Bitten
Yule Ball
Riley fidgeted at the door. She was waiting for Draco to get the rest of his clothes on before they left. She was pleasantly stuffed from dinner. They'd had a six course meal that was totally out of Riley's normal dinner. However, everything was properly portioned and mixed well. She let out a breath to make a bit more room in her stomach. Narcissa came out of the dining room. She smiled at Riley.
"Draco should be done any minute now." She said. Riley nodded, a gentle grin spreading her lips.
"I'm not in any hurry." Riley replied. Narcissa looked at Riley as her smile widened.
"We're really thankful for what you've done for Draco, Riley." She whispered softly. Riley blinked, looking at Narcissa.
"I don't," she paused and looked down. "I really can't take your praise ma'am. I had no idea what I was doing and it was reckless of me. I could have ended up hurting Draco even more." Narcissa shook her head.
"Nonsense. I have a feeling, Riley, that you would have surpassed all expectations no matter the circumstances." She said gently. Riley was stunned, staring at Narcissa. The young girl felt her face heating up a bit. She'd never really been praised before. It was a nice feeling that she wished she could have more often. They stood there for another moment before Narcissa exclaimed and excused herself for a moment.
Riley sighed. Everything was so surreal. Was this really happening? Narcissa returned with her fingers curled around a little black velvet box. Riley looked at the box and then back at Narcissa.
"I have something for you," The elder woman said. Riley shook her head.
"I can't possibly accept any more gifts. You've already done so much for m—"
"Riley." The woman said firmly. Although her voice was strict, her eyes were warm. "Please, just take this." Narcissa opened the box and Riley looked at it's contents. Inside there was a spherical gold charm on an equally gold chain. There were delicate etchings in the material that showed two people dancing with each other.
"What is it?" Riley asked, picking it up from the box. Narcissa smiled. She reached over and pushed a button on the bottom of the charm. It opened and an image of Riley and Narcissa was projected.
"It's a locket. It will record the events tonight and keep them there for however long you wish." The woman said gently. Riley's eyes widened. She'd never been given a gift before, not one with a weight such as this. The girl bit her lip as she felt hot tears welling up.
"Thank you," she whispered, "Thank you so much, Narcissa." Narcissa smiled and held her arms out. She hugged the girl tightly to her chest.
"Maybe it's because I see so much of myself in you, Riley. But I don't want to see you lose that fiery spirit of yours." The parlor doors opened and Draco and Lucius emerged. Draco was now draped with the outer robes. He grabbed his cloak, pulling it around his shoulders. He also grabbed Riley's coat.
"Shall we get this over with?" He asked coldly. Riley nodded. She said her final goodbyes to Lucius and Narcissa. The parents watched as their son helped Riley up into the horse-drawn carriage that was uniform to the Yule Ball. He draped her jacket around her shoulders to keep the chill out. Riley said something and Draco scowled. Narcissa gasped as she saw Draco drape his arm around Riley's shoulders as well as her jacket. Lucius chuckled, noticing the pink on both Draco's and Riley's faces as they looked down and opposite directions from each other. Then the carriage drove off with the whinny of a horse. Narcissa and Lucius stood in the doorway for a moment and Narcissa giggled.
"Does this remind you of the first time we went to the Yule Ball together?" She asked, snuggling into her husband's side. He laughed a bit.
"You absolutely hated me then."
"Well, it was a date arranged by our parents. I couldn't enjoy myself and give them the satisfaction." She said as she shrugged slightly and looked up at him. He smirked gently down at her.
"Of course not." Then he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "Come inside before you catch a cold, Narcissa." He said. He led her inside, the door closing softly behind them.
The ball was already in full swing by the time that Draco and Riley arrived. Lanterns floated near the ceiling which bathed the room in a gentle, silver glow. The walls had been covered with pale blues and greys and snow fell from the ceiling.
