A/N: I tried to get this here as fast as I could, but it took some time due to the enormous amount of reviewing I did for the College Board (which was so worth it: 3674 out of 4000) and all the schoolwork I later had to catch up with. Plus studying for midterms. Ech. So I'll let you get back to the chapter, but not before giving CompleteGeek a shout-out, since I had no response to the last chapter and I miss my fan, hee.
Bold italics are Railane's intros, italics are thoughts, and anything in bold is a diary entry.
Chapter ten: An early holiday surprise
The day after the Christmas Ball, almost all the students left, and I was left to hibernate in Draco's room. Bored out of my mind, I began writing snippets and experimenting with a camera that Colin Creevey lent me. Oliver was virtually my only company, and even we were running out of things to talk about. Just when a friend from home sent me a shipment of books, I had a rather unexpected visit that sent all my boredom right out of the window. I really need to watch what I wish for. It wasn't all bad, since it brought a lovely discovery, but the reasons behind it were much darker.
Railane sat by the lake quietly, letting her fingers glide over the surface of the rippling water as a few Hufflepuff second years played with the giant squid. The squid extended a tentacle to poke Railane's hand, making her smile. She tilted her head, smiling at the surprised Hufflepuffs before shaking the water off her hand and rising, bag slung over her shoulder. She began walking towards the castle, still in silence when she ran into Oliver.
"Hello," she greeted warmly.
He fell into step with her. "Hi. Written anything new lately?"
"You mean since yesterday, when you last asked me that?"
He grinned. "Kind of, yeah."
She laughed, rolling her eyes. "I've written a few lines, but nothing impressive. Although I think I'm getting over this nasty writer's block I've had. How about you?"
"All I've written is this letter to my mother," he told her, pointing to a parchment that was sticking out of his pocket.
She chuckled quietly. "You going up to the Owlery, then?"
"Yeah. Care to join me?"
"Sure… I've nothing else to do, anyway."
They turned into a shortcut for the Owlery in companionable silence, and when they entered Railane gasped. Her old friend's owl was sitting atop a large parcel of what looked like books. She ran to the parcel, peeling off the note. Oliver moved on to send his letter as her eyes rapidly scanned the parchment. When he returned, she'd already finished reading. "Gotten gifts, I see," he commented with a grin.
She grinned back. "I told a friend from home that I was bored out of my mind, and she's sent me a load of books for Christmas. Seems I may have something to do after all."
"What has she sent you?" Oliver asked curiously.
Railane shifted through the books. "Le Rouge et le Noir, by Stendhal; A Midsummer Night's Dream, by Shakespeare; Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brönte; The Year the Horses Came, by Mary Mackey; A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle; The Diary of Anaïs Nin; and a ton of romance novels. She's also sent me some books on the writing process, the angel."
He picked up a bit over half of the books, turning towards Draco's room. "Come on, then, so you can get started on your reading." She smiled brightly, picking up the remaining books and following him cheerfully. After they'd gotten to the room and dropped the books on Draco's desk, they sat on the bed. She began reading from Le Rouge et le Noir to him, and he stopped her when she reached the fourth chapter. "You have good French pronunciation," he commented.
"I've a passion for languages," she confessed quietly, closing the book lovingly. "Words are like my life's fire; they're my purpose."
He smiled softly. "And that is why you're such a good writer. Now, read me a bit more, and let's see if you get your inspiration back." She grinned, opening the book again and complying.
Draco dragged himself to the nearest fireplace, wand in hand, directing his floating trunk. Dropping Floo powder in the flames, he stepped in them, pulled his trunk in with him and shouted "Hogwarts, Snape's office." A whirlwind of green flames later, he found himself lying on the floor in Snape's office, his trunk still inside the fireplace. He pulled his trunk out, and set it to float as he opened the door. Peering into the hallway to make sure it was empty, he began walking towards his room.
