Finished this a little late but hey for everyone, who wants to ignore their family members now that Christmas is over but you're still stuck visiting, you're now able to read this. So you're welcome.
Merry late Christmas Everyone and I hope you had a lovely time \(^-^)/
Or happy holidays if you don't celebrate Christmas. Or if you don't celebrate anything than that's cool too. Just be happy and try not to die and stuff.
Anyway, hope you enjoy :)
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"I'm surprised you two haven't been expelled already."
"Thank you."
George turned from his brother and smiled at me. I rolled my eyes at them and stood up straight. The boys were still looking around the corner of the corridor, watching Filch's office. He wasn't there, as far as we could see. I turned, looking around the other side. There were no students in sight either, not that there should be. Even with the office being adjacent to the Entrance Hall people avoided this place like a plague.
"Are you sure you want to go with this plan?" I asked the two, for what felt like the fifteenth time. Both looked at me for a second before standing up straight too.
"We already waited this long for you. How much patience do you think we have?" Fred grumbled as they stepped closer to me.
"That's true. I guess I have learned by now you two have no self control" I sighed. George chuckled as Fred just gave me a smirk. I gave a small smile back at the two. "Can't you at least think of a better way to go about this?"
"What's wrong with our way?" Fred whined.
"I've told you," I groaned slightly, "Professor Snape saw me making the potion for those caramels. I just want to make sure whatever you do will not get traced back to me."
"He won't see us" George waved the comment away.
"And so what if he does" Fred shrugged, glancing behind him for a moment.
"I'm not telling you not to do it, just be smart on how you go about it" I insisted. The two looked at each other before smiling at me.
"Are you doubting our intelligegance?" Fred asked, crossing his arms.
"Well, I know you know how to say intelligence" I said with a look. "But what is your plan here, exactly?"
"It's simple really" George stepped closer, putting an arm around me.
"We'll sneak into his office—"
"Drop off the sweets—"
"Then sneak back and watch our masterpiece unfold" finished Fred with a nod. I looked between them before shaking my head.
"Now I'm concerned you don't know what a 'masterpiece' is."
"Relax," George wrapped his other arm around me too, binding me in a hug, "we've been doing this sort of thing since before you came to Hogwarts."
"And how many times have you been in detention since then?" I questioned. Both looked away from me. I let out a sigh. "Fine, I'll tell you what. Give me twenty minutes to think of something better. If I can't, then you do what you want."
"If you think you can" Fred scoffed to his side. I smiled back.
"Don't get those caramels confiscated while I'm gone" I warned and pulled away from George's grip. He grumbled a little but let go. "Just don't move for the next twenty minutes or so, alright?"
"You got it, boss lady" Fred nodded with a salute, in which he decided to stay.
"First this" George added and leaned in to kiss me. After a second he pulled back and moved to stand next to his brother before entering a pose of his own. The two stood their ground, not moving from their chosen stance. A moment went by before I let out a sigh and shook my head at them.
"You two are idiots" I called and turned for the stairs into the Slytherin dungeon.
As I made my way down the steps I tried to think of a plan; one better than just leaving suspicious sweets on his desk. First, I would need to know where Filch was. But then what? It was unlikely he would accept them as a gift either. It would have to be something more thoughtful than that.
I walked into the common room, still thinking about possible options to act upon. Without much thought I moved to where Daphne was. I needed my puppy's help for this one and if he wasn't with me Lev usually spent his time with her. As I approached the group of girls Daphne was with I saw I was right. My puppy was laying down next to her as she chatted with them. He seemed comfortable enough among the group but stood as soon as he saw me coming.
"Oh hey," Daphne greeted me, having noticed Lev getting restless at my presence. The girls she was sitting by all gave me their own form of hello's to which I mainly waved back. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to be up wandering the grounds for the day."
"I will, I just need Lev to help me with something" I answered, grabbing my puppy from his seat next to her. He barked happily at me and tried to lick my have as I adjusted him against me.
"Katerina, have you heard what Abigail did at the last Hogsmeade visit?" one of the girls asked. I frowned, not quite being able to place the name or why I should care. Though it did sound somewhat familiar.
"Do you mean when Daphne—"
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Daphne interrupted, standing up hastily. "I need to talk to you about something. Come this way."
Daphne linked her arm with mine and walked me to the other side of the common room. Lev barked at her curiously but she didn't react. It wasn't until we were as far from the group as possible that Daphne let me go, turning back slightly to look at them. Once satisfied they weren't focused on us she turned back to me and let out an exaggerated breath.
"What are you lying to people about now?" I asked, figuring that was the issue here. Daphne let out a sigh, confirming my question was right.
"Well," she huffed, flipping her hair out of her face, which usually signaled the beginning of a rant of sorts. "Do you remember how last Hogsmeade visit we were in that shop and I really wanted that gorgeous navy blue scarf, with the matching glove set. And how Abigail bought it, even though I saw it first, and refused to hand it over to me even when I asked nicely? Which of course I didn't have to since it was mine and she just happened to buy it first—"
"Vaguely" I replied honestly. But she took that as a yes.
"Well she wouldn't give it to me, even after we got back, so I started telling everyone she's cheating on Ryan with Mark."
"Why would you do that?" I shook my head at her, though not entirely sure who either of them was either. She shrugged back.
"Because, Mark is always flirting with her when Ryan isn't around anyway, so they might as well be. Besides, Ryan is gorgeous, and Abigail's a bitch" she crossed her arms as if that's all the reason she needed to potentially end a relationship. I rolled my eyes at her.
"Normally I'd correct your petty arguments but right now I have something to do and you just spent five minutes of the allotted time I had talking about clothes and the relationship of two people I'm not entirely sure I know. Just promise me this isn't going to be one of those things I end up having to fix for you because someone tried to sneak into our room and cut your hair in the middle of the night, again."
"I promise I'll try" Daphne smiled back. It was close enough.
"Fine. I'll see you at dinner" I called back, moving towards the exit. Lev barked again, as a goodbye, and Daphne waved back.
Whatever she was planning to do was her issue. It's not like she didn't do this sort of thing now and then. I just found it annoying when it got the rest of us involved. But instead of fixating on that I took Lev out of the common room, back up the stairs, and out into the grounds. We needed to find Filch before any part of this plan could be set into place.
After a quick explanation of what I needed from him Lev let out a bark and fixed his attention to the area in front of us. I set my puppy down and followed after him. He had experience searching for Filch. Since it wasn't exactly rare we go places we weren't meant to go, Lev learned to be able to place him, or anyone else, so we may avoid them properly. It had come in very useful for those late night walks.
It took another moment but we found Filch and his cat roaming about the grounds with his usual scowl. The only problem was, I still was unsure of how to get him to eat the sweets. The man was overly suspicious by nature so it wouldn't help to gift him the box of caramels. And if he saw them anywhere near Fred and George he would probably stick the sweets in a glass case and have that terrible cat of his guard them day and night. But… what if it were another student with the sweets? Another student, one who had no direct connection to the twins. Then Filch might consider the caramels harmless.
"Watch him, don't get too close. I'm going to go get Fred and George, okay?" I said softly. Lev gave me a low barked and wagged his tail. With a pat on his head I stepped away.
Now the issue was finding who I could get to give Filch the caramels. I suppose the simple answer was to have Astoria do it. But I couldn't very well do that seeing as I already owed her one favor. With a sigh I walked slowly back inside, still thinking it over. Just as I was about to head into the castle I paused, spotting a second year Slytherin in the nearby courtyard. He could be useful. With that thought in mind I gave myself a nod and headed in his direction.
