A/N: Thanks to Batmarcus for reviewing.

Chapter 5

Draco Malfoy was sort of an enigma. When they were alone in the Common Room late at night, he would sit next to her. At first they would discuss various ways for him to better his flying skills, but as the conversation went on, and as the weeks wore on, he decided to surprise her one night.

"I'm not free, Frost," He admitted, "The Dark Lord is watching my every move. I know he even knows about our little sessions in the Quidditch pitch. He doesn't harbour any ill feeling towards me, not yet."

"Where did this come from?" The brunette wanted to know, setting her quill down. She was rewriting her Potions notes to make them more understandable.

"A few weeks ago you asked me if I wasn't free. And I'm not. The sky is open, and I want to fly away over the barrier and just keep on flying until the broom's enchantments wear off… I can't believe I'm telling you this." He was looking at her, his expression desperate, "But I feel so alone and I don't have anyone to talk to."

Riley put a hand over his and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Running from your problems isn't the answer, Draco," She said, giving his hand a pat, "Sometimes you have to grow a pair of balls and take the unicorn by the horn."

"Can I confide in you?" He asked next, "Because I'm slowly going to lose my mind and I can't stop it."

"You already are confiding in me, Draco," She said offhandedly, picking up her quill again, "Why?"

"Because you don't hide behind a façade," He answered softly, "You don't put up with what happens in pureblood society. You just live. It's when you fly that I see you truly for what you are – you're free."

She didn't know how to reply to that. She was free, in more ways than one and more ways than he knew. Only Dumbledore had known and Snape knew, seeing as he had been her head of house when it happened.

"So, can I confide in you?" He repeated his question.

"Can I ask you a question first?" She asked, not looking up from where she was writing, "Why are you being so nice? You were always kind of a dick. To everyone."

"Yes, I know," He said, "That's where the story starts. You can be lucky it's Saturday, we're going to be up for a while."

She passed him a piece of parchment and her Transfiguration notes, "Start rewriting those, and talk. Might as well use your hands while you're here."

He grumbled, but didn't argue. The fact that he didn't argue with her said a lot. She wondered where the cocky boy had gone.

"You see, my parents disinherited me," He started, "I might as well start with that. My father just wrote me off entirely."

"Why?"

"Because I failed the Dark Lord. I was supposed to kill Dumbledore, and I didn't." He whispered to her, "So my father threw me out. The Dark Lord took pity on me, and said I could return to Hogwarts."

"My mother hasn't written to me. I don't even know if she's alive, Frost, and it terrifies me." He was writing furiously. She hoped he had a decent handwriting.

"Have you tried writing to her?" She tried to calm him, because she saw him getting worked up. She put a hand on his shoulder, and he stilled his hand and shut his eyes tightly.

"I did. My father replied. He said…" Draco gulped, "The most horrible things. The Dark Lord had tossed him aside and he blamed me. His wand had been broken, and he blamed me. He blames me for losing favour, and he wants me dead."

She had the strange urge to hug him. She had never had that urge before, not even when her parents had been alive. She put a hand on his arm instead, and he opened his eyes.

"I saw myself for what I was: A spoiled little boy hiding behind his father. And I hated that boy. I didn't want to be that boy anymore, because he was the spitting image of the father who now resented him. I decided to become… friendlier."

"Why did you hide me helping you then?" She demanded in a harsh voice.

"Because if everyone knew, I knew they would tease you. I like you, Frost, I don't want to see you as the point of ridicule."

"Like I give a fuck?" She laughed cynically, "I've always been the point of ridicule."

"I know, and I'm sorry for that, but if you were seen with me… I'm no longer admired in Slytherin. The better flying skills might help, but I have no friends left. They all abandoned me. Pansy stuck by me, and she was the who told me what a great flyer you were."

Bless that girl, Riley thought, then she wondered why she thought that.

"And you're kind of…" Draco struggled to find the right word, "I like spending time with you. I like seeing you smile."

This was much better than Creevey's compliment., she thought, and she felt butterflies in her tummy.

"I'm going to leave," He said, "I don't know when yet, but I'm going to leave and no one will be able to find me or stop me." His jaw was set, and she knew there was no changing his mind.

Wait – why would she want to change his mind?

"I really like you, Riley," He had used her name for the first time, "And I would like to spend more time with you. I just don't… I don't know what's going to happen to me."

Her heart was beating in her chest, and she thought he might hear it.

"Let's worry about now," Her throat was dry, "And now is the only time we have."

He offered her a smile before he bent over her notes and continued.

. . .

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