Run Away
The Christmas holidays passed quickly, much to the student's dismay. None were all that enthusiastic, as they filed out of the doors of the Hogwarts Express. Least excited of them all was Artemis Fowlington. Her last term at Hogwarts, had been a less than enjoyable experience, thanks to a certain blonde haired, pain in the ass. To say she wasn't looking forward to her second term, was an understatement of dynamic proportions. To be honest, Artemis wasn't looking forward to much of anything. The last six months, had taken its toll on her. The normally happy and expressive young woman, had become a shell of her former self. Her once, bright blue eyes were now, constantly, fighting back tears. Her naturally fair skin had become so pale, that she looked seriously unwell. Most of Artemis' friends, though concerned for her well being, had long since given up trying to change her mood. So she had taken to spending a great deal of her time alone. The only person who had yet to abandon her, was her best friend. Cosette, no longer, tried to talk Artemis out of her depression. She would simply sit with her distraught friend, keeping her company, while she cried.
For the first two months of the second term, there was little change to Artemis' demeanor. The meetings she had with Draco were very hard on her. The two had not spoken, since their argument, at the end of the first term. When they gathered in the Room of Requirement, for their monthly meeting, Artemis would spend her eight hours on one side of the room, while Draco stayed, on the other. It was as if, one did not exist to the other. Many had tried, in earnest, to convince the pair to, at least, attempt to work things out, but none were successful.
"Artemis... do you want to go down for breakfast?" asked Cosette, as she put on her school robes, that Monday morning.
"I'm not really hungry, but I'll go with you." Artemis smiled softly at her friend, as she came out of her closet dressed in her school uniform. Cosette had noticed, that over the last three days, Artemis had begun to eat more at meals, and was able to sleep through the night, she had even taken to smiling again. Overall, her mood had been vastly improved, which was a huge relief for Cosette, who had spent a great deal of time worrying about her best friend. The only thing that bothered Cosette, was that she didn't have the slightest idea, what had caused this change.
"I'm really glad, you're feeling better." Cosette said softly as she hugged her dearest friend tightly. "You had me really worried. You're like a sister to me."
"Oh darling, you always know just what to say..." joked Artemis, as she headed for the door, Cosette following closely behind. As the girls walked down the corridor that led to the Great Hall, Cosette finally asked Artemis the question that had plagued her, for the past few days.
"Artemis, what changed?"
"What do you mean?"
"You just snapped out of it, all of a sudden! Nothing any of us did, helped, and then one morning it was just... over." Artemis looked around quickly, trying to see if anyone was listening.
"I'll tell you, but you can't say anything to anyone. All right?"
"My lips are sealed." Cosette pretended to lock her lips together and throw away the key.
"Well, you remember how Daegus asked me to the Yule Ball last term?" Cosette nodded. "Well, while we were dancing, he whispered in my ear, that if there was anyway for him to prevent me from having to marry Draco, he would do it. Even if it meant marrying me right then."
"Shut up! Did he really say that?" Cosette stood there, mouth agape in astonishment.
"Yes. Now we both already knew that our getting married wouldn't do anything. I can't be bound to anyone other than Draco, as long as the contract exists. But then he said, that if I ever needed anything, a hug or just someone to talk to, that I knew where to find him."
"That's so sweet," gushed Cosette. "Justin never says anything like that to me. I'm lucky if he remembers my name.
"So, a few nights ago I was really upset because I have to meet with Draco again on Saturday. I just needed to get out, sort my thoughts, that sort of thing. So I snuck out of the tower"
"Wait..." interjected Cosette, taking a hold of Artemis' hand and guiding her into an empty alcove nearby. "Last thing we need is for Professor Snape to sneak up and hear you were out after hours."
"So I was wandering the halls, just thinking to myself and all of a sudden, I run smack into something and landed right on my back. My arms were flailing about ridiculously, my legs were nearly over my head, knickers exposed to the world!" Artemis laughed at the thought of how silly she must have looked. Cosette was trying very hard not to laugh, but had failed miserably, her hand clutched tightly over her mouth.
"Sorry, I'm not laughing at you."
"Yes, you are. But that's ok, it was pretty funny." Artemis said, allowing her friend to settle down, before continuing with the story. "So I'm laying on the ground, completely exposed, when I hear someone laughing at me."
"It wasn't Snape, was it?"
"No, it was Deagus."
"Deagus? What was he doing out of the dorms?"
"He's Head Boy, remember, he has to patrol the halls at night."
"Right, forgot about that."
"So he's laughing at me, right. For all intents and purposes, I should have been pissed he was laughing instead of helping me up, but for some reason, I started laughing too. And you know what happens when I laugh too hard, I..."