"David, right?" I asked the boy as I reached him. He looked over to me with a look of slight shock. It wasn't that surprising, really; I wasn't even sure I had spoken to him directly before.
"It's Daniel, actually" he said cautiously. Well, I had been close.
"I need something done. Want to make a deal?" I offered.
"What kind of thing?" he asked me but looked willing enough. Good.
"I need Filch to take something from you, a box of caramels. You'll snack on one of the sweets and have him take the rest" I said simply. Daniel waited for a moment as if expecting me to continue. When I didn't he gave a slight frown.
"That's it?"
"That' all you have to do. That and keep the fact to yourself, obviously. Also, the caramels might make you go mute for a couple of hours" I mumbled, figuring that was one of those things he probably would want to know. His eyes grew slightly, which told me that was right.
"Go what?" the boy asked, giving me the same look.
"Mute" I repeated calmly. He didn't look sure even after the confirmation, in fact he looked rather confused.
"So is this something you did, or found. or where did you get the—"
"Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to" I warned him, though I really shouldn't have to. This was why I liked Astoria better.
"I—I'll…" he mumbled, thinking about it. The boy paused, still pondering what action to take. After another moment however, he gave a nod. "Alright. Fine, I'll do it."
"So what do you want in exchange?" I asked, knowing that there was something he must have in mind. For a second David just stood there, pondering the question. Then he let out a sigh and gave me a stern look.
"Astoria."
"You want what now?" I asked, wondering if I had said her name out loud. He didn't look like he was repeating my words, however.
"I really like her and Astoria—she looks up to you. Can you get her to go out with me?" he stuttered out his request. His face turned a shade more pink, as if ashamed of the fact.
"Why don't you just ask her yourself?" I frowned slightly, not understanding why I had to have any direct involvement in this.
"I have" David shook his head, frowning back. "She says she's not interested in dating anyone right now."
"So why don't you let it go?"
"I have so far" he grumbled looking off to the side. "But if I can convince her—if you can convince her, then why not try?"
"And you are willing to go mute for a few hours?" I repeated, making sure he was not going to change his mind sooner than not.
"It's just two or three hours, right?"
"Yes, that's all they last" I nodded, thinking of how quickly Pansy was able to get over the symptoms. If only they had lasted a little longer…
"Then I'll do it, if you'll keep up your end" he nodded back. He looked me in the eyes and extend his hand to me.
"Deal" I shook his in return. "Now, I have to go get the sweets. Wait for me here, I shouldn't be long."
David gave me a firm nod in reply. I turned back and started towards the castle. Now all I needed was the sweets. And getting the other two to come along I suppose, this was technically for them. Being mindful of the other students, making sure they didn't turn their attention where it wasn't wanted, I found my way back to Filch's office. There Fred and George stood, holding the same positions they had been before I left. I let out a sigh and stepped in front of them.
"Have you been standing like that this entire time?" I asked, watching them stretch out of their previously frozen state.
"I guess you'll never know" George smirked at me, leaning down to give me a quick kiss.
"Did you manage to think of anything better?" Fred asked me, swinging his arm around in circles to loosen up.
"Yes actually" I gave them a half smile. The issue hadn't really been thinking of a plan but rather finding a way for it to work.
"So what's the genius plan?" George asked, moving to wrap both arms from behind me.
"I wouldn't say it's genius but it's better than leaving a strange box of caramels on his desk" I called back.
"Says you" Fred mumbled in reply. I let out a giggle. "So what did you go do off on your own?"
"I got a second year from my house to be bait."
"You what?" Fred asked blankly.
"Bait?" George frowned slightly, using the same tone as his brother. I nodded at the two.
"I needed someone to be bait as part of the plan. Essentially we're going to have him eat the caramels near Filch which, knowing him, he'll find something to be upset about and—"
"Wait, you're making the kid eat them?" Fred frowned, for some reason not understanding that part of the plan.
"Not all of them, but yes" I waved away the question. "Anyway. He'll find something wrong and confiscate the sweets. Having confiscated them he'll be tempted and want to try one—"
"Why is he going to try one when it makes the kid freak out?" Fred interrupted me again. I paused and turned to give him a look. Noting that, Fred cleared his throat and turned away. George let out a chuckle as I tried to continue.
"For one, David knows what they do so he won't make it blatantly obvious that there's something wrong with them. Second of all, it is in Filch's nature to express no respect to us students. To him stealing the caramels would be merely a second thought."
"But how's the kid fit into all of this" George asked. I gave him a look to which he replied by pressing his cheek against mine. I let out a groan. If there was one thing I hated it was having to explain myself, repeatedly at that.
"Contrary to what you might believe we Slytherin don't get in trouble too often. That's not to say we don't do anything wrong," I added, noting the two were getting ready to interrupt me again, "we simply hide it better. That being the case Filch doesn't have too much against our house. David has no history of being constantly in trouble, certainly not like you two, so there shouldn't be any dramatic suspicion from Filch. But there will be enough to gives us a proper opening for this to work, as he doesn't trust any of us students. Now, may we go before someone changes their mind?"
"Lead the way, boss lady" George let go of me and gestured towards the entrance.
"Please stop calling me that" I shook my head and stepped forward. Behind me I heard the two chuckle as they followed in my steps.
"You know," Fred began with a thoughtful look, "first years sound useful. Why didn't you test your sweets out on them?"
"Because they're a liability" I answered with a shrug. Behind me I had noticed George sharing the same curious look as his brother. I shook my head again and continued to walk ahead. "Yes they're useful and ready to please, especially if you're well known within your house, but it's too risky. I didn't want anyone knowing what I was doing and, if they got scared somehow, that could easily be traced back to me."
"So why are you using one now?" George asked me curiously.
"Because he's not a first year" I repeated. "He's a second year and classmate to my roommate's little sister, Astoria."
"She's Pansy's sister?"
"Eww, no" I gave him a look, making them both smirk. "Astoria is Daphne's sister."
"So why does it matter that they're classmates?" Fred contemplated, though smirking at my comment. They still didn't understand. But that was to be expected, seeing as they didn't know much about some of the other Slytherin like I did.
"Because, if he were to mess up now, he would not only be upsetting me but two other people he knows he shouldn't get on the wrong side of."
"Wait," George called, grabbing the back of my robes. I stumbled back and fell against him. I turned back to give him a look and he let out a chuckle before helping me stand up straight. "Sorry, sorry, sometimes I forget how small you are. But isn't Daphne the one that likes shiny things?"
"Yeah, how is she scary?" Fred nodded, agreeing with his brother, coming to stand next to us.
"First of all, I'm not small, I'm average. Maybe, maybe, just slightly below average" I frowned up at him. George simply smiled back. "Anyway, Daphne is well known and well liked, so it would make sense to want to be on her good side. But she also has ways of getting others to think what she wants them to think, just in a more roundabout way than I usually go for."
"How?"
"Gossip."
"That makes no sense," Fred crossed his arms. "How is gossip anything like that mind control you get up to?"
"It's not mind control" I rolled my eyes at them. "But it is very similar to what I do just, like I said, a more roundabout way to do it. Also can we go to the courtyard now or do you want me to stand here and explain everything now?"
"I'd prefer now."
"Now would be good."
