TRAINING WHEELS

blame

059

Draco was the first to wake. His back ached from leaning against the bookshelves all night, a rather huge contrast to the comfortable mattress he had back in his dormitory room, and he was slightly chilly in just his school jumper. Looking down and finding Amora curled up to him, her face relaxed and her body warm in his robes, he decided that it was worth it though.

The blond boy wasn't sure if he was waking up due to the ache in his spine or because it was seven in the morning - his usual rising time on a school day. If the latter was the case, then he knew that Madam Pince would be here any moment to open the doors to the library. He didn't feel like getting into trouble, even if - yet again - it wasn't really his fault for being stuck in here overnight anyway.

"Amora," Draco whispered, one of his slender fingers moving to glide some hair out of her eyes. "Time to wake up."

He saw her nose crinkle a little bit, her eyelids flutter. He stroked up and down her arm comfortingly, gently lulling her out of her sleep. A small whimper left her mouth as her legs, which had been curled on his lap, straightened out and she sat up straight, feeling all of her bones click.

"Morning," Amora mumbled sleepily, wiping her eyes.

He chuckled at her, sitting up properly now that she was no longer against him. "Morning to you too. Sleep well?"

The brunette ran her fingers through her slightly frizzy hair, sending him a raised brow. "My arse has gone numb."

Draco grinned, shaking his head. "So angelic." He climbed up off of the ground, reaching his hand out for her to take. "But, yeah. Mine too."

"That's me..." Amora yawned, "Angelic."

She giggled as she reached up, her much smaller hand slipping into his. Draco pulled her up off of the floor, her tired limbs underestimating the strength of his grasp and causing her to stumble into his body. His laugher vibrated through his chest and against Amora's cheek from where she was pressed against it, making her smile. She'd wake up a thousand times on the hard library floor if it meant hearing that laugh.

"For a split second, when I woke, I was scared last night had been a dream," Amora admitted as she pulled away from him, his hands still on her.

A sort of sadness flickered through Draco's eyes. "Well it wasn't. Last night was real. The realest, in fact," he said sternly, watching Amora's beam brighten.

Then, just like last time, there was a clicking at the library door. Multiple locks could be heard turning before what must have been magic gilded both huge oak doors forward, a small gust of wind breezing all the way to the back where they were. Amora's eyes widened, but Draco was quick to press his index finger to her lips before she could gasp.

He sent her a small smirk. "I think we know how to get out of this one."

Amora smirked back, shooting up her brows at him. He grabbed her hand, their fingers intertwining. Amora hadn't realised exactly how much she had missed doing these small things with him until now that she finally had him back. It had been an extremely long two months without Draco. Amora was sure she could find it in her to forgive him, but she would never ever forget some of the things he had said to her. Whether he said them out of fear or not, Amora knew better than to let him off the hook so easily.

They moved around the perimeter of the library, all the way towards the front where they hid behind some bookshelves. Amora shifted some books aside silently so she could see Madam Pince, her figure too short to see through the gap Draco was watching her through. The old librarian was by the desk, shuffling through some paperwork as she began to set up for the day.

Amora grabbed a book from the shelf for him to distract Madam Pince with, handing it to Draco. He waved his wand, whispered a quick, "Wingardium Leviosa" beneath his breath, and watched as it rose high into the air, over the aisles and to the other side of the library.

"Now," Amora whispered.

Draco swished his wand and the book dropped from twenty feet in the air, slamming down onto the other side of the room and echoing loudly. Madam Pince's eyes widened, her entire body freezing in shock before she looked furious, taking off in the direction that the noise had come from.

"Quick!" Draco laughed, grabbing her hand again and leading her straight out of the doors.

Amora and Draco made it out of the library and further down the corridor, ending up by a staircase. They laughed like last time, shaking their heads. Amora wasn't sure if she was still going to kill Pansy or not, seeing as her plan had actually worked. Maybe she would thank her and then kill her.

