Chapter 14
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world obviously belongs to JK Rowling and not me. Obviously.
… … … …
Two weeks had gone by since Leila and Draco's fight and the final week of August was upon them. Things with Draco over these two weeks had been nothing short of awkward. She would wake every morning for breakfast and find Draco already eating. He would tell her if there was any news on her brother and then quickly leave the room. That was about the only time she saw him unless she was in the sitting room. Then he would bolt straight for his bedroom making no contact with her. She knew she deserved the coldness after the way she treated him; but it was better this way. Cutting herself off from him and giving him no hope was for the best. A future wasn't exactly something realistic at this point in her life. So instead of thinking of the future, she dwelt on the past.
This time last year she was in the comforts of the Burrow. She was surrounded by people she loved and who loved her: Harry, Ron, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Bill, Fleur, and Hermione whom she wasn't friends with a year ago. They had spent their lazy summer days playing Quidditch and preparing for Hogwarts. Hogwarts seemed like a lifetime ago. Now, she was held captive at Malfoy Manor surrounded by people who had little to no concern for her. She felt like she was a puppet at Voldemort's expense. She knew he was going to use and manipulate her to try and bring down Harry; and if that second prophecy was true, Voldemort was likely to succeed.
Leila walked over to the vanity to reach for her beaded bag. She rummaged inside the bag and pulled out the photograph album of her parents that Hagrid had given her. She sat on the armchair in her room and flipped through the pages. It seemed like she had been looking at these pictures a lot lately. They reminded her of what could have been. A single tear slipped from Leila's eye when a knock came at the door. She didn't respond to the knock, but the door opened anyways. Draco's mother walked into the room. Narcissa's posture was stiff and her expression seemed emotionless. Leila watched as the older woman walked over to the wardrobe and opened the door.
"I suggest that you freshen up. I'll put some clothes out for you to change into," Narcissa said.
"Why?" Leila questioned.
"Being raised my muggles is no excuse for your lack of manners and respect. You'll do as you're told," Narcissa said sternly.
"That's all I seem to be doing these weeks," Leila muttered.
"You'll need to learn to stop muttering; it's not proper," Narcissa commented.
Leila looked at Draco's mother in disbelief. What was the woman trying to get at? Narcissa stopped looking through the wardrobe and turned to look at Leila. The expression on the older woman's face was easily recognizable, she meant business. Draco must have inherited this look from his mother, because she had seen it on him many times and knew what was required of her to make the look disappear. Leila sighed and walked over to the bathroom which adjoined her room as Narcissa turned her attention back to the clothing in the wardrobe.
Slowly, she shut the bathroom door and leaned up against it, running her fingers through her greasy hair. Personal hygiene wasn't on her list of priorities since she had been captured. She still bathed and such, but just not as regularly as she once had. She had no one to impress and the only reason to bathe was for her own benefit. Tip-toeing across the cold bathroom tile she made her way to the bathtub and turned the knobs. Water splashed into the tub as Leila placed her hand under the running water to find the right temperature. She placed the plug in the drain and walked back over to the door. Opening it slightly, she noticed that Narcissa was still pairing clothes out in the wardrobe. The older woman's actions confused her, but Leila walked back over to the tub and slipped in when it was full.
When Leila was done bathing she dressed in an emerald silk bathrobe and walked back into her bedroom. On her bed Narcissa had laid out a black pencil skirt, a white blouse, green cardigan, and black high heel pumps. Leila picked up a shoe and scoffed. There was no way she would ever wear these shoes, they just weren't sensible. Most of the wardrobe wasn't sensible to Leila. These clothes were far too grown-up for her. Why Narcissa expected her to wear them was beyond her; but she didn't need to be on her bad side so Leila changed into the clothes laid out for her. Once she was in the clothes, but not the shoes, she ran her fingers through her wet hair and decided to French-braid it. She pulled her hair into one plait going down her back before examining herself in the mirror. The girl in the mirror looked foreign to her, almost unrecognizable. Even though the clothes almost clung to her body, she could tell that she had lost weight since she had arrived. Another knock came on the door and Leila turned as Narcissa walked back in the room.
"Much more presentable," Narcissa commented.
"Thanks, I think," Leila said.
"Your sarcasm isn't needed," Narcissa reprimanded.
"Sorry," Leila muttered.
Narcissa looked at her pointedly, so Leila apologized again and slightly hung her head. The older woman handed Leila the heels which still lay on her bed and Leila carefully stepped into the shoes. Leila had never worn heels before, always opting for flats when she dressed up. Narcissa offered a slight smile before ushering Leila into the sitting room.
