* WITCH / WIZARD !

          the sudden CHANGE in demeanor throws cedric off . at first , the slytherin came off as unimpressed & raring to get UNDER his skin . & now , he’s asking his favorite plant ? cedric’s brow FURROWS , lips parting as he looks down . a soft noise rumbles in his throat as he THINKS . does he have a favorite ? yes , it’d be the MOLY . it’s a simple flower ; PRETTY , DELICATE & very much USEFUL .            ❝ moly . ❞          cedric answers smoothly .        ❝ they’re used for counteracting enchantments . more specifically , dark enchantments . ❞          he explains on a more INTELLECTUAL level .  

          a CRIMSON blush grows upon pale cheeks . no matter WHAT he says , the boy manages to RETORT each time . YES , cedric is a HUFFLEPUFF . he is hardworking & kind & PATIENT . & the former cannot be pushed ASIDE .          ❝ i like a challenge . i don’t choose something because it’s easy . i choose it because i feel i could succeed . care for magical creatures was for newt and it may be for you and ten others in this class but it just isn’t for me . it doesn’t mean i’m not putting in any effort . ❞          he manages to DEFEND himself in the most polite way he can . which is hardly at all .           ❝ a plant doesn’t have a mind of its own . you care for it the way you’re supposed to and take the precautions to avoid being strangled or deafened . sure , you do the same for an animal .  we know what terrors the plants tend to bring . but at the end of the day , that animal’s got a brain . it’ll do as it pleases if it wants . ❞

          even as the boy’s words leave his mouth , SOUR & MEAN TO INSULT , cedric’s smile barely leaves his face . it fades , however , just slightly . it’s not that he hasn’t the INTEREST in magical creature . & he’s AWARE of the BRILLIANCE of NEWT SCAMANDER , but cedric grasps onto PLANTS more easily than he could a CREATURE . he’s so CLOSE to opening his own mouth & EXPLAINING himself ... he just MIGHT .           ❝ plants are simpler , in my opinion . there is a system , soil , sunlight , water . ❞          well , they’re the BASICS .          

          ❝ oi , pansy! ❞          draco SWAGGERS in the girl’s direction , pale &  SPINDLY hands shoved into the pockets of his trousers .        ❝ zabini and i were just headed to the great hall for lunch when SNAPE dragged him off to finish an assignment  . care to join me instead ? ❞          the blond is not one to fly SOLO .

        ❝ believe me , i know just about as much of this as you . if not less ...❞          a soft CHUCKLE at his incompetence fumbles through his lips .        ❝ i’m better with plants and shrubbery than magical creatures . especially dragons . ❞

          the sight of her GIVING UP & WALKING AWAY , oddly , does not SATE draco . instead , he feels he wants more of a REACTION . she is , after all , the BIGGER person out of the two of them , even if he DOES tower over her .         ❝ you’re just walking away ? ❞          he can’t help himself from CALLING out , long legs STRIDING toward the witch .        ❝ or are you off to tell potter and the orange one about our little run in ?  ❞

          perhaps he’s better at getting under ones’ SKIN than he is making it CRAWL , making them WISH the ground would SWALLOW them whole ! & draco will NEVER admit this aloud , but hermione granger , gryffindor , & TAINTED blood INTIMIDATES him . all he can do is RUN his mouth . & there will come a point when the young witch’s PATIENCE runs so thin that she makes good on her WORD . it isn’t as though she hasn’t RETALIATED against him in the past . his nose ACHES at the memory .          ❝ you’ll regret that , granger . ❞          hues had briefly FLIT downward to where her hand GRIPPED tightly at her wand . her WEAPON .                  ❝ it’s what you ARE . dirty blood . your kind have tarnished what it is to be a true wizard . salazar slytherin rolls in his grave every time someone like YOU is accepted into hogwarts . ❞

          nostrils FLARE . he should have EXPECTED as much from the BRIGHTEST WITCH of her AGE , to come back at him without fear of what may happen . too many times draco malfoy has been UNDERMINED . he won’t STOP until his voice is heard & he is COWERED from . even if , at times , he doesn’t think himself CAPABLE . teeth GRIT & hues FLASH .          ❝ DELUSIONAL ?! don’t tell me that after all these years you still don’t know who i am or who my family are ! my father may be in azkaban no thanks to you and your band of idiots , but the malfoys hold more power in our pinkies than you do in your whole mud blooded body . ❞

          ❝ my father will hear about this , MUDBLOOD !  ❞          it’s a PROMISE he does doesn’t intend to keep , but a THREAT that has comforted him through his years . lucius very well may be INCARCERATED , in the confines of AZKABAN ! but if draco can continue to instill FEAR of MALFOY SENIOR in others , he WILL .