He Said, She Said - Pt.1
“They didn’t have to make it that dramatic.” Seira stated, walking on, out of the castle. Beside her, the pale blond growled in agreement. Though he was reluctant, Draco was stuck listening to her for the remainder of their detention. The duo strolled in silence as they recalled the events of earlier before reaching their destination.
After dinner, everyone including their own house mates were treating them like they were going to die and they didn’t care. Why? They didn’t know.
“It’s your fault we’re in here anyway.” Draco snapped.
“If it was during potions…that was not me. Though I wish it was me, Harry beat me to that.” And she was the one who got in trouble for it. Draco just had to give Potter props for that. The Slytherin muttered just that.
Behind him, his rival picked up the lantern left out for them. Suddenly, the lights from the path to the castle suddenly went out. Draco blinked at the sudden blackout and spun his heel to see Seira holding the only source of light, the only one left to guide them. Draco then felt a chill in the air as she walked ahead. At the corner of his eye, he glanced at Seira, who had no reaction whatsoever.
Couldn’t she feel an ominous feeling around them?!
Draco guessed not. A little smirk formed on his face as his pace slowed down. The girl didn’t seem to notice it.
The brightness was beginning to fade from the front; he knew he had to act quickly. The pale blonde whipped out his wand without a sound and pressed it against her back. She stopped and winced. Her grip tightened on the lantern as she cursed.
“Mr. Malfoy, I don’t think that’s a good id-” the new voice was cut off by a force that erupted out of his wand. Draco dropped it. He hadn’t cast the spell yet. The long-haired Potions Mistress, Mizuki came out of nowhere. With her own wand out and lit up, the older woman grabbed Draco’s wand from the ground.
Since she was startled, Seira was leaning on Draco for support for a few seconds. After she recovered, she tilted her head to the side and realized who she was hanging onto for support and side-stepped, away from him.
“Damn right, stay away from me.” He muttered.
Mizuki paid no attention to what just occurred.
“Okay, here are the three rules for tonight‘s detention: One: No cursing, jinxing or spell-throwing at each other. Two: No scheming. And Three: No PDAs!”
PDA. Public Display of Affection. Who would even suggest that? Draco and Seira then glared at Mizuki. Even their double death glare was not affecting the kind-heated woman who enforced the rules on them. Draco growled at the thought while Seira folded her arms.
“Who would be in their right mind to be looking at her?” Draco shouted, pointing at the azure-haired girl, who yelled: “Who would fall for this conceited bak--idiot?”
Silence followed this, which was broken by Professor Mizuki’s coughs. An attempt to hide her laughter. A really crappy attempt to hide it. It seemed their teacher found it assuming when it was not even funny.
“You did not just suggest that!” Seira shrieked, tossing her wand at one of the teachers. If anything happened, she could do magic non-verbally. That was the only good thing about it. The bad thing was that she had a feeling Mizuki knew.
“I just-” Mizuki was interrupted.
“Did.” Draco scowled.
XXX
“Why do I have to hold it?” complained the young Malfoy. His right arm was getting tired while his left arm was asleep. Draco’s legs were aching from all the walking. It was dark and he was stuck with a girl - his female rival, to be more specific. And he hated it.
He also loathed the fact that Seira said nothing to answer his question. All she did was turn to glare at him with her azure eyes, which looked darker at that hour than usual. She turned back and continued to find their way out of the forest.
Tree branches blocked her sight at her height’s view. He snickered. She was less than head shorter than him (Asian stereotype he started to laugh at recently, but never used it against her yet). Draco then glanced at his feet. Perhaps, they would be more entertaining than his now quiet detention partner.
The ground below was crawling with bugs and other things hidden among the dead twigs and rocks. Each step, Draco swore he stepped on something icky and made a disgusted face.
He looked up at the girl. “Hey Hi-kari…”
No reply again. Not even a glare. It seemed she was too busy, searching for something. She was more focused on getting out than he was. Most likely, he assumed. He snickered again. He thought it was time to disrupt her chain of thought.
“Hi-kari!”
Second time, no answer. He was starting to get pissed off.
“Your effing Highness!”
“Even if your blasted mother tells you to, don’t call me that.” She replied at last. This time, her tone was icy and dripping with hatred. A cold stare would have been appropriate, but its effect wouldn’t have been the same unless she had the lantern and held it in front of her face, creating a small illusion of not having a body for a short time. Fortunately, Draco did have the lantern, rendering the option useless.
“Don’t insult my mother.” Draco hissed. Oh, how he hated this girl. If he had his wand, he would love to stun her right then and there.
“Your mom-” Seira stopped herself as she heard something. She fell silent and her attention shifted away from him. Turning her head away, her blue hair followed her. Draco raised an eyebrow when he saw her grow tense. He caught on quickly. The duo stiffened, standing back-to-back.
