DRIOLA for the Win

The Hog's Head was nothing like the Three Broomsticks. The moment you stepped into the latter, it was warm and friendly. There was a massive fireplace, and at least a few tables filled with loyal customers. Even if it would get crowded, Madame Rosmerta would always have time to greet Ila and her friends. She'd even chuck in a free butterbeer if she was feeling friendly.

When Ila entered the Hog's Head, she felt her insides shrivel up in worry. The dust and grime from outside had made its way inside, settling down on the empty tables and splintered chairs.

"Why is there goat staring at me?" Draco whispered as he entered after Ila. She glanced in his direction to see there was in fact a goat. Pure white – perhaps the only thing that wasn't covered in dirt, with a small black beard. It was tied to a table and bleated occasionally.

"Maybe it's the only loyal customer," Ila replied, staring into the goat's beady red eyes.

Draco walked up to the bar while Ila followed. He rapt onto the wood and waited only momentarily until the innkeeper came out of the backroom. He was rather old for an innkeeper. With long sliver hair, paired with a long silver beard, he had a rag around his shoulder. He was rather taller but didn't have enough muscle to be that intimidating. Ila narrowed her eyes.

He looked rather familiar.

"What do you two want?" the innkeeper asked, darting his eyes around. Ila thought he'd be happier to see some customers within his restaurant.

"We just need some Floo Powder," Draco said.

The innkeeper brought out a stone bowl that was filled with the green powder that was made specifically to get into places that were hard to reach and handed it to Draco.

"Where you two headed?" the man asked, as the two walked to the fireplace that looked as though it hadn't been used in years.

"Knockturn Alley," Draco replied, already starting to get into the fireplace. Without another word, he yelled out the location, threw the powder and was engulfed in flames momentarily, he was gone.

"You should be careful going there," the innkeeper said just as Ila had one foot in the fireplace.

"Why's that?" she asked, looking up. The innkeeper pulled the rag down and began wiping down a table.

"There's been a few rumours going around."

"What kind of rumours?"

"Knockturn Alley will be riffed with Death Eaters," the innkeeper said, looking at Ila. It felt as though he knew who she was. Not the random seventh year from three years ago, but her, Ila. She wondered if she was immune to Polyjuice. "Be careful."

"Ok…sure," she said. She stepped into the fireplace and hesitated before throwing the powder. One moment she was staring at the Innkeeper with his goat, the next was at Draco in a run-down shop.

"What took you so long?" he asked, helping her out of the fireplace. "He didn't do anything, did he? We should've stuck to the Three Broomsticks."

"And risk getting caught?" Ila said, pushing open the door. The streets were surprisingly busy. The innkeeper was right. Well, Ila couldn't really tell who Death Eaters was. The only defining feature about them was hidden with long-sleeved shirts and caps. But it was strange. It felt like she was in the alternate universe of Diagon Alley, except it was the dodgy version. Men with gaunt looks and long trench coats guarded every alley, luring people with the false hope of new wands, watches and…other things that made Ila want to burn her eyes with acid.

"Is it always this dodgy?" Ila whispered to Draco as they started walking along the main street.

"It's worse in the summer," he murmured into her hair, having to let a group of men walk past them. "Everyone's more riled up…be glad it's only May."

"Would the misses want a care package?" one of those strange men with long trench coats said, walking in front of them. Ila tried to ignore him, but unsurprisingly, he wasn't taking no for an answer.

"Oh c'mon, every woman needs a care package…unless…does he treat you well? C'mon, you can be truthful…"

"Leave us alone," Ila said sternly but it wasn't working. Of course, it wasn't working. Even though she was quite a bit taller in her new body, she still felt like her 5ft 2 self. And no one took her seriously when she was like that.

"Is he good in bed? Huh? Does he fuck you so good, you leave scratches down his -"?

"Fuck off!" Draco grumbled, taking a hold of Ila's arm.

"Oh oh…I sense a bit of…embarrassment…oh dear, you really need a care -"

CRACK!

Ila wasn't necessarily proud of what she did. She always classed herself as a pacifist…most of the time…mainly all the time except for when Ron pissed her off…but sometimes, violence is necessary.

Ila and Draco walked very quickly, before breaking into a run, pushing past lots of witches and wizards, who if they pushed into the right one, would send a hex their way. It was a few minutes later when they were sure that the man hadn't followed them and when Ila was running out of breath, did they stop.

"Fuck!" Ila said breathlessly, shaking the pain away from her hands.

