Just One of Those Days: Part Two

Chapter One

~*~Angel~*~

          It was August 6, Thursday, 6:49 pm.  For the most part, it was a lovely night, the sky was littered with stars and the moon was shining brightly.  All and all, London seemed like a very nice place to be at the present point and time.  There were few sounds that could be heard if one stood on a street corner, maybe the sound of a horse-drawn carriage in the distance, American tourists loved those things.  There was also the sound of an owl, the engine of a car being started, the screams of a woman, the chatter of people passing by…wait a moment.  The screams of a woman?

          "Come on Hermione, push!  Just a bit more!  Come on, you're doing great!" Draco Malfoy said reassuringly, holding tight to his wife's hand; for Hermione Malfoy was now in the mist of giving birth.

          Her eyes were screwed shut as she screamed, "This is all your fault Draco Malfoy!" her voice filled with resentment.

          Draco looked a bit taken back, but the nurse at his side just laughed, "It's alright Mr. Malfoy, this happens very often with women when they give birth, I assure you, she doesn't mean it…" she explained, still giggling a bit.

          And then that was it, the sound of a child crying could be heard and Hermione's screams of vengeance stopped dead.  Draco watched as the doctors and nurses wrapped his baby in a blanket, though this took merely minutes, it felt like hours, he just wanted to see his baby.  One of the doctors finally brought his child back, placing the little bundle in Hermione's arms.  "It's a girl…" he said softly with a smile.

          Tears already ran down Hermione's cheek, "She's so beautiful…" was all she could say.

          "What should we call her?" Draco asked, not able to take his eyes away from his new daughter.

          "I want to name her Victoria…" she replied, staring into her daughter's dark blue eyes.

          Draco raised an eyebrow, "But then people will call her Tory…" he said skeptically.

          Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed, "I know that dear, that's what I want," she explained.  He still didn't seem to like the idea of that.  "Look here Draco Malfoy," she said sternly, capturing his full attention.  "I just spend forty-three hours, twenty-one minutes, and fifty-six seconds delivering this baby.  We're calling her Victoria, her nickname will be Tory and that's the end of it!" she said, her voice was threatening him to argue back.

          But he knew better, Hermione always won when they bickered, so he didn't think it wise to start now, especially with her in the state she was in.  "Okay Hermione, no need to get brass…" he said smiling.

          "Good…" she said with a nod.  "Glad you see it my way…"

          "I always see things your way…" he pointed out.

          She sent him a smile, "As you should," she joked.  "Do you think she'll like it?" she asked unexpectedly.

          "Like what?" he asked.

          "Hogwarts…"

Fifteen Years Later

Draco's POV:

          Victoria sat on the couch watching the TV idly, smiling at me as I sat down next to her, "What's on the telly pumpkin?" I asked, knowing she hated being called 'pumpkin', so I made it a point to call her that at least once every twenty minutes.

          "Nothing really, muggle business, that sort of thing…" she replied nonchalantly.  I knew she wasn't really into television and all that kind of stuff, but there was nothing else to do…

          "You look rather bored…" I commented.

          "Nothing gets by you Dad…you're still sharp as tack!" she said sarcastically.

          "You must get that from you mother…" I mumbled under my breath.  I swear, Hermione had such a bad influence on her, each of them taking blows at me whenever possible.

