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Chapter 30: Brooding
He hated to admit it, but he was brooding. Holed up in his room, he had been staring out the window for hours, his last conversation with Ginny repeating itself over and over in his head. It was just such a hard thing to wrap his head around. The littlest Weasley, the heir of Slytherin? It just didn’t make any sense at all. And the comments about his father being to blame?
Cursing himself, he knew that he should have kept his temper and had her explain what she was talking about. But what she’d been saying had just about turned his head around completely. Blaming his uncle for this? He thought that perhaps she’d been able to see past the Malfoy stereotype that Lucius had created. That maybe the spark between them would be enough to forget all about that old Malfoy-Weasley nonsense, but her only suggestion about how was behind these attacks was naturally a Malfoy.
Of course, she hadn’t come right out and said that it was Vincent, his conscious needled him. He shrugged it off, unwilling to feel guilty. Frustration was enough to deal with at the moment. The compelling mystery of Virginia Weasley – just when he thought he had it all sorted out, she threw another punch at him, twisting everything round even more. And just when he thought that he’d begun to break down that ridiculous wall of ice around her, she just froze him out yet again. Releasing a groan, he checked the time, and noted that it was just about time for him to visit the maze, and check that all was well there. He reluctantly left his brooding post at the window, and walked out of his room.
“Malfoy!” an angry voice called down the hall. He turned around to see a rather irate Harry Potter charging towards him. Struggling to contain a seething groan, not entirely pleased to see his arch nemesis at this moment.
“What can I do for you, Potter?” he asked, instantly taking on his famous indifferent attitude and the infamous Malfoy sneer.
“Where is Gabrielle?” the other man demanded, his tone full of warning and anger.
“Lost your fiancée, Potter? I figured that you would be able to hold on to her for a little bit longer than that,” Draco answered, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall, taking a small degree of pleasure knowing that his complacency was irritating the other man to no end.
“I’ve looked everywhere for her! I haven’t seen her since this afternoon! Do you know where she is?” he demanded. Draco was taken aback by his intensity.
“No, I haven’t seen her. Have you checked her room?” he asked, becoming more civil towards Harry as his suspicious mind began to plot the implications of a missing Gabrielle. She was not the type of girl who would ever hide or leave without telling anyone. She was much to…considerate and well behaved for that.
“Harry! Did you see Hermione leave?” another frantic voice called down the hall, as hurried footsteps came running up to them.
“Ron, didn’t she leave hours ago?” Harry asked, startled by his best friend’s panicked tone.
“She was going to go say goodbye to Ginny, but that was hours ago! Her bag is still in the hall where she left it, and now I can’t find her anywhere!” Ron exclaimed, his face red and his eyes wide with worry. The pair of friends suddenly seemed to be hit with a thought at the same moment, and turned to glare at Draco.
“Where are they, Malfoy?” Ron spat out at him.
“I hardly know any more than you two,” Draco said, his tone turning hostile, indignant that they were blaming him for the disappearance of his very own cousin. “You said that Granger was going to say goodbye to Virginia, did you think to check with her?”
“Of course. Ginny wasn’t in her room and neither was Hermione,” Ron said, bristling at Draco’s sarcastic tone. Draco was about to roll his eyes in exasperation with the two idiots in front of him when he suddenly froze. A worried look passed between Harry and Ron as they watched as Draco’s face paled considerably, as he stared past them, as if paralyzed.
With a muttered swear, he pushed past Harry and Ron, and began to walk down the hall, his stride quick and very telling of his current worry.
“Malfoy, do you know where Gabrielle and Hermione are?” Harry called after him, running to catch up.
“You know more than what you’re saying, Malfoy. If anything has happened to either of them, you will pay for this!” Ron threatened. Draco halted in his tracks, and flung around.
“You are both a bunch of sodding idiots! Gabrielle and Hermione are not the ones that are missing and they aren’t the one you should be worried about!” he yelled, suddenly furious.
“What the hell are you talking about, Malfoy?” Ron demanded. Any reply that Draco may have had to that question was drowned out by a loud explosion that rocked the mansion and shook the floor, throwing the three men to the floor.