Amora felt Draco whack her arm, causing her to glance up. Pansy herself was coming down the corridor with Blaise and Theo in tow, confirming Amora's previous suspicions that they had something to do with it. She saw Draco's stone cold expression and realised what the look in his eye had been about so she mimicked his appearance, stepping away from him.

"Well?" Pansy smirked, shoving Amora's belongings into her arms as Amora glared at her.

"I really do hate you, Parkinson," Draco said, "That was unbearable."

Theo and Blaise exchanged worried glances.

"Yes! Absolutely ridiculous," Amora added, "What on earth made you think that that was a good idea?"

Theo looked extremely guilty. "Guys -"

"Oh, really?" Pansy raised a perfectly arched brow. "Is that why you're currently in a robe that is A, far too big for you, and B, not yellow but green?"

Amora's eyes dropped down to Draco's robe and she blushed. Draco smiled but rolled his eyes, watching as the brunette slipped off his robe and handed it to him, leaving her in her school shirt and golden tie. She pulled on her own robe. Draco thought she looked amazing in yellow, with the way it brought out the mahogany of her hair and the bits of green hidden in her brown eyes, but he was a sucker for Amora in green.

Blaise and Theo looked at each other again, clearly confused.

"Oh, fucking hell! How thick are you two?" Pansy scolded, flicking the side of Blaise's head since he was closest. "How did you not even notice?"

Blaise shrugged, sending Pansy a glare as he rubbed his face. "I don't know! I don't really pay attention to what Amora wears..."

"So it did work then?" Theo grinned excitedly between them both.

Draco sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes, it worked, you arseholes. But that doesn't mean we aren't furious with you."

Pansy rolled her eyes right back at him. "Oh shut it, Malfoy. You're so dramatic and for what? You got Amora back, now you can stop acting like a prick, and you -" Pansy turned to face Amora who raised her brows. "- can stop daydreaming every five minutes when I'm trying to tell you something."

Amora blushed a little bit more, shaking her head at her friend. "No, I am still annoyed. You took my bloody jumper, Pans! I was freezing my arse off -"

"Well that was all part of the plan, wasn't it?" Pansy grinned, "Draco gave you his robes, you huddled together for warmth, therefore making your bond so much more stable! I didn't trust that Draco could woo you back with just his words alone. He's pretty bad at talking about how he feels."

There was a warm feeling inside Amora's chest as she smiled slightly. "Well, I don't think the jumper thing was necessary. And, actually, Draco did manage to 'woo me' with his words."

Blaise looked impressed, nodding at Draco. Draco ignored his friend, sighing heavily and placing his large hand on Amora's shoulder.

"I don't particularly want to talk about this with you three," Draco said, "So if all is well, I need to take a shower before classes start and get my books for the day."

"Me too," Amora said.

"Alright, alright," Pansy huffed, watching as they began to walk away. "I'm owed a mention in your vows when you get married, though!"

Draco nearly choked whilst Amora burned bright red, the two of them speeding up down the corridor.

"She's insane," Amora chuckled awkwardly, hoping he wouldn't freak out at the mention of something as big as marriage.

"Yes," Draco agreed, "I would never mention her in our wedding vows."

Amora's heart fluttered. She was still so, so young and she didn't want to marry for years and years yet, but the thought of having a future with Draco after Hogwarts made her heart soar and caused butterflies to erupt in her stomach. And the fact that he was talking about it - yes, perhaps in a joking manner - made her want to giggle like a schoolgirl and run away to tell anybody that would listen.

"Wait." Draco grabbed her wrist before they could part ways. "Thank you. For another chance. I don't deserve it, but -"

"I wouldn't give you another chance if I didn't think you deserved it, Draco," Amora reminded him softly, "Do not get it twisted, some of the comments you made were out of hand, like the blood traitor one and the one about Greengrass being a better kisser..." Her nose crinkled. "But I'm willing to work it out with you. Because I love you."

