"Lee!" I gasped in surprise as I recognized the only other person in
the Gryffindor common room as my brothers' best friend.
"Hey, Ron!" he called from across the room, looking up from his magazine adorned with half naked women. "Why aren't you in Hogsmeade with everyone else?"
"I really need to talk to Fred and George, have you seen them?"
"Yeah, they're up in the dorm. They've been up there long enough they probably won't mind you interrupting, but you know how they can be when they're together," he added with a sly, sideways grin.
Lee Jordan was the only person outside the immediate family that knew of Fred and George's relationship. I'm not quite certain of the particulars myself, but I know the twins have always shared a more-than- brotherly fondness for one another. Once they hit puberty with a vengeance, their affection began to turn sexual. Fred seemed to take the realization in stride, as though it were just another faucet of their love, but George completely panicked. Although at the time I had been a third year and more concerned about Sirius Black trying to kill me, even I could tell they had a bit of a falling out after Halloween. George started dating someone, hence hurting Fred in the process. The rest of the details are sketchy, but I know over the Christmas break they seemed to reconcile, once again treating each other with the casualness everyone is so used to witnessing. Not long after that, George kissed Fred and, due to the spontaneity of the moment, didn't take the proper precautions, resulting in Lee's accidental witness of the event. As a result, the twins became secretly exclusive to one another and now are discreet enough to save their devotion for when we were at the Burrow. They must really have been desperate to be up in their dorm right now, with Lee posted down here as lookout.
Knocking loudly, I heard the sounds of clothes hastily rustled before George, clad only in jeans, opened the door.
"Ron, my boy, to what do we owe the honor of your visitation?" He inquired with a mischievous grin.
"Well, I wanted to, well, get your advice on a matter… that is if you and Fred aren't busy."
"No worries, Ronnikins, we're all done," called Fred's voice from inside the room.
"Come on in," George commanded with a wink, opening the door further so I could step in.
***
The Slytherin common room had cooled off dramatically since this afternoon, becoming quite frigid as the dusk turned to night. I would know, I mused, bitter as the chill, I've only been waiting here that long. From the vintage point in my usual forest green armchair, I watched for the arrival of two incredibly unlucky Slytherins. Over the hours my annoyance had turned from impatient anger to icy fury. Superficially, I radiated a composed calm, with hands gracefully folded in my lap. Internally, my glacial feelings rivaled the dungeon's temperature.
Finally two massive forms darkened the entrance. Spotting me, they lumbered forward, stopping as soon as they were in front of my sitting form. Heads slightly hung, they waited for me to talk first.
"Do you know what time it is?" I asked with deceptive courtesy.
Both nodded, not daring to speak.
"And do you remember what time we agreed to meet?"
Again, they nodded mutely.
Falling quiet, I allowed the silence to mingle with the room's cold, my motionless form not unlike a cobra about to strike.
"Well, then," I said after they began to nervously shift. "What could have possibly happened to have kept me waiting here, alone, for six hours?"
"We… we…" Gregory floundered.
"That is to say," Vincent cut in. "We forgot."
"You forgot," I repeated numbly. They both nodded, willing me to believe their excuse.
"You forgot," I restated as a dull roar filled my ears at their obvious lie.
"So, you simply forgot that we meet in the common room every trip to Hogsmeade." I began silkily. "You simply… forgot that we were to meet here, like we have for the past two years? You simply forgot."
I looked them each in the eye, watching the doubt rise and worry start to set in. Standing, I forced them each to retreat a step.
"You leave me, sitting here for hours, and the best excuse you can think of is that you merely forgot. Come now, Vincent, I'm surprised. With all the books you read, you couldn't think up a better lie?"
"Draco, we…"
"…Are lying to me. Yes, I think that's fairly apparent. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll just go up to bed and have a talk with the wall. It, at least, seems to have better conversational skills then you two. Perhaps it'll even come up with a better lie, one that I might actually believe."
Sweeping past them, my exit was cut short by a large hand on my shoulder. Glaring at it with an intent so cold it burned, Gregory quickly removed the offending hand.
"Vinceandmearegoingout."
"What?" I stared incredulously at him, not believing my ears.
"Vince and me are going out." Gregory repeated, eyes studying the cement floor.
" 'Vince and I,'" Vincent automatically corrected.
Looking to Vincent, he confirmed what Gregory had said with a nod of his head. Sitting in the arm chair once again, I asked in pure shock, "For how long has this been going on?"
"For six hours," replied Vincent with a tentative smile.
"Oh," was my so-intelligent response.
"We didn't mean to hurt you," Vincent continued, kneeling in front of me. "We honestly did forget to meet you today."
