Lots of Surprises

Nope…it not gonna be Remus…well…not for the most part anyways.

News of Professor Salenger's death was all over the school by lunch the next day. No one knew how she died, they just knew she was dead. Despite Dumbledore's arguments, Leah did a quick trip into Bellatrix's body but found out nothing.

"Well…she lasted her year." Hermione said. She, Ginny, Harry and Ron were all sitting at the Gryffindor table. Leah was standing next to them because she had to be ready to go up to the teacher's table when Dumbledore made an announcement. Leah had dropped muggle studies because it was beginning to annoy her. The teacher didn't really know anything about the subject. She also dropped Care of Magical Creatures. Hagrid didn't take it as badly as she thought he would.

"Who's teaching now?" Harry asked. He looked at Leah.

"Don't look at me. I have no clue." Leah said. She only had potions, transfiguration, charms and Defense now. She stopped History of magic during march of sixth year…after professor Binns yelled at her for the twelve time because she kept showing up late.

"Will the head boy and girl please come up to the front." Dumbledore said suddenly. Leah moved between the tables and got to the front before Draco. "As you all pretty well now know…Professor Salenger is no longer with us." There was a murmur through the crowd. "So we must, once again, find a new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher." Everyone looked at Dumbledore, even the teachers. "So…for the time being until I am able to find a suitable teacher, I am handing the duty over to our head boy and girl."

"What?" Leah said, whipping around to stare at Dumbledore. "You're joking right."

"No." Dumbledore said. The students were clapping as well as the teachers, except Snape of course. Leah looked at him. She wondered if his face could look even more pissed off then it did now. She figured that he would probably have an equally pissed face of Dumbledore had announced that Sirius was alive and taking over as Defense teacher…or maybe Snape would look even angrier then he did now.

"That is just…whoa!" Ron said. They were sitting in charms now. Draco was teaching.

"Yeah…that…why would Dumbledore make me a teacher?" Leah said.

"You'll make a great one." Hermione said. "You have the best mark in that class. You and Malfoy are top."

"Good thing my first class is first years." Leah said.

It wasn't such a good thing after all. Once Leah got into the room, all the students went quiet and stared at her. She looked at them.

"Um…ok…so…" Leah said.

"Are you the singer girl?" one of the boys asked.

"Um…yeah." Leah said. All the students started whispering. Leah rolled her eyes. "Ok whatever. So…you all can just call me Leah."

"Are you really friends with one of the weird sisters?" A girl asked.

"Yeah." Leah said. "Now shut up with the singer stuff. This is Defense Against the Dark Arts…not music." Everyone stopped talking. Leah sighed and just started telling them about counter curses and protection spells.

Three weeks until Christmas, McGonagall went around with the list for people staying behind. She informed Leah and Draco that they were allowed to come and go as often as they wanted so if they wanted to stay for some of the vacation then they could, if they wanted to leave, then they could do that too.

"You going to stay?" Draco asked. Leah looked up from the pasta she was eating.

"I don't know." She said. "Are you?"

"More then likely." Draco said. "Trying to spend as much time as possible away from my mother."

"Hmm…" Leah said. "Well…I'm probably gonna go home for a few days…check on the house and all that shit."

"Oh." Draco said. Leah finished her food and put her dishes away. She took Draco's empty bowl and put that away.

"You wanna come with?" Leah asked.

"Remember the last time we tried that." Draco said.

"Well…last time…the reason behind it was for a funeral." Leah said. "This is just Christmas." She sat on the table next to Draco. "Although…warning you now…I might get way upset on Christmas Eve."

"Hmm…" Draco said. He stood up so that he was at eye level with Leah. He put his hands on her hips. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Leah said.

"How'd your grandpa die?" Draco asked. Leah didn't answer right away. She looked down.

"He was killed…in front of me." Leah said.

"Do you know who did it?" Draco asked. Leah didn't answer at all this time. Draco looked at her hands to see them in fists. "Leah…" He lifted her chin with one of his hands. "Who did it?"

"I…" Leah said.

"I know you know who did it." Draco said.

"Yeah." Leah said.

"You gonna tell me?" Draco asked.

