Thanks for the reviews, everyone -- okay. like 4 people, but that's like ΒΌ
of my total reviews. slightly sad, huh?-it's up to YOU to change that! J/k
-- thanks anyway
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Kristin stared out the window, lost in thought; only a frightening familiar image found her again.
"HARRY!!!!'' she shrieked, running to the window in mad panic, watching the boy-who-lived tumble out the window, hoping beyond hope he could do it again, that he could escape death once again. She leaned over, reaching out in vein hopes of saving Harry, catching him and holding him tight. He invaded her every thought, making her unable to focus on anything else, until a hand on her back pulled her- or pushed her- to reality. The force of the hand sent Kristin flying over the edge of the windowsill. She toppled slowly and not too far before an arm around her waist pulled her back to the room.
Kristin ended up in Draco's arms, leaning against his firm chest with his strong arm around her waist, staring up into his steel gray eyes. She opened her mouth to thank him, but was interrupted by the terrified screams of the girls in the class that were still watching the scene in the window across the courtyard. Kristin turned away from his gaze quickly and darted out the door, down the stairs and to the courtyard by Harry's side.
"Harry," she whispered, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably. "Harry, sweetheart, wake up. Please wake up." She feared to touch him in case she hurt him anymore, but she could hear him breathing harshly and painfully, giving her some relief, for, though he was in pain, he was alive, and Madam Pomfrey could fix that; she had fixed Kristin already this year.
The boy moaned slightly, tried to move, and moaned even louder. Kristin hushed him and told him quietly not to move. He reached for her hand but she told him to sit still, that someone would be there soon. He begged her not to leave and she promised that she wouldn't and stayed by his side until Madam Pomfrey, Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore and a mass of other teachers swept him away.
Lastly was Snape.
He shuffled behind arrogantly, waiting for Kristin to say something to him. But she wouldn't budge, if he wanted to say something to her, he would have to say it first. There was no giving in to him. Not this time.
Apparently he felt the same. He simply glared at her, yet his cold black eyes showed sympathy and a little remorse, though she knew that she wasn't meant to pick up on it.
Kristin trailed after the concerned entourage, just steps behind Snape, to the infirmary and waited worried, pacing, and crying in the hall outside the door. She couldn't hear anything, alone in the silence of the hall until the door opened.
"Ms. Riddle," Dumbledore said quietly, omnisciently positive that no one was within earshot, "This may take a while. Why don't we take a walk?"
"How is he?" she insisted.
"I'm not going to lie. He's hurt pretty bad. But you can be assured that everyone is doing all they can to save him." He put his hand on her shoulder but she turned away quickly.
"What about you?" Kristin asked indignantly, "What are you doing to help him if you're out here talking to me? You're the most powerful magician in the world, right? The only person my father ever feared, right? So why aren't you in there saving him? You're on his side. Why am I more worried than you are? I'm supposed to be his archenemy, aren't I?"
"I am doing what needs to be done right now." He remained calm, despite Kristin's demanding tone. "Kristin, wizards of Harry's status don't just fall out of windows on accident. Something happened in that hallway and I think your father has something to do with it. I'm almost afraid he doesn't fear me as much with you around." He put his hand back on her shoulder and nudged her gently to walk down the hall.
"You're not asking me to leave, are you?" she asked. Though expulsion was not the ultimate worry on her mind right now, it pained her to imagine leaving this place. Despite the conflicts with Snape and Draco, Kristin had finally found a place she wanted to call home, a place where she bothered to unpack her trunk and put it in the wardrobe by her four poster bed. Her four poster bed, in her room, in this wonderful place called Hogwarts that was finally hers, where she was safe from her father and only two people knew her real name, well, three but he didn't know he knew.
"No, Kristin, I would never ask that of you, and I have no reason to ask that of you. No, I just truly think that this has something to do with Voldemort."
"When doesn't it?" she screamed, "When doesn't he do something to interfere with my life, my happiness? Why can't the jerk just leave me alone?" She wasn't talking to the headmaster anymore but was screaming wildly through the deserted halls, aiming the plea at the unseen force which proved to be lurking around her new niche, as it lurked around her every move, unseen, unknown, unrelenting.
Kristin tripped over something and fell to the ground, crying unstoppably. It was just enough to throw her over the edge. She looked down at the object that brought her down. It was a book on magical creatures with small notes all over it- Harry's book. A few of them were scattered across the floor. Dumbledore had brought her to the hallway that Harry fell from. Torches lit the walls ominously, casting shadows of the girl and the teacher onto the walls.
She got herself up slowly, took a deep breath, and warily approached the window. A light breeze twirled around her brown hair wrapping it delicately around her face and drying the tears. Her robes billowed behind her and cold chills trickled through the warm late autumn breeze.
