Dark: Same thing w/ this chap. Hope u like.
Summary/Disclaimer: check the prologue.
Italics – thoughts
"..." – speaking
Chapter 5... A new beginning
"Iris!" Ten made her way through the mass of students entering (or trying to) Charms class, heading in her friend's direction, "Got something to tell you."
After having sitting down, the black haired girl made a bubble out of her gum, before nodding at Ten, "What is it?"
Looking around, making sure no one was close enough to listen, the heiress sat down, whispering quietly, "Draco. He.. He has the Dark Mark." Her bright blue eyes hadn't changed, still worried about her newest friend.
With the shock, Iris even swallowed her bubble gum, coughing lightly afterwards, "You didn't say what I think you did, right! Merlin, a few days ago it was you who were scolding me for trusting him! And you even called him by his given name!" they took out their things, ready to work for Charms, but kept talking quietly.
"I know that, but..." her eyes adverted, a sigh escaping her lips, "He changed. And he's hurt. For crying out loud, he was sold, Iris! Sold to the Dark Lord, Voldemort!" she ignored the uncomfortable look the other sent her for having used that name, "He needs someone to help him out." Determination shined above everything else in those sapphire blue eyes, "He's got me."
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The rest of the morning soon changed into the early afternoon and soon, the normal wave of students was heading for the Great Hall. But once there, everyone was clueless as to where the newest Death Eater was.
"Great, when I want to actually talk to him, he's gone. Meh. Guess I'll just have to start tracking him down or stalk him!"
Ten shook her head, chuckling at her friend's annoyed expression. She walked up to Crabbe and Goyle, who were, of course, stuffing their mouths. "Hey.. Umm, could you tell us where Malfoy is, please?"
They glanced up at her. Crabbe (or was it Goyle?) spoke up gruffly, "He wasn't feeling hungry. Should be around the place though." The other simply nodded. They also seemed to be quite gloomy.
Not wonder, Ten remembered the talk between the three Slytherin's the other day, about the Mark, If their, let's say, leader is already one of them, what's their chance of escaping that? A hand was placed upon her shoulder gently.
Iris gave her a small smile, "You stay here and eat something. I'm not hungry anymore, I'll go looking for him."
"But-"
"Do so, Ten." Her voice was gentle as was her touch, yet was firm, "You forgave him. It's my turn now." With that, she left the Great Hall. As she passed the tall doors leading outside, a sudden feeling of anger was felt. She followed it.
Walking along the fields and seeing the lake a bit ahead, she spotted him beside it, seeming so... Vulnerable. As much as she had had despised him, it did hurt her seeing him like that.
If he had noticed her approach, he didn't show it. He was sitting down on the grass, looking at the crystalline waters of the lake, one leg pulled up to his chest, one arm draped over the knee. The other leg was stretched out in front of him, and his left arm was once more protectively close to his body.
Not uttering a word, she sat down beside him, pulling her legs beneath her so that her skirt didn't lift. Glancing at him, she got no reaction on his part. I don't want you like this... It's not you when you're not blabbering just how rich and hot you are.. That thought made her smile softly. Her hand covered his own, the one which was closest to him. His left one. The Dark Mark...
Malfoy immediately pulled his hand away as if she had burnt him, the dull greyness of his eyes suddenly sprouting into a stormy bluish grey. Okay, so that was something. "Don't you dare pity me. I need none of that." So, maybe it wasn't...
"I'm not pitying you. I just wanted... to see it with my own eyes." Not the least intimidated by his sudden outburst, she spoke quietly.
He frowned lightly, confused, "How do you know?"
She didn't need to accuse Ten; no need to start injuring a newly formed friendship, "You're in a lot of pain. You've been away for a weekend. And you keep holding on to your left arm. It isn't all that hard to figure it out, don't you think, Draco? You may be cunning, and you do know how to cover it up, but I can see it in your eyes, little dragon."
Draco quickly looked away. That expression is turning out to be way too used for my liking... "Whatever."
"Let me see it?"
His glare came back full force as he snapped at her, "No! I just wish I could get rid of it and you ask if I let you see it!"
Iris glared right back, "I want to help you, for Merlin's sake! Why do you keep doing that? Hiding. You build a wall around your heart ,keeping everyone at bay; play with girls' feelings, leaving them heartbroken... What do you want, Malfoy? What do you want to accomplish with all that?" her eyes softened, "A sour reputation and having most of the people here holding a grudge against you? Is that what you want?"
The young teen looked away from her, his voice much quieter, much sadder, "It's the only way to get respect around here nowadays. And if I let people get close to me, my Father will find out. And I hurt enough people as it is. Besides, I don't need anyone. I never did."
"With a father like yours, I'm sure he shoved that thought down your throat until you thought it was your own." Her hand once more approached his left one, which this time, he didn't pull away.
