Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Samantha	By : orcadarwin Category: HP Canon Characters paired with Original Characters > Het - Male/Female Views: 3776 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and make no money from writing this.

Chapter List
- 1-Samantha
- 1
A/N : I wish to apologize for the original posting of this. I did not realize that it had copied twice, leaving off part of the ending in the first copy. I have fixed it. Thank you angel0fmusic for bringing it to my attention.
Samantha
            I stood on the sidewalk in front of Number 4 Privet Drive waiting. Waiting for him to come out so that we could play or do whatever chore his awful aunt and uncle gave him to do. I had never met them in person, but I had seen them through the windows and had seen how they treated him compared to their son. How could they be so mean to him? He was such a likeable, no, a loveable boy. He was so caring, so smart, and so special. I knew that he would do great things.
            I, on the other hand, was just an ordinary girl. Simple brown hair that hung down to my shoulders, plain brown eyes, nothing special, or so I thought. He thought differently. He thought I was the best person in the world. Funny how people see themselves differently than how others see them.
            Watching through the window, I saw the big fat man that was his uncle raise his arm and bring it down hard on something. Somehow I knew that he was hurting Harry, my friend, my best friend. The arm struck down several more times before the door opened and I saw him. His arms over his head, running from his aunt, who was chasing him with an iron frying pan, hitting him over the head with it whenever she was in reach, he leapt the last few steps to get away. She swung one last time and caught his shoulder, sending him flying off to the side, landing in the bushes beside the front step. Glancing up, his aunt saw that she was in full view of the neighborhood, so she quickly turned and vanished behind the door, leaving him lying there, bleeding.
            Before I knew what was happening, I felt heat rising inside me. My vision began to fade, all I could see was red. I felt flames rise up inside me and it scared me. I had no idea what was going on. The angrier I got at how they had just treated my friend, the more the flames rose and intensified. All of a sudden, I felt him at my side just as an explosion rocked the area. I had no idea what was happening. We were thrown backwards with the force of the explosion, landing on our backsides on the soft grass in the yard behind us. There was a moment of silence and then screams and voices broke through. Hands grabbed me, pulling me further back, away from the flames that were consuming the house that Harry had just been chased from. Confusion and shock registered on my face. My vision was slowly coming back into focus and I saw what had exploded. The house that Harry lived in with his aunt and uncle had exploded and what remained was now burning. There’s no way that anyone inside had survived.
            I looked over at him, seeing his wide eyes and the shaking of his hands; I knew that he was as scared as I was. The neighbors were hovering over us, thinking we might go back into the house or something. Like anyone would really want to save those awful people. I looked back at the house and something crossed my mind. ‘Did I do that? Did I make that house explode and kill those people?’ I thought to myself.
            “Wha….What….What happened?” Harry asked tentatively. He locked eyes with me, searching for answers.
            “I don’t know, Harry. I just don’t know,” I answered. Only 7 years old, and here Harry was without a family and a home for the second time in his young life. I had never had a real home, moving from orphanage to orphanage, never really belonging. Something always happened that made me undesirable to keep around, so the mistress of the orphanage would ship me off somewhere else, making me someone else’s problem.
            Sirens announced the arrival of the fire squad, here to put out the flames and find out what happened. Once the neighbors were satisfied that we weren’t going to try to go back into the house, they began drifting away from us, mingling with each other, discussing the explosion. We were forgotten for the moment. Moving towards each other, I gathered him up into my arms to comfort him. We were both scared, but I knew that with his background, he was more scared than I was. Sitting there holding each other, we didn’t notice the man appear behind us, until he spoke.
            “Well now, isn’t this a mess,” he said softly. “Mr. Potter, Ms. Cooper, come with me, please.” Gesturing with his arms for us to stand and join him. “Hurry, there’s not much time until they realize what happened.”
            Harry and I glanced at each other, shrugged and then stood to join the man. Once we reached his side, he held out each arm for us to grab onto. When we touched his arm, we were sucked into an abyss. I felt like my lungs were being crushed and that I was dying. I had thought this man was a kind, gentle old man. Guess I was wrong about that. The feeling stopped almost as quickly as it began. I opened my eyes warily, not knowing what I was going to see. We were standing in a dark alley somewhere I had never been. “Where are we?” I asked the old gentleman.
            “Hogsmeade, a magical town outside of Hogwarts. We are meeting up with someone here to discuss the two of you,” he replied and led us to the back door of a place. Harry was too shell-shocked to speak, so it was up to me to find out what was going on.
            “Magical? As in magic, witches, wizards and all that stuff?” I asked.
            “Yes, now please be patient and I will explain everything once we are inside in private. I don’t want anyone to overhear us,” he said. He led us up the stairs in the dark house to a room. Opening the door, I saw a dark figure standing near the window. “Is it secure, Severus?” he asked.
            The dark figure turned around at the sound of the old man’s voice. “Yes, Albus. Silencing spells, concealing charms, the whole works. No one but us will know that we are even here,” he said with a sigh. Waving his hand, chairs appeared around the room, startling me and Harry. I jumped back away from the two men, my back meeting the door. Scrambling for the doorknob, I couldn’t find it. Turning around and looking at the door, I noticed that the doorknob was missing.
            “Ms. Cooper, it’s quite alright. Severus didn’t mean to startle you. We just assumed that you’d be used to magic, after what happened earlier,” the old man stated.
            “I…I…I did that? I blew up that house?” I stammered, my body beginning to shake. “How?” my voice squeaked out the word.
            Chuckling, the old man watched me, “Magic, Ms. Cooper. You are a witch. Now, I know that you didn’t mean for that to happen earlier. You are very young and don’t know the power of your magic yet. Frankly, none of us know the power of your magic. That’s why I’ve asked Severus here with me.” Seeing the confused look on my face, he spoke again. “You really had no idea, did you? Who are your parents?” he asked.
            “I don’t know. I’ve been shuffled from orphanage to orphanage most of my life. Did I really blow that house up?” I answered.
            Nodding his head, “Unfortunately, yes, Ms. Cooper. Now….,” he began again.
            I shook my head, tears forming in my eyes, “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to kill them; they just made me so angry, hurting Harry like that. He never did anything to deserve that kind of treatment. You see what they did to him. You see the cuts, the blood, and the bruises. They were horrible to him, always.” I kept on until I felt Harry’s hand on my shoulder.
            “It really is okay, Sam. I know that you didn’t mean to do it; you were only looking out for me like always. I’ve never had any connection to them, anyway.” Harry said to me.
            Shaking my head, I silently sobbed. “Harry, young Harry. I am so sorry to have placed you with those horrible people, but I really had no choice. They were the only family you had left after your parents were killed,” the old man said.
            I looked up at him, “Who are you, anyway? Why are we here?”
            “Oh, dear, I seem to have forgotten to introduce myself in my haste to get you away from there. I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A school the two of you will attend once you turn 11, which if I’m not mistaken is on the same day. You are both 7 now, so I will need to find lodgings for you for the next 4 years that will be safe and undetectable,” he told them.
            “Undetectable? Why?” Harry asked.
            “Well, that all begins with you, Harry. You see, you defeated a very dark and evil wizard when you were just a year old. No one knows how you did it, but you survived a curse that no one can survive. Your parents died protecting you from him. He killed them to get to you. Harry, there was once a prophecy about a boy being born who would defeat this wizard. He found out about it, and came after you in the attempt to kill you before you could grow strong enough to defeat him. When he cast the curse at you, it rebounded and hit himself. No one really knows if he is actually dead or if he is just a shadow of himself waiting to be reborn in a new body. So, with that knowledge, we must protect you at all costs. You are the one to defeat him in the end, one way or another.” Dumbledore explained.
            Harry was silent as he absorbed this information. I pondered what was said before I spoke, “What about me? Why am I here?”
            “Well, Samantha, I’m not sure about you just yet. That is why Severus is here. He has a potion to test your powers and to find out who your parents are. All you have to do is provide a little blood,” he said, gesturing to the two small cauldrons sitting on a table near the window. I nodded and stood to make my way over to the dark man who hadn’t spoken since we had arrived. Holding out my hand to him, I allowed him to slice my finger and hold it over one of the cauldrons. A few drops of my blood dripped into the liquid making it hiss. He moved my hand over the other cauldron and a few more drops of my blood blended with that liquid.
            “It will take a few moments for the first to begin. The ancestry will take a bit longer.” Severus said and sat back down to wait. Dumbledore held out a piece of gauze to me to wrap around my finger, only to pull his hand back quickly when I reached out for it. I gasped when I saw what he was staring at. My finger was no longer bleeding and the cut was nowhere to be seen. It was like I had never been cut. Looking up and finding everyone staring at me, I began to cry again.
            “What’s wrong with me?” I asked. Dumbledore took my hands in his wrinkled ones.
            “My dear, there is nothing wrong with you. Once we find out the extent of your powers and who your parents are, then we can answer your questions. At this point, I don’t really know much about you, other than you blew up a house using magic. You did it to protect your friend, which makes you a good person, a good witch,” he said to me in a soothing tone.
            Severus cleared his throat, “The power testing potion is ready,” he said softly. We all looked at the cauldron that had issued a gray mist that hung above it. After a moment, an explosion appeared, making me cringe. I felt Harry’s arm around my shoulders. A fierce rain fell on the fire, and then a dust storm rose up swirling in circles. Strong winds blew the dust away. Lightning shot through the mist, and then a sense of calm in the mist. The mist began churning with emotions; hate, fear, love, lust, pain. I was so confused watching this. What did it all mean? The mist then settled back into the cauldron, indicating that it was done.
            Severus sat down heavily in the chair, making it slide backwards a little. Dumbledore turned to me, “I know that you are probably confused. I will admit that I am a bit confused myself. What we saw there is a power that no one has known before. No single person could possibly possess that much power. However, it seems that you do. From what the potion tells us, you can control the elements; fire, water, earth, and air; as well as electricity. It also seems that you are an empath and can feel others emotions and hear their inner most thoughts. All of these powers make you a very special, powerful witch.” The older gentleman assured me and explained what the potion had shown us.
            Sitting heavily in the chair behind me, I let out the breath I didn’t realize that I was holding. Hearing a shaky breath being taken in, I looked up at Severus. “Albus, you realize what she is, don’t you? She’s a protector,” he said, looking up at Dumbledore.
            Dumbledore nodded, “Yes, I realize that, Severus. That means that there is a reason for these two to have found each other.”
            Harry looked at him with his brows furrowed together. “You mean that Sam and I are meant to be together?” he asked.
            “Well, not necessarily together in a mate sense. You were meant to find each other. I think she was meant to protect you from the dark wizard.” Dumbledore mused. Glancing up at the other cauldron, he noticed that it was bubbling furiously. “Ah, won’t be much longer now.”
            We all waited in silence. I didn’t want to know who had given me all this power, but I did want to know my parents. I envied those around me in school who had moms and dads to love them. The potion began hissing violently and a dark black vapor emitted from the mouth of the cauldron. It hung above the cauldron, just as the mist had done with the other. I knew that we were about to find out something, something important.
            “It will begin with the mother’s side,” Severus stated. Before long, a picture formed, but it wasn’t a woman like we expected it to be. It was a picture of a woman with long blonde hair. She was so beautiful, my mother. Dumbledore and Snape both drew in a breath. Next up was another woman, this one with dark hair and glasses. She was almost as beautiful as the first. A deeper indrawn breath came from the two men. A man appeared next. He had dark hair and eyes. The two men in the room with us made another intake of breath, “It can’t be.” Dumbledore whispered. A second man appeared; this one had light brown hair. Dumbledore and Severus both gasped in shock and took a step backwards. The potion stopped bubbling and hissing and the vapor settled back into the cauldron.
            Turning to Dumbledore, I watched him stare at the cauldron as if it were alive. “So, what does that mean? I have two mothers, and two fathers? How is that possible?” I asked.
            He turned to me and stared. After several long moments, “No, it can’t be. I thought that was a failed experiment,” he mumbled. Some papers appeared in his hand and he began shuffling through them. “Yes, see there, it says here that the experiment failed. The child had died.” He looked up at me and then at Severus.
            Severus stepped closer to examine the papers. His eyes widened as he read. “He was trying to create a protector for himself. He wanted a way to defeat Potter. So, he took part of the founders of magic and created her. Where did the other powers come from?” he wondered.
            I sat down heavily again, “You’re talking about the dark wizard who tried to kill Harry, aren’t you?”
            Both men nodded. “Yes, he was gifted in potions, but I never thought he would do something like this.”
            “So, you’re saying that I’m not really human. I was created. As a weapon to destroy Harry,” I said, standing at the sudden realization. “I could never. I wouldn’t hurt Harry. I would die before that happened.” I yelled almost hysterically. Harry grabbed my hands and made me look him in the eye like he always did when I was upset.
            “Take a deep breath and look at me, Sam,” he said. When I complied, “Good. I know that you would never hurt me. You are as human as me. I’m sure that Mr. Dumbledore here has a good explanation for everything. Let’s just let him tell us what’s going on.” Harry was always my calming influence. He knew just what to say to me when I was upset to get me to calm down. We had known each other since we were barely able to walk. We both turned to Dumbledore for the explanation Harry was certain he had.
            Seeing us watching him, he sighed, “Well, I’m not sure I can explain everything. All I’m sure of is that yes, he did create you. Don’t worry, though, you are as human as the rest of us. A very powerful one, from what we have seen. From the notes I took from his manor, I can say that he wanted to create a weapon that would also work as a shield for himself. He wanted to destroy Harry. Everyone knows that for a fact. He wants to take over the world, leaving only pureblood and half-blood wizards around. The information in the papers says that he was trying to create a male, because he feels that males are stronger than females. I suppose that he marked this as a failed experiment when you came out female. It seems to me that since he had no influence on you, then you can choose which side you prefer. You and Harry have developed a relationship already; I can see that you mean a lot to each other.” He began pacing the room.
            I heard something in my head, making me look around to see who had spoken. No one seemed to have said a word, so I spoke up, “Who’s Lily?”
            Severus snapped his head in my direction, causing me to ask the question again. “Who’s Lily? You have a connection with her.”
            “You can’t know that. It’s not possible,” he hissed. He rose stiffly from his seat and stalked towards the window, brooding.
            With a heavy sigh, Dumbledore spoke, “Lily was Harry’s mother.”
            Harry’s mouth opened in shock. Severus hissed again, staring out of the window. “So, you have a connection with Harry,” I said softly.
            Severus turned towards me, “He has her eyes,” he whispered. “How…How do you know about my connection with Lily?”
            I thought for a few moments, “I don’t know. Just something I feel. You loved her very much.” The older men stared at me, marveling at my power to feel emotions.
            Severus was silent for several long moments, “Yes,” was all he said.
            Dumbledore broke the tension, “So, now we need to figure out where to place you two.”
            “You can’t place them with me. I know too much already. I can’t be here to find out where you are putting them. I can’t know any more than I already do. You know that.” Severus stated and immediately disappeared from the room.
            Dumbledore nodded silently, thinking. “Hmmm… it’s possible,” he said to himself. “I’ll be right back. Do not leave this room for any reason.” He disappeared from the room, leaving us staring after him.
            Harry turned to me, “What’s going on? Is this for real?” he asked.
            “I’m not sure, Harry. It all seems like a dream.” I answered. We didn’t speak more, just sat there watching each other, waiting for him to come back. We didn’t have to wait long; Dumbledore appeared in almost the exact spot he was in when he left.
            He sat down across from us and put his hands together in front of him. “Well, I have found a place for you two to stay. The bookstore owners in Diagon Alley have agreed to take you in and take care of you, until you reach majority at age 17. They will help you get your school things when you turn 11, and they will teach you both a bit about magic and how to control your power. I will place a concealing charm on you both in the hopes of keeping him from finding you before you are ready. Once you begin school, you will only be spending holidays at the bookstore. I must remind you to do your best to control your magic now, so that when you become 11 you won’t have such a time keeping yourselves off the ministry’s radar. If you are ready, we shall go.”
            “I have a few more questions, first,” I said.
            “Certainly, ask any question you like,” he replied.
            “Well, you said that I’m a protector. Does that mean that I will be able to protect Harry from this dark wizard? Will I be able to protect others?” I asked.
            “I don’t see why not. I believe that you can protect whoever you deem worthy of your protection. I would like for you both to stay as close to each other as possible. It seems that you may be able to help each other in the years to come,” he answered.
            “How did you find us today?” Harry asked.
            “Well now, finding you was an easy thing. Keeping the ministry from finding you was a bit harder. That was some very powerful magic that Ms. Cooper here used when she blew up your house. When witches and wizards use magic, the ministry can detect it. Especially when no magic is supposed to be used in that area. They frown upon muggles knowing about us. They think it will cause a panic or something.” Dumbledore explained.
            “Okay, I think we are ready now,” I said, standing.
            “One more thing before we go. You both have vaults at Gringotts, the wizard bank. I have placed a small portion into another account for you to draw from for clothes right now. You can’t have access to your main vaults for some time yet.” Standing, he held out both hands for us to take. “Hold tight.”
            Harry and I took his hands and felt that crushing feeling again as he transported us to the street outside the bookstore. Once the feeling had vanished, I felt a rush of emotions flood over me. There were a lot of people around, the emotions coming from them was almost overwhelming. I sucked in a breath as Dumbledore led us to the door of the bookstore. Once inside, he pulled his wand from his sleeve and waved it over us, muttering words that we didn’t understand. When my eyes adjusted to the dimness of the shop, I was spellbound. I loved books, they were my passion. I loved to read and learn new things. Harry gaped as he looked around, I was sure he had never seen so many books in one place before.
            A couple made their way down the stairs at our entry, with smiles on their faces. “Ah, Mr. Flourish and Mrs. Botts, how nice to see you again. This is Harry and Samantha,” he made the introductions.
Mrs. Botts’ smile widened at seeing us. “Oh, lovely, just lovely. I’ve always wanted children, but was never lucky enough to have any of my own. We are going to have a wonderful time together,” she said as she ventured over to us, placing a hand on our cheeks. Harry rolled his eyes when she looked away, making me giggle. “Albus, you must join us for tea.”
Dumbledore spoke, “Alas, I cannot. I must return to the school, I cannot be away any longer. Children, I do hope you behave yourselves. I will see you in 4 years when you turn 11.” With that said, he disappeared, leaving us with the couple.
“Well now, let me show you to your rooms and then we can go shopping for some new clothes. Albus told us that you have nothing but what you are wearing.” Mr. Flourish said, gesturing for us to follow them upstairs. We shrugged and complied, taking the stairs behind them to the apartment. They had fixed a room for each of us in the apartment, although it looked like there wasn’t room for them. Magic, I supposed, made the apartment bigger than it appeared. When we had seen where our rooms were, Mrs. Botts took us down the street to a clothing shop. We both bought several pairs of pants and shirts along with underclothes and shoes. She magically transported them to our rooms and sorted them out into the drawers for us. I was beginning to like magic. It seemed to make things a lot easier. Although, I had already seen the destruction that I could cause just by getting angry. I vowed to keep my anger inside as long as I could. I didn’t want anything to happen to these nice people who were taking us in to their home and their lives.
Getting back to the bookstore, Harry and I ventured upstairs while Mr. Flourish and Mrs. Botts closed up the store. We ended up in Harry’s room, sitting on his bed. “What a day this has been, huh?” he said.
I nodded, “I’m scared, Harry. What if I get angry again and blow something up? They’ll take my magic away from me, won’t they?” I pondered.
He took my hands in his, “I won’t let that happen, Sam. I will help you; keep you calm when you start to get angry. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”
“Thank you, Harry. Funny; I’m the one who should be protecting you, not you protecting me,” I said with a slight laugh.
“Who says that I can’t protect you? You are my best friend, Sam. You are all I have left in this world. I will protect you with my last breath if I have to,” he vowed.
Our guardians came up the stairs just then, asking us to come into the dining room for dinner. We made our way there, smelling the most wonderful scents. Neither of us had ever been able to have much food, and when we were allowed to eat, it wasn’t anything special; usually just some bread and water. When we saw the spread of food on the table, our eyes widened in surprise. We looked up at the older couple, questioningly. “Well, of course it’s for you. You can eat as much as you like,” Mrs. Botts said with a small laugh. “Now sit, eat, be happy.”
We both sat next to each other, still a bit shocked at all the food before us. Tentatively, we began filling our plates as the older couple sat down opposite us and did the same. We all ate in silence until all the food was gone and dessert had been demolished. “Well, now, off to bed with you two. Tomorrow we shall begin to teach you about magic.” Mr. Flourish said, ushering us upstairs to bed. Harry and I took turns in the shower, cleaning off the dirt and grime from the day. We went our separate ways to our rooms to sleep.
I sank into my new bed with a sigh. The mattress was so soft, softer than I was used to. Heck, the bed was more than I was used to. I normally slept on a small cot in the corner of a room full of other kids. I was lucky if I had a blanket to keep me warm. Here I had pillows and blankets, as well as a few stuffed animals that were almost creepy. I dumped those onto the window seat, figuring I would find something to do with them tomorrow. It wasn’t long before sleep took me and I felt safe and warm here for the first time in my life.
The next morning, I found myself in Harry’s bed snuggled up next to him with our arms around each other. ‘How did I get here?’ I asked myself. Harry seemed to have the same question in his eyes when he saw me there. Shrugging, we got up and I went to my own room to dress in the new clothes that I had bought the day before. We quietly made our way down the stairs to find Mrs. Botts in the kitchen with breakfast on the table.
“Good morning, children. Did you sleep well?” she asked.
“Very well, thank you,” I answered and Harry nodded in agreement. I noticed that he had already dug in to the food on the table. We both seemed more comfortable today than we were last night. I supposed we should get used to this place, as we would be living here for the next 10 years. After breakfast, we were ushered out into the bookstore and given a beginners book of magic to read. It taught us basics, and told us how to use our minds to control our magic. It was a very interesting read for me; I think Harry was bored, though. I don’t think he was much of a reader. We spent several hours reading and then Mr. Flourish took us upstairs to begin helping us meditate and find our comfort zones, in the hopes of helping us control our magic. Before we knew it, another day had gone and we were back in bed, drifting off to sleep.
Waking up the next morning, I found Harry in my bed with me. Strange, yesterday I woke up in his bed, now today he’s in mine. What’s going on? I shook him awake and he stared at me confused as to how he got into my room. Our day followed the same as the day before. Each day followed much the same, with us learning and reading and then waking up in the same bed together.
One day, walking in the backyard where we could go and still be undetectable, Harry and I talked about waking up with each other. “Why is it that we wake up next to each other and don’t remember how we got there?”
“I don’t know Harry. Maybe it has something to do with magic, or maybe we just feel more comfortable with each other.” I replied. “Do you think we should tell Mr. Flourish and Mrs. Botts?”
“Hmmm.. I’m not sure. I don’t think that anything is wrong, so maybe we should keep it to ourselves for now. I’m not sure how anyone else will feel about it,” he said thoughtfully.
We continued our learning, occasionally some accidental magic would happen, nothing like blowing up that house, but some minor things. Harry was always able to calm me down when I was frightened our angry. I didn’t often get angry now, being here with these nice people in the magic world. I only hoped that when we got to school that we could somehow be near each other the majority of the time. It made me nervous whenever I thought about going to school. All those people, all those emotions, I have 4 years to get control of the empath power. It was hard to control and it seemed to be getting stronger. I was so afraid that something would happen in the school setting, with me being so volatile and knowing that I have to fight to control my powers. I wanted to stay with Harry while there at school, but I didn’t want to drag him down and hold him back from anything he wanted to do.
For the next several years, our lives were normal, well normal for a witch and wizard. We learned, we played, we grew, and we even helped out in the bookstore. Harry filled out, his body no longer scrawny. We both worked out every day, finishing our workout with a small Quidditch match.
Our birthday was on the same day, July 31^st. We always celebrated with a cake and a night of games with Mr. Flourish and Mrs. Botts. It was more than we had ever had for our birthday. Today was our 11^th birthday. We spent the day reading and flying in the backyard, not having to do any actual work on this day. An owl flew into the yard with us, carrying two envelopes in her beak. She dropped them near us and flew away. Picking them up, I saw the Hogwarts seal. This must be our school letters. My stomach immediately dropped and I dropped the letter like it had burned me.
“What’s wrong?” Harry asked me, breaking the seal on his letter. “It’s just our school letter.”
Shaking my head, “I don’t know if I can do this, Harry. There will be so many people there, so many emotions. I don’t think I’m ready.”
He set his letter aside and took my hands, knowing that I was very close to freaking out. “Hey, look at me. You are ready. You can do this. I will be there to help you. I won’t let anything happen, you know that,” he said, trying to assure me that everything would be okay. I looked at him skeptically, I wasn’t so sure that I could do this. He wouldn’t let me go until I agreed to try, though.
