A Waltz in Darkness
Chapter Five
Draco's POV
(**Warning this chapter has some slight graphic violence**)
A set of brown eyes remained fixated on me and the urge to flee had never been stronger. My words failed me as she continued to wait for me to speak. I studied her; I could sense her pain without her uttering a single word. The young woman before me was a different person, for once I could see she was…lost and unsure. Two qualities I had never witnessed in the great mind of Hermione Granger before.
"Are we just going to stand here all day…or-" Dalisay broke the painful silence, for which I was partially grateful until I watched Granger's eyes land on Dalisay, her attitude would certainly not be welcomed at such a situation she was now facing.
Within seconds the door began to close but I threw my arm in its path and forced it open.
"I wanted…"
"What? You wanted to mock me? Find out if the rumors are really true? Well Malfoy they are all true, are you happy now?" She exclaimed, frantically wiping her tears from sight before they even fell from her eyes. I was startled at her reaction but I did not come here to feel offended at the words of the broken hearted. I knew too well the words that escape our lips in our lowest moments are no longer our own.
"Why would I be happy to see you hurting?" I asked, regretting how personal I must have sounded in front of Dalisay who would report this entire situation to Pansy if given the opportunity.
"Well why else would you come here? Don't pretend you're actually here for anything noble. That just isn't you now is it?" She hissed. Well those words stung a bit stronger than the previous.
"I like this girl, she knows you pretty well. Noble really isn't you Draco." Dalisay chimed in but I ignored her and hoped Granger would in turn, do the same.
"Look, I didn't come here to mock you or search for a fuel for gossip. I came here because I was…well I wanted to make sure you were alright." I must have sounded so pathetic, I felt like a lost puppy, begging to be granted entry into her room but that was slightly true. I secretly wished she would step aside, welcome me into her room…into her world.
I had done the unthinkable and I would pay for it dearly I was certain, I let her in. I let her invade my thoughts, she inched her way into my very soul and I just was not the same since. Was this what Dalisay had said, a crush? I was far too old for such school boy antics to swoon over another, but as I stood before her, even in her pajamas and swollen eyes and cracked lips she appeared to me as she always had…beautiful. Damn. How could I think such a thing about…Granger? How could I let this happen was the real question.
That growing desire to flee was creeping back into mind as I stood. I wanted nothing more than to shift in my stance, turn and walk away. Never think about this…or her again. But I stood there, still as a statue before her looking foolish and feeling quite possibly the most embarrassed I had ever felt in my life.
"Well could you at least invite us in? We did walk all the way here in the cold after all." Dalisay suggested.
"And who are you?" Granger asked, much to Dalisay's satisfaction.
"Dalisay is the name."
"Pleasure." Granger said coldly, but Dalisay's smile only widened as she casually weaved around the partially opened door and welcomed herself into the room. She waltzed about the space as if she owned it.
"Are you just going to let her walk into my room?" Granger was fuming while looking for me to mend the situation and simply drag Dalisay away.
"Honestly, I couldn't tell that girl what to do if my life depended on it." I responded with a smile.
"This is ridiculous. I can't do this right now." Granger fumbled around for words before she began walking towards the door. She was so wound up, so infuriated she simply disappeared behind the door.
I turned to Dalisay who found the entire situation far too amusing to interrupt until she fell upon the cushions of the sofa and sighed.
"Well go after her then." I did not need to be asked again, my feet quickly followed in her path before I was greeted by the cold air once again. Granger stood at the edge of the front porch, hugging herself tightly against the cold. In her frustrations she did not consider herself to still be in pajamas and slippers. I felt myself smiling, then I placed myself next to her, searching for her gaze. I expected to see rage in her expression, a bout of shouts to come hurling towards me but there were tears in her eyes and she allowed me to see them trailing down her features. She did not wipe them nor did she shy away from my gaze, instead she looked directly at me.
"Why are you here Malfoy? Why you…of all people?" She asked.
"I don't know…but I'm here." That was the best reason I could give at the moment. It must have sufficed because a smile graced her features.
"And what about your friend…Dalisay? Why exactly did you bring her?"
"She's a friend. A strange, often impossible to deal with, sort of friend." I laughed.
"I see. Well I appreciate your concern but I think I'd prefer time to myself. I hope you understand." Those were not the words I was hoping to hear, I didn't quite know what I was hoping for, part of me still questioned my sanity for coming here in the first place but leaving her now was far from what I wanted.
