Midnight Grace

Chapter Summary: Tia convinces Jo to help her buy Thane a birthday present after dropping the news on her that they’ll be spending part of the Hogsmeade trip at a birthday celebration for him. Despite Jo’s complaints that she’s not interested in him she’s caught daydreaming in Transfiguration much to the delight of everyone, except Pansy, who’s only thoughts are of the upcoming trip and her plan, only she watches as her dreams are crushed by the errant foot of Harry Potter.

Chapter Eight: Delusions

The next two weeks disappeared as if they’d never happened, the students settling into their new schedules and re-acclimating themselves to life at Hogwarts. Tia found herself more caught up in Draco Malfoy’s world than she had intended, and inexplicably, at least to her, she seemed to be enjoying every minute of it. She still held firmly to her belief that she was only having fun with Draco, and it didn’t matter that he was Prefect nor that he had a devastating smile that made her melt when she saw it – and she was usually the only who did see it. She’d been paying attention. Despite Jo’s repeated warnings that Draco didn’t see it as just a bit of fun, the redhead happily bounced her way out of class with her friend, looking casually behind her to make sure her blonde prefect was following.

“I don’t see what the big fuss is about,” said Tia, flipping her long red hair over her shoulder. “And he doesn’t take this any more seriously than I am.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Jo sighed, catching sight of Malfoy as he exited the Dark Arts classroom. “Speak of the devil.”

Tia smiled despite herself, betraying more to Jo than she realized. The tall, blonde boy came up behind her quickly and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her cheek and smiling. Jo groaned audibly when she saw Purefoy step out from behind Crabbe and Goyle, and scowled at Tia when the redhead kicked her in the shin.

“Iosifina,” said Thane with a cursory nod at the blonde girl. He took up his post beside Draco and turned away.

“Thane,” said Jo quietly, avoiding his gaze and looking at the floor.

“Where are you two headed?” Draco pulled Tia into him and almost knocked her off-balance, conveniently catching her when she stumbled.

To their sides, Jo rolled her eyes and Thane looked absently down the hallway.

“We’re heading into study hall before dinner,” the redhead said. “We have to finish up the worksheets on Abraxans. I don’t want to worry about it over the weekend. Not to mention I’d rather forget the beasts anyway. Who ever heard of a creature only drinking single-malt whiskey?”

“Single-malt is the way to go,” said Thane, reminding everyone he was still there.

“Yeah, you’d know,” Jo grumbled under her breath.

“I beg your pardon?” Thane asked, offended.

“Nothing…” she said, again refusing to meet his eyes.

“Okay, well we better go,” said Tia, abruptly turning to Draco and giving him a quick kiss. “I’ll see you at dinner.”

“I’ll meet you at study hall,” he said, holding onto her for just a moment longer. “I’ll be down there anyway.”

“Alright,” she said as Draco moved in to take what she assumed he thought of as a proper kiss. Tia lit up inside as Draco and Thane walked away, the white-haired boy turning and offering her a wry smile before disappearing down a different corridor.

“What was that all about?” asked Jo, bitterness tainting her words.

“What was what about?”

“That!” the blonde said, jerking her head back to where the boys had gone. “He’s smiling. Since when does Draco smile? I didn’t even know the boy had teeth.”

“What’s got your panties in a bunch?” asked Tia, her eyes narrowed at the other girl.

"Nothing,” Jo replied quickly, still scowling. "Purefoy just aggravates me..." She paused, eyeing the redhead and switching subjects. "So, he's just going to be down there, hmmm? You have him on a leash already?"

“Leash? Hardly – do you think he’d willingly be lead anywhere?” Tia asked incredulously as they entered the large classroom and found a place to sit.

"I’m sure you’d find a way!” Jo rolled her eyes as she sat down, dropping her book bag on the table. "He'd grumble and complain, but in the end you'd have your way regardless."

Tia smirked, and without reply and unloaded her books from her satchel. She set them on the table, a gift catalog sitting on top of the pile. “Did you know it was Thane’s birthday Hogsmeade weekend?”

"Is it?" the blonde asked off-handedly, digging for her own books, and telling herself staunchly that she didn’t care. "I had no idea." She glanced at the gift catalog and wondered for a moment if Tia was buying the annoying boy a present.