"Come, Draco," Narcissa said lightly.
"Yes Mother," Draco called from his room.
Draco stepped out of his room adjusting his tie. He didn't even look at Leila, only his mother. Leila stood in her spot beside Draco's mother in confusion. Why did she have to get all dressed up and what did Draco and his mother have to do with it? Narcissa pulled her wand out of her pocket causing Leila to immediately back away. Her wand was pointed at the door as she muttered some spells. Draco walked over to the door and opened it, motioning for his mother to step through. His mother had raised him with some manners even if he didn't always make use of them. Narcissa stepped over the threshold while Draco stayed in place holding the door. Leila looked to him but he refused to make eye contact with her.
"Follow me, Leila," Narcissa commanded.
"I—I don't…" Leila began.
She wasn't sure if she should follow. What if this was another one of Voldemort's traps? What if Death Eaters were downstairs waiting for her like last time? Many what-ifs plagued her mind as Narcissa looked to her.
"It's not a trap," Draco whispered.
"How—how did you know?" Leila asked.
"Just did," Draco shrugged.
Leila looked to Draco once more but his focus was on his mother. She sighed and somewhat hesitantly crossed the threshold into the dimly lit corridor. Narcissa began to walk down the corridor as Draco closed the door behind him. He gently pushed Leila forward to follow his mother. Leila walked slowly down the corridor, partly because she was hesitant to do so and partly because she wasn't used to walking in the heels. Leila felt like she was being moved by a security team, Narcissa in the lead and Draco bringing up the rear. They went down several flights of stairs when Narcissa led them to a section of the Manor Leila had never visited before. Mrs. Malfoy reached for a door, but stopped and turned to Leila.
"This stays between us," Narcissa said.
She nodded her head in confusion as Draco's mother opened the door. From what Leila could see behind Narcissa, the room appeared to be some sort of sitting room. Crossing the threshold into the room she felt a pair of arms fling around her. She stiffened at the embrace and looked to find the person hugging her was Daphne Greengrass.
"I've missed you," Daphne whispered.
Leila's thoughts flashed back to her tumultuous relationship over the past year with Daphne. Daphne had thought she was sneaking around with Theodore Nott when in reality she had been sneaking around with Draco. Because of this, Daphne had cut Leila out of her life. Her once best friend became her tormenter. They had gotten into fights, causing Leila to even give-up on their friendship. When Daphne found out that Leila was actually dating Draco, she had attempted to repair the broken friendship, but Leila didn't want anything to do with her. Gently pushing Daphne off herself she backed away and looked to her former best friend.
"What are you doing here?" Leila asked.
"Narcissa invited Mother, Astoria, and I for tea," Daphne responded.
"Tea at a time like this?" Leila scoffed.
"Mother arranged this for you. At least pretend to be grateful," Draco whispered in her ear.
A shiver went down Leila's spine at Draco's words but he quickly walked past her and moved for a chair at one of two tables in the room. Narcissa and Camilla Greengrass were seated at one table, while Draco sat beside Astoria Greengrass. Before he sat, Astoria stood up to greet him with a hug and kiss on the cheek. Leila's stomach dropped at Daphne's sister's actions. She wasn't sure what this feeling was in the pit of her stomach; but she didn't like it. The way Astoria eyed him up bothered her. She really shouldn't care, she had told Draco that there was no hope for them; but this still bothered her.
"Leila," Daphne said interrupting her thoughts.
"Whatever this is, it doesn't change things," Leila said.
"No, but I was hoping we could get past them. This can't be easy for you," Daphne sighed.
"What would you know about what I'm going through?" Leila hissed.
"You're right, I don't know; but I…" Daphne began.
"Let's just drink some tea and get this over with," Leila sighed.
Daphne sighed and walked to take an empty seat at the table beside Astoria. Leila grudgingly followed to the table sitting between Daphne and Draco.
"Potter," Astoria greeted.
"Greengrass," Leila retorted.
Astoria pursed her lips and slightly narrowed her eyes at Leila before turning toward Draco. Leila rolled her eyes and reached for a cup of tea. She put two spoonfuls of sugar in her tea and stirred it attempting to ignore Astoria's malicious attempts of flirting with Draco. Draco was rather quiet but he wasn't completely ignoring the younger girl either. Leila rolled her eyes again and turned to Daphne who was sipping her tea. Things hadn't always been at odds with Daphne; she remembered when she first met Daphne.
