Chapter 14
After several minutes of driving on the Muggle streets of London, Harry, Hermione, the Weaselys, and Violet reached the only place that felt more like home to Harry than Privet Drive ever had: the Burrow. After the long and hard job of lugging seven trunks into the house, Harry, Hermione, and Violet were shown their rooms.
"Hermione and Violet can stay with me since we'd be the only girls in the house." Said Ginny to Ron with a smile.
"Fine. Harry can stay with me then. Mum said to get everyone settled in and then to come down for dinner." Ron replied.
The first room they came upon on their assent upstairs was Ginny's room, so all the girls dragged their trunks inside and left Harry and Ron to continue up alone. Finally, when they got to Ron's room, the two of them dragged their trunks in and collapsed on Ron's bed. When they bothered to get up and take a look around, they realized there already was another bed in the room for Harry.
"I'm really glad to be back here, Ron. Your house is the best." Harry said, grinning.
Ron smiled back in reply.
"Oh, didn't your mom want us back downstairs?" Harry remembered.
"That's right. Let's go." Said Ron.
When they got downstairs, they found everyone already waiting for them.
Mrs. Weasely came up behind Violet and said, "Oh dear! We're going to have to make another spot for you at the table!"
And that is exactly what she meant. She took out her wand, pointed it at the table, and it suddenly became longer and a chair appeared for Violet. Then everyone took their seats at the table and began eating and catching up with one another. Percy talked animatedly about his new (and boring) job in his Ministry department with his father while Mrs. Weasely informed everyone else that Bill and Charlie would be coming home a few days before Christmas because they couldn't escape work any sooner. While talking to Fred and George about the next practical joke they were planning for when they got back to school, Ginny suddenly remembered how she would ask Violet about her weird behavior at Hogsmede.
It was totally weird how she lied to Ron, Harry, and Hermione about where she was.Why would she do that? Where did she go really? And, what exactly is up with her and Ron? I'm going to ask her right now.Ginny thought, but how do I get her alone to ask her? I know! I'll just tell her I want to ask her something, and we can talk in my room, so no one will over hear us.
Ginny told Fred and George that she wanted to go talk to Violet, and just walked off before they could answer.
Ginny approached Violet from behind, tapped her on the shoulder, and said, "Oh, Violet.there was something I wanted to ask you."
Violet motioned to the others to continue their conversation and then she followed Ginny back to her room. Once the two of them were inside, Ginny closed the door.
Violet, a bit amused with all of Ginny's secrecy, smiled and said, "What did you want to ask me, Ginny?"
Ginny looked back very seriously and said, "I want to know why you lied to Ron, Harry, and Hermione about where you were during our last Hogsmede visit. And I want to know exact what is up with you and Ron."
The smile faded from Violet's face as she considered whether to tell Ginny the truth or not. She really wanted someone to confide in about this, and since Lydia and Arian were too far away to giver her any immediate feed back, she felt Ginny was her next best option. She couldn't tell Ron because he was one of the people involved in her mess and she couldn't tell Harry or Hermione because they were Ron's closest friends and they both had numerous bad run-ins with Draco themselves.
"Well.to tell you all of those things, I have to start with when I first came to Hogwarts." Violet said, launching into the story of how she first met Draco and the truth telling spell incident.
Then she moved on to her detention with Draco and her date with Ron. She told Ginny how much Draco had changed and how hard it was getting to choose between him and Ron.
".and I just don't know what to do anymore.I know I can't expect either of them to just wait for me to make a choice, but I just can't do it, I can't!" Violet said, finally finishing after talking non-stop for several minutes while Ginny listened in shocked silence.
Ginny didn't know what she expected Violet to tell her, but this definitely was not it. She felt a bit betrayed because she did not like the Malfoys either, but from the sound of things, it seemed as though Draco had changed. But she didn't put it past Draco to be faking it for one reason or another. And she was really on her brother's side in this. Although, she knew it didn't matter what she wanted, it only mattered what Violet wanted. She just decided to tell Violet about her concern with Draco.
