Where The Beginning Of The End Begun

Chapter 9-

"Mum! Mum, where are you?" I call out as I walk around the house. I hear voices coming from behind the golden double doors that lead to the sitting room.

When I reach the doors, I wait for a moment. Not able to make out what the voices are saying. Not wanting to interrupt my mother as she is with a guest, I politely knock.

"Gen-bug? Is that you?" Mum calls out from within the room.

"Yes. Can I come in?" I ask her. There's a moment of silence before the doors open widely to reveal my beautiful mother.

She smiles at me and embraces me tightly.

"Hello love, when did you get home?"

I pause for a moment. Now that she is mentioning it, I don't actually know when I got home or how I got home or even why I'm here.

"I-I don't know." I answer quietly. Mum's smile never falters.

"Well, we'll just say that you're extremely tired and that's why you don't know. At least then you don't sound insane." She teases, pulling me in for another hug. I return it immediately, realising now how much I miss my mum when I'm at school. Her hugs always make everything better. I've always felt safe and like I'm at home in my mother's arms, no matter where we are.

"I've missed you so much Gen-bug." She says, kissing the top of my head.

"I've missed you too mum. And I have so much to tell you."

"And I can't wait to hear it all but first, I want you to finally meet someone that you should have met years ago." She leads me into the sitting room where I see a man. His back is turned to me so I cannot see his face. He's tall though, with very broad shoulders and short, jet black hair. He is clad in a black suit that, from what I can tell, is very expensive.

"Magenta, I'd like you to meet you father…"

"Magenta!" Someone shakes me.

I jump with a gasp. Sitting upright in bed, I try to catch my breath. I'm sweating and breathing heavily. Aibhilin stands over me with a panicked expression.

"Are you alright M? Were you having a nightmare or something?" She asks cautiously. I shake my head.

"No. It wasn't a nightmare. I was at home with my mum and she said she wanted me to meet someone…" Aibhilin gives me a look that says 'continue.' "She said, that it was- she said it was my father." Aibhilin's eyes widen.

"Your father? As in like, the man that left you and your mother?" She asks.

"That's the one."

"Well? What did he look like then? What was he like?" Aibhilin sits on my bed next to me.

"Not a clue. You woke me up just as he was about to turn around. And besides, I've only ever seen one picture of him. I don't think my mind would be able to remember it enough to create him in a dream." I tell her.

"Did your mum ever tell you anything else about him?" She asks, seeming intrigued.

"Not a lot. Just that he was Italian but he moved here and his parents sent him to Hogwarts. The sorting hat told me that he was a Gryffindor. Apparently he was very, very handsome and he was in love with my mum just as much as she was in love with him. Of course that was when they were teenagers. My mum got pregnant with me when she was eighteen and when he found out he just…left." Talking about it always brings me down. That's why I don't do it often. Nobody wants to be the child whose parent walked out. But I am.

"I didn't mean to make you upset M. It's just that I've never heard the full story." Aibhilin says sympathetically.

"No, it's fine honestly. I was going to tell you if you ever asked anyway. But that gets it out of the way, doesn't it?" I ask with a slight laugh. She just nods.

"Oh! And his name. My mum told me his name." I tell her, suddenly remembering crucial information. "Demitri Terranova."

"He sounds familiar. But I just can't place the name." Aibhilin tells me.

"It doesn't matter anyway. He walked out. He didn't want to be a part of my life, why should I give a damn about his?"

"Well, that's one way to look at it I suppose." She shrugs. "Anyway, you should probably get up now. Don't want the whole day to go to waste now do we?"

"Tell me Ave, how do you plan on spending the day?" I ask her with a laugh.

"Hmm, I think I'm going to owl my mum, whilst you go and talk to Draco and then I want to go for a walk and finally we shall spend some time in the library."

"It all sounds good and well. Except for the whole talking to Draco part. What am I to say to him after last night?" I ask, feeling a bit nervous about seeing him again.

"You know what you're going to do? You are going to act yourself around him, like usual. Nothing's really changed. You two kissed. I'm happy for you but I don't know what that means exactly. So, you are going to talk to him and clear things up." She says with an air of finality.

"Okay then." I say with a shrug.

In all honesty, I don't really want to go and talk to him. What if he thinks that kissing me was all a big mistake and now he hates me? Oh gods, I don't think I can handle that.