“You know, I’m really terrible at picking out gifts,” Tia said, picking up the catalog and leafing through it casually before sliding it in front of Jo. “Here, you look through it and see if there’s anything in here you’d buy him.”

The blonde girl raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn’t buy him anything. I'd give him a good kick in the knee!” She looked at Tia's half-pleading expression and sighed. Maybe she DID need help picking something out. After all, boys were hard to shop for and Tia couldn’t know Thane THAT well. Still, the redhead was intuitive and had a knack for sizing people up quickly. "Somehow I doubt you’re as lousy at this as you say, but all right, I suppose."

Taking the catalog, Jo flipped it opened, eyes skimming the glossy pages, her mind boggling at the prices on some of the gifts. "Do you have anything in mind at all?"

“Not really.” Tia watched Jo turn the pages carefully. “But, I’d feel awful not getting him anything. Especially since he’ll be with us that day.”

Jo's head snapped up, her eyes narrowed. "What day?! Hogsmeade?!" As the redhead nodded Jo moaned loudly, drawing a look from nearby students. She'd agreed only yesterday to spend at least half of her Hogsmeade visit with Tia and Draco with the possibility of the bumble twins. She'd asked Tia at the time if Thane would be there and had been assured he wouldn’t. "I thought he wasn’t going to be there. I'd have never agreed if I'd known!"

Suddenly she thought back to the conversation and realized that, in reality, Tia had been rather vague and it had been more of an impression than a direct quote that led her to believe Purefoy wouldn’t be with them. She’d never specifically SAID “No.”

“He IS Draco’s best friend!” Tia defended, flipping open a book loudly as she scowled at a third year beside her. “Apparently they have some tradition at the Hog’s Head, is that right?” Tia waited for Jo to nod in assent before continuing. “Firewhiskey and lunch or something. Draco wants me to go but, to be honest, I’m sure it’ll be dreadful! Come on, you can’t back out on me now!”

"A birthday lunch?" Jo balked. "I don’t know...” she paused, looking at Tia shrewdly. She wasn’t entirely delighted with the idea of spending lunch time in Malfoy’s and Purefoy’s circle. Zabini was a bit of a git, not to mention Chesterfield gave her a gigantic pain – and then there was Purefoy. “Who else will be there?"

“I don’t know. It sounds like they sneak off without anyone knowing, from what Draco said anyway. Apparently Crabbe and Goyle have finally caught on and given up even looking for them. I told him to go without me, but he won’t hear of it,” Tia sighed.

"If they sneak off without anyone else I doubt they want me there," her brows furrowed and she glanced back at the magazine, flipping a page and staring at the moving models displaying women's dangly gold earrings.

“Well, I want you there! Draco isn’t going to force me to go alone so I can baby-sit while those two get drunk,” the redhead huffed. More to the point, Tia felt awkward when Thane was around, like she was somehow coming between the two friends. Having Jo there would make things a bit easier. At least she’d have some company. Not to mention she wanted to ease the tension between Jo and Thane. Maybe one of them would stop being so stubborn.

Jo sighed heavily once more, torn about the whole thing. On one hand she understood Tia not wanting to be stuck alone with a pair of drunken males, but on the other, she felt she was somehow ruining their tradition by even thinking about going. Wait... why did she care if she ruined Purefoy's tradition? What did it matter to her? In fact the thought that it might annoy him made it seem more appealing somehow. "All right, but be warned if either of them start in I won’t be held responsible for my sarcastic remarks."

“Nor will I,” said Tia with a wicked grin. “Did you find anything yet?”

Jo started to say no and then something silver caught her eye in the corner of page twenty-two. "Depends on how much you like him."

“Why, what did you find?” she asked, straining to see the item upside-down.

"It’s a ring," Jo turned the catalog a little so that Tia could get a better look at the piece of silver jewelry set with a large black onyx. "There," the blonde said, stabbing the moving picture with her finger. "Though I vote for a fruit basket."

Tia raised a disapproving eyebrow at the last comment. “That is quite lovely, isn’t it? Although, I’m not sure Draco would approve of me buying him a ring. Why don’t we go in on it together?”

