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Millicent Bulstrode was nothing short of a scholar. She made good grades, arrived to class early - often before her professors, and found ways to earn extra credit even when none was offered. She was a certain shoo-in for a student at the top of her class, at least within her own house.
Millie found herself in absolute shock when Professor Snape announced the Slytherin house's top students just before the holidays. It was news to her to hear that there was a tie between her and Pansy Parkinson.
Pansy was the polar opposite of Millie. On the rare occasion that Pansy would decide to show her face in class, she always arrived late. It didn't matter if class started at eight o'clock in the morning or six o'clock at night; there was nothing that could force Pansy to arrive on time. Pansy often spent extra time with Professor Snape serving detention for skipping class or causing trouble somewhere else in the castle.
"There has to be a mistake, Headmistress," Millie pleaded, chasing Headmistress McGonagall down the hall away from the Great Hall. "Parkinson can't be in competition for the top of Slytherin House. She never comes to class."
"Even though she may not come to class, Ms. Bulstrode," McGonagall began, glancing back at the young Slytherin chasing after her with a smile on her face. "Ms. Parkinson's grades are just as impressive as yours are. I don't know what you want me to tell you."
"That you are just kidding, and I'm the only one at the top. I've worked so hard for this, and I don't want to see it just ripped away," Millie replied, pouting her lower lip and crossing her arms over her chest. She stopped as the Headmistress paused in front of the door to her office.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Bulstrode, but that is not the case. Once Ms. Parkinson joins us, we'll be able to discuss a joint speech," McGonagall stated, waving her hand over the lock.
"Joint speech?" Millie blurted, her eyes wide with concern. She hated group projects because she ended up doing all of the work for the rest of the group to take credit for the whole thing. Millie grumbled under her breath as she followed Headmistress McGonagall into her office. She took a seat on the near side of the desk and crossed her arms over her chest with a huff.
Millie rolled her eyes and shook her head. Part of her wanted to comment on how long it would take Pansy to feel like gracing them with her presence, but she could tell that McGonagall was frustrated with her attitude about the entire situation. So she decided it would be in her best interest to drop her complaints and suck it up. Maybe something good would come out of all of this, no matter how small it may be.
"Can I interest you in a cup of tea while we wait, Millie?" McGonagall offered, extending a hand with a teacup towards her.
Millie looked up and smiled, reaching out to take the cup from the Headmistress, and nodded her head. "Thank you, ma'am."
"You're welcome, dear," McGonagall replied, nodding her head. "It shouldn't be too long now."
Millie furrowed her brow, cocking her head to the side as she looked the Headmistress up and down. "I thought you said our meeting would be right after dinner?"
McGonagall chuckled, taking a sip of her tea as she sat down behind her desk. "That is what I told you, dear. I may have told Ms. Parkinson a different time entirely."
Millie laughed quietly as she took a sip of her tea, shaking her head. That was quite clever of the Headmistress. For once, Pansy would be on time for something. Just as she opened her mouth to say something else to McGonagall, she heard the door open behind her. Millie turned her head to look back over her shoulder. She fought back the urge she felt to roll her eyes when she saw Pansy walking in.
"I'm so sorry I'm late, Headmistress," Pansy insisted, taking a seat next to Millie. She offered a half-hearted smile at her classmate before turning her attention to McGonagall. "You wanted to see me, ma'am?"
"Yes," McGonagall replied. "I asked you and Ms. Bulstrode here to talk about giving a speech at the start of next term to your fellow Slytherins since you are tied for the top of your class. I would like you to work together over the holiday since you are both staying at the castle, correct?"
Both girls nodded their heads, glancing at each other out of the corner of their eyes. Each one was secretly hoping that the other would say they were headed home so that only one could give the speech. They knew that they would never be so lucky, unfortunately.
"Good," McGonagall said, nodding her head once. "That means you will have plenty of time to work. The feast is on January third. Please make sure everything is ready."
A broad smile pulled at Millie's face as she jumped up out of her chair. "Absolutely, Headmistress. We won't disappoint you," she promised, turning on her heel to face Pansy. "Are you ready to get started?"
"She just gave us the assignment," Pansy said, rolling her eyes as she pushed herself up from the chair.
"Which means our time to complete the assignment is running out," Millie insisted, taking a few steps away from McGonagall's desk with the smile still beaming from her face. She glanced back over her shoulder and nodded her head at McGonagall. "Thanks again."
. . . . . . . . .
Millie glanced up at the clock on the Slytherin Common room wall and let out a heavy sigh. It was late, and she was still working with Pansy on this speech. It was New Year's Eve. Millie was supposed to celebrate with the other students who didn't go home for the holidays, but she was stuck here working on this speech. Everything needed to be perfect. Headmistress McGonagall was expecting the very best out of the two top Slytherins.
Pansy watched Millie look up at the clock for the umpteenth time that evening and shook her head. Watching the minutes tick by would not increase the likelihood of this speech getting done any time soon. As much as Pansy wanted to be in the Great Hall partying with the rest of their classmates, she knew this speech was important. She didn't want to disappoint Millie by bailing out on the speech for a good time, but they weren't getting anywhere, and Pansy was starting to get bored.
