Don't :: [OPEN]

The sound of scurrying feet and shuffling papers alerted Bellatrix that something was up in the library. She immediately felt her hands tighten around her quill as she looked up. Instead of being greeted by the sight of someone that she had actually wanted to see, she found herself face to face with Eden Wolf, Ravenclaw 7th year and - judging from the badge that was deliberately displayed on her robes - Head Girl this year. The girl put her hands on her hips and stared at Bellatrix expectantly as if waiting for her to say something. But Bells had nothing to offer her. She knew that she was probably going to get a stern scolding for what she had just done to the Hufflepuff boy - provided that Wolf had seen it.

She could feel the tension sizzling between them. Head Girl vs Slytherin Quidditch Captain and resident self-proclaimed Slytherin Princess. Bellatrix saw a few more students out of the corner of her eye preparing to leave the library, no doubt recognizing the signs of a cat-fight when the saw them. Bellatrix wasn’t sure that this was going to go that far, but she also knew that she wouldn’t complain if it did. Sure, it was only the first month of school, but she was already itching to get into some trouble. Itching to hex the living daylights out of someone. Itching to do something that would actually warrant her a well-deserved detention.

Locked in an eye-to-eye stare, Bellatrix was having a hard time not rolling her eyes and scoffing at this girl’s....well, apparent power hungry attitude. The Head Girl looked as if she was going to lecture her some more if Bella didn’t pay attention. She bit down on her lip to keep from smirking, but she was sure that the smile wasn’t completely off of her face, ”Terribly sorry, Officer. I wasn’t aware that getting annoyed and snapping was a crime here at Hogwarts,” Slowly, she winked her right eye at Eden, hoping that she would piss her off even more. It was fun watching the Head Girl get angry, she would give her that much, ”Seriously, though, Ravengeek-” Bellatrix said as she tapped her quill on her paper in the same manner that the Hufflepuff boy had been doing a few moments ago, ”This is hardly deserving of a detention. Maybe if I had pulled my wand? But verbal accosting...? Maybe you should find someone who’s actually doing something wrong.”

Bellatrix watched the girl carefully, unsure as to what was about to happen. There was a small part of her that was hoping that Eden would through the first hex and then everything would be fair game. Bella was almost itching for a fight. But the other part of her just wanted to observe the way that the Head Girl acted about her...Eden was an interesting creature, that much was for certain. She seemed to know a lot about everyone, but didn’t use the information for her own personal gain...which in Bellatrix’s opinion was ridiculously stupid. Bellatrix once again made eye-contact with the girl and saw the daggers in her eyes. ’So there was hatred in this one’, She thought with a smirk, ”You’re wrong, little Wolf.” She said as she watched Eden cross the room toward the window, ”You can’t possibly know other girls like me. I’m a rare bird.” She looked down and started to examine her nails, which still looked perfectly painted, as she had expected. Bella, after all, did take very good care of her appearance.

She continued to listen as the girl spun her apparent tale of woe and misery. About how her parents had to leave the country because of people like her. Bellatrix thought it was all ridiculous, but was nice enough - for the moment - to let her finish her little rampage before opening her mouth to say something. It was at that moment that Eden crossed to her table, put her hands on the surface, and leaned forward so that she was a little too close for comfort. Bella could feel the anger running hot through her veins, but she tried not to let it show on her face. Two could play at Eden’s little power-hungry game.

”Eden, Eden, Eden,” She breathed through the air between them, her teeth clenched tightly together in a smile. She wasn’t sure why she wanted to knock this girl down a few pegs, but she felt the very need seeming to radiate from her bones, ”You’re not the only one who’s a prefect.” She said, nodding toward the own badge that was on her cloak, ”I’ll be watching you just as closely, you can count on that one.” She leaned back, her smirk growing in confidence as she threw her feet up on one of the opposite chairs, ”Now that we’ve gotten that out of the air-” She pushed some of her black hair over her shoulder and looked around; the room was still empty, ”Tell me Loony, is there anything else that I can help you with? Or did you come here simply to read me my rights?”

‘Hit me, Loony,’ Bella mentally egged the girl on. For a moment, she thought that it looked like she was going to, but then Eden seemed to back off as if she knew what Bellatrix wanted. She couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. She wanted so badly for a fight to break out. It had been ages since she had been in a cat fight. She wouldn’t even mind if they didn’t use magic; she was perfectly capable of handling her own when it came to pulling hair and scratching. Bella was about to stand up and leave, but that was when Eden started running her mouth again. Bella felt her fingertips twitch, desperately wanting to drag her down by her hair and hex the living daylights out of her. And yet, on the outside, she remained cool and collected, the tiniest of smiles playing on her lips. She would make the girl pay for all her words...she would make her pay eventually. But here and now was neither the time nor the place.

