Chapter 11
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, it all belongs to JK Rowling…I'm merely an obsessed fan with ideas stuck in my head.
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An instant scowl spread across Leila's face at the sight before her: Pansy Parkinson with Draco. Parkinson was weaving her fingers through Draco's hair while pressing kisses against his cheek. Draco didn't seem to be responding to her affections, but he wasn't pushing her away either. It took a few moments before Draco noticed Leila's presence. His eyes widened when he saw the unpleasant scowl on her face from where she stood in the doorway.
"Did you need something, Potter?" Parkinson smirked.
"I need to go vomit now," Leila retorted.
Leila stormed out of the common room attempting to hold back any emotions until she could be certain that she couldn't be seen while Draco raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. Pansy leaned in to press another kiss against his cheek, but Draco pushed her back leaving a look of shock on Parkinson's face. He stood up and began to walk toward the exit to the common room so that he could chase after Leila. He got as far as the stairs when Pansy yanked at his arm.
"Drakie, where are you going?" Pansy whined.
"Pr-Prefect duties," Draco stuttered.
"But I thought that was last night," Pansy complained.
Draco roughly shoved Pansy's hand from his arm before running out of the common room. He had to make things right with Leila. The look of betrayal on her face he couldn't erase from his mind. Merlin, she just told him that she liked and he already messed things up. It wasn't that he even had feelings for Pansy. For years he had only been using Pansy to get what he couldn't from Leila; but tonight was different. She just couldn't keep her hands off him. He knew that she shouldn't have went along with it, but seeing Leila with Ron Weasley and Theodore Nott earlier caused something in him to snap. Draco watched Leila round a corner, so he sped up his pace to catch up to her.
"How could I have been so stupid," Leila muttered.
She knew better than to trust Draco Malfoy, but for some reason she allowed him to get the better of her. Sure his kisses were infatuating, but it was no reason to finally do something she had sworn for years never to do. But she refused to cry; even though she could feel the tears that threatened to spill over. Leila marched through the castle until she came to the corridor which led to the Room of Requirement. A lone tear dripped down her cheek as she paced in front of the room three times, asking for a place where she could cry. When the door appeared Leila opened it and walked in. She instantly took note that the room was vastly different from the room they had met in for Dumbledore's Army. This room was piled full of stuff. One could easily get lost in here searching for something which they probably would never be able to find with so much junk. After wandering the room for a few minutes, Leila found an over-stuffed armchair which she curled up in and let the tears fall freely.
From around the corner, Draco watched as Leila had entered the Room of Requirement. He raked his fingers through his hair hoping that he could still get into the room. He hoped that Leila hadn't been very specific with her requirements for the room. But Draco had another problem besides Leila; he didn't like what he was feeling. His heart felt in pain, something he couldn't recall ever feeling before. He knew that to make the pain subside he needed to make things right with Leila. The problem with that was that he had no idea how to fix a situation like this. He had never wanted to make things right with someone before. Normally, he didn't care enough and usually he expected the other person to fix the problem with him. Only, he knew that it was he who had messed up with Leila. Draco sighed before walking over to the spot where Leila had paced before the Room of Requirement. He paced in front of the wall three times asking for a door to lead inside. Nothing happened. He tried again, only this time he asked for a door to lead him to Leila Potter. Suddenly, an all-too-familiar door appeared.
Draco took a deep breath before opening the door, making sure that this is what he wanted to do. Making sure that fixing things with Leila was really what he wanted to do, mentally weighing out the pros and the cons. As he exhaled, he twisted the door knob and opened the door into the Room of Requirement. When he walked in, he was instantly surprised that he recognized the room. This was the room he often came to as he worked on the Vanishing Cabinet. Feeling slightly sheepish, hoping that Leila didn't find it otherwise that would lead to different problems. Draco took a few more steps in to the room when he was distracted by the muffled sound of crying. He felt his heart sink and tried to move, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. He had never known Leila to be one to cry and here she was crying, and presumably over him. The whole time he had known Leila he had witnessed her cry once and that had been after the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament when she had clung to Cedric Diggory's dead body with tears streaming down her face. Now, here she was crying; a situation he wasn't exactly sure how to handle, so he sat on the floor unsure of what to do next.