His eyes closed tightly. And yet, a single tear escaped him. Not that she saw it, since he angrily brushed it away. Taking off his robes, he pulled up his left sleeve, not sparing it a look.
Iris flinched. His once flawless, almost white skin was marred with the horrible image, now glowing a faint green light once in a while. One of her fingers traced the snake in a feather like touch. He hissed, biting down on his lower lip. "Sorry." She retracted the offending digit. Pulling his arm up to her lips, she kissed the spot. When she looked up at him, he, in return, was looking at her strangely. "Something wrong?"
"Why did you do that?"
Iris shrugged lightly, "No reason, really." Maybe it was just her, but she could've sworn his eyes held slight disappointment for a moment.
"You shouldn't be here." That simple statement caught her by surprise.
"Excuse the stupidity of the question, but why is that?"
"Now, now, you won't say I don't scare you. After all, I am a Death Eater now." In every word, the scorn, loathe and sarcasm was quite evident.
"No." but right here and now, she decided to play along, "I'm not afraid of you, Draco Lucius Malfoy, Slytherin Prince and most recent Death Eater."
The stormy blue hues had changed to amused grey orbs and, like hers, held a tinge of silver, "I'm impressed you aren't. Any more reasons?"
"Why, yes. You see.." she let her voice lower, as if she was telling him the biggest secret yet, "Under all those shields and blank masks and covering up your emotions, I know you're human. Flesh and blood, just like me. Just like everyone else."
"Is that your judgement of me.." more of an affirmation than a question, as his head leaned in a bit more, now eye level with her, "Although I disagree on the last part. I'm far like everyone else. No one's like me in one thing."
As the question of 'what' prepared to come out of her mouth, his lips captured her own in a gentle kiss, so unlike the other ones he gave her that other night. That horrible night... One of his hands came upwards, resting over the gentle curve of her waist. The kiss ended when he regretfully, but surely, pulled away, getting up in the process.
The black haired girl looked up at him, dazed, breathless. Her tongue came out to wet her suddenly dry lips and the young man in front of her resisted the urge to groan out loud at the motion. "What is it that you're the best at.. Draco?"
A charming smile made its way to his lips for the first time since the end of that party, "Seducing you." With that arrogant declaration, he turned on his heels, making his way back to the castle.
As much as that had pissed her off... How dare he say that? He isn't seducing me! Can the guy be even more full of himself? ...in the end she had to admit he might have had his reasons to say that.
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In the next Potions class, everyone saw with their own eyes just how much Severus Snape did hate the Gryffindor's. Till that part, there wasn't a big surprise. The real surprise came when he gave detention to a Gryffindor and a Slytherin.
It all started normally, everyone going to their seats and sitting down, getting a scare when the professor came trudging in. Everything normal, until he started seeing how the potions were doing and criticizing each one in turn. Of course that he also took the chance to send the blame all to the Gryffindor's.
"Potter and Dumbledore's..." he smiled, as if he knew something they didn't, which made both teens uncomfortable, "If I do recall correctly, the potion should be blood red by now. Not burgundy."
"However, we did follow your instructions, sir. Perhaps, one of your ingredients was not in the best of conditions." Calmly, firmly, Ten's voice rose to be at level's with the teacher's, shocking most of the students in there. A few Slytherin's snickered at the boldness of her and at the surprise of Snape.
"I do doubt it, Miss Dumbledore. But then again, even with your excellent talent," the heiress had to bite her tongue for not to react at the mocking sarcasm, "Maybe Potter over here was stupid enough to put a bit more of dragon scales. As you know, or should know, it is what gives colour to the potion."
"With all due respect, sir, we followed your instructions precisely. You can see them if you'd like." Harry's eyes held anger and his voice was serene, but he was far from calm himself as he gave the Potions Master the piece of parchment which held everything he had said for them to do. By now, all class was looking at the three of them, waiting to see the outcome of this.
"Fifty points from Gryffindor." Snape gave the parchment back to a bewildered Harry, now too shocked to say anything. The main question now was Why!
"What for, Professor Snape? For doing everything right?" once more, the one who broke the silence was Ten.
"No, Miss Dumbledore, for trying to get an idiotic excuse for a wrong brewed potion." The smile from before returned, "And twenty-five points from Slytherin. Detention for you both. Do not leave at the end of this class."
As if between themselves was a mirror, both Harry and Ten placed one hand over their eyes. Everyone else sent hateful stares to the teacher, but eventually, they went back to their own potions. Not a word uttered after that.
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"So the two most heroic students this facility has ever had the chance of meeting both got a detention. How ironic, isn't it?"
"The detention, please." The annoyed looking girl interrupted quite rudely. Not that she noticed that at the moment.
"Yes, yes.. You see, I need a specie of a plant, a very rare one at that. The dark or the blood orchid. Likes-"
"-Humid and dark places, lack of sunlight and silence. The biggest concentration of it is right here in Hogwarts, near the end of the Forbidden Forest." Ten crossed her arms over her chest, looking warily at the elder, "You don't expect us to go all the way there, with no protection..."
