Chapter 10
"Come i-," the door to Dumbledor's office was flung open before he could even finish speaking, Carmella panted heavily and took a seat in front of Dumbledor who looked startled and concerned at the same time, "Miss. Dale, what is it?" Carmella caught her breath.
"It's Draco… It's Pan… Abeyance… help," she started to cry, the tears flooding down smothering her face, Dumbledor tried to comfort her.
"Now, Miss Dale just calm down," Dumbledor said over Carmella's blubbering, "what is exactly the matter?" Carmella looked up at him and sniffled.
"I know he is under the Abeyance potion, it's Pansy," she buried her face in her hands.
"As we speak, Professor Snape is brewing a Revio potion to reverse the effects of the Abeyance potion," Carmella half smiled, relieved that finally some action had been taken, "he will reverse it any minute now," the phoenix perched on a stand next to him squawked disruptively. Carmella jumped slightly and blinked a few times.
"Is Pansy going to be punished?" Carmella asked eagerly.
"Yes if she is proven guilty," a small unnoticeable smirk spread across her face.
Carmella flicked her silky hair and left his office, saying nothing more and knowing that finally Pansy would be punished.
"Get off me," Pansy roared as Snape tried to pour a mouthful of a disgusting looking liquid into her mouth. She squirmed as he grabbed her arms and tried, unsuccessfully to pour it into her mouth. She jolted spilling it all down his robes, he sighed removing his wand from his pocket.
"Immobilis!" he shouted, a jet of green light shot from his wand and hit her right in the centre of her chest. Pansy stood upright with a blank expression on her face. Snape smiled slightly at the result, and with a quick charm his robes where clean again. He marched over towards her and poured some of the mixture down her throat. She gasped, as if she had been submerged under water for a long time and bent over, panting loudly.
"Just as I had expected," Snape said stroking his chin, "Miss. Parkinson, do tell me, what is today's date?" Pansy frowned and thought for a while.
"July, the something?" she asked rather than said. Snape rolled his eyes, and sighed reassuringly.
"Miss. Parkinson can you please return to your lesson, it is care of magical creatures, and they are in the forest." Snape said opening the door for her and pushing her out. He closed it with a bang and stood facing Draco who was looking out of the window. He walked over to him and grabbed the back of his silvery hair, violently, pouring a vast amount of the mixture down his throat. He wasn't going to have Draco resist too, he didn't even give him a chance to. Draco gasped for air and panted heavily his chest rising and falling with every breath. He looked around very confused and then stared at Snape who had the same triumphant smirk on his face as he did after he gave Pansy the Revio potion. The last thing he remembered was shouting at Pansy in the common room although all his memories were vague. Carmella crossed his mind a few times and he thought of all the hurtful things he may have said or done to her. He wanted to rip Pansy into pieces then scatter them throughout Hogwarts. He clenched his fists in anger, his veins almost popping out of his wrists. He had gained his breath back by now and he wondered why he was still here.
"Can you recall Pansy giving you an Abeyance potion?" Snape asked patronisingly, as if Draco was an idiot. Draco spun to face the greasy- haired man, who was now seated at his desk scribbling something onto a piece of parchment.
"Yeah," Draco said slowly trying to remember what happened that day in the common room.
"Pansy!" Draco boomed walking up to Pansy who swung around and grabbed his arms, "What have you done to me?" Pansy pushed Draco up against a wall, he struggled but she was surprisingly strong and he couldn't get away.
"Shh," Pansy placed a finger on his lips, Draco tilted his head away, "Stupid Draco, so you figured it out, now to get you back under my control," Draco took his chance and ran just as Pansy pulled the cork off a red bottle, "There is no point running, you can't hide from me." Pansy's voice sounded evil and full of hate, Draco hid behind a sofa in the common room. Pansy walked around it and grabbed him; she threw him on the sofa and sat on him.
"What the hell is that?" Draco tried to sit up. Pansy pushed him back down.
"A little something I like to call a Revio potion… cheers," she said coldly pouring a large amount into Draco's mouth. Pansy stood up and walked away, she left Draco on the sofa lying motionless waiting for her next command.
He shook his head at the awful thing Pansy did to him, and gritted his teeth. Snape sighed and held out a bottle containing a foul smelling potion inside, "This is an Abeyance potion," Draco recognised that exact bottle, it was the one Pansy had given him, "Does this look familiar to you?" Snape shook the bottle as if to make Draco remember, "Do you recognise it?" he said icily. Draco shivered and wanted to run out through the door, to Carmella and hug her so tightly and never let her go.
"Yes," he replied quickly hoping to fulfil his desire, "Yes," he said again. Snape breathed out through his nose.
