Disclaimer: Harry Potter may not be mine, but I can have fun with his world.

My Father

Chapter Nine

Draco's POV

She clearly needed someone in her life. I felt so bad for her. Someone must have clearly abandoned her for her to feel so alone and isolated.

"Sarai, tell me what's wrong. Tell me what happened," I whispered in her ear as she continued to sob into my shirt.

She shook her head and buried it further into my chest. I held her tighter. She felt like ice. She shook uncontrollably no matter who close I was holding her. She didn't need to be out in this cold corridor. She needed to be someplace warm.

"Wrap your arms around my neck. We can't stay here."

I scooped her up and held her close as I carried her through the maze of corridors. I took a few secrets passages to avoid nosy students, and we wound up on the seventh floor.

I walked past a blank stretch of wall three times, thinking hard. A door materialized and I quickly stepped inside and locked it.

Sarai was still crying, not paying attention to where I was taking her.

The Room of Requirement held a bed with warm blankets and was quiet. She needed someplace quiet and warm.

I carried her over to the bed and laid her down gently. I pulled the covers over her. She curled into the fetal position and was quiet.

I crawled onto the bed and laid down next to her. I pulled her close, and stroked her hair to calm her.

She had stopped crying so much. Occasional tears trailed down her pale face and she kept sniffing back more tears. At one point, she uncurled herself and rolled over to move closer to me. I wrapped my arms around her and rested my head against the top of hers.

She felt so small in my arms. When she stood, she barely reached my chest. She was thin, almost too thin, like she hadn't been eating enough lately. Her large, lovely eyes stood out in her face, and they had a lost, helpless look in them.

"Sarai, tell me what's wrong. You don't have to deal with it alone."

"I am alone." she whispered. "I have no mother, no father. No one here to protect weak and vulnerable Sarai."

"I'm here."

"My mother died over the summer. My father never existed until now. He's a Death Eater, and I have no one."

"I know what it's like to be alone," I whispered.

"You do?"

"I do. My father is a Death Eater too. He's Voldemort's right hand man. He doesn't give a damn about me. Half the time I don't exist. My mother is never around, she's always traveling, trying to get away from him. I suspect she's having an affair. I have no brothers or sisters; more often than not, I am home alone."

"I've never been alone before. My mother was always there when I needed her," she said, her voice quivering.

I held her tighter. "You don't have to be alone."

"I'm afraid," she barely whispered.

"I'm here," I whispered into her hair.

She shifted around in my embrace. "Draco," she looked up into my eyes, "the Dark Lord's after me."

I thought I misunderstood her. "You. . .what?"

"The Dark Lord's after me," she whispered, tears falling again.

"But. . .why?"

"Draco, it's him. Snape's my father. It's his fault. He got involved with my mother. My mother, the dirty common Muggle-born. I'm a half blood. I'm not pure. He wants to get rid of me."

My mind spun. "Snape? He's your father? But, why the hell was he not around before?"

"My mother knew he was a Death Eater. She found out the night she and him. . .well, the night I was. . .conceived. She left him when she saw the Mark."

She sounded thoroughly disgusted. I didn't blame her. I felt a sudden surge of loathing towards my once favorite teacher.

"No wonder him and my father get along so well," I nearly spat.

"I'm sorry Draco."

She looked absolutely terrified. The Dark Lord was after her, and if he wanted you dead, you would wind up dead.

She will not die. I won't allow it to happen.

I pulled her as close to me as I could get her. She needed someone in her life right now. She just found out her father was a bloody Death Eater, and she was marked for death. She needed me more than ever.

"I will not let you die, Sarai. I promise you, as long as you are with me, you are safe."

"But Draco, your father's a Death Eater. He'll know. If you're with me, he'll sell me out. I'll be handed right to. . .to the Dark Lord." Her voice was on the verge of hysteria again.

"Hush. Don't think about it. I'm here. Just let go. You're safe here for the moment."

She gave me a sad smile that nearly broke my heart in two. She curled into me and snuggled her head up to my chest again. With a sigh, she fell asleep.

