Prudence wasn't able to hold up the facade of a well mannered little wandwielder any longer.
She was literally a ticking time bomb after speaking with Draco. It made her insides feel like a pit in hell when she had to deal with the pig-headed evil twin of what use to be her amazing boyfriend. She knew that she seemed rude as she rushed through the crowded ballroom, bypassing many that tried to stop her for a conversation, but it would be impossible for her not to break down into sobs the moment she tried to speak. And sobbing would only get her worked up and then... who knows, she'd probably turn the ministry ballroom inside out with all the rage she was trying to keep at bay. ...She had to leave.
Harry kept an impossibly close eye on her, only because he was worried about her. He watched her come in off the balcony, he knew Malfoy was out there, and he knew that something happened between them. When she shot through the doors and made a beeline for the exit to leave he followed her hastily.
"Prudence wait! Prudence!"
Pru heard the voice calling from behind her and she had to admit, it was the only voice at the entire party she would turn around for. Harry didn't deserve for her to bolt on him like that. But before she looked at him, she forced herself to find composure.
Harry frowned at the hurt expression on her face. He never really knew where he stood with her, if he ever even had a chance. But that didn't mean he would stop caring about her. He hated to see her like this and because of Malfoy... what the fuck did Malfoy have that she was so enamored with anyways? He didn't think he would ever understand her... he would try though.
"Prudence..." he said softly when she looked at him with her puffy red eyes. "Wha...? What did he do to you?" He knew he was possibly over stepping his boundaries. She didn't care to talk about Malfoy, but it was so apparent that he was ruining her night. There was obviously so much more going on between the two of them than anyone knew, he just wanted her to be ok.
Prudence felt better to see Harry's genuine concern for her. She tried to give him a weak smile, "Um..." She cast her eyes away and shook her head, "He didn't do anything... believe it or not, it's all my fault..."
Harry's brow furrowed, he didn't believe that. "I'm sorry, but I doubt that's true..." The corner of his mouth pulled into a small grin when he saw her give him a ghostly smile.
It was adorable that he had so much faith in her, too bad he was adorably wrong.
It's not her fault that this life was chosen for her without her consent, but it is her fault that she pulled Draco into her world. She pursued him even after he tried to tell her not to. Of course at the time, even she was clueless her path would be so confusing, but there were always clues that she was meant to be alone. To think, Draco always thought that he was the bad influence on her... but it was her life that tore them apart. If she would have never fell in love with him then he would still have his memory...
It was easy for the teenage love-sick Prudence to blame herself for everything... but the wiser goddess in her knew that she changed him for the better. And after everything is through and he has his memory back and Pansy is crying in a corner somewhere and she... well she doesn't know where she will be, but after it's all done, he'll be ok. He won't ever be what the world thought he was, a deatheater's son with a dark future. He will be a man capable of compassion. And even if they don't end up together in the end... there will always be that.
Harry was thrown off when Prudence suddenly wrapped her arms around him to give him a hug. He immediately wrapped his arms around her to hug her back.
Pru just wanted a hug, life was cruel, and she just needed this. "Just take me home now Harry Potter," she whispered to him.
A ferocious anger simmered in Draco that he buried away almost too well. It disgusted him to look at Pansy and her oblivious face. He wasn't sure how he held back not showering her in an unforgivable, she actually thought she would get away with tampering with his mind? The entire way home she continued to snuggle into his side and bore him with idle chit chat... he hated her.
He hated them both.
Pansy was convinced that he was still clueless. She figured he would have exploded at her by now if he had the slightest inkling of what she did. Her Draco had such an unbearable temper... So she felt pretty assured that tonight went rather smoothly and she escaped the clutches of Prudence for one more day. And now, all that really played in her mind is getting him home and into bed.
The two weeks that she has spent with him have been amazing and terrible at the same time. Of course she was thrilled to have Draco back, even if it wasn't his truest form, but she also had a goddess giving her death glares at every possible moment. But Prudence didn't much matter when she was able to touch Draco without him trying to choke her. She was scared to make a move on him. She tread very carefully as to not provoke him in any way. But tonight... tonight seemed like the right night.
.
Prudence and Harry stood in front of the doors to the Great Hall, doing their best to not make their goodbye and goodnight awkward.
Harry watched her carefully as she looked at the ground, still lost in her thoughts like she had been the entire way home. He didn't want to have any expectations for a goodnight kiss, but he couldn't help it... She looked beautiful with his dress coat draped over her shoulders and her long dark curls cascading around her face. He wondered so hard what was going on inside her head.