Leila's crying eventually subsided, but she sat in the armchair thinking. Thinking about how pathetic she was; pathetic enough to be crying over Draco Malfoy. She had always known him to be an arrogant prat, so the situation really shouldn't have surprised her, yet for some reason it did. She had stupidly thought that since he had a thing for her since first year that he would want something monogamous with her. Clearly, that wasn't what he wanted. The apple that had been in Leila's robe pocket tumbled onto the floor. She picked the apple up and examined it: another stupide idea of hers, grabbing him something to eat since he had missed the meals. She tightly clenched the apple in her fist before she threw it as hard as she could into the vastness of stuff in the Room of Requirement. The apple soared through the space in the Room of Requirement until it landed with a thud on Draco's head.
"Ouch," Draco hissed.
Leila, surprised to hear someone's voice beside her own, immediately stood up and drew her wand.
"Who's there?" Leila demanded.
No one answered but she could hear footsteps.
"Show yourself," Leila hissed.
"It's just me," Draco said.
Draco stood in a walkway between piles with one hand rubbing his head and the other hand in the air as if raised in defense.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Leila growled.
"I-I followed you," Draco said.
"I figured that much out for myself. Now get the hell out or I swear I'll hex you Malfoy," Leila hissed.
"Can you calm down and act rationally for once in your life?" Draco drawled.
"Act rationally?" Leila spat.
"You did just aim an apple at my head," Draco said.
"I wasn't aiming for you but you more than deserved it," Leila said.
"Leila," Draco sighed.
Leila stared at Draco in disbelief before she scowled and marched up to him. Her hand met his face in a slap before she turned to walk away; but Draco roughly grabbed her arm. She turned back and shot him a look of disgust as she tried to remove his hand from her arm.
"Leila, please let me explain," Draco said.
"What could you possibly have to say?" Leila hissed.
Draco fumbled to find words to say to her.
"You have nothing to say that I want to hear," Leila said.
Leila tried to brush Draco's hand off once again, but he grasped her arm harder.
"Let go!" Leila shouted.
"Just hear me out!" Draco shouted back.
"I'll consider it if you let me go," Leila yelled.
Draco pondered Leila's proposition for a moment before he removed his hand from her arm. Leila rubbed at the spot where Draco had grabbed her then turned to walk away from him.
"Where do you think you're going?" Draco asked.
"I said I'd consider listening to you. I've considered it and nothing you say is worth my time," Leila retorted.
She stormed out of the Room of Requirement slamming the door behind her. Draco kicked the nearest thing to him, which happened to be the Vanishing Cabinet. The coverings fell off the cabinet and tumbled in a heap onto the floor.
"Damnit," Draco hissed.
He picked up the coverings and threw them. He felt overwhelmed from the sticky situation he gotten into. He had a mission to complete and whatever was going on with Leila wasn't making the situation any easier. Leaning against the Vanishing Cabinet he put his head in his hands. He was torn; torn between the girl he could love and the mission given to him by the Dark Lord. The two were polar opposites of each other. He wished there was a way to complete his mission while keeping Leila around; but that seemed rather impossible.
Meanwhile, Leila walked angrily away from the Room of Requirement. The only thing she knew was that she wanted to be as far away from Draco Malfoy as possible. That left her a short list of places to seek refuge. The Room of Requirement was currently occupied by Malfoy, so that was off the list. There was no way she was going back to the common room because Parkinson would be there and Leila might do something she would regret later. The library would have too many people in it and she needed a place where she could be alone. The next place that came to Leila's mind was the Hogwarts kitchen. Only the house elves would be in there and they wouldn't pay her much attention if any, so she headed in direction for the kitchen. Once outside, she tickled the pear on the portrait and then was allowed entrance to the kitchen where Dobby was ready to greet her.
"Miss Leila!" Dobby squealed.
"Hi Dobby," Leila said sadly.
"Is something bothering Miss Leila?" Dobby asked.
"I'd rather not talk about it," Leila sighed.
"Dobby understands. Dobby get Miss Leila a glass of pumpkin juice," Dobby said.
"Thanks that would be nice." Leila attempted to smile.
Leila sat down at one of the tables and put her head in her hands.
