For The Greater Good (A Draco Malfoy Story)

This Changes Nothing

        "When did you get it?" I asked once again, trying to ignore the constant throbbing of pain in my body.

"In the summer."

Involuntarily, my eyes dropped down to his forearm where the Dark Mark rested under his wrinkled sleeve. "Why?"

Tired grey eyes flickered towards me as if assessing how much I could be trusted with but before he could answer my question, his eyes widened. Blood was coloring my lips and as if on cue, I began to cough up the crimson liquid. "We need to get you to the hospital wing, Alvers," he stood quickly but kept his distance. I didn't know where we stood either.

All I could manage was a small shake of my head. "I can handle this." Even removing my wand from my pocket seemed like a monumental task. Wincing, I pointed it at myself starting from my busted lip and broken nose and nonverbally recited any healing spells I knew, moving my way down to my abdomen. Still, too much blood had been released from my system and as hard as I tried to focus, my wand hand started to shake violently. "Damnit!" I groaned before I heard it.

"Episkey."

A sharp crack echoed through the space of the Astronomy Tower followed by my muffled whimper as my rib mended itself. Relief spread through me like a drug, making me slump forwards on the floor. Breathe, just breathe. When my body started to feel like my own again, I looked up. His blonde hair stood out in an ethereal fashion because of the moonlight and stars winked up high by where his own eyes were. From my position on the floor, it looked like he was a giant coming out of the sky. Shadows masked his face until all I could see of him was his pale hand held out in front of me. I took it and stood unsteadily for a moment before straightening before him. "Thank you..."

The hand gripping mine pulled me in closer until he was a hairs breadth away.

"This changes nothing," he whispered aggressively, his cool breath fanning over my face. And just like that, he let go of me and walked back into the shadows where he came from.

The next morning, I looked good as new, save for the exhaustion set deep in my eyes. After the Astronomy Tower, I had gone back to my room and sat on my rumpled bed. Sleep wasn't even an option I was going to consider so until the sun rose on the horizon, I immersed myself deep into some of Hermione's books. Though the words barely registered in my mind the entire night, I did learn one thing. Hermione and I had different thoughts as to what categorized as "light reading."

I was dressed and situated at the Great Hall before any of the girls in my dormitory awoke so seeing the surprised expressions upon my friends' faces when arrived was something to be expected. I grinned at them to ease their tension. Emotionally, I hadn't been present this past month so I knew about the caution that diluted their actions and words around me. When they were all seated and Ron was stuffing himself, I jumped into what we were discussing yesterday before meeting Hermione at the library.

"So, Dumbledore has been meeting me for the past week and he says he wants me to get close to Slughorn," Harry said, looking at each of us.

"Do you think there's something he wants from him?" I asked, frowning.

"What could that old fart possibly have? I mean, have you seen him? He's ridiculous," Ron remarked between bites of sausage. At the sight of Hermione's eye roll, I felt a sense of peace settle within me even though times couldn't be more worrying at the moment. How I could ever push these people away, I didn't know. When all of our stomachs were filled, Hermione and I made our way to the Potions classroom. With all the extra help from my father, Potions had become my best subject. The thought of him brought a feeling within me that felt equivalent to the stabbing sensation I experienced under the Cruciatus curse in my dream. Goddamnit, there goes two things you weren't supposed to think about, I thought and promptly slammed the door on both subjects.

We walked through the open door and stood by the walls. The bell rang and Professor Slughorn strolled in looking like it was Christmas morning. There were various potions on each table and one tiny one by him. Even in the dim light of the classroom, I could still see the colors moving around in the corners of my vision. When I saw the extra circle of black and muddy colors, I knew who else was in the class. Draco masked his face well; I guess it was something you had to learn to survive around Death Eaters. I could tell he knew of my presence too -- his shoulders tensed imperceptibly.

"Ah Harry, m'boy," Slughorn smiled as Harry and Ron walked in grudgingly, looking like they'd rather eat toads than be there. "Come in, and who is this?" Slughorn gestured towards Ron.

"Ron Weasley, sir," Ron answered.

"Very well, take out your books and join us," he said turning back to the class.

"Er, sir? We didn't know we would be taking this class so we didn't buy our books," Harry stated matter-of-factly.

"There are some books left in the cabinet. Hurry, hurry."

I watched as Harry and Ron fought over the new potions book and had to bite my lip to contain my amusement. They came back and stood next to us.

"Alright class. Can anyone tell me what potions these are?" Slughorn asked the class jubilantly. As usual, Hermione's hand went straight up, like she was born to answer these questions. Moving towards the first potion, a clear solution, she stated:

"This is Veritiserum. It's a very powerful truth potion," she moved on to the next one, by that time I zoned out a little, I already knew them all. When she came to the last one, I snapped out of my daze and payed attention as I'm sure the rest of us in the class did. The potion gave off pink fumes and smelled delightful, though I couldn't put my finger on what it was. "Amortentia, the world's most powerful love potion. It smells differently to each person, according to the smell that appeals to them the most," she murmured. "For example, I smell freshly mowed grass, new parchment, and spearmint...toothpaste." A blush slowly flared up on her cheeks and she hastily moved back to her place by the wall.

I was close enough that the pink fumes danced their way towards me and I couldn't help inhale their scent. Immediately the smell of fresh rain hitting the pavement mixed with cinnamon and melons tickled my senses. They shouldn't have gone together so well but they did and I could feel myself learning forwards, yearning for more. Then, it was gone.