ATTENTION TWILIGHTERS, TWIHARDS, and even those who may even remotely sort of like Twilight. One of the very best Jacob\Renesmee fanfics out there is by 2cool4you...do yourself a favor and read it~~ Thanks as always to my amazing beta and all of my faithful readers, thank you so much. -Cassia
Chapter 16 Murder in the Bathroom
Over the next few weeks, many of the students passed their apparation tests, with the exception of me and several other students who wouldn't turn seventeen in time. I mean, what was the point in teaching us if they were only going to say, just when we'd gotten the hang of it, that we'd have to wait until next year?
Sarah kept her silence, as promised, lifting an enormous weight off my chest.
As Draco was absent the next day, Katie Bell finally returned, never alone as she was followed everywhere by relieved friends, curious well wishers, and questioners, all of which there was an abundance.
When Draco did come back, he was becoming increasingly testy at his lack of progress with the vanishing cabinet. Around mid-April, when longing for the summer was at it's highest point. Draco and I sat in Dumbledore's office as he revealed the whole plan.
"I presume both of you have mentally prepared yourselves over these past weeks about everything we have discussed, all the pieces of the puzzle I have confided in you up until this point will come together now," Dumbledore said after greeting us with a very serious voice.
I shifted in my chair next to Draco ,the both of us across from Dumbledore, who was sitting before us in his dark, polished wooden desk.
"Now," he started. "We begin.
"I believe I have almost pinpointed the exact date tat this all will happen,however, I cannot tell you at this time. Astoria, you will be notified promptly. Draco, you will already know, for obvious reasons-it shall be the day you complete your task."
I nodded slightly, trying to remember every word that was being said.
"The Death Eaters will enter the school and they will fight only those who stand in their way, if my presumptions are accurate. Which, I must assure you, usually are." He smiled humorlessly. As a matter of fact, the Headmaster looked so morbid that if one didn't know, one could hazard a guess that he was plotting his own death. I shook my head slightly, clearing my head of the dark thought. Of course, that was perfectly ridiculous.
"And at some point during that night or day, I will return from a...personal errand, and I will be present in the Astronomy tower, I believe. Draco, you will find yourself in the Astronomy tower with me. Now, this is of utmost, vital importance- you must never drop character. No matter how alone I may seem, you must not reveal your true intentions. When you first come upon me you must disarm me-and here is where we put these magnificent acting skills of yours to work. I will stall you as you hold your wand on me until the Death Eaters come. Do you understand?" Draco nodded, tight-lipped, breathing heavily. I understood his stress. He was placing his life, and blind faith, in the hands of a man until recently he had been plotting to kill. I laced his hand into mine, hoping to offer reassurance. He gently squeezed it back, while all the while both of us kept our eyes locked on the headmaster,
"Then what happens? I still don't understand how I'll get away without killing you!" Draco stressed.
"Trust me, Draco. You must trust me as you have come to trust this young lady sitting before you," he smiled. Miraculously, something in Dumbledore's warm blue eyes must have calmed Draco, because I could see him visibly relax. Circulation began returned to my hand once more.
"Do you understand?"
"Yes, Professor," he looked at Dumbledore with fierce determination in his eyes.
"You are making a very good beginning to a double agent, Draco."
I smiled immediately at the sound of his title.
"And Astoria, the young woman who, if not for her...we would not be sitting here today. Your life is forever tied into the very heart of the resistance of Voldemort. We know how your story starts, but how indeed shall it end? That is the real question, it seems."
I smiled at him, nodding slightly.
"I am afraid I cannot offer you the security of a detailed plan to follow, but instead I give you these words-be careful. Be ever on your guard.
"And now to both of you-when the night is over, the member I have chosen will step forward. Astoria, I know some members will be less satisfied with only words-therefore, I will give to you a vial of memories to show to those who need additional assurances. After it is viewed, it must be immediately destroyed. Burned."
