14 The Opal And The Signet Ring

-Your POV-

They had sat in The Three Broomsticks for several hours, talking and joking and thanks to the Butterbeer, Y/N was able to open up a bit. But she tried to hold back and at the end of the day she was the only one who wasn't drunk.

Getting the group back to Hogwarts felt like watching over a bunch of toddlers. Y/N barely managed to not lose her patience and went to dinner alone. There she met Helena who tried to ignore her. But when Y/N told her that Blaise was drunk, her face lit up and she ran off.

The last thing Y/N did was look for the Gryffindors to apologize to them. Like last time, they sat in the library, heads sticking together, whispering.

"Hey guys."

They looked up. Y/N could tell that they were not too happy to see her.

"Uhm…I'm sorry for how I acted earlier. And for cursing at you. That wasn't fair."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other.

"I was just really mad at the whole situation and I got scared but I shouldn't have let it out on you. Please accept my apology."

She looked at them pleadingly.

"Not so much a Slytherin after all," Ron humbled.

Hermione hit his shoulder and looked at Y/N. "Of course, it's not a big deal. It must be a lot for you."

Y/N nodded. "Alright, I'll see you guys then."

She turned to leave but the girl called her back. "Wait. We want to talk about something with you."

Y/N looked at them unsure but then sat down.

Hermione lowered her voice. "We might have an idea how we can learn what Umbridge refuses to teach us."

"How?"

"Harry can teach us. He knows…a lot."

Y/N raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure Umbridge would like that."

"That's why we have to do it in secret," Harry mumbled. "We'll form a group of students we can trust, like a secret club. Would you join?"

Y/N leaned back, her eyes widened. "Uhm…I appreciate your trust but I don't think that I should join. I'm already struggling."

"Is it because of Malfoy?" Hermione asked. "Because you'd have to keep it from him?"

She shook her head. "Look, I don't know what you guys think is going on between me and him. We are friends, okay? I can make my own decisions. And I am deciding that joining a secret club is really the last thing I should be doing right now."

She got up from her seat. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Y/N…please think about it."

"Yeah, sure, I will. I have to leave now, see ya."

She rushed out of the library before one of them could hold her back again.

Harry Potter illegally teaching his peers advanced magic. That was not something she wanted to get involved with. Not right now.

*****

Y/N had lied awake last night, her thoughts circling around the mysterious potion and the golden trio's plan. The fact she didn't have anyone to talk about these things with started tearing on her nerves. Maybe if she wrote her parents a letter? But they'd only start worrying.

It must have been well past midnight when she finally drifted away, her sleep was riddled with tattered dreams that she couldn't remember once Y/N woke up again.

She had slept past breakfast but wasn't hungry anyway. The situation lay heavily in her stomach.

She turned around in her bed to close her eyes for a few more minutes, when someone threw themselves onto her mattress. It was Helena.

"Y/N, you're amazing!" She hugged the sleepy girl. "You were so right! I went to look for Blaise and he actually talked to me! He didn't remember my name but that's fine. I felt a real connection there. He even asked if I wanted to hang out today. Oh Y/N, I'm so excited!"

"I'm happy for you," she muffled into the pillow. "Just don't scare him away."

"Who? Me? Don't worry, I might not be as much of a heartbreaker as you but I do know how to talk to boys."

"Since when am I a heartbreaker?"

Helena forced Y/N to look at her. She was grinning as she whispered: "Draco has been looking for you."

Suddenly, Y/N was wide awake. She had completely forgotten that they wanted to study together!

"Dammit." She peeled herself out of the bed.

Helena giggled. "You get ready. I'm going to see Blaise now! I'll send you a wedding invitation."

She skipped out of the room and Y/N gathered her school uniform before she stumbled into the bathroom.

Although she knew that Draco was waiting, she didn't want to turn up looking like a rotten potato so Y/N enjoyed a nice hot shower. Her skin was tingling in delight.

Once she had blow dried her hair and put on her clothes, Y/N looked into the mirror and frowned at the sight of her puffy eyes. But there was nothing she could do now so she made her way to the common room.

It was empty except for Draco who was sitting on one of the sofas. He looked immaculate as always and unlike Y/N, he didn't show any signs of consuming alcohol.

He didn't notice her approaching and only looked up once the girl fell down next to him.

"Oh, look who has decided to grace me with her presence."

"I'm sorry, I was so tired, I completely-"

"It's fine. But you should start working now if you want to impress Snape and get into his pants."

Y/N cringed at the joke. "Please, no. Let's forget that ever happened."

"As you wish."

She opened her notes on Moonstone and the essay she had begun writing. Then they started working in silence.

*****

Some time had passed, Y/N was almost done with her essay. Draco had temporarily dozed off with his head on her shoulder but woke up right as other Slytherins entered the common room. Like he had a built in sensor for such situations.

They ate some of the chocolate Draco had bought yesterday and once Y/N was done, the boy pulled out his wand.

"So, will you show me your flower trick now?"

"The vase? Sure."

Holding her wand, she tried to remember the spell.

Once again, the unfamiliar knowledge sent a shiver down her spine but she tried to hide the uneasiness.

"Think about what you want to manifest. Start with something small and simple. Like a ring. You can't decide what it will look like exactly."

How did she knew all these things? Y/N swallowed. "The object will look different depending on the witch's or wizard's personality."

She pointed her wand at the table in front of them where they had put their books and papers.

"Appareo."

A delicate glass ring fell onto the wood, it held a rounded opal.

Wow. It had actually worked.

"Fascinating." Draco concentrated. "Appareo." But his wand merely let out a small fart. He raised an eyebrow.

"Now what does this say about my personality?"

Y/N chuckled. "Nothing. Your hand motion wasn't precise. May I?"

She softly grabbed his hand and led it through the air. Then she quickly let go.

"Try again."

Draco seemed taken aback a bit by the touch but nodded.

He pointed his wand at the table.

"Appareo."

A silver signet ring fell down. He picked it up to take a closer look and Y/N saw that a key was carved into the flat round surface.

"What do you think this means?" he asked more to himself as he turned the piece of jewelry between his fingers.

"Well, sealing letters is both classy and a sign of privacy. Whereas keys are used to open things. So if I had to guess I'd say that you…are closed but want to open up."

Draco didn't look at Y/N as he thought about her words.

"Hm."

Fearing that she might have gone a step too far, Y/N picked up the glass ring with the gemstone. "And what do you think mine says about me?"

"I'd guess it means that you're beautiful inside and out."

She was surprised by his answer. "Really? That's how you'd interpret it?"

Draco shrugged. "It's more of a personal observation. Though I'm sure the ring agrees."

What he said made Y/N blush. Did he just call her…? But he did it so indirectly like he didn't dare to say it to her face.

"Well, I'd like to thank the ring for this very kind compliment and return it but sadly it's just an object."

Draco smiled to himself. "I think it got the message anyway."