TRAINING WHEELS—
surviving the snakes.

023

Amora coughed into the back of her hand, her eyes wincing shut for a moment before she swallowed thickly, exhaling through her nose. Her back ached from her position leaning over one of the library tables, books sprawled out in front of her as she attempted to master the Herbology essay that they had been assigned over the weekend. No matter how hard she concentrated on it, Amora couldn't wrap her head around anything that she was actually inking down onto her parchment.

Her eyes had started to feel heavy half an hour ago, her cheek nearly slipping off her hand several times as her brain started to shut down, preparing her for sleep. Last night, Amora had felt too ill to complete her Herbology assignment so she decided to sleep it off, only to wake up feeling ten times worse. Amora had rushed to the library to complete her work, but the common cold she seemed to be sporting was just pleading for her body to head back to bed.

One more foot, she kept telling herself, one more foot of writing and you're done.

The words were repeated so many times in her own head that they began to swirl and lose all meaning; sounding more like a lullaby to her exhausted head. She sniffled absentmindedly as she closed her eyes, this time resting her head down into her arms on the table. Amora figured that she definitely deserved a small break after hours of trying to deal with Professor Sprout's excessive homework, but the longer she stayed down, the more she realised her arms had never felt quite so comfortable.

Every time Amora attempted to lift her heavy skull from her arms, it was as if her body simply wouldn't let her. The smell of books and parchment soothed her pounding head into a small sleep, shallow breaths escaping her lips as her dark hair sprawled out across the table and her belongings.

She couldn't have been asleep for two minutes before she felt cold fingers rub against one of her arms. Amora mumbled under her breath, already totally disorientated. Her lips stammered out what was either Kathy or Hannah's name-- perhaps a mix of the two, she couldn't comprehend-- before she heard a dark chuckle that definitely didn't belong to one of her roommates.

Amora's head flung up and her cheeks heated up at the sight of Blaise Zabini perched on the end of the seat next to Amora, an amused expression written across his dark features. His pearly whites were set on display when he grinned at her, brown eyes flickering down to her parchment.

"Herbology is quite the bore, isn't it, Buckley?" Blaise hummed.

Amora rubbed her hot cheeks, offering him a weak smile. "Perhaps I shouldn't have left it so last minute."

"Perhaps not," he agreed, "I figured I would wake you up before the library closed for the night. Wouldn't want you to get locked in, would we?"

The brunette could only think of the time that it had happened to her and Draco all those months ago. How agitated they had been with each other at first before he was handing her his jumper and then allowing for her to fall asleep against his shoulder, his head resting on top of hers. That night had been the start of something new for both of them. Amora was glad that she had gotten locked in the library that night.

"No, no," Amora said before her eyes widened. "Wait-- the library's closing? What time is it?"

"It's twenty to eight," Blaise replied, "You have twenty minutes."

Amora's brown eyes bulged wide. "I've been asleep for over three hours!" She exclaimed, more awake than she had felt in over twenty-four hours now. "I missed dinner a-and now I have to stay up and finish this stupid thing!"

Blaise watched as she began to shove everything together and slide it into the backpack that was slung over the back of her chair. He tilted his head.

"Meet me tomorrow," Blaise said, his dark hand planting down on top of hers which was uncharacteristically pale-- despite her face being so flushed and slightly sweaty. "I will let you copy mine, but change some of it, of course."

Amora froze. "What?"

Why would he do that? Other than going to the Yule Ball with one another, Blaise and Amora had no reason to talk with one another. Well, she also did have a thing with his best friend, but she was ninety-nine percent sure that Blaise had no idea about her and Draco. She cocked her head to the side, studying his facial expression as if waiting for him to crack up laughing and say that he was joking.

"You look like you're on death's door, Amora," Blaise acknowledged bluntly, "I know you're not blushing because I'm here."

That made Amora chuckle slightly, shaking her head. "I suppose I must look awful. I feel it."

"Have you been to Madam Pomfrey?" Blaise questioned.

"I haven't had the time," she replied as she screwed the cap to her ink back on. "I woke up late because I felt sick last night and I've been doing this up until now."

"Well, like I said, you go rest up and I'll meet you before Herbology tomorrow," Blaise shrugged.

"Ugh, you're the best, Blaise, seriously," Amora grunted as she climbed from her seat and threw her bag over her shoulder. "I'd hug you or something, but I'm certain you don't want to wake up with a cold tomorrow."

