Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable characters or the world of Harry Potter. I am not making any profit out of writing this story and am only doing this for the purpose of entertainment.
TW: graphic description of sexual assault and physical violence and mention of rape.
Daphne Greengrass looked over her shoulder as she marched towards the girl's bathroom, her heart pounding in her chest. She heaved a sigh of relief, realizing that he wasn't coming after her. She quickly turned the corner and entered the bathroom, locking herself in a cubicle. She let out a trembling breath and collapsed on the toilet seat, her head in her hands, blonde hair spilling forward. Hogwarts had been a nightmare for her since the moment she had arrived. She hadn't realized how bad things would be once she left the comfort and safety of her home. Aaron Mulciber wasn't really a threat, she had thought. He was coward, a creep even, but not a threat. How could have she known? For all the time she had known him, he had been sulking in corners, his eyes following girls around, especially her, always watching but never doing anything. She had thought he fancied her, although the thought was revolting, at least he wasn't violent like the rest of his housemates; or so she had believed. The moment she had heard of his promotion in the ranks of the Dark Lord's army, a warning bell had started going off in her head. And sure enough, a few days later, he was at her doorstep asking, threatening, her father to let him marry her. Her father had been in no position to refuse. It was that, or risk their lives. Mulciber suddenly had the power to harm her family and get away with it. She couldn't allow that. Her family was all that mattered to her, Astoria was all that mattered. She had agreed. It was the worst decision of her life.
She sniffled and shut her eyes tight, willing her tears to stay at bay, but they rolled down her cheeks, hot and fast. It was a nightmare. She had lost count of how many bruises she had all over chest and arms. The first time he had cornered her in an empty classroom, she had fought him, had almost reached her wand, but he was stronger and wrestled it away from her. His kisses were always bruising, she didn't even consider them to be kisses. He bit her lips hard enough to draw blood and crushed her arms with his. Her stomach was punctured where he dug his nails in and her breasts hurt from his bites. Sometimes she prayed that he would just kill her, at least she wouldn't have to endure any of it after she was dead. He never hurt her above her chest, 'I need you pretty,' he had said, 'and we can't have your father knowing about what a little whore his daughter is'. He didn't touch her below her waist either, said he wanted to save her for the wedding. She thanked Merlin for small mercies, for however long they lasted. Daphne knew he would want to get married the moment she turned seventeen. That gave her a year to make peace with her fate.
She sniffled again, and took a shuddering breath in through her mouth, remembering three days back, when he had almost killed her. She had fought again, shoved him back and told him to leave her alone until they were wed. He didn't take kindly to it. She remembered the feel of his fingers around her throat, choking the life out her. Part of her wished he had finished the job. But when his grip loosened, fear had taken hold and she ran for her life and towards the only place she knew he wouldn't find her. She hadn't realized the kitchen was occupied. Dursley had been there, looking worried and cautious. She had helped Daphne and treated her injuries. She had seen the look in the Gryffindor's eyes when she was healing her. The unfiltered rage had made Daphne feel vulnerable, yet protected. She hated that she had to resort to the help of a girl whose parentage she was taught to hate. Yet in that moment, all she could feel was grateful. Who was she kidding anyway, none of that pureblood crap mattered anymore. The next day onwards, whenever Dursley was around, she could feel the Gryffindor's eyes on her. Daphne had thought that she would hate it, to need protection, to feel so helpless. While she loathed feeling helpless, she was grateful for the added protection. She would never admit it out loud, but she felt much more relieved when Dursley was around. She was a powerful witch, probably the best anyone had seen yet, everyone in and out of Hogwarts knew that. She had promised to keep an eye on her and to not tell a soul, that was enough for now. Daphne wondered how long it would be before Dursley got bored and didn't care anymore.
Daphne took a deep breath in and tried to steel herself. She had to; her sister had started looking at her suspiciously. If Astoria ever came to know, she would go on and do something Gryffindor-like and they would all suffer. She winced in pain. The bruises on her arms were becoming a problem, her roommates had been looking at her oddly whenever she came out, fully dressed, from the bathroom, and she didn't want the ones on her chest to get infected. Since the hospital wing was not an option, she would have to turn to Dursley for help. Again. She scowled at the thought. It was hard to trust Gryffindors, but it had been three days since she knew and nobody had approached Daphne or looked at her in an odd manner. She promised herself to seek the witch out soon. Daphne stood up, much calmer than she was before, and fixed her puffy face with her wand. She stepped out of the cubicle, took one look at her face in the mirrors and strutted out of the bathroom like she hadn't been crying her eyes out just a few minutes ago.
