Chapter Six: Sneaking Out

"There you are." I said, jogging towards him.

"Yeah, well, I've been here for quite some time." Draco snapped.

"I told you ten. It's your fault for coming early. You must have been excited to see me, eh?" I grinned.

"Sure, whatever you want." He sneered, rolling his eyes. "What do you want, anyways?"

"Well, seeing as I hate you, and you slightly dislike me…" I leered.

"Get on with it."

"It would seem I missed your birthday." I concluded with a slightly defeated expression. His eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"So?"
"You'd probably have hexed me if I said anything at school. Not that I would have, I hate you. So, I'm here to celebrate your birthday with you. Fourteen day's late." I said, crossing my arms. When he remained silent, I continued. "If you want to that is. I have better things to do." I huffed, looking away. Still, he didn't reply. "Listen, Malfoy-"

"Buy me an ice cream." He said.

"Pardon?"

"Buy me an ice cream." He repeated, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. I followed dumbly, surprised by his request.

"What flavor do you want?" I asked cautiously. Was he up to something?

"Your choice." He said, sitting down in one of the tables outside. I eyed him warily, walking inside to order.

"Ah! Miss Belladonna. Always a pleasure, what would you like?" Mr. Fortescue asked, a big grin on his face.

"Two Dumblebumble Sundae's, please." He flicked his wand, and two large containers appeared on the counter, the famous gravity defying sundae ready. I reached towards my money bag, but he stopped me with a hand.

"On the house."

"Thank you." I smiled, taking the two heavy bowls. A wizard held the door open for me while I shimmied out.

"Thank you."

"My pleasure." I set one of the bowls in front of Draco.

"There you go." I said, sitting across from him. He scooped some into him mouth.

"So." He said.

"What?"

"Nothing, just starting conversation." He shrugged.

"Oh."

"It's strange, sitting here with you." Malfoy said after a while.

"I was thinking the same about you." I agreed, throwing a cherry into my mouth. There was another moment of silence.

"It couldn't be avoided you know." He said. I knitted my eyebrows together in confusion. "Our fight last summer." He mended.

"I bet it could have." I muttered.

"You lose that bet." He snapped. "Anyways, since it's my day, I say we go to Knockturn Alley." Draco continued quickly, as if eager to get off the topic of our fight.

"Have you gone bonkers?" I gasped, completely distracted. "That place if full of creeps!"

"It's my day, I get to choose." He said stubbornly, standing and brushing off his robes.

"Good Merlin." I sighed, standing as well. I said goodbye to Mr. Fortescue before letting Draco lead me down into the dark alley.

"I don't like this place." I muttered, slipping my arm into Draco's as a hooded man brushed past me.

"Some Gryffindor, eh?" He sneered.
"There's a difference between being brave and being stupid. You're the latter, unfortunately." I snapped, as he pulled me into a store.

"We're celebrating my birthday." He reminded me. I rolled my eyes and glanced around the dimly lit store. Catching sight of some questionable items, I shuffled closed to Draco.

"'ello there, children." This time, not even Draco could keep from yelling out. We spun on our heals quickly, and I almost wished I hadn't. If the voice hadn't been creepy, it's owned surely was. Barely reaching our eleven-twelve, in Draco's case-year old shoulders, the man had a malevolent twinkle in his dark eyes, a long sharp nose, and an obvious deformity in his back, causing a shoulder to raise in a hump higher than his head. "Ah, the young Mister Malfoy. Are we looking for anything special?" He purred. I shook my head frantically, backing up.

"We were just leaving." Draco said, grabbing my arm to keep me from crashing into a spiked device.

"What a shame." The man said. Despite his words, he made no move to step aside and let us pass trough the door to his shop.

