"So this is the vanishing cabinet?" I said as I looked at a large cabinet. It looked almost like a fancy wardrobe. "Have you tried any spells?"
Draco shook his head.
"We need to get this fixed so we can let the Death Eaters into the school." I pulled a book.
"I found a spell that could fix the cabinet.." I said pointing at the page in the book, "but it'll take a lot of repeated effort and a while to fix."
"Harmonia Nectere Passus." Draco read from the page. "You sure this'll work?"
"It better," I said sucking in a breath. "because I don't know what we'll do if it doesn't"
We worked in silence as we took turns trying to fix the cabinet. Nearly an hour later we still couldn't get anything to vanish. Draco kicked the cabinet and cursed.
"Why don't we take a break." I suggest taking a seat on the ground. "I think we've tried enough today." Draco sighed today and took a seat next to me. He rubbed his face tiredly with his hands.
"Draco-"
"I'm fine." He snaps.
"Didn't say you weren't" I muttered a little offended he had snapped at me. We sat together in silence, until I felt it was time to break it. "This weekend's the first Hogsmeade trip." I wanted to change the subject to try and improve Draco's mood. It was already half way through October meaning Hogsmeade was open to students.
"Do you have that Opal necklace from Borgin and Burkes?" Draco suddenly asked. I was taken aback by this but answer anyway.
"Yeah, it's in my dormitory-" I said unsure. "why?"
"It's cursed and I plan to give it to Dumbledore."
"That's the worst plan I have ever heard. do you plan just to walk up to him-" I start to say but Draco interrupts me.
"No!" He says, "I've thought it through. I'm going to pass it through a few people before giving it to him so I can't be traced."
"You expect people to just pass around a cursed necklace willingly?"
"No, but they will." he insisted, "After I place the imperious curse on them." He stood up heading to the door to go retrieve the necklace.
"Draco." I said running after him and blocking him from opening the door. "It's too early to try something like this! The cabinet isn't ready!" I try and reason with him, "Even Snape has told us to wait!"
"I don't care about Snape!" He scoffed. "I don't need his help."
"Draco, please listen-"
"Move." he said sternly.
"No."
Draco grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the way of the door. I quickly grabbed his wrist before he could push the door and pulled he towards me. He collided with me knocking me off balance into a stack of books and random items.
"Ouch.." I muttered as I stumbled to get up. I watched as he walked straight to the door. I had barely gotten up when I screamed. A bloodied mangled body was laying before me. I felt tears come to my eyes as familiar ice blue eyes stared up at me dead. "..Draco.." I stumbled back a few steps. His blonde hair was covered in blood.
Then suddenly his body was gone and instead it was Ginny, Fred and George. Their bright hair now looked dim as their dead orbs stared at me. There was a voice behind me but I couldn't hear it. I was too focused on the bodies before me.
It suddenly changed again from the Weasleys to Harper, he body was bloodied and beaten. I felt a few tears fall down my face. It then transformed into Astoria and Lucille.
"Riddikulus!" The voice behind me said. The dead bloodied bodies of my two friends disappeared and a black ghsotly shape flew back into a box I had knocked over merely moments before. It..wasn't real? It was just a boggart. A hand touched my arm and I jumped. I turned my head around to see who it was.
It was Draco, alive and looking the same as he had before I had accidentally opened the boggart. I quickly wiped my face of the tears that were still there.
"S-Sorry," I say quietly, "I forgot what my boggart was.." If I remember correctly my boggart hadn't changed from third year, only intensified.
"Are... you really that scared of me dying?" Draco asked gently,
"I-I.."
"Don't be." He said sternly, as if he was trying to tell us both. "I'm not going to die." He looked me in the eye, "and neither are you."
"If we don't complete the task then we'll both be dead." I managed to say.
"Then I suggest we go get that necklace." Despite knowing we shouldn't, I wasn't in my right mind to argue with him again.
I nodded. "Let's go then."
"It should be in here." I said, as Draco followed me into my dormitory. It was dinner right now so everyone was in the Great Hall, giving us the perfect opportunity to get the necklace out without being noticed.
