.⊹⁀➷ CHAPTER FOURTY !
↳ ❛weasley❜

THE NEXT DAY Annabeth was still not talking to Harry when the two were sitting on each other's opposites at the Gryffindor table.

The girl was sneaking glances at her brother before she spotted Ron, who was walking slowly along the large table, looking a little more pale than usual. His face showed that he was nervous, but despite that the boy seemed calm when he sat down besides Annabeth.

A moment of silence passed by before he slowly started filling his plate with breakfast, "So, how was it then?"

Harry looked up from his plate, "How was what?" Ron looked at him like it was obvious to what he was referring, "Your dinner party?"

Hermione only shrugged, her eyes remaining focused on the Daily Prophet. "Pretty boring, actually. Thought I think Harry enjoyed dessert." The brunette boy gave Hermione a pointed glare before he concentrated back onto his breakfast.

Annabeth knew that this was a dig at Harry's awkward behavior when Ginny had joined the dinner party the other night.

Annabeth was sipping on her goblet filled with juice while she listened to them.

"Slughorn's having a Christmas do, you know. And we're meant to bring someone." Hermione continued, her eyes now lifting up to look at Ron.

"I expect you'll be bringing McLaggen. He's in the Slug Club, isn't he?", Ron questioned the girl while he shifted in his seat, completely oblivious to the fact that Hermione was obviously going to ask him.

Annabeth sighed quietly to herself while she played with the eggs on her plate.

"Actually, I was going to bring you." Hermione stated, the newspaper still in her hand and Ron seemed quiet surprised by that statement, "Really?"

Annabeth was surprised when she saw Lavender Brown appeared behind Ron. The blond girl tapped him on the shoulder, catching the boys attention. "Good luck today, Ron. I know you'll be brilliant."

The girl gave him a large smile before she then walked away. This made Ron lean towards Harry, "I'm resigning. After today's match, McLaggen can have my spot!"

"Have it your way- Juice?" Harry questioned him while he placed a goblet of juice infornt of his friend.

"Sure."

"Hello, everyone." Luna suddenly made her presence know. The blond had a giant Lion head on while she smiled at them.

Her eyes fell onto the ginger haired boy and her smile faltered, "You look dreadful, Ron." She then looked at Harry, "Is that why you put something in his cup?"

Everyone exchanged questioning look while Luna looked at Harry, "Is it a tonic?"

Harry moved his hand and they saw the vial of Felix Felicis wandering back into his jeans pocket.

Hermione's eyes widened immediately, "Liquid Luck." She then glared at Ron, "Don't drink it, Ron!"

Ron hesitated one second before he quickly downed the whole goblet which made Hermione roll with her eyes. "You could be expelled for that!"

Harry looked at her in confusion, "I don't know what your talking about."
And Ron had a bright smile on his face while he got up from his seat. "Ready, Harry? We've got a game to win!"

Harry smiled at his mate and they quickly left the Great Hall.

Annabeth sighed deeply before she said goodbye to Hermione and followed after the boys.

The next thing she knew, she felt the cold december air scratching like sandpaper over her cheeks while the snow flew into her eyes. It was everything, except perfect Quidditch condition.

The crowd beneath them was chanting Ron's name and they went wild everytime he blocked the Quaffle.

"Weasley! Weasley! Weasley!"

The brunette smiled while she flew over the roaring crowd, Quaffle in hand. She successfully avoided the Slytherins' that were coming for her and scored a point before the Quaffle fell back into the hands of Slytherins'.

Her gaze moved over the crowd, searching for a certain blond haired boy in the Slytherin section.

Her heart skipped a beat when she spotted him in the crowd, his eyes focused on her and not the game.

The brunette's girl gave him a large smile and Draco smiled back at her before she focus back on the game.

Ron was on a roll, stopping one goal after the other while Ginny and Annabeth kept scoring points for Gryffindor. An hour into the game Harry had finally caught the snitch, ending the match.

The crowd went wild and Ron was proclaimed player of the day. They landed on the filed and when the crowd of Gryffindors' had reached them Seamus and Dean lifted Ron onto their shoulders. They were still changing his name while immediately making their way to the Common room to celebrate.

The whole common room was filled with students while everyone was chanting Ron's name. "Weasley! Weasley! Weasley!"

