Crouched under a table right beside Draco Malfoy was not the way Amisty was planning for their meet up to go.
She was having an internal battle inside her head. She wanted to be able to see him, but that would mean she would have to get closer to Draco.
"Noel, again?" Madam Rosmerta greeted him kindly, her cheerful voice edging on the verge of concerned.
"Hey, Rosmerta," He sighed. With a deep breath, she shoved away her mental argument and scooted closer to Draco.
"What are you doing?" He repeated, twitching away from her as a faint pink tinge dusted across his face.
"I need to be able to see," She hissed back, rolling her eyes. "Get over yourself, it's not like I'm filthy. There's more dirt on you than there is me."
"That's not -- " He started to protest, voice rising in volume a little too much for her liking.
"Shut up!" She snapped, hitting him hard on the foot so he would feel it through the black boots he was wearing.
He glared at her but closed his mouth.
"How's it going back at home?" Madam Rosmerta asked, placing a tankard of something Amisty couldn't recognize in front of him with a soft clink.
Judging by the harsh scent, though, it was very strong.
Closing her eyes for a brief moment, pressing her hand against Draco's ankle as a warning, she inched even closer.
Now she had a full view of the owner of the pub and her father. What she saw wasn't what she had been expecting.
Noel had changed drastically. His blonde hair, though it was curly, wasn't as tamed as it had been when she had first visited him. Then it had been relatively brushed, there were tangles but there weren't knots.
His eyes had turned muddy, lost and cloudy almost. And his clothes were worn like they hadn't been washed in days.
"Could be better, but I'm not complaining," He shrugged lightly, a wan smile making its way onto his face.
"I heard something happened with your daughter," Madam Rosmerta replied gently, pulling up a stool across from him. "I've seen her around. She looks just like Echo, it's shocking."
"I know, we couldn't believe it when she was born," Noel nodded, taking a long drink from the tankard.
"Anything you'd like to talk about?" She asked, a slight smile gracing her pretty face.
Noel opened his mouth to reply when a strangled sound left his throat and he buried his head in his hands. Amisty felt her blood run cold.
"I just wanted to make sure they were safe," His voice sounded broken as he struggled to get the words out. "I wanted us to be happy. I wanted to see Amisty grow up into the beautiful girl she is and go to Hogwarts and be embarrassed because her parents live in Hogsmeade.
"Go and drive her down to London so she could pick out whatever she needed for school. Let her get an owl and see her face when we say she could get one. Have her come home after school's over and tell us everything that happened.
"Have her come home at Christmas and we would tease her all about the gifts she'd get from boys because 'they like you, dear' All the drama, all the new friends she's made, all the people she fancied. All the teachers she liked and the ones she hated. All the trouble she'd get into because we all know the daughter of Noel and Echo River wouldn't be able to stay out of it for long.
"The letter we'd get telling us what House she got sorted in. We'd tell her all about her mom and the things we did when we were her age. The moments where we're afraid we messed up because she get's to the age where she doesn't want anyone's help. The happy moments, the sad ones, the angry ones. Everything."
Amisty swallowed, her throat suddenly tight and her eyes suddenly burning and wet. Draco had gone very still.
"I wanted Haven to be able to come down to visit us. Not for her to have to go into hiding with Amisty and never be able to fall in love. I wanted her to get married and be happy and have her own kids. She really wanted them, that's why she loved Amisty so much.
"I wanted that! Not for her to get... to get killed. I wanted a full, happy family," He broke off, staring into his drink. "And I've just gone and ruined it."
Madam Rosmerta stayed silent, though she made no move to fill his empty glass. Amisty glanced around, no one else seemed to pay the crying man any heed.
She didn't know if she was annoyed or glad.
"We had it all planned out, you know? Echo knew exactly what we were going to do the month before Amisty came home from her first year. She was going to go out and get a husky puppy as a surprise for her. But that never happened, of course," He let out a bitter laugh, wiping his eyes. "I'm a mess... I think I'm just going to go back home now. Thanks, Rosmerta, for everything."
"Anytime, dear," She looked just on the verge of tears herself, the smile she gave far too small. And so Noel stood up, adjusted his cloak, and walked back out into the street.
Amisty sat there on the floor, having trouble to work up the nerve to come back up. Guilt, like she had never felt before, had settled in her stomach, flooding her thoughts and weighing down her heart.
She felt tears run down her cheeks, and whenever she breathed it came out as a meek sniffle.
"Amisty?" Draco whispered softly, sticking his head under the table. "Are you okay?"
She turned away, wiping at her eyes furiously and cracking a small, wry smile, "Not a big deal. I don't care."
He sat there quietly, occasionally making the move to talk and then breaking off.
Amisty, her heart clenched, got up and started toward the door. She didn't know why her silence had affected her so much, but it did, and it stung more than Noel's admittance.
"Thanks, Draco, really," She smiled once more, only a few more steps from the door. Five, four, three --
"You Gryffindors and your emotions!" He groaned dramatically before realizing what he'd just done and going pale. "Merlin... I didn't -- Amisty -- I just -- "
Amisty, though, started laughing. He got up, looking positively mortified but relieved that she hadn't worsened, and walked over to her.
Tears still rolling down her cheeks, she let herself be led back to where they had been sitting. This time Draco sat down next to her.
"I-I'm sorry... I don't know what's come over me and I completely ruined this entire thing, a-and now I'm just sitting here sobbing for the... I think the fourth time this year, twice in front of you..." Her voice trailed off as she kept swiping at her eyes, the act itself useless as her hand was soaked.