"Ask your parents." Leah muttered.

"Well see…I'm trying to avoid one of them…and I haven't seen the other since he was thrown in jail." Draco said. Leah looked at him with her head tilted in confusion. Draco looked at her, trying to figure out what was going on. "Wait a minute…a week before your grandpa died…my dad got out of jail."

"Yeah." Leah said, slowly.

"You avoided me a lot more then before the holidays…after the holidays." Draco said.

"Yeah." Leah said, even slower. There was a silence in which Leah was looking uncomfortable.

"He did it." Draco said. "Didn't he?" Leah looked away from Draco. He sighed and looked down. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know." Leah said. She slid off the table, making Draco look up.

"Oh god…no wonder you ignored and avoided me the way you did." Draco said.

"Well…that was after the holidays." Leah said. "There was a completely different reason before the holidays." Draco raised an eyebrow. Leah closed her eyes, took a deep breath, opened her eyes again and told Draco all about the times that she was Bellatrix. It came a lot easier, telling Draco, then it did telling the others.

"Well…" Draco said, once Leah was done and there was silence for two minutes. "That actually would explain a lot."

"Like what?" Leah asked.

"Well…Bellatrix's behavior for one…" Draco said. "And why you avoided me at the start of last year. I don't blame you. If I was you and saw that…I would do the same thing."

"Really?" Leah asked.

"Yeah…really." Draco said. "That would also explain your disappearance for a week. And all the cuts you had when you came back." Leah just shrugged. Draco laughed. "Same ones as what Bellatrix had. It's a good thing that she got all the pain that you got…but it's a real bitch that you had to suffer through it too…umm…did you ever…"

"Not your body." Leah said, shaking her head. "But your mom…yeah…a few times. Trust me…I so was NOT aiming for her. And Peter…Wormtail." Leah shivered. "I never ever EVER want to do that again."

"I can imagine that would be an awful experience." Draco said.

"You don't know the half of it." Leah said. "He was friends with my parents and all that stuff." Draco nodded. "Apart from my mom…he was the first one to hold me." Leah shivered again and rubbed her arms. Draco laughed. "It's not funny."

"Aw…I'm sorry baby." Draco said. Leah pouted. Draco smirked before putting his hand on the back of Leah's head and pulling her towards him to kiss her. Leah kissed him back fully. Somehow they managed to get into the living and onto the couch…Draco got the upper hand this time. Leah frowned when Draco pulled away. "Did you forget something."

"Like what?" Leah asked.

"We have to patrol tonight." Draco said.

"Kiss now…patrol later." Leah said. Draco laughed and shook his head. Leah sighed. "Fine…patrol now. Get off then." Draco didn't move. Leah rolled her eyes and pushed him off her and the couch. He pulled her along with him. "You're the one that brought up the patrol thing. Why did you do it if you don't think we should go?"

"Because I do think we should go…I just don't want to." Draco said. Leah rolled her eyes and got up. Draco got up as well.

They spent the next few hours patrolling the corridors. Well actually…they spent about half the time in random closets making-out. They were near the potions dungeon when Leah stopped dead in her tracks. Draco walked a few more steps before realizing she had stopped. He walked back over to her. His eyes went to her eyes.

"Oh…shit." Draco said. Leah's eyes had that look again. Dumbledore had told him about it but he never told Draco what to do. Leah groaned and would have fallen if it wasn't for the fact that Draco had grabbed her. A minute later the potions door opened and Snape walked out.

"What is going on?" He asked.

"Umm…patrol." Draco said. "She's…umm…not feeling well." He didn't know if Snape knew about Leah but he wasn't about to tell him anything that Snape would possibly pass onto Voldemort. Draco really didn't know what side Snape was on. He was convincing on both sides. Draco wasn't even sure what side he himself was on…so he just stuck in the middle for the time being. They both jumped when Leah jumped and stood up really fast.

"Miss Black." Snape said. Leah jumped again and looked at him.

"You ok?" Draco asked.

"Uh…yeah. Just…dizzy." Leah said.

"Mr. Malfoy said you were not well." Snape said.