“Fine, I will try, but I can’t make any promises. I hope you know what you are doing, Harry. This can turn out really bad for a lot of people. Not everyone will understand me or even us. This will be very hard for me, going to school. No one there will know about me, and they won’t know to suppress their emotions in my presence. It’s going to be hell for a while. You may want to rethink your promise to always be there to help me with control,” I told him.
“You underestimate yourself, Sam. I know how strong you are and I know that you can handle going to school. Not that you really need to learn anything, you already know it all and can do more than any witch or wizard I know. You may be teaching the professors a thing or two,” he laughed. I forced a smile for him, knowing that was all he wanted, to see me smile. I felt his excitement building; he was looking forward to going to school. He handed me my letter back, picked his own up and began reading it. His eyes getting brighter the more he read.
Turning my attention to my letter, I noticed that Dumbledore had acknowledged how hard this might be for me, and was offering his help with whatever I needed. It seemed that the headmaster really wanted me to attend school. I suppose to do my job as protector for Harry. There was never any question in my mind which side I would choose. Wherever Harry was, I would be. I would protect him with my last breath if I had to. I would do anything for him.
Our guardians noticed us reading our letters in the backyard and came out to talk with us. “Well now, this is to be expected. You are both 11 now. We can go later today to get your supplies for school.”
I re-read the letter, noticing this time the date that we would be going to school. September 1^st, only one month away, which meant that I only had one month to get more control over this empath power. They weren’t giving me much time to prepare. Taking a deep breath, I stood and went inside to my room. I knew that Harry was watching me, worried, but I needed a little time to myself. I had to get my mind into the right state to do this. I needed time to think.
Later that day, I found myself in the wand maker’s shop with Harry. Olivander was trying wands on Harry and then handing them to me when the wand didn’t choose Harry. It never chose me either. Going through every wand in the shop, he finally matched Harry with the very last one. Meaning that I was not matched with a wand, which wasn’t a huge deal, since I didn’t need one to do magic; I had been performing spells for years now with no wand. The wand maker said that he would work on making me a wand. I wasn’t sure that I really wanted one. It might hinder my magic. While I wasn’t very comfortable with my magic yet, I didn’t want it hindered in any way. I knew that I needed the full power of it before long. I would be using my power more than I wanted to. I already knew that, somehow.
Making our way back to the bookstore, Harry chattered on excitedly about all the things we could possibly learn at school. I kept a forced smile on my face for his sake. All I could think was how awful this was going to be for me. ‘Well, that’s a selfish thought. This isn’t about me, this should be about Harry. He’s excited to go, so I should be excited for him,’ I chastised myself. With that, I resolved to make Harry’s time at school as wonderful as possible. I wouldn’t hold him back from anything.
The month passed by quickly and before I knew it, we were heading to King’s Cross Station to board the train to Hogwarts. Once we landed in an alleyway outside of the station, I began feeling all the emotions around me. This was not going to be good, I could already tell, and we were only in the muggle part of the station. Mr. Flourish led us to the wall between platforms 9 and 10 and stepped through. Harry followed, a huge grin on his face, he was excited. Mrs. Botts touched my shoulder, indicating that I should go next. Taking a deep breath, I stepped through the wall.
I felt a rush of air on my face, rustling through my hair, and opened my eyes. Sitting there on the track was a huge red train engine that had Hogwarts Express written on the front of it. Suddenly, I was bombarded with emotions, fear and sadness being the strongest to hit me. My smile faded and I began breathing faster. I followed Harry onto the train after saying goodbye to our guardians. We settled in to a compartment, our trunks under the seats we were sitting in. I was feeling really strange. The more people that entered the station, the more emotions I felt, and the more helpless I felt. My eyes widened and there was a wild look in them.
My body shook from the strain of me trying to control and suppress the empath power. With so many emotions swirling around me, I knew that I was going to go insane. I jumped up and tried to open the compartment door to get out. I had to get away, I couldn’t take it anymore. Harry grabbed my arm, pulling me back into my seat. “Look at me, Sam, look at me. It will be okay. Just take a deep breath and look at me,” he said, trying to calm me down.
“I can’t do this, Harry. It’s too much. Don’t make me do this, please, don’t make me do this, Harry. Take me home, just take me home. Let me go, I can’t do this,” I pleaded with him, tears falling from my eyes. The fear and sadness was overwhelming. I began rocking back and forth in my seat as he still held my hands in his, willing me to calm down. I couldn’t, I was trying so hard to calm down, but I couldn’t. “I can’t do this. I can’t do this. Don’t make me do this.” I babbled.
Harry was growing more concerned than ever before. Normally he could calm me down, but this time he wasn’t able to. An older girl with a badge on her robe stuck her head in the door and quickly pulled it back out, running down the aisle to another compartment. I continued to beg Harry to let me go home. Before long, the girl was back with a man with dark hair. I recognized him from somewhere, but I couldn’t place him as I was preoccupied with trying to calm down.
“You may go, I’ll handle this,” he said to the girl before stepping in to the compartment and closing the door. With a wave of his hand, all the blinds dropped, sealing the compartment in darkness. He muttered some things and the feelings of fear and despair were fading. “Here, drink this, it’s just a calming drought, it will help with the feelings,” he said, handing me a vial. I tipped it up and swallowed the contents, not really tasting it, just wanting the feelings to go away so that I could think. “What happened?” he turned to Harry.
“I’m not sure, sir. She was fine until we got to the station, and then once we got on the train, she started freaking out, begging me not to make her do this.” Harry answered him.
“Hmm… sounds like the emotions in the station were too much for her. I told the headmaster that he should just allow me to retrieve you two and take you to the school myself, but he refused, saying that everything would be fine. So many first years leaving home for the first time, I’m sure that the feelings of sadness and fear were overwhelming,” he said.
Harry stared at him as I closed my eyes, leaning my head back on the seat. “How…?” he started to ask.
“I’m Professor Severus Snape. I was the one who made the potion to test her power and her ancestry. I was there that night,” he explained. So that was where I recognized him from, that night that I blew up Harry’s house with his family inside. I shuddered at the thought of killing someone, even if they were horrible people. Keeping my eyes closed, I sighed as the calming drought worked magic on me, and whatever the professor had said after shutting the blinds was working to keep the emotions out. I’d have to ask him what that was so that I would know for future reference, but right now, I just wanted to relax and try to gain control over myself again. “I want you both to know something that no one else will ever know. I like you both, and I will help you in any way I possibly can. When we get to the school, however, I will treat you as the vermin that everyone thinks I think students are. I have a façade that I display while at school, so that no one gets too close. I will most likely be hateful to you, don’t take it personally. If I think that you need a break from things, I will give you detention so that you can come to my rooms and get under these wards that I have made here. They will keep out all the emotions from other people. Dumbledore doesn’t know about the wards, but I can tell him if you like.”
I knew that he was addressing me, so I opened my eyes and looked at him, “No, that’s okay, professor. Let’s keep it between us for now. Thank you for the help today. All those feelings of fear and sadness and despair were just so overwhelming. I think I’ll be okay once everyone settles down into school. At least, I hope so.” He flashed a small smile at us and then left the compartment. Harry kept staring at me, “I’ll be fine, Harry. I just wasn’t expecting so much emotion from the start like that. Don’t worry about me so much, Harry.” I assured him, settling in for the train ride. I knew that we had already left the station some time before, but I didn’t know how long we’d be on that train. With the blinds drawn like they were, we couldn’t see if it is still daylight or not, so I raised the blind on the window a bit to see out. It was still daylight out, although a light rain had set in over of the countryside. I stared out the window, feeling my body relax. Soon sleep took over and my head fell against Harry’s shoulder. He shifted to put his arm around me and pulled me more snuggly to his side.
Several long hours later, Harry shook me gently. “We’re here, Sam. Time to wake up,” he said. I opened my eyes and yawned widely, stretching my arms over my head in an attempt to wake up. I noticed that it was dark outside now as we were slowing to a stop. A voice informed us over the train speaker to leave our trunks on the train and they would be transported to the castle separately. I took a very deep breath and opened the compartment door. I was immediately bombarded by the feeling of excitement and nervousness. I heard a voice calling for the first years and Harry grabbed my hand and led me over to stand in front of this huge almost giant of a man. I looked around me and saw wide-eyed first year students all staring at the huge man in front of us. He led us to boats that were sitting in the lake, bumping lightly into the dock.
Harry and I climbed into a boat with another boy with blonde hair. I had no idea who he was, but the emotions rolling off of him were ones of superiority and arrogance. I dismissed him in my mind, pushing his feelings away. ‘Maybe if I tackle these things one at a time, I can push back all the other emotions,’ I thought. Smiling for real for the first time since getting my Hogwarts letter, I sighed and looked out over the lake as we drifted across towards the castle. Harry looked back at me and I saw the grin on his face and the light in his eyes. He was so happy to be going to school, it was a bit contagious. I started to feel a small hint of excitement. I might just be able to handle this after all.
We arrived at the huge doors to the castle and the big man banged on the door. A stern looking woman opened it and ushered us inside. She introduced herself to us as Professor McGonagall and told us about the four houses and house points. She then led us into the Great Hall for the sorting. The first thing I noticed was the feeling of intrigue as we walked into the room. Everyone was looking at us and we looked back. I looked up and saw that the ceiling mirrored the sky outside. It was amazing to see the stars so close. We stopped in a line at the front of the Great Hall, right in front of the teachers. A tattered hat sat on a stool. She called us up and placed the hat on our head, the hat then called out what house we would be in. I found this intriguing, how did this hat know anything about us?
Harry was called and the hat spent quite a bit longer on him than any of the others so far. He was finally placed in Gryffindor and smiled at me as he went to the house table. I was called last. Slowly, I stepped up to the stool and sat down as Professor McGonagall placed the hat on my head. The last thing I saw before the hat slid down over my eyes was Harry’s huge smile. Suddenly I heard a voice in my head, ‘Oh my, oh dear, oh my,’ the hat began. ‘Such power, such bravery, such intellect, it’s hard to know where to put you. So much power, I’ve never felt the like before,’ it continued on in the same fashion for the longest time. I had no idea how long before it finally shouted out Ravenclaw for me. I was a bit shocked that I was not going to be in the same house with Harry, but I knew that we would need distance from each other if I was to learn to control my powers without him. When the hat was removed from my head, I saw Harry’s eyes first. He was concerned, but I smiled at him to tell him that it was going to be okay. I would be fine in a different house. I had a feeling that Dumbledore made me last for a reason. From what the hat said in my head, I felt that I would render him useless for the other students when he felt my power. I made my way to the house table for Ravenclaw and sat down next to a blonde girl with a dreamy look in her eyes. I felt that she was hiding something, but I couldn’t quite pinpoint it.
Professor McGonagall took the hat and stool away as the headmaster stood to give announcements. When he was done speaking, food appeared on every table and we all tucked in to our meal. I chatted with a few of the other students around me, learning their names and a little about them. The blonde girl sitting next to me was named Luna. She seemed like a really nice girl and I knew that we would get along great. As dinner progressed, I felt a number of eyes on me, and felt the feeling of lust. I had felt it before, but feeling it at school was different. I couldn’t quite put my finger on who was feeling it or who they were feeling it for. Before long, the food had all disappeared and we were being ushered off to bed to prepare for our first day of classes. I gave Harry a reassuring smile across the hall and followed the prefect to the Ravenclaw house as he followed his prefect to his own Gryffindor house.
Once in my house, I found my room and saw that I would be rooming with Luna and a couple of other first year girls. The way to get in to our house was to answer whatever riddle the door would ask. This place was very interesting. I unpacked my things and set up what needed to be set up. I was getting a feeling of anxiousness from someone, although I couldn’t pinpoint who. I changed into my night dress and climbed into bed, drawing the curtains around me. Sleep took me quickly; it had been a long emotional day.
The next morning, I found myself on the sofa in the common room with Harry. ‘Now, how did I end up here and how did he get in?’ I thought to myself and shook Harry awake before any of the others came down. He looked as confused as I did as to how he got there. He left before anyone could see him, though. I made my way back to my room and began getting ready for the first day of classes.
I was amazed at all the teachers taught us that first day. Somehow, I already knew it all, though. Potions was my favorite so far, I even liked the way Professor Snape taught the class. Everyone else hated him.
Every day that first week, Harry and I woke up in either his common room or mine, not knowing how we got there. On Saturday, I decided to speak with Harry. We were walking on the grounds, “I think we should tell Dumbledore or Snape about us waking up together every morning. Something is drawing us together and I don’t want either of us to get into trouble being out after curfew. I think we need some help with this.”
“I agree, Sam. I think there is something more going on than we think. How do we go about asking someone, though?” Harry asked.
“Leave that to me. I’ll get a chance to talk with Professor Snape on Monday,” I said, a plan forming in my mind. We spent the rest of the day on the grounds, just exploring what we could without going into the forest. We met up with a couple of kids from Harry’s house, and the four of us talked and played together. The more I thought about my plan, the more I realized that it might not be the best way to go about getting a chance to talk with someone about our situation, but it was the only thing I could think of without letting anyone else know about me and my powers.
On Monday in Potions, I was trying to think of a good way to get detention with Professor Snape when the opportunity presented itself. We were all busy making a potion and Professor Snape was walking around the room observing our progress. He yelled at a Hufflepuff student who got very upset and the rest of her house got angry. That anger intensified in me and while trying to control the outburst that was threatening to explode out of my mouth; I gripped my hand so hard that I crushed the glass vial I was holding while making an unattended cauldron across the room explode. Screams erupted and he had to shout to be heard. He knew exactly who had done it, he knew it was me. When he walked up to me, my hand bleeding from the glass I crushed, he gave me a detention for that night. As he began to walk away, I whispered a thank you. I did really need a break from the emotions and he had told me that I could get a detention to come to his rooms where he would place the wards for me to get a few minutes respite from the emotions swirling around the castle. He stopped when he heard my whispered thanks and realized that I had done this on purpose to get away.
That night at dinner, I told Harry that I had a detention and would talk with Professor Snape about our issue. When I reached the Potions classroom in the dungeons, I knocked on the door and was allowed entry. Professor Snape ushered me through another door and into his private rooms. I immediately felt nothing, which was wonderful. I sighed and sat down on the sofa he indicated. He had already placed the wards, telling me that he heard my silent plea. He sat down opposite me on the sofa and just watched me, knowing that I would talk in my own time. After 5 minutes of silence, I launched into the main reason I was there. “There is something going on that Harry and I need help with. Ever since we were placed with our guardians, we have woken up each morning with each other in my bed or his, and we don’t remember how we got that way. It has continued to happen even now, here at school. We will wake up in my common room or his on the sofa and we don’t remember how we got there. Is there something wrong with me? Am I causing Harry to sleepwalk?”
“Child, why have you not said anything before now? We need to talk with the headmaster about this, as well as your heads of house. They should be aware of everything.” Snape said, standing and striding to the fireplace. He threw in some powder and stuck his head into the green flames. A few seconds later, he pulled his head out and went out into his classroom to wait for Dumbledore and the others. It wasn’t a long wait, only about 5 minutes, before I heard voices from the classroom. The voices grew stronger as they entered Professor Snape’s private rooms. Harry entered first and came over to sit beside me.
Dumbledore, McGonagall and Professor Flitwick entered and found a seat. Professor Snape began speaking, “Ms. Cooper has come to me with a situation that she and Mr. Potter have found themselves in. It seems that they find themselves waking up in one common room or the other together on the sofa. Apparently it has been happening ever since you took them from Harry’s house when they were 7,” he explained.
“Oh, dear, I didn’t realize. Why have you not said anything before now? I’m certain that your guardians would have contacted me with this information,” Dumbledore said. “I suppose it stems from the trauma of the fire and me placing you with strangers right after telling you that you were magical. You felt safe with each other, so you sought each other out in your subconscious.” He paced, thoughtful, thinking of what could possibly be going on with the youngsters.
After several long moments, Severus spoke softly, “It’s their magic, one magic is seeking out the other one’s magic. Look, watch between them, you can see it,” he said, and the others looked to where he indicated, the space between mine and Harry’s arms. We weren’t touching; there were several inches of space between us. I watched, just like everyone else, waiting, and then I saw it, a crackle of magic leapt from my arm to Harry’s. I jumped when it happened, it kind of scared me.
“Amazing, their magic is seeking each other out. That’s why the end up together during the night somehow,” McGonagall said, letting out the breath she was holding. “Albus, we will have to make a room for them to sleep in. There is nothing that will stop them from finding each other. I’ve researched this extensively. Magical bonds have always fascinated me. Harry’s magic is seeking out Sam’s because she is a bit more powerful than he is.”
Snape laughed at that comment, “A bit more powerful? Minerva, Sam here is more powerful than all the students and professors in this school combined. She controls the four elements and electricity, as well as being an empath and she can heal herself of minor wounds, possibly major ones.”
Professor McGonagall gaped at him. The headmaster continued the explanation of my powers and how I came to possess them, including the fact that I was created. She then explained what she meant by a magical bond. Basically, our magic has come to rely on each other. Harry’s magic seeks out mine to make him stronger. My magic seeks out his to keep me grounded and calm. Well, I’m glad it was all explained to us. The more I thought about it, the more I knew that she was right. How I knew it was a mystery to me, but I did.
“So, are we all in agreement to create a room for these two to sleep in?” Dumbledore asked after much discussion. When all 3 professors nodded in agreement, he continued. “Severus, would you place the wards on the room so that Samantha can have a break from emotions at the end of each day? I believe you know the room I mean for them to use.”
Snape sighed and nodded, “Of course, headmaster. I know where it is. I will take them there now and place the wards on it. Is the password still the same?”
“Yes, mumble bumble.” Dumbledore said. He and the other two professors left the room ahead of us and went their separate ways to their rooms. Harry and I followed Professor Snape down the corridor and up several flights of stairs. On the fourth floor, we reached a bare wall with one portrait on it. The little man in the portrait seemed to be sleeping. He stopped in front of this portrait and spoke the password. The little man jumped as if he had been poked with a needle in the backside. I giggled a little under my breath at his reaction to being spoken to.
“Oh, dear. No one has been to see me in many years. How may I help you?” he spoke.
“This room is needed for these two students. We need to set a new password that only they know.” He turned to us with a questioning look. “What would you like the password to be?” the Professor asked us.
Harry and I looked at each other and we both spoke at the same time, “Friendship is magic.” Professor Snape lifted an eyebrow at us speaking the same thing at the same time, but turned to the little man in the portrait.
The little man nodded his acknowledgement of the new password. “It’s been many years since this room has been used, but I believe the elves keep it clean anyway. I hope you both feel at home here.” The portrait then swung open to reveal an entry hole for us to climb through. Professor Snape stepped aside and let us enter the room first, so that the room would recognize our magical signatures before any others. The common room resembled those of the four houses, with a fireplace, a sofa and several chairs and tables for studying. As we entered the common room, the colors began to change to reflect those of our own two houses. Magic always amazed me. I loved it. We gaped as we watched the curtains and furnishings change colors and a door appeared on the far wall.
“Now, this room will adjust itself as needed. Right now, only one bedroom is needed. When more are needed, they will be added. This is your common room, obviously. You can invite others here, but I would advise against letting anyone know your current situation until you know for sure that they will keep your secret and remain in your lives for a long time. I will place the wards now. You will be able to get away each evening from the emotions around the castle. I think your belongings have been transferred here by now.” Professor Snape explained and set about casting the wards around the room. Once he was done, he turned back to them, “I bid you goodnight and please remember that you can tell me anything and I will do my best to help you.” He swept from the room, leaving us in silence.
Harry and I stared at each other for several long moments. We had no idea what was expected of us. Slowly, I turned and made my way towards the bedroom. Opening the door, I saw that it was decorated just like the common room, half in Ravenclaw blue and half in Gryffindor red. I found that my clothing had already been put away in the chest and my trunk sat next to Harry’s at the end of the queen size bed. Harry followed me into the room and we both stood there awkwardly looking at each other and then staring off into space. I began laughing. Harry soon followed and before we knew it, we were bent double laughing at our own expense. We had slept in the same bed before. Every night since we were placed with the book store owners, we always ended up in the bed together. As our laughter died off, I spoke, “Why are we so nervous? Because we’ve never consciously slept in the same bed together? This can’t be any different, just knowingly falling asleep next to each other.”
“I suppose, but we feel that it’s wrong because we’ve always been told that boys and girls don’t share a bed until they are adults and married. Are you okay with this? They never asked us how we felt about sharing a bed.” Harry replied.
I studied him for a moment, “Yeah, Harry, I’m okay with this. What McGonagall said about our magic is true. We must be in contact with each other for our magic to balance and be stronger. Sharing a bed is the best way to do that and keep this bond a secret. We probably shouldn’t get too close in front of others, since our magic is visible when it seeks out the other.” I said, assuring him that this was all okay. We would handle this as we did everything else, together. “Let’s go to sleep. It’s been a long day.” I said, turning to find my night clothes. He left the room so that I could change. After changing, I made my way to the loo and let him have the room to change for bed. I brushed my teeth and brushed out my straight hair, which always seemed to have tangles in it. Once done, I ventured out into the common room and sat down on the sofa, watching the flames dance in the fireplace.
Harry stepped through the door and saw me sitting on the sofa, lost in thought. He watched me for a few moments, wondering what I was thinking. “I know you are there, Harry. You can’t sneak up on me, remember,” I said, chuckling a little.
“Sorry, I was just wondering what you were thinking,” he responded. He sat down beside me on the sofa and I felt my magic reach out to him in the space between us.
“I was just thinking about everything we’ve learned since that night 4 years ago. We learned that we are magical and can cast spells. We learned that I’m some super witch that was created in a test tube in some evil wizard’s lab. You are the savior of the world, apparently and our magic reaches out for each other to balance itself out. Will we always have to be with each other for our magic to balance, or will we be able to balance with other witches and wizards?” I pondered out loud.
Harry watched the flames for a few moments, “I don’t know. I guess in time we will have to experiment and see if it will work with other people.” He continued to watch the flames beside me. I watched the shadows move across his face and knew that in a few years he would be more handsome than anyone I knew.
“Don’t worry, Harry. Everything will be fine. Things will work out just like they are supposed to,” I said softly. We sat and watched the fire for what seemed like hours before finally making our way to bed. I know that we are only 11 years old, but to me, we were so much older. With all these things resting on his shoulders, Harry was going to have a very hard time having a normal life. “I’m going to bed. It’s been a long day,” I said, getting up as quietly as I could.
Drawing the curtains aside, I climbed in under the covers and snuggled down into the soft mattress. I heard Harry enter the room a few moments later and hesitate before climbing in to the bed beside me. He lay stiff on his back, not wanting to touch me. I chuckled under my breath and closed my eyes, willing sleep to take me. Finally it did. Sometime during the night, I was awakened by a touch on my side. Turning my head slightly, I found Harry had curled up behind me and put his arm over my side. I smiled and went back to sleep. When morning arrived, we both awoke at the same time and began getting ready for the second week of school.
In the great hall, we went to our separate house tables to eat. Harry sat down next to a red-haired boy and a bushy brown-haired girl. He seemed to be making friends well. I was happy for him. As for me, well, I tried to shy away from others. I was still having difficulty getting my empathy power under control. Most everyone had settled down now that we had been at school for a week, but there were a few who still missed home and felt heartsick. There were several incidents of accidental magic that involved pain to someone. Those were extremely difficult to get around. I had a hard time pushing physical pain away.
Luna was sitting across from me, watching my every move. I had finally figured out what she was hiding, but I wasn’t saying anything. “Good morning, Luna,” I said softly.
“Good morning, Sam. Where were you last night? I saw you come to breakfast with Harry Potter. Do you know him?” she asked, getting right to the point of what was on her mind.
“Harry is my adopted brother. We’ve been through a lot together. This is not common knowledge, so I would appreciate if you kept it to yourself, please,” I replied to her, trusting her to keep my secret. She nodded and poured herself more juice. We ate in companionable silence and then went our separate ways to get ready for class. I had brought my books with me, so I ventured towards my first class. In the hallway, I was lost in thought, not watching where I was going and bumped into someone.
“Hey, watch it!” a voice demanded as the person turned towards me.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. Forgive me,” I said to the blond boy standing in front of me. I recall him being in the boat with me and Harry when we got here.
His expression softened, changing from anger to intrigue. “That’s quite alright. It happens to the best of us at times. I’m Draco Malfoy, by the way,” he said, sticking out his hand to me.
