"Killy, it's like five AM, do you want to go for a run?" Draco asked the lightly slumbering girl who was still lying on his bare chest. She blinked twice as her sleepy eyes adjusted to the sight of him before she put her head back down and went to sleep again. "I'm going to take that as a 'no'" He told her. Killious rolled over on her side, abandoning Draco's alabaster chest for his silk sheets and soft pillows.
"This is the first non-medicated dreamless sleep I've had in months." She mumbled, "I'm going to take advantage." She finished.
"These are the benefits of my bed." He told her slyly as slid down into the bed next to her, snaking an arm over her waste and fitting his body to hers.
"I just thought of something disgusting." She whispered in a half giggle.
"Dare I ask?"
"Have these been washed since the last time you and Pansy screwed on here?" She asked.
"Actually the last girl in this bed with me was a certain Hufflepuff named Tiffany, cute little red head with green eyes and freckles."
"Ughh, you're such a man whore." She moaned with a half smile. "Tell me about her." She demanded as she rolled over to look at him. He smiled and pushed his forehead to hers.
"Well, her parents own a department store in London, and she's failing History and Herbology. She's scared of Care of Magical Creatures, is just passing potions, makes a good grade in Trelawney's class, and she's acing D.A.D.A. because she thinks Lupin is cute."
"I'm impressed, I didn't realize that you actually paid attention to the bimbos you fucked silly."
"Her favorite color is aqua-marine, she was born in June, she has two tabby cats, her boyfriend is Oliver Henderson, they haven't had sex yet, but she sees a boy who works for her father over summer break and all they do is fuck like rabbits." He informed with a little grin.
"What a deep personality analysis." Illy joked.
"Personality wise she's about as deep as a glass of water, she doesn't get half the jokes I make, she's snobby and easily flattered, self conscious, usually confused, and she likes to think that she's mysterious."
"And how pissed would she be if she knew I was here right now?"
"I really don't care, she wasn't worth a second go, and she felt guilty for cheating on dear Oliver, so it's over and done with. The sheets were sent off the next morning."
"Good to know, because otherwise I might throw up…though I would rather lay in Tiffany's filth than Pansy's."
"I would rather lay in your filth."
"Who says I have filth? I'm a very clean person, I even got changed into clean pajamas last night remember?"
"In that case I shall take it upon myself to help you create filth." He said as he started to reach for her shirt. Illy slapped his hand away and snuggled back into his chest.
"I'm too tired to do more than that to defend myself, don't molest me while I sleep." She instructed before yawning and closing her eyes.
"I promise to wait until you wake up again."
At two PM on Sunday afternoon Illy woke up in Draco's bed, still wrapped in Draco's arms, though he had been awake since ten.
"How long have you been up for?" She asked groggily.
"Only a few minutes"
"Liar"
"I got you chocolate, just like I promised." He said as he reached for the small box of truffles on the night stand that he had convinced Dolan to track down for him.
"Leave it to you to get something imported." Illy remarked sarcastically.
"I bought them off a fifth year. He was sent them from Switzerland."
"Second hand imports, that's the best kind you know." She teased before selecting one of the pieces and biting it in half. "Is Harry banging down the door yet?" She asked as she fed him the other half of the chocolate.
"Not that I know of, I think he's freaking out because there's been another Black sighting or something. But even if he did, it wouldn't matter; we're just enjoying a friendly lay about."
"What friends don't spend the night together talking about ex-sex partners?"
"That was actually this morning."
"Whatever"
"I know for a fact that Jackquinn and Dolan do the same thing all the time." He told her confidently. She laughed softly and started to sit up. "Are you going to go find him?"
"I was thinking about it. He's probably not very happy with me at the moment."
"It's not your fault that he got in trouble, and it's certainly not your fault that Black is on the loose." He told her as he pushed the hair from her face.
"I'm sure he's convinced that you told Snape about his sneaking into Hogsmeade, and he's never in a good mood when Black is involved. With the whole 'he killed my parents' thing and all, it sort of upsets him usually." She told Draco.
"On the plus side, I think we're in the clear as far as his being informed about where you spent the night. Christian never showed up, Dolan was with Jacky, Blaize, Crabbe, and Goyle are my bitches, and Theodore Nott has a little crush on you, so we're in the clear." He said cheerily.
"Good to know. Well, I guess I should head back to my room and go get dressed." She sighed before getting out of bed and collecting her things from the floor.
"Why bring your clothes and makeup bag if you were just going to head back to your dorm?"
"I guess I had some image of having to put on fresh clothing so that no one realized we had dirty hot sex in your bed until the wee hours of the morning in my mind."
"You could have told me that." Draco said as he threw a t-shirt at her playfully.
"I'm just kidding. I actually brought them in case it got cold; it's just a pair of flannels. And the makeup bag just has a sleeping potion and a few other things like that in it." She confessed as she held up the grey and pink set.
"Those are hideous."
"So is your face." She taunted before leaving.
As Illy approached the door to her room she could hear scraping and shuffling noises inside, her pace slowed as she eased her way up the stairs cautiously, listening for anything else that sounded violent or shocking. A smash of glass and the thud of wood on the floor sent her into a run; it had to be Pansy or Matty, or both. It could have even been Harry who was throwing things around, but whoever it was she wasn't going to let them get away. Her wand was out in a second as she sprinted the rest of the way up the stone steps barefoot. She flung the door open and put her hand to her mouth to keep from screaming.
