The best part about being rendered unconscious by a best friend was undoubtedly being allowed to eat breakfast in bed. Harry normally demanded that he and Pansy ate at the table on the balcony, or the smaller table by the window inside of the lush bedroom. But since she had only awoken from her head injury a few hours ago, Harry had Kreacher bring her breakfast spread on a tray.
Propped up against a mountain of fluffy pillows, Pansy sat the tray on her lap as she picked at the decadent buffet of foods. Harry sat beside her, a copy of the Daily Prophet and a few opened letters scattered at his feet, laying forgotten. Instead, he helped himself to Pansy's breakfast, frequently eying the side of her face to assess her health.
"Stop looking at me like that," Pansy mumbled uncharacteristically, dipping a rasher of bacon into the saucer of hollandaise sauce. "I'm fine."
"That you are," Harry grinned, wiggling his brows suggestively.
Pansy rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop a small smile forming at her healed lips. No traces of the scrap with Octavia remained on her appearance, for Harry had assigned three healers to treat her that night. Perhaps he had gone a little overboard on how many healers he had summoned to the manor, but Pansy wasn't complaining for she felt no hint of pain from the injuries she had endured.
Still; Harry may have ensured that she was healed to full health, and apparently in a teasing and casual mood with her, but his frequent assessing gazes said otherwise. He was definitely still concerned about her health. A realisation that brought Pansy great big bouts of happiness.
"Octavia wants to see you again to apologise," Harry informed bitterly, the atmosphere suddenly tensing. "I told Draco that I will not allow it."
Understandingly, Pansy nodded as she chewed a mouthful of poached eggs, but couldn't help feeling a little vexed at Harry's decision. Once she swallowed the food, Pansy took a small sip of her latte before pushing the tray off her lap, turning to face him.
"I understand why you are worried and angry," Pansy said carefully. "The way Octavia acted was totally uncalled for to you, but to her it wasn't. It shouldn't have gone as far as it did, but I think she may be less volatile now that she has gotten the anger out of her system."
"Draco made the mistake of thinking the same after she attacked him," Harry countered, his green eyes darkening at the direction Pansy was taking the conversation. In no way was he prepared to put Pansy into a dangerous situation with the unpredictable hurricane who went by the name Octavia. "Her emotions are uncontrollable, and frankly, I will not endanger you by allowing another encounter. My answer is no."
"I didn't ask a question," Pansy drawled, quirking her perfectly sculpted brow.
"Yes you did." Harry stated firmly, his tone leaving no room for compromise or negotiations. "Until Octavia shows vast improvement in her behaviour, you are not to see her."
"What if I encounter her in the manor somewhere?"
"The rosters of your chaperone times will be managed by myself and Draco," Harry explained. "We will ensure that another meeting doesn't occur without our permission and presence."
"That's a little extreme, don't you think?" Pansy drawled coolly, patronising him.
"No." Harry clipped. "I don't think it is extreme that I wish to protect you from her. Yes, it was an accident that you hit your head, but the consequences of the injury could have been much worse than they were. There is no use in discussing the matter further, Pansy. My word is final."
Pansy narrowed her eyes as she raised her chin defiantly, bristled by his authoritative tone. But she knew better than to argue her case further, so fell silent while glowering at him. Harry regarded her coolly as she turned back around in the bed, leaning against the pillow, her hardened stare fixing ahead. A few moments passed before Harry sighed quietly in defeat, cupping her cheek firmly, forcing her face to align with his again.
"You may think I am being unreasonable, but I assure you that I have your best interests at heart," Harry explained. "My only fear is losing you, Pansy. A fear that has haunted and tortured me for years, and will for many more to come."
Pansy's expression softened somewhat as she remained silent, the quietness between them coaxing Harry to continue.