Draco slowly lowered his arm as they heard twigs nearby snap. The hairs on the back of their necks stood - a sign they were extremely nervous. Suddenly, the blond immediately let go of their only source of light and it crashed into the ground with a loud shatter of glass. He heard Seira gulp. There was a fast movement. And before they knew it, they was hanging onto their worst enemy for her dear life.
‘What in Salazar Slytherin’s name is she trying to do?’ Draco wanted to mutter as they both noticed. Immediately, they inched, a little bit away from each other. He swore he saw a brief blush cross her cheeks and cursed.
…Awkward, wasn’t it?
Calm followed. Their guards dropped for a moment. The duo took a breather and relaxed. However, this stillness was short-lived for they heard it. A cry of a dog, but it was not just any dog. It was a werewolf. It sounded so close by. It could have been right behind them. Cue the rest of the dramatic music.
“Rrrrrrrrruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuffffffffffffff, Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggggg!”
The two students gulped before looking at each other, slowly turning around. One of them spotted a tall silhouette that was bending down as it headed toward them, then taking a deep breath and opened their mouth. The other, who was Seira, reacted quickly and followed.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
The next thing they knew, Draco had his arms around the girl he hated as she buried her face in his chest, screaming her head off. Glancing at each other, their eyes widened. The same shade of their eyes reflecting how scared they were. Voices now caught in their throats for now.
Seira was the first. Her cheeks grew warm. What the hell? Him? Why him of all people? It was a joke. It just had to be. She cursed as Draco shoved her to the ground with no problem. Or so she thought.
It was a mere accident, caused by fear.
He looked away. A small blush lightened his usually nearly-white cheeks. Fate had to be kidding. Curses erupted from his thoughts into words as they let out screams again for a reason different than the last time.
They ran for it, shrieking their heads off. It did not occur to them they looked like total idiots, but the duo had to get out of the Forest. Both Draco and Seira could no longer stand another minute in there with just each other.
Eventually, they found their way out.
XXX
Draco was terrified the next day when he had Double Potions. Though he didn’t show it, he was definitely afraid for Professor Mizuki. He ran his fingers through his sleek blond hair as he took his seat next to Pansy Parkinson, opening his textbook in hopes of avoiding the gaze of Mizuki.
It was the same with Seira. However, she was a bit more social. Neither mentioned anything that happened during the session. Their answers were all the same: “Mizuki made us walk around the Forest.”
XXX
A couple weeks after the eventful detention, things returned to normal. Draco got around to messing with Harry and his friends meanwhile his female rival looked paler than ever. They assumed that she was sick, but she reassured everyone that she was not. Of course, her twin brother was hard to convince.
It only led to more worry for rumors came out that the Dementors left Azkaban. The Headmaster never confirmed it, but increased activity in the Dueling Club. That was proof enough. Things were beginning to get serious. Indeed, these two ended up in the club once again.
She had joined the club because she had the time. He joined because he had to stay in shape. In the end, when they saw each other there, their wish was one in the same. They wished to wipe the smirks from the other’s face.
However, one thing prevented them from fully injuring each other. That thing was Kaho Mizuki, who was subbing for McGonagall that day. Coincidence? They assumed not. Draco growled, remembering the detention so vividly. He pulled out his wand and found his partner, who Snape put together on the first day.
Indeed, Pansy’s information was true. Seira looked a lot paler and more distracted as she took out her wand. Perhaps, this was his day where he would break the tie. He thrust his wand forward. She merely eyed as he started, “Serpensortia!”
Something shot out from the end of his wand. A black snake slithered out and toward the Hikari girl. She stared down at it, blinking and unmoving. Moving toward her, it smelled the air and sensed something --- like her fear of something else. It lunged at her.
Draco smirked.
The snake wrapped around her arm and readied its fangs for a bite. She assumed it was poisonous and continued to stare at her opponent before the pain. Its teeth dug into her flesh and she winced. Something weird happened. Her eyes fell upon Draco. Its usual blue shade was glowing with some kind of luster.
Snapping out of her moment of weakness, she grabbed hold of the snake by its tail and hurled it back at the pale blond-haired person. She jabbed her wand forward. Her eyes reverted back to normal.
“Glacius!” The freezing charm.
There was a loud hiss from the serpent as her charm took an effect. From its tail up, it hardened with its color the same as her cold eyes. Seeing this, Draco would not admit defeat. He would not admit to her. The pale blonde-haired boy raised his wand against her once again, yelling out, “Furnunculus!”
Seira lifted her head, trying to think on what jinx that was. Boils. She cursed in her mind as she attempted to cast a shield spell, but this was the incantation that slipped through her mouth, “Legilimens!”
XXX
That was one not even close to the one she had in mind. What had happened next was entirely accidental. Seira fell into a sea of blackness --- a void where she could only hear one voice --- belonging to Draco.
He was scared. Draco never appeared afraid. It was not his way. No, that was his mask which shielded it.
“Of what? What are you scared of?”
