Hi everyone! Happy August! I know I should've updated yesterday but I was busy - watching after my nieces and nephews for one. The other reason why I was busy is because I was enjoying a childhood passion of mine - Pokémon! I'm not sure how many of ya'll play the new app but I am hooked! Anyway, ya'll ain't here to listen to me ramble about the app.

Enjoy!

Chapter 24: Trust and Requests

Harry had become public enemy number one in the days following the hundred fifty points loss. Even the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were upset with him - Meissa would have been impressed that he managed to turn the Hufflepuffs against him if it wasn't for the fact that she was curious by Harry and Hermione's recklessness.

Harry she would have understood but Hermione should have known better. Meissa knows that Hermione is a brilliant witch - yet she didn't use her intelligence when she followed along with Harry's plan to take Norbert up to the tower.

That was the only thing that bothered the raven haired girl - the thought that Hermione hadn't considered that plan though.

But with the finals coming up soon Meissa couldn't spare the situation any further thought. Although she did hex her cousin to the point of submission. She made it very clear that he had been very idiotic in his attempt to get Harry into trouble.

"Meissa," she hears her cousin mutter, prompting her to look up from her notes that she had been reviewing for transfiguration.

"Draco."

The blonde looks a little irritated due to the fact that she was still speaking in a cold tone towards him.

"Look… I'm sorry for whatever I did to make you upset," he starts only for her to narrow her eyes at him.

"You don't even know what you're apologizing for," she remarks.

"How can I when you won't even tell me!" he protests.

"Let's see, how about the fact that you foolishly ran off to try and bust Potter," she started. "Didn't even consider of a way to get him caught without exposing yourself. No you wanted to do it front and center."

"But he was doing something illegal!"

"Illegal or not," she cuts in, "You're a Slytherin. What does being a Slytherin mean for you," she glares at him.

"Resourcefulness," Draco listed right off the bat, "Determination. Cunning."

"Where was your use of cunning, cousin of mine," Meissa almost sneered.

Draco winced, realizing that she was not in the mood to be debating what he did or did not do. He knows that Meissa does not always care about a lot of things - but it would seem that his rash decision to try and bust Potter on his own, after hours, has angered his cousin more than his constant remarks towards Potter.

It was getting to a point where it was not worth his time to bother the Gryffindor if it meant dealing with her anger.

"I acknowledge that I have done wrong," he admits softly.

Meissa studies him for a long moment before sighing. "Dray, do you remember that I made a deal with Potter?"

"Before you knew of his last name?" he questioned - recalling that she had been very irritated for a week or so after the sorting. She didn't tell him much about why she had been irritated but he had hazarded that it had something to do with Potter. He remembered, before they got their acceptance letters, that she had blamed the boy-who-lived and he-who-must-not-be-named for her broken family.

"Yes."

"What of it?"

"Every time you butt heads with Potter you make it harder for me to keep my deal with him and not do something to you," she answered simply.

"You'd uphold a deal with Potter over me?"

"Draco, you are my cousin and I will love you always - but I value keeping my promises, my honor, just as much as I value my family."

The blonde looks at her for a long moment before considering which was more important to him. Defending his slighted honor - which had mostly been done by the red head - or incur the wrath of his cousin and his mother?

"I will make an effort to not provoke the Gryffindors."

"Until the end of the year or for good?"

"Let's take it one day at the time," he concluded before excusing himself from her presence. He needed to figure out how he was going to change his manners towards the Gryffindors in order to keep his pledge to himself and to his cousin.

Because facing the wrath of his cousin and mother - separately or together - was something he did not want to deal with, ever.

~MJB~

Meissa was sitting outside, staring gloomily at a vial when she sensed the approach of someone. As she looked towards the person she slipped the vial into her robe's pocket, half-heartedly smiling at Hermione.

She had noticed that the other girl had taken to fading into the background - reducing how often she answered the professors' questions. She hasn't been watching Hermione much - focused as she was on her studies - but thought that Hermione was experiencing an impact from that night.