"Pansy stole this from my cupboard," he alleged pointing towards a glass cabinet, "She took it and gave it to you, and made you write this," he held out a torn piece of paper. Draco snatched it off him and skimmed it, it was a prophecy, he had often found theses in his house as a young boy and so he knew what they looked like. It mentioned something about to enemies defeating Voldermort, but one of them dying. "It is not you and Potter," he mentioned saying the word Potter very spitefully, "it is your beloved Carmella," Draco looked up as the words escaped his lips, not wanting to believe it was true, "and the Potter girl," Snape said Melody's name maliciously as well as he now knew her and Harry where cousins. Draco shook his head, he didn't want anyone to die, especially not Carmella.
"What?" he asked handing it back and only realising his name was signed at the end of it. "I wouldn't write this,"
"That is why Pansy put you under the Abeyance potion," Snape said, "but in fact it wasn't her, she was under it too, only from someone else," Draco didn't hate her as much now, "and I have a good idea as to whom it was," he said choosing his words carefully so as not to let the name slip. Draco thought of all the possibilities. It had to have been in the summer holidays because she said the date was still June, which was the last date she could remember he thought staring harshly at Snape. "Now run along, back to your class," Snape said creaking open the heavy wooden door, "the forbidden forest," Draco looked panic stricken and although he tried to hide it Snape noticed and grinned, taking pleasure in other people's misfortunes, "oh and don't worry you are safe, Pansy was not in her right frame of mind, now that she is, we trust she will not harm you," Draco tried to explain how he wasn't scared of Pansy but only managed to mutter it to a closed door in his face. He turned realising he was supposed to be in a lesson, care of magical creatures he thought grimly, but now more than ever he wanted to get there to see Carmella. He sprinted along the dungeons, down the stairs, and out through the gigantic oak door which separated Hogwarts from the outside. He shook in the cold air and the grey sky above him cast an eerie feeling over his school. The trees swayed in the breeze and his mystic grey eyes darted around the grounds towards the direction of the forest. He ran across the stone path his robes ruffling, and the wind dancing about in his blonde hair. Drizzles of rain splashed onto his pale skin cooling it. He looked towards the heavens, a heavy rainfall coming to meet him and an unfriendly shadow looked down on him. He brushed back his hair, and ran past Hagrid's hut. The forbidden forest stood waiting to swallow him into its misery and impenetrable darkness. He entered it as if being swallowed whole by this mass of trees.
"Well dun Seamus," he could hear Hagrid's voice coming from behind a rock, in a clearing, amongst the trees. Draco ran there clutching his side from running. He saw all of Slytherin and Gryffindors looking at him and Hagrid turned and marked his name off in the register. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Melody and well, most of the Gryffindors turned away in disgust, as did Pansy, she was too ashamed to even look at him. He looked at the students who had formed a circle around a duck-like creature. Hagrid was throwing dead frogs at it and it happily ate each one without resistance, there behind Hagrid sat a beautiful, blonde, perfect girl, Draco smiled at ran over to her.
"Carmella," he said wrapping his arms around her, she hugged him back and he kissed her on the head, "please forgive me," Carmella looked into his grey eyes and smiled.
"Of course I'll forgive you, it wasn't your fault," she said looking over at Pansy who was hiding behind a large textbook. And then it happened; Draco stroked her cheek and her large blue eyes stared at him, splashes of rain landed on her golden hair and he stroked it, running his fingers through it, she smiled at him and took his hands in hers, they just stood there holding hands. "Dray, I-" but Carmella never got to continue, Draco held the back of her neck and kissed her. Carmella kissed him back and wrapped her fingers around his waist. Of course she had kissed boys before but this had to have been the best kiss ever, Draco was so good and the kiss was immensely passionate and fiery she thought she would melt. Draco pulled back and only realised the whole class was staring at him, some girls giggling, some rolling their eyes, others 'ohhing' and 'ahhing', and Carmella even swore she saw Hagrid looking romantically at them.
"Oh please," Hermione whispered rolling her eyes in disgust. The rest of them nodded, "who would want to snog him?" Hermione retorted causing Melody to giggle.
"Get a room," Melody shouted at them, Carmella blushed and Draco rolled his sleeves up, ready to hit her, but was held back by Carmella. They sat down and all the Gryffindors smirked and a few laughed out loud, before silencing themselves because of glares form the Slytherins.
