That morning Nora, Padma, Justin and Draco woke up around nine o'clock and were bustling around trying to pack their bags with things they'd need for their little trip around Canberra.
"Where on earth are my quills, parchment and ink?" Nora cried desperately, holding her head with both hands in frustration. Draco and Justin were cowering in a corner. Padma, on the other hand, was too busy yelling herself.
"Where is my right shoe? Who on earth would take my shoe?" She snarled searching the entire room, throwing things upside down in the process.
"Padma?" Justin asked from beside Draco in the corner.
"WHAT?" Padma yelled, turning to look at him. Apparently she got as evil as Parvati when she was frustrated.
"It's in your hand," Justin told her weakly. Padma lifted her right hand up, inspected the shoe in it and said:
"So it is. THEN WHERE THE HELL IS MY LEFT SHOE?" She asked Justin. He quickly shrugged and looked at the floor, not wanting to irritate her any further. Fifteen minutes later Padma and Nora had finally found everything and they were both starting to cool off.
"All right," Padma said, after a deep breath. "Let's go, then, shall we?" she asked the two boys from her position in the doorway with Nora. Justin and Draco quickly nodded and they followed the girls into the elevator.
"You want to push the button, Draco?" Nora asked him, like a mother would speak to her six year old child.
"Yes, please," he replied while vigorously nodding his head. He pressed the '0' button and the elevator started moving. They ate breakfast and then went into the main hall, discussing their plans.
"So first we're going to go and look around Canberra a bit," Justin said.
"And then we can go draw kangaroo's at that place the other group went, what was it called again?" Nora asked.
"Captain Jack's," Justin replied not looking up from the map he was examining. Nora snorted. "Let's go, then." With a nod from the others they exited the Hotel and stood outside in the burning sun.
"It certainly is hot here," Padma said, fanning herself with one hand.
"I feel like I walked into the Sahara. It's never like this in England," Draco said, squinting as the burning sun glared straight at him. They began walking and entered store after store, hardly purchasing anything but finding it interesting to look around. It sure was different from England.
"I want more Muggle candy," Padma said, pouting as she and Justin exited a candy store.
"You've already got a bag full," exclaimed Justin in incredulity. Padma folded her arms. "All right, if you let it go I'll take you to a Muggle café tonight, ok?" Padma thought it over before replying:
"Fine. But it better be good, or else you'll be sorry." Justin nodded and they began walking again. Padma and Draco gaping at the most normal things. At one o'clock they headed towards a cab.
"Captain Jack's Kangaroos, please," Justin said, when everyone was seated. The Taxi-driver nodded and they were off. After a twenty-minute drive they stopped in front of a large building with a tall fence that stretched out of sight both left and right. The four got out and stood in front of the area. There were kangaroos hopping about everywhere and they saw a few caretakers walking around
"What now?" Padma asked, looking at the creatures in amazement.
"Er… I'm not sure," Justin said. Just then one of the caretakers had opened a door in the fence on their right and called out to them.
"Over here," she called. The four walked over to her. "Hi, my name is Lisa, I'm one of the caretakers here. I assume you want to watch the kangaroos?" She asked. Lisa was a woman in her mid twenties with red hair and comforting dark brown eyes. Justin nodded. Lisa stepped aside and let them enter. "I'll just let you walk around, then. The kangaroos are pretty tame so some might even let you pet them. Have fun, then," she said, and then walked off to one of her co-workers.
"So, which one do we draw?" Draco asked.
"I don't know. How about we just walk around first?" Nora replied. The others nodded and they walked towards a small group kangaroos, the burning sun above their heads.
"Good thing I had us all put some sun lotion on," Padma said. Nora nodded. "Oooh! They're so cute! I could just cuddle 'em all!" Padma exclaimed all of a sudden, as they came closer to a baby kangaroo.
"Quiet, woman. You'll scare them away," Justin said, teasingly. Padma slapped him on the arm, but then kept quiet. She got down on her knees with Nora and edged closer to the little kangaroo. It observed them for a few seconds and then hopped closer.
"Oh!" Padma and Nora exclaimed softly as it hopped even nearer. Draco and Justin watched as the two girls petted it, a few more baby kangaroos hopping closer. After fifteen minutes a whole group surrounded the four students and they had gotten out parchment, a quill and some ink so they could accomplish their task.
"Is one of the caretakers watching?" Draco whispered to Nora, who was sitting beside him on the ground.
"I dunno, why?" she replied, not taking her eyes off the little creature in front of her.
"You think they'd mind if I cast a stunning charm on one of these kangaroos?" He asked her.
"What?" Nora exclaimed quietly. "Of course they would! Besides, why would you want to in the first place?"
"Well they won't keep still! How on earth am I supposed to draw them if they keep moving?" He told her. Nora sighed at his childishness, but thought it was somehow cute all the same.
"Just try, Draco. It doesn't have to be a magnificent piece of art," she replied. Draco cursed a little under his breath but started drawing again. After a long while the four students each had a kangaroo drawn on their parchment.
"I'm naming 'mine' Ginger," Padma told Nora proudly, as she petted 'her' kangaroo.
"That suits her. I think I'll name 'mine' erm… I can't think of anything," Nora replied, frowning while stroking 'her' kangaroo absentmindedly.
"What about… oh: Ruby?" Padma said.
"Urgh, no, I definitely don't like that name," answered Nora, making a face.
"Hopper, then."
"That's just plain stupid… besides, she doesn't hop a lot, does she? I think she's the only one that can sit still for at least one minute." Padma sighed.
"Then I can't think of anything either. Help us," she said, turning to Justin and Draco. Justin shrugged.
"I have no idea. What's the point anyway? It's not like you can take it home or anything." Neither of the girls replied, they turned to Draco.
"What about Sapphire?" He said, watching the baby kangaroo hop around her. Nora watched in hilarity.
"I like it. Sapphire. Thanks," she said, smiling at Draco. He could have died of happiness right then and there. 'How on earth can someone have this kind of effect on me?' he thought, looking into her dark eyes.
"You're welcome. At least it's better than Ruby," he replied, returning the smile and trying to put his feelings aside.
"Oooh, nice drawings," Lisa said, as she sat down beside them, studying each of the drawings on parchment. "Funny. You're the second group that has come here and drawn the kangaroo's, and on parchment as well. Most people just take pictures." The four students looked at each other. It would seem very suspicious if any of the other groups that came here drew the kangaroos on parchment too. They'd have to tell Dumbledore.
