A/N: First a large Authors Note right in the beginning to apologize. I'm
terribly sorry this one took so long, but I had a major writers block, as
you may have read in the previous chapter, and it just would not leave me
alone, so this chapter started off pretty slow.
Also, the writer's block just stuck with me for an incredibly long time and
I was plagued with major headaches as well, and not to forget schoolwork
that really needed to be done. So now you all know the reason why this
chapter is so crummy, and hopefully you won't hold it against me.
Chapter 38: Together (Again)
Draco landed beside the large flowering shrub that hid the small lake from sight. He took a few steps forward and looked around, but she was nowhere to be seen. Immediately his heart that had been pounding in his throat plummeted a few stories and was now lying uncomfortably on his stomach. He listened hard, trying to hear sounds that might tell him where Nora was, but he heard nothing. Draco took another few steps forward, feeling a bit scared. He searched the area thoroughly, he checked the lake, the waterfall, all of the surrounding trees, he searched everywhere, but still she was nowhere to be found. He took another few steps forward so that he was standing right in front of the lake, and then let go of the oversized picnic basket on the ground, letting himself drop down next to it. He sat there on the sand, his knees up, watching the lake, feeling miserable. When Nymphirah had told him to Apparate over to Nora he had thought he'd land right next to her, but obviously he had to find her first. He felt confused, miserable and, most of all, really, really stupid.
"Someone just finish me off," he muttered, his head in both of his hands.
"Well, there is a lake right here, I could drown you," said a voice he recognized all too well.
"Didn't here you coming," said Draco, not in the mood to lift his head out of his hands. His strategy had already been ruined anyway and he wasn't planning on trying to make it work anyway, he wasn't in the mood anymore.
"I can be very quiet if I want to. Mind if I sit beside you?" asked Nora, but she didn't wait for a reply and seated herself next to him. Despite how he was feeling, Draco lifted his head and looked at her. She was far from how he had imagined her to be after the fight with Lily. Instead of being a complete wreck she looked just as when Parvati and Lavender had finished grooming her this morning. He wondered if she really had been crying, like he and the others had suspected.
"What?" asked Nora when she noticed Draco staring at her.
"You look. . . gorgeous," he said somewhat lamely. Nora looked at him, not knowing how to react.
"Thanks," she said briskly and then looked out over the water again.
"I have food," said Draco, setting the picnic basket in front of them, having decided he'd continue his plan after all, though he did not know how he was supposed to comfort her when she seemed to be doing perfectly well on her own.
"Really? I'm starving," said Nora, the coldness gone, as she opened the basket and began setting out the food and pumpkin juice. When everything was out of the basket she began helping herself immediately. "Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want some food, too?" she asked Draco, who was watching her.
"Maybe a little," he replied. "But I'll wait until you're done."
"Suit yourself," Nora told him, before eating some of the mashed potatoes. "So why'd you come?" she asked, looking at him intently. Draco averted his eyes. What was he to say now? He couldn't possibly tell her about the plan he had formed, could he? 'Why couldn't Nymphirah have stayed with me through this?' he though angrily, seeing Nora look at him attentively out of the corner of his eyes.
"To talk," he replied, deciding not to tell her about his plan.
"With?" asked Nora, thinking he may have come here to talk to his sister.
"You."
"About?"
"Us," answered Draco. He glanced at her and thought he saw a jovial, hopeful glint in her eyes, but when he looked again it was gone and the only thing he saw was awkwardness. Nora cleared her throat.
"Er. . ." she said and cleared her throat again. "Erm. . ." she cleared her throat for the third time but stayed silent after, her voice completely gone.
"I know you don't want to talk about us, but I really think we should," said Draco. "And I understand you hate me, though I don't know why- "
"You humiliated me, Draco," Nora told him sharply, her voice suddenly returning from a very short vacation. "You totally embarrassed me in front of my friends and Dumbledore, after they had begun seeing you weren't a bad guy. Just when I had convinced them you wouldn't harm anyone. . . just when I had convinced them you wouldn't harm me," she said, her voice rising with every 'just'. "You made me look like a complete idiot! You have no idea how it felt to know that Harry and Ron had been right about you all along. . . that what they had kept telling me all through this year was right! And to think I was willing to give my friendship with them up for you," she said disgustedly, swiftly standing up and taking a few steps back, away from Draco, who got up too.
"But you don't know," he began helplessly. "I had this nightmare-"
"I know all about your nightmare, Draco!" snapped Nora. Draco frowned; he hadn't told anyone but Nymphirah about the nightmare he kept having. "Hermione told me about it and it pains me to think that you'd think I'd do something like that! That I'd go and kill myself by taunting Voldemort! DON'T YOU KNOW ME AT ALL!?" she shrieked, her anger taking control.
"Only for one year! And besides, who says nightmares don't come true? How was I supposed to know what to think of it, how to act? And my decision wasn't only based on the nightmare," Draco argued softly. "I just wanted you to be safe. . . you know, I was with you most of the time after Dean had been killed and I saw the look in your eyes every time I so much as glanced at you. . . I was afraid of what would happen if you were murdered. . . I was afraid I'd have to go through that horrible nightmare as well." Nora glared at him, hating him for bringing this up. Why couldn't they just be friends!? Everything was great when they were just friends, and now he had to ruin that as well! 'Ah, but you know you want to be more than friends,' the little irritating voice told her.
"SHUT UP!" she snapped at it, only realizing seconds later that she had said it out loud.
"I already stopped talking," Draco told her, frowning, looking at her in concern. Nora blushed slightly, but then continued her glaring.
"You should've known better than to think I'd taunt Voldemort and you should have told me about your nightmare. I thought we could tell each other everything?" she told him, not caring to explain why she'd yelled 'shut up'.
"We could, but I didn't want to frighten you," replied Draco, hurt in his eyes. Nora sighed irritably.
"Look, Draco," she said coldly. "I'm not made out of porcelain. I can take a hit, all right?"
"But you weren't doing so well-" argued Draco.
"I WAS DOING FINE!" snarled Nora. "Now what do you want from me!?"
"I-I-I" began Draco, afraid to say what he wanted, but he decided that if he never said it, he never would. "I want us to get back together, again," he said softly, almost in a whisper. Nora's eyes turned away from him and instead landed on the pitch-black lake, which reflected the full moon, then she Apparated away, leaving Draco all by himself, crying.
