There were at least fifteen other things Elsa could be doing this moment. She could, for example, study. Or finish her homework. Or play with Marshmallow, wherever she was roaming right now. Or take a stroll through the Forbidden Forest, visit Aragog with Hagrid. Shovel dung in Greenhouse Number Two with her bare hands.
She'd prefer almost everything over going to Slughorn's Christmas Party.
The professor had announced that there were going to be plenty of influential wizards and witches, and that he'd make sure she'd meet every single one of them.
So she stood in front of the door to his office, has been for over ten minutes now, and thought about ways to evade Slughorn. If there were lots of people, she could vanish in the crowd, right?
"Are you waiting for us?"
Elsa jumped at Luna's voice, turning to smile at her and Harry.
She's been happy that Harry had invited Luna, the younger Ravenclaw more enthusiastic as she had been in a while.
As they were allowed to bring a guest, Elsa had considered asking someone. But it would be wrong to bring anyone but her boyfriend. And with Ron glued to Lavender she couldn't even ask him to go as friends.
Anthony would've been an option, he's dropped plenty of hints that he'd love to join her, but that would've ended in a disaster.
Her jealous boyfriend would've flipped, as exhausted as he was lately, or she'd get Anthony's hopes up again, both of which she wanted to avoid.
"Actually I was thinking about bailing."
"Oh no, you won't. If I have to go, you have to too."
"You've missed eight of his dinners, I think I deserve to miss this party."
"But you look so pretty!" Luna said, wide eyes popping. "It would be a shame if it was for nothing!"
Elsa shrugged, glancing down at her dress. It was rather plain, lavender in color with little decor. Her plan was to keep a low profile, not to impress.
Luna would attract quite the attention with her glimmering dress and elaborate jewelry. It matched her personality. She also wore the hairband Elsa had created for her a while ago.
"You look way prettier than I." She chuckled. "Let's just get it over with."
Entering with Harry was proving to be both good and bad.
Bad, because he naturally drew attention despite the large crowd of guests.
But also good, because the attention was on him.
Professor Slughorn was already pretty tipsy when he approached them, talking to Harry as if they were best friends. It was their luck that another guest arrived then, someone from a national quidditch team by the looks of it, demanding the professor's attention.
There was a brief encounter with Hermione, the brunette on the run. She had asked Cormac McLaggen to be her date to the party, a decision the Gryffindor regretted deeply now.
Why she had asked him of all people was a mystery to Elsa, as he appeared quite air-headed and with an unhealthy dose of arrogance, he didn't seem good company.
Currently, he was chasing Hermione because of a charmed mistletoe.
Slughorn had thought it funny to bewitch a mistletoe on the ceiling. It would vanish and reappear randomly, so it was impossible to stay in one spot too long if you wanted to avoid kissing someone.
"Oh, there's Professor Trelawny!" Luna exclaimed. "Let's go say hello."
Harry wasn't too keen on greeting the Divination teacher, there was a reason he dropped the class, but seeing her being avoided by Slughorn, it seemed a good idea.
That alone was a dealbreaker for Elsa. Anything that kept annoying adults away.
And she was one of Luna's favorite teachers.
"Good evening, professor." Luna smiled. "Are you enjoying the festivity?"
The woman gave a small hiccup, obviously having had too much to drink already, popping eyes blinking owlishly.
"Ah, Miss Lovegood, evening..." She sighed miserably. "Mister Potter." A nod to the Chosen One. "And uh... Miss Winters, was it?"
Elsa gave a small nod, trying to hide her amusement at the state of the Divination professor.
"Yes, Elsa Winters, professor."
"You weren't in my Divination class..." The wide eyes narrowed slightly, lips to a pout.
"No, I chose Arithmancy. I've never pegged myself as a spiritual person."
"Mh." Trelawny downed the remains of her current cup before putting it down on a random table. "Let me see your hand."
Without waiting for a response, the professor took Elsa's left hand, the teenager raising a brow.
"She's a genius when it comes to palm-reading." Luna supplied, watching the teacher trace a line on the palm.
Elsa exchanged a skeptical but amused look with Harry, the latter enjoying not being the victim of weird predictions for once.
