CHAPTER TWENTY: QUESTIONS
Thursday, 18th February 1999
Despite the all out suspicion and distrust that Buffy was experiencing from the staff at Hogwarts, Buffy was generally alright with her situation. Being with Draco had made things far easier, and every day she found herself falling for him just a little bit more. She couldn't say that she was completely in love with him just yet, but she knew that it was only a matter of time before she would be.
The thought of it scared and excited her on so many levels. She hadn't had a lot of good luck with men in the past, and she knew that she should never have allowed herself to get too attached to the blonde Slytherin boy, but she'd been unable to resist. Her friendship with Blaise had grown even stronger, and she found herself feeling less alone as the days passed.
Her afternoon study sessions with Hermione, and sometimes with Harry and Ron if they got bored, continued to help Buffy in her growing interest in magic. She was keen to learn more, and her friendship with the three Gryffindors had solidified as well. This of course had earned her a fair amount of contempt from some of the other Slytherins who didn't know her very well. Pansy of course was telling anyone who would listen that Buffy didn't belong in Slytherin House if she was so willing to associate with mudbloods and muggle-lovers.
Buffy however didn't mind what Pansy said about her. The only people whose opinions mattered to her were Blaise and Draco, and they didn't seem to mind who she socialised with, as long as she still made time for them. Neither Draco nor Blaise could understand why Buffy would be friends with people who outright despised the Slytherins, but they accepted that Buffy hadn't grown up with the ideals of the Wizarding world and cared very little for the House feuds that existed.
And so, Buffy found herself once more seated in the library with Hermione sitting next to her, the two Seventh Year girls hunched over textbooks and ancient tomes, eagerly studying a topic for DADA. Ever since the previous Saturday, Hermione had been extremely curious about what was going on between Draco and Buffy, but she hadn't thought that it was her position to ask. The Gryffindor girl wondered how Pansy Parkinson had known that Buffy had been accused of murder, but she hadn't asked that either.
Buffy sighed tiredly and stretched in her seat. Before she knew what had happened, someone had placed their hands over her eyes. A deep and silky voice whispered in her ear. "Guess who?"
"Hmmm…Ron?" Buffy teased.
Draco growled and plopped into the seat beside her, giving her a quick kiss in greeting.
"Not funny Summers," Draco complained.
"Is it my fault that your sense of humour is severely lacking?" Buffy asked.
Draco scowled and Buffy couldn't help but grin. He really was cute when he was angry. She leant forward and kissed him again, unable to resist the almost-pout crossing his lips.
Hermione cleared her throat uncomfortably. She couldn't believe that she was friends with Draco Malfoy's girlfriend. What was even stranger was the fact that she genuinely liked Buffy Summers, regardless of the warnings she had received from Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall regarding Buffy's history.
Draco and Buffy broke apart, the Slayer blushing slightly.
"Sorry Granger," Draco said, bordering on polite. "Just came to see my girl. Oh, and to give her this."
He pulled out a small box from his robe pockets and handed it to Buffy. She took it gingerly and looked at him.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Open it and find out," Draco replied.
Buffy shrugged and pried the box open. Inside was a pendant on a thin black leather cord. The pendant was a small silver dragon.
"Oh wow…Drake…Draco, it's gorgeous," Buffy whispered.
Draco smiled and took the necklace from the box. He shifted so that he could place it around her neck. Buffy carefully swept her hair up so that Draco could help her put it on.
"It's a late Valentine's Day gift," he explained. "I couldn't organise to get anything for you on Saturday, but…I owled a jewellery store and arranged for it to be made. I did a little research, and found out that dragons represent our passions, our emotions. It didn't hurt that dragons are meant to be the things that are the greatest guardians of treasure. That way, when I'm not around, you'll still be guarded."
He dropped a kiss to the back of her neck when he finally managed to work the clasp, and drew away, Buffy letting her hair fall around her shoulders once more. They shared another kiss before Draco stood up.
"I'll see you back in the Common Room," Draco said.
Buffy nodded and squeezed his hand before he walked away. Buffy grinned widely and fingered the necklace fondly. She hadn't been expecting Draco to do anything like that, and the fact that he'd done it made her heart burst with blooming love. Hermione couldn't help but smile at her friend's obvious happiness.
"I never thought I would see the day that Draco Malfoy fell in love," Hermione commented. "Although I have to admit, he's far nicer than he's ever been before. You're a good influence on him."
"Maybe he just needed someone to see him as something other than…what did Ron call him? An evil, smarmy bastard? He's got depth, but no one's ever bothered to find out before," Buffy said.
Hermione had never thought about Draco's side of it. All she had ever seen of the Slytherin boy was a malicious and manipulative, self-absorbed boy who would run to his father if anything had ever gone wrong. She wasn't even really certain why she hated Draco so much, except for the fact that Draco despised her and her two best friends.
They sat in silence for a moment longer before Hermione spoke again.
"Buffy?"
"Yeah?"
"About what Pansy said…about the whole murderer thing," Hermione began. Buffy sighed. She was surprised that no one else besides Draco had ever asked her about what Pansy had said the other day in the Great Hall. "How did she know?"
Buffy just shrugged. "I thinks she overheard me talking to one of the Professors about it," the Slytherin girl replied. "No doubt she's plotting my imminent downfall even as we speak."
"Why does she hate you so much?" Hermione asked.
Buffy sighed and touched the necklace once more. "Because I got what she's always wanted. And I did it without even trying to."
