Chapter Twelve

When I got back to the common room that night, I was surprised to find George, Fred, and Natalie all waiting up for me. Sheepishly, I dropped my bag and stood before them, "I'm so sorry. I had no right to say any of those things and I didn't mean any of it. I'm sorry."

George stood and pulled me into a hug, "No, you're right. We didn't listen to you even though we should have. And I have been a jerk. With you hanging around Malfoy, I - I mean, we - haven't been very good friends to you."

I returned the hug, feeling relieved and once again like I could be myself around my best friends. I might not be ready for them to know the truth, but I knew they would be there for me, no matter what. Fred and Natalie also stood and gave me a hug. Fred ruffled my hair and offered me a tasty treat to smooth things over.

"Yeah, right," I teased. "I know better than to accept anything from you guys. I don't want to end up like Nigel."

We all had a good laugh and Natalie reassured me that Nigel was doing just fine. We said our good nights and retreated to our various dormitories. Natalie stopped me on the stairs halfway to our dormitory.

"Seriously, Nicole, what's going on with you?" She asked, dropping all cheer and becoming serious best friend that would grill me until I spilled all.

I hesitated before answering, "It's just, with the Dark Lord returning, I feel like everything's changing. I guess I've just been so worried about it and now with Draco wanting to be friends with us, I'm just not sure what's going to happen next. It's like, we can't not be friends with him because what if his dad convinces him to join the Dark Lord? And then you still have to go back at the end of the year, what if something happens to you? What if he can't be stopped this time?"

Natalie considered my answer before wrapping me in a tight hug, "Nicole, you worry too much. It's not like we're alone in all of this. We have each other, our friends and families. And we all have the determination to stop him. He's not going to win, ever." She sounded so sure. Of course, I hadn't even told her the half of it. Would she have been so sure if I had told her the whole truth?

…

Now that winter was gracing the landscape with its presence, the first Hogsmead weekend was on the horizon and students were buzzing with excitement. One morning at breakfast, Fred and George were busy processing some orders for their various skiving snacks while Natalie and I were discussing the upcoming weekend.

Hermione suddenly plopped onto the bench next to us, her eyes darting around the hall as she whispered into my ear, "If you want to learn proper defense against the dark arts, meet at the Hog's Head at one o'clock on Saturday. Don't tell Draco." She hissed the last part before jumping up and running out of the hall.

"What's her deal?" Natalie asked as she munched on a muffin. Fred and George looked up curiously from their parchment.

I leaned in close and relayed what Hermione had said, leaving out the part about Draco. Defense against the dark arts was seriously lacking any educational consequence and it sounded like Hermione wanted to do something about it. "What do you think she means?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

Fred grinned, "She means Harry's going to teach us defensive magic. I heard her talking to some of the Hufflepuffs in the library the other day."

"Harry?" Natalie sounded a little too excited about the prospect of learning anything from Harry. She even smoothed a hand through her hair and glanced around to see if Harry was nearby.

George shot me a knowing smile - he also knew about Natalie's little secret crush on Harry - before adding, "Yeah. She reckons we can learn a right sight more from Harry than we are from Umbridge. Course, we could learn more from Neville than that hag."

We all sniggered and glanced up at the staff table where Professor Umbridge sipped her tea with that smug, superior smile. He was right; we weren't learning anything about how to defend ourselves. Harry had faced my father and unlike when I met him, Harry wasn't supposed to get away. He would know how to defend against dark magic. He would be able to teach me the skills needed to keep myself and others safe. The more I thought about it, the more excited I got about it. And Hermione was probably right, I shouldn't tell Draco. He may be turning over a new leaf, but there was a small part of me that wasn't sure. It came from the snickers and devious looks that I would get from the Slytherins. Pansy would watch Draco wave or talk to me, then she'd turn to her little friend and they would whisper and chuckle. Until I could trust Draco one hundred percent, he couldn't know.

"I'm going," I muttered to my friends. "We need to learn this stuff and who better than Harry to teach us."

The other three nodded their agreement. There really wasn't any question in any of our minds; we all believed Harry that the Dark Lord was back and we knew we had to prepare for the worst.

As it turned out, we had defense against the dark arts that day, speak of the devil. Umbridge was just as smug as always with her ministry-approved text and no wands policy. Just as always, we were not allowed to talk. Our reading assignment was on the board along with lines we were to copy to ensure maximum retention.

I was sitting in the back of the room, on the Gryffindor side, by the aisle. Natalie was next to me and across the aisle, on the Slytherin side, sat Draco. I was trying to concentrate on the reading, but it was dull and my eyes were soon glazing over. The words blurred on the page and the Ministry approved pictures weren't making any sense as they trapezed around, demonstrating the proper wand movements. I was about to slip off to sleep when my left arm suddenly erupted in pain. It was terrible, like thousands of needles being stuck in every pore along my arm where the Dark Mark marred my skin. I must have gasped, because Natalie shot me a questioning look. Tears were starting to fill my eyes as the pain intensified.

When I couldn't handle it anymore, I shot up out of my chair, all heads turning to look at me. Any disruption in Umbridge's class was sure to spell doom.

"P-professor," I stammered, trying to hold back the tears. "I don't feel good; I need to go to the Hospital Wing."

"I'm sorry, dear," Umbridge's sweet yet venomous voice replied. "But if you're using one of those Weasley candies to get out of my class, you are sorely mistaken. I will not allow you to go, only to slip some cure into your mouth when you leave so you can roam the halls and not have to do work. Please sit down."

My fist was clenched so hard, I could feel my nails digging into skin. I couldn't stop a tear from running down my face as the pain almost made me cry out, "P-please. I'm not faking. I didn't take any sweets, I swear."

