Sirius grinned. 'I?ll have you know my friend Remus here has been quite a hit with the veelas back where we come from.'
Raven looked disapproving. 'Veela-werewolf relationships never work out,' she said to Sirius in a stage whisper. 'Although they do have the cutest little wereveela babies. Oh look, we?re here.'
She paused in front of a large ivory door — or at least, Lupin would have thought it was ivory if any creature alive was large enough to yield such unbroken sheets of whiteness. He blinked, and the door swung partly open under Ravens touch. She glanced at him. 'You go here, for the Testing.'
'But-' he turned to look at Sirius.
Raven looked annoyed. 'What is it with you two? Can?t you be separated for a minute?' she snapped. 'We are segregated here -
werewolves separated from veelas, banshees separated from trolls.
Unless you really want to bunk with the dementors?'
Lupin glanced towards the half-open door. 'That room is full of werewolves?' he demanded, wondering if this meant, by extension, that Sirius would soon have to cope with a room full of vampires.
'You say that like its a bad thing,' said Raven, and prodded him inside. He barely had a chance to glance at Sirius before the door shut between them, cutting his friend off from view.
Draco sat down very hard in the chair by the fire and clutched at his head. The faint blurring of his vision and the pleasant sensation of drifting were gone, replaced by a pain that felt as if a small mountain troll had taken up residence in his head and had just decided to add on a second story and perhaps a nice bay window.
'Owww,' he said, gingerly touching his face and looking at Ginny accusingly. 'Why?d you do that?'
'You were drunk,' she said severely, putting her wand away in her pocket. Anger was rising off her in shimmering waves like the heat from a mirage; her small, freckled face was glowing pink and her round lower lip was trembling.
'I must have been,' he said shortly, thinking that he had to have been quite drunk to forget that Fleur was still asleep in the bed.
Ginnys face crumpled. Draco looked at her in surprise for a moment, before realizing how what he said must have sounded. He bolted to his feet, forgetting the pain in his head. 'Ginny-'
'Shut up.' She jerked away from his reaching hand, her eyes suspiciously bright. 'Don?t touch me.'
Draco threw up his hands in exasperation. 'Look-'
But at that moment Fleur created a disturbance by suddenly, without so much as a sound, falling off the bed in a dead faint.
Draco darted forward just in time to keep her head from hitting the stone floor. He caught her up in his arms, deposited her back on the mattress, and bent over her, his heart hammering unpleasantly.
'Fleur?'
Her head rolled back on his arm, her eyes still closed, their lids bluish.
'Fleur!' He touched the back of his hand to her forehead, found it cold and clammy. At least she was still breathing, her chest falling in a rapid, shallow motions.
A second later Ginny was at his side, pushing him away. She bent over Fleur with her wand, whispering something Draco couldn?t hear. There was a bright flash of light, and Fleur jumped, her eyes flying open. Ginny stood up and backed away as Fleurs eyes filled with tears.
'What 'as happened?' she demanded, struggling to sit up.
Somewhat reluctantly, Draco leaned forward to help her into a sitting position. He could feel Ginnys gaze on them both. 'You fainted,' he said.
She reached out and clutched at him. I?m dying.
Draco jerked back. What are you doing? He can hear us.
Draco. No. He can?t. He doesn?t have his full powers yet — won?t have them until the Orb is opened. He cannot hear you talking to me, or to Harry. I know you don?t want to believe me, but please, if you have any trust left in you at all — please believe this.
He believed her. For the first time since he had realized her betrayal of them, he believed her, not lastly because he knew that nobody could lie while they spoke this way. He was aware of Ginny looking daggers at them both, and knew it must look like he and Fleur were gazing silently into each others eyes. Couldn?t be helped, though.
I can help you, said Fleur. Please let me. I want to. I know things. I can tell you -
She broke off, and, as she looked over Dracos shoulder, her eyes widened. He whipped around to see what she was staring at, and saw that the door to the bedchamber was open, and one of Slytherins servants was standing there, gaunt and silent in gray, hooded robes.
He spun around immediately, his heart hammering against his ribcage — but Ginny was gone. She must have concealed herself with the Cloak. Clever girl.
He raised his head, and straightened up, drawing arrogance and poise around himself like a cloak of his own. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the servant. 'What are you doing here?'
'I come with a message,' said the servant, gazing at Draco.
'I?d really rather have some more Mai Tais,' said Draco.
'The Snake Lord says you are to have no more beverages,' said the servant in humorless tones. 'He wishes to see you. I am to bring you.
Come.'
Draco glanced back at Fleur, and the blank space that was (hopefully) Ginny. He reached down and grabbed his cloak up off the floor. 'All right. Lets go.'
