Of Silver and Green

Ch. 13 Scandalous

"No, for the third time, we cannot skip this part!" Brynne was growing frustrated with him, he could tell. He hadn't known what to expect when he had requested the training, but he knew he hadn't anticipated studying in books. "You need to be well-versed in theory before I will even begin to explain the mechanics of the transfiguration process. But enough bookwork for now, do you have any candles?

"Yeah, I do," he replied, pulling open a drawer. He reached in and extracted several black and green candles. "What do you need them for?"

"Atmosphere," Brynne replied. Draco looked at her quizzically. "Meditation is very important part of transfiguration. To efficiently transform, you must have complete awareness and control over every cell in your body," she explained. Draco looked shocked. "Don't give me that look. If you're devoted, it won't be too difficult." She placed the candles on the floor in a circle large enough for Draco to sit in the middle. She then proceeded around the circle, pointing her wand at each in turn, muttering "Incendio," to light them. "You saw my transformation this morning. About how long would you estimate it took?" she asked.

"Forty seconds to a minute," he replied.

"Exactly. The better at meditation you are, the more quickly you can transfigure," she explained. She glanced at the clock in his room. Quarter to twelve. "For this, you must be alone. What you must do is sit in the middle of the circle and clear your mind. Then go through your body, starting with your toes, and flex and relax each and every muscle. Then the rest of the time you focus on your breathing and heartbeat. This may be difficult your first time, but try to regulate them. I will be back in an hour or two to discuss what you have accomplished." She kissed his jaw quickly and left, locking the door and placing a silencing spell to block any noises from penetrating. No distractions.

...For Draco anyways. Brynne found her mind could not focus on any one topic for more than a minute at a time. Why was she doing this? She would surely lose Draco if he ever found out she was sneaking around to consort with Potter. The kicker was the fact that she didn't even like Potter! And yet she was intrigued. What could Potter, who hardly even knew her, want to talk to her about? Where did his interests lie?

Brynne made her way slowly back to her room. Opening the door, she realized no one was there. 'Probably off in the boys' dorms,' she thought. 'Where I should be.' But no, here she was, selecting her largest black cloak from her trunk. She swirled it about her and fastened it at her neck. Then, checking that her wand was tucked in her robes and that Mordechai was secure around her arm, Brynne pulled her hood over her head and face and left the room. She walked quickly down the stairs and through the common room with her head down, scarcely looking right or left. She then opened the trapdoor and exited.

Brynne walked a few feet from the entrance into the shadows of the hallway. She then sat down on the stone floor against the wall and waited, head bent and eyes closed.

She heard him before she saw him. Potter certainly hadn't noticed her; he would have said something by now. "I can't see you, but I know you're there," she said, looking up to see him remove the invisibility cloak he had been wearing. "I can avoid being seen if I wish, but to disappear entirely, that is a rare gift." She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Come over here and cover both of us with that. I do not wish to be seen with you." Potter complied quickly and silently, sitting so close to her she could smell the sweet scent of pumpkin juice on his breath. "Now what was it you wanted, Potter?" she asked, noting his flinch as she spit out his surname.

"I think we've started out on the wrong foot," he began. "And without being properly introduced. I'm Harry Potter, though you already knew that. I've only heard rumours of who you are."

"Brynne Dharielle," she replied. "And yes, of course I know who you are. Everyone knows famous Harry Potter."

Potter was obviously shocked by her animosity towards him. "Look, I don't know what Malfoy told you, but-" Brynne didn't let him finish.

"Draco has told me nothing I didn't already know. My opinions are my own, and are not easily changed." Brynne didn't know what had come over her. She didn't usually have such a temperamental attitude. She supposed it was a defense mechanism. If news of her meeting with Potter ever reached Draco's ears, she wanted it known she hadn't been civil. She noticed the crestfallen expression on Potter's face and instantly regretted her words, although she knew she couldn't take them back. "Any more questions?" she asked in a slightly gentler voice.

"Why did you not want Hermione and Ron here?"

She snorted. "Although I have never spoken to Granger, there is an element of competition between us that has made me despise her." She saw Potter's eyebrows rise as she continued. "I would be top of our year if it weren't for her. And as for Weasley, if it is at all possible, I believe Draco hates him even more than you. It would be a much greater betrayal to Draco if the redheaded wonder were here."