"I'm such an idiot," Leila muttered.
Dobby put a glass of pumpkin juice in front of Leila which she eagerly reached for and sipped. She thanked Dobby for the juice to which Dobby bowed and walked away to help the other house elves. Leila rubbed her temples in frustration as her thoughts turned back to Draco. Tears began to fall from her eyes again. Why did this hurt so much? Suddenly, she heard a noise at the door. It better not be Draco. She had told him to leave her alone besides last time she brought him to the kitchen she wouldn't let him see how to get in. Then again, why should she have trusted him something as simple as that? Leila reached for her wand preparing to hex him if need be to stay away from him; but when the door opened in walked Hermione Granger.
"Merlin, Granger. It's only you," Leila groaned.
"Were you expecting someone else?" Hermione asked.
"More like hiding," Leila commented.
"Do you mind if I join you?" Hermione asked.
"If you must," Leila retorted.
"Is everything all right, Leila?" Hermione asked.
"Just this once, I deserve a big fat I told you so, Granger," Leila said.
"Well, you won't be getting it from me. What happened?" Hermione sighed.
"It's nothing. Well, nothing you need to be concerned about; just a smart girl being really stupid," Leila muttered.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Hermione asked.
"Not with you," Leila scoffed.
Hermione opened her mouth as if she was going to say more but quickly thought better and walked over to speak with Dobby. Leila quickly finished her pumpkin so that she wouldn't be stuck with Granger in the kitchen and headed back for the Slytherin common room. She wanted nothing more than to go to bed and fall asleep to end this terrible day. She slowly made her way through the corridors on her way to the dungeons, careful not to run into Malfoy. Once she was inside, she then avoided her Housemates. Well, the only one that sought her out was Theodore Nott, but she feigned tired and escaped. When she arrived in her dormitory she found Pansy, Tracey, and Daphne already inside. Tracey ignored her, while Leila ignored the glaring from Pansy and the questioning from Daphne. Quickly she changed into her pajamas and jumped into bed, hoping that sleep would come easily to her. She just wanted this horrible day to be over.
Leila tossed and turned during her restless night's sleep. Thoughts of Draco plagued her through the night, which kept her up much of the night. When she awoke the next morning, she noticed that none of her roommates were in their dormitory. She confusedly looked at her alarm clock. She was already late for Ancient Runes by five minutes! Leila swore under her breath as she bolted out of bed and ran to her trunk. She grabbed freshly laundered items for her uniform and changed into them before grabbing her book bag. She hastily slung the bag over her shoulder and took off in a sprint for Ancient Runes. She hoped Professor Babbling would be forgiving, but she was almost guaranteed another detention. For being a prefect, she didn't have a very good track record going this year; but she supposed that her godfather Remus had been in a similar situation when he was at Hogwarts. When Leila walked into class her tie was hanging undone from her collar, her button-up shirt was untucked, and her hair was falling out of its ponytail.
"Miss Potter, you're late," Professor Babbling said sternly.
"I know, I'm sorry. I can explain," Leila rushed.
"Take a seat next to Mr. Malfoy and see me after class," Professor Babbling commented.
"Of course I have to sit next to him," Leila muttered.
She rolled her eyes as she walked to the empty seat in the desk with Malfoy. Grudgingly, Leila slid into the seat beside Draco. He watched her as she sat beside him, but she sat as far away from him on the bench as she possibly could.
"Leila," Draco whispered.
Leila looked to the front of the classroom and ignored him. She fully intended to ignore him for the rest of her life.
"Leila, can we talk?" Draco asked.
Leila found it harder and harder to ignore him. She could almost hear the desperation in his voice.
"Leila, please?" Draco whispered.
"Mr. Malfoy, there is no talking while I'm lecturing. You too will need to see me after class," Professor Babbling said.
Draco groaned and furrowed his eyebrows; he really seemed as such a loss. Leila was glad to see he turned his attention to taking notes; scribbling fast almost faster than Babbling was talking. Professor Babbling asked for a volunteer to translate the next few sentences. Hermione Granger's hand obviously shot-up in the air and Babbling called on her to translate. While Granger was translating, Draco set a folded-up piece of parchment in front of her. She looked to him and shook her head before she reached for it. She slowly opened the note before tearing it in half and setting it back on Draco's side of the desk. His eyes widened in disbelief.