Fred and George stood smiling down at me, waiting for an answer. I shook my head at them, turned and glanced around us, wondering if anyone had grown curious of our conversation. If they were then they weren't showing it. Still, it wouldn't be good to dally too long; someone might realize we're up to something. Looking back at the two I saw they still held the same smiles. I gave them both a sigh.
"Gossip is essentially a more diluded form of persuasion" I mumbled, beginning the explanation. "It's not something everyone likes to be involved in so there are some whom it does not affect. But a wide range of people do take part in it so it is still pretty useful if you're looking to convince crowds or individuals within a certain group. It can make people think certain things are true when they're not or help change facts about an event, as people's memories are not always the best. If David managed to upset Daphne, who has a good standing among Slytherin as well as some not of our house, then the rest of his years at Hogwarts would be far more difficult than they need to be."
"So people spread a few rumors, so what?" Fred shrugged at me, again not understanding.
"You think that way because you two don't care for gossip" I continued. "I personally don't either. We are in the minority. Most others here, either intentionally or not, regularly deal with gossip. You may not have noticed but it happens a lot when large populations of people are forced to interact on a daily basis. Now may we go, before people start questioning."
George wrapped his arm around my shoulders and began walking, which I took to mean yes. Fred chuckled and walked after us. We headed out towards the courtyard once more. It didn't take long since we had stopped just short of it. David was fairly easy to spot; there weren't many other people there to begin with. I stepped forward, leading the two towards him. David spotted us shortly after, as was apparent by the frown on his face.
"So what if this all doesn't work?" Fred asked quietly, noting his behavior. I rolled my eyes at him.
"Then I'll make you another batch and you're free to do as you please with that."
Fred seemed happy enough with that statement. I held out a hand, gesturing for them to stay where they were, then continued towards the young Slytherin. George grumbled a little but let go. They waited a little ways back as I met him halfway.
"You didn't say those two would be involved" David grumbled, glancing over my shoulder towards the two Gryffindors. Both smiled at him, Fred even waved. That didn't seem to help his mood, however.
"You didn't ask" I shrugged. He began to say something but I gave him a smile. "They're not. Really they just have nothing better to do with their time so I'm having them hold the sweets. But I'll understand if you change your mind. I won't be happy but I'll understand."
"No. No, I'm not changing my mind" he said the second part more assertively.
"Good."
With a nod to him I made a gesture to the boys behind me. They seemed to understand it and walked the rest of the way towards us. George handed me the box of caramels as he stopped next to me. I glanced inside, making sure nothing looked out of the ordinary with it. Assuring everything was in place I gave a nod to myself and straightened up. Giving him a small smile I handed the sweets to him.
"Hey" George greeted as the still frowning boy took the box.
"David, right?" Fred asked with a smile.
"Daniel. But don't call me that either" Daniel glared at them in return before turning to me. "So you'll keep up your end then?"
"That's right… Astoria was it?" I mumbled, mostly to myself. Daniel nodded in return. "I'll have a talk with her but I'm not making any promises aside from that. She can make her own decision after that. If you want I could also have a talk with Daphne—"
"No!" he replied hastily. Noting his reaction however he gave a slight cough and turned away from me. "No, you don't need to do that. Just Astoria."
"Fine. So are we in agreement then?" I asked once more. Daniel took a second to look over my shoulder again, at the two others with us. He gave a small sigh, obviously not liking what he saw, but turned back to me and nodded.
"I'll do it."
I gave Daniel a smile and started to where I was sure Filch must still be, the boys following behind me. Sure enough I saw Lev sitting back, watching our caretaker mumbling to himself a few ways away. Noticing us approaching Lev stood and hurried over to me. Daniel and Fred and George all took a couple of steps back as I picked him up and moved towards them. My puppy gave a small bark and pawed at my face before turning to point his nose at Filch who had proceeded to yell at something on a tree. I ignored that for the moment and turned to Daniel, gesturing to the open area in front of us.
Understanding what I meant the boy moved towards the more visible area, keeping an eye on Filch. He stopped about halfway between us and him. Opening the box he fumbled with some of the pieces glancing up now and then to see if Filch had noticed him yet. It took a moment but Filch turned to him, giving Daniel that usual look of suspicion at the stance he had taken. Assuming that was his cue Daniel reached for a piece of the caramels and, with a sigh, bit into it.
At that moment I felt myself suddenly being moved. George used one arm to wrap around my shoulders as the other was placed behind my knees. Easily enough he pulled me up and began walking. Lev growled at him but otherwise stayed quiet, as he knew better than to get us caught. I was too surprised to say anything and didn't realise what he was doing until we all stood safely behind the cover of some nearby trees. He set me down gently and leaned curiously against me to watch Daniel and Filch. I turned to say something to him but George interrupted me, putting a finger to his lips and pointing to the scene in front of us. At that I gave him a look but turned back as well.
By that point Filch had reached Daniel, who had proceeded to place the box of caramels behind his back. The two argued for a moment. Well Filch mostly argued while Daniel looked away, trying to hide his look of annoyance. It was, however, noticed which only led him to some more pronounced arguing and gestures. Daniel grumbled something back that seemed to be quite enough for Filch. The caretaker reached over snatching the caramels from him and waved it in front of his face as if victoriously. Daniel began to say something but stopped and settled for giving him a look, which I took to mean the caramels had taken effect. So, Daniel simply turned away and marched off, leaving Filch and his cat with the box of caramels.
For a moment the caretaker continued to eye Daniel suspiciously. Then he fixed his attention onto the box in his hands. Realising they were his to do as he pleased with Filch open up the box of sweets. And, like the thoughtful man he is, he reached inside and took a bite of one of the caramels.
At first he gave no reaction, they were still seemed fairly normal apparently. It took the usual number of minutes before he showed any symptoms. He even gave himself a satisfied looking grin as he chewed. But as he was reaching for his second caramel he felt it. His hand moved towards his throat and began grasping it frantically. His cat meowed at him but Filch gave no response, probably because he couldn't. He dropped the box of caramels and moved in the direction of the castle, most likely to his office.
Behind me Fred and George began to laugh. I smiled a little but kept my eyes on the scene. Filch may have left but that cat of his had stayed where he was. Screeching slightly it began circling the box of caramels, sniffing at it now and then as he inched closer. I frowned at it and crouched down closer to the ground. Tapping Lev in the nose I tilted my head towards where the cat stood. My puppy jumped from my arms and, with a bark of confirmation to me, hurried off in its direction. I took a second to wait before stepping forward and following after him. Halfway to the cat Lev began to bark.
Filch's cat gave out a loud hiss before sprinting off in the opposite direction, to which Lev decided to follow as well. What few students stood around us all suddenly focused on the two of them hurrying away. As they did I leaned down and picked up the box of sweets; it was always just best not to leave any evidence. I placed the box in my bookbag and headed back to where the boys were. As I was nearly to them I paused and turned to look at a nearby tree. On it there had seemed to be a particular insect hanging around. I wasn't much of fan of insects in general but that particular one had looked generally unpleasant, and a little too familiar for my liking.
"Alright, I'll admit it," Fred began coming to join me where I had paused, George walking just behind him. "That plan turned out pretty okay."
"Thank you," I placed a hand against my chest in mock admiration. "Your recognition means the world to me."
"You're welcome" he smiled back, ignoring the sarcastic tone I had used.