Jo started to agree automatically and then caught herself. "Wait a minute. You want me to go halvesies on a present for Purefoy?" Next she'd be asking her to buy Marianna something for Christmas!

“Well, we haven’t found anything else, and we really should order it today so it arrives on time,” the redhead said. “And it really is a nice ring for the price.”

Jo glanced down at the black numbers beneath the picture, and noted that it was a good price, considering the cost of many of the other items in the catalog. She could understand Tia's concern about Draco thinking she were after Thane, especially given his reputation and the fact that a ring could be viewed as an intimate gift, but then the same might be construed about her. Then again, if they were halvsies it meant either they were BOTH after him, or else neither was. "If you don’t tell him I’m involved."

“And how will that do me any good? I have to at least tell Draco.”

"Well... tell Draco, but make him promise not to tell Thane." Jo looked at her friend pleadingly. "Otherwise he'll take it to mean the exact thing you're worried Draco will think about you!"

“Fine,” Tia agreed, rolling her green eyes at the blonde. “Would you mind ordering it for me?” she asked, smiling. “Draco and I are sneaking away after dinner tonight.”

"Yeah, I guess I can," Jo nodded, flipping to the back and tearing the order form out. "I’d ask where you're sneaking off to, but I suspect I'll find out later," she grinned, winking at Tia.

“Don’t you always?” Tia commented as she began to repack her school-bag.

The two girls stood, hefting their book bags and headed towards the door and the blonde snickered, "Someone has to man the salve after your escapades."

Tia snorted at Jo as she grabbed the blonde’s shoulder and pushed her out of the classroom in front her.


Thane woke with a start, his face and body covered in beads of sweat. This was the third time this week his sleep had been interrupted by these dreams, the images of which were beginning to fade even now. Rolling onto his side, he kicked the covers from his legs and clutched a pillow to his chest. His heart was settling back into its normal rhythm as images of a dark night illuminated by fire slipped from his mind. It wasn’t long before unconsciousness found him again, the last few hours being merciful and allowing him dreamless sleep.

“Another nightmare last night eh, Cousin?” Draco asked the following morning. “Was it the same one?”

“Was it that noticeable?” asked Thane as he sluggishly threw his feet to the ground. He scratched his head for a moment, lost somewhere in a memory of long ago, before adding, “Yeah, the same.”

“It’s been a while. I thought you’d gotten rid of those.”

“Been about two years, I expect,” Thane said lost in reverie. “Just after…”

“…Ryan.” Draco finished his friend’s sentence.

“Yeah…”

“Well, you better get moving. Half of Slytherin is in the bathrooms right now.”

“What time is it?” Thane asked, running a hand through his mop of hair.

“Day time,” the white-haired boy said, uninterested in specifics. “And you’d better hurry. I’m not going to wait for you this time,” he said impatiently, tossing a towel at the dark-haired boy. “The password is ‘hinkypunks’.”

“Thanks, Cousin,” he sighed, snatching the towel from the air. “I’ll meet you at the table.”

Thane managed to arrive at breakfast on time, the Prefect’s Bathroom already vacant by the time he’d arrived. At Draco’s insistence, Tia helped him straighten his tie and she flipped the back of his hair from his collar before he sat down. He scanned the occupants at the table only to find Jo sitting half-way down with Liz and Marianna, as she often did. Any thoughts that might have formed about his feisty blonde were replaced by the scent of sausages and warm bread. Food had always been Thane’s first love and there was rarely an occasion when it didn’t make him happy.

After three helpings of breakfast, he and Draco made their way to the first lesson of the day – Transfiguration. Tia had entered the classroom ahead of them, accompanied by Jo and Liz and the three girls sat at a desk near the back of the room while Draco, Thane and their book-ends took seats in their usual spot near the front.

Professor Gravestun stood from behind his desk to begin the lesson for the day. He was a shifty looking character assigned by the Ministry after the untimely passing of Headmaster Dumbledore. With a greasy black comb-over and a pencil-thin mustache, he looked more like someone you’d meet in Knockturn Alley instead of a Professor at Hogwarts. Not many students cared for the man, and they cared even less for his lessons.