Blaise gave a half-smile. "Probably not."

Amora left the library slightly confused but relieved nevertheless. She brushed her hair off of her forehead, her chest felt heavy as she attempted to head towards the Medical Wing. She probably should have gone earlier, but her sickness had been the last thing on her mind.

Truthfully, Amora had been so swamped with classwork and revision that she hadn't been making time for any of her friends, not even Draco ever since they had made up a week ago. They'd tried to get each other alone a few times, but every time one of them was free, the other wasn't. The hardest part of having a secret relationship at a boarding school was definitely the fact that you always had people around you. Even the bathrooms were shared.

Amora trailed through the corridors, trying not to hurt her muscles which ached with a dull pain. Even the staircase looked comfortable to her right now. She could visualise herself laying down on them and falling asleep. Nevertheless, Amora persisted and carried on until she reached the Medical Wing.

Madam Pomfrey handed her a vial of Pepperup Potion, warning her of the side effect that came with it-- steam emitting from her ears for possibly hours on end. Amora was glad that she had waited until the end of the day, pocketing the potion and heading for the Hufflepuff dormitories where she planned on drinking it and then trying to sleep everything off. Her empty stomach growled at her as she passed a group of Gryffindors hanging around one of the portraits.

Her brown eyes landed on none other than Ginny Weasley since she was already staring her down as she passed. Amora gave the Weasley girl a small smile, but Ginny glared back at her.

Amora did a double-take, her eyes widening. Sure enough, Amora's sick brain was not hallucinating the entire thing-- Ginny did not look pleased to see Amora whatsoever. Amora frowned, wondering whether or not she should ask what was wrong, but instead carried on, her thoughts now plagued on what she could have done to upset Ginny. The last time they had spoken to each other had been at the Quidditch Cup, and she seemed fine with her back then.

"Look at you!" Kathy huffed as soon as Amora entered the dormitory. "You look as sick as a bug!"

"I thought it was as sick as a dog," Zena mumbled, her voice going ignored by Kathy who quickly guided Amora over to her bed.

"You missed dinner," Kathy muttered, moving to her own bedside table. "You're lucky I snuck you some biscuits. I know you like to dip them in your tea, but I couldn't get any--"

"I'm fine, thank you, Kathy," Amora smiled grimly as she gently pushed Kathy's hands off of her. "I went to Madam Pomfrey and grabbed some Pepperup Potion. I should wake up as good as new."

Kathy appeared apprehensive, a small frown written across her face. "Where were you today, Amora?"

Amora shot her a weird look. "In the library?"

"During dinner?" Kathy prodded.

"Yes..." Amora tilted her head at her friend. "I fell asleep doing my work."

"Okay," Kathy nodded, almost like Amora had passed some sort of test that she wasn't aware she had been taking in the first place. "Okay. You take your potion and then have a shower. It will help you feel better."

"Yes, mum," Amora yawned sarcastically, pulling the vial out of the pocket of her robe.

She unscrewed the top and knocked the liquid back, her nose scrunching at the taste as it hit the back of her throat and trailed down. Once she was sure that it was all gone, Amora shuddered and placed the empty glass vial onto her bedside table, waiting for a few moments before steam began to gush out of her ears.

"Merlin!" Amora grimaced at the sudden feeling as she stumbled up, glaring when Hannah giggled at her.

"You look like a train," she teased, "Or one of those cartoons where the person is angry."

"I will be angry if you keep laughing," Amora huffed.

Her body was already starting to feel better, the achy feeling in her muscles and limbs leaving her. Her head felt unfogged and when she blinked she didn't feel like she was going to fall asleep. Amora groaned as the steam continued to pour out of her ears-- there were smart wizards out there, how had one of them not come up with a potion that didn't have the side effects of looking like one of Hannah's angry cartoon people?

Amora entered the bathroom and took a hot shower, relieved to find that it was aiding her further. She wished she had gone to Madam Pomfrey earlier in the day. Once Amora had washed her face and her body, she stepped out and glanced in the foggy mirror, a small smile crossing her face at the realisation that the steam had stopped emitting from her ears. She brushed her teeth and pulled on her pyjamas before joining the Hufflepuff girls back out in the bedroom.

"Awh, your ears have stopped," Hannah pouted, "I had another joke to tell you."

