"Danie!" Shouted Lisa into the astronomy tower as she climbed it. She'd
already looked everywhere else that she could think of. "Danielle! God
Damnit answer me!"
Danie appeared at the top of the stairs. "The there a reason that you're swearing at me?"
"You have us all worried sick and Heather has gone into one of her serious moods! Draco's out looking for her, and Snape is really worried about you! Everyone's looking for you, have you been up here the whole time?" Lisa said, out of breath.
"No, I've been wandering. Ran into the Bloody Baron, I'm surprised he didn't tell you where I was." Danie said calmly.
"Danie, are you alright?" Lisa noticed that there wasn't any evidence that her friend had been crying.
"I'm fine! Never better. Supper's soon, isn't it? I'm so hungry I could eat a whole cow, but it would be quite hard to catch and cook Pansy this close to supper." Danie was talking to more herself than anyone as she walked down the stairs.
Lisa followed her, feeling worry, confusion, sadness and fear all at once, which isn't a nice feeling.
****
The blade shone in the light of the torches in the bathroom as Heather sat on the floor of one of the stalls in the girls' bathroom. Carefully, she turned the stolen dagger over and over; inspecting the blade as her own blood from the cuts on her hands trickled down it like the dried teardrops that once fell on her face.
Suddenly the door to the bathroom slammed open and Draco's voice, dripping with panic, rang through.
"Heather? Heather, please tell me you're in here!"
Standing up, Heather shoved the dagger in her boot, covering it with her pant leg, and opened the stall door, careful to hide her hands. As soon as Draco saw her, he ran to her and entrapped her in a hug.
"Thank goodness you're okay." He whispered in her ear, and kissed her.
"Mmm," Heather said, pulling away from him a little so she could see his face, and gave him a puzzling look, covering the pain in her eyes with the fake joy she'd trained herself to create. "Why wouldn't I be alright? And you do realize that you're in the girls' room, right?"
"Lisa said that the way you were acting, she thought you'd go off the deep end, I swear I thought you'd kill yourself!"
Heather forced a fake laugh. "God, will they never drop that? I had a real problem with depression last year, and once I attempted suicide. I chickened out though, and obviously didn't go through with it. Don't worry, I'm fine!"
"Okay, alright, I was just worried." Draco said, and he kissed her again.
"Thanks for caring." Heather said. "Let's go, I'm starving."
She started to walk away, then realized that Draco wasn't following her. She turned around, and absentmindedly pushed a hair out of her face. Draco's eyes went wide.
"Are you coming?" Heather asked, then caught the look on his face. "What?"
Draco walked quickly towards her, and grabbed her hands, holding the bleeding palms up.
"This is called being okay?" He cried.
Heather wrenched herself from his grip, and tried to run away, but he caught her by the waist.
"Oh no you don't! Hospital wing, now!"
"Let go of me!" she screamed, but he tightened his grip.
She wiggled and tried to get free, but her held her arms and dragged her kicking and screaming up to Madame Pomfrey, getting quite a few stares on the way up, but he ignored them. Wincing because Heather had been biting his hand very hard, the kicked open the hospital wing door, and called out to Madame Pomfrey, releasing Heather and slamming the door shut, standing in front of it so she couldn't get out.
"What is all the commotion about?" Pomfrey shouted at them as she came into view.
"Look at her hands!" Draco shouted while Heather tried to kick his feet out from under him to get out the door.
Pomfrey grabbed Heather and whirled her around. Every time she tried to take one of Heather's hands, Heather would pull it away.
"If you don't stop that, I'll see to it that you spend every day after school this month up here so I can keep an eye on you, and I'll deduct fifty points from your house!"
Heather sighed and stopped wiggling. Pomfrey took her right hand.
"Oh my dear lord!" Pomfrey breathed. "What did you do to yourself?"
"What does it look like I did?" Heather spat back, glaring at Draco through the corner of her eye.
"Go sit over there, I'll fix this right up."
Heather sat in the chair she was told to, and purposely looked away from Draco as he limped over to the chair beside her and sat down.
Pomfrey was just finishing up as Lisa and Danielle stormed into the room.
"Everyone's talking about you two!" Lisa started, then noticed a bulge in Heather's right boot, the very place that she'd stuffed the knife. "And I think I understand why now." Lisa walked over and before Heather had a chance to react, Lisa had grabbed the blood stained dagger from her boot. "You've got to find a new hiding spot for these things if you want to hide them. That's where you hid the knife last time, remember?" Lisa said, handing the dagger to Pomfrey.
"Heather, don't beat yourself up like this." Danie said brightly. "It's okay! Everything is okay!"
"I'm sorry, I had to-" Draco started.
"You seem quite happy Danie." Heather said, looking up and ignoring Draco completely.