Malfoy didn’t know him and Thane just plain didn’t like him. He was always calling on the dark-haired Slytherin boy to demonstrate transfiguration spells that the teacher clearly didn’t know. And, it seemed today was no different.

Thane found himself in front of the class once again, his wand in his left hand as he repeatedly changed a door mouse into a tea-cozy and back again while the class looked on. His wrist flicked the wand lazily, a bored expression on his face. He brushed an errant strand of hair from his brow with his free hand before replacing it to his pants pocket. His white shirt was un-tucked, his school robes forgotten at his desk, and his raven locks of hair were a bit more rebellious than usual. Shifting his weight, he glanced toward the Professor hoping to be released from his duty when he noticed his pretty blonde looking his way. A terribly devilish smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth.

At the back of the room, Jo sat with her elbows resting on her desk and her face in her hands, an uncharacteristic grin on her face. It was obvious she was lost in thoughts that proved much more pleasant than the class at hand. Tia had tried once, in vain, to gain Jo’s attention by nudging her foot beneath the desk.

“Jo!” the redhead whispered desperately in attempt to rouse the girl from her reverie. Gravestun was beginning to make rounds about the classroom to see how the students were progressing whilst Thane continued the demonstrations. It was then that Tia realized Jo’s eyes were locked on Thane Purefoy. And that smile she wore was definitely only meant for him, despite the blonde girl’s protests she was sure to hear later.

“What’s wrong with her?” Liz asked curiously from Tia’s other side.

“I don’t know, but Gravestun’s on his way over here. And he won’t be happy to find she hasn’t been paying attention!”

At once, Tia picked up her wand and changed both her and Jo’s mice into tea-cozies, leaving Jo’s with just a slight hint of fur so as not to raise too much suspicion. And it was just in time before the Professor made his way in front of Jo.

“Is there something amusing about this assignment, Miss Constantinescu?”

Jo jumped as she was startled back into reality, sending her book and wand to the floor with a crash. Heads snapped around at the noise to find the Slytherin girl scrambling to retrieve her things, her face bright red.

"No - no sir," Jo said quickly. Inwardly, she cursed at herself. She’d been lost in another place, remembering the way a certain Slytherin boy looked half-naked. As she scooped up her book she couldn’t help but feel that everyone in the room somehow knew what she'd been thinking, as if they could hear her thoughts. Her head snapped up, her eyes skittering towards Thane, who was still standing in front of the room, his door-mouse-tea-cozy lying on the desk in front of him, his blue eyes sparkling with amusement.

She quickly assured herself that neither he nor anyone else knew what she'd been thinking. She was simply taking her own disgust with herself and transferring it to everyone else.

“Well, I suggest you work on this spell a bit harder,” Gravestun drawled, “I expect most prefer a cozy without any fur.”

"Yes, Sir," Jo said, grabbing her wand and straightening up in her seat once more. She looked at the tea cozy in question, trying to hide her puzzlement. She didn’t recall having turned the mouse into anything.

Tossing the furry fabric aside, Gravestun made his way to Pansy Parkinson who was sitting at the desk behind them, and at once critiqued her abilities at transfiguration.

“What were you doing?” asked Tia, her voice low enough so the Professor didn’t hear.

"Um, just thinking," Jo muttered, flicking her wand and returning the mouse to his normal shape, her cheeks still pink. She swore she could feel Thane's eyes boring into her, but she was too embarrassed to look up and check for sure.

But sure enough, Thane was looking at her. His attention had been drawn to her, thanks to all of the commotion, and he really couldn’t help but smirk. He wasn’t sure what had gotten her so flustered, but he knew it certainly wasn’t his transfiguration skills.

“What were you thinking about?” asked Tia, looking behind her to make sure Gravestun didn’t hear. “You were so lost in thought I didn’t think you were coming back.” The look on the redhead’s face said all Jo needed to know.

She felt her cheeks turn an even deeper shade of crimson and dropped her eyes to the confused mouse sitting on her desk. "Um... just... stuff..." She swallowed hard, the last shreds of those memories disappearing into the mist of turbulence that were her everyday thoughts. She wasn’t entirely sure what had made her mind drift to that, or why she'd chosen to linger on it.

