Nicole Stevens: Blood and Daggers

Chapter Eighteen: Deception

Once inside the castle, I sought out the headmaster first. It took me fifteen minutes to reach his office, but I finally reached my destination.

"Bubblegum-lollipop," I said, tapping my foot impatiently. The gargoyle gave me a smirk and jumped out of the way as the wall behind it and I stepped through.

Hurrying up the moving staircase, I soon stopped at the door to the headmaster's office. There were voices from inside, I heard three. One was upset, another was cool yet unhappy, and a third was calm and low. I rapped on the door.

"Come in," the voices called. I pushed open the door.

Before I had gotten the measure of the situation, someone swept me into their arms and began kissing me on the lips, neck, and cheeks. I smelled peppermint. Draco.

"Um, I'm really okay," I told Draco. He tightened his grip on me, but I finally broke away.

"Where were you?" I heard Harry ask in an accusing voice.

"I happened to be escaping Death Eaters and meeting Sirius," I answered evenly.

Draco led me over to a chair in front of Dumbledore's desk. Dumbledore was sitting at the desk with his elbows on the desk and his fingers intertwined.

"So, you have met Mister Black," he commented, smiling slightly.

"Yeah. He sort of kidnapped me, but when he realised I wasn't a Death Eater, he took me to his cave and let me stay there."

Harry's face showed extreme surprise. "But--he was a hostage--"

"No, really? When the Death Eaters came to Hogsmeade, he got free. They were too stupid--no offence, Draco--to leave Sirius behind," I answered.

"So there were Death Eaters in Hogsmeade last night?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, didn't you know?" I said.

"No," he replied.

"Are you really okay?" Draco asked.

"Yes. Except for a couple of singed hairs, I should be fine."

I received a questioning look from the two boys, while Dumbledore merely sat placidly and waited for me to explain.

"Well, I spent the night in Sirius' cave. When I woke up, I saw Peter Pettigrew standing above me. I kicked him and called for Sirius, only I couldn't find him. There was a massive black dog, though. The dog woke up, but Pettigrew didn't notice, and the dog just changed into Sirius."

"You've got that backwards," Harry interrupted. "Sirius change into the dog, then changed back to himself."

"Whatever. And the he took Pettigrew outside, and I heard a voice. Sirius called me out there..." I continued my story until I had gotten to the place where Somnus had lent me his ring.

"There Draco," I tossed him the silver ring. "Send it back to him."

"Sure," Draco nodded.

"So, you met the famous Nirvana Quintana. I had suspected that you might sometime soon," Dumbledore said. "You must have been quiet surprised."

"Who is she?" Harry asked.

"What is she?" was my question.

"She is a Western Veela. Veela are very intelligent creatures. In fact, they are even more intelligent than most humans. Nirvana Quintana is not a Death Eater, but she does some work for them occasionally. She went to school with Sirius, I believe. Quite fond of him, she was. Actually, they might have seen each other a few times," Dumbledore answered, his eyes twinkling.

"Sounded like quite more than just 'a few times'. It sounded like she knew him very well," I commented.

Harry scowled. "Yeah, right."

Draco rubbed my shoulders as I sat and was berated by Harry about how worried he'd been. At convenient intervals, Draco would put in a quiet 'yeah.' He obviously didn't want to bark at me for hat I couldn't have helped. At least he understood.

"And you should have at least come back before now," Harry ended loudly.

"So sorry, Harry, I guess attempting not to have my head burnt off isn't a good enough reason to spare fifteen minutes," I mocked.

He gave me a look.

"So, now that we are all content," Dumbledore interjected, "I suggest that you go and make yourselves ready for the Halloween ball."

"Halloween was yesterday," I pointed out.

"I think he knows that," Draco whispered in my ear.

"Yes. Yesterday the students went to Hogsmeade, and tonight is the ball," Harry informed me.

"Oh yeah."

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"So how do I look?" I spun around before the full-length mirror, modelling my dress for Draco. He turned around to look.

Once he saw the close-fitting black dress, Draco made an indistinguishable noise, before saying, "Damn."

"What? Do you hate it?" I asked, frowning.

"No. It's just...How am I supposed to go to the ball with you looking so--" he waved vaguely at the dress.

"So what?"

"Smnrg," Draco mumbled, a faint pink tinge appearing on his cheeks.

"Excuse me?" I asked confusedly.

"Sexy."

"You think I look sexy?"

Draco nodded, the tinge darkening.

"Ha," I laughed. "I knew it! You're embarrassed to say it!"

Draco shook his head, coming to stand behind me. He took me by the arms and pulled me closer to him. I leant my head back on his chest and looked up at him.

"You know, you could admit that you're embarrassed."

"If I was embarrassed, I would tell you."

"Oh, right. Well, how do you explain the blushing?"

He slid his hand down to my waist and kissed the top of my head in reply. Draco hooked his arms around my waist in a circle, kissing my neck. "Mmn...I didn't blush. I was just thinking about...something."