"I told you, there's nothing I could possibly want to hear from you," Leila hissed.
Once again, Draco turned his attention back to writing. Leila hoped that it wasn't another note because she would tear it to shreds right in front of him. During Babbling's lecture, she would look to Draco using her peripheral vision, making sure that another note wasn't coming her way; but another note never came. Maybe he was finally taking a hint. Maybe they could continue with their lives pretending that nothing ever happened. When class finally ended everyone but Draco and Leila left the classroom, both were awaiting their punishments from Professor Babbling. She called Draco up to her desk first. He was given an essay about not talking in class before he was sent on his way. Professor Babbling then called Leila up to her desk. She looked at Leila and sighed. Never a good sign.
"Miss Potter, late for class and talking with Mister Malfoy during my lecture," Professor Babbling said.
"I'm sorry, I forgot to set my alarm and I wasn't talking with him; he was talking to me," Leila said.
"Leila, you're such a bright girl. I just don't understand this behavior from you," Professor Babbling sighed.
"It's a bad day. I promise, it won't happen again," Leila promised.
"The thing is, you've lacked focus since term started and I'm beginning to wonder what to do with you," Professor Babbling commented.
"Please, not detention. I already have enough of them with Snape," Leila begged.
"I'll let you off with a warning this time; but next time, it will be detention," Professor Babbling said.
"Yes, ma'am," Leila responded.
"You should probably head for Defense before Professor Snape gives you the detention I didn't," Professor Babbling smiled.
Leila nodded before heading for the door. She was thankful Professor Babbling didn't give her a detention. She already had enough to deal with because it seemed like nothing was going right this year. Draco was waiting for her in the corridor leaning outside the classroom. Just as she had been thinking; literally, nothing was going right.
"You've got to be kidding me," Leila groaned.
"Leila, I need to talk with you," Draco said.
"I'm beginning to like the Draco who ignored me better," Leila muttered.
"I'm not going anywhere until you listen to me," Draco said sternly.
"I'll be sure to tell Snape that you won't be in Defense then," Leila said sarcastically.
"I meant, I'm not going to leave you alone," Draco drawled.
"Stalking is overrated," Leila said.
"Leila, please?" Draco pleaded.
Attempting to get away from him, she took a few steps to the right; but Draco took hold of her arms.
"Why can't you keep your hands off me?" Leila hissed.
"Five minutes. Give me five minutes and I'll leave you alone," Draco said.
"You don't deserve five minutes of my time," Leila hissed.
Leila roughly removed her arms from his grasp then stormed away. Draco tried to grab onto her robe, but he couldn't keep a hold of it. She quickly walked the corridors until she came to the Defense classroom. She walked in and shoved herself into the desk with Daphne. Leila's hand plunged into her book bag as she pulled out the needed materials for class.
"Leila, what's wrong?" Daphne asked.
"I don't want to talk about it," Leila muttered.
Soon, Snape began to lecture. Normally, Leila would pay attention to Professor Snape; but this time she couldn't help but think about how messed up things were. So, she rested her head on the desk instead ignoring Daphne's sympathetic glances. Harry sat across the middle aisle with Ron, watching his sister. Leila gave him a half-hearted smile and wondered how upset he would be if he knew the truth. What would he do if he ever found out about Draco? Luckily, things between Draco were over before they really even started. Maybe what happened was for the best. Maybe there was some lesson to be learned from all this; but the only thing Leila could come up with was stay away from Malfoy. When class finally ended, they formed a line on their way out to receive their essays from Professor Snape at the door. Leila stood in line, behind Daphne and in front of Ron.
"I'll be seeing you tonight, Miss Potter," Professor Snape drawled.
"What for?" Leila asked.
"You and Mister Malfoy still have detention with me," Professor Snape said.
"Are you serious? How many more can we possibly have? Leila asked.
"That will be another one," Professor Snape said curtly.
She narrowed her eyes before snatching her essay from Snape. She didn't want to risk arguing with him only to receive another detention with Malfoy. Outside in the corridor, she found Draco talking with Daphne. Leila groaned looking for a way out of the situation when she noticed Ron, coming out of the classroom behind her, walking down the corridor alone.