"Yes, Professor. Am I going to get the vial now?"
"No, Miss Greengrass. Along with the note warning you of the time of the break-into the school, the vial will be encased. Keep it on your person at all times as you would your wand." I nodded in response.
"And to both of you, the headquarters will be open as a place of shelter should you ever need it," his gaze shifted to me, and he peered at me over his glasses. Draco opened his mouth to speak, but Dumbledore beat him to it-
"This location is protected by an enchantment in which any description or name of the place is unable to be transmitted in any way to another thing, living or otherwise, other than the secret keeper. Is that what you were going to ask, Draco?"
"Yes, Professor." We talked on this for a while longer until Dumbledore seemed sure enough that we were fully understanding it. Draco told him of his minimal progress with the cabinet, and then we departed.
I sat on my knees, reaching into my trunk with one arm and supporting myself with the other arm. With the extension charm, it was big enough for me to fall into. I pulled out several crumpled bits of parchment, eyes skimming over scribbled homework assignments from years ago and laughing at notes my friends and I had passed so long ago. Throwing away those, several broken quills, and other various trash items I had scrounged up, I came across a single golden galleon. Reaching and grabbing it from its dark hiding place in the corner, I blew the dust off the face, Déjà vu flickering through me as I rubbed my thumb across the cool surface.
But, as I recalled, the temperature of the seemingly inconspicuous golden coin hadn't always been cool. In fact, I distinctly remembered the feeling of the warmth radiating slowly from my pocket. And not only mine, but all the members of Dumbledore's army.
I held the token with the secret meaning up into the light, and then set it down in the growing pile to sit amongst other trash items.
Almost immediately, I involuntarily snatched it back. I narrowed my eyes at it carefully. What other value, what other use could the coin have other than sentimental? It couldn't be spent. And surely, it couldn't still work, would it?The enchantment had to have faded. And even if it did work, I wouldn't need it-the D.A had disbanded, and it would no longer be of use.
So why, I wondered as I watched the gold glint in the light. Why was I feeling so compelled to keep it? Carefully slipping it into a side pouch of the trunk, I zipped it carefully and then lowered the lid.
Harry
Several weeks later as April slid into May, the days increasing in length and warmth found the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor quidditch teams battling it out for the title of winners of the quidditch cup.
A few days before the final match against Ravenclaw, Harry found himself walking down to dinner alone from the common room. Ron had rushed into a nearby bathroom to throw up from nerves yet again, and Hermione had dashed off to see Professor Babbling about a mistake she might have made on her last Arithmancy essay.
More out of habit than anything, Harry made his usual detour along the seventh floor corridor, checking the Marauder's map as he went. For a moment, he could not find Malfoy anywhere, and assumed he must indeed be inside the room of requirement again. But a closer glance revealed his tiny, labelled dot standing alone in the bathroom on the floor below, accompanied, not by Crabbe, Goyle, or any of his other Slytherin cronies, but by...Moaning Myrtle.
Harry only stopped staring at this unlikely pairing when he walked straight into a suit of armor. The loud crash brought him out of his reverie; hurrying from the scene lest Filch turn up, he dashed down the marble staircases and along the passageway below. Outside the bathroom, he pressed his ear against the door. He could not hear anything. So, very, very quietly, he pushed open the door.
Draco
Draco clutched at the white porcelain sink as if it were his lifeline, knuckles paling at the fierce grip. Wave after wave of hopelessness and despair crashed against him, threatening to overcome him, promising to crush him with their weight. How could he complete such a momentous task-the vanishing cabinet? And how could he stick precisely to Dumbledore's exact plan, all the while keeping it secret, not only from his fellow Death Eaters, but Voldemort himself? And more importantly, keeping Astoria safe despite everything she knew?
It was just too much.
A strangled sob twisted up through his body, wrenching itself up until it became a twisted sound, causing Myrtle to evoke even more of her sympathy while Draco choked out strangled half-sentences. Why was it that Myrtle was here, and not Astoria?
