In which Ila has no idea what to do anymore

"Today reports of the missing Gringott's worker had been found in the middle of the Ministry. Its dead body was placed in the middle of the centrepiece that had been funded by philanthropist Lucius Malfoy. Ministry employees were shocked and disgusted to see that someone had done this. The confusing thing was the letter that was attached to the Goblin. While the contents of the letter haven't been released, after speaking to a few employees that were there, we had managed to get a few clues.

"It was like some…weird riddle. Something about fire, horses and 'the end is nigh.' Whoever did this was completely insane."

"There was no way it was a wizard who did this. Of course, there are tensions between wizards and goblins, and this is something that we are combatting," Ministry of Magic, Cornelius Fudge said when we asked him for an answer. "But I can assure you this is not the work of a wizard. I mean – look – well, obviously, don't look but…there were stab wounds all over the thing – the body. Its blood was completely drained. A wizard wouldn't go to those lengths just to kill a goblin. It must have been a muggle. They probably stumbled into Diagon Alley and saw it and…I suppose you can guess the rest."

"I mean, I don't remember much…actually, there was – there was something strange on the note. Er – it was some strange symbol. Like a – I don't fucking – shit – sorry. Am I allowed to swear – is that pen going to keep – shit. Fuck! Sorry – sorry – I'll stop swearing – er – the symbol…was…a…double…what's the fucking – sorry – found it…It was a double spiral."

What a strange man, Ila thought after reading that article. She turned the page to see the image of the goblin that had been murdered. Maybe Fudge was right. Usually, wizards would use the Death Curse and that was it. Voldemort used that spell.

"Have you seen this?" Ila asked, pushing the newspaper article across the table to Malfoy. After their first meeting, they would meet up occasionally every couple of days. All in the secret of course. She didn't even tell Ron and Hermione the first time.

"How was it? Did he hurt you? We checked the map. We thought you looked - "

"I'm fine," Ila said, collapsing onto the couch in the practically empty common room. Her friends sat beside her, eager to hear about what happened.

"Go on then," Ron prodded. "What he did say?"

Ila knew that the best answer was the truth. She should have told them everything that happened, from him taking her to the Room of Requirement to fixing her knee and hand to them researching about the Sisters of…Sisters for the entire night, not even saying a word to each other before he decided that it was enough for the night and let her go back. She should have said that it was strange how civil the two were being as if they were friends who were on a mission to take the Sisters down but…

"He just…gave me a bunch of newspapers to read."

"What were they about?" Hermoine asked.

"The Sisters of…remember that group that the – er woman was murder -"

"He was interested in the Sisters of Heliopolis?" Hermione said. "You didn't learn anything about You Know Who?"

Ila shook her head.

"Was that it?" Ron asked, narrowing his eyes. "You two read the entire time."

Ila nodded. Whatever happened in the Room was…it was private. It was a private moment between the two of them. To Ila…it felt as if they were truly alone, in their own world. She didn't her friends to know, to pry into their world. Ila wondered if the reason why Malfoy warned her not to tell her friends about this was that he knew this was going to happen. It would have been easier not to tell her friends than to tell them the half-truth. They wouldn't constantly question her every move.

Why didn't she move away? Why didn't she shout? Why did she stay?

She didn't know why. She didn't know if she was pleasing him so that he would spill all his secrets or if she was starting to enjoy his presence.

"What is it?" Malfoy asked, pushing a few pieces of paper away from him. There was a clear difference as to who owned which part of the table. Ila's side was filled with cutout articles, notes from Malfoy, opened books stacked precariously on the side of the table. Malfoy's was practically bare, apart from the more stable piles of paper surrounding him.

"Turn the page," Ila said.

"Fuck me," he breathed, crinkling his nose at the sight of the bloody goblin – well, not so bloody considering he was drained. "How long ago was this?"

"A few days ago," Ila said. "Did your father mention anything about it?"

Ila could see the instant reaction of his hands clutching the paper a bit too hard. "What would he have anything to do with it?"

"I'm not saying that he's the one who did it," Ila said quickly.

Malfoy looked up. "That's not what I meant."

He's acting, she thought.

"Right, well I meant because the goblin was found on the statue that your father funded, wouldn't he know?" she said.

"I don't know," he said, pushing the paper away from him and going back to his work.

"Don't you think you could ask - "

"No," Malfoy said with a sense of finality.

She shouldn't push further. He might get so pissed off, he'll leave her alone. And that was the last thing she needed.

"Are you excited for the Yule Ball then?" Ila said, immediately cringing her attempt at small talk. It seemed that Malfoy was also surprised at her question. He glanced at her over the newspaper.

"Having to dance with you in front of the entire school?" he said. "It's not really how I'd like to spend my Christmas."

Ila scoffed, knowing full well that he was lying again. "Don't act as if you'll hate it."

"It didn't sound like you were too pleased with us going either," Malfoy pointed out.

"Ok…maybe I was slightly too harsh - "

"If I remember correctly, you told me that even if we're the last two people on Earth and dancing with one another was the only way to save the world, you'd rather drown yourself than go anywhere near me."

"Maybe slightly was a bit of understatement," Ila muttered, looking down at the table.

