Ch. 37: Serpent's Charm

Pain. Agonizing pain.

     With a soft groan, I clutched my head and attempted to open my eyes, but thought better of it when my world was spinning. I sniffled, breathing in the stench of stale alcohol and something ... almost damp. 

      "Good, you're finally awake." A cold voice called out to me, tight and almost annoyed. Beneath me, the surface dipped with their weight as they sat beside me. It was a voice I really didn't want to hear first thing in the morning, ever.

"Shhh." I growled, throwing my ears over my head in pain. "Too much sounds." I peeled one eye open slowly, to look at the person sitting across from me on the wide bed. "Draco?" I croaked and shuddered, the sound made my head pulse with pain. "Where...am I?" My voice came out soft and smooth like a tiny whisper, much nicer to my brain. "What happened?"

     The world whirled around me and I thought I might be sick. 

     Draco sighed and stood up, walking towards a table beside the four-poster bed I was in. He grabbed a large vial of potion and poured it into a goblet, explaining things much too loudly for my liking. "You drank too much, that's what happened, Granger." He chuckled without malice, grabbed the goblet of sparkling purple liquid and handed it to me. "Drink this, it'll help with the hangover."

       "Why... " I whispered, pausing my question to drain the whole thing in one swallow. I should have been more concerned about whether he'd poisoned it, or perhaps even had more of a questioning thought to this, but I didn't. I could practically hear Lana's lecture in my head, adding to the pounding.

     "Why am I here?" Slowly, my head started feeling less and less pressure. Then, the pain stopped altogether. 

     Lifting myself up, I saw that I was under the covers of a green and silver sheeted bed. I looked around the room, noticing the green iron buttresses and the carved intricate depictions of mermaids and sea creatures on the wooden walls. Green tapestries hung in the corner, proudly displaying the emblem of Salazar Slytherin. There was a window, much like the ones in the Gryffindor Common Rooms, yet as I studied them, I realized I was underwater. Seaweed caressed the window frames and danced with the tide. 

      My stomach churned once more. 'What the fuck am I doing here,' I almost cried to myself.

Draco shrugged and leaned against his head board next to me. "First time drinking Firewhiskey, Mud-Blood? That stuff will get you, especially if you mix - which you did."

       "I don't remember anything from last night," I admitted, sitting up and feeling extremely cold. As I looked down, I realized I wasn't wearing my dress any more. Instead, I was in a grey tank top and green cotton shorts. 

     "What the --" I gasped and pushed myself off the bed, tugging at the new set of clothes with unbridled fury and confusion. I yanked one of the pillows off the bed and tossed it squarely into Malfoy's face.

       "What the bloody hell was that for?" He cursed, rubbing his face, but still laying on the bed, eyes closed tight. "You should be thanking me."

      "Did you take advantage of me?!" I yelled, jumping out of bed and cringing as my bare feet froze under the cold floor.

Draco's face paled even more and he rolled his eyes with a sneer, putting his arms behind his head. "Oh please, Granger. Why the bloody hell would I waste my time taking advantage of a mud-blood like you?" 

       "Again, you need new insults. Besides, you know you want me." I teased, feeling slightly better while I rolled my eyes and begun pulling my hair up into a ponytail. "So, if you didn't do anything, why the hell am I in bedclothes? These aren't mine." I flopped down on the mattress once more and glared up at the ceiling, looking at nothing in particular. "What am I even doing here, actually?"

         "Those," Malfoy waved at my clothes, "are Blake's." 

       I gave him a blank stare, telling him that didn't explain anything. "Fine, you obviously won't be satisfied until I tell you the whole story, so here it is." He rolled his eyes and grumbled as if it was such a chore.

✧

3RD PARTY POV*

       The moment she walked through that cabinet door, Draco could see Elle was hurt, angry, and determined. Her face was an array of different emotions as she strode towards the drinks, head high and mouth hard-pressed.

