Another Year at Hogwarts

“Come on!” Draco said as the two of us ran through the dark forest. He was a mess. His blond hair was disarrayed and his black suit was stained with dirt. But in that moment, nothing mattered. All that mattered was that Draco and I had to get away. We had to escape.

I suddenly let out a shriek as my hand slipped from Draco’s and I stumbled onto the cold, wet ground.

“Victoria!” Draco gasped as he hurried back to me. He reached for my hand once again and said, “Come on, we don’t have time. We have to keep running!”

“I—I can’t anymore!” I said gasping for air. “I’m too tired.”

“Come on! If we don’t, we’ll surely be killed!” Draco reminded as he helped me onto my feet. He then began running again, dragging me behind him.

Draco and I suddenly halted when a spark came flying from behind us and hit a tree in front of us. Draco and I quickly scurried out of the way as the tree came crashing down.

The two of us ducked behind a large boulder as sparks continued to fly above us.

“What do we do now?” I asked.

“We can’t fight,” Draco said. “We don’t stand a chance against them.”

“We can’t just sit here and wait for them to reach us!” I bellowed. “We HAVE to do something!”

“What do you expect us to do?” Draco asked. “They took my wand, Victoria. I can’t do anything!”

“REDUCTO!” we heard someone cry.

Draco immediately took me by the shoulder and shoved the both of us to the ground and away from the boulder. Just as we hit the ground, the boulder we were hiding behind burst apart and the rubble went flying everywhere.

“Looks like we finally caught them,” a woman said.

“You won’t get away this time!” a male said.

I then heard Draco struggling as someone dragged Draco away from me. Through my blurred eyes, I looked up at the three people who had attacked Draco and me.

“What do we do about this one?” a second male asked. He then turned back and looked at me before suggesting, “Should we kill her?”

“NO!” Draco objected.

“Stupefy!” the woman cast—stunning Draco.

“Draco!” I cried as his immobilized body hit the floor. Tears began to fall from my eyes as I stared at the first guy. “Please, don’t hurt him anymore!”

“Come on,” the first guy said, “let’s get this over with.”

“Are you sure this is the only way?” the woman asked.

“She tried to kill us!” the second guy reminded while looking away from me. “If we don’t kill her, she’s going to try and kill us again.”

“I—I don’t know about this…” the woman said as she looked at me.

The first guy was quiet—they all were. But then, the first guy turned and looked at me, and I could see anger and regret drowning his eyes as he held his wand out.

“No…” I whispered, the tears still falling from my eyes. “Please don’t.”

“Have you ever granted any of your victims mercy?” he bellowed. “As they beg for their lives, have you ever not killed them?”

“I haven’t killed anyone!” I shouted.

“Right,” the first guy said in a tone that said, “Yeah right” . “AVADA KADAVRA!”

***

“HARRY!” I screamed as I jolted from my pillow. I was covered in sweat, and it was hard for me to breathe.

It took me a moment to realize that I was in my room. My blankets were lying on the floor and my pillows were scattered on my bed, suggesting that I was kicking and turning all night.

I quickly reached over to the small table beside my bed and grabbed my wand and the glass cup. I quickly cast a spell, and water pours into the cup. As it filled, I gulped the glass of water down.

“What the hell was that all about?” I gasped.

Suddenly, there was a knock on my door.

“Victoria? Are you finally up?”

I took hold of my wand and waved it the door. It unlocked and slowly swung open. Narcissa then walked into the room.

“What in the world happened to you?” she asked as she hurried over to me.

“N—nothing,” I said as she approached the bed. “It was nothing. I—I just had a nightmare…that’s all.”

“This seemed more than just a nightmare,” Narcissa said. “Did it have anything to do with what happened at Hogwarts the other week?”

“Huh? Oh…” I said remembering what she was referring to. “No, it didn’t have anything to do with that. Speaking of which, has Draco returned yet?”

“No,” Narcissa said shaking her head. “They’re still searching the Forbidden Forest for that half-giant.”