          She laughed, apparently hearing what I had said, "No, I get my good looks, charm, and intelligence from Mum, I get my sarcasm and cunning wit from you," she said.  I had to agree with her on that.  She had Hermione's looks, smile, charisma, and know-how, while she inherited my sharp tongue and quick comebacks.  She certainly was a piece of work, this one.  I had gotten over the fact that Victoria was growing up, that she wasn't a little girl any more and that others would also notice that she wasn't a little girl any more about three years ago.  She hit her growth spurt around twelve, and started to develop into the woman she was going to.  Just like Hermione, Tory had the long chocolate hair, but she also had natural golden highlights running through it.  Not only that, but it was curly, very curly.  Her hair was a bunch of naturally bound springs, and it looked good on her.  It fell to her lower back, almost to her bottom, actually, and though she constantly complained about it, I knew it was her pride and joy and she'd never cut it.  Her eyes were her only physical feature that she got from me.  She had dark azure eyes that were simply stunning; it was easy to understand why people had called them captivating.  Then there was the part I dreaded.  While I never wished for my daughter to be ugly, I feared her being pretty.  And Tory was far beyond pretty.  For a fifteen-year-old girl, she was bloody gorgeous; she had all the curves in all the places and a face that was meant for modeling. 

But the funny this about this girl was she didn't care.  She never did.  She was, as she called herself, a 'hard-core' athlete.  Sports were everything to her, both in the wizarding world and the muggle.  When she attended Hogwarts, she was the best keeper they had ever seen since Oliver Wood himself.  During breaks, she played either basketball or soccer (in which she was also the goalie), or she participated in track.  Not only that, but she was a musician, and oddly enough she played the trumpet, the violin, and when she felt like it, the drums.  Trumpet was her first instrument to pick up, but after hearing 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia' she decided that she was going to play violin as well.  And after a few songs from some American punk band called Sum 41, she went to playing the drums too.

          I smiled, Tory was very well rounded, she had received letters for schools of the muggle-type after they had seen her play her sports or music.  But in the next aspect, she was just like her mother.  She loved Hogwarts, she loved it almost as much as her music or her sports.  She loved knowledge, knowing what was what; understanding it; being able to perform any spell she could.  Tory was number one in her class, number nine in all of Hogwarts.  I was very impressed.  Of course, it probably helped to have Hermione around as a constant reminder to study.  But me personally, I liked Victoria just the way she was.  If she was a terrible musician, had no musical talent, and was a complete idiot in school, she'd still be wonderful to be with.  She had such a personality.  Bright and bubbly (of course, when she's PMSing, she's not always as nice, now that I think of it, she's a lot like Herm…), she never seems to worry about things.  She has a great love for her family, friends, and her schoolwork, and, as I've already mentioned about three or four times, her sports and music.

          "Dad?" she asked, pulling me out of thought.

          "Hmmm…?" I replied.

          "Can we go to Diagon Alley early this year?  I know school doesn't start for three weeks, but there's nothing else to do around here.  Besides, ever since Crookshanks died, I was hoping we could get a new cat…" she commented, her tone a bit sadder at the mention of our former cat's name.  Hermione and Victoria were both very fond of Crookshanks and cried for nearly two weeks when the old thing passed away. 

          "Sure pumpkin, I don't think Hermione would argue with that…" I said, smiling as she scowled at me for calling her by her oh-so-hated pet name.

          Just as I said that Hermione walked into the room, looking throw our mail, both wizarding and muggle.  "Tory, you got a letter from James and Nicole, who are each staying at the Burrow again with Dominic…" she said, tossing her the parchment.

          Tory nearly leapt off the coach to catch it, "Thanks Mum!" she called as she ran upstairs. 

          I smiled, "She misses them…" I said.

          And surprisingly, Hermione threw me the same comment Tory did moments earlier, "Nothing gets by you Draco, you're still sharp as a tack!" she said sarcastically, but giving me a smile nonetheless.

          "Ya know, you're being a bad influence, you and Tory each have a bad habit of insulting me any chance you get…" I said.

          She came to my side, sitting on my lap and wrapping her arms around my shoulders, "But you just leave yourself open so often luv…we obviously can't resist…" she said, kissing my lips lightly.

          I was about to make another comment, but she silenced me with her lips, "Shhh…remember actions speak louder then words…" she whispered, before kissing me again.  Ah what the hell…who was I to argue with logic after all…?

Victoria's POV:  

          I raced upstairs, running into my magically sound proof room, launching myself onto my bed, tearing open the envelope from my best friends.