I shook my head at them and began to walk back to the castle. As they began walking Fred and George exchanged a look. Fred tilted his head slightly to the side to which George shrugged but gave a slight nod. And with just that gesture George once again picked me up, walking us back to the nearby batch of trees. This time however we didn't hide behind them but rather sat at the foot of them. George placed me gently onto the grass, just between his legs. Ignoring my glare he wrapped his arms around my waist and smiled.
"Don't do that" I complained, readjusting myself on the ground. The boys chuckled in return, either not finding anything wrong with their actions or simply not caring.
"Hey, Kitty" Fred called out. I paused my fidgeting and turned to look at him. "What exactly did you promise that kid for him to be willing to go through all that?"
"He wanted me to convince Astoria to date him I guess" I mumbled before giving them a shrug. "I said I wouldn't do that, for obvious reasons, so he settled for having me talk to her. Apparently he thinks she looks up to me somehow."
"Does she?" George asked, leaning against my back.
"Maybe, maybe not. I do like her and think we get along but I don't know about her 'looking up' to me—"
"Yeah, you're too small to have anyone look up to you" Fred let out a laugh. I turned to glare at him. George snickered against my shoulder and held me tighter, probably so I wouldn't move. Once his laughter calmed Fred gave me a smile. "I'm sorry but you set me up for that one. So is she planning to be more like you then?"
"I don't know" I answered with a small frown. "All I know is I'm supposed to talk to her about David."
"I thought it was Daniel" George mumbled behind me.
"Yes, him." I waved away the remark. Fred looked up, seeming to be thinking about something.
"So do first years ask for a lot?"
"Again, he's a second year," I gave him a small sigh, "but to answer your question, no. Most of the time they'll just say yes. The more intelligent of the group usually ask for something small in return. Astoria is the only one who ever asks for future favors, although she understands that if it conflicts with anything I'm doing then I won't go through with her request. She's very useful though, and doesn't ask unnecessary questions so I normally go directly to her for this kind of thing."
"That's interesting. I'll be sure to keep that in mind for later" Fred gave himself a nod. With that he pushed himself up and stretched a bit as he did. "Well I have to go now, don't mind me. Have some errands and such to run by myself. You two stay. Have fun now."
"You told him to leave, didn't you?" I muttered as he walked away, turning to look at George. He reached out and waved to his brother, completely ignoring my question.
"So how many favor do you owe Astoria?" George asked, leaning his cheek on my shoulder.
"As of now, just the one. It was for giving the first batch of caramels to Pansy" I said, though in reality she had delivered them to me. I just knew Pansy well enough to know she would have tried to steal my sweets if she knew they were from Draco. Now that they were dating she had become overly territorial, more so than before as hard as that was to believe.
"Did Astoria know what the caramels would do?" George asked, bringing me back from my thoughts.
"No, she's smarter than that" I shook my head at him. "She knows not to ask too many questions, just enough to know that whatever she's agreeing to won't be turned back on her. Or if she could use that information as leverage over the person she's dealing with which, if they gave her that sort of information, then it's their own fault really."
"Alright, I can see the resemblance" George said with a smirk.
"Daphne did say she thought Astoria acts more like my sister than hers" I mumbled, thinking back, and looked back up to George. "By the way, how is your sister? I haven't seen her since that time at Hogsmeade."
"Wait, what? What do you mean since Hogsmeade?" George paused, not expecting me to say that.
"I suppose she didn't tell you, though I don't really see why she would. It was the visit just after the Yule Ball. I spoke to her for a moment, when I had been waiting for you and Fred to be done doing whatever you went off to do" I answered his frowning face.
"What did she say to you?" George kept his expression and I merely shrugged.
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with, really" I replied, which he didn't seem too happy to hear. Although, that did remind me of something. What Ginny had said when we had met. "She did mention that you said she had to be nicer to me."
"Was she?" he asked, confirming my suspicions.
"What does it matter?"
"It matters because you're my girlfriend" George insisted. I rolled my eyes at him.
"You like me, what does it matter if she doesn't?"
"Did she tell you she doesn't?" George's frown deepened slightly. I shook my head at him, partly to answer but also because I didn't quite understand his fixation on the subject.
"No she didn't. I'm just saying, let her think what she wants" I insisted as well.
"Ginny can think what she wants so long as she's nice to you. Besides, you're just so cute" he grumbled, holding me a little tighter. I rolled my eyes at him again. George smiled back and leaned against my back. His nose grazed against my neck, making me jump slightly. He chuckled at that and leaned against the tree again. "See, you're adorable. And so soft. I love you."
I stopped squirming against his grip and paused. It took me a moment to process what he had just said. But even after that moment…
"Did you say—"
"That I love you, yes I did" he smiled and gave me a simple nod.
"George—"
But before I could say anything else he leaned in and kissed me. George slid slowly against the body of the tree, leaning himself back against it and taking me with him. He continued to kiss me for a moment longer, resting one of his hands against my cheek. When he did pull away George looked down at me smiled again. He wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin against my shoulder.
"So what are you planning to do with the caramels you kept?" he asked, changing the subject rather blatantly.
"I… I'm not sure, really" I muttered a response.
He was avoiding my answer. Of course he was, he knew what I would say. Or rather, what I wouldn't say. But even so, he seemed okay with that. He didn't look bothered but… he couldn't just be alright with that.
"You'll have to make sure Lev doesn't get at them. He wouldn't be very happy afterwards now, would he" he replied, giving me a small laugh.
I didn't answer. He was being too calm, too normal, as if all this were casual conversation.
"George…"
"Relax, would you" he smiled, running his hand against my cheek.
"But, George, you said… How can I relax when you just told me —"
"Shush" he smiled, holding me gently against him.
"But how can you be so calm when—"
"Are you planning on saying it back?" George asked me softly. I closed my mouth and turned my gaze to the grass beneath us. Which was, in itself, an answer. "Don't worry about it then. I wasn't expecting you to say it. I just didn't feel like keeping quiet about it much longer."
I kept my glance where it lay by my feet. He wasn't saying any of this to make me feel guilty, or to try to sway my feelings in any way. He was just being honest with his own. George wasn't like many others I knew. He wasn't selfish, not entirely at least. Though he, like anyone else, deserved to have his moments if he so wished. But he was sweet, and true, and quite different than I was used to.
"You're too kind of a person" I mumbled. George let out a small laugh. I let out a sigh and leaned back against him. "I do care about you, you know."
"Oh, I know" he moved his hand from my waist and along my arm before taking hold of my hand. "You're not exactly the type to spend time with someone just to be nice."
"I'm not a nice person."
"I think you're nice" he defended. I gave him a look at which he shrugged. "Maybe not that nice but still, nice."
"Then you're an idiot" I frowned. Again, George gave me a laugh, and this time I couldn't help but smile back.
"I agree. So we're on the same page on that then. Now, how is your roommate? Has she turned you in to the headmaster yet?" he tried to change the subject again. This time I allowed it.
"No," I said though giving a sigh, "but she is making a point of complaining to Draco about what a terrible person I am. Like he doesn't already know that about me."
"I say just let the two be together" he replied happily. I frowned at that.
"They're already dating. How together do you want them to get?" I grumbled. George paused at my words. He seemed confused if nothing else. His gaze turned to the side, as if he would find the answer to his question there, then turned back to me.
"What?" George asked, still looking distracted. I didn't answer, instead waited for him to focus on me. Finally he opened his mouth and closed it before finally speaking. "Are you serious? Malfoy has a girlfriend?"
