I gazed at the red ruby, held in place by a silver serpent. It was... beautiful, to say the least.
Marriage? At sixteen, to be seventeen in a month. Not something I imagined would be happening anytime soon. I figured we would marry at sometime; sometime very, very far down the road..
I've never been the wedding kind of girl. At age 9, I went to my Uncle Rhowen's wedding and I was astonished at all the people crying. My mother told me it was 'beautiful'.. I didn't see it..
Draco stares at me, waiting anxiously for an answer. 'Are you sure?' That's the only thing I want to ask him, but I can feel his parent's impatient glares burning a hole in my head. I 'm cornered.
"Yeah," I croak out, my voice barely working.
Draco's P.O.V
Earlier that day..
I make my way down the corridor, to get something for breakfast.
"Draco," Someone calls my name.
I stop and turn to see my father sitting in his den. The shades are drawn and he's sitting with the fireplace blazing.
"Yes, father?" I ask, stepping into the room. As a child, I was never allowed in this room. I even find it strange he's allowing me in here now.
"Sit down. I have something for you." He says, pointing to the leather chair across from him.
Letting my confusion show, I take a seat on the cold, leather chair. I say nothing as he digs in his desk drawer.
He pulls out a small white box and hands it to me. A gift? If we're exchanging gifts, I should go and get his present from Alice and I.
I open the box and see a ring. A woman's ring. A red stone, surrounded by a silver serpent.
"I want you to propose to Alice, tonight, while we exchange gifts." He tells me. I nearly choke on air. Propose? As Alice to marry me? Tonight?
"Father, I don't think..." I shake my head, putting the cover back on the box.
"Let me tell you something.." He says, sitting back in his chair.
"Normal women are unpredictable. They are emotional and far too sensitive. But then, then there are women like Alice. Alice is much like you and I. Much more unpredictable, but not as sensitive, which is a problem." He says, talking slow, just to emphasize the importance.
"If Alice falls in love with another man, she'll be gone in a blink of an eye. So, that's why you must mark her. It's very much like receiving the Dark Mark. Before, I was all over the place; unstable. But, I got marked and I became a very loyal man." He tries to convince me.
I know better than to argue with him. But, I know Alice. She's not the type to marry at sixteen, and frankly, neither am I.
"Look, if you want the Dark Lord to believe you two are serious about all of this, you must prove it to him in every way possible." He tells me, getting to his feet.
"And, I have to do it tonight?" I ask, getting up, following his lead.
"It'll be harder for her to say no in front of your mother and I," He says, confidently.
I put the box in my pocket and it feels as if it weighs a thousand pounds.
Alice's P.O.V
Narcissa gasps and smiles proudly at us. Even Lucius smiles at the both of us.
Draco slips the ring on my left hand, on my ring finger. I look at it. It seems so out of place.
I look up at Draco and give him a faint smile. I see the identical loss of color in his own cheeks and it makes me rest at ease.
"Oh, kiss you two. Don't be shy, you're engaged!" Narcissa claps and bounces in her seat.
Draco and I both turn red, but he leans in and kisses my lips.
And unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, I feel nothing.
***
"OH. MY. GOSH!" Tabitha squeals in the middle of the Slytherin Dungeon. She jumps up and down and wraps her arms around me. I just laugh and let her release her excitement.
Draco just smiles, smugly, beside a surprised Emmerich, on the couch. Now that we're back to school, we both hide our vulnerability that peeped through at his house.
As she grabs my hand and examines the ring, I make sure my long-sleeve top covers my mark.
"You two are so cute!" She gushes, looking at my left hand in envy.
"We aren't 'cute'. 'Cute' is a word you use to describe a baby, or a small animal," I sigh, taking my hand back. Tabitha rolls her eyes.
"You know what I mean," She snorts,
"Now, if you are done babbling, Emmerich has something to tell us," Draco snaps at Tabitha. She, being used to it, zips her lips and takes a seat beside me.
Emmerich looks uncomfortable to be having all the attention. He swallows a lump in the back of his throat and sits up.
"Well, you told me to keep an eye on Potter, so I did. I followed him pretty much everywhere. I spoke with him a few times, discreetly of course. He didn't suspect a thing," He starts off, getting our attention immediately.
"But, it seems to me that he's trying to figure out some kind of code. In his notebook, he had hundreds an hundreds of random letters and numbers. They looked like a combination to unlock something." He reports to us.
Draco was right, he is up to no good... Those Gryffindors, always meddling with something. And, Potter's the worst one of them all.
"Excellent," Draco grins, running his fingers through his hair, "Now we just need to figure out what he's trying to unlock and get to it before he does." He schemes.
