Disclaimer: Not mine.

Interrupted

For the next few weeks Draco spent most of his time either sitting alone thinking or lurking around the dungeons watching the other Slytherins in hopes of discovering who his father's spies were, but with no luck in doing so. He would think that he was going to overhear something when the others would notice him and that would be the last of the talking. None of the Slytherins, beside Pansy Parkinson, were speaking to him yet, and she was useless for information. But he hadn't even seen much of her either.

He knew he would eventually have to do something. Either go along with his father's plans or betray him. He knew what the Draco Malfoy his father had groomed to be a Slytherin Prince would have done. That Draco was evil to the core. He would have eagerly helped his father with his plans of revenge.

But was he still that Draco? Honestly he didn't believe so. He was the Draco who had been unable to kill Dumbledore. He was the Draco who cared very deeply for someone who would always be his sister, no matter what their blood ties revealed. And he was even the Draco who owed Harry Potter a little bit of respect. Hadn't Harry stopped the Slytherins from severely beating or killing him in the Room of Requirement? And hadn't Harry helped him to save Val from the fire? He didn't like Potter. But wasn't Potter the one who was supposed to kill Voldemort and end this war he was so tired of getting caught up in?

There was only one answer to all the questions running through his head. A resounding Yes!

He knew what he would have to do then. It was late though and it would have to wait until the next day. He couldn't tell Dumbledore or Snape about the visit from his father. That would be a blatant betrayal and something he was not quite capable of, yet. But if he spoke to Potter, and warned him to watch his back when it came to the other Slytherins, and possible warn him that Lucius had no intention of hiding from Voldemort, maybe it would be enough to foul his father's plans up. Just maybe. He could do the right thing by Potter and not have to do anything leading to his father's recapture. Yes, that is what he'd do. He'd talk to Potter before Potions class the next day.

Harry had made a decision. He truly had feelings for Val that went beyond those of friendship, but he had been reluctant to explore those feeling further because of his feelings of guilt concerning Sirius' death. He had felt a definite response from Val when they had kissed. He knew it was there, and he was sure she felt something more for him than friendship also, but could she still feel that way after she learned about her father's death?

These thoughts had drove him to do something that he knew would get them both expelled if they were caught. They had had a couple of weekends in Hogsmeade since the kiss, but they were never alone enough to have a private conversation. So he would have to do something drastic. He had asked Val to meet him in the common room at 3am. At that early hour they would have plenty of time to speak in private, but he didn't want to speak in the common room. It wasn't the right place for the discussion he wished to have. So when Val crept silently down the stairs from the girl's dormitory he was glad to see she was dressed warmly. The early mornings were still chilly on the grounds of Hogwarts.

Once in the corridor outside the common room he pulled out his invisibility cloak and placed his finger in front of his lips shushing her. He then wrapped the cloak around them both and they crept down the stairs in silence, until they were outside on the grounds.

After they were on the grounds Val asked what had been buzzing through her head since she had seen him pull out the cloak. "Where are we going, Harry?"

"We are going to visit some old ghosts." He said cryptically and then wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. He could feel her tense slightly under his arm, but was not sure if it was from his touch or the site of the Forest, which she was still terrified by. "Don't worry. We're not going in the Forest." He whispered in her ear. He had expected her to relax at his words but his hot breath on her neck and ear had had the opposite affect, and she shivered slightly. He held her tighter thinking she might be cold.

Val was going to go crazy if she didn't get away from him soon. She hadn't even thought about the Forest as she felt his arm around her waist, and his hot breath on her neck had caused a chill to run down her spine. She knew these were innocent gestures on his part but still they were about to undo her control.

She felt him pull her off in a direction away from the Forest though and could see the Whomping Willow ahead of them. She had heard stories about the huge belligerent tree, and had kept a safe distance from it at all times, but Harry was guiding them directly towards it. She could see Crookshanks, Hermione's cat sitting at the base of the tree, and was surprised the tree would allow the animal so near, but she guessed it was only interested in catching the occasional bird.

As they approached the tree Harry stopped them outside of its reach. Harry removed the cloak and crouched down so he could pet Crookshanks, who had approached them. "Hey there, Crookshanks. Do you think we could have a little help here?" He asked rubbing the cat's chin as it wound around his legs.

"Harry, what do you expect that cat to do?" Val asked wondering if Harry had lost his mind.

