Draco longed for Potions. It was the only time he felt happy; free of Pansy and sat beside the girl he loved.
But he was worried, so worried. Aurora looked sicker and sicker every time he looked at her. She appeared weak and fragile and he noticed she shook a lot.
He never let her get up, and he made sure always to fetch ingredients for her. He wished he could do more, though.
"Really Draco, you don't have to do that for me." She had implored as he demanded she sit when she tried to get off her stool to fetch ingredients.
"Well we're supposed to be working in pairs anyway, and it only takes one of us to get the ingredients. So sit."
They were making Amortentia - a potion that made Draco feel very nervous. He always dreaded that someone like Pansy would try and slip it to him making him do something he'd never normally agree to - like sleep with her.
"I don't think it's working," Aurora frowned as she stirred the contents of their cauldron. "I can't smell anything different."
Draco couldn't help but feel his heart lift upon seeing her face flush, suddenly realising what it meant. She could already smell the thing that she loved. Him.
Their eyes met, and he had to stop himself from taking her in his arms and burying his face in her hair to inhale the scent of her shampoo, which he could already smell wafting up from the cauldron.
But instead, he looked sadly away, and started tidying away their things.
Slughorn was so impressed with their potion that he invited Aurora up to one of his parties. Draco couldn't help but feel bitter that Slughorn once again acted as though he weren't in the room.
"Cheer up, dude," Blaise muttered when Draco threw himself down heavily on the sofa in the common room that evening. "Anyone would think you weren't about to marry the woman of your dreams."
Draco couldn't help but note the sarcasm in his friends voice.
"Aurora's been invited to join the Slug Club." Draco huffed bitterly.
Blaise's eyes widened.
"And why should you care? You're not with her anymore, remember?"
"I'm just- I'm worried about her. She looks ill." Draco sighed, driving a hand through his hair.
"Yeah well, she's been through a lot. Just leave her alone." Blaise said sternly. And Draco couldn't help but notice the pointed way he said it.
"She's my Potions partner - I can't ignore her." Draco went on pathetically. He knew in his desperation he was just giving himself away.
"Don't upset her, man. She doesn't need it." Blaise warned. There was something in his voice which made Draco look up.
"Do you know something? Has Cho said anything to you?"
"I can't say anything. Just leave her be."
Blaise stood up to leave and Draco suddenly felt panicked.
"Please mate, I need to know."
Blaise frowned down at him.
"You still love her, don't you? So, why the hell are you marrying Pansy? None of this is making sense! You're making both of you so fucking unhappy. Why?!"
Draco looked around fearfully. He had to keep his cool. But he couldn't stand that he was breaking his and Aurora's hearts.
"Draco?" Blaise's anger was gone now as he looked down at his friend in deep concern.
"He's going to kill me," Draco's voice cracked, tears springing to his eyes. "And her."
He sprang to his feet, fear and agitation making him shake. He needed to get out of there. He had to stop talking. He was saying too much.
He stumbled from the room, pushing past people as he desperately tried to reach the exit, ignoring Blaise's concerned cries behind him.
He didn't stop until he reached the seventh floor where he sank down to the floor in the Room of Requirement and wept loudly until he had no tears left to cry.
*****
"What do you mean, odd?" I asked, frowning at Blaise.
"I mean something is not right with this whole engagement to Pansy." Blaise hissed quietly in my ear, looking furtively around to make sure we weren't being overheard.
"Yeah, you're telling me, Blaise." I laughed dryly.
"He still loves you."
My heart stilled at Blaise's words. I looked up at him, blinking.
"He told you that?"
"He didn't need to. He's so freaking worried about you, Aurora. I think you need to tell him." He looked pointedly towards my stomach. "Whatever you decide to do."
"But what if he thinks I've somehow tricked him? You said yourself that potion should have been foolproof!"
"Yeah, well I've been thinking about that, Aurora do you still have it? Do you think I could take a look at it?"
"Of course, it's in my trunk in my room." I explained, "but I've already had Madam Pomfrey check it and she said it was the real thing."
"When did you get her to check it, exactly?"
"When Draco first gave it to me, before we... you know." I blushed, biting my lower lip.
"So that was before you first broke up? Aurora, has it occurred to you that someone may have tampered with it since?"
"But, who would do that? No one in Ravenclaw would ever be so cruel!"
"No, but I know a certain Slytherin who might be." Blaise said darkly, giving a loud derisive snort.
And then I remembered something. And my blood went cold.
"It's good job he's fucking you again, because soon you'll be revealed to be the skanky creature you really are - and then no one will want you! Least of all him!"
"Pansy!" I cried, looking in horror at Blaise. "But how would she have gotten into my dorm? I hadn't removed it from my bedside table the whole year."
Blaise's face dropped as something dawned upon him.
"Christmas. She stayed on at Hogwarts. I knew she was up to something. It all fits."
We rushed to the Ravenclaw Tower where I quickly grabbed the potion.
Twenty minutes late Blaise was looking at me in complete horror as he lifted a strip of testing paper out of the flask.
"Aurora, this is just water. Someone's just filled this flask with tap water."
I stood shaking, my hands flying to my belly.
This had been no accident.
Pansy Parkinson had orchestrated the whole thing.