Chapter 10
His Way
- - - - -
Early Tuesday morning, Keira walked into the office of their head of House. He looked at her sternly over his spectacles and offered her a seat and coffee. Keira took it gratefully; she hadn't slept much. It took almost all of her self control not to cross the room and throttle Pansy Parkinson.
She had also asked to move out of the room. She couldn't stand Pansy nor her late night guests any more. And after Pansy had pulled that stunt on Willow, it just pissed Keira off more.
The best he could offer her was a place in Summoning. It was a solo suite on the tower side facing the Channel, but Keira was ready to take whatever she could get.
She walked into the Great Hall, looking around, half expecting to see Willow sitting with Malfoy and his cronies, but she wasn't. She was sitting right next to Harry, and they were talking to each other.
Keira thanked whatever power that there was for the small miracle and hurried to join them, taking the seat on the other side of Willow.
"So, how was Restriction?" Willow asked her curiously as she sipped her tea.
"Dreadful," Keira replied, wrinkling her nose. "It was all I could do to not kill that bitch of a roommate of mine..."
"I hear ya," Seamus said from across the table. "If she were my roommate, I would have hexed her into the Channel, no matter who had seen it."
"Hear, hear!" Keira said, toasting him immediately. She turned back to Willow, who was reading from her thick textbook again. "Ready to go to Potions?"
"No," Willow said with a yawn, stretching. "Not yet, really."
"Why are you so tired for?" Keira asked, her eyes flickering over to Harry. "Don't tell me the two of you..."
"Oh, no, no, Keira!" Willow replied, looking scandalized. "I was up late studying."
"You were? Studying what?" Keira asked in confusion.
"Well, this for one thing, and if you didn't notice, we have a History essay due tomorrow at one."
"Oh, right," Keira said, remembering this. "I guess I'll have to get busy this afternoon. I can't believe we have another free afternoon!"
"I know," Willow said with a dreamy smile.
"Before you two go off and make plans," Hermione said from across the table, "you should remember Keira that you have Sciocco practice."
Keira swore under her breath and turned away. Having to spend an entire afternoon practicing a sport she despised was almost as fun as getting all of her teeth yanked from her jawbone; it was torture. Especially since Blaise Zabini was on her team and he truly wasn't one of her favorite people at the moment.
Not to mention Parvati Patil, the sleazy gossip queen. And Kaz Rozokov, Hermione's Potions partner, who was, from what she was hearing around the breakfast table, one of the worst people ever.
"He just sat there and kept mixing dangerous ingredients, saying he wanted to see what they would do!" Hermione complained, looking miserable. "I swear that Snape had something to do with who got whom for a partner, because this is nothing less than torture!"
Tuesday was a day full of torture. Keira stayed closely by Willow's side. In Potions, they sat with Harry and his friends, and she made sure Willow sat between her and Harry so that she was protected from Malfoy and his thugs, who sat three rows back, glaring at her pointedly.
After Potions, Blaise, who had been dubbed the team captain, caught up with her. "Hey, Isley!"
"What do you want, Zabini?" she mimicked sarcastically as she turned to face him.
"I just wanted to let you know we're practicing at three," Blaise told her easily without responding to her cruel sarcasm. Even Keira felt surprised that he didn't seem to care.
"What's got you in such a good mood, Blaise?" she asked him in surprise.
"I don't want any hard feelings, that's all," Blaise replied as he turned his heel and stalked away.
Keira didn't know what to think as they walked into the Library before lunch. Willow was in Introduction to Magic, so Keira found herself alone to study until a shadow fell over her table. She glanced up and saw her Potions partner standing above her, looking nervous.
"Hey, Neville," she said kindly, gesturing to the seat across from her. "How did Practical Potions go last night?"
"We did all right," Neville said softly. "I hope you don't mind we got the same grade Willow and Ron did."
"And what grade did they get?" Keira asked, now feeling slightly concerned.
"Perfect, of course," Neville said, shrugging. "I'm not sure I learned much of it, though."
"It was a sleeping draught, right?" Keira asked him slowly. "Well, we'll just go through it again, okay? Next lesson?"
"You don't mind?" Neville asked, looking at her nervously.
"Of course not," Keira said, and she truly didn't. "I wasn't there either. If that draught comes up on an exam, who am I to say that I recall all ingredients without even reading the little book!"
Neville looked incredibly relieved and fell silent as Keira continued to read through her materials. At eleven thirty, they went to lunch together, meeting Harry, Ron and a few of the others in the Great Hall. Just shortly after noon, Willow joined them, looking relieved. For some odd reason, most of the school had backed off from either taunting her with the compromising picture from the day before or else pitying her until they were blue in the face, Keira wasn't sure which.
She had a feeling it had come from Malfoy though, the way he kept glancing at Willow as she walked over to join them.
Willow had Introduction to Runes right after lunch while Keira had her stupid practice. Willow happily walked off to class with a few of the others from their table, leaving Keira to sit in the Great Hall and scowl at the History text she'd brought along, attempting to work on her essay.
She only had a short amount of time though before she met up with the rest of her team. Unfortunately for her, Blaise had stepped in and had asked the team to act more friendly towards one another.
