"Tables have turned, I see," Tracey remarked one morning after school has resumed as they both walked down the treacherous icy path to deliver some mail to their owls. Daphne looked at her quizzically, waiting for the detailed explanation that would follow. "Now you're avoiding Theodore. Are you telling me that his kiss was really that bad?"
"What?! What do you-" she shook her head slightly in confusion "No, it's not that! It was... alright..." Tracey at this point burst out laughing "Well, what can I say!? I mean, I love him to death, but as a friend! I think that if I'm not around him as often, the temptation will wear off!"
"Oh, I doubt that." Tracey laughed, and then put her hand over her mouth to stop from saying anything else. Daphne looked at her for a few moments, then shook her head.
"Sometimes I wonder if you're just playing some game with me," Daphne grumbled, speeding up her walk as Tracey continued to stifle her laugh.
"Aww, don't be like that Daphne!" Tracey giggled, running and grabbing her arm to stop her. "I'm not the only one who keeps secrets." She pointed out, her eyes telling Daphne that she knew something. "I saw you and Draco in the common room on New Year's Eve." She smirked.
Daphne looked away for a moment; Of course, she saw! How could anyone not!? She scolded herself.
"Well, more like I saw you lovely redhead looking dangerously close to Draco's. I mean, if I'm wrong, please tell me."
"You're not wrong." Daphne sighed. Tracey's smile was so big that Daphne would have thought it was her who had made out with him. "But we're at an impasse."
"English, please! Not all of our mothers are French." Tracey giggled lightly. Daphne sniffed a quick laugh at her remark as well.
"Beauxbaton did nothing for your mother?" Daphne teased first "It means a stand-off. We can't go anywhere." she looked back at the castle for a moment, making sure no one was following them, then turned back "So long as he's dating Pansy, I won't see him. And he won't stop dating Pansy."
"Well, it looked like you two were working out your problems the other night," Tracey smirked.
"Yes, well that was the last time, I swear." Daphne declared although she herself didn't know if it was true or not. She knew that she had to convince Tracey that it was; if anything more did happen between her and Draco, then Daphne didn't want Tracey knowing about it.
Pansy is sure to ask her if something's going on, and although I trust Tracey, she might be persuaded by threats or bribes.
"Well, that's depressing isn't?" Tracey pouted dramatically "It's not too late to kill Pansy. We could make Theodore do it."
"As tempting as that is, I'd rather not go to Azkaban right now, thanks." Daphne sniffed a quick laugh "And you shouldn't be encouraging me like that! I could take you with me if I really wanted."
"Oh! And then you, Theodore, and I could share a cell! Cool!" Tracey exclaimed before they both burst out laughing.
Despite what Daphne tried to deny, Tracey was right; she had switched over from avoiding Draco to avoiding Theodore. And although she didn't mean to do it, and her feelings hadn't changed for him (in either direction), Daphne just didn't know what to say to Theodore. The awkwardness that she felt drove her away, and as bad as she felt for it, it was better than sitting in pregnant silence with him. So for a grand total of 2 months, Daphne and Theodore didn't have a private, one-on-one conversation.
And despite everything Draco said to her, Daphne had yet to see much change in behaviour between her and Draco. The only thing that they did do now was what Tracey referred to as 'Eye-shagging.'
"Honestly, the way you two stare at each other, even I feel like I'm intruding on some private moment." Tracey teased her one night at dinner after Daphne had finished staring at him for about a minute with uninterrupted eye contact. "It's pretty obvious to anyone watching what's going through your minds," Tracey added under her breath.
"I doubt it Tracey; no one else except you ever seems to notice," Daphne remarked with a satisfied smirk on her face as she reached past her and grabbed some chicken.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Tracey remarked smartly, nodding her head down the table. Daphne rolled her eyes and looked up, expecting to see her sister watching, or maybe Theodore. Instead, she was met with a stare that only a basilisk could rival; Pansy was not amused.
"Uh oh," Daphne mumbled as she tried to turn back as casually as possible. She could feel the back of her head burning as Pansy and her eyes alight with fury glared at her still.