She looked regretful, Draco thought. Maybe she did want to be with him. He bit back his smile. In all honestly, that was the only thing on his mind since he was told by Ila and then by Snape in front of the entire Slytherin house. Of course, he had to pretend to be disgusted but… "Have you gotten your suit yet? I bet your parents got you the fanciest one you can get?"

"What about you? How did you get yours?" he asked.

"Because I have no parents?" she said bluntly. Draco cursed himself. What was wrong with him? She smiled. "I have the Weasleys. She bought me this Anarkali suit…right, you don't know what that is."

Should he know? Would she like it if she already knew what it was? Would she be impressed? Ever since he was told by Snape in front of the entire Slytherin house that the two were going together to the Yule Ball, he couldn't help but think about what the night would be like. Of course, he knew the two would share a dance, but…he hoped there would be more…

"You're staring again Draco," she said, though she had a smile on her face. The two were dancing outside, away from the prying eyes of the students. The muffled bass of the Weird Sisters was enough for them to sway to the beat. It was cold. Ila wasn't wearing any shoes either. She stepped onto his shoes, pulling herself closer to him. His hands adjusted, moving down to her waist, hugging her, while her arms stayed close to his chest, the warmest part of his body.

"You know I can't help it, Ila," he whispered in her ear, knowing she'd like it. "You're too beautiful."

He didn't need to see her, to know her smile widened. She leaned closer, resting her head on his chest. "You don't look too bad yourself. Where'd you get the suit from?"

"Hogsmeade." Draco wrapped his arms tighter when he felt her shiver and rested his chin on top of her head.

"I thought your parents got it for you."

Draco shook his head. "You still think they'd talk to me after everything that happened?"

Ila looked up to him, pity in her eyes. He didn't get annoyed like he did when it was Dumbledore.

"Not even your mum?"

"I tried talking to her but - "

"She didn't want to listen?" He shook his head again. "She'll get over it…give her a bit of time Draco." He smiled sadly, humming in response. "She'll understand one day…besides, you're her son. She can't ignore you forever."

"You know she's left the Manor now," Draco said, looking over Ila's head to watch the snow pour around them.

"Since when?"

Draco shrugged. "I came back to pick a few things and no one was there. I checked and…all her stuff was gone."

"Where are you going to stay then?" Ila said, pulling away slightly to get his attention. "You can't stay by yourself."

"I revel in being alone Ila."

She rolled her eyes. "It's not because of that – it's not safe. You know it isn't. You have to stay somewhere else. You could stay with the Weas - "

"Ila," Draco warned playfully. "You better not say what I think you're going to say."

"First of all, they're not that bad. Second of all…" Ila glanced down. "I'll be there."

Draco smirked, tilting her chin up. "Is that so?"

"You know what, keep smiling like that and maybe I'll lock you in the Manor myself," she threatened.

"I'll do you one better," he murmured.

"What's that?"

"Stay with me."

There was a look of momentary shock, her eyebrows raised reflexively. "Where?"

"At the Manor," he said, enjoying her shock. "Just the two of us."

"Am I even allowed in there?"

"If both my parents are gone, the house's under my command," Draco said. "I won't let it hurt you."

"Draco…"

"Yeah?"

"Draco…"

"Yeah?"

"DRACO!"

A rolled-up newspaper came flying towards him, only missing him inches away. Had he been daydreaming all this time? He looked up to see Ila standing there, her arms akimbo.

"What the fuck? I've been calling your name for the past ten minutes. Where did you go?"

You don't want to know, he thought.

"Nowhere," Draco said. "And anyway, I know what you're talking about it."

Ila raised a brow, easily seeing him through his lies. "What is it then?"

"Well, it's a er – it's a….suit…yeah a suit. It's got trousers and…a blazar…" Draco said, trying to gain any reaction from her face to see if he was impressing her or completely embarrassing himself. He couldn't tell.

Ila started to pack up her things, taking pieces of the articles that she had found with her before heading out of the room.

"Well – am I right?" he called out hopefully.

Ila looked back at him and smiled.

"Not one bit," she said, bulldozing over any hope that he wasn't actually a complete fool. "But – make sure it doesn't clash with red."

"What're you reading?"

"Nothing," Ila quickly replied, scrambling her parchment to cover up the articles she hadn't finished reading from their session in the morning. Ron looked at her suspiciously as he sat down opposite her, ready for their Divination lesson to start. "What?"

"Where did you go? We couldn't find you during breakfast?"

"Oh I was – er – I was" – Ila looked around the room to find inspiration for a lie – "I was in the library, looking for glass…cushions…"

She was such a shit liar.

"Right," Ron said unsure. "Me and Hermione you were in some empty classroom snogging Malfoy."

Ila choked on her spit. "W-what?"

Ron smiled. "Joking…just don't let me catch you doing it with him on the Yule Ball."

"Ron!" Ila exclaimed, kicking him in the shin as she saw a few people turn around. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"It's just a – why are you getting so worked up about a joke?" he asked, massaging his leg.

"Because it's a stupid joke," Ila said, making sure that no one was watching them anymore. "It's not like I wanted to go with him anyway."

