"In all secrets there is a kind of guilt, however beautiful or joyful they may be, or for what good end they may be set to serve. Secrecy means evasion, and evasion means a problem to the moral mind." - Gilbert Parker
Jacky’s P.o.V.
“Have you ever wondered what it would be like to understand another language?” I pause in re-tying my tie to look over at where he is lying upside down on the couch, his head slightly hanging off the edge of the plush material. The fire place to his left cackled and popped, but the room was cool from the several giant fans spinning lazily on the ceiling.
“It’s pretty strange.” I reply, quickly finishing the last loop and grabbing my coal grey sweater vest as I walk over to him. His eyes, like icy dew or maybe icicles hanging from an eave, frame the outline of my body as I near him. He smirks as he catches my own thundercloud grey eyes perusing his slightly damp chest, lingering on a particularly dark half-circle bruise a few inches down from his collarbone, almost over his heart.
“Transfiguration isn’t all that important.” He muses, reaching out to rub the ends of my skirt in his fingers.
“It is if a jealous ex-girlfriend turns a body part into a vegetable.” I tell him seriously. He chuckles and pulls my hands until I’m leaning over his face.
“Not if you still love me.” He purrs. Chills travel down my spine.
“I would.” Kneeling down, I let my lips graze his temple as my hands explore his chest, moving up (anatomically down) until I gripped the edge of his trousers.
“Jacky!” He yelps as I tug them, close to giving him a wedgie. I fall on my back, laughing, as he scrambles up and fixes his… tight problem.
“Draco” I pout as he turns a fierce scowl on me.
“Yes kitten?” It’s my turn to scowl at the nickname. I stand up and grab his palm, kissing it over and over while listening to his breath hitch and goose bumps explode up and down his arm.
“Transfiguration isn’t really important.” He says fervently.
“Your birthday isn’t until tomorrow.” I reproach him, letting the corners of my mouth twitch upwards.
“How do you know about that?” He stutters. Ha! He thought he could get out of celebrating that day with me? Good luck, ferret boy, good luck.
“I know many things, Draco Malfoy. Me gusta como de secretamente te gusta como se siente cashmere.” I whisper into his ear. His arms snake around my waist and I find myself pulled flush against his body.
“Mon amour?” He murmurs back. Shivers dance along my body. I grin dangerously at him, pulling away to tug on his white-button up shirt and letting him reluctantly put on his own pants while I got the belt. He grimaces when I tie his tie, but smiles bracingly when I place a small kiss on his carotid artery under his jaw.
“Mi Corazón”
“Okay, let’s go.” He mutters as he lets go of my mouth, his own pink and swollen. I flash him another grin and walk lithely out the door.
~~~~~~~
“Jaclyn Grace?” I pause at the mystic dreamy voice, thinking it might be Luna.
“Er…Professor Trelawney?” I ask in surprise, seeing the slightly drunk woman holding onto a pillar by her classroom.
“Yes, I have waited for you to come by. Be a dear and open the door?” She points shakily to her trap door. I pull on the silver ring and watch it descend, pulling her arm over my shoulder without a word and hoisting her up it with some difficulty.
“Ah, that was not necessary. Thank you all the same.” She sighs as she sits down in her pouf chair and sips some tea that smells strongly of brandy. Her hair is as large and curly as always, streaked with more grey than when I last saw her last year. Her glasses had a small hairline crack in them and her great many shawls were poorly cared for.
“Is everything okay, Professor?” I ask her tentatively.
“Okay? Okay, you ask?” Oh crap, I’ve started her on a tangent.
“Four legged beasts parading around denouncing my trade! Low pay! No respect among my current students! Ridicule! I’ve had enough!"
“Professor!” I break through, handing her a quickly made cup of (normal) tea. She stops, trembling slightly, and takes it tremulously.
“You are very kind dear. Do you still take Divination?” I bit my tongue slightly before deciding to be honest.
“No, I let the subject go. It wasn’t needed for my career path.” She nods.
“You’re not one for prophecy anyway, my dear.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know my reputation is reputable, dear, but I am no fool. I do have many a real vision and since you arrived at this school, some have been about you.” I furrow my brow.
“What are you trying to say?”