I looked at it, and remembered how he had wanted to befriend Harry on that first night. “I’m Sam. Samantha, actually, Samantha Cooper,” I smiled and took his proffered hand, shaking it. I felt a jolt when our hands touched, but I brushed it off.
“You’re a Ravenclaw, I see. At least that’s better than Gryffindor or Hufflepuff,” he said with an air of superiority. I began walking and he fell in step beside me.
“I see nothing wrong with any of the houses here. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. We all contribute something to the school and we all learn the same things. No one house is better than the rest. We are all equal and the sooner everyone starts to realize that, the better off this school will be,” I told him. He stopped in his tracks, mouth gaping at me. I continued on towards class. He recovered and caught up with me again.
“I’ve never heard anyone say anything like that before,” he said. I could feel a change in his emotions. He wasn’t putting off that superior vibe anymore. We walked along in silence for a while. “You know, I’ve never really believed in all the pure-blood stuff my father spews all the time. I’ve always wanted to know what it would be like to see someone for who they really are, not what their blood line is,” he confessed.
“So, why don’t you? Why pretend to be like your father? You are your own person and not his clone. You can think for yourself, Draco. Why not start doing just that?” I replied and stepped into the Transfiguration classroom. I found my way to the table I shared with Luna and began pulling out my supplies to take notes in class. Laying my wand on the table beside my book, I felt his eyes on me. Looking behind me, I saw Draco staring, watching my every move. As we were the only two in the classroom at the moment, I spoke again. “Why are you watching me, Draco? Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
“I was just wondering how you can tell that everything I do is what my father does. Do you know him or something?” he asked, setting his bag down on a table near the door. It dawned on me then that Ravenclaw shared this class with Slytherin, so he was supposed to be here.
“No, I have never met your father. I just know the type, I guess,” I said, shaking my head. “No, it’s not that. It’s hard to explain. Complicated is more like it.” Turning back to the front, I took out my parchment and quill and began writing the date on the top of the page I would take notes on during class. I heard him shuffle his things around on his desk, getting ready for class as I was. His thoughts were screaming at me. “Go ahead and say whatever else is on your mind, Draco. I know you want to,” I said with a sigh.
“What’s with you and Potter? Are you his girlfriend or something? You are always around each other and you both disappeared after dinner last night. No one seems to know where you went,” he said, accusingly.
Sighing again, “Harry is my friend. We’ve grown up together. He’s more my brother than if we were actually born to the same parents. We’ve been through a lot together. Like I said, my life is complicated. I don’t have time for relationships and such. I have a job to do and I’m going to do it, no matter what. Now, this discussion is finished. I will not discuss my personal life with you or anyone else. If there is something academic that you wish to discuss with me, then feel free, but I refuse to talk about personal things anymore.” As I said this, several students walked in to the classroom and our conversation was put to a halt very quickly. Draco wasn’t sure he wanted anyone to know that he was talking to me for any reason.
Professor McGonagall entered and began teaching us a new transfiguration. I was taking notes when I first heard it. At first it was very faint and I wasn’t sure that I heard it. It grew louder until it was drowning out the professor. I recognized the voice of Draco in my head. I turned my head to him and could see that he wasn’t moving his lips, he was writing down notes. In my head, I heard him ranting about me. He then began to wonder if maybe I was right about him. This continued for several long minutes before I finally yelled at him in my mind. ‘Shut up! I can’t hear what she’s saying.’ Instantly he stopped. I watched his face as it took on a shocked look. I knew he had heard me and my eyes grew wide. ‘Oh, crap.’ I thought.
‘You can hear me?’ he asked in his mind.
‘Yes, idiot, I can hear you and obviously you can hear me, so stop already. I’m trying to concentrate here,’ I chided him. He shook his head, not believing that we were having a conversation in our mind. ‘Get over it for now so that we can both concentrate on the lesson. We can figure this all out later.’ I said, turning around and focusing on what the professor was saying about the transfiguration we would be performing soon.
The rest of the class, I still heard him, but only faintly, he was keeping his voice down, allowing me to concentrate on the lesson. After class was over, I knew he would be waiting to talk about what had happened. I didn’t know what to tell him, as I wasn’t sure myself what was going on. My hearing thoughts power had never really manifested itself much. I guess the empathy overshadowed it. When I made my way out of the classroom, I saw him standing there, waiting. I sighed and grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him further down the hall.
“I can’t do this right now, Draco. We have class and I don’t even know what happened in there. All I know is that I heard your thoughts and you heard mine. Give me some time to talk to someone about all this and find out what’s going on, please. This has never happened before and it’s a bit scary,” I explained before he could even say a word. He nodded in agreement and I walked away to my next class in the dungeons. Thankfully this class was Potions with Professor Snape and I could talk to him about what had just happened when class was over.
I hurried into the classroom and found that he was alone. Rushing up to his desk, I spoke softly so as not to startle him. “Professor, I need to speak with you in private after class, please. It’s important.”
He looked up from his reading and locked his gaze with mine for a moment before nodding, “Very well, Ms. Cooper. I have a little time after class before lunch, will that work?” he asked.
“Yes, sir, that will work just fine. Thank you,” I replied and made my way to my seat to await the rest of the class. The other students finally trickled in and class began. We set about making a simple potion and as I took my vial up to the professor’s desk, I heard him in my head again. Draco, why could that boy not just shut up? He was going to drive me insane.
Being preoccupied, I didn’t notice the bag in the floor and tripped over it. The vial went sailing out of my hands, straight at the professor’s head. He was quick and caught it before it could hit him and break. I breathed a sigh, but knew that he wasn’t pleased. “Ms. Cooper, please stay after class to answer for your clumsiness,” he hissed.
I lowered my head as I got up out of the floor, “Yes, sir.” I knew he wasn’t really mad at me, I could feel that much. He was just giving me an excuse to stay after for our talk, so that the other students wouldn’t get suspicious. I was grateful to him for that. It was something I hadn’t thought of. If this was a new power, he would be the one that could help me, I was sure of it.
I gathered my things and arranged them in my bag and put it on the table in front of me, and waited. The other students filed out, some giving me sympathetic looks as they passed by.
‘Man do I really have to piss. I should never have waited until after Herbology.’ Draco’s voice sounded in my head.
‘Stupid boy, that is way too much information for me. Keep your thoughts to yourself until I get this figured out, please.’ I chastised him back.
Silence for a moment, ‘Sorry, I forgot.’ He said as Professor Snape came up to my desk.
“Follow me, Ms. Cooper. I assume we will need privacy for this little chat,” he said and led the way to his private chamber where he let me come before to get away from all the emotions swirling around the school that first week. Once we had both sat down and were comfortable, “So, what can I do for you, Samantha? It must be quite important for you to ask for a meeting with me.”
Sighing, “I think I have a new power, sir. In Transfiguration earlier, I heard a voice in my head. It got so loud that I couldn’t hear what the professor was saying. I finally told the voice to shut up in my head. I knew the voice and turned to look at him. He was stunned, looked like he had been hit over the head. Apparently he heard me in his head as well as I heard him in mine. I can still hear him, even though we are far away from each other. We can have a conversation and never speak a word out loud.” I spoke so fast that my words almost ran together. What was wrong with me?
He watched me for several moments after I finished speaking, his hands forming a triangle in front of him as he thought. Standing, he swept out of the room, further into his private chambers and came back carrying a book. Sitting, he began flipping through the book until he found the page he wanted. He read in silence for a long minute and then snapped the book shut and began pacing in front of me. It was a bit unnerving, him not saying anything.
‘So, have you found out anything, yet? Is this going to always happen?’ the voice in my head asked.
‘Will you just shut up? I am trying to talk with someone at this moment. When I find out something, I will let you know. Now, shut up and leave me alone.’ I yelled back at him in my mind.
Professor Snape stopped pacing, “Who is it that you have this mind connection with?” he asked.
“Draco Malfoy,” I answered quietly.
Staring at me, he sat down abruptly, “Draco, really? That’s quite a shock. I never would have suspected that,” he mused.
“Suspected what, sir? What’s wrong with me now?” I asked.
“Oh, sorry, old habit. It seems that you have developed something new. You can read people’s minds, hear their thoughts, but we learned that when we tested your powers. Normally, they can’t hear yours, but in this case, it seems that Draco can hear your thoughts. That can only mean one thing. You have a soul bond with him.” Snape explained.
“A soul bond, what is that?” I asked, confused.
“Well, a soul bond is just what it sounds like. Your soul has bonded with Draco’s and this allows you both to hear each other’s thoughts. It means that you are now bonded to each other for life. Eventually it will branch out and include bonding your magic as well as your lives. Meaning, Draco is the one you are meant to spend the rest of your life with. Your mate, so to speak.” He opened the book back to the page he had just read and handed it to me. I took it from him and read the passage about soul bonds and mind readers.
‘Great, something else I have to deal with on a daily basis.’ I thought, forgetting for a moment that he could hear me.
He kept his word though, and didn’t say anything back. I had hoped he would wait until we could talk face to face about all this.
Putting the book down on the table between us, “So, should I tell him everything about me? He’s going to find out eventually, I suppose,” I asked.
He breathed deeply for a moment, “No, I wouldn’t tell him just yet. The time is not right. He has things to do that are his destiny, just like you do. If he knew everything about you, the wrong person could get that information from him and that would be disastrous for the whole world. Remember, you are the ultimate weapon and shield. If the Dark Lord got his hands on you, the war would be over before the Light even had a chance to begin. We don’t want that.” He stood and began pacing again, “However, this new power will prove beneficial for you in your work. Just try to get a handle on it quickly, and don’t pry into the professor’s mind to get test answers, please,” he said with a rare smile.
I smiled back at him, “Thank you, sir, for your help. I will do my best to control this new power quickly. I do have to tell Draco something, though. Should I tell him about the soul bond?”
“Yes, the sooner he knows, the better. Show him the book and he will understand,” he said, ushering me back out into the classroom. “Now, off to lunch, don’t want to go hungry because of a new power.”
Sliding the book into my bag, I rushed to the great hall. The noise was almost deafening, obviously something was going on. Everyone was standing; some on the tables, to see over the crowd at what was happening up near the professors’ table. I slipped behind the crowd and made my way up to my house table to grab something to eat. I began listening to thoughts, testing how to pull one forward and push the others back.
‘Did you see that right hook?’
‘They are wizards, why don’t they just hex each other?’
‘I can’t believe they are fighting over a girl. Who is that Samantha, anyway?’
‘Fighting over a first year, that’s absurd, she’s not worth it.’
Ah, crap, someone is fighting over me. Why? Who? Finally, I stood and made my way around the crowd to the front to find out what was going on. As I passed the last student in the semicircle, my mouth dropped open, gaping at the two throwing punches at each other. Draco and another boy I didn’t know yet were swinging away at each other. Suddenly, professors began arriving, having been late for lunch on this day.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ I practically screamed at Draco in my head.
He jerked his head around just as the other boy swung his fist, nailing Draco in the side of the head. Stunned, Draco dropped to the ground in slow motion, slumping on to his knees. After a moment, he shook his head and tried to stand. Professor Snape grabbed him by the elbow and marched him out of the great hall behind Professor McGonagall with the other student.
‘Taking him to the hospital wing and finding out what’s going on,’ I heard Professor Snape’s voice say to me in my mind. He knew that I could read his thoughts, so he made sure I knew what was going on. I sighed and sat back down to eat lunch, realizing that I was famished. I glanced up and saw Harry watching me. I concentrated on him and pulled his thoughts forward. The others voices faded slightly, making his louder.
‘Why would Malfoy be fighting over Sam?’ I heard him think to himself. His red-haired friend got his attention and soon he was laughing with him over something that had been said. Sighing again, I got up and made my way over to the Gryffindor table.
“Harry, can I talk to you outside for a minute?” I asked softly.
He jerked his head up at me, startled that I was standing there. “Oh, yeah, sure, Sam. Hey, this is my friend Ron. Ron, this is…. My best friend, Sam,” Harry said, introducing us.
Ron mumbled something that I couldn’t understand, considering that his mouth was full of food. I nodded and led Harry outside into the rare sunshine.
I led him further out towards the lake until we are well out of earshot of everyone. Reaching a tree, I stopped and turned to look at him. “I have a new power, Harry,” I said, watching his reaction.
He looked shocked, “A new power? What is it?”
Hearing his thoughts, I knew he was a bit envious. “Jealous, Harry? I can hear other people’s thoughts a lot clearer now. Not only that, but apparently I have a soul bond with Draco. I can hear his thoughts loudest of all and he can hear mine. According to Professor Snape, this means that he and I are bonded for life. We will end up married later in life.”
“Well, yeah, I am a bit jealous. You get all the good stuff,” he said with a smile. I knew he was teasing me.
Smiling at him, I nudged his shoulder. “I’m your protector; don’t you want me to be more powerful than you?”
“Why Malfoy, though? He’s not a nice boy,” he said, his expression concerned.
“He’s not so bad, Harry. You just have to get to know him,” I replied.
“Yeah, I suppose. I guess I’ll have to get used to him, won’t I? Have you told him about this soul bond thing?” he asked, sitting down on the soft green grass.
I sat down next to him, “Not yet. I was going to at lunch, but you see what happened there. I guess I need to find out if he’s still in the hospital or not.” I said.
Closing my eyes, I concentrated on Draco’s thoughts. He was in pain; I could feel that much when I pulled his thoughts to the forefront, which at this point wasn’t very hard. His were louder than any others. ‘Draco, are you still in the hospital?’ I asked in my mind.
After several moments, ‘No, she let me go after healing my wounds. Still have bruises, though.’ He answered and I could hear the pain in his voice.
‘Think you can come out to the lake to talk? I have some answers,’ I told him.
‘Yeah, be there in a minute,’ he replied. After a few long minutes, he came walking over to us by the lake. ‘What’s he doing here?’ he sneered.
‘Stop it. Harry is my best friend, I told you that. We grew up together. He knows everything about me. I couldn’t keep this from him, any more than you will be able to keep it from your best friend.’ I chided.
“Okay, start talking,” I said out loud to him when he reached us.
“About what?” he asked, confused.
“About what? You know what I’m talking about. What happened in the great hall? What was that all about?” I asked.
“Oh, I was just defending your honor,” he responded, crossing his arms in front of him.
“And why, pray tell, would my honor need to be defended?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.
“He insulted you,” Draco said.
“How could he insult me when I wasn’t even there?” I wondered.
“You really want me to say the words, don’t you?” he countered, not really wanting to repeat what that cretin had said.
“Yes, Draco, I want you to say the words. Tell me what he said that was so bad, you felt you had to punch him to defend my honor.” Crossing my arms in front of me like him, I leaned back against the tree. Harry chuckled, knowing that I wasn’t going to give in. He knew how stubborn I was.
Draco sighed and began to pace in front of me, “He said, and remember, these are not my words, but he said, ‘She’s such a pretty little mudblood, I can’t wait to get her alone so that I can fuck her tight little….hole…. until she screams and bleeds her muddy blood all over the floor.’” He spat this out, not wanting to say it out loud, but not having a choice.
I drew in a breath at the vulgarity of the words this other boy had said. I spotted Harry out of the corner of my eye and could see his face becoming red. He was getting angry. “Draco, they were just words. Words I didn’t even hear, so they couldn’t hurt me. There was no need for you to defend anything. You only got yourself in trouble over something trivial,” I said, standing and walking over to him. I placed my hand on his arm to stop his pacing. Looking at him, I could tell that this really bothered him. “I thank you for what you did, though. It wasn’t necessary, but there’s nothing that can be done now. I appreciate your concern for me and my honor.” I said, smiling at him.
He smiled back, “No one should ever say that kind of stuff about anyone. He had no right to even think those thoughts about you. And I really have no idea why I feel so protective of you,” he said, turning red at the thought of her knowing this.
I smiled at him, and turned back to look at Harry. He nodded, letting me know that I needed to go ahead and tell him about the soul bond. “I can explain that, Draco. I went to see Professor Snape after Potions today. I told him what had happened during Transfiguration to us and he had the answer. It seems that our souls bonded when we shook hands earlier today. That’s why we can hear each other’s thought. Only in mine, it magnified and I can hear everyone’s thoughts clearer then I could before. Like I needed something else going on in my head right now.”
Draco stared at me for a moment, “Our souls bonded? What does that mean?” he asked. I handed him the book already opened to the passage about soul bonds. He took the book and read the passage, his eyes growing wider with each word he read. “So, we’re in this for life? We will have to get married eventually?”
I nodded, “That is what Professor Snape told me. I mean, we can have other relationships, but in the end we will be together, so what’s the point?” I told him.
He shifted his eyes back and forth between Harry and me, taking all the information in. He then hung his head in defeat. “I guess you’re right. We have no choice in this, do we? My father won’t like this at all. I think he has some kind of contract with the Greengrass family. I’ll have to get Snape to talk to him for me about this. He’s going to hate me.”
“How could your father hate you for something that’s out of your control? It’s not like either one of you asked for this.” Harry said.
Draco shook his head, “You don’t know my father. He won’t be happy that I’m bonded to a muggle-born.”
Harry and I both laughed loudly at that. Draco looked at us confused. “Draco, I’m more pure-blood than you are.” I told him.
“What do you mean by that?” he said, narrowing his eyes at me.
“I can’t get into that right now. Just know that in time, you will know all about me. That time is not now, though. There are things we both have to do first before our relationship can progress past this soul bond stage. Eventually, our lives will settle down and we can get on with our future. Right now, we have things to do, all 3 of us, and we can’t afford any distractions.” I told them both, pointing my finger to emphasize the no distractions part. They both nodded, agreeing that the less distractions we had, the better off we would be.
Draco turned to leave, “I need to go talk to Professor Snape about my parents. He’s going to have to contact them about this fight anyway. Is there any way at all to keep that from happening again? I don’t want more trouble on my record, this is only my first year,” he asked.
I laughed, “Yeah, Draco, just think before you act. Think about what you are about to do and how it will affect you and those around you.”
He walked away; I could hear the thoughts swirling around in his head.
‘And keep it down in here, will you? There are a lot of voices in my head right now, but your voice is the one that I hear loudest of all because of the bond. If you have to think, do it quietly, please?’ I said to him in his head.
He stopped walking and dropped his head. Turning his head slightly, he looked back at me over his shoulder, “I hope I get used to that soon. Having you in my head is a bit scary.” He walked on into the castle to find the Professor.
Harry and I wandered back into the castle to get our things for our next class. He was going to Potions with the Slytherin house and I was going to History of Magic with the Hufflepuff house. I loved learning about the history of magic, but the professor was boring. I could read from a book all that he said in class and learn more. He was a ghost, so I guess that explained a lot. I found my thoughts wandering in class. That was the only way I would stay awake. I noticed that my classmates just gave up and most of them were in some sort of napping state. Some had their heads on their desk, blatantly sleeping away. Some had their heads on their desk partner’s shoulder. Some had their heads propped up on their hand. I just sat there, staring off into space, thinking.
‘And here I thought you were a stickler for learning,’ Draco said, startling me out of my daze.
‘Oh, shut it. You don’t seem to be paying any more attention to your class than I am to mine.’ I retorted. I heard him laugh and it faded into the background with the other thoughts in my head. This was going to drive me insane soon, if I didn’t get a handle on it. All these voices in my head were making me forget to control my empathy power and that wasn’t a good thing. I was going to have to see if there was a way for Professor Snape to help me with it.
After class, I went back to my room and collapsed on the couch. It had been a long day and it wasn’t over yet. There was still dinner to get through, but for the moment I was able to get away from the emotions. The thoughts, well that was another story. They were still there, just a constant din of noise. There was no way I would be able to concentrate on my studies if this kept up. I was going to have to find a way to make those voices fade away into the background. Harry came in to the room. Seeing me sitting on the sofa with my eyes closed, he walked over behind me.
“You okay, Sam? Rough day?” he asked.
“You could say that, Harry. A very rough day,” I sighed. He began to massage my shoulders and just the contact made me sigh. I felt my magic begin to settle down. I didn’t notice that it was in such a mess. My magic leapt out to his, seeking the calming influence. The voices began to fade a little into the background.
‘You coming to dinner?’ Draco asked.
I sighed, ‘I suppose if I have to.’ I answered and patted Harry’s hand to let him know that I was getting up. “Dinner, I guess we need to go,” I said. He nodded and we walked down the hallway to the great hall. We went to our separate house tables. I felt Draco watch me.
‘Glad you could make it. I wanted to talk to you,’ he said.
I looked over at him and nodded, ‘After dinner, come to my room with me.’ I tiredly sat down and began filling my plate. Suddenly, I lost all control of my empathy power and the feelings began overwhelming me. I started breathing faster and Luna began staring at me. The cup I was holding clatter to the table out of my shaking hand, spilling the contents on the table. Harry jumped up to come over to me.
Taking my hands, Harry began speaking to me in a soothing tone. “Sam? Sam, look at me. Look at me, you are okay,” he said over and over. He was trying to calm me as he always does when I get this way, but tonight it wasn’t working for some reason.
All of the feelings in the room washed over me like a wave in the ocean. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t think for all the voices screaming in my head. The more I tried to calm down, the worse the shaking got. I heard Draco talking to me in my head, but I couldn’t answer him. Suddenly, the outside doors flew open and a huge gust of wind blew in the great hall. The doors slammed shut and I heard Dumbledore yell to Professor Snape to get me out of there. I heard Snape telling me to drink something, a calming draught, I think. I tried to swallow and I’m not sure if I actually did or not. My body seemed to be convulsing, I was shaking so badly from the emotions and the thoughts going through my head and body. I couldn’t take it anymore, I was going to explode. I felt the potion race through my system, but it wasn’t doing what it was supposed to do and calm me. I felt myself being lifted and carried out of the great hall. I heard someone gasp and somehow knew that they saw my magic arcing towards Harry. I couldn’t help it, I needed his grounding, and I needed him. Draco rushed behind us.
“We have to get her somewhere out of the sight of the other students. Mr. Malfoy, there is nothing for you to see, please return to the great hall,” Dumbledore said.
“But I think I can help,” Draco replied. Snape sighed and explained to the headmaster about the soul bond.
“Very well, her chambers are just up the hall here, take her there and try to get her calmed down,” he suggested.
I heard Harry speak the password and felt the warmth of our common room before I felt nothing at all. “She’s passed out, professor,” Harry said as they placed me on the sofa. His hands still on mine, my magic arcing over to him, searching for his grounding influence. It wasn’t enough. His magic wasn’t enough to calm mine this time. I was too far gone.
I became aware of my surroundings again slowly. My body still shaking violently, Harry speaking a low, soothing voice. ‘Just let me go, I can’t take this any longer, let me go.’ I begged silently.
Draco took on a stricken look, ‘Not going to happen, dear. You aren’t going anywhere. We are bonded, remember? I’m not going to let you go.’
Right, I forgot he could hear me. I saw him take a step closer to me and put his hands under my hands with Harry’s still on top of mine. My magic began arcing between the two as my breathing quickened even more. After 5 long minutes, my breathing began to slow and I began to feel a bit calmer. Before long, I was fully aware of everything around me. Aware of the fact that it took two other people’s magic to calm and ground mine. This wasn’t good. I was volatile. I couldn’t be around other people. Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape looked on at us with curiosity. My shaking stopped and I began breathing normally. My magic settled down and stopped arcing all over the place.
I took my hands away slowly and they both looked up at me. I sighed heavily and leaned back onto the sofa. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t control it. With all the voices in my head, I lost my focus on controlling the empathy power and it all overwhelmed me. I heard all the thoughts to go along with all those emotions and it was too much.”
Professor Snape looked over at Dumbledore, “Do you still think it’s such a good idea to have her in the great hall with everyone at once?” he asked.
“Well, I suppose I see your point, Severus. I think we can arrange for you to have your meals in here, Samantha. I never thought you would gain a new power while here. I think we would all understand if you wanted to leave Hogwarts, but I don’t think that would be a very good idea,” Dumbledore said softly.
I looked around at all of them, catching their eyes one at a time, ending with Harry. “I can’t leave here. My magic needs Harry’s. I have to be here for him. Maybe if I stay out of big crowds I will be okay. Once I get a good handle on this new power, I might be able to rejoin the group in the great hall.” I answered the question that was in all of their eyes. “I will keep fighting to control all of my powers and I will do whatever is necessary to continue and succeed at the job I have to do.”
Both men nodded their heads in agreement with me. “I will have the kitchen staff send meals for 2 up here for each meal. You can eat with whoever you wish, or no one at all, however you like,” Dumbledore said.
Severus looked up at the clock, “Draco, we must go. Your parents will be here very shortly.”
