Hiding from the Monsters Outside {open}

[ASTORIA GREENGRASS]

She ran down the corridor for reasons she had forgotten all she knew was she had started running for a reason and now she could not remember what that reason had been for but it must not have been very important if she had forgotten it. Maybe she had seen something she was not supposed to or she’d pulled a prank on someone, yea that sounded more like her though she wouldn’t be running she’d be rolling on the floor in stitches from laughing her head off. She was no simple girl when it came to revenge and having fun, pulling a prank took time, it had to be well thought out, it had to humiliate the other person to no extent or she’d fail in sending them the message she had to send to them, normally her pay back for whatever it is they had said or done to offend her or someone close to her.

In any case she skidded around the corner and came to a door, leaning up against it her ear pressed on the deep oak as she listened, nothing but silence. Slowly she knocked a few times; with no answer she shrugged her shoulders and opened the door pocking her head in as her hair fell out of place and across her shoulder. It was empty, perfect! She walked in shut the door and tussled her hair around as it all fell back into place before she looked around and made a sigh. Right, why had she wanted to enter a small room with no one in it? That was boring.

Letting out a small sigh she looked around the empty room and huffed some hair from her face as she clapped her hands, swinging them back and the forwards with a clap and then repeated the process several times as she walked around the room. Some chairs and tables scattered the room. Making a small face she wondered if she could turn them into something or be creative and do something amusing for a bit. She really should not have had that much candy today she was finding herself to be suffocating and bouncing around, like when she is given white chocolate, high sugar and off she went for hours on a buzz before it wore out and she crashed and burned.

So slowly she pulled some chairs off to the side and looked at the tables tilting her head one way and then the other before she pulled a few together and pulled her wand out. With a simple swish and flick a table rose and gently fell onto the other one before she tapped her wand a few times on her cheek and made another weird face trying to think of her next move. Oh what would a teacher think of her display when she’d finished it, the very thought made her laugh out loud to herself as she grinned and put her wand away for a moment pulling a chair over to the tables. She didn’t know what she was doing exactly so if someone were to walk in she would not be able to explain herself.

Ooc ;; first posts always suck with me
Word ;; 527
Day ;; Monday {Evening}
Outfit ;; www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=45107573

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[DRACO MALFOY]

Perhaps it was the nightmares that had gotten to him. Twisted and haunting, screams and shrieks and sick sounds of insane laughter that seemed to corrupt his mind as soon as the lights went out. Draco was used to the darkness, but ever since last summer he had found himself growing afraid. Not of it, but of what came with it. Or perhaps it was the anger that seemed to enjoy boiling through his skin, melting away his features to leave behind a disfigured mask of his former self. Or maybe it was the nervousness, the anxiety that came with the mission that so often filled his mind with that constant buzzing telling him he had work to do. Telling him he'd die if he didn't complete his task.

Or perhaps it was a combination of all three and a thousand other things that haunted the youngest Malfoy's mind this year that caused him to finally snap, storming out of the common room when he'd finally just started to get back into that feeling of being somewhat normal. He left behind his so called friends with little more then a door slammed shut, his feet hurrying away from the room in almost a shameful way. What was wrong with him? When had things gotten so bad in his life that he couldn't even act normal anymore? Such thoughts assaulted him as Draco soon found himself climbing stairs, maybe hoping to climb higher and higher until he was no where at all. But no such luck came, and due to a moving staircase the young Deatheater was left to continue his furious journey onto the 6th floor. Luckily it was empty, Monday no doubt had been a long day not just for him and everyone was in their common rooms. Except Draco, seeing as how he had finally lost the last of his sanity and left his in a storm of some clouded emotions even he couldn't uncover.

He felt the same emotion hit him square in the chest at that moment, and he paused in his race to the unknown. He flung open the first door he saw, hoping to any god he might have believed in if he was in a different life that it would be empty. It seemed his hollow prayers were not heard, for as soon as he shut the door with a resounding click he noticed a slightly familiar dark haired girl. He stopped in his tracks, staring at her as the only sound he could hear filled his ears, his heartbeat, pounding in a ragged beat that matched his breathing patterns. Draco slowed his breaths, struggling to find somewhat a normal expression for who he was supposed to be... and was struck with the sudden thought that he wasn't sure who that was anymore. Who was Draco Malfoy supposed to be? Surely not this broken shell of what he used to be, but he couldn't believe what he used to be was what he was supposed to be, either...

He was truly lost, wasn't he? And so he tried hard to push his thoughts away as his handsome- though tired and perhaps even defeated looking- features observed the girl he knew as Astoria, as she continued to do something that looked like stacking furniture. The absurdity of it all helped awaken him to the fact that he could only wish for such simplicities in his life.

[ASTORIA GREENGRASS]

She watched the pile she’d made for a moment, there was no purpose to this, no gain to be had it was simply to pass some time and let her thoughts drift away to whatever it was she had done moments ago that had her running down the hall and hiding in this room. It was nice though to escape the chaos that was going around the school and hiding in a quiet room was always a nice thing so long as boredom did not take over which unfortunately it had for her hence why she had started stacking the furniture. She did wonder for a moment as she watched the growing pile that if she blew on chair up and watched the pile come tumbling down and crashing to the floor no doubt resulting in several chairs and desk being broken if anyone would hear it or even notice and how long would it take someone to notice.