"Yes" I nodded at him. "Is that really so surprising? He can be annoying and irresponsible sometimes, sure, but Draco actually has a lot of good qualities that are very sought after among most girls."
"Since when does he have a girlfriend?" George asked again, either not hearing or ignoring me. I rolled my eyes at him.
"It's been almost two months now, I think. Around the time we last went to Hogsmeade."
"Who is he dating?" he asked. While having changed the question he said so in a tone that indicated he was still not through procession the answer to the last one.
"Pansy Parkinson" I gave a small frown.
"That's that girl you hate" George muttered, thinking of something. "And the girl you poisoned. Is that why you did it, because they're dating?"
"I didn't poison her" I mumbled back. "And no, it wasn't just because of that. She was being annoying is all."
"Did he purposely pick her?" he pondered. I gave him a look but he shook his head at me before I could comment. "I meant, did he purposely pick someone you hate."
"Oh, no" I answered, now understanding what he meant. "No, it was just a coincidence we are both dating someone the other can't stand. But he and Pansy have always gotten along. They have a very similar sense of humor and have been friends for some time now."
"Did he tell you why he started dating her?" George asked once more. I tilted my head slightly.
"Does he need a reason to start dating someone? And why do you seem so interested in his love life?" I asked to which he merely smiled.
"I'm just glad he found someone is all" he smiled holding me, though I presumed that was sarcasm. Still, he had his reasons, so I shrugged it off.
"According to him he thought he should get a girlfriend seeing as he's 'at that age now'" I stated, forming quotations with my hands. "So, he asked Pansy. And of course she said yes to him, why wouldn't she? I think she's had feelings for him since we all came to Hogwarts."
"Wait a minute" he mumbled and turned to frown at the ground. "If he has a girlfriend then why does he still spend all of his time with you? Isn't that what she's for?"
"It's not all of the time" I rolled my eyes. He turned to look at me. "But even so, I have a boyfriend and I still spend a lot of time with him. We've been together for a very long time. Why should all that change just because we're both in relationships?"
"That little git" George said suddenly. He sat up, leaning me forward with him. I turned to give him a confused look. "I see what he's trying to do."
"What is he trying to do?" I asked confused. George ignored it.
"He's trying it that way now, is he?"
"Trying what, which way?" I asked again. And, again, George didn't answer.
"If he things that will change anything he's dead wrong. It's not going to change a thing" he shook his head, seeming to be talking more to the trees than he was to me. I gave him one last look and let out a sigh.
"Fine, don't tell me. You lost me halfway through anyway" I grumbled at him. George turned to me and smirked. He leaned forward, pressing his cheek against mine. I shrunk back slightly making him chuckle again. Really, he was too sweet.
For a while longer I spent some time with George on the grounds. But soon enough it was dinner. George and I separated, heading to our individual tables. After a quick bite though I moved down to the room. I still had the caramels I had given to the two, and it was probably in my best favor to store the leftovers. Another moment I stayed in the room, sorting and pondering over some of the items I had stored. And once I grew bored of that I moved to the dungeon.
Once in the common room I moved to where the others were all sitting. Daphne and Blaise looked to be arguing over something, again. Theodore was staring down, trying to ignore them as he read out of his book, again. So I moved to sit next to Draco. He smiled as I waved and moved to the side, giving me enough room to sit in the space next to him.
"Where have you been?" he asked, scooting a little towards me once I was sat.
"I was seeing if there was anything else in the room I could use for anything" I answered quietly with a smile.
"Did you?" he smiled back. I shrugged and he let out a chuckle. "You better start being more careful. One of these days you're not going to be able to talk your way out of trouble."
"Says you" I grumbled back.
"Seriously, you'll never—"
Draco's sentence cut abruptly. Behind him Pansy reached over, grabbing Draco's face. Turning it away from me she leaned in and kissed him. The scene was so repulsive I almost retched. Turning for a moment to give me a smirk, Pansy made her way around the sofa before sitting down on the other side of him.
"Gross" I grumbled and turned away from them.
"What's new?" Pansy asked, making herself comfortable at Draco's side.
"The usual" Theo answered her, nodding his head towards the two next to him. Blaise was attempting to take Daphne's hands off her ears as she hummed loudly to herself, not wanting to hear whatever he was trying to say to her.
"So how long are you going to be this annoying?" I turned to ask. Draco gave me a look but I ignored it.
"Shouldn't you be in some dump with your Gryffindor?" Pansy smiled in return. Draco turned to give her a look too. But, unlike me, she actually listened. Pansy pouted at him and crossed her arms but stayed quiet. Rolling my eyes at them I reached for my bookbag.
Blaise and Daphne continued to argue. Most of the others chatted to themselves. I instead focused on what I still needed to get done. Within a few weeks or so would be the third and final task. Not only that but we also had the end of the year exams to focus on. It would help to set a time aside to study as well as priorities which areas would need the most focus. And, of course, schedule a time to sit down with Draco and explain everything to him as well.
As I scribbled down a reminder for myself, Draco bumped slightly into me, causing my quill to move, spilling ink over the words. I turned, watching Pansy still pushing against him, giggling. Glaring at the two I let out a sigh and placed my list next to me.
"Do you mind? I'm trying to do something here" I complained to them. Pansy took that as an opening, leaning over Draco and closer to me.
"Do you mind? I'm spending time with my boyfriend" she smirked back at me. As if that meant anything coming from her.
"Because you don't do enough of that already" I scoffed in return.
"What I do with my boyfriend is none of your business" Pansy made a face at me. Just when I think her face can't get any worse she goes and surprises me.
"I get it, you're dating, you don't have to say it every other sentence" I rolled my eyes.
"Then why do you keep acting like you don't know" she snapped at me.
"Because it's disgusting."
"Would you stop" Draco called to us. He turned and moved Pansy slightly back, so she wasn't leaned over him and so close to me.
"How do you always get those two fighting over you?" Daphne asked as Blaise pulled her arms back, away from her head where they had been.
"They're not really fighting over him, just around him" Theo muttered, flipping to the next page of his book. "Albeit, they do seem to be doing it a lot more lately."
"Well, if this were a fight, then I would have already won" Pansy leaned closer to Draco, looking rather proud of herself.
"If the challenge was over who could be the most obnoxious then by all means, you win the title" I raised my hands sarcastically. Pansy frowned and leaned closer to me, ignoring Draco as he tried to pull her back.
"Well you would win the title for most annoying know-it-all in Hogwarts. And that includes that mudblood of yours."
"At least my title has some redeeming quality to it, rather than just an example of how bothersome I am to everyone" I replied, leaving closer to her now too. Her frown deepened at that.
"You just think you're so smart, don't you" she sneered, leaning even closer to me.
"I think that was established with your last comment. Unless you know another definition for a know-it-all" I retorted, matching her scowl and covering most of the distance left. Between us Draco shifted.
"Alright already—"
"Stay out if this, Draco" I snapped as Pansy pushed against him.
"Yeah, Malfoy, let the two have at it" Blaise smirked at us as Daphne made a face at him.
"This doesn't need to go on. We both know who would win" Pansy smiled.
"Oh and who is that?" I smiled back.
"Me, obviously. I could destroy you."
"When?"
"Right now."
"At what, shrieking?" I smirked with a look.
"At anything" she replied defiantly.
"Is that what you think?"
"That's what I know!"
"Fine then" I dared and moved towards her.
"Oh no you don't" Draco interrupted. Grabbing me by the waist with one arm he placed another under my knees pulled me up, carried me away from her. I tried to shake him off but he wouldn't budge.