A lot of the other students were still talking badly about the three Gryffindors after they lost over a hundred points in one go. While Meissa could understand why the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were upset about it, it was starting to get on her nerves. Twice she felt like hexing someone because they were talking badly about Hermione and it took Daphne and Draco combined efforts to drag her away from the situation.

"Meissa," Hermione greeted softly, shuffling slightly as she avoided meeting Meissa's eyes.

"'Mione," she returned. "Have a seat."

"Are you sure?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I'm not exactly…"

"I'm aware of your newfound infamy," Meissa remarked as she tilted her head at her friend. "You are my friend - regardless of how angry or disappointed I can get with you."

They looked at each other for a long moment before Hermione finally sat down next to the raven haired girl, their shoulders just barely brushing against each other. It was just enough so that Hermione could feel the contact she was craving while at the same time just barely noticeable to keep Meissa from wanting to run for the hills.

It was a delicate mix of contact to satisfy the both of them.

"I don't think I've mentioned that… I'm sorry," Hermione mutters quietly. "You were right - Harry and I didn't think. Ron shouldn't have put that letter in his books but I shouldn't have let Harry convince me that it would be a good idea to carry Norbert up to the tower, just us two."

"It's in the past now," Meissa finally says after thinking. "We cannot go back and change it." She looks at the other girl and smiled slightly. "So…"

"So…?"

"Are you ready for the exams?" she asks, curious.

"I don't know," Hermione confesses softly. "There's so much to remember…"

"I'm sure you will get O's on all of your exams," Meissa reassures her.

"What about you?" Hermione asks, curious. "How are you doing on your studying?"

"Mm… My potion work is good. Charms - I don't think I've ever had issues with my spellwork in that class. Defense against the Dark Arts - well, I will admit that I enjoy that class a bit too much, even if the professor is rubbish. History…" Meissa made a face - that Ghost really needed to move on in her opinion. She was better off reading from the books. "Well, I'll be reviewing the books for that class."

"What about Astronomy, Herbology, and Transfiguration?"

"Astronomy is easy," Meissa basically dismissed. "Aunt Cissy and I used to stargaze a lot when I was younger. Draco didn't really enjoy it as much so it became our thing…" Her voice had became soft as she started recalling those nights.

"It's nice that you had something to do with your aunt," Hermione mutters softly. "My mum and I - we would always sit down and have tea and scones."

"That sounds really pleasant," Meissa compliments.

"It is," Hermione agrees before recalling their previous topic. "Oh - what about the rest of your classes?" she asks, briefly confusing the other girl. "What do you think of Herbology and Transfiguration?" she clarifies.

"Ooh," Meissa muttered before she tilts her head, thinking. "Well… I think I'll do decently in Herbology?" she gnaws on her lip, considering the material they've gone over so far and how she felt about it. "I'm sort of already familiar with the plants and all - but I'm not used to caring for them. So that's a bit of a challenge honestly."

Hermione looks at her for a moment before she realized what Meissa was saying. "Because of Potions?"

"Mhm. And I'm still rubbish with Transfiguration."

This made the Gryffindor frown at her friend. She knew that Meissa's skill in Transfiguration was among the top five in their class and was usually a step or two behind her own success in the class. "I don't really believe that," she disagreed.

"What makes you say that?"

"Meissa, you're really skilled in Transfiguration. You and I are almost always the first ones to complete the assignment in class!"

"That's because I practice a lot in my spare time," she refutes. "Transfiguration doesn't come naturally to me - not like Charms or Defense against the Dark Arts."

"But practice makes perfect and you're already really skilled in the class," Hermione argues. "I think you'll get O's in Transfiguration."

Meissa sighed slightly, deciding that it would be easier to just concede the point - even if she didn't agree with it. Her success in Transfiguration depended a lot on practicing repeatedly. She knows of a few students who were a natural at it but she had a feeling that her natural talent laid more in combative spells.