The princess doubted there would come anything of it, with how drunk the woman appeared.
"Strange... very strange..."
"Really now."
The three teenagers jumped a little at the new voice, though Elsa relaxed when she recognized Professor Vector had come to stand behind her, watching her colleague over the princess' shoulder.
She was holding a goblet of what appeared to be wine, a skeptic eyebrow risen.
"What is it, Sybill? Is she dying?" It wasn't hard hearing the sarcasm. While it wasn't an outright rivalry or anything going on between them, Vector wasn't too fond of her colleague's ways.
Trelawny cleared her throat. "No. In fact, I see... a big challenge ahead. A... A life-changing experience in your near future."
Elsa frowned slightly. "Life-changing?"
The Arithmancy teacher's other eyebrow lifted in slight surprise at the divination.
"Death... death is coming. A dark cloud, grief."
Rolling her eyes, Professor Vector took a sip from her cup. "There we go."
A little chilled, Elsa retracted her hand from the seer. She could understand how Harry had felt back then when his death had been foreseen by her back then.
"Uhm. Thank you, I guess...?"
As if shaken out of a daze, Trelawny blinked and grabbed a bottle of sherry from the table, not bothering with a cup anymore.
"Never mind her," Vector murmured to Elsa, "her predictions are rarely correct."
Despite the weirdness of it all, the Ravenclaw smiled at her favorite female teacher. "Mhm, Professor McGonagall warned us in third year when she divinated Harry's death."
The boy in question was torn between listening to them and Luna's conversation with Trelawny.
His decision was taken from his hands then. Vector's eyes widened a fraction before she excused herself and was off, a second before Slughorn appeared.
Inwardly groaning, Elsa schooled her expression as she turned around to face him with her friend.
"Ah, Harry, there you are. I've been looking for you. There's someone I'd like to introduce you to."
That certain someone was lost in the crowd, apparently.
"We're gonna find him."
There was no little amount of relief that Elsa had been spared in Slughorn's mission to show off Harry Potter.
He eyed Trelawny for a second before turning to the princess.
"Are you enjoying the party?"
"Oh, yes, it's wonderful." Better to stroke the professor's ego.
"Have you thought about letting Harry tutor you in Potions? I bet you'd be just as good as our Harry here. He's definitely one of my best students!"
Elsa gave a polite smile, thankfully being spared an answer when Snape approached them and gave his not-so-nice commentary on Harry's newfound Potions skills.
The two teens exchanged a glance, both hoping the secret with the Halfblood Prince's book would stay secret.
The rather unpleasant conversation was interrupted by Filch entering the room, dragging a sickly looking Draco along.
"I found him sneaking around in the upper corridor!" The squib spat, tugging on the robe. "Said he was invited to your party when I caught him!"
Slughorn frowned slightly in his tipsy state, obviously trying to remember if he had invited him or not.
Elsa bit her lip, throwing all caution out the window. "I invited him. He's accompanying me."
From her peripheral vision she saw Harry sharply facing her, but she refused to acknowledge it.
The tension in the room lightened completely with Slughorn's roaring laugh, the music starting to play again.
"See, Argus, the boy was invited by Miss Winters. There's no need to be so rough now, hm?"
Draco jerked his arm free from a growling Filch and took the few steps to come to stand next to Elsa with a glare.
Or at least he tried to, because he was stopped by Snape.
"My office. Now."
The anger in those silver eyes would've been scary, hadn't he looked so pale.
"Come on, Severus. This is a nice little party, let the boy have his fun! Serious conversations can wait for tomorrow!"
The Potions professor gave Draco's shoulder a shove towards Elsa and winked at them, completely unfazed by Snape's deathly stare.
Snape and Draco shared a last glare before the professor swiftly turned and just vanished in the crowd.
The secret couple subtly distanced themselves from Harry, easily mingling with the other guests.
The Slytherin fixed his slightly wrinkled robes.
"You didn't have to help me."
"I know. You're welcome anyways." Elsa heaved a small sigh and made her way to the buffet, where she had spied a chocolate fountain.
On their way there, she eyed her Gryffindor friend, who had stuck with Luna and Trelawny.