"I understand," he replied. It was then that Potter noticed something that stirred within him a recognition of something he knew he had seen before. He frowned and tried to place it as Brynne hastily tucked her braid into her cloak and waited for Potter to ask her something else.

"Of course!" he exclaimed, remembering the Slytherin vs. Gryffindor Quidditch match he had played two weeks ago, as Brynne clapped a hand over his mouth, shushing him.

"Do you want us to get caught?" she demanded angrily. "What the hell was that about?"

"I know you," he said slowly, with an almost accusatory tone. "You're that really vicious Slytherin Beater everyone calls 'Bry'."

"What makes you think so?" Brynne asked noncommittally.

"Your hair is always slipping out of your hood, but as a Seeker I must be the only one with the eyes sharp enough to notice."

Brynne panicked. "You can't tell anyone! I don't want any attention. If people found out Bry's identity, there would be a scandal, and everyone would be watching me!" She grabbed the sides of his head, forcing him to look at her. "Please," she begged, "don't tell anyone."

"Are you telling me that no one knows?" he asked slowly. "Not even your Captain and boyfriend?" She shook her head. "Alright," he agreed. "You have my word that I will not tell a soul."

Brynne let escape a sigh of relief. "Was there anything else you wanted to ask?" she asked resignedly, looking at her watch. "You have fifteen minutes."

"I basically wanted to know what you could possibly see in someone like Malfoy," he stated.

Brynne thought she heard a twinge of jealousy, but since she couldn't be sure, she wasn't about to call him out on it and potentially embarrass herself if she was wrong. "You obviously don't know me as well as you presume to," she said flatly. "I am someone like Draco, and I don't think I like what you are insinuating. I suggest that you think very carefully about your next words before you speak them."

"I don't mean to offend you. I am only trying to warn you about what kind of person you're getting involved with. Draco Malfoy is sneaky, arrogant, and underhanded, and-"

"And I think you've forgotten who I am," she countered, throwing off the invisibility cloak. "You think you know, but you have no idea who I am, or even who Draco is. You believe you know him from seeing only one side of him. Don't you dare make that mistake with me. I may look innocent and non-threatening, but looks aren't everything. Never forget, I am a Slytherin. A Gryffindor like you could never understand that." Brynne watched as a melancholy look descended into his eyes. "I have to go now. You were never here. We never spoke."

Brynne turned to leave, but Potter caught her left wrist. "Let go," she said in a low voice.

"Don't go away angry," he said in a pleading voice. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"You have not even scratched the surface of the depths of my wrath. And I recommend you release me, before you upset him," she answered as she felt Mordechai begin to slide down her arm.

"Who?"

"You'll find out, if you don't let go," she said calmly. She pulled her wrist free just as Mordechai's head protruded from her sleeve, eyes flashing and nostrils flared angrily. "It's alright Mordechai," she soothed in Parseltongue as she gently placed him back around her bicep.

"You're a Parselmouth?" Potter asked in disbelief.

"Yes," she replied nonchalantly.

"I thought I was the only one here."

"Well, some of us don't like the popularity certain talents might afford us, so therefore we are better at keeping them a secret."

"Were you born with it?" he asked.

"Yes. I come from a long line of Parselmouths. But anyways, your fifteen minutes are up, and I have to go before I'm missed." She stepped away and towards the trapdoor, waiting for him to leave before she said the passphrase.

"Meet me tomorrow," he said.

"I can't. It's too dangerous for me. And even if I could, what makes you think I would want to?"

"Meet me tomorrow, or I won't leave."

She turned and glared at him. He stared back defiantly, the determination present in his emerald eyes. "Fine," she said, her voice dripping with venomous frustration. "Same time, same place. Now go!" she demanded.

He pulled on the invisibility cloak quickly, but not before Brynne saw the corners of his mouth curl into a smirk. She listened as his footsteps echoed down the corridor, still fuming. He must have turned the corner, because the sound became more distant.

Brynne faced the wall and muttered the passphrase in a low voice, in case Potter was somehow still around. She stepped through and walked quickly back to her room to remove the cloak. She deposited Mordechai in his tank and then returned to Draco's door. She muttered, "Finite incantatum," ending the silencing spell as well as unlocking the door. As she went about checking on Draco and his progress, she couldn't stop thinking about that prat Potter and what he had said to her. She just hoped that Draco hadn't noticed the faraway look in her eyes.