"So, this is it, huh?" she choked her words out quietly. "This is where he fell?" She looked back at him for a reaction. Professor Dumbledore simply nodded.
Kristin paused for a moment. "Should we check up on Harry? I'm terribly worried."
"You can feel it, can't you, Kristin?"
"I feel worried about Harry. That's all. I feel as if I should be there, just in case." She turned to face him with her pleading hazel eyes.
"As you wish." He nodded his consent to leave and walked her back to the infirmary, where he told her to wait outside while he checked on his status.
"He's fine." A sinister voice came from behind her. "He's just sleeping now." Professor Snape walked up to her and held out his arms. Kristin ran to him and he held her close while she cried. Even though Harry was alright, she cried. Even though Snape wasn't mad at her anymore, she cried. Even though Draco had put everything aside and saved her, she cried. She cried because she had finally found three wonderful men -a lover, a father, and a friend- and one man threatened to take it all away whenever she turned her back, or raised her wand, or raised her temper, or got scared or angry or lonely or sad, or when she breathed the wrong way; it would all come crashing down around her and she would be on her own again, with her pillowcase and belongings, a little girl, wandering alone.
"Ms. Riddle," Dumbledore interjected quietly. He had been standing there for a while but was waiting for the right time to interrupt this reunion. "Mr. Potter is asking for you."
Kristin nodded, weakly and made her way to Harry's side.
"Hi sweetheart," she greeted; smiling and brushing a piece raven hair out of his face, though it returned to its tousled position. "How are you feeling?"
"Not to bad, right now. Madam Pomfrey gave me something to ease the pain. She says I'll be here overnight but nothing actually too serious. They say something, like, slowed my fall." Harry lowered his voice. "I felt it, Kristin. It wasn't just like someone pushed me over. It was like someone was- was pulling me down, like I was falling faster than I should have, like gravity wasn't working alone. My scar was killing me all the time. And then I heard someone scream and it stopped. I fell slower, like whatever was pulling got interrupted, like there was something more important than I was at that moment. If that hadn't happened I would've sure been dead."
Kristin struggled not to cry. That was it. Her father was the one pulling him down, and when Kristin fell, her father turned his energies from killing Harry to what was going on at her own window. Dumbledore was right; she did feel it, her father's presence all around her, everywhere she went, haunting her, stalking her, targeting not only her but everyone she loved as well.
"I'm sorry, Kristin, I didn't mean to upset you. I know how you must worry about me sometimes. Or I hope you worry about me sometimes." He smiled at her.
Kristin laughed, brushing away a tear.
"Only sometimes, there are others when I think that I should have pushed you out the window, you stupid prat," She giggled and kissed his forehead, caressing his cheek with her fingertips.
"Oh, thanks," he replied sarcastically.
"Well, you ask for it, sometimes."
"When?" he asked indignantly.
"How about when you wake me up in the middle of the night to tell me something that you could've told me at school?"
"True, but the 'conversation' we had afterwards wasn't anything I could've said in Potions class." Harry joked.
"You could've, but I don't think Snape would've reacted so well." She giggled again. "How did you get into my room anyway? You couldn't have gotten passed the painting. He hates Gryffindors."
"I followed Malfoy and Blaise in the entrance with my invisibility cloak."
"Draco and Blaise?"
"Yeah, it seems, we're not the only ones who run away at night."
"Oh" Kristin seemed shocked, almost hurt and her eyes flashed a brighter shade of green, but she smiled "I still can't believe that was only last night. It seems so long ago."
"Yeah, it's been wonderful though." Harry sighed, gazing at Kristin lovingly.
"Yeah, falling out a window sounds wonderful to me." She joked.
"Well. besides that."
-----
"BLAISE! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD DO SOMETHING THAT FUCKING LOW! WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR HEAD?!? YOU COULD'VE KILLED HER!!!"
"Well, Draco, that was kind of the idea," she snapped at him.
"But why?"
"I saw the way you were looking at her. She's not just a friend to you, is she?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Blaise; of course she's just a friend to me."
"Well, she is, but that's not how you want it. You want more from her. You want what Potter's got. You always have. Potter's never had me, but I love you, Draco, and she doesn't. She doesn't know what she's missing. And you're missing out on something that could be great if you choose her over me." She stood close to him with one hand on his chest and the other on his arm, body pressed against his, voice low and seductive.
"Blaise," he wanted to push her back, but didn't. "I told you what any relationship between us would be based on, and last night was a pure example. It just won't work. So either you can stick around and we can have some fun for a while, possibly now because it's lunch and I'm mad, though mainly at you, or you can insist on us being more and me pushing you away and finding Pansy."
