Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, all rights go to JK Rowling. I only own my own OCs.

A/N: I am not switching up Draco's life story, just adding a little flare to it. I hope that's ok! Showing a different side of him that others might not think of. He holds a soft spot in my heart for some odd reason.

Chapter 10: The Magic Within

A calm swept over the hospital wing during the night. Everything was still with a rhythm of heavy breathing taking over the silence. The moon shown within the stained glass windows, illuminating onto the bed beside Sienna. Draco was still awake and could not sleep no matter how hard he tried. Not only was he worried, but he was confused as well. Why was he sitting next to a girl that he, although friendly with, never considered her more than anything else? It was out of character for him. It made him anxious almost. This unknown feeling he had started to resonate through him, but he could not put his finger on why it was happening. All he could think about, on top of Sienna being sick, was his father finding out that he was helping a girl whom he did not know of. His father only installed fear into the boy, not love or reasoning. This was typical for him though, since this has been ongoing since he could remember.

Draco's life was something out of a movie. He lived in a mansion with his mother and father, and had no siblings. Although he had his parents around, he was raised by a nanny. Her name was Greta Shinkleton, and she loved Draco dearly. She had thick brown hair that laid on her shoulders, with freckles in various places on her face. Draco used to imagine them as a constellation and would pretend he was an astronomer with her at bed time growing up.

"Greta, you have the star constellation, Aries, on your face today."

"Now do I? Well, that's a bit rich if you ask me."

Greta taught him how to play chess, and she even taught him the rules of Quidditch so that him and his father could bond. Lucius had no interest in teaching the boy anything. His favorite team was England, of course, though they were never that good through the years. The only time him and his father interacted was during Quidditch games. Draco's been to seven world cups, sitting in the press box often with the Minister of Magic. He remembers watching the players flying through the air, being fascinated by the athleticism. His father, however, looked bored, and almost irritated he had to bring his child with him to the games.

Then one day, Greta left and never returned. It was when he was seven. He remembers waking up one morning, and Greta wasn't around to bring him his food, nor help him with his studies. It was then he learned real loss and heartache. He remembers vividly the night he wasn't tucked into bed by her, and his mother doing it instead.

"Draco, what's wrong dear?" His mother looked at him, eyes of concern.

"Where did Greta go?"

Narcissa's face turned pale, and alarmed. She avoided eye contact with him and continued to tuck him in. "She no longer will be working here."

"Why? Did she do something bad?"

"Not exactly."

"Then what is it, mum?"

"Draco, let it go."

And he did. To this very day, Draco did not know why Greta never came back. For the rest of his time, Dobby has been serving the Malfoy family. Stupid elf, Draco thought. He sighed, missing the person who helped him learn how to read, how to write, and find a love for Quidditch. He remembers watching the game more and more with his dad after Greta left, trying to create even more of a bond with him. Although it didn't progress the way he wanted it to, it did get a bit better. But again, it was not much.

Draco sighed and ran a hand through his unruly blonde hair. He sat forward, arms on his knees and looked at the girl. She was sleeping soundlessly, watching her chest rise and fall with each breath. Her hair was still in her messy braid from before, the dark circles around her eyes still apparent. He cringed, thinking the girl he met four months prior all of a sudden has so many changes to her demeanor. He thought at first maybe she had a personality disorder, or whatever the muggles call it, possibly may have been under the Imperius Curse, but then he realized when Snape said he was concerned as well, he knew it was something deeper.

A light tap on his right shoulder brought him back to reality. He turned slightly to find Professor Snape again.

"Malfoy."

Draco nodded at him, "Professor."

"Go back to your dormitory and get some sleep. Classes start at 8am."

Draco nodded, agreeing with the man. He yawned, stood up, and looked at Sienna. Unconsciously, he smiled at the girl and put his hand on hers. He stared at her, and then turned back towards Snape. "Could you-erm-let me know when she wakes up?"

Snape nodded at him, "I will send an owl to you."