"That, is a disturbing childhood." Alyssa said, grimacing.
Harry, Alyssa, Hermione and Ron sat by the lake where they had chosen to spend their Sunday evening. Harry had witnessed three memories till date in Dumbledore's Pensieve and was filling them in about what the last two memories were.
"So, you-know-who was conceived under the effects of Amortentia?" Hermione asked.
Harry nodded.
She looked thoughtful but didn't say anything.
"But how does that help you?" Ron asked, looking at Harry. "How do any of these memories get you any closer to defeating you-know-who?"
"I have no idea." Harry said, shrugging.
"And you said that Dumbledore wasn't wearing Marvolo Gaunt's ring anymore?" Alyssa queried.
"It wasn't on his finger." Harry replied.
"And his hand?" Alyssa said. "Did it seem worse?"
"Not really. Why?" Harry said.
"Well, it could be possible that the ring was cursed." Alyssa suggested, strectching out her feet from under her.
"But if the ring was cursed, Dumbledore would know about it." Hermione added, puzzled. "Why would he wear it for so long?"
"The timeline of him coming in possession of the ring and his hand blackening matches perfectly." Alyssa said.
"Maybe he knew the ring was cursed," Hermione said, her eyes staring off towards the frozen black lake, "but he kept it, for reasons he has chosen not to share."
Alyssa nodded.
"Our dear headmaster and his silly little reasons." She said and twitched her fingers in the air. Three heavily bound books materialized out of thin air and floated in front of Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, 'the Survival Guide: Voldemort edition'." She said with an exaggerated wink.
"You finished it!" Hermione squealed as she surfed through the module. "Oh my GOD! It has a healing spells section!"
"It does indeed." Alyssa smiled.
Harry and Ron gawked at their copies, turning page by page.
"It has… everything." Ron said, still gaping. "Lyssa this is amazing!"
"We're going to do all of these?" Harry asked, looking at his sister in bewilderment. "There are more than a hundred spells here."
"You don't need to worry about that, brother dearest." Alyssa said, smirking. "All I need you to do, is show up."
Harry smiled.
"I can do that."
"Well then leave the rest to me." Alyssa said. "We start tomorrow."
"Where?" Hermione asked.
"East wing." Alyssa replied.
"Why not the room of requirement?" Ron asked.
"Well for one, we don't need to hide anymore," she said, "two, the view from the old astronomy tower is spectacular."
"I'll need an hour of your day from Monday to Friday and two hours on Saturdays and Sundays. That sound okay to you?" she asked. They nodded. "Great. Because I wasn't really giving you a choice."
"Ron needs to practice for the quidditch tryouts-" Harry started.
"And you both will make it in time for training because this is a matter of life and death." Alyssa said, giving Ron and Harry a saccharine smile. They gulped and nodded.
"Well, why don't you go now?" Hermione asked, her eyes still skimming through the module. "We don't start till tomorrow, right?"
Harry and Ron shared a look.
"That's actually quite convenient." Harry said. "Nobody's booked the pitch today." He looked at Ron and raised his eyebrows. Ron nodded enthusiastically. Harry grinned. They both shot to their feet. Harry ruffled his sister's hair and they both ran off shouting a quick 'bye' over their shoulders.
"I'm not a dog you fucking asshole." Alyssa screamed back, scowling. "My pretty hair." She muttered to herself.
Hermione's eyes were glued to the module. Alyssa smirked.
"Hermione?"
"Mm?"
"I can see that this is getting intense," she said, pointing towards her friend and the module, "so, I'm going to give you some privacy and leave you two love birds alone."
Hermione nodded slowly.
"I'll see you at dinner." She replied waving an arm.
Alyssa chuckled and got to her feet, brushing the grass off her jeans. She pulled her coat closer to her body and cast a warming charm on herself and started walking back to the castle. The moment she stepped inside, the warmth of the castle enveloped her and she sighed happily and started making her way back to the Gryffindor common room. When she reached the landing of the seventh floor an invisible hand grabbed her arm. Alyssa's wand was in her hand in half a second. She twisted the invisible arm behind their back and the person barked in pain. Alyssa had the tip of her wand firmly planted in their back.
"Dursley!" the person hissed. "It's me!"
Alyssa's hold loosened.
"Greengrass?" she asked, confused.
"Would you let go, you idiot girl!" Greengrass hissed.
Alyssa immediately let go but glared at where she assumed was the girl's head.
