"When you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love."

― J.K. Rowling,

Dear bloody dumb diary,

As I have written in the previous pages (I wonder if books have sentiments about whether they would call writing on them sexual harassment... like we do open them wide before scraping them with quills.) The muggles are constantly evolving and developing their powers and assets. Meanwhile, the wizarding world has a huge prick up their arses. They are still relying on a ridiculous Statute of Secrecy without even bothering to check their progress...We need bloody blood barriers around our world, or even better, magical barriers so that only the individuals gifted with magic would be able to see or speak of our world. You don't even believe me (you are a bloody journal anyway) what I saw today...

I was unable to sleep... When you have a noseless visitor and his monstrous man-eating snake slithering around your house, it's nothing out of the ordinary...Anyway, so I decided that this hell of a home would be unsafe... Yeah, even more, dangerous than it already is. So, after I confirmed that everyone was sleeping thanks to Kreacher, the angel of the house elf, my only source of familial affection... I decided to go out of my house.

Yes, out, as in going out of the door and taking a stroll like a normal sixteen-year-old should be doing instead of planning a potential genocide, and as you may have already known, some of my ancient relatives have built a home surrounded by muggle habitats under a heavy muggle-repellent charm, a bloody brilliant idea if someone asks me... as the saying goes... 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer'.

Okay, so I just walked about a mile or two. I don't know if I was planning to find a red-light area which I have read about in the novels for my certain interest after all, but instead, I sensed a sudden jolt in my heart... the very same reaction when you feel someone is in desperate need of help and Lady Magic gives them the closest help she can find. I rushed in the direction Lady Magic directed me towards. I panted and gasped but kept running till I reached a muggle house. Expensive looking if I may add. I frowned but the tug was too much to bear, and I swear I felt as if someone had castrated me right then and there.

There was a little girl, about four or five was tied up in the chair and some muggles were sprinkling water or something on her while they kept chanting... the girl was wheezing in pain and misery, her faced puffed and swollen, seemingly beaten up... her mouth was oozing out blood, her light-brown hair stained with the crimson liquid, appearing as if someone had poured a whole bottle of paint on her, her pearly blue eyes red with pain... her hands were bleeding, struggling to be free from the drapes meanwhile a couple having similar physical traits as they were just standing there and watching the little one to get tortured.

I, against my better judgement of not drawing attention to myself, stunned the muggles and rushed towards the child... and yeah she was magical... her core resonated with mine, I tried to heal her with my limited knowledge and then immediately apparated us in saint mungos, I was careful enough to apparate in a privacy ward and called the ministry under an anonymous name and like a coward I am, flew back at the hell-hole I call home.

I don't know whether the child is okay or not, or even her condition... All I know is that the child was being tortured by the muggles. In my conclusion, they were trying to beat the magic out of her... Like bloody hell... I can't even imagine how many children face the same torture day by day: being exorcised, being yelled at, being abused... Just because they have magic, which they refer to as the "devil"... They wouldn't have done the Devil's Tango if they didn't want the child then. Ugh! In short, I am so bloody done with all this shit... I need sleep, a shag, and some wine.

~R.A.B

Draco's hands shook. He bit his tongue, trying to not let any sound escape from his lips. His emotions were on hayfire. The muggles... They dared-

Suddenly, an image of a little girl lying in a pool of her own blood, tied up in her chair, flashed in his brain, and he dropped his head on the tabletop and shut his eyes. He clenched his jaw and gulped, trying to calm himself down.

Reading the journal in the classroom was a bad idea but if you ask Draco, he will most certainly blame Dumb- arse-door of the headmaster for appointing a ghost as their history of magic Professor who could boar the children to their death if they even tried to pay any attention on the goblin wars... 'Salazar knows why the bloody hell he had even chosen advanced History as his subject'

He was not a moron though. He had charmed the journal with the same charms he had used on his 'magnificent batches' in the fourth year, so the cover of the journal was now able to fluctuate between the subjects of the classes he was in, and the pages were also spelled to appear jumbled to anyone but him.