His heart ached, and he felt like crumbling.
He was standing with his back to the door, his hands clutching either side of the sink, his white-blond head bowed.
"Don't," crooned Moaning Myrtle's voice from somewhere behind Draco. "Don't...tell me what's wrong...I can help you..."
"No one can help me," Draco said. Not even Dumbledore, not Astoria, he added silently, beginning to tremble. The Vanishing cabinet-it all depends on me. "I can't do it...I can't...it won't work...and unless I do it soon...he says he'll kill me..." Draco rambled, not even realizing what he was divulging to Myrtle, though he was in his senses enough not to reveal anything about Dumbledore or Astoria.
Tears were streaming down into the grimy sink below him. He continued to gasp and gulp, horrible scenarios playing out in his mind in which they tortured Astoria, tortured him, his family, killed them all...he gave a great shudder, looking up into the mirror.
A flash of movement in the cracked mirror behind him caught his eye and he diverted his attention to his far less than presentable face to the flash of black hair, glasses, green eyes-Harry Potter was standing right behind him.
Malfoy wheeled around, drawing his wand. How much had he heard? His panicked mind reeled, and he watched the scene ass though he was slightly above it, everything was moving slowly, as in water-
Harry pulled out his own. Draco's crazed mind sent a hex at him-his body was moving of it's own accord, thinking the first curse that came to mind-he didn't even recall what it had been. His only instinct was to defend himself. And in the moment, his shattered state of emotional being wasn't seeing Harry anymore-Draco was seeing all of his enemies rolled into one-most of all, Voldemort. Trembling with fear and-
Voldemort-Harry-threw himself sideways, missing the hex by inches. Draco tightened his resolve-his assailant threw another hex and Draco dived without giving it a second thought, the adrenaline pumping too hard for him to feel it when he crashed sideways into a wall. A desperate maneuver to avoid a curse.
"No! No!" Moaning Myrtle was squealing, her voice everywhere and yet, no where. "Stop it!" Her voice was echoing, bouncing off the walls, causing Draco physical pain. He winced, suddenly paranoid. "Stop! STOP!" Draco fired off a curse, face contorted, and the garbage bin behind Harry exploded as he dodged it easily.
Draco's attacker, which now looked like a terrifying combination of Harry and Voldemort fired back a curse at Draco's head-he jerked out of the way and the spell backfired on the wall behind him, rebounding and hitting the door to Myrtle's cubicle with full force. Water was everywhere-and suddenly, Draco's crazed mind took him to another place. He was no longer in the bathroom with Harry, he was writhing on the floor of Malfoy Manor, Voldemort standing over him-
"I will kill all those you love, Draco," Voldemort sneered. In Draco's stress induced hallucination, his wand suddenly appeared in his hand. And he shot off the first spell he could think of at Voldemort.
"CRUCI-"
"SECTUMSEMPRA!" Now it was Harry again-and he interrupted Draco's curse and flung another spell at him.
The effect was immediate. An odd, ripping sensation was originating from Draco's chest-the pain was dulled by adrenaline, but it was still intense-knifes laced with acid were cutting through his chest-in a slowed state he put his fingers to his chest-they came away dripping with blood. At the sight, his legs began to feel weak, and red was running in his eyes-with a great splash, Draco fell back into the water, wand rolling out of his limp right hand. Voldemort was going to kill him now-he was going to get Astoria-but he could no longer focus on anything except his gasping, shaking breaths-ragged breaths-Harry had gasped something and Myrtle was screaming, both sounding oddly disjointed. Draco looked up at the ceiling, imagining Astoria was standing above him, sitting with him.
"I love you," he thought in his head, coughing and hacking, choking in air. Astoria disappeared and her image was replaced by Harry leaning over him.
