A/N: Decided to update sooner than I would have since you guys had to wait so long to see this story continue. Where are my reviewers? I'm sad that I don't get any...WAHHH BOOHOO lolz. Anyway I hope you guys that are still reading this enjoy this next installment and don't be afraid to let me know what you think. Good, bad, polka dot or panda, let me know!
WARNING: SOME USAGE OF THE "F" WORD...
A crowd of students were gathered just outside of Hagrid's hut awaiting their next lesson in Care of Magical Creatures. Raven conversed quietly among the Golden Trio and Seamus, who was not so subtly flirting with her in his carefree Irish way. She laughed but her spidey senses tingled; Draco always managing to intrude on her good humor. She glanced over to see the Slytherins huddled together in their own snobbish clique, probably discussing ways to improve fucking somebody's day up. Pansy kept looking at Draco and then turned to glare at her.
(What the fuck is her problem now? Of course, her face always looks like that. Like a rabid boar.)
Raven ignored her then shared a joke with Seamus, making him laugh and nudge her shoulder with his. Draco's eyes zeroed in on the disturbance in his little brood fest, glowering at the friendly banter between the two.
(Great, now she's got that big lummox of an Irish twat riding her skirt. Look at her, eating up everything he says. I always have to watch her give attention to other men and-JESUS, Pansy; you need to find someone else to fixate upon besides me. Why was I so stupid?)
Conversation took a turn and all gazes focused in on Hagrid as he led two huge creatures into the corral on sturdy chain leashes. The great beasts surveyed the students with sharp, yellow, bird-like eyes above dangerously curved beaks. Strong, feathered wings lay folded upon the backs of their horse-like bodies, clawed feet made nervous furrows in the dirt. Some of the younger students backed up along the fence to steer clear of all pointy bits.
"Say hello ter Crumpet and Buckbeak. These beautiful fellows are Hippogriffs. As you can see, they're very docile and friendly…well…when nobody's rilin' them up. Don' worry yerselves too much. As long as ya follow the rules, ye'll be jus' fine." Hagrid cheerfully explained, patting Buckbeak affectionately on the neck.
"Who wants ter go first?" he asked. There was shifting from foot to foot and glances cast at one another but no one was willing to be the first to test the waters. Though Raven adored all animals magical or not, even she couldn't quite find the courage to jump into the unknown.
"They won' bite. Er…Harry, come up and give it a go." The crowd parted swiftly like the Red Sea to leave Harry and his friends standing in the open.
"Well, go on mate. It probably won't kill you." Whispered Ron in encouragement.
"Oh shut up, Ron. Harry you'll be fine. Hagrid wouldn't let anything happen to you…I hope." Said Hermione, chewing her lip in uncertainty. Harry shook his head before putting his best foot forward. Hagrid beamed at him, stepping a couple feet way from the Hippogriff, but keeping hold of the tether.
"Alrigh' Harry, first don' look 'im in the eye. He needs ter know that yer not here to challenge 'im. Good, now bow slowly from the waist and stay still. If he decides he trusts ye, he'll bow ter you, then ye can come up and give 'im a pet." Harry nodded, and with his gaze averted, bent forward and waited for the verdict. Buckbeak ruffled his feathers a bit and clicked his beak a few times, sizing up the human in front of him. Then he too, bowed. Most of the class clapped and released their held breath as a whole as Harry walked forward to stroke one sleek wing.
(Yeah, yeah, once again The Chosen One excels. I'm Harry Potter. I rule the school. Look at my trendy scar. I defeat Voldemort year after year, though I wouldn't know my head from my arse if it weren't for that mud-blood, Granger. Golden boy little prick.)
Harry walked back to the group while Seamus stepped forward to take his turn. He mimicked Potter's actions with Crumpet, succeeding when the bow was reciprocated. Raven clapped enthusiastically.
"Good going, Seamus, you were wonderful!"
(Oh for the love of Salazar! What's a bloke got to do to- oh FUCK IT! I'll show everyone!)
Draco pushed off the fence and strode with determination towards Seamus, shoving him out of the way. The act of aggression startled the hippogriffs and they began to get angry, beaks snapping harshly. Crumpet screeched at Malfoy as he drew near. Draco waved his arms at it.