I pulled my trunk out from my bed and opened it. I dug through clothing, old books and parchment until I found the small black box. I gently pulled it out and opened the box. It was a beautiful necklace, if it wasn't coated with a deadly curse.
"A single touch of the necklace will most likely kill him." I said, as we both gazed at the necklace. I was starting to doubt the plan again. So many things could go wrong, not to mention we would be using an unforgivable curse that the ministry could trace back to us.
Draco took the small box in his hands, he seemed to be trying to reassure himself.
"I'll do it," Draco's eyes flickered to mine as I spoke, "that way if I get caught you'll still have a chance at completing the task."
"Just make sure you don't get caught." He said earnestly.
"I never get caught." I said with a half smile. I turned to face Draco before taking the box holding the necklace gently from his hands and placing it down on my bed. Two days from now, Dumbledore might be dead.
I had been so distracted by the necklace and imminent death of Dumbledore that I hadn't realized how close we had gotten to each other. I looked up into Draco's eyes. They used to be startling cold ice blue, but now they show a dim blue, almost grey. They resembled the eyes from my boggart all too well.
"Raelyn?" Draco said quietly.
"Yes?" I said tilting my head and stepping closer. I didn't give him a chance to answer as I pressed my lips to his slowly. His arms wrapped around my waist bringing me closer, as my hands cupped his face lightly. At that moment the necklace and our task was forgotten. It has been a long time since we could just be with each other like this.
I smelled a strong scent of mint cologne, the same I smelt in Amortentia. I gasped at the coolness of Draco's hands as I then slid up the bottom of my shirt, and rest on the bare skin of my waist.
"Am I interrupting something?" A voice said from the door way. We broke apart immediately. I prayed it was either Lucille or Astoria so it would be easier to explain but of course it wasn't. It was Scarlett. I honestly would've preferred Pansy over her.
Scarlett's eyes drifted from us over to the bed. The necklace, I thought horrified, thinking that she had seen it. If she saw this then we would easily get caught. Draco quickly grabbed the box and tried to hide it while I stood in her view line.
"I'm sorry!" I say quickly, "I thought no one would be here because of dinner! Please don't tell anyone, we're trying to keep it a secret." I was hoping to play this off as us being a normal couple trying not to get caught snogging.
"Well you've failed miserably at that, the entire school has known you've been hooking up since fourth year." Scarlett said, her eyes still focus on Draco behind me. My mouth hung open as I was trying to find something to say back. Had the entire school really thought I was hooking up with Draco for the past two years?!
"Shouldn't you be at dinner?" I finally ask, regaining my composure. She shrugged.
"Already ate." Over the years I had barely talked to Scarlett. In fact no one had really talked to her. She always avoided social activities and I had honestly never really seen her much in the Great Hall except for lunch or dinner occasionally.
"Aren't you Zabini's girlfriend?" Draco said as he came and stood by my side. She nodded. I was appalled. Scarlett had a boyfriend? I didn't even think she had friends.
Her eyes snapped to mine as I thought this.
"Well, sorry to bother you." I looked at Draco and looped my arm through his. "We'll leave now." As soon as the words were out of my mouth we both headed straight to the door. We practically ran out of the common room into the open dungeons.
"Thought you said everyone was at dinner" Draco hissed at me.
"How was I supposed to know she would come back early!" I said defensively. "She creeps me out so I avoid her!"
Draco rolled his eyes and pulled out the black box from the inside of her black suit.
"Better be glad she didn't notice." He said as I gave him an annoyed look before taking the box.
We started to make our way back to the room of requirement. This weekend I would come and retrieve the necklace from there before heading to Hogsmeade.
"So the entire school thinks we've been hooking up." I glared at Draco as he smirked at me.
"Shut up."
He leaned down and whispered into my ear. "We could make it a reality."
"Say one more word and I'll use this necklace on you instead of Dumbledore."
"The Dark Arts," said Snape, "are many, varied, ever-changing, and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible." His almost spoke of the Dark Arts with loving caress in his voice.
