In the great hall, Dumbledore called Draco up to the stage.
"We have our head boy to thank in part for the success of the Halloween ball." He began, "Although there were others that participated in making the ball how it was. Ginny Weasley had a major part in the ideas that went forward to the final result," he paused, and several of Ginny's friends pushed her forward, and she accepted Draco's hand-up to the platform.
"You did that to piss off my brother, didn't you?" she muttered.
"Hell yeah." He replied. "And behold my success."
"If you've ruined my chances with Blaise I will kill you." She hissed softly. Draco shot her a surprised look and then chuckled.
"Our final player in the game that has brought this ball to life is, of course, our Head –"
Dumbledore was interupted by a crash and a shriek that came from outside of the hall, which obviously originated from Hermione.
Draco leapt off the platform and raced out the hall, closely followed by Harry and Ron. They all skidded to an abrupt halt in the hallway.
Hermione stood unmasked in the centre of the hallway, and there was a huge mountain-troll between her and the boys. She stood with her hands on her hips, and Draco immediately recognised the deceptively-casual stance that belonged exclusively to Amelie.
"Hermione, back up!" Harry called. Draco snorted.
"Don't be ridiculous." She shot back, not moving an inch, even as the troll took a huge step towards her. "There's another one coming from behind me."
"Your voice has changed." Ron said absentmindedly.
"Get over it, Ron. These things happen when you're verging on hysteria."
"You don't look hysterical." Harry pointed out.
"I'm a good actress." She said flatly. "Can we discuss this another time? There's a small issue here."
Then the troll did something that shocked everyone. He pulled a scroll out of his pocket and clumsily undid it. It floated down to Amelie and she caught it. She scanned the contents, then crumpled the parchment.
"Not a chance, mate." She said flatly. The troll growled. "No! You can't have it. It's mine!"
"What do they want?" Harry asked. The second troll had turned the corner and left Amelie trapped.
"My jewelery." She said, gesturing to the bronze and ruby necklace at her throat. "And they cant have it."
"Why not?" Ron asked. Draco sent him a withering look.
"Because I couldn't live with myself if I did, Ron." She said darkly. "And I'm rather fond of it myself, as well."
"Give them the jewelery, Am-Hermione." Draco called out. Amelie ducked under the grasping arm of one of the trolls.
"No! She'd be so mad at me! And plus, it's like, brand new. I wanna keep it."
"I'll buy you another set then!" Draco yelled, exhasperated. "It's not a big deal!"
"It's a hundred galleons you wastrel! God, even I know that's expensive!"
"I don't care! Just give them the damn jewelery!"
"No!" Amelie shouted back, stamping her foot. The floor seemed to ripple, and then the trolls stood stock still before starting to topple. Amelie shrieked and ran, except the heel of her shoe broke, and she landed sprawled on her stomach. Draco darted forward and yanked her upright, before pulling her back to the safety of the doorway as the trolls landed on the floor with a crash that shook the hallway.
Amelie clutched onto Draco, breathing hard. Hermione had managed that one scream before she'd fainted dead away, leaving Amelie to try and get them out of trouble. She herself was bordering on hysteria, since she was somewhat terrified of trolls. Just about anything else in the wizarding world didn't phase her, but trolls made her shake, for some odd reason.
"It's okay, Hermione." Ron said, trying to pull her away from Draco. She merely clutched on tighter, relaxing only minimally when Draco put his arms around her.
"Where are the fucking teachers?" She demanded.
"Right behind you, Miss Granger." Snape said quietly. The four teenagers whirled, Hermione still ensconced in Draco's arms. Almost all the teachers stood there, looking shocked, scared, and confused.
"Twenty points from Gryffindor for your appalling language." He said softly. Amelie opened her mouth and he shook his head. "Don't make it more." She snapped her mouth shut, and returned to leaning against Draco.
"What just happened?" Harry asked finally.
"That's what we'd like to know." McGonagall said. Amelie shrugged.
"I don't know. I mean, I got mad, stamped my foot, and bam! Unconscious trolls."