She couldn't wait to discuss her spontaneous action with him. Note the sarcasm.
Maybe she could convince him it was an elaborate plan. Counting on his suspicions, that could work.
Absentmindedly dipping a strawberry in the chocolate, she watched her boyfriend glare at nothing in particular.
"Were you really trying to sneak onto the party?"
"No."
Elsa pursed her lips. Of course he'd go back to his standoff-ish behavior. They were surrounded by people, after all. They had a reputation to uphold.
Still, seeing her boyfriend so worn and thin, she couldn't help but worry. It was time for a distraction, she decided. It was her specialty, after all.
"Come on, eat something." She held a chocolate-covered strawberry up for him to take.
He gave her an annoyed look, though the corner of his mouth quirked slightly.
"You're not my mom." He said, grabbing her wrist and bringing her hand up to take a bite off the strawberry.
Blue eyes widened slightly at the gesture, and Elsa felt her cheeks heating up slightly. What was he on to now?
They did have a few spectators, maybe he wanted to keep the whole scenario up in case Snape would drag him off if he found out he wasn't here for a date?
Elsa frowned when he made a face. "Way too sweet." Draco mumbled, grabbing a cup of water.
"It's a chocolate covered strawberry, what did you expect?"
He gave her a deadpan look, making Elsa smirk.
Since he wanted to keep the play up, she grabbed a napkin and wiped some chocolate off the corner of his mouth.
She had to hold back a laugh at his face. It was obvious he wanted to glare at her, but couldn't hide the amusement in his eyes.
He tried to stay in his repellent mood, though failing miserably as he raised a brow.
"You really wanna play, Winters?" He whispered provocatively, the playfully challenging tone quickening Elsa's heartbeat.
"Bring it on, Malfoy." She countered.
Reaching up, she gently pushed a lose strand of hair out of his face. When she tried to pull back, her hand was grabbed and a soft kiss was pressed to the back of it.
Even hidden behind her hand, she could see the smug smirk.
Elsa noticed the few stares they were getting. Of course their classmates knew them, and knew they were mostly ignoring each other since Yule Ball, aside from some banter every now and then.
Their act would surely draw attention. It was a dangerous game they were playing.
"Afraid of the rumors?" Draco asked smugly while grabbing one of the small sandwiches. Elsa was delighted to see he was eating at least.
"Tch, of course not." The Ravenclaw mimicked his tone and grabbed another strawberry, dipping it into the chocolate again.
Bracing herself, she brought the fruit to her lips, eyeing Draco through her lashes as she enjoyed the treat, humming contently at the taste.
Licking her lips clean, she had to fight a laugh at her boyfriend's expression.
His cheeks had a dusting of pink, eyes wide and mouth open. She could hear him gulp audibly and clear his throat.
"Playing dirty, huh?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Elsa shrugged innocently, her own cheeks burning slightly in embarrassment.
It was Draco's turn, but it was clear he was still trying to compose himself. He shook his head, avoiding to look at his girlfriend, and grabbed another sandwich. That was definitely worth it.
Elsa couldn't help but smirk when he finally faced her again. "Looks like I win."
He gave a one-shouldered shrug, lips in a small pout. "The evening's not over yet."
Time passed rather fast with their newfound activity of avoiding Slughorn whenever he moved in their direction, and ducking out of Harry's sight. Fortunately there were enough people to easily get lost in the crowd.
Every now and then the haunted look crossed Draco's features, but with a well-timed distraction it passed to amusement instead.
"Oh my, what a coincidence!"
Inwardly groaning, the pair turned to face Slughorn, who had found them by the windows. They had definitely stayed too long.
Raising a questioning eyebrow, Elsa tilted her head. "Excuse me?"
"The mistletoe!" The professor slurred, swaying on the spot and grinning widely.
Draco and Elsa exchanged a glance before spotting the enchanted mistletoe dangling above them.
The princess winced. Not that she'd mind kissing her boyfriend, but doing so in public, while they were actually trying to keep it a secret... she had doubts.
Given the drunk state of the adult, she was confident they could talk him out of it. It was just a silly holiday tradition, anyways.
