A Camp Story

"Oh, there's only three weeks left! Come on, Snookums! You'll love Malfoy Manor!" Draco pleaded for the millionth time as Cho packed her bags. The camp was over and the kids had gone home last week. Both of them had written to their folks two weeks into their relationship to gush about each other. Draco assumed that his father received his letter at Azkaban, but he didn't get a reply back.

"No, I have to go home. How would my parents feel if I only spent two weeks of the entire summer with them? Besides, I have stuff at home I need to take, winter clothes, school supplies, etc," Cho said firmly.

"But my mother really wants to meet you! You'll love her! And we can take you home a few days before school starts! And...and...I don't--I don't--th--think, you know, I don't--kn--know...if I can be--be--bepartromyou," Draco finished in a rush.

"What, Bunny? I didn't get the last part," Cho said calmly while continuing to fold and pack her duffel bags with Martha Stewart precision.

God, I'm getting turned on from just watching her pack a bag. What the hell will I do for three whole weeks if I'm away from her?! "Um...I--I--I," Draco stuttered out. Holy Shit, it's gonna take me the entire day to say this! It's the packing; she's distracting me with the packing. "Snookums, could you please pay attention to what I'm saying? You can pack that in a second using your wand!" Draco cried out desperately.

Cho continued with neurosurgeon like concentration. "I am, I'm paying full attention. So far, you've said 'I' several times and I'm waiting to hear you finish. And there's no reason to use my wand if I can do it perfectly well with my hands. I like the feel of it, packing is very soothing," she said tranquilly.

"No, Cho, please," Draco entreated with one of his famous "I'm-The-World's-Saddest-Little-Boy" voice. He knew Cho couldn't resist it. She stopped and laid a pile of folded socks down on the bed and walked over to the sofa.

"Okay, Bunny," she said quietly, sitting down and putting her hands primly together in her lap and crossing her ankles. Draco was knocked speechless by a tsunami of lust, wonderment, and total devotion as he stared at her. "Come on, Draco, I've still got a bag to pack!" Cho reprimanded with a tinge of impatience.

Okay, okay, you can do it. She won't think you're weak. It's not weakness, it's...it's...wait, if it's not weakness then why doesn't she feel the same? How come she's not as eager as me or as scared as I am of being apart?! Is there someone else?! There has to be someone else! Has she been cheating on me?! If I find out who I'll hunt him down and-- Draco had worked himself up into a world of paranoia and angst, Cho noticed.

"What's wrong, Bunny," she asked with a furrow of concern between her eyebrows, interrupting his thoughts. She reached out and grabbed both of his hands, which had been wringing each other in anxiety. "Come on, stop that. What's wrong? Hm...tell me," she urged gently.

Draco looked at her with hard eyes and a set face, calculating her for all she was worth. Dear Lucifer, what am I doing??? WHAT am I doing??! Oh, I've already worried her! How could I think such a thing? Goddamn my insecurity! He quickly softened his countenance and eyes. "Snookums, I was thinking, I mean we've been together every minute during the past two months. And tomorrow, we're gonna be miles and miles away from each other!" he declared excitedly. He had a maniac gleam in eyes now.

God, when he gets that look in his eyes, I get so turned on! Hm...I love it when he's all crazed and evil! Cho smiled confidently and said, "Now that's not true, Draco. We're away when I'm teaching flying and you're teaching your Dark Arts for Juniors class. We've been apart."

Oh, why is she making this so hard?! She must know what I want to say! Oh all that is evil, she knows she has my soul in the palm of her little hands! Her little, lovely hands! How can I get it back?! HOW?! "Well, that doesn't count. Our lessons only last an hour each and whenever we don't have conflicting lessons, we're always together. What I mean is that is that we're gonna be apart for three weeks now and...and...I was wondering, you know," Draco said looking at Cho who shook her head as if she didn't understand. "Okay, well, I was wondering...how you feel about it," Draco spilled out in an exhale of air. Now he felt all jittery, as if he just asked the Dark Lord to decide whether he should live or die.

I love it when he squirms! Hm...mmmm......but I like him more when he's all evil! "I'm happy about it!" Cho acknowledged easily.