"Uh oh is right. Might I suggest you stop doing that at dinner?" Tracey remarked lightly. Daphne nodded her head and continued to eat, very careful to avoid Pansy's eye again for the rest of the evening.
Avoiding her gaze was one thing; avoiding Pansy was another story. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle disappeared right after dinner to go do whatever they were doing. Tracey had also left with Theodore, who was whispering something apparently important in her ear as he dragged her off. Now Daphne was alone as her best friends shuffled quickly ahead of her.
I really don't understand what's going on between them... Daphne thought as she continued to walk slow.
"Daphne," a voice barked behind her. Daphne slowed to a stop, sighed in annoyance, and turned around lazily.
"Yes?" she inquired, apparently more daring than Pansy expected.
"I want to talk to you," Pansy said sharply as she closed the gap between them.
"Obviously," Daphne remarked smartly in response to Pansy's tone. Pansy didn't miss the change in her voice, nor her annoyed expression, and her face slowly evolved into fury.
"I saw what you were doing at dinner, and I just want to let you know that if I ever see you do it again, I will destroy you!" She said, now standing right in front of her, her body positioned defiantly against her.
Daphne looked back at her with hard eyes, but she did not have an expression of anger, but of smug victory."Worried you're losing him Pansy?" she remarked in a low tone.
"There's nothingto worry about! He will never be yours." Pansy sneered, stepping even closer to her. She only came up to Daphne's nose, which meant she didn't seem that intimidating to her, but it didn't stop her from returning the same look of malice and contempt.
Daphne chuckled lightly and reveled in watching Pansy's face grow more twisted with anger. "Then why are you threatening me?"
In one swift motion, Daphne felt a force ram her back against the stone wall. When she got over the initial shock of being shoved, she refocused on her apparent opponent, who was still holding the edges of her robes in tightly gripped fists."You and I both know that I hold the power to ruin your life!" Pansy snarled through her teeth "And don't for a moment think that I won't do it if I catch you near Draco again."
"A little dramatic Pansy," Daphne remarked with a tone as she pushed herself off the wall. "Telling me I can't speak to one of my friends, who I've known since we were children?"
"Liar!" Pansy shot instantly "You never met him before Hogwarts."
Daphne smirked a little "Is that so?"
She felt the wall hit her in the back again. This time Daphne felt her temper rising, and she pushed off the wall again, now standing only inches away from Pansy as she hissed "I'm warning you Greengrass; keep away from him, or you'll regret it."
Daphne couldn't resist now, and her rage didn't help. "Pansy, when are you going to catch on? If you can't keep him happy, then give it up! It's not like he wants you anymore anyway."
This time, Daphne saw Pansy coming towards her, her hands held out like she was going to wring her neck. And this time, Daphne acted first, pushing her back away from her before she could reach her. But Pansy was faster than Daphne expected, and once again she felt the hard stone wall slam against her back once more. Before either of them realized it, the fight had escalated into a full-on brawl. Daphne got hit in the eye by one of Pansy's flailing fists, while Daphne managed to scratch Pansy's neck and cheek with her long fingernails. They pulled on each other's hair and called the other every name they could think of.
The fight continued for only a minute or so longer, and then they heard the shrill shouts of McGonagall, walking briskly towards them.
"GIRLS! That's enough! Stop it!" she ordered them as she raced forward to the fight. Before Pansy and Daphne even realized what was happening, they felt launched off each other and pinned to opposite sides of the hallway. "Surely I don't need to explain to you both the importance of acting like ladies! "she scolded.
Pansy and Daphne glared at each other, neither of them really listening as they attempted to pull themselves off the wall. McGonagall was frustrated by them not listening and jinxed their heads so that they faced her only. "Fighting within the walls of Hogwarts is strictly forbidden. You will both come with me to your head of house-"
"WHAT!" Daphne and Pansy cried in unison. McGonagall narrowed her eyes at being interrupted but continued with her sentencing
"-And you will serve detention for whatever length of time he sees fit!" she added sharply before she released them from her magic binds. "If either of you lay a finger on each other on the way, I will have you expelled." She threatened, pointing her wants at both of them before she started towards the dungeons on Hogwarts.
