I'll Take My Chances

The next day seemed to pass more quickly than I hoped. I was dreading every hour until my detention with Professor Sinistra....and Cedric. I wondered why anyone would want to help supervise a detention, let alone become a prefect. That would just take all the fun out of life. But then again, you did get to boss people around and hand out detentions. Still, it wouldn’t be worth it.

I sulked around all day, looking sour and gloomy. I hated detentions, yet somehow I always managed to find myself there constantly. I guess I had a knack for causing trouble and it didn't help I was best friends with Harry Potter, the most infamous troublemaker around. Yet what was life without getting into a little trouble every now and then?

I tended to snap at people when I was in one of my angry moods. I was also infamous for my glares and short temper fuse. Parvati had tried to start an argument with me in the common room over something stupid, I couldn’t even remember what it was when I tried to think about it later. She barely got an entire sentence out before I had jinxed her with the Silencing Charm. I was secretly thankful that Flitwick had taught us that one. It was fun watching her stomp about and have her little silent temper tantrum.

My friends knew better though. They stayed their distance and spoke to me only when necessary, as almost any word could ignite my temper. But much to my dismay, I found myself trudging down the corridor on the fifth floor at eight o‘clock, headed to Professor Sinstra's classroom for detention that evening. Emily had kindly consented to walk me there, since she was headed to the library on the same floor. I spent the entire walk there throwing ideas at her on how to get out of this detention.

" What if I tell Sinistra that I got lost and then Peeves locked me in a closet, and then after that one of the suits of armors went on a murderous rampage, trying to kill me?" I suggested desperately to Emily, hoping to come up with a good excuse for to skip my detention.

Emily snorted with laughter. " Uh huh....I don't think the Professor is stupid enough to fall for that one..." She said, giving me a wide grin.

I groaned loudly. " Okay, what if I tell her that I just got lost then?" I tried again.

Emily shook her head and smiled. " You? Of all people? Get lost in here? Lex....you know every single secret passage way in this school....That chances of you getting lost are like five in a trillion." She smiled again.

" Fine! Whatever then!" I gave up, throwing my hands in the air. I stopped just outside the closed, wooden door of Professor Sinistra's classroom and gave Emily one last pleading look. " Please, please, please, please take me with you!" I begged her, giving her my best puppy dog face. That never seemed to work on anyone, though.

Emily just rolled her eyes and began walking away. " Later, Lexi!" She called over her shoulder.

I glared at her retreating back for a moment, before calling out to her. " Okay then, maybe I'll just tell Ronald how madly in love with him you are!" I shouted after her, teasingly. I put on a sly grin and casually folded my arms across my chest.

Emily whirled around, her eyes wide. " You wouldn't!" She cried, running a hand nervously through her very long, brown hair.

I grinned at her and snorted with laughter. " Nah, I was just kidding!"

I heard Emily stomp her foot and yell something obscene as I entered into the classroom. I swiftly shut the door behind me, blocking out the last of Emily's irritated yells.

I brushed a strand of brown hair out of my eyes, staring around the nearly empty classroom. All eyes were on me asI calmly strolled over to my usual detention desk and sat. I sat there every time I landed a detention with Sinistra and by now, most people knew to leave it open for me.

I folded my arms across my chest and propped my feet onto the chair next to me, looking perfectly relaxed. Although I did hate detention, I didn’t see it as a big deal. You went, you sat, you waited, and then you left. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Professor Sinistra gave me an amused smile from her desk. " Nice of you to join us, Miss. Arison." She said calmly.

I gave her a half smile and nodded.

Professor Sinistra sighed softly and heaved herself out of her chair. " Alright everyone. Welcome to detention. I'm sure you are all as excited to be here as I am." She began, glancing around the room. She received many blank and disbelieving looks before continuing on. " Because I really don't want to be here any more than you do."

" Then why are we here if you don't want to be either?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Professor Sinistra turned and gave me a small smile. " Because you need to learn from your mistakes. That way you won't do it again, correct?" She asked.

I shrugged my shoulders, not caring what lesson, if any, I got out of this whole detention mess. Chances were I’d be back again within the month. I just wanted to get it over with.

" Good. Now, I figured if you're being punished, you might as well make it productive...for me at least. Which is why you'll be cleaning all my telescopes." The Professor said cheerfully. She waved her wand and a closet door flew open to reveal a huge, spacious room filled room filled from wall to wall with telescopes. There must have been hundreds. " Now, I have some other things to get done, but I will leave one of our prefects with you. Do not give him any trouble, or I will hear of it! Understood?" She received a few half hearted nods, but most of the class just continued to stare blankly at her. " Why do I bother?" She murmured to herself, shaking her head ever so slightly.

I smiled at little at that.

