章 397: Pansy Hurts Herself in her Confusion

Going to bed that night was certainly a strange experience for Oleandra, to say the least. There she was, Tracey, lying on her bed, mere feet away from her. If it hadn't been for Mafalda sharing their dormitory room, Oleandra could have been sharing a bed with Tracey— and as long as Professor Snape didn't catch wind of their relationship, they would continue to share a room. There was a reason why the male and female dormitories were segregated, after all.

And so, the days began to fly by once again, and before long, the new couple had more-or-less succeeded at convincing the outside world that nothing had changed between them. And that is how Oleandra and Tracey spent their first week together together…

Although, by the time Saturday arrived, Oleandra was beginning to think that they weren't nearly as stealthy as they thought they were being. But what could have given them away? Perhaps, it had been the long, passionate looks they kept sharing with each other, or the excessive skin contact… or maybe it had been that first year who'd caught them snogging in a broom closet.

At any rate, there was just something incredibly non-threatening about lovestruck maidens. If before, Oleandra had been returning her fellow students' looks of hatred and of distrust with death stares of her own, she was now facing them with pure eyes. Her attitude had ceased to be cold and overly defensive— and as a result, without even making a conscious effort of it, Oleandra had become slightly more approachable.

Fairies, even Greater Fairies, were simple creatures by nature. Even as a human, Oleandra was still a Greater Fairy at heart— she loved beauty, being crafty and sneaky, playing pranks and manipulating people— but she wasn't evil. And that was something that was beginning to shine through to her peers…

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"Well, that was certainly… something," said Tracey, as she and Oleandra joined the stream of students heading back to the castle. "Just like the World Cup last year, right?"

It had been exactly one week since Valentine's Day, and Oleandra and Tracey were beginning to regret having spent their entire Saturday watching the most anticlimactic game of Quidditch they had ever had the misfortune to witness: the crippled Gryffindor team versus the Hufflepuffs, who were unimpressive for the most part, except for their Seeker and Team Captain, Mr. Perfect Cedric Diggory.

"I just can't understand how it can be possible to be that bad at Seeking," said Oleandra helplessly. "Like, it's almost embarrassing being even distantly related to him…"

For some reason that Oleandra couldn't fathom, the Gryffindors had picked Ron, of all people, to take up Harry's mantle as Seeker. The nepotism theory didn't hold any water, since the Weasley twins and Harry had been permanently barred from Quidditch for the rest of their time at Hogwarts— But now that she was thinking about it, wasn't Gryffindor Team Captain Angelina going out with Fred Weasley…?

"You're only now getting it?" Malfoy called out to her from behind. "The Weasleys have always been an embarrassment to Wizardkind— though I'll freely admit they have their moments. Gryffindor wouldn't have lost so spectacularly if it hadn't been for him!"

Pansy Parkinson threw back her head and laughed, as if Malfoy had said something gut-wrenchingly hilarious. It was an ugly, snorting kind of laugh, which fitted her pug-like face rather well, all things considered.

"Whatever makes you sleep at night," said Oleandra, rolling her eyes at them.

If it hadn't been for her little sister Astoria being the Gryffindor Keeper, Oleandra really wouldn't have had a dog in this fight. Despite having been in Slytherin for more than four years now, she didn't feel comfortable with most of her fellow Slytherins— especially those who had Death Eater family members. As such, her feelings of House belonging and rivalry had mostly faded by now.

"Come on, Tracey," said Oleandra, subconsciously taking her by the hand to drag her away.

"Lucky you, Davis!" Pansy hooted. "Your beloved mistress has finally taken notice of you!"

Tracey's face turned pink, and Oleandra spun on the spot, scowling at Pansy. Parkinson could be incredibly observant when she wanted to, if there was gossip to be had…

"I have to admit, I wasn't expecting that from you, of all people, Greengrass…" Pansy continued. "I suppose it was time that you came out of the broom closet!"

Oleandra and Tracey simultaneously blanched.

"I knew I should have Obliviated that first year," Oleandra muttered under her breath.

The Slytherins, who had stopped in the middle of the road to encircle Oleandra and Tracey, were obviously drawing a lot of attention from the students of the other three Houses— unwanted attention.

"Head Boy, coming through," Cedric Diggory called out, as he frayed his way through the throng of students. "What's going on here?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," Malfoy shot back nastily. "It's none of your business, Hufflepuff."

Diggory ignored him, his eyes focusing on Oleandra and Tracey, who were in the eye of the storm. The briefest of scowls appeared on his face, but it was replaced with a sunny smile so quickly that Oleandra wondered if she hadn't imagined it in the first place.

"Would you like some help, prefect Greengrass?" he said, eyeing the Slytherins surrounding her.

"Whatever for?" said Oleandra pleasantly. "I was simply discussing some matters with Malfoy."

At the end of the day, students had no right to stick their noses in other Houses' business— not even if they were Head Boy or Head Girl— so eventually, Cedric was forced to retreat.

"We're still telling Professor Snape," Pansy mouthed at Oleandra and Tracey the instant that Cedric Diggory's back was turned.

…

And so, before the day was out, Oleandra was forced to change dormitory rooms— much to Pansy's dismay, because in his infinite wisdom, Professor Snape decided to place Oleandra in the one place where he was absolutely certain that she wouldn't engage in after dark activities: Pansy's and Millicent's room.

"And I hope we learned a valuable lesson about not annoying Professor Snape with teenagers' problems," said Oleandra coolly, as she Levitated her belongings through the door to her new dormitory room, in front of an absolutely fuming Pansy. "Ah, and a word of advice— I've Hexed all of my things, so unless you want to spend the next twenty-four hours frozen in an uncomfortable position, I'd advise you to stay on your side of the room!"