"Oi, shut up you big, stupid beast!"
"You git, Malfoy! What the fuck do you think you're doing? Get away from it!" yelled Raven, angry and panicked.
"What? Don't think I'm man enough to handle a dumb animal?" he retorted in irritation.
"Goddamit put your ego aside for one bloody minute you thick headed dolt, before you get someone killed!" Out of nowhere a rock was thrown and landed squarely into her side. She whipped around to find Pansy giggling hatefully and looking superior.
"Oh, you want some too, bitch? Okay then!" with a red haze clouding her vision, Raven ran at Pansy and made a swipe at that ugly, gloating face of hers.
"Oi! Stop fightin' righ' now! Yer scarin' 'em!" ordered Hagrid, who currently had his hands full trying to calm down the agitated creatures.
"You stupid bitch! What are you playing at, huh?!" yelled Raven, who was shoving Pansy's howling face in the dirt.
"Get off me, whore!" she screamed, trying to buck the incensed girl off of her.
"Alrigh' that's enough!" a large, beefy hand wrapped around Raven's arm and hauled her up.
"Malfoy and Parkinson, ye've got detention with me tonight fer puttin' yerself and the class in danger and twenty points from yer house. I'm sorry Raven, but same goes fer you fer fightin'."
"But Professor!"
"There can't be fightin', I'm sure you understand." Raven sighed, her teeth grinding together.
"Yeah. I understand."
"Alrigh', let's try this again. Er…maybe you three should sit this one out. Cool yer tempers a bit." Hagrid suggested. Three sullen nods agreed with the sentiment and proceeded to stalk off in separate locations.
(Bloody detentions. Bloody Slytherins. Bloody men. Bloody psycho women! I'm getting behind in my Astronomy homework as it is and I still have to fill out more pages of my damn dream diary thing for Divinations. I suppose I can squeeze out some ridiculous nonsense before class tomorrow….Oh look at those two Slyther-fucks waiting on me. Good, that's what they get for ruining my night. Second time Malfoy. This is the second time you've done this to me.
…um, but wasn't it Pansy? ….
Oh yeah, I suppose that's true. He's still a git though.)
"Alrigh' we're all here. So ternight…"
"Excuse me, but shouldn't Trelawney lose points for being late? I mean it's only fair," whined Pansy, a mulish expression on her face.
"Give it a rest, Parkinson. If you don't mind, I'd like to get this over with before I freeze to death," said Draco in a calm, controlled drawl. Raven smirked at Pansy who pouted like a child being put in the corner. Hagrid cleared his throat and picked up where he left off.
"Tonigh' you three will help me with collectin' a special herb that grows in the Forbidden Forest. Professor Sprout needs 'em fer her studies. We'll be lookin' fer a plant with brigh' green foliage and glowin' blue petals. Now we'll go in two groups so we can cover more ground. Miss Parkinson ye'll go with me and Fang here. That leaves Malfoy and Trelawney. If ya run into any trouble, jus' send up some red sparks and we'll come find yeh. All clear?"
"Yes Professor." Replied Raven and Draco in unison; Pansy too busy gaping like a fish from being stuck with Hagrid and his slobbering mutt.
(Karma's a bitch, Pans. Suck it. Though now that means I'm spending a couple hours alone…with Malfoy. Alone in a dark forest with no supervision. What could go wrong? Insert insane laughter here.)
Raven swept past Draco to enter into the forest, leaving him to follow behind her. She felt tense being in such close proximity with the cold, arrogant boy.
"Lumos." She whispered, holding her now lit wand out in front of her. Draco followed suit, pooling his light with hers, making it a bit better to see what they were looking at. Neither said a word as they examined the flora and fauna that grew here and there; both unsure how to break the tension. Draco hung back a little bit, no longer studying the ground, but instead was watching Raven's form bent over to poke at something in the brush. A million things he wanted to say rushed to the surface, but nothing seemed quite right.
"I think I've found something. Can you bring your wand over here?" asked Raven.
(Come on you twat, say something to her. You finally have her to yourself and you're just going to waste it? Where'd your balls go Malfoy? On holiday?)
"Malfoy?" Raven called again impatiently.
(How should I start off without sounding like a prat?)
