Chapter VI - Full moon
By dinner time, Lucius was divided between giving up and plain blackmailing them. The first would be wiser, considering he had Quidditch the next morning and he had to be fit (especially because it had just started to rain and it might not stop that soon). But the later was much more appealing. It was obvious that everything was set. During all dinner, the girls kept unusually quiet, almost didn't eat anything and exchanged dark looks. When it seemed not-suspicious enough, Andromeda got up and shortly after was followed by Alexis. Lucius quickly left his table, leaving Narcissa talking alone for the tenth time that week.
He followed them so silently this time he could hardly believe he wasn't a shadow himself. Alexis was extremely nervous, looking back much more often than during any time in the week. She approached a painting with a man seating humped looking far away and said "Puffskein". It was obviously the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room. The man shrugged and said "Why not?" while the painting swung open, and she disappeared from behind it.
Should he risk it? Should he go inside? Or should he just wait there?
A reckless impulse took over him and he felt as his adrenaline rose when he said "Puffskein" to the hump man.
"Sure... why bother?" answered the depressing painting, swinging open.
He tried to listen, to make sure they weren't in the common room, If they were, he could still hide outside before they see him. He heard nothing but the rain drops taping in the windows. He peered. The room was deserted. But just as he entered he heard a voice from upstairs. He quickly took hide behind a curtain and heard the girls coming down the stairs.
"Is it safe?" was asking Andromeda.
"No one will bother us there." he heard Alexis answer.
"But will I have to wait for midnight?"
"You have to take the potion 3 times, one every hour. The charm has to be performed at the moon peak, which will be at exactly 4 minutes after midnight, according to your calculations, so I think we could get started around 10."
"It's already 9. Maybe we should get going."
"Ok" said Alexis suddenly very business-like "You know what to do, right? Right. So go ahead and I'll meet you there in half an hour or so. Oh, did you understand exactly where it is?"
"Please say no." thought Lucius, desperate.
"Yes."
"Damn!"
"Good luck then."
Lucius heard the portrait opening again and seconds later the whole room was immerged in silence. He could hear the fire crackle in the fireplace. He could hear the rain outside. But he couldn't hear Alexis, thought he was sure she was still there. It took him a minute to be sure, when she coughed, but other than that she remained in silence. He peered behind the curtain and saw that she was reading an old and thick book. He noticed that it was from the library too, but he couldn't make out the title. She was chewing her nails and muttering some words. Then she looked at the clock and left. Lucius was about to leave after her when he heard someone walking in. And someone else right after, and more and more students started filling the room.
This was starting to look not very good. He was still hiding behind the curtain, the common room was now filled with students, Arthur Weasley suspected he was up to something, he had Quidditch in about 12 hours and he still didn't know where the hell they were meeting!
This didn't look good at all.
He started getting very impatient. Everything was filling his mind. He couldn't concentrate to have a plan to escape. And half an hour later things hadn't improved. Some students had gone to bed but the room still had too many people. And it was getting late. He was getting so tired, confused, frustrated and annoyed he just wanted to get out of there and go to bed. It didn't matter anymore where they were. He was getting too tired for Quidditch, and that was his priority again. How had he forgotten about that?
"Shame he dates that Narcissa." he heard among the talking of the students, interrupting his thoughts.
"Yes, but I don't think he likes her all that much." said Cris' voice.
Cris!, he thought. Of course! She could get him out of this. She was a prefect. All he had to do was draw her attention. But how?...
"And how is he?" asked her friend.
"A gentleman, of course..." said Cris. Lucius smiled. Of course he was. "He is very caring and gentle." Of course, he thought, rather proudly. "And he is so hansome." He took his wand out. "He shows me what he likes" he was going to draw a lightning-bolt in her friend's clothes, which was their code for meeting. "But he is a bit selfish." He stopped. What?!
"Selfish?" asked the girl.
"Yes. He just doesn't give me pleasure."
"He doesn't?"
What??!
"No. Well, sometimes I've been this close, but then he just ruins everything."
"Oh..."
WHAT?? Why, you little ungrateful-
"You know what I mean? He just thinks about himself. It's not like I'm that difficult, you know? And it's not as if he can't. He just... doesn't care."
"Than why do you still see him?"
"Because he's soooo cute. And I love the mystery he puts in our little datings, drawing that little lightning b-" and she noticed her friend had a lighting bolt shinning in her lap. Cris started looking around very quickly. The lightning bolt disappeared from her friend's clothes and appeared in the curtains behind which he was hiding.
"Betty, would you mind getting me my book of Arithmancy from my room?"
"What?"
"I think I can be more graphical with that book."
"Weren't we talking about Malfoy?"
"Will you go, please?"
And a few seconds later she must have gone because Lucius heard a whispering near the curtains "Are you here?"
"Yes, I am, and I would be very pleased that you could get me out of here."
"But... what are you doing here?"
