Familiars Love

Chapter 18

There was a cool bite in the air this morning that had many students clutching cloaks and hats to their heads as they made the hike to Hogsmeade. Some of the trees around the school sported their first red leaves; reminding the students that winter was fast approaching. However Pansy didn't feel the chill against her skin, the liquor she had consumed bringing on a lovely warmth and chasing the chill away before it could settle upon her.

Pansy sat in the owlery, perched in one of the window alcoves waiting patiently for her father's owl to show up. She sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, fingers wrapped loosely around the glass resting atop one of them. Her gaze crept over the students milling around below her, Ravenclaws cradling books in stiff fingers; Hufflepuffs gathered to talk amongst themselves; and the Gryffindors. She curled her lip as she watched the antics of the honorable house of Godric Gryffindor, running around like a bunch of children. Smiling evilly, she raised her glass in a silent toast before taking a sip of the liquor liberated from her father's study. The Firewhiskey traced a burning path down her throat as she sipped; valuing the liquor for what it was worth.

A flash of white had her straightening and setting her glass down on the ledge, fingers running over recently dried ink. Concentrating on folding the letter perfectly, she made sure it was ready to be sent before approaching the preening owl.

"Where have you been you stupid bird?" She hissed, stretching out a hand to grab the bird before it could flutter out of her reach. The bird blinked its amber eyes slowly as Pansy tied the folded letter to her leg. "Daddy is going to be so proud." She whispered, smiling as she tossed the white owl out the window and watching it circle once before flying over the school. Gliding gracefully back to the alcove, she reclaimed her glass and took a happy sip before tossing the glasses contents down her throat. Wincing at the sudden burn, she slid the empty glass into her pocket and headed for the stairs, hoping she made it to the bottom before the liquor found her.

The room was dark when Meda managed to pry her eyes open. Slowly freeing an arm, she rubbed her eyes, wincing at the tug of muscles. The warm puffs of breath against the back of her neck had her freezing but relaxing once she caught the lingering scent of vanilla. Turning carefully, she looked at the pale head resting on the pillow behind her. Silky hair fanned out over the black pillowcase, making Draco look paler than usual. Meda allowed herself to lean upon one of her elbows and brush the hair off of Draco's forehead, fingers carding through the pale locks gently. Frowning at the dark circles beneath the closed eyes, she growled unhappily at all that Hermione had put them through. Brushing a single finger over one of the black circles, she sat up slowly, resting her back against the headboard and looking down at her sleeping dragon. Sighing she decided it was time to get down to business and maneuvered herself out of the bed. Standing over Draco, Meda smiled and pulled the blankets tight around the boy, making sure the pillow hadn't shifted while she was changing position. She then reached out with her mind, searching for Harry's magical core, without much difficulty she called him to Draco's room they had business to attend to.

It was slightly after nine on a Saturday morning, yet the Slytherin common room was crawling with students waiting for some sign of movement from Draco's room. Some students waited patiently, finishing homework and writing letters to parents while others paced and played loud games in hopes of waking the room's inhabitants. Blaise sat neatly in his chair, carefully buffing his nails while pretending disinterest in the conversations going on around him. Smirking at some of the whispers and chuckling at others, he wondered how long they would wait before heading off to Hogsmeade. Reaching out a slender hand, he smoothed the thick white fur on Nox's head, running his hand down the wolf's back. The wolf whimpered and wagged its tail, happy to be receiving some much-welcomed attention.

"Good boy Nox," Blaise murmured, turning to pick up the teacup sitting on the table next to the abandoned chessboard. Stopping in puzzlement, he looked carefully over the board before swearing softly, one more move, and Draco had him beat. Grinning, he wrapped his fingers around the piece but froze at the slow creak of a door.