◤ ❝Death is the beginning of something better.❞ ― Eldrice Nott◢

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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: MEDEA

January 22, 1997

   "Romy. Stop it. Throwing books at the thing won't help any."

"No, but it may fix my urge to blow it up and laugh as it burns."

"Romy―"

The sound of a thick book hitting the ground silenced whatever condescending phrase started to come out of Draco's mouth. He was positioned halfway away from the Cabinet now, attention split between the girl on the floor and her current anger management object. The pale-haired boy stopped, his lips setting into a straight line as he looked at the Transfiguration book flipped to a random page and sadly abused. Then, he slowly turned to the abuser of literature in question and raised his eyebrows high at her. Andromeda was seated on the ground, Atlas stirring from the commotion at her side, with a glower burning hotly on her face.

When her dark eyes caught his stone ones, she narrowed them. "Like you haven't thought about it."

"Nearly as much as I've considered throwing you off the Astronomy Tower," he commented dully.

"You'd pitch yourself off after me. Funny one, though, thinking you would survive a day without me," she said expressionlessly, but Draco knew her better than that. After a moment of staring at her with a jutted chin, the smirk could not help itself from growing on her face. She caught his eyes once again and shrugged. "Well, it's true."

"You honestly think I am the one dependent on you?" Draco was baffled now, scoffing as he rolled his eyes. "That is something funny. The best joke you've made in a while."

She snorted, returning back to the lone book in her hands that didn't receive flying lessons. "It certainly isn't the other way around if that is what your tone of surprise suggests. You can barely keep quiet for an hour before you run out of breath looking for a conversation with me. There's not enough air in this room for the two of us."

"Not with your constant badgering―"

"I do not badger―this spell is absolutely stupid, who would even want to conjure a worm out of the ground," she scowled at the page with the Worm-Conjuring spell, then she flicked to next one "―and if there is anyone with a pestering attitude, it's you. Need I remind you, you spent the entirety of last week bugging me to complete your Transfiguration homework."

Draco scowled at her and moved the distance across the room, sitting directly in front of where her outstretched legs were and moving them to the side. "I believe you were the one hounding your cousin to finish your Transfiguration homework, were you not?"

"Difference is," Mia's stare flickered to where his fingers had briefly held onto her ankle then back to his eyes, "Theodore is actually good at Transfiguration, and more importantly, he likes the subject. If you had asked me to complete your History homework, or Charms, or Defense, or anything but damned Transfiguration, maybe I would have considered being kinder in my charity work."

"You wouldn't have done it, even then."

"You know me so well," she shot him a sarcastic smile before she turned the book around so that it was facing him. "What about this? Epps goes over duel-magic transferring to fix the components of an object. Two sets working together to repair separate items that would not be fixed otherwise."

"We tried that in the book from a few months ago, remember? Nearly took our heads off because our wands rebounded off one another," he said as he read it, frowning and glancing down when Atlas moved to curl himself in his lap to fall asleep once again. "It was the Transpierce incantation. Look, I suggest we find another bird―"

"No," she immediately interrupted, stopping his suggestion. When he looked at her, brows raised high in question, she shook her head. "No. Nothing living, not until we can successfully get an apple between phases of the two Cabinets."

Draco's head tilted in warning, knowing exactly why she was hesitant. "Romy. A bird's life is meaningless when we consider our own in this equation. We need to test living beings if we're meant to bring the others in through it.."

"I know that...I just..."

Mia wished she could explain to Draco why she did not want to start putting birds into the Cabinet, but she was not entirely sure herself. She knew that the animal's life was small in comparison to what they had hanging on the line, and she was ready to make that sacrifice at the cost of sparing her family's life, but there was still something. Unconsciously, she began playing with her bottom lip with her teeth, staring in the direction of the Cabinet past Draco's shoulder.

They had not had much progress in anything. The month of January brought more drama in their House and social lives than it did their duties as Death Eaters, and Mia was afraid to admit that she was slacking. Slughorn's diary, now disguised by the Furies cover, had not been touched in a while. She was well into a different decade, but not nearly as close as she should be. No plans were spiraling about asking Slughorn the dreaded question about Horcruxes. The Cabinet was still broken, unable to safely and successfully transport a living object from the one in Borgin and Burkes to the one in front of them. Draco was not making attempts on Dumbledore's life, and they had no plans for future arrangements thus far.

They were at a standstill, and Mia was terrified to admit that she liked it. She enjoyed the feeling of happiness, life, as it circled underneath her heart when she was around her Slytherin housemates. She spent more time with Draco messing around with mindless conversation than actually progressing in their missions. There was nothing difficult in pretending she was just a regular teenager―aside from the fact that she wasn't one. Not any longer.

Her attention drifted away from the Cabinet when she felt a hand squeeze her bare leg gently, mouth suddenly dry and struggling to swallow. Draco's eyes were on her, warm in their stare and melting the concerns that built in her chest. Only for a few seconds, though, because when her gaze flickered just a bit lower to see the bruises disappearing from below his eyes, she knew that things were bad. They were sleeping. More than they used to. More than they should be. Their health was coming back, and that wasn't acceptable.

