A/N: Here's Chapter Two! I hope you like the continuation!
Chapter Two: That Fateful Ball
Present Day:
Draco sighed softly, but winced as the woman beside him shifted in her peaceful sleep. Don't wake… not just yet…he thought to himself. Smiling softly as she settled down again, Draco leaned down and pressed his lips against her hair in a tender kiss before slipping from the bed once again and moving over to a large, bay window looking out over the grounds of his manor. Slouching down into the well-padded window seat, Draco leaned his forehead against the cool glass, watching the rain pound on the other side of the window. He brushed back his now chin-length hair into a small ponytail, letting a few stray strands fall to shield his eyes as more memories flooded back into his mind, memories of the Yule Ball that would change his life forever.
Ten Years Ago:
"Oh Aura, this is just going to be a blast!" Shrieked Pansy as she twirled in her frilly pink dress robes, watching the fabric float about her in the mirror. "I still can't believe you turned down all those offers of dancing partners. You pretty much had your choice of the male half of Slytherin, well… besides my Draco of course." She added smugly.
Aura, who now had been at Hogwarts for almost 3 months merely shrugged and regarded her own dress robes. "Well… it's just that I'd rather go alone, that way I don't have to stick with one partner throughout the Ball." Lazily, Aura pulled her dress robes on. They were of a black, silky fabric with deep sapphire spider web designs strewn across. The bottom hem was artfully jagged and the sleeves bloomed out in a wide bell style.
Pansy merely gave her a look that suggested Aura was insane to have turned down a date and go alone. She stuck her face close to the mirror, applying pink shadow on her eyes and pink cream onto her lips and cheeks. "Well, are you coming?" She asked, waiting for Aura at the door.
Aura had been pulling out the curlers in her hair, which now cascaded down her back and framed her face in delicate ringlets. "Just about…" She swept a pearly cream over her eyelids and lined the bottoms with black before pulling strappy, heeled sandals onto her feet and viewing the whole effect in the full-length mirror. "Yes, I think I am ready now…" She stuffed her wand into the sleeve of her robes and headed out into the common room with Pansy.
As Pansy raced to Draco's side to clutch his arm, Aura gasped softly at the sight of him. He appeared as an ice prince in black velvet robes with a high collar, his platinum hair falling softly into his cold gray eyes. The velvet surrounding his form only made his skin seem paler. She gave him a small wave and took her place leaning against the door to wait until they were all ready to go up to the entrance hall.
As they left, Draco appeared to be paying more visual attention to Aura as he chatted politely to Pansy. He had to admit that while Pansy looked glowing, Aura was simply stunning. It wasn't until they reach the entrance hall and the crowd of students already gathered before the doors of the Great Hall that conversation was halted as Draco caught sight of Ron's horrid and frayed dress robes. Just about to open his mouth to spew an insult at him, he heard Pansy hiss to Aura.
"Just what do you think you're doing?!" She whispered shrilly. It wasn't until Draco spotted Aura heading over to the trio did he understand and prepared a particularly nasty insult for the whole lot of them.
"I think your dress robes are very nice Ron." Aura smiled sweetly at a now gaping Ron. Had a Slytherin actually said something nice to him? Seeing Harry, Aura performed the customary flicker of her gaze up to the scar on his forehead and back to his eyes. "Harry Potter I presume?"
"Err, yea that's me…" Was all he could say. Why wasn't she over with Malfoy's crowd, jeering at him and Ron like the rest of them?
"Well, nice to meet you two." And she left, winding her way back to a still dumbfounded Draco and a furious Pansy. Harry and Ron simply gaped at each other and shrugged.
Aura winced as Pansy grabbed her arm roughly and yanked the Bulgarian towards the back of the crowd of students. "WHAT was that?!" She snarled at Aura, who remained perfectly calm as she pried Pansy off her forearm. Aura had seemed to be the only Slytherin who never joined in on the taunting of the Gryffindors, though she did wear the infamous "SUPPORT CEDRIC DIGGORY" badge. Though she much less often pressed it too her chest, flashing "POTTER STINKS" to the world.