"Hey… Meissa…?" Hermione asks softly, looking over to her friend.

"Mm?"

"Earlier… when I was walking up to you…"

Meissa looks over towards her, tilting her head as she considers what she was saying. "I assume you mean this," she mutters, pulling out the vial from earlier.

"Are you having migraines again?" Hermione asks, lowering her voice in case her friend was experiencing it now.

"I'm always experiencing migraines," Meissa remarks with a sigh. "It comes and goes. But this…" she raise up the vial towards the stone where the light could filter through the thick syrupy translucent potion, "This is for something else…"

"What is it for?"

"Mm… A while back, just after the whole Norbert situation… I wanted to tell you and Daphne…"

"Does she know?"

"Not yet. I want to tell you both…"

"When do you want all three of us to get together?"

"Do you have time today?"

"The only thing I was planning on doing was studying. But that can wait," she declares and got up, offering a hand to her friend.

Meissa looked up at her for a moment before she accepts the offered hand. With a bit of a haul the Slytherin girl was soon standing up, tucking away the vial into the front of her robes.

"Where would Daphne be right now?"

"Mm… library?"

Hermione nods and, hooking her arm with Meissa's, led the way back to the castle, leaving behind their clearing by the lakeside.

~MJB~

Daphne wasn't too hard to find - with it being close to the end of the year and exams being just around the corner. She was in the library, hidden in the corner they had found while studying for their mid-exams before the winter break. It was relatively secluded in comparison to most of the library.

"Meissa," Daphne greets her before she saw that Hermione was with her, "Hi Hermione." She took note of the nearly blank look in Meissa's eyes and the worried and curious look in Hermione's before deciding that the conversation that they'll be having soon deserve her full attention.

So with a flick of her wand - her brows furrowed together as she concentrated - she sends her books and notes into her bag. A few went wayward and scattered to the ground. She scowls to herself and went to pick them up. Only to be beaten to them by Meissa who hands them over to Daphne once she had them all picked up.

"Thank you," the blond smiles slightly before putting her things away. "I'm not sure what's you want to talk about but do you want to have it here or somewhere else?"

"Some place isolated would be a good idea," Meissa answers simply.

"Do you think we could head back out to the clearing?" Hermione asks, suggesting a place that the three of them know of together.

"It's isolated," Daphne agrees.

"It is, but we've been to it already today," Meissa shook her head - already paranoid that someone would get the idea to follow them. "We need a different place to meet up in."

"There is the unused dungeons," Daphne volunteered, prompting Meissa to consider the dungeons. She knew that the dungeons were large and that it was likely that some parts may have fallen into disuse over time. They'd have to make sure they don't go anywhere near the corridors often used to go to Potions but it could work.

"Alright," she agrees.

"Wait, what?" Hermione injects. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I thought you were worried about…" Meissa and Daphne watched as Hermione gestured around them, the girls arching an eyebrow at her.

"Uh…" the girls looked at each other before giving the Gryffindor girl a look to indicate that she needed to explain what she was going on about.

"I mean… the whole reason why we usually go outside…"

Meissa blinks before she realizes just what she meant. "I think… for this one particular conversation, it should be okay. And if it does become a regular thing, then we will need to figure out a way to ward the room."

"Aren't you good with runes?" Daphne asks light heartedly.

"I'm decent," was Meissa's only answer.

"So is it official?" Hermione asks, looking between the two of them.

"Yes," they answered in near union.

With that Meissa gestured for the blonde to lead the way.

~MJB~

Meissa circled around a few times, considering the large and fairly spacious room for a long moment. Other than the fact that it was extremely dusty - she didn't want to hazard a guess as to when was the last time this portion of the dungeon had been in used - it was functional. There was no holes in the walls and from the feel of it there wasn't a daft to indicate that there was an issue with the door.

She considers the door for a long moment - aware that Daphne and Hermione were waiting for her to explain what was going on. They were fairly isolated in the dungeons - they practically would have left footprints in the corridor's dust if she hadn't had a foresight to use a spell to shift the dust back into place. So that it would look like that no one had gone down the corridors they had used.

