-Chapter 10-
Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the HP franchise or characters
Weeks passed without Draco speaking to me. We would sit on opposite sides of the common room or look the other way whenever we saw each other in the hall. I became more and more withdrawn, and spent almost all of my time either in the greenhouse or bent over my cauldron. Draco looked even worse than me. He had large blackish blue shadows under his eyes. He looked paler and thinner. I was worried about him and wished desperately to just wrap my arms around him. My pride wouldn't allow that though, so I spent my time alone or listening to Astoria talk.
On one of my worse days, I was sitting cross legged under a table of vines in the greenhouse. Professor McGonagall had suggested that we meditate on our animagus essay prompts. A thick curtain of hanging leaves hid me from view, preventing anyone from finding me if they happened to wander in. I never worried about that because Neville Longbottom was the only other student that spent much free time in here.
"What do I want?" I meditated on the answer. It was conflicting. I know I want to be recognized as successful, the best, but at the same time I really would just prefer to be lazy most of the time. Still, laziness and success rarely coincide. "What do I want?" Attention came to mind. I want everyone at school to love and know me, but I only want to love a few in return. I want their attention. I want Draco's attention. I pushed that last thought down in my mind. "What do I want?" Adventure and freedom. I want to be outside in the fresh air. I want to run and hunt. Hunt? Why did I suddenly have a desire to chase down a rabbit? The thrill of the chase made my heart purr. Breathing deeply, I embraced my wants, my desire to stretch my legs and run. I felt my muscles tense, ready to work, ready to feel power surge through my blood. I opened my eyes, a sudden shock of disorientation made me shaky, realization hitting me that I was no longer in human form. I stood, taking in the feel of my paws on the damp soil of the greenhouse. I shook each leg, acclimating my mind to new muscles. My keen eyesight found an open window and in one graceful bound I was passed through and landed outside. A brisk wind ruffled my fur, but I was not cold. I felt alive, more alive than I ever had. I set off at a slow pace towards the forest. The same path our running club always takes. Faster and faster I ran, my muscles stretching and moving me across the ground. Finally, I slowed and came to a stop at the edge of the lake. Looking in the reflection of the water, I confirmed what my heart already knew. The paws, the whiskers, the beautiful pattern of spots and swirls, the tufts at the top of my ears, and a set of blue eyes staring back at me. My animagus is a lynx.
A sound across from me made me look up sharply. I crouched down, ready to pounce on the potential attacker. I was surprised to see Draco appear out of the trees and sit down at the edge of the water. The March air had warmed enough for small wildflowers to bloom. He picked one and started to pull off the petals. I didn't know whether to approach him or run away. I took a step back, a twig snapped beneath my paw.
"Who is there?" he asked sharply, whipping out his wand and pointing it in my direction. He saw only a lynx, not recognizing me in my animagus form. "Oh, it's only a cat," he said to himself. "Get it together, Malfoy."
I sat and just looked at him, curious to see if he would keep talking. He didn't disappoint. "Well what are you looking at?" he said to me. He narrowed his eyes at me, looking closely. "Your eyes remind me of someone. She has beautiful eyes. Too bad she hates me," he said sadly. He plucked off a few more petals. Finally he said, "You know what, I would rather have her hate me now than tell her I have to sneak the Death Eaters into the school and kill Dumbledore before the end of the year. She would hate me even more if she knew that." The pain was clear in his voice. I was thankful I was in lynx form because I was shocked. He had finally told me his secret and he didn't even realize it.
"What are you still doing here," he said to me. He picked up a small rock and threw it in my general direction. I backed away, and then ran as fast as I could back to the castle. I shifted back to my human body and ran straight to Dumbledore's office. I had to tell him. He would find a way to save Draco.
Coming to a halt in front of the gold griffin that guards Dumbledore's office, I started to second guess myself. What if telling Dumbledore got Draco expelled? What if the Dark Lord killed him for not completing his task? I knew I couldn't risk Draco's life in an effort to save him. I was still standing there thinking when Professor Dumbledore appeared from behind the griffin.
"Miss Buchanan, is there something you wish to tell me" he inquired, peering over his half-moon spectacles. I made my decision, "No Professor. I was just thinking and lost track of the time."
"Very well, my door is always open if you need to talk," he said gently before walking down the hall. I turned the opposite direction to go to the common room. I needed to talk to Draco.
Out of breath from running around the castle, I grunted the password at the statue that guarded our dorms. Through the door, I saw a group of first years playing exploding snaps. Astoria, Daphne, and Pansy were gossiping on one of the sofas, and Crabbe and Goyle were eating chocolate frogs across from the girls. Sweeping the rest of the room with my gaze, I spotted Blaise in the corner snogging one of the twins. Good, all the boys were occupied, meaning Draco's room was empty for the time being. I strode purposefully past everyone, smiling and nodding at them as though nothing was out of the ordinary. They were far too involved in their own lives to care what I was doing. Confident that no one was looking, I slipped into Draco's room. It was empty, so I sat down on his bed to wait for him. Waiting was not a strength of mine, but I used the time to plan the conversation. I ran through it twice before I heard a hand on the door knob. Panicking, I forgot my plan and just shifted in a hurry to my lynx form.
Draco didn't notice me at first. I watched as he tossed his bag into the chair by the door, and then hung his school robe in the closet. He hesitated at the closet before pulling off his shirt and tossing it in the hamper. His every move was precise and measured. The muscles in his shoulders flexed and rolled as he moved. The sight made me purr loud enough for Draco to finally notice the large cat sitting on his bed.
