A/N: Not much to say really. I don't like the name of this chapter but I couldn't think of a better one. No reviews to reply to, so on with the story! More at the end.
Taking charge:
"Oh Merlin! What do we do? What's going on?" Harry was all but yelling to no one in particular as he held Elizabeth's hand in his but at the same time staring at where Pansy's Dark Mark had apparently been moments before.
"Calm yourself Potter! We need to get them out of here and you yelling your bloody head off will only make things worse!" Draco was holding Pansy's right hand in his but he was looking at Elizabeth with concern he was trying hard to kill. But she was so pale!
"Ok…ok…Madam Pomfrey! We can take them there!" Harry was looking around frantically, making sure no one was in the corridor with them.
"Are you dense Potter? How would we explain that Pansy's Dark Mark just disappeared?" Draco rolled his eyes. Stupid bloody Pansy getting him into something like this. The blonde girl was so annoying!
"Ok…Dumbledore! We'll take them to Dumbledore. Maybe he'll know what's going on!" Harry let go of Elizabeth and began rummaging in his bag. After a few moments, he retrieved his wand and a beautiful silvery cloak from his bag.
"Yeah, let's go see the old coot, but what do we do? If students see us together…with Lizzie, we're as good as dead…" Draco couldn't think. Everything he had heard from his father about the horrid Dark Mark was being contradicted. The Dark Mark was made to stay on for life! So where had Pansy's gone?
"Shut up Malfoy. You take Pansy, that won't seem weird to people, and I'll follow with Elizabeth," Harry stuffed his wand in his pants pocket and slid his invisibility cloak over his form, pulling the limp body of Elizabeth into his arms.
"What the bloody hell?" Draco yelled as Elizabeth's body disappeared seconds after Harry's had. He heard a grunt from a few inches away and then the sound of a cloak whisking around someone's ankles as they stood.
"Malfoy, get Pansy and let's go," Harry said loudly from about two feet from Draco's right. Still completely in shock, Draco dropped to one knee and picked up Pansy slowly. Looking around the hallway, he realized that he didn't know where the bloody Gryffindor was.
"Potter?" he asked, a tiny hint of pink showing on his face at how he must have looked so stupid talking to thin air.
"Ok, let's go, you know the way right?" Harry voice echoed slightly in the empty hallway.
"Unfortunately, yes I do know the way," Draco began walking, unsure of whether or not Potter was following with Elizabeth. "This is very…awkward…" Draco mumbled to himself as he walked the corridors seemingly alone. When no one answered, he was beginning to wonder if he was alone…
"So what do you think happened?" Harry whispered as they turned another corridor, heading upwards to the 7th floor that contained Dumbledore's magical office.
"…I don't know. Everything I ever heard from my father talked about how the Dark Mark was there for life…I don't know what happened or why when Lizzie touched Pansy's…" Draco heard a snort, then silence, then a sigh.
"Learn a lot from old Daddy the Death Eater?" Harry didn't have anything better to say so decided to taunt Draco's words, though the blonde could tell no venom had been put in the words.
"My father is a spy, Potter," Draco shifted Pansy in his arms as they came to the gargoyle entrance to the Headmaster' s office. "Potter, your brilliant plan just failed, we can't get in!"
"Maybe we can-no…we could-no…I can go and get Professor McGonagall…" Harry thought aloud.
"Fine, I'll wait here with Pansy and Elizabeth, now get going!" Draco was getting sick of waiting and therefore placed the Slytherin girl not very ceremoniously on the floor. He heard the Gryffindor leaning over and suddenly Elizabeth in all her cursed beauty was laying, still out of consciousness, next the Parkinson.
Suddenly, the unruly black haired boy appeared from nowhere with the invisibility cloak in one hand. He placed it over Elizabeth's limp form and then looked at Draco; concern, fear, and confusion written across his face. "Ok, I'll be back," and with that he was sprinting down the hall towards the Great Hall.
Draco was left with one stupid blonde girl and one beautiful smart girl, unfortunately covered. He had a strong urge just to pull off the cloak to look at her peaceful face but he knew that if anyone entered the hallway, he would have no way of explaining himself. Therefore, he touched the cloak with longing for a second, and then sat down in between the two.
