To the spring semester! we are on chapter 19! wow, next chapter is chapter 20...this is awesome!

Thanks for your support guys, also a big thanks to DizzyPotter and indigorfrisbee, I'l reply at the end of this chapter!

Also a thanks for favorites from whoisaly and DizziPenn!

Enjoy


Our Time is Running Out

Parchment 19: I'm Not This Person

It was a fine day outside and, for some reason, the sky was more interesting to Lixella than professor Snape. She had been sitting next to Jynx for the past few minutes, paying no attention to the new chapter. Instead, she was gazing out at a small patch of bright blue sky, shimmering beyond dark clouds. Her left hand held up her head, while her right one was playing with the locket around her neck.

"Tha's pretty" whispered Jynx, "Where'd ya get tha'?"

"Hm?" she questioned, snapping out of her daze, "Oh, it was a Christmas present."

"Who gave it to ya? It's positively gorgeous!"

Draco, who had been acting oblivious to the whole conversation, sitting in front of them, suddenly glanced back.

"Oh, just someone" she said, opening the locket, "someone wonderful"

She gazed into the emerald as she closed it, she noticed something was moving inside. She squinted, staring into the crystal. Then, suddenly, she was brought back to reality by a book being slammed closed. Lixella squealed with shock, and looked up to find professor Snape glaring at her.

"Page 326, Miss Cruxshade" he said through nearly gritted teeth.

"Yes sir" she said, catching her breath.

She turned her book open to page 326, and read the heading, "Banshee's: Reapers of the Highlands". Her eyes became wide with anger.

"Why are banshees in our defense against the dark arts text?" she asked to no one.

She had, apparently, asked this rather loudly, for when she looked up, the whole class was staring at her.

"They are in there, Miss Cruxshade, because you may need to defend yourself against one, someday." responded Snape, sarcastically.

"But, Professor" she peered around, "Banshees aren't dark creatures. They would barely hurt a fly."

"And, what…exactly, would you know of Banshees? Miss Cruxshade." Snape merely stood there, his arms crossed, waiting for a reply.

"Well, professor" she said with equal sarcasm, "they're part of my family history. You should know that."

Snape had been present when Voldemort had revealed her past. So, she was unsure as to why he felt it necessary to bicker with her on the subject.

"yes, the Duskwoods" he said, "I was just getting to the lore of how your family killed an entire race of, as you put it, 'harmless' creatures. I was not going to mention that you were their descendant. However, you seem to want the attention so badly, Miss Cruxshade, perhaps I should have pointed you out."

Several students gasped upon learning this information. Hermione, who was near the front, turned to Lixella with a puzzled expression. Snape simply walked back to the projector at the back of the room, and began changing the slides. Lixella nearly jumped out of her seat, staring back at him.

"easy, girl" said Jynx, holding a hand to Lixella's shoulder, pushing her into her seat.

She jerked her head around, let out an annoyed sigh, and rolled her eyes.

"Whatever" she mumbled, placing her head back in her left hand.

The students who had been staring, planted their faces back into their books.

Classes, that day, had not been very interesting. Lixella had spent most of her time in divination staring into a crystal ball. However, nothing had appeared to her, all she saw was swirling mist. Charms was entertaining, for Neville had accidentally cast his spell incorrectly, sending his testing cup flying towards professor Flitwick. The rest of the day, however, had become just a murky blend of monotony. Lixella sat in the Slytherin common room, waiting for Jynx so they could go to an early dinner. She was working on a divination assignment on scrying. She had to see something from the past. However, the crystal ball was not wielding anything. She just stared into it, not trying very hard, her mind in some distant dimension.

"You" shouted a voice from across the room, she looked up to see Draco.

There were several people in the Slytherin common room at that moment. And, at this point in time, were all staring towards Draco. Lixella began laughing at his choice of words.

"Not all of you!" he scoffed, "just you, Cruxshade. Follow me."

"But…" she peered back to the girls dorm, hoping for Jynx's arrival, "but I'm about to leave for dinner with Jynx, can't this wait?"

"Nope!" he exclaimed, "now, follow me…or…or…"

"or you'll come up with a better comeback?" she said, striding after him, "oh, Draco, I'm shivering in my shoes!"

They exited the dungeons and ascended up the stairs. Neither of them said much to each other. They had agreed that, while at school, they would keep their relationship a complete secret. Both of them had a reputation to uphold, after all. Draco was supposed to be the much despised pure-blood of Hogwarts, while Lixella was supposed to be the exact opposite.

"You haven't told anyone have you?" he said in a low whisper, "I heard you talking to Spakerton, during defense against the dark arts and…"

"Oh god, you think I'd actually tell?" she looked at him with shock, "Please, can you imagine the look on my friends faces if I told them I was going out with Draco Malfoy? I mean, just imagine Jynx's reaction, Neville's, or Hermione's….Ron might never talk to me again!"

"What about Potter?" he asked, turning a corner,

"Oh, really Draco?" she said, "Of course I wouldn't tell Harry. In fact, I've hardly talked to him since break."

"Well, you seemed to fancy him quite a bit!" he scolded, "You two seemed to be close. Or, at least, you were at the masquerade."

"yes, Draco, I've suddenly fallen for Harry Potter…" she laughed, "We've had maybe two conversations, since we've met. Plus, he has his heart set on Ginny Weasley."

"How would you know that?"

"Hermione tells me all the time in Ancient Runes class."

"I can't believe you hang around that mud blood!"

"You know, Draco" she stopped walking, "it's obvious why so many people I know dislike you. Using terms like that won't get you many friends!"

He smirked, "got you to fall for me, didn't I? Ouch!" Lixella had smacked him hard on the back of his head. "So, you're resorting to physical abuse, are you?" he questioned, and began heading up the stairs to the seventh floor. Lixella was about to retort, when Draco stopped in the middle of the hallway. He took several seconds looking around.

"Isn't this the entrance to the room of requirement?" Lixella asked, confused, "Draco, why are we up here? Oh, this is where the va-". He had placed his hand over her mouth.

"Don't say anything" he whispered, "Anyone could be listening in on us."

"Okay" she said, as he removed his hand.

"Where are those two?" He asked, as he began pacing up and down the hallway.

"Who?" asked Lixella.

Then, two girls came striding down the hallway. They both looked extremely unhappy to be there. One of them was a younger girl, holding brass scales. The other was a bit older, and holding a copper cauldron. Lixella stared at them, confused as to why they were there.

"What's she doing here?" asked one of the girls in a low voice.

"She's helping" said Draco

It took a second to register, but Lixella figured out that the girl sounded just like Goyle. She immediately broke out into, rather rude, but not uncalled for, laughter.

"Haha, you didn't" she said to Draco, "Why are they?…how could you?…Oh, this is priceless! I am so sorry you two! Draco, you are such a terrible person!"

She nearly fell on the floor with laughter. She bent over, using her knees as support.

"That is just cruel" she chuckled, catching her breath, "Why girls? Why not let them be boys, at least?"

"Because…"scoffed Draco, "will you please stop laughing!"

"sorry" she said, calming her chuckles.

After she was done laughing at the best moment of her day, she turned to stare at the stone wall. Draco closed his eyes, and Lixella watched the large wooden door crumble out from the wall. Upon entering the large room, she gasped. When she had used it for the masquerade, it was merely a ball room. Now, it appeared to be an overly sized closet. Piles of random objects sat everywhere, reaching up to the tall ceiling.

"Come on" Draco motioned to follow him.

They darted past several junk piles and walked around a few pillars. Lixella wondered how anyone could find their way in this place. They stopped in front of a large black cabinet, covered by an old oriental rug. It resembled the one that Lixella was taught about when she was 11. Draco removed the rug, and stared back at Lixella.

"Yep" she said, circling the cabinet, "this is definitely my dad's cabinet."

"So" he handed her an apple, "make it work."

"Okay" she exhaled, "but I can't promise much, I've only ever gotten it to work twice."

She placed the apple into the cabinet, and recited the incantation, inaudibly. She peered inside, and the apple had disappeared. She repeated the process, and the apple returned, without even a scratch upon it's shiny green surface.

"Holy hell" spat Draco, "you did it! But, how?"

"Wait…" she said, peering at the apple, "that was far too easy."

She ran over to a nearby table, one that she had hidden under a few months ago, and searched around for a knife. She found one, hiding in the drawer of a china cupboard. She took the knife and sliced open the apple. Nearly the entire core had been removed.

"Dammit…" she heard Draco curse under his breath, "I thought you could fix it"

"I said I could work it. I had no idea that it was even broken."

She circled around the cabinet a few times, peering at the black wood, and steel detailing. Her fingers ran across the wood, checking for any missing pieces. She then crawled underneath, and did the same. Nothing seemed to be wrong, everything looked like it was in perfect condition. Then, she opened the cabinet doors, and climbed inside, checking every inch.

"there's nothing…"she said, puzzled, "it's in perfect condition! I can't find one blasted thing wrong with it."

She backed up, staring at the cabinet in confusion. The two of them searched for several minutes, trying to find something wrong. At one point, Lixella stood up on a table to check the top. There was nothing wrong with it, from what they could see. After nearly two hours of checking for loose seams, and placing random objects inside, the two of them gave up.

"What?" she mumbled, leaning against the table.

"I have no idea" said Draco, "I can't figure out what's wrong with the bloody thing. I've tried everything. Enchantments, charms, I've even tried using dittany on it! I can't get it to send anything back!"

"dear god" she said, placing her face in her hands, "how have you not gone mad up here?"

"don't worry, that happened a while back. It'll probably happen to you too."

"That's nice to know" she glared at him.

They sat there for a few minutes, staring at the vanishing cabinet. The process eluded Lixella, she had no idea how to fix it. Eventually, they both gave up, and headed towards the entrance. Just as they reached towards the door, a shrill scream, followed by a clanking noise, came from the other side. Draco held out an arm, so Lixella couldn't pass.

"We can't leave, yet" he said, "that's the signal. It means that someone is outside."

"Oh, great…so how long do we have to wait?" she asked.

"I dunno, I usually wait a few more hours." he said.