"Bloody Hell!" He shouted, whipping his wand out of his pocket to aim it at me. I merely cocked my head to one side and continued to purr. The shock on his face was slowly replaced with confusion and the glint in his eye showed curiosity as well. After all, it wasn't every day that a wild cat showed up in his bed. He took a tentative step forward, followed by a bolder step when he saw I was still calmly sitting on the bed. A few more steps and he reached out a hand to stroke the fur behind my ear. I purred loudly, nuzzling my head into his hand. I looked up into his eyes to find them watching me intently.
"Aemilia, is that you?" he whispered. In response, I climbed into his lap and curled up there. "Don't get me wrong, it is awesome to see you here on my bed, but what are you doing here, and more importantly when did you become an animagus?" he rushed out all in one breath. Realizing that I needed my human mouth to answer his questions, I shifted back again, still sitting in his lap. The pleasure of being in his lap on his bed was not lost on me.
"I thought we could try to talk again, and I found my form earlier today," I replied. Temporarily forgetting the animagus news, he unceremoniously dumped me out of his lap and stood up, pacing in front of me.
"Not this again," he shouted, "how many timed do we have to go through this?" it really was amazing how descriptive his eyes were, but in this particular moment I was slightly terrified by the hard glare that was directed at me.
"Just once more," I begged, hoping that the gesture would soften him. I hated the feeling, but Draco Malfoy was a man that needed to be in control. I was willing to give that to him.
"What makes this time any different than the other times we have had this conversation?" he asked through a clenched jaw. I didn't answer immediately, instead I took his hand and pulled him gently onto the bed again. I lifted a hand to stroke his cheek, he pulled away slightly but then allowed me to run the back of my hand along his pale skin. It was clear on his face that he wanted to kiss me. His passionate outburst only moments ago had riled him up with desire. I leaned in, but rather than kiss him, I whispered the answer to his question in his ear.
"Because you've already told me." He jerked away abruptly. Draco was very intelligent, I knew if I simply gave him a minute to think that he would come to the right conclusion. Sure enough, I saw his face light up as comprehension dawned on him.
"The cat by the lake, that was you, you know the truth." He said quietly. I simply nodded, unsure of how he was going to react to this realization. I was pleased when he wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly. The weeks of separation had taken their toll on us. He took my face in his hands and attacked me with his mouth. His teeth pulled at my lower lip and I moaned as warmth flooded my body. The sound of my desire only heightened Draco's intensity. He roughly pushed me down on the bed and moved on top of me. The weight of his body on mine brought back a flood of memories of the times we had been together. My hips unconsciously lifted against his, willing him to do more. He clearly felt it too, his hands quickly pushed my skirt up over my hips, and in his impatience to remove the barriers in his way, he popped all the buttons off my blouse in one fluid tearing motion. The aggressive way he was touching me, possessing me, was overwhelming. I had never seen this side of him before.
Suddenly, he was off of me and the absence of his warmth sent a ripple of goosebumps along my body. With his wand, he locked the door, then cast a silencing charm to ensure the students in the next room would not hear us. His eyes were raking over my half naked body. "Draco, please," I moaned, bringing him back to attention. He undid the button on his slacks and let them fall to the floor, followed by his boxers. His erection stood ready, and he wasted no time, plunging it firmly into my ready body.
I arched my back to meet each of his thrusts. His pace was intense and dominating, quickly building up a bundle of tingling nerves inside me. He pinned my wrists above my head and leaning down he captured one of my breasts in his mouth. The sensation was enough to send me over the edge. I cried out his name. He slowed for a moment, allowing me to catch my breath, then he flipped me over onto my stomach and entered me again. The waves of my first orgasm made every nerve in my body alert to his touch.
"Aemilia," he growled my name, "Never leave me again," he commanded, thrusting deeply with each word, followed by a firm slap to my behind.
"Yes, Draco," I gasped. Reaching forward he grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled slightly, not enough to hurt, but enough to cause me to arch my back and allow him an even deeper angle into my body.
"Now cum again for me," the confidence in his voice and the furious pace of his thrusts quickly had me doing just as he said. He moaned and with a final thrust he finished as well. We collapsed in a tangle of arms and legs, neither of us willing to separate. My eyes had just drifted shut when he finally said, "So you know the truth."
"I don't hate you, Draco. None of this is your fault." I hoped my voice sounded reassuring.
"What am I going to do?" he asked, but I had no good answer for him. I decided to fall back on sarcasm for the time being.
"Well for starters we need to get dressed and open this door before the rest of Slytherin House gets suspicious. He groaned but did as I suggested. I pulled down my skirt and repaired my torn shirt with a wave of my wand. I checked my reflection in the mirror, noticing with a mix of horror and pleasure that there were several love bites trailing down my neck. A glamor charm would hide them well enough. Satisfied, I turned just in time to see him pulling on his robes. I caught my breath, naked or fully dressed, the man never ceased to captivate me.
He extended a hand to me. I took it and we walked hand in hand into the common room. Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at us. Draco had a steely look on his face that dared someone to challenge us on this. I smiled weakly at Astoria who, surprisingly, smiled back genuinely. I heard Blaise mutter, "About time," to Goyle. Satisfied that everyone had seen and accepted us as a couple, Draco continued walking, leading me out the door and towards the stairs.
He stopped in an upstairs corridor in front of an empty span of wall. He shut his eyes tightly while I just watched him curiously. Seeing movement out of the corner of my eye, I turned to see a door forming out of the formerly empty wall. "The Room of Requirement," I breathed in amazement. Draco simply nodded then led me through the door.