"Never knew you had it in you," Draco said, breathing deeply. His hands were resting on his knees and looked up. "We're here…you alright?"

"Never better," Ila said, slowly flexing and relaxing her hand. She could already see a blue-black bruise being spread like an ink dot being dropped onto fresh parchment. Draco went in first and Ila quickly followed him, still paranoid that the man was with them. Borgin and Burkes was everything that Ila had imagined the shop to be. It was filled with dark and grisly trinkets that made Ila step closer to Draco in fear that one of them will pounce on her. The shopkeeper was busy wiping a glass ball with one of his sleeves when he saw the two enter the shop.

He placed the ball back onto the shelf, where underneath it said – "GLASS BALL OF DOOM! Tell the glass ball the future you want for your enemy and watch as you'll be hailed as the greatest seer…and perhaps a murder…"

"Welcome," the shopkeeper said, eyeing both Draco and Ila quickly, "is there anything I can help you with?"

"We're just browsing for some books," Draco said. He seemed a bit too comfortable for Ila's liking – though he was a Malfoy. This was probably a second home to him. "May we?"

The shopkeeper narrowed his eyes at the two of them – Ila wondered if he was genuinely suspicious or if that was his resting face. "Of course. Come further in."

Ila and Draco followed the shopkeeper to the back of the shop, which doubled up as a very cramped library. There were only two bookshelves that were filled to the brim, each shelf looking as though it was about to burst any moment. There were many books that had been piled up on the floor. Ila thought it would be best to hold her breath as to not blow the books over.

"Are you two interested in anything specific?" the shopkeeper asked, "I can recommend to you some best sellers -"

"Anything about blood rituals?" Draco interrupted.

Surprisingly to Ila, the man complied, with no further questions, pushing past her, to search through the bookshelves. During the few moments that the shopkeeper looked for the books, she could see through into the central area of the shop, and out of the glass window, was a man.

Now, she wouldn't really call herself boy crazy, like Lavender and Parvati but…it was hard not to miss him. He was wearing a hole-ridden cloth jumper and trousers. His hair was long and wild, blowing in the wind. Ila was reminded of Sirius – right when he escaped out of Azkaban. The man was holding up a sign, "THE END IS NIGH! REPENT NOW OR DIE A SINNER! THE FOUR WILL NOT TAKE ANY MERCY!"

"Right here sir," the man pointed to one shelf, tearing Ila away from the window and back to the shop.

"Is that being everything?" Draco asked, inspecting the small section of the bookshelf.

"If you're looking for any more books, I wouldn't recommend it," the shopkeeper said, "this is the safest place to get books like this."

"Right," he said before walking through the maze of books on the floor, whilst the shopkeeper walked past him. Ila waited until the shopkeeper was at the edge of the room, to follow Draco. Once the man left the room, Draco took a final look back at the shopkeeper before picking up a book "The Ins and Outs of Blood Rituals."

"What did you get?" he asked.

"Top Ten Tips of getting your deity to listen to you!" she said, showing him the book.

"Surprisingly cheerful," Draco said before looking back at the ten or so books that the shopkeeper showed them. "I thought they would've gotten more useful books than these,"

Draco took one look at the page in his book before pushing it back into the shelf. He glanced back out to the room where the owner was pretending to check out the items in his shop but really checking to see what Draco and Ila were doing.

"It was you that wanted to come here so badly," Ila said, browsing for through her book. "We haven't even been here for five minutes."

"I might check some of the other shops – maybe I'll even bump into my father's friends if I'm lucky."

"No Draco," Ila said, grabbing his hand, "don't leave me here by myself."

The two glanced back at the owner that was caught staring at them. To throw them off, he began inspecting a decapitated hand.

He looked back at her and smiled. "You're the Girl Who Lived aren't you? Have a bit of faith in yourself."

"You're a prick you know that right?"

"I do my best just for you," he said winking.

With that, Draco walked away and left the store, leaving Ila with the strange shop owner. She internally cursed at Draco before turning back around to keep for their search for their book. It wasn't even her idea. Draco had been going on non-stop about wanting to come here and where was he?

Not here.

As she grumbled and scanned a few books that were there, there was a book that caught her eye, causing her to go back to a book.

"The Law of Divine Oneness."

