A/N I fixed this chapter as well as merging chapters. I found this chapter to be quite too short and I don't like short chapters if I can help it.
*DISCLAIMER* I don't own anything Harry Potter or it's characters.
Chapter 1
"What do you mean I have to share a commons with Malfoy? Professor, I thought it was only for house heads."
"I'm truly sorry Herm- Maia I really am. As it is, the two of you will stay in this guest room and your Prefect duties will always be done together. Is that clear?" Professor McGonagall sighed and turned towards a painting of a posh young boy with short pen straight raven hair and a messy blonde-haired girl with a smudge of dirt on her cheek. Both sat on a blue striped bench owned by the Hogwarts Express and wearing smug grins on their faces. "Maia, I don't like this any more than you but Albus obviously has a plan for you- Ah Mr. Malfoy, nice for you to finally grace us with your presence" McGonagall grumbled, causing a quiet giggle to escape Maia's lips.
"Shut up Mudbl-" Draco doubled over in pain, shouting obscenities through his yelps.
"Oh yes, from this day forward, that foul word is tabooed and will send a small shock to your system when you use it" She explained with a smug look on her face.
"You could have warned me. Out of my way Mu-" He caught himself, pushing past both McGonagall and Maia to get inside the portrait hole "Are you coming Black?" He growled "Some of us have to sleep."
"Good luck Miss Black. You will need it." McGonagall rested her hand on Maia's shoulder and gave it a squeeze before she turned and walked down the corridor.
"We have Prefect duty tonight Malfoy." Maia said as she entered the common room and flopped down on a chaise near the fireplace.
"Whatever" Draco replied heading towards the green door on the far left wall. "Do it by yourself" He spat, turning the doorknob.
"And I can tell Professor Dumbledore you're skiving off your duties." Maia threatened, jumping out of her seat and headed for the portrait hole.
Draco stiffened for a moment before he sighed reluctantly and replied, "Fine, let's go"
Draco walked silently behind Maia as she went from classroom to classroom, peering in to make sure no students were out of bed and doing things they shouldn't. "Ok, last floor then we'll be done." She announced as she climbed the changing stairs, hearing only a snort from behind her telling her that Draco was still following.
Maia followed Draco into their commons and Draco went straight to his room without another word. Maia sighed and turned in for the night as well.
~~ oo ~~
"What are you doing down there?" Maia raised an eyebrow looking down in the middle of the floor of the shared common room
"I couldn't sleep, probably fell o-" He raised his head, snarling as he had just realized who he was speaking to. "Why the hell do you care any way Mudbl-" Draco cried out in pain as wrapped his arm around his stomach "This is inhumane. My father will hear about this!" He cried.
"Perhaps if you stopped saying the word, you wouldn't be in pain." Maia stated
"Thank you for stating the obvious know-it-all bit-." He growled, standing up to his full height
Maia quickly brandished her wand and held it high, straight at Draco's face "I dare you to finish that sentence Draco Malfoy." She snapped
Draco threw his hands in the air in defeat and clamped his mouth shut quickly, stepping around her and gracefully walked to his room as Maia turned with her wand still pointed at him until he shut the door.
"Mione, let me in please your portrait is yelling obscenities at me and laughing at me" Came a voice slightly muffled from behind her
Sighing, she turned on her heels and opened the portrait door for her best friend "You're up early Harry. What can I do for you?"
Harry looked up at his best mate and gave her a cheeky grin "Thought I'd take my best friend to breakfast this morning" His smile faltered as he assessed Maia's worried expression "What's wrong Herm- Maia? Did that Ferret mess with you?" He looked over her shoulder into the room but saw no other persons
"No Harry, he didn't harm me. I'll tell you on the way to breakfast" She looped her arm around his and together they walked away from her commons "Ok, it's like this. McGonagall is going to announce it at breakfast but I thought I would go ahead and to tell you, that foul word for us muggleborns is tabooed, if someone says it, a shock enters their system effectively causing them to double over in pain." She stopped at the window looking out upon the grounds and sighed "Malfoy and I have to share a commons this year as prefects and the Order has asked me to keep a close eye on him this year for some reason." She finished just as they came upon the Great Hall.