"You're never going to know if you don't try." My mum's voice rings in my head. She always says that. Whenever I'm not sure about doing something. Of course it's a very common thing to say but it always sounds like amazing advice coming from her.

"Now, go and shower. You look like shit." Aibhilin tells me with a smile.

I laugh and roll my eyes, untangling the covers from my legs and getting out of bed.


Aibhilin sits on her bed, reading, as I sit in front of the mirror.

"I can smell your hair from all the way over here. How many potions did you put through it?" She asks, not taking her eyes away from her book.

"A lot, I suppose." I often put copious amounts of beauty potions into my hair and onto my body whenever I have a shower. I enjoy smelling nice.

I charm my hair to dry quickly and I use my wand again to curl it to absolute perfection. Never once have I had flat or straight hair before. I adore my curly hair. I only charm it to be curled a bit neater.

After I'm satisfied with my hair and my face I finally get dressed.

"Thank the gods. You're done. Can we go now please?" Aibhilin whines.

"You could've left ages ago Ave." I tell her with a laugh.

"What kind of friend would I be then?"

"Fair point." I shrug as we walk down the stairs and out of the common room.

"I'm going to go send this letter. You, go find your lover." Aibhilin winks before walking away.

Okay…if I was a semi-evil Slytherin where would I hang about?

Most likely the Slytherin Dungeon.

I stand there for a moment, trying to figure out the longest route down there. I'd rather like to have some time to think about everything. Although, usually I end up overthinking things and make myself mess everything up. But…I'll do it anyway.

I turn around and head off in the direction I came from, figuring that was probably the longest way there.

As I walk, I'm buried in my own thoughts so I don't realise the two bitches walking straight for me until they both knock my shoulders roughly at the same time.

"Watch it!" Belinda and Shauna sneer at me before laughing and walking away. I roll my eyes and take a deep breath before rubbing my shoulders. That actually really hurt.


The dungeon is dark and cold, as always, when I arrive. I carefully make my way through it, not wanting to draw much attention to myself.

When I look up I come face to face with Pansy. Oh, just what I needed.

"Is there a problem with your pathetic common room or do you just enjoy pissing me and everyone else of with your pathetic presence?" She asks in her stuck up tone.

"Well…my world, unlike yours, doesn't actually revolve around pissing people off. Sorry to disappoint you if that's what you thought." I tell her with a sarcastic smile.

"Oh really? Then why do you kee-"

"Who the bloody hell do you think you're talking to like that Parkinson?" Adelaide growls out, interrupting Pansy.

"I-I was j-just…" She stutters.

"You were just being an annoying little brat. Now, you best bugger off before I start making your life a living hell." Adelaide wasn't shouting but there was something about the way she spoke that made me shiver. It was very powerful. As if it's her 'queen-bee' voice.

Pansy's eyes widen and she mumbles a quick 'sorry' before scampering off back to her small group of friends.

"Wow…that was…actually kind of scary." I confess as Adelaide looks at me. She laughs beautifully.

"Oh love, no one gets away with being cheeky to my family."

"Well in that case, thank you." I say with a smile of my own.

"I'm glad you're here. I was about to come and find you anyway." She leads me over to a corner of the room where there are no people. "It's about Shauna…and Belinda as well but mostly Shauna. It has come to my attention that she's being quite cruel to you lately due to the whole 'Malfoy' thing. And I would rather you two get along so, I was thinking, maybe you could just move on from Draco."

My eyes widen and my jaw drops.

"What?! Y-you can't be serious! You want me to just forget about Draco, the boy that I like, just because Shauna's a bit upset that he chose me? Well, you can just forget it. Because I am not letting her have him." I grit out, furious with Adelaide for saying such a thing. How dare she? After being so nice to me lately.

"Oh, Merlin no, not so she can have him. No, that would be disastrous. It's just so that neither of you have him and all will be good and well." She says with a smile, as if this means nothing.

"No. Absolutely not. Do you not understand what this means to me?"

"Of course I do but I would just feel so much better if you just left him alone. I mean, Shauna is my friend and I don't want things to be unfair for her."