While McGonagall was knocking on the door, Daphne exchanged a very quick glance at Pansy, and saw that although she put on the air of being confident (evident by the glare she gave Daphne), she was nervous about being punished; prefects weren't supposed to be caught in a brawl in the hallways.
"Enter," Professor Snape called from the other side of the door. McGonagall opened the door and stepped in, then held her arm out behind her, presenting Daphne and Pansy.
"I found two of your students fighting in the hallways after dinner," she said stiffly. "I thought it would only be appropriate that you decide how to punish them since one is a Slytherin prefect."
Snape looked at them with slight annoyance as he had to leave his work momentarily. He looked at the two girls for a moment each, and then stood from his chair and came around to the front of his desk, now standing in between them "Should I even bother asking why you were fighting?"
Daphne and Pansy exchanged quick looks at each other as if to see if the other dared to accuse them of something. And as Daphne had half-expected, Pansy was the first to cry out a defense. "She started it! She was flirting with MY boyfriend right in front of me!"
"I was not! Why can't I look at one of my oldest friends without this cow accusing me of trying to steal him!" Daphne shot back.
"Excuse me! How dare you call-"
"Quiet," Snape snapped in a low and frustrated voice. He looked past them at McGonagall, who had an 'I-told-you-so' expression on her old haggard face. "I will deal with them now; thank you, Professor McGonagall," he said in the same tone of voice. She gave him an odd look, and then nodded her head curtly and left his office, closing the door behind her. He then glared at them like the fools they were. "Now, surely I don't need to explain to either of you how foolish you both sound," he said as he swooped past them and sat back in his chair, returning to whatever he was working on. "And I assure you both that Draco has plenty to worry about without the two of you fighting over him," he said without even looking up. "So I suggest you get over your little fancy's and catfights and return to your own studies."
The two girls stood there in confusion, glancing at each other momentarily. Surely there was going to be a punishment for this, but Snape hadn't even mentioned detention! "You may leave now," he added, once again not even looking up from whatever parchment he was studying so closely.
Daphne didn't wait for him to say it again or change his mind. She turned on her heel and strode out of his office, letting the door slam back on Pansy. She walked with a quickened pace down the damp hallway that led to the common room, thinking of how she was going to get Tracey away from Theodore so she could tell her.
Unfortunately, as she stepped into the common room, Draco was sitting in the chair closest to the door, apparently deep in thought.
"Draco!" she couldn't stop herself from calling his name. He looked up suddenly like he had been startled, and had an angry look on his face until he realized it was Daphne.
"Where were you?" he asked, his voice hoarse for some reason. Daphne ran forward and grabbed his arm, pulling him out of the chair.
"Quick, follow me!" she whispered frantically as she tugged him towards the stairs to the boy's dorms.
"Where are we going? You can't just barge into my dorm, you know," he asked, his tone indignant at her behaviour "Why not just tell me what's happening here?" he asked as they rounded the last flight to the 6th year's room. She opened the door and pushed Draco in first.
"Can I come in?" Daphne breathed. Draco opened the door and stared at her with one cocked eyebrow.
"Uh, I suppose so. I mean, you did drag me all this way," he mumbled in frustration. "What the hell is going on, Daphne?"
She didn't respond immediately. Instead, she locked the door and pushed him to the far side of the room away from the door. "Your crazy girlfriend just attacked me in the hallways!" she hissed "I'm sick of waiting, Draco! When are you going to keep your promise and be rid of her!?"
Draco stared at her with his very cold, very soulless eyes for a moment before he finally managed a response. "Does it look like I can deal with this right now?" he growled angrily. Daphne was taken aback for a moment by the rage in his voice, and stepped back away from him, tripping onto one of the beds. "To be quite frank, I wish I didn't have to worry about either of you right now." He added bitterly, looking around the empty dorm for some sort of distraction. Daphne felt his words strike her deep, but she said nothing. "I told you what I have to do! Did you miss the part when I said he will kill me and my family if I fail!?" Draco shouted, clearly frustrated at his own words. "I haven't time to think, to sleep; how can I have time for you too?"
"I told you I would help you," Daphne replied quietly.
