Author's Notes: Okay, someone asked why I aged the kids like I did.
Well, I did it because I wanted to have a cute little kid romance on
the side while I wrote this. It's going to be pretty heavy Willow
content in the story and I plan on a sequel to take place after the
end of the fourth book. And I want the kiddies in their romances by
then, and it'll be darker, so them being older works out better for
me.
All right, I made a boo-boo in part 12. Slytherins are
in the dungeons, and I should have remembered that. Okay, so I
rewrote the chapter, correctly.
Part Thirteen
Willow stared hard at the book in her hand, not really seeing it.
Her mind was elsewhere, more specifically, still in her room. The
dream was bothering her, leaving her with this funny feeling that
wouldn't go away.
She shook her head, noting that the library was entirely empty. The
redhead had skipped breakfast, finding her stomach too volatile to
handle food at the moment. Madame Pince was off in the Great Hall
with everyone else leaving the library completely to Willow.
And it felt wrong. Willow shivered, placing the books on the counter
heavily, biting her lip as she thought over her dream again. It had
been too vivid, too strange not to mean something. But did it mean
big bad evil monster thingy, or did it mean her subconscious was
trying to tell her something. Biological clock?
She snorted to herself. Definitely not that, though a hidden meaning
might not be that far off. Maybe she should write to her mother, get
a psychologist's opinion. But she dismissed that plan pretty
easily. The only way to send mail around here was by owl, and Willow
didn't think her mother would take too kindly to that method of post.
The redhead sighed, stepping away from the library counter and making
her way to the centre of the room. It looked a bit like the library
she had spent most of her high school life in, but bigger and more
ominous. Her eyes traveled to the restricted section and she felt an
insane urge to wander in there.
But before she could indulge in that urge, the library doors burst
open. The redhead frowned, watching as the new arrival stormed right
up to her.
"Just who do you think you are?"
She arched an eyebrow, letting a smirk settle over her features.
"Is there a problem Mister Malfoy?" she asked, voice tinged with mock
sweetness. The elder Malfoy narrowed his eyes, attempting to
intimidate the redhead by towering over her. Willow met his eyes
without blinking, though inside she was starting to get a bit worried.
Lucius Malfoy looked downright homicidal.
"What right do you have to assign my son to manual labour?" he
snarled, bringing his face inches from hers. "Do you know who you're
attempting to meddle with my dear?"
"All I know is that your son has a serious disregard for authority,"
Willow spat back. "He barely holds respect for the faculty and staff
of this school. Draco usually isn't stupid enough to display that
disrespect so publicly, but this time he did. And I caught him
verbally attacking other students while also making some less than
courteous remarks about myself. I punished him for his actions, as I
would do to any other student who I caught making similar comments."
"Punishment is one thing," Lucius growled viciously. "And what you
have tried to force Draco to do is not appropriate punishment for a
Malfoy. My son is not some slave you can put to work!"
"Mister Malfoy, I am well aware that your son is not a slave," Willow
returned evenly. "And I am not putting him to any sort of slave
labour. He is being disciplined. Now, you disagree with my methods,
and I guess that's fine. We could take this to Professor Dumbledore
and see what he has to say about it. But until the Headmaster sees
fit to intervene, Draco's punishment will remain what it is."
Lucius's eyes darkened at the mention of the Headmaster.
"Listen to me very carefully little girl," he grounded out, voice
falling to a dangerously low level. "You have not met a wizard of my
calibur before. Dumbledore will not always be around for you to hide
behind, so therefore I would suggest that you learn to respect your
betters. You would not survive such an enemy for very long."
Willow bit her lip, barely keeping herself from blurting out many
things, like how she had seen and defeated creatures far scarier than
Lucius Malfoy. But she kept her silence, instead choosing to return
his glare with one of her own.
"I'll keep that in mind Mister Malfoy," she finally replied, tone
biting. "But if you would excuse me at present? There is this
Quidditch game that I would like to attend."
His lip curled back in a sneer, one that would have put Angelus to
shame. Without another word, he turned on his heel and stormed out
of the library.
She waited a full minute until after he left to let out the breath
she had been holding up until now. The redhead shakily tried to
regain her composure, drawing in a deep breath.
"Goddess, what an ass!"
*****
Dawn could barely sit still, looking up and down the aisles trying to
spot any sign of Willow.
"Calm down," was Hermione's advice. "It was just breakfast. Perhaps
she slept in."
"Willow doesn't sleep in," Dawn retorted, eyes still scanning the
crowd. "She's always heinously on time for everything. This isn't
like her."