"Come on, Millie," Pansy insisted, reaching across the table and closing the book on Millie's hand. "Let's go out and do something fun. The clock is ticking closer and closer to midnight, and it's New Year's Eve."
"We can't!" Millie grumbled, pulling the book away from Pansy's hand and flipping it back open. She pressed her pen to the page to continue editing it. "We need to finish this speech."
Shaking her head, Pansy pushed her chair away from the table and walked over to the other side. She leaned back against the desk and lifted the edge of the book off the table out from underneath Millie's pen, leaving a trail of ink on the page.
"What are you doing?" Millie exclaimed, reaching for the book.
Pansy shook her head and tucked the book against the small of her back, walking back over to her table. She set the book on her chair before sitting on top of it and leaning across the table, cupping Millie's cheek and pulling her face toward her. "Let's have some fun, Millie," Pansy whispered, her breath tickling Millie's ear.
Millie looked Pansy's face up and down as she pulled away from her slowly. She was searching for an answer to a question that remained unasked, lingering in the air. Millie pushed her chair away from the table with a sigh and stood up, walking over to the edge of the table and leaning against it. She took a deep breath and crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine, you've got ten minutes. Once the clock strikes midnight, it's back to work."
"Oh, that's all I need," Pansy said with a wink, jumping up out of her chair and taking Millie by the hand. She led her out of the common room and down the corridor towards the staircase. Pansy couldn't wipe the smile from her face as she glanced back over her shoulder to see Millie following her with a smirk on her face.
Once they were upstairs, Pansy led them to the Great Hall. She stopped short of the door and turned to face Millie. Pansy took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
"What are you doing?" Millie asked, cocking her head to the side as she tried to walk past Pansy, only to be stopped by Pansy's hand on her waist. "The party is inside; why are we standing out here."
Millie moved to walk past Pansy once again but was stopped by Pansy's hand on her waist. However, instead of pulling her hand away, Pansy slipped her hand to the small of Millie's waist and pulled her body flush against her.
Pansy's eyes fluttered open and met Millie's. There was a passion in Pansy's eyes that scared Millie, but Pansy found a curiosity lurking in Millie's eyes that made her heart flutter. Pansy reached up to cup her cheek with her free hand and gently brushed her thumb along Millie's cheek.
Millie furrowed her brow. "Pansy," she began, only to feel Pansy's thumb pressed against her lips.
"Shhhhh," Pansy said, smiling. "Just wait."
Pansy took a deep breath and glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was only a matter of seconds now. This wasn't the way she planned on telling Millie how she felt about her, but this was much more exciting. Her heart was racing a mile a minute. All of the classes she came to late, all of the hours of detention she served, all of the stress she had caused Millie would all be worth it if she returned Pansy's feelings.
They could hear their classmates begin a countdown on the other side of the door. Pansy closed her eyes and started counting.
"Ten."
"Nine."
"Eight."
Millie watched Pansy carefully. She could see her lips moving, but there was no sounding coming out, and her finger was still pressed against Millie's lips. She had no idea what was going on, but it felt like someone had released a swarm of butterflies in her stomach.
The chanting from the other side of the door was getting quieter. Couples were pairing off for the big kiss at the stroke of twelve. Millie sighed and joined the counting.
"Seven."
"Six."
"Five."
"Four."
Pansy's eyes opened as the final seconds counted down. She leaned forward, pulling her finger away from Millie's lips as she leaned forward, pressing her lips to Millie as the clock began to strike.
Millie was taken aback by the kiss at first, but once the initial shock had faded away, she sighed, lifting her hands to wrap around Pansy's neck. She felt a sigh of relief rush through Pansy as Millie deepened the kiss by pulling her body closer to her.
As the cheering began to fade from the other room, Millie and Pansy slowly pulled apart. They each took a step back, wrapping their arms around their respective waists and staring intently at the ground. Pansy was the first to break the silence.
"Should we get back to work on that speech?" she asked, forcing Millie to look up at her.
Millie smiled and shook her head, extending a hand to her. Pansy looked down, puzzled for a moment, but took the hand offered to her.
"I have a better idea," Millie replied, pulling Pansy towards her and leading her down the corridor.
"Where are we going?" Pansy asked, her voice dripping in anticipation.
"To celebrate the new year," Millie hummed, continuing on her way back to the common room.
Once they arrived in the common room, Millie led them over to the couch, where she dropped down and patted the cushion next to her. Pansy looked at her with a raised brow for a moment before sitting down next to her.
"What did you have in mind?" Pansy asked, turning to rest her arm against the back of the couch.
"This," Millie whispered, leaning forward to press her lips to Pansy's and close the space between them as she draped her arms around Pansy's neck. She smiled into the kiss as she felt Pansy's hand on her waist.
Their joint speech was long forgotten as they remained cuddled up on the couch in front of the fire into the wee hours of the morning. Millie was certain between the two of them they could come up with a much better speech off the cuff than anything they could ever write out.