"Tory-

    Hey!  How's everything been?  Anything exciting happen lately with you?  Nicole and I are at the Burrow right now, we got here just about a week ago!  Dominic and Isabella have been getting along rather well, oddly enough" (I laughed, Dominic and Bell usually were bickering non-stop).  "Nicole of course sends her love, same with the others, Uncle Ron says 'Hey pumpkin.'  Oh and Dad says 'hi' too. 

    So when are you going to Diagon Alley?  We want to meet up with you there.  I've been trying to convince Uncle Ron to take us early, because Nic and I each want to check out the new racing brooms, I hear there's a Lightening RFB2 finally out for sale" (RFB was the latest racing broom company.  RFB stood for Really Fast Brooms.  Cheesy as it was, it was true, RFB came out with the fastest line of brooms ever seen to wizards).  "Plus I'm sure you want to check them out!  So think you'll make Captain this year?  Ever since Megan Wood graduated last year, there's been talk that you're up for the position!  You know Nic and I will be rooting for you!  You're the best person for the job!

    Oh!  By the way, Uncle George finally proposed to Miwako" (George's girlfriend from Japan, they had been dating for over seven years, but Uncle George always did have cold feet)!  "She of course said yes, and they're going to get married in Egypt, seeing is how that's their favorite place to vacation.

    Well, I think that's all, write back as soon as you can, let us know when you'll be going to Diagon!  Hope to hear from you soon!

Lots of love and hugs from the whole lot-

          James, Nicole, Dominic, Isabella, Uncle Ron, and Aunt Meredith

          I smiled, writing back as fast as I could:

"Jamie-

    Hey Potter…glad to hear that everyone's well.  I'll be going to Diagon this weekend and I plan on staying there until the start of school, all I have to do is convince Dad and it's a done deal.  I'm amazed that Nic and Bella have been behaving, but you know it won't last!  Any way, I should be going, I have basketball practice in about twenty minutes!  See you soon!

Peace out

Tory"

          With that out of the way, all I had to do was send Dad's owl out.  Now where was that blasted thing…?  He usually liked to hide in Mum's laundry basket…ah ha!  Yup, just as I suspected, snoozing away in a pile of dirty clothes, mostly socks.  "Hey, stupid!  Wake up!" I said, shaking him slightly.  He shook his head and giving me an evil eye.  Yeah, yeah, how dare I wake him up, right, right, I know the drill.  "Don't give me that look…" I warned.  "Here I have a letter for you to deliver, bring it to the Burrow, you know?  Dominic's house?  Take it there!  Come on, Tyon, I'll give you a treat or something when you get back," I told him.  Yeah, that worked.  Tyon did anything for a treat.  He loved 'em.  With a peck of my cheek, he was off.   

          Hmmm…now what to do?  Well, I could always go downstairs and try to convince Mum and Dad to take me to Diagon early this year.  I'm pretty sure they'll say yes.  At least I hope they will.  We can always stay at the Leaky Cauldron, Mum liked it there and it would give her a chance to check things out, and if we go early, we can hopefully avoid the usual back-to-school shopping that we always have to deal with.  Hey…that's a good argument…

Ten minutes later…

          "…And I mean, come on Mum, you love the Leaky Cauldron and checking out all the stores, not to mention that if we go early, we'll be able to avoid all the other kids and the hectic crowds," I reasoned.  In the time it took me to run downstairs and back into the family room, I had come up with thirteen more excellent reasons why we should go to Diagon early.

          Mum was thinking about it, Dad was just sending me smiles, he knew that whatever she decided would be the final answer, so he didn't even bother with his impute.  "Well, you came up with some good rationale and I don't see the harm in going early, there's nothing going on in the Ministry that I have to deal with, so unless you can think of anything?" she asked Dad. 