Astoria was almost tempted to try it just to see what would happen and if she would get caught at all or get away with it, like blue murder. The thought brought a smile to her face, what if she never got caught, then again what if she did get caught, she rather not think about that one because she hated punishment just as much as the next person did. With a flick of her wand another chair sat on the top in a strange position as she watched it for a moment. Her thoughts taken from her as the silence in the room was suddenly disturbed but a click of the door and she stood still for a moment, if it was a teacher she was busted though what could they do really all she’d done so far was stack a few chairs and tables on top of one another, it’s not like she’d hidden pixies in it. Oh now there was a thought, pixies always caused trouble, interesting little creatures they were and reminded her of herself in many ways and she was certain a few people would agree with that.

For a moment she was still before she figured if it was a teacher they’d yell at her or maybe she was just hearing things so she waved her wand again as a few more items in the room flew into the pile, it was amusing really she noticed it starting to make a shape which made her smile though she really wanted to test this theory of blowing it all up. However just to be sure she had not been hearing things she turned her head appearing from her weird stack of furniture to see Draco Malfoy, why was he here? She would not deny he was an attractive young man, what girl in their right mind would not find him attractive but she never knew what to call him. Sometimes she’d say Draco and other times she’d say Malfoy though never Mr. Malfoy as that was his father’s name not his.

“Hello” she said giving him a small smile though did not know why he was here of if she would be expecting his little gang to suddenly come through the doors, hey so long as Pansy was not around it was all good, she was sure. Gosh she hated that girl, how her friend could stand her was beyond her though it seemed no matter how nice Astoria tried to be to Pansy it never worked, some people were simply meant to hate one another, Astoria and Pansy were one of them. Her eyes drifted to the door like she was expecting the others to walk in any moment before she looked back to Draco, well so much for blowing her pile up now. She simply swallowed a little, well this was awkward. For a split moment she was going to blow the leg of the standing table supporting everything up just to have everything tumble down and see if she could make Draco Malfoy of all people jump, the idea brought a smile to her face as she held back a laugh and yet she did not do such a thing, if anything he might yell at her if she did that so she simply kept the idea to herself before looking back to Draco “So… who are you hiding from?” she questioned though was not sure he was hiding from anyone really.

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[DRACO MALFOY]

It's said that bad things can happen to good people. Some might even go so far as to think that bad things tend to happen more often to a good person, then to a bad one. But at some point, the lines begin to blur between 'good' and 'bad', in the thousands of shades of gray that rest between the two. Nothing is so black and white, whether it's people or objects or animals. Even the simplest things have thousands of variants, and to try to classify people- debatably the most complicated variable of all- in such a form of black or white is impossible. Take Draco Malfoy, for example. Some might think the young Deatheater is purely bad, purely evil. Surely none call him a Saint, but that does not make it true to assume he is evil. Draco isn't evil, so to speak. He isn't nice, that's clear enough to anyone who knows the young Malfoy. But evil? Very few people who understand the severity of the word would call him 'evil.'

But the boy had no such thoughts of good or evil at the moment. Such things didn't particularly concern him in his situation. Obviously he couldn't believe killing another person- no matter who- was classified as 'good.' The fact that he knew that proved that he was not evil. Of course, everyone always has a choice, but because he still felt forced to do so, to kill Albus Dumbledore, he would. But Draco served as both prisoner and jailer in his mind: he simply could not afford to think of such things. Though he couldn't help but have the idea strike him that Astoria-despite her faults and the fact she was a Slytherin for good reason- was probably closer to the good side then any other. She just had that... that thing about her. Who knew what she would do if she were in his position, and he was in hers.

You can't think like that. Stop it. Thoughts resounded in his mind, pushing away the things he knew he should have left alone. Once more, playing jailer.
Just a moment, for only a moment, let yourself have a bit of normalcy. She won't know... Yet the prisoner inside him couldn't help but hope for something better, couldn't help but pretend to be okay if only for a few seconds. It would be easy, as well. She seemed to suspect nothing.

Astoria looked like she didn't have a whisper of doubt in Draco's sanity at the moment. And while the rest of their House was sincerely considering the fact his mental capabilities may be faulting, he would prefer to allow her to continue believing he was somewhat normal for as long as possible. He struggled for only a second longer before clearing his handsome face, leaving behind only the physical remains of all that plagued him. Tired, dulled eyes and a thinning frame, paler then usual skin. Still, in the soft light of the room most of this was erased away, leaving behind only the remains of a once well cared for boy. You could not see where he decayed inside.

