After All This Time - Book 2

"Teachers are hereby banned from giving students any information that is not strictly related to the subjects that they are paid to teach."

A low grumble grew among the crowd that had gathered to watch Filtch happily nail up Umbridge's latest educational decree. Educational decree being used lightly at this point as they had turned into banning everything no matter if it had to do with our education or not. I shook my head and walked into the great hall where my friends had already gathered around the Gryffindor table. I glanced over at the Slytherin table but couldn't spot Draco's icy hair. I hadn't seen him at all the previous day or that morning. I sat down between the Weasley twins just as breakfast appeared on the table. Platters piled with eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, and other various breakfast foods covered the table. A typical breakfast on the morning of a quidditch match. Gryffindor was to play Hufflepuff that morning, not a big rivalry but still an important game nonetheless. I was mindlessly pushing my scrambled eggs around my plate, listening to the trio tell us about them being banned from going to Hagrid's hut, when out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of icy hair. I looked up to see Draco walking into the great hall, Snape right on his heels. Neither of them exchanged any words and quickly split ways to head to their respective tables. Something happened I thought to myself as my eyes followed Snape up to the head table. I quickly glanced from him over to Draco whose eyes immediately darted from me down to his plate of food. Something definitely happened. I shoved my plate away from me and quickly stood up from my place, glancing at Draco and Snape who were both staring at me before leaving the great hall. As quickly as I could, without running over another student wandering the halls, I ran all the way up to my room. As soon I was inside I closed the door and locked it with a simple spell. I pulled a small black box out from under my night table and retrieved a crisp piece of parchment from it.

"Accio quill" I whispered and reached out my hand to grab the feather that flew out of my book bag. I scribbled a quick note onto the piece of parchment and shoved it in an envelope, sealing it with a bit of wax just as Helios perched himself on my window sill. I threw the box back under my night table before placing the sealed envelope in Helios' beak and giving him a quick kiss goodbye. Something was going on and I was going to find out what.

~

"What the hell happened" Hermione and I yelled at Harry. Hufflepuff had beat Gryffindor by 10 points and none of us were too happy about it. I pulled Ginny into a hug, congratulating her on catching the snitch.

"It didn't matter though" she whispered to me, glancing over at Harry. "It didn't change anything between us."

"You don't know that, it literally just happened" I replied, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. "He noticed it, I'm sure of it. He's just a little pre occupied with pissed off Gryffindors."

Ginny let out a half hearted laugh and squeezed my hand before walking back toward her teammates. Seconds later I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist and a head place itself on my shoulder.

"Should I have my father buy you a better team" Draco whispered into my ear.

"No, but can he make someone disappear?"

A humming noise passed by my ear as Draco spun me around to face him. "I didn't know you had it in you. May I ask who?"

"Cho."

"Cho Chang? Don't tell me you're still hung up on she and Harry" he said as he laced his fingers with mine and lead me from the pitch.

"I am. He needs to be with Ginny, she would be so much better for him."

"That thick headed prat will figure it out eventually" Draco mused.

"Watch it" I snapped back in reply.