"Whenever I need you to imitate Miss Granger, I'll have you know, Miss Tenebrae Dumbledore. And you two are quite capable of accomplishing such a task. You are sixteen and quite talented in case of self protection. And both have been in that Forest more than once."
Both students looked ready to kill him, but neither said a word.
"Good. You have three nights, counting with this one. I'll need-"
"But sir, both Slytherin and Gryffindor have Quidditch practise on Thursdays and Fridays respectively, which is tomorrow and the night after that. We cannot do that!" Harry, who had been quiet until now, finally complained.
"Then, I guess that the Gryffindor's have to go on without their captain and the Slytherin's without their best Chaser." Snape's dark eyes narrowed, "You are serving a detention, Potter, and you better remember that."
The green eyed boy looked away from that gaze, "Yes, sir."
"As I was saying, I'll need around two dozens of the plant. And by Saturday morning, I expect them. You are dismissed."
Tensely, both of them got out of the cold classroom. As soon as he was a few feet away, Harry punched the wall harshly, pulling back again to cradle his now sore hand.
The girl beside him quirked an amused eyebrow, "And I ask, why the hell did you do that?"
"Don't have a clue. But Snape just annoys me! I'm tired of him always annoying me. I didn't ask to be famous; I didn't ask to be a... hero or whatever people have fun calling me." He looked ready to explode at any second, his anger evident.
The witch smiled sadly, waving her wand and muttering a small incantation, diminishing the ache in his hand. "I know that. And you don't need to snap at me."
He glanced at her apologetically, "Sorry."
"It's ok. Where do we meet tonight?"
"Just outside the Great Hall?"
"Ok." She stopped walking as she reached the hallway where she had to turn, "See you in a couple of hours."
He smiled softly, nodding, "'k." The two teens separated for the time being, heading for their respective common rooms.
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Right after dinner as the Boy Who Lived had said, he and Ten met just outside. The girl was already there when Harry arrived.
"Hope I didn't made you wait much.."
"No, I arrived just a couple of minutes ago." Pulling away from the wall she was leaning in, her head tilted sideways in the Forest's way, "Shall we?"
"The sooner, the better."
They both made their way through the grounds and towards the tall trees of the Forbidden Forest. Once there, they took out their wands.
Easily and gracefully, Ten passed over a few fallen roots, her wand illuminating her way. The boy behind her looked back at the castle once, before following her, although not so gracefully.
"Ouch!" Harry rubbed his now sore shin, grimacing.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, just a stupid root..." a quiet giggle reached his ears.
"I see.. Now come on, we need to hurry. I've rarely been here around this time of the night, and I don't particularly like of the nocturnal creatures that live here." He could almost see her eyes roll, "They aren't known by their sociable manners or anything..."
"I'm sure they aren't."
Walking, walking and walking. At a few sounds, they were both startled, but the biggest thing they found so far was a baby unicorn.
"Isn't he so cute?" Ten petted the animal, as it neighed softly, enjoying every bit of the attention and not even caring if they were a threat or not.
"Yeah, I guess. But shouldn't we resume walking? What if the mother appears? She probably won't like this very much."
A loud neigh was heard right after he uttered the last word. Hooves quickly galloping followed, clearly getting louder.
"And now is it a good time to get out of here!"
"Don't fret, Potter. Calm down and relax." The heiress didn't pull away from the baby equine, nor did she seem worried. The snow white adult soon appeared, looking over at her angrily, one hoof scraping the ground. Its horn was pointing at her chest menacingly. Ever so slowly, Ten took a step back. The baby was just looking at the whole scene, not really understanding. "I'm not going to hurt him."
The mother didn't seem to care about that, or maybe she didn't understand English. Whatever it was, that statement did nothing to reassure her. Standing up on her hind legs, she neighed once again, galloping towards the girl in front of her.
Everything seemed to pass by too fast. Something connected with her from her right side and a sharp pain was felt near her left hip. And after another pain was felt at her left temple, everything went dark.
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Darkness. Darkness everywhere.
She didn't know where she was. She heard nothing, she saw nothing. Not that she could see her hand in front of her eyes... She supposed that she started walking, the only thing letting her know that was the feeling of her legs moving.
A sudden light shone up ahead, startling her for a moment. A faint one, yes, but since she had had none till then, it was better than nothing. She headed towards it.
Once there, she realised she had been in a cave of some sort. The sky was grey, dark clouds lazily passing by. Ten easily recognized her surroundings, The Hogwarts grounds... But I didn't know there was a cave here. The trees of the Forbidden Forest (Wasn't I in it before?), a few hundreds of feet away, were seemingly dying for some reason.
Frowning, she walked towards them. The squishing sound coming from her sneakers made her look down. Red. Red everywhere. Not green bright grass, just dark red blood.