"Thank you, Professor. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Draco. And thank you."

With a last look at Sienna, Draco walked towards the door and out of the hospital wing.

Sienna woke up to the sun shining right into her eyes. She squinted and covered her face with her arm. Slowly, she sat up. However, her head was throbbing and her body sore. She groaned and held her head in her hands.

"Sienna."

She looked to her left to find her father, looking like he didn't sleep a wink.

"Dad."

"Good morning dear. How are you feeling?" His face emotionless, but had a hint of concern.

Sienna nodded at him, upset with herself. "My head just hurts, and my body feels sore."

"I suppose that is from the fever you had."

Sienna sighed, laying back down onto the pillows. "Is that what happened? All I remember is Draco hugging me-"

"Hugging?"

"Yeah, he was comforting me. I heard a whisper and-"

"Whisper? What do you mean?"

"I dunno. Someone said my name, but it wasn't human-like. It's been happening a lot lately."

Snape eyebrow raised in questioning. "That's not normal, is it?"

Sienna shook her head. "It's been scaring me. Ever since I started feeling lonely, I've been hearing the voice. It'll whisper my name, then say awful things about me and others. What is it do you think?"

Snape sat up a little, elbows on his knees and one hand covering his mouth in disbelief. It couldn't be...

"Where did you get the diary?"

Sienna looked at him, eyes wide, sitting up straight on the bed. "How did you-"

"Where. Did. You. Find it?" Snape asked sternly.

Sienna blinked. "I-um-Ginny had it, and I, sort of, took it from her."

"Get rid of it."

"But dad-"

"Do not question me. Get rid of it, Sienna."

"Dad, just listen-"

"If I have to say it again, I will give you detention."

"What?! That's not fair! Dad!"

"End of discussion. If it's not gone by the end of the day, a month's worth of detention is coming your way."

Sienna sat back and huffed at her father. Why was he being so stern all of a sudden? Snape stood up and with a whip of his black cloak, he walked towards the entrance of the Hospital Wing and out the door. Madam Pomfrey saw the interaction and scurried over to Sienna. "Oh dear, you need to rest. Your fever spiked pretty high when you came in."

Sienna sighed and ran her hands over her face. "Thank you, Madam, for everything."

"Oh nonsense, dear. This is my job. Rest up. I expect you to feel better by tomorrow so you can go back to your studies."

Sienna nodded, laid back into her pillows, and fell back into a deep sleep.

Ginny realized quickly that Sienna was not in classes that entire day. Worried, she looked around the Great Hall during dinner and did not see her jet black hair anywhere. Sighing, Ginny decided to skip dinner and head to the dormitories. On her way, she stopped at the lavatory on the second floor to decompress. She went there often to get away, since no one really used it. Moaning Myrtle usually ignored her because she was too busy crying. Ginny didn't mind at all.

Ginny flushed the toilet and opened the stall door, to find the same little black diary she had been looking for for a month now. She could've sworn she already checked in this bathroom though…

Ginny leaned forward and picked up the diary, opening it up to look inside. A blank page was seen at first, then words appeared before her eyes.

*Ginny, dear, it's good to see you're in possession of my diary again. I missed talking to you.*

The ringing started, and all of a sudden Ginny felt a sense of panic. She threw the diary into the toilet and tried to flush it down, to drown out the voices and ringing. Then, in the blink of an eye, everything was black.

Sienna awoke again with the intention to relax and get rid of her headache. Instead, her eyes were met with the view of her mother and her father, together in the same room with stern looks on their faces, and her ears met with arguing.

"She is only twelve, Severus! Why in Merlin's name is she in possession of his diary?"

"For the last time, Alesia, I did not give her the diary. I do not know how she got her hands on it, but I will assure you it won't happen again."

"Like hell it won't! If you paid closer attention to her, you would've known and stopped this well before anything happened!"

"I do not hang over her shoulder every second of every day. I am also busy with teaching other students as well."

