𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔭𝔬𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫,

"you  know,  assuming  makes  an  ass  outta  you  and  me,"  goads  zach  as  he's  taking  a  seat  across  from  her,  arm  stretching  over  the  table  to  take  whatever  drink  sits  in  front  of  her  to  sniff  at  it  in  curiosity  to  see  what's  keeping  her  going  with  the  apparent  constant  stream  of  questions  when  she's  trying  to  focus  on  her  coursework.  "i  was  hoping  there'd  be  firewhisky  in  this.  are  people  still  really  bothering  you  about  your  mum?  isn't  that  kind  of  a  dead  topic  by  now?"  he's  really  attempting  his  best  at  a  joke,  but..  it  seems  a  bit  much  when  she's  already  irate,  and  zach  takes  things  a  little  too  far  sometimes.  at  least  he  knows  when  to  apologize, brows furrowing with a genuine frown turning down the corners of his lips.  "m'sorry,  that  was  insensitive  of  me,  innit?"

the golden trio as pantone colours ( @vcritaservm @amortentva )

there's  not  a  hint  of  shock  in  willow's  features  at  shiv's  lack  of  knowledge  regarding  the  groupchat,  it's  well  known  that  she's  notoriously  offline.  they  have  to  go  by  word  of  mouth  to  get  shiv  to  show  up  to  anything,  but  it's  worth  it  to  be  able  to  relay  the  information  to  their  face.  "oh,  nothing  short  of  slytherins  being  despicable  as  usual,"  they  begin,  "weston  and  lottie  stuck  their  noses  where  they  don't  belong  and  started  calling  people  mudbloods,  said  she'd  prune  my  family  tree.  how  archaic."  the  last  statement  comes  with  a  laugh  to  accompany  it,  willow  shaking  their  head  at  such  dramatic  wording.  "threatened  to  'curse  me  unrecognizable',  so  here  i  am.  time  and  place,  yet.."  they  hold  their  hands  up  to  motion  to  their  immediate  surroundings,  glancing  all  about  the  pair  before  turning  their  eyes  back  on  soibhan,  "all  bark  and  no  bite,  it  seems."

"i  doubt  she  will,"  willow  answers  with  a  sigh  indicative  of  their  disappointment  if  that  happens  to  be  the  case,  though  they  wonder  if  lottie  truly  will  end  up  being  a  no-show.  seeing  freya  heightens  their  infuriation  with  the  entire  situation,  recalling  the  things  the  slytherin  said  about  freya's  mother  as  well  as  their  own..  two  professors  who've  only  ever  shown  kindness  and  compassion  to  the  student  body.  "do  you  think  anyone  will  tell  on  us?  i  hope  you're  wearing  shoes  you  can  run  in  if  we  have  to  bolt,"  they  tease  with  a  wiggle  of  their  eyebrows,  somehow  enamored  by  the  idea  of  the  two  running  at  full  speed  away  from  professor  flitwick,  or  the  gamekeeper  hagrid  and  giggling  at  the  thought.

willow's  not  surprised  that  vince  isn't  there  to  pick  sides,  despite  their..  friendliness,  they  could  say,  they  wouldn't  expect  him  to  pick  between  one  of  his  housemates  and  them.  "y'all  gotta  chill,"  willow  repeats  in  a  little,  mocking  voice,  a  lighthearted  grin  shot  in  his  direction  as  they  reach  out  to  take  some  of  the  bertie  bott's  beans  from  his  hand.  "well,  i'd  like  to  think  i'm  above  an  avada..  but  i  can't  promise  anything  if  she  really  does  end  up  showing  her  ugly  face."  his  presence  does  give  them  an  idea  to  try  and  stop  any  interference,  wondering  if  he'll  be  up  for  the  task.  "d'you  think  you'll  be  able  to  keep  look  out  for  any  professors  lurking  about?  i  don't  really  wanna  get  expelled  for  her,  y'know."

"common  sense  doesn't  seem  all  too  common,  nowadays,"  willow  retorts,  wondering  how  weston  or  lottie  or  their  entire  lot  could  possibly  have  any  common  sense  with  all  of  the  insanity  they  spew.  their  eyes  narrow  at  the  mention  of  'decent  parents',  because  of  course  they're  going  to  come  to  the  assumption  that  her  choice  of  words  is  a  dig  at  willow  in  their  current  situation.  "watch  your  mouth,  gemma.  'decent  parents'?  what,  like  your  pureblood  mummy  and  daddy?  the  rest  of  us  never  had  a  chance,  right?"