"Ron!" Leila called after him.
Ron turned around and waited for Leila to catch up with him. Daphne looked at them with a look of confusion while Draco scowled.
"Ron Weasley, just the person I wanted to talk to," Leila said.
"Why don't I believe you?" Ron asked.
"That hurts Ron," Leila said feigning hurt.
"I saw Greengrass standing with Malfoy. I may not be as smart as you or Hermione, but I'm not blind," Ron commented.
"Fine, you caught me. I'm avoiding them," Leila sighed.
"Look, making progress already. I've heard the first step is acceptance," Ron said sarcastically.
"Have you been reading Granger's self-help books?" Leila questioned.
"I know Hermione has a lot of books, but I don't know that she reads that kind," Ron said.
"Wouldn't surprise me," Leila muttered.
Leila spent her break walking around the castle with Ron until she had to go to Arithmancy. Leila slipped into class a little tardy and sat down next to Ravenclaw Mandy Brocklehurst just as Professor Vector was beginning class. Vector assigned a composition of a number complex number chart and gave them time in class to begin working on it. Once class was finished, Leila walked down to the Slytherin dungeons. She had decided that she was going to take a nap, making sure to sleep long enough to skip History of Magic. She wanted as much separation from Malfoy as possible right now. Leila found that she couldn't sleep, so instead she read a book until it was time to head for Potions. Leila took her normal seat at the table with Harry, Ron, and Granger. She was slightly amused to find that Ron and Granger weren't speaking to each other because of something or another. She didn't really pay attention to Ron's explanation because she was trying to hide her smile.
"Leila, I think someone wants to talk to you," Hermione said.
"What makes you say that, Granger?" Leila asked.
"Because Daphne Greengrass keeps waving over here trying to get your attention," Hermione answered.
Leila looked back at the table where the other Slytherins sat and was disgusted to find Pansy reaching for Draco's hair; but he swatted her hand away. Pansy attempted again, but he again swatted her hand away. She then looked to Daphne, who mouthed that they should meet after class. Leila nodded her head in agreement before turning to her brother who was engrossed by his Potions textbook. She snatched the book away from her brother and held it away from him.
"What was that for?" Harry hissed.
"I've never seen you this interested in a book," Leila said.
"Just give it back," Harry whispered.
"Someone's possessive," Leila commented.
"It's my book," Harry retorted.
"You don't have to be such a prat about it," Leila muttered.
Harry rolled his eyes as Leila handed him back his Potions book. Slughorn began instructing on the next potion, so Leila looked up. When she looked up, she found Draco watching her intently. Leila narrowed her eyes and shook her head at him. Draco sighed and returned to taking notes about the potion Slughorn was describing. Leila paged through her book, trying to pay attention to what Slughorn was saying. Class finally finished and Leila slung her bag over her shoulder before heading for the door. Once she was in the corridor, Draco walked up to her.
"Have you read it yet?" Draco asked.
"Read what?" Leila sneered.
"Apparently not," Draco muttered.
"What are you talking about?" Leila questioned.
"I guess I'll just see you in detention then," Draco sighed.
Draco walked away as Leila leaned up against the wall to watch him walk away. What was he trying to get at? Why couldn't he just leave her alone? Daphne flipped her blonde hair as she walked up to Leila.
"What was that about?" Daphne asked.
"Malfoy being an arse," Leila spat.
"Seems like you two are back to normal," Daphne commented.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Leila questioned.
"I just meant that he's back to chasing after you," Daphne said.
"Oh that," Leila muttered.
"What were you thinking?" Daphne asked.
"I was thinking that I need some fresh air," Leila sighed.
Leila walked down the corridor half-expecting Daphne to chase after her, but she never did. She made it outside and walked down to the lake. Sprawled out on the grass she looked up to the clouds, where the sun was briefly shining. She wasn't sure how much longer the sun would be out before it began to rain again. Looking out onto the lake, things seemed so peaceful. She let her hair out of her ponytail and allowed the brief wind to whip through it. Leila moved to lie on her stomach when something crunched underneath her hand. To her surprise, she found a piece of parchment folded up. She opened the note up only to find that it was from Malfoy.
