Chapter Nineteen
Third Person POV
Draco walked into the Great Hall and paused when the entire hall went silent. Draco only raised his eyebrow and made his way over to the Slytherin table. Sitting down next to Blaise the hall seemed to go back to normal and the chatter began again. "What was that all about?" Draco asked and, when Blaise hesitated, he immediately looked to the Gryffindor table, searching for the familiar red head. "Where is she, Blaise?" he demanded, reaching out and feeling for the ring.
She wasn't in any danger, but that hardly set him at ease. "Well, uh, you missed quite the outburst between Taylor and the weaslette." Blaise answered, nodding to Ginny Weasley. Draco looked over and it was almost impossible to miss the bruise that was starting to form on the right side of the red head's face.
"What happened?" Draco asked calmly, reaching out for her once more to calm himself.
"Well, Padma and I had just come in when we heard the weaslette yelling about something. She kept accusing Taylor of being a whore and Taylor hauled off and slapped her across the face. Quite impressive if I might add. I didn't think the little squirt had it in her. Remind me never to get on her bad side. If she punches anything like she slaps, wow. Kinda hot." Blaise began to ramble and Draco rolled his eyes.
Standing up again, Draco ignored the questions Blaise was throwing at him and stormed from the hall, but not before sending a glare to the weaslette and her brother. He had no doubt in his mind that Granger was keeping Potter and Longbottom in line, but the Weasley's were just too hard headed to listen to anyone else. And Lovegood, well she was enigma to almost everyone that knew her. He was glad, however, that she didn't seem to be judging anything that was going on.
It wouldn't take him long to find Taylor. Now that their bond had grown as much as it had over the past month, he could easily pick up on her scent and track her. Following the smell of apple cinnamon, he was surprised to find himself in the dungeons and headed towards the room where he'd first met Taylor. Stopping in front of the door, he contemplated whether he should knock first or just go in.
Deciding to lightly knock, he slowly opened the door and entered. The room was completely dark, the only light in the room coming from where the door had been opened. "Taylor?" he called, suddenly worried by the situation.
"I'm here." she called and he could somewhat see the outline of her hand waving above her head. "Could you shut the door? The light hurts." she asked and Draco complied without question.
"What's wrong, love?" he asked, walking over to where he form was and feeling around for the chair next to her. Finally finding what he was looking for, he pulled it out and sat down, never moving his gaze from her because, if he did, he'd likely not find her again in the dark.
"My head is killing me. I don't have the courage to go to Madam Pomfrey. There's no doubt in my mind that the rumors have gotten to the staff as well." she said and Draco felt his heart clench. This was exactly what he was hoping to avoid. Then Parkinson had to go and fuck everything up.
"Come here." he said opening his arm and Taylor seemed to know what he was up to because she shifted in her seat and rested her back against his chest. "Everything'll be fine, love." he told her as he began to rub her temples with his thumbs, hoping to ease some of her pain.
"Are you sure?" she asked, leaning into his touch and Draco chuckled.
"I promise." he swore, leaning down and placing a kiss on her forehead. "Besides, the whole staff knew of our...situation before you did. Dumbledore insisted so nothing went wrong." he added and he could feel her forehead scrunch.
"Well that's not fair." she pouted, but didn't move away from Draco.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Can I come with you? I don't think I can handle being alone with that many angry Gryffindors at once. Ginny was bad enough." Taylor asked after what felt like hours of silence.
"Of course. I'll walk with you to get your stuff if you'd like." he told her and he felt her nod against his chest. It was still completely dark in the classroom and he'd stopped rubbing her temples, moving to her shoulders.
"Well then we'd better go before you put me to sleep." she mumbled and Draco grinned. He carefully leaned back and let her stand. When she did, he heard her rummage for her school bag and, with a flick of her wrist, the tip of her wand lit up the room. Able to quickly and easily find her bag now, she slung it over her shoulder and took Draco's hand. Draco gave it a light, reassuring squeeze and they left the classroom. They obviously hadn't been in there as long as they thought because as they were making their way through the corridors, they got caught up in the after dinner rush as people made their way back to their houses.