With Violet looking expectantly at her, she said, "First of all, I think you should choose Ron. Sometimes he is a bit clueless with girls, but his heart is in the right place. Second, Draco. He could have changed, but he could also just be pretending for some reason. The Malfoys are a really bad bunch. They're all in league with You Know Who."
Violet considered what Ginny told her and said, "No, Ginny.I'm sure of it.This is especially a hard decision because if I choose Draco, Ron, Harry, and Hermione would hate me for it, and it may not be worth it in the end if I'm not happy with him. But if I choose Ron, and I'm not happy with him, I'll just wonder, what if."
"Well, I guess you just have to take that risk, or you'll lose both of them. But, I still think you should choose Ron. He really is a nice guy.after seeing the kind of person Draco is, I really don't trust him." Ginny said, "Well, I think we should go back downstairs and rejoin the others."
Ginny and Violet made their way back downstairs. Violet was no closer to making a decision, but she was just glad she finally had someone she could talk to.
* * *
After a week with the Weaselys, Harry was having the time of his life. He could get used to waking up late every morning and then doing whatever he pleased with Hermione, Ron, Violet, and Ginny.
This morning after another late breakfast Ron said, "Hey, why don't we all play a game of Quidditch? Well, since we don't have any Bludgers or a Snitch, we'll all have to be Chasers or Keepers. Sorry Harry."
"Hey! How dare you all plan a game of Quidditch without us?!?" Fread said melodramatically, pointing to himself and George, "It's a crime, a scandal!!"
"Well, let's go then! We practically have the whole Gryffindor Quidditch team here with us! This will be a great game!" said George, "We can go to our field and pick teams there. We also have a couple of Cleansweeps if anyone needs to borrow a broom."
Everyone began to file out of the living room to go outside. Harry was the last to leave. He happened to glance back into the room and saw that Hermione was still sitting there with her head in a book!
"Aren't you coming with us, Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Well, I just wanted to finish this one chapter in our potions book so I can get ahead on Nebulous potions because Professor Nightshade had said they would probably be on our OWLs -" Hermione started.
"Hermione! These are the Winter Holidays. You do know what a holiday is, don't you?" Harry said in mock exasperation, having teased Hermione about how hard she studies numerous times before.
"Look, when I'm done, I'll watch you guys." she said.
"No, absolutely not. You are going to play with us." Harry said, a matter of factly.
"Harry.you know how horrible I am on a broomstick.you remember our flying lessons in first year? I couldn't get the broom off the ground for the longest time, and when I finally did get the thing off the ground, I just wobbled around all over the place.What if I fall?" Hermione said.
"I'll be there to catch you." Harry said, looking at her reassuringly.
"I don't know about this, Harry." Hermione hesitated.
Harry held out his hand to her, a shy smile crossing his face as he said, "Come on, it'll be fun."
Hermione put down her book, took his hand, and smiled back. She let herself be led outside where everyone else was waiting for them.
"What took you guys so long, huh?" Ron asked Harry and Hermione playfully while elbowing Harry suggestively.
"Well, I was just convincing Hermione to come play Quidditch with us." Harry said, feeling his face go a little red.
Harry wondered why Ginny and Violet kept looking at him and Hermione questioningly, when he finally realized he was still holding Hermione's hand. Hermione realized this as well, so she abruptly let go. Violet giggled, Ron smiled, but Ginny seemed slightly hurt. Before anything else could be said, Fred cut in.
"Are we picking teams now, or what? George and I will be the captains since we're the oldest and most responsible."
When everyone finished laughing at them, George said with a wink, "Okay fine. It's just because we're older."
"Okay, I'm picking first!" said Fred, "I pick Harry because he's got that spanking fast Firebolt."
"I get Ron and Violet." Said George.
"Hey! How come you get two people in one pick?!" said Fred.
"Because, just maybe their brooms' max speeds combined will get close to Harry's." George said, causing another tumult of laughter.
"Fine. I'll get Hermione and Ginny then." Fred said.