Prudence sighed, although Harry had been nothing but a gentleman tonight, she still knew he expected something from her. "I know I was reluctant at first, but I do appreciate you escorting me to the ball."
It was Harry's turn to look down, unable to keep eye contact with the sudden rage in his hormones. "Of course... it was my pleasure..."
The silence was palpable as Pru realized it was in her hands to end this. "Well... goodnight Harry..."
His green eyes finally looked at her as they both stared at one another in an confusing limbo. Immediately Pru decided she would not be giving him a good night kiss, his green eyes were not the gun metal silver eyes she wanted them to be. So she opted for another hug and wrapped her arms around his neck as she stood on her toes. His body went rigid for a moment of shock, obviously hurt she decided against kissing him, but then relaxed the tighter she squeezed him.
She was happy to hear him whisper without any aggravation, "Goodnight Prudence."
The clicking footsteps up the adjacent stairwell to the foyer came too quickly for Prudence to pull away from her hug gracefully.
Draco was walking briskly, not giving a damn that Pansy trailed behind as she struggled in her ridiculous shoes. He wanted to get to his room and drink the bottle of fire whiskey that was calling his name. He was forced to stop in his tracks though once he came upon a couple embracing one another in front of the Great Hall. Normally he would continue on his way, not giving two shits about the sodding idiots... but it was Prudence... and she was hugging Twatter.
Prudence hopped away from Harry as if he was burning her when she saw that it was Draco that came up the stairs. His penetrating glare was deadly, which she was hard pressed to understand. He shouldn't care at all that she was hugging Harry, the fact that he did made her feel hopeful.
Draco wanted to let out an animalistic roar to convey the overwhelming anger and frustration he felt with finding her this way, but he knew if he did, both Pansy and Prudence would draw too many conclusions. He knew that he once loved her and she loved him back, he knew that she had to be aware of his deep loathing for Potter so why would she betray him like this? No, it didn't make sense that he would care at all, but he fucking did.
He made eye contact with the traitorous wench long enough to let her know how much he despised her and then walked away toward the dungeons.
Harry watched Prudence stand stone still, her eyes never leaving the doorway that Malfoy just walked through. She wore her features so stoically, he couldn't comprehend how she was feeling.
Prudence continued to stare at the doorway, long after Pansy had hobbled through warily eyeing the wounded girl. All she could hear were the resounding thoughts of Draco that continued to bang around her skull, I hate you... I hate you... I hate you... He hated her...
"...Good night Harry..." she managed to mumble, her feet carrying toward the dungeons. She didn't want to go after Draco, but she didn't want to stand there with Harry any longer either. She would go into the dungeons but then go anywhere else except her dorm...
.
Prudence literally had found some of the best friends a girl could ever ask for. After only a few steps down the hall she was bombarded by Daph, Mione, and Blaise who didn't take no for an answer as they drug her outside and down to the docks where they had stuffed several bottles of brandy. They were instantly able to tell that something dreadful had transpired just by the forlorn look Pru wore.
"Free hugs!" Daphne said with an exaggerate goofy smile as she held her arms open, "Come and get it!"
Prudence finally cracked a smile as she looked at her friend, Daphne always managed to get her to smile. As she let her friend embrace her in a bear hug the concerned girl asked, "So what did that jerk do now..."
Prudence sighed once her friends had hugged some life into her and began to tell them everything. They were all pretty speechless to hear that Draco now knew what happened to him. Pru left out the part about hearing him say he hated her over and over again, that was just too hard to repeat out loud.
"He knows you're immortal!?"
"He knows Pansy cursed him!?"
"He knows you guys use to be together!?"
Prudence could only nod her head weakly, he knew everything, "Yep... but he still doesn't love me... he doesn't know me..."
Blaise must have been the only one to see the silver lining, "But Prudence, he's subconsciously still fighting for you, why would he act so mad when he thought that you were giving up on him, don't you see that?"
Pru sighed and shrugged her shoulders. Wouldn't that be something, if his love for her slipped through the curse on it's own...
She didn't want to think about it anymore, she didn't want to think about any of it. This was the closest thing she could get to an escape, drinking with her friends under the moonlight, so she drank up with all intentions of trying to forget.
"So, how was Harry?" Hermione asked after all of them seemed to have a bit too much.
The embarrassing end of the night came back to her, even though she had no reason to be embarrassed, "Ugh, he wanted me to kiss him..."
Her girlfriends squealed at her, "No he didn't!"
