"Oh mr malfoy what are you doing up at this hour. you should be in bed. i don't want to have to call snape on you." the painting guardian said.
"I need to talk too Natalie Jacobs."
"I can't condone that you know." she said. this woman was starting to irritate him.
"Look can you just tell her i'm here. maybe she'll come out on her own."
"ill check but if she's sleeping i'm not waking her up."
"i understand." Draco said as the painting woman disappeared. she came back a few seconds later.
"you're really lucky she was just about to go to bed. she will be down in a minute."
"thank you." draco said. the door too the ravenclaw door opened and revealed a sleepy natalie.
"Hey draco what's up." she said yawning.
"Nothing much i just need to talk to you."
"sure what about."Natalie said waking up a little more. draco looked around at all the wondering ears from the paintings. they would hear them.
"Let's go somewhere private."
"No way she needs to be in bed." the woman said.
"I'll be back in a few minutes." natalie said. the painted woman unable to do anything was left too watch them walk away. they made it too an abandoned hallway with no paintings in it. "so what did you want to talk about." natalie asked.
"I was wondering if you were staying here for christmas." draco said.
"well uhh yes i am."
"Well i'm staying too. my father would be away on business and my mother is never at the house so it would be pointless for me to go home. so i was wondering if maybe you would like to spend christmas with me. we can just spend it together as friends." he said.
"Oh draco that sounds wonderful." she said bringing him into a hug. he hugged her back lived in that moment. suddenly they heard footsteps coming down the hallway.
"Quick we need to hide." Draco said pulling her into a dark corner behind one of the statues. when they saw who it was they couldn't believe their eyes.
"harry this is not a good idea what if we get caught." it was ron.
"Ron this will work we just need to see what is going on in there." hermione said
"We are just going to take a peek and then we can go back to the common room." harry said.
"I still can't believe we are doing this."ron said. they entered a door that lead out to a shack near the dark forest and draco and natalie were alone again.
"well it looks like we aren't the only ones up." natalie said.
"what did they mean take a peek what are they looking for." draco said.
"I have no idea we should get back before they do."
"No way we have to tell someone about this." draco said.
"are you crazy we would get caught then. in case you haven't noticed we are out of our dorms too." natalie said.
"True but maybe since we turned them in they will forget about us and just punish them."
"It's a little risky." natalie said.
"Come on we can't let them get away with whatever they are doing." draco said.
"Ok fine but if we get in trouble…"
"If we get in trouble i'll take the blame so you won't get in trouble."
"draco you don't have to do that."
"I know i don't have to i want to."
"Your awesome you know that right." natalie said.
"I knew a little." draco smiled. they made there way too the office were mcgonagall was there. they told her about what they had heard and lucky for them she didn't say anything about them being up too. they led her too were they heard them talking and caught the trio just as they were leaving. Draco stepped out from behind the professor too show them who had told. the look on harry's face was priceless too draco. Natalie just hung back trying not to be seen. she kinda liked the trio. i mean rons brothers helped her out a lot. She felt slightly guilty for rating them out like this. but draco was enjoying every moment of it. they made their way back to the office were madame mcgonal began punishing the trio. she took fifty points each from their houses. poor gryffindor. they were always losing points. then she told them something almost terrifying.
"and the five of you as a detention will go into the dark forest with hagrid and help him out with a mission." everyone's jaw dropped. they were suppose to go into the dark forest. the one filled with things that could kill them. the one they were told never to enter. this was madness.
"excuse me miss you said five i don't think you mean me and…"draco said but was interupted by mcganiall.
"Oh but i do mr malfoy. you and miss jacobs were also up past hours. so you will receive the same punishment despite your intentions."
"natalie didn't have anything to do with it i dragged her here." draco said taking the blame like he promised.
"I don't really care. she was up there fore she needs to be punished. so let's go shall we."
"Wait right now." hermione asked.
"when else you all seem to be eager to be up so why not extend the fun." she said as she led them to hagrid's hut. where a large man with a long black beard and covered head too toe with pelts was there to greet them. he had a large dog by his side too.
