Chapter Twenty Four

A/N: No reviewers.

Merida pulled her school jumper a little further down her arms, the billowing sleeves of her robe making the task almost impossible to accomplish. Her mother had said she could wear normal clothes- after all she only had a potions lesson that afternoon, which she would not be attending- but the redhead had turned her down. It was far easier to blend in wearing robes. She simply became another Gryffindor. It might buy her a few more seconds before Draco ran away from her.

The young woman moved a little faster, knowing she did not have long. There was only a dozen minutes left of lunch at the most, but it had taken her so long to gather her courage. She had been so close to not leaving her room at all.

Once she reached the doors of the Great Hall, Merida paused. Her courage would not extend to entering the room in search of Draco. His group of Slytherins would be there, the same ones that had hurt her. She could not face them. Instead, she waited, scanning the faces of the hundreds of students that drifted away after finishing their meals. She had almost given up hope when a flash of white gold hair caught her eye.

Merida ran forwards and grabbed his arm before her racing heart could tell her otherwise. The boy whipped round, his hair falling into his eyes. His skin was just as pale, the dark shadows under his eyes apparent when he pushed his hair aside. He was looking at her as if he had seen a ghost.

"Merida?" he questioned, blinking. It was almost as if he did not recognise her. After so long and so many struggles, she would not be surprised.

"I had to see you." she responded, letting any greetings go unspoken. They did not need to be, not between them. "I needed to speak to you."

"That's new." Draco stated, not bothering to hide the bitterness in his voice. Merida, somehow, managed to feel guilty, that she had used her own suffering to hurt him. "The last time I tried to make things right between us, you ran away without saying a word. Why shouldn't I do the same?"

"The last time I saw you, it was the first time we'd been in the same room since… since what happened to me." Merida bit back. She was desperately trying to avoid a fight, but it seemed more difficult by the second. "I didn't know what to say to you. If I'm honest, I could hardly bear to look at you."

"Then what's changed?" the boy questioned, raising his chin to try and conceal the tears beginning to shine in his eyes. It was the same gesture Narcissa had made, when she pleaded to Snape to save her son from danger.

Merida took a deep breath, steeling herself as she pulled Draco by the arm to the edge of the corridor. They could not be overheard, it would be the end of both of them. "I know about the Dark Mark. I know that you're a Death Eater."

The haughty indifference faded away, replaced with the image of a frightened boy. 'This must be what his mother saw in her mind, when she asked Snape for help.' Merida reasoned. It was heartbreaking.

"How…" Draco stuttered. Merida had never seen him so ruffled, looking over both shoulders to make sure no one was listening to them. "How could you know that?"

"I saw your mother." the redhead answered simply. "She came to see Professor Snape, to ask him to help you with your mission. She was very upset."

"Yeah." The blonde sounded like a petulant child, crossing his arms over his chest. Merida could recognise that at least; no wonder he was struggling in his task if he would not accept any help.

"She was desperate, Draco." Merida stated monotonously. She still did not get on well with the boy, and she had never met his mother, but she still could not stand to see the woman treated so badly when she was only trying her best to save her child. "She's worried about you, she thinks you're in danger."

"And whose fault is that?" Draco's murmur was almost inaudible, but Merida was so focused on him she heard it nonetheless. The redhead blinked, confused. "It was them that got me caught up in this mess in the first place. If my father hadn't gone back to them when the Dark Lord rose again, we wouldn't be the ones getting punished for his mistakes. We'd all be safe."

"I imagine there's a lot of people wishing your father hadn't gotten involved with the Dark Lord again." The words slipped out before Merida had a chance to catch them, but Draco simply seemed to sag against the wall. All the fight was gone from him now; it almost hurt to see it.

"I just wish everything could go back to the way it was." Draco sighed, running his hands through his silvery hair in anguish. Merida heard the words behind the words, her heart beating faster. She knew what he was asking from her, but surely it was asking too much of herself?

The girl reached forward tentatively, her hand trembling, and laced his fingers with her own. It felt strange for a moment, cold and stiff, before Draco closed his hand around hers and a wave of familiarity overcame both of them. It did not feel strange at all; it felt right.

"I can't do anything about your father," the redhead stated. "But I can help you, if you'd let me. Tell me what I can do to make it better. Tell me what I can do to help."

Draco hung his head, his hand disentangling itself from hers. Suddenly, he was the sullen boy again, raging at the world but denying any help offered to him. He looked up at her, meeting her gaze through the barrier of his tangled hair.

"If you want to make it better, Meri, then you need to leave me alone." With those words he was gone, disappearing among the thickening crowds of students heading to their lessons, embracing the opportunity to share a final few words with their friends before they were confined to silence once more. Meri leant back against the wall, allowing her auburn curls to fall in a curtain over her face. She preferred it that way; it hid the tears.

'I thought it was alright,' she told herself sadly. 'I thought I could help. But if he won't let me, there's nothing I can do. He's going to kill or he's going to die. Either way, I've lost him.'

A/N: They were so close, but not quite yet. Hope you enjoyed! Please review!