CHAPTER 6: The Perfect Charm
After the Yule Ball everyone in the Slytherin common room had left for the winter holidays, everyone except Piper, Draco and Aislinn. That morning Draco woke up in the boys' dormitories. He and Piper stayed up the whole night talking about a number of things. Piper was still sleeping in the four-poster next to his, so he decided to wake her up, just in case Professor Snape walked in and gave them both detentions. Draco went over to Piper's bed and shook her gently.
"Hmm.I don' wanna get up yet.go 'way" said Piper, her eyes still closed. She pulled the covers over her head.
"Piper.you gotta get up, Snape might come in here and bust us both. You and I both know he won't believe us if we tell him we didn't do anything." said Draco, pulling the covers back to see her face.
"'Kay, give me ten more minutes." said Piper, and went back to sleep.
Draco sighed and rolled his eyes. He went down to the common room.
Aislinn was sitting on one of the chairs next to the wall, reading a book. She looked up from it when he entered, plopping down in the couch across from her. She continued to read.
"What are you reading?" he asked, trying to make conversation while he waited to wake Piper up.
She showed him the cover. It had a face of a girl behind something that looked like a tree; it had the word Speak written in the bottom corner.
Draco nodded.
The rest of the nine minutes he had were wasted away by silence. He got up to wake up Piper, but as soon as he reached the stairs, she was already walking down the staircase.
"Good, you're up." said Draco, as Piper came down closer to him, he kissed her. Then they both went and sat down on the couch he had been sitting on earlier.
Piper saw Aislinn and said hi. She looked up and smiled shyly, then got up from the chair and went up to the girls' dormitories.
"How come she's always so quiet?" said Draco.
"I don't know. Life sucks." said Piper.
"What do you mean, what happened to her?" said Draco.
"I don't know, she won't tell me." said Piper.
After that, Draco and Piper walked out to the Great Hall to get some breakfast. Harry, Ron and Hermione were the only ones there. Draco assumed that the rest of the students had left for the holidays.
Draco looked in their direction while Piper sat down at the Slytherin table.
"Shame, shame.looks like some people aren't wanted at home."
"Look who's talking." mumbled Hermione, not looking up from her book.
"What was that Mudblood?" said Draco, walking over to their table, Piper was smirking at them all.
Ron bolted from his seat and lunged at Draco, knocking him to the ground, punching him in the ribs.
"Get off me Weasley!" Draco then rolled over so that he was on top Ron, and started to punch him in return.
"Ron! Stop it, you'll get in trouble!" yelled Hermione and tried to pull Draco off of him, but Draco shoved her with his arm and she fell to the ground. Just then Ron, his nose dripping with blood, rolled back on top of Draco.
"Hermione, are you okay?" said Harry and ran over to her.
"Yeah, just get Ron away from Mal---"
BOOM!
Ron flew through the air and smacked against the wall hard.
"Ron! Oh my gosh! Are you all right?" Hermione and Harry shouted together and ran to the crumpled heap that was Ron.
"Oh, no.he's unconscious."
"You!" Harry yelled at Malfoy, who was lying on the floor, and staring at the ceiling.
"Oh, I'm really sorry." said a voice, sarcastically, and Harry looked towards it. "Why did you do this?" asked Harry, looking at Draco's girlfriend, Piper.
" Oh, I think you have a pretty good idea why." she said.
"And?"
"He was beating Draco up!" said Piper. "Malfoy, beat him up!" yelled Harry, pointing in Ron's direction. Hermione was crouching next to him, trying to get him to wake up.
"Hey! Don't yell at her!" Draco yelled at him, he was now standing up and looked pretty mad. He was bleeding from the corner from his mouth, his right eye swollen and beginning to turn purple.
Piper pointed her wand at Harry and made him get out of her way by sending him flying through the air like Ron, and slamming him against the wall. "Stop it! All of you! This is stupid, we shouldn't be fighting li---"
But Piper soon cut off her words; she had come up to Hermione and punched her on the nose. Hermione slumped to the floor, clutching her bloody nose.
"Come on Draco. Let's go before the teachers come in here." she pointed her wand at the threesome and did a Memory charm, which made them all unable to remember what had happened to them, in case Dumbledore asked.
"Thanks for getting him off me." Draco said after him and Piper were in the corridor, heading up to the Hospital Wing.
"No prob. He's a jerk anyway. Why do you always call that Granger girl a Mudblood?" said Piper.
"'Cause.she is. She's got muggle parents, and she's a witch, so that makes her a Mudblood."