"No need to sound so happy about it." mumbled Harper next to me. He was the only one out of the four of us to pass his OWL with an Outstanding and qualify for the NEWT level class. It was surprising considering he wasn't in the DA but nevertheless I was glad he was here.
Since Snape had taken over as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, classes had become rather dark. Snape had imposed his personality upon the room already making gloomier than usual, as curtains had been drawn over the windows, and were lit by candlelight. New pictures adorned the walls, many of them showing people who appeared to be in pain, sporting grisly injuries or strangely contorted body parts.
"His teaching style makes me almost miss Umbridge." Harper said. I scoffed at his remark.
"Speak for yourself. Umbridge gave me more scars than-" I was going to say Bellatrix but I remembered Harper didn't know about that. Harper stared at me expectantly, he was waiting for me to finish my sentence.
"Your defenses," said Snape loudly, capturing both of our attentions away from our short conversation and back to the gloomy lesson. "must therefore be as flexible and inventive as the arts you seek to undo. These pictures - "he indicated a few of them as he swept past - "give a fair representation of what happens to those who suffer, for instance, the Cruciatus Curse" - he waved a hand toward a witch who was clearly shrieking in agony.
I swallowed hard. I had been put under the Cruciatus Curse at the ministry. Unforunatly that wasn't the last time I had felt the pain of that spell, and I assumed I would feel it again in the future.
Snape continued "-feel the Dementor's Kiss" A wizard lying huddled and blank-eyed, slumped against a wall - "or provoke the aggression of the Inferius" - a bloody mass upon ground.
"Has an Inferius been seen, then?" said Parvati Patil in a high pitched voice. "Is it definite, is he using them?"
"The Dark Lord has used Inferi in the past," said Snape, "which means you would be well-advised to assume he might use them again. Now. . . " He set off again around the other side of the classroom toward his desk, and again, they watched him as he walked, his dark robes billowing behind him.
". . . you are, I believe, complete novices in the use of nonverbal spells. What is the advantage of a nonverbal spell?" Hermione's hand shot into the air. Snape took his time looking around at everybody else, making sure he had no choice, before saying curtly, "Very well - Miss Granger?"
"Your adversary has no warning about what kind of magic you're about to perform," said Hermione, "which gives you a split-second advantage."
"An answer copied almost word for word from The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Six," said Snape dismissively. In the corner I heard Draco snicker. Honestly I was too surprised by the fact he showed up to class to be annoyed at his mean antics. "but correct in essentials. Yes, those who progress in using magic without shouting incantations gain an element of surprise in their spell-casting. Not all wizards can do this, of course; it is a question of concentration and mind power which some" - his gaze lingered maliciously upon Harry. - "lack."
"You will now divide," Snape went on, "into pairs. One partner will attempt jinx the other without speaking. The other will attempt to repel the jinx in equal silence. Carry on."
I pulled my wand out and joined Harper to practice. Harry had taught at least half the class (everyone who had been a member of the D.A.) how to perform a Shield Charm the previous year. None of them had ever cast the charm without speaking, however. Obviously a reasonable amount of cheating ensued, many people were merely whispering the incantation instead of saying it aloud.
I actually felt quite bad as I non verbally stunned Harper across the room. Bellatrix had tried to teach us simple non verbal spells, surprisingly Draco became quite good at them. Which only made me more determined to be better. So here I was putting all that practice into use on my friend, Harper. Who hadn't even been taught a proper shield charm.
"Protego!" I heard Harry shout loudly. The whole class had looked around and now watched as Snape righted himself, scowling. I tried to hide a smirk as Snape glowered at Harry for repelling his jinx.
"Do you remember me telling you we are practicing nonverbal spells, Potter?"
"Yes," said Harry stiffly.
"Yes, sir."
"There's no need to call me 'sir,' Professor." Several people gasped, including Hermione. Behind Snape, however , Ron, Dean, and Seamus grinned appreciatively.
"Detention, Saturday night, my office," said Snape. "I do not take cheek from anyone, Potter . . . not even 'the Chosen One.'"
After that we went back to practicing our non verbal spells.
