Sorry about the delay in update! This chapter gave me a bit of trouble. hope it came out all right though. I know what direction I want the story to go in. It's just a matter of getting it there. Anyway, enjoy!
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Disclaim: Per usual, all the characters are JK Rowling's. The manner in which they are used is mine!
Angelina's near-broken world was finally starting to come back together. Her homework in the N.E.W.T. level courses received nothing below 'E', and she gained newfound confidence from her night with Montague. In some strange way, for some unknown reason, he'd been afraid of her. She slowly began to feed on that newfound sense of power, and exploited every possible opportunity to make her presence known to him.
In potions class, she took great care to draw his attention; the slightest shift in her seat would cause his dark, insidious eyes to flit to her. When she would notice, she'd narrow her eyes arrogantly and smirk. The color would drain from David's face, and he would throw himself even more fervently into his work, only to be disrupted again seconds later as he noticed her tucking a loose braid behind her ear out of the corner of his eye.
She had him, and they both knew it. But he was one to never concede control to another – especially her. Something would have to be done to put her back into place, and sever the hold she had over him.
Angelina also took great pride in the surge of attention being paid to her once more by the male population at Hogwarts. She'd been most surprised to learn that nearly the entire school had just assumed her to be dating Fred, and once word of the almighty row they'd had in the common room got around, many a suitor took renewed interest in the Gryffindor.
"Mark, that's really nice and all, but I really can carry my own books!"
"Don't worry about it, Angie. We're headed in the same direction…"
"Well, actually, aren't the Greenhouses on the other side of the castle? I'm headed for the Astronomy Tower."
"Yeah, well-"
"Chambers!" Mark was saved from thinking up some sloppy lie as Roger Davies stormed angrily towards them, "What do you think you're doing? She's a Gryffindor…and our opponent!"
Angelina bit her lip to keep from laughing as the Ravenclaw captain fussily handed back her books and dragged his teammate off in the other direction. Smiling cockily to herself, she turned on her heel to head to her next class when she nearly ran into a formidable-looking Montague, smirking down at her.
"Whoa! Dammit, Montague, you scared the magic outta me…" He shrugged slightly but made no move to step out of her way.
"Seriously though. I need to get to class now. I have it on good authority (that meant the twins had overheard it with their Extendable Ears) that Sinistra's giving a pop quiz."
David still made no effort to move, and Angelina resorted to her dirtiest method to get past him. Tossing her hair back, she batted her eyelashes coquettishly and flirtatiously played with his tie, all in hopes of getting that same odd aversion-reaction from him. He simply grabbed her hands and shook his head.
"Not going to work anymore, Angelina. I'm most certainly on to you now. And I must say, though I'm a bit incensed at your exploitation of me these last few days, I cannot help but think you'd have made an excellent Slytherin."
She nodded at the near-compliment but dropped the arrogant demeanor. His hands still held fast to her wrists, and he'd forced them down to her sides. She immediately recognized his efforts to force her into a more submissive position, and quirked an eyebrow.
"So, do you have something to say to me? Or maybe you just like a bit of foreplay between classes? At any rate, I'm in a rush right now. Maybe later."
David paused thoughtfully. The truth was he hadn't actually thought of a reason to accost Angelina in the hallway. Something had simply driven him to get a little closer, to remind her that she'd wanted him just as bad as he'd wanted her that night. But how could he say that?
Angelina took advantage of his very expository pause. "It's all beginning to make sense now, Montie. I can see it, but are you ready to admit it? No, I think not. But for the record, I think it's perfectly sweet."
She smiled an Umbridge-esque, overly saccharine smile as she slipped her wrists out of his grip. His perplexed expression grew darker by the second. Clearly, this wasn't nearly as amusing to him as she thought it would be. She giggled antagonistically.
"Think about it. You can't help but stare at me whenever we're in the same room. You're here, now – full of some sort of emotion with nothing to say. And I still remember what you said that night. Go on, put it all together. I already have, but maybe that's just because I'm rather used to it by now."
Her mood hardened and her voice was sharp and hardly above a whisper. "You know what I'm talking about. So go on and say it, because I've got better things to do than to wait for you to come to terms with it, Montague."
So, he thought, we're back to last names. He knew full well what she was alluding to. After all the examples she'd listed, it was near undeniable. What infuriated him was her annoyance with the whole situation. He was a Slytherin, yes, but that didn't mean his feelings were of any less value than anybody else.
But he had just witnessed her treatment of Mark Chambers two minutes earlier as well. She was in fact just as callous with the hearts of others. And that made her uglier to him that Millicent Bulstrode without any makeup on.
"It really is a wonder you weren't put in Slytherin. You have the perfect temperament, Johnson. So I'll be the bigger person and say it first. Yes, perhaps I do have some sort of desire for you. But none of that matters much so long as you are the way you are."