"Are you worried that she'll try and do something to you?" Hermione asked.
Buffy shrugged nonchalantly. "The worst she can really do is spread rumours around. Trust me, I've dealt with that and a lot worse at my last two schools."
"Actually, the worst she could do is probably a lot worse than that. In a school where we learn magic, I'm pretty certain she could come up with something," Hermione warned.
"Well, I'll burn that bridge when I get to it I suppose," Buffy said thoughtfully. She laughed a little, remembering one of the tactics that Giles had told her to use when she'd been facing Angelus. Don't let him provoke you. "Maybe if I ignore her she'll go away."
"Pansy Parkinson?" Hermione asked doubtfully. "That girl may be thick as a brick, but she's nothing if not incredibly determined. Especially when it comes to Draco Malfoy."
The two girls looked up as they heard simultaneous groans. Harry and Ron sat themselves down on the opposite side of the table, disgusted looks on their faces.
"It's bad enough that you have to date the git, do we have to talk about him too?" Ron complained.
"No one asked you to interrupt our private conversation Ron Weasley," Hermione replied. "If you don't like it, you don't have to be here."
Ron held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, fine. But I vote for a change of topic."
"Have either of you started studying for the exams yet?" Hermione asked.
They both looked at her incredulously. "'Mione, the exams don't start for another three months."
"Yes, but these are the most important exams that you'll ever sit," Hermione emphasised. "If you fail these, you won't be able to get a job when we leave Hogwarts."
"Let me guess, you've already got a few jobs lined up," Ron said.
Hermione flushed and glared at him. She hated feeling guilty for excelling at school, and Ron always baited her with her over-achievements.
"One actually," Hermione corrected him. "You could too if you actually cared about your future."
Harry rolled his eyes, wondering if his two best friends would ever be able to hold a civil conversation with each other. He doubted it. He looked to Buffy who was trying not to laugh at Ron and Hermione's antics.
"What about you Buffy?" Harry asked. "What will you be doing when you graduate?"
Buffy paused and eventually just shrugged, not entirely sure how to answer the question honestly. After she left Hogwarts, she would be back to the Slaying, but unless she found a way to prove her innocence before then, she wouldn't be Slaying back in Sunnydale ever again.
"Not too sure. I might just travel or something," Buffy replied. It was about as honest as she could get.
"Now there's an idea," Ron said, thinking longingly of the exotic adventures that his brother Charlie always had. Charlie worked in Romania with dragons, and Ron always hung on every word of Charlie's stories about his travels.
"I wouldn't mind travelling," Harry said thoughtfully. "I've never been out of England. I reckon Sirius'd be interested in travelling around as well. Now that everything with Voldemort's over, I don't really have to worry about anything."
Ron and Hermione winced in perfect unison. "Now you've done it!" Ron exclaimed. "You've just bloody jinxed yourself. Now something bad's probably gonna happen."
Harry groaned and rolled his eyes. "Nothing bad is going to happen," he replied calmly. "Voldemort's dead, the Death-Eaters are all in jail for life-sentences. I haven't seen hide nor hair of the Dursley's in years, which is just the way I like it thank you very much. If I can get a job at the Ministry or join a Quidditch team, I'll be perfectly content, but I want to get out of England for a while."
"Where d'you wanna go?" Buffy asked curiously.
Harry shrugged. "Anywhere. Everywhere. America maybe. Is it nice there?"
"Yeah I guess. I'm a California girl though, I've never seen anywhere else," Buffy explained. "Do they have…y'know, wizarding communities all around the world?"
All three Gryffindors nodded. "Absolutely," Hermione replied knowledgably. "They're everywhere in the world. I'd be curious to visit them, see how different other witches and wizards are to the ones here in England."
"Not another research expedition," Ron complained. "Aren't you ever going to go out and just do something for the fun of it?"
Harry and Buffy rolled their eyes and tuned out the bickering pair.
"Good god, they're worse than you and Ginny," Buffy said.
Harry went bright red and began stuttering, completely flustered. "H-how…we aren't…it's not…I'm not…"
Buffy laughed a little and shook her head. "Harry, Ron won't kill you for liking his sister. Trust me, if anything, he'll probably be glad that it's someone he likes rather than someone he hates. Besides, in the end, it's Ginny's decision."
Harry shrugged sheepishly. "You can't blame a bloke for being scared though. She's got six brothers, all of whom could kick my arse on any day of the week if they wanted to."
"They won't. Look, not to be pushy or anything, but you're gonna hafta make a move soon. This is your last year at Hogwarts, and if you don't move now, you'll lose her forever," Buffy said.
He nodded thoughtfully and finally smile. "I never thought I'd see the day when a Slytherin gave me good advice."
Buffy just grinned. "What can I say? It's a gift."
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I know, I know you don't like H/Gin, but I can't help it. It's not a major plot thing, so just try and live with it…
SNEAK PREVIEW:
She looked up at him and smiled, reaching out her hand towards him. He took it and stepped forward, placing one knee on the bed beside her. Buffy smiled up at him, suddenly feeling incredibly shy. It hit her that they were alone in his bedroom, and she knew that their earlier make-out session had left him wanting.
She scooted backwards down the bed, Draco following her, kneeling above her in a predator-like manner. He leant his weight on his arms, his heart suddenly racing at the very idea of making love to his girlfriend…
(and YES I know I am cruel.)
Toodles.