The next few weeks flew by as the Slytherin's immersed themselves in their school work and social circles. Daphne and Tracey were spending almost as much time with Blaise and Theodore as they were with Pansy and Millicent. Now that Draco was very preoccupied with his task at hand, he excused himself from as many social gatherings as he could and occasionally left Crabbe and Goyle behind too. Pansy was miserable and edgy because of it, no doubt convinced that he was sneaking around with another girl.
But lucky for Daphne, she had yet to conveniently disappear when Draco was missing too, and the suspicion was slowing fading away from Pansy's mind.
"I just wish he would be honest with me." Pansy sighed one night as they all sat around in their dorm, reading and writing letters home. The other girls all exchanged wary glances, not sure what to say to her exclamation. They all knew that once they got her started, there would be no way of stopping her. "I mean, he can't possibly expect me to believe he's at Quidditch practice all this time when he's doing so horribly this year! And then he says that he's getting help with Charms or something," Daphne's ears went slightly red when she heard this; she hoped that Draco wasn't still using her as an alibi "But he's doing badly in that class too! In fact, he can't be getting help in any of his classes! He's doing poorly in all of them!"
"Well, surely he must be doing something academic... what else would Draco be doing running around the halls of the school at all hours of the night?" Tracey inquired in a level tone.
Daphne had not told her about what Draco had said to her... she hadn't told anyone! But that didn't stop Tracey from asking her almost weekly if she was the reason Draco was sneaking off from the dorm. She had to remind her each time that she was present for the entire duration of his disappearance.
"I can only imagine..." Pansy growled as she looked at herself in the mirror, fiddling with her brown hair absently. Daphne and Tracey exchanged looks, and then looked back to their work guiltily. "You know Draco rather well, don't you Daphne?" she asked, turning away from her mirror and walking over to the end of Daphne's bed. Oh no... Daphne sighed in her head "Uh, as well as any of us do, I would imagine."
"Do you know what he's up to?" she ignored her statement. Her tone sounded more like an accusation, and Daphne sat up uncomfortably, catching Tracey's watchful eye, paying very close attention to what was happening.
"I have no idea, Pansy, really." Daphne said quietly "And I don't see why he would tell me in the first place."
"But if you knew he was up to something... seeing anyone a lot, you would tell me, wouldn't you?" she pressed, her eyes locked deliberately hard with hers. Daphne shifted uncomfortably under her stare and cleared her throat a little.
"Of course I would!" Daphne said, her throat feeling like she was being strangled by her own lies. "I would never betray one of my dearest friends like that." She added, her lungs closing a little more again. Her own lies and deceit were starting to build up in her mind, and it was getting harder and harder to keep up with herself.
"Sure," Pansy replied sharply, then turned back to her side of the dorm and starting to fidget around again. Daphne gave Tracey a stare with wide eyes, clearly telling her that she was worried. Tracey ripped out a piece of parchment from her notebook and scrawled a quick note, then tossed it over onto her bed.
Careful what you're doing Daphne! She knows something's up!
Tracey's warning caused a variety of emotions to react. One was fear of the wrath of Pansy, which she did want to endure at any time. Another was anger; if Pansy couldn't keep a hold of Draco, then she didn't deserve to keep him! And a third was the anxiety and worry she felt for Draco; had he really not told his own girlfriend!? It didn't seem to make sense that he wouldn't tell her about it since she was sure to be supportive.
Daphne wrote a quick response on the note again and waited for Pansy to be distracted away from her mirror so she could toss it back to Tracey.
I haven't done anything! She's being paranoid and foolish, she wrote, hoping that by steering Tracey away too, there would be no more questions asked about whether or not Daphne was involved with Draco's strange behaviour.
Tracey nodded her head slowly and burnt the paper up with her wand before she returned to her work silently. Daphne quietly sighed to herself and leaned back against her pillow.
What have I gotten myself into now? She thought, twirling a piece of her hair on her finger. Draco told me I can't tell anyone, and with a secret like that, I couldn't tell anyone if I wanted! I'm not about to risk my own life just so Pansy can sleep a little better at night! But now I've sworn to tell her if I know something! Those two statements are contradictions among themselves!
