Confusions

Mary:

Completely happy I watched myself in the Mirror. It was the night of the Yule Ball and I had curled my brown hair and put it up into a fancy bun. Next to me stood Alice, who had her hair cascading down her shoulders and her back. Some strands of her hair were pulled back into a little bun on the back of her head. She was beautiful in the light pink dress, that went down her body like waves. It was the first time I saw her with such a shining smile.

As I looked back into the mirror I noticed, that I was shining too. I really looked beautiful in my dark green dress with silver ornaments. I had chosen this dress, cause the colour of it matched my eyes.

We really looked beautiful, our dates should feel honoured about this. A slight smile crossed my lips on that thought while I put my white gloves on. Specifically chosen, to hide my dark mark.

,,Are you ready?'' I looked up at Alice and nodded. We left the toilet, in front of which, Hermione was waiting.

On the top of the stairs we stopped and looked down. My eyes immediately found Theo and I had to hold my breath. My heart started to beat faster and suddenly I was nervous. He was dead gorgeous in his black suit. Lovingly he held his hand out to me and I almost ran down the stairs just to get to him.

''You look beautiful.'' He whispered into my ear as I hugged him. Together we walked towards the tables. The room was decorated in an impressive winter tone. This school really was magical beyond my wildest dreams.

We had to wait for the champions to come in with their dates and have the first dance, before we could move to the dancing area too. I was having a fantastic time with Theo. He was a great dancer. After a while we went back to the tables because we both needed a break. We were talking and laughing when suddenly Malfoy showed up with two butterbeers in his hands.

''Would one night without having the displeasure of seeing your face be too much to ask?'' Theo said while slightly leaning towards me. He made it very obvious that Draco wasn't welcome.

''What do you want?'' I asked exasperated.

''To apologize.''

Theo burst out laughing. ''Oh, that's rich. Isn't this getting old Draco?'' But the other boy just ignored him and continued to stare at me. I wasn't a bad person after all, how could I say no to an apology?

''You know, I can't just forgive you for everything you've done. But I will accept your apology under one condition. You have to behave yourself.'' Malfoys stern expression was replaced with his signature smug smile and if I didn't know any better I would have thought this to be a trap. But that couldn't be, right? He handed me a beer.

''Let's do this like civilized people and toast.'' My glance quickly went to Theo, who wasn't letting his eyes move off of Draco, analysing every move he made, then I took the beer and drank a sip. Draco's smile vanished and he put his beer down.

''Now that we established that, how about a dance with me?'' Not actually giving me the time to answer, he grabbed my hand and pulled me along to the dancefloor.

Alice

I was slowly making my way away from the buffet table, towards Theo. In my hands were two pieces of cake. One Cheesecake and one chocolate. I had a small hope that this would heighten his mood, cause he looked like a panther ready to jump.

''Earth to space Invader, are you there?'' I said, while putting one plate down in front of him. Theos attention shifted to me and the cake. Without saying anything he picked up a fork and started eating the cheesecake. Something was off. It was rare for me to see Theo this cold. This was the part of his personality he mostly showed to strangers. The oddity of this situation made me shudder.

''What is going on?''

''I'm not quite sure yet. But what I do know is that the ferret over there is planning something.'' He used the fork to point in the direction of the dancefloor. I turned my head and in between the masses I saw Draco dancing with Mary. If one didn't count our short encounter at the dance lessons, it had been months since the last time I had met him. I still felt a light jab when I thought about the argument we had had. Or more like, him telling me off. And since then I've done exactly what I told myself I would, I kept my distance. Getting involved with Malfoy was a bad idea. I knew it, Theo knew it and so should Mary, so why was she dancing with him?

''Now that is an unusual sight.''

''Unusual? More like idiotic. I like Mary, but she's too trusting. Malfoy just showed up here and spilled some bloody excuse that can't have been serious. I'm telling you Alice, something doesn't seem right. And if I find out what it is, Malfoy is going to regret messing with me.''

A bad feeling came over me. Years before we started at Hogwarts, a boy whose name I have long forgotten, was once going off at Theo because of his father. It was a well-known fact that Mr Nott had been fighting on the side of he who shall not be named during the first wizarding war. He hadn't been sent to Azkaban jut like Lucius Malfoy. Money may have been involved in this, but nevertheless, the Wizengamot didn't prosecute him, which allowed Mr Nott to raise Theo, after the death of his Wife. Mrs Nott was the reason why Theo and I could be friends in the first place. She may have been a pureblood, but she was also an elderly woman who had seen a lot in her life. She accepted me as a part of Theo's life. It would probably have become a problem if in the future we were to get married, but as a friend, she had accepted and even liked me. When she died, I was there for Theo and Mr Nott, as cold as he could be, never stopped Theo from spending time with me. Instead he hid our friendship from other people, surely, to protect his son's status.