"Maybe she wanted to finish some work off at the library first," Ron
shrugged, not taking his eyes off the Quidditch pitch. Dawn
deflated, sinking into her seat.
"Okay, that sounds more like Willow," the teenager consented, eyes
going to the pitch herself. The players were out, flying around in
warm-up. She picked Harry out pretty easily, a smile coming to her
lips. He looked just as nervous as he had done at breakfast, which
was pretty damn nervous. Dawn thought he would pass out before even
making it to the field.
"And there she is. Oh look, she brought someone with her."
Hermione's words drew Dawn out of her Harry watching, turning to see
that Willow was indeed making her way towards them, and she did have
a guest with her. A guest that made Ron jump to his feet.
"Charlie!" the redheaded boy looked a bit confused. "What are you
doing here?"
His older brother laughed, shaking his head as he and Willow took
their seats.
"I wasn't aware coming to see my younger brothers' Quidditch game was
against the rules," Charlie answered good-naturedly. Ron snorted,
sending Willow a pointed look.
"I'm sure Fred and George are the reason that you came all the way
from Romania," the younger boy chuckled. Charlie sent a murderous
glare his brother's way while Willow turned an interesting pink
colour. Dawn rolled her eyes, attention going to the redhead beside
her.
"Are you okay?" she whispered, eyes concerned. "You weren't at
breakfast."
"I'm fine," Willow assured the younger girl, an easy smile on her
face. "Just had some books that needed shelving-"
"Why didn't you just have Draco do it?" Hermione snickered, her gaze
going to the boy in question. "Isn't that his job now?"
Willow giggled along with Hermione, waving off Charlie's look of
confusion.
"Draco said some naughty words and now he's working at the library as
punishment," Willow explained. "He doesn't like it. Neither does
his father for that matter."
Dawn froze, looking towards the Slytherin stands where Lucius Malfoy
sat scowling.
"He didn't do anything . . ."
"Nothing," Willow assured her. "Just huffed and puffed before
stomping away like a child. I can see where Draco gets it from."
Charlie frowned, shifting a bit closer to her.
"If he keeps harassing you, let me know," he murmured. "All put him
in his place."
Ron shook his head, a smile on his face.
"Way to the be the White Knight big brother," he chuckled. "Not
obvious in the least."
"Shut up Ron."
*****
Well, I did it because I wanted to have a cute little kid romance on
the side while I wrote this. It's going to be pretty heavy Willow
content in the story and I plan on a sequel to take place after the
end of the fourth book. And I want the kiddies in their romances by
then, and it'll be darker, so them being older works out better for
me.
All right, I made a boo-boo in part 12. Slytherins are
in the dungeons, and I should have remembered that. Okay, so I
rewrote the chapter, correctly.
Part Thirteen
Willow stared hard at the book in her hand, not really seeing it.
Her mind was elsewhere, more specifically, still in her room. The
dream was bothering her, leaving her with this funny feeling that
wouldn't go away.
She shook her head, noting that the library was entirely empty. The
redhead had skipped breakfast, finding her stomach too volatile to
handle food at the moment. Madame Pince was off in the Great Hall
with everyone else leaving the library completely to Willow.
And it felt wrong. Willow shivered, placing the books on the counter
heavily, biting her lip as she thought over her dream again. It had
been too vivid, too strange not to mean something. But did it mean
big bad evil monster thingy, or did it mean her subconscious was
trying to tell her something. Biological clock?
She snorted to herself. Definitely not that, though a hidden meaning
might not be that far off. Maybe she should write to her mother, get
a psychologist's opinion. But she dismissed that plan pretty
easily. The only way to send mail around here was by owl, and Willow
didn't think her mother would take too kindly to that method of post.
The redhead sighed, stepping away from the library counter and making
her way to the centre of the room. It looked a bit like the library
she had spent most of her high school life in, but bigger and more
ominous. Her eyes traveled to the restricted section and she felt an
insane urge to wander in there.
But before she could indulge in that urge, the library doors burst
open. The redhead frowned, watching as the new arrival stormed right
up to her.
"Just who do you think you are?"
She arched an eyebrow, letting a smirk settle over her features.
"Is there a problem Mister Malfoy?" she asked, voice tinged with mock
sweetness. The elder Malfoy narrowed his eyes, attempting to
intimidate the redhead by towering over her. Willow met his eyes
without blinking, though inside she was starting to get a bit worried.
Lucius Malfoy looked downright homicidal.
"What right do you have to assign my son to manual labour?" he
snarled, bringing his face inches from hers. "Do you know who you're
attempting to meddle with my dear?"