Daphne let her head fall back and hit the headboard in frustration. When the others looked over, she passed it off as she was having a hard time answering a question on her Ancient Runes assignment.
It's better if they know nothing about it anyways... this is between me and Draco... no one else...
Not to anyone's surprise, many of the Slytherin students stayed home for Christmas. Tracey's mother told her the situation was too messy with their family that she shouldn't come home until June. Theodore's grandparents were experiencing their yearly flu attack and commanded that he stay at school to avoid getting sick himself. Daphne and Astoria had both received similar letters, telling them that their father was too busy trying to find another job (this time legitimately), and their mother was too frustrated with their situation and told them to spend the holidays at school.
No great loss there... Daphne thought as she crumpled the letter and tossed it into the fire in the Great Hall. Astoria watched her sister as she walked back to her seat with a face that is normally seen on a spoiled 3-year old's face. Her pout demonstrated to Daphne that she clearly wasn't amused that she wasn't welcome home this Christmas, despite being the favourite of the family.
The only lucky people who would be returning home to their homes over the break were Blaise, Millicent, Goyle, and a very reluctant Pansy. When she had heard that Draco was going to stay at school, at his mother's request, she was furiously upset and ran off crying. She told Millicent later that she was convinced he was seeing someone else now, and that they must be staying here for the break. She tried to write home and tell her parents that she wanted to stay, but they told her she had to come home for the holidays.
"You must watch out for me, Daphne," Pansy commanded as she packed her trunk. Daphne looked at her oddly, her head tilted to one side in curiosity "I want you to tell me if he does anything weird. I mean if he leaves the common room alone, or skips meals, or anything!"
"Well, I can't watch him all the time-"
"You had better find a way! I am depending on you, Daphne!" she said stubbornly.
You really need to learn how to judge people's characters, Pansy... Daphne thought. She wasn't sure how she could deflect a statement like that, so she simply smiled and nodded her head convincingly.
Once everyone who was going home had left, Tracey pulled Daphne aside as they walked back to the common room, her eye's alight with the thrill of a new plan.
"This is perfect, Daph!" she whispered excitedly "Now you have the means to frame Draco! Make him look guilty for something!"
"I don't think I can," Daphne replied solemnly. Tracey stopped dead in her tracks and grabbed her friend hard on the arm.
"WHAT! Are you backing out, Daphne?" Tracey stared at her in disbelief "This is what you've wanted for years! Don't ruin your only chance to get him!"
"I know, but..." Daphne trailed off as she tried to think of something to say. "I really have no idea what he's up to. I mean, what if he really is having an affair? I'm not sure I'll want to date him either, to be honest."
"Oh please, Daphne!" Tracey laughed "Draco isn't having an affair! He's off creating the usual trouble he always makes with Crabbe and Goyle; trying to avenge his father's imprisonment or something against Potter! It's so obvious that Pansy is completely blind to it!"
"You really think so?" Daphne played along. Better you think this that the truth... "But why wouldn't he tell Pansy this?"
"The fewer people that know the better, right?" Tracey remarked lightly, taking her friend by the arm and starting back to the common room again. "Look, all I'm saying is making some suggestions to her, like he sneaks out of the common room at 3 am every morning and doesn't come back until 9."
"And then what do I tell her?" Daphne asked, eyebrows raised defiantly. Tracey gave her a smirk and held her head high in a proud manor at her own genius.
"Then you leave the seeds of mistrust to grow into lovely flowers of hatred. The mind is like a greenhouse for growing all sort of fantastic obsessions." She remarked matter-of-factly. Daphne paused and nodded her head slowly; she had a point, after all. It would be so easy for Daphne to snatch Draco away now that Pansy was worried enough to leave her in charge of spying on him.
But if I start dating him right after, then I'll be the first person she'll turn her rage onto. Daphne reminded herself, the voice in the back of her mind almost taunting her. She frowned at this revelation and bit the inside of her lip to prevent herself from swearing.
Christmas Day was much more uneventful than past years for the Slytherins. The yearly haul wasn't as extravagant for all of them, and some, like Astoria, had started to realize that things weren't going to go back to the way they were was finally setting in.