"Those trolls are dead, Miss Granger." Snape said levelly. She stared at him.
"How can you tell?"
"They arent breathing."
"Ah. Okay. That would be a good way to tell." She said with a nod. Snape didn't say anything.
"Don't you think her voice has changed?" Ron demanded.
"It's probably just a reaction to shock, dear. It'll be back to normal soon." Madame Pomfrey said knowingly, her gaze flicking to Amelie.
"I really want to go to bed." Amelie said, practically depending on Draco to keep her upright. He, angel that he was, supported her without making a fuss.
"A good idea." Pomfrey said busily. She turned to Draco, and handed him a bar of chocolate. "Make sure she eats that. I can trust you to make sure she gets there all right?"
"Sure." Draco shrugged, but his grip on her tightened.
"I'll go with them." Ron said hurriedly.
"No, you need to be getting to your own common room." McGonagall said sharply. "Off you go, Mr Malfoy, Miss Granger." Draco turned towards the the Head suite and helped Amelie along, who was obviously not feeling well.
"Now, you too." McGonagall said, diverting their attention from the image of Draco and 'Hermione', which was obviously irritating them. "Off to your common rooms, right now." She chivvied them off, sending one look behind her to the Head students. She couldn't decide if she was pleased by the relationship emerging between Slytherin's head student and Gryffindor's golden girl, but figured Hermione would be good for Draco, he would be good for Hermione, and Amelie would be able to keep an eye on them both.
Maybe this little fondness for each other wasn't a bad thing, after all.
&
Draco supported Amelie down the hall without mentioning her unusual lack of poise. Around the corner, just out of sight of Ron and Harry, Amelie sagged almost completely.
"Hold on a minute." She pleaded, sinking to the floor and leaning against the wall. "Let me try and get my breath back." She tipped her head back so it rested on the wall, and kicked off her shoes unseeingly. The broken one had completely lost its heel.
Draco knelt beside her, unnerved by her behaviour. Her hands were clenched in her lap and her eyes were screwed shut. He took her hands in his and worked them open, folding them in his own. Her hands gripped his, and he could feel their trembling.
"It's okay now, Amelie." He said awkwardly. "It's finished."
"No it isnt, Draco." Amelie said, her voice catching. She opened her eyes and tipped her head forward, and he found himself staring into Hermione's familiar brown eyes. "This shows that Voldemort knows I'm here. That they came after me, and that he sent trolls. He knows I hate trolls."
"But they were after the jewelery, not after you." Draco reasoned. "If they had wanted you, all they had to do was grab you." He smiled reassuringly.
"Are you sure?" Amelie asked. Draco was struck by how young she sounded.
"Positive. Come on." He stood and held out his hand. She took it and he pulled her upright, before scooping her up into his arms, and carrying her the rest of the way to the common room, leaving her shoes abandoned in the hallway.
In the common room, he set her down and she stumbled. She grabbed the back of the couch for support and leaned on it, her head bowed and her eyes shut. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tightly to him.
"Amelie, what's wrong with you?" he asked. She shook her head.
"I don't know. I feel really…I cant describe it. Almost listless, and really unsteady."
"You need to go to bed." Draco said firmly.
"The couch will do." Amelie said weakly.
"No." Draco half carried, half dragged her into Hermione's room. He leaned her on one of the posts of her bed, and came behind her and began swiftly untying the corset. She held on tight to the post, resting her forehead against the cool wood. He freed the constricting satin from her torso, leaving her in her strapless bra and the big skirt.
"You know how I feel? I feel high. Elated." She said half-heartedly.
"You need to ground." Draco muttered, loosening the ties of the high-waisted skirt.
"And how do you propose I do that? Eating will make me feel sick. And…"
"Amelie." Amelie looked over her shoulder at him, and found him staring at her with an intense expression on his face. She turned, leaning against the bedpost for support, and holding onto it tightly behind her back.
"Draco, I know that will ground me. But I also know it's entirely unfair on you, and that it isnt me you like, it's Hermione."
