The Werewolf's Daughter

9: The lion and the snake

'Are you ok?' A voice asked, as Maya sat under the tree crying.

Due to her loud crying, Maya didn't recognise the voice. 'Do I look ok?' she shouted, 'No, I'm pretty sure I don't, and neither would you if you just found out loads of awful shit about your family!'

'Sorry, that was a stupid question. I don't need to find out awful shit about my family though – everyone already knows what we're –they're- like.'

Maya looked up into a pair of grey steely eyes and gasped. 'You again! Look, I don't know what your issue with me is Malfoy, but the looks and the following – everything needs to stop!'

'Can I sit down?'

'I—What?' Maya asked, confused.

'Can I sit down? Here, next to you, on the ground?'

'If you must.'

'Do you know anything about me Maya, or my family?'

'I've heard things.'

'If you don't know anything, why do you hate me so much?' Malfoy asked, quite sad.

Maya softened. 'I don't hate you Malfoy; I just don't understand. You hate all Gryffindors, have never had a good word to say to me yet you send me a note asking me to meet you where you then tell me you can't stop thinking about me. I'm just very confused. Throw in the fact that I see you, Harry, Ron and your bodyguards fighting constantly, and it just drives it home that you hate me, them, everyone. My best friend is a muggleborn. I thought that would mean you would hate be by association!' Maya spilled out.

'First, I don't hate all Gryffindors. It's a house thing – we're a competitive bunch down in the Dungeons. Second, I don't care if your best friend is a muggleborn –'

'You don't care but you called her a 'mudblood' last year?' Maya asked.

'I am ashamed of that. I blurted it out without thinking.' Draco said, as he had the decency to blush.

'Well maybe you should think about making amends? Maya queried.

'Maya, I know you don't know much about my family so here is a quick lesson – my father was, and probably still would be one of Voldemort's biggest followers. I have been brought up to hate anything to do with muggles and anyone that associates with muggles and their odd ways of living. I have been brought up to think that way – but please believe me when I say that isn't the way I think. Not anymore.'

'So why go away acting like you do?'

'Think Maya, what would happen to me if I stopped pretending?'

'I don't know. You would live a good life?'

Draco laughed 'Maya, I wouldn't be alive; my father is so set in that way of thinking he couldn't bare to have a son that disagreed with him and openly defied him. It might be easier if I didn't have those 'bodyguards' watching me, on his orders and pug Parkinson following me around – again on his orders!

Maya laughed. 'So you don't love Pansy Parkinson as much as she loves you?'

Draco looked into Maya's eyes 'I don't even like Pansy, never mind love her'.

'Draco…this is going to sound horrible….do you know what love is?' Maya asked. She was curious; if his upbringing was so bad, how could he know what that emotion was.

'I don't know. My mother showed me love, in her very structured, stoic way. My father just showed me the back of his hand or a belt. So, the truth is, I don't know if I know what love is. What I do know is since I first saw you I have struggled to focus or get you off my mind. I find myself seeking you out and when I'm near you I feel like my heart is going to beat out of my chest. I'm surprised you can't hear it right now actually' Draco said, blushing again.

Maya blushed as well and dipped her head, embarrassed. Draco continued, 'I don't know if that means I'm in love, but it sure as hell means something.'

'Draco…what do you want? You can't openly be nice to me, but you want to find out if you love me?'

'I know…it sounds completely stupid, but I don't know what else I can do. I have tried avoiding you – it makes no difference. Maybe we can keep speaking, in private? Even if I could be friends openly with you – your friends wouldn't let you.'

Maya laughed again 'You think my friends let me do anything? I do have my own mind!'

'Ok, wrong choice of words; but you know they wouldn't be happy.'

Maya shrugged; she was still confused about all of this. 'So…can I ask what you were crying about? Is your family really awful?'

'Oh, that… well, no. Not the family I knew. My maternal Grandmother was evil though. She was in Azkaban for beating my Aunt half to death. My mother and my Aunt grew up here, at Hogwarts.' Maya said, tearing up again.

'I am so sorry Maya; to learn you are related to evil when you've never known it is awful. I suppose I'm lucky that way…I've always known evil.' Draco said, sadly.

Maya looked up and found herself staring in to those grey eyes again…they really were quite beautiful. They were also looking a bit watery. Maya reached down for Draco's hand; 'I'm sorry you grew up that way.'

'My upbringing may have been evil, but I suppose I had everything I could ever ask for.'

'Money and objects don't make for a good upbringing Draco…everyone deserves love too.'

Draco ignored that and continued 'So, can I ask about your father?'

'I don't know who he is...yet!' Maya responded.