"What did you get from mother and father?" Astoria squeaked, running across the common room as soon as she saw her sister. Daphne rolled her eyes and excused herself from the conversation she was having with Tracey and Theodore. She took her sister aside to a quiet corner of the room and crossed her arms as she waited for the inevitable whining.
"Not pleased with your profits this year, Astoria?" she asked in a smart tone. Astoria narrowed her eyes at her sister and stood with her hands on her hips, directly challenging her with her posture.
"You didn't answer my question; what did you get!"
Daphne sighed, rolling her eyes at the old news of her sister's jealous over anything and everything that she thought Daphne had over her. "I got new dragon hide gloves from father and a new pair of earrings from mother." She paused and looked at her sister "What didn't you get? Aside from the moon and stars, like you ask for every year."
"I got the exact same thing!" she breathed sharply as if the shock was too much for her to take. "How is that possible!? I haven't done anything wrong!"
"You're far too spoiled." Daphne chuckled. "And like they told you in the summer; we can't afford to satisfy your every whim anymore."
Astoria looked furious at her sister's statement "Impossible. We're one of the riches wizard families in England!"
"HAH! Hardly Astoria!" Daphne laughed "Mother and Father may have built you up to believe that, but we were no richer than anyone else in this house. In fact, right now, we're probably poorer."
"Impossible! Father-"
"Lost his job, Astoria," Daphne said, her tone now starting to get annoyed and angry. "When is that going to get through your empty head?" Astoria said nothing; she only glared at her sister stiffly, like if she concentrated hard enough, she would change their outcome. "Look, either you start accepting the fact, or you can go get a job and support yourself. Deal with it." She paused and glanced at the others, who were watching and waiting for her to come back. "And be thankful you got what you did; we're lucky to have gotten anything."
And with that, Daphne left her sister to run over the revelation she had and crossed the room to return to Theodore and Tracey. They both asked what that was all about, but she brushed it off quickly as nothing and resumed their talk about The Weird Sisters...
A few days later, New Year's Eve was upon them. Everyone had gathered in the common room, making it very crowded and loud. Daphne, who never liked large parties like this, backed herself into the far corner and was sitting on top of the table. She watched the room curiously; as expected, this year there were about twice as many Slytherin's staying at Hogwarts for Christmas. No one apparently wanted their children to come home and see the mess they were all in. Astoria was over on one of the couches, making out with her current boyfriend like they were each other's oxygen supplies. The room had moved away to give them a wide birth since no one wanted to get close to public displays of affection that were that severe.
Tracey and Theodore were chatting with one of the seventh years beside the fire, which had the large mantelpiece clock that would chime loudly at midnight. Daphne smiled quietly to herself at the sight of her best friends being so close. They had become particularly inseparable since the start of the holidays; Daphne was beginning to wonder if a relationship would come out of their friendship soon.
"Why are you way over here?" Draco asked, suddenly appearing at her side. She jumped a little with surprised and laughed it off lightly, shrugging slightly.
"I don't like crowds. I'd rather just sit on the sidelines." She remarked quietly, looking down at her drink in her hand. This was one of the few times a year that butterbeer was allowed in the common room... or at least, the Slytherin's were allowed.
"Makes sense," he remarked coolly. He looked over towards the fireplace and saw Theodore and Tracey in deep conversation now "They're close lately, aren't they?" he chuckled lightly. Daphne did the same and tossed her strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder, drawing a little more attention to herself from him.
"It would appear so." She replied absently, too enwrapped in the fact that Crabbe and Goyle were now over by themselves.
Draco must have told them to entertain themselves... so then why is he here?
"You know I've been instructed to watch you over the break."
"By who?" Draco laughed uncomfortably.
"Pansy. She's convinced you're having an affair with someone."
Draco rolled his eyes and sniffed a short, un-amused laugh "Of course she does. She's the most jealous thing I've ever met," he paused, looking across the room at Snape, who was watching him very attentively. They locked looks for a moment until a first year threw something that passed his face, and Snape was forced to deal with it.
"Little does she know I'm having an affair with death," Draco remarked more to himself than to Daphne.