"Why wouldn't I be?" asked Danie in return, smiling brightly.
Heather looked at her friend very oddly, then turned to Pomfrey. "Can I go now?"
"Go to your house. I want you to lie down for a bit and eat lots, you lost quite a bit of blood." Pomfrey said. "Will you keep an eye on her?" she asked Draco, Danie and Lisa.
"Sure." They said at the same time.
"So I can go?" Heather asked again.
"You may go."
Heather stood up, and almost fell over. When Draco went to catch her, she stood up and shook off his strong but gentle grip. Then she shook her head to clear her vision and continued to walk, not looking at Draco and leaving him behind with a hurt expression on his face.
"Go get some food, I'll talk to her." Whispered Lisa to her brother. Draco nodded, and Lisa ran to catch up with Danie and Heather.
****
"What the fucking hell is wrong with you?" Lisa shouted at Heather as soon as she'd sat down on the couch beside the fireplace. "First you go and slice up your hands, then you completely blow off the guy who may have saved your life, and cares more for you than anyone else in the entire world, muggle and wizard alike!"
"I told him to let me go and he didn't." Heather said, putting her head down.
"And I'm very glad that he didn't!" Lisa replied. "You obviously lost lots of blood, and if he hadn't dragged you upstairs, completely dropping any care for his perfect Slytherin reputation by the way, you could have died from blood loss!"
"He shouldn't have come then."
Lisa let out an exasperated sigh, and turned her attention to the entrance, where Draco had just come through with a huge tray of food.
"Hey, how'd he get in here?" Danie asked.
"Heather told me the password when she brought me up here after the Halloween dance." he replied.
"I shouldn't have ever even considered dancing with you." Heather mumbled, still not looking at him.
"I'm sorry I had to be so rough, but you were pretty rough yourself." Draco replied, rubbing a spot on his rib cage where she'd elbowed him.
"You wouldn't let go!" Heather spat back, her blue eyes now piercing into his.
"You could've died!" Draco yelled back, banging the tray down on the table.
"THAT WAS THE POINT!" Heather shouted at the top of her lungs, then lay back down onto the pillow, taking a deep breath. "You have no idea what it's like. To be someone's last hope, and then to let them down. Let them die."
"I know I don't, but I can try." Draco said, sitting down next to her on the couch. He went to stroke her red hair, but she grabbed his hand.
"Just go away." she said. "Go away and leave me alone."
Draco, for the first time in his life holding back tears, stood up and walked out of the common room.
Danie appeared at the top of the stairs. "The there a reason that you're swearing at me?"
"You have us all worried sick and Heather has gone into one of her serious moods! Draco's out looking for her, and Snape is really worried about you! Everyone's looking for you, have you been up here the whole time?" Lisa said, out of breath.
"No, I've been wandering. Ran into the Bloody Baron, I'm surprised he didn't tell you where I was." Danie said calmly.
"Danie, are you alright?" Lisa noticed that there wasn't any evidence that her friend had been crying.
"I'm fine! Never better. Supper's soon, isn't it? I'm so hungry I could eat a whole cow, but it would be quite hard to catch and cook Pansy this close to supper." Danie was talking to more herself than anyone as she walked down the stairs.
Lisa followed her, feeling worry, confusion, sadness and fear all at once, which isn't a nice feeling.
****
The blade shone in the light of the torches in the bathroom as Heather sat on the floor of one of the stalls in the girls' bathroom. Carefully, she turned the stolen dagger over and over; inspecting the blade as her own blood from the cuts on her hands trickled down it like the dried teardrops that once fell on her face.
Suddenly the door to the bathroom slammed open and Draco's voice, dripping with panic, rang through.
"Heather? Heather, please tell me you're in here!"
Standing up, Heather shoved the dagger in her boot, covering it with her pant leg, and opened the stall door, careful to hide her hands. As soon as Draco saw her, he ran to her and entrapped her in a hug.
"Thank goodness you're okay." He whispered in her ear, and kissed her.
"Mmm," Heather said, pulling away from him a little so she could see his face, and gave him a puzzling look, covering the pain in her eyes with the fake joy she'd trained herself to create. "Why wouldn't I be alright? And you do realize that you're in the girls' room, right?"
"Lisa said that the way you were acting, she thought you'd go off the deep end, I swear I thought you'd kill yourself!"
Heather forced a fake laugh. "God, will they never drop that? I had a real problem with depression last year, and once I attempted suicide. I chickened out though, and obviously didn't go through with it. Don't worry, I'm fine!"
"Okay, alright, I was just worried." Draco said, and he kissed her again.
"Thanks for caring." Heather said. "Let's go, I'm starving."
She started to walk away, then realized that Draco wasn't following her. She turned around, and absentmindedly pushed a hair out of her face. Draco's eyes went wide.
