Two Souls

Chapter Seventy

     It isn't about until halfway through the Sorting Ceremony when Draco slides into the empty seat next to mine, not even saying a word.

"Tuckett, James!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"So . . . what was so important that you had to miss nearly the entire Sorting Ceremony?" I whisper to Draco just as Underbar, Katelyn was sorted into Gryffindor.

"Don't worry about it, love, I took care of it," He whispers to me, his voice faltering slightly. Like on the train, his hand finds it way onto my inner thigh and I don't object. I glance around the hall to see if anyone has noticed — is this his way of making our relationship public to everyone else?

The ceremony subdues and I forget about Draco's late arrival to the Hall. Instead, my attention is fixated on the enormous plates of dinner and desserts set up at the four tables. Dumbledore begins simple announcements intended for the first year whilst my fellow Slytherins and I begin to eat.

"I hate Blaise," Daphne mutters, wrinkling her nose with disgust and stabbing her fork into a piece of steak. "He is the most pathetically disgusting, vile, loathsome creature!"

"Did something happen between the two of you?" I ask with my eyes wide, quickly swallowing the bite of food I had just put in my mouth.

"Duh! Why do you think Pansy, Millicent, and I sat in our own compartment this year? He broke up with me last month over an OWL!" Daphne complains, rolling her eyes. "I think Pansy was more angry than I was today though, since she wanted to sit with Malfoy so bad."

I completely forgot about Pansy. She's not going to be very happy when she sees that Draco has gotten himself a girlfriend.

"Er — I should've figured that out. So, other than that, how was your Summer, Daphne?"

"It was so beautiful! My parents took Astoria and I to Paris!" Daphne gushes. "And I met a beautiful French muggle boy, he was so dreamy!"

Before I can respond, Harry Potter and Professor Snape emerge from the entrance of the Great Hall.

Harry's eyes meet mine and he immediately looks down at his feet for the rest of the walk to the Gryffindor table. His face is covered with fresh blood nearly everywhere. I'm surprised that no one else was able to notice it when he passed by.

"Did you see Potter's face?" I whisper to Draco, who has been suspiciously quiet this entire time.

"Yeah . . .," Draco trails off. He refuses to look me in the face when speaking, giving me a clear indication that he is feeling guilty.

"What the bloody hell happened to Harry Potter's face?" Blair enters curiously after having left to go to the washroom, clutching a book and sitting down across from me. "His face looked awful when he was with Professor Snape."

"Taught him a little lesson on the train," Draco chuckles, his eyes darting to Harry and his friends who are all intently watching him. "Like this," He says, standing up and pretending to step on a nose.

The Slytherin table shrieks with laughter, especially from Pansy and the girls. I rest my head in my arms on the table and close my eyes.

"To our new students, welcome, and to our old students, welcome back!" Headmaster Dumbledore announces lively. "Another year full of magical education awaits you . . ."

"What happened to his hand?" Millicent asks, causing me to open my eyes and look up. Dumbledore's hand is blackened and dead looking.

"It looks as if it's died," I say logically. "There are some injuries that can't be cured . . . old curses and poisons without antidotes."

Dumbledore clears his throat and pauses, looking at me and the rest of the Slytherins talking. Once we cease our conversation he continues: "We are pleased to welcome a new member of staff this year, Professor Slughorn. Professor Slughorn is a former colleague of mine who has agreed to resume his old post as Potions master."

The whispers that came flooding through seconds after echo throughout the hall, even Draco looks a little surprised.

"That job's jinxed," I tell the Slytherins, avoiding eye contact with Draco since I'm still upset with him. "No one has lasted more than a year."

"Perhaps it'll be different this year," Zabini says hopefully, as he had always liked Snape.

"Now, as everybody in this Hall knows, Lord Voldemort and his followers are at large and gaining strength," Dumbledore says in a mellow tone. "I cannot emphasize strongly enough how dangerous the present situation is, and how much care each of us at Hogwarts must take to ensure that we remain safe. The castle's magical fortifications have been strengthened over the summer, we are protected in new and more powerful ways, but we must still guard scrupulously against carelessness on the part of any student or member of staff. I urge you, therefore, to abide by any security restrictions that your teachers might impose upon you, however irksome you might find them — in particular, the rule that you are not to be out of bed af- ter hours. I implore you, should you notice anything strange or suspicious within or outside the castle, to report it to a member of staff immediately. I trust you to conduct yourselves, always, with the utmost regard for your own and others' safety. But now, your beds await, as warm and comfortable as you could possibly wish, and I know that your top priority is to be well-rested for your lessons tomorrow. Let us therefore say goodnight. Pip pip!"

The rest of the Slytherins and other students exit the Great Hall with loud commotion, while Draco dawdles and stays back and to tie his shoelaces. Like the most amazing girlfriend I am, I hang back to wait for him, despite being cross with him.

"You shouldn't have done that to Harry. He already is suspicious of you enough," I tell him now that we are in the comforts of the two of us.

He stands up. "He was listening in on our conversation, Amelia. What if we slipped up and said something about it? Or what if we aren't so lucky next time and Potter listens and hears something serious?"

I bite my lip. "Er — I don't know."

"Exactly. He may be your friend but you know he'll go running to Dumbledore the second he hears anything," Draco tells me and this time I don't argue with him. He has a point.

"Dumbledore knows about Voldemort and Death Eaters getting stronger. We can't be stupid about this," I whisper quietly as we walk down the deserted corridors next to each other.

"About that — I can work on the Vanishing Cabinet by myself. I don't need you to help," Draco tells me.

"Why?" I ask, getting defensive.

"If Dumbledore, or Potter, or anyone finds out I'm dead. I don't want the two of us taking the fall for something that's my fault," He tells me flatly.

"But Draco, this isn't your fault —"

"I chose this, Amelia! This is my fault and you know it! I could've stopped him from doing it to me and I sat there and let it happen! You're only in this because of me, don't lie," Draco snaps.

"We are doing this together. Whether you like it or not," I respond, my voice calm.

"Stop trying to be the hero for once and let me do this alone. You're only hurting yourself," Draco says, his voice cracking and storming off.

—-

Aww my bebs :(

How's everyone's day <3