The teams separated to their respective sides. George choose Ron to be Keeper for their team and Fred, himself, decided to be Keeper for his. Since they had no hoops, each Keeper flew in front of some tall trees to guard. Harry saw that George had brought an old soccer ball for them to use as a Quaffle. Once the Keepers had taken their places, the rest of the players gathered at the middle of the field. George took the liberty of telling everyone of the remaining rules.
"Since we have no Snitch, we'll just play for an hour. The team with the most amount of points then wins. Let's play!" George said, kicking the ball high in the air.
Violet and Ginny automatically took off after it, while Harry soared high into the air on his Firebolt. It felt just as great now as it always did to leave the ground and soar to the clouds. Watching the game from above, he observed everyone else. Hermione wasn't kidding. She really did wobble all over the place.
I've got to find that Snitch! Harry thought.
But then it struck him. There was no Snitch! He was a chaser! He quickly lowered his height and saw that Violet had just scored another goal. George's team was now ahead by 10!
Man, this Chaser stuff is hard to get used to.thought Harry.
50 minutes into the game, the teams were tied. Ginny managed to get the ball away from Violet, and passed to Harry. He zoomed across the field to the trees that Ron was guarding. Harry raised his arm to throw the ball, but Violet and George surprised him from behind, making him drop the ball. Hermione was right under him, but only by chance. Before she realized what happened, the ball had dropped into her arms.
"Throw it, Hermione!! Throw it!!" Harry yelled.
Without thinking about it, Hermione lobbed the ball as hard as she could toward the trees Ron was guarding and then grabbed on to her broom for dear life as it spun out of control. Ron did not expect such a throw from Hermione, and dived for the ball too late. The ball slipped through his hands and Hermione made the goal! Everyone came back to the ground, and Fred's team rejoiced on their win. They all enclosed Hermione in a bear hug. But when the excitement of the win died down a bit, the group slowly pulled away from her. Everyone, except Harry.
"I can't believe you won us the game! That was really amazing." Harry whispered in her ear.
"I'm glad you convinced me to play." Hermione whispered back.
Suddenly, everything just seemed too quiet around them. They pulled away from each other, and realized everyone was staring at them both. With their faces burning, they stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say or do. Finally, after a very long and excruciating minute for Harry and Hermione, someone decided to say something.
"It appears you two might like a moment alone." said George, in his best teasing voice.
"Harry, you lucky boy!" Fred added.
Hermione just avoided everyone's eyes while Harry gave Fred a sheepish smile.
"Well, umm.I think mum would have dinner ready for us by now." Ron said, smiling, but knowing how awkward this must be for his two friends, "We'd better get going, or else she'll have all of our hides."
Harry and Hermione, glad for an excuse to get moving, led the way to the house, closely followed by the rest.
* * *
Dear Violet,
Even class with Professor Nightshade is better than Christmas holidays at he Malfoy household.class may be horrible, but at least I can see you. Here, I don't get to see anyone. All I ever do is read, or if I get bored of that, I go for a ride on my broomstick in the backyard. I wouldn't even mind if Potter or Weasely were here so I could just insult them a little bit.maybe that would make me feel better. On second thought, I don't want Weasely anywhere near me. I might catch a poor disease or something. I can understand that you'd feel for Weasely out of pity, but don't make the mistake of thinking it's anything else. You've changed me in ways I never even thought possible, and I hate to think that there might even be the slight chance I might lose you to him. What does he have, that I cannot give you? I think I've said enough for now. Please write me back.the only thing that I look forward to in this place is reading your next letter.
Love,
Draco
Draco re-read his letter.
Love.I think that's the first time I've ever used that word.Draco thought, feeling melancholy.
Draco got up from his desk and went to the wall on the opposite side of his room. There was one gold and one silver wire hanging down the wall. Draco pulled the gold one, making a bell ring in a distant room somewhere in the house. He summoned one of the family owls to him. A few minutes later, he found an owl waiting for him to open the window to his room. He let it inside, and attached his letter to its leg. Then he sent it on its way. As he was just about to lie on his bed and stare aimlessly at the ceiling, as he often did in his boredom, he heard voices in the drawing room, which was fairly close to his own.