"I came to see you, but since I can't give you any pleasure I think I might as well leave."
"You... you came to see me?" and she looked very ashamed of the things she had said. Good, he thought, now I'm sure you will get me out of this. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean any of those things..."
"Listen, just get me out of here. We'll talk about it later, ok?"
"Ok. Let's see... I can create a diversion in the other end of the room. Then I'll use my prefect powers to-"
"Sounds great. Now, hurry up!"
Seconds later there was a loud bang and the smell of rotten fish came from the other side of the room. He heard her shouting "What the hell happened here? Who did this?" and in less than 5 minutes everyone was shouting and accusing each other. Lucius looked to see if it was clear for him to go. Cris was the only one facing him, everyone else was shouting and arguing with her and each other. She noticed the path was clear and suddenly pointed to somewhere behind her and shouted "What was that?" ("the oldest trick in the book?" Lucius thought) and everyone looked as Lucius escaped through the portrait.
***
As he headed to the Slytherin common room, Lucius wondered why had he given so much importance to a girl's business. It could be anything. It could be the most stupid thing in the world! Why had he tried so hard to find out?
He would have a Quidditch game next morning. His fellow players should be in bed by now, or wondering where had he gone. He was sure that Rod, at least, should be awake, waiting for him. Maybe all the team was up, fearing that he might have been abducted by evil Hufflepuffs and held prisoner under the Quidditch stands, where they would tortu-
Sh**it! Idiot! How could he have been so stupid? Of course Alexis had disappeared! She had gone under the stands!
And suddenly, every thought about Quidditch just slipped his mind and he ran as fast as he could to the Pitch outside.
***
It was raining heavily now but Lucius didn't even noticed. He ran to the pitch cursing his stupidity and when he reached it he tried to rememeber where Alexis had been right after he had seen her disappear. It was over 11:30 but he was sure they must still be there. He recognised the spot and approached it very cautiously. And there it was, between two stands, a tinny entrance. He decided to look for another one, just to make sure he wouldn't bump into them, and a few meters away he found it. He crawled inside. He could see that just after the curve of the stadium there was a fire burning. It was much warmer inside too, thought not that dry, since some rain drops kept falling throught the wooden structure. He walked slowly and he saw the little fire burning, crackling with the water drops that fell in it.
"It is time." he heard Alexis' voice.
And as he peered from behind a wooden structure column he had chosen as a hideout, he saw the two grils in the firelight... and his jaw dropped.
"What tha-"
By dinner time, Lucius was divided between giving up and plain blackmailing them. The first would be wiser, considering he had Quidditch the next morning and he had to be fit (especially because it had just started to rain and it might not stop that soon). But the later was much more appealing. It was obvious that everything was set. During all dinner, the girls kept unusually quiet, almost didn't eat anything and exchanged dark looks. When it seemed not-suspicious enough, Andromeda got up and shortly after was followed by Alexis. Lucius quickly left his table, leaving Narcissa talking alone for the tenth time that week.
He followed them so silently this time he could hardly believe he wasn't a shadow himself. Alexis was extremely nervous, looking back much more often than during any time in the week. She approached a painting with a man seating humped looking far away and said "Puffskein". It was obviously the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room. The man shrugged and said "Why not?" while the painting swung open, and she disappeared from behind it.
Should he risk it? Should he go inside? Or should he just wait there?
A reckless impulse took over him and he felt as his adrenaline rose when he said "Puffskein" to the hump man.
"Sure... why bother?" answered the depressing painting, swinging open.
He tried to listen, to make sure they weren't in the common room, If they were, he could still hide outside before they see him. He heard nothing but the rain drops taping in the windows. He peered. The room was deserted. But just as he entered he heard a voice from upstairs. He quickly took hide behind a curtain and heard the girls coming down the stairs.
"Is it safe?" was asking Andromeda.
"No one will bother us there." he heard Alexis answer.
"But will I have to wait for midnight?"
"You have to take the potion 3 times, one every hour. The charm has to be performed at the moon peak, which will be at exactly 4 minutes after midnight, according to your calculations, so I think we could get started around 10."
"It's already 9. Maybe we should get going."
"Ok" said Alexis suddenly very business-like "You know what to do, right? Right. So go ahead and I'll meet you there in half an hour or so. Oh, did you understand exactly where it is?"
"Please say no." thought Lucius, desperate.
"Yes."
"Damn!"
"Good luck then."
Lucius heard the portrait opening again and seconds later the whole room was immerged in silence. He could hear the fire crackle in the fireplace. He could hear the rain outside. But he couldn't hear Alexis, thought he was sure she was still there. It took him a minute to be sure, when she coughed, but other than that she remained in silence. He peered behind the curtain and saw that she was reading an old and thick book. He noticed that it was from the library too, but he couldn't make out the title. She was chewing her nails and muttering some words. Then she looked at the clock and left. Lucius was about to leave after her when he heard someone walking in. And someone else right after, and more and more students started filling the room.