She lowered her gaze from the enchanted twig to mutely ask her boyfriend for his opinion, only to narrow her eyes at being met with a smirk and a suggestively raised brow.
He was basically daring her to kiss him in front of the people, thinking she'd chicken out with the audience.
Elsa pursed her lips. It was so typical for Draco to cheat like this. It wasn't fair to use this as his move in their little game. She'd make sure to tell him so later.
There weren't really many paying attention to them, she should really just kiss him, if only to wipe that stupid smug smirk off his cocky face.
"You have to kiss!" Slughorn pointed out, quite unnecessarily.
Making a decision, Elsa simply grabbed Draco's collar to pull him down, meeting his lips with hers in a quick but bold kiss.
The face of the Slytherin was definitely worth it, she decided. The silver eyes were wide, cheeks tinged pink.
Elsa squared her shoulders, feigning more confidence than she felt, and was about to turn back to get rid of Slughorn, when hands on her face brought her attention back to her boyfriend.
The following kiss was both soothing and exciting, leaving both their heads reeling. It had been a while since they've been able to just enjoy themselves like that.
When it ended after a few – too short – seconds, Elsa allowed herself a small smile.
She quickly pecked his nose to have the upper hand again, schooling her expression as she faced their professor again.
Slughorn was laughing for no real reason, at thin air, swaying dangerously with drunk-glazed eyes. For a moment, Elsa was worried he'd fall over.
"'Arry!" With that, the elder man waddled off, spilling wine all over the floor.
Draco and Elsa grinned at each other at the display, amused.
The moment of fun was short-lived, though. Snape approached them with quick strides from out of nowhere, black eyes staring down at the Slytherin as his sharp voice hissed out.
"A word, Draco."
With no Slughorn around to diffuse the tension and rescue him, Draco had no choice but to follow his head of house, glaring all the way.
xxx
"What the hell is going on between you and Malfoy?!"
Elsa winced inwardly at Harry's voice greeting her the next morning. She had barely stepped out of the Ravenclaw common room yet; he had to have been waiting for her.
Figured, since the previous evening he had followed Draco and Snape outside, leaving her to retreat to her common room without a confrontation.
With his crazy suspicions, he would've observed everything. Hopefully not the kisses.
"Good morning to you too." She rolled her eyes, holding up her hands placatingly. "Nothing's going on between us. I was just-"
"You saved him from trouble. And you kissed him!"
Elsa was glad she had stalled as long as possible, so there were no nosy passersby around. Though with the volume he was using, it would surprise her if the whole castle didn't know by now.
"Would you tone it down a little and let me explain?"
Harry folded his arms, eyebrow raised as he waited for the explanation. Which Elsa didn't have.
She's thought she wouldn't mind the secret relationship coming to light, but if she was honest, Harry's reaction to a simple kiss was downright scary.
"I thought, because of your insistence, that you could be right. That Malfoy is up to something." She spun a tale, shocked at how easy the lie fell from her lips.
"The opportunity to spy on him was too good to pass up, you know? I save him from Snape, he lingers with me, I can get information. We used to get along quite well, I'm sure you remember."
It seemed to placate Harry, as his stance relaxed somewhat.
"But why did you kiss him?"
"You saw how drunk and stubborn Slughorn was. It was just a mistletoe kiss. It's not like there were feelings involved or anything..." She refrained from fiddling with her bracelet in apology for the lie.
It looked as if Harry was biting the inside of his cheek, as if thinking about whether he should believe her. After a few more seconds he sighed.
"So? Did you find anything out?"
Elsa shrugged, willing the tension away.
"I'm pretty sure that he's up to something big, with how it takes up most of his time, skipping meals and all."
That was no secret, Harry could've puzzled that much out already, suspected it for months now.
"You followed him and Snape yesterday, did you hear something?"
Harry pressed his mouth to a thin line and nodded eagerly, quickly checking if they were really alone on their way to the Great Hall.
"Snape was mad at him. Scolded him for being careless. And that his life was at stake too. I have no idea what exactly he vowed, but apparently he made an Unbreakable Vow."
Elsa nodded absentmindedly. Obviously, whatever Snape had vowed, it had to do with Draco. Probably the task he's been given. But why?