"Have you ever encountered a boggart before?" Harry asked, slipping his hand from her cheek to rest on her thigh. Pansy shook her head in response. "I have. It isn't a pleasant interaction to experience, but one that can be mastered with practice. I use my occlumency skills to prevent a boggart from entering my mind and discovering my worst fears, so ultimately, the creature has no effect on me. But that shouldn't suggest that I have no fears to discover."
Shifting her body in the bed to face his completely, Pansy lay her cheek on the mountain of pillows, gazing patiently into his emerald green eyes. Harry's eyes, however, appeared haunted in a sense, a shadow of awful memories she knew naught of swarming beneath the constant glow.
"Now, after everything, the only fear that I possess is losing you." Harry informed, no humour or teasing in his severe tone. "We both know the reason for that fear, and I believe that you return my feelings, Pansy. When I entered Octavia's bedroom and saw you on the floor like that – blood pouring out of your head, completely motionless – I relived that fear. I felt as though it had come to be. So forgive me if you think I am overreacting, but I will not risk that outcome transpiring. All the silent treatment in the world will not change my mind."
Pansy blinked stupidly at him for a moment before a seductive smile tugged at her lips. The almost confession of his love for her had her soul alight with absolute desire and fulfilment. Pansy's meeting with Octavia had caused her to question every decision she had ever made, and whether or not she had truly been correct in those choices. But now, in this moment, Pansy knew that she had done right by herself. Octavia too, but the blonde nutter just didn't know it yet. Both girls were truly with the men who loved them, and the men that they themselves loved in return.
Of course, Pansy didn't actually admit that she loved him. Not yet anyway. It was an emotion that made one weak. Both she and Harry weren't at the stage in their relationship to expose their vulnerabilities to each other yet, and admitting love for someone else was the ultimate vulnerability of all. So they let the unspoken words linger between them before Harry's own lips twisted into a smirk that mirrored Pansy's suggestive one.
Despite all the damage that Pansy had caused from her choices, she felt as though it had all been worth it. In that moment, at least.
Come morning, her certainties would be wiped away entirely.
"Again!" Lucius demanded, aiming his wand at Harry.
Harry panted and shivered on the mossy ground of the dungeons, dry-retching repeatedly as his body heaved. The incessant tortures of the cruciatus curse were taking its toll on his young body, but Harry climbed to his feet regardless, his legs almost giving out beneath him.
"Faster, boy!" Lucius commanded, Harry struggling to stand up straight, a sheen of glossy sweat covering his face. "A Lord never shows pain!"
"Yes, Lucius," Harry panted, raising his chin confidently, his hands scrunched up into fists at his sides.
"Crucio!" Lucius shouted, Harry instantly dropping to his knees as his body shook and jerked and jolted. "Fight it, boy! Fight the pain! A Lord does not feel the pain of the curse! Are you a Lord, boy?"
"Ye-e-sss," Harry hissed out through gritted teeth, writhing wildly on the floor.
"Then act like it! Stand!" Lucius demanded, still holding the curse on the young boy, no older than thirteen.
Harry groaned, resisting the urge to scream and cry like he used to years ago. Instead, he shut his eyes tightly, clenching his jaw as he willed his legs to obey his orders. They didn't move willingly, however, and only jerked and shivered from the force of the curse upon his body.
"Disgraceful!" Lucius spat, finally ending the curse as Harry gasped. "Have you no shame? Or do you simply not wish to take your rightful place at the throne when you come of age? Is that it, boy? Do you not wish to be a Lord? Or do you wish to end up like your parents? Dead in the ground, forgotten by their own son. What about Sirius Black? Do you want to end up like him? Alone in an old dank house, miserable, latching onto the only thing that reminds him of his murdered friend? Or do you want to rule?! Do you want power?!"
"No, Lucius," Harry breathed, shakily getting to his feet.
"No?" Lucius repeated with absolute horror.
"No, I mean … Yes, Lucius. I want to be a Lord. I want to take my rightful place." Harry rasped, legs collapsing beneath him, sending him to the ground. "I want to be powerful; in control."
