Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter—that's J.K. Rowling's. I am responsible for Bella and some of the peculiar events surrounding her existence.

I. Secrets and Names

He sat on the dark leather of the smaller of the two rather grandiose couches in the common room. He propped his feet up on the coffee table as usual, not bothering to take his shoes off. The idiosyncratic sneer he was known for graced his features, but not due to the conversation topic. In all actuality, he had no idea what his fellow Fourth Years were talking about, but he had a pretty good idea it had something to do with the final task. That's what everyone was talking about anymore. The sneer was only there to make it look like he was listening. Draco Malfoy, however, was lost in his own thoughts.

The image of Harry Potter returning to the entrance of the maze, battered, bruised, bleeding, and clutching a cold, dead Cedric Diggory wasn't easily lost from his memory. It was shocking at first. No one knew what had happened. But as word spread that Diggory was dead—really dead—panic set in. It took all of the professors and prefects to keep the younger students in order and to shuttle them back to their dormitories. Potter had disappeared almost instantly upon arrival, apparently swept away by Professor Moody. But rumor had it Professor Moody was an impostor using Polyjuice. So much for security at Hogwarts, the most secure place in all of Great Britain. Draco mentally scoffed. The Manor was so much safer.

That wasn't the only peculiarity that had taken place last night. As usual, it had taken Draco only a few seconds of scanning the large crowd of students to find the long blond hair and angelic smile of a certain Gryffindor. Consciously, he didn't go looking for her, but somehow it had become a habit he couldn't control. He didn't know when he had started caring, but he always looked for her in the crowds at Quidditch games as he flew back and forth, presumably looking for the golden snitch instead. He always kept his eyes pealed at meals, waiting for her entrance and watching her interact with her friends, secretly hoping she would look his way to see how he interacted with his own. In classes he tried to arrive just after she did to claim a seat in the row behind her. That way he could hear her conversations with friends and watch her without anyone noticing. When did he finally figure out what he was doing? He wasn't quite sure. He did know when he put a name to it, thought. tWhen he saw her walk down the steps on that baffoon Longbottom's arm for the Yule Ball, it was like he had been punched in the gut. All of the air escaped his lungs and he fought to breathe. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her in those silky crimson robes that brought out the natural rosy color of her cheeks. And from that moment on, he knew that he fancied her. Really fancied her. And that wasn't okay. She wasn't a Pureblood—heck, no one even knew who her parents were! So, naturally, he began plotting how to get her to fancy him back. Not with the intention of entering a legitimate relationship with her, of course, but rather so that he could have the opportunity to drive her as crazy as she drove him. Other than that, she was untouchable, being the best friend of Bloody St. Potter. Draco's sneer deepened.

"Everything okay, Drakie?" Pansy cooed.

Draco waved her away, "Fine. What were you saying Blaise?"

Once Zabini began talking again, Draco returned to his thoughts. That's where stealing her shoes and breaking the glass so she'd step and cut her foot at the Yule Ball came in. Somehow he had deluded himself into thinking that if he could just swoop in when she was isolated from her friends and rescue her, she would surely fall for him then. Only, it hadn't worked. In fact, it had royally backfired into one of the rare occasions in which she actually insulted him. She usually kept it pretty neutral, aiming to play peacekeeper among the Slytherins and Gryffindors. She had her opinions, but she didn't force them upon anyone else. And she just wanted everyone to be respectful and get along. Hmph. Mudbloods don't deserve respect, Draco thought, crossing his arms and sinking deeper into the cushion. As he heard mention of the magical maze, Draco was reminded of where his trailing thoughts had begun: finding Bella in the crowd at the third task. It hadn't taken long. She was sitting with Granger behind the Weasleys, who had come out to to play the part of "family" to Potter. She stood, smiling and chatting with Granger and Weaselette, seemingly joyful. But the wringing of her hands betrayed her anxiety and fear for Potter. Every now and then, Draco would steal a glance back at her, trying not to be too obvious as he turned his body away from his friends. But then suddenly, when the only two left in the maze were Potter and Diggory, Bella disappeared. Draco looked back several times, even once noticing Granger and Weaselette searching the crowd for her as well. Vanished. It didn't keep him from searching the crowd several more times for her before the Hogwarts champions finally returned from their misadventures and all hell broke loose.

Draco was pulled from his thoughts once more by his friends.

"Malfoy, what do you think happened in there?" Goyle asked him, indicating the maze.

"I already told you, Goyle," Draco grumbled for at least the third time, "I don't know anything more than the rest of the school."

Goyle gave him a blank look.

Draco sighed, "Diggory's dead. Potter-" he made sure to spit the name out with as much venom as possible, "-is somehow still a hero, and Bel—" he cough to cover his mistake, "No Name somehow ended up in the hospital wing this morning." He never used Bella's real name, but rather his nickname for her, No Nam, which made sure to highlight her lack of surname.

What Draco didn't—couldn't—tell his best mates was that he had, in fact, received a cryptic letter from his father this morning. Cryptic, yes, but not lacking in details. Crabbe, Goyle and Zabini asking incessant questions just kindled the fire of the burning secret he was carrying.

The Dark Lord had returned.

And Draco, remembered triumphantly, there was no reason for him to feel guilty about fancying Bella. No reason not to make her fall for him, either. Not anymore. For her disappearance at the third task had also been explained by his father. Draco's sneer transformed into a rare smirk of smug contentment as his body visibly relaxed.

The Dark Lord's return had coincided with the discovery of Bella's familial past. Oh, yes. The orphaned witch of unknown origins suddenly had a father. Little Miss No Name suddenly had a name: Arabella Rose Riddle.

A/N: This is a story in conjunction with "Bella's Story," which I don't think you'll need to have read to understand this story. Thanks to the readers who suggest I take Bella's Story from Draco's POV. I know this isn't first person Draco, but it is omniscient Draco—so I hope we get a better idea of what is going on with him. Sorry it's so short, but I'm already working on the next chapter! Please Read and Review! Xoxox, CW

The title of the story is from the title of the song by Billy Joel.