"Fat chance," Parvati muttered, glaring at Kaz, who glared right back. There was another darker-haired and darker-skinned girl named Anin Mahil on the team, too. Keira recognized her as a neighbor. She was also one of the team's defenders. Blaise had obviously taken a liking to her. They were flirting when Parvati and Keira walked into the small arena to practice.
It was laughable how poorly they did. Blaise had different players trying out different positions. Keira realized how bad she was until she tried out goalkeeping for herself. With the use of both hands and the ability to not have to rely on a stupid bit of net, she found herself more useful. Blaise looked relieved and Keira actually felt her first bit of warmth towards their team captain. Kaz was best as a defender, but they had yet to find another. Parvati and Anin were both great goal scorers. Blaise wanted to be the power center. The other three players on the team were three males from one of the other Houses. Finally, Blaise consented and fell into the defending position, allowing one of the other smaller boys to be the power forward and the two midfielders took over in the wing position.
After practicing this way for nearly an hour, even Keira was surprised by how much they'd improved.
She wasn't expecting loud applause as they trooped off the wooden floor.
"Oh, Keira, you were hot!" Willow said with a grin as she stood up from the bleachers she'd been sitting on. "It makes me realize how much I miss Practical Defense."
"How was Runes?" Keira asked her as she toweled off her face.
"I'm actually getting it," Willow said, a hint of surprise in her voice.
"Hey, Little Red!" Blaise called out, waving to her.
"Hey, Zabini!" she called back, waving. When she turned back to Keira, she sighed. "It's nothing, Keir. We have an understanding. That's all."
"An understanding, is that what you're calling it now?" Keira asked her suspiciously. "And I had such high hopes for you, Wil."
Willow glared at her, hitching her bag back over her shoulder. "Well, I'm not the one that punched the hell out of my roommate now, am I?"
"I suppose not," Keira said with a yawn. "What's up right now?"
"I'm heading down to dinner and then I intend on finishing my History essay," Willow replied breezily. "And yourself?"
"If I didn't have my Ancient Charms and Rituals lecture tonight, I would happily be joining you," Keira said brightly as the two women walked back outside. "That and I think my rear is going to be falling off any second now from all of that hard work."
"You call skating around on a scooter and waving a little net hard work?" Willow asked in amazement. "You should try patrolling sometime."
"Patrolling what?" Keira asked, frowning.
"Oh, nothing," Willow replied, waving her hand impatiently. "Let's just get down to dinner, okay? I'm starving after my Runes class."
"All right," Keira agreed, and they walked into dinner together.
- - - - -
Willow returned to her room later that evening, hunting immediately for her calling card. She didn't know how much time she had left on it and frankly she didn't give a damn. She needed to talk to Buffy and the time had come for drastic action.
She ran downstairs, nearly knocking several returning, chattering students over and not really caring about that, either.
When she reached the phone, she was a little relieved to find the study room was nearly full to bursting with students working on their first History essay, Runes translations, Arithmancy charts and everything else Willow could see. She dialed the number she now knew by heart and waited for the familiar four rings and the answering machine to pick up.
It didn't happen. The phone was picked up halfway through the second ring.
"Hello?"
"Hello!" Willow gasped. "Is Buffy there?"
"Hold on," the feminine voice replied. There was a pause, and then Willow heard the familiar sound of her best friend's voice.
"Who is it?"
"I don't know. It sounds serious," the feminine voice said. There was the sound of exchanging phones before Willow heard Buffy's voice at last.
"Buffy?"
"Oh, it's Willow! Hey, Willow!"
Willow nearly sank to her knees in relief. "Oh, Buffy! I've been trying to reach you for the past week!"
"Sorry about that. With the school and the patrolling and everything... how's England?"
Willow spent the next twenty minutes telling her about her first few weeks at Apocrypha. Buffy was ever a welcome best friend as any and listened to Willow's complaints and stories with a hint of saddness in her responses; she truly missed her best friend.
"So, how it Sunnydale? College life at UC-Sunnydale... Xander, Giles and everyone?" Willow asked meekly.
"As long as you're asking," Buffy replied, and Willow could practically see the smirk on the other woman's face, "college is great. My roommate's name is Tara, and if you can believe it, she's big with the mojo stuff, too. It's been hell trying to get her to come on patrols, but she's been wicked useful. College life is okay. I've been in this Psych class taught by this loony, Walsh. So not liking her. Xander's great. He and Anya have hit it off, believe it or not. He's working as a deliveryman at the moment, I think. But I heard Anya's trying to talk him into the army..."
The way Buffy was speaking, Willow could see each one of their lives displayed before her like a videocamera. With a wistful smile, Willow checked her watch, pleasantly surprised to find that she had been on the telephone for nearly thirty minutes!
"And Giles, you know, he's the same old ex-Watcher," Buffy blathered on, not really understanding or even knowing that as Willow listened, a tear slipped from her cheek. Her friends really had moved on with their lives, and Willow, for once, was feeling left behind.
"I heard that the Dingos have made their mark up and down the West Coast," Buffy said, her voice dropping. "I really hope you don't mind I'm telling you all of this."
