Author's note: This series follows the books but will include details from the movie series for drama. Please note that the major events of the story remain true to the series and will be summarized into small sections to help progress to the story's love interest. I do not want to be claimed for plagiarizing but the original story line is needed to explain the changes in character development.
M rating for sexual content anticipated to start in year 4.
Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Harry Potter series. Thank you to J.K. Rowling for bringing us the wonderful Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
The Doting Rival
Chapter 26
The students returned from Hogsmeade just in time for dinner. Adelyn was huddled close to Draco, talking in a hushed tone.
"Can we meet again tonight?" she asked.
Draco had a hard time hiding his smile. He was very pleased with how often she wanted to spend time with him, now. "Sure."
"It'll have to be after I meet with Hagrid." And Sirius, she thought to herself. "So, it'll be later than usual."
"We don't have class tomorrow, so that's fine."
"Okay. One-thirty, then?"
"One-thirty," he agreed.
Adelyn had left dinner early. Hermione and her had planned for Hermione to return to the Common Room as late to curfew as possible to allow Adelyn to sneak out in her Invisibility Cloak. She made her way down the Grand Staircase and snuck out the courtyard while no one was nearby. It was a quarter to midnight by the time she made it to Hagrid's hut.
She knocked on the door quietly. Hagrid answered and saw no one. "Adelyn? Is it yeh?"
"Yes, Hagrid. I'm here." He stepped aside to let her in. She removed her cloak and sat at the large table. "What did you want me for?"
"Got summin' ter show yeh," Hagrid said with excitement. He went to the enormous armoire and opened it to assess himself in the mirror. He grabbed an artichoke-like flower from the table and placed it in the first button hole of his jacket. His hair was combed back, this time without the axel grease.
"Hagrid. . . what are you showing me?" Adelyn had no clue what to expect.
"Come wit' me. Keep quiet an' stay covered wit' that cloak." He proceeded to exit the hut. Adelyn had to scurry to keep up with him.
"Hagrid. Where are we going?" She fumbled with her cloak to get herself covered fully. "I can't stay long. I have to be back to the castle by one -"
"Shhh!" Hagrid said.
Adelyn found she was being led to the Beauxbatons carriage just up the hill. He approached the door and knocked resonantly.
"Ah, 'Agrid. It is time?" Madame Maxime answered the door wearing a silk shawl.
"Tha' it is." Hagrid beamed and offered his arm, helping escort her.
They set off along the edge of the forest. Adelyn had to walk briskly to keep up. She was entirely confused now. Surely, he did not want her to bear witness to a date with the Headmistress.
"Yeh'll enjoy this," Hagrid said. "Worth seein'. Trust me." He glanced over his shoulder as he said this, directing his words to Adelyn. He turned back to Madame Maxime and continued. "Mind yer don' go tellin' anyone. Yeh're not s'posed ter know."
"Oh, of course not," Madame Maxime cooed, batting her eyelashes.
It must have been about twenty minutes of walking before the made it around the perimeter of the forest. The castle and lawn were no longer within eye sight. Adelyn could now make out men shouting ahead. Then came a deafening roar.
They emerged around a clump of trees and Adelyn came to an abrupt halt. Her mouth fell open as she saw for the first time. . . dragons. Four, fully grown, adult, fire-breathing dragons. Each one had at least eight witches or wizards running about them, holding chains and casting spells.
"Keep back there, Hagrid!" yelled one wizard.
"Oh, how magnifique!" Madame Maxime continued along the fence line, leaving Hagrid alone momentarily with Adelyn.
"Stupefy!" Simultaneously, eight wizards cast the Stunning Spell at the closest dragon. It teetered on its back legs before yawning widely and slowly falling to the ground. The wizard approached Hagrid and the fence. Adelyn recognized him as Charlie Weasley, Ron's older brother.
"Alright, Hagrid?" he asked.
"They're beautiful!" Hagrid was mesmerized. "Four. . . one fer each champion? They got ter figh' em?"
Charlie shook his head. "Just get past them, I think. They asked for nesting mothers, for some reason. Oh! Hold on there, Hagrid. Gotta help them move the eggs." Charlie took off toward the large, black dragon.
Adelyn approached Hagrid. "Dragons? That's the first task?" She was in complete shock.
"They are truly misunderstood creatures," Hagrid replied.
"Yes, Hagrid. I'm sure they are. But I can't possibly learn to understand them in one day, can I?"
Before he could reply, Adelyn took off back for the castle. Her mind was in a frenzy. How was she to go up against a dragon? A single fifteen-year-old. It took eight wizards at once to stop one back there. What could she possibly do on her own?
Before she realized it, she was at the Fat Lady. "Balderdash!" She sleepily swung forward, letting Adelyn pass. She ripped off her Invisibility Cloak and threw herself into the armchair. It was nearly one o'clock. The flames were the only source of light. A few moments later, a slight spark alerted Adelyn of the change in the fire. Sirius's head was sitting there, staring at her.
"Sirius!" she said as she crouched on the floor by the hearth. "How are you?"
"Never mind me. How are you?" he asked.
Adelyn suddenly let everything pour out. She didn't hold back, didn't try to hide anything. She talked more than she had in days. ". . . and Hagrid's just shown me I'm to go against dragons for my first task. Dragons! Sirius, I'm a goner." She was breathless.
"Dragons we can deal with, Adelyn. But I don't have much time. The wizards of the house I'm using could come home any moment.'