~*Flashback to Opening Feast 1st year*~
Eleven year old Leila stood up from the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. The Slytherin prefect, Gemma Farley, was shouting directions for the first years to follow her so they could make their way to the Slytherin common room. Leila looked over to the Gryffindor table where Harry was sat. For the first time in their lives they were about to be separated and that scared her. For the first eleven years of her life, at least what she could remember of it, she had never spent a night without him. If she had a nightmare, Harry was there to make her feel better. If she was sick, Harry was there. If she…well, Harry had always been there. Draco Malfoy grabbed her arm.
"Come on, Leila," Draco said.
"Let go of me," Leila said shoving his hand off her arm.
"We need to follow our prefect. We can't lose House points our first night because we got lost," Draco responded.
"I'm not going with you," Leila muttered.
"Draco, leave her alone," a blonde girl who was also just sorted into Slytherin said.
"What's it to you, Greengrass?" Draco questioned.
The girl Draco had called Greengrass rolled her eyes at Draco while she placed her hands on her hips.
"We're not finished here, Leila," Draco said.
Leila breathed a sigh of relief as Draco walked away with other first year Slytherin boys. She turned once more toward the Gryffindor table searching for her brother. Timidly, she waved at him and he waved back before following Ron Weasley and his older brother toward the exit of the Great Hall. Leila sighed and turned to find Gemma Farley; but the Slytherin prefect had already left. She began to panic when the girl who had saved her from Malfoy waved at her from a bit farther down the Slytherin table. Considering she didn't have many viable options, Leila walked toward the girl she knew as Greengrass.
"Gemma already left with the other first years, but my cousin Ursula is a fifth year in our House and she said she'd bring us to the common room," the blonde girl said.
"Thanks, erm—"Leila began.
"I'm Daphne Greengrass," Daphne chuckled.
"I'm Leila Potter," Leila said.
"I know who you are. Everyone knows about you and your brother," Daphne said.
"Erm—well, thanks for saving me from Malfoy," Leila said.
"Draco's really not so bad once you get to know him," Daphne smiled.
"Well, I don't want to get to know him," Leila groaned.
Daphne chuckled and her cousin Ursula led them down to the Slytherin dungeons for Leila's first night away from her brother.
~*End Flashback*~
The four teenagers sat in silence drinking their tea, while Mrs. Malfoy and Mrs. Greengrass chatted. Leila found the whole situation to be awkward, but she wasn't exactly in the position to be making demands. She had to do whatever was required of her and if this meant surviving tea with Daphne and her sister, then that's what she was going to do. Narcissa noted the lack of conversation with them and suggested that Draco escort the girls upstairs. Draco nodded his head and complied with his mother's wish. Astoria and Daphne stood up to go, but Leila stayed seated. Draco looked at her and Leila met his icy eyes, but his eyes quickly diverted when his hand reached for her arm.
"Come on, Leila," Draco said.
"Let go of me," Leila hissed attempting to shove his hand from her arm.
"The sooner you come the sooner I'll let you go," Draco whispered for her to hear.
"Fine," Leila sneered.
Leila stood up as Draco escorted her from the sitting room and headed for the stairs. Astoria and Daphne trailed close behind Draco and Leila up the stairs and through the corridors. Once Draco opened the door to his suite, Leila stomped off to her room; but because she wasn't used to the heels, she tripped over the rug and fell to the floor. Leila could hear snickers as she roughly took the shoes off her feet and threw them, muttering obscenities.
"Graceful, Potter," Astoria snickered.
Leila narrowed her eyes at Astoria before she stood back up and walked barefoot to her room. She shut the door behind her and flung herself onto her bed. Really, this was becoming quite routine; but considering she was in confinement she wasn't offered much else to do. The bedroom door swung open, but Leila made no attempt to rid herself of whoever it was because she couldn't exactly stop him or her. The person lightly sat on the bed next to a sprawled-out Leila.
"It's hard to believe that this time next week we'll be in our final year at Hogwarts," Daphne said lightly.
"Hogwarts, as if I'll ever see the place again," Leila scoffed.
"Haven't you heard? Attendance is mandatory for anyone with magical heritage," Daphne commented.
"There's only one problem with that; I'm being held captive! Not exactly Hogwarts bound, now am I?" Leila said.
"Things could be worse, Leila," Daphne sighed.