He felt an intense stare at the back of his neck... almost piercing and he took a deep breath and calmed down the turmoil in his brain, and with the last breath he sat upright, and, in the corner of his eye, he saw Granger shooting daggers with her eyes. He mentally sighed, restraining himself from sneering at the bushy-know-it-all. As much as he would love to do that... He had been trying so hard the past few days to keep himself in the shadows. He didn't want 'a sneer' to be the doom of his shady facade... Salazar knows what hooligans Gryffindors consider offensive...

He was constantly trying to keep his temper at bay, avoiding his friends, his allies, and his goons alike. Draco then turned towards the back of the classroom, and he winced when he saw Blaise was in an intense discussion with Pansy, and by the looks of it, for him, it would be anything but good.

'This is all Lovegoods' fault' He groaned. After the eventful breakfast, Lovegood hypothesised that she was permitted in Draco's personal space and had self-elected herself as his personal 'food feeder' during the lunch. That was awful, absolutely atrocious being fed as if he was a toddler, in front of the eyes of every single person in the whole bloody great hall, their eyes piercing Draco as if he was the 'bomb' Regulus had mentioned, waiting for him to explode and yet Draco found himself somewhat looking forward to the dinner to see whether Lovegood again tries to slither her way in into the Slytherin's table... There was something in the way Lovegood just babbles about the mysterious creatures with her utmost joy, her hands changing their gestures, dancing in the air, her eyes twinkling throughout their one-sided conversations, the way she seems to know about Draco's deepest secrets without him telling anything, the way she seemed to understand... to know him, the feeling was homely.

The bell rang, indicating that the classes were over, and Draco hastily shoved his books along with his quills inside his bag and, ignoring the calls from Blaise and Pansy, hastily fled from the classroom.

It was still two hours till dinner, and Draco was in no mood to interact with any living being, so instead of taking the stairs leading towards the dungeons, he found himself pacing towards the stairs leading upstairs. His breathing was hard, he knew he was borderline panting, and he was trying his best not to run.

'Malfoys definitely not run, not in the hallway'

He took a deep breath, his hand clutching so hard on the strand of the bag that his knuckles were turning even paler than his skin normally was. His emotions were still on the hay fire, Regulus' words were still echoing in his head. He wished to hear his father's patronus telling him what to do or to listen to his dilemma, but it was too much to wish for.

Father only could send himself the patronus on Saturdays' night when the guards shifted their positions in the Azkaban, though the fact didn't restrain him from wishing the counter... It was Christmas Eve, and for the first time in his life, he was away from his parents.

'I will free you father' he promised, his jaw clenched, and his eyes shut themselves in order to not let the emotions in the form of liquids ooze away. He climbed and climbed the stairs, shaking his head quite frantically.

He needed to get onto the seventh floor. He needed to get int...

"Argh!" He groaned when he bumped into something hard, losing his balance, his hand clenched around the thing and he felt arms tightening around his waist and he froze, he reluctantly opened his eyes and he gulped as his face was facing down, he would have fallen from about four staircases...

'Fucking hell-' he gasped and then the reminder that someone saved him and was still holding him hit him, he took a long breath and set aside all dignity, "Thank- " he started but then froze when he looked up, his felt his mouth part, his heart palpitate, there, none other than Harry Bloody Potter was holding his waist and was staring him with his own lips parted, his emerald eyes looking dazed as if he was unable to comprehend what the fuck was going on, Draco found himself unable to look away and neither lose his grip from the saviour of the wizarding worlds biceps, which were so thin yet Draco could feel they were strong as Potter was able to catch him from falling.

"-ARRY MATE!" A screech made Draco snap out of his daze and Potter shook his head in disbelief. Draco hastily steadied himself on his legs, freeing the golden- boy's arm from his clutch, he turned to look at the source of the noise and internally winced when he saw Ronald Weasley was glaring at him and Potter, looking warningly green in disgust and that was all it took Draco to shove Potter away from him whose hands were surprisingly still on his waist, he wanted to put some force in the shove but all he could do in that state was lightly nudge the boys' chest and Potter as if received a stinging hex immediately jumped away from him as if he was a smelly flobberworm, and even if he will deny it whole heartily it hurt so he ignoring the two-thirds of the golden trio, ran... yes, ran towards his destination.

