The cold night air caught in her throat, and she couldn't breathe. But Viviel
didn't notice anything except for the bright streak of silver that was Potter's
spell as it came flying towards her from across the courtyard. She had never
felt this way before, like all her limbs wouldn't respond to the shouts of
warning flashing violently through her head. She almost wondered whether she'd
been hit with a paralyzing hex and hadn't noticed.
It was at the last second that Draco pushed her away, and she hit the cold stone hard, bruising her arms and legs. She looked up almost at once, one cheek raw from where it has scraped the stone. Blood dripped from gash on Draco's wand arm, and his wand lay clattered on a patch of grass.
"Harry!" Granger said, trying to restrain her friend.
Potter shrugged her off violently and turned his wand on Viviel. "Apologize." he growled at her.
"No chance!" she shouted, climbly roughly back to her feet, trying to get to Draco to see how bad the cut was. Potter advanced on her and held his wand steadily pointed at her throat. Viviel glared back into his green eyes and spat on the hem of his robes. "You make me sick, Potter."
Weasley and Granger hurried up to Potter's side, Weasley's expression one of greatest satisfaction, but Granger looked almost worried.
"Harry, we have to get out of here. If a teacher finds out what you did-"
"I don't care, Hermione!" he yelled, turning on her, only just remembering to lower his wand from Granger's face.
"Well, that's damn obvious!" Viviel shouted at him, finally at Draco's side. She'd let him get hurt! She'd tried to prevent someone from being injured, but Draco had taken the brunt of a curse that had been meant for her. Cursing herself a hundred times over for opening her mouth, she tried to look at it, but Draco turned his entire body away from her and started back to the common room.
"Draco!" she called after him, almost half a mind to leave her books behind and run after him in his wake.
"Yeah, go tend to that piece of filth, Dorgen. You're not wanted around here." Potter said angrily.
"You think I want to be around you people?!" she exclaimed, rounding back on the three Gryffindors. "You're pathetic. Thinking you're so cool because you can play quidditch and all those people fawn over you. Just because you can use those stupid spells of yours doesn't mean you have the right to go around hexing anyone or anything!"
"You have no right-" he began. Potter had suddenly gone pale in the face, and his once steady wand hand had began to tremble. His knuckles were white around the handle from gripping it so hard.
"Think again. How many people do you want to land in the infirmary because you're angry or you're bored? Has he even done anything to you lately? NO. And I know because I've been around him. Maybe if you got your inflated head out of the clouds and back down here where real people play, you'd realize not everyone is a jerk. Just YOU." Her lungs were sore from shouting, and Viviel could already feel a stitch in her chest from exerting so much energy. She could bet that her face was probably bright pink and she was trembling.
Granger grabbed his arm where it hung limply at his side. For a brief moment, Viviel's hearted stopped at she gazed angrily at Potter. He looked as though his world had come crashing down around him, something both of his companions seemed to have noticed. His normally bright eyes had a glazed look to them, staring blankly at Viviel's quivering body. What had she said that made him look at though he'd rather be dead?
"Come on, mate." Weasley said hoarsly, guiding Potter away from her. "It's almost past curfew... we've got to get back..."
And the three of them faded away into the darkness, leaving Viviel and her school bag.
The Slytherin common room as silent when Viviel walked inside twenty minutes later. She could see the back of Draco's blonde head from his favorite seat by the fire, some of his friends close by and watching her carefully. Supposing she was a sight for sore eyes, what with her dirtied robes and mussed up hair, she walked slowly down the steps to the floor. Zabini gave her a searching look and got up to head for his bed. This was a hint for the rest of Draco's cronies to leave as well, Pansy throwing her a dirty look before leaving.
"Draco?" she asked when everyone had left, moving closer to the fire and dropping her bag over a chair.
Silence.
Viviel walked around the edge of the chair and bit her lip. He'd discarded his robes in a heap on the floor, just a plain shirt on that revealed the long, bloody gash on his forearm. He didn't look up at her, just kept staring into the dying flames.
"I'm sorry." she whispered, then grimaced. Slytherins never apologize; what type of witch was she?
"It's not your fault. The bloody git might have killed you if it hit anywhere vital." he muttered.
She walked slowly over and kneeled next to his chair on the floor, the place Pansy had usually occupied so many weeks ago when Viviel had still thought Draco was an bloody git herself. Tenderly, she reached out to take his arm and he hissed in pain, though he tried to cover it and pull away. She shook her head. "You're not going to leave it to get infected. It's not too deep. You don't need to take it to Madam Pomfrey-"
"I don't need your help either." said Draco as though he were trying to prove something.