~*~*~*~
It was an hour later and Draco was now sitting by the lake, wondering how this could've gone so wrong. Hadn't Nymphirah assured him all he had to do was comfort her? Now all he'd done was destroy their friendship, the only thing that had survived their disastrous breakup. Draco felt stupid. Stupid for believing he'd ever have another chance with her. Of course she didn't want him back. All those things she'd said about him had been right. He was nothing but a Slytherin, he thought glumly.
Draco got up and slowly made his way out of the forest and across the large open space in front of the castle, feeling to unbelievably miserable to Apparate. He walked up the front steps and entered the Entrance Hall, which was, to his relief, completely empty. He slowly trudged up the stairs and walked down the hall.
"Hey, Draco!" someone called out. Draco walked back a few paces and stood in the doorway of the Living Room. In it were Harry, Hermione, Ron, Parvati, Terry and Lavender.
"What?" he asked, trying to sound as normal as possible.
"Are you going to join us?" asked Harry. Draco shook his head.
"I'm really not in the mood," he replied and then walked back down the hall. He heard someone follow him and turned around to see Hermione hurrying over to him, a look of pity in her eyes.
"It didn't work, then?" she asked quietly, so the others in the living room wouldn't hear. She looked truly sorry for him. Draco shook his head.
"No," he replied, to choked up to say anything else, trying hard to fight the tears.
"You can cry in front of me, you know. I won't tell," said Hermione softly. Draco smiled very, very weakly and a tear rolled down his cheek. "There you go," she said and then gave Draco a soothing hug. He was a bit taken by surprise by this gesture, but Draco soon returned it. "She just needs time," whispered Hermione. "You've got to believe me when I say she loves you, but she just needs a bit more time." Draco nodded and let go of her.
"Thanks," he said.
"I'll talk to her in the morning." Draco nodded. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight." And he walked into his room, flopping down onto his bed and dozing off instantly. Hermione slowly turned her head and gazed at the closed door that led to Nora's room, wondering what had gotten into her best friend. She sighed and turned around, joining the others in the living room again.
~*~*~*~
Harry and Ron stood in the hall staring intently at a door that just would not open. However, one to their other side did.
"She's not coming," said Hermione as she closed her door quietly behind her. Harry and Ron turned around.
"Why not?" asked Harry at the same time Ron said, "Took you long enough to get dressed." Hermione looked him.
"I said I'd be out in about 5 minutes, and here I am-"
"15 minutes later," cut Ron in.
"So it took me a bit longer," Hermione told him. Ron was about to argue when Harry cut in front of him.
"Why's she not coming?" he asked loudly, which was supposed to be an indication for Ron to shut up.
"Ask her when she finally does," Hermione replied simply and then turned around and walked into a different corridor, where the bedrooms of Terry, Parvati and Lavender were. Harry gave Ron a quizzical look, but he just shrugged and followed Hermione.
When Harry, Ron, Hermione, Parvati, Lavender and Terry entered the Dining Room to have some breakfast they immediately noticed a change. Whether it was the unusual large size of the room, the extra number of chairs in it or the fact that their families were all sitting there, engrossed in their conversations, that got their attention, they did not know. The families all looked up when the six students entered. Immediately the parents began beckoning their children to sit with them and, grudgingly, the six trudged to sit with them. Parvati, Lavender and Terry's families were there as well, which meant that, as well as their parents, Parvati's twin sister, Padma, Lavender's younger sister, Lilac, and Terry's older sister, Tara, were sitting their, waiting. Dumbledore had thought that the families of the ones that one of the five was seeing should be notified about the risk as well. Parvati, Lavender and Terry were a possible target for Voldemort; if he found out they were involved with Harry, Ron and Hermione.
Harry and Ron seated themselves among Ron's entire family, who greeted the two boys cheerfully. Hermione seated herself next to her father who was looking at the other families; he was the only Muggle and found the others simply fascinating. Next to her father were Mr. and Mrs. Glassyd and Lily. Sean had already left.
"Good morning, dear. Where's Nora?" asked Mrs. Glassyd while looking at Hermione and leaning forward so she could look past her husband and second daughter.
"Good morning. Nora's still asleep. She was very exhausted yesterday," replied Hermione, not completely lying.
"Oh. Well, you enjoy your breakfast," said Mrs. Glassyd, smiling, before turning back to her husband. Hermione returned the smile and then gave her father a big hug. Narcissa sat alone beside Nora's mother. Terry had seated himself with his family, who were all looking rather worried, and Parvati and Lavender sat down with their families, whom were all sitting together at the far end of the table.
Draco entered about 15 minutes after his friends and he took a seat beside his mother, who immediately cheered up at the sight of her son. Dumbledore arrived only seconds later.
"To many of your disappointments, your families will be leaving shortly after breakfast," he told Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Parvati, Lavender and Terry. "They have all been notified of the risks but have decided that Nora Glassyd, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter and Ron Weasly are allowed to fight in the Second War and try to defeat Voldemort, with the risk of losing their lives." Everyone looked intently at Dumbledore during his speech.
"A bit formal, isn't it?" muttered Ron. Harry nodded.
"It has also been decided that Terry Boot, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil will continue to. . . er, 'see' three of the five, with the risk of becoming a target for Voldemort." Finished Dumbledore. "Oh, and Parvati, Lavender and Terry are allowed to stay for a few more days to spend some time with Harry, Ron and Hermione," he added, a lot less formally. There were a few chuckles to be heard and Parvati and Lavender squealed. Hermione did not, but she looked completely on the verge of breaking through the calmness that surrounded her.
~*~*~*~
After breakfast all of the students said goodbye to their families and every mother sniffed and cried and wailed how their baby was all growing up, causing the students to blush.
"Oh! Now I won't be able to say 'goodbye' to my little girl!" wept Mrs. Glassyd, as she pulled out a handkerchief and carefully dabbed her eyes.
"Oh, I'll go get her," said Hermione and she Disapparated, arriving 5 minutes later with a hassled Nora, who looked completely hysterical that she had almost missed seeing her family again before the Second War. Draco glanced at her out of the corner of his eye anxious to see how she looked, but Nora appeared to be doing rather well. His mother who was fussing about his hair shook him out of his thoughts. Ron was going through the same procedure as well and tried to fend of his mother and direct her towards Harry, but Mrs. Weasly would not rest until that little piece of hair got back into its normal position. Harry sniggered, standing a bit to the side.
On the other side Parvati and Lavender were both being squished by their parents and Terry was having a hard time trying to get his mother to stop straightening his clothes, his older sister, Tara, laughed at him. Padma, after having given Parvati a big hug, walked over to Hermione and Nora and gave them hugs as well.
"What's this I hear about you and Draco not being together anymore?" she whispered before letting go of Nora.