Malfoys do run in an emergency after all.

"Mate, alright there?" Ron's voice filled with concern made Harry shake his head again trying to clear his thoughts trying to comprehend what in the bloody bullocks had just happened, he tried to give Ron a smile in reassurance, but it turned out as a deadpan though Ron didn't seem to notice as he glared at Harry raising his brow looking for some kind of explanation.

"W-What?" Harry croaked out, and Ron gave him a look of disbelief.

"Why in the name of Merlin's bullocks did you save him?" Ron yanked Harry back to his place, his hands still tingling. His tactile receptors seemed to have their own memory preservation, reminding him of what he had just touched. He rubbed them on his jeans and started to take a step towards the direction Malfoy had just taken off, but Ron's hand yanked him back.

"Where do you think you are going?" Ron asked, and Harry let out a frustrated hiss.

"He is up to something; I need to go... I need to-" Harry's voice was cut by a loud groan from Ron.

"Harry, mate you should have let the ferret fall off, then you wouldn't have to worry about him-" Ron huffed, and Harry opened and closed his mouth in disbelief.

"I- cannot just let him fall-" Harry looked down and gulped, "- he would have died" They were on the fourth floor and the staircase that ought to be below them had been shifted to some other location, so all he could see was sheer darkness. His throat was becoming alarmingly dry at the thought of Malfoy falling down in the whirlpool of darkness, his blood...

"Brilliant if you ask me-" Ron glared at him. Harry just sighed. There was no way in hell he would have let anyone die in any situation if he could have helped them.

"I need to go, Ron-" he said instead of contradicting him, and Ron shook his head, his arm looping around his shoulders, restraining Harry from following the trail to Malfoy.

"Naah, mate, we need to get our Transfiguration essay done or Hermione would hex our bollocks off..." Ron dramatically winced at the thought of Hermione probably literally doing that.

"But-" Harry continued and was cut off by Ron's glare as he started to drag Harry towards the library.

He knew something was going on. He knew Draco Malfoy was up to something, and it was anything but good. He tried to tell Dumbledore, but the old man shooed him away and didn't believe him at all. Hell! even his friends were not believing him... As a result, he decided to take matters into his own hands and began to scrutinise Malfoy even more than before. After the train accident and breaking his nose, he was sure that Draco Malfoy was definitely a Death Eater, so to prove the same he tried to expose him.

But despite his determination to catch Malfoy out, Harry had no luck at all over the bloody months. Although he consulted the map as often as he could, sometimes even making unnecessary bathroom visits between his lessons to consult it, he did not once see Malfoy anywhere suspicious.

And just two days ago, he had discovered that Malfoy constantly pace around the seventh-floor corridor and his name vanish from the map and Harry figured out that Malfoy was doing something in the Room of requirement... he lay awake that night, for what felt like hours, wondering for what Malfoy was using the room, Harry's mind went feverishly as his dreams, when he finally fell asleep, was woken by broken and disturbing images of Malfoy.

He tried and tried to get into the room. He tried various combinations like, 'I want to be in the room where Malfoy is' to 'I want a room with Malfoy in it' but he just bloody could not get in.

His mind was only filled with Malfoy, trying his best to draw any conclusion about the blond git's plans but he failed. McGonagal had freed him from the ban from Quidditch, but he was unable to practise as his mind was elsewhere. He had never been less interested in Quidditch, but he was rapidly becoming obsessed with Malfoy.

"You are getting a bit obsessed there, mate, I mean thinking about risking 'Miones' wrath to just follow him..." Ron trails off and Harry's face has the audacity to flush...

"I am not obsessed!" he exclaimed, and his voice even sounded fake in his own ears, and Ron gave him a studying look.

" Sure mate-"

"Ugh! It's all weird with Luna and him!" Harry exclaimed, and Ron nodded frantically, his nose scrunching up in disgust.

"Yeah, the bloody traitor was feeding the ferret as if he was her favourite pet. I almost lost my appetite mate-" Ron groaned and Harry snorted, though his thoughts drifted towards the scene at the breakfast and lunch of the day, and he felt something burning inside his chest...

