The Other Secret
Malfoy and I had plans to meet in the Room of Requirement the first night back to school. I was really nervous, because I'd been wanting to discuss something with him ever since I heard him with Snape. I put on my Batman underwear under my Superman pajama pants; because I knew he liked that. I expected to find him all calm and cool, waiting for me. But he was a mess. He was pacing in front of this huge cabinet, which looked exactly like the one we saw at Borgin and Burkes. He was sort of mumbling/talking to himself, and he looked terrified. Things were a mess (more than usual), like he had been throwing things.
"Draco, what's going on?"
"I can't do this! I can't! This is too much pressure; I can't deal with this…"
"Whoa, hold on a second. Slow down, and talk to-"
"No! I can't! They'll kill me, all of us, I don't have any more time—"
"Draco, please, just let me help."
"No more time…"
"Time for what?"
"For this…" He collapsed on the floor, crying. Great, my boyfriend was crazy. I went over to him, sat down behind him, and started rubbing his back. Slowly, I felt him relax into my hand, so I moved closer to him and put my chin on his shoulder.
"You good now?" I asked him.
"Yeah."
"Good. You scared me there for a minute."
"I'm sorry you had to see that. It wasn't my proudest moment."
"Hey, we all have our moderately insane moments." He laughed. "What was that about, anyway?"
"I don't think I can tell you." I moved around to his front. Dear God, how many of these talks were we going to have to have?
"Draco Malfoy. You should never have to say that to me, you can tell me anything. And after that little trip to crazy town you just took, I think you DO need to tell me." He waited for a while. "Draco?"
"There's something I have to do."
"What, right now? It's the middle of the night, what could you possibly—"
"No, not right now. I mean, that's what I was stressing about. I have to do something, and I don't think I can do it.
"You mean… like a task?"
"Yeah, a task. You-Know-Who chose me to do this horrible thing, but I just can't."
"Then don't."
"But I have to! If I don't he'll kill my family. And me, for that matter."
"Oh. I see you're problem." We were quiet for a while. Somehow, we had moved so that we were lying together on a couch.
"So, tell me more about being a Siren." He asked me, apparently wanting to change the subject. I guess I could understand that.
"What do you want to know?"
"I read once that Sirens can, like, control people's minds. Can you?"
"In a way, yes. It's more about controlling their emotions, though."
"How does that work?"
"It all depends on what I sing. If I sing something sad, they get sad. If I sing something happy, they get happy. I could sing a song about suicide, and it would make someone want to kill themselves."
"So, say you sang about having sex…" I giggled.
"Yes, that's the idea." I sighed. "I really miss it."
"Sex?"
"No, you tosser! Singing."
"Well, why can't you?"
"Well… I… uh… I don't know." And he smiled deviously. "Draco Malfoy, what are you up to?"
"Accio guitar." Guitar? What? He got up and went to the window. And a few seconds later, he was holding this beautiful, golden acoustic guitar.
"You play the guitar?" He nodded.
"And Piano, and a little violin as well." He bowed.
"You have no idea how much more attractive you are now."
"Really? Well then, you might be excited to learn that I have my very own guitar collection."
"Oh baby." He laughed. "Do you have, like, a pick for every single guitar?"
"No. Just one."
"Like a lucky pick?"
"Naw, I've just really grown attached to this one. My mom gave it to me a very long time ago, because I think she suspected my fascination with guitars."
"How come you haven't told me this before?"
"Well, I've never told ANYONE, really. Just Blaise, and that's only because his house was the only place I could practice, growing up." He sat back down on the couch and I laid my feet on his lap, where his guitar was resting. He started to strum a low, beautiful melody, which sounded as if he had written it. I was so relaxed. It felt like we were flying up in the clouds. After a little while, his tune transformed into one I recognized, and I couldn't help myself from singing the matching lyrics.
Heart beats fast
Colors and promises
How to be brave?
How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?
But watching you stand alone
All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow
One step closer…
I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more
Time stands still
Beauty in all she is
I will be brave
I will not let anything take away
What's standing in front of me
Every breath
Every hour has come to this
One step closer…
I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more
And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more
One step closer…
One step closer.
I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid, I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more
And all along I believed I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me
I have loved you for a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more
It's like we were both coming out of a trance. He stopped playing, I stopped singing, and we were both catching our breath. His eyes were glowing green, which told me that mine were doing the same. Finally, he spoke.
"That was amazing."
"I shouldn't have done that. It could've gone a lot worse."
"Your eyes… are mine the same?"
"Yes. I was sucking your energy. Feels good, doesn't it?" But I didn't get to hear his answer. All of a sudden, he was kissing the life out of me, and we were rolling around on the floor. How did I not feel that fall? As he started removing my clothes, I stopped worrying and started enjoying. Well, I supposed it was one way to burn off that energy I had just taken from him.
And boy was it fun.
….
"Is it me, or was that better than the last times?" He said after we had finished.
