Of Silver and Green

Ch. 02 The Butterfly with a Bee Stinger

"Potter's not so great," she whispered to Draco Malfoy as she passed by him on their way to Potions with Professor Snape.

Maybe it was the thick Irish brogue, but Malfoy couldn't believe what he'd heard. "What?" he called after her, but she'd already entered the classroom.

Draco walked in, flanked by his cronies Crabbe and Goyle, and scanned the room. He saw Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger all sitting in the front. His usual seat in the middle was empty of course; no one would dare sit there. But where was that mysterious girl? A flash of red hair caught his eye. There she was, sitting at a table by herself in the back. Malfoy walked purposefully towards his seat. Upon reaching it, he said, glancing back at Crabbe and Goyle, "You two sit here, I have something to take care of." Without another word, or even a backwards glance, Malfoy took the seat beside the girl.

"Yes, you did hear me correctly, and I completely meant it," she said, not looking at him. "Potter's not so special."

"Are you not aware that to say that is comparable to blasphemy?" he replied, after recovering from the shock of meeting a female who wasn't in love with his arch-nemesis Harry Potter: Mr. Boy Who Lived, If You Please.

"Well then, I wouldn't be the only one blaspheming, now would I?" she shot back, her mouth curving into a wry smile.

"No, I guess not," a smirk gracing his own lips. "You know about me, but I know nothing of you."

"Well then, I guess you're not familiar with many of the people in your year, or even in your house. We share almost all our classes, you know," she replied, her smile fading.

Draco, for the first time in his life, found himself tongue-tied. "Well, um, actually, I didn't know. I guess I don't pay attention to that many people," he muttered.

Her face softened. "I guess you wouldn't, being completely obsessed with Potter must require a lot of energy."

"What?!" Draco shouted, before he realized where he was. Luckily, Snape hadn't entered the room yet, and the only thing his outburst had warranted was a few turned heads. "What?" he repeated much more quietly. "How dare you? I am not obsessed with Potter! He simply thinks he's better than everyone else, and needs to be shown he is wrong!" As he said this, he glared at the girl, and noticed to his complete chagrin that she was laughing at him. Draco was at a complete loss for words. No one had ever done this to him before, and he had no idea what to do. "What are you laughing at?" he managed to ask weakly.

"The way your eyes turn silver and flash when you're angry!" she answered to his utter shock.

"What's your name?" he asked, changing the subject once he was able to form words.

"Brynne Dharielle."

"Interesting name, what does it mean?"

"I'm not sure what its derivation is, but it means butterfly with a bee stinger," she replied.

"Intriguing," he said, while he was really thinking, 'Now that's a fitting name. I wonder if she gave herself this name.' Although as he considered that, he realized his name fit him extraordinarily well, although he'd had it since birth. Draco was Latin for "dragon", and he definitely fancied himself a dragon. He turned back to her. "Your accent is Irish if I'm not mistaken?" he asked as Snape entered the room with a flourish.

"No, you're not mistaken," she answered, eyes on the Potions master. "Now quiet," she hissed. "I can't afford to not pay attention. That Granger is far enough ahead of me as it is. I need to excel at the one thing she does not. I cannot let her be top of the year again, blasted Muggle-born," she muttered.

At this, Draco Malfoy's eyes simply lit up. Finally, someone who shared his opinions voluntarily, without wanting something in return. He found himself sizing her up, deciding whether she was fit to be seen in his company. She had red hair, the color of shimmering fire. However, there were unusual black streaks running through it. He hair was pulled back into a tight braid that reached nearly to her waist. She had a smattering of freckles on her cheeks and across the bridge of her nose, but Draco's eyes were focused elsewhere. He was ensnared in her glittering emerald eyes. He squinted. They seemed to be hiding something her normally innocent-looking face didn't portray. She moved suddenly, and something else green and glittering caught his eye. Brynne was wearing a pendant shaped like the eye of a snake around her neck. The pendant itself was the size of a Knut and glittered verdantly with all the tiny emeralds that made up the iris of the eye. Draco sucked in a breath. Now this was interesting. A snake-eye pendant could only mean one thing. Brynne must belong to a long line of witches and wizards who were all Parselmouths. The ability to talk to snakes was a special gift, and not one to be taken lightly. The talent was uncommon, and when passed down through a lineage, even rarer. This girl was more than worthy of his company.