Thankfully, he didn't run into anyone on the way there, and was sighing victory until he realized Railane had been staying in his room. Pushing his trunk inside quietly, he locked the door without a sound and let his weight rest against the wall just as silently. He could see Railane had fallen asleep on his bed, books all around her, and by the looks of it someone had tucked her in. He was about to move to Harry's room for the night when she stirred and fixed her gaze on him. When her brain registered his appearance, she shot up in bed, instantly awake.
"Oh, Lord, Dray," she whispered, jumping out of bed and rushing to him. He collapsed between her arms, panting, and she helped him up and sat him on the edge of the bed. Unfastening his robe buttons, she slid it off her shoulders and gasped at the sight. His pale skin was marred with bruises, their coloring varying from bright and recent to dull and faded. Her fingers ghosted over his cheekbone, which sported a large purple and yellow bruise, and winced as she felt the broken bone beneath her fingers. "We have to take you to Madam Pomfrey."
He shook his head slowly. "It's too late right now. Besides, I've what I need to cure myself here." He pointed weakly at an oak cabinet propped against the far wall. "There's a large spell book and a small black box full of potions. If you get that for me, I'll fix myself up."
She looked at him for a few moments before walking to the cabinet and getting what he'd requested. Following the instructions on the book she alternated between smothering him with potions and chanting incantations. She'd worked on his face and chest when she suddenly frowned. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"
"I'm fine from the waist down," he assured her, and she rose, hiding her blush, moving around him to kneel on the bed, facing his back. She inhaled sharply at the criss-cross marks on his back. She began patting a disinfecting potion over his wounds, chanting a healing incantation on the cleaned cuts. When she was finished, she walked over to his closet, bringing back his pajamas with her and pointing to the bathroom.
"Shower and get dressed," she ordered, and was surprised when he obeyed meekly. As he showered, she cleaned up, returned the potions to the cabinet and poured him a dreamless sleep potion. When he emerged, she'd prepared the bed for him, accommodated his trunk its usual spot, and tidily arranged her books on top of his desk.
"Thank you," he told her quietly, and she waved his thanks away, leading him to the bed.
"Rest," she told him quietly.
"You're not going to ask what happened?" he asked in surprise.
She shook her head. "You don't want to talk about it just now, and I can deal with that. Tomorrow morning, however, I'm going to grill you."
He smiled wanly, snuggling into the bed, and she grinned back, blowing out the nearest candle and leaving him alone to rest in the dim light.
By the time Draco woke up, Railane had already unpacked his trunk and gone down to the kitchens to get him breakfast. When he began stirring, she opened the curtains to let the sun in. "Good morning," she greeted, her back to him as she looked out the window.
"Morning," he grumbled back, running a hand through his disheveled hair.
"Not a morning person, are we?" she commented with a smile, walking over to him.
"Not exactly, no… especially when I had to wake up alone and abandoned."
She rolled her eyes. "Eat," she ordered.
"Still not interrogating me?" he asked, looking up at her.
Railane's eyes met his, and he was surprised to find her emotions reflected like a storm, jumbled together so that he couldn't tell them apart. "I know better than to push you. When you want to talk, you will."
He'd finished eating when he finally looked up again. He found her sitting on a chair with her legs crossed, her head tilted as her eyes stared out the window. "Would now be a good time to talk?" he asked quietly.
She turned to him, startled, before nodding slowly. "Sure." She walked over to him, sitting on the bed. "So, what happened?"
Draco sighed, his gray eyes clouded. "Father wasn't happy with me," he began.
Her eyes widened as her fingertips glided lightly over his cheekbone. "Your father… it was he who did this to you?"
He nodded heavily. "He and Kendrix punished me for my refusal to join the Death Eaters, among other things."
"So you're out in the open now."
"It's a weight off my shoulders, but it's cost me dearly. I've been disowned, thrown out, and threatened."
She placed a hand over his gently. "As long as you're here in Hogwarts, you're safe. And we'll figure out what to do for the summer."
