Chapter thirty five

Double betrayal

/

Professor Dumbledore had sorted out her night trip with Snape, but the result was that the infamous teacher treated Angela almost as badly as he treated Harry Potter. And that was really said something. Fortunately, Angela had other things to worry about than dealing with the School Bat's complexes and completely ignored his nagging and bullying in classes, which of course was driving Snape mad.

During the week, harsh freezing replaced persistent snowing. The temperature dropped below twenty degrees during the day and sometimes even down to minus thirty at night. Professor Flitwick had to help Professor Sprout with the magical heating of the greenhouses; otherwise, most of the plants and herbs would probably freeze inside them.

Beautiful, delicate patterns decorated all the castle windows, making it almost impossible to see outside through them, and each inhabited room had its fire to warm it day and night.

On Wednesday, Angela had turned down Harry's suggestion for a date on Friday night, with a remarkably vague excuse, and had told Draco about that at dinner. He just nodded and was already making a plan in his head, how to make Potter to come to the secret Room that evening after all.

Harry Potter had no idea what was about to cruelly knock him down from his cloud of happiness that he had been floating on since the Friday night…

/

During the last lesson before the weekend, which was the second of the two-hour long of Charms, Harry looked up from his notes in interest. A small piece of parchment flew just above the ground between Angela's and Malfoy´s place. Harry glanced subtly at Slytherin prince´s hands, which were now holding it. He scratched something on it and sent it back to Angela in the same way.

She opened it, read it and glanced at Draco.

Just then, Professor Flitwick asked her to perform the Banishing Charm they had been discussing. Angela stood up, crumpled up a piece of parchment discreetly and wanted to put it in her robe pocket.

However, Harry saw that she had missed, which she probably did not even realize, and the parchment fell soundlessly to the ground. For the rest of their class, Harry could not concentrate anymore and kept staring mesmerizingly at the spot under Angela's desk.

When the bell finally rang, he deliberately dropped a few parchments on the ground and began to slowly gather them up, so that he was the last one left in the classroom. Then he quickly moved to Angela's place and bent down to pick up that suspicious message.

It burnt in his pocket for the whole lunch, but he did not want to open it in front of his friends. He only did it when he was alone by the window in the bedroom of the Gryffindor tower.

He believed me that poor excuse, so the Room is free tonight…

The first sentence in Angela's elegant handwriting caught Harry's eye.

Okay. At nine o´clock then. I look forward to you.

Which was no doubt Draco's response…

Harry clutched the cursed note in his trembling hand, terrible suspicion gripping his heart. Angela could not do something like that to him! Not such an awful dirty trick...

But he knew he wouldn't rest until he saw for himself. He crumpled the parchment into a tiny ball, opened the window and angrily threw it out in the freezing air.

/

"Do you think he'll come?" Angela asked quietly as she poured some wine into two glasses.

"Certainly. He'll want to see for himself," Draco nodded.

She glanced at the spacious, green-decorated bed and her face twitched strangely.

"Draco… Shall we put it off?" she blurted out suddenly.

"What?" he turned to her incomprehensibly. "You wanted to get this done as soon as possible and now you don't?"

"I… but…" Angela sighed and slid into the chair behind her. "You know, it's barely been a week since… we… well…" she muttered, her gaze fixed down on the floor.

Draco suddenly realized what she meant and he sat down in the other chair in shock: "You slept with him?"

"Yeah," Angela confirmed extremely quietly, still averting her gaze, so he would not see her teary eyes.

Draco leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees and took a deep breath.

"That night when you didn't come back until morning, right?" he asked in a strained voice.

She nodded wordlessly.

"Can't you control yourself a bit?" he snapped suddenly. "You just made everything worse!"

"You think I don't know!?" Angela shot out tearfully. "After all, it's so much harder for me too..."

