Readers – ok, so the angst didn't last too long… but the next chapter or two will start to snowball. Draco and Cara better be ready…

Chapter 17

Cara was in Herbology, and was being a little too enthusiastic in her repotting of her mandrake, if the pained look on Professor Sprout's face was any indication.

"Stupid, bloody boy," she muttered, not that anyone in class could hear her, what with them all wearing those styling earmuffs. "Dumb arrogant prick, thinks he can tell me what to do…"

She jerked a finger back a little too late as the mandrake, tired of her rough handling, managed to sink its teeth into her flesh. "Shit, shit, shit," she mumbled. Dammit. She'd have to go to the infirmary now, the stupid thing was bleeding so much.

Abandoning her cranky plant, she walked over to where Professor Sprout was supervising Colin and his partner as they gingerly maneuvered the mandrake into a new bed of soil. Catching the professor's attention, she held up her bleeding hand and pointed toward the door. Professor Sprout frowned but nodded permission, and Cara headed for the door, catching her bag as she did.

Outside, she took a deep breath of crisp fall air and yanked off the earmuffs. "Stupid plant," she said, glaring at her bleeding hand as she stomped her way back to the castle. "Stupid boy. Stupid everything."

She yanked the heavy doors open and continued her stomp toward the hospital wing. Her feet took her down the Transfiguration corridor, and she glanced rather absently in the open door of McGonagall's classroom. Her feet slowed as if they were operating on their own as she looked straight at that blonde head that was currently at the root of her problems.

Draco was sitting slumped at his desk, scratching out notes as Professor McGonagall lectured about something having to do with clothes and cats. Cara stared at him a moment, taking him in while he was oblivious. Her eyebrows drew together in puzzlement. He looked… tired. Stressed, she realized. There was pinched look to his eyes that she hadn't noticed before.

What was going on with him, she thought, forgetting about her hand. And then he turned his head and his cool gray gaze collided with hers and held for a long moment. Cara couldn't have moved if she'd wanted to, not when Draco was looking at her with that peculiar look in his eyes. It was… hungry? Needy? Combined with a healthy dose of anger and worry.

And then he glanced down and frowned, and Cara jerked back to herself, remembering her hand. Crap, she was bleeding on the pavement. Biting her lip, she turned away and hurried on to the Hospital Wing, feeling those gray eyes lingering on the spot she'd been standing in.

*********

Draco was not happy. Not at all. Not only had he managed to somehow bungle his reasonable, rational explanation to Cara last night, but now his first glimpse of her today was of blood dripping off her hand onto the floor.

Stupid girl, he mentally growled as he automatically took notes while McGonagall lectured. She'd probably been far too careless and not watched what she was doing. She could have sliced her finger off. Maybe she had, maybe she was loosing blood at an alarming rate and he'd find her passed out on the way to the Hospital Wing…

"Mr. Malfoy!" The professor's crisp voice cut into Draco's musings, and he jerked his head up, appalled that he'd been caught not paying attention. Much to his relief, he found that the other students were all heading out the door, and he was the last one remaining at his seat. Professor McGonagall quirked an eyebrow at him. "Was there something you needed, Mr. Malfoy?" she asked.

"No, thank you, Professor," he said politely as he rose and stuffed his things into his bag. He had a half hour before Double Charms today. He could take the long way past the Hospital Ward and see if Cara made it there all right. He ignored the professor's mildly curious gaze as he headed out the door at a quick pace.

He was leaping lightly up the second to last stair to the Ward when he turned a corner and nearly ran the object of his fixation down.

"Eep!" Cara squeaked, stumbling back a little as she tried to find her feet. Draco couldn't resist the opportunity to reach out and grasp her around the waist, catching her close to him as he steadied her.

"You hurt yourself," he said bluntly, everything else he could have said flying clean out of his head. He reached down and caught the bandaged hand in question, ignoring the glare she was giving him, and examined it for himself.

"Geeze, what are you, my mother?" Cara muttered as she tried to unsuccessfully yank her hand away. Draco merely tightened his grip, careful not to hold onto the bandaged part. He wanted to hold on to her, not hurt her.