Chapter 30: Brooding
He hated to admit it, but he was brooding. Holed up in his room, he had been staring out the window for hours, his last conversation with Ginny repeating itself over and over in his head. It was just such a hard thing to wrap his head around. The littlest Weasley, the heir of Slytherin? It just didn’t make any sense at all. And the comments about his father being to blame?
Cursing himself, he knew that he should have kept his temper and had her explain what she was talking about. But what she’d been saying had just about turned his head around completely. Blaming his uncle for this? He thought that perhaps she’d been able to see past the Malfoy stereotype that Lucius had created. That maybe the spark between them would be enough to forget all about that old Malfoy-Weasley nonsense, but her only suggestion about how was behind these attacks was naturally a Malfoy.
Of course, she hadn’t come right out and said that it was Vincent, his conscious needled him. He shrugged it off, unwilling to feel guilty. Frustration was enough to deal with at the moment. The compelling mystery of Virginia Weasley – just when he thought he had it all sorted out, she threw another punch at him, twisting everything round even more. And just when he thought that he’d begun to break down that ridiculous wall of ice around her, she just froze him out yet again. Releasing a groan, he checked the time, and noted that it was just about time for him to visit the maze, and check that all was well there. He reluctantly left his brooding post at the window, and walked out of his room.
“Malfoy!” an angry voice called down the hall. He turned around to see a rather irate Harry Potter charging towards him. Struggling to contain a seething groan, not entirely pleased to see his arch nemesis at this moment.
“What can I do for you, Potter?” he asked, instantly taking on his famous indifferent attitude and the infamous Malfoy sneer.
“Where is Gabrielle?” the other man demanded, his tone full of warning and anger.
“Lost your fiancée, Potter? I figured that you would be able to hold on to her for a little bit longer than that,” Draco answered, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall, taking a small degree of pleasure knowing that his complacency was irritating the other man to no end.
“I’ve looked everywhere for her! I haven’t seen her since this afternoon! Do you know where she is?” he demanded. Draco was taken aback by his intensity.
“No, I haven’t seen her. Have you checked her room?” he asked, becoming more civil towards Harry as his suspicious mind began to plot the implications of a missing Gabrielle. She was not the type of girl who would ever hide or leave without telling anyone. She was much to…considerate and well behaved for that.
“Harry! Did you see Hermione leave?” another frantic voice called down the hall, as hurried footsteps came running up to them.
“Ron, didn’t she leave hours ago?” Harry asked, startled by his best friend’s panicked tone.
“She was going to go say goodbye to Ginny, but that was hours ago! Her bag is still in the hall where she left it, and now I can’t find her anywhere!” Ron exclaimed, his face red and his eyes wide with worry. The pair of friends suddenly seemed to be hit with a thought at the same moment, and turned to glare at Draco.
“Where are they, Malfoy?” Ron spat out at him.
“I hardly know any more than you two,” Draco said, his tone turning hostile, indignant that they were blaming him for the disappearance of his very own cousin. “You said that Granger was going to say goodbye to Virginia, did you think to check with her?”
“Of course. Ginny wasn’t in her room and neither was Hermione,” Ron said, bristling at Draco’s sarcastic tone. Draco was about to roll his eyes in exasperation with the two idiots in front of him when he suddenly froze. A worried look passed between Harry and Ron as they watched as Draco’s face paled considerably, as he stared past them, as if paralyzed.
With a muttered swear, he pushed past Harry and Ron, and began to walk down the hall, his stride quick and very telling of his current worry.
“Malfoy, do you know where Gabrielle and Hermione are?” Harry called after him, running to catch up.
“You know more than what you’re saying, Malfoy. If anything has happened to either of them, you will pay for this!” Ron threatened. Draco halted in his tracks, and flung around.
“You are both a bunch of sodding idiots! Gabrielle and Hermione are not the ones that are missing and they aren’t the one you should be worried about!” he yelled, suddenly furious.
“What the hell are you talking about, Malfoy?” Ron demanded. Any reply that Draco may have had to that question was drowned out by a loud explosion that rocked the mansion and shook the floor, throwing the three men to the floor.
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