"Hello, Astoria. Are you well?" He greeted in a cool tone, albeit a bit flatter and more forced then his normal smooth speech patterns. Draco quietly cleared his throat, sauntering forwards and observing her pile of furniture with an appraising look. One lightly colored eyebrow raised at the stack; she'd always been one for doing foolish, meaningless things. And so had Draco; though he did like to think that he wouldn't stoop so low as to stack furniture. Nonetheless, he tried to force some interest into his tone as he spoke, "What are you doing?"

At her next question, his silver eyes flickered back to hers. Who was he hiding from? His fellow Slytherins, perhaps, but what was he hiding from was the more likely question. Draco was hiding from his mission. From his responsibilities, from his nervousness and anxiety. From the nightmares that seemed to enjoy taunting him so. More then anything, he was hiding from himself; preferring to lurk in the corners of his mind then to see everything as it was. It was the only way he could protect himself anymore, and Draco held on to that with every fiber of his being. The fear of this being discovered flashed through his eyes for only a brief second- and even then Draco didn't quite recognize it. Even now, he was hiding from itself, and the flitting image of frightened eyes soon disappeared to be locked up once more. Draco blinked before finally processing everything completely. Astoria had always been one for pranks and the like, no doubt when Draco fled to this room that was where her mind automatically leapt, "Hiding? No one. Do I recognize a guilty conscious, Astoria?" He asked in a much more normal tone, this hint of sarcasm showing that he could have some dignity left. If nothing else, he could pretend to be normal. At least for the time being.

[[OOC: Sorry this took a while and is... strange. I had it all typed out and then accidentally deleted it. It took me forever to work up muse, and then once I did it kind of went in a theatrical way. So, uh. There you have it!]]

[ASTORIA GREENGRASS]

Astoria had to blink for a moment, wait what! Draco Malfoy was asking if she was well, since when, wait he didn’t really care did he, eh what did she care if he did or did not a question was a question and her mother had always told her to answer a man when they asked you something no matter how old they were. “Am… yes. I suppose so” she said because she was not ill now was she, she seemed fine, felt fine plus even if she was not it’s not like she’d burned him though she was certain she was well and she was going to ask him the same question however he beat her to the chase as she watched her pile of desks and chairs.

“Contemplating on whether or not to blow this up just to see if a teacher will notice or if I can get away with destroying a classroom” she said innocently enough as she looked blankly at the pile she made like she was not joking at all which frankly she was not it had crossed her mind several time recently and had jumped to the front of her mind again, no doubt if she gained enough momentum to actually do it she would without a second thought and would piss herself laughing as if a feeling of accomplishment had crossed her. Her straight blank face glanced to Draco before she smiled a little just to see his expression or if it had changed at all before she laughed a little and shook her head “No honestly… I have no idea” she added shrugging her shoulders and looked back to her stack as she made a small face.

Was she supposed to ask Draco a question, keep the conversation going? Was this even a conversation? She simply pondered for a moment, awkward silence made her very fidgety and her mind always went into overdrive. Being in a room with an awkward silence was nerve racking enough let alone being in a room with Draco Malfoy and there being an awkward silence that just took it to a whole new level so she asked a basic question of who he was hiding from because if his minions where going to follow then hell she really would blow her pile up and bolt, oh now that was an idea. Letting the older students take the blame for her actions though not the best idea, she could only imagine what they’d do to get pack back on her.

She glanced back to Draco to see if he would answer her or if he was just going to pretend like she had no said anything at all. Which he did end up saying something which made her have to double take, what did that mean, he was not hiding from anyone, now that was a change, no wait people hid from Draco not the other way around, duh Astoria. Though she frowned a little and shook her head “No… why would you say that?” she said as she looked in the other direction avoiding his eyes for a moment. She didn’t even know if she was hiding as she frowned thinking about that, why was she even in this room in the first place? Astoria simply glanced back to Draco and shrugged her shoulders a little “So what are you doing here then?” she quickly asked curious for a moment as to why he was here and not off contemplating the demise of someone less important than him.

words ;; 592
ooc ;; lol it's ok

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[DRACO MALFOY]

Draco couldn't help but allow a small smirk to grace his lips as his eyes moved from the towering heap she had constructed to Astoria herself. He felt a tug of painful guilt in the pit of his stomach at the sight of her carefree nature; he should have been doing something more productive, he didn't have the time to pretend to be like her. Normal. But he found himself grateful for the excuse not to leave and get back to his mission. It had seemed like forever since he'd been able to push away everything that was going on, if only for the time being, and just let himself stay in the moment. So he took the opportunity thankfully. In reply to her next statement, said so innocently that his smirk grew, Draco simply raised his eyebrows. Of course Astoria would be plotting something or another- even if Draco didn't know her well, he knew her well enough to be able to understand why the prospect of doing something she could very well get in trouble for sounded so promising. Not to mention he himself had done such things before... before receiving his dark mark and all that it entailed. He shifted uncomfortably at the thought, his smile fading before finally offering a spoken reply flatly, "I'd imagine a teacher would notice, but I'm sure you'd manage to get away with it, anyways." His silver eyes filled briefly with amusement as he looked at her, before returning his gaze to the stack once more.

