Nicole Stevens: Roses and Mistrust

Nicole Stevens: Roses and Mistrust

Chapter Fourteen: Too Bad

AquilisRose

The tower was cold. Its black walls rose so high that I couldn't see the ceiling. The floor was black, and the only color came from the softly glowing crystal ball that was placed on a circular table of dark wood.

Voldemort led me over to the table. He pulled out the chair in an uncharacteristically gentleman-like gesture. I understood that I was required to sit. It's best to do what's required of oneself. I sat and curiously inspected the forlorn-looking glass sphere. It glowed, giving off a hazy light. The smoky-colored contents of the orb swirled, making its light flicker over the table's surface.

"Miss Stevens," Voldemort's voice cut like a blade through the still air, "you may now realize the reason you were brought here." I summoned what little courage I had left and replied as jovially as was possible,

"Or, I might not. You never know. I can guess; my hair is so messed up that you wanted me to look in this," I tapped the globe for emphasis, "and fix it." Inside I was trembling with fear and loathing of the sinister creature that held me as his prisoner.

"Incorrect. You are here because you have a very rare gift. You happen to be a seer. One of the ONLY seers I might add, in Britain. You see, a couple of months ago, you unwittingly informed young Mister Malfoy of a certain vision you had, including his father and myself. The boy was correct in sending a letter to Lucius Malfoy, explaining all you had told him.

"Lucius forwarded his son's message to me. I, of course, knew immediately how useful you would be to my cause and to me. You could help me. In fact, it is vital that you do.

"In young Draco's note to his father he says," Voldemort drew a sheaf of parchment from his pocket and flicked it open with a flourish, "and I quote; 'Nicole claims to have seen Lord Voldemort and yourself while she was crystal gazing. She is Harry Potter's girlfriend,' etcetera. Little did he know how useful this information would be to me. Not only did I know then that you could help my cause, I knew you would help find an adequate way of capturing our Mister Potter. Besides even that, you would be the bait to lure our poor victim here.

"And, unless I am very much mistaken, a letter has been left for our dear friend Harry Potter informing him of your present location."

"Well that's not fair!" I exclaimed, slamming my palms hard onto the tabletop. The glass orb wobbled dangerously and looked as if it were about to tip off the holder. Voldemort's sharp red eyes flicked over to the orb, making sure it was secure. Then his eyes swept back to my face, causing me to shiver.

"Gaze into the crystal ball and tell me everything you see." I shook my head and asked,

"Why should I? I don't want to be the cause of death for Harry. If you want to find out so badly, then YOU can look in the stupid orb. I certainly don't want to." I crossed my arms over my chest stubbornly, much like the child I was inside. I winced when I felt the cuts on my back and shoulder begin to bleed again.

He elegantly put the note back into his pocket and extracted a wand from the folds of his robes. The man pointed it directly at me and said,

"Do as I say. Now." Judging by the cold quality of his voice, he was very serious.

I resolutely returned my gaze to the ball and looked intently into it. No images confronted me, only the slowly swirling white smoke. Panic time was near. If I could not do the task he had assigned what then? What explanation would tell of my inability to sufficiently do the job? Excuses flooded into my head, each more idiotic that the one proceeding.

Suddenly, the smoke began to whirl faster. My eyes were fixed on the glass, only now it didn't look like glass. Instead, it seemed to be a screen playing a movie directly in front of me. I was mesmerized by the scene before me. What I saw made my heart stop beating. It caused my breath to catch in my chest. Horrifically captivated by the twisted sight, I could not take my eyes from it.

Harry was standing across a room from Voldemort. They both had their wands out, and were looking like they about to duel. Both of them circled around the huge fencing room (I had concluded that it was such a room on account of all the swords hanging off the walls), never taking their eyes from one another, neither coming closer to their opponent.

Voldemort shot the first curse. A burst of green light shot out of his wand, and Harry jumped swiftly out of harm's way. He fired a spell back at his adversary. Voldemort stopped Harry's curse with a charm and his wand issued a second green shower of sparks. Harry darted out of its way, shooting a spray of black light at Voldemort. Voldemort stopped this spell, as well. He cast a spell that I knew by sight: the binding spell. Harry fell to the floor with ropes around his ankles and wrists.