"Unfair? For her? What is unfair about this? We aren't even together. Yes, he left her and maybe that had something to do with me but it was his choice. And even if I did move on from him, I'm never going to get along with her. I've never liked her and I certainly won't like her if you make me do this." I tell her, fighting back the tears.

"Magenta, it's in everyone's best interest. You should know that. Don't be a selfish bitch."

"Adelaide, you're my cousin and I love you but you are the only selfish bitch here." I say, walking away.

"If you don't do this than you can just forget about helping me with the ball!" She shouts after me.

I turn back around and glare at her.

"Good. I don't want to help anyway if I have to deal with you three fucking idiots. And, just to make it clear, I will most certainly not be staying away from Draco."

"You little bitch!" Adelaide screams after me. I ignore her and continue walking, fuming about what just happened.

I just want to scream.

Why would she do that? Why would I do that? Now, I've just ruined my relationship with Adelaide and she hates me. Well, I hate her right now too but once all of this anger wears off I'll be left feeling heartbroken about this spat.

All I want to do is just find Dr-

"Blakewood!" My thoughts are interrupted by the arrogant voice that I needed to hear at this very moment. Thank the gods for my good timing. Or is it his…

I turn around and practically run up to Draco, push him against the wall and smash my lips against his.

He's only caught off guard for a second before he pulls me against him by my waist and I grab his neck, pulling him down to me. As I stand on my tiptoes I wish that I was a bit taller so that it wasn't necessary.

Draco pushes his tongue into my mouth where it battles for dominance with mine before easily winning. He switches us around and pushes me against the wall this time. As he does, we receive a chorus of wolf whistles from the boys nearby.

Blaise, who I hadn't realised was standing there in my haze, clears his throat rather loudly making us pull away.

"If you two are quite done…" Blaise says.

Draco rests his forehead against mine before smirking.

"Feel free to greet me like that more often." He breathes.

"Not likely." I say, managing to remove myself from his tight grasp. "I'm just pissed off right now."

"So you being pissed off equals hot snogging?" Draco asks with an amused expression. "Well, I think you should be angry more often."

"What's got you pissed off then, Blakewood?" Blaise asks, being the gentleman that he is.

"Everything! It started this morning with my dream and it's all went to shit from there." I tell him with a sigh. "And I just need to find Aibhilin."

"I'll help you, if you'd like." Blaise says, attempting to be subtle. I shake my head at him.

"No, no. I'm just going to go look for her myself. I'll see you later." I say, turning to start my search but a hand grasps my wrist and pulls me back. I turn so that I'm face to face with Draco.

"Meet me tonight." He whispers. I nod and he kisses me again before letting my wrist go.


After having no luck finding Aibhilin at the Owlery, I decide to head back to the common room to see if maybe she's there.

When I walk through the portrait I see Aibhilin jump up. She rushes over to me.

"I ran into Blaise on the way here, he said you were upset. What happened? Are you okay? Do you need anything?" She asks, feeling my face and clutching my arms like a concerned mother.

"You 'ran into' Blaise on the way here? Are you sure it wasn't a secret scheduled meeting?" I ask her with a slight smirk.

"What you mean like you and Malfoy's secret meetings?" I glare at her. "No. I was going to go looking for you but then I saw him and he told me that you were looking for me so I decided it would be best if I just came here and waited for you rather than the both of us being on a wild goose-chase around the entire castle." She finishes.

"Right…"

"It doesn't matter. Come sit and talk to me." Aibhilin says whilst she leads me over to the couch.

"Now, what's got you all riled up?" She asks softly.

"I was going to see Draco, like you told me to, and when I got to the Slytherin Common Room Pansy was there with the warmest welcome." Aibhilin nods and tells me to continue. "So then Adelaide appeared out of nowhere and tells Pansy off. Which I thought was nice of her but then she pulls me aside and tells me that I need to lay off Draco. For Shauna's sake."

"No offence, but…what a bitch!"

"And then she had the cheek to call me a selfish bitch because I said no. So when I walked away she told me that I couldn't help her with her ball anymore to which I replied was completely fine and then she screamed at me and I walked away." I rush out.

"Good. She doesn't deserve your help anyway if she's going to act like that. And, for Shauna's sake? Shauna's? She has to be completely mad. Just know that I think that was horribly wrong of her to ask you to do that." Aibhilin puts her hand on my arm, in a comforting gesture. Then a curious look comes across her face. "How did Blaise know about this? Was he there?"

