The Siren's Call (A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction)

133. Visions

Dioleh did not waste time heading to bed once they reached the Common Room. As quietly as possible, she slipped out of her dress and changed into sweatpants and the sweatshirt she had stolen from Blaise and took down her hair. After tying it up in a high bun, she wrapped one of the silken scarves the Weasley's had given her for her birthday around her head and took her melatonin as she lay down to sleep. She rested uneasily until almost midnight, when she finally drifted into a deep sleep.

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In another dormitory near her, Blaise was laying awake, his eyes closed as he listened for Draco to come back. He also had the oddest feeling that at least one of the other boys in the room was awake. There was a soft rustling as Blaise felt his heart rate increase. Suddenly, a hand clamped around his mouth as his arms and legs were pinned down and a harsh voice hissed, "Keep struggling and I'll order Pansy to go after Kanumba and Granger." Blaise recognized the voice as Theodore's.

Before he could say a word, a fist was driven harshly into Blaise's gut. Despite his attempts to stay silent, a harsh breath left his nose. "You and your little friends have become a nuisance," Nott snapped. Another punch landed against Blaise's chest. "Don't let it happen again." Then, he swung.

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Dioleh woke, breathing heavily. Glancing over, she saw that Imani had woken up as well. They slipped silently from the room and ran down the stairs from their dorms. From the entrance of the Common Room, Andre emerged. "You saw it too?" he asked anxiously, clearly out of breath. He had run all the way from Ravenclaw Tower to the dungeons.

"Come on, we need to go," Dioleh said, turning to go up the stairs. Before she could make it far, Imani grabbed onto her arm and pulled her and Andre into the hallway leading to the girl's dormitory, quickly levitating Andre so the enchanted stairway wouldn't dump him off. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle sauntered out of the dorms and left the Common Room as Draco muttered scathingly to the other two.

"I told you not to strike but you struck," he snapped. "Potter is the one interfering not them." Finally, the door shut behind them. Releasing a relieved breath, Dioleh rushed up to the sixth year boy's dormitory and flicked the light on. Blaise was laying on his side on the ground, clutching his side painfully. Dioleh instantly went to his side. "Blaise?" she said softly, crouching beside him.

"Dio, what're you doing in here?" he groaned, attempting to sit up.

"Doesn't matter," Andre said. "Come on, Dioleh. Let's get him up." With a huge effort, as Blaise was taller than both of them, they got him laying in bed.

"How'd you guys know?" Blaise asked, wincing.

"Siren powers," Imani replied. "We can see through the eyes of people we care about when they're scared or in pain."

"Aw, you all care about me," Blaise groaned in what was an attempt of his usual teasing as Andre lifted his shirt to look at the bruising.

"Shut it," Andre retorted. "We need to get you to the Hospital Wing."

"No," Blaise said quickly. "They said-"

"I know what they said," Andre said firmly. Quirking an eyebrow with a small smirk, he added, "I heard it, remember?"

"Whatever, we can't," Blaise said. "Madam Pomfrey won't believe this just happened and if we tell her the truth, they'll come after Dioleh and Imani. Probably you too if they can manage it."

"Don't worry about us, Blaise," Dioleh said. "I think I can help with some of this though. Wait here." Quickly getting to her feet, Dioleh rushed to her room and grabbed a small container from her trunk and rushed back out. Sitting on the bed next to him, Dioleh explained, "It's Hermione's. She let me borrow it after I rammed into my trunk on accident. It should help with the bruising. Andre, can you get his shirt off?"

"Yeah," Andre said. Helping Blaise sit up, Andre got off Blaise's shirt and tossed it to the side. After he had lain back down, they could all see the full extent of the damage.

"Oh my gosh," Imani gasped. Dioleh didn't say a word as she opened the bruise cream and got some on her fingers.

Glancing up at the others, she said, "You two should head to the hideout where you'll be safe. Once I'm done, I'll get Blaise out there too. We'll figure out how to handle this over break."

"Okay," Andre said. "The train doesn't leave until eleven tomorrow so we should have time to pack in the daylight when they wouldn't try and attack." Dioleh nodded. Once they had left, Dioleh began using the cream on each of the already-forming bruises along Blaise's chest and stomach. The cream burned as it touched the skin, causing Blaise to wince every few seconds as Dioleh tried to ease up.

"Sorry," Dioleh said quickly as she accidentally put too much on a rather large bruise on his chest.

Wincing, he said, "It's okay. I'm all right." She continued working in silence until he said, "Dio?" She merely hummed in reply as she began working on another bruise on his side. "What do you think Snape meant about Malfoy's mission?"

"I have no idea," Dioleh admitted softly. Finishing with the last of the bruises on his torso, she asked, "Are there any more?"

"I don't think so," Blaise replied, sitting up and retrieving his shirt. "Thanks, Dio."

"No problem," she replied, turning away from him to grab the lid to the container from where she had set it on his nightstand. When she turned back to face him, she saw that Blaise had a peculiar expression on his face as though he was considering something.

"Dioleh, I...have something I want to tell you," Blaise admitted.

"What's that?" she replied, looking at him curiously and sealing the cream container.

Swallowing, he admitted, "I know it's only been three months since...well, I just wanted to let you know that if you're ready to move on and if you...well...Dio, I fancy you." Dioleh met his gaze, her eyes wide with surprise.

"What?" she said quietly.

"I know it's a little strange because I used to be best friends with your ex-boyfriend but, Dioleh, I care about you a lot," Blaise said, never looking away from her. "But, if you're not ready or you don't feel the same, we can go to the hideout and pretend this conversation never happened." Dioleh blushed, averting his gaze from him.

"I don't know if I'm ready or not," she admitted. "But, I do care a lot about you, Blaise. So, maybe just take things slow and see what happens?"

"Okay," Blaise replied with a grin. "I can work with that."

With a happy smile, Dioleh said, "We should, uh, head out."

"Right," Blaise said, getting to his feet stiffly as he grabbed his coat and a sweatshirt.