"It just didn't work out," she replied, shrugging. "So what about you and Justin?" she then quickly asked, trying to change the subject.
"Still together," replied Padma beaming. "But he has tried to get back together, hasn't he?" she asked, changing the subject back. Nora sighed.
"Yes," she replied curtly.
"And?"
"I Apparated away without saying anything. Oh, I still have to say goodbye to Hermione's father-" said Nora, still curtly, but she was interrupted by Padma.
"All right, I won't talk about it, but you should seriously consider answering 'yes'. Anyway, I hope you guys make it through the Second War. Now go say goodbye to Hermione's father," she said, smiling. Nora returned it.
"Bye, Padma. Take care and say hello to Justin for me, will you?" she asked. Padma nodded and Nora gave her one last hug before walking over to Mr. Granger.
"They'll get back together," Padma told Hermione as the two of them watched Nora make her way to Mr. Granger.
"I'm not sure. At first I thought so, too, but now I doubt it," Hermione said.
"I'm positive. You should have seen them during the trip. They belong together. Anyway, bye, Hermione. Good luck," said Padma, turning back to Hermione.
"Bye, Padma. I hope we'll see each other again."
"Of course we will. Don't be so negative. Bye!" Padma told Hermione, smiling, before walking back to her family. Hermione walked over to her father and Nora and her family.
"I'm really, really, really sorry," apologized Lily, looking at her feet. Nora laughed.
"Don't be silly, it's not your fault I blew my top. . . ok, so it is, but I could have reacted a bit calmer," she said, hugging her little sister.
"And I didn't mean the things I said."
"Neither did I. You're the best sister I could've hope for," Nora said, smiling. Lily returned it.
"So are you," she said.
"Hey guys," said Ginny, walking over. "I just wanted to wish you two good luck in the defeating of You-Know-Who. Good Luck," she told them cheerfully and giving both Nora and Hermione a hug.
"Thanks, we'll definitely need it," answered Hermione and Nora nodded.
"Well, goodbye. I hope I'll see you again someday. Oh, I still have to wish Draco 'good luck'. Bye, for now!" she hastily said and then hurried over to Draco who was now talking with Ron and Harry.
"Did Ginny give you two a whole 'Oh, do be careful and I hope you guys can pull it off, I wish you so much good luck, and really make sure he's dead this time' speech as well?" asked Fred as he and George stopped next to Hermione and Nora.
"No," replied Hermione confused.
"Oh, well, she was acting exactly like mum a few minutes ago with Harry and Ron," George told them, and then he began imitating his little sister. "Oh, you two do be careful! I hope you've trained enough! But maybe you shouldn't go at all; Merlin knows how dangerous it'll be," he said in a high-pitched voice as he fidgeted with his hands and jumped up and down. Nora and Hermione chuckled.
"Very realistic, my dearest brother," said Fred. George stopped hopping up and down.
"Why thank you. I practice every night for 37 minutes and 12 seconds exactly," he said. The rest of the Weasly family walked over to them and Mrs. Weasly began fussing with Hermione and Nora as she had done before with Harry and Ron. To make it even worse, Mrs. Glassyd joined in on it.
"Now, we should slowly be making our way into the direction of the Entrance Hall, where you will depart and arrive at your destination through a secret form of Apparation," said Dumbledore. Immediately all of them headed towards the Entrance Halls, saying their last goodbyes to everyone, disobedient tears escaping from their eyes. Harry, Nora, Hermione, Ron, Draco, Parvati, Lavender and Terry all stood off to the side with Dumbledore as their families stood in the center of the Entrance Hall waving, waiting for them to be transported back to where they were supposed to be. A second later they were all gone and the 8 students were left feeling quite downhearted.
"Oh, don't worry, you'll see your fellow students soon enough," said Dumbledore cheerfully. The 8 looked at him.
"What do you mean?" demanded Parvati hopefully. "That they'll visit us again soon?"
"Well, not only them, but many others as well," answered Dumbledore and then he walked off, not planning on revealing anything else.
"Hmpf. . . Now I'm all curious," muttered Parvati, folding her arms.
"Well, we'll just have to wait to find out what he's up to," said Harry, putting an arm around her. Parvati looked at him, her expression a bit hard.
"I'm very impatient," she stated. Harry immediately let go of her.
"So what do we do now?" asked Ron, holding Lavender's hand.
"What's the weather like?" questioned Hermione, before anyone could answer Ron's inquiry. He glared at her.
"I dunno, nice I guess," replied Parvati. "Why?"
"Well, then we could go outside," answered Hermione. "To the lake. We could go swimming. It's really fun," she said. Ron's face cleared up.
"Yeah," he said excitedly. "And then I can show you the tricks I can do when I jump off the jumping rock," he told Lavender, who shot the others an inquiring look.
"That does sound like fun," said Parvati and Terry nodded.
"Are you going, Harry?" asked Hermione. Harry nodded. "And you, Nora?" said Hermione, turning towards her best friends, but Nora shook her head.
"No, I don't really feel like swimming," she said simply and then Disapparated, the others staring puzzled at the spot where she had been seconds before. Hermione glanced at Draco, who looked pleadingly at her. She looked at the others.
"I'll just go tell her that if she does feel like joining us we'll probably be at the lake the rest of the day," lied Hermione and then Dissaparated and Apparated into Nora's room, guessing she'd be there.
"Yes?" asked Nora when Hermione appeared in her room.
"Why do you keep turning him down?" asked Hermione, her hands on her hips. Nora sighed and shrugged.
"I don't know," she replied truthfully. Hermione rolled her eyes and chuckled.
"Then why do turn him down if you don't have a reason?" she said. Nora frowned.
"I don't know," she answered again, feeling a bit stupid.
"Then just say 'yes'!" said Hermione exasperatedly.
"No," answered Nora firmly.
"Come on, Nora!" whined Hermione. "I don't believe that you don't love him anymore."
"All right. So I do still love him, but that's no reason for us to get back together. Draco Malfoy is an insensitive little piece of rotten filthy scum, just like his father. I'm NOT saying 'yes'," Nora told Hermione, who raised her eyebrows.