        Smirking, Draco strode towards her, wanting to see if he could strike a few of her chords and get her really riled up. After all, there was nothing funnier to him these days than winding her up and watching the oddities pour from her mouth. The girl always had something to say, he was sure about that.

        "You know, Granger," Draco sneered. "You look like someone just flunked you in potions."

      "Cool." She sighed, not turning around, not even sparing him a look. Her voice was cold, distant, and familiar. It was the same voice she'd used around the time of the Yule Ball. Her 'zombie' mode was on. 

     Draco rolled his eyes, finding little fun in this game and turned to leave her to herself, knowing she was impenetrable in this state. But, when he saw her hand wavering over the tops of alcoholic bottles that some Hufflepuffs had snuck in, he stopped. "Deciding on a glass?" 

       "No. Just a bottle really, I've already had a few glasses of wine and a shot of vodka, but none of them really 'hit' the 'spot'." She chuckled, then grabbed an unopened glass bottle of brass-coloured 'Firewhiskey'. As her words registered in Draco's mind, he realized her speech was slightly slurred and her movements were wobbly.

       "And the spot being, black-out drunk?" Draco grinned, not being able to control it. "Why?"

      "Angelina. Fucking. Johnson." She enunciated every syllable while popping the top off the bottle with her thumb like a pro and placing the bottle against her lips. "She's got everything I'll never have, especially the guy I practically love --" Draco knew it was the alcohol talking through her, but he didn't really care to hear what she was saying. In the back of his mind, he had already left the conversation. "But then again, I don't really think love is for me. So I figure, 'Hell, I'm young. Why not live a little, tomorrow is only Sunday -- no school'." She stopped talking and took a long pull from the bottle.

      "Kinda pathetic, really," he replied.

     Elle paused and arched a brow, "Oh?"

      "You, I mean." Draco shrugged and yanked the bottle from her hands. "And, don't be disgusting. You can at least pretend you have an ounce of good breeding."

      Elle's face contorted from his words, making Draco think she was going to start crying. "I-I I think I'm gonna be sick." She paled, her face slightly turning a green tint. Her eyes darted around the room and she ran for the girl's toilet, slamming the door shut after her.

     Draco resolved to forget the whole interaction, pouring himself a glass of the contraband and pocketing the rest of the bottle of Firewhiskey without so much as a second thought. After all, why should such a good bottle go to waste?

     He glanced towards Pansy, who was bickering with Blaise and Matilda. Though he knew it was expected of him to join them, he didn't have the patience to play mitigator for whatever stupid argument they were having this time. 'Probably has something to do with Blaise cheating at Wizard's Chess again', Malfoy thought bitterly to himself. (Blaise never cheated, but Pansy had always been a sore loser).

     Despite his better nature, Draco found his gaze gravitating back towards the girl's lavatory. There was something in the pit of his stomach that he so desperately desired to squash down with the heel of his leather soles.

       He frowned, pale lips down turned and solemn, and took a sip of Firewhiskey. 

      The party was still in full swing. Swallowing the entirety of his glass, Malfoy found himself in a situation he would come to regret later: being knocked into by none other than one of the Weasley twins as he danced with Blake Hall across the room. Draco's glass slipped from his hands and shattered against the Twin's feet. 

      Angrily, Malfoy shoved Greg, or George, or whatever his name was. "Look, Weasel." Draco sneered. George gave him a disgusted look, no doubt mirroring his own. George prepared himself for an oration on how Malfoy's shoes cost more than his home. Yet, he was surprised as Malfoy reeled back with a glare. 

      "You'd better keep that rodent of brother in check. Tell him next time, he'll deal with me."

This caught George's attention. "Which brother? I have many."

       "Your doppelganger." Draco hissed, spitting the name out like it tasted bad saying it. "Fred. I can handle girls crying, hell, I make them cry all the time. But, drinking themselves half to death is a whole other story. Tell him to watch it."

Blake's face turned from slightly worried to horrified. "Where is she?!"

     "Bathroom, luckily she's throwing up, but she'll no doubt need new clothes," he replied, glass crunching underfoot.

      "I'll get her some spare clothes right now, can you watch her while I look for Lana or Jenna after I give you the clothes?" Blake just blurted out and ran away, not letting Malfoy answer her with a no.

     'Great, so now I had to spend my night babysitting a plastered drunk girl... Ideal. Note the sarcasm'. Grumbling, Draco stalked over to the bathroom. "Granger." He pounded on the door with the back of his knuckles, voice tight and unamused. "You still alive?" He asked, pounding again, not believing he was forced to look after her.

     If anyone else had demanded it from him, Malfoy would have scoffed and dropped off the face of the Earth without a second thought. However, this wasn't just anyone. Blake Hall may have been extremely annoying, but Malfoy knew that if he'd ever crossed her, her family could crush his own. That's how powerful they were. 

      So, Draco figured that allowing Elle to be alone and drunk, looking like she did, would probably cross Blake. Unfortunately, this Mudblood had to be somewhat attractive, and even more unfortunately, the guys here weren't as respectful as he was. 

     The sound of a quiet sob pulled him from his distracting thoughts. He frowned and turned the handle on the lavatory, finding it locked. "Granger?"

      "...Malfoy?" She called through the door, sounding surprised and really hurt. "Go away... I don't want you to hear this." She slurred her words. Malfoy was pleased she was coherent at least and pinched the bridge of his nose as he exhaled through it.

      "Blake's on her way with new clothes..," he sighed and turned around, deciding to leave. "I'll just go. Keep the door locked. The last thing I need is for Blake to blame me if you turn up missing, or worse."

      "You're so .... sweet." She bit back, still sarcastic in her drunkenness. "Gordric, I don't feel good."

       A retching sound came from the bathroom and Malfoy leaned away from the door, covering his ears. "Disgusting... Really nasty. Thanks for that Granger, warn someone next time."

      There was another soft sob from inside and Malfoy suddenly felt a little bad. "I'm so stupid." She started sobbing some more. "So stupid."

        "Nice to hear that coming from a Granger's mouth. Have to admit." He smirked, leaning against the door once more. "But, no. Weasel is the stupid one, so stop crying over it."

     What Draco'd hoped would make her laugh, only made her sad, causing her sobs to come more frequent, plus she stopped replying to him. After five minutes of listening to nothing but sobs, Draco was ecstatic when he saw Blake running over with a bundle of clothes in her arms.

      "This is all that's clean right now." She murmured and sighed, handing them to Draco with a flighty look. It was reminiscent of a distraught mother bird, checking and rechecking her eggs. "Unfortunately, it's not much better than the dress... but might be.... clean. At least there's no vomit on them, right?" She blathered and turned around frantically. Searching for something.

     Draco cleared his throat as Blake started to run in the opposite direction. "Wait, where are you going? I'm not a babysitter..."

      "I have to find Jenna and Lana -- they can help. I'll be right back." She called. Draco only offered her a furious glare. The thought of drawing his wand to curse her was tempting, but she just smiled innocently. "PROMISE!"

     "Seek death." He spat at her and turned around, pounding on the lavatory door once more. "Open the door, Granger, I've got clothes for you."

     "Blake? Where is she?" She giggled, her emotion quickly changing. 

     Malfoy decided that he didn't have time for this; his patience wasn't the best in the world. "Alohamora," he muttered, popping the door open and peering in. She looked worse than she sounded. Curled up in a tiny ball, she was leaning next to the toilet, flushed face against the cool porcelain rim. "Here's the clothes. Come out when you're done."

      He tossed her the bundle, which she lightly caught, well, attempted to. "You have to leave." She slurred with a frustrated look on her face.

      "As if I want to be here in the first place," he bit back, slamming the door shut. "Hurry up, your friends should be here soon."