"You were pretty ready to ask him if I remember correctly."

"No, I wasn't."

"Yes, you was."

"It's were and you're just saying that because you're jealous that you haven't found anyone."

"Funny actually because I was going to ask someone today anyway."

"What?" Ila said, momentarily shocked. "Who?"

But before she could answer, Trewlany entered.

Ila immediately tuned her out, knowing that this being their last lesson was practically a free period for all that she cared – but then again, any Divination lesson was a free period for her. Her thoughts drifted back to their conversation.

Ron was right. What was going on with her?

It was a silly joke. It didn't mean anything…

But why would she get so angry? She's not usually…aggressive…well not that aggressive. She's fine with Ron making jokes like that. What was going on with her? You don't get annoyed when someone makes fun of you unless it…unless it's tru –

SLAM!

"If you ever hear that noise, my darlings, you must run immediately," Trewlany said, her bug eyes bulging, making them even bigger. "You cannot stay there. You must go, go I tell you."

"Er – what is she talking about?" Ila whispered as she watched her grab Neville's shoulder and vigorously shake him.

"I have no idea why you're asking me," Ron replied, also watching in concern for Neville. Trelawny spun on her feet. She took two steps up at a time before standing in front of Ron and Ila. She grabbed her wand, ready for any sudden movements Trewlany was about to make. Slowly, Trewlany lowered herself to Ila, watching her.

"You know who I'm talking about don't you?"

"Huh?"

"Think Ila," she whispered. "Think about your greatest fear, Ila. I want you to think about it right now."

"What – why - "

"Do it," Trewlany ordered.

Voldemort?

"No, not that one," Trewlany said as if reading Ila's mind. Maybe she was. "Think deeper than that Ila. Who's behind him?"

There was only one figure that came to mind. The same figure she saw, riding the horse on her tarot card. The same figure that broke her down in the hallway.

"Death," Ila said, her voice barely above a whisper. Ron looked from the side, watching the two interact with great intensity. Trelawny had always said Ila would die, whether it was from a dog or a great height, it didn't matter. Trelawny had always found a way to link Ila to Death.

"It's not on purpose, Ron," Trewlany said, slowly looking at the surprised Ron. "It's not my fault. The two always find their ways back to each other." Trelawny shot back up. "All of you should be scared. You must not let Death take you so easily. He is one of the greatest mysteries the world has. He has tricks up his sleeve. But the one thing all of you must know – he is merciful. If he feels as if you have been wronged, you must tell him. You must negotiate with him. However, there is only one person he will bow down to." Trelawny looked back down at her. "You Ila must never run. You cannot run. You must look at him. You must greet him. Greet him like an old friend."

"Right," she said unsure. "Why exactly are you telling us all of this?"

"Don't stop her now," Parvati hissed at Ila.

Trelawny seemed to ignore the question, turning away from Ila and heading back to the middle of the mock amphitheatre that was their classroom. She walked past her table, to the windows behind it, which, unusually were drawn. It was dark even though it was only been nine o'clock. Snow was starting to fall. The Yule Ball would be only a few days away. But any thought disappeared from Ila's mind when Trewlany had finally answered her question.

"I fear something bad is going to come," she said with the same intensity from when she had given Ila that prophecy last year. Ila's body was starting to shake. She wasn't sure if she was cold or if it was something else. "I've felt it the whole summer. It's gotten worse as the days have gone past. I cannot sit idly, waiting for something to happen without preparing everyone."

"But Professor – you're talking about Death," Ila said. For some reason, it seemed that most of the other students weren't taking it as seriously. But they weren't there last year. They didn't see Ila's dream. They don't know that He's…back.

For the first time, it seemed that Trewlany and Ila had the same thought.

"Be careful my children…I do not want to see grey flags in the Great Hall in Memorium for any of you."

"What the fuck just happened?" Ron said, just as wide-eyed and shocked as Ila as they climbed down the ladder.

"I don't know."

"She wasn't being serious was she?" Ron asked, lowering his voice so that Ila wouldn't suspect him of being scared.

Ila looked at him. "She sounded the exact same way as last year. You know – when she was talking about Pettigrew and everything. Not to mention – she is sort of right. I mean – You Know Who's back."

"We don't actually know that for sure and secondly, it's just a coincidence. Maybe Dumbledore told her about everything."

"Dumbledore wouldn't go around, blurting everything that I tell him. In that case, all the teachers would know that Malfoy's a…that he's death eater," she said, hesitating to say the last part.

"He probably did say it because he wanted to keep everyone safe."

"Since when did you become Hermione?" Ila asked, wondering if Ron was actually still in the classroom with Trewlany.

"Speaking of," Ron said, nodding to Hermione who was carrying a load of parchment and books in her hands while balancing her bag, which was at maximum carrying capacity.

"You won't believe what Vector gave us for the Christmas Holidays. At this rate, I don't think I'll be able to go to the Yule Ball."

"It's not like you had anyone to go with, in the first place," Ron snorted.

No, he was definitely here, next to Ila.

Hermione scoffed. "And you definitely have a line of girls, waiting for you to pick the right one have you?"

"Maybe not a line, but it's definitely more than you've got," Ron said as the three heard the bell ring for their next lesson.

