For nearly a month, Amy avoided contact with Draco whatsoever. During classes she refused to even look at him. She could not lie to Harry and the others anymore. Now was the time to choose. Between Harry, her own flesh and blood, her twin, and Draco, Harry would have to win. Maybe Draco could just forget about it. After all, he had been doing a fairly good job of it before she taught him to skate.
At first, Draco did try to forget everything that happened, the Hospital Wing, the tour, and the kiss. He tried to tell himself that she had just been leading him on, playing him like some sort of a sap. But no, he couldn't allow that to happen to him. He needed to keep his pride about him.
But whatever he told himself, it all vanished when he took one look at her. He hated her! What had she done to him? Even the other Slytherins were starting to question him a bit. Why couldn't he just forget? Then one day the answer came to him.
He was deep in thought when suddenly he turned a corner and crashed into someone. But instead of scowling like he normally did, he simply swooped down and collected the books lying on the ground. As he stood up to return them his eyes widened slightly. Standing right before him was Harry and Hermione and Ron with Amy behind them. Were those Harry's books in his hands?
"Ah…" was all he could manage to say. For the second time that year he was unable to think of a snide remark. He simply shoved the books back and muttered, "Sorry," before quickly walking away.
"Was that Malfoy?" asked Hermione.
"Do you think that he is feeling alright?" questioned Harry.
"I'll bet he cursed your books," Ron scoffed.
Amy scowled at Ron, holding back the sudden urge to step down on his still hurting foot. She instead kept walking, deciding to give him a subtle cold shoulder for the day.
Draco peered around the corner to the four as the walked away. He slipped back and leaned against the wall. What was going on? Now he understood. He didn't hate her because she was playing him. He hated her for changing him and leaving before he could handle the changes.
***
Amy was sitting in her room reading "Hogwarts, A History", which Hermione had lent to her, when there was a quick rap upon the dormitory door. "Come in!" she called out.
Hermione opened the door, panting. "Good, you're here. I had previously thought that you were in library checking up on that unicorn theory, but Harry told me that you were still flipping through the book that I lent you."
"What's up, Hermione?" Amy inquired, looking at her friend's tired face.
"McGonagall is on the warpath. She's looking for you," Hermione told her.
"I haven't broken any rules today, though," said Amy. "In fact, I haven't done anything relatively bad since I went skating through the halls and got caught by Professor Snape."
"That isn't it. The school board is here today and she want to showcase some students to them," Hermione informed. "That means the students she finds the most impressive."
"Well, that's good for you Hermione, but I still don't see what this has to do with me," Amy replied.
"Well, she is showcasing me, but that's not it. She's showcasing you, Miss Animagus," Hermione updated.
Amy's mouth dropped about a foot. "You are joking me! She knows I can't hold my transformation, is she insane? I'll be embarrassed beyond belief I retransform in under ten seconds!" Amy cried.
"I know, just don't kill the messenger," winced Hermione.
"Um… just stall her or something," Amy said. She quickly closed the book and grabbed a sweatshirt, running out the door.
"What are you doing? Are you going outside? It is the first of December! It is SNOWING outside!" Hermione scolded.
"I'm going to train, maybe I can get my transformation to last just a little bit longer," Amy said. "Now are you going to help me or not?"
"What am I supposed to do?" shrieked Hermione.
"I don't know, ask Ron and Harry, they're the masters!" Amy cried over her shoulder, running out the door. "Ron's brothers are the infamous Weasley Twins, he should be able to think of something!"
"Your crazy! You aren't even wearing your school robes, and you're going onto school grounds?" said Hermione shrilly. Amy was already gone, though.
Surprisingly, it wasn't that cold outside, even with the snow falling to the ground. Amy threw her sweatshirt on the ground. "Ok, let's do this," she whispered to herself.
Draco looked outside to the gentle snow. The snowflakes were like his kinfolk. Some loved the snow for one day, but as soon as it hung around too long, they would forget all about it. The snow would melt, and few would ever care.
Then as he watched it fall to the ground, he noticed a figure standing very still. Suddenly, the person shrunk down into a small, black fox. "Amethyst?" he whispered. What she doing on that side of the school. He should have just stayed in his dorm, but he just had to talk to her, even for a short time.
He ran outside and onto the field. He could hear her cry, "Why isn't this working?"
"What are you doing?" he inquired. "You are on the Slytherin's side of the school."
"I'm trying to get my transformation to hold, but it isn't working!" she spat in frustration.
"Why don't you tell me about it," suggested Draco. "If you do, maybe I'll help you. After all, I do owe you for teaching me to skate… among other things."
"What a cruel irony," Amy sighed. "Fine. The school board is here today, and McGonagall plans to showcase some students, including me. However, I don't want to be the laughing stock of the board of education in England, so I'm trying to make my transformation last longer. I'm on this side of school because I figured it would be the last place she would look for me."