"We both know you didn't mean all that," she said. Nora remained silent and avoided Hermione's eyes, proving her friend right. "Look, you've got to listen to your heart, not you're your mind, to find the answer. Well, you'll come to your senses sooner or later. We'll be at the lake if you need us," said Hermione. She gave her friend a hug and then Disapparated, leaving Nora alone, just like she felt. Nora sat down on her bed and heard a soft *crunch*. She frowned and stood up again, reaching into the back pocket of her jeans while doing so. She immediately found the source of the noise and pulled a piece of parchment out. She flipped it over, wondering how it had gotten there, and frowned even more. On the parchment were Ron, all the way on the right, then Hermione, Harry and then. . . she and Draco. . . kissing furiously. Nora held the picture closer to her face, wondering if it was real, and then remembered this was the picture she and the others had made for Lily, for her birthday.
"Well, at least Lily was telling the truth," muttered Nora as she let the picture drop to the ground.
~*~*~*~
"What took you so long?" asked Ron when Hermione finally ReApparated into the Entrance Hall.
"Where are the others?" she asked Harry, ignoring Ron's huffiness.
"Draco already led them to the lake, they got tired of waiting for you," replied Harry. "What's wrong with her?" he asked immediately.
"Yeah," said Ron, for once knowing what the others were talking about without asking first. "She's been a total killjoy lately."
"Well, it's pretty much the same deal as it was with Cho Chang last year," answered Hermione, walking outside with Harry and Ron.
"What deal with Cho Chang?" inquired Ron. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Remember what I said after Harry had kissed a crying Cho right before Christmas in our 5th year?" she asked.
"Do you!?" asked Ron looking at her in major disbelief. Hermione sighed as the entered the forest.
"I believe my exact words were: She's feeling very sad, because of Cedric dying. Then I expect she's feeling confused because she liked Cedric and now she likes Harry, and she can't work out who she likes best. Then she'll be feeling guilty, thinking it's an insult to Cedric's memory to be kissing Harry at all, and she'll be worrying about what everyone might say about her if she starts going out with Harry. . . that's all I remember," she finished.
"That's all?" asked Ron sarcastically. "Merlin, woman. How do you remember all that?" he said as they neared the large shrub that hid the lake from view. Hermione shrugged.
"So that's pretty much how Nora's feeling at the moment: confused and guilty," she said just as they reached the others, who were all waiting impatiently, except for Draco.
"All right, I'm going to go now. I'd rather fly a bit than swim," he said and then turned and walked away. As he passed Hermione, she whispered: "Just a bit more time." Draco's heart sank.
"But we don't have any swim clothes with us," said Lavender as she looked at Ron, Harry and Hermione.
"I've got a little spell for that, which we always use," answered Hermione, grinning shrewdly. She cast the familiar spell and a second later they were all standing in their swim clothes. Hermione sprinted towards the water and Lavender and Parvati watched her, confused about her sudden hurry. The answer came a second later when Harry and Ron began tickling them and they, too, ran into the water to get away, Terry heading over to Hermione, laughing at the two squealing girls.
~*~*~*~
Draco walked out of the forest and headed for the Quidditch Pitch. He really didn't feel like being around the others at this moment. His life was currently shattered completely. Before there had been a small bit of hope, floating around in him, but now it had flown away, never coming back to him. He grabbed his Firebolt and kicked off of the ground, soaring into the air. The second reason why he wanted to fly was that he felt closer to Nymphirah this way. Draco wondered again why it had not gone as his sister had said. The way she had told it, he'd already have been with Nora by now, but instead he was far from it. Draco sighed and shot through the air on his Firebolt, feeling like he was being watched, but when he looked around, no was to be seen. He guessed it must be Nymphirah, watching him as she had promised.
~*~*~*~
Draco carefully put his Firebolt with the others, checking his watch for the time. As it was nearly 6 o'clock he headed out of the Quidditch Pitch and towards the castle for dinner. He felt a lot better after having flown a few hours, but now that he was back on the ground his troubles seemed to be flowing back. He squinted, seeing something orange glistening in the sunlight. Upon coming closer he noticed orange words were floating in the air, and when he was right in front of it, he could read what it said: "I love you" he read out loud. Draco frowned, it was obviously meant for someone else, so he thought he'd leave it hanging there. He was about to walk further when Nora Apparated in front of him, on the other side of the words. She was smiling weakly at him, but he didn't return it; smiling took too much effort, and, after all, his little ray of hope had long since flown away.
"It's for you," said Nora, impatiently brushing a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. Draco looked at her uncertainly, then at the words and then back at her.
"Really?" he asked a bit lamely. Nora rolled her eyes and chuckled.
"Yes, really," she replied before letting the three words vanish. She took a step forward and Draco almost took one backward. "My answer is 'yes'," she told him softly, looking at him slightly pleadingly, hoping he'd forgive her after her stupid acts. Draco smiled a little as he looked at her.
"I love you," he said quietly, and then asked: "So you love me too, then?" Nora smiled and nodded. "You really, really do?" she rolled her eyes again.
"Yes, I really, really do." Draco tilted his head slightly and turned serious; he was going to find out if, deep inside, she really did love him, or if she was just making herself believe so.
"Say it," he said. Nora frowned.
"What?"
"Say it out loud. Say you love me out loud," he told her. Nora took a step backward.
"I already did. I even wrote it in the air for you," she replied confused. Draco shook his head.
"You never said it out loud. Just 'I really, really do'," he said. Nora didn't say anything. "I'm not getting back together with you unless you say you love me out loud and really mean it." He waited for a few seconds and when Nora hadn't said anything he walked around her and headed towards the castle, not knowing why he was prepared to lose the one he loved over something that seemed so incredibly silly. But deep inside he knew it was important, so he stuck to it, though his heart sank with every step he took closer to the castle and further away from Nora.
"I love you," he heard her whisper, and it seemed as if she was right beside him, but when he turned around she was meters away, standing right there where he had left her. Draco's happiness made him forget how weird it was that he could hear her whisper when they were so far apart, and he smiled and ran towards her.
"You really, really do?" he asked, not daring to believe it.
"Yes, I really, really do love you," Nora told him, smiling. She reached into her pocket and handed a piece of parchment over to him. Draco took it and looked it over. He chuckled.
"Looks like they're having a nice time, doesn't it?" he asked. Nora grinned as Draco handed Lily's picture of the five of them back to her. "You know, now that we're together, again, maybe we should engage in activities of such sort," he asked. Nora blushed a little as she put the picture carefully in her pocket. Draco lifted her head with his hands and slowly moved forward, giving Nora time to reject him if she wanted. To his relief, she didn't and his lips touched hers softly. A second later they were too busy with their intense make out session to notice the others standing still next to them, all grinning. Hermione even made a picture, deciding to save it for future blackmailing or torture for Nora and Draco.
A/N: I think I'll leave it at that, otherwise it'll take me even longer to update. I know this chapter was definitely not one of my best, but I tried really hard to write it as fast as I could and I hope you guys like it anyway. Sorry it took so long to update.