This was starting to look not very good. He was still hiding behind the curtain, the common room was now filled with students, Arthur Weasley suspected he was up to something, he had Quidditch in about 12 hours and he still didn't know where the hell they were meeting!
This didn't look good at all.
He started getting very impatient. Everything was filling his mind. He couldn't concentrate to have a plan to escape. And half an hour later things hadn't improved. Some students had gone to bed but the room still had too many people. And it was getting late. He was getting so tired, confused, frustrated and annoyed he just wanted to get out of there and go to bed. It didn't matter anymore where they were. He was getting too tired for Quidditch, and that was his priority again. How had he forgotten about that?
"Shame he dates that Narcissa." he heard among the talking of the students, interrupting his thoughts.
"Yes, but I don't think he likes her all that much." said Cris' voice.
Cris!, he thought. Of course! She could get him out of this. She was a prefect. All he had to do was draw her attention. But how?...
"And how is he?" asked her friend.
"A gentleman, of course..." said Cris. Lucius smiled. Of course he was. "He is very caring and gentle." Of course, he thought, rather proudly. "And he is so hansome." He took his wand out. "He shows me what he likes" he was going to draw a lightning-bolt in her friend's clothes, which was their code for meeting. "But he is a bit selfish." He stopped. What?!
"Selfish?" asked the girl.
"Yes. He just doesn't give me pleasure."
"He doesn't?"
What??!
"No. Well, sometimes I've been this close, but then he just ruins everything."
"Oh..."
WHAT?? Why, you little ungrateful-
"You know what I mean? He just thinks about himself. It's not like I'm that difficult, you know? And it's not as if he can't. He just... doesn't care."
"Than why do you still see him?"
"Because he's soooo cute. And I love the mystery he puts in our little datings, drawing that little lightning b-" and she noticed her friend had a lighting bolt shinning in her lap. Cris started looking around very quickly. The lightning bolt disappeared from her friend's clothes and appeared in the curtains behind which he was hiding.
"Betty, would you mind getting me my book of Arithmancy from my room?"
"What?"
"I think I can be more graphical with that book."
"Weren't we talking about Malfoy?"
"Will you go, please?"
And a few seconds later she must have gone because Lucius heard a whispering near the curtains "Are you here?"
"Yes, I am, and I would be very pleased that you could get me out of here."
"But... what are you doing here?"
"I came to see you, but since I can't give you any pleasure I think I might as well leave."
"You... you came to see me?" and she looked very ashamed of the things she had said. Good, he thought, now I'm sure you will get me out of this. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean any of those things..."
"Listen, just get me out of here. We'll talk about it later, ok?"
"Ok. Let's see... I can create a diversion in the other end of the room. Then I'll use my prefect powers to-"
"Sounds great. Now, hurry up!"
Seconds later there was a loud bang and the smell of rotten fish came from the other side of the room. He heard her shouting "What the hell happened here? Who did this?" and in less than 5 minutes everyone was shouting and accusing each other. Lucius looked to see if it was clear for him to go. Cris was the only one facing him, everyone else was shouting and arguing with her and each other. She noticed the path was clear and suddenly pointed to somewhere behind her and shouted "What was that?" ("the oldest trick in the book?" Lucius thought) and everyone looked as Lucius escaped through the portrait.
***
As he headed to the Slytherin common room, Lucius wondered why had he given so much importance to a girl's business. It could be anything. It could be the most stupid thing in the world! Why had he tried so hard to find out?
He would have a Quidditch game next morning. His fellow players should be in bed by now, or wondering where had he gone. He was sure that Rod, at least, should be awake, waiting for him. Maybe all the team was up, fearing that he might have been abducted by evil Hufflepuffs and held prisoner under the Quidditch stands, where they would tortu-
Sh**it! Idiot! How could he have been so stupid? Of course Alexis had disappeared! She had gone under the stands!
And suddenly, every thought about Quidditch just slipped his mind and he ran as fast as he could to the Pitch outside.
***
It was raining heavily now but Lucius didn't even noticed. He ran to the pitch cursing his stupidity and when he reached it he tried to rememeber where Alexis had been right after he had seen her disappear. It was over 11:30 but he was sure they must still be there. He recognised the spot and approached it very cautiously. And there it was, between two stands, a tinny entrance. He decided to look for another one, just to make sure he wouldn't bump into them, and a few meters away he found it. He crawled inside. He could see that just after the curve of the stadium there was a fire burning. It was much warmer inside too, thought not that dry, since some rain drops kept falling throught the wooden structure. He walked slowly and he saw the little fire burning, crackling with the water drops that fell in it.
"It is time." he heard Alexis' voice.
And as he peered from behind a wooden structure column he had chosen as a hideout, he saw the two grils in the firelight... and his jaw dropped.
"What tha-"