A momentary pause forced itself into the conversation, but quickly Astoria was speaking again, and after a few seconds he drawled, "Have you been spending too much time around Hufflepuffs, Astoria? The first thing you said when I entered was who I was hiding from. In turn, I replied saying perhaps you have a guilty conscious because that's where your mind jumped first." He turned to face her again- and despite his sneer- almost friendly amusement flickered in his eyes once more. She was a Slytherin, after all, and one of the better ones at that. He tried to be civil, after all. Not that he didn't mind having people like Pansy groveling over him and others like Crabbe and Goyle to do his bidding. But Draco needed actual, intelligent company now and then, and even if she was younger and being daft at the moment he didn't mind. After all, she was the only thing tying him to the real world right now, and he needed that more then anything else.

Draco paused at her last question, a bit unsure of how to answer. He decided to stay as close to the truth as possible, that way when she heard about what really happened, because no doubt she would, perhaps she'd choose to believe him over the rumors. Doubtful, but still. Knowing that she didn't particularly enjoy some of his friend's company, he finally replied in a bored voice, "Oh, Pansy was in the common room, practically assaulting me with her poor attempts at flirtation. So I left... rather quickly." He paused, tilting his head slightly to the side before making a small gesture to the door, "That should explain my rushed entrance."

[[OOC: Normally I'm not this slow, sorry >.< I had it all written out and then it got deleted, so my muse kind of died after that.]]

[ASTORIA GREENGRASS]

It was not often Astoria actually played by the rules, they were there to be broken and following them just made life boring, there needed to be excitement in one’s life and she was all about having as much fun as possible especially while she was young and had some freedom left in it. She of course was being serious to a point, she was tempted to blow the pile up, to see if she would get into trouble and get caught or if she could get away with it, the small questions and uncertainty and the fact that she did not know the answer was exciting to her. Silly as some would call it no doubt but she loved it… at least she loved it at the moment; one day no doubt she would grow out of it. Astoria simply gave Draco a smile before looking to her pile and her smile faded. He had a point, unfortunately which made her sigh a little and her shoulders hanged like she’d been defeated as she rest her head in the palm of her hand. A teacher no doubt would catch her and all too soon no question about that, it was almost like a storm cloud had been placed over head however the cloud soon faded and she smiled again “I do believe that… I’m very good at that” she said almost beaming at her ability to wriggle out of things, it made everything so simple and easy when she thought about it, how a few simple words could have her walking away as if nothing had happened.

“You are not about to start speaking in riddles are you?”

[/color] she asked him when he asked her about Hufflepuffs, she had no problem with the other houses and what they were all about, she found the houses to be stupid, it divided people and caused a lot of conflict and no wonder why people judged others here, it was just one big mess and the houses should just be cancelled out but she was not in control and had to deal with all the crap of that divided everyone. “Well at least you didn’t accuse me of hanging around Gryffindors”[/color] she said raising her eyebrow a little before she smiled a little “But no I have not been hanging around Hufflepuffs and I doubt I will”[/color] she added thinking about it ignoring his sneer best she could. Though in all honesty she had no problem hanging around other students from other houses though Gryffindor’s annoyed the shit out of her so no doubt she would never make a friend to one of them. Of course she was certain her ‘guilty conscious’ was because she’d done something horrible to someone no doubt getting her revenge for something they had done to her or a friend in the past.

Of course it was unlike Astoria to drop a subject and she was simply eager to know why Draco was here if he was not ‘hiding’ from someone, she was a pusher and pushed and dug out the answer until she got it. It was a downfall of hers. So Astoria watched Draco and smiled before she laughed at his answer when he finally got her one. It was not exactly what she had been expecting though then again what had she been expecting him to say. She simply couldn’t help but find that amusing. “Oh brilliant…”[/color] she said between her laughter “I can just see Daphne telling me how upset Pansy is all because Draco Malfoy didn’t pay her attention… ah I love it”[/color] she said a little dramatically laughing again and shook her head, how she loved hearing how Pansy did not get her way or suffered in some form, it was like a cherry on the top of the cake and frosting. “Personally though, I don’t see why you hang around with people who suffocate you in such a way” she said a little more seriously as she glanced to Draco, he did not have to explain it to her though personally if someone was assaulting her with flirty moves she’d knock them over the head with a heavy book just to see them withdrawn into a tiny crack in the wall.

She twirled her wand in her fingers and then looked to Draco. “So… how fast do you think it will take for a teacher to get here if I were to blow the classroom up?”[/color] she asked him a little amused and pointed her wand at the pile, she needed something amusing to do and as much fun as it was talking to Draco she needed to break a rule and have some form of fun and somehow torturing someone was not going to end that need to be bad for a moment so she might as well see if Draco would stop her or let her destroy something. Of course she could go annoy the shit out of Pansy now that would be fun. “Do you want the honours? I used to always hear how bad you were and how people would cower away when you came by… I haven’t heard anything lately so do you want to break a rule or shall I?”[/color] it was almost like she was testing him, some would say she was, it’s not like she was saying he wasn’t bad anymore but it would be a good way to see if he was up for a challenge.