"How?" he demanded, looking down at her. Merlin, she really was very small, wasn't she… she came to barely his chin. Someone that small really needed all their parts in working order, if they were to have any chance against someone like Bellatrix…

Cara looked down her nose at him as she glared, no small feat when she was looking up at him. She'd stopped trying to pull away, at least. "I got bitten by a mandrake," she said in a voice that clearly indicated she was not happy with him.

Draco just glared back. "You need to be more careful," he said, and then surprised himself and her by lifting the bandaged hand to his lips and gently pressing a kiss there. Cara just stared up at him then, face softening, lips loosing their angry bend. Draco studied her hand. Small, but strong, he thought. He had to be careful not to forget the strong part, or he might find himself sockless or worse, ear-less.

He looked at her as she sighed. "Draco," she said. "We need to talk."

An eyebrow slid up despite himself. "Do we?" he said coolly. He had no intention of telling her about Bellatrix. She was a Gryffindor, there was no telling what she'd do.

Her eyebrows snapped back together and lips firmed back into a frown. "Yes, we do," she said. "You need to tell me what got you acting like such an arrogant prat last night."

"But I am an arrogant prat," he said, dodging for all he was worth, voice superior even while he kept his grip on her.

Now he watching in vague interest as she raised an eyebrow of her own. It was quite a look, he thought. "No kidding, Einstein," she said, "but this is one of those things that you need to explain to me."

"Why?" he asked. And frankly, he meant it. He was truly curious. He'd never bothered to explain himself to anyone before, why should he start now. Besides, who was Einstein?

Cara sighed again, and once more tried to pull away. Draco was having none of it. She looked up, frustration written all over her face. "Dammit, Draco, this is why!" she exclaimed in exasperation. "You can't just, well, hold on to me like this, and then boss me around without giving me a bloody good reason!" She glared. "It just doesn't work that way."

Draco studied her. Perhaps she was right, he thought. After all, if he gave her a small part of the truth, it could help her to be on her guard… not to mention he might have her assistance in his preparations… Well, perhaps not going that far, he amended, but at least she would know to be careful.

Mentally conceding, he once again lifted her hand to his lips. "Astronomy Tower, three hours after dinner," he told her.

She was looking at him seriously. "Ok," she said. And then reached up with her spare hand to clutch his front and pull him down to her level so she could press her lips to his. Draco savored the flavor of her for that lingering moment, allowing his tongue to slip in and taste that always-lingering dark chocolate flavor that seemed to be a part of her. She pulled back and this time he let her go. He needed to get to Charms. She looked up at him as she settled her bag more comfortably on her should and stepped away. "I'll see you tonight," she said quietly, and then hurried off.

Draco turned and watched her go, a small figure in school robes disappearing down the hallway. Then he glanced at his watch and muttered a curse, he had only a few minutes before class. He started to sprint. He didn't want to give Potter and Weasley the satisfaction of smirking when he was late.

**********

That evening, Cara approached the dark Astronomy Tower with a great deal of uncertainty. Just when she had a good mad thing going on, Draco came chasing after her and kissed her hand. Kissed her bloody hand! How was she supposed to stay righteously pissed off after that?

She pushed the trap door open and climbed up into the dark, shivering a little as the wind swirled through the open windows. It was chilly tonight, at least she'd remembered her cloak. She let the trap door thump back down, and peered around in the dark shadows. "Draco?" she called, a little uncertainly.

"Here," came a low voice to her right, and she turned to see Draco glide out of one of the deep shadows, almost as if he hadn't been there a moment before. The moon glinted off his hair as she looked at him, making it pale silver in the night, shadowing his eyes.

"Hi," she said rather inanely, looking up at him as he came to a stop inches from her, his body nearly brushing hers. A tingle went through her, a hot wave of something inexplicable as the wind swirled between them, and she shivered.

"You're cold," he said, and frowned. He reached out and pulled her close to him, turning her and leading her to one of the observation benches. He sat and straddled the stone bench, pulling her to sit between his legs and then wrapping his cloak about the two of them.