Voldemort's stride was almost lazy as he walked over to poor Harry, who was struggling helplessly against his bonds. The cruel man knelt down next to him and traced his long forefinger along Harry's scar. He writhed in pain as Voldemort did this horrific act. I saw, but could not hear, the Dark Lord laughing maniacally. Harry stared angrily up into the face of his parents' murderer.

The mist reappeared and these images stopped coming. I was enveloped in the haze. It swirled around me, concealing everything I might have seen at that moment. Suddenly, everything stopped moving and the fog cleared. My eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness.

This time I saw a cage of light. It was the same one that I had seen in my earlier vision. Ceiling-high bars made of pure, bright light surrounded Harry. He was sobbing unrestrainedly into his hands. His shoulders shook as he mourned over something unknown to me.

I wanted desperately to go and comfort him, but I found that I couldn't move, even to walk. My heart ached for him as I stood and watched. Whatever he was crying over, I knew that it surely couldn't have been as bad as he thought. It should be illegal, having to watch someone I loved so much suffer.

I saw his lips move, as if he was saying something. Crying something would have been more accurate, of course. I strained my ears to hear what he had said, but it was a hopeless cause. This was a soundless nightmare.

Harry looked up as the door to the room opened. He bravely wiped away his tears, so that now the only signs of his crying were his bloodshot eyes. Draco stepped into my view and I saw him kneel next to Harry's confinement.

Draco spoke to Harry; I could tell that his words were spoken softly. He was doing what I could not. It was a selfless act. I had never known Draco to be unselfish, but at this moment, he was doing the noblest thing possible. He was consoling Harry. Draco Malfoy, Death Eater in training, was helping Harry Potter. It was unimaginable, and yet it was astounding.

I tried to read Draco's lips, but I had always been horrible at it. The most I could make out was 'sorry'. Harry's gaze was pitiful to watch. He said something to the blond-haired boy beside him, but unlike Draco, I could understand more of what he was saying. He seemed to be arguing with Draco over something of great importance. I tried to decipher his message in my head. It was something about 'leave me...go fetch her...he'll kill her...take her to school...I'm not important...she's the only one that matters...so long as she's alive, we have hope...I'm lost already.'

Draco seemed to be disputing what Harry had said. I only understood 'both of you'. Draco shook his head 'no' as Harry replied something that I could not distinguish.

*Note to self (if I live): Must learn how to read lips. It comes in handy... *

Just as I was beginning to understand more, the cloud of white came swirling back. It covered the scene before me and I felt myself falling, falling slowly down into the endless white fog. I landed hard, and realized with a start that I was lying on the cold stone floor of the tower.

The Dark Lord towered above me, looking down. He offered me a hand to help me to my feet, but I shied away from it and stood on my own. He smiled coldly.

"And you saw...?" he inquired.

"Nothing. I saw nothing. I looked into the ball and only saw smoke," I lied. Wow, it seemed my lying skills had finally improved.

"Oh? Then I suppose you wouldn't mind my asking how long you sat there?"

"Of course not. I sat here for about fifteen minutes." I hoped dearly that that was the correct answer.

"Oh, dear. It seems you've failed the test. You know, Miss Stevens, you really are a horrible liar. You might want to practice on that one. Now I would like the truth. What did you see?" His eyes looked hungrily at me, but I knew what he hungered for was the information I might be able to give him.

"It was NOT a lie."

"You only sat here for about five minutes. You are lying, and lying badly. Now I expect the truth. If you feel that the best option is to continue lying to me, then I suppose an Imperius curse would do the trick nicely." I shuddered at the thought.

"Look, I saw a bunch of mist. Nothing more. If you would like to charm me, go ahead, but I am telling the truth," I replied coldly. He raised an eyebrow elegantly.

"Really?" his voice was filled with disbelief. I nodded and he asked again, "Really? You saw nothing? No visions, no apparitions?" I shook my head.

"I only saw a load of white mist."

"Wrong answer," he whispered menacingly. He pulled out his wand and muttered, "Imperio!"