It wasn't necessarily the title but the cover… there were four men on four horses, each yielding a weapon of their choice. On the far left, was what looked like to be a Thestral and the man wearing a large black clock, hiding most of his face but the part that she could see was just bones. The dead man held a scythe in the air. The next man was old and frail, a clear juxtaposition from the rest of the med but he rode a black horse and held up a pair of balances. The man next to him rode a red horse and holding a sword. The painting showed him about to kill the soldiers below him. The furthest man was on a white horse and drew a bow and arrow. At the bottom, it showed soldiers being defeated by the men and piles of dead bodies. At the top, in the midst of stormy clouds stood a white lamb.

She opened the book. She wasn't sure what she was looking for. She checked the contents page – nothing useful here.

She was running on thin ice at this point. She just wanted to leave. Perhaps her intuition would be better at guiding her. She closed her eyes and flicked through the book. She stopped at a page and glanced down at it.

"As Above, So Below," the chapter read, "so you want to know how to summon a demon. You're in the right place, though, don't tell anyone. That's actually part of the ritual. You mustn't tell anyone apart from the people who will take it apart or it won't work. Similar to a birthday wish. So, you've found the people that you want to help you with summoning the demon. The next thing you need to figure out is who you're going to summon and why. This is where it deviates. Each ritual is different for each demon and reasoning. If you want to make an offering for any of the Lantern of Light, see page 56 or make an offering to any of Spina's classification of demons, see page 60. If you want to summon a demon, there aren't many available to summon. Contrary to popular belief, it's more common and easier to summon objects or creatures of demons, which you can head to page 65 for. However, if you're still convinced that you are able to summon a demon, head to 55. Remember humility is key for a successful summoning."

After reading the last sentence, something told her Voldemort didn't have the humility needed to summon a being that had greater power than him. Even remembering her dream from the summer, Voldemort seemed reluctant to get help from the Sisters. It was only when they proved themselves by killing…

A thought popped up in Ila's mind as she stared at the page.

Perhaps Lauren Dawlish's death wasn't actually to bring Voldemort back but for something else. The Sisters were known to perform rituals that brought people from the dead. Perhaps that was what Voldemort was planning…no…if He's too arrogant to summon demons to help him, there was no way He would want dead Dark Wizards…

"Everything ok in here madame?" the shopkeeper asked, breaking Ila away from her thoughts. He was standing at the edge, looking on edge.

"Yep – yeah everything's…fine," she said, sneakily pushing the book behind her back.

"Do not be alarmed," he said, noting her hiding the book, "it's just that – well, your partner is causing a bit of trouble outside."

"What?" Ila exclaimed before rushing out to the front of the shop. Through the windows, she saw Draco being pulled up by the collar by a thick-armed, bearded man.

"Don't fucking touch her again!" the man's muffled voice said.

"Oh, I'm sure he can handle himself," Ila said nonchalantly, turning around before seeing how much worse it could get.

That's what he gets for leaving her.

"Blood rituals and demons?" the man inquired. "Are you interested in summoning one?"
"Hmm?" she hummed in response. The man pointed to the book in her hands that was in eye view of him. "Ah yes – well...yeah…"

It was either this or lie and scratch her ear off.

"Well, I'm afraid there aren't many books here that have a surplus amount of information about how to actually summon one," he said, stepping closer to Ila. The man wasn't very intimidating. He was only a few inches taller than Ila and looked more like Ollivander's evil twin. "If you would like, I could always ask our supplier to find a more useful book for you."

"Oh, no that won't be necessary – this is fine," Ila said, holding up the book. She looked at the cover once more, depicting the four men on their horses…

"THE FOUR WON'T TAKE MERCY!"

"Well, how about some items to help you with this ritual. What are interested in again?" the man said, backing away, to look around the shelves.

"Erm – well -" Ila paused. Initially, she was going to reject the man but…

It was the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Ila thought, as the familiar name echoed out of Trelawny's mouth…Quickly opening the book and flicking through the back page, Ila scanned the glossary to check…

Ah ha! There you are. Nestled between Fire and Folklore, was the Four Horsemen…right on page 65…

"I'm actually just interested in summoning creatures of demons. What would I need for that?"

"Ah – you're out of luck," the man tutted as he crouched down and scoured through the bottom shelf, "someone took our last collection."

"They did?" Ila asked, the box in her head rattling. "Do you er – do you know who they were?"

"Client confidentiality," he responded, standing up before walking back to the counter. "Can't say much more than that madame."

"Do you when they came here?"

"I wasn't here when it was sold but I'm assuming it was last time. I could get you the items in time for the Summer's Solstice," he said, taking out a form and beginning to fill it out.