"Where did you go?" he asked quietly, fixed on her stare and hand still burning her skin.

"Just thinking. Got lost for a moment."

"Care to share with the rest of us?"

Draco never had to push her to explain what she was thinking, seeing as he could tell half of her thoughts without explanation and the other half she willingly spilled like a potion out to him. Instead of holding the eye contact with him, she moved her attention to the scar that was now fully healed on her left hand, palm out so that she could inspect it in all its gruesomeness.

"It scares me sometimes," she admitted quietly, her jaw tightening when the strange sensation of crying hit her all of a sudden. "The direction that I am heading in, the way that all of this is settling...my whole life, I built this border between knowing what my father was and ignoring it, telling myself that I would never make the mistake of devoting my life to something that was so...so finite―unfixed...and now I have accepted this. With or without him, I wonder if I was always meant for it...or if maybe there was something different out there for me."

There was a brief pause, and she resisted the urge to shut her eyes at his silence. Then, finally, there was a shaken breath of air taken. "Like what?"

"I don't know. I think that is the missing piece that scares me so much. My entire life has been based around my father being what he was, and part of me is terrified to imagine what I would have become―who I would have been―had he chosen the other side..." she paused, and then shook her head softly "...never mind. I'm speaking like an insane person. Forget it."

"I know I would be a better person without Father."

Draco's confession was abrupt, and the honesty underneath his words made her head shoot up from her scarred hand to his face. Only this time, he was the one avoiding eye contact and stared at the piece of fabric loose on her plaid, uniform skirt. His jaw tightened when he noticed she was looking at him, Adam's apple bobbing uncomfortably to relieve the lump building in his throat. There was a moment of silence where she didn't speak, and he took that as his opportunity to explain the thoughts that often kept him awake at night.

"The world knows it. The truth, I mean, that he has turned me into a replica of every bad part about him. I've even got the Mark to prove it," Draco scoffed, and her eyes went briefly to the Dark Mark she could see from his rolled-up sleeves. "I would be better than whatever he has made me, but I would be nothing without him...so I suppose that leaves me with no question. I was always chosen for this side, just as he was. There was no other option built in for me as there may have been for you. May as well forget any other hopes and dreams, Romy. They'll only ruin you."

"You deserve more than dreaming of the day he will be proud of you, Draco." Mia watched as he flinched, his hands curling into fists around themselves. "I mean it, you know. You perspire out every one of your emotions for a man who will never see them, but there are those in your life deserving of them. Your mother, your friends, your girlfriend―"

Draco snorted, albeit still uncomfortably protecting himself from whatever unseen force came with her words. "Pansy has been handing herself out like a pamphlet on affection for years, hoping that I will finally show it. The day I show her any emotion besides lust will be the day she chains me to her like a prisoner."

"She loves you, you know," she said dully, her lips straightening out at the thought of Parkinson. "You may not care for her or her affection, but she loves you."

"Funny thing, that word. It holds no meaning to me."

"You know as well as I that isn't true. If you cared so little about love, then you would not be sitting here right now with that Mark on your arm in the first place."

Draco did not say anything at her revelation, his hands moving uncomfortably around to show his upset over the direction that the conversation went in. Still, he did not defuse her words like he would have anyone else. The rock building up on her chest only crashed heavier as she watched him and the battle he faced internally. Both knew that Draco agreed to be a Death Eater to make his father proud because he loved him, but also because there was no one in the world he cared for more than Narcissa. She was the true reason he stayed.

"I went through every possible option before I agreed to this, you know," she admitted after a moment. Draco turned to her. "I thought I could run away with Theo and Mother, take my grandparents to an old estate somewhere and let them live out their age safely―foolish, I know. He would have found them, found us all. Then, I was tempted to turn to the Order―"

Draco's eyes widened considerably. "Romy, he would have―"

"Ripped us from the inside out with the Cruciatus Curse if your aunt didn't catch us first," she finished. "Yes. I know. Besides, I reckon if your dear Aunt Bella and the Dark Lord didn't fish us out for slaughter, the Order would try and finish us off themselves. That was not an available option, then...and so I chose the only one that I had the possibility of surviving in. Even if it was slim, and I would have to sacrifice everything in the process, that was the only path for me...but I worry everyday about those sacrifices―the ones I promised myself I would make. I worry that I'm too selfish to give anything up."

"What exactly do you think he will make you give up?"

Andromeda stopped, her left hand curling into her side at his question. The answer was simple. She was terrified of the day that the Dark Lord would ask Theodore to join them, and she would have to give up the innocence of her cousin. She had nightmares over giving up the small sanction of happiness she built with her housemates over the year. Mia wondered if the Dark Lord would write away the devotion she and Theodore had in one another more than him. She knew he would ask her to deny her humanity and spread her emotions like ashes of a dead woman.

