Entranced (Draco Malfoy)

•twenty-two•

Harry Potter sweeps his Invisibility Cloak over himself, already looking for Dove Taylor. He isn't sure of where he'll find her. He decides to check the library first, praying to anything that will listen that he doesn't find her entwined in Draco Malfoy again. He's getting extremely tired of that.

When he reaches the library, his palms are sweaty, almost in anticipation. He just wants to know why Dove has changed so much. Why didn't she just stay the same Dove? She was almost perfect before. She was perfect before. To him, anyway.

Hermione and Ginny apparently disagree with that, though he doesn't know how or why. A single light emanates from a corner when he enters, and he goes straight there, finding the Hufflepuff in question hunched over a book, reading it peacefully.

It's as if the events that had happened mere hours ago that had landed her detention had never happened. She seems happy, almost as if she's floating. She must have seen Draco earlier. 

"Hello," Harry greets awkwardly, taking the Invisibility Cloak off.

She jumps, eyes widening, "Bloody hell, Harry!" 

"Sorry," he mutters, her cursing another new thing he doesn't like. "I didn't mean to startle you." 

She smiles a bit, "It's fine. I'm glad to see you. How are you?" After a moment, she continues, "I'm sorry about earlier. It wasn't right for you to see that side of me. I just... I let people walk all over me, and it really upsets me." She sighs slightly, her smile dropping a bit, "I used to be so weak."

"I don't think so," he hurriedly jumps in, glad she brought it up herself. "I've always thought you're great." 

She shakes her head, shrugging, "I disagree. Harry, I know you've fancied me for awhile," she says a bit awkwardly, "But you never really knew me. It's okay that you think you did. But if you knew me, you'd know that Draco and I have been close forever, that my best friend isn't Hannah, that it's actually Draco and Neville, that Seamus and I dated for a few months after the Yule Ball, and that the reason that we broke up is because he noticed my feelings for Draco before I even did, not because Cedric died." 

Harry swallows, pressing his tongue to his cheek as he prepares a response, "Dove, I-- I know we haven't been close before. I know me asking all that I did of you last year was wrong, but if you let me, I would love to show you the real you."

Her eyes widen and then narrow, her eyebrows furrowing, "Harry-- How-- how am I even supposed to respond to that? I know who I am. I'm David and Lorraine Taylor's only child. I am Cedric Diggory's cousin. I am Draco Malfoy's girlfriend. I am strong, proud, and I'm finally confident in who I am. I am a future professor at this school. But I am not your girlfriend, and I think it's time you finally understand that." 

"Dove," he gasps in surprise.

"No, Harry, I'm sorry, but you're always around. You're always interrupting me and Draco. We were having an important conversation before you came--"

"Looked like you were just snogging to me," he mutters. 

Her jaw drops, hurt filling her. She shakes her head, looking away. She isn't proud of how rude she's having to be to her friend, but he's been trying to be with her from the moment she got with Draco. It's almost like he's just mad her boyfriend has something that he wants.

"I can't do this right now," she snaps, standing and grabbing her book and bag. "I'm going to bed. We both need some time apart." 

She sidles by him before he can answer, slamming the door to the library on her way out. Anger shakes her body, but sobs quickly follow it. She knows she can't go to her Common Room like this, so she aimlessly wanders the halls, trying to calm down.

She's trying so hard to balance everything. Balancing her relationship, managing her crumbling friendships, and trying to figure out who wants to kill Dumbledore is taking a toll on her and it's only day two at Hogwarts.

She plops down in the middle of some moving stairs, deciding to let it take her wherever it wants. When it settles, she walks up them, emerging onto the third floor. She remembers when students were banned from the third floor in first year.

It feels like lifetimes ago. She can't believe she's actually been here for six years. In some ways, it feels like just yesterday. Meeting Draco, writing with Draco, talking with Draco, falling in love with Draco. A hint of a smile tugs at her lips.

It falls quickly. Her cousin died here. She remembers how worried he'd been for her when she woke up after he saved her from the grindylows during the Second Task. And she remembers how her heart broke when she saw him show up with Harry, lifeless.

Most of that day is blocked from her mind. She had to erase it or she would never have healed. She isn't healed fully, but she isn't sure she ever will. Cedric Diggory was her best friend. He was more than her cousin, he was her brother. 

He was always there for her, and he always knew the perfect moments to set her and Draco up. He'd wanted them together the moment he saw them interact. He'd told her that, too. He'd marched right up to her on her fourth day at Hogwarts and told her she'd marry Draco Malfoy.

She smiles, a single tear dripping down her cheek. She misses Cedric so much. He was a part of her. He has a piece of her heart forevermore. 

A cough at the end of the corridor makes her jump, her hand jolting for her wand. 

"Lumos," she murmurs, the tip of her wand lighting up. She creeps down the corridor slowly, seeing a mass of shadows at the end. "Hello?" She calls in a hushed voice.

"Help," a familiar voice rasps.

The Hufflepuff breaks into a run, sliding to the person's side, "Oh, my Merlin, are you alright?" 

"Get help," the voice says again, the robes tightening over the person's face.

"Okay," Dove agrees immediately, jumping to her feet.

She breaks into a run, feeling like time has slowed down for this moment. Her breathing quickens, her heart in overdrive as she races to get help. She hears a murmured spell, and before she can realize anything is even wrong, excruciating pain fills her body, and she falls.

Dove Taylor lies on the ground, in a petrified state, her body filled with the worst pain it's ever experienced. She can't think. She can barely breathe. She hears her heart pounding, she can feel her blood rushing through her veins, and she can feel every single millisecond of pain.