Chapter 25

Dru was running full tilt to the Library when she ran smack into someone. The both of them fell to the ground with loud thuds, the contents of their book bags spilling across the hall.

"Watch it!" The person yelled as they hastily stood to retrieve their things.

"Sorry." Dru muttered as she rubbed her now sore elbow.

She looked up at the person and realized with a smile who it was.

"Grace!"

Grace looked up at her, a scowl still on her face. "Oh, hi." She said glumly.

"What's wrong?" Dru asked as she gathered her things and stuffed them back into her bag.

"Your brother."

"What did he do?"

Grace sighed and slung her bag over her shoulder. "First off he started asking me all sorts of questions about my family. Are we pureblood? Do we believe Muggleborns should have a rightful place in the Wizarding world? And when I told him how I thought he actually laughed at me."

"I'm so sorry."

Grace shrugged. "That unfortunately isn't the worst of it." At Dru's groan they began to walk towards the silent Library. "He proceeded to tell me that I was pretty for a bloodtrator Gryffindor and I should be honored to be with him. Then he put his arm around me and tried to kiss me."

"What did you do?" Dru asked, her eyes wide and disbelieving of what Grace had said of her brother's character.

"What any self respecting Gryffindor would do. I kneed him in his jewels and high tailed it out of there." She paused to give Dru a very satisfied smile. "I'm pretty sure I made him cry."

Dru continued to stare at her, not sure whether to laugh with her or stick up for her brother. Sure, she wasn't quite sure she agreed with what he had said, but it was how she was raised. It was how they all had been raised. After a long pause, she settled with a simple, "Oh." as they found a place to study for the evening. Dru tried her best to focus on her work, but her mind kept traveling back to her room. Back to a special moment she had shared with a special someone just hours before. Grace seemed to notice her lack of attention and commented on it.

"You seem lost tonight. Where are you?" She grinned.

Dru tried her best not to blush. "I was just thinking of Reign."

Grace giggled along with her. "You have the dreamiest boyfriend, you know that. I mean, he's dark and kind of mysterious, cause no one knows anything about him. And he's got to be the only guy at Hogwarts with hair like that." She sighed. "Is he as much a rebel, bad boy as he looks?"

Dru laughed. "I think..."

"Dru!" Lith yelled across the Library.
The librarian looked up at her sharply and pressed her finger to her lips. "SHH!"

Lith rolled her eyes and quickly took the seat next to Dru. She looked warily at Grace before she leaned her head close to her friend and began to whisper.

"Reign is looking for you. Did you tell him where you were going tonight?"

"He knows I study with Grace on Fridays."

"Well, he really needs to talk to you apparently."

"Oh. Alright then." Dru pushed up from the table giving a perplexed look to Grace. "I'll see you next week I guess."

"Sure. See ya." Grace gave her a frown as Dru and Lith quickly left the library.

Lith and Dru made good time back to the Slytherin common room, but found it for the most part empty. Dinner was barely over, so Dru figured most people were still in the Great Hall.

"Well, where is he?"

Lith shrugged. "In his room maybe."

Dru went down the hall that led to the boy's dorms and rapped lightly on Reign's door. There was no answer. She tried again, but received the same. She furrowed her brow and returned to the common room. Lith looked up when she heard her.

"He's not in there. Are you sure he wanted to see me?"

Lith shrugged. "He asked me if I knew where you were. When I told him I hadn't a clue, he got all flustered and said he needed to talk to you and then left."

Dru furrowed her brow and made her way to her bedroom. She shut the door and took off her cloak, tossing it into the corner. Fabio meowed from the bed as he stretched and clawed at her pillow. Dru sat and absently scratched behind his ears. Why, if he had needed to talk to her, wasn't he anywhere to be found? Dru sighed and lay back on her bed. She looked absently at her clock and noticed it was just after eight o'clock. She yawned, and closed her eyes. She hadn't realized she was so tired until she had sat on her bed.

Almost immediately she found herself in her room at home. She blinked at her surroundings, wondering how she had gotten home so quickly when she had just been at school. She looked out the window and saw that it was daytime. The snow was falling haphazardly to the ground and as far as the eye could see was white. She was sitting in her window seat, wearing a pale violet dress that reached the floor when she stood to pace the room.

Why was she at home, she wondered to herself. She was supposed to be at school. The term wasn't finished with and she was sure to get in trouble if she didn't show up for class today. She wrung her hands, not sure why she didn't just walk out her door to find one of her parents and ask them what was going on. She turned suddenly at the sound of her door knob turning. It opened into the room and Craig Goyle walked inside. He was the second oldest Goyle and a year above Dru. She frowned at him.

"What are you doing in my room, Goyle?"

He gave her a very lopsided grin. "I guess I'm here to tell you I'm gonna be your husband."

Dru's stomach jumped into her throat. "That's not funny."

Craig shrugged. "Not supposed to be."

Dru shook her head. "No."

He gave he a look like he didn't understand what she meant. A look he gave most people when they spoke.

"I can't marry you!"

"Too bad." He grinned.

"No! No, no, no! I won't!" She realized she sounded just like her sister at that moment and found it very hard not to stamp her foot.

Her father walked into the room. "What is this all about?"

"Daddy, I can't marry him!"

"You can and you will. Dru, I'm surprised at you. Acting like a child. It's so beneath you."

"But daddy...!"

"Not another word. Now get your wedding dress on the guests are waiting!"

Lucius stormed out of the room leaving Dru wide eyed and near to tears. Craig stood there for a moment, leering at her before following him, shutting the door loudly behind him. Dru realized she was shaking, and tried to stop it by pacing again, but found her legs uncooperative at the moment. She started to panic. She didn't want to marry a Goyle. She wasn't ready for all of this. Why were they making the wedding today? She looked over at her bed and saw a large billowing white dress atop it. She started to cry soundlessly. She shook her head and reached for her bedroom door. It wouldn't open. She ran to the window and found it to was locked. She screamed out her frustration and pounded on the glass until it cracked.

She watched the cracks spread as she continued to pound and finally the glass broke. She watched it fall out the window and noticed some of it was red. She looked down at her hands and saw the blood pouring from her wounds. She lifted her arms into the air and screamed again. She didn't care if she was being melodramatic. She wanted out. She wanted out now!

Her eyes shot open and she found herself in her dorm room at Hogwarts. Lith was standing over her, her face a mask of concern. Dru sat up quickly, her breathing labored.

"Bad dream?" Lith asked shakily.

Dru nodded and burst into tears. Lith hugged her close and rocked her gently. As she did so Dru looked at the clock. It was nearly midnight. She sobbed with relief and closed her eyes again, thanking God that there was no Seer blood in her veins.