Lixella plopped into a nearby desk, and hit her head on the top of it. She was not excited about staying in the room. Jynx was probably sitting in the dorm, right then, wondering why she wasn't at dinner. She wished that they could leave. She wasn't happy about having to help with a plot to kill Dumbledore. What was worse, was that she accepted it, out of fear. Lixella looked down at the ground, remembering that meeting with Voldemort, and how she'd accepted the job, feeling extremely weak as she sat there.

"you're not weak" said Draco, still staring at her.

"What? How did you know that?" she looked at him puzzled.

"Occlumency, my aunt's been teaching me."

"Wow! That's….impressive actually. My mother tried to teach me occlumency, I failed miserably. It's really hard to get."

"Not when you have my aunt" he sighed and sat down next to her.

"wait? So you were just dilly dallying around in the private confines of my mind?"

He nodded. "and just how long have you been doing this?"

"let's just say" he smirked, "you have some interesting thoughts about me."

"Ugh, I hate you sometimes" she punched him in his right arm, "have you forgotten what I did to your aunt, after she pulled that?"

"Nope, trust me, I haven't. But you wouldn't do that to me, surely."

"don't put yourself too far above everyone else, Draco."

He reached an arm across her back, leaned down, and kissed her.

"I'll try" he said, "not promising anything, though. You're head is umm…a pretty interesting place."

They sat for about another hour before finally leaving the room of requirement. Lixella laughed a few more times at Crabbe and Goyle's lovely transformations. They were headed back to the dungeons, when Lixella remembered why she had gone to dinner so early in the first place.

"Dammit!" she said, "I forgot to go to the library for my paper. It's still fairly bright outside, I'll see you guys later."

She waved good bye. And headed up the stairs towards the library. She was marching up a moving staircase, when she bumped into something she couldn't see. When she got to her feet, she saw Harry lying on the ground, but only half of him was visible.

"Harry?" she asked, staring at the top half of him.

As he stood up, the rest of him was revealed. Then, out of nowhere, an old cloak appeared at his feet.

"What's that?" she gasped, staring at the cloak.

"Nothing" he said, picking it up and putting it in his bag.

"No…" she stared at him, shocked, "that's an invisibility cloak, isn't it?"

"ugh" he sighed, "yeah, it is. Don't tell anyone I have it, okay?"

He began heading back up the stairs. Lixella followed closely after him.

"How did you get one?" she inquired, "Why were you using it? Were you sleuthing?"

"Okay, yes…I was sleuthing. You can't tell anyone though.."

"Sure, not a soul, what did you find out?"

"Since you're the only one who seems to have any sense, I'll tell you. I've been tailing Malfoy."

"Really?" she couldn't believe it. He was the one that they had been trying to avoid.

"Yeah, he's doing something in the room of requirement. I don't know what, but I'm going to find out pretty soon. Swear you won't mention this to anyone?"

"Yeah" she looked at him, frazzled, "Sure…no one. But, Harry, I think that you need to back off of Draco…"

"Since when were the two of you on a first name basis?" he asked, eyes narrowed.

"I spent the break at his house, remember. But, really….please back off, he's not doing anything". She tried to keep a straight face, hiding her arms behind her back. Harry stared at her left arm, then back up at her face, he looked puzzled.

"anything else happen over break, Lixella?" he said, heading down the stairs, towards her, "anything, particularly interesting?"

"No" she answered. He was very good at interrogation, almost better than Voldemort, Lixella could hardly keep a straight face. "Why would anything have happened, Harry?"

"Nothing" he peered at her hidden arm, "just a feeling. Show me your arm, Lixella"

"you prick!" she yelled, her voice echoing through the entire room, "you think I've become a death eater, don't you?"

"Well" he started, "if you're not, then why don't you just show me your left arm."

"How dare you, Harry!" she screamed, "It's because I'm a pure-blood isn't it? Huh, that must be why…I can't believe you, I thought you were different."

She began racing down the stairs, heading off towards the Slytherin dorm. She didn't care about her paper anymore, she just wanted to get as far from Harry as possible. If he found out that she was a death eater, he wouldn't possibly understand, or believe, her explanation. He had been suspicious of her ever since that day in Diagon alley. She knew that it was only a matter of time before he figured it out. Unfortunately, she was terrible at lying to him.

She stopped out in front of the entrance to the Slytherin dorm. Could she tell Draco that Harry was on to him? If she did, then Draco would go after Harry. Lixella sat outside of the portrait hole, wondering what to do. This all seemed so terribly complicated. She hated having to figure this out on her own, if only she could see her parents, or Cordellia. But, she had to do this by herself, no one could help her. She was just a 6th year student, not even of age, trying to figure all of this out. It seemed, to her that she would just have to keep secrets, for now.


Chapter 19 is finally over! Next is chapter 20...it may be a little long, just because it's chapter 20 :D

DizzyPotter: Voldemort knows EVERYTHING! He can see into your soul!

indigofrisbee: It was a pretty crazy chapter, I try to make Voldemort as scary and insane as possible!

Thanks for the reviews guys, please send more, I love hearing from y'all ^_^

See you soon!