Disclaimer: I own my plot and characters, nothing more, nothing less..
A/N: MWAHAHAHAH I love cliffhangers! Without further adue...my next chapter.
Chapter 15: Back to the Past
Why did you kiss me? My stupid question still lingered unanswered in the air. I had no way out now; I was to wait the answer out, like a bad flu that stuck around until you gave up thinking of ways to destroy it. Draco stood in front of me, staring deeply into my eyes as though the answer was in there. I was nervous again, but what was new? Questions came to my mind; Did Draco hate me? Did he like me? Did I like him? I was uncertain, confused about the Ferret Boy Wonder. I was attracted to the fun and playful side of him that I rarely saw, but I wasn't sure if it was the kind of like that people start relationships on. I hated the mean side of him, but the kind of hate you learn to almost...love....As though you hate something so much, you can't do anything but enjoy the cruel jokes you play on each other. Like a kind of fun war.. Wasn't that an oxymoron!
"Why did I kiss you?" Draco finally spoke, which killed the silence once and for all.
The lump of nerves was back in my throat, "That's what I asked..."
"I....wanted to know what it was like to kiss a half-blood. My father says that half-blood or mudblood kisses can kill..." Draco's excuse..That was it.
The answer I had been worrying about for the last five minutes was nothing but a complete and utter experiment to prove his father wrong. At this moment, I felt my face burning with blush worse than I ever experienced before. "Ummm...Did it kill you?" I spoke before I could stop myself. Now I was probably redder than the ripest tomato in the universe.
"No," Draco let a small smile show from his mouth, "but it revived me a bit.."
Okay, now usually I would start yelling at Ferret Boy Wonder, and say that he's a liar and all this stuff, but as I glowed beat red, I found myself in a state of confusion. Did he like me or not? Was he playing a game with my mind? Was he using his father as a cover story? Did he really enjoy the kiss? Before I could even conjure up the tiniest answer in my pondering mind, I felt warm lips press against mine. Draco once again. For some reason, my eyes closed, and I felt the same symptoms as the first time this happened; The world spun around, my stomach felt wobbly, my knees buckled, my hands sweated, and the rest of me felt anxious.
The kiss deepened; Draco opened his mouth a bit and closed it again, doing this repeatedly. His hand wrapped around my head and ran through my hair. I twitched at the feeling of his other hand touching the top of my back. Suddenly my stomach began doing somersaults and flip-flops, leaving me with no calm feeling whatsoever. I felt my mouth open a bit and close like Draco was doing, but I wasn't doing it out of free will; It felt like I was hypnotized.
I couldn't think anymore, for my brain had melted into a puddle of nothing. No knowledge could figure out what I was feeling, and truthfully I didn't want to know. I hated the Ferret Boy Wonder, didn't I? And didn't he hate me? I could have sworn we were fighting just the other day. I could have sworn we were yelling at each other most of the time that I was here.. But, then again, we were also flirting with water in detention, getting along in Potions class, and now...kissing...
Draco pulled away, and my eyes slowly opened. I breathed in deeply, intaking the event, and trying to calm my stomach down before food came up.
"Maranda," Draco whispered, which was an awfully soothing sound, "do you like me?"
I was speechless, and couldn't figure his question out. As aforesaid, my brain was mush. How did he expect me to answer in my condition? I could still feel his hand in my hair, and on my back, but they were no longer there. I could still feel his sinfully soft lips pressing onto mine. I could still hear our breathing get heavier. I could still feel all of my odd symptoms of whatever, and could still not decipher them.
Draco stayed close to me, and still whispered, "You don't have to answer. I understand if you don't like me. I just thought-Well I-I-"
"It is past ten o'clock, and you two are still out in the halls, fighting no doubt." Snape's voice came from nowhere. There was no warning of him being there. Putting all thoughts of confusion aside, I stepped back from Draco, and looked shocked at Snape.
"P-P-Professor," Draco stuttered, which I thought was somehow cute, "We were just trying to figure out the last ingredient we need for our potion. It is supposed to be finished, right?"
