Chapter 22: Draco
"This
is really going to take some getting used to," Draco groaned, pushing away his
dinner.
A
couple Slytherins looked at him, perplexed. He groaned again. "Forget food,"
he said, standing up. He looked over at
the Gryffindor table, seeing exactly what he expected to see; Ron and Hermione
were looking lovingly at each other. He
scowled, staring hatefully at Ron. Suddenly, the two Gryffindors looked up, straight at Draco. The boy quickly looked away and headed out
of the Great Hall.
"What
was that about?" Ron asked, staring after him.
"You
felt it, too?"
"Ultimate
loathing? Yeah, I felt it."
"I
don't know what is with that boy," Hermione sighed, "Oh well. Let's get to Magic in the Home."
"This
is stupid!" Lavender Brown exclaimed after her food, once again, looked more
like burnt rubber than bread, "It's not even important! I mean, when will cooking ever save
your life?"
Moody's
normal eye sparkled with enthusiasm. "You just never know, Miss Brown. Would you like some assistance from Mr. Longbottom there?"
"From
him?! Arg!" she shrilled, marching out
of the room.
"Poor
Lav's snapped," Harry smiled, pulling out his third loaf.
"Bread
can do that to a person," Azar nodded with phony seriousness, "But it doesn't
look like you're going nuts any time soon. I see you've made cuisine fit for a king, as usual."
"Can
I help it if I'm actually good at this?" he smiled, taking off his oven mitts.
"No,
I guess not. Plus there're not too many
guys who can pull off the flowered-apron look."
"What,
you expect me to get flour all over my robes?"
Azar
just smiled and shook her head.
"Hey
Ron," Hermione called from the refrigerators, "Where'd you put the rest of the
yeast?"
"Rest
of it?" Ron asked, perplexed.
"Oh,
I've got to see this," Azar laughed, heading over to Hermione and Ron's oven.
However,
she quickly lost the bounce in her step and slowed to a stop. Ron and Hermione stopped right in the middle
of a soon-to-be argument. Harry didn't
need to wonder why, for he felt it, too. Well, not really felt it, but more sensed it. It was something dark, glum; something he hadn't felt since the
Rileys had died. Yet there was
something mixed with it… Terror.
"What's
with Draco?" Azar asked, walking back over to Harry.
"I
don't know, but it can't be the best of feelings. He's all alone in his room."
"Yeah,
the one behind Dumbledore's fireplace."
Harry's
eyes widened. "How did you know about
that?"
Azar
furrowed her brow a bit. "I'm not sure,
but I think it just came with the feeling."
Just
then, Moody announced that it was time to clean up. The four friends did this, then headed glumly off to bed.
****
From
the Entrance Hall door, Alicia Spinnet watched the practicing Gryffindors
sadly. She wanted almost nothing more than
to be out there…but no. It'd only make
it worse. With a sigh, she closed the
door and turned to head up the stairs, but someone stood in her way.
"Ron!"
she smiled, "You startled me. Hey, why
aren't you out there?"
"Because
I was looking for you," he said seriously.
"Oh,
really?" she tried to sound casual, "Well, you found me."
Ron
didn't smile.
"S-so,
what did you want?" she asked, biting her lip for she knew the answer.
"You
have to play in the game tomorrow."
"I
think that choice is up to me, Ron."
"It
is. I just want you to make the right
one."
Clouds
seemed to pass over Alicia's eyes. "Look, I'm not playing."
She
moved to get around him, but he held out his hand and stopped her.
"Alicia,
if you won't come back, then at least help me to be better," Ron said sternly,
"I'm sorry. I really am. But don't make Gryffindor suffer. We need you, Alicia."
"I
lost my only sister, okay?! You can't
possibly under-… Oh. Oh Ron, I'm sorry."
"It's
okay," he said quietly, smiling encouragingly, "We're in the same boat. But life doesn't end with death,
Alicia. Just because someone we loved
is gone doesn't mean we should stop living. Life is a gift, and you should treat every second as so. If you don't, then one day you'll look back
at all the things you could have done."
Alicia
sighed, turning away. She thought a
moment, her gaze eventually resting upon the window.
"You're
right. I want to look back at all the
things I did."
Harry
was near panic. His team was falling
apart. For some reason, they just
weren't working together.
"Come
on, people!" Harry yelled to the Gryffindors, "Keep focused! And where is Ron? We can't practice with only two chasers!"
"Think
I could step in?" called a voice.
Everyone
turned around and nearly fell off their brooms in joy. There was Alicia, broom in hand and
quidditch robes on. The whole team
zoomed down to her, Harry reaching her first.
"Does
this mean you're back?" Harry asked with a smile.
"Yeah. I decided I've been moping too much; Cara
wouldn't have wanted that… So, are we
going to play or not?"
The
team gave a resounding cheer, soaring back into the air. That night, Gryffindor had the best practice
they'd had in a long time. When Harry
and Hermione exited the dressing room, Ron was waiting for them.
"Ron,
where were you?" Hermione asked, "Alicia came back!"
"I
know," he said, smiling sadly.