The black dog was large enough to knock her to the ground with ease, but she had a hope that it hadn't seen her just yet, maybe if she was still and quiet she could get away unscathed. She shakily started to move her foot backwards, but before she had the chance to take a single step the dog had turned on her, withdrawing its nose from her trunk, Harry's silver charm bracelet in its jaws. Suddenly Illy was standing tall again, wand pointing towards the dog,
"Expelaramus!" She shouted out the spell before she could think of anything else, and the bracelet flew into the air, before landing on her bed. She could see the look in the animal's eye right away, she knew that glint.
"I know you're an Anamagai, now show yourself!" She demanded. The dog turned its head to the side as if it were confused, before it bared its teeth and started lumbering towards her.
"Immobulus!" She shouted, stopping the dog in its tracks.
"I'll scream and my best friend will be here in an instant unless you can cooperate. I believe that you are the criminal Sirius Black and I want to give you a chance to explain yourself, so we can do this the nice way, or I can use a Sectumsempra and cut your fucking head off." She told the dog with steady words.
"I'm going to release you when I'm done speaking, if you reveal yourself then, I won't kill you, otherwise I've had plenty of practice at killing dumb animals." Illy swallowed and removed the jinx on the animal, careful to leave her wand pointed at it, and her mouth ready to utter its death. The dog changed almost instantly into a man with sallow skin and wild hair. His eyes wide with crazed anger and curiosity.
"Who are you?" She asked finally, when he stood still for her.
"You already said it."
"What are you doing in my room?"
"Are you Harry's girlfriend?"
"Yes. Now please answer my question."
"I was looking for ways to get Harry's attention. I need to speak to him. I didn't kill his parents or any of those muggles."
"I assumed as much. I didn't make any sense that you would suddenly betray your friends, or that you would still be under a curse after Voldemort fell long enough to kill that shit load of muggles."
"Harry has his father's taste in women, you're very smart." Sirius told her in a voice that sent chills up and down her spine.
"James was a prick so that's really not much of a compliment."
"Have you no respect for the dead?"
"James and his stupid friends, yourself included, don't require respect in my book. And besides, you don't even have respect for the living; you've torn through more than five hundred galleons worth of designer lingerie." She snapped. "Now how are you planning to get a hold of Harry?"
"You were my latest plan, I figured I'd leave a ransom note and the bracelet for him to find tomorrow morning and then I would meet him."
"Right, and what if we were with each other at that time dumbass?"
"I guess I didn't think of that…"
"Great, now I've got to help a total cock-up of a criminal tell his best friends' kid that he in fact did not help murder his parents. I take it a tearful reunion is to ensue as well?" She asked sarcastically.
"I don't need your help." He snarled.
"Keep the foam in your mouth Kujo; you're going to want my help I promise. You were friends with Lupin right?"
"Moony! Yes, we were friends." He said, suddenly sounding almost happy.
"I'll tell him we met. One of Harry's teachers' pet is getting executed; it would be a good chance to get a hold of Harry. I'll help convince him to try and save the thing, and you just meet us out by the edge of the woods."
"I can do that…What did you say your name was?"
"Killious Enquirous, good to meet you." Illy said as she walked forward and shook hands with the man. His eyes lingered on her body all the while she approached and even as he shook her hand forcefully. She stepped back and fought the urge to shiver under the weight of the goosebumps all over her body.
"How can we stay in contact?" He asked her.
"If you want to talk to me write on this." She told him as she picked up her now partly broken piece of slate. She handed him a small broken corner piece. "Thanks for breaking my shit. Write small."
"Sorry." He apologized, suddenly casting his gaze to the floor.
"It's fine. I was worried you were another girl, I was going to have to beat the bloody fuck out of your skank ass."
"You curse a lot more than I expected."
"Harry doesn't exactly get the full dose of Illy when we're together." She dismissed.
"That's a shame. You're a colorful person."
"You have no idea, but you do need to get out of here soon." She said with a roll of her eyes.
"I'd say I have some idea…I'm sorry about how I treated your dad…James and I…we didn't mean to make him go that way…"
"What?" She asked, but before she got her answer the man was a dog again and he was heading down the stairs in a rush.
"Killy!" Draco shouted, as he emerged from the doorway moment later. "Are you okay?"
"I see you caught a glimpse of Sirius."
"What?"
"He's an Animagai…I'm fine Draco, he's was a creeper, but he didn't hurt me or anything, he just broke all my stuff and tore holes in half my clothing."
"I'll get Snape." He said as he started to turn around. Illy caught his wrist,
"Don't bother, he's not going to hurt anyone…and I think he knew my dad." She told him as she stared off into space. Draco considered leaving to get Snape anyway, but decided against leaving her with that kind of blank stare on her face, she might have left the country by the time he got back. He had learned over the last months that anytime she was thinking too hard to pay attention to what was going on around her, it could easily be followed up by an action of drastic, and even stupid measures.
"Your real dad?" He finally asked.
"Yeah, just before he left he apologized for how he and James used to treat him, and he said he didn't mean to make him go 'that way'" She relayed with little emotion. Her mind was swimming with the possibility of finding out who her father was, through Sirius. She was half way though plotting out a way to catch up with the dog when Draco spoke up.
"Speaking of parents, maybe you should go talk to Snape about your parents today."
"Why ruin such a lovely Sunday?" She asked with a shrug. "Now, help me find some clothing that aren't torn to bits." She instructed while she began picking through the remains of her wardrobe herself.
"Nice skivs." Draco taunted as he held up a soft yellow toned pair of bikini underwear, the white ribbons that made up their sides had been ripped in half.
"These ones are even better." She told him as she held up a red thong, which was now nothing more than a limp strip of fabric, void of any shape.
