Two weeks had passed.
Two weeks that Opal Yates had been missing, and it felt like nothing had been done. Nothing other than lock everyone in the castle. No one was allowed in or out of the school, and all extracurriculars, from clubs to quidditch had been canceled.
It was beginning to feel claustrophobic being stuck inside Hogwarts with nothing to do but hope that they all wouldn't be next. Clementine's saving grace was the marauder's map. It had quickly become her most prized possession as she constantly snuck out of the castle unnoticed.
She had started running every day as a way to clear her mind. It started just to the quidditch pitch and back, but her runs had grown longer each day. It was like she was testing the boundaries for what she could get away with. So far she hadn't been caught.
Today, she decided to run by the lake. Running always helped her to clear her mind, though it was obvious that she was always running from something. The sound of water lapping at the bank was soothing to her ears as the gravelly sand crunched beneath her shoes.
Clementine stopped to catch her breath, wiping the sweat from her forehead as she stared at the path leading into the forest. Two weeks. Two unbelievably long weeks, she thought to herself. Where was Harry and the other aurors that she had anticipated?
"Don't be a hero. Well you know what? Nobody is being a fucking hero here. If you want something done right then you're going to have to do it yourself." Clementine began to mutter to herself. She pulled out her wand and stomped towards the edge of the forest with haste.
The world beneath the tree canopy was entirely still as it welcomed her inside. Barely any light filtered through the dense trees as Clementine walked along the trail leading away from the beach. The narrow track of loamy soil weaved through the thick, black trees.
She could hear the trickle of running water to her left, following the stream as she made her way deeper into the woods.
"Lumos." Clementine muttered. Her wand emitted a bright white light that illuminated the mossy stump in front of her. She stood tall, turning around in a circle as she looked for something— anything— that could possibly be out of place.
She shook her head in frustration before continuing further into the darkness. The dead leaves crunched underneath her feet as her sharp ears picked up any sounds of the wind sighing around her.
"I should head back." Clementine let out a resigned groan. It felt like she had been walking in circles. She turned around blinking, unsure of which way she had come. "It was that way... I think?"
It was only then that Clementine started to panic. She couldn't hear the sound of the stream any longer, having walked too far off of the path. She was lost.
Lost in the Forbidden Forest.
"Lumos Maxima!" Clementine's hand shook as she tried to get more light to surround her. It had started getting late, and the faint light filtering through the trees had dwindled. The sound of a creature scurrying past her feet made her fall to the ground.
"Fucking hell!" Clementine hissed in pain as she grabbed her ankle that was throbbing in pain, "That's definitely twisted."
"Are you alright?"
Clementine pointed her wand in the direction of the voice, illuminating the broad frame of the man standing there watching her.
"Are you following me?" She sneered, but her face faltered as the pain in her ankle swelled. She held on to it tightly to try and mediate the aching.
Theo knelt down next to her, illuminating his own wand to get a better look at Clementine's injury. "You've been avoiding me."
"I haven't." Clementine admitted truthfully, "I've just been..."
"Leaving the castle every day, despite us all being directed not to do so. by McGonagall. Disobeying a direct order from the headmistress sounds awfully familiar." Theo finished her thought for her before whispering a spell that instantly relieved her pain. He looked into her eyes the playful glint that was usually present was replaced with a serious hue, "Can you stand?"
Theo held out his hand and Clementine eyed it skeptically before accepting. He pulled her to her feet in one quick motion, before cradling her in his arms. He felt warm, and comforting. She sank into him for a moment before remembering that she was still mad and pushed him away, "I can't believe you're following me like this. Have you been doing this for weeks? I swear I can't do anything at Hogwarts without being watched."
"And what if I hadn't been?" Theo's voice shook angrily, "You'd be lost in the forest with an injury waiting for any old werewolf to eat you for dinner!"
"There's not any werewolves in here." Clementine looked around nervously. "Not anymore."