"ah hi there harry, ron, hermione, natalie, and malfoy. so it seems you have been rather bad tonight i expected more from you. well nevermind that let's get started. we are looking for a runaway unicorn. so to cover more ground we are splitting up in groups of three. i will go with hermione and ron. malfoy natalie and harry will go by themselves. don't worry you get fang too. he said handing them a leash and a lantern. they all entered the dark forest.
"this sucks my father will hear about this. he will have this whole place shut down in a blink of an eye for making us go in this wretched place." Draco whined. Harry rolled his eyes and continued looking for the lost unicorn.
"Hey guys look at this." natalie said pointing to a silvery liquid.
"Unicorn blood." harry said. "we must be getting close it's still dripping."
"Wait guys isnt this dangerous. don't you guys think? what made it bleed."
"Draco's right if something is after it i don't want to get close too it." natalie said.
"hagrid said it was a runaway unicorn maybe he is the one that shot it."
"I don't think hagrid would do that. he seems too like animals."
"Look are we going to debate over this or are we going to go find this creature so we can get the heck out of here." draco said grabbing the lantern and raising it too see more.
"Agh…" harry said grabbing his forehead."
"You ok harry." natalie asked. harry nodded his head. suddenly they came across a small dark clearing where they saw the unicorn. but something else was there too. it was huddled over the unicorn drinking its blood. Harry was grasping his head in pain at this point. Draco dropped the lantern and grabbed onto natalie's hand and began running leaving harry behind. that heat that was in natalie was escalating more rapidly. it had already spread throughout her body. The only thing that was keeping out of that stunned trance was draco right now. She had too keep running. She had too keep moving. he wouldn't let her go. his grip on her wrist was tight making sure she didn't slip away. whatever the heck was that thing. it wouldn't get too them. they made their way back to hagrid hut where they were the only ones there.
"we got to get help. we have to go help harry." natalie said as draco began pacing.
"forget potter what the heck was that thing. and what is it doing near a school." draco shouted he was obviously panicking.
"well we have to do something we can't just leave harry there we have to go back and save him."
"Natalie listen to me." he said grabbing onto her shoulders. "there is absolutely nothing that we can do. we know little too none defensive spells. we are children. we have no possible way of beating that thing let alone getting potter out alive. Do you understand me. if both of us are too live we have to stay here and wait for someone to save him themselves."
"we can figure something out i don't want too just leave him there." suddenly hagrid burst from out of the woods. with harry ron and hermine following behind him.
"harry you're all right." natalie said rushing over to him.
"how are you alive." draco said.
"a centaur came out and saved me." harry said.
"Oh my god that sounds so cool." natalie said. "i am sorry we left you."
"it ok i know you were scared." harry said.
"we better get you kids inside you have had a long night."
"wait what about the creature." draco said.
"the centaur scared it off. nothing more we can do now." Hagrid said. walking towards the castle. the children following close beside him. They reached the door of the castle again and the kids said their goodbyes as hagrid turned them over to finch.
Christmas rolled around and almost everyone in hogwarts left. Only a couple of students remained. the ravenclaw dorm was decorated head too toe in lights and ordaments. with a giant christmas tree in the middle. Natalie ran down the long hallway with her present in her pocket too the place where draco told her to meet him. it was near the lake. he said his father went there when he was a student. she saw draco down by the lake holding a small package. she met up with him panting.
"Sorry im late." she apologized.
"No need well come on i want to show you the place." he said and started walking towards a giant hedge. he brushed past the branches and leaves and came across a clearing with a crystal clear pond in the center. there was small stones for them to sit on and forest creatures tended to come near here. only the kind ones though. his father once told him he saw a deer come right up to him when he was a boy.
"Draco this place is wonderful." natalie said gazing up at the sky. snow was falling now and quickly freezing the small pond. the children who looked up at the sky were unturned by the cold. Draco found his hand warmed by natalie's. her wool gloves meeting his leather ones. Draco turned away from the sky and stole a glance at natalie whose eyes filled with wonder shinning brightly at the sky. her skin glowing even more brightly as the snow landed on her cheeks. Draco smiled at her happiness and fidled with the ribbon of the present he got her hoping she would like it. he was never good at giving gifts. He was never good at making friends. everyone automaticly wanted to be friends with him because of his father. he never had a friend who liked him for him. not his father. this was the reason he liked natalie. she saw past your bloodline and look at yours. who you were. who you were at that moment and not anything else.