"Not at all," Willow said, smiling through her tears. "The more, the merrier."
"There's these guys, right? They've been stalking the campus a lot at night lately. They call themselves commandos or something, but Giles thinks they're human..."
Buffy's voice was cut off by a warning that Willow had only two minutes left of her time. She didn't want to let go of the old remainder of home. Before Buffy could continue on about the commando men, Willow cut in.
"I hate to say this, Buffy, but I've got less than two minutes left on my card," Willow said, trying to sound happy, while her voice belied her misery. "I really should say goodbye."
"Do we have to do this?" Buffy asked, her voice soft. Willow heard her best friend give a loud, resounding sniffle.
Willow felt that she was about to lose control completely. "Oh, Buff, I don't want to... but you're so far away, I'm here and my life is a disaster!"
"It'll work out, in the end," Buffy assured her in a tearful, soothing voice. "We love you, Wil, even if you're learning how to pretend to be a Giles."
"I love you too, Buffy," Willow said, smiling sadly. "I can't wait to see you soon. I--"
But her voice was cut off as the line went dead. Sighing, she replaced the phone on the cradle, the calling card falling from her shaking hands and fluttering to the floor near her feet.
Ignoring it, she walked over to one of the sofas underneath the luminous window and sank down onto the soft leather, hugging herself. She stared out the window for what seemed like hours before a gentle voice said, "Willow?"
She turned with a tearful gaze to look at Harry. She wanted to smile, but her face felt frozen. Instead, she lowered her gaze and gave a half-humiliated chuckle. "Had you going there for a sec, didn't I?" she asked him quietly.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, moving closer.
She had turned back to the window. "Nothing's wrong, Harry," she said, a hint of deep bitterness in her voice. "It's just that... I want to go home..."
There was a longing in her face now that Harry saw. He understood it completely, as a longing he always felt towards Hogwarts.
"Is this not your home now?" he asked her, stepping into the dim light from a street lamp still glowing in the darkening night.
"No," Willow said, shaking her head. "And you know why? I love being back there. In Sunnydale, I felt alive, I felt like I mattered... here... here I feel nothing. I'm no one. I'm just... just Willow. And you know what? I think I'd rather be back with my best friends in Sunnydale, where everything is familiar even if it is dangerous. I belong there."
"You're wrong."
Willow turned her bitter gaze upon him, surprise flashing in her own brown eyes. "Excuse me?"
"You say you don't belong here, but you do, Willow," Harry said, moving even closer to her, not fully aware how uncomfortable she was feeling. "You've got friends who care about you. You've got an enemy that hates you. Your Professors adore you. And..."
"What?" Willow asked him sharply. "Are you going to tell me there's something else about this cold, distant world I should be thankful for?"
Harry wanted desperately to say, "Me," but even he wasn't that delusional. He just gave her a placid smile. "Don't grow up so fast," he finally warned with a tight smile.
"I've heard that one before," Willow said bitterly, sighing as she clasped her arms around her knees. "Tell me something, Harry... why is this world so warm and welcoming? Why do I feel like I should belong here, but I'm just an outsider trying to fight her way in?"
"I don't know," Harry admitted softly. "Maybe it's because you're still trying to find your place here..."
"I've been in this country less than a month now," Willow replied coolly. "I haven't felt it yet... except..."
"Except what?" Harry asked, trying to see the myriad of emotions crossing her face. "Willow, what?"
"That night on the beach..." Willow finally said.
"What about it?" Harry asked her, feeling confused.
"It was the first night I realized I had friends here," Willow replied, watching as he edged ever so nearer. "You know, Keira and all."
"You two are great together," Harry admitted.
She sighed, running a hand through her shoulder-length red hair. "You know what? I think I'm going to go to bed... it's getting late and we have class and all in the morning..."
"I'll walk you to your door," Harry offered.
"Thanks, but you really don't have to--"
"I insist," he said, and before she could move away, he leaned forward and took her hand in his. His bold movement caused her to gasp, her eyes widening as she gazed sideways at him before allowing him to pull her along towards the golden elevators at the other end of the hall.
He still hadn't released her hand three minutes later when they walked back out, now safely on the fifth floor. Most of the hallway was quiet, except for the sounds of music coming from Parvati and Lavender's room, the door slightly ajar.
She reached her own room that she shared with Padma and turned to Harry to thank him for his kindness when out of the blue, he had reached up his free hand, touching her face, still wet with tears.
"You're incredible, Willow," he said quietly. "I hope someday you'll truly see how incredible you really are."
"It takes time," Willow finally said through a forced smile. But before she could move away, he pulled her face towards his. His lips gently brushed her own. Although the gesture had lasted barely a second, she felt blood rush to her face as she pulled away.
This is what she had wanted, she realized. This is what she had been fantasizing about...
Before Harry could pull away, she took his face between her palms and kissed him with every ounce of strength she could muster, the passion searing her as he responded seconds later to her embrace.
After a long moment, the two broke apart, Willow's face the same shade of magenta as the small sign hanging from the door, boasting her name along with Padma's.
"Good night, Harry," she said with a different smile. Without waiting for a response, she opened the door, stepped through it, and closed it behind her.