I didn't think we'd have visitors today.Draco thought curiously.
He crept down the hallway, careful not to make a sound. He saw an amber light coming from the room into the dark hallway. His father had lit a fire in the room. He listened, and heard his father's voice and a cold, raspy voice he did not recognize. He edged closer to the door. He got as close as he could without casting a shadow in the light coming from the fire.
".I don't know why you insisted in calling me here, Lucius. Especially the after the way you betrayed me last time." the cold voice finished threateningly.
"To show you I was always loyal to you, my Lord. I have found a way to get you something that can bring you back to what your strength used to be.even give you more." Lucius said in a humble voice that didn't suit him.
That's Lord Voldemort! Draco thought in surprise and shock.
Voldemort laughed chillingly.
"I was already aware of this object, Lucius. But it may help your well being if you tell me how to obtain it. And.you would do well to tell your son not to lurk in doorways." Voldemort said in his harsh whisper.
Draco gave a start at Voldemort's mention of him.
Lucius looked to the door and said severely, "Draco. Come and face the Dark Lord like a man."
Draco left the safety of the dark hallway to join his father. He walked cautiously up to the fireplace and finally saw Voldemort's face close up. It scarcely looked human. Draco felt a chill course through his body as those serpentine eyes sized him up, but he did not show it outwardly. He had heard enough stories from his father to know it is best to not show fear to Voldemort. Draco looked right back at Voldemort with as much courage he could muster.
Voldemort sneered at Draco and said, "You are just like your father.and probably just as treacherous."
Lucius stepped forward with some fear of Voldemort's wrath and said, "But my Lord.I have - "
"Silence." Voldemort cut him off with his sharp whisper, "I know how quickly you went back on your oath of sworn allegiance to me when it suited your purposes. Azkaban would have been a blessing to you compared to what I do to those who cross me."
Lucius was almost literally shaking in his boots hearing those words from Voldemort, while Draco's fear kept his feet rooted to the floor beside his father. Voldemort, seeing their reactions, laughed cruelly.
"Calm down, Lucius. I will not punish you now because I still have a use for you. I am giving you an opportunity to redeem yourself to me. But understand one thing. You are being given a rare chance that few others get who betray me. If you fail me this time, you should prepare for your end. And what a sticky end that would be." Voldemort said, the sneer never leaving his face.
"Yes, my Lord." Lucius said in complete obedience, fearing for his life.
"Very good. Tell your son exactly what will be required of him. Hopefully he will perform admirably in the future rather than now where he was hiding and cowering in the darkness. He is vital to our plan." Voldemort explained.
"We are faithful servants. We will not fail you." Lucius said with conviction.
Voldemort just sneered in reply and said, "That you are, now that you can hide behind your wealth and status you've gained from your position in the pathetically politicized Ministry of Magic. Do not think you have me fooled, Lucius. Lord Voldemort knows all."
"Of course, my Lord." Lucius replied.
With that, Voldemort's face finally disappeared from the flames.
"You should feel proud, Draco, that the Dark Lord has taken you into his service." Lucius said once the fear from the encounter subsided, "We will discuss your part in the plan tomorrow."
Lucius left the room before Draco could reply. Standing there, and thinking about what just happened, Draco felt anything but proud. In fact, he felt more confused by his contradicting thoughts. On one hand, he felt thrilled that his father entrusted something so important to him, but on the other, he knew that if Violet found out about his family's involvement with Voldemort, she would hate him and maybe even fear him. Once again, he felt torn between two sides, even more so than when he had first decided he liked her, inspite of her being a mudblood.
Dad would be so disappointed in me if I didn't do this for the Dark Lord. Dissapointed?!? Disappointed is too a nice word.I think he'd kill me.but I don't want to lose Violet now, especially to that poor, good for nothing, Weasely. Draco thought.
Draco walked back to his bedroom and wrestled with all these contradictions.