It wasn't a perfect solution and she had a feeling that if they mean to use this room frequently they'd need to find a way to keep any spells from observing them.

"Daphne, Hermione," she calls to the two of them and motions for them to join her. "Let's cast 'Silencio' together at the door."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Hermione asks worriedly - remembering that sometimes spells can backfire if cast together at the same object.

"Yes," Meissa reassures her, "It's not like we're casting three different spells at the door. The three of us casting 'Silencio' at the door should only reinforce the spell. If anyone tries to take it down they would have to match the strength we put into the spell or overwhelm it."

Hermione frowns slightly before nodding slightly, moving to stand besides Meissa. Unintentionally sandwiching the raven haired girl between her and Daphne. The heiress fidgets for a moment before she manages to force herself to calm down and focus.

With a glance between them she brings her wand in the correct momentum before she utters the spell in a clear firm voice in near perfect union. Daphne and Meissa had been in perfect union with Hermione half a second behind. But the three spells were cast and the room protected by the silencing spell. It should, in theory, keep people from being able to overhear their conversation.

With that done Meissa looks towards the room and the limited furniture available. Most were in various states of disrepair and all were covered in dust. "If we make the room our regular spot we should clean up," she remarks drily.

"Let's worry about that for next time," Daphne suggests, "Unless you like to keep avoiding the reason why we came here."

Meissa sighed and cleared off a chair, using a cleaning spell before using 'Reparo' to restore the chair to its' former glory. Not that there was much for the chair to be proud of - if it could…

She does this twice more for two other chairs for Daphne and Hermione. Once they were all situated she pulls out the vial from earlier. "I… I've been taking these - or a regime of these since I was… nine I think," she sets it on the three legged - it should be four - table.

"I've been reliant on the migraine potion for just as long…" Daphne and Hermione exchanged looks for a second but refrained from making any comments, waiting for Meissa to continue. "But that's not really why I wanted you two here…" The raven haired girl gestures to the vial again. "The Potion Master that designed my potions… he made it so that after three years it would be needless for me to take the potions. Except… after seven months of the potions, I would mess up."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asks worriedly, thinking about medicine and that they're more effective if taken consistently.

"I don't know why but ever since I started taking my potions I would go off them by the seventh month. I was supposed to be done with the potions by the start of our second year except I'm still in the first year of my three year regime."

Daphne frowns and looks between the vial and her friend, considering what she's saying. "You trust us to keep you on your potions," she concluded rather quickly.

"I'm hoping that between the two of you…" Meissa mutters, averting her eyes. "Well, I'm hoping that you'd be able to keep me on my potions…"

The two of them exchanged looks before nodding to Meissa. "We'll do it," they managed to say in union. Prompting Meissa to smile at them - her version of a smile anyway.

"Thank you… I owe you a debt of gratitude…"

"You don't owe us anything," Daphne dismisses.

"Yeah - if you need help staying on your potions then we'd do it," the Gryffindor girl agreed.

"So how often are you required to take the potions?"

"It varies," she answers. "For the first three months I have to take it twice a day," she answers, gesturing to the vial. "I usually take them just before breakfast - before we leave the dorm," she directs to Daphne, "and just after dinner."

"Those are good times," Hermione nods her head slightly. "What comes after the third month?"

"A dose once a day for three months."

"That leads us to the sixth month," Daphne comments. "You said that the seventh month is when you go off?"

"Usually yeah. But if I get too moody I tend to go off regardless of what month I was in," Meissa adds in, recalling that she had gone off her potions barely two months in. Mostly due to the extreme moodiness and self-loathing she had been struggling with at the time.

"Okay, so we need to monitor your moods?" Hermione asks hesitantly, "Make sure that you're taking your potions?"

"Yeah…"

"What's wrong?" Daphne asks, noticing the tone in their friend's voice as well as the distant look in her eyes.