He just shook his head, "Nope…I don't see a problem either, I don't need to be at Hogwarts until opening day, they're having me take the Express this year as chaperon, McGonagall didn't want the job…now that I think about it, I'm surprised the old bat's still up and running…" he said, ending his comment more to himself, then to us.

          Mum smacked him on the shoulder, "Professor McGonagall was one of my favorite teachers up at Hogwarts, don't insult her like that!" she scolded.  I giggled, Dad loved to push her buttons, and he always knew which ones to hit too…

          Mum was the head of the Ministry of Magic, she was the boss, there wasn't a soul with a higher position then her.  And while it aggravated some, it made me sleep better at night knowing that some idiot, like Fudge, wasn't in charge.  Dad on the other hand, he was the DADA teacher (that is the Defense Against Dark Arts).  And he was good at his job too.  He knew so many spells and how to protect yourself from them. 

          There was also Professor Binns, for History of Magic (yup, he's still around).  And then Professor Lucera for Charms, Professor Figsnout for Herbology, Professor Snape for Potions, Hagrid for Care of Magical Creatures, Professor McGonagall for Transfiguration, Professor Dunlap for Muggle Studies, Professor Shinagorn for Arithmacy, Professor Trelawney for Divination (a class I refused to take, much like Mum…), Professor Lupin for Spells Without Wands, and Professor Black for Animagus Studies (my favorite class…Uncle Black is too much…).

          Remus Lupin and Sirius Black were the two newest teachers we had, they came in a year before I started at Hogwarts.  Lupin taught advanced students to try and do spells without their wands, an idea Mum put in Professor Dumbledore's head a while ago.  Every now and then, she'd come in and show us how to do it.  She was the first witch to ever be able to perform such a task!  Sirius Black (our used-to-be-ex-convict) taught a class on becoming legal Animagus, something I'm working very hard to do.  Professor Black isn't truly my uncle, but he's close enough.  And though he's quite old, same with Lupin, you'd never guess it.  They both aged so well.  They're the Sean Connerys of Hogwarts.

          "Okay pumpkin," Dad pulled me back to our conversation at hand.  "We'll take you to Diagon this weekend!" he told me with a smile.

          I jumped into their arms for a hug, "You guys are the best!  Thanks so much!" I said, then running back upstairs to pack.  I threw my clothes from draws, the floor and anywhere else I could find them into my suitcase, wadding them in as tightly as possible.  "Come on you blasted shirt!  Fit…" I urged.  I knew that there was going to be a problem when I went and got fitted for robes and would need more room in my suitcase, but I'd deal with that when the time came.  I had this thing with making sure I had enough clothes for every single situation imaginable, which often lead to the dilemma of not having enough space.  Every year I begged Mum or Dad to shrink my clothes, obviously I'd do it myself if I wasn't an underage witch…stupid law, but Mum always told me if I just packed less I wouldn't have this little predicament.  Dad said that he'd do if for me, but Mum always tells him that I need to learn my own solution to things.  My solution was finding a much bigger trunk. 

          So I had most everything packed. T-shirts (sports shirts, you know, those American brands—Adidas, Nike, Reebok…that stuff)?  Check.  Jeans and other pants?  Check.  Shoes (sneakers, track shoes, cleats, dressy shoes)?  Check.  Sports bras?  Check.  Lots and lots of socks?  Check.  Undies?  Check.  Basketball?  Check.  Soccer ball?  Check.  Broomstick?  Check.  Lacrosse stick (I play boys' lacrosse too, I can't stand girls', there's no contact.  I mean, come on, where's the fun in that)?  Check.  Lacrosse balls?  Check.  Hair stuff (brush, scrunchies, etc…)?  Check.  What am I missing…?  I couldn't remember.  Oh well, if I do forget anything, I can always send an owl to Mum to get it for me…

          To my surprise, I had a little space for maybe something else to fit, like maybe a quill…or a single piece of parchment.  I started hauling my trunk down the stairs, thanking Merlin that it had wheels.  "Mum!  Dad!  I'm all packed!" I said, they looked at me and smiled. 

