Dominique walked briskly through the dark alleyway, her silvery-blonde hair flying behind her in the wind. Not far ahead was Honey Dukes Candy Shop, her destination. She could barely feel her hands in the cold, but she did not stop until she reached the bright lights of the sweet-smelling building. She pulled open the door and the light washed over her face as if it were a wave of gold. Only now were the tears that streaked down her pinkened cheeks visible. The woman at the register turned to see who could have been so desperate for candy at such a late hour. Dominique ran to her.
"Victoire!" Dominique sniffed, "Victoire…you have no idea..." Victoire ran out from behind the counter and put her arm around her little sister.
"Dominique, what happened?" Her voice was tense and worried.
"I decided to take a w-walk through the castle...a midnight stroll, you know?" Victoire nodded and notioned for her to keep going.
"And I heard a noise…in the ch-charms corridor. So I opened the door…a-and…" Dominique started crying again.
"Go on, Dominique!" Said Victoire slightly impatiently. Dominique took a deep breath.
"…and I saw Scorpius…kissing R-rose!" Victoire gasped.
"And what did you do?"
"They turned around… and s-saw me. I walked u-up to Scorpius and slapped him…and Rose started c-crying…and then I left to go tell y-you!" She seemed unable to continue. Victoire squeezed Dominique's shoulder .
"Oh, well, Dom, he was never worth your while." She said half heartedly. Dominique pulled her shoulder from Victoire's grasp.
"You don't get it!" She shouted. "I STILL LOVE HIM! For you…it's always been Teddy, perfect Teddy, and now you're engaged, and ready to start a happy little family…" A steady flow of tears was chilling her pale face. Dominique ran from the shop and into the cold Febuary night.
It had started to snow. She began sprinting towards the castle but she didn't get far when she slipped on the icy road and cut a deep gash in her leg. Unable to move, she sat and watched the snow turn red until a blurry figure pulled her out of the cold. Before she could observe anything else, she drifted into a dreamless sleep.
When she woke up, her vision was still blurry. "Where am I?" She asked hoarsely.
"Hospital Wing. Nasty case of frostbite." The room slowly came into focus. A short, plump woman was standing over her, taking her temperature.
"What happened?" Her voice was still hoarse.
"Your brother found you half-dead in the snow, bleeding like mad. He carried you back to the castle and to me. He's been here all night, waiting for you to wake up. Fell asleep, poor chap." She shook her head sadly. Dominique turned her head and saw that her brother, Luis, was indeed sleeping on the guest chair next to her cot.
"Anyway, I've fixed you all up, you're set to go. I talked to the Headmisteress, and she agrees that you will not be punished for your nighttime wanderings, considering you almost died in the attempt. Have a good day." She turned to Luis and hit him hard on the top of his head.
"Get up, boy, your sister's fine." Luis shook himself a wake and looked at Dominique.
"Dom! God, I thought you were dead…I thought…" His releif seemed to be too much for words. "Let's get back to the common room, Dom, we need to talk."
He helped her up and she stumbled her way to the Gryffindor commons, not at all like her uusual graceful self. She sat dow in a large armchair by the fire, and Luis did the same. Suddenly, memories from the night before hit her like a bullet to the heart.
"Luis, how did you know where I was?" Asked Dominique.
"Rose came running into the boy's dormitory in the dead of night and told me that you had run from the castle. I dashed out of bed and followed. When I found you…Dominique, it was horrible. You were bleeding and shivering and so, so pale."
"So Rose told you? I bet… she didn't tell y-you why."
"What do you mean, Dom?" Luis asked suspiciously. Dominique told him her story. Luis stood up. He curled his fist and ran from the common room.
Dominique followed him.
"Luis- Luis, STOP!" She cried. Her words had no effect. She followed him into the Great Hall, crying all the way. Luis stopped when he reached the Slytherin Table.
"YOU!" He yelled, pointing at Scorpius. Everyone stopped talking and turned to stare.
"Luis, don't…" Dominique squeaked weakly. Luis paid no attention.
"SHE ALMOST DIED!" He shouted. "SHE ALMOST DIED BECAUSE OF YOU!"
"Dude, can we, like, talk about this?" Stuttered Scorpius.
"The time for talking is over, Malfoy. I'm gonna beat the HELL out of you!" Scorpius looked around, but nobody intervened.
"And as for you…"He turned to Rose. "I'll talk to you later." Luis pulled his fist back. In that split second wher he shoved it forward with all his might, Rose screamed, Dominique wailed, and Scorpius winced. The blow hit him with a monumental force. Scorpius was thrown on his back, groaning.
Finally the teachers came back to their senses and started shouting, but the hits just kept coming. "STOP, Luis!" Dominique screamed. At last, Rubeus Hagrid got up from his seat and pulled Luis off of Scorpius.
"HE'S HAD ENOUGH!" Shouted Hagrid. Only then did Luis stop struggling. He turned to Dominique, who was crying behind them.
"I'm sorry, Dom. It had to be done by someone." He spat at Malfoy and allowed himself to be dragged away by Hagrid.
Dominique felt like her world ws being ripped away. Her boyfriend cheating, her brother dragged away to deal with a punishment that was her fault…She slowly walked to the Gryffindor Table and took a seat.
"Dominique- listen- I'm so, so, sorry." She turned to see Rose standing behind her. Dominique did not answer. Instead she walked back to the girls dormitory and layed down on her feather bed. She took a deep breath and tried to believe that things would get better.