The One of Most Value

By: The Final Cookie

(Yay! My second posted fanfic (to you Danielle :D)! This one needs a bit of introduction. Firstly, as much as I love yaoi, I'm sick of all the yaoi fics in the Harry Potter genre. Ugh... x.x I have read a few good ones, but most are in bad taste, and realistically Draco and Harry would just never happen. Period. (Yeah yeah, flame away and cry me a river...) Anyway! I figure I would break the monotony. I made a character a while back for a Harry Potter RPG and she flew over pretty well. She's a beautiful, pure-blooded, aristocratic... outcast. Always proper, always polite, always quiet. This fic is inspired by the fourth book/movie. If you're interested in Ana's back story, just bug me to write about it. I don't mind. :P J.K. Rowling owns Draco and the Harry Potter-verse, but not Ana. She's mine. Please enjoy!)

She swam through the water with such a furiousity that one would think that she were mad. Who wouldn't? It was the middle of winter and she dove in the water with one simple threat that found itself lodged in her textbook, "I have something you value most." Immediately she ate the gullyweed and plunged in.

It was a trial set up by the triwizard tournament a few years back, one where you had to find something of most value to you. To the surprise of the participators, it was a person. Not a something, but a someone. The crimson haired beauty didn't value anyone so much she'd wish to save them from a watery maze, did she?

Maybe her brother was stuck under the inky abyss. She certainly valued him since he was the only sort of family she had. Certainly it wasn't her mother who held ridiculously high standard as a means to live her life through her daughter.

"You are a Safier," She was once told, "Do you know what that means, Anastasia? Your ancestors left France long ago, claiming to be 'her pride'! Sa fierté, or shortened to Safier, and you have done nothing worthy in our family name!" This earned her a sharp backhand in her mother's rage. She didn't care if her mother lived or died, so it couldn't have been her.

Anastasia was a loner, and she certainly didn't hold someone so close that it would matter to her if they were met with a watery demise. No, friends came and friends went, she had become used to being the outcast to Hogwarts. She was rich, pureblooded, beautiful, and miserable. She bored of how those idiots flaunted their blood as if it were some sort of trophy. Sometimes she found herself wondering as she passed mid-conversations if the Slytherins were talking about themselves or bloody owls.

Gits, all of them. With that ruled out of her head, certainly she had no one close enough to be at the bottom of the Black Lake. Maybe they took a possession of hers? Again, nothing piqued her interest in material possessions either. You think being rich she would have an heirloom of some sort she held dear, but she was an unconventional witch. She had nothing that she had possessed since a baby, and nothing that a 'suitor' had given her as a gift. Nothing.

Perhaps her self-warming cotton robe? She loved it, but she could always get another. It was a nice possession, but nothing she would lose sleep over. They came far and few in-between, definitely not a rarity. So maybe it was curiosity that brought her here. What could she value? Something she would miss or rather something someone thought she would.

Maybe it was all a huge prank played on the outcast Slytherin. Her mind raced as she looked aside in thought, in what felt like a forest of kelp, "…But what if they really do have my brother?"

Savagely, she clawed at the seaweed until it was cleared and she could see someone hanging there. Their very presence made Anastasia's eyes hot with tears that dissipated quickly in the cold water. Her breath caught in her throat and she shook her head in denial. No… it couldn't be…

She swam faster until she came upon the figure floating there, but he was tethered to a rock by a strong bit of cloth at his feet. She came close and clasped her hands over her mouth as she took in the sight wondering how someone could peer so deeply in her soul to know it was… him?

Draco Malfoy hung suspended in mid-water, his head loosely hanging aside, his arms attempting to float him up to the surface. His blonde hair floated gently in the water like the kelp that surrounded the bottom, and his eyes were peacefully shut.

Trembling, Ana held out her hands and laid them on his neck. He was still warm, and he still had a pulse. How could he survive this? She wondered that while looking into his face, his beautiful, sleeping expression. She had stayed silent about her secret desire for the one whom she loathed in terms of flaunting his blood, but loved because… well… she didn't know why. There was just something about him that told her that even though admirers surrounded him, he still seemed quite alone, and there was a secret sadness she would catch when she found herself staring.

When he would catch her eye, he would look flustered, then quickly look away as if she had caught him vulnerable, that her turquoise eyes pierced through the façade he put on for everyone else and saw him for what he really was; something no one else would do for him.

She floated in the water admiring him, so innocent, so vulnerable. He would die of embarrassment if anyone else had seen him like this, but her? She didn't know how he would react. She gently pulled his forehead against hers and closed her eyes, almost in a silent prayer.

"I'm so sorry for this mess, my sweet, sweet dragon…" She breathed hopelessly to him before more tears dissipated in the water and she pressed her lips against his in an urgent kiss; a kiss that meant so much, and yet so little because only she could enjoy it. She had longed to kiss those lips and she longed for him to look at her, but even more she wanted him to turn his eye from her because she knew she could never have him. He couldn't possibly want her, not the house's outcast. He could do so much better than her.

However, Anastasia wanted nothing more than to stay in this moment forever, forgetting about her blood and his, forgetting about what everyone else thought, forgetting that she was a social outcast and him just the opposite, forgetting everything and being trapped forever in a world where there was only him and her. The mermaids witnessed her love as they swam by; a beautiful redheaded girl of seventeen, her robes and her long curled hair floating around her while she took the lips of the boy, the same age as her, his hair glistening like a burning flame, seeming even brighter in contrast to the dark robes around him.