"I am the idiot?" she hissed back. "Do not try to sneak up on me Greengrass, you could have lost an arm!"
She heard a scoff.
"Merlin, she thinks I'm joking." Alyssa muttered to herself, pocketing her wand.
"There's an empty classroom through the front corridor. Straight down and then take a left." Alyssa heard footsteps receding. She sighed and quickly followed the instructions, hoping that Greengrass wasn't hurt. The door of the said classroom opened and she slipped in before it shut and locked itself. The girl disillusioned herself and stood at the front of the classroom in a knee length green skirt and a white sweater, her envy-worthy figure hidden from view. Her hair was untied and it fell on her back elegantly. Her amber eyes were emotionless, staring at Alyssa almost coldly. Daphne Greengrass was stunning and she didn't even have to try.
There was long pause, an awkward silence as Alyssa tried to find words to speak.
"That was a very good Disillusionment charm." Alyssa said, smiling weakly.
"Thank you." Greengrass replied, her face betraying nothing.
"Are you hurt?" She asked, fearing the answer.
"Not in the last three days." Greengrass answered in a drawl, as if they were not talking about her assault.
Alyssa nodded, relief flooding her system. There were only a few places she could keep an eye on Greengrass or follow her for that matter.
"But I do need you to use that spell again." She added hesitantly, the smug confidence in her voice wavering.
Alyssa's head shot up and she looked at Greengrass, eyes narrowed.
"But you said-"
"There are others," Greengrass said, trying to hold her chin up, "hidden."
Alyssa's heart sped up. 'No,' she thought desperately, 'No, god, please no'.
"Hidden?" she asked, her voice cracking.
Greengrass chuckled humorlessly.
"I haven't been raped yet, if that's what you're wondering." She said coldly.
Alyssa let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Her mind wandered on the 'yet'. She nodded again, at the loss of words.
"How comfortable are you," Greengrass stared, awkwardly, "with partial nudity?"
Alyssa's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. She saw Lavender fully naked every single day, she certainly didn't have any qualms about hiding her body and Alyssa had grown weirdly accustomed to it.
"It's not a problem." She said, trying make the witch comfortable.
Greengrass nodded numbly, and with one swift moment took off her sweater and dropped it to the floor, like ripping off a band aid.
Alyssa eyes widened in horror at what she saw and bile rose up her throat. Greengrass's upper body was covered in bruises and cuts and bite marks. Alyssa tried not to throw up right then and there at the sight of her body. Greengrass looked anywhere but at her, her face devoid of emotion. Alyssa walked nearer for a closer inspection and unfiltered rage consumed her body. She could see the places he had gripped her so hard, his nails had dug in and drawn blood. The imprints of his teeth were all over her breasts and Alyssa could tell there was more of them inside her white bra. Her body was covered in green, purple and black marks. Some of those marks were beginning to turn yellow, a clear sign an infection beginning to take hold.
"Daphne…" she started, her voice overwhelmed with anger and hurt.
"Just get rid of them." The witch said softly, still not looking at Alyssa. "But leave a few."
Alyssa shook her head, trying to clear it. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, what Greengrass had been enduring.
"One word," she hissed through her teeth, "and Mulciber will be gone. He'll fucking vanish, you'll never have to see him again."
Greengrass's head snapped towards at the mention of her assaulter's name, her eyes widened in what could have been fear.
"How do know?" she whispered, fear lacing her voice.
"It's not important-"
"It is!" Greengrass hissed.
"No, it's not." Alyssa insisted. "For the last time Greengrass, I am not going to tell anyone."
Greengrass exhaled and nodded, giving in.
"Do the arms first." She said, extending them.
Alyssa sighed.
"How many times…" she trailed off, looking at Greengrass.
"I've lost count." The blonde witch answered after a pause.
Alyssa swallowed heavily and pulled out her wand and started waving it in practiced and precise motions.
"This can't go on." She bit out, her eyes staring hatefully at bite marks on the blonde's curvy body.
"If I could stop it, I would." Greengrass said bitterly.
"I can." Alyssa insisted, her eyes jumping from Greengrass's face to her torso. "I told you-"
"It will only make things worse." Greengrass replied, trying to hold her head high.
Alyssa sighed and continued casting the charm in silence. Once or twice, she saw Greengrass wince as a particularly nasty bite or cut healed itself. Alyssa couldn't express what she was feeling other than the helplessness after looking at the marks on her body; nobody deserved what the Slytherin was going through.
"I," the witch started, "I am grateful, for your help."
"It's nothing-" Alyssa started.
