"I'll seek you out
Flay you alive
One more word and you won't survive
And I'm not scared of your stolen power
I see right through you any hour"
Jamie stepped up to the staircase, just as she had two years prior, but this time, it was at the Halloween Masquerade.
And, this time everyone wasn't staring in awe at Hermione Granger.
They were staring at her.
She stood there for a moment, feeling dozens of eyes on her, her skin tingling under their intensity. She saw Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron clustered closer to the door. They were all staring at her as well.
It was a bold move, leaving her mask off, but she wanted the message to be clear: she was making her own choices.
Jamie Potter-Shacklebolt, notorious troublemaker and rebel girl, the forgotten Potter, had turned heads in her dragon scale gown…but this time, she had brought everyone to their knees, dressed as a rising phoenix.
"I won't soothe your pain
I won't ease your strain
You'll be waiting in vain
I got nothing for you to gain"
Everyone has been astounded to learn that the other, older, Potter child had survived the terrible night all those years ago. Everyone had quickly measured her up, to her brother: the hero, her mother: the angel, to her father…she was her father's daughter, through and through.
Her eyes continued scanning until they landed on her target.
Draco was dressed in his traditional all black, in dress robes that had most certainly cost a fortune, and his mask was in his hand as well. A black feathered thing. The Phoenix and the Raven, at long last.
What was that quote? By Edgar Allen Poe?
"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before…"
He was gawking at her, but in his own subtle way, stoically. Their eyes met and she leveled a stare at him, shoulders back, chin slightly raised.
The unspoken question: would he acknowledge her in front of their peers?
He blinked at her slowly, the corners of lips twitching.
Yes.
She descended the stairs slowly, eyes locked on him. Whispers broke out, as it was no secret she had had a falling out with her friends and family and had seemingly alienated herself. She knew everyone was wondering the same thing: who was she going to approach?
"I'm taking it slow
Feeding my flame
Shuffling the cards of your game
And just in time
In the right place
Suddenly I will play my ace"
Her Yule Ball dress had been magnificent, glittery and fiery, the scale-like sequins wicked and captivating. That was the night she had danced with Draco for the first time. Tonight, she wore white. A peace treaty if her friends and brother wanted one, a white hot warning regardless.
The bodice was high necked, sleeveless, and a white suede that began to ridge and warp at her waist, quill like, pluming into an spectacular array of red, cream, gold, and orange feathers flaring out from her knees. Her auburn hair fell down her back in fiery waves, and as she strolled down the stairs, certain everyone knew exactly who she was, she placed her golden, jewel encrusted, feather tipped mask on her face, sealing it with a flick of her wand.
"Hey Shacklebolt," A boy called out to her when she reached the bottom. "Come dance with me!"
She ignored him, stalking past, eyes locked, until she was standing before Draco.
"You came," she said quietly.
"Evidently," he smirked at her.
"And now everyone is staring at us," she ignored his typical snark. His ghostly eyes flickered around to the other students.
"Is this where you tell me this is all an elaborate joke?" he cocked an eyebrow, "or join up with the rest of the villagers and chase me out of school with torches and pitchforks?"
She let out a laugh. "Wow, you actually made a joke."
"And you laughed," the look of genuine ease flickered in his eyes, the rare and special look usually reserved for their times spent by the lake. The look she had come to like...to love.
"Shall we dance?" She prompted and he gave her a look, surprised.
"You think this is a good idea?" He frowned, a look of doubt in his eyes. He ran his hands through his hair, the closest to nervous that he would ever dare to display. "If you dance with me, that'll seal the deal for you, and everyone will definitely hate you; your brother, your cousins, your friends. There won't be any turning back."
"To hell with everyone," she rolled her eyes. "Let them think whatever they want. I don't care anymore. They don't know you."
"How very Slytherin of you," he chuckled darkly. She rolled her eyes, not bothering to respond to what normally would have been an insult to her.
She wasn't about to give him the opportunity to continue second-guessing himself, so she grabbed hold of his hand, interlacing their fingers tightly, dragging him into the great hall. She noticed several students followed them in, clearly hoping to watch and see what would happen next.
"You look beautiful, by the way," Draco said out of the corner of his mouth. She continued leading him to the center of the dance floor. If he realized he was still holding her hand, he didn't say anything.
"Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Malfoy," she retorted and it made him laugh again. She watched him place his midnight feathered mask upon his face, sealing it with shaking pale fingers.
She stopped, facing him, staring at him expectantly.
"What?" He frowned.
"You're supposed to put your hands on my waist," she instructed. He scowled at her but did just that. She smiled encouragingly at him, bringing her arms around his neck loosely. They swayed for a moment and she could feel his heart hammering in his chest as a popular song started playing.
"Malfoy," she murmured, catching the attention of his gray eyes. He looked at her and seemed to steady. "Relax, pretend it's just you and me out here."
