Chapter Thirteen
"Whats wrong with you?" Taryn asked Draco in a near whisper. She was surprised when he pushed past her, entering the room.
"What were you doing with Harry Potter in the far stacks?" Draco asked bluntly. His platinum hair was tousled, the grooves from where he had raked his fingers were clearly evident.
"How do you know about that?" Taryn asked, confused at his tone.
"Several people were all too pleased to let me know that they saw you going into the far stacks with Harry fuckin' Potter, now tell me, why?" Draco asked angrily.
"I needed to talk to him about something, not that it concerns you. Why are you so angry? I know that you don't like him, but this seems a bit extreme," she said, waving her hand to encompass his form. His body was rigid with anger.
"Do you know why people go into the far stacks, Taryn?" Draco asked, his voice had gone silky, yet still managed to be laced with menace.
"To get books? Its a bloody library. Why else would they be there?" she said in exasperation.
"How can you be so naïve? They go back there to fuck, not to look for books!" His voice had gotten louder.
Taryn's temper snapped."Be quiet! Chase is asleep! I did not go back there to 'fuck' Harry, as you so eloquently put it. I am not one of those little slags that you're used to dealing with. Yes, I sleep with you, but you are the only guy that I am sleeping with. I thought you understood that. I thought that you trusted me," she paused, before sucking in a deep breath and calming herself by sheer will.
"I don't want you to be alone with other guys!"
"Draco," Taryn began calmly, "I am not your possession. This are not the Middle Ages, and you aren't my husband. You aren't even my bloody boyfriend. You don't get to decide who I spend time with."
"This is all because I wont go to that fuckin' Christmas party, right? Shit, if its so important I'll take you."
Taryn couldn't believe his gall. "This is not about a Christmas party. Its about you and me and whatever it is we're doing. You need to decide what you want, because frankly I'm tired of this weird, uncertain, thing we're doing. Are we just shagging? Or are we something more?"
Draco was speechless and bloody pissed. No girl had ever put him on the spot like this. Well, they had tried, but it had never affected him in this way. He felt like a worm wriggling on a hook, and he didn't like it. It wasn't like she had been hinting that she wanted something more. Didn't she realize just how much he had let her in? Obviously not.
Letting her into his sparring room had been like letting her peek into his soul. He spent more time with her than anyone else, and he had thought that while whatever it was that they were doing was untitled, it was comfortable. He wasn't forcing her to be with him.
This was coming out of the blue as far as he was concerned. Taryn was trying to neatly wrap him around her finger, and he couldn't allow it. He had too much at stake to let this get in the way of his mission. This wasn't a time for teenage romance, but he was reluctant to just end it, to put such a final note on whatever they were. "I need some time to think," was all he said, before he turned and left the room.
Draco avoided Taryn like the plague the next day. A fact that was gleefully was noted by much of the female population in the castle. They were unsurprised. They thought it per usual. Other that his ill fated relationship with Pansy, Draco had never stayed with any girl long term.
He knew that it was hurting her feelings, and he hated that he had put that look on her face, but it couldn't be helped. He had kidded himself when he'd though that starting something with her would actually work. He had known going in that she wasn't the type of girl to just shag a bloke and go on without catching feelings, but he'd been just selfish enough to ignore what he knew to be true. He felt like he had used her, and while it had started that way, it had changed rather quickly. He hadn't expected to have feelings for her. He just...liked her, she'd been like a balm to his soul.
Somehow, and he couldn't say exactly when it had happened, she had become essential. Other than fighting, she was the only thing that could give him that sense of peace he craved. That is when she wasn't tying him in knots. They were both so passionate. If they weren't arguing they were shagging. If they weren't shagging they were probably arguing, and in between those intense moments were pockets of calm where they just got each other, and it felt like nirvana. However, the tempers soon came back and they found themselves once again at an impasse that usually was solved with a thorough shagging. He didn't think that the tactic would work this time. Too many things had been revealed. And even more things were being kept hidden, especially on his end.
He had finally had to admit to himself that he cared about her, probably more than any other girl he had ever been with. It was why he had to push her away, but at the same time he hated the thought that she might move on.
