Chapter 3

"I'll bet you don't know this, but Harry, Draco, and I all lived on the same street as small children. Of course, after the whole deal with Harry and Voldemort, all the wizarding families in the area moved. They just couldn't deal with the sadness of seeing the wreck and remembering. So my family moved out into a rather large mansion that we had gotten as an inheritance. My parents were both Muggles, you see. And they were both becoming famous actors on television. So they fixed up the house and when I was about three, the Malfoys moved into a family estate right down the road.

Narcissa and my mother had known each other at Hogwarts, so they took this opportunity to become friends and have someone to talk to during the long hours. My mother overlooked that Lucius had been found as a Death-Eater, and Mrs. Malfoy overlooked that my mother wasn't a 'pureblood'. My mother always told me stories about that, how they put their prejudices aside because they wanted to be friends. I don't know, but it makes our little petty things seem so small and insignificant.

Well anyways, Draco and I were great friends. Lucius was always out somewhere, doing something dreadfully important, so we kids had the run of the household. You'll never believe this, but Draco wanted nothing to do with his father. In fact, he hated him. We all did, but no one would admit it except us. And whenever Draco and I would play games, I was the maiden who was in distress, but only because I had fought every monster in the realm and was bleeding severely from a massive head wound. Only then could Draco the Great come and save me."

Ryan smiled a little at the memory, and sighed. "It seems like only yesterday. But then, one day, as Draco and I played in the backyard, Lucius suddenly came home. I guess he simply hadn't realized that my parents were Muggles, I don't know how that would have escaped him, but it did. He stormed through the yard, threatening to kill both my mother and myself the second he laid hands on us.

Narcissa threw herself in between my mother and Mr. Malfoy, so he turned his attention to me. He tried to place a curse on me, but Draco jumped in the way at the last second and took the curse for me. The last I saw of him was him lying in his father's arms, yelling with all of his weak voice, for me to come back.

 O god, I was so scared for him, even more scared for him than I was for me, for who knew what strange things Lucius Malfoy could think up to torture them with. Obviously, he chose the best tool ever. He turned Draco into his own little minion.

I just can't believe that that was Draco, MY Draco. It's just, just, so unbelievable. I mean, I have hoped and prayed that he was ok, that he hadn't been killed or maimed or driven crazy. And what do I get in return? This jerk who can't even have a single original thought, and who seems to think himself the discoverer of original sin."

"Yes, that's Draco alright." Hermione agreed. "But I can tell that there is something else, something underneath just this disappointment…"

"Hermione," began Ryann with a smile completely absent of any pleasure. " I knew I could trust you to pick up on the smallest detail. And I know that deep down; you are hoping I will explain why I came here, why I can't trust anyone except Harry with my secret. Well, since you have been so nice to me, I guess I will tell you, but you can't tell anyone. It could be the death of me if you do, literally.

All right. Now, where was I? O yes. Well, after we were banned from the Malfoys, it was simply too hard for any of us. Besides, my parents were getting into the whole movie deal, and so we moved to California – that's in America. We lived there, perfectly content, for 8 years. Until the day I opened my Daily Prophet and read that Lord Voldemort had emerged.

No one really thought anything of it, but I remembered all the allegations with Mr. Malfoy and the Death Eaters…

One night, Ms. Emanon and I crept out to watch the stars. Yes, she and the new Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor Emanon are one and the same. We were out stargazing when there was a loud noise from the direction of the house. We both ran back, thinking that someone had broken in, or that the pipes had burst or some kind of normal, Muggle problem.

 But as we drew closer, I saw that great, gray, terrifying cloud with the face and the snake…oh I shudder even at the mention of it. My heart stopped Hermione; really it stopped. I knew that my parents were dead. Do you know what that feels like? No, thank your lucky stars, and hopefully you never will.

Ms. Emanon handled the situation calmly, and ran off to send an owl with an urgent plea for help. As she ran off, I saw the Death Eaters slink out of my house, as if they were disappointed for some reason. I didn't know why, until the last Death Eater's hood fell a bit, revealing that long, white blonde hair my nightmares have been full of.

It was Lucius, and he looked grim, most likely because he hadn't been able to rid the world entirely of my family. He stopped, and seemed to look straight at me in my little hiding spot in the bushes, as if to say 'I will get you'. I was literally shaking I was so afraid then, afraid for my life and afraid for what my parents must have gone through. Thankfully, Malfoy took off and within about an hour, Hagrid and Harry had come to get us." Ryann finished, her eyes beginning to tear. It would take more than a month for her to be able to completely hide her feelings. And this new Draco, this complete ass, wasn't helping anything.

Hermione tried to comfort Ryann, but it really didn't help. Everything was so crazy that it was just too much for any one person to be able to fix things. Hermione was beginning to look tired, and the other girls were beginning to come into their bedroom for the night, so Ryann decided that was enough sharing. The girls hopped into bed, but Ryann just couldn't get to sleep. She decided she would sit by the window and just look out, look out at the endless forest and dark, starry night. Her gaze was distracted from the heavenly sight above to a small window in the far bottom corner of the Hogwarts castle. Ryann stealthily reached into her bag, and slowly removed her Spyglass, uncapping it silently so as not to awaken the other girls. As she focused her gaze on the small sliver of light, the only other light to be seen in the entire expanse of the castle in front of her, she realized just who she was looking at. It was Draco Malfoy, and unless her eyes deceived her, he was either crying or his eyes had suddenly begun to leak. Ryann's guess was, he was crying out at the endless forest and dark, starry night. Her gaze was distracted from the heavenly sight above to a small window in the far bottom corner of the Hogwarts castle. Ryann stealthily reached into her bag, and slowly removed her Spyglass, uncapping it silently so as not to awaken the other girls. As she focused her gaze on the small sliver of light, the only other light to be seen in the entire expanse of the castle in front of her, she realized just who she was looking at. It was Draco Malfoy, and unless her eyes deceived her, he was either crying or his eyes had suddenly begun to leak. Ryann's guess was, he was crying