"All I know is that your son has a serious disregard for authority,"
Willow spat back. "He barely holds respect for the faculty and staff
of this school. Draco usually isn't stupid enough to display that
disrespect so publicly, but this time he did. And I caught him
verbally attacking other students while also making some less than
courteous remarks about myself. I punished him for his actions, as I
would do to any other student who I caught making similar comments."
"Punishment is one thing," Lucius growled viciously. "And what you
have tried to force Draco to do is not appropriate punishment for a
Malfoy. My son is not some slave you can put to work!"
"Mister Malfoy, I am well aware that your son is not a slave," Willow
returned evenly. "And I am not putting him to any sort of slave
labour. He is being disciplined. Now, you disagree with my methods,
and I guess that's fine. We could take this to Professor Dumbledore
and see what he has to say about it. But until the Headmaster sees
fit to intervene, Draco's punishment will remain what it is."
Lucius's eyes darkened at the mention of the Headmaster.
"Listen to me very carefully little girl," he grounded out, voice
falling to a dangerously low level. "You have not met a wizard of my
calibur before. Dumbledore will not always be around for you to hide
behind, so therefore I would suggest that you learn to respect your
betters. You would not survive such an enemy for very long."
Willow bit her lip, barely keeping herself from blurting out many
things, like how she had seen and defeated creatures far scarier than
Lucius Malfoy. But she kept her silence, instead choosing to return
his glare with one of her own.
"I'll keep that in mind Mister Malfoy," she finally replied, tone
biting. "But if you would excuse me at present? There is this
Quidditch game that I would like to attend."
His lip curled back in a sneer, one that would have put Angelus to
shame. Without another word, he turned on his heel and stormed out
of the library.
She waited a full minute until after he left to let out the breath
she had been holding up until now. The redhead shakily tried to
regain her composure, drawing in a deep breath.
"Goddess, what an ass!"
*****
Dawn could barely sit still, looking up and down the aisles trying to
spot any sign of Willow.
"Calm down," was Hermione's advice. "It was just breakfast. Perhaps
she slept in."
"Willow doesn't sleep in," Dawn retorted, eyes still scanning the
crowd. "She's always heinously on time for everything. This isn't
like her."
"Maybe she wanted to finish some work off at the library first," Ron
shrugged, not taking his eyes off the Quidditch pitch. Dawn
deflated, sinking into her seat.
"Okay, that sounds more like Willow," the teenager consented, eyes
going to the pitch herself. The players were out, flying around in
warm-up. She picked Harry out pretty easily, a smile coming to her
lips. He looked just as nervous as he had done at breakfast, which
was pretty damn nervous. Dawn thought he would pass out before even
making it to the field.
"And there she is. Oh look, she brought someone with her."
Hermione's words drew Dawn out of her Harry watching, turning to see
that Willow was indeed making her way towards them, and she did have
a guest with her. A guest that made Ron jump to his feet.
"Charlie!" the redheaded boy looked a bit confused. "What are you
doing here?"
His older brother laughed, shaking his head as he and Willow took
their seats.
"I wasn't aware coming to see my younger brothers' Quidditch game was
against the rules," Charlie answered good-naturedly. Ron snorted,
sending Willow a pointed look.
"I'm sure Fred and George are the reason that you came all the way
from Romania," the younger boy chuckled. Charlie sent a murderous
glare his brother's way while Willow turned an interesting pink
colour. Dawn rolled her eyes, attention going to the redhead beside
her.
"Are you okay?" she whispered, eyes concerned. "You weren't at
breakfast."
"I'm fine," Willow assured the younger girl, an easy smile on her
face. "Just had some books that needed shelving-"
"Why didn't you just have Draco do it?" Hermione snickered, her gaze
going to the boy in question. "Isn't that his job now?"
Willow giggled along with Hermione, waving off Charlie's look of
confusion.
"Draco said some naughty words and now he's working at the library as
punishment," Willow explained. "He doesn't like it. Neither does
his father for that matter."
Dawn froze, looking towards the Slytherin stands where Lucius Malfoy
sat scowling.
"He didn't do anything . . ."
"Nothing," Willow assured her. "Just huffed and puffed before
stomping away like a child. I can see where Draco gets it from."
Charlie frowned, shifting a bit closer to her.
"If he keeps harassing you, let me know," he murmured. "All put him
in his place."
Ron shook his head, a smile on his face.
"Way to the be the White Knight big brother," he chuckled. "Not
obvious in the least."
"Shut up Ron."
*****