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words ;; 915
ooc ;; no worries, hopefully your muse comes back, I’m trying to think of interesting things to keep this role-play going.
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[DRACO MALFOY]

Slytherins, in general, were cunning. Of course, there were the idiots who preferred to follow rather then lead (Crabbe and Goyle, anyone?) but for the most part, each had something they were incredibly clever in. For instance, Draco was able to find a way out of any situation. He was a sneaky little liar, and it suited him well. Astoria, on the other hand, was able to escape the consequences of her many pranks without breaking a sweat and doing it oftentimes without harm to others- unless they happened to get on her bad side. Of course, to some, it wouldn't matter whether what they had to do effected others. But to her it seemed to be somewhat a value, if not a strange one. It was a little surprising, to Draco, that he knew all this about her. Different things about her love of pranks and how she often didn't bother others unless they had particularly irked her. But he'd known Astoria for years and even if he didn't consciously pay her much attention, after knowing someone for that long you knew the little things about them that others didn't. Perhaps even things that he'd noticed in the back of his mind that some of her friends didn't notice, because they were looking for the wrong things.

But clearly she didn't feel the same way about him, because otherwise she wouldn't be asking if he was speaking in riddles. She should have been able to understand him fine, it didn't seem like he was talking any differently of normal. Of course, it wouldn't surprise him, truthfully, if he was saying things he normally wouldn't. After all, this year wasn't exactly a normal one, was it? The thought stilled him, taking away his breath and freezing his eyes on a solitary chair in the edge of his room. For a moment, he couldn't think. Allowing his muscles to relax once the momentary panic had passed, Draco tried to answer as normally as possible, silver eyes coming back to hers, "Riddles? Hardly." He tried to take a breath as nonchalantly as possible, but he suddenly felt hyper aware of himself and it wasn't a comfortable feeling. He managed to give a short laugh after her next statement, though it came bittersweet and short, not at all like a real laugh. But it didn't sound that out of place for Draco, anyways. Nonetheless, he responded easily, a bit of his old self coming back to him, "Please, even I wouldn't sink so low as to accuse you of that." He rolled his eyes at the foolishness of it, his smirk not unkind, but growing. Even if Hufflepuffs were daft and Ravenclaws insufferable know-it-alls, he'd take both of the two houses combined over a single Gryffindor. You'd have to be asking for death to try to befriend a Gryffindor. Though, of course, compared to what Draco was doing that year, it didn't seem all that insane... but he wasn't allowing his thoughts to wander in that particular direction at the moment, so he pushed that away as quickly as he could manage.

When she began to laugh, Draco's fading smirk regained it's former power, pushing the corners of his lips upwards quite successfully. This was the reaction he'd been intent on generating, and he couldn't help but let some of her dramatic enthusiasm seeping into him, and his own reply, "I don't know," He gave a half shrug, watching her as he responded to her next statement, "She has her good moments, I suppose. Other times she keeps trying to do whatever the hell she calls flirting and well... you know" He gave a small grin to her, knowing that the comment would get him in her good graces. Not that he really cared all that much, but that was what Malfoy's did. She was from in influential family and it was natural to him to try to get her to like him. A true manipulator, he was. But already Astoria was speeding off on to another subject, and he let his gaze wander to the stack once more, "Not fast enough." He drawled, leaning against a table that had yet to be moved by the girl. He was a little interested to see whether she would actually do it.

But did he really want to commit the crime himself? Draco had to admit, something about the entire situation tempted him, and he had no doubt he could get away with it... then what was holding him back? Perhaps it was just because that wasn't who he was anymore, and it would feel- out of character? for him to do it. But seeing the challenge in her eyes, he tentatively raised his wand. With one swish, the furniture began to hover slightly, before crashing down to the floor as the tower collapsed. Furniture landed dangerously close to the two, but Draco only smirked, watching the spectacle before turning and sweeping out of the room, only glancing back to Astoria for a moment to see if she was going to follow him.

[[OOC: At least this one didn't get deleted. Still didn't have it posted quite as soon as I wanted. The next WILL be on time, I swear! I think I've found my muse :3]]

[ASTORIA GREENGRASS]

She hated riddles, if he was going to start speaking in riddles around her she’d drop all that furniture on his head, poems were fine by her but not riddles. Astoria simply nodded her head “Good”

[/color] was all she said as she watched her pile again, the temptation to break something, do something she shouldn’t was like a drug in her system, she had to always do what was not to be done, she had to break rules and go against others words, following orders she could do but she didn’t like doing them. As she saw rules they were there to be broken and as she watched the pile the desire to break rules rose the boiling point which was soon cooled when Draco spoke breaking her train of thought as her head snapped back towards him and smiled a little even though the subject of different housing was annoying her so she pushed the subject as to why he was here and not annoying someone or catching someone breaking a rule and the answer did ever so amuse her.