He would not admit defeat. He would not lose to her.
“To me. He can’t admit defeat to me. Why?”
He kept telling himself that he had to beat her. Or else, something would happen.
“What would happen?”
Where was she? Could she be-?
“Malfoy’s….memory.” It dawned to her. The last spell she has spoken was Legilimens. Its meaning was mind and to read. She was reading his mind or rather, his thoughts. No, it wasn’t his thoughts. She was hearing his emotions loud and clear, but still, they remained vague. What was going on in his life?
“Malfoy.” She breathed as she blinked, returning to the Dueling platform. She was kneeling like Draco was on the other side. Seira gulped. Had he felt her there?
Before she knew it, he began to sprint with his wand out.
“Malfoy, I advise you not to do-” Mizuki’s voice was the last thing the Hikari girl heard before Draco’s last spell.
“Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy! ” There were several red beams of light that struck her on the chest, where it really hurt a girl. She felt the full force and was thrown back. The platform did not meet her, but the stone walls of the hall did. He watched as she slid down, tilting her head to the side. Her blue eyes closed as blood dripped from her lip.
Her world had gone black.
XXX
The Slytherins were rejoicing in the halls, hailing Draco their hero as Satoshi carried his twin sister from the Dueling Club to the Hospital Wing. A glare much colder than Seira’s was shot Draco’s way. Chills ran down his spine and silenced the laughing Slytherins as the blue-haired young man shoved his way through them.
Draco watched Satoshi out of the corner of his eye. The blond refused to acknowledge his saw this, until Satoshi brought out his wand at the last possible moment. “Stupefy!”
It was the taste of his own medicine. Draco felt a sharp intake of breath before clutching his groin, where the jet of red light hit. He looked up to see Satoshi dashing away with his sister toward the Hospital Wing.
“Draco, are you alright?” Pansy asked.
Honestly, did he look like he was alright?! Draco had been hit in the groin with a Stunning spell. Of course, he was not okay. It hurt like bloody hell. “Damn Asians and their intelligence. I say Granger should have been born one.” He mumbled.
XXX
Hours later, Seira moaned in pain. Her breasts still ached from all three stunning spells Malfoy has sent her way. Her eyes snapped open when she heard a muttering voice. It was Madam Pomfrey, the nurse of the Hospital Wing. Rolling her eyes, she knew she would be having a new neighbor.
“Crud.” The blue-haired girl hissed when she saw who it was.
The nurse looked between her and the newcomer, who was forced to take the bed to Seira’s right. “Now, you two better not cause trouble in my Wing. The last thing you need is more fatigue.”
With that said, Madam Pomfrey left their sides.
“Damn you, Hikari.” He cursed aloud.
“Been said to me too many times by my own brother.” Seira merely retorted, shutting her eyes again. It would be one restless night. She heard Draco scoff.
“Damn your brother too.”
“What for?” Seira snapped. Her voice demanded to know why.
“He took revenge for what happened to you.”
Seira forced herself to laugh, turning over to her left side. Her back was to Draco, but she knew he would not dare try to jinx her - not where they were anyway. The pair already had a troublesome reputation all over Hogwarts and it was only Halloween. “Serves you right.”
XXX
Before they knew it, they recovered. Neither spoke insults to one another for the few days after that. Within the Hogwarts walls, there was peace. Or so, Draco thought while he patrolled the upper floors of the castle. If he got through the seventh floor, he could go to bed. He cursed his Prefect duties especially after all that rest he had gotten when he was in the Hospital Wing.
“Ku-so.” A voice whispered, breaking the silence. Whoever it was, they were speaking in a different language. Draco narrowed his gaze. He had a feeling it was someone he knew. Obviously, it was not Potter. That boy could not speak a foreign language that well. Besides, it was a female. That eliminated a lot of people. He grinned. Now, he could get her in trouble.
“Bloody hell, no.” The same feminine voice cursed. Her voice echoed throughout the silence. She was just so damn easy to find. Draco slowly walked through the halls with the tip of his wand lit up.
“I can hear you.” He taunted.
“Ku-so! (means shit, by the way)” She cursed again. The blond boy assumed it was a Japanese thing. His eyes lit up when he heard her footsteps grow louder and faster. She was running. He followed suit, careful to not drop his wand. Draco could hear her now. She was scared, but why? His rival never appeared scared until now.
“I need a place to hide.” He heard her whisper. Then, she disappeared with a few more footsteps.
Draco halted when he swore he heard her voice last at that spot. However, it was a dead end. There were walls on three sides of him. The only opening was behind him - they way he had come. He scratched his right temple and scowled. His light grey eyes held the look of irritation. “I need to find where she ran off to.”
He folded his arms. His ears then picked up something changing. He looked up and saw the wall alter itself. There was now a silver door to his right side. He leaned and pressed his ear against the door. From behind it, he heard screams. Her screams.
What the hell was going on in there? Then again, why would he really care?