In any case, this boy that run his mouth and insulted Theo's father and Mother came to quickly regret his behaviour. Theo told me the story when we met at Hogwarts shortly after the incident. He asked me for my help, so we snuck into the Library that day and while I made sure, that no one saw us, Theo looked through a couple magical books. They weren't from the forbidden section, but Minerva didn't want us to read too many books, that were planned as schoolbooks for the higher grades. At that point, I didn't know what Theo was looking for, but I would eventually find out as I got a letter from him a couple of weeks after our little excursion. He confessed that he had hexed the boy with the Mutatio Skullus, which basically meant that this boy had his whole head mutated. From what I could gather, Theo wasn't feeling guilty and his dad wasn't angry with him either, but he had him stay at home for a couple of days after which, their relationship had taken a turn for the worse. Theo didn't tell me what exactly had happened in that time, but he did say that his father wanted to show him what true hexes were, since he decided to hurt others. After that, Theo made sure to keep his adventures hidden from his father and we never talked about this incident again.

''You know what, I think we both need a distraction, how about we finish the butterbeers that stand here and go for a dance?'' I said while putting the empty plate down. Theo sighed and looked at the beers.

''Yeah, maybe that's a good idea. Take this one though, the other belonged to Malfoy, and I'm pretty sure you don't want to tarnish yourself with his saliva.''

My face twitched, as the memory of our kiss from two years ago came up in my mind. ''Yeah.'' I said while evading Theo's eyes and grabbed the other butterbeer. I raised the glass to my face when I was suddenly hit with a weirdly enticing smell. Curiously I smelled the beer.

''You said this was Mary's right? But then why does it smell like… well, like Malfoy's shampoo?'' I lifted my gaze to meet the confused face of Theo.

''What?'' He grabbed the glass and smelled the content.'' This smells like Mary and Hibiscuses.'' Now it was my turn to look at him all confused. But all of a sudden realization came over Theo and he gave the glass back to me. ''What did you say it smells like? Take a good whiff.'' So I did.

''Hm, I still smell Malfoy's shampoo, but also… Sunflowers? And a hint of Peaches.'' I could see Theo's mind rattling as he was quickly processing the information. Then he stood up and grabbed my arm.

''We'll still talk about this whole shampoo thing, but right now, we have serious problem and I need your help. I think, no I am certain that Malfoy put Amortentia into Mary's glass and it's probably already taking effect.'' Theo had pulled me from my chair, and we were now walking through the crowd.

''Amortentia? The advanced and extremely dangerous Love potion? But that's not on our level yet! Do you really think Draco would be able to produce an efficient one on his own?''

''No, his potion's skills aren't bad, but this is too advanced for him.'' He suddenly stopped, turned around and whispered: ''Honestly, I think his dad had something to do with it. This is probably his plan to get into the good graces of you know who. Bring him his blood as an excuse for not having tried to bring him back.''

I paled. ''Theo, are you saying…'' I lowered my voice even more and met his serious gaze with a distressed one. ''Do you think that he will come back?'' More than anything in the world I was hoping that he would say no right now. Every sound in the room was being drowned out by the beating of our hearts. Blood was rushing in my ears.

''In his last letter my dad said he can feel darkness rising in his bones and to start selecting my friends more carefully. I know he believes that you know who will be back and that Lucius Malfoy helped his son to get Mary on their side, makes me think that he believes it too. '' Those were horrible news. Terrifying, even.

''But if that's the case, we should tell Professor Dumbledore.''

''He's probably already aware of it, besides, right now, Mary needs our help first.'' My mind was racing as I looked around the room scanning the people until my eyes met Draco's. I was able to focus, and determination came over me. I gave Theo's hand a little pressure and made him look in the right direction.

''So, what's the game plan?'' I asked. Theo discreetly looked around, before getting a hold of my waist and slowly swaying us to the music.

''A direct approach isn't going to work. He'll just order Greg and Goyle to keep us away from Mary.''

''I would love to see him try.'' I said in defiance.

''Alice. This isn't a situation where your Gryffindor bravery is going to save the day.'' There was some harshness in his words, but I knew that this wasn't the moment to feel hurt by his words. I wanted to suggest telling a teacher, but then they would certainly want to keep a closer eye on Mary and her dark mark would be exposed, which might just put her in more danger, so I bit my tongue.

