Cursed - 149

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Aphry

I entered the Room of Requirement on Saturday morning just before I left to go to Hogsmeade. Draco and I hadn't seen each other, and it seemed he'd gotten up as early as possible to continue work on the cabinet. I understood and appreciated his diligence. The quicker his task was completed, the better. But regardless, there was a small part of my conscious that held jealousy for the chunk of magical wood and the obligation that dominated his time. It didn't help that I was constantly putting my occlumency to use, amplifying my emotions anytime I wasn't actively practicing it.

Approaching him from behind, I heard him repeating the chant that he had repeated countless times since the start of term. "Harmonia Nectere Passus." The door of the cabinet creaked open, then closed. "Harmonia Nectere Passus." Open, close. "Harmonia Nectere Passus."

"Draco?" I said softly as the door screeched, protesting to being opened once again. I was hoping not to startle him. He seemed so focused.

He stopped his routine, leaving the door open as he turned. His eyes gave away the lack of sleep that he was getting. They were dark underneath, pulling down his features and making him look like a dead man walking. It was honestly concerning to me, but there was only so much I could do to convince him to sleep and eat. 

The corners of his lips lifted subtly, bringing a touch of light to his eyes and alleviating my worry mildly. "Aphry. Are you girls about to leave?"

I nodded. Since Draco couldn't come to Hogsmeade with me due to his detention, I opted to go with Daphne and Pansy instead. "I just wanted to say goodbye first."

He smirked, putting his wand down on a nearby dresser that was missing several handles and a drawer. "You are much too far away for a proper goodbye, dear," He said before taking several long, purposeful strides toward me.

An uncontainable grin set itself on my lips but was quickly overtaken by Draco's kiss. In the blink of an eye, he had one hand securely wrapped around my waist. The other tucked under my canopy of curls, fingers tangling in the locks near the nape of my neck.

I sighed softly, surrendering to his lips and kissing back as I leaned into him. As soon as I molded into him, his tongue sought entrance into my mouth and entwined with my own in a heated dance. My arms wrapped around him, desperate to hold him close.

"Mmm, You had strawberry jam at breakfast, didn't you, love?" he said between kisses, tasting the subtle hints of it that lingered lips. I hummed in confirmation. "Delicious."

He gripped at my locks in his hands, coaxing my head back. His lips moved to place a kiss at the corner of my mouth, then my jaw, then down my neck. He hesitated where my blood pulsed, smirking against my skin like a vampire about to feast. Then, he opened his mouth against my neck, nibbling and sucking on my sensitive flesh. The pleasant sensation drew a small whimper of pleasure from me and caused my knees to give way. Draco's grip tightened to keep me from sinking to the ground.

"I should be going," I said reluctantly. "Daph and Pansy are waiting on me," I reminded him.

A deep chuckle reverberated against my throat. "What a shame," he said. He gave my waist another quick squeeze and then loosened his hold on me, ensuring I had my footing.

 I went over to the mirror, checking that I didn't look too disheveled. My makeup was light and I hadn't worn bold lipstick, so I was okay there. Draco never touched the outside curls, so outside of a smidge more volume, my hair looked fine.

My head tilted back, lifting my hands to my neck to see if he'd left one of the dark marks that Pansy and the other girls in the dorm seemed to come back with after a particularly wild night of snogging. I was surprised to find the spot only a touch pink that I was sure would return to normal quickly.

          

"Checking for evidence?" Draco teased, standing right behind me. My eyes connected with his in the mirror. The looked of guilt on my already flushed face didn't require an answer.

He reached up, delicately running a crooked index finger along my neck where his lips were. "That neck is too pretty to leave marks on," He said, his voice low and quiet even though no one was around to hear us. Inexplicably, my stomach did a nervous flip. "Besides, I don't want a single sorry bloke looking at a mark on your neck and imagining placing it there himself."

I felt like I should have been ashamed that his possessiveness thrilled me, but I wasn't. Draco knew me well enough to tell what I was thinking, and his smirk widened as a small chuckle left him.

He leaned down, placing a small kiss on my cheek that felt far too chaste for the moment. "Go on, love. Enjoy your day in Hogsmeade. And buy one of those chocolate-covered apples that you love so much from Honeydukes. I'd love to taste it on your lips later."


As we make the walk into Hogsmeade, I quietly wished that we wouldn't go to The Three Broomsticks, knowing that Madame Rosmerta was in there under Draco's imperious. 

Well, he never exactly said that he specifically did it, did he? Did he manage to find time to do it during the summer prior to school started, I wondered. Or did one of the other Death Eaters do it on his behalf? But there weren't many death eaters that even knew what he was doing... Those were questions I was going to have to be content with leaving unanswered since the discussion unsettled me due to my own experiences being a victim of the curse.

My unvoiced wish went ungranted, however. I expected it, though. A visit to The Three Broomsticks for butterbeer was an unspoken tradition for nearly all Hogwarts students, and Daphne and Pansy insisted we visit there first for a warm drink to fight the bitterly cold weather.

And my luck was even worse, as Madame Rosmerta was working behind the bar instead of one of her hired hands. I couldn't face her as Daphne order three butterbeers.

I began wringing my hands nervously, keeping them low and out of sight so no one would see I was doing it and raise suspicion. The habit had gotten significantly better, occlumency ridding me of the nagging emotions that caused it. But occlumency was grueling mental work. I couldn't do it all the time, and I thought the Hogsmeade weekend away from the teachers would allow me a nice break.