"Good night, Willow," Harry whispered. He still hadn't moved.
Willow nearly shrieked as she locked her door, but saw that Padma was hovering over her desk, the dreaded History essay rolled out before her.
"I don't know what you're so smiley about, but this is due tomorrow," Padma said in a grumpy tone.
"I'm done with mine," Willow trilled happily as she unbuttoned her blouse and changed into her nightgown.
"What's got you so happy?" Padma asked, turning around and eyeing her roommate warily.
"Can't I just be happy for once?" Willow asked her in a sing-song voice as she pulled on a light shirt over her rather skimpy nightgown and grapped her travel case.
She returned a few moments later, with the same dreamy expression she'd worn five minutes before. Padma was definitely suspicious now as she set down her quill and frowned at her roommate.
"What?" Willow asked as she sat down on her bed, reaching for the thick History textbook.
"You look different," Padma said suspiciously. "Almost as though you're..."
"Yeah, yeah, don't we all," Willow said with a cheeky grin as she flipped open her book to chapter four and started reading.
"It isn't... Blaise, is it?"
Willow gasped as the book dropped into her lap. "Oh, God, no!"
"Oh, thank Merlin!" Padma cried dramatically, slamming her reference book shut with a grin of relief.
"Did I miss something here?" Willow asked in a tiny voice.
"He's a cult-seeking moron-loving man-whore!" Padma said vehemently and Willow, who had never heard her roommate speak out about anyone before, was impressed and found herself respecting the other girl.
"Did you date him?" Willow asked meekly. It was something Cordelia might have said after a particularly bad breakup.
"Parvati did, but he kept calling her Padma nonetheless," Padma said dramatically.
"He isn't that bad, is he?" Willow asked, beginning to regret ever seeking a friendship with the other boy. She knew of his tarnished reputation, but still, it was disheartening to hear him being spoken of in this manner.
"Are you kidding me?" Padma gasped, nearly dropping the stack of books in her arms. "He seduced my sister, Wil. He basically broke her up with Harry and just--"
"Wait a moment," Willow said quickly, lifting a pale hand. "Parvati and Harry?"
"It all started in their sixth year," Padma said with a sigh. "I, of course, was dating Justin... but Parvati and Harry, well... Zabini was the reason they broke it off after five perfect, blissful months."
"How... interesting," Willow said quietly, closing her book. "Tell me more."
"Everything between Parvati and Harry was great, right, until Blaise suddenly takes up this bet with Malfoy and some of the other morons in Slytherin. The next thing you know, Zabini beds my sister and her reputation is gone to the gutters! Harry goes off after Ginny and Parvati is left looking like the simpering, broken-hearted victim."
"But... she dumped Harry!" Willow said, feeling defensive for the boy she had just kissed not a half hour before. "She has no right to act like a victim!"
"That's not the point," Padma sighed as she pulled on a robe over her own striped nightgown. "The point is, when you play with Malfoy and his friends, you play with fire, Willow. You're going to get burned. I know that Draco has some sick obsession over besting Isley and it won't stop until he hurts her and we know he's capable of using you to get to her. Just look at what happened."
"I know," Willow said, her cheeks turning pink,
"He got Blaise to hurt you," Padma said, a look of sardonic anger in her eyes. "And if that bastards comes after another one of my friends, well..." She looked away as she gathered a towel and her toothbrush. "Excuse me."
But inside, Willow was jumping for joy. Padma had called her a friend. Not one person, not even Keira, had acknowledged and said this to her face. It was beyond touching.
Maybe, just maybe, she belonged here after all.
- - - - -
The next morning was stormy and grey. Keira and Willow ran from their dormitory to the Great Hall, which was full of sodden, hungry students.
Keira's eyes were bloodshot and she was quite pale. She confessed to Willow she'd been up all night, working on her History essay.
"And I'm not quite finished with it yet!" she raged on, glaring at the roll of parchment, still three inches from the bottom. "I hate History."
"I personally find it fascinating," Aura said from across the table. She glanced up through hooded eyes to find both girls staring at her. "You have to admit that the ancient Egyptian Wizards were quite interesting."
"Not so much as to write a whole twenty four inch essay on them," Keira seethed as Willow poured her a cup of coffee. "Thanks, Wil."
"Anytime."
"Hey, Willow, here comes your fan club," Aura snickered as Malfoy and the rest of the 'pureblooded' cult walked in. Not one of them cast a glance in their direction, though. They all appeared to be wringing themselves from the rain still falling heavily outside.
"Really not caring about them right now," Willow said happily, turning back to her muffin and coffee. "Which Wizard did you write about, Keir?"
"The one that whose eye supposedly comprised that of the sphynx, why?" Keira asked, lifting her own exhausted eyes to look at her friend.
Willow pulled out a small black book and handed it over to her. "Because Padma wrote about the same one. She used this book for her conclusion."
Keira looked as though she were about to cry with relief.
"Good morning, all!"
It was Parvati, surrounded by Lavender, her twin, Padma and a few other giggling girls. Behind them were Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest of their group. They all sat down at the empty table, filling in many of the chairs. Aura was slightly annoyed when Harry dropped down next to Willow, trying to catch the other girl's eye. Willow appeared to be ignoring him though, something Harry wasn't used to.