"If you don't ground, you could get sick. You could get hurt. And Hermione's already hurt." He took a step forward, and Amelie lifted her chin.
"You don't have to do this. There has got to be more than two ways to ground, for Merlin's sake!" She protested. Draco put his hands on her hips, his thumbs brushing the bare skin above the waistline of the skirt. She shivered.
"Amelie, it's okay." He said softly, and then he kissed her.
She tasted like something he couldn't describe, just that he wanted more of it. She trembled against him, and he wrapped his arms around her, bringing her closer to him. Her arms went tentatively around his neck as he pressed the kiss deeper. He hadnt intended for it to go this far, he had meant only to kiss her gently, just for a moment, to bring her back down to earth. But at the moment, it was all he could do not to finish undressing her and take her on the spot. He firmly reminded himself that this wasn't Hermione, that this was Amelie. And while it was the same body, it wasn't the same person. Their bodies seemed to meld together as their tongues battled, and he groaned.
At that sound, Amelie pulled abruptly away, her fingers going to her swollen lips.
"I'm so sorry." She whispered, looking like she was about to cry. "I didn't mean-"
"No. Neither did I." Draco said abruptly. "Will you be alright?" He asked. She nodded, her eyes still resting on him. "Good." And then he left.
Amelie sank onto the bed, the big skirt crumpling beneath her. She leaned her elbows on her knees and rested her head in her hands, her eyes closing as she remembered what it had been like to kiss Draco Malfoy, and to kiss him like that. She had felt the control he had put over himself, straining himself not to push her, and she had felt in herself the way her body had melted against his, and how she had wanted, almost to the extent that she had needed, him to lay her on the bed and make love to her.
But she had remembered, remembered that he was in love with Hermione, remembered he was only trying to help her ground, remembered that they both knew he was kissing the wrong woman, and that had anything else happened, they both would have regretted it as long as the memory stayed with them. Not to mention the fact that if Hermione found out, she would be heartbroken.
Amelie stood resolutely, wavering only slightly as she finished untying the skirt and let it slip down off her hips, and removed all the jewelery but the bracelet. She changed into an ivory silk cami and shorts and slid under the heavy covers, drawing the curtains and then staring up at the canopy of the bed, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness.
But there were other matters to worry about, besides the kiss and the feelings, welcome or unwelcome, that it had invoked in both of them. The trolls.
Draco had had a point when he said that it was unlikely that the trolls had been after her personally, since if they had been all they would have had to do was pick her up and she would probably have fainted also, thus making their job so much easier. Take unconscious girl out of school, deliver unharmed to Voldemort. It was have been a cinch. Even a troll could have managed it.
But the trolls had been after her jewelery. She swung her legs out of bed, and slipped out between the curtains, going to her dresser where the jewelery box sat on top, bathed in the pool of moonlight. She opened the case, but the open top cast a shadow over the jewelery, bathing it in darkness. She turned the case sideways so the jewelery was in the moonlight. And then she watched in shock as the rubies changed colour.
The rubies in the earrings turned silver, and the ruby in the necklace darkened so it was nearly black. When Amelie held out her wrist into the moonlight, the ruby in the bracelet turned a startling blue. She pulled her wrist out of the moonlight and the ruby returned to its usual red colour.
She snapped the lid of the jewelery box shut and grabbed it, moving swiftly and silently through the Head suite to Draco's room. She let herself in without knocking and paused for a moment. Draco lay asleep in the bed, his curtains still parted. The moonlight bathed his face, so he seemed to glow a pale gold. He was beautiful.
"How long are you going to stare at me?" Draco asked, his eyes opening, so they were pools of glittering darkness in his pale face.
"I have something to show you." Amelie crossed the bedroom and perched on the edge of his bed, setting the case down next to her. "Watch this"
She opened the case so the jewelery was covered in the silvery spill of moonlight, and as they watched the rubies changed colour again.
"And the bracelet?" he asked finally.
