Hello everyone and welcome to chapter 54! Yes, I do realize it has been a while. And yes, I haven't much time to do anything about it, until NOW! So, I thought since I actually had some time to sit down and crank out a chapter, I would. So, here is chapter 54. Hopefully it will prove to your liking as it did to mine. Its pretty funny actually, or well I thought so. But I will leave you all to be the judges of that. Anyways, I know this is short, but my laptop doesn't have much battery power left so I should get this up before it dies. I do not own HP.
In the morning Jess woke up with a clear mind. Today would be different, she couldn't mope over Draco. She hopped into the shower and emerged fully clothed twenty minutes later. Hermione was already waiting for her at the door. The pair walked down to the Great Hall and assumed their positions. They sat about four people away from Harry and Ron to prevent awkward tension. Hopefully this wouldn't last much longer. Within five minutes of them sitting down a sea of wings and feathers filled the air. The mass amount of owls flying around with packages and parcels was unreal. It had taken Jess all of her first year to get used to the phenomenon. But now that she was in the second half of her sixth year, she hardly noticed. That is until an owl landed right in front of her, extending its leg that held a letter.
"I wasn't expecting any mail." She mused while looking at the owl. "Come to think of it, I've never seen you before." The owl hooted softly and still held out its leg. Jess stroked the top of the owl's head and fed it some of her toast she noticed it looking at. She smiled and untied the letter from its leg. "You're a beautiful owl, your owner must be proud of you." Aeolus looked at her smugly, if even possible. Jess laughed and fed him another bit of toast before Aeolus took off and went back to the Owlery.
"Now" she whispered to herself. "Who is this from?" Jess looked over to see that Hermione was nose deep in Hogwarts: A History. She snorted; surprised that Hermione didn't have it memorized by now. Jess looked down at the envelope that had her name printed on it, in a neat scrawl. She flipped it around and carefully broke the seal. She pulled the parchment out and unfolded it, it read in the same scrawl.
Jessica,
Please meet me outside of the Room of Requirement tonight at seven.
-Draco
Jess' brows furrowed in confusion as she folded the letter back up. Was this some kind of joke? He hadn't talked to her since that one night, and now out of the blue he wanted to see her? Rubbish. She looked up from the letter and noticed a pair of crystal blue eyes watching her from across the room. They were neither plotting nor conniving as far as could see. But this was Draco; he could hide something like that. In a flash Jess hid the letter and struck up a conversation with Hermione.
Draco blinked in response. She had gotten the letter, and by the looks of it read it as well. This he was happy about, but what made him unsettled was the look she had given him. It was one of contemplation, as though she thought he was trying to hide some ulterior motive. He sighed so only he could hear. Something was up and Draco didn't know what, so naturally it drove him crazy. Whatever the issue was they could hammer it out at their meeting tonight. Little did he know was that she didn't plan to attend.
Classes again were a bore. The only interesting thing that happened was that professor Snape alerted them that they would be getting their grades from last semester on Friday. Hermione was elated, though she didn't want to wait another two days to figure it out. Ron on the other hand groaned. He visibly shrunk when the announcement was made and stuck his head in his arms. He'd be lucky if Mrs. Weasley didn't send him another howler. Harry wasn't sweating it really. There were only a couple classes he was worried about, mainly Potions and History of Magic. He was thankful that after this year he would never have to take either again.
Slughorn bored the crap out of everyone in Defense Against the Dark Arts with one of his ramblings about his finest student from twenty years ago. Everyone about died of boredom and under their breath begged him to shut up. Hermione was even bothered when she cleared her throat loudly multiple times. Each time it went unnoticed by Slughorn, who appeared to be on a coffee high.
When the bell saved them the students trampled out like a herd of elephants. Hermione instantly ranted to Jess. "Can you believe him?? That had nothing to do with teaching us to defend ourselves! All that was, was a pointless banter about someone we've never heard about!"
"Hermione, calm down. I'm sure he won't do it again. So, what did you think of Arithmancy today?"
Hermione's face lit up. "It was fascinating! I didn't know you could…" She continued to ramble on but Jess didn't notice.
Her attention was caught by someone walking by in the corner of her eye. Draco had just walked by and noticed Jess was getting an earful from Granger. He stopped short in the hall since no one else was around. The pair looked at each other while Hermione was still on her tangent. After a few moments Draco smirked and began walking down the hall.
"Jess? Wee you listening?" The bushy haired girl asked.