"So this is what he was talking about," Leila muttered.
She went to rip it up but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Her curiosity always got the better of her when it came to matters of Draco Malfoy. She smoothed out the creases to read it.
Leila,
I know you're pissed but hear me out. (If you got this far, you're already farther than even I expected.) I wanted to say that I'm sorry. (I don't believe I've ever written that before. I was a complete prat, but there are things you don't know. Please (yes, I do know that word) give me another chance. I've wanted this for so long and I'd be an idiot to give up now. I suppose I'll be seeing you then
DM
Leila breathed in deeply and looked out onto the lake again. Draco Malfoy didn't deserve another chance. She really should stay away from him. Besides, what could he possibly have to say? She read the note again hoping to find something that she missed. Something that would tell her that he was full of crap, but surprisingly he seemed genuinely sincere. She rarely knew Malfoy to be sincere, but this note proved somewhat otherwise. Unless, it was simply a way to mess with her. After a few moments alone with her thoughts, she could see the other students heading inside for dinner. She stood up to brush the grass off herself before she swung her book bag on her shoulder and headed back to the castle.
Leila walked into the Great Hall and sat by herself at the Slytherin table. She really didn't feel like company at the moment. Yet, for some unknown reason she searched the table for Draco. Once again, he was absent from the Slytherin table. It really shouldn't surprise her that he wasn't there, but it did make her curious; more curious than she liked. Leila picked at the chicken in front of her. She knew that she should eat, but she had too much weighing on her mind. Especially concerning Malfoy. Should she at least let him talk? She didn't really know what she expected from the situation except that she wanted it to be over. Leila picked at her plate of supper until it was time for detention. She trudged to her detention, reminded of the fact that yesterday she had been excited to go to detention. She had wanted to see Draco and now, she really had no desire to see him. When she walked into the classroom, she found Draco sitting at a desk with his hands folded on the desktop. He turned around and watched as she walked into the classroom carrying her book bag. Remembering what happened last time she tried to sit somewhere besides with Draco, she chose to avoid the confrontation with Snape and slid onto the same bench as Malfoy.
"Where's Snape?" Leila questioned looking around for the professor.
"Dunno; but good riddance, I say," Draco said.
"I thought Snape was your favorite professor," Leila furthered.
"Things change," Draco commented.
"Apparently," Leila muttered.
"Does this mean you're talking to me?" Draco asked.
"Here's the thing, against my better judgment I'll give you five minutes of my time. Starting…now," Leila said.
"Let me start by saying I meant every word in that note," Draco said.
"Good to know, but you're still an arse," Leila said rolling her eyes.
"I know why you think that; but I was just as mad yesterday," Draco sighed.
"What did you have to be mad about?" Leila questioned.
"Something about seeing you with Weasley and Nott just didn't sit well with me. I thought you were doing it on purpose. So I…" Draco began.
"Let Parkinson fawn over you? You know that I hate her," Leila hissed.
"And I hate Weasel," Draco argued.
"How many times do I have to explain that he's practically my brother?" Leila asked.
"Then what about Nott?" Draco questioned.
"You do realize the only reason I snogged him last year was to keep you at bay," Leila said.
"Exactly my point," Draco said.
"And after last year I vowed never to snog Theo again," Leila said.
Draco didn't say anything.
"You still have like two minutes," Leila said.
He surprised her by grabbing her hand and clutching it close to his chest.
"I want this. I don't know how to make you trust me again, but this is what I want," Draco said.
"You really messed this up, Draco," Leila said.
"I know," Draco whispered.
"How can I trust you this time or ever?" Leila asked.
"You know that you've always meant something to me," Draco sighed.
"Just not enough apparently," Leila muttered.
"Leila, tell me what I'm supposed to do to fix this. I want to fix this," Draco pleaded.
"Your words don't mean a whole lot to me; so show me you mean what you say," Leila said.
"How?" Draco asked.
"Dunno. You messed this up, so you figure it out," Leila sighed.
Leila dug into her book bag and pulled out some books and parchment. She read from her Transfiguration book while ignoring Draco's pleading looks. Deep down, she did want him to fight for her and to figure this out. But honestly, she didn't know if he could find to get her to trust him again.