Draco nodded. Suddenly he began walking around her, surveying her. "You are too tense, you need to calm down. You expect too much of yourself." He stopped behind her. "Now close your eyes and just relax."
"You behind me and my eyes closed really don't mix," replied Amy cautiously. "Put your hands on my shoulders or something so I know you aren't doing something tricky." Draco wavered a bit before he placed his hands on her shoulders. Amy turned around and closed her eyes. "Alright, but I warn you, me being able to hold my transformation for ten seconds was like a gargantuan milestone."
"Shh…" he hushed her. "Just breathe deeply to calm yourself down at first. Slowly, in and out. Pretend that McGonagall and the school board don't matter, just totally forget about them." He listened to her breath calmly. She had actually obeyed him. Suddenly he noticed her shaking violently. "You are freezing."
"I'm fine," she shivered. "Just get on with it."
Draco partially closed the two-foot gap between them, hoping he could give off some body heat. He smiled when he noticed she stopped shaking quite as much. "Alright. Now, I want you to envision the black fox, every single detail about it. From the red tufts of fur to its tail, I want you to see it all."
She was still slightly shaking. "You were foolish to wear only a simple shirt and jeans when you came out here. You could've at least worn your school robes," Draco scolded.
"I am fine, Malfoy. You are breaking my concentration," Amy retorted fiercely.
Draco completely closed the gap between the two, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He feared that Amy would resist, but she stayed still and for good reason. She had stopped shivering completely.
"Now see yourself and the fox as one entire entity," he directed her. This may have been too close for comfort. Damn, she smelled good. "Now, transform!" he commanded. He released his grip on her and stepped back.
On command, Amy began shrink down into the black fox. Draco counted for ten seconds. "You did it!" he congratulated. "Alright, I think you can turn back now." He waited, but she did nothing. She only stared up at him.
"No…" he sighed, "You are joking me. What do you mean you can't turn back?" She whimpered and lied down. "Ok, ok. I'll help you out of this, too. Although… I'm resisting this urge to want to pet you," he chuckled. She immediately sat up and growled at him. "Hey, I was just kidding."
He crouched down in front of her. "Alright, just relax again and breath deeply. I would put my hands on your shoulders, but they're a little small, so you'll just have to trust me. Now just see yourself and the black fox separating. Now, transform!" he ordered.
Amy slightly miscalculated the transformation back. Her legs shot out and knocked Draco of his feet. He fell forward and barely caught himself. His face was inches away from Amethyst's.
Amethyst, who had fallen on her back, looked up. "You should be a psychologist," she joked. "But can you do me another quick favor?"
"Um… ok," answered Draco.
"Get your hand off my sleeve please," she told him. The two looked to one of his hands, which was situated next to her shoulder and pinning down her sleeve.
Draco slightly flushed, seeing her shoulder bare. Her skin was pale from the cold of the snow. He immediately released his hand. Suddenly he realized that he was right on top of her. He looked at her to see if she noticed, but she only smiled. He began leaning down, but he paused. He looked at her again. It seemed so strange; it was almost like he was looking at Harry. Kissing Harry… ugh…
Thinking of Harry brought something else up. If anyone knew he was lying in the snow with a Gryffindor, what might happen?
He sat up and moved aside. "I… I can't do this," he muttered. "I don't want to get you into trouble with Harry, he's your boyfriend after all."
"WHAT?" Amy cried. "You think… oh goodness. Heaven's to Murgatroid, you think he's my BOYFRIEND???" She grabbed his face. "Ok, Draco, look at me and tell me who you see."
"I see you," Draco answered, confused.
"No, look REALLY hard. Tell me who you see. Actually, tell me who you thought I was the first day that we met," Amy demanded.
"I called you Potter," Draco replied.
"Malfoy, think about it. I look like Harry, and I'm NOT dating him. Now put two and two together," Amy began to fume.
"You… you are Harry's SISTER?" Draco realized.
"Close, but not quite. I'm his TWIN," Amy corrected. She stood up. "So you don't want to get me in trouble NOW, but a month ago, it was ok to give me a hickey when you thought that I was DATING HARRY???" she shrieked.
"No! I bet it isn't even that. You are still scared of what everyone else might think, aren't you?" she accused. She knew she was correct when Draco didn't look at her. "You know what, so am I, but don't lie to me about it." She began walking away.
"Amethyst, please," Draco began.
"No! Stop it! I don't want to hear it anymore! Stop apologizing until you actually mean it!" she cried. She bolted back to the castle entrance. "Honestly, me dating Harry," she muttered, entering the portrait hole. "I think he'd die laughing if he heard that one."
