secret

   The warm water runs down Vanessa's back, washing off the dirt from last night's cleaning. She lets out a breath, letting the warmth relax her. She doesn't know why she's so nervous for her first day in class, she probably knows more than most of the students here. Perhaps, it's because she has to spend the day looking at the boy she has to kill. Or maybe it's because she spent the night cleaning with the boy she has to kill. 

    She steps out of the shower, wrapping her body in a towel and looking in the mirror. Vanessa eyes the reflection of the mark on her arm, admiring it. It's faded some since it was first put on, probably to make it easier to hide. She wishes she didn't have to hide it, she wants to show it off to the world. Let everyone know of her accomplishments. 

    Vanessa grabs the clothes she picked out for the day off of the bathroom counter and walks to her room. A knock at the door makes her sigh, wondering who would want to speak to her right now. 

    "One second." she hollers through the door, not wanting to walk out with just a towel on her. Though, the knocking continues. Vanessa lets out an aggravated groan as she walks to the door. 

    "What do yo- oh." she can feel her face heating up, looking up at Draco standing in front of her, his eyes looking her up and down. 

    "Didn't know I was getting a free show this morning." Draco scoffs and Vanessa rolls her eyes. Why is he here? Why does he want to be around her? Why can't he despise her, make it easier for Vanessa to kill him? 

    "Fuck off." Vanessa says, wrapping her left arm behind her back, hiding the mark. 

    "I came to see if you wanted me to walk you to breakfast, but I think I'll just stay right here." he laughs as he pushes past her and into the room. 

    "Get out, I need to get dressed." Vanessa stays standing at the door, gesturing for him to get out before he sees the mark on her arm. 

    "Fine, I'm such a gentleman" he shrugs as he walks back out of the door, Vanessa shuts it behind him and lets out a breath. 

    "Asshole" 

    "I can still hear you, Vanessa" Draco's voice comes from outside the door, Vanessa rolls her eyes. 

    "Good" she spits back as she gets dressed, making sure to pull her sleeves down. She grabs her wand and does a little spell she learned that dries her hair before tucking it into her skirt and grabbing her robe. 

    "That didn't take long." Draco laughs as he watches her walk out of her room. Vanessa shakes her head as she starts to walk down the stairs. 

    "Why are you still here" Vanessa scoffs and Draco looks at her "Did you not hear anything I said? I'm walking you to breakfast." he laughs and she rolls her eyes. She knows he won't give up, so she stops trying. 

    "So, how is it being Snape's daughter? Is he as mean as he is in class?" Draco asks, not realizing that Vanessa has no clue how he is in class. 

    "I wouldn't know, I've never been in his class. But he's not bad, of course he's strict with his rules, but not horrible." Vanessa shrugs, her father has never been horrible to her. He makes her follow the rules, a slap across the face if she doesn't, but nothing horrible. 

    "Oh. Yeah" Draco realizes his ignorance and mentally curses himself for asking that. 

    The two kids walk with each other to the Great Hall, not saying a word but just enjoying each other's company. Draco sneaks glances at Vanessa as they walk, she can feel him looking at her. It only makes her feel worse. 

    She's not a killer, in no way possible. But she definitely doesn't kill her friends, and Draco is looking a lot like a friend right now. Though, she has to kill him, to make her father proud, to save herself from being killed. 

******

    "You can sit with me over at the Slytherin table." Draco pulls Vanessa towards his seat. 

    "What makes you think I want to sit with you?" Vanessa laughs, Draco holds back the smile that wants to creep on his face when he hears her laugh. 

    "Because I'm irresistible." he shoots back, making Vanessa roll her eyes. 

    They both take a seat, just like yesterday with Draco in front of Vanessa. 

    "Hey, Vanessa" Pansy, who is sitting beside Vanessa now, says. Draco wonders when they met each other, not remembering seeing Pansy speak to Vanessa. 'It's good they know each other' he thinks, knowing that Pansy, one of his closest friends, is getting along with Vanessa, who Draco has taken a quick liking to. 

    "Morning, Pansy" Vanessa nods back, turning her head towards the girl beside her. 