"So, we'll…just be…going, now." Draco said, shuffling forward a bit. Without warning, the man whipped out his wand, casting an unfamiliar spell at us. We ducked, knocking over a barrel labeled Bones, which I didn't dare look at. This caused enough of a distraction, and we ducked beneath the mans outstretched arms, rushing like bats out of hell to get out of the store. Preferably out of Knockturn Alley. And that's exactly what we did. Even tough the street was twisted and narrow, we ran until we reach the familiar bustle of Diagon Alley. We crossed the road hurriedly, sitting on the stone steps of Gringotts as we caught our breath.

"Last time I listen-to you!" I panted. Draco shoot me a dirty look out of the corner of his eye.

"Bella?" Someone called out. I turned to the left, and to my immense relief-and displeasure, depending on what he told mum-Rob pushed though the crowd and towards us. Relief took over, and I slumped against my brothers chest as he stopped before me. He looked between Draco and I-what a sight we must have been, disheveled, eyes wide in fright and out of breath. "Alright, what have you two been doing?" Rob asked.

"We went into Knockturn Alley." I fessed up. My brain hadn't yet recovered from the scare that man had given us. Rob barked a laugh.

"You two are pathetic." He chuckled, rubbing my back comfortingly as I hyperventilated.

"You're only saying that because some midget didn't just try to murder you!" Draco snapped. Rob's face became serious at once. Then, of course, he made us explain what happened.

"That bastard." He grunted after we finished, eyes drifting to the entrance of Knockturn Alley.

"Rob! There you are!" Oliver Wood called, motioning for someone to follow him. A group of blokes around Rob's age emerged from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, following Oliver's footsteps towards us.

"Hey Bella." Oliver smiled, ruffling my hair. I pulled my head off my brothers chest and smiled for a millisecond before dropping it back again.

"What's up with her?" Dominic Williams asked, patting my head as well.

"Some arse in Knockturn Alley shot a spell at them." Rob huffed.

"Bloody hell." His friends chorused, outraged.

"Do you two remember what it sounded like?" Aaron Morales asked.

"Something like…Stupid?" I shrugged after a moment of thought.

"What color were the sparks?" Oliver pressed. I thought for a second.

"Blue."

"Stupefy." They all chorused again.

"What'd'ya suppose he woulda done with 'em?"

"Nothing pleasant, I'm sure."

"I'm going after this bloke."

"Calm down, Rob. Just take 'em home. We'll deal with 'im latter."

For the next hour, I sat in my living room with Draco, playing exploding snap and eating chocolate muffins. The fireplace erupted in green flames, and Draco and I looked up briefly at Rob before returning to the game.

"Did'ja get him?" I asked, flinching as my cards exploded. "Ye-owch." I mumbled, shaking my hand.

"Yeah, we found him." Rob said. The satisfied tone in his voice told me he had done more than just scold the man. Before I could ask what he had done exactly, the fireplace ignited again. A tall man in navy robes stepped out, rubbing his eyes with one hand and running a hand trough his mousy brown hair with the other.

"Dad!" I exclaimed, standing up and rushing towards him. I locked my arms around him and gave him a tight hug.

"Hello there, princess. How was school?" He asked, smiling tiredly as he picked me up.

"Quite the adventure." I said, wrapping my arms around his neck.

" I can see." He chuckled, touching my cheek lightly. "Where's your mother?"

"She's sleeping." I said. "Ever since she got home."

"I'm going to check on her, okay?" He said, setting me down. I nodded, returning to my seat on the carpet.

"Robert." Father greeted, ruffling his hair. "Draco."

"Hello, Mr. Gryffindor." He nodded. Dad left us, asking a house elf to bring lunch up to their room on his way up the stairs. I glanced at the clock over the mantle frame. It read 12:01. It was against my upbringing to ask a guest to leave, so I sat through three more games of exploding snap with a frown on my face. By the fourth, at 12:58, Draco caught on.

"You have somewhere to be, don't you?" He smirked.

"Not. At. All." I smiled tensely.

"How long have I kept you?" He pushed.

"Fifty…" I glanced at the clock again. "…eight minutes." Draco laughed, setting down his cards.