Draco heard Taylor take a deep breath as people began to whisper again and look at them like they were fused together at the hip. Draco loudly cleared his throat and people took the warning he was offering and continued on their ways. He let her lead him to the Gryffindor tower and after a skeptical look from the Fat Lady, she lead him into the common room. After a reassuring nod from him, she left him in the common room and headed up the stairs to gather the things she'd need for the night and the next day.
Draco couldn't blame her, but unlike Taylor, he didn't feel uneasy when the Gryffindors glared at him. None of them dared approach him though. He was guessing it had to do with the rumors. At least that was one good thing that might come from this whole ordeal. People might talk and stare, but they valued their lives and wouldn't dare approach the Veela and his mate. Draco didn't have to wait long though. Taylor was back in less than ten minutes with her bag slung over one shoulder.
"Ready?" he asked when she came to stand next to him and she nodded. With one last glance to the others, they left the common room and Draco lead them to Head tower. "Where's your white fur ball?" he asked, noticing the cat wasn't trailing after her. "Wandering the castle as usual. I hope he doesn't get himself into too much trouble." she laughed and Draco smiled, glad he could somewhat bring her out of this dark, depressing hole they'd been thrown in only hours earlier. When they came into the common room, Hermione looked up from her book and smiled sheepishly at the red head. "Taylor asked if she could stay here for the night." Draco told the brunette after a moment and she nodded.
Hermione stood from her chair and, with a cautious glance to Draco, approached Taylor. "I'm sorry about what happened in the Great Hall earlier. I tried to talk to Ginny and Ron, but they didn't want to listen. They already had their minds made up by the time we even walked into the hall. I am sorry about their stubbornness. Ginny really liked you and I think she still has some trust issues after the war and that's why she acted the way she did." Hermione said and Taylor nodded.
"Look, I don't blame Ginny. I just don't like the way she went about it. I don't take being called a whore lightly." Taylor said and Draco snapped his gave down.
"She called you a whore!?" he half yelled, half growled and Taylor placed a hand on his arm in a calming manner.
"It's nothing you need to worry about, Draco. It's between Ginny and I." she said to the blonde and then turned back to Hermione. "I appreciate you apologizing, but for me to really 'forgive and forget', Ginny needs to apologize herself."
"Easier said that done. That girl's pride would put Malfoy's to shame." she chuckled and Draco glared at her.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
When Taylor left to shower, Draco demanded Hermione tell him what exactly happened in the Great Hall. "Look, Dumbledore is taking care of those two. After Taylor hauled off and bitch slapped her, she went to report the incident to the Headmaster. I have no doubt he's putting those two in their places." the brunette told him, not bothering to look up from her book as Draco paced in front of the fireplace.
Draco rolled his eyes and vowed to himself that he'd find out what was said between the two tomorrow from Blaise.
When Taylor came out of the bathroom, she was ready for bed and Draco smiled. "Feel better?" he asked and Taylor chuckled.
"Much. A nice hot shower does the mind and body wonders." she said.
"Well, I'm headed to bed. Good night you two." Hermione interrupted. She nodded to Draco and gave Taylor a light hug before heading off into her room.
"It is getting pretty late and we've got classes tomorrow." Draco agreed and looked to the red head who was sitting on the arm of the couch. "You can have my room. I'll transfigure the couch into something more suitable." he told her and she looked at him surprised.
"You don't need to do that, Draco. I'd be willing to sleep out here." she said and Draco chuckled, stepping closer to her till he was close enough so he could pull her into his arms.
"You really haven't been reading the book, have you?" he grinned and she shrugged. "Well if you had, you would've known that it's my job to make sure you're as comfortable as possible. Now no arguments. You get my room and that's that." he said and Taylor groaned before reluctantly nodding. "Good. Now, sleep tight, love." he whispered and leaned forward to place a light kiss on her lips before pushing her in the direction of his door.
A/N: I'm really pleased with the amount of feedback I got from the last chapter and I'm glad you liked it. I had fun writing it and I hope you like this one as well.