"You mean..." she paused, lowering her voice and looking at the back of his head still; he had yet to turn around from staring off into the distance "You haven't had any luck?"
Draco's head swirled back with a face that told her the answer was no. Now that she got a closer look at him, he was looking much more tired nowadays; he looked much thinner now, almost to the point that he could rival Theodore for being the skinniest guy in the house. He didn't look healthy at all, and he knew it.
"No. Not yet," he said under his breath. "I never thought this task would be so impossible, but it is! Now I'm sure he's just doing it to punish my family..."
"Don't say that Draco!" Daphne breathed frantically, putting her hand out subconsciously and touching his arm. He looked down at the touch for a moment, and then looked back up at her. "You're going to figure it out, just... give it time." She said reassuringly, trying to convince herself at the same time.
"Well, at least someone's sure..." Draco grumbled, looking back out over the crowd at Snape again "No one else is."
"Is he helping you?" Daphne whispered. Draco turned back and nodded his head slowly.
"Trying to. But I don't want his help. He was a traitor to the Dark Lord once; what's to stop him from sabotaging my plans in order to stop the Dark Lord?"
"Ah..." Daphne said quietly, looking back down at her drink. She wanted to tell Draco that maybe he should enlist the help of his teacher, but then again, he could easily just switch sides again, as he already figured out.
"Only one more minute!" a student yelled from somewhere near the fireplace. Everyone turned their faces to look at the clock above the fireplace, and then continued their conversations excitedly, and refilled drinks as fast as they could. Draco caught Daphne's eye, and his look had completely changed from serious to seductive.
"Draco..." Daphne started quietly, looking around at the hundreds of students around them. Someone was bound to see them if he wanted to do what she thought he did. "I don't think this is the best place..."
"I never told you what I figured out from what you said," he said, stepping in front of her, blocking everyone's sight of her. She was still sitting on the table, and now he was leaning right against the table, only mere inches away from her face. "I want to be rid of her," he said in a low voice that made shivers go down Daphne's spine and her heart take off like a rocket.
"What?" she breathed in response, looking back directly into his eyes. He looks serious... maybe he is serious! She thought excitedly.
"Pansy. I want to break up with her," he explained in a hushed voice. Daphne couldn't help the ecstatic smile that crossed her face, and she fought the urge to just make out with him then and there. "But I can't..." He added, like throwing a weight onto a kite about to take flight, crushing it.
"What?!" Daphne asked, her face no longer excited, but now confused and upset.
"Pansy's family is helping mine. They're bringing our name out of the gutter slowly, and it seems to be working," he explained, his face showing how trapped he felt "I can't destroy my families reputation again. If I break up with her, her parents will surely turn on us."
Daphne sat in silence. He wanted to break up with Pansy, but she was holding him on a tight leash with the threat of ruin again. She stared down at her drink, her grip so tight on the glass that she thought she may break it. She wanted so bad to just kill Pansy right now; she was standing in the way of everything she wanted! Her only hope of happiness in life! Pansy and her fat ass, stuck up, bitch-faced-
"15 seconds!" a student called from across the room again. Daphne's ranting train of thought was interrupted by the cheers from everyone else in the room. She looked up slowly from her drink, and her eyes held the contempt and sourness that she felt.
"Doesn't mean I can't be with you," Draco suggested, moving closer still. Daphne's heart restarted with a kick. All her rage instantly melted away, and she was left staring into his grey eyes again. "It just means we have to pretend like we aren't."
"I don't want to pretend though!"
"10! 9!" the students shouted around them.
"Well then just wait," Draco smirked, moving closer still. All at once, all the shouting and cheering students seemed to fade away, and it was just him. "Because I want you, not her. When I fix everything, then you'll get what you want." He reassured her, his low voice making her feel like she was being hypnotized.
"5! 4!" the cheering continued around them. Daphne smiled very faintly at his promise, and moved a little closer too; they were right against each other, just staring into each other's eyes.
"Agreed?" Draco smirked, reaching out and closing the gap of only inches when he wrapped his arms around her waist, now practically leaning on the table with her.
"Agreed," Daphne breathed at the last second as Draco closed the final gap and pressed his lips against hers, causing electric currents to shoot all through her body.