"And that has always been your concern, hasn't it, Severus?"

Sienna watched as her father's face grew pale and cold, and his eyes turned to slits. "Don't you dare blame me for what you kept from me for all these years, Black." His voice was slow and sharp.

"Stop it!" Alesia and Snape whipped their heads to the source of voice, which happened to be Sienna. She looked visibly upset, a tear rolling down her pale cheeks. Her voice trembled a bit, though she tried to hide it with anger. "This is the first time I get to see you both in the same room, and you're attacking each other!"

Alesia sighed, her shoulders slumped down a bit, realizing all the tension she put onto them. Snape took a deep breath and walked over to the girl. "I'm sorry, dear. Your mother and I were just discussing what happened, that's all."

"Then why were you talking to each other like that?"

Alesia felt ashamed that she spoke like that infront of her daughter. She walked towards her and sat down on a chair next to her bed. "I'm so sorry, love. I was worried about you. And your father-"

"It's not his fault he didn't know about me, mum! How was he supposed to know?" Sienna shouted, growing more upset as time passed and more tears falling down her cheeks. Alesia looked at the girl, taken aback by her words. She didn't expect her to hear all of that, nor comment on it.

"I know it's not his fault, sweetheart. That was wrong of me to say. I'm sorry." Alesia almost pleaded. Snape watched the interaction, quiet and distant. This was his first time watching the two interact together.

"Stop blaming him for everything! He's a great father, and you're a great mother. Please stop fighting, both of you." Sienna's voice dropped down from anger to sadness. She couldn't hide her tears anymore. Alesia sat up and hugged the girl on the bed, kissing her head softly.

"I'm sorry, love."

Snape put his hand on Sienna's leg, patting it. "Everything will be fine, Sienna."

Sienna looked at him and wiped some tears off her face. Her mother pulled away, handing her a tissue. Snape smiled at the girl, and looked to his right to look at his former lover. Alesia smiled apologetically at him. A silent truce was made. Snape turned his attention back to his daughter, a serious face appearing.

"Sienna, listen to me. That diary is not to be meddled with. It does...very bad things."

"Like what, dad?"

"The spirit within the diary-"

"Tom, you mean?"

Alesia's eyes went wide and she gave Severus a murderous look. "Severus I swear to Merlin-"

"Let me handle this, Alesia."

She huffed and kept quiet. Snape turned back to his daughter. "Yes, him. He's not a nice man, and there's magic that is associated with the diary. You mustn't tamper with it."

"But.. h-he's never hurt me-"

"Your fever was associated with dark magic, dear. A rare spell was put on you and made you ill."

"What? But he's dead. How is that possible?" She was so confused.

Snape sighed and ran a hand over his face. He took a deep breath and looked at her, "It's hard to explain, and you are far too young. Please, just trust me, Sienna. This is not negotiable." Alesia watched them both with curious eyes, amazed at the bond the two have created in such a short period of time.

Sienna nodded her head at her father and smiled slightly. "Alright, I won't meddle with it anymore." Suddenly, more tears appeared at her eyes. She sniffled and brushed the tears away before they fell. "I'm sorry for causing so much chaos."

Alesia smiled sadly at her daughter and kissed her forehead. "We love you so much, sweetheart. No one is angry with you, or disappointed." Snape nodded his head in agreement.

Realization and panic appeared on the twelve year old's face. "Draco."

Alesia's eyes, once again, grew wide. "Who?"

Snape stood up straight again, adjusting his shirt. "I will talk to him. Don't worry." He turned to Alesia quickly. "I have classes to teach. We will be in touch?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow at her. She nodded at him, "I will write you."

He nodded at the woman. He turned back to his daughter and gave her a smile. "I will be back after dinner." Sienna nodded at him. With a turn of his heel, he stalked away and out of the hospital wing.

Alesia sat again next to her bed and took Sienna's hand into her own. "So, whose Draco?"

Sienna blushed. Oh no.