A strangled cry escaped her throat as she frantically looked around. No living being to be seen anywhere. And when a cool breeze picked up, she finally realised it. Death. The place reeked of it, making her eyes water.
"No... No.. No, oh no..." whispering, she ignored the rest of the wet steps she took. Each time going faster and faster, she kept going, until a shadow looming over her made her stop. Scared bright blue orbs looked up.
That dark being again. The same one who was above Iris on the first night of this school year. The being seemed to smile mysteriously at her. It looked around calmly before turning back to her again for a long moment. And ever so slowly, it started to fade away in front of her very eyes.
Not seeing it anymore, hesitantly she took a few steps forwards. The young woman finally reached the ramp that'd take her to the lake. She looked at the normally beautiful sight, only to be greeted by death once again. Dead bodies. Of Death Eaters, of students, of professors...
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Harry sighed in relief as the girl in his arms finally reacted. She had been knocked to the side by himself, hit at her hip by one of the unicorn's hooves and knocked out when her head connected with one of the roots of the big thick trees. He had pulled her into his lap, trying to wake her up for about fifteen minutes. And she had just gasped and coughed right after, eyes wide and scared. But at least, she was awake.
A shaking hand went up to her forehead as Ten took in her surroundings. Dark tall trees, cold environment. Not a silent place with a dark sky which held nothing more but death. "What happened?" her voice was quiet, quieter than normal.
"You were knocked out when you fell. You just awoke. You ok?" she startled as the male voice talked near her ear. Harry's, she realised, after a few moments.
"I-I think so."
He helped her get up gently, "The mother went away right after she passed over you and the baby quickly followed. You were out for about twenty minutes or so."
"Oh.." she leaned against him for support as a sudden dizziness took over. "We should get the flowers."
"Sure you're able to?"
"I'm fine. I've suffered more in a Quidditch match." They resumed their walk together after a few moments. "We should be near now." Right after her statement, the trees became less thick, less concentrated. And soon after that, they had reached a large clearing. In the middle of it, the promised blood orchids twinkled faintly and eerily in the moonlight.
"Let's take just a few and get the rest tomorrow and the night after that. Just in case Snape asks something. You still need a good night's rest."
"I told you, I'm fine; the worse bump was the one on my head." She couldn't help but roll her eyes at his concern, "You're starting to get paranoid with this."
"Am not. I just don't want anyone to get hurt, if I'm able to stop it." His stare turned away from her and to the ground.
Ten let out a quiet giggle at that, Such sweetness in a boy is definitely odd, though not unpleasant.
They both knelt in front of the big three feet tall blossoming bush. The hand of the heiress placed itself on top of his, as he was reaching for one of the flowers. Both teens ignored the sudden shock that seemed to form from the small contact.
"Don't touch the petals! Why do you think it's called 'the blood orchid'?"
"Umm, don't have a clue really." He grinned sheepishly.
"The petals have a strong defence mechanism. They're humid, which is why they are twinkling right now. The natural liquid covering them ends up destroying your skin cells. In conclusion, it eats away the skin, obviously making blood surface."
As the brief explanation came to an end, they both realised their hands were still on top of each other. They pulled back.
The time they took to collect a few of the plants, while being careful with the petals passed fairly quickly and only a few words here and there were exchanged. They started to head back to the castle.
"Feeling better?"
"Harry.. I told you, I was-" she was quickly silenced by one of his fingers over her lips.
"I hear galloping."
Sharpening her hearing, the young woman soon found he was right. Instinctively, she stepped closer to him, her back mere inches away from his chest. A black blur appeared from between the trees and foliage and one of Harry's arms swiftly made its way around Ten's waist protectively.
Firenze looked up curiously at them. As soon as he saw their position, he smiled secretively, "Tenebrae Dumbledore. Harry Potter. I'm sorry if I scared you, but I did hear some noise around these parts."
The female sighed in relief, "It's ok.. We thought it was another unicorn trying to do Merlin knows what... I mean, I just petted her baby, and the mother just goes crazy!"
"You must've found Siiry. She is a very good mother, but also quite protective of her young, Leidon. Do not mind her, she meant no harm."
"Oh really.." her hand came down to rub the sore spot near her hip.
The centaur just chuckled, "Do you know your way out of the Forest? It's not wise to be here this late, especially not..." the mystical creature looked up, looking at the stars above, seemingly to search for something. The humans did the same, although not knowing what to look for, "... a witch and a wizard such as yourselves. You need to be ready."
"Ready? For what?"
He just smiled mysteriously again, "You'll see. Very soon."
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In the next night, they met at the same place. And this time, they got there practically at the same time too.
"Since you acted normal on classes and you're looking less pale today, can I guess you're feeling better?"
Ten giggled at him, "Yes you can.. I'm ok now. Thanks to you." She started to walk in the Forest's direction, "As you said yesterday, the sooner, the better." The boy soon followed her.