"HOW!" he shouted again, then put his hands against his head like he was trying to force his head off. Daphne found she couldn't even breathe; she had never seen anyone, let alone Draco, this disturbed, this upset, or this afraid. "If you have some fantastic talent that will murder Dumbledore, then by all means share! Other than that, I'm not sure how you can help me!"
There was silence between them. Draco sat down on a bed, his head still in his hands as he tried to control himself. Daphne was still frozen on the bed she fell onto, unable to move as she watched him, her eyes filling with tears at the sight of his breakdown.
He's got a point. I can't help him! And time is running out! Soon it will be June, and if he hasn't found a way- She shook her head furiously as she forced the thoughts of Draco dead out of her mind. Her heart instantly felt like it had been stomped on, and she focused on anything but that horrible picture.
"So that's it then?" she asked quietly, her tone empty of any emotion because she couldn't figure out which emotion to put behind her own words.
Draco did not look up from the floor he was staring at. "Yeah, that's it."
"Alright then." Daphne breathed a moment later. Draco looked up, his eyes watery as well. Daphne would have started weeping for him then and there if she had not gripped her hands so tight into a ball, forcing her to concentrate.
"I'll just keep waiting." She sighed, standing up from the bed and discretely wiping her eyes.
I've come too far... gained too much ground to give up because of Pansy's temper
She started towards the door but paused as she passed Draco. "But my offer still stands." She said reassuringly. He looked up momentarily at her, then back down to the floor. "If there is anything that you think... that you know I can help you with, I'll do it." She told him. She outstretched her hand to put it on his shoulder, but she froze only an inch away.
If I touch him now, I'll never be able to let him go. She slowly pulled her hand away. Then, without another word, she exited the dorm and returned to her own.
As Daphne more or less expected, when she got back to her dorm, her stuff was thrown all over the room; her uniforms had ink stains the size of mud puddles; her bedding was torn into shreds, and there were piles of feathers laying all over her section of the room. Daphne gave an exasperated sigh and glared over at the culprit, who was humming to herself as she wrote out something."Very mature, Parkinson..." Daphne muttered as she stormed over to the pile of debris that was formally her bed.
"That's only the beginning, Greengrass." She said in a sing-song voice. When Daphne looked over her shoulder at her, Pansy had looked up from her writing and was glaring at her with eyes that could only be rivaled by Voldemort himself. "Get used to it."
They stared at each other for a moment, and then Pansy smirked and turned back to her work, still humming contently to herself. Daphne shook her head and turned back to the mess before her, pulling out her wand as she began to attempt to clean it up.
By the time March 1st rolled around, Daphne had to clean her room in the same manner 6 more times. Every time Pansy caught Daphne even looking at Draco the wrong way, she could expect to come back and find her room destroyed. Tracey remarked that perhaps if she spent more time away from Pansy, she wouldn't be as bitter and spiteful. So, in order to act on her best friend's advice, she took to studying in the common room.
One night, as she tried to write her Defence Against the Dark Arts essay, she was consistently interrupted by several groups of students gossiping around them. One group of 4th years was laughing hysterically about the Gryffindor Keeper Weasley apparently was poisoned today, and was currently sitting in the hospital wing unconscious.
Why am I not surprised. Daphne thought as she furiously scratched out a spelling mistake she made while half-listening to the daily gossip. She also heard that her sister had finally broken up with the 7th year she had been dating for some time now; the same one she had been snogging at New Years. Although Astoria was still a notorious flirt, she was starting to get a little sense in her; she was only dating people from Slytherin now and for longer periods of time.
Doesn't make a difference if she still graduates with a record to rival Blaise's mother.
Daphne yawned, propping her head on her fist as she tried to re-read her own words. She'd been at this paper for 3 hours now, and it was due in less than 12. Despite her confidence in her writing skills, she wasn't sure if she could come up with 15 monumental moments in which vampires have proven as worthy allies; so far, she had four.
Only Snape would come up with such a ridiculous assignment and have it due in under 48 hours!
Four hours later, Daphne had passed out on the couch, having dozed off while editing her first draft. She was well aware in her consciousness that she was sleeping in the common room, but quite frankly didn't care.
