn't in Gryffindor?"
"Don't worry about that right now. We can fix that," Alyson said briskly.
At that moment, we came to a stop in front of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and stepped inside before I got a chance to ask her how in the world would we be able to pull everything off.
It took a good 10 to 15 minutes for everyone to fill the room since not many people dropped the subject this year and now that that there were free periods and fewer classes, they meshed all four houses together in one period.
Hermione and Parvati sat down one row in front of Alyson and I and Ron and Harry one row behind. Draco, fortunately, took a seat next to us. I couldn't even tell if that thought was supposed to sound sarcastic to me or not.
Anyway, I straightened myself in my seat and pretended not to notice him as I slung my bag over my chair and played with the sleeve of my uniform.
A few Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors slowly came into the room, apparently very sleepy considering that one of them tripped over the hem of their uneven robes and another nearly hit Snape upside the head for stretching their arms too far out.
"Hurry up, Macmillan!! You too, Finnigan. 10 points from Hufflepuff and Gryffindor for delaying the class you idiots! I have much to each you!" Snape said impatiently, a sly smirk appearing on his face as he saw the many upset faces.
Snape slumped over on his front desk lazily and began talking. "Today we will be learning how to recognize vampires and kappas and how to protect yourselves from their harmful nature..."
I tuned out the rest of his little summary. I could already tell this lesson was pointless, especially with Snape teaching it. I doodled on the corner of my paper for quite sometime before Alyson caught my eye.
"Oi!! Draco!" she whispered, a little too loud for my favor.
I felt my muscles tighten nervously.
Hermione turned around and mouthed, What's going on?
"Help!" I said.
I was about to tell Alyson that it wasn't such a good idea when I felt a crumpled piece of paper bounce off my head.
I turned around to see Harry giving me a questioning glance, which immediately turned into a warning look. I winced, knowing that Snape would be coming by to tell us off.
"Alyson, don't do it! Snape's got ears like a hawk and we're gonna get in big trouble! Talk to Draco later...if you must," I hissed.
Alyson scoffed. "Snape? Yeah, right. He's got more of a nose like a hawk, rather than ears," she said carelessly.
I could hear Ron trying to muffle his laugh.
"Please?" I begged.
But she didn't listen. Alyson spied the crumpled paper on the ground from Harry and threw it at Draco's head, which flew off of his and onto Dean Thomas', which caught more people's attention.
"Watch it!" Dean whispered.
Draco looked harshly at Alyson. "What do you want, Ruffino?" he said.
"Can't you be decent for once?" Alyson asked irritatedly. "I was just gonna ask you a bloody question!"
"Sod off, you pathetic, fat arse whore!"
I gave Alyson an alarmed look. "Um, Alyson. I hate to tell you but---"
"Just hold on a second, I'm trying to---"
"Um...I think it can wait," I said, nudging her to look at who was standing beside her, his eyes gleaming with cruelty.
"Whoever it is, tell them to wait till I'm done!" Alyson said, not bothering to look.
"I beg to differ," said a cold voice.
Alyson turned around to see Snape bending down to her eye level.
I expected Alyson to try to wriggle her way out of the dangerous position she was in with Snape, just like all the rest of the students who found themselves in it as well. But it was just like Alyson to try something different.
"I don't care if you beg anything!" Alyson said, not changing her angry tone. "Let me finish!!"
I gaped at Alyson, as did the rest of the class.
"What the bloody hell---" I started.
Alyson simply ignored my remark.
"Listen up, babycakes---" she began, also ignoring the other amused laughing and mocking from other students.
Draco looked utterly disgusted. "Babycakes? What's your fricken problem? I thought I told you to leave me alone?" he said.
Alyson squinted. That did it.
"I want him deported!" she said angrily as she faced Snape again, pointing to Draco.
The room boomed with laughter. Even I had to stifle a laugh.
"You can't have him deported. He's from London," Hermione said, making a completely unnecessary side comment.
Alyson glared menacingly at Hermione.
"Okay sorry, nevermind," she squeaked.
"Silence!" Snape roared. "That's enough!!"
"No! I'm not done yet!!" Alyson back talked.
I was in shock, along with Ron, Harry, Hermione, and pretty much the rest of the class. Nobody has ever done that before.
"DETENTION, Miss Ruffino!! And 10 points from Gryffindor!" Snape said icily.
"Leave her alone!" I said angrily. I was tired of this all.
Snape raised an eyebrow. "Very well. Let's take another 10 points from Gryffindor because of...what's your name again? Bethany Orze?"
"Ugh! It's Bailey!! Bailey Orsino!"
"Well, well, well. It looks like we've found Gryffindor's new dynamic duo. 10 points from Gryffindor and a detention for you as well," Snape finished.
"What? Why? I didn't do anything!" I said quietly.
Snape just curled his lip and gave me another one of his malicious sneers and turned on his heel, walking back towards the front of the classroom.
"Wait, you're a Gryffindor?" Draco said stupidly.
