Permanent Scars

Chapter two

Draco entered the Great Hall and strolled over to the Slytherin table. As he passed Pansy, he gave her a hard slap on the back. "Feeling okay today?" he asked with mock concern.

Pansy let out a whimper and tried not to scream from the pain radiating across her back. "Draco, you bastard," Pansy said through gritted teeth.

Draco leaned closer and whispered in Pansy's ear, "Don't tell me you didn't like it last night, Parkinson, you were begging for more. In fact, I was just going to ask you if you were busy tonight." With a mocking laugh, Draco moved further down the table until he came to his usual place next to Crabbe and Goyle.

Draco had known Crabbe and Goyle all of his life. Their families regularly met to talk about all manner of Dark things, leaving Draco to play with them. When they were younger, he had liked to play with them, because they were easily tricked into doing stupid things that made Draco laugh. As Draco got older, however, he discovered the two of them put together had the IQ of a raisin. He was frankly amazed that they had both had enough magical abilities to get into Hogwarts. He didn't even know if they could read. They weren't too bright, but they did have their uses. Draco didn't like getting his hands dirty with any physical stuff and Crabbe and Goyle always handled that for him nicely.

As Draco sat down, he could hear Crabbe and Goyle moaning about something.

"Draco, isn't it awful? Double Potions!" Goyle whined.

Draco looked at him as if he were something that was stuck to the bottom of his shoe and then said, "We have had double Potions with the Gryffindors ever since we started the new term, two months ago. Why are you whinging about it now?"

"But Draco, don't you remember? Snape threatened to pair us with the Gryffindors, and I just know I'll get Granger... she makes me nervous."

"How can you let a Mudblood like that make you nervous?" Draco asked nastily "Goyle, you are a disgrace to Pure-bloods AND to Slytherins. Look at her, for Merlin's sake. She has an ugly, bushy mop on her head and she's bent over in a permanent stoop from carrying half the library around with her. How COULD someone like that make you nervous? Her parents aren't even wizards!"

Goyle looked abashed, and went back to eating his bacon.

Now that it was finally quiet Draco tried to think... Had Snape really said that he was going to pair them with Gryffindors?

Draco thought about it, and then he remembered Snape had said something last class about it. Draco hadn't really been listening though; his mind had been on the upcoming Slytherin vs. Gryffindor match that Saturday. He was sure Snape would dare not inconvenience him in such a manner. After all, his father and Snape were friends; they had been to school together, were Death Eaters together. It was impossible to imagine Snape pairing his beloved Slytherins with those dirty-blooded, Muggle-loving Gryffindors. It made him sick at the thought of being so close to a Mudblood. If Snape did pair him with a Gryffindor, he would tell his father, and his father would make Snape pay.