"Yes... I could hear his brain so loud, I hope she kisses me, I hope she kisses me..."
"Aw," Hermione said with a pouted lip, "The poor bloke just doesn't understand he doesn't have a chance..."
"I mean, he was incredibly sweet all night and nothing but a gentleman... but c'mon, he's not my Draco... I could tell he was trying so hard to understand what happened between Draco and I, but I didn't tell him anything. He'd only be exasperated with the truth..."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "He's got so much other stuff on his plate anyway, he knows he doesn't need to have a crush right now..."
"Mione!" The ever loving Daphne scolded, "You can't control your heart!"
"I can!"
"You cannot!"
Pru had to laugh at her friends, they were the best. They made her feel so much better even though her life was an epic mess.
.
Once the night began to develop a bitter wind the group of friends decided maybe it was time to sneak back inside. They giggled like young children the entire way as they stumbled into the Slytherin common room safely.
Blaise turned to look at the girls, his body swaying with drink and his finger turning up the end of his nose, "Hey, who am I?"
The girls peeled with laughter and Daphne was only too happy to point out, "Pug-face Pansy!" As she too pushed up her nose.
Blaise was unable to contain his laughter at his girlfriend and ended up toppling backward over a chair. A loud crash echoed off the walls as the girls rushed to pull him up right and hold in their own hysterics.
"I think we need to escort your lover to his bed Daphne," Hermione said through tears of laughter, "I don't think he'll make it..."
They looked at him sprawled on the floor, groggling in protest to receive any help, and decided it was probably best.
"C'mon honeycakes," Daphne cooed as they lifted him up and began to lug him toward his dorm.
It was a struggle at first to get his limp body going in the right direction, but as they got closer he began to move his feet on his own accord, trying to refuse their help.
They must have been only feet from the door when Pru felt an icy cold touch slither down her spine. She stopped, unable to move any more as she began to recognize the terrible feeling that was starting to choke her... it was Draco... and she couldn't even put words to what he was doing...
Blaise, too drunk to realize anything, continued on, barging through his door and falling face first onto the other side.
Prudence felt sickness swirling in her gut, her body lulled as if it had lost all power completely. There they were, the two of them... naked.
Her vision blacked around the edges, but stayed intact just long enough to see his face looking back at her. His eyes bulged with utter shock and his jaw hardened. She couldn't comprehend it, she mentally could not handle what her eyes were seeing. Her heart didn't do so well either. The thumping was erratic and so hard she could feel it bruising her ribs... and then... the blackness returned...
Draco wanted to puke. He couldn't fathom that Pru just walked in on him as he had Pansy bent over his bed. He was disgusted with himself. He was so angry with her when he felt she gave up on him, and then finding her with Potter only sent him directly over the edge. He only wanted to choke the life out of Pansy, but because he couldn't, he made a plan to punish her in other ways. At the time he disregarded Prudence, not giving a damn about what they once were. But now, after seeing her horror struck face, he regretted everything. Because he knew even though he didn't know her, she still knew him. And with all the evidence of her love splattered everywhere letting her see this was one of the last things he wanted.
He could see in her eyes the instant betrayal and heart break. The way he felt earlier was no comparison to how he was making her feel... He watched in horror as she went limp with out actually falling and for a small moment, looked completely lifeless. Without realizing, he shoved Pansy away and grabbed at anything to cover himself.
He was having a moment of clarity, he knew exactly what was coming next. He replayed the morning of the storm, he thought over what she screamed at him about her emotions and turning demon and killing them all. He felt so stupid and selfish... he didn't know how to stop this, he didn't know how to calm her down and make her stop looking as if her skin was actually turning red...
Daphne panicked and began screaming, she also understood what was about to happen. She pulled at Blaise to stand up and then rushed to Pru's side where Hermione already stood, doing her best to calm their unstable friend.
"Pru! Prudence! Please, that's not real, that's not your Draco. He would never do this to you! He loves you more than his own life! Please Pru, please calm down!"
Draco listened to Daphne's words awkwardly, he was Draco! Damnit! He found himself wishing that he could be the Draco they all remembered. The one with a heart that loves Prudence and his own friends even like more. It would solve everything if he was! Why couldn't he just remember!
Pru couldn't hear Hermione and Daphne, she couldn't hear anything. There was only maddeningly loud silence rushing through her ears... and heat. There was so much heat.
The group of students had to step back from the beautiful girl who was slowly beginning to levitate off the floor as her toes ignited into a small red fire. They were awe-struck as the flames crept up her legs, threatening to consume her.