"He was going to the library almost every day, as well. I tried to follow him, but I couldn't get close enough to see what he was looking at." Emmerich adds.
"And that's where you," Draco points to me, "my sly one, will come in. Follow Potter to the library one of these days. Use your charms and good looks and we'll have it figured out in no time." He tells me, putting great confidence in me.
"Even if we figure out what he's after, how will we unlock it?" I point out a flaw in the plan.
"Hmm, do we know anyone talented in cracking codes?" Draco asks the group.
"Actually, my sister. She's fairly skilled at all of that; always has been," Emmerich speaks up.
Draco lets out a laugh; this is all almost too easy.
"But, will she agree to help us out?" Tabitha asks, warily.
Good point. Annie is a Ravenclaw. They are too smart to be involved in petty rivalry, like this.
"She hates Potter as well, trust me." Emmerich assures us.
The bell on the grandfather clock chimes, telling us that the New Year's party has just begun in the Dining Hall.
"We better go, before the Gryffindors actually start having fun," Tabitha gets up, smiling.
We all follow her lead, but Draco grabs my arm, holding me back.
"We've got to talk to Snape... We'll be right down," He tells the other two.
They both give us a confused look, but shrug, leaving.
"We've got to tell Snape about Potter." He tells me, leading the way to Snape's office.
"You think this code deal is big enough to involve... them?" I ask, rushing to keep up with his long strides.
"You heard him. Potter is capable of many things we don't suspect... He did survive, after all." He reminds me of one of our meetings.
Potter is enemy number one. He's got plans to overrule the Death Eaters and let the mud-bloods live as our equal.
He knocks once before entering Snape's office.
"You two are supposed to be at the party," He warns us, not looking up from his paper.
"So are you," I fire back. He looks up and narrows his eyes. I quickly use Occlumency to block my mind. After a few seconds, the corners of his mouth turn up.
"Very good," He nods, returning to his paper.
"Potter is up to something." Draco says, leaning against Snape's desk. "I had a friend watch over him over break and he found some pretty suspicious information," He says.
"What kind of information?" Snape demands, setting down his quil. He listens anxiously.
"He's been trying to break some code. He's got a notebook full with possible combinations and he's also been-" Draco informs him, but he doesn't get to finish his sentence.
"Combination?!" Snape yells, getting to his feet. "Oh, no. Oh, no." He mumbles to himself, looking around the room.
"What does it mean?" I ask, impatiently.
"Go to the party. Keep a good eye on Potter, don't let him look any further." Snape orders us, putting on a dark black cloak.
When we don't budge, he shouts,
"Go! Go!"
Annie's P.O.V
The annual New Year's pary is usually a drag. All the older students kiss their significant other at midnight, as us single students sit and listen to bad music. But, this year, it seems different.
There are less teachers around, watching. The music is student-run, so Fred and George Weasly are DJ'ing. I'm actually... enjoying myself.
"I wish they threw a party like this, every year!" Lisa Longwood, one of my best friends, smiles and continues to jump around to the beat of the music.
I nod and move along with the music as well.
"Hey, there's your brother. I wonder where Draco is..." Leyra Carter, one of my other best friends, says, pointing to the tall, awkward boy making his way towards us.
I groan, I hope Draco's far, far away. I can't believe she can find him appealing. And she isn't alone! Our good friend, Marleigh Winters, is also madly in love with the no-good Slytherin boy.
"Annie, can I ask you a favor?" Emmerich asks, his mouth to my ear. Unable to have a conversation with him, I pull him out into the hall.
"What kind of favor?" I ask.
He looks around, making sure no one's around.
"Potter's up to something and we have to find out. He's been trying to crack some code. You're good at that stuff, so I figured you would be the best person to talk to." He whispers.
"Are you sure he's not trying to just unlock his diary and forgot the code?" I put my hands on my hips. I'll be irritated if he's wasting my time over something stupid.
"No, Draco- er- I'm sure." He shakes his head, but I groan, putting my face into my palm.
"I want nothing to do with that scum bag, or his evil little girlfriend!" I shout.
"You won't have to deal with them. We just need you to crack a code." He promises.
"This is just out of hatred for Harry, right? This isn't like some huge deal that could potentially land us in Askaban, is it?" I ask him, a little nervous to be honest.
Emmerich just laughs.
"Of course it isn't. Dont' worry," He messes my hair up and goes back into the party.
I lean against the wall, unsure of it all. My gut tells me not to be associated with anything Draco or Alice come near. But, I can't just let Emmerich get in the middle of it all, alone. This way, if it has to come down to it, I'll be there to protect him from them. And, if they just get destroyed in the process, oh well..