CURSED [D.M]

-(6) feelings shrivel up and die

DRACO quietly walks up the stairs leading to the girl's dormitories that night. He finally reaches their one and gently knocks on the door.

"Just a minute", comes Pansy's strained voice from behind. "Zilliah. Get. Your. Lazy. Ass. Up."

He opens the door and walks in to find Pansy with a pillow in her hand which she uses to hit Zilliah who is stubbornly crawled up in her bed, under her blankets. He laughs a little at the scene before him.

"Let. Me. Sleeeeeeep", she whines out. He can't help but adore her voice lazed with sleep- no forced toughness, just simple and plain as it is.

"You take care of this one on your own. I need some fucking alcohol", Pansy grumbles, forcing the pillow into his chest before walking out.

He watches her stomp away before returning his gaze upon Zilliah. She peeks through the blankets for a split second before drawing it back over her face.

"I saw that."

"Fuck off", she scoffs. There- the toughness back in her voice again.

He sighs and walks over to her, pulling the covers away from her face and body. She makes a low grumble deep in her throat and opens her eyes, glaring into his'.

"I don't fucking get why people always have to disturb the sleep I manage- ughhhhhhhhh." She shoots straight up and sits on the bed with her legs crossed and her face buried in her hands. "He's gone."

"What? Who's gone?", he asks utterly confused.

"Sleep. He's gone."

Draco can't help but burst out laughing at it which in turn earns him a menacing look from her- but could she blame him?

"Stop. Laughing. You. Fucking. Twat." She grabs a pillow, kneeling on the bed now, and hits him with it at each punctuation.

It's only after a minute or so that he is able to calm down and by the time he does, she's already up with a vexed face, fixing her hair in front of the mirror. He settles down onto the bed before taking some deep breaths. Then, he turns and looks over at her.

"You cut your hair", he observes.

"Yeah, a little- wait, how did you even notice that? No one did. Not even Pansy. And she notices everything!!"

Totally not creepy, Draco.

He shrugs, leaning back on his elbows a bit. "You had it below your waist when we danced last week. Now, it's only above."

She blinks at him a couple of times through the mirror in disbelief. "How- nevermind." And as an afterthought, she asks, "Is it good?"

He considers for a moment. "It's not bad."

"But not good?"

"Long hair is the best on you."

"But I didn't cut it that short."

"That's why I said it's not bad."

"Right..", she mumbles before continuing to brush her hair- with much difficulty, that is- being so harsh and hasty.

"You're not offended?", he asks, quirking an eyebrow at her.

"Why should I be? I wouldn't have asked for your opinion if I didn't know how to receive your judgment", she says with the shrug of her shoulders.

Impressive, he thinks. Really really impressive Emerson.

She continues to brush her hair, untangling the knots in it as he watches her every single movement without even meaning to. "You need help with that?", he finally asks, much pained by the way she was treating those poor hair strands.