Chapter 20
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, it all belongs to JK Rowling…I'm merely an obsessed fan with ideas stuck in my head.
… … … … … …
Leila's head was swimming. Draco Malfoy, her Draco Malfoy, was a Death Eater. She had seen all the signs, but had been denying his involvement, even before she began dating him. Leila slammed her head onto the stall door.
"Damnit! That hurt." Leila hissed rubbing her head.
What was she supposed to do? How could she have let something like this happen?
"Stupid, Stupid, Stupid." Leila muttered.
Leila had no idea what to think anymore. The only thing she knew was that she couldn't tell Harry. She would not confirm Harry's correct suspicions of Draco. Telling him would only cause trouble. Leila harshly sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. What was she going to do? The right thing for everyone else would be to end what she had with Draco now; but that wasn't what she wanted. The tears began to slip from her eyes.
"Leila?" a whimsical voice called.
Leila didn't respond. She remained as quiet as possible, hoping to remain alone. Leila heard the footsteps disappear and sighed in relief.
"There you are!" Luna said.
Leila screamed as Luna peered over the top of the bathroom stall.
"How did you find me?" Leila asked.
"The Nargles of course." Luna said seriously.
"Right, the Nargles…" Leila said hesitantly.
"You're crying." Luna stated.
"No I'm not." Leila said wiping her eyes.
"Yes you are." Luna said
"I'm not! Just erm…got something spilled on my dress.." Leila said.
"Well, this certainly is an interesting place to avoid a party." Luna said.
"I'm not…oh, fine, I just came here to think." Leila said.
"It seems like you have something on your mind." Luna said.
"That's an understatement." Leila commented.
"Well, I'm sure that whatever it is, you'll do the right thing." Luna said.
"I wish it was that easy." Leila muttered.
"I'll see you back at the party." Luna smiled.
Luna then disappeared from sight. Leila could hear her jump off the toilet she had been standing on, and then her footsteps fade away. Leila let what Luna said sink in. The right thing. Leila sighed and stepped out of the stall. She checked her appearance in the mirror and headed back to the party. She had no idea how long she and Harry were gone, but apparently the party was still happening.
Leila got back to the party to find Neville chatting with Ginny and Dean, while Luna chatted with Hermione. Ginny shot her a look telling her to come politely distract Neville. Leila really had no desire to continue mingling, but for Ginny's sake and to distract herself she went and pulled Neville aside.
"Sorry, I spilled something on my dress." Leila whispered.
"It's fine. I was just talking with Ginny and…well, they were just here." Neville said.
"Don't worry, I believe you. They probably wanted to go snog or something." Leila said.
"No, really, they were here." Neville said.
Leila forced a chuckle as Professor called the party to a close. Leila breathed a sigh of relief and moved to the exit.
"I'll walk you back." Neville said.
"That's not necessary, Neville. Thanks though, it's the thought that counts." Leila said.
"Are you sure?" Neville asked.
"No offense or anything, I'm pretty sure the Slytherins would be more apt to torment you than me." Leila smiled.
"Good point. Well, I suppose this is good night then." Neville said.
"Yup, good night." Leila said.
"Good night." Neville said again.
"Good night, Neville." Leila smiled.
Neville shook her hand and headed off in the direction of the Gryffindor common room. Leila chuckled at Neville's actions and headed back for the Slytherin common room. The closer she got, the more her thoughts turned to Draco. What should she do? She should do the right thing. No, she was Leila Potter; she would do the right thing. The right thing of ending things with Draco. Leila could feel the tears begin to prick her eyes again. The next time she saw Draco she would end things with him. She convinced herself that this would be best for both Draco and Harry, and anyone she cared for.
She got back to the common room, to find Draco, alone, sitting near the fire reading a book. Her eyes locked with his and she froze in place.
"This is for the best." Leila whispered.
Draco's face quickly broke out into a grin. He set his book aside and walked to her.
"Draco, we need to talk." Leila said.
"Of course, love." Draco said.
When Draco got to Leila, he bent forward and kissed her on the cheek. Leila slightly pushed him back, just in case there was still a Slytherin trailing in from the party.
"You looked enchanting this evening, by the way." Draco smiled.
Draco placed his hand on the cheek he had just kissed. Leila's head began to swirl again. She began to doubt that she could do this.
"You wanted to talk?" Draco asked.
"Erm…we should probably go somewhere else." Leila said.