    "Did you get everything in your room sorted out? It must have taken forever to get it cleaned." Pansy shakes her head, remembering how messy the abandoned room was. 

    "Yeah, Draco helped me" Vanessa answers, Pansy looks at Draco, giving him a 'did-you-fuck-her' look. The look she always gives him, due to his--reputation. Draco shakes his head, denying it immediately. He doesn't want Vanessa to think badly of him, to think that he sleeps around. 

    Finally the breakfast food appears on the table. Draco watches as Vanessa eyes the food just like she did at the feast yesterday, but still she doesn't make her plate until Draco does. He doesn't know whether to feel respected, or feel bad that she's always thought she's less superior than the men in her life. 

    Vanessa also stays silent, until Draco speaks, another one of Snape's rules. 

******

    "How is everything going?" Severus's voice interrupts the meal as he glares down at Vanessa. She looks up from her food, meeting his stare. 

    "Good." she nods, she notices her father glance down at her arm most likely searching for the mark. Or more than likely, making sure it's covered. 

    "I'll see you in class, Vanessa. Don't be late." Snape orders before walking away, Vanessa sighs, wishing he would say more to her. More than just rules or commands. Perhaps a simple 'good job' would do. 

    "Your first class is potions?" Pansy asks Vanessa, she shrugs, "I guess so."

     Vanessa can never remember if she got a schedule or not, or if she even knows what all classes there are. Either way, she can pass all of them. 

    After she finishes eating, Vanessa waits for a sign that breakfast is over, and that sign comes when other kids start to pile out of the Great Hall. 

    "Pansy has potions as her first class too, she can show you where it is." Draco looks at Vanessa and then at Pansy. 

    "Yeah, of course. Come on" Pansy nods at Vanessa and starts to lead her out of the Great Hall, Draco's eyes staying on Vanessa the entire way out. 

    As everyone makes their way into the potions classroom, Vanessa follows. She takes a seat in the middle of the classroom, beside an empty chair, and a boy with short black hair. He looks at her as she sits down, a nervous smile on his face. 

    "I'm Neville. Neville Longbottom" the boy spits out, Vanessa smiles as she looks at him. 

    "Vanessa. Vanes-" "I know. Snape. Professor Snape's daughter" Neville cuts her off and she looks at him, trying not to tell him he's a creep, she just turns back to where her father stands. 

    "Today we will be mixing a potion that often comes up at Ordinary Wizarding Level: The Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation. Be warned: If you are too heavy-handed with the ingredients you will put the drinker into a heavy and sometimes irreversible sleep, so you will need to pay close attention to what you are doing." Snape starts, Vanessa already knows this lesson. She was taught it when she was eleven, never forgotten. 

    "Does anyone by chance know the ingredients that go into this potion?" Vanessa's hand shoots up, along with another girl's. The two glare at each other as if they're fighting to say the answer.

    "Vanessa" her father calls on her and she can't help but give the girl a 'ha-i-win-you-lose' look.

    "Powdered moonstone, syrup of hellebore, powdered porcupine quills, and powdered unicorn horn" Vanessa answers confidently, her father nods, "Correct"

    The girl from across the room scowls at Vanessa, and she looks as if she wants to kill her. Vanessa wants to tell her to get a grip and back off, but she stays silent. Knowing that if she interrupts her father's class, she'll upset him. 

    As class goes on, Vanessa and the girl fight for every answer. When Vanessa answers she gets it right, same for the other girl. At one point it feels less like education and more like a competition. 

    "You're like stupid smart, you know" Pansy laughs as the two girls walk out of the class, Vanessa laughs. 

    "I know." she answers, Vanessa's always taken pride in her knowledge and how well she could retain information. She has never forgotten a single thing she's ever been told. 

    "Hey, Vanessa, wait up" someone hollers from behind them, they both halt. Pansy turns around first, looking to see who is calling her friend. Then Vanessa turns to meet the new face. 

    "Hermione Granger. Mudblood" Pansy scoffs as the girl makes it to them. Vanessa's heard all about the mudbloods, her father calls them filthy, so of course Vanessa thinks the same. 