"Goes blue." She answered, holding her hand into the moonlight. It shook. He held onto her hand to still it, while his other hand rotated the bracelet so the ruby rested on top of her wrist, and they watched as the colour changed from red to blue.
"It seemed almost liquid." He observed, staring hard at the jewel. It was true. The blue colour seemed to infuse through the red, like dye would infuse water.
"I thought you should see it." Amelie said with a slight shrug. He glanced up at her, then back at the jewel. Amelie couldn't help noticing he was only wearing sweat-pants, and his upper torso was bare and very nice.
"It's certainly interesting, and might explain why the trolls were after you…which just leaves the question, what is it?"
"That's what I want to know." Amelie said, turning her wrist in the moonlight so that the ruby turned red then blue then red. "Dumbledore might-"
There was a crash and then an inhuman shriek of rage. Amelie and Draco looked at each other, and then Draco threw the covers back.
"Get in." He ordered. She scrambled to do so, and he pulled the heavy green velvet curtains around the bed closed, blocking out the moonlight. Amelie snapped the jewel-case closed and shoved it under the pillow. "Act like you're asleep." He muttered, and she laid her head on the pillow next to his facing him, above the jewel-case, and closed her eyes, her right wrist crossed over under her neck so it and the bracelet was hidden, and her left hand clenched tightly in his right hand on the mattress between them. The covers were drawn up to their chests, and they stared at each other in the darkness, their eyes adjusted sufficiently to see the dark orbs in their pale faces.
There was the sound of the door opening, and Draco's grip on her hand tightened, and he pulled her closer to him, so their foreheads were touching and his left arm was slung over her waist, his hand closed tightly over her hip, even as they closed their eyes. There was the sound of something in the room, something that didn't walk like a human, and Amelie squeezed Draco's hand and he hers until it felt like all the circulation in their fingers was cut off. There was a scratching noise and then the sound of tearing fabric, and Amelie forced herself to breathe normally, to not show that she was near panic. The sound of something breathing filled the room, a rattling inhale and exhale that whistled slightly.
Amelie repeated the mantra round and round in her head, 'don't scream, don't look, don't scream, don't look.' It was all she could do not to peak at whatever it was, though she knew that if she did, she was as good as dead. Then there was the sound of it moving again, and then they heard the window break, and then the flapping of wings. And then nothing.
Eventually Amelie opened her eyes, and found Draco watching her, so close she nearly went cross-eyed.
"Are you alright?" he whispered.
"I will be as soon as I remember to breathe." She replied. The only sound in the room for a moment was the sound of the wind, coming through the smashed window and flapping through the shredded bed-curtains. Moonlight filtered through the tears in the curtains, and Amelie blinked in the bright moonlight.
"It knew." Draco whispered, propping himself up on his elbow, his hand still tight around hers. "It cut the curtains in the right places." Amelie looked down. Moonlight had streamed onto her face, but more so onto her neck, under which had been the bracelet. There was a patch of moonlight on the pillow as well, directly above the jewel-case. Amelie looked at him square in the eye.
"I'm terrified." She said honestly.
"Why? You're father's not going to kill you. But he'll kill me."
"This isnt my father." Amelie said. "If it was he would have just slashed the curtains, killed or knocked us out, then taken the jewelery. This…he knew we were awake. It wanted to scare us, to show us it knew exactly where the jewelery was, and to warn us,"
"Of what?" Draco asked.
"That it was coming back." Amelie said softly.
A strange sound filled the room, and Draco stiffened.
"It's alright, Draco. It's just pheonix song." Amelie could feel the pheonix trapped in her own body stirring, answering the call.
"Miss Granger? Amy?" They heard McGonagall calling. Amelie struggled upright, just as the door to Draco's room opened.
"Mr Malfoy?" They heard Snape enter the room, and swear at the broken window. "Mr Malfoy?" His tone became more urgent.
There was a shriek from Hermione's room. "Albus! Severus! She's gone!"
"It's alright, professor. We're both here." Draco said. Severus came around to the side, and stood stock still, staring in horror at the slashed curtains. Then he pushed them aside.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, pointedly ignoring the fact the two Head students were in the same bed together.
