Courtyard
This is the courtyard to the prestigious and established
wizard school known as Hogwarts.
Of interest besides the giant towering school is the cabin
of the Keeper of the Keys, Rubeus Hagrid, the
A few simple minutes of the eventual interigation by the
fellow Ravenclaws and it became really obvious to them that she was indeed not
going to tell much beyond 'Draco is my friend. There's no rules against having
friends in other houses.' Well, no /rules/ exactly, and some people have been
known to have relationships with people in other houses... but with a
/Slytherin/? If any house would have a custom of non-relation with other
houses, it'd be them. Once they realized that was the only explaination they
would recieve, they left off about it. Even most of the Quidditch team. Likely
there will be other questions about it later though. She doubts she's that
lucky. Anyway, at the moment Cho is seeking a little quiet time between classes
and dinner. Her Herbology class let out not too long ago, so still drapped in
her winter cloak, she decided to spend a little bit of time outside, and the
lake seems to be the place she's opted to visit. Settled at the edge of the
shore, she leans back, her arms supporting her as she looks up towards the sky,
watching the clouds and silently wishing she were closer to them. Will
Quidditch practice /ever/ be back on?
Go to Professor McGonagall and find out. Why on earth does
he just keep coming out here? Maybe he likes to be cruelly reminded that
there's no Quidditch, so that means the Slytherin team will grow rusty... more
work for him. Or, perhaps it's because now, since there's a rule about leaving
the school, Draco's trying to get out as often as possible to savour the fresh
air, rather than attempting to find reasons to stay inside. Could be either
one, or maybe it just has to do with the eagle owl perched on his shoulder,
looking regal and important, sharp eyes surveying the grounds, Draco paying
it's shifting no mind. That's it! He's using the bird as an legitimate excuse
to get outside to have some fresh air. Where he's walking, though, has taken
him past the boundaries that legitimate excuses can cover and not only that,
but it's taken him to someone who doesn't even have an excuse at all at the
edge of the lake. He freezes, inhaling sharply, the owl giving an annoyed click
of its beak at sudden halt, a claw digging into Draco's shoulder as punishment.
Who really needs an actual excuse? Cho just happens to be an
outdoor person, and all this being cramped up indoors is making her ill. If all
else fails she can just ask Madam Pomfrey to give her an excuse, but she
honestly doesn't care. And maybe she honestly /wants/ to get caught, but that's
another story all together... She'd just rather be somewhere where she can
think and not have people (dead or alive) interupt those thoughts. Tough-luck,
huh? The sound of the owl and the inhale cause her to sit up a bit and glance
over her shoulder. Well, at least it wasn't a professor. She offers a smile and
says, "Hello, Draco." The huge eagle owl gets a glance and something
of a smile, and she suddenly realizes that she needs to bring her cat outside
one of these days... She really isn't searching too hard for legitimate
explainations for being out and about though...
The eagle owl clicks its beak, again, but the claws loosen
their painful hold, much to his relief. "Hello, Cho." He replies to
her, relaxing somewhat, then glances out of the corner of his eyes to the
creature perched high and mighty on his shoulder. The animal resumes looking
regal and important, the feathery breast puffed out, wings neatly folded.
"This is Dolor. He's my personal eagle owl that my family uses to deliver
post." But you won't find a creature this refined up in that smelly place
where all the others live. Dolor tends to stay at Malfoy Manor, with the others
of his high-class and respectable breed. Not only that, but Draco doesn't tend
to send very many letters home. There's the occasional one to Narcissa, or one
tattling on someone else to Lucius, but that's generally it. He can always use
one of the school's barn owls to deliver the post, however. It doesn't matter.
"He's... very handsome." Cho usually feels she
must compliment people's animals for some reason, but she honestly couldn't
think of much for Dolor. She can't say pretty, or cute, or adorable, as she
would to one of her friend's cats. She has a feeling he (the bird and the
owner) would be insulted by such words. He looks... very much like she would
expect a Malfoy animal to look. High-and-mighty. And she certainly can't say 'nice
name'. She's a Ravenclaw, and seeing as most spells are in latin, she's picked
up enough here and there to at least recognize context in certain words. Again,
sounds very Malfoy... "I've never owned an owl, but my family has offered
to get me one before. I don't use post enough to really warrant it
though..." Besides, she has her cats. "Did you recieve a post
today?" While that could be considered obvious, she still feels as if she
should ask.
He would indeed be somewhat insulted by the words, had Dolor
been called something along the lines of cute, which he certainly is not. The
compliment seems to satisfy them both, Draco smirking, the bird looking awfully
proud on his shoulder. If it could make an expression, it'd probably mirror his
master's. He lifts a hand and lightly pats the owl on its breast feathers, the
creature closing its eyes in a sort of contentment. "Actually. I'll be
sending post this evening, something that I would prefer not be left trusted to
one of those filthy barn owls. Dolor arrived only a little while ago." The
bird clicks his beak in a dignified manner. Yes, he's so very much better than
a pathetic barn owl and quite honored to be recognized of as so. "What are
you doing out here?"
Well, good thing she didn't think the bird was cute. She
/does/ think Draco is cute, but she probably won't say so. /He/ could hardly
pass for handsome though. Maybe in about ten years, when he all grown up. Cho
pushes herself up so that she's standing, just to make herself on the same
basic level as he and says, "Lucky that he was here to send it then."