The sound of her shrieks cut off his thoughts. Whatever was going on with her, it sure sounded like it hurt. Damn his responsibilities as a Prefect. Draco’s hand grasped the door handle and turned it. Straight away, the silver door opened for him. His eyes blinked as he stepped in. He saw her, kneeling in the middle of the empty room.
Just then, the door behind him shut and locked the boy in with the girl in pain. Draco cursed. Now, he’d be in for it. “Hi-kari…”
“Malfoy…if it’s you, get away from me!” She shouted. Her hands clutched her upper arms, drawing them closer to herself. Seira kept to herself; such was her way. At that moment, it was wrong. She shouldn’t be doing that.
A sympathetic thought crossed Draco’s mind. He should help her. At first, he ignored it. After all, she was his rival and a Gryffindor member. The score would be in his favor if he just left her alone. The second time the thought crossed his mind; he cursed his mother’s somewhat sympathetic nature toward purebloods. He gritted his teeth and walked over to her. “Hey Hi-kari.”
“Malfoy, leave me alone!” Once she yelled at him for the second time, she winced in pain. The pale boy watched as something burned on her back. It was a symbol of a cross bound with a magic circle. It was not one Draco had ever seen before and it was hurting her.
“What is that?” He asked, ignoring the fact she had told him to go away. Curiosity was presently getting the best of him. He watched as her grip on the sleeves of her robes tightened. Her head moved as she decided to look at him, but Draco did not see the familiar icy blue eyes of Seira’s. Instead, he saw that her right was sapphire while the other was-
“Gold?” That was bizarre. How could her eyes change like that? For most of the year, it was blue. But how? Draco was baffled by the question. During his little shocked moment, the girl seized the moment to get away from him. She got up and ran though it seemed to hurt when she did (for she was always wincing in pain).
Snapping out of it, Draco spun his heel in time to see her disappear through the vanishing door. He lifted an eyebrow. So many questions left unanswered, but he would not snoop for them tonight. He was tired and his patrol was done. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his robes, walking out of the Room of Requirement, whistling as he did.
He never told anyone what he had seen. Not Crabbe and Goyle. Not even Pansy. What he had seen, he kept to himself.
XXX
The next day was a free day (one of the very few). He was able to look for her without any problem. From what he told the other Slytherins, Draco was itching for another duel. However, that was not the true intention.
By midday, he had found her twin brother in the library, studying with a girl and that boy, Daisuke Niwa. Avoiding him as much as he could, the blond knew Satoshi’s presence was somewhat important. If that one was there, then possibly the other twin would be around somewhere. Luckily, he heard her name being called by someone else.
“Seira, I found the book you were looking for.”
“Thanks, Hermione.” She replied. From what he could hear, she was a couple of shelves away from him. He pumped his fist at his side. As soon as Granger was gone, it would just be them. Wait, why did that sound wrong to Draco? Oh yeah, they were rivals and would remain exactly that.
He looked around a corner and saw that she was moving with her back to him (and the symbol from their last encounter nowhere to be seen either). Granger was nowhere to be found. He seized the perfect opportunity. After making sure no one was around, he made a mad dash at Seira Hikari, who was totally oblivious of his presence until he managed to pin her against a steady book shelf. Her blue eyes blinked behind eyeglasses as they met light grey orbs.
She was speechless for a second before muttering his name. “Malfoy, you baka. What the hell is wrong with you?”
There went her mixed English and Japanese. Draco growled. He really hated Japlish - not that she used it often. He just didn’t like the sound of it. “What did you call me?”
“Just an idiot.” Seira retorted, eyeing the hand that was so close to her left side of her face. Neither noticed their actually height difference. She cursed her genetics while Draco might have praised it. She blinked as silence crept between them. If the Forbidden Forest incident was awkward, their current position was terribly awkward. Draco Malfoy had just pinned her to a book shelf in the library - a public place. This would look bad.
“You remember last night, don’t you?” He asked her.
Seira growled. It wasn’t like she could forget. She rolled her eyes before nodding. Looking away from him, she attempted to walk to her right side. Apparently, Draco had no intention for her to leave just yet. He placed his other hand against the book shelf, blocking Seira’s only way out.
“Crap.” She mumbled. She was trapped. Now, she had to listen to him. Turning to face him again, Seira glared at him. “Why are you asking about last night, Malfoy?”
“What happened to you?” He whispered, trying to keep his voice down. If they were found, rumors would fly and only Merlin knows what would happen.
The question he asked caught her off-guard. A crack formed in her reserve, her cool mask. Seira’s eyes widened for a moment before she gathered herself up again. “Why would you care? You-”
“Draco? Is that you?” He recognized the voice as Pansy.
“Seira, where are you?” Seira held her breath. It was Hermione.
Draco attempted to break away before anything could be assumed from their little scene. But it was too late. There were two shrieks of horror when the duo was discovered. The screams were irritating and brought several other people to the scene to find a Slytherin and a Gryffindor pointing at the two rivals, Draco Malfoy and Seira Hikari.