Rosmerta turned back around from the kegs of butterbeer, three glasses in her hand. She placed them on the counter in front of us as I worked to avoid looking at her without making it seen obvious to others that was what I was doing.

"It's on the house, ladies," I heard the pub owner say to the three of us.

My eyes shot to her, surprised by the offer. We didn't speak to Rosmerta often, frequently ordering from one of the other hired hands she had to keep up with busy Hogsmeade weekends. I immediately regretted it, seeing the subtle distance look in her eyes that I'm sure caused no alarm to the others around her.

My mind became plagued with thoughts. What was going on in her head? Was she in the trance-like state that most others subjected to the curse experience, which wasn't that awful... until you were relinquished by the caster and realized the actions you were forced to take. Or was she like me, caged in her own mind and bearing witness to every horrible act committed by her own hands with no way to stop it?

The worry gripped my stomach, twisting it around and making the butterbeer now in my hand unappetizing.

The tension wound up, unbearably uncomfortable as I warred within myself. I had not cast this curse. But it was being done on my behalf in an effort to keep me from being murdered by the Dark Lord. And I felt guilt beyond measure. But Draco, Father, Narcissa... I didn't want them to be killed. And to be honest I didn't want to die as well.

So I did the only thing I could do. Clearing my mind, I used occlumency to force away the nagging guilt and turned away from Madame Rosmerta with Daphne and Pansy as we went to go find a table.

"I didn't know Madame Rosmerta knew us well enough to give us free drinks," Daphne said, brow furrowed. Pansy simply shrugged, unbothered by the unusual behavior, and Daphne quickly dismissed the thought as we sat down and the conversation drifted to other topics.


The rest of the trip went off relatively well, with the three of us visiting a few shops. I continued to keep my mind shielded, which proved useful when we went to Honeydukes and Pansy made a backhanded comment about whether I really needed my favorite confection or not. She continued to do this, and I was seriously considering re-evaluating my renewed friendship with her. It seemed all she wanted to do was make me feel self-conscious.

We began walking back to the castle, and I was hoping Draco was going to be in the Room of Requirement when we got back. I wanted nothing more than to be in a place where I knew I could safely shed the shield of occlumency and Parkinson's attitude. 

I probably needed to talk to him about Rosmerta too. It might be insignificant, but I was concerned. Her actions to me were out of character for her. If it was discovered she was under the imperious curse and someone had witnessed the odd exchange, it might lead a path directly to the guilty party.

With the blistering cold, the walk back to Hogsmeade felt longer than usual. It was snowing, and a sheet of white blanketed the ground. The freezing wind made the large white flakes come down at an angle and hurt against my bare cheeks.

The three of us hardly talked, focusing on getting back to the castle and defrosting ourselves by a fire.

The silence made it all the more noticeable when we heard a bloodcurdling scream, piercing the air from the path behind us and causing all of us to turn. My necklace started tingling, concerning me when we saw a figure suspended high above the ground. This was no doubt in relation to Draco's plans today. I couldn't make out who the airborne individual was, but there was no doubt they were a student.

Although, with current circumstances, my typical course of action would be to stay removed from the situation, some compulsion in me felt compelled to go over there and help whoever this was. Mitigate the situation as much as possible.

"You go on to the castle," I said to Daphne and Pansy. "I'm going to see if they need help." They seemed confused but did not say anything before I turned and ran toward the scene as adrenaline seemed to rush through me.

In the excitement, I had dropped my occlumency. So my stomach corkscrewed nervously as I realized Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley were also there. Why do they always seem to be just a few steps away from everything major that happens around here?

Again, instead of retreating, the compulsion drew me forward. "I was up ahead and saw what happened, is she alright?" By now I recognized the victim as Katie Bell. She was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. I pushed away the guilt nagging deep inside me.

"It was when that package tore," A girl whom I didn't know but recognized as friends with Katie said. Hagrid had also made his way onto the scene, reaching to pick up Katie's limp, spent body. I don't know how I could live with myself if she was dead. She's completely innocent in all this.

I bent down, seeing the necklace I recognized from my few visits to Borgins and Burke's. I reached out, trying to appear as if I was reaching for the jewelry with no clue that it was cursed.

Thankfully, Hargrid shouted, "Don't touch that except for the wrappings!"

My hand froze, feeling like recoiling from the necklace seemed too dramatic. I then redirected my reach to the brown paper the necklace appeared to be wrapped in, soaked by the snow on the ground. But I knew any attempts to pick it up would only result in the packaging turning into wet, brown mush.

Potter knelt down next to me, and I tensed a bit anxiously. "I've got it," he said. He had taken his scarf off, placing it over the necklace to pick it up. I stood with him, aware that my clothes were now soaked from kneeling in the snow.

Katie's friend was shaking, understandably the most visibly upset from the ordeal. Hermione had her arm around her consoling her. The three of us started walking to the castle, followed a bit by Ron and Harry. "Don't worry," I said, trying to offer some sort of consolation as we walked. "Hagrid's taking her to Madame Pomfrey. I'm sure she'll be as good as new in no time." My eyes connected with Hermione's at that moment, and I knew she was hoping as much as I was that those words were true.

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