She smiles brightly, even in the paling light of early evening. The question
gives her some pause, but finally she just shrugs a bit. "I came out here
to think and get some air. It's a perfectly nice day and I saw no reason not to
enjoy it." Not an answer that one of the staff would probably accept, but
it's true enough. "What are you going to send, if you don't mind me
asking?"
Cute. Pretty. Both of them fit Draco, who's features are
more feminine due to his youth. That's something that will hopefully go away as
he grows older. Nothing would be more embarrassing than to be called 'pretty'
and you happen to be twenty-five years of age. "It's just something for my
father." His tone of voice gets that sort of 'stop snooping in my personal
affairs, it's not any of your business' edge. And to prove that he doesn't want
to talk about it any future, the Slytherin immediately hops onto another topic,
still brushing his fingers lightly against Dolor's soft feathers. "I seem
to have a habit of interupting you whenever you're out to think."
At the tone, she nods, apparently choosing to back off. She
won't ask more and take that as enough of an answer. At the change in subject,
a smile creases her face again, touching her eyes. He does seem to interupt
some of her trips to find privacy and think. It's almost as if she gives out
this beacon that makes him subconsiously come to her. She knows she doesn't,
but one might want to look into a magical explaination of this if it happens
too many more times. This /is/ the Wizardry world, after all. Her response?
"Yes you do. Maybe I should start thinking in the shower." There's a
pause, and suddenly she corrects herself. "So you don't interupt me."
Just in case he takes that the wrong way. Cho really doesn't want to start
blushing here.
*O_o*; His face abruptly goes bright-red, even if hers
doesn't. No, she shouldn't of said that, because he certainly does take it the
wrong way. The plus side to this is probably that he's not being attacked by
mental images, at least. If the eagle owl could laugh, it would be doing so
right now. The beedy black eyes reappear and move from the Ravenclaw to his
master. "Yes..." Draco finally manages to regain some of his
composture, but the blush still blazes on his pale face. "That'd be an
idea. *@_@*;
It takes a few moments, but after he response, Cho's own
face gets flushed. Not quite as brightly, but still. For a second, he almost
reminds her of Harry, though he certainly has more reason to turn as red as a
beet than the Gryffindor has. And no, she has yet to figure out why the certain
young man blushes around her all the time. She's just convinced he does that
with every girl. If she ever sees him interact with others, she might start
thinking different. Draco on the other hand, has every reason to blush when he
does, so she doesn't think anything of it either. She clears her throat and
looks away towards the lake before she says, "Anyway, you do seem to do
that quite often. No fault of your own, I'm sure." He isn't the type to
intentionally seek her out after all...
No, it certainly isn't his fault. Just in the right place at
the right time, as the saying goes. "I suppose not." Draco agrees,
the blush taking it's damn sweet time in fading from his features. Go away
faster. Looking like a tomato-cheeks isn't very fun unless it's someone else
besides him. The eagle owl shuffles a little on his shoulder, feathers
fluffing, then settling down again... perhaps it's because Dolor is getting a
wee bit impatient. The amusement is lost in the situation, already. The bird is
truly a Malfoy pet.
"Not that it's my fault either." Cho adds after a
moment, mainly because she's having a hard time thinking of things to say since
he's still blushing and his bird is getting impatient. Oh! There, "You can
go ahead and send the letter now if you want. I won't try to see what it
is." And she honestly won't either. She'll still be curious, and she might
mull over it for an hour when her mind has nothing else to go on, but she's not
a snoop. She only asked because he's her friend, and friends like to know
things about each other. She'd probably tell him most things he asked of her,
if it wasn't /too/ personal. Doesn't mean she'll tell the whole truth though...
He doesn't really talk about himself, much, unless it's some
sort of conquest or when he happens to be whining about mostly pointless
matters. His conversation with Harry back in Madam Malkin's Robes For All
Occasions, back when they had been starting Hogwarts, was just that. Bragging.
Draco's the type who's more likely to lie or be vague when the questions get
personal. He shrugs in silent agreement, then slips the hand that had one pet
Dolor and removes a neatly folded sheet of parchment. The bird clicks its beak,
then offers a leg for him to fasten the letter to, which he does, one-handed,
followed by lifting his arm, the one that the eagle owl has found a perch on.
The bird shuffles down to about the elbow, spreads it's magnificent wings and
then... you know the rest, it takes off and soars away over the trees to Malfoy
Manor, where ever that may be. Heh.
Dark hazel eyes follow the bird's flight, but they didn't
try to look too closely why he put the letter in. She's good to her word, most
the time. Cho continues to stare in the direction it vanishes for a while, then
says softly under her breath, "I bet your home is beautiful."
Probably huge too. Lots of gardens and other such things. Have to show off if
your rich after all. The home that she grew up in was very modest, but nicer
than most. It certainly wasn't like the Burrow or anything. Though it probably
wouldn't take up a fourth of the rooms in the Malfoy Estate most likely. Maybe
not even a tenth! She honestly doesn't care much about people's homes, houses
don't make a person, but she does think that the manors are particularly nice,
either way. She turns to face him again, smiling. "You probably have your
own Quidditch field, don't you?"
And with that, he begins to laugh, pleasantly, obviously
amused by the question. Malfoy Manor is a rather big place, but having a
Quidditch field would be pushing it. "Actually, I don't. There's a field
where I may practice, but that's it. The rest of the grounds are just trees and
gardens, some of them being much older than I am. House elves tend to them constantly."