Through their way, there was no baby unicorn to be found this time. Actually, everything was quite silent.
"Don't you think it's a bit too quiet in here?"
"Slightly. Yeah." They were walking side by side, looking everywhere and being as silent as they could themselves. But like before, nothing stood in their way.
Once back at the big clearing, they restarted to collect the orchids again. The heiress soon began to yawn, "I'm bored..."
Harry chuckled, "Aren't we all? I think I'd even switch listening to History of Magic than doing this. Though, I admit the company here is more enjoyable." A light tinge of pink made its way to his cheek bones.
She lifted an eyebrow at that, "Is Harry James Potter actually flirting with a girl, in other words, me?"
He just smiled softly, "No.."
For some reason, that made her sad. The small flame of hope had just been put out. She let her chin fall, her hair covering most of her face.
A twig suddenly snapped, startling them both.
"What was that?"
"I dunno..." green eyes narrowed, "But it's not good if that's any indication."
"The twig?"
"No, that." He placed a hand on her shoulder, turning her to the direction he was looking at. Two red eyes with two small cat-like black slits looked back at them.
Those eyes... Not that she had noticed before, but she could swear it belonged to that... thing. Subconsciously, her hand went down, covering one of his. "I.. I know what it is.." she wasn't even sure if he had heard her.
"What?" Yeah, that cleared it he hadn't.
"Those eyes, I know to whom they belong to." She hissed, just a fraction louder. She knew it could understand her. She could almost swear it smirked at her. Wasn't that only possible in my dreams? "We have to get out of here."
"Yeah, to where? If you have forgotten, we're in the middle of the Forbidden Forest!"
Ten elbowed him not so gently on the stomach, "Shh! Firstly, we're almost at its end. Secondly, it's able to understand us."
"But ho-? Hey, where did it go?"
Her eyes quickly went back to the spot where it had been before. No eyes. No nothing. "Shit.." she couldn't find it. "Run." just a whisper at first, but when she heard a nearby bird chirp alarmingly, "Run!" both of them picked up the two backpacks full of the orchids and started to run out of the clearing, not caring to where they were heading to at first.
Harry soon came to a stop, looking everywhere and not seeing her, "Ten?" a few leaves rustled from his right side. He was about to start advancing towards them when a hand grasped his left arm, pulling him on the opposite direction.
"This way! And don't speak so loud!" he had barely heard her, but decided to follow her example. The boy simply followed her as they kept running.
They now reached an even bigger clearing than the one they were before. A large pillar was on the center of a pentagon marked by two rows of small little rocks, which in between ran a stream of water. Said pillar had some carved sentences, probably in Latin, and probably from the time of Merlin himself. Around the pentagon, no grass was growing in a range of a few feet, but the trees around it, were all in bloom, even if it was almost winter. They were right in the center of the Forest.
The heiress started to advance towards the pillar.
"What exactly do you think you're doing? We need to go on!"
"No need to, unless you really love running." She gave him a quick glare over her shoulder, "Because if you do, go right ahead and waste precious time. We have a portkey right here, that leads to a small cavern, under the lake. There" she pointed at a little blue and red point all around the inscriptions of the pillar. Holding his hand in hers, she nodded, "You ready?"
The other nodded back. At the exact same time, both their hands were placed over the portkey, as they felt themselves being moved.
A low growl was the last thing they heard.
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"Ouch!"
"If you'd just stop squirming, that wouldn't have happened." Ten sighed in frustration. This wasn't good. "I'd swear this thing was bigger..."
Right, they were out of the Forbidden Forest. And as the heiress had said, they were in a small cavern underneath the lake, if the humid walls around them and the occasional drop of water on their heads were any indications. Though, when the female had said there was a portkey, neither of them thought that the little cavern would be so damn small.
"That's my foot you're stepping on.." Gryffindor's were known by their braveness and capacity of keeping a cool head in situations such as this. Who would've thought that the female part of the Golden Trio was practically the only one like that? "How exactly do you think we'll be able to get out of here again?"
"The squid. This is still its territory. Once one of the tentacles comes out and wraps about you, don't fight it. It'll bring you to the lake's surface."
At their feet, there was water all around them indeed. According to her, it was just a matter of time.
"And till then..." he trailed off as he squirmed about a bit more, leaning into Ten's direction, who pulled away as much as she could; one rock was starting to dig into his back f he didn't. But as it was referred before, the space was very little and the water only made it slippery. The boy soon lost his balance as his feel went under water. He quickly placed a hand on one wall and the other on the first thing he found, which was around Ten's mid thigh, not that he noticed.
Said girl was startled at realising he was slipping, but as she was going to help him, one of his hands was placed over her thigh, his elbow digging into her lower abdomen. Too close to her most private area than she wanted. As soon as she made sure he was secure, she cleared her throat, "If you don't mind..."