Draco sighed. Ever since Angela started this whole Potter affair, she had become emotional and reckless. Though, that was not something she needed to hear at the moment. He reached out and stroked her shoulder gently. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

"This is not on you. I know I'm terribly stupid," Angela confessed bitterly and took out a handkerchief from her pocket to blow her nose, with Draco watching her worriedly.

"So? Do you want to postpone all this?" he asked then seriously.

Slightly, Angela shook her head. "No… It would not have been any easier. Did you put that warning line in front of the door?" she asked as she wiped her nose.

"Sure," Draco nodded calmly and stood up.

"Okay," she nodded and with shaking hands, she began to unbutton her sweater.

/

From a distance of five meters, Harry hypnotized the location of the entrance to the Room of Requirement. Maybe they have secured themselves somehow and he would not be able to even get there. Or, it was some kind of big mistake and they were not there at all and he was walking around like a kicked dog for no reason.

He glanced at his watch – it was fifteen past nine. Surely, this was just some stupid joke. Angela would have never cheated on him. He was about to turn and leave, but then he figured that he would just make sure no one was there. No harm in that, right?

He finally decided and passed twice in front of what appeared to be an ordinary wall.

I need to find out who's inside, I need to find out who's inside, he muttered to himself in concentration and looked up. He was not exactly happy when the door actually appeared in front of him.

Harry took a shaky breath, took the doorknob quietly and swung it open.

The room looked different from when they were there together with Angela. More cosy and had a way more green and silver colours all around. However, the only thing that fully captured Harry's attention was the pair embracing in front of the huge bed.

He froze in the doorway, unable to believe what he was seeing with his own eyes.

Wearing quite a sexy bra and tight skirt, Angela was passionately kissing Malfoy, who wore only jeans. He was hugging Harry´s girlfriend around the waist and stroking her loose hair with his other hand. They were fully devoted to each other and did not seem to notice the uninvited visitor.

Harry felt like he could not even breathe. His suspicion was right. He was choking with jealousy and rage.

Blood rushed up into his head and his eyes took on a dangerous shine.

At that moment, Angela, apparently enjoying being kissed low on the neck, noticed him. She froze, as if struck by the lightening. Noticing her stiffness, Malfoy looked back toward the door. He registered Harry as well, all red in the face and with clenched teeth, and his face widened in a mocking grin.

That was the last drop in the cup of Harry's self-control. He charged to the pair with such force that Angela flinched back in fright. As he finally reached them, he hit Malfoy so hard that the blonde asshole stretched out on the bed behind him and then rolled over the edge on the other side of it.

After that, Harry looked at Angela with such contempt and coldness that the words she wanted to say stuck in her throat. She helplessly reached out to him, but before she could even touch him, he jerked back and angrily hissed: "Don't touch me, you whore!"

Angela turned deadly pale. Harry turned away from her, dashed back to the door and blasted out of the Room so fast that he almost knocked over the girl who had appeared in front of him quite unexpectedly. He did not realize it at all and was gone in an instant.

Draco collected himself up from the ground next to the bed and rubbed his tingling jaw. He could taste blood in his mouth from a bitten lip. He spat in disgust.

"Shit…" he quietly relieved and looked at Angela, who had literally collapsed to the floor.

Then, someone else appeared in the still open door. Angela recognized Daria after a few seconds and her breath caught in her throat again. Daria glanced at her, at Draco, then looked back at her, remembered Harry's expression and her eyes narrowed in anger. She immediately forgot why she had come here in the first place.

"Daria…" Angela´s voice was not more than a hoarse whisper. "It's not what it seems like, trust me…"

"You bitch," Daria breathed out hatefully and Angela stopped mid-sentence. "So, that's why you discouraged me from him. You still wanted him for yourself!"

"But it's not like that…" she tried again, but Daria did not listen. She turned sharply, her black hair just a flash in the doorframe, and disappeared just like Harry.

Angela stared blankly at the empty door. Tears began to fall from her eyes. She buried her head in her hands, while Draco stood there like a pillar of salt.