The Weasley boy was standing in the middle of the room, soaking the feeling of victory and popularity in.

Harry, Annabeth and Hermione were standing on the edge of the room while watching their friend.

"You really shouldn't have done it." Hermione stated stubbornly, her arms crossed over her chest while she glanced at Harry. The boy raised an eyebrow at her, "I know I suppose I could've just used a Confundus Charm."

Hermione's eyes widened a little. "That was different! That was tryouts- this was an actual game!"

Without saying another word, Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the vial of Felix Felicis that was still filled to the brim.

Hermione raised her eyebrows in surprise, "You didn't put it in! Ron only thought you did."

The three looked back at their friend and Harry nodded in silence, a proud smirk plastered on his face. Annabeth chuckled quietly to herself while she watched how Ron embraced the love and celebration he was receiving from his house mates.

But that moment was interrupted by  Lavender Brown, who suddenly pulled Ron towards her by his arm and a second later their lips met.

The crowd started cheering loudly and Annabeth exchanged a shocked look with Hermione.

The brunette's smile fell and Annabeth could the hurt flash through her eyes before she quickly disappeared through the crowd.

Annabeth glanced at her brother and saw that he was still watching Ron with a large smile on his face. She decided not to tell him and quickly followed after Hermione.

A few minutes later, she found the brunette crying a few corridors away from their common room.

When Annabeth descended the stairs to join her friend, she spotted a few paper birds flying above her head while chirping.

As soon as Hermione had noticed her presence, she tried to cover her sobbing, "Charms spell- I'm just practicing."

"Well, they're really good, Hermione." Annabeth complimented the girl before she sat down besides her.

Hermione immediately wrapped her arms around Annabeth's arm, "How does it feel? When you see Draco with Pansy or other girl's, knowing that you two come from two completely different worlds?"

The brunette gave her an unsure look and Hermione gave her a pointed look back, "I know, Annie—  I see the way you look at him. Your my best friend."

Annabeth sighed deeply but before she could say something a giggling Lavender Brown and a smiling Ron stormed into the corridor, interrupting them. The two stopped in their track when they saw Hermione and Annabeth.

"Oops- I think this room's taken", Lavender whispered to Ron and giggled which made Annabeth roll with her eyes.

"What's with the birds?", Ron questioned and Hermione quickly stood up, the tears still streaming down her cheeks. "Oppugno."

In that moment the birds started flying towards Ron and attacked him. The boy quickly ran away and the birds hit the wall right beside his head.

Ron gave Hermione a shocked look before he spun around and walked away in silence.

As soon as he has disappeared from their view Hermione started violently sobbing and buried her head in Annabeth's shoulder.

The Potter girl stared straight ahead while she thought about the heartache she always felt when she thought about Draco and the worries she had about their relationship, "It feels just like this."

A FEW DAYS later, Annabeth was on her way to the library when she heard a familiar voices call out to her.

When the brunette turned around, the corridor was empty except for the blond Slytherin boy that stood on the other side.

Annabeth tightened her grip on the books she had in her hands and presses them against her chest.

Draco quickly made his way across the corridor and when he reached her his arm sneaked around her neck, pulling her into his body.

Annabeth chuckled while she felt herself snuggling into his side, his familiar smell hitting her nose. "Mhm, hey— I haven't seen you all day."

"I was just studying—", Draco answered her, a small smile on his face but Annabeth didn't buy it.

The brunette narrowed her eyes at hi and nodded her head. "All right—"

There was a moment of silence before the boy spoke up once more, "Where are you off to?"

"To the library", Annabeth answered him shortly before she cleared her throat. The girl knew that she couldn't ask Draco to be her date to the Slughorn party, he would never agree to attending anyway. But she knew that not bringing a date wouldn't satisfy Slughorn, which was a high priority right now.

The brunette stopped walking, which caught Draco's attention. Then brunette met his eyes, "Well, I know you want to keep this between us on the down low, so I know you wouldn't want to attend Slughorn's Christmas party."

Draco nodded in silence and Annabeth went on, "So, I just wanted to ask you if it's okay if I go with someone else?"

Draco's eyebrows raised slightly before he pushed his hands into the pockets of his suit and Annabeth knew he wasn't amazed by the suggestion.