Draco raised his eyebrows and Maya continued 'The letters I found, the ones that led me to the information about my Grandmother, there are more. I haven't looked at them in detail yet but from, what I did see, there are some clues about my father. He isn't named directly but I'm hoping I will be able to find him.'

'Can I help you?'

Maya looked up, shocked. 'You want to help?'

'Yes, I do. I want to see you and help you any way I can.' Draco answered.

'Well…ok. But, please, just as friends…for now. I'm still a bit…confused.' Maya said, truthfully.

'I understand, just a friend to help you.'

'If I can't speak to you when other people are around, how will I be able to arrange for you to help me?'

'Why don't you meet me in the library after tea this evening, about 6.30pm? It's a Sunday so it shouldn't be busy; there is a small table right at the back, quite hidden where we could go. We can work out then how to communicate?'

'Sounds like a plan' Maya said, smiling.

Draco stood up then, 'Well I'll be seeing you then.'

'Until tonight…'

Maya could barely settle for the rest of the day. What was this feeling; her stomach was jumpy; her heart was beating so fast and anytime someone spoke to her she jumped. How could no one hear her heart? Someone was going to look at her face and guess what was going on, she just knew it.

To try and settle herself, Maya asked Hermione to go for a walk, where she filled her in on everything that had happened that morning – minus the Draco part.

'Maya, I am so sorry!' Hermione said when she had finished telling her the story. 'Are you ok? Do you need anything?'

'No, thanks Hermione. I think I'm starting to digest it a bit better – talking definitely helped!' What Maya didn't say was, talking about it for the third time that day was what helped. 'Now, I am going to work on finding my father, so if I need your research skills I may need to call on you'.

'Of course, Maya, I'll help anyway I can. I'm doing a bit of research of my own just now, but I will help.'

'What are you researching?' Maya asked.

'Oh, just a project I'm doing for one of my many, many classes.' Hermione said, giggling.

Maya laughed 'You are taking a lot of classes Hermione; just don't burn yourself out ok! Now, I'm starving – shall we go for food?'

6.30pm that evening

After dinner, Maya left Hermione in the common room with Harry and Ron and headed to the library, armed with the letters they were going to be looking over. When she arrived, she found Draco already sitting at the table, waiting. 'Hi, have you been here long?'

'No' Draco said, blushing.

'You're a terrible liar Draco Malfoy; how long have you been here?'

'30 minutes….I was a bit over eager' he said.

Maya laughed 'Just a bit!'

'Ok, ok. Let's stop laughing at me now! I have something for you! When I left you earlier today I went to one of my secret spots –I'll show you it sometime—and worked on a way of communicating. I don't want it to be secret because that feels horrible, but while it has to be I made up a code.' Draco said, handing Maya a piece of paper.

The whole alphabet was laid out on the paper and underneath each letter was another letter.

'Draco, this looks a bit like gobbledegook.' Maya said.

'No, believe me, it doesn't. If we use it, we can use school owls to send each other letters and no one will know what we are talking about if they come across them by accident. Hope it's ok?' Draco asked, blushing again.

Maya smiled 'it's brilliant'.

Draco smiled back. Maya reached over and touched Draco's hand. 'Thank you again for helping me.'

'No problem – happy to help.'

Maya let go of Draco's hand, so she could pull the letters out of her robes. 'These are the letters – if we could split them, we could each go through some for clues? If there is any mention of a many my mother was dating or "seeing" anyone, put it to one side and we can come back to them. Is that ok?'

Draco nodded and held out his hand for his half of the letters. The two worked quietly for hours; some of the letters were so detailed. By 9.30pm, there was a pile of about 6 letters that may or may not have had a clue about Maya's father in them.

Maya yawned suddenly, and Draco looked at his watch. 'We've been at this for hours' he said, 'time to retire.'

Maya looked sad, but then remembered it was the Christmas holidays now, tomorrow was Christmas Eve so she could look over the letters then. 'Are you going home tomorrow?' She asked Draco.

'No, I decided to stay here for the holidays. I haven't told my parents or friends yet. I'll send an owl to my parents tomorrow and by the time my friends realise they will be halfway back to London to change their mind. Peace and quiet for two whole weeks!' Draco said, looking pleased with himself.

The two new friends walked each other back as far as they could then went in separate directions, with promises of letters with timings for the next day.

'You're back late' Hermione commented as Maya walked in to their dormitory.

'Oh, yeah my research took over and I lost track of time!' Maya said, smiling as she walked into the bathroom to wash, change and brush her teeth. That night, Maya slept soundly and dreamt of a certain blonde haired….friend.