He snorted at her indignant glare. "You play with hearts like toys, Johnson. Perhaps you're afraid that if you let anyone get close enough to hurt you, they will? But trust me, you won't have to worry about that for too much longer. That pedestal you've been preening on for so long will crumble soon and you'll end up your worst fear – miserable, misunderstood, and utterly unloved."
She stared at him, mouth agape and speechless. But he wasn't quite through yet. "Don't make the mistake of thinking I'll be there for you when you need me – and I know you need me, Angelina. I've neither the disposition nor the inclination to be some sort of dark savior to you. I can only hope that someday you'll figure out how to feel instead of bleed, before it's too late."
Angelina was left alone once more, reeling from his words. But they weren't solely his. Fred had said nearly the exact same things to her earlier, and she'd refused to listen. She swore aloud into the deserted corridor as stinging tears began to well in her eyes. She didn't know what to think of herself, of David, of Fred, and of the life she thought was coming closer to perfection once more.
No longer in the mood to wallow in her own woes, she sprinted down the halls and up the stairs to Astronomy, losing her house 10 points for her tardiness. As they took the quiz he'd correctly predicted, Fred glanced up occasionally at a distraught-looking Angelina. He felt pangs of guilt at having fought with her earlier that week, and vowed to pull her aside later that evening and apologize.
The opportunity never arose, though, as Angelina worked harder that ever to make herself scarce after dinner. Alicia and Katie both informed Fred she was studying up for the N.E.W.T.s in the library and didn't want to be disturbed. Unbeknownst to anyone but herself, she was looking for any means of distraction possible, and she was only barely able to take solace in her old copy of Most Potente Potions.
The evening passed quickly in a blur of bezoars and full moon-contingent antidotes, and Angelina soon found herself shooed from the library by Madame Pince. Still not quite ready to face her thoughts and problems, she merely relocated her studying to a large and heavily worn armchair beside the common room's fireplace.
Sometime after midnight, even the overly complicated potions couldn't maintain her attention. Book across her chest, she fell into a fitful sleep plagued with thoughts she'd tried so hard to keep at bay during the daytime.
She was running thought the hallways, yelling for help. She'd cut herself again, but this time it was an accident. But nobody would help her; they were all turning around and plugging their ears up with their fingers and humming softly. Dizzy and desperate, she began to scream that there were Death Eaters in the castle, coming towards them all. But still nobody listened.
She began to panic more as the sound of footsteps approaching from behind grew louder and louder. She was too scared to turn around, but she stood there screaming in the middle of the Great Hall listening as the footsteps ran up right behind her and-
There was a loud thump that woke her suddenly. She looked to her left to see a very frightened Neville picking himself up from the rug and continuing to run out through the portrait hole. She watched silently as he promptly returned with Professor McGonagall in tow, her face as terse as Angelina had ever seen it. She disappeared up the stairs to the boys' dormitory and returned moments later sweeping out Harry and Ron with her.
She was happy that no one bothered to notice the lanky Gryffindor sprawled over the chair, but sat and pondered what the late-night emergency might be. If it involved Harry, there was a good chance Lord Voldemort would be tied to it as well. Just the thought of her troubles with Him and the Death Eaters sent shivers down her spine.
Her silent contemplation was broken once more as Professor McGonagall reappeared some time later. She looked right at Angelina as she emerged through the portrait hole. Angelina jumped.
"Oh calm down, Miss Johnson. Please go wake up Miss Weasley. She is need by the Headmaster. Quickly now!"
Angelina did as she was told and scrambled up the girls' staircase as the professor once again swept up the boys' side. When she came downstairs moments later with a bleary-eyed Ginny, the professor was waiting with far-more alarmed twins. In hushed tones, she informed the group as to why they had been woken.
"Mr. Potter seems to have had a vision of your father being attacked by a large snake during his service with the Order. Follow me. He'll inform you in greater detail than I can."
With that, the dazed Weasley children preceded to head towards Dumbledore's office. Angelina was left with many a question unanswered. What was "The Order"? Harry had visions? She was snapped out of her reverie as the portrait swung open for the group to exit.
"Fred!"
Her voice was panicked and a little shaky. He turned around and looked at her. Her lips parted but no words came out. She could hear what she wanted to say in her mind. Fred, I'm sorry. Fred, I hope you're dad's all right. Fred, I need you to forgive me for being such a prat. Fred, I need you. Fred, I love you.
George and Ginny looked back momentarily, and George patted his brother on the shoulder before ducking out of the room. Angelina began to blush as she stood there in the pregnant silence.
Fred's eyes glittered with understanding and compassion, but at his brother's touch, he did nothing but give Angelina a curt nod before following the others. Inwardly, though, he understood everything that hadn't been said.
Angie was terrible at apologies, and he knew simply from looking in her concerned and penitent eyes that she'd taken what he said to heart...that she really did care; more then he'd ever imagined. Reflected in the dark brown pools of her eyes, he saw love.