    "Can I help you?" Vanessa asks as Hermione reaches them

    "How did you know all of that stuff? You've never attended a wizarding school before, never even been outside" the girl knows too much, why is she in Vanessa's business. 

    "How would you even know? Stay out of my business." Vanessa snaps back, truth is, Hermione had done her research on Vanessa once she heard she was at the school. She wanted to know all about Snape's long, lost, daughter.

    "There's no need to be a bitch, alright? I was just curious. Forget it" Hermione walks away, shaking her head. Pansy laughs as they both turn back around and start walking towards Vanessa's next class. 

    "Your next class is charms. I don't have that class but Draco does so he can help you. Or you can help him" Pansy laughs and Vanessa nods, though, she's already bored of this. She already knows most of it, she's not learning anything, just hearing the same things she always has. And then getting shit for being smart? 

    "Thank you for walking me" Vanessa thanks Pansy as they reach the charm's classroom. Pansy nods before walking away. 

    Vanessa walks in and finds a seat in the middle of the class, as always. She looks around and the people that walk in, she doesn't see that girl from earlier, Hermione, which is relieving. 

    "Hello, new girl" Draco's voice comes up from behind Vanessa, surprising her since she's been watching the door. 

    "Don't call me that" Vanessa snaps back as Draco takes the seat beside her

    "Why?"

    "Because, it's annoying" she rolls her eyes and he laughs, "And you think I care? How sweet" he mocks. 

    Vanessa just glares at him and he cracks a smile, a smile that makes her anger slip away. Shit. That shouldn't happen. That can't happen. She can't befriend him. How can you kill a friend? You can't. 

    She quickly pushes the smile away and turns her head, Draco laughs as he had already noticed her smile. How could he miss it?

    "How about a riddle? With this one powerful curse, skilled wizards can easily reduce obstacles to pieces. For obvious reasons great care must be exercised when learning and practising this spell, lest you find yourself sweeping up in detention for it is all too easy to bring your classroom ceiling crashing down, or to reduce your teacher's desk to a fine mist. Does anyone know what curse I'm talking about?" Flitwick starts, and just like in the other classes, Vanessa's hand shoots up. 

    "Yes, miss Snape" Flitwick points at her and she laughs. 

    "Call me Vanessa, please. And it's the reductor curse" she answers, Flitwick nods. 

    "Very good, Vanessa. Would you want to come demonstrate for the class, if you're feeling brave enough" the professor offers, Vanessa laughs. 

    "Sure" she shrugs, she learned this curse when she was twelve, she's used it many times. Vanessa pulls her wand out and looks at the professor, he gestures to an object at the side of the room. 

    "Reducto" the blue light flies out of Vanessa's wand, hitting the object in sight, turning it into hundreds of tiny pieces in seconds. Some of the class clap as she puts her wand away and turns to Flitwick who sits with an impressed smile on his face. 

    "Very well, Vanessa. Take a seat" he nods and she smiles as she walks back and sits beside Draco. 

    "You have to teach me that because that was cool as shit." he whispers into her ear, sending chills down her body. 

    "You think I want to help you? How sweet" she mocks him from earlier and he laughs "touche', Vanessa, touche'"

    Vanessa goes on with her day, answering questions in every class. She only had one other class with Hermione, and again they fought the entire class. Though, she had the rest of her classes with Pansy, who seemed impressed with Vanessa's knowledge on every subject. 

draco

    "She's smart as fuck." Draco laughs as he looks at Pansy across the table in the common room. 

    "She really is. I thought she was going to give the mudblood a heart attack. Finally, a Slytherin that can get under Granger's skin" Pansy laughs and Draco agrees. 

    "Have you noticed how--old fashioned--her manners are?" Draco asks, thinking back on her table manners. 

    "What do you mean?" 

    "I mean, she doesn't eat until I eat, doesn't speak until I speak. In some families, the women can't do anything until the man does it first. Disgusting really, do you think Snape's like that?" Draco asks.

   "Probably, you know how Snape is. I don't think I could live with being his daughter. But why does it matter? Since when are you a feminist?" 

    "Shut up" Draco rolls his eyes. He knows what Pansy's thinking, she thinks he likes Vanessa. But he doesn't. They're just friends.