"Christ Malfoy, can you stop looking at my ass for two seconds and help me?" she groused, wondering what the hell he was doing back there. Draco's mouth opened and out came the most natural reaction.
"Oh don't tell me you hate attention on that arse of yours, pet. Not when you've got Blaise, that Finnegan ponce, and a horde of other men taking a gander." He shot back, immediately tasting the foot he'd just shoved in his stupid gob.
(Good job Draco. You broke the ice and managed sounding like a prat. No breaking out of character for you is there?)
"You rat-faced bastard! How dare you talk to me like that? I'm nothing like the sluts that you're accustomed to, so on that note why don't you trot along and find Pansy so I can finish this detention in peace."
"Don't be silly Rave; I'm not going to leave you alone in this damn forest. It's dangerous out here." He sighed, struggling to backpedal from a sure fight.
"Damn right it's dangerous. I'm pissed off!"
"I'm sorry."
"What?"
"I'm…sorry. I was wrong, happy? I reacted badly, but you're so frustrating to talk to." Raven spent a few moments glaring at him until surprisingly, she smiled.
"I know. Oh wipe the shock from your face Draco. I'm not always such a harpy. I know I can be difficult. Get used to it." He visibly relaxed and raised one elegant brow.
"Yes, you are difficult." He agreed.
"Don't push it." She warned, but the twinkle in her siren eyes softened her words. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly and he walked closer to her. She smiled nervously and took an unconscious step back. Taking note of her small retreat he stopped.
"I need to tell you something." He said, his tone turning to more serious things. Raven searched his face for clues, hoping he wouldn't ruin the sudden truce between them.
"I pretended to be with Pansy." He confessed. She sighed, looking down at her feet, feeling both elated and alarmed at the same time.
"Why would you do that?" she asked quietly, but she had a feeling. As if sensing this, Draco laughed softly.
"Why do you think, little bird?"
"I don't want to continue this particular conversation with you, Malfoy. I can't."
"Are you scared of where it might lead? That you keep making the wrong choice?" he pressed, not willing to let her remain with her stubborn head in the sand.
"You don't quit do you?" she asked in exasperation.
"Open your eyes Raven. You put Blaise on a fucking pedestal which makes you so blind to the fact that he's changed." Raven laughed and flung her hands up.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"The Blaise you see is not the same one the rest of us see. No, let me finish. I've known him most of my life, and the fact that he's become a stranger to me makes me uneasy. People don't just flip a switch like he has without a good reason Raven. He's up to something, and I think you need to pay closer attention to figure out his agenda."
"So Blaise, who's been your best mate for years, has suddenly gone psycho and has some hidden agenda that he plans to use to destroy us all. Have I covered all the bases?" raven scoffed in amused disbelief, unable to accept such a ludicrous accusation.
"Minus the sarcasm, yes. I believe it's possible."
"You know what I think Draco? I think you're just jealous of your friend. He's happy with me when you can't hold on to a relationship for more than a week. So you've decided to concoct some bullshit story to ruin everything we have. Who's the psycho now?" she burst out, ignoring the thread of guilt tugging at her heart. Draco's cheeks flushed with some unnamed emotion, his eyes glittering like hard diamonds in the glow of their wands. He hands itched to reach up and throttle her with all his might until she saw reason.
"This isn't about jealousy. This isn't because of my lack of meaningful relationships. Not because you chose someone over me. This is a warning, you stubborn little twit. I'm asking you to take my advice and be careful. Use that damn intelligence you Ravenclaws are so bloody proud of and fucking use it! For your sake you bloody woman!" Raven's wand faltered in her fingers, and she had to look away from the intensity flaring in those stormy orbs.
(I'm not fucking stupid. I'm smart enough to spot danger if there was any. His concern is so convincing though. Is it an act? Or have I really had blinders on since day one? But Blaise has been nearly perfect.
…don't lie to yourself Raven…
Okay so he's had moments acting strangely cold or angry about something but…
…he physically assaulted you…
Yes, but…
…Gwen hasn't liked him from the start. Now why do you suppose that is…?)
