Chapter 9
I had two sets of lessons at Hogwarts now; my classes with my professors, with their homework and their classrooms, and my lessons with the Army, which were much more interesting. Neville wanted me producing a patronus by Halloween. I also was trying my best to keep up with Draco. He was eager enough, often seeking me out in class or on my lonely (or at least intended to be) lakeside walks.
It was nearing the end of October, and I was getting nervous. I was only able to produce wisps of silver from my wand so far, which was disappointing. Luna dragged me to an empty classroom a few nights a week and made me practice. She was quite set on my success in the DA. I was glad for her help. I had already learned a slew of new defensive spells, which counteracted the rather nasty attack spells I was learning in Dark Arts. I wasn't learning a lot from Draco, but he was speaking more naturally with me. Almost like a friend, in his tone, though the subjects he spoke of were another matter entirely. I often found myself nodding absently when he talked about the improvements in the Ministry of Magic, saying, "I'm still not familiar enough with the Ministry to really have an opinion," when asked. I often agreed with him aloud, but the words left a bitter taste in my mouth. Muggle borns were just as magical as any other wizard, in my opinion. An anomaly, yes, but they certainly possessed an equal amount of skill. It was all part of the act, though, and I had to keep it up.
I stood in the mirrored room in late October, surrounded by the Army. I smiled nervously, as was my habit, adjusting the collar that had suddenly grown tight around my neck. "Alright. Here goes, I guess." I screwed up my face, held my wand out in front of me, and squeaked, "Expecto… patronum." Nothing happened. "Oh, er, that was bad. I'll have another go. Expecto patronum." A jet of silver shot out of my wand.
"Come on, you can do this," muttered Neville. I took a deep breath and emptied my mind of everything, but for one happy thought.
"Expecto partonum," I whispered. There was a whooshing sound, and I slowly opened my eyes.
"What," someone said, "is that?"
"Oh. Um, I think it's a… is that a dog or a cat?" The silver animal sat quietly, staring around it. It had long silver fur that fluttered in a nonexistent breeze, moon-colored eyes glancing around curiously. It stood, uncoiling its long, fluffy silver tail from around its feet and walking up to me. It couldn't have been taller than my knee. "Maybe some kind of fox. Interesting."
Nevile started to clap. "Well done!" he said, clapping me on the shoulder. The fox disappeared , silver mist blowing away. Luna also smiled and congratulated me. She had been producing a patronus for years, but I was still proud of myself. After looking into the library for some books on taxonomy, I determined that it was a fox- a corsac, from central Asia.
The next morning, I was still slightly smug from my accomplishment. I was up before everyone else, as usual, despite staying up late with the DA the night before. Draco sat down next to me before the other Ravenclaws appeared. "You seem like you're in a good mood."
"Well, as it would happen, I am in a good mood. How perceptive of you."
"May I guess why?"
"Go for it."
"It's the first Hogsmeade trip of the year this weekend."
I paused for a moment, taken aback. I had forgotten all about it. "Oh. You're right. And then Halloween. Do people dress up here? Halloween at Salem was spectacular." Salem was a Halloween-themed town for magical folk and muggles alike, and every year the school would turn several hundred girls out onto the town. Some people liked to play tricks on the muggles, but I just liked to wear something spectacular and have a gelato in a coffee shop by the water.
"Er… no, they don't."
"Damn. No fun, you Brits."
"What exactly would you dress up as…" Draco raised his eyebrow at me. I shrugged.
"I've always liked period costuming, so probably robes like you'd see in the fifteen hundreds or something. Why, were you hoping I would say Sexy Nurse?"
"Not hoping, just curious." He smiled, and looked around. More people were coming in now. "I was just wondering if you'd like to go with me."
"Well you'll be there and I'll be there, so I don't see… oh. Go with you. Like, a unit?"
"I was thinking more of a date."
"Oh." My face must have turned bright red. "Um, sure. Yes. Okay."
"First stop, I'll take you to Honeydukes. I can't have you stealing my sweets all the time. My parents send me those out of the goodness of their hearts."