"Here are my jeans, totally ruined of course." Draco said with a roll of his eyes.
"Those will work; they were already torn to bits." She told him as she took the pants from him.
"You might want these too." He offered as he handed over a pair of panties. "Black boyshorts with baby blue ruffles…where do you get these things?" He asked with a chuckle.
"From very expensive French lingerie stores, and now they're ruined. Turn around so I can change." She commanded. Draco smiled and continued to pick through the ruined clothing all over the floor, tossing things into piles of ruined and safe. Illy scooped a black Queen t-shirt off the floor and pulled it one before turning to Draco.
"Damage report." She requested. He sighed before he began listing off clothing,
"He took out both of your striped sleeveless shirts, two cashmere sweaters, your winter coat, three cardigans, your skinny jeans, some other pair of jeans," He stopped long enough to hold up the pieces to something linen and white and try to figure out what they were, "your white pants," He finally decided, "your khakis, both of your long skirts, your denim mini, grey running shorts, both high-wasted shorts we bought the other day, that ugly white cocktail dress," He continued as he held up a short haltered white dress, "your long blue dress, your pink mobster's girlfriend dress," He said with a snicker as he tossed aside the once skin tight, obscenely short, square neck item, "both sun dresses, my black shirt, your dark brown sweater, your red polka dot hooker top" The shirt she had changed out of before the first time she met Magda was tossed into the dead clothing pile "and the baby blue one with white lace too…and all of your tank tops except a purple one, a black one, a white one, and a grey one, and two scarves." Draco listed off as he picked up the articles of clothing the got them ready to be disposed of.
"Fuck, he chewed through my high-tops, every pair of silk stocking I own, three swimsuits, and all my heels too!" Illy screamed as she added ten pairs of shoes and a jumble of clothing to the pile.
"Well, on the down side, you can't work the street corner anymore." Draco teased.
"Yeah, and I only have two bras and four pairs of underwear intact."
"But that means we get to go shopping again." He finished with a smile.
"Thanks but I'll survive until this summer. I think that I can live with five pack knickers." She said as she started to stuff the clothing back into her trunk, carefully folding the whole articles, while she threw the rest in carelessly.
"What are you going to do with all the stuff that got ruined?"
"I don't know yet, but I can't exactly just walk to the nearest trash can with this much stuff. With everyone looking for Sirius I think I might get interrogated for my suspicious behavior." Illy explained as she began to pick up the glass from several of her shattered potions.
"I guess we can just get rid of it at my house." He told her while he mopped up the mess of liquid all over the floor with a ruined sweater.
"That fucking bastard is a lot more trouble than he's worth if you ask me." Draco jeered as the two made their way towards the library, books in hand. Illy found an empty table near the marked off section and settled in to start on her herbology reports. Her plant was in its third week and she had only put down one line entries in her log book so far, which wasn't making Madam Sprout very happy.
"Have you gone over your star charts?" Draco asked Illy as soon as he sat down across from her.
"I don't have divination." She reminded him without taking her eyes from the book in front of her. Draco sighed and began on his work, copying down the names of the planets, then moons, then stars, then comets, then asteroid belts and so on.
"What time is quidditch practice?" She asked him suddenly breaking the thirty minutes of silence that had fallen on the table.
"I think it starts right after dinner, but if you want we can skip the meal and head out." Draco offered.
"I'm thinking I might skip and spend the time in here. I have to get my grade in Sprouts class up, and I've been spending my free period running errands for Gringott's."
"You really do need to quit that stupid job; it's going to kill your grades if you keep it up."
"Why do you think I'm focused on the female teachers? I can't exactly flash them some thigh and expect my grade to go up can I?"
"Only Lupin would fall for that."
"Lupin and Flitwick actually, that dirty old man." She said with a wink.
"And you call me a man whore?"
"That's probably because you are." Ron's voice came from behind.
"Hey Ron." Illy and Draco said in unison, both of them leaving their eyes glued to the books in front of them.
"Killious, just so you know, Binns gave us an extension on the Troll expansionism paper." Hermione said sweetly.
"One less lap dance Illy!" Draco jeered.
"What on earth are you talking about?" Hermione inquired.
"He's not talking about anything." Illy snapped with a smiled. Draco chuckled, and returned to his work silently.
"Where's Harry?" Illy asked Hermione and Ron.
"He's on his way, he got held up by Snape." Hermione explained.
"I'm right here." Harry said out of breath. Illy looked up from her work for the first time to see Harry taking a seat by her.
"What happened?"
"Snape let me off the hook for a bunch of those detentions." Harry said with a bright smile. Illy gave him a small kiss on the cheek and started on her work again.
"I told you he's not all that bad." She said quietly.
"He's still a jerk, even if you managed to talk him out of acting like one." Harry pouted.
"Don't pout Harry, it's unbecoming." Illy scolded.
"Don't tell me what to do." Harry snapped.
"Oh please don't start again." Hermione begged.
"Start what?" Harry asked.
"Don't start fighting!" Ron, Draco, and Hermione all said at once.
"Calm down, I'm far too satiated to fight with him." Illy told them all serenely.
"What and I'm not calm?" Harry asked in irritation.
"Of course you're calm dear." Illy told him kindly. Harry smiled and laid his head on her shoulder.
"I missed you at breakfast and lunch." He murmured. Illy shot a knowing glance at Draco before replying,
"I was having a lay about." She responded finally. Draco visibly suppressed a laugh and did his best to keep his face down while he worked.
