Chapter Three: Unraveling the Untold

A/N: Thank you for the reviews, you beautiful people, you! Sorry for such a long wait. I've been having a huge writer's block and everything has just been so hectic. Sorry if updates turn out to be slower during the school year (mine started September 10th). I'll try to make it up to all of you! ^_^

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"Draco…"

He let out a groan, his eyes slammed shut. He wouldn't get up. He was much too tired. "Draco! Get up, already! Aunt Narcissa and Uncle Lucius are waiting for us!" He let out another small groan, his eyes still shut. A smirk on her face, Taryn walked to the end of his bed and pulled the blankets that had been covering his body. Draco shuddered, a surge of chilliness going through him, to his utter distaste. But, he lay still in his bed, trying to get back to sleep. That would be an impossible task though…once Taryn wanted to do something, she wouldn't give up until she succeeded.

"Oh, well, how about I Owl your little Hermione and inform her about the big crush you've developed on her?" Taryn said, her voice laced with relish. That certainly woke him up. Draco's eyes opened wide and he immediately sat up in his bed, glaring slightly, though jokingly, at his cousin.

"Fine, fine, I'm awake," Draco said, slightly groggily. He was still very tired, though he would stay up. He needn't let Taryn tell Hermione about his little, well, infatuation with her. Taryn gave him a sickly sweet smile.

"Oh, come on now cousin." Taryn took hold of his arms, attempting to pull him up from his bed. Her attempt proved to be successful, as Draco was now, though hesitantly, standing up. He stretched his limbs, looking sleepily at Taryn.

"You know, it's not right to deprive sleep from a teenage boy," Draco said haughtily, a smirk getting the better of him. Taryn rolled her eyes, smiling slightly.

"Now, hurry up and get dressed," Taryn snapped, though in a light way. "Breakfast has been ready for ages and Aunt Narcissa said something about giving you a bedtime." Taryn let out a small laugh at the idea of having a bedtime. She shrugged and left the room, highly content.

Draco shot her a bitter look and continued stretching for a few moments. He looked out his crystal clear window and saw Hedwig perched on his windowsill, standing patiently. He immediately opened the window and took the letter from her leg. With a hoot, Hedwig flew off. He watched as she became distant and until she was only a speck in the crystal blue sky.

He hastily opened the letter, hoping it was something interesting. Or maybe there was something important that Harry needed to tell him. Draco read:

Draco,

Aunt Marge is leaving today. And, pretty soon, I'll be able to meet up with you, Ron, and Hermione in Diagon Alley, or at the Burrow before that. I'm not sure if Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia will let me go though…they already think the Weasleys are mad enough as it is, especially after what happened here last year. I'm just hoping that the rest of the day will run by smoothly. I've made a deal with Uncle Vernon: if I behave for Aunt Marge's whole stay here, he'll sign my Hogsmeade permission slip.

Oh, I have to get going now. I have to go eat breakfast.

Harry

Draco put the letter down. It was much less than what he was expecting but he was happy for Harry that his Aunt Marge was leaving. Then, he (and Taryn, most likely) would meet Harry, Ron, and…Hermione at the Burrow in two weeks and everything would be all right. Hopefully everything would turn out okay.

Hopefully.

***

Draco and Taryn sat leisurely beside the Quidditch Pitch in the extremely spacious backyard of Malfoy Manor. After a few rounds of Quidditch, they had decided to simply relax and talk. Seeing as they hadn't seen each other since Easter holiday, they had some catching up to do.

"So…" Taryn said slyly, smiling at her cousin. Draco gave her a look as to say 'Go on…' She returned that with a smirk.

"Well, you know, as I am a girl and all…"

"Yeah, I'm well aware of that," Draco said, raising a well-shaped eyebrow. He had an eerie feeling that she was going to an oddly personal question so he mentally prepared himself. Taryn rolled her eyes at her younger cousin.

"Anyway, I was just wondering there were any hot guys at Hogwarts, preferably around my age, you know," Taryn said finally. Draco was expecting much more serious than a question about, er, 'hot guys.' She had an oddly apprehensive look on her face that didn't match her at all.

"I'm not gay, you know," Draco said smartly but calmly, causing Taryn to roll her eyes at him again. "But if you must know, I have a book of photos from last year. This bloody annoying boy named Colin Creevy gave it to me on the last day of school, blushing wildly. I think he might be gay though…" Taryn let out a small laugh.

"Anyway, he took loads of pictures of just about everyone last year. I suppose you might find an, erm, hot guy that'll arouse your interest…"

"Really? Cool," Taryn said quite simply, smiling.

"I'll go get it then." Draco rose from the grassy patch and quickly ran toward the house. He walked quickly through the house, rushing up the staircases. He finally reached his bedroom and hastily searched around for the photo album. After several moments of searching, Draco grabbed hold of the album and sped back down the many staircases. By the time he got outside again, he was out of breathing, panting loudly.

"Uh, OK there, Draco?" Taryn said, her voice lightly laced with sarcasm. Draco rolled his gleaming silver eyes at her, almost throwing the album down at her. Slightly started, Taryn took the large book and carefully opened it up. On the first page there were a few pictures of Draco and his closest friends. He lay down beside her once more, looking through the album with her.