"I uh i got you something." he said handing her the small package. she took it and untied the opened the box and pulled out a locket. it was silver with her initeal imbedded into the front. she opened it too find a photo of them on the first day of school. she had forgotten that one of the boys from the school newspaper had taken their picture. he must have gotten the photo from him and put it in the locket. a tear rolled down natalie's cheek.
"Oh my god draco this, this is amazing. i can't beleive you did this. this is the most beautuful thing that anyone has ever given to me." it was true. she wrapped her arms around him and thanked him over and over. he smiled.
"i thought you might like it." draco said resting his head on her shoulders.
"Oh i got you something too." she said pulling away and digging into her pocket. "its not much but i really hope you like it." She said handing him the wrapped box. he finally reached the gift and looked at it. he opened it up and a pink mist came out from the lid.
"what's it doing." draco asked.
"Its suppose too play your most happiest memory. i thought you might like it." Natalie said. They looked up at the pink mist which was swirling round and round trying to form the memory. Draco looked teary eyed as the picture finally appeared. Natalie couldn't see what was shown only the user could see it. and what it showed almost broke draco too tears. It was now. The mist showed him and natalie in the snow together looking up at the sky. It only happened near seconds ago but it was the happiest moment of young draco's life. "what do you see?"natalie asked bringing draco back to reality. He closed the box slowly and looked back to her.
"Uh a birthday that i had with my family when i was five." draco lied. he had never even had a birthday were both his parents were present. But he couldn't tell natalie that. what would she think that his happiest moment of his life only happened a couple of seconds ago. No he would tell her later. When he could come out more easily to her. yes he could tell her anything she wanted too know at this point but for something like this he would need more time. Just a little more time.
"Oh that sounds wonderful." she said playing with her new locket that was now around her neck. she looked back at the sky again. batting her eyes against the gentle snow that was falling on her face. "Draco what was it like to fly." she asked.
"huh?" he asked.
"when you were flying on your broom. what was it like flying. i have always wondered what it was like. do you feel weightless or is it like you're just moving in air. no change. I always dreamt of flying. going above the trees and above the mountains and looking forward. being able to see the world from a whole new perspective. What was it like?" she asked again. Draco thought for a minute. he was too focused on throwing potter off to pay too much attention too the feeling. but he had a slight idea.
"You feel above everything else. like your the one thing ruling the sky. you're the only one that could ever experience this." Draco said looking up too the distant sky. His feet were becoming numb from the cold. He looked back at natalie who didn't seem unturned by it. He wanted to stay here forever. just them alone. alone together in the snow.
They walk back to school holding hands too keep each other warm. They went into the dining room where only five other students were left. draco lured natalie too the other side of the table from where ron and harry sat. he wanted her all too himself. Not wanting those two idiots getting in his way. since there were such little students left they could all eat together. it was the first time they got too officially eat together. It was magical. carols filled the hall as they ate and at the end of the meal an array of desserts was laid out in front of them. Natalie grabbed the pudding and put a large clump of it on her plate, eating it quickly. they were dismissed from dinner and left for the night. Draco walked natalie back to her dorm.
"i had fun today." natalie said walking up the stairs.
"Me to." he said turning back to her. they reached the ravenclaw dorm room. natalie fiddled with the locket.
"thanks again for everything." natalie said. draco tried not to blush for it would be too obvious on his already pale white skin.
"No problem thank you." he said. turning away going back to his dorm. natalie stood alone on her doorstep once again. looking back to her neck at the locket she opened it once again to see the two of them smiling brightly. a tear of joy came down from natalie's eye. wiping it away quickly and entering her commen room. she was the only one in ravenclaw that stayed for christmas. so she had it all to herself. she quickly fell asleep on the commen room couch next to the fire.