-------------------------
'10 minutes…14 minutes…19 minutes…' Draco out of boredom began staring at his watch and counting the minutes that Harry had been gone. '22 minutes…' Suddenly the sound of quick footsteps met his ears and moments later, the image of a worried Professor McGonagall and an even more worried Harry Potter rushing down the hall towards the gargoyle.
"Peppermint imp," McGonagall said briskly and she took the staircase two at a time, leaving Draco to levitate Pansy up the stairs and Harry to carry Elizabeth, still under the cloak behind them all.
"Enter," Albus's voice sounded cheerful but tired. The five entered and the great mahogany door closed quietly behind them. Draco moved to put Pansy in one chair, while Harry slipped the invisibility cloak off Elizabeth, now that they were away from student eyes, and likewise placed her in a chair, holding her slightly.
"I do not know what has happened; Mr. Potter simply came rushing to me and impressing on me the fact that two students were in grave danger…" the transfiguration teacher had her lips in a tight line as she looked over the two conscious, and then two unconscious students.
"Well…I think it is time to hear the story then…" Dumbledore turned to the two boys and inclined his head slightly so they would start their explanation.
"Well, Malfoy and I went to Elizabeth's room to escort her to the Great Hall for breakfast and we left shortly after arriving," this was a lie, both boys had been in Elizabeth's room, waiting for her to wake for nearly 30 minutes. "I…er…asked her about her scar because I was curious…"
"Quite understandable Harry," Dumbledore's twinkle had miraculously returned as he listened to the story of both boys going to see Ms. Moon and the obvious interest the two had in her…very mysterious scar…
Draco cleared his throat and picked up the story again, trying to get the man's eyes to stop twinkling, "She said she didn't remember how she got it and then started saying how annoying that was when Pansy Parkinson yanked her away and began hugging her in this death grip…"
"She kept talking about how she had wanted to talk to Lizzie," Dumbledore's eyebrows raised at the nickname but let Harry continue, "Since last night and Lizzie was trying to be nice but still trying to shove her off…"
"She wasn't saying it, but she was thinking with…more or less every part of her useless brain about how the Dark Lord was intrigued by Lizzie," Dumbledore's eyebrow rose higher about both boys calling the girl this, "But Pansy wanted her all to herself."
Dumbledore nodded, deciding not to question the affectionate nickname. Harry started up again, "Lizzie started talking about how she was hungry and Pansy started dragging her towards the Great Hall and Lizzie was getting really scared, we could just…tell…"
"And then all of a sudden, Parkinson yelled out and pushed Lizzie away but she suddenly went crazy and lunged at Pansy, I don't know what possessed her to do it," Draco looked at the Headmaster, his eyes slightly distant. "She just latched onto Pansy, forcing her right hand on Pansy's Dark Mark. Pansy started screaming like…oh gods," Draco placed his hands over his ears as if the screaming had begun again. He forgot completely about keeping up his Malfoy poise.
Shakily, Harry finished, "she screamed for I don't know…a minute? We couldn't see what was going on but Lizzie just wouldn't let go of Pansy's Mark. Suddenly everything went quiet and it was almost worse; Lizzie collapsed and then Pansy after. Now Pansy's Mark is gone…"
There was a sharp intake of breath from the Professor and a scraping of a chair being pushed back as Albus moved to look at Pansy's left forearm. Indeed, it was burnt slightly, but there was no longer any Dark Mark.
"This is…unexpected," Dumbledore slowly let go of Pansy's limp arm and moved to look at the peaceful face of Elizabeth Moon. 'Oh my dear, you've already started much more than could have been expected of you,' he thought as he shook his head. "Well, Ms. Parkinson should be taken to the hospital wing…Minerva?"
"Yes Albus," and with that, the tense professor levitated the pale Slytherin girl towards the hospital wing, leaving the Headmaster, two rivals, and the new girl alone in the spectacular office. Many new trinkets had been added, quite a few whizzing above their heads in the air between the occupants' heads and the tall ceiling.
