Jealousy Rears it's Ugly Head

"Artemis... slow down!" shouted Daegus, as he ran after, a speed walking Artemis.

"Oh.. Hi Deagus, I didn't see you there." Artemis lied. She had seen him and then darted the other way. She had been doing this for nearly four months now, and it was becoming quite tiring. On the upside, she had lost a few pounds, so she couldn't complain too much.

"Are you avoiding me?" Daegus asked sadly, as he took her books and carried them for her. Artemis smiled at him sweetly. Draco never carries my books, she thought.

"No, I'm not avoiding you. I've just been really busy. How have you been?"

"Worried... about you."

"Why? I'm fine."

"You've been spending a lot of time with that ferret. I wasn't sure if you still cared for me or not." Artemis' heart nearly broke as she stared at a distraught Daegus. He nervously ran his hand through his hair, before dragging her into the nearest empty classroom.

"The school year is almost over. Have you thought about... us... leaving, at all? Daegus asked apprehensively.

"Umm, yes. But not lately. I've been studying for exams." Artemis lied again. She was becoming pretty good at that.

"There's only two week's left!" Daegus whined.

"Give me until Sunday. I'll answer you then." Artemis hoped this would get him off of her back. Truth be told, she had made up her mind months ago. She was going to take her chances with Draco. Even if they couldn't fall madly in love, than at least, they could be friends. Ever since Draco had apologized four months ago, they had gotten along very well. The two would spend time together, at some point, every day. On the weekends they would spend their time in the Great Hall or the Library, just talking and getting to know each other better. Artemis was pretty sure that she could be happy with Draco as her husband. Daegus cleared his throat, snapping her out of her reverie.

"Fine, Sunday's good. Meet me outside the portrait hole at curfew, and we'll talk." Deagus sat his and Artemis' books down and wrapped his strong arms around her small waist, drawing Artemis close to him. He then rested his chin on the top of her head and whispered, "Don't let him fool you into thinking he's some great guy, because he's not. He'll never be able to love you like I do... and always will." With that said, he kissed her lightly on the forehead and handed her, her books. After he was gone Artemis sighed loudly, "Why does he have to be so freaking sweet!" She then stormed out of the classroom and headed to the Ravenclaw common room. Once the room had been emptied, a widely smiling and very satisfied Pansy Parkinson stepped out of the closet.

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"Draco if we practice every single day, we're going to get worn out!"

"I don't care Blaise, that Quidditch Cup is mine... er... ours." Draco spat nastily. The Quidditch season was drawing to a close and Draco was determined to finally beat Gryffindor. Sighing in resignation, Blaise changed the subject.

"So how are things with the Misses?" he asked. Blaise had taken to calling Artemis "The Misses", much to her chagrin. However, Draco didn't mind it, at all. He had become quite comfortable with the thought of Artemis being his wife. Before Draco could answer Blaise's question, the doors to the common room slammed open and a smug looking Pansy Parkinson, attempted, to strut over to the two boys. Neither was thrilled, at the prospect of Pansy approaching them.

"Yes?" hissed Blaise impatiently, as she stood before them, fluttering her overly mascaraed eyelashes.

"So Drakie-poo, how is married life treating you?" she asked, not even trying to hide her sarcasm.

"Not that it's any of your business, but things are going splendidly," he spat. God, he hated her. If she wasn't naked or on her knees, she was completely useless.

"Oh really? Well, If things are so splendid with you and your fiancé!" Pansy shouted, hoping everyone could hear, "then why did I just see her and Daegus DeMarco cuddling in an abandoned classroom?" More importantly than that, why is she planning on meeting with him on Sunday to give him the answer to a very important... very pressing question?" Pansy beamed at Draco proudly, as the entire common room looked on. Some whispered, while others looked on, stunned. Draco looked furious, his normally pale cheeks flushed a deep shade of red.

"Shut the fuck up, Parkinson. Keep your lies to yourself." Blaise was trying desperately to calm a livid Draco, before he did something he would regret. Pansy ignored Blaise and continued with her goading.

"I told you that Muggle loving bitch, was nothing but trash, and she just proved me right." Pansy turned sharply and went up to her dorm room, having done what she set out to do.

"Ignore her Draco, she's just pissed she got thrown out like yesterday's trash. If Artemis had done anything wrong, you'd know by now." Draco hadn't heard a word Blaise had said, his heart pounding so loudly it echoed in his ears. Draco, had finally had enough. He stormed out of the common room and headed towards the Ravenclaw dorms.