Draco sighed and nodded, then turned to me. “This is what I wanted to talk about. My parents are coming here for an explanation of the soul bond thing. I have to meet with me. They may want to meet you, but I’m not sure that’s a good idea. If Professor Snape and I think it’s okay, then I will call for you, okay?” he told me.
I nodded, “Okay, Draco. It’s only natural for your parents to want to meet the person their son is bound to.” The two left and Harry and I were left alone with the headmaster. He seemed very concerned.
“I am very sorry to subject you to this, Samantha. I really had no idea what it takes for you to control the empathy powers you have, and now you have something new to contend with. I am truly sorry that I have put you through so much pain,” he said, his head down.
“It really is okay, sir. I’m okay. I will get a handle on this new power and I will be able to control everything I can do. It will just take a little time. I wonder if Professor Snape could modify the ward he put up to keep out the emotions and make one to keep out thoughts. That might help me figure out a way to keep it all under control.” I said.
Suddenly, I closed my eyes and felt like my heart and lungs were on fire. I gasped, causing both in the room with me to stand up abruptly. “What is it?” Harry asked, kneeling in front of me.
“Someone is in trouble, being hurt. I don’t know where, but here in the castle.” I said, in a strained voice. “I can hear their thoughts screaming for help and I can actually feel the pain.”
“Even in here where emotions are blocked?” Harry asked.
“Yes, even in here. Physical pain is the hardest emotion to block. Even for a ward. We have to go find her; she’s in a lot of pain.” I said, standing. Holding a hand to my chest, I made my way to the door. Once out in the hallway, I stopped and just listened. I was trying to bring the girl’s voice into focus at the forefront of my mind. Looking left and then right, I started moving to the right, following my instinct. Her voice got louder the further along the hallway we moved. I stopped, “Above us, three floors.” I said, and started walking faster, and then I was running. Trying to find the girl to help her. Harry and Dumbledore were close behind me. It surprised me that Dumbledore was able to keep up, since he was an old man, but he was right on my heels. After three flights of stairs that actually stayed put, I stopped in front of a blank wall. The girl’s voice was coming in loud and clear in my mind, as was her pain. “She’s behind this wall. Where’s the door?” I asked.
We all stared at the wall, wondering how to get through it. All of a sudden, a door began to appear in the wall. Sucking in a breath, I waited for it to completely appear. I reached for the knob and turned it quickly. Once inside, I saw a sight that I really had no desire to see. A young girl was lying on a cold concrete slab, naked, bleeding, crying. A man, a professor actually, was standing over her, between her legs, thrusting himself into her. I could see his hard length as he pulled it out and pushed it back into her, making her cry out with each thrust. This was not a cry of pleasure, though; this was a cry of pain.
Dumbledore muttered something and I saw the man fly through the air and land in a heap against the far wall. I ran to the girl’s side, grabbing her hand to let her know that she was safe now. I ignored the blood all over her from the beating that she had received and I said soothing words to her. I could feel her calm slightly, but I knew that she needed more. “Professor, she needs the hospital,” I said. Harry still stood gaping at the scene we had interrupted. The headmaster nodded his head and turned to the man who would no longer be a professor here. He bound his hands and feet and then said a spell that sent the man floating ahead of him. He gingerly picked up the young girl and carried her out of the room towards the hospital wing. Professor McGonagall was coming towards us, wondering what the commotion was when we were running through the halls. She gasped as she saw the state of the young girl.
“Minerva, would you please take this young lady to the hospital wing?” the headmaster asked, handing over the girl.
“Certainly, Albus. What happened?” she asked.
“Samantha will explain on the way. I must deal with McMillian here and see if I can come up with a new Arithmacy teacher tonight,” he sighed; this would be a long night. He turned to the left and took the bound, unconscious professor to his office to call for the head auror and get charges started.
Professor McGonagall started down the hallway to the right with the young girl in her arms. “So, what happened? What does this have to do with Professor McMillian?” she asked.
“He beat her and was raping her when we found them. I could feel her pain and hear her screams in my head,” I said, shakily, still feeling the girl’s pain.
‘Sam, you there?’ Draco’s voice sounded loud in my head.
‘Of course I’m here, you idiot. I’m always here, it’s my mind,’ I said back to him, shaking my head.
‘Oh, sorry. Well, Snape is making my parents take a magical wizarding oath to not tell anything that is said in the room about you. They even have to erase it from their minds afterwards. Can you come to Snape’s room, please? They want to meet you.’ He said, almost afraid that I would say no.
‘Of course I will come. Give me a minute to get there, okay.’ I responded. Out loud I told McGonagall that Snape wanted me to come to his classroom.
“And how do you know that, dear?” she asked me as we stopped in front of the hospital wing.
“I can hear everyone’s thoughts now, ma’am. I have to go, he sounds angry.” Turning, I walked towards the dungeons. “Harry, I will be okay, you don’t have to walk with me, you know.”
“I want to protect you. I will leave you at the door, Draco and Snape can see that you get back to the room okay. I promise,” he said as he fell into step beside me. We walked in silence all the way to Snape’s classroom. “I’ll leave you here, Sam.”
I stepped into the classroom and found my way through the door into Snape’s personal room. Draco stood as I entered the room. I felt the evil emanating off of Mr. Malfoy. He was not a nice man, and no matter what he said, or whatever oath he took, he would not honor it. I shook my head at the thoughts I heard loudly in my head.   Draco pulled me further into the room with them. “Sam, this is my mother and father,” he said with a slight smile. He knew that this would be awkward.
“It’s nice to meet you both,” I said, stopping behind the sofa. They both stared at me, and the longer I watched Mr. Malfoy, the more evil his look became. “I’m sorry, I have to go.” Turning on my heel, I left as quickly as I could and almost ran to my room. Bursting through the door, I startled Harry, who was sitting on the sofa working on his homework. He jumped up and was by my side in an instant.
“I thought you were meeting Draco’s parents,” he said softly, leading me to the sofa to sit down.
“I did meet them and then I left. I couldn’t be in the same room with that evil man a minute longer,” as I said this, a knock was heard at the door. “That would be Draco. He tried to get me to talk in my head, but I refused to answer him.
Harry got up and opened the door. Draco and Professor Snape swept into the room. Draco coming right up to me to kneel in front of me where Harry had just been. “What’s wrong? Why did you run out like that?” he asked.
I looked up at him and then over to Professor Snape who had made the Malfoys make a wizarding magical oath to not reveal what they learned about me. Letting out a breath, “I knew that he wouldn’t keep his oath, no matter what the consequences to him were. He would run straight to the Dark Lord with the information that I’m a mind reader. I’m sure he already knew that since you told him that we have a soul bond. Only mind readers can have those with someone who is not a mind reader. I could feel the evil rolling off of him and I heard what he was thinking. He would turn me over to that evil man just to get me out of the way of you and the contract he has with the Greengrass family. He would do anything to keep that contract in effect.” As I explained this Snape began pacing.
“He would die if he ever revealed anything about you to anyone. That was the price he set in the oath. He insisted on taking the oath and binding himself and Narcissa to it. Why would he insist on that if he was just going to break the oath anyway?”
            “Because he would rather die than to see me with anyone but a pure-blood,” Draco stated.
            I scoffed at that. I had already told him that I was more pure-blood than he was. His father didn’t know that, though. “I already told you that I’m more pure-blood than you are, Draco.”
            He nodded slowly, “Yes, but you never said how.”
            “That is something that cannot be revealed right now, Draco. Many lives are at stake.” Professor Snape drawled from the corner of the room.
            “You know that you can make me take an oath like my father took and I couldn’t reveal anything to anyone. I’m not my father.” The last was said in an almost whisper.
            “Boy, I know that you aren’t your father, but I also know that you have a destiny and we can’t change it.” Snape snapped, turning to focus on Draco. “There are things you have to do and they do involve the Dark Lord. There’s no way around it.”
            Everyone was quiet for a moment after that. “Actually, there might be a way. I need some time to figure it out, though. Just trust me, Draco, for your safety and for the safety of everyone around us.” I said softly, taking his hands in mine. He looked me in the eye for several long moments before nodding his head slightly in agreement.
            Professor Snape stepped forward, “It is after midnight. I suggest we all try to get some sleep and start dealing with things in the morning. I obliviated your parents of Samantha’s appearance and the soul bond. Eventually, though, they will have to know of the bond and that the contract he has is no longer valid.”
            “Good night everyone. Let’s all get some sleep and maybe things will be clearer in the morning.” I said and stood to make my way to bed. I was exhausted, mentally and physically. Hearing everyone’s thoughts and feeling their emotions was taking a toll on me. More than anyone knew. They all thought that I was strong and could handle it. I wasn’t so sure anymore.
            I heard Professor Snape and Draco leave and Harry followed me to bed. I grabbed my nightdress and went into the bathroom to change. Once I had brushed my teeth and my hair, I returned to the bedroom to find Harry already in bed. I climbed in beside him and was asleep almost instantly. What seemed like only minutes later, but was really three hours, I was sitting up in bed shaking, crying, sweating, screaming, and everything in between. Harry jerked awake and wrapped me in his arms.
            “What’s wrong, Sam?” he asked, trying to comfort me.
            I looked at him, as if seeing him for the first time. I dropped my head into my hands, “Oh, God. I can’t take it. The dreams, the thoughts running through everyone’s head. It’s all too much.” He rubbed his hands over my back, holding me; tell me that everything would be okay. I shook my head, “No, Harry, it’s not going to be okay. I will never be okay. I will never be normal. I will never have a normal life. I will always hear what everyone else is thinking. Feel what everyone is feeling. No matter where I am, or what I do, everyone will always be in my head. How am I supposed to live a life like that? How am I supposed to try to be normal and have a relationship, or even a marriage?” I railed at him.
            Harry pulled back to look me in the eye. “I can’t promise you anything, Sam. I can only promise that you will conquer this, just like you’ve conquered everything that has been thrown at you thus far. I can be here for you to scream at, to hit, to cry on, whatever you need. I won’t judge you and I won’t leave you. Draco will help too, I’m sure. I’ve noticed that he wants to be friends and has changed in the short time that I’ve known him. We can talk to Dumbledore or Snape about this in a little while. Right now, let’s try to get some sleep.”
            I shook my head, “I can’t go back to sleep now, Harry. There are too many people in this castle having horrid dreams, or crazy dreams, or sex dreams… it’s all just too much for me to handle. I’m going to go crazy soon.” I rose to my feet and walked into the common room to sit in front of the fire. Harry didn’t follow; he knew that I need time to myself. This is the first time that I had voiced my fears, opened myself up to him fully. I always held back most of what I was feeling, but I couldn’t hold it back anymore. If I did, I would explode.
            I stared at the flames dancing in the fireplace and tried to find some sort of meditation place where I could block out everything. It was exhausting trying to block out all the thoughts. The ward was blocking out the emotions like it was supposed to. I had to remember to ask Professor Snape about modifying the ward to include thoughts. I tried what I did with the emotions, pulling one forward and then pushing it aside. Slowly, I began to find that some of the voices faded greatly. There was still a lot to work on getting into the background, but I was getting a start on it.
            A few hours later, Harry came in to the room, dressed and ready to head down to breakfast and then class. “I can eat here, if you want, I see the kitchens have already sent breakfast up here,” he said softly. Even though I knew he was there, I still jumped when he spoke. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”
            “That’s okay, Harry. I was concentrating a bit harder than usual. Go on down to the great hall for breakfast. I’ll be fine here and then I’ll see you in class later.” I said, waving him on out the door. I really wanted more time alone, but I wasn’t going to get that for a while. I did still have class to attend. Sighing loudly, I got up and wrapping the blanket more securely around me, made my way to the table to eat. I took my time and then got into the shower to get ready for class. My first class was Herbology today with Gryffindor, and then I would go to Charms with Slytherin. I would be with either Harry or Draco all day long. I wasn’t sure I could put up with their protectiveness. I’m supposed to be the protector, not them. I’m supposed to protect everyone else, not them protect me. I was going to have to control this new power and soon. If I didn’t then I wouldn’t be able to do my job and Harry would die.
            What I really needed was to find Luna and see if we could come to some sort of understanding. If I’m right about her, then she will be able to help me tremendously. Noticing the time, I quickly donned my robe and made my way out to the greenhouses near the lake. After seeing Luna dreamily walking to class by herself, I just knew I was right about her. I only had to figure out how to find out for sure. Harry fell in step beside me and we entered the greenhouse that Professor Sprout indicated. I soon found myself lost in the world of plants. I did realize that in class, the voices faded more into the background as everyone near me was thinking the same thing. I could still hear other voices in my head, but they were all thinking about whatever class they were in at the moment. There was the occasional lustful thought coming from some higher class boy, but I just pushed that as far back as I could. Maybe this wouldn’t be as hard as I thought it would be.
            After Herbology, Harry walked me to the Charms classroom and handed me over to Draco like I was a child with divorced parents and they were trading time with me. This was ridiculous. I could walk to class on my own, I was a big girl. I was going to have to talk to Harry about this.
            ‘So, meals in your room from now on? How’s that going?’ Draco’s voice startled me out of my thoughts.
            ‘It’s okay. Kinda lonely, but I can deal with that.’ I replied, making my way to a seat near the door, in case I needed a fast exit. Charms was usually okay, but who knows now that I can hear other thoughts.
            ‘I could join you, if you want,’ he said, almost as if he was afraid to say it.
            ‘Did Harry put you up to this? I’m a big girl, I can walk to class on my own and eat my meals all by myself, you know. I don’t need constant supervision,’ I snapped, glaring at him over my shoulder as he sat down beside me.
            He looked shocked, ‘Well, he did ask me to keep near you at all times when he wasn’t around. He doesn’t want another episode like yesterday to happen. Something about being a danger when you get like that.’ He said, imploring me with his eyes to not yell at him. He really did have beautiful eyes.
            I sighed, ‘I suppose I can’t blame him, after all. He’s seen some pretty awful things that I’ve done in the past,’ I said as the professor came in to the room. ‘Now, please be quiet so that I can concentrate on class.’
            He smiled at me and took out his wand and his note taking things. During class, I began to think about having lunch all alone. I didn’t really want that for some reason. What would be the harm in asking someone to eat with me? Should I ask Draco, though? He was becoming a good friend to me. He cared about me, and I didn’t think it was just because of the soul bond thing. I think he was genuinely concerned for me and my safety.
            After Charms, I was heading to my rooms for lunch. Draco fell in step beside me and I sighed. “Okay, you can have lunch with me, if it would make you happy.”
            “It would make me very happy, Samantha,” he smiled at me. Once in the room, lunch appeared for the two of us. We sat down and began talking. We talked about our childhood and it was very hard for me not to reveal everything single thing about myself to him. I just seemed to want him to know everything, and that wasn’t a good thing. I had to keep reminding myself that if he knew it would be dangerous for the entire world.
            After lunch, I had a double class of Defense with the Hufflepuff house. I could tell this made Draco a bit nervous and knew that Harry had said something to him at breakfast. “I’ll be fine, Draco. If I start feeling out of control, I will leave the room right away. I’ll be fine.” I said, placing a hand on his arm.
            “Well, if you need me, just think it. I’ll hear,” he said, turning and making his way to his own class.
            Like I didn’t know that already. Of course he could hear me; I could hear him just as well. It would be like that for the rest of our lives, no matter if we wanted it or not. Defense was easy for me, since I was a protector, I could already do a lot of the spells that we would be taught. Today, for instance, was one that I had down pat a long time ago, Protégo, the shielding spell. I didn’t even need the wand or a spell for that one. All I had to do was think about it and wave my hand and an invisible shield popped up around me, or around whoever I wanted it to shield. It was fun really, being able to do something that none of the other students could do yet. The professor tested us to see if we could make a shield and threw a non-harming spell at us. When he tried to hit me with the tickling jinx, it just bounced off my shield, earning me 10 points for Ravenclaw house.
            After class, I returned to my room to gather some things had head to the library to start on my homework. Harry hadn’t made it back to the rooms yet and I didn’t see Draco again. I ventured on to the library on my own, knowing that I would be just fine. Spreading out my books, I began working on an essay for Transfiguration. I think I had found a new place to meditate. It was quiet in here and in my mind. It seemed like the voices drifted even further into the background. Maybe this place had a ward on it, who knows.
            I had almost finished my essay when I heard Draco in my head, ‘Where are you? Harry is worried sick.’ He asked, a little worried himself, if truth be told.
            ‘I’m in the library working on an essay,’ I told him. A few minutes later, both Harry and Draco barged into the library. Looking up, I saw a wave of relief wash of Harry’s face. Draco let out a breath he seemed to be holding when he saw me sitting there surrounded by my work. “What?” I asked, innocently.
            Harry gaped at me, “I’ve been worried sick about you. I thought you’d been kidnapped or something. I yelled at Draco for not finding you right after class,” he whispered loudly.
            “No need to yell at Draco. I’m perfectly fine. I told you, Harry, I’m a big girl and can do things on my own. I needed to do my homework, so I figured the best place for that was the library. I never thought you would worry about me like this.” I said, rolling up my essay and placing it in my bag to hand in the next day. Pulling out more parchment, I began a Potions essay, trying to ignore the incredulous looks that Harry and Draco were throwing at me. Finally, not able to stand it any longer, “What? What is the matter?” I snapped.
            Harry opened his mouth to speak, but no words came forth. Draco spoke to me in my head, ‘Harry was so worried about you, and he was frantic. He thought you’d been hurt or kidnapped or something. He’s very protective of you and it scared him to think that something might have happened to you. Frankly, I was worried, too.’
            I stared at them both. “I’m sorry, Harry. I never knew that you would worry this much about me going to the library,” I said.
            “Just…. Just let me know next time. Leave a note or something,” he said and then stormed out of the library. I shook my head at him and put my things away. There was no way I was going to finish my homework now. I had to go talk to him. I found him in our rooms, even though it was near dinner time.
            ‘Draco, I’ll talk to you later. I’ll have dinner with Harry in our rooms,’ I said.
            There was hesitation before I heard, ‘Sure thing.’ I could tell he was disappointed, but Harry and I needed to get some things out in the open and we needed to be alone for that.
            “Harry, stay here and have dinner with me, please. We need to talk,” I said. He just nodded and sat down on the sofa to stare at the fire. “Honestly, Harry, you would think we were married or something. I was just in the library. You need to calm down. I’m not going to go anywhere. I’m not going to be kidnapped here, under Dumbledore’s watchful eye, you know that. He wouldn’t allow anything to happen to me, and neither would Snape. You just have to trust me and allow me to do things on my own. I won’t be dependent on you or Draco for my protection. Remember, I am the ultimate protector and weapon. I can take care of myself if I need to. You can’t be around me all day every day. And neither can Draco. It’s not fair to him to ask him to be by my side during class and walk me to my next class either. He has a life outside of me, you know. He has other friends.” I explained as food appeared on the table for us. I got up and made a plate for both of us.
            Harry accepted his without comment, and we ate in silence. After finishing, we both stared at the fire for hours. “I’m sorry, Sam. I was just so worried. You’re right that I can’t protect you all the time. I can’t be there for you every minute of the day, but that doesn’t stop me from worrying. I love you, Sam, you’re my sister. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
            “I know, Harry. I know that you worry about me, but you don’t have to. I’m a big girl, 11 years old now. I can take care of myself. I do need you, my magic does and your magic needs me, but that doesn’t mean that we have to spend every moment of every day together. We just have to be near each other at night to recharge and settle our magic. I love you, Harry, but you can be overbearing at times.” I said with a smile and nudged his shoulder with mine.
            He smiled as well and we watched our magic arc out towards each other, knowing that this would always happen. We would always be linked this way, but maybe someday we would only need to meet up once a day to allow our magic to settle. We could have a semi-normal life with a partner of our choosing. After a half dozen yawns, I stood to make my way to bed. Harry sat up for a while, just thinking. I was so tired, and never got a chance to ask Professor Snape about modifying the ward, although, now that I think about it, I hadn’t really heard anyone’s thoughts except for Harry’s and Draco’s while we had been in our rooms. I was almost asleep when Harry came into the bedroom.
            “Sam?” he said softly. “This owl just came and dropped this letter off for you.”
            I sat up and took the letter from him, opened it and began reading.
‘Ms. Cooper,
Professor Dumbledore asked me to modify the wards on your rooms to include thoughts. Now, you should be able to get away from almost all thoughts and feelings. You’re welcome.
Professor Severus Snape’
            “Well, that explains it. Professor Snape modified the wards on the rooms so that they now keep out thoughts as well. So, as long as you don’t have any dreams, I should be able to get some sleep.” I said with a small laugh. Harry smiled and got ready for bed. I was asleep before he finished and climbed into bed beside me.
            The days continued to progress and we settled into our own routines with classes and homework and Quidditch matches that Harry played in. I got better at controlling my powers, and there were no more incidents like that night in the great hall. Before we knew it, we were taking final exams and packing our things to head home. The summer passed with surprising quickness and we soon found ourselves back on the train heading to school. Draco was never quiet long during the summer. It seems that he missed me, even though we barely knew much about each other. The trip through the station was better this time around, since I had gotten so much better at pushing everyone’s thoughts and feelings aside and not letting them overwhelm me.
            Dumbledore had specified that I was to attend the welcome feast with everyone else and I knew he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Once there, we all sat at our house tables to watch the sorting. ‘You look good,’ I heard in my head. It wasn’t a voice that I had really paid much attention to before. It wasn’t Draco or Harry, I knew that much. Casually, I looked around to see who it could have been. I saw a creepy 6^th year Slytherin staring at me. I made a look of distaste and turned back to the sorting ceremony. I could feel his eyes on me and it gave me the creeps. I shivered involuntarily. This guy was going to be trouble, I could feel it. I don’t think I’m ready for something like that. I’m only 12, I’m not ready for any kind of relationship other than friendship.
            ‘You okay? You look disgusted.’ Draco said to me in my head.
            ‘That guy is just staring at me. A 6^th year in your house, I think. Looks like a troll or something. The things he is thinking are disturbing and are about me. I don’t like the way he is looking at me. Gives me the creeps.’ I said back to him. Draco swung his head to his right to see who she was talking about.
            ‘Oh, that’s Flint. He is a huge creep. I’ll warn him away from you and bring it to Snape’s attention as soon as we get to the dorm. I missed seeing you this summer,’ he said.
            I smiled, ‘I missed you too, Draco. How about having lunch tomorrow in my rooms so that we can talk face to face?’ I asked.
            ‘Oh, absolutely.’ He said and smiled back at me. I really had missed seeing him these past few months. Once the sorting and meal was over, everyone made their way to their dorms. Harry and I went to our room and were almost instantly asleep. I loved being back here among friends. I was still going to take my meals in my rooms for the majority of the year. I wasn’t going to risk hurting anyone, even though I had my powers under control now.
            Classes began the next morning as usual and I found myself in Potions with Slytherin, instead of Hufflepuff. When I looked more closely at my schedule, I noticed that all my classes were either with Slytherin or Gryffindor. I sighed, I guess Harry decided to override me and go to the headmaster about having either him or Draco near me at all times. I guess I’ll have to have another talk with him about this. I could take care of myself. I found a seat and started taking out my things. I had just finished when Draco sauntered into the room with his buddies from Slytherin. He saw me and made a beeline for the seat beside me. I didn’t smile or even acknowledge that he was there. I knew that he had some say in the way my schedule had changed.
            ‘What? What did I do?’ he asked.
            ‘You let Harry do this to my schedule, didn’t you?’ I snapped back.
            ‘I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t change his mind. He’s like a dog with a bone when it comes to you. Although, I don’t object too much to having you near me more often. He just wants what’s best for you, Samantha.’ Draco said, hoping I wouldn’t yell at him for this.
            ‘This is not about what is best for me, Draco. It’s about what is best for him. He wants to protect me, when I’m the one who is supposed to be protecting him. He wants to keep me safe. Well, I’m not the one being hunted down by an evil man. He’s gone too far this time, Draco. I can’t let him do this.’ I said, slamming my hand down on the table.
            He and several other students jumped at the sound my fist made on the table. “Sorry,” I said, ducking my head. Draco began taking his things out of his bag and got ready for class. Professor Snape entered and introduced the potion we would be making. I was still angry, and I could feel my magic sparking inside of me. Harry had no right to do this behind my back. I had to calm down, though. Nothing good would come of me getting angry; I already knew that from experience. What could I do though? Harry was somewhere else. Movement caught my attention in the corner of my eye. Draco. He could help for the moment, just to calm me enough that I didn’t blow anything up. Slowly, I reached for his hand under the table. He jerked his head towards me at the contact.
            ‘Please? My magic is getting out of control and I really don’t want to blow up the school. Just hold my hand for a while and let my magic reach out to yours,’ I said to him.