Probably because they're beaten into doing so, but, eh. "Malfoy Manor is
rather nice, though. It's a beautiful place. I'm sure you'd probably like
it." What it looks like, that is, not what happens inside it.
Bragging, most definately. "There's a field in my
neighborhood where the Wizard children can practice, it's not proper size, but
it's hidden enough." She has to share it with a couple dozen young people
though, so it's hardly the same. Cho continues to smile, even though he very
obviously has more than she'll likely ever hope to have. "I'd probably
like it. My grandparents in
Yes. He's grumpily allowing it and grudgingly putting up
with it. Draco never had promised anything when it began, he had said for her
not to expect anything and that's just the way the cookie crumbles. Who knows
why he still sticks around, too. She's given him more grief in the past month
than anyone else ever has, that's for sure. "Maybe. But what would happen
if you recognized the exterior surroundings? Malfoy Manor is unplottable on a
map." And for good reason, too. Although this is fact, he says it in a
joking manner. "If you're lucky, you just may see it, one day. Can't
garuntee anything, though."
Taking the joke as a joke, Cho laughs softly, "I doubt
I'd recognize it. I haven't seen very many 'manors'." Her mother's family
has the closest thing she's every seen to one, and it probably wouldn't fill an
entire Malfoy garden. Now, her father's parents had what would probably be
considered a manor, in
It feels good. Draco likes it. There's nothing more
satisfying than knowing that only a few words can control the friendship and
cause it to go any way that he wants. Wonder what'll happen when that control
is shattered, hmm? "Forgive me for being the person I am." Said in a
bit of a snide tone with a smirk, refering to his behavior in regards to
promises and garuntees.
"I could never forgive you if you were anything
else." Cho says after a brief pause. She does honestly mean it. Confusing
he certainly is, and she doubts he will ever be different, but he is more or
less honest in his personality. If he wasn't who he is, asshole, male pig,
jerk, emotional retard and all, he wouldn't be him. The charming and
occassionally friendly sides are nice though. She hopes they don't vanish
completely either. She bends down and picks up a small flat stone from the
sandy beach-like lake-shore and throws it towards the lake. It skips along the surface
twice before floating down, hopefully not bothering the squid.
Oh, he certainly knows about the squid and frowns, watching
the stone skip over the water. What if the creature did happen to awaken and
decided to attempt to drown she who had disturbed it? Draco's not about to go
diving into the cold water in order to save her. For one, he can't swim all too
well. He'd probably want to, but would probably drown in the process. The
blonde Slytherin isn't normally the honorable, self-sacrificing type unless it
is truly called for, he practically left Potter to die in the
Oh, Cho honestly doesn't /expect/ anything out of him,
remember? Just the fact that he'd /want/ to possibly try to save her is more
than enough. She looks back over to him, apparently the squid remained
undisturbed. There's so much of the lake it could currently be resting in after
all. Her smile grows, fueled by his own faint attempt at one. "We should
probably head back in. The sun's likely going to set soon." The sky has
already starting to turn colors, and the sun's partly hidden as it is. Still
enough light to see by though.
The smile is reduced to a mere bored expression.
"That'd probably be a good idea." He agrees, casting a quick look up
towards the reddening sky before glancing back at the girl, again. Then, he
just simply turns, his robes doing that Batman cape effect while he just walks
away from the lake. "Coming?" Is all Draco says, but he sure as hell
isn't going to be sticking around to hear an answer. She's gonna have to catch
up, although he hasn't gotten too far, yet.
If he had gotten very far, than she likely wouldn't make a
very good Seeker. She /can/ move on the ground, after all. Not as fast as some
people though. She likes the air more, even if her father still doesn't
understand the concept of Quidditch or brooms at all very well. Non-European
Wizards are strange... Cho doesn't respond until she's walking next to him,
having moved to catch up soon after the swishing of his cape. That was kinda
regal and mysterious... Anyway... "I was the one who suggested it."
She almost seems to add a silent 'pet-name' at the end there, like 'baka'
(oops, wrong theme) or 'silly'.
He keeps his pace simple and relaxed, but probably has a
tendancy to take bigger strides than the girl beside him due to his few inches
of height advantage. "Huh?" He blinks, then glances down, confused,
almost as though taking in for the first time that he hadn't thought of the
bright idea. "So you did." Draco admits, then faces forwards, again,
continuing with the same pace. The young Malfoy is certainly in no hurry.
Her pace is set to match his, movements a little quicker to
make up for the difference in leg length. Cho looks over as he gives her that
confused look and chuckles, shaking her head for a moment. "The world
doesn't revolve around you, Draco Malfoy." Why she picked that time to
throw out that little tid bit is anyone's guess, but it's said in a pleasent
voice. She isn't insulting him, she's just making a statement.
IT DOESN'T?! O_O He must pay someone to change that rule.
o_o The world has to revolve around him. It would fall apart without him!
And... stuff. He looks back, shocked this time, jaw dropping open to protest,
the bridge of his nose wrinkling. "I never said that it did, thank you
very much." Harumph.. Now his pace changes a little due to irritation. All
Draco just does is speed up somewhat, though.
There's a light chuckle, and Cho doesn't try to match his
change in pace, so he gets a few feet in front of her before she adds, "I
never said you did. But this friendship does." It revolves around him
completely. She's always trying desperately to keep it from drifting too far
away, or being blown off all together, but she knows deep down that if he
/really/ got tired or it, so tired that he couldn't put up with it anymore.