The band was playing a song that the students were all dancing to. Riley glanced around as Draco took her coat. Her eyes drifted lazily over a couple dancing near to each other. She smiled as she recognized her friend. Stephanie had her hair pulled back and clipped with a large diamond-crusted clip. It fell in gentle curls around her neck and onto her shoulders. Her dress was a deep blue, strapless sweetheart neckline that draped down to her ankles. Her black, strappy heels glittered with silver from the small rhinestones on the straps. She was simply glowing with happiness. Harry was awkward and handsome in his robes. They really were perfect for each other. Stephanie's gentle and caring nature balanced out Harry's daring and quick-witted personality.
The song ended and everyone clapped. Draco was back at Riley's side. She glanced sideways at him. Grey eyes blinked at blue and then looked quickly away. Stephanie bounded up, her curls bouncing.
"Riley!" She exclaimed, "That's an absolutely gorgeous dress!" She reached forward and took Riley's hands in hers. The elder Hufflepuff kept gushing over how amazing and beautiful Riley looked. The younger girl blushed, looking down.
Draco sneered, glancing at the two girls. He noticed tghat Harry was walking Boy Who Lived slipped his arm around Stephanie's waist. He shot a glare at Draco.
"It's too bad her beauty is wasted on Malfoy." He spat.
"Watch it, Potter." Draco warned, scowling. Stephanie sighed and shook her head. Draco looked around. People were staring and whispering and pointing at the foursome.
"Look Riley! Everyone's talking about you!" Stephanie giggled, poking her friend in the side. Riley's blush deepened and she shook her head.
"It's because Draco and Harry aren't tearing each other apart." She muttered. Stephanie shook her head again. Just then, a slow song began to float over the air.
Stephanie and Riley looked at each other. Then Stephanie giggled and led Harry away by the hand. Couples were beginning to appear on the dance floor to dance to the song. Riley and Draco stood there. Riley felt her heart beginning to pound in her chest. What was going to happen? The only reason that they were there was because Draco's parents had wanted to meet the girl who'd saved their son from Voldemort. There was no reason for Draco to actually want to dance with her.
Riley's heart jumped in to her chest when she saw a pale hand outstretched towards her. Her eyes trailed up the arm and were captured by the grey orbs staring back at her.
"Well? Are you going to dance with me or not?" He hissed. She saw the soft pink in his cheeks, knowing it wasn't from being warm because the Hall was kept cool for the snow. She blinked a few times just the make sure he wasn't kidding. He cleared his throat, pushing his hand closer towards her. After gulping hard, she slipped her hand in to his. With a gentleness she never expected, Draco led her onto the dance floor. He brought her right hand up with his left hand. As she placed her hand on his shoulder, he put his on her waist. They were both flustered for a moment, Riley biting the inside of her bottom lip. Then they were dancing and Riley glanced up at him.
"You can dance?" Draco scoffed and looked down at Riley.
"My father forced me to take lessons." He made a face that was an imitation of his father's, "'No proper man doesn't know how to sweep a woman off her feet.' He would tell me." The voice was almost an exact replica of his father's. Riley couldn't help but to giggle. Draco felt a small smirk tugging at his lips.
Stephanie glanced over at where Riley and Draco were dancing. The long-haired blonde smiled.
"They're really cute together, aren't they?" She said to Harry. He looked over at the couple as well and rolled his eyes.
"I just can't trust him. It's hard to suddenly become friendly with someone who's teased you for six years." He muttered. Stephanie sighed and put her head on his shoulder, pulling herself closer to her boyfriend.
"Can't you at least be happy for Riley? She's been there for both of us through some really hard times. Who stayed with you all night when Sirius died?" Her blue eyes looked up in to Harry's as he looked away, caught in the truth.
"I know I should support Riley, and not just because she's your best friend. But," he paused, "Why couldn't she have fallen for someone in Griffindor or Hufflepuff? I'd even take a Ravenclaw boy! Why Draco Malfoy?" She shook her head.