"Just scared." Amelie answered.
"Minerva, she's here." Snape called. There was a sound at the door and both McGonagall and Dumbledore came in. They were dressed in their night-clothes while Snape wore his usual black robes.
"Dear Merlin." McGonagall whispered, coming round to the side of the bed where the monster had been, glass crunching underfoot. "Are you two alright?"
"I'm just curious as to why they were in the same bed?" Snape asked silkily.
"That doesn't matter now." McGonagall exclaimed. Draco and Amelie shared a look.
"It saved her life, Minerva." Dumbledore pointed out, raising a questioning eyebrow.
"I noticed the jewelery Draco gave me for my birthday was being really odd when exposed to moonlight, so I brought it in here to show him." Amelie explained. "While I was in here showing him, we heard that…thing in my room. He told me to get in and to hide the jewelery." Snape looked dubious.
"May I see the jewelery?" Dumbledore asked. She nodded, and pulled the case out from under the pillow, and held her wrist out for Draco to undo the catch. She smiled her thanks and then opened the box, dropping the bracelet inside.
"What's odd about it?" Dumbledore asked.
"The rubies change colour in the moonlight." Draco explained. Dumbledore turned slightly, before exposing the jewelery to the silvery light, and Amelie shivered as she watched the rubies do just that. Draco's hand tightened on her own and he shot her a look. She shrugged.
"Professor Snape, will you have a look at these?" Dumbledore asked, handing the jewel-case to him.
Amelie watched as Snape's eyes widened, and her stomach knotted. Fawkes flew across the room and landed on her lap, and she stroked the pheonix with her free hand, her hands flashing with little flames as she did so.
"Where did you get this?" Snape demanded of her.
"Draco gave it to me for my birthday." She answered, glancing at Draco. Snape turned to him.
"Where did you get this?" He asked.
"From a shop in Hogsmede." Draco said, sounding confused. "What's going on?"
"Were there others, in this design?" Snape pressed. Draco nodded.
"A sappire and silver one, a gold and topaz one, and an emerald and platinum one." He answered. Snape looked thoughtful.
"I feel like a cup of hot chocolate." Dumbledore said cheerfully, and Snape glared at him. Dumbledore ignored him. "Let's go up to my office and have some. Come along." He turned towards the door, but then turned back. "Scourify." He said, and all the glass on the floor disappeared. Amelie and Draco got out of bed, and Draco chucked one of his cloaks at her. She caught it and put it on, even though it was too big for her. Fawkes gave a little mournful song, and Amelie held out her arm to him, half-singing a reply. Fawkes fluttered up to her arm, and the six, counting Fawkes, trooped through the deserted hall to Dumbledore's office.
They met Filch along the way, and he smirked.
"Naughty students, headmaster? The head students as well. I could punish them for you, if you like." He offered.
"No punishment will be necessary tonight, Argus." Dumbledore said jovially. "I just want to talk with them." They passed on, and Amelie could hear Filch muttering behind them, and she resisted the urge to check over her shoulder that he wasn't following her. Fawkes crooned softly, and she smiled.
Inside Dumbledore's office, the headmaster ensured his students were comfortable installed in two big armchairs that sat next to each other, because while he had said nothing, he had noticed the way they had clung to each other's hands almost entirely throughout the entire ordeal. He gave everyone big mugs full of rich hot chocolate, even Snape, who looked murderous because his cup was pink with daisies dotted all over it. Amelie was convinced that Dumbledore had a very twisted sense of humour.
When everyone was comfortable, Dumbledore set the jewel-case down on the desk, and opened it so everyone could see it. He did not touch the jewelery.
"Amelie, how is Miss Granger?" he asked, turning to her. Amelie wrapped her hands around the mug. She was sat wrapped in Draco's cloak, which smelled just like him, curled up in the armchair.
"She's still unconscious, although her condition is stable. I think she's more in a deep sleep than anything else." Dumbledore nodded. "And how are you two?" he asked, regarding both Amelie and Draco.