"i just wanted some entertainment." ginny admits with a grin as she strolls towards her friend. she's restless that day and she certainly can't miss out on all the fun if there's any to be had. she's confident in willow's abilities, but that doesn't mean she can't have a little amusement either. or be there for support if needed, though she suspects is highly unlikely. "aw, come on. don't be so boring. i don't want to have walked all the way down here for four seconds of dueling."

"alright,  alright,  fine.  wanna  help  me  make  her  cough  up  slugs?  we  can  even  keep  one  as  a  little  trophy,"  willow  offers  with  a  grin  widening,  the  brightness  upon  their  features  brought  on  by  ginny's  presence.  alongside  shiv,  ginny  is  one  of  their  closest  friends,  and  it  certainly  warms  them  to  have  her  by  their  side  for  such  a  thing.  not  that  they're  all  too  thrilled  to  get  ginny  mixed  up  with  their  mess,  but  having  her  company  is  comforting  nonetheless.  "that'll  make  the  duel  last  a  little  longer.  maybe  she'll  even  tag  someone  in,  we  can  have  a  double  duel  if  you  wanna  join  me  against  those  ugly  greens."

❝  is  that  what’s  about  to  go  on  here  ??  ❞  micah  asks  in  lieu  of  an  actual  response.  not  that  he’s  attempting  to  hide  much  since  his  knowledge  on  said  duel  was  non-existent  up  until  this  moment.  with  his  few  run-ins  with  the  other  wix,  micah  is  becoming  all  the  more  aware  that  willow  tends  to  thrive  in  chaos,  so  a  duel  doesn’t  seem  to  far  off  on  what  they’d  get  up  to  in  their  free  time.  ❝  which  lestrange  managed  to  get  you  so  miffed  ??  or,  i  suppose,  what’d  you  get  up  to  that  resulted  in  a  duel  ??  ❞  the  last  conversation  micah  recalls  with  willow  was  at  the  ball,  questioning  whether  to  drink  or  not  was  a  wise  decision  with  all  the  oddities  happening  at  aurelius.  fast  forward  to  the  untimely  death  of  madam  rosmerta  and  the  discovery  of  her  body.  micah  shifts  at  the  memory.  ❝  the  lot  of  slytherin’s  mix  up  ambition  for  foolishness.  ❞

"indeed  it  is,  my  good-willed  friend,"  willow  answered  with  a  salute  of  their  first  and  second  fingers  against  their  forehead,  recalling  him  from  his  insistence  to  not  drink  at  the  masquerade  hall.  if  he  sticks  around  for  much  longer,  he  might  get  caught  up  in  a  little  more  than  partaking  in  contraband  liquor  at  a  school  event.  "oh,  it  was  that  little  wench  lottie.  you're  right,  slytherins  always  tell  on  themselves  by  speaking  their  terrible  values  a  little  too  loud..  and  then  they  get  miffed  whenever  they're  called  out  on  it,"  they  can't  help  but  go  off  on  such  a  tangent,  huffing  out  a  breath  through  their  nose  in  their  irritation.  "i'd  eradicate  this  school  of  all  its  slytherins,  if  i  could."  a  bit  of  an  extreme  take,  but  in  their  anger,  willow  doesn't  know  how  to  hold  their  tongue  with  such  statements.

the  intensity  in  which  pansy  rolls  her  eyes  at  his  seek  for  validation  even  in  a  hypothetical  situation  almost  gives  her  a  headache,  and  she  lets  out  an  exhale  in  a  sigh.  "i  can't  believe  i've  missed  the  opportunity  to  see  it.  i  think  that  would've  been  the  fittest  you've  ever  looked,  honest,"  pansy  answers  as  if  she's  reciting  the  dullest  paragraph  from  an  ancient  runes  textbook,  gaze  half  lidded  in  his  direction  in  her  disinterest  to  answer  such  a  question.  as  fit  as  he  truly  is,  not  that  pansy  would  ever  admit,  she  tries  not  to  play  into  inflating  his  ego.  her  lips  purse  together  in  an  attempt  to  hide  her  amusement  at  his  reaction  and  teasing  words,  but  she  hits  him  with  the  book  once  more  with  his  last  statement  just  because  she  can.  "don't  turn  us  into  some  silly  muggle  romance  novel,"  pansy  begins,  a  scrunch  of  her  nose  in  disgust  when  she  speaks  the  word  'muggle',  "i  know  you're  a  big,  ugly  beast,  but  i'm  not  interested  in  being  your  book-smart  eye  candy."