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, but please head to your common rooms now. It is getting late. See you both in class tomorrow afternoon." Snape sauntered away, leaving Draco and I standing in silence once again.
"Goodnight I guess," I scratched my head, thinking of my mushy brain.
"Goodnight.." Draco sighed and walked up the Grand Staircase, and I waited about five minutes before I started to go up.
Did I like Draco? He asked me an unanswerable question, and not just because Snape showed up randomly. I didn't even know. I thought deep and hard all the way into the Gryffindor common room. I was supposed to hate the Ferret Boy Wonder, but somehow I felt a tad attatched to him. Like a freckle you don't want, but it grows on you, and eventually you learn to love it...love it..The thing was, I didn't believe in love. I believed in Heaven and Hell, good and evil, and now magic. But I will never believe in love. It's a silly thing people push themselves to believe in just because they are too lonely....Or maybe that was just me.. I was too lonely, so I tried pushing myself into liking Draco. But the like I felt to his good side wasn't a pretend liking.. It was real, but then again it was battling against the hatred towards him. I couldn't take it anymore; I needed to sleep.
Complete, our potion was complete. Draco and I succeeded in finishing our potion by the half-point of class. We spoke nothing of the kissing, or the detention, and got straight to work at the beginning of class. Snape roamed around, staring at the cauldrons and their containing liquids. With twenty minutes left of class, everyone was complete. Snape faced the class and took our attention.
"I suppose everyone is now complete, since I have given you more than enough time. There is only time left for one example, but tomorrow the rest of the class will be presenting. So, who wants to volunteer to be first?" Snape glanced around the room, noticing no one raised there hand.
"We will," Draco raised his hand, "Professor Snape."
"Very well, Mr. Malfoy." Snape sneered, "You and Miss Maguire may bring your cauldron to the front of the class, place it on this table, pour some into a flask and use the remains for your presentation. The project will be graded on creatiity and originality of your potion, the oral explanation of it, and if it works as you say. When you are ready, you may start."
Standing up to take one side of the cauldron, Draco took the other and I mumbled, "Why did you have to volunteer us?"
"Because," He walked down to the front of the class with me and sat the cauldron on the table, "If we get it out of the way now, we won't have to worry about tomorrow."
"True," I helped pour most of the potion in a rather large flask.
Taking a wooden spoon, Snape handed it to Draco and told us to start presenting the potion.
"Draco, why don't you explain the potion and I'll try it out. I'm not very good at speaking in front of groups of people, so I think this might work with splitting the project equally. What do you think?" I hoped he wouldn't make me explain the potion in front of everyone.
He smiled, and handed me the spoon, "Great idea. Ok, wait for me to tell you to try it though."
"I will."
"Erm-" Draco stood befor the class and started to explain our potion, "This potion of ours is supposed to bring the user into a state of tranquility at first. Then, while your eyes close, you will be brought into memories of your earlier childhood that even you could not remember. Afterwards, it will make you feel slightly lightheaded, but that's because of the bee's coat we had to use. After you feel lightheaded, you will go back to the state of tranquility and then come back to your normal state. The potion, if used several times, will bring your deeper and deeper into your memories. You will experience emotional and physical situations as if you were re-living them."
"That is terrific and all," Snape said drably, "but do you have a name for your potion?"
I spoke up, "Transeo Memoria...It means to go to past memories. I took a year of Latin when I was eleven, so that's how I..we thought up the name." I loved proving Snape wrong; He thought we weren't going to have a name. Well, we almost didn't. If I hadn't thought of that on the spot, we would've been given a bad grade. I did take a year of Latin when I was younger though, so I wasn't making that up. The words were close to correct too; The meaning might not be exactly right, but the words did mean to go past and memory.
"Transeo Memoria, our potion." Draco pointed to the cauldron, "And now, my partner will be testing it for you all to see."
Leaning over the cauldron, I took some of the pinkish-purple liquid out with my wooden spoon. Before I imbibed the potion, I pulled a stool over and sat on it. The potion tasted like hot apple cider, which relaxed me immediately. I guess the tranquility part of the potion worked. I glanced around the room, feeling calm, too calm. Relaxing, so relaxing and peaceful...So...peaceful..Closing my eyes, I drifted into a blank state of mind.