"What do we do!" Draco screamed.
"I don't know!" Daphne hollered back, her tears almost blinding her.
Hermione tried to think, "Dumbledore, Snape! We need one of them!"
Draco didn't think there was enough time for that, "She'll have the entire Slytherin dorms and all the kids in it burned to a crisp by the time one of us gets back with them!"
All their hope was draining rapidly as they racked their brains... none of them had any idea how to stop her.
"We... we have to get them out of here! We have to evacuate and leave her!" Daphne concluded miserably.
Before any of them could make a move to leave they were surprised to see Professor Dumbledore burst into the room, grab onto the burning girls shoulder and apparate away. Barely a second of shock got to sink in before complete and utter disbelief settled over them because the professor appeared only a short distance away, Prudence still burning quickly.
Draco registered the look of terror on the Headmaster's face as he realized what just happened. Her magic seemed to be just too uninhibited, he wasn't able to properly apparate her away.
That didn't mean the wise old man gave up trying. The flames had now reached Pru's torso and her eyes were black as her hands curled into fists. Nobody could move a muscle as they watched the mighty professor hold onto a blazing girl and apparate in spurts and bounds across the open space until they had disappeared beyond the walls.
Deep breathing echoed around the room for a few pregnant seconds as the five students tried to register what just happened.
Draco was the first to move. He snapped out of his shock, threw on some pants, and screamed at the petrified idiots, "Let's go!"
Daphne was nodding her head, agreeing with him numbly as she haphazardly reached out to her boyfriend and Hermione so they could run toward the exit.
.
Draco was in a state of pure panic. He knew it was ludicrous how strong his heart was beating for a girl he knew he had a past with but just never lived. But he was done fighting it, obviously his heart remembered what his brain just couldn't. She was about to engulf the entire island in flames and it was entirely his fault... As rapidly as his mind was working he still couldn't touch on the fact that he was deeply worried about her.
Once outside, the group searched the sky feverishly for any signs of where she could be, if she was even still there...
Blaise spotted the pillar of smoke first, down by the lake where they were just fifteen minutes previously. "There!" He screamed and pointed, his drunken state stifled enormously due to the status of their grave situation.
They ran in the direction of the smoke and were appalled to see the flames had grew to very dangerous proportions. Prudence was standing in the center of ten foot flames that continued to grow as they stared at her aghast. The professor was helpless to do much else besides try to seclude her as much as possible. Other professors had appeared and were trying in vain to shoot streams of water at the intimidating flames, but nothing was calming the expanding flames.
Draco's heart halted at the sight of her. The fire had taken her over completely... He felt the pulling in his gut, the deep seeded guilt... He hated how out of control and unfamiliar he felt... he hated that her beautiful face was now ashen black and her eyes glowed red... He didn't feel like himself, or maybe he did...
He fell to his knees, the emotion overwhelming him... this was all his fault. He felt so hopeless, "They're failing... they can't stop her, nothing can stop her... she's going to... she's going to..." But he couldn't say it, he couldn't say what he knew was going to happen... Yes, the island was going to burn, yes, him and everyone around him would have to leave her... but none of that mattered. All he wanted was to bring her back, make sure she's alright...
Daphne's words cut into him, "Draco save her! What are you doing!? GO SAVE HER!"
"How!" He screamed back at her, his own tears cascading down his cheeks, "How DAPHNE! How do I do that!" How the fuck could he do anything to save her when not ever Professor Dumbledore and his fleet of powerful professors were able to help?
"You're the key!" Granger cut in. He looked at her strangely, his nostrils flaring at her. Why was she there...
Hermione didn't give a damn about what he thought of her, "Malfoy you are The Key! The scrolls said so! You're the only one who can stop this!"
He had no fucking clue what that meant, but some how he believed her. He looked at Blaise and Daphne who were nodding their heads furiously.
"It's true!" Daphne wailed, "You can do this!"
Draco looked at Prudence with a sad frown. The flames were almost thirty feet in the air and the professors had been pushed back effortlessly. Her eyes still glowed red, but now he was dismayed to see odd runes appearing all over her skin. He knew he had never saw them before, but he still recognized them some how. They felt wrong and he felt sick to think that she was about to turn...
Prudence let out a carnal scream that sent him directly to his feet and out of his feeble stupor. He had to do something now! It felt as if his chest was crumbling and he knew somehow, if he didn't save her that his chest would cave in completely. So he began walking toward the inferno, his mind set, he would save her.