8Chapter 11
Following Valentine's Day Tabitha and Draco formed a sort of relationship, to the blessings of Theo and Ginny. "Are you happy?" Ginny asked Tabitha a few days after she and Draco started dating as she cast the concealment charm that Daphne taught her. "I am," Tabitha said with a smile. "He's completely different when it's just the two of us, or even when we're with his friends. He doesn't even say bad things about Harry or Ron while with me anymore."
"Is he a good kisser?" Ginny asked, earning a blush in response.
"Better than Krum," Tabitha admitted. "And he respects me when I tell him to stop."
"That's good, let's get down to breakfast." Ginny said and the two girls went down to breakfast, upon entering the Great Hall Tabitha shot a smile to Draco before sitting between Harry and Ginny. A few moments later the post came, and a letter dropped in front of her.
Hermione,
Our darling daughter we have some news, your father and I have been offered an excellent job in Australia. We wanted to wait to tell you to be sure that we got it, we got the news yesterday that we got the jobs. We leave for Australia a few days after your end of school year, so we were hoping to see you before we leave. We were also wondering if you wanted to keep the house or if you wanted us to sale it, since you now have that huge manor to call a home if you want. Write me and let us know.
With love,
Mom
As she finished reading Tabitha showed the letter to Ginny. "What are you going to do?"
"I think I might keep it," Tabitha responded. "I also thought I'd see if our Slytherin friends want to learn about being muggles and spend a few weeks as a muggle."
"I'd love to see that go ask them." Ginny laughed, Tabitha smiled before she made her way to the other side of the Great Hall to where Theo and Daphne were sitting.
"Hey guys," Tabitha said. "My muggle parents are moving to Australia and wanted to see if I wanted the house, I thought I'd keep it and see if any of you wanted to do an experiment?"
"What sort of experiment?" Pansy asked.
"Two weeks, no magic, just doing things the muggle way." Tabitha explained. "I bet none of you can do it. I'll give you some time to think about it." With that she returned to Ginny chuckling along the way.
The day before Ron's birthday Tabitha sat in her room looking at the gift she had bought for Ron, debating if she should give it to him or not. "I vote no." Ginny said from Tabitha's bed. "He doesn't deserve your friendship if he's going to be an ass because of your family."
"That's true, I'll see you tomorrow, I'm going to bed." Ginny smiled as she said goodnight and went to her own dorm. A few days later, after Ron was admitted to the hospital wing for poisoning Tabitha found her brother, Daphne, Draco, Blaise, and Pansy in the library. Tabitha quietly sat between Theo and Draco, earning worried looks from both. "What's wrong?" Theo asked.
"Ron was poisoned yesterday." Tabitha said.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Pansy asked. "He wasn't treating you well anyway."
"Yes, but he's still my friend." Tabitha explained. "We may not always get along, but he was one of my first friends."
"I'll come by the hospital wing later today and tell him I hope he feels better." Theo told his sister. "We might even come to an agreement."
"Thank you, Theo." Tabitha squeezed her brother's hand.
"I won't," Draco said. "No offense, but I'm pretty sure our hatred for each other goes passed a conversation in the hospital wing, especially with us dating."
"Yeah, I haven't told Harry or Ron," Tabitha admitted. "They won't take the news well. But let's go soon, or even now." Theo chuckled as he stood up.
"Let's go." Theo, Daphne, and Tabitha walked out of the library and into the hospital wing where Ron was sitting up in bed eating some chocolate frogs.
"What are you doing here?" He asked Theo.
"I have come to make peace. We have a very important person in common." Theo said. "My darling twin sister is your best friend, and since you are stuck in bed, I finally have the ability to talk to you."
"You act like I want to talk to you." Ron crossed his arms.
"Well, I do." Theo said.
"I'm going to let you two talk; I'll see you later." With that Tabitha left the hospital wing.
A week later, with Theo and Ron finally getting to know each other, the Hufflepuff Gryffindor Quidditch match were upon the students. Tabitha sat with Theo and Daphne, cheering on Harry and booing McLaggen every time he started an argument with Harry. "He's an ass." Tabitha complained as Harry and McLaggen got into another argument mid game. "Wait, what's he doing?" She asked as McLaggen took one of the Beaters bats. Tabitha screamed as she started down the bleachers. She, along with Theo and Daphne, went with the teachers who carried Harry to the hospital wing, filling in Ron as she waited for an update about how he was. When the game finally came to an end, after a few hours, the Quidditch team, minus McLaggen, came in. "How's he doing?" Ginny asked.
"Just a cracked skull," Tabitha informed the team. "Where's McLaggen?"v
"On his way to the common room, nursing his bruises." Dean replied. "You don't turn on our captain without a little punishment, especially mid – game." Tabitha chuckled as Ginny walked up to her.
"Can I talk to you outside for a moment?"
"Of course," Tabitha answered, and the two girls went into the hallway.
"Harry was almost late for the Quidditch match because he ran into Malfoy walking down the seventh-floor corridor with two girls, Harry called them 'his girlfriends' but I know for the fact they shouldn't be because, well, you were already at the pitch waiting for the game to start."
"I'm going to go see what that was about, I'll see you later tonight."
"Good luck." Ginny called to Tabitha as she made her way into the dungeons where the Slytherin common room was. She banged on the wall, continuously, till the wall opened and Pansy looked at her. "Tabitha? What's wrong?"
"Where is he?" Tabitha asked.
"Which he? Your brother or your boyfriend?" Pansy asked, at Tabitha's glare she continued. "I'll get Draco." Pansy disappeared only to be replaced by Draco.
"Hey, what's up? I was expecting you to be in the hospital wing with Harry until tonight."
"Who were you with?" Tabitha asked. Draco sighed and stepped into the hall.