It looked like a bomb had dropped on Draco and he felt as if someone performed the Cruciatus Curse on him. It felt like she had ripped out his heart and then smiled the smile that she wore whenever she accomplished something. Do I mean nothing to her? How can it be?! How can I mean nothing to her when she means everything to me?!! "Ch--Ch--Cho, wh-wha--what do you me-me-mean?" Draco stammered out in a panic attack.

"What I mean, Bunny, is that we're heading into our relationship too fast. At the rate we're going we'll burn out before we reach the six-month mark! Pretty soon we'll get bored with each other because we've spent too much time together and know everything about one another. I don't want this to happen, so I think it's a good thing if we spend a little time apart. If the three weeks pass and we're still feeling the same way we do now, then our relationship will be that much stronger. However, if after the three weeks has passed and we see each other again, but feel nothing, then...well, no need to say more, is there?" Cho explained sensibly while playing with Draco's hands. "I love your fingers. They're so long and well formed. Really beautiful," she murmured lovingly.

I think I'm in love with her. I love how smart she is, I love how she can always think so logically, I love how she kisses, I love how she does that thing with my, ahem, anyway, and I love how she loves my hands. Before he could stop himself he had yanked his hands out of hers and pulled her to him. They were going at it like monkeys again.

It was amazing, all this monkey-loving. It was a good thing that the walls were thick or else the minds of every little girl in Cho's wing would be really corrupted. But then again, the walls weren't that thick and more than once a little girl (or several little girls) had barged into her room fearing that Cho was dying. After enduring three of those incidents, during which Cho pushed Draco off the fairly high bed so he could hide and escape if needed, they started spending the nights in Draco's wing where the boys were a bit older and much more heavy sleepers.

It was a combination of adventure, tediousness, and extreme horniness. Draco and Cho had to make sure that everyone in their wing was asleep and well. Then Draco set off to Cho's cottage where he waited by her window so he could escort her (he feared there were wild animals lying in wait to attack her). Then Cho resumed removing the screen (she had got rid of the hexes after the first "incident" so Draco could escape without being zapped) and after that she would climb out the window and walk together in the direction of his cottage.

During all this sneaking around Cho discovered two things. 1) They were not the only ones who had thought of this plan. Apparently there was a reason all the cottages were on one floor because around the same time every night you could see various couples in the act of climbing out the windows or climbing into the windows or walking towards each other's cottages. And 2) How Draco had got into her room that fateful night. He had tried her window and got zapped, and then he came in through the bathroom windows and found Cho's room in the middle of the hallway. Cho had locked her door but it turned out the lock was just a dummy lock and didn't do diddly except make you think you locked the door. This was from the parents because they feared their child might get locked in a room or have a nightmare and not be able to get into their counselor's room. So, that's how Draco got in. And, like Cho had thought in the bathroom that day, he had snuck out and back at the crack of dawn. Cho was a bit miffed that an intruder could get in so easily and spent the better part of a week producing hexes on all the bathroom windows to ensure the safety of her group. Then she spent another week doing this on all the other bathrooms in all the girls' cottages.

However, Cho never stayed the night in Draco's room. She insisted on "disturbing the magically rare peace of their spooning" (Draco's words) so she could "make sure that no monsters were bothering the safety of her babies" (Cho's words). So after a two hour lovefest, Draco would walk Cho back to her room where she insisted that he go back to his room so that "he could be a responsible counsellor and guarantee the safety of his wards." The good-byes usually lasted another 15 minutes with full on Romeo and Juliet style dramatics coming from Draco and exasperated yawning from Cho.

In the mornings Draco would always be waiting in the common room for Cho (the girls let him in because Cho still refused to give him the password) and they would set off for breakfast together. They would separate again, going back to their cottages to help out their campers with getting up and ready, then meeting up again in DC to supervise the breakfast of the campers. Afterwards were the lessons. Cho taught various levels of flying and Draco taught various levels of Dark Arts for Juniors. Counsellors and campers could do magic even though they were underage because Camp Medea had managed to get certified as an educational institution (it had taken some well-placed former campers to pull it off). Then free hour during which the campers ran wild and they had to supervise them with the utmost care so nothing ever happened, but Cho and Draco tended to roam their kids very close to each other. Then lunch, then fiesta where Draco and Cho spent in her room just talking and occasionally snuggling (she was afraid the little girls might wake from their naps and in broad daylight they would see much more than if they barged in at night). And after there would be some lessons until dinner. After dinner there was usually some organised fun with the whole camp together. There was a quidditch tournament this year (Cho's all girl team won it by beating Belinda's all girl team and both of them beat all the other teams, including Draco's all boy team). Naturally they didn't play regular quidditch; they toned the quidditch down. The whole playing field was considerably lower and they used rubber Bludgers instead of the real stuff. But it still produced the same results: Rivalry, hard work, and some dirty fighting. The parents loved it. Cho expected to see some real nice Christmas presents from the parents of the girls in her wing this year.