"How could things be any worse? I'm separated from the only true family I have, my brother whom your precious Dark Lord wants to kill. I'm being held against my will and there's a damn second prophecy that says I'm supposed to betray my brother! I really can't sink much lower," Leila shouted.
"Maybe if you'd stop wallowing in self-pity and accepted things for what they were," Daphne retorted.
"Accept things? What kind of bloody nonsense is that?" Leila hissed.
"You're still alive, Leila; and you're being cared for. Sure the situation isn't ideal, but Draco and his mother risk a lot for you," Daphne said.
"They just don't want to be indebted to me because I risked my life for his," Leila said.
"Why did you do that?" Daphne asked.
"I wouldn't expect you to understand," Leila retorted.
Leila got off her bed and walked over to the door and looked out into the sitting room. Draco was sitting on the sofa with his elbow resting on the arm of the sofa and his head on his hand. Astoria was seated right next to him attempting to draw him into another conversation. Daphne's little sister was almost as pathetic as Pansy Parkinson.
"Your sister still has a thing for him?" Leila questioned.
"I can tell her to back-off, if you'd like," Daphne said.
"No. He's at perfect liberty to do as he likes. I made it clear to him that he and I were done for good," Leila said.
"You still love him, don't you?" Daphne asked.
"If I recall correctly, end of last year you told me that one doesn't forget their first love. That's all he is to me, my first love. We had our time and we're through. That's all," Leila lied.
"You can try and fool me, but you can't fool your own heart," Daphne said.
"I'm not trying to fool anyone. Like I told Draco, I'm just done with love," Leila sighed.
"Is that really what you want, Leila?" Daphne furthered.
"It doesn't really matter what I want, now does it?" Leila scoffed.
She gently closed the door and walked to the window. Carefully, she maneuvered to sit on the window seat so that she could look out onto the outside world. Daphne walked over and sat beside her on the window seat.
"Are we ever going to be normal again?" Daphne asked.
"I don't think anything is going to be normal again. Too much has changed," Leila answered.
"Things are supposed to change," Daphne responded.
Leila simply shrugged her shoulders and sighed. The two girls sat in silence until a knock came at the door. Mrs. Malfoy opened the door and told Daphne that it was time for her to leave. The former friends stood up and walked to the bedroom door.
"It was good to see you Leila," Daphne said.
"As much as I hate to say it, I agree since my only company consists of Draco," Leila sighed.
"I'm sure you wouldn't have minded so much last year," Daphne chuckled.
"That's not even funny," Leila retorted.
"Looking back on it, you and Draco seem so obvious. I still can't believe that I couldn't see that it was him you were snogging last year," Daphne sighed.
"That's because you let Parkinson get to you," Leila responded.
"I'm sorry about everything that happened last year," Daphne said.
"I know," Leila sighed.
"I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon," Daphne smiled.
"I'll be here," Leila shrugged.
Daphne moved to hug Leila, but she backed away with her hands up.
"Too soon?" Daphne asked.
Leila nodded her head in response. Daphne sighed and waved as she walked out of the room. Leila followed to watch Daphne leave. Daphne followed Draco and Astoria out of the room, leaving Leila alone. She walked back into her room and sat on the armchair she had occupied earlier. Reaching once more for the photograph album of her parents, she carefully flipped through the pages. Her conversation with Daphne got her thinking. She really didn't need to completely isolate herself. If she wanted to stay somewhat sane, she did need the company and as she had pointed out to Daphne, Draco was her main source of companionship. As much as she hated to admit it, she really needed a friend. She determined that once Draco came back, she was going to apologize for that night to hopefully salvage something of what they were. The door to sitting room clicked and Leila knew Draco to be back.
Setting down the photograph album, she slowly walked into the sitting room. She found Draco sitting on the sofa gazing at the fire. Leila knew that he was thinking about something that was weighing on his mind. She knew the little things about him that most people overlooked. She knew that he habitually raked his fingers through his hair when he was nervous or anxious. She knew that he pinched the bridge of his nose when he was frustrated to keep him from saying what he really wanted to say. She also knew that she usually brought out these habits in him. Leila walked closer to him and carefully sat on the armchair beside the sofa. Draco didn't even make notice of her presence, so Leila cleared her throat. He slightly turned his head and looked to her before returning his gaze to the fire.
"So you and Astoria?" Leila asked.
"Why are you jealous?" Draco questioned.
"No, I do suppose she'd make a nice pureblood wife for you…" Leila began.