"Happy New Year!" The room shouted in unison. It sounded like they were far away in a tunnel to Daphne; all her brain could focus on was Draco kissing her, telling her he wanted her, and apparently no longer caring who knew, since he felt that the common room was apparently a private enough place.
The kiss ended abruptly a few moments later when a 4th year accidentally backed into Draco, causing him to lose his balance and have to move back from her in order to stop from falling. Lucky for them, Tracey and Theodore had just gotten up to find them and didn't see anything of their quick display of affection. Daphne and Draco smirked at each other before Daphne reached out for a casual hug, pulling herself off the table when he took her into his arms.
"Why are you way back here?" Tracey yelled over the noise of the crowd. Daphne shrugged and hugged her, wishing her a happy new year. She did the same for Theodore too, who as usual had a hug that resembled that of a suit of armor; cold and stiff.
"Let's go get a drink," Daphne suggested to Tracey, taking her by the arm and leading her away. She caught Draco's eye as she walked away, and she gave him a quick nod of reassurance as they left.
I won't tell her today... she doesn't need to know about this... yet. She paused as they passed Astoria, who was still locked in a very passionate embrace with her 7th-year boy-toy. Daphne rolled her eyes and tugged Tracey's arm to continue on.
I want her to think... I want everyone to think that I'm innocent... That way, Pansy will never be able to turn on me.
Daphne and Draco didn't run into each other again for a couple days, making Daphne wonder what he was up to now. She really did hope that he had something planned and that he was working hard to put it into action. For if he succeeded in his task, then his family would return to glory, and then he could dump Pansy.
She had never felt so dazed and absent in her life. All she could think of for the past 72 hours was Draco saying he wanted her
He wants me... HE wants ME... HE WANTS ME!
She sang it in her head as she skipped through the common room, barely aware of the students that were all lounging about, making the most of their last few days of the holiday. Daphne's eyes were glazed over, and she wore a faint smile all the time now...even when she slept. She was living in her dream world now, and nothing would pull her attention out of it.
So, of course, she didn't see what was about to happen.
"Daphne! What's going on?" Theodore asked, running up and walking just behind her. His voice sounded different, and she would have under any other circumstances asked him what was wrong, but she was on her way to go daydream in her dorm about her future with Draco.
"Oh, nothing much!" she replied gleefully, turning her head slightly over her shoulder to smile at him. He opened his mouth to say something else, but she had turned back to continue up to her dorm.
And everything was black.
She awoke what seemed like seconds later, staring up at a white ceiling. She blinked slowly; her head was groggy and slow, and she felt like she had just been awoken from an overly-long nap. Once she was able to open her eyes all the way, she started to take in her surroundings; she was in the hospital wing."What the f-" she cut herself as she instantly felt a throbbing pain in her skull that nearly made her scream.
"Oh God! What's happening!?"
"There you are!" Theodore remarked in a relieved voice. "We weren't sure if you'd really done yourself an injury and were in a coma."
"What? An injury?" she put her hand against her head to try and stop the pain but found she couldn't. "What's happening Theodore!?"
"Some git of a second year was walking down from the dorms with his broomstick. You walked right into the handle just as he was swinging it over his shoulder. Knocked you right out."
"I was knocked out? But it only felt like seconds..." she paused, rubbing her skull gently with her fingers, but even the gentlest touch felt like nails being hammered into her head "I'm assuming that's why my head feels like a pumpkin ready to explode?"
"Looks like it too. You're going to have a glorious bruise." Theodore smirked.
"What!?" she breathed, rolling over and snatching a hand mirror on the bedside table. Sure enough, there was a grey lump on her head that made her really look like a pumpkin "Oh my God! This is horrible!"
"Now now, Miss Greengrass, it's not that bad." Madame Pomfrey soothed very dully; for a nurse, she wasn't always the kindest and caring woman. "I'll just slop this cream on your head and the swelling will go away in a few minutes." She said, pulling a can off the cart she dragged behind her. She dipped a brush into it like she was about to paint a house. It was the colour of old, molding oatmeal, and smelled like something indescribable. She dipped the paintbrush into the can and then slathered the disgusting cold paste over her forehead, then gathered up her supplies as quick as she came and rolled away.
