Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I am only playing with the characters.
Title is a song from the musical "Cats" by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Somehow, Reyana decided, life was a little brighter today then it had been yesterday. She smiled contentedly to herself as she meandered her way to the Great Hall for breakfast. She headed directly to the Slytherin table, her usual seat, glancing up at her cousin and smiling. He caught her eye and gave a tiny, almost invisible smile back, that warmed her to her toes. Knowing that she still had family that loved her, had made the unhappy events surrounding Draco Malfoy, seem like a rather hazy bad dream. She slid in next to Blaise and loaded up her plate with her usual fare. She ate, attempting to ignore the angry stare she could feel boring into her. He wasn't worth the effort, she reminded herself sternly. He's a conceited little prat, who doesn't deserve sympathy or friendship.
She lifted her eyes only once to grab her goblet of juice and accidentally looked into Draco's flinty eyes. Her heart clenched in anger and no little humiliation, but then she saw the carefully hidden pain, and despite her protests, her heart went out to him. She gave him a soft smile, trying to put all the understanding and sympathy she could into it. Draco flinched as if he'd been struck, and the ice in his eyes shattered for a second, letting Reyana see his grief. Then the mask was back in place as if it had never left. She looked back down at her plate and bit her lip. Suddenly Draco slammed his glass down, splashing sticky juice all over Pansy who was sitting next to him, and stood, eyes flaming.
"Draky?" Pansy pouted, trying to brush the liquid off her robes.
"I'm leaving." he hissed. "With a muggle seated across from me, I seem to have lost my appetite."
Reyana glared at him, but without any real heat. She knew he was just reacting to the vulnerable moment that she had witnessed.
"Oh go bugger yourself Malfoy."
A couple of younger Slytherins giggled at that comeback, and Reyana felt a tiny bit guilty. Not enough to take it back though of course.
He snarled and strode out of the Hall, his robes flaring dramatically behind him.
Blaise chuckled a little.
"He deserved that. Good one Rey."
Reyana smiled rather half heartedly.
"Ya s'pose." she muttered, picking at the remains of her breakfast with the tines of her fork.
"What's wrong?" Blaise asked, concern shining in his eyes.
Reyana was about to lie, when she was interrupted by the arrival of the post. A medium sized barn owl swooped down and landed in front of Blaise. He dropped the morning edition of the Daily Prophet and dipped his beak into the half empty goblet.
Blaise absently scratched his owl's head as he unrolled the newspaper. His eyes bugged out of his head and he choked on the bite of eggs he'd just shoved into his mouth.
"Holy Shit!"
Reyana yanked the paper out of his hands, hearing the gasps of shock from the other students.
"Narcissa Malfoy, Victim of Foul Play." the headline screamed. A moving black and white picture of the Malfoy Manor graced the front page.
Reyana inhaled deeply, and spared a moments concern for Draco. The whole school was going to know and most of them would mock him about it. She could see the gleeful looks on a few unsympathetic faces.
She dropped the offending paper on the table and stood. Like or not, Draco was going to talk to her. He needed to be prepared. And Reyana didn't hate anyone enough to abandon them to the rumor mill of Hogwarts.
Draco was sulking. He rather enjoyed sulking. It gave him a perfectly reasonable excuse to dwell on himself. Not that he needed an excuse. But the waves of sadness and depression were comforting in a warped sort of way. But, it is a well known fact that Malfoys are a rather screwed up family. He wandered the halls aimlessly, a death glare firmly in place, warning all to stay away. He wanted to be alone with his thoughts. He couldn't seem to get rid of the image of Reyana smiling at him in gentle understanding. She was supposed to hate him! Especially after dropping her on a cold stone floor. He was supposed to hate her too. And he did! He really did. He rubbed his left forearm absently. He was in service to the Dark Lord, never mind that he hadn't been Called yet, and he loathed all muggles and mudbloods. And yet...he kept seeing her gentle brown eyes and the empathy in her smile. He ground his teeth together in frustration and confusion. She kept trying to help him. And heaven knows he didn't deserve it. He was a bastard through and through and up until now, he'd always been proud of it. But now his mother was dead. Poisoned. And he was going to get revenge. He was going to find the baseborn son of a bitch that had torn his world apart and make him pay.
"Draco!" a breathless voice called.
He spun, a dangerous light in his eyes.