“Jaclyn, dear, though you have such a strongly set destiny, you are not one to follow it. Catch my drift?” I think my mind clicked over what she was saying more from the shock of hearing her say ‘catch my drift?’ than from her actually speaking.
“What do you mean ‘my destiny’?” I sounded like a wound-up toy… She pauses in her last sip of tea. Setting the nearly empty china on the table and pulling her glasses away to clean them, she sets her surprisingly brown eyes on me and says with no hesitation nor deeper meaning.
“I know”
I can feel the blood rush from my own face, the tightening of my lungs as I realize that my most deepest secret is also in the hands of one of the craziest people I knew.
“Why did you never—?”
“Because you would never follow any of my heedings anyway. Hence, you are not one for prophecies.” I fall back against my seat.
“And do not worry for your young man, Jaclyn dear. He is being looked over by capable hands.”
“Okay” I say blindly, getting up and stumbling out of her room.
Now I really do wish she was crazy...
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Draco’s P.o.V.
“Blaise!” Draco yells as he’s continually pulled along. The blindfold was tight over his eyes and smelled exactly like his best friend’s dirty laundry. Six years in a dorm with the same guy will do that to you.
“There is no Blaise here.” It was Blaise’s voice, but intentionally deeper and creepy. Draco snorts and attempts to move his hands which are bound in some type of rope behind his back, captured tightly in another guy’s hands, probably Theo.
"Blaise, don’t even try.” I say scathingly.
“Sorry, mate, boss’s orders.”
“Who’s?” We come to a stop. It’s windy and I can smell the warm summer air.
“Mine” My blindfold is taken off and I see a familiar munchkin standing before, this time with two new cohorts. One was another Hufflepuff while the other was a Ravenclaw. The Ravenclaw girl was a bit short and built like a swimmer, with long curly blonde hair and ocean eyes. She seemed to be a seventh year, while the two Hufflepuffs were definitely in my year.
“Mimi” I hiss, trying to get my hands free. Mimi smirks, her brown eyes glinting with evil intent.
“Chloe, you take the clothes. Elyn, you have the hair.”
“You are not touching my hair.” I growl as the girls approach. I feel a wand tip skimming my chest and the weight of my clothes transform. Gentle hands yanked and mashed at my poor, beautiful hair.
“Blaise! Theo!” I yell angrily, yanking my fists apart to little success. Snickers behind me told me they were watching.
“Yeah, Draco?” Theo answers.
“I’m going to murder you both in your sleep!”
“Whatever you say.” Blaise retorts. I grit my teeth and blink frantically in the sunset. We were on the other side of the lake, and the castle looked surreal as the sun set behind it.
“What did you do to me?” I ask, looking down at my clothes. A tailored blue suit with a white button shirt that was the slightest bit blue were now encasing my body, a black tie that seemed simple and straight-cut was already looped around my neck. I could feel my hair heavily gelled and in some weird up-do, but was unable to see it.
“Perfect” Mimi purrs. I glare at her as she snaps her fingers. Elyn and Chloe disappear into the forest and reappear with a struggling figure.
“Jacky?” I can feel my mouth dropping to the ground. Her hair is in the short-do, with intense curls at the ends turning upwards. Brilliantly red lipstick is artistically applied to her mouth and a distinct black dot is on the right side of her cheek, just to the right of her nose. They had forced her into different clothes as well, a deep V-cut white dress that fell in pleats down to her calves and was almost translucent in the orange rays.
Unfortunately, they had put a white slip on under the dress. Jacky looks murderous as she’s towed forward, her own hands tied behind her as well.
“Mimi!” She yells; jerking her shoulders but unable to get free. These people were trained well.
“Everything is going swimmingly.” Mimi sighs and has Jacky placed next to me, a few feet away.
“If you were paler and had blonde hair, you’d look like her.” Mimi praises. Elyn and Chloe clap politely.
“Like who?” Jacky growls.
“Marilyn Monroe!”
“She’s dead! Who is Draco supposed to be? John F. Kennedy?” She jokes. Mimi nods.
“Who?” I ask.
“One of Marilyn’s most reputed lovers.” Jacky informs me. I look down at myself. Okay?
“So why are we here dressed like this?”
“I was bored of my competition; Natalie hasn’t provided anymore cute guy characters, so I’m going off on my own amusements.” She cheers, jumping up and down and clapping her hands. She beckons Chloe forward and has her take several pictures.