All hell then came loose.
After dinner, everyone including their own house mates were treating them like they were going to die and they didn’t care. Why? They didn’t know.
“It’s your fault we’re in here anyway.” Draco snapped.
“If it was during potions…that was not me. Though I wish it was me, Harry beat me to that.” And she was the one who got in trouble for it. Draco just had to give Potter props for that. The Slytherin muttered just that.
Behind him, his rival picked up the lantern left out for them. Suddenly, the lights from the path to the castle suddenly went out. Draco blinked at the sudden blackout and spun his heel to see Seira holding the only source of light, the only one left to guide them. Draco then felt a chill in the air as she walked ahead. At the corner of his eye, he glanced at Seira, who had no reaction whatsoever.
Couldn’t she feel an ominous feeling around them?!
Draco guessed not. A little smirk formed on his face as his pace slowed down. The girl didn’t seem to notice it.
The brightness was beginning to fade from the front; he knew he had to act quickly. The pale blonde whipped out his wand without a sound and pressed it against her back. She stopped and winced. Her grip tightened on the lantern as she cursed.
“Mr. Malfoy, I don’t think that’s a good id-” the new voice was cut off by a force that erupted out of his wand. Draco dropped it. He hadn’t cast the spell yet. The long-haired Potions Mistress, Mizuki came out of nowhere. With her own wand out and lit up, the older woman grabbed Draco’s wand from the ground.
Since she was startled, Seira was leaning on Draco for support for a few seconds. After she recovered, she tilted her head to the side and realized who she was hanging onto for support and side-stepped, away from him.
“Damn right, stay away from me.” He muttered.
Mizuki paid no attention to what just occurred.
“Okay, here are the three rules for tonight‘s detention: One: No cursing, jinxing or spell-throwing at each other. Two: No scheming. And Three: No PDAs!”
PDA. Public Display of Affection. Who would even suggest that? Draco and Seira then glared at Mizuki. Even their double death glare was not affecting the kind-heated woman who enforced the rules on them. Draco growled at the thought while Seira folded her arms.
“Who would be in their right mind to be looking at her?” Draco shouted, pointing at the azure-haired girl, who yelled: “Who would fall for this conceited bak--idiot?”
Silence followed this, which was broken by Professor Mizuki’s coughs. An attempt to hide her laughter. A really crappy attempt to hide it. It seemed their teacher found it assuming when it was not even funny.
“You did not just suggest that!” Seira shrieked, tossing her wand at one of the teachers. If anything happened, she could do magic non-verbally. That was the only good thing about it. The bad thing was that she had a feeling Mizuki knew.
“I just-” Mizuki was interrupted.
“Did.” Draco scowled.
XXX
“Why do I have to hold it?” complained the young Malfoy. His right arm was getting tired while his left arm was asleep. Draco’s legs were aching from all the walking. It was dark and he was stuck with a girl - his female rival, to be more specific. And he hated it.
He also loathed the fact that Seira said nothing to answer his question. All she did was turn to glare at him with her azure eyes, which looked darker at that hour than usual. She turned back and continued to find their way out of the forest.
Tree branches blocked her sight at her height’s view. He snickered. She was less than head shorter than him (Asian stereotype he started to laugh at recently, but never used it against her yet). Draco then glanced at his feet. Perhaps, they would be more entertaining than his now quiet detention partner.
The ground below was crawling with bugs and other things hidden among the dead twigs and rocks. Each step, Draco swore he stepped on something icky and made a disgusted face.
He looked up at the girl. “Hey Hi-kari…”
No reply again. Not even a glare. It seemed she was too busy, searching for something. She was more focused on getting out than he was. Most likely, he assumed. He snickered again. He thought it was time to disrupt her chain of thought.
“Hi-kari!”
Second time, no answer. He was starting to get pissed off.
“Your effing Highness!”
“Even if your blasted mother tells you to, don’t call me that.” She replied at last. This time, her tone was icy and dripping with hatred. A cold stare would have been appropriate, but its effect wouldn’t have been the same unless she had the lantern and held it in front of her face, creating a small illusion of not having a body for a short time. Fortunately, Draco did have the lantern, rendering the option useless.
“Don’t insult my mother.” Draco hissed. Oh, how he hated this girl. If he had his wand, he would love to stun her right then and there.
“Your mom-” Seira stopped herself as she heard something. She fell silent and her attention shifted away from him. Turning her head away, her blue hair followed her. Draco raised an eyebrow when he saw her grow tense. He caught on quickly. The duo stiffened, standing back-to-back.
Draco slowly lowered his arm as they heard twigs nearby snap. The hairs on the back of their necks stood - a sign they were extremely nervous. Suddenly, the blond immediately let go of their only source of light and it crashed into the ground with a loud shatter of glass. He heard Seira gulp. There was a fast movement. And before they knew it, they was hanging onto their worst enemy for her dear life.
