[Chapter Fifteen] Fables
Her eyes were instantly drawn to him, as though his mere presence called to her. Her breath wavered slightly as his eyes met hers and the entwining the night before flushed her memory once more. The Defense Against the Dark Arts class was almost full, and Professor Snape already stood at the chalkboard. Lena stealthily took a seat at the edge of the class and thanked that she was a Slytherin. If a Gryffindor had done the same thing, they would have had detention cleaning some disgusting untouched part of the castle.
Snape droned on and Lena allowed her thoughts to relive the moment with Draco. Each time she thought of it, her fingertips rose unconsciously to her lips, gently touching were Draco had, her heart pattering with unfailing puissance, causing a lump in her throat as she thought of him, less than ten yards away, laughing at some joke that Crabbe and Goyle were going on about.
He still loves me, her thoughts mused.
Suddenly he stood from the table with Crabbe and Goyle and began to make his way through the crowd of suddenly scattering students, toward Lena.
As Draco took the seat next to hers, she felt her cheeks burn red and she forced herself to look at the book on the table. Professor Snape must have asked that everyone get into pairs. Why would Draco blatantly leave his safe group of friends into loser zone by Lena?
No matter the circumstances, Lena was happy about it. She wanted to be close to him. Snape wrote a page number on the board and began to pass out small boxes to the class.
The two subdued their creature almost immediately, leaving an awkward silence between them. Their eyes would meet as though they were only young children looking at their crush. There were hardly any words exchanged until they walked out of the class into the corridor outside.
"Have you been feeling okay?"
Lena blushed. "What do you mean?" Was he talking about last night or something else?
"I guess you really must have bumped your head pretty hard." He smirked and Lena's knees felt like jelly.
Okay, Draco. You can ignore our thirty seconds in heaven if that's what you want.
"I feel fine." She said, hoping her face didn't show her embarrassment.
Draco's fine blonde hair rustled faintly against the wind, and shone against the brilliant sun as it neared the horizon. Had he really asked her to meet him tonight? It felt like a dream. How could he completely ignore her for so long, and act as though he didn't care, and then to pull her heartstrings at just the mere thought of being with him once more...was cruel.
"Draco." She spoke quietly, but the wind carried her airy voice to the man. He stood and turned. Lena gazed at him for a long time. His expression had grown so serious. The once young boy she saw in the corners of his eyes was now gone, and all that resided was a furious lust as he looked at her.
For some reason, the image of herself, the year before came to mind. How she had become uncaring about anything but her studies, and her bodily needs. Of course, she had still loved Draco, but love could wait. Power could not wait. If the Dark Lord was unable to complete his goals, they would all be doomed to Azkaban for the very marks on their arms.
Lena glanced down at her long sleeves. Though the chilly breeze made her thankful, she knew what singed beneath the black robe, and it had remained hidden for as long as she could remember. It was not some shameful tattoo she should have to hide- it was a proud mark of her service to the Dark Lord. And if the war was lost, it would sentence her to be apart from Draco, just out of reach, in a nearby cell. Never able to feel his caress again.
Lena snapped back into the present, the moment had passed and Draco now stepped toward her. She looked away from his eyes, and gazed over his body with desire quenching within her.
"Lena." He whispered, and suddenly he was in front of her. Their eyes met and Lena struggled to find her breath and he swooped in, pushing her against the stone wall roughly. His lips met hers in a frantic kiss. Lena gasped desperately for breath, her entire body igniting beneath his warm fingers, the feeling of icy cold rushing out of her. Her eyes shot open, and the sunset matched the feeling within her, an orangy- pink glow radiated from the sky, casting the light against the dark gray stone walls of Hogwarts. It was jaw-dropping beauty, that during any other moment, it could not have been ignored, but her eyes closed after only a second's glance, and she feverously searched for Draco's mouth, for Draco's hair, for Draco's chest, and the sunset was driven from her mind easily.
As they pulled apart finally, Lena leaned her head forward and pressed it against Draco's.
"This is wrong." The words found her lips before Lena had deemed approval from them.
Draco nodded but his lips met hers once more. She looked into his eyes, and saw that the stoney gaze had fazed into ardent magical light.
"What if we're caught?" Lena asked, knowing how lowly the other students looked upon her.
