The Carnival ⌁ Draco Malfoy [1/4] ✔

35

"Gave us a right good scare, you did," breathed Draco an hour later, walking close by Emma with Theodore walking lazily by his other side. He glanced swiftly at Theodore. "Well, me."

Emma was quiet all the way to the common room, where she finally came to her senses and her mind was more focused rather than absent. She spoke up immediately and forced Draco and Theodore to return to class with her. They made their way to Professor Binn's class and quickly sneaked to the back of the room unnoticed as Professor Binns droned on about History, his back to them.

"The Giant Wars were conflict containing historical importance, and as I've mentioned a hundred times and I shall do so a hundred more to ensure that you all remember, The Giant Wars took place in the nineteenth century," said Professor Binns, and the ghost of a teacher slowly floated round the class, peaking over the shoudlers of students and checking that they were taking notes.

Emma quickly took out her notebook and pen, and quickly scribbled down as much as she could remember from Binns' sentence.

"You're sure you don't want to go back to the common room?" whispered Draco, his breath tickling the side of Emma's neck. "Madam Pomfrey recommended that you do."

"Admit it, Draco, you just want an excuse to get out of class," Emma whispered back.

"Or I'm just worried about you," he replied hotly, not uttering another word to her afterwards.

"Mr Potter, Mr Weasley, now is not the time for games on the corner of your parchment," Professor Binns drawled, barely casting a glance at Harry or Ron, and drifted to the opposite side of the classroom.

Over the next few days, Harry finally started to teach the DA how to conjure a Patronus. Emma worked hard for the next few DA lessons.

Harry looked round at the few Patronuses that some of the DA members were finally able to conjure. "Just remember: producing a Patronus for fun is far different to being confronted by a Dementor."

"Oh, don't be such a killjoy," said Cho Chang, grinning at her swan-shaped Patronus soaring around the room. "They're so pretty!"

Silver vapour was threatening to soar out of the tip of Emma's wand, but all it ended up doing was disappearing the more it shot out.

"Keep trying, Emma," Harry encouraged as he passed her. "Think of something that makes you happy."

Emma thought back hard on her adoptive parents, back to when she had no idea of what her real name was and had no idea of what Harry and his parents were to her. It was better not knowing, she was happier not knowing. Her life was great...

And at last, the silver vapour sprung to life, sending a wolf to sprint around the Room of Requirement. The sight of her very own Patronus sent exhilaration throughout her entire body, and she couldn't help but grin as she watched it fly around.

"They really are pretty," Emma said, nodding toward Cho to signify that she agreed, eyes lighting up as they followed the silver wolf. Cho was still grinning at her own silver swan.

Suddenly, the Room of Requirement door opened and closed, and all the students stopped repeating the incantation, and all the silver Patronuses died out. It was a few moments of silence, the DA members staring, horrified, at the door, but nobody was there. Emma jumped when Harry broke the silence.

"Hi, Dobby!" he said brightly. "What are you - what's wrong?"

Emma looked down toward Harry's waist and saw a house-elf, who looked much more kind and tidy compared to Kreacher, staring up at him. But the elf looked quite terrified, it's eyes were unnaturally wide, and now that all the Patronuses had faded, the Room of Requirement was much more dark that usual, giving off a feeling of terror.

"Harry Potter, sir...Dobby has come to warn you...but the house-elves have been warned not to tell..." squeaked the house-elf, who was obviously named Dobby. Telling Harry something he was not meant to gave off that the elf was named 'Dobby' for a reason. "Harry Potter...she...she"

Dobby suddenly hit himself in the nose with his own fist. Harry grabbed him quickly.

"Who's 'she', Dobby?"

Emma knew the answer before the elf had even answered. There was only one 'she' that many were terrified of, and it was not McGonagall.

"Umbridge?" Harry copied the elf, Dobby nodded and tried to injure himself using Harry's knees. "What about her, Dobby? She hasn't found out about this - about us - about the DA? Is she coming?"

The elf let out a loud howl and his stricken face was full of terror. "Yes, Harry Potter, yes!"

Murmur broke out through the members, Emma trembled a little, Harry straightened up with a pale face, and yelled, "What are you waiting for? RUN!"

Emma quickly dashed toward the exit the same time as everyone else, and it was difficult to get out of with people pushing and shoving to fight their way out. Everyone was sprinting along the corridors in different directions. Emma was slightly relieved that people were not screaming or yelling or making a large commotion other than the loudness of their shoes, and she darted away from everyone else to separate herself and appear less suspicious.

She caught sight of Fred, George and Ginny running together toward one of the bathrooms, but fear was pumping through her veins and she had no idea what to do. She didn't want to get caught! Expelled even! She was already freaking out about her O.W.L examinations and if she were expelled it'd all have been for nothing.

Emma rounded the corner of a statue and ran for the nearest stairs. Minutes past as she hid behind one of the statues. She couldn't hear any more footsteps, and she cautiously peered around the statue. It was deathly quiet, Emma's breathing returned to it's normal pace, and she quickly, and riskily, ran around the corner in search of the bathroom that Fred, George and Ginny were hiding in.

But, instead, she bumped into someones chest, she had literally run into a pair of opened arms, and they circled around her, holding her still. Emma let out a small scream of surprise and froze on the spot.

"Gotcha, Freckles."