Dumbeldave - Hey, you finally caught up! Thanks for all the reviews along the way. I'm glad you like my story so much. =)
Chapter 38: Together (Again)
Draco landed beside the large flowering shrub that hid the small lake from sight. He took a few steps forward and looked around, but she was nowhere to be seen. Immediately his heart that had been pounding in his throat plummeted a few stories and was now lying uncomfortably on his stomach. He listened hard, trying to hear sounds that might tell him where Nora was, but he heard nothing. Draco took another few steps forward, feeling a bit scared. He searched the area thoroughly, he checked the lake, the waterfall, all of the surrounding trees, he searched everywhere, but still she was nowhere to be found. He took another few steps forward so that he was standing right in front of the lake, and then let go of the oversized picnic basket on the ground, letting himself drop down next to it. He sat there on the sand, his knees up, watching the lake, feeling miserable. When Nymphirah had told him to Apparate over to Nora he had thought he'd land right next to her, but obviously he had to find her first. He felt confused, miserable and, most of all, really, really stupid.
"Someone just finish me off," he muttered, his head in both of his hands.
"Well, there is a lake right here, I could drown you," said a voice he recognized all too well.
"Didn't here you coming," said Draco, not in the mood to lift his head out of his hands. His strategy had already been ruined anyway and he wasn't planning on trying to make it work anyway, he wasn't in the mood anymore.
"I can be very quiet if I want to. Mind if I sit beside you?" asked Nora, but she didn't wait for a reply and seated herself next to him. Despite how he was feeling, Draco lifted his head and looked at her. She was far from how he had imagined her to be after the fight with Lily. Instead of being a complete wreck she looked just as when Parvati and Lavender had finished grooming her this morning. He wondered if she really had been crying, like he and the others had suspected.
"What?" asked Nora when she noticed Draco staring at her.
"You look. . . gorgeous," he said somewhat lamely. Nora looked at him, not knowing how to react.
"Thanks," she said briskly and then looked out over the water again.
"I have food," said Draco, setting the picnic basket in front of them, having decided he'd continue his plan after all, though he did not know how he was supposed to comfort her when she seemed to be doing perfectly well on her own.
"Really? I'm starving," said Nora, the coldness gone, as she opened the basket and began setting out the food and pumpkin juice. When everything was out of the basket she began helping herself immediately. "Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want some food, too?" she asked Draco, who was watching her.
"Maybe a little," he replied. "But I'll wait until you're done."
"Suit yourself," Nora told him, before eating some of the mashed potatoes. "So why'd you come?" she asked, looking at him intently. Draco averted his eyes. What was he to say now? He couldn't possibly tell her about the plan he had formed, could he? 'Why couldn't Nymphirah have stayed with me through this?' he though angrily, seeing Nora look at him attentively out of the corner of his eyes.
"To talk," he replied, deciding not to tell her about his plan.
"With?" asked Nora, thinking he may have come here to talk to his sister.
"You."
"About?"
"Us," answered Draco. He glanced at her and thought he saw a jovial, hopeful glint in her eyes, but when he looked again it was gone and the only thing he saw was awkwardness. Nora cleared her throat.
"Er. . ." she said and cleared her throat again. "Erm. . ." she cleared her throat for the third time but stayed silent after, her voice completely gone.
"I know you don't want to talk about us, but I really think we should," said Draco. "And I understand you hate me, though I don't know why- "
"You humiliated me, Draco," Nora told him sharply, her voice suddenly returning from a very short vacation. "You totally embarrassed me in front of my friends and Dumbledore, after they had begun seeing you weren't a bad guy. Just when I had convinced them you wouldn't harm anyone. . . just when I had convinced them you wouldn't harm me," she said, her voice rising with every 'just'. "You made me look like a complete idiot! You have no idea how it felt to know that Harry and Ron had been right about you all along. . . that what they had kept telling me all through this year was right! And to think I was willing to give my friendship with them up for you," she said disgustedly, swiftly standing up and taking a few steps back, away from Draco, who got up too.
"But you don't know," he began helplessly. "I had this nightmare-"
"I know all about your nightmare, Draco!" snapped Nora. Draco frowned; he hadn't told anyone but Nymphirah about the nightmare he kept having. "Hermione told me about it and it pains me to think that you'd think I'd do something like that! That I'd go and kill myself by taunting Voldemort! DON'T YOU KNOW ME AT ALL!?" she shrieked, her anger taking control.
"Only for one year! And besides, who says nightmares don't come true? How was I supposed to know what to think of it, how to act? And my decision wasn't only based on the nightmare," Draco argued softly. "I just wanted you to be safe. . . you know, I was with you most of the time after Dean had been killed and I saw the look in your eyes every time I so much as glanced at you. . . I was afraid of what would happen if you were murdered. . . I was afraid I'd have to go through that horrible nightmare as well." Nora glared at him, hating him for bringing this up. Why couldn't they just be friends!? Everything was great when they were just friends, and now he had to ruin that as well! 'Ah, but you know you want to be more than friends,' the little irritating voice told her.
"SHUT UP!" she snapped at it, only realizing seconds later that she had said it out loud.
"I already stopped talking," Draco told her, frowning, looking at her in concern. Nora blushed slightly, but then continued her glaring.
"You should've known better than to think I'd taunt Voldemort and you should have told me about your nightmare. I thought we could tell each other everything?" she told him, not caring to explain why she'd yelled 'shut up'.
"We could, but I didn't want to frighten you," replied Draco, hurt in his eyes. Nora sighed irritably.
"Look, Draco," she said coldly. "I'm not made out of porcelain. I can take a hit, all right?"
"But you weren't doing so well-" argued Draco.
"I WAS DOING FINE!" snarled Nora. "Now what do you want from me!?"
"I-I-I" began Draco, afraid to say what he wanted, but he decided that if he never said it, he never would. "I want us to get back together, again," he said softly, almost in a whisper. Nora's eyes turned away from him and instead landed on the pitch-black lake, which reflected the full moon, then she Apparated away, leaving Draco all by himself, crying.
~*~*~*~
It was an hour later and Draco was now sitting by the lake, wondering how this could've gone so wrong. Hadn't Nymphirah assured him all he had to do was comfort her? Now all he'd done was destroy their friendship, the only thing that had survived their disastrous breakup. Draco felt stupid. Stupid for believing he'd ever have another chance with her. Of course she didn't want him back. All those things she'd said about him had been right. He was nothing but a Slytherin, he thought glumly.