"Well, if you put it that way, I suppose I want to have some fun," she smiled her horny smile, though disappointed slightly by her choices, took his hand and led him to her room for a long lunch.
-----
Kristin stared out the window, lost in thought; only a frightening familiar image found her again.
"HARRY!!!!'' she shrieked, running to the window in mad panic, watching the boy-who-lived tumble out the window, hoping beyond hope he could do it again, that he could escape death once again. She leaned over, reaching out in vein hopes of saving Harry, catching him and holding him tight. He invaded her every thought, making her unable to focus on anything else, until a hand on her back pulled her- or pushed her- to reality. The force of the hand sent Kristin flying over the edge of the windowsill. She toppled slowly and not too far before an arm around her waist pulled her back to the room.
Kristin ended up in Draco's arms, leaning against his firm chest with his strong arm around her waist, staring up into his steel gray eyes. She opened her mouth to thank him, but was interrupted by the terrified screams of the girls in the class that were still watching the scene in the window across the courtyard. Kristin turned away from his gaze quickly and darted out the door, down the stairs and to the courtyard by Harry's side.
"Harry," she whispered, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably. "Harry, sweetheart, wake up. Please wake up." She feared to touch him in case she hurt him anymore, but she could hear him breathing harshly and painfully, giving her some relief, for, though he was in pain, he was alive, and Madam Pomfrey could fix that; she had fixed Kristin already this year.
The boy moaned slightly, tried to move, and moaned even louder. Kristin hushed him and told him quietly not to move. He reached for her hand but she told him to sit still, that someone would be there soon. He begged her not to leave and she promised that she wouldn't and stayed by his side until Madam Pomfrey, Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore and a mass of other teachers swept him away.
Lastly was Snape.
He shuffled behind arrogantly, waiting for Kristin to say something to him. But she wouldn't budge, if he wanted to say something to her, he would have to say it first. There was no giving in to him. Not this time.
Apparently he felt the same. He simply glared at her, yet his cold black eyes showed sympathy and a little remorse, though she knew that she wasn't meant to pick up on it.
Kristin trailed after the concerned entourage, just steps behind Snape, to the infirmary and waited worried, pacing, and crying in the hall outside the door. She couldn't hear anything, alone in the silence of the hall until the door opened.
"Ms. Riddle," Dumbledore said quietly, omnisciently positive that no one was within earshot, "This may take a while. Why don't we take a walk?"
"How is he?" she insisted.
"I'm not going to lie. He's hurt pretty bad. But you can be assured that everyone is doing all they can to save him." He put his hand on her shoulder but she turned away quickly.
"What about you?" Kristin asked indignantly, "What are you doing to help him if you're out here talking to me? You're the most powerful magician in the world, right? The only person my father ever feared, right? So why aren't you in there saving him? You're on his side. Why am I more worried than you are? I'm supposed to be his archenemy, aren't I?"
"I am doing what needs to be done right now." He remained calm, despite Kristin's demanding tone. "Kristin, wizards of Harry's status don't just fall out of windows on accident. Something happened in that hallway and I think your father has something to do with it. I'm almost afraid he doesn't fear me as much with you around." He put his hand back on her shoulder and nudged her gently to walk down the hall.
"You're not asking me to leave, are you?" she asked. Though expulsion was not the ultimate worry on her mind right now, it pained her to imagine leaving this place. Despite the conflicts with Snape and Draco, Kristin had finally found a place she wanted to call home, a place where she bothered to unpack her trunk and put it in the wardrobe by her four poster bed. Her four poster bed, in her room, in this wonderful place called Hogwarts that was finally hers, where she was safe from her father and only two people knew her real name, well, three but he didn't know he knew.
"No, Kristin, I would never ask that of you, and I have no reason to ask that of you. No, I just truly think that this has something to do with Voldemort."
"When doesn't it?" she screamed, "When doesn't he do something to interfere with my life, my happiness? Why can't the jerk just leave me alone?" She wasn't talking to the headmaster anymore but was screaming wildly through the deserted halls, aiming the plea at the unseen force which proved to be lurking around her new niche, as it lurked around her every move, unseen, unknown, unrelenting.
Kristin tripped over something and fell to the ground, crying unstoppably. It was just enough to throw her over the edge. She looked down at the object that brought her down. It was a book on magical creatures with small notes all over it- Harry's book. A few of them were scattered across the floor. Dumbledore had brought her to the hallway that Harry fell from. Torches lit the walls ominously, casting shadows of the girl and the teacher onto the walls.
She got herself up slowly, took a deep breath, and warily approached the window. A light breeze twirled around her brown hair wrapping it delicately around her face and drying the tears. Her robes billowed behind her and cold chills trickled through the warm late autumn breeze.