I'm only resting my eyes for a little while so I can continue working. She told herself, although she knew it wasn't true. If she didn't force herself awake soon, she would most likely be here until dawn, and her essay would still be a scribbled mess with dozens of spelling mistakes.
As her mind cringed at the thought of getting up and working again, she thought she felt something brush against her face. She stirred a little to ward off the sensation, but when it came back again, she knew that she wasn't imagining it. She jolted upright and looked around the room with blurry, unfocused eyes. No one else was in the room. It was now 1:30 in the morning and the fire had long since died out. The room was now cold and dark, and she felt a chill of fear run through her.
"Glad to see you're working hard," remarked a smooth voice from behind her. Daphne turned so quickly on her seat that she almost fell off the chair. She sighed with vast relief when she saw that it was only Draco, sitting in one of the armchairs, twirling her quill in his fingers.
"I'm going to assume that was you who woke me up," Daphne mumbled, smiling very slightly.
"Very perceptive, Daphne..." He smirked, still twirling her quill lazily. "I need your help with something," He said matter-of-factly, putting her quill down on the table beside him and looking at her intently. "Care to follow me?" he said, standing from the chair and holding his hand out towards her. Daphne looked at it nervously, then grabbed hold of it, and let him lead her out of the common room.
When he stopped outside of what appeared to be a blank wall, she thought he might be going slightly mad. But then a door started to appear before them, and he stepped forward to open it. Daphne followed shortly after and was surprised by what she saw. It was a low ceilinged, dark room with windows that overlooked the Black Lake and the Dark Forest. What was most striking to her was the lack of furniture in the room; the only thing in the room was a square flat couch in the centre on the floor, covered with a black velvet blanket and throw pillows to match.
"What is this place?" she asked, taking a couple more steps into the room, walking over towards the window so she could check out the view.
"Room of Requirement. Found it after Potter and his stupid friends were using it to practice magic last year." Draco replied absently as he threw his robe on the floor and loosened his tie.
"Interesting." She said, looking around at how cramped this space would be for multiple people to be practicing defensive spells, but she shrugged and figured she should take his word for it. "So I'm not sure what use I'll be to you without my charms notes, but I'll see what I can do. What do you need help with?" she asked cheerily, turning towards him with a confident smile on her face. She had assumed that he needed help with some Charms, since it was the only subject she excelled at in school.
"When I asked you to help me, you said you'd do anything." He started slowly as he crossed the room to stand beside her.
"And I meant it. Just tell me what you need." Daphne reassured him.
Draco nodded slowly and started to walk around behind her. She wondered what he was doing, but a moment later she felt his arms snake around her waist, causing her to nearly pass out. Her heart started to race at their first physical contact in months; she had almost forgotten what it felt like. He moved aside her hair so he could whisper something in her ear. Daphne closed her eyes, almost sure that this was a fantasy and not reality. Perhaps she was still dreaming?
"I need relief." He whispered in her ear, his tone sounding so seductive that she barely understood what he said.
"Relief from what?" she replied in her own quiet voice, her eyes still closed as she felt his body pressed so close to hers.
"Relief from everything; from school, from my family, from the Dark Lord." He said in the same tone, his arms pulling her closer yet in a tight embrace. She felt his lips practically on her ear as he spoke; her legs felt weak, and she tried so hard to concentrate on not collapsing. "I need to feel like I did before. I want power, respect, success."
Daphne was barely listening to what he was saying. His scent was drowning her thoughts to the point that she barely noticed what he was doing. It was only she felt a small tug on her shirt 3 times in a row did she realize he was unbuttoning her blouse. Right as she was about to say something to him, he added another layer of his spell.
"And I need it from you." He whispered, his lips right against her ear. Then he started to kiss her neck lightly, still unbuttoning her shirt.
Relief? From me? What could that mean? She thought, her eyes still closed, smiling to herself as she reveled in her fantasy world.
Then it finally hit her. Her eyes flew open and took another look at the couch in the center of the room. It wasn't a couch; it was a bed. Daphne took in a sharp breath and turned out of Draco's grasp, but he caught her arm and pulled her back to him. Now they stood face to face, and he watched her with eyes that burned with longing. Daphne found her mind flying into overdrive; she couldn't breathe, couldn't think, and couldn't decide!
