Author's Note: Now that I've introduced the character, the story will slip into Draco's point of view towards the end of this chapter. The rest of the story will be written between their two points of view, I may include others' too. We'll see. (Just in case someone who reads this doesn't already know, I do not own the characters and plot parts you recognize as J.K. Rowling's.) Happy Reading!
"This may never start
We could fall apart
And I'd be your memory
Lost your sense of fear
Feelings insincere
Can I be your memory?"
"Memory"-Sugarcult
Chapter Two: Memories, Sweet Memories
Two weeks had passed by quickly and the Heads could actually be called friends. I never thought I'd live to see the day when Harry Potter was sitting with Draco Malfoy doing Potions homework.
I was reading yet another book, having done my Potions homework ages ago. Hermione loved that about me. The girl and I really were alike.
An owl tapped on the window. I recognized it immediately as my father's, Nemesis. Nemesis is a northern hawk owl. Once Malfoy opened the window, Nemesis immediately came to me and dropped a letter on my lap. It was from my father and he had scribbled urgent across the front. I gave Nemesis a treat and told him to rest in the owlery. I went upstairs to my room.
Dearest Jordayna,
I have spoken to McGonagall about you coming home this weekend. Trouble with your mother makes me ask this of you. I know you're probably enjoying school, how are classes? I hope all is well. Love you with all my heart.
Love,
Father
It couldn't be. There was never trouble with mother. Well at least not while I'm in school. There's always trouble with Mother when I'm with her, but never when I'm here. I don't know why but I started to cry.
(Memory)
I was fourteen. The summer began on a very sour note. Cedric Diggory died in the Triwizard Tournament. I was flying back to my first home, Chicago. I always flew back and forth between my mother and father on a plane. My mother refused to have it any other way. Portkey or Floo was unacceptable in her eyes.
As soon as I arrived, I sensed the turbulence. My mother was screaming at someone, most likely my step-father. John never was a patient and loving person. Even his own kids were subject to his temper. My stepbrother and sister were amazing human beings for befriending me against his will. My half-brother, Michael, also defended me against these two people. He was four years younger than I, but he and I had the same spirit. He was from my mother's second marriage. John is currently her third. Nicole, Daniel, Michael, and I had bonded the first summer I met them. We played games and I told them about my powers even though my mother forbade me to tell a single soul. She did not want John to know that I was 'different.' Unfortunately he figured that out on his own when he threw a shoe at me and it somehow ended up going backwards at him.
"Hey, if I were you I'd go straight to your room. They're fighting pretty harsh today." Daniel warned me. I grabbed my trunk and carried it down the two flights of stairs to my tiny bedroom. The other kids were on the second floor with Mother and John's bedroom. I live practically in the crawlspace. Once there I neatly put my things away in a matter of minutes. I may not be allowed to use my wand, but I could use my mind.
It was after everything was away that my stepfather came into the room.
"Don't you knock on a teenaged girl's door before you enter?" I said with a bit of defiance in my voice.
"I would if you mattered, but you don't. You're a dirty magic-doer just like your father. You don't matter one bit in this life."
Well now that just pissed me off. And I spoke, "You're an asshole. Don't talk to me. I'm here to visit my mother in between her fights with you, and her occasional forgetting I'm her daughter. So don't talk to me."
That's when he got so close I lost some of my courage. He came straight up to me and smacked me hard. I fell into the wall. I immediately fainted. When I woke up hours later, I ached all over my body. He must have hit me several more times while I was out. Bastard! I'd kill him if it was forgivable.
(End Memory)
I was startled out of my thoughts by a knock at the bathroom door. I looked over to the mirror at my vanity. My normally green eyes were now a shade of gray with red splotches. Sure signs I had been crying. Whoever it was, they were not coming in.
"Mallerd, you've been up here for some time, and the others are worried, you should come back down." Malfoy's voice came through the door.
"Sorry, I just fell asleep. I'll be back down in a few moments." I explained.
I went over to my vanity. I tried to brush out my long reddish chocolate brown hair. My hair has always been board-straight, but it does have tendencies to frizz out some. It had now, and I brushed it out. I got some pajamas out of my dresser. I slowly pulled the green satin Bermuda shorts up my legs. I threw on a white camisole that probably floated lower than it should have on my breasts, but they would not stop growing so it was a losing battle for me.