He just looked up to her with a bright smile on his face. "Watch."

Crookshanks accepted another few scratches around his ears and then walked back to the tree. He went to the place he had been standing before and seemed to raise up slightly off his front paws and then brought them down on a gnarled tree root. Val was amazed to see that the tree, which had been whipping its branches furiously towards them, now froze in mid swing. Her mouth dropped open and she looked amazed at Harry who walked over to the tree without any fear.

He turned back to her when he reached the tree and called out. "Well aren't you coming?"

Val walked forward cautiously looking into the branches above. When she reached where he stood she could see a crawlspace large enough for two people side by side to slip under one of the tree roots. Harry motioned to the root.

"We are going in there?" Val asked staring into the dark hole.

"Trust me. I've been through there before." Harry said grabbing her hand and pulling her down and into the crawlspace.

Val looked back out the open hole wondering if she should just back out, but something caught her eye shimmering in the moonlight. She nearly stopped Harry to point it out, but figured it was a figment of her overactive imagination, which was running away with her at the moment.

He used his wand to light the space ahead of them. They crawled for what seemed to Val like forever, but eventually they came to a trapdoor above them and Harry helped her out of the hole.

When they stood she could see that they were in some kind of house that was shabby and looked as if it was falling apart. She could see boards nailed over the windows leading to the outside world. And then it dawned on her where they must be. "The Shrieking Shack. But it's supposed to be haunted."

"It was haunted at one time. But not by ghosts." Harry smiled pulling her up the stairs.

Once they reached the landing above he found the room he was looking for and pulled her inside. Everything was the same as the last time he had been in the room. An old mattress was lying on the floor on one end, and he remembered seeing Ron sitting there holding Scabbers years before. But he couldn't think about the rat that really was Peter Pettigrew. This morning was about Sirius. "We need to have a long talk, Val. And I don't think you're going to like everything I have to say." Harry started motioning her to sit down on the mattress.

He sat beside her and pulled something out from his pocket and then spoke the words to an enlarging charm. The item grew to its original size and Val could see that it was a photo album.

Harry hadn't opened the album since the day Ron and Hermione had given it to him. He was coming to terms with his feelings of loss and anger, but the feelings of guilt were still there and he wondered if he would ever get past them. But he knew it was time to face them. He flipped the album from page to page. "This was a birthday gift from Ron and Hermione. I haven't been able to look at it since they gave it to me." He said finally reaching the last page. The picture of Sirius and him looked up to him. Sirius was laughing that unique laugh of his that was almost a bark.

Val looked at the picture and knew whom it was of. The only pictures she had ever seen of her father were the wanted posters from when he had escaped Azkaban. But the man in this picture looked happy, even if there was a haunted look to his eyes. She could see that Harry was laughing so hard that he had begun to choke in the picture and Sirius was slapping his back. She smiled at the picture. It looked like such a happy time.

Val looked around the room they were in. "Harry, I appreciate that you want to tell me about my father, but why are we here?"

"This place is a part of his past, Val." Harry said smiling. She frowned slightly not understanding so he went on. "Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew and my father James Potter, were the best of friends here at Hogwarts. But one of them had a terrible secret. It's the reason why the Willow was planted and that tunnel was made. It's the reason why everyone thinks this place is so haunted." Harry paused for a moment. "Val, Remus is a werewolf. He was made one as a small child. This is where he would go during the full moon to keep himself from hurting anyone."

"And the noises everyone heard was him?" Val realized.

"At first yes. But eventually he was joined by others. When his three best friends learned of his affliction they decided to do something to help him. They became Animagus so they could be with him when he needed them the most." Harry said remembering when he was told the same story.

Val seemed shocked by the news. "My father was an Animagus. But the registry."

"An illegal Animagus. They all three were." Harry explained.

Val sat contemplating the news. She would have never guessed it. "What was his animal form?"

"That caused me quite a scare my third year here. Sirius was a large black dog, which looked exactly like the Grimm. And professor Trelawny was telling me at every turn that I would be dead before the end of the year. So you can imagine my reaction upon the first few occasions that I saw Sirius in his animal form before I knew it was him." Harry said shaking his head at how naïve he had been.