''I understand, so tell me what I need to do.'' If my Gryffindor bravery wasn't going to save the day, then maybe his cunning side could. Once again, the gears in his head were turning.

''We need to isolate her somewhere he can't find her. The only known way to fight Amortentia is to either be potions master Horace Slughorn or to let the Potion loose it's effect over time. If Draco can't continuously give her a dose, she'll regain her consciousness on her own. One of us will have to be with her nonstop to make sure she doesn't try to run back to him. Which means, she can't have her wand on her.''

''Well it is Friday, so keeping her locked up over the weekend would be the smartest decision if we don't want the teachers to notice and she's not wearing her Wand right now.''

Theo had already taken this into consideration, as his only response was a slight nod.

''Alright, I got it figured out. I will go over there and get Mary away from him. I'm quite sure he'll allow it, cause he's expecting her to break my heart.''

''Wouldn't it be easier if I just manipulated her to follow me away from him?''

''Normally yes, but since her mind is already clouded by the potion, I don't know what might happen and I don't want to risk it. I'll get away from him, but he won't stay still long, he's too paranoid if his father is really involved. So, what I need you to do, is go after him and keep him occupied long enough, for me to actually get her into our secret room. I've been making some research on the castle and I think I know how to get in there.''

''Theo, I need to admit, that you are quite brilliant sometimes.''

He gave me a cunning smirk. ''I am always brilliant. Now, let's make sure that this works. You should start a conversation with someone while I go get Mary out of here. We need to act normally until it's too late for Malfoy to realize what's going on.''

I nodded and had a quick look around to find one of my friends somewhere.

''And Alice… thank you, for trusting me and having my back.''

I smiled and slightly touched his cheek. ''How could I not?'' I winked at him before turning around and walking to where Fred and George were standing with Dimé.

Mary:

Darco's smell. Draco's eyes. Draco's smile. Everything he did was so enticing to me. I was so happy to be in his arms right now. Was he happy too? Did he feel like I did in this moment? His face didn't give anything away, but he was so handsome that it just filled me with happiness to look at him.

''Draco. Mary.'' I turned my head and saw Nott standing there. ''How about we go for a stroll, Mary?'' Nott smiled. Confusion spread out in me. Why would I want to go with him, when I was with Draco. Nott must have seen my confusion because he slightly touched my hand with his and I quickly pulled back. His face was like a façade.

''Well I think it would be a nice idea to get a little bit of air, why don't we all go?'' Draco said with what must have been the most beautiful smile I've ever seen on his face.

''If you want to go, then so do I!'' I said with a smile. Hopefully he thought that I was pretty when I smiled. My eyes were practically glued to his head as I followed him towards the exit of the room. The whole room was a blur until something red came up and bumped into Draco. My eyes fixated on the obstacle and I realized that it was Alice. Why was she here? Did she hurt Draco? Was he looking at her? Why would he look at her? No, he only looked at me. He must since he was dancing with me.

''Oh I'm sorry, I was looking for Harry, he's waiting for me. I didn't look where I was going.'' Now I realized that she had crushed a piece of cake on Draco's shirt. Draco's face turned into a grimace. He seemed to feel uncomfortable.

''Alice you should apologize and then leave.'' I said while constantly glancing towards Draco, to make sure that he was happy about what I just said.

''Well… Harry is still waiting for me, but I would feel bad if I just walked away now, so I think I'll just have to make him wait a bit longer and clean your shirt for you.'' She seemed thoughtful and apologetic.

''I think it'll do Potter good to wait for his date.'' Draco said before turning to me. ''Go have a walk with Nott.''

Why was he saying this? Did he like Alice more than me? Anger was overcoming me. Should I hex her? But I didn't have my wand… Maybe I should go and get it to make sure that no one would disturb Draco and me. But he shouldn't see this side of me. ''Alright, I will be back though, so don't take too long.'' I looked at them until Nott and I had left the room. I hoped this walk wouldn't take long, cause I wanted to get back to Draco.

''So I am not supposed to say this but Draco actually prepared a surprise for you and I am supposed to lead you there.'' Nott said. What? This was wonderful! Of course, Alice had only been there so that Draco could quickly get there and wait for me. This made so much sense. That must mean that he loves me too!

''Can we go there right now?''

''Of course, it's on the seventh floor, just follow me.'' My mind was so clouded by thoughts of Draco that the walk seemed to pass by like a blur. We stopped in front of a big door. ''It's in here, let's go in.'' My mind was racing, behind this door Draco was waiting and he would tell me that he loves me and then everything would be perfect. Eagerly I opened the door and was met with a cosy but empty room.