"It's something to me." Greengrass snapped. Alyssa only nodded.
"I don't like needing your help." She said. Alyssa nodded, stiffly this time. "It has nothing to do with… your parentage." Greengrass added, grimacing. Alyssa looked at her, surprised.
"I am not generally a person who is used to asking for help," she said, as if every word that came out of her pained her physically, "or receiving it when not asked for. Much less from someone I do not know."
"I understand." Alyssa said kindly. "It takes a lot of courage to trust someone you've been taught to hate."
She could feel Greengrass's eyes boring into her forehead as she worked on the bit marks on her breasts.
"I didn't say I trusted you." Greengrass said, blankly.
Alyssa smiled.
"You didn't have to."
She backed away, trying not to make Greengrass awkward as she stared at her handy work.
"All done." She said, picking up the witch's sweater and handing it to her. "I left a few harmless ones here and there and cleared up your arm and all the possibly visible areas."
Greengrass nodded stiffly and pulled the sweater over her head. She exhaled and stood staring at Alyssa, clearly feeling lost.
"It's alright." Alyssa said. "You don't have to say anything else. But," Alyssa conjured two galleons and placed them in her palm. She pointed her wand at them and muttered a charm. She picked up a coin with her other hand and held it out for Greengrass to take. The witch took it and stared at it, perplexed.
"I've spelled those coins with a Protean charm." Alyssa explained. Greengrass's eyes widened in understanding. "Brilliant piece of charmwork. Hermione came up with the idea for the meetings of Dumbledore's Army."
"Remarkable." Greengrass said, her eyes scanning the coin in her hand.
"I want you to keep it on you, at all times." Alyssa started seriously. "The moment you feel you're in danger, just hold the coin in your fingers or hand and it will notify me of the message you want delivered. Your location, for example." She said. "Go on, try it."
Greengrass held the coin in her fingers and the one Alyssa held grew warmer in her hand. She held it up to read the message: sixth floor, northern corridor, it said. She turned it around for Greengrass to see.
"For now, it's one way." She added. "But it can be modified later so that I can contact you."
"This is very thoughtful of you." Greengrass said, her eyes warming. Alyssa tried not to let her shock show.
"Just, um, keep it on you." She said, her cheeks reddening. "I will find you, no matter where you are in the castle."
Greengrass nodded. She put the coin in skirt's pocket and readjusted her sweater. She nodded and turned to leave.
"Dursley," she said, a playful smirk across her face, "hope you had fun gawking."
Alyssa let out a small laugh.
"I do that enough in mirror." She said and smirked back.
"Of course, you do." Greengrass drawled and shut the door behind her.
Alyssa felt something warm in her chest and smiled. After a little while, she followed the Slytherin's lead and walked out of the classroom, feeling unusually bright.
The next few weeks passed in a breeze. Alyssa found herself constantly occupied by one thing or the other. Sometimes it was studies and training with Harry, Ron and Hermione, others it was casting a quick confundus on Aaron Mulciber and avoiding her ex-boyfriend. Harry, Ron and Hermione were doing extremely well in their regular trainings. They had covered all the primary hexes and jinxes and were heading towards learning how to cast wards. Alyssa felt extremely proud of her brother and friends at quickly they were progressing. They had all fallen into a routine. Harry and Ron would finish classes and head straight for quidditch practice and come back muddy and tried. Hermione spent all her day in classes because of the number of subjects she was taking and Alyssa spent her day after classes planning what she was going to teach them that day and trying to keep a tab on Greengrass. She could already see the difference her small confundus charms made in the witch's life. She looked happier, if that's what one would call strutting in the corridors with vigor. The color was returning to her face. Whenever Mulciber was near, her hands would immediately press into her robes, as if she was scared he would take the charmed galleon away from her. But it had practically been a streak; four weeks and Mulciber hadn't so much as touched Daphne. Alyssa was extremely proud of herself. She could see that she had begun to grow on the witch. They hadn't really talked since the day Alyssa had given her the galleon but she could notice the changes. Whenever they had a class together or were in the same general area and Greengrass saw something ridiculous or funny, she would throw a smirk towards her or giver her an eye roll. Alyssa didn't think it was possible but she soon began reciprocating and they both started a small, hidden companionship. She knew Greengrass would never, ever accept it, but they were most definitely becoming friends.