"I'm…not." Leah said. She looked at Snape and couldn't help but thing there was something extremely different about him. "Ummm…I'm gonna go back to the common room." She was talking to Draco but her eyes weren't leaving the potions master. Leah slowly walked away from them.

She wouldn't tell Draco what she had seen, but she also wasn't being distant from him either so he figured it wasn't all that bad.

Leah stood in the great hall with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny on the first day of vacation. They had to wait for carriages to take then down to the village and the station. It was too cold to wait outside so all the people who were going home were standing inside the school.

"So you are going to go home?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah." Leah said. "Hey Mione…feel free to drop by when you need to. Don't hesitate at all." Hermione looked confused but Leah just hugged her. She waved bye to them as they left with the rest of the students. Leah knew Hermione was going to be at her house over the vacation…and she knew exactly why.

Her parents were going to get killed. That was what Leah saw. She saw Hermione's parents, dead, and Hermione crying. Then something flashed and Hermione was at Leah's house with Leah, crying her eyes out. Leah wasn't sure how Hermione's parents were going to die, but she figured it was more then likely going to be a death eater killing.

Leah headed back to her dorm after all the homebound students were gone. She had most of the holiday planned out…spend the first day at school then head home tomorrow…more then likely bringing Draco along.

Everything went according to plan. The first day dragged by with numerous games of exploding snap and chess as well as playing hide-and-seek…in the dark, which lead to a lot of bruises from running into furniture. Then the next day, Leah and Draco went to Leah's house. She assigned him one of the other rooms in the house but he always wound up sleeping with her.

Three days before Christmas, Leah got a bad feeling. Draco was gone…the mark having had burned and Leah said that he should go. He had already avoided going a lot of other times. So now she was sitting in the living room, still in her pajamas (at two in the afternoon) and reading a magazine when the fireplace suddenly roared into flames and a second later Hermione was walking out of it, her face wet from tears, with a confused, mixed with sad and upset look in her eyes.

"How did you know?" Hermione asked.

"Know what?" Leah asked.

"You said last week that…" Hermione said. Leah stood up. Hermione wiped the tears off her eyes.

"What I said was that if you wanted to come over don't hesitate to do so." Leah said. "And umm…I did know. A dream…I thought it was just a dream."

"You knew my parents were going to die." Hermione said. Leah nodded. Hermione broke down into tears and Leah hugged her.

They sat on the couch for a long time with Hermione crying and saying what happened and Leah just comforting her. Leah finally convinced Hermione to get some sleep and she led her up to another of the rooms. She walked back down the stairs just as Draco returned through the fireplace.

"Shh!" Leah said quickly.

"Why?" Draco asked.

"Hermione." Leah said. Draco looked around. "No…upstairs. Her parents died and I said she could live with me for as long as she wanted."

"Ok." Draco said. "Now what?"

"I don't know." Leah said. "I never thought about it. I knew you were gonna come back. I just never got far enough in the thought process of what Hermione would do if she saw you here."

"Oh…well." Draco said. He headed for the stairs.

"Where you going?" Leah asked.

"Umm…gonna get my stuff." Draco said.

"Why?" Leah asked.

"To save you from getting yelled at by your best friend." Draco said.

"You don't have to leave." Leah said. Draco tilted his head. Leah didn't know why she said that.

"You don't want me to go?" Draco asked. Leah shook her head. Draco walked over to her. "Why's that?"

"I don't know." Leah said. She sighed. "I guess I'm just tired of hiding stuff." Draco raised an eyebrow. "You know…I was anorexic and hid that." She raised her hand with the wristband. "Suicidal and hiding that." She pointed between herself and Draco. "Kissing you and hiding that." Draco smirked slightly. "I'm just getting tired of it."

"Yeah…" Draco said. He pushed some of Leah's hair behind her ear. "But you also don't wanna get your friends yelling at you. I mean…you dating Blaise was one thing…" Leah covered his mouth with her hand before kissing him. She pulled away after a minute, but only a bit, letting her forehead touch Draco's.

"Don't leave." Leah muttered. Draco sighed. "It's gonna be a crazy morning, I know. But if anyone will understand, it's Hermione. And she won't tell if I ask her…she's keeping bigger secrets for me then this."