"Love works in mysterious ways, love." He smirked and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
"You've got that right."
The night continued on. Students danced and laughed and chatted as the band played. Teachers were even dancing a little, just for fun. Draco, Riley, Stephanie, and Harry hung out a little. But Harry was always glaring at Draco. He never said anything nasty, but he didn't offer up any pleasantries either. Sooner than everyone would have liked, the ball was drawing to a close. The second to last slow dance came on and Draco and Riley were instantly in each other's arms.
Riley no longer felt awkward and strange dancing with Draco. She was calm in his presence. A small smile had made itself a home on Riley's lips. Her temporarily bright blue eyes looked up at Draco. He blinked at her.
"I meant to ask earlier," he whispered, "But why are you wearing contacts?" Riley blushed slightly.
"Stephanie said that my eyes needed to be a different type of beautiful tonight." She murmured.
"They're beautiful when they're pale blue." The girl blinked and looked up at Draco. He realized what he'd just said and looked anywhere but in to Riley's eyes. His mind also finally took in the fact that he and Riley were now dancing much closer than they had at the beginning of the night. He suddenly felt like he'd swallowed a group of butterflies. He looked over at his left hand, his palm surrounding Riley's. The black ring with a red gem glinted at him, as if winking. He took a deep breath. With a smooth motion, he tilted his hand and slid his fingers in the spaces between Riley's. Somehow, they fit perfectly. Riley was startled a bit and looked up in to Draco's eyes. His own grey eyes stared down into the dark blue of Riley's.
"Draco?" She asked gently.
"Riley," he began, "I-"
"Excuse me," said a voice behind them. Draco felt a light tap on his shoulder, "May I cut in?" Riley looked behind Draco as his hands fell from her and he turned away. Her eyes widened and her chest tightened.
"Alva," She breathed. A tanned boy with short, straight chestnut hair stood behind Draco. He obviously wasn't a student. He wore a tuxedo rather than robes. His white undershirt's collar was over his jacket and the top two buttons were unbuttoned to expose more of his light brown skin. His eyes were a sparkling, mischievous green.
Riley felt her hands begin to shake as she took a step back from the boy. She wanted nothing but to run as fast as she could away from this place. Draco looked at Riley and saw the terror in her eyes. He frowned, his brow furrowing. The band switched to another slow song. The boy, Alva, stepped up to Riley and put his hand on her hip. He pulled her away, leaving Draco stunned and alone in the middle of all the dancing couples.
Alva pushed his hand into Riley's and lifted it into the air so they were dancing. No one seemed to notice the boy of Egyptian decent among them. Riley refused to look at his glinting green eyes.
"You've grown up quite beautifully, Riley dear." He said, his voice a deep, vibrating sound. She shivered at the sound. He smirked.
"What's wrong? Have you missed me?" He asked, dipping his head down so she was forced to look at him. She smelled a strong scent coming from him. What was it?
"Why are you here, Alva?" She hissed lowly. He pouted and straightened his back, but then grinned darkly.
"Can I not just come to see my Riley-pet?"
"Don't call me that!" She growled.
"Come now," he said, moving his lips to Riley's ear, "You've been a bad girl. I haven't been able to find you for some time now." More tremors traveled down her spine.
"I had to run away," She whispered. He raised an eyebrow, but continued to grin.
"Why is that?" Behind her contacts, her eyes dulled a bit.
"You broke me; drove me insane. I had no choice. I had to lock my powers away and leave." He frowned, a dark look coming in to his green eyes.
"Locked your powers away?" She nodded mechanically. He scowled. He removed his hand from hers, her hand falling limply to her side. He put his fingers under her chin and forced her head up to look at him.
"Unlock them," he commanded. She shook her head slightly. His lip twitched in to a sneer.
Stephanie looked around. She saw Draco standing by himself near a wall. She frowned and broke away from Harry who made a noise of protest. She ignored him and walked over to Draco.