His head turned around to look at her over his shoulder. Her pose was a bit tense, but as he looked down to his arm he understood her reason. He readjusted himself to sit beside her normally, muttering a small "Sorry..."
A few minutes after, it was she who was wriggling about, "My legs are getting numb.. For how long are we here?"
"Don't have a clue.."
"Hn." In a last failed attempt to bring her legs up to her chest, she let out a frustrated growl, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away, obviously annoyed. But probably, her intention wasn't to be caught in a lip lock with the boy beside her, who had also turned his head to look at her at the same moment. They hurriedly parted. "Right.. uh.. Sorry about that..."
Harry just nodded. He was partially glad that the cave was dark. He was sure he was blushing by now.
However, that wasn't the last time it happened. To be exact, it happened seven more times... not that they bothered to count.
"For Merlin's sake, this is ridiculous!" she suddenly exclaimed. She had finally managed to pull her legs up to her chest successfully and was now sitting sideways so they could be facing each other. He was doing much the same, and because of that, their feet were touching. Though, at least their lips weren't... "How was your childhood like? As bad as people say it was?"
The boy looked up at her, one eyebrow lifted. Her voice had suddenly assumed a lighter tone, strange for a Slytherin who was in a small little cave with a Gryffindor, "Can't say I know what the others say, but yeah, it was pretty bad. The Dursley's aren't really nice, you know. And just a few years ago did I start to have a room of my own. Though, I'm still treated like garbage, not that I really care all that much. Why?"
"Just thought we'd better start a conversation, for if we don't, I'm afraid I'll bore to death."
His eyes held amusement, "I see.. And what about yours?"
A light giggle escaped her, "Being the granddaughter of Albus Dumbledore does bring more than a few advantages. I've always been spoiled by him."
"Doesn't sound surprising. And tell me; before you were eleven, you came here?"
She nodded, "Yeah. Just on the summers though. That's why I knew my unicorn, Chestnut, even before Hagrid said we'd learn how to ride. And of course, that's also the reason why I know my way around the place, wherever I am. Without using any map." Her lips curved in a knowing smirk, "Like yours."
Arms crossed over his chest and one eyebrow lifted, Harry looked over at her suspiciously, "Your little friend also told me that. Care to say how exactly do you know about that?"
"Ah, no, no.. Ever heard of a magician who gives away his tricks? Course not. Me and Iris have many resources, that's all I say."
"Meh."
A splashing sound was heard nearby. The girl got up slowly.
"That should be the squid. Don't make noise and no harsh movements. Don't you even dare to resist when it pulls you into the water. If you do, it could seriously hurt you."
The other simply nodded. Both of them quickly cast a simple spell to be able to breathe underwater. Just in time; in the next couple of seconds, two long tentacles came out.
A few minutes later, the teens broke the lake's surface, stopping the spell and taking large gulps of air. Hurriedly, they got out of the lake and into the fluffy grass, muttering a drying charm under their breaths.
"I thought we'd never get out of there..." taking out the glasses he had previously put away, the boy quickly put them on.
"It was getting a bit too annoying... And too confined." At that thought, Ten's cheeks tinged a soft pink colour. "You ok?"
"Sure. Just a few scratches here and there from the twigs back at the Forest, but I'm fine. You?"
"The same. Wouldn't mind doing this every night." She chuckled, "The adrenaline flowing is always a good feeling."
"If you say so.. Right now, all I want is my bed."
"Never thought you'd act that way. A Gryffindor with no sense of adventure?"
Deciding to ignore the playful and teasing tone, he replied, "I'm a bit tired. If not, I wouldn't mind doing it either I guess." as a slight worn-out grin crossed his lips. They started making their way back to the castle, slowly and calmly.
"If this was just the second night, wonder how the third will turn out to be..."
"Yup."
A shadow passed by them both, over their heads, for just mere seconds. Ten's breathing hitched in her throat, her eyes immediately going up in a quick search. But what greeted her was a blur of scarlet and golden colours landing in front of them, calming her. Right.. Quidditch practise.
Ginny Weasley, one of the new Gryffindor Chasers, landed swiftly on the soft ground, her smile fading as she saw her. She was still a simple Slytherin to her eyes, even if she was Dumbledore's granddaughter. "Done with the detention, Harry?"
"For tonight."
"We were hoping you did. Want to join us?"
"Could you tell me if the Slytherin's are still on the pitch?" Ten didn't mean to sound rude, but she did want to know if her team still needed her and make up from the lost time.
At the mention, Ginny's normally bright eyes dulled a bit, "No, they aren't.." her voice was quiet as she spoke, "My brother made sure of that."
The Boy-Who-Lived quirked an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
"Ron and the Ferret got into a fight."
Bright blue eyes held concern, "What! How did that happen?"
"The usual..." she shrugged, "Malfoy appeared on the pitch, acting as if he owned the place. Since Harry wasn't there, Ron took over. And... when my brother is mad, there's little next to nothing to stop him. You can imagine what happened next."
