Author Notes:
1) I have re-written and edited parts of the previous 3 chapters (not including the Prologue). They are only tiny changes and if you read the following statement then you will not have to go back and read the previous chapters again to understand what these changes involve and why they were made:
- THE ORIGINAL TIMELINE FOR THIS STORY WAS SET AFTER THE SEPTEMSEMPRA INCIDENT. I HAVE CHANGED THIS TO ALLOW MORE TIME FOR THIS STORY TO GET STARTED. THE SEPTEMSEMPRA INCIDENT HAPPENS IN THIS CHAPTER!
2) This is an angsty chapter with no closet goodness. I'm sorry. I'll make up for it in the next...
3) This is no longer my favourite story to have written. Following one of JKR's books specifically limits story-telling and I've had trouble really getting into it. I will continue to write this however, as I am hoping that it will get better and better as it goes.
4) Please note that most of the dialogue in this chapter is taken dirently from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and that it is JK Rowling's and not my own
Chapter Four
Draco scanned the Great Hall for a vision of curly hair but it was no use; at every house table sat several witches whose hair could resemble that of the girl he had taken to meeting.
Two weeks had passed since their last encounter and Draco was growing more and more frustrated by the minute. He had come no closer to fixing the cabinet and although he had visited the closet every night when he had had enough, he always found it empty and it remained that way for the entire duration he stayed.
After their last encounter, he was not surprised that she was no longer interested; she had every right to ask the questions she had. Perhaps she had thought, momentarily, that he had deliberately dragged her into the closet the first time. Perhaps she had thought he was a secret admirer of some sort.
He had made it quite clear that his meeting her was a selfish act and that she was just the object of his momentarily relief, that what they were doing meant nothing but the savior of his sanity.
Draco's eyes caught sight of Potter from across the Hall. He and Ron Weasley were laughing at something Granger had just said or done.
The Golden Trio – how he wanted to do nothing but slam their faces against one of the castle walls and get away with it. They were caught in the centre of all this darkness and yet they still managed to smile, stay calm and not worry.
Sulkily, Draco stood and left, making his way immediately to the marble staircase in the Entrance Hall. He did not bother calling upon Crabbe and Goyle to follow him and stand guard. He would sit before the cabinet for hours today – he had to do all he could in order to fix it.
He blindly checked his pockets for the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder and his wand before he headed right into a shortcut he had memorized months ago.
Within minutes he was inside the Room of Hidden Things, standing blankly before the cabinet. He pushed his hair out of his eyes and fell to his knees.
"Please," he muttered, hopelessly turning a page of the Wizard Maintenance book with his wand.
Five hours later and he had gotten nowhere.
Draco growled as he pitched the chair at the cabinet, followed by a cracked mirror that lay close by.
He was beyond frustrated. He sobbed desperately as a large dent appeared in the side of the metal and one of the drawers creaked and fell loudly to the floor.
He was a dead man and no one could save him. Balling his hands into fists, he stormed from the large Room, happily sending various items of junk cascading to the floor as he went. He wrenched open the door and left, heading blindly for the only place he could think to go at that moment: the boys' bathroom a floor below.
It had been nearly 3 months since he had first met the ghost Myrtle in there. He had been shocked at first, as it was against ghostly regulations for a female ghost to invade upon male-only areas. But as she had started to talk to him in a manner that comforted him and related to him he had found the company quite calming.
He had of course not told her the entire truth about why he was in there. He had told her only variations of the truth: that he was alone, scared, that people were making his life hell…
It had been enough to convince her that although tears fell from his eyes he had every reason to let them. He knew from the moment he saw her that she would not judge and she hadn't – she had understood.
He had visited her once more after that; on this occasion it had been in the girls' bathroom on the second floor where she had told him she lived. He had gone there for further comfort but that had been well before his encounter with the girl in the closet.
From then on he had relied on experiencing something that felt surreal to him.
Pushing open the door to the bathroom, he checked that there was no one else present before leaning against a basin and sobbing desperately as tears tumbled from his eyes.
He wanted it over – he wanted it done with. He was tired of working in circles, unsure how he should next go about his task. He was getting no closer. Only two weeks ago he had aimed for the mission to be completed within a maximum of four weeks time. He was sure, now, that it was going to take longer.
He thought back to the help Snape had offered him and for a moment he considered taking it. However, a lagging feeling within him told him not to trust the man and that if he allowed anyone to help him Voldemort was sure to kill him.
"I wondered if you were going to return," a voice murmured from behind him.
He looked up into the mirror and felt relief wash over him. It was Myrtle. She had her pale face leaning to the side slightly as she considered him with concern.
"I've been … busy," Draco gasped in explanation of his absence before looking away.
"I understand," Myrtle cooed, gliding closer.
Another wash of sobs overwhelmed Draco and he screwed his eyes shut desperately. "It's not working. I'm not getting any closer."
His entire body shook and gripped his hands firmly upon the basin in an attempt to gain some control.
This was why he had taken to relying on his confrontations in the closet. Seeking a moment of serenity, experiencing something surreal, was so much easier to deal with when facing his current situation.
Although talking about it made him feel somewhat better, doing so made him outline just how terrible the situation he was in was. He, at this stage, saw no hope. He saw no silver lining that would mean he was free.
"I'm a dead man!" he cried dramatically and with a swift movement of his wand, he sent Myrtle flying into a cubicle and held her there. "There's no way I can do it!"
"Don't," Myrtle crooned from behind the door that, despite being a ghost, she could not get passed as long as he held her there. "Don't … tell me what's wrong … I can help you …"
Draco would have laughed if his body had let him. "No one can help me," he said, his body still shaking violently against the ceramic of the basin. "I can't do it … I can't … it won't work … and unless I do it soon … he says he'll kill me…"
A violent shudder rippled through his body and he gasped from the effort of crying and keeping Myrtle locked in the cubicle. He gave a great gulp and looked up to view his hopeless face in the mirror.
He was shocked to see stunned bright green eyes staring into his.
Draco wheeled around, raising his wand immediately and sending a curse Potter's way.
It missed by inches.
Draco quickly blocked Potter's spell before aiming again for another.
"No! No! Stop it!" squealed Moaning Myrtle, who had escaped from the cubicle and was watching the dual with horrified eyes from the door of the cubicle. "Stop! STOP!"
Draco's curse violently hit the bin behind Harry as Harry's hit the cistern Myrtle was currently hovering above. She screamed terribly as water poured everywhere, covering the tiled floor and surrounding the boys as they continued to fight. It lapped aggressively at their ankles.
Draco raised his wand, determined, just as Harry moved his feet and slipped.
"Cruci –"
The world paused for a moment as Harry desperately raised his wand and interrupted the curse Draco had wished not to use.
"SEPTUMSEMPRA!"
Draco was doomed.