Close Enough

Ch 9 Meeting Cordalina

When Draco woke the next morning he noticed that Harry’s bed was made and his backpack was gone. He sighed knowing that he had missed seeing his intended for a few hours at least. So he roused himself from the blankets, stretching the sleep out of his muscles, and went to shower. As he finished his morning routine he met up with Blaise in the common room where he stood near the chair by the fire.
“Morning Iz. What are you doing?” Draco asked as he approached his friend.
Blaise turned to him slightly with a notebook in his hands looking a little confused, “I… I… do you know who’s this is? I mean I know it’s not mine, and from the look on your face it’s not yours… but…” his voice faded at this point and Draco felt even more confused.
“Iz, what are you on about? It is too early for you to be all cryptic on me.” With that Blaise handed Draco the notebook. He immediately recognized it as Harry’s. “it’s Harry’s.” at the look on his friends face he asked, “why?” at this he was handed a picture of a group of 6 happily waving people.
“Why does Potter have a picture of my sister?” Blaise asked pointing to one of the two girls in the picture. Draco took the opportunity to look at all of the people in the picture. There were two twin boys, a tall sandy haired boy, a girl with long curly black hair, another (which Blaise was pointing at) with short spikey purple hair with random black streaks in the front, and one more figure. Standing slightly in front of the rest with the hands of the both of the girls on his shoulders was a short, thin, boy with longish black hair. When the others in the picture all smiled at him the boy blushed and pushed his hair out of his face revealing a scar on his forehead.
After a moment Draco realized that these were the people that were here at school with Harry, except the one that his friend was pointing at. “well to answer your question as to why he has it…” draco then pointed to the Harry in the picture. “and don’t you recognize the rest of them? They are his friends.” Draco then handed the picture back to Blaise. “why were you going through his things Blaise?”
After a moment of just staring at the picture, “huh?? Oh.. No I wasn’t. It was on the floor I just picked it up and this” holding up the picture “fell out. Then I saw my sister and that’s when you came out here.” Draco nodded slightly taking the picture back from Blaise and put it in the notebook before setting it down on the chair.
“Let us go to breakfast, okay? I’m meeting with the one girl today, Sev is going to work out a meeting for me.” At the confused look on Blaise’s face Draco rolled his eyes, “don’t ask, it’s a long story.” And they continued their way up to the great hall for breakfast.

Harry’s day was going along smoothly so far. He met up with the twins, Lucas and Loki before first class. They were both interested in seeing how a ghost taught a class so they went with him to history of magic. They stayed with him in classes all morning until lunch. At lunch they met up with the others for a little picnic by the lake so they could talk about band related stuff without a ton of people around. After lunch it was care of magical creatures, Dex came with him then. He knew after his long talks with Harry that the class was difficult now, with Hagrid gone, so he volunteered to go with him. When they arrived outside the hut on the grounds Dex had his arm wrapped around Harry’s shoulders as Harry was talking, gesturing with his hands while he talked. Pointing out places things had happened to him while he was there at school.

Draco was already at the hut talking with Pansy when he caught a familiar scent on the breeze that was going by. He looked up and around slowly until his eyes landed on the pair walking down the hill towards him. He scowled at the way the boy had his arm casually around his intendeds shoulder, ‘Doesn’t that boy listen? I basically told him hands off and what is he doing?’ he was staring hard at the pair when Pansy’s voice shook him out of it.
“Draco! What is wrong with you? Are you listening to me?” with that Draco motioned with a nod of his head, causing Pansy to turn and look at what had his attention. Harry and Dex were close now. As they reached the rest of the class the arm slid off of Harry’s shoulders but not before an obvious shoulder squeeze. Pansy looked back at Draco, “Drac, sweetie, they’re just friends.” To this Draco nodded and pursed his lips and tried to pay attention to the lesson and not his intended.
Dex stayed by Harry’s side all through the lesson on dwarf frogs, due to the fact that the school only had two it was mostly a lecture anyway. So everytime that Draco let his eyes wander over to where the pair stood they were so close their arms were touching, and at one point Harry seemed to be almost taking a nap on the boys shoulder. Draco pushed away the urge to run over and punch the boy in the face, well he did until the end of the class. Everyone began to grab all of their things and head off to the castle, the last to leave were Dex and Harry followed shortly after by Pansy and Draco.
Draco gritted his teeth as Dex offered to carry Harry’s bag for him as it was the end of the day and was probably seeming heavy, but began clenching his fists tightly when Harry accepted the offer and handed his bag over to the other boy with a blush rising on his cheeks. It wasn’t until dex reached for Harry’s hand that Draco couldn’t take it anymore; with a last look at Pansy he picked up speed so that he could catch up to the other boys. Before the two boys’ hands could make contact Draco pushed in between them hissing in dex’s ear only for him to hear.
“Hands off what’s not yours Dex. Or you’ll regret it.” And with that he stalked back up to the castle fuming. He was so frustrated. How could all these other people keep touching Harry and he couldn’t get close enough to do so himself! How did they do it! How did these people gain his trust… and probably his love. After what Harry went through you’d think he’d never trust anyone, but here were these people that he did. Draco reached their rooms and threw his bag down by the door and walked over to his bed to lay down before dinner.
Just as Draco was going to launch himself onto the bed he saw an envelope on his pillow with his name on it in handwriting he had never seen before. He looked at it confused for a moment and then sat on the bed and opened it.