"Get off me" I hissed at him. This was the third time this had happened today and it hadn't gotten any less annoying. He continued to walk a ways away until he was sure I couldn't reach Pansy. Once he stopped he set me down, but not taking his hands off me. I tried to step to the side but he pulled me back just as easily. "Draco, step aside."
"What, so you can do something else to my girlfriend?" he hissed back, straightening me up. I tried to move around him again but he pulled be back like it was nothing. "Stop it."
"Why must you always get in between things before they get good" Blaise called out to us. Draco turned to give him a glare.
"Shut it, Zabini!" he warned.
Realising we were still pretty close to the group Draco grabbed my wrist and pulled further into the common room. I struggled and pulled against his grip but inevitably followed. He stopped us just before reaching the fireplace in the back. Draco took a moment to look back at the others. Daphne had taken our place on the sofa and was talking her down too. Seeing that he let out a sigh and turned back to look at me.
"I've asked you to play nice" he frowned down at me.
"And I've told you to keep a muzzle on that thing" I frowned back. "You know when I'm pushed too far I'm not accountable for my actions. Plus, I hate her. Besides, she started it!"
"You both started it" he snapped back. I gave him a look and after a moment Draco groaned. "Can't you at least fake it?"
"Yeah, sure, like you fake it with George" I rolled my eyes.
"Hey, I have been pretending just fine" he insisted, leaning down to me. "Have you seen me retch? No, because I have some self control."
"If I didn't have self control she would be long since 'missing' with only her mess in our room as evidence to a crime that would never be solved!" I snapped back. Letting out a breath I gave him a look. "Don't let that thing sit near me again. I don't care how just control her already, would you."
"What is with you and having me 'control' her?" Draco sighed.
"I already told you, I'm the only one that can be in charge of you. So either you control her or we're going to have some issues. Besides, maybe that way there will be less of a chance she somehow goes 'missing'" I stated before turning away from him. I moved from him to my things. Draco followed slowly behind me.
"Where are you off to? It's almost curfew" Theo reminded me, looking up from his book.
"I'm going to take Lev for a walk" I huffed, throwing my things back into my bag and turning towards the stairs. Draco didn't look the least bit surprised with that, just walked past me and back onto the sofa. Without bothering to look back I turned and headed up the stairs.
Lev was in our room, just like I had expected. He seemed more than happy to go for a walk, though seemed to sense I wasn't too thrilled about it. Still he followed me out onto the grounds. We kept near the forest, in the areas where it was most covered. Lev walked ahead, circling back now and again to make sure I was okay. After a while I knelt beside him and petted his head, making sure he knew I was alright, and we continued.
But I was still bothered by that thing they called a "relationship". I suppose I could understand why Draco had been so against my dating George at first. The fault in that logic though was that George was sweet, and Pansy had no redeeming qualities to her. I still didn't understand why he defended her so much. She needed constant reminders of where her place was. And the fact that her and Draco were together now gave her some false sense of security; it made her think she was untouchable. In a way, she was right. Draco kept nagging me about leaving her alone, as if that would help. I would just have to figure something out for later.
I slowed down as I felt Lev snap at my feet. Realizing what he was going I immediately froze. He knew not to do that, not unless a situation was serious. My puppy gave a very low growl and slowly moved forward, sniffing at the ground. I waited patiently as he surveyed the area; he had been taught this for a reason. Normally we took advantage of this training when avoiding Filch. But this wasn't about Filch, this felt more serious.
Lev came back to me, still giving that same low growl. Whatever it was it wasn't life threatening, he would have suggested we leave, but it also wasn't going anywhere. And whoever was there was someone I hadn't given him a pass on; one of those I could convince to let me go without too much trouble. I walked slowly forward, curious. It had to be more than one if Lev was worrying this much about it, some form of tension in the air I couldn't quite sense. Perhaps a group of them had gathered. But what was this group doing, besides putting Lev on edge. Why be out so late? Why—
"Treachery!" one called out.
Instantly I paused again. Leaning down I took hold of Lev, making sure he didn't lunge towards anyone too early. Lev growled a little louder than before but otherwise stayed in my arms. Slowly, watching where I stepped so as not to cause any sound, I moved to where the bickering had begun. Sticking to the shadows, I inched closer to the scene.
It was Professor Karkaroff. He was very audibly screaming at Professor Dumbledore. Or was, at least, until Hagrid took a hold of him. Karkaroff stayed, his feet dangling in the air, as Hagrid clutched his throat against a nearby tree.
"Hagrid, no!" Dumbledore raised his voice at him, something I wasn't sure I had heard him do before. At that Hagrid begrudgingly removed his hand, letting Karkaroff go. The Durmstrang headmaster slid down the trunk settling at its roots but Dumbledore continued to look at Hagrid. "Kindly escort Harry back to the castle, Hagrid."
"Maybe I'd better stay here, Headmaster…" Hagrid debated, keeping his gaze on Karkaroff.
"You will take Harry back to school, Hagrid" Dumbledore repeated in a firmer voice.
Lev let out a sudden loud growl, interrupting me from hearing what was to follow of his statement. I turned to frown at him, he knew better than that. But Lev grumbled, keeping his gaze fixed at Hagrid's feet. Curious I followed his glance and saw that the dog standing near Hagrid's feet was sniffing the ground, as if trying to find something. Or, rather, someone.
I gave an internal groan realizing we were that someone; Lev had been warning me of that fact. For a moment I contemplated whether it was smarter to leave them be than to hear what had gotten them all so worked up. Lev was certainly leaning towards the leaving idea, meaning the dog must have some idea of where we were. I frowned again and took a tighter hold on Lev. But before we moved the dog's attention was guided from us with a gesture from his owner.
"I'll leave Fang with yeh, Headmaster" he announced, bringing his dog's attention back to him. I let out a sigh and gave Lev a look. "Stay, Fang. C'mon, Harry."
The dog, Fang, remained at Dumbledore's side as the two marched off. The headmaster waited a moment, watching Hagrid lead Harry back to the castle. Once they were out of sight Dumbledore let out a sigh and turned back to Professor Karkaroff.
"Igor, you need to calm down."
"Calm down?" he exclaimed, as if not understanding the words. "Calm down? You want me to calm down when my student has been attacked on your grounds? This whole thing was set up from the start, wasn't it!"
"Igor, I have said this before, it was not a set up—"
"You not only did you cheat your way onto having two of your students enter the competition" Professor Karkaroff intervene, obviously still upset about that, "but it was one of those students that was with Viktor when he was attacked. You expect me to believe that was all some sort of coincidence?"
"You seem awfully nervous Igor" Moody intervened, stepping forward towards Professor Karkaroff. I frowned, only now realizing he was also present. "Maybe you'd like to share what's got you all worked up."
"Alastor" Professor Dumbledore warned. But Karkaroff was giving Moody a particular look, one that would suggest he may be right.
"We're going" Professor Karkaroff announced, looking now at Vik. He gave his headmaster a nod and turned away from the other two. "Once this tournament is done for, Dumbledore, you can forget about asking Durmstrang for anything again."
With that Karkaroff placed a hand on Vik's shoulder and led him away, back to the ship. Dumbledore looked to let out a sigh and turned to Moody. They began to speak but I was more interested in the two leaving at the moment. Giving a small glare at Moody first I turned from them and stepped back, moving in the direction of the Durmstrang ship.