He felt even more annoyed when Blaise Zabini left the hall alone. Willow quickly swallowed the rest of her coffee and said, "I'll see you in Potions, Keir," before running to catch up with him.
"Hey!" she shouted.
He turned around, running a hand through his longish hair, which had been left out of its ponytail today.
She paused; he really was entrancingly handsome. "I need to ask you something."
"Oh?" he asked, arching one eyebrow playfully. He was trying to goad her, and she wasn't going to fall for it. Not this time.
"Why me?" Willow asked, her high-heeled boots clicking across the marble tile as she approached him, lightning flickering in the distance, followed by a slow rumble of thunder. "Why hurt me?"
"It was one of Draco's sick games," Blaise said, not meeting her cool gaze. "You know how he is--"
"But you," she said coldly. "You would have hurt anyone close to Harry, wouldn't you have?"
He was moving from foot to foot now, blushing slightly. "No, I wouldn't," he said off-handedly.
"What about Parvati Patil, Blaise, huh?" she asked, her voice echoing through the small entrance hall. "Just when I thought you could sink no lower. It wasn't to play some sick, twisted game with Draco... it was this whole competition that's been going for years between Draco and Harry. Draco wants what Harry has, and he can't ever get it unless his faithful lapdog gets it for him. Am I right? Answer me. Answer me!"
Her voice was full of cold hatred and pain now. She circled around him, her arms crossed.
"But it didn't work, did it?" she demanded, answering his silence with more anger. "This time the price was too high. You couldn't have known Harry's true intentions, so you must have wanted to hurt Keira, who has been a thorn in your side since, when... never? What was in this game for you?"
"You were," he said quietly.
Willow shook her head. "No, I wasn't!"
"Yes," Blaise said, rushing her suddenly and taking her by the shoulders. "You were. You, Willow. You. You. You."
Willow ripped herself from his grip. "Right. I was just some sleazy 'ho looking for a good time. Like that would ever happen..."
"No," Blaise said forcefully. "You said it yourself, didn't you? The price was too high. He didn't want you hurt. He wanted you for himself."
"I hope he realizes he's never gonna get me," Willow taunted coldly, her eyes showing none of the warmth and life they usually displayed. She took a step away from him. "If he comes near me again, I'll kill him."
"You should also know that he never gives up easily," Blaise said in an uneasy voice. "He'll come for you again."
Willow grinned. It was a very cold grin. "I'd like to see what he's got."
"You wouldn't see it coming if it hit you," a cool voice said from behind her. She turned and saw Draco standing there, smirking at her. "Very cool move, Zabini. I must congratulate you."
Willow felt her gaze turning even more fiery as she turned back to look at Blaise. "You played me! Damn it, you played me!"
Blaise looked at her sadly, a smile twisting his lips. "I'm sorry."
"I'm not," Willow said angrily as she stormed across the marble tile to glare up at Draco. "Before you try to convince yourself that I'm some whore, I want you to take a good, long look in the mirror, Malfoy. You might have to redefine a little of your face once I'm done with you." She lifted her fist and swung hard. Her fist was just about to collide with his face when a hand caught it.
"Don't," Blaise said quietly, throwing the other girl off. Willow spun in a crazy half circle before straightening, a bitter loathing flashing in her eyes.
"I think it's time you leave her alone."
Blaise let out a startled cry as he flew across the tiled floor, his hands covering his nose. A few seconds later, Draco joined them.
"You two make me sick."
It was Harry, Willow realized, jogging across the floor to meet him. "Harry, God, I'm sorry... I didn't mean..."
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" a cool voice asked. It was Theodore Nott, along with another small group from their cult, including Leo, Crabbe, Goyle and that Kaz guy.
"You're facing an uphill battle here, Potter," Draco said coldly as he stood up again, grinning slyly and winking at Willow, who flushed and hissed out loud. Harry lifted his arm to push her back behind him before a slim arm wrapped itself around his shoulders.
"Malfoy," Keira said sweetly. "I should have known you were behind this."
"Considering your bad reputation as a lousy fighter," Aura said with a bemused smirk as she stepped up to Willow's other side.
"You've got a party of women fighting your battles now, Potter?" Draco asked with unsupressed laughter. "I have to say, your way of things is looking quite foolish, eh?"
"Oh, I don't think so," Willow said, pushing Harry's arm away and stepping in front of Aura. "I'd like to see what you got. So, bring it on, bad boy."
"Oh, what is with that horrible pun?" Keira groaned behind her.
Draco and the others rushed forward, charging. Out of nowhere, Ron and several of the other Summoning boys appeared. As Malfoy rushed in to strike Willow, Keira got there first, punching him across the face. When he doubled over in pain, she drew up her knee into his chest and shoved him back across the floor, blowing him a mocking kiss before she turned to see Leo standing there, gazing at her with something like awe, and not the usual heated look he sent her.
"Hi, Leo," she said with a friendly smile. "I'm giving you the chance to run away now, you coward. If you want your nose broken, I'll highly recommend--"
Aura came out of nowhere, pressing her palm up on Leo's face, causing his nose to crack and he stumbled backwards, Russian curses flowing freely from his mouth.
