BORN TO DIE    ╱    DRACO MALFOY
꒷꒦ · ˚.‧ . written by ella . . . © -lostgardens
019 ━━━━━━━━━━ ❛ house cup ❜

There were only a few days left at Hogwarts, and Olivia couldn't believe it. Her first year had come and gone so quickly, yet it felt like a lifetime had passed. She had made incredible friends despite being hesitant at first. She even had a boy who followed her every move like a lost little puppy and looked at her with a gleam in his eyes, like she was the only girl in the world.

Did it make her sick to her stomach? Oh, absolutely. But did she revel in the power she had over him? Also yes.

She sat in the Great Hall. It was one of the last few feasts of that school year, and she couldn't believe it. She shoveled some food in her mouth as the noise of chatting students and laughter filled the hall. Her friends were all silent as they ate, too hungry to make conversation.

The ding of a fork hitting the side of a cup sounded throughout the room, causing the noise to quiet down. Everyone faced the front of the Great Hall, the black pointy hats making them all look ridiculous.

Dumbledore rose from his seat, preparing to make a speech.

"Another year gone!" he rejoiced, his voice having a lightness to it. "And now, as I understand it, the house cup needs awarding. And the points stand thus—in fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points." He paused, letting the tables clap for their fellow classmates.

"Third place—Hufflepuff—with three hundred and fifty-two points." Applause from the tables followed. "In second place—Ravenclaw—with four hundred and twenty-six points." More applause and some cheering from the Ravenclaws "And in first place—with four hundred and seventy-two points—Slytherin House," he concluded.

The Slytherin table broke out into loud cheers and applause, even from Olivia. She was extra proud that day to wear her green and white tie. Her face was bright with happiness. Geniune happiness—she couldn't believe it.

She looked around the Great Hall, seeing the other tables looking extremely dissatisfied, especially Gryffindor, and then she saw Snape clapping, his face void of emotion. But she believed that if you looked deep into his dead, black eyes, you'd see... Nope, you wouldn't see anything—that man was emotionless, even more so than her.

"Yes, yes. Well done, Slytherin," Dumbledore continued, interrupting the cheering. However, recent events must be taken into account," he added, lifting a knowing finger. Olivia watched as Snape turned his head slightly, curious as to where the Headmaster was going with this. "And I have a few last-minute points to award."

You've got to be bloody joking! Olivia sighed, the happiness falling from her face. Her cheek fell into her hand as her elbow rested on the table. There goes the house cup for Slytherin.

"To Miss Hermione Granger, for the cool use of intellect when others were in grave peril, fifty points." He smiled, looking at the girl. The Gryffindor table began to cheer, and Olivia rolled her eyes. "Second, to Mr. Ronald Weasley, for the best-played game of chess that Hogwarts has seen these many years, fifty points."

More cheering as Olivia scoffed.

"And third, to Mr. Harry Potter, for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor House sixty points," the man continued, causing more applause. "And finally, it takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends. I award ten points to Neville Longbottom."

The man sat down as the table cheered even more.

Olivia felt anger burning inside of her. He had come up with ridiculous ways of getting his old house from fourth to first. He could've let them tie with Slytheirn—they were before he gave the Longbottom boy ten points.

She tried so hard to bite her tongue to stay calm and quiet, but what was one last tongue lashing going to do—make them lose points and the cup? They had already completed one of those things; how about the other one as well?

"That's rubbish!" she shouted, standing up from the bench.

The Great Hall fell silent as Dumbledore looked around to find her. The clapping and cheers died, and everyone's focus went onto her. When his eyes landed on her, he gave her a confused look. "Do you have something you want to add, Miss Mallard?" he asked.

Her eyes found there way to Snape, who gave her a warning look. Ignoring it, she stepped up onto the bench where she had just been sitting. "Yes, I do, actually," she continued, her face slightly red from her anger. Everyone was staring at her, but she didn't care. He had taken the house cup from them after they had won it fair and square.

"I think that you giving Gryffindor more points is rubbish. Slytherin won fairly—we behaved as best as we could; we weren't late for our classes; we tried our best in said classes; we didn't constantly put not only ourselves but the school in danger." She glanced at Potter, Granger, and Weasley. "We earned our spot at number one," she explained, looking around the Great Hall.

She took a short breath as he waited for her to continue. "Giving Granger points for being able to think on the spot is ridiculous. And, Weasley, he played well in chess; what's the big deal? I could've done that in my sleep."

"It's true; she's really good," Theodore interjected, ignoring the slap on his arm from Pansy.

"And yes, Potter did save the school and whatnot, but don't forget that his being here is the reason it was in danger in the first place. And I know that's not his fault, but it's the truth, and we all know it." She glanced around, then focused back on the old man wearing half-moon glasses. "And don't even get me started on the points for Longbottom. Standing up to his friends earned him ten points, really?" She chuckled, shaking her head. "I think you were grasping at straws with that one, professor. You could've given Gryffindor the points for Granger, Weasley, and Potter and let them tie with us—Slytherin—but no, you had to add the ten extra points, or else they wouldn't have won."

She released a breath. "Look, all I am saying is that Slytherin deserved to win because we have acted right all year besides the mishaps here and there, which were mostly my fault." She placed a hand on her chest, taking the blame for most of the reasons why her house hadn't gotten or lost points. "But we earned it no less."

He took in her words for a moment, pondering them in his mind. "While I agree with your statement about Slytherin being well-behaved this year, I do not agree with you on the fact that Gryffindor didn't earn their spot as well." He sent her a smile that she could tell was nothing but fake. "No one likes a sore loser, Miss Mallard."

That was what really set her off. A sore loser—her? He had to be bloody mental. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to squash down the anger and the magic that brewed to the surface with it. You've been doing so well, Olivia; don't ruin it now. Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm.

It was too late. The lit candles around the hall began to flicker as she tried so desperately to keep her anger at bay. Don't overreact; don't lash out; don't get angry. Control yourself. It wasn't working. She peeled her eyes open, showcasing the void of emotion. She looked at Snape, who stared at her blankly, and then she found Dumbledore's eyes.

"And no one likes a biased Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore," she retorted, stepping off of the bench. She removed the stupid hat from her head and tossed it on the table, then made her way to the doors.

Just before she left the hall, Dumbledore spoke up. "Assuming that my calculations are correct, I believe that a change of decoration is in order," he gleamed, then clapped his hands. Olivia looked up, watching as the Slytherin banners changed into Gryffindor ones. "Gryffindor wins!" he added.

The candles around the Great Hall still flickered from her magic as the Gryffindor table began to cheer loudly. Olivia's eyes fell to the floor as she pushed open the door and walked out, not feeling in the celebrating mood any longer.

Her boots carried her through the dimly lit corridor and all the way to her favorite spot. She climbed the stairs leading into the tower and made her way over to the railing to sit. Leaning her back against the wall, she took long, deep breaths. In and out.

Control your anger so that it doesn't control you. Breath. It is alright. It's just a house cup—meaningless, unimportant, just a stupid trophy. It will be okay. You're okay. Those were the things she repeated to herself as she looked up at the stars and the bright full moon. She'd be okay. There's nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.

It was okay. She'd be okay.

≀⋆⁺₊⋆ ꗃ 𖦹⨳✺

━━━━ ella's speaking !
i honestly could've written olivia's dialogue better, but i still like how it is now

make sure to comment and vote !!

kisses.

━━━━━━━━━━ born to die,
© -LOSTGARDENS, sep 2023

word count: 1577.   written: 9.12.23.   published: 9.17.23.