Soon they slid into such a sweetly sick routine that they were like newlyweds and no one could stand being around them too long because they were just too good together. It was like God decided to make them just for each other's enjoyment (to everyone else's grossed out dismay). Even Cho's friends were grossed out by the whole thing and had dropped some not-so-subtle hints to her to stop it. Everyone avoided them if they were together (which was most of the time). Apart, they were very charming people, well, Cho was charming and Draco was cruel and vindictive, but together they only noticed each other and babbled like infants who couldn't keep their hands off each other.

Their relationship was like a love and lust cocktail spiked with steroids.

And now, after two months, the prospect of three long weeks loomed in between them.

"I have an idea," Cho said after the monkey-loving while helping Draco out with the buttons on his robe.

"What is it, Snookums?"

"We can go shopping together at Diagon Alley before school starts!" she said with glee, "You know how much I hate shopping! Ugh! Boring stuff it is and I know you love shopping. As well, it would give us an opportunity to see each other before school so that way, if we both change, we won't be too awkward during the school year. How about it, Bunny?" she asked while sitting back to view the perfection that was her boyfriend.

"It sounds like a wonderful idea, Snookums, but we will most definitely NOT change in our feelings. When?" he asked as Cho turned around so he could brush her hair.

"Let's decide later. It's too early now. You will write?" she asked sweetly.

"How can you even ask? Of course I'll write! I'll write twice a day!" he cried out passionately.

"Bunny, don't say things that you don't mean. You know how much I hate that," Cho said warningly.

"I know, Snookums, and I mean it," he said with conviction.

The next morning a chauffeured gleaming black Rolls Royce came to bring Draco back home. There were other expensive cars and the kids with more money went home in a cruise ship, all magical of course, Camp Medea touched nothing Muggle.

The whole camp was very well protected. Any Muggle that came near the island in a boat would drown (these Death Eaters were dead serious when it came to their kids), but no Muggle was able to see the island anyway. It was hidden and looked like part of the water to them so they didn't get too curious and want to do any exploring. Any magical being that came near the island who wasn't meant to come to the island would drown in a huge tidal wave as well. And on top of that the island couldn't be plotted, was hidden by the Fidelius Charm (held by the Dark Lord himself for both protection and blackmail purposes in case a Death Eater with kids decided to turn good during the summertime), and no one could Apparate into the island.

Cho said farewell to Ailith and Ethelinda who were going home on the cruise ship and to Carina and Pancrazio (who had gotten back together when Pancrazio got the letter from the three girls) who were going home in Carina's Mercedes-Benz jeep. There was an emotional group hug among the four girls and promises they would write often during the school year. Pancrazio and Draco lurked at a distance away in the shadows and chatted uncomfortably as their girlfriends cried and hugged, all the while shouting things out like, "Take control of Pancrazio! Don't let his stubborn idiocy get in the way" and "Be careful with Draco! He might have herpes from all those girls! I really want you to meet my brother!"

As Ailith and Ethelinda set off on the ship, turning into tiny specks, and Carina and Pancrazio drove off into the sunshine, Cho and Draco were left along with a few other stragglers.

"Cho, why won't you just let me drive you home?" Draco beseeched dispiritedly.

"It'll look really weird if I showed up at my flat in a Rolls Royce! My neighbours would go all agog and all of them are Muggles!" Cho said.

"I don't have herpes! You know that, right?" Draco asked suspiciously.

"Oh for god's sake! If you did, I would have it too now, wouldn't I?" Cho asked shortly. "Listen, Bunny, I've got only 20 minutes left before the goddamn portkey is set to go off. Help me with my bags won't you?" she said hoping to change the subject.

"No, I will not! I just don't get why you won't agree to let me give you a ride. If your neighbours ask, just say that your friend owns it. It's the truth and sounds completely feasible. And it's not like I'll be flying you there; we'll be driving on the road. Muggle-style," Draco concluded artfully.