They were back to usual. Ron seemed to have completely forgotten about what was said during the last lesson. Ila too, thought it was much harder for her to get rid of the image of Death, riding his horse, lingering in the back of her mind as she watched her two friends bicker about their dates to the Yule Ball.

"So who're you going with then?" Ron asked as they stepped into the classroom. But Hermione couldn't answer, seeing the rest of the class and Snape waiting on them to find their seats.

"Now that everyone had finally arrived," Snape said, though Ila didn't know why considering they were actually on time. "We can begin…in case it had slipped from your minds, today is our last lesson and that means we will be testing out the antidotes you have all made."

The image of Death finally left her mind as a new, all-consuming thought replaced it.

She opened her lid to her cauldron to see her black sludge bubbling back at her.

"Fuck," she muttered.

"There is a vial next to your cauldrons," Snape said, holding up one of the Slytherin's vials as a demonstration. "I want you to fill the vial up. I'll be watching carefully to make sure you don't take someone else's antidote," he said, looking at Ila as if he was reading her mind. "I don't want any cheating. You have five minutes."

Despondently, Ila filled her vial to the top, full of her antidote when she heard Snape shout, "Dear Merlin, Longbottom do I need to let Dumbledore know that you're going to need to retake first year again?"

He turned around, so his back was facing Ila and she took this as a chance to ask her friends, "Can I use one of your antidotes?"

"I don't think you want my one," Ron said hesitantly, pouring his sludge coloured antidote into his vial. The surface bubbled even though it wasn't on the Bunsen burner.

"Hermione?" Ila pleaded.

"We have two different colours, Ila," Hermione said, holding up her lighter coloured potion. "He'll clock within seconds."

"Now I won't let everyone come up, it will take too much time…Finnegan."

There was a pit in her stomach during the small waiting time once a student sat down. She knew that she was going to get called on and she knew Snape was enjoying watching her suffer. She checked the clock. There was still half an hour left.

"Malfoy."

Malfoy stood up from his desk and slowly walked to Snape's desk. There was a cauldron that sat, filled with the poison. Ila wondered about the health and safety rules Hogwarts has and whether feeding students poison went against that. Actually, forget health and safety, Ila knew that the ethics behind giving students poison was only something Snape approved and not Ministry.

"Potter, you'll be the last one," Snape said before Malfoy even got back to his seat.

This was it, she thought as she walked over to his desk. She evaded Voldemort, a basilisk, a werewolf, a dragon even and yet here she was, walking to her death at the hands of her Potions professor.

She felt a sharp pain in her shoulder when Malfoy bumped into her. Both their vials fell out of their hands and simultaneously, they bent down to pick them up. Just as she was about to grab hers, Malfoy snatched it away. He instead placed a second vial of his antidote into her hands. When she looked up, all he said was, "Watch where you're going, Potter."

He stood up and Ila quickly followed, walking up to Snape's desk. What stunned her, even more, was that Snape had no idea about the exchange that happened between them.

In fact, no one realised.

"Drink it," Snape commanded, pushing a vial into her hand. She sighed before taking the poison. Ila felt the cold thick liquid drag down her throat, and she wondered if the poison she took was going to suffocate her. Instantly she pulled out her antidote but Snape stopped her, making her wait.

She felt a weight push against her chest. It was getting harder to breathe like she got on her Firebolt and flew all the way above the hoops. The weight was crushing her ribs. She was going to pass out soon if she didn't drink it. She gripped onto the edge of his desk and tried to blink away the dark spots. The floor beneath her spun. Ila saw her friends' panicked faces, the Slytherins looking at her as if she deserved it. That was when her eyes landed on Draco's. He was mouthing something. It was too dark to see. Her fingers were slowly slipping away from the desk, starting with her first finger.

What was he saying?

Then her middle finger.

Rank it?

Her ring finger.

Ring it? Ring what?

"Drink it!" Draco mouthed. Just as Ila's pinkie finger slipped, she poured the vial of his antidote and tipped it into her mouth. Without delay, the weight was lifted off her chest. Her first breath felt like she had broken the surface of the water.

"You can sit down now," Snape said, looking down at her. She didn't have the energy to glare at the man who nearly killed her, she needed to get her breath back. She walked past the table full of disappointed Slytherins barring one. Draco breathed what seemed to Ila a sigh of relief. His antidote worked. She felt her head begin to spin again. Ron and Hermione helped her make the last leg of the journey to her seat.

"I can't believe he actually poisoned you!" Ron whispered furiously.

"He…he did it…with everyone," Ila slurred as she dropped her head to the table. The room wouldn't stop spinning.

"Ila, no one else had the same reaction as you did," Hermione said. Ila lifted her head up slightly to face her. "You were the only one who actually got poisoned."

"Right, wonderful," Ila said, slowly lifting her head up as the bell rang. The blond-haired boy in front of her was leaving rather quickly. Pushing away any dizzying spells, she mimicked him and quickly picked up her things, making sure her eyes never left Malfoy's back. "I - er – I'll go tell Dumbledore now."