"Fine— Vampires... whatever. Something will try to kill you eventually the longer you linger here." Theo rolled his eyes, keeping a firm grip on Clementine's arm. "What are you even doing roaming the forest anyway?"
"I was looking for Opal." Clementine said. She watched as Theo's brows knit together deepening his concern. She hurried to keep speaking before he cut her off, "Because it looks like no one else is."
"The aurors are on it, Clem." Theo tugged her forward. "Leave it alone."
"Are they?" Clementine's voice cracked as she resisted him, "I haven't seen any of them. Not a one."
Theo opened his mouth to speak before clamping it shut, "You're not looking hard enough then."
The leaves of the brush rustled nearby, causing all conversation between the two to cease. They watched with bated breath as the rustling got louder and louder, until a voice called out.
"Hello?" A young girl's voice called out. She covered her eyes as she walked forward, blinded by the light of the two wands that illuminated her emaciated frame. "Can you help me?"
Theo let go of Clementine, allowing the witch to swoop in to help the girl, "Opal, you're alright!"
"Opal?" She asked quietly as she looked up at Clementine with her eyes half-glazed over, "Is that my name?"
Clementine looked over at Theo absolutely horror-stricken at the realization, "She's been obliviated."
"Stupefy." Theo pointed his wand at the girl. Red light hit the young girl before she collapsed to the ground. Theo hurried to pick her up, tossing her over his shoulder like she weighed absolutely nothing.
"What did you do that for?" Clementine shrieked, "She's already been through enough!"
Theo held the girl's limp body in his arms, keeping her close to his chest as he started to walk out of the forest, "She's dehydrated and delirious. It was for the best until we can get her to the infirmary, which we need to do immediately. Keep up."
Clementine walked closely behind the two, following Theo out of the forest and back towards the castle. The moonlight shone brightly, casting them all in a white glow. She hadn't even realized how how late it had gotten. She looked at Opal's limp arm swaying behind Theo as he walked. An ancient runic symbol, similar to the ones found on the muggle, had been carved into her skin.
"Theo..." Clementine got his attention by gently touching his arm. She pointed to the rune and his face went pale. They didn't speak for the rest of the way to the castle. They didn't need to. Madam Pomfrey was surprised to see them, but quickly began tending to the girl.
"I'll go get help." Theo directed to Clementine quietly while they watched alongside Pomfrey, "You wait here with Opal."
He didn't have to tell Clementine anything. She wasn't about to leave the girl's side until she knew she would be okay. Madam Pomfrey didn't ask any questions, for which she was eternally grateful. She couldn't explain how she ended up in the forest, but she knew that someone would ask eventually.
Opal turned over and groaned as she began to awaken, "Where am I?"
"Rest, child." Madam Pomfrey whispered before administering a potion. "You can go back to sleep now."
"Is there anything we can do about obliviation?" Clementine asked as she sat down on the empty bed across from where Opal was drifting back to sleep, "It's a serious case. She doesn't even know her own name."
"You mustn't worry yourself about such things, Clementine." Madam Pomfrey gave a soft smile, but her eyes gave her away even in the dim light of night, "We'll get her sorted out as soon as she recovers."
The doors to the infirmary burst open and Draco Malfoy stormed in with Theo trailing close behind like a puppy with his tail between his legs.
"You went for help and you got Malfoy?" Clementine stood to glare at Theo who shrugged back at her sheepishly.
"I ran into him on my way to find McGonagall. I couldn't lie about it." Theo explained. "He was concerned."
"You are a walking disaster, Clementine Beaumont." Draco snarled as his entire body shook with rage as he stormed up to her. It looked like smoke might start pouring out of his ears any second. "I told you not to do anything about this. What if something happened to you?"
"If I hadn't gone into the forest, then Opal would still be out there looking for help!" She shot back at him. She pointed at the girl who looked like she had been facing off with death himself, "Look at her! She's lucky to be alive."
"So are you." Draco growled. His eyes flickered toward Opal and back to Clementine. "That could've been you in that bed right now."
