Bloodthirsty Dragon

Chapter 3: The Dragon Plushie

Lita sat next to Draco on the porch of the Malfoy Manor, a grand building of old that was well taken care of. There was a sad look on both of their faces as they looked out into the well-tended gardens, not one turning his of her head to look in the others direction. They were silent. Only the wind whistling in the trees and the chirping of birds could be heard. It is very odd to see two nine year old children sitting on a porch in silence, even if they were brought up in the elite of elite society.

Lita sniffled, finally turning to look at Draco. "I don't know why Daddy wants me to go," she said sadly. "I could stay with Sevi! I'm sure of it! Why wont he let me?"

Draco said nothing. He sat still and silent, staring at a large oak across the yard.

"Draco," Lita said, sounding as concerned as a nine year old can without a whining tone in his or her voice.

Draco still said nothing and looked out into the yard, the corners of his small mouth hung in a frown and the pain in his eyes would have broken the hearts of all who would have looked into his eyes, if anyone were around to look.

"Draco! Please! Say something!" Lita pleaded, all concern of keeping her voice from sounding whinny was gone. She jumped up and stood in front of Draco.

Slowly, Draco looked up at his childhood friend. A silent tear ran down his cheek as he turned his gaze away from her.

"Draco, I don't want to go, but I have to! Daddy said so!" Lita said, sitting down next to Draco.

"I-I just don't want you to leave," He said slowly, choking back a sob.

Lita hugged him and started to cry. "I don't want to leave either!" Draco hugged her back and started to cry as well. They sat there like that for only a few moments, but to Draco, it felt like an eternity. He didn't want to let her go. She was his best friend! He couldn't let her go! There wasn't a single person in the world who cared as much about him as she did and he didn't want to let her leave, no matter what her father had said.

"You're not gonna forget about me, are you?" Draco asked, still sobbing as he pulled out of the hug.

"Nuh-uh," Lita said, shaking her head. "And just to make sure you wouldn't, I had Daddy buy this for you." Lita pulled a bag that Draco hadn't noticed before now between the two of them. She pulled a bundle out of it and handed it to Draco.

"Really?" Draco asked, taking the bundle.

Lita nodded. "Open it," she said, nudging him.

Draco did so. He pulled the string and let the paper drop. He found himself holding a little toy dragon plushie. Its body was dark green and its wings were a silvery-blue; its talons and horns colored gold. Draco smiled. "Thanks," he said. "Oh!" Draco stood up and motioned for Lita to do the same. She did. "I got you something, too. But it's in my room," Draco said.

"Let's go then!" Lita said, smiling.

Lita followed Draco into the manor and up several flights of stairs until they reached two large oak doors. They entered a dimly lit living room furnished with several squashy armchairs and a sofa. The fireplace was large and very fancy and old fashioned. The mantelpiece was adorned with figurines of dragons and griffins and on the walls hung a few pictures of Draco and Lita together, along with a picture of a single, beautiful woman of which Draco only knew from stories; his mother.

Draco hurried across the room and opened another large oak door. Lita followed him into another room. This room was different. The walls of this room were covered in bookcases, every one of the shelved loaded with books of every sort imaginable. It was furnished with a couple armchairs and a table. In the middle of the table was a lamp that gave off sufficient reading light. Next to the lamp was a small, brown paper bundle. Draco walked over to the table and picked up the bundle and handed it to Lita.

Lita opened the bundle hastily. The paper dropped to the floor to reveal a marvelously well-carved music box. The sides were decorated with blue roses and little swirls. On the top was carved a single, large blue rose surrounded in yet more swirls. "Open it," Draco said. Lita nodded and opened the lid of the jewelry box. Inside was a beautiful, tiny porcelain woman wearing a flowing blue gown. One arm held up a corner of the gown to reveal a tiny golden slipper. Her eyes were brilliant green and her hair the color of a raven's plumage. The music box played the tune to a Muggle song called "Everything I do," Lita's favorite song.

Lita looked up, smiling. "Thank you, Draco," she said softly, pulling Draco into another hug. Draco hugged her back, still holding the dragon plushie.

"Lita!" a voice rang from the foot of the stairs. "It's time to go, lady bird."

Draco sighed and hugged the plushie, a smile on his lips. 'But every one was happy, in the end,' he said to himself, remembering the smile on Lita's face when her father had told her that she could stay with her God-father, Severus Snape, while he and her mother were away in America.

He started as he heard the door creak open. "Draco?" came a soft whisper from the doorway, just barely loud enough for him to hear and not near loud enough to wake even the lightest sleeper.

Draco stood up and went to the door. Lita stood there, her face contorted with worry. "What is it?" he asked softly.

Lita motioned for him to follow her. Draco set the dragon plushie back down on the nightstand and followed her. She led him down the stairs to the Common room and they sat down, opposite each other. Lita looked up into Draco's eyes and sighed. "Draco," she started, "Pansy came up into the dorm and woke me up rambling about seeing you talking with some woman and she said that she heard the woman say that you killed someone. Draco, I know she was talking about Celest. Why would she come here just because you killed someone? You've done it before."

"Because, Lita. I killed a centaur," Draco said slowly, his voice no higher than whisper.

Lita gasped. "But Dumbledore will find out! They'll search the entire school!" she breathed.

Draco nodded. "I know that, but I wasn't thinking of caution when I killed the thing. Don't forget, I haven't fed in weeks."

"And now you won't feed for an even longer time!" Lita protested. "I'm sure that they will even have the forest surrounded!"

Draco nodded in agreement but said no more. He stared at the wall behind Lita, thinking hard. "Lita," he said after the long pause, "did you modify Pansy's memory?"

Lita shook her head. "No, Draco, I didn't. Why?"

"What if she goes to Dumbledore?" Draco asked.

Lita smiled. "I'm sure she won't, Draco. Remember, she adores you."

Draco shook his head. "What about that scene in the Great Hall tonight?" he asked. Lita nodded. "Do you really think that she will adore me after I yelled at her like that?"

"Oh no," Lita gasped. "After that, she'll go strait to Dumbledore."

"I know," Draco said. Suddenly, Draco jumped. He felt the phantom eyes on him once again.

"Draco! What's wrong?" Lita gasped as she saw Draco tense.

Draco felt the eyes lift and he let out the breath that he had inhaled. "I was nothing," he said. "Just a cold draft." 'Draft my ass! What would the hunter be doing in here? And how'd they get in?'

"Draco," Lita started.

"I'm going to go to bed," he said, standing up. "I think you should, too. It's late and they are probably going to be questioning people tomorrow. Good night." With that, he spun around and headed up the staircase to his dorm, leaving Lita alone in the Common room.

Lita watched as he left and frowned. 'Why did you have to do this to me? Why did you have to go and get mixed up with a vampire?'