"Wait…"

The rest of Hermione's sentence was drowned out by the noise of students walking to the Great Hall for lunch. Ila jumped a few times to make sure she didn't lose sight of the blonde-haired boy. It didn't help with the ground feeling it collapse under her feet at any moment. He was going in the opposite direction as everyone, which was easy enough for him because he was a giant and Ila was merely a small green bean on the stalk. She waded through the sea of students, jumping a few times to not only see where he was again but to get her breath again. By the end of the hallway, the number of students had lessened and Ila could finally walk properly again. She watched him a few metres away take a right. By the time she got to the junction, there were no other students. In fact, when she turned around, everyone had left her. She stepped into the cold hallway.

"Lumos," she whispered, a bright orb lighting up the pathway in front of her. She had never been to this part of the school before. There were dusty paintings of old men, that started complaining about the light that had awoken their long slumber. Looking up, there was a smashed chandelier that was still standing. There had been a painting that had caught her eye. Unlike the others, this one didn't move. She shone the light closer to the painting.

It was of a man – an Asian man.

What a surprise. He was standing, on what looked like to be – ew. A pile of dead bodies. He held a sword in the air, as he stared at Ila.

Well, that ruined it.

She looked around to see if there were any labels to give a bit of context as to why he was standing on top of those people when the light from her wand had disappeared.

"Work you stupid wand," she said, muttering Lumos once more before banging her wand on the painting to see if that would help. "C'mon, you stupid – umph!"

Arms snaked around her waist and mouth. Instantly she was pulled away from the wall. She pushed the person away. Their grip was too strong. Ila tried kicking the person. They had backed into a wall. The person's leg wrapped around hers. She couldn't move her arms either. So she resorted to the only way she could leave.

"Why the fuck would you lick me?" Draco hissed in her ear, moving his hand away to wipe it on her shirt.

"Why the fuck would you kidnap me like this?" she replied. "Get away from me or I'll scream."

"Don't! Look," he said. Ila blinked a few times, getting used to the dark before seeing the outline of his hand pointing in front of them. Blinking a few more times, she could see a figure. It was standing right where she had been. It looked like he was looking for something.

"Fuck it," the gruff voice echoed. Malfoy pulled her behind a curtain, his grip never loosening. Ila could feel his breath near her neck, something she thought would never happen. She heard the jagged thump of his heart beating into her back. He was warm.

"Watch," he whispered, lifting her chin up so that she could see the man that had been following her was –

"Karakoff?" Ila said and immediately, Malfoy clamped his hand over her mouth and pulled her into the curtains. The two were shaking and sweating as they saw Karakoff look up, finding out what that noise was. Through their thin veil, they watched as he stepped closer to the curtains. His head kept swivelling around, making sure he could see everything. He was getting closer. Malfoy's grip tightened around her waist. Ila backed into him as much as she could. His hand had moved away from her mouth when Karakoff was only a few steps away. His arm was now covering her head. She held onto his. The light was starting to get brighter and brighter when –

She no longer felt any pressure on her. She looked down. The hands that held her up had disappeared. She could see Malfoy taking off one of his shoes before quickly picking it up. When Karakoff glanced to his left, Malfoy threw his shoe out of the curtains to the right of him. Instantly, Karakoff's head swivelled around and started walking to where the noise was. The two students breathed a silent breath of relief, Ila leaning back onto him.

"Why was he here?" she said, her voice barely above a whisper, too scared that he'll come back.

"Not here," Malfoy said, before taking her hand. He peeked his head out of the curtain before pulling her out. Ila could see behind her that the light was merely a small speck.

"C'mon." Malfoy tugged at her arm, walking quickly out of the hallway before breaking out to a run. He took two steps at a time when walking up the stairs, which was like taking four for Ila.

"Y'know, I think we've lost him now," Ila panted, pulling away from Malfoy to take a breather. They found themselves in another abandoned hallway, but it looked much less scary than the last one. In fact…Ila looked around a wave of déjà vu washing over her. This place looked so familiar. Where had she seen this –

Oh.

This was where she had her breakdown. There were probably hundreds of hallways she could have stopped out and she had to choose this one. Ila leant against the wall before sliding down. Malfoy did the same, taking the seat opposite her.

"What was he doing there?" Ila asked.

"I saw him when I was coming out of the Room of Requirement – I think he knew we were in there," Malfoy explained. "He there when I had my defence lesson as well."

"Is he following you?"

"Would make sense though wouldn't it?" Malfoy said, shrugging. "Why do you think I went into that hallway? I was supposed to catch him in the act, I was going to ask him what he was doing."

Ila snorted. "I doubt you would've gotten anything out of him in the first place. He's a…" Ila hesitated. She would have to watch his reaction carefully. "I heard that he's a Death Eater."

"Ex – Death Eater and where did you hear that from?" Malfoy countered.

"Death Eater considering there's a possibility that – You Know Who is back and I just heard it around."

"You Know Who isn't back," he said, far more aggressively than what was needed, "and heard it around where?"

"You don't know that and why does it matter where I've heard it from? It's true, isn't it? He's a Death Eater."

"I doubt Karakoff wants everyone to know that he's an ex Death Eater," he said, stressing on the 'ex.'