‘What in Salazar Slytherin’s name is she trying to do?’ Draco wanted to mutter as they both noticed. Immediately, they inched, a little bit away from each other. He swore he saw a brief blush cross her cheeks and cursed.
…Awkward, wasn’t it?
Calm followed. Their guards dropped for a moment. The duo took a breather and relaxed. However, this stillness was short-lived for they heard it. A cry of a dog, but it was not just any dog. It was a werewolf. It sounded so close by. It could have been right behind them. Cue the rest of the dramatic music.
“Rrrrrrrrruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuffffffffffffff, Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggggg!”
The two students gulped before looking at each other, slowly turning around. One of them spotted a tall silhouette that was bending down as it headed toward them, then taking a deep breath and opened their mouth. The other, who was Seira, reacted quickly and followed.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
The next thing they knew, Draco had his arms around the girl he hated as she buried her face in his chest, screaming her head off. Glancing at each other, their eyes widened. The same shade of their eyes reflecting how scared they were. Voices now caught in their throats for now.
Seira was the first. Her cheeks grew warm. What the hell? Him? Why him of all people? It was a joke. It just had to be. She cursed as Draco shoved her to the ground with no problem. Or so she thought.
It was a mere accident, caused by fear.
He looked away. A small blush lightened his usually nearly-white cheeks. Fate had to be kidding. Curses erupted from his thoughts into words as they let out screams again for a reason different than the last time.
They ran for it, shrieking their heads off. It did not occur to them they looked like total idiots, but the duo had to get out of the Forest. Both Draco and Seira could no longer stand another minute in there with just each other.
Eventually, they found their way out.
XXX
Draco was terrified the next day when he had Double Potions. Though he didn’t show it, he was definitely afraid for Professor Mizuki. He ran his fingers through his sleek blond hair as he took his seat next to Pansy Parkinson, opening his textbook in hopes of avoiding the gaze of Mizuki.
It was the same with Seira. However, she was a bit more social. Neither mentioned anything that happened during the session. Their answers were all the same: “Mizuki made us walk around the Forest.”
XXX
A couple weeks after the eventful detention, things returned to normal. Draco got around to messing with Harry and his friends meanwhile his female rival looked paler than ever. They assumed that she was sick, but she reassured everyone that she was not. Of course, her twin brother was hard to convince.
It only led to more worry for rumors came out that the Dementors left Azkaban. The Headmaster never confirmed it, but increased activity in the Dueling Club. That was proof enough. Things were beginning to get serious. Indeed, these two ended up in the club once again.
She had joined the club because she had the time. He joined because he had to stay in shape. In the end, when they saw each other there, their wish was one in the same. They wished to wipe the smirks from the other’s face.
However, one thing prevented them from fully injuring each other. That thing was Kaho Mizuki, who was subbing for McGonagall that day. Coincidence? They assumed not. Draco growled, remembering the detention so vividly. He pulled out his wand and found his partner, who Snape put together on the first day.
Indeed, Pansy’s information was true. Seira looked a lot paler and more distracted as she took out her wand. Perhaps, this was his day where he would break the tie. He thrust his wand forward. She merely eyed as he started, “Serpensortia!”
Something shot out from the end of his wand. A black snake slithered out and toward the Hikari girl. She stared down at it, blinking and unmoving. Moving toward her, it smelled the air and sensed something --- like her fear of something else. It lunged at her.
Draco smirked.
The snake wrapped around her arm and readied its fangs for a bite. She assumed it was poisonous and continued to stare at her opponent before the pain. Its teeth dug into her flesh and she winced. Something weird happened. Her eyes fell upon Draco. Its usual blue shade was glowing with some kind of luster.
Snapping out of her moment of weakness, she grabbed hold of the snake by its tail and hurled it back at the pale blond-haired person. She jabbed her wand forward. Her eyes reverted back to normal.
“Glacius!” The freezing charm.
There was a loud hiss from the serpent as her charm took an effect. From its tail up, it hardened with its color the same as her cold eyes. Seeing this, Draco would not admit defeat. He would not admit to her. The pale blonde-haired boy raised his wand against her once again, yelling out, “Furnunculus!”
Seira lifted her head, trying to think on what jinx that was. Boils. She cursed in her mind as she attempted to cast a shield spell, but this was the incantation that slipped through her mouth, “Legilimens!”
XXX
That was one not even close to the one she had in mind. What had happened next was entirely accidental. Seira fell into a sea of blackness --- a void where she could only hear one voice --- belonging to Draco.
He was scared. Draco never appeared afraid. It was not his way. No, that was his mask which shielded it.
“Of what? What are you scared of?”
He would not admit defeat. He would not lose to her.
“To me. He can’t admit defeat to me. Why?”
He kept telling himself that he had to beat her. Or else, something would happen.