"You will be nothing if you keep this up much longer!" Lucius spat venomously. "You are pathetic, Potter. How do you expect to lead the wizarding world into order and structure if you cannot endure a simple cruciatus curse?!"
"Practice, Lucius." Harry stated firmly, his voice hoarse and tired. "Again."
Lucius regarded the bespectacled boy for a moment before nodding his head once in approval. The screams of Draco could be heard ripping through the corridors of the dungeons, the other destined Lord yet to master his training. Although, Bellatrix's crucios were much more violent than Lucius could ever dream of.
"Your brother is equally as pathetic as you," Lucius snarled, referring to Draco and his echoing string of screams. "Both born from the same great sorcerer, but he would be ashamed to see you both now. Barely able to withstand a mere curse. Pathetic, the both of you!"
"Again!" Harry shouted, heckled and baited by the sharp words.
"Atta boy," Lucius praised with a smirk, raising his wand. "Crucio!"
Octavia was ashamed to admit that she and Draco had spent the entire night, day, afternoon and evening together. He hadn't left her side since the incident with Pansy, and while he had been upset with her for the majority of the night, he had softened come bedtime. Her incessant tears and apologies seem to have that effect on him. Friskiness of the tender sort had ensued, perhaps more than once, not that Octavia would admit it to a single soul. The shame was too great.
By the time Draco departed the bedroom it was well passed dinner, and into the early hours of the night. So, due to the time, Octavia was a little taken off guard when a knock sounded at the thick wooden door of the damp and cold tower bedroom. But she had a very precise idea as to who the late visitor was. Blaise had undoubtedly come for his answer.
Groaning in reluctance, Octavia pushed herself away from the heat of the fireplace and dragged herself over to the door. The short distance to the door took a lot longer than expected, given the sheer extent of her dread at meeting Blaise that evening. But with everything Pansy had said, Octavia had finally come to a decision.
So when she opened the door to reveal the correctly guessed visitor, she stepped to the side and allowed him entry to the bedroom. Blaise was leaning against the doorframe arrogantly, a smirk playing at his pink lips. He gave her flannel pyjamas a once over before scoffing in mock disapproval and pushing himself from the panel.
"It's cold in here," Octavia explained with exasperation, justifying her less than attractive attire.
"So it would seem," Blaise drawled, strolling passed her as she slammed the door shut.
Octavia rolled her eyes as she followed him further into the bedroom. She scowled as he walked passed a sleeping Hope on the buffet table without so much as a pat or a scratch on the belly. Honestly, did no one care about the dog but her?
Scooping the whimpering, snoozing puppy into one hand, Octavia cradled her in her palm and fingers as she continued to follow Blaise. He seated himself in the armchair, leaving nowhere for Octavia to sit, so she stood awkwardly in front of him.
"I heard you kicked Pansy's ass," Blaise grinned, reclining casually in the chair.
A fierce blush crept up onto her cheeks, Octavia having the decency to look ashamed.
"It was an accident," Octavia mumbled, shuffling her feet nervously as though he would berate her like Draco had done.
"Was it?" Blaise asked, his grin widening as his humour increased. "The way I heard it is that you stuffed a shoe into her mouth, covered her in dog food and proceeded to crack her skull on the corner of the coffee table. That's quite an accident to have, I must say."
"The … skull part was the accident," Octavia frowned, looking utterly humiliated. It was most certainly nothing to be proud of.
"Well, she probably deserved it," Blaise shrugged, loyalty causing him to take Octavia's side without question. "Pansy has recovered, so all is well."
"Yeah, Draco told me," Octavia nodded, relieved that Pansy hadn't slipped into a coma or worse. "I want to see her and say sorry, I guess, but Draco said … He doesn't think I can control myself."
"Mm," Blaise hummed, his grin fading into a smirk. "If I'm honest, I have to admit that I'm incredibly surprised."
There it was. The scolding. Octavia immediately bowed her head in a demonstration of shame.
"I always thought that, if you and Pansy were to fight, she would mop the floor with you," Blaise grinned, a laugh daring to escape him.
