The next morning Emma wakes me up by throwing her pillow at me, "Come on let's go."
I get out of bed and flick my hand at my bed and the sheets straighten themselves out. I grab my Charms textbook, some parchment, and a few new quills and put it all into my school bag. I get changed into my school robes and make sure that my Mark is fully covered before I start doing my hair.
"I wonder if foundation would cover it..." Emma says. I turn to look at her my hands still fiddling with my hair, "The Dark Mark I mean. If it can cover my pimples I'm sure it can cover it."
I shove my wand in the bun I've just made on the top of my head and look at her. "I dunno. The Dark Lord might... know that your trying to cover it? I dunno how it works but I bet that he's got some sort of tracking thing in it."
Emma looks at it once more before she pulls her sleeve down and shrugs. We pick up our bookbags at the same time and head out of the dorm and out into the corridor that connects the dorms to the common room. Draco is sitting in one of the big armchairs just staring into the green flames in the fireplace.
"Hey... everything alright here?" I say coming up to him.
Draco shakes himself out of whatever he was thinking about, "Oh? Yeah no, I'm alright." I look over my shoulder at Emma and she takes the hint.
"I'm pretty sure Walter is already out in the great hall so I'm going to meet him. I'll save you a seat Vi." I wait for her to leave the common room before I do anything else.
I drop my book bag to the floor and sit on the coffee table so I'm right in front of Draco, knee's touching. "Spill. And don't give me any of that 'oh I'm alright' crap."
Draco groans and leans back into the chair, "It's nothing bad or anything... It's just... well, I saw Harry yesterday."
I smile a bit, "Yeah that tends to happen when you go to school with someone, you see them in the halls."
"Well I didn't like seeing him... only I sort of did... is it normal to get a sick kind of feeling in your stomach when you see someone you fancy after a long time of not seeing them" He looks up at me with wide, curious eyes that makes my heart melt.
"Yeah, that's pretty normal," I say smiling.
"It sucks."
That makes me laugh, "It really does doesn't it?"
"How do you make it stop? I don't want to feel like this anymore."
I tickle his knee a bit, "I don't think you can make it stop Dray, not really. It takes time to get over a crush."
Draco leans back into his chair and covers his face with his hands, "Well how did you make it stop when you liked George?"
"I kissed him."
Draco takes his hands off his face, "Oh yeah totally. Let me just go up to Harry fucking Potter..."
"Language Draco..."
"And just shove my tongue down his throat in front of everyone? That would help my situation. You should start selling your advice it's really fantastic." Draco says, his words dripping with sarcasm.
"Well I wouldn't go right into shoving things down throats but maybe you could have a conversation with him in private? Or you know, we used to have little study parties, everyone in our year met up in an empty classroom to study for our OWLs. You could organize a few of those, spend time with Harry in an informal setting."
Draco raises one of his eyebrows, a skill I have yet to master, "Did you actually? Have your entire year all in a room studying?"
I smile at the memories I have of getting drunk with everyone in my year and trying to master some spells, "Well it was mostly just getting drunk and challenging people to turn plates into mushrooms and things but yeah, we got some stuff done."
Draco smirks, "You got drunk at school?"
"Loads of times." I look at him with my eyebrows raised, "Don't act like you don't have at least one bottle of wine in your trunk right now cause I fully saw you steal it from the cellar before we left."
Draco laughs, "Even if I did organize a study session like that. All my friends would be there, all his friends would be there. It would get awkward."
I stand up from the coffee table and pick my bag up off the floor, "I dunno Dray, a little bit of drunk competition can lead to a lot more sexual tension than you may think." I pat him on the top of his head, "Don't be late for class."
Right before I walk into the common room someone grabs my arm and drags me into a broom closet that's nearby.
"What the hell are you doing?" I say, a little panicked
"Is Emma alright? She won't talk to me." Fred says
I look into Fred's eyes, "You're joking? You dragged me into a broom closet to ask me about Emma? You couldn't have just asked me as we are walking down the hallway?"
"She would see us talking and then ask you about it. And I'm trusting that my best friend would keep things discussed between us to themselves." Fred says with his eyebrows raised.
"Best friend? When have I ever been your best friend?" I ask, fully joking of course.
"You've been dating my twin brother for like five years, you've spent nights at my house, met my family and shit. You're apart of the family. Now tell me. Is she alright?"
"Did George tell you anything that I've told him?"
Fred shakes his head no, "I'm completely in the dark about everything. Look I know you can't tell me loads because I'm in the Order and everything and you could get in serious trouble if you told me a bunch but... I'm worried about her."
"Well you know she's got the Mark now yeah?" Fred nods, "It hurts a lot to get it done like your whole arm is on fire and it makes you dizzy. Then it burns really bad every time the Dark Lord wants you. You have to apparate a lot which messes with your head at first but you get used to it."
"Why can she see the Thestrals or whatever they're called? Why can you?" Fred asks.
I take a deep breath, it's not something I want to relive but the look in his eyes makes me do it, "We can see them for the same reason I'm pretty sure. The first meeting we were at, it was on the same day that we showed up to Grimmauld place to talk to Sirius. Anyways, one of the Death Eaters, I don't even know his name, tried to tell the Dark Lord why he didn't tell the ministry he was supportive of the Dark Lord after the war."
"Who would admit to something like that though?"
I hit his shoulder, "Would you let me finish? I'm starving."
"Ow fuck yeah go on." Fred rubs the spot where I've hit him.
"Anyways, the Dark Lord wasn't very happy with this, the fact that the man wasn't devoted to the cause as much as he should be. He levitated him way up till he hit the ceiling then let him drop back down onto the table, which is made of marble so it must have hurt loads. The number of times I've stubbed my toe on that table as a kid, I couldn't imagine falling onto it."
"Now who's wasting time," Fred says with a half-smile on his face.
I roll my eyes, "Well after the man fell he was just lying there for a moment then he tried to beg the Dark Lord for his life, or I think that's what he was going to do. He didn't get the chance to say anything other than 'My Lord' before the Dark Lord used the killing curse on him. Hit him right in the head."
Fred sucks on his teeth, "And you both saw this?"
"Hard not too, the man fell from the ceiling and landed right in front of us both. My uncle had to dispose of the body. I think that the Dark Lord did it to show us, the new recruits, his youngest children he calls us, what would happen if he thought that we weren't devoted enough to him."
"Jesus..."
"And George doesn't know this part, and I don't think I want him to know so you better keep your mouth shut Weasley."
Fred draws his fingers over his mouth and pretends to lock it closed, "Before I left the Dark Lord pretty much told me that he wasn't impressed with my devotion or lack thereof. Which means he probably knows that I'm friends with you lot. And if he knows that, and I don't change who I associate myself with, I'm scared that I'm going to be the next person he kills."
Fred's face goes slack, "So... if you keep seeing George... if you keep talking to us..."
"Then I'm pretty sure I'll be killed."
We stand in silence for a long while, till my stomach grumbles and reminds us both that its breakfast. Fred opens the cupboard door and we both walk out. I say goodbye to Fred and go sit with my friends.
"Where did you go? We saw you heading into the hall then you disappeared." Emma asks me as she mixes cinnamon into her oatmeal.
"George kidnapped me for a minute," I say forcing a smile.
Emma and Walter laugh, "You two are ridiculous." Walter says with his mouth full of food.