"That's all right." A moment of silence passed by before he questioned, "Who are you asking?"

Annabeth shrugged, "Neville." Draco raised his eyebrows at her, his voice revealing his surprise, "Longbottom?"

"Yes, why?", Annabeth questioned him while her eyes spotted the mistletoe that was blossoming over their heads.
Draco just shrugged, "I just didn't expect that you would ask Longbottom."

Annabeth slowly grabbed his tie with her right hand and slowly pulled him closer towards her while she whispered. "Oh yes and why is that?"

Her eyes flickered from his eyes down to his lips and back up to his eyes. Draco did the same while he slowly leaned down to her.

Annabeth felt his lips hover above her own lips, a smile tugging on the corner of her mouth. Her eyes met his, "Jealous?"

Draco let out a deep scoff, "Me jealous of Longbottom?" There was a moment of silence before he shook his head, "Please."

Annabeth let out a chuckle before she softly yanked on his tie and connected their lips with each other.

The brunette felt the butterflies erupt in her stomach and this warmth and tingling feeling spreading through her body.

A moment later Annabeth pulled back and Draco stole one last kiss from her lips before they pulled back. "I have to go."

Draco gave her hand a squeeze before they let go of each other and Annabeth smiled, "I see you later."

The boy nodded and went on his way while she rounded the corner and entered the library.

The first person she spotted when she entered was Harry. The two had made up but she knew that Harry was not over his obsession with Draco being a Death Eater.

The two greeted each other and waited for Hermione, who at some point rounded the shelves, a stack of books in her hands.

She handed both of them a few of the books and for the next minutes they were following Hermione through the library, listening to the girl ranting about Ron, "He's at perfectly liberty to kiss whomever he likes! I really couldn't care less!"

The brunette let the books float to their right places but a moment later she continued, "Was I under the impression he and I would be attending Slughorn's Christmas party together? -yes. Now given the circumstances, I've had to make other arrangements."

"Have you?", Harry questioned her quickly, which made Hermione look at him with raised eyebrows, "Yes. Why?"

He just shrugged, "Well I just thought, seeing as neither of us can go with who we'd really like to we should go together. As friends."

Hermione suddenly stopped in he track and looked at him, "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Who are you going with, Annie?", Hermione questioned her and Annabeth shrugged while she leaned against one of the shelves. "I don't know."

"Who are you going with?", Annabeth then questioned her and Hermione cleared her throat awkwardly. "It's a surprise- anyway, it's you two we've got to worry about. You can't just take anyone."

"See the girl over there-", Hermione pointed her head at one of the girls sitting further down the corridor. "That's Romilda Vane. Apparently she's trying to smuggle you a love potion."

"Really?", Harry immediately questioned her, his eyes snapping towards the girl and Hermione snapped her fingers infornt of his face, making Harry's eyes focused back on her. "Hey! She's only interested in you because she thinks you're the chosen one!"

Harry had a smug smile plastered on his face while he raised his eyebrows at her, "But I am the Chosen one."

Annabeth didn't waste a second before she hit him over the head with the Daily prophet. Harry flinched when the paper hit his head and he immediately apologized, "Okay, sorry- Kidding. I'll ask someone I like. Someone cool."

Annabeth raised her eyebrows at him while she crossed her arms over her chest and Hermione gave her a questioning look.

The brunette shrugged, "Well, maybe I'll ask Neville? He's a nice guy."

"He definitely is", Hermione immediately nodded her head in agreement.

And she had infact asked Neville to be her date for the Slughorn Christmas due.

The brunette boy was excited that she had asked him, it was clear that the two were just friends but Neville was curious what happened at the Slughorn party's.

Currently the two were standing by the punch bowl, filling their cups while Neville was constantly commenting on everything that was happening around them.

Annabeth found him adorable but she chose to leave the boy behind when she saw how Hermione desperately tried to hide behind one of the large curtains.

The brunette slowly approache the curtains, her eyebrows furrowed, "Hermione? What are you doing?"

She fought her way through the curtains and raised her eyebrows at her friend, who sighed loudly and tried to put her hair back into its right place, "I've just escaped- I mean, left Cormac under the mistletoe."

Annabeth immediately frowned at her in pure disgust, "Cormac? That's who you invited?"

