Chapter 20

The Everlasting Burdon

On our way back to the Slytherin common rooms that night Draco's fear seemed to have transformed into utter fury.

"I still cannot believe we had to do that!" Draco stammered on, his cheeks glowing red. "We almost got killed over a stupid punishment, and we didn't even do anything wrong!"

"Draco, its over now. Let it go," I stated calmly as we arrived to our portrait.

He gritted the password through his teeth and we walked in. I really did not want to think about this night anymore.

"And you," he continued on, "What were you thinking going off by yourself like that? You nearly got us both killed!"

"I said you didn't have to follow me, remember?" I pointed out, annoyed. "I just wanted to see what the creature looked like."

"Oh yeah, lets go see something that twisted enough to kill a unicorn," Draco went on sarcastically. "That's a great idea. Oh, and while we're at it lets throw rocks at it!"

"I was just trying to scare it away!" I retorted back, my voice rising. "It was coming after both Potter and me. What was I suppose to do?"

Draco stopped to look at me directly. "You should have run while it attacked Potter!"

"Like you did," I muttered.

This was clearly the wrong this to say. Just when I thought Draco face could not possibly turn any redder, his skin tone found a way to disprove me. He opened his mouth, ready to shout, but was interrupted by the sound of footsteps. I looked up to see Lenora coming from the girls' dormitory.

"There you are," she said rubbing her eyes, groggily. "Where have you two been?"

Ignoring her, Draco stormed off and muttering, "I'm going to bed."

"What's his problem," Lenora asked letting out a soft giggle.

I sighed. "Our detention seemed to put him in a bad mood."

Lenora gaped at me. "Is that where you were this whole time? Jeeze, what did they make you do?"

I let out a deep breath before answering, "We went into the Dark Forest."

She let out a gasp. "No way! Really, you served detention in the Dark Forest?"

I nodded not really sharing her excitement.

"Well?" She pressed on as we both sat on the couch. "What was it like? What did they have you do?"

I paused unsure whether or not to tell her about Voldemort. I did not mention it to Draco though he did not really give me the chance.

"We had to look for a unicorn that had been attacked," I finally explained. "It had been attacked by someone desiring its blood to live longer."

"What kind of creature was it?" Lenora demanded eagerly, on the edge of the couch.

I ran my fingers through my dark curly hair, unsure how to respond. "Well, it was, um…"

Lenora stood up impatiently. "Never mind. I'd rather see for myself. Come on, let's go."

I stood up too but did not follow. "Wait, you want to go right now?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, why not? You were just there. Clearly, they are not as strict about students going in."

I shook my head. "We can't go in there."

"Why not?" Lenora demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"Because Voldemort is in there!" I answered without thinking.

She turned back around, clearly taken by surprise, and just stared at me for a moment before muttering a soft, "Wow."

I just nodded. "Yeah, I saw him."

"I can't believe you actually said his name," she stated in a hushed voice.

I really wanted to kick myself at that moment. After hearing Potter say the Dark Lord's name so casually, the fact that it is unthinkable to utter the name aloud in the wizarding world completely slipped my mind.

Lenora, however, grinned. "That's so bad arse."

I returned the smile and decided to shrug it off as though I did it on purpose.

"Well, lets go anyway," Lenora decided.

Now, it was my turn to gape at her. "Did you not just hear me? Vol- You Know Who is in the Dark Forest right now."

She just shrugged. "So, he won't do anything to us. He only goes after muggle-borns."

What if he somehow finds out I'm muggle-born, I thought in panic, but knew better than to say this aloud.

Lenora turned back to exit the common room. "Well, I'm going. You can stay here if you want."

I sighed as I reluctantly followed her through the portrait of our common room. We, however, did not make it far before we were stopped.

"And where do you two think you are going?"

We turned to see Professor Snape in long black robes, his arms folded, and wearing a stern expression on his face.

I opened my mouth trying to think as quickly as possible. "We were just um…"

"Miss Chamberson, Miss Lane," Snape interrupted, looking cautiously beyond where we stood, "I think you two have found yourselves in quite enough trouble for one day. If you turn back now and head straight to your dormitories, I will award you each five points."

Lenora and I looked at each other and shrugged, and then I mumbled, "I guess we can't say no to that."

"A wise decision," Snape agreed before motioning us along. "Now, hurry along, quickly."

As we walked back, Lenora whispered, "That was odd. It seemed as though he was in a hurry to get rid of us."

I nodded. "Yeah, he seemed worried about something. I wonder what it is."

Right at we returned to the portrait, she looked at me and grinned. "We could always go find out, you know."

"I think I've had enough for one night," I muttered, avoiding her eyes. "Besides, if Snape finds out we didn't return to the Slytherin common rooms then we will not get our points."

Lenora rolled her eyes, but agreed, "Fine."

xXx

We later found out that night, Snape had gone to try and stop Quirrell, who was apparently possessed by none other than Lord Voldemort, from going after the Sorcerer's stone. From what my fellow classmates were saying about that night, Potter was the one who stopped Quirrell. It's amazing that he somehow managed to find a way to become even more famous. I am sure he just got lucky. I think I have been listening to Draco too much. He has not stopped complaining about it since we first heard the news. At least he seems to have forgotten how annoyed he was with me that night we had detention.

Now, our exams have passed and it is time to pack our bags to return home. It seems this time snuck up on me. I do miss Mom and Dad, but it just will not be the same now that I know about all this. Also, there is no way I can see Dudley with Potter there. I have a feeling this is going to be a rather lonely summer.

"So who do you think will be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" Lenora wondered aloud as we walked to the train.

"Hopefully someone who will actually teach about the Dark Arts," Draco answered with a snort.

"Yeah, that would be nice," I mumbled indifferently.

We then walked in silence for a few minutes before Lenora asked me, "So what are your plans this summer?"

"I think we will be traveling quite a bit," I replied quickly, my eyes pointed downward.

She too looked down. "Oh, well at least we can still write each other. After all, the owls will always be able to locate us wherever we are."

"Yeah, lets definitely write," I agreed eagerly thankful for some connection to the magical world. "I still wish we could actually see each other."

"Hey, its only a couple months," Lenora consoled. "Maybe next year when we meet up in Diagon Alley we can sneak off to Knockturn Alley again, or well, for you it will be sneaking since you're not allowed there." She turned her head to Draco. "You can sneak there too with us if you like."

"Actually, my father already promised he would take me there at the end of the summer," Draco informed proudly.

I looked at him, stunned. "What? Your mother was dead set against you going there. How did you manage to persuade them?"

Draco looked at me and smirked. "I just told them it was wrong of them to not to let me see the artifacts of dark arts in which they strongly believe in."

"You convinced your parents they were wrong?" I asked in dismay. "You have got to tell me how you do that."

The three of us laughed as we made our way on the train. I am really looking forward to returning to Hogwarts next year. I have never before felt like I belonged anywhere this much, though I just have one problem, my secret. This whole year it has been a struggle to keep from everyone the truth about my parents. If my friends were to find out right now, I would for sure lose them, especially Draco. Everything I have will come crashing down. I sometimes shudder thinking of the burden this secret will have on me for the next six years, but I suppose all good things in life have a steep price to pay.

End of Year One

A/N: I realize there are still a lot of unanswered questions, but not to worry. They will be answered in future years, which will be uploaded as a separate story. Thank you all for reading and a special thanks to those of you who reviewed! They really do mean a lot to me.