He looked at her seriously. "It's not my life he threatened me with."
"What was it, then?"
"You."
She blinked at him in confusion. "Why me?"
He leaned towards her, his eyes becoming silvery. "He used Legilimency on me, and discovered something I think even I ignored."
"Which is?"
"This," he whispered, before brushing her lips with his. He moved away from her so he could look into her eyes. "And now I'm worried he'll use you against me."
It took her a few instants to return from the shocked state she'd entered. "I'll be fine," she told him reassuringly, wondering how to react to his action.
He smiled softly. "At least we're safe in Hogwarts, right?"
She smiled back, still feeling rather self-conscious. "Exactly."
Draco was sleeping again when a knock on the door jolted him awake. Railane was at the door before he could react, opening a bit to peek out before opening it completely. "Hello, Oliver," she greeted, motioning for him to come in.
"Hello, Lane. Draco," he added, noticing him leaning against the headrest.
"Hello," Draco replied coolly.
Railane jumped in immediately before the tension escalated. "I've finally managed to get back to writing, Oliver. I've got around five pages of verses and a short story already."
"Just this morning?" he asked incredulously.
She nodded. "All very dramatic and emotional… quite my usual style, but a bit darker."
"Can't wait to read."
She grinned, opening the connecting door to Harry's room, where she'd moved all her things. "Then don't." He grinned back, entering the room, and she was about to follow him when Draco called her.
"Railane, wait."
She turned to him, her hand still resting on the doorframe. "What is it?"
He looked at her before letting his gaze focus beyond the door and into the other room, where Oliver sat on the bed, reading intently. He looked back at her before shaking his head. "Nothing, really."
The sudden iciness of his demeanor told her different, but she refrained on commenting and simply let the door ajar so he'd be able to see into the other room. He smiled self-consciously; it was incredible how she understood him without his saying a word. Shifting in bed, he arranged the covers around himself and leaned back, watching surreptitiously.
Oliver lifted his eyes to the door as Railane sat beside him, his jaw clenching perceptibly as he returned to his reading. Railane smiled apologetically. "Sorry about leaving the door open; Draco gets antsy, you know? This way we can keep an eye on each other." He nodded, not trusting himself to reply, and they began reading out loud and editing.
Kendrix let her gaze rise as she heard the deafening crash of Lucius' cane against the glass window. She lifted her hand to stop the glass shards from coming near her as Lucius swore loudly. "How could he leave! He has escaped right under our noses!"
She flicked her wrist, a look of boredom glazing over her features as the glass shards fell to the floor. "Perhaps if you'd made him a bit more obedient, we would not be having this problem."
Lucius whirled around, face seething with rage. "Don't you dare blame this on me, Kendrix! He'd been perfectly well-behaved until just now."
Her eyes narrowed. "Well, if you'd just let me kill the girl, we needn't be worried about her influence on him!"
"We've seen how he feels about her."
"All the more reason to eliminate her!"
He shook his head. "You don't know Draco. If we harm her, we will only turn him further away from us."
Kendrix scoffed. "Sentimental fool he is, then. So what do you propose we do?"
"If he really cares, he'll want her to be safe. So we tell him that he must come to us; in return, we will not touch her."
She rolled her eyes. "He won't fall for that, Lucius. Where she is, our hands cannot reach. As long as Dumbledore is near her, we can't lay a hand on her, and he knows it, which is why he left to go under his protection as well."
"Then we'll send her a little package," Lucius suggested, his smile full of malice. "You know, just to let her know we're thinking about her."
"Sounds good to me," she replied, an equally evil smile spreading on her face. "Let's send her a little Christmas gift from us and the master."
Lucius chuckled. "Let's."
A/N: So this is it for now. Will get better, and we may be seeing the master very soon. I'm starting the next chapter immediately; I'd like to get to post it before I have to begin my work towards the SAT. Oh, the horror.