"Really?" Draco said acting innocently enough. "That certainly is funny. We have to go now, thanks for letting us stay here so long." The five stood up and Lisa shook their hands.
"No problem at all. Hope you had a good time." She led them to the gates and held the door open. Nora, Padma, Justin and Draco exited and after one last glance at Captain Jack's Kangaroos they were off.
"Whew, that was a bit close, wasn't it?" Justin said looking nervously back at the building. Draco nodded.
"So, what are we going to do now? Certainly we're not going to walk to the Hotel?" he asked.
"Better believe it," Padma replied glumly. Draco stopped in his tracks.
"What? But that's about an hour-long walk! Why can't we take a Taxer thing?"
"That's: Taxi, and we don't have any way of getting one," Justin told him.
"Besides, it'd be nice to see the country a bit," Nora said.
"What's there to see? Sand every which way you look! We might as well go get lost in the desert," Draco told her sourly. Padma and Justin had already begun walking again.
"Quit whining and move," Nora replied but Draco didn't budge. "Do not make me hex you, Malfoy."
"Oh, back on last name terms, are we?" Draco asked her, an eyebrow raised.
"We are unless you start walking," she replied, holding out her wand and pointing it at him. Draco stood stubbornly still for a few more seconds before he finally began to walk.
"But only if you stop calling me 'Malfoy'," Draco told her.
"Why? I've called you 'Malfoy' since first year, you didn't mind then."
"I did, I just never told you. You wouldn't like it if I'd call you 'Glassyd' again, would you?"
"I suppose not." The four walked for forty-five minutes before Padma and Justin, who were still walking ahead, stopped.
"What's the hold up?" Draco asked them.
"Just thought we'd take a break," Padma replied. "Anyone bring food?" They all looked at each other. "All right, let's start walking again, then!" she said in fake enthusiasm. Draco groaned.
"But I'm so hungry!" He whined.
"I know, I am too, but none of us brought any food, besides the city is only about fifteen minutes away, we can go find a place to eat there," Nora told him. Draco seemed to be thinking it over.
"I know!" He exclaimed suddenly. "What about that spell we used in the secret chamber behind that tapestry! We have no food now, and are really hungry, it would work here right?" He asked excitedly but Nora shook her head.
"Maybe it would, but it's not exactly as if we're starving to death, the city is only a little while away and, besides, Hermione performed that spell that night and she's the only one that can do it."
"Looks like you're gonna have to walk, buddy," Justin said, patting Draco sympathetically on the shoulder. He and Padma already knew what had happened to Harry, Ron, Hermione, Nora, Draco and Neville the night the Death Eaters had attacked again. As a matter of fact, the whole school knew. Draco grumbled.
"I hate this country," he muttered under his breath, but the others could clearly hear him. They began walking again, cursing the sun along the way. Nora was gradually growing more and more tired due to the lack of sleep she'd had for the past few nights, mostly because at night all her sorrows were there right in front of her and all she could do was think about them and cry. And ever since she was little and she got very tired, annoyed and/or cranky, accidents would happen to her. For instance, she'd break a vase, or walk into things or trip easily.
"Whoa!" Padma, Justin and Draco suddenly heard a yell and then a loud 'thump'. They turned around and saw Nora lying on the ground, clutching her ankle, muttering a lot of swear words.
"What happened?" Padma asked bending over Nora.
"I tripped over these effing rocks," she snarled in rage. " I think I've sprained my ankle." Justin and Draco had taken out the map again, trying to see if they were actually heading in the right direction.
"Well, I've learned a bandaging charm when I was little, for Parvati, let's see if I can still do it, shall we?" Padma said. Nora nodded her approval. "All right, then." Padma took off Nora's sneaker, pointed her wand at Nora's ankle, cleared her throat and shouted: "Iungo!" Instantly white bandages flew out of her wand and wrapped around Nora's right ankle. "Feel better?"
"Slightly. It doesn't hurt as much, that's for sure, but I don't know if I can walk," Nora replied, frowning in slight confusion of how she had tripped. Padma got up from her kneeling position, held out both hands, which Nora grabbed hold of, and pulled her up.
"Try to stand." Nora did as she was told and put her right foot on the ground, leaning a bit on it. "Does it hurt?" Nora shook her head.
"Not that much."
"Oh, no, wait. I just remembered," Padma said, somewhat crestfallen, "My mum once told me: you're not allowed to walk yet, you're not supposed to strain your ankle until it's fully healed."
"How long will that take?" Nora asked, hoping her injury wouldn't interfere with their trip.
"A few hours. Witches and Wizards heal faster than Muggles. Maybe we could contact one of the teachers? Get them to heal you," replied Padma.
"I don't know. It's not that big of an injury and we may just be bothering them…" Nora said uncertainly.
"Done yet?" asked Justin, walking over with Draco.
"Yes, but we don't know what to do, she's not supposed to be using her right foot now so it'll be a problem walking," Padma replied.
"Apparently it already was or else she wouldn't have tripped over one tiny rock and fallen flat on her face," Draco said glaring at Nora, angry that he wasn't getting any closer to the hotel and out of the burning sun. Nora glared back but both of them could see that the other didn't mean it.
"We could try walking and if it really doesn't work than we'll ask one of the teachers to heal her," Justin told the group. They nodded and Nora was left no choice but to try and walk. Five minutes later, though, she was already a few meters behind the other three and had to limp. Nora gave out a long sigh in frustration. This was all not going as planned.
"Love the way you walk, Quasimodo," came the voice of Draco beside her. She looked at him and glared.
"You try it with a crippled foot, you git," she replied coldly. Draco laughed and then held his hands up in the air and said:
"I come in peace. Want me to help you?"
"How? You can't use magic to levitate me, Muggles would see."
"What Muggles? There isn't a Muggle around for miles. Besides, I could carry you." Nora was startled by his offer, she didn't know if he was asking that to really help her or just because he liked her, and she wanted to decline the offer, but on the other hand, a little voice in her head kept shouting: 'YES! PLEASE! TAKE ME IN YOUR STRONG ARMS!' She hated that little voice. Draco watched her think it over and his heart sank a little when she replied.
"No, that's quite all right. I don't want to wear you out," she told him, smiling awkwardly.
