The Forbidden Forest

AN: I'm back! A big thanks to DragonLichQueen and matsheiist for reviewing, and for the former for following. In this chapter, Dumbledore's 'headache' is explained and we get to see a little of Draco and Ebony's relationship. The goffickness is also explained upon a bit more. I also do not own the lyrics to 'I Just Wanna Live'. Read and review.

"Draco!" I whisper-shouted. "What are you doing? You do know that this the Forbidden Forest, don't you?"

Draco didn't answer. He set the car down to the ground and got out of it. I followed him, curiously. The trees weren't ones that I recognized. They twisted around each, looking wicked in the faint light of the moon. A cold wind was blowing, and even with my vampire ability to keep my body-heat, I felt cold.

"What are we doing here, Draco?" I asked, wrapping my hands around me.

"Ebony, I hope you forgive me," he said to me, his eyes filled with regret.

"Forgive you for what?" I asked him.

Draco leaned in really close and I looked into his grey eyes, filled with something tender, and suddenly I understood.

And then Draco kissed me. It was all that I had imagined, and more. It was short, but passionate. His rough lips embraced my tender ones. We held on to each other like we were drowning and the other was fresh, sweet air. He tasted of blackberries, like the ones back in our farm in Romania. After what felt like a second, Draco pulled away.

He pushed me lightly, and I submitted, leaning against a tree. I had no idea what he meant to do, but soon found out when climbed on top of me. No, I couldn't do that to him, he'd die! Unless...

"Draco, stop!" I panted as he took of my clothes. It was getting very hot. "It'll kill you! Draco paused at that. I sat up, only in my underwear and he in only his pants. The moonlight shined on us, making our sweaty skin shine.

And then, in a fit of not-thinking-at-all, I bit him on the neck.

The scream he made was inhuman, wild and chilling to the bone. It was filled with pain, and even though I wished to let go, I could not, not now. The process of being turned into a vampire was said to be very painful for the victim, but in this case, I think it was just as painful for me.

Draco transformed. His canine-teeth became sharper and his eyes became sharper to adapt to the dim light. He stopped screaming and he turned limp. He collapsed, barely missing hitting the ground before I managed to catch him. Damn, he was heavy! But, it was better for me than other people, because I had super-strength. The ground was a dark red, stained with Draco's blood. He was the first person I had turned, and I hoped he was the last. I checked to see if he was dead. Nope! Just unconscious.

After about fifteen minutes, he regained consciousness. He was lying against the same tree against which we had almost had sexual intercourse. His breath came out in short, panting breaths. "What the fucking hell was that?" he asked me.

I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. "Sorry?" I said, but it came out to be more as a question.

The newly-turned vampire looked at me incredulously. "Sorry?" he asked me. "You turned me into a- a..."

It seemed like he had trouble pronouncing the name of the creature he now was. So, I finished his sentence for him. "Vampire," I said. "You're a vampire." My voice sounded oddly detached.

Draco stood up on shaky legs and started to pace around despite my warnings of him being too weak. "Do you have any idea what Father will say to me after hearing this? Or what-" He trailed off at the last word.

My curiosity was peaked. "Your father's what?" I asked him.

At my innocent(fine, it was not) question, Draco's eyes turned defensive. "None of your business," he snarled. So he wanted to play that way, huh? I get being a little angry at being turned into a vampire, but there's being angry and there's being a jerk. Draco, at the moment, was acting the latter.

I got up from the ground and told him what I thought of him. I couldn't remember what I saw in him. Was it all a facade? A way to quench his sexual desires? I saw red.

"You know, if you stop being so near-minded and had even one brain-cell," I told him, "you'd realize why I bit you." Draco looked hurt. I felt the tiniest bit of pleasure at that, pleasure at causing him hurt. "But, no-o-o, you just start whining about how bad it is for you."

"Well, you'd be doing that too, if you remembered being anything other than a monster," said Draco, and I stumbled back. That struck close. I did remember being anything other than a vampire. My mama braiding my ebony-black hair, my tata bringing flowers for me and mama and cooking together and reading stories. But, then, when I was seven, calamity hit. I got turned into a monster, my tata was murdered, my mama died of cholera. Tears came to my eyes, and I blinked them furiously as to not cry before Draco. I lifted my head to look at him, and said calmly, "Take that back, right now."