"Yeah I was… I liked that too, it brings a whole new light on it." Jess looked over at Hermione, deep in though.
"Let's go and study, shall we?"
"Do I have a choice?" The pair laughed and headed off to the library.
Seven o'clock rolled around and Draco was pacing around the seventh floor corridor. Maybe she was just running late, after all he saw her open the letter. She had to have read it, so she'd come right? The next couple minutes felt like hours. Draco noticed it was ten after even. Okay, so maybe she was running really late knowing her. Granger probably trapped her in an endless cycle of homework. But soon enough it was seven thirty. "She's not coming." He muttered under his breath. Draco punched the wall abruptly and immediately regretted that decision. He stalked back to his dorm and flopped on his bed. He had to talk to her, something obviously was wrong. He rubbed his chin while thinking. He'd talk to her, somehow.
Thursday was a blur for everyone. It was a good day for Jess since she had no classes with Draco. She wouldn't need to talk to him, to acknowledge his existence. It was a good feeling. At lunch Harry and Ron slid in next to her and Hermione.
"Hey 'Mione, Jess" Harry said with an awkward smile.
Hermione couldn't help but smile. "It's been a while."
"Yeah, look Jess. I'm sorry that this had to some to this." He looked over to her sadly.
"It's okay Harry. It's what was meant to be." She placed a hand softly over his.
"Friends?" He asked with a grin.
"Best friends." Jess said back with a smile. "All four of us."
"Well, now that, that's over with."Ron dug right into his food. Jess and Harry laughed while Hermione rolled her eyes.
Draco on the other hand snorted. "They're pathetic. Couldn't even be separated for a week." Crabbe and Goyle snickered as well. Even though it sounded like Draco was repulsed by the tight bond the golden troop had, deep down he was actually jealous. If he had, had someone that close to him throughout his childhood Draco would have been much better off. Instead he spent most of it alone and in constant fear of what might happen next. He suddenly lost his appetite and stood up, arriving very early to his next class. The rest of the day Draco felt off. He remedied that by torturing some third year Hufflepuff's with Crabbe and Goyle. He deduced that he wouldn't be this cruel if it wasn't for how he was raised and what he had put up with. Even holding a boy's wand ransom lost its fun quickly. Draco dropped it on the ground and silently walked away. Crabbe and Goyle lumbered after him after a couple minutes, they were beyond dense.
On his way back to the Slytherin common room Draco stopped to see the golden troop outside in the snow. He growled and nearly ran back to the Slytherin dungeons. He jogged up the stairs and slammed the door behind him. Draco's body was tense as he leaned up against the door. He slowly slid down against the door and landed at the bottom. His fingers laced themselves in his light hair as he held his head in his hands. His elbows lightly pressed on his bent knees that were trying to compress themselves against his chest. Silent tears brimmed at his blue eyes making them look like ice melting. Draco's voice cracked as he asked the barren nothingness around him. "How long have I been alone?"
Friday morning came too quickly for Draco. All he remembered about last night was that he scrambled into bed after his revelation. His roommates had come in some time after since when he woke up today they were all sleeping. Draco reluctantly rolled out of bed and went into the bathroom. He took off his pajamas and stepped into the water. Hot water splashed all over his body, doing its best to wake him up. Draco stood there for a while just thinking about what today would entail for him. Today he would have two classes with her, Care for Magical Creatures, and Potions. The first class mentioned would be his best bet since they would be having a sub today in Potions. Knowing professor Snape they would have low tolerance. Now he'd just have to figure out how to confront her and have no one notice. Draco took his expensive shampoo and rubbed it into his hair. He closed his eyes as he washed his face. The shower made quick work of the shampoo and wherever the body wash had been on Draco. He turned it off and stepped out, wrapping a crisp towel around his waist. Making sure that it would stay securely in place, Draco walked over to the foggy mirror and groomed himself. The water droplets from the shower trailed down the defined muscles of Draco's chest and abdomen. He had to admit, he was downright hot. A large smirk played on his face while he tasseled his hair. Once he was done Draco walked out in the towel and gathered his clothes for the day. Zabini rolled his eyes. Draco didn't need to put any effort in his looks and have girls fall over him. Yet Draco always went the extra smile, which meant more girls fell over him. Crabbe and Goyle looked on dully, not knowing that Draco was a perfect specimen. If his toned body didn't give them a clue then they just needed to look at his face. First he had sexy and fluffy hair that would fall in his eyes. When he would push it back, his eyes stood out. They were the most beautiful shade of crystal blue, perfectly sized and shaped to give him any look he wanted to pull off with them. Whether it be an angelic like, that particular look he hadn't tried in a decade, or a more serious look, or possibly a desirable sexy look with one eyebrow raised that drove all girls wild. When Draco was angry, his eyes were frightening, their color would change ever so slightly to make them look grey like steel. His nose wasn't too large nor was it too small. It was slightly pointy but looked as if it had been chiseled to represent the nose of Greek god. The fact that it was slightly pointed gave off the fact that his face wasn't perfect; there was such a thing as being too beautiful. Then there were his lips that were just right in size and shape. They weren't a straight line nor were they pouty like some girls. They were manly, and when they curled into a smirk downright sexy. His jaw line was also defined and slightly elongated with the tiniest point to it where it was recognizable but it helped frame and mold his attractive face.