"Confused." Draco said flatly. "What the hell is going on?"
"Language, Mr Malfoy." Dumbldedore said mildly. "You say there were three other sets of jewelery like this?" Malfoy nodded.
"There should only be two." Snape put in.
"We'll see." Dumbledore said patiently.
"What's the big deal about them? Why do the rubies in my jewelery keep changing colour in moonlight?" Amelie asked.
"They aren't rubies, Amy." Snape said tonelessly. "They're diamond cases containing blood."
"Oh, ew." Amelie said. She paused, then turned to Draco. "Did you know about that?"
He shook his head. "No."
"Good. Because that would have been really bad. I would not have liked you if you had and you had still given it to me." He smirked.
"I'll remember that."
She stuck her tongue out at him.
"There should only be three sets." Snape continued, as if Amelie hadnt spoken. "The rubies, the topazes, and the sapphires."
"Red, yellow and blue." Amelie said slowly. "And the emeralds make green. Are we talking coincidences? Or am I totally off the tracks?"
"You're on the tracks and headed for the station, Amy." Dumbledore said with a smile. "The house colours, and the colours associated with the four most powerful witches and wizards in history."
"But why only three? Why are the emeralds not meant to be included?" Draco asked.
"Because…" Amelie paused, understanding dawning. "They had to destroy Salazar when he turned into a meglomaniac, didn't they? And his colour was green." Dumbledore nodded. "So…" Amelie racked her brains, trying to make the connection. "Either…there's really only two options I can think of. Either the blood in the rubies is Salazar's blood…but I really doubt it. It's highly unrealistic. Or…the blood in the rubies is part of whatever they did to destroy him, when he started showing meglomaniac tendancies and started murdering people." Amelie looked towards the teachers for affirmation. Snape and McGonagall looked shocked, and Dumbledore looked pleased.
"The latter case, Amy." Snape said finally.
"You're kidding me, right?" Draco demanded. Everyone looked at him. "Not only is Hermione way too smart for her own good, you are too? You mean there's two bloody geniuses in that body? Now how the hell am I meant to beat you?"
"Favouritism, my dear friend." Amelie said sweetly, not looking at Snape although everyone knew that was who she was talking about. "And no, we're not both geniuses. When we joined, I learnt everything she knows and she learnt everything I know. Makes for some nightmares on her part and strokes of genius on mine."
"Indeed. Well, you are right. In the jewels are the ingredients used in a spell that destroyed Salazar Slytherin." Dumbledore said.
"But how do you know? I mean, it was so long ago and there is almost nothing documented!" Amelie protested.
"I know as much as you do and a bit more, since I have access to certain documents you do not." Dumbledore said gently
"True." Amelie shrugged.
"So why are they turning up now? And in a normal jewelery store? Wouldn't they be in a museum, or a private collection? And even if they are the real pieces, why arent they empty? If the contents of the necklaces were used to kill Slytherin, then there shouldn't be any of the ingredients left." Draco pointed out.
"Refilling charms." Amelie suggested. Snape shook his head.
"Unlikely."
"Why? If people think they're sapphires or rubies or whatever, then they're not going to worry about breaking them. Speaking of which, how do you break a diamond bottle?"
"With difficulty." McGonagall said dryly. Draco and Amelie looked at her in surprise. McGonagall so rarely showed her sense of humour. "But you two should go to bed now."
"But professor-" Draco started. She stared at him.
"Now." She repeated.
Draco and Amelie stood, setting their mugs on the floor by the chairs. They headed for the doors, and at the last minute, Amelie turned around.
"This is mean, Minerva Elle-Louise McGonagall, and I will not forget it." She snapped.
"Good. Off to bed, now." McGonagall said sweetly, and Amelie stuck out her tongue at her before following Draco down the stairs.
They were walking along the halls, when Amelie suddenly put out an arm to stop Draco.
"What is it?" he asked. Amelie put her finger to her lips. She looked around.
&