I laughed lightly, thinking back on what Luna said and wondering if they had any goodness in their hearts at all. "Alright then. Sounds like a plan."
He strode off to the Slytherin table just as Luna plopped down beside me. "You're embarrassed about something," she said. It was not a question.
"Uh… I'm going to Hogsmeade. With… Malfoy."
"Oh, good. He hasn't been very useful yet, but he might invite you over for Christmas Break or something."
"You're very calm about this."
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Because, Luna…" I leaned in close and whispered. "I went to a witches school. This is… my first date. Ever."
"Oh." Luna's eyes widened as she began to comprehend. "Ooooh." She spooned a hefty amount of treacle onto her porridge, then spread marmite on her toast. "Well, you're just doing it as part of your act."
"I know, but it's still nerve-wracking. I mean, maybe I could be his girlfriend or something, and find out a bunch of stuff, but maybe I won't find out anything and I'll be subjugating myself to this, all for naught... and what am I supposed to wear?"
The next question was answered that night. I asked Luna to pretend I was going on a date with Neville or Terry, so that her opinion wouldn't be swayed by her hate for Draco. She found my style of dress a little too simple, and I found hers a little too outlandish, but eventually she helped me pick out a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans, a lacy white blouse, a leather jacket for the cold and leather knee-high boots, good for walking around cobblestone streets in. In the morning, I actually put on makeup, carefully swiping mascara on my lashes and dabbing on lip gloss. A quick charm ensured that it wouldn't slide off my face during the day. My sapphire necklace glittered in the sunlight, unhidden by my uniform. Luna met me in the common room, also decked out in colorful, striped splendor. She and I would leave at different times; Draco did not like Luna, Luna did not like Draco, and I thought it would be best if he didn't get the chance to insult her in front of me.
He was waiting in the entrance hall, in jeans and sneakers. It was odd seeing him out of his uniform, but I thought it was an improvement. He looked sharp in a black wool trenchcoat, stark against his pale skin. "Hello there," I said, bouncing up beside him.
"Hello," he said. "Ready to go?"
"Yep."
"Alright then." He led me out, and we approached into a carriage. I lightly patted the flank of the thestral, and he looked at me incredulously. "What are you doing?"
"Thanking our noble steed."
"They're anything but noble. Ugly things, aren't they?"
"You can see them?" Draco nodded. I was going to ask how, but reconsidered when he looked away uncomfortably. "Ah. Well, I won't ask if you won't." He nodded, and extended his hand to help me into the carriage. An old family friend, in the hospital in the states. She had been sick for a long time. I wondered if she knew about my heritage. I figured Draco had seen some muggles or muggle-borns die in his service to You-Know-Who. I shuddered at the thought.
We chatted idly all the way to Hogsmeade, until I hopped out of the carriage and shaded my eyes against the October sun. "So. You promised me Honeydukes, and so I expect Honeydukes. Lead the way."
"Alright, alright. I'm coming." He scrambled out behind me, and surprisingly, took my arm. I was surprised, but didn't resist. If this was what being a double-agent was like, I certainly didn't mind. "There, do you see it?"
I could see a lot of things. Hogsmeade was the most adorable, delightful town I had ever seen. The roofs were mostly thatch, and the cottages had quaint front gardens. I loved it immediately. Of course, I loved it even more when I saw Honeydukes. The wide windows were filled with amazing, colorful displays. "Is this real life?" I asked, opening the door.
"Um, yes. Yes it is."
"Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate… this one has strawberry mousse and clotted cream… oh my goodness, look at that fudge… coconut ice… Draco, this is paradise."
"How is it possible you're not fat?"
I shrugged, grabbing a bag and filling it with sweets. "Don't know. I'm fatter than I was at the beginning of the summer. I blame your rich English food."
"I wasn't calling you fat, you know. You're thin."