"Is that your star chart?" Ron asked Draco suddenly, as he had just noticed what the piece of paper the blond was working on was.
"Yes it is. Do you want to check yours against it?" Draco offered.
"Illy checks our charts." Harry said briefly.
"She doesn't even have the class." Draco reminded Harry.
"I know that. It doesn't make her any worse at divinations; in fact it proves she's better."
"Doesn't that seem like a lot of excessive work for your girlfriend?" Draco asked, his temper obviously rising.
"She doesn't mind doing it. And besides she has a free hour that none of us have during the day."
"She works during the day. She doesn't just have time to sit around and do your work." Draco replied, now breeching into ill-tempered anger.
"You know what Malfoy, why don't you just shut your mouth. She doesn't have to do anything she doesn't want to, so leave it!" Harry threatened.
"Fuck, I'm calm for once and the two of you go at it." Illy chided dryly.
"They fight all the time when you're not around." Ron told her.
"And they fight all the time when I am around, so I guess they just fight all the time in general."
"Worse than us I s'pose, ay Herm?" Ron teased. Hermione only narrowed her eyes and let out a "hmph" of disapproval.
"I'm just saying that you shouldn't act like she has all the time in the world to do homework for you." Draco defended.
"Well she seems to have all the time in the world to sit around with you."
"We were both doing homework Potter!" Draco retorted incredulously as he started to pack up his bag. "You can look over this if you want." Draco told Ron as he handed him the rolled up chart and turned to leave. "I'll see you at practice in a few hours." He called over his shoulder bitterly to Illy as a goodbye.
The next afternoon Illy and Draco found themselves wandering into Lupin's classroom after much prompting from Snape during class. Draco had followed through with his promise and come along, though Snape's absence made him wonder if there was much point seeing as Lupin didn't really have any expertise or know Illy all that well. Still, it seemed better than trying to come up with some other excuse to get her away from Potter, he thought to himself. It also sounded better than thinking about the owl his parents had sent that morning, let alone explaining it to Illy. He sighed from his spot a step or two behind her and pushed the letter to the back of his mind. It made him feel uneasy just to let it slip into his conscious consideration while she was around.
"I slept all day Sunday and I was still fucking exhausted!" Illy complained to Lupin as she dropped her bag on his desk. Draco did the same and nodded to the teacher slightly before taking up the seat that Snape had been in the last time Illy had, had a private lesson with Lupin.
"So Moony, what are we starting with?" She asked Lupin as her lips curved into a smile.
"Where'd you hear that name from?" He asked her seriously.
"From a friend. He hasn't seen you in ages; we had a chat the other day though." She told him calmly. Lupin tensed up, clearly unsure as to how he could best test the waters.
"I suppose if I ask you who it was, you'd just say a birdie told you."
"No, I'd say a gargantuan lumbering black dog told me, just after the bugger tore through all my clothing and broke half my shit." Illy told him straightforwardly.
"Oh...in that case…"
"I've already arranged a meeting, the night of Buckbeak's execution you need to follow Harry and his friends out towards the edge of the forest; he'll be waiting for you."
"And I suppose that you'll be coming along as well?"
"Actually I'm going to have a fight with Snape, get upset, and run off a few hours early, so I'll be with him by then."
"Why the fight?" Draco suddenly spoke up.
"He'd be bloody well pissed at me if I just up and disappeared and I don't want him bringing this whole beautifully orchestrated plan down, so you're going to make sure he doesn't come after me when our fight is over, and then when I return later that night, he'll have no choice but to forgive me. He can't stand to hate someone for more than a few minutes." She told them matter-of-factly.
"I beg to differ." Lupin said flatly.
"So do I." Draco admitted.
"You deserve it…well your friends do at least, and it's not like you had enough of a backbone to tell them to stop tormenting him." She scolded.
"I see that you don't spare your teachers when you feel like reprimanding someone."
"Why should I? You four acted like a bunch of pricks."
"You certainly know a lot about his years at Hogwarts." Lupin said bitterly.
"We talk a lot…" Illy stopped short as she realized that she had no explanation for why Snape had taken such a liking to her. "…we just do." She finally said.
"Potter's dad's friends aren't the only people he stays mad at. He failed everything I turned in for a week after that incident, until I filled in some gaps you had left that is." Draco said spitefully.
"Draco, he forgave you, and he didn't turn you in, any other teachers would have fed your ass to Fang if you pulled that." She reminded Draco.
"D'you think maybe we should get started?" Lupin suggested. Illy and Draco stopped their discussion and turned their attention towards Lupin. Both of them seemed to be debating how to react to the teacher, who now really had no right to tell them to be quiet, as they were giving him time that they could have been using for a million other things. Illy spoke first,
"No…I think we should finish talking about how I'm right." She decided.
"Bloody hell! If you want to fight with someone fight with the douche whose taking up all our time." Draco snapped. Lupin's eyes widened with shock as the two glared at one another. The seconds ticked by silently, and the teacher stood deathly still, waiting to see what would happen.
"Maybe we should all calm down." He suggested. Draco and Illy burst into laughter, clutching one another for support at the sight of Lupin's face. Finally Illy regained her composure.
"We were just screwing with you, I'm not that much of a bitch." Illy told him with a final chuckle. Lupin let the breath he had been holding escape his lungs with a grin.
"Sirius must have gotten a kick out of you." He told her.
"He's a perv just like you if that what you mean." Illy said.
"Lupin's not a perv you just dress like a hoebag." Draco taunted under his breath. Lupin smirked.
"Actually I just meant that you're a lot like a girl he used to go with." Lupin told her.