Harry
and Hermione felt awkward. They wanted
to comfort him, but Alicia was, without a doubt, the better player.
"Hey
Ron!" Alicia called, waving for him to join her.
"Yeah?"
he asked, walking up to her.
"After
dinner tomorrow, meet me here with your broom," she smiled, "Since you're going
to be a chaser next year, you may want to work on your skills a bit."
Ron
grinned. "You got it."
The
eight Gryffindors headed for their tower, confident that tomorrow they'd have a
victory.
****
"Okay,
team," Harry said, giving a very Wood-like prep talk, "I don't need to remind
you how important this game is. We have
to beat Ravenclaw by 200 points if we want that quidditch cup. But just play your hardest, and whatever the
outcome, we are winners."
They
walked onto the quidditch pitch. It was
sunny with a slight breeze; ideal quidditch conditions. Azar waved to Harry from the sidelines
(Ackerley having brought his grades up) and yelled something. Although he couldn't hear it over the crowd,
her lips read "You're going down!"
"Mount
your brooms!"
And
with a whistle, the fourteen players rushed into the air.
Harry
was beaming from ear to ear as he watched the team. The chasers flew with a precision that he hadn't seen since
Angelina left; Hermione and Tyron were working as if they could read each
other's minds; and Jamison was letting nothing by him. Within thirty minutes, the team was up
60-0. Two more scores, and then Harry
had to catch the snitch.
However,
things rarely turn out so easy. After
Gryffindor had scored once more, Katie was bashed pretty hard by a
bludger. She was fine and kept playing,
but things just seemed to keep going downhill. An hour in, Hermione dived at the Slytherin stands, fury in her
eyes. She claimed Draco had jinxed her
bat into hitting her, but Madam Hooch just gave Draco a reprimand and Gryffindor
a penalty.
Another
hour passed, the scores rising but Gryffindor always in the lead. Alicia raced down the field, quaffle in hand
and Katie right behind her. The
intensity in Alicia's eyes was deep; so much so that the Ravenclaw keeper
didn't notice when she let go of the ball, it falling nicely into Katie's
waiting arms. Alicia raced right by the
keeper, and Katie took the girl's momentary distraction as a chance to
score. The cheer from Gryffindor was
deafening.
"240-160…Yes! Eighty points ahead!" Harry thought happily,
"Now all I need to do is catch the snitch."
From
that moment on, Harry was in his own zone. To him, the chasers, beaters, keepers, and fans all disappeared. It was just he, Ackerley, and the
snitch. When those determined green
eyes finally glimpsed that fleck of gold, Harry did everything automatically. He dove straight for the goalposts, Ackerley
at his heels. Just when it looked like
he'd run head on into the ground, Harry pulled out of the dive, skimming the
grass. At just the right moment, he
pulled up toward the snitch, grasping the golden sphere.
Harry
landed lightly on the ground, the team rushing up to him. Their faces weren't as joyous as he would
have thought, considering the circumstances.
"Come
on, buck up!" he grinned, "We won!"
"Well,
we won the game at least," Katie smiled weakly.
Harry's
eyes widened and it was then that he finally heard Moon announcing the
score: "360-170!"
Those
numbers echoed over and over in his mind…360-170. Just ten points off… He
felt his stomach tightened, looking at his team, both triumphant and defeated.
"I
just lost us the quidditch cup…"
"Ah,
c'mon, Harry," Hermione tried to console the seeker as they walked up to
Hogwarts long after the crowds had gone, "We still won. So what if we don't get the cup this year?"
"That's
not the point," Harry muttered, "I should have paid more attention. Then I would have known Ravenclaw scored."
"It's
not the end of the world, Harry legs."
"Yeah,
but-"
"Hey,
it happened. Let's just forget about it
and get on with our lives. So, who's up
to going to the kitchen for some post-game partying?" Ron asked eagerly.
****
The
end of April soon turned into the middle of May, and the O.W.L.s were so close,
Harry could almost feel the stress escalating in the halls. Life went on as normal, though Gryffindor
was quite a bit behind in the house tournament. It wasn't until one peaceful night that the world was turned
upside-down.
Harry's
eyes snapped open suddenly, and he found himself clutching tight to his bed in
a cold sweat. He didn't need to wonder
why. The fear that had wrenched through
his heart moments before, and then followed by the rush of pain… He hadn't actually felt the pain, but more
sensed it, as if he were experiencing it through someone else. He scrambled for his bed curtains, peering
out of them at the same time as Ron.
Giving
each other a meaningful look, they said at the same time, "Draco."
They
rushed out of bed, snatching on their slippers as they headed for the door.
"Shouldn't
we bring your cloak, Harry?"
"No,
it won't fit all three of us."
"All
three?"
"Hermione
must have felt it, too."
He
was confirmed when they almost collided with the girl as she rushed up their
staircase.
"Draco!"
she gasped.
"We
know," Harry said with as much calm as he could muster.
They
all rushed out of the tower, not even having to ask where they were going, for
they all knew. They were running down a
hallway when Snape exited from one of its many doors.