"Oh," I stupidly replied, still flabbergasted.
Vincent and Gregory exchanged a worried glance.
"I'm sure you understand, Draco" Gregory stated softly. "You feel the same way about Weasley."
"WHAT?!" I whispered, eyes widening in horror.
"What I mean is, we've seen you watching him…"
"I am not interested in Weasley." I quickly responded in a hushed tone, as the common room was slowly starting to fill with people. "It is merely a ruse, devised to aide Jaggers in a little… project."
With a worried frown, Gregory cocked his head to one side, "Carlos Jaggers?"
Raising one eyebrow, I sardonically drawled. "Do you know of any other Jaggers that attend Hogwarts?"
"Be careful, he seems--" he began, but swiftly broke off with a blush, shaking his head.
" How does he seem?" I pressed.
"Dangerous." He whispered.
A shiver licked my spine. Gregory, for all his oafishness, was in fact, an excellent judge of people's characters. Although he was mentally slow and embarrassed to say much of anything out loud, his quiet nature allowed him to observe others without too much notice. Vincent, in contrast, was quite bookish, and, once in the confines of the dungeons, often spouted quotes from those he had read, Muggle and Wizard alike. In public they may seem similar, both using their physical size to their advantages, but privately they were as different as spring and fall.
"I KNOW YOU HAVE IT!" An accusatory boom broke through my musings, all in the common room ceased what they were formerly doing to catch a glimpse of what was occurring by the fireplace. Two first years I recognized as Lauren McCartney and Nikki Ballinger cowered from the seventh year spitting in rage.
"Jagg…Jaggers. We told you," ventured the braver of the two in a timid murmur. "We haven't seen your ring."
"Oh, really?" Carlos asked in a civil tone, a disconcerting twist from his previous yelling.
Lauren and Nikki anxiously nodded.
Carlos grabbed Lauren by the collar of her robe. "THEN WHY WERE YOU LOOKING AT ME DURING SUPPER?!"
Nikki stood paralyzed by her uprooted friend, staring at Carlos with the look of one facing the devil himself.
"Oya, Guapo!" Broke a female voice from across the room.
Turning, I recognized Lillith Fairfield, sixth year, confidently striding toward the tableau at the fireplace.
"I believe," she smoothly stated, voice lilting with her Hispanic heritage. "This is yours." The ring she held up was a polished silver.
Wordlessly, he released Lauren, seized the ring and strode to his dorm. At the sound of a door slamming violently, the tension in the room released almost tangibly. With a look of awe, Lauren breathlessly asked Lillith, "How did you know it was his ring?"
"Simple," she responded with a slight smile. "It had his surname engraved on it, and he's the only Jaggers in Hogwarts."
Taking that as some sort of signal, everyone resumed their previous pursuits. With a solemn look, Gregory faced me once again.
"See? I told you he was crazy."
"Greg's right. The less amount of time spent around Jaggers, the better. How much longer is this feigned attraction to Weasley going to continue?"
"I have to make him fall in love with me by winter recess."
Vincent frowned in concern. "That's in two weeks. Are you certain you will accomplish all that in so short a span of time?"
"I'm positive."
"When did this thing start?" Gregory asked intently.
"My pursuit of Weasely began Wednesday."
Vincent and Gregory exchanged identical triumphant grins.
"Dare I ask what you're smiling about?" I queried, looking from one to the other.
Turning his grin on me, Gregory smugly replied. "You've been watching Weasley since October."
Standing abruptly, I curtly bade them good evening, and retreated toward our dorm room. As I walked away, Vincent's mischievous voice softly followed. " 'He's in love, and he's not the only one, Who'll be changed.'"
Just as I put my hand to the frigid doorknob, a familiar bass sounded from the shadows. "Are you falling for him?"
My heart leaped, panic slamming into my chest, yet my expression didn't change as I faced the man in the shadows. "Vincent and Gregory were mistaken." Opening the door, I attempted a quick exit.
A large hand slammed the door shut. Trying to turn away from the ominous figure, I found Carlos's other hand in my way. With his hands on either side of my body, he effectively blocked any escape.
"For your sake, they had better be." His breath burned the tender skin of my neck as he leaned closer to lick my flesh. "I wouldn't like to think the heart you declare to not have is actually bestowed elsewhere."
Twisting to look into his face, I felt the familiar hollowness fill my eyes, stamping out any emotions I had mere minutes ago.
"I have not bestowed my tenderness anywhere. I have never had any such thing."
"Good," he breathed as his teeth captured my bottom lip.
"Stay with me tonight." His demand left no room for opposition.