Harry conjured a chair identical to the other ones already occupied and sat on one side of Elizabeth, while Draco took the one Pansy had been in and sat on Elizabeth's other side. They both looked at the old man, hoping that he would know what was going on.
"Boys, I am not at all sure what has happened today, actually… I must admit to having no clue on the matter. Ms. Moon is a closed book; this has never happened before and if Ms. Moon does not know what happened, and I doubt she will due to her memory problem…we are at a loss…" Dumbledore was itching to know what had happened…it all seemed an annoying coincidence that Ms. Elizabeth Moon could do such an amazing thing, yet remember nothing.
"You don't…know?" Harry's world seemed to crash down around him at the old mentor not knowing something.
"Get a grip, Potter!" Draco huffed as he laid one hand on Elizabeth's arm, making sure she didn't slide off the chair by accident. Harry's rosy lips were still parted slightly in surprise that Dumbledore didn't know something.
Dumbledore chuckled lightly, but he quickly stopped when Elizabeth began shifting in the chair, mumbling to herself. Both Draco and Harry shared a look but neither seemed capable of letting go of her slender hands. Elizabeth moaned and then lifted her head slowly; her eyelids squeezed shut over her eyes.
Not really paying attention, she pulled her hands lightly from the boys' hands and raised them to cover her eyes, "too bright…" was all she could muster. Both boys immediately missed the contact, though Draco set part of his mind to the job of contradicting anything so obviously absurd, but they whispered 'nox' and Dumbledore closed the curtains.
"Ah, Ms. Moon, I am very glad to see you awake," Dumbledore said quietly but loud enough for the three to hear easily. Elizabeth was blinking stupidly, trying her best to clear her head and dismiss the migraine she had woken with. "How are you feeling?"
"My head…hurts…" she had placed her hands permanently over her eyes, the heels of her palms digging into the sockets slightly so she didn't see the two boys her age share a concerned look over her slightly lower head.
"No need to worry about that, we will get you a potion to heal that in no time at all. But first, we need to know what happened this morning with Ms. Parkinson," Dumbledore sounded cheerful, his slight grin barely noticeable in the small amount of light in the office.
"Ms…who?" The Slytherin and Gryffindor couldn't contain themselves; they began to snicker uncontrollably on either side of the confused girl. "Don't laugh at me! Oh! Draco! Harry! I didn't know you were here!" Elizabeth's eyebrows knitted together in extreme confusion. They lost it; both boys began laughing their arses off.
"Ms. Parkinson, the girl you met in the hallway this morning?" Albus prodded, the two boys grew quiet.
"…Oh…yeah, she's crazy sir. She practically jumped me! Then she pulled away with some pain on her arm, it was some sort of…mark…I dunno…and I just got the instinct to grab onto the ugly thing. Crazy girl started trying to get away but I held on even though my hand really started to hurt. That's all I remember…" Elizabeth drew quiet, her headache returning now that the question was answered.
"Very well Elizabeth, thank you. Now I think it is time to get you a headache potion, yes?" Elizabeth nodded and began to get up slowly, supported by Harry. Draco forced himself to hold back from the girl, she could rot for all he cared… 'But you DO care!' a small piece of his mind was rebelling against the part insisting he didn't care about the muggle.
Harry began leading her slowly to the door but as the wooden door opened for them, she looked back, her eyes almost asking if the blonde was coming. Draco sneered, trying to get rid of her so he wouldn't be distracted from his inner battle. Elizabeth visibly stiffened and she gave the boy a disappointed look. "Fine," she muttered just loud enough for the Slytherin to hear before she let the jet-black haired boy lead her to wherever he was leading her to.
-------------------------
Madame Pomfrey had handed Elizabeth a headache potion once Elizabeth had sat down on the bed and after sniffing it apprehensively, the girl downed it in one gulp, making a face at the horrid aftertaste. Now the Head Nurse was bustling around the redhead to give an once-over her body. When the old woman looked at Elizabeth's right palm, she 'tsk'ed and cast a blue light over the burns. All pain immediately dispersed but a faint pink outline of the Dark Mark remained.