"The Summer Solstice? Why would I need -"

"How much research have you done if you don't mind me asking?" he asked wearily.

"I'm only at the beginning," Ila said, gripping the book. Her ear was beginning to heat up.

The man sighed. "Let me give some advice. You won't really find it in those books" – he nodded to the book – "If you perform the ritual during the Summer Solstice, the day in which the path between the realm of our magical plane and the spiritual plane at its closest, you have a greater chance of your summoning to occur. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah…" Ila thought it would be a good time to head back to Draco, as the sound of the box rattling her ears was starting to overwhelm her. "Erm - how much is the book?" she asked, walking to the counter.

"For you dear…I'll give it for free," he said, with a smile that was making Ila feel even more uneasy.

"Really?"

"For first-time customers, it's tradition," he consoled.

"Ok."

Ila didn't want to spend any more time in the dreaded shop that she didn't even want to go to in the first place. She thanked the man that didn't stop smiling/staring at her until she couldn't see the shop anymore. She clutched the book close to her as she walked a few more steps to see Draco stumbling to his feet in an alley.

"You, ok?" Ila asked as he brushed some dirt off his jacket.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said darkly before grabbing her arm. "Did you find anything?"

Ila held up the book. "I think this might help us…or only slightly…I don't know."

"What did you find?" he asked, grabbing the book, and starting to flip through the pages.

"Not…well, the whole reason why the Sisters are helping him, is because they're known for reviving the people from the dead and using them in battle. Right?"

Draco glanced up at her from his lashes and nodded.

"Well, I don't think that's what they're doing this time, nor do I think they're trying to summon a demon," Ila said, as she saw Draco stop on the same page that she was at.

"It says that you need humility in order for the ritual to work and I doubt…" – Ila glanced left and right before leaning in – "You Know Who would want help from someone more powerful than him."

"True," Draco snorted.

"So…I think rather than summoning a wizard or demon, they're summoning a creature of a demon," Ila said as Draco turned to page 65. "Specifically," – Ila closed the book and pointed to the cover – "these ones."

"The Four Horseman," Draco whispered before going back to the page that talked about the summoning of different creatures.

"The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse – inciters of chaos and…well the End of the World. As a warning, this is only for advanced spell users. DO NOT TRY THIS IF YOU'RE A BEGINNER. Even if you do want the end of the world to happen, if you perform this ritual wrong, worse things can occur. What's worse than the Apocalypse?...Don't try to find out.

The Four Horseman consist of War, Famine, Conquest and Death. In order to summon these, there must be a Lamb. Now, not an actual lamb, but rather someone who is so pure, someone who is the anthesis of the person who wants to create this ritual. The theory is due to Perditional Contradoxy – the idea that someone who has been promised to Heaven (the Lamb) is condemned to Hell by creating the End of the World, causing a cataclysm of faith and order. This is what causes the breaking of the seal, realising the Four Horseman."

"That could explain the deaths," he muttered quietly after finishing reading the paragraph.

"You mean Lauren Dawlish's?" Ila asked. "Because I don't think she was killed to help bring back Voldemort. I think she was apart from this."

"Remember our lesson with Trelawney – when we shared our class together."

"Er – yeah kind of."

"It was about this whole thing. She talked about Death and the Four Horseman – she talked about how you needed sacrifices in order to bring them. Lauren Dawlish, her mother, her fucking cat, Berth Jorkins -"

"That goblin on the statue, the body in the Forest – they were all the sisters. I mean, all had their blood drained from their bodies and had their bodies carved in….Fuck…"

"That's why He needs you, Ila. If this is what they're planning, you would be the Lamb. Someone so pure, they would have been granted to Heaven but by being a part of this ritual, you're instantly thrown to Hell hence -"

"Breaking of the seal," Ila finished, staring at a tree out of the alley. Her vision was going in and out of focus as if she was about to faint. "There was something else."

"What?" Draco asked, flicking through other pages to see if there were any more answers.

"The guy at the shop he – er – he told me that the items needed for the ritual were all out of stock. Someone had recently bought the last ones."

"Was it the Sisters?" he said, looking up.

"He couldn't tell me," she replied, tearing her eyes away from the tree and back to him. "But he did say that I could some more for the Summer Solstice. Do you think that's when the Sisters are planning it?"

"Maybe I don't…Fuck!" Draco cursed, running a hand through his hair.

"What?"