Draco felt a blush creeping onto his cheek when he saw one of the first pictures in the photo album. It was of him and Hermione. Clearly shown in the picture, he was trying to act cool and calm, occasionally fidgeting. Hermione was smiling brightly and waving while Draco, much like in reality, was blushing pink. His head was turned away from Mione slightly, as for her not to see his crimson cheeks.

Taryn looked up at Draco as she saw him blushing. A mischievous grin appeared on her face as Draco turned away. She let out a small cough and continued looking through the pictures.

"I still can't believe that you're actually close friends with Harry Potter," Taryn said softly, scanning over a picture of Draco and Harry. "D'you think that he would ever like a girl like me?" Draco almost choked on the air. Why would Taryn ever think about going out with Harry?

"Well—I—uh—but—"

"But what?" Taryn said moodily, a well-shaped eyebrow raised at the boy. "Do you not think that I'm good enough for him or something?" Almost immediately, Draco sensed that she was joking around and broke out in a smile. Taryn smiled back. "No, but, truthfully…do you think he would ever go out with me?"

"I, well, maybe, I suppose so…why are you asking me?" Draco sputtered out, looking at her curiously.

"Well, I suppose because you know us both really well and could tell us…I mean, me, if we would go together well. I already know one thing…he's cute. Even with that lightning bolt on his forehead." She laughed lightly, continuing to smile at Draco. He felt extremely odd being told how er, "cute" his best friend was. Thinking that a change of subject would be best, he immediately pointed at a picture of Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"As you know, that's Harry. The redheaded guy is one of my other best mates, Ron. I think I told you about him. And of course…Hermione," Draco said, saying that last word rather dreamily, causing Taryn to laugh out loud.

"You really like her, don't you?" Not being able to put it into simply words, he merely nodded his head, the smallest of smiles on his now slightly timid face. Taryn was probably the only person in the world, besides himself, who knew that he had a crush on Mione. The others, he thought, might've had their suspicions…Hopefully not.

"Wow…who's he?" Taryn said breathlessly, pointing to a picture of a handsome, slightly burly young man. Draco turned to Taryn with a 'you-honestly-don't-like-him-do-you' look on his face.

"Oliver Wood," Draco murmured. "He's captain and keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

"Oh, that's right! You're Chaser, aren't you? And Harry's Seeker?" Draco nodded his head at this.

"What year is this Oliver Wood in?" Was Taryn honestly interested in Oliver? To Draco, Oliver was an extremely competitive, tough Quidditch captain. He was always making them practice, practice, practice. But, over the last two years, Draco knew that all of their practice had succeeded. They had never lost to Slytherin yet, Draco thought proudly. This wasn't something he would boast about in front of his parents though.

"7th year, mind you. He's just a little too old for you, Taryn," Draco said smartly, obviously pointing out the four-year age difference. Taryn rolled her eyes, something she did a lot especially around Draco.

"Whatever," Taryn said nonchalantly, flipping to the next page in the album. There were several pictures of the Gryffindor Quidditch team practicing out in the Pitch as well as some pictures from their first match of the year against Slytherin (in that photo, Draco had thrown the Quaffle into the middle hoop, winning them the game).

Not having anything to comment about that, Taryn turned to the next page. Colin had chosen to take a few pictures of the Stupid Slytherins as Draco, Harry, and Ron liked to call them. This particular group of Slytherins were, well, to put it bluntly, the enemy of the 'Dream Team' (as the Slytherins enjoyed calling Draco and his friends). This particular group of Slytherins was made up of Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle.

Blaise Zabini was the person who could be referred to as the 'ringleader' of the gang of Slytherins. He was handsome, or so Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil often proclaimed. His chestnut hair was often spiked up, having used massive amounts of gel. He was quite tall for his age and was slightly thin. Much like every other Slytherin, he had cold eyes, his of which were an ashy hazel.

Pansy Parkinson…wow, she was horrible. She had a face like a pug, causing the Dream Team to laugh out loud when she made this particularly dog-like face she did often. She often didn't know what they were laughing at and was even more frustrated since she was usually trying to jeer at them. She had blonde hair that ran down past her shoulders with very cold steely gray eyes.

Crabbe and Goyle were big and stupid. That would just about sum it up. They both had practically no neck and were tall. Goyle was taller while Crabbe was shorter and burlier. They were Blaise's bodyguards; there was no other term for them. They went along, agreeing with every jaunt he produced out of his dense head.

"Ooh, who's he?" Taryn said happily, pointing to Blaise. "He's cute." Draco looked at her with utter disbelief. Who would think that Zabini was cute? He stared at her, his mouth gaping open.

Taryn looked at him, an eyebrow raised. Her eyes peered around, wondering why he was looking at her weirdly.

"What? Is there something on my face or something…?" Taryn said self-consciously, attempting to wipe away what might've been on her pale face. Draco slowly snapped out of it, shaking his head.

"No, sorry for spacing out there," Draco murmured. "It's just that…well, that guy is my worst enemy, I guess you could say. He's in Slytherin…And well, we're not exactly the best of friends." Taryn mouthed 'Oh.' She knew about the whole situation and didn't question any further. She looked back down at the album and they looked through it.

***

She sat on her bed, her gold locket in her hand. Taryn looked down at it hatefully. How could he have done to Taryn and her mum? How could he have just up and left them? How?! She carefully opened the locket and saw two small pictures, one of her mum and one of her dad. She slowly ran her thumb over the picture of her dad. Without thinking, Taryn held the locket up. With a strong thrust, Taryn pelted the locket across the room, causing it to hit the hard blue wall. Flashing through was a surge of memories, some standing out more than others. The final one was of her waking up to her frantic mother sobbing loudly. She had quickly gotten up, confused as to why she was crying. And then, the news had hit her: her dad had left them. Taryn remembered crying for days, wondering why he had left. Had it been because of her? Had she been such a bad child that he wanted to leave them forever?

Taryn fell back onto her bed, tears streaming down her cheeks. Life was so unfair…They had all been perfectly happy, hadn't they? They were a normal family, like everyone else. But then, that one day had come and he had just up and left. She closed her eyes, though this didn't stop the tears. They continued rushing down her face, dampening it greatly.

She must've looked like a fool right at this moment. She was so pathetic. Two weeks had passed since that fateful day and she continued to bawl her eyes out each and everyday. It was so sad. She was so weak…Ashlynes were never weak. They were like the Malfoys: powerful, strong, and fearless. But Taryn had always seen herself as the sort of black sheep of her family. She was different from her mum and dad. And different wasn't always a good thing.

Knock…She immediately sat up on the bed, hearing knocking. Taryn hastily wiped away her tears. She bit her bottom lip, not wanting any stray tears to escape from her eyes. She quickly examined her face in the mirror. Her usually bright eyes were struck with red. It was obvious that she had just been crying. But maybe the person at the door would just think that she had taken a shower and suds of shampoo had gone into her eyes. But then again, her hair was perfectly dry.

"Uh, Taryn? You in there?" She groaned, recognizing the voice as Draco's. She sniffed, turning away from the mirror.

"Yes, I'm in here, Draco," Taryn said calmly. She slowly walked over to the door and twisted the knob open. Sure enough, Draco stood before her, clad in emerald green robes. He shot her a confused look.

That's it…I'm done for…Taryn thought in the back of her mind. He would ask why she looked so odd then the truth would leak out. It was her fault that she could never keep a secret, not even one as personal and depressing as this one. But, to her great surprise, Draco simply walked into her room, not commenting on her slightly damp face or extremely red eyes.

"Dinner will be ready soon, I suppose," Draco said carelessly. "Pepper's been slaving away at the cooking for several hours. She said that she'd be making your favorites."

"Bouillabaisse?" Taryn said, slightly savagely. She hadn't had any in over a week, making her feel slightly more exhausted than usual. Back home in Paris, she had had bouillabaisse at least once or twice a week. It had always been her favorite. Draco nodded his head. Taryn closed the door to her room and slowly walked back over to her bed. Draco stayed standing, looking directly as his older cousin.

Almost immediately, this happiness was attacked. Draco swiftly turned his head, his silver eyes landing on the broken gold heart that was lying gently on the floor. He walked over to the locket and picked it up. Taryn felt a lump in her throat. Now he would ask what had happened.

"Taryn? Why is this on the floor?" Draco questioned her. "And why is it broken…?"

"Oh, um, I accidentally dropped it when I was looking at it," Taryn murmured. That was the best excuse she could come up with. She couldn't bear lying to her best friend in the world. It almost hurt. He obviously knew that she was lying by her lack of eye contact and the murmuring. She never murmured.

"What happened?" Draco said, almost reading her unclear mind. "That wasn't what happened and you know it." He said this all very solemnly, making Taryn feel even more uncomfortable. Before she knew it, she had burst out into tears again. Now, she knew, they wouldn't stop even if she tried.

Draco's mouth gaped open slightly. Why was she crying? What had happened to make her sob so unbearably? He merely stood there, looking at her with a highly confused look on his concerned face. Somehow, through her loud sobbing, she managed to speak.

"F-Father…h-he l-l-left us! Me a-and m-m-mummy!" She sounded like a small child whining about not getting enough ice cream. But the shock of what she had just said started going through Draco like a tidal wave. Her father had left them. No wonder why…He couldn't help but feel absolutely horrible, his insides twisting and turning.

When Taryn had first arrived at Malfoy Manor, he couldn't have helped notice that there was a certain eerie tension between them both. She hadn't seemed as close as she had once been, making Draco feel rather uneasy.

"I'm…I'm…" Draco stammered, not exactly sure of what he was. He wouldn't say 'sorry' because it probably would've made her felt even worse. He gulped and slowly walked over to Taryn, wrapping his arms awkwardly around his crying cousin. He felt her tears running onto his shoulder but he didn't mind in the least.

The only important thing in the world was Taryn and now she was crying. Draco couldn't help but feel as if he had failed her…

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A/N: Again, sorry for such a long wait! I hope you liked this chapter. Please review! ^_~