“Well this is not how I planned your birthday.” Jacky sighs as Chloe steps back. I grin at her.
“What did you have planned?” I inquire.
“Involved the Room of Requirement, firewhiskey, and a few bottles of whip cream.” I frown.
“Blaise! Theo! Get us out of here!”
“Sorry mate, we’re getting paid. Thirty galleons, right Mimi?” She nods absentmindedly.
“You—!”
“Bring out the priest.” She calls. I stop midsentence to stare at her wide-eyed.
“You crazy little Asian.” I whisper. She grins evilly and helps the bent-over wizard to stand before us.
“Mimi, I’m not getting married.” Jacky says calmly.
“It was foretold!”
“Not for me!” Jacky holds a strange glint in her eyes, full of a power that gives me the chills. A snapping sound and the loss of pressure around my wrists happens in the same second, with Mimi screaming out and Jacky taking my hand, pulling me away. I sock Blaise and Theo in the guts as we pass, mostly as payback and somewhat as a measure so that they wouldn’t follow us.
“Where are we going?” I gasp ten minutes later. We’re deeper in the forest than I had ever wanted to be, but she seems sure of where she’s heading.
“Quiet” She hushes and climbs over another fallen trunk. I fall silent, calming my breaths and remembering the last time I had walked in the Forbidden Forest.
Eleven years old, full of bias, and a coward.
Two out of three, then. I muse. It was loud in the forest, rustling, animal calls, and wind through the trees. I couldn’t stop jumping at every crack, as embarrassing as that was to admit.
“I’m right here.” Jacky chuckles, grabbing my hand and helping me through a thick knot of trees.
“Far enough.” I freeze as a deep voice reaches out to us. Horse clops were distinct in the silence that followed before a chestnut stallion emerges from the shadows across from us, the torso of a well-muscled man attached to the top. Faded red hair and a slight beard was the centaur’s only distinguishable feature.
“Ronan” Jacky nods. I look at her, unable to make my voice work. My own muscles were tensed and uncompromising to any sort of movement.
“What is it that you want?”
“I was merely searching for the Clearing of Sidera.”
“That is no place for humans!” The centaur rears furiously.
“What right have you to deny me such access?” Jacky snaps. Ronan pauses, studying her for a long time. Jacky refuses to drop her stare, waiting for him to speak. Her hand is tight in mine, shaking slightly.
“You are right, Jaclyn.” He apologizes, backing off so that we can go forward.
“Beware of those around you, Jaclyn Grace!” He calls as we disappear into the forest.
“Should I ask?” She shakes her head and plows forward.
“Happy Birthday, Draco.” She announces, pushing me forward. I land on springy grass and look up to see a field full of soft heather down and a few patches of peonies dotted here and there. A giant gaping hole in the forest canopy was overhead and showed thousands and millions of stars. I scooted back more and let my back rest fully to the ground, pulling Jacky close to my side when she joined me.
“Jacky?” I ask. She quickly points out the star Draco to me before looking at me in question.
“How do you say Happy Birthday in Spanish?” She smiles and kisses me deeply.
“Feliz Cumpleaños, mi corazón.” She whispers against my lips. I smile, aware that her hands were tracing my chest again.
“Why do you keep doing that?” I ask, pulling away. She bites her lip and pulls up the edge of the suit. The raised scars tickled under her touch.
“My friend did that to you.” She admits. I nod and kiss her forehead.
“I tried to curse him first. He had no idea. I forgive him, Jacky. You should too.” She smiles slightly at me and resumes the kiss.
“For your birthday.”
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You all love me. I can feel the love in my crotchety, old bones. ^-^ I’m dedicating this to ElynRose95 because I don’t think I’ve dedicated a chapter to her yet and she’s my twin! :O She’s also in this chapter.
What did you guys think? You like? Gasp! It’s June Fifth, meaning that in fifteen more days, the climax of the sixth year is approaching. What will happen? Any guesses? (Those who know shall be keep quiet or face pain of death ^-^)
I’m really grateful and happy that you guys rallied around the story, voting and reading. Your comments especially are uplifting. Those who are new to the story, Welcome! Those who are returning, Welcome back!
Next chapter’s dedication will go to the first one to translate the first line of language Jacky uses in the chapter. :)