            He nodded his head and turned his attention back to what Professor Snape was saying. He was explaining how to make the potion and what it was used for. This was a simple potion to make and wouldn’t require too much on my part. Draco was a potion expert and wanted to study under Snape to become a master. Snape began walking through the classroom, seeing our progress. Draco let go of my hand to gather ingredients, and while he was gone, I got the cauldron set up and other things we would need. My magic was about to go crazy. When Draco got back, I latched onto his hand like I was drowning and he was saving my life. Professor Snape got to our table and saw our clasped hands. He opened his mouth to say something and then saw my magic arc over to Draco. He closed his mouth and moved on, not saying a word out loud.
            ‘Everything okay, Ms. Cooper?’ he asked. I nodded and he turned his gaze to other students. I was glad that he understood what was happening and didn’t need an explanation. Other professors wouldn’t understand. Draco and I finished our potion perfectly, all while holding hands to steady my magic until I could get to Harry. Oh, he was just going to love this. I was proving him right. That I needed him or Draco near me at all times. That’s not the case at all. I was angry at him, that’s why my magic got out of control.
            Class was finally over and I went up to turn in our vial. While I was gone, Draco had packed both my things and his own and was waiting for me so that he could walk me to my next class. This was another class with Slytherin, but he intended to find Harry before class. His own magic wasn’t working as well as Harry’s would to calm my magic down. He grabbed my hand and hauled me out of the room. I had to run to keep up. ‘Draco, stop!’ I yelled.
            He stopped abruptly and stared at me, realizing what he was doing. ‘Sorry, I just want to find Harry right away for you. You need him, no matter how much you deny it.’
            ‘I don’t deny it, Draco. I do need Harry right now, but you don’t have to pull me along behind you. I can walk there beside you, can’t I?’ I said and began slowly walking towards my next class. ‘I will be fine for this next class, until lunch. We don’t have to find Harry right away.’
            Draco rolled his eyes, ‘Sure you’ll be fine. You can’t stop from shaking and your magic is about to start arcing all over the place. Let’s just find Harry real quick before class, please? It will make me feel better.’
            I sighed, ‘Fine, whatever.’ I consented, knowing that I was fighting a losing battle. I was never going to be able to convince these two that I could take care of myself. If I was really honest with myself, I would admit that I liked being taken care of by Draco. He was sweet and I liked how my hand felt in his. I know, silly schoolgirl, right.
            We rounded a corner and there stood Harry with Ron and Hermione, another Gryffindor that Harry had made friends with last year. She was really smart and came in second behind me in our studies. She had bushy brown hair and was teased by several higher years about it. She didn’t let it bother her, though. My magic crackled at the sight of Harry. It knew that he was close. Draco and I walked towards the group and Harry turned, sensing that I was near. He was confused at first, but taking in our clasped hands, he knew what was wrong. He came to us and took my other hand. I sighed involuntarily as I felt my magic settle down. I knew we were being watched, but I couldn’t bring myself to care at the moment.
            “What happened?” Harry asked, concerned about me.
            “She got angry in Potions and her magic got a bit out of control. She used my magic during class, but I knew that she needed you.” Draco answered quietly.
            “Who were you mad at, Sam? Why were you angry?” Harry turned to me.
            “You. You went behind my back and made sure that Ravenclaw had a class with either Gryffindor or Slytherin so that I would be with one of you two at all times. Like I can’t take care of myself.” I said, my magic beginning to settle down to normal. He didn’t even bother to look surprised that I knew what he had done. “Harry, you had no right to do that. I can look after myself. I am a witch, you know.”
            “Yeah, but you’re my sister, Sam. I have to protect you. That’s what brothers do.” He said, looking into my eyes, willing me to see his side.
            I stared at him for several long moments before speaking. “Harry, I love you, I really do, but you are so infuriating some times. I can take care of myself; I promise nothing will happen to me. You can’t be with me every second of every day, and neither can Draco. It’s not fair to you both and it’s not fair to me. I have to learn how to do things on my own. I can’t depend on you for the rest of my life. One day, you aren’t going to be there and I need to be able to do things like calm my magic on my own.” I said, hoping he would see my side of things. “I do understand how you feel, because I feel the same way towards you. You are the one who needs protecting, not me. You are the one who has some evil wizard hunting him down, not me.”
            Harry watched me for a few more moments. “I understand, Sam. I really do. I’m sorry that I did this, but I think after today you will agree that having one of us nearby is going to help you out a lot.”
            I nodded, “Maybe, but I don’t want you to think that you can take over my life and do things like this without discussing them with me first. I’m not a stupid schoolgirl who doesn’t know how to get the right books for class.”
            He smiled then, laughing a little at the image of me being a stupid schoolgirl. “True,” he said and then looked up at Ron waving him over. “Hey, we gotta get to class. Don’t want to be late. I’m sorry, again.”
            “I’ll see you later, Harry,” I said and Draco led me away to Charms. We took seats next to each other and tried to concentrate on the class. I was used to all the thoughts in my head now, and was getting really good at blocking them out during class. Draco’s were the only ones that I didn’t bother to try to block out. I wanted to know what he was thinking. I wanted to know how he was feeling for some reason. I couldn’t explain why, I just wanted to know. Must be something to do with this soul bond thing, but it could be something else. I didn’t know who to ask about it, though. It seemed almost embarrassing to me.
            After Charms, I let him lead the way to my dorm room for lunch. I was still taking my meals in my room to allow me a break from the emotions and thoughts if only for an hour. We ate lunch in silence, only the sound of our forks scraping lightly against the plates in front of us. Harry arrived soon after we finished, to walk with me to Herbology for our two hour block in the afternoon. I sighed and rose to get my things. “I guess I’m just going to have to get used to this, huh? You aren’t going to let me out of your sight, are you?”
            “Not a chance, if at all possible.” Harry said with a smile. He nodded once at Draco and we turned to go outside to Herbology. Draco was going to Transfiguration. I felt a small hole inside me when he was out of sight, but I shook it off as nothing. I was only 12; I couldn’t have feelings for him yet. Not those kind of feelings anyway. I liked him, he was a great guy, but I didn’t love him yet. Not in a romantic way yet, I wasn’t even sure how that would feel.
            Herbology proved to be interesting. We were getting into more advanced plants and learning what to do and what not to do with them. Harry stood next to me as we worked and kept glancing over at Hermione out of the corner of his eye. I chuckled under my breath, bringing his thoughts forward in my mind to hear what he was thinking. Seems like Harry has a crush. I smiled, knowing that he would be happy with someone soon.
            The school term passed with surprising speed. No injuries that we were aware of, nothing coming to kill Harry, no one finding out about me. We found ourselves back home above the bookstore, studying and getting ready for the next year. Our third year was much like our second. Harry still insisted on being by my side as much as possible and when he wasn’t Draco was there. I got used to it; nothing I ever said changed their minds. Fourth and fifth year passed the same way. I was beginning to feel more towards Draco than I was ready to admit. He guarded his thoughts and feelings around me more, so I wasn’t sure how he felt about me. He still stayed with me when Harry wasn’t able to, except when the two of them were playing Quidditch against each other. That was the only time that I didn’t have one or the other beside me. During those matches, Hermione and Luna were told to be by my side.
            We received our letters for our sixth year at Hogwarts. Once at the castle, settling in to watch the sorting, Draco kept catching my eye across the tables. He would always sit to where he could look at me whenever I ate in the great hall. I smiled at him, and a look passed over his face. It wasn’t something that I had ever seen before, so I wasn’t sure what it meant. He was guarding his thoughts again, not allowing me to hear what he was thinking. The headmaster announced the Wizard tournament and the Yule Ball. He expected us to welcome our guests and treat them as family once they arrived near Halloween.
            Harry and I walked to our dorm room in silence after the feast. Draco sidled up on my other side, his hand barely touching my. I felt a slight jolt and then a tingle at the small contact. “So, Potter, you going to try to enter?” he asked as he matched his steps to ours.
            “Nah, not worth the trouble of finding a way around the age line, plus I don’t need any more attention.” Harry responded.
            “Yeah, I’m not going to try either. The thought of risking my life for a trophy seems stupid to me.” Draco replied. “See you in class tomorrow,” he said and broke off to join his housemates.
            Harry and I prepared for bed. A few years ago, we decided to sleep in separate beds in the same room, now that we were growing and our bodies were developing, and we were becoming more aware of the opposite sex. We didn’t find ourselves in each other’s bed in the morning, but we did feel the pressing need to touch each other the next morning, for our magic to settle down and balance out. We would spend breakfast getting our magic balanced out before class each day. At the Halloween feast, the two other schools arrived for the start of the tournament. Dumbledore explained the rules and how to place your name in the goblet. There was an age line around it, to prevent anyone younger than 17 from placing their name in. The tournament was dangerous; some had died in years before.
            We all retired to our rooms and the next day, everyone was curious to see who was going to put their name in for the tournament. Harry and Draco and I didn’t want any part of it. We weren’t of age anyway, so there was no chance we would be chosen. I could have gotten around the age line, but I had no desire to. The students from the other three schools were there bright and early to put their names in. The goblet would stay until dinner that night. That night, Draco and I sat facing each other from our respected house tables as the headmaster began to call the names of the champions for the tournament. Sitting through the Durmstrang and Beaubaxton and Salem (from America) schools champions, the Hogwarts champion was called last. Dumbledore caught the paper that the goblet spit out and stared in disbelief at the name on the paper.
            “Harry Potter?!” he exclaimed above the noise in the hall. Everyone grew silent and I felt as if a knife pierced my heart. How did Harry’s name get in that goblet? He didn’t put it in there. I looked at Draco and he looked shocked. His expression immediately changed to concern and he was by my side before I could blink. I turned to look at Harry. He looked just as shocked as everyone else. Someone had put his name in that goblet and it was someone who wanted to hurt him, maybe even kill him. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but I had a bad feeling about it.
            Draco put his hand in mine and pulled me to stand and then led me out of the great hall. I felt my hair begin to move and no wind to speak of making it move. I must be getting angry and somehow getting volatile. He practically ran to my dorm, muttering the password as he approached the portrait. It opened immediately and he pulled me through unceremoniously. Stepping to the sofa, he pushed me to sit down on it. Kneeling in front of me, he linked both of our hands together and looked into my eyes.
            “Just calm down, Samantha. Everything is going to be okay, I promise. Harry knows what he’s doing,” he said soothingly.
            I looked at him as if just now realizing that he was there. “He didn’t put his name in that goblet. I know he didn’t. There’s no possible way that he did without me knowing, you know that. Someone wanted him this tournament. Someone wants to hurt him. This isn’t going to end well. I have to be there for him during the events. I have to be there to protect him.” I said, looking down at our clasped hands. I saw my magic arcing over to his and felt it begin to settle slowly. My magic was getting used to using Draco’s to balance, so I wasn’t depending as much on Harry anymore.
            Draco looked concerned, “But why do you have to protect him? Why you?” he asked.
            “I can’t explain it right now, Draco. If you knew it could be used against us and something really bad could happen.” I said, knowing that his father was really close to the dark lord and Draco could be used to get information, even if he took an oath to not reveal anything, the dark lord could still get into his mind and see everything.
            He shook his head and sighed, “I wish you trusted me,” he whispered.
            “I do trust you, Draco. With my life. I just can’t allow you to know something that the dark lord can see in your mind and use against you or Harry. I can’t let that happen, I just can’t.” I said, trying to get him to see. I raised one hand to cup his cheek, “I care for you, Draco. I really do. I don’t want anything to happen to you. I can’t lose you anymore than I can lose Harry.”
            He placed his hand over mine and turned his face to press his lips to my hand. “I understand. I don’t like it, but I do understand. You don’t have to protect me, though,” he said.
            Smiling, “Yes, I do. I have to protect everyone,” I said softly. He looked up at me and I thought I saw desire in his eyes for a moment. He pulled my hand away from his face and leaned forward. I found myself drawing closer to him. Our eyes never left each other as he softly placed his lips on mine. A sigh escaped my lips and my eyes drifted closed as he increased the pressure of his lips on mine. His hand slid around my neck to tangle in my hair and bring my head closer to his as he deepened the kiss. My breath hitched in my throat as I sighed again. His tongue touched my lips and they parted, allowing him entry. He swept his tongue into my mouth slowly, touching my tongue lightly and then sweeping back out. I felt warmth spread throughout my body, reaching all the way to my toes.
            Slowly, he broke the kiss and pulled back, looking into my eyes again. I let out a breath, “Wow,” was all I could say. “Where did that come from?”
            “I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time. I’ve wondered what you would do. I wondered if you would like for me to kiss you.” He said softly. I could see in his eyes that he was waiting for me to respond. He really did want to know what I was feeling.
            Smiling, “Do you want to do it again?” I asked.
            Nodding his head slowly, he answered, “Oh, yes. Do you want me to?”
            As my answer, I grabbed his tie and pulled him closer, crushing our lips together. ‘Yes, Draco, I very much want you to kiss me again and again and again.’ I told him in our minds as he parted my lips and delved his tongue into my mouth again. He growled at my answer and pushed himself up on his knees to get closer to me. He grasped the back of my head, anchoring me to him, in case I was going to pull away. I gripped his tie tighter as my other hand found his hair and tangled into it. I began touching my tongue to his whenever it invaded my mouth and this made him groan. Man, was he an amazing kisser. Where had he learned to kiss like this? Oh, yeah, I forgot about that incident with Pansy. Yeah, let’s just push that away again.
            Draco got to his feet, never breaking contact with my lips. He towered over me, bent at the waist. Placing a hand around my back, he twisted slightly and laid me down on the sofa, and settled over me. I could feel every part of his body touching mine. This felt right, safe. He didn’t move anymore; just lay there over me, careful not to crush me, our lips locked together as if we could never come apart. Suddenly, I heard a cough near the door. Draco jerked his lips away from mine and was trying to get up off of me. He struggled to stand and only succeeded in crashing into the coffee table.
            I laughed slightly, “Are you okay, Draco?” He scowled at me for laughing at him, but he got up and brushed himself off. I turned to the door to see Harry standing there, his face red. “Harry.” I said, standing.
            He looked from me to Draco for several long moments and then took a few steps to come to my side. “Are you okay, Sam? You looked terrifying in the great hall when they called my name.”
            “I did?” I asked, looking from him to Draco. They both nodded.
            “You hair started whipping around like a huge wind was blowing, but there wasn’t any wind in the great hall. I was worried and then I saw Draco go to you, so I knew that you would be okay if he could get you out of there.” Harry said, taking my hands in his. “I guess you are more than okay, huh?” he said with a small grin spreading over his face.
            “I’m fine now, Harry. Draco helped to settle my magic down. I was just so scared for you. I still am. Someone put your name in that goblet, Harry. Someone wants to see you dead.” I said.
            “Yeah, we all know that, Sam.” He said, his grin fading.
            “Well, yeah, we know who is trying to kill you. I think this is someone who is working for him. Someone he’s placed on the inside here at school to make sure you are in a certain place at a certain time. What better way to do that then to get you into the tournament?” I replied. “I’m going to have to be there with you during this. There’s no way for you to get out of it?”
            He shook his head, “No, they aren’t listening to me. They keep wondering how I got past the age line. I don’t see how I can be bound by some sort of magical contract when I never put my name into that goblet, but they say there is no way around it. I have to compete. We will just have to make sure I make it to the finish.”
            I looked over at Draco who shrugged, indicating that he didn’t know anything about this kind of thing. Sighing, “Well, I hear that there is a party over in Gryffindor all for you.”
            “Yeah, I’m not going. I don’t want any part of this. I didn’t ask for it, so why should I celebrate it.” Harry said, hanging his head.
            “Hey, you are a Hogwarts champion now. You should start acting like one. I know you didn’t ask for this, Harry, but it is something to celebrate. You should go; they just want to congratulate you.” Draco said.
            Harry looked up at him. “You just want me out of here so you can continue making out with my sister. I’m on to you, Malfoy. Don’t think I don’t know what’s on your mind,” he said, standing to face Draco. “Just remember, Sam is my sister in every way but blood. I will hunt you down if you hurt her.”
            “I don’t plan on hurting her, Potter. She means more to me than you could ever know. We’ve had this soul bond since first year. You knew that eventually this would happen.” Draco said.
            “True, but that still doesn’t make me any less protective of her.” Harry said, looking down. He still held my right hand in his. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he jerked my arm up to get a better look at my wrist. “What the hell is that? When did you get a tattoo?”
            “What are you talking about, Harry? I don’t have a tattoo.” I said, taking my hand from his.
            “So, what’s that on your wrist there?” he asked, pointing at my right wrist.
            I lifted my hand so that I could see what he was talking about and there on my wrist was a Celtic knot. It was green and silver, Slytherin colors. A snake chased an eagle around a circle right over the inside of my wrist. The knot continued in a band that wrapped around my wrist. Where had that come from? I looked up at Draco and he was staring at my wrist. I looked down at his left hand and stared. He had one, too. The same, only blue and bronze, Ravenclaw house colors, and the eagle chased the snake instead of the snake chasing the eagle. I raised my eyes to his, “You have one, too.”
            He looked down at his own wrist and brought it up to his face to see it closer. He looked up at me and our eyes locked together, searching. I had no idea what happened or why, but we both had matching tattoos on our wrists. A knock at the door startled all three of us. Harry sighed, knowing it would probably be Ron or one of his brothers to drag him to the party. He opened the door to find Professor Snape standing there. “Come in, Professor.” Harry said and stood aside so that Snape could enter the room.
            He looked at Draco and I standing there staring at each other and then at Harry. “What’s going on? I came to talk to you about the tournament, but I see something else may be going on.” He said.
            Harry shook his head, “Seems that they both got matching tattoos and they don’t know how or when they got them.”
            Professor Snape crossed to us in two steps. He grabbed both of our arms and pulled them to him, jerking us both around to face him. He looked at the Celtic knots and then sighed. “This is because of the soul bond. Have things changed? Are you more than just friends now?” he asked. Draco and I looked at each other shyly, not really knowing what to say. Were we a couple now? “Never mind, I see that things have changed. The only time this specific symbol shows up like this is because a soul bond has sealed and changed into a life bond. Once the new bond is sealed, a new symbol will show up on your other wrist, marking you both as being bonded in every way possible. This goes deeper than we expected.” He dropped our arms and began pacing in front of the fireplace.
            After fifteen long minutes where he paced and we looked at each other, he began to speak again. “I came here to talk with you about the tournament. I have checked into everything I can think of to get you out of this, Harry, but I can’t find anything. I’m sorry.”
            Harry just nodded, “It’s okay, Professor. I’ve accepted that I can’t be normal. I’m going to have to compete whether I like it or not. I might as well embrace this and move forward and try my best to make it to the finish.” He sat down on the sofa and sighed.
            “I will be there with you every step of the way, Harry. You know that. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.” I said, sitting down beside him.
            “As will I,” Draco said coming to stand beside me. His hand reached for mine and our fingers laced together. Professor Snape agreed to also help as much as he could. He wouldn’t be able to do much being a Professor, but he could do a little.
            Professor Snape swept from the room, leaving the three of us alone. Harry watched Draco and me for a few moments. “Well, I’m going to head to Gryffindor for a little bit, just to acknowledge that I am a champion for Hogwarts,” he said and left the room.
            Draco sank down on the sofa next to me, taking Harry’s place. “So, now what?” he asked.
            “What do you mean?” I replied, not really understanding what he was asking.
            He held up his left wrist, “These. What do we do?”
            “Oh, well, I’m not sure. Should we hide them, or just let them show? Would anyone understand?” I pondered.
            Draco looked thoughtful for long minutes. “I don’t mind them showing. I don’t want to hide the fact that we are together now. We are together now, aren’t we?” he asked.
            I smiled, “Yes, we are together now; if that’s what you want.”
            He nodded and pulled me closer, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and his lips descended to mine. I sighed and melted into him. He drew me even closer and deepened the kiss as his tongue swept through my parted lips. He let his guard down on his thoughts and I saw exactly what he wanted, I felt what he was feeling. I was feeling the same way. I wanted him to touch me; I wanted him to be by my side always.
            I heard a scraping sound, bricks scraping together, and pulled away to find out what it was. We both looked at the wall near the fireplace. A door had appeared. Looking back at each other, we spoke silently. ‘The room is adjusting itself.’ I said in my head to him.
            He nodded, ‘Is this something you want?’ he asked. I knew what he was asking, and I nodded in reply. He slowly rose from the sofa and pulled me to stand beside him. Walking backwards, he led me to the new room. Inside, we found a large king-sized bed with silver and bronze curtains. Draco turned back to me and pulled me closer. He put a hand on my cheek and lowered his head to mine to kiss me again. He turned us and began taking steps to the bed. My knees hit the bed softly and he lowered me down to sit. He broke the kiss and towered over me. Our eyes never left each other as he began unfastening my robe and removing it from my shoulders. He took his time removing my clothing, painstakingly slow, savoring each new expanse of skin he uncovered. He placed his lips everywhere as soon as he removed the clothing from that part of me.
            Once he had me completely naked in front of him, he laid me back gently on the bed. He stood beside the bed and removed his own clothing. My eyes hungrily devoured every inch of his body. He was beautiful, an Adonis in the flesh. He lowered himself to the bed beside me. Running a hand up my leg, he continued up to my face. He lowered his lips to mine. “I love you,” he whispered before capturing my lips in a searing kiss. I sighed as he deepened the kiss. His hand found my breast and began teasing the nipple. He broke his lips away from mine and watched as his fingers rolled and pinched at my nipple. Slowly, he lowered his head to my breast and drew the nipple between his teeth, biting lightly. He began sucking on it, making it harder and eliciting soft moans from me. He repeated the actions on my other breast and then began kissing and nipping his way down my stomach. He placed a hand on my knee and drew it upwards slowly, testing to see if I would allow it. We had gone this far, why would I stop him now? I tangled my fingers in his hair, holding him against my skin.
            ‘Don’t stop now, Draco. I want you to make love to me.’ I said in my mind.
            He growled and his fingers found their way into the tangle of curls at the top of my thighs. I parted my legs slightly, allowing him access to the most sensitive part of me. He touched his finger lightly to the spot just above my entrance and began a slow sensual twirl of his finger over it. The sensation was making me crazy and I began to move my hips upward towards his finger. He chuckled lightly and applied more pressure to his finger and soon I was squirming on the bed under him. He stopped swirling his finger over the spot and I whimpered at the loss, only to gasp aloud when he placed his finger at my entrance and pushed it in. I felt spasms start deep down inside me and had no idea what was happening, but I liked it. He pushed his finger in deeper and I exploded around it. My cavern clenched and unclenched around his finger, trying to suck it in even deeper. My breathing became heavier and faster as the orgasm passed over me.
            Opening my eyes, I saw Draco hovering over me, his legs between mine. He smiled at me and lowered his lips to mine as he lowered his hips onto mine. I felt his hard length pressing at my entrance and opened my legs more to allow him in. The tip of his cock passed through my nether lips and a groan escaped his lips. He continued lowering himself into me, slowly, taking his time to enjoy the feeling. I was still feeling tremors from my orgasm and with each one, he would let out another loud groan. I felt a sharp pain for a moment and then it was gone, allowing the wonderful feeling of fullness to wash over me. His hips settled onto mine, telling me that he was fully pressed into me. His sigh let me know that he was loving the feel. I wrapped my arms around his back, digging my fingernails into his skin, pulling him closer. He released my lips and gasped for breath as I wrapped my legs around his hips, drawing him deeper inside of my core. He growled and began pulling out, still moving slowly, savoring every sensation. He pulled out to the very tip and then pressed back in. He started a rhythm, pulling out and pushing back in slowly, patiently, drawing out the sensations. He brought his lips down to capture mine again, our sighs mingling together as he continued his slow pace. I matched each thrust with one of my own. I felt his cock grow inside me and wondered if it would get too big.
            He chuckled a little, ‘That’s just me getting ready to cum. I won’t last much longer, you feel so good, so tight,’ he explained.
            ‘Oh, will I feel it when you cum?’ I asked.
            He growled and quickened his pace very slightly. ‘You are about to find out.’
            I smiled into our kiss and swept my tongue in his mouth to tangle with his. I felt a familiar sensation building up inside me again and wondered if we would cum at the same time. Draco stiffened and thrust in hard one last time before he exploded inside me. I felt his cock grow more and then felt it begin to pulse, pumping his seed into me. This excited me and I felt myself begin to spasm again around his invading cock. He growled at the feeling and pulled out a little to thrust in again, his cock still pumping his seed into me. My world exploded, flashes of light danced behind my closed eyelids. I could still feel his cock inside me, pulsing and pumping his warmth into me. I wondered if he would ever stop. Not that I minded at all. This was an all-new feeling for me and I loved it. He shuddered and collapsed on top of me, breathing hard, breaking our kiss. Our ragged breathing was the only sound in the room at the moment.
