Forbidden Love

Forbidden Love 02/13: An Angel to Love

Seventh Year

Send me an angel to love.

I need to feel a little piece of heaven.

Send me an angel to love.

I'm afraid I'll never get to heaven.

Dark green trees rose from the ground, effectively creating a barrier from viewing what lay beyond, deep in the Forbidden Forest. For the second time in his school years at Hogwarts, Draco found himself entering the Forbidden Forest with Neville Longbottom at his side. As Neville timidly followed behind Draco along what could be called a path, if one were to use their imagination, Draco again cursed his luck of being paired with Neville. Why had the potions master suddenly decided that choosing pairs based on alphabetical order was a good idea? As if the assigned task wasn't difficult enough without having to baby-sit for Longbottom. They had been assigned a rather difficult potion, and to make matters worse, they had to collect the ingredients for themselves from the depths of the dark forest that bordered the school grounds. Somewhere in the distance a creature howled.

"Wh-what was that?" Neville stammered.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Probably a werewolf. A hungry werewolf. So, might I suggest that we get a move on?"

Neville's eyes were wide with fear, but he slowly nodded his head in agreement.

"Good. You look for these three, and I'll look for the top four," Draco said, pointing to the list.

"I really don't think we should split up," Neville said.

Draco sighed. "What is the point of having two of us on this project if you're just going to follow me around? I'd be better off on my own, then at least I wouldn't have to baby-sit you."

Neville's eyes narrowed and he tightened his grip on his wand. "I don't need a baby-sitter, Malfoy."

Draco eyed Neville's wand. "What are you going to do with that, hex me?" he asked scornfully.

"Maybe I will," Neville said.

Draco turned his back on Neville. "You should put that away before you get yourself hurt."

Draco continued along the path, without turning to see if Neville followed. He spotted a small plant with violet leaves along the path and bent to study it. It might be Tristos, but he wasn't sure. He'd have to look it up in his herbology book when he got back to the dorm room.

"That's not it." Neville's voice came from behind him. Draco turned to him.

"What?" Draco asked irritably.

"That's not it," Neville said, nodding to the plant at Draco's feet. "Tristos. That one's Laetificus. Tristos is similar, but has bluer leaves. It's that one, over there." Neville pointed to a small group of plants at the base of a tall tree.

"I knew that," Draco said. He went over and plucked some of the delicate plant, which he placed in a small bag. "I knew he should have been a Hufflepuff," he muttered.

The two boys continued along the path in silence, gathering ingredients as they went. The ground was rough and uneven, and they had to be careful where they placed their feet to avoid falling. They stopped for a break along a small cliff that overlooked a shallow stream. The sun shone through in small patches where the leaves of the trees left a gap. Neville sat on an old rotting log, and Draco leaned against a tree.

"Oh, look who it is," Neville said suddenly.

Draco glanced at where Neville was pointing and groaned inwardly to himself. Oh, just fantastic, he thought to himself.

"Harry!" Neville called, waving frantically. Harry Potter and Dean Thomas waved back, and made their way over to the cliff.

"Hey, Neville," Harry said warmly. "Malfoy." He nodded curtly in Draco's direction. "Working on your potions project?"

"Yeah," Neville said.

"Well, I'm certainly not out here to enjoy the scenery," Malfoy said. "Or the company, for that matter. And, as much as I'm enjoying this little get together, I really do have better things to do. So, if you don't mind." Draco stepped away from the tree.

"Why do you always have to be so unpleasant, Malfoy?" Harry asked.

"Just one of my many charms, I suppose." Malfoy smirked. "Why, Potter? You gonna miss me?"

Harry turned away. "Not likely."

"Fine," Malfoy said. "Enjoy your afternoon with the squib."

"I'm not a squib, Malfoy!" Neville's voice rang out. "And I'm sick of you making fun of me!"

"And what are you going to do about it?" Draco taunted. He rolled his eyes. "Oh, that's right. You're going to hex me."

"Vehementer absentis."

Unprepared for the unexpected attack, Draco was hurled off of his feet and over the edge of the cliff. "Malfoy!" the three called out in unison, rushing to the edge of the cliff. The stream was only about ten feet below them. Draco sat in the water, leaning back on his hands, and stared up at them coldly.

"Malfoy, are you okay?" Harry asked.

"No thanks to this idiot here," Draco spat. "Just wait until I tell my father about this. And professor Snape. An unprovoked attack on another student. I'll have you expelled for sure."

Neville was visibly trembling. "I'm sorry."

Draco's eyes narrowed. "A little late for apologies."

"Malfoy, are you okay? Do you need help getting up?" Harry asked. He looked at Draco and his face paled. "Blood."

Draco looked down at his arm. There was a tear in the sleeve of his shirt, and blood was soaking through the fabric and pooling in the water around him.

"I must have cut it on one of the rocks," Draco said.

Harry pursed his lips. "I'm sure Madame Pomfrey can take care of it, but I'm no good at healing charms. We should get you to the infirmary. I'll go with you. Neville and Dean, you finish collecting the ingredients."

Draco stood, clutching the wound on his arm. Blood seeped through his fingers and down his other arm. He walked down stream to where the ground leveled out. Harry met him there and they followed the path back through the woods. Draco clenched his teeth and blinked tears from forming at the corners of his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked.

"I'm fine," Draco snapped.

Harry stopped and turned to Draco. "It's bleeding really heavily. We need to stop the bleeding; we need to put pressure on it. Here--"With one swift motion Harry pulled his t-shirt over his head. "--let me see your arm."

Harry carefully wrapped the t-shirt around the cut on Draco's arm. "Hold it with your other hand. It's not perfect, but it will help a little bit until we get to the infirmary."

Draco stared at Harry, who crossed his arms nervously over his chest.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Draco asked.

Harry smiled. "I don't know. Don't make me regret my decision."

Draco paused and looked to Harry, taking a couple of steps closer. "I guess that depends on what would make you regret your decision."

Harry stepped back, feeling uncomfortable and extremely vulnerable now that he found himself standing alone in the forest with Draco and no shirt.

"Um, well...you could treat me like you always do," Harry said.

Draco remained silent for a moment before replying. "I guess I deserved that."

Harry looked into Draco's eyes. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "Look...uh...let's just get you the infirmary. That's a pretty nasty cut you've got there."

"Right. Thank you for your help, though."

"It's okay." Harry smiled. "But you owe me a new shirt." Harry laughed.