"Malfoy teased him, Ron went crazy..." the older girl rolled her eyes, "Are they ok?"
"Wouldn't say that for Malfoy, but Ron's fine. Even if he's bleeding from his lip. Other than that, Rich Boy got most of the hits."
"So.. He's in the Infirmary?"
"I doubt it." The black haired boy shook his head, "In his first years, he did want to get everyone's attention on him, but since his father is in Azkaban, he's the exact contrary. I'd say he's in his room, tail between his legs."
The girl slowly nodded in reply, "I suppose you're right. I should get going then." Not really noticing what she was doing, Ten stepped closer to him, pecking his cheek. She started to walk away, breaking into a light jog.
Looking surprised at her retreating back one last time, Harry started to walk towards the Quidditch pitch. One of his hands reached up to his cheek, brushing the spot her lips had been just mere seconds ago. Smiling to himself, he resumed walking.
After quickly giving the password to the Slytherin common room and finally entering, the heiress quickly looked around, slightly out of breath.
The normal first and second years just hanging around the place, some small groups whispering amongst them and finally, five members of the Quidditch team, plus the slut of Hogwarts, otherwise known as Pansy Parkinson. She flinched; just the mere sound of her overly girly voice got into her nerves.
"...And when Drakie entered, and I saw his shirt all bloodied, well that got me all worked up, you know! Not that the sight didn't turn me on.." the pug-faced girl giggled at that, while everyone who heard her rolled their eyes in disgust. Everyone knew that Draco Malfoy had lost his virginity to Pansy (though the contrary wasn't proved yet) and for that, she thought she had something over the poor blond male. But then again, everyone knew just how much the Slytherin Prince loathed her mere presence. Everyone, except herself.
The blue eyed female got her sickened expression under control as she made her way towards the group of muscular boys, "Hey guys."
Calub, one of the Slytherin Chasers, one year older than her, grinned in greeting, actually seeming happy to see her, "Hey there, Dumbledore. Everything alright?"
She nodded, "Where's the captain?"
Much to her annoyance, Pansy took her chance, "Draco is in his room. He told me (Probably snapped at you, that's more like it.) he was fine, even if he seemed more tired than usual. But then, that's my Drakie we're talking about. He has always been quite strong."
The other rolled her eyes, "Whatever." She started to climb up the stairs to his room. She knocked lightly on the serpent's portrait. No reply, no sound. He probably used a silencing charm on both the outside and the inside. But if he thinks I'll give up because of that, he has another thing coming. Taking a step back, she glanced at the snake in the portrait. It had emerald streaks here and there while the rest of the silky looking skin was pitch black. The dark slits of its eyes watched her warily, though curiously.
In parselmouth, it asked her what she was doing. That much, she understood. It was easier to hear it, than really speak it. But glad that this snake was a portrait; it was charmed to understand English.
"I was wondering if Draco Malfoy is alright in there."
"The occupant of thisss room... Yess. Even if he wasss hurt, he did sseem fine to me." The reptile's head cocked to one side.
"And could you let me enter please? I won't take long. I'm sure he won't mind."
"No passssword, no entrance. Draco L. Malfoy'ss own wordsss, Missss Dumbledore." The serpent shook its head gently.
"Damn it. Is there no other way I can talk to him? He used a few spells and-"
"I am aware of that, Missss. But the young dragon did ssay sssomething to me. You may ssay it is some kind of riddle. The solution is the passssword."
"Fine.. Let me hear it."
"To be hurt, to feel losst, to be left out in the dark, to be on the edge of breaking down.. No one iss there to sssave you. You don't know what it'ss like." Its head bowed, "That is all I can do to help you."
"What is like..." the words repeated themselves over and over in her head, as a thoughtful frown crossed her features, "Like... Life... Yes, I remember. Welcome to my life?"
The snake's muzzle curved in what was the closest thing to a smile. It nodded, "Indeed." The portrait soon opened, showing her a large room bathed in greens and silvers, much alike her own. Except where hers had a few of her possessions, Draco's had his, in an even smallest number. Said boy was sitting on the big queen sized bed, on top of the satin covers, but as she had heard, he was not bleeding. Grey orbs looked up in surprise, "You're the first one to manage to enter here, you know."
"I never knew you to be a poet either. But I heard that somewhere else too."
He chuckled ever so softly, "Your friend Iris is always muttering that song under her breath when we are at Potions. From Simple Plan, I recall her saying once."
"And its name is Welcome To My Life. I see." She walked up to him, standing right in front of him. That made him get up. Friend or not, Draco Malfoy never looked up to anyone; it was always the other way around. "So, what did happen back on the pitch?"
His eyes rolled, "If you know that, you should know it was Weasley."
"He wouldn't do that if you didn't provoke him." Her voice had a scolding, but amused tone, "What did you do?"