Draco looked fearful for a second, but then apologized sullenly. "You're forgiven," I said in acceptance of his rather mediocre apology. "Now, we should probably clear up the evidence, shouldn't we?" Draco nodded. "Do you have your wand with you?" I asked. Draco nodded again. It was like he was a little robot, obeying every command. "Spare clothes in the car?" Nod. "Great," I sighed. "We better get dressed." Our old clothes were very bloody at the moment.

We dressed in silence, he in a pair of very well-tailored shirt and pants, and I in one of his old shirts, which was too big for me, considering the fact that I was 5'2" and he 6". "You better clean up this place," I remarked. "I'm rubbish at charms." He raised his left arm which held his wand, and I caught the hint of a tattoo on the inside of it. But, before he could even start saying the incantation, we were interrupted.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!"

It was…Dumbledore!

Luckily, I had managed to pull Draco into what may pass as an intimate position. He was leaning against the tree and our lips touched. So, to any outsider, it would look like we were snogging. His wand had flown out of his hand, and landed somewhere on the forest floor. "Snogging, sir," I said to the aged headmaster.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Oh, I see. Might I suggest a better place? After all, the Forbidden Forest is not the best place to have intimacy." Draco and I blushed the color of Diabolo's hair. The blood-stains were the only give-away of what had really happened. And I was sure that Dumbledore knew it.

We got up from the position that we were in and stood before him. I elbowed Draco very hard to let him know that I was taking charge in this situation that we had found ourselves in. I looked the headmaster in the eye and said, "We would appreciate that, wouldn't we Draco?" Draco, for his part, nodded vigorously. "After all, you are the greatest wizard of all time, Professor."

"I thank you for your kind words, Miss Way," Dumbledore said, smiling. "Now, if you would follow me."

"Might we turn off the car, sir?" I asked, boldly. We were surely in lots of trouble, and it was a very outrageous request. But, Dumbledore didn't seem to mind, so Draco got into the car and quickly turned the power off.

"Come, Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Way," said Dumbledore, making his way to the castle. We followed, stumbling all the way. Now, you might be wondering how we managed to see where Dumbledore was going by only the faint light of the moon, well duh! Have you ever heard of the Lumos charm?

As we neared the castle, Dumbledore turned to us and said, "Minerva tells me that I should be more stern with the students. Would you mind if I practice shouting a little bit? It is also very good for our mental health." Dumbfounded, Draco and I nodded. "Well, here goes nothing. You ludicrous fools!" he shouted the last part.

I knew that Dumbledore wasn't really serious, but I admit the words hurt. But, that hurt quickly went away when Dumbledore shouted, "Your nose looks very crooked!" Instead of almost crying, I started to giggle uncontrollably. Here was the person with the crooked nose shouting at us for having crooked nose when we had no such things.

The entrance hall was empty, except for Mrs. Norris, who fled as soon as she saw us, probably to report to her owner. We hurried after Dumbledore to avoid an encounter with Filch. We made our way to the Headmaster's office. Dumbledore gave the password(Humbugs) and the gargoyle sprang suddenly to life and hopped aside as the wall behind him split in two. Even full of dread for what was coming, I couldn't fail to be amazed. Behind the wall was a spiral staircase that was moving smoothly upward, like an escalator. As we stepped onto it, I heard the wall thud closed behind us. We rose upward in circles, higher and higher, until at last, slightly dizzy, I saw a gleaming oak door ahead, with a brass knocker in the shape of a griffin.