            After my heart stopped racing and my breathing became normal, I felt that I could speak. “Oh, my, Draco. That was amazing. When can we do that again?”
            He laughed, “We need to rest some time, sweetheart. I promise we will do this as much as we can from now on. I won’t let you get too far from me. I love you, Samantha and I will never stop. Our bond is so strong now, I can feel it,” he said.
            Rolling to his side, he brought me with him, not breaking any contact of our skin, his cock still buried deep inside me. He brought his right hand up to my hair and raked his fingers through it, pushing it back out of my face. Stopping, he gasped lightly, raising his hand closer to his face. I looked over as well and saw another Celtic knot tattoo. This one had a snake and an eagle stretching into the shape of a heart on the inside of his wrist with the same band wrapping around his wrist. My eyes grew wide and I looked at my left wrist. I had the same tattoo on my wrist. So, our bond was sealed completely now. Nothing would break us apart, not even death.
            We talked about things, lying there facing each other, him still buried inside me. It felt so intimate, so amazing. “I love you, Draco,” I whispered, kissing his lips. I felt his cock jump at the contact of our lips. We talked more about everything. I wanted so badly to tell him everything about me, but I couldn’t, not yet. He was still in danger. His father was in the dark lord’s inner circle and would be calling on Draco soon to join them. I hoped that I could do as Luna had told me and stop it all before Draco was called to fulfill his destiny.
            We agreed to just allow our bond tattoos to show. It would easier to explain getting tattoos together than to explain wearing wristbands. We didn’t have to tell anyone what they signified. Everyone would know that we were together now. After being friends for so long, it probably won’t come as a big surprise to many people.
            “I can’t wait to be seen out with you by my side, holding my hand,” Draco said, caressing my cheek. His hand slid down my neck and shoulder, stopping at my breast. He captured the nipple and began teasing it, my muscles clenched around his cock, making it jump to life again. We both gasped at the feeling and soon, we were both breathing hard again, clinging to each other as we came down from our orgasmic high.
            We fell asleep holding each other. I saw Draco’s dreams this night and I didn’t want to wake up from them. I awoke the next morning to find him watching me sleep. Smiling, “Good morning,” I said, stretching.
            “Good morning, beautiful,” he smiled, leaning forward to kiss me. I felt a need to see Harry to balance my magic, but not as much of a pressing need. Maybe this bond was becoming magical as well as soul.
            I got up and pulled on a bathrobe to head to the shower and dress. It was Saturday, so there were no classes today, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. Draco turned over on his back in the bed and watched me walk out of the room. Entering the common room, I saw Harry coming through the portrait door. He looked unsteady on his feet.
            “Harry?” I asked, concern evident in my voice. Draco heard me and appeared by my side wearing pajama pants and nothing else.
            Harry stumbled towards us, barely able to pick his feet up, “You guys are in love. You had sex, didn’t you?” he slurred his words.
            “Harry, are you drunk?” I asked, making my way to his side.
            “That would be a very accurate assumption,” he said, stumbling over the last word before actually saying it. My magic reacted to his instantly as I got nearer to him.
            “Okay, let’s get you to bed so that you can sleep this off.” Draco said, taking his arm and leading him to his bed. I followed, magically changing his clothes into pajamas after he was under the covers. He passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow.
            ‘What did they do to him in Gryffindor tower last night?’ I asked Draco silently.
            ‘I don’t know, but I suggest we find Hermione and find out,’ he answered and strode out of the room. Remembering that I was still in my bathrobe, I dressed quickly in whatever I could find, not really caring if it matched or not. It wasn’t long before Draco arrived back with a bewildered Hermione in tow.
            “What’s going on?” she huffed.
            “What happened to Harry last night? He came stumbling in here just a few minutes ago, drunk off his ass.” I asked.
            “Oh, I don’t really know. I went to bed before he arrived. I did hear Ginny talking about him drinking like crazy, but it didn’t really sound like Harry. I guess she was right.” She sat down on the sofa, “Is he okay?”
            “He’s passed out in the bed right now. I suppose he’s okay.” Draco answered.
            A swift knock sounded at the door and I stepped over to open it. Professor Snape and McGonagall swept in the room. “Where is Mr. Potter?” she asked.
            “Passed out in the bedroom. Apparently he got drunk last night and barely made it back here this morning.” I replied.
            Professor Snape shook his head and began to pace. McGonagall stood in front of the sofa and motioned for me to sit down beside Hermione. Draco moved behind the sofa and put his hands on my shoulders. “It seems that Mr. Potter has found out what the first task is going to be for the tournament and decided to drink uncontrollably last night to try to forget.” She explained, folding her hands in front of her.
            “And what is the first task? What would make Harry think that getting piss drunk would help anything?” Draco asked.
            Professor McGonagall pursed her lips together. I sighed, “I can hear your thoughts screaming it, so you might as well just say it. You know that the other schools have told their champions. Harry already knows. We can help him, you know that.”
            Looking over at Professor Snape for confirmation, McGonagall interpreted his shrug as affirmation. “Dragons, the first task is dragons. They have to get something that a dragon is guarding,” she said with a heavy sigh.
            “Dragons?! Are they out of their ever-loving mind? How do they expect school kids to know how to deal with a dragon?” Hermione exploded. She stood and began pacing behind the couch.
            We all sat in silence, listening to her fume. Draco kept his hands on my shoulders. Suddenly, Professor Snape took two long strides to stand in front of me and grabbed Draco’s right arm and jerked it up to see the new tattoo. He looked up at Draco and then at me, knowing exactly what had went on between us. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
            Confused, “Well, sir, I believe we know what we did,” I answered.
            He shook his head, “No, not that…. I mean… I know you know….. Whatever. I’m talking about altering destiny and altering magic.” He dropped Draco’s arm and stalked back to the fireplace. “If you don’t have a marriage bond with the week, magic will be destroyed. It may have already started going haywire. You don’t know what you’ve done.”
            Professor McGonagall gasped when she realized what Snape was saying. “A marriage bond? But they will need blood relations to perform that,” she said.
            My eyes grew wide, “I have no blood relations. Draco’s parents will not be supportive. How are we going to have a marriage bond?” I asked quietly.
            Professor Snape looked at us thoughtfully for a moment, “I think we can come up with something. I need to speak with Minerva and the Headmaster. You three, sober Harry up. Use this potion. It should sober him up long enough to do this ceremony.” He motioned for McGonagall to join him as he left to go to the Headmaster’s office. I heard Draco sigh behind me.
            ‘Why can’t we just be a normal couple? Why does magic depend on everything we do?’ he thought. I had to agree with him.
            ‘I don’t know. I’m sorry Draco. I know this isn’t what you wanted.’ I said, standing to go wake up Harry.
            Draco’s hand shot out and grabbed my arm as I went to pass him. ‘Wait. Who said this isn’t something I wanted?’ he asked.
            ‘Draco, I can just tell. This is all too soon, we are only 16.’ I said to him. ‘I know you don’t want to be tied down to me for the rest of your life.’
            He placed a hand on my cheek, guiding my face to his. Placing his lips on mine, ‘I love you more than you can ever know, silly girl. I would like nothing better than to marry you and have you all to myself for the rest of our lives.’ He deepened the kiss, causing Hermione to cough to get our attention. We pulled apart.
            “We need to wake Harry and have him ready for when the Professors come back. Hermione, would you please get him to wake up and drink the potion while I get him some clothes to wear?” I said out loud. Hermione nodded and stepped to the bedroom to wake Harry up.
            I sighed and made my way to the room behind her to get clothes for myself and Harry. Draco followed, ‘Is this something you want? Do you want to be bound to me for life?’ he asked, almost fearfully.
            I turned to him and looked into his eyes, searching them for truth. He really did want me to want this. I really wanted this. ‘Yes, Draco. This is something I want, something I’ve wanted to a long time.’ We stared at each other for long moments until the sound of Harry coughing after having the potion forced down his throat by Hermione. I turned to see that Harry was now sitting up on the side of the bed, bent over, coughing and holding his throat.
            “Why would you do that?” he gasped out.
            Hermione shrugged, “It was the only way to wake you up, and we need you awake and sober.”
            “Why? What do I need to be sober for? I’m just going to die in this tournament, why do I need to be aware for that?” Harry asked, holding his head in his hands.
            “This has nothing to do with the tournament, Harry. This has to do with Sam and Draco,” she told him.
            His head jerked up, “What’s wrong with Sam?”
            “Nothing is wrong with me, Harry. I’m perfectly fine. There’s just a new development in the soul bond that Draco and I have. Short story, we have to have a marriage bond and soon,” I spoke up.
            Harry turned to me, “A marriage bond? Why do you need that?” he asked.
            I noticed Draco’s cheeks turn red as I thought of the right words to use. “Well, something changed and if we don’t get this marriage bond, magic could be destroyed.”
            “What changed? Oh… wait, I remember,” he said, ducking his head at the memory of walking in and seeing me in a bathrobe and Draco with no shirt on.
            “Get dressed, Professor Snape will be back soon to explain things to us.” I said, tossing his clothes to him. Taking my own, I ventured in to the other room to change. Draco followed me.
            “Harry’s not going to be okay with this, is he?” he asked once in the room we had slept in.
            “He’ll be fine with it, Draco. He has to be. There’s nothing anyone can do to change things.” I answered, removing my shirt and pants to change into something that matched. I heard the door open in the common room and heard the three Professors muttering to each other. Draco and I went into the common room to hear what they had to say.
            Harry and Hermione emerged from the bedroom and we all went to sit and hear what kind of plan they came up with. Sitting on the sofa between Draco and Harry, Hermione on the other side of Harry, we watched the Headmaster pace in front of us. “Well, it seems that things have changed and we need to address that with a marriage bond ceremony very soon. There is a problem, however. You both will need blood relations to perform the bonding ceremony and Samantha has none. Draco, it is best to keep your parents in the dark about this for now. So, Professor Snape has made a proposition. We perform a blood bonding with four others to make up the blood relations that we will need for the marriage bonding. He and Minerva have volunteered to be the blood relations for you both. Harry and Hermione, we would ask you to be the second blood relations, if you will.” He stopped pacing to gauge our reactions.
            I looked over at Harry, searching his thoughts, which were racing as fast as Hermione’s were. “But doesn’t one of the blood relations have to be an adult, or at least of age?” Hermione spoke.
            Professor Dumbledore nodded, “You are correct Ms. Granger. You will be of age in about 2 hours, which makes you able to give your consent after the blood bond has been created. You four will be siblings to these two, basically. Not parents, but able to give consent and to say the words in the marriage ceremony. How this will work, Professor Snape and Hermione will be the relations for Draco and Minerva and Harry will be Sam’s relations.”
            Hermione nodded slightly in understanding. She had forgotten that her birthday was that day; a few hours from now would be the time of her birth on this day. She analyzed everything about the situation and decided that there was nothing wrong with becoming Draco’s sister. “I agree to do this. What about you, Harry?” she turned to him.
            Harry looked at her for a few moments and then turned to me. “Is this what you want? To be married to him for all eternity?” he asked me.
            I nodded, “Yes, Harry. I’ve had years to get used to the idea of being with Draco. It’s been on my mind ever since we developed the soul bond. I’m only worried that Draco doesn’t want this.”
            Feeling his hand wrap around mine, my attention was drawn to Draco. “Of course I want this, Samantha. I’ve had the same amount of time to get used to the idea, and I find that I’m actually looking forward to getting married to you.” He laced our fingers together and squeezed lightly, smiling at me.
            Harry rolled his eyes, making Hermione laugh at him. “Okay, when do we do this?” Harry said, implying his consent. He waved his hand absently, causing the table in the corner to spin around. His eyes went wide when he saw it and he looked down at his hand like it was something foreign to him.
            “Yes, well, I can see that magic is already beginning to get a bit wonky. We must act quickly,” Severus said with a sigh.
            “Well, I believe we brought everything we need to do both ceremonies right here, right now. If you all are up for it.” The headmaster said and began pulling things out of his robe and placing them on the coffee table. Suddenly I felt nervous for some reason. I realized that it was my own feelings and couldn’t help but smile. It had been awhile since I had felt anything on my own without those feelings being influenced by others.
            The blood bond ceremony was first, using blood from each party involved. At this point, I gained a true brother and sister. Once done, Professor Dumbledore checked the time; to be sure that Hermione was truly 17. Seeing that she was truly of age, he proceeded with the marriage bond ceremony. Our new blood relations gave consent for our marriage and promised to support us in our lives together. Draco and I never took our eyes off of each other during this ceremony.
            “Seal the marriage bond with a kiss for now and then later, you will seal it permanently,” Dumbledore spoke. Draco lifted his hand to my cheek and leaned in to place a soft kiss on my lips. As he did, light shone around our left hands that were still joined. When we pulled apart, I looked down at our hands. On my ring finger, was a new tattoo, another Celtic knot signifying our marriage. Draco had an exact copy on his ring finger. “It is done. Be well and be happy, children.” Dumbledore finished the ceremony. After wishing us well, he and the two Professors left the common room.
            I sat down on the sofa, stunned that I was now a married woman. Draco dropped down beside me and slung his arm across the back of the sofa around my shoulders. Harry and Hermione stood awkwardly in front of us, not knowing what to say or do. I found the situation funny for some reason and began laughing. It was a light laugh at first, but it graduated into a full out belly laugh. The others were looking at me like I had gone loony. Maybe I had. Here I was 16; soul bonded and married to Draco Malfoy, whose father was the Dark Lord’s right hand man.
            “I’m sorry, it’s not funny, but it is. Harry, you have no idea how to act now, do you? I’m still the same person. The only thing that changed is that now you are really my brother and I’m married.” I said, when my laughter had died down.
            Harry smiled and then pulled me up into a hug, “I love you, Sam. I’m glad that you are happy. Hermione and I will go now and leave you two alone for your wedding night.” He put his arm around Hermione’s shoulders to guide her out of the room. I assume they were going to Gryffindor tower.
            Draco and I sat staring into the fire for a while, not talking, just enjoying each other’s presence. Without words, we both stood and walked towards our new room. The room had adjusted itself to make a place for Draco and I to live while here at school. Our stuff had already been moved to this room and sorted out. We made our way to the bed, Draco taking my hand and pulling me closer to him. He wound his fingers into the hair at the back of my neck and pulled me to him, our lips meeting in a kiss filled with passion. I felt a fluttering in my belly, knowing what was going to happen and wishing for him to be inside of me right at this moment.
            He slid his hands down to my waist and under the hem of my shirt. His hands felt warm against my sides as they slid my shirt up and over my head. He smoothed his hands around my back to find the clasp of my bra and undo it. I let it fall to the floor off of my arms as his hands slid down my torso and caught the waistband of my jeans. He dragged them and my underwear down my legs, bending at the knees in front of me. I stepped out of my things as his lips found their way to my skin. He softly kissed my belly and trailed his lips across to my hips. His hands slid around to cup my buttocks and squeeze them lightly as he kissed across my hips. He lowered his head to the juncture of my thighs, kissing the curls there covering my entrance. His hands slid down to my thighs and pulled them apart slightly to give himself better access to that sensitive spot that would send me into ecstasy. His tongue flicked out and touched that spot, making me shiver and sigh loudly. He muttered a silencing spell softly, and flicked his tongue out to touch the spot longer this time, flicking over the spot. His tongue snaked further and touched my entrance, causing my legs to shake slightly. I placed my hands on his head to steady myself, and heard him chuckle lightly. I felt his tongue enter me and begin a slow thrusting motion. I gasped and moaned at the sensation. Before I knew it, I felt the spasms start deep inside and knew that I was going over that cliff into bliss.
            My legs wouldn’t hold me anymore as lights danced behind my closed eyelids. I fell back onto the bed, with Draco’s tongue still thrusting into me as I came down from my orgasmic high. My breath was coming fast, but I felt exhilarated. His tongue slowed the assault and I felt his breath on my belly again as his lips brushed my sensitive skin. He paused at my breasts and lavished attention on them, making my nipples harden. I felt the sensations begin deep inside me again and knew that I was on the way to having another orgasm very soon. His lips descended to mine and I tasted myself on them.
            I was slowly becoming aware again as I felt his cock slip inside me. Draco groaned into my mouth and I sighed at the feel of him. I slid my hands around his back and trailed them up and down, making him squirm slightly. He began to move, pulling out slowly and then sliding back in just as slowly. I sighed again as I felt him move inside me, touching places that only he could touch now. I loved this feeling and hoped that it would never end. He broke our kiss to draw in air and then brought our lips back together. He slid his left hand down my right arm and linked our fingers together and drew our hands up to the side of my head, repeating it for our other hands. This movement brought him down closer to me and changed the angle of his cock slightly, making it slide along the most sensitive part of me whenever he drew out and plunged back in. I felt him growing bigger inside me and knew that it wouldn’t be long before he was pumping his seed into me. His thrusts began to quicken and I felt my muscles start to spasm again. I fell over the edge as I felt the first spurt from his cock into me. He groaned my name loudly as he began to cum inside me.
            “Oh, gods, Samantha, you feel so good,” he said as his cock pumped and pulsed inside me. My cavern clenched around him, as if milking him of every ounce of cum in him. His lips covered mine again, his tongue sweeping into my open mouth, meeting my tongue and sparring with it.
            ‘I love you, Draco, so much. I can’t tell you how much I love you,’ I said to him in my mind while he kissed me senseless.
            I heard him growl, ‘No one could love anyone more than I love you,’ he replied back to me. After several moments, once our hearts had slowed down to a normal rhythm, we broke apart for some much needed oxygen. He released my hands and I moved them to his back to hold him close to me. His weight on me was not unbearable. I didn’t want him to slip out of me just yet. I wanted to stay this way with him forever. After several moments, our breathing returned to normal, and he rolled to his side, bringing me with him. I continued rolling him onto his back and sat up astride him, his cock still buried deep within me. He growled softly and pulled me down to kiss me.
            I pulled away and sat up again, moving slightly to get a better position on his lap. I ran my hands over his chest and noticed a tattoo forming in the middle of his chest. It was shaping up to be a heart with swirls inside of it. Almost a Celtic knot in the form of a heart. I heard him gasp and saw him looking at my chest. I looked down and saw an identical tattoo forming in between my breasts. “Guess we are marked and our bond sealed in every way possible.” I said, moving my hips again over him, feeling his cock jump to life inside me.
            Giggling, I moved again, feeling him grow harder inside me. “Woman, you will be the death of me. I shouldn’t be ready again so soon, but I am. Move like that again and we will be having another session.” Draco growled and arched his hips up towards me. I rocked my hips over him again, and his cocked hardened even more. I began rocking back and forth over him, pulling his cock out to the tip and taking it back inside me, squeezing my muscles around it as it slid into me. He threw his head back into the pillow, arching his hips up to thrust into me whenever I rocked back down onto him, matching my thrusts with his own. The sensations that this position invoked were amazing. I felt my orgasm building. I wanted him to know what I was feeling, so I opened my thoughts to him.
            His eyes widened as he heard what I was thinking, about how good it felt to have him inside me, about how much I wanted this to last forever. He opened his thoughts to me, telling me how warm and wet I felt on his cock, and how he wanted to stay deep inside me until our eyes closed in death. He pulled me down, changing the angle of his cock sliding into me, making me gasp out loud at the new sensations. He captured my lips with his, folding his arms around me, sliding them down to my buttocks. He squeezed them and then began guiding my hips over him, faster. He grew bigger and bigger inside me and before I knew it, he exploded. Feeling him pulse inside me as he pumped his seed into me, made me fall over the cliff into orgasmic bliss. I had never felt like this before. I gasped out his name into his mouth and continued to rock my hips over him, riding out our orgasms to the fullest. My breathing ragged, I pulled my lips away to draw in air. “Oh, wow,” I whispered, laying my head on his chest.
            “I agree, that was amazing, Samantha,” he whispered back. We lay there like that for some time, falling asleep, holding each other. Sometime during the night, we moved, me lying on my side with Draco behind me, curled around me protectively. I awoke to the sun streaming in the small window of our room. Feeling Draco’s arms around me made me feel safe, happy. I stretched, trying not to move too much as to disturb his sleep. He was already awake, though, watching me sleep. “Good morning, Mrs. Malfoy,” he said with a smile.
            “Good morning, Mr. Malfoy. Looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day,” I said. “Should we head out and see? Or stay here in bed all day long?”
            “That’s a tough one. Do I want to share you with everyone else, or keep you to myself for one more day?” He put his hand to his face, considering his options. “Nope, I’m not sharing today. We can stay here and enjoy each other.” Shaking his head, he flipped me onto my back and leaned down to kiss me. He made love to me again, slowly, taking his time, driving me mad with longing. The house elves brought us our meals in bed, and we stayed there, enjoying our first day as a married couple. We slept and ate and made love all day long. In the late afternoon, I overheard Harry and Hermione’s thoughts as they were talking in the common room.
            “Should we go in and make sure they are okay?” Harry thought before he asked.
            “No, Harry, we shouldn’t. They just got married. I know that when I get married, I want to spend the day with my new husband with no interruptions. Leave them be. There is nothing that we need them for right now,” she responded to him. “Let’s go on down to dinner.”
            I heard them leave and smiled at Harry worrying about me being in here with Draco. The next morning, I awoke before Draco did. I slid out of bed and made my way to the private shower that appeared off the far wall of the room. I started the water to warm and stood in front of the mirror for a moment to see if I looked any different now that I was married. I didn’t see anything any different, just the tattoos. I began to think of how people would see me now, knowing that I was married to Draco and we had a bond. ‘Of course, they won’t know any of that until after Harry destroys that evil person.’ I said with a smile. So lost in my own thoughts, I didn’t hear the door open behind me, nor did I hear the footsteps. I felt a hand slither around my waist and a kiss being dropped on my shoulder. Focusing on my reflection, I saw his blond head lifting from my shoulder as his hands met in front of me over my belly. I smiled at him in the mirror and he sucked my earlobe into his mouth, making me shiver at the contact. I turned around in his arms and captured his lips with mine, winding my arms around his neck to pull him closer.
            ‘Good morning, handsome. Are you ready to face the public as a married couple?’ I thought to him as our tongues began to battle.
            ‘Absolutely, dear wife, are you ready?’ he responded and lifted me off the floor. I wrapped my legs around his hips and he walked us to the shower, our lips still locked in passion. Stepping carefully into the spacious shower stall, he pulled the door closed behind him, and continued on until my back was against the wall. He shifted slightly and his cock slid home into my waiting warmth, already slick and ready for his length. He growled into my mouth, our tongues still sparring with each other. ‘So wet, so hot, so tight still. I’m in Heaven,’ he said in his mind.
            ‘I love you, Draco. I love feeling you inside me, moving, pulsing, pumping your cum into me. I will never get tired of this feeling,’ I said and ground my hips against his, pulling him deeper. He pulled his lips from mine and we both drew in ragged breaths as he began moving and thrusting up into me. Still being so sensitive after an entire day of this, my orgasm was upon me after only a few thrusts. I moaned out his name and felt his cock grow and begin spilling his seed into me. I bit down on his shoulder as I felt his warmth go deeper inside me than it had before. He rested his head on my shoulder as we both tried to catch our breath.
            “You are amazing, Samantha,” he whispered and leaned away after a few moments. I let my legs slide down to the floor of the shower and shifted to get under the spray of warm water that was still cascading down from the nozzle. I let my hair get wet and reached for the shampoo, only to find Draco already had a generous amount in his hand and was reaching for my wet hair to work the shampoo into a lather and wash my hair. He turned me around so that my back was facing him and began working his long fingers into my hair to get the shampoo into it. I sighed at the feeling of his hands in my hair. I had never had someone wash my hair for me before. I felt the bubbles slide down my body as the water washed the shampoo from my hair. His hands disappeared from my hair only to reappear moments later on my body slippery with soap. He ran a cloth slowly of my body, making me slippery before the water washed it away. The hand not occupied by the cloth smoothed over my slick skin as he washed my body and then his own. He wouldn’t allow me to wash him for some reason.
            We finished our shower and dressed for the day of classes. Being in our 6^th year, we had all classes together with all the other 6^th year students. We made our way out to the common room and found that breakfast was already waiting for us on the table. Harry was also waiting on the sofa for us to emerge. “Good morning, Harry.” I said as I sat down to fill a plate with food. I was starving for some reason, must be the tremendous workout I’d had the day before.
            “So you finally decided to emerge from that room?” Harry said, accusingly.