Raven couldn't believe she was losing an inner battle with herself for Christ's sake. She looked back at Draco who was leaning against a large tree, patiently waiting for her to come to terms with whatever she was dealing with. She sighed, crossing her arms, one foot idly playing with a stray leaf on the ground.
"I admit that I might have glossed over certain things. Though I'm not sure what to think about all this…I would be stupid if I ignored it." She said finally.
"So you believe me?" asked Draco.
"I don't know. All I can say is, I'll be more careful." She said honestly. Malfoy reluctantly accepted her answer with a solemn nod.
"Thank you." He whispered.
Raven stood before her mirror, a pensive expression on her face as she gazed contemplatively into the rippling water-filled basin below her. Her thoughts spun like a movie reel as she went over her time in the forest, touching on memories from the past that would barge in as if to say "hey don't forget about us!"
(Wow, what a fuckery of a day, eh Rave? First you have to deal with angry hippogriffs. Then have a go at Pansy. Then detention with Draco who forces you to question your boyfriend's motives. I've been a busy woman. Can't say I haven't been productive. Okay, this isn't very funny. So Gwen and Draco don't like Blaise. I can't just let other people be judge, jury, and executioner when he hasn't even had a fair trial. If anyone is going to decide it's going to be me. Can he be an asshole? Yes, so can I for that matter, big deal. He's changed toward his friends? People eventually change whether it took Draco this long to realize it or not. Gwen doesn't like him? Friends aren't going to agree about everything. So far Blaise has been fine, so there's no reason to jump to conclusions and make me look like a crazy person…I just hope I'm not wrong.)
Finally finding some sort of comfort, Raven finished readying for bed, dipping her hands into the cool water to splash her face. Pushing her hair away from her neck she paused, running her fingers along the smooth velvet of the choker resting there.
(How long have I been wearing this? I can't even remember.)
Deciding to leave it off for the night, she reached her fingers back to find the opening mechanism of the clasp. She frowned when she found no tell tale bump or hook that would open it. She panicked for a second with the feeling of being trapped, but logic swiftly took hold.
(Don't be a ninny Rave, it's probably just too small to feel and you can't see back there anyway. Tomorrow you can ask Blaise to take it off.)
Shaking her head at her moment of silliness, she smoothed a fingertip along the velvet again; this time noticing an inconsistency. She leaned closer to the mirror, finding the slight indentation again.
(Is that writing?)
Sure enough, upon close examination, she was able to make out a finely threaded flowing script that unfortunately was not in English.
(I'm pretty sure this is Italian. Well, I'll just ask Blaise about this too but for now I just really need to go the fuck to bed.)
Extinguishing her candle, she crawled into her four poster and settled in for a long night of troubled dreams.
"Morning sunshine." Chirped a cheery voice that startled Raven out of the construction of her waffle castle.
"Huh, nice pancake house." Commented Gwen who settled in next to her.
"Waffle castle." Raven corrected, causing Gwen to roll her eyes and shrug.
"Potato, potahto. Oh girl…." Raven looked up at her friend with a quizzical glance.
"What?" Gwen's eyes flicked over the other girl's face, noting the darkened bags under her eyes that spoke of a rough night.
"You look like shit." Raven laughed, one hand rubbing her eyes.
"Thanks, I'd be depressed if it weren't for you making me feel better. I couldn't sleep much."
"Okay, but I'm not understanding the part where you leave your commons looking like the bride of Chucky."
"Gwen!" Raven moaned, hurriedly muttering a charm on herself to lose the bags.
"Better now?" she asked sarcastically.
"Immensely," Gwen replied with a grin, "So what's on your mind? Tell Mummy what's wrong."
"What isn't wrong?"
"Ah one of those days. Tampon? Midol? …..Vicodin?"
"Can you be serious?" Raven spouted in exasperation.
"Sometimes. Now what's up?" Raven sighed, looking back at her dilapidated breakfast.
"Nevermind. It's nothing actually." Gwen quirked a brow, the lie bouncing off of her like a piece of rubber.
"I don't believe you."
"No seriously, I'm fine now." Raven insisted.
"Well if you change your mind, we can talk about it. On that note, Satan's right hand is approaching, so I better be off to finish some last minute homework. If I don't, I'll end up being Professor Binns' ghostly new lover." Raven looked to see who she was referring to and spotted Blaise making his way over to her.