Frowning in confusion, Octavia raised her head and met his stare. There was not a single glint of scolding in his black eyes, only amusement and a dash of entertainment.
"She kind of did," Octavia admitted meekly, blushing profusely.
"Now that isn't surprising at all," Blaise laughed. "I've seen Pansy scrap before. She has one hell of a right hook."
"She shoved dog food in my face," Octavia scowled, relaxing somewhat, seating herself on the edge of the coffee table. "I ate some of it by accident. It's really gross."
"Pansy wasn't the only one playing dirty, as I heard it." Blaise laughed, grinning widely, perfect white teeth on show. "Stuffing a shoe into her mouth? Honestly, Tavs, I have to give you kudos for that."
Octavia shrugged. "Draco was pretty pissed off. I don't think he saw the funny side at all."
"He's never had much of a sense of humour," Blaise dismissed. "Speaking of the blonde devil, who lacks humour that I don't, have you chosen? Our Lord has left for Ireland and isn't due to return until tomorrow evening. The Irish Resistance and all have to be dealt with. So now would be the most opportune time, Tavs."
Instantly, Octavia stiffened, holding the tiny pup in her hands, hazel eyes dimming as they met black orbs.
"Yeah," Octavia nodded, looking rather grim. "I've made my choice."
"And?" Blaise prompted, the smirk gone, only poorly concealed eagerness shining in his dark eyes.
"I choose you."
The orange glow of the dancing flames in the fireplace illuminated her pretty face to artistic measures. He stood beside the sofa in the Slytherin common room, brows furrowed as his mind put the pieces together. Black eyes scanned the beautiful face beneath him, Tavs sprawled out on the leather sofa, lips parted, snoring and drooling without any trace of delicacy.
Blaise couldn't understand it. One day they were close friends, brother and sister almost. The next, she was snogging Draco all over the school, and Blaise's heart broke a little more each time.
He thought of waking Octavia when he had entered the common room after a late-night rendezvous with a Ravenclaw. Everyone else had retired to bed already, so why Octavia was still asleep on the sofa baffled him. Surely Draco would've taken it upon himself to wake her up before sending her off to her much comfier bed in the girls' dormitories. It was rather strange.
Still; Blaise wasn't sure if he would wake her or not. It was much nicer to watch her sleep and smirk at her when she muttered and snorted. Which was surprisingly a lot.
Hesitantly, Blaise lowered himself to kneel on the rug-covered floor, finding himself at face level with the snoring girl. A smirk tugged at his lips as she rubbed her nose sleepily before murmuring and falling silent again. He wondered what she dreamt of. Probably Draco. It wasn't a nice thought for Blaise to entertain, but it was likely that Draco consumed her dreams. She was simply infatuated with him now.
How things had changed.
Perhaps if Blaise had learned of his feelings toward Octavia prior to her relationship with Draco, he could have swayed her in his direction. Again, it was not a nice thought to entertain. For it only served to stir regret inside of him.
Fortunately, Tavs appeared to be happy with Draco. Mind you, their relationship was young, – three months young to be precise – therefore Blaise still had time. Should their relationship crumble he would be there to pick up the pieces, as well as her heart.
Hesitantly, Blaise raised his hand to her cheek, the cheek that was dry from the lack of drool, unlike the other one. Cupping her cheek cautiously, as though she would awake at any given moment, Blaise watched expressionless as she smiled faintly in her sleep. He felt as though he was studying the most fascinating creature known to the magical world.
Leaning toward her slowly, Blaise pressed his lips against her forehead, stray curls tickling his nose as he kissed her sweetly. It felt wrong to kiss her lips whilst she slept – as well as the fact that she was attached to another; that other being a close friend of his – so he settled for the soft skin of her forehead.
As he kissed her gently, he felt her brows furrow against his lips, unintelligible murmurs escaping her before silence fell over them once again.