            I glanced up at him, “Harry, did you really want to come barging in to our room yesterday? I mean, really, truly? What was so important? You know what you would have walked in on. Are you jealous?” I snapped. I was tired of his attitude about me and Draco being married. “Harry, I love you, but you are being ridiculous about this. I’m married to Draco now. Married couples enjoy sex, which I happen to enjoy immensely with Draco. Get over it, dear brother. Once you get up the nerve to do what you have wanted to do for a while, then you might understand what I’m talking about. I’m tired of this, Harry. I’m happy, be happy for me.” I began eating, not noticing that both boys were staring at me.
            Harry sighed, “I am happy for you, Sam. I’m just worried that things are happening so fast.”
            Draco spoke up, “It is fast, in a way, Harry, but it’s also something that was going to happen eventually anyway. We’ve known this since first year. I fell in love with Samantha a few years ago, and it took me this long to admit it to her. Whatever it is you’re avoiding, don’t, it will only cause you unnecessary heartache. As for me and Samantha, well, I love her and I would never hurt her. She is the most important thing in my life right now, and will be that way until I die.” He moved to my side and put his hand on my shoulder. I shivered at the electricity that flowed through me for a second at his contact.
            Harry watched us for a moment, and then sighed. “I get it. I think I do, anyway. I’ll stop. Promise. I do have one question. What are you going to do about those tattoos? Everyone will see them and start asking questions.”
            “Well, I’ve been thinking about that and I need to talk to Hermione. She’s the best at Charms and she will know if there is one that I’m thinking of.” I said, still spooning eggs into my mouth. I was surprised at my appetite, but was too busy eating to think much about it right now.
            “Oh, well, she should be here any minute. She wanted to see you guys before classes started today.” Harry said, his cheeks turning a very faint pink color. I smiled a bit at that, Draco didn’t notice it, though. I had known for a while about Harry’s crush on Hermione. Of course, I had access to his emotions and his thoughts on a constant basis.
            At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Harry couldn’t hide his grin as he went to answer it, knowing that it was Hermione. She stepped into the room and found us all watching her. “Ah, speak of the devil herself,” Draco said with a smile.
            Hermione glanced at him and then at me, “What?” she asked, confused.
            I laughed, “We were just talking about you. I need to ask you something. Is there a charm that will conceal these tattoos to anyone who does not already know of us and our bond? Only those who know about us and the bond will be able to see the tattoos.”
            She thought for several long moments, “I believe there is. Harry would you get a book from my bag? Just summon it; it’s called ‘Charms throughout the magical world.’”
            Harry gave an exasperated look and rolled his eyes. Pointing his wand at her bag, he tried to summon the book out of it. The bag quivered for a moment, but then fell to the floor without producing the book. He sighed and walked over to it to retrieve the book. “Lots of practice, Harry. Lots and lots of practice.” I said. I knew he would be needing to use this spell in the coming task.
            “I know, Sam, I know,” he said, shaking his head as he handed the book to Hermione.
            She began flipping pages quickly and then stopped to read something. “Yes, here it is. It will conceal things that you don’t want seen by anyone who doesn’t know about it. Kind of like the Fidelus Charm. You can specialize it to include anything. Would you like to try it?” she explained.
            “Yes, please. We don’t want anyone who doesn’t know about us or our bond to see these tattoos. Only the ones who already know will be able to see them.” I said to her, stepping forward to be the test subject. She read and re-read the words on the page and then snapped the book shut and took out her wand. Pointing it at me, she said the spell. The tattoos on my arms, finger and chest all glowed a blue light and then it was over.
            “We won’t know if it worked until someone who doesn’t know about the bond sees you. Let’s see if we can find someone in the hallway real quick.” Hermione said and opened the door to stick her head out. Ginny was walking towards her and she waved to Hermione. “Come in here for a second, Ginny. I need to ask you something.” She returned towing the red headed girl with her. “Look at Sam, here. Do you see anything odd or different about her?” she asked.
            Ginny looked me over, “No, I don’t see anything strange. Why do you ask?” she shook her head at us.
            “Nothing on her arms or anything?” Hermione persisted.
            Ginny again shook her head, “No, Hermione. There’s nothing there.”
            “Okay, thank you, Ginny. I was only trying to prove a point to Sam. She feels like something must be wrong with her and that other people can see strange things on her that she can’t see.” Hermione explained to her friend. She pushed Ginny out of the room and closed the door behind her. Turning back to us, “It worked,” she stated.
            “Thank you, Hermione. Now it’s Draco’s turn.” I said, turning to my new husband. He looked a little nervous, but stood up in front of Hermione and waited for her to say the spell. His tattoos glowed just as mine had.
            “Okay, I get the tattoos glowing, but why did your chest glow?” Harry asked.
Draco and I looked at each other and moved closer together. “Maybe you should show him yours,” I suggested. Draco nodded, opened his robe and pulled his shirt up to show his smooth chest. The tattoo stood out in dark colors against his pale skin. Harry and Hermione gaped at the tattoo. “I have one just like it.” I said quietly.
Harry’s eyes flickered to my chest briefly, but Draco saw and a low growl escaped him. I looked up at him in surprise. ‘Draco! Harry is my brother. He doesn’t think of me that way.’ I chastised.
‘Sorry, that wasn’t conscious. It just came out. A male was looking at my wife’s chest,’ he replied to me. I took his hand and brought it to my lips. Placing a soft kiss over the ring tattoo on his finger, I reminded him that I only had eyes for him. It didn’t matter if anyone looked at me. I was only looking at him and I only cared if he was looking at me. I didn’t care if anyone else looked, as long as they didn’t touch.
“We should all get to class,” Hermione said softly, not wanting to interrupt, but not wanting to be late to class. Our first class that day was Potions. We gathered our things and headed out to the dungeons. In the corridor, Draco laced his fingers through mine and we walked side by side, holding hands. Harry pretended to gag behind us and Hermione giggled, smacking him on the arm, telling him to stop.
“Get over it, Potter. I can and will hold Samantha’s hand any time and any place I wish. I will also kiss her whenever I feel like it,” Draco growled.
Harry stuck out his tongue to the back of Draco’s head. I sighed, and leaned my head on Draco’s shoulder as we walked down another corridor. For some reason I was finding it hard to not touch him. Almost like it physically hurt to not be near him. Was this part of the bond? We made it to Potions class with time to spare. Draco and I took our usual table together and were setting up as Professor Snape entered. He walked past us and glanced at our wrists to see if our tattoos were visible. Seeing them, he raised an eyebrow. ‘Charmed?’ he thought.
I nodded to let him know that he was right. He inclined his head once and began speaking about the potion we would be making. Draco and I set to work, blocking out all other noises as I usually did. At the end of class, Draco took our vial of potion up to the professor’s desk and we both began to pack our things away. “Mr. Malfoy, Miss…… Cooper, please see me after class about your potion.” Snape said in the silence of the classroom.
After the other students had left, Snape approached us. “So, a charm?” he asked.
I nodded, “Hermione charmed our tattoos so that only the people who know about us and our bond can see them. There is one thing, though. A new tattoo, Draco will show you his.”
Draco pulled his shirt up to show Snape the new tattoo. Snape gasped when he saw it. “I take it that you have one as well,” he stated, not really asking. At my nod, he continued, “Well, if I’m correct, it seems that this soul bond has now fulfilled every possible aspect imaginable. I will check with Minerva to be sure. I just wanted to see what you had decided about people knowing about you. You may go so that you aren’t late to your next class.” He said, waving us out of the room. Draco and I looked at each other, shrugged and walked away to our next class.
I decided to have lunch in the Great Hall that day. Just to test things out. The welcoming feasts having gone well in years before, I wanted to see how things felt during the school year. I was hoping to not have any problems with my control anymore, but there was no telling when something would get overwhelming. Draco and I walked into the Great Hall holding hands. No one really paid much attention to us, until he walked with me to the Ravenclaw table and kissed me before heading to his own house table. Most everyone at the Ravenclaw table gaped at me as I sat down across from Luna. She was not surprised, as I knew she wouldn’t be.
“Hello, Sam. How are you?” Luna asked as I began filling my plate with food.
“I’m great, Luna. And you?” I replied.
“I’m well,” she answered out loud. ‘Now is the time to reveal all to Draco. His destiny has changed,’ she told me in her head. I had figured Luna out some time ago and we had made an oath with each other to keep our secrets. You see, Luna was a seer, a true genuine seer. She knew everything that was going to happen. She knew that Draco and I would form this soul bond and everything that lead up to today. I consulted her on changing Draco’s destiny so that he wouldn’t have to do the job he was meant to do. Apparently I had succeeded without even trying very hard.
I looked at her, “But isn’t there still a chance for……” my voice trailed off. She knew what I was asking.
She shook her head, ‘No, not anymore. The last task in the tournament will be the end of this all. He needs to know now before all is revealed to everyone.’
“Thank you, Luna,” I whispered. She nodded in response and continued eating her meal. I smiled and took a small bite of food when Professor McGonagall stopped at our table.
“Ms….. Cooper, I’m glad to see you joining us today. Professor Snape spoke to me about you new… acquirement and I wanted to see it for myself. Would that be possible? Professor Dumbledore would like to see as well,” she asked.
“How about we meet in your classroom after class today?” I suggested.
“Certainly, I will let the headmaster know,” she said and made her way to the teacher’s table at the front of the hall.
We finished our lunch in silence and before I knew it, Draco was beside me helping me to stand from the table, ready to walk with me to our next class. ‘Oh, Sam, congratulations on the marriage the bond sealing. You two are great together and will make a great family one day. I love the tattoos.’ Luna said in my head. I smiled at her in thanks and Draco pulled on my hand to get me to move out of the great hall.
Once we were in the corridor, he turned and pushed me against the wall, his lips descending to mine. ‘I thought that meal would never end. I haven’t kissed you properly in hours.’ He said without spoken words.
            I sighed and allowed his tongue entry into my mouth and ran my hands up his back to his shoulders. ‘I’ve been thinking about this all morning,’ I replied back to him. We went on kissing for several long minutes before we heard the clearing of a throat behind us. Breaking the kiss, Draco growled softly and turned to see Harry standing there tapping his foot annoyingly.
            “Impeccable timing, Potter,” Draco muttered and turned back to me.
            “We should be getting to class, or would you rather stand here in the hallway and ravish my sister?” Harry said before Draco could lower his lips back to mine.
            Draco’s eyes met mine and I laughed, “Do I really need to answer that question, Potter? I would think it’s obvious what I would like to do,” he growled.
            “Yes, I know what you would like to do, but we do need to get to class. McGonagall doesn’t like tardy students.” Harry countered.
            Letting out a huge breath, Draco turned around and still holding my hand, led me down the hallway to the Transfiguration classroom. We sat at a table together and got ready for class. I heard Harry laughing behind us. Smiling, I squeezed Draco’s hand. ‘Draco, baby, I know you’re frustrated, but we do have to attend classes still. Harry’s just having one on you, because he knows how it feels to be frustrated about sex. He’s too scared to make a move on her. By the way, we have a meeting with McGonagall after class today.’ I said, trying to cheer him up a little. He was being grumpy.
            After a long while, he squeezed my hand back and the corners of his mouth lifted in a small smile. ‘I’m sorry, love. I just want you so badly right now, I can hardly stand it. Please forgive me for being upset at Harry. I was ready to take you right there in the hallway and I didn’t care who saw.’
            I smiled at him, ‘I know, Draco. I feel the same way. I wanted you to be inside me as much as you wanted to. We do need to control ourselves, though. There will be plenty of time for that after dinner.’ I said to him. Professor McGonagall arrived and began the day’s lesson, teaching us a new transfiguration. Draco and I concentrated on the lesson and mastered the transfiguration before the first hour of this double class was up. We continued to practice it and speak to each other in our minds for the rest of the class.
            After class, Draco and I waited at our table with our things already packed away in our bags. Professor McGonagall called for the headmaster and we awaited him and Professor Snape. After about 5 minutes, the two men walked into the classroom and placed silencing charms on the room so that no one could hear us. Professor Dumbledore was the first to speak after making his way to the front of the room.
            “Let’s see this new tattoo, shall we?” he looked at me.
            “Sorry, sir, but you will not be seeing mine. Draco will show you his, they are identical.” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
            Everyone turned to Draco. He sighed and pulled his shirt up to reveal the tattoo on his chest. ‘Why am I the one showing my chest to everyone?’ he asked, staring out the window.
            I looked up at him, ‘Would you rather I rip my shirt off and show everyone my chest?’ I asked.
            He jerked his head around sharply to look at me, ‘Mine!’ he growled. Professor Snape heard him and looked at him oddly. I giggled a little at the look he gave Draco.
            Professor McGonagall spoke, “Alright Draco, put your shirt down and I will tell you what this means.” She waited for him to put his shirt down and fix his robe back. “This means that your bond has sealed in every way possible. You are now bound for life. You will feel each other’s pain,” she stopped as I scoffed a little at her statement. “Well, you already do that, Sam. Draco will be able to feel when you are in pain. If one of you dies, the other will also.” She finished her explanation. Draco and I looked at each other.
            “Well, if there’s nothing else,” Professor Snape began.
            “Actually, there is something. I have it on good authority that this war will end with the final task of this tournament, and that Draco’s destiny has changed and it’s time he learned everything.” I stated to the group of teachers.
            Professor Dumbledore looked at me for a long moment, “On good authority? And who would that be?”
            “I can’t tell you sir. I made an oath to her and she to me to keep our secrets until the time is right for us to reveal them. She is a seer, sir, a true seer. I trust her and she hasn’t been wrong once since I met her.” I told him.
            He narrowed his eyes at me, thinking. Glancing over at the other two Professors, “What do you think? Is it time for him to learn everything?” he asked them.
            Professor Snape nodded, “His destiny has changed, Albus. It would not be a danger for him to know now,” he answered.
            “Very well, Severus. You are closest to the situation and would know best. Let’s all go down to dinner now.” Dumbledore said and led the way out of the room. “Oh, and Sam, will you be joining us all in the great hall from now on for meals?” he asked.
            “I think I can handle it now, sir. Only one condition that I ask, if I may,” I began.
            “No need to say anything. You may sit anywhere you like. I think you might like the new seating arrangement in the hall tonight. I hope it will help promote house unity,” the older gentleman stated and the three teachers left the room.
            Draco and I looked at each other for a while longer. “So what is it that I need to know?” he asked.
            “I’ll tell you after dinner. Let’s go down to the great hall and eat, and see this new seating arrangement.” I said, reaching for my bag, only to find that Draco already had it over his shoulder with his own. “I can carry my own bag, you know.”
            “I know, I just want to do this for you, my dear wife. I like taking care of you,” he said, taking my hand in his and leading me towards the great hall for dinner.
            Entering the great hall, I was stunned at the transformation. The long house tables were gone, making the room look enormous. In their place were smaller round tables that would seat 6 comfortably, 8 if you squeezed together. The tables were covered with a tablecloth that featured all four house colors. I noticed students milling about the room, unsure of where to sit. Draco and I headed to a table close to where we stood. I knew what this was about. Dumbledore magnified his voice to be heard by all, “Please, sit anywhere you like. Don’t worry about house tables anymore. If you have friends in another house, by all means, sit with them. Don’t be shy; sit wherever you wish, with whomever you wish.”
            Draco and I sat down and linked hands over the table. Harry and Hermione soon joined us, followed by Draco’s friends Blaise and Harry’s friend Ron. I felt the confusion that this new arrangement was causing other students. This was different, and they weren’t used to different here at Hogwarts. Everything always stayed the same here, a routine. They weren’t sure if this was a good change or not. Once everyone had decided to sit and enjoy the new arrangement, the food appeared and seating was forgotten as everyone tucked in to the delicious meal set before us. Blaise had us all cracking up with his anecdotes and stories. Ron kept glancing at him out the corner of his eye.
            I pulled Ron’s thoughts to the forefront of my mind.
            ‘He’s funny. Not bad to look at. What am I saying? Have I lost my mind? I can’t think that way about a guy. It’s not right, not natural.’ I heard him say to himself. I smiled, knowing that he was feeling something for this dark skinned Slytherin. I pushed his thoughts away and concentrated on my food and Draco.
            I sighed as the food disappeared from the tables and students began talking louder. ‘I need to make a quick stop before going to the room. I’ll meet you there.’ I said to Draco and gathered my bag to leave. His hand grasped mine tightly and he pulled me down to kiss him deeply.
            ‘Don’t take too long,’ he responded, releasing my hand and watching me walk away. In the corridor, I made my way to the library. There was a book I needed for an essay and another I wanted to look at about personal things.
            So intent on my destination that I didn’t feel or hear the person before I was grabbed and slammed against the wall, knocking the breath out of my lungs for a moment. I gasped in air as a sneering face appeared in front of me. “I hear you’re planning on helping Potter in this tournament.”
            I tried to jerk my arm out of his grasp, but he held firm. “So what if I am. He’s my brother, why wouldn’t I help him?” I said, continuing to twist my arm, trying to free it.
            He tightened his grip on my arm, making it almost impossible for me to move it. I really didn’t want to hurt anyone, but I was getting scared and a little angry at this boy. I was going to have to do something soon, or he would hurt me. “I have money riding on Durmstrang. You won’t be doing anything to help Potter if you know what’s good for you.”
            I looked him in the eye, “Why would I care anything about your money? Harry is my brother and I will help him, no matter what you say or do.”
            Concentrating hard to control my magic, I didn’t notice that he brought his other hand up. He was holding something in it, and brought it down across my face. I felt the sting and burn of the strike on my cheek. He brought it down again, this time across my eye and nose. I felt my nose break and felt the blood start dripping from it. Just as he brought his arm up again to strike once more, he flew away from me, ropes biding his arms and legs before he hit the wall. I turned my head slightly and saw Draco rushing to my side with Professor Snape right behind him, wand held high. Slowly, I sank to the floor, a sob escaping my lips as I felt Draco’s arms go around me to pull me to him. I felt the tears on my cheek before I even knew that they were going to fall from my eyes. I was so scared and grateful that I had been rescued by my husband and his ‘brother’ before I did anything bad, like maybe blowing up the castle. I knew that I could have gotten away from that guy, but I also knew that I would have hurt him in the process and I didn’t want to hurt anyone, even a creep like him.
            Draco lifted me in his arms and began to carry me down to the hospital wing. ‘Are you okay? You scared me. I felt your fear and then I felt when he hit you. Professor Snape saw me run out of the great hall and followed me. Please, be okay, Samantha. Please.’ Draco pleaded with me in my mind. I knew that he was only talking to keep me awake after the blows to my head. I knew that falling into the oblivion that was calling to me was a bad thing right now. He was practically running with me in his arms to the hospital wing and burst through the doors, startling the medi-witch that was sitting at her desk.
            “My word, what…?” she began. Taking in the blood on my face and the evidence of several blows to my head, she ushered Draco over to a bed to lay me down on it. Madam Pomfrey then began a quick diagnostic spell and waved her wand over me. Seeing that the damage was only to my head, she began her work there as Professor Dumbledore and Snape walked in.
            I was losing the fight to stay awake, I could tell. My head was pounding and I could feel the swelling inside it. I knew that my eye and nose were swollen as well. The more the pounding of my head increased, the more I wanted to give in to the oblivion that promised sweet relief from the pain. Draco was swaying at my side, he felt it too. Professor Snape stepped over to him and helped him to sit in a chair that he drew up and placed by the bed. Draco sank gratefully down into it and clasped my hand in his. “We have to stay awake, Samantha. We have to, just for a little while longer. I know it hurts, I can feel it too. Just talk to me, Samantha,” he said, trying to keep us both awake.
            “It hurts so much, Draco. My head is pounding. Why does it hurt so much?” I whispered, thinking that if I talked softly it wouldn’t hurt my head so much. Even my whisper sounded so loud to myself that I winced when I spoke. Madame Pomfrey had summoned several potions and salves to her side and began to administer them to me. “Why do you only call me Samantha?” I suddenly asked as it dawned on me that he never called me Sam.
            He smiled, “Because Sam is a boy’s name and you are far from being a boy.” A sly grin spread over his face, ‘Plus, I can’t imagine calling out the name Sam in the throes of passion. Samantha is much better for that.’ He said in my head this time.
            I smiled and giggled a little at that, making Madame Pomfrey look at me quizzically. Draco laughed a little at my smile. I gasped at a pain in my face, knowing Madame Pomfrey was healing my nose. Draco gasped at the pain as well, since he could feel everything I felt.
            “Sorry, child, it is unavoidable. I will be as quick as I can be and then you can sleep.” Pomfrey said apologetically.
            I winced again, “It… is… alright…” I gasped out through the pain. Draco squeezed my hand to let me know that he was still right there at my side.
            The door burst open and a very worried Harry ran into the hospital, towing a harried looking Hermione behind him. “What the hell happened?” he asked, angry eyes trained on Draco.
            “She was attacked, Harry. I’m not sure why. I felt her fear and the pain when he hit her. I ran to follow the way she went after dinner. Professor Snape followed me, knowing something was wrong. He stopped the attacker before he could deliver a 4^th blow to her head. He saved her.” Draco said softly, his eyes never leaving my face. He knew that Harry was angry with him. Hell, he was angry with himself. He had let me go alone and he shouldn’t have. He should have protected me, not that I really needed that protection. I knew what he was thinking, but I couldn’t stop those thoughts right now. That wonderful oblivion was calling to me more and more and it looked ever so sweet and gentle.
            I was tired of fighting, tired of not reaching for the oblivion that was just within my reach. Tired of feeling the pain in my pounding head. Closing my eyes, I reached out for the welcome darkness of oblivion. I couldn’t fight anymore. Couldn’t stop myself from sinking in the sweet relief that the darkness offered. I sighed as the darkness overtook me. Faintly, I heard Draco calling to me, telling me not to let it take me, but I couldn’t stop. I wanted to stay there with him, but I couldn’t stop the darkness from taking over. I sank into the oblivion and knew nothing after the darkness claimed me.
            Draco slumped forward in his chair by the bed, succumbing to the darkness as I had. Professor Snape sank down in front of him, checking to see what was wrong. “She’s slipped into unconsciousness, and he has as well. It’s the bond, already presenting itself in them. Poppy, can I move this bed closer to her and lay him in it?”
            “Certainly, Severus. Tell me more about this bond after you do.” The healer said. Snape moved the bed closer to mine and lifted Draco on to the bed. I was seeing what was going on through someone else’s eyes. Strange, I know, but when have I ever not been strange.
            Professor Snape turned to explain to Madame Pomfrey about the soul bond between Draco and I and how it had changed into a major life bond now. The longer he talked, the bigger her eyes got until I was afraid that they would pop out of her head. After the explanation, she began to work more quickly on healing my injuries and trying to get me to wake up. Hermione gasped when she realized how deeply the bond actually went.
            Professor McGonagall spoke softly, “You do know what that tattoo on their chest means, don’t you headmaster?”
            The elder gentleman nodded, “Yes, Minerva, I do. We can’t tell them, though, not right now.”
            Everything went black after that. I suppose that I stopped seeing things through whoever’s eyes I was seeing through. I guess the oblivion finally took me completely. What felt like minutes later, I opened my eyes a fraction and closed them quickly as the brightness hurt them. I waited a moment and then opened them again to see Draco standing by my side staring at me. I opened my eyes wider, staring into his beautiful ice blue eyes. He leaned down and kissed my head.
            “Hey,” he said.
            “Hey,” I whispered back. My throat felt on fire. Madame Pomfrey joined us with a glass of water for each of us. I guess Draco had just woken up as well. She sent for the headmaster and Professor Snape. They arrived minutes later with Harry in tow. He was groggy, meaning that he had been woken up from a deep sleep. Seeing me awake made him perk up and he rushed to my side.
            “So, Sam, would you care to tell us what happened?” Dumbledore asked.
            “How long have I been asleep?” I croaked out of my still burning throat.
            “You’ve both been unconscious for 2 days now. Do you remember the attack?” Professor Snape answered.
            Slowly I nodded and took another sip of the odd tasting water. Must be a potion or something in it to help soothe my throat. I winced when it hit my throat. “I was on my way to the library to get a few books for my homework. I was concentrating on controlling my powers so much that I didn’t notice his thoughts or his feelings. He grabbed my arm and slammed me into the wall, knocking my breath out of me.” I recounted the events of the attack, including the reason for it.
            Harry was shocked at what I said, “So, I’m the reason you were attacked?” he said softly.
            Draco spoke for the first time since they had all arrived. “Don’t blame yourself, Harry. If that wasn’t the reason, then there would have been another one. He wanted to attack her; he just needed a reason to do it. You gave him the push he needed by being chosen as champion for the tournament.”
            The group was silent for several moments, thinking about all that had happened. “What did you mean by both of us were unconscious?” I asked Professor Snape.