It was not like she could not find that amusing of all the people in the school and world it was Pansy Parkinson that had infuriated Draco Malfoy to such a point he had to leave the home room, now next time that was to happen she did not want to miss out on seeing that. Oh yes she could just imagine Pansy taking it out on some other student and then going to cry in some dark little corner. See this was why you avoided emotions towards males until you were older, you didn’t have to put up with all the crap of a broken heart and trying to keep the flames going and whatever else you had to worry about in a relationship at a young age. Oh no Astoria had no interest in males at all and was more interesting in living life, learning and causing trouble nor being worried about her emotional state all because of some boy. Of course though Astoria did not understand why Draco kept company that suffocated him in such a way, normally when someone did that to her she put a spell on them or pushed them over or did something even more drastic. She stifled a laugh at his comment and smiled to herself shaking her head. Pansy Parkinson attempting to flirt, ah she’d rather gouge her own eyes out of their sockets so to forget this whole Pansy thing she attempted to change the subject.

Either she was going to have some fun or she’d try push Draco to do the dirty work as she watched Draco carefully. Well was he going to step up or quiver away as she was sure everyone would call it. Draco Malfoy actually doing something decent for a change, not breaking a rule and causing destruction, oh no if she had anything to do about it he was going to step up and show her what for. If not then she’d by all means blow her pile up and shatter everything to piece’s she was certain she could break the glass windows too before a teacher even noticed but right now she simply wanted to see if Draco would do it or if she’d have to do it.

Her eyes glanced back to the pile before moving back to Draco once more and she raised an eyebrow ever so slightly as she waved her wand a little challenging him with a gaze something she often did, if her mouth did not form the words her body language would do it for her. Her mother had once said that if she could not speak her body should be able to convey her message for her as a woman did not always need to speak and should know when to keep her mouth shut but that didn’t mean she could not use her body to tell what she wanted it to tell and right now she really wanted to see if she could challenge Draco and see if he would step up and do it instead of her. And sure enough he actually did do it, which honestly did surprise her.

The sound of the furniture breaking was louder than she had thought as she turned her head to the side a little not to let any flying debris hit her in the face before she looked at the destruction Draco had caused, not too bad, she still believed she could get him to do something bigger than that though as she smiled to herself and nodded her head, well he had indeed done it, perhaps he was not as weak as he seemed to be, though if he was really going to live up to his reputation he would need to do something bigger than that. Not that it bothered her she was simply amused by the fact a classroom was now in pieces all over the place. She stifled a laugh and looked over before following Draco out of the classroom yea no way was she staying here to get busted, forget it and yet she was sure she could think of some perfectly reasonable explanation for the scene.

Shutting the door behind them she looked down the hall and bit her bottom lip holding back her laughter before she put her wand away and started down the corridor “Well…”[/color] she said as she spun on the spot walking backwards as she watched Draco “I honestly did not expect you to rise to the challenge, bravo”[/color] she said laughing a little keeping her eye out for a teacher which she was certain would appear at any moment so she turned around walking forwards again and tilted her head to the side a little “Perhaps I should have set the room on fire”[/color] she said quietly to herself, now that would have been a sight just to see the teachers expression and to see how far they’d go to find the culprit. She smiled to herself before shaking her head a little before glancing to Draco “Feeling a little better yet?”[/color] she asked hoping she had not overstepped her boundaries at all.




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[DRACO MALFOY]

He had been finding himself more and more desperate as the year went on. Desperate for something, anything, to go right for once. He was becoming increasingly panicked at the fact he was barely any closer to killing Albus Dumbledore then he had at the start of term. Draco had been missing classes, meals, and hadn't gotten a good night of sleep in months. In both waking and sleeping moments he was haunted with terrifying visions of failure. Draco felt himself slowly loosening his grasp on reality as he crawled further into his own house of oblivion. Inside his mind he served as both jailer and prisoner, intent on keeping his sanity, but even more so on staying alive. And doing the things he had to do just weren't sane. But despite all that... he felt so incredibly normal. He'd just committed a foolish prank with a younger Slytherin girl he admittedly found annoying at times. That wasn't really something the Draco he used to be would do, but it didn't seem like something the Draco he was now would do either. And for the time being, he still wasn't sure if it had been the right decision to go along with her challenge.

Of course, there were things that led him to believe it was. For one, Astoria was clearly one of the few people in Hogwarts who believed him to be sane and actually liked him decently enough at the same time. All the Slytherins pretty much thought he went crazy, seeing as he hardly ever talks to any of them anymore, and most everyone else from different houses would rather die then spend a second in his presence. If he hadn't accepted her challenge, what happened afterwards could go any other number of ways and it would be better for him to get into her good graces now. No doubt she'd hear the rumors later, but now perhaps since he went along with her prank, she would choose to remember the Draco who blew up furniture- as childish as it sounded- and not the one who had supposedly gone mad. As, for the time being, it seemed like she'd be the only one. There was also the fact this was doing a superb job of distracting him from the mess his life was currently in. Being around people forced him for forget his mission, or at least pretend he had.