Why, oh why, is she reminding him of the power he has over this particular
aspect? Is she trying to test him? Once that is said she matches his pace
again, but this time does so where she is, so she's walking a few feet behind
him.
Perhaps it's not a good thing to make him more aware of the
power he has in the friendship, otherwise, Draco just may start to abuse it. He
stops dead in his tracks, making a multitude of expressions before finally
settling on one, but winding up looking at the ground rather than back at the
girl. Believe it, though, that he certainly isn't ashamed or sad. "If you
have a problem with it, why do you even bother to stick around?"
As soon as he stops, Cho does as well, putting her hands in
front of her, clasped together. "I never said I had a problem with it
exactly. I do, but not for reasons you would likely realize. As long as this is
a friendship where you have all the power, it isn't whole. I know you're not
ready to trust me right now, so I don't expect it to change right now."
And oddly, she does trust him, to an extent. Enough to allow him to hold onto
this and still want to stick around, but she certainly wouldn't be against
gaining some hold in the future. "But, since you asked, I stick around for
hope that it might."
Draco says, "Things won't ever change." He smirks,
then turns with his head proudly lifted, looking back in that arrogant sort of
way, laying a hand against his hip in a cocky fashion. "As it so happens,
I like having this power. Kudos to you for making me aware of it. I have no
reason to trust an inferior. I only agreed because it was a sort of gift, since
it was your birthday. There's no point in hoping because it'll probably never
come to pass." Draco's just putting together sentences, now, trying to
make some sort of argument and defense, even if it doesn't make a whole lot of
sense.
And for all of about twenty seconds, that trust is nearly
ripped away from her completely. For a moment, Cho is tempted just to start
towards the school and leave this as it is and stop trying... It's just not...
right that he can hurt her without even trying and she has to work hard to get
anything in this 'friendship'. But that only lasts a few moments. When it's
over, a sort of conflict seems to leave her eyes and she nods slowly,
"Probably not... But it's worth trying..." Is it? Well, she seems to
think so. She needs a friend right now and she's under the impression that he
does too. So as long as she thinks there's need for it, she's willing to try.
They stand a bit away from the school entrance, Draco with
his back to it and Cho facing Draco, having of been heading in that direction
before the conversation took a rather nasty turn. It's worth trying? A
friendship with him is worth trying for, even after what he just said,
especially the part about there never being any change and how he enjoys having
this power, the ability to end everything whenever he desires. "You're an
idiot." Is all the blonde Slytherin can think of to fire back at the Ravenclaw
seeker.
Since he's got his back to her, he can't really see the
reaction on her face, but anyone who happens to be approaching would. It starts
out almost angry, but then just dissolves into almost a tired kind of hurt,
like Cho just doesn't have the emotional energy right now to get too upset over
it. "Fine... I'm an idiot. But at least I think about other people. I'm
not doing this for me, Draco." That isn't entirely honest, part of it was
about her in the beginning. Helping him with his problems helped her with her
own. It was a give-recieve situation at first. Well, give-get slap-give
cry-give recieve-give get yelled at but hey, close enough!
Harry slinks out of the castle under the cover of his
invisibility cloak. While it's not necessary, he isn't keen on being shouted at
by a professor. With Hermione back, it's safe enough to get some fresh air,
right? Besides, he's sneaking off to take a gift back to her. From where he's
at, he doesn't quite see who else is out in the courtyard, just two silhouettes
from here.
Well, since Harry's under an invisibility cloak, being the
second person to spy on them, so far, Draco doesn't pay him any notice. How can
he when he can't even see him, anyways? That means that the conversation
continues, which isn't exactly a good thing... kinda. "Are we going to
start this, again?" It sounds awfully familiar to him... in fact, "I
seem to recall us having this talk in the library.... right before you SLAPPED
me." He adds in, voice the bored drawl, but with an edge of bitterness,
his hand moving to smooth over the poor cheek which had been struck.
Still looking too tired to get too upset, Cho just takes a
breath before she says in her defense, "That isn't why I slapped you, and
you know it." It honestly wasn't. It sort of helped build up to make her
upset enough at him to do it, but that wasn't the trigger that actually caused
it. "And I'm sorry I did it. I won't go as far as to say I wouldn't do it
again, or would take it back though." To be quite honest, she fully believes
he deserved it at the time. She's sorry that she did it, but not enough to wish
it never happened.
Harry's earlier plan is forgotten as the drawling voice of
Malfoy reaches his ears. Oh great.. so that's who's over there. Moving
carefully under the cloak, he walks towards the arguing pair. What? Cho slapped
Malfoy? Well GOOD for her! Wait.. she's sorry? What?? NO! You're supposed to
hit Malfoy and feel glad for doing so! He slinks to the side, careful to not
trod on any branches. He does feel a twinge of guilt at eavesdropping on Cho,
but.. c'mon.. it's Malfoy too.
"Oh. I'm sorry." Draco begins to sneer, his tone
soon changing to reflect it, taking off on a malicious note. "You slapped
me for the remark on Potter. I forgot. I seem to remember your praise for him,
as well. If he's so much better, then what are you doing here with me?"
Why does he have power over the friendship? Why is there even a friendship at
all? Perhaps he shouldn't ask himself these questions. He's starting to get
bitter about it.