"The Summer Solstice – it's – it's the same day as the Third Task…"

Draco had left Ila by the entrance of Hogwarts. She decided to meet her friends at the Quidditch Pitch so as to not draw any suspicion as to where they went. As he walked to Dumbledore's office, he looked back down at the book that Ila had found. Two thoughts had appeared.

How did she pay for the book?

Last time he checked, she didn't have any money on her. He didn't give any of his money so…

"Fuck!" he whispered.

She got it for free.

He made a mental note to never turn to Knockturn Alley in the next year unless he wanted Ila to lose a limb or two.

A sudden sharp pain travelled up his shoulder as he dropped his book.

"I'm so…sorry," the voice said slowly. He looked up to see Granger staring him down. She didn't look annoyed or intimidated. "You're back?"

"What gave that away?" he muttered, picking up the book and standing up.

"Where's Ila?" she asked coolly, though her eyes seemed to dart around him.

"She's with your friends at the Quidditch Pitch."

"Right," she said but didn't make a move to leave. She glanced down at the book before looking back at him. "Did you find anything useful?"
He wondered if he should tell her. She knew that Ila would tell her eventually. Perhaps it would be better to hear that the end of the world will come from Ila.

"I – Potter'll tell you everything."

"Are those the Four Horsemen?" Hermione asked and for a moment, Draco was shocked, wondering how it was possible that she already knew their theory before looking down at the cover of the book.

"Oh yeah…it is…"

"Never knew Trelawny was that influential," Hermione quipped.

"What do you mean?"

"That lesson we had with her and the divination class. She was talking about summoning the Four Horsemen, but it was pretty stupid. I mean she didn't even get to answer my question."

"What was it again?"
"Well, considering that Death is one of the most powerful beings, how could the Apocolypse occur? The only way that the Four Horsemen can be summoned is if they fit the criteria for the Lamb and be the Master of Death but that's completely impossible since there's no known Master. So, it's a complete paradox."

"Say if there was a – er – a Master of Death. What then? Do you think it could happen?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Is that you think they're planning?"

"Listen you can discuss this with Potter," Draco said, before starting to walk away.

"Malfoy."

He stopped.

"I'm glad you saw through the lies."

When Draco turned around, Hermione had left.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you Draco," Dumbledore said as Draco rushed up to his office. "Take a seat."

"Sir, I think I know what they're doing – I think-"

"Sherbet?" Dumbledore offered.

Draco shook his head, disallowing any distractions and leaned forward in his seat.

"The Apocalypse sir," Draco said, explaining what he had found out with Ila in Knockturn Alley – obviously without mentioning where they went to get this information. He could feel the edges of the book poking in his stomach as he did his best to cover it under his jacket.

Dumbledore regarded the theory, occasionally nodding, before placing the wrapper that had been in his hands, onto the table. By the time Draco had finished his explanation, his sherbet had dissolved, leaving the acidic aftertaste in his mouth.

"And you say that they are planning this on the Third Task?" Dumbledore inquired.

"Yeah – I mean, you can't let it happen next week. You have to cancel it or at least postpone it."

"Draco," Dumbledore sighed, leaning forward, "it is not as simple as that. I have already been accused of playing a hand in the Tournament. I can only cancel the Tournament with good reason."

"The End of the World isn't a good enough reason?" Draco replied, his voice rising slightly.

"We don't know that for sure do we?" Dumbledore said.

"So what? We'll just wait it out, jeopardise Ila's safety while doing so?" Draco said.

"It's not that I think you're lying Draco - "

"But you don't believe me either. I thought this was what you wanted. This was how I could join the Order."

Dumbledore nodded slightly. "I will see with the Order as to what we can do. In the meantime…the idea of the End of the World will already cause anxiety amongst the Ministry – I cannot let that happen. Not right now."

"Why not?"

"There is a time and place for things like this to be discussed. If I tell people about this – without any evidence, no one will believe."

"Until it actually happens."

"But by that point, it would be too late."

There was a moment of silence between them. Dumbledore snapped his fingers and a small fire burst onto his table, burning the wrapper to ashes. Draco stared at the momentary fire, clutching his stomach and the book.

"Why?" Draco asked, his eyes still glued onto the ashes. "Out of all things why would Voldemort want the End of the World?"

"Well, assuming it is true, it must be because…in order to explain any of Voldemort's intentions, I must give you some context. We don't usually teach this until seventh year but considering the situation…everything has magic. It's a form of energy that surrounds us. It's in the chair that you sit on, the castle that you reside in, it's also within you."