"Potter,
Weasley, and Granger, what is the meaning of this?" he yelled, stepping in
front of them.
"Get
out of the way, Snape!" Harry yelled back.
"How
dare you speak to me in such a manner! I-"
"Shut
up!" Harry interrupted him, "You stood in my way once, Snape, and a man died
because of it! I won't let it happen to
Draco!"
With
that, he brushed past the potions teacher, Ron and Hermione at his heels. Snape rushed right after them.
"What
do you mean that it might happen to Draco?"
"Did
I or didn't I tell you to shut up?! There's no time!"
They
ran into the Entrance Hall, seeing Azar open its doors.
"Azar!"
"Harry! It's Draco!"
"We
know."
The
group, now grown to five, rushed out the door and onto the grounds, heading
straight for the Forbidden Forest near the lake. When they reached there, they stopped.
"Look
for him," Harry told them, "We have to find him."
A
chorus of "Draco"s rang through the air as they split up and searched. Snape, however, stayed right with Harry.
"Why
would Draco be out here?" Snape snarled, "He's not like you, Potter. He doesn't just walk into a trap."
Harry
glared at the man, but quickly turned back. "I don't know why, Professor, but he was out here."
They
searched for what seemed like hours, though in truth it was only five minutes,
but yielded nothing. A dejected Azar
walked up to Harry.
"You
don't feel him anymore, do you?" she asked, a bit hopefully.
"No,"
Harry sighed, "Not since the pain…"
Snape
stared at the two, extremely confused, but his own thoughts were interrupted
when Ron called out.
"I
found something!"
Everyone
rushed over to his place, a little into the forest. There, snagged in some tree branches, was an invisibility
cloak. Draco's invisibility cloak. Ron and Harry had a bit of a time pulling it
out, for it was snagged pretty snug. When they finally pulled it loose, the found that the clasp was
broken. The four friends instinctively
put their hands to their throats.
"So
that's where that choking sensation came from," Hermione whispered.
"I
don't know what's going on, but you four have some explaining to do," Snape
said.
"Yes
we do, but not to you," Harry snapped, "We're going to Dumbledore's
office. Draco's in danger."
~*~*~
A/N: Ah, I know, short chapter. It's not my fault! Nothing was coming out right! And I could have made it longer, but this seemed the best place to stop.
Well, I'm giving no lamentations about how choppy and *gr* this chapter is, for I'm sure you can see for yourselves. *sigh*
Thank you my lovely, wonderful, superb reviewers! I'm sorry, but right now it's late, so these may not be the most detailed thank yous.
Kelly: If you thought that one was short… *sigh* At least my chapters are longer than they were in fic 5. I hope this is a bit more of a cliffie. ^_^ Thanks!
Sweets: Ah, thanks. It's nice to know I can make as many chapters as I want. (I'll try not to make you regret that statement. ^_^)
Raven of Death: *gr* I've got WAY too many things going on in this! Now's the time to start tying up loose ends…if only I could find them all… ^_^ Thanks!
Kelly bee: Wow, thanks!
Princess: Thanks! To think I didn't like Draco before… hehe…
Dilandra: Yep, yep, yep. ^_^ Thanks.
Jona: I swear I'm not being humble; I actually am bugged by this stuff. Not the plot, just the writing. Well, thanks!
Moon Warrior: Oh, don't worry. Plenty of people do the backwards-mixed-up language. Thanks, M.W.
Desert Hacker: My pleasure!
Juliana Black: ^_^ Thanks!
Allison: Do you really want me to go into the reasons I am not so happy w/ these chapters? Not unless you want to read 200 pages of sorrowful babbling. As for 'by golly's, after reading your review, I asked a few of my friends here if they thought we (the people of my state) said golly a lot. Most agreed, no. However, I'm a lovely odd exception. I have tons of substitute swear words, especially ones I derive from books. Believe it or not, my substitute for "sh*t" is "pigwidgeon". I often shorten it to "pig", but it's the same thing. In 7th grade, after reading a story about this wacked out town called Chaleve (not sure on spelling), that became my substitute. If you go further down, there was a time when I actually said "holy guacamole". Girl, I live in the 50s. That's just my style, by golly, and if you don't like it, you can just sit on it! (a wonderful phrase I want to start using; comes from the total coolio show "Happy Days", with the Fonz, and Mrs. C., and Potsie. Ah, wonderful memories…^_^) But believe you me, there are plenty of kids here who enjoy cussing their freakin' little heads off. Anywasy, thanks for the review!
Julia: Thanks!
Herm: Thanks, I will!
Erin: Wow, thanks!
Lucky Woods: lol. The funniest thing about that is "Ady" means "noble and of kind spirit". ^_^ Thanks!
Lord_Soth: Best fic of all time? *grins so much her cheeks hurt* Thank you oh so very much!
*hugs self with glee* By golly, (I'm gonna say that a lot now, Allison ^_^) after a bad day at school, these reviews just make me feel all warm and fuzzy. Thank you!!!!!!
Be excellent to each other!
-Ady