Draco nodded and led her out of the common room. She had to do this. She couldn't just chicken out. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. She didn't know what had gotten into him since his confrontation with Snape, but he was in a remarkably good mood. Draco took them to an abandoned classroom. He placed his hands on her waist, which sent shivers up her spine. She couldn't look at his face, so she stared at his chest. She really didn't want to do this.
"Leila, you're acting odd." Draco said.
"I could say the same for you." Leila commented.
Draco chuckled and titled Leila's face toward his.
"You do that to me, make me act odd; always have." Draco responded.
"Draco, I…" Leila began.
It was now or never. But, Leila looked into Draco's eyes. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen him so genuinely happy. His gaze made her heart melt. This isn't what she wanted. She could tell just from his expression that he really was in love with her. Despite his shortcomings, he truly felt something for her and she for him. She knew then that she couldn't follow through with her plans to break things off.
"Yes?" Draco asked.
"I…I'm just going to miss you over Christmas break." Leila covered.
"I'll miss you too." Draco whispered.
Leila closed her eyes and wrapped her arms tightly around Draco. She buried her face in his chest and inhaled his scent. So much for the supposed right thing. But, if he was like this with her, maybe just maybe, he wasn't all bad. She could change this. She could change him. There was still hope. Leila looked up to find him watching her. She smiled and pressed her lips on his. Draco responded by kissing her back. Leila knew she would have to live with her decision, but right now, it was worth it.
The day came for the students to head back to their homes for Christmas vacation. They were all gathered in the Great Hall for breakfast before they headed for the Hogwarts Express. Leila sat with Hermione at the Gryffindor table. Leila still wasn't Hermione's biggest fan or best friend, but she could tolerate her. She was probably one of the few people who actually didn't pry into Leila's personal life.
"So Granger, what are your plans for break?" Leila asked civilly.
"I think we're just having a simple Christmas at home, and you?" Hermione asked.
"You probably already know this, but Harry and I are going to the Burrow." Leila commented.
"Yes, he mentioned that you both were staying there." Hermione said.
"So do you have any special Christmas traditions or anything?" Leila asked.
"We usually have a fire in the fireplace, and Mum likes reading The Night Before Christmas and leaving cookies out for Santa. I think she tries to keep the magic of Christmas going." Hermione said.
"Sounds nice." Leila said.
"It is. Do you have anything special you do?" Hermione asked.
"As you know, the Dursley's weren't much for including Harry and I in anything; but since we've gotten to Hogwarts, he usually lets me sleep with him Christmas Eve, this way we can celebrate together; it's stupid I know." Leila said.
"No, it's not stupid, it sounds special." Hermione said.
"Yeah, well we're probably getting a little old for that one." Leila chuckled.
Harry and Ron joined them, and the conversation ended. Harry sat across from Leila, next to Hermione and Ron sat next to Leila. Leila stabbed her eggs with her fork, but they no longer looked appetizing. Harry looked like he needed to talk about something, but he was holding his tongue. Leila could only guess that it had something to do with Draco. Hermione rambled on and on about Slughorn and his connections that she had met at the party.
"Potter." A familiar sneer came.
Leila's head instantly shot up to see Draco standing behind Harry. What could he possibly want?
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry said in a tone of disgust.
"Not you, Scarhead, I was talking to her." Draco drawled.
"What do you want?" Leila asked.
"I need to talk to you, without your posse." Draco drawled.
"If I must." Leila said.
Draco scowled and walked out of the Great Hall. Leila chuckled and stood up.
"You're not honestly going to talk with him, are you?" Harry hissed.
"It's probably something stupid. He's probably just pissed that I picked the last patrol of the train, so he won't get to leave right away." Leila said.
"Well, you are an expert at pissing him off." Ron said, spewing eggs.
"What can I say; I'm naturally talented in that art." Leila joked.
Leila walked out of the Great Hall, curious to what Draco wanted. He already knew about their patrol, and wasn't too upset when she had told him. The moment they locked eyes, Draco began walking away. She assumed that this meant that she was supposed to follow him, so she did. He led her upstairs to the History of Magic classroom.
"So what's so important?" Leila teased.
"This." Draco whispered.
Draco quickly kissed her, causing Leila to smile. She wrapped her arms around his neck.
"And no mistletoe was even necessary." Leila smirked.
"That wasn't the only reason." Draco rolled his eyes.
"Oh? What else did you need me for?" Leila asked.
"Well, I wanted to see you before we left." Draco said.
"We do have patrol left." Leila said.
"But then I couldn't do this." Draco said.