"That's all I can do I'm afraid, you should be fine but if you get any pain or headaches, come to me right away," the Head Nurse waited for a nod from the two and then bustled away.
"Do you want to get some lunch?" Harry helped Elizabeth to her feet but she was now capable of supporting her own weight.
"…Sure…what's up with Draco, Harry?" Elizabeth looked at the Gryffindor beside her as they left the Hospital Wing side-by-side.
"He's a prat-I mean…he's just…misunderstood? Hard on himself? I honestly have no idea Lizzie," Harry smiled lightly as she giggled. "So you are feeling all right?" he made a double-check.
"Yes, I'm fine thank you…I have a question…where do I sit for food? If I sit with you, Slytherin will get mad, if I sit with Slytherin, Gryffindor will get mad," she lifted her palms to the ceiling, completely ignoring the faint outline that was still etched there and began pretending to weigh weights in her hand.
"…You ask hard questions, you know that right?" the both laughed as they turned a corner, the sounds from the Great Hall slowly growing as they drew closer. "You could just sit in an empty spot, if both Malfoy and I sit with you…maybe it won't cause as much problem…but then…Malfoy and I sitting together would be a bad idea too…"
"Who cares? If others want to sit with us also…then they're welcome to. That will make sure no one can argue really…" she stopped talking as they came upon a door leading into the packed hall.
"Are you ready?" Harry asked nervously. Elizabeth nodded, slightly jerky and moved to open the door but Harry held her arm for a second, "would you like me to fix up your appearance a bit? After this morning, everything got a bit…mussed…"
"Oh that'd be great, thanks," she stood back in front of him and he drew his wand. Her eyes grew slightly bigger but she stayed perfectly still as he cast a few spells over her and then turned up her palm and cast a concealing charm over the fading mark. "Good?"
"Beautiful," Harry smiled and Elizabeth blushed as she pushed open the doors, emitting loud sounds of chatting and eating from the student body inside. There was a large empty space in the Hufflepuff table between the teacher's table and the beginning of the students sitting there. Because of the fewer people sorted into Hufflepuff and the fact that they all seemed to want to sit as far from the teacher's table as possible, there was a space for at least 15 people at the table.
Harry pointed it out and they moved purposefully towards the unoccupied space, Elizabeth strutting slightly in front, letting any and all eyes that wanted to follow her do just that as she sat down; Harry sitting next to her. Much of the chatter stopped as they looked at the pair. Harry was slightly fidgety with all the eyes on him as always, but Elizabeth seemed cool and refined, looking over the heads she could for a certain blonde.
Finally, she caught the beautiful platinum two tables over but she saw that he was trying his best to avert his eyes from the two lonely spectacles. Many of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs returned to their previous activities, the Gryffindor and Slytherin Houses were practically emitting hate across the hall, Harry and Elizabeth in the middle. She continued to stare, hoping to catch the blonde's attention but to no avail.
She sighed and Harry looked at her, "I'm going to go get Draco ok? Just stay here, I'll be right back," Elizabeth moved to sit up but Harry pulled her back down.
"Are you crazy? Those Junior Death Eaters will kill you if you go over there!" Harry hissed in her ear.
"Its ok…I'll be fine," Elizabeth gave the raven-haired boy an encouraging smile before gently pulling her arm from his grasp and standing up slowly. Figures the Slytherin boy would still keep his eyes averted, making this harder than it should have been.
The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, if noticing at all, completely ignored her but she could feel all but two pairs of eyes from Gryffindor and Slytherin on her as she slowly made her way across the hall. Finally she was behind the blonde and had a strong urge to kick him, just to make him look at her.
"Hello, I'm Elizabeth," she said as kindly as she could, all the eyes finally making her want to choke. "I was wondering if I could…" she suddenly realized that asking for Draco directly would put him in danger of all the potentially dangerous jealous people, but she couldn't think of what else to do, "speak to Malfoy alone for a moment?"