I feel the heat rushing to my cheeks has I give her a sheepish look.

"No, not exactly. Ehm…I was walking out and I just wanted to find Draco so when I saw him, I-I just couldn't help myself and I might have shoved him up against the wall and eh…kissed him. A lot."

Aibhilin's jaw drops.

"You-you pushed him against a wall and snogged him in front of everyone?" She asks in a disbelieving tone. I lower my head but nod anyway. "You must be mental. But…at the same time, I do admire the fire that you possess sometimes."

I laugh louder than I expected to and Aibhilin gives me a look before she bursts into a fit of laughter herself.

"So does this now mean that you and Malfoy are together or…?" She makes a continuing motion with her hands.

I sigh and start playing with the ends of my hair.

"No, it doesn't mean that. Or at least, I think it doesn't. I'm not sure really. We haven't talked about it or anything."

"Come on." Aibhilin gets off the couch, taking my hand and pulling me up as well in the process. "We shall go for a walk and you can talk to me about it."


As we walk through the freshly-fallen snow, I try to figure out the best place to start about what I feel for Draco.

"I really, really like him." I say, finally looking at Aibhilin. She nods so I continue. "And when we kissed the other night it was just…amazing." I sigh.

"But…?" She prompts.

"But, I just don't know if I can be with him. Just because I like him doesn't change the fact that he's, well, Malfoy." I tell her with a shrug.

"M, when are you going to learn that it doesn't matter what everyone else thinks? You're allowed to be happy and if it's Malfoy that makes you happy, no one has the right to stand in your way." Aibhilin says sternly.

I bite my lip as we walk in between the trees.

"It's not just that. I don't want to be the girl who just leaves her friends for a boy. And I know that if I'm with him that's exactly what will happen. I'll end up leaving you alone and what kind of friend would I be then? Although…if you and Blaise would get over yourselves you could be happy with him. Hell, he's halfway there. He's practically in love with you. But apart from that…what would my mum think? Oh Merlin, she'd hate me." My face pales at the thought of my mother hating me. I wouldn't be able to live if she did.

"Okay, I know you. And I know that not everything would become about Draco if you just got together. Don't worry about me! Of course, I'll be pissed if you ever leave me." She sends me a playful glare and I let out a small laugh. "But Blaise and I? That is just never going to happen so please do not try to make it so. As for your mum…well, you know that I'm all about following the rules but M, just don't tell her. All in all, I'm only hearing the reasons why you can't." Aibhilin finishes, turning to me and giving me a meaningful look.

"I suppose you're right, like always. So that just leaves one last obstacle…what if Draco doesn't want to be with me?" I can feel a dull ache just thinking about if he doesn't want me. I mean, I'm not going to lie, he probably does if I know anything but I get paranoid.

Aibhilin puts her hands on her hips and gives me an incredulous look.

"Magenta Blakewood. That is by far the stupidest thing that I have ever heard you say, and believe me I've heard some amount of shite come out of your mouth in the past. Malfoy wants you and it's so blatantly obvious that it's actually funny. If he didn't want you to be his girlfriend then he wouldn't have kissed you or even made an effort at trying to be around you. He's a lazy bastard, you know that he doesn't try and yet he tries with you! That means something! For Merlin's sake lass, you'd think you were dropped at birth!"

My eyes widen at her bluntness but I appreciate it none the less.


Creeping out of the Gryffindor Common Room like the teenage girl that I am, I quickly and quietly make my way to the potions classroom that I've unofficially claimed as 'ours.'

When I arrive he is already there, leaning against the wall. Draco's head turns when he notices the light coming from my wand.

"Sorry I'm late. I was talking to Aibhilin…" I tell him quietly. He shakes his head and smirks.

"Doesn't matter love. I haven't been here long anyway." My heart swells when he calls me 'love.' "I would have been earlier but Shauna was still up and started interrogating me."

My face drops. Shauna is becoming the bane of my existence.

"What did you say?" I ask quietly, turning my attention to the floor.

He walks towards me and grasps my chin gently, tilting my head up so that I am forced to look into his eyes that seem to shine even brighter in the dark.

"I told her to mind her own fucking business." He whispers before kissing me softly.

I revel in the kiss, enjoying the warmth that comes with it.

