Author's note: Hehehe... -sheepish grin- Sorry, everyone. I uploaded the wrong chapter before. I'm new to FF, so I got a little turned around while trying to get this up. Sorry! It should be fixed now and I'll do my best to put the right chapters up next time. :P
I would like to thank Keresa and lilirox187 for being my first ever reviewers! Thanks, guys, I'm glad you liked it!
Also, in case it's not obvious (and because I forgot before) I do not own Harry Potter or Draco Malfoy's gorgeousness. That's JKR's. -sigh- I'll let you guys know if that changes though. :D
Chapter Four
For the next three months, Draco's routine continued much the same way. Some days he was in class, but several days each week and every weekend, he would disappear, giving no explanation as to his activities. Finally, one day, after he had received a D in Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall told him that he had a choice: stay after classes, join a remedial Transfiguration class, or find a tutor. Ariana stretched across the aisle of seats and poked him lightly with her wand, catching his eye meaningfully. He agreed to find a tutor.
And so the tutoring began. Every morning, breakfast found Ariana and Draco seated over their books, shoveling food in their mouths and quizzing each other on spells and laws. It went quite well, although Draco always looked as if he hadn't slept in weeks. Ariana turned a blind eye to it after he told her that there was nothing he could do about it, but always watched to see if she could see where he went. She never found out.
One day after Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Snape informed Ariana that Professor Dumbledore wanted to see her. Concerned, she thanked him and picked up her bag. He accompanied her to the statue of the phoenix, activated the staircase for her, and left. Ariana took a deep breath and started climbing the stairs. She reached the door and knocked carefully. "Enter," a voice called from inside.
Professor Dumbledore sat behind a dark wood desk, parchment and quills piled neatly in front of him, as well as several thick books. He looked up, his piercing blue eyes quickly taking in Ariana's nervousness and confusion.
"Oh, do sit down, Miss Rivers," he invited, motioning to a leather armchair in front of his desk. Ariana sat quickly and asked if she was in trouble.
"Oh, no!" the headmaster quickly reassured her. "You are, if I may say so, one of our more responsible students."
"No," he continued, leaning back. "No, I merely wanted to ask you a few questions."
Ariana relaxed in relief and replied, "Of course, professor."
Dumbledore steepled his fingers in front of him and began to speak. "I hear you have been tutoring Mr. Malfoy."
Not expecting that, Ariana frowned and answered, "Well… yes."
"And how has he been doing in his studies?"
Ariana stopped to think for a second and gather her thoughts. "He's definitely been doing better. His grades have risen slightly, and his test grades definitely improved." She bit her lip and muttered, "When he bothers to show up."
Professor Dumbledore nodded gravely and tossed out another question. "Do you know where he goes during school hours?"
Ariana lowered her eyes and shook her head.
"Would you tell me if you did?"
Ariana fixed calculating eyes on the professor and slowly said, "Not if it didn't hurt anyone."
The headmaster nodded sadly. "But, you see, that is the key. I believe I should now explain a few things to you. I also have a favor to ask. Let me begin…"
Draco entered the Slytherin common room quietly late that night. As he was about to go up to his bedroom, a voice floated to him from a sofa near the fireplace.
"It's almost three AM."
Startled, Draco spun around and approached the couch; Ariana sat there, arms clasped around one knee, staring into the dancing flames.
"If a teacher had seen, you'd be in lots of trouble." She shifted position to sit cross-legged and said, "Sit." Draco slowly lowered himself onto the sofa to sit next to Ariana. "I've been watching you," she continued. "Every night, you're out past midnight." She turned to look him in the eyes.
"You're not getting enough rest. That's why you fall asleep in the middle of class, if you bother to show up! I can't be everywhere to poke you awake again. What are you doing? Draco, you're my best friend. It hurts me to see you like this! Can't you stop? What is so important that you can't take a few hours to get a good night's sleep?"
Draco sighed waveringly and looked into Ariana's concerned eyes. "I can't stop. This is something I have to do."
Ariana took Draco's hand and said, "Then let me help. If you won't stop, let me share the work so you can rest." Seeing the refusal in his eyes, she added softly, "Please." The two sat for a second until Draco finally nodded. Ariana smiled, hesitantly at first, then genuinely. She stood up and hugged him. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear. She straightened and crossed her arms a little nervously. "Tomorrow's Saturday. Sleep in, and you can show me what you're working on after breakfast."
She turned to leave but stopped and said "Good night" before going up to bed. Draco sat a few more minutes in front of the fire before going to sleep.
The next morning, Ariana woke up around 8:30. Instead of going down to breakfast immediately, she took a piece of parchment down to the common room. She unrolled it and took a stub of pencil out of her pocket. One by one, she began to sketch the people around her. When she had exhausted the candidates in the common room, she drew from memory. First she drew her mother, then herself in the green ballgown from her dream. Finally, she drew Draco. As she put the final touches on the simple black-and-white sketch, a voice came from behind her. "That's very good."
Ariana turned in her seat and, when she saw that it was the very person she had just finished drawing, blushed. Draco reached toward her drawing. "May I?" Ariana nodded and handed the sheet to him.
Draco looked at each one and finally said, "I didn't know you drew. When did you start?"
Ariana smiled wistfully at the memory. "When we moved, I doodled in the car. Mom saw them and decided to sign me up for lessons. There was an art teacher across the street who agreed to teach me. It was hard at first, because her English wasn't very good, and my French wasn't very good. But we ended up helping each other!"
Draco handed the pictures back to her and she put them away in her room. When she returned, the two went down to breakfast.
Draco did what he could to prolong breakfast, even going so far as to purposefully (Ariana thought) spill pumpkin juice on his robes so that he had to go back to his room to change. However, finally, he led Ariana up to the seventh floor where he hesitated. Ariana put her hand on his arm. "What is it?" she asked worriedly.
Draco took her hands and reluctantly said, "Close your eyes."
Ariana's brow furrowed. "What?"
Draco squeezed her hands. "Trust me," he whispered.
Ariana sighed and closed her eyes. Draco led her in a somewhat roundabout way to his final destination, never letting go of her hand. When he finally let Ariana open her eyes, the two were in a large room filled with piles of junk. Directly in front of them was a large object covered by a white sheet. Draco stepped forward and tugged on a corner of the sheet, which billowed and floated down to the ground. Ariana moved closer and ran her fingers over the intricately carved panels. She turned to Draco, curiosity and confusion in her eyes.
"It's a Vanishing Cabinet," he informed her. "I have to fix it."
"Oh," Ariana said lightly. Her eyes darkened. "Can you tell me why?" Draco shook his head sadly. Ariana drew closer to Draco and put her hand on his shoulder. "It's all right, Draco," she said softly. She stood like that a few seconds and then, suddenly all business, asked, "All right. Do you know what's wrong with it?"
