Chapter Eight
Draco and I sat at our table in the Great Hall.
I was reading my transfiguration textbook while absently eating the food he continued to shovel onto my plate. I was working on a sweet bite of chocolate chip pancake when loud screeches echoed through the hall.
Fatigo was in front of me in an instant, dropping a letter onto my lap.
It took me a moment to look down from my textbook, but when I had, I noticed the fancy scrawl across the front of the envelope immediately. I took the letter and hid it inside my cloak as I finished eating.
I didn't want Draco to know that his father would write to me but not him.
But it had been a week ago, the day after Halloween, when I had sent a letter to Mr. Malfoy asking questions about the Chamber of Secrets. I hadn't even expected a reply, but since he was the governor of the school, I thought he must know something.
Once Fatigo had flown away and I'd finished my pancakes, I slipped away from the table and walked quickly back to the common room under the pretext that I'd forgotten my Potions homework. After looking suspiciously at me for a moment, Draco agreed to wait for me if I hurried. Once I was sitting safely in my dorm, I tore open the letter. It read:
Dear Ravenfire,
I received your letter, but it would not be prudent to share the extent of my knowledge with you through the use of letters. In fact, I seriously considered not telling you anything at all through this method of communication, but now I believe your involvement might be useful if not crucial. I'll tell you that what you asked about is, as its name suggests, a secret chamber hidden inside the school. It was built by Salazar Slytherin and is said to contain a monster.
Many believe this chamber does not exist because no evidence has been found of it. However, if someone – or something – has already been mysteriously petrified, I don't understand why doubt would still be present. Speak of this information to no one, including Draco. I will talk to you more face to face, and I will write again to you when I've made plans to come to the school.
-Lucius
"'Moste Potente Potions'," I repeated, "It's a book."
"I gathered that much," Draco retorted bitterly, "since you said you overheard them in the library."
It was late on a Friday night, and all of the other Slytherins were asleep. Draco and I, however, were laying on the ground in front of the roaring fire in our common room. The dungeons got chilly in the winter time, and December was slowly approaching. Snuggling under a blanket for warmth, I decided to tell Draco what I'd heard earlier in the library.
"Hermione, Harry, and Weasley had a note from Lockhart to get a book out of the restricted section," I continued.
"The potions book?"
"Yes…aren't you curious what they'd want it for?" I asked, not understanding why Draco was so indifferent. Normally, he'd be exceedingly curious about anything that had to do with the trio.
"I am curious, Raven," he sighed, not for the first time reminding me of his father "I'm just tired. Besides, Granger's probably read all of the other books. She's just looking for something new. It's not out of character. Don't worry about it."
"Normally I'm the one to say something like that."
When Draco didn't respond, I laid my head down on his chest with a sigh. I'd been this close to him before, but it felt different now. I couldn't ignore the small flutter in my heart whenever we got this close. And with my ear against his chest, I could hear the pulsing of his heartbeat as well.
It'd been happening throughout the entire year, the palpitations. I hadn't let myself admit it, or even entertain the notion, but the possibility was definitely there.
But did I have a crush?
"Slytherin lead, sixty points to zero!" Lee Jordan called.
I hovered on my broom, watching the two bludgers. One was going after a Gryffindor girl while she tried to make a goal. That had been directed by me to go after her. The other one was following Harry, and that was the one I hadn't touched all game, which was uncommon. It was almost like an angry hornet, moving as if it were attached to him.
Gryffindor suddenly called timeout.
Good.
As they all landed, Draco flew over to me.
"What do you think is going on?" I asked.
"Rogue bludger," he chuckled, "It's delicious, isn't it?"
"It's either rogue or bewitched."
As I hovered a little closer, I was able to pick up a few words from the Gryffindor team. It was pretty easy to hear most of what they were saying when their anger made it seem like they were shouting.
"Someone's fixed it!" George Weasley exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air, "It won't leave Harry alone! It hasn't gone for anyone else all game. The Slytherins must have done something to it."
"I bet it was Ashe," I heard a girl named Alicia Spinnet comment nastily, "She's a beater. It would only make sense. Besides, everyone knows her magic is advanced. She's more than capable of doing it."
"It wasn't her," Harry said, shaking his head, but I could see in his eyes that, while he was denying it, he wasn't certain, "She wouldn't do something to deliberately hurt me."
"Yeah," Oliver agreed, "I'm not a big fan of Ashe, but she couldn't have done it. The bludgers have all been locked in Madam Hooch's office since our last practice."
"She still could have done it! I'd be surprised if she's not the one behind this!" another girl agreed with Alicia.
I felt a body slide up next to me, but assuming it was Draco, I continued listening…until the other body leaned over to whisper in my ear.
"Hello, Ashe."
My stomach turned as I flinched, causing my broomstick to float away a few inches.
"What do you want, Flint?" I asked, still grimacing, but he just laughed at my disgust.
"I was just going to give you some friendly advice, from team captain to subordinate," he commented, but I rolled my eyes, "Seriously, Ashe. That was a good hit towards Angelina. Keep it up. Both the Gryffindor beaters are going to be protecting Potter now because that one bludger won't leave him alone. This is good for you. It means you only have one bludger to worry about. I want you to do everything you can with that second one."
Then he flew off to give "friendly advice" to other team members. Though he was ignorant and mean, Flint truly was a good captain. He somehow knew exactly what to do to win the game. He had a very strategic mind, and that at least, I could respect.
Only seconds later, Madam Hooch blew her whistle again, and we were off.
The chaser from our team sped by while I tried to locate the second bludger in all the confusion. Adrian Pucey – a cute, black-haired Slytherin player – zoomed by me. Balancing on my broomstick, I watched the bludger heading in my direction. Right as I was about to hit it, Harry whizzed past me with the rogue bludger on his tail.
Draco, who was shouting teases and insults, caused Harry to hesitate long enough for the bludger to slam into his arm. As it swerved like a boomerang to come back, I swung my bat at it. Luckily I was in the right position to hit it forcefully. I watched it fly away, but it was back soon enough.
Luckily, Harry had flown forward just enough for the bludger to miss him, but the pain in his arm was still clearly unbearable, as he began to plummet to the ground. The crowd around us gasped along with me. At the last moment, Harry managed to right the broomstick so that it flew parallel to the ground even as it dipped lower and lower. Finally, his back scraped along the ground before he let go of his broom and dropped the last couple inches.
But he only began to descend after his fingers had closed around the snitch.
Slytherin had lost.
And it was my fault for trying to protect Harry.
