A/n: Here's the next chapter as promised. Please read and review, and please enjoy.

Hate's Just A Word

Chapter SEVEN: The Dark Past

For many nights, they returned to the mysterious room with the tables. Draco always wondered 'Why tables? Why on Earth wish for tables', but that mattered not when he had her on top of one. Christmas break ended, and the students returned. Classes resumed, unfortunately. Draco and Lindsay started to live a lie. They put on an act for everyone. They were still what they had been before. They ignored each other, they taunted, and they fought. No one suspected a thing. They were pretty good actors, although they did sometimes have trouble supressing that secret smile.

It was late January and the two were still praticing their charade. It was in a Defense Against the Dark Arts class where they were paired up once more. Yet, this time in groups of four. This group included Lindsay, Draco, Hermione, and Blaise Zabini. It was not a wise choice at all for the four of them to work together. They were practicing a defensive spell that had the same defense as protego did, yet it cast a bubble around the user. The group assembled much to all of their dislikes.

"Now, Lindsay, promise me you won't go and get yourself into trouble for the things he'll say to me…" Hermione whispered.

"If you mean fighting, I'll refrain although I have a much more powerful method," She whispered back, thinking of all the bad things she could do to him.

"Well, here we have Granger, the—well you know what you are…and Caldwell… very interesting. Don't you think, Blaise?" Draco said, devilishly.

"I think that we're stuck with a couple of Gryffindors. One mudblood, and one stupid bitch…" Blaise said, sounding bored.

"That so?" Lindsay asked, obviously getting steamed. Draco was one thing, but Blaise Zabini was no where near to the status that he could get away with saying that. She raised her wand. "Wands out, boys. Time to practice."

"Whoa, wait a second," Draco said as his eyes widened. Hermione sighed. The trouble started already.

"Tarantallegra!"

"Surroundo," Hermione said, just in time. The spell hit the sheild she created and nothing happened to the boys. Of course, they didn't thank her. Lindsay shot her a glare, but didn't complain.

"I don't need a mudblood to help me out," Zabini said. Lindsay glared.

"I've never used Avada-Kedavra before, but I'm sure I could kill you if I did," Lindsay said, getting annoyed with this Zabini boy.

"Well, I bet Draco's Avada-Kedavra could beat yours," Zabini said, dragging Draco into this. He sighed.

"Maybe. His dad's a death eater after all," She said. Draco sighed once again. She always brings that up. Why does she always do that?

"Guess that settles it. I win," Draco said, in his usual, cold and very annoying voice.

"Yeah, what's your dad, a muggle?" Blaise asked.

"No, my dad's dead," She replied, with only the feeling of anger shown in her voice. There was a silence with in the group. "Killed by a Death Eater. Maybe he deserved it, but not the way he died. Usually, your stupid Dark Lord kills the one he hates himself, and he hated my dad, but he had other things to do and sent…"

"Lindsay!" Hermione said, interrupting her rant of rage. Lindsay stopped, and realized that she was telling a story she told to no one… She looked at Hermione and couldn't find the words to thank her. She then looked at the to boys. Blaise looked unfazed. Lindsay could see that Draco was hiding an expression, but he was shocked by her. She walked from the group, and claimed to the teacher that she was feeling ill. He let her leave to go to the hospital wing. She never returned to class. Luckily, Harry was able to take Lindsay's place and Hermione was not left alone with two Slytherins. As usual, Draco watched his language around Harry and left Hermione alone.

That night, Lindsay didn't show to the room. Draco was disappointed. He wanted to talk to her about the incident. He guessed that she needed time alone. Maybe they did need time alone. He sat around the room for a while, even though he knew she wasn't coming. Sighing, he got up and left the room. He walked back to his dorm room. He could feel the troubling times ahead. They were coming. He felt the pressure already. He was the next generation Death Eater. That was…if the war got that far. It was going to be a struggle. Although he had confidience in the Dark Lord, he couldn't help but feel that maybe his side wouldn't' win. The other side had Harry Potter. Every single time he's been against the Lord, he's been able to escape without harm. Lindsay was always going on about how Harry would win.

It was going to come… the time when he would go on his side, and Harry would go on his. They would become enemies once more, just as it was meant to be. But he was dreading that time…Because he would lose her. There was no way she was joining his side. They had this hate going, but there was also this feeling of love. She probably hated that feeling more than she hated him. She was constantly fighting that feeling, he knew that, but he had ways to make her give in.

She was mean to him, and brutally honest. Harry and his friends used to insult him all the time, but at least he had a good comeback. He was bad at insulting her. She constantly reminded him of his flaws, and for some twisted reason, he was okay with that. Yeah, his dad was a death eater. Yeah, he might end up in a bad situation after the war. Yeah, he was a foul, stupid git who was shallow. It was a slap in the face, but she helped him realize that he wasn't perfect.

He always knew he would end up in a twisted relationship. He liked it for some strange reason, and he knew that she did, too.

She gave herself a couple of days to break, and then she returned as usual. He probably had forgotten the incident by then. She went to the room, and he was sitting down on the tables, looking at the wall. The blonde boy quickly turned his head and squinted his eyes. A smile appeared when he saw it was her.

