A/N: Here you go. No a/n today.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Nothing To Explain

Julie slunk into her room like a wounded cat. She was hunched over somewhat, with her collar turned up high. The two people who noticed her go back thought that something was very strange, but they didn't ask her or even let on that they were there. Had they done that, it would of shown that they were up as well. Chloe and Aldous kissed again and spoke briefly in French. Then he walked her to the door of the first-years' dorm, where there was one more soft goodnight kiss before they parted.

Julie and Donaghan however, had parted differently.

Door locked. Room cold. Fire lit. Robes off.

In her growing state of shock, Julie could only think in two-word sentences. She reached up her scarred left hand and undid the clasp that closed her robes.

She was wearing little and had been hunching to hide a pile of clothes beneath. Blood had streamed very recently from her neck, but had long since ceased to drip much farther or release more from the puncture wounds.

He was a werewolf. But still human, and with sharper teeth as the first tranformation was bound to bring.

On Julie's night table among a too-big stack of books were the titles 'Collected Lycanthropic Studies,' 'Favorite Werewolf Myths,' and 'Le Loup-Garou que voux Non Bête.' The last, which she had altered the cover of slightly for carrying in the halls, was actually 'The Werewolf: Not A Beast' by R.J. Lupin. It had been a favorite of hers long before Donaghan was bitten, as the author was a friend of her family. The very day Chloe had turned in her homework assignment, Julie had changed the cover to appear French-translated, in case Donaghan saw it when they met in the halls.

Homework assignment. That was really an ironic term in Chloe's case. She had once jokingly asked Julie for 'Slytherin lessons.' What ensued was a cross between Tyler Durden's Fight Club and Professor Snape's Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

All jokingly, of course, she learned eavesdropping.

All jokingly, she had been doing her 'homework' after the Halloween Ball in the hospital wing.

And all jokingly, Julie had found out a secret early. So she had done her own homework for Donaghan.

A bite from a werewolf when they were untransformed had no more effects than one from a human would. However, the weeks before a new werewolf's first transformation had very bad side effects. His teeth had sharpened. And he had not noticed they were razorlike until too late.

All kissing and caressing stopped when he saw the blood. She had gotten his shirt off and he had most of her clothes off as well. With teeth clenched and imitation calm, Julie had reassured him and kissed the blood off his lips. She left in pain. It wasn't even from the bite, but from her bad eye.

'The pupil dilation caused by various factors, such as drug effect, lack of light, or hormonal arousal can produce pain to the injured eye.' It was from a Muggle medical book she had read back in her Broughton days. When she'd been kissing him she hadn't noticed it. But the bite startled her and woke her from the reverie, sending a dagger of flame from right eye into brain. Aroused, indeed. Julie would have gone to her bathroom and taken a cold shower, except even standing was making her feel dizzy. Mind-bending pain!

The ferret cage...Malfoy...in class today...

She was a witch! She had forgotten.

"Aproxa ver!"

The 'numbing' charm stopped the pain. Giddy with relief, a very not-well-clothed Julie went to see her pets. After all, the special cage had reminded her to use the charm. She opened a little door in the top and drew out Anthony. The other ferret groomed himself before his turn. Other ferret?

Malfoy'd mentioned a surprise- a new pet ferret! He (for it was male) had bright chipper eyes, a long sleek body a little thicker than Anthony's, and the most beautiful spotless coat of plain white fur. Julie knew that pure whites were very rare and quite expensive, logical for Malfoy, but still lovely... After a brief stroking to ensure Anthony that she still liked him just as much, Julie picked up the new arrival and examined him.

"Well, what am I to call you, little genki-des? Your roommate's name means 'priceless,' I got him for free. A little irony is good for ferrets, don't you know?"

White Ferret responded to this with some nose-twitching, and a whiskery little lick on Julie's nearby cheek.

"Kisses already? Good sweetie, you're just like Draco-"

White Ferret leapt out of her arms and ran away when she said Malfoy's name. For a second she was confused, but then White Ferret sat back and began to groom himself again. He shimmered, and then Draco was where he had been.

"Told you I was an Animagus. Your clothes-!" He averted his eyes.

"A long story. How did you do this, you sneaky thing?" Not dressed well, or not, Julie went and kissed him on his soft lips despite his closed eyes. "This is wonderful."

"And right when you needed me. That awful cut!" He pulled his wand out and made the wound disappear, taking the long dark lines where blood had run away as it faded. "You're just a glutton for punishment, aren't you, Jules?"

"Is that an offer?" She raised an eyebrow salaciously, enjoying his surprised reaction as another point for her side.

"Forgot the whip, dear."

"I've got several of my own, you know."

"Fast. That's good."

"No, seriously, look in here." Julie assumed he'd been referring to her reaction and took two long leather whips from a bedside drawer. Draco's eyes went wider than she'd ever seen.

"That's warp speed."

"You do mean how I talk back, don't you?" The other meaning of the word 'fast' had just occured to her. "Smutmonkey, I used to use these to play."