"What?" Adelyn's worry dramatically shifted to Sirius.
"Karkaroff. He was a Death Eater," Sirus continued.
"He - what?"
"He was caught and in Azkaban with me. But he got released. I bet that's why Moody is at Hogwarts – they wanted an Auror to keep an eye one him."
"What are you saying? Karkaroff put my name in the goblet? He seemed furious I was to compete. He tried to stop it."
"Listen. The Death Eaters have been a bit more active lately. With the Quidditch World Cup and the missing Ministry of Magic witch. She disappeared in Albania. . . the last rumored area Voldemort was to be seen."
"What do you mean?" Adelyn was sifting through his words quickly. "Voldemort found out about the tournament? You think Karkaroff is on his orders?"
"I don't know. . . but the tournament would be a very good way to attack you. And make it look like an accident."
"Yea. And they'll get that tomorrow when I face a dragon."
"Right. The dragons. Don't be tempted to use a Stunning Spell against them; you'd need about seven or more wizards for that. But you can do it alone. Just -"
Adelyn held up a hand to silence him. She turned her head to listen intently. "Someone's coming," she warned.
"Be careful," Sirius warned before disappearing.
Adelyn scurried to block the fire, to prevent anyone from getting a glimpse of Sirius in the fireplace. A soft pop informed her he had gone, just in time to see who was descending the staircase. Ron.
"Who are you talking to?" he asked.
"What's that got to do with you?" Adelyn was suddenly fuming at the sight of him. He must have known Charlie was at Hogwarts. Yet, he never said anything.
"I was just wandering – never mind. I'm going back to bed." He turned and returned up the stairs.
Once she heard the click from the door closing, she grabbed her cloak and left the Common Room. She was pacing at the staircase to the Astronomy Tower when Draco arrived. She grabbed his hand and raced up the stairs.
"Whoa. Adelyn, what is it?" he asked as she dragged him through the door.
She threw of her cloak and was in hysterics. "It's dragons. Dragons! Draco, I can't do this. I can't possible survive against a dragon." She started pacing again, clenching and unclenching her fists.
"What are you talking about?" He was starting to get worried.
"Hagrid. He took me to see they are setting up dragons for the first task on Monday. Dragons!" She was speaking wildly with her hands. "How am I supposed to go against a dragon, Draco?"
"Okay, breath." Draco swiftly approached, settling her arms by her side. "Breath with me." He locked eyes with her and started taking deep breaths, coaxing her to do the same. Her fidgeting became trembling. Her trembling, shivering. He pulled her into his embrace, caressing her head. She squeezed him back.
"Draco. . . I'm afraid," she said choking up.
"Come here." Draco waved his wand and summoned the pillows and blanket into the usual position and guided her over. He proceeded to cast his spells, submerging them into the night sky. He laid down on one of the pillows and opened his arms.
Adelyn didn't hesitate. She buried herself into his chest and cried. She let out all the pain and worry she had bottled up for the past few weeks. All the while, Draco just held her close, caressing her back.
When her tears had stopped and her heaving subsided, she gave a heavy sigh. She wiped her cheeks and settled face-to-face with Draco.
He cupped her face in his hand, gently rubbing her cheek with his thumb. "Feeling better?"
"A bit," she said with a sniffle. She pulled out a black handkerchief from her pocket and blotted her eyes.
"Good. Tomorrow, we will go to the library with Hermione and read up on everything pertaining to dragons. Okay?"
Adelyn gently nodded her head in agreement.
"For now, let's take your mind off things." He lifted his wand and scrolled through the stars. They settled in together, randomly stopping on anything that stuck out. Time faded away as the night went on. Before long, they had fallen asleep.
When Adelyn woke, the sky was bright and shining above her. She squinted as her eyes adjusted. She realized she was still in the Astronomy Tower. She turned to her right to find Draco sleeping comfortably, his arms still wrapped around her. She hadn't had such a good night's sleep since the summer.
Draco's chest slightly raised and fell with each rhythmic breath. He looked content; his face smooth of any lines of his usual expressions. She brushed a strand of hair away that had fallen out of place, covering his eyes. The motion caused him to stir. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes.
"Good morning," she said with a gentle smile. She finished setting his hair back into place.
He smiled back. "Good morning."
"I didn't mean to fall asleep last night. . ."
"Honestly, I don't know who fell asleep first." He gave a soft groan and stretched, arching his back.
Adelyn sat up and looked at the clock. "Oh! It's eleven thirty!" She jumped up quickly. "We can make it to lunch before heading to the library."
"You may want to change your clothes first," Draco noted. He started reversing his spells.
"Why does that matter?"
"Do you want people asking why we're both wearing yesterday's clothes?" He raised one of his eyebrows giving her a knowing look.
Adelyn blushed a deep crimson. She cleared her throat. "Oh."
"Now, you see." Draco chuckled. "Let's go. We got a lot of work to do."
They got to the bottom of the staircase when Adelyn stopped him. "Here. I kept meaning to return this to you." She held out the handkerchief, the emerald letters D.M. prominent in the day light.
"You keep it, Addy. You seem to have many needs for it." He smirked and sauntered down the hallway. He called over his shoulder, "See you in the Great Hall."
When Adelyn returned to the Gryffindor Common Room, she was bombarded by Hermione. "WHERE have you been?" She threw her arms around her. "I was worried sick."
"About that."