"So- um do you want me to move in with you, keep you safe? I'm sure Professor Dumbledore would allow it" He offered gingerly
She shook her head "Harry I think Malfoy sneaked out last night after hours. I don't know what he was doing, but I am certainly going to find out." she said defiantly
Harry couldn't help but smile at his friend's curiosity, hell it's what has gotten him through the last five years alive! He was more grateful to her than she knew. He'd help her any way he could to repay the many times she had saved his life. "Do you want the Marauder's Map and my cloak?" he whispered
"No not yet, I have a plan but eventually I am going to need it." she answered as they sat at their house table
"If there is any way to help, ask." he replied before filling his plate and both falling into silence.
~~ oo ~~
A door shut quietly on the opposite wall of hers, she wouldn't have even heard it if she hadn't had her ear pressed up against her door and waiting. She heard shuffling feet in the common room and then the portrait door open and close. Breathing a sigh of relief she promptly opened the door and made her way to the chaise that stood nearest the fireplace and plopped down on it. "I will find out what you are doing Draco Malfoy, if it's the last thing I do" she told the dark silent room before tucking her feet under her and opening the book she had laid on the end table. She had been doing the same for the last two months, it had seemed that he never even realized she was in the chair. She was awoken by a soft thud near her and she heard him curse but did nothing to show that she was indeed awake. After a few minutes of silence, she opened her eye a fraction of the way and saw that he was lying in the middle of the floor yet again. She sighed and pulled the duvet from around her and tiptoed over to him and laid the cover over him before retreating into her own room.
She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself and stepped over to the mirror, sighing as she looked herself over in the mirror. She turned her head a bit and noticed Draco standing in the doorway of their shared bathroom. "Malfoy! Get out!" she cried, wrapping the towel more snug around her "I'm not decent! Get out!" She shrieked when he didn't move. He stepped inside the bathroom and before she could find her wand, he had his pushed into her throat.
"If I see you following me again, I will not hesitate to kill you Granger" He hissed
"What? I haven't been following you Malfoy"
He pressed his wand a little harder and she whimpered "Don't fucking lie to me filth, I know that you have been waiting up in the common room. Since you already know that I venture out, I'm not going to even try to lie, but I won't stand for the goody-two-shoe Gryffindor to get the better of me. How does it feel to be on the receiving end of a wand Granger?" He added, as he remembered being in this same position in reverse three years previously.
"I- just- let me help you D-D-Draco" His given name falling strangely from her tongue. A fleeting moment she saw something flash in his eyes, fear maybe? But in an instance it was gone, his mask back up and a sneer on his lips.
"I don't need you, this is mine to do an-" He bit his lip to stop the babble that had started and winced inwardly at the amount he has already revealed.
"Draco" She said with less fear "I won't judge you; I want to help with whatever this is. Can we not just get along a little?" She said weakly realizing that it was a very touchy subject with him
"No. If I see you again in the common room waiting up for me Granger, I will kill you." He pulled away his wand and pocketed it as he turned on his heels and walked out of the bathroom.
Maia sunk to the floor as soon as the door was closed and let out a sob. She had never felt so helpless, so scared than she did at this very moment. She didn't know whether or not he would indeed go through with his threat but she certainly didn't want to find out. She exhaled slowly and finished her daily morning ritual.
Harry and Ron met Maia at the bottom of the stairs in the Entrance Hall, both with smiles on their faces "Maia, good morning. Did you sleep well?" Harry asked as he allowed her to slip her arm through his and began walking towards the Great Hall with Ron in tow.
Maia thought about telling her best friends about Malfoy's threat but then it would seem that she could not deal with this by herself and was a coward so she lied. "I had a wonderful sleep Harry, thank you. Also my morning was quite good, thank you for asking"
Harry's face fell "Mione, you are a terrible liar. What did Malfoy do?" He whispered low enough so only she could hear and stopped walking entirely.
"No-" She sighed "I stayed up late last night so I could catch him out after school hours and hopefully get his badge removed. I really can't stand him Harry...but this morning while I was getting showered, he walked in and threatened my life if I waited for him again. In all honesty, it makes me even more curious as to what he's up to." When she finished explaining, Ron had already gone into the Great Hall and Harry had a shocked look plastered on his face.