“Draco’s looking for Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest with the other Death Eaters? Isn’t that dangerous for him?” I asked. “I heard that the centaurs are reclaiming the forest as their own. Apparently, they’re willing to attack anyone who trespasses.”

“Severus, on my request, kept Draco at the castle after the first day of searching in the forest. He should be home any moment with Lucius.”

“And what about Bellatrix?” I asked.

“She’s already back and in her room resting. Fret not, she will be leaving for London in the morning.”

“Is it that obvious that I’m frightened of her?” I laughed.

“It’s a wise thing, actually,” Narcissa said with a faded smile. “It would only annoy her more if you weren’t.

“But anyways, get out of bed and go get yourself ready. There’s still some food left in the kitchen if you’re hungry.”

Narcissa soon left and I quickly got ready. As I headed downstairs, I arrived just in time to see Draco and Lucius Apparating into the manor.

Almost as though he sensed me, Draco’s eyes immediately flickered to the top of the stairs where I was. A small smile came onto his face.

“Narcissa,” Lucius called out as he headed down the hallway to find his wife. Draco, on the other hand, remained at the bottom of the stairs and waited for me to come down.

“How was it?” I asked as I descended the stairs. “Where you guys able to find and catch that school teacher? Hagrid, was it?”

“No,” Draco replied as I reached him. “He disappeared into the Dark Forest with that other giant. With the centaurs in the forest, we couldn’t get very far in.”

“I see,” I sighed. I then changed the subject and asked, “Anyways, have you eaten yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“Well, care to join me, then?” I asked.

A grin formed onto Draco’s face. “Are you actually starting to open up to me?”

“Don’t think anything of this,” I quickly replied. “We both just happen to have not eaten yet, and I rather have your company in the dining room than that of your father or aunt,” I said as I walked pass Draco and down the hallway.

“I think I’m actually flattered!” Draco exclaimed as he followed closely behind me.

“You should be,” I said.

“How about we go out and eat in the garden, instead?” Draco suggested as we neared the kitchen. “I heard that Mother has been tending to some flowers in the eastern portion of the garden. Some of the flowers are already beginning to bloom.”

“Just the two of us?” I asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“Are you afraid to be alone with me or something?” Draco grinned.

Because being alone with you always did me so much good in the past, I thought to myself.

“No. I just don’t want anyone to think that there’s something…more going on between us.”

“Well, never imagined you to be the kind of girl who actually cared about what others think of you,” Draco commented.

“Let—let’s just get ourselves some food, okay?” I suggested. “Maybe we can take a turn in the garden afterwards.”

And just as I suggested, Draco and I ate our food with Lucius before heading out into the garden. As we strolled through the dead garden, my mind couldn’t help but wonder back to the dream I had. I sighed heavily as I crossed my arms over my chest and scotched my eyebrows together. I couldn’t help thinking about the strange timing of my dream. Draco, Bellatrix and Lucius just happened to return the day I had the dream about Harry killing me today of all days.

“We’re here,” Draco said as we reached the small portion of the garden that Naracissa had revived. Though there was still a lot of dead plants, there was a small corner of the garden where greenery was seen. Standing by the entrance of the area, I could see the tiny bubs of flowers, which were staring to bloom.

“Is there something on your mind?” Draco suddenly asked.

“Hm? Oh…it’s..it’s nothing,” I replied.

“I can see that there’s something bothering you,” Draco grinned.

“You talk as though you know me so well,” I said.

“I do,” Draco responded. “Whenever there’s something on your mind—something that’s bothering you—you always cross your arms and scrunch your eyebrows together. You have this…” Draco stopped and stared at me for a moment. “You have this, intense look on your face. Just looking at you, I can tell that you’re deeply immersed in your thoughts.”

“Hmph,” I sighed with small grin. “Well, what else to you know about me then, Draco Malfoy?”

“Other than the basic information about you, I know that you like chocolate—judging from how much you adore my mother’s treats; you’re extremely intelligent and quick on your feet; you’re very talented when it comes to magic; you like to take long walks by yourself, and you like watching sunrises. That’s why you always try to wake up early and come to the garden in the mornings. I assume it’s also because you have a lot on your mind, and that watching the sunrise eases your mind a little bit.”

I couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed about how observant Draco was. I didn’t even know that he knew I came out here to watch the sunrise whenever I could, yet alone piece together that it eases my mind when I watch sunrises. And though I was impressed with Draco, I didn’t dare to show it. “I thought you said you knew things about me that was basic information,” I said as I began to walk away from him.

“When you feel embarrassed, you pretend to be tough and walk away so that no one would notice,” Draco called out.

I turned around and narrowed my eyes at Draco. “You’re making that up,” I commented.

“Are you telling me that you didn’t feel embarrassed at all a moment ago?” Draco asked as he started towards me. He hovered over me, a bit closer than normal, and asked, “Not even a little bit?”

“O—of course not!” I replied and quickly turned away and began walking towards the tiny area of the garden that was actually alive.

“You’re doing it again,” Draco pointed out.

“I—I am not!” I argued as I forced myself to stop walked away. However, I did not dare to look back at Draco, because I knew that my face was probably red with embarrassment. Not to mention, he, too, probably heard the fluctuation in my voice as I said this.

I suddenly stiffened when I felt Draco standing right behind me. I could feel his warm breath beating against my skin as he whispered into my ear. “Really? Turn around and tell it to my face then.”

My heart began to pound against my chest as I braced myself before turning around to face Draco. I quickly open my mouth to argue and say that he was wrong, but nothing came. I just stood there, with my lips slightly parted, and stared deeply into Draco’s eyes.

“See?” he grinned. “I was right. Also…there’s something else I know about you—something you won’t dare to tell anyone else.”

“This isn’t about being that Violet—”

“No,” Draco quickly interrupted. He took another small step towards me—our bodies were centimeters apart, and I could feel the warmth of his body. In a voice, so quiet and soft, Draco said, “You fancy me.”

“T—that’s not true,” I whispered while looking away.

“Then look at me and tell me that,” Draco challenged.

Come on, Violet! I thought to myself as I hesitantly forced myself to raise my eyes to meet Draco. It’s just another lie. You can do this. If you can lie to Voldemort, of all people, this should be a piece of cake! You can do this! I said to myself as my eyes finally settled onto Draco’s eyes. “I—” I began. “I—I don’t… It’s not… It’s…um…”

“You can’t say it after all,” Draco smiled as he placed a hand on the curve of my neck.

“We can’t,” I gasped while trying to look away, but Draco quickly cupped my face, and made sure my eyes remained on him.

“Victoria,” Draco whispered. His eyes then lowered to my lips, and I watched as his face slowly neared mine.

“D—Draco?” I whispered, my lips slightly brushing against his. That small, single contact sent a tingling feeling throughout my body. My breathing then began to quicken and my mind went blank. I was already starting to lose control of myself just because of our lips brushing. I didn’t know what would happen if he kissed me. But if he did…I didn’t know if I would be able to pull away…

“Don’t be afraid,” Draco grinned before slowly closing the small gap between our lips. It was only a short kiss, but it was perfect. As Draco parted, he opened his eyes to see how I was taking the kiss.

To be honest, I was a little bit shocked at what just happened. It took me only a moment to take it in, before my hands slowly gripped the jacket of his suit. I could sense the smile widening on Draco’s face as he moved his hand from my cheek to the base of my neck, and pulled me in for another kiss. As Draco kissed me, I pulled at his jacket, pulling him closer to me.

When Draco and I finally parted, I couldn’t help but gasp—not only because I was shocked at what I had just done, but also because I was so lost in our kiss that I had forgotten to breathe.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Draco grinned.

Before I could say anything, Draco and I both heard someone calling out his name. We quickly stepped away from each other and looked to where we had just came from and found Lucius entering the area. He frantically scanned around until his eyes fell upon the two of us, and a smile—one which sent chills down my spine—fell onto his worn-out face.

“You two must come,” he said. “We have him—we have Harry Potter!”