"Harry has nothing to do with this..." Cho says
softly, still looking rather drained, hands tightening for a moment. The reason
she reached out to Draco is fairly simple. He needed a friend, though he would
never admit to it. Harry already has some of the best friendships she's ever
seen, and she's only seen them at a distance... While she does want to get to
know Harry better... that isn't the point. But, Draco's reasons for 'agreeing'
to this in the first part likely have something to do with the Gryffindor, but
she hardly has come to realize that. "Just leave him out of it,
please." Too bad she doesn't know about the audience.
Harry freezes in his tracks a short distance away where he
can hear everything quite well.. then quickly regrets that move. He should just
be on his way, but he finds his feet rooted to the spot. Must. Hear. Response.
Not that he could care in the slightest as to what Malfoy said about him.
Probably the usual about him being the defender of the weak and a mudblood
lover. Then again.. Cho praised him? No, Potter, clear your head. What? Okay
Malfoy.. let's hear your response u.u
He doesn't need friends from this lot and it's not because
he's a solitary person who just wants his space. It's because Draco's just too
damn good and superior comparred to everyone else! He got along fine in life
long before she decided to come along and mess him all up. "Potter has
more to do with this than you think." He begins, wondering if he should
say more... then decides to do so, "In fact, if it weren't for Potter
going all moony-eyed over you at the Yule Ball, that would have probably been
the last time I'd of spoken to you."
And there it goes. That piece of trust that she put in him
just seems to crack and buckle under pressure. Cho looks at him, that breaking
look in her eyes, then she suddenly turns around, putting her back to him, staring
farther into the Courtyard at nothing really. This is likely to cover up
further responses. It hurts, a lot, and she'd rather not have to let him see
her cry right now. But before she does start to do that, right after she turns
around, she has to ask in a tight voice, "It wasn't all just about that,
was it?" She can hold back tears for a little while longer, but part of
her wishes she'd just walk away right now. It's probably what he wants right
now anyway. She have to think about the moony-eyed comment later, but right now
she's too hurt to really digest that.
Harry was expecting a string of insults to be issued forth
from Malfoy, but not .. that.. Malfoy.. I /hate/ you. And it's not so much as
his embarrassment at Malfoy voicing that he was moony eyed, it's that.. he flat
out admitted that he was using Cho. It was a sneaky suspicion that the blonde
headed boy was doing so. He turns his back on Cho and Malfoy in order to hide
his wand movements should his cloak shift enough to make him visible. Seemingly
without warning, pine cones begin to lift up off the ground and launch
themselves of their own accord straight for Malfoy! At least it's not mud this
time. Without waiting for any results, he stalks off before he hears too much
more that will make him any angrier. He doesn't want to be hauled up before the
headmaster and expelled for trying to choke Draco with his bare hands.
The Slytherin sneers away to his heart's content.
"May--" *thunk* ... o.o "What the?" *thunk* >.>
"Who in..." But Draco doesn't manage to get out the rest, because
when he turns around to invesitage exactly what keeps whapping him in the back
of the head, he winds up belted in the face by an army of pinecones. @.@ WAUGH!
WHEN PINECONES ATTACK! @.@ The blonde lets out an odd little squeak and topples
over, not because of being hit but because of surprise, his arms flailing in a
comicbook-sort of fashion. Pinecones Vs. Draco. Pinecones: 1. Draco: 0.
May? While the pinecones were a noble gesture, Cho would
have liked to hear more of that, just because the chances that he'll actually
say what he was going to say again is unlikely. At the first thunk she blinks,
but doesn't turn around. Have they finally be caught out here? They sneak out
so much that she honestly wouldn't be surprised if the one time she honestly
wants to be somewhere else, they do. But at the continued sounds and the
squeak, and the sound of Draco smacking the ground (a sound she is very familar
with x.@) she does turn around to see... Pinecones. Pelting. Draco. The part of
her that is very hurt and nearly in tears doesn't want to do anything about
this, but after a moment she lets out a long sigh and starts towards him,
waiting until the attacking pinecones cease. "Draco? Are you okay?"
Her voice is a tad less concerned than usual. Surprised? Shouldn't be.
"Potter......" The boy breathes out the name as
though it were a deadly curse, using his arms to fight off the last of the
pinecones once he recovers from the fall, which does take getting over a few
seconds of disorientation. He, literally, seethes. Potter was here. That was
Potter's doing... Draco remembers the 'floating head' incident all too well.
So, now he's using the cloak to spy on people's private conversations... YOU.
ARE. SO. DEAD. POTTER. When he gets his hands on the Gryffindor, it may just
wind up being the Slytherin that tries to choke Potter, not the other way
around. The last of the pinecones fall around his head, but the boy's arms stay
raised before his face, just in case. "I'm fine." He gets out past
clenched teeth.
Potter? Why would he think Harry had anything to do with
this? Now Cho on the other hand, knows nothing about the cloak at all, not even
to the point of a disembodied head. She's honestly wondering if maybe she just
had one of those 'episodes'. If she was an untrained witch, sure, it could be
something like that. She was emotionally upset enough to cause /something/ to
happen, but she's got six years of training. The chances of that having been
the case are, well.. slim. Maybe it was a polterguiest though, Peeves playing
around in the Courtyard, for a change. She isn't going to examine it though.
She offers a hand down, not really looking at him at the moment. "What
were you going to say?" She would normally ask if he was all right again,
but she doesn't have the will right now to bother.