And then there was something horrid that struck in her heart at the possibility of giving up Draco. She watched his sharp features, the soft crease between his brows, the way his pink lips pulled down into a curious line. The gaudy ring that imprinted his palm because it was turned, the dark veins that stuck out of his pale arms, the messy white hair that she had grown so used to. The grey color of ash and steel and silver-bladed swords threatening to cut out harsh words to the world―except with her, when they melted to a warm comfort that reminded her of her bedroom walls. Safety.

Yes, she thought. She was selfish enough.

"Everything," was all she said out loud and returned to the book in her hands.

――――――――――

January 31, 1997

"Miss Erebus! Did you have any success fixing your mother's fine china over break?"

Going to the library was not high on Andromeda's list of concerns―something her former self, the teenage girl that she used to be, would have scoffed at. Despite the research necessary to fix the Vanishing Cabinet, most of that research did not involve the kiddish books that Hogwart's library included. Epps' Reparation Book was the only one they had yet to finish, which was why a stack of books suddenly landed in front of Madam Pince for return.

The woman had been scolding a student after they returned the book with the spine slightly damaged (if only she had seen Mia a week ago, throwing those books). Now, there was a glint of a smile resting on the older witch's face as she did a quick once-over of the books just returned. Mia had to blink away her confusion before remembering the excuse she used when she first checked out the books, nodding away at the story she'd told.

"Right. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to fix it just yet, but we are still working on it. It seems we underestimated the size of the damage, Madam Pince," she said, regretfully hating how easily the lies slipped off her tongue.

Madam Pince did not catch any hint of her dishonesty, face falling at the bad news. "Well, I wish there was more that I could do to help you, Andromeda. There may be a few books in the Restricted section that may lend you some assistance, but not many books have been made on Reparation spells, I'm afraid."

There were more than you'd think, she thought as she pictured the dozens of books she'd read through over the year. Mia genuinely hadn't considered going to the Restricted section, seeing as half of the useful books had been thrown away after the First War. She had been in there enough, reading through, to know that it was certainly not all that the rope blocking it off pretended it was. No spells that were actually helpful resided in the place, no matter how often Granger pointed her nose in its direction like it was perfect. Perhaps that was because Mia always favored the Dark Arts, while Granger practiced the defenses against it.

"Is there any way I could enter the Restricted section to have a look?"

Madam Pince glanced over toward the direction of the Restricted section, unseeable from where she was. There was a brief pause and only a moment's hesitation before she was nodding. "Of course. Though I must heed a warning that you may not find what you are looking for. It seems students have not been having much success recently with those books, but I suppose that may be for the better."

That sparked Mia's curiosity, wondering who else had been trifling through the Restricted section recently. "I wasn't aware the Restricted section got many visitors given the permission slip requirement for younger years. It was never very popular in the past."

"Only Miss Granger, though that comes as no surprise," Madam Pince said, her lips slightly pinched. "She spent all evening in the Restricted section only just recently and was upset upon leaving...I always tell students that while this library contains an infinite amount of research, there are, of course, even restrictions in the Restricted section. Some students' appetites are just too eager for more, they give no chances to the lesser beauties of literature."

Granger had been in the Restricted section. While that was not uncommon, Mia could not help but feel that there must be some connection in the timeline of Potter finding out about Horcruxes and Granger spending all night in the Restricted section. Distracted by her thoughts, she nodded and tried to pay attention to what Madam Pince was saying but she couldn't help it. Mia knew that there was nothing about Horcruxes in there. After discovering what they were from her father her fifth year, she had done similarly to Granger and tried to find more information. Empty-handed, of course, until she learned more from the Dark Lord and her father's library.

"Of course, Madam Pince. I agree," she muttered numbly, trying to feign understanding all while catching the rope's view once again. She shifted on her feet, and then gave a kind smile to the woman who rarely smiled. "Thank you again for all of the help that you have been with this. I thought that I would have found the way to fix it by now, but it seems there is just so much damage to it."

"Well, I trust no one more to find the answers in my books. Go ahead, Miss Erebus. I hope you find something that may benefit your project."

As Mia turned away from Madam Pince, who stood up to go catch a group of children laughing away and eating in the corner of the library, the weight sunk in her stomach. Guilt was a horrible thing, and the word 'trust' when it came out of the mouth of someone she was betraying felt even worse. That had to disappear quickly, though, because she was trying to find the motivation she had lost and finish the mission as quickly as possible. Mia worried how much longer she could keep up the charade before it all fell apart at her and Draco's feet.

The Restricted Section was empty, as far as she could tell, when she crossed through the ropes. The scent of books, parchment, and aged text seemed thicker, and her lungs breathed in the familiar scent before she started on her blind search. She wasn't entirely sure what she was looking for, certain books stuck out and others hovering above their resting place. A few of them looked interesting enough, and she picked them up for a few seconds before realizing she had already read them in the past.

"As expected," she muttered as she filed through another book, rolling her eyes when it mentioned briefly a spell that could avert any and all attempts of the Cruciatus Curse. Lies, and she put it back before going to another and then another after that. "Useless...no...'the effects of duel-transformation'..."