Wordlessly, I nodded, following him to his familiar bed.
"Hey, Ron!" he called from across the room, looking up from his magazine adorned with half naked women. "Why aren't you in Hogsmeade with everyone else?"
"I really need to talk to Fred and George, have you seen them?"
"Yeah, they're up in the dorm. They've been up there long enough they probably won't mind you interrupting, but you know how they can be when they're together," he added with a sly, sideways grin.
Lee Jordan was the only person outside the immediate family that knew of Fred and George's relationship. I'm not quite certain of the particulars myself, but I know the twins have always shared a more-than- brotherly fondness for one another. Once they hit puberty with a vengeance, their affection began to turn sexual. Fred seemed to take the realization in stride, as though it were just another faucet of their love, but George completely panicked. Although at the time I had been a third year and more concerned about Sirius Black trying to kill me, even I could tell they had a bit of a falling out after Halloween. George started dating someone, hence hurting Fred in the process. The rest of the details are sketchy, but I know over the Christmas break they seemed to reconcile, once again treating each other with the casualness everyone is so used to witnessing. Not long after that, George kissed Fred and, due to the spontaneity of the moment, didn't take the proper precautions, resulting in Lee's accidental witness of the event. As a result, the twins became secretly exclusive to one another and now are discreet enough to save their devotion for when we were at the Burrow. They must really have been desperate to be up in their dorm right now, with Lee posted down here as lookout.
Knocking loudly, I heard the sounds of clothes hastily rustled before George, clad only in jeans, opened the door.
"Ron, my boy, to what do we owe the honor of your visitation?" He inquired with a mischievous grin.
"Well, I wanted to, well, get your advice on a matter… that is if you and Fred aren't busy."
"No worries, Ronnikins, we're all done," called Fred's voice from inside the room.
"Come on in," George commanded with a wink, opening the door further so I could step in.
***
The Slytherin common room had cooled off dramatically since this afternoon, becoming quite frigid as the dusk turned to night. I would know, I mused, bitter as the chill, I've only been waiting here that long. From the vintage point in my usual forest green armchair, I watched for the arrival of two incredibly unlucky Slytherins. Over the hours my annoyance had turned from impatient anger to icy fury. Superficially, I radiated a composed calm, with hands gracefully folded in my lap. Internally, my glacial feelings rivaled the dungeon's temperature.
Finally two massive forms darkened the entrance. Spotting me, they lumbered forward, stopping as soon as they were in front of my sitting form. Heads slightly hung, they waited for me to talk first.
"Do you know what time it is?" I asked with deceptive courtesy.
Both nodded, not daring to speak.
"And do you remember what time we agreed to meet?"
Again, they nodded mutely.
Falling quiet, I allowed the silence to mingle with the room's cold, my motionless form not unlike a cobra about to strike.
"Well, then," I said after they began to nervously shift. "What could have possibly happened to have kept me waiting here, alone, for six hours?"
"We… we…" Gregory floundered.
"That is to say," Vincent cut in. "We forgot."
"You forgot," I repeated numbly. They both nodded, willing me to believe their excuse.
"You forgot," I restated as a dull roar filled my ears at their obvious lie.
"So, you simply forgot that we meet in the common room every trip to Hogsmeade." I began silkily. "You simply… forgot that we were to meet here, like we have for the past two years? You simply forgot."
I looked them each in the eye, watching the doubt rise and worry start to set in. Standing, I forced them each to retreat a step.
"You leave me, sitting here for hours, and the best excuse you can think of is that you merely forgot. Come now, Vincent, I'm surprised. With all the books you read, you couldn't think up a better lie?"
"Draco, we…"
"…Are lying to me. Yes, I think that's fairly apparent. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll just go up to bed and have a talk with the wall. It, at least, seems to have better conversational skills then you two. Perhaps it'll even come up with a better lie, one that I might actually believe."
Sweeping past them, my exit was cut short by a large hand on my shoulder. Glaring at it with an intent so cold it burned, Gregory quickly removed the offending hand.
"Vinceandmearegoingout."
"What?" I stared incredulously at him, not believing my ears.
"Vince and me are going out." Gregory repeated, eyes studying the cement floor.
" 'Vince and I,'" Vincent automatically corrected.
Looking to Vincent, he confirmed what Gregory had said with a nod of his head. Sitting in the arm chair once again, I asked in pure shock, "For how long has this been going on?"
"For six hours," replied Vincent with a tentative smile.
"Oh," was my so-intelligent response.
"We didn't mean to hurt you," Vincent continued, kneeling in front of me. "We honestly did forget to meet you today."