"Many people wrongly believe that only a certain number of people have this energy form within themselves and that is what makes someone magical. But they are wrong. Muggles have this energy too. What actually makes someone have magical ability or not is whether they have order or disorder. To have disorder means that the magical energy that is in someone is amplified – to the extent that it can be used. However, to have order means that the same magical energy is reduced, so that it cannot be detected. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah…so all magical people have disorder?" Draco said slowly. "And non-magical people have order?"

"Well not necessarily…here is where it can get a bit confusing. Everyone has order and disorder" – Dumbledore said, holding both of his hands, one for order and one for disorder – "but everyone can also have the tendency towards order and disorder. This the ability to control whether their magic can be amplified or reduced and by how much."

"It isn't blood dependent, but usually, purebloods and halfbloods tend towards disorder, and can control how much their magic is amplified while muggles have a tendency to order – even if they aren't cognizant of it – and can control how much their magic is reduced. However, you get exceptions, where muggles who have order actually have a tendency to disorder and can do magic while there are purebloods who have disorder have a tendency to order and can't do anything."

"But if you have order but a tendency for disorder, wouldn't they cancel each other out or something?" Draco asked, blinking away the headache that was starting to form from this conversation.

"Not necessarily. Tendency is much more important than the intrinsic property of order and disorder – this is what differentiates between magical and non magical people."

"Ah…"

"Now to actually answer your question," Dumbledore stared, "what Voldemort wanted in the Wizarding War was to get rid of anyone that had the tendency for order."

"But Voldemort specifically targeted halfbloods and muggleborns. Didn't you say that tendency wasn't blood dependent?"

"Perhaps that was his greatest mistake. I assume that he had always wanted to kill halfbloods and muggleborns – he just needed a reason for it," Dumbledore explained before continuing his explanation, "without order, it offsets the natural balance and causes mass destruction…there's a reason why the wizarding population is so small…there needs to be more order than disorder for the world to thrive. But Voldemort found out that he had a greater tendency to disorder – he was able to control it much better than any other wizards. He believed that once every person with a tendency for order is gone, he'll be able to control everything."

"What would actually happen if he succeeded?" Draco asked.

"If the forces are unbalanced and remain unbalanced for a long time…the world as we know it will…disappear. It couldn't maintain it. It would start to destroy itself until it forms a wasteland of what it once was."

"Right," Draco said, immediately regretting asking the question. "There was something else."

"Go on," Dumbledore urged.

"I heard – I read that…well within the Four Horsemen, Death is a part of the group. But the only person that could summon Death is the Master of Death…so would it even be possible?"

"You are correct in thinking that, hence my…hesitance to the idea. While it may seem plausible, the only way for all Four Horsemen to be summoned would be that the Master of Death to be used as the Lamb."

"If the Apocalypse does occur, wouldn't that mean - "

"That Ila be the Master of Death?" Dumbledore finished. "The Deathly Hallows is a…is only a story."

"Do you believe in it, sir?" Draco asked.

"When I was younger, I had…a fascination regarding the story…I thought the Deathly Hallows were real," he replied, with a glazed look on his face, as if he was remembering simpler times.

"And now?"

"Perhaps it would be a good idea to not tell Ila about our conversation. She only has a week to go until the Third Task and I would not like her to go through any more stress."

"But what about - "

"I'll handle it. I'll ask for more protection but…it might be too late to cancel it. Ila must go through with the Third Task."

Ila checked the map for what felt like the hundredth time. She knew it useless – there was no way anyone would know where he was – unless he told someone…

Fuck!

Ila checked the map once again, this time making sure to see if anyone was coming from the Slytherin common room.

No one.

Merlin, what was she doing? The Third Task was tomorrow and all that she could think about was him. It wasn't her fault necessarily…well…

It had been a week since she talked to Draco. Ever since she left him at the entrance of Hogwarts to find her friends on the Quidditch pitch and for him to talk to Dumbledore, she hadn't talked to him. She had definantly seen him. Sometimes he would acknowledge her by giving her small nod or smile and other times he would literally walk in the opposite direction when he saw her. She knew she didn't upset him. At least from what she remembered; she didn't piss him off. He seemed fine.

So why was he avoiding her?

Unfortunately, that wasn't actually the important question on her mind.

Why was she missing him so much?

The last time he had avoided her was after New Year's. She didn't mind…that much about not talking to him, but this time, it was different. Her mind was filled with thoughts about him, to the point that she couldn't concentrate on anything.