* * *
After several minutes of driving on the Muggle streets of London, Harry, Hermione, the Weaselys, and Violet reached the only place that felt more like home to Harry than Privet Drive ever had: the Burrow. After the long and hard job of lugging seven trunks into the house, Harry, Hermione, and Violet were shown their rooms.
"Hermione and Violet can stay with me since we'd be the only girls in the house." Said Ginny to Ron with a smile.
"Fine. Harry can stay with me then. Mum said to get everyone settled in and then to come down for dinner." Ron replied.
The first room they came upon on their assent upstairs was Ginny's room, so all the girls dragged their trunks inside and left Harry and Ron to continue up alone. Finally, when they got to Ron's room, the two of them dragged their trunks in and collapsed on Ron's bed. When they bothered to get up and take a look around, they realized there already was another bed in the room for Harry.
"I'm really glad to be back here, Ron. Your house is the best." Harry said, grinning.
Ron smiled back in reply.
"Oh, didn't your mom want us back downstairs?" Harry remembered.
"That's right. Let's go." Said Ron.
When they got downstairs, they found everyone already waiting for them.
Mrs. Weasely came up behind Violet and said, "Oh dear! We're going to have to make another spot for you at the table!"
And that is exactly what she meant. She took out her wand, pointed it at the table, and it suddenly became longer and a chair appeared for Violet. Then everyone took their seats at the table and began eating and catching up with one another. Percy talked animatedly about his new (and boring) job in his Ministry department with his father while Mrs. Weasely informed everyone else that Bill and Charlie would be coming home a few days before Christmas because they couldn't escape work any sooner. While talking to Fred and George about the next practical joke they were planning for when they got back to school, Ginny suddenly remembered how she would ask Violet about her weird behavior at Hogsmede.
It was totally weird how she lied to Ron, Harry, and Hermione about where she was.Why would she do that? Where did she go really? And, what exactly is up with her and Ron? I'm going to ask her right now.Ginny thought, but how do I get her alone to ask her? I know! I'll just tell her I want to ask her something, and we can talk in my room, so no one will over hear us.
Ginny told Fred and George that she wanted to go talk to Violet, and just walked off before they could answer.
Ginny approached Violet from behind, tapped her on the shoulder, and said, "Oh, Violet.there was something I wanted to ask you."
Violet motioned to the others to continue their conversation and then she followed Ginny back to her room. Once the two of them were inside, Ginny closed the door.
Violet, a bit amused with all of Ginny's secrecy, smiled and said, "What did you want to ask me, Ginny?"
Ginny looked back very seriously and said, "I want to know why you lied to Ron, Harry, and Hermione about where you were during our last Hogsmede visit. And I want to know exact what is up with you and Ron."
The smile faded from Violet's face as she considered whether to tell Ginny the truth or not. She really wanted someone to confide in about this, and since Lydia and Arian were too far away to giver her any immediate feed back, she felt Ginny was her next best option. She couldn't tell Ron because he was one of the people involved in her mess and she couldn't tell Harry or Hermione because they were Ron's closest friends and they both had numerous bad run-ins with Draco themselves.
"Well.to tell you all of those things, I have to start with when I first came to Hogwarts." Violet said, launching into the story of how she first met Draco and the truth telling spell incident.
Then she moved on to her detention with Draco and her date with Ron. She told Ginny how much Draco had changed and how hard it was getting to choose between him and Ron.
".and I just don't know what to do anymore.I know I can't expect either of them to just wait for me to make a choice, but I just can't do it, I can't!" Violet said, finally finishing after talking non-stop for several minutes while Ginny listened in shocked silence.
Ginny didn't know what she expected Violet to tell her, but this definitely was not it. She felt a bit betrayed because she did not like the Malfoys either, but from the sound of things, it seemed as though Draco had changed. But she didn't put it past Draco to be faking it for one reason or another. And she was really on her brother's side in this. Although, she knew it didn't matter what she wanted, it only mattered what Violet wanted. She just decided to tell Violet about her concern with Draco.