Draco got up and slowly made his way out of the forest and across the large open space in front of the castle, feeling to unbelievably miserable to Apparate. He walked up the front steps and entered the Entrance Hall, which was, to his relief, completely empty. He slowly trudged up the stairs and walked down the hall.
"Hey, Draco!" someone called out. Draco walked back a few paces and stood in the doorway of the Living Room. In it were Harry, Hermione, Ron, Parvati, Terry and Lavender.
"What?" he asked, trying to sound as normal as possible.
"Are you going to join us?" asked Harry. Draco shook his head.
"I'm really not in the mood," he replied and then walked back down the hall. He heard someone follow him and turned around to see Hermione hurrying over to him, a look of pity in her eyes.
"It didn't work, then?" she asked quietly, so the others in the living room wouldn't hear. She looked truly sorry for him. Draco shook his head.
"No," he replied, to choked up to say anything else, trying hard to fight the tears.
"You can cry in front of me, you know. I won't tell," said Hermione softly. Draco smiled very, very weakly and a tear rolled down his cheek. "There you go," she said and then gave Draco a soothing hug. He was a bit taken by surprise by this gesture, but Draco soon returned it. "She just needs time," whispered Hermione. "You've got to believe me when I say she loves you, but she just needs a bit more time." Draco nodded and let go of her.
"Thanks," he said.
"I'll talk to her in the morning." Draco nodded. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight." And he walked into his room, flopping down onto his bed and dozing off instantly. Hermione slowly turned her head and gazed at the closed door that led to Nora's room, wondering what had gotten into her best friend. She sighed and turned around, joining the others in the living room again.
~*~*~*~
Harry and Ron stood in the hall staring intently at a door that just would not open. However, one to their other side did.
"She's not coming," said Hermione as she closed her door quietly behind her. Harry and Ron turned around.
"Why not?" asked Harry at the same time Ron said, "Took you long enough to get dressed." Hermione looked him.
"I said I'd be out in about 5 minutes, and here I am-"
"15 minutes later," cut Ron in.
"So it took me a bit longer," Hermione told him. Ron was about to argue when Harry cut in front of him.
"Why's she not coming?" he asked loudly, which was supposed to be an indication for Ron to shut up.
"Ask her when she finally does," Hermione replied simply and then turned around and walked into a different corridor, where the bedrooms of Terry, Parvati and Lavender were. Harry gave Ron a quizzical look, but he just shrugged and followed Hermione.
When Harry, Ron, Hermione, Parvati, Lavender and Terry entered the Dining Room to have some breakfast they immediately noticed a change. Whether it was the unusual large size of the room, the extra number of chairs in it or the fact that their families were all sitting there, engrossed in their conversations, that got their attention, they did not know. The families all looked up when the six students entered. Immediately the parents began beckoning their children to sit with them and, grudgingly, the six trudged to sit with them. Parvati, Lavender and Terry's families were there as well, which meant that, as well as their parents, Parvati's twin sister, Padma, Lavender's younger sister, Lilac, and Terry's older sister, Tara, were sitting their, waiting. Dumbledore had thought that the families of the ones that one of the five was seeing should be notified about the risk as well. Parvati, Lavender and Terry were a possible target for Voldemort; if he found out they were involved with Harry, Ron and Hermione.
Harry and Ron seated themselves among Ron's entire family, who greeted the two boys cheerfully. Hermione seated herself next to her father who was looking at the other families; he was the only Muggle and found the others simply fascinating. Next to her father were Mr. and Mrs. Glassyd and Lily. Sean had already left.
"Good morning, dear. Where's Nora?" asked Mrs. Glassyd while looking at Hermione and leaning forward so she could look past her husband and second daughter.
"Good morning. Nora's still asleep. She was very exhausted yesterday," replied Hermione, not completely lying.
"Oh. Well, you enjoy your breakfast," said Mrs. Glassyd, smiling, before turning back to her husband. Hermione returned the smile and then gave her father a big hug. Narcissa sat alone beside Nora's mother. Terry had seated himself with his family, who were all looking rather worried, and Parvati and Lavender sat down with their families, whom were all sitting together at the far end of the table.
Draco entered about 15 minutes after his friends and he took a seat beside his mother, who immediately cheered up at the sight of her son. Dumbledore arrived only seconds later.
"To many of your disappointments, your families will be leaving shortly after breakfast," he told Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Parvati, Lavender and Terry. "They have all been notified of the risks but have decided that Nora Glassyd, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter and Ron Weasly are allowed to fight in the Second War and try to defeat Voldemort, with the risk of losing their lives." Everyone looked intently at Dumbledore during his speech.
"A bit formal, isn't it?" muttered Ron. Harry nodded.
"It has also been decided that Terry Boot, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil will continue to. . . er, 'see' three of the five, with the risk of becoming a target for Voldemort." Finished Dumbledore. "Oh, and Parvati, Lavender and Terry are allowed to stay for a few more days to spend some time with Harry, Ron and Hermione," he added, a lot less formally. There were a few chuckles to be heard and Parvati and Lavender squealed. Hermione did not, but she looked completely on the verge of breaking through the calmness that surrounded her.
~*~*~*~
After breakfast all of the students said goodbye to their families and every mother sniffed and cried and wailed how their baby was all growing up, causing the students to blush.
"Oh! Now I won't be able to say 'goodbye' to my little girl!" wept Mrs. Glassyd, as she pulled out a handkerchief and carefully dabbed her eyes.
"Oh, I'll go get her," said Hermione and she Disapparated, arriving 5 minutes later with a hassled Nora, who looked completely hysterical that she had almost missed seeing her family again before the Second War. Draco glanced at her out of the corner of his eye anxious to see how she looked, but Nora appeared to be doing rather well. His mother who was fussing about his hair shook him out of his thoughts. Ron was going through the same procedure as well and tried to fend of his mother and direct her towards Harry, but Mrs. Weasly would not rest until that little piece of hair got back into its normal position. Harry sniggered, standing a bit to the side.
On the other side Parvati and Lavender were both being squished by their parents and Terry was having a hard time trying to get his mother to stop straightening his clothes, his older sister, Tara, laughed at him. Padma, after having given Parvati a big hug, walked over to Hermione and Nora and gave them hugs as well.
"What's this I hear about you and Draco not being together anymore?" she whispered before letting go of Nora.
"It just didn't work out," she replied, shrugging. "So what about you and Justin?" she then quickly asked, trying to change the subject.
"Still together," replied Padma beaming. "But he has tried to get back together, hasn't he?" she asked, changing the subject back. Nora sighed.