That peaked her interest, especially after having read through the section on Epps' mentioning duel-magic and its reparation capabilities. As her hands fiddled with the first few pages of the book, and then the section in the middle, she couldn't help the nagging feeling off the side of her shoulder. The sensation did not go away, and her hands paused in their search through the crimson-colored book. Having a keen theory on who was watching her, she tried to relieve the tension building in her chest.

"Staring is considered rude among pureblood and muggleborn alike, Granger," she said coldly, and the book in her hands slammed shut loudly as she turned around to look at the figure looming between the aisles. The bushy, curly hair gave her away and the girl jumped at the sound of the book. "I hoped your muggle parents would have taught you the basics of common courtesy, even of their lower status."

Granger looked shaken at the prospect of being caught, or perhaps it was the abrasiveness to Mia's personality that made the witch disheveled. "I didn't...I just...I was―"

"Spying on someone, however, is not a common courtesy so I suppose you haven't learned much," she interrupted sharply, watching as Granger shuffled around awkwardly. "I expected more out of you, being the top student of our year and all."

"Andromeda...I was just looking for a book for Potions..."

Lie. Mia could see it in the way her forehead crinkled slightly, a tell of hers that she probably didn't even recognize. The girl's fingers twitched at her sides, another indication that she was obviously not being entirely truthful. Granger was a wise witch, she would give her that fact, but when it came to lying and deceit, cunning outruled courage. There was no one as good at reading human behavior as Mia, especially in her enemies.

"What book, if you don't mind me asking? Since we have only been learning about the reverse effects of creating the wrong antidote, all of the information we need is already written down in our Potions book, as Slughorn already said in class today...so what extracurriculars are you poking around in?"

Granger's cheeks flushed. "I must've missed that."

"Too busy glaring at your best mate, Harry, for outshining you in class?" she asked, casually, leaning back against the bookshelf behind her to get more comfortable.

"I'm not sure what you mean..."

Mia's eyes stayed on the red tint to the girl's cheeks, narrowing. "Really? You mean to tell me it is perfect coincidence that Potter suddenly becomes the best student in a N.E.W.T. level class when he's been bloody dreadful at the subject since we were eleven―you must know, Granger, that unlike you, I don't miss anything."

"Slughorn has been helping him," Granger opted, her voice stabilizing as she took long breaths to calm her nerves down. However, her hands still shook. She was trying to come up with a lie on the spot. "He's become a very...dedicated student in class since professors were switched."

The lie stuck in her clenched teeth, and Mia could see that she was struggling with whatever Potter was using to cheat in class She didn't approve of it. The urge to roll her eyes felt necessary. She didn't hate Granger. Not the way that she despised her best friend, Potter. The girl was as important to her as the roaches in between the walls, and Mia had never been afraid of bugs. What Mia didn't like about Granger, however, was that she was smart―that could not be denied―and if Potter had his friend poking around in business of intellectual concern, Granger would be a problem. Good thing she was horrible at confrontation.

"Yes. Potter has been very dedicated to many things recently."

Her lip twitched briefly when she saw the panic strike up in Granger's eyes, feeling successful to have intimidated the girl. The burrowing sensation that Mia enjoyed this―instilling fear into people―was slightly bemusing, but she couldn't help it. A thrill came out of harrowing the ones responsible for her pain, and for those who she knew would be facing opposite of her when the time came for this war to meet its final match.

"I need to―I should...we begin Apparation lessons tomorrow―" Granger tried to find her words, but she still stumbled across them. The girl was already taking slow steps back to the exit of the Restricted section. "I will see you tomorrow, Andromeda."

"Goodbye, Granger. Perhaps you should read up on splinching. I hear it hurts." 

――――――――――

February 1, 1997

The next day, Andromeda ended up in the middle of her friends as they talked back and forth with one another. Daphne had been up bright and early, ready to drag Tracey and Mia out of their comfortable beds so that they would get ready for the day. Unfortunately, Daphne just so happened to interrupt the precious little sleep Mia had received in a few days, so it was suffice to say she was rightly annoyed with the blonde girl. After the run-in with Granger yesterday, the ugly storm outside, and the fact that she was up way too early for an Apparition lesson she was dreading taking, the only thing she wanted to do was throw a vat of acidic poison onto someone.

"Mia, is Theodore all right? It feels like I haven't spoken with him in weeks. Any time I try and talk with him, he darts around the corner like he's avoiding me..." Daphne's conversation had moved on as they walked up the steps to the first floor from their House. "I just...has he said anything about me?"

Tracey rolled her eyes. "You sound like Parkinson, Daphne. It's concerning."

Mia kept her eyes on her feet, finding great appreciation for the laces which kept her from tripping at the moment. If there was one thing she hated, it was people pestering her with questions about others. Specifically, her cousin. She couldn't exactly tell Daphne that all of the snide comments made for the last five years about her having a crush on him (and Mia thinking it was requited) were not entirely accurate―at least, that was what Mia thought. She had a sneaking suspicion that Theodore was ignoring Daphne for the same reason he was ignoring any in-depth conversations with Mia that extended past ten minutes.