It was Reyana Taylor. Her eyes were huge with concern and she was brandishing a copy of the Daily Prophet like a weapon. He hesitated, just long enough for her to catch up, and then continued his brooding walk.
"Draco! I know you hate me, but please just listen." she pleaded.
He didn't have to turn to know that she was at his elbow.
"Fine." he growled. "Talk."
"The paper. Your mother. The students. Headlines. I'm so sorry."
He stopped abruptly and Reyana smacked into him.
"Speak in complete sentences." he spat. "Or don't bother."
She narrowed her eyes at him and held out the newspaper.
He reached for it, dread in his stomach. He unfolded it and stared at the front page.
"Draco." she said softly. He tore his eyes away from the picture of them hauling his mother's body away, and glared at her.
She didn't flinch.
"I just wanted you to be prepared. I think you're going to have a rough day."
She gave the ghost of a smile and left him there, clutching the Daily Prophet with white knuckles.
Of course it would get out eventually. He had known it, but he still dreaded the gloating of the Gryffindors, the false sympathy of the Slytherins and the sideways glances from the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. His eyes followed Reyana's retreat, and he felt a wave of gratitude toward the muggle girl. Maybe she wasn't so bad.
He crumpled the paper and tossed it in the air. With a flick of his wand, it burst into blue flame. Straightening his bag on his shoulder, he headed off to Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws. At least he didn't have to deal with the Gryffindors until Potions that afternoon. He could already see the looks on the faces of the Golden Trio, and his gut clenched in hatred. Today was going to be a bad day, and he had a feeling that it wouldn't get any better tomorrow.
OoOoOoO
The Potions classroom slowly filled with students, Draco among them. To his surprise, Blaise had attached himself to Draco, telling him that he wasn't going to let anyone bother him. Draco was grateful for the unquestioning support of someone he'd never been close to. Blaise guided his friend to a table near the back, hoping to avoid the Gryffindors. Draco sat and stoically stared at the blackboard, ignoring the whispers and curious stares he was receiving. Then to his surprise and Blaise's surprise, Reyana threaded her way to the front of the room and sat down at Professor Snape's desk.
"What the..." Draco muttered.
"No idea." Blaise replied, his brows knitted in confusion.
As if sensing their eyes, Reyana looked up, and winked. Then she returned to straightening the parchments on the scarred desk.
Blaise chuckled and shook his head.
"I know she and Snape are getting along, but I don't think he'll appreciate her rearranging his desk."
Draco smirked. He couldn't wait for the explosion.
"So Malfoy."
Draco stiffened, and Blaise put a hand on his wand.
"Weasley." he managed a decent sneer.
"Heard about your mother."
Draco ignored him and began flipping through the pages of his potions textbook.
"Glad there's one less Death Eater around. Too bad they didn't get your father too. But we can't have everything."
Draco's face paled in rage. His fingers bit into the book in front of him, but he managed to keep his voice level.
"Sod off Weasel."
Blaise raised his wand and let it point lazily at the redhead's chest.
"I'd listen to him muggle-lover."
"Too bad you weren't home." Weasley spat out. "Then we could be rid of you too."
"That is is enough Mr. Weasley!" Reyana's voice rang out through the room, disdain evident in her every move. "Take your seat."
Draco felt his jaw drop, and saw Blaise sit down hard in surprise.
"I don't have to listen to you." Weasley said contemptuously. "You're not Snape."
"That is painfully obvious Mr. Weasley." a silky voice said. "50 points from Gryffindor for the deliberate disregard of a fellow student's feelings."
Draco relaxed slightly at the appearance of Professor Snape. He looked up and saw Reyana looking at him. She was nibbling at her bottom lip and her eyes were filled with anger. Sensing his gaze, she shrugged a little, and smiled again. Draco didn't understand why her smile made him relax further. He also didn't understand why she'd defended him. Her eyes flitted away, but Draco continued watching her, tuning out the lecture, as he tried to figure her out.
Reyana flinched as Severus leveled a glare at her. If she'd been flammable, she'd be a pile of ash on the floor. She was ashamed of her outburst, but the look in Draco's eyes had undone her. It was just wrong for anyone to mock the pain of losing a family member. Obviously, Weasel (she couldn't help but think of him that way after his behavior today.) had never lost anyone dear to him. Even the Potter boy looked at Draco with pity.