"Draco? Where's Riley?" She asked. He shrugged angrily, his arms over his chest.
"What should I care? She's over dancing with some Egyptian." He grumbled.
"Egyptian?" He nodded and jerked his head to the left. Stephanie turned her head and saw Riley standing by a boy she'd never seen before. He lowered his hand from under her chin and grabbed her left hand. He was looking at something on her fingers. Then he slid his fingers over her hand, saying something. Riley's eyes widened and she seemed to snap out of a sort of trance. She tried to pull her hand away from him, but he held her wrist tightly in his grip.
"Something's wrong," Stephanie said quickly. Draco blinked and looked up. Riley had her other hand on Alva's chest and was trying to push away from him. Draco pushed off the wall and forced his way through the crowd.
"Let go! Don't touch that!" She said desperately, trying to pull her hand away. Alva touched the ring on her finger.
"What's this? A link? Surely you didn't lose control of the Dream Realm? After all I taught you?" He shook his head and clicked his tongue in a disappointed manner. He felt a spark come from the gem. Riley winced as the ring burned on her finger.
"Oh? It's also keeping your powers in check, now that I look at it properly." He said, his face close to the blue gem. Riley felt her knees going weak as he tampered with the seals.
"Stop," she said softly. Her legs gave out under her and she was forced on to her knees on the floor. Alva smiled evilly.
"No can do, Riley-pet. I need you back to your powerful, unthinking self. And for that," He smirked and placed his index finger on the blue gem, "This can't exist."
Riley started to scream. A pressure came from Alva's finger and a crack appeared in the gem. At that moment, a burst of energy pulsed out from Riley's body. It pushed over everything in the room, all the students screaming with terror. Draco brought his arms up to shield his face from the shock wave. More came from Riley's body as Alva continued to try and break the seal on her powers. Draco felt pain shoot up his arm and he cried out. He looked down and saw the carnelian in his ring glowing a burning, angry red.
The room was bathed with a eerie, blue light. Everything was slowly stopping it's movement. People were halted in their fleeing, snow stopped midair, and all sound melted away. Draco looked up and saw Riley almost crumpled on the floor. Her eyes sliced sideways at him. Her contacts had disappeared and she looked at him with pupil-less eyes. She lifted her hand that wasn't in Alva's grasp. A blue glow began in her palm. She stretched her arm out straight towards Draco, her fingers apart. His eyes widened as he realized what she was doing.
"No! Riley!" He yelled. "Don't send me away!" Stephanie ran over to Draco and crouched down next to him.
"What's going on?" She asked, her voice panicked. Harry was right behind her, shielding her from Riley and Alva. Draco ignored her.
"Riley!" He yelled again. The glow in her hand continued to grow. Draco saw her pale lips move.
"Run," she mouthed. Then she shot the blue orb at them. Draco jumped up and wrapped his arms around Stephanie and Harry. The orb hit him in the back and they were swallowed by it.
The trio was spat out in a forest, skidding across the damp floor. Harry got up and hurried over to Stephanie to check if she was all right. Draco sat up on his knees. He stared at the forest floor, his palms on the cool surface. Harry snarled and whipped his head towards Draco.
"What the hell was that Malfoy?" The blonde didn't respond. Harry sneered. Stephanie sat up, grabbing on to Harry's arm.
"Harry, stop," she whispered. He shook his head.
"No! This is all screwed up! I bet it has something to do with Ma—"
"I couldn't do anything," Draco said softly. Harry and Stephanie both looked at Draco's hunched over back. His hand came up, curled into a fist and then he slammed it in to the ground.
"I couldn't do a damn thing! Again!" He yelled, scaring a flock of birds from a nearby tree. There was silence for a second, then Stephanie stood up. She walked over to Draco and knelt down by him. She put her hand on his back.
"Why am I so useless?" He whispered, his body shaking.