"Save it for next time," Amora yawned as she climbed into bed. "I have a day of feeling like rubbish to sleep off."

"Sweet dreams, Amora," Kathy murmured from where she was already curled up in bed.

Other murmurs of similar statements echoed around the room and Amora repeated synonyms back to the witches, her eyes growing heavier and heavier until she finally fell asleep.

D.M + A.B

Amora wandered into the Great Hall the next morning, her incomplete Herbology essay tucked under her arm as she searched the Slytherin table for a certain fourth-year boy. For the first time this school year, it wasn't for Draco, but rather for Draco's best friend. She felt like she was in the second year again, her brown eyes desperately searching for a glimpse of the beautiful dark-skinned boy that she had convinced herself she was practically in love with.

Her eyes met grey ones nearly immediately. Draco had already been watching her as she walked through the large set of doors, his silver pools trailing down the length of her entire body and then back up to her face. Before she could offer him a small smile, she noticed Blaise heading towards her. He stood in front, blocking her view of her... Well, what was Draco, really?

He wasn't her boyfriend, but they both knew they had feelings for each other. They used to kiss and she was sure they would again once they actually got time alone, but she wouldn't go as far as to label them friends with benefits. That implied that they were doing more things and that there was no romantic intent. It was confusing, but Amora was starting to think maybe it wouldn't be so bad to call Draco her boyfriend, even if only the two of them knew it.

"Amora," Blaise greeted her.

"Blaise," Amora gave him a small, gentle smile as she tried to force the thoughts of Draco out of her brain. "Do you have a free during second?"

"I do, but I have plans," Blaise said, watching as Amora's face fell. "But, alas, my Hufflepuff friend, I decided I couldn't let you down-- I am inviting you for breakfast with the Slytherins instead."

Blaise didn't miss the way that Amora's dark eyes widened, nor the way that her skin seemed to pale at his words. She forced him a shy smile, crinkling her nose as pushed her hair out of her face, attempting to seem confident in front of him. Her tongue darted out to wet her dry lips.

"That's really sweet of you, Blaise, but perhaps I should ask a Hufflepuff for help instead, then." Amora scratched the back of her neck. "I wouldn't want to impose on your housemates."

The Slytherin raised an eyebrow. "Oh, come on, Amora. I see you eating with the Gryffindors sometimes. You're not scared of breakfast with the snakes, are you?" He grinned, swiping his tongue across his perfectly straight teeth. "We don't bite, Buckley."

"No, no, of course not," Amora swallowed, gripping the parchment tucked under her arm tighter. "Um, you lead the way, I guess."

Amora's heart had never pounded so painfully in her chest before. As far as she was concerned, none of the Slytherins hated her for personal reasons, but she knew they would be wary of somebody from another house sitting at their table. She knew they all made fun of each other a lot, sometimes getting too personal, which was something Hufflepuffs tended not to do so much. Amora prepared herself for whatever remarks were going to come her way.

Her brown eyes darted over to Draco, his silver pools shooting her a confused look when he realised that she was following Blaise over. Amora widened her eyes back at him, signalling that this definitely wasn't a choice that she had made by herself, forcing a smile at the Slytherins who glanced up at her when they stopped at their table.

"Hey, Buckley," Theodore Nott nodded casually, sending her a small salute before returning to his toast.

Amora smiled gratefully back at him as she sunk into the chair next to Blaise, right opposite Draco. She was glad that Theo seemed to break the slight tension that had been created by her simple existence, her third-year Charms partner being kind enough to try and show his housemates that she meant no harm.

Truthfully, Amora knew that Slytherins weren't as bad as some students at Hogwarts liked to make them appear. She never held prejudice when it came to anybody-- she liked to make her own mind up for herself. In return, a lot of Slytherins treated her with the same amount of respect. Some were hesitant because they sided with Draco against Harry and the Golden Trio, who Amora spent time with, but it wasn't too bad.

"What is she doing here?" Crabbe huffed from a few seats down.

"I'm helping her with Herbology, Crabbe. Problem?" Blaise raised his eyebrows back, daring him to say something else.

Crabbe sank away from the pressure as Slytherins looked at him, wondering if he would speak up. He didn't. Him and Goyle went back to their breakfast, disgruntled looks on their faces. Amora noticed that she hadn't seen them around Draco as much recently, not since they'd ended up in the Medical Wing because of a Stinging Jinx.