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As he approached the Ravenclaw portrait hole, he searched for someone who could go inside and fetch Artemis, for him. Seeing no one, he sighed loudly and approached the portrait.

"Can I help you, young man?" asked the portrait of an old librarian.

"I need to speak to Artemis Fowlington. Now." spat Draco rudely.

"You'll get no where with that tone, young man." The portrait then returned to her desk and began reading her book once again.

"Can you please get her. It's really important." Draco tried to keep his cool, but it wasn't working all that well. The librarian, apparently took pity on him, and stood and left her portrait. A few minutes after she had returned, the door opened and Artemis came out.

"Hi!" she shouted happily, surprised to see Draco there. He just stared at her, his anger more than obvious.

"Can we go somewhere private and talk?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"All right... what's the matter?" Draco ignored her question and grabbed her arm, half dragging her to some unknown destination. Growing tired of his rough handling of her, Artemis jerked her arm away from him.

"What the hell has gotten into you?"

"Not here," he spat, trying to pull her away from the doors of the Great Hall.

"Stop it!" Artemis wrenched herself from his vice-like grip. "You're hurting me!"

"And I suppose DeMarco never hurts you, right?" Draco had lost it, he had tried to do this in private but she just had to keep pushing.

"What are you talking about?"

"Why were you in an empty class room, cuddling with Daegus DeMarco?" Draco's hands were balled tightly into fists and trained stiffly at his sides. At the sound of their shouting, the students in the Great Hall came out to investigate the source of the commotion.

"We were just talking! Why?"

"About what?"

"Nothing important," she whispered, suddenly feeling extremely guilty. Draco couldn't take it anymore. After the last four months of trying so hard to be nice and polite to her, she was still considering running off with DeMarco, and she was lying about it. Draco was hurt, though he wouldn't admit it, so he reverted back to his usual cruel self.

"Everyone, was right about you! You are nothing but a lying, unworthy, pathetic, muggle loving whore!" Draco was fuming, his face so red, it was a wonder he hadn't passed out. Artemis was shocked by his outrage. Granted she did feel slightly guilty, about her secret meetings with Daegus, she didn't feel she deserved this. As Artemis pondered her predicament, Draco continued his tyraid. "...stupid, ungrateful..." Artemis' eyes began to tear up and she fought to hold them at bay. "...disgusting, disgraceful, obnoxious wench! And I wish the both of you all the fucking happiness in the world!" Draco finally stopped screaming and glared at his sobbing fiancé, as he fought to control his breathing. He approached her, closing what little space there had been between their bodies.

"Are you afraid?" he hissed.

"Should I be?" she whispered, lifting her gaze from the floor and staring into his cold grey eyes.

"Yes." Draco stormed down the corridor leaving a shocked Artemis behind. Once he was gone, several students went over to Artemis and tried to console her. She shooed them away and left for the safety of her bed.

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As Draco reached his common room, he flung the doors open and stalked inside. His face, still slightly pink, and his chest heaving, as he tried to slow his breath. Blaise looked up, as his angry friend approached. All of the other Slytherin students cleared the room, as they were all well aware of how dangerous Draco was when he was in one of his moods.

"What did you do?" questioned Blaise, unsure wether he really even wanted to know what the idiot had done.

"Nothing that wasn't warranted." Draco glared angrily into the fire, as he thought quietly to himself. Seeing that Draco had returned, Pansy stalked across the room and perched herself on his knee. Draco was tempted to shove her off of him, but thought better of it, Perhaps word will make it back to Artemis, just how friendly I've been with Pansy. He then slid his arm around her waist and pulled her close. She rested her head against his and smirked proudly.

"You're an idiot, you know that Draco." Blaise stormed out of the common room, disgusted by the sight of his best friend.

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As Artemis rushed up the stairs, trying to get to her room, she heard someone calling her name. When she turned around, she came face to face with Daegus. Great, just what I need, she thought sarcastically. Once he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her.

"Are you all right?" Daegus asked, his voice showing his concern. She nodded weakly and turned, trying to leave. Daegus grabbed her softly and pulled her back to him.

"I told you he didn't deserve you, Artemis. What do you say we just leave this place? Tonight, as soon as we can."

"Daegus... I can't leave my family," she started, but he interrupted her.