"And you don't now?" he interjected, making her go red.

"I mean on monkey bars. Kind of an idea when I was really too short to reach, see?" She sent the whip in her left around the bedpost just an inch or so from his hand. He jumped and saw that it clung as tightly as a knot until she recalled it. "They're also very useful for pest control. Imagine there's a fly on the 'D' right here."

Julie placed a copy of 'Beginner's Divination' on the ground nearby. She then took a stick of chalk from the drawer and put dust on the whip's end. There was a crack and then a small white line crossed the 'D.'

"That was good. Why don't you write your name on me?" he suggested jokingly.

"One, you're bruised enough, and two, that's evidence." She coiled the whips and put them in the drawer. "Cripes! Turn around! I forgot-"

"No clothes." Draco was grinning as he faced determinedly away from her.

"No, just not many. You can turn around."

Over the clearly Muggle-designed bra she had merely added the infamous patchwork shirt. It was unbuttoned and not really long enough. Draco liked it but was getting a little bit red and warm. "There. Much better."

"I've still got an unobstructed view."

Her eyes went red for a second above a rakish smirk.

"Mal', darling, if there is anything you have never seen before, I would be more than happy to explain what the new ones are."

It was wild, but it was funny, and they both smiled. Draco moved a little closer, about arm's length away. On a whim he reached out and snapped her bra strap.

"That is called a bra, dear, and it is detachable."

"I"m quite aware of what it is, but it's a Muggle one."

"Do the wizard kind do tricks?" she asked mischievously.

"No, but they don't make a noise like that and they lace up in front. How the hell do you get that off at night?"

"There's hooks. Anything else that makes you curious?"

"Well, now that you mention it-"

"Nuh-uh. Stop." Abruptly Julie buttoned the collar of the shirt so that it hung closed more. Her cheekbones had a darkening blush of red. "I can only play for so long at night, you know, it's sleep time and I'm going to zonk off soon."

"It's ten, do you honestly sleep this early?"

"Only when I'm as worn out as now I do." Stifling another yawn, she leaned over and kissed him well. He responded somewhat fiercely, pulling her closer and running his hands down her back. That was all it took. In seconds they were going at about the rate she had been with Donaghan only a while ago. Except there were just a few interesting differences. Malfoy was not one to pull off his shirt, sending buttons around like ricocheting stones. Instead, he moved her scar hand to the top one and she undid them, all absorbed in an extremely consuming kiss. His hands went high and low, causing little tremors and shivers to dance around her near-bare skin. Julie turned a little when one touch became too intense and the soft scratch of Draco's short beard grazed her lip a bit. The subtle reminder of their age difference was exciting, almost incestuously wild, and hot. A sound somewhere between moan and growl escaped Julie.

Draco suddenly ceased the furiously resultant petting and directed his attention to the area between underwires, both hands tense.

"Are you feeling me up? It's not going well."

"I'm looking for those hooks."

"They're in the back, you nit."

"Well, where's the logic in that?" He tried to undo it, pulling Julie closer than ever before. She rose up on tiptoe and caressed his chest with her full length. Draco made a growly sound.

"There, I think."

"You should be in Slytherin."

"It's taking you surprisingly long to get that undone. Haven't you any experience with Muggle bras?"

It was a loaded question. After all, he was much older.

"I've barely gotten used to their ballpoint pens. And I know what you mean and the answer's no. Just witches. There's something I want to know from you, though, what house he was."

"Come again?"

"You only admitted to never having slept with a Muggle guy. You've been here almost three months, that's only time for one. What house was he?"

She was silent.

"Good god, not a Slytherin." It was bait. She reddened.

"No…"

"I knew it! You're entirely innocent."

"Entirely? I beg to differ, sir!" Julie got wild again, but this time Draco caught her wrists. The kissing, however, she didn't stop. Finally he had to graze her lip with his teeth gently.

"You, little dear, are still innocent. This is not something I'm going to make you do."

"Make me? But what if-"

"You don't want it. Right now your body does, but you still aren't ready to. I didn't spend seven years in the Serpents' Den to fuck a girl and risk everything that is."

"Uh…I think I know about the secret anticeptive charm. I'm not worried."

"Not about that. There's other things."

"You're clean, right?"

"Not that kind of thing. Have you seen what happens to some girls who do this too young?"

"More than you could possibly know, Draco. I'm strong enough."

"Not to avoid evil, though. There was a girl in my house who wound up as the chattel of Voldemort after a Death Eater messed with her. The worst part of it was that she did it willingly."

"It wasn't you?"

"No, my friend Crabbe. He isn't living now. You've got enough problems with the plagiarist without throwing this on your neck as well."

"Alright, if you say so. Is this…permanent?"

"You just leaned against me, you know it's not forever!" Malfoy smiled and kissed her forehead softly. "I'd sort of like this to last, you know. Maybe your dad's luck will rub off on me."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm not sure, Julie. Before we fought it was small, but now it's…different. I'm starting to wonder if I'm falling in love with you."