"Do you think that's why he was following you around?" Ila asked. "Maybe he found out that people knew and thought you were the one who started it."

"Why do you think he thought it was me?" Malfoy said.

Because you're father's one.

Ila shrugged. "Wasn't your father there on the campsite during the Cup Final?"

Malfoy scoffed, looking at anything that wasn't her. "If you're accusing my father of being a death eater then you're - "

"Why're you sticking up for him?" Ila asked. "You and I both know that he was out there, terrorising those innocent muggles. Besides, you only need to have one conversation with him to find out his opinions about You Know Who."

"He's changed," Draco said, though something bubbled in his stomach. Something wasn't agreeing with him.

Ila raised a brow, challenging him. "The day that your father stops believing in pureblood supremacy is the day that Basliks can see."

Malfoy stood up, pointing his wand at Ila's head. "Don't you dare talk about my father that way!"

Ila slowly eyed the wand on her head before they travelled up Malfoy's shaking arm, to his face, contorted with anger, confusion. You could practically see the conflict in his mind.

"Why don't you tell your father about this?"

"About what?" he spat. Ila slowly stood up, the wand never leaving her head. She took a few steps closer. The wand had moved to the side of her head now so that she could get a clearer view of him. He looked mildly surprised when Ila tilted her head, looking him up and down. He wasn't sure what she was going to do or say. But it didn't matter. He already knew that she was right.

"Tell your father about all the times you helped me, starting from the Cup Final. Tell him about all those late nights you must have spent trying to figure out what was going to happen during the First Task. How you carried me to the Gryffindor Common Room and put me to bed. How you made your own badge that I used to distract the dragon. Or, how about the time when you saved me from being poisoned?"

The two stared at each other, neither wanting to move, neither wanting to back down. His wand was shaking so much, his wand was starting to dig into her head. But she calmly looked back at him. Maybe he'll break and he'll finally tell her. He looked like he would.

"You weren't poisoned," he whispered.

"What?"

"Snape didn't poison you. When I headed out of the classroom – he gave everyone Dreamless Sleep."

"That doesn't matter Draco," Ila said. "You said you only saw it was dreamless once you left the classroom. You still thought I was getting poisoned, and you still gave me your antidote. Admit Draco, your father would disown you if he found out what you were doing."

"What're you trying to say, Potter?"

"I'm trying to figure out why the son of a Death Eater is trying to help out his enemy," Ila said. "You still haven't told me anything when you promised you would."

A sudden look of desperation clouded his eyes when Ila moved away from him, towards the end of the hallway.

"You can't know now, I can't explain it to you - "

"Then find a way," Ila shouted, turning around to face him. "I'm sick of this shit. Having to figure what the hell is wrong with you. You have until the Yule Ball or I'm done with helping you." She turned back around and started walking again. "Maybe that's why Karakoff was following you around. He could probably sense it too."

Ila wasn't sure what had gotten over her. In fact, she wasn't sure what was going on with her for the past couple of months. All she wanted to do was slam her head against the wall and see if any answers. She hoped her ultimatum would actually do something to him. She didn't want to leave.

She couldn't leave.

But she needed to hurry this up. She can't waste all of her time, waiting for Draco to do something.

"Pickled tarts," Ila said, the portrait swinging open. She stepped through to see Hermione reading her textbook. She collapsed onto the couch next to her, tired of everything that was going on.

"Are you alright? What did Dumbledore say?" Hermione asked, putting down her book.

"Couldn't find him," Ila replied, closing her eyes before opening one of them. "Where's Ron?"

"He talked about going to find some girls that he wanted to ask the Yule Ball." Ila could hear the disgust in her voice and could help but smirk.

"Does this said girl happen to be a Beauxbaton student?"
"Fleur Delacour."

"Her?" Ila asked incredulously, sitting straight up and opening her eyes. "Ron – I thought it was some random student."

"He kept on going on and on about her being a Veela before running off. I would have stopped him but by the time I looked up from the map…he was off." Something told Ila, that Hermione didn't actually care that much.

"We're going to have to deal with another Grouchy Ron," Ila tutted.

"Get ready then," Hermione elbowed Ila to get her attention. Ginny and a few of her friends that Ila hadn't seen before were leading a group towards Ila and Hermione. Ron followed them, carried by Dean and Seamus. His head was lolling to the side, a sombre look on his face. His lip quivered as he was awkwardly thrown onto the couch by the two boys. They gave him a pitying look before leaving. Ron sat up for a moment before collapsing onto Hermione's half, landing just past her lap, faceplanting into a pillow.

"What happened?" Ila asked Ginny, though she already knew the answer.

"Someone thought it was a good idea to ask out Fleur Delacour and not expect to get rejected," Ginny replied dryly.

"Shut up Ginny!" Ron said, or at least Ila assumed that's what he said. It was all muffled. "I'm hurt."

Ginny snorted. "Ron, she's nearly eighteen and a Veela. Practically the whole school's after her, did you honestly think she would go, 'Why yes random fourteen-year-old zat I do not know, of course, I would lurve to go to ze Ball wiz you?'"

Ron didn't say anything, concerning Hermione since he wasn't moving, until he move his head so that he was facing Ila, Ginny. "Maybe."

Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Well there's always other girls," Ila said, rubbing his back soothingly.

"Don't encourage him," Ginny mouthed.

Just as she was about to reply, the twins came down from the boys' dorm and went to where the four of them were.

"Ron, we need – what happened to you?" George asked as they saw Ron lying down on Hermione's lap.

"Who died?" Fred asked.

"He got rejected Fleur," Ila explained and was met by laughter from the twins.

"Can we not talk about this?" Ron grumbled over the twin's laughing.

"You…asked…who?" Fred asked between breaths.

"Fleur…Delacour…" George said, who was bent double. "Why?"

"My heart has been broken into several pieces, stamped on before getting bulldozed and this is how you react?" Ron said.

"If you're so sad cry about it to mum," Fred said once he and George sobered up. "Anyway, can we borrow Pigwidgeon?"

"No, he's off delivering a letter," said Ron. "Why?"

"Because Fred wants to invite him to the ball," George said sarcastically.

"Because we want to send a letter, idiot," Fred said.

"Who d'you two keep writing to, eh?" Ron inquired.

"Nose out, Ron, or I'll make sure no one else will go out with you," Fred warned, waving his wand threateningly. "Have you lot gotten any dates then?" he asked the girls.

"I'm going with Neville-"

"What?" Ron said, getting up from the couch and sitting up properly. "Neville's going with someone?"

"Why is that so hard to believe?" Hermione asked, crossing her arms.

"Come off it Mione, we all know Neville getting a date is the last thing anyone would have thought," Fred said honestly.

"Fred!"

"Well do you have a date then?" he said.

"Do you?" she countered.

"Angelina," Fred said promptly, without a trace of embarrassment.

"What?" Ron exclaimed, taken aback. "You've already asked her?"

"Good point," said Fred. He turned his head and called across the common room, "Oi! Angelina!"

Angelina, who had been chatting with Alicia Spinnet near the fire, looked over at him. "What?" she called back.

"Want to come to the ball with me?" Angelina gave Fred an appraising sort of look.

"All right, then," she said, and she turned back to Alicia and carried on chatting with a bit of a grin on her face.

"There you go," Fred said to a stunned Ron, "piece of cake." He got to his feet, yawning, and said, "We'd better use a school owl then, George, come on. . . ."

Ron slammed a pillow into his face and screamed as loud as he could. The three girls let him take out his anger, Hermione rubbing his arm, Ginny saying encouraging words and Ila scratching the top of his head.

"You'll find someone Ron, and it's not that big of a deal if you can't find someone," Ginny said. "At least you're not one of the Champions. Or Ila…at least you get to pick the person…" Ila narrowed her eyes at Ginny, waiting for her to finish her sentence. "You'll find someone Ronnie."

Ron moaned into his pillow as Ginny left.

"She's not wrong," Hermione said, patting his back. "You'll find someone."

Ron slowly lifted his head. "You're a girl Mione."

"I'm glad to see someone finally realised," she said sarcastically.

"Do you wanna go with me?"

Hermione scoffed, drawing her hand away. "How long has it been since we found out about the Yule Ball?" Ron shrugged. "It's been two weeks Ron and you finally thought about asking me? I'm not your last resort."

"I never said that I was did I?"

"No, but asking me the day before the Yule Ball already says enough," Hermione exclaimed. "Besides, you're too late anyway."

"Someone already asked you?" Ron said incredulously.

Unfortunately, Ron was never one to understand emotions. Hermione stood up and grabbed a pillow before hitting his back. "You make it sound like I'm some sort of monster that only the spawn of You Know Who would want to take. Get your head out of arse and leave me alone!"

Ila watched as Hermione threw the pillow at him one final time before walking back up the stairs to their dorms.

After spending her entire lunch trying to get Hermoine out of their dorms, she was only able to when she told her that she would be late for their next lesson, Ila checked her timetable to see that the rest of her afternoon was free, the only thing that said was to go to the Great Hall. After lunch, she, Ron and Hermione went to the Great Hall and found that other Gryffindors were walking there too but not from their year. They saw Fred, George and Lee talking to Angelina and Alicia. They saw Colin and his younger brother Dennis join them too.

"What the hell is going on?" Ron whispered to both of them as they entered the Great Hall. They say that the four tables for each house had disappeared. Instead, they were replaced with lines of chairs on either side of the room, and a large pink phonograph that looked like it hadn't been used in years, with webs covering the mouth of the speaker and spiders dangling from it.

"Maybe this is some weird form of detention," Ila suggested.

"Or maybe this practises for the Yule Ball," Hermione said as if it was obvious. "Why else do you think there's a phonogram?"

"So it is a weird form of detention then," Ron said.

McGonagall entered the Great Hall and the Gryffindors immediately hushed. "Girls sit on the right, boys you sit on the left."

Ila and Hermione went to sit on the right while Ron, Dean and Seamus sat on the other side. Lavender and Parvati had joined them, much to Ila's displeasure.

"Exciting isn't it?" Lavender asked. "You know we're going to have to dance with the boys today?"

"What?" Ila said.