Draco's tongue darted out to wet his lips at her words. She'd implied she still loved him yesterday, but those three words hadn't escaped her lips since the first time she confessed and he rejected her. Draco wasn't sure how three small words could make him feel like he was on top of the world. This was far, far better than receiving the latest broom or seeing Potter get a detention from Snape...

"I love you," Draco murmured back, "And I'm going to do better. I- I'm going to do my best to make sure you know that I'm sorry."

"I believe you..." Amora admitted, her hand moving to stroke the golden badger on her tie. "But I'm worried if I forgive you too easily..."

"You think I'll do it again," Draco finished for her, looking a little stung but at the same time understanding. "For the record, Amora, I have no reason to drive you away again. But you're being smart; I understand. I half-expected you to be as stubborn as you were with Leon - to cut me out of your life quickly and completely."

Amora offered him a small smile. "I suppose... I knew deep down you still cared about me, whether that was love or just a strong liking, I didn't know... But no matter how much I tried to hate you, I just couldn't. Leon betrayed my trust completely, I don't believe that's as easily fixed as a broken heart."

Draco's brows furrowed. "How can a broken heart be easier to mend than trust?"

Amora shrugged a little. "Love can be unconditional, trust isn't."

The blond boy looked like he was contemplating her words, his silver eyes soft as he watched her fingers fall away from her tie pin. She leaned up on her toes, giving him a chaste peck on the lips and then headed for the Hufflepuff basement. He watched her walk away until her figure disappeared, and then he moved to Slytherin dungeons where he would finally be able to write to his mother with good news.

D.M + A.B

When Amora crept into her dormitory, she was unsurprised to find that the girls had already all disappeared off to the Great Hall for their breakfast. The brunette chucked all of her belongings onto her bed and slipped off her robe, wincing when she heard something drop and roll onto the ground. Amora kneeled down, patting beneath the bed until Amora's hand landed on a Galleon coin.

To her horror, the coin was slightly warm and the date had changed on it from the last DA meeting the previous week to yesterday's date. January 29th. Today was January 30th, meaning she had managed to miss the meeting. Her heart skipped a beat, guilt seeping from her. She was just glad Pansy hadn't found the coin in her pocket last night and then questioned why it grew hot.

Amora tried to push the guilt away as she climbed into the shower. She was changed and ready at record speed before she slipped on a fresh school shirt and some new tights. Her skirt was slightly crumpled from sleeping in it, but it was nothing a quick ironing charm Amora had learnt from her mother couldn't handle. She slipped her robe back on too and then headed down to the Great Hall, heading straight for the Hufflepuff table.

"Amora!" Kathy greeted her, grabbing her by the arm and then whispering, "Where were you yesterday? Harry wanted to wait for you, but you never came! And you never came back to the dorm either..."

Others were staring at her too, waiting for her explanation.

  "And we had prefect duties after that," Ernie frowned.

Amora felt her face grow hot with embarrassment and guilt. "I am so sorry!" She exclaimed truthfully before she began to spin a white lie. "I... Pansy and I were studying for the Herbology exam coming up and I didn't have my robe on, so I didn't feel the Protean Charm warm up on the coin! We both just fell asleep on the couch in the Slytherin common room... I am so sorry, Ernie. I should have remembered! I'm such an idiot -"

"Don't worry about it," Ernie hushed her, waving his hand dismissively. "It's fine. Just don't forget next week, yeah? Walking around Hogwarts alone at night was quite scary. Peeves kept trying to trip me down the stairs..."

Amora frowned deeper. "I promise it won't happen again."

"It's fine, Amora, we were just worried," Kathy said, although she looked slightly suspicious.

Leon was staring silently, as if trying to work out whether or not she was telling the truth. Amora shot him a small glare before grabbing her usual porridge and the jar of honey nearby. She got straight to minding her own business, hoping that nobody else would ask her where she had been last night.

The rest of the week shifted by pretty smoothly. Harry wasn't suspicious at all of Amora's lie, and that seemed to only make her feel more guilty. She couldn't express this to any of her Slytherin friends though, since she had sworn to keep Dumbledore's Army a secret from them. She wished she could tell them though. Somehow she felt more guilty about keeping them in the dark rather than her DA friends.