"Stare much?" she asked, breaking him from his thoughts.

"No. I was looking at your necklace. Can you?" he replied quickly.

"Of course I can, everyone in my family can," she said, hastily tucking the necklace into her shirt. "We're all Slytherins of course. It wouldn't do to be able to talk to snakes and be in any other house. In that respect, Potter is an abomination. Although his Quidditch skills are admirable... He really should have been in Slytherin. He should have been our seeker, and you, well, you would have been a perfect beater. I think you should have been a beater anyway, actually."

Malfoy's eyes narrowed. "What are you insinuating? That Potter is out of my league?"

"Nope," she replied nonchalantly. "Just that you would have more fun aiming Bludgers at him. And if you're going to sit with me, you are going to have to help with this potion," she stated, her voice taking on an authoritative quality.

He had nearly forgotten he was in class, so engrossed was he in conversation. Astounding how this girl could multitask. "Um, sure, what first?"

Crabbe and Goyle, ever infatuated with what their leader was doing, had seen the whole exchange. Now they weren't sure what to do, or even what they were going to say to Draco after class.

Someone else had also watched the encounter, and he wasn't pleased one bit.

"I want you all to read Chapter Five for tomorrow, and don't forget your essays are due Friday. That means you, Mr. Weasley," said Professor Snape as he stalked from the room.

Crabbe and Goyle carefully approached Draco, who was still sitting, talking to that strange girl. They weren't sure what to do, so they had decided they should wait for Draco. He hadn't even noticed they were standing there. To their surprise, the girl spoke up.

"What do you two want? Can't you see he's busy right now?" she asked them, with a slight smirk on her lips. Draco looked up, noticing his friends standing there for the first time.

"Hey, you can't talk to us like that!" growled Goyle angrily.

"Yeah, you wouldn't dare!" said Crabbe smiling triumphantly. The smile quickly faded when he realized Draco wasn't saying anything. "Right Draco?" he asked.

"Actually," Draco answered, eyes flashing dangerously, "you two should not be speaking to her so condescendingly. Do you not realize to whom you speak?"

They shook their heads.

"Well," Brynne cut in, interrupting Draco, "my name is Brynne Dharielle, and if you two dolts who presume to be pure-bloods are too stupid to realize what that means, then you should know that I happen to be the only heiress to a fortune that outweighs that of both your families put together."

At this, their jaws dropped, as well as Draco's. Draco was faster to compose himself, however. He hadn't known the extent of her family's notoriety. He was wondering why he hadn't recognized her surname. Undoubtedly his father would be able to tell him later. "I suggest you apologize for your rudeness," Draco said to his minions, with his characteristic smirk on his face.

"Sorry," Crabbe said weakly. Goyle could only nod in assent.

"Now," Brynne said sharply, "you two can go."

They looked questioningly at Malfoy. His eyes narrowing, he said, "Don't question her, just do it. If I had any objection, I would have raised it."

Crabbe and Goyle retreated slowly, each wondering to himself what was wrong with Draco.

Draco turned and grinned at Brynne. "That was hilarious. I haven't seen anyone who has ever had the nerve to speak to them like that besides me."

"Obviously, neither had they," she replied. "They're such sheep. I don't understand how you can deal with them. You don't need bodyguards. You're powerful enough that only stupid people would dare question you," she said with appreciation in her voice.

Caught off-guard by the blatantly obvious compliment, Draco could do nothing but look at his feet. What was it about this girl that made him lower his defenses? No one had ever done this to him before, and he wasn't sure how to deal with it. "Well," he said, drawing himself up again, "I can see your point. I really don't need them, but they're the closest to friends I've got."

"If you don't mind me voicing my opinion, because I'm going to anyway," she answered with a smile, "I personally think you should find some friends that are closer to your own level."

"Like you?" he asked, left eyebrow hoisted.

"Well, I'm quite flattered you think so," she replied with a coy smile.

"Uh, well, I think you are definitely at the same level as me," Draco said, complimenting her for the first time that afternoon and cursing himself inwardly as the words escaped his mouth.

Brynne could only laugh.