"No-I didn't-" Draco felt at his chest, still feeling like the life was being sucked right out of him-he was determined to close the wounds, he couldn't die today-Draco began to shake uncontrollably. Myrtle's terrorized scream shot through the hazy fog that seemed to be surrounding him-
"MURDER! MURDER IN THE BATHROOM! MURDER!"
Draco struggled to stay awake. He focused on-the door had banged open-Astoria-no, it was Snape-Draco blinked, forcing himself upon reality. Snape, not Astoria, was striding toward him. Draco tried to talk, but his efforts were futile. All of his energy was going toward trying to stay awake. He blurrily saw Snape muttering over him, wand at his chest, and Harry was looking over, horrified-Draco couldn't hear anything, and felt like he was floating-floating up, up-
"Oh, my!" Madame Pomfrey cried. Those were the only words before she went on auto-pilot, barking orders and preforming healing magic to Draco. Some hours later after stress-filled visits from Snape and the Headmaster, Draco was sleeping fitfully-muttering and jerking. His scars were on the verge of re-opening if he so much as twisted the wrong way-but he was in too much of a precarious position to drop him into a magically induced sleep.
Dumbledore and Severus Snape stood above Draco's sleeping form, talking softly as Madame Pomfrey tied him down securely to prevent re-opening of the gashes, all the while contacting a staff member from St. Mungo's in case Draco Malfoy's condition worsened.
The fluorescent lights were washing out his already deathly pale complexion. That, coupled with his twitching eyelids and low, mostly incoherent mumblings uttered in his sleep were not good. Albus requested them dimmed, saying he would prefer Draco to look more like a boy and less like a ghost.
"No...please...don't hurt her..." his face twisted. His clothes soaked with blood and water had been cleaned, and bountiful amounts of dittany had been applied.
"Shall we alert Miss Greengrass?" Albus questioned a brooding Severus after a lull intheir current conversation.
"At this hour?" Snape questioned doubtfully, his black eyes appearing even darker in the dimly lit room. His focus did not leave his pupil's anguished face.
"I believe Fawkes is more than up to the task," Dumbledore said simply.
Tap, tap, tap. A musical, mournful cry was emitted just outside my window. I got up from my bed quickly before the noise awoke any of my friends. For the past hour, since 11:00 PM, to be precise, I had not been able to sleep. I had been, and still wasn't, able to shake some implacable feeling in the air that something was amiss. No-it was more than just amiss. Something was dreadfully wrong.
I almost did a double take at the sight of the magnificent phoenix perched on the roof not five inches away from my glass pane. It flew in silently, almost as if it knew to remain quiet. As it landed on the post of my bed, it cocked its head to the side, daring me to approach. I grinned, stroking its brilliant red-feathered head as I realized with a start a note was attached to its leg, owl-style.
Miss Greengrass-
Please report to the hospital wing immediately. Come alone.
Professor Dumbledore's
Uh-oh. I automatically threw on a cloak over my t-shirt and pajama pants, trying not to look like I had just rolled out of bed. Which, in fact, I had. Unfortunately for me at the moment, I had an imagination and my mind was already imagining worst-case scenarios, many of them starring Draco or Daphne. A quick glance around the room showed that all of my friends were safely in their beds-it wasn't one of them.
Tossing my long braid over my back I quickly let the phoenix out, not even watching its departure.
Something was seriously wrong-I knew it.
"Ahhhh...ohhhhh!" A wailing voice lamented. I looked up to see the ghost of Moaning Myrtle turning slowly in the air above me as I alternated between running and jogging toward the hospital wing...and whatever awaited me there.
"Ah, did you hear...the tragic news?" she said in an extremely dramatic voice. Cold fingers of fear brushed my heart-it wasn't coincidence that Myrtle was going on about a tragedy just as I had been called to the hospital wing.