Draco quirked an eyebrow at Crabbe and Goyle who were still staring at him. 'What are you two looking at?" He asked impatiently. They shrugged and still looked on stupidly. Draco shuddered as he grabbed his clothes. 'Stop staring at me like that!" They blinked and followed orders. Draco looked at them with distaste and went back into the bathroom. He knew they didn't like men; they were just even denser in the morning and tended to stare into space. Still, it creped him out.
After that incident Draco proceeded to get dressed behind closed doors. He then began the trek to the Great Hall, Crabbe and Goyle followed at a distance. Even they weren't stupid enough to get in Draco's way when he was pissed. Draco sat in his usual spot and was bombarded by Pansy. As usual he did his best to ignore her. Casually he glanced over to the Gryffindor table to see the golden group enjoying their breakfast. A small smirk appeared on his face when he thought of how he could easily break the group apart. If word leaked out that he and Jess had kissed, and that she didn't mind it, Harry and Ron would be less than thrilled. As tempting as it was Draco decided against it. He knew that if someone found out surely his father would, and that was not a risk he thought was worth taking.
Jess looked up from her conversation to see Draco looking over at her casually. She was positive that Draco was distinctly looking at her and not the Gryffindor table as a whole. The hairs on her arms pricked up as she was the one to break eye contact. She could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and put her head down, concentrating heavily on her food. It was lucky for her that none of her friends had seemed to notice.
Draco smirked again and ate his breakfast in peace. Soon all the students left for their first classes of the day. Care for Magical Creatures was remotely interesting. Hagrid had paired everyone off and had them identifying the anatomy of Nymph's. Jess was paired with Ron, who she got frustrated with quickly. It was obvious he hadn't read the test. "Ron!" She shouted in a correcting tone. "That doesn't go there."
"Oh, right." Ron instead placed the name on the Nymph's head.
"You already guessed that." Jess reminded him.
"Yeah, how about here?" He stuck it on the forehead.
Jess rolled her eyes and placed it on the kneecap. "There."
"I knew that." Ron replied cheerfully.
"You would have known the first time if you would have done the assigned reading."
"But we had Quidditch practice!" He whined in response.
"You'll get kicked off the Quidditch team if you don't do your homework."
"Harry wouldn't do that. He'd my best friend, and also the captain."
"He won't, but professor McGonagall will."
"Alright, I'll pay more attention." He rolled his eyes.
"Thank you." Jess looked up the next area in the book.
Draco was assigned to work with Daphne Greengrass. It could have been much worse; he could have ended up with Pansy. He snickered as he looked over to Pansy who was having the hardest time as she worked with Crabbe. Zabini didn't have it much better off as he was working with Goyle. Daphne was actually decent in this subject and put her front foot forward. Daphne was Astoria's older sister. He had completely forgotten about her during the Christmas holidays. But since he hadn't heard from her it was safe to say that she had moved on to bigger and better things. Yeah, right that was a laugh. There weren't many bigger and better things then Draco, as far as he was concerned.
Class ended and Jess walked off with her friends. He silently cursed under his breath as he saw her walk away. Well there went Draco's chance of talking to her. It looked like he'd have to try in Potions class.
Potions classes rolled around soon enough and the students took their respected seats. Draco had Goyle sit next to him, a rather sad event, as he watched Hermione sit next to Jess on the other side of the room. The students anxiously awaited their substitute to come in, hoping that the sub wasn't too evil.