My mind went blissfully blank. Nothing mattered. There were no problems, and there never had been and never would be. I didn't have any decisions to make, ever. No troubles would ever worry me again. I could feel no fear, because fear did not exist in this dream-state.

It was one of the most perfect feelings anyone could ever have imagined. There could be no better way to feel or think. This should last forever. I should never have had problems again.

I heard Voldemort's soothing voice in my head saying Tell me the truth. Tell me the truth. Tell me the truth. What did you see? I opened my mouth involuntarily and said dreamily,

"I saw Harry and you dueling. You won. You tied him up. I saw Harry in a cage of light. He cried over something. Draco came and tried to comfort him. Harry said to get someone and leave without him. Draco told him no."

"Good." Voldemort took the spell off me, and all my problems and worries hit me like a speeding train. I was in the Dark Lord's castle. I had just poured my soul out to him. Harry was going to die, all because of me. Life was awful.

"Rayne!" Voldemort called the vampire. Soundlessly, the door opened and Rayne stepped in. He looked at the Dark Lord and then at me.

"Yes? You called?"

"I did. Take her back to the red room and let her get a fresh dress. If she wishes to wash up, then she may do so. Other than that, she is to remain confined to the red room. Is that clear?" He directed the last question at me.

"Crystal," I replied. I stalked angrily over to Rayne and he opened the door, letting me go first. I shot one last look of pure venom at Voldemort, which he returned with a smile, before Rayne grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the door.

"So you are a true prophet then?" he asked once we had gone down the spiral staircase that led from the tower.

"Yeah, unfortunately. I wish I wasn't. Then I would have never gotten into this stupid mess that's going to get us all killed. I wish I were normal again. I don't want to be a seer. It's been no good for me." He stopped in his tracks and turned to face me.

"Do not wish away your gift. What happens is meant to happen. You are a seer because you were meant to be one, which also means that you saw whatever you saw because you were meant to. And when you think of it, that is an encouraging thought. The future is the result of our actions. One small movement can change the course of everyone's future. Do not hesitate to try to alter what the orb showed. You can change what you saw, and if you put your mind to it you will." I nodded and we began to walk again. Rayne's pace was so fast that I could barely keep up.

"Could you--maybe slow down?" I wheezed.

"What?" he asked distractedly, "Oh yes. I apologize." He slowed down to a more reasonable pace. I did not have to hurry now. Once I had caught my breath, I began to wonder if Rayne could help me escape. Maybe I wouldn't need to bribe Draco after all.

"Um, Rayne, could you help me with something?" He raised his eyebrows.

"What do you need help with?"

"Look," I lowered my voice to a whisper, "I need to get out of here. If I don't, they're going to be able to kidnap Harry, too. I have to warn him." His face fell,

"No. That is one thing that I cannot do. It is forbidden. Should the Dark Lord find out that I had a hand in your flight, there would be the devil to pay. He is not one to toy with."

"I know. But I have to leave. I can't stay here." He shook his head.

"I cannot help you, though I might be able to advise you. That Malfoy child, he fancies you. Were you to ask for his help, he would offer it to you freely. He is your best option."

"I don't think he will," I muttered to myself. "He's not the most cooperative per--"

"I gave you my advice. Now you can use it, or you can ignore it. What you choose is not up to me." By this time we had finished speaking and were standing at the door to the red room.

"Now, Nicole, if you would like to wash your cuts--"

"No. No, it's fine. Are my other clothes in here?" I asked hurriedly. An idea had struck me suddenly.

"Yes, I do think so. Why do you ask?"

"No reason, really. I'm just fond of them," I lied. "Hey, how does everyone get here? Do they ride in carriages, or do they apparate?"

"Well, most apparate. The only problem is that you have to be out of the castle grounds. You can't be inside this building and you have to be out the front gates. Wait a moment. You aren't planning to try anything of the sort, are you?" I shook my head quickly.

"Um, no, of course I wouldn't. I, uh, don't know how. Bye." I dashed inside the door before he could question me some more. Shutting the door in his face, I ran over to the bed where I had tossed my wet clothes. They weren't there. I spun around the room trying to see if I could find them.

"You wouldn't happen to be looking for these, would you?" I stopped as I noticed Draco reclining lazily in the big red armchair on the left, near the huge fireplace. He was holding my white shirt in his hands. My pants were on one of the arms, and in the back pocket of them, my wand was sticking out. I grabbed for the wand, but Draco got it first.

"Hmph! That's mine. Give it back to me. I need it to get out of here," I told him. "Now hand it over."

"I don't think you should try it. There are wards all over the place. You can't do a single spell, or they'd be after you like mad hounds."

"Aren't they?"

"What?"

"Mad hounds. Never mind. Look, just give it to me. I'll find a way out of this castle, and when I do, I'll just disapparate from here."

"You can't. You're not of age. We haven't learnt how yet," he protested.

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong. I have learned how. We learned that in a couple of years ago over in America. Now, it may be against the rules of your Ministry, but I figure rules are meant to be broken. So hand it over."

"No. You need someone to show you out of the castle. If you tried to go by your--"

"I'll just go get the Goodbye Committee to wave me bon voyage. Thanks for the suggestion," I said derisively.

"No. I won't let you. If you insist on disapparating, at least let me help you get out of the castle. You wouldn't be able to make it by yourself. Let me help you."

"Argh! Fine, if you must come with me. Let's just go now. I don't want to be here any longer than I have to." Draco nodded before asking,

"And, what about that?" He pointed at my shoulder where the blood had dried. "Do you want to change clothes?"

"With you here? No. No way. You'd watch me undress, and I don't want you to." He hid his smirk to adopt a falsely innocent smile. "I would not. I am not a pervert."

"Uh-huh. Right. Sure. Whatever. I'm still not going to. We don't have time."

"Fine. If you don't want to change into something that won't stand out, then..."

"What do you mean?" I asked sharply. He shrugged eloquently,

"I was merely stating that if you wore something black, we would have less of a chance of getting caught, is all. But, as you so obviously don't want to..." he trailed off, looking at me. I saw his ill-disguised joy at being right.

"Okay. Turn around and close your eyes," I ordered. Draco obeyed reluctantly. I strode over to the wardrobe and grabbed a plain, floor length silk gown. It was pretty, but unadorned. The black material would indeed help conceal me in the dark.

I checked over my shoulder to be sure Draco wasn't watching me. Then I attempted to untie the back of the green dress. It was too complicated, because Rayne had knotted it tightly. I swore under my breath and heard Draco turn around to see what was wrong.

"What?" he asked.

"I can't get this stupid tie undone," I grumbled.

"Here, I can help." He came to stand behind me. His fingers moved swiftly and gracefully as he worked on the knot. I soon felt the stiff bodice of the dress give way, and knew Draco had managed it.

"Thank you," I muttered. "Now go back over there and turn around." He grinned as he walked to the other side of the room. I pulled off the heavy velvet dress and slipped on the black one. It too, must have been enchanted to fit the wearer.

"Are you finished yet?" asked a very impatient Draco.

"Yes, actually. Let's go now."

"First good idea you've had all night," he declared. Draco hurried to the door and opened it.

"My wand?"

"Here," he thrust it angrily at me. "Now come on." I nodded and we began walking as swiftly as possible, without drawing attention. Five minutes after we had left, the first problem arose. A Death Eater sentry stood at the head of the black marble staircase. He had black robes on and a white pointed mask. Looked to me rather like the Grim Reaper, but... The man heard us approaching and spun around.

"Ah, good evening, Mister Malfoy. That girl- I was given strict orders not to let her pass. Take her back to the red room now. She is not allowed to be outside of that room."

"Oh, you see--" I began trying to come up with a plausible explanation.

"Be quiet," Draco ordered. "You see, we were just on our way--Obliviate!" He had grabbed his wand and cast a charm with the speed of a striking cobra. The man staggered backwards a couple of steps and fell to the floor. He hit his head on the stair railing as he fell, so the Death Eater had been knocked unconscious and had a small gash on his head that was bleeding.

"What did you do to him?" I reprimanded in a whisper.

"Memory charm. God, you can apparate but you don't even know how to cast a Memory charm?! How pathetic."

"Shove it. Let's just go, okay?"

"Of course." He strode boldly forward, looking more like a king than a fifteen year old boy. I followed quickly after him, feeling decidedly squeamish.

We nearly ran down the stairs in our hurry to get out of this dratted castle. As we reached the first set of doors, Draco threw out his arm, catching me sharply in the chest and knocking the wind out of me. I stumbled back a couple of steps before regaining my balance. My chest felt sore now, so I just added that to a list of things I'd be complaining to Voldemort about next time I came across him in a shopping mall.

I looked through the doors to see what had caused Draco to halt so suddenly. He glanced back at me and saw that I was standing on my tiptoes to see over his shoulder. Draco shook his head and whispered,

"My father. He's meeting up with a couple of his old friends. Igor Karkaroff, Natara and Grant Lestrange," he ticked them off on his fingers, "Even Annalise and Jade Malfoy, my cousins. Those girls can't be even twenty yet."

"So what are we going to do?" I hissed. "We can't just stand here and wait!"

"Shh...I'm trying to think. An invisible spell would help. I'm not sure which one would work, though. Maybe a shielding charm, but I'm not really sure how well that would work either. Come on Draco," he muttered to himself. "Aha! An invisible shield charm. I think I can do one of those. All right, the incantation is...um...er...oh, yeah. I'm pretty sure it's Proté Mener. Alright, here goes." He turned to me and pointed his wand at me. I closed my eyes and heard him whisper, "Proté Mener!"

I felt as though my body had suddenly been doused in cold water. I was chilled, but soon I began to become accustomed to the coldness. I opened my eyes to see Draco staring blankly around him. I waved my hand in front of his face, but he didn't react.

"Uh, Draco. Hiya! Can you see me? Have you gone blind?" He looked at me. Oh no, revision, THROUGH me. His eyes showed plainly that he was unable to see me. Draco nodded gladly when he heard my voice.

"Good. It worked. We can go now. You'll go out the door first. I'll try to get out the door straight after you. My father and his bunch will probably be too wasted to even notice me leave. Just go on ahead, and I'll make sure that they don't see the door opening and closing."

"Okay. Be careful, alright?"

"Yeah, whatever." He shrugged my concern away. I ignored his uncaring gesture and hugged him.

"I was serious. Don't get caught. You'll be in trouble." I pulled away from him and went through the doors.

The group of Death Eaters stood chatting (yes I put Death Eaters and chatting in the same sentence!). I could tell the Malfoys from the rest because of their silvery hair. Lucius was wasted, that much I could tell. His pupils were small, and I tried not to snigger at his appearance. Draco walked in the doors right after me, and one of the Malfoy girls acknowledged him warmly.

"Cousin! What a delight to see you! Do come join us, won't you?"

"Sorry, Jade," he answered coolly to the young woman (presumably Jade). "I was just off to take a stroll."

"Let me come with you. Please?" the snobby-looking girl asked. Apparently, she was a bit more interested in Draco than he'd have liked.

"No thank you, Jade. I would like to be alone, if you wouldn't mind."

"Son, Jade may come with you if she desires," the oh-so-very drunk Lucius said.

"Oh, thank you Uncle," the girl said with a sugar-sweet smile. I scowled and continued walking to the door.

Draco wore a scowl that mirrored my own. Jade rushed over to him and hooked her arm through his. This was a bit more physical contact than he liked, which was obvious from his expression of deepest disgust and loathing. He tolerated it, however, and escorted the girl to the door.

I waited by the door for him to open it. He seemed to sense my presence and pulled the door open wide.

"Ladies first," he offered. Jade went through and waited for Draco to come out. I touched Draco's hand, to tell him that I was going ahead. He nodded minutely as I hastily went out into the dark. I ran silently past Jade and stood at the bottom of the steps.

Jade was wearing a royal blue dress, much like the green I had had on earlier. It swooshed as she moved and was too frilly for my tastes. However, as I was not the person wearing the dress, I couldn't complain.

Draco and Jade began to walk down the silent path, towards the gates. She kept on chattering about how romantic the walk was and how much she loved it outside. I could almost feel how tired Draco was of it all. This girl was costing him a lot of energy, as he tried not to kill her. I walked beside him, our hands occasionally bumping. He only looked at me once, so that Jade wouldn't notice some suspicious behaviour.

"Could you stun her?" Draco asked me quietly.

"Possibly. Why?"

"She's an annoying dolt, and I don't want to put up with her any longer. What more do you need?"

"I can't," I suddenly realized. "You said I can't do magic in the grounds."

"Damn. You're right. I suppose I'll have to do it. Right then, how does it--"

"Draco, darling, why are you talking to yourself?" came Jade's voice.

"You may NOT call me darling!" he exploded at her. "Now--" He stopped and turned to Jade, his wand out. "Stupefy!"

Jade fell to the ground, unconscious. Her long, silvery hair was splayed out around her face. Its color reflected the moonlight, giving the impression that she was glowing. Her eyes were closed, concealing their pretty blue color.

"Um, you know she's going to remember that you did that, right?" I asked carefully.

"Yes. I'll tell my father that she was being a simpering idiot. He shouldn't give me too much of a beating." Of course, this contradicted the grimace on his face. I frowned and asked,

"Might you use a memory charm? You never know, it could work."

"No, I would have to wake her. I'll just take the punishment."

"He's evil, your father. Isn't he?"

"No." Draco looked to me. "He's not evil. He's just...it's none of your business." Draco threw up his defenses again. Trying to get him to tell me any more would have been like talking to a wall.

"Sorry," I apologized quietly. "This is bugging me. Take the invisibility charm off."

"Why? It's safer this way. Just a little while longer. I'll take it off as soon as we reach cover."

"Okay, I guess."

We were soon obscured from the castle, so that no one looking out one of the windows would know that something was amiss. I followed Draco over to the line of trees that marked the side of the path. He pulled back some of the branches, revealing a sort of tunnel, devoid of undergrowth and bushes. I walked underneath Draco's arm into the new, dark lane.

He came after me, letting the branches fall back into place. Had anyone looked at where we'd just gone in, it would be as if nothing had moved from its original position. Draco had been right, this was sure to cover our tracks.

"Now, please take this charm off. It's freaking me out."

"Yes. The counter curse is--"

"Who's there?" a new voice broke in on our conversation.

"Who're you?" Over Draco's shoulder, I saw a boy. He repeated his query.

"Who's there?"

"Potter?"

"Malfoy?"

"What are you doing here?" Draco asked suspiciously.

"Erm, that's not important. Just forget you ever saw me. I'm just trying to--"

"Oh, hold on a minute, I know. Okay, come here." This last order confused me. Why would he ask Harry to come to him? Then I realized he was talking to me. I walked over to Draco and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Okay good. Now--"

"Malfoy, why're you talking to yourself?"

"I'm not. I happen to be talking to your girlfriend. Now shut up and let me finish this. Défai Proté!"

I now felt like I had been stuck under an enormous blow-dryer. My hair flew back from my face, and the skirt of my dress billowed out behind me. I tried not to allow myself to step back, or be pushed back. Suddenly, it all stopped and the boys' eyes turned to me.

Harry shoved Draco out of the way and threw his arms around me. I felt him kissing my neck and cheeks. He smelled like rain, oddly enough. His lips were light on my neck as he kissed me. I hugged him back, glad that my pause had not ended his tight embrace. Harry finally let go of me, and looked down into my eyes, flushed.

"I was so worried. I got this letter saying you had been taken. It had a map. It said that if I told anyone about it, you would be killed. How are you?" He said all of this in a rush, and was very out of breath by the time he finished.

"I'm fine. Well, mostly fine. I'm just trying to get out of here. Let's go back to Hogwarts. I can apparate, and you two can--how did you get here?" I asked curiously.

"I, um, flew. It was only about three hours to get here. I can't go back yet. I'm going to kill him. Voldemort is going to be dead by the time I'm through with him..." he faded off into a long string of curses and ways he would have liked to disembowel Voldemort.

