Chapter Two: The Girl in Lavender
I'm not usually one for dreams, but on the rare occasions that I do have them, they are extremely vivid—sometimes impossible to distinguish from reality. That night was one of those nights, and I soon found myself walking through the halls of Hogwarts.
The beauty of the school always got to me. It was almost like a museum, filled with one-of-a-kind artifacts that were irresistible to grubby little hands during the long hours of the day. But in the still of the night, the castle seemed at peace. I wandered happily, with the slow, dazzled walk that always distinguishes a fellow artist from the commoners in a museum. Without warning, a flash of silver streaked up the corridor. Intrigued, I followed it. The silver thing seemed to dance in front of me, the bright color shocking against the muted hues of night. It was toying with me, slowing just enough for me to catch a glimpse of it before it turned a corner. I followed in a sort of determined haze, down staircases and through corridors and, finally, out the front door.
I found the world transformed outside the school. It was twilight, the last of the sunset disappearing beyond the horizon. Violet and blue fireflies swayed in the breeze under fragrant trees. Long, soft grass dotted with flowers stretched out endlessly before me. A giggle sounded behind me. I turned and was shocked to find the school had disappeared entirely, replaced by a wooded area. A girl dressed in lavender stepped from the trees. Her blue-black hair tumbled down in perfect ringlets to the backs of her knees. The silver thing slivered up her body, finally coming to rest on her hand. She smiled at it, and I saw it was a garden snake. The girl kissed its arrow-shaped head, and It disappeared. She turned to me then, silently asking me to follow her. I obliged.
We made our way through the oddly quiet woods, our footsteps muffled by the thick carpet of clover and moss. The girl weaved in and out of the trees in an assured manner, as if she had done this every day of her life. She never once looked back to see if I was following. After a time, the trees unexpectedly stopped, and I found myself in a clearing. A perfect little waterfall was situated in the middle of the clearing. I sighed. The girl in lavender did not stop. She ascended a flight of stone steps that spiraled up to the top of the falls. Once again intrigued, I started after her.
The top of the waterfall was a long, flat stone that was cool on my bare feet. The girl bent down, plucking a flower that matched her dress perfectly. She tucked it behind her ear, then turned to me. She giggled that charming giggle again, straightening. Her hair swished as her head turned to look at the pond below. Without warning, the girl threw herself from the rock. Her slender limbs arched into a perfect swan dive, her hair whipping out like wings behind her. I watched in awe as she slid into the surface with barely a ripple. Her head resurfaced almost immediately. She looked at me, beckoning once again.
I hesitated. Was the water too shallow? What if I were to slip at the last minute and hit the rock? Below, the girl paddled around floating flowers, her eyes trained on me. Suddenly, my fears were all released, and with a sense of complete calm, I jumped from the rock.
There was a moment when time stood still, as I descended to the pond waters. I slid beneath the surface, and the water swallowed me. I hovered underwater, enjoying the clear blue waters around me. I kicked toward the surface, but all of a sudden the surface was a mile away. I kicked and kicked like a woman possessed, but the distance between myself and the surface remained the same. My lungs began to burn, and I realized that I would die here. My head exploded. I needed air—how long would it be before I lost consciousness? I felt something slide around my waist, and then I could breathe again.
I never knew that oxygen had a taste until that moment. The air tasted like honey, and I savored every lung full. When my ragged breath became a little more even, I noticed that I had resurfaced in the Black Lake. How had I gotten there? I heard a voice in my right ear.
"Can you swim?" I nodded mutely. The hand released my waist, and I immediately bobbed below the surface. Panicking, I grabbed hold of my rescuer, pulling myself up again. I heard a dark chuckle. "I'll take that as a 'no.'" The stranger pulled me to shallow waters, then lifted me, an arm supporting my back and an arm beneath my knees.
He sat me down gently in the grass. I had almost fully recovered my breath, and by the light of the full moon, I could finally make out the features of my rescuer. Scorpius Malfoy sat on the shore beside me.
"You!" I gasped. He turned away.
"I suppose you'd like me to leave and forget that you were ever rescued by a Malfoy." He made a move to stand.
"No!" he looked at me quizzically. "Please, what...what happened?
"You were in the lake." Malfoy shrugged, remaining seated.
"How did I get here?"
"You must have been sleepwalking."
"Sleepwalking? I walked all the way from the Griffindor dormitories to the Black Lake, without getting caught by any teachers, in my sleep?"
"You have a better explanation?" Malfoy gazed out into the glassy lake.
"It was as if I had been...enchanted or something." I felt the color drain from my face. "I almost died." The reality of it all hit me.
"Yes."
"You saved me."
"Yes."
"Thank-you." A smile flitted across his face, but he didn't look up. "Do you know why I couldn't swim to the surface?" He frowned.
"No."
"But you know something..." I prompted. He looked down, troubled. He didn't answer. "Why were you out here?" I tried again. Scorpius regarded me curiously for a long while. He seemed to be deciding something.
"I was thinking." He answered finally. I scoffed.
"Yeah, right. Got a better one?"
"Nope." I looked at him suspiciously. He refused to meet my gaze. He really was striking, with his fair hair and deep grayish blue eyes. I felt my lips twitch up in a smile, but I forced them down, recalling the stories my family had told me about this boy's father, Draco Malfoy. Why would his son be any different? I shuddered violently. Looking down, I realized I was in nothing but my soaked pajamas—in this case, my wine-colored satin nightgown that fell just above the knees. I blushed eight shades of pink. No wonder Scorpius wouldn't look me in the eyes!
"Ventusaci." I muttered. Wind swept up, pulling the moisture from my hair and clothes. I hesitated for a moment, then willed the wind towards Scorpius to dry him as well. He looked up shyly.
"Thanks. Do you think you can walk?" I nodded. We stood and my knees shook beneath me, but after a few steps I was fine. My teeth chattered against the chill autumn night. Scorpius placed his cloak on my shoulders.
"Th-thanks."
Getting back into the school proved much harder than getting out. Filch and Mrs. Norris seemed to be everywhere at once. Scorpius left me in a corridor close to the common room. His footsteps were nearly silent, and I wondered how many times he had sneaked out at night. This was my first. I climbed a staircase and through the portrait hole. My bed was beckoning to me, and despite the thousands of things I had on my mind, I drifted into a dazed sleep almost immediately.