"Don't call her that and you ate six pancakes," Harry commented offhandedly.

"She chose to sit with the slimy snakes and hand-feed the ferret, looking all dreamy and happy. She is a bloody traitor Harry-" Ron huffed and Harry averted his eyes to inspect the floor.

"Maybe it was a dare from someone?" Harry piped in hopefully, and Ron gave him a squawk of disbelief.

"No one in their right mind would be able to make Loony do anything, mate," Ron said, and before Harry could respond, he added, "Besides, they were looking quite cosy, as if they were enjoying themselves; perhaps she is going out with the ferret." Ron sneered, and Harry froze...

They can't be right?

With Luna being Luna and Malfoy being Malfoy... they cannot...

"They- can't-" Harry croaked out before he could even stop himself, and Ron grunted at him.

"And why in the Merlin's tit's not?"

"I- They- They look related-" Harry's voice broke scandalised and Ron snorted at him.

"I don't know about the lineage of that ferret, mate, but being related never meant a con in the wizarding world-" Ron shrugged, and Harry gaped at Ron, his mind feeling a sudden surge of anger, his heart aching, his vision becoming highly blurry, and his fists clenched.

"I need to use the loo-" he hastily whispered and without any delay paced towards the direction of the second floor's bathroom, ignoring Ron's calls after him...

The tiny sound of "Thank—" echoed through his mind.

The invitation to Slughorn's exquisite Christmas party lay in his pockets as Harry grumbly made his way towards the great hall for dinner. The party was tomorrow, colliding at the same time with his quidditch practice. His first instinct was to shred the card into pieces and blast them with a reducto, but he stopped himself, Dumbledore had told him to try to get Slughorn to spill his beans. He had to attend the blasted party and guess what... he bloody needs a date.

Many girls kept shooting winks and batting their lashes at him, making his skin crawl. It was like fourth grade all over again, and yeah, Ron's jealousy towards his attention too flared like the fourth year, and he was trying his best not to snap at him.

He carelessly stabbed his sausage with his fork in irritation, and then the great hall became silent. There the Slytherins entered the hall with Malfoy in their lead and the seventh and sixth years surrounding the lower years guarding the younger ones, their noses held high, a shadow of sneer and smirk on their faces walking like they own the place and Harry sighed. The Slytherins guarded their backs as if the entire school was against them, which was bloody bullock in Harry's opinion.

Harry stared at the blond git as he took his usual place at the head of the table, preening like a peacock and he watched Malfoy raise his index finger probably indicating the rest of the Slytherins to take their places, and yeah, Harry was right at his prediction as the rest of the snakes followed his lead and took their usual positions guarding the youngers against the terminal ends and the senior years dispersing in a pattern so none of the young ones were alone and in radar by any means.

'Bloody snakes-' Harry sneered as if someone would attack them in the bloody great hall... It was the Slytherins who were slimy little death eaters... the ones from whom the entire school needs protection.

Harry stabbed his sausage again and he yelped when Hermione smacked his arm and glared at him, indicating him to start eating, which he did, and he glared when his mouth opened to take the fourth bite, and behind Malfoy, Luna emerged from nowhere, and the blond git just raised his brow and one of his goons shifted to give Luna some space, and she laughed in a daze, settling herself on the table and starting to plate dishes for herself.

Harry noticed Malfoy's eyes, which were as stony grey as hard rock, were now shining like silver pools of mercury as he watched Luna, and his throat went dry, so he grabbed his glass of pumpkin juice and drank its contents in one go, knowing Hermione was watching him with concern, and Ron was busy devouring his third bowl of pumpkin soup, but he couldn't look away.

He just watched and watched Luna grab a green apple from the table and start with a flick of her wand. She cut it into bunny-shaped slices, which were adorable indeed, and he saw Malfoy's lips twitch in amusement as she picked up a slice and brought it towards Malfoy's lips.