"He's wrong…you know." Such a stupid thing for me to say, I didn't know anything that was said or anything regarding their relationship at all…but this, seeing her like this was wrong. It was all wrong. She should not be out here, standing in the midst of winter at ease feeling the cold wind upon her skin. She should not be crying, and she should not be out here with me. I was the last person she should be with and yet, for some mad, twist of events I was here.
"That's the thing though, he isn't wrong at all." She muttered. Her words caused my brows to furrow in confusion; I watched her break before my eyes. Her very spirit, once strong and brave without hesitation, shattered right in front of me as she looked up at me once more and smiled a smile I would never forget. It was a painful curl of her lips, a fake portrayal of every emotion she could not find within herself again. I was unable to find the proper response to speak, the first thing that came to mind was Ron was a dead man. But that hardly would ease the broken heart standing in front of me, no, I bet she would say she wished him no harm. She would say she only wanted the best for him, because that was the very nature of Granger. She was…a far better person than I could ever hope to be.
"Goodbye Malfoy." She whispered and within the blink of an eye, she was no longer there.
"Well, that went well." Dalisay said as she walked around the corner of the building.
"Eavesdropping, I should have known." I said coldly, I then began taking the steps back to my own broken life. This…distraction, this escape was now fleeing from my grasp.
"You look…disappointed." That's because I am.
"Pansy? We're back? Put some shoes on, let's all go out for a nice warm supper shall we?" Dalisay said in a melodic tune as she twirled her black skirt around in a dance of joy as we entered the apartment.
The moment I closed the door I sensed…something was different. I drew in a breath and the very air seemed to pierce my lungs. The very knob still under my fingertips felt like ice to the touch. I scanned the room, my senses becoming vigilant at the realization that something wasn't quite right at all.
"Dalisay! Get behind me!" I instinctively shouted. I was no stranger to dark magic…I could feel it a mile away and for the first time, I felt it within the walls of my very apartment.
"Pansy?" I questioned. I began walking through a dancing shadows moving all about. As I stumbled around the shadows and various furniture I could not see in front of me I began a waltz in darkness that began stirring fearfully familiar feelings within me. My heart felt the need to beat through my very chest; my hands began trembling as I carefully drew my wand from the lapel of my coat.
"PANSY?" I was becoming frantic in my search for her in this darkened space. I didn't like this one bit. Where was she? I could see out of the corner of my eyes Dalisay was carefully making her way through the room, her wand at the ready.
"Get back Dalisay!" I demanded. I didn't know what wizard could conjure the feeling looming about the space but it was powerful. I felt a knot swelling within my stomach, a nauseous feeling that I knew all too well. This feeling…was a lot like the feeling I would get around the dark lord. I felt…sick around him. He drew out every weakness within me and breathed it in like a welcomed scent. He could sense my fear and he would overshadow any thought I had of strength and shifted it towards pure, unrelenting obedience to him. It was terrifying. The cold that surrounded him, the darkness that engulfed everything and everyone in its path…yes, I knew this feeling and I awaited whatever creature conjured it.
Suddenly in the midst of the darkest shadows gathering at the end of my path, a figure began to emerge. Slow, deliberate steps were parting the very shadow that cloaked it until my eyes caught sight of what would forever haunt me. There, pushing through the darkness was Pansy. Her slight frame and delicate features had become lost in the sheer presence of power radiating from her porcelain skin. Her eyes were fixated on me, but I did not see Pansy behind them.
Was this possession of some sort? It had to be, this was not Pansy. Her steps, the way she swayed with every movement, as if she were enjoying a newfound fluidity her body could move.
"Pansy…" I whispered. A smile was the only response I received. A devious smile reflected my suspicions. In an instant my heart sank into the pit of my stomach. Despite our differences, despite the fact we loathed one another with a passion stronger than any romantic feeling we may have ever experienced that was still Pansy. I've known her nearly my entire span of existence in this world. She had trailed behind me for years before finding the courage to speak to me; from then on we were always with one another. Friendship led to magic and then to a mundane life that we shared in this very apartment. She was the person I woke up seeing, and saw before I closed my eyes at night. Guilt started washing over me as she stood, wearing her nightgown, skin turning blue from the cold surrounding her and darkened circles under her eyes revealing it had been days since she had slept…this was my fault. Her actions I so quickly deemed as another silent treatment or depressed mood were actually signs that something far worse could be to blame. I did this. I did this to her.