"Mia?"

Daphne's voice wrenched her out of her thoughts, and she raised her head. "No. He hasn't mentioned a thing to me. I know he has been busy recently with the upcoming match against Ravenclaw, so that may be why he is acting different."

"Spending a lot of time with Vaisey, that's for sure," Tracey said with a snort, making Mia's jaw tighten momentarily in preparation to cover for him. "I was up late doing my homework―"

"You mean copying the homework you and Blaise stole from some poor Ravenclaw."

Tracey shot her a dark look. "His girl thing, Sylvia, gave it away willingly, but I appreciate your high expectations for my morals....anyway, they were up late in the common room going over different plays for the game, which is good for us because that means we're the obvious winners of the House and Quidditch cup this year. With Mia actually contributing in class for once and Theodore branching out on the pitch, Slytherin's favorite set of cousins may just give us two wins this year. No thanks to Malfoy―"

"Blasphemy, isn't it?" she asked sarcastically, interrupting whatever foul thing about Draco was ready to fire from Tracey. "Us participating in things. It's disgusting, really. Mother would be so disappointed in us."

"I think it's a good thing," Daphne chipped in just before shooting a glower at a first year who crossed in her path. The sneer disappeared when she glanced back over at them, smiling brightly. "Aside from your weird behavior all year―which, honestly, Mia, you looked horrible before the holidays. You're lucky I saved that skirt from third year otherwise you'd fall out of the one you wore before―you and Theodore are actually socializing with more than just one another."

Tracey hummed. "I think Andrew Vaisey is that good thing. Getting Nott on the team, training him to be a Chaser...he even unfroze your ice cold heart for a little while, Mia. He is the one who fixed their quiet selves."

"Actually, I think my father dying fixed that right up," Mia said blandly, as though mention of her dead father was irrelevant. Ignoring the looks her friends shot one another, she glared at the heads of sixth-year students all lounging outside of the Great Hall for the lesson. "Wonderful. I wonder who will be splinching themselves first. I'm putting bets in on Longbottom or Bones. Why are we doing this again?"

"Some of us have never Apparated and would like it as a preferred option of transportation."

"Well, some of us," Mia mocked, shooting the girl a look, "would rather spend their time doing better things on a rainy Saturday morning."

"Like shoving your tongue down your boyfriend's throat?"

Before Mia could say anything in return to Tracey's comment (and rest assured, it would not be kind) the girls felt new presences coming up from behind them. They turned around just in time to see Theodore and Blaise, causing confusion for a moment when she realized she didn't see Draco anywhere with them. She figured they would walk to the lesson together much like she did with Tracey and Daphne.

"Who is shoving their tongue down whose throat?" Blaise asked with interest suddenly peaked.

"Mia and Vaisey...again," Daphne said with a grin, then it fell only slightly when she turned her eyes to Theodore and flushed briefly. "Good morning, Theodore."

Theodore showed her a silent, forced greeting with a half smile and a gentle shoulder shrug. Then, he stepped a bit closer to Mia so that they were side-by-side, feeding off of her for comfort in the awkward interaction.

"I am not shoving my tongue down anyone's throat. Not even Andrew's," Mia started with growing irritation, crossing her arms over her chest as she shot a look to the amused Blaise and Tracey. She felt Theo's body stiffen lightly at her side. "And we aren't dating, for the hundredth time. Find interest in someone else's love life, would you? Someone that actually has a love life, perhaps."

"See, this is exactly why you need to shag someone," Blaise commented as he rolled up the sleeves to his white button-up. "Loosen up a little, we're about to learn Apparition. Do you know how easily I will be able to sneak in to see Sylvia after this? Slicker than a snake, my friends."

Theodore shoved his hands into his pockets, his lip turning down momentarily in disgust. "Can we not discuss my cousin sleeping with people right in front of me?"

"Oh, whatever. Don't be such a prude, Nott. In Salazar's name we ask that Mia find someone desperate enough to shag her―" Blaise stopped talking when a shoulder slammed into him, and he looked up with hasty annoyance at the person behind it. "Excuse you, Malfoy. Have I suddenly become transparent like your Baron-esque self?"

Draco had a scowl on his face, and it only got worse upon Blaise's remark back to him. Little did he know his foul attitude had caught the attention of Mia from across the small group they had assembled outside of the Great Hall. He had been up late in the Room the night before, choosing to stay behind longer than her so that they could evade any growing suspicions (and so that she could get the sleep he caught up on in Astronomy). Crabbe and Goyle, his henchmen and buffoons, were arriving to watch over the outside when she left without a word to them. His eyes caught hers only momentarily before darting away.

"Can we go in already?" Tracey asked with a bit of a huff to her tone. "I don't want end up in the vicinity of Finnigan or Croft and have them splatter their bloody body parts all over me. Blood stains."

Daphne glanced around momentarily. "I told Pansy I would wait for her―"

"Ah, the wicked witch of the west―never mind, none of you know who that is," Tracey huffed at the muggle reference her pureblood housemates would not understand, annoyed her insult fell through. "Come on, Mia."