Mr. Malfoy,

Severus has asked me to meet with you to discuss some things regarding a very delicate situation. I know there are many questions and many things that you will probably never understand, however I am willing to meet with you. After dinner come to the lake near the willow grove. I will be there waiting.

Cord

Draco rested his hands on his lap still holding the note. There were many questions, but did she think he would never understand. With a sigh Draco pushed this thought away and set the note on the table by his bed before standing and gathering things for a shower. He was going to be meeting someone who was apparently important to his intended so it was best to make a good impression.

When Draco arrived at dinner he noticed a few things right away. Dex gave him a very weird look, glanced at Cord who nodded once, and then looked back at Draco with his eyebrows in his hairline. The next thing he noticed was that the twins were having a very animated discussion with Harry, who looked fairly serious with his brow slightly furrowed and kept glancing between them while he spoke. The third and final thing that he noticed was that when Cord caught his eye as he sat down, she narrowed her eyes at him slightly before smiling and raising her glass to him before she took a drink. Draco returned the gesture and then looked at the two people he was sitting with for the first time. They were chatting merrily and quickly drew Draco into the conversation. When Draco looked up again he saw the table where Harry and his friends sat was now empty, he sighed and went back to chatting with his friends.

Draco said goodbye to Pansy and Blaise in the Entrance Hall before they headed off to the library and Draco went out the doors onto the grounds for his meeting. He walked around the lake toward the willow grove as the note told him to, and when he arrived there was a lone figure standing in the middle of it watching him approach. Draco made his way into the grove and stopped at a comfortable distance from the girl. He smiled tentatively, “Hi.”
Cord looked at him for a moment and then smiled softly, “Hi there yourself Mr. Malfoy.” She said and then proceeded to, for lack of a better word, check him out. Her eyes seemed to scan him from head to toe and then back to his face focusing in on his eyes with her own.
“Please call me Draco… Mr. Malfoy makes me feel old.” Draco said with a small smirk at the joke.
“As you wish.” She walked a little closer to him and held out her hand, “Cordalina Lillian Snape, please call me Cord. I think my parents were on acid when I was born just thinking about my name gives me a migrane.” Draco shook her hand once and then stopped and dropped it quickly.
“Did you say Snape?” Draco looked shocked, on the verge of fainting.
Cord smiled at the question and shook her hair a little. “Yes, I did. I assume that he didn’t tell you.” At Draco’s still confused look she continued. “well this must be the first of many shocks for you tonight, Draco, Severus is my father.” Draco stood there just a few feet away from her; eye’s wide, mouth slack. Cord reached out and closed his mouth for him with two long fingers, chuckling softly. “Yea I know, weird huh? Doesn’t really seem the type does he?” Cord began walking around the clearing playing with branches while she walked. “Well he wasn’t really, but that was because of the war. He sent mother and me away to keep us safe while he did his work.” Draco watched her closely as she stopped at one tree in particular looking at it. “But I guess it was for the best, can’t say I didn’t miss him though.” With this she turned back to Draco a small smile playing at her lips, both of her hands firmly on her hips. “But that’s my life and we aren’t here to discuss that are we… you wanted to get some information about the dear one, Harry.”
At this Draco nodded and Cord continued walking closer to Draco again, “Well, let us go sit by the lake so we can chat then, shall we??” Cord rested her hand gently on Draco’s arm and guided him back out of the grove. They walked in silence until they were both sitting on one of the benches by the lake. Cord leaned back against the back of the bench folding her hands in her lap gazing over the lake, “So, Mr. Draco, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about exactly?”
Draco took a moment to think about this question. “Well, as you put it earlier, Harry. Severus said it would be good for me to talk to you about it instead of him due to you being close to Harry and all.” At this he glanced over at her, “There are a lot of things that I want to know…” Now he shifted tucking one leg under him so that he could face Cord dead on, she did the same so that they were facing each other as they spoke and gave him a nod telling him to go on. After a few minutes thought, “When did you meet Harry?”
“A little over a year ago.”
“And you met how?”