"Maia, you need to tell Professor McGonagall or Dumbledore"
"Oh yes and that worked out well for you when I mentioned it to you last year about the sort of punishment that awful toad Umbridge dealt out?" She retorted a bit more harshly than she meant to.
Harry sighed and started walking with her again "I cannot believe my ears, Hermione Granger spoke sarcastically. Listen, I don't think this situation is anywhere near the way mine was with Umbridge, but I suppose you are correct, don't give him the satisfaction of thinking you're a coward and can't defend yourself." Harry opened the door for Maia and she slipped into the Great Hall and he followed silently.
~~ oo ~~
Maia returned to her commons hoping that Draco Malfoy was not there, her luck he was not. She bounded over to her room and packed up her school bag with new parchment and quills she had bought on her first trip of the year to Hogsmeade. Throwing the strap over her shoulder, she walked out into the corridor and down to the dungeons to her first class of the day, Double Potions.
She inwardly groaned when she saw the group of Slytherins crowded around talking in hushed tones. For the last several months, they have done everything in their power to humiliate her and make her tell the truth to her lie. She passed them and entered the classroom, taking a seat near the front of the class as the group of Slytherins spilled into the room and crowded around her.
She turned in her seat and looked up at the group unabashed "Is there something you want?" She asked in a steady, even tone that even surprised her
"You filthy little mu- know it all, I would advise you to come out with that nasty little lie. You deface the name of Purebloods and it will stop now." Pansy hissed, grabbing her wand out of her bag
"I am not afraid of you Parkinson. I have mastered more spells than you have bedded men. I advise you to not toy with me. As for my lineage, I am very much as Pureblooded as you and every other Slytherin in this room at the moment Pansy, therefore you will stop pestering me and accept that I am certainly from the Noble house of Black and my true name is Maia Bellatrix Black." Maia turned around and faced the front of the classroom as the rest of the Slytherins and Gryffindors arrived and took their seats immediately. Pansy went to say more but Zabini held her back
"That is enough Pans, I really doubt that a lowly muggleborn, even if it is Granger, would have the courage to stand up to a group of Slytherins and not flinch. If she says she is of our kin then I would have to believe her. She has a lot of balls which is a very highly seen trait in the Black family." He drug Pansy off to their seats and backwards glanced at the girl he had just defended.
In all her years, she had never thought a Slytherin would stand up for her, least not Blaise Zabini, highly sought after bachelor and quiet Blaise Zabini. She didn't know what to make of the whole ordeal, nor where she had gotten the courage to say what she did to Pansy Parkinson when the group together could have over powered her easily. She thought about what Blaise had said, thought that it must be true, the Black family is certainly showing itself through her. She was so deep in thought, when Slughorn dismissed them signaling that class was over; she couldn't believe she missed the entire lecture!
"Blaise, a moment please?" she asked meekly as he was the last to leave and already at the door
"Yes?" He asked, returning to his seat and placing his bag on the ground beside him.
"Thank you. I may have been able to easily over power Pansy, but the others… Did you really mean what you said?" She questioned unsure she wanted to hear the answer.
"Your quite welcome Miss Black, and to answer your question, Yes I meant every word. You see my family has known the Blacks for some time. Your father, Caelum is my Godfather and though I haven't ever met him, he and his wife, your mother, were talked about regularly in my house. I can see the Black resemblance, even if no one else can."
She sunk into her seat and sighed, she hadn't known this about her father… What else were they hiding? Draco Malfoy has an arranged marriage with her? How ludicrous! "Blaise, do you suppose we could start over? It would be nice to have a few more friends who accepts me as a Pureblood, being a Pureblood himself that is." She stretched out her hand in front of her
"Of course" He took her hand and shook it "My name is Blaise Zabini, Slytherin" he introduced as if they were just meeting for the first time as acquaintances rather than six years as enemies
She giggled at his boldness "My name is Maia Black; it's so nice to meet you Blaise." They both stood up and walked out of the classroom talking animatedly.
~~oo~~
It had been exactly four weeks and five days since Draco had made his threat, four weeks since the second-in-command prince of Slytherin, Blaise Zabini walked into Maia`s life. Maia was rather proud she has gained the trust of a Slytherin, not many Gryffindors can admit to that feat if any at all since the early 1800`s where the first Gryffindor/Slytherin couple took the world by storm. She has tried to whittle information out of Blaise about his mate's whereabouts but it would seem he knew nothing of what Draco has been up to. Maia decided when her newly formed friendship with Blaise started; she would feign worry for her insufferable partnered Prefect's recent exhaustion and inability to perform his Prefect duties to prevent the Slytherin prince from suspecting ulterior motives.