Deciding against waking her, Blaise pulled away and rose to his feet. He would sleep on the other sofa instead. The Slytherin common room wasn't a place to leave a young muggle-born sleeping alone, entirely vulnerable to the nastier of the snakes in the pit. But, as it turned out, Blaise didn't need to stay with her.
As he stepped away, his back connected with something solid, Blaise whipping around to face the object. But it wasn't an object he had collided with. It was a person.
Draco stood there, eyeing him curiously, both remaining completely silent, silver eyes burning with realisation and knowledge. He didn't speak. He just stood, staring at Blaise. Assessing. After a moment, Draco stepped around Blaise, his silver gaze fixing on the snoring girl on the sofa.
"How long?" Draco asked coolly, his back to a relatively nervous Blaise. Although, Blaise would never show his nerves of course.
"I don't know," Blaise answered honestly.
His feelings for Octavia could have transpired at any point since he had first met her, but he had only realised them a few months ago. So in truth, he really didn't know how long he had harboured romantic affections for the muggle-born.
"Aren't you going to hit me?" Blaise quirked his brow, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he stared at the back of Draco's head. "At least hex me?"
"No," Draco said. "Octavia would have a fit if I did."
"So what then?" Blaise drawled, supressing a yawn. Whilst the situation wasn't exactly a desirable one, and Draco's wrath was worthy of fear, Blaise had totally exerted himself that day, particularly with the Ravenclaw. He was definitely due for bed.
"Nothing." Draco shrugged. "I don't blame you for feeling a certain way about her. She's magnificent. I trust that you will not cross the boundaries, but that you will do everything in your power to protect her from harm."
Blaise wasn't certain as to what Draco meant exactly, but in his opinion, he got off rather easily. After all, Draco had obviously seen Blaise kissing Octavia's forehead whilst she slept and all. But then again, it was a general rule to not leave anyone alone in the Slytherin common room at night, so was Blaise really to blame?
"I think I always knew," Draco admitted, crouching down to place a pillow beneath her head. "The way you are with her … I always knew."
"At least one of us did," Blaise smirked, no humour whatsoever in the gesture. It was certainly a smirk of total and absolute bitterness.
Blaise watched as Draco draped a blanket over the slender body of Tavs, tucking her in cosily. The blonde pure-blood then seated himself at her bare feet, moving them around to rest on his lap. Blaise understood that Draco would be spending the night with her there, so took his leave.
Even if he would have preferred to be the one on the sofa with the curly-haired, sassy, spoilt muggle-born, he couldn't. Alas, it was a feeling he would get used to over the years.
The sound of a quill scratching on crisp parchment sounded out, Octavia biting her bottom lip in concentration as she wrote hurriedly. The bracelet that restrained her powers jingled with every move, flick and twitch of the hand, curls billowing down the side of her determined face.
Ninny,
Blaise will meet you at the edge of the woods by Malfoy Manor tomorrow morning at exactly 11.34pm. A guard shift happens then, so it can't be before or after. He's going to help us. Please, please, please trust me on this. He really is helping us, he's not setting us up, ok? I know you and I know you don't want to trust anyone, especially my friends, but please just trust me on this one, ok?
Make sure no one sees you when you get there. I know where the dungeons are, so we'll break everyone out too. Draco is in Ireland tomorrow and Blaise says that Harry is going there in the morning too so we'll have a better shot when they're not here. He got me a wand to help too, but it's a bit old and it doesn't feel right, so I don't know how much help I'll be but I'll try, I promise. Pansy isn't coming with us. I'm not sure if she would come with us or not but we can't trust her. I kind of got into this fight with her and … we'll just leave her here I think.
Bring wands for the people in the dungeons just in case we have to fight. The manor should be pretty empty though so I hope it doesn't come to that. I'll be ready when you get here. I'll meet you and the others inside. Blaise will bring you to the dungeons and that's where I'll be.
I miss you so much and I can't wait to see you Ninny. I hope you're all safe and well and … good luck.
Love, O.