Like that, Mia was being dragged away by Tracey into the Great Hall, leaving behind an annoyed Draco and the brief glimpse of Crabbe and Goyle coming into view from behind. She barely managed to snag a hold of Theodore's upper arm so that he was being pulled along with her. Upon entering, she had to revel in brief surprise to see how different the Hall actually looked. Rain pounded viciously against the windows, the dark clouds above their heads making her feel uneasy. The tables had been removed, and instead there was an open floor for all of the students to practice their Apparition. Instantly, a wave of nausea overcame her when she saw all of the professors and a stranger lined up at the front talking with one another.

Her hold tightened considerably on Theo's arm. He must have noticed because he glanced down at her, lips tightening into a thin line when he saw the change of emotion in her. "Are you going to be all right?"

"I can handle an Apparition lesson. Just... knock me out if it happens again," she muttered, keeping mind of Tracey so that she would not hear their conversation. "I'd rather be concussed than face the mortification of having another one of...those...in front of everyone."

"I doubt it will happen again. I think it had more to do with arriving back home than anything else. You'll be fine, Mia. Just focus on the lesson and hopefully it will provide a good distraction."

His reasoning didn't stop her queasiness, wishing she could stray away from the lesson altogether. She nodded mutely, and they followed behind Tracey when she gathered around a large spot in the corner of the Hall large enough for their gaggle of Slytherins. Despite it being dimly-lit in the room, she still noticed when their housemates filed into the room. Parkinson had her usual look of upset, stomping in their direction with Daphne attempting to comfort her at her side. Blaise was stuck far behind them after stopping to talk with his girlfriend.

"I wonder who'll kill the other first," Tracy wondered out loud, watching the episode as well. "Think Malfoy will get tired of her mad episodes, or that she'll be so upset with him she just blows his head right off with her wand?"

She watched as they got closer, deliberating which one she thought would come first. "I would have already done it, if I'm honest."

"Which one?"

Mia said nothing, only letting a foul smirk stretch across her face. Theodore and Tracey both caught the look, her friend looking confused at the silent answer while her cousin only shook his head. Of course, he knew that she was talking about both, while also not being entirely truthful. Although she had thought about it many, many times, Mia could never hurt Draco and her cousin knew it.

"Where's your boyfriend?" she asked when Parkinson got close to them, peering curiously over her shoulder like he would magically appear. "You usually cling to him like a slug."

"You'd love to know, wouldn't you?" Parkinson sneered, scoffing as she turned around on her heel to face the front of the classroom.

Mia turned up her chin to look at Theo, grinning sarcastically. "She and I are well on our way to become best friends. I just know it."

"I'm sure," he said slickly, usual level of exasperation exuded through his response. His hands went to her shoulders, turning her around so that she was in front of him and facing the direction of everyone else. "Pay attention. It'll be starting soon, they're rounding us up."

There was an older man at the front of the Great Hall, surrounded by the Heads of Houses, and looking like a twig compared to each of them. He seemed even more frail that she did when she was a child, and she wondered if his body was slowly decaying from all of the lessons he taught. It wasn't difficult to figure that he was the Ministry instructor they called in for the Apparition lessons, but what she couldn't figure out was how he was meant to teach them anything when she could snap him in half with her pinky. There was no telling what he would look like standing next to someone as tall as Draco and Theodore.

"I already told you, don't ask me questions like that!" came a hushed, harsh voice from over her shoulder. Both she and Theodore, standing behind her, turned to see where the voice was coming from, forcing her cousin to step over briefly so she could see. Draco was in a small semi-circle with Crabbe and Goyle only a few feet away, his face flustered from frustration. "Have you idiots listened to nothing I've told you?"

"Mia," Theodore muttered lowly, warningly.

"I know," she whispered, suddenly strung out with tension as she watched Draco lose his temper in front of so many people. She glanced around briefly, panic spiking. "I can't get to him. If anyone sees―"

"Good morning!" shouted the Ministry wizard from the front, making them twist around quickly with peaked nervousness. "My name is Wilkie Twycross―"

There was a snicker ahead of her from Tracey. "What kind of a name is that?"

"―and I shall be your Ministry Apparition instructor for the next twelve weeks. I hope to be able to prepare you for your Apparition Tests in this time―"

"Malfoy! Be quiet and pay attention!"

Every head in the Great Hall turned around at the shout from McGonagall, each trying to find the head of white hair that they accustomed to the Malfoy's so well. When Mia went to move, to possibly murder Draco right then and there in front of the entire year, Theodore's hands were back on her shoulders and securing her in her place. That didn't stop her from seeing Draco flush a dark red, not from embarrassment but from anger at the argument with Crabbe. A sound came from Parkinson, as well, although she didn't bother moving toward him either when he broke away from Crabbe's reckoning.

Theodore only barely bent down to ask her the same question she wanted to know. "What in the bloody hell is he doing?"

"Digging his grave."