"Ok." Draco said. He pulled his head back and took hold of Leah's chin before tilting her head up. "I'll stay. We can back-up each other when the fireworks happen." Leah smiled slightly. "Come on. Let's go to bed."

"Great idea." Leah said. They walked upstairs to Leah's room. Once they got to the top of the landing, Draco wrapped his arms around Leah's waist from behind and she giggled before leaning against him. Draco kissed the top of her head and they walked into Leah's room that way.

Neither of them noticed that the door to Hermione's new room was opened slightly and that a brown eye was watching them. Hermione closed the door and leaned against it with a smile. That day wasn't so bad. Sure, her parents might have been killed, but her suspicions about Leah and Draco proved to be correct.

She had had suspicions about them since they returned from the forest at the beginning of the year, Leah seeming happier then she was before. No matter how much they tried to hide it, Hermione saw the attraction between the two. She saw the looks they gave each other. Harry and Ron were blind if they didn't see it.

Thinking of them, Hermione suddenly became aware of the fact that they were completely distant from Leah now. There was really nothing spoken between them at all anymore. They weren't angry with each other…they just seemed to be distant now. What with Harry dating Ginny and Ron dating Hermione. Even Ginny and Hermione were getting distant from Leah. And Leah was hanging out with everyone but her old friends.

Leah, even though she was tired, lay awake. Draco was behind her, fast asleep, his arm around her waist as always. Leah toyed with his hand. She looked out the window at the snow. By this time the sun was just starting to rise.

Her first Christmas without her mom. Her first one alone. Yet…she wasn't alone. She had Draco right here with her…and Hermione in the next room. Even if it had been a whole year since her grandpa died…why was she so miserable?

She felt like she was lacking something. Something important was missing. She'd have to ask Dumbledore about it when she got back after Christmas day.

Breaks in friendship will put to test the devotion. That line was beginning to repeat itself over and over in her head. She hadn't thought about any line in the prophecy for a long time now. She also couldn't stop thinking about what Dumbledore had said. I believe that a bigger break in friendship would be having to choose between your friend and someone or something else. Unable to choose, your friend would just walk away. Perhaps both would.

Leah eased her way out of Draco's hold. He rolled over onto his other side. She slid her feet into her slippers and put on her robe before going to stand out on the balcony outside her window. She wasn't going to stay there long. She dusted the snow off the ledge and leaned against it. One part of the prophecy was going to come true this year…she just knew it. How could she have a break in friendship now when she hardly spends anytime with Harry or Ron as it is?

"Leah? What are you doing?" Leah looked over her shoulder at Draco. He must have woken up and come outside because he was right behind her now. His arms went around her waist and he looked over her shoulder and down at the snow covered ground.

"I'm just thinking." Leah said. "This is my first Christmas alone. But…I'm not alone…you know?"

"Yeah. I think I do." Draco said. "Pretty much the same thing for me." Leah nodded. "Cept my reason is because I don't wanna be around my family."

"Whoa…I just realized something." Leah said. Draco looked at her. "Bellatrix is your mom's sister…as well as my dad's cousin."

"Yeah…so?" Draco asked.

"That means we're related!" Leah said.

"So?" Draco asked. "Every pure-blood family is related somehow. No doubt that house of yours that your dad gave you has some kind of family tree."

"Yeah…with black marks all over it." Leah said. She explained about Grandma Black blasting Sirius' name off the tree once he ran away. She didn't say that he lived with her mother since that time.

"Well then…technically it's not that big of a deal." Draco said. "Your father got disowned."

"Uh huh." Leah said.

"You have no idea what I mean, do you?" Draco asked.

"Not a one." Leah said. Draco pulled Leah back inside. She turned around after taking off her slippers and robe. A few things were running through her mind but at the moment she felt too tired to care. They went back to bed. And both fell asleep.

Leah: Dude…are you making this like your other story? Always ending the chapters with the main person falling asleep?

Me: Seems like it doesn't it. Ok I'll try something else for the next one. I just can't think of anything to end these chapters with anymore. Arg, stupid mind!