But of course, that was a downfall in itself as well. The youngest Malfoy couldn't let himself get caught up in every chance to be a normal Slytherin, because he wasn't a normal Slytherin. As much as Draco hated to admit it, he was a Deatheater. He had a Dark Mark burned into his skin, and he was attempting to do things that surely no one else his age was being forced to do. He had a mission, and had to fulfill it. Distractions weren't a good thing in the long run, even if they felt like it at the moment. There was also the point that if he got caught for damaging the room, no doubt his parents would hear about it. They wouldn't be happy- far from it. They'd think he was wasting his time, he wasn't taking his mission seriously. Not to mention the fact that the outcome of said mission would decide the rest of his life, or his death, and that overruled every other good point to this whole situation. But you couldn't blame him for wanting at least a little normalcy back in his life, could you? Draco hadn't wanted to be a Deatheater, hadn't wanted to be forced to become a murderer. But he was no matter what he wanted, and there was nothing he could do about it. If he was going to die or enter a life that didn't feel like his own soon enough anyways, why not enjoy some of this time now, while he could?

Of course, that was no way to think.

The youngest Malfoy forced the thoughts away abruptly. It didn't matter if he should or shouldn't anymore, because he had, and at that realization found himself somewhat enjoying being able to smirk at Astoria in reply, "Why wouldn't I? Doubting my merit as a Slytherin?" Honestly, he was doubting himself at this point, but it wasn't like he could say that. Truthfully though, this was the first thing he'd really done all year that could get him in any trouble. Other then sneaking around and trying to murder the Headmaster, of course. The strange thing was that of all the stunts he'd pulled at Hogwarts over the years, the one that was the most dangerous and hardest to complete was so simple in theory it hurt. All he had to do was mend a vanishing cabinet and then the Deatheaters would be inside the castle. Of course, mending any magical object wasn't something to toy around with, and Draco had to be very careful with it. Then every time he got stuck on something, he'd resort to some other plan that was pulled together way too quickly and ended up failing, so he'd go back to the cabinet. It was a viscous cycle, and the only thing that kept Draco going was that he knew at some point it would have to end. Whether it would end with the death of Albus Dumbledore or his own was unclear, but at some point, it had to end.

"Fire? I have to admit, that might have been going a bit too far. What if it reached the common room? Then we'd have to stay with other houses." He was joking of course, false venom dripping from his tone like sweet syrup. At her next comment, he only took a second to redirect his thoughts away from the negative things they were so intent on gravitating too, "Feeling better? Did I ever say I didn't feel well?" Draco glanced at her, raising one eyebrow. Had it really been that easy to tell he wasn't acting normally? But looking back... of course it had. Even now he'd been taking too long to respond, going off into his mind. Draco wasn't used to talking to someone else, he kept analyzing everything in his mind instead of just talking and responding normally to what probably seemed like innocent enough conversation.

[[OOC: Would you like to see what I did while procrastinating this? Made a fail graphic in five minutes ^.^ LINK]]

[ASTORIA GREENGRASS]

She looked to Draco a little puzzled by his question. Why had she not expected him to rise to the occasion it was a very good question indeed and she did not fully know the answer to it as she frowned a little in thought and looked ahead as if the answer lay before and all she had to do was reach out and grab it, if only it were that simple. But none the less he had asked her a valid question and as such she was expected to give him an answer, only… why had she not expected him to rise to the occasion, what was a good answer to give him without making him sound like a wimp, a coward, a bug on the wall. She could not undermine a Malfoy; she could not risk insulting Draco Malfoy as she did not want in wrath nor his families’ wrath to fall upon her. Coming up with the right words was proving for her to be a challenge and she did not like challenges such as these.

Sometimes Astoria was good with words and other times she was not, right now she was lacking the right words to use to Draco. She had to stop herself from shrugging her shoulders and saying ‘I don’t know’ what kind of response would that be? Not one you gave to an heir as she was sure if someone gave her that response she’d slap them one for stupidity. “Well” she said swallowing as her frown grew a little more, she had to be very careful here, she was treading on thin ice, one wrong word, one wrong move and she’d fall into the icy depths. “Normally I catch word of you tormenting someone or doing something you shouldn’t be. Personally I always thought of it as a challenge, how can I beat what Draco Malfoy did the other day… but lately…” she said glancing to Draco “I haven’t heard anything so naturally I assumed you wouldn’t do it” she added. Ok so that was all ok right, she hadn’t insulted him, made him seem smarter than she was, more popular which he was so she’d done it all right, yes?

Though trying to make sense to Draco and worrying about not insulting him was tyring she found as her mind drifted back to him destroying the room and she smiled to herself, how she loved to see something be destroyed as childish as that was and she knew it was she simply couldn’t get enough of destruction. Fire though was something she loved, it was not toy to play around with and when Draco mentioned it she glanced over to him and laughed a little. “I suppose I’d have to run very fast to escape the teacher’s clutches then and to avoid spending time with the other houses”

[/color] she added simply joking around though she knew it was no joking matter. “I highly doubt though the teachers would even let it get so far… and just as well I didn’t, can’t have you been seen hanging around other houses”[/color] she added shaking her head smirking a little to herself.