"Well let's not dwell in hypotheticals." Clementine snapped as she crossed her arms over her chest, "We need to go find Lila. She'll want to see her sister."
"Let her worry about it tomorrow." Draco shook his head, "You don't need to burden her with this tonight."
"If it were me would you want someone to tell you tomorrow?" Clementine shot back at him.
Theo chuckled lightly, "She's got a point, Malfoy. I wouldn't want to wait either."
"Fine." Draco threw his hands up in the air, "Do whatever the hell you want to. It seems like that's what you've been doing up until now anyway."
"Thank you for your permission." Clementine brushed past him to walk with Theo. "The Gryffindor Tower isn't far from here."
Theo looked between Clementine and Draco, "Are you sure about—"
"Let her lead the way." Draco huffed at his friend, "She seems to think she knows what she's doing."
Theo shook his head, frustrated by the situation, but said nothing as he followed after Clementine.
It was awkward walking through the castle together. The three of them didn't spend much time all together like this. Most times it just ended in fighting, or someone ended up angry. Clementine tried not to focus on it. She was determined to find Lila as quickly as possible, so she could be over this evening.
"Password?" The Portrait of the Fat Lady asked.
"We're professors." Draco said, "We don't need to use the bloody password."
"No password, no entry." She yawned before closing her eyes. "That's the rules even for professors with no sense of manners."
"Why you little—" Draco pulled out his wand ready to rip the portrait to shreds.
"Opera House." Theo cut him off before Draco could do any damage. The portrait looked at Theo with satisfaction before glaring at Draco as she swung open to reveal the portrait hole.
"How did you know that?" Clementine asked.
"The library is quiet, so I overhear everything." Theo climbed through before offering his hand to help Clementine through. Draco followed close behind as they walked into the Gryffindor Common Room.
The warm fire roared to life, warming them all instantly as they looked around. The royal red and gold tapestries made the room feel cozy and welcoming. Despite the homey atmosphere, not a single student was anywhere to be seen.
"Where is everyone?" Clementine asked as she climbed up the staircase to check the girls' dormitory. It was just as quiet and empty upstairs was it was below.
"It's Halloween. Where do you expect them to be?" Draco raised a brow. "You know the tradition."
"I tried to say something earlier." Theo interjected as his eyes cut to Draco, "But you wouldn't hear it."
Clementine felt cold as the realization washed over her, "Slytherins still throw that party in the dungeons?"
"Why would they stop?" Draco snorted, "It's the best party of the year, by far."
"I thought Gryffindor students weren't allowed to attend." Clementine frowned as she walked back towards them. "At least that's used to be the case."
"Sure, when Potter was there." Draco shrugged as a proud smirk formed on his face, "I made the rules back then. I'm sure they've got someone else in charge now who thinks differently."
"So what are we going to do exactly?" Theo grinned excitedly. "It's been a while since I've crashed a party."
"We won't be crashing anything if we keep standing around like this wasting everyone's time." Clementine huffed. She looked up at Draco and gritted her teeth, "Next time you have vital information you should share it." Her eyes flickered towards Theo, "That goes for you, too. Malfoy isn't the boss of you."
"That's right, because you're in charge, Clem." Draco nudged her forward causing her to stumble towards the portrait hole, "We haven't forgotten."
The three quickly made their way to the dungeons. From the outside of the Slytherin Common Room, it still looked as if it were a regular evening. The only sound that could be heard was their steady breathing as they all stood there, waiting for Draco to open the door.
"They've gotten smarter." Draco used his wand to read the wards, "These are impressive."
Draco muttered some counter-curses and the wards all began to come down, one by one. The music began to leak through the cracks of the walls as the bricks began to part ways to reveal the entry to the Slytherin Dungeon.
"After you." Draco looked at Clementine, urging her to step forward.
Music pulsated through the dark room creating vibrations that rumbled in Clementine's chest as she walked down the steps into the abyss of students. The darkness felt like a void, with only dim green lights to see bodies dancing around them.