"Erm...no...Myrtle? I sort of have to go..." I said, quickening my pace and trying to politely ditch the ghost who was now floating backwards in front of me, trying to keep up with my pace. When I turned the corner sharply, she merely disappeared through the wall and appeared again directly in front of me. I was getting rather impatient with this routine.
"Fine, fine," she said in the sulkiest voice I had ever heard. "Ahhh...ah...oooooh!" she moaned right in my face, silvery tears leaking down her face and vanishing before they hit the floor. She was obviously trying to get me to ask. I stubbornly refused.
"Myrtle, please!" I snapped, trying to quickly dodge past her but only managing to go through her, which was the exact scenario I had been trying to avoid as the sensation really set my wand in a knot. Just like the fingernails on a chalkboard bothered other people.
"Aren't you going to ask me what's wrong?" She sniffed in a voice of utmost shock-oh, the nerve of me. She was back to floating in front of me backward, apparently more offended at my lack of sensitivity than walking right through her. "Fine! I won't tell you, then! I'll just leave." Then crossing her arms and stopping abruptly, I narrowly missed going through her again, and dodged around her instead. Finally, I -
"Alright, alright!" she cried dramatically and I ground my teeth in frustration. "I know you want to know, so I'll just tell you! It's Draco Malfoy! Harry Potter tried to kill him!"
I stopped in my tracks, turning around. "I'm not in the mood for stories, Myrtle, so if you wouldn't mind, I'v got to go!" I yelled back.
"Suit yourself," She began to slide through the opposite wall. "You'll see soon enough."
She went back to wailing.
I began to sprint down the corridors, Filch not even a distant shadow in my mind. My heart was pounding wildly and irregularly by the time I reached the hospital wing...
I pushed open the doors, and the scene that greeted me could have been yanked directly from my worst nightmare.
I walked up to the only occupied bed.
I didn't want to see the body. I didn't want-
"No!" I gasped. My heart came to a wrenching stop and the room seemed to spin. Draco. Draco was-
"He's not dead, Miss Greengrass," I didn't even process Dumbledore's-the only other person in the room- words as I sank to my knees at Draco's side. Nothing else seemed to exist as I took in his face, twisted as though he were in pain. His hands were clenched into fists, and his muscles were taut.
"What..." I whispered, the rest of the sentence lingering in the air as I pressed my fists to my temples with extreme force.
"Draco was in a duel," he rested his hand on my shoulder. The only other noise in the room was the steady ticking of the clock. I was too shocked to cry, too numb to even stand up.
"Is he...will he be..." Something in the room seemed to have robbed me of my ability to speak in complete sentences. I still sat on my knees, gaze not wavering from up at Draco.
"He was hit with a curse, causing-"
"Who?" I interrupted in a hard voice
"Harry Potter," Dumbledore said solemnly, choosing to overlook my rudeness. "But he did not know what the curse would do when he spoke it-he did not know. It was merely a survival instinct. I rose up, still on my knees, and took Draco's hand, carefully, into both of mine. I rested it on the top of the sheet between us. I didn't tear my eyes away from his face, noticing that he made no apparent sign of realizing that I was here.
We stayed like that for a long time. I didn't notice-or care-about anything else. After a while I began to half-hum, half sing to him until the pain ebbed from his face, and my eyelids began to grow heavy.
Someone must have taken pity on me because when my eyelids fluttered open later that night I was sleeping in a bed next to Draco, several feet away. As soon as my eyes adjusted to the dark I was able to see the outline of his chest rising and falling steadily.
From behind me, a square of yellow light appeared, casting itself over my bed. Squeezing my eyes shut at the sudden harsh light, I didn't immediately notice the voices floating in from the hallway behind me.
I opened one eye just a bit when I first noticed the voiced, but closed it just as quickly when the light receded and footsteps echoed softly off the walls.
"-didn't know that it could possibly fall into the hands of a student, much less the Potter boy's."
"Every one of our actions have a reaction, Severus, and time is no boundary," came Dumbledore's response. Snape's loathing was clear in his tone when he mentioned Harry. I exhaled slowly as they drew nearer, trying to decrease the speed of my breathing. I was suddenly aware of my whole body, of which way my limbs were sprawled and which way I was facing.
I risked cracking an eye open the slightest bit, and saw the two professors standing over Draco's bed. I opened my eyes all the way, looking into the dark room.
"Why is the Greengrass girl still here?" Snape asked quietly, not looking back at me.
"She feel asleep at his side and I found it unnecessary to move her." Snape stayed silent for a moment.
"Good night, Albus."
"Good night, Severus." I heard the door open and close, and Draco mumbled something in his sleep.
"Hello, Astoria," Dumbledore spoke, a smile in his voice.
"Professor?" I blurted before I could stop myself. "Sorry to eavesdrop-I woke up when you came in. I didn't mean to listen in."
"Quiet alright," Dumbledore nodded. "As the deed was done in the most innocent of ways. But now, I must leave you to sleep. After all, it is Monday, hence-your professors seem to prefer alert students to half-asleep," he smiled warmly, walking toward my bed, and my shoulders drooped.
"Does that mean I don't get to stay with him?"
"I am afraid not. Suspicions may start to arise if a supposed enemy of Mister Malfoy were suddenly released from lessons to stay at his bedside." I flushed at how silly that sounded, thankful to the darkness for hiding my red cheeks.
"Although you are welcome to come during free period-I imagine we could find a suitable excuse for you somehow, as when the situation was reversed...when you were the one close to death..." he trailed off, recalling memories that were bad for both of us. A dull throb in the base of my skull twinged where the bludger had gotten me, a long-extinct pain rekindled by the power of persuasion.
As of the classes the next morning, I had next to no recollection of any of them, other than the professors droning on in a buzzing voice and myself staring at the ceiling, wondering why all the clocks had suddenly been enchanted to tick so slowly.
Much of the day passed like this-with steadily increasing anxiety until my first free hour. Then, dashing to the hospital wing finally untied the knot in my stomach that had been rapidly tangling itself up all morning.
"Ah, Miss Greengrass," Madame Pomfrey nodded briskly at me. I wasn't sure why she didn't question my presence here last night, or this morning, but I suspected Dumbledore had something to do with it. "The headmaster has informed me of your aspiration to become a healer, thus wishing to see exampled of magical healing. Of course, come right in." She dried her hands on her apron, and I worked hard to suppress a smile. Clever Dumbledore. Sunlight was filtering in the many windows, throwing light onto the white floors, walls and beds of the hospital wing. My heart jumped in a ridiculous manner as I caught sight of Draco propped up and looking a good deal less pale than yesterday. I wasn't sure if the feeling that followed was embarrassment over his not wearing a shirt or my stomach turning over the grisly half-closed scars all over his chest. I tried not to run to him as Pkmfrey went to grab clean bandages, calling over her shoulder-
"I've already done his face, but you're welcome to help out with the rest. I hope you've got a strong stomach."
"Draco!" I exclaimed in a squeaky whisper-yell, dropping into a chair and pulling it as close to the bed as it could be.
"Tori," he said in a low voice, smiling weakly. He held up his hand and I put mine into it, smiling as he laced our fingers together.
"How did you hide this?" I traced the clean white bandage around his left arm, concealing what I knew to be his dark mark.
"Doesn't matter," he brought our entwined hands to his lips, kissing my wrist.
"I was...so scared," I whispered shakily.
"One minute, Miss Greengrass. It seems I've misplaced my bandages-" she trailed off, and several thumps issued from her office.
I closed my eyes, resting my forehead against our hands.
"How are you doing?" I opened my eyes to find him gazing at me.
"Now that you're here? Much better," he gave me a roguish smile, and I leaned forward to give him a gentle kiss on the lips, which left me craving more.