Every time she trained with Hermione and Ron for the Third task, something would always remind her about Draco, and she'd accidentally set Ron's shoes on fire or send rubber ducks to chase after Hermione. Even tonight, when she decided to get ready and she saw her mascara, it reminded her of the Yule Ball, and he laughed at her for looking like a racoon.

Merlin, could she be any more of a wet blanket right now?

It was starting to get concerning for Ila and she wanted to nip the issue before it got worse, especially tomorrow when she could finally finish this stupid Tournament. She decided tonight would be a good time to visit him. She had overheard earlier on the day about the surprise birthday for Draco. Most of the Gryffindors wouldn't be there considering it was in the Slytherin common room, and even for those who did come, they would've been completely drunk off their arse to even notice Ila sneaking up to the boy's dorms to find him.

But…she didn't even need to do that.

Perhaps the two were telepathically linked; Draco had heard Ila's plan and decided to help her with going through with it. Despite there being an entire party for him, Draco was by himself in the Astronomy tower.

Sounds like him.

Ila assumed that the reason why he was spending his time by himself was…well, considering just how much his views had changed, he didn't really want to spend his birthday with people who loved Voldemort. It was a shame that out of all places, he picked the Astronomy tower. It was basically the worst place for a classroom and that's coming from the girl who has to spend her Divination lessons in Trelawny's bedroom.

By the time Ila arrived at the top of the stairs, she was struggling to breathe through her nose properly and was worried about her all her makeup coming off.

No – she didn't do it herself.

Ila lied to Parvati and Lavender, telling the two she was on a date with Durmstrang boy and wanted them to do her makeup. As annoying as the two were, they were better than Ila at doing makeup.

Ila opened the door that led to her Astronomy classes. Draco was standing at the edge, leaning over the barrier. The roof didn't extend to where he was standing; he was completely exposed to the environment. Lucky for him, the sky was completely clear, with all the stars in the Northern Hemisphere twinkling above him. He stared at the sky, trying to figure out where the Big Dipper was when he heard someone say –

"You know there's a big party for you?"

Draco wasn't scared or surprised. The sound of her voice had always put him to ease, and this wasn't any different. He turned around to see Ila standing there. She seemed to be wearing her pyjama trousers and a…was that a vest top?

Parvati told Ila it would be sexy if she dressed up like she was going to sleep and initially recommended her mother's slip dress. Ila said no and instead picked their safer option, a vest with pyjama trousers. Ila added a hoodie, which had to be placed off one of her shoulders if she wanted to look sexy for him.

She pulled it up the moment she left.

"I know," he said, turning back around and a moment later, Ila joined him next to the ledge, "didn't really want to spend my birthday there."

"Happy Birthday by the way," she said quietly, "I er – I didn't get you anything. Sorry."

"I don't mind," he said, looking to her. For a moment, Ila thought he would say that her being there was enough of a present but instead, he just looked up.

"Do you know where the Big Dipper is?" Ila asked.

"What?"

"Up there," he said, pointing to the sky, "where is it?"

"Er" – Ila glanced at him wearily before looking up at the sky – "What does it look like?"

"You can find it if there are three stars in a line. Supposed to look like a frying pan or something…"

Ila hummed in response. While she was pretending to look for the three stars, she was actually trying to sneak a few glances at Draco. Did he really want to spend the night with her, trying to look for a constellation?

"It might be better if we lie down," Draco said, "gives our neck a bit of a rest."

Draco had no idea what the fuck he was doing. He was grateful for Ila to be here, but he was just wasting time, trying to find a stupid constellation that he didn't really care for. He walked over to the mat that Professor Sinatra would use for the star gazing club. Draco laid on the map and, in his peripheral, watched as Ila followed him, though it was a bit more hesitant. She laid down next to him. While the mat was quite big, Ila must have miscalculated where she was going to land because she was quite close to Draco.

In fact, her arms were touching his as the two watched the sky above them. Neither spoke. It was as though there was an unspoken conversation that happened between them; about what their relationship was, what the other felt about it, what would happen if neither of them, which is probably why Ila asked –

"Have I pissed you off?"

Draco was so surprised to hear the question that he bolted upright and looked at her. "What makes you think you pissed me off?"

Ila got onto her elbows and Draco swallowed down the image that formed, "I don't know, it's just…" she sighed. She didn't need to say it aloud to hear how pathetic she sounded, "we haven't talked since we left Knockturn Alley."