"It's not just that, I don't want to drag on our separation. It's much better if we just rip apart real quick, much less painful," Cho said with a grimace.

"Is it Ethelinda's brother? Are you seeing her brother?!" he asked psychotically.

"Yes, Draco, I'm seeing Ethelinda's brother. Happy, now?" Cho said curtly and grabbed her two bags from Draco's hands and walked away. It isn't so much the suspicion, jealousy, possessiveness, ruthlessness, and evil that bothers me...okay, I love those qualities about him. It's just that he can't take "no" for an answer and learn not to push me when I've made up my mind!

"Oh, Snookums, I didn't mean it! I'm sorry, come on, let's stop a bit here and talk this out! I hate to see you angry at me!" Draco begged as he ran after Cho and started jogging backwards in front of her so he could face her as she continued walking with a straight and indecipherable face. If I just manage to stall her for another 16 minutes, she'll miss the portkey and have to take up my offer. That would give me another few hours with her if the driver drives really, really slowly and during that time I can try to convince her to spend the remaining weeks with me.

"Hey, come on, I don't want to have it hanging over me that we're parting on such terms, please, Snookums?" Draco said after stopping and blocking Cho from moving as well. "Forgive me, please?" Draco asked innocently while attempting to wrap his arms around Cho's waist.

THWACK! Cho whacked at Draco's body with her loaded duffel bag. Draco lurched sideways and fell down hard on his left side.

"Ohh!" Draco cried out as he sat up and grabbed the left side of his head.

Cho was immediately filled with remorse and rushed to his side, "Oh Bunny, are you okay?"

Draco shook his head while still clutching at it with the most agonised expression on his face.

"Oh Bunny! Let me see, I can fix it," Cho cried out trying to push his hand aside.

"No, you don't want to be with me!" Draco shouted trying to turn away from her.

"Come on, Bunny. That's not true, you were just being too pushy. You know I hate it when you're pushy. Now stop being childish and lemme see," Cho said steadfastly with a trace of edginess in her voice.

11 more minutes!! If I can guilt trip her, then she'll spend more time with me. Draco rallied as he summoned everything Malfoy within him. God, I wish I was bleeding right now, that'd evoke more guilt and remorse! Need to distract her attention while I do it. "I feel dizzy, everything's spinning around me," Draco murmured.

"Oh, dear. Lemme get some chocolate, hold on," Cho said while walking away to where she had dropped her bags. As she hastily ruffled around in both of her bags for chocolate Draco pointed his wand at the side of his head and muttered a quick spell under his breath. "Goddamn it, I can't Accio it out 'cuz I have no idea where I put it!" she said annoyed.

"Here we go! A nice big chunk of--HOLY SHIT!" Cho screamed as she turned around. Draco was bleeding so profusely that it was seeping through his fingers and onto his blue robes, completely soaking his blonde hair. Cho ran to his side and knelt down, forcing a very willing Draco down and making him rest his head on her lap. "Here, eat this," she said while shoving a large piece of chocolate into Draco's mouth.

"Oh your hair! Your beautiful hair!" Cho lamented in terror, "Oh my poor baby, what did you do? Lemme see!" she said and this time Draco obeyed because he finally had something to show.

"Oh my goodness!" she cried in a heartbroken voice, "What happened?"

"I doon 'ow, you hit me an I 'ell an I hit my 'ed," Draco said complacently through a mouthful of chocolate. "An it 'urts soooo mooch!" Draco moaned out for extra emphasis, milking as much sympathy and guilt as he possibly could.

"Oh Bunny! I'm sorry...here, I'll take care of it in a jiffy," Cho murmured. She located the wound, which, to her surprise, was just a minor scrape. She pulled out her wand and administered a spell. The blood stopped flowing as the wound started to heal over. "There!" she said happily, "Hold on, I'm gonna get some wound-cleaning potion so it won't get infected. Accio!" Her first aid kit flew over to her out of the bag.

Five minutes!! YES! MALFOY POWER!! Draco was ecstatic; his plan was going perfectly.

"Okay, Bunny, it's gonna sting a little bit, so grab my hand," Cho warned quietly offering her hand as she gently dabbed a soaked purple cotton ball to his wound. Little puffs of smoke came out and Draco squeezed her hand tightly and bit his lip.