"―by which time, many of you may be ready to take your tests," Twycross started again, as though McGonagall had not just interrupted him. "As many of you know, it is usually impossible to Apparate or Disapparate within Hogwarts. The headmaster has lifted this enchantment, purely within the Great Hall, for one hour, so as to enable you to practice. May I emphasize that you will not be able to Apparate outside the walls of this Hall, and that you would be unwise to try."

"Bummer," Tracey said quietly.

Twycross gestured around to the room. "I would like each of you to place yourselves now so that you have a clear five feet of space in front of you."

The instant chaos broke out and students began scuffling around to get positioned correctly, Mia slipped out of Theodore's hold and easily moved in the direction of Draco. He wasn't far, only a few people between him and the little group they assembled, but she nearly ran into Ernie MacMillen and that set her off-balanced. She could already see Theodore darting after her from her peripheral, gliding faultlessly through the bustling crowd with his long legs.

The second she was close enough, she reached for Draco's arm and pulled him out of the glare he was sending Crabbe's way. "What in the ever-living hell do you suppose you are doing, Draco?"

"Go away, Mia," he hissed, giving her a brief glance with fuming eyes before he turned back to Crabbe, completely unbothered by her fingers digging into his skin. "This doesn't involve you."

"Doesn't it, if you're sneaking around doing it with her?" Crabbe shot back, now the directed five-feet away from them. He turned to her instead of Malfoy. "If he's not going to give any answers, why don't you tell me when this little thing of yours is going to be over with?"

"And since when did I answer to you?" she asked, abrasively, standing up straighter in her shoes. She could see Theodore out of the corner of her eye, in front of her facing the wrong way and mandating the five-feet rule. "Becoming a little too big there, aren't you, Crabbe?"

"Erebus! Malfoy! Five feet!"

Mia and Draco broke away from one another like they were on fire when they heard McGonagall shout at them, trying to round up all of the students not following the rules. Only a few people turned their heads, thankfully, but one of them happened to be a furious Parkinson who shot her a devilish glare in return. The five foot distance between them made the conversation more difficult to hear between Draco and Crabbe, and with the eerie sensation of someone staring at her, it was even more difficult.

She turned her head to see that the stare in question was not Parkinson that time, but Snape. Like iced water poured over her head, her blood turned cold and she was left to watch him in return. The last conversation she had with Snape was at Slughorn's party, and since then, she had done everything possible to avoid his attention in Defense class. His dark eyes paused momentarily on hers, narrowing, before moving onto the rest of the crowd. She ground her teeth together, trying to ignore her growing fury at everyone in the room. What more could piss her off?

"I tell my friends what I'm up to, if I want them to keep a look-out for me," came the voice of the Devil, reminding her to not speak of him. She whipped her head around from Snape's back to see Potter now standing behind Draco. Draco spun around quickly with his hand already reaching for his wand. Mia didn't realize until she glanced down that her own was out as well, digging into her palm.

Then "Quiet!" rang dangerously along every wall of the Great Hall as all four Heads of House shouted in sync, making the hair on Mia's arm stand up. Draco's hand lowered, and from the five feet separating them, he glanced over at her with a new look burning in his grey irises. All traces of anger had been replaced with worry lines. Potter did not understand the look shared between the two of them, but they did. Without the use of Legilimency, Mia and Draco turned equally stiff back to the front where she stared at the back of Theodore's shoulders.

"Thank you! Now then..." Twycoff said, just loud enough for them to hear. At the whisk of his wand, old-fashioned hoops suddenly appeared on the floor in front of everyone. Mia tensed, knowing what was coming. "The important things to remember when Apparating are the three D's! Destination, Determination, Deliberation!"

"Dying...demise...deceased..." Mia scoffed under her breath, thinking of a different set of words that could fit the circumstances she felt like she was in during this Apparition lesson. Theodore turned around just to shoot her a look, one of equal concern and attempted assurance. Draco must have heard her comment as well because he sent her a questionable look.

"Step one: Fix your mind firmly upon the desired destination. In this case, the interior of the hoop. Kindly concentrate upon that destination now," Twycross instructed from ahead.

Concentrate. On a hoop. A hoop. Mia resisted the urge to say something smart, biting her tongue and deciding to follow his instructions. The interior of the hoop was wood, dark, and the same exact floor she had stared at for the last six years. Dying―what she would rather be doing than standing here doing this.

"Step two: Focus your determination to occupy the visualized space! Let your yearning to enter it flood from your mind to every particle of your body!"

Because she was so eagerly yearning to fall into a hoop. Demise―what she was planning for Twycross, the hoop, Draco, and more importantly, Potter as he stiffled his laughter over Ernie Macmillen's strained-pink face to Crabbe's right.

"Step three! And only when I give the command...turn on the spot, feeling your way into nothingness, moving with deliberation!" Twycross called out, and Mia's head shot up from her hoop instantly with wide eyes when she realized where this was going. Surely, he wasn't expecting them to Apparate now. "On my command, now...one―"

The urge to vomit came back tenfold. Deceased―what she was moments away from being. Her panic-stricken look was not missed by Draco, who looked equally as alarmed by what they were meant to do. Not even they were prepared for this.