it’s  with  little  effort  that  draco  attempts  to  hide  the  blatant  amusement  on  his  features  as  pansy  offers  nothing  but  scathing  words  to  the  unfamiliar  gryffindor  hovering  behind  his  friend.  the  nameless  (  and  easily  forgettable  )  student  stutters  out  a  reply,  flushing  as  crimson  as  their  house  sweater  once  they  notice  draco  as  an  audience  before  fleeing  the  courtyard.  lips  quirked  upward,  he  offers  a  slow  clap  in  response  while  he  approaches  pansy.  ❝  lacks  your  typical  bite,  but  i  imagine  receiving  such  queries  as  often  as  you  are  can  be  troublesome,  ❞  draco  replies  as  he  drops  down  his  bag,  nimble  fingers  moving  to  further  button  up  his  cardigan  as  a  defense  against  the  chill.

pansy's  features  soften  the  moment  draco  enters  her  line  of  sight,  even  with  his  light  jab  against  her.  it's  all  too  true,  however,  ever  since  she's  lost  the  chill  of  her  father's  expectations  breathing  down  her  neck  at  all  times  she  hasn't  been  as  cruel  or  aggressive  as  pansy's  been  known  to  be.  "don't  tempt  me  or  you  might  be  dangling  from  between  my  teeth  next,  for  saying  something  like  that,"  pansy  taunts  with  a  clack  of  her  teeth  biting  playfully  in  his  direction,  as  if  she  would  ever  willingly  harm  draco  of  all  people.  others  in  their  circle,  it's  never  not  a  possibility...  but  never  draco.  "how  thrilled  are  you  to  be  heading  home  for  the  holidays?"  she  wonders  with  a  sarcastic  brightness  to  her  tone,  and  a  matching  grin  on  her  lips.

of  course  it's  alicia.  willow,  try  as  they  may,  can't  seem  to  be  rid  of  the  nagging  of  their  conscience  that  seems  to  always  come  in  the  form  of  their  ex  partner.  sometimes  they  wonder  if  it's  really  her  in  the  flesh,  or  if  she's  a  figment  of  the  little  angel  on  their  shoulder  (  the  devil  would  likely  take  form  of  their  own  reflection  )  materialising  in  front  of  them  to  talk  them  out  of  whatever  foolishness  they've  gotten  into  at  the  time.  "don't  worry,  you're  not  the  first  and  you'll  certainly  not  be  the  last.  at  least  you're  not  calling  my  mother  a  mudblood  while  you  do  it,"  willow  retorts,  the  word  leaving  a  horrid  taste  on  their  tongue,  anger  flaring  up  yet  again  at  the  reminder  of  the  word  used  against  their  mother.  "i'm  not  going  to  walk  away  from  this,  so  you  shouldn't  waste  your  breath.  i  could  use  a  goodbye  kiss  before  i  risk  expulsion,  though,"  they  can't  help  but  taunt.

just  the  sight  of  another  slytherin  has  willow's  gaze  narrowing  as  she  approaches,  grip  clenching  around  the  wand  in  their  grasp  just  in  case  she's  here  somehow  on  behalf  of  lottie.  with  their  house,  willow  doesn't  quite  put  anything  past  them,  so  they  figure  it's  best  to  be  prepared  for  anything.  "i'm  certain  it  says  something  that  i'm  here  before  she  is,  no?"  they  begin  with  a  scoff,  glancing  about  their  surroundings  fleetingly  before  landing  their  gaze  back  on  gemma,  "it's  not  my  fault  that  lottie  stuck  her  nose  in  business  that  didn't  concern  her,  and  now  she  has  to  deal  with  the  fallout.  maybe  you  should  do  good  to  remind  your  housemates,"  namely  weston,  he  and  willow's  rivalry  something  that's  been  brewing  for  years  and  often  a  public  spectacle,  "that  they  can't  just  say  whatever  they  want  without  any  consequences.  not  everyone  is  up  for  a  fight,  but  i  am."

pansy  doesn't  do  much  more  than  cast  a  knowing  glance  in  his  direction,  a  look  in  her  eyes  saying  'can't  you  tell  that's  just  about  the  twentieth  time  telling  some  sorry  sod  the  exact  same  thing?',  because  she  doesn't  care  to  put  forth  the  effort  to  say  it  aloud.  "oh,  i  can  absolutely  imagine  you  parading  around  with  a  'vote  for  mummy  moon'  shirt,"  she  retorts  with  a  glance  down  at  his  current  attire,  and  to  any  onlookers  it  might  just  seem  like  she's  giving  him  a  once-over..  not  that  she'll  deny  it,  either.  "don't  be  silly,  minseok,  you  know  i  can't  read."  pansy  deadpans  as  she's  closing  the  textbook  in  her  lap  to  whack  his  arm  with  it  for  such  a  question,  holding  it  up  in  the  air  like  a  threat  with  her  inquiries,  "what  do  you  assume  my  ploy  is  for?  to  attract  your  attention?"