"Oh," I stupidly replied, still flabbergasted.
Vincent and Gregory exchanged a worried glance.
"I'm sure you understand, Draco" Gregory stated softly. "You feel the same way about Weasley."
"WHAT?!" I whispered, eyes widening in horror.
"What I mean is, we've seen you watching him…"
"I am not interested in Weasley." I quickly responded in a hushed tone, as the common room was slowly starting to fill with people. "It is merely a ruse, devised to aide Jaggers in a little… project."
With a worried frown, Gregory cocked his head to one side, "Carlos Jaggers?"
Raising one eyebrow, I sardonically drawled. "Do you know of any other Jaggers that attend Hogwarts?"
"Be careful, he seems--" he began, but swiftly broke off with a blush, shaking his head.
" How does he seem?" I pressed.
"Dangerous." He whispered.
A shiver licked my spine. Gregory, for all his oafishness, was in fact, an excellent judge of people's characters. Although he was mentally slow and embarrassed to say much of anything out loud, his quiet nature allowed him to observe others without too much notice. Vincent, in contrast, was quite bookish, and, once in the confines of the dungeons, often spouted quotes from those he had read, Muggle and Wizard alike. In public they may seem similar, both using their physical size to their advantages, but privately they were as different as spring and fall.
"I KNOW YOU HAVE IT!" An accusatory boom broke through my musings, all in the common room ceased what they were formerly doing to catch a glimpse of what was occurring by the fireplace. Two first years I recognized as Lauren McCartney and Nikki Ballinger cowered from the seventh year spitting in rage.
"Jagg…Jaggers. We told you," ventured the braver of the two in a timid murmur. "We haven't seen your ring."
"Oh, really?" Carlos asked in a civil tone, a disconcerting twist from his previous yelling.
Lauren and Nikki anxiously nodded.
Carlos grabbed Lauren by the collar of her robe. "THEN WHY WERE YOU LOOKING AT ME DURING SUPPER?!"
Nikki stood paralyzed by her uprooted friend, staring at Carlos with the look of one facing the devil himself.
"Oya, Guapo!" Broke a female voice from across the room.
Turning, I recognized Lillith Fairfield, sixth year, confidently striding toward the tableau at the fireplace.
"I believe," she smoothly stated, voice lilting with her Hispanic heritage. "This is yours." The ring she held up was a polished silver.
Wordlessly, he released Lauren, seized the ring and strode to his dorm. At the sound of a door slamming violently, the tension in the room released almost tangibly. With a look of awe, Lauren breathlessly asked Lillith, "How did you know it was his ring?"
"Simple," she responded with a slight smile. "It had his surname engraved on it, and he's the only Jaggers in Hogwarts."
Taking that as some sort of signal, everyone resumed their previous pursuits. With a solemn look, Gregory faced me once again.
"See? I told you he was crazy."
"Greg's right. The less amount of time spent around Jaggers, the better. How much longer is this feigned attraction to Weasley going to continue?"
"I have to make him fall in love with me by winter recess."
Vincent frowned in concern. "That's in two weeks. Are you certain you will accomplish all that in so short a span of time?"
"I'm positive."
"When did this thing start?" Gregory asked intently.
"My pursuit of Weasely began Wednesday."
Vincent and Gregory exchanged identical triumphant grins.
"Dare I ask what you're smiling about?" I queried, looking from one to the other.
Turning his grin on me, Gregory smugly replied. "You've been watching Weasley since October."
Standing abruptly, I curtly bade them good evening, and retreated toward our dorm room. As I walked away, Vincent's mischievous voice softly followed. " 'He's in love, and he's not the only one, Who'll be changed.'"
Just as I put my hand to the frigid doorknob, a familiar bass sounded from the shadows. "Are you falling for him?"
My heart leaped, panic slamming into my chest, yet my expression didn't change as I faced the man in the shadows. "Vincent and Gregory were mistaken." Opening the door, I attempted a quick exit.
A large hand slammed the door shut. Trying to turn away from the ominous figure, I found Carlos's other hand in my way. With his hands on either side of my body, he effectively blocked any escape.
"For your sake, they had better be." His breath burned the tender skin of my neck as he leaned closer to lick my flesh. "I wouldn't like to think the heart you declare to not have is actually bestowed elsewhere."
Twisting to look into his face, I felt the familiar hollowness fill my eyes, stamping out any emotions I had mere minutes ago.
"I have not bestowed my tenderness anywhere. I have never had any such thing."
"Good," he breathed as his teeth captured my bottom lip.
"Stay with me tonight." His demand left no room for opposition.
Wordlessly, I nodded, following him to his familiar bed.