"And..."
The blonde raised a brow at her friend when he hesitated to continue. "What is it?"
"He mentioned you too."
Blue eyes widened. "Me?"
"I... I think Voldemort is after you."
Elsa gulped, throat tight. She already knew it from Draco, but hearing it from Harry again was like opening old scars.
"W-Why? What did they say?"
"Snape said: How can you be so dumb and endanger her like that? I thought you loved her! You know exactly how badly the Dark Lord wants to get his hands on her; do you want to have her blood on your hands?! Do you, Draco?!"
Her teeth buried themselves in her lower lower lip as her stomach cramped in fear.
"I thought about it a lot last night. Voldemort might have invaded Malfoy's mind when he made him a Death Eater and saw how close you were the past years." He sighed.
"I guess I was afraid you'd fall for a trap; that he'd turn you over to him as soon as he'd have the chance."
Aside from firmly believing Draco would never do that, it made sense, she figured.
Even if the killing curse wouldn't have an effect on her, there were lots of things worse than death.
The gnawing ball of fear and dread in her stomach was growing perpetually. Something big was going to happen, there was this foreboding feeling. And there was nothing she could do to stop it.
"What do you think he wants from me...?" Elsa asked her friend as they came to a stop two hallways away from the Great Hall. She certainly didn't want to discuss this in earshot of other students.
"If I had to guess I'd say he's interested in your immunity to the killing curse." Harry rubbed a hand through his unruly hair. "He's always chased immortality. Could be he wants to experiment on you, or torture you until you tell him your secret... Sorry." He apologized at the horror-stricken face of the Ravenclaw.
Elsa subconsciously wrapped her arms around herself, tendrils of ice starting to spread from her feet.
Of course she's thought about the possibilities, but having them confirmed was making it real. She began hoping he only wanted her as a weapon.
Harry carefully grabbed her shoulders and caught her gaze. "Hey, don't worry. I won't let him get you. We won't let him get you. We have Dumbledore and the aurors on our side, okay? We're gonna be fine here in Hogwarts."
'Hogwarts. I don't believe they can go against him forever.' Blaise's words rang through her head.
"You just have to stay away from Malfoy. Leave the information gathering to me."
The bravery was really admirable, Elsa mused. He's been through so much, Voldemort wanted him dead, the whole wizarding world was counting on him to save them, and still he had so much faith and courage.
Elsa gave a weak smile and nodded. "Alright. We'll be fine."
And yet, despite the reassuring words, Elsa couldn't get herself to relax.
She was supposed to go to The Borrow with Harry and the Weasleys, but the princess was only feeling partly safe in Hogwarts. There was no way she could pretend everything was fine the whole entirety of the holidays. And while it would've been a distraction, it was not something she wanted to burden herself with.
She'd rather go home to Arendelle. To check up on her family, and under the shield she'd be the safest anyways. However, she didn't want to bother the aurors that would need to escort her there. They had way too much on their plate already.
Elsa wanted to talk to Dumbledore too, to just get reassurance or good advice, but the headmaster was gone most of the time. Nobody could provide an answer, as usual.
However, Ron and Harry were insistent enough to persuade her to join them. The bespectacled boy probably wanted to keep an eye on her himself after the revelation, which was sort of heartwarming if she was honest.
Nothing had happened yet, still Elsa found herself laying awake throughout the nights, trying to not let panic consume her.
The nightmares each contained the evil grin of Voldemort, and the horrible possibilities of torture and whatnot.
Corpses of her friends and her boyfriend were a reoccurring theme too.
Fred and George were visiting for two days, busy with their shop, and their presence was distracting indeed. They had this inborn talent to lighten up the darkest of times.
It made Elsa actually glad to have joined her friends to the Burrow.
"You know, there's so much you could do." George commented during their visit.
Elsa had frozen the floor in their tiny room so she could teach Ginny how to skate. She shrugged while skating backwards, keeping an eye on Ginny's progress.
"Like what?"
"Just freeze all Death Eaters or something."
The blonde almost tripped at that. "I couldn't freeze humans. They..." she shook her head, "they'd suffocate. That's horrible."