She looked right back at her cousin, daring him to reprimand her in front of his class. He finally gave up and strode away, glaring into cauldrons as he went. She smiled fondly at Severus' retreating back. She'd begged to be allowed to sit in on the class, and he'd relented after she had informed that brewing potions wasn't any different than cooking, and she was very good at cooking. And she'd read as many potion books as she could find and had impressed her cousin with her knowledge. He'd reluctantly allowed her to observe, and had promised to let her assist him in his lab sometime.
Reyana exchanged a significant look with Blaise, that ended up with her blushing. He had taken her concern for Draco the wrong way, and had been teasing her ever since breakfast about her crush on the blond Slytherin. That was one reason he'd volunteered to look out for Draco that day. Reyana was flattered by his obvious care, and knew that if he hadn't been gay, her heart would've been in danger. But instead, as Blaise liked to tease, her heart was in danger of being lost to a handsome young man that absolutely hated her.
Shite. Her life sucked.
The potion bubbled and sent jets of brightly colored steam into the air as Blaise added a precisely measured handful of diced asphodel to the cauldron. Draco stirred it carefully, counting in his head. He was feeling much calmer and collected now. Brewing potions did that to him. It allowed him to relax and create something. He'd always loved potions, and had used his calligraphy skills to write Snape's 1st year speech about putting a stopper in death. It was framed and on the wall in his personal lab back home at the Manor. As he watched in interest, the potion abruptly changed color and consistency. The potion went clear and thin, and if Draco hadn't known better, he'd have thought it was water. A triumphant smile brushed his lips. Perfect.
"Give me the last ingredient Blaise." he said in a hushed tone.
This was the vital point. He gently placed the whole dung beetles in the gently bubbling liquid and stepped back for Blaise to cast the final incantation.
"tantum verum" Blaise said confidently, touching the very tip of his yew wand to the shimmering potion.
A black color bled from his wand and covered the surface of the serum. Draco and Blaise held their breath as the potion bubbled more fiercely and the black slowly disappeared and the potion became clear once more and the bubbles disappeared.
Draco let out a whoop of joy, and a huge grin of pride split Blaise's face nearly in half.
Professor Snape hurried over to their table and looked critically at the clear potion.
"Excellent job Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Zabini, 15 points to Slytherin for a perfect Vertaserum."
Draco looked up, his eyes shining, as Blaise began bottling the precious liquid. His eyes fell on Reyana sitting at the desk, absently fiddling with her necklace. She let it fall and looked up as the Gryffindors groaned in unison. Draco smirked in delight. Not even Granger had managed to make the potion correctly. The dipperful that Snape examined was a strange shade of piss yellow. Only Draco and Blaise would be receiving full marks today.
Draco glanced at the necklace resting against the rose sweater Reyana was wearing. He stiffened. The silver dragon seemed to mock him. He recognized that ruby eyed pendant.
"Draco dear." mother chided gently. "I told you not to play with that."
Draco pouted and put the silver dragon necklace back on the table.
Mother smiled as she finished curling her hair and pinning it.
"Should I wear it tonight my dear son?"
Draco grinned and nodded so hard he fell off the plush chair he was crouching on.
Mother laughed joyfully and scooped her 4 year old son off the floor and kissed his blond locks.
"And the earrings?"
Draco nodded again, reaching for the jewelery box.
Mother smiled and let Draco clumsily clasp the necklace about her creamy throat.
"Tho pretty mama." the boy lisped, his steel blue eyes proud. "My mama."
"My Draco." Mother returned, and ignoring her several thousand Galleon dress and perfect hair, tickled her only child until he squealed and squirmed in her arms.
"I love you my little dragon. Never forget it."
"Class is dismissed!" Professor Snape called, pulling Draco from the hazy world of his memories. A single perfect tear slipped down his cheek, but only Blaise saw.
Draco stood pushing thoughts of his mother as far to the back of his mind as possible. He glanced back at the muggle who somehow had his mother's necklace. Irrational anger filled him and threatened to spill out, but he gripped it tightly. He would confront the damn muggle girl. There was no reason for her to have that silver dragon! Jealously gnawed at him as he glowered at the floor. That necklace was his! And he wanted it back.
There it is. Now things are getting going romance wise. It'll still take awhile, but we're a chapter closer.
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