Cara snuggled down with a sigh. "You can be so damn mean, and then you do something like this," she said, almost not realizing she was talking aloud. "How's a girl supposed to figure you out, Draco?"

He bent his head so his lips nearly brushed her ear. "Don't try," he said, breath warm and whisper soft against her ear.

She sighed and shivered again, this time not from the cold as his arms tightened about her. "It's a girl thing," she said softly back. "We can't help it." She shivered again as his lips closed over a pulse point on the side of her neck. "D-Draco," she stuttered a bit, a wave of heat washing over her. "Talk to me, please?"

He nibbled a moment more on her neck, sending her nerves haywire and nearly melting her into a puddle of gibbering idiocy. Then he lifted his head and tucked her closer. "The only reason I am telling you anything," he said in a soft, firm voice, "is because otherwise you may put yourself into more danger from sheer ignorance and stupidity."

"Thanks," she muttered, but he ignored her.

"I will assume you are aware of Bellatrix Lestrange and her role in the debacle at the Department of Mysteries last spring?" he asked over her head.

Cara shivered, not from heat this time. Ginny had given few details, but she'd gleaned enough to get the idea. "Yeah," she said soberly.

She heard the mocking twist to his voice. "Dear Bellatrix happens to be my mother's cousin," he said. "She was kind enough to spend her summer with my mother and I this year." Cara stiffened. She didn't like where this was going. "Suffice to say, my rather… checkered past has set her to playing games with me, a game where the end result will be one of us dead."

Cara just sat and silently counted ten. Then she took a deep breath. "Why?" she asked.

"Why, what?" he countered, the cool disinterest in his voice. She was fairly sure it was faked, however. She was starting to know him a little better than that.

"Why does she want you dead?" she asked, staring forward, out at the dark, moonlit grounds of Hogwarts.

There was silence behind her, and in an unconscious move to comfort, she leaned back against him a little more, trying to give him the warmth of her body. He finally spoke. "You recall last year and my… involvement with Professor Stone?" he said. Cara nodded, cheek pressed against one of his arms. Who could have forgotten? The incident had led to Draco's infamous probation for the rest of the year.

"Over the holidays, when most of the castle was gone, there was another… incident," he said carefully. "Suffice to say, at the end of it my father's supporters and a certain powerful person were left in no doubt with whom my loyalties lay."

Cara waited a moment longer, but he'd clearly finished. It was enough for now, she decided. Draco wasn't someone who was used to having to share his life at all. She'd get the rest of the story from him another time.

He spoke again. "The letter you received was from Bellatrix," he said. "She has included you in her threats." Cara's blood chilled at the thought. "I will not let her have you," he said, voice emotionless. "This is between her and I. But you cannot give her any opportunities."

"So no trip to Hogsmead," Cara said softly, understanding now. She sighed. "Ok," she said. She felt him tense behind her and laid her head against his arm again. "Really," she said. "I know you don't have a very good opinion of Gryffindors as a whole, but I'm not stupid. Most of us aren't. Just don't ask me to let you face this alone."

"Cara…" he started, a note of irritation in his voice.

"No," she interrupted. "I realize you've gone through a lot of trouble, here, Draco, to keep this all very quiet and away from people. From the professors, too, right?" She felt his stiff nod. "Ok. I'm not going to tell anyone. But I AM going to help you. Because that's what people who care do, they help each other."

His voice was low and soft and rich above her head. "And you care," he said, voice not quite a question.

She was feeling that warmth return, and shivered with it. "Yes," she whispered. She felt the soft puff of his breath exhaling against her cheek, and then the soft brush of his lips behind her ear. She caught her breath as he nuzzled that spot before moving to take her earlobe gently in his teeth. Now that warmth in her body was rapidly getting hotter, and as his tongue swirled around her earlobe, she squirmed in uncertain pleasure.

"Shh," he whispered against her skin. She froze, her breath stopping as she felt his hands move and slid beneath her sweater and blouse to rest against the bare skin of her stomach. Gods, how could just the feel of his hands against her skin feel so good? She wondered frantically.

And then he turned his head and caught her lips in a long drugging kiss, and she surrendered to the mind-numbing pleasure of his lips and hands.