"Snort!" gasped Cosette, "tell me you didn't snort."
"Yep, I snorted, so loud that it echoed in the halls, which made him laugh even harder. And that made me laugh harder, which made me snort again. It just kept going, on and on, like that. He was leaning against the wall, laughing so hard, he had tears streaming down his face. Then, all of a sudden, we just got really quiet. He came and laid down, next to me, asked me if there was anything he could do."
"What did you say?" asked Cosette softly.
"Nothing. So he just laid there with me, for hours. He didn't try to tell me that everything would be all right or that Draco's not all that bad. He just laid there with me."
"That's all it took? I've spent months doing that!" exclaimed Cosette her voice cracking slightly.
"I know, that's what doesn't make any sense. With him it was just... different. Don't think I don't appreciate your not walking out on me, like everyone else did. Cosette, I couldn't have lived without you these last few months!" Artemis hoped that her friend would understand. "It's just that, well... I think I love him." Cosette's eyes widened in shock. She hadn't thought things were that serious between Deagus and Artemis.
"All right... I understand, I'm not nearly as hot as Deagus." Cosette joked, smiling reassuringly at her worried friend.
"You know what else he said? He said, that if I really didn't what to marry Draco, I didn't have to."
"What? Haven't you told him the details of the contract?"
"Yes, but if I don't follow through with it, then I'm banished, that's all."
"That's all? What the hell do you mean, that's all?" Cosette couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"He said that we could run away together. That he would leave, all of this behind, for me. So that we could be together" Artemis smiled excitedly.
"Are you going to?" asked Cosette, not sure if she really wanted to know the answer.
"I don't know, I adore him, but I'd miss my family, my friends and I love magic," explained the confused young woman.
"I'm happy you have another option, but I don't want to lose you."
"I don't want to lose you either. I told him that we needed to wait until the end of this term, before we decided anything. So I still have some time to decide."
"That is so romantic," whispered Cosette smiling at Artemis, "your running away together. I'm sure your babies will be beautiful."
"Oh shut up!" shouted Artemis, blushing slightly, "remember, not a word to anyone. My dad, not to mention Lucuis Malfoy, would skin me alive if they knew."
888888888888888888888888888888888888
When the girls finally made it to the Great Hall, for breakfast, Daegus left his friends, so that he could sit with Artemis. The two chatted animatedly, laughing loudly on occasion. Many people took notice of the change in the formerly depressed young woman's behavior. They also noticed, how friendly she had become with the Head Boy.
8888888888888888888888888888888888
"I see Artemis is feeling better," said Professor McGonagall happily, to the Headmaster.
"Yes, so it seems. Let us hope she is being careful and that she doesn't rush into anything without fully examining the consequences."
"What do you know?" asked Severus, knowing that the old man was withholding information. Albus did not answer.
888888888888888888888888888888888888
Meanwhile, at the Slytherin table, Draco and Blaise, were chatting feverishly, about the Quittach pratice schedule.
"Why do we need to practice, every day?" shouted Blaise angrily.
"Because I'm captain and I said so," replied Draco, matter of factly. Just then Pansy Parkinson jumped from her seat and rushed out of the Great Hall, getting Draco and Blaise's attention in the process.
"What the hell is Pansy up to?" asked Blaise curiously.
"Don't know, don't care."
"Hey, isn't that Daegus DeMarco, schmoozing your misses?" Blaise pointed at the pair across the room, who were talking and smiling happily. Draco looked, to where his friend had pointed, his jaw clenching tightly at the sight before her.
"Who care's." Draco went back to eating his breakfast. From time to time, he would glance over at the unofficial couple, hoping to find that Deagus had left. He had no such luck.
"For someone who doesn't care, you sure are watching her pretty closely"
"Shove off, Zabini!" Draco grabbed his belongings and stormed out of the Great Hall.
8888888888888888888888888888888888888
As he headed for the library, he tried to calm himself down. Though he didn't want to admit it, he was angered by Deagus' interaction with Artemis. As he rounded the corner, he collided with someone knocking his books to the ground.
"Could this day get any worse?" He huffed, forgetting to insult the person who had run into him.
"Draco!" exclaimed a startled Pansy. "You scared me." She smiled at him innocently.
"What are you up to?" he asked nastily.
"What do you mean?"
"I've known you forever, Pansy, I know when you're up to something. Now what is it?" He hissed dangerously.
"I can't tell you, but you'll find out very shortly, and you'll love me for it. Let's just say, I've solved your marital woes." Pansy turned and left.
"This is not good, not good at all," whined Draco, knowing full well, that Pansy's involvement could never be helpful.