Draco was watching me closely with concern filling his eyes, but he stayed in his seat. Even Natalie didn't move as all heads turned to Umbridge to see what she would do. Unfortunately, she pursued her lips and ordered, "Sit down, Miss Saunders."

But I couldn't. "I'm sorry," I mumbled as I turned and dashed from the room, Umbridge calling after me to come back and sit down and do my work. Ignoring her calls, I ran all out to Dumbledore's office. I didn't know why the Mark was hurting so bad and I reasoned that if anyone could either tell me what was going on, or make it stop, it was him.

When I reached the stone gargoyle, tears were running down my face. The pain was so intense, I couldn't even see straight and I felt the fringes of consciousness slipping away. Since I didn't know the password, I pleaded with the gargoyle to let me in or for Dumbledore to come out. I might have even pounded on its head to get it to move or do something, but it's hard to tell when you're in the middle of a freak out.

Finally, the gargoyle jumped aside and Dumbledore stood before me. He wasted no time in ushering me up to his office and depositing me into a chair. I was taking huge gulps of air and clutching my arm to my chest. For a moment, Dumbledore left my line of vision before reappearing, his clear blues eyes full of concern.

"W-why does it hurt?" I gasped.

Another face came into my line of vision, one I was not expecting. Snape. He calmly pulled my arm away from my chest and rolled up my sleeve. I was afraid to let him see the Mark, but couldn't struggle against the pain. When he saw it, he didn't seem surprised. He produced a jar of some kind of lotion and began rubbing it along my arm. As it seeped into my skin, the pain seemed to, not go away, but rather the skin seemed to go numb wherever the lotion touched.

After several minutes, I could no longer feel any pain. I swiped the tears from my face and took several calming deep breaths, trying to recompose myself and not look like such a dork anymore than I already had. Snape and Dumbledore stood over me, watching intently, waiting to see if I was better.

"Um," I cleared my throat so it wouldn't sound so shaky. "Thanks."

Snape barely nodded his head in acknowledgement. Dumbledore patted my head and replied, "To answer your question, that's what it feels like when Voldemort calls his followers."

"He was calling them all?" I asked.

"No," Dumbledore shook his head and with a quick glance at Snape, continued. "It seems he was only calling you. My guess would be that he didn't want you to forget that he's out there and trying to get you to join him."

I also glanced at Snape, "What am I supposed to do? He won't stop until I go to him. And if my arm hurts like that again, it's only a matter of time before someone finds out."

Snape handed me the jar of lotion. "Use this. It will numb the Mark so you can't feel the pain. But, I'm afraid," he turned his attention to Dumbledore. "We may need to consider other options, considering what I've told you."

Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a moment, "I think you're right, Severus. We may not have a choice."

I glanced from one to the other. Things were starting to get interesting, just when I didn't want them to. Dumbledore took a seat behind his desk and turned his gaze to me, "You have become friends with Draco Malfoy recently?"

This couldn't be good, I thought as I nodded, "Natalie is always saying how we should be friends with him, that he's not as stuck up as he seems."

"I tend to agree," Dumbledore replied. "Draco isn't a bad boy, he just desperately seeks after affection from those who won't give it to him. He certainly has been acting differently this year, which makes me wonder if this new friendship actually means something to him." He turned to Snape, who again only nodded slightly. "We cannot know for sure how he feels at this point, but I do think it would be best you know the circumstances. Perhaps you would be a better judge as to his motivations and standings than we."

That nasty feeling in my gut was coming back, telling me I wasn't going to like what I was about to hear. Still, I couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean?"

Dumbledore met my gaze, "It seems Voldemort, in his attempt to get to you, has enlisted the help of Mr. Malfoy. He has asked Draco to become your friend and draw you over to his side."

Hearing it aloud made my stomach turn. Of course I had wondered if that was the case, but I hadn't wanted it to be true. Could all of this really just be an act? Could Draco be playing me? I couldn't believe it; he seemed to understand me and had promised me…well, I wasn't sure, but I thought we had a genuine connection. Was he really that devious that he could fake that? Then again, even though he put up a front, his eyes always seemed to be telling the truth. When his face was being rude and snide, his eyes were begging someone to love and accept him, to not have to be alone anymore.

When I found my voice, I asked, "Do you think he'll do it? Do you think he'll turn me over to my father?"

Dumbledore glanced at Snape, who seemed reluctant to have to contribute to the conversation, "Draco may want his father's approval more than anything, but he has found in you something he's never had: a true friend." He looked sick just saying the words. I would have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious. "It is true that he's acted differently this year and his attitude has changed. I believe," He droned on, "That he does feel something toward you and to his cousin. That feeling could be what keeps him from turning on you." His words brought relief. Until he took a deep breath and continued, "However, the Dark Lord has also told him that if he doesn't deliver you, he will kill Draco."

"We can't let him do that!" I sprang out of my chair and began waving my arms around as I spoke, "Whether Draco will go through with it or not, I have to let him take me to my father. I can't let Voldemort kill him. It may be questionable as to Draco's feelings toward our friendship, but mine are clear. I care about him and I'm not going to let my father destroy him. I'll go to my father, make him think Draco did his job, whatever it takes to convince him Draco did his job. I could always slip out after, make a scene so he knows I'm not on his side but that it's not Draco's fault."

Dumbledore was holding up his hands but waited to speak when I had calmed down and plopped back into my seat, "I hope it does not come to that. Professor Snape and I will discuss this and figure out a plan. You need to focus on your studies. I think it would also be good to keep up the friendship with Draco. All the time you spend with him could help him decide the dark ways are not for him and he won't follow through with his assignment."

Focus on my studies, yeah right. If Dumbledore didn't come up with a plan to where both Draco and I came out alive and well, I would do what I had to to keep my friend safe. I would face my father.