"On wit the lesson," Hagrid said turning back to throw another frog at the duck-like creature who quaked loudly almost scaring Hagrid. The lesson continued, with Neville getting bitten by the animal called a Duggaron, Madame Pomfery moaned about safety with animals before dragging Neville off to get bandaged. Melody was told that she was a natural with animals and even managed to hold the Duggaron, before Hagrid shouted, "Oh look at the time, bess be off ta dinna," the class gathered up their things and headed back towards the castle. Draco held Carmella's hand and kissed it she giggled and lent her head on his arm.
"I'm starved," Hermione, said smelling the food from the great hall as they all scrambled inside. Ron nodded in agreement, and the whole class strolled into the great hall sitting in their house tables.
"So looks like Snape sorted Draco and Pansy out then," Ron said stating the obvious. Melody shuddered at the thought of Snape. Harry stuffed another chocolate frog into his mouth. Seamus and Neville, who had a small bandage on his arm sat next to Harry and Ron, opposite Hermione and Melody, Melody stared down at her plate embarrassed by the sight of Seamus. He smiled at her and caught her green eyes, they both blushed.
Ron looked at Harry who nodded at him, the rest of then where very confused, Ron cleared his throat, "Um… Hermione will you got to the… um Yule Ball with me?" he was blushing furiously. Hermione smiled and looked over at Melody, who was nodding reassuringly at her, Hermione nodded.
"Of course I will Ron, thanks," Hermione blushed redder than Ron's hair. Obviously this gave a lot of boys sitting nearby the confidence to ask girls to the dance, because most of the Gryffindors were smiling furiously.
"Melody," Seamus said timidly, "will you go to the dance with me… please?" Seamus smiled.
"Yes!" Melody said nodding her head. The gang smiled, they were all happy and each had a date to go to the prom with. At the teachers table Dumbledor stood up along with Madame Hooch, who was grinning almost as much as the pupils. He raised his hands and the chatter in the great hall came to silence.
"First of all I would like to say to everyone who tried out for their quidditch teams, well done," he beamed, "and now on with who actually got in," Madame Hooch stepped forwards and opened a piece of parchment.
"In the Hufflepuff team, the silver snitch seeker is, Lucy Rain, and their new keeper is George Bunn," the hall burst into cheer and the two Hufflepuff's walked over to Madame Hooch to shake her hand and receive their uniforms. The hall fell silent again, "for Ravenclaw, the silver snitch seeker is Eugene Phillips, and their beater for this year is Katie Hill," again cheering reverberated off the stony walls, and bounced back almost deafening the students. The Ravenclaws patted them on the back, and they too shook hands with Madame Hooch before returning to their seats. "And for the Slitherin team," some boos from the Gryffindors could be heard, Madame Hooch gave them a stern look before returning to her speech, "Um... where was I…oh yes… the silver snitch seeker is, Carmella Dale, and their two chasers this year will be Gregory Goyle and Julian Law," the Slytherins cheered and Carmella kissed Draco on the cheek before shaking Madame Hooch's hand. All of the Gryffindors where extremely nervous especially Melody, who desperately wanted to be on the team. "The silver snitch seeker for Gryffindor," Madame Hooch continued, "is Melody Potter," Melody squealed out of delight and hugged Hermione, "the two new beaters, who will be replacing the great Fred and George Weasley, are Seamus Finnigan and their sister Ginny Weasley," the three of them arose from the clapping and cheering, and Ginny blushed as Ron bragged to everyone that, Ginny was his sister. They walked towards Madame Hooch and Melody turned to see Harry cheering the loudest over all the Gryffindors, she smiled to herself, "Well done Ginny, Finnigan, oh Melody well done, absolutely outstanding performance on the pitch. I had no doubt that Harry wouldn't choose you, excellent," Madame Hooch said taking a hold of her hand and shaking it roughly. Melody was still shaking hands with her, and finally managed to pull away; she walked back towards the Gryffindor table. The teachers sat down once more, and with a clap of Dumbledor's hands, all the students plates where filled with jelly and ice cream, a very common desert in the wizarding world, as Ron kindly explained to Melody who was giggling at this common muggle food.
They tucked in, Ron had two helpings and nearly headless Nick came along to congratulate Melody, Ginny and Seamus. But his presence almost made Melody fall off her seat and she spilt her desert all over Hermione.
"Clinensio!" Hermione said pointing her wand to her stained robes, they were clean within a few seconds. Nearly headless Nick apologised before doing exactly the same thing to a group of first years further down the table. Melody dusted herself off and yawned it seemed that a long day had gotten the better of her. She stood up and was about to leave before Seamus tugged on her sleeve. She turned towards him and he pulled her in for another breath taking kiss, he stroked her shiny hair and didn't care who was watching. She pulled away, smiling.
"Thanks," was all she could manage to say, she was still getting over the amazing kiss. She really liked him, and wanted things to go further, but not yet.