Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the Harry Potter Series. That right belongs solely to the amazing J.K. Rowling. I DO, however, own the plot, Oura (not her last name, again the literary goddess J.K. Rowling) and my favorite cat Sterling.
xXx Hello my little Owlettes! Since I hadn't posted for a while, I decided to update as soon as possible. Thanks for staying with me! Anywho, that's about it... so Enjoy! xXx
Chapter 13
The first thing that Draco noticed when he woke up was that Pansy was not jumping on his bed like a little kid to wake him up, which, for him, was unusual. As his eyes adjusted to the room, he looked around in confusion. He didn't remember ever coming here. It had the appearance of a common room, although it was nothing like the Slytherin room. The fireplace was adorned with rustic-looking stones, instead of the regal marble ones in Slytherin. The mantle was a deep cherry wood and in front of the hearthside, was a matching cherry coffee table, when they would have been black in Slytherin. The coffee table was surrounded by soft, deep blue couches with pale green throws and pillows. The two colours went together surprisingly well. A similarly coloured scatter rug lay underneath the table and the walls were lined with bookshelves made of dark wood. Behind the chimney, a black wrought iron spiral staircase climbed out of view. He looked at it curiously before turning around to look at the rest of the bed Draco was sitting in was a giant, elegant canopy bedstead with royal blue curtains and comforter and the sheets and pillows were pale green. Beside it sat a pastel green armchair that matched the curtains of the bed.
He puzzled a bit more before sliding out of the comfortable bed. As he did so, the events of last night came back to him in a flood. Finding Marvolo having a seizure in a pool of moonlight. Carrying her bridal style to the corridor she mentioned before she passed out. Walking back and forth three times, cursing himself for listening to a half-crazed girl. Staring amazed as a door appeared in the wall and walking in. Trying to figure out what was wrong with her. Rummaging through books on illnesses and cures, trying each one in vain. Giving up after almost two hours of trial and error. He must have fell asleep in the chair. He absently wondered how he ended up in the bed. By then, Draco had recognized the place. It was the room he had walked into last night, but the furniture was different. The only thing that remained from the room from last night was a pure white rose in a crystal vase that now sat on a long counter. Next to it lay a roll of parchment.
Draco padded over to it warily. After casting a few spells to make sure it was safe, he picked it up. It was clasped by a silver dragon that he could swear he saw somewhere before, but simply couldn't place. When he couldn't pull it off the parchment manually, he tapped the dragon with his wand, shaking his head as he did so. It instantly came alive and flew up towards the boy's face. It looked deep into his eyes, as though searching for something. Its wings bat lazily as it stared into Draco's mercury orbs. Suddenly, it snorted a cloud of silver, causing the man in front of it snap his eyes shut quickly, and begin to cough. When he opened his eyes again, the silver dragon was gone, but there was a new weight in his pocket. When he pulled it out, Draco saw the dragon, once more inanimate with the appearance of sleeping. He dropped it back into his pocket and unfurled the parchment. He snorted at the obvious threat that Marvolo had made, as though she could intimidate him. He was, however, curious as to what was wrong with her. He had never seen someone react so violently to what appeared to be nothing.
Draco looked around the room again. He also wanted to figure out what this place was, and how she found it. He had been at Hogwarts for almost five years now, and she hadn't even been here for one. How was it possible that she discovered this room before him? Maybe Loony Lovegood told her about it. The blonde girl certainly wandered about enough. Something told him that Lovegood hadn't, though. He had a sneaking suspicion that Potty and his friends had something to do with it. Marvolo had become quite chummy with the Mudblood. He rolled his eyes at the thought and tossed the parchment onto the glowing embers, and watch it slowly catch, the flames dancing up the paper then gradually turning it into dust. Draco turned away from the golden cinders left without a backward glance.
Oura only saw the blonde Slytherin once in the halls prior to dinner that evening. She had turned to go in the opposite direction, before refusing to let him see how affected she was that he knew her secret. Their eyes met for a brief second as Malfoy passed her, and he nodded ever so slightly. She would have never noticed the motion if she hadn't been looking at him so intently. It had made her breath hitch for some reason and as soon as the boy was out of sight, she let out an involuntary shiver and leaned against the wall, her knees suddenly weak. What was he doing to her? Though, she had to admit the blonde was attractive, she didn't like him. She couldn't. She wouldn't. The red head shook her head and pushed herself off the wall.
As she wandered through the halls, Oura distracted herself, though a bit unsuccessfully, by trying to anticipate what the Slytherin would ask her. She came up with a couple answers before her thoughts were cut short as she walked into someone as she rounded the corner. The girl muttered a quick apology and helped the boy collect his things. She muttered a quick Reparo to put the broken inkwell back together, and then levitated the ink back into the container. As she handed it to the boy, her eyes met the warm, chocolate brown eyes of one Terry Boot, who smiled as he took the well from her outstretched hand, his fingers brushing her's in the process.
"Thanks" Terry answered cordially. Oura looked away and a hint of a blush worked its way up into her cheeks.
"No problem, I was my fault, anyways. I wasn't paying attention." She replied. It wasn't the first time she had bumped into someone, while lost in her thoughts. And, since it was Winter Break, Luna was there to guide her away from any would-be collisions.
"I was just heading to the Library," Terry said conversationally, " Would you like to come as well? I find it easier to study with a partner. If you want to, that is." He added quickly, sending her a fleeting glance. Oura tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and nodded.
"Sure, I haven't studied in a while and I wanted to go over a couple spells, like Lux Lucis, and I wanted to research the Goblin Rebellions and the effects on Muggle distrust of the Wizarding community. Professor Binns hinted it might be in the O.W.L.s."
"You noticed that, too? I think that Professor McGonagall put a bit of emphasis on Vanishing, or was that just my imagination?"
Glad to have Malfoy off her mind, she continued chatting with Terry about different subjects and tests as they strolled to the atheneum. The pair were unaware that a certain blonde Slytherin was observing them. Soon, he faded back into the shadows and disappeared, fighting with a mysterious twisting in his stomach. He would confront her after dinner.