kalon ~ d.m

{24} The girl in the tower

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR; THE GIRL IN THE TOWER

❝i'm just a girl ❞

♫: 'would you stand in front of a bullet?' ~Ryan Caraveo, Bang

"I JUST DON'T LIKE GRANGER! She's an annoying know-it-all and a mudblood!"

"Get off your high horse, Draco. You're just being a bully." His girl argued, annoyed at his attitude. "There is actually no need at all to be this mean to her." She had pulled him down to the dungeons, by the collar of his suit, after she'd overheard him speaking to Hermione Granger.

"I was just telling her to respect her su-" He stopped abruptly as he saw his girlfriend reach for her wand, holding it threateningly into his direction.

"I dare you to finish that sentence, Draco Lucius Malfoy." He gulped, nodding, a slight look of embarrassment on his face as the tips of his ears slowly turned a bit more reddish than earlier.

"Sorry." He muttered, his gaze directed to the floor. He heard her clear her throat, causing him to look up, meeting her disapproving gaze.

"Apologise to Hermione." His face contorted in disgust, a scowl on his face.

"No! Absolutely not! Have you gone mad?!"

Leah Nightingale rolled her eyes, did he not realise by now?

"Obviously, Draco. I'm completely mental! Can't you see?" Her tone was dripping with sarcasm, a smirk on her face. "I will get you to respect muggleborns Draco. Some day."

[♚]

The girl in the tower,

a story every child of the current age knows. Bound to live in captivity for the entirety of her being. Never allowed out, or let free. Doomed to spend every single day of her lonely, long and miserable life completely and utterly alone. A lost princess, now orphaned and long forgotten. A burning, fiery passion lives inside of her, one that craves to find out about those beautifully twinkling lights that can only be seen once the night sky has made its appearance. A yearning feeling, nags at her every second of the day, pushing her to unravel more of where she came from. But she's stuck. Eventually, she's cursed for eternity, and forever remains in the tower. Withering away while her true destiny, never fulfilled, waits for her, eternally unsatisfied.

Bet you had never heard of that version.

Crazy, huh?

How fate works sometimes.

[♚]p

"You never mentioned you were a part of the Slug Club?" She looked to her side, observing the boy that stood to her left. He looked even more pale and stressed than he usually did. She caught him unconsciously touching his left lower sleeve, almost to feel if it was still there.

"I'm not." He answered shortly, rushed, as he drove a hand through his hair, not even bothering looking at her.

"But I thought you said you were at that-"

"I didn't say anything, alright?! And if I did, it wouldn't have been to a mudblood like you!" He spat, snapping at her for what seemed like the thousandth time that week, his eyes containing nothing but hatred and disgust. Only for a short second though.

"Calling me a mudblood won't make your blood any purer, Draco. And perhaps, if maybe for once you would've listened to the things I say, you would know that I'm not muggleborn." She sneered at him in return, he had been acting snappy the past week, getting completely furious with her for no reason. But now, he'd gone back to calling her a mudblood? She felt that she had the right to call him out, finally. He shouldn't have been acting like such an arse.

In a mere second, her back was turned towards him and she walked towards the exit of the Astronomy Tower. She obviously wasn't wanted in his presence.

"I'm sorry!" He called after her, just before she reached the end of the room, causing her to turn around, giving him a look of irritation.

"Good!" She was still mad at him. He went too far.

"Excellent!" He returned her anger, not able to control it, his words of apology long forgotten.

"FANTASTIC!" She yelled as she slammed the door closed behind her.

[♚]

"My dear, this wasn't just your regular vision." The Matron stated, looking at her with concern, a look of authority hidden behind it.

"But Madame I can assure you-"

"Miss Nightingale this was a perfectly construed attack on your mind. The person who attacked you knew how to peel back the layers of your mind, and play them like they were the back of their own hand." Madame Pomfrey took a brief breath, giving her a kind gaze.

"Madame...why would anyone want to attack me? I'm just a girl."

"He's just a boy..." She closed her eyes briefly, sitting down on the closest hospital bed.

"I can't change the Dark Lord's mind, Narcissa, but I might be able to aid him."

"Severus..-"

"Make the Unbreakable Vow."

She blinked a few times as she looked at the older witch in front of her, shaking her head briefly as she rubbed her eyes.

"Sorry. That just happens sometimes."

"What did you see?" She sat down across from her, a notepad open and a quill in hand. She seemed to be expecting an answer. Leah, however, had never been asked that question by anyone else. Except Raven.

"Bad people." Was all she could mutter, looking at the floor below her. "Miss can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Is it normal for love to hurt? Sh-Should it?" Her face was expressionless after and during her inquiry. Her facade covering up her true feelings. However, the slight stutter in her speech had undoubtedly betrayed her.

He had heard enough. He turned on his heel, swiftly walking out of the Hospital Wing, finding the person he was looking for rather quickly, dragging him along to their dorm.

"Blaise. We need a new plan."

"Salazar's sake Draco! What for this time?" His best mate rolled his eyes, but seemed ready to help nonetheless.

"She has to hate me." Ignoring her presence in the hospital wing hadn't been enough. She'd been annoyed with him, but not enough. Blaise, however looked confused at that, things had been so good between Draco and Nightingale. He had even heard Draco mumble the L word in his sleep, seemingly having nice dreams of the girl he called his. Though no one else was supposed to know, they had both been guilty of telling the one person closest to them. In her case, Raven. And in his, Blaise.

"Hate you?"

"Yes. But truly. She has to loathe me. Absolutely hate my guts."

"Why? Why in Merlin's name would you want that, mate?"

"Love makes us do outrageous things, Blaise." Wow. Draco Malfoy throwing around the L word was something Blaise Zabini could not get used to. Sadly though, it seemed he didn't have to.

"Woah."

"I know-" He replied, smirking a bit. "-What's your suggestion, Blaise?"

"Well, Nightingale-" He was interrupted quickly by the boy in front of him. "Her name is Leah."

"Yeah, yeah." He mumbled, a bit irritated. "Leah, is smart. She'll figure you out before you know it. You've got to show her it's over. Give her a reason to hate you."

A disapproving sullen look was present on his face as he looked at his mate.

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"

"If you think I'm suggesting you publicly date someone else, then yes."