Disclaimer! The characters and anything else you may recognize are not mine; I'm just the novice playing with them!

Steel Locks & Crystal Keys

Chapter One: Story & Dray

First, a little bit of history.

I was five years old when I first laid eyes on the bastard. He wasn't particularly handsome, but he was one of those boys that you just knew was going to grow up and be beautiful. You just had to look at his family to know that. Even his demented aunt was beautiful - in her own crazy way.

Daphne and I were having tea with our mother, Willow, when he and his mother entered with Kitarra Zabini. This was when Kitarra was only on her third husband. Blaise, my sister's friend, was her son. He was handsome, even as a child, and I just knew he and my sister were meant for each other. Years later, I would be proven right, of course. Anyway, I'm veering off subject.

He and his mother, Narcissa, joined us for tea that day. He wasn't particularly talkative. In fact, during the entire tea time, I don't think he said more than ten words. Narcissa, Kittara, and my mother were chatting happily most of the time, only stopping for deep breaths or sips of tea and bites of crumpets.

I studied his features and body language mercilessly. I may have been five years old, but I was hailed for being extremely smart. Father's genetics, I thought, obviously glad I wasn't an airhead like Mrs. Parkinson's daughter or, worse, completely genetically fucked like Mrs. Bullstrode's daughter. I'd rather have the brains than the classic beauty that my sister had inherited. As for Draco Malfoy, he may not have the beauty now, but he would definitely have it later in his life. Likely before he started Hogwarts, unless he was sent to Durmstrang. I snorted derisively. Durmstrang was a waste of a castle. The headmaster was fool of a man and the students hardly understood anything other than the Dark Arts, which made them morph into mindless drones perfect for following a Dark master. At least when the Dark Lord returned to power, he would have followers.

This boy that I studied, however, looked as if he had the brains to go along with his impending transformation of looks. He was watching our mothers banter and Blaise flirt as only a child could with a cold sneer on his pointed face. It was amusing to watch his expression change as life took it's course. I had a very strong feeling I would be watching him for a while yet.

I was right.

After that day, we were thrown together in a variety of social situations. Birthdays, christenings, Yules, New Years, and various other outings our mothers arranged were obvious, but then there were the odd times he would arrive unannounced with his mother at our house. At first, he spent his time with my sister and her silly friends. After a while, though, he would wander the house. Nothing was off limits, at least in his eyes, and he stumbled on the library, studied my father's study, rifled through our various cupboards, and peeked into the many closets. No skeleton was safe from his prying.

He must've gotten bored with how little he found, because eventually he started seeking me out. He was ask questions about the house, the help, my parents, my sister, and me. I was happy to answer, just to see what his reactions would be. They varied day to day. Some days he was surly and would just grunt in appreciation of the information and others he would ask follow up questions, looking for details. It was entertaining, to say the least.

Time passed, as it always seems to do, and soon we were spending every minute we could together. Normally we would sit in the library, pouring over various texts and tomes, trading information like money. Sometimes life would find us venturing outdoors to look at plants we'd found texts on or practice new Quidditch maneuvers. It didn't matter what we did. Whatever we did, we did it together.

There wasn't a secret spared betwixt us. The floodgates of personal information were opened exponentially when he appeared at the house one summer's day at the age of seven with a black eye and broken arm. He stated that he had fallen off of the banister, but I knew better. I had met Lucius Malfoy and I recognized an abuser when I spotted one. But, I kept my mouth shut until he was ready to spill this secret. And spill he did.

After that incident, we ran to each other over every little thing. He was the first person I told when my dog died. I was his first Floo call when his father started beating his mother. And when his Hogwarts letter came.. well, that changed everything, didn't it?

TBC

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