"Yea, I know what it is, but why? Don't you think that's kind of harsh, I mean.what if you were her and had to stand with the thought of being one?" said Piper.
"Well.I've never thought of it that way." said Draco.
He put his finger to his lip; it was bleeding really hard. His eye was getting worse as they talked. They turned a corner and entered through the double doors. Madame Pomfrey came running up to them.
"Oh my, what happened?" she said.
"Someone punched him." said Piper.
"Oh, well come here and I'll get you cleaned up. Come, come." said Madame Pomfrey, pulling him by the arm to one of the cots in the room.
Draco sat down while Pomfrey went to get her wand and some kind of brownish liquid in a tube.
"What is that?" Piper asked her, pointing to the tube in Pomfrey's hand
"Pain Killer potion. It's going to make the pain go away on the bruise." she said.
"Oh." said Piper, stroking Draco's hair with her hand.
"Here, drink up." said Madame Pomfrey, handing Draco the potion.
"Ugh, this is gross." said Draco handing her the half-drunken potion back.
"Drink!" said Madame Pomfrey, making him drink it by pushing the tube against his mouth.
She muttered what sounded like, "Kids these days," then pointed her wand at Draco's lip and said, "Blutoir". The cut and bloodstain on his lip soon disappeared.
"Now that that's done, get out, I have lots of work to do." she said, pushing them towards the door.
Draco and Piper turned the corner to the dungeons. They didn't feel like going back down to the Great Hall.
"Where did you learn to do a Memory Charm?" Draco asked her once they were in the common room.
"Durmstang. Karkaroff - you know who he is right?" she said before continuing.
" - Yeah." said Draco. They sat on the couch. " - Well, he really treasures the Dark Arts, so he wants the teachers to teach us everything before we graduate. So when the teachers here are still teaching you how to repel curses, we are learning the Memory Charm." she said.
"But, wait.wouldn't you be learning that in Charms?" said Draco, looking bewildered.
"No, not really.you see.the Memory Charm can be somewhat dangerous if you don't know how to use it correctly. If you do a really strong one, you might wipe the person's memory of everything, so that they don't even know who their parents were, or that they are even alive." explained Piper.
"Oh. So technically, you already learned everything that I'm learning now?" said Draco.
"Some stuff, yes." she said, smiling vaguely.
After the Yule Ball everyone in the Slytherin common room had left for the winter holidays, everyone except Piper, Draco and Aislinn. That morning Draco woke up in the boys' dormitories. He and Piper stayed up the whole night talking about a number of things. Piper was still sleeping in the four-poster next to his, so he decided to wake her up, just in case Professor Snape walked in and gave them both detentions. Draco went over to Piper's bed and shook her gently.
"Hmm.I don' wanna get up yet.go 'way" said Piper, her eyes still closed. She pulled the covers over her head.
"Piper.you gotta get up, Snape might come in here and bust us both. You and I both know he won't believe us if we tell him we didn't do anything." said Draco, pulling the covers back to see her face.
"'Kay, give me ten more minutes." said Piper, and went back to sleep.
Draco sighed and rolled his eyes. He went down to the common room.
Aislinn was sitting on one of the chairs next to the wall, reading a book. She looked up from it when he entered, plopping down in the couch across from her. She continued to read.
"What are you reading?" he asked, trying to make conversation while he waited to wake Piper up.
She showed him the cover. It had a face of a girl behind something that looked like a tree; it had the word Speak written in the bottom corner.
Draco nodded.
The rest of the nine minutes he had were wasted away by silence. He got up to wake up Piper, but as soon as he reached the stairs, she was already walking down the staircase.
"Good, you're up." said Draco, as Piper came down closer to him, he kissed her. Then they both went and sat down on the couch he had been sitting on earlier.
Piper saw Aislinn and said hi. She looked up and smiled shyly, then got up from the chair and went up to the girls' dormitories.
"How come she's always so quiet?" said Draco.
"I don't know. Life sucks." said Piper.
"What do you mean, what happened to her?" said Draco.
"I don't know, she won't tell me." said Piper.
After that, Draco and Piper walked out to the Great Hall to get some breakfast. Harry, Ron and Hermione were the only ones there. Draco assumed that the rest of the students had left for the holidays.
Draco looked in their direction while Piper sat down at the Slytherin table.
"Shame, shame.looks like some people aren't wanted at home."
"Look who's talking." mumbled Hermione, not looking up from her book.
"What was that Mudblood?" said Draco, walking over to their table, Piper was smirking at them all.