"It's not what you think." He promised her. "I was working on my project."
"What is this stupid project you keep mentioning." Tabitha interrupted him. "And what does this have to do with Harry seeing you with two girls that neither go here nor has he seen before."
"I can't tell you." Draco told her.
"If you can't tell me the truth about something as small as this, then how am I supposed to trust you in general?"
"You are so stubborn." Draco groaned. "I can't tell you." Tabitha just groaned as she walked away. "Tabitha." He called as she disappeared through the halls.
The following day Tabitha stuck close to Ginny, barely talking to Theo or Daphne. "You know what Draco is hiding from me." Tabitha fussed at the two. "Yet you're not telling me anything, so, since I'm not talking to him, I'm keeping my distance from you two, at least until I figure out where me and him stand."
"Come on Tabitha." Theo groaned.
"Can you tell me what Draco is hiding from me?" She asked him, glaring at his guilty look. "Didn't think so. I'll talk to you later." Over the next week Tabitha barely spoke to Draco, Theo, or Daphne. One day Snape instructs Draco and Tabitha to stay behind. "What is going on between you two? The past two weeks you two seemed friendly, now you seem colder than before break."
"Ask her," Draco said. "We were dating now she's not talking to me."
"You two were dating? So what happened?"
"He's not telling me anything and considering whatever he's doing made my best friend think he has two girlfriends I deserve an explanation."
"And I physically can't tell you." Draco groaned.
"Well, no kisses, until you explain what's going on. If I can't trust you, how can I date you?" With that Tabitha left the classroom.
"What am I supposed to do?" Draco asked his godfather.
"Pray she forgives you, or it works out for you in the end." Snape said with a shrug. Draco sighed as he walked out of the classroom.
A few days later Tabitha ran through the castle, looking for Draco, and groaning when she discovers Crabbe or Goyle guarding the Room of Requirement. "Which one are you?" The girl in front of Tabitha started to drop the books in her arms. Tabitha caught them then started banging on the wall. "Draco, Draco." The Room of Requirement made a door which he stepped out of.
"Can I help you?" He asked.
"You're working for Voldemort, you asshole." She yelled at him.
"Somehow I'm not surprised you figured it out" Draco chuckled. "Your intelligence is one of the things I like about you." Tabitha took Draco's arm and ripped apart the sleeve showing off the Death Mark.
"How could you?" She asked him, tears streaming down her face.
"Even if I told you, you wouldn't believe it." He said taking his arm away from her.
"So has this entire relationship been a lie?" She cried. "Just some ploy to try and get Harry off your back?"
"How could you think that?" Draco asked, attempting to reach a handout to caress Tabitha's face before she slapped it away.
"Maybe because I'm staring at a Death Eater, someone who wants to kill people like me."
"You're not a muggle born," He said. "You're a pureblood, remember."
"I might technically be a pureblood," Tabitha snarled. "But I was raised by muggles, the very type of people you hate. So I repeat my question, was our relationship a lie?"
"No, I really have liked you since third year, I really did want to punch Krum in the face when he was dancing with you," Draco answered, trying again to reach out to comfort Tabitha. "And I really did want to punch Weaselbee and Pothead every time they made you cry. I love you Hermione."
"Too bad," Tabitha growled. "I don't love you." With that she turned and ran back down the hall.
Ginny tipped toed through the castle, pausing at every sound, before groaning. "You're under the invisibility cloak, no one can see you." She muttered as she walked up a flight of stairs and knocking on a bookcase, removing the cloak as the bookcase opened revealing an Asian girl. "Ginny? What are you doing here? Do you have any idea how late it is?"
"Hi Cho, yes I do but it's kind of an emergency, can you get Luna for me?" Ginny asked.
"Is there any way I can help?" Cho asked.
"No, thank you though, I really just need Luna." Ginny said with a smile.
"Well, if, you're sure." With that Cho disappeared into the hole, only to be replaced a few minutes later by Luna.
"Ginny, what's wrong?"
"Tabitha's in a bit of bad place, can you grab what ever clothes you need for tomorrow and come with me?"
"Oh no, did Draco do something?" Luna asked.
"Worse, I'll explain on the way."
"Of course. Give me one second." Luna disappeared only to be replaced by Cho.
"So, what's going on with Tabitha and Draco?" Cho asked.
"Don't worry about it Cho, quite frankly it's none of your business." Ginny said as Luna came back up.
"I'm ready, bye Cho I'll see you tomorrow." With that the two younger girls disappeared down the hall, leaving a confused Cho behind them. "So, what's going on?" Luna asked once they got far enough for Ginny to cover them with the invisibility cloak.
"You know Tabitha and Draco were dating?"
"Of course, I was there at the Valentine's Day get together where they started." Luna responded.
"Well, Tabitha learned today that Draco is actually a Death Eater, that what ever his project it is he's working on, it's for You – Know – Who."
"Oh no." Luna gasped.
"So, she is a bit depressed, and really wants to curse him. Cause she was actually starting to like him."
"They were so cute, their auras' matched." Luna sighed.
"Erm…sure, so she needs some female comfort, especially since Ron and Harry didn't know that they were dating." Ginny paused as she pulled open the portrait into Gryffindor that she kept open with a textbook.
"Who's there?" The portrait asked as Ginny and Luna walked into the common room and up the flight of stairs to Tabitha's room. Ginny stepped out of the cloak and went to Tabitha's bed.
"Tabitha," She whispered opening the curtains to see the crying girl looking at her. "I brought Luna." Luna took off the invisibility cloak and walked up beside Ginny.
"Hey Tabitha." Luna whispered.
"Thanks girls." Tabitha said as both Ginny and Luna climbed into the bed with her and hugged her. "I'm so happy I have you two for friends."
"Of course." Ginny and Luna said in unison as they counseled the crying girl.