Harry managed to find Willow in the ensuing chaos. She was sitting on the floor, laughing. He took her by the hand and they rushed out, their book bags falling behind.
They ran, hand-in-hand, down the stairs and into the rain. Once they danced around for a few moments, they hurried to seek shelter under the awning covering the memorial from the downpour.
"I think that was my first rumble," Willow said fondly, smiling up at Harry, who tucked a lock of her dripping red hair behind her ear.
"You were incredible," he said, noticing that she was shivering. "Are you cold?"
"Just a little," she said with a hasty smile.
"It's all right," Harry said, rubbing her bare arms with his hands. She raised her gaze to meet his.
"Thank you for trusting me," she said after a moment.
"After you hit Draco, I knew I could," Harry replied, resting his forehead against hers, water dripping onto their clothing. "There's just something else I want to know..."
"What's that?" she asked him, her breath coming out in a puff of steam.
He didn't say anything. His lips found hers. Her lips opened in a gasp, which only succeeded in turning the kiss into something more fiery than she had imagined. After a moment, a blast of thunder crashed above their heads and the two were brought back to their senses.
"We should get to Potions," she said breathlessly.
"Come on," he said, taking her hand again, as they ran back through the rain and into the covered hall. Nobody was left, but their bags were still there, right where they'd dropped them. He picked up her leather bag and carried it with his own as they walked, the fingers still entwined, to Potions.
Keira was grinning broadly at them from the doorway when they appeared five minutes later, both soaking wet, but grinning broadly.
"Oh, Merlin! I was wondering when the two of you would be so thick as to unclog those heads of yours!" Keira said, throwing her arms around the girl who was quickly becoming her best friend. "Oh, Wil, you're all wet!"
"I'm not the only one," Willow said with a sly grin at Harry, who at least had the grace to blush before Ron and Hermione joined them, along with a few other students, all who looked a little worse for the wear. Ron was sporting a jaw that was quickly bruising and even Seamus had a small cut above his right eye. Parvati was with Lavender, and she was rubbing her eye socket, which was already turning purple.
Willow laughed. "Parvati?"
"Someone had to hit the son of a bitch," Parvati groaned, rubbing her eye and checking her compact mirror for what seemed like the tenth time. "It should have been me."
"I think someone just repaired her own reputation," Willow said, giving Parvati a proud smile.
"Someone definitely did," Lavender said, giving her roommate and best friend a fond look. "She sent Blaise to the hospital wing unconscious."
"So I knocked his head a few times against the column," Parvati said innocently. "It wasn't all bad."
"He got you in the eye though," Keira said sympathetically; Willow had told her Parvati's entire history with both Harry and Blaise.
"It's nothing," Parvati said, waving Keira off. Her heavily made-up eyes turned back to Willow. "Apparently, it's not all nothing for you though." Her eyes drifted over to Harry. "You've got yourself quite a catch there."
"Yeah," came a short voice. "You really have."
It was Aura. Willow felt her heart stick itself in her throat, but then she noticed that Aura was smiling at her.
"I know I should hate you because I've loved him for, like, ever, but... I can't, Wil. I think we both know why."
Willow rushed forward and hugged the taller redheaded girl. Despite her anxieties that she would seriously piss off Aura, she was relieved to know she hadn't.
When Potions began, Willow was warmed by the heat of the large lecture hall. She sat between Harry and Keira, feeling as though she were on top of the world.
At the back of the room, Draco Malfoy watched Harry and Willow darkly. He wasn't fooled, he could see the attraction clearly between the two. But he wasn't about to let her go... not by a longshot.
Next to him, Kaz was moaning, flexing his hand and swearing softly in Russian under his breath. "That bitch, Aura, did this," Kaz said angrily. "You should have seen what she did to Leo."
"I saw," Draco said darkly, his eyes still on the vivacious redhead. "Don't worry, Kaz... we'll get her back. We'll get them both back... and she's going to wish she never set foot on this island..."
"That sounds like a threat," Theodore said to his left, angrily running a hand through his short, dark hair. His eyes were on Keira, and the boy sitting next to her, the idiot Longbottom. Don't worry about Rosenberg, she'll be easy enough to bed..."
"You moron," Draco said, drawing his cold silver gaze to Nott's. "Willow is not for bedding, do you hear me?"
"Whoa," Nott said, backing down. "Sorry, mate, it's just that I..."
"You were being stupid, that's all," Draco said savagely, turning back to Willow. "She doesn't deserve to be treated like a common whore... yes..." A delightfully evil grin spread across his face. "Yes, Potter... you're about to find out why Willow is far too good for you... yes, yes..."
Almost as though she could feel cold eyes on the back of her head, Willow turned around to look behind her.
She didn't see anything except hundreds of eyes staring down at Professor Crieux, who was lecturing on the different usages of shape-shifting potions, like the Polyjuice Potion.
Her gaze inadvertantly met Draco's. This time, he blew her the mocking kiss.
She turned back, shivering slightly.
"Are you all right?" Harry asked next to her, sounding concerned.