We stepped off the stone staircase at the top, and Dumbledore opened the door and we entered. I looked around. One thing was certain: of all the teachers' offices I had visited so far, Dumbledore's was by far the most interesting. If I hadn't been scared out of his wits that I was about to be thrown out of school, I would have been very pleased to have a chance to look around it. It was a large and beautiful circular room, full of funny little noises. A number of curious silver instruments stood on spindle legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. The walls were covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses, all of whom were snoozing gently in their frames. There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk, and, sitting on a shelf behind it, a shabby, tattered wizard's hat — the Sorting Hat. It was so magical-and wonderful. But then, I noticed Professor McGonagall and our esteemed-note the sarcasm-head of house, Professor Snape. They both looked very mad. Professor McGonagall was in a tartan nightgown, and her hair was all messy and fell from her bun in locks. Professor Snape looked like a greasy bat, as always. Now you might wonder about my hatred for Snape, considering he's my head of house and must surely like me, right? Don't let that fool you. He hates me due to my status as a vampire, Vampire because he's James Potter's son, Hermione for being muggle-born, Diabolo and Dark'ness because they're Weasleys, and so on.

Snape said in his nasally voice, "Headmaster, may I ask where they were?" Ask, my arse. More like demand. "After all, they were out after curfew," he turned to look at me, and smiled vindictively. I glared at him to convey what I thought of him. "Ms. Way, at least, must be given detention." That, that...bastard.

"No, Severus," said Dumbledore. Go Dumbledore! "And, to answer your previous question, they were having sexual intercourse in the Forbidden Forest," he said, calmly, as this was an everyday occurrence. I blushed all over, and saw Draco was doing the same.

"Why did you do such a thing, you mediocre dunces?" asked Snape.

"How dare you?" demanded Professor McGonagall.

"Of course, it's something that Ms. Way would do,"said Snape.

And then Draco shrieked, "BECAUSE I LOVE HER!"

Everyone was quiet, including me. Love? Did he love me? Or, is it just him being in love with the idea of me? There will be time to ask him later. We really need to have a good, long talk to clear the air. I turned my attention back to the professors. Snape still looked mad but, Professor Dumbledore said,"Ah, young love! Though, the Forbidden Forest is probably not the best way to express it."

"Okay, sir," said Draco, and we went back to the Slytherin Common Room. On the way, we had time to clear things up between us.

We walked in awkward silence for a while. It was about midnight, according to the Tempus charm(it's a charm that tells the time) and the castle was silent. I hated it. Hogwarts, to me, was full of life and sound, it was never meant to be silent, despite what Dolores Umbridge had tried to. I wasn't there during her reign, but I had heard plenty of stories.

"Are you okay, Ebony?" Draco asked me.

"Yeah, I guess," I lied.

"Don't lie to me, Ebony," said Draco.

"I am not," I said indignantly, but paused at the look on the blond-haired boy's face. "Yes, I am," I admitted

"I knew it," said Draco, leading me to a hidden alcove. "Now, tell me what's bothering you."

I thought of what was bothering me. Many things. But on top of them all, me turning Draco into a vampire. "I'm sorry," I blurted out.

Draco looked confused. "What for?"

I stared at him. "For turning you into a vampire, of course," I said.

Draco laughed. He was laughing? This was serious. I told him that. But, he said, "I forgave you for that long ago."

How? I turned him into a vampire. He was cursed now. How could he just...laugh it off? I asked him that.

"Because," he answered, "I love you." It was a simple declaration, one filled with sincerity. I believed him.

"I'm not sure what that means," I confessed.

"It means, Ebony," he said, leaning closer to me, "that you mean the world to me." Then, he kissed me. It was just as great as the lat time, greater even. As we came up for air, he said, "Now, we better go back to the Common Room, right?" He offered his arm to me, and I accepted it with a giggle.

The Common Room was empty, except for our friends- Willow, Vampire, Diabolo, Mary, Dark'ness, Dracula, the whole gang- and their faces were a range of emotion. Knowing-Willow, Vampire, Dark'ness; Prim-Mary; and last of all, Oblivious-Diabolo and Dracula. As we entered after giving the password-Snake- they all looked up and then there was a cacophony of noise. As we asked for silence, and told them that we'd tell them everything in due time, I asked a question. "Alright," I said, and everybody fell silent. "Who ratted us out?"

"What do you mean?" asked Vampire, his emerald eyes flashing with confusion.