"You won't," Draco said, and before she could do anything he swept her off the ground and in his arms and started walking. She tried to protest but felt too exhausted to even try, and after a while she, absentmindedly, put her head on Draco's shoulder and her arms around his neck. Draco smelled the refreshing scent of fruit that emerged from her hair.
Nora was vaguely wondering what on earth she was doing in Draco's arms. She felt like she was betraying Dean. 'Don't be silly,' the annoying little voice in her head said, speaking up once more. 'Dean is gone and he even said that you and Draco were meant to be together.' 'Quiet,' Nora snapped at it. She closed her eyes and felt the hot sun on her face, along with the throbbing pain from her ankle. Very slowly she dozed off.
Draco looked at her beautiful face, her closed eyelids, her soft lips. How he longed to touch them, to kiss them. But he had to control himself and concentrate on getting her back to the hotel safely. Draco pulled her a bit closer to him as he gave her a gentle hug.
A while later:
"What happened to her?"
"She fell asleep."
"That tired, huh?"
"Obviously."
"Poor little thing. It's no wonder she can hardly sleep, after what happened…"
"Let's get her up to our room first."
"But… what about the food?"
"For god's sakes, Draco. We can eat later."
"Fine." Nora woke up, still feeling very sleepy, hearing voices whispering. She kept her eyes closed, slightly embarrassed that she had fallen asleep in Draco's arms, but she had felt so comfortable then…
"Hold on, I have to find the key…" There was rummaging.
"Oh, Justin. Here, take mine," Padma whispered.
"Thanks." Nora heard a 'click' as the door opened.
"Put her on her bed, Draco. It's only four thirty, we'll wake her at about six o'clock and then head into the city and find a restaurant, all right?" Nora heard no reply so she guessed Draco had nodded his answer. The last thing she heard was someone exit the room. After that she fell asleep again.
Padma walked back into the living room to watch a little television with Justin. Draco stood by Nora's bed a little longer, thinking how peaceful she looked and wondering how she would react if she woke up right now to find him watching her like some maniac. Draco knelt down beside Nora, took her hand in both of his, gave her a soft kiss on the forehead and then quickly left the room.
When Ron woke up that morning it was to find kisses being planted all over his face by Lavender. Apparently she hadn't quite gotten over the fact that she had such a caring boyfriend.
"You can stop now," Ron said, starting to smile as Lavender began a big snogging session. The two rolled over Ron's large bed, which ended eventually, and they fell with a dull 'thud' on the floor, not caring to stop and attend to whatever they had hurt. The crash had woken up Goyle and he quickly got out of bed, grabbed some clothes and ran out of the bedroom, deciding to change in the bathroom. After a while Mandy, who wasn't as afraid of a couple showing their love for each other as Goyle, entered and cleared her throat loudly. Ron and Lavender paid no attention to her. Mandy cleared her throat a couple of more times before becoming agitated.
"HEY!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. Ron and Lavender looked up at her from their position on the floor.
"Yes?" Ron asked her, eyebrows raised.
"Are you two planning on having breakfast at all?" Mandy asked them. Lavender looked at Ron and got off him.
"I supposed we should," she said reluctantly, getting up. Ron groaned and got up too. "What? I thought you liked to eat," Lavender told him
"I do, but I'd rather be snogging my girlfriend than sitting down there trying to keep my hands off of you," Ron replied mischievously. Lavender smiled at him.
"How sweet!" she said. Goyle, who was watching, faked gagging. "But we do have to eat." Ron pouted but Lavender dragged him out of the bedroom anyway and into the living room where the other two were now waiting.
"Can we eat breakfast now?" Goyle asked. Mandy nodded and he ran out of the room and to the elevator. Ron, Lavender and Mandy followed, slowly.
"What are we doing today?" Ron asked during breakfast with his mouth full.
"I don't know," Goyle replied, his mouth overloaded with food too.
"That's just gross," Lavender said, Mandy nodded, pushing her plate of food away from her, a revolted look on her face.
"Today," Mandy began "We'll grab our portkey which will take us to the airport and from there on we'll fly to a warmer part of England."
"How are we going to fly?" Goyle asked.
"Using an airplane, of course," Mandy replied.
"What's an airpl… what was it?"
"Airplane."
"Yes, what's that?" Ron asked.
"Well, it's kind of hard to describe, but you'll see it later today," Mandy said.
"And what's an airpork?" questioned Ron.
"Airport, Ron," Lavender said. "It's where all the airplanes leave."
"Hi," Harry said. He pulled up a seat along with the rest of his group.
"Hi," The others replied.
"Hey, Harry?" Ron said. Harry turned to look at his friend.
"Yeah?"
"Did you know we're taking something that flies to up to the warmer part of England today?"
"Yes. Though my group's taking a portkey," Ron's excited smile faded.
"Oh yeah. I forgot." Suddenly he looked horror struck. "But you've got to be there to help me!"
"Why?" Harry asked, taking a sip of orange juice.
"Because I don't know how to fly an airport!" Harry chuckled.
"First of all, Ron, Lavender and Mandy were raised as Muggles so they'd know, second of all the airplane flies, not the airport, and third of all you don't have to fly it, specialized people, called pilots, do," he explained. Relief washed over Ron.
"Oh."
After breakfast the two groups went into the city again to do some more shopping. Ron's airplane wouldn't leave until one thirty and Harry's portkey wouldn't take them away until four o'clock sharp.
Parvati went into a large store with Crystal-Rose and came back out half an hour later, finding Harry and Crabbe pretty worried that something had happened to the girls. Parvati walked over to Harry, gave her boyfriend a passionate kiss, linked arms with him and dragged him along for further shopping.
"Honey?" Harry asked.
"Hmmm?"
"What took you two so long in that store?"
"Oh nothing really, we were just browsing a bit."
"For what?" Harry questioned, he thought it was peculiar that Parvati and Crystal-Rose had spent so long in there yet had come out with nothing.
"Bra's." Harry made a face.
"Forget I asked." Parvati nodded.
"That's why we didn't take you two with us. Where shall we go next?"
"I don't know," Harry told her.
"Why don't we head back to the hotel?" Crystal-Rose said. "We could swim for a bit, I'm pretty tired from shopping, to tell you the truth."
"Yeah! Let's go swim," said Goyle excitedly.
"All right." And so the four headed back to the hotel and changed into their swimsuits ready to take a dive.
When Parvati entered the large space that contained the pool, Harry immediately went up to her and kissed her passionately. He couldn't help it; she just looked so ravishing in her yellow two-piece that he just had to kiss her. Crystal-Rose, who Harry still hated, smiled a little smile at the young couple.