"It definitely wasn't you. It was just an after effect of my singing."
"Remind me to trick you into singing more often."
"Ha ha, very funny. We can't make a habit of this. The more I sing, the more I don't want to stop. It's a very addictive power."
"Mmhmm. Okay. Whatever you say." He wasn't going to listen to me. Great.
"Whatever." I said, a little annoyed.
"Oh, come on now. Don't be mad. You're too sexy to be mad, what with your Batman underwear, and your amazing body." He looked at me with his sexy, smoldering gaze. I smiled.
"Keep going." And we laughed. "Hey, I've been wondering about something."
"What?"
"How do you know about all this muggle stuff? You know, Batman, and you've totally made a few Doctor Who/Bowtie comments, not to mention that quote from The Princess Bride you said."
"Well, growing up with my parents was a very cold, sheltered childhood. I could never do anything that they, my father at least, deemed useless. So when I met Blaise at a party they threw, and he started talking about how wonderful and open-minded his parents were, we became best friends. I spent so much time over at his house, watching movies and TV, reading books, and his parents are the ones who taught me to play my instruments. To this day, I'm welcome at their house when I need to forget my life for a little while. And to this day, they promise to never tell my parents."
"Wow. They seem great." He smiled.
"Yeah, they are. And you'll probably meet them before you meet my actual parents." His face fell. I think I knew what he was thinking about.
"Draco, I've put a few pieces of your secrets together. Why do you have to do this awful task? Why can't you let Snape do it? You know he's willing to, he made the Unbreakable V—"
"I can't let him do this for me. The Dark Lord will know it wasn't me. And… I know my parents aren't exactly parents of the year, but they're still my family. I love them. I couldn't live with myself if they died because I was too weak."
"Draco, not doing this task wouldn't be weak. It would be brave. And even though I don't know what this task is, I DO know that it will ruin you. Please, Draco, just think about it. Please?" He took a long time to answer, and he seemed reluctant, but sincere.
"Okay. You're right. I'll think about it."
"Thank you. Now, if you don't mind, I think I'd like to recreate what we did earlier."
"Oh, I suppose."
….
"You're lucky you weren't killed." Hermione said, as she walked with me and Harry down the corridor. It was the day after we got back, and we were all looking at Hermione's copy of the Daily Prophet. As per usual these days, the headlines were not very happy to read. Gloomy, one might say. "You have to realize who you are, Harry."
"I KNOW who I am, Hermione, okay?" Hermione glared at him for raising his voice at her. "Sorry."
"So, tell us what Arthur said when you talked to him." I said. I could tell Hermione was as anxious as I was to hear about it.
"He said that if Dumbledore is traveling, then that's news to the Ministry. But get this: That night that we saw Draco in Knocturn Alley? He was looking at a Vanishing Cabinet." Oh crap. Keep a straight face, Talia, you know nothing about this.
"What would Dr—Malfoy be doing with a Vanishing Cabinet?" I said. Way to keep it cool.
"You tell me."
"What! Why would I tell you, I don't even know anything." I said, too fast. They both stared at me. Oh, right. He wasn't being literal. Then Hermione saved me by saying something.
"He looks different, don't you think? Malfoy? He looks ill, I think."
"Who could tell the difference?" Harry said, and I about hexed him for insulting my boyfriend like that. But that would be bad. Then, we heard a commotion ahead of us, and saw Lavender practically wrapped around Ron, who was wearing this God awful necklace.
"Of course I'll wear it." He said, uncertainly. Lavender giggled. Ugh, too much pep.
"That's my Won Won!" She squeaked.
"Excuse me, I have to go and vomit." Hermione said, and walked back the other day. Harry and I looked at each other, both wishing we could help her.
"I have to get to class, and then I have another meeting with Dumbledore. See you in the common room later?" He said to me, walking ahead a little faster, but looking back at me.
"You mean where you tell us all about your meeting, and what memory he shows you this time, that could possibly help you defeat Lord Voldemort? Wouldn't even dream of missing it." I said, smiling. He mirrored my smile, and waved to me. I felt so bad for him. He was a really great guy, and he had all this pressure to save the world and crap. And he didn't even have the confidence he should. It was a good thing we all had more than enough confidence in him.
….
"And so basically, it went all foggy and Slughorn started yelling at Tom for something I didn't even get to hear. It was all very confusing, but Dumbledore said it was supposed to be."
"And you have no idea what he might have been talking about?" I asked. This was all so strange. Why was Dumbledore being so cryptic?
"No. But Dumbledore said that that's because Slughorn must have tampered with the memory somehow, because he was ashamed of whatever he actually said that night.
"Well, that's ridiculous. It would be better for everyone if he just told the truth." Said Hermione.
"Think about it, Hermione. Maybe Slughorn thinks he may have had something to do with how Riddle turned out. Can you imagine what that would do to a person? The guilt?" I said to her.
"I suppose you're right." She said.
"What else did Dumbledore say?" Asked Ron.