          "Not forgetting anything are you pumpkin?" Dad asked me. 

          I shot him a glare, I really hated that name, "Probably, but if I do, I can always owl Mum!" I said, sending her a smile, which she returned.

          Dad nodded, "Alright, then let's get a move on, I finished packing ages ago…" he teased.  They were convinced I took too long packing.  I personally thought that taking two and a half hours was pretty speedy, if you ask me…

          "That's cause you're a guy!" I shot back, knowing it was a bad comeback, but what else was I gonna use?  It was true, he's a guy and guys always take shorter to pack.  They can always wake a minute before they need to be somewhere and still manage to get ready and look as if they had an hour.  Stupid males…

          "Don't get into a row about it you two, let's just get going…" Mum said, putting up her hands as if to break up a fight that wasn't even going to start.

          "Right, chop, chop then, let's be off, I want to get to Diagon soon, see if they have the book I want in yet!" Dad said, picking up his trunk, which was considerably smaller then mine.

          I raised an eyebrow, "A new book for class?" I asked.

          He nodded, "Yup, I found a book on some of the oldest types of curses ever used before in the history of magic…this year, you'll be getting two books, that's going to be one of them I hope.  It was hard to locate, so I'm hoping that the store will be able to get a shipment of them," he explained.

          I groaned, "Two books?  Come on Dad…" I whined.  Truth be told, I'd probably find whatever was in the book to be very interesting, but that didn't change the fact that I didn't want to lug around two books.  I already carried most of them in my bag any way, just in case I needed them for some reason. 

          He smiled, "Get over it pumpkin, any way, it's not that big of a book."

          "Right, right, sure it isn't.  And the Monster Book is as gentle as kitten…" I growled.  Hagrid was still giving those out.

          "It is if you stroke it…" Mum pointed out, laughing.  "Come on, I want to be out of here before nightfall!"

          And with that, we were off.

The Leaky Cauldron

          "How may I help you?" the attendant asked, sending me a wink.  How old did this lady think I was?  Seven?

          "We'd like two rooms please, preferably ones right next to each other," Mum said, pulling out five sickles to give to the woman at the front desk.

          The woman frowned, I noted that she was wearing a nametag.  Her name was Iris, "I'm sorry dear, but we don't have two rooms together, we do have two separate rooms though," she offered.

          Now Mum frowned, "How far away are they?" she asked.

          "One is down the left side of this hall," she pointed to the hall nearest us.  "And the other is down that side," she said, pointing to the right side this time.

          "Hmm…Love, would you care if you slept on the floor in our room?" she said, looking to me.

          "Mum, I'm not ten I can manage to be a room a little bit away from yours and Dad's!" I said, a bit more harshly than I meant to, but I was really tired of being treated like a little girl.  I was nearly sixteen, they could start treating me like it.

          Dad smiled, "It's alright 'Mione, if she has any problems, she can come and see us…" he said reassuringly.

          I sent a look of thanks and then looked back to Mum, she would have the final say in this.  She sighed, "Oh, okay.  But if there's anything wrong, even the littlest thing, you'll come and get us?" she asked.

          "Of course Mum, you know I will…" I said.

          With another sigh, she agreed and took her key, then handed me mine, "You're number seven, Victoria; we're number twenty-nine, remember, don't even hesitate…" she reminded me.

          I simply nodded and then raced full speed to my room.  Finally!  A room away from my parents!  I unlocked the door and took a look around.  It was nice, just like all the others, but this one was extremely good because it was far, far away from my parents!  I wheeled my trunk over to a corner of a room and then plopped down on the bed, letting out a sigh of relief.  But just as I was beginning to get comfortable, I could hear an argument from the room to my left.  I couldn't exactly make out the words, but I could hear banging and the sound of crying.  I got up, pressing my ear against the wall, I could make out a male voice, I couldn't place an age to it.  "You stupid bitch!" I could hear another cry, the owner of the scared voice was definitely female.  "You can't even manage to keep your mouth shut for five minutes!"  I recoiled in both fear and shock as a body was thrown into the part of the wall I was leaning on.  The woman cried out again.  She was whimpering, as footsteps began to get closer to her.  I suddenly heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh.  He was beating her!