The entire great hall was silent, not pin-dropping like it had been during breakfast and lunch because some of the students had accepted that Luna feeding Malfoy was nothing like a Hippogryph tap-dancing, but there was still tension in the air as if they were waiting for some trigger... some explosion, but it never came as Malfoy simply opened his pink lips and his pearly teeth took the slice into his mouth.

Luna beamed at Malfoy, and Harry felt his guts squirm... He was not feeling like eating anymore, but he didn't want to repeat his mistake as breakfast and storm out of the great hall, as it would draw unnecessary attention, so he continued to stare at Malfoy eating the slices of apple brought to his mouth by Luna with one hand and drinking a hot cup of tomato soup with the other.

The apple slices finished and Luna smiled in a daze at Malfoy and Malfoy's eyes softened at that. Harry clenched the fork in his hand as Luna then raised the same cup of tomato soup which she was drinking towards Malfoy's lips and Malfoy, without any disgust, accepted it in his mouth.

'This was enough' Harry decided, and he stood up from his table, his eyes fixed on Malfoy and Luna.

"Harry!" Hermione snapped, but he didn't pay any attention to her or Ron's incomprehensible half- mouth filled protests as he marched towards the head of the Slytherin table.

THe entire hall went silent, and Harry immediately regretted his decision but there was no coming back as he was directly in front of Malfoy, the Slytherins glaring daggers at him and he swear he saw the upper years to discreetly point their wands in his direction waiting for some indication to shoot him a hex.

Malfoy raised his brows at Harry and Harry fought the urge to slap the blond git as he averted his eyes to Luna and faced her instead, "Luna, I need to talk to you-" he said, and Luna smiled at him, her eyes twinkling.

"Hello there, Harry-" She hummed, and Harry nodded at her.

"I need to talk to you-" he said again and Luna kept smiling and he added, "In private" Luna gave him a long dazily hum and she placed the cup on the table, and turned towards Malfoy her eyes soft as she raised her hand to glide her fingers in the slicked blond hair, with such expression that made Harry's stomach to do flip-flop.

He cleared his throat and Luna looked at him, stood up from the table and then grabbed his hand, dragging him out of the great hall.

"Yes, Harry?" Luna hummed, her eyes never losing the twinkle as they reached an empty classroom.

"How will you come to Slughorn's party with me, tomorrow's night?" Harry blurted out, embarrassed at his harsh decisions, but Luna just smiled at him.

"Slughorn's party? With you?"

"Yeah," Harry said, "We are supposed to bring a guest... So I thought you might like... Only if you want.." He was keen on making his intentions very clear... "Like friends, of course, but if you don't..."

"Oh no! I would love to go as friends!" said Luna beaming, and he had never seen her beam before, well... before today, but then she was beaming at Malfoy, not at him. "Nobody asked me to go to a party as friends before, Is this why you dyed your eyebrows? Should I do mine too?"

"Oh no! This was a mistake! I will make Hermione make it right again!" Harry exclaimed, covering his slightly discoloured brow, resultant of a blasted transfiguration mishappening, and Luna hummed as if she was disappointed.

"I will pick you up at eight o'clock tomorrow?" Harry asked, and Luna nodded, smiling at him, and turned to get out of the door, but then Harry called out...

"Hey!" Harry exclaimed, and Luna turned towards him.

"Yeah?"

Harry looked down. He needed to ask this if he wanted to give his mind peace.

"Why are you feeding Malfoy?" Harry asked, and Luna's eyes stopped twinkling and now they were observing him as if she was seeing into his very soul, " I mean... if someone forced you... I can curse them-" Harry trailed off and Luna just gave him a smile.

"Someone has to," she replied, and then she opened the door.

"AHA!" a voice exclaimed over both of their heads, and they jumped. Peeves was hanging upside down from the chandelier, smiling maliciously at them.

"Potty asked Loony for a date... Potty Loveeeesss Loony..." Peeves sang over their heads, and Harry groaned as Peeves zoned away, crackling and shrieking, "Potty Loves Loony!"

"Nice to keep things private..." Harry grumbled, and Luna gave him a sympathetic look before walking out of the classroom leaving Harry alone...

"Someone has to" echoed in his mind.

~Love-K.D