"Really? Hey Draco maybe I'll run away with the deranged sociopath." She teased.
"Anything's better than Potter." He replied.
"Yeah, just like her, it was this girl Adella. Blond girl in our year way back then, but she dumped him and ended up getting killed by you-know-who a few months before the end of the war, it was sort of odd though, she was his right hand man." Lupin finished sadly. Illy and Draco caught the soberness of the room and followed it. "Ask Snape about her some time. He probably knows what happened to her kid."
"She had a kid? And the dark lord just killed her." Illy asked.
"He killed James and Lilly too." Lupin reminded.
"But they weren't in league with him." Draco breathed. The room went silent, everyone's stomach was turning for one reason or another as the weight of the discussion settled in.
"Let's get started." Illy said finally. Lupin nodded and turned back to his desk.
"Chocolate first, then we'll start." He told them with a weak smile as he offered the candy. Illy took in the chocolate, but it didn't help. If the mood in the room was because of Dementors, she doubted that she'd have felt it anyway, they never bothered her before. They didn't even notice her, she lived her worst fears too often to notice when it was something else that made them come up.
"So, how is the defense against the dark arts teacher who knows absolutely nothing about extra sensory perception going to teach little old me how to become a skilled pentaparaphetic?"
"Well, we can start by doing routine exercises, and by reminding ourselves that we don't even know if you're at all psychic, let alone and pentaparaphetic."
"In that case is this necessary?" Draco mumbled.
"Yes it's necessary. Now the first thing that we need to go over is focus. You have to understand that just like your magic, none of this works on its own properly. Sure, every now and again you might black out and get a prophecy or hurl a vase at someone's head, but in order to really make use of your gifts; you're going to need to focus on controlling them."
"And how do I do that?"
"That's the part I'm not entirely qualified to tell you. I've done a lot of research, and I'm going to open up the closed section of the library to you so that you can do research on your own, but in honesty the most I've found thus far is that you need total control of your emotions, just focus on the task at hand and command yourself to perform. But then again, that's what you have to do to make most things in life work out isn't it?"
"Now that you're done with your fortune cookie bullshit, what do you want me to do?" "I figured that we could focus on telepathy. I need you to do your best not to use your knowledge of Draco's personality and Draco, you focus on a single distinct thought. We'll just try to take it from there." Lupin suggested with a fainthearted smile.
"Will proximity make it easier?" Draco asked as he rose from his chair to stand across from Illy.
"In theory all of this should work the same way that Oclumancy does. Trained mental art that some people can just do, and others have to train with magic for. The only difference being muggles can't pick up Oclumancy to its full extent without magical power, and there have been a few that managed to master telepathy and other paraphetic gifts. So, I guess my answer is, in theory yes." Lupin informed.
Illy narrowed her eyes as Draco moved within an inch of her body. His breath caught ever so slightly in his chest as she focused in on him. She could tell he was nervous, and it was hard not to take the easy way out and just use Oclumancy, which she was actually trained in, to figure out why. He took in a deep breath and began to mentally shout the thought he had been forming in his mind.
'Just l- a- the c-f-' She could pick up whispers at first. She focused harder on the image of Draco in her mind, she could feel the world around her blacking out. 'Just like at the c-f-' he repeated steadily. Illy's eyes swirled with a storm of color as she concentrated further on her target. 'Just like at the café!' he shouted to her finally.
'Jesus, you don't have to yell!' she shouted back.
'I thought it would help you, and it's keeping the rest of my mind quiet' he started. But then the thought that Draco had been avoiding all afternoon suddenly broke through, in a split second he could recall everything that the letter said and everything it meant, it was less than a second before he found his voice, "Illy why won't you just stop looking at it?" Draco asked out loud. Illy's eyes resumed their normal grey color rapidly. Her head felt fuzzy right away and her knees gave way beneath her. Draco reached out to catch her just before she fell, pulling her gently towards the chair.
"How'd I do?" She asked after a few seconds of both Lupin and Draco holding their breath, during which she had been trying to focus on what she had found buried in Draco's mind.
"As far as I could tell you did well." Lupin mumbled.
"Why do I always get so dizzy and tired after?" She asked crossly.
"My guess is that unless you're the one breaking the train of focus it would exhaust you to be suddenly cut off. This isn't a share the burden kind of thing. You do all the work, Draco just receives it."
"Thanks for making me feel useful." Draco mumbled under his breath.
"Look, I have to get to a study session with Herm and Jackquinn in ten, so just give me my homework or whatever and I'll see you next week okay?" Illy asked in a flushed and dazed voice. She could feel her heart still beating a bit too fast and her eyes focused in and out on the figure of Draco helping her up from her chair.
"Are you sure you don't want me to cancel? You can barely walk." Draco offered.
"I don't need help. And I'm not canceling." She snapped as she pulled her arm away from Draco.
"Illy, you're being a little bit hostile, are you sure you're okay?" Lupin questioned softly as he reached an arm out to stop her from leaving.
"I'm not fucking hostile, I just want to go." She barked at him as she dodged his arm and used her sleeve to wipe back a few tears that were trying to loose themselves.
"Killy, please, let me just explain it." Draco begged.
"There's nothing to explain, your business is your business, I just don't want to be late to our group. I'll talk to you tonight if you really must." She promised as she reached the door.
"Please, don't let it go, yell at me or something." Draco pleaded.
"What's going on? First she's impartial, then she's angry, and now she's bloody well crying explain this." Lupin demanded.
"Draco, can you please, I've really got to go." Illy choked out as she opened the door. The bit of red around her eyes had spread to her nose and cheeks.