I took my time going back downstairs, but when I did, it seemed there were three pairs of male eyes on me, much to Ginny's dismay.
"Harry James Potter!" Ginny screeched, grabbing him by the arm and taking him to the kitchen. Probably going to yell at him. Although, I don't know what the big fuss is over. I'm not gorgeous or anything, just in sleep gear while they weren't. It surprised me that Malfoy's eyes were the last to leave me.
"See something you like Malfoy?" I asked. He may have been an arrogant prick before, but the battle had changed him. It had changed us all. Hermione looked up when I asked and watched the interaction.
"Not really Mallerd, just appreciate that you even sleep in your house colors."
"Well I can't help if green was one of my favorite colors growing up. Although in my opinion it's not the best of my favorite colors."
"Oh really, and what is?"
"You'll snicker at me, and I'd rather you not, so I'm not going to tell you." I said before sticking out my tongue.
"Mature."
"Oh right like you're the paradigm of maturity. It took you seven years, a tattoo of evil, and a battle to grow up!" I snapped. I didn't even know why. And from everyone else's faces I could tell that I crossed the line.
He just sat there staring at me like I was a leper. I bowed my head. I may be a Slytherin, but even I knew when it was below the belt. So I told him, "I'm sorry, that was really uncalled for. I'm going to make my excuses and head back upstairs before I ruin this evening of studying for everyone."
Malfoy nodded. I took that to mean he accepted the apology and then turning on my heel I approached the stairs. When I made it back to my room, I put a silencing charm on it. Then I proceeded to call myself the stupidest person to walk the earth.
"Good job idiot! You all had gotten along just fine for the last two weeks. Harry Potter had accepted Draco Malfoy, and here you are snapping on him like he rejected you or something?! Oh I just hate you sometimes!" I screamed at myself, before looking in the mirror. What I saw made my jaw drop. Draco Malfoy was leaning in the door frame like some Greek god.
"You know Mallerd, for someone as bright as you; you're really not all that smart. You put the silencing charm on the room, but you leave the door open. Which I see as I come up the stairs and wonder why is she moving her mouth with no sound. Then I enter the doorway a little and it hits me, you're yelling at yourself. It's cute in a vicious bloodhound puppy kind of way."
"Oh just bloody great!"
"That was probably the most British thing I have ever heard you say."
"Well I've been around you idiots for eight years of my life; it was bound to rub off at some point."
"You know, I had never known why you were sorted into Slytherin before, but in the last half an hour I've gained some insight." He mocked me as he entered my room, using his foot to glide the door shut behind him. I couldn't take my eyes off of him as he strutted forward in his Malfoy way. His blonde hair cut just above his ears, those emotionless gray eyes staring back at me, and his over six-foot build looming over my five-foot-one stature.
"Go ahead, mock me. I deserve it." Tears started streaming down my cheeks as I said it.
"Don't cry you're taking away from the new-found respect I had for you down there."
I smirked up at him.
"Oh yeah, you were definitely meant to be a Slytherin. That smirk could beat mine any day of the week. Plus you'll put people in their place without the arrogance, making it a harder blow. Although, I'm not sure I know what I did to deserve it."
"I said I was sorry. I'm having my own issues Malfoy. You happened to hit a nerve before I could stop my mouth."
"I accepted your apology. Now I'm just chatting with you. Speculating on the interesting woman that you are. It's one of the reasons I taunted the hell out of you for the first five years of school."
"The old school-yard approach to liking someone, huh?"
"What?"
"Never mind, it's a Muggle phrase that simply means that you were picking on me because you had a thing for me. As you guys like to put it, you fancied me."
"No I absolutely did not! I just liked watching you fight back. Your eyes get this really dark brown color when you're angry. It's interesting to watch. I've discovered they're like a warning to your mood. So when I saw you come down with gray eyes, I knew something was wrong. I didn't know what, because I have never seen them anything other than a pale green or a dark brown."
