D E V O T I O N

Written by Bunnyyyy
Disclaimer Harry Potter series belongs to JK Rowling.
Shipping Draco/OC
Rating M
Author's Note: Again, I'm so sorry for the amazingly late update! But I am trying! Please read and review, please. I will try to get the next chapter up a lot sooner.

Chapter 8: Almost

"Evie? Evie?"

So I wasn't dead? The creature hadn't killed me? I was so sure I was going to die. It had its' chance when I passed out. Maybe I was dead. The pain in my head made me wish I were. My head felt as if I had used all the force I could possibly muster to bang my head on a brick wall. But I kept hearing a faint, familiar voice calling out to me. I refused to open my eyes. What if the creature was still here?

"Evaleen, please wake up."

I knew that voice. It was soothing, yet showed a hint of worry. I smiled once I realized whose voice it belonged to. My eyes fluttered open to see those beautiful grey-blue eyes.

"Draco?"

Draco grinned and gave me a bone crushing hug. "Thank god you're alright! I thought you might have seriously been hurt."

I moaned as I tried to get up, but my head felt way too heavy. My body shook slightly as I tried to force myself into a sitting posstion.

Smirking slightly at my struggling, he said, "Here, let me."

Draco picked me up off the ground bridal style with ease and walked towards a marble bench placed next to an elegant fountain. I realized I was no longer in the maze, but on the opposite side from where Draco and I first entered. With the sounds of the gentle splashing of the fountain, Draco laid me gently down onto the bench.

"Eat this."

He pulled out a piece of chocolate, and I willingly took it. He lifted my head as he took a seat and gently laid my head down on his lap. I looked up at him bewildered.

"Eat."

I smiled and nodded as he watched me nibble on the chocolate. The chocolate sliding down my throat seemed to warm up my insides and make my body relax even more. It's amazing what chocolate can do.

"Feeling better?" Draco asked as I finally consumed the last bit.

"A lot better." I looked at him with a confused look, "Where is it?"

He kept his arm under my head as he stood. He wrapped his other arm around me and helped me up into a sitting position. It was then I realized that his body was a little too close. I looked up and caught his eye. A blush started to creep its way up my face. I quickly looked away and insisted that I stand and walk on my own.

"Where is what?" He asked as he stood close in case I was to lose my balance.

"The monster creature thingy that was in there and scared the shit out of me!"

His face turned into confusion, "What are you talking about, Evaleen? There's nothing in there."

I looked at him in shock, "I didn't just trip and hit my head, Draco. Something was chasing me in there."

"There was nothing in there but you and me. I waited for over half an hour for you to come out, but you never did. So I went back in to look for you. You must have hit your head really hard."

He started to steer me back towards his house.

"Something attacked me in there, Draco."

Draco sighed, "There's nothing in there, Evie. I've been in there a couple of times and nothing has every attacked me. Now, come on."

He took my hand and led me into the house without another word. I stared at the back of his head. I didn't bother fighting. There was nothing I could do to prove what had happened. Maybe he was right. Maybe since I was so scared to begin with, my imagination created some sort of creature. After all, I never really saw it. No, scratch that! I did see a silhouette! It had to be real! Right?

With furrowed eyebrows, I was absolutely sure that what happened back there wasn't my imagination. It had to be real. But I was kicked out of my thoughts when Draco announced that I was home. I must have zoned out because I found myself looking up at the tall doors of my mansion.

I had to admit that I was slightly disappointed that Draco didn't believe my story and avoided looking at him. Instead my main focus was on the door in front of me.

"I had fun today, Evie," I heard him say.

I bit your lower lip before replying, "Oh. Me too. Heh."

I mentally kicked myself for making it obvious I was disappointed.

"I'm really sorry about what happened today in the maze."

He was the one that forced me into the damn maze.

"Evie, are you even listening to me?"

I continued to avoid eye contact. That is, until he tilted my chin so that I was looking into his eyes. I hated how he always did that, yet at the same time it made my heart race with the thought he may kiss me. But I hated it. What gave him the right to touch my face?

"Don't be mad, I'm sorry," even as he said this, he had a slight smirk tugging at his lips.

All romantic thoughts, if any, flew out of my head as I tried to turn away. He forced me to keep looking at him. It was then I noticed his face inching closer and closer until our lips were barely touching. My heart fluttered at the mere touch of his lips. I closed my eyes waiting for him to actually kiss me. But that didn't happen. Just as soon as I felt his lips closing in on mine, he pulled away as if realizing what he was doing was wrong or something.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have— I— I'll see you later. Good day, Evaleen." He said this in a totally different voice.

He sort of stepped back and fixed his posture, or made it look like he was. He opened his mouth for a second, but quickly closed it. He nodded as a farewell and quickly took his leave.

What the hell?

He made my heart race for nothing and I was amazingly disappointed. But at the same time, I liked the feeling of his lips so close to mine. I reached up and touched my lips with a slight smile.

Thoughts of how he's been acting strange suddenly dawned on me. My hand dropped from my lips.

When I first met him, he was kind and helpful. He offered to help me get all my school supplies, and he seemed reasonably normal. But he was suddenly different when I bumped into Harry. And then hurtful and such a jerk when I was with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron. And then I remembered when he snuck into my room last night. He was pretty sweet. And at his manor, he said I only knew the password into his room? That had to be a lie. But during lunch, it all changed when he brought up the subject about something that he should tell me before it was too late.

I turned around and gazed at Draco's manor. That was it; I needed to find out what he wanted to tell me so bad. That, the maze, the almost kiss? What exactly was going on? Whatever is was, it would have to wait. I stirred up quite a headache with all these questions swimming around in my head.

As soon as I walked in, I glanced at the clock in the hallway. It read 4 o'clock. It was pretty early since dinner wasn't to be served until 6:30.

"I'm home!"

I listened to my voice echo through the house. My mother and father didn't reply. They were most likely out. Hilda never responded, she thought it was rude to just yell out like that. She preferred me to find her and tell her I was home. Not today though.

I sighed and walked up the stairs on the right side of the entrance room. I stared at the floor as my feet led me straight to my room. My room looked cleaner than it was when I first left it; my bed was fixed and my laundry basket was empty. New logs were even placed in the fireplace that was built in the middle of my room. Hilda must have cleaned it earlier. With another sigh, I fell back onto the sheets of my bed. I felt oddly tired. My headache started to come back as I stared at the tall ceiling of my room.

As time passed, my eyes closed. Scenes of the day's events started to play in my mind like a movie. I was too knocked out to hear Hilda knocking at my door for dinner.

I slept on as a dream started to unfold in my mind.

I sat on a black leather couch. My surroundings were unfamiliar, but my dream-self didn't seem to care. Draco sat on a chair in front of me, clutching my hands as I held onto his. We both stayed in this position for quite a while. I could hear a man's impatient voice somewhere close by.

Draco slowly slipped his hands out of mine and stood with his back turned to me.

"Evaleen, we mustn't see each other anymore. I'm sorry," he said calmly.

He faded away, and the room started to change. I was suddenly outside. The environment looked oddly familiar. There was the sparkling lake again along with a dark forest and a brilliantly lit castle in the distance. I saw a dark silhouette. My heart raced as I started panicking. The blur in front of me made fear leak throughout my body just like the last dream.

"Get away— what are you?"

I could see glowing red eyes this time.

"No, please."

Then the dark blur spoke in a familiar voice.

"Don't worry, Evaleen."

Everything went dark.