Perhaps, Draco may explain later how exactly Potter had been
involved with tonight's incident, but for now, he's more content with being
angry about it. The one disadvantage to being pissed off at someone with a
invisibility cloak is that they may strike at any time and you can't see them
because they're, duh, invisible. He mutters a nasty comment under his breath
about Potter's deceased family and then waits in silence, tuning the girl out
and listening hard. Had the other of still stuck around, he would've probably
struck the Slytherin again, but there's nothing. Thank god, but just to sure,
he waits for a few moments, looking almost... petrified on the ground, staring
straight upwards, his face, marked by a few light scratches, in an expression
as cold as ice and near furious. Then, he snaps out of it, looking dazed, his
hand lifting to take hers. "What difference does it make, now? Are you
that keen on being hurt some more?"
There was once when she told Harry that Draco wasn't trying
to hurt her. She can't ever say that again now... Cho doesn't retract her hand,
just watching him patiently. This does give her time to wonder about the
pinecones, and the other stuff that he said... but whatever conclusions she's
drawn are kept to herself. Either way, she's willing to wait for the answer as
long as she has to. But the answer isn't what she's given... Her hand tighters
around his and she helps him up, still looking near, but not directly at, him
with the same hurt expression. "If that's what you're trying to do, then
you've finally suceeded..." She is very hurt right now. Even more than
when Harry tried to tell her about what happened on the train. She could
forgive that. It's not like Draco had even known Cedric after all... but
this... "I just want to know the truth." That... would make a
difference. Whether it worse or better. Part of her just refuses to believe
this was all just about Harry...
He had also told Harry that he wasn't out to 'get anyone',
but that might have only been said in order to get the other boy off his back,
which it certainly did not. Draco gets to his feet with the assistance of Cho,
but doesn't seem to let go, afterwards. "The truth? What good will the
truth do? You want to hear it a second time? That I only bothered to approach
you in the first place because of the way Potter looked at you like a young boy
in love? That I only did it to get back at the years of humiliation he's caused
me?" No, don't look like that. Draco doesn't like it. x.x
Oh, no. That was so the wrong thing to shove into her face
right now. "Ha-- Harry? What?" Cho honestly gains another expression
under the hurt, drained look. Raw confusion. "What makes you think-- No..
he.." She trails off. How could he think that Harry would think of her
like that? Well, Cho, he does blush around you all the time... and stammer...
and seem to care a lot about how you feel... But.. no! He just... he's just feeling sorry for her
because of what happened last year with Cedric. That's the only reason he
wanted to dance with her. Isn't it? Didn't he try to ask her to the Ball the
last year, before he had any reason to feel bad for her? Arg... brain...
frozen... can't... continue... Finally the confused look vanishes, returning to
the old, but this time with a dash of something close to panic in her eyes. She
releases his hand as she adds, "Was it /all/ just about him? That's what
I-- what I want to know."
Why is he even bothering? He should of just walked away at
the first opportunity and not said a single word. That would of probably been
the best way to respond to this, but no. The Slytherin just had to stick
around, just had to get defensive, just had to say something that he'd regret,
if he could even feel such an emotion. "It was in the beginning,
yes." Admits Draco, after a few moments, seeing no reason to deny what has
already been stated as truth. "But later on... as I got to know you, it
became only... half the reason." Again, he won't deny that it still serves
as a factor of motivation, but that's not it, he isn't finished, yet.
"You've been the only one who's tried to be like an equal to me, despite
how nasty I've been in return. You don't look up to me, like the others do...
and you didn't judge me, either... Usually, I befriend only those who seem
worthy, but very few people meet those standards. You didn't seem to care about
that at all, you approached me, first, rather than my approaching you. I've
never met anyone like that, before." Mayday, mayday, inside his head, the
little voice practically screams at him to get out of here and yet, Draco still
remains. "I like you... and I don't know why. And... I'm sorry. I'm sorry
that I upset you, and yet, I can't find myself regretting it..."
Slowly, during the speech he might actually wish to take
back, even if he doesn't exactly know the feeling of regret, Cho's expression
begins to change. First goes the panic. She's not as quick to want to get away
from him anymore at least. She was about ready to turn and run right then if
she didn't want to hear the answer to the question. The next thing to go is the
hurt expression. Though it doesn't fade completely. She's going to have to get
a good long cry in private when this is-- scratch that. As he gets near the
end, a new expression appears. Surprise. "I--" she doesn't finish. A
few tears suddenly fall out of her eyes, but why? She's not all sad anymore, is
she? Well, it's mainly due to the fact that she was holding them in for so
long, and now she doesn't feel she has to. She offers a weak smile, under the
tears and continues, "Sorry. It's-- it's all right. At least you're
telling me the truth. I-- thank you." She's not crying hard, probably more
like the tears that he's let out in their many fights. It's more from the
emotional rollercoaster (err, broom-ride?) that she'd gone on the last dozen or
so minutes than anything that he just did.
Ack. No! Don't start crying! He'll start crying, too!
>.< He doesn't interpret it as pent up emotions and frustration being
released at long last. Draco thinks it's because of what he had to say and
despite what she says, that he's probably succeeded in upsetting her further,
unintentionally. The Slytherin reaches out, hand moving to lightly brush the
tears away, if he's allowed to do so. "There's no reason for you to
apologize to me. Just don't cry anymore..."