Careful not to be seen by them I stepped away from the forest and toward the other two. Once we were far enough Lev followed after me. I hurried slightly to catch up to them. There must have been some noise from as Vik slowed down and turned curiously. Karkaroff, on the other hand, snapped his gaze to us, not happy with what he saw.
"You, what are you doing!" he demanded. I suppressed the temptation to give him a look, regardless of how unnecessary that outburst was. "Were you following us?"
"No, well yes, but—"
"You are with them!"
"Professor—"
"You are with Dumbledore! You have been spying for him, haven't you!"
"Would you keep your voice down?" I hissed at him, giving him the look I had been suppressing earlier. "I am not spying on you and you should know that."
"Should I?" he hissed back, but this time I ignore him.
"Are you okay?" I asked, turning to Vik. He glanced at Karkaroff but nodded.
"I am fine. I vas—"
"This does not concern you, Miss Volkov" he frowned between me and Vik. I let out a sigh.
"I suppose not" I nodded, realizing I would have to deal with him like I do every other idiot who treats me as an intrusive child. "I stumbled upon you while giving Lev a walk. I didn't mean to intrude."
Karkaroff nodded in agreement and turned to the Durmstrang ship. Vik hesitated, looking back to me. He began to say something but I stopped him, putting a finger to my lips. I shook my head at him; it wouldn't do anyone any good to speak of this now. I would make sure to get the whole story later but for the moment I would have to wait. With a nod he signaled he understood and turned back to Karkaroff. I knelt down patting Lev on the head and he pawed at my foot. I smiled at him and let out a sigh.
"Let's go back inside. Keep an ear out for the other two" I told him. He wagged his tail and began walking. I followed after as we headed back to the dungeon.
That had been annoying. The entire argument had been just vague enough to keep me equal parts curious and confused. What was the treachery Karkaroff had mentioned? Was it something real or was he being paranoid again. He certainly was on edge over something, but I suppose I would have to wait for Vik to explain next time we met. But instead of focusing on that I continued to make my way towards the castle, until I saw Lev freeze in front of me.
I stopped in my tracks and watched Lev. My puppy began to sniff at the ground, growling lightly. Carefully I crouched down next to him, waiting to see if he had found anything he seemed dangerous. Lev turned and pawed at my shoe; no danger but there was someone here. I leaned down and reached to pick him up and hugged him to my chest. Lev let out an almost silent bark, pointing his nose to our right. Making sure to walk slow I made my way to where he had gestured, trying not to make noise as I did. The last time Lev had found someone it had been Karkaroff and Dumbledore arguing. But as I inched closer I let out a sigh, realizing who the figures in front of us were.
"Draco, what are you doing?" I frowned at him. Draco jumped slightly out of surprise and turned to me.
At that moment two wands appeared, being pointed at either side of me. I turned to glare at the source and Lev gave out a much louder growl. Crabbe and Goyle hesitated, realizing it was me. They both lowered their wands but didn't step away. Instead they turned to look at Draco. I did the same, now to find he was hiding one of his hands behind his back.
"What are you doing here?" Draco demanded. I rolled my eyes at him.
Lev jumped out if my arms, rushing to Draco. He didn't move directly to him but at what he was holding behind his back. The two boys moved to him too, noting Lev was becoming more irritable. I looked down at Lev then back to Draco; Lev wasn't a liar. Draco sighed, putting a hand up to calm the boys. Once they calmed he pulled out his other hand, the one that had been hiding. And in that hand… was that stupid insect again.
"Draco—!"
"I know, I know"he grumbled to the side. The beetle flapped it's wings at us. Lev, finally getting her in sight, jumped up and snapped his jaws at her. She hovered above as Draco shrunk back from my puppy. "Stupid mutt."
"Why are you talking to that hag?" I frowned. He didn't answer.
"It's not nice to call a lady that, dear" Skeeter smiled stiffly at me, having reverted to her normal self but still keeping an eye on Lev.
"Oh, I would never do that" I shook my head and extended a hand. Lev understood the gesture and returned to me, standing guard at my feet. "But, then, I wasn't saying that to a lady was I."
"Charming as ever" she gave me a fake smile which I easily returned.
"So what gem are you working on this time?" I mumbled, more interested in what Draco was involving himself with.
"Well I have been concerned with the behaviour of some of Hogwart's students recently" Skeeter pouted slightly. "I have heard that a particular student have been craving a little too much attention. But, then there are those who just have a complete disregard towards rules. Going as far as giving some unknown substance to their authority officials. Even wandering after hours and sticking their business where it doesn't belong."
"What did you do?" Draco turned to frown at me. I chose to ignore him.
"Says the one trespassing on school grounds and having private meetings with the students at Hogwarts. And as an unregistered animagus no less—"
"We are not here to talk about me, dear" she interrupted hastily. "I'm just concerned for your well-being. Running around with those Weasleys and placing yourself in situations that you do not need to be part of."
"You what?"
"Not now, Draco" I gave him a look. He turned away but mumbled something under his breath. "I've told you to stay away from my private life, Skeeter."
"I am simply reporting as a concerned adult, dear."
"Stop calling me dear" I snapped.
I let out a sigh and looked at my puppy. Making a sign in the air I signaled Lev and he barked in confirmation. Skeeter gave us a confused look as Lev jumped up, snatching her obnoxiously green quill away from her. Having it in his grasp he hurried back towards me. Letting out a sort of growl of her own she moved towards my puppy. Lev fixed his attention on the quill and tightened his jaw against it. At that, Skeeter took a step back.
"Do not write about me" I repeated, now that I had her attention. She gave me a look as my puppy growled back. "Don't think Lev won't snap that thing into pieces."
"It's just a quill, dear. I can always get another" she gushed, but her eyes remained fixed on my puppy.
"First, this is no ordinary quill and we both know it. It's an important part of your writing, no?" I gave her a look. "That's how you get your stories out so fast and why you have several primary medias you report to."
"It's just a quill, dear" she insisted. I scowled at her.
"Say that to Barnabas Cuffe when he's asking why your articles are all late" I suggested, to which she lowered her eyes. "I'm sure the Editor-in-Chief of the Prophet would maybe even rethink some of the staff he's hired. My mother might even talk him into getting some new faces, since they have become fairly close over the years. Maybe she'll speak to Tobias Misslethorpe while she's at it. He might want to do the same thing with Witch Weekly. What do you think, Lev?"
Lev crouched closer to the ground. He held down the tip with his paw, still holding on to the rest with his jaw. I crouched down next to him. With a look to me Lev began to growl again and began to press against the quill, slowly pushing as it bent. A little more and it would snap.
"Alright!" Skeeter called, ready to snap herself. "Alright, enough. I have other things I'm sure my readers would be interested in anyway."
"Uh huh" I called back, extending a hand to my side. Lev let go of the quill and barked once at me. I patted his head gently and stood once more, tossing the thing to her. "There, now stop making me remind you of this agreement of ours."
"It looks like we will have to continue this conversation at a later date" Skeeter muttered to Draco, snatching her quill back from me.
Skeeter gave me a look before turning to Draco who just gave her a nod. With a shiver, she turned once more into a beetle, lingered for a moment but evidently flew away. As she left, Draco slowly began to walk away. I extended my arm and grabbed his robes, just as he was passing by. I gave him a tired look then turned to look at the two boys with him.