I felt my cheeks turn red and I held my head in my hands as I went back to my miniscule drawing of Hagrid's Hut, not taking my eyes off the paper.
I twirled the quill around with my free hand. "Surprise," I muttered.
After my little accident in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Alyson became somewhat more quiet and Hermione seemed to be talking to me a bit more than before.
"I told you that you shouldn't have done that. It would've been very much easier if you hadn't been hanging out with Alyson. I thought we were going to do our homework under the beech tree this afternoon..." Hermione lectured.
I held out a hand to stop her. "Uh, thanks, Hermione. But I'll pass for now."
Hermione just shrugged as she and I made our way to Gryffindor tower. The sun was shining bright so I took a seat by one of the windows and started some of my already heavy loaded homework before detention. I talked with Hermione for a little while longer and Ginny, Ron and Harry emerged from the spiral staircase leading to and from the dormitories.
"I can't believe you got detention," was the first thing that came out of Ron's mouth.
"Shut it," I said glumly. "And don't rub it in."
"Sorry..." Ron said backing away to sit on the couch, not daring to pressing the matters.
"Anyway," I continued. "I've decided that---"
"Heyyyyy, Bay," someone said cheerily as the Gryffindor portrait swung open.
I turned my head to see who it was, even though it was pretty obvious.
"'Ello, Alyson," I said dully.
Alyson paraded over to the desk I was sitting at, holding a fat, slightly worn book in one hand, something that sort of looked like a cotton ball in the other.
Ron stared awkwardly at Alyson. "Is that---is that a tampon?"
"Yep," said Alyson proudly. "I normally use them to mark my place in a book. They're bloody useful! I use them for loads of things, really...well besides the main purpose of course---"
"I wonder if she's met Luna yet," Harry muttered.
Ron snorted. "Why not just use a bookmark?"
Alyson scoffed. "What kind of idiot would do that? Bookmarks are a waste of paper."
I raised an eyebrow.
Hermione looked at her quizzically. "That's really weird---"
I nudged her.
"That's weird that...not many people use---erm, tampons like that...even though they should..."
Harry and Ron exchanged looks.
Alyson starting laughing. "HA! I know, right?"
I shifted in my seat and started up my homework again.
Alyson yawned. "Dang, I'm tired!"
"Well don't fall asleep now, detention starts in like 15 minutes," I said.
"Fine, fine, fine. But it's just Snape! He doesn't seem like the 'kill-you-in-your-sleep' type all the time. I don't get why lots of people are scared of him," Alyson said.
"You're so new, it's cute," I said, rolling my eyes.
"C'mon! So you're saying that you're not tired?" she asked me, sitting up.
"Ugh, come to think of it, I kind of am," I said, looking at the clock hanging on the crimson wallpaper. "Well, I guess we better go, Alyson. Before I start snoring... See you guys later."
"Bye," Hermione said as she followed Harry and Ron over to Seamus and Ginny.
There wasn't exactly much to talk about on our way to detention so it was pretty much silent the majority of the way there, except for the occasional cackle of the Bloody Baron chasing Peeves around the castle.
I figured Alyson and I were going to be the only one in detention today. I mean, it was the first week, for Merlin's sake. But I was wrong.
Ugh, I know what you're thinking right now...so don't even go there. Draco was NOT at detention, thanks. And it was a good thing, too. That would've been absolutely ridiculous.
Anyway, Snape was already standing at the front of the dungeon, as if he hadn't moved a muscle ever since my last Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson earlier this morning.
And in the corner was a pretty girl with long, silky black hair and fair skin, sitting next to another girl with curly, dirty blonde hair. Both were holding nail files.
My stomach tightened. I never had a reason to talk to these girls, not that I wanted to, actually. I've always gotten mixed opinions about them and I was never sure what to believe. The only thing I knew was true about them was that they were a year older than me.
"Fancy being late, girls?" Snape said coldly as his beady eyes glared at the pair of us.
Alyson frowned. "We're like, five minutes early---"
I shut my eyes and sighed. "Shut up, Alyson," I muttered.
&&RIResults---
"I don't exactly feel like wasting my time on you rugrats because I have grading to do so shut up and listen," Snape snapped as Alyson and I hurried to sit at a table.
Jeez! Cranky, much?
Snape tapped the board with his wand and the words I will not disrupt the class with my unnecessary outbursts. magically appeared.
Alyson nodded at me mischievously. "Lines? That's not so bad. You should've seen some of the punishments Proffesor Hamilton used to give at my old school. Especially when he was angry! Once, he brought out one of those troll bats! Mental, he was," she told me as she reached into her bag for a quill and some spare parchment.
"I'll be checking back soon with your next assignment." Snape finished as he left the dungeon and slammed the door hard, which followed a series of little clicks. He'd locked the door.
"Our next assignment? That bastard better not hold us in here for too long," Alyson groaned.
The other two girls in the corner of the room looked questioningly at her.
This was going to be a long afternoon.