Blokes were certainly starting to notice her. He saw the lust filled looks that were sent her way. The way they looked at her curvy little body made him practically mental. He wanted to go Neanderthal and toss her over his shoulder, screaming "MINE" at any male that dared to approach, and this unsettled him greatly.
He had never been the possessive type, mostly because he hadn't ever wanted a witch to think that she had the right act the same. That she had any rights to him.
The feelings that he had for Taryn didn't even compare to the to the many dalliances that he had had before. It was like comparing a puddle to the whole Atlantic Ocean. His feelings for Taryn reached down to his most basic, primal, depths. A place that had heretofore had only been inhabited by anger and the drive to fight. He had been practically gobsmacked when he had come to the realization that if he wasn't in his current situation he might not have minded being Taryn's.
She made him consider things that he had never envisioned for himself. Like what life would be like after they graduated from Hogwarts. He found himself thinking of traveling, that is if he actually managed to live past this year, and taking her with him. He had vivid, colorful daydreams of them both in places like Venice and Paris. Her appearance in his daydreams had been a given, and that scared him. He couldn't let this go on. He couldn't let her to know that she had so much power over him, and it was becoming far too evident to everyone else that he barely had control of himself in regard to her. So he had done what he always did. He ran from it using his best ploy. It had been far to easy, comfortable, to slip back into his superior veneer. It was one of his best armors, and settled over his skin like a favored, if somewhat tarnished shield.
Even though he knew that it was counterproductive, he still wanted to knock Felix Serrano's teeth out of his fucking mouth. The guy was up to no good, and Taryn wasn't experienced enough to note the hot looks the wizard sent her way. The bloke only wanted in her knickers, and just the thought of his even trying to do so made Draco want to break bones. He felt positively savage at the thought, and that seriously unhinged him. He only felt this intense when he was about to demolish an opponent in the cage, and even then it wasn't nearly this bad. In the cage he had control. With Taryn he was holding on to control with the tips of his bloody fingers.
When he heard that Taryn had invited the other wizard to Slughorn's party as her date, he had literally contemplated murder. He knew he couldn't actually kill the bloke, but he wanted to seriously fuck him up.
He had been spinning thoughts of how he could end Serrano, when his mind clicked. He needed to be working on his plan to kill Dumbledore, not spending time imagining ways to beat the shit out of Felix Serrano, though it was now on his to do list. The guy might even be a slight challenge. He was a big as shit seventh year Ravenclaw. He was a Beater on the Ravenclaw squad, so Draco knew him casually. He had never before had a problem with the guy, though he didn't like the bloke's attitude. He was one of those burly guys that thought just because they were big that it meant they could do whatever they wanted. Serrano talked a lot of shit, and with any of the other pussies in school the bluster might have held water, but Draco knew that he could take him.
Many men had underestimated Draco before after seeing his delicately handsome features and lean body, and lived to regret it. He was used to battling fighters with actual skills and training, so taking Serrano down would be a cake walk.
The part that pissed him off the most was that he wouldn't – couldn't – say anything to Taryn about the date. He could tell that she obviously wanted him to, but he couldn't risk it. At the end of the day though, he cared about her, and so he was still going to keep an eye out for her.
This decision had him sitting on one of the many couches in the common room, pretending to read, while waiting for her to appear.
Taryn was to meet Felix in the entrance hall so they could walk to Slughorn's office, where the party was being held, together.
She had fretted for over an hour on what to wear. She had a point to make. She wanted Draco's jaw to hit the bloody floor, to push him to finally make a decision instead of childishly avoiding her. She knew that it was one of the oldest tricks in the book to make a wizard jealous, but it had to be one of the oldest tricks for a reason.
He had totally ignored her the entire day, pretty much forcing her hand to her way of thinking. Draco thought that he was such a master of hiding his emotions, but she could see them. She'd spent enough time in his company to recognize at least some of them, and she knew that Felix got under his skin, though she didn't entirely understand why. Felix was a nice guy, if a little pushy with his company.