"This is disgusting." She grumbled, crossing her arms angrily and glaring at the wall.
"Looks disgusting," Theodore said, clearly having a hard time stifling the laugh he felt. Daphne glared at him for a moment, then resumed staring at the wall ahead.
"I'm glad you find my condition so amusing..." She said in a sarcastically cheery voice.
"Well, don't condemn him yet, Miss Greengrass. He's the one who carried you all the way here." Madame Pomfrey pointed out lightly as she returned to the side of her bed, pouring a bright blue liquid into a glass.
"You carried me?" Daphne asked, a little amazed that Theodore could even carry her in the first place. Theodore only smiled and shrugged.
"Now drink this. It will make the bruise go away in no time." Madame Pomfrey told her as she handed her the glass of medicine.
"Got anything for headaches?" Daphne groaned as she smelt the liquid in the glass, and visibly cringed when it stung her nostrils.
"I'm afraid the Hufflepuff Quidditch team has taken all of my draughts for headaches. Apparently, someone jinxed their bats, causing them to pummel their brains out."
"Nothing new..." Theodore mumbled under his breath. Madame Pomfrey gave him a warning look.
"After the swelling cream has disappeared, you can go. But make sure you drink that!" she said, pointing her old claw-like finger at the bright blue drink Daphne held in her hand. Then she gathered some things from across the room and walked out of the room.
"God, it smells like piss!" Daphne complained as she smelt it again. Theodore chuckled a little but told her to just drink it. She grimaced a little, then tipped the glass towards her open mouth and let the liquid flow down her throat. It burned at first, but not from the taste, but the tingly, overpowering minty taste that it had. "Not bad." She mumbled, before she put the glass on the bedside table, then sank back into pillows and sighed. "So what time is it?"
"7:30," Theodore stated smartly.
"What! I was out for that long!?" she breathed, looking towards the windows that showed the dark January sky. "And you waited here all this time?"
"Well I carried you all the way here; did you think I was just going to abandon you afterward?" Theodore chuckled lightly "Besides, Pomfrey wanted to know every single detail of what had happened, as did Snape."
"Please tell me they didn't write home to my family," Daphne whined.
"I doubt it. I'm sure if you had been in a coma they would have, but being knocked out is pretty common around here." Theodore stated, patting her hand comfortingly. "Not like your parents would have done anything anyway, right?"
"True, but they would have found some way to blame me for it. Tell me I should have watched where I was going or something." Daphne smiled. Theodore smiled too, and just seemed to stare at her for a few moments before he sighed and stood up from his chair, smiling comfortingly down at her.
"Well, that sludge she put on your head is practically gone, and you're looking better already. Not like you have a giant bug trying to crawl out of your skull now."
"Thanks, Theodore." Daphne chuckled, flipping the sheets off her and climbing out of the bed. "Where are my shoes?" she said, noting her socked feet.
"Under the table." He said, nodding his head in the direction behind her. She thanked him and pulled her old black shoes on her feet and black school robe. "Ready to go?" Theodore said with a slightly crooked smile crossed his lips when he looked at her forehead. "Your head looks fine now. How's your headache?"
"Ugh, horrible!" Daphne said; being reminded of it made it stick out even more now. "I just want to get some sleep right now."
"Don't let her fall asleep for at least 4 hours!" Madame Pomfrey called from her office. Daphne groaned and rubbed her temples in frustration. Her head was still throbbing with pain, and all she wanted to do was curl up and sleep it off.
"We'll just sit in the common room then; 11:30 isn't that far off" Theodore reassured her, putting his arm around her for a moment as he started her in the direction of the exit.
"Oh yeah, before I forget," Daphne said quietly "Thanks for helping me." She smiled at him. Theodore only nodded quickly and stepped ahead of her to hold the door open for her.
For the next 3 hours, Theodore tried everything he could think of to keep Daphne awake. They tried playing wizard's chess but found that Daphne couldn't keep her attention long enough, and lost the game miserably. Then they tried to play Snap, but she kept getting her fingers hurt by her lack of reflexes.