Of course she had to ask how he was doing and at least he did not snap at her which was a good sign. She did not expect him to tell her what was wrong though or why he had gotten so pale, it was like the life was being sucked out of him… or that’s how she was seeing it. “Well no… you didn’t”[/color] she said shaking her head and looked ahead again. It was not like she expected him to open up to her or anything; she could simply be over thinking things as she tended to do most of the time. She suddenly felt like the conversation had taken a turn to a dark cold place and she did not like it. “Well I feel better, energised”[/color] she added waving her fists before her like she’d won some victory of sorts before she went quiet again.

She did though glance over to Draco “If we do get caught for destroying the classroom… I’ll take the blame… I can weasel my way out of it” she added with a smile holding back a small laugh before glancing over her shoulder and ahead once more. She had a dozen thoughts roaming through her mind, one of which was to avoid Daphne who’d be telling her everything about poor pathetic Pansy Parkinson which was something she could honestly do without hearing. Of course her mind drifted from her thoughts back to reality and the fact she was walking beside Draco Malfoy with silence “What’s the worse thing you’ve ever done at this school so far?” she asked Draco curious, a simple question she thought, it’s not like she could ask him what was the smartest and bravest thing he’d ever done, he was a trouble maker, a spoilt child like so many purebloods with wealth.



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ooc ;; that's not a fail, that's wicked ^_^ hehe it totally gave me the muse boost I needed for this post!
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[DRACO MALFOY]

It was almost painfully simple to be able to slip into this persona with her. To let himself forget, if only momentarily, the nightmare that seemed to constantly pursue him. Astoria represented a side of himself he wasn't allowed to be anymore. Sure, he was probably more clever then her and certainly had better taste in what to do in his free time (stacking furniture!?), but that was beside the point. She seemed to be so utterly carefree, and he hated that he couldn't be like that anymore. But he knew the only thing holding him back was himself. Draco wouldn't allow himself to pretend everything was okay. He would get so close, but then that ugly buzzing reminded him and he was shocked back into reality. He could only pretend so long, and then an awful vision of death and murder and Voldemort's cold laugh would fill him and he would have to stop. His self control only went so far. Even now, he could feel himself teetering on that edge. The thin line between sane and insane, between light and dark, between who he used to be and who he was becoming. Draco wanted nothing more to dart away, run from both sides and hide in a shadowed corner, wrapped around himself like a small child until someone told him it'd be okay and what to do. But he couldn't. He couldn't go back and couldn't move forward, and he certainly couldn't hide. He could only remain in the presence and shape his life-or death-from there, and hope it didn't end too monstrously.

"Of course," Draco responded cooly, though his eyes had gained some strange emotion in them, twisting the cool silver around a sudden frantic urge. The youngest Malfoy pushed it away as best he could and swallowed hard. Only a little bit longer, and then he could find solitude. Only a little longer he had to pretend. Because even if it was easy to slip into this lie, easy to act like everything was okay and normal, as the seconds passed it became only harder and harder to stay there, "But I would assume if one didn't hear of another's wrong doings, then they were doing a good job hiding-and getting away-with them." Draco gave Astoria a friendly smirk, the only sign of any internal struggle showing in his forever gray eyes. Normally, that was were he hid himself best. If ever, it was his vice that cracked under the pressure-but clearly not this time. He quickly looked away.

Draco didn't respond to her next statement, too busy trying to figure out a way to properly escape without drawing anymore unwanted attention to himself. At any other time, the Deatheater would have been able to come up with an easy excuse to slip away. But his mind was whirring at such a rate he couldn't focus on one thing long enough to even think properly, let alone respond. All he knew was that he needed to get away from here, needed to find somewhere secluded and alone. Draco couldn't help but conclude, when she said she felt energized, that that wasn't what she had meant originally when she first asked. That realization sent a burst of anger through him. Why should she question him, she wasn't even anyone! Coming sluggishly through that sudden rage was a voice in the back of his head, 'You're going insane. Mood swings, can't focus on anything, calm one moment, scared the next, angry second later...' Draco inhaled sharply, but quickly tried to disguise it with a laugh, "Yes, I suppose I do too." But he didn't feel better. He felt much, much worse. Yet still his hid this in a sharp tone, only allowing a fraction of his anger to seep out of his voice, allowing it to mix with a joking voice, "And you think I couldn't?"

Draco still hadn't looked at her.

And then her next question sent him into a sudden halt, his entire figure going still and silent as the breath was taken away from him. He stood for a long moment, eyes drawn back to her face, staring blankly. Finally, words slipped through his lips unplanned and unconsciously, and he heard himself speak before realizing what he was saying. The tone was cold and dark, with something like bitterness seeping through, "You don't want to know." As soon as he heard his own words, Draco ripped his gaze from hers like it pained him to do so, and instead stared at his hand, absently playing with the ring around his finger, hyperaware of every move the both of them made. A pulsing headache began to throb at his temples, and he resisted the urge to wince.

[[OOC: I think Draco's broken... xD]]