          I could just stand against a wall and listen to this any more, I had to help her.  For a fleeting second, I considered going to my parents, but she could be dead by the time I get there and back.  I ran outside my room, to the one next to me, number nine.  I knocked, as calmly as I could.  The crying diminished a little, "Who is it?" the man asked, not hiding his bitterness to the fact that he was disturbed.

          "Room service," I said, trying to keep my voice as believable as possible.

          "I don't need anything, go away!" he barked.

          "Please sir, I still need to change the towels in the bathroom, I'll only be a moment…" I insisted.

          There were sounds of something being dragged across the room, a door opening then closing.  His footsteps came back to the door and opened it, "Hurry up," he snarled before actually looking at me.  Once he saw me, he seemed a bit pulled back.  "You certainly don't look like you work here…" he said suspiciously.

          "I'm a daughter of one of the employees, Iris, she's my mom, I come to help out once and awhile," I explained through a fake smile, praying to God that he didn't know Iris and wouldn't say something like, "Iris doesn't have a daughter…" But if he suspected anything he didn't act it any more and let me in.  "I just need to get a few things, I should be out of your way in a minute!" I said cheerily.

          I went into the bathroom first, didn't want to go snooping around the room without looking like I was in there to get a job done.  In my walk across the room, I studied the man that was definitely a potential threat.  He looked to be in his forties or so, probably his late forties now that I thought about it.  He had jet black, greasy hair, like he put in way too much gel and thought it looked good.  Instead it looked like he coated his head with Pam.  He had unreadable gray eyes, they weren't too friendly.  He was tall and pretty build, not a real glutton this one, it didn't look like I could outrun him if I needed too, but maybe all his muscle would slow him down.  I could only hope for such good luck.  Don't get the wrong impression, I can fight, rather well actually.  But I'm not an idiot, not many people my size (5'7, 124 lbs) could go against a guy his size (to guess, I'd say 6'7, 250 lbs) and live to tell about it.  If it came down to bare fist, I'd loose; of course, if I had to, I could always do magic, then I'd kick his sorry butt.  But then I'd also stand a good chance of getting kicked out of school and I don't want that.  I'm so close to becoming a perfect Animagus, I can change into any animal I want, except a rabbit, snake, or rat.  One might think they're pointless to learn, but hey, ya never know when ya might need it.

          I walked into the bathroom and got the towels handing on the wall.  Then went back into the main room.  The man was now sitting down on his bed, back against the backboard, one knee bend and the other flat out.  He was drinking something and sending me looks I didn't like.  I didn't want to be there much longer, but I still had to find that woman, I couldn't just leave her now.  I went to the closet, I was pretty sure that was where he put her.  To answer my suspicions, he leapt up off the bed, "What are you doing?" he demanded.

          I pretended to be startled, a face that said 'I'm just doing my job sir', "I was just going to check the closet sir, to see what else you needed…" I said.

          "We don't need anything else!" he insisted.

          I smiled at him, "We?" I asked pleasantly.  "Are you staying here with your wife?  Vacationing?  This is a lovely time to vacation…" I commented, acting as though I was just starting casual conversation.

          He looked at me oddly, "No, not my wife, I'm not married, just an…associate," he said, then looking at me like he had before.  I really didn't like his leering stares.  He took a step closer, "I don't even have a girlfriend…" his voice trailed.

          "Oh, well, that's nice, I hope that you and your associate have a nice time while you're staying at the Leaky Cauldron.  Now I just need to check the closet and I'll be going…" I said, going for the knob on the door.