I watched her fall into a deep sleep. The only time she could escape her living nightmare. The only time I saw that beautiful face of hers lose that mask of worry and despair. She was peaceful when she slept.

I had known the girl for two days, but it seemed like a lifetime. My heart belonged to her. It would never change.

"I love you Sarai," I whispered as I kissed her softly on the forehead.

Sarai's POV

I woke up in an unfamiliar place. I was so disoriented, and I panicked for a moment. Then I realized Draco was next to me, his arms wrapped around me. Everything from last night came flooding back.

My life is a living nightmare.

So now I know I'm the Dark Lord's next target. My father is a Death Eater, and I don't know whether or not he'll sell me out to the Dark Lord. My mother is dead, my father is dead to me in my mind, and I have no one.

Draco was so sweet. He understood what I was going through. His father was a Death Eater too. His mother disappeared from his life for months at a time. He was alone too.

We need each other. There's no other way.

I felt better in Draco's arms. The feeling of being alone and abandoned was lessened by his touch. In his arms, I was complete. And I had only known him for two days.

But there were complications. Hell, there were always complications. His father was a Death Eater. If I became involved with Draco, there was a risk of being sold out to the Dark Lord.

Why does every bloody fucking thing have to happen to me? What did I do to deserve this?

Draco promised he would not allow me to die. He would do whatever it took to keep me alive.

But my father promised me the same thing.

Who did I believe?

Beside me, Draco stirred. In that moment where he was between sleeping and waking, he held me tighter. Then he awoke.

He looked at me sleepily.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Better than I was, but not all there."

He reached out and brushed a lock of hair out of my face. Merlin, he melted my heart with the simplest gestures.

"You'll never be completely okay. Not after everything you've been through. But I understand. I'm not okay either. I never will be."

"Thank you for what you did, Draco. You're so sweet to me. I don't understand it."

He smiled at me. "Let's just say I've figured out that you're my better half. With you, I am complete."

I smiled. God damn, how could I not see this before? Why couldn't he have acted like this when I first met him?

"Funny, I feel the same way."

He sat up. He looked at his watch. "We need to get ready for class. We have an hour."

I sat up too. I stretched widely, aware that Draco was taking the opportunity to look me over. It felt weird, his eyes going up and down my body, but at the same time, it felt right. I had been without someone for longer than I needed to be without someone.

I rumpled my hair. "I need a shower."

Draco got up. "Bathroom's over there."

I looked over in the direction he was pointing. "Where are we anyways?"

"The Room of Requirement. It's always there when you need it. It'll be whatever you need it to be."

"Cool."

I wandered into the bathroom and took a blasting hot shower. I tried to wash away everything, but it didn't work so well. I knew I could never rid myself of my demons. They would always be there, when I least expected them to be.

But right now, I was thinking of how the love of my life was in the other room, less than fifty feet away from me, as I stood in the shower. Merlin, he was so sweet and sexy. He was the bad boy type that I loved with the sweet and caring side that I loved even more. I could see why he had all the girls around her mesmerized.

Easy Sarai. You've known him for two days. Let's not get carried away.

But he was just so tempting!

I shook my head, flinging water everywhere. I needed to get those damn hormones toned down. Waydown.

I emerged from the bathroom twenty minutes later in yesterday's clothes. Ugh, this wasn't cool. Someone would notice.

"I need fresh clothes," I said to Draco.

He walked over to the wardrobe that stood unseen on the other side of the room and pulled out some fresh robes, and a fresh skirt, blouse, and tie.

"Aha. Thank you. Now go shower, so I can change in peace," I said, pushing him towards the bathroom.

He smirked at me. There was that mischievous glint in his eye again. His bad boy side emerging.

"Sure you can manage those clothes alone?" He raised an eyebrow suggestively.

I laughed. "Draco, you better go shower. Otherwise I just might take you up on that offer."

He grinned naughtily at me but walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

This was going to be really, really hard.