FOREWORD FROM A BENT WIZARD

Life is a lot more complicated than children's storybooks would have you believe. We both once "belonged" to the Dark Lord—only in different ways. We were both Chosen—and I think there was no coincidence in that. Fate has a funny way of guiding two destined souls together, even if it is with their wands pointed at each other from across the battlefield.

It was never my intention to fall in love with Draco Malfoy. We were driven together, but also apart, by the opposing forces of Good and Evil.

It should be mentioned that, as with the case of my Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon hating wizards—and as with the case of half-bloods and Muggle-borns facing persecution from the pureblood extremists of our day—Draco and myself were, and still are, easy targets for social expulsion.

We were born different, you see…

Neither of us could be understood. We were feared, because our nature did not make sense to those who believed that love has limits. Our relationship, complex as it was and still is, will inevitably be viewed by many as dirty.

And perhaps it was, or even is. We didn't exactly make good or right decisions as we tried to make sense of all our blindsiding emotions. Maybe we are still practicing poor judgment—and I beg the reader to have mercy, to understand that, throughout it all, we never thought we were a model of a good or healthy relationship.

I'm sure our love, as it was expressed back then, was impure in many ways. But I'm also convinced that there was always purity at the very heart of what we felt. Make no mistake, our relationship was fraught with trouble from the beginning. And yet, this strange and "dirty" love somehow survived even through all that.

We both strived to do the best we could, given the circumstances we were in—Draco especially. He gets the brunt of a lot of hate, and has even become a byword to a broad swathe of the wizarding community. But he is worthy of the same human dignity as either you or me, regardless of the horrible choices that he made. But I will not make this an apology for his actions, since all those legal matters have already been settled. This narrative is simply an exploration into the hitherto omitted truth about our undisclosed relationship…

Given the present climate of our culture, we feel far less threatened about opening up about these things. However, the reader should still exercise discretion: We intend to be honest and very open. Too open, perhaps, since we will be addressing several incidents in graphic detail, exactly as we remember them.

We will show you what this love felt like when it was unformed and repressed, but also when it was fully fledged and raging like an unchecked inferno. We were innocent, confused, and frustrated to begin with; but we became increasingly desperate, terrified, and starved for each other's attention.

We won't hide the damaging ways we mistreated each other, either; but we promise there will be frequent glimpses into our healthier, more intimate moments as well…

From here on, we will censor nothing. I for one will not tiptoe around my vocabulary any more than I have ever tiptoed around saying the name Voldemort. As a wizard, I fully understand that words have power, and the last thing that I want are my Memory Vials being unnecessarily tampered with.

Draco and I hope to immortalize our love, not cater to the unfeeling sensibilities of those who have no business picking up an honest book written by their fellow wizard.

But do not misunderstand. This book is not an attempt at activism. We do not want this story to become someone else's weapon in a culture war we did not agree to be a part of. But these are our Precious Truths—truths that we have not gone public with up until this point, because the Powers-That-Be feared it would detract from the greater story revolving around the Second Wizarding War. (To say nothing of the fear he and I both felt throughout it all…)

With all that said, this book will inevitably become politicized, because it shines a light on a well-known Slytherin boy who became one of Voldemort's key Death Eaters. You, reader, know who I am, and I will state my "political" opinion here at the outset:

Draco Malfoy is a hero. At the very least, he is my hero, and I owe him my entire being.

He played such a vital role in my success against the Dark Lord that it has been an injustice to not shine the light upon him sooner. I testified at trial for him and would do it again in a heartbeat if the Ministry dared to launch another campaign against him for any reason.

Without him standing between me and Voldemort, I would have most certainly been killed.

My mother, Lily Potter, taught me that love conquers death, because of how she sacrificed her life to save mine and remained present in my life even while I was growing up. In a similar vein, Draco taught me that love conquers hate. And neither of us had to hold a picket sign, or cast a vote, or have the world's approval to experience that for ourselves. All we ever had to do was send an owl or cast each other a secret look, and the love was there, just as beautiful, intoxicating, and magical as it ever was.

And so, where to begin?

As is the case with most stories, we suppose starting at the beginning would be best. The following narrative is ghostwritten in third-person, so I will not be speaking as myself from this point forward. Draco has agreed to assist by providing his own Memory Vials along with mine. He has shared some of his memories with me—and it turns out that even I am still learning about how I affected him while we were both rivals at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry…