Stepping Out Of The Dark

[size=4][b]Stepping Out Of The Dark[/b][/size]

Chapter One- Saving The Enemy

She's taking her time

Making up the reasons

To justify all the hurt inside

Guess she knows

From the smiles

And the look in their eyes

Everyone's got a theory about the bitter one

They're saying: "Mama never loved her much",

and, "Daddy never keeps in touch,

That's why she shies away from human affection."

But somewhere in a private place

She packs her bags for outer space

And now she's waiting for the right kind of pilot to come

And she'll say to him---

[/i]

Savage Garden- To The Moon And Back

~§~§~§~

"Get a grip."

Michelle Walentin was sitting in the Slytherin common room when somebody tickled her in the back of her neck. In a second she threw her hand back, and caught the wrist of the guilty one. She pulled in it and Draco Malfoy was standing in front of her.

"Hello Michelle," he said, looking innocent.

"'Ello, my worst nightmare," she said, throwing his hand away. She returned to her book.

"What are you reading?" he asked, sitting down next to her. She looked at him from behind her hair.

"'The Ten Most Effective Ways Of Killing The People You Hate," she said, not taking her gaze off him.

"Surely you're not," he said, still looking very innocent. Then he leaned forward to see what she 'really' was reading. But she slammed the book shut and hit him on the nose with it.

"OUCH!" he yelled. "You hit me!"

"If I didn't know that, it would be something terribly wrong with me. Now, burn Malfoy," said Michelle. Draco tried hard not to, but he smiled. But Michelle noticed, that he almost never really smiled. Michelle ignored him, for a while. But then he lay down next to her and put his head on her lap, smiling. Michelle grabbed him somewhere that made him scream in pain.

"Why aren't you bossing Crabbe and Goyle around?" she asked him as he sat up. Draco shot her an evil glance.

"They're still in The Great Hall. Why aren't you with your society?" he asked her with an evil grin. Actually, he did loads of evil things.

"My 'society' is up in 'ze dormitory playing 'truth or dare' or some other shit. Now shut up," she said irritably.

Michelle is a sixth-year Slytherin student at Hogwarts. She is tall, taller than Draco(who was measured up to something over six feet), with thick, straight, dark purple hair to her waist, and matching purple eyes. She had naturally smoky eyes and was pale and she had black highlights in her hair. And pierced tongue, eyebrow, nose, lower lip, ears and bellybutton. Draco almost admired her lack of respect for needles, since she did it the muggle way. She moved away from France when she was ten, so she could attend to Hogwarts(her French accent still there, though fading more and more). Ever since her first year, she had been very popular. And was hardly ever left alone. And so is still the case. But those rare times when she has some privacy, Draco Malfoy has a tendency to show up, and get on her nerves. And to make it worse, both she and Draco had been made prefects. Or, before Michelle it was Pansy Parkinson, but Michelle replaced her. And more time with Draco, she didn't want. But just recently, Michelle stepped out of the dark, before that, she was rarely seen by the other houses, even at lessons. She always sat far back, answering questions silently. Nobody knew why, not even Michelle.

She put her book away and started writing on a piece of parchment. You could often find her writing. Nobody knew what she was writing, but everybody wanted to know.

As Michelle thought Draco asked her what she was writing.

"Something for you," she said.

"Oh, a loveletter?" he asked.

"Something like that," she said, passing him the note. 'Non, il n'est pas,' she thought.

Bite me, he read off it. He looked up and put the note in his pocket.

"Such a sweet display of affection," he said, smirking.

"I like you. People always say that I 'ave terrible taste. But I like you," she said, looking especially evil.

As the night fell over the castle, making it pitch-black in the girls dormitories, Michelle went to bed. Michelle always went to bed around seven. Just so she could go up around four in the morning, to take a long walk in and outside the castle. Now in autumn times, she thoroughly enjoyed it. This morning she was up at three. Her best friend Liza, joined her sometimes, but not this time.

She went down to the common room and finished her Potions essay. When she was about to leave, she heard a familiar voice. Her spirit dropped.

"Going somewhere?" it said.

"Yes, and without you. So leave Malfoy, you sheep," she said without turning around. And then she started to walk away again. She heard him go after her, and caught up with her. He had to walk in a very fast pace to keep up.

"How did you know it was me?" he asked.

"I recognize your voice," said Michelle, walking fast down the stairs. Draco followed her, but missed a step, and fell. But before he hit the stone, he fell in to the arms of someone. Inhaling the sweet scent of vanilla, he looked up, and realized where it came from. And saw Michelle's smirking face looking at him. When reality struck him, he stood up and started straightening his robes. Michelle grinned devilishly at him.

"Not going to thank me for saving your face from being smashed?" she asked.

"No, I think I'll pass," he said, crossing his arms and sticking up his chin.

"Too bad. You know you're pissing me off," she said, and pinched him in the cheek.

"I am not," he said, crossing his arms. Though he knew he was, and that was his intention.

"Yes, you are," she said, starting to walk. "Care to fly to wherever the pepper grows?"

"No, and that was a new one," said Draco.

"I know."

"Where are you going?" he asked and followed her.

"Out," she said.

"At this time?" Draco asked.

"What 'ze hell are you doing up then?" Michelle asked, not answering Draco's question, and opened the big doors, leading outside. They both met the cold winter air with a shock.

"I couldn't sleep," he said. "How can you go out when it's this cold?"

"I like it when it's cold. And just because you couldn't sleep, you decided to annoy me. Great, just great," she said.

"Aw, come on. Admit that you like my company," he said, smiling as sweetly as a Malfoy could.

"Oh yes, just as much as I enjoy bathing in a lake full off piranhas in the middle of December, naked," she said frowning.

"Is anything wrong? You seem angry. Or frustrated. You know, frustration can be caused by lack of---," said Draco, Michelle stopped him warningly.

"If you finish that sentence, I will shove your wand up your ass and leave it in your throat," Michelle told him, her eyes squinted dangerously. Draco smirked, but didn't continue that specific sentence.

"You know that you can trust me," he said.

"Yeah, just as much as I would trust a werewolf to scratch my back," she said. Again, she made Draco smile.

She sat down on a bench next to an especially 'naked' bush. Draco sat down next to her. The stars was shining very strong, and the black sky seemed to never end.

"Well, isn't this romantic?" Draco asked looking at Chris with a mischievous look in his eyes.

"I 'ate romantic things," said Michelle, looking disgusted.

"What? But you're a girl!" he said, surprised, for a moment. She never told him this, and they were childhood friends. But, everything was possible with Michelle, he could see that in himself.

"Please, stop telling me obvious things! But I still don't like romantic things. Urgh...," she said.

"You're a very odd girl," said Draco.

"I know. If I was a normal girl, I would slap you. But I'm not," said Michelle.

"I thought you didn't slap people," said Draco with a smirk.

"I don't slap people. I 'it them, as I've said. Don't you listen?" she said. Draco frowned.

"I figured," he said, grinning tiredly.

"Why are you following me?" Michelle asked and rubbed her eyes.

"'Cause I've known you for as long as I can remember. And I still haven't figured you out," said Draco.

"Nobody 'ave, and I reckon that nobody ever will," she said standing up.

"But you're odd against ME. It's actually painful to be a too beautiful man. You know why, 'cause girls fall in love with me at first sight," said Draco with a superior smile.

"Yeah, bet the change their minds when they look again though," said Michelle, "Bye."

"You know that I'll follow you until I've figured you out. And that means that I'm coming with you," said Draco, quickly coming up on his feet.

"You don't say," said Michelle sighing. She whirled around and looked seriously at him. "Why did you decide to figure me out now? Wanna kill me?

"Has anyone ever told you that you're mean?" Draco asked sulkily.

"At least once a day," Michelle responded.

"Then why are you?" Draco wondered. Michelle opened the doors and walked in, then she replied:

"'Cause I'm a badass bitch." And yet again, Draco couldn't keep himself from smiling.

"A quarter to four," said Michelle, more to herself than to Draco. He yawned.

"How can you go up this early?" he asked.

"If I want to do something, I do it," Michelle said.

"You're really odd," said Draco.

"Pardon me, but you're obviously mistaking me for someone who gives a damn," Michelle said irritably.

When they entered the common room it was still empty. Michelle sat down in the armchair where she left her book the night before, and started to read it again. Draco lay down on the sofa next to her and yawned several times. After five minutes she noticed that he didn't say anything. She leaned over and saw that he was asleep. Ha lay on the side with his hands under his head. A strand of his silvery blonde hair had fallen down on his cheek. And he had a small smile on his lips, a real smile. Most girls(and some guys;) would've enjoyed watching Draco sleep, but Michelle didn't. She would be happy waking him up by putting some evil spell on him. But she wanted it to be quiet.

"Finally," said Michelle returning to her book. Around six Draco started to wake up. He rubbed his eyes and looked at Michelle. She shot a glance at him.