"He was telling the team to get out, that it was Gryffindor's time to practise. We didn't though. I don't really remember exactly what I said about the Mudblood, but I guess that put him off." At the last sentence, his eyes adverted. That, and that alone, gave him away. For his eyes never betrayed his emotions... Not for now at least.
"Something tells me you do remember. So, please go on."
The boy sent her a look, but continued, "Meh, I told him to go and shag the Mudblood so that we could train in peace."
"Only that?" a dark brow rose.
"And that it would do him and her a good thing. Big deal.. Everyone knows he likes her."
"That last part may be right, but I'm sure you wouldn't like it if I told Iris you like her."
He shrugged lightly, "No, I would-" he stopped suddenly, eyes widening, "I don't like her!"
"Sure you don't." she giggled, her blue eyes twinkling, "How could I even think of such a thing?"
"Hn."
"Anyway, you alright? I heard you were bleeding."
"I'm fine. I took care of that as you can clearly see."
"Hu huh." Ten nodded somewhat happily, "Good to know that. I better get going; it's almost curfew."
A snort was her reply, "As if you'd care about that."
Just as she reached up to open the door, Draco spoke up again.
"Ten.." she glanced over her shoulder, "Watch out for Potter tomorrow night."
Those words made her frown, "What do you mean?"
Stormy light eyes flashed in anger and slight annoyance, "Don't try my patience; you know exactly what I mean. Keep away from him."
"Just because you're still sore because he rejected your friendship back on first year doesn't mean I shouldn't be his friend, Draco." her voice was calm, yet irritated.
He seemed to want to continue the accusation, but for some reason, the boy refrained himself.
Considering the conversation finished, she nodded once and opened the door of the portrait, stepping out of the room and heading for hers.
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The entrance to Slytherin opened for the whatever time that night. Iris sighed in frustration, There's no way I'll be able to read my book in peace... And Ten's no where to be found.. Just my luck. The overly girly squeal that suddenly sounded made her flinch. Pansy. So that meant the Slytherin Prince had arrived. And all presents here owe him vassalage...
"Merlin, Draco, what happened to you?"
So today she opted to act all caring and worried, huh?
"Get the fuck out of my way, Pansy." Even he seemed pissed off at her attitude. This may turn to be interesting after all...
"But you're bleeding!"
The closed book in her hands slipped, lying on her lap instead, not that she noticed. That had caught her attention and (not that she admitted it) a slight concern. Her head turned to look at the young blond man.
From the corner of his mouth and a spot near his temple, that's where all the commotion was concentrating. Two thin trails of blood ran down his sharp features, a few drops falling upon his robes. Not that he was really noticing. Subconsciously, she got up.
The movement seemed to caught his and everybody else's attention. No one had yet moved ever since he arrived. Draco turned away from her almost immediately. This was not the way he wanted her to see him... Not looking this weak. One of his hands reached up, brushing away the blood trickling down from between his lips. Not looking at anyone, and with a final glare in Pansy's direction, the boy started to make his way back to his room.
"You just had to do that, didn't you Koltchak?"
Silver eyes hardened, turning away from the flight of stairs Malfoy had climbed and staring at one jealous looking Pansy, "Do what, Parkinson?"
"Well, move!" she said that as if it was plainly obvious, "Everybody knows he doesn't particularly like you!"
She had to resist the urge to crack up laughing, "Hu huh... Well, if he 'doesn't particularly like me', then what does he think of you?" that comment sent most Slytherin's snickering.
"Hmph! Contrary to you, I know how to take advantage of my openings." Her arms crossed over her chest, her nose up in the air.
"What openings? If you mean acting like a slut, then you're right." the black haired girl did enjoy a good verbal match, though against Pansy it was even funnier than usual, since they disliked each other mutually. Albeit, for different reasons.
The other simply snorted in a very graceless way for a lady to act, "At least I don't have a stick up my ass forbidding me to have fun, do I? I even bet to say you're still a virgin."
Iris narrowed her eyes at her, That was low, even for her.. "Bitch. In case you didn't notice, there are just a few girls your age who have lost their virginity, you know. And since that issue is my responsibility and personal, I'll refrain from answering your last sentence."
"In that case, I suggest you get deflowered soon. Draco doesn't have much patience for novices." With one last look over at her, Pansy turned around to leave. Koltchak may not know it, but she had seen the Slytherin seeker watching her a bit too closely. And I doubt he hasn't already done anything to try and fuck her. When Draco Malfoy wants something, he always gets it.
Her eyes widened as she kept looking at the retreating girl's back, "What the hell do you mean with that!"
"You'll see. Sooner or later."
Great answer.. Her arms came up, hugging herself. She shook her head gently in denial, We may be in good terms right now, but I doubt it'll turn into a relationship. Well, maybe a relationship, just maybe. But certainly not one which involves such intimacy. Nodding to herself once, she followed Malfoy's example, going back to her room.
Just as she did, the heiress of Dumbledore arrived.
…TBC…