"I want to be done with this," the other girl confesses, gesturing to the potion. "This is my sixth time," she continues softly, "The sixth time I had to restart with regime…"

"That doesn't sound good," Hermione comments worriedly.

"It's not," Daphne agrees, glancing at the brunette. "I'm only guessing this but I imagine that the repeated doses means that you're building a tolerance for it." Meissa only nodded - though it was only a fraction of a nod, it was enough for her two friends to recognize. "How many times can you do this before the potions lose their effect?"

"I… I don't know."

"Then we need to make sure that we get this right," Hermione declares, looking at the raven haired girl. "If we don't know when the potions will stop working for you then there's no room for error."

"What do you propose we do?" the blonde questions the girl, wondering if she had an idea.

"Well…" Hermione looks towards the Black heiress, "Where are you right now in your potions?"

Meissa tilts her head back, thinking. "I had to restart my potions after everything had settled down with Walpurgis' Night and the funeral… So… maybe two weeks? Two and a half?"

"So you're still doing two doses a day," Daphne concluded, looking at Hermione for confirmation.

"Daphne seems like she would be the best person to make sure that you're taking your potions, since - I'm only guessing here - you take them in the dorms?"

"Before everyone enters the dorm room," Meissa agrees.

"So for the time being Daphne should make sure that you're taking your doses," Hermione looks at the blonde to make sure she was okay with this - getting a slight nod in response, "and I suppose I could make a calendar. If we work together we can make sure that you don't miss any doses…"

"What do you mean?" Meissa asks, getting a bit confused.

"Well, you mentioned that your doses change at the third and sixth month, right?" Meissa nods. "One of us needs to keep track of where you are in your potions, that way we don't start too early or late with a potion," Hermione continues, her mind going several miles per minute as she considers her plan. "As I understand it your potions cause you to go off by the seventh month. So by keeping a calendar we would be able to recognize when we should prepare for this and plan accordingly."

"What do you propose we do about the summer?" Daphne injects, thinking ahead.

Meissa glances between the two of them. "I was planning on spending a few weeks at Hermione's house before she comes over to the Black Manor," she mutters softly, not missing the surprised and slightly hurt look in the blonde's eyes. Immediately she felt like scum for not asking her as well. "Would you like to join us?" she asks, her voice soft and just barely audible.

Daphne frowned slightly, "Do you mean to Granger's - I mean, Hermione's - house?"

The raven haired girl and brunette looks at each other. The Slytherin's brow arched in a silent question while Hermione's was contemplative.

"I was thinking to mine," Meissa clarified, "but if you wished to join us at Hermione's -."

"Wait," Daphne interrupts before the other girl could continue. "I - I've never been to the muggle world."

"Neither have I," the raven haired girl reassures the blonde. "But wouldn't it be exciting? I mean - it's a whole new world to explore." She looks at Hermione with a sheepish smile, "Sorry."

"What for?" Hermione asks, slightly confused. "It's natural to view a new experience with excitement," she tells the Black heiress before looking at Daphne, "or nervousness."

"I'm not nervous," Daphne protests.

"But it's okay to be nervous," both Hermione and Meissa reassured in union before exchanging amused looks at each other.

"Could I have some time to think about this?" the blonde requested.

"Of course," Hermione agreed. "I'll have to inform my parents that there's a possibility of another friend joining us for the summer but I'm sure it's manageable."

The blonde looked between the two of them before smiling slightly. It wasn't quite the level of Meissa's smile - it was at least five steps above that - but it was enough to convoy that she was unsure of visiting the muggle world.

Meissa didn't doubt that it had to do with the way they were brought up and unlike Meissa, the blonde had little to no knowledge about the muggle world. She often wasn't there whenever Meissa and Hermione would start talking about the muggle world and the magical world, educating each other and sometimes comparing how things were done in both.

"We should probably get back before people start wondering where we are," Meissa suggests to the pair, tucking away the vial into her robes once more.

~MJB~

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Have a good day!