"Can we just talk?" Daphne groaned, leaning her head onto the edge of the table. As soon as it rested, she felt the palm of Theodore's hand pushing her forehead back up.
"You can't fall asleep for another hour; surely you can survive that long without closing your eyes." He pointed out as he walked over to the couches with her. Daphne immediately collapsed onto the under-stuffed leather and tried to fall asleep, but Theodore shook her awake. "Are you trying to kill yourself?"
"A little dramatic Theodore," Daphne grumbled as she sat up slowly and slouched deep into her chair. "If you had a headache like I do right now, you would want to go to sleep too."
"One more hour, Daphne," Theodore reminded her.
"Yes. One more horrid hour until I can finally pass out." She moaned, leaning her head back on the couch and closing her eyes. Then she felt a sharp pain in her leg that made her jump. Theodore was staring very deliberately at her, his fingers by her leg still. "That hurts Theo."
"That's the point, Daph." He remarked smartly. She crossed her arms and stared at the clock above the fireplace, watching it tick by very slowly. And once again, before she knew it, she felt a sharp pain fly up from her leg.
"OW! Stop pinching me Theodore!" she replied sharply, smacking his hand away from her leg.
"Stop falling asleep." He chuckled in response.
"I can't! Surely to God, one hour isn't going to make much of a difference!"
"I'll be sure to quote that at your funeral," Theodore smirked.
Daphne sighed in frustration and stared at the clock again. "Theodore, if you had any sense of loyalty, you would kill that stupid ass who hit me in the head."
"Say it again and I'll do it." He replied, his tone sounding neither serious nor joking. Daphne rolled her head on the back of the couch to look at Theodore, her eyebrows raise at his statement.
"You're not helping the whole 'people judge me based on my father' thing with remarks like that..." She said a small smile on her lips.
"I wouldn't kill for anyone; only select people." Theodore said, slouching down on the couch "And Voldermort isn't one of them."
"Oh, well, in that case, I feel honoured." Daphne sniffed a quick laugh. "But seriously, you need to stop saying things like that..."
"It's not guaranteed that I would actually do it. Maybe I would be super sneaky and just convince him to leave the country." Theodore smirked. "Maybe that's what I'll do; I'll perform memory charms on people, convince them that they're someone else, and tell them to go home to Germany or something."
"Why are we even talking about this? It's not like you're really thinking about being a Death Eater." Daphne remarked, looking back at the clock. When Theodore didn't answer, she snapped her head around again to face him "Theodore, you couldn't possibly-"
"I'm beginning to think I don't have a choice." He remarked solemnly. Daphne found that she could only stare in shock. "He showed up at my house over the summer. Voldemort came to my Grandparents house, that is... He came to tell me that despite my father's embarrassing imprisonment, he had heard I was a reliable man, and he looked forward to my joining him when I finished school." He replied flatly.
They both sat in silence as they waited for the other to say something. After about a minute, Theodore sighed and ran his fingers through his shaggy brown hair in frustration. "So you see my dilemma? I have to find a way to avoid the Dark Lord when I graduate. And we all know from experience that there isn't any easy way to slip out from his grasp."
"Oh God Theodore," Daphne whispered, putting her face in her hands for a moment. Then she rested her face on her knuckles and stared at the fire. "Why does he want you now, too? First Draco, now you?"
"It only makes sense." He remarked emotionlessly. "Our fathers are in prison, so he wants to replace them with us, despite our age and inexperience."
"It's horrible." Daphne sighed, putting her face back into her hands. She sat there for a few moments, and this time she did feel herself drifting to sleep. And just as soon as she felt her mind begin to relax, a shrill tickling sensation sent a shudder through her body. She jolted awake again and smacked Theodore's hands away from her only weak spot; her ribs. "Stop it, Theodore! Surely there is some other way to keep me awake for another" she glanced at the clock and sighed in frustration "45 minutes still..."
"I've got one other method if need be." He said casually. Daphne frowned and resumed staring at the clock.
"I'll bet you do." She mumbled, her eyes determinedly fixed on watching the time fly by. But the second hand seemed to move in slow motion, and Daphne could have sworn that time was moving backward instead of forward. Her eyes got less focused first; then she had trouble keeping her now heavy eyelids open. Before she knew it, her eyes were closed, and she was drifting off again.