She had never had that kind of passion. Not even with Dean. Which was the reason she had cheated on him with some seventh year Slytherin, but she had also gotten jealous when Dean and Nora had gotten back together. She knew those two had had the passion she wanted so badly.
Crystal-Rose felt a pang of guilt: she had, a bit knowingly, torn those two apart because she had instantly found Dean very hot. Maybe, if she hadn't separated the two, Dean would still be alive. Crystal was shaken out of her thoughts by Crabbe's voice.
"You coming in, or what?" He asked her. Crystal nodded.
"Yeah." But she didn't move.
"You need help?" Crabbe asked her. Crystal shook her head.
"No." But still she didn't move.
"I think you do." And with that he pushed her into the pool. She gave a loud shriek before the cool water engulfed her. Crabbe jumped in right after her. Crystal came up spluttering and laughing.
"You'll pay for that," she told him, as he emerged. Crabbe gave a fake scared look and Crystal dived at him. The two continued wrestling in the water as Harry and Parvati were enjoying a passionate snogging session somewhere by the side of the pool. There was nobody else so they were free to do anything they pleased.
Ron was holding hands with Lavender as he walked down the streets of London with her. Mandy and Goyle were off somewhere else. The four had agreed they would split up, making it easier for them to shop and since Mandy and Lavender were the only Muggle ones it was decided that they would be split up boy/girl.
"Oh, that looks like an interesting shop!" Lavender squealed, squeezing Ron's hand. Ron looked to where his girlfriend was pointing and saw a large shop with yellow windows.
"Want to go look inside, then?" He asked.
"Oh, yes, please!" Lavender replied and she dragged Ron inside. It was a large store with lots of different types of jeans and a lot of different t-shirts. "Look at this," Lavender said, holding up a long-sleeved yellow shirt with a little purple flower on it.
"But… but… the sleeves have holes in them, surely you're not buying that." Ron said. Lavender chuckled.
"Sure I am. It's supposed to be that way. I like it, I think I'll try it on." And she walked off heading for one of the changing booths. When she came back out Ron thought the shirt looked quiet good on her, so Lavender bought it. They exited the store again after Lavender had bought a white t-shirt, too, that said 'In' on the front at the top, and 'out' at the bottom on the back. Ron had thought it was funny.
"Where to, now?" Lavender asked, glad about her purchase.
"How about we go there?" Ron asked, pointing to a little café he had seen yesterday.
"Sure," Lavender replied, and they walked into the little café. It was very cozy and had a gleaming mahogany bar and little mahogany tables. Apparently this was a bar for couples, because almost every table that was taken had two people snogging each other senseless. Kind of like 'Madam Puddifoots' in Hogsmeade. Ron led Lavender to a table by the window and asked her what she would like to drink.
"Erm… I don't know, I think I'll have a coca-cola." Ron nodded. He went over to the bar, where a good-looking woman stood, and, because he didn't know the drinks Muggles had, ordered:
"Two coca-cola's, please."
"That'll be ten pounds," the woman said sweetly as she took two long glasses, put them under a machine, pressed a button and filled them up with a brown fizzling liquid. Ron took out some money and watched as the glasses filled themselves miraculously. "Ten pounds," the woman said again. Ron turned his head towards her and held out his hand.
"It's this one, right?" He asked her. The lady looked at him in confusion but nodded.
"Erm… yes, it is. Have a nice day." She took the money and put it in a white cash register. Ron took the two cokes and walked towards Lavender looking very smug with himself.
"What are you looking so proud for?" Lavender asked him.
"I paid all by myself." He told her happily. Lavender smiled.
"Good for you!" She said earnestly. She knew Ron wasn't the best in everything like Harry and Hermione and that he was often overshadowed by his two friends and brothers so she thought it wouldn't hurt to compliment him on things he was particularly proud of, even if they were a bit easy to do. Lavender took a sip of her coke. Ron looked at the liquid with an interesting look on his face.
"So… what is this?" He asked, turning his glass round and round.
"It's a drink. It's very sweet and has bubbles in it. Taste it, it's very good." Ron looked at his drink suspiciously for a few seconds, as if expecting it to hold out a gun to him and say 'Stick 'em up!' before taking a sip. He immediately started spluttering when the liquid entered his mouth, and had some trouble swallowing it too, but eventually he managed. "What do you think?" Lavender asked Ron when he was done spluttering and choking.
"How much sugar do they pour into this?" he asked, peering at his glass. "I like it," he then added smiling, and he took another sip, swallowing it with a little less commotion. When the two were done with their drinks they just sat a little and talked.
"Well, you sure are romantic," Lavender told Ron after a few moments of comfortable silence.
"Why?" Ron asked, bewildered.
"First the bracelet, then the dancing yesterday night, now this little café. It makes a girl feel very special."
"Well, the gift and the dancing I kinda did because Harry did too," Ron confessed blushing, not looking at Lavender. "The café was the only idea I came up with." He was afraid Lavender would be mad at him for copying Harry so much, but he was relieved when she spoke in a soft calm tone.
"That's all right. At least you bought a gift for me too, even if it was just because Harry had dragged you into the shop. And at least you asked me to dance at all. I really don't mind if you copy some things, and you came up with this café all by yourself, so that shows you still are romantic." Ron looked up at her, into her eyes, which were filled full of love… for him, he suddenly realized. The great urge to kiss her overwhelmed him so he held her head in both of his hands, leaned forward and kissed her, hoping she wouldn't mind snogging in a public place. It appeared she didn't since she passionately returned his kiss.
"Hello, sleepyhead," Padma said as Nora entered the living room, stretching and yawning. Nora smiled at her a little too friendly. Her ankle had fully healed now and she was using it gladly.
"Hi. Where are we eating tonight?" she asked, yawning again.
"Dolphin's Palace. It's a tacky name but it seems to be a really great restaurant," Justin replied.
"All right, then. Is it a fancy place?"
"Yup."
"Really fancy?"
"Yup."
"So I have to wear a dress or a skirt?"
"Yup."
"No! I hate wearing dresses and skirts! They're so girly," Nora said, stomping her foot. She preferred her usual jeans and a shirt much better.
"I know," Padma said, "But I have to wear a skirt too. You won't be all alone." Nora smiled at her, again perhaps too sweetly.
"That so does not make me feel any better," she said.