"Oh, I know. I just was unhealthily skinny before. Don't worry, I take it as a compliment. I'm not one of those girls who freak out at any mention of their weight." I smiled at him, then asked the man behind the counter for a sample of one of the more exotic flavors of fudge. Loot stuffed into my bag, we browsed the shops. I got a fine pheasant quill to replace my pencils, and a pot of black ink. "You'll have to teach me how to use this, you know," I said, absently running the tip of the quill back and forth underneath my chin. "I'm an ignorant Yank."
"You're the least Yankish Yank I've ever heard of, your royal highness."
"Shut up." I punched him lightly on the arm. We were getting towards the edge of town now. "Hey, what used to be here?"
"Dervish and Bang's. Closed last year." The building was boarded up, like a few others I had seen. I pulled my jacket closer around me, pulling my hair out of my face. "The Shrieking Shack's up here. Supposedly the most haunted house in Britain."
"That's ominous. But it's… one already," I said, checking my watch. "We should probably get some real food in us."
"How about the Three Broomsticks?"
"You know better than I what's good around here."
"Alright then." He took my arm again and steered me back towards High Street. I noticed students staring at us as we walked down the street. I held my head high and tried not to look uncomfortable. Draco was eating up the attention, even going so far as to put his hand around my waist to steer me into the bar.
It was warm inside, smoky and crowded. Most of the people were students. The bartender was an attractive older woman, from whom Draco ordered a butterbeer for himself and fine mead for myself. It was certainly different here, whereas in America, puritanical laws still bound up alcohol sales, and I wouldn't be able to get anything even mildly alcoholic. I sipped the mead slowly, filling my stomach with beef-and-bacon pie, so I barely felt the effects of the mead. I also snacked on some chocolate. Draco paid the bill- I didn't even offer to pay for my meal. "So…"
"So?"
"I dunno. Anything particularly interesting around here, apart from the glorious heaven that is Honeydukes?"
Draco shrugged. "Not really. We could walk back to school instead of taking the carriage, though. If it's not too cold."
"It's not. I have my trusty jacket. And besides, it's not even close to dark."
"Alright then. Come on."
The woods were quiet. We walked in silence for a while. We were a ways from Hogsmeade when Draco put his hand on my shoulder. "Jack, I have something I want to talk about."
"Yes?" My heart was beating far too fast than was healthy.
"Well, I know we've become friends, and most people already assume, but I wanted to ask you, formally, if you would like to be my girlfriend." His tone was not asking at all; it was smug, confident, as if he was positive I would say yes. My stomach was in knots. Of course, considering my position in the DA, I knew what I had to say.
"Oh. Um, well… I've never… yes?"
"Yes." He smiled, and leaned forward. I would have jerked back, but for the fact that his arm was already around my waist. Our lips met, with far too much pressure at first; but the kiss softened, became gentle, and I began to return it. As far as first kisses went, it was romantic on the surface; in the woods with a handsome English boy. It was much more than that, though; it was my in. My path into the lives of the Death Eaters. My thoughts were racing, but my instincts soon kicked in, and I kissed him back. I broke it off after a few seconds.
"Uh… wow."
"What?" He smirked down at me.
"That was… nice. Er, you're my first kiss, you know."
He leaned in and kissed me again, for longer this time. "And your second." Another kiss. "And your third."
"Okay, okay," I giggled. "Don't we have school to get to or something?"
"We have time."
"Okay. As long as we're back before dark."
On the way back, Draco tried kissing me more. He would grab me, cradle the back of my head, push me against a tree, or wrap his arm around my waist. I reciprocated as best I could, trying to learn what to actually do with my lips. Eventually, we made it back to Hogwarts, stumbling through the door just before dinner. He pecked me on the cheek and headed off to the Slytherin table. Now it was certain that everyone was looking at me. I flushed, staring at the floor, shuffling to my spot next to Luna. "So I guess you're together now."
"Don't. Say. Anything."
She smiled in the dreamy, enigmatic way she had, but obliged, changing the subject to the loot I produced from my bag. Luna quickly took a chocolate and popped it in her mouth. I sat down and thought about what homework I had to do.