"Oh, really?" she said, amused and angry. So many people didn't think they needed medical assistance and found themselves in St. Mungo's quite soon after that. She was not going to let that wound get to that stage. Viviel reached into her own robes pockets and pulled out her wand. "I'm going to clean this first, then heal it back up, okay? I just need you to stay still while I'm mending the skin."
"Whatever."
She conjured up a warm towelette and dabbed at the blood around the opening. Feeling him tense up, Viviel tried to get him to relax with no avail. When she was satisfied she'd done a good job of cleaning it up and healing the skin, she sat back on her heels and stuck her wand away. He didn't tell her thank you, but she didn't really feel she'd deserved one.
"You have a Healer's touch." he said after awhile, inspecting the place where his cut had been.
Heat rose to her face and she muttered, "Yeah, well..."
Draco laughed, rumpling his blonde hair so that it swept out of his eyes. "What's so bad about that? You want to be a Healer, don't you?"
"Yeah..."
"I gave you a compliment, Viviel. The least you can do is be gracious enough to accept it." he chided with a a smile, the dying fire dancing in his eyes.
She didn't really know what to say to this. All this attention from him these days were beginning to make her stomach squirm. Just two nights away, she'd recieved an owl from her parents, who had learned from someone's parents that Viviel was spending her time in Draco's company. Rather than being appalled at the thought of her putting of her studies, her father had actually praised her for her "choice in courting" and encouraged her in her "future endevours." Some of the exact wording of the letter had been, "A marriage to someone like young Malfoy could place you high in society's eyes, and nothing could be better for your future, despite the fact his father was convicted as a Death Eater. The name Malfoy is respected in upper circles and you'll be able to achieve all those dreams of becoming a Healer."
The thought of that letter brought the blood back up to her face. Viviel wasn't sure what other people were reading into her and Draco's relationship - no, agreement - but they were just studying companions.
Weren't they?
"I'm going to bed. I have quidditch practice tomorrow, and if we have to beat Hufflepuff, we need to stick some more practice in." Draco mentioned after awhile, getting to his feet.
Viviel rose with him, handing him his robes. "Draco? I'll come to your game."
"I knew you would." He smiled down at her, and ever so gently, kissed her on the forehead. Taking his robes back, he wandered in the direction of the boys' dormitories. "Night."
Viviel stood there for awhile, surprised, but found herself heading off to bed, a smile on her lips.
It was at the last second that Draco pushed her away, and she hit the cold stone hard, bruising her arms and legs. She looked up almost at once, one cheek raw from where it has scraped the stone. Blood dripped from gash on Draco's wand arm, and his wand lay clattered on a patch of grass.
"Harry!" Granger said, trying to restrain her friend.
Potter shrugged her off violently and turned his wand on Viviel. "Apologize." he growled at her.
"No chance!" she shouted, climbly roughly back to her feet, trying to get to Draco to see how bad the cut was. Potter advanced on her and held his wand steadily pointed at her throat. Viviel glared back into his green eyes and spat on the hem of his robes. "You make me sick, Potter."
Weasley and Granger hurried up to Potter's side, Weasley's expression one of greatest satisfaction, but Granger looked almost worried.
"Harry, we have to get out of here. If a teacher finds out what you did-"
"I don't care, Hermione!" he yelled, turning on her, only just remembering to lower his wand from Granger's face.
"Well, that's damn obvious!" Viviel shouted at him, finally at Draco's side. She'd let him get hurt! She'd tried to prevent someone from being injured, but Draco had taken the brunt of a curse that had been meant for her. Cursing herself a hundred times over for opening her mouth, she tried to look at it, but Draco turned his entire body away from her and started back to the common room.
"Draco!" she called after him, almost half a mind to leave her books behind and run after him in his wake.
"Yeah, go tend to that piece of filth, Dorgen. You're not wanted around here." Potter said angrily.
"You think I want to be around you people?!" she exclaimed, rounding back on the three Gryffindors. "You're pathetic. Thinking you're so cool because you can play quidditch and all those people fawn over you. Just because you can use those stupid spells of yours doesn't mean you have the right to go around hexing anyone or anything!"
"You have no right-" he began. Potter had suddenly gone pale in the face, and his once steady wand hand had began to tremble. His knuckles were white around the handle from gripping it so hard.