"I'm all right," Willow said with a quick nod. "I'm just a little cold... that's all..."
But it was more than that. She had picked up a dark vibe. An evil vibe... someone who had loads of ill will towards her and her fellow students...
She dropped her gaze to her notebook, which she had written three words down upon: beware of purebloods. Keira was giving her a curious glance which Willow chose to ignore, focusing on Professor Crieux and the end of their Potions lecture.
- - - - -
"I can't believe he's making us read two other books!" Keira complained loudly at lunch as she, Harry, Ron, Neville and Hermione sat in their usual seats. "It's not as though we have social lives to live with. No, not at all!"
"You shouldn't be complaining," Neville said cautiously, sitting down across from her. "He did give you a nice 'O' on the last Practical lab, didn't he?"
"He should have given me a zero," Keira replied, feeling pleasantly surprised by this. "I don't know why he didn't."
"I think it was Willow," Ron said quickly, helping himself to a basket of rolls before passing it along down to Hermione, who was sitting next to him. "I heard her talking to Crieux after Practical Potions on Monday and she managed to talk him into giving you the same grade we got."
"That was fair of her," Hermione said quietly as she buttered her roll.
"It was a noble thing of her to do," Harry said, a smile playing around his mouth.
"Oh, yeah, noble Willow out to win the battle of good," Aura said moodily as she dropped down on the other side of Neville.
"What's up with you?" Keira asked the other girl, concerned.
"If you haven't noticed, Isley," Aura said angrily, "we have our first public Sciocco matches coming up in about a week, and you practically mauled my team captain!"
"Oh," Hermione said, realizing this, since she was on the same team as Aura. "Draco..."
"Well, considering I knocked out our Captain," Parvati said, dropping down on the other side of Keira, "I think we're safe for now, Isley."
"And Kaz," Keira reminded her, smirking.
"And Kaz," Parvati agreed, glancing up and down the table. "Where is your shadow? She's usually here by now?"
"I have no idea," Keira said, also taking a moment to glance around the room. "I hope she doesn't find out I finished my History essay in Potions this morning."
"I don't see what the big deal is," Ron said, swallowing his stew. "So did I."
Hermione smacked his shoulder, giving him a disgusted look. "You prat!"
"Thank you, love," he said, leaning over to nuzzle her neck, mocking laughter ringing around the table.
"Thank you for all of the embarrassment," Hermione retorted, pushing Ron away from her, her nose wrinkled, her cheeks rather pink. "You're weird."
"Once again, thank you."
"I didn't mean it as a compliment."
"That's how I took it as."
"Do they always sound like this?" Keira asked, leaning over to Harry, who sat on her left.
"Always," he said with a dramatic sigh. "So, where's your shadow?"
"I wish I knew," Keira said, glancing around the hall again, feeling more worried than she knew she should be; Willow could take care of herself.
She didn't know that Willow was, at this present moment, in the hospital wing, watching over a sleeping Blaise Zabini. She felt partially responsible for landing him in the hospital. He had been so sweet yesterday, she thought. Why did he have to be such a horrid jerk today?
She took a few sad steps away, trying to cheer herself up over the prospect of eating lunch with a potential boyfriend and her group of friends.
"Wishful thinking, Rosenberg?"
It was Pansy Parkinson, stepping out from the shadows.
"Are you following me, Pansy? It's not very mature of you," Willow said, making to move past her, but Pansy caught her arm, swinging the other girl back.
"Don't think I don't know what those puppy eyes are for, Willow," Pansy said in a mocking voice. "You have a thing for Blaise just because he acted like the sweet trash Draco was setting him up for."
Willow felt a hot surge of anger towards the other girl and tried to swallow it down by counting silently to ten. It didn't work. "What are you after, Pansy?"
"Your reputation was obviously unscathed," Pansy said, sneering at the other girl. "But I'd watch my back if I were you, Willow. Blaise isn't the only one who has claws."
"Leave me alone," Willow said, twisting her arm from the painful grip and walking away, as Pansy's malicious laughter followed her.
"Let's see how long you last with Harry, Willow... we'll see how long!"
Willow angrily slammed the door at the end of the hall, hugging herself. While she was for the most part dry, suddenly eating lunch was no longer appealing to her. Instead, she chose to take the long walk to the History corridor. Alone.
She really liked Harry and the past few days had proven her feelings were reciprocated. His defense of her was touching, she recalled with a soft smile. He had jumped in and had saved her face. It had been exhilirating, watching all of those people jump in to her defense. Not to mention that many wouldn't seek an opportunity to kick in Malfoy's smug, pale face.
But no matter how many times she had tried to get his face from her mind, she couldn't. Those silver eyes were full of such hurt as they'd stared at each other from across the brawl. She had been laughing at the absurdity of it when Harry had pulled her away...
She heard footsteps and saw someone waiting at the doorway. To her surprise, it was Hermione.
"Hi," Willow said, running a hand through her hair and quickly passing a hand under her eyes to get rid of the few tears that had managed to leak through.
"Hey, Willow," said Hermione, falling into step with her. "Someone said you'd gone to check on Blaise... is it true?"
"I had to," Willow said defensively. "I still hate him, but he has been really nice to me. Truly, he has been."