"Yes," she replied curtly.
"And?"
"I Apparated away without saying anything. Oh, I still have to say goodbye to Hermione's father-" said Nora, still curtly, but she was interrupted by Padma.
"All right, I won't talk about it, but you should seriously consider answering 'yes'. Anyway, I hope you guys make it through the Second War. Now go say goodbye to Hermione's father," she said, smiling. Nora returned it.
"Bye, Padma. Take care and say hello to Justin for me, will you?" she asked. Padma nodded and Nora gave her one last hug before walking over to Mr. Granger.
"They'll get back together," Padma told Hermione as the two of them watched Nora make her way to Mr. Granger.
"I'm not sure. At first I thought so, too, but now I doubt it," Hermione said.
"I'm positive. You should have seen them during the trip. They belong together. Anyway, bye, Hermione. Good luck," said Padma, turning back to Hermione.
"Bye, Padma. I hope we'll see each other again."
"Of course we will. Don't be so negative. Bye!" Padma told Hermione, smiling, before walking back to her family. Hermione walked over to her father and Nora and her family.
"I'm really, really, really sorry," apologized Lily, looking at her feet. Nora laughed.
"Don't be silly, it's not your fault I blew my top. . . ok, so it is, but I could have reacted a bit calmer," she said, hugging her little sister.
"And I didn't mean the things I said."
"Neither did I. You're the best sister I could've hope for," Nora said, smiling. Lily returned it.
"So are you," she said.
"Hey guys," said Ginny, walking over. "I just wanted to wish you two good luck in the defeating of You-Know-Who. Good Luck," she told them cheerfully and giving both Nora and Hermione a hug.
"Thanks, we'll definitely need it," answered Hermione and Nora nodded.
"Well, goodbye. I hope I'll see you again someday. Oh, I still have to wish Draco 'good luck'. Bye, for now!" she hastily said and then hurried over to Draco who was now talking with Ron and Harry.
"Did Ginny give you two a whole 'Oh, do be careful and I hope you guys can pull it off, I wish you so much good luck, and really make sure he's dead this time' speech as well?" asked Fred as he and George stopped next to Hermione and Nora.
"No," replied Hermione confused.
"Oh, well, she was acting exactly like mum a few minutes ago with Harry and Ron," George told them, and then he began imitating his little sister. "Oh, you two do be careful! I hope you've trained enough! But maybe you shouldn't go at all; Merlin knows how dangerous it'll be," he said in a high-pitched voice as he fidgeted with his hands and jumped up and down. Nora and Hermione chuckled.
"Very realistic, my dearest brother," said Fred. George stopped hopping up and down.
"Why thank you. I practice every night for 37 minutes and 12 seconds exactly," he said. The rest of the Weasly family walked over to them and Mrs. Weasly began fussing with Hermione and Nora as she had done before with Harry and Ron. To make it even worse, Mrs. Glassyd joined in on it.
"Now, we should slowly be making our way into the direction of the Entrance Hall, where you will depart and arrive at your destination through a secret form of Apparation," said Dumbledore. Immediately all of them headed towards the Entrance Halls, saying their last goodbyes to everyone, disobedient tears escaping from their eyes. Harry, Nora, Hermione, Ron, Draco, Parvati, Lavender and Terry all stood off to the side with Dumbledore as their families stood in the center of the Entrance Hall waving, waiting for them to be transported back to where they were supposed to be. A second later they were all gone and the 8 students were left feeling quite downhearted.
"Oh, don't worry, you'll see your fellow students soon enough," said Dumbledore cheerfully. The 8 looked at him.
"What do you mean?" demanded Parvati hopefully. "That they'll visit us again soon?"
"Well, not only them, but many others as well," answered Dumbledore and then he walked off, not planning on revealing anything else.
"Hmpf. . . Now I'm all curious," muttered Parvati, folding her arms.
"Well, we'll just have to wait to find out what he's up to," said Harry, putting an arm around her. Parvati looked at him, her expression a bit hard.
"I'm very impatient," she stated. Harry immediately let go of her.
"So what do we do now?" asked Ron, holding Lavender's hand.
"What's the weather like?" questioned Hermione, before anyone could answer Ron's inquiry. He glared at her.
"I dunno, nice I guess," replied Parvati. "Why?"
"Well, then we could go outside," answered Hermione. "To the lake. We could go swimming. It's really fun," she said. Ron's face cleared up.
"Yeah," he said excitedly. "And then I can show you the tricks I can do when I jump off the jumping rock," he told Lavender, who shot the others an inquiring look.
"That does sound like fun," said Parvati and Terry nodded.
"Are you going, Harry?" asked Hermione. Harry nodded. "And you, Nora?" said Hermione, turning towards her best friends, but Nora shook her head.
"No, I don't really feel like swimming," she said simply and then Disapparated, the others staring puzzled at the spot where she had been seconds before. Hermione glanced at Draco, who looked pleadingly at her. She looked at the others.
"I'll just go tell her that if she does feel like joining us we'll probably be at the lake the rest of the day," lied Hermione and then Dissaparated and Apparated into Nora's room, guessing she'd be there.
"Yes?" asked Nora when Hermione appeared in her room.
"Why do you keep turning him down?" asked Hermione, her hands on her hips. Nora sighed and shrugged.
"I don't know," she replied truthfully. Hermione rolled her eyes and chuckled.
"Then why do turn him down if you don't have a reason?" she said. Nora frowned.
"I don't know," she answered again, feeling a bit stupid.
"Then just say 'yes'!" said Hermione exasperatedly.
"No," answered Nora firmly.
"Come on, Nora!" whined Hermione. "I don't believe that you don't love him anymore."
"All right. So I do still love him, but that's no reason for us to get back together. Draco Malfoy is an insensitive little piece of rotten filthy scum, just like his father. I'm NOT saying 'yes'," Nora told Hermione, who raised her eyebrows.
"We both know you didn't mean all that," she said. Nora remained silent and avoided Hermione's eyes, proving her friend right. "Look, you've got to listen to your heart, not you're your mind, to find the answer. Well, you'll come to your senses sooner or later. We'll be at the lake if you need us," said Hermione. She gave her friend a hug and then Disapparated, leaving Nora alone, just like she felt. Nora sat down on her bed and heard a soft *crunch*. She frowned and stood up again, reaching into the back pocket of her jeans while doing so. She immediately found the source of the noise and pulled a piece of parchment out. She flipped it over, wondering how it had gotten there, and frowned even more. On the parchment were Ron, all the way on the right, then Hermione, Harry and then. . . she and Draco. . . kissing furiously. Nora held the picture closer to her face, wondering if it was real, and then remembered this was the picture she and the others had made for Lily, for her birthday.