How is it that he can go from so cruel and mean to actually
pleasent and kind of nice in at the drop of a hat? Just being his friend is
enough of an emotional trip down to Gringott's vaults that she has every right
to shed a few tears right now. Cho actually lets out a small laugh as he says
that. "I'm not upset by what you said..." She won't explain that it
was the rest of the time out here that caused the tears, they just fell when
she no longer tried to stop them. That is all. She closes her eyes though, and
lets him brush away the tears, though they are joined by a few others as she
does that. It doesn't look like they'll have anymore company though, as she
takes a few calming breaths. "I just-- I do like you. Even when
you're--" An insensetive, insulting prick who's half in this so that he
can get back at Potter? Yeah. That. Not that she'll actually say it, but he
should get the idea. What she does follow up with is, "You."
He brushes away a good majority of the tears, even those
that fall afterwards, but the last, those that remain, well... he does lean in
towards her, to softly kiss them away. Remember that cruelty comes much easier
to him than kindness. He goes about kindness, itself, rather strangely, too,
unless it's in regards to the other Slytherins. Then it tends to be slightly
more normal. "Unfortunately, that's just the way I am." Draco mumbles.
"Like it or leave it. I'm not about to go and change, really." Draco
likes the way he is, even if others don't...
Eyes still closed, Cho feels the light touch on lips against
the sensetive skin that the tears had spread small tracks down before his
fingers brushed them away. There's a light tightening in her chest that no one
can see, but she certainly feels. Cedric... Um, Cho, wake up. This is Reality
and his name is Draco. Her eyes open and blink a few times, then a bright blush
appears on her cheeks. A flush of guilt, not embarassment, but he may not
realize that. What was he saying? Oh.. um.. "I know..." is all she
can really manage under the guilty flush.
Aw! Mean! Thinking of him as Cedric when they happen to be
two entirely different people. For one, they look and sound nothing alike. They
were sorted into different houses. And. Of course. Only one of them happens to
be alive and it certainly isn't Diggory. The blush just simply happens to be
ignored, though it should be no surprise if he DOES think of it as
embarrassment. Draco smiles rather faintly and that's about it. He has nothing
to say, really. Well, he draws back, moves his hand away, but that doesn't
count as anything verbal.
Not to mention the fact that Cedric was a lot taller. Her
face would have needed to be tilted upward a lot more for him to pull that off
properly. And she knows very well that he is dead... Cho didn't really intend
to think like that, she's just never had that particular feeling with anyone
else before and... she's just really confused right now. Even more than she was
a minute ago, if that's believeable. It was just because she had been upset,
and then he went all nice on her... yeah.. that's it. "Um.. so.. it's
darker now..." It's been darker for a while... but at least that might
cover up her blush some. She's really grasping for words now, isn't she? Well,
she's all confused here, cut her some slack.
Perhaps Draco's a sucker for these sorts of situations. When
the lady gets upset, he tends to back off. It even happened, in a sense, when
Hermione had said that she would never wish anything that's happened to her
upon him and back a few years ago, when she had slapped him for being a prick.
"Yeah..." She's not the only one who happens to be searching for
something to say. "We've been out here for quite some time." And
stuff.
Hmm. It certainly would explain why he backed off in the
Library that time, and why he was pleasent to her after finding her in the
Greenhouse. Cho tries to think of something
more, then decides to go for the obvious response. "We should go in.
Dinner's likely going to start soon." She /almost/ says that she's sorry
she kept him out so long, but she doesn't really feel like apologizing over
something like that right now. "Don't want people to wonder where you
are."
He snorts softly. Like many people will really care where he
happens to be when it's dinner time. Sometimes, he's there when the others are,
sometimes he arrives later and sometimes, he's eaten long before they have.
When the even is important enough, one can then but sure that they shall
definately see Draco at his seat at the Slytherin table, along with his two
goonish side-kicks. "I doubt it'll really matter if I'm there or
not." And the last person he wants to see at the moment is Potter and his
stupid little friends, that's for sure. "But Dinner'll be starting soon...
sure..."
There's a moment of contemplation. Cho tries to decide what
would be the best thing to do here. Leave while things are pleasent and hold on
to her tiny thread of hope that he was trying to snatch away, then handed right
back to her? Or should she offer to stay and try to ride this out until he
decides that he no longer wants to be pleasent anymore? She gives a small nod
as she makes her choice, the blush finally gone enough that she can smile at
him, "If you wouldn't mind some company... I believe it's your turn to
pick where we sit." She leaves that 'if', but somehow she thinks if he had
been so against being around her, he would have walked off long before now.
He would have. Without a second's hesitation. If the
Slytherin had minded her company, Draco'd of left her here, to rot, to cry, to
do whatever, and that would've been that... but he stayed, so obviously that
must say something. "I believe, this time, we shall sit at the Slythering
table." He says after a few minutes of thinking. "Since I sat with
the Ravenclaws, last time, it's only fair." Wouldn't life be so much
easier if they had been sorted into the same house?
It would, but then again had they both been in the same
house, they probably wouldn't quite be the same people that they are right now.
Cho wouldn't make a very good Slytherin, she has /some/ ambition, but nowhere
near as much as a Slytherin needs. She doesn't really have a power-oriented
mind. So, it didn't happen, and they'll just have to deal with it. She of
course nods at the response, she didn't really expect him to choose anything
else. "Only fair, yes." She walks closer to him, expecting him to lead
the way. She's already been in their Common Room. Their table should be
nothing. Though, the big difference is there will actually be /people/ at the
table...
