Annoyed
The one word that could express Susan Bones’ exact feelings when Draco Malfoy sat down next to her in the library on December 28, some time in the afternoon, was “annoyed.” Yes. Susan, unlike most other girls in her house- hell, in the whole world wasn’t immediately entranced by whatever charms he might have. Now, this, Susan knew, was exactly the reason that he chose to sit next to her, of all people. Not that there were many to choose from. Most students had returned home for the holidays, leaving two Slytherins, four Hufflepuffs, three Gryffindors and not a single, solitary Ravenclaw. Out of these nine people there were exactly six in the library. There was herself and Malfoy, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley pouring over a book in ultimate secrecy, and then there was Daphne Greengrass, who was sulking in the corner. Susan noted that Daphne was glaring at her and Malfoy, but that, of course, was completely beside the point.
The point was that Draco Malfoy was sitting next to her. Susan chose the most reasonable response and ignored him. Instead she continued to read her novel, strictly not even glancing in his direction.
“Hey, Susan,” he said, leaning back in his chair and stretching out his legs.
“It’s Bones,” corrected Susan automatically.
“Bet you can’t convince Potter to kiss you on the lips,” he continued, seemingly oblivious to her previous statement.
“Bet I can’t,” murmured Susan, reading the same sentence in her book for the third time.
“No, seriously, bet you can’t,” said Malfoy.
“What do you want, Malfoy?” she asked, giving up on reading.
“Company,” he answered lightly.
“Then why must you insist on my company?” she exclaimed. “Honestly, go… do something,” she finished lamely, not really being able to come up with something dirty, insulting or down right witty. It was the same every time Draco Malfoy disturbed her and interrupted her peace.
“That’s a ridiculous question,” said Malfoy. “There’s the Dream Team, as if I would want to associate with them for starters. So that leaves six. Megan Jones and Eleanor Branstone are silly and stupid and Ernie Macmillan is… himself. And then there’s Daphne Greengrass, but I’m not interested in sleeping with her, which is the only thing that she’s interested in, so that, my dear, leaves you.”
“Gee, I’m flattered,” muttered Susan, rolling her eyes.
“You should be,” he said. “I normally don’t want to be caught dead with a Hufflepuff.”
“Couldn’t you keep that moral?” she asked desperately.
“No,” was the simple answer. “So, bet you can’t kidnap Mrs. Norris and tie her to the Whomping Willow.”
“Will you piss off?” she asked as kindly as she could. Susan didn’t know why Malfoy kept pestering her with all the things that he bet she couldn’t do. It drove her insane. It was as if her needed some kind of ego-booster, to tell him that he truly was better than her, a lowly Hufflepuff, and that he was just here, with her, until his “real” friends came back. Assuming, of course, that he would stoop so low as to consider her a friend. Susan didn’t know why he insisted on playing this game, and truthfully she didn’t care either. She just wanted him to stop.
“So you’re scared,” he stated. Susan resisted groaning. Why on Earth was he so damn childish? Didn’t he have anything better to do?
“Sure, whatever,” she answered, following the same script as last time. And the time before that, and before that, and before that…
“You’re so useless, Susan,” he began, his eyes lighting up when he finally was in his comfort zone. “You’re too afraid to do anything. You’re so boring. I don’t understand why anyone wants anything to do with you.”
Susan gripped her book harder and opened it to a random page, refusing to show any sign of weakness. She didn’t even know why she didn’t smack him. Maybe she really was scared. Of him.
“And your hair, ugh, how do you live with that tangled mess of… stuff? I’ve got some ointment that could do wonders for that complexion, by the way, would you like some? You’re reading glasses don’t suit you,” he finished. Susan clenched her book harder, willing him to go away. But he didn’t. He just sat there in his chair, as though he and Susan were the best friends. And then something just… snapped. Something inside her. Why did she have to put up with him? Why did he tell her to be honored by his company when all he did was hurt her and insult her to the best of his ability? Why, why, why? It wasn’t fair. She decided to tell him as much.
“Bet you can’t kiss me,” he taunted. That was it. Susan leaned over, catching Malfoy by surprise and smashed her lips against his in the shortest, most decidedly uncomfortable kiss she had ever experienced. She quickly drew back again before he could kiss her back and actually make it enjoyable. There. She was perhaps fearless after all.
“Ugh!” she shrieked, rising from her chair to attack him like he deserved. “How dare you just sit there and insult me? How dare you? I can’t stand being around you- I don’t want anything to do with you! Can’t you figure out something better? Why do you have to torture me? It’s just not fair! And the way you go on about my family! So what if we’re all just a bunch of muggle-lovers? Better than your goddamn family! Where’s your father now, Azkaban? Or maybe helping you-know-who with some sort of torture? Or maybe attempting to kill the rest of my family? Looks like you’re ready to follow your father already, huh? Well, I don’t want to have anything to do with you! Why do you keep annoying me?”
She finally stopped, panting. Everyone in the library had turned to look at her. All four of her fellow students were gaping at Susan, and Madam Pince seemed ready to murder her. Perhaps she had lost control. Perhaps she had gone a bit too far with the yelling. But Malfoy deserved it. Susan turned to look at Malfoy, expecting him to reply with his usual coolness and say that she should stop being silly. But he didn’t. Instead he looked hurt. The veins in his neck seemed to be throbbing, as though he was holding something back. His grey eyes were slightly narrowed in caution. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and raspy.
“I am not my father,” he choked out at her, before his face became expressionless, completely blank, completely unreadable.
“Alright, that’s it!” screamed Madam Pince. “Out! Out of my library! I can’t have such noise in here! Out!” She chased them out, and they both bolted out the library and a good way down the corridor before finally stopping, breathless. Malfoy still appeared completely blank and Susan looked at him warily. He gave her a curt nod and walked off, presumably down to the dungeons. Susan stood behind, at loss as to what to do. One moment he had been taunting her and the next he behaved as though she was some sort of poison. She ran after him.
“Oi! Malfoy!” she cried, attempting to catch up with him, although he walked slowly and steadily. But he didn’t stop. “Draco!” she finally screamed with her full lung power. That seemed to do the trick. He stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around. Malfoy- or was it Draco now?- waited patiently for her to run up to him. Susan came to a skidding stop in front of him and took a deep breath, wondering what it actually was that she wanted to say in the first place.
“Erm, right. Malfoy. Draco,” she stuttered. “I, uh. Um. I… I don’t know what I said that really pissed you off, but I’m sorry for whatever it was. Was it the thing about your father? I mean, I was probably completely out of line there, you know, I was just really angry at you, I mean, obviously I have no idea about whatever your family is like, and I mean, well, yes. So, I’m sorry. For whatever it was. Because, I mean, you know, it’s not like I really hate you or anything, it’s just that well, you really tick me off with how you… you always need to prove that you’re better than me or something, and you know, it’s not like I really want to talk to you, and the insults… well, I guess I just sort of snapped. So I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry,” stated Draco, his expression still unreadable.
“Well, yeah, obviously, well, I think that was what I just was saying, but, I mean, I don’t really know what was wrong, so I have no idea how to really apologize to you, but-” he interrupted her by covering his mouth with hers. Susan, if not held down to the ground by his hand covering hers, would have jumped nearly three feet into the air out of surprise. She most certainly didn’t kiss him back. Well, not until the realization that Draco Malfoy was kissing her and that he was actually a good kisser did she do so. She didn’t know which was more surprising. The fact that he was kissing her or the fact that he was actually quite good. She decided that that must be why so many girls wanted this. Right. His hair was apparently just as soft as it looked. Wait- when did her hands get into his hair? It was this that eventually convinced her to break off the kiss. Even though it was, admittedly, nice.
“Um,” was her very clever statement once they both stood there. Neither was breathless, but Draco’s- Malfoy’s- no, Draco’s- that was far too intimate- Draco Malfoy’s hair was very messy, probably due to her… uh…right. Susan shook her head. She needed to think clearly and ask him why he kissed her. That was it. “Why did you kiss me?”
“You were rambling,” he answered lightly, smirking slightly. “And I though I owed you something after all the shit I’ve been saying to you,” he added in a slightly quieter tone. Susan smiled once realizing that this was probably the closest he had ever come to an apology.
“Thank you,” she said politely. “It’s appreciated.” They stood awkwardly for a few moments, Susan scratching her nail polish off and Draco- yeah, it ought to be safe to call him that now, right?- kicked the floor with his toes.
“So, uh, I’ll see you at dinner?” he asked, his voice slightly strained.
“Um, yes,” she answered. “I- I’ll sit with you, if you like,” she added, thinking that he shouldn’t be left with the feeling that he was a bad kisser, which he most certainly wasn’t.
“That would be nice,” he said, a genuine smile gracing his features. Susan suddenly remembered that all the other days of Christmas break Draco had been sitting as far away from Daphne as possible at the Slytherin table. Yes, it would be nice. Especially if he would kiss her again.
“I’ll see you then,” said Susan, letting go of his hand, which she apparently still held. They parted ways and for the first time ever, Susan actually looked forward to seeing him again.
Fin.
Annoyed by Gemma Hawk
Chapter Notes: I'm so sorry about this. Critical reviews of any kind are majorly appreciated. Mild language. :)