"I asked Cho to Hogsmeade for Valentine's Day," Harry mentioned quietly, and in Amora's opinion, quite out of the blue from where they had been sitting silently beside each other after she'd come to apologise.

"Oh?" Amora raised her brows in slight interest. "I wasn't aware that you two had anything going on?"

"Well, I always catch her looking at me," Harry admitted bashfully, "And then the other day she told me the trip was on Valentine's Day... basically implied she wanted me to ask her, I think. So I did."

Amora felt a little sorry for Cedric, but it wasn't Cho's fault that she wanted to move on. Besides, Cedric would understand. And Cho seemed like an amazing person who had cared for Cedric deeply, even to this day.

"That sounds lovely, Harry." Amora nodded. "I'm sure you'll both have a brilliant time."

"You're not mad?"

Amora glanced at him incredulously. "Why on earth would I be mad?"

"Because I kissed you two months ago," Harry said, "And I didn't want you to think that I lied about liking you to get a quick snog or anything. I'm - I'm not like that. And I know Cho used to go out with Cedric, which... I don't know."

The brunette felt her heart sink because he was basically insinuating that he wanted her to know that he still liked her. It sunk for that and because she supposed that meant that she was 'like that.' She had kissed Harry knowing he didn't mean anything to her romantically, and then she was confessing her love to his enemy a couple of months later.

Maybe Harry had been hoping that she would get jealous or admit she liked him by telling her this.

"I know." Amora reached out and squeezed his hand. "You should go to Hogsmeade with Cho. Like I said, I bet it will be fun. Who knows? You could end up really liking her."

"I think maybe she's only interested in me because she wants to know what happened to Cedric," Harry admitted quietly after a few minutes of more silence. "But you're right - she seems really nice, and she's good at Quidditch, pretty..."

Amora chuckled a little, shaking her head in amusement. "Sounds like a little bit of a crush already."

"I wouldn't call it a crush," Harry muttered, cheeks heating up. "I can just... acknowledge her good qualities, I suppose."

"Ah, I see," Amora hummed, although she didn't quite believe him. "And if she is there only to learn about Cedric... Don't - don't be too harsh on her, Harry. He was probably her first love. To lose someone like that...'' Tears burned her vision. "Oh, gosh!" She laughed bitterly, wiping her eyes. "I haven't cried over Cedric since Christmas!"

It was true that she had cried over Cedric on Christmas Day. Even though she'd been away from home without her entire family, it still felt like it was wrong to not open a present from him or watch him open one back from her. It was her first Christmas without him, but it only really hit her later that night when Pansy had fallen asleep. She'd laid there in her bed, silently crying, wishing her cousin would come back to her.

Harry looked slightly alarmed for a moment before he reached out to pat her back. "It's okay..."

"Sorry, sorry," Amora waved a hand dismissively, but it didn't stop the tears from streaming. "I just... I hate all of this, you know? I feel like I could have done something about it."

Harry frowned. "Amora, there was nothing you could have done..."

"I had a bad feeling before he'd even put his name in that stupid goblet," Amora admitted, harshly wiping the tears off her cheeks. "And then when I was forced under the ice last year, I was so sure that it had something to do with Moody - or Barty Crouch Jr, rather, I suppose - but I brushed it off! And if I hadn't - if I had only done something, he would never have turned that cup into a Portkey and then Cedric wouldn't have died and even You-Know-Who wouldn't be back!"

"Amora!" Harry ordered sternly, pulling her hands away from her face with her wrists. "If you want to blame anyone, you should blame me. I brushed off your concerns about the fake Moody. I should have believed you when you thought he had been the one that had pushed you beneath the ice. But I didn't. And there are so many other things as well that led up to those moments, Amora. If Voldemort hadn't come back then, then it would just have been some other time."

Amora flinched at his use of You-Know-Who's name. She hated it so much - the thought of him simply made her feel sick. He'd already taken from her. He'd taken so much from Harry too.

"You know what?" Amora sniffled angrily. "It's not your fault. It's not even mine, really. It's Professor Dumbledore's."

"Wha-?" Harry gaped at her, brows furrowing in defence.

"He's the one that let Barty Crouch Jr teach here!" Amora cried, "He didn't notice Professor Quirrell acting suspicious in the first year and he hired that liar Lockhart in the second year! I mean, now we even have Umbridge here, and look at what she's doing to this school! And where has he been, hm? I haven't seen him in a long time, he's provided us no comfort! And, I mean, I'm not saying he's evil, but Snape scares people more than he teaches them - and still, Dumbledore just stands up there and gives his silly little speeches and tells us that we'll be fine as long as we're here. But Cedric is proof we're not fine here, Harry! And how long until one of those Azkaban breakouts ends up getting my mother killed for being a Pureblood teaching Muggle Studies?"

Harry looked quite distraught, not knowing what to say. "Amora... That's all out of context..."

"He's supposed to be the smartest, most powerful wizard in the world, Harry," Amora reminded him, "But I don't trust him. Not like you or most people at this school do. I can't. Not when Cedric was let down like that."

"Dumbledore didn't know the cup was a Portkey -"

"But he trusted 'Moody' to put it there. He didn't check. He didn't get anyone to check anything." Amora stood up from the stairs that they had been sat on, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Harry. I don't think we're going to be able to see eye to eye today. I think I need - I need to go."

"Amora -" Harry reached out and grasped her wrist, stopping her. "I'm not mad at you for not trusting him. I've been angry at him this year, too. He's been leaving me in the dark, getting Ron and Hermione to ignore me all summer... But I don't know. I trust him. It's all for a reason. I know it."

"Good for you," Amora murmured, not a prick of anger or resentment in her tone. "I wish I could trust him. I do. I don't think he's evil or anything, Harry, I just... Not willing to be let down by him."

It seemed like neither of them really knew what to say. Harry swallowed thickly, hesitating, but the tears had stopped streaming down Amora's cheeks at some point during her speech about Dumbledore, so he felt like it was okay to speak.

"I never told you what his last words were," Harry said softly, "When you came to visit me in the medical wing the next day. I never told you what the last thing Cedric said was."

Amora's breath hitched.

"Would you like to know?" Harry hesitated.

Amora considered it for a moment before she gave a small nod.

"When we both got chucked to the graveyard, before we realised something was wrong, Cedric turned to me and he laughed and he said -" Harry took a deep breath, trembling slightly at the memory of Cedric's dead body lying beneath him. "'We did it, Harry. Amora's going to be so- so happy.'"

Amora choked. She raised her hand to her mouth, biting down to stop a sob leaving her lips. The tears started again, streaming and streaming. Harry was crying too, probably from a mixture of things as well as Cedric, silent tears leaving his green eyes as he moved forward and grabbed Amora into a tight hug.

She collapsed into Harry's arms, crying. And maybe if she knew this would be their last hug for years, she would have made it less bittersweet.

..

this is 4k words but it feels like NOTHING happened in it. BUT I ALREADY HAVE HALF OF THE NEXT CHAPTER WRITTEN AND ITS SO CUTE AHHH H H AND THERE'S DRAMAAAA

ALSO THE LAST CHAPTER WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SO HUGE AND I UPLOADED THE WRONG ONE DJIJF I UPLOADED THE ONE WHERE THERE WAS NO ITALICS,, AND I HAD LITERALLY GONE THROUGH IT 3 TIMES TO MAKE SURE ALL OF THE RIGHT PARTS WERE IN ITALICS TO MAKE DRACO'S SPEECH WAY MORE IMPACTFUL AND I CHECKED LIKE TWICE BUT FOR SOME REASON IT UPLOADED WITHOUT THE ITALICS AND I REALISED TOO LATE I AM SO PISSED- oh well :(

thanks so much for reading <33

dyiansobrien