Her plan for Slughorn's party had been to just go with Chase if she couldn't get Draco to agree to escort her, but she hadn't wanted to ruin his "date" with Oliver. She knew that the long distance relationship was hard on her friend and it wasn't often that Oliver's schedule matched with Chase's.
Before the fight it hadn't really bothered her that Draco hadn't wanted to go to the party, but now it had become a sore point. She wanted to respect his decision about needing time to think, but she would not be ignored. It hurt. She hadn't thought that he was going to completely ignore her, and it was like a knife in the chest when he only spoke to her when it would be completely rude not to do so.
She was beyond confused. His mood swings were giving her whiplash. He avoided any overtures she began about their relationship, but at the same time still sat beside her in all the classes they shared. It pissed her off that he was pushing her away and still trying to pull her closer all at the same time. On the other hand, he was still being possessive, and it gave her hope that he would come around, though she really didn't like the possessiveness. It was ridiculous. She almost expected him to piss in a circle around her in some primitive show of machismo to warn off other guys.
Inviting Felix to the party was simply a survival tactic. She knew that Felix liked her, and it did make her feel just a little bad to use him. He'd made it pretty obvious that he'd accept any bone she wanted to throw his way, so she knew that he would accept her request to accompany her to the Christmas party. Going with Felix just just wasn't how she had wanted to spend the night. Her lack of enthusiasm had made choosing whether to wear traditional dress robes or a modern dress a chore. All she really wanted to do was burrow under her covers in her rattiest, most comfortable pajamas, but she wouldn't allow Draco the satisfaction. She was going to blow his mind. That is if she could make a decision between her two top choices.
Chase had finally come to her rescue. "You should definitely wear that," he said pointing to her first choice, "Draco will swallow his tongue when he sees you. You'll look hot. If I was straight even I'd be trying to shag you," he ended with a laugh.
"You don't think its too much?" she asked hesitantly. The long sleeved, gold mini dress was deceptively modest, but for the length, in front. The back, however, was quite daring. It would reveal her entire back, stopping just over the curve of her bum. It was also quite formfitting, though that didn't really bother her. In actuality her dance clothes were just as tight, but they didn't scream sex like this dress did. If she wasn't so upset and angry with Draco she probably wouldn't even be contemplating wearing the dress.
"You want to send a message, right?" Chase asked.
"I want him to realize what he's missing by acting the way he is. I know its sort of childish, but I don't know what else to do," she said quietly. She really didn't. No matter the fact that Draco didn't want to admit that they were in a relationship. That was exactly where they had been heading. The problem was she didn't have any experience. She was totally out of her depth with Draco. He didn't really act like a teenager, and while her death had changed and matured her, it hadn't imparted the sort of knowledge that would help her with Draco. She had only what she had seen with other girls, and Tracey's piecey memories.
"Well, you are going to kill him if you wear that dress. Murder by fashion," Chase said with a grin. "What are you going to do with your hair?"
"Draco really likes my hair down, but since this dress is backless I'm going to let it do its wavy thing, but have it pinned to one side. Kind of a side swept, old Hollywood style."
"Nice, sounds good," Chase said nodding.
Taryn dressed quickly, slipping her feet into matching gold pumps. Her makeup she did almost naturally, using a deep dark brown for her liner, and soft, rosy blush, but using a dramatic true red on her lips. She misted herself with a light raspberry-vanilla scented perfume, and grabbed a small clutch on her way out.
"Good luck," Chase called from behind her.
Taryn took a deep breath, and walked down the corridor of Serpent Hall, heading for the main Slytherin common room. Thank Merlin for Tracey's dance training she thought, because Hermione Granger would have slipped and fell with her first step in the tall pair of shoes. She reasoned that in these heels, she wouldn't even have to stand on tiptoe to reach Draco's mouth.
Upon entering the common room, her eyes unerringly found Draco's, and his expression was everything that she wanted. A delicious shiver ran through her body in reaction. She watched heat kindle within his eyes, turning them from dove grey to smoky charcoal. He snapped the book he was holding close, his gaze slipping down her body like a warm caress, before he seemed to catch himself. He suddenly frowned, looking around at the other boys who were obviously appreciating the view as much as he was. She could see his body tense, and was shocked when he stood and walked from the room without saying one word to her.