          He grabbed my hand, forcing me to face him, "I'd have a much more enjoyable stay if a certain daughter of an employer would stay and talk with me for a bit…" he said, pulling me closer to him.

          Oh no, no, no, no, no…don't even think about it you nasty old man, "I'm sorry sir, I still have to check all the other rooms as well, I don't have time to stay.  If you'll just let me do my job…" I said, pulling away.

          He growled, "Your job is to satisfy the customer, and you can do that by staying here with me for a bit…" he said, edging his mouth closer to my ear.

          I pushed him away, "Excuse me sir, but I have no interest in satisfying those particular needs!" I said sternly.  I turned and opened the closet before he could do anything.  In surprise, I dropped the towels, unfortunately, just as I suspected, there was a woman on the floor, she must have passed out when he put her there.  She was actually quite lovely, if you ignored all the bruises on her.  She had long blond hair that fell to her mid-back, but most of it was plastered to her sweat covered face.  She was very slim, like she hadn't eaten in a week; bruises covered her petite body, and blood was trickling down from her forehead like a small stream.  I looked to the man, who had an unreadable expression on his face, "What's the meaning of this!?" I demanded.

          "It's none of your concern!" he said shortly. 

          "Like bloody hell it's not!  What happened to this woman?"  Before waiting for a response, I said, "I'm taking her to a doctor!"

          He grabbed me by the shoulder and much to my surprise, he literally threw me into the adjacent wall, much like he had done to this woman a little while ago.  "You will not!  You will keep your mouth shut little girl, you'll do as I say and I won't hurt you…" his voice had calmed down and he was stroking my cheek.  "Just be good, go lie on the bed, do what I say, go on.  Lie down and spread your legs, I'll be gentle…"

          Like I ever go and bloody do that!  "Go to hell!" I spat.  He didn't look to pleased with my response and raised his hand to slap me, but much to his surprise this time, I caught his hand before he could touch me.  "I'm not a little girl!  Don't think you can just slap me around!" I warned.  I suddenly felt my confidence plummet as I reached for my wand only to find it wasn't there.  Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh bloody freaking shit!  Now magic was out of the question, I didn't think I was good enough to do a spell without it, but if push came to shove, I could always try.

          Oddly enough, he backed up, "You've got balls, considering you're just a kid, a girl to that matter.  But don't think I'm just going to let you mosey on out of here, you've bitten off more then you can chew…" he began.

          I heard someone knock on my door, "Tory?  Tory, love, let me in…" it was Mum.  Oh dear…

          After getting no response, she tried again, but still, no answer came.  Mum was my only hope to get out of this mess, so I did the only thing I could think of.  "Mum!  Mum!  I'm in here!" I screamed.

          The man looked quite surprised.  Even more surprised when the door was opened forcefully and a tall brunette walked in.  "Tory!?  What are you doing in here?"  she asked, eyeing at my attacker (of course she didn't know he was my attacker).

          "This bloody bastard was beating the girl in the closet!" was the only thing I could think to say. 

          Mum, of course, looked quite appalled, "What?" she asked, now looking at him.  "May I ask you name?" she asked in a wanna-be polite tone.

          "That's none of your business!" he snapped.

          "I believe it is, if what my daughter said is true.  My name is Hermione Malfoy…" she threatened.  Everyone in the wizarding world knew the Malfoy name, simply because of Mum and the fact that she was the head of the Ministry of Magic.

          "Malfoy…?" he said to himself.  "That Ministry bitch!?" he sounded quite shocked and angry all in one as he looked at her.

          I took a step towards him, "Don't you call my Mum that!" I said.

          They both seemed to ignore me, "I'll ask again…" Mum said, her cinnamon eyes locked on his, which were relatively livid now.

          He pulled out a wand, "Get away from me!" he shouted, going into hysterics.

          Mum didn't even pull out hers as she shouted, "Attonbitus!" He froze on spot.

          My mouth gaped, "Which spell was that Mum?" I asked.