They were telling everybody that they'd done it on each other-- an accident when they were messing around with spell books, and whilst professors took that as their answers, students held their suspicions. Amora had yet to ask Draco about it.

"A Hufflepuff needing help with Herbology?" Pansy smirked from next to Daphne, her eyes burning into Amora's as the brunette glanced up.

Amora raised her eyebrows. "I believe you were struggling with Potions last term, Pansy. It's not always clever to stereotype."

Pansy scoffed and turned away. Amora didn't want to say anything too mean, knowing for a fact that she would become the one under attack if she insulted a Slytherin at their own table. Her eyes drifted to Blaise's hands as he tugged his work out of his bag, revealing his completed Herbology essay. However, Blaise was looking directly at Draco in front of them whose silver gaze flickered between Blaise and Amora and his cereal.

"Anything you want to say, Malfoy?" Blaise questioned, something in his tone that Amora couldn't detect.

She frowned for a second, wondering what Draco could possibly have to say, until she remembered that to everybody else, Draco hated her and she hated him. Amora pursed her lips as she made eye contact with the platinum-haired boy, his lips parting as he hesitated for a couple of seconds.

"It's too early to deal with a Hufflepuff," he said, feigning boredom as he brought his spoon back to his mouth. "I'd rather just ignore Buckley's existence. Hopefully for the rest of my life whilst I'm at it."

The corner of Amora's lip nearly quirked up into an amused smile, knowing that his words were far from the truth. Nevertheless, she resisted, pretending that she was annoyed by his remark.

"Makes my life easier," she quipped.

She looked out of the corner of her eye as Draco bent his head down to eat a spoonful of his cereal, but his lips stretched into a small grin and he shook his head. Blaise handed her his quill and pushed his parchment out so that it was side by side with her incomplete one.

"You just needed the last part of the final subchapter, right?" Blaise asked.

"Yes," Amora nodded, starting to copy down from his work. "You have beautiful handwriting, by the way."

Blaise chuckled. "I have beautiful everything." He pretended to flip invisible hair over his shoulder, making Amora giggle and shake her head. "Thanks, Buckley. Help yourself to breakfast, by the way. Most important meal of the day, you know."

Amora glanced up, looking around at all of the food. She grabbed some porridge and then some honey, putting it instead. She always got told off by her mother for the amount that she put in and her friends often raised their eyebrows at it, Blaise doing the same thing.

"Merlin, Amora. It's a wonder you don't reek of honey," Blaise teased, watching as she mixed it all together and had a spoonful, blowing on the steaming spoon first. "Is it good?"

"Hmm." Amora nodded. "Wanna try?"

Blaise looked like he was considering it for a moment before he nodded in agreement. He grabbed his own spoon and dipped it into her bowl, blowing off the steam just like she had done before shovelling it into his mouth. He made a face of contemplation as he swallowed before furrowing his brows and nodding.

"Not bad, Buckley, not bad," he agreed. "Draco, you need to try this, mate."

"He's already sweet enough," Daphne Greengrass teased from the other side of Draco, glancing up from the last minute work she was doing with a smile.

Blaise and Amora both laughed whilst Draco sent her a sneering glare. "Watch your mouth, Greengrass," he hissed.

The Slytherin and the Hufflepuff returned to their work, Blaise explaining a couple of things as Amora ate her breakfast and quietly copied down everything he was saying, occasionally asking questions when there was something she didn't quite understand. Within twenty minutes, they were done.

Amora grinned at him as she pushed her parchment into her bag and wrapped arm around his shoulder, giving him a side-hug which was more like just a squeeze to the shoulders. She stood up from the bench, tucking her hair out of her face.

"Thanks, Blaise," she said, "I owe you one. If you ever need help with anything, let me know."

"It's no worries, Buckley," he replied as he took a sip of his pumpkin juice. "And I'll let you know."

Amora waved goodbye as she left the Slytherin table, her eyes connecting with Draco's silver ones for what had to be the fifth time as he sent her a small smirk. She began to head back to the Hufflepuff table, secretly quite proud of herself.

She'd survived half an hour at the Slytherin table-- and with minimal insults hurled her way. That was what she called an accomplishment.

...

i'm really excited for what i have planned for amora's storyline! this is the start of what could be a good few friendships :))

thanks so much for reading <333

dyiansobrien