A little my ass! Why is it they always say "a little"?! Oh well, it was worth it, there's no way she's gonna catch the portkey now! It's already gone!

"You were so brave, Bunny, so brave!" Cho praised generously. Draco smiled blithely up from her lap and kissed her hand. "You have to go wash your hair as soon as possible, Bunny, 'kay? We wouldn't want anything to taint those wonderful locks. I've got to go now, my portkey is gonna go anytime now," she said as she got up and laid Draco's head on a towel she had dragged out of her kit. "Don't get up too quickly and rest a while, 'kay? I'll miss you lots and write you often, don't forget your promise."

Draco's smile froze on his face and he wouldn't let go of Cho's hand. "But--but, you've already missed your portkey! It went four minutes ago!"

"Bunny, I'm the only one using a portkey so I told Kaleigh to set it to go off 15 minutes after the initial time it was set at. I wanted us to have some extra time; it was a surprise present for you! But I guess you can't plan everything, eh?" she said affectionately as she took her hand away and went to get her bags.

Goddamn it! Why is it she's always one step ahead of me?! She's worse than Potter! I can't believe it, what is this?! Some ironic Gift of the Magi scenario?! It's sure as hell not funny, that's fucking certain! Draco cursed everything in heaven and hell as he watched Cho shove the first aid kit in a bag and get up to leave. "Come on, Cho. Just let me take you home. I still don't feel well, what if I faint during the ride home? You think Paddy over there is gonna administer the same tender care you do?" he begged franticly while he willed his face to turn an ashen grey.

Cho was swaying; you could see the indecision on her face. Draco faked a weak groan of pain and grimaced in torment. Cho's face softened and her eyes got all warm and compassionate. Yes! A little more and either the time will run out or she'll come with me! Either way, I win!

"I can't, Bunny. I just don't feel comfortable taking advantage of your generosity like that. I don't like taking stuff from you just because you're rich; I like you because you're you, not because you're a Malfoy. As well, with all the stuff that's happening right now in your life, I couldn't live with my conscience if I knew I was only adding to your burden," Cho finally explained sadly.

"What?! Is this what it's all about? Is this the real reason you won't come to Malfoy Manor with me? I in no way think you are a gold-digger, Cho. I just wanna spend more time with you, Snookums. And you don't have to worry about what's happening to my family, everything's under control," he lied to ease Cho's anxiety about him. "Is it resolved then? Can we go, now?" Draco asked.

"No, Bunny," she said with determination etched across her face, "It's not what you think. It's what other people might think. Next thing you know, they'll convince you of the same thing and try to tear us apart. And I know you're not telling me the whole truth about what you're going through. Besides, that's not the entire reason why I won't go visit Malfoy Manor. It is a part of my decision. The other reason I've already explained. So, I've got six minutes before I miss the portkey and I can reach it in four. Let's kiss good-bye, 'kay?" Cho whispered as she leaned down to kiss Draco as he stared up from his position on the ground.

What followed was 2 minutes of mad snogging as Cho attempted to retrieve any last bit of chocolate left in Draco's mouth. Draco put his entire being into the kiss and savoured it with an intense attack of melancholy and longing. It was a good thing all the remaining couples were still saying farewells in the parking lot and Cho and Draco were out of sight. The sight of them like this could have two possible effects on you, one would be that you would want to get it on as well and the other would be that you would want to throw up your breakfast.

Cho finally broke off and rolled off Draco. "Bye Bunny, our two minutes are up. Will you miss me?"

"I'm not sure," Draco muttered peevishly.

"Oh Bunny, I'm gonna leave now knowing that you won't miss me! I might remember this if I happen to bump into Ethelinda's brother in London," Cho said with a feigned look of concern.

"Oh, of course I'll miss you! But I wouldn't have to if you had agreed to come home with me. Come on, Snookums! It's not too late!" Draco tried one last time.

Cho smoothed Draco's hair and leaned down to kiss the tip of his nose before getting up, "Bye, Bunny! And don't get up for another five minutes!"

Draco watched her powerlessly as she flounced off into the distance before his view was blocked by a cottage when she turned a corner.

Sweet Salazar, Professor Flitwick must've taught her a love charm. Draco thought as he started to weep bitterly and damned the day he decided to argue about his veela content with a Ravenclaw.