"Maranda..here honey. Come on..." Short..I was short..everything was in a blur, but as figures in front of me became a tiny bit clearer, I could tell I was shorter than them. I tried to move, but couldn't..Not on free will.. Someone picked me up and lifted me high into the air, spun around, and then sat me on a chair. Everything was much cleaer now; I was in a child's high-chair, looking at a woman..A woman with long brown hair that swayed as she walked away from me. I couldn't see her facial features, nor the front of her, as her back was turned to me, facing a stove.
A tall man with black, short hair walked into the now apparent kitchen. He looked at me and smiled, which made his handsome face seem very gentle. I giggle a baby's giggle, and then he turned around to look at the woman. She was crying..He hugged her, and then left the room. She left as well, and I suddenly started to cry. Crying not out of free will... The room became blurry again, but not because of the tears. I saw a figure walk into the kitchen, but they weren't recognizable.It was a rather large man with a long brown beard, and he was also very tall...and then.....blank...
I felt calm, too calm, and obviously I was out of the situation in my mind. I slowly opened my eyes and realized I was sweating. But not crying, and no tears had spilled unknowingly out of my eyes. I frantically looked around the room and watched as every student stared at me. Wherever I had been, I was not there anymore.
"Did it work?" I heard Ron blurt out.
I searched for my voice, ".....yes....I think...I was...." and then it hit me, "I saw my Father...I saw my Mother too, but she was crying and her back was turned to me. I couldn't see her face...But...what if it wasn't my Father? What if it wasn't my Mother? and that man....A random man showed up... He kind of looked like-"
"Like who?" Draco asked me, and made me realize I had stopped speaking.
"No one.." I lied.. The man, even though his image was blurred, looked like someone I knew. Someone who was familiar to me. The more I thought it over, as the bell rang for the end of class, the more I realized it looked like someone I had recently seen.
Snape asked Draco to put the flask in one of the cabinets, the very clean cabinets-thanks to us, and for me to put the cauldron in the sink with the spoon. Did he plan to clean it himself? I didn't want to hang around and find out. I had Flying lessons and then I was home free for the rest of the day. What was the plan? After Flying Lessons I would probably entrap myself into that romane novel I had been working on since the day I lent Snape my book. Tomorrow was New Year's Eve, and I planned on staying up...reading...
"Are you going?" Harry sat next to me on a couch in the common room, and I closed my book.
I questioned him, "Going where? It's almost time for supper, so yeah, I'm going to eat supper."
"No," He laughed, "Are you going to watch the Slytherin versus Gryffindor Quiddich match tomorrow? It should be great considering it's on New Year's Eve, and it starts late at night. You missed the other games..You should go to this one."
"Sure," I smiled eagerly, "I'll go. The only reason I didn't go to the other ones was because I was so busy with reading and schoolwork. Now that I'm caught up, I guess I'll go."
"Brilliant!" Ron leaned over a chair across from me, "You can stand next to me and 'Mione."
"Great," I was enthralled to be apart of my new friends' plans, "I'll wear some red and gold to support our team."
Hermione entered the common room, apparently irritated. "Harry," She didn't seem too happy, "Look at this.." She handed him a green piece of parchment.
Harry read it aloud, "'Proceeding the Quiddich game tomorrow will be a party in the Gryffindor Common Room from the end of the game until three in the morning. Everyone is invited, even non-Gryffindors. Whoever wants a good time, come on in! Signed, yours truly, Seamus Finnigan and Neville Longbottom.' "
"Bloody Hell! I have to thank Seamus and Neville!" Ron cheered happily, "Party! Whoo!"
"It's terrible.." Hermione whined.
"Why?" Harry wondered.
Hermione looked at the flyer, "It's terrible, I won't get to sleep at all tomorrow night!"
In unison, we all started to laugh, and Ron blurted, "Oh Hermione, have some fun in your life.."