"You can't leave." Lupin decided. He pointed his wand towards the door and it quickly snapped shut in Illy's face. Her face was already starting to puff up and her lashes were matted with water, she took in a deep breath and did best to keep any tears from spilling over onto her face.
"Go fuck yourself Lupin." She grumbled as she tapped the handle once with her own wand, threw the door open, and stormed out of the room.
"Draco, if she's getting emotional she could hurt herself. She's more susceptible to an accidental vision or anything else. She could bring the roof down on herself without even trying if she gets too upset."
"She'll be fine." Draco assured in a solemn tone. Lupin put his hands over his face and let out a sigh.
"What the hell happened?"
"She can talk to me…but she also sees whatever I do, I just thought of the wrong thing at the wrong moment."
"So what upset her that much?"
"Several things…I got a letter from home yesterday evening." Draco told Lupin uninterestedly, he slipped the yellowed parchment from his jacket and handed it over to the teacher.
Dearest Draco,
Daddums and I just got the paperwork back from Mr. Parkinson! You and Pansy will be officially betrothed on your eighteenth birthday. The date was later than we'd hoped for, because of her father of course, who insisted that his daughter not be told about our arrangements and be proposed to properly and all, but in return you will be given the McAllister estate which he was going to sell. It's a nice starter for the two of you, three stories, wine cellar, stables, lots of open land, good game for hunting, and fully staffed with elf's all just waiting for the two of you.
We also got back the paper work concerning your friend who's staying in the summer. Lucious won't get me a picture of her or anything; it's quite upsetting to say the least. He's so stubborn about the most trivial things. But anyway, the ministry seems to not have any information about her parents on record, she must have truly been a bastard child, but we have decided to treat her as though she was a direct descent of Vladimir and Annabelle, which would make her quite prestigious and respectable in blood.
I must say that I am excited to see how she is. You should tell me more about her. I only hope that she has no wish to steal Pansy's right to wed you. But you said she was with another boy, so we'll trust that your plaything doesn't get in too deep. Only make sure you go over the schedule that I sent for the summer, I wouldn't want you and her being affectionate when guests are in, it might upset Pansy's father.
Love you so much dear, take care,
-Narcissa M.
Son,
I am not going to tell your mother about who your friend is. Her parents were far less than reputable in my opinion, but I shall refrain from informing anyone other than you as such. Do be careful though, if I find out that you've done anything that could nullify our contract with the Parkinson's it will be the end of her.
Since she's dating Potter I think that it's best if she be hidden anytime guests are present. Dumbledore has assured me that she will be well behaved and often checked on, so keep your filthy pet in check or I will. Do well in school; remember your family honor,
Lucious Malfoy
Post Script: The disgusting beast from your class is scheduled for execution.
"Do you want to talk about this?" Lupin asked Draco as he handed back the sheet of parchment. Draco quietly tucked the letter away and gathered his book bag.
"Didn't you hear her? She said tonight if I must." Draco mumbled.
"I mean do you want to talk to someone about your parents. Your father mostly…"
"I never want to talk about him."
"He's suggesting that you and Illy are going to spend the whole summer…well, you know, doing…that." Lupin finished strenuously.
"If it was up to me we would." Draco said with a wink as he looked up at the painted ceiling above him.
"I'm serious Draco, I can talk to Dumbledore if your want, or Snape, someone."
"I asked Snape for help with something important once…I don't need help from anyone. But thanks none-the-less." He let out with a sigh as he too made his way for the door.
"Draco, she shouldn't be mad at you about this. None of it's your fault…except maybe the Buckbeak part…but still."
"She's not mad at me…I just wish she was." He told Lupin wistfully as he pulled open the door and disappeared behind it.
Draco sat beside Illy staring attentively into the flames before them. She had calmed down since earlier that afternoon, but he still felt terrible. Little chutes of fire cracked and jumped for the top of the fireplace only to be cast back down.
"Draco, I'm not mad at you…you really don't need to do this."
"Trust me, I want to." He told her diminutively.
"You practically swallowed the tail end of that sentence, I high doubt that you really want to."
"He's my dad. I can burn his letters if I want." He told her firmly before crossing the little distance to the fire and tossing in a handful of letters. The parchment burned up almost instantly before him, his lips creased into a reflexive grimace, which only made the frown further itself, he had thought that the sight would make him smile. He hoped that it would, but in the end he stood feeling less relived of a burden and more like someone had ripped out his innards. Illy's breathing was shallow and silent as she watched him stare intently into the flames. His long hair fell into the front of his face, hiding any bit of his stormy blue eyes she might have seen. She bit her lip and glanced around the room, almost afraid that someone might see what she was going to do. She sucked in a singular deep breath and focused on Draco intently. His mind was quiet, how it should be, she thought to herself. His thoughts should be private and soft and quiet, she decided as she prodded for a current whisper that she could capture and listen in on.
'Be still…breath…suck it all in…be quiet…she won't notice.' Draco chanted to himself softly. Illy's chest fluttered as she felt the tears from Draco's eyes slide warmly down her cheeks, stinging her face as they went. His frustration bubbled over into her more and more as she listened to him speak, her palms were growing sweaty in the silence of reality, she had to say something, 'Illy will notice if you don't.' She took the cue and dismissed herself peacefully from a mind for the first time. Lupin was right, she wasn't dizzy or tired.
"I thought this would feel different." He said quietly after a long silence.