"It was just a thought, they want to kill us too. Alone your ice on the floor would be a help against them."
"Our people would slip around too. Not really productive." Ginny threw in, rolling her eyes.
"Either way, having a half spirit on our side is a big plus. Who knows what your limits are? And You-know-who has no idea what you can do."
"Not even I know what I can do exactly." Elsa bit her lip. It became clearer and clearer that Voldemort really wanted her as some sort of weapon.
"I hurt my sister when I was younger, it was bad. I'm not sure if I want to use my powers as a weapon."
"Even if it's a life or death situation?"
"Geeze, give it a rest." Ginny shakily slid towards the bed and flopped down on it. "So far we have no idea what's gonna happen."
Elsa sighed. "If it was to save a life, I'd think about it. Though I'd rather not imagine these situations if I can help it."
That night, Elsa stared at the dark ceiling, deep in thought. What the twins said was true. As was what Luna had commented back then.
She had powers with no idea where her limits lay. She could hurt, maybe even kill people with them, and it was questionable if there was a power that could match hers.
Remembering the Erklings the previous year, she imagined doing the same to Death Eaters and Voldemort. Would they even be able to fight her?
The Erklings... she hadn't thought twice about freezing them. They probably suffocated indeed, since she hadn't thought about unfreezing them. The thought shocked her.
She could try freezing them up to the throat, so they couldn't use their wands. But some wizards could use wandless magic. And who knew what other people and creatures Voldemort was able to win for his army? She couldn't imagine her ice being strong enough to withhold a giant's power, for example.
Or fire spells. Because making unmeltable ice was taking up too much power, there was no way she could hold it up long enough, or make enough of it to hold off everyone.
And her prophecy... was her fate to guard a quell of immortality forever?
It all seemed so...
"Are you asleep?"
Elsa blinked at Ginny's quiet voice, not having expected her to be awake. "No."
"Thought so. I can't sleep either."
There was shuffling as the redhead moved to lay on her side, facing Elsa.
For a moment, the princess thought Ginny would talk about the worries of the dark future ahead and dreaded it.
The conversation with the twins had rattled her more than she'd like to admit.
"Did Harry say something about me?"
That was... not what she's expected. "Huh?"
"Well..." Ginny sighed. "I've tried to overcome my crush... but I never quite liked the boys I dated as much as him." She shrugged. "And it's not like I could ask Ron."
Elsa roamed her memories of the past months, caught off guard with the unexpected question.
"I don't think so, to be honest... At the moment, he's completely swallowed by the task Dumbledore gave him, and of course his exaggerated distrust concerning Draco."
"Do you think he became a Death Eater?"
"No idea. If he did, he probably didn't have another choice..."
It was quiet for a while. Eventually, Ginny spoke up again. "I think so too. If someone threatened to hurt my family, and there was no other way, I'd probably do the same."
"Really?"
"What else could I do to save them? And sacrificing them is not an option for me. It's the same for you with your sister, right?"
Elsa thought about it for a second. "Definitely."
"Anyways... boys are dumb."
"They mostly are, yes. Mainly oblivious." Elsa found herself smiling a little. "Harry did mention that you're a marvelous quidditch player. And that coming from him means a lot."
"Heh, that's true."
"You need patience with him, I'd say."
Ginny scratched her nose. "I don't have patience. Maybe I should just take the wheel and approach him instead."
"You could. Though he's too distracted to catch on immediately, I'd say."
"Mh, I'll see how it goes." She grinned. "Goodnight."
Elsa smiled to herself and got comfortable, this time easily falling asleep.
xxx
The evening after coming back to Hogwarts, she tried to concentrate on a novel in front of the common room's fireplace.
It was warm and cozy, still there was a lingering chill in her bones that wouldn't go away.
She found herself nodding off, when there was suddenly a head emerging from the floor.
"Psst!"
Elsa let out an involuntary yell and jumped, book dropping. When she realized it was just Myrtle, she settled down again, trying to calm her racing heart.
She rubbed both hands over her tired eyes. She was glad the other Ravenclaws were already in their bedrooms.
"Hello Myrtle... what is it?"