"So, this is it, huh?" she choked her words out quietly. "This is where he fell?" She looked back at him for a reaction. Professor Dumbledore simply nodded.
Kristin paused for a moment. "Should we check up on Harry? I'm terribly worried."
"You can feel it, can't you, Kristin?"
"I feel worried about Harry. That's all. I feel as if I should be there, just in case." She turned to face him with her pleading hazel eyes.
"As you wish." He nodded his consent to leave and walked her back to the infirmary, where he told her to wait outside while he checked on his status.
"He's fine." A sinister voice came from behind her. "He's just sleeping now." Professor Snape walked up to her and held out his arms. Kristin ran to him and he held her close while she cried. Even though Harry was alright, she cried. Even though Snape wasn't mad at her anymore, she cried. Even though Draco had put everything aside and saved her, she cried. She cried because she had finally found three wonderful men -a lover, a father, and a friend- and one man threatened to take it all away whenever she turned her back, or raised her wand, or raised her temper, or got scared or angry or lonely or sad, or when she breathed the wrong way; it would all come crashing down around her and she would be on her own again, with her pillowcase and belongings, a little girl, wandering alone.
"Ms. Riddle," Dumbledore interjected quietly. He had been standing there for a while but was waiting for the right time to interrupt this reunion. "Mr. Potter is asking for you."
Kristin nodded, weakly and made her way to Harry's side.
"Hi sweetheart," she greeted; smiling and brushing a piece raven hair out of his face, though it returned to its tousled position. "How are you feeling?"
"Not to bad, right now. Madam Pomfrey gave me something to ease the pain. She says I'll be here overnight but nothing actually too serious. They say something, like, slowed my fall." Harry lowered his voice. "I felt it, Kristin. It wasn't just like someone pushed me over. It was like someone was- was pulling me down, like I was falling faster than I should have, like gravity wasn't working alone. My scar was killing me all the time. And then I heard someone scream and it stopped. I fell slower, like whatever was pulling got interrupted, like there was something more important than I was at that moment. If that hadn't happened I would've sure been dead."
Kristin struggled not to cry. That was it. Her father was the one pulling him down, and when Kristin fell, her father turned his energies from killing Harry to what was going on at her own window. Dumbledore was right; she did feel it, her father's presence all around her, everywhere she went, haunting her, stalking her, targeting not only her but everyone she loved as well.
"I'm sorry, Kristin, I didn't mean to upset you. I know how you must worry about me sometimes. Or I hope you worry about me sometimes." He smiled at her.
Kristin laughed, brushing away a tear.
"Only sometimes, there are others when I think that I should have pushed you out the window, you stupid prat," She giggled and kissed his forehead, caressing his cheek with her fingertips.
"Oh, thanks," he replied sarcastically.
"Well, you ask for it, sometimes."
"When?" he asked indignantly.
"How about when you wake me up in the middle of the night to tell me something that you could've told me at school?"
"True, but the 'conversation' we had afterwards wasn't anything I could've said in Potions class." Harry joked.
"You could've, but I don't think Snape would've reacted so well." She giggled again. "How did you get into my room anyway? You couldn't have gotten passed the painting. He hates Gryffindors."
"I followed Malfoy and Blaise in the entrance with my invisibility cloak."
"Draco and Blaise?"
"Yeah, it seems, we're not the only ones who run away at night."
"Oh" Kristin seemed shocked, almost hurt and her eyes flashed a brighter shade of green, but she smiled "I still can't believe that was only last night. It seems so long ago."
"Yeah, it's been wonderful though." Harry sighed, gazing at Kristin lovingly.
"Yeah, falling out a window sounds wonderful to me." She joked.
"Well. besides that."
-----
"BLAISE! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD DO SOMETHING THAT FUCKING LOW! WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR HEAD?!? YOU COULD'VE KILLED HER!!!"
"Well, Draco, that was kind of the idea," she snapped at him.
"But why?"
"I saw the way you were looking at her. She's not just a friend to you, is she?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, Blaise; of course she's just a friend to me."
"Well, she is, but that's not how you want it. You want more from her. You want what Potter's got. You always have. Potter's never had me, but I love you, Draco, and she doesn't. She doesn't know what she's missing. And you're missing out on something that could be great if you choose her over me." She stood close to him with one hand on his chest and the other on his arm, body pressed against his, voice low and seductive.
"Blaise," he wanted to push her back, but didn't. "I told you what any relationship between us would be based on, and last night was a pure example. It just won't work. So either you can stick around and we can have some fun for a while, possibly now because it's lunch and I'm mad, though mainly at you, or you can insist on us being more and me pushing you away and finding Pansy."
"Well, if you put it that way, I suppose I want to have some fun," she smiled her horny smile, though disappointed slightly by her choices, took his hand and led him to her room for a long lunch.