"Raelyn, how come you're so good at nonverbal spells!" complained Harper as we exited class. I had either blocked his attempts at non verbal jinx or sent him flying across the class during our lesson.
I shrugged. "Practice, I guess."
"Hey Gibson!" A voice shouted across the hallway from me. I spun around and saw Urquhart storming up to me.
"Uh- Captian?" I said unsure as he stormed before me looking furious.
"Tell your bloody boyfriend that if he skips one more match or practice he's off the team!" He shouted. People in the hallway had started to stare. Urquhart turned to Harper.
"You better start learning to catch the snitch faster or you'll be off the team as well!" Urquhart said before storming away.
"For the record I caught the snitch in the last two matches!" Harper shouted as our Captain stormed away. Draco's latest school activity skipping had been Quidditch. He first stopped showing up at practices and then finally matches. Urquhart had had enough when we nearly lost against Ravenclaw, who was notorious for being the easiest team to beat.
I had already tried to convince Draco to come back, knowing it was starting to look suspicious if he didn't. But I was also concerned. Prefect and Quidditch were things Draco liked to do. But now he just disregarded them so easily without caring that it scared me that he would soon quit doing anything but trying to fix that bloody cabinet.
The first Hogsmeade trip had arrived. That morning I snuck off to the room of requirement and grabbed the necklace, before heading with Draco to Hogsmeade.
"Remember to stay hidden." Draco reminded me as we approached the three broomsticks. We sat down at a table in the very back of the room. We waited patiently until we found someone to be our unfortunate target.
"Wait right here Leanne," said a girl I recognized from the Gryffindor quidditch team, I think her name was Katie Bell. "I need to use the loo. I'll be right back!"
Katie left her friend and headed towards the girls bathroom. Draco elbowed me and gave me a pointed look. I hid the box that held the cursed necklace in my jacket.
I opened the door to the girls bathroom. Katie was in a stall. I placed the box on the sink and hid in the shadow of the room, behind the door waiting for her to appear. I pulled my wand out, ready to cast the spell. Katie soon opened the stall door and headed towards the sinks.
She finished washing her hands and headed to towels to dry them when she stopped at a different sink. She eyed the necklace curious why it was there. Just as she reached out to touch it I took my chance.
"Imperio." Katie stopped moving. Her eyes become cloudy and dazed. "Take this necklace and deliver it to Dumbledore. Don't touch the necklace or let anyone but Dumbledore touch it. Keep the necklace hidden until you give it to Dumbledore. If anyone asks what you are doing, you are to lie and not tell them of what you have been instructed."
Katie nodded and gently grabbed the box, careful not to touch the necklace. She hid the necklace under her shawl and exited the bathroom. I waited a few minutes before following. I walked past Draco's table, he immediatly stood up and we exited the Three broomsticks.
"We need alibis." I say to Draco as we watched Katie rejoin her friend and they make their way back toward the castle.
"Already thought of that." Draco said grabbing my wrist and pulling me into a cafe. He dragged me to a booth in the very front of the cafe. A place where everyone would see us. I looked around and groaned realizing where we were. Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, the small cafe every couple at Hogwarts goes for dates and snogging.
"Draco, why are we-"
"Kiss me." He said sternly, scooting closer to me and leaning towards my face. I felt a blush creep on my cheeks.
"What?" I stammered.
"Everyone's watching, if they see us here then they can't say we had anything to do with what's about to happen." He whispered icily to me. My eyes drifted from his to the people behind him. He was right. Nearly everyone in the shop had started whispering about our presence, a few were even staring waiting for something to happen.
"You couldn't come up with anything better than snogging for our alibi?" Draco raised a brow and smirked.
"Nothing near as fun as this is." He said before kissing me slowly. My eyes fluttered shut and followed his lead. To be honest it felt quite nice to be doing something almost normal as a couple.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" Draco whispered against my lips in between kisses. My hand found his face and pulled him closer into me.
"Maybe." Draco's arm wrapped around my waist pulling me into him. "People are staring." I said as we finally pulled apart. Draco kissed the side of my head and lingered there for a bit.
"Good," he whispered in my ear. "Let them."
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