"Well, he told me I need to collect the actual memory from Slughorn somehow."
"And exactly how are you going to do that?"
"I don't know! I'll think of something."
"Well, no pressure Harry, but the year's already half over. We're running out of time."
"Blimey, Talia, don't you think I know—Wait, did you say 'We'?"
"Of course. You don't think we're just gonna sit around and twiddle our thumbs while you do all this epic, world saving shit, do you? Please." I said.
"Yeah man, when have we ever just 'sat around'?" Said Ron.
"No matter how many detentions we got, our how many times we could've been killed." Said Hermione. Harry looked at us, and if he were a girl, he would've gotten all teary-eyed and started playing with a lock of his hair.
"Thanks, you guys. I'm sorry I've been such a git lately."
"Yeah, we may forgive you eventually." I said, but we all knew there was nothing to forgive.
Draco POV
I was walking down the hallways, taking the all too familiar path to the Room of Requirements. I knew I'd told Talia I'd think about not doing this, but I still had to try. I had to do this. I couldn't let my family die. I took the white bird from the cage, not thinking about what I was going to do to it. Hopefully, it wouldn't be harmed. I'd been working on this Vanishing Cabinet all year. It had to work.
I heard someone following me, so I set the bird in my pocket and sped up. I bet it was Potter, he was always wary of me these days. Harry, I mean Harry. I had to get used to calling him that. I didn't even dislike him anymore. He was my only hope. Finally, I had reached the entrance before he caught up with me.
I weaved my way through the stacks of random junk, having memorized the path ages ago. When I found the Cabinet, I fished the bird out of my pocket, giving a little chuckle. If Talia had been there, she would've insisted we name him. And it would've been some ridiculously ordinary name, like Larry, or Bob.
Talia.
She brought out the best in me. I couldn't believe how in love I was with her. I mean, first I told her I got the Dark Mark, and then I told her about my guitar collection. I never thought I'd tell her those things, but she was just so easy to talk to.
I pulled the drape off the huge cabinet, but I didn't open the doors right away. Instead, I stroked the bird for a while, because it sort of reminded me of Talia. It was beautiful, and fluttery, and so soft and delicate. Although, Talia was hardly delicate. I hate to think this, but if she was a Death Eater, she would've been better suited for this task than I am.
I looked into the bird's black eyes, and placed it in the Cabinet. It fluttered around while I closed the doors, and I felt a pang of guilt, though I didn't know why. I put my hands on the doors and muttered the incantation used for this cabinet. When I opened the door, the bird was gone. It had worked, for the first part. Now if I could just get it back, everything would be set. As I closed the doors again, I found a white feather on my suit sleeve. I held it up in the light, examining it, stalling the inevitable. I muttered the words once again, and heard the sound of a huge gust of wind that told me something had worked. But when I looked into the cabinet, what I saw terrified me.
The bird was dead.
Talia POV
"Are you serious, Harry? You do realize you probably just made things worse for yourself, don't you?" Harry had just told us about how he approached the whole Slughorn memory situation. I couldn't believe he had done that.
"Yes, Talia, and thank you so much for pointing that out."
"She has a point, Harry. Did you actually think you could just walk up to him, and ask him to reveal his biggest, darkest secret? Honestly, they should call you 'The Dim One'." Hermione said, which made me laugh.
"Nice one." I said to her, and she did a little mini bow from where she was sitting on the couch in the common room. We were supposed to be studying, but the only thing Harry had been studying for the past half an hour was the Marauder's Map.
"Why are you studying that map so hard? You think you can sneak up on Slughorn and scare him into telling you?" I said, which made Hermione laugh. Man, we were on a roll today.
"I think Malfoy is leaving the castle." He said, and I jerked my head up to look at him.
"What would make you say that?" I asked him.
"I've seen it. I was following him the other day, and he turned a corner, and I was right behind him. But when I turned the corner, he was gone. And sometimes, on the map, he just disappears." I would've panicked, if it hadn't been for Hermione's amazing wit.
"That's ridiculous; no one leaves the castle these days. The map must be wrong."
"The map is never wrong, Hermione."
"I don't know why you're still going on about Malfoy, Harry. You should be focusing on helping Dumbledore get Slughorn's memory."
"I'm trying, Tal." He stood up. "I'm going to head to bed now."
"Hey, can I borrow your cloak for a while, Harry? I've got some sneaking around of my own to do, and I'm tired to almost getting caught."
"Yeah, sure. Come upstairs and help me look for it."
"Thanks, dude. You can take it back whenever you need it."
"Sure." I followed him up the stairs to his dormitory. We talked about ways he could get the memory from Slughorn, when we reached the door. When Harry opened it, there were candy wrappers everywhere, and Ronald was sitting in a window sill.
A.N. F.Y.I., that song is called A Thousand Years and it's by Christina Perri. Yes, I am aware it's from Breaking Dawn. No, I'm not a Twilight fan. I'm just a Christina Perri fan.