“What would happen?”
Where was she? Could she be-?
“Malfoy’s….memory.” It dawned to her. The last spell she has spoken was Legilimens. Its meaning was mind and to read. She was reading his mind or rather, his thoughts. No, it wasn’t his thoughts. She was hearing his emotions loud and clear, but still, they remained vague. What was going on in his life?
“Malfoy.” She breathed as she blinked, returning to the Dueling platform. She was kneeling like Draco was on the other side. Seira gulped. Had he felt her there?
Before she knew it, he began to sprint with his wand out.
“Malfoy, I advise you not to do-” Mizuki’s voice was the last thing the Hikari girl heard before Draco’s last spell.
“Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy! ” There were several red beams of light that struck her on the chest, where it really hurt a girl. She felt the full force and was thrown back. The platform did not meet her, but the stone walls of the hall did. He watched as she slid down, tilting her head to the side. Her blue eyes closed as blood dripped from her lip.
Her world had gone black.
XXX
The Slytherins were rejoicing in the halls, hailing Draco their hero as Satoshi carried his twin sister from the Dueling Club to the Hospital Wing. A glare much colder than Seira’s was shot Draco’s way. Chills ran down his spine and silenced the laughing Slytherins as the blue-haired young man shoved his way through them.
Draco watched Satoshi out of the corner of his eye. The blond refused to acknowledge his saw this, until Satoshi brought out his wand at the last possible moment. “Stupefy!”
It was the taste of his own medicine. Draco felt a sharp intake of breath before clutching his groin, where the jet of red light hit. He looked up to see Satoshi dashing away with his sister toward the Hospital Wing.
“Draco, are you alright?” Pansy asked.
Honestly, did he look like he was alright?! Draco had been hit in the groin with a Stunning spell. Of course, he was not okay. It hurt like bloody hell. “Damn Asians and their intelligence. I say Granger should have been born one.” He mumbled.
XXX
Hours later, Seira moaned in pain. Her breasts still ached from all three stunning spells Malfoy has sent her way. Her eyes snapped open when she heard a muttering voice. It was Madam Pomfrey, the nurse of the Hospital Wing. Rolling her eyes, she knew she would be having a new neighbor.
“Crud.” The blue-haired girl hissed when she saw who it was.
The nurse looked between her and the newcomer, who was forced to take the bed to Seira’s right. “Now, you two better not cause trouble in my Wing. The last thing you need is more fatigue.”
With that said, Madam Pomfrey left their sides.
“Damn you, Hikari.” He cursed aloud.
“Been said to me too many times by my own brother.” Seira merely retorted, shutting her eyes again. It would be one restless night. She heard Draco scoff.
“Damn your brother too.”
“What for?” Seira snapped. Her voice demanded to know why.
“He took revenge for what happened to you.”
Seira forced herself to laugh, turning over to her left side. Her back was to Draco, but she knew he would not dare try to jinx her - not where they were anyway. The pair already had a troublesome reputation all over Hogwarts and it was only Halloween. “Serves you right.”
XXX
Before they knew it, they recovered. Neither spoke insults to one another for the few days after that. Within the Hogwarts walls, there was peace. Or so, Draco thought while he patrolled the upper floors of the castle. If he got through the seventh floor, he could go to bed. He cursed his Prefect duties especially after all that rest he had gotten when he was in the Hospital Wing.
“Ku-so.” A voice whispered, breaking the silence. Whoever it was, they were speaking in a different language. Draco narrowed his gaze. He had a feeling it was someone he knew. Obviously, it was not Potter. That boy could not speak a foreign language that well. Besides, it was a female. That eliminated a lot of people. He grinned. Now, he could get her in trouble.
“Bloody hell, no.” The same feminine voice cursed. Her voice echoed throughout the silence. She was just so damn easy to find. Draco slowly walked through the halls with the tip of his wand lit up.
“I can hear you.” He taunted.
“Ku-so! (means shit, by the way)” She cursed again. The blond boy assumed it was a Japanese thing. His eyes lit up when he heard her footsteps grow louder and faster. She was running. He followed suit, careful to not drop his wand. Draco could hear her now. She was scared, but why? His rival never appeared scared until now.
“I need a place to hide.” He heard her whisper. Then, she disappeared with a few more footsteps.
Draco halted when he swore he heard her voice last at that spot. However, it was a dead end. There were walls on three sides of him. The only opening was behind him - they way he had come. He scratched his right temple and scowled. His light grey eyes held the look of irritation. “I need to find where she ran off to.”
He folded his arms. His ears then picked up something changing. He looked up and saw the wall alter itself. There was now a silver door to his right side. He leaned and pressed his ear against the door. From behind it, he heard screams. Her screams.
What the hell was going on in there? Then again, why would he really care?