The Room froze in deafening and stifling silence.

/

Harry

I'm such an idiot!

She must have been sleeping with him the whole time we were together! She was just pulling my leg! Merlin, just why! After all, I loved her! I believed her! Everything she ever said to me was nothing but truth! How could she do this to me?

Harry´s anger at Angela completely overshadowed his hatred for Malfoy at that moment. He dashed into the darkened bedroom and quickly headed for his bed. He knelt down and pulled out the thick Quidditch book he had gotten from her for Christmas. He was completely oblivious to Ron and Neville's surprised looks, who had been talking quietly until he arrived.

"Harry? What happened?" asked Ron.

Harry did not notice him at all though. Pulling a framed photograph from its hiding place in the book, he left everything else as it was and dashed out of the bedroom as quickly as he had come.

So many mixed feelings swirled inside of him, from disappointment to pain and anger. He was no longer able to think straight. He almost ran back to the Room, clutching the photo in his hand, and it was only lucky that no one met him in the corridor.

Daria

That ugly rat! I knew she was bullshitting me. She claimed so passionately that she was in love with him anymore, that she was over it a long time ago, and yet she still slept with him! She was enjoying herself this whole time with him and I believed her! How could I be so blind?!

And Draco, how I could only hope he liked me! I thought he was pretty cool, much more than cool, I was in love with him, damn it!

First my parents and... And now my best friend betrays me like this...

Daria quietly crawled into her bed, trying to suffocate the sobs that escaped her throat in spite of all resistance in the pillow. Ginny propped herself up on her elbows on the next bed and stared at shaking Daria in astonishment.

Then she slowly got up, sat down next to her and hugged her gently.

After a while, Daria clung to her gratefully.

Draco

Well, this is quite fucked up...

Damn, he can hit hard, my jaw´s going to hurt for at least two days. I have to correct my opinion on Potter boy.

But Daria… She had nothing to do with it. She wasn't supposed to see that. The contempt in her eyes… She was angrier with Angela, but what does she think of me now? I'd be naive to think I still had a chance with her.

What the hell am I blabbering? I couldn't have anything to do with her, anyway... Maybe it's better this way. She will avoid me and she can even hate me. Safer for both me and her.

But Angela… Poor Angela. A pile of unhappiness, that she is…

Angela

I'm such a naive cow... This shouldn't have happened. In two minutes, I hurt two people I love in the most terrible way. How do I explain this to Daria now? As I know her, she won't even let me speak. And Harry… He surely hates me. I will never forget his look...

What the hell did I do? I should have stopped, I should have backed off, or even better, I shouldn't have started anything with Harry. Why did I fall in love with him? I just hurt him as much as I only could. I'm so stupid! He will never forgive me for this. I can't even forgive myself...

Suddenly, through the still open door, a deafening crash entered the silent Room. Both Angela and Draco flinched in surprise and looked at each other.

Angela stood up, threw on her sweater and, like Draco, grabbed her wand. They went outside and cautiously looked around on both sides.

Draco did not see anyone until he noticed that Angela was staring at something. He looked in the same direction to the wall, at the foot of which something was hiding in the flood of shards. Angela moved slowly and knelt down by the pile.

Draco stood behind her: "What is it?"

With a clink of glass, Angela picked up a crumpled photograph from the ground.

"That's the present I gave Harry for Christmas," she replied quietly, her voice hoarse.

Draco did not say anything, just watched her with a strange look in his eyes. Angela stood up. She waved her wand and the glass disappeared. However, she was still clutching the photo in her fingers.

"Could you leave me alone, please?" she whispered.

Draco nodded slowly and went into the Room to get his shirt. Angela walked in behind him and sat down in an armchair by the fireplace. Draco turned to her one more time.

"You really don't want me to stay here with you?"

She just shook her head. Giving up, Draco went out and hesitantly closed the door behind him.

Angela locked it with her wand, curled up in a ball, let the photo fall to the ground, and started crying desperately.