"I really don't see a point in being cruel to them. They've ne'er done anything wrong to me, so why should I be mean to them?" Aura snapped at Pansy, then strolled back through the mass of students and into the Great Hall, the doors having just opened.
Still grumbling, Aura found her way to an empty table and sat down by herself. She clapped for the Weird Sisters when appropriate and turned down any offer to dance. She only showed vague interest in anything when Draco walked up to her table and sat down. "What, are you going to yell at me too?" She snapped at him.
"Actually no." He began calmly, setting a cup of punch in front of her and sipping from one himself. "I was just curious as to why you did that. Pansy won't shut up about it. She's planning to stick dungbombs in your bed, by the way." Draco added casually.
"Because it's a pointless waste of energy to torment them when they give me no reason to and I won't be forced to do it." She stated her voice far less annoyed, yet her tone still clipped.
"Just to let you know, that's not going to stop, me. I find it highly amusing. But that doesn't mean I'm going to force you…" Draco sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Aura, would you care to dance?"
Aura opened her mouth to decline, but something inside her clicked and the opposite response came out of her lips. "I'd love too." Standing gracefully, Aura took Draco's offered arm and he led her out onto the dance floor. Spotting Pansy, Aura laughed softly at the look she was giving her. If looks could kill, Aura would certainly be a pile of ash.
Draco too, chuckled at Pansy's appalled look and soon after the somber tune was through, he grabbed Aura's hand once again and snuck the two of them out of the Great Hall. "There's something I think you'd like to see…"
Despite Aura's questions, Draco remained silent throughout their walk. After several minutes of climbing stairs and navigating dark corridors, Draco pointed his wand at what seemed to be a random door. "Alohamora." He muttered and the door clicked open for them. Aura stepped into the dark and empty classroom, followed by Draco who closed the door behind him.
"Draco what's…" But Draco shushed Aura by placing a finger to his lips. Still remaining silent, Draco strode through the desks and chairs to the opposite wall, opening another door, which revealed a flight of stairs. Motioning for Aura to follow him, Draco began to climb the stairs and disappeared into the dark. Aura hurried to follow him, and when she broke free of the dark, her mouth opened and she gasped with surprise.
They were on the roof of the astronomy tower; the whole of Hogwarts lay below them. Draco was leaning against one of the railings that separated them from open space. His back was to Aura, though she could see he shed his dress robes and now wore dress pants and a loose white shirt. His eyes were fixed on the scene below. They were standing above the entrance to Hogwarts. On the grounds below were thousands of tiny glittering lights, fountains shooting water in the air and a maze of rosebushes. Aura soon joined Draco by the railing, her emerald eyes wide with awe at the scene that lay before them.
Before allowing her to take a look, Draco turned and made Aura stay in front of him. "I just realized… in nearly three months, I never asked you why you transferred here in the first place. Why did you?" At this, Aura looked to her feet. Draco instantly began to apologize, but she silenced him with a smile.
"My parents… they were afraid that if I stayed at Durmstrang… that I would fall into the Dark Lord's grasp. They didn't want that for me… so they sent me here where it's safe. Surely you've heard of the dark influences in Durmstrang…" Aura shrugged him off, though her eyes were sad. "But I do miss my home…" She whispered softly.
Finally Draco gave a small smile, though the thought of his own plans to join the Death Eaters jerked in his stomach. Shaking this feeling off, he took Aura's hands in his and led her to the balcony. "This is what I wanted to show you…" He whispered, his lips barely an inch from her ear.