Draco kissed her again and Leila pulled herself closer to him. Time seemed to stop when she was with him. Leila eventually broke away.
"What was that for?" Draco asked.
"Because I have your Christmas present." Leila said.
"Oh." Draco muttered.
"Is there something wrong with that?" Leila asked.
"Erm…well, it's just that I've been busy and…" Draco rambled.
"You forgot?" Leila asked.
Draco simply shrugged and broke eye contact with Leila. Leila put her hand on his cheek.
"Honestly, I enjoy giving gifts more. So it's fine." Leila said.
"Your different from most girls." Draco commented.
"How so?" Leila asked.
"Pansy freaked out when I didn't send her something promptly the morning of her birthday." Draco mumbled.
"So that just means you have until Christmas morning, mister." Leila winked.
"That's fine." Draco said.
"I'm just kidding. I don't need anything. This is going to sound totally cheesy, but I'm perfectly happy knowing that somewhere is a boy who loves me about as much as I love him." Leila smiled.
"Merlin, that was cheesy." Draco rolled his eyes.
"That's why you love me, and here's your present." Leila said handing over a small package is green wrapping paper.
Draco grabbed the small package and began tearing into the paper.
"Now before you say anything, it might be kind of lame, but I was having a hard time figuring out what to get the boy who has almost everything." Leila rambled.
Draco opened the small box to find a Golden Snitch.
"Besides that, you probably already have one…" Leila continued to rambled.
"Leila." Draco said.
"You don't like it do you? It was a stupid idea." Leila rushed.
"Leila." Draco nearly shouted.
"What?" Leila asked.
"I like it, honestly, I do." Draco said.
"Are you sure?" Leila asked.
"You would know if I didn't like this." Draco said.
"Good point, well pick it up." Leila said.
"Someone's bossy." Draco said.
"Just do it." Leila rolled her eyes.
Draco picked the Snitch out of the box, and it opened up. Draco's eyes widened and Leila smiled.
"Did you know it was going to do that?" Draco asked.
"I was pretty positive. They have flesh memories, you know." Leila said.
"I know, but that means…" Draco began.
"Yeah, you caught it." Leila said.
"Where'd you get it?" Draco asked.
"I may have borrowed it and forgot to return it after the championship game against Hufflepuff." Leila said.
"I always suspected you had an obsession with me back then." Draco smirked.
"You wish. I had very important plans for it. I was going to charm it to stay away from you, but the next year was the TriWizard Tournament, and there was no Quidditch, so I kinda forgot about it." Leila said.
"You would purposely make us lose?" Draco asked.
"I was hoping Flint would get pissed at you and kick you off the team." Leila shrugged.
Draco shook his head and bent over and kissed Leila.
"Thank you." Draco mumbled against her lips.
Leila chuckled and pushed him back.
"You're welcome, but I should probably get going. Harry's probably convinced that you've hexed me." Leila said.
Draco nodded and Leila quickly kissed Draco one last time. She then ran out the door and back to the Great Hall. Soon, they were headed to the Hogwarts Express. Leila sat in a compartment with Harry and Ron. Hermione was still mad at Ron over Lavender, so she sat elsewhere. The time passed by quickly and they were at King's Cross station. Mrs. Weasley and Fleur were waiting for them there. Leila and Harry walked to meet them, with Ron catching up with them.
"Where are Dad and Bill?" Ron asked.
"They're working, Ron. Now where's Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"Off snogging Dean, I assume." Ron said.
"Like you didn't just get done snogging Lavender." Ginny said walking up, gently slapping him upside the head..
Ron's face turned bright red. Ginny stuck her tongue out and Ron pushed her.
"Ronald and Ginevra, not in public." Mrs. Weasley reprimanded.
"Yes, Mum." Ron and Ginny muttered in unison.
Fleur hugged Ginny, Leila, and Harry. Ginny was not too pleased about Fleur.
"Mum, did you have to bring her?" Ginny whispered.
Mrs. Weasley shot Ginny a disgusted look and Ginny shut her mouth. The group began walking away to load their belongings in the car. Leila quickly looked over her shoulder for one last look at Draco. Draco was receiving a hug from his mother. Draco nodded at her and she sighed. She really was going to miss him.
"Leila!" Ron shouted.
"Coming!" Leila yelled back.
Leila quickly hurried to catch up with the group. After the cars were loaded they began the journey to the Burrow. As they pulled up to the Burrow, Leila saw someone peering through the window.
"Who's here?" Leila asked.