"I'll let you off this time." He said, standing. I looked up at him in surprise.

"Really?"

"No. April fools." He sneered.

"But it's June." I frowned. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Just go." He said waving his hand toward the fireplace. I hopped up immediately, grabbing a handful of Floo Powder from a vase beside the clock. "But you owe me, Gryffindor."

By the time I got back from the Weasley's, Mum, Dad and Rob were already in the dinning room.

"Your late." Dad said disapprovingly.

"Sorry. Lost track of time." I said sheepishly, sitting down in my chair.

"Try to be more punctual next time." Mum said lightly. Recently, family's been a really big thing around here. You can probably guess why. Sam's empty seat was a magnet for our eyes as we dined in silence.

"When is he coming home?" I asked in the interval between diner and dessert.

"Soon." Mum muttered. "Soon." She seemed more eager to convince herself more than the rest of us. I nodded, knowing not to push the subject any further. I finished my cake in a hurry, excusing myself. I shut the door to my room and sighed, pulling at the dark ribbon I had used to tie my hair back during a game of Quidditch at the Weasley's. I dropped it on the vanity, pulling off my robes and kicking my shoes into the corner as I walked into the bathroom. Turning on all the taps, I finished undressing and slipped into the bath. It must have been ten, fifteen minutes latter when the tapping started. I opened my eyes, wiping some shampoo off my brow and glancing towards the bathroom door. It was half open, I remember leaving it like that. The tapping continued, and I recognized it as the sound of a beak on glass. I sighed, ducking my head under the water and scrubbing out the last of the shampoo before stepping out, pulling a maroon robe tightly around myself before walking into my room, my wet feet making slapping noises against the bathroom tiles until I reached the soft golden rug that covered my bedroom floor. I drew back a curtain and opened a window, moving to the right to let a dark owl fly in and perch on the unoccupied owl post on my desk. Leaving the window open, I pried the letter from it's claws and feed it an owl treat from the desk drawer. Reading over its contents quickly, I scribbled a reply on the back and returned it to the owl, who proceeded to disappear out my window. I quickly dressed and pulled on a dark cloak, shuffling under my covers quickly as I heard footsteps in the corridor. As I closed my eyes and feigned sleep, my door opened quietly and the footsteps approached my bed. Soft lips touched my cheek as my mother kissed me goodnight, closely followed by a scraggly feeling near my forehead when fathers beard brushed my skin as he leaned to kiss my head. Large hands pulled my covers around me tightly, and the both left the room, shutting my door behind them. As soon as I heard the distant and faint click of their bedroom door closing across the house, I kicked off my covers and slipped on my boots. Hurrying towards the door, I grabbed my wand from my bedside table and hurried out the door. I stumbled as I reached the bottom step of the flared staircase leading to the entrance hall and cursed under my breath, glancing over my shoulder. The only sound I could hear was the grandfather clock ticking rhythmically in the parlor. I sighed in relief, and continued on my path to the front door. I closed the heavy wooden door behind me with a low click as the bolt slid itself back into place. The excitement was almost bubbling over as I ran down the driveway, my shoes slapping the perfect rectangles of stone in rhythm. I slowed once I saw the tall iron gate, the two copper G's on both doors shone golden in the moonlight. Though the twists of the intricate iron barricade, I caught sight of them. They were standing close to the other, yet facing opposite directions as if the other wasn't there. Malfoy had his eyes fixed at the end of the road, and Blaise seemed transfixed by the full moon. Both broke from their trances as the gate opened. It opened easily, without so much as a creek, and closed in the same manner. I grinned mischievously at the two boys before me.

"Well, aren't you two an odd couple?"

"Gryffindor, it's a wonder we still invite you." Malfoy sneered, rolling his eyes.

"Love you, too."

"We haven't been here for two minutes and the two of you are already at it." Blaise chuckled.

"His fault."

"Her fault." We chorused. I arched an eyebrow and Malfoy crossed his arms over his chest.