Ron bolted from his seat and lunged at Draco, knocking him to the ground, punching him in the ribs.
"Get off me Weasley!" Draco then rolled over so that he was on top Ron, and started to punch him in return.
"Ron! Stop it, you'll get in trouble!" yelled Hermione and tried to pull Draco off of him, but Draco shoved her with his arm and she fell to the ground. Just then Ron, his nose dripping with blood, rolled back on top of Draco.
"Hermione, are you okay?" said Harry and ran over to her.
"Yeah, just get Ron away from Mal---"
BOOM!
Ron flew through the air and smacked against the wall hard.
"Ron! Oh my gosh! Are you all right?" Hermione and Harry shouted together and ran to the crumpled heap that was Ron.
"Oh, no.he's unconscious."
"You!" Harry yelled at Malfoy, who was lying on the floor, and staring at the ceiling.
"Oh, I'm really sorry." said a voice, sarcastically, and Harry looked towards it. "Why did you do this?" asked Harry, looking at Draco's girlfriend, Piper.
" Oh, I think you have a pretty good idea why." she said.
"And?"
"He was beating Draco up!" said Piper. "Malfoy, beat him up!" yelled Harry, pointing in Ron's direction. Hermione was crouching next to him, trying to get him to wake up.
"Hey! Don't yell at her!" Draco yelled at him, he was now standing up and looked pretty mad. He was bleeding from the corner from his mouth, his right eye swollen and beginning to turn purple.
Piper pointed her wand at Harry and made him get out of her way by sending him flying through the air like Ron, and slamming him against the wall. "Stop it! All of you! This is stupid, we shouldn't be fighting li---"
But Piper soon cut off her words; she had come up to Hermione and punched her on the nose. Hermione slumped to the floor, clutching her bloody nose.
"Come on Draco. Let's go before the teachers come in here." she pointed her wand at the threesome and did a Memory charm, which made them all unable to remember what had happened to them, in case Dumbledore asked.
"Thanks for getting him off me." Draco said after him and Piper were in the corridor, heading up to the Hospital Wing.
"No prob. He's a jerk anyway. Why do you always call that Granger girl a Mudblood?" said Piper.
"'Cause.she is. She's got muggle parents, and she's a witch, so that makes her a Mudblood."
"Yea, I know what it is, but why? Don't you think that's kind of harsh, I mean.what if you were her and had to stand with the thought of being one?" said Piper.
"Well.I've never thought of it that way." said Draco.
He put his finger to his lip; it was bleeding really hard. His eye was getting worse as they talked. They turned a corner and entered through the double doors. Madame Pomfrey came running up to them.
"Oh my, what happened?" she said.
"Someone punched him." said Piper.
"Oh, well come here and I'll get you cleaned up. Come, come." said Madame Pomfrey, pulling him by the arm to one of the cots in the room.
Draco sat down while Pomfrey went to get her wand and some kind of brownish liquid in a tube.
"What is that?" Piper asked her, pointing to the tube in Pomfrey's hand
"Pain Killer potion. It's going to make the pain go away on the bruise." she said.
"Oh." said Piper, stroking Draco's hair with her hand.
"Here, drink up." said Madame Pomfrey, handing Draco the potion.
"Ugh, this is gross." said Draco handing her the half-drunken potion back.
"Drink!" said Madame Pomfrey, making him drink it by pushing the tube against his mouth.
She muttered what sounded like, "Kids these days," then pointed her wand at Draco's lip and said, "Blutoir". The cut and bloodstain on his lip soon disappeared.
"Now that that's done, get out, I have lots of work to do." she said, pushing them towards the door.
Draco and Piper turned the corner to the dungeons. They didn't feel like going back down to the Great Hall.
"Where did you learn to do a Memory Charm?" Draco asked her once they were in the common room.
"Durmstang. Karkaroff - you know who he is right?" she said before continuing.
" - Yeah." said Draco. They sat on the couch. " - Well, he really treasures the Dark Arts, so he wants the teachers to teach us everything before we graduate. So when the teachers here are still teaching you how to repel curses, we are learning the Memory Charm." she said.
"But, wait.wouldn't you be learning that in Charms?" said Draco, looking bewildered.
"No, not really.you see.the Memory Charm can be somewhat dangerous if you don't know how to use it correctly. If you do a really strong one, you might wipe the person's memory of everything, so that they don't even know who their parents were, or that they are even alive." explained Piper.
"Oh. So technically, you already learned everything that I'm learning now?" said Draco.
"Some stuff, yes." she said, smiling vaguely.