"Nobody knew that we went to the concert," I explained, "except you lot. And if they did, they wouldn't have cared for us disappearing. So, that means one of you told them. Who did it?"

Mary stood up. Her curly black hair was more curly than in the day. "I did," she said, and her voice sounded proud. She gazed at us like we were idiotic. "You could have been killed, or worse expelled."

"You almost got us expelled," I heard myself yell, not caring to keep down my volume.

"Dumbledore wouldn't have expelled you,"she said.

"Wait a minute," said Dracula. "Where were you?"

"In the Forbidden Forest," I answered. "And we were kissing."

"Bloody hell, Hermione," said Diabolo. I faintly noticed that he said 'Hermione' instead of 'Mary'. "This is worse than the time when you reported that Harry had a Firebolt from anonymous sender."

"Well, I was right, wasn't I," snapped Mary. "And that's a big word, Ronald." Ronald. Damn, this is a day of surprises.

"Guys, let's deal with this calmly," said Vampire. "I'm sure Draco and Ebony had their reasons. Right?" He turned towards us. We nodded.

"Stay out of this, Harry," said Mary and Diabolo.

"Enough!" shouted Dark'ness. "It's late, and we have classes tomorrow. We'll discuss this later," she said a little more quietly.

Everybody shut up, and then after a round of 'good-nights', all decided to retire. I noticed that Willow had been strangely silent all throughout the argument. I'll talk to her before I sleep. I went up the stairs to the girls' dorm and entered the bathroom before anybody else could. Willow took the longest time to shower and change, and I wanted to beat her. I knew that she wouldn't sleep before bathing.

I removed my clothes and hung them up on a hook. I stood in front of the floor-length mirror and just looked at myself. Long, ebony black hair with red streaks, pale blue eyes, pale skin. I sat down, leaning against the door. The floor was cold. I stood up. I turned on the shower and hot water rained down on me. I sighed. That felt good. I shampooed my hair and scrubbed my body clean with citrus scented soap. Then, I dried off, dressed in my old, white nightgown and braided my hair into two little braids. Then, I got out to find that Draco was standing in the middle of the dorm with a guitar.

As soon as he saw me, he started playing and singing to me. The song was 'I Just Wanna Live' by Good Charlotte.

I need an alarm system in my house

It was unfortunately true.
So I know when people are creeping about

War was in the horizon, and it's scary to know that after Hogwarts, I'll have to choose what I want to do.
These people are freaking me out (these days)

Scratch that, I've already chosen my path.
It's getting hectic everywhere that I go

No place is safe from the dangers of war. Not even Hogwarts.
They won't leave me alone

The nightmares, they won't go.
There's things they all wanna know

I'm tired of all these judging eyes.

The song was fitting. And, I am glad that Draco chose it to serenade me. Others may sing 'Somebody Like You' or 'Thousand Years', but Draco didn't. And, you know what? I loved him for it.

The song ended and he slung his guitar on his back like it was a goddamn sword. "Hello, Ebony," he said with that damn insufferable smile of his. "Did you miss me?"

I ran towards him and hugged him tightly. "Not that I'm not glad to see you," I said. "But, you shouldn't be here." I let go of him. "How are you here?" How indeed. The stairs wouldn't have allowed him.

"I know that I shouldn't," he said, smirking. "And, I flew up the stairs." He pointed at the Nimbus 2001 lying on the floor.

I hadn't thought of that. He was a genius, but I didn't tell him that because it would boost his ego, and we didn't need that. "You still shouldn't be here," I told him. "Goodnight." And, I pecked him on the cheek and shooed him out.

"As you say, my lady," he bowed himself out. "Goodnight, darling!" And I stared at the door from which he just went out with a lovesick expression.

After he left, Willow got up from her bed and said, "Man, I would give to have a boyfriend who serenades me and breaks the rules for me."

I shoved her. "Shut up, Willow." And our laughter filled the dorm, and even Mary had to stop her sulking and join in.

And cut! Damn, this is my longest chapter yet, 3,362 words! But, there was lots of material to cover too. So, thank you for reading. If you can, please review. Peace out!~LOBlack