Cherish Forever

Piper proceeded around the room with caution. She was almost finished getting herself ready for the day, and so far, she hadn't woken anyone up, so she was trying not to do so now.

Aha! She thought to herself. All done. And with that, she found herself traveling down the spiral staircase to the common room. It was empty, as per usual at this time in the morning. Piper checked her watch. Hmmm... 7:30. Another half an hour and I can go down to breakfast. Piper took out her Charms book, a piece of parchment and a quill, and began to read and write.

***

Before she knew it, her wrist-watch read 8:01. She put her things in her bag, and headed off for the Great Hall, but not before getting a pill for her mind-blowing headache. Only a few people sat at the table, but all the teachers were present. Including Snape. She made eye contact with him, gave him a small smile, and sat down to a breakfast of eggs, sausage, beans and toast, while reading "Pride and Prejudice", by Jane Austin, her favourite Muggle author, and shared the same last name as her.

"How are you feeling today, Piper?" asked a voice from behind her. Piper turned her head around, her golden blonde locks swirling with her as she moved. Standing behind her was Neville Longbottom, a friend from Gryffindor, and someone she spoke to quite often in the mornings, because other than herself, Neville was usually the only person up.

"I'm fine, thanks, Neville. How are you?" Piper replied warmly, and motioned for Neville to sit with her. She enjoyed the company.

"I'm fine. I heard about what happened last night. Bloody git, Malfoy is, going and doing a thing like that." Neville's eyes had moved into narrow squints, and he looked like he wanted to crush something, which meant bad news for the muffin that he was now currently holding.

"Don't worry about it, Neville. Things are all taken care of. I'm all in one piece, with some of my dignity still in tact," Piper let out a small giggle, "And Malfoy is getting a punishment from Snape. I think things are all taken care of. Except for the little fact that this means war. He so has it coming," Piper replied mischievously.

As soon as those words came out of her mouth, Draco Malfoy walked through the doors to the Great Hall, with his slobbering dog, Pansy Parkinson, tailing along behind him, and his gorillas, Crabbe and Goyle at his side. Piper and Malfoy locked eyes for a split second, both with a look of pure loathing on their faces, and Malfoy sauntered up to Piper. His egotistical swagger made her sick.

"So, manage to warm up, Austin?" Malfoy said with a snigger.

"Why don't you go fuck-" Piper spitted venomously, but was cut short when she saw Draco grin with pleasure.

"What are you smiling about, you son-of-a-" Piper started again, but was once again was cut short when cool voice said "Tut-tut-tut. Such foul words coming from such a pretty mouth," Piper turned around, to see who was speaking to her, now frustrated because she was interrupted twice, and found herself face-to-face with Lucius Malfoy, with Professor Snape at his side. Piper opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She was just shocked. Mr. Malfoy was smirking that oh-so arrogant smirk, a Malfoy trait, while he tried to discreetly look her up and down. It didn't exactly work, because Piper noticed, but she chose not to say anything. Piper knew when to hold her tongue.

Fabulous. I already have to deal with one Malfoy... Piper thought miserably to herself.
"My name is Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father," Mr. Malfoy introduced himself, with what Piper thought was a lot of authority, and stuck out his hand. As if I didn't know, Piper thought to herself as she resisted the temptation to roll her yes. Everyone knew who Lucius Malfoy was. He was very involved with the Ministry, and from most people had heard, the Dark Lord as well. And, it also helped that Draco was constantly threatening people that he would get his father on their ass.

"I'm Piper Austin, sir," Piper replied, as warmly as she could, adding the sir in there for flourish. She wanted to be as nice as she could to Lucius Malfoy, because she didn't know what would happen if she crossed his path. She held out her hand, thinking that he was going to shake it, but got somewhat flustered when he bent down and kissed it. She pulled her hand away, and put it back to her side. She held Mr. Malfoy's gaze, before finally blurting out, "What are you doing here?" Piper had to hold on to the side of her shirt to keep her right hand from coming up to cover her mouth.

Lucius merely smiled and said, "I am here on Ministry business. Just to make sure Hogwarts is operating smoothly, and the professors are doing their jobs. I'll be joining you with your Defense Against the Darks Arts lesson today," Mr. Malfoy replied pleasantly with a smile. It was only then did he turn to his son, walk up to him, and slap him smartly across the face. Gasps erupted from the mouths of the few people in the room, including Piper. Draco looked too shocked to be in any pain.

"What was that for?" He whispered fiercely at his father, who merely smirked.

"I heard about the incident last night. You're lucky that I'm not in charge of your punishment, boy. I believe you owe Miss Austin an apology." He replied in the same fierce whisper. Draco looked at him as if he had just sprouted tits.

"You can't be-" He started, but was immediately cut off.

"I am dead serious, boy. No Malfoy man ever behaves the way you did last night, especially to a lady." He turned to Piper, and gave a pleasant smile. Okaaay. Kind of creepy, Piper thought. "Now, apologize to Miss Austin. Now." Mr. Malfoy spat, and grabbed Draco by the scruff of the shirt and dragged him over to where Piper stood, dumbstruck at the whole scenario. A snort came from behind her, and she looked around and saw only Snape, but she couldn't be too sure if the noise came from him, so she turned back around and was face-to-face with Draco.

"I'msorryfor-" Draco mumbled, clearly embarrassed about what his father was making him do. Piper, on the other hand, was enjoying his misery way too much. She smirked.

"What was that, Draco? Speak up, love. I can't quite hear you," Piper said mischievously.

"I'm sorry for putting you in the lake last night," Draco repeated, in a barely audible whisper.

"Still cant hear you, love. You'll have to speak much louder than that. I think I still have water in my ears," Piper said, now fighting with herself to keep from laughing. She could hear Snape behind her, a muffled chuckle, and Mr. Malfoy was smirking, as usual. Neville was almost in convulsions at this point, but was immediately silenced by the flexing of a bicep aimed his way from Crabbe.

"I'm sorry for putting you in the lake last night!" Draco practically screamed, causing Piper to release a giggle, but immediately stop. But, it made everyone else laugh hysterically.

"That's better, Draco. Now, say it like you mean it," Piper replied. Malfoy scowled, and walked away in a huff, his entourage scrambling to follow him.

"I am dreadfully sorry about all this, Miss Austin. I'm sure Professor Snape will see to it that Draco is properly punished. Good thing he was there to save you, eh?" Mr. Malfoy laughed, and Piper could have sworn he saw him wink. She looked at him cautiously, but he merely laughed again.

"I'll be seeing you later on, Miss Austin. Until then," Mr. Malfoy bowed his head, and walked towards the staff table. As she watched him walk away, she could feel eyes watching her, and she turned to meet the gaze of Professor Snape. She opened her mouth to say something, but he merely nodded his head, and turned around to follow Mr. Malfoy.

Piper sat herself down back at the table beside Neville, who was absent-mindedly chatting away about Herbology. A few minutes later, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Mojo walked into the Great Hall, and took their usually seats at the table. Everyone exchanged "Good morning"s, and they began to serve themselves dinner. Piper wondered to herself when they were going to notice Mr. Malfoy sitting at the head table. Sure enough, quick, intelligent, ever-observant Hermione picked up on it shortly.

"Isn't that Lucius Malfoy sitting at the Head Table, beside Professor Snape?" She questioned. Everyone, except Neville and Piper, turned their heads to have a look.

"It is too. What the bloody hell is he doing here?" Ron asked, confused.

"Did you notice him earlier, Piper? Did he say anything to you?" Harry asked, and suddenly all eyes were on Piper. She and Neville exchanged knowing looks.

"All I can say is this today is going to be one weird day."