            “Draco fell unconscious at the time you did. That’s how the bond works now. He feels and experiences everything you feel. Even though he didn’t have the injuries, he felt them. Remember that when one of you dies, so will the other.” Snape explained.
            I nodded slightly, understanding what he was saying. “I was fighting so hard to not go into the darkness, but I got tired of fighting. The darkness offered so much relief and my body craved it. I’m sorry, Draco. I just couldn’t fight it anymore.”
            He squeezed my hand, “It’s okay, Samantha. I’m not real keen on feeling what you feel, but that’s how this works. The longer we are together, the stronger it will become. We are one in the same now. This is how it will be for the rest of our lives. We figure out how to deal with it.” He smiled down at me and I fell in love with him all over again.
I sighed. I guess this is how it will always be, me falling for him over and over again. I loved him so much that I wondered how I never realized it from the first moment we met. The others in the room watched us silently for a while as we stared at each other.
Later that day, Madame Pomfrey released me. Draco and I returned to classes the next day, staying close to each other at all times. We did go to the Great Hall for meals and were greeted with the same new table arrangement. Apparently everyone liked this new arrangement. We were always joined by Harry and Hermione and Ron and Blaise. Sometimes others would drag chairs over and join us, but it was mostly just the 6 of us.
Draco was always tender and loving with me, no matter what we were doing. If we were studying, he would hold my hand across the table. At meals, he would keep his arm around my shoulders. After the attack, he was more protective than ever.
On Saturday, the first task was to take place right after breakfast. I felt Harry’s nerves before we even emerged from our rooms. Harry and I spent a while on the couch holding hands to strengthen his magic for the upcoming task. “You’ll do fine, Harry. Just remember the summoning spell and use your flying skills. You will do great.” I said to him quietly. Draco watched us from the table.
“Don’t worry, Harry, just do what comes naturally.” Draco said from the table. “You fly amazingly and none of those others will think of doing that.”
I looked over at my husband, lounging in the chair with his left ankle propped up on his right knee. He looked so relaxed, but I knew he was wound just as tight as Harry was. I felt the tension in both of them and wished that I could help them both, but I was tense as well. I knew that this was a dangerous task and that Harry needed all his faculties about him.
We ventured down to breakfast and almost everyone in the school stopped by our table to wish Harry luck. He smiled and thanked them all. Before we realized it, breakfast was over and we were being led out to the Quidditch pitch for the task. Harry was taken to a tent off to the side. Draco held my hand and dragged me away from Harry into the stands to take a seat. My magic crackled around his hand and I knew he was worried that I wouldn’t be able to handle being in the crowd while Harry was in danger. I worked harder at controlling my magic and to keep myself from exploding in this crowd.
The first champion arrived amidst a burst of cheers from his followers. He did well, took a while to get the golden egg, but he did manage it. The second followed in another burst of cheers and became injured while trying to reach the golden egg. He did finally manage to reach the egg, despite his injury. The third champion also got injured but managed to reach the egg as well.
Harry was last. He walked out onto the field and faced his dragon. I heard his thoughts and they were screaming at him to run away, but he stood his ground. As he and the dragon eyed each other, his Firebolt came racing towards him from the castle. Good, he was able to summon it. Harry mounted the broom and began flying around and around the dragon, making her dizzy. He swooped down and snatched the golden egg from the nest and flew away out of reach of the dragon. He accomplished this quicker than any of the other champions. The crowd went wild as he landed and held the egg high above his head in triumph. A huge smile graced his face as he heard the cheers and whistles from the crowd.
I released the breath that I hadn’t realized I was holding. Draco pried my fingers from the death grip they had on his hand and shook his hand out to get the blood flowing again. I must have squeezed his hand while Harry was performing the task. ‘Sorry, love. I didn’t realize what I was doing.’ I said, ducking my head a little.
Draco laughed and pulled me to him, kissing my forehead. ‘Nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart. I was just as nervous as you were. This is what I’m here for, to be your comfort, your rock, the one you lean on when you need support.’ He gathered me to him and we both stood to leave. Walking back to the castle slowly, we passed through the crowd who remained to discuss the task and try to talk to the champions.
We arrived back at our room and I collapsed onto the bed. I was so tired. I hadn’t slept any the night before, being worried for Harry and seeing Harry’s dreams of dying a fiery death during the task. Draco chuckled a little and drew the blanket up over me. He settled down onto the bed beside me and I snuggled closer to him, laying my head on his chest. He began to hum and I was soon asleep.
The most incredible dream was invading my mind. Someone was dreaming about or maybe actually receiving a mind blowing orgasm. Someone close. Could it be that Harry finally gathered the courage to take the next step in his friendship with Hermione and tell her his feelings? My body began to feel hot so I threw off the covers. I squirmed a little in the bed, feeling the impending orgasm. His fingers felt amazing inside the heat. Whoever was experiencing this, they were in for a thrill. His tongue licked the nub above the entrance and then drew it into his mouth to suck on.
My eyes flew open and I cried out as an orgasm ripped through me, waking me. Never had I experienced a dream like that. Looking around I see Draco between my legs, his fingers still thrusting inside me as my body clenched around them. He looked up at me with a Cheshire Cat grin on his face, knowing that he just pleasured me in my sleep. No, it was no dream at all, it was real, and it was amazing. ‘Sneaky snake,’ I thought to him.
His grin widened, ‘You expected something else?’ he asked.
I shook my head and held out a hand to him, ‘Come here and kiss me,’ I replied.
He rose up above me and brought his lips down to mine. I drove both hands in his hair and pulled his head closer to deepen the kiss. Wrapping my legs around his hips, I pulled him closer and his cock slid into my waiting heat, making him gasp and his eyes to grow wide at the feel. With a little push, I rolled us over to where I was sitting astride him, impaled on his cock. Having just had an orgasm, my body was still pulsing, but I wanted more. I began to move slowly, rising up to the very tip of his cock and then sliding down inch by inch, savoring the feel of his thick length sliding into me. I quickened my pace, and soon was moving faster and faster over him, sliding him in and out of me. I began moving even faster as I felt the beginnings of another orgasm and wanted to reach that cliff as fast as possible. Draco was gasping and moaning with every thrust of his cock into me. I felt him grow bigger inside me and knew that he was reaching the cliff and would soon tumble over it into ecstasy. I wanted to feel him pulse and pump into me before I fell over the cliff, so I began to move faster still. I leaned forward and brought our lips together and our tongues began to duel for dominance. He grasped by hips and began helping me move even faster and lifted his hips to thrust into me even more. We had never gone this way before. Always we were slow and gentle with each other. There was an urgency this time for some reason. Before either of us knew it, Draco released my lips and cried out my name at the top of his lungs as he pulsed inside of me, pumping his seed into my waiting warmth. I cried out at the feel of his cock pulsing in me and felt my body clench and tighten just before I fell over the cliff in a mind blowing orgasm that left me panting and sweating as I collapsed onto Draco.
We both fell into an exhausted but contented sleep, with me still lying on top of Draco, his cock still buried deep inside me. Several hours later, we were awakened by a pounding on the door. I heard Harry’s voice call out for us. “You two gonna join us for a celebration. I made it through the first task, you know.”
I smiled as I raised my head off of Draco’s chest and shifted a little. His cock jumped to life inside of me, making me gasp softly. ‘We will have to resume this later, my dear. It seems Harry wants to celebrate.’ I said to him.
‘Can’t he celebrate alone this time? I don’t want to leave this bed right now.’ Draco whined.
‘Draco, be nice. He’s just finished a very daunting task and wants to celebrate with us, his family. We will have all night to play in here.’ I admonished as I got up and headed for the shower. “We will be out shortly, Harry. Needed a nap because of the lack of sleep last night. Give me a few minutes to shower and change.”
“Alright, Sam. Hurry. I want to celebrate.” Harry said and moved away from the door. I smiled and got up to make my way to the shower. Draco followed close behind me. We showered and entered the common room to hear music playing and to see Harry and Hermione along with Ron and Blaise dancing to the beat of the song. I laughed at the awkward way Harry was dancing. Harry decided to open the egg that he had retrieved to see what the clue was for the next task. I wasn’t sure it was a good idea, but I didn’t voice my opinion. He swung the egg open and a loud, high piercing screeching sound emitted from it. We all covered our ears and Harry hurriedly closed the egg to silence it.
“What the hell was that?” He asked, looking confused at the egg. “How am I supposed to know what it said?”
I laughed, “It said, ‘Don’t open me again until I’m under water.’” They all looked at me strangely. “I don’t know how I know, I just do.”
We all danced and talked well into the night and fell exhausted into bed in the early morning hours. The next day, we all slept in past breakfast and ventured down for a small lunch in the great hall. Draco and I went for a walk around the castle grounds. During this walk, I told Draco everything I had been withholding from him about myself. What I had planned on telling him before I was attacked. No one overheard us as we used our thoughts to communicate with each other. He took the news rather well.
At dinner, the Headmaster announced that the second task would take place in a month’s time, and that the final task would take place on Christmas Eve before the Yule Ball. At the mention of a ball, quiet murmuring could be heard around the room. I saw girls eyes light up with delight at the thought of being asked to dance by their secret crush. I shook my head and looked over at Draco. ‘You’ll be my date to the ball, right?’ he asked in his head.
I leaned forward to kiss him, chuckling, ‘Of course I will. Who else will I go with?’ I answered.
“Hey, no fair,” Harry said. “You get to ask your girl out in your head and no embarrass yourself in front of everyone.” Draco just shrugged and put his arm around my shoulders, resting on the back of my chair.
I caught Harry’s eye and made a small motion to Hermione who happened to be looking at the other side of the room. His cheeks turned red slightly and he took a deep breath and nodded. “Um… Hermione? Would you go to the ball with me?” he asked.
Hermione turned to him and smiled, “Of course, Harry. I would love to.” I noticed Blaise lean over and whisper in Ron’s ear. Only I heard what he was asking, by pulling his thoughts forward. He was asking Ron to go to the ball with him. I smiled, knowing that Ron’s answer would be yes. I knew that they were starting to think about a relationship.
The following weeks passed with surprising quickness. Harry had taken his egg to the bath and found out what it said. Now, we were all trying to come up with a way for him to be able to breathe under water for an hour or more to achieve the task of finding whatever was taken from him that he would miss greatly. I knew what they would take from him; I was just hoping that they wouldn’t put me in that water. Things would not go well if they did.
The day of the task was upon us, the day before Thanksgiving. Everyone gathered around the lake to watch the champions complete the task. They had to dive down in the lake and find what was taken from them. I sat there by Draco holding his hand like I did in the first task, not realizing that I was gripping it so tightly. Draco never said a word about the pain from my squeezing. Harry had been under the water for several minutes now, looking for Hermione. The headmaster had wisely chosen her over me to be put in the lake.
After a half an hour, the American champion emerged with the person he would miss the most. Harry emerged a few minutes later, towing Hermione along beside him. Draco smiled at the release of the breath I was holding. He pried my hand off of his and laughed, putting his arm around me and pulling me to him to kiss my forehead. I smiled at him, relieved that Harry had survived this task as well. We got up and made our way back to the castle to our room, knowing that Harry would want to celebrate when he got back.
A few days later, we found out what the last task would be on Christmas Eve. The champions would have to work their way through a maze to get to the Tournament Cup. I knew that this last task would be the final battle with Voldemort, after talking with Luna, my secret seer. She and I had come to rely on each other in our first year, after I figured out that she was a seer. Of course, she knew everything about me. We made a pact one day and neither of us had given our secrets away.
Harry practiced all the spells he knew and Hermione and I taught him some new ones just in case he might need them. I was a bundle of nerves as the day of the task approached. I knew that Harry was prepared for the task, but I wasn’t sure that he was ready to face the Dark Lord. Hell, I wasn’t even sure I was ready for this to take place.
Christmas Eve dawned bright and clear. A crisp, cold wind blew, rustling the freshly fallen snow slightly on the ground as we all made our way out to the stands. Everyone casted warming charms on themselves since we would be out here for a while. Draco made sure to cast one on me, as my thoughts were otherwise occupied with fear for Harry, and with worry over whether I could protect everyone or not.
The champions were brought out to the front of the maze and it was announce who would go first into it. Harry and the American champion were tied with the most points so they entered the maze first followed by the other two champions 30 seconds later. My mind was so far away, I didn’t even register everything that Harry faced in the maze. After an hour, the American champion reached the Cup first and touched it, promptly disappearing from the maze. Everyone thought it was a part of the tournament, but I knew something was wrong. Dumbledore’s expression was one of surprise and concern.
The maze disappeared, since a champion had already made it to the Cup, revealing the other three champions at various points in the maze. Harry was confused for a moment, but soon realized that the tournament was over and he had not won. He was fine with that fact; maybe this would take some attention off of him.
A thundering noise sounded and a flash of light blinded most everyone momentarily. I saw through it to see the Dark Lord appear with all of his Death Eaters, one of them carrying the American champion. His eyes were full of fear, glancing around him at his surroundings. I stood abruptly, causing Draco to start up. I used my magic to keep him in his seat as I watched the Death Eater toss the American on the ground in front of them. Voldemort spoke, “Harry Potter, come out and play,” he hissed.
Harry started at the sound of the voice and slowly made his way to the front of the crowd on the field. I cast a shield charm around everyone before hearing a voice in my head, ‘Not Harry. He needs to do this without your shield. This has to happen for you to defeat the Dark Lord. The prophecy has always been about you, not Harry. Voldemort needs to strike Harry down to weaken himself for you to destroy him.’ It was Luna, telling me everything I needed to know in a few short words. I withdrew the shield from around Harry, knowing that he would be just fine. Everyone else on the field and in the stands were under my shield and could not be harmed.
Harry faced Voldemort with his head held high. He knew that he wasn’t ready for this, but he also knew that this was the day everything would be done. This whole mess would be finished. I waited, holding my breath as Harry faced his tormentor. Voldemort laughed, “So this is your so-called savior. A little boy who barely knows which end of the wand to point away from himself. This won’t take long.” He pointed his wand at Harry and called out the killing curse. A jet of green light erupted from his wand and Harry fell to the ground. Voldemort laughed. “That was too easy. Dumbledore, is that all you have? Just one little boy to stand up to me?” he asked, looking over at the headmaster.
“No, that isn’t all,” I said, my voice carrying over the silence that fell on the onlookers at Harry’s fall. Voldemort swung his eyes around the crowd, looking for who would dare to speak that way. I was the only one standing and looking his way. His eyes quickly found me.
“Sit down, girl, before you hurt yourself by talking,” he hissed.
I smiled and laughed slightly, “Oh, I’m just a girl; I couldn’t possibly be more powerful than you, can I?” I said. I felt my feet lift off the stands where I was and knew that the wind was carrying me down to be level with him. I floated down to the field and was planted softly on the ground between Harry and Voldemort.
He looked surprised, “How?” he started to ask.
“Oh, wouldn’t you like to know,” I stated, my smiled getting bigger. “There’s something that I can do that you can’t. Don’t like that too much, do you?”
“Insolent girl, I will deal with you much like I dealt with your precious Harry Potter.” He spat out and aimed his wand at me, casting the killing curse. I heard a gasp from the onlookers and watched as the curse bounced off of me, not harming me in any way. This infuriated the Dark Lord, so he cast the curse again and again, not wanting to be bested by a girl.
I just laughed, “You can’t hurt me, you know. I am more powerful that you could ever think to be. But then, you should know that, since you created me.” I watched as his eyes grew wide when he registered what I said.
“No,” he shook his head. “That experiment failed.”
“No, it didn’t. You called it a failure because I arrived without a cock. You think that the male of the species is so much more powerful than the female, but you couldn’t be more wrong in my case. You wanted to create a protector, but what you didn’t know was that you created a weapon as well. Have you not wondered why you and your death eaters can’t harm anyone in this place? It’s because I am shielding them all. I am doing the job that you created me to do, but I’m not doing it for you. I’m using it against you. You took DNA from the four founders of magic to create your protector. I have their magic coursing through me. What you didn’t know is what that magic is.”
I began to lift myself up with my control over the wind. My hair wiped around my face in the wind. His eyes grew wider as he realized that the spells his followers were casting were just bouncing off my shield. I raised my arms to stretch out to my side. “With the blood of Slytherin, I control the water.” As I said this, rain began to pour on him and his followers. They tried to shield themselves, but it was futile. “With the blood of Ravenclaw, I control the wind.” The wind began whipping around them, blowing the rain into their faces. “With the blood of Hufflepuff, I control the earth.” Dust blew up from the ground and the earth began to shake under their feet. “With the blood of Gryffindor, I control the fire.” Flames shot up from the ground to form a circle around them. Voldemort was looking wildly around himself at the circle of flames and all the elements occurring around him. He looked up at me again. “With the blood of all, I control the electricity.” With that said, a bolt of lightning shot down from the sky to strike Voldemort where he stood. He screamed in pain.
“Oh, I’m sorry, did that hurt?” I asked, with a smile. He writhed in pain from the shock of the bolt. I quickly tired of playing with him, “I’m done playing, and I’m done with you.” I brought my hands forward and clapped them together, causing the ring of fire to close in on them all. Soon they were consumed and we heard their screams of agony as they burned to death. Once I saw that they were all reduced to ash, I opened my hands and all the elements dissipated. I lowered myself to the ground and crouched down to Harry. The American champion had watched the whole thing in awe and silence from his spot on the ground where he had been dumped. I smiled at him as I focused on Harry. I smoothed my hand over his face and muttered some words that I didn’t even know that I knew. After a few seconds, he coughed and opened his eyes.
“Did we win?” he asked.
I laughed, “Yes, we won.” My magic began to arc crazily towards him from all over my body. I needed the grounding badly. I sank onto my knees and took his hands in mine. I heard Draco call to me in my mind and looked over my shoulder to find him in the crowd that had surged forward. Finding him and Hermione, I lifted them with the wind and brought them over the crowd to us. The professors were forming a barrier around us to give us time to get my magic under control.
“Your hair…” Harry started to say.
“What about my hair?” I asked.
“Different,” he said. He just stared at my hair. “Your hair is different colors now.”
As soon as Draco and Hermione landed beside us, my magic began arcing towards them both. Draco dropped to his knees behind me and put his arms around me. Hermione moved to kneel beside Harry and gazed in wonder at my magic arcing around. She touched her hand to our joined ones and my magic jumped over to her again. Professor Snape joined us and my magic leapt to find his. He was shocked, but knelt down with us and his hands joined ours. McGonagall followed, intrigued by the sight of our little group and was surprised to find herself drawn into the arcing of my magic. Finally, this was enough to calm my magic down and ground it.
“Family,” I whispered out in a sigh as I felt my magic calm. They were all my family now and that’s what my magic was looking for. After several long minutes, my magic had calmed completely and our group moved away from each other. Draco drew me into his arms as if he would never let go. I looked over at the headmaster and the two professors. “Why didn’t you tell me, tell us?” I asked. I found out something during the time all my magic was released. It made me recall something that was said right after my attack, when Draco and I had blacked out.
Professor McGonagall looked at the two men, wondering who would speak first. It turned out to be Snape who spoke up. “We knew it when you showed us the mark on your chest. That mark signifies that a new life has been created in the bond. Yes, you are pregnant, Sam. Several months now. We didn’t tell you because we knew that Draco would have never let you do what needed to be done. We knew that your body would shield the child and that no harm would come to it. We didn’t want it to obscure what you had to do. And this was something that had to be done by you. The prophecy was never about Harry. It’s always been about you. We’ve only just know figured that out.”
I nodded my head a little, and looked up at a stunned Draco. Placing my hand on his cheek, I forced him to look at me. “Are you okay, Draco?” I asked.
He nodded, still with a wide eyed stunned look on his face, “You’re pregnant?” he asked.
I nodded and leaned up to kiss him. This brought him out of his semi trance and made him conscious of others around us. “Yes, I am. Are you okay with that?” I asked him, fearful that he wouldn’t be.
He looked at me and spoke softly, “Of course I’m okay with that. We’re going to be parents. I always knew that we would have children, just not this soon. But that’s okay. For some reason, I know that this had to happen now. We had to get pregnant now.” He pulled me closer. “I’m happy with our lot in life. I’m happy that I have you by my side forever. I’m happy that we are starting a family of our own now.”
“Now, someone tell me about my hair. What’s Harry talking about?” I said.
“Well, it now has red, blue, white and brown stripes mixed in with a fully black head of hair. Your hair changed from brown to black and got the streaks in it. It got longer, as well.” Harry said.
“Hmm… wonder why?” I mused.
“Most likely by allowing all your magic out at once,” McGonagall suggested.
I smiled up at him and snuggled closer to Draco, realizing how tired I was. Dumbledore amplified his voice, “Well, now we have something extra to celebrate at our ball tonight. The defeat of the Dark Lord. So, let’s all go on up to our rooms and get ready for our celebration.” With that, he began ushering everyone back to the castle. Draco rose from his knees and then pulled me up beside him, tucking me in beside him, his arm wrapped around me protectively. He led me up to our rooms to begin getting ready for the ball.
Hermione and Harry followed behind us and we walked in silence through the castle halls. Everyone seemed to be stunned into silence that the evil was gone forever. I knew that later at the ball, everyone would be jubilant and excited.
Draco and I got into the shower together, washing each other slowly and carefully. ‘Sad that we don’t have time to pleasure each other right now. I don’t know if I can wait until after the dance.’ Draco thought.
‘You’ll have to wait. We both will. Don’t worry, after tonight we won’t have anything to interrupt us for a while.’ We both sighed and turned the water off and dried ourselves off. Draco placed a white terry cloth robe over my shoulders and helped me into it, tying the belt around my waist. He stepped out into the bedroom and quickly dressed himself in the tuxedo that he had bought the other day for this ball. He placed his dress robes over the tux and left it open in the front. I watched, fascinated as he tied the black bow tie at his neck and then he turned to me for inspection. ‘Amazing. I’ve never seen someone so handsome before.’ I said to him. He smirked at me and stepped forward to kiss me before leaving to allow me to dress. Hermione stepped into the room a few seconds after he left, carrying her dress and also wearing a white terry cloth bathrobe.
We both dressed carefully, sliding the silk gowns down our bodies. I watched Hermione messing with her hair and getting frustrated. I laughed, “Here, let me,” I suggested. Using my magic, I tamed her hair and twisted it up into an upsweep, leaving a few tendrils hanging on either side of her face. She looked stunning like this. Not that she wasn’t a stunning young woman already. She gasped as she saw her reflection in the mirror and watched as I transformed my hair into a soft flowing mane down my bare back. I had already gotten used to my new hair. Although, it did make me feel like a freak.
“You look amazing, Sam.” Hermione whispered.
I smiled at her in the mirror, “Thank you, Hermione. You look absolutely stunning.” We hugged and laughed. “I guess we should go out there and show these boys what they are missing out on.”
I opened the door and without showing myself, announced Hermione to the common room. “Presenting, Miss Hermione Granger.” She stepped out and I watched Harry turn towards her, mouth dropping open in surprise. She was wearing a knee-length navy blue dress that hugged her curves and showed off her creamy smooth legs.
Draco appraised Hermione appreciatively. ‘Watch it.’ I thought to him. His head snapped up in my direction and registered surprise. His eyes swept down my body to my feet and back up meeting my eyes. I watched them darken in lust. I was wearing a floor length deep red dress with a slit that went up to my hip on the left side.
‘Mine. You aren’t going down there like that.’ He growled lowly.
‘Sorry, bud, but you don’t get to make that choice. It’s not like we can avoid this now.’ I said, tilting my head to the side at his possessiveness. He sighed heavily and offered me his arm as Harry did the same for Hermione.
We made our way through the halls to the doors of the Great Hall. The doors opened and the castle announced us as we walked through. “Miss Hermione Granger, escorted by Mr. Harry Potter.” It said in a booming voice. Once they were through, the loud booming voice announced, “Mistress Samantha Malfoy, escorted by Mr. Draco Malfoy.” We were greeted with silence as the announcement made people gasp and look at us. I guess it was out in the open now. The nature of our relationship was just announced to the entire castle.
Draco caught my eye and then inclined his head towards the Great Hall, indicating that we should move on in. Stepping over the threshold, the others in the room starting speaking again, no longer intrigued by us. The four of us found a table together and were soon joined by Ron and Blaise who had braved the stares and whispers to come to the ball together.
Dinner was served, announcements were made, thanks were given and then the dancing commenced. Now, everyone knew about me and my origins and how powerful I really was. There was no more need to hide. as served, announcements were made, thanks were given and then the dancing commenced. Now, everyone knew about me and my origins and how powerful I really was. There was no more need to hide.
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Samantha