another eyeroll as the gryffindor’s hand shot up yet again — ella wondering briefly if there was anything she didn’t know , or at least , pretended not to know . elladora did a lot of pretending in that vein — always feigning ignorance , a damsel in distress — she found if often helped to get what she wanted . vance , evidently , had no such grasp of the concept , as every question posed by professor slughorn was met with an impetuous hand in the air . she was lucky she was pretty , elladora thought , or she might not have any friends at all .
as annoying as elladora found the know-it-all , she couldn’t help but feel thankful that they were partners in this particular potions class . and as slughorn dismissed them from lecture and instructed them to begin working on brewing the perfect pepperup potion , ella just turned to the girl beside her with a smile . “ i’m assuming you’ve got this assignment covered ? seeing as you’re so keen on answering all of slughorn’s questions . ”
correct again , miss vance ! slughorn’s words of praise only brought another prideful grin to the gryffindor’s face despite the many groans . her raven locks cascading down delicate shoulders as the whites of her teeth poked out . emmeline had perfected the art of ignoring the many ( obvious ) mumbles of irritation , and one elladora zabini was no exception .
or at least she thought . at the girl’s remark , emme’s gaze snapped . her brows crinkling in disbelief . was zabini really trying to pin her with all the work ? oh no , no , no , that would not do . ❛ zabini , if you think for one second i’m doing all the work , than you are sadly mistaken . ❜ her tone was short , a huff falling out in a dramatic fashion . ❛ now hand me that mandrake root next to you please , ❜ the last word came out forced , her smile mimicking elladora’s as she held out her palm .