Draco shrugged and pulled her head to his once more, ignoring her questions and pushing her toward his own desires. Of course, it wouldn't hurt Lena to be seen with Draco. But it seemed his own reputation would be ruined. Or not, depending on how crazy the Slytherins were feeling this year. It seemed impossible for Draco to ruin his reputation.
It was nearly an hour later before Lena walked away from the tower, with Draco rushing off to do something he couldn't tell her even a word about. Though Lena had the slight feeling of being used, she ignored the pestering thought, assuring herself that she was using him too.
Her eyes gleamed with a radiant glow, a haze left over from the brilliant sunset perhaps. It seemed to fit her own happiness regardless. Her heart seemed to be floating within her, and her body was fleeting. She didn't feel any pain, or any icy cold streams running through her. Just warm and perfect.
Unsure what had persuaded her to do so, Lena rose from her bed deep in the night, remaining absolutely silent and avoiding each of the creaky tiles with practiced ease. She found herself at her trunk. She muttered the spell and the trunk unlocked. Lena reached inside, and found the small metal ring she had been searching for. She pulled on it and a small door opened to reveal the lock box which held the locket.
Her fingers grazed the edges of the locket, and as she did so, a power surged into her. Could it be possible? Was she taking the power from his locket?
The chill that she hadn't felt since Draco and her had met on the Astronomy tower returned. Shivering, Lena replaced the locket, enjoying the rush of chilly energy that ran through her.
What compelled her to do what she did next, she was unsure. Sure to lock everything back up tightly, and sure that Astoria and Millicent both were absolutely unstirred, she made her way to the door and then down the steps from the girl's dormitories. She then rose the opposite staircase and made her way down the hallway. She stood in front of the prefects door in a matter of seconds and she knocked quietly, wondering if Draco had chosen to change rooms.
Almost a minute after her knocking, and hearing some kind of bustling inside, her knuckles rose to the door once more and she rapped again impatiently. The door flung open, though it made no sound. Draco stood, looking furious at whoever had disturbed him, but as he saw her, his eyes softened slightly, though it did not relieve them of the dull lack of emotion.
Lena nodded, and suddenly felt exposed as his eyes traveled over her. She wore only a small nightgown, covered by a short, silky black robe.
Draco stepped out of the way and allowed her to enter the room. Lena did so and the door closed silently once more. Draco walked to his desk and sat back down, clearly returning to what he had been doing.
"You may speak freely, the walls, doors, and windows are all soundproof." There was a seriousness to Draco's voice that Lena did no recognize, and though he told her she could speak freely, she had the feeling that he was too preoccupied to listen in the first place as he shuffled through his papers.
How much had changed since last year? She found herself asking, but silently went to his bed and sat on the edge to watch Draco after a quick look around the room. Which contained only a few pieces of furniture despite its expansive nature.
He worked for a long time, and Lena leaned against his many pillows for support as she watched him, feeling a new awakened feeling as the night stretched.
Draco did not speak to her for nearly an hour, as he searched though endless stacks of papers, clearly intent on find something tonight. Lena told herself that she was waiting for him to be done with whatever he was doing before she could talk to him about what was on her mind. But in truth, she found herself thinking about whether or not the questions she had should be asked at all.
By the time Draco stood from the desk and came to the bed, Lena had decided against ruining what the two of them were sharing. Even if it was meaningless to him, and all she was to him was just a piece of ass to sleep with, than she would take it. Even if it broke her heart, it was worth it to be with him, even if just for a short while.
Clearly exhausted, Draco removed his robe and stripped down to his boxers, and pulled the blankets down as Lena lifted herself gently from the bed, sliding underneath them, and him beside her. Her heart raced as he pulled himself next to her, and he pulled her yet even closer to him, wrapping his arm around her.
"Why did you not tell me you were alive?" Lena whispered, unable to cease her curiosity.
She felt him stiffen uncomfortably behind her, and she tried to readjust next to him, but had the feeling that she had already ruined her chances of staying with him for the night.
"I'm sorry," he whispered lightly back, repositioning himself around her, "I did send you a birthday gift, though I couldn't tell you it was from me."
Why? She wanted to ask, but she demanded herself not to. Why all the lies? Why all the secrets? Why?
Her heart sunk as she thought of the Dark Lord's words over the summer. She pushed all of the thoughts from her mind, and enjoyed Draco's touch against her. Her heart finally fluttered in enjoyment and the two of them fell into a deep sleep.