She thought she was dreaming at first. There was a cold hand on her face, and she thought that perhaps his method would be to slap her. But then she felt something warm on her lips. Oh, I am dreaming! She thought happily to herself I must be dreaming of Draco again.
No. This can't be a dream. She realized; the cold hand felt too real, as did the kiss. Her eyes flew open, and sure enough, Theodore was kissing her. Daphne sat in shock for a moment before she pulled away from him. They both stared at each other for half a minute, then Theodore smiled and sat back in his seat.
"Was that your method?!" Daphne breathed.
"It worked, didn't it? You're certainly awake now." He smirked, not looking at her.
Daphne sat there in utter confusion, unsure of what to say or do now. After another minute of just sitting beside each other awkwardly, she finally spoke. "Why did you do that?" she asked, her voice barely audible.
"It was an experiment." He said coolly. Daphne's eye went a little wider.
"Experiment for what?" she breathed. Theodore didn't answer her; instead, he stood from the couch and faced the door to the girl's dormitories.
"Tracey, can you take Daphne upstairs?" he said to the darkness.
"Sure," Tracey said, smiling very contently to herself as she stepped out of the shadows and walked over towards them.
"How did you know she was there?" Daphne asked, standing from the couch with surprise to see Tracey.
"She can go to sleep in half an hour." Theodore told Tracey, then turned to Daphne "See? I've shaved 10 minutes off for you."
"Thanks..." Daphne mumbled, looking at Tracey, who held her arm out for her to take.
"Night, Theo," Tracey smirked.
"Night, Trace." He replied in a dull tone. Daphne stared at Tracey in confusion at the nickname basis they were on now but followed Tracey up the stairs despite it.
"How's your head?" Tracey asked, leading Daphne over to her bed.
"Apparently I'm hallucinating things." Daphne sighed "Did Theodore just kiss me? I know you were there, so just tell me."
"My eyes tell me yes, he did." Tracey chuckled.
Daphne sighed and flopped back onto her bed. "Why did he do that? He told me it was an experiment! An experiment for what? As if my life wasn't complicated enough as it is..."
"What are you thinking?" Tracey asked, sitting on her bed and watching Daphne intently. When she didn't reply immediately, she threw her shoe at her. "No sleeping for another 30 minutes!"
"I wasn't sleeping!" Daphne whined. "I was trying to think, but my head is throbbing!" she sighed and pressed her fingers to her temples as she tried to stop the pain. "I don't know what to think! He's one of my best friends! I don't know if I could think of him the same way if he was just experimenting with me randomly!"
"Don't worry about it then," Tracey said soothingly. "If Theodore is experimenting, be thankful it's not with Millicent or something."
"Oh God, why did you give me that mental image?!" Daphne cringed, covering her eyes at the thought.
"Night Daphne. Get some sleep." Tracey chuckled, putting out the light in the room.
"But you said I couldn't for half an hour," Daphne said quietly, her eyes already closing at the newly dark room.
"I won't tell if you don't," Tracey reassured from her bed. Then, all sound around Daphne began to fade away, and she drifted off into a well-needed, undisturbed sleep.
Except she dreamt of Theodore. He was running towards her in a dark hallway, hexing someone out of his way. He shouted something to her, but she couldn't hear him. She wasn't sure why, but she felt so helpless and restrained, and as Theodore ran nearer to her, she felt like time was running out. He wasn't going to make it. Whatever he was trying to save her from, it was going to win. When she saw the expression on Theodore's face, she knew something horrible was about to happen. A loud scream filled her ears, and she was dying.
Daphne jolted awake, sitting up in a cold sweat. The room was still dark, and she could hear Tracey's breathing as she slept heavily. Putting her hand up to her own throat, Daphne felt her racing pulse. She hadn't had a nightmare in years, and this one was so vague that she found it frightening. As she slowed her breathing, she felt her headache coming back; with a frustrated groan, she flopped back down into her bed. She was now almost afraid of falling asleep, but closed her eyes anyway, knowing she needed it.
It was only a dream, Daphne... just a stupid dream.