With Violet looking expectantly at her, she said, "First of all, I think you should choose Ron. Sometimes he is a bit clueless with girls, but his heart is in the right place. Second, Draco. He could have changed, but he could also just be pretending for some reason. The Malfoys are a really bad bunch. They're all in league with You Know Who."
Violet considered what Ginny told her and said, "No, Ginny.I'm sure of it.This is especially a hard decision because if I choose Draco, Ron, Harry, and Hermione would hate me for it, and it may not be worth it in the end if I'm not happy with him. But if I choose Ron, and I'm not happy with him, I'll just wonder, what if."
"Well, I guess you just have to take that risk, or you'll lose both of them. But, I still think you should choose Ron. He really is a nice guy.after seeing the kind of person Draco is, I really don't trust him." Ginny said, "Well, I think we should go back downstairs and rejoin the others."
Ginny and Violet made their way back downstairs. Violet was no closer to making a decision, but she was just glad she finally had someone she could talk to.
* * *
After a week with the Weaselys, Harry was having the time of his life. He could get used to waking up late every morning and then doing whatever he pleased with Hermione, Ron, Violet, and Ginny.
This morning after another late breakfast Ron said, "Hey, why don't we all play a game of Quidditch? Well, since we don't have any Bludgers or a Snitch, we'll all have to be Chasers or Keepers. Sorry Harry."
"Hey! How dare you all plan a game of Quidditch without us?!?" Fread said melodramatically, pointing to himself and George, "It's a crime, a scandal!!"
"Well, let's go then! We practically have the whole Gryffindor Quidditch team here with us! This will be a great game!" said George, "We can go to our field and pick teams there. We also have a couple of Cleansweeps if anyone needs to borrow a broom."
Everyone began to file out of the living room to go outside. Harry was the last to leave. He happened to glance back into the room and saw that Hermione was still sitting there with her head in a book!
"Aren't you coming with us, Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Well, I just wanted to finish this one chapter in our potions book so I can get ahead on Nebulous potions because Professor Nightshade had said they would probably be on our OWLs -" Hermione started.
"Hermione! These are the Winter Holidays. You do know what a holiday is, don't you?" Harry said in mock exasperation, having teased Hermione about how hard she studies numerous times before.
"Look, when I'm done, I'll watch you guys." she said.
"No, absolutely not. You are going to play with us." Harry said, a matter of factly.
"Harry.you know how horrible I am on a broomstick.you remember our flying lessons in first year? I couldn't get the broom off the ground for the longest time, and when I finally did get the thing off the ground, I just wobbled around all over the place.What if I fall?" Hermione said.
"I'll be there to catch you." Harry said, looking at her reassuringly.
"I don't know about this, Harry." Hermione hesitated.
Harry held out his hand to her, a shy smile crossing his face as he said, "Come on, it'll be fun."
Hermione put down her book, took his hand, and smiled back. She let herself be led outside where everyone else was waiting for them.
"What took you guys so long, huh?" Ron asked Harry and Hermione playfully while elbowing Harry suggestively.
"Well, I was just convincing Hermione to come play Quidditch with us." Harry said, feeling his face go a little red.
Harry wondered why Ginny and Violet kept looking at him and Hermione questioningly, when he finally realized he was still holding Hermione's hand. Hermione realized this as well, so she abruptly let go. Violet giggled, Ron smiled, but Ginny seemed slightly hurt. Before anything else could be said, Fred cut in.
"Are we picking teams now, or what? George and I will be the captains since we're the oldest and most responsible."
When everyone finished laughing at them, George said with a wink, "Okay fine. It's just because we're older."
"Okay, I'm picking first!" said Fred, "I pick Harry because he's got that spanking fast Firebolt."
"I get Ron and Violet." Said George.
"Hey! How come you get two people in one pick?!" said Fred.
"Because, just maybe their brooms' max speeds combined will get close to Harry's." George said, causing another tumult of laughter.
"Fine. I'll get Hermione and Ginny then." Fred said.