"Draco, you cannot ask me to do this." She whispered, her eyes reflecting her nerves that were starting to send waves of shivers through her. "Please don't ask me for this..."
"You said anything, Daphne." Draco reminded her, his voice still so smooth that her common sense literally was screaming in her head to get her attention.
"I meant magic-wise" she managed, her voice cracking and her whole body shaking ever-so-lightly. She tried desperately to look away from him, but found that she couldn't; she was the victim of a type of magic that Hogwarts didn't teach her to defend herself against.
"Trust me; this is going to be like magic," He smirked before he leaned in a kissed her on the lips, causing an electrocution of sparks to fly through her system. She kissed him back, despite her mind trying to wrench her away from his embrace. Her instincts were much stronger than her common sense now. When he released her a minute later from his kiss, she felt some of the magic fade away, and she was able to think straight again.
"Please don't make me do this," she breathed, looking deep into his grey eyes. Draco only smiled and resumed undressing her. Daphne stood frozen in place, her body not cooperating with his touch, but not stopping him either.
"I'm not forcing you to do anything," He smirked as he took off her school robe and tossed it aside. Now she stood in her skirt and a half un-done shirt, her eyes not daring to look down at what he was doing. "I know as well as you do that you want this," He whispered as he leaned in to kiss her again. The same wave of memorization hit her again, and all the objecting thoughts were once more drowned out of her mind. When she felt her shirt completely open and Draco's cool hands touched her ribs, she broke away from his kiss once more.
"I don't think I can do this," She mumbled, looking down at the ground as she tried desperately to think of some excuse. Draco sighed, but not out of annoyance, but more like pity. "I-I just didn't picture it this way." She explained, still facing the floor. "I always thought this would happen after we were together... when I had you all to myself."
"If you're worried about Pansy, she never lets me get this far." He whispered as he gently turned her face back to face him. "And you do have me to yourself. I don't want anyone but you," He said before he kissed her forehead gently and stroked her bare sides and ribs with his surprisingly smooth hands. "You need to understand that I need this, Daphne." He added his tone now a little less gentle, and now more serious. "I can't stop thinking about it, and I need my mind to focus on one and only thing." He paused, flashing Daphne a reassuringly calm smile. "I wish you could be the one and only thing to occupy my mind... I would enjoy it much more." Daphne felt her face turn a light shade of scarlet at his flattery. "But I need to think about how I'm going to complete this task so I can live to have you."
"So you're saying that you need to relieve your mind from the very thought of me in order to think?" Daphne said quietly, more or less repeating it to herself. "Won't doing this," she nodded towards the bed "just make it worse?"
"I don't know. I think it's more the curiosity that has me going mad." He kissed her neck slowly as he spoke: "Torturing me with the very sight of you, and knowing that I can't have you."
"You can have me if you would just dump-"
"Don't mention her name right now," Draco whispered sharply. "Just tell me if you're going to help me or not." He said, now holding her hips in his hands and looking dead into her green eyes with his cold, tired grey eyes.
As Daphne weighed her options in her mind, his eyes just kept filling her thoughts. He really did look awful, like he hadn't slept in weeks. He was so thin now as well, and Daphne was desperate to make him healthy and safe again.
He says this is what's holding him back. She told herself He says he can't stop thinking about me, and his life depends on him being able to think. I can't live with that weight on my mind! That if he fails, I may have caused it!
There was silence in her head for a second, and then the counter-argument kicked in; What if he's just saying this? It's not like it's unheard of for a guy to say whatever he needs to in order to get... this. But he seems to be genuine and true! And he promised to leave Pansy as soon as his family is back to power. Her mind was frozen again as she tried to come up with a final answer.
After about a minute of staring at each other, Daphne finally closed her eyes and sighed in defeat.
He's right. It's what you've always wanted. And it may not be the way you wanted, but if he dies, you may never get another chance. She finally decided. Draco smiled and tipped her face up to him and kissed her again. The flood of emotions and physical responses took over, and Daphne let herself be swept away by it all.