SPOILERS
IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE 6TH BOOK, YOU SHOULD NOT READ ANY FARTHER.
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Okay, well, I guess this author's note is going to have to explain a lot of things.
First off, I made a few mistakes in the last chapter. As it's supposed to be Angelina's last year, I suddenly realize that Fred isn't there. He's flown off on his little broomstick, and, well, that would be a slight flaw in the whole plan. Therefore, I'm just going to stamp a little AU on this, and admit that I screwed up.
ALSO, Draco's dad would've been arrested and in Azkaban by now if I had been paying attention and not just written this on a whim. That's one of the big things that I've been struggling with writing this second chapter, just trying to think it through. So there's another screw up.
SORRY!
Then, the nifty little 6th book shows up and throws a couple of curve-balls my way as to the direction that this story's going. Well, maybe not the direction, but definitely the element of surprise. I was…well…I guess I'll let it still be a "surprise" but it won't really be as much…I mean…well…sigh.
I guess I'm just going to let you read this, and tell me what you think later.
Chapter 2:
Feelings aren't supposed to sprout up like this. But for some reason after only really knowing her for a few days – I feel like –
I guess I really don't know how I feel anymore.
I'm concerned. That's a start. She doesn't know what she's getting herself into. And – and I don't know how to stop her. She's got her mind made up, she's going to do this whether it's completely, insanely dangerous, or not…there's nothing that I can do to convince her not to.
Last night had been a blur. All of the people – with the dancing and the toasts, and my father was supervising every last bit of it, which means that he's around me all night long. I got up extra early the next morning – just to make sure that I wouldn't run into him. So when I arrived downstairs for breakfast I was surprised to see my father waiting at the table for me.
"Draco." He nodded.
"Father." I replied curtly, waiting for the house-elf to bring me breakfast. There was a slight pause. He wasn't eating; just sipping a drink that I supposed was Firewhisky.
"How did you like the dinner last night?" I shrugged, looking anywhere but at him, and trying to sound bored.
"It was fine." He, once again, surprised me.
"What do you think of the Johnson girl?" I froze, but hoped he didn't notice. He does.
"She's okay." I force my voice to sound even and dull. "I didn't get much chance to talk with her. Why do you ask?"
"No reason in particular." He swished his drink around a bit in his cup, looking down at it and then back up at me. "Just curious." He slurred the last word almost arrogantly, which made me eye him with suspicion. I could read that smirk, and the tone of his voice hinted that he knew something. He knew something that I wasn't going to get out of him easily. He was a Malfoy. I knew him like I knew myself.
His icy gray eyes locked with mine and his held a smile. Why was he so happy? What was he so pleased about? What does this have to do with Angelina and me?
The house-elf slid my meal in front of me, but I didn't even look down.
"Well." He finally stood, placing his cup back on the table. "I've got a meeting to get to in around an hour…"
I stood as well, determined that he wasn't going to leave unless he told me about Johnson.
"What were you curious about Father?" I probably sounded a bit more desperate than I would've liked, but I was almost beyond the point of caring.
Almost.
"Oh, nothing." He smugly smirked at me. "Absolutely nothing." He was trying to rile me. He was trying to get a rise out of me so that he would win.
But I wouldn't lose.
I clenched my jaw, stepping backwards in submission, sitting back down. He nearly laughed, and as he was leaving the room he paused.
"Oh yes, your friend Montague's here to see you." I stiffened. "I'll send him right in." The door swung closed and I began to tremble, taking deep breaths and counting to ten slowly with my eyes closed.
You can handle this. You are being weak.
"Malfoy's are never weak." I could practically hear my father say.
So when the door swung open, I regarded my friend with cool gray eyes.
"Draco." He almost looked uncertain as he sat down beside me, his dark green eyes scouring my unreadable features. I glanced up at him, hoping to portray the uncaring persona that all Malfoy's have. He was picking at his fingernails – a nervous habit.
"Yes Montague?" He looked away, sighing, and then looked back.
"If I had known I never would have agreed to!" His voice sounded desperate and apologetic. His mouth opened again, but before he could start I held up my hand to stop him.
"Wait, if you had known? Known what? What would you not have agreed to do?"
"Marry her." The whisper almost wasn't audible. My mouth went dry, but even though I knew the answer to the question I was about to ask, I had to ask it …just to be sure…
"Marry who?"
"Angelina Johnson." Montague looked away and I was silent for what I knew was far too long. Marriage? She hadn't told me marriage. I knew that they were dating; the necklace had stated that clearly. Damn it, how had I been so blind!
"Like I care about what Gryffinwhore you marry." I finally choked out, hoping that my long silence would seem as if it was out of surprise. "It was arranged, I suppose?" So she'd had no choice. She had to marry him. She came from a prominent, pureblooded wizarding family, and so had he. It was a smart match made by their parents a million years ago. It had to be that way…there was nothing that she could do…
"No." Montague looked nearly sick. "No, she – I proposed and she said yes."
"When?" Turn on your Malfoy coldness. She was just another girl, nothing big. Nothing real.
"Uh, about two weeks ago. At Hogwarts." Why didn't I know this? I was there…I was with Montague the whole time…
"Oh, well, congratulations." I shoved my untouched plate towards the center of the table, standing up and turning to walk out.
"Don't be like this." Montague was standing next to me. We've both been known for being able to control our emotions, and to anyone but the two of us, it would seem like we were. But we weren't, he was being open and I could tell from the frantic look in his eyes.