"Gwen, what the fuck?"
"Ta, darling." Gwen winked at her before abandoning her spot to fulfill some ridiculous quest. Shaking her head at Gwen's strangeness, she reached for her pumpkin juice to find it missing.
"Oh Goddamit!"
"Something the matter, sweetheart?" asked Blaise, filling the unoccupied seat. Raven smiled, giving him a peck on the lips.
"Bad dreams." She said, pouting. He tucked a curl behind her ear, his thumb caressing the soft satin underneath.
"I'm sorry baby. Can I help?"
"No, well not about that but there's something else you can help me with. I was wondering if you could get this off for me. I think it's stuck." She said, her fingers giving a small tug on the choker. The lazy tracing of his thumb halted.
"You don't like it anymore?" he asked, his brow starting to furrow.
"Oh no, nothing like that. I'm just not used to having something around my neck all the time. Could you?" she asked again, lifting her hair to give him access.
"Of course." He said after a noticeable pause.
(Is he…pissed? I don't know. I can't tell.)
She felt his fingers running along the back of the velvet band, pausing a couple of times until he let out a disgruntled sigh.
"What's wrong?"
"I can't find the damned thing. I think it might have broken off somehow. It's pretty stuck for now until I figure out a way to remove it. Sorry, love." Raven felt a prick of disappointment at the news.
(Well, it makes sense why I couldn't get it off. How could it break though? Is he lying? Oh for fuck's sake Rave, what reason would he have to lie about a fucking necklace? Your imagination is starting to run wild.)
"Thanks for trying anyway. At least this way I won't lose it, eh?" she joked, threading her fingers through his. His lips curved in a pleasant smile, his lids veiling the dark secret hidden there.
"We couldn't have that…could we?"
Blaise sat alone in the nearly emptied library, having spent most of his afternoon filling up parchment with various assignments. He was still except for the monotonous scratch of his quill, his focus absolute. A perfect picture of a studious student, or a perfectly inhuman statue mechanically going through the motions? A shadow passed over Blaise's paper, alerting him to the fact that he was no longer alone. Stopping only after finishing a sentence, he flicked his eyes up to pin the intruder in her place.
"You aren't a very easy man to find these days, Mr. Zabini." Cooed a decidedly flirtatious female voice.
"I prefer my own company. Why have you come to bother me?" he said with cold disinterest. The girl giggled, unfazed by the lack of welcome in his tone. She came around the side to lean a hip against the table, her fingers tapping the smooth surface.
"Bother you? Oh no, you've got it all wrong. I happen to have a juicy bit of information that you would love to get your hands on." She offered secretively, fingers moving to slide up her thigh as if to suggest something else he could put his hands on. Blaise curled a lip in disdain, leaning back to sweep her lazily with his eyes, a spark of intrigue flaring up to melt away some of their frost.
"Oh really? What am I dying to know?" he inquired, one dark brow raised sardonically in question. The girl shook her head and gave him a coy laugh, one finger ticking back and forth in the air.
"Uh uh uh…this requires privacy. Here's the deal, you're going to meet me after dinner. Room of Requirement. I'll be waiting inside, but don't make me wait too long." She laughed, straightening up to make her way out, not staying for Blaise's reply, but knowing the bait was too good to resist.
After dropping off his things in the Slytherin dorm, Blaise made his way up to the fourth floor. He decided to forgo dinner altogether, the tidbit promised him was more than enough to whet his appetite for the moment. Crossing to the end of the corridor, he paced slowly in front of the stone wall three times; mentally uttering his request. Almost immediately the stone shifted to reveal a medieval looking iron door. Without a backwards glance he pushed it open to sweep inside. The darkness vanished as candles sprung to life throughout the room. As he walked further into the center, soft female laughter drifted over to greet him.
"Somehow I knew you wouldn't be able to wait."
"Make this worth my while, Parkinson. I don't tolerate having my time wasted. What's the big reveal you're so excited about?" he asked, impatience bubbling up like carbonation in his blood. Pansy drew closer, tongue poking out to ease the dryness of her lips.
"It's about your little…girlfriend." She started, obviously wanting to replace the last bit with a much less tasteful term. Blaise frowned, crossing his arms, his gaze trained on her in a harsh, reptilian glare.