"The Yule Ball has been a tradition of the…" McGonagall glanced at Filch, who was struggling to work the phonogram, "…of the Triwizard Tournament since its inception" – she moved away from the table and began walking the length of the room as she told the Gryffindors – "On Christmas eve night, we and our guests gather in the Great Hall for a night of well-mannered frivolity."

Lavender sniggered, looking to the boys seated opposite. A few of them hid their smiles and Ila couldn't quite help but do the same. The image of Professor McGonagall frivolous was certainly…an interesting sight.

"As representatives of the host school I expect each and every one of you to put your best foot forward – and I mean this literally because – the Yule Ball is first and foremost…a dance."

Although everyone already knew this, it didn't stop from the Gryffindors breaking the silence McGonagall had maintained all this time. The girls broke into whispers while the boy's groans echoed and Ila couldn't help but feel for them. She never really considered herself as a party person. Or a dancing person.

"Silence!" McGonagall shouted. "The house of Godric Gryffindor has commanded the respect of the wizarding world for nearly 10 centuries. I will not have you in the course of a single evening besmirching that name by behaving like a babbling bumbling band of baboons!"

"Try saying that five times faster," Ila heard George whisper to Fred.

"Babbling bumbling band of baboons."

"Babbling bumbling band of baboons."

"Babbling bum of bab – fuck!"

"Now to dance, is to let the body breathe" – McGonagall faced the girls – "Inside every girl, a secret swan slumbers longing to burst out and take flight."

"Something's about to burst from Eloise Midgen alright but I don't think it's a swan," Ron muttered to Seamus and Dean, chuckling. Ila and Hermione glared at Ron but luckily for them, karma was going to get him.

"And inside every boy, a lordly lion prepared to prance - Weasley?"

"Yes?" Ron grumbled.

"Would you like to dance?"

As he sighed and stood up, he was met by a few claps and whoops, mainly from Ila and the twins.

"Now," McGonagall pulled Ron closer and Ila couldn't help but laugh, "place your right hand on my waist."

"Where?" Ron's eyes bulged out of his sockets.

"Don't be immature, I said my waist," she said, grabbing Ron's hand roughly and placing his hand on her waist.

"Kinky!" one of the twins' shouted, causing everyone to laugh and for Ron to get to an unhealthy shade of red.

"Bend your arms like so…yes…now," McGonagall addressed the class, "Mr Weasley is going to take the lead, as it is tradition…a simple sidestep…Mr Filch if you please?"
Classical music poured out of the phonogram as Ron stiffly danced with McGonagall. As much as she tried Ron to be more enthusiastic, it seemed like she was going to be the one who had to take the lead. Ila burst out laughing, as did many others including Hermione as they watched Ron glare at them.

"Potter, I don't see why you're laughing," McGonagall said as she directed Ron on how to spin her. "You're going to need this more than anyone else. You are champion, after all, you're going to be opening the ceremony with your partner."

Ila stopped laughing, her mouth dropping to the floor. She didn't know whether to be shocked or offended.

"Don't just stand there with your mouth open, get a partner and dance!"

All eyes were now on Ila as they waited for her to pick a boy to dance with her. They all seemed to cower even though she hadn't stepped anywhere near them. Well, all the fourth year boys. The elder students couldn't care less while the younger boys seemed far too keen. Especially a certain pair of brothers.

"Hermione," Ila got up and bowed dramatically before getting down on her knee and holding out a hand, "will you do me the absolute honour of being my dance partner for the Yule Ball?"

"Oh Ila," Hermione said, holding a hand over her heart and doing her best impression of a protagonist from a Jane Austen novel, "I thought you would never ask."

The room erupted in cheers, mainly from the boys who were relieved that Ila didn't pick them. She pulled Hermione to the middle of the room, close to where Ron and McGonagall were. Ila took the lead, assuming the position of a man and waltzed around the room, though far less elegantly than what McGonagall wanted. She didn't seem to mind, being too busy to teach a begrudging Ron on how to dip to notice.

"Everyone, find a partner and start dancing!"

The room slowly but surely filled the centre of the room. It was mainly girls dancing with girls and boys dancing with boys, but there were a few who were brave enough to dance with the other gender. Ila moved closer to Ron, who was now standing in the middle of the room with no partner as McGonagall had gone to correct the student's form.

"I can't believe you two!" Ron hissed. "Laughing at me while I had to dance with McGonagall."

"At least now you have someone to get over Fleur with," Hermione said as they encircled Ron.

"Plus it's karma," Ila explained, letting Hermione spin as she talked to Ron. "You shouldn't have said that about Eloise."

"What – but it's true-"

"You put something negative into the universe Ron, the universe will put something negative in you," Ila said poking his chest before the two girls danced away around the rest of the room.

AN: Yes I did update the chapter, I thought it was best to merge the chapters together. Also sorry for the long wait, there have been never-ending exams at my school. Thank you for the lovely reviews, I really appreciate them. I also have made a mood board for the story 890ali6795 if you want to have a feel for what the story is going to be like and the important elements within the story. I've also included images of the tarot cards that Ila and Ron were looking at, as well as the dress that Ila's supposed to wear for the Yule Ball as well as a few paintings of lovers...take that for what you will. Hope to see you there!