"Like what?" I tried to sound unaffected and non-caring.
"You don't fool me Malfoy." I ignored him, walking out of the double doors and back into the hallway. Before I had time to react, I felt strong hands shove me into the wall, knocking the air out of my chest.
"Damn it Montague!" I croaked; his hand was on my neck and much too tight for me to breathe, much less talk, properly.
"You listen to me." He hissed, his feature's portraying boarder-line fury. "We can't afford to fall apart now. Not now. We need each other's support right now! You and I both know that these days we can't trust anyone. And you know I trust you, you're the only person that I trust with everything." He was glaring into my eyes and I was glaring right back, still struggling for air. "You have to be able to trust me, too." I shoved him off, and he didn't return the act of aggression, just stared at me as I rubbed my throat.
"We can make it if we stay united." Montague exclaimed. "But if you want to let something like a petty girl get in the way of our friendship, fine. You'll be the one to crumble at the Dark Lord's feet with no one to turn to." There was a long silence. Of course he's absolutely right…I need him.
"I need to think." I grumbled, stalking off. It was raining outside, but I didn't mind it as I pushed open the back door. The clouds were heavy in the sky, the wind was picking up as I took a few brisk steps into the garden, my hands in my pockets and my head full of muddled thoughts, one, the most prominent, drifting back to last night.
"This night signifies the newest additions to the Dark Lord's army. This is a toast – to those young men and women who realize at such an age where their loyalties lie…who have made the decision to serve the most powerful wizard in the world, who are willing to give up their very lives for the cause that we stand for." There was applause as the crowd all raised their glasses. "We applaud you for your courage." Came the voice. "We applaud you for your willingness, and for your loyalty." Severus Snape raised the glass to his lips, and everyone else followed suit. His eyes skimmed over the crowd as the glass lowered. "You have made a wise decision." He continued. "And for that decision you will be rewarded. Not only with riches, but with power beyond your imagination. Congratulations."
I had reached the edge of my mother's garden, my hair dripping water into my eyes and down the back of my neck. Reaching down a shivering hand, I plucked a red rose from the bush. I examined it, its petals burdened with rain droplets.
I wondered if I would ever see beauty in anything again.
The door swung open, missing my face by inches as I leaned against the doorframe.
"Draco?" Her voice was worried and surprised at the same time. "You're soaked!" She reached for me, but I jerked away.
"I'm fine." I answered hollowly. "I just have to talk to you." She stood back, opening the door a little wider.
"Okay…okay. Sure." She glanced behind her shoulder briefly, but I could read her look.
"Who's in here with you?" Her eyes widened, her mouth opening stupidly.
"I don't know what you're - " I shoved the door open, forcing her out of the way as she stumbled backwards a few steps. "Draco!"
"Where is he?" I growled, my eyes roaming the living room, making for the nearest doorway.
"No one's in here!" She ran in front of me, putting her back to the door that I was trying to open. She was glaring at me fiercely. I returned it.
"Move now." I ordered, drawing my wand and pointing it to her throat. "Donot make me use this Johnson." She shuddered as the cool wood pressed into her neck.
"I'm not afraid of you."
"You should be." I hissed, grabbing her shoulders and shoving her out of the way. I wrenched open the knob, revealing a bedroom. The bedcovers were messy, as if one had just scrambled around, the top cover hanging nearly off of the bed. Dirty clothes were shoved into a pile in the corner, a few books littering the ground, a cat mewing pitifully from the chair. Otherwise, it was complexly empty. She was standing in the doorway, her eyebrows arched and a triumphant smirk that I recognized from the Quidditch Pitch tickling her lips.
"Foiled again, eh?" She quipped. I spun, my eyes locking onto her, relaying to her that the mood that I was in wasn't a playful one. Her smirk disengaged.
"It was Weasley wasn't it?" She didn't crack under my gaze, just jutted her chin out a bit more.
"I guess you'll never know." Anger surged through my body and I brushed past her, making her nearly fall backwards.
"I guess I'll have to tell your fiancé about this, won't I?" Her body stiffened. "I don't know who you think you are, Johnson. You're not – some kind of bloody goddess, your just a little naïve witch that's in way over her head." I wrenched open the door, all thoughts of the original reason that I'd come far from my mind. "Montague will not be so quick to forgive and forget. He's a possessive bastard. Do not cheat on him, because it will be the last thing you ever do." She was stock still, her eyes wide and tearing. I scoffed at her pitiful face, registering the fact that this was the exact look she had given me on the train just the day before.
It seems like so long ago…
"Get out."
"Gladly." I slammed the door for good measure as I stepped back out into the rain, shoving my hands into my pockets and scowling as I marched down the street. I turned sharply to cross the street, not paying attention to where I was going, and bumping the shoulder of a passer-by. As he turned to face me, I saw red-hair peeking out from a wet hat, and blue eyes peering out of a freckled face. Before I could register what I'd seen, he was gone, blending into the crowd.
I briefly thought about returning to her flat, just to let her know that I knew, but I pushed it away quickly.
She'll tell him what I said. She'd better.
I hope you guys aren't disappointed by this chapter…I guess I'm kinda rushing into putting this up, but I can't help it. I want to thank every single one of my reviewers – I would love to write review replies, but I have to make this quick, so I just want to say that I'm flattered by all of your praise and I really, really hope that you enjoyed this.
Thanks
especially to coco, who wrote me my latest review and forced
me to grit my teeth and finish this chapter.