"Raven? What about her?" he demanded.
"There's one more…Draco."
"Draco? Well, you've got my full attention. What do you know?" he said, his cool mask beginning to slip to show the hot suspicion underneath. Pansy almost purred in satisfaction. She waved her wand, making a plush black leather couch materialize behind him. Strolling over, she arranged herself on the cushions and patted the seat beside her.
"We might as well get comfortable." She said, attempting a come-hither quality in her tone and pose.
"I'll stand." He returned curtly.
"Okay then. Well as I'm sure you know, Draco and I were happy together for a short time. I thought my dreams had finally come true the night he asked me to be his. I don't know why I had to wait so long for him to come to his senses. Years of watching him with one tart or another when I'm the one he really wanted. Fool me for falling deeply in love only to see Draco kiss that bitch during the Quidditch game. That, I'm sure, you remember all too well, yes?" she paused, sliding a knowing glance up at Blaise, who with arms folded, was looking off in the distance, no doubt replaying the scene over and over.
"I was shocked and horrified, as I'm sure you were. I thought, how could you do this to me, when I've given you nothing but my love and affection? To make matters worse, he's become so distant with me, and I never know where he goes or who he's with. He doesn't listen to me anymore. He won't even look at me!" Pansy cried in anguish, tears beginning to form in her eyes.
"Finally, two nights ago I confronted him. I wanted to know why he was breaking my heart. You know what he said to me? He said it was a farce. He never liked me. Couldn't stand me. Draco Malfoy used me!" she shouted, pounding her fists into the soft leather, tears running freely down her face. Blaise drew near and leaned close, one hand resting on the back of the couch, the other hand lifting Pansy's chin to look at him; all of his actions miming gentleness and concern.
"Pansy?" he murmured. Her shining eyes focused on his, her mouth quivering slightly while her heart gave a thump at their closeness.
"Yes?" she whispered.
"You're starting to bore me with your whining. I suggest you get to the point, if you indeed have one." He finished; cruelty and disdain positively dripping like black, insidious oil. She nodded, and Blaise took a step back.
"I have a point all right. He said we couldn't do this anymore because of Raven. How he'd been in love with her from the start. That he would give anything to be with her!" Pansy knew she was fabricating the conversation quite a bit, but didn't feel any guilt in the slightest. Anger and hate had grown like a tumor inside her the past couple of days to the point where she wanted nothing more than to fuck up the lives of two people that had fucked up hers. Pansy became startled when two strong hands gripped her around the tops of her arms, pulling her up roughly to stand before a thunderous Blaise.
"And what of Raven's feelings for him? All I've heard from your flapping mouth is Draco this, Draco that! I-"
"I found them together!" she screeched, cutting off his tirade. He stilled, his fists beginning to tighten more fiercely.
"What do you mean…together?" each word was succinct and deadly.
"That Hagrid oaf gave us three detention in the forest. They were paired together of course. When the ogre and I went to find them, they were all smiles and almost in each others' arms. It seemed very friendly. Luckily we came upon them before they could do anything else. Or maybe they did, who knows?" Pansy shrugged delicately, wincing slightly at the pain inflicted on her abused arms. Blaise flung her away carelessly and began to furiously pace.
"That bitch! That must be why she wanted it off." He spat viciously, one hand dragging roughly through his hair.
"Wanted what off?" Pansy asked curiously.
"I've been playing nice, but that's no longer an option… How does one punish a naughty child?" he asked, completely ignoring her inquiry. He stopped in his tracks, a slow smile crawling across his lips.
"You take their toys away." He finished, a sinister gleam glowing in his emerald eyes.
"I'm not following." Said Pansy.
"You're going to help me get rid of distractions. That interfering little mud-blood whore, Gwen, is going to be the first to go."
"Ah…I see, we make her lose everyone close to her, I love it! Wait, what about Draco?"
"All in good time. For now, I have a plan for Miss Lewis."
A/N: Dun Dun Dunnnnnnn! Finally delving into to the darker side of Blaise. He's letting more of his crazy out with the help of his fugly side kick. Poor Gwen and Raven, they're about to get f*cked up! Stay Tuned!