The ghost raised to hover in front of the fireplace, appearing a little hesitant, which was even weirder than seeing her out of her bathroom for once.
"Draco wants to see you." She tilted her head slightly. "He's really upset. I tried to cheer him up, but it's useless!"
For a moment Elsa was overly worried with how straightforward she was being, but the last part made her a little calmer. If the Moaning Myrtle left her bathroom and was for once not complaining, it could mean the world was ending.
However, it was worrisome to hear Draco was so very upset.
"Um, okay, thank you Myrtle. If you want to, could you tell him I'll be there in a few minutes?" She told her carefully, fighting a yawn.
Myrtle nodded and sank through the floor again, vanishing from sight.
Elsa sighed and rubbed her temples for a moment. She needed to be optimistic. There was not much that could get Draco in a state, and whatever it was, it was not good.
Being a sixth-year prefect was making roaming the castle so much easier. She knew which professors were patrolling and their routes, so avoiding them was surprisingly easy.
Upset was the understatement of the year. When she reached the bathroom, Draco looked just as wreck-like as Elsa felt.
In the bathroom's light he seemed even more skeletal than usual these days, ghostly pale and visibly trembling as he paced the floor.
As soon as he saw his girlfriend, he let out a shaky breath and hugged her tightly.
Elsa hasn't been aware of how high-strung she was until that moment when relief flooded her whole being as she sank in the embrace.
She wanted to ask him what's going on, but her mouth didn't seem to work. They just held onto each other.
"I... I can't..." Draco took a deep breath. "You have to leave. You're not safe here."
Shaking her head against his chest, Elsa burrowed closer for a moment. "What do you mean?"
"My task. I... I don't know how much longer I can put it off without it being suspicious." He swallowed hard. "I need to be stopped somehow."
He wasn't making any sense, so Elsa reluctantly pulled back to look into his haunted eyes, surprised to see them glazed with unshed tears.
"Stopped?"
"I don't want to do this. I don't want to put you in danger. I don't want to lose you... Please, you have to leave. Leave Hogwarts and hide..."
Elsa closed her eyes to calm herself. The worst part was that she actually wanted to do just that.
Go and hide beneath the shield with her foster family, protect Arendelle and just wait everything out. However, she couldn't just be a coward and go away. Not when she could actually be useful and help with her powers.
"Draco... I can't. Dumbledore wants me to-"
"Dumbledore doesn't know shit! He can't protect you from him, Elsa. You are not safe here in Hogwarts."
The serious and desperate tone made Elsa's heart jump to her throat. Draco obviously knew more. Way more.
"I'm not leaving you!" The words left her lips without permission from her brain, but she wouldn't take them back either.
"I know you want to protect me, but I don't need that protection. I can-"
"You can take care of yourself with your powers, I know, but he's too dangerous and powerful, and if he gets you I-"
A slap to the cheek stopped the frantic rambling and got Draco to breathe again. He touched the reddening skin and blinked himself out of his daze.
Elsa was determined.
"Listen, he won't harm me. The Killing Curse doesn't have an effect on me. I've been hit and I'm still alive. I'll be fine, so don't worry about me, alright?"
The silver eyes showed confusion at first, a myriad of emotions passing through with the speed of light.
"But-"
"I won't leave, Draco. I'm not going to abandon you or my friends, and I won't leave to you all to fight alone when I know I'm able to help. We're in this together."
The Slytherin hesitated for a moment, taking a deep and calming breath while his eyes sharpened. He nodded to himself.
"Alright."
He ran a hand through his already messed up hair. "I still can't talk about the task, I had to make a vow." He paused to think about his next words.
"I know Potter's up to something. He spied on me on the train."
Elsa nodded in confirmation, relieved that her boyfriend appeared to have his fighting spirit back.
"He's followed you in Diagon Alley too. He's convinced that you've become a Death Eater and cursed Katie Bell."
Draco's gaze darkened for a second. "Okay. He's still spying on me?" He waited for Elsa's nod. "Then you need to drop a hint. The Room of Requirement. He needs to find and stop me."
"What do you mean with stop?" The princess asked, not liking the sound of it.
"Whatever he needs to do to make sure I don't complete my task."