"No, Harry. We're going NOW. Come on. I'm serious. Next time we see him you can kill him, but not now. Just trust me on this one," I told him.

"No way am I leaving without having him dead," Harry's temper flared. "He threatened you and I am going to kill him." Draco made a noise of disgust.

"Oh, for god's sake, just stop already. Stop being such a prat. Just get out of here."

"I will NOT," Harry argued.

"Harry, I agree with Draco for once. I think we should just GO."

"You're taking HIS side?" cried Harry indignantly.

"Yes," I said, raising my eyes to his. "I am taking his side. Now, may we GO?"

"No. You can go, and I'll just stay here. I'll defeat him on my own. Malfoy, take her back to Hogwarts."

"I can't go back. My father--"

"Oh, yes. I forgot. Your father had something to do with this. Of course, why wouldn't he be? He is a Death Eater, after all," Harry muttered irritably.

"Potter, I'm warning you if you don't shut your trap, I swear I'll--"

"Shut up, the both of you. I can't stand your bickering. Harry, we're leaving. NOW." I grabbed his hand and began to pull him down the dark path. He dug his feet into the ground, and I couldn't pull him any farther.

"No," he said shortly. Harry pushed past me and began to walk back the way we had just come. I ran after him, leaving Draco standing alone. When I reached Harry, he was nearly out of the forest.

"Harry, stop. Please? Please." He did and turned around angrily.

"What? You don't want me to stop him, is that it? Oh, okay."

"Look, I'm not going to MAKE you leave, but if you won't, then I'm coming back with you. I can't let you go alone."

"I won't let you. Just apparate back to the castle, tell Dumbledore where I am and what I've done, and then tell Ron and Hermione."

"No. I'm coming with y--"

"Sorry to stop the lover's squabble, because though it was very entertaining, I think we might need to get back to the matter at hand. Like how to get your idiot boyfriend to give up his ideas of nobility."

"Don't call us that. We're not 'lovers'. It sounds weird when you say that," I said, rubbing my shoulders for warmth.

"It bothers you? Oh, I understand. So you can't possibly fathom that idea, not for one second? Wonderful. Just wonderful," Harry muttered.

"I didn't mean it like that, I just...never mind. You're obviously determined to be stubborn and cynical. We can talk about this when we get back to school, but for the time being let's just leave. Draco, you'll cover for us, right?"

"Yeah, I'll--"

"No. I'm not leaving yet. Nicole, go back to Hogwarts."

"But--"

"Go," he ordered in a hushed voice.

"I won't."

"You will."

"I won't. I'm coming with you," I declared.

"You aren't coming with me. Malfoy, you'll tell me how to get in. I expect you to go back to Hogwarts, Nicole. You can just go back to school. This isn't your fight. Come on, Malfoy. Show me how to get in."

"Fine. Follow me," Draco said, leading him back down the path. They walked past my view, and out of the lane. It was as if no one had ever been here with me. I scowled and followed them.

"Ow!" I cried, tripping over a bramble.

Clumsy. I am so CLUMSY! Argh, my life is so horrible. Harry's gone to kill Voldemort, who is a cross-dressing maniac. Draco is taking him inside the Dark Lord's castle, and I'm stuck out here thinking to myself. Wonderful. Absolutely brilliant. Oh look, I'm turning British. Yay, I thought dispiritedly.

I DO agree that you are a clumsy fool, my conscience interjected rudely. I thought you would have realized it by now.

Thank you so much for your input. I'm going to go after them.

NO! Er, that is, I don't think you should. Harry told you to just go back to the castle and tell Dumbledore. I think he meant it.

No, I'm following them. I ignored my conscience's pleas and walked out of the dark path, into the clearing that was the walkway up to the castle.

I spun around, seeing if the boys had waited for me. They had not, apparently. Grumbling about inconsiderate guys who didn't care about a poor girl, I began the slow trek up to the castle.

Fifteen minutes and countless stumbles later, I stood facing the enormous black doors that led into the last place on earth I wanted to be. Just as I was about to push open the door, it swung open. In the doorway was the formidable Lucius Malfoy.

****