"If it were just you and me, you'd be wearing a lot less clothing," he smirked. "Everyone thinks I'm turning one of the starring members of the Gryffindor good guys to the dark side."
"Oh Draco," she huffed and rolled her eyes, "I'm hardly a starring member. More like a background character at best. Background Gryffindor."
He glared at her. "Yeah, well I'm hardly Background Slytherin. I'm The Slytherin, and no, I'm not bragging for once." He sighed, lowering his voice even more. "It's been over a year, and I keep expecting you to come to your senses and run for the hills."
"I haven't once thought about changing my mind," she countered. He raised his eyebrows at her and she continued "and I never will."
"Never…as in…forever?" he asked with a straight face and she melted, brushing her nose against his.
"Forever is a long time," she said slowly, gazing into his beautiful grey eyes she loved so much, "it's a good thing I love you."
And there it was. She watched his eyes widen, felt his fingers clench, tightening around her waist. His eyes were glittering.
"You love me? How did that—what?" A look of unease filtered into his eyes, which she had learned conveyed his true emotions, if only you looked hard enough.
"Slowly," she said softly. She lowered her eyes, hiding behind her eyelashes, a sly yet tender smile crossing her crimson painted lips, "And then all at once." She looked up as a wide smile unfurled across his face.
"I love you, too, with everything in me," his lips found hers once, twice, three times, before peppering each cheek. "And I always will."
She hummed in response, a smirk flitting across her lips. "Draco Malfoy likes me."
"No need to alert the press," he rolled his eyes, but she could tell he was as euphoric as she was. She pulled herself tighter against him, her fingers stroking the back of neck, which he always loved.
That seemed to do the trick as something in his eyes changed, and they were simmering, burning, and she found herself captivated. Ah, she thought with a smirk, there's my cocky Slytherin. He squeezed her tighter to him and actually began leading her in a half waltz, twirling and gliding her effortlessly, the product of countless hours of perfect pureblood upbringing.
A new song came on.
She grinned, dipping her head so their masked-foreheads were pressed together. "Happy anniversary, Malfoy you git, congratulations on roping me into the dance that was just supposed to be one dance, two years ago."
"Oh my life is changing everyday
In every possible way
And oh my dreams
It's never quite as it seems
Never quite as it seems…"
Draco spun her out, her feathered dress a burning flame on the dance floor as she twirled, before drawing her back to him tightly, his arms gripping her, their chests pressed together. They were nose-to-nose, eye-to-eye. He stroked upwards along her side and something inside her seemed to ignite, her skin burning and tingly, heart thudding. His hand continued up her side, around to her back and neck, before cupping her cheek.
"I know I felt like this before
But now I'm feeling it even more
Because it came from you
Then I open up and see
The person falling here is me
A different way to be…"
"Lets get out of here," she whispered against his lips and he grinned.
"I want more impossible to ignore,
Impossible to ignore.
And they'll come true, impossible not to do,
Impossible not to do."
"Not before the finale."
"Finale?"
His lips crashed against hers and she slid her eyes closed, practically swooning in his arms. Every molecule in her body felt like it was bursting and she was gripping his shoulder so tightly she knew she would leave marks, just as he was crushing her face between his hands to the point she thought she would shatter beneath him.
"And now I tell you openly, you have my heart so don't hurt me.
You're what I couldn't find.
A totally amazing mind, so understanding and so kind;
You're everything to me."
Unbeknownst to them, a majority of the ball goers had stopped and were watching them, stunned at this odd coupling, the most ridiculous show they had ever been privy to.
Draco Malfoy, resident bad boy and dabbler in the Dark Arts: kissing Jamie Shacklebolt, troublemaker and "the Other Potter".
"Oh, my life,
Is changing every day,
In every possible way."
"And oh, my dreams,
It's never quite as it seems,
'Cause you're a dream to me,
Dream to me."
They broke apart, panting, uncaring of those around them. They grabbed hands, running out of the hall, stopping just for her to slip her heels off, shrieking with laughter and throwing her head back as he threw her over his shoulder, off to find a warm bed to climb into.
Her friends and Harry stood in shock, slightly disgusted, by the display in front of them, but it was quite clear—Jamie didn't care, she had made sure there was no doubt about that.
AN:
A snippet from Fanfic I have been toiling over for some time, fretting over whether it works, if it can feasibly be a readable story for people who do not have the plot simmering in their brains.
All the same, I have a world where Harry has an older sister, Jamie (who was born Hally Potter) and whom was raised by Kingsley Shacklebolt and his wife, a Weasley woman. As you can see, Jamie finds herself irrevocably in love with Draco Malfoy. If this interests you, let me know.
Jamie's dress is real, but probably not actually made out of Phoenix feathers. It's based on, and inspired by, a design by Jean Louis Sabaji.
The playlist goes as follows:
Jamie's entrance/conversation with Draco outside The Great Hall: "Eyes On Fire" by Blue Foundation
Jamie and Draco dance: "Dreams" by The Cranberries