I smile against his lips for a moment before I hear footsteps. My eyes widen and Draco pulls me into the potions room, closing the door quietly.

"Nox." He whispers, making his light go out. I follow suit and stand closer to him as we listen through the door.

"They'll be here somewhere Mrs Norris." We hear Filch saying to his cat. We keep our ears pressed to the door until we hear his footsteps fading away.

I let out a breath and turn so that my back is now to the door. Being in the classroom means that we don't require the light from our wands as the moonlight shining in is enough.

Taking my time I walk over to where I now know everything is and take out the supplies that are required for a simple potion.


"Now, crush the snake fangs." Draco says, whilst he sits on the desk watching me.

I proceed to do what he says and start crushing the snake fangs. I stop when he starts laughing.

"What?" I ask.

"What are you doing?" He asks, still laughing.

I give him an incredulous look.

"I'm crushing the snake fangs, if that isn't obvious."

"Well you're doing it wrong."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that there was a specific technique to crushing snake fangs." I tell him sarcastically. Draco shakes his head and jumps down.

"There isn't a technique, you're just doing it horribly wrong." He stands behind me and puts his hand over mine, in a cliché way.

As he demonstrates the proper way to crush the fangs I turn to look up at him. Just admiring his beauty.

He looks down at me before turning me around completely to face him, abandoning the potion.

His hands rest on my hips as he leans against the table.

"Tell me what happened earlier today." Draco says in a more serious tone.

I sigh. I'd forgotten about the whole Adelaide thing for a while there. Just being with him makes me forget everything else.

"I was actually coming to find you and then of course Parkinson started off on one so Adelaide stepped in being the heroic cousin that she has been lately. After that she told me that she wanted Shauna and I to get along…" At this Draco lets out a laugh.

"You two? Getting along? That would be like me…tolerating Potter."

I nod and laugh as well.

"Yes, it's very much like that. So Adelaide, being the selfish girl she is decided that it would be best if I just stopped talking to you for her sake and Shauna's. Just so that she wouldn't have to put up with the two of us fighting constantly."

"And what did you say?" He asks. For a moment I think that his tone is slightly worried but I brush it off.

"I said no of course. Then I went on to call her a selfish bitch and so she retaliated by saying that if I didn't leave you alone then I wasn't allowed to help plan her ball. Which I know, doesn't sound like a very big deal but in my family it is. It's one of the biggest highlights of your life and to organise it is always so much fun and if it turns out to be a success then the ones that put it all together are showered with praise. I happen to really love being praised."

"But you still said no?"

I look down and nod, feeling myself blush.

"You said no for me?"

I raise my head and give him a playful glare while trying to ignore the feeling of his thumbs tracing circles on my hips.

"It wasn't just for you." I tell him. He just smirks and raises his eyebrows.

"Of course it wasn't."

"It wasn't!" I punch him lightly as I laugh.

Draco leans down and kisses me. I kiss him back before pulling away. His expression becomes worried as he looks at me.

"What is it?" He asks. I shake my head and look down again.

"You know that we can't actually be together right?" I ask him quietly, honestly fearing his reaction.

His grip on me tightens a bit.

"Why the hell not?"

"So many reasons. But the main one being me and my fear of the reaction from people." I tell him sadly. I don't want to have to say this to him but I can't just not let him know why I don't feel it's right.

"Here we go again! You're right, it is you! You and actually giving a shit about what people think. No, not even just people. Your precious little Gryffindors. Potter and Weasel-Bee and that filthy, disgusting little mud-blood."

I scoff at him and move away.

"Because they're my friends! And Hermione may not be a pureblood but she's still better at magic than you'll ever be." I scowl at him.

Draco stops leaning on the desk and walks forward, towering over me.

"Is that what you think?" He growls.

"That's what I know." I answer him immediately.

Before I have time to register what's happening, Draco is crushing his lips against mine and backing me up against the table.

I really don't want to kiss back, not when we're in the middle of an argument. It just isn't right. But, something inside of me actually likes the way his anger is fuelling the kiss and as always I can't stop myself from giving into him.

When I start to kiss him back with more force, he decides to make sure that he remains in control by putting pressure on my hips. I gasp a bit at the sudden pain. I wasn't aware Draco was that strong. There will most likely be bruises tomorrow.