"So you say he is out every night well into the morning hours?'" Blaise asked quietly, not wanting to disturb other students who were in the library with them to study
"'Yes and I am truly starting to worry." It was time to kick it up a notch as the muggles would say. ''Listen Blaise, you know me enough to know that no offense but I couldn't care two shits about Malfoy but when he is skiving off his duties as Prefect, I have to kind of care.'' she lied
Blaise leaned back in his chair and stared at the woman in front of him as if trying to decide if her story added up. He smiled at her and came back up into his previous position so he couldn't be overheard ''I've seen him. I have no idea what he is up to but I have seen him when I take my nightly walks up on the seventh floor. Please Maia, listen to my friendly advice and don't stick your pretty little nose in where it doesn't belong. Malfoy has been acting weird ever since he boarded the train and even I don't want to know what is up with him and I'm his best mate."
Maia sighed and leaned back into her own chair "Alright Blaise, I promise I won't, but I want him to start performing his Prefect duties again or I will start poking around."
As everyone gathered into the Great Hall for dinner, Maia sat down between Harry and Ginny and filled her plate. They all ate in silence with a few occasions where Maia would catch Ron looking at her as he always did with longing in his eyes. When dinner plates and food disappeared and dessert appeared before them, Maia leaned over towards Harry and whispered "Harry I need to borrow your cloak and map for you-know-what" Harry looked surprised but nodded in confirmation that he heard her and agreed before he dug into his dessert. She waited for him just outside the Great Hall and together they walked to Gryffindor tower to retrieve his items.
"Hermione you know it isn't a good idea to do this. He's already threatened your life for being nosy what makes you think he won't go through with it? I'm just concerned about you Mione" Harry bit his lip waiting for the scolding he usually gets when he tells her off but it never came
"Harry I know it's dangerous but Dumbledore did give me the task of watching him. This is the only reason he even got Prefect this year. It must have something to do with Voldemort…" She had been speculating that he was doing something for Voldemort only because of how shut in he has become and for the fact that one morning she woke up before the sun and noticed a dark black line going up his arm above his wrist and disappearing into the rolled up sleeve of his school robes. She believed it was the Dark Mark. "Harry Malfoy is a Death Eater, you were right all along"
Harry looked taken back but smiled as if telling her 'told you so' "What makes you think that?" He asked as he rummaged through his trunk for his invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map.
"I'm pretty sure I saw a Dark Mark Harry, on his arm. You were right."
Harry closed his trunk and handed Maia the two forbidden items "You'll probably want them for a few days right?" Harry asked
"Naturally, it won't take me long to find him and find out exactly what he's doing." She turned to exit the boy's dormitory and stiffened as Ron entered "Ronald" She said sternly before flying past him and down the stairs. She didn't stop until she was in her own bedroom and only then did she stop and lock her door and place wards up before sitting down on her bed and laying the map across her pillow.
For the first time in six years, she lowered her wand to hover above the map and whispered "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" tapping the map with the end of her wand as she whispered the words she thought she would never hear herself say.
Starting at the top corner of the map, the ink appeared as if it had always been there. Flicking across the worn old parchment, outlining the walls that are Hogwarts, writing names to moving dots, and labeling places within the castle. Maia sighed, placing her wand down on her bed and taking hold of the parchment. Her eyes averted to Gryffindor tower first, Harry was in his room pacing while the other dots labeled Dean, Seamus, Neville stood still suggesting that they may be asleep. Her eyes moved down instinctively into the box labeled Gryffindor Commons and wrinkled her nose upon seeing Ron's dot colliding with Lavender Brown's dot. She shook her head and let her eyes wonder around the map until she came across the Slytherin Commons where she saw Blaise's dot next to Daphne Greengrass' dot unmoving 'Thank Merlin she thought to herself. Maia searched the map many times until she finally had to tap her wand to it and whisper "Mischief Managed" before she fell into slumber fully dressed.