Just then the door flew open and Cedric stumbled inside, clearly out of breath. " Sorry I‘m late, Professor!" He apologized, gasping before falling into the chair behind her desk. He continued on after catching his breath. " Some third years were setting off dung bombs in the Charms corridor and I had to chase them down!" He grinned.

I snorted with laughter and Cedric grinned at me and winked.

I stopped laughing immediately and gave him an odd stare before looking away abruptly. I never gave him permission to wink at me.

Professor Sinistra brought me back to reality. " Oh, and I almost forgot! No magic!" She called out, this time receiving many groans and complaints.

" What! Professor, that's not fair at all! This is going to take forever! There's only like, six of us here!" I shouted out, taking my feet off the chair and sitting up straight.

" I don't want to hear about fair, Lexi." Sinistra said sternly. " Cedric, please go around and collect everyone's wand." She ordered the prefect.

I glared coolly at Professor Sinistra. Cleaning with no magic seemed like an extremely unfair punishment. Actually, it felt more like torture.

" Lex....your wand?"

I glanced up and saw Cedric standing beside my desk, smiling lightly.

I narrowed my eyes at him before pulling my wand from my back pocket. I made to hand it to him, but stopped suddenly and gave him a suspicious look. " How do I know my wand will be safe with you, Diggory?" I questioned, perking a single eyebrow.

Cedric broke out into a grin. " Trust me, I'll take good care of it for you." He said teasingly.

I glared at him once again before handing over my wand, although very reluctantly.

" Okay then, here are your supplies. Hopefully you all know how to clean the muggle way, but if not...this will be a true learning experience then won't it?" Professor Sinsitra smiled, waving her wand. A neat assortment of muggle cleaning fluids and rags appeared on her desk. She gave the class one last cheerful smile before smoothly exiting the room, leaving Cedric in charge.

It was just my luck to be stuck in detention with Cedric Diggory in charge, along with a few other morons who were in here for doing who know‘s what. I eyed some of the room's other occupants, one happening to be Pansy Parkinson who was probably one of the stupidest girl I had ever met.

I watched calmly as everyone else went up to the desk and retrieved their own cleaning supplies. I couldn’t help but snicker at the way some of them handled the muggle products like they would jump up and bite them. Honestly...some people. I was a pure blooded witch and even I knew how to clean the muggle way. It wasn't rocket science.

I sighed heavily and after a moment or so, stood up and swaggered to the front of the room to get my own supplies. I could feel Cedric's eyes following me, but refused to even so much spare him one glance. I brushed past him, where he was leaning against Professor Sinistra's desk, gathered the cleaning supplies in my arms, and hurried back to my desk. I could still feel his gaze lingering on me. I tried to ignore it, but it was hard to concentrate on anything when I knew he was looking at me.

I slammed my cleaning rag on the table and looked up at him, glaring.

Cedric raised his eye brows. " Problems?" He asked, smirking slightly.

" I don't, but you certainly do have problems....Don't you know it's rude to stare?" I hissed.

Cedric's eyes lit up and he gave me a crooked grin. " What? I wasn‘t staring.” He defended. “I was only looking…There‘s a difference. It‘s not my problem if you can‘t see that. Now get back to work." He ordered playfully.

I bit my lower lip, holding back a spray of insults. It was better to keep my mouth shut, not wanting to get myself into more trouble than what it was really worth. So I tried to ignore him and went back to cleaning my telescope, glancing up every now and then to give Cedric a well earned glare, only to receive one of his crooked grins in return. I was getting more and more frustrated by the minute.

What seemed like hours later, I collapsed into my chair, tossing down my cleaning rag. My hands felt raw and sore from all the cleaning products and my muscles ached.

I cleared my throat loudly. “Um…excuse me? Diggory?” I said, breaking the silence that had been pulsating throughout the room for the past hour. Cedric glanced up from the paper he was reading at the desk and raised both eyebrows questioningly at me. “Right, sorry…I mean Mister Prefect, Sir.” I corrected myself, sarcasm coating my voice.

Cedric suppressed a grin, looking amused. “What, Lexi?” He asked, sitting back in his chair and setting the paper aside.

“How much longer do we have to be submitted to this torture?” I asked.

A smile stretched his lips. “You still have half an hour.” Cedric answered, glancing at the watch on his wrist.

I groaned loudly, leaning forward and resting my head on the desk.

Suddenly, there was a loud clatter outside the room. Cedric straightened up and strolled over to the door. He pulled it open and stuck his head out to see what the ruckus was.

" Bloody hell." I heard him mutter, running a hand through his already untidy, dirty blonde hair. He quickly turned around and gave everyone a stern look. " You all, stay put. Bloody Third Years up to no good again." He said quickly, before rushing from the room. I stared at the open door for a moment before finally realizing what it meant:

An invitation to freedom.