The teams separated to their respective sides. George choose Ron to be Keeper for their team and Fred, himself, decided to be Keeper for his. Since they had no hoops, each Keeper flew in front of some tall trees to guard. Harry saw that George had brought an old soccer ball for them to use as a Quaffle. Once the Keepers had taken their places, the rest of the players gathered at the middle of the field. George took the liberty of telling everyone of the remaining rules.
"Since we have no Snitch, we'll just play for an hour. The team with the most amount of points then wins. Let's play!" George said, kicking the ball high in the air.
Violet and Ginny automatically took off after it, while Harry soared high into the air on his Firebolt. It felt just as great now as it always did to leave the ground and soar to the clouds. Watching the game from above, he observed everyone else. Hermione wasn't kidding. She really did wobble all over the place.
I've got to find that Snitch! Harry thought.
But then it struck him. There was no Snitch! He was a chaser! He quickly lowered his height and saw that Violet had just scored another goal. George's team was now ahead by 10!
Man, this Chaser stuff is hard to get used to.thought Harry.
50 minutes into the game, the teams were tied. Ginny managed to get the ball away from Violet, and passed to Harry. He zoomed across the field to the trees that Ron was guarding. Harry raised his arm to throw the ball, but Violet and George surprised him from behind, making him drop the ball. Hermione was right under him, but only by chance. Before she realized what happened, the ball had dropped into her arms.
"Throw it, Hermione!! Throw it!!" Harry yelled.
Without thinking about it, Hermione lobbed the ball as hard as she could toward the trees Ron was guarding and then grabbed on to her broom for dear life as it spun out of control. Ron did not expect such a throw from Hermione, and dived for the ball too late. The ball slipped through his hands and Hermione made the goal! Everyone came back to the ground, and Fred's team rejoiced on their win. They all enclosed Hermione in a bear hug. But when the excitement of the win died down a bit, the group slowly pulled away from her. Everyone, except Harry.
"I can't believe you won us the game! That was really amazing." Harry whispered in her ear.
"I'm glad you convinced me to play." Hermione whispered back.
Suddenly, everything just seemed too quiet around them. They pulled away from each other, and realized everyone was staring at them both. With their faces burning, they stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to say or do. Finally, after a very long and excruciating minute for Harry and Hermione, someone decided to say something.
"It appears you two might like a moment alone." said George, in his best teasing voice.
"Harry, you lucky boy!" Fred added.
Hermione just avoided everyone's eyes while Harry gave Fred a sheepish smile.
"Well, umm.I think mum would have dinner ready for us by now." Ron said, smiling, but knowing how awkward this must be for his two friends, "We'd better get going, or else she'll have all of our hides."
Harry and Hermione, glad for an excuse to get moving, led the way to the house, closely followed by the rest.
* * *
Dear Violet,
Even class with Professor Nightshade is better than Christmas holidays at he Malfoy household.class may be horrible, but at least I can see you. Here, I don't get to see anyone. All I ever do is read, or if I get bored of that, I go for a ride on my broomstick in the backyard. I wouldn't even mind if Potter or Weasely were here so I could just insult them a little bit.maybe that would make me feel better. On second thought, I don't want Weasely anywhere near me. I might catch a poor disease or something. I can understand that you'd feel for Weasely out of pity, but don't make the mistake of thinking it's anything else. You've changed me in ways I never even thought possible, and I hate to think that there might even be the slight chance I might lose you to him. What does he have, that I cannot give you? I think I've said enough for now. Please write me back.the only thing that I look forward to in this place is reading your next letter.
Love,
Draco
Draco re-read his letter.
Love.I think that's the first time I've ever used that word.Draco thought, feeling melancholy.
Draco got up from his desk and went to the wall on the opposite side of his room. There was one gold and one silver wire hanging down the wall. Draco pulled the gold one, making a bell ring in a distant room somewhere in the house. He summoned one of the family owls to him. A few minutes later, he found an owl waiting for him to open the window to his room. He let it inside, and attached his letter to its leg. Then he sent it on its way. As he was just about to lie on his bed and stare aimlessly at the ceiling, as he often did in his boredom, he heard voices in the drawing room, which was fairly close to his own.