***
For the next few days, Amy was starting to regret blowing up in Draco's face. As she looked to the other side of class, she noticed how pale and fragile he seemed. It almost broke her heart to see him in such desolation. Before class started, she nearly got up and walked to him, but Professor McGonagall stepped in her way.
"Well done, Miss Labadie. The governors were very impressed. They have even thought of funding a new program to teach some of the students your age to become Animagi!" Professor McGonagall congratulated. "What I wanted to know, however, was how did you manage to hold your transformation so much longer? Have you been training?"
Amy looked to where Draco sat. "Yes… I have…" she answered dolefully.
Later that evening, Amy skipped out on dinner and went straight to her dorm. Harry was slightly worried, but she lied and told him that she was just having a monthly visitor. When she was positive that she was alone, she pulled out the drawer of her bedside stand. In it lay a few things, a quill, some parchment, a picture of her parents, a white rose, and the poem Draco wrote. Draco had somehow forgotten to take it back from her.
She uncrumpled the parchment and lay back in her bed. On paper he was so amazingly sweet. His bitterness completely melted away. Or had it? Was this possibly his bitterness in another form? What had she done to him?
Suddenly there came a sharp tapping sound, snapping her out of her daze. She quickly put the poem back into the drawer and shut it. "Come in," she called out absentmindedly. She looked to the door, but no one came through. "Is anyone there?" she asked, looking outside. The entire place was deserted.
"That's odd," she mumbled, closing the door. When she turned around she gasped. Draco was standing right before her. "How did you get in here?"
"I knocked on your window, not on your door. Really, you should get your ears checked," Draco told her. Then looking at the still confused look on her face he added, "I used a standard Alohamora charm. I hope the queen of Animagi at least learned so much as an unlocking spell in her first year."
"What are you doing here? This morning in Transfiguration you looked half dead. I would've thought you never wanted to speak to me again," said Amy.
"Well… I'm sort of here to return this to you," he said, holding up the sweatshirt she had brought with her. "And I wanted to talk to you. I thought about what you said to me the other day. I really was being a bit of a pig, wasn't I?" He put a single hand on her arm; wanting to know the warmth she gave him, running through his veins once more.
"Malfoy, you don't know what you are doing," Amy protested. "Look what I'm doing to you… I don't want to hurt you anymore," she thought.
"No… you don't understand. For once in my life I DO know what I'm doing," Draco smiled.
"Don't let me hurt you again you idiot," Amy screamed in her head. "No! Stop, get out of here!" she screamed.
"Amy?" asked Hermione, opening the door. "What's going on? I could hear you screaming all the way from the portrait hole! Are you ok?"
Amy looked from the open door to where Draco was standing. However, he was no longer standing there. The room was empty but for her and Hermione. Maybe she had just been dreaming. "A bat flew in the window," she lied.
Hermione shook her head. "Stop opening the window. Do you want to catch your death?"
"Sorry, Herm," Amy apologized. "Why aren't you at dinner?"
"Oh, that's right, I was coming back from the library and I wanted to know if you wanted me to get you anything from dinner tonight," Hermione explained.
"No… I'm fine," Amy answered. After Hermione left, Amy slowly sat down on her bed. What exactly had just happened? Had she been imagining the ENTIRE scenario? She couldn't possibly be THAT creative… could she? She took out the poem and the rose and looked at them one more time before climbing into bed. Some sleep was all she needed, right?
***
It was very dark. Draco could hardly find his wand as he unlocked the window for a second time. He slowly climbed through and looked around. The room was pitch black. "Lumos," he muttered. A small light appeared at the end of his wand.
There she was, lying sound asleep in bed. He walked over, making sure not to make a single sound. At least he tried not to. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted the white rose on top of the dresser. He slightly gasped. She had kept it after all.
"Damn me for not loving her the first day I met her," he muttered.
"Draco…" Amy mumbled.
Draco quickly covered his mouth and looked to the girl. She was still sleeping, just talking her sleep. He let out a small sigh of relief. But he wondered something, why had she spoken his name?
He put a hand gently on her forehead, and then took out his wand again. "Nocturne Apparatium," he muttered. Swiftly, he was transported inside of her dream.
He opened his eyes to find that he was in some chamber of some sort. In fact, they seemed like the chambers of royalty. Actually… unless he was quite mistaken, they were HIS chambers! Draco was lying in a great bed surrounded by great black and silver drapes. Was he dead? No, if he were dead, he would not have been able to enter the dream.
"Prince Draco, I'm so sorry," cried a girl wearing a simple garment, something a peasant would have worn.
"Take the witch away," ordered a bulky guard. Two huge soldiers took the peasant by the arms and began dragging her away. Surprisingly, she did not resist.
"Prince Draco? Amethyst?" Draco asked, sitting up. "Crabbe? Goyle?" he recognized the guards. Where were they taking her? He looked out the window and spotted a huge crowd around a large stage and atop the stage a great noose. "I have a feeling I know where…"
He scampered from the bed. "Crabbe, Goyle, halt!" he shouted, running down a hall after them. The two immediately halted. "Release her!" he demanded.