"Shit, Davis," said Theo Nott, striding up to her. "No wonder Draco keeps you locked up."
Taryn looked at him dismissively, before squaring her shoulders and leaving the Slytherin dungeons.
At the entrance hall, Felix waited for her, leaning against a wall lazily. He stood at attention when he saw her approaching. His gaze roved her much like Draco's had, but produced none of the same reactions. She almost wished that she had decided to wear a traditional dress robe, especially when his hand came to rest on her bare back as he escorted her to Slughorn's office.
"Did you see that?" Felix asked leading her up the marble staircase.
"See what?" Taryn asked distractingly. Her mind had been on Draco, and she hadn't heard anything the wizard had been saying.
"Potter's bringing Loony Lovegood to the party," he said on a laugh, fully expecting Taryn to join in. "He could have taken anyone, and he chose her?"
The other couple was walking in front of them and Taryn saw Harry stiffen at the other boy's comment. She knew Harry would say something but she beat him to the punch. "Dont call her that. Luna is a nice girl," she said evenly, her tone low.
Felix glanced at her, realizing his verbal misstep. He clammed for a minute, but seemed to rally quickly beginning to chat about some sort of quidditch nonsense that Taryn didn't care the least about.
Taryn was surprised at her first glimpse of Slughorn's office. She had thought it strange that he would be having a party in his office, but obviously the room had been built larger or magically made so. The walls and ceiling were draped with emerald, crimson, and gold hangings, making it seem as if the room was a large Arabian tent. It was crowded, and the air was stale with the press of bodies and perfumes. The room was bathed in a red light cast by an ornate golden lamp that had real fairies fluttering inside.
A haze of pipe smoke, originating from a group of elderly wizards deep in conversation, blanketed the room. The music was terrible, consisting of loud singing accompanied by mandolins. House-elves navigated the room bearing heavy silver platters heaped with food.
Taryn saw Slughorn rushing forward to greet Harry, and rolled her eyes at his attire. The man was wearing a crushed velvet smoking jacket, and a matching tasseled hat that looked ridiculous.
Taryn was beginning to think that coming to the party was a bad idea. First there wasn't anyone that she knew, apart from her former Gryffindor friends, and second, Felix was beginning to make her very uncomfortable. He was using the excuse of leading her through the crowd to rub his hand in slow circles on her back. She edged away from him, putting in some much needed space.
"Felix, would you get me a beverage? I'm simply parched," she asked sweetly, laying on the charm. Anything to get him away from her.
"Sure, doll," he said moving through the crowd toward a house-elf holding a tray of goblets.
Doll? Taryn rolled her eyes in disgust, before using his absence to duck through the crowd, hiding in one of the curtained alcoves. She could have slapped herself for her stupidity. Obviously in dressing for Draco, she had given Felix entirely the wrong impression.
The crowd moved and she soon found herself in a prime position to listen in on a conversation between Harry, Slughorn, and Snape, who was being dragged forward by the newly rehired potions master. She peered out at them from behind the nearly transparent fabric.
Snape, of course, looked like he wanted to be anywhere else, a look that was shared by Harry.
"Join us, Severus!" hiccuped Slughorn happily. He was obviously already deep in his cups. "I was just talking about how exceptional Harry is at potion-making! You must have some credit in this of course. You taught him for five years!"
Snape looked at Harry, his eyes narrowed. "Really? I never had the impression that I managed to teach Potter anything at all."
"Must be a natural ability then!" shouted Slughorn. "You should have seen what he produced on his first lesson. A perfect Draught of Living Death! Never have I had a student brew a finer specimen on their first attempt. I don't think even you, Severus– "
"Really?" said Snape again, his eyes boring into Harry.
"What other subjects are you taking Harry?" asked Slughorn.
Taryn was shifting from foot to foot, cursing herself for choosing such tall heels, and drifting out of the conversation until she heard Luna speak.