All eyes turned to him and Elizabeth immediately regretted it. The blonde stiffened slightly but continued to ignore the muggle and the many drooling Slytherins who had momentarily changed topics to stare at. She sighed, time for just-invented-plan-B, she changed tactics and began whispering fiercely, so that only the closest to the target boy could hear, "fine Malfoy, I was going to ask you more about what could be offered with-well…never mind. Don't bother offering if you don't stay consistent!" she hissed and then straightened again. "I'll see you all another time," and with that she was walking slowly but confidently back to the lonely table with Harry, hiding well her fast-beating heart.
"What was that about?" one of the many Slytherins asked across the table, "were you trying to recruit her?"
Draco looked up, surprised, but before he could answer, someone else cut in, "I don't think it would be smart to tell her about it yet…after all, she's a mudblood…we should see if she's got potential first…"
"Yeah, I agree, but Draco, you should keep close…she already seems interested in talking to you. If you keep her close, then she'll be easier to convert!" a third Slytherin added excitedly.
"What are you waiting for? Go!" they shoved him to his feet and closed the gap where he had been sitting so he was forced to walk over to sit across the table from Elizabeth, facing his House table.
The moment he sat down, Elizabeth leant forward, "did it work? Did I keep you out of trouble? Why were you ignoring me?" she began drilling him for answers.
"No I'm not in trouble, but they think I'm faking getting close to you to recruit you to the Dark Lord!" he whispered as loudly as he dared.
"But you're not…" Harry growled.
"Faked?" Elizabeth asked at the same time, the tiniest of a catch in her voice.
"No Potter, I have no interest in giving Lizzie to Voldemort, my father's a…spy, remember?" his voice was very low, even though he had cast a subtle silencing charm and a non-eavesdropping spell over their part of the table.
"Whose…Vol-Volde-Voldemort?" she tried to say the name as best she could.
"I'll explain later, it will take a while," Harry grabbed a glass of pumpkin juice.
"Okay, so Draco," she rounded on him in the blink of an eye, "why are you ignoring me? And what exactly did you mean by 'faking getting close'?" her glare was enough to peel paint.
"I didn't-"
"Answer," she said in a deathly voice, making Harry choke on his drink and Draco to gape at her. "I will not be a puppet, I want to know the truth!"
"I-um…I…" Draco stuttered, completely in shock by the venom in the girl's voice and then his breath caught in his throat at the pain and hurt in the redhead's blue/gray eyes.
"Hi Harry!" Ron, Hermione and Ginny chose that moment to join the others at the empty table. "Hi Elizabeth, I'm Hermione, and this is Ginny, and Ron. Ginny and Ron are family and I'm Ron's girlfriend," the bushy-haired girl smiled and sat down, completely ignoring Draco.
Elizabeth held her painful glare with Draco for a moment longer before turning to greet the newcomers. "Guess what?" the girl named Ginny practically bounced in her seat with excitement, "Hermione and I get to help you shop this afternoon!"
"That's great," Elizabeth would rather stay in the school and get an answer from Draco, but she knew she had no choice in the matter. Whatever had made Draco suddenly ignore her…she hated it. He had been so…interested earlier and then it just…died.
The Gryffindors began chatting about what Elizabeth would need to buy, Ron fought desperately not to drool at Elizabeth, and Harry poked at his food, knowing he wouldn't get to talk to the curious girl for the whole afternoon at least. He had so many questions, he had so much to tell, and he just wanted to get her as a friend as soon as possible.
Draco sat sullenly across from Elizabeth, keeping his head down from her eyes whenever they scraped over his form. He hated that look of hurt, betrayal and confusion in her eyes, especially because he was the reason it was there, but he didn't care, at least…that was what the majority of his mind kept screaming. But every time his mind screamed that he was either happy she was hurt, or that he didn't care, another smaller but every growing part of his mind whispered to him, 'you do care…you care A LOT…'
A/N: Well, I liked that chapter. Shopping next chapter! That will be interesting. It took a while to figure out about the Dark Mark and what Elizabeth was going to say to the Slytherins so Draco didn't get in trouble but I got it more or less sorted. Sorry it took a while to get an update, I've had a lot of homework. I'll try to get the next chapter out next weekend or sooner if time permits. Please review, its that little button on the bottom left…you see it? Please, all I need is 'I liked it' or 'update soon' or anything. One word will do! I just love reviews so make my dreams come true!