"Ah," was all that Draco could say. He turned away, hiding his smirk from Ila as he laid back down. He saw Ila do the same and once again, the two were star gazing. "Were you that sad?"

"What did Dumbledore tell you?" Ila asked, avoiding the question.

She remembered seeing there is an uptake in the amount of security present. One night, she was rushing back to get to her dormitory when a…, well it was a woman with bright purple hair that said that she was an Auror – though Ila didn't trust her for some reason because rather than telling her off, the Auror asked if she was Ila Potter and in the midst of a rush, Ila shouted "NO!" and carried on running.

"He said that he can't do much – there's not much that he can do based on a theory. But he did say that he'd get more security."

"No cancelling tomorrow?" Ila asked.

"Dumbledore said people would get suspicious if he wanted to cancel without a good reason – and the End of the world isn't a good enough reason," he said, looking at her. Scared was the only thing he could see on her face. He looked up at the sky once again. His right hand shifted her so closely to Ila's left. He felt their fingers brush against each other and stilled, wondering if Ila would move away.

She didn't.

Trying to keep his breathing even, he slowly wrapped his fingers between hers and held her hand. Ila didn't move away, instead, she held onto his hand as if it was the only thing keeping her to the ground.

"Are you scared?" Draco whispered.

"You don't think the Third Task would be in the Forest or something?" Ila asked, looking at him.

Feeling her gaze, Draco turned his head. "After what happened to us? I doubt it…I mean we aren't even allowed to enter the Forest or anything."

"Do you think I was idiot for going back to the Forest with everyone?"

"An idiot? No. Did I think you were being reckless? Yes," he said. "Now let me ask you a question." Draco moved to his side, pushing himself up onto his elbows. "Why am I different to your friends?"

"It just is - "

"Is it because we're not friends?" Draco said. Staring into her eyes, he felt himself draw closer to her. She didn't seem to mind it.

She shook her head. "No," was all that she could whisper.

"Then what are we?" Draco muttered, moving closer to her face. He brushed a hair out of her face as he stared at her lips, perfectly pouted for him. Neither of them spoke once more, knowing that if they did, they would have to leave this moment. They would have to forget about this and only call it an almost. At that moment, with their lips brushing against each other, with the two sharing the same breath, staring – pleading with their eyes to move that inch closer, neither wanted an almost.

His lips were gentle upon hers, as they finally kissed, allowing the months of tension and denial between the two melt away. Their hands explored the others; with Draco's discovering how soft her hair was and just how much he enjoyed holding her waist, while both of Ila's hands slid around his neck, pulling him deeper. The two had connected in a way that was different. It felt as though they were one – thinking the same thought, "I need more."

With his lips still locked onto hers, Draco moved so that he was on top of her, without crushing her, though Ila didn't enjoy the great of a distance; she wrapped his legs around his waist, pulled him closer. As she did, Draco traced his kisses along her jaw. Ila gasped slightly as he left a torturously slow trail of heat down her neck and gripped onto his hair tightly.

The two were left like that forever, embraced in each other's arms, while the rest of the school went along their way.

Ron and Hermione were talking, the latter wondering where she had been. Theodore and Blaise were drinking the night away. The two decided they were going to spend the whole night with Draco, but neither knew where he went. Well – at least Theodore hadn't. Blaise had seen Draco walking towards the Astronomy tower. He walked, not wanting to intrude on his friend. It was a few hours later, the party still in full swing when he was starting to get bored. Theodore was too drunk to hold a conversation with and all Daphne wanted to do was to kiss him, but Blaise wasn't in the mood. He sneaked out of the common room once more and headed towards the Astronomy Tower. From he could remember, he was by himself –

That was until Blaise heard a voice, that didn't belong to Draco say –

"Stop it Draco! That tickles!" the voice giggled.

"I know you like it," Draco replied.

"Shut up!"

Blaise smiled to himself – so he had finally done it. Blaise was about to walk away when…curiosity overtook him. That voice…the voice sounded familiar – where had he heard that voice from? Blaise pushed open the door and what he saw almost sobered him up.

Draco was…was…merlin, he couldn't even bring himself to think it – he felt…he felt like….Blaise closed the door and ran down the stairs. By the time he reached the base, bile rushed up his throat and all the fire whiskey that was once in him was now splattered next to the entrance next to the Astronomy Tower.

What the fuck was Draco doing with Ila Potter?