"Is that a challenge?"

"Oh, come off it you two. At this rate, we won't get there until sunrise."

"She's chicken. Look at her, she not gonna do it."

"Shut your mouth, Malfoy." I snapped. "I'm coming."

"Really?" The sarcasm in his voice travelled from the water. "I would have assumed it would take less than five minutes for you to reach the lake. It's not that high a drop." My toes dug into the bark underfoot, and I inched closer to the end of the branch.

"Any day now." Malfoy hollered.

"Shut it, mate. She'll clobber you within an inch of your life if you keep it up." Blaise chuckled from the shore, his arms atop his head in a picture of ease as water ran down over his face from his hair.

"HA! I'd like to see her try." Malfoy smirked. I bent my knees and leapt, relishing the familiar feeling of the air running though my hair. The water hit me like a brick wall tough, and almost instantly, a pair of hands pulled me up. I threw my arms around Draco's neck and spluttered, spitting out the half gallon of water I swallowed.

"You should really learn not to do the things I tell you to." He smirked. "Hurts, doesn't it?"

"Not at all. You're just a wimp." I huffed, resisting the urge to rub my sore cheek.

"Don't bite the hand that feeds you, Bella." He warned, mischief coloring his smirk.

"What do you mean?" I asked carefully. His hands disappeared from around my waist, and he dunked under the water. Surprised, I sunk myself and came back up coughing out water once more. I had forgotten he was holding me up. A sudden hand around my ankle gave me seconds to fill my lungs with air before I was dragged into the crystalline waters of the lake. The moon shone right though the water, and I could see Draco's pale figure tugging me down gently. Releasing some of my breath to help him out, we sank until our feet touched the sandy floor. Draco let go of my ankle and held me by the wrist instead. Underwater, his pallor was in its extreme, his usual platinum blond hair the purest white I had ever seen, his blue-gray eyes a startling silver. Even the irritating smirk he had plastered on his face seemed surreal, and almost…beautiful.

DRACO

Bella was looking at me with a strange admiration in her eyes. I smirked, hoping to get a reaction out of her—I had dragged her under water after all—but her face was still a mask of awe. Her bright green eyes were paler in the moonlight, diminishing the resemblance they had to Potters, which was welcoming. I never planned to see him this close, especially not in the moonlight. Her dark auburn hair was lightened by the rays as well, streaks of copper clearly visible shimmering around her soft contours of her face. Her lightly tanned skin was a couple shades darker than my own. The more I looked at her, the more she resembled Gordric Gryffindor. She looked exotic, and almost—dare I say it…beautiful.

Blaise and Malfoy walked me home just before twilight. I scurried up the long winding road towards the manor, soaked and tired. I slipped in the front door, the bolt sliding into place behind me. A flawless entrance. I grinned to myself, moving towards the stairs. I should have know it was too good to be true. I wasn't even halfway across the foyer when green flames burst from the parlor. I froze in fear, waiting for one of my parents to round the corner with a search party. Imagine my surprise when Rob stumbled out, clinging to the door frame for support. My relief made my legs feel like rubber, and I sunk to my knees releasing the breath I didn't know I was holding. I was shocked when Rob hiccupped and fell forwards as well.

"Bewu?" he slurred, "Oh, you baaadd gurl, you! Sneakin' out…really late…"

"Rob…?" I said uncertainly, crawling over to my brother who now lay on his back, smiling at the unlit crystal chandelier. "You're drunk!" I exclaimed. His face was flushed, and he had a sleepy smile on his face. "You're drunk! Ha! I can't believe this! Perfect, goody-goody Robie-poo is completely intoxicated!"

"Bewu, you're the greatest sistur evur…"

"Alright, yeah yeah. Now let's get you upstairs before you get us both in trouble. DRUNK! HA!" I lugged him to his feet, struggling with him up the stairs.

"Partners in crime, I see." A cold chill ran up my spine as a shadow moved at the top of the stairs. Busted.