''Where is Draco?'' I asked while turning around. Nott came in and closed the door.

''Well we came here so fast, he must still be on his way.'' Yes, Draco was definitely coming.

''So what do we do now?'' For the first time, I shifted my attention to Nott. He looked at the wall, where the door had been. Wait, where had the door gone?

''Now, we wait.''

Alice:

,,Should I get my wand, or do you want me to clean your blouse the old fashioned way?'' I asked.

''I don't want you anywhere near your wand.'' He said.

''Let's go to the washroom on the second floor then, I doubt that anyone would see us there.'' I said, while leading the way. Surprisingly, he didn't complain. Maybe I wasn't the only one that had felt the distance from the last couple of months. It had been weird, to not have any contact at all.

I could lose myself in my thoughts right now, but I needed to make sure, that he didn't think about Mary too long.

''I saw that you support Cedric in the games. That's pretty cool.'' Which was true, I had noticed his badges and the fact that they were also against Harry, but I didn't want to address that right now.

''Well it would be only right if Hogwarts won. Or Durmstrang.''

''I guess you are a fan of Viktor Krum then. Well it does make sense.''

''Krum is a legend. But if I get the chance, I will one day crush him on the field.'' Always this confidence, I smiled. No, I shouldn't smile, he drugged Mary. ''You don't look so pale today.''

I couldn't help myself, I gave him a grin. ''Yeah, I caught some sun.'' Draco lifted an eyebrow and then rolled his eyes, but there was a small smile on his face. ''Alright we're here. Boys or girl's washroom?'' I asked.

''If you think I'm going into the girl's washroom you must be thick.'' He led the way straight into the boy's bathroom. I followed behind him and saw that he had already started to unbutton his blouse. He was wearing a white shirt underneath it. He passed me his shirt and leaned back on a wall, while I went over to a sink. Once again it was quiet while I rubbed the soap into the once white material.

''Draco… are you, doing alright?'' I asked shyly. I heard him snort.

''I'm Draco Malfoy, of course my life is going well.'' Indeed, he was a Malfoy. I turned around and looked at him. It didn't matter if I smelled his shampoo in my goddamn Amortentia, it might as well have been someone else who uses the same one. The Important factor here was, that he was messing with Theo and Mary. He seemed to notice the shift in my mood and became wary.

''You know, I warned you. I told you to not mess with Theo's relationship. Mary's behaviour back there… it was more than just odd.'' I forgot about the shirt and walked up to him, blocking him against the wall. ''Draco Malfoy who the bloody hell do you think you are? It seems like more and more you are trying to prove to me, that I was wrong about you.'' I put my hand on his chest to keep him against the wall.

Draco snorted as he looked down at me. ''This isn't about you.''

''No, it's not, and I doubt that it's about you either. So, what are we? Pawns? Bystanders? Who knows, at this point everything could be true. So yeah, all of this isn't about me, but you know what? You and me, are stuck in this game so your behaviour Draco, does affect me. I'd rather get stabbed than just let you treat me like a useless outsider.''

''I already told you to stay away from me, that's just better for everyone.'' He grabbed my arm that was pinning him against the wall and put some pressure on it. This proved to me, that he wasn't really scared of me anymore. My heart swelled up a little at that thought. Goddamn. I wanted to pull my arm back, but he used this chance to disturb my balance and push me against the wall instead. ''Somehow it just seems like you're not really good at listening to orders.'' This situation made me uncomfortable, he was too close and out of the blue I caught a whiff of his shampoo. I was in a pure state of distress. Somehow, I had felt my control getting swept away. I wanted to get rid of him. I needed to get away from him.

''Or maybe, I am just not good at listening to your orders.'' I mumbled. His face showed confusion as he searched my face for an answer and then suddenly clarity showed on his face.

''Bloody hell!'' Anger overtook him and he punched the wall. Then he turned around and basically ran out of the room. I sighed as relief slowly came over me. Surely, I had distracted him long enough for Theo to disappear with Mary. The sound of running water caught my attention. Draco's blouse was still there soaking the water. I took the blouse and left the bathroom, quickly making my way to the Gryffindor tower, not wanting to meet Draco again.

Once I had entered my bedroom, I went straight to changing into my pyjamas before sitting down on my bed. I noticed that I wasn't alone. As I looked down, I realized that Hermione was laying in my bed. ''Hermione?'' I whispered questioningly. ''Please don't ask, I just need a friend right now.'' She sobbed. Her evening must have been messy too. ''Alright. I'm here for you.'' I laid down beside this poor distressed girl and took her hand to reassure her, that she was in fact not alone.