Ebony ~ D.M.

IV

The small Slytherin prowled his way back to the Potions classroom-- They only had 7 minutes left. He didn't care, though. Beating himself ruthlessly about how standoffish he'd been towards James distracted him enough to where his thoughts wouldn't betray him. 

If he hadn't been so distracted with his own self-loathing, he would've tried to convince himself to go back and apologize. His thoughts would've won. He'd have gone back to see James and yell at Madame Pomfrey to heal him faster, otherwise his father would have heard about it.

But he was too distracted. Distracted by James. His face, his werewolf, his fire that contrasted with his cold dark skin that was probably so soft you would think you were touching a kitten. Draco shook his head. His thoughts (and his heart, little did he know) were betraying him by the second. Every step he took, his heart pounded harder and harder.

'I don't like you. At all. Stay out of my way.'

His own words thundered around in his head. How dare he? What in the name of Merlin was he even talking about when he said 'Stay out of my way'? God, he felt like such a twit. He'd been acting like one though, so it'd been justified.

"Why can't I be nice to you?" Draco asked the air as if it were James looking back at him. He sighed and slid down the wall before landing on his bottom. He held his head in his hands and closed his eyes.

The truth was, Draco didn't hate James at all. Not one bit. It was all part of his reputation. Draco Malfoy admiring a Hufflepuff? Fat chance, right?

He was only afraid because he knew the secrets of the Black family, along with the Potters. He knew that James and Harry were cousins. He saw so much of Harry in James. He didn't want to be rejected a second time.

It was a strike of good luck on a dirty, crumpled matchbox that Harry Potter wasn't actually his mate. He'd thought he was for so very long, but Potter had rejected him, and he was still breathing. Now James, The Boy Who Died, he was complex.

The attraction Draco felt to him wasn't sexual, no. Of course, given the two were 12 at best, so it'd be at least 2 years before anything like that were to occur. No, this attraction was one of pure... Need? Want? It wasn't friendship that Draco wanted, though. 

"Mr Malfoy, nice to see you've joined us again." Snape muttered as the boy sat back down in his seat. He cleaned his things up with two minutes to spare and sat contentedly, waiting for the bell to ring.

**

James groaned a bit when the pinkish light his his dark eyelids, making a deep rubescent colour drain into his vision. His eyelids fluttered opened to see that it was nearly dusk, and the clock on the wall told him to get his arse down to dinner. He muttered a 'thank you' of sorts to Madame Pomfrey, who told him not to come back soon, before literally running down to the Great Hall.

He sat straight down at the Hufflepuff table, right next to Cedric, and grabbed an inhumane amount of green beans. The first-year dug straight into his meal as his third-year friend watched him humourously. 

"Are you really sticking to just green beans?" Cedric asked him. With plump cheeks full of greens, James nodded, earning a laugh from Cedric. The elder rolled his eyes and dug into his steak happily. 

"What are you looking at, Harry?" Hermione asked her ravenette friend. Harry didn't answer, still watching Draco Malfoy, who was watching James Black. He'd been worried about James since their potions class.

"Harold?" Ron asked his 'friend', causing him to look straight at the redhead. Ron smiled and Harry smiled back. "Why are you staring at Malfoy staring at James?" Harry shrugged and continued eating.

"I'm just worried. He and Malfoy left class together, alone." Harry informed his friends. Ron shrugged and Hermione rolled her eyes. 

"Let me know when you're done being paranoid about your secret cousin and your mortal enemy." Hermione got up and strutted away. Ron rolled his eyes and scooted closer to Harry.

"Why are you so tense about Malfoy and James?" The ginger put his hand on Harry's. Harry didn't recoil, nor did he try to hide it. Ever since the train ride, he and Ron had been a bit more than friendly. 

"It's just... He's my cousin, Ron. It's Malfoy. I don't want to see him hurt." Harry shrugged it off. Ron leaned over to Harry's ear.

"You know it'll be okay. James will be able to take care of himself. Trust me, yeah?" He fell back into his own seat and faked a laugh, acting as if he told him a joke. Nobody paid attention as Harry looked Ron deep in the eyes and nodded.

"Yeah."

Over near the Slytherin table, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle sat cracking jokes about Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. 

"Gosh, that Terry Boot sure is dumb for a Ravenclaw. I heard he can't even turn a toad into a cup." Crabbe snorted. Goyle laughed and nodded his head. Draco did nothing.

He was lost in his own little world, staring off at the Hufflepuff table. James and Cedric sat there laughing at some green stuff on his plate. He'd have analyzed this further and probably would've become jealous of Diggory if it weren't for a dumb joke.

"And that bloody James Black. Stupidest kid in Hufflepuff. He didn't even brew the potion right in class. Only Veela and non-human wizards produce a mythical patronus, and even then, only the strongest souls can do that. What a bugger." Crabbe said spitefully, Goyle laughing along like a true follower. Draco's eye narrowed at them.

"I produced a mythical creature as my future patronus." Draco spat in Crabbe's direction. "What makes you think James is any different?" The two brunettes looked at each other.

"Are you... Defending Black?" Goyle asked timidly. Draco slammed his hands on the table, scaring the wits out of the Slytherin table. He stood up and glared at his goons, then at Potter, then lastly at James, who'd been... Who had been looking at him the entire time. Draco's eyes softened at the small smile James conjured up, but only for a moment before he sulked out of the Great Hall and into his dormitories.

James looked confused as Crabbe and Goyle walked over to him.

"Hey, can we talk to you? We have some, uh, questions  to ask." Crabbe nodded along with every word Goyle formed. James nodded, said his good nights to Cedric and the rest of the Hufflepuffs, and followed Crabbe and Goyle into an empty classroom. Once James closed the door behind him, Crabbe locked it while Goyle pushed him onto the floor.

"What are you doing to Draco?" Goyle's words came out viciously and in an uncouth manner as he sent the first kick to James' ribs. James immediately coughed hard into his elbow. It's not like he wasn't used to this, it'd just been a while.

"D-Draco? What about him? Is he alright?" James didn't know why he was concerned, only that he was. It pulled something deep inside him to stray away from his instincts like that, but he leaned into it. Goyle grabbed his wand and muttered something under his breath. Immediately, James' body was writhing in excruciatingly vile pain. His skin turned white as snow and his eyes darkened like midnight, but they didn't stop. Blood came from his mouth and nose as the Cruciatus Curse drowned his body tormented suffering. Goyle's father was a death eater and had been training his son with evil intentions. Especially towards Harold Jameson Potter and Jameson Harold Black.

James lay down in that classroom far after Goyle and Crabbe left him. The Cruciatus Curse had been performed on his tiny body three times, for 2 minutes each. Blood dripped out of his nose and mouth as he gathered himself and walked to the kitchens, skin still dripping a milky white.

____

Mkay well here this is.