"Well, it was worth a shot. Now hit the showers or we'll be late and our table may be given away," Padma replied. Nora did as she was told and went into the bathroom. She washed her hair quickly using her usual shampoo. When she got out of the shower and dried off she slapped herself on the forehead.
"How could I forget to bring my clothes with me?" she muttered to herself. Sometimes she could be so idiotic and forgetful, especially now: not having felt completely 'right' again since his death. It hung there in the back of her mind, haunting her. She wrapped a large, fluffy towel around herself and made it stick so she wouldn't have to hold on to it. She opened the door a bit and poked her head out.
"Padma?" She asked. No one replied. "Padma!" she called out again. Draco came out of his room looking aggrieved.
"What are you yelling about?" He asked.
"Where's Padma?"
"She's out for a walk with Justin. Listen to this: apparently, he really likes her and was planning on asking her out tonight… Why?"
"I needed her to get my clothes, but obviously I'll have to get them myself now. You can go back in your room."
"I can get them for you," Draco offered, while a part of him wondered if she was standing there naked or not.
"No, I haven't laid them out yet. I'll get them myself." She sighed in aggravation, while heading towards her room. Draco shrugged and entered his room again. Nora rummaged through her trunk looking for decent clothes she could wear, wishing Padma were there with her, for Padma had a very good sense of style and usually knew what to wear and when to wear it.
"Got it!" Nora said triumphantly as she pulled out her black skirt. She laid it on her bed and then started rummaging again, looking for a shirt. During her search she found her underwear, too, which she laid on her bed along with her skirt. After about five minutes she finally found a white shirt with thin gray and silver glittering diagonal stripes on it. It would fit perfectly. Now all she needed were shoes.
"Hey, I don't remember buying these…" she said pulling out a pair of high-heeled black strappy shoes. Shrugging, she grabbed all of her stuff on the bed and got up and then headed back to the bathroom to find it locked.
"DRACO!" She shouted, banging on the door. "I NEED TO BE IN HERE!"
"Tough luck!" Came Draco's reply. Nora snarled in outrage.
"YOU ARROGANT PIECE OF SCUM! LET ME IN!" she shouted. Padma and Justin would be back soon and then she'd make them late for dinner.
"Do I have to?" Draco asked.
"YES!" Nora shrieked in disbelief. She heard the lock open and Draco opened the door. He stepped aside to let her in and then returned to combing his hair and piling it full of gel.
"Now leave!"
"Just let me comb my hair, will you?"
"No! Padma and Justin will be here soon and then I won't be ready and we'll be late for dinner! You can comb your hair in your room!" She was getting very frustrated.
"Calm down, will you?"
"No, I will not calm down, now get out or I'll hex you!"
"How? I don't see a wand in your hand, unless you've got it somewhere under your towel," Draco replied, smirking. Nora looked down and quickly grabbed hold of her towel, afraid it would fall off.
"Get out now," she said darkly. Draco smirked but he went into the living room anyway. Nora slammed the door behind him, locking it angrily. She got dressed, combed her hair, quickly put it in a high knot, leaving some strands to frame her face and then grabbed for her makeup. In record time she put some of it on before walking out of the bathroom a bit clumsily; she still had to get used to the high-heeled shoes, since she usually wore sneakers. She found Draco sitting on the sofa fumbling with the remote control his tongue poking out of his mouth. Nora gave a small smile, shaking her head a little, anger slowly subsiding. He looked so helpless that she couldn't stay mad at him. She sat next to Draco, grabbed the remote control and asked:
"Where are Justin and Padma?"
"Hey, I was using that!" He yelled, trying to grab the remote control back.
"If you tell me where Justin and Padma are, I'll show you how to use it properly."
"They're still out. How does it work?" He asked eagerly.
"Well you aim at that thing in front of you," she said, aiming the remote control at the television, "and then you press one of the buttons." Draco watched amazed as the television turned on, showing much more interesting things than the TV's in the airplane had. He was kept busy with the television until Justin and Padma came back. The two looked thoroughly refreshed, but by the look on Justin's face he hadn't asked Padma out yet. Nora gave Draco a nudge.
"What?" He said, irritated, tearing his eyes away from the television. Nora leaned closer and whispered very quietly:
"I'll keep Padma busy for a while, you go talk to Justin."
"And say what?"
"Tell him encouraging things. I don't think he has the nerve to tell Padma he likes her without some reassurance. Now go." Nora got up dragged Padma to their bedroom and closed the door.
"What?" Padma asked.
"Well, you were gone so I had to choose the clothes I'd wear all by myself. What do you think?" Nora asked.
"Great! I love the shirt. Oh, and the skirt ends just above the knee, perfect. Very good job. Like what I'm wearing?" Nora nodded. Padma was wearing a black skirt too, that also ended just above the knee, but had a black shirt on top, with the letters NYC on it in silver. She was also wearing black, strapped high-heeled shoes.
"Looks good, really love your hair, by the way." Padma had her hair loose, but wavy, instead of the usual straightness. "How was the walk?" Nora asked casually.
"Very refreshing. I got the idea that Justin wanted to say something, but I don't think he ever did," Padma replied, looking a bit confused.
"Beats me, let's go, shall we?" Nora said quickly. Draco heard the door open and immediately positioned himself on the couch, so as not to make Padma suspicious. The two girls entered again and looked at the two boys.
"Ready?" Padma asked. Justin and Draco nodded. As they walked to the elevator Nora whispered to Draco:
"Did you talk to him?" Draco nodded.
"Yes, he says he'll do it tonight, when they're in the café he promised to take her to," he whispered back.
"I hope it works out for them, they'd make such a cute couple!"
"Er… yes, right," Draco said, a little awkwardly. Nora noticed boys obviously didn't talk about that sort of thing so she stayed quiet. "I get to push the button!" Draco said as he batted Padma's hand away. The others laughed but Draco proudly pushed the button, looking as if he had climbed Mount Everest.
The four walked over the streets and entered the restaurant. It was very large and filled with people and the delicious smell of food. A waiter took them to their table and they ordered what seemed delicious.
"And drinks?" The waiter asked, while writing the food down.
"A bottle of Perrier wine, please," Draco replied instantly. The waiter looked at him thinking hard, for he didn't look eighteen, but if he wasn't then how on earth could he have known that that was an excellent wine? After a minute the waiter wrote it down and walked off.
"Draco!" The other three exclaimed quietly.