"I believe you," Hermione said slowly, "but watch your back around him, okay? I don't trust him. Not after what he did to Parvati..."
There was more to this story, Willow realized in horror. "What? Hasn't he seen the errors of his ways enough? We have to keep adding onto the story of Blaise?" she asked sharply.
"He's hurt Harry twice," Hermione said quietly. "Harry doesn't know about the second time..."
"What, who? You?" Willow asked in disbelief.
"Not me," Hermione said with a chortle. "No... it was Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister." Her mind flashed back to the scene in the Three Broomsticks when Ginny had gone outside to talk to Draco Malfoy...
"Harry never told you why he and Ginny broke up, did he?"
"I didn't even know who Ginny was until you explained who she was," Willow said, feeling really confused at this point. "Could you elaborate just a teeny bit, because I--"
"Harry loved her more than anything," Hermione cut in. "She'd been in love with him since she laid eyes on him before she even went to Hogwarts. After Parvati and Harry split up, Ginny could finally be with Harry. But Blaise taunted her, too... yes..." she continued, seeing the look of horror on Willow's face. "She told me everything. He didn't seduce her as easily as he had Parvati, but it was close enough to be considered cold and ruthless... Blaise has a blood fued with Harry, and I have to say, Willow... you would make such a lovely prize for the boy. Not to mention it would satisfy Draco's lust for--"
"Blaise said the price was already too high," Willow blurted out.
"What?" Hermione asked in a startled echo of a voice.
"He said that the price was too high," Willow replied quickly. "He said that Draco cared about me too much."
"Draco Malfoy..." Hermione said, clapping a hand over her mouth in horror. "Oh, no..."
"I'm afraid so," Willow said uncaringly, "but since I really don't care about such things, I don't really see what the problem--"
"Willow, listen to me," Hermione said, taking the other girl by the arm and pulling her into a dark corner around the hallway from their History class. "Draco likes you, okay, he likes you. He has the ability to go all psycho for a girl. These twisted games weren't meant for you."
"They were meant for Keira," Willow said quickly.
"Even so, you have to watch your back around the whole lot of them," Hermione cautioned, half of her face hidden in shadow. "He'll be coming for you, Willow. If you think anything about Blaise has scared you... you haven't seen or heard nothing yet."
Willow shuddered slightly at Hermione's words. "I... I'll try... thanks, Hermione."
Hermione gave her a comforting smile as the two walked around the corner to meet the rest of their classmates, who had gathered in front of the doors.
"Hey!" Harry said, moving to wrap an arm around Willow's shoulders and kiss her cheek. "I missed you at lunch!"
Willow gave him an endearing smile. "Lunch really isn't my thing," she said, desperately ignoring the looks Keira was sending her.
It wasn't until they were seated did Keira lift up her quill, lean over, and write on Willow's pad, 'Where were you?'
Willow obligingly sent her scroll and Keira's down to Harry, who continued to pass their homework down the row. Turning back to her pad, she wrote out, 'Wasn't hungry'.
Keira's writing was fast and furious. 'Not hungry? Where were you, really?'
'Zabini', Willow wrote regretfully.
Keira turned to her with a look that suggested Willow was out of her mind. Her next written message confirmed it. 'Are you out of your bloody mind?'
'I'll let you know'.
"Oh, Willow!" Keira moaned next to her.
Unfortunately, they were pulled back to the present as their History of Magic professor started lecturing again on the last Egyptian Wizards, smirking slightly at the intense level of late-teenage hormones circling the room.
University students really were such a wonder, after all...
- - - - -
Chapter 11... to be determined as of yet. This fic is now officially on hold until I write the next chapter! I hope you enjoyed this longer chapter to tide you over till then.
Okay, so the fight was a little juvenille, but it allowed Willow and Harry to connect on a new level. And Willow got to play a few seconds of Faith... which, speaking of the she-devil... hehehe.
I have so many ideas on which direction this fic could take. If you feel like inspiring me, go for it. I'm open to ideas. I'm just hoping you like the fact it's not really a twisted piece of junk anymore. I like it now... it's my friend... right. Ahem.
Well, I should respond to my reviewers...
Village-Mystic -- you so totally rock. Thank you for taking the time to read and review the chapters you have done. I redefined the story a bit, because it really wasn't agreeing with me a lot. Willow's point of view has been added in a bit, but I included others, too. If it was all Willow, it'd be biased. And since I didn't just take Willow out of her world and plunk her into this one, well... I don't know. Hopefully you're still liking what you read!
TaiOokamiYoukai -- This is quite an unconventional crossover that started as a birthday fic and turned into something I wasn't sure I liked until I made it fun. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this update! :)
lost angel92 -- Wish granted. :)
Mixer -- Thank you. I like Keira, too, but I'll be using other OCs soon enough, so Keira doesn't turn into a Mary Sue. I'm glad you're enjoying this!
meganw -- Willow and Draco, hmmm? I can see potential there, but I think having this sort of relationship works better, don't you think?
CapriceAnn -- I hope you're still enjoying this. It isn't updated nearly as much as it should be... because all of my attention is focused on the other one. Oh, well!