This Story mainly involves:

Dullcy (pronounced doll-see) she is a 5th year Gryffindor student and currently has an entourage of boys after her.

Draco Malfoy – In his 6th year

This story is set in "The Half Blood Prince"

One

The Weeping Stranger

Dullcy trod the path that she had trod so many nights before, her feet did the work and she hardly thought about her journey at all, she rounded the corner that she had rounded every night for the past five years, except this night was different: the soundless, dim halls where now not only filled with her silent footsteps, but with someone else's.

Her eyes opened that little bit wider, her heart pounded that little bit harder, her feet trod that little bit softer, but still she wasn't alone, she fastened her pace and kept alert, Dullcy had extremely good senses but perhaps it was that little bit of elf coming out in her. Just as the girls lavatory came into view, she knew it was in their, the spirit, the feeling, the – whatever the fuck it was leading her on! She crept up to the door and leant her ear ever so gently against it; from inside she heard a dull weeping.

'The weeping of a girl' she thought? It was a soft weep, a sad weep, an I-just-want-to-be-loved-weep, the weep that Dullcy had wept, and every other person who has loved had wept, Dullcy had to restrain herself from barging in their and hugging the poor defenceless stranger. But then she heard it, the scuffle of feet, the turning of a tap, the splash of water, and the undeniable sound of footsteps coming towards this very door.

"Oh crap, oh crap" her brain yelled "Why do you get yourself into these situations"

Dullcy was telling herself to run away, and she thought about it, she looked both ways, neither way she would make it around the corner before the weeping stranger emerged, then she would feel more foolish, probably cry some more, so Dullcy did what she always did in the case of an emergency… She improvised.

She leaped back a few steps from the door and started walking in an orderly pace towards the door, by that time the girl would be walking out, she would look like she was unexpectedly walking in and everything would be hunky dory!

Dullcy raised her head and the stranger saw her electric blue eyes appear from under her glossy brown sweeping hair, the strangers first thought was that she was… well…beautiful! Each feature of her face symmetrical, her eyes where inquisitive and radiant, she was what the stranger would call flawless.

"Ah" Said Dullcy shocked, her first reactions were usually honest, and she peered into the curious (slightly red and puffy) Brown Masculine eyes which were – Draco Malloy's.

"I don't usually go in there it just…" He started his sentence in a rather warm and delicate voice, but with a side-wards glance at her Gryffindor house emblem printed on her Hogwarts robes his attitude changes quite dramatically.

"What are you doing out at night, you little mud-blood" He squawked

"I could ask you the same question" Retorted Dullcy

"I" he said quite prominently "Unlike you, am a Hogwarts Prefect, so I, unlike yourself have special privileges regarding the school rules." finished Malfoy with a satisfied tone.

"Well I, for you information, come from a 7th generation wizarding family, so if you will, you can take back that first comment and I wont have to hex you!"

Malfoy laughed his long drawling laugh that he usually laughed in order to mock people, only it wasn't so effective this time because it didn't have the rapturous laughter from his fellow Slytherin's behind it. I think Malfoy realised this because he stopped.

Malfoy fell silent; the reality of that he was crying a few minutes ago finally set in.

Dullcy stood there consumed in her own thoughts 'Is this really the boy I heard crying a few minutes ago, this strong brutal creature? And strangely Dullcy was drawn to him. She stared at his face as he wiped his eye, and then headed for his inside pocket, where Dullcy knew wizards kept their wands. She drew hers too but ever so quickly, she was the fastest in her year and this was proven against Malfoy.

Malfoy looked up after extracting a tissue from his inside pocket to find a wand pointed jarringly at his face.

"Oh go ahead" he said effortlessly "I've got nothing to live for anyway" and with his final word he slid to the floor and buried his face in his hands.

'What have I done' Thought Dullcy 'you heard him crying before, you knew he was fragile'

"Oh shut up!" she said to herself, but accidentally out loud.

Malfoy looked up, the girl was still there. 'She thinks you're pitiful. Ha! You're going to be the talk of the school! Wingy whiny Malfoy, can't talk to a girl with out bawling'

Dullcy looked down at the innocent face staring up at her, hot tears streamed down his face, honest tears, broken tears, the tears of someone in need. Dullcy sat down next to him and daringly placed her hand on his, to her amazement he didn't pull away, he didn't curse her, but instead he took her hand in his.

Malfoy held her hand, with no embarrassment, no shame, and no guilt, come to think of it… It was one of the most honest things Draco had ever done. He didn't do it for attention; he didn't do it for deceit, he did it! For the first time, in a long time, he did it because he wanted to too, for nothing else, for no one else.

Dullcy's head somehow found his shoulder, they're legs somehow became intertwined and they're hearts somehow became open.

It must have been hours before either made an effort to get back to their dormitories. They sat there, strangely comfortable on the hard concrete floor; talking.

"Your patient" mumbled Malfoy

"Judging by tonight I wouldn't say so"…Malfoy smiled

"What I meant was; you haven't asked me" He said

"It's up to you, we all have secrets, it just depends if you want to tell me." Truth-be-told Dullcy was dying to know why Malfoy was so upset; any secret that could somehow turn a monster into a man, she thought was worth knowing.

Malfoy was thinking of how to bring up the subject, he was dying to get it off his chest; this past hour spent with Dullcy was the closest Malfoy had ever been to a another person, in a psychological way.

Dullcy stroked his cheek, as a tear rolled down it, whatever was troubling Malfoy it was pretty enormous. Malfoy pulled up his sleeve… At first Dullcy wasn't paying attention then… there it was the symbol that had put fear and terror into millions, the symbol that had killed so many, ruined lives, destroyed homes…. Murdered! Yet Dullcy didn't shudder, she didn't whimper, she didn't show a sign of weakness, instead she covered it, with her bare hand she pressed against the most evil sign known to wizard: The Dark Mark!

Malfoy leant his head back in ease, Dullcy's touch somewhat easing the pain, for the first time in months Draco felt like normal person, he felt like himself again.

Draco looked over at Dullcy, her caring eyes open with compassion and love.

"FUCK!" said Dullcy and that was all that needed to be said.

Dullcy's eyes welled up with tears; her heart was beating so fast she thought it might fall out of her chest. Draco held her close to him.

The sun started to rise, before Draco and Dullcy had realised they had been there all night. Draco kissed her forehead, she woke up.

"You look so beautiful when you sleep" Malfoy whispered, Dullcy Smiled "More beautiful than usual I mean"

She leant in and kissed Draco ever so lightly on the lips

"Will I see you today" she asked

"You already have" He replied, Malfoy handed her a package as she got up and with one last passionate embrace they departed.

Authors notes:

I thought up this chapter before I had even heard of fan-fiction. I thought it best not to use another well-known Hogwarts character, because it would detach from the storyline, this character (Dullcy) comes with no identity, no baggage – she is a blank canvas. I hope you understand which part of the "half blood prince" it represents and this chapter is dedicated ti my computer hacker!

Jeucy