"I'd like to quote you now at this fine moment, if you'll remember," Draco smirked. ""I'm not that fragile!"" he mimicked in a high falsetto, putting his hand on the back of my neck.
"I don't want to see you hurt more than you already are," I bowed my head.
"See this, love. I'm almost better already," he pointed to his chest where his scars were continuing to mend, already looking more closed than open. I stared at his chest, face growing quiet red.
"Why're you blushing?" he teased, knowing full well why.
"I'm not!" I protested, which, of course, made me even redder.
"I'll be fine soon," he repeated softer, tracing my hand around the cuts slashing from his chest to his abdomen.
He wasn't exactly bad-looking, to say the least, and I figured if I blushed any harder...I winced and he looked up at me, smiling again at the redness of my cheeks.
"Quit laughing at me," I groaned, covering my face with my fingers, peeking out at him with one eye.
"I'm not!" he lied, pulling the sheet back to his shoulders and propping himself more against the pillows into an almost-sitting position.
Then, looking around unnecessarily to make sure we were alone, he leaned towards me, pulling my face gently toward his with his hand at the back of my neck. I tangled my hands in his hair, wuickly getting swept up in the kiss as his mouth moved under mine.
"I love you so much," I whispered, stopping him before he hurt himself.
"I love you too," he looked into my eyes, making my heart pound furiously. Both of us snapped quickly back into our original positions as Madame Pomfrey bustled out of the back, striding toward us.
She talked to me about various types of healing potions while she changed Draco's bandages.
Of course, I wasn't exactly giving my full attention, not with the looks Draco was stealing at me when I was trying to listen. Our eyes flickered to each other several times until I held his gaze while a potion-"this might twinge a bit-" was applied to his wounds and the prepared bandages tied.
After she finished she shooed me out, and I left reluctantly, just as she gave Draco the Dreamless Sleep potion.
The next day at quidditch practice we were informed that, in the last match of the season determining the winner of the Quidditch cup (Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, though they would need to beat us by at least 300 points-a tall order) Gryffindor's seeker would be the stand in-Ginny Weasley. This drastic change was due to Harry's detention for hexing my boyfriend. The game was still five days away, but nerves had settled in every single member of both teams. It became a common occurrence to see said team members dashing to the nearest bathroom when the pre-game butterflies became too rambunctious.
"It's fine, it's fine-you don't have to worry a bit..." I encouraged both Julie and myself as we walked down the empty hallways-a detour to beat the dinnertime rush-to the bathroom.
Julie had suddenly been struck with a fit of nerves...no other details necessary. "It's still four days until the game, anyway," I pulled her hair back and looked pointedly away as she...relieved her nerves.
"Sorry you had to see that," she said sheepishly.
"It's...I stopped suddenly. "You know, you go ahead, I'll...be there soon." Don't look behind you, don't look behind you, I prayed.
"Are you alright?" she asked, eyeing me suspiciously.
"Bathroom-you go!"
"But-"
"I'm fine-be right there!" I hollered, dashing back and around the corner.
"They let you out!" I whispered as soon as Julie's footsteps faded. I grinned brilliantly at Draco, who was leaning against the wall in front of me.
"I got out this morning when you where in class. I've been working all day on...you know what," he dropped his voice to a whisper. "And you know what?" he grinned an immensely satisfied, proud grin. "I'm almost done."
"Really?" I squealed. "That's amazing!" I put my arms out and then retracted them, remembering his injury.
"Oh, I'm fine." he rolled his eyes, taking me into his arms himself. "I'm totally healed." He rested his forehead on mine, pulling me close to him. I locked my fingers behind his neck and he crashed his lips onto mine, causing me to smile uncontrollably before kissing him back fervently.
A\N-PLEASE REVIEW! There are five chapters left for part one, and for part two, which I'm just going to put on the end of this, because it's so short, is 8 chapters, I believe. Thanks to everyone who has stuck by me so far, I really appreciate it.
Cassia