"You're joking right? Your family's the one who got you into this mess," seeing he was getting no where, Daegus amended, "look, just keeping thinking about it. We'll meet as planned on Sunday. Ok?" Artemis nodded, slightly annoyed by his persistence, and left.

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The next morning, the school was buzzing about what had happened yesterday, between the engaged couple. Artemis quickly tired of all of the whispering and decided to excuse herself from the Great Hall. As she reached her room, Artemis noticed a large group of girls huddled around her bed.

"What the hell are you all doing around my bed?" she snapped, annoyed by the lack of consideration for her private space. The crowd dispersed and Artemis was able to see what had grabbed their attention. She gasped loudly, surprised by the sight in front of her. Her bed was covered with flowers, and not just one kind either. Dozens and dozens of Tulips, Lilly's and Orchids were laid out before her. On the top of her pillow lay a small box and envelope. Opening the envelope first, she pulled out a letter, recognizing at once, that the handwriting belonged to Draco. The letter was Draco's way of apologizing. After finishing her letter, she opened the small gift box. Inside was a beautiful platinum heart-shaped locket, her birth stone imbedded into the top right curve of the heart. She loved it! As she took the necklace out of its box, she felt something on the back. Flipping it over, she discovered the date, March 14, 2005, was engraved on the heart. She didn't have the slightest idea, what the date meant, though. She'd have to ask him.

"Are you going to forgive him?" asked Cosette, smiling hopefully.

"Yes, I think I will." Cosette mouthed a silent "yes" in victory. Draco had come to Cosette earlier that day, and asked her to help him find a way to make Artemis forgive him. He had made it very clear that he felt terrible about how he had behaved, and he wanted to make it right. So Cosette had agreed to help him.

"I think I'll go find him," she whispered as she left her room.

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Draco had been sitting outside the Ravenclaw dorms for nearly twenty minutes. He had followed Artemis from the Great Hall, hoping to be outside the door after she found his apology. God I hope this works, he thought sullenly. He knew he had been a complete asshole the other day, and he regretted everything he had said to her. Draco hadn't slept a wink that night, all he could think about was how he had, yet again, hurt her because he can't handle being jealous. As his classmates passed him by, they stared at him strangely. Some, who were obviously friends of Artemis', glared at him, having either witnessed or heard about what he had done. Draco couldn't blame them, he knew he had screwed up.

"Excuse me, Draco..." whispered a small boy, dressed in Ravenclaw robes. Draco knew immediately that the boy was a first year, he was too small to be any older.

"What?"

"I can go inside and get Artemis for you... if you want me to." The little boy offered shyly.

"No, but thanks. I'm sure she'll come out when she's ready. What's your name?"

"Dinsmore... Robert, Dinsmore." stuttered the shy first year.

"Thanks Robert."

"Your welcome... and goodluck at the Quidditch finals tomorrow, I hope you destroy Gryfinddor!" After saying his piece, the young boy took off, leaving Draco to continue waiting in silence. Shortly after the boy had gone, the portrait hole opened and Artemis walked out.

"Hi!" she exclaimed, shocked to see Draco right outside the door.

"Hi... did you get my letter?" he asked quietly, not sure if she was happy to see him or not.

"Yes, I got it. The flowers and locket are very beautiful. Thank you." Artemis smiled uneasily, highly uncomfortable with their current behavior towards one another.

"Artemis, I'm really sorry for the way I behaved yesterday, for everything I said to you. I know your not doing anything wrong, but I just can't stand the thought of you and DeMarco together." Draco said trying to explain to her why he had reacted so badly. He couldn't help but feel like it was a lame excuse, but it was the only one he had.

"Draco, you can't treat me like that every time you get jealous! It's not fair to me. I don't treat you like that when I see Pansy hanging all over you. You've got to learn how to handle your temper. Otherwise, this is going to be a pretty screwed up relationship." Draco took Artemis' hand and led her to a nearby bench. After they were seated, he turned to her, his face still showing his regret.

"When I said that you should be scared of me, I didn't mean it. I never want you to fear me." Draco said sadly.

"Then why did you say it?"

"Look, for a long time, my Father was... well, not a nice man. He always felt it was necessary to scare people into compliance. They won't challenge what they fear, he used to say. That's how he always handled me. If I did something wrong, he'd scare me shitless, so I didn't do it again. I guess I'm more like him than I thought." Draco trailed off, clearly not thrilled at the prospect of being like his father.

