Welcome back! This fic is only six chapters long, so it's much shorter than the first installment. Warnings are dark themes and language.
Mira slept badly all week. She was used to having nightmares, but these terrifying visions that haunted those few, precious minutes of unconsciousness she managed were beyond even the worst nightmares that she had had as a child.
Blood, darkness, and a cold, merciless laugh that could only belong to one person kept waking her, and before her eyes Draco's dead, mangled body would appear. She hardly left Slytherin House, and when she bothered to attend her classes, her homework was dismal.
She had told Snape that she needed time to "prepare" herself for what lay ahead, and he said he understood and would take it up with the Headmaster. Really, Mira had no idea what she should be doing to prepare, but it was a good excuse to not have to be around her classmates.
She usually hung around the common room, as she couldn't stand the stupid remarks Denise and Pansy shot in her direction every time three seconds of silence fell in their dormitory.
Draco was hardly seen during the day, but he did manage to make time for her in the evenings, sitting with her in the common room late into the night, pulling together his homework while she stared at the wall, scowling. He would kiss her lightly, bid her goodnight, and make his own way to his dormitory.
Blaise wasn't making himself as common around her anymore, and the only times Mira saw him was in Potions, that namely being the only class she regularly attended. He would nod politely at her, but then completely ignore her the rest of the lesson. She never questioned this. He had been nice enough at first, but Mira guessed he was listening to Pansy far too often these days.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione, were becoming friendlier towards her, and Mira suspected they knew something of her meeting with Dumbledore. However, she didn't complain, and when Draco missed a lesson, as was often, she joined them at their table for the day's work. Mira and Hermione seemed to have reached an unspoken agreement about their time together, both realizing that while it had been fantastic, they had other people to think of.
This morning, however, she was out of bed early, showered, her hair put up, school uniform on, and her books under her arm as she made her way to the Great Hall for breakfast. Harry and Ron were at the Gryffindor table with Ginny, and she waved at them as she took her own seat at the Slytherin table.
She was alone, at the end, but she didn't care. Her House had sort of disowned her since that day she had spoken to Harry outside of class, and as she had been spending more time with what she had dubbed 'the trio', the Slytherins were now marking her 'Potter's whore'. Pansy in particular loved to whisper that in her direction whenever they came in contact with each other, but none of Mira's housemates were brave enough to pull that when Draco was present.
Mira ignored the cold glances she was receiving from her table, and added a scone and some bacon to her plate, swallowing a fair amount of orange juice from her goblet while setting her books down beside her.
"Mira, how delightful to see you've left the dungeon. Vampires really don't melt in the sunlight, do they girls?" Pansy was standing behind Mira, and the black-haired girl spun around to see Denise and Cheryl behind her, like vultures.
"Fuck off, Pansy. And for the record, Vampires don't melt, they disintegrate." Turning back to her breakfast, Mira heard Pansy click her tongue then walk off. Sighing, and wondering just why, 'sexactly, she didn't suck the life from Pansy; body already, she picked up her fork and began to eat.
"There you are, love. You weren't in the common room."
Mira smiled, and looked up at Draco's approaching form. He was exquisitely dressed, his shirt and tie pressed, his Prefect badge pinned to his vest, shining as though it had just been polished.
"You look radiant." He said, grinning, sitting down next to her.
Mira rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right….going to class today?" She said, gulping down more of her juice.
Draco shrugged. "If I feel the need."
Mira sighed. "Please, Draco? I can't stand everybody whispering about me all the time…they only don't when you're there."
Draco narrowed his pale eyes. "Let me guess who is at the root of this problem."
"Bingo." Mira said, taking a bite into a strip of bacon.
"Don't worry, love. It will be cleared up soon." And with that, Draco kissed her on the cheek and moved farther down the table, to where Pansy, Denise, Cheryl, and Blaise now sat.
Mira drank the last bit of her juice, wiped her mouth, and stood from the table. Grabbing her books, she headed towards the Gryffindor table, to talk to Harry before she made her way to her Charms lesson.
"Hey, Mira." Ron said, when Mira sat down opposite them, next to Ginny.
"Hey, guys." She responded, setting her books down and folding her hands under her chin.
"What's up?" Hermione asked Mira, flipping her curly hair over her shoulder.
"I was actually wondering if I might talk to Harry alone?" Mira said, taking it in turn to look at Ron, Ginny, and Hermione.
Ginny immediately stood up, jerking her head at her brother and her best friend, picking up her bag and slinging it over her shoulders.
"Er, sure…" Ron said, shrugging, and he stood up, pulling Hermione with him.
When they had gone, Harry stared at Mira. "Well?" He said impatiently, pushing his glasses up his nose.
"Harry…I talked to Dumbledore last week…and I've decided to join you."
Harry grinned. "Excellent, you're becoming an Order member?"
Mira scrunched her nose in disgust. "Um, no. I'm just not helping Voldemort anymore…but Snape says that I have to appear to be still, so anyway…the point, Harry, is that I know how we have to kill Voldemort."
"Oh? And how is that?" Harry asked, lifting his eyebrow.
"Have you ever heard of Morteus Effectus?" Mira asked, lowering her voice and leaning in closer to Harry.
Harry, following her lead and bringing his face closer to hers, shook his head.
"It's death, Harry. Death." She said, her voice now a whisper.
Harry looked at her, his eyes staring into her own. "Mira, I-" He began, but was interrupted by the loud blurring of the bell throughout the Hall, signaling an end to breakfast and the beginning of lessons. "I'll talk to you later about this, Mira, let's eat lunch together, okay?" Harry said, as he rushed to pick up his bag.
Mira nodded. "Yes, all right. I'll meet you in here."
Harry grinned at her, nodded, then hurried out of the Hall to make it on time to his first lesson.