Bellatrix felt her eyes flash with anger, so tempted to interrupt the smirking little Ravengeek and tell her what was actually going on, and yet, she remained quiet, she remained still, and she remained listening until the very last word seemed to fall off of Eden’s lips. It was only then that she rose her feet, circled around the table, then sat on the edge as she stared the girl down with her piercing green eyes. It was time for her retaliation and she already had it all cooked up, ”Yes, my family has lots of money Eden, unlike yours, judging from the quality of your robes-” She reached down and straightened the Prefect’s pin that was on her own robe and then looked back up at Eden with fire in her eyes, ”As for being Professor Riddle’s pet, I can assure you that you are sorely mistaken. It’s the beginning of the year, and although I might need DADA tutoring, I am no one’s pet.” At this point, she was seething, the girl had touched an open nerve.

As for her parents being bullies, she didn’t feel the need to answer. There was no reason for Eden to know anything about her family or the way that they chose to punish their children. Bellatrix was the oldest child and her parents’ pride and joy, but she knew what to expect when she didn’t live up to their standards...But Eden had no business surmising or meddling in her familial life, ”I like everything about myself, Loony. Trust me.” Her voice was dark and she folded her arms across her chest as she spoke each word more clipped than the next, ”In case you weren’t aware, Riddle is a first year professor, meaning that he had no pull in Prefect selection or Quidditch selection, so unfortunately for you, that means that I’ve secured this position all on my own.” She took a moment to breathe in the smell of the library, the almost damp and musty smell of the books. It calmed her senses for but a moment, ”I’m going to take this to mean that you’ve only come here to assert your superiority over me, to which I say, Good luck, Loony. Best of luck trying to chain down the snakes.”

Bellatrix could hardly believe how much she wanted this girl to hit her. She could hardly believe all the angry feelings that Eden seemed to be drudging up...It seemed like every time that she opened her mouth, she was touching another nerve...scorning Bella even further and driving her further down the path of almost insanity that she was already headed toward. She watched the girl’s actions trying to have a level head, but knowing full well that the expression on her face was one of dangerous anger and infuriation. It was then that she informed her that her family was also well off. A notion that Bells found to be incredibly hilarious. ’Sure, if her family was rich and she didn’t want to flaunt it, that was one thing,’ Bella thought, the smile returning to her lips the longer that she remained in her own mind’s wanderings, ‘But to purposefully let your appearance go down-hill? That’s another.’ A tiny cackle of a laugh escaped her lips as she looked the girl up and down. Eden probably could have been her friend in another life - they both seemed to share that loner mentality and inability to make long-term friends - but this was the here and now...and the here and now mandated that Bellatrix hate everything about the Ravengeek tosser.

”Well, I still don’t understand why anyone would choose to look like such...filth. You look like a bloody mudbloood, Looney,” Bellatrix said as she eyed the girl carefully. She didn’t want to think about how much validity was in the statements that she had brought to the table; there was no point in it. It wouldn’t change anything. The world was the way that it was for a specific reason. There had to be a distinction between peoples or the entire system would crumble. Perhaps Eden thought that she was going a good thing...perhaps she thought that she was taking the moral high-ground, but Bellatrix saw it for what it really was. She was trying to destroy the system. She simply rolled her eyes, intertwined her fingers and went back to staring at Eden as if there was nothing in the world that the girl could say to bother her. It was an amusing game to say the least. It was then that she leaned forward, and whispered in Eden’s direction, ”You’re wrong, Ravengeek. I see true beauty every time I look into the mirror.” She raised both of her eyebrows, leaned back, and then folded her arms across her chest proudly.

Eden called her princess and Bells felt her hands ball up into fists at the very thought of her sass. Eden thought that she was on top of the world, Bells was sure of it, but she wanted so desperately to knock her down. It seemed like both of them were trying to do the same thing...make the other crack. She guessed again that was what made them so similar, ”And listen here, pauper-” Bells growled, slamming her fists down onto the table as she stood up and leaned forward, ”Real life is coming. And you’re probably in for an even more rude awakening. See that badge?” Bells nodded toward Eden’s Head Girl pin, ”It’s not going to mean anything once you leave this pretty little school. And you know what happens then?” She didn’t even give Eden enough time to answer, ”We’ll be on equal playing field. And-” She lowered her voice so that she coulnd’t be overheard by the people that had dared to stay in the library, ”Once we leave, no one will care if I torture you. Or if I slap first. Trust me.”