Disclaimer: *sigh* I don't own Harry Potter, unfortunately. Though I wouldn't mind borrowing Draco for a little while...
Captain Oblivious: It was too! Granted it would have been better if I updated sooner, but I thought it was a nice little cliffy!
hpdancer92: I think outside the box ^_^
Volley Ball Chika: I should make you my official announcer. You do such a wonderful job!
Atlanta-avalon1.1: Yes.....poor Bella. What shall she do? Honestly, I'm not sure yet.
Mel: Eep! No! I need her for the story! She's an integral part of the plot.
jandl: I love it when reviewers agree with me...
Lara Potter: A neon yellow rabbit? Oh I feel so loved! *is overcome by emotion*
Jade Danielle: You call me names in #hogsmeade? But...but...but...I thought you lurved me! :'( *cries hysterically*
Carpe Diem
Sirius was felling pretty pleased with himself, having just rigged the entrance to the Slytherin Common room to spray red paint on anyone who came within five feet of it. A particularly advanced charm, usually only used by professionals.
So wrapped up in his success, Sirius barely noticed Arabella until he had nearly walked into her. She was walking in a daze, not seeming to see where she was going. Sirius frowned. She had been like that for the last three days. Determined to find out what was wrong, Sirius reached out and grabbed her shoulder.
She spun around so fast that he was nearly knocked off his feet. "S-Sirius!" she gasped. "Don't sneak up on me like that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Sneak up on you? Bella, the way you're going around a herd of elephants could sneak up on you. What's wrong with you lately?" he said, a bit harsher than he had meant to. He regretted it when she turned away from him, her head down. Something was obviously deeply upsetting her, and he had to go be a prat and yell at her.
"Bell, please tell me what's wrong," he continued more gently. "I-I don't like to see you like this." He gently turned her around to face him, but she remained looking at the ground.
"I can't tell you, Sirius. I...I just can't. It wouldn't be right," she said quietly. She leaned forward so her forehead was resting on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her waist. "But I want you to promise me something. Promise me that no matter what happens, you'll be happy."
Sirius frowned. This was definitely not like Arabella. But he said, "I promise," anyways. "But you have to promise to get over whatever it is that's bugging you. I'd feel guilty pulling a prank on you if you weren't feeling up to returning the favor."
Arabella looked up at him and frowned. "Who said I wasn't feeling up to it?"
Sirius grinned. "Well no one, of course. I simply assumed because you were walking around like a zombie you might not feel like hexing me. Not that I'm complaining or anything."
Arabella, the mischievous glint back in her eyes, tried to back away from Sirius, but was stopped by his arms, which were still wrapped around her waist.
"Sirius, you can let go now."
~*~*~*~*~*
"I think I know how we can get back to our own time," Hermione stated, whispering so no one outside the group would hear. "All we have to do is recreate the circumstances that got us here, and, combined with a spell, we should be able to go home.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were sitting in a secluded corner of the common room, where Hermione had told them to meet.
"That's great, Hermione!" Ron exclaimed, not noticing that Hermione didn't look too thrilled with her discovery.
"But..." Harry prompted.
"But...we'd need a time turner."
"Well that's no problem. I'm sure if we told Dumbledore he'd get one for us," said Ginny.
"I'm sure he would, Ginny. But the problem is the type of time turner we used doesn't exist yet!"
There was a momentary silence before Harry spoke up. "You mean...we're stuck here? We can't get back home?"
"Well...not necessarily. This is just one way to get home. There could be others."
Ron sighed. "Bloody Hell."
~*~*~*~*~*
"Father? What's going on?"
"Draco, its time for you to join our cause. Our Lord is going to get rid of Potter once and for all tonight. It will be your initiation," his father answered, facing the fireplace.
"My...initiation?
"Is there something wrong with your ears, Draco? Your initiation. All you have to do is kill one of Potter's friends. Perhaps the mudblood...Yes, I think it would be fitting."
"You want me to kill Granger? Tonight? But Father—"
Lucius turned angry eyes on his son. "You will do it, Draco, and you will like it! Our Lord is being most generous in his offer to let you join us tonight, when you are still young. You should be grateful."
He swallowed. "I am, Father. I was just...unprepared."
Draco opened his eyes, and then closed them again when his head started pounding. That had been the night the Dark Lord had been killed. And Draco couldn't have been happier. He hadn't even had to start his initiation. The fighting had started and he had been pushed to the side and forgotten about.
Truthfully, Draco's stomach had churned at the thought of killing someone, and he had been sick almost immediately after leaving his father that day.
He would have laughed it if weren't for his aching body. That had been the last time he spoke to his father. He was rotting in a cell in Azkaban by the next morning.
Draco was just thinking about how his father was fairing surrounded by Dementors when a wave of nausea rolled over him.
I should go to the Hospital Wing. He got up to go, but was immediately dizzy. Sitting back down, he closed his eyes until the world stopped spinning, then tried again. This time he managed to stand and start walking shakily out of the deserted common room.
What seemed like an eternity later he made it out of the dungeons, and found himself in a deserted corridor, where he promptly collapsed. He lay there on the floor for a while, delighting in the feel of the cold floor on his hot skin, and wondering where everyone was, thankful they couldn't see him. Suddenly he heard footsteps and struggled to get up, not wanting anyone to see him so weak.
He had barely made it to his knees when Ginny Weasley walked around the corner. She didn't see him at first, but as she walked past him a bit or torch light glinted off his hair, and she gasped.
"My God! Draco, are you alright?" She knelt down and felt his forehead. "You're burning up! Let me help you to the hospital wing."
Draco tried to protest, but, for the life of him, he couldn't think of a reason too. And her hand felt so cool against his forehead...
So, with Draco half leaning on Ginny and Ginny half leaning on the wall, they slowly made there way to the Hospital Wing, where Madame Pomfrey took him from her.
Draco woke up the nest morning thinking about the strange dream he had had the night before. The one with the Red Haired Angel.
~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Alright, the bit with Draco and Ginny was completely unplanned and therefore sucks miserably. I only wrote it because I wanted to make the chapter longer. Think of how short it would have been otherwise! And, for those of you who didn't catch that, it wasn't really a dream. Draco just thinks it was. ;)