“Oh, you’re further gone than I expected,” Tia smirked.

Jo started to reply, but caught herself as Gravestun made a detour past their table again, eyeing the two girls suspiciously. Once he'd passed Jo hissed, "I’m not gone anywhere. I was just thinking about some things - you know, school related things."

“Oh, yeah! With the smile you had on your face? Not likely,” the redhead smirked.

"Smile?" Jo asked weakly, swallowing and staring at the mouse as though she hoped to find the answers to all life's questions in his beady black eyes. Damn, smiling? Hopefully no one else had noticed her smiling!

“Yes,” Tia laughed, trying to keep her voice down. “And I think he noticed you!”

Jo's head snapped up guiltily and her eyes went straight to the smirking boy at the front of the room and then back to the desk, realizing she'd just given herself away completely. "Oh, him. Well, I admit, I did ponder on ways to dispose of his body once I'd killed him," she muttered.

“Well, pay attention, and maybe he won’t notice,” the redhead said impatiently. “Just change the thing back into a tea-cozy!”

Jo waved her wand and the mouse turned once again into a passable tea cozy. "I'd pay attention if Gravestun weren’t so mind-numbing." She almost missed the crabby old cow McGonagall. Her lessons had been dull, and the old biddy showed Gryffindor preferential treatment, but at least she didn’t make a person’s blood run cold just by looking at them!


Class soon ended, and the girls stood, Jo attempting to bolt for the door while Tia staunchly stood her ground waiting for Draco, her hand wrapped firmly around Jo’s arm to prevent her disappearing.

As the blonde prefect and his usual side-kicks reached the three girls and exchanged pleasantries, Pansy stood in the doorway of the classroom, eyes narrowed. She watched as Draco’s hand reached out and wrapped around Tia’s casually, their eyes meeting briefly before they started for the door.

Pansy wasn’t sure how much more of this she could take! Her stomach was writhing into knots as they approached, Draco’s grey eyes unguarded for only a moment as he glanced at Tia.

Pansy wanted to scream - he was supposed to be looking at HER that way! He was supposed to be holding HER hand.

“Did you forget your leash, Poochy?” Thane Purefoy asked loudly, smirking, the group having made it to the door and now waiting for her to move out of the way.

“Bog off, Purefoy,” Pansy snarled, turning on her heel and flouncing away to mingle with the crowd in the corridor, tears of anger stinging behind her eyes. When that package arrived things were going to be different!

It was three days until Hogsmeade when the package Pansy had been waiting for finally came, a glass bottle filled with a thin red liquid and clearly labeled “Cough Potion”. The half crazed girl held it in her hand and laughed loudly, drawing stares from the nearby Slytherins also eating their breakfast.

“What?” Susan finally ventured, her voice unsure.

“Nothing,” Pansy said quickly, glancing at Lana. She didn’t trust anyone else with this information. Not that she thought they’d betray her, but they simply weren’t smart enough to rely on.

“I’ve just never seen cough potion make anyone so jubilant,” Susan said, shrugging her shoulders. Rumors were already circulating around the school as to Pansy’s descent towards madness. The stories said that Draco finally getting a girlfriend was too much for the lovelorn girl to handle.

Pansy simply scowled in reply to Susan’s remark, and then smiled once more as she tucked the bottle into her robe pocket next to her wand. Yes, Hogsmeade was going to be an interesting day indeed!

But, by the last class of the day, her hopes and dreams were shattered. She was walking down the crowded corridor, her eyes straight ahead to where Draco was walking with Harry Potter shadowing him.

She muttered to herself, glaring at the bespectacled boy. That filthy git was always skulking around somewhere, watching Draco suspiciously and causing trouble. He thought he was so special because his mother had been killed trying to save his pathetic life, but he was nothing compared to Draco Malfoy!

Pansy tried to pull her wand from her robe pocket, her attention still focused on the scarred boy. The tip of her wand caught in her pocket lining, and when she gave it a second jerk a ripping sound echoed in her ears as the pocket tore.