"I don't want to fight right now, Leila," Draco sighed.
"Well, I didn't intend to fight with you when I came out here," Leila said.
"Why did you come out here then?" Draco asked.
"I wanted to apologize," Leila muttered.
"For what?" Draco questioned.
"That night, the night we fought. Well, the last time we fought," Leila sighed.
"We always fight, Leila," Draco said.
"I know; but I got carried away that night. I said some hurtful things and I'm sorry," Leila apologized.
"What's done is done," Draco shrugged.
"I know, but I was acting like a complete nutter that night and…" Leila began.
"I'm not mad at you anymore, Leila. You don't have to drag this out any further," Draco interrupted.
"But you seem like you're mad," Leila said.
"You asked me to leave you alone. I'm just doing as you asked," Draco sighed.
"That's all?" Leila asked.
"That's all; like I said before, what's done is done. Just remember that, will you?" Draco asked.
"Why?" Leila questioned.
"Good night, Leila," Draco said.
"What did you do now?" Leila furthered.
"Always quick to assume the worst of me," Draco said shaking his head.
"Are you going to tell me or not?" Leila asked.
"I'll see you in the morning, Leila," Draco responded.
Draco stood-up and walked for his bedroom. He turned back to look at Leila once before he closed the door to his room. Leila sighed, wondering just how much longer she had to do this. How long before Voldemort had enough of her and had her killed? She turned to the table and saw that dinner was on the table untouched. She couldn't possibly eat anything, so she stayed in the chair gazing at the fire.
Meanwhile, downstairs….
Severus Snape paced downstairs. He had to meet the Dark Lord because he had a request of sorts. But the tricky part was convincing the Dark Lord that this would fit into his plan perfectly; that this would improve his plan. If anyone could convince the Dark Lord to fulfill this request it would be him. He was in the Dark Lord's good graces, farther than any of the other Death Eaters. Severus took a deep breath before walking up the stairs to meet the Dark Lord. Snape bowed when he was before the Dark Lord.
"Severus, I must confess I'm surprised to see you tonight. I would have figured you'd be taking care of the disgrace that is Hogwarts," Voldemort said.
"I'm honored that you named me Headmaster, My Lord," Severus bowed.
"There is no one better for the job, except maybe myself; but I have other things I must take care of," the Dark Lord said.
"How are those new plans forming?" Snape asked.
"United they stood; but divided they will fall. Once Potter hears the news he will refuse to stand beside his sister. Their relationship will be practically beyond repair; yet Potter can't refuse to play the role of hero," the Dark Lord said.
"My Lord, once this new information becomes available; wouldn't it be prudent to move the girl?" Snape asked.
"I'm not following you, Severus," the Dark Lord said.
"Once this becomes public, Potter will surely know the whereabouts of his sister. Why not add insult to injury by leading him to believe she's here, when the girl actually isn't here," Snape said.
"And what are you suggesting?" the Dark Lord asked.
"The Potter girl returns to Hogwarts for her final year, the last place her brother will expect her to be. He knows she's at your disposal," Snape suggested.
"So she is," the Dark Lord said.
"He may be an idiot like his father, but even Potter wouldn't dare return to Hogwarts. He would…" Snape began.
"Potter will come here," the Dark Lord smirked.
"And you know how well Lucius protects things. It makes more sense for the girl to not be here," Snape furthered.
"Lucius has proved to be rather useless as of late," the Dark Lord thought aloud.
"Not to mention the regulation which we're now enforcing that all with magical blood are mandated to attend Hogwarts," Snape added.
"Why this push, Severus?" the Dark Lord asked.
"I'm simply disgusted with how Potter has managed to somehow slip by over the years by no more than a hair. I'm just trying to ensure that this time he can't," Snape drawled.
Snape made sure that his mind was protected against the Dark Lord as he thought of the real reason for his request. Lily. Leila reminded him of Lily. He needed to make sure that she was safe. Maybe by keeping her safe, Lily could forgive him. Of course certain provisions would have to be made if the girl were to return to Hogwarts. She would need to be in constant companion of someone chosen by the Dark Lord to make sure she wasn't sneaking off. There would need to be guards around the grounds making sure that she couldn't escape, even though it would be near impossible with the already beefed-up security. The curriculum would have to be slightly altered for her until she could be trusted with a wand. He knew Leila's confidence to be next to nothing and it was only too soon before the girl lost her spirit and gave in. While the whole situation seemed rather improbable and unlikely, he still needed to try. For Lily.