"Draco… it's beautiful…" She whispered, though stopping when she felt a strong arm snaking around her waist. Turning still-wide eyes to Draco, she found herself becoming lost in his stormy gray orbs. She hadn't noticed how close he had gotten…
Draco interrupted her thoughts by gently pressing his lips to hers. Just as gently, he wrapped his other arm about her waist, encasing her in a tender embrace. After her initial shock was over, Aura snaked her own arms about his neck, drawing him just a bit closer.
All too soon did Draco part for air. "I'm sorry if you didn't want me to do that…" He began, his voice barely above a whisper. "But I've been wanting to do that for awhile…" Aura however, seemed unable to find her voice, so she simply smiled and laid her head against his chest, tucking it under his chin.
The two stayed like this for several minutes in comfortable silence until Draco spoke.
"I'm glad you came to Hogwarts Aura… thanks…"
"You're welcome…" Was the only response she offered. She could still hear music drifting up from the Great Hall seven floors below them. Gently, Draco began to sway. Aura moved with him and soon the two were silently dancing around the tower roof, Aura's head still tucked under Draco's chin. Draco though, had shifted only slightly so as to be able to rest his lips against the top of Aura's head.
Another hour or so passed in a haze as they danced and chatted on the astronomy roof. All too soon did they hear the music stop and saw the students who were outside start heading back in. "I think it's time we headed back…" Whispered Draco hesitantly. He had definitely changed tonight; he suspected his blooming feelings for Aura to be the culprit. Nevertheless, Draco would give anything to stay up in this tower forever with the ebony haired girl from Durmstrang.
Aura sighed softly and nodded. "Yes, we probably should head back…" She had the same blooming feelings for Draco and she felt if they stayed up here, then they would be able to simply freeze this perfect moment. Either way, Draco led Aura down the stairs leading to the empty classroom and down the seven floors into the dungeons and the Slytherin Common room. The sight that greeted them was not a pretty one.
The second Aura was inside the passageway, she was wrenched from Draco's grasp and into Pansy's. Aura gaped as Pansy's hand connected firmly with her cheek. Her eyes watered at the force of the slap. "You wench! You stole him from me!" Those were the only words Pansy screamed at Aura before slapping her again; this time Aura was backhanded, then storming into her dormitory. Those still in the common room heard the sound of things being thrown and soon Aura's trunk and belongings were hurled into the common room with such a forceful spell that they collided with the opposite wall and Aura's things were strewn across the room. Aura merely gaped at the scene before her for several minutes. There wasn't a sound in the common room, everyone seemed to be frozen. The silence was broken however, by Aura bursting into tears and slowly shuffling around, picking up her things. A few of the girls in Pansy's gang helped her, seeing how they grew to like Aura much more than Pansy. Several of the boys, along with Draco, Crabbe and Goyle, also helped her pick up her things and repair anything that had broken.
With the mess cleaned up, most of the students returned to their dormitories for the night. The few that remained were Aura, Draco the boys that shared his dormitory. "Aura… we talked about it, and you can stay in our dorm for the night." Draco whispered softly to her, motioning for the other boys to head inside and conjure a bed for her.
"No… I should just sleep out here where I belong…" Replied a still crying Aura. Clucking his tongue with sympathy, Draco pulled Aura into his arms and gently rubbed her back until she had calmed down. He smiled softly, lifting her chin to stare into her eyes.
"C'mon, we all insist that you stay in our dorm. We've even conjured up a bed for you…" She gave him a watery smile in response to his kindness and nodded slowly. Crabbe and Goyle hoisted her trunk up and carried it into the boys' dormitory. Luckily girls were allowed in there. Aura sniffled when she spotted the bed the boys had made for her. She was surprised at their kindness.
"Thank you…" She whispered, afraid anymore words would cause another flood of tears. Many of the boys just smiled back at her before falling into their beds. Draco squeezed Aura around the shoulders, planting a kiss on the top of her head before steering her into her very own four-poster bed. She drew the curtains closed and changed quickly into her nightclothes. Still sniffling, Aura squirmed under the covers and laid her head down, quickly falling asleep.