He would make a fairly decent Ravenclaw, Draco Malfoy is
certainly no idiot (most of the time), but his ambition and cunning are
stronger values than wit and intelligence. He is truly the son of his father
and mother, and like the rest of his family, has been sorted into the exact
same house as the others, not that Draco's complaining. He /wanted/ to be put
into Slytherin. He was hoping and praying for it. The blonde Malfoy heir got
exactly what he had desired. As he is given the chance to lead, he certainly
does so and for the poses' sake, together they get to the crowded Great Hall
rather quickly, the heads of his housemates immediately turning in their
direction. Here goes nothing?
When Cho came to Hogwarts, she had no preference towards
house, though her mother had kind of leaned towards Hufflepuff, which was her
mother's house at the school. That's probably one of the reasons she was so
approving of her daughter's relationship with Cedric. She hasn't recieved any
bad letters about the things in the paper about her and a Slytherin, but that's
probably because she sent a post saying that it was an exaggeration of the
truth and that they're just friends. Which they are! Cho lets him lead, more or
less, but she meets his pace so she's only really a fraction of a step behind
him, more at his side than following. As they make it into the Hall, she takes
a breath and looks at the Slytherin table... This ought to be interesting.
"Now I have an idea how you must have felt." she whispers over to the
fellow Seeker.
"Not a very nice feeling, is it?" He asks with a
bit of a chuckle, then begins to head towards his house's table. The Slytherins
greet Draco with smiles, but a glance at Cho and it seems to put them on edge.
Whispers immediately start moving about the table. 'Is she going to sit with
us, now?' 'Who does she think she is?' 'Pansy, calm down. That vein on your
forehead looks like it's about to pop.' 'I can understand if Draco doesn't like
me or anything, but going after that Ravenclaw? Gross!' "Shh, Pansy.'
Okay, so it's mostly Pansy Parkinson and her little group of Slytherin friends.
The table falls into dead silence as Draco takes a seat at the end, then
motions for Cho to sit beside him, his back to the Gryffindor table. If he saw
Potter at the moment, there's no telling what he might do...
"Not really, but it doesn't matter what they
think." It was so much easier to say when she wasn't the one sitting in
the snake pit though. (Or in his case, it was the eagle's nest.) Cho moves
after him, sitting down beside him when he motions to the chair. She takes a
deep breath, trying her best to ignore what of the whispers she can hear. At
least someone's trying to settle them down. And speaking of Potter... she
really needs to sort out what she was told about him sometime soon, but right
now she's kinda glad her back is to the Gryffindor table as well. Over at the
Ravenclaws, it took a bit longer, but eventually someone points out 'Look,
she's sitting with /him/ now...' and the whispers over there start up a new...
Maybe if they just claim to be dating, people will shut up
and stop acting so shocked about their sitting together. That's just hoping,
though. More rumors just may start through such a phony claim. "I
suppose." Draco agrees, reaching out to take some of the food from the
other plates to settle it down on his own. Mmm. Chicken drumstick. "And
just so you know, the food's edible over here, too." He adds in, just to
be funny, smirking a little, too.
That earns a soft laugh. "Are you sure? We had a
running speculation in my 3rd year that you guys laced your food with extra
lemons and salt. To explain all your sour expressions." Cho gives a
teasing smile, then reaches out to get some food of her own. Chicken sounds
pretty good to her right now too, but she also grabs a roll and some veggies.
No doubt those noted sore expressions was because that was the year after the
Slytherin's lost their seven year winning streak of the house cup.
Indeed, they probably wear and the continual sour expressions
at the year end are probably for the same reason, that they didn't happen to
win the house cup, as they so rightfully should, just because of stupid Harry
Potter, that Gryffindor prat. He'll probably take a few other things, but this
seems all right for now. At the joke, Draco purposely makes a sour face at her.
"Ha, ha. Very extremely funny." Insert rolling of eyes, here, but he
does happen to smile a little, too. "Maybe if Ravenclaw had a winning
streak to lose, you'd probably be looking pretty sour, too."
"Winning isn't everything." Cho says with a shrug.
See why she wouldn't make a good Slytherin? She honestly would even wish him
luck if they had a Quidditch game tomorrow. This isn't to say she wants to
/lose/ or anything, she just thinks the game is what's important, not the
outcome. She'd rather have a hard fought three hour long game that she losses
than a fifteen minute easy victory. "But I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said
that. But it /was/ true. I remember a couple first years even tried to sneak
over and touch your food to test the theory."
Good grief. There are people in this world that'll believe
anything. He'd think that the Gryffindor first years would be stupid enough to
try such a thing, but the Ravenclaws? That is certainly a surprise and a very
odd one at that. Draco lifts his utensils from either side of the plate and
cuts neatly through the side of the drumstick with a knife, getting a piece
just big enough to pop in his mouth without hassel, chew quickly and swallow before
replying. "You all are so nasty to us Slytherins." But it's not as
though the Slytherins aren't as nasty, if not more, in return.
"I said they tried. One of the prefects stopped
them." Cho starts to take a few bites of her meal, not at all surprised to
find it seasoned normally. She honestly never held much to that belief. Can he
honestly blame them? Slytherin finally gets knocked off their high ladder, the
next year people were a little more bold. And her table manners are as good as
his, even if she wasn't raised in a high class Wizard family. After a few
moments, she adds, "I'm not usually nasty to any of you." She has
occassionally had a moment or two where she was, but they're few and far
between, or so she'd like to think.