Anastasia reluctantly pulled away from his lips to fire a blast that set him free. She wrapped her arm around his waist and began to swim to the surface. Just in time too, for the gills the magical herb made her develop were fading fast and she realized she was beginning to suffocate. Both of their heads broke the surface at the same time and they gasped in unison at the mix of the winter's cold shock and the air their lungs had temporarily been deprived of.

"Ana!" Draco looked over and called her name, "What are you…?"

"Not now," Ana interrupted as she began to swim for the shore, "we won't last long out here…"

They urgently swam for the shore where two blankets conveniently lay there. Ana quickly snatched hers up and wrapped it about her body, beginning realize how cold it was outside and how cold the water. He must have realized too because he was desperately clutching at the blanket, as if wishing there were more there to warm him.

"L-Let's hurry…" They couldn't make it back to Hogwarts from this distance with wet clothing, it was just asking for hypothermia, but she knew of a storage shed not far from the Black Lake that had been abandoned sometime ago. If they could warm themselves there, then they could surely walk the distance back.

Once in the shed, they both sat by a fire Ana had made while wearing next to nothing under their blankets while their clothing dried, entirely silent. They couldn't breathe a word to one another; maybe they were too shy, maybe awkward given their current situation. For Ana, she knew it was a bit of both, but she couldn't possibly begin to wonder what was running through Draco's mind at that moment. She glanced over hoping to catch some sort of readable expression, but when she looked at him, he appeared to be in deep thought, his chin on his knees, eyes downward.

Ana sighed deeply and lamely commented, "I'm glad I remembered about this place."

"Yeah…"

There was another long bout of silence in the air. Did he hate her now? Did he not even care that she saved him life? Did he somehow know she was the cause of his near demise anyway?

"Draco," she began slowly, as if testing the waters, "Are you feeling warmer?"

He nodded again, silent.

"Do you remember how you ended up in Black Lake?"

He finally looked up and met her eyes, "No, I don't."

Ana held his gaze that felt so intense she immediately looked to the floor.

"I remember I was walking in the hallway, blacked out, then I was with you, but the important part of the matter is how did you find me and why am I here?"

Ana kept her eyes to the ground and fell silent again.

"You know something, don't you?" He demanded.

"You seem upset," Ana said slowly.

"Well, it's not everyday one gets kidnapped, of course I'm upset! Now tell me!"

Ana winced, "Well…" she felt her voice tremble, like one does most often before confessing something, "I was looking for something and I happened to find you."

Draco gave a short laugh while rolling his eyes, "In the lake, in the middle of winter? What did you lose, an earring?"

She pulled the blanket close to her, "No… I just… kept getting these weird notes in my books so… I decided to see what they meant…"

He looked confused, "What kind of notes?"

"They always said the same thing: I have something you value most. Whoever it was left me clues to the whereabouts of my most valued thing and… I was lead to you."

Draco stared blankly at her, but Ana knew there was no turning back from there.

She nervously swallowed and went on, "I was probably in denial, but the whole time in my heart, I knew somehow I would be lead to you, because I value you, Draco. You've caught my eyes many times and I know I've caught yours, but I'm not going to hide it anymore. I love you, and I value you,"

When she saw his expression hadn't changed, her eyes glanced aside to the fire, "And though this is already the most awkward of times, I thought I would let you know." She pulled the blanket close to her face, pretending to be cold, but trying to hide a blush that surfaced and threatened to rival her hair.

Again, silence flooded the air followed by tension so thick, she could nearly taste it. Ana tightened her eyes, cursing herself for ever allowing him to find out. He was probably thinking of some way to reject her and push her away. Rightfully so… They would both leave and continue about their ways and perhaps she could grieve and experience heartbreak before moving on. Time to whip up another sleeping potion…

"Then I suppose I would be lying if I said I didn't feel the same."

Ana gazed over at Draco, and though he held a mild blush, he firmly held her gaze, "You're right, I have watched you pass. You're the first and last person I see nearly everyday, and you've captured me with your manner, elegance and beauty; so don't hide your face in shame because the feeling is mutual. I love you as well."

Draco took one of her hands and kissed it gently, his eyes gazing up to her, "And thank you for saving my life."

Ana smiled brightly at him, "So all this time…"

Draco sat up again, "Yes, all this time. At first, I'll admit, I thought you were weird but there was just something about you," he waved his hand for emphasis, "You weren't loud and brash like the rest of the Slytherins. You weren't going out of your way to kiss my arse. I think everyone's jealous because silently, you hold your head above everyone else's and they hate it. They know you don't have to prove your worth to everyone else because you know you're a Safier."

Ana watched as Draco took her hand, lacing his fingers between his, "And even if you let them get to you silently, don't. They're gits, the lot of them."

She laughed gently and squeezed his hand, "Don't I know…" She paused before looking at their hands, "So tell me, where do I stand with you?"

"You're my girlfriend, of course," he replied simply and absolutely.

"Oh my, am I?"

"Yes, you are, and you love it, Miss Safier."

"But everyone will talk…"

"Of course they will, and we'll give them something to talk about."

"Mr. Malfoy, you know with a proposition like that, I shan't refuse!"

They caught each other's eyes and burst out laughing until they were leaning against each other for support, smiling as they watched the fire in silence again.

After a while, Ana noted, "You know, I think our clothes are dry if you want to head back."

"No, we can stay."

Ana looked at him questioningly.

"I told you, we'll give them something to talk about, and what better way to start?" He opened his blanket to her so she could see a glimpse of his body, and she smiled at this.

"Surely not a better one," she replied abandoning her blanket for his.

-Fin 11/29/05