"What?" he asked innocently.
"You ordered wine! We're not eighteen yet!" Padma said.
"So?"
"Who says we even like drinking wine!" Nora told him.
"Just try it, you'll love it," Draco replied.
"How do you know that? Have you had wine before?" Justin asked. Draco nodded.
"Yes, my father always let me have some whenever we went out to eat. I promise you, you won't be sorry." Just then the waiter returned with a bottle of Perrier wine and poured a little into Draco's wine glass. Draco picked the glass up, sniffed the scent of the wine, stirred it by moving his hand clockwise and then took a large gulp. He rolled the wine around his mouth before swallowing it and saying:
"Excellent." The waiter smiled ever so slightly, and poured Draco's and the others' glass full. After dinner the four had finished the entire wine bottle and were slightly tipsy. They decided to go for a walk and Justin and Padma would go into a café along the way.
"It sure is a lovely morning, isn't it?" Nora said, still a bit drunk.
"Definitely, though it is a bit dark, don't you think so?" replied Padma, hiccupping. The two boys nodded. This was the way it was supposed to be: them with the girls they liked having a fabulous dinner and then a romantic walk, though they should probably leave the wine out, next time. They reached a park and Justin stopped, the others followed his example.
"Padma? The café I'm taking you to is right above… I mean, across the street. Will you two wait here?" He asked, turning to Nora and Draco.
"I don't think so. We'll just take a tall… long stroll in the park and when we're done we'll head back to the hotel," Draco replied.
"All right. We'll meet you there, then," said Justin. He crossed the street with Padma and entered the café.
"Ready to troll, god damn it, I mean, stroll, then?" Draco asked. Nora gave a small giggle, which she never did, thinking it was too girly and Parvati-like, which just showed how drunk she was, and nodded. The two entered the dark park that was only lit by a couple of street lamps.
"Wow," said Nora looking up at the sky. "I just love looking at the sky."
"Me too. See that over there?" Draco asked, pointing up at the sky. Nora nodded. "That's the Orion's belt," he said.
"What, really?" Nora asked, amazed.
"No, I just made that up 'cause I figured girls love it when guys point at stars and say intellectual things," Draco replied. Nora laughed.
"They do, but I don't really mind if it's left out," she said.
"Really? Well then, I say, look at that ground!" Draco said, taking her attention off the sky. Nora followed his finger downwards.
"I say, that is mighty interesting," she replied. She looked back up to see where she was going. Draco on the other hand didn't and lost his balance. He grabbed Nora's arm to hold himself steady but, alas, he pulled her down with him and the two lay on the ground laughing. Draco got off the dirt and helped Nora up. He took out his wand, pointed it at her and said: "Scourgify." The dust was immediately taken off her clothes. He did the same with his suit.
"Come," he said and he grabbed Nora's arm and pulled her off of the path they had been walking on. He looked around for a bit, dragged her about some more and finally said: "Here."
"Here what?"
"Lie down here," he said. Nora didn't know why and what to expect, surely he wasn't trying to…? "The view of the stars is great here," Draco said as he lay down on the grass, looking up. Nora lay down next to him and, by golly, he was right. It was an open clearing and the stars glittered beautifully above them.
"Never knew you were so romantic, Draco," Nora said teasingly, slowly sobering up a bit.
"There's more about me you don't know." Nora was sorry to hear the sad tone in his voice.
"It's beautiful here," she said, trying to make him feel a bit better. A cold wind blew and she shivered heavily; wearing just a skirt and shirt. Stupid of her to not bring a sweater or jacket.
"Cold?" Draco asked. She nodded.
"Yes, I should have brought a sweater along." They remained silent for a few more minutes, just watching the sky. Nora shivered a few more times. She felt Draco move beside her and thought he was getting up but her heart began beating faster when his right hand slid under her… back (A/N: I know what you were thinking… tsk tsk.) He put his left arm over her chest and pulled her a bit closer, trying to keep her warm. Nora looked at him and saw the stars and the black sky reflect in his lovely blue/gray eyes. Inwardly she smiled a little and put her head against his.
Draco had no idea where he got the courage to hold the beautiful girl beside him but was a bit relieved when she put her head against his. He looked at the stars and then suddenly a poem entered his mind:
"Presently my soul grew stronger, hesitating then no longer,
'Sir' said I, 'or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore,
For the fact is I was napping, when so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you.' - here I opened wide the door;
Darkness there and nothing more," he said.
"Who wrote that?" Nora asked.
"Edgar Allan Poe," Draco replied.
"You know who Edgar Allan Poe is?"
"Sure, he was a famous wizard you know."
"What? I thought he was a Muggle!"
"Nope." Draco smiled a little, still looking at the stars. He liked holding the girl he loved so close in his arms, smelling her scent.
"All right, I've got a poem as well:
Scintillate, Scintillate globule vivific,
Fain do I fathom thy nature specific,
Loftily perched in the ether capacious,
Strongly resembling a gem carbonaceous," Nora said, smiling too.
"What's that?" Draco asked, turning his head to look at her. Nora looked him in the eyes.
"Just a nerdy way of saying 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'," she replied. Draco laughed. Then, he began leaning closer to her. Nora didn't lean forward but she didn't back away either, she was completely frozen, and when Draco's soft lips touched hers, her mind was screaming: 'BETRAYAL! BETRAYAL!' and the little annoying voice was shouting in reply: 'NO IT'S NOT! DEAN'S GONE! HE EVEN BEGGED YOU TO DO THIS! GO FOR IT!' And then Nora's annoying voice took over and she didn't pull away from Draco. They kissed ever so passionately and both completely forgot that this was supposed to be wrong, for pureblood Slytherin's were not to go around kissing 'mudblood' Gryffindors.
The two did not notice anything else and would've continued even longer, if church bells announcing it was eleven o'clock had not disturbed them. They both broke apart and sat up straight, not looking at each other. Draco got up and held out a hand. Nora took it awkwardly and she was pulled up.
"Er… I think we should go back to the hotel," Draco said quietly. Nora nodded and they walked back to the Hotel in silence and a few feet away from each other. When they entered the elevator Draco didn't even make a fuss about pushing the button. They reached their room and Draco took out his key to open the door.
They both stopped still in the doorway. There, in front of them, were Justin and Padma snogging furiously on the sofa. Both Nora and Draco blushed heavily, not so much because of Justin and Padma but because it reminded them of their own make out session. They both muttered 'Hi,' and 'Bye,' to the couple and quickly entered their room.