The sound of her shrieks cut off his thoughts. Whatever was going on with her, it sure sounded like it hurt. Damn his responsibilities as a Prefect. Draco’s hand grasped the door handle and turned it. Straight away, the silver door opened for him. His eyes blinked as he stepped in. He saw her, kneeling in the middle of the empty room.
Just then, the door behind him shut and locked the boy in with the girl in pain. Draco cursed. Now, he’d be in for it. “Hi-kari…”
“Malfoy…if it’s you, get away from me!” She shouted. Her hands clutched her upper arms, drawing them closer to herself. Seira kept to herself; such was her way. At that moment, it was wrong. She shouldn’t be doing that.
A sympathetic thought crossed Draco’s mind. He should help her. At first, he ignored it. After all, she was his rival and a Gryffindor member. The score would be in his favor if he just left her alone. The second time the thought crossed his mind; he cursed his mother’s somewhat sympathetic nature toward purebloods. He gritted his teeth and walked over to her. “Hey Hi-kari.”
“Malfoy, leave me alone!” Once she yelled at him for the second time, she winced in pain. The pale boy watched as something burned on her back. It was a symbol of a cross bound with a magic circle. It was not one Draco had ever seen before and it was hurting her.
“What is that?” He asked, ignoring the fact she had told him to go away. Curiosity was presently getting the best of him. He watched as her grip on the sleeves of her robes tightened. Her head moved as she decided to look at him, but Draco did not see the familiar icy blue eyes of Seira’s. Instead, he saw that her right was sapphire while the other was-
“Gold?” That was bizarre. How could her eyes change like that? For most of the year, it was blue. But how? Draco was baffled by the question. During his little shocked moment, the girl seized the moment to get away from him. She got up and ran though it seemed to hurt when she did (for she was always wincing in pain).
Snapping out of it, Draco spun his heel in time to see her disappear through the vanishing door. He lifted an eyebrow. So many questions left unanswered, but he would not snoop for them tonight. He was tired and his patrol was done. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his robes, walking out of the Room of Requirement, whistling as he did.
He never told anyone what he had seen. Not Crabbe and Goyle. Not even Pansy. What he had seen, he kept to himself.
XXX
The next day was a free day (one of the very few). He was able to look for her without any problem. From what he told the other Slytherins, Draco was itching for another duel. However, that was not the true intention.
By midday, he had found her twin brother in the library, studying with a girl and that boy, Daisuke Niwa. Avoiding him as much as he could, the blond knew Satoshi’s presence was somewhat important. If that one was there, then possibly the other twin would be around somewhere. Luckily, he heard her name being called by someone else.
“Seira, I found the book you were looking for.”
“Thanks, Hermione.” She replied. From what he could hear, she was a couple of shelves away from him. He pumped his fist at his side. As soon as Granger was gone, it would just be them. Wait, why did that sound wrong to Draco? Oh yeah, they were rivals and would remain exactly that.
He looked around a corner and saw that she was moving with her back to him (and the symbol from their last encounter nowhere to be seen either). Granger was nowhere to be found. He seized the perfect opportunity. After making sure no one was around, he made a mad dash at Seira Hikari, who was totally oblivious of his presence until he managed to pin her against a steady book shelf. Her blue eyes blinked behind eyeglasses as they met light grey orbs.
She was speechless for a second before muttering his name. “Malfoy, you baka. What the hell is wrong with you?”
There went her mixed English and Japanese. Draco growled. He really hated Japlish - not that she used it often. He just didn’t like the sound of it. “What did you call me?”
“Just an idiot.” Seira retorted, eyeing the hand that was so close to her left side of her face. Neither noticed their actually height difference. She cursed her genetics while Draco might have praised it. She blinked as silence crept between them. If the Forbidden Forest incident was awkward, their current position was terribly awkward. Draco Malfoy had just pinned her to a book shelf in the library - a public place. This would look bad.
“You remember last night, don’t you?” He asked her.
Seira growled. It wasn’t like she could forget. She rolled her eyes before nodding. Looking away from him, she attempted to walk to her right side. Apparently, Draco had no intention for her to leave just yet. He placed his other hand against the book shelf, blocking Seira’s only way out.
“Crap.” She mumbled. She was trapped. Now, she had to listen to him. Turning to face him again, Seira glared at him. “Why are you asking about last night, Malfoy?”
“What happened to you?” He whispered, trying to keep his voice down. If they were found, rumors would fly and only Merlin knows what would happen.
The question he asked caught her off-guard. A crack formed in her reserve, her cool mask. Seira’s eyes widened for a moment before she gathered herself up again. “Why would you care? You-”
“Draco? Is that you?” He recognized the voice as Pansy.
“Seira, where are you?” Seira held her breath. It was Hermione.
Draco attempted to break away before anything could be assumed from their little scene. But it was too late. There were two shrieks of horror when the duo was discovered. The screams were irritating and brought several other people to the scene to find a Slytherin and a Gryffindor pointing at the two rivals, Draco Malfoy and Seira Hikari.
All hell then came loose.