"Fred and George got here yesterday. They wanted to come along, but I didn't see a point dragging them along to King's Cross." Mrs. Weasley commented.
Leila looked to the door to see Fred and George stepping outside. Fred was quickly shoving something into his mouth.
"Fred! What did I tell you about eating those cookies!" Mrs. Weasley shouted.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Mum." Fred said, cookie bits spewing out of his mouth.
Fred walked over to where Leila was pulling her things out of the trunk.
"Here, let me." Fred said reaching for her trunk.
"Fred, I'm more than capable of carrying it myself." Leila said.
"I'm just being nice." Fred smiled.
"Fine, but I'll warn you, it's heavy." Leila said.
"Ah, but I can just magic it." Fred winked.
Leila chuckled and Fred levitated her trunk. They walked into the house and set her things down.
"How've you been Leila?" Fred asked.
"Fine, and you?" Leila asked.
"Business has been good, I've been good." Fred said.
"You good?" Leila teased.
"I can be good." Fred smiled.
"I'll believe it when I see it." Leila said.
Fred chuckled and plopped onto the couch. He patted the spot next to him for Leila to sit, so she did. Mrs. Weasley suddenly walked into the living room and walked up to Fred.
"Fred, could you be a dear…" Mrs. Weasley began dragging Fred away.
Fred looked anything but pleased to be dragged away, which caused Leila to laugh. Mrs. Weasley led him upstairs. Leila walked over to where Ron and Harry were cutting sprouts in the kitchen.
"We've been here no more than ten minutes and she's already got you two to work." Leila teased.
"Shut up, Leila." Ron groaned.
Leila smirked and sat down at the kitchen table. Ron and Harry began talking about the night of Slughorn's Christmas party. Harry and Ron had discussed this on the train ride, but surprisingly, Harry hadn't dragged her into this yet.
"So Snape was offering to help him?" Ron asked.
"If you ask that once more, I'm going to stick this sprout…" Harry began.
"I'm only checking!" Ron said.
"Yes, Snape was offering to help him! He said that he'd made an Unbreakable Oath or something." Harry said.
"An Unbreakable Vow? Nah, he can't have….Are you sure?" Ron said.
"Yes, I'm sure. Ask Leila, she was there." Harry said.
"Don't you dare drag me into this lunacy." Leila said.
"Leila, you were there that night. You had to have heard something!" Harry exclaimed.
"I wasn't really paying Snape and Malfoy any attention. I was picking something off the bottom of my shoe." Leila said.
"Then why did you take off suddenly?" Harry asked.
"I went to the bathroom, if you must know. Something had spilled on my dress and I wanted to clean it. Luna saw me in there, so you can ask her if you'd like to." Leila said.
"I just might." Harry slightly narrowed his eyes.
"Are you really sure it was an Unbreakable Vow?" Ron asked.
Leila rolled her eyes in frustration, and walked out of the kitchen to go find Ginny. She didn't want to keep lying to her brother, but she had to. So she figured if she removed herself from the situation things might go a little smoother. On her way upstairs she ran into Fred and George.
"What do we have here, Georgie." Fred said.
"Well, it looks like Leila, but where exactly is she going?" George asked.
"Away from those two gits." Leila said.
"Let's go see what they've done to get your knickers in a twist." Fred said.
They each took hold of one of Leila's arms and led her back to the kitchen. They overheard Ron mention Fred's name and his left buttock.
"I beg your pardon?" Fred said.
Fred and George examined the sight before them and instantly began teasing the boys about the fact that they were underage. George walked over to the kitchen table. Leaving Leila and Fred standing.
"George, look at this. They're still using knives, the poor things." Fred teased.
"Bless them." George smiled placing his hands over his heart.
"I'll be seventeen soon, and then I can do it by magic, so just shut it!" Ron said grumpily.
George placed his feet on the table, causing Ron to slip and cut his finger. Ron waved the knife at George.
"You made me do that! You wait, when I'm seventeen, both of you…" Ron said angrily.
"I'm sure you'll dazzle us with your unsuspected magical skills." Fred yawned.
"Speaking of unsuspected skills, Ronald, what is this we hear from Ginny about you and a young lady called…" George began.
"Unless our information is faulty" Fred interrupted.
"Miss Lavender Brown?" George asked.
"Mind your own business." Ron said turning pink.
"What a snappy retort. I often wonder how come up with such witty remarks." Fred said.
"We could always get someone to second what we've heard. Oh, Leila?" George stated.