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged, "I thought it would annoy Ron the most." The brunette girl sighed deeply, "He's got more tentacles than a Snarfalump plant."

Suddenly one of the waiters separated the curtains and held a plate out for them, "Dragon Tartare?"

They all shook their heads at him, "No, I'm fine. Thank you." The waiter nodded as well and smiled, "Just as well- they give one horribly bad breath."

"On second thoughts-", Hermione immediately grabbed the whole tray from his hands and started stuffing the tatare in her mouth. When she saw Harry's confused looked she spoke, "Might keep Cormac at bay."

"Oh my God- here he comes!" She handed the tray quickly back to Harry before she dove under the curtains and disappeared into the crowd.

On the other side of the curtains, Cormac appeared, his eyes searching for Hermione.

"I think she just went to powder her nose", Harry quickly gave Cormac an excuse for Hermiones disappearance.

"Slippery little minx, your friend. Likes to work her mouth too, doesn't she?", Cormac stated while he grabbed a dragon Tartare and shoved it into his mouth.

Annabeth raised her eyebrows at him and scoffed, "At least she has something interesting to say."

The boy gave her a quick glance but chose to ignore her comment. "What is that I'm eating by the way?"

"Dragon balls." Harry answered him when suddenly Snape appeared besides them, a questioning look on his face.

Harry and Annabeth immediately straightened up and just pretended that the curtains infront of them were very interesting while Cormac was preoccupied with puking his guts all over Professor Snapes shoes.

When the boy straighten himself up again, he seemed like he had just seen a ghost. The fear in his eyes was clear as day while Snape stared him down. "You've just bought yourself a months detention, McLaggen."

"Not so quick, Potter." Snapped voice called after them, which made them both stopp in their track. "Sir, I really think I should rejoin the party. My date-"

"Can surely survive your absence for another minute or two. Besides, I only wish to convey a message", Snape interrupted Harry. This made the boy look at him in surprise, "A message?"

Snape only nodded, "From Professor Dumbeldore. He asked to give his best and he hopes you enjoy your holiday. You see- he's traveling, and he won't return until term resumes."

"Traveling where?", Harry questioned immediately but Snape, without saying another word rushed past them, leaving the siblings in silence.

A moment later the doors to Professor Slughorn's office swung open and Flich hurried inside, grabbing Malfoy by the back of his suit.

"Take your hands off me, you filthy Squib!", Draco's familiar voice hissed at the man but Flich just ignored the Slytherin boy and addressed Professor Slughorn, who stood in the middle of the room, seeming quiet taken back by the situation, "Professor Slughorn, sir! I just discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor. He claims to have been invited to your party."

"Okay, okay! I was gatecrashing! Happy?", Draco immediately admitted while he still struggled against Flichs grip.

Snape quickly appeared besides Draco, his eyes fixed on the boy while his voice remained as monotonous as always, "I'll escort him out."

Draco yanked his shoulder free from Flichs grip, the disgust still visible on his face when he glanced up at Snape. "Certainly, Professor."

He then spun around on his heel and was followed outside by Snape.

"All right, everyone. Carry on! Carry on!", Slughorn called out as soon as the two left the room and everyone went back to their conversations.

But Harry had other plans, he softly grabbed his sister's hand before he pulled her after him out of Slughorn's office and down a corridor.

Annabeth could hear footsteps in the distance and they both stopped walking when Annabeth heard Draco's familiar voice.

His voice seemed scratchy and rough when he hissed at Snape, "Maybe I did hex that Bell girl! Maybe I didn't! What's it to you?"

They could hear how Snape crashed Draco against the wall and spoke, "I swore to protect you! I made the Unbreakable vow!"

Annabeth felt how her heart sunk when she heard Draco spatting at the Professor, "I don't need protection! I was chosen for this! Out of all other's! Me! And I won't fail him!"

The brunette felt like she was frozen. She couldn't move. He sounded so different. Nothing like the Draco she knew.

"You're afraid, Draco. You attempt to conceal it, but it's obvious. Let me assist you." Snape stated. Which made Draco whisper, "No! I was chosen for this! This is my moment!"

Annabeth felt the tears trickling down her cheeks while she stared straight ahead.

The brunette couldn't bring herself to move, she wanted to walk away but she couldn't. She was frozen in shock. Shocked by the betrayal of a person she loved.