Finally remembering that I need to breathe I push on his chest, effectively stopping the kiss. I take a moment to try and catch my breath but Draco's lips find their way back to mine almost immediately.

"Draco," I try and pull away again but he is having none of it. "Wait, wait, stop."

I keep pushing on his chest, but it doesn't do much good. My hands eventually end up in his hair and I tug it slightly, pulling his head back. My hands grasp the sides of his face and he stops kissing me.

"Wait." I breathe out rather loudly.

"Wait for what?" He groans.

"For me." I shrug. "Just wait and give me some time to think about all of this. About, us."

Draco licks his lips and leans back. He sighs and gives me a look.

"Are you even aware of just how difficult you are?" He asks bluntly. I pout. "Alright, fine. I'll wait. But just know that I'm going to keep at you until you finally break and you become mine."

"I wouldn't expect anything less."


Aibhilin gives me a cold glare as I walk briskly towards her with Ginny.

"What took you so long?" She asks, putting her hands on her hips.

"We were looking for Hermione." Ginny tells her. I nod along.

"Well where is she?" Aibhilin asks, turning around and falling into step with us.

"I don't know. We left because we couldn't find her. Thought she might be with Harry or Ron." I say.

"Bets! Place your bets!" Fred and George walk towards us shouting.

"Placing another bet O'Malley?" Fred asks Aibhilin with a grin.

"Nope. Not today." The twins shrug and continue shouting about the challenge to come.

The three of us get in a boat along with some other students and sit quietly while it moves itself to the stands that are in the middle of the Black Lake.

"Welcome to the second task," Dumbledore announces just as we arrive at the middle stand.

I make to climb out of the boat and I look up to see Aedan, offering a hand. I smile and take it. He helps me up and then proceeds to help Ginny and Aibhilin.

"Alright little sister?" He asks when Aibhilin gets on to the stand.

"Peachy." She replies bluntly.

Aibhilin walks away with Ginny and I go to follow them but Aedan holds me back.

I look up at him, confusion flooding my face.

"Yes?" I ask.

"I heard about the fight between you and Adelaide." I sigh. "I just wanted to say that I can tell she's upset about it. You know she'll never admit it but she is."

"Why are you telling me this? Are the two of you dating or something?"

"Well, no. We aren't dating. We're just-" I clamp my hands over my ears.

"Nope! I don't want to hear it." I say, cutting him off before he can say what he was about to.

Aedan just laughs and crosses his arms.

"You asked." He says.

"And now I wish I hadn't."

"Okay. All I'm saying though, is try to talk to her. I'm sure you aren't too happy about this little fall out either." Aedan tells me, his face becoming more serious.

I nod, agreeing with him. I'm not at all happy about this but I did what I felt was right and I don't want to just forgive Adelaide.

"Fine. I'll try and talk to her. Merlin knows there's not a chance of her listening but I shall try. Thanks for being so considerate Aedan." I tell him. I really do appreciate the way Aedan cares so much. He's a lot like Aibhilin in that way.

"There's a good little Gen." He winks and walks off to his friends as I walk to mine.

"What did I miss?" I ask when I reach Aibhilin and Ginny.

"Each Champion had something stolen from them and they have an hour to get it back." Ginny explains. I nod just as the canon goes off and they all jump into the water.

I look over the railing along with Aibhilin but the water is too dark to see anything.

"So I guess now we just wait." I say with a shrug.

"I had a dream last night." Aibhilin says out of the blue. Her voice sounds distant as she looks out over the lake. I turn to her with a raised brow.

"What was it about?"

"You, actually. You left during the night and then you were talking to me but I couldn't make out what you were saying." I nod.

Well, that wasn't actually a dream. I was talking to her when I got back to the common room last night. I thought she might still have been awake so I was telling her that I was sleepwalking. That's just what I tell anyone who questions me being out of bed though.

"Sounds…strange. I was in bed all night." I tell her with a serious voice.

"S'pose you're right."

I bite my lip and turn my head to the other stands where I see a group of Slytherins congregating.

In the crowd I make out a flash of white-blonde hair. As if he knows I'm staring, Draco turns and winks at me. I half scoff and half laugh before I look away.

Not being able to help myself I look over again but this time he's talking to Pansy.