I wanted to reach out to her, but the second my hand raised towards her my other hand holding my wand was flung aside, sending my only means of defense hurling down the hall.
"Another Malfoy…scurrying about the world like a cockroach; always the same blonde hair…same distrustful stare; I should have ended your bloodline before its inception." Pansy spoke to me as she began gliding upon the wooden floor towards me. Panic set in but I had no idea how to even react. It was still hard to fathom what was taking place.
"Dalisay…please don't fight me on this…run. Now!" I shouted but the stubborn witch had begun whirling spells towards Pansy without hesitation. I stumbled backwards as the dust in the room began lifting into the air from the intensity of the spells being cast.
"Do you ever listen?" I screamed, coughing through the clouds of debris until I felt a frigid hand around my throat. Nails began pushing hard against my skin until I felt the warmth of blood dripping down my neck. My eyes then saw Pansy, hovering over me like a beast studying its prey.
"Dumbledore…where is he?" She asked, her once stoic demeanor now giving way to an inner rage sparking at the sound of his name. I swallowed hard, unsure how to respond until her hand forced my head into the floor below.
"WHERE IS HE?" She screamed. I heard Dalisay running to my aid; her steps were the only thing I could focus on to keep the darkness of unconsciousness from taking over. I lifted my hand and waved her away once more only this time I was not alone in my desire to keep her at bay.
"I will end him…by the time you take another step." Pansy growled, Dalisay's steps came to an abrupt stop as Pansy returned her attention to me. A primal mindset was glistening within her eyes, she was enjoying this.
"Dumbledore…is dead…" I strained through her grasp. Her fingers clenched even tighter from my response. Her eyes danced wildly about as confusion adorned her features.
"That filthy wizard…imprisoning me in that wretched book…" She muttered until her eyes landed on me once more.
"It does not satisfy me to learn my enemy has been taken from me…I had…many plans for killing him myself. Many plans…many plans. Do you suppose there is any satisfaction to be found in…this?" Her voice began to purr, her pupils grew large as she began kneeling further down until I felt the warmth of her breath on my ear.
"I can see your every thought…your memories are no longer your own…I bet this…will bring back memories." She whispered. My heart was racing as I began struggling under her grip. Her strength was unyielding, I was a mouse caught in a trap and the fear of her words were becoming too much for me to take. A gasp escaped my lips until I realized what was being said.
"Sectumsempra." The curse rolled off of her tongue painfully slow. A second, maybe two passed before I felt my hands gripping my chest. The air was driven from my lungs as I rolled about, my skin ripping from sharp, stabbing pains. I screamed out, blood began spurting from my lips with every cough as I tried to draw in breath. The pain…was unbearable…my thoughts became erratic as I screamed out.
"Until we meet again." Pansy's voice trailed off as she vanished within the eruption of smoke. Leaving me a broken, blood soaked wreck on the floor.
A/N: Well the story just became a bit more interesting I hope! Thank you for all the new follows and favorites! Stick around for the next update!
Mari Claire Roemajji Celts: I hope my update was pretty timely this time, and what did you think of it? Oh my goodness it was so much fun to write, although I hate poor Draco was left in such a state. I know I know, cliffhangers are the worst but I'm updating a bit quicker nowadays so it won't be too long of a wait to read what happens next!
I'm so glad you enjoyed that last chapter and I am having a blast with your character, she is a lot like you isn't she, but you are a lot more kind and sweet! Although Dalisay will be too in time, she's just having fun in her own world at the moment wouldn't you say? I'm so glad you like her character so much!
It has been months since the final battle with Voldemort in this story time line, almost a year. But yeah, Granny, along with many people in the magical world, don't always take kindly to the Malfoys am I right? Haha!
You are so awesome and kind in your review, thank you so much! I am about to stop in my inbox and write you further in PM, but you are just the best! Hope you liked this last update and the first, of many, action packed chapters!
Warm hugs and best wishes as always, and its cold here too so I'll take some in return haha!
Take care my dearest friend; I will talk to you further shortly!
Dork Dog: Thanks for reviewing and getting caught up on my fics, I'm about to take a read of your star wars story! I'm excited! And thanks, glad Draco's growth and maturity is coming forth, I wanted him to seem like he had changed and learned from his um, mistakes and darker past. And so happy to hear you like Dalisay, I can see similarities as well with you and her! She's a fun character I've enjoyed working with my co-author above with her character and the story, it's starting to get good! Well thanks again, hope to hear from you again and I'll be PM'ing you and reviewing today too!