          "He'll remain frozen until I remove it…" she said, walking past him, to the closet where I had previously said there was a beaten girl.  Mum bend down and pulled the girl out, "Cecile?" she said, looking quite shocked.

          "You know her?" I asked.

          She nodded, "Yes, Cecile Normandy, she works in the Ministry…" she said quietly.  She muttered a spell, which in turn, seemed to stop the bleeding.  "Come on, we need to get her to a doctor!" she told me, chanting Mobilicorpus.

          We walked out, Cecile Normandy floating behind us, that guy still frozen in his room.  Mum looked at me, "Why were you in there Victoria?" she asked.

          "I heard a fight going on, then I heard him hitting her, yelling at her, I couldn't just stand there and let it happen…" I explained.

          "You could have gotten us," she pointed out.

          I nodded, "I could have, but at the rate he was going she'd be dead, by the time I got to you guys.  Any way, I panicked, it was the only thing I could think of," I said.

          She looked at me and smiled, "I'm impressed Tory, that you weren't afraid to take on that man, but I'm also a bit worried…I hope you don't use that kind of logic in all situations.  Believe me from personal experience, there's always another option, sometimes you just have to look around to find it."

          "I was kinda scared," I admitted.  "But that thought of that woman dieing and it being my fault overruled the fear."

          "It usually does…" she said.

          We reached the front desk and Iris looked quite shocked, "My dears!  What happened?" she asked, looking at Cecile.

          "We will be needing a doctor, her wounds aren't too bad, but she'll need some medical attention.  There's also a man frozen in room number nine, if you don't mind I'd like him to stay there, the Ministry will be here to take care of him," Mum explained.

          I saw Dad come into view, looking at the floating body behind us, but not looking terribly surprised, "What happened to old-lady Normandy?" he asked.

          Cecile was hardly old…I don't even think she was in her late forties yet, "Some guy was beating her in the room next to me," I told him.   

          He raised an eyebrow, "Did you go and investigate?" he asked, his tone hoping that I'd say no.

          I nodded though, much to his obvious dismay, "Yeah, I told him I was there for room service, he let me in and when I went to the closet, he freaked out.  I finally managed to open it and she was just lying there unconscious.  Then Mum came and kicked his butt!" I said, smiling at Mum who merely smirked.

          Dad did the same, "Are you sure she's not Potter's daughter?" he asked her.

          She gave him a whack on the shoulder, "Of course not!" she said, but was laughing nonetheless.  Within moments, a few members of the Ministry began showing up, along with two doctors.  Mum looked to them, "It's Cecile, she was being beaten by a man I don't recognize, he's in room nine.  He's frozen right now, so he shouldn't be going anywhere, but I'd like you two to go and get him, just in case," she instructed them.  She looked to the doctors, "She doesn't have any major wounds, but she should be looked at." With that she looked to me, now that her job was out of the way, "You should go to bed now, Love.  We want to get up relatively earlier, so we can get the back-to-school shopping done."  I nodded and with a kiss on the forehead from each of them, I started to head back to my room.

          As I passed room number nine, I overheard the three men from the Ministry talking, I couldn't recognize them.  "I thought Ms. Malfoy said there was a man in here frozen?" one said.

          The other nodded, "She did, she said there was a man she didn't recognize that was beating Cecile…"

          I stepped in, "There was!" I confirmed abruptly.

          They all looked at me, the third said, "Then where is he?" he asked.

          I looked around, our mystery attacker was nowhere to be seen, while the now open window let wind billow inside the room.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

          Hey? So, what does everyone think of the sequel?  I'm hoping to get lots of reviews, those would be fun!  And a BIG thanks to Kitti and Marlene for being my beta readers and having such prompt responses!  You guys are the best!  I'm already working on the second chapter, it might take a bit (track season just started and my coach is definitely working us O.O; It's SOO exhausting!), but I'll get it out ASAP!  Ja ne, minna-chan!

Peace out

~*~Angel~*~