"What was the something?" I asked playfully, pulling his lips onto mine. "And where's my birthday present? You said you'd give it to me yesterday, and here I am without a gift. If you were really dedicated, then I would be standing here looking at the--"

"Best boyfriend in the world," Draco said, a slight smirk forming. "And here it is," he held a little black box in the palm of his hand. I made a grab for it, but Draco stepped away from me and held it above his head, at least seven feet up in the air.

"Beg for it," he ordered.

I gave him the You-Must-Be-Mad-Just-Hand-It-Over look, only to receive Draco's unforgettable eyebrow-raise and smirk.

"Beg."

"Don't make me pounce on you and beat you over the head," I threatened. "I'll do it."

"I can risk it," Draco replied, flashing a grin.

I gave him a small smile, toying with his emotions. Then I stepped to face him, so close that we were barely touching. Looking up into his face, I poked him gently in the chest. He stepped back. I strode forward again and ran my finger from the hollow of his throat and down his torso.

"So you're going to make me beg," I said so quietly Draco would have to strain his ears to hear. He didn't answer. I scraped my finger further downwards, to his belt. Draco exhaled slowly as I drew my finger back up.

"I don't think I can do that," I said. My fingers were rested on his chest, where I could feel his heartbeat, which was going faster that was normal for him.

"Excited?" I asked, prodding his chest again.

Draco made a noise that I took for an assent.

"Good. Then let's go to the Ball, and you can be excited there."

"No," Draco argued. "No. Let's stay here." I could hear the euphoric undertones in his voice. He raised his hand, resting it on my cheek, before trailing his fingers down to my jaw. Draco rested his other hand on my hip, tugging gently at the black fabric of my dress. He was gentle and subtle in pulling me closer, but I was not about to miss the ball.

"Come on," I pleaded. "We'll only go for a little while. Dinner, a dance or two, at the most."

Draco shook his head, pulling me to him. "Do you want your present, or not?" he asked.

I sighed, stepped away from him, and walked to the door. Pausing with my hand on the doorknob, I said, "When you're ready to come to the Ball, I'll be waiting there." Then I walked out the door, leaving Draco alone.

Once I was out in the Slytherin hall, I let myself grin. It was almost too easy to get him excited. I knew that he was probably still standing there where I had last seen him, breathing deeply and trying to force the noradrenalin from gaining control of him altogether. I giggled quietly and began walking to the Great Hall for the Halloween Ball.

As I neared the hall, I heard the sound of many voices. Coming into sight of the doors, I saw that almost the whole student population was gathered around them.

I could see Harry's messy black hair as I approached. I came up behind him and tapped his shoulder. Harry turned around to see who it was, and then gave me a questioning look.

"Where's Malfoy?" he asked.

"Calming down."

"Why does he need to calm down?"

"Because if he doesn't I think he'd feel perfectly fine with snogging me in front of the whole school," I answered nonchalantly. Harry's expression altered slightly.

"So what did you do this time?" Harry inquired.

"Nothing. Well, I just wanted him to give me my birthday present, but he wouldn't. So, I excited him, but I think I went too far, even for his level of control. He sounded just about ready to--"

"Never mind," Harry interrupted. "I don't want to know."

I shrugged. "Why are we all standing out here?"

"I don't know. I think they have a surprise for us, or something. Who knows what they have in store for us?"

"Who'd you come with?" I asked him.

"Stag," he said shortly.

"Oh."

Just then, the crowd suddenly became louder, as the door were opened. There was confusion everywhere, and a tide of bodies was sweeping into the hall. I dragged myself out of the throng of students, struggling to find an empty place to wait for Draco. It seemed there wasn't anywhere to wait that wasn't crowded with people. Soon, the horde had dissolved to a few stragglers, and the entrance hall was less congested.

I felt someone's presence behind me.

"That wasn't nice of you," ah, it was Draco. He rested his hands on my shoulders from behind, squeezing gently.

"I know. It was intentional."

I could almost feel Draco smiling. He let go of my shoulders and took my hand, leading me into the Great Hall.

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We sat at the same table as Harry, Ron, and Hermione. It seemed that Draco had made an agreement with the boys. He would be respectable, and they would try not to murder him for the night.

Currently, the three were involved in a conversation about Quidditch.

"No, the Wronski Feint actually originated from Poland," Draco said coolly.

"Well, I disagree," Ron argued.

"For once, I have to agree with Mal--Draco," Harry said. "Quidditch Through The Ages says that the Polish Seeker, Josef Wronski, came up with the move."

Ron scowled.

"So, Hermione," I asked, leaving the boys to converse as they liked, "what have you been up to, lately? I really haven't been keeping up with everyone else."

"Not much," she answered, taking a sip of her cider. "I've been studying, but nothing else, really. Ron's still being a bit of a pain about Gin and Harry, but I can't blame him."

"Ginny seems different," I said, glancing at the next table, where the youngest Weasley was sitting.

"I know. I hardly know her anymore. Colin Creevey," Hermione took a fleeting look at Ginny, who was sitting next to Colin, "said today that she's been acting funny. Her dorm-mates say she rarely sleeps well, and when she does manage to stay asleep for more than an hour, she talks. They said she was rambling on about Tom and a book. It makes very little sense, but I think she's been having nightmares about her first year."