"Well, at least Lily was telling the truth," muttered Nora as she let the picture drop to the ground.
~*~*~*~
"What took you so long?" asked Ron when Hermione finally ReApparated into the Entrance Hall.
"Where are the others?" she asked Harry, ignoring Ron's huffiness.
"Draco already led them to the lake, they got tired of waiting for you," replied Harry. "What's wrong with her?" he asked immediately.
"Yeah," said Ron, for once knowing what the others were talking about without asking first. "She's been a total killjoy lately."
"Well, it's pretty much the same deal as it was with Cho Chang last year," answered Hermione, walking outside with Harry and Ron.
"What deal with Cho Chang?" inquired Ron. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Remember what I said after Harry had kissed a crying Cho right before Christmas in our 5th year?" she asked.
"Do you!?" asked Ron looking at her in major disbelief. Hermione sighed as the entered the forest.
"I believe my exact words were: She's feeling very sad, because of Cedric dying. Then I expect she's feeling confused because she liked Cedric and now she likes Harry, and she can't work out who she likes best. Then she'll be feeling guilty, thinking it's an insult to Cedric's memory to be kissing Harry at all, and she'll be worrying about what everyone might say about her if she starts going out with Harry. . . that's all I remember," she finished.
"That's all?" asked Ron sarcastically. "Merlin, woman. How do you remember all that?" he said as they neared the large shrub that hid the lake from view. Hermione shrugged.
"So that's pretty much how Nora's feeling at the moment: confused and guilty," she said just as they reached the others, who were all waiting impatiently, except for Draco.
"All right, I'm going to go now. I'd rather fly a bit than swim," he said and then turned and walked away. As he passed Hermione, she whispered: "Just a bit more time." Draco's heart sank.
"But we don't have any swim clothes with us," said Lavender as she looked at Ron, Harry and Hermione.
"I've got a little spell for that, which we always use," answered Hermione, grinning shrewdly. She cast the familiar spell and a second later they were all standing in their swim clothes. Hermione sprinted towards the water and Lavender and Parvati watched her, confused about her sudden hurry. The answer came a second later when Harry and Ron began tickling them and they, too, ran into the water to get away, Terry heading over to Hermione, laughing at the two squealing girls.
~*~*~*~
Draco walked out of the forest and headed for the Quidditch Pitch. He really didn't feel like being around the others at this moment. His life was currently shattered completely. Before there had been a small bit of hope, floating around in him, but now it had flown away, never coming back to him. He grabbed his Firebolt and kicked off of the ground, soaring into the air. The second reason why he wanted to fly was that he felt closer to Nymphirah this way. Draco wondered again why it had not gone as his sister had said. The way she had told it, he'd already have been with Nora by now, but instead he was far from it. Draco sighed and shot through the air on his Firebolt, feeling like he was being watched, but when he looked around, no was to be seen. He guessed it must be Nymphirah, watching him as she had promised.
~*~*~*~
Draco carefully put his Firebolt with the others, checking his watch for the time. As it was nearly 6 o'clock he headed out of the Quidditch Pitch and towards the castle for dinner. He felt a lot better after having flown a few hours, but now that he was back on the ground his troubles seemed to be flowing back. He squinted, seeing something orange glistening in the sunlight. Upon coming closer he noticed orange words were floating in the air, and when he was right in front of it, he could read what it said: "I love you" he read out loud. Draco frowned, it was obviously meant for someone else, so he thought he'd leave it hanging there. He was about to walk further when Nora Apparated in front of him, on the other side of the words. She was smiling weakly at him, but he didn't return it; smiling took too much effort, and, after all, his little ray of hope had long since flown away.
"It's for you," said Nora, impatiently brushing a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. Draco looked at her uncertainly, then at the words and then back at her.
"Really?" he asked a bit lamely. Nora rolled her eyes and chuckled.
"Yes, really," she replied before letting the three words vanish. She took a step forward and Draco almost took one backward. "My answer is 'yes'," she told him softly, looking at him slightly pleadingly, hoping he'd forgive her after her stupid acts. Draco smiled a little as he looked at her.
"I love you," he said quietly, and then asked: "So you love me too, then?" Nora smiled and nodded. "You really, really do?" she rolled her eyes again.
"Yes, I really, really do." Draco tilted his head slightly and turned serious; he was going to find out if, deep inside, she really did love him, or if she was just making herself believe so.
"Say it," he said. Nora frowned.
"What?"
"Say it out loud. Say you love me out loud," he told her. Nora took a step backward.
"I already did. I even wrote it in the air for you," she replied confused. Draco shook his head.
"You never said it out loud. Just 'I really, really do'," he said. Nora didn't say anything. "I'm not getting back together with you unless you say you love me out loud and really mean it." He waited for a few seconds and when Nora hadn't said anything he walked around her and headed towards the castle, not knowing why he was prepared to lose the one he loved over something that seemed so incredibly silly. But deep inside he knew it was important, so he stuck to it, though his heart sank with every step he took closer to the castle and further away from Nora.
"I love you," he heard her whisper, and it seemed as if she was right beside him, but when he turned around she was meters away, standing right there where he had left her. Draco's happiness made him forget how weird it was that he could hear her whisper when they were so far apart, and he smiled and ran towards her.
"You really, really do?" he asked, not daring to believe it.
"Yes, I really, really do love you," Nora told him, smiling. She reached into her pocket and handed a piece of parchment over to him. Draco took it and looked it over. He chuckled.
"Looks like they're having a nice time, doesn't it?" he asked. Nora grinned as Draco handed Lily's picture of the five of them back to her. "You know, now that we're together, again, maybe we should engage in activities of such sort," he asked. Nora blushed a little as she put the picture carefully in her pocket. Draco lifted her head with his hands and slowly moved forward, giving Nora time to reject him if she wanted. To his relief, she didn't and his lips touched hers softly. A second later they were too busy with their intense make out session to notice the others standing still next to them, all grinning. Hermione even made a picture, deciding to save it for future blackmailing or torture for Nora and Draco.
A/N: I think I'll leave it at that, otherwise it'll take me even longer to update. I know this chapter was definitely not one of my best, but I tried really hard to write it as fast as I could and I hope you guys like it anyway. Sorry it took so long to update.
Dumbeldave - Hey, you finally caught up! Thanks for all the reviews along the way. I'm glad you like my story so much. =)