"He's still your father. He's a part of you; you can't hate yourself for not wanting to burn everything he's written to you in the last year." Illy did her best to hide the movement that her hands made as she checked her cheeks for tears, but there were none, there wasn't even sweat on her palms.
"I wish I could hate him…I'm better at hating me than hating him, that's not even fair."
"Come here." She finally instructed. Draco turned almost immediately to go sit with her, resting his head on her lap.
"Will you stay with me tonight? I'll buy you another library." He promised childishly.
"I still haven't gotten the first one." She teased while she played with his hair. "Draco I can't fix the problem, only you can, there are some battles in life that no one can help you with, and your decisions concerning how you feel about your father is one of the battles you need to go alone."
"You might not be able to fix it…but you can make me feel better."
"If you just want a momentary fix anyone would do." She told him with a roll of her eyes. Draco sat up abruptly and turned to face her.
"Anyone might make me feel less lonely, but only you can make me feel better." He promised as he leaned his head onto her shoulder. She sighed and let her head rest on top of his while they both dozed in front of the warm fire.
"Hey silly, stop chickening out!" a fluid cool voice called from Illy's throat, or whomever's throat she happened to be. It was a dream, she could tell already. Hogwarts' library looked almost the same as it had just yesterday afternoon, but she could see where a few racks of extra text books stood, sporting different shapes and titles for things like herbology and defense against the dark arts. She was in a girl's body, she could tell from the high voice and the way the girl accentuated the swagger of her hips.
"I'm not chickening out, I just need to study more for the potions test." A young sniveling voice called from a desk in the far back corner of the library. She chuckled to herself and walked towards the boys voice quickly.
"You couldn't fail that test if you tried, and neither could I, and we're partners, there's nothing to worry about Sevvy." She assured with a roll of her eyes. Severus Snape looked up from the book her was pouring over, his face was even thinner, his eyes beadier, and his hair was just slightly longer and more unruly around the tips.
"I wish you wouldn't call me that in public." He hissed.
"We're not in public. No one is enough of a twat to really stay out of the forbidden forest; even Sirius and Lupin are down there." She whined as she tugged at his bony hand.
"That's two more reasons not to go if you ask me." Severus grunted. The girl would not be deterred from her quest to see whatever it was.
"I'm not with Sirius anymore, obviously, and James is off snogging Lily so he won't even act like a jackass." She promised.
"What if we get caught?" He protested as she shoved things into his bag.
"We'll get a detention, so what? We'll be serving it with the rest of the bloody fucking school so who cares?"
"I care. I have a perfect record in this school Adella, and I know that doesn't mean a thing to you, but…but…but its just important ok?"
"You won't get in trouble, but if we don't hurry we're going to miss it!" She urged as she pulled him up from the desk.
"I don't even care. Who wants to see a almost dead unicorn stagger to the edge of the forest and let out its final bleating farewell to the earth?" He asked in exasperation before looking up from his feet to stare into her eyes. His face went blank for a moment.
"Oh…right, you would. I don't get how someone like you can love watching things die so much." He said with a sigh as they started out of the library hand in hand.
"Guess it's in my blood." She said with a smile and a shrug. Snape stopped moving and pulled her towards him softly.
"Don't say that. When we have kids they won't love watching things die, and when you say that it's like guaranteeing it."
"How about you don't ever say we're going to have kids, you know he won't let me do that. And besides I was just kidding. And besides, I don't want to see it die, I just want to know what killed it that's all." She assured him as she brushed her the back of her hand across his cheek.
"One day he won't have authority in the matter." Snape promised.
"You're still hung up on that crap Lilly fed you huh? Face it Sevvy, you're going to have to join him one-hundred percent or have him kill you, and what good will that do? And besides, he's just protective of me is all, that's nothing to hold against him." She chided.
"We're probably too late by now anyway, let's just go study." Snape resigned sadly.
"Hey, don't get like that, I hate it when you're sad." She told him with a smile. "And whenever you get like this there's only one way to fix it," She said seductively.
"Oh really, and that would be?" Snape asked with irritated obliviousness. She rolled her eyes and pulled him into a kiss.
Illy was fighting against her dream as hard as she could while they picked up pace through the hall and headed for the prefects bathroom. Adella gave the password to the door and stepped inside, pulling Severus along behind her. He slowly unhooked her cloak and started to unbutton her shirt, stopping after every few seconds to kiss her and nibble at her neck and collar bone.
"You're so slow Sevvy." She finally said with a giggle. Severus stopped and stepped back, half joking and half serious.
"Forgive me for trying to be romantic." He teased. She narrowed her eyes and pushed Severus against a wall, before she began to practically rip the clothing from his body. In a matter of seconds he was down to beltless pants and she stopped to look him in the eye.
"What if I don't want you to be romantic right now?" She asked him darkly.
"Then I won't waste my breath." He told her before he began to strip her with the same ferocity.
"ENOUGH!" Illy yelled out to wake herself.
"What's wrong?" Draco asked her quickly. Illy tried to look around in the dark to find out where his voice was coming from, but without windows the dungeon's were pitch-black at night.
"What the fuck are you doing in my bed?" She snapped.
"You're in my bed number one, and number two, why the hell are you having kinky dreams about our potions professor calling you Adella?" Draco seethed. Illy was silent, she moused away from Draco's side of the bed and curled into a ball.
"I was close enough for you to see that dream then…" She muttered under her breath.
"No, actually I've seen all of your dreams since that night in the hospital wing. I just didn't tell you because I thought you'd get mad.1" He confessed.
"I think that the Adella from the dream was the same on Lupin told us about earlier today." She said to keep herself from screaming at Draco.