"I don't think that you should be an Auror Harry. The Aurors are part of the Rotfang Conspiracy, I thought everyone knew that. They have been working to bring down the Ministry of Magic from within using a combination of Dark Magic and gum disease."
Taryn let out an unladylike snort as she started to laugh, but stopped mid-giggle at the sight of Draco being dragged into the room by Filch.
"Professor Slughorn," wheezed Filch, "I discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor. He claims to have been invited to your party and delayed in his arrival. Did you invite him?" he questioned, his expression gleeful at the chance of punishing a student if Draco was found to be lying.
Draco angrily pulled himself from Filch's grip.
"All right, I wasn't invited. I was trying to gate-crash, happy?"
"You're in trouble," Filch said happily. "The headmaster said that nighttime prowling is out, unless you've got permission."
Draco crossed his arms. "I have permission as a prefect, right Professor Snape?"
Snape was watching Draco with a look equal parts anger and something else. "I'd like a word with you Draco," he said quietly.
"Oh, now, Severus," said Slughorn, hiccuping again, "Its Christmas, and its not a crime to want to go to a party. Don't be so hard on–"
"I'm his Head of House," Snape interrupted, "and I shall decide how hard, or otherwise to be. Follow me Draco."
While everyone was watching the two leave the room, Taryn used the distraction, and a quickly applied Disillusionment charm, to skirt the edges of the room to follow them.
Once out in the corridor, she paused for a moment, wondering where they had went. Snape could have taken Draco to his office...or perhaps to the common room. She slipped the heels from her feet and walked quickly down the corridor listening at door after door, finally in a stoke of pure luck hearing voices coming from the last classroom at the end.
She knew enough not to stand directly in front of the door. What if they should open it suddenly and walk into her? She cast a quick non-verbal Audientes, grimacing at the slight buzz in her ears before the voices clearly resonated. It was like she was standing inside the room right next to them.
"...cannot afford to make mistakes, Draco, because if you are expelled–"
"I didn't have anything to do with it!"
"I hope you are telling the truth, because if you aren't it was both inept and clumsy, and now suspicion is being thrown your way."
"What's new? People are always suspicious of me. They don't have any proof so this discussion is moot."
There was a beat of silence before Snape spoke again.
"I see your Aunt Bellatrix has been teaching you Occlumency. What are you trying to conceal from the Dark Lord, Draco?"
Taryn's hand flew to her mouth to stifle her gasp. Draco was a Deatheater? She hadn't seen the mark. She'd kissed nearly every inch of his body, and had never seen it. It was customary for the mark to be placed on the forearm, so why hadn't she seen it? He must leave it concealed. It must be a very strong glamour charm. A long term glamour took a great deal of personal power and control. Had he been so controlled all of the times that they had been together? Or was he simply that powerful? Either way, it was only one more revelation that she was ill prepared to deal with.
"I'm not trying to conceal anything from him, I just don't want you in my head," Draco was saying.
"Listen to me," said Snape, his voice low. "I'm trying to help you. I swore to your mother that I would protect you. I made the Unbreakable Vow–"
"Why would Mother come to you of all people? She shouldn't have done that. I'm not a child! I don't need your protection. This is something that I alone have to do, and I don't trust you or anyone else to do it. I have a plan, and it will work, its just taking longer than expected."
"What is your plan?"
"None of your business!"
"I can assist you."
"I said I don't need you, I work alone."
"Well you certainly were alone tonight. Why were you wondering the corridors anyway? Following Miss Davis I presume? You don't have time to waste on silly love–"
"Don't talk about her!" Draco interrupted.
"You are acting like a child, Draco. I understand that your father's imprisonment and the precarious position your mother is in has upset you, but–"
Suddenly the door was ripped open, and Draco was striding down the corridor, past the open door to Slughorn's office, around the distant corridor, and out of sight.
Taryn slid down the wall to the floor, wrapping her arms around her knees, the chill of the stone wall against her bare back. Her mind was racing, and she was crushed. She had just found out Draco was a Deatheater, and Merlin help her, she was in love with him.