"That'd be a first," she lied cynically. "Maybe you got Professor Trelawney's luck instead."

"That isn't the only reason I won't sleep with you."

"The other?"

"Your nose. It keeps reminding me…"

"Of ravens?"

"No, slow and painful poisoning if your dad finds out."

She giggled.

"I'd worry a bit more about Mum, though, she can get nasty."

"I don't think she could kill me. She's still far too nice." The reason wasn't quite the only one, but he didn't want her to know. "What do they suspect so far?"

"That you're a Lockhart case."

"Huh?"

"I just think you're cute."

"Do you really, now?"

"Well, not just that, but that's really sort of obvious." She yawned accidentally and he kissed her.

"It's bedtime for you, Julie. Come on up here." Draco lifted her effortlessly in spite of his game bruises and put her neatly into bed like a small child. He tucked her in and lay down beside her on top of the coverlet, snuggling close and kissing her one last time. "I just wanted to make sure you would be warm tonight."

"G'night, darling."

"Goodnight, little Slytherin." He faded and blurred back into White Ferret, who licked Julie's cheek before scampering back to the cage. It was apparently a link to his rooms somehow.

Julie mumbled the word to make her bedroom lights go out. The fireplace remained as she never slept in the dark after Halloween. She was afraid of it.

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The morning of November tenth was cold and clear. An early frost left patterns on the windows and crystalline glitter on the icy grounds. From his window, Donaghan breathed in the scent of winter approaching soon. For a single brief moment he was peaceful. And then, with a heavy sigh, he got dressed for class. Breakfast was in just a short while. He was hoping against hope that Julie would still be okay with what had happened.

He was very surprised when he saw the half-Slytherin. She appeared angrier than anyone he'd ever seen, but it was obvious that it was not with him. Her good eye was actually reddish now, not in the white part, but the iris, like a contact lens. The brief greeting he gave her was barely acknowledged.

"Abou' las' night," he began, and she cut him off.

"It's fine." She actually pulled her shirt askew and showed him the lack of marks.

"Is somethin' wrong, Julie?"

"Obviously. Not with you. Pass the salt."

It was clear she did not want to talk today. Her bad mood was suddenly worsened by the arrival of the Weasley twins, who looked as happy as if a new baby was on the way.

"Guess what, guys!"

"Uncle Ron's getting married!"

"I know," Julie snapped. "See you in Transfiguration." She left the Hall.

If she had just applied the Sonorus charm and announced to the entire student body it was that news that put her in such a mood, it could not have been more effectively shown. So Judy Parkington was a little less than completely calm when Julie ran into her.

"Uh, hi."

"Congratulations, Miss Parkington. This is such good news." It was the same exclamation that most other people'd used, and with the same amount of good will, and no sarcasm. It was again as if Judy were the less powerful of the pair, even afraid of her ex-pupil. Julie looked as if she were merely too angry with something unrelated to be quite thorough in expressing real joy to her. "When I get back, you must tell me about everything."

And she disappeared again, fury dripping from her like rain in the Amazon. About twenty minutes later, when everyone was finishing up breakfast, she returned dressed in the outfit she had arrived there in.

The purple trenchcoat looked somewhat scary in a whole room of wizards' robes, and the worn-out scrap clothes beneath it were more so. Before when she had walked that way between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables directly up to the place where the teachers ate, she had been nervous approaching the Sorting Hat, and dressed in old school robes of her mother's. Today she was dressed as an eccentric Muggle with an eyepatch and pure white streak. The one visible eye was no longer brown but glowing red. Hermione and Severus knew this was not something good.

"Professors, Mother, Father," she greeted, in steel tones her father knew to match his own. "I have something I must attend to and will not be in classes today. If there are any exams, I will take them all upon my return. Here is all of my homework from yesterday." She drew four rolls of parchment from her pocket and put them on the table. "Parents, I believe I'll be home by six. Good day to you all."

And she walked right out. Just as her father rose to protest to this bizarre behavior, she caught the Firebolt she'd Summoned and flew away.

Professor Malfoy swallowed hard and realized that both the Headmistress and the Head of Gryffindor were shooting him glares that revealed too much.

"Professor Potter, I must ask you to follow her," Headmistress McGonagall announced. "Professors Malfoy, Granger, and Snape, I want a word with you."

Harry departed in great haste to pursue the Starcatcher, but not before Chloe Davies came up to Professor Granger with a rolled-up note.

"Professor Granger, Julie left this." Hermione took it.

It was not a note but a page from the Daily Prophet. She swore under her breath and handed it to Severus. After Minerva, too, had scanned it and been furious, Malfoy got a turn to see the headline:

'SHE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-NAMED IS AT HOGWARTS!'

He uttered a forgivable if truly disgusting expletive. Severus nodded his agreement to Draco's choice of words, as he, too, despised 'that Skeeter cow.'

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A/N: Is last chapter's homework explained now, ducks?