Lessions in the Night

Click, click, click.

Draco Malfoy's eyes flew open. Seriously, this was getting out of hand. The clicking just kept on going forever, and to be perfectly honest, Draco was not the most patient fellow around. Furious, he got out of bed, got dressed, and threw the door open, ready for anything.

He was, however, not prepared for what he was about to see. The Slytherin girls were walking unsteadily on high- heeled shoes, and he made a face. This could not possibly go well. What were they up to anyway? It was past midnight, and he, being a Prefect and all, felt it was his duty to serve them right and tell them to get to bed instead of ruining his sleep with their endless clicking.

"Damn it, Pansy," he called, and a girl turned and her face broke into a smile as she laid her eyes on the sleepy Draco standing in his doorway.

"Hello, dear," she replied. "Look, I can walk properly with high- heeled shoes!" Draco frowned as he had no desire to play "father" to the stumbling tart in front of him. "Look!"

"I'm looking, Pansy," he said, not sounding too convinced. "Would you birds mind continuing your clicking tomorrow when I'm not around? Don't get me wrong, you do look sodding great shaking your arses like that, but seriously, I need my beauty sleep.And so do you, he added in his mind. He knew better than to offend the girls from his own House.

"I'm not too sure, darling," Pansy said, sitting down, trying to get the shoes that her rubber- like feet were crammed tightly into off, but she gave up with a not too feminine sigh. "You would have to ask our teacher." Draco raised his pale eyebrows.

"Teacher?" he said dully.

"Yes," a light voice said as a dark haired girl stepped out of the dark, smiling at Draco. "That would be me. I'm afraid I can not accept your request to delay this until tomorrow. This is important, see."

"Fuck me backwards three times," Draco said, stunned. "Since when did we invite Ravenclaws into the Slytherin Dungeons?"

"Since now," said a third year girl Draco didn't know. He shot her a glare. "Padma is kind enough to teach us how to walk properly for the Valentine's Day Ball."

"It's still six weeks to the Valentine's Day Ball," Draco replied dryly. Judging by the looks of the girls, six weeks were nothing. Draco shook his head, and sat down in the nearest chair. "Let me see then," he said, "let me see what a Ravenclaw knows betterthan the Slytherins."

"This has nothing to do with which House you belong to," Padma Patil said with an impatient voice. "This is simply something a girl has got to go through, and obviously this is not somehing the parents of the Slytherin girls have put in first on the list. Walking properly with

high- heels is very important for any girl who wants to live and impress in the modern

world." Draco looked at her with amazement. Was she for real?

"Oh, really," Draco said slowly, raising an eyebrow again.

"Indeed," Padma snapped. "These girls, like most other girls, want to make a great impression when they dress up for the Valentine's Day Ball. High- heels are a must, you simply can't walk the same way with boots or any other footwear."

"Tell me then," Draco said as he leaned forward, supporting his elbows at his knees. "Why, oh why, would any girl voluntarily wear shoes that within hours will kill her feet? I've been to my share of Balls, and girls are always whimpering with pain because of their shoes. Why don't you use your common sense and wear flat shoes?" Draco asked, hiding a smirk behind

his hand, lifted in feigned contemplation. Padma gave a sniff, raised her chin and narrowed her eyes.

"I never assumed that any boy would understand why we girls wear high- heeled shoes since you boys never appreciate anything we girls do to look more beautiful than we already are. And no, we don't kill our feet wearing them, not all the time anyway. Because we know how to wear them, dear." There was a low mumbling from the Slytherin girls. "I will not offer a deeper explanation, as I might go too deep, and you'd drown." This was followed by an intese giggling from the Slytherin girls. "But I'll let you watch the Slytherin girls walk their way to fame," she said dramatically, and Draco shook his head and decided to enjoy the show. "Cme on, girls!"

Padma led, walking on shoes which fit her feet perfectly. She walked briskly, obviously still angry with Draco for interrupting, and her chin was raised high. She was wearing a short skirt, and Draco could not help himself from gazing at her long, muscular legs which moved just the way Padma wanted them to. It was with class that Padma walked her way across the stone

floor of the Slytherin common- room, and the clicking of her heels sounded like a drummer keeping time. She turned easily without tripping, and waved towards against the Slytherin girls.

Off they went without a touch of style. There was no way they'd be able to walk like Padma in such a short amount of time. While Millicent had to repair her shoe three times before she managed to walk over to where Padma was standing, Pansy found her way without tripping, but it looked like she was walking a tightrope. Her arms were straight out at her sides, she had

stuck her tongue out in concentration and her eyes were wide with excitement. A second- year almost broke her ankle, and most of the other girls didn't even manage to stumble their way to Padma before they gave up.

"You've got quite a task ahead of you," Draco muttered.

"You mean by getting rid of you?" Padma replied sharply, "Honestly, I could do that in less time than it would take you to blink."

"Is that so?" Draco asked testily. "I happen to be a Prefect..."

"So do I," Padma snapped. "And according to certain rules written by the Prefects themselves, you are not able to take points away from me as I am helping your fellow Housemates. Paragraph..."

"Yes, yes," Draco said impatiently. "I know the bloody rules. Apparently I can't touch you." Padma gave him a grin.