"Finally," He muttered. "I've been worried."

He jumped off the table, and stood there. She walked over to him.

"Sure you have," She muttered, sarcastically. She crossed her arms. Lindsay looked more angry than usual. She obviously had a problem.

"You okay?" Draco asked, softly. He put his hand on her shoulder.

"Fine," She muttered, being her usual angry self.

"I'm not stupid, you know," He said. "So, no need to treat me like I am."

She opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it. "I could have fooled you, right? Or, wait, I have a better one. Well, you're doing a really good impression of it. How's that one?"

"Pretty good, actually," She said, starting to smile. "I'm kind of jealous I didn't come up with that one myself. I guess you win."

She sighed, and sat down on the table. "I don't like this. I don't like being with you."

"I figured you didn't," Draco said, sitting down next to her. "But…?"

"I do like it…" She said, unhappily. Draco laughed, and she shot him a glare. He could tell that wasn't all that was wrong, but he didn't say anything. In the month they had been together, they had been tolerant of each other. They were becoming more sensitive to each other, and Draco had been the nicest he had ever been, taking Lindsay by surprise (and making her like her even more and she really didn't want to do that).

"But, I've decided that I'm going to quit my complaining and accept the fact that I want you," She said, sighing.

"No more complaining?" He asked, full of hope.

"Right. None of that. I'll try to be nicer, I guess. Although, if you say something stupid, I will insult you at will…" She said. She then turned her head and looked directly at Draco. "I think I want to make this work, too, and…that scares me…"

He couldn't help but grin. His charm, and his good looks had finally won. He took her hand, and stood up.

"Come on," He said. "We're going somewhere else, tonight."

Lindsay narrowed her eyes.

"Where?" She asked, standing up. He didn't answer, and started to walk, dragging her along. They walked without talking. Lindsay squinted her eyes and looked around as she was being pulled. After a couple of minutes, she realized where she was going.

"We're going to the Slytherin—we are, aren't we?" She asked. "No way. You're not getting me anywhere near the place where Slytherins sleep."

"Lindsay, my dear, it works a bit differently than in your petty Gryffindor tower. See, we may be cold all year round, but I'm a prefect, and I get…special treatment."

He led her to a dark, stone wall. He hesitated for a moment.

"Oh, what? Forget the password have you?" She said, impatiently. "Look, I don't care what it is. As long as it's not the dark lord or anything like—"

As soon as she said the words, the stone wall opened. She shot Malfoy a look of disbelief.

"You've got to be kidding me…" She muttered to herself. Draco avoided eye contact. The two entered the Slytherin Common Room. It was as big as the Gryffindor's common room. Everything was dark, and damp though. The room was covered in black, green, and silver. He led her up the stairs, but she stopped.

"Wait. Won't the other boys in your dorm room realize I'm there?" She asked. Draco smirked.

"Like I said…I get special treatment…" He said. With a sigh, she realized what his special treatment was…

"You've got your own room, don't you?" She asked. His smirk grew larger and that obviously meant yes. They entered his room. She looked around, amazed that he was able to get all this space and treatment.

"You're a spoiled brat," She muttered to herself, although he heard the comment. Yet, he said nothing. "So, what's the point of all this?" She approached his bed, and noticed that he had a special blanket, and even sheets that were specially made for him. 'Unbelievable…'

She sat, and became slightly jealous. His bed was quite comfortable.

"It's because of daddy that you get this stuff, isn't it?" She asked.

"Yeah," He replied.

"But, he's in Azkaban now…so…doesn't Dumbledore take this stuff away or anything?"

"Well, maybe, he doesn't exactly know about everything in this room," Draco said, raising suspicion. "But anyway, I brought you here to…"

'Wonderful…this sounds…' Her thoughts were interrupted.

"…talk," He finished. She gave him a look of disbelief.

"Wow, you and all this talking. You've either become more sensitive, or are in love with the sound of your own voice," She said, wanting to avoid the talking.

"I think it's a little bit of both," He said, as he sat down next to her. "But, I wanted to talk to you about—"

"My father?" She said, tiredly. She knew this talk would come. She regreted the outburst, but she might as well get it over with. "His name was Robert Richmond…"

"Richmond? I think I've heard that name before," Draco said, trying to remember.

"Before You-know-who's fall, the Richmonds were a family known for practicing dark arts. Now, the Richmond family is examplified to those who ever think of betraying the Dark Lord. My dad was a Death Eater, but the Richmonds are now known as the traitors."

Draco stared in disbelief, his jaw gaping open.

"My father was quite happy to join the Death Eaters. He was quite young. In his twenties, actually. He was going to make his long line of ancestors proud. He married another pureblood. Her name was Gretchen. She was fimilar with the dark arts, but she wasn't into the scene of the Dark Lord. She was so entusiastic about that, although she believed he had the right idea but took it too far. Then, my parents, they were young idiots, and my mother became pregnant. She begged for my father to quit You-know-whos league, and concentrate on being a father instead of killing muggles and muggle-borns. He was afraid of quitting, but the aurors were close to catching his family, and he didn't want his unborn child to be raised in Azkaban. So, he quit in the most stupid way ever. He let the Dark Lord think that he was still on the side, but never did anything. Voldemort isn't stupid. I was born, but maybe a couple of months or so after that happened, my family was slaugthered by a Death Eater. I wasn't killed, but I believe I was present. I don't know why I was spared. The thing was Voldemort hated my father a lot. In order to keep the aurors away, he fed them secret information, and betrayed Voldemort, but I suppose he was too busy with propechies and other things to kill my dad."