They sat for another two hours as Harry told Val about everything he knew about her father. Their times spent at Black Manor, about his friendship with James Potter, and how Peter Pettigrew had betrayed them all. He didn't want to leave anything out for her. She had to know it all. He even told her of how Lord Voldemort had come back and the death of Cedric Diggory. Then he told her of his fifth year at Hogwarts, and of the visions and blinding pain in his scar. But then he came to the story of the Dept. of Mysteries. His voice broke. It was the part of the story that he wasn't sure he could speak of.

Val hadn't said much during his stories, just asking a few questions. But she could see how much he was struggling. "And when you got there, did you find Sirius?" She asked.

Harry shook his head. "It was a trap. He never had Sirius to begin with." Harry said bitterly. "He wanted me there, because he wanted something from the Dept. that only I could get for him. A prophecy. Our prophecy. Voldemort's and mine. He tricked me, and when Sirius found out what was happening he came there to save me. And he died." Harry had looked away from her before he could say those words. He felt as if his heart was being ripped out all over again as he remembered watching Sirius fall through that curtain, not realizing at the time that he would never see him again.

"You saw him die?" Val asked in a shaky voice.

"I saw Bellatrix Lestrange curse him and then he fell through the archway in the Chamber of Death at the Ministry. I didn't find out until afterwards that that archway lead to death and no one ever came back through. I didn't want to believe it." He turned back to her but still couldn't look her in the eyes.

"Val, if I hadn't been so naïve Voldemort would not have fooled me, and your father would still be alive. I blame myself for his death, and I don't blame you if you do too. And I won't blame you if you hate me for it." He said finally closing the album that had been sitting on his lap.

Val looked at his bowed head that was staring at the mattress between them. She could just barely see his scar through the unruly dark curls that fell over his forehead. She was angry. She was very angry.

"Harry, right now I feel hate more than you can ever imagine, but then again you probably can imagine." She started and could see him flinch at the bitterness of her words. But she reached out placing a hand under his chin and pulling his face up so she could look into his eyes. "I hate Lord Voldemort, Harry. I hate Bellatrix Lestrange. I even hate Peter Pettigrew. I hate all the Death Eaters." She punctuated every word in her anger but then her voice softened. "But I don't hate you. I can't hate someone who I love."

Harry stared into her emerald eyes and couldn't believe that she would say those words. "But. It's my fault." He whispered.

"Harry, it's no more your fault than it is Sirius'. He did what he had to, to save you. Just as you thought you were doing for him. He let his heart guide him, just as you did. You have a wonderful heart with a huge capacity for love, Harry. And now I must do as both of you did and follow my heart." She said letting a small smile fall upon her lips.

Harry also smiled feeling the guilt slip slightly away from him. It was still there, but was not as strong, and for the first time when he thought of his Godfather he didn't feel like his heart was being gripped so tightly. "You love me?" He asked in a rather incredulous tone.

"Yes. I do." She admitted then waited nervously for his reaction. Her hand had slipped down to rest upon his chest as they spoke and she could feel his heartbeat below her fingertips. She imagined the beat had sped up at her words.

"I never imagined you would love me." He whispered. "I had barely dared to hope, but had never let myself imagine it was so."

"Harry, if you don't love me, you don't have to say it." She said panicking for a moment. What if she had been wrong to think that he felt the same as she did?

Harry truly smiled as he placed one hand over her hand still resting on his chest. She had begun to pull it away but he trapped it there. "No, it belongs there." He whispered. "For my heart belongs to you. It always will. You hold it in the palm of your hand."

Val felt her heart soar at his words. She knew then what she was always missing. He completed her.

Harry pulled her closer as they kissed again, but this time it was a deeper and more passionate kiss, a kiss that he wished to go on forever.

"My, my this isn't exactly what I pictured I'd see when I finally found you again, Potter." A cynically amused voice spoke from the doorway.

Harry just had enough time to turn away from Val and seize his own wand when he heard the petrifying spell. "Petrificus Totalus,Petrificus Totalus" It was used twice to freeze both of them in their places. Harry wanted to scream in rage as the leering face of Lucius Malfoy appeared above where his body had gone rigid. "Ah, Potter, I've never seen you quite so distracted, but I can understand." Then his face turned to Val who was rigid beside him. "And you. Well I should have known you'd be just as much a slut as your mother was." He kicked at her and Harry could hear the impact of his foot on her side. He wanted so badly to attack the evil Wizard, but could not even use his voice to scream out the rage he felt deep inside.