Ten minutes went by and there was no sign of the teacher. Hermione was impatient, Ron was delighted, and Jess and Harry were indifferent. "Hermione the sub could have just gotten lost. Hogwarts is a pretty big school." Jess commented, trying to calm her down.
"I guess you're right. They'll be here soon." Hermione smiled and started setting up her supplies.
In a beautiful torrent of lavender fabric their sub walked in, a cheeky grin on his face as he walked up to Snape's desk. "Terribly sorry I kept you all waiting, I'm fashionably late." The sub winked at all the students and sat at the edge of Snape's desk. "Many of you, or rather all of you should remember me from your second year when I was your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I, Gilderoy Lockhart have come to answer the desperate plea your dear Headmaster sent out. You see Sevy had some dire circumstance to which he has been whisked off to. So, I humbly come to you as your substitute for however long Sevy is away." He finished in a dramatic tone filled with glee.
"Sevy?" Ron asked while chuckling out of control.
"I think he means Snape." Hermione replied while the other three were cracking up. Jess covered he mouth and tried to calm herself. She was the first one to success and boldly raise her hand.
"Ah yes! Miss Anderson is it?" Lockhart called on her with a twinkling in his eyes.
"Not to be rude but weren't you just in the hospital last year and couldn't remember one thing?"
"Oh silly girl." He was walking around the room now and ruffled Jess' hair. "I now take potions three times a day so that I am back to how I was!"
"Or did something just hit you on the head and jar your memory?" Jess asked dully.
Lockhart laughed heartily and then came really close to Jess' face, his hands placed on her desk. He whispered in a low tone so that only she and Hermione could hear. "Oh you're observant, perhaps too observant. You keep that to yourself or it won't end well for you." He then stood up straight and smiled cheerfully. "Alright?"
The only reaction to Lockhart's sudden bipolar moment that made sense was to blink, and boy did Jess ever. She shook her head to clear her thoughts as Lockhart began speaking.
"Now let's see what old Sev had planned for us to do today, shall we?" Lockhart walked over to the desk and peered down at the clear and precise instructions Snape had left. "Review? That simply won't do! How dreadfully boring! Surely he didn't know that I would be teaching for him today. Otherwise he would have trusted me with something more dangerous and exciting."
Everyone couldn't help but hide their laughter at his statement. Everyone knew that Snape hated Lockhart and didn't trust him as far as he could physically, without magic, throw him.
Lockhart pulled out a wad of lesson plans that he had broke into Snape's office several minutes before classes and rifled through them. "Hmm, how about a blood replenishing potion? That sounds delightful! Alright everyone it looks like you'll all need-"
Lockhart was cut off when a black shadow whipped in through the door at top speed. All the students looked shocked and hid a little behind their desks. After thirty seconds the creature was revealed to be Snape. He was currently trying to strangle Lockhart.
"My dear Severus! Long time no see how have you gah!" Lockhart was cut off by Snape tightening his grip. Snape looked as if he could kill. His chest heaved up and down in the pent up rage he had discovered when he had figured out who was subbing for him.
"PROFESSOR!" Hermione screamed, "You can't kill him or you'll get sent to Azkaban!" The rest of the Gryffindor's seemed to like that idea.
"Hit him over the head with something hard and he'll lose his memory again!" Jess offered as a solution.
Snape released his grip and grabbed the nearest thing he could find, which was a cauldron, and smashed it over Lockhart's head. It was lucky for Lockhart that he had a thick skull. Pandemonium broke out and the students ran out of the room. Hermione ran to the infirmary so that Lockhart might actually have a chance.
In the outbreak of chaos, Draco took this opportunity and grabbed Jess' hand. He dragged her through the crowded halls. No one noticed that they were together, since the rest of everyone still had their mind on what had just happened. Draco ran up to the seventh floor with Jess in tow. He quickly paced the hallway three times and the door appeared. Draco opened it and bade Jess in.
Well? What did you all think? I had before I even have thought of this scenario, knew that I had to have Lockhart in here somewhere. Who else besides me misses how idiotic that man is? I also love how Snape is usually extremely pissed off about his mere presence, so I thought what better than to have his sub for his class. Pure genius I think! I could be wrong though. Anyway, I apologize for this taking so long, and I hope I haven't lost any of you in the wait for the next installment. The fact that this chapter came this soon you should give credit to one of you fellow readers for messaging me about the story. You know who you are :) But I would like to say a big THANK YOU to all of you that have ever read and reviewed, and to those that still continue to read and review. Until next chapter!
