The Serpent and the Eagle

Chapter Four - Look At Me

[As The World Falls Down]

[David Bowie]

There's such a sad look deep in your eyes

A kind of pale jewel opened and closed within your eyes

I'll place the sky within your eyes.

There's such a fooled heart beating so fast

In search of new dreams - a love that would last within your heart.

I'll place the moon within your heart.

As the pain sweeps through

Makes no sense for you

Every thrill is gone

Wasn't too much fun at all

But I'll be there for you

As the world falls down

I'll paint you mountains of gold

I'll spin you Valentine evenings

Though we're strangers til now

We're choosing the path between the stars

I'll leave my love between the stars

As the pain sweeps through

Makes no sense for you

Every thrill is gone

Wasn't too much fun at all

But I'll be there for you

As the world falls down

Makes no sense at all

Makes no sense to fall

Falling

As the world falls down

Falling, falling, falling in love

As the world falls down

Falling, falling, falling in love

Falling in love

Falling in love

Falling in love

Falling in love

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'So, what made you decide to be a Seeker?' Draco asked.

They were strolling along the labyrinthine corridors of Hogwarts, having left before the end of the feast, corridors that Draco and Cho, as sixth and seventh years respectively, knew intimately.

Cho took in all of this elegant boy as they walked along. Somehow, the word 'boy' didn't seem to do him justice. He wore a grey turtleneck sweater, teamed with tight indigo denim jeans. She had to admire how tight they were, and marvel at how he was able to walk in them, not to mention talk without his voice sounding as high-pitched as a soprano. He wore an emerald ring on his right index finger, and a platinum watch on his left wrist, its face studded with diamonds and emeralds.

'Ooooh...the fame, the glory, the mass groupies!' Cho laughed. 'How about you?'

'Oh, nothing so flippant as fame and fortune,' Draco drawled, 'although I have quite enough notoriety already, don't you think?'

Another merry laugh from Cho greeted this wit.

'You should have been a Ravenclaw,' she said, shaking her head.

'And you both should be in a pit somewhere!'

They looked around at the slim brunette behind them.

'Granger,' Draco said courteously.

Hermione's face was puzzled for a moment until it hardened and her brows knit together.

'Get lost, Malfoy,' she snapped, storming off in the direction of Gryffindor Tower.

'Always a pleasure, Mudblood!' Draco called as she disappeared through the large double doors.

'We're near the Ravenclaw Common Room now,' Cho explained.

'It's near the library?' Draco asked.

'Naturally,' Cho answered. 'It has to be! Especially when you take into account that we Ravenclaws are natural geniuses...'

'And the Slytherin Common Room is in the dungeons,' Draco agreed, 'mainly because we are all naturally curious about S and M...'

Cho spluttered with laughter, noting the haughty way Draco held his head up, his chin angled and a merry smile dancing upon his lips. Cho noticed how one corner of his mouth rose just a tiny bit more so than the other.

'Come on, into my room,' Cho suggested. 'No more little Miss Perfect Granger interfering in there.'

Cho went to the portrait and made Draco plug his ears while she spoke the password.

'Isn't that rather unnecessary?' Draco grumbled. 'It's not like I'm going to sneak in here, late at night, and debauch all the lovely Ravenclaw ladies...'

Cho threw him a suspicious grin.

Draco grinned back. 'You have the mark of a Slytherin, I suppose,' he confessed.

'No,' she replied, 'I have the mark of you.'

The Common Room was surprisingly empty, but it would not stay so for long. Lunchtime only lasted for so long, after all.

'Here's my lovely bedroom!' Cho said, gesturing to the wall.

'Cho?' Draco ventured. 'That appears to be a solid wall.'

'Call yourself a wizard?' Cho asked scathingly. 'Yellowtail!' As she spoke, an elegant archway appeared in the wall and filled with a heavy oaken door decorated with black iron fittings.

'Shall we go in?' she asked.

'Miss Chang!' Draco gasped, feigning a scandalised tone. 'I certainly hope that you are not plotting against my virtue!'

Cho gave a hearty laugh. 'With your looks, Draco, I reckon your virtue went out with the dinosaurs.'

'Au contraire, my dear,' Draco laughed, 'the dinosaurs are very much so alive and well...in Muggle museums.'

Cho giggled as she pushed open the door.

'Behold...the inner sanctum of the Hogwarts Head Girl!' Cho intoned.

Draco stepped inside while Cho pulled the door to after him.

'Well, what do you think?'

The white-blonde haired boy placed his wand on the bedside locker and turned to absorb all of her tidy bedroom. His stance was catlike and elegant, his body lithe and sinewy. Cho had seen his father and mother, and she guessed that the elegant stance was a Malfoy family trait. Narcissa Malfoy was more straight and graceful than she was catlike.

He was a born Seeker; his very build insinuated it. Perhaps he would make Quidditch a career for himself? Cedric had always wanted to...

Cho mentally shook herself. It was a very, very bad idea to start thinking about Cedric again. He was dead and buried, quite literally. It was no good to rake over the past incessantly, for it would drive her insane in time. She'd end up like Lady Macbeth, tormenting herself and eventually throwing herself from the battlements...

Cho eyeballed her current book contemptuously.

'Damned Shakespeare,' she muttered. 'Messing with my head!'

'How did you get unpacked so quickly?' Draco asked.

'Well, when I received the letter telling me I was Head Girl,' Cho explained, sitting on her bed, 'I was asked to come to Hogwarts for a meeting explaining all of my duties and responsibilities. I was also told I could bring my things and get my room sorted before term began properly. So, here we are!'

'Fascinating,' Draco said, not in the least bit sarcastically.

Draco caressed the room with low grey eyes that absorbed even the smallest detail. The room was meticulously clean, with all the books alphabetised and her school supplies packed neatly into a carved wooden chest. A statue of a laughing Buddha graced the low mahogany desk. A squashy red armchair stood nearby with a stuffed cat toy lounging drunkenly in its depths.

Everything was beautiful and exotic, from her bed (which was low and decked out in shades of red and gold) to the Native American dream catcher that hung above it.

Two golden dragons lay comfortably on the windowsill, one with a ball between its paws and the other holding a baby. They looked like Chinese Fireballs, but Draco had neglected his dragon studies recently.

Heavy volumes lined the bookcase in the corner, amongst them 'Hogwarts: A History', 'Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them' and 'Quidditch Through The Ages'. Draco even caught sight of some Chinese lettering along some of the spines. The complete works of Shakespeare lined one shelf, neatly placed next to a book of Norse myths, and beside that lay a copy of Dante's 'Divine Comedy' and Virgil's 'The Aeniad'. He was itching to have a look at this treasure trove of knowledge and history. The cold stone walls were spruced up with a beautiful, hand-painted fan that measured around two metres at its widest part.

'Is that fan an heirloom?' Draco asked curiously. He smiled victoriously as Cho turned away to face it.

'What, this old thing?' she joked.

'Indeed, that old thing,' Draco went on. He was over by the bookshelf, searching for the slim piece of metal and plastic that had caught his attention.

He glanced around, and caught sight of Cho dragging a footstool over to the wall. She was too short to reach it...how cute.

It was an overturned photo frame on the bookshelf as his eyes had perused the room. He picked it up as Cho turned to retrieve the fan, and turned it over to reveal a magically enhanced photo. In the background, the hoops of a Quidditch field stood against a blue sky laced with white clouds. It seemed to be summer time. Cho, looking positively radiant in a yellow dress, sat amidst the branches of a tree on the Hogwarts grounds, her arms wrapped around a person Draco vaguely remembered in a brown vest. She was biting her lip, blinking and smiling at the camera, while the boy made silly faces to amuse her.

' Cedric Diggory,' Draco murmured, replacing the photo softly.

Cho turned, the fan in her hands.

'Would you like to see it?' she asked.

'Naturally,' Draco said, regaining his composure. Cho folded up the fan and used her free hand to uncurl Draco's fingers. He smiled at her, his eyes meeting hers as she placed it gently in his cupped hands. In effect, they had been holding hands for that brief moment.

'It is as ancient as my family's line,' Cho said.

'So, it's roughly thirty years old?' Draco teased.

Cho waggled her wand at him warningly. 'Watch yourself, Master Malfoy!'

'Master,' Draco chuckled. 'I like it.'

He unfolded the fan as fully as he could manage, holding it awkwardly. 'It is a very attractive decoration,' he said.

'It's also a deadly weapon,' she smiled, revealing the razor-sharp blades concealed within its folds.

Draco returned the fan to the wall with a simple Wingardium Leviosa incantation.

'It's beautiful,' Draco replied as he worked. 'Very fitting for its owner.'

Cho smiled. 'Such things you say...' she murmured.

'Such true things, you silly girl.' Draco laughed.

He raked delicate fingers through his icy blonde hair, giving him a rakish look that made Cho's breathing deepen alarmingly.

'Isn't it funny?' she said softly, walking towards her window and staring between the lead-lined panes.

'What is?' Draco asked, joining her and resting his chin on her shoulder. His arms encircled her waist, resting long-fingered hands on her flat abdomen. They occasionally flexed out, tickling her.

'I'm the Ravenclaw Seeker. I've gone out with two Seekers already, and now I'm going out with the last House Seeker.'

Draco sniffed. He managed to fill that simple sound with amusement, and something verging on displeasure.

'Rather tactless, don't you think?' he said. 'Cedric Diggory is dead. You should have a tad more respect, maybe?' The rising lilt at the end of his sentence turned a hurtful remark into an innocent question.

Cho noted this in her mind as a skill of Draco Malfoy's. She should have realised. After all, he was a Slytherin. Manipulation was one of their many talents. Good grief, he had even twisted his own words to put pressure on her...the nerve!

'I thought you wouldn't care about that.' Cho pouted. 'I don't want to anymore.'

Draco released her and walked away.

'And what, pray tell, made you think I wouldn't care?' Draco enquired lightly.

His tone made every hair on Cho's neck and arms stand on end. It was as icy as a swimming pool in January.

'Well...your father is a Death Eater, after all...' she trailed off nervously.

'And is that supposed to make me less human than everybody else? Is that supposed to make me feel less than your precious Potter and his little friends?' Draco hissed.

'No! I never said that!' Cho gasped.

'You didn't have to!' snapped Draco, adding, 'And I resent the bloody implication that I am also a Death Eater!'

'Well, I kind of assumed you'd follow in your father's footsteps!' Cho retorted. 'The apple never falls far from the tree, after all.'

'So, am I to assume you'll work in a Chinese takeaway because of your ancestry?' Draco sneered. 'It's complete and utter bigotry, not to mention stereotyping. I love my parents; I can't deny that. But I hate what my father did to people. I truly do! Part of me is glad he's in Azkaban.'

'Are you serious?' she asked.

'Very much so,' he replied simply.

Cho took a steadying breath and sat on the edge of her bed.

'Sit down, Draco,' she said.

'No. D'you think it's easy having a Death Eater as a father?' he demanded. 'Have you even the slightest inkling of the sort of expectations they have? And d'you know what they do anytime their offspring turns out to be a decent human being?'

Cho's eyes watered at this outburst.

'No,' she whispered.

'They tend to kill them, Cho,' he explained, crouching down before her and squeezing her hands. 'It is not the nicest thing in the world to know that you have to conform to your family's ideals if you want to live, is it? And it's not the most pleasant outcome, but it does ensure that our family will never turn on us, en masse. I suppose it's better than what some kids have to go through at any rate.'

Cho was impressed by his sensitivity and courage.

'How about you, Draco?' she pressed. 'Would you ever kill a family member?'

Draco made a face. 'Maybe my aunt Bellatrix...she's a vicious bitch if ever there was one. And plus that, she gives the worst Christmas presents. Last year she gave me a set of rubber ducks.'

Cho laughed appreciatively. He was funny, too. He had pleasantly surprised her. She had expected talk of evil and converting her to the "Dark Side" as it was called, but instead what she got was a decent, honest, caring and funny young man who was much tormented with personal demons...and rubber ducks.

He paced forward and sat two feet away from her, on the furthest end of her bed by the pillows. He folded his arms across his chest and lay his right foot on his left knee.

'What do you want to know, anyway?' said he.

'I want to know why,' she said, 'you hate Death Eaters.'

'Were you not listening to what I just said about my family?' he snapped.

'Of course I was!' she replied, 'What do you think I am, deaf?'

'No. And do you like them? Death Eaters, I mean,' he said quickly.

'Of course not!' she answered. 'What do you take me for, a madwoman?'

'Why did you expect me to be one, then?' he demanded.

'I just...I - I don't know!' she stammered.

'Is it some sort of game for you, Cho?' he said, his voice trembling and almost breaking every so often only to recover swiftly, 'Am I just another name to add to your list of achievements? Another notch on the proverbial bedpost, what? "Oh, I'm Cho Chang and I've dated the Seekers for each house team except my own because I am my own house's Seeker, and I've gone out with two Triwizard champions, I even went out with the famous Harry Potter and now I'm going out with a Death Eater whose father is in Azkaban for the same crime! Maybe next I'll have a blind Muggle, just so I can say I've had them all!" Is that it?'

'Oh, don't get your knickers in a twist, darling,' she yawned. 'Melodramatics are tedious to the extreme! Really, Draco, you mustn't forget that we are only together for the sake of revenge against Harry Potter,' she pointed out rationally.

Long, drawn-out rants bored her. She tended to tune out when people raged like that, only absorbing important words. From this one, she had caught the words 'game', 'bedpost', 'famous Harry Potter' and 'Is that it?' and her brain had churned out an automatic response.

'Ah...' he spat in disgust, 'I wondered how long before his name cropped up. Tell me, Cho, how soon after Cedric died were you going out with Potter? Did you wait for the lad to be cold in his grave before you shoved your tongue down Potter's scrawny little throat?'

'Draco! You're making me out to be some kind of trollop!' she replied angrily.

'You're going out with someone as revenge,' he said scathingly.

Cho bristled. 'And what do you call what you're doing?' she demanded. 'Or is it a whole different set of rules for men as per usual?'

Draco flashed a sardonic grin. 'Ain't that always the way of it, darlin'? Now you be a nice little gal, and go make this hungry cowboy his supper.' His feigned Western accent confounded Cho. She considered concussing him with her Cleansweep, but thought better of it.

'I'm joking,' Draco proffered helpfully, his eyes sparking with amusement.

Cho laughed, mostly out of embarrassment.

'I had no idea you were such a raging feminist,' Draco remarked thoughtfully.

Cho shrugged. 'It comes with the territory, I suppose. Me woman, me angry with male dominance.' She shrugged again and fell back on her bed. Her arms stretched out, racing across the thick velvet bedspread and clawing at it briefly as she snuggled against her pillows.

'I suppose it's worth being elected Head Girl. I got this room, and this bed out of it!' Cho laughed, changing the subject with what Draco grudgingly called tact.

Draco had loved the sudden shift of her luscious breasts as she'd shrugged, the supple movement of her shoulders as they rose and fell, and the twist of her hips beneath the coarse denim of her jeans.

'Yes, it is a wonderfully...big...bed, isn't it?' he replied.

Draco only said this to distract himself from the desire she had instilled in his depths with that simple gesture. If only she hadn't worn that jersey shirt...the fragile mocha-coloured fabric, coupled with flared cuffs and a square neckline left enough to Draco's imagination to have him burning for her. The pretty velvet choker she wore about her delicate neck only served to inflame him further.

'Did you mean it, Cho?' Draco asked tentatively, lying on his side next to her. He propped his head up on his extended arm and looked quizzically at her.

'Mean what, exactly?' she asked, turning her head to face him.

'What you said about...only going out with me as revenge...' Draco trailed off.

Cho grimaced. 'This is awkward, Draco,' she admonished mildly. 'How am I supposed to answer this question?'

'Well, honestly seems like a good plan to me,' Draco said, raising a pale eyebrow.

Cho faced the ceiling again. Sometimes, she found it so much easier to be honest if she didn't look directly at the person in question.

'Well, it's not as if I despise you, Draco,' she explained, tossing a stuffed toy at the ceiling and catching it. 'I quite like you actually, but I don't know if I fancy you or not. I'm a little confused, to tell the truth.'

'Oh.'

Cho rushed her following words. 'But I like you anyway! Really, I do.' The unfortunate toy flew at the ceiling once more.

'Well,' said Draco, 'I guess I have to be honest, too.'

'What have you got to be honest about?' she asked, rolling over onto her stomach. The stuffed toy promptly landed on Draco's head.

'Ow!' Draco complained. 'Do you always assault your guests?'

'I'm sorry,' Cho apologised, leaning across him to retrieve the offensive stuffie. Draco was painfully aware of how close she was to him at this stage. He inhaled the woody scent of her perfume, wondering where on earth she had found such an intoxicating fragrance.

'Well, firstly I detest that vile teddy bear,' Draco said with a teasing smile. He then regained his composure and spoke seriously. 'I loathe Harry Potter because he scorned me from his first day at Hogwarts for no reason,' Draco explained. 'I was trying to be friendly with him, and when he spurned me I was mean to him right back. But then he got my father sent to prison, and for that I detest him and all his little friends.'

Draco paused for a moment to think. Cho remained silent, respecting his frankness.

'I wanted revenge on him somehow,' Draco continued. 'I wanted him to suffer. I wanted him to know what it means to see someone he loved torn from him. I know his godfather is dead and everything, but that's no excuse for him to be like a twat, don't you think?'

Cho giggled. 'Yes, that's true,' she confessed.

'Anyway, I wanted to kiss Granger in front of him, or maybe to steal one of his friends away. The latter seemed rather childish to me, but the former seemed perfect. He's always been friends with that brainiac, and perhaps I could...bring her out of the library, so to speak.'

'Very diabolic of you, Draco,' Cho commented.

'Why, thank you,' Draco replied, accepting this praise very mildly. 'However, there was a flaw in the plan. Two, actually. The first one being that Miss Granger thinks I am Satan Incarnate, and clobbered me full force in the face back in third year.'

Cho burst out laughing. Draco scowled.

'And secondly, you walked, or rather fell -' he paused to admire the effect this had on Cho, and went on feeling highly gratified after seeing her blush, 'into my carriage on the train. Since I saw you on that day, all notions of Granger left my head. I only wanted you, you and you alone.'

Cho swallowed, feeling her whole body on fire with embarrassment and delight.

'Go on,' she urged.

'I really, really like you, Cho,' Draco said, reaching out his hand to touch her waist, but pulling back just at the last moment. Cho could almost feel his touch, so close was his hand, and had closed her eyes in anticipation. Still trembling, she opened her eyes and saw that his arm was drawing back to his own territory.

'You say you don't fancy me, but your body seems to,' he observed casually. 'You are so obviously aching for my touch. I can smell the sweat on you!' he went on triumphantly.

Cho took his hand in hers and pulled it towards her waist.

'Don't be such a chicken, then,' she said slyly. 'I've always heard that you Slytherin's are supposed to be dynamite...'

Draco gently pried her fingers from his hand. She looked at him, her brow furrowed in confusion as he smiled and got to his feet. He brushed himself off elegantly.

'Not today, Cho,' he said firmly. 'Perhaps soon...I want you to fully enjoy all of myself. And though you'll deny it, the more you want me, the more you'll enjoy it. I'll be seeing you around, poppet.'

He paused by the door, and added, 'Anyway, the rest of Ravenclaw will be up here shortly.

He left the room. Cho sat up on the bed and watched as the door closed heavily. Her body was still quivering from his words and the closeness of him, and how he had almost, but not quite, touched her.

Damn it, the boy sure knew how to set a girl on fire!

That was almost certainly what he wanted...he wanted her to put on all the moves, he wanted her to initiate everything. Cho leaped form the bed and ran to her wardrobe to select her favourite red silk blouse. It had velveteen strips down the front, with sheer lace trim at the sleeves and hem.

Cho swiftly changed into it, ready to run after Draco if need be.

Just as she was unbuttoning her jeans, Draco opened the door again.

'Forgot my wand,' he muttered distractedly.

Cho left her jeans as they were and locked the door with his wand, pocketing it afterwards.

'Have you seen it?' Draco asked.

'Somewhere on me...' she hinted. 'But I've forgotten where. You'll just have to search me, I guess.'

Draco smiled. 'Oh, this is a wild guess here, but...is it in your jeans pocket? I doubt if that long, hard object is anything else. You are a girl, after all.'

Cho's jaw dropped.

'I told you, Cho, not today!' Draco scolded softly. 'You will have to wait. And this is not Christmas time; there'll be no peeking at what you're going to get.'

He eyed her unbuttoned jeans with interest.

'And your fly is open, did you know that?' Draco asked as he retrieved his wand without even tipping off her. 'Alohomora!' he incanted, unlocking the door expertly. 'Better luck trying to seduce me next time, sweetheart,' he teased as he left the room.

'Damned Draco,' she muttered.