Gasping, she jerked, trying to catch the contents of her pocket that came spilling out onto the floor, the precious bottle bouncing against her palms and skittering down the corridor under Draco’s feet and coming to rest directly in Harry Potter’s path.

Pansy opened her mouth to scream when a loud crunching sound issued forth, and a strong, cologne smell filled the corridor. Harry stopped in his tracks, lifting his foot and staring at the ruined bottle and the puddle of thin red potion spreading across the stone floor.

Draco also stopped and whirled around, finding himself staring at Harry Potter, the boy still standing with one foot raised up in the air. “Perfume Potter? Trying to give the Gyffindorks some class?”

“Shut your mouth, Malfoy,” Harry snarled, dropping his foot and jerking his wand out of his robes.

“Oh, now I’m terrified!” Draco laughed at the boy, drawing his own wand and pointing it at Harry.

A crowd was beginning to form in the hallways and Pansy slunk behind a group of Hufflepuff girls, still watching, her eyes focused on Potter who was still standing in the puddle that now represented her broken dreams. She fought back tears as the strong scent of cologne filled her nostrils, visions of the most fabulous night in her life flashing through her mind, music swirling as she looked up into Draco’s grey eyes. She shook her head violently, her dark hair fanning out from her face, bringing herself back to the present. A Hufflepuff girl turned around to see what the matter was, but quickly moved away when Pansy bared her teeth at her menacingly.

Potter was moving closer to Draco, and Pansy gripped her wand even tighter. She spotted Purefoy circling behind the crowd opposite her. Just like the git to try to steal her opportunity to show Draco she was the only one who cared about him, the only girl that could truly love him and take care of him. Well, she wasn’t going to let him. No way, she wasn’t waiting any longer.

Shoving the girls out the way, Pansy barged through the crowd toward Potter, intent on hexing the four-eyed boy into oblivion. But, she stopped dead in her tracks, stifled by the bane of her existence; that redheaded scrubber - Volusia. The girl was obviously mad; she just glided right into the middle of the fray and took up Draco’s hand as if nothing were happening at all.

Pansy didn’t hear what Tia said, she was too busy fighting off waves of nausea as she watched Draco’s arm circle her waist and pull her tight to his body. Potter spoke up and insulted his manhood, to which the white-haired boy only laughed. That Blood-Traitor girlfriend of his came up and pulled Potter away, Pansy finding momentary delight as she watched him pull his arm free from the Weasley girl as they walked away. But, the feeling was fleeting when her gaze landed on Draco and his whore. The nausea returned ten-fold when she watched the pair together, Draco smiling and touching the girl in places that she was sure would earn him detention if a Professor were to hear of it.

Her daydream was interrupted when she caught sight of Thane Purefoy again, the tall boy leaning against the opposite wall, his foot kicked up on the stone behind him and his arms folded across his chest. His dark-blue eyes were narrowed threateningly as he glared at Pansy. She was suddenly aware that the crowd had long ago dissipated and she was standing alone, openly humiliating herself in front of the imported trash that now hung from Draco’s left arm. The pair was looking at her in disbelief, Tia’s green eyes seeming to question Pansy’s very existence. The sudden urge to cry consumed her. She turned and ran away from the other Slytherins, unaware of where she was headed.

Before long, she found herself in the arms of a boy she had literally run into and almost knocked over. She looked up into the handsome face of Michael Coultier, a Seventh Year Ravenclaw, and the rusty wheels of her mind began to turn. She had overheard the boy making comments about Draco’s new girlfriend and she knew he fancied the redhead. Or at least he wouldn’t mind “getting to know that a little better”, if she recalled what he had said correctly. He also had no love for Malfoy, the two getting in a row their Fifth year. Coultier came from a wealthy family and wasn’t intimidated by the Slytherin boy in the least. She wasn’t sure of the details yet, but a plot was forming in her demented little brain.

“What’s the hurry?” asked Michael as he helped Pansy stand once again. “Running away from a ghost?”

“You could say that,” she said, quickly wiping away a tear and plastering a grin on her face.

“Is everything okay? Do you need any help?”

“It’s funny you should ask,” Pansy said with an evil gleam in her eyes. “Maybe you can help me…”