"What time is it?" he asked in a hoarse voice.

"Six," said Michelle. She had taken off her robes and was lying in the armchair with her legs over the armrest, which held a big proximity to Draco's head. Though they were covered in the legs of her trousers. She had refused to wear the part of the school uniform that was a skirt for the girls. She hadn't got out of the girls dormitory until she found a pair of trousers on her trunk. Draco looked at them and sat up quickly: "Breakfast," he said, and stretched.

"Good for you," said Michelle and removed her reading glasses.

"Care to join me?" Draco asked.

"Not really. But I will," she said and stood up. She grabbed her robes and threw them over her shoulder. "Lucifer!"

"Well, that was below the belt," Draco said.

"You know I wasn't talking about you, dumbass. I was talking to my cat," she said, pointing behind Draco's head. He turned around and screamed. At the back support of the armchair was Michelle's cat. It was very small for a grown-up cat. It was completely black with light blue eyes.

"Did 'e scare you?" she asked, smirking. Draco shook his head. "Yeah, right. Come on," she said, patting her leg. Lucifer jumped on to Draco's lap and down to the floor. And he followed Michelle as she left, with Draco.

The Great Hall was nearly empty. Not more than ten people were there. And none off them were Slytherins, except Draco and Michelle. Michelle sat down first, and Draco sat down in front of her.

"What's our first lesson?" Michelle asked, mouth full of toast.

"Potions," said Draco, his mouth also full of toast.

"With who?" asked Michelle, after she swallowed.

Draco groaned. "Gryffindor."

"Don't mess around with them," she said, digging her nails into Draco's arm when she grabbed it.

"Ow! Why not?" he asked.

"'Cause it is so unnecessary," she said drilling her eyes into his.

"I can't promise anything. And you should do something about those nails," he said, rubbing his arm when she let go of it.

"Nah, don't care about them," she said after she swallowed a gulp of pumpkin juice. Draco stared at her with narrowed eyes for a while and Chris noticed.

She slid her leg along his under the table and smiled like an angel. 'She has something eeeevil going on,' Draco thought and he grinned.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to keep your... legs off me," he said. She tilted her head and smiled. Draco smiled back. Then she leaned forward and whispered in his ear: "I used to think that you were a colossal pain in 'ze neck. But now I 'ave a much lower opinion of you!" Then she stomped hard on his foot and slapped him, not hard though. She returned to her toast.

"I thought you didn't slap people," he said, rubbing his cheek.

"Exception," she said irritably.

When they left The Great Hall the people were starting to show up. On their way out, Harry past. Draco was just about to say something nasty to him when Michelle grabbed his tie and shook her head slowly. Draco sighed and made another attempt. Then Michelle said something that made Draco smile, a quite nervous smile, which was very unusual for him, and follow her without trying again.

[b]~§~§~§~[/b]

"Settle down!" said Snape as he entered the Potions classroom. Michelle, Draco and Blaise Zabini sat at a desk almost at the front off the room.

"Today we will be making a potion known as 'The Mirror Of Fear'. It will show you what you fear most will happen. You will not be shown what it is, but at the end you will give me a bottle of the potion, and what you believe that it will show me, and I will test them. The ones who fail, will have to write an report about the elementary uses of the potion. The ones who succeed, will not have to. Start now!", said Snape, and they all started.

[b]¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨[/b]

"Isn't it strange?" Harry wondered. "Malfoy hasn't said anything."

"Yeah, that is strange," said Hermione.

"Who's that girl?" Ron asked, jerking his head in Michelle's direction.

"Oh, that's Michelle Walentin. Her family is very good friends with the Malfoy's," said Hermione, looking at Draco with loathe.

"Is she new? I've never seen her before," Harry asked curiously.

"No, she started the same year as us, she's from France," Hermione said, while putting the pulverized horn of unicorn into her cauldron.

"How come we've never seen her then?" Ron asked.

"She's very secluded. She always sits in the back. And eats breakfast around six in the morning. I've seen her many times in the library," Hermione said, and stirred in her cauldron.

"Well, considering she's with Malfoy, she must be as bad as him," Harry thought aloud.

"Now, she's actually quite fun," said Hermione, as she poured a ladle full of her potion into the bottle. When she didn't see, Ron aslo took from her cauldron.

"Do you know her?" Ron asked and put the cork on his bottle.

"I've talked to her a couple of times. She's in my Arithmancy class," said Hermione.

Harry laughed silently as he saw Michelle pulling at Draco's hair.

¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨¨