Title: Lost in the Shadows
Author: Stardrops
Rating: G
Genre: Angst/Romance
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Duh. And I should probably add that in a later chapter, the idea for the constellations and star spotting was borrowed from some of "Rigella"'s writing, which everyone should check out.
Chapter Three: The Necklace and the Cemetery
A week had passed since that night. Crabbe and Goyle had been starting to include him more in their activities of beating up younger students and pigging out on massive plates of food, whether it was mealtimes or not. Draco was finding it harder and harder to get away for some quiet time, but he managed in that Sunday.
He was walking alongside the lake, and for once was not thinking about Perseus or that girl, but was just enjoying the summer afternoon. Crabbe and Goyle had been called to Dumbledore's office, and Draco took the opportunity to escape.
There was a beautiful sunset beginning in the late afternoon as he walked. Several other students were enjoying the scenery as well, but no one tried to talk to Draco, much to his relief.
His shoulders relaxed and some of the tension left him as he stood and breathed deeply the warm air. His eyes closed for a moment, and then as he turned, they opened again.
A glint of gold caught his attention, lying in the grass a few feet away. Draco frowned and wandered over to it. Picking it up, he straightened to full height and froze as he got a good look at it.
It was a necklace identical to his. Reaching quickly to his neck to make sure his own hadn't fallen off, he stared at it in wonder and with mounting excitement. The only other person in the world he knew with this necklace was Perseus. Maybe this meant Perseus was still alive!
Draco's eyes widened as possibilities flowed through his mind. Maybe the person he'd watched his father murder was someone pretending to be Perseus, by means of the Polyjuice Potion or some other disguise. Maybe it was all a scam to make Voldemort think that Perseus was dead, when really, he was alive and healthy.
For the first time since the funeral, Draco's heart lifted. Glancing around him, he saw no sign of Perseus anywhere near. That didn't matter though; this just meant that sometime in the past week, Perseus had been here, standing on this very spot!
Draco was nearly shivering with excitement. He had to find him. Somewhere was the boy who Draco needed more than anything else in the whole world.
Turning, he began to run towards the castle. He had to search every possible hiding place. Maybe Dumbledore knew! He'd go see Dumbledore...
But he heard crying from the trees near the path where he currently was. Slowing to a stop, he waited for some other sign of life, but hearing none, he decided to continue on his way. He'd taken no more than one step when he heard a soft sob, one you would only hear if you were listening for it, and a little sniffle.
Draco stepped from the path and walked towards the trees. Lying against one was the mystery girl. Draco stopped and watched her. She was fumbling with the grass, brushing leaves aside and letting tears fall from her cheeks.
Frowning, Draco wondered what on earth she was doing. This was the strangest thing he'd ever seen. He had half a mind to leave her and keep going, Perseus was more important than this stranger, but there was some part of him that was like a magnet to this girl, and he had to know who she was and what she was doing.
Draco sighed and agreed with his intuition. As long as this only took a few seconds, Perseus could wait.
He trudged over and knelt beside the girl. She sat up with a gasp and looked at him with frightened eyes in her tearstained face.
"What are you doing?" he asked her softly. She looked so frightened and vulnerable that even Draco felt his heart go out to her in a very un-Draco action.
She sniffled again and fresh tears fell down her cheeks. "I-I lost something."
Resuming what appeared to be a search for something in the grass, she elaborated, "I think I dropped a necklace around here somewhere last night."
Draco's heart fell to his shoes. His insides were aching with disappointment as he realized his hope had been in vain. He mentally kicked himself as he scolded his mind for letting him think Perseus was still alive.
Mutely, he handed the necklace to the girl. She stared at his open hand for a second before looking up at him again. She looked so grateful as she took the necklace, but Draco still felt let down.
"Oh...thank you!" she whispered softly, doing up the clasp at the back. It rested over top of her Gryffindor robes.
Brushing his immense disappointment aside, he asked, "Have we met before?"
She looked at him for a long moment before answering. "I don't think so."
Then something hit him. "Wait...how come you have that necklace?" he asked suddenly.
She looked up at him, a bit curious as to his urgent tone. "My brother gave it to me when we were ten."
Draco's head felt light. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
She smiled to herself and said softly, "He was my best friend, even though I rarely saw him. I loved him so much."
Draco swallowed with difficulty and tried to speak. His voice came out hoarse and croaky. "W-what do you mean?"
She looked at him in surprise.
"I mean, you're talking about him like he's not your best friend anymore," Draco added.
She looked down at the grass before scratching her nose and looking to the side. Evidently this was not a subject she felt comfortable touching with a complete stranger.
"He's dead," she answered quietly. "He died this summer."
Draco nearly fainted. "H-how?" he asked desperately.
She looked at him as though worried about his sanity. "I don't know, I hadn't seen or heard from him for about two months."
Draco tried for one last time to get the information he wanted. "What was his name?"
She glanced at him nervously before replying. "Perseus."
Draco's eyes filled with little black dots and he fainted.
* * *
Waking up to a nearly black sky, he saw the girl standing over him. She'd just splashed his face with cold water, and he sat up immediately.
"Are you all right?" she asked with concern.
He couldn't speak, he just stared at her. He couldn't believe this girl was the sister of his best friend.
She was starting to look uncomfortable with his strange behavior. She averted her eyes and stammered, "M-maybe we should get you up to the castle?"
Draco said nothing, but stood to his full height. He reached inside his robes and pulled out the necklace. Showing it to the girl, she froze. After several seconds of silence, she looked up at him with confusion. "What...?"
He croaked out a reply. "I got it from my best friend when we were ten. His name was Perseus, and he died this summer."
The girl gasped in shock and sat down quickly. Draco stood over her, watching her reaction.
"He never mentioned that he had a sister."
The girl looked up at him. "Y-you knew Perseus?" she asked again, completely shocked.
He simply nodded. He didn't think his dry mouth would allow him to speak.
"You were at the funeral?" she asked. "The one at the back?"
He nodded again.
"The one who waited until everyone else had gone before saying goodbye?"
Draco looked down at his feet and nodded again.
The girl stood up and did something totally unexpected. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a huge hug.
No one had ever hugged Draco like that, as though they were incredibly grateful for him existence. He hesitated for a moment, not quite knowing what to do, and then awkwardly placed his arms around her.
She pulled away, and glanced up at him. "Would you come with me?"
Draco hesitated again. "Where?"
She smiled and took his hand. "To see him."
Draco gasped. "How? We can't Apparate and we can't leave the school grounds!"
The girl simply smiled and led him up to the castle. Whispering a few words to the portrait of Engel the Enormous, the portrait swung aside and allowed the two to enter. It was a secret passage that even the Weasley twins and the Marauders from the previous generation hadn't discovered.
She led him along it until they came to a brick wall. Whispering another word and running her hand gently over it, the wall dissolved and she stepped though, pulling Draco along behind her.
As Draco's eyes grew accustomed to the dark, he felt a little pang of sadness squeeze him inside, and he laid his eyes on the tombstone where he had stood only weeks before.
The girl stood back and watched, almost as if to make sure he wasn't just playing with her, but Draco stepped up to the tombstone straight away. Kneeling beside it, he felt the girl come and sit next to him.
She held her hand out to Draco. "Delphine Winters."
He took it and shook it. "Draco Malfoy."
As they released each other's hand, Draco frowned. "Hey, wait, if you're his sister, then why is your name Winters, and his was Summers?"
Delphine smiled. "Matter of family secrecy."
Draco looked utterly confused and she shook her head. "Long story," she said, and from the way she brushed it aside, Draco knew she didn't want to talk about it.
He turned back to the tombstone and traced the letters gently with his finger. The fact that there was no flowers or any sign of people having come since the funeral made a lump grow at the back of Draco's throat again. Quickly, he whipped out his wand and muttered an incantation, producing a large bunch of blooming roses mixed with baby's breath and irises. He traced his wand in a rectangle around where the coffin lay beneath the earth, and the flowers rooted immediately to the ground, marking the outline of the concealed casket.
Delphine smiled at him and pulled out her own wand, conjuring up little star shaped white flowers. Attaching them to the headstone, they shone like little white jewels, spread out across the headstone. The earth on top of the coffin was grassy and fake, so with a flick of his wand, Draco vanished it and replaced it with glittering pebbles and rose petals.
Delphine drew in a quick breath, looking at the grave. It now looked absolutely beautiful, and she felt prickling behind her eyes, warning her that tears would fall soon if she wasn't careful. She glanced once more at Draco, wondering if he was for real.
Looking at him trace the letters of Perseus's name, Delphine thought yes for the moment. She'd talk to him and try to get the story of Perseus from the boy later, but right now, all that mattered was that there was someone else in the world who cared about Perseus, or who seemed to at least.
Draco was unaware of Delphine quietly examining him. He was remembering everything about the funeral, including the singer. He turned to Delphine once more.
"You sang at the funeral, didn't you?"
She nodded, and sighed. "It was his favourite song."
Draco looked back at the tombstone, and then looked up at the sky. The brilliant stars shone brightly, illuminating every grave in the yard.
Draco wondered if Perseus could see him. He suddenly realized he was glad he'd met this girl. He knew he wasn't the only one who cared about Perseus now. And for once, there was someone who knew almost exactly how he felt.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Okay...another chapter done. Now PLEASE review it. Reviews = Updates, and they make me feel happy too * grins *
All comments are welcomed, even flames, but only if the flames are justified. Don't tell me the story sucks if you don't give any advice on improvement please. But nice reviews are always, ALWAYS welcome. Thanks!
Author: Stardrops
Rating: G
Genre: Angst/Romance
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Duh. And I should probably add that in a later chapter, the idea for the constellations and star spotting was borrowed from some of "Rigella"'s writing, which everyone should check out.
Chapter Three: The Necklace and the Cemetery
A week had passed since that night. Crabbe and Goyle had been starting to include him more in their activities of beating up younger students and pigging out on massive plates of food, whether it was mealtimes or not. Draco was finding it harder and harder to get away for some quiet time, but he managed in that Sunday.
He was walking alongside the lake, and for once was not thinking about Perseus or that girl, but was just enjoying the summer afternoon. Crabbe and Goyle had been called to Dumbledore's office, and Draco took the opportunity to escape.
There was a beautiful sunset beginning in the late afternoon as he walked. Several other students were enjoying the scenery as well, but no one tried to talk to Draco, much to his relief.
His shoulders relaxed and some of the tension left him as he stood and breathed deeply the warm air. His eyes closed for a moment, and then as he turned, they opened again.
A glint of gold caught his attention, lying in the grass a few feet away. Draco frowned and wandered over to it. Picking it up, he straightened to full height and froze as he got a good look at it.
It was a necklace identical to his. Reaching quickly to his neck to make sure his own hadn't fallen off, he stared at it in wonder and with mounting excitement. The only other person in the world he knew with this necklace was Perseus. Maybe this meant Perseus was still alive!
Draco's eyes widened as possibilities flowed through his mind. Maybe the person he'd watched his father murder was someone pretending to be Perseus, by means of the Polyjuice Potion or some other disguise. Maybe it was all a scam to make Voldemort think that Perseus was dead, when really, he was alive and healthy.
For the first time since the funeral, Draco's heart lifted. Glancing around him, he saw no sign of Perseus anywhere near. That didn't matter though; this just meant that sometime in the past week, Perseus had been here, standing on this very spot!
Draco was nearly shivering with excitement. He had to find him. Somewhere was the boy who Draco needed more than anything else in the whole world.
Turning, he began to run towards the castle. He had to search every possible hiding place. Maybe Dumbledore knew! He'd go see Dumbledore...
But he heard crying from the trees near the path where he currently was. Slowing to a stop, he waited for some other sign of life, but hearing none, he decided to continue on his way. He'd taken no more than one step when he heard a soft sob, one you would only hear if you were listening for it, and a little sniffle.
Draco stepped from the path and walked towards the trees. Lying against one was the mystery girl. Draco stopped and watched her. She was fumbling with the grass, brushing leaves aside and letting tears fall from her cheeks.
Frowning, Draco wondered what on earth she was doing. This was the strangest thing he'd ever seen. He had half a mind to leave her and keep going, Perseus was more important than this stranger, but there was some part of him that was like a magnet to this girl, and he had to know who she was and what she was doing.
Draco sighed and agreed with his intuition. As long as this only took a few seconds, Perseus could wait.
He trudged over and knelt beside the girl. She sat up with a gasp and looked at him with frightened eyes in her tearstained face.
"What are you doing?" he asked her softly. She looked so frightened and vulnerable that even Draco felt his heart go out to her in a very un-Draco action.
She sniffled again and fresh tears fell down her cheeks. "I-I lost something."
Resuming what appeared to be a search for something in the grass, she elaborated, "I think I dropped a necklace around here somewhere last night."
Draco's heart fell to his shoes. His insides were aching with disappointment as he realized his hope had been in vain. He mentally kicked himself as he scolded his mind for letting him think Perseus was still alive.
Mutely, he handed the necklace to the girl. She stared at his open hand for a second before looking up at him again. She looked so grateful as she took the necklace, but Draco still felt let down.
"Oh...thank you!" she whispered softly, doing up the clasp at the back. It rested over top of her Gryffindor robes.
Brushing his immense disappointment aside, he asked, "Have we met before?"
She looked at him for a long moment before answering. "I don't think so."
Then something hit him. "Wait...how come you have that necklace?" he asked suddenly.
She looked up at him, a bit curious as to his urgent tone. "My brother gave it to me when we were ten."
Draco's head felt light. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
She smiled to herself and said softly, "He was my best friend, even though I rarely saw him. I loved him so much."
Draco swallowed with difficulty and tried to speak. His voice came out hoarse and croaky. "W-what do you mean?"
She looked at him in surprise.
"I mean, you're talking about him like he's not your best friend anymore," Draco added.
She looked down at the grass before scratching her nose and looking to the side. Evidently this was not a subject she felt comfortable touching with a complete stranger.
"He's dead," she answered quietly. "He died this summer."
Draco nearly fainted. "H-how?" he asked desperately.
She looked at him as though worried about his sanity. "I don't know, I hadn't seen or heard from him for about two months."
Draco tried for one last time to get the information he wanted. "What was his name?"
She glanced at him nervously before replying. "Perseus."
Draco's eyes filled with little black dots and he fainted.
* * *
Waking up to a nearly black sky, he saw the girl standing over him. She'd just splashed his face with cold water, and he sat up immediately.
"Are you all right?" she asked with concern.
He couldn't speak, he just stared at her. He couldn't believe this girl was the sister of his best friend.
She was starting to look uncomfortable with his strange behavior. She averted her eyes and stammered, "M-maybe we should get you up to the castle?"
Draco said nothing, but stood to his full height. He reached inside his robes and pulled out the necklace. Showing it to the girl, she froze. After several seconds of silence, she looked up at him with confusion. "What...?"
He croaked out a reply. "I got it from my best friend when we were ten. His name was Perseus, and he died this summer."
The girl gasped in shock and sat down quickly. Draco stood over her, watching her reaction.
"He never mentioned that he had a sister."
The girl looked up at him. "Y-you knew Perseus?" she asked again, completely shocked.
He simply nodded. He didn't think his dry mouth would allow him to speak.
"You were at the funeral?" she asked. "The one at the back?"
He nodded again.
"The one who waited until everyone else had gone before saying goodbye?"
Draco looked down at his feet and nodded again.
The girl stood up and did something totally unexpected. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a huge hug.
No one had ever hugged Draco like that, as though they were incredibly grateful for him existence. He hesitated for a moment, not quite knowing what to do, and then awkwardly placed his arms around her.
She pulled away, and glanced up at him. "Would you come with me?"
Draco hesitated again. "Where?"
She smiled and took his hand. "To see him."
Draco gasped. "How? We can't Apparate and we can't leave the school grounds!"
The girl simply smiled and led him up to the castle. Whispering a few words to the portrait of Engel the Enormous, the portrait swung aside and allowed the two to enter. It was a secret passage that even the Weasley twins and the Marauders from the previous generation hadn't discovered.
She led him along it until they came to a brick wall. Whispering another word and running her hand gently over it, the wall dissolved and she stepped though, pulling Draco along behind her.
As Draco's eyes grew accustomed to the dark, he felt a little pang of sadness squeeze him inside, and he laid his eyes on the tombstone where he had stood only weeks before.
The girl stood back and watched, almost as if to make sure he wasn't just playing with her, but Draco stepped up to the tombstone straight away. Kneeling beside it, he felt the girl come and sit next to him.
She held her hand out to Draco. "Delphine Winters."
He took it and shook it. "Draco Malfoy."
As they released each other's hand, Draco frowned. "Hey, wait, if you're his sister, then why is your name Winters, and his was Summers?"
Delphine smiled. "Matter of family secrecy."
Draco looked utterly confused and she shook her head. "Long story," she said, and from the way she brushed it aside, Draco knew she didn't want to talk about it.
He turned back to the tombstone and traced the letters gently with his finger. The fact that there was no flowers or any sign of people having come since the funeral made a lump grow at the back of Draco's throat again. Quickly, he whipped out his wand and muttered an incantation, producing a large bunch of blooming roses mixed with baby's breath and irises. He traced his wand in a rectangle around where the coffin lay beneath the earth, and the flowers rooted immediately to the ground, marking the outline of the concealed casket.
Delphine smiled at him and pulled out her own wand, conjuring up little star shaped white flowers. Attaching them to the headstone, they shone like little white jewels, spread out across the headstone. The earth on top of the coffin was grassy and fake, so with a flick of his wand, Draco vanished it and replaced it with glittering pebbles and rose petals.
Delphine drew in a quick breath, looking at the grave. It now looked absolutely beautiful, and she felt prickling behind her eyes, warning her that tears would fall soon if she wasn't careful. She glanced once more at Draco, wondering if he was for real.
Looking at him trace the letters of Perseus's name, Delphine thought yes for the moment. She'd talk to him and try to get the story of Perseus from the boy later, but right now, all that mattered was that there was someone else in the world who cared about Perseus, or who seemed to at least.
Draco was unaware of Delphine quietly examining him. He was remembering everything about the funeral, including the singer. He turned to Delphine once more.
"You sang at the funeral, didn't you?"
She nodded, and sighed. "It was his favourite song."
Draco looked back at the tombstone, and then looked up at the sky. The brilliant stars shone brightly, illuminating every grave in the yard.
Draco wondered if Perseus could see him. He suddenly realized he was glad he'd met this girl. He knew he wasn't the only one who cared about Perseus now. And for once, there was someone who knew almost exactly how he felt.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Okay...another chapter done. Now PLEASE review it. Reviews = Updates, and they make me feel happy too * grins *
All comments are welcomed, even flames, but only if the flames are justified. Don't tell me the story sucks if you don't give any advice on improvement please. But nice reviews are always, ALWAYS welcome. Thanks!