"You two, give us a moment, would you?" I called to Crabbe and Goyle. They inched a bit away but looked to Draco for confirmation. He gave a nod at the two. With that the two moved forward but looked at me before leaving. Draco gave a sigh and turned to me but I looked down at my puppy. "You too, head inside with them, would you?"
"Do I really have to explain" he groaned, watching as Lev followed after them as they disappeared from sight.
"You know I don't like that woman" I scolded.
"I think you and your mutt made that clear" he gave me a look. I ignored it, turning to where the two had disappeared.
"You even had Crabbe and Goyle keeping watch."
"They didn't know it was you" Draco defended, guessing where I was going with that. He shook his head at me. "They know better than to do anything to you. It's dark and you should've been done with your walk by now."
"Don't tell me what I should do" I frowned at him. Draco rolled his eyes. I stepped closer to him, wrapped our arms together, and walked forward. Draco dragged his feet but followed. "So what did you talk to her about?"
"She had some questions about Potter. Apparently this time she wants to make him off to be insane or something" Draco shrugged. "She asked if I knew anything that seemed off about him. Besides that he's an idiot I did tell her he's a Parselmouth, which she seemed to be interested in."
"I thought that was well known by now" I muttered, looking ahead. He still didn't know, and I always forgot. It was strange keeping secrets like that from him, but I had promised Nikolai I wouldn't tell anyone I was a Parselmouth, not even him. Draco gave me a curious look, noticing my change in tone, but kept walking.
"Apparently not" he muttered, still looking at me from the corner of his eye. He continued to do so for another moment then let out a grunt. "Oh, being protective of that one too now, are you? What, are you planning on being that way with all of Gryffindor? Isn't it enough that you—"
"Your last article sent Hermione to the Hospital Wing; I wouldn't go there" I hissed at him. Draco made a grunting sort of sound and turned away.
"That wasn't my fault" he grumbled.
"I know, otherwise I would be far more upset" I reminded him. He rolled his eyes at me. "I'm not being protective of him. Just remember, Draco, actions have consequences."
"Yeah, yeah" Draco muttered under his breath. I shook my head at him and stepped into the castle.
Quietly we made our way to the entrance and for the stairs to the Slytherin dungeon. I followed his lead mostly as he took us back to the common room. I was more concerned about what had just happened; before I ran into him and that bug I mean. That argument I had heard between Dumbledore and Karkaroff, while it may have been brief it felt important. Something was happening at Hogwarts, something that I didn't know about. And that was beginning to annoy me.
"Hey" Draco snapped his fingers in front of me. I turned to give him a look.
"Don't do that."
"Well we're here" he rolled his eyes at me.
I paused, noticing we were in the common room. With a sigh I moved to the fireplace. There were a few students here and there, the usual ones that lingered until the dead of night. I sat down in front of the fire with a huff. Draco sat down next to me but raised an eyebrow, curious at my behaviour.
"Are you alright? You're not still fuzzing over that thing with Pansy, are you?" he gave me a slight smirk. I stuck out my tongue in return.
"I just have a lot of things in mind" I muttered. A lot of annoying things I couldn't seem to solve.
"Like what?" Draco asked, most likely wanting to help. It wasn't just the unknowns, it was also what I did know. I knew there was something happening at Hogwarts. Then, there was that thing with George…
"I love you" I said abruptly. Draco looked slightly surprised.
"I love you too?" he almost asked, having been taken off guard. I sighed and leaned against him. Draco moved his arm and wrapped it around my waist. Using that as leverage he pulled me closer, adjusting me in a way that was more comfortable for us both. Once he did that he moved his hand from my waist do my shoulder and rubbed my arm lightly. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Why is it so easy to say that to you?" I muttered. I suppose part of it was that I had known him for much longer than I had known George. Besides, when we said it to each other it meant something different than when George said it to me.
"Should it be more difficult?" he frowned, obviously finding my statement confusing. "Why are you asking?"
I looked at the fire for a bit before answering. It would do no good to tell him what George had said, in fact it would only make things dramatically worse. He already became upset anytime his name came up. If I brought it up now he wouldn't just be irrationally angry but would probably start all that talk about marriage again. I let out a pout before turning back up to look at him.
"No reason, really" I muttered a lie. Draco gave me a look, not at all convinced, but let it go. He rubbed my shoulder one more time before placing it gently on my head.
"You confuse the living crap out of me sometimes, did you know?"
"Language" I hit his chest lightly. Draco let out a chuckle.
"Yeah, yeah" he smiled at me, running his fingers through my hair. I leaned a little closer to him and sighed.
"I'm just worried that… There are things going on at Hogwarts that we don't know about" I confessed.
"How many times have I told you not to overthink these sorts of things" he lectured. I looked up and stuck my tongue out at him again.
"It's not like I want to" I complained, crossing my arms. "It just feels like there is a reason for us to be nervous, we just don't know what it is yet. It's really starting to get on my nerves. I don't want to be surprised by this and if we are then—"
"Stop it" Draco insisted, covering my mouth to stop me from continuing. I pulled his hand away from me and glared. He gave me a sweet smile in return and leaned down to kiss my forehead. "You worry too much. Whatever this is, we can get through it."
"Fine" I whined but gave him a small smile back. I'm sure that he hadn't realised but he had said we, knowing whatever happened we would get through it together. Draco smirked back at me.
"Draco" a shrill voice called behind us. I groaned and let go of Draco. He smiled a little, finding my reaction somehow funny.
"What is it?" he called back, standing up. Pansy appeared behind us. She gave me a glare before smiling sweetly at him.
"You said you would help me with my Charms work tonight" she reminded him, in a particular sort of tone. I rolled my eyes at her.
"Did I? Why would I—Alright, alright, I'll help" he added when she started to frown. Draco turned and offered me a hand. I took it and stood as well. Once I was up he gave me a look before letting go. "Stop thinking about all that and go to sleep, alright. We can talk about it tomorrow."
"Draco, come on" she continued to whine, needing his attention.
Pansy turned to scowl at me and stepped between us, so he was sure to look at her. Draco let her take his hand and lead him towards the stairs to his room. I gave her a frown and turned towards mine. I did still have a few caramels to experiment with. Maybe I could shove some into her mouth while she's sleeping; that could keep her shut for a few days. Worst case scenario, they don't work. Best case scenario, she chokes to death in her sleep. Really there's not much to lose.
"What is it?" Daphne asked as I walked into our room. I looked up and shrugged at her. Lev barked from his spot next to her bed and rushed towards me.
"Just thinking about a project" I mumbled back, picking him up. I would also need to think of using someone who could possibly help, other than Astoria since she already helped with Pansy. Which reminded me. "Hey, remind me to have a talk with your sister tomorrow."
"Why?" she asked, instantly curious. "Did she do something? Did you do something? Are you going to—"
"Goodnight, Daphne" I interrupted, moving to my bed. I'd had enough intruding questions from Skeeter for one day. Maybe a week. Perhaps even a month.
"It's not even that late yet. And why do you—"
"Goodnight, Daphne" I repeated, getting into bed. She rolled her eyes at me, getting the hint.
"Goodnight."
I smiled back and layed my head against my pillow. I was well aware I was fully clothed but it had been a long day. A lot had happened and, no matter what Draco told me, I would always over think things. It was just what I did. Letting out a sigh I rolled over, laying face down on my bed. There was just so much to think about, I was even getting a headache. Beside me I heard Daphne mumbling something about my clothes as I faded into sleep. Meh, I'd worry about that in the morning.