What He Knew

Chapter 16

Me, Ryan, Blaise and all the rest of the  6th year Slytherins who weren't too busy making out took shots together, laughing and grimacing as the liquor burnt our throats, running out into the middle of the floor as our favourite Weird Sister song came blaring through the speakers. As I danced I could feel the alcohol coursing through my veins, causing my vision to become blurry. I realised in that moment that nothing really mattered in life because we'd all be dead soon. Is this what Draco had being going on about all year? If so I completely understood because I felt so free.

 I saw flashes of Ryan's beaming face, Crabbe's awkward swaying, Goyle's erratic dance moves and Blaise's smirk. I Looked to see if Draco was around, he was standing talking to Pansy but must've felt my gaze as he glanced over. We locked eyes and I gave him a small smile. I grabbed Blaise and pulled him closer to me, at first he looked confused and I didn't blame him as I really hadn't shown any interest in him all year. I mean, why would I? I wasn't interested. We danced closely, our faces close and our breath hot on each other, but I wasn't thinking about Blaise, I kept looking over to Draco, his face becoming more and more angry. His anger filled me with pure delight. Nothing mattered. Nothing mattered. And I had no one but Draco himself to thank for that. Then Blaise grabbed me by the waist and pulled me into a kiss. It wasn't bad, I suppose, but it was nothing like the magnitude of the kiss with Draco. As Blaise pulled away, I opened my eyes to see Draco staring right at me. I smirked as he marched over. He shoved past Blaise and marched out of the door of the party. 

This was not part of the plan. I hadn't wanted to upset Draco, I was simply living my life like him. Not caring. Blaise was grinning at me in a drunken stupor. I rolled my eyes and Draco's dramatic, shaking my head at Ryan who looked at me confused. I grabbed her hands and pulled her in for a dance as the song changed. 

The night stole away from us fast. Soon Ryan and I were stumbling back to the Slytherin dorms, clutching each other, our intoxication causing us to act recklessly; laughing in the corridors and clumsily falling into each other, but luckily we weren't caught by anyone, not even Peeves was around to out us.

We fell into the common room, alcohol still on our breaths. Ryan was tired and insisted on being put to bed so I followed her up, helping her into her pyjamas and tucking her in. I gave her a little kiss on the forehead and let her fall asleep, mumbling about thestrals and unicorns.

I staggered out into the common room, hoping someone would still be awake and just my luck, Malfoy was sitting alone beside the fire, reminiscent of the first Slytherin party.

"Have fun tonight?" he asked, not looking up.

"Oh, buckets of it!" I grinned, my head feeling light. He watched me as I wandered around the room, poking at strange objects and laughing.

"Have fun with Zabini?" he said, quieter. His tone struck me as dangerous and I turned to meet his eyes.

"Why does it matter?" 

He looked me up and down in disgust, "Like you weren't trying to make me jealous."

Well, he wasn't wrong, actually he was 100% correct but hadn't he been the one making out with Pansy as I'd walked in, not leaving her side while the rest of us danced?

I scoffed, "You wish, Malfoy."

He looked back into the fire, I could see the flames reflected in his grey eyes. There was a tinge of anger sizzling in the pit of my stomach, why was he so concerned with who I kissed when he'd avoided me for so long. It was clear he couldn't give a shit about me. That was, until someone else gave a shit.

"And how was Pansy?" I asked, trying to sound cool but I had a feeling the alcohol in my system had made that pretty much impossible.

"Why does it matter?" he said, mocking me.

"She really likes you, y'know," I said, folding my arms.

He shook his head like he knew I wasn't telling the truth.

"I think it's pretty cruel of you to do that."

He looked up at me with disbelief in his eyes, "Do you know how dumb you sound right now, Rose?" 

I raised my eyebrows in question at him.

"You did the exact same thing I did. We both used people."

"Zabini doesn't like me!" I said, jumping to my own defence.

He scoffed, "You don't know that though."

"Oh, please Draco, you haven't got a good bone in your body, why do you care all of a sudden?"

"You're such a hypocrite!" He whisper yelled, getting to his feet, "You've Death Eater blood in you too!"

"At least I don't have Daddy Issues like you, constantly looking for approval. You know he'd never do whatever you're doing for him, for you."

His face contorted, I swore I could hear the anger pumping through his body. 

"You've no clue-"

"I want to have a clue," I said, surprising myself. This was my chance to force Draco to let me help him.

"What?"

"I want to have a clue," I repeated, solidifying my thoughts in my head. Whatever he was doing, he obviously wasn't good at.

"Are you crazy?" he spat.

I shook my head, looking at the lost boy in front of me.

"You're lost, Draco, you've no idea what you're doing, do you?"

He slowly walked towards me, "And what is it you think I'm doing, Rose?"

My intoxication was wearing off rapidly and I could feel my heart speeding up.

"I know it's something for The Dark Lord," I whispered as quietly as I could, "If I'm right you're plotting something... here, in the castle."

He raised his eyebrows at me, "And how would you be able to help? You don't know the first thing about dark magic."

"They don't teach dark magic here, but they do in Beauxbatons. I probably know spells and potions you've never even dreamed of."

"And how do I know I can trust you?" I could see he was seriously considering my offer of help.

I leaned back against the wall, "No one knows about the potions room do they?"

He smirked, "Thats really not enough, I need to know you're truly in this, that you're capable of actually doing bad. I need you to poison some wine."

I held back in a laugh, if that's what he thought was bad, it would be easier than I thought to get in on his mission.

"Who's the wine for?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Dumbledore."

My heart went suddenly from beating very fast to completely halting. My mouth dried up. He wanted me to poison the most powerful wizard of modern times?

"Dumbledore?" I hissed.

He sighed, "I knew you'd not be able for it."

"No, I'm perfectly able, thanks Draco, just didn't expect anyone to trust you with a mission this big."

He scowled, "There's a lot you don't know about me, Rose, I wouldn't go making any assumptions if I were you."

"Or what?" I asked raising my eyebrows at him.

"Just figure out a poison strong enough for Dumbledore and then I'll see if I can trust you," he whispered, his mouth beside my ear, sending involuntary shivers down my spine.