"Are you coming?" Heather asked, then caught the look on his face. "What?"
Draco walked quickly towards her, and grabbed her hands, holding the bleeding palms up.
"This is called being okay?" He cried.
Heather wrenched herself from his grip, and tried to run away, but he caught her by the waist.
"Oh no you don't! Hospital wing, now!"
"Let go of me!" she screamed, but he tightened his grip.
She wiggled and tried to get free, but her held her arms and dragged her kicking and screaming up to Madame Pomfrey, getting quite a few stares on the way up, but he ignored them. Wincing because Heather had been biting his hand very hard, the kicked open the hospital wing door, and called out to Madame Pomfrey, releasing Heather and slamming the door shut, standing in front of it so she couldn't get out.
"What is all the commotion about?" Pomfrey shouted at them as she came into view.
"Look at her hands!" Draco shouted while Heather tried to kick his feet out from under him to get out the door.
Pomfrey grabbed Heather and whirled her around. Every time she tried to take one of Heather's hands, Heather would pull it away.
"If you don't stop that, I'll see to it that you spend every day after school this month up here so I can keep an eye on you, and I'll deduct fifty points from your house!"
Heather sighed and stopped wiggling. Pomfrey took her right hand.
"Oh my dear lord!" Pomfrey breathed. "What did you do to yourself?"
"What does it look like I did?" Heather spat back, glaring at Draco through the corner of her eye.
"Go sit over there, I'll fix this right up."
Heather sat in the chair she was told to, and purposely looked away from Draco as he limped over to the chair beside her and sat down.
Pomfrey was just finishing up as Lisa and Danielle stormed into the room.
"Everyone's talking about you two!" Lisa started, then noticed a bulge in Heather's right boot, the very place that she'd stuffed the knife. "And I think I understand why now." Lisa walked over and before Heather had a chance to react, Lisa had grabbed the blood stained dagger from her boot. "You've got to find a new hiding spot for these things if you want to hide them. That's where you hid the knife last time, remember?" Lisa said, handing the dagger to Pomfrey.
"Heather, don't beat yourself up like this." Danie said brightly. "It's okay! Everything is okay!"
"I'm sorry, I had to-" Draco started.
"You seem quite happy Danie." Heather said, looking up and ignoring Draco completely.
"Why wouldn't I be?" asked Danie in return, smiling brightly.
Heather looked at her friend very oddly, then turned to Pomfrey. "Can I go now?"
"Go to your house. I want you to lie down for a bit and eat lots, you lost quite a bit of blood." Pomfrey said. "Will you keep an eye on her?" she asked Draco, Danie and Lisa.
"Sure." They said at the same time.
"So I can go?" Heather asked again.
"You may go."
Heather stood up, and almost fell over. When Draco went to catch her, she stood up and shook off his strong but gentle grip. Then she shook her head to clear her vision and continued to walk, not looking at Draco and leaving him behind with a hurt expression on his face.
"Go get some food, I'll talk to her." Whispered Lisa to her brother. Draco nodded, and Lisa ran to catch up with Danie and Heather.
****
"What the fucking hell is wrong with you?" Lisa shouted at Heather as soon as she'd sat down on the couch beside the fireplace. "First you go and slice up your hands, then you completely blow off the guy who may have saved your life, and cares more for you than anyone else in the entire world, muggle and wizard alike!"
"I told him to let me go and he didn't." Heather said, putting her head down.
"And I'm very glad that he didn't!" Lisa replied. "You obviously lost lots of blood, and if he hadn't dragged you upstairs, completely dropping any care for his perfect Slytherin reputation by the way, you could have died from blood loss!"
"He shouldn't have come then."
Lisa let out an exasperated sigh, and turned her attention to the entrance, where Draco had just come through with a huge tray of food.
"Hey, how'd he get in here?" Danie asked.
"Heather told me the password when she brought me up here after the Halloween dance." he replied.
"I shouldn't have ever even considered dancing with you." Heather mumbled, still not looking at him.
"I'm sorry I had to be so rough, but you were pretty rough yourself." Draco replied, rubbing a spot on his rib cage where she'd elbowed him.
"You wouldn't let go!" Heather spat back, her blue eyes now piercing into his.
"You could've died!" Draco yelled back, banging the tray down on the table.
"THAT WAS THE POINT!" Heather shouted at the top of her lungs, then lay back down onto the pillow, taking a deep breath. "You have no idea what it's like. To be someone's last hope, and then to let them down. Let them die."
"I know I don't, but I can try." Draco said, sitting down next to her on the couch. He went to stroke her red hair, but she grabbed his hand.
"Just go away." she said. "Go away and leave me alone."
Draco, for the first time in his life holding back tears, stood up and walked out of the common room.