Draco stared. That was insane. He remembered his dad mentioned that the Richmonds were a stupid pureblood family and they deserved to die. He had a sudden realization.

"Wait, who was the Death Eater that killed your father?" He asked. She looked at him. He asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Hey, I should thank him, if he ever gets out of Azkaban. Imagine if he never had killed my parents, I'd be just like…Pansy Parkinson or…Blaise Zabini," She said, quietly, purposing leaving out the name of Draco.

"Is that why you hate Death Eaters, and the Dark Lord?" He asked.

"I hate Death Eaters because they support him. I hate them because they killed muggles and muggle borns. I hate them because my dad was one of them, and I can't imagine what I would have been if he were still alive. I hate them because my dad was killed by one of them," She said. "It's kind of interesting. I can't imagine life if I had been brought up to hate muggles, and to be fimilar with the dark arts and Voldemort. But I almost regret I didn't know my family. It doesn't matter. I mean, they were foul people. They had it coming to them, I suppose."

"So, what happened next?" Draco asked.

"Lucius didn't kill me. I was found a day later in my house full of dead people. I was then taken in by an interesting family. They were a married couple. They were both muggle-borns, but they were powerful. They had a son, but he was a bit of a squib. If my parents probably would have flipped if they saw who raised me. A couple of 'mudbloods' and a 'squib son'. They taught me about magic. Their son, who I consider my brother, didn't really care for the magical world. He was well aware. He and I went to muggle school. Then we got letters from Hogwarts. He had little magical power, and he decided he would remain in muggle school. I did the same, for one year. Then, I was curious. So, I went to Hogwarts in my second year. That's why I know so much about the muggle world. I was raised in it. But, I adopted their last name. They were my family. I didn't consider myself a Richmond, though. That stupid hat did…"

Draco stared. "What?"

"The Sorting hat. It recognized me as a Richmond. It told me that my whole family has always been in Slytherin. I told it that my Richmond name died the night they did. And it told me all the qualities I had for Slytherin and then asked me if I wanted to be a Slytherin. I said 'Hell no', and we know the rest…"

"Well, wow," Draco said, still processing it all. "That's an interesting life story."

"Maybe," She said. Then, she chuckled to herself. "This is ironic in a way, isn't this? You're dad killed my dad, my whole family, and now we're in a relationship. I wonder what Lucy would say if he knew that you were dating the daughter of the family of traitors. I'll have to ask him why he spared me as well."

"Don't talk about my dad like that," Draco snapped, sourly. Lindsay stared. "Sorry," He muttered, and then quickly spoke again. "You're right. It is pretty ironic… And my dad would flip, by the way…"

"Well, anyway, it's your turn," She said. Draco frowned.

"What?"

"It's time for your life story," Lindsay said, looking directly at him. He sighed.

"I was born to Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. I became the next generation of Malfoy, the family who was rich and everyone knew was into dark arts and had followed the Dark Lord. I was raised to believe in the Dark Lord, and that muggles and muggleborns were not as good as us purebloods and never would be. Half-bloods were never as good as purebloods, and so on. I've gotten everything I've ever wanted in life. I've always looked up to my father. He's…er…he was a powerful figure in the ministry, and he has power beyond that. I heard the story of Harry Potter. Our family has always resented him, but we've always had to act like everyone else and pretended we loved him for bringing down the Dark Lord. I disagreed… I met him on the train to Hogwarts my first year. I offered to be his friend. He chose Weasley over me… So, I decided to make his life a living hell. He was always Dumbledore's golden boy, and kept saving everyone, and kept getting all this attention. Of course, I was always there to make sure things were …difficult for him. Now that the Dark Lord has returned and my father's in jail, life's become interesting…" Draco said. "There you go."

"Well, that was fun," She said, sarcastically. "This has been great fun…" She stood up. "I should be off now."

"Right," He said, also standing off. It was kind of awkward. They realized how opposite they really were. He stood in front of her, leaned over, and kissed her. She kissed him back, and moments later they pulled away.

"Just one more question," Draco said, as she started to walk away. She stopped and looked back at him. "Why? Why even bother to have this with me?"

"Because," She said, simply. "Listen. I don't hate you because of your dad. I hate you because you're a stupid git. But, I also love you because you're…well, you, stupid git and all. I don't judge people by their parents. If I did, then I would think myself to be simply horrible. I'm the opposite of my parents, so I don't judge by family."

Draco smiled. She started off again. "Wait, one more thing."

"What?" She asked, putting a hand on her hip.

"You really love me?" He asked, a smirk creeping onto his face. She rolled her eyes and looked at him.

"Maybe, Malfoy," She replied, and then left.