Nora found Siberia sitting on her bed. She quickly changed into her pajamas and sat on her bed. Siberia hopped on to her knee and Nora was a bit sorry to see that there was no note attached to her leg.
"What happened? Didn't you make it to Paris?" Siberia hooted and held her beak open. Nora saw something yellow in it and said: "Accio." It seemed like it had been shrunk, so she enlarged it and Hermione's reply was in her hands.
Dear Nora,
I shrunk the letter and asked Siberia if she could keep it in her beak in case she got intercepted. I also asked her to swallow the little piece if that did happened and she was captured. I'm not sure if she understands what I'm telling her, though. Anyway, no one is allowed to read this besides you, well maybe Harry and Ron…
Thanks for your fast response, it really helped me. I feel a lot better and that cow Pansy can just bite me, though I'd prefer it if she didn't. That night, after I wrote you my letter. I fell asleep in Terry's arms on the couch, very comfortable. I guess he sensed I was upset. He really is caring, and I'm very content now. Today we're going to go shopping in Paris. Our task is: Eat baguettes and drink coffee. We thought it was joke at first but later decided it wasn't. Pretty easy task, though.
About your letter again… I don't think there's anything Dumbledore can do. He might scold Pansy a bit but I don't think it'll help. It'd just make her taunt me and others even more. She shouldn't do that though! I really hate her! Though there is something interesting Hannah told me when we were discussing the Death Eaters attacks, in the train: When we were in the secret chamber behind the tapestry and the Death Eaters had entered the Great Hall… some Slytherin's had scared looks on their faces. And some even fought against the Death Eaters! Including the Slytherin's in our year. I think Voldemort's plan is failing; he's losing his younger Death Eaters and new followers.
This is an interesting piece of information and I think that we should remember it. I also think that the attack has something to do with Neville's attack. Remember when Harry heard the Professors talking about Owls searching the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw dorms and Nifflers the Hufflepuff and Slytherin dorms? I think Voldemort's seeking that Amulet again…
Tell me what you think. I haven't written to Harry or Ron about this, yet. I plan on telling them later, but I only have one owl, which is actually yours, and we're not even supposed to be sending out messages too often.
I really liked your joke at the end. It made me laugh quite a bit, so here's one for you:
Juan comes up to the Mexican border on his bicycle. He's got two large bags over his shoulders. The guard stops him and says, "What's in the bags?" "Sand," answered Juan. The guard says, "We'll just see about that. Get off the bike." The guard takes the bags and rips them apart; he empties them out and finds nothing in them but sand. He detains Juan overnight and has the sand analysed, only to discover that there is nothing but pure sand in the bags. The guard releases Juan, puts the sand into new bags, hefts them onto the man's shoulders, and lets him cross the border.
A week later, the same thing happens. The guard asks, "What have you got?" "Sand," says Juan. The guard does his thorough examination and discovers that the bags contain nothing but sand. He gives the sand back to Juan, and Juan crosses the border on his bicycle. This sequence of events is repeated every day for three years. Finally, Juan doesn't show up one day and the guard meets him in a Cantina in Mexico.
"Hey, Buddy," says the guard, "I know you're smuggling something. It's driving me crazy. It's all I think about… I can't sleep. Just between you and me, what are you smuggling?" Juan sips his beer and says, "Bicycles."
I just know you'll like this joke. Good luck with the rest of the trip. Today… shopping!
Love,
Hermione
P.S. You may tell Draco about my letter and what Pansy did, but I don't think he can help, can he? Miss you loads.
Nora finished reading the letter and sighed. Now she'd have to go and talk to Draco. After what had happened she'd rather try and break in and out of Gringott's than see him. She was happy that Hermione was feeling better and she had always known Terry would take good care of her but what Hermione had written about Voldemort trying to steal the Amulet worried her. Nora had already put two and two together and come to that conclusion but seeing it written down on paper made it more real, more definite. Hopefully Voldemort hadn't gotten his hands on the Amulet and hopefully he never would. Nora stroked Siberia for a minute, absentmindedly, before writing a reply to Hermione. When she was finished she got up, put the letter on her table and grabbed the first one Hermione had written to her.
"Wait here, Siberia. I need to ask something before I can send the letter off with you." Nora exited her room and found Justin and Padma still snogging on the couch. Nora vaguely wondered how long they were going to keep at it before she walked over to Draco's room. Shaking her head very slightly, Nora sighed and knocked on Draco's door. It took a minute before he answered.
"Come in." Nora barely heard it. She opened the door and had to adjust to the darkness. She saw Draco lying on top of his covers in his boxers, his right arm over his eyes. Nora quietly closed the door, blocking out the heavy moans and groans coming from Justin and Padma.
"Hi, did I wake you?" She asked softly. Draco didn't need to open his eyes to know who it was. Her pleasant scent had already reached his nose.
"Hi and no, I was still awake." He didn't sit up or take his arm off his face; he just lay there, wishing the awkwardness would pass. If only he hadn't kissed her, then they'd just go back to being friends and he could admire her secretly.
"I wanted to ask you a favor." Draco still didn't move. "It's for Hermione." At this he lowered his arm and sat up, leaning on his elbows. Nora walked a little closer, feeling a bit uncomfortable since he was barely dressed. "She wrote me a letter. It was about Pansy," Nora said. She walked up to Draco's bed and handed him the letter. He turned on the lamp beside his bed and read it. Nora watched him as his expression changed from confusion to anger. He folded the letter and handed it back to her.
"She wrote that she didn't want anyone to know," Draco said, looking expressionlessly at Nora. She felt hurt. He was acting like the Slytherin from first to fifth year again.
"I-I asked her if I could tell you, and she said that was all right. I thought m-maybe you could put a stop to Pansy's teasing," Nora replied, trying to hold back her tears. She knew she was acting incredibly silly but she couldn't help it, she was sincerely hurt. She turned her gaze to the ground, not daring to look straight at Draco.
Draco watched Nora and felt a flash of pain go through him as he realized what he was doing to her. He shouldn't be acting cold and distant, but warm and comforting. After all, it was he who had kissed her.
She heard him move and thought that he was probably going to show her the way out of his bedroom and still she did not know why she was so affected. Nora gave a little gasp out of shock when a cool hand touched her chin and tilted her head up.