"It's fine if you're mad, but just know that it's not my fault." He told her as he tried to pull her closer to him.
"Draco how in the fuck did I end up in this bed?" She asked with irritation.
"You fell asleep, and I can get into the girls dorm, and then I was catching bits of your dream whenever I touched you, and I couldn't just leave you there, so I brought you here." He explained. "And don't act like I stripped you down and took advantage of you in your sleep either, because all of your clothes are still on and so are mine, save shoes, those could have fucked up my sheets."
"If my shoes are dirty enough to fuck up your sheets than the women you've had in here have certainly ruined them by now." She retorted with a roll of her eyes. They were both quiet for a few moments before Draco's soft question rang out through the dark,
"Do you think your other dreams are maybe just bad dreams too? I mean like the ones with me in the future. Maybe it's just on your mind and it's not a prophecy or anything like that." He suggested.
"I don't know Draco. I guess I'd have to ask Snape if it ever happened, but I'm not feeling like either of us will want to talk about that dream specifically so it'll be an awkward subject." She replied softly. Draco moved closer to her, resting his face on her shoulder blade.
"Try not to dream anything too weird this time." He teased as he kissed the fabric of her shirt and let her fall back into a light slumber.
She let out a small whelp from the feel of the fire that was dragging itself across the back of her leg and then sealed her mouth shut again. She was learning quickly to control herself. Sir's newest game made it essential. He had bound her wrists and ankles with a thin metal wire. Each of them spread out so that she was constantly on her hands and knees, unable to move, as he had also bound the wires to small metal wrings in the ground. The more she pulled against them the worse it hurt. Her wrists and ankles were crusted over with blood from the first day. The thin appearance of the wire gave off and illusion of fragility. It was not fragile at all, but it was made of several pieces of wire wound together so pulling at the makeshift cuffs produced a serrated effect on her soft body parts. Sir had been using anything he could think of to cause enough short-term pain to make her jump or pull or fall over so that the cuffs rubbed off more skin. He had a hot poker today.
"You're faring better and better you filthy cunt." He smiled to himself. Some part of him enjoyed making her learn things. He prided himself as a teacher. "I'm going to make you so good at this you won't ever move unless I say." He laughed. She only nodded her head and bit her lip nervously. Waiting for the next gentle brush from the glowing red instrument. It touched down on her spine and she bit through her lip trying to be still. She spit her mouthful of blood onto the ground.
"What's that?" Sir demanded as he lifted up her chin. "It's unbecoming of a lady to spit. You wouldn't know that because you're a common whore, but really, in my presence you can at least drool." He told her sharply as he placed a dish beneath her. She let the blood fall down. Slick and mixed with saliva it dripped and when a big enough drop rolled down the string from her mouth it would stick to the bowl and the rest would come up, only a few inches from her mouth; like a child playing with their own spit. Sir was moving around behind her. Taking something from the small leather bag he brought in with him.
"My boy has been down to see you several times lately." He told her. "Even though I punished him. You must be seducing him. I don't see how my purebred son can be interested in something as filthy as you but he is. So I've decided the best way to solve the problem is to make you force him to leave." He explained as he walked around from behind her to stand directly in her line of vision. "So I brought this. You'll remember that he is my child, and then you will know he wants you only for what I use you." Sir's lips curved into the smile that made her sick as he placed a standing photo of young sir on the ground where she could see it. The young blond child was practicing with his wand. Stunning small animals like squirrels and rabbits.
"He kills things too." Sir breathed in her ear before he walked back behind her and crouched down to his knees. Seconds later he pushed into her and she let out a silent and small cry. He pushed as hard as he could, deep inside her. She tried to close her eyes but couldn't take them off the photo as Sir moved faster. Her head started to hurt and she was blacking out slowly, she just kept staring at the picture. Promising herself young sir would never hurt her. She could feel noises against her ears, and not just Sir's grunts and snickers. Something was buzzing in her ears and she could feel the noises landing but not quite making it inside. The same feeling over and over, a dull drumming one syllable something. It was getting closer and louder as Sir was getting nearer his release. Then the word came through clear, distinct. She felt it rush in through her ears and all through her head, her bones, her blood, and out of her mouth,
"NO!" She screamed once and the picture flew from its place in front of her to the far wall, shattering and igniting all at once. Sir's eyes were closed as he had just peaked but the shatter distracted him. He looked at the small heap of flame and withdrew himself.
"What did you do?" He demanded. She was silently. Only staring intently at the flames licking up the last of the curling photo paper. "Tell me what you did right now you filthy cretin!" She was still silent. She fixed more narrowly at the flames and they began to grown, stretching up towards the roof with all their might. "That quite enough!" Sir reprimanded her. "Aguamenti" He demurely commanded as he watched flames die. He turned back to her. "So, you think this makes you any better than a muggle?" He asked her with a sneer. "It doesn't. Now your just a filthy mudblood." With that he turned to leave her there, still naked, and still bound.
Illy woke up without much of a start. She looked over her shoulder for Draco but he had already left. It was a calming feeling, waking up in his bed, even if he wasn't there. She felt safe and protected, just because it was his bed. After a few moments of dwelling on this little thought she sat up and began to wipe the sleep from her eyes. Everyone else was still in his bed, sleeping through the dark hours of morning. Illy got up and headed to her room to change for her morning run. At the same time, Draco was coming to the end of his morning stroll, already in his robes for the morning; as he was prepared for the impending discussion to last a decent amount of time. His fingers rapped on Snape's door impatiently.
1 Draco tells Illy that he has been sharing her dreams.