"Leave me out of this, I was only trying to get away from two gits and now I'm surrounded by four!" Leila complained.
"Now there's a witty remark for you, Ronald." Fred teased.
"But what we really wanted to know…" George began.
"was how did it happen?" Fred continued.
"What d'you mean?" Ron asked.
"Did she have an accident or something?" George asked.
"What?" Ron said confused.
"The only way she'd date you is if she had extensive brain damage or something, so what exactly happened to her…Careful, now!" Fred said.
Ron threw the sprout knife. He aimed for Fred, but his aim was a little off and it was headed straight for Leila. Leila screamed, but Fred easily transfigured the knife into a paper airplane. Mrs. Weasley witnessed the whole exchange and began yelling at Ron. Leila chuckled and took this as her chance to escape the kitchen. She walked upstairs to find Ginny pouting in her room.
"What's with you?" Leila asked.
"We have to share a room with Fleur." Ginny complained.
"Hey, I share a room with six girls who hate me. I'm pretty sure Fleur's will be much more bearable." Leila said.
"I suppose you have a point. So you and Greengrass still haven't…" Ginny began.
"No, and I'm beginning to think we never will. It's not that big of a deal or anything." Leila said.
"Leila, she was practically your best friend.." Ginny furthered.
"Can we just drop it. It's Christmas break, and I honestly don't want to think anything about school." Leila said.
"Fine by me, how about a game of Exploding Snap?" Ginny asked.
"Sure." Leila agreed.
Leila and Ginny played Exploding Snap until dinner, when Mrs. Weasley called them downstairs. The table was already filled by Mrs. Weasley, Remus, Bill, Fleur, Fred, George, Ron, and Harry. Leila took an empty seat next to Remus.
"Hi, Uncle Remus." Leila smiled.
"Leila, you haven't been getting in to too much trouble, have you?" Remus asked.
"Of course not. It only seems like it, now that Fred and George are no longer at Hogwarts." Leila joked.
"But seriously, have you been good?" Remus asked.
"Yes." Leila said.
"Is that why Snape gives you and Malfoy detention at least twice a week?" Ginny smirked.
Leila inwardly cringed. The less she talked about Draco in front of them, the better off things would be. Harry's eyes instantly locked with Leila's.
"You two are still getting detention, then?" Harry asked.
"I can't help it that Snape and Malfoy are gits." Leila joked.
"Don't speak of Professor Snape like that." Remus scolded.
"Fine, but Malfoy's still a git. So, Uncle Remus, how long are you here for?" Leila said.
"I've been invited to spend the holidays." Remus said.
The subject soon changed to Bill's work at Gringotts. Leila was thankful that Draco wasn't a dinner topic. Lying about him was becoming harder and harder. At first it was rather fun, but she hated not being able to tell anyone about him. Typically, girls would gush to their friends about their boyfriend, but the only person Leila could talk about Draco to, was Draco.
When dinner was over, Leila offered to do the dishes with Ginny. The girls cleaned the dishes and put them away. The girls quickly went back up to Ginny's room for some privacy before Fleur joined them. They changed into their pajamas. Leila was in the process of pulling her hair out from underneath her shirt when her necklace with Draco's ring became visible. She didn't notice and turned to Ginny.
"What's that?" Ginny asked.
"What?" Leila asked.
"Is that a ring I see?" Ginny asked.
Leila quickly looked down and her eyes widened. She quickly stuffed the necklace down her shirt.
"No, it was just my mother's necklace." Leila lied.
"I watched Sirius give you that necklace, I know what it looks like. There's something else on it." Ginny argued.
"No, there's not." Leila said.
"Let me see it." Ginny said.
"No." Leila retorted.
Ginny tackled Leila, but Leila quickly pushed Ginny onto the floor.
"Knock it off." Leila hissed.
"What's with you?" Ginny asked.
"Nothing, I just don't need you butting into what isn't your business." Leila said.
"Just answer me this, does the ring belong to a boy? Don't even try to deny it, because I know what I saw." Ginny said.
"Maybe, maybe not." Leila said.
"Does it belong to Nott?" Ginny asked.
"I'm not that stupid." Leila drawled.
A knock came at the door. Fleur came walking into the room.
"You can't seriously be going to bed this early." Ginny scoffed.
Fleur only nodded and changed into her nightgown. She then climbed into bed and flicked her wand at the light. Leila didn't feel like explaining anymore to Ginny, so she slipped into her pajamas and crawled into her bed. She hoped Ginny took the hint and was smart enough not to say anything, especially to Harry.