I didn't think we'd have visitors today.Draco thought curiously.
He crept down the hallway, careful not to make a sound. He saw an amber light coming from the room into the dark hallway. His father had lit a fire in the room. He listened, and heard his father's voice and a cold, raspy voice he did not recognize. He edged closer to the door. He got as close as he could without casting a shadow in the light coming from the fire.
".I don't know why you insisted in calling me here, Lucius. Especially the after the way you betrayed me last time." the cold voice finished threateningly.
"To show you I was always loyal to you, my Lord. I have found a way to get you something that can bring you back to what your strength used to be.even give you more." Lucius said in a humble voice that didn't suit him.
That's Lord Voldemort! Draco thought in surprise and shock.
Voldemort laughed chillingly.
"I was already aware of this object, Lucius. But it may help your well being if you tell me how to obtain it. And.you would do well to tell your son not to lurk in doorways." Voldemort said in his harsh whisper.
Draco gave a start at Voldemort's mention of him.
Lucius looked to the door and said severely, "Draco. Come and face the Dark Lord like a man."
Draco left the safety of the dark hallway to join his father. He walked cautiously up to the fireplace and finally saw Voldemort's face close up. It scarcely looked human. Draco felt a chill course through his body as those serpentine eyes sized him up, but he did not show it outwardly. He had heard enough stories from his father to know it is best to not show fear to Voldemort. Draco looked right back at Voldemort with as much courage he could muster.
Voldemort sneered at Draco and said, "You are just like your father.and probably just as treacherous."
Lucius stepped forward with some fear of Voldemort's wrath and said, "But my Lord.I have - "
"Silence." Voldemort cut him off with his sharp whisper, "I know how quickly you went back on your oath of sworn allegiance to me when it suited your purposes. Azkaban would have been a blessing to you compared to what I do to those who cross me."
Lucius was almost literally shaking in his boots hearing those words from Voldemort, while Draco's fear kept his feet rooted to the floor beside his father. Voldemort, seeing their reactions, laughed cruelly.
"Calm down, Lucius. I will not punish you now because I still have a use for you. I am giving you an opportunity to redeem yourself to me. But understand one thing. You are being given a rare chance that few others get who betray me. If you fail me this time, you should prepare for your end. And what a sticky end that would be." Voldemort said, the sneer never leaving his face.
"Yes, my Lord." Lucius said in complete obedience, fearing for his life.
"Very good. Tell your son exactly what will be required of him. Hopefully he will perform admirably in the future rather than now where he was hiding and cowering in the darkness. He is vital to our plan." Voldemort explained.
"We are faithful servants. We will not fail you." Lucius said with conviction.
Voldemort just sneered in reply and said, "That you are, now that you can hide behind your wealth and status you've gained from your position in the pathetically politicized Ministry of Magic. Do not think you have me fooled, Lucius. Lord Voldemort knows all."
"Of course, my Lord." Lucius replied.
With that, Voldemort's face finally disappeared from the flames.
"You should feel proud, Draco, that the Dark Lord has taken you into his service." Lucius said once the fear from the encounter subsided, "We will discuss your part in the plan tomorrow."
Lucius left the room before Draco could reply. Standing there, and thinking about what just happened, Draco felt anything but proud. In fact, he felt more confused by his contradicting thoughts. On one hand, he felt thrilled that his father entrusted something so important to him, but on the other, he knew that if Violet found out about his family's involvement with Voldemort, she would hate him and maybe even fear him. Once again, he felt torn between two sides, even more so than when he had first decided he liked her, inspite of her being a mudblood.
Dad would be so disappointed in me if I didn't do this for the Dark Lord. Dissapointed?!? Disappointed is too a nice word.I think he'd kill me.but I don't want to lose Violet now, especially to that poor, good for nothing, Weasely. Draco thought.
Draco walked back to his bedroom and wrestled with all these contradictions.
* * *