"I'm so sorry," Draco whispered. A tear rolled down her face and he brushed it away with his thumb. "I'm really sorry." Nora smiled weakly as her eyebrows frowned in sad frustration and she closed her eyes, wishing all her troubles would just go away. She felt Draco's lips brush against hers as he pulled her into a tender, yet passionate, kiss.
A few minutes later Nora was standing in her room again, completely befuddled, Hermione's letter clutched tightly in her hand. Padma and Justin had finally fallen asleep on the couch. Nora quickly wrote a 'P.S.' on the parchment, shrunk it, handed it to Siberia and let her owl fly out of the window. After she had lost sight of the white dot in the pitch-black sky, Nora let herself fall on her bed and dozed off almost at once, feeling torn apart by everything that was happening.
"All right, so today we just go shopping?" Timothy asked, sounding unenthusiastic.
"Yup," Hermione replied.
"That's all? Just shopping?"
"Yup," Hannah told him.
"Nothing else?"
"Nope."
"Great," Timothy said, sarcastically.
"Yup." The four finished breakfast and walked out of the Hotel.
"Which way?" Hermione asked Hannah.
"Erm… let's go right." So they turned right and walked down the busy streets of Paris. They saw about a million stores and the girls dragged the boys into about half of 'em.
"Oh, look at this!" Hannah squealed, getting Hermione's attention. She was holding up an orange tank top with red circles on it.
"Nice," Hermione said, nodding. She herself was examining a light blue tank top with a large white snowflake on the front. Terry and Timothy were standing by the entrance, bored, waiting until the girls were finished.
Two hours later Hermione and Hannah were through shopping and each had about three large shopping bags filled with new clothes. They were standing outside a store called 'Sting'.
"Where to now?" Timothy asked, wishing he'd never agreed to go outside today.
"We could go to a café and do our task," Hannah offered.
"Good idea," Hermione agreed and the two girls marched off to find a nice place that wasn't too expensive, since they spent most of their money on clothes. Terry and Timothy slowly walked after them, dragging their feet.
"What about this place?" Hermione asked. They were standing in front of an impressive building that contained a large café called 'Au Bon Gout'.
"Make up your mind already!" Timothy said annoyed, he couldn't understand how women could make such a fuss about everything.
"Let's go in here," Hannah decided, glaring at Timothy. Hermione nodded and the two girls entered. They looked around and found an open space by the window. They walked over and sat down on one of the comfortable couches that stood in front of a small coffee table. Terry and Timothy joined them a minute later; happy they were able to rest their feet.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaah," Terry sighed as he sat down beside Hermione and put his arm around her.
"What do you guys want to drink?" Hermione asked.
"Coffee," Terry replied.
"Yes, but what kind, normal black, or with milk or…"
"May I have your orders?" a man asked, in a heavy French accent, holding a note pad and a pencil.
"Yes, we'd like one plain baguette," Hermione told him. The man wrote it down. "And I'll have a cappuccino." The man wrote that down too. Hermione looked at the other three.
"I'll have an espresso, please," Timothy said. Again the man scribbled it down. He looked at Hannah and Terry.
"Er…" Terry said. He didn't know anything about the coffee Muggles had. "I'll erm… have a cappuccino, too."
"And I'll have an espresso, I guess," Hannah said. The man wrote that down too and left. "What did I just order?" She asked Timothy.
"Don't worry. It's really very good," he answered.
"Yeah, well, we'll see about that," She replied as their waiter came back with a filled tray. He put down four little white cups which each had a cookie on the side. He then put down four small glasses of water and a plate with a plain baguette.
"What's the water for?" Terry whispered to Hermione.
"You sometimes get that when you order coffee in France," she replied.
"Ok, then," he picked up his cappuccino and sniffed it. "Doesn't smell that great. Are you sure this tastes good?" he asked.
"Of course, otherwise I wouldn't have ordered it," Hermione told him before taking a sip of her cappuccino. Terry watched her and then took a sip too.
"Not that bad," he said before taking another sip.
"Told you," Hermione replied. She took her cookie and ate it. She had always loved the cookies.
"Not as bad as I expected. And the cookies are really great," Hannah told Timothy. He smiled.
"See? Unfortunately for you I'm quite fond of the cookies too, so I'm eating mine myself." Hannah pouted.
"Shoot… Terry?" She asked, smiling in the sweetest way she could.
"Sorry, just finished mine," Terry replied.
"Here, Hannah," Hermione said, giving her a piece of the baguette. "Eat this." Hannah took her piece and examined it as Hermione gave Terry and Timothy a piece too.
"What is it?" Hannah asked, poking at the baguette with her finger.
"It's kind of like bread. Taste it," Hermione replied. Hannah took a small bite and chewed very slowly.
"It is kind of like bread," She replied, after having swallowed. "Very tasty." Terry, who had been watching Hannah's reaction, took a bite too.
"Yes, very good."
When the four had finished their coffee, water and baguette they left the café.
"What do we do now?" Terry asked, as they stood in a cool winter breeze in front of 'Au bon Gout'.
"Does the hotel have a pool?" Hermione asked.
"Yes," Hannah replied.
"Then let's go swim."
"All right." And the four walked to the Hotel. When Hermione and Hannah exited the changing room they found that the pool was empty except for Terry and Timothy who had finished changing a long while ago. Terry got out of the pool in his black and blue swim trunks to give Hermione a hug. He wrapped her in his arms and jumped into the pool, causing Hermione to give a scream before she was engulfed by water.
Hannah and Timothy stood chuckling before jumping in too. When Hermione reached the surface she was laughing and took a large breath. She turned to Terry, who was smiling innocently.
"You'll pay for that," she said. Terry just continued smiling. Hermione took a large breath of air, dove on to him and pushed him under water. She felt the water hit her face and she opened her eyes so she could see what she was doing. She saw Terry smile at her and come closer. Hermione felt a little tingly feeling as he came even nearer and her heart skipped a beat when she felt his soft lips touch hers. Hermione felt him open his mouth and she did the same.
Normally she thought it was rude when two people were snogging in a public place, but since they were alone, except for Hannah and Timothy, and it was Terry she was snogging, Hermione didn't mind.
A/N: Longest chapter written so far D I would like to thank all of my reviewers, now that I have the chance to. I really appreciate all of your reviews, they've helped me a lot while writing my story and it gives me the urge to write even better chapters. Thank you! One more note: I might not be updating so much now because I have end of term exams coming up… -sigh-. Hope you can wait.