She wiped it on the jeans she had borrowed, unsurprised to see they had darkened where she touched it.
"There's nothing wrong with crying," He commented softly, looking at her sideways.
She looked shocked at his words, "Y-yeah, I know."
"Do you really?" He asked, turning to face her properly.
She scooted backward in surprise, barely catching herself before she fell.
"Of -- Of course I do! Whatever gave you the idea that I didn't!" She snapped, her voice nowhere near as threatening as usual.
An unfortunate side effect of crying.
He cleared his throat, eyes sparkling, and raised his voice a few octaves to match her's in pitch, "I don't know what's come over me and I completely ruined this entire thing, and now I'm just sitting here sobbing for the... I think fourth time this year, twice in front of you..."
"Yeah -- But -- This isn't -- That's not -- Ugh!" She hid her face with her hands, relieved to see the tears had slowed, even if it was only slightly.
He chuckled softly, pulling her hands away and taking hold of the one with the ring.
"W-what," Her voice squeaked and she grinned sheepishly. "What're you doing?"
He straightened her fingers gently, twisting the pretty golden band around her finger slowly. With each rotation, the white gems glinted up at them
"Where did you get this?" He asked lightly, still twisting it with a sort of crooked grin on his face.
"First year... Christmas," She replied, smiling as she thought back to it.
"May I?" He asked, pulling on it lightly.
Amisty nodded, curious as to what was to come. He slipped the little band off her finger, holding it up to the light. The engravement winked at them: Amisty The Wolf.
In a motion that rivaled the speed of lightning, Draco withdrew his wand and tapped the jewelry. It glowed gold for a split second, and he turned it so that she could see the inner band. Right next to the original engraving were two little letters in the same sharp lettering that was Draco's handwriting. DM.
Amisty broke into a massive grin. She looked like a dumbstruck fool, and she knew it, but she didn't care.
"Okay, don't make that expression. I'm not used to you smiling, this is making me uncomfortable," Draco turned away from her, rolling his eyes. She laughed hoarsely, her head tilted back and her eyes closed.
The lighting of the pub glistened on the tear tracks on her cheeks. It broke off suddenly, her voice cracking and she turned away as well.
He reached toward her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Amisty, look at me," He smiled as well, pressing a cool finger to her cheek and turning her head so she was looking him in the eye. "Look at me. I promise you, everything will be okay. You will be okay. I know right now it seems like everything is going wrong and that it all looks like it's never going to get better. But you need to trust me when I say you will be okay."
Not even caring about her brains wishes, she flung her arms around him and beamed over his shoulder, still laughing as she squeezed him tightly.
Finally, she blinked away the remainder of the tears.
'I don't think he'll mind too much, it's already ruined,' She grinned to herself after seeing a few dark spots on his shoulder.
He stiffened, he gasped, but he didn't pull away. But, she was still Amisty River, and he was still Draco Malfoy.
"Would you look at that, you didn't mess it up this time," She snickered, her voice muffled.
She was practically glowing, though.
"Because I'm not a bloody Gryffindor, that's why," He shot back, smirking.
But he did place a hand on her back.
"And there it is."
-=+=-
"Amisty, Hagrid just sent a letter," Hermione appeared out of nowhere, her eyes red and shining with unshed tears. She looked about ready to have a breakdown.
"About Buckbeak?" She asked, her voice coming out more like a whisper than actual talking. Hermione handed her the letter. The ink was smudged, teardrops marring the messy writing.
Dear Hermione,
We lost. I'm allowed to bring him back to Hogwarts. Execution date to be fixed. Beaky has enjoyed London. I won't forget all the help you gave us.
Hagrid
"No, no, they can't do that! Buckbeak is innocent, Malfoy was the one at fault!" Amisty argued, struggling not to tear the letter apart and throw it in the fire.
"There's nothing we can do. Malfoy's dad was there," Hermione wailed, a stray tear running down her cheek.
Amisty hugged Hermione tight, "We need to go find Harry and Ron. They need to know."
Hermione nodded, and the two of them headed down to the common room and out through the portrait hole.
"Come to have a good gloat? Or have you just been to tell on us?" Ron asked sharply, his eyes narrowed.
"No. We just thought you ought to know... Hagrid lost his case. Buckbeak is going be executed," Her lip trembled as she shoved the letter toward them. "He -- he sent me this."
The two of them read it, their own eyes going wide.
"They can't do this. They can't. Buckbeak isn't dangerous," Harry protested desperately.
"Malfoy's dad's frightened the Committee into it. You know what he's like. They're a bunch of doddery old fools, and they were scared. There'll be an appeal, though, there always is. Only I can't see any hope... Nothing will have changed," Hermione replied, wiping at her eyes.
"Yeah, it will. You won't have to do all the work alone this time, Hermione. I'll help," Ron declared, face set.
That seemed to push Hermione over the edge.
"Oh, Ron!" She threw her arms around his neck and sobbed.
If it hadn't been such a dark mood, Amisty would've laughed. Ron looked absolutely mortified, patting her head awkwardly.
"Ron, I'm really, really sorry about Scabbers..." She choked out.
"Oh -- well -- he was old. And he was a bit useless. You never know, Mum and Dad might get me an owl now," Ron shrugged, looking much more comfortable now that she had released him.
Amisty couldn't help but notice the red stain on the tops of his ears.