      Five minutes passed... Then ten... then Malfoy was really wondering how long it took for a drunk woman to put clothes on. As he leaned against the door, Draco tried thinking back to the last time he'd heard a noise coming from in there. "Granger?" He knocked on the door.

      No reply.

     "Granger." Draco pounded harder. Still, she didn't reply and he scowled. "I'm coming in!" Draco threatened. "Seriously!" After no response was heard, Malfoy found that he really would have to go inside. He groaned and cursed and balled his fist.

     'I should've just gotten in the middle of Pansy and Blaise's argument,' he thought bitterly. Then, none of this would have happened.

     Slamming the door open, Draco looked down at the floor and almost sighed in frustration. Elle was laying on the cold floor, thankfully fully clothed, but passed out drunk. "Great. Just great."

      He looked around for her friends, realizing Blake still hadn't come back yet. It was getting pretty late. Some friend to Elle she was. 

      "Oi, wake up," Draco nudged Elle with the tip of his shoe. She hardly reacted. "Come on, get up." No response. 

       Malfoy muttered some dark obscenities under his breath and looked around the room for any of Elle's friends, hoping that someone would have shown up by now. "For fuck's sake," Draco complained, finding no one.

       Yanking the girl off the bathroom floor, Draco proceeded to help Elle up onto her feet. She slumped down like a lifeless doll, stinking of alcohol. Malfoy wrapped his arm around her waist, clutching tightly as she leaned her body weight in his arms.

      "I'm dumping you in Blake's bed," he said in disdain. "You can sober up there and wait for her." After all, he had better things to do than play nurse all night.

       Surprisingly, Elle opened one eye and looked around, flinging her arms around Malfoy's neck in terror. The added weight caused him to stumble and curse, pulling the pair of them out of the bathroom stall. 

       "Holy crap, Dragon," Elle moaned, feeling her stomach twist and turn at the movement. She clamped her eyes shut. "Are you trying to kill me?" She slurred, voice tight, lips pale. "I'm getting motion sickness."

       "Throw up on me and I'll drop you." He hissed angrily. 'I can't believe I'm reducing myself to this. If my Father heard... he'd probably disown me. Hell, I'd disown myself. Malfoy belittles himself for a Mud-blood.' He could hear it now. Blaise would never let him hear the end of it.

       They proceeded through the crowd of students, without hardly anyone paying them any mind. That was until a rather tall person spotted them manoeuvring towards the exit of the party. 

        "Letter?" A Weasley called from the right of them. Malfoy could feel Elle's grip tighten on his collar at the sound. Defensively, he side-stepped around a few more people, hobbling the pair closer to the exit as Elle groaned and begged him to move faster. She mumbled something incoherent about not wanting to talk, though it made little sense to Draco at the time.

        "Letter!" Fred Weasley tried again, practically shoving Colin Creevy out of his way as he rounded the path to the duo. It took him only a moment to size up the scene and make assumptions. "What the hell is going on?!"

       Elle's eyes fluttered open and she straightened up for a moment, before losing her footing once more and falling victim to a fit of giggles. Malfoy wasn't sure what was funny, but he sure as hell wished he wasn't involved in this shit show. He caught her as she began to topple forward and she linked her arms back around his neck.

        "Fred?" Elle laughed. "I could ask you the same question." She giggled and stuttered, clearly telling everyone within earshot she was wasted.

       "Are you completely drunk?" Fred asked, voice swiftly changing from surprised and confused to angry and concerned. "Malfoy put her down. What do you think you're even doing, you sick bastard?" He reached towards Elle as if to take the burden from Malfoy's shoulders. Elle yanked away from Fred, telling him not to touch her. 

        "Actually," Elle interjected, "Draco is taking me to Blake."

      "-- and I'd shut the fuck up if I were you." Malfoy spat, manoeuvring around Fred and out the door. 