"You can't take points from me or throw me out, as I was invited here, but there is nothing in the rules about touching me." The Slytherin girls giggled again, and Draco gazed at the Ravenclaw standing a few steps away from him. She turned her back at him and looked at the other girls. "All right, well done! There is much to learn, but I can say for certain that

you've all improved!" Padma put her hair in a ponytail, and walked quickly back across the room, turning again and waving the girls over. Draco knew this would last for ever, and got up from his chair and walked over to Padma.

"Is it possible to, say, mute your shoes?"

"Mute them?" Padma frowned. "You mean the clicking is annoying you?"

"Yes," Draco said, looking into her blue eyes as she watched the Slytherins stumble their way over the floor. Her small nose was sprinkled with a small number of freckles, and her mouth was firm as Draco spoke again: "It does. Now, what I can do, according to all your rules, is to throw you out because you've been keeping me awake with all this noise."

"Bullocks," Padma said, smiling a little. "You could put a silence charm on your room, if you like."

"That wouldn't help too much," Draco replied. "I'm not making any sounds - you bloody well are."

"Well done, Evian! You got the move now!" Draco looked at a third- year who immediately tripped. "Oh, pity..."

"Look, Padma," Draco said, licking his lower lip. "You seriously don't want

me as your enemy."

"Aren't you all ready?"

"What? No, I've never harmed you, have I?"

"Oh, yes! Millicent! Oh... Sorry, love, didn't mean to scare you. Up you go, you can do this!" She turned to face Draco, and said: "Considering your mission in life is to make other people miserable, I hardly think I'll ever be able to put you in my 'friends section'."

"I never said I was your friend either," Draco said, still gazing at her. "Enemy is a very harsh word."

"Perhaps. Great! Pansy, you're the girl!"

"Look," Draco said, as he suddenly raised his hand and caught Padma's chin between his thumb and index finger. She turned her face against him again, and a smile was playing on her lips. He was glaring at her, and she obviously found it quite amusing.

"I'm not patient, I've never been so either. Just me letting you birds do this in the middle of the night is quite amazing, considering what I'm made of. But I swear, if I hear one more clicking sound, I'll end up mad." She opened her mouth to say something, but he hushed her. "Don't say it. I know what you were going to say."

"What was I about to say then?"

"That I was all ready mad." She gave a smile. "So what's it going to be then?"

"I'll put a silence charm on the shoes," she said quickly, and added before he managed to say something: "If you promise to back my pupils up. I do believe it's your job, being Prefect and all that."

"I promise I will back them up," Draco replied with a tired voice. "They can walk around paining themselves to death for all I care, as long as the clicking stops now." Padma gave a great grin and stretched out herhand, and Draco hesitated before he shook it.

"Deal." She pushed Draco away, pulled out her wand and put a silence charm on every shoe. She looked a bit too smug in Draco's opinion, but he let it pass. He got everything his way, so he walked back to his room and shut the door.

"He's a spoiled brat, really," Pansy said quietly. "He's just doing this to show off his power

anyway. He'll never support us, you know. Not much of a deal keeper to tell you the truth." Padma gave her a small smile before she whispered:

"Neither am I." Then she cleared her throat and said: "What are you girls waiting for? Keep walking!" She kept glancing at the door that Draco had just walked through with a frown on her face. "Come on," she said lamely, not even looking at the girls, "Practice does make perfect." Only seconds later, Draco reopened the door and Padma pretended to be very occupied

with walking.

"Oy, Patil," Draco said, leaning towards the back of a chair. "As for the Ball you're all looking forward to..."

"Yes?" Padma snapped impatiently, keeping a third year from tripping.

"Who are you going with, anyway?" Draco gave a short sneer. "Going for Weasel this year as well?" Padma turned quickly, and frowned angrily, biting her lower lip.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me well," Draco said as he stood up properly and gazed at her with his grey eyes.

"I am so not going with Ronald Weasley again," Padma said, giving Draco an offend look. "I'll never be that desperate, ever again."

"Right," Draco said, walking over to her, well aware that his steps were followed by the entire group of Slytherins behind Padma. "Would you mind going with me then?" The words had escaped his lips before he had planned them, and he cursed himself for letting it slip. Was he about to be let down? In front of all of the Slytherin- girls?

"Perhaps," she said slowly. "It would give me the opportunity to wear my brand new shoes." She suddenly studied him quickly from head to toe. "I might end up taller than you then..."

"Honestly..." Draco began, but was interrupted.

"No, probably not. And, by the way, judging by the boring outfits you usually wear at Balls and such, I will not have to worry about standing in your shadow..." She gave a brilliant grin. "Yeah, I could go with you."

"I'm thrilled to hear it," Draco said slowly, eyeing her carefully. She had a strange way of

telling him yes, that was for sure. "Goodnight, mi-ladies," he said, bowing slightly. He gave Padma a last glance, before he walked back as if nothing extraordinary had happened. He took off his cloak, and loosened his tie.

A small smile appeared on his lips as he laid back on his bed, thinking about ordering a soundless pair of shoes for Padma. They would not make her taller than him, and he was going to make sure they were like hell to wear, just to prove her wrong. Seconds later he was about to laugh out loud when he heard the sound again:

Click, click, click.