Cord smiled softly, “At a club in London, open mic night. The guys and I were there scouting talent to finish the band, and we saw Harry.” Her eyes became a little glazed as she spoke. “He wasn’t a confident little guy we all know now, but I’m sure you know that. It wasn’t long after the last battle and all. He was off at the side of the club for a long time talking with the manger, probably trying to get on the list, he didn’t even seem nervous. Harry got up on stage and the crowd just…” she searched for the right word for a second looking off into space. “They just instantly got sucked in to him. It was amazing. And then… and then he started to play.” She looked into Draco’s eyes. “It was like listening to an angel Draco, I have never heard anything else like it. He played three songs, just he and his guitar up on the stage. When he stood and left the stage the crowd was like an explosion. They nearly mauled him as he left the stage.” She giggled softly at that, “that’s how I, well we, met him. The band and I got together and got him out of there before the poor guy got attacked or something. After that it’s all history. We talked for hours that night over coffee. It wasn’t for hours until we realized who he was.” She smiled at Draco at this point, “what else do you want to know??”
“Have you ever been involved with him?”
“No.” Cord laughed.
“Have any of the others?”
“No.” at this Cord raised an eyebrow.
“Then how come you all touch him all the time?” Draco narrowed his eyes a little, “I mean, I’ve seen you and Harry together, you two touch all the time and it seems rather intimate for people who are just friends and have never been together like that.”
“Ah… I wondered how long it would take to get here… the real reason we are here.” Cord sighed softly and looked at Draco seriously. “Well it’s quite simple actually. Harry is a Creature and he needs to be touched.” At Draco’s confused expression she continued. “Due to the mix of Veela and Succubus that Harry is… his body needs the touch.”
“Why?”
“I can’t really explain why. But I can tell you that it has something to do with his mental status, the longer he goes without touch the more… shall we say… unstable he becomes.” She sighed there. “I understand this, it’s the Succubus part in him. He needs to be loved Draco. The touch works because at this point I love him, I do. Not romantically, but I do love him. That combined with the fact that I myself am part Succubus my touch helps him more then anyone else’s.” looking deep into Draco’s eyes. “Well until you get your act together anyway. Then he won’t need me because he’ll desire yours once you make your intentions known.”
Draco sputtered a little, “I…. huh… what?? How do you know?”
Cord smiled softly, “that’s part of being a Vampire Draco. It’s also part of why I flashed my fangs at you, I wanted you to know I understood.” Draco seemed to pale even more then his natural pallor. “No he doesn’t know, that is only for you to do. And I know because I could smell it on you, just like I could smell what Harry was the moment I saw him on his birthday. I could smell the same thing on you as I could smell on Harry, it’s something about bonded Creatures, helps them find each other.”
“So you know that Harry is my intended? And yet you and your friends hang all over him… because he ‘needs it’?” Draco looked skeptical.
“Draco, trust me, none of us have any intentions towards Harry, even before this summer. Yes he is very attractive, and probably the greatest catch anyone would be lucky enough to snag, but he personally isn’t my type. I am bonded, Draco. Completely, for life. And the twins are straight as they come. Dex is gay, but not stupid. He has been told that Harry has an intended, I told him myself on Harry’s birthday.” Cord moved to look over the lake again. “On Harry’s birthday we showed up to take him out. I could sense it on him as soon as he opened the door, it’s why I had to charm his choker so that it would suppress his draw.” Sigh. “he doesn’t even know Draco. He doesn’t know how great he is, how attractive he is, gods, without the potion and that choker Draco… gods only knows what would have happened if we hadn’t shown up that day…” she stopped rambling at this point staring out across the lake for a full minute before she looked back at Draco, “I think we should be heading back, I will be missed.”
“But there is more about this I want to know.” Draco protested.
“We can do this again, Draco.” And she gave a half smile. “besides, it will help you get close to Harry if we hang out. And the better I get to know you the easier it will be for me to drop your name to Harry.” She stood and they began walking back to the castle. As they reached the bottom of the stairs she grabed his arm pulling him to a hault, “I have an assignment for you, a getting you Harry assignment. Find little ways to touch him. Reach for something when he does, lean around him and put a hand on him, you know things like that. The more you touch him the more he’ll notice the bond. The more contact between the two of you the better. Trust me. It took a lot of touches for Cloe to notice the bond, so just trust me, start now.” Draco nodded and they made their way up the stairs together.