Although, something strange had been happening with Alyssa. Whenever she had a free period or wasn't around friends, she found her feet leading her to the astronomy tower. It happened for a week before she figured out why she kept going there: Malfoy. That civil talk they had on the Astronomy tower had affected her more deeply than she had imagined, and for a few days, she had stopped going, but she soon found out that she couldn't resist. But Malfoy was never there, and every time, she found herself relieved and disappointed. She had berated herself a hundred times; Malfoy was the wrong sort, she told herself. He had bullied her, her brother and her friends for so long, it almost seemed like his whole personality was based around their misery. In the end, she had managed to convince herself that she was just curious, about his recent change in attitude. So, she kept going and kept feeling the mixture of disappointment and relief until all that was left was the disappointment. She remembered him saying that he went there every day. Maybe he only went there during nights, but she was almost always too tired to power through and drop by the astronomy tower, or she was terrified he might actually be there. She hadn't been to the astronomy tower in the last two days and the only glimpses she got of Malfoy was at breakfast and dinner. He looked like he was sinking in himself, he was getting paler by the day and almost looked grey. He barely attended any classes and the ones he did, looked more like distractions to him than what he should be working on.
It had been raining heavily for the past few days, providing no respite to the residents of Hogwarts. Alyssa wasn't very fond of the rains; everything was damp and sticky and her favorite spot by the lake was filled with small puddles. Plus, her hair got frizzy.
"That, is not frizz." Hermione hissed at her one day while they were getting ready for their classes, combing roughly through her thick mane.
It was Friday evening and everyone in Gryffindor common room was gearing up for the weekend. Alyssa could hear excited chatter of students. The Daily Prophet had predicted that it would be a bright and sunny Saturday and everyone at Hogwarts, including the Professors had plans to spend the day out.
"That is so unfair!" Ron said. "The one day sun's coming out, the Slytherin's have the pitch booked." He had his broom in his lap and was clipping the ends of damaged twigs.
Harry looked equally dejected.
"You have your practice in the evening though, right?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, but it could start raining by then." Harry muttered, staring at his shoes in dismay.
Alyssa looked out of the window of their common room.
"It's a clear sky tonight." She noticed.
"We can't go now." Ron said, looking confused. "The pitch is closed and we are tired to the bone. It's not easy to see the quaffle in the rain."
"Or the snitch." Harry said, agreeing.
"No, I mean you can see the stars, after so long." Alyssa said, staring outside happily.
"You want to go to the astronomy tower, don't you?" Harry groaned.
"Oh, quit whining." Alyssa told her brother. "I'm not asking you to come." She stood up from her arm chair and started pushing her way out of the heavily crowded common room. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Be careful." Ron said lazily without looking up from his broom.
She rolled her eyes and walked out of the portrait hole. She crept a side glance and raced straight towards the tower. Thankfully, she didn't have to deal with the moving staircase as the tower was on the seventh floor itself. She efficiently made her way towards the tower and climbed up the rickety stairs to it's high-arch glassless windows, almost missing the silver-blonde hair shining near one of the arches on the far right. She saw him sitting by the corner, his fingers playing delicately with a small conjured bird, that looked oddly familiar, and her heart leapt in her chest. She felt excited or maybe nervous or even scared, she wasn't sure but her heart was picking up pace. She landed on the stone floor and tried to be as quiet as possible but his eyes immediately found hers and he smirked. He didn't look surprised or annoyed.
"Look what the cat dragged in." he drawled.
She was here. All these nights waiting for hours at end, hoping she would show up, and this one had finally paid off. He had no idea why he'd waited every night, wishing she'd be there, or that she'd make it. He all but hated himself at this point, he was wasting his precious time waiting for a girl like a pathetic loser. So many times, he had felt pitiful enough to actually throw himself off of these arches and be done with this business. This girl, whom he had hated for so long was suddenly more interesting than his life. She hated him, let alone the fact of what he felt, or should be feeling. It was confusing and it was driving him mad. He couldn't possibly like her. Everything aside, she was a Gryffindor. That alone showed how different they were. No, he didn't have any feelings towards her, he had finally convinced himself. He was curious, about all the questions she had been asking that day four weeks ago. She had promised him an answer. But one look at her face, and all of that flew right out of his head.
She was breathtaking, even he had to admit that. Every guy in Hogwarts, even in Slytherin, couldn't deny that she was beautiful. It was a cold night, and her cheeks and nose were tinged red. Her golden-brown hair was down on her back and was held back by a small clip that looked like a bear trap. She was wearing some kind of black, loose low-rise pants and a black top that covered her arms but left her belly button and the shape of her hips exposed to the winds. His eyes shifted to scar that was partially hidden by her pants and he had this sudden urge to get up and pull her pants down low enough to see it completely, maybe lower.