"Slytherin parties are not what they used to be!" Theo shouted over the noise. Clementine could barely hear him even though he was right next to her ear. "This looks insane. What happened to just a shit ton of liquor and some dimmed lights? This is an entire production!"
"Stay close." Draco instructed them as he intertwined his hand with Clementine's, and she used her free hand to hold Theo's. Draco's eyes remained vigilant as he scanned through the crowd. "Be on the lookout for Lila."
The trio carved a path through the students, all far too drunk and high to even notice their presence amongst them. The fact that a party of this magnitude was going on undetected was a feat of its own. Clementine couldn't help but to be impressed.
The bass in the music began to pick up, nearly matching Clementine's heart rate as she pushed past the group of teenagers gyrating together on the dance floor. She coughed as a powder blew into her face. It got in her eyes and her nose, clouding her vision as the sickeningly sweet smell of the powder worked its way into her system.
"What was that?" Clementine wheezed. She looked over at Theo who was wiping the powder away from his own face as well.
"We'll worry about that later. Look over there, straight ahead." Draco ordered as he kept the group moving forward. They had just reached the edge of the crowd where Lila stood off to the side by herself.
"What are you doing here?" Lila's eyes went wide, worried that the party might get shut down on her behalf. The three of them couldn't have cared less about the illegal party happening in the dungeon. They just needed to get to Lila.
"Your sister has been found." Theo told her over the ear-splitting music. Despite how loud it was his words cut through her like a sword.
Lila dropped her drink on the floor, spilling its luminescent contents all over the floor. "Where is she?"
"The infirmary." Clementine told her as the girl hurried off. "Lila, wait!"
Before Clementine could do anything to stop her, the girl had vanished into the crowd.
"Lila knows how to get to the infirmary on her own, Clem. Can we leave now?" Draco frowned as he looked around his former common room in absolute disgust, "I can't bare to watch this desecration for much longer. These parties are much raunchier than I remember."
Clementine wiped her face with her hand, her nose still itching from the powder that was still lodged inside. "Yeah, I could stand to get out of here."
"I kind of like it." Theo teased, his blue eyes looked like a vibrant teal under the green light. He pulled her close so their lips almost touched, "You don't want to dance with me, Clem?"
"Not here." Clementine mumbled and pushed him away, but his touch lingered on her body sending a chill completely through her. Something seemed off about Theo, and the way she was feeling. She was starting to feel woozy, "What was in that powder?"
Draco wiped some of the remaining substance off of his own face and looked at it before licking it off of his thumb. Clementine felt the heat pooling in her belly as she watched him. She tried to push those provocative thoughts away but they kept flooding back to her.
Dracos eyes widened with realization as he grabbed hold of Theo and Clementine, "We need to get out of here immediately."
"What is it?" Theo's voice wavered. "We haven't been poisoned, have we?"
"Not exactly." Draco explained, "It's powdered Desiderium— an incredibly powerful lust potion."
Theo swallowed hard as the realization hit him like a train. "You can make an antidote or something, right?"
"I can't." Draco grit his teeth together as the potion began to take effect. He let go of them both, knowing that the skin to skin contact was only making the feelings of lust heighten in all of their systems. "It takes thorned ichor to make the potion, and it takes thorned ichor to make the antidote. Since my ingredients haven't been replenished yet..."
"What happens if we try to wait for it to wear off?" Clementine asked. Her mouth felt dry and her heart rate was beginning to increase.
"You'll start to hallucinate." Draco tried to remain stoic, "Some people like that about it, but if you wait too long it'll make you go absolutely mad. I can't stress how dangerous it actually is. The only way to make the potion wear off is through... completion."
"We should..." Clementine paused, unsure if they would agree with her. She didn't have to finish her sentence for them to understand.
"You're in charge," Draco repeated himself, his eyes dark with lust.
"My room." Theo uttered as they made their way out of the party. "It's the closest."
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Alright babes, if you want the Paris chapter then I'm going to need lots of votes and comments! 💗