Enchanted By The Thought

THIRTY FOUR: BACK TO THE SNAKE

If you live for people's acceptance, you will die from their rejection

Beth left the common room, looking for the boy she'd fallen in love with. The boy she was still in love with, despite the fact that she tried telling herself otherwise. If she was going to die for Harry, why not live out her life as happy as she could be? She felt the guilt of what she was doing; she knew how upset George would be. She'd promised him to move on but here she was, crawling right back into the snake's lair. Although this time, she had an antidote ready. And she knew their tricks.

As soon as she was in the halls, she began to regret her rash decision. What if Draco didn't want her anymore? What if she truly was just a game to him? But she was here now and that was all that mattered. She mustered up her courage and continued to look, casually pretending as if she were looking for Professor Flitwick. Although when she accidentally located him, she pretended to have a question about the recent assignment in which they had to make a plate, a spoon and a fork dance. He took her to his classroom and there, she saw that Draco Malfoy was serving detention for charming his fork to get stuck in Pansy Parkinson's hair, as Flitwick told her. When Draco saw her, his eyes lit up instantly. Instead of turning her head away or ignoring him, she offered a small smile instead.

Hope kindled in his eyes and he watched as Flitwick led her to his Charms book. "What was your question again, my dear?" He asked, looking up at her.

"I can't seem to get the pronunciation correct for the charm. I was just wondering if you could help me. All the objects can do is hop around and bump into each other." Beth replied, glancing at Draco from the corner of her eye.

His head was bent as he scribbled something down but as if sensing her gaze, he looked up at her. "Consaltandi." He spoke up. "It's really not that hard to pronounce." He added, smirking.

Beth rolled her eyes and Flitwick cleared his throat, sending Draco a look. The Slytherin sighed and continued to write. "As Mr. Malfoy has so clearly stated, the pronunciation of the Charm itself isn't that difficult. Perhaps it is the idea of the object that you have wrong instead?" He answered, raising his eyebrow.

But she'd gotten all she needed to know. "I get it now, Professor. I was pronouncing it like comsaltandi. It's pronounced with an 'n', not an 'm'.  Thank you." She answered quickly and Professor Flitwick looked pleased with himself.

Beth turned and left the classroom and decided that all she had to do now was wait for Draco to leave the classroom. It turned out to be a longer wait that anticipated so instead she began to walk around the castle but looped back. On her fourth round, she watched as the door opened and Draco walked out, apologizing to the Professor. When Flitwick closed the door, he looked up and began to look around. "Beth?" He asked in a low voice and she stepped out from the safety of the shadows, smiling.

He walked over to her and swept her up into his arms and she felt as if she were at peace. His face was in her hair and he refused to let her go. "Draco, put me down." She laughed, swatting at his shoulder. He reluctantly let her go but held her hand, as if afraid to let her go.

"Why the sudden change in heart?" Draco answered, tugging her away from the classroom. She followed willingly but remained silent, unsure of how much she should tell him. Was she willing to allow someone else to know why she'd survived the attack on her parents? As if sensing her hesitance, he paused, pulling her to a halt. His finger was under her chin and he lifted her face up to his, pressing their lips together. Her stomach flipped and she rested her hands on his shoulders, eagerly reaching up to deepen to the kiss. He put his hands on her waist and lightly pushed her back. "Hey, stop trying to distract me. Tell me, why did you have the change of heart?"

Her eyes lifted to meet his and she sighed, taking his hand. "I just, I missed you too much. I needed you with me." She replied. She wasn't really lying but she wasn't telling him the full truth. "And I'm ready to accept whatever your rules are when it comes to us. I just want to be with you."

Draco stared at her, his eyes filled with an emotion that she couldn't decipher. She looked away, not wanting him to see the betrayal in her eyes. She was certain that there were things about him that she didn't know. So now there was something about her that he didn't know. And she was fine with that.

~

Beth hummed to herself as she worked on homework, bent over her paper. As far as she knew, nobody knew about her returning to Draco's side. And from the looks of it, Draco wasn't going to come out to the public either. And this time, instead of being selfish and whining, she decided it was best for both of them. As she saw it, if Voldemort figured out how close Draco was to her or how much she loved him, he would be in greater danger than he already was. Draco could be used as leverage against her and thus, leverage against her brother. Beth knew without a doubt that if Draco was put in danger, she would do anything to protect him. And she knew that if the Dark Lord demanded she turn herself in for Draco, she would do it in a heartbeat.

She guessed that it was the downfall of their relationship. Having a boyfriend for a death eater was stressful for her but since he was always at school and not home, she felt more comfortable. But she wondered if they would be forced to choose the different side for the sake of the other. She wasn't sure if she would be able to go to the dark side. If her last name wasn't Potter... perhaps.

The thought shocked her and she looked up, jerked out of her mind. The common room was empty as everyone was out enjoying the nice weather. She stretched and yawned, closing her book with a dull thud. She was done with studying. It wasn't like it was helping her understand anything. Her eyes closed and she wondered if she should seek out Harry; she wanted his comfort. But Dumbledore's words echoed in her mind and she remembered. It had been the reason she was avoiding him; she hated the fact that her destiny was tied around his, just like everyone else's. Everything depended on whether or not he lived; she was just the collateral damage. Tied to him without her consent. Her mother couldn't have possibly known.

What if Lily had placed her daughter in front of her son? Would Beth be the more popular out of the two? Would Harry be in her shadow? Would he have fallen in love with her mortal enemy? Her head began to hurt as she began to question her existence and she shook her head to get rid of the thoughts. Whatever the reason, there was no use complaining now. What was done and she couldn't change it.

Why did her life have to be so complicated? Why couldn't have she been born in a family with no issues besides the regular ones? Her Aunt Rita was indifferent towards her and Sonya was jealous of her. Harry had it worse than her; his 'family' despised his whole existence. In fact, they despised her as well. Petunia had been enraged to learn about Harry and Elizabeth. Especially Elizabeth but she never really understood why. "Lost in thought, are we?" She heard a quiet voice and looked up, seeing Seamus standing over her. She shrugged, looking back down.

He would see her deceit in her eyes. He would know that she had returned to Draco despite her promises to forget him. But how could she forget a part of her soul? There was no way of cutting Draco off now; he was in her life now. And besides, it caused her nothing but pain and sorrow. And quite frankly, she was done with crying. She hated crying.

Even though Draco had been the one to make her cry countless times, she still loved him. Even though he pretended to not care for her in public, she still loved him. And nothing would ever change that. She would always love him.