"No, you're not. You just need to find a better way of communicating your disapproval." Artemis reached up and gently stroked his white blonde hair. Comforted by the gesture, he leaned into her touch.

"On the back of the locket, there's a date... what does it mean?" she asked, changing the subject to a more pleasant one.

"March 15th, that's the day we finally started trying to make this work. That Saturday in the Room of Requirement. Don't you remember?"

"Of course, I just wasn't aware of the date." Artemis smiled at Draco, his eyes having softened, no longer filled with worry. " I must say Mr. Malfoy, you're beginning to sound like a hopeless romantic." Artemis teased, as she ran her fingers over the locket fastened around her neck. Draco said nothing, instead he leaned forward and placed a sweet kiss on the corner of her lips.

"Twenty points from Slytherin and Ravenclaw!" shouted an irritated man. Both Artemis and Draco snapped their heads in the direction of the intruder.

"What the hell for!" shouted a pissed off, Draco.

"Not that I owe you an explanation, ferret, but for inappropriate conduct. And, by the way, your language just cost your house another twenty points." Deagus smirked at the livid boy.

"You can't take that many points! I hardly even kissed her. It certainly wasn't inappropriate."

"I'm Head Boy, I can take as many points as I please," with that said, Daegus sauntered away from the couple.

"What an ass!" seethed Draco, as he stood and offered his arm to Artemis, who had remained seated and silent.

"Let's forget about that ass-clown." Draco said, trying to lighten the dampened mood, Daegus had brought with him. "Are you coming to the match tomorrow?" Draco tried desperately to sound as indifferent as possible, but his question came out a bit strangled.

"You know Quidditch isn't my thing. "

"Oh all right. I just thought that since I was playing, and it was the finals, and you've never been to one of my matches, you'd come. But it doesn't matter." Draco was really disappointed that she wasn't coming to the match. As usual, it was Slytherin versus Gryffindor, and this time, Draco was sure he could trump Potter. He had been training his team mercilessly all year and he was one-hundred percent sure that they'd win.

"You know what? Your right, I should go. After all, if I'm to be a good, doting wife, I'll have to be able to, at least, pretend I enjoy your hobbies," joked Artemis, having sensed Draco's disappointment.

"You don't have to go, Artemis. It's all right, really." He was lying through his teeth and he knew it.

"I know I don't have to, but I want to. Well, I don't want to watch Quidditch, but I do want to watch you."

"All right then!" exclaimed Draco happily. "Besides, my father owled this morning to tell me that he and my mother would be coming, along with your parents."

"My parents? Why are they coming?" Artemis didn't like the idea of being ambushed by both their parents again.

"Don't know, but he said that they needed to talk to us about something. Something important, but he didn't specify what." Draco wasn't looking at Artemis while he spoke, instead he was frantically looking around the hall.

"What are you looking for?" she asked, annoyed by his odd behavior.

"I need to tell you something, but I want to make sure we're alone first." Draco finished his inspection of the hall and turned to Artemis before whispering, "My father also said that a scout for England's Quidditch team will be there also. He wants to watch me play!"

"That's wonderful, Draco. You must be nervous."

"Yeah, I am, but I'm glad you'll be there. It means a lot to me." Artemis couldn't help, but smile at Draco's words. She was getting ready to wrap her arms around him, when someone cleared their throat.

"Mr. Malfoy, why aren't you in the Great Hall eating supper? I'll not have my star seeker skipping meals, especially when the finals are tomorrow," drawled Professor Snape impatiently.

"I was just talking to Artemis..."

"Well, now you're done. Go eat your supper and then get right to bed. I will not settle for another loss to Gryffindor!" Professor Snape hissed, as he stormed down the corridor. When he was completely out of sight, Artemis and Draco couldn't help but laugh.

"I should get going though," whispered Draco as he placed another kiss upon her forehead.

"Bye and good luck tomorrow. I won't see you until after the match."

"Bye"

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Authors Note:

I just wanted to say, Thank you, to everyone who has taken the time to read and review this story. Every time I read one of your review's I feel compelled to continue writing. It makes the entire process even more, worth-while.

Also, I will be using 88888 to represent scene breaks. I finally had the chance to go back and read the story, and realized I didn't indicate scene breaks. Hopefully, this will make the story easier to read.