"Break down on the mood decoder, pale green is content, dark brown you know as anger, blue is sick, gray is sad, honey brown is surprised, emerald green well you don't need to know what that one is, dark green is extremely happy, and this pale green-blue color is tired."
"Why?"
"Why, what?"
"Why don't I get to know what the emerald green one is?"
"Because you'll never get a chance to see it Malfoy, no need for you to decode it."
There was a knock at the door. We both looked towards it.
"Want me to?" He asked me. I nodded. He got up, opened the door, and there stood Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter.
"I'm sorry Jordayna. I should not have overreacted with Harry down there. I trust you wouldn't do something like that, and I know he wouldn't either. It was just my mother's temper coming out in me." Ginny said eyes downcast. I guess Harry won that argument. Especially since he finished checking me out while her head was downcast. I caught Draco glaring at him. Doesn't like me, huh? Then why did he seek me out for apology, tell me he liked irritating me, and mention that he's noticed my eyes?
"Apology accepted, and you're right, I would not do that. I have class, honor, and well Harry just isn't my type." I smirked. Okay the last part was sort of a lie, but she did not have to know that, plus it got Harry to jerk his head up.
"Well then, goodnight. Goodnight to you too Malfoy." Ginny said sweetly before heading over to her own dorm that was connected to Zacharias's. The Heads' rooms were connected by a bathroom, and the bathroom was a shared one with the other Head of your year. Hence, mine and Malfoy's.
"Goodnight to both of you." Harry said with a nod in Draco's direction. Draco clenched his fists at his side, but nodded back. I winked and smirked, sending Harry Potter on his way.
"Leave it to a sneaky devious girl like you to deny St. Potter." He glared.
"I wasn't denying him, I was just reassuring his girlfriend that I'm not trash like Parkinson."
"So you do want Potter?"
"Why, you jealous?"
"No, just wondering if I had to lose respect for you all over again."
"Sure Malfoy. Go to bed. Come talk to me when you're done deluding yourself." I said wiggling a little in my walk back to my bed. Might as well give him a show, he had to come to terms with liking my Halfblood ass.
+McGonagall's Office+
The day had come for me to find out what was going on with my mother. I was not looking forward to it. It most likely had something to do with my stepfather and I was not ready to deal with it.
"You okay Ms. Mallerd?" McGonagall asked. Perceptive she was. Must be a Headmaster/Headmistress thing.
"I'm fine. Just a small family thing. Nothing serious." Or so I hoped.
I stepped into her fireplace and called out, "Mallerd Mansion!"
I was stepping out of the fireplace in our ballroom. I looked to my left and saw that my father and stepmother were already there.
"Hello Jordayna! I've missed you so much. I was upset that I did not get to see you before you returned to school. I'm sorry that my last business trip kept me in Spain."
I let go of the breath I was holding. Father had been talking about Mum and not Mother. I ran to her and held onto her tightly. She really was an amazing witch. My father married her when I was in third year. She was the first person to take away his delusions of Mother being the only person for him. I knew it was because Kathleen Mallerd was a sensational person and witch.
The couple of days of the weekend flew by quickly because I let my guard down. When I finally let myself believe that I was only home for Mum, I enjoyed everything at home more. Mum had brought me home a kitten to take with to school. She was an all black cat with a small diamond of white on her forehead. I named her Gem.
+Jordayna's Dormitory+
I was lying flat on my bed in an orange camisole with matching orange panties covered by an orange silk robe. Gem was playing with the tie on the robe, while I wrote my report for Ancient Runes. I must have left the bathroom door open because there was a sound of someone clearing their throat. I looked over, and in all his Malfoy glory, he was leaning in the door frame staring at me.
"What the hell do you want?! I'm not fully dressed here Malfoy, get out!"
+Moments Before, Bathroom Doorway+
I have been looking at her for what seems like hours. She was right, if she had said orange that night, I would have made fun of her. Good thing she snapped at me instead of telling me. I have to admit though; her figure was gorgeous lying there in barely anything. I could feel the heat in the room rising. That was when I decided to make a noise to get her attention. I had come over here to ask her about the Ancient Runes homework.
She screamed at me to get out. The entire time I stared at how the front of her robe was open and her body was completely visible.