✧

ELLE

        I'd been listening quietly this whole time as he told his story, not entirely sure what to make of it. "So, I took you to the Slytherin Common Room, and of course, I couldn't go to the girl's side or the stairs would collapse, and the girls absolutely refused to have you up there anyway. So, unfortunately, you had to be in my bed."

       "So.. You're telling me... That Fred saw you carrying me towards the Slytherin Common Room?"

       I could tell by the twitch that itched under his left eye, it wasn't the reaction Malfoy had expected. He inhaled deeply through his nose and closed his eyes once more, leaning his head back against the wooden frame of his four-poster bed. "It sounds so diabolical when you say it, but yeah... that's pretty much right." He yawned.

      "Where did you sleep?"

"Where do you think, Granger?" He rolled his eyes. "Clearly this bed was taken, so I kicked Blaise out and he slept on the couch - I slept in here." 

      I knew that my questions were starting to annoy him, but I couldn't stop myself from asking one after the other. This whole situation was so out of left field. 

     "Why did you do it..." I whispered and turned to give him an inquisitive glance. "Why did you help me?"

"Hall - she may seem innocent and useless, but her family is the complete opposite - remember that day she threatened me?" He sneered a little cursing under his breath. "Yeah - that wasn't all talk."

      I sat down on the bed next to him and gave him a curious smirk. Draco glared at me and offered a raised brow and sharp eye. After I didn't say anything for a while, he sneered. "What?"

      "Nothing," I tried to fight the sadistic smile that was budding on my lips, "you're just a good guy -- that's all. Thank you. Even though you want to be seen as careless and a twat - you're not. You can keep trying to hide it, but deep down you're a big ol' softie. You couldn't have left me there if you wanted; Blake was just an excuse."

"I wouldn't be so sure, Granger." He hissed, getting in my face. "I could ha-"

The door to the fourth year boys room slammed open with sure force, the door quivered in pain. "Get your filthy paws off my friend ass-but!" A deadly hiss came from the door, causing me to grin as big as a Cheshire cat. 

      "Lana," I said with an acknowledging nod, "nice to see you, too."

        Lana glared at me as Jenna peeked from behind her back, waving at Draco and me. "Hello you two, been playing nice?" Jenna asked, a voice as sweet as sugar.

       "No, Jenna. Don't talk to them like that," Lana snapped, nose pointed high in the air. "Do you have any idea, Elizabeth Granger, how long we've been scouring this whole bloody castle looking for you?! ALL NIGHT LONG! I thought you were dead. Blake told us Malfoy was watching you by the lavatory, but when we got there both of you were gone."

"And it only just dawned on you guys to search the Slytherin rooms?" Malfoy smirked, rolling his eyes. "Pathetic."

Lana yelled out a frustrated cry and smacked him upside the head. "Shut up Ferret boy - or I'll gut you!" She fumed and Blake leaned against the door frame, looking extremely tired. The Boys room was surprisingly empty - but then again it was most likely noon by now. "Did he touch you in any way, Elle?"

      "In any way she didn't want? No." Draco rolled his eyes, sarcasm under his words that only I could pick up on. Lana glared daggers but looked me over with a chuckle. 

       "So I guess you got pretty plastered, huh?"

         "Yeah.. kind of..." I sighed, pulling my legs up to my torso. Jenna frowned and stepped forward, putting a hand on my knee. 

         "Why don't you tell us what happened? From the top..."

      Malfoy cut us off with a loud interjection, watching the four of us girls with annoyance. "Seriously? A night is enough. Get out!"

_________________

This one goes out to @Catlover1435 ,
I've been really enjoying your commentary

Rewrite A/N: Man, there was something in here that I thought I'd taken out years ago... and the fact that it hadn't been removed?? WILD. Ya'll. WILD.

*This one was for the Malfoy stans, lmao; God, I love writing in 3rd person so much more -- don't you?

Three Chapters Left in This Book!