"―two―"

She'd already forgotten the actual three D's.

"―THREE!"

Mia spun with a sick feeling stirring in her stomach, unsure if it was the beginnings of a panic attack like before or if it was just the possibility of plummeting to the ground like an idiot. However, nothing happened. The spot she was meant to end up in, however, was most definitely not the spot she found herself at. Instead, she and another person went crashed into one another, and she yelped at the contact. Theodore, who stood in front of her, had the misfortunate of losing his balance as well, sending the cousins into a mess of stumbled feet.

They were not the only ones who failed. After Theodore and her managed to fix themselves upright, both burning with embarrassment to have done so miserably, they glanced around to see that they were not the worst of the bunch. Up ahead, Daphne had fallen to the ground and Tracey was practically on top of her, their hoops forgotten as they tried to detangle their limbs. Blaise was unsuccessful as well, helping Sylvia up off the ground after she fell. Parkinson somehow managed to stay upright, though the failure was evident in how she held her hands out for Bulstrode to balance her.

"Well, this is fun," Mia sneered, gritting her teeth as she resisted the urge to kill someone. "No need to worry about me anymore. I'll sooner knock myself unconscious before I need your help. I thought we'd be better at this. Mother made it look so damned easy."

"Never mind, never mind," Twycross announced dryly, visibly unsurprised by their horrid reactions. "Adjust your hoops, please, and back to your original positions..."

Wonderful, she thought bitterly. She took the time while repositioning her hoop to look at Draco, seeing that displeasure was written clearly on his face as well. She hadn't been paying attention to him when they tried the first time, but it was safe to say his attempt was just as ugly as hers. Suddenly, they found themselves in the same position, trying a second time, and with the same success as the first. By the time they had gotten the fourth, and the only success Mia had had was managing to not collide with Theo anymore, she was pissed. She'd be damned before anyone else successfully Apparated before her.

The fourth time was far more favorable. While Mia still didn't end up any better than keeping her balance and feeling a faint glint of nothingness in her mind, she did find amusement in seeing Susan Bones from Hufflepuff scream in terror. She and Theo looked at one another before peering through the crowds as best as possible, noticing that the Hufflepuff's left leg was still at the starting point while the rest of her body cried in pain inside the hoop.

Mia hummed from behind Theo, watching as the Heads of House moved to quickly reunite Bones with her leg in a puff of purple smoke. "Called that one, didn't I?"

"Splinching, or the separation of random body parts, occurs when the mind is insufficiently determined. You must concentrate continuously upon your destination, and move without haste, but with determination...thus..." Twycross's irritating repetition was halted when he stepped forward and turned, gracefully vanishing and reappearing at the back of the Hall. "Remember the three D's, and try again...one―two―three!"

Nothing. An hour later, the most interesting thing that happened to Mia (aside from seeing Bones lose a limb) was when her hoop moved after she accidentally used a nonverbal spell, something she didn't even realize she did until it was too late. It was so interesting because it caused her to go spinning to her right instead of forward, ending up with her crashing into Draco. The momentum of their spins ended up with them losing their balance, sending them onto the floor in a fit of irritation and intermingled limbs.

Mia huffed out, trying to push herself off Draco's chest all while containing the growing heat forming on her cheeks. "This is stupid."

"I don't know, Romy," he muttered as he looked up at her, suddenly smug when his hands caught her waist. "I quite like it now."

"Oh, shut up."

Still, neither of them could get rid of the flustered cheeks and the averted eye-contact for the rest of the evening. It was safe to say that the first lesson of Apparition, and the beginning of February, were both failures. Mia could only hope that it looked up from there because from where she was standing, the only place she'd found herself recently was falling down.

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Author's Note:

Long chapter! I always love when I'm able to incorporate scenes from the book since Draco is so rarely in them from Harry's point of view. I always enjoyed the Apparition lesson part. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! We finally see a small interaction between Mia and Hermione, which I have been DYING to write for so long. I'm so happy to have had the chance to. We are officially in the month of February (Mia's birth month), and this is going to be one of those months that I skip over a bit. There's a huge time jump in the books between February to March, and I haven't yet decided how many chapters I want to do of the month since January was so long.

Did you enjoy Draco and Mia's heart-to-heart in the beginning? I love this phase in their relationship right now, and I adore writing it because it's such a weird mixture of things between them that I feel like we don't see often in relationships. Anyone feeling the slow burn? I hope I'm pacing their relationship/feelings out in a good way for you all! ALSO, HAD TO WRITE THAT CUTE END MOMENT!

Let me know what you thought about Mia and Hermione's interaction! This is my first time really writing Hermione, and I was trying so hard to figure out the best way to word her responses.

And, of course, tell me how you liked the Apparition scene! I loved writing the dialogue for that and finding a way to interweave what we do see and hear in the books with what we don't.

I appreciate all of your comments on this book! Let me know what you think!

MEDEA: DIVINE ENCHANTRESS WITH THE GIFT OF PROPHECY