"Look what the cat dragged in." he said, smirking, willing his mind to not imagine any inappropriate scenarios.
There was a hint of smile of her face.
"Indeed." She said and leaned against the railing of the arch opposite him.
"I was quite enjoying the tower to myself." He said in an attempt to sound bored or maybe even annoyed to hide the childish giddiness he was feeling.
"Aw, well, suck it." she said giving him a poker face. She turned around, leaned over the railings and looked up, taking in the stunning view of the night sky and giving him one of her backside. He forced himself to tear his eyes away, to look anywhere but at her. 'Don't be a fucking creep, Draco' he though to himself desperately. He clenched his jaw in an effort to steel himself. He resorted to looking at her face instead. She was smiling softly and her face glowed in the light of the moon and the gentle wind caressed her face and her hair. He imagined his fingers caressing her face instead of the wind, the soft panes of her cheeks, her defined jawline, the length of her throat, the softness of her lips. 'Just stare at the ass,' he though to himself, feeling horrified at his though process. Was he really that desperate for a quick shag?
"That's Cygnus." Her voice brought him out of his shameful mind. He narrowed his eyes at where she was pointing. He stood and walked over the arch beside the one she stood, staring at her and then at the constellation she had accurately recognized. Her finger edged a little downwards.
"That's Cepheus." She said, after a moment. Her finger moved again, to the left this time. "Ursa Minor". Then she moved it slightly above and gave him a side glance. He knew what she was pointing at but didn't say anything; he wanted her to say its name, his name.
"And that's Draco." She said. She pulled her arm back and gripped the railing tightly, her face coloring.
The way she said it, his name, it sparked something in him, like some dormant part of him had been awakened. He wanted her to say it again, and again and again and never stop. His name on her lips sounded divine.
"You know your constellations." He said, trying to keep his voice steady.
"I do." She said, looking aloof.
"Was that little recital to prove that?" he asked and immediately regretted it. It was almost as he was out to sabotage himself.
She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Like I've got anything to prove to you." She said, her blue eyes boring into his. It was hard to look away.
"You ran away." He said, still looking into her eyes. "That day, you ran away without giving me what you promised." He automatically moved closer to her. She was shorter than my, by a head. She looked up at him, her eyes wide but didn't move away. He wanted to kiss her, just to see what it would be like, to know what did she taste like.
"An answer, in return for several of mine." He said and she moved away. He saw her swallow heavily.
"It was nothing." She said, not looking at him and staring outside instead.
"That won't do, Dursley." He said, leaning on a wall between the arches. "That won't do at all." He was having fun. She was fussing in his close proximity.
She glared at him, trying to look formidable but failing miserably.
"Whatever you told me, helped someone. Just let it be." She said.
His face immediately drained. What did she mean helped? Did she know about Mulciber? Did she somehow know that he was going to be initiated next year? He suddenly found it difficult to breathe. Had he assisted her into knowing it? Did she tell the order?
"What do you mean?" he snapped; all playfulness gone.
"What is the matter with you? She asked, frowning. He advanced on her again.
"What do you mean helped?" he asked again, he stook another step forward, but she didn't move an inch. They were practically nose to nose and this time, she did look formidable.
"Back. Off." She said eerily. She hadn't even bothered to draw her wand. He was too bothered up to feel scared of anything other than the Dark Lord.
"Just answer the question, will you?" he sneered.
"You're bipolar, Malfoy." She said, shaking her head, looking disappointed for some reason. "Just a second ago we were actually having a civil conversation-"
"Then just tell me and be done with it!" he said, sounding almost desperate. He hated it.
She frowned again, apparently sensing his tone.
"It has nothing to do with you." She said, trying to appease him, he realized. "I am just… helping a friend. Mulciber was after her… I was just trying to connect the dots because she was too scared to tell me who he was."
Draco visibly relaxed and backed away from her, feeling mortified.
"You really work yourself up for no reason." She commented, not looking bothered at all. He stared at her long and hard.
"This friend," he started, "She can't be a Slytherin-"
"None of your business." She said coolly and tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. And he was back at it; his eyes finding the soft curve of he ear lobe. He didn't understand what was happening to him. It was difficult to process pretty much anything around him when all she had to do was stand there and do…nothing. Every part of ached to touch her once, and then once again and just one other time… and not stop. He was repulsed by his own thoughts. He really needed to have sex. A few days ago, he had only been curious, now his nerve ending were on fire just being in a close proximity to her. He hated it; acting like a fool. He backed away from her a couple of steps. She looked at him oddly and then turned her head to face outside. It wasn't so easy for him; he had to bodily face outside.