"But sire," Crabbe began to protest.
"NOW!" 'Prince' Draco bellowed. They instantly dropped the girl.
She bowed down before him. "You are well so fast?" Amethyst asked without raising her head.
He had been sick in the first place? What an odd dream this was beginning to be. "I am well, but tell me, how did I become so ailed?" he asked.
"I brought this upon you. I have injured the prince greatly, and so allow your guards to take me to my fate in the gallows," Amethyst answered solemnly.
Crabbe and Goyle went to take her arms again, but Draco stopped them. "Did I tell you that you could take her? I don't think so! Now depart!" he ordered angrily. Without question the two left. Malfoy hid a small smile. He could get used to this.
"Your highness, I don't mean to question your judgment, but what are you doing? I am not only a simple girl, but I am not pureblood, and I am the sister of your greatest foe," muttered Amethyst, still on the floor. "Call back your guards, I have done nothing but hurt you since we have met, my lord," she told him.
Draco circled her. "It is true that you have hurt me some, but I knowingly injure myself as well. Besides, I have hurt you countless times as well," he told her. "No, I will not call back my guards. I have thought of a more befitting punishment."
"What would be more suitable then what has already been assigned?" Amethyst question.
Draco knelt before her and lifted her chin. He looked into her emerald eyes and wondered what had been going through his mind at the beginning of the year. "To endure my love for eternity." Slowly, he brought her face forward and kissed her once more.
Draco opened his eyes to find himself back in the spare girls' dorm. He also found that his empty vessel had taken the liberty of kissing the real Amethyst. Amethyst's eyes began to flutter open. At first she was slightly drowsy, but soon she regained all consciousness. Her eyes widened ten-fold. When Draco realized he was still kissing her he slightly lifted his head.
"Draco?" Amy gasped. Draco smiled and nodded. "Where is my shirt?" she asked.
"Um… you are wearing it?" Draco answered, slightly confused.
"I am wearing it WHERE?" she added.
"On your torso?" Draco replied.
"Where are my pants?" Amy continued.
"You are wearing them," Draco replied, and then to avoid any more questions than needed he added, "On your bottom."
Amy nodded and smiled. "Good," she nodded. "Let's keep it that way." She pushed him hard and jumped out of bed. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"You dare demand something of a prince?" Draco smiled, regaining his balance.
"You… you were in my dream!" Amy seethed. "There goes the last bit of my privacy!"
Draco slightly chuckled. "Oh come on, you know you aren't THAT angry at me for entering your dream."
"What part of, "Stop, get out of here." don't you understand?" Amy asked. "Can't you see what I'm doing to you?" she finally admitted. "You've lost your composure, your pride, your health all for the sake of your greatest foe's twin sister."
Draco walked forward, making Amy walk backwards until she bumped into a bedpost. He pinned her arms to either side and leaned his forehead against hers. "The only thing I've lost is my loneliness, my only reason to be bitter," he cooed. "As for my health, I simply went on a quick one day diet," he joked. "I have never found someone quite like you, and if I searched the world, I'm sure I would never find a pureblood like you."
"I am ill-tempered and you may tire of me quickly," Amy protested, her breathing pattern growing shallow and quick.
"I am ill-tempered as well. I will never tire of you. But I suppose I will only have to tame you, my wild midnight fox," he smiled. He gently released his pinion on her arms.
Amy looked up into his stormy eyes. Suddenly she pulled her head to the side, sending his slamming into the wall. "That was for entering my room TWICE by the window at night!" she cried.
She then cuffed his jaw with almost all her might. "That was for manipulating me in my dream!" she added.
She grabbed his collar. Fearing she was going to head-butt his already throbbing forehead, he winced and closed his eyes. "And this is for being the most wonderful person I have met in my entire life," she cooed. She tenderly kissed his lips.
Draco smiled, feeling their emotions swirling his a head like some sort of psychedelic experience. Suddenly he could her warmth escape her body as she began shivering slightly. He pulled out. "You are shivering. In the middle of winter, you wear nothing to sleep but a spaghetti-strap tank top and a pair of pajama pants. You seem to have no fear of weather. Do you want to catch a cold?"
"You are beginning to sound like Hermione. First of all, it is only the beginning of December. Second of all, if you are so worried, then you warm me up," she suggested, not realizing how Draco would take it.
"That I will," he grinned, pushing her down on the bed. He sat on top of her legs. He then leaned down and began to kiss her neck once more, slowly and gently biting, working his way down to her collarbone.
"Draco…" Amy murmured. "Are you sure this is what you want…"
"I have never been so sure in my life," he whispered, his fingers slowly crawling up her stomach…
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