"Think again. How many people do you want to land in the infirmary because you're angry or you're bored? Has he even done anything to you lately? NO. And I know because I've been around him. Maybe if you got your inflated head out of the clouds and back down here where real people play, you'd realize not everyone is a jerk. Just YOU." Her lungs were sore from shouting, and Viviel could already feel a stitch in her chest from exerting so much energy. She could bet that her face was probably bright pink and she was trembling.
Granger grabbed his arm where it hung limply at his side. For a brief moment, Viviel's hearted stopped at she gazed angrily at Potter. He looked as though his world had come crashing down around him, something both of his companions seemed to have noticed. His normally bright eyes had a glazed look to them, staring blankly at Viviel's quivering body. What had she said that made him look at though he'd rather be dead?
"Come on, mate." Weasley said hoarsly, guiding Potter away from her. "It's almost past curfew... we've got to get back..."
And the three of them faded away into the darkness, leaving Viviel and her school bag.
The Slytherin common room as silent when Viviel walked inside twenty minutes later. She could see the back of Draco's blonde head from his favorite seat by the fire, some of his friends close by and watching her carefully. Supposing she was a sight for sore eyes, what with her dirtied robes and mussed up hair, she walked slowly down the steps to the floor. Zabini gave her a searching look and got up to head for his bed. This was a hint for the rest of Draco's cronies to leave as well, Pansy throwing her a dirty look before leaving.
"Draco?" she asked when everyone had left, moving closer to the fire and dropping her bag over a chair.
Silence.
Viviel walked around the edge of the chair and bit her lip. He'd discarded his robes in a heap on the floor, just a plain shirt on that revealed the long, bloody gash on his forearm. He didn't look up at her, just kept staring into the dying flames.
"I'm sorry." she whispered, then grimaced. Slytherins never apologize; what type of witch was she?
"It's not your fault. The bloody git might have killed you if it hit anywhere vital." he muttered.
She walked slowly over and kneeled next to his chair on the floor, the place Pansy had usually occupied so many weeks ago when Viviel had still thought Draco was an bloody git herself. Tenderly, she reached out to take his arm and he hissed in pain, though he tried to cover it and pull away. She shook her head. "You're not going to leave it to get infected. It's not too deep. You don't need to take it to Madam Pomfrey-"
"I don't need your help either." said Draco as though he were trying to prove something.
"Oh, really?" she said, amused and angry. So many people didn't think they needed medical assistance and found themselves in St. Mungo's quite soon after that. She was not going to let that wound get to that stage. Viviel reached into her own robes pockets and pulled out her wand. "I'm going to clean this first, then heal it back up, okay? I just need you to stay still while I'm mending the skin."
"Whatever."
She conjured up a warm towelette and dabbed at the blood around the opening. Feeling him tense up, Viviel tried to get him to relax with no avail. When she was satisfied she'd done a good job of cleaning it up and healing the skin, she sat back on her heels and stuck her wand away. He didn't tell her thank you, but she didn't really feel she'd deserved one.
"You have a Healer's touch." he said after awhile, inspecting the place where his cut had been.
Heat rose to her face and she muttered, "Yeah, well..."
Draco laughed, rumpling his blonde hair so that it swept out of his eyes. "What's so bad about that? You want to be a Healer, don't you?"
"Yeah..."
"I gave you a compliment, Viviel. The least you can do is be gracious enough to accept it." he chided with a a smile, the dying fire dancing in his eyes.
She didn't really know what to say to this. All this attention from him these days were beginning to make her stomach squirm. Just two nights away, she'd recieved an owl from her parents, who had learned from someone's parents that Viviel was spending her time in Draco's company. Rather than being appalled at the thought of her putting of her studies, her father had actually praised her for her "choice in courting" and encouraged her in her "future endevours." Some of the exact wording of the letter had been, "A marriage to someone like young Malfoy could place you high in society's eyes, and nothing could be better for your future, despite the fact his father was convicted as a Death Eater. The name Malfoy is respected in upper circles and you'll be able to achieve all those dreams of becoming a Healer."
The thought of that letter brought the blood back up to her face. Viviel wasn't sure what other people were reading into her and Draco's relationship - no, agreement - but they were just studying companions.
Weren't they?
"I'm going to bed. I have quidditch practice tomorrow, and if we have to beat Hufflepuff, we need to stick some more practice in." Draco mentioned after awhile, getting to his feet.
Viviel rose with him, handing him his robes. "Draco? I'll come to your game."
"I knew you would." He smiled down at her, and ever so gently, kissed her on the forehead. Taking his robes back, he wandered in the direction of the boys' dormitories. "Night."
Viviel stood there for awhile, surprised, but found herself heading off to bed, a smile on her lips.