"What happened in her first year?" I asked.

"You don't know?" Hermione sounded incredulous. I shook my head. "In Ginny's first year at Hogwarts, there were attacks. People kept being found, petrified. Everyone said it had to do with a legend. They said that the chamber of Secrets had been opened again. I was petrified, too. Well, they later found out that Ginny had been possessed by Tom Riddle--" I froze, remembering the handsome boy in the temple, "who was," she lowered her voice, "Voldemort."

I went white.

"I need to go," I said suddenly. "Draco, come on. We have to go." I tugged on his arm. Draco looked at me worriedly, but seeing me jerk my head at the doors, he nodded, standing.

"Sorry," he said to Harry and Ron. They gave us an odd look as I pulled Draco out of the hall. Once we were out of the doors, he stopped.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I met Tom Riddle."

"You did what?"

"Tom Riddle, Voldemort, they're the same person. I saw Tom Riddle in the forest a few weeks ago. I need to see Asriel. I can't go alone. Come with me. Please."

Draco shook his head, pulling me back, for I had already started to the doors.

"No, we can't. If you saw Riddle, then you need to talk to Dumbledore, not Asriel. Asriel couldn't help you."

"But Asriel could tell me about the book!" I yelled.

"What book?" Draco asked slowly, sounding worried. "What book, Nicole?"

"The book I saw him with. It was black leather--"

"His diary," Draco said, grimacing. "My father's up to something again." He leant wearily against the marble wall. I stood beside him, confused by what he had said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean he's given her the book, again. The diary," Draco clarified.

"That's not good, is it?" I asked, knowing the answer and fearing it.

"No. We both have to talk to Dumbledore. Maybe he'll know what to do. Ow!" he said suddenly, touching his forearm.

"What is it?"

"The Mark. It burned. I need to leave," Draco said. He slipped a silver ring on his finger. "Wait for me in my room; I'll be back," Draco said, touching my cheek. He gently lifted my face to his and kissed me softly on the lips. It was over before I had even realised it. And Draco had disappeared.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

I waited anxiously in Draco's room, sitting in a chair, with my back rigid.

It had been three hours, and Draco was not yet there. He had promised to come back. It had sounded like a promise, at least.

What if something happened to him? I wondered.

He's strong. He'll come back.

I know, I know. I'm worrying over nothing. I'm beginning to sound like I'm his wife or something. He's fine. I should get some rest. Sleep would be good.

"How long have you been sitting like that?" I heard Draco's voice. I looked at the door, where he was standing.

I jumped up from the chair and rushed to him, circling my arms around his neck.

"I was so worried," I said. Now I really sounded like a worried wife.

Draco wrapped his arms around my waist, leaning his head on mine. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to take so long," he apologised.

"It's okay."

"You must be tired, after sitting for so long," Draco said, a hint of laughter in his voice.

"A little bit," I answered.

Draco laughed, and bent down, picking me up in his arms and carrying me like a child. He brought me over to the bed, tossing me onto the bed and sitting down beside me. He smiled down at me.

"Do you want your present yet?" Draco asked.

"I do," I said, sitting up.

"Here it is, then." He extended the little black box again. I plucked it from his hand, and opened the hinged lid. There was a delicate ring inside, with an opal set into the silver. I removed the ring from the box, staring at it amazedly. Draco took the ring from me.

"Give me your hand," he said quietly. I extended my right hand. Draco took it and slipped it on my ring finger.

"Are you asking me to--?"

"Not yet; this is just a prelude, I suppose. If, in a year or two, you still want to get married, then we'll take this ring," he tapped the oval stone, "and put it on another finger, to be replaced by something a bit bigger...and flashier." I blushed slightly, but since it was dark, Draco probably didn't notice. I locked my arms around his neck again, kissing him. "Should we discuss the other ring now, or later," Draco asked, chuckling. "I was thinking a diamond the size of a boulder, but whatever you'd like..."

I giggled, looking into his eyes, which were orbs of pure black. He stared into my eyes, as though searching for something unsaid, hidden in my eyes.

"So you really would marry me," he whispered, as though only realising it now.

"Did you think I was lying?"

"No, I just wasn't sure how serious you were."

I tried to stop myself from laughing.

"Well, you need not worry about be seriousness. I'm quite serious."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes," I answered. Draco tilted my chin up, so I was looking directly at him. Then he kissed me, softly at first. He deepened the kiss, as I ran my fingers through his hair and tugged at his robes. Draco leaned me back, one hand supporting my back and the other supporting my head. He laid me on the bed, leaning into me, and never stopping the kiss. But finally he had to pull away for breath. His face was centimetres from mine, and I could feel his hot breath on my skin.

Then there was a knock on the door...

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A/N: Cliff-hanger, I know. Oh, well. Thanks to everyone who helped, especially all my great English teachers. I'd also like to thank Lor-Lor (Laura), Ashley, Amanda, Shelby, Catherine and everyone else who helped me.

Thanks to the Mods, who are very speedy.

Also, thankies to my beta, Trillian, who is about to kill me for lack of problems. I hope this one has enough mistakes in it!

AquilisRose