"Are you familiar with Greek mythology?" she asked, he turned his head to look at her.
"There isn't much in wizarding literature." He said, eyes on the side of her face.
"So, you aren't." she said, smiling softly. She pointed at the constellation Draco.
"That is Ladon," she said, "The dragon that Greek goddess Hera tasked with guarding her golden apple tree at Mount Atlas."
"That makes no sense." He said, but was very intrigued. She must have noticed that he wanted her to continue.
"Ladon was a fearsome beast, there are some texts that say he had a hundred heads. Hera, who married the Greek god Zeus, gave her husband the golden apple tree as a wedding present and planted it on Mount Atlas, the home of all the Gods in Greek mythology; well almost." She pointed her finger at Heracles, the constellation right above Draco. "That is Hercules, as the romans called him. The goddess Hera was determined to make trouble for Hercules and made him lose his mind. In a confused and angry state, he killed his own wife and children.
When he woke from his "temporary insanity," Hercules was shocked and upset by what he'd done. He prayed to the god Apollo for guidance, and the god's oracle told him he would have to serve Eurystheus, the king of Tiryns and Mycenae, for twelve years, in punishment for the murders. As part of his sentence, Hercules had to perform twelve Labors, feats so difficult that they seemed impossible. By the end of these Labors, Hercules was, without a doubt, Greece's greatest hero. Now, one of those Labors was to steal Hera's golden apples. Hercules slayed the Dragon Landon with poisoned arrows and killed him." She looked at him with wide eyes, filled with wonder and so much enthusiasm. "Draco is often represented as having coiled up around the north pole with Heracles's foot over one of his heads." She added slyly.
He felt entranced. He had never known of any such myth; he knew that is all it intriguing. He stared at her; she clearly loved these mythologies. The look in her eyes was of pure wonder, like himself when he had first performed magic.
"Is that what muggles do? Make up stories?" he asked, genuinely curious.
She looked at him strangely.
"They don't have magic, so make some of their own." She said.
"Is this faux magic important to muggles?" he asked, trying to sound uninterested, but he knew he wasn't fooling her. She had a small, knowing smile on her face.
"Well, yeah." She shrugged. "There are large areas of studies dedicated specifically to this."
"But that's absurd." He said, frowning. "They're just stories."
"These stories explain a lot about the people and societies that existed during the time they were written. Many of them teach valuable lessons and some may even be true to an extent, with the wizarding world so close to the muggle world." She explained patiently.
He stared at her thoughtfully.
"Why do you like them?" he asked.
"What's there to not like?" she said, her eyes on the sky above.
"You have real magic," he said, as if it was obvious, "you don't need some fairytale to make sense of the world."
"You see that," she said, pointing her finger towards the sky, "That's Andromeda, the brightest external galaxy the human eye can see. Yet even she is almost two million light years away." She looked at him, eyes wide in marvel. "Wizards didn't make her, muggles certainly didn't, we don't have any hand in creation of the one thing that's bigger than all of us and everything in existence." She smiled. "The universe itself. It is why muggles made these stories in the olden days, to make sense of it all. Wizards," she continued, "had magic, and we still don't know how it came into existence. Muggles are unaware of it, so they looked at the sky and asked questions. How? When?" she sighed, "Why?"
Draco suddenly felt humbled. She was right. There was something bigger than magic out there that they hadn't talked enough about. There were whole different worlds out there, probably cultivating life of their own. Some may even have magic with a different nature than theirs. The quarrels of humans suddenly seemed very small and insignificant. The Dark Lord seemed insignificant. What was he even doing? Throwing his small life away, working for a mad man who didn't care about anything but power, risking the chance to actually live his life just to stay alive a few more days. Why did nobody else get that? Was it because of how irrelevant it made humans feel to be in the imposing shadow of the entire universe? Suddenly, standing beside her, he was questioning his very existence. He looked at her. She knew all of what she said and believed it, yet she was brimming with hope.
"Why is anything important, then?" he ask, steadying his voice. "We are smaller than ants in this grand scheme of things."
"Because there is one thing that is just as vast as the universe but it makes sense to us," she said, "love."
Draco almost laughed at her face. Here he was, thinking she was smart. He was almost convinced that she was the smartest person he had ever met and then she had gone and showed him just how naïve she truly was.
"You are a child, Dursley." He said, disappointed. "Nobody is driven by love."
"Every living being that can, is." She said, not wavering. The wind picked up and her hair started flying delicately behind her. He wanted to believe her, more than anything.
"It is all about survival and power." He told her. Suddenly, his eyes were on her lips. "Muggles and wizards are very much alike in that matter."
She looked at him, eyes unblinking.
"I don't believe that." she almost whispered. Draco stepped closer to her.
"Love is for children." He said, his eyes not moving from her lips.
"It's for everyone." She said, her breath starting to come out in shorter intervals. He looked into her eyes, blue like an ocean and just as untamed. Alyssa Dursley was a wild card and he could never guess what she was about to do, but in that moment if he leaned in to touch her lips to his, he knew she wasn't going to push him away. So, he did; he pressed his lips to hers, softly to not scare her away and his heart skipped a beat. They were softer than he had imagined, and they did taste like honey. He pulled back enough to see the look on her face and was pleasantly surprised to see her eyes had shuttered close. She opened them and ocean eyes stared straight into his soul. Maybe she will run, maybe she'll slap him. He would take it, he deserved it.
Instead, she stepped forward, her hands were on his face, caressing the panes of his cheeks, her eyes never leaving his. His heart was racing at a mile per second and when she pulled his head down to press her lips fervently to his, he thought he was going to explode. Immediately, his arms wrapped themselves around her body, pulling her as close to him as physically possible. Her arms went around his neck, fingers tangling themselves in his hair. He deepened the kiss, one arm around her waist and the other holding the back of her head, and she let him. The feel of her fingers in his hair was driving him over the edge. The kiss was needy and passionate, like they both needed it more than they needed to breathe. He caressed her lips with his tongue, asking for permission to enter. She opened them and he immediately dived in the warmth of her sweet, sweet mouth. She let out a soft moan, making him growl and he pushed her against the pillar between the arches; she gasped softly giving him a better access to her mouth. He could feel her intensity; she wanted this just as much as he did and he wasn't out to disappoint. He bit her bottom lip gently and she moaned again, her hands pulling his head closer. She tasted divine; like nothing else he had ever had or ever will. Her body fit against his like a glove. He could feel her curves pressed against him, her breasts heaving in passion against his chest. He wanted to pull her closer although he knew it wasn't possible. His hand cupped the back of her thigh and she heaved herself up against him, wrapping her legs around his hips. Draco growled again, his erect member was pressed against her body, right where he wanted to thrust it in. He knew she could feel it too, could feel her grinding softly against him, needing him there.
He tore his mouth from hers and began placing wet kisses all over her; beside her mouth, on her jaw, her soft ear lobe, her throat. She smelled so good, too good. The clip holding her hair had fallen off and they surrounded him as she leaned in to place soft kisses on his hair and forehead. She mewled when he found a spot on the joint of her neck and shoulders and sucked on it. He knew it was going to leave a mark, he was hoping it would. She pulled his head back up and kissed him with increased passion, biting his lips, stroking his tongue with hers, grinding against him, making him growl in the back of his throat, unbelievably horny. The feel of her warm body against his, his tongue in her mouth, the pressure of her soft breasts below his face, it was all too much to bear. He considered ripping her clothes of right then and there and going down on her, tasting her, forcing her to make those tiny little sounds she made, make her scream underneath him, call out his name for the entire castle to hear. He didn't even want to bother with a simple mattress, the floor would do. He'd put her on top, watch her breasts bounce as she rode him, she wouldn't have to lie on the cold stone beneath, he'd take the brunt of the cold, he would take her.
And in that moment, it all came crashing down on him, the reality of what he had done. He immediately stopped kissing her and she stopped too. For a moment too long, they just stood there, bodies intertwined, breathing heavily against each other. Then Dursley slid down, brushing his cock. He hissed softly. Her eyes round in shock, her lips maddeningly swollen. The expression in her eyes was morphing in disbelief and Draco stiffened. He didn't want to be around to watch it turn into regret. He stepped away, took one look at her tousled hair and marched straight down the stairs and out of the astronomy tower; shocked, disgusted with himself, horrified at what would happen if the Dark Lord found out, scared that she would regret it but nowhere among these turbulent feelings did he find any hint of remorse for his actions.
A/N: IT HAPPENED. Well, certainly earlier than I initially intended but IT DID. Also, I'm so sorry if Daphne's story is getting a bit too dark. I promise it won't last. I am a strong believer of happy endings ;) Get ready for a few chapters worth of fights and awkwardness!