I push away the slight jealousy that I feel clawing at me.

You told him no. You. Told. Him. My conscience reminds me fiercely.

"Relax M, it's just Parkinson." Aibhilin tells me when she notices my staring.

I nod but remain silent.

She's right, it's only Pansy. He doesn't even like her that much.

He didn't like Shauna very much either… I scold myself for even thinking about that. It's not like that. He wouldn't do that again to make me jealous.

But, then again, he did say the other night that he was going to do whatever it takes. And of course, jealousy is a big weakness of mine.

After he'd said that he would keep at me until I break I had went back to making the potion. Although, it was particularly difficult to concentrate when Draco kept whispering things in my ear. They were meaningless words but they scared me slightly. Not in the way that makes me want to run and hide but more in the way that made me scared I wouldn't be able to resist him.

He convinced me that he has every right to kiss me whenever he wants. Thinking about it now, I really regret agreeing to it but at that point I didn't care.

Apart from the kissing he swore to find out all of my weaknesses and use them against me. Well, he's clearly figured out one already.

I clear my mind of Draco when everyone starts cheering for Cedric who has just resurfaced with Cho. I cheer for him and when I catch his eye, I shoot him a smile which he returns.

Next to come out of the water is Viktor. He is holding on to Hermione. Oh, so that's where she went.

I keep searching for any sign of Harry but there's nothing so far.

When Ron surfaces with Fleur's younger sister I cheer. But then I still my movements. Where the hell's Harry?

I jump and smile when Harry shoots up out of the water, landing on the stand. Aibhilin runs to him and I follow behind her.

We join the crowd around him before throwing our arms around him as well.

"Well done Harry!" I smile at him.

"You did well Potter." Aibhilin winks.

"Thanks guys." Harry thanks us, still trying to dry himself with towels.

"We've decided that Harry Potter should be given second place!" Dumbledore announces.

"Second place is pretty damn good." I compliment him before kissing the top of his head.


"Murder?" I ask disbelievingly.

"Murder." Seamus confirms.

"The murder of whom?" I ask, still confused.

"Barty Crouch." Ron says from his seat on the floor.

"Oh, that's a shame." I mumble. Aibhilin looks at me from her usual position in front of the fire.

"You seem really broken up about it." She says.

"Well it's not as if I was best mates with the man. I didn't really like him anyway nor did my mum. What have I got to be upset about?"

"He still died M. He is dead. Someone murdered him. On Hogwarts' grounds!" Aibhilin exclaims.

"We should probably all be scared." Ginny says.

"Okay I'm shaking with fear." I say sarcastically. I know enough magic to protect myself. And besides, things like this seem to happen every year. Well, maybe not the murder part but it's usually close enough. It's like I'm programmed to just be prepared for it already.

I sigh and get up, placing my book back on the table.

"Where're you off to?" Aibhilin asks.

"I'm just getting out of here for a bit. Care to join?"

"I'm perfectly fine here thank you." I nod.

"Anyone else?" I ask openly. They all shake their head.

I shrug and head out of the common room.

As I'm walking I see the familiar brunette that I have been meaning to talk to since Aedan advised me to do so a couple of days ago.

"Adelaide!" I call out to her. She either doesn't hear me or she is ignoring me. I'm going to go with the latter.

I walk faster, trying to catch up with her.

"Adelaide! Wait!"

I'm stopped by Belinda. Shauna is behind her giving me a dirty look.

"Look, Blakewood. Get it through your head that Adelaide doesn't want to speak to you." Up ahead I can see Adelaide has stopped, obviously waiting on her two friends and glaring at me. "She doesn't have time to spare for traitors like you."

"I feel terrible for her you know. Having to call you family. It's so sad." Shauna steps forward sneering.

For some odd reason, I actually listen to what the two of them are saying. Stupid as it is. Maybe Adelaide does hate me. I would hate her, if she chose a boy over me. Oh my gods. What have I done?

Biting my lip, I swallow the lump in my throat before speaking to them.

"Tell her I'm sorry." I croak out. I